The command floor never truly quieted.
Even as Arthur Watts stepped away from Pietro, the low murmur of voices, the hum of machinery, and the soft chiming of alerts continued unabated.
Yet for Jaune, the world narrowed the moment he felt Arthur's attention settle on him.
Watts approached without urgency, his steps measured and unhurried, hands clasped behind his back in a posture that radiated thoughtfulness rather than authority.
Weiss and Blake noticed immediately.
She turned subtly, her shoulders squaring just a little as Arthur came to a stop before them. Blake mirrored the shift half a second later.
"You, your name is Jaune Arc, is it not?" Arthur said, voice smooth and even. "May I have a moment of your time?"
Jaune blinked. Of all the people he had expected to speak with him right now, Arthur Watts, one of the two lead researchers of the Centurion project had not been high on the list.
"Uh… sure," Jaune said, then hesitated. "Is something wrong?"
"Not at all," Arthur replied. His eyes flicked briefly to Weiss and Blake. "I merely have some questions for you that I wish to ask. Call it the curiosity of a researcher."
The request landed strangely.
Weiss studied Arthur for a brief moment, then inclined her head with practiced grace. "Of course, Doctor Watts. Please go ahead."
Her tone was respectful. Blake offered a small nod as well.
Arthur acknowledged them with a polite nod before gesturing for Jaune to follow.
They moved only a short distance away, stopping near the edge of the command floor where the glow of the displays softened into peripheral light. The noise faded slightly here, enough to give the illusion of privacy.
Jaune shifted his weight, suddenly aware of how exposed he felt standing alone with the man.
Arthur turned to face him fully, studying him with open curiosity rather than scrutiny.
"How... uh should I address you, sir?" Jaune asked.
Arthur smiled faintly. "Doctor Watts will do."
There was something oddly disarming about him up close. His expression was calm and composed, his eyes sharp but not cold. Whatever excitement Jaune had sensed earlier was gone, replaced by a focused curiosity that felt clinical rather than emotional.
Jaune cleared his throat. "So… what did you want to talk about?"
Arthur tilted his head slightly. "You."
That did not help Jaune relax.
"I've been hearing your name with increasing frequency, from my colleagues." Arthur continued.
Jaune felt his shoulders tense. "From Doctor Pollendina?"
Watts paused before he nodded. "...Indeed. Among others."
That gave Jaune pause. Pietro made sense. The man had taken an interest in him from the start. But others?
Arthur's gaze sharpened just a fraction. "You've had a rather unusual trajectory as a LUCID operative, haven't you, Jaune Arc."
Jaune gave a small, uncertain laugh. "I suppose. I feel like I've been involved in too many plots of sort as of late."
"Plots? How curious. That implies a negative stance." Arthur said smoothly. "Considering that they are the current craze—Sleepless, I assume?"
"Yeah. I've run into their... plots a couple times now."
He clasped his hands together now, studying Jaune as if he were a problem worth solving. "Interesting. Please, tell me about your experiences with them so far."
Jaune hesitated.
This was not casual conversation. Arthur's tone was gentle, but his intent was clear. He was gathering information.
"Well... " Jaune said carefully. "Well, I was once in a ground zero Amalgamation spillover zone in the real world. This occurred when I was a Rank 0. "
Arthur nodded. "I see. I'm told that you were there during Belmont as well, were you not?"
Jaune's jaw tightened slightly. "I... yeah, but how did you know about that?"
Arthur raised a hand placatingly. "I have special clearance when it comes to accessing information. However, this particular information wasn't exactly hidden. Most mission reports are available to operatives who choose to read them. Though, most will choose not to. I however, happen to be the opposite."
Jaune studied him for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Alright."
"So, you've met with Sleepless. What are you thoughts on them?"
He took a breath. "They're monsters. Real bastards who do whatever it takes on accomplish their goals. Murderers and fanatics who kill others simply to revive their stupid sleeping god."
Arthur's eyes narrowed at that but his gaze was still heavy with unmistakable interest.
"As expected," he murmured. "Yes, Sleepless is indeed an interesting group, aren't w-they? Their ideals are... quite something."
"Right..." Jaune frowned. Something about this conversation was pushing on a button that Jaune wasn't certain he understood. What he did understand however, was that something was very odd.
"Your runes... one of them is at the refined level, is it not?"
Jaune paused. "Refined... did Pietro tell you that?"
Arthur hummed thoughtfully. "No, I have the Insight rune, just like he does." he repeated.
Jaune's brow furrowed. "You do?"
"Yes," Arthur said. "Though mine functions somewhat differently from Doctor Pollendina's."
That caught Jaune's attention immediately.
"But... I didn't feel you scan me?" Jaune said slowly.
Arthur regarded him with a glint in his eye. "Interesting. Your rune has a cognitive sensory perception type ability to it as well."
Jaune swallowed. "Right... so how did you do that?"
Arthur studied him for a long moment before answering. "Not every single Insight rune functions the exact same way. Mine… integrates."
Jaune frowned. "That doesn't explain anything."
Arthur smiled again, wider this time. "It wasn't really meant to."
Jaune did not like the implications of that at all.
Arthur inclined his head. "In any case, Jaune, you should be cautious. Events like Belmont and what's happening right now, have a way of accelerating things."
"Accelerating what?" Jaune asked.
Arthur paused, then smiled faintly. "Change, obviously."
With that, he patted Jaune's shoulder and turned to walk away, rejoining the flow of personnel as if nothing unusual had occurred.
Jaune stood there for a moment, staring after him. Weiss and Blake approached almost immediately.
"What did he want?" Blake asked quietly.
Jaune shook his head slowly. "I'm… not entirely sure."
Weiss studied his expression. "That's not reassuring."
Jaune exhaled. "Tell me about it."
Jaune remained where he was, watching Arthur Watts. There was something almost serpentine about the way the man moved. Not hurried or cautious, but deliberate. Watts paused briefly beside Pietro Pollendina, leaning close enough to murmur something that Jaune could not hear over the hum of the command floor. Pietro's shoulders stiffened. He turned his head slightly, confusion creasing his brow as he stared after Arthur with a look that held far more questions than answers.
Then Arthur was gone, swallowed by the layered walkways and partitions of the base.
Pietro exhaled slowly and shook his head, as though trying to dislodge a thought that refused to settle. He turned back toward the command terminals, fingers tightening around the armrest of his chair.
That was when the first alert chimed.
It was not loud or dramatic. Just a soft tonal shift in the ambient noise of the room. A subtle change that only people who lived in command centers learned to recognize as trouble.
Several operators glanced down at their consoles almost simultaneously.
"Uh… Doctor Pollendina?" one of them said, uncertainty threading his voice. "We're getting anomalous return signals."
Pietro looked up. "Return signals from where?"
"The centurions unit interfaces." another operator replied. "Centurion units are disengaging and returning to the base."
Pietro frowned. "That's not possible. I did not issue a recall order."
Jaune felt his stomach tighten.
He stepped closer to Weiss and Blake, lowering his voice. "Do Centurions ever do that on their own?"
Weiss shook her head, eyes were already locked on the main display. "They're autonomous within parameters, but they don't override direct deployment orders, which means that they shouldn't be able to."
The screens flickered as several feeds reconfigured themselves. Return vectors lit up in pale blue, tracing paths from the Dream Realm insertion points back toward Atlas City.
Pietro leaned forward. "Run diagnostics. Check command integrity."
"Already doing that," an operator replied. "Everything looks normal. No signal interference."
A few seconds later, metallic forms stepped through into the command room.
Archer Centurions emerged first, tall and angular, their limbs unfolding with mechanical precision as they crossed. Their optic arrays glowed a steady blue. Behind them came the Gladius units, with their broader frame and four arms.
The room seemed to hold its breath.
Pietro's confusion deepened into something closer to alarm.
"Centurion units," he said clearly, his voice carrying across the command floor. "Explain why you have exited the Dream Realm without authorization."
The lead Archer unit turned its head toward him. Its optics flickered briefly, processing.
"Command input conflict detected," it said. Its voice was calm, synthesized, and utterly devoid of inflection. "Higher Authority override engaged."
Pietro stiffened. "Higher Authority? That is not possible. I am the primary command authority for all Centurion units within Atlas jurisdiction."
"Negative," the Centurion replied. "Command authentication invalidated."
The room erupted into motion.
Security personnel shifted. Operators pulled their hands away from consoles and reached instinctively for sidearms they were never meant to use inside the base. The hum of the machinery seemed to rise, as if the base itself sensed the shift.
Jaune's weakness sense flared violently.
They were not malfunctioning. They were executing an order.
Blake's hand drifted toward the non-existent hilt at her side, her posture coiling like a spring. "Jaune," she whispered. "Something's very wrong."
Weiss nodded, her jaw tight. "They're not responding to Pietro."
Pietro raised a hand, trying to assert control. "Centurions, stand down. You are inside a secured facility. Reassess your command parameters immediately."
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Then the Centurions moved.
Archer units pivoted in unison, their weapons rising with a synchronized whine of servos. Gladius units stepped forward, forming a staggered line that placed their armored forms between the operatives and the exit corridors.
Weapons locked.
Targeting systems activated.
Red indicators flickered across multiple HUDs.
Several operatives froze in place, caught between disbelief and terror.
"They're aiming at us," someone breathed.
Jaune's heart slammed against his ribs.
This was a coup.
"Centurions," Pietro said again, his voice strained but firm. "You are violating every failsafe protocol in your systems."
The centurions did not answer but the assistant next to Pietro did, with a tremble in his voice. "Sir... t-the failsafe protocols are overridden."
"By who?" Pietro demanded.
The assistant stuttered out. "B-by d-doctor Arthur Watts."
The name hit the room like a physical blow.
Jaune felt something cold slide down his spine.
Weiss sucked in a sharp breath. Blake's eyes widened just enough to betray her shock.
Pietro stared at his assistant, disbelief etched deep into his face. "Arthur? That's… that's impossible. He wouldn't...."
Jaune's mind raced.
Arthur's excitement earlier. His glee. The way his Insight rune had brushed past Jaune without triggering anything. The quiet confidence in his voice when he spoke of change.
He had planned this.
"Oh no.... how many units?" Weiss whispered.
Jaune scanned the room quickly. "Six here. But if he can override them…"
"Then it's not just these," Blake finished grimly.
Pietro clenched his fists. "No... Arthur wouldn't do this," he said, more to himself than anyone else. "Not like this."
Jaune swallowed hard. "Doctor Pollendina… I think he already has."
The Centurions advanced another step.
Whatever Arthur Watts had set in motion, it was no longer hidden.
And it was happening now.
.
.
AN: Advanced chapters are available on patreon