The power flickered once more, and the hum of the servers took on a menacing growl as the lights flickered back to life — this time bathed in red. It was emergency mode. The floor vibrated slightly, and Luka's hologram appeared next to Kael, with static crawling along the edges of his image.
"Sublevel breach confirmed," Luka stated sharply. "Security drones are on their way, but he's disabling the locks faster than I can secure them."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Of course he is. He knows my systems all too well."
Ezra felt a knot in his stomach. "Kael, he shouldn't even be here. You—your drones—caught him."
With a darker tone, Kael replied, "I did. But Veyra doesn't let assets go to waste. Reviving one of my own was her way of showing me what defiance costs."
Ezra swallowed hard, stealing a glance at the holo-screen — Nico moved with an unsettling blend of human agility and robotic precision. Each step he took resonated like a ticking clock.
"Kael…" Ezra murmured. "He's on his way here."
Kael's hand hovered over the control panel. "Let him come."
---
A moment later, the door hissed open, and Nico walked in — a fusion of man and machine, his metal shoulder catching the red light and gleaming sharply. A cruel smile spread across his face.
"Still trying to play god, Kael?" he mocked, his voice crackling with static. "Still collecting broken pieces and thinking you can fix them?" His gaze shifted to Ezra, his mechanical iris tightening. "Looks like you've upgraded your toy."
Ezra flinched, but Kael remained motionless.
"Veyra should've erased you," Kael said coldly. "Instead, she turned you into a reminder of why trusting others is a risk."
Nico let out a low, distorted chuckle. "She rebuilt me because you didn't finish the job. You think you're untouchable, but even your precious AI can't keep up with me anymore."
Luka's hologram flickered beside them, cutting in with authority. "Actually — I can."
A slight smirk crept onto Kael's face. "Luka, isolate his frequency. He's running her remote feed through the backdoor Ezra exposed."
Ezra's head snapped to Kael, shocked. "You… you used my data?"
Kael's eyes softened for the briefest moment. "You gave me something valuable, Ezra. I wasn't going to let that go to waste."
Before Ezra could react, Nico charged. The ground shook as Kael met him halfway, activating his stun baton. Blue arcs of energy collided with the steel of Nico's arm, sending sparks flying with a deafening clatter.
Ezra stumbled back, gripping the holo-chip tightly. Luka's voice cut through the chaos, barking orders to redirect security drones. But it wasn't enough — Nico was faster and stronger, fueled by whatever upgrades Veyra had implanted in him.
"Kael!" Ezra shouted. "He's syncing with your system — he's trying to breach your firewall!"
Kael gritted his teeth, blocking a punch that impacted the floor beneath them. "Then stop him!"
Ezra hesitated, then suddenly recalled the code he had hidden earlier, the one he had taken from Veyra's private server. He dropped to his knees next to a terminal, fingers racing over the interface, his eyes burning with exhaustion and dread.
"Come on, come on…" he whispered, urgency flooding his voice. The screen flickered, flashing a breach alert as the systems spiraled out of control, and then everything went silent. Nico lurched in mid-attack, his mechanical arm twitching violently, the glow beneath his skin fading.
Kael drove his baton into the exposed joint, sending a surge of electricity through. Nico was sent crashing backwards, smoke rising from his body.
He hit the ground hard, his chest rising and falling erratically — still alive, still human enough to bleed.
Kael stood over him, breathing heavily with the baton still sparking faintly in his grip. "Tell her this," he said coldly, "You can't fix what's already broken."
Nico let out a strangled laugh, his lips curling into a smirk. "Then maybe you should have left him behind too," he wheezed, glancing at Ezra. "You're going to regret keeping him around."
Ezra felt a pang in his chest, but Kael didn't waver. He deactivated the baton, his eyes locked onto Nico's. "I already regret trusting you, but not him."
For a brief moment, something unspoken passed between Kael and Ezra — not forgiveness, but a flicker of understanding.
Then Kael turned, signaling to Luka's hologram. "dismantle the other parts,Secure him. No more detours."
Luka's drones surged forward, pinning Nico down as Kael and Ezra headed toward the lift. The red alert light faded, and the hum of the servers dwindled behind them.
As the elevator doors closed, Ezra leaned against the wall, trying to steady his breath. Kael stood silently beside him. The tension between them hadn't vanished — but it was different now.
Ezra looked up, his voice barely above a whisper. "You used my data. You believed in me."
Kael's expression softened, his voice low. "You earned my trust tonight completely again,Come here." He pulled him in for a hug.
The elevator ascended through the quiet tower, city lights blooming in the glass like newly born stars.
Ezra let himself breathe properly once again