Blue ran.
She didn’t remember the trip back.
Only fragments.
Lights.
Sirens.
The wind cutting against her face as she crossed the sky.
By the time she reached Unity Headquarters, she was trembling.
The hangar doors opened as she landed.
Several members of the team rushed toward her.
Astra arrived first.
“Blue. What happened?”
Blue struggled to speak.
Her voice shook.
“Melissa…”
Everyone froze.
“What about Melissa?” Titan asked.
Blue swallowed.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“There’s another one.”
Silence fell across the hangar.
“A red one.”
She looked at Astra.
“Eclipse… he has her.”
Blue began explaining everything.
The office.
The device.
The replica.
Melissa being taken.
Every detail.
When she finished—
Astra’s expression hardened.
“You went there alone?”
Blue hesitated.
Astra stepped closer.
“You violated every protocol we have.”
Blue lowered her gaze.
“I couldn’t wait.”
Astra was about to say something else—
When alarms erupted throughout the base.
Screens flickered to life across the room.
Echo turned toward the main console.
“What the—”
Footage appeared from multiple cities.
People running.
Cars crashing.
Buildings burning.
But the attackers weren’t soldiers.
They were civilians.
People with the Nexum chips.
Their movements were unnatural.
Their eyes empty.
Some smashed storefronts.
Others attacked strangers.
Entire districts collapsed into chaos.
Chrono stared at the screens.
“No…”
Another transmission interrupted the broadcast.
The NEXUM symbol appeared again.
Then a familiar face.
Eclipse.
He spoke calmly.
“My fellow citizens.”
His voice echoed across every major network in the world.
“For years you have watched conflict unfold across your nations.”
Images flashed across the broadcast.
Past attacks.
Destruction.
Political crises.
Eclipse continued.
“You blamed governments.”
“You blamed technology.”
“You blamed each other.”
He smiled slightly.
“But every one of those incidents…”
A pause.
“…was us.”
The room inside Unity fell silent.
Eclipse raised his hands.
“The world you built was already collapsing.”
“So we decided to build a new one.”
Cities burned behind him on the screens.
“This is the beginning.”
“A new world.”
Across the globe, governments entered emergency sessions.
Military units deployed.
Cities attempted to lock down.
But the numbers were overwhelming.
Millions had already received the chips.
And many were now losing control.
Meanwhile…
Inside a maximum security prison, Marcus Wells watched the news broadcast from his cell.
Guards passed outside the corridor.
None of them noticed the smile on his face.
Marcus leaned back on the metal bench.
“Well…”
He chuckled quietly.
“This should be entertaining.”
He folded his hands behind his head.
“After all the favors I’ve done for those politicians…”
He glanced at the screen again.
“…I deserve front row seats.”
Back at Unity headquarters—
Astra turned to the team.
“We move now.”
Titan grabbed his gear.
“Finally.”
Specter adjusted the blade at his side.
Chrono looked toward Astra.
“What about the governments?”
Astra opened a direct channel.
Within seconds multiple world leaders appeared on the screen.
She spoke clearly.
“Blue has confirmed the existence of a second Melissa unit under Eclipse’s control.”
The room fell silent.
Astra continued.
“Nexum has initiated global destabilization.”
One of the leaders leaned forward.
“Your recommendation?”
Astra didn’t hesitate.
“Total authorization.”
Several seconds passed.
Then the response came.
“You have it.”
The Unity transport cut through a sky filled with smoke.
Cities burned below them.
Emergency lights covered entire districts.
Military aircraft flew overhead.
Yet the chaos continued spreading.
Titan looked out the window.
“Hell of a mess.”
Specter replied quietly.
“It was always going to end like this.”
Blue remained silent.
Her eyes fixed ahead.
When they finally reached Nexum headquarters—
They found ruins.
The entire complex had been destroyed.
Walls shattered.
Facilities burning.
The central structure collapsed.
Chrono frowned.
“Too late?”
Then something moved in the sky.
Above the ruins—
A floating platform hovered among the clouds.
Standing on it…
Was Eclipse.
Beside him—
A metal cage.
Inside it…
Melissa.
She was barely conscious.
Eclipse looked down at them.
His voice echoed through speakers across the battlefield.
“I am Adrian Voss.”
He spread his arms.
“Your new leader.”
The sky lit with the glow of hovering drones.
Eclipse smiled.
“And allow me to present…”
He gestured toward the platform behind him.
“The most advanced generation of humans you will ever witness.”
A figure stepped forward.
Red armor.
Red eyes.
Red energy coursing through its frame.
Melissa MK-2.
The replica looked down at the Unity team.
And smiled.
But there was nothing human in it.
Only cruelty.
Astra stepped forward.
Her voice firm.
“This is it.”
She looked at the team.
“The final battle.”
Chrono looked up at Eclipse.
“Any last words?”
Eclipse laughed.
A cold, echoing sound across the sky.
Specter stepped forward.
His blade reflecting the firelight.
He looked directly at Eclipse.
“As you wish.”
And the final battle—
Had begun.
Story by Gerard Leaf and Blue
