Location: Atlas Training Wing, Nightfall – Tavara
The metallic clang of training blades echoed through the cavernous room. V-One moved with precision—each strike calculated, each dodge perfect. Across from him, Damien tested the clone's reflexes with fierce aggression, sweat trickling down his brow.
"You move like him," Damien grunted between strikes. "But you're not him."
V-One didn't reply. He parried Damien's blade, then stepped back, holding his stance. His expression remained neutral, but something simmered beneath—conflict, confusion, pain.
Victor observed from the shadows, arms folded. Nora stood beside him, silent.
"He's still learning how to be... free," Victor said.
Nora replied softly, "Freedom doesn't come naturally when you've lived your life on leash and trigger."
---
Location: Atlas Medical Archives
Echo's voice hummed through the interface. "I decrypted the remaining data Dominion stored on V-One. They implanted fragments of your earliest traumas—your mother's rejection, your injuries, the betrayal by the Kane family."
Zuri looked up, alarmed. "They were building resentment into his emotional core?"
"Worse," Echo responded. "They wanted him to hate himself… so he'd only feel relief when carrying out orders. He was their suicide solution in case Victor ever went rogue."
Victor entered, having overheard the last sentence.
"I won't let them write his story," he said flatly. "Not this time."
---
Location: Private Chambers, Later That Night
Nora approached V-One, who sat in silence on the balcony overlooking the city skyline. His eyes followed the distant horizon as if searching for something he'd never seen.
"You don't have to be their weapon anymore," Nora said gently.
He didn't look at her. "But I don't know who I am… I only know who they made me."
She sat beside him. "Then start from there. Learn who you want to be. You don't need their blueprint to build your identity."
He turned, slowly, and for the first time, there was something new in his eyes—doubt, yes, but also hope.
"Do you believe I can be more?" he asked.
Nora nodded. "I believe anyone can… if they want it badly enough."
---
Location: Dominion Remnants Command Bunker – Unknown Coordinates
Somewhere deep in the frozen wastelands, Dominion Commanders gathered around a long obsidian table. The failure to reclaim V-One had rattled the higher ranks.
"He's compromised," said one. "Shut him down remotely."
A woman in a black visor—their head biotechnologist—shook her head. "Impossible. He's severed from the hive. They've reprogrammed him emotionally."
Another voice, calm and ancient: "Then we let him roam… He may lead us to Victor's final sanctuary."
The screen lit up. A photo of V-One beside Victor.
"Let the clone believe he is free. Let him build trust. When the time comes, he will be the dagger inside Atlas."