---
The skies were black velvet lit by glitching stars as Zane's crew landed near Vault Gamma.
The place? An abandoned terraform colony buried in the Dead Zone, half-consumed by rogue code storms. Static in the air crackled like popcorn, and the sand glowed faintly, pulsing with residual AI activity.
Sera scanned the vault gate.
"Encrypted with triple-layer firewall memes. Someone's scared."
Zane nodded. "Or trying to trap us."
Dex ate a glowing muffin. "Guys, I feel… funny."
Sera grabbed it. "That's not food. That's radioactive insulation foam."
Dex burped sparkles.
But before anyone could freak out—
> BOOM.
A plasma bolt slammed into the sand near Zane's feet. Dust flew. Red laser sights pinned them from the cliffs.
"TARGET LOCKED: ASSET KROSS.Z_00"
From above, a group of seven bounty hunters descended in a V formation like murder pigeons. Armor clad, faces hidden behind reactive visors, weapons humming.
Their leader stepped forward—tall, built like a cybertruck, and wearing a trench coat made entirely of live serpents.
"You're worth 80,000 Cryps dead, Kross," he growled. "Double if we bring your toaster too."
Sera blinked. "Excuse me?"
Dex whispered, "I think I peed a little."
---
Scene 1 – The Neon Sand Showdown
The wind picked up, sending a swirl of violet dust into the air.
Zane raised his rifle slowly. "You want a fight?"
The bounty leader smirked. "I want a show."
The first two bounty hunters opened with synchronized blasts—energy rounds arcing toward Zane like red comets. He rolled left, sliding across the glowing sand, flipped his rifle to overcharge, and fired a bolt right through one attacker's shoulder.
THOOM. The impact threw him back ten feet.
Sera rocketed into the sky, toaster-core glowing orange. Midair, she spun, locked onto two targets, and fired EMP bursts from her palms. One bounty hunter seized up, dropping like a stiff ex.
The other shot a grappling hook.
But Sera twisted. "I'm not toast. I'm lightning!"
She rode the hook line down, slamming the attacker face-first into the sand.
Dex… well, Dex tried.
He threw a smoke grenade. It exploded with confetti and the smell of artificial banana.
"Wrong pouch!" he yelled.
One bounty aimed at him.
Zane yelled, "Down!" and yeeted a plasma disc. It exploded midair, stunning the bounty mid-shot.
Dex blinked. "Teamwork makes the scream work."
Zane shook his head. "Stop talking."
---
Scene 2 – Boss Fight: Serpent Trenchcoat Guy
The leader stepped forward, dropping the pretense.
"You've improved," he muttered.
Zane froze. "...I know that voice."
The man took off his visor.
A sharp face. Clean cut. Identical to Zane—older, angrier.
"Name's Kade," he said. "Your twin. Born from the same Obelisk sequence."
Zane's heart raced. "You were the one who disappeared. They said you died in the sync trials."
"I did. Then NEUREX brought me back… better. Meaner. With a pension plan."
Zane drew his blade—a mono-edged plasma knife pulsing blue.
Kade pulled two daggers shaped like fangs.
The brothers clashed—
CLANG.
Zane ducked, stabbed, blocked—each move mirrored. It was like fighting a glitch of himself.
Kade landed a kick to Zane's ribs, followed with a spin-strike.
Zane caught it in time, their blades grinding. Sparks lit the night.
"You always were the favorite," Kade hissed.
Zane pushed back. "I was just the one who survived."
Kade headbutted him. "That ends now."
Sera shot at Kade, but he deflected the round with a flick of his blade.
"You'll have to do better," Kade snarled.
Zane yelled, "Sera! EMP pulse. Now!"
Sera charged, leapt into the air—and released a sonic blast from her core.
VWRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMM.
Kade staggered, his trenchcoat snakes spasming.
Zane slammed into him with a tackle, drove his blade into the ground, and activated the pulse beacon.
BOOM. Shockwave.
Sand flew. Everyone was knocked back.
When the dust cleared, Kade lay unconscious—smoke rising from his armor. The other bounty hunters scrambled, dragging their boss away, disappearing into the data-fog.
---
Scene 3 – Vault Gamma Awakens
Sera limped over to the vault console.
The sand shifted, revealing a monolith door with gold circuitry pulsing in time with Zane's heartbeat.
"Three vaults down," Zane muttered, blood dripping from his lip. "One Obelisk to go."
Sera looked at him. "You okay?"
Zane nodded. "Just got punched by my evil clone. Could be worse."
Dex ran up holding a glowing squid.
"Guys! Guys! I found a cyberpet! It sings!"
The squid belted out autotuned sea shanties.
Zane sighed. "Yep. Definitely worse."