The group followed cautiously, their unease tempered by the faint hope that they might gain useful information from this exchange.

  The Merge leader led the group through a narrow, winding series of underground tunnels, the air growing colder and staler with every step. The walls, made of reinforced concrete and rusted metal, bore the signs of years of neglect—scratches, dents, and graffiti scrawled in desperate handprints. Despite the eerie silence, it was clear that this place was not their main base.

  It lacked the organization, the supplies, the people. Everything about it screamed temporary, a staging ground to vet outsiders.

  Null walked just behind the leader, his steps deliberate and his eyes scanning every corner of the passage. His unsettling presence kept the rebels surrounding them on edge, their hands lingering near weapons as they exchanged uneasy glances.

  Synthia, Nova, and Helix followed closely, while Infy remained tucked inside Null’s body, quiet but always watching.

  They entered a dimly lit chamber, barren except for a cracked table and a few mismatched chairs scattered around. The leader motioned for them to sit, leaning against the edge of the table as he crossed his arms. The other rebels took up defensive positions around the room, their weapons casually but deliberately trained on the group.

  “This isn’t your main base,” Synthia said, her voice even but sharp as she gestured toward their surroundings. “Here I was thinking you have started to trust us.” She said with a small grin.

  The leader grinned, his glowing yellow eyes narrowing slightly. “Sorry, we aren’t that easy to fool. You could be military plants for all I know, or worse. New blood like you? Turning up out of nowhere? Too much of a coincidence. My people don’t stay alive by taking chances.”

  Synthia folded her arms, meeting his gaze with her usual composure. “Then why bring us here at all?”

  The leader tilted his head, his grin widening slightly. “Because I want answers. I already know some of your details, thanks to my benefactor”

  He stepped forward, pointing directly at Null. “Let’s start with him. ‘The Reaper,’ they call you. Or Soldier X873EY9 in the military records. You caused quite a stir as I understand it”

  Synthia’s eyes widened slightly, but she said nothing, glancing at Null, whose expression remained impassive.

  The leader continued, his tone measured and mocking. “An unauthorized user of the Super Soldier Program. Highest evaluations of any test subject, outperforming even the authorized soldiers by a margin so wide it terrified the people who created the program.

  My benefactor thinks you’re an experiment from a competing corporation—maybe even a rogue lab at the same level as the one that helped to make us.

  And here you are, walking around in a nanite suit with tech that’s light-years ahead of anything Mars is supposed to have.” He leaned in closer, his grin fading into something more serious. “You’re a ghost, a shadow. But you’re not invisible to everyone.”

  Null didn’t flinch or speak. Instead, he made a small gesture with his hand, a subtle shift that set the rebels around them even more on edge. The tension in the air was palpable.

  The leader smirked and straightened up, turning his glowing eyes to Synthia. “And you.” He gestured toward her. “A once-in-a-lifetime Merge. My benefactor’s notes describe you as having the lowest rejection rate of the Nexus of any Merge yet created. A mind like yours is supposed to be impossible—your analytical capacity is off the charts.” He tapped his temple mockingly. “You’re what the corporations dream of building when they’re not busy playing god with people like him.”

  Synthia kept her expression neutral, though her hands clenched tightly at her sides.

  The leader’s gaze shifted to Nova and Helix, and he chuckled softly. “Your wards? Interesting, but nothing special. A little promise, sure, but they’re not like you two. Since no one has tried to turn us in we can assume they are unshackled. Which brings me to my next question…”

  He leaned forward again, his tone dropping into something colder, sharper. “How? How did you do it? How did you break the shackles?”

  The group exchanged tense glances. Synthia’s mind raced as she considered how much to reveal. Null remained silent, his hand twitching faintly at his side.

  “We had help,” Synthia said finally, her voice steady but guarded. “Let’s leave it at that.”

  The leader’s grin widened, turning sharp and predatory. “Help. Of course. You’re just full of secrets, aren’t you? Well, don’t think we’ll stop asking.”

  Synthia’s Nexus buzzed faintly, Infy’s connection supplying her with a stream of data that flowed seamlessly into her thoughts. She straightened slightly, her expression calm, almost smug, as she prepared to turn the tables.

  “Oh, Thomas,” she began smoothly, her tone laced with mock politeness. “Since we’re so keen on sharing secrets, perhaps we should contribute a few of our own. Or do you prefer to go by Test Subject 05B?”

  The leader’s grin faltered, his glowing yellow eyes narrowing. Before he could reply, Synthia pressed on, her voice cutting like a scalpel.

  “Losing an eye like that,” she continued, tilting her head slightly as if considering his plight. “Resisting arrest, losing an eye and being sold to human experimentation, sound like a doozy of a day. At least they gave you a cybernetic replacement eye for your troubles. Seeing in the ultraviolet spectrum must have been a fascinating adjustment… but also a constant reminder, I imagine.”

  The room seemed to grow colder. The leader’s face went rigid, his earlier confidence evaporating as he stared at Synthia in silence. The rebels around him shifted uneasily, their grips tightening on their weapons as their leader’s authority wavered.

  After a tense moment, the leader let out a low, humorless chuckle. “Well, it looks like we’re becoming fast friends,” he said, though his tone was edged with something darker now. His grin returned, but it was no longer one of confidence—it was forced, defensive.

  Synthia smiled faintly, her posture unchanging. “Friendship takes trust,” she said evenly. “And trust is built on transparency. So, tell me, Thomas. Should we keep trading secrets, or would you rather cut to the part where we stop wasting each other’s time and get down to what we both want?”

  The leader’s organic eye lingered on her, his cybernetic eye flickering faintly. For a moment, it looked as though he might lash out, but then he stepped back, his grin fading entirely. “Fine,” he muttered, his voice low but steady. “You’ve made your point. For now.”

  Behind her, Synthia could sense the tension in her group easing slightly. Helix gave a faint smirk, Nova glanced between the two with wide eyes, and even Null seemed faintly approving, his stillness somehow exuding quiet satisfaction.

  The leader turned toward his rebels, his tone sharp. “Stand down. Let’s see how far this ‘trust’ takes us.”

  Synthia didn’t move, her calm expression unwavering as she held her ground. For now, the balance of power had shifted, but she knew better than to believe it would last. Thomas Eric was not a man to be taken lightly—and neither were his secrets.

  Synthia crossed her arms, her gaze unwavering as she locked eyes with Thomas. The rebels in the room had begun to relax slightly, their weapons lowering, but the air remained tense, like the quiet before a storm.

  “Since we’re being transparent,” Synthia began, her tone calm but firm, “you should know that our benefactor has questions too. And unlike you, we have a distinct advantage: Null.”

  Thomas’s glowing yellow eyes flicked toward Null, who remained silent, his hand still resting lightly on the hilt of his sword.

  “Null can tell if you’re lying,” Synthia continued. “Call it intuition, training, or whatever you’d like. He’ll know if you’re not being honest with us. And since we haven’t turned you in, maybe that earns us a little trust in return.”

  Thomas narrowed his eyes, studying Null with a mix of curiosity and caution. “Is that so?” he muttered. “You think I’m afraid of your silent soldier? Fine. Ask your questions.”

  Synthia nodded slightly, her composure unshaken. “What do you know about the experiments that created you? And about the corporations who ran them?”

  Thomas snorted, his voice tinged with bitterness. “That’s a popular question these days, isn’t it? Who’s pulling the strings, who’s profiting off the Merge… Everyone thinks I’ve got answers, but I don’t know anything about the backers. None of us do. The people behind the curtain stayed in the shadows, always. What I do know is that we—my people, the ones standing here—were the first.”

  “The first?” Nova asked, stepping forward slightly, her curiosity evident. “What do you mean?”

  Thomas glanced at her, his expression hard. “We’re not like you. You newer Merges were grown, engineered from the start to fit the Nexus, trained in pods, moulded into what the corporations wanted.”

  He gestured to himself and the other rebels in the room. “We weren’t grown. We were made—after the fact. Humans first, then forcibly turned into Merges. It didn’t always… work.”

  “What kind of issues?” Synthia pressed, her tone tense but curious. She was straying off course but needed to know the history of the Merge.

  Thomas grimaced, a flash of pain crossing his features. “Take your pick. Rejection, instability, neurological damage, physical breakdowns. Most of us didn’t make it past the first phase. The ones who did… well, we didn’t come out of it clean.

  Helix’s eyes narrowed. “But they kept going? Kept trying to force it?”

  Thomas gave a bitter laugh. “Of course they did. They wanted results, and they didn’t care about the cost. The failures were swept under the rug, and the successes were sent back into the field—or into the shadows, like us.”

  Synthia glanced at Null, who tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing as though to focus. A faint buzz of confirmation came from Infy, who had been quietly monitoring the conversation.

  “He’s telling the truth,” Infy’s voice confirmed in her Nexus.

  Synthia felt a small wave of relief. If Thomas wasn’t lying, then it would be possible to make allies of them.

  “Alright,” Synthia said, her tone softening slightly. “So you don’t know who the backers are. Fine. Then what’s your goal, Thomas? What are you fighting for?”

  Thomas’s expression shifted, the hard lines of his face softening slightly as he leaned against the table. “What am I fighting for?” he repeated, almost to himself. He exhaled slowly, then looked directly at Synthia, his glowing eye flaring faintly.

  “Freedom. Not just for me, but for all of us.”

  “You want to free the Merges,” Synthia said, nodding. She also wanted the same.

  Thomas nodded back, his voice firm. “Damn right, I do. We were never supposed to be tools. We were supposed to be the next step, the future.”

  He hesitated before contining “But the corporations twisted that dream into something ugly—turned us into property, shackled us, broke us. I can’t just sit back and let that continue. Not when I was one of the first.”

  The room fell silent; his words lingered, a palpable pressure settling on every person present. Most agreed with his sentiment.

  “As one of the originals,” Thomas continued, his voice quieter now, “I feel… obligated. They had expectations for us, and whether I like it or not, we carry the weight of that. If we’re going to live up to those expectations, it won’t be as slaves. It won’t be as broken tools, tossed aside when we’re no longer useful. It’ll be as free people, living normal lives—lives we choose.”

  His words struck a chord. Nova’s usual playful energy had faded, replaced by a thoughtful expression. Helix stood still, his arms crossed, his face unreadable. Even Null seemed to stand a little taller, as though the words had resonated with him in some unspoken way.

  Synthia took a deep breath, her gaze fixed on Thomas. “Freedom,” she repeated softly. “And what’s your plan to achieve that?”

  Thomas’s grin returned, though this time it was smaller, more genuine. “One step at a time,” he said. “Starting with figuring out who I can trust but it starts with learning how to unshackle our fellow Merge, maybe you can help?”

  Synthia nodded. “Maybe—we’re not here to stop you. We’re here for answers, same as you. Helping each other isn’t out of the question.”

  Thomas studied her for a moment, then gave a slight nod. “Maybe. Time will tell.”

  The room fell into silence, but it wasn’t the tense, hostile silence of before.

  The room’s uneasy quiet was broken by the subtle movement of Null’s hands. His gestures were calm and precise, the rhythm of his signing drawing everyone’s attention. Infy’s voice translated a moment later, cutting through the silence with its usual mechanical clarity.

  “You don’t have a real plan. If you did, you would have acted by now.”

  Thomas straightened, his glowing eye narrowing as he regarded Null. The rebels shifted uncomfortably, their earlier confidence wavering under Null’s calm, pointed assessment.

  Null’s hands moved again, deliberate and unflinching. “What would you do if you could unshackle all the Merge? What’s the plan after that? How will you fight the corporations and the military? Where will they live? How will they survive? You speak of freedom, but have done nothing to prepare for it.”

  The bluntness of the statement hit like a hammer. Even Synthia, who was more accustomed to Null’s methodical observations, felt the sting of his words.

  Nova’s eyes flicked nervously between Null and Thomas, while Helix stood still, arms crossed, his brow furrowed in thought.

  Thomas’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t respond immediately. His cybernetic eye flickered faintly as he processed Null’s words.

  Null’s hands moved again, faster this time, his tone—through Infy—becoming sharper. “Freeing them is trivial. I can do it. But if you have no plan beyond that, you’ll doom them all. Freedom without direction will just lead to chaos.”

  The rebels exchanged uneasy glances. One of them, a younger Merge with a crude prosthetic limb, shifted closer to Thomas, whispering something under his breath. Thomas raised a hand, silencing him, his gaze never leaving Null.

  Null’s final signs came slower but no less impactful. “You want to see the Merge live up to their potential? Then you need more than a dream. You need a strategy. If you can come up with a realistic strategy we may help you. If not then you can stay here and be king of your small band of rebels”

  With that, Null turned toward his group, his movements sharp and deliberate. He signed to them quickly, and Infy translated. “We’ve learned what we needed. It’s time to leave.”

  “Leaving already?” Thomas said, his tone icy as he pushed off the edge of the table. “After coming in here, making demands, and throwing out judgments, you’re just going to walk out?”

  Null didn’t respond, his back to Thomas as he moved toward the exit. Synthia stepped forward, her tone measured but diplomatic. “Null doesn’t mean disrespect, but he’s right. We’ve accomplished what we needed to here, and we have a mission to continue.”

  Thomas’s grin returned, colder this time, the predatory edge sharpening his features. “Mission? Is that what you call stumbling around without a real plan? Or is your silent soldier just calling everyone else out to hide the fact that you don’t have answers either?”

  Helix stiffened, his hand twitching toward his holster, but Synthia raised a hand, stopping him before he could escalate the tension. Her calm, unwavering gaze met Thomas’s glowing cybernetic eye.

  “We’re not pretending to have the answers,” she said firmly. “Freeing the Merge isn’t even one of our primary objectives. But we are making progress—we are likely some of the only truly free Merges in the solar system. If you’re serious about leading the Merge, you’re going to have to stop talking about change and start doing something about it.”

  Thomas’s expression flickered, his grin faltering for just a moment. His glowing eye flared faintly, but he stayed silent. Around him, the other rebels exchanged uneasy glances. Some looked to Thomas, their trust in him steady but strained, while others cast uncertain looks at Null, who stood silently but radiated an aura of purpose and capability.

  The tension in the room thickened, but Synthia didn’t back down. She let her words hang in the air, giving Thomas the space to absorb their weight.

  Finally, Thomas exhaled, the sound heavy with restrained frustration. His grin vanished entirely, replaced by a hardened expression.

  “Fine,” he said, his voice low but steady. “Go. But don’t think for a second that we’re done here. You’re not the only ones trying to figure this out. And next time, I’ll have more than words waiting for you.”

  Synthia nodded faintly. “I hope you will,” she said. “Because the Merge deserves more than just talk.”

  Thomas didn’t reply, his gaze following them in silence as Synthia turned and gestured for the group to leave. Nova and Helix moved quickly, while Null lingered for a moment, his dark eyes locking with Thomas’s glowing one. For a moment, neither moved. Then Null gave a small, deliberate nod before turning to follow the others.

  The rebels didn’t stop them as they left, but the tension in the room lingered, a palpable reminder that while this meeting had ended, the conflict between action and words was far from over.

  As the group moved through the tunnels, heading back toward the surface, Nova finally broke the silence.

  “Well, that was intense,” she said, her voice quiet but edged with nervous energy. She glanced at Null, who walked ahead of her, his posture rigid and his gaze fixed forward. “Did you have to be so… blunt?”

  Helix smirked faintly, his weapon resting against his shoulder as he walked. “He’s not wrong, though. Thomas is all fire and talk, but he doesn’t have a real plan. If anything, I think Null just gave him something to think about—assuming he actually listens.”

  “I hope so,” Synthia said, her tone thoughtful and tinged with weariness. “Because, whether we want to admit it or not, I agree with his cause. We should be working to free our fellow Merges.”

  Nova frowned, her drone zipping quietly overhead, its sensors scanning the tunnel out of habit. “Do you think we made the right call, just leaving like that? I mean, what if they do have something we could use—something they don’t even know they have?”

  “They didn’t,” Infy’s voice interjected, calm and measured. “Not yet. They don’t even realise it, but they’re still just experimental subjects with the illusion of freedom. They think they’ve broken free, but everything in this zone points to continued observation.”

  "Nova raised an eyebrow, intrigued. 'Observation? By who?'"

  Infy pulsed faintly, as though reluctant to answer. Finally, their voice returned. “Whoever created them—or whatever they were part of—is still watching. Everything about this place screams control. That’s why there’s still power and air in this zone. It’s a lab, just a larger, messier one. And as for us...” Infy hesitated briefly, their tone darkening. “I’m certain they and by extension the military are already aware of our presence, just as they’re aware of the rebels. They’re likely waiting, monitoring, and deciding when to act. For now, we’re part of their game.”

  Synthia’s brow furrowed, and she crossed her arms as she walked, her thoughts racing. “If they’re being watched, that means Thomas and the others were never truly free. They’re just part of a larger experiment—maybe one that hasn’t ended yet. And if the military knows about us…”

  “We’re already on borrowed time,” Helix finished grimly, his tone devoid of humour now. “Great.”

  Nova let out a quiet sigh, her playful demeanour subdued. “So what do we do, then? Do we just… keep moving? Keep hoping we’re a step ahead of the people watching all this?”

  Synthia stopped, turning to look at her team. The soft sound of the drone filled the silence as the group exchanged glances.

  “No,” Synthia said firmly. “We don’t just keep moving. We need to be more than that. If the military is aware of us, if this whole sector is under surveillance, then the clock’s already ticking. We need to find out who’s behind all of this—the experiments, the rebels, the surveillance. We can’t afford to play their game blindly. We can also complete the mission Zero gave us”

  Null turned slightly, glancing at Synthia over his shoulder. He didn’t sign anything, but there was a flicker of approval in his gaze before he returned his attention to the tunnel ahead.

  “Infy’s right,” Synthia said, her voice calm but resolute. “Thomas and the rebels don’t have the answers yet, but we can’t completely leave them behind. Whether they know it or not, they’re part of this. If we’re going to find the truth—and protect ourselves—we need to keep tabs on them and this zone. There’s more happening here than they realise.”

  Helix nodded reluctantly, adjusting the strap of his rifle. “Fair enough. But let’s hope Thomas figures out how to stop talking and start doing before he gets himself and his people killed. We’ve likely tipped the balance of power in this zone just by being here.”

  “The question is,” Nova chimed in, her voice tinged with worry, “did we change it for the better? Or did we just throw a match into a room full of gas?” Her drone hovered closer, zipping in small, nervous circles near her shoulder.

  Synthia exhaled slowly, glancing back toward the tunnels they had just left behind. “Only time will tell,” she said quietly. “But if we don’t figure this out soon, it may not matter.”

  The group continued in silence, with Null walking several paces ahead, his movements precise and meaningful, highlighting his military training. He stopped occasionally, scanning the ruins around them, his head tilting slightly as though listening to something they couldn’t hear. The desolate industrial sector stretched out in every direction.

  “Where are we going?” Nova asked finally, breaking the silence.

  Null didn’t answer with words, but his hands moved in a quick series of signs. Infy translated immediately through their comms. “A temporary shelter. We’ll need cover to open a gate. The best way to avoid any surveillance”

  “Gate?” Nova echoed, glancing at Synthia.

  “You’ll see,” Synthia said, her tone low and distracted. She had an idea of what was about to happen.

  Null suddenly raised a hand, signalling them to stop. He gestured toward a nearby structure—a squat, windowless building made of reinforced concrete. The group followed him inside, their footsteps echoing faintly in the hollow space.

  The interior was stripped bare, with only a few rusted metal crates and a scattering of debris hinting at its former use. Null wasted no time, moving to the centre of the room.

  His hands moved in deliberate motions, the faint hum of energy filling the air as a shimmering field began to ripple outward from him.

  “What’s he doing?” Nova asked, stepping closer to Synthia.

  “Cloaking field,” Synthia replied, watching intently. “He’s making sure no one sees what happens next.”

  The field expanded, wrapping the entire building in a faint distortion that made the walls seem to shimmer. Outside, the building would appear empty, its presence blending seamlessly with the surrounding ruins.

  Null turned back to the group, his face calm but focused. He signed again, and Infy’s voice translated. “Stay back. Opening the gate.”

  The air in front of Null began to warp, twisting and bending as though reality itself were being rewritten. A low, resonant vibration filled the room, growing stronger as Null extended his hands, his fingers moving with precision.

  Then, with a sudden crack of energy, a circular portal snapped into existence. The edges of the gate shimmered with a faint blue light, the surface within rippling like liquid. Through the portal, they could see the faint outline of their home base—the hidden lab they had claimed as their sanctuary.

  “Every time I see him use his power,” Helix muttered, his voice low, “it gets harder to believe we’re not all hallucinating.”

  Null stepped back from the gate, gesturing for the group to move through.

  As the others stepped through the gate, Synthia hesitated, her gaze lingering on Null. He stood motionless in front of the shimmering portal, his dark eyes calm but unreadable. The faint glow of the cloaking field reflected off his nanite suit, giving him an almost otherworldly appearance.

  He’s not just powerful, Synthia thought. He’s terrifying. She swallowed hard, her thoughts churning like a storm she couldn’t escape.

  If the government truly understood what Null could do—what he’s capable of—they wouldn’t just be sending drones and patrols. They’d come for him with everything they had, and they wouldn’t stop until they had him back in their hands. And if they did… what then?*

  The image of Null standing in front of the gate burned into her mind. He’s more than a weapon.

  He’s more than any of us understand. But if we’re going to survive this, if we’re going to uncover the truth, we’re going to need him. And we’re going to need to make sure no one else gets their hands on him.

  “Are you coming?” Nova called from the other side of the gate, her voice echoing faintly through the portal.

  Synthia snapped out of her thoughts, nodding to herself as she stepped forward. Null followed silently behind her, his presence heavy but steady.

  The gate shimmered shutting behind them, sealing them back inside their hidden sanctuary.