Consciousness crept back slowly. Kaelan lay on a hospital bed in the Academy, his body hooked up to sensors and IV lines. Lena sat by his side, her face pale.
"Yena…" was the first word Kaelan managed to say.
"She's been taken," Lena answered flatly. "Dr. Vex has her. But… there's something bigger."
She pulled out a tablet and showed him footage of the fight. From a certain angle, it was obvious—Vex had deliberately waited until Yena showed herself before triggering the ultrasonic weapon.
"Look at this," Lena swiped to another file. Sonic Scenario: Phase 2. Objective: Observe Subject Alpha's emotional response to third-party threat.
Kaelan's eyes widened as he read. Every mission, every battle—it was all scripted.
"Scrap Queen… Silhouette… Dr. Vex…" he muttered. "They were all just… actors?"
"More than that." Lena slid to another screen, revealing messages between Klaus and Vex. "They were paid to provide 'specific stimuli.' Klaus wants to map every side of your so-called 'Grit'—not just the physical, but the emotional too."
She pointed at the last message Klaus had sent Vex: Take the companion unit. We need to see how he reacts to loss.
The anger Kaelan felt wasn't fire—it was ice, cutting right through his bones.
"They used Yena… to test me?"
"Worse," Lena said. "They built the scenario so she'd throw herself in front of you. They wanted data on… love and sacrifice."
The word love hung in the air. That's when Kaelan realized—yeah, he did love Yena. Not romantically, but as the one who understood his pain, who made him laugh, who accepted him as he was.
And now the Foundation had stolen her from him.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Kaelan asked.
Lena didn't hesitate. She pulled her jacket open, revealing bruises on her arm. "Because I tried to stop them from taking Yena. And they don't care who they hurt along the way."
From under the bed, she produced a small bag. Inside was a half-fried memory chip. "I grabbed this before they could wipe it. It's Yena's core memory."
Kaelan's hands shook as he held it. A piece of Yena was still alive.
"We have to leave," Lena said firmly. "Now. Before Klaus decides we're both liabilities."
"Leave… where?"
"Anywhere. But first…" Lena drew a compact energy pistol from inside her jacket. "We take Rustbucket back. And I know exactly where Klaus stashed it."
For the first time, Kaelan saw something different in Lena's eyes—not the cold handler, not the calculating scientist, but a revolutionary ready to burn the whole system down.
And Kaelan decided—he was ready to burn it with her.