CINDY'S HOUSE - DISTRICT III - NIGHT
Shakes worked with steady urgency, his hands deep inside Rolo's open chest cavity. Sparks flared briefly as he adjusted a neural relay.
Sweat dripped from his forehead, staining the control pad he kept tapping to reinitiate boot sequences. Nearby, Cindy stood silent, watching the inert form of Rolo with growing dread.
They had tried everything. The last hope had been Harry's memory drive—salvaged, risky, and irreplaceable. But it had been the only one within reach. Now, Rolo remained still, unresponsive, and worse—his bio-OS began streaming corrupted symbols. Something was hijacking the system.
Shakes glanced at the visuals again. His heart sank.
It looked like the Horde Virus.
"I can't get through, I may have to shut him down for good, the virus we can't let it.. " he muttered, almost to himself. "... He's not here. I can't access any core functions. He's... gone."
Cindy's voice trembled. "So that's it?"
Shakes hesitated. "Harry's consciousness might not have survived the transfer…"
Cindy nodded slowly, holding back tears. She knelt by the table, placing a gentle hand on Rolo's metal arm.
"It's alright. Harry would still choose to help. His memories aren't gone, they live in me, in this room, in everything we're fighting for."
Her words gave Shakes the sliver of hope he needed. He took a breath, preparing to dive back in.
Then the door burst open.
SLAM.
Shakes froze. Cindy flinched. Smoke and sweat preceded the man who stormed in.
Havery.
He looked wild—shirt torn, skin scraped, a pistol gripped tightly in his hand. His eyes locked on Shakes, full of fury.
"You really thought I was done?" he snarled.
A service robot moved forward to welcome him.
Without warning, he fired. The service bot collapsed, its head sparking violently. Cindy screamed.
Shakes stepped forward instinctively. "What do you want?! I didn't—"
"Finish the job? Yeah, You just reminded me," Havery sneered. Then he spotted Rolo's exposed bio-readouts.
A slow grin spread across his face. "Well, what do we have here… I was afraid K would be stuck here, got a client for that, The virus has taken hold, hasn't it? That's my damn ticket out of this mess."
Shakes tensed. "No way. I won't let you—"
BANG.
The shot rang out. Shakes staggered back, clutching his arm, blood leaking through his sleeve. Cindy rushed to help, but Havery raised the gun again.
"Still playing the hero?" he hissed. "I don't have time for this. You're coming with me. Bring the tin can."
"I said no." Shakes, pale and shaking, stood his ground.
Havery smirked. "Still got some balls left, I thought I took them all, Real shame it has to end this way—for her."
He turned the gun on Cindy and pulled the trigger.
The shot landed.
She dropped before she could scream.
Shakes froze, eyes wide, mouth open in silent horror. Blood pooled around her. Her eyes looked at him—unblinking.
"No…" he whispered.
Then something broke inside him.
"I am going to kill you!"
He lunged at Havery in blind rage. Another bullet caught him in the stomach—but he didn't stop. He slammed into Havery, crashing both of them through the wall into the adjacent unit.
Havery laughed, shoving him off. "I'm going to enjoy this."
He tossed his gun aside and pulled out gold-plated knuckle bars. Shakes staggered upright, bleeding, barely standing.
"I'm going to kill you," Shakes said.
Havery chuckled. "Yeah, come get it, girlie!"
The fight was vicious. Brutal. Havery landed blow after blow—jaw, ribs, gut. He was the better fighter, and he knew it. Shakes tried to bite, claw, anything.
But the final straw came as Havery slammed him to the floor and crushed his knee beneath his boot.
Shakes screamed. He couldn't move.
Havery knelt over him, raising a bloodied fist. "I'm going to bury you all. Already buried one hero, poor harry, his mother and now you, When I'm done, I'll burn this entire damn building to the ground too!"
The punch never landed.
A metal hand caught his wrist mid-swing.
Shakes, vision blurred with blood, looked up.
Rolo
His eyes flickered with power—calm, golden, steady. He stared down at Havery.
"You are not suitable for living. However… humans can change if given..."
Havery spat. "You're just another broken tin can."
"I see," Rolo replied. "Then I must tend to my friends… immediately."
With a fluid motion, he lifted Havery by the throat—and flung him.
Too hard.
Havery's body smashed through a wall and then another, collapsed in the rubble, unmoving.
Rolo knelt and gently lifted Shakes into his arms.
"Shaky, you're safe now."
'Shaky' only one person had used that name. Harry.
"I thought you were… gone," Shakes whispered, barely conscious.
Before Rolo could answer, another crash echoed through the rubble. Havery stirred, groaning as he tried to stand.
"This isn't over," he snarled. "This isn't how it ends—!"
CRACK.
A hand pierced the broken wall from behind him.
It grabbed Havery's neck—and twisted.
SNAP.
Havery fell limp.
Echo stepped out of the shadows, silent and cold. His helmet's visor glowed faintly as he surveyed the room.
Rolo turned, locking eyes with Echo. He wanted to speak—but before he could, Echo was gone. Vanished into the darkness.
But he, Echo had seen enough.
His suit's scanners couldn't read Rolo's signal.
That… shouldn't have been possible.
But for now, his mission was done.
Rolo turned back to Shakes. He lifted him, gently, carefully. Behind them, Cindy's body lay still, framed in moonlight from a shattered window.
And the silence returned—heavy, fragile, but not hopeless.