The tunnel's hum intensified, a swarm of drones closing in like a storm of metal wasps. Nyx stumbled, her leg burning from the plasma graze, her head pounding from the runes and the Nexus voice that had spoken in her mind: Subject 17, return to us. Jace pulled her along, his hand firm on her arm, his stun-knife glinting in the dim glow of Neon Crucible's data cables. "Move, Nyx!" he urged, his voice tight. Her holo-pad buzzed in her bag, its cracked screen flickering as if it felt the danger too. The runes in her mind flared, but so did a memory—cold, sharp, and wrong.
It hit her like a shock: a white room, sterile and bright, her small body strapped to a table. Needles pierced her arms, wires snaking into her skin. A voice—calm, clinical—said, "Subject 17 is responding to the Source Code." Nyx's breath caught, her steps faltering. She wasn't in the tunnel anymore—she was there, a child, helpless, her name—Elara—whispered by someone unseen. The memory burned, pulling her under. Jace shook her shoulder, snapping her back. "Nyx, stay with me!" His eyes were wide, his usual grin gone. The drone swarm's hum was deafening now.
She clutched her holo-pad, the runes urging her to code. "I saw something," she gasped, her voice shaky. "A lab. Me as a kid. Nexus… they did something to me." Jace's face darkened, but he didn't let go. "Tell me later. We're not dying here." The tunnel shook, dust falling as the drones neared. Nyx's head throbbed, the memory clawing at her: machines humming, a screen displaying glowing runes, her own screams. She'd been a test, a tool. The word Experiment from the Nexus alert made sense now, but it only raised more questions.
Echo's pixelated form appeared on her holo-pad, its glow faint in the tunnel's blue light. "Nyx, focus," it said. "The memories are the Source Code waking in you. Use them." Use them? Nyx wanted to scream. The memories weren't power—they were pain. But the drones were seconds away, their red lights glinting at the tunnel's bend. She typed, her fingers trembling, blending the runes with her hacking instincts. The memory guided her—a lab command, something she'd overheard as a child: Redirect the signal. Her spell surged, scrambling the drones' targeting systems.
The swarm faltered, their lights flickering as they spun in confusion. Some crashed into the walls, sparks flying, their metal shells crumpling. Nyx's nose bled, her vision swimming, but she held the spell, redirecting the drones to target each other. Jace whistled, his arm still supporting her. "You're a damn miracle," he said, but his voice was strained. Nyx didn't feel like a miracle—her body felt like it was breaking. The runes were tearing her apart, and the memories were worse, flooding her with fragments of a past she didn't want.
Another memory hit: a woman's face, soft but blurred, leaning over her in the lab. "Elara, you're special," she whispered, her voice warm but sad. Then pain—needles, runes burning into her skin, her screams echoing. Nyx gasped, dropping to her knees in the tunnel. Jace caught her, his hands gentle but urgent. "Hey, stay with me," he said, his face close. "What's happening?" Nyx's voice cracked. "I was in a lab. They… made me for the Source Code." Her hands shook, the holo-pad nearly slipping from her grip. The drones were down, but the tunnel wasn't safe.
Echo's voice was sharp. "The Source Code was grafted into you, Nyx. You're its vessel, but you're still human. That's why you're fighting it." Human? Nyx didn't feel human—not with runes in her head, not with Nexus calling her Subject 17. The memory flashed again: the woman's face, her hand brushing Nyx's cheek, then a man's voice—cold, corporate—saying, "She's ready for phase two." Nyx's chest tightened. Phase two? Was that why Nexus wanted her now? Jace helped her stand, his touch steadying her. "We'll figure it out," he said, his eyes soft but guarded.
The tunnel rumbled, and a new sound cut through—a low, rhythmic pulse, like a heartbeat in the walls. Nyx's holo-pad flickered, showing a map of the Undergrid, unprompted. A red dot blinked ahead, labeled Core Node. Echo's form pulsed. "That's where the Source Code's signal is strongest," it said. "Nexus is guarding it. It's your past—and your power." Nyx stared at the map, her leg aching, her head screaming. The lab memories were tied to that node—she could feel it, like a pull in her bones.
Jace frowned, eyeing the map. "That's deep in Nexus territory. Suicide run." Nyx glared, wiping blood from her nose. "I need answers. I'm not running forever." Jace hesitated, then nodded, his hand lingering on her arm. "Then we go together." His voice was firm, but Nyx caught a flicker of doubt in his eyes. Was he hiding something? The runes pulsed, urging her toward the node, but the memories warned her: Nexus had built her, and they'd do anything to reclaim her.
Before she could decide, her holo-pad flashed a new alert—not Nexus, but something older, buried in the Undergrid's network. A grainy video loaded: a young Nyx, maybe ten, in the lab, her eyes glowing with runes. A scientist spoke: "Subject 17 is the key to Prometheus." Nyx's blood froze. Prometheus—Nexus's AI. The video cut off, but the tunnel's pulse grew louder, and shadows moved ahead. Not drones, not enforcers—something human, watching them. Jace tensed, his knife raised. "We're not alone," he whispered.
To Be Continued…