404//Reboot

The Hollow Bastion buzzed with quiet activity, a stark contrast to the tension settling in the wide room. Liora sat at the center of it, a dozen pairs of eyes flickering between her and the holographic display Cipher had pulled up.

She clenched her fingers around the fabric of the—Flux's—jacket, the only thing grounding her against the uncertainty whispering around.

Cipher's fingers swiftly danced between his Xen-Link and holoscreens in front of him, lines of code shifting on the screen. "We cross-referenced everything we could salvage from old archives," he started, voice clipped with focus.

"Whatever 'Blue Rose' was it wasn't just a singular experiment. It was part of something bigger. A project. And more specifically—" he flicked his wrist, changing the display.

It showed everyone a big, red 'X' over the glitching file folder. "—something labeled 'X-Phenomenon.'"

"X-Phenomenon?" Blaze echoed, leaning back against the table, arms crossed. "That's not ominous at all."

Liora's stomach twisted at the term, like a forgotten instinct warning her before the threat even arrived.

"It's not just a codename," Cipher continued. "Every mention of it is tied to high-priority deletions. Someone wanted this buried. Badly."

Shade, who had been quietly reviewing his own devices, exhaled sharply. "And guess what? Blue Rose is all over it. Whatever you are, Liora, you're not just an anomaly. You're a ghost from something they wanted erased."

"Then how am I still here?" Liora swallowed hard, her pulse hammering in her ears.

Echo, who had been unusually quiet, finally spoke up. "Maybe that's what we need to find out." He met her gaze, sharp but unreadable.

"We've seen hints of it already. The panel back at the safehouse. The vehicles back there? That wasn't luck. That was you."

Razor, silent until now, sighed. "Echo…"

"No, hear me out," Echo pushed. "We're sitting on questions with no answers. And she—" He gestured toward Liora. "—is the key to all of them. We need to test what she can do."

Cipher adjusted his glasses, considering. "It wouldn't be impossible. If we isolate the right conditions…"

Liora's breath hitched. "You want me to—what? Just turn it on? I don't even know what 'it' is."

Echo's lips quirked. "That's what we're gonna find out."

The silence stretched before Razor finally exhaled. "Fine. We test her. But we do it safely. No risks."

Cipher nodded, "Give me an hour to set it up."

Liora stayed quiet as she enters a big room, along with Echo and Razor who volunteered to supervise beside their hacker.

Cipher adjusted the last set of cables, his fingers quick and precise as he connected them to the salvaged drone resting on a workbench near his table. The machine was old; its metal plating scarred, and its core systems' barely intact.

"This thing's been dead for years," Cipher muttered, tapping at his Xen-Link.

"Theoretically, it shouldn't even power on. But, well..." He glanced at Liora. "We've seen what you can do."

Liora stared at the drone, her stomach twisting. The last time she had triggered something; it was an unconscious reflex—an act of survival. Now they were asking her to control it, to do it on command. The thought almost weighs heavy on her shoulders.

Echo leaned against the doorway, watching with keen interest. "No pressure," he joked. "But if you fry this thing, you owe Cipher a new pet project."

Cipher scoffed. "She's not frying it. She's waking it up. Hopefully."

Razor remained silent in the background, arms crossed, his presence a steady weight. It wasn't a command, but his stance made it clear—this wasn't just an experiment. It was a test.

Liora exhaled slowly and reached out. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to feel, only that every time it had happened before. it felt like something unlocking from deep within.

Her fingertips brushed against the cold metal. Static prickled at her skin.

The drone twitched. Its single eye flickered, red at first—then blue, before turning purple.

Liora felt it, the connection snapping into place like a wire threading through her veins. The drone wasn't just moving—it was responding. To her.

Cipher pursed his lips. "That's not supposed to happen."

The drone lifted off the table, hovering unsteadily before stabilizing. The air around Liora felt charged, like a current running just beneath her skin.

The little machine rotated and wandered around Liora's position. Followed by sudden humming of machine beeps—was it talking to her?

Echo let out a low whistle. "Well, look at that. You've got yourself a pet."

Liora's grip on reality wavered for a moment—because she wasn't just controlling the drone. She could hear it, as if the machine's programming was whispering through her.

And then the side effects hit.

A sharp sting behind her eyes. A rush of static in her ears. The drone wobbled midair.

"Liora." Razor stepped forward, concern arising as he watches her in pain.

She gritted her teeth, forcing the connection to break. The moment she did, the drone dropped, clattering onto the floor with a lifeless thud. Echo's face almost flinched watching the little thing shut down like before.

The tension hung heavy before Cipher spoke again, voice softer than usual. "How do you feel?"

Liora swallowed, rubbing her temples. The headache was fading, but the weight in her chest lingered. "Like I just touched something I'm not allowed to."