Location: Central Vault – Vale Institute Ruins
9:58...
The air pulsed with warning sirens as red lights strobed violently along the corridor walls. The blast-proof chamber doors began their descent, locking down sector by sector.
"Nora, move!" Damien shouted, grabbing her arm and hauling her to her feet.
Jasper stumbled toward the central terminal. "I can disable the detonation if I bypass the internal firewall—"
"Can you do it in under ten minutes?" Damien asked, eyes scanning the room for threats.
Jasper's fingers flew over the console. "That depends. Can you buy me five?"
Damien's expression darkened with resolve. "Done."
---
Location: Outside the Vault – Tactical Team Perimeter
Faye barked orders into her comms. "Team Delta, secure the perimeter. No one gets in or out. All exits are to be monitored. We're dealing with a rogue clone with high-level stealth capabilities."
Her second-in-command, Axel, approached. "We found traces of energy distortion west of the ruins. Could be where Amara retreated."
"Log it," Faye said. "But right now, our focus is getting our people out of that vault alive."
---
Location: Central Vault
9:14...
Sparks rained from above as Damien ducked behind a fractured support beam. Amara's grenade had triggered localized defense bots, remnants of the institute's original security. Three hover sentries flared to life, targeting any movement.
One whirred toward Nora, its twin barrels charging.
Damien dove in front of her, raising his sidearm—three rapid shots burst from his weapon. Sparks flew. The bot spiraled and exploded midair.
"You okay?" he asked her quickly.
Nora nodded, chest heaving. "What the hell did they store in this place?"
Damien gave a tight smile. "A war. And all its dirty secrets."
---
Location: Vault Terminal
Jasper's forehead was damp with sweat. Lines of code flashed across the screen.
"I've got access to the subroutine controlling the self-destruct. But it's entangled with a fail-safe backup. Amara buried it deep."
Nora appeared beside him. "Show me."
He blinked. "You're a doctor, not a programmer—"
"I'm also a clone who's been inside these systems. I know how she thinks."
Jasper stepped aside.
Nora's hands moved decisively. "She mimicked my neural pathways when she triggered this. That means there's a subconscious signature in the encryption. If I can isolate it—"
The screen flashed green.
Damien called out, "Whatever you're doing, make it fast. We've got more bots reactivating."
---
Location: Deep Vault Access Tunnel
8:01...
Amara moved swiftly through the shadows, activating her cloaking again. Her eyes were distant—unsettled.
She hadn't expected to hesitate. But Nora's words lingered.
"You're becoming them."
"Am I?" she whispered to no one.
She tapped into the surveillance feed. Nora was overriding her encryption. Jasper was alive. And Damien... still standing.
"Then maybe it's time," she muttered, withdrawing a final command chip.
If she couldn't bury them, she'd expose everything the world forgot.
---
Location: Central Vault
7:02...
A sharp tone rang from the console.
"I've found it!" Nora cried. "We can disarm the countdown."
Jasper leaned in. "We have to shut down both triggers simultaneously—the primary and the clone-linked override."
Nora held out her hand. "I'll do the override. You trigger the primary."
Together, they counted down. "Three... two... one..."
Click.
The sirens died. Lights stabilized.
Silence fell—eerie and sharp.
Damien lowered his weapon. "It's over?"
"No," Nora said, staring at the monitor.
The screen shifted.
Amara's face appeared—pre-recorded.
"If you're watching this," she said, "then I failed. Or maybe I let you win. But the truth you're protecting—the files in this vault—don't deserve to be hidden."
The recording cut to black.
Damien's jaw tightened. "What did she do?"
Jasper scanned the system. "She broadcast the entire archive to multiple dark net nodes. The world's going to know everything."