Kael stood on the old bridge overlooking the ruins of Facility K-9.
Below, the rebel clones gathered. Unarmed. Watching. Waiting.
Nyra stood beside him, arms crossed, eyes flicking between exits.
"I don't like it," she muttered.
"You never like anything," Kael replied.
"Exactly," she said. "I'm consistent."
BITS hovered above them, projecting a light-blue barrier around their perch. "Good news: no missiles yet. Bad news: I said yet."
Kael looked down at the clones — his clones.
No weapons drawn. No aggression. Just anticipation.
Then Eirin's voice crackled through the comms.
"Kael. You brought them here."
"You've made a terrible mistake."
Kael flinched.
"Eirin? What are you talking about?"
Her voice dropped. Cold. Measured.
"You activated the Resonance Protocol. United minds that were meant to stay broken. You've endangered everything."
"And now... I'm here to fix it."
The air shimmered.
Then—
FWHUMMMM.
Echo gunships decloaked in the sky above, engines howling.
Soldiers rappelled from dropcrafts. Snipers took position on surrounding ridges.
Kael backed up. "What the hell is this?!"
Eirin emerged from the shadows at the other end of the bridge — sleek armor, plasma rifle, no remorse.
"You were never supposed to bond with them," she said. "You were supposed to lead them to containment. Not give them hope."
Nyra raised her blade. "You're joking."
"I never joke," Eirin replied.
BITS whispered, "She really doesn't. It's disturbing."
The clones below shouted. Some reached for weapons.
Kael raised both hands. "Don't! That's what she wants!"
Eirin's eyes never left his. "You betrayed Echo, Kael. And now you're betraying the Resistance too."
"I was Echo," he growled. "Until you set me free."
"Exactly," she said. "You're too dangerous to stay free."
Then she raised her rifle.
Fired.
Nyra moved faster.
She tackled Kael sideways just as the plasma round tore through the air, exploding behind them.
"Run!" Kael shouted.
The bridge lit up with gunfire.
The rebel clones scattered. Some fired back. Some vanished into cover.
Kael rolled to his feet. "We can't let her kill them!"
BITS flared. "And what about us?! Asking for a barely-alive friend!"
Nyra deflected a sniper round with her blade. "Split! I'll draw fire!"
Kael hesitated. Then nodded. "Be careful."
"You too," she said. "You break easy."
Kael sprinted into the ruins, dodging fire, chasing echoes of voices in his head.
The clone leader — the one he'd spoken to during Resonance — appeared beside him from cover.
"You led them here," the clone hissed.
"No," Kael said. "She followed me."
"You trusted her."
Kael didn't deny it.
"Then fix it," the clone said. "Or next time, we leave you behind."
Back on the bridge, Eirin advanced toward Nyra.
"You always questioned me," Eirin said. "Even before he woke up."
Nyra shrugged. "It's because you lie with such confidence. It's impressive, really."
Eirin fired. Nyra ducked. Returned fire. Blades flew.
Then Eirin made her mistake.
She assumed Nyra was fighting to win.
Nyra was fighting to distract.
Kael leapt from the upper walkway, slamming into Eirin with full force.
They crashed hard.
He pinned her down. "Why?! Why betray everything now?"
Eirin laughed — laughed.
"Because this world isn't meant to be saved. It's meant to be reset."
Kael froze.
"You're working for Echo."
"No," she whispered. "I am Echo."
Then she activated a failsafe.
A shockwave burst from her armor — a relic-grade EMP.
Kael and BITS went flying.
Nyra screamed as half the bridge collapsed beneath them.
Clones scattered.
The sky turned red as Echo override drones flooded the battlefield.
Kael groaned from the rubble. His vision blurred.
But he saw Eirin vanish into a gunship — laughing.
Later, under a shattered arch, Kael sat bleeding and bruised.
Nyra limped toward him, one arm hanging limp.
BITS sparked, half-shut down. "Good news: I lived. Bad news: I'm emotionally scarred."
Kael didn't speak.
Because for the first time since awakening, he wasn't sure who the enemy was anymore.
Far above, aboard the Echo dreadnought Havenfall, Eirin stood before a stasis chamber.
Inside: a clone.
Kael's face. Serene. Untouched.
The voice of Prototype 0.A came through the speakers.
"Subject Zero is compromised."
Eirin nodded. "Subject Prime is nearly ready."
💬 Author's Note — Kazuki Rei
Plot twist? Oh, you bet.
Eirin's been Echo all along, Kael just got sucker-punched by loyalty, and Nyra deserves a vacation and a flamethrower.
Next chapter:
👉 Chapter 30 – Prime Awakens: the original Kael clone wakes up… and he doesn't want to share
👉 Or Rescue or Ruin: Kael decides to go after Eirin... alone
Pick the fire, or I'll let BITS choose and we'll all regret it.
— Kazuki Rei