Lucino's eyes glowed faintly in the pod, flickering between pain and clarity. His whisper—"Trap"—hung in the air like a blade waiting to drop.
Franko (panicked):
"What do you mean, trap?!"
Lucino's voice cracked, barely above a breath.
Lucino:
"The gas… isn't just to kill. It's to take your minds… to the network."
Irena's eyes widened.
Irena:
"They're trying to upload us."
Savio slammed his fist against the wall.
Savio:
"They're going to turn us into their next puppets!"
Caros pulled a small device from his jacket—a pulse detonator.
Caros:
"I knew keeping this was a good idea. EMP in 3… 2…"
Irena (screaming):
"NO! If you fry the room, Lucino dies!"
Caros froze, thumb over the button.
Franko ran to the control panel, his fingers flying across the holographic interface. The symbols shifted constantly, like the system was fighting back.
Franko (focused):
"Come on… I watched Savio do this like fifty times… how hard can it be?"
Savio (sarcastically):
"By all means, master hacker. Make my life useless."
Caros:
"Let the boy try. We're already halfway to brain-zombie land."
The gas thickened, making it harder to breathe. Irena grabbed emergency filters from her pack and passed them around. Lucino's pod hissed—its systems shutting down as Franko found the override code.
Lucino (gasping):
"You… look just like your father."
Franko's heart skipped.
Franko:
"You knew him?"
Lucino nodded slowly.
Lucino:
"He was… one of us. Before Zacrota turned him."
Silence fell.
Everyone stared at Franko.
Franko (shaking):
"You're lying."
Lucino smiled weakly.
Lucino:
"You think this is about robots? About war? No, boy. This is a game. A throne. And your blood is the key."
Before Franko could respond, the floor beneath them trembled.
A new voice boomed from the walls. This one wasn't mechanical—it was cold. Human.
Unknown Voice:
"Enough."
From the far end of the chamber, a hidden door slid open. Light spilled into the room. Silhouetted in the glow was a tall man in a silver suit and gold tie, flanked by two armored guards.
Unknown Man:
"You've come far, children. But this is not your story to tell."
Irena (low voice):
"That's… Director Vairon. He's Zacrota's top strategist."
Franko stepped forward, fists clenched.
Franko:
"If you're behind all this, then I have one message—"
Vairon (interrupting):
"You don't understand the stakes. You never did."
He snapped his fingers. A magnetic pulse surged across the room, knocking out the lights and shutting down the pods. Lucino collapsed, unconscious.
Caros:
"That's it. I'm blowing something up."
He pulled a smoke bomb from his belt and threw it. The room filled with chaos.
Franko (shouting):
"Grab Lucino!"
Savio lifted Lucino over his shoulder. Irena covered their retreat, firing stun blasts at the guards.
Caros (laughing):
"This is what I call cardio!"
They ran down a side tunnel, chased by drones and bullets. The corridor twisted upward into a maintenance shaft.
Savio (panting):
"There's a waste chute that leads outside! But it's… um, garbage."
Caros:
"Better trash than dead!"
They leapt one by one, sliding down the filthy tunnel as alarms echoed behind them.
They landed hard in a pile of debris, somewhere on the outskirts of the Upper City.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Lucino groaned, slowly waking up again.
Lucino (whispering):
"They have the Black Crown…"
Franko leaned closer.
Franko:
"What did you say?"
Lucino:
"The Black Crown… it's not just a myth. It exists. Zacrota stole it from the vaults under the old capital."
Savio (wide-eyed):
"The Black Crown? I thought that was just a code name."
Lucino shook his head.
Lucino:
"It's real. And whoever wears it… can control every robot on the planet."
Caros:
"Okay. That's officially worse than mind control gas."
Franko stood, eyes burning with new fire.
Franko:
"Then we're going to steal it back."
Irena (firmly):
"Are you sure you're ready for this?"
Franko:
"I have to be. My father. My people. Everyone who's suffered because of Zacrota… this ends with the crown."
As the group gathered their gear and vanished into the shadowed streets, one thought echoed louder than the rest.
The game had changed.
And the crown was no longer a symbol.
It was the final piece.