Until the last truth

Chapter Title: Recognition Code

The lights sputtered, casting wild shadows across the server room.

Lara's breath caught as the screen blinked again.

JULIETTE-02

Status: Dormant

Primary code: L.Hale

Authorization: Pending

L.Hale.

Her last name.

"What is this?" she whispered, stepping back. "What the hell is this, Kaven?"

His grip on her wrist loosened. He didn't answer — not fully. Just stared at the screen, jaw tight, as if trying to buy himself a few seconds in a collapsing reality.

Above them, the metal echoed with rapid, mechanical movement. Not running — gliding. Fluid. Controlled.

Juliette-01 was coming.

"We need to disable her," Kaven muttered, reaching toward the console beside the pod. "This unit holds her failsafe. If I can override it—"

"She's me," Lara said suddenly, voice trembling. "Isn't she?"

He froze.

"Juliette. That girl back there — she's my copy."

Still, silence.

"Kaven," Lara's voice cracked. "Answer me."

He turned slowly. And this time, his eyes didn't dodge hers.

"She's not you," he said. "She's… what they made when they thought they'd lost you."

Lara stared at him. "When they lost me?"

"You weren't supposed to survive," he said quietly. "Your mother — Catherine — she went rogue. Took you. Hid you. But the system needed continuity. So they made her."

The words fell like hammers inside her mind.

"They thought I was dead?"

He nodded. "For almost eighteen years, yes."

Lara backed away. Her knees hit the edge of the pod, cold and humming.

"And you knew?" Her voice rose. "You knew this whole time?"

"I didn't know it was you," he said sharply. "Not until you got into the system. Not until she reacted to your presence."

Behind them, a siren wailed low and ominous — not a loud scream, but a subtle warning. Like a predator's growl.

Kaven moved fast. He slammed his hand against the panel and began typing furiously. "I need to initiate lockdown on this unit before she links to it—"

The screen blinked again.

LINK REQUEST: JULIETTE-01 TO JULIETTE-02

Status: Pending…

Matching DNA Signature Found

Access Level: Override Engaged

The pod hissed.

Kaven cursed under his breath. "She's overriding the failsafe."

"What happens if she succeeds?" Lara asked, backing up toward the wall.

He didn't look up. "She'll absorb what's left of this unit — merge with it. Upgrade."

"And then?"

"Then she won't need authorization to eliminate the original anymore."

Lara's mouth went dry.

"I'm the original."

Kaven looked up at her, regret deepening. "You always were."

They had seconds.

From the hallway, a shape flickered into view. Human… almost.

Juliette-01.

She moved differently now — faster, smoother, less mimic and more predator. Her eyes locked onto Lara, and this time there was no confusion in them.

Recognition.

Claim.

Possession.

"You were a placeholder," Juliette-01 said, voice distorted. "A failed retrieval."

"No," Lara said, her voice low but steady. "You're the replacement."

The pod beside her cracked open with a sudden burst of steam. Inside lay a figure — nearly identical to Lara, but unconscious, wired, pale.

Juliette-02.

Kaven stared, horrified. "They weren't just making one backup…"

Juliette-01 lunged.

And Lara did something she hadn't planned.

She hit the emergency kill switch on the pod console.

The lights exploded white.

The pod screamed.

And everything shut down.

When Lara opened her eyes, the room was red-lit, sparking. Juliette-01 lay crumpled on the floor, glitching. Her movements jagged, her limbs twitching unnaturally.

"She's not dead," Kaven warned, pulling Lara to her feet.

"I know," Lara breathed. "But now I know what she is."

She turned to him, eyes burning.

"And now you're going to tell me who you are."

---

End of Chapter 27