SYSTEM REBOOTING

  ALL SYSTEMS ARE OPERATIONAL

  WELCOME BACK, ROAN

  Roan groaned as he lifted himself from the sand, then stiffened. "Ravine."

  He looked around frantically but only saw Zhon on his knees, holding pieces of metal and sobbing. Roan's eyes widened. He rushed to Zhon, shook his shoulder, and said urgently, "Tell me what happened. I need to know."

  Zhon didn't answer right away. He clutched what looked like a small red chip in his hands.

  "Zhon! What. Happened."

  Zhon slowly raised his face, revealing tears streaming down and eyes reddened with grief. "She killed her. After all we did together, she killed her just like that—like it was nothing." He looked down at the pieces scattered on the ground, touching them slowly, reverently.

  Roan sighed heavily. "I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to help." His hands shook. "The way she was moving... it wasn't like her at all."

  "Does it even matter anyway?" Zhon said bitterly. "The mission is done. We know what happened already, and the only thing I looked forward to was seeing the rest of the world alongside her. But she stole that from me."

  Roan sat beside him. "Who is 'she'?"

  Zhon turned to him with anger flashing in his eyes. "Ravine, of course. Who else?"

  Roan looked at him with puzzlement. "You mean you didn't notice anything wrong with the way she was moving?"

  Zhon stood up in anger. "She's been acting weird ever since she found out the truth! She's constantly been against Aria since that moment. And now she's split her in half!"

  Roan sighed deeply. "I guess she's got you fooled, too, huh? Mother Phoenix, I mean."

  Zhon whirled around. "What do you mean, Mother Phoenix? Ravine did it with her own hands—I was right there!"

  Roan shook his head. "No. When I was fighting her, I noticed something. Obviously, the way she moved was very weird, so at first I thought maybe something like that amalgamation did something to her. But I couldn't find anything attached to her body or inside her—physically, of course." He paused. "And then I started hearing voices inside her head, like there were two people. One was very faint and sounded like Ravine. The other was very similar to Mother Phoenix. It's like they were arguing. But before I could figure it out, I got knocked out."

  He looked directly at Zhon. "But one thing I know for sure—Ravine would never put her hands on a teammate, let alone Aria. I think you know this, too."

  Zhon avoided eye contact.

  Roan looked up at the stars. "You remember how on edge she was when Aria's original body was compromised? I think she, more than any of us, wanted her to make it. The sole thought of losing her made her cry—something she'd never done before." He turned back to Zhon. "Do you think that same person would now willfully kill someone so dear over a disagreement?"

  "What do you really want to say, Roan? That she's innocent in all this?"

  Roan picked up a handful of sand and let it fall through his fingers onto his feet. He exhaled. "I think you know deep down that she isn't to blame, but it's easier to make her the villain than to come to terms that we've been played with since the beginning." He looked at Zhon intently. "Does that sound about right?"

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Zhon stuttered, "I-I don't know. Why would Mother Phoenix do all this?"

  Roan shrugged. "I don't have a clue, but right now our priority is to figure out how she was able to take control of Ravine, and then finish repairing Captain before joining her. If Ravine is to be taken over again, we need to be ready. And if we know the source, we can prevent it from happening again."

  He paused and knelt beside Aria's remains. "Did you manage to retrieve her chip?"

  Zhon nodded. "I did, but... no luck this time. It's broken beyond repair."

  "Keep it. Once we get to Mother Phoenix, we'll make her restore Aria. After all, she'd be the only one with all our memories, right?"

  "Once we get them back, we'll be able to bring her back," Zhon said, hope creeping into his voice.

  Roan gave a warm smile and patted his shoulder. "Now you're getting into it." He stood. "Come on, help me pick up her pieces. We'll bury the drone. This will be the beginning of our new mission—to bring her down and bring back Aria."

  Zhon nodded. "And Roan... thank you."

  "Oh, stop it. Come on, let's do this."

  As they collected the pieces and headed further into the sand, they dug a hole and carefully buried the drone.

  Sorry, I couldn't do anything to save you, Aria, Zhon thought. But I swear we will bring you back, no matter what.

  As they walked back to their spot, Zhon spoke. "You know, I felt so angry when I saw what she did to Aria. I felt so powerless. I tried to switch places with Aria, but it's like she was going specifically for her. And in the end, I lashed out at Ravine for it. I saw the emptiness in her eyes—I did—but she was supposed to protect us, and the one time it was needed most, she didn't." He gave a faint chuckle. "I guess she seemed damn near invincible until now, but she's just like us—a soldier who could die anytime for this pointless mission."

  Roan listened attentively in silence, then asked, "What about now?"

  "Now... I want to apologize to her. I was the weak one, not her."

  "First, let's figure out how Mother Phoenix was able to control her so easily."

  "How do we do that?"

  Roan laughed. "You're the tech guy, bud—you figure it out. I know that might sound harsh, but maybe we could figure it out through the captain? Being unconscious and all."

  Zhon nodded and looked at Irene's body. "You said you heard the voices in her head, right?"

  "Yeah, they were almost faint, though, like they didn't want to be heard."

  Zhon approached Irene carefully. "Got it. The cranial system is quite complex, so I'll have to be very careful not to damage any components, as it could severely impair her or worse—kill her."

  "You got this. Maybe there's a chip or something?"

  Zhon carefully opened the back of Irene's head and began scanning the components.

  I just hope Ravine's all right, Roan thought. I can't imagine how she's feeling.

  He decided to start a conversation with her.

  Meanwhile, deep in the lab facility, Ravine finally reached the transport tube. As expected, the lights were flickering, but the power was still running.

  "Finally made it here. Just a little longer before I get to Japan."

  How do we make this thing work? She examined a panel board labelled with various destinations. One caught her eye: "Destination: United States."

  "Let's change that." She switched it to Japan.

  With a loud whirring sound, the tube activated, and its direction changed toward the wide sea visible through tinted windows in the sub-level lab.

  "Good. It seems like it's working."

  Water began pouring into the tube like a slide. Ravine sighed. "Wouldn't it be more efficient to use concentrated air compression to push the products?"

  As she prepared to step into the tube, she received a transmission from Roan. She reluctantly accepted it.

  "Ravine, you still there?" Roan's voice crackled through.

  "I'm about to step out right now."

  "I'm glad you're okay. Listen, we know it wasn't you. Mother Phoenix made you do it."

  Ravine scoffed. "Tell that to Zhon."

  Roan was silent for a moment. "He knows, too, Ravine. He... well, he'll tell you himself. Listen, we're trying to find what she used to take control of your body. Any clue?"

  Ravine scratched her head. "It was like she invaded my OS chip. I could see and feel but not control anything. I was powerless."

  "We all were," Roan said in a sad tone. "But we won't let her get away with it, I promise. Just give us time and—"

  She cut him off. "This is personal now, Roan. I'm not wasting any more time here. Find me there when you're done."

  She ended the transmission, materialized her spear, and jumped onto the tube. "Here goes nothing."

  With tremendous power and speed, the water-assisted tube propelled her forward. She was now surfing through the tube at incredible velocity. She checked the ETA on her menu: forty minutes until arrival.

  "Less than an hour until I get my hands on you. Be ready."