You want to what?" Nyra asked, blinking like Kael had just suggested high-fiving a plasma mine.
"Talk to them," Kael said, voice even. "The clones. They attacked because they think I abandoned them."
"Well... you did," BITS muttered, pretending to scan something.
Kael shot it a glare.
"I forgot them," he said. "That's not the same."
BITS beeped. "Tell that to the guy who threw you through a wall."
The command center of what remained of Outpost 9 was barely functional. Wires sparked. Holoscreens flickered. A rat might've considered it luxurious — if it was a cyborg rat with low standards.
Kael stood over the control panel while BITS hovered and Nyra leaned on a collapsed beam, sharpening her blade like it owed her money.
"Echo buried something deep in all the clones," Kael said. "A connection protocol. Mental—emotional—something beyond code."
BITS buzzed. "Found it. Codename: Resonance Protocol. Tied to neural echo frequency layers. Extremely unstable. Definitely dangerous. Kinda illegal."
Nyra rolled her eyes. "So... a Tuesday."
Kael ignored her. "Can you connect me?"
BITS hesitated. "Side effects may include disorientation, memory bleed, spontaneous emotional collapse, and mild death."
"I'll risk it," Kael said.
When the signal hit, Kael didn't hear anything. He felt it. Like a deep vibration crawling under his skin and through his thoughts.
Suddenly, the room blinked away.
And he stood in the Mindscape.
It was a place made of memories. Broken walls. Shards of light. Shadows of faces he almost remembered.
And then—
"Subject Zero... you finally hear us."
Dozens of voices. Male. Female. Young. Old. All his. All not his.
Figures stepped from the shadows.
Clones.
Twisted by time. Scarred by pain. Furious.
Kael faced them all.
"I'm not your enemy," he said.
A clone stepped forward. One eye gone. Voice rasped. "Then why did you let us rot?"
Kael gritted his teeth. "I didn't know. I was locked away. Used. Reprogrammed."
Another stepped out. Female. Blade at her side. "You were our leader. We waited. You never came."
"I'm here now."
"And what?" a third voice snarled. "You'll save us? Redeem us?"
Kael met their eyes. "I'll listen. Start there."
They stared.
Then, slowly, one by one — they spoke.
Memories. Pain. The endless dark. How Echo shut them down. How they clawed their way back.
Kael listened. Every word like a knife. But he didn't flinch.
They were his brothers. His sisters. His past.
And they were suffering.
Outside, Nyra watched Kael twitch on the floor.
"Is he... okay?"
BITS scanned him. "Mentally linked to thirty-four broken minds. So, no. But he's not dead. So, yay?"
Inside the Mindscape, one clone stepped forward.
"You want to help?" he asked.
Kael nodded.
"Then lead us."
Kael opened his eyes.
His head throbbed.
His heart ached.
But he knew what had to happen next.
"They'll meet us," he said to Nyra. "Neutral ground. They want something more than war."
Nyra raised an eyebrow. "And you trust them?"
Kael shook his head. "No. But I understand them."
BITS floated closer. "Also, you promised to bring snacks. Just saying."
They set out that night. Toward the ruins of Facility K-9. A place where it all began.
And in the shadows... someone watched.
Eirin.
She whispered into her comms.
"Subject Zero is activating the protocol. Good."
"It will make his betrayal easier."
💬 Author's Note — Kazuki Rei
Kael just linked his brain to a rogue clone hivemind, survived it, and agreed to lead them — all while unconscious. Iconic behavior. Nyra's still the queen of side-eyes, and BITS is writing a book called Sarcasm for Survival.
Now for Chapter 29:
👉 Eirin Betrays Them All — her plan's been simmering since Chapter 12
👉 Or Echo's Black Vault Opens — the prototype upgrades begin
Pick your poison. Or let BITS do it and we all get poisoned.
— Kazuki Rei