I darted around the small, confined room in circles, barely keeping ahead of the drone—a tiny, mechanical wasp, relentless in its pursuit.
But why was it here?!
Mind-jackers were extremely rare, their technology outlawed for centuries. The only ones who could possibly have access to them were high-ranking military officials or the kind of inhumane bastards willing to deal in the black market's darkest pits.
"Sir! I brought a tray like you requested, but your friend Nicole isn't here yet!" Sister Charlize called through the door, her voice tense.
"Slide it in! Quickly!"
The moment I stopped, the drone zipped past my eyes—so fast I barely caught a glimpse before it twisted mid-air and shot straight for my face again. The door cracked open just enough for a plastic cutting board to be thrown inside. I caught it mid-air, gripping it in both hands before swinging hard—
CRACK!
The drone slammed against the wall, rebounding off the impact. It faltered in its flight, struggling to stay aloft, but it was still operational. I didn't give it the chance to recover. Swinging again, I smashed the cutting board down, crushing it into the floor. Just to be sure, I ground my boot against it until I heard the unmistakable crunch of its frame snapping.
But the buzzing didn't stop.
Looking up, my blood ran cold. There was more of them.
Tiny, near-invisible wasp-like drones poured from the fake hornet's nest, swarming toward me in a silver blur.
"Shit— " I bolted for the door, wrenching it open and slamming it shut behind me just as the metal insects scraped against the wood. Their wings clattered in fury, bouncing off the barrier in an effort to reach me.
Sister Charlize stood frozen, wide-eyed.
"Get the children out of the orphanage!" I barked, already moving. "Whoever's behind this was meticulous in hiding their tracks—there could be more nests hidden in the building. And whatever happens, tell them to cover the napes of their necks!"
"R-right!" The nun took off, rounding up the children as the wasps continued their relentless assault on the door.
I yanked my phone from my pocket and started jogging, dialling Nicole. "Hey, get back to the church immediately! We have a problem."
"Sure thing~." Nicole's voice was as relaxed as ever. "By the way, I figured out what happened with the cameras. Something got inside and ripped them apart. Oh, and just so you know—I'm outside the front door."
I shoved the doors open and found her standing there, arms crossed, looking at me with a tired expression. Her eyes flicked past me—
"Drop!"
I didn't hesitate. Crouching instantly, I felt something buzz past my ear. The mind-jacker was already airborne, circling like a vulture. "They already broke out?!" I gasped.
"Keep it distracted for a sec." Nicole pulled something from her pocket—a device that looked suspiciously like a foldable gaming console—and began 'playing' on it.
Meanwhile, I dodged and weaved, barely keeping ahead of the zooming wasps as they poured out of the church one after another. The air filled with the sound of their mechanical wings, a metallic swarm descending upon us.
Then— A pulse. A sonic boom rippled out from Nicole's device, washing over the drones like an invisible wave. Instantly, every single mind-jacker froze mid-air. One had latched onto my forehead, its tiny legs digging into my skin.
I exhaled shakily. "That was close." Peeling it off, I winced as it took a small patch of skin with it. "Good to see your skills haven't deteriorated."
Nicole scoffed, twirling her device. "I don't want to hear that from a former member of the Solar Investigative Bureau."
The hovering mind-jackers shifted, moving into formation, lined up neatly like they were awaiting inspection. Nicole whistled as she examined them.
"Woah. Ace actuators, nano-designed wings, oxygen motors... These are top-tier models. Freiheit used them during the AI Upheaval. Last I checked, only 500 were left in circulation. But these?" She turned one over in her hands. "Someone improved the design."
"Nicole..." I hissed, nodding toward the orphanage.
She followed my gaze—and her smirk dropped. From the entrance, Sister Charlize emerged. And behind her was a horde of children. Their movements were eerily synchronized, bodies stiff, expressions vacant. They staggered forward like marionettes, their eyes dull and unfocused. The mind-jackers had got them.
"Can you help them?" I asked, voice tight.
Nicole sighed, shaking her head. "Nope. We'd have to destroy or take control of the queen wasp. Otherwise, their brain stems will be damaged and they'll be paralyzed from the neck down." She made a slicing motion across her throat. "So all we can do is assist Firefly and let these NPCs chase us."
"She said she'd—"
"I know." Nicole waved her device, displaying a blinking dot on a city map. "Hacked your phone while I was dealing with these guys. That CK of hers is pretty damn good at coding an app, though 'Firefly Finder' sounds like a second-rate dating site." She flashed the screen in my face.
I grimaced, shoving the device aside. The situation had escalated beyond anything I'd anticipated. There was no time to argue. "Let's go. She'll need our help."
We took off running. Behind us, the mind-hacked children sprinted after us—silent, relentless, their lifeless eyes locked onto their prey.
"You sure?" Nicole asked, partly winded already. "She's a Star Pilot. Nearly on par with Commander Peter." She wagged a finger. "If anything, it's your search history that needs desperate help."
"Shut up!"
***
I ran lightly across the rooftops, my movements fluid and controlled as I pursued the boy. He sprinted ahead, his breath coming in exhausted huffs, each step an attempt to lose me. I didn't know how he'd realized I was following him, but from the way he moved, he was certain I'd already fallen behind.
If I weren't a Knight Pilot, that might've been true.
[Pilot, I have received a message from Nicole.] Andromeda's voice hummed in my earpiece. [Message reads: 'Orphan boss defeated, cameras figured out. Be wary of mind-jackers. We'll be following behind you.' End message.]
"Thank you, Andy." My mind latched onto the last part of the message. Mind-jackers. The term pulled at buried memories from my academy days. "I was taught about mind-jackers and similar devices in training," I muttered, vaulting over a ledge and landing silently. "But they said all blueprints and remnants were destroyed after the Empress took the throne, no?"
[It would appear some have managed to survive.] I kept pace, watching the boy squeeze through a narrow gap between two buildings. [Be careful to keep your nape covered, Firefly. Mind-hackers must root themselves into your spinal cord to inject nanite fluid directly into your cerebellum. If you are controlled, you will remain conscious—but completely unable to resist.]
I frowned, moaning slightly. "I should've brought more than just my handgun... Can the mind-hackers get through your armour, Andy?"
[There is a chance they could slip through the gaps, Pilot. Knight-Mode is ill-advised in case you become trapped inside my cockpit.]
"Right then." Pressing my back against a chimney, I watched as the boy cast one last glance behind him before continuing into the shadows of the city. He moved with purpose, weaving through alleyways until he reached an underground road.
Then—he vanished. No hesitation. No pause. Just walked straight into a wall and disappeared.
I leapt down, approaching cautiously. Reaching out, I pushed my hand forward. The surface rippled. Light shattered like digital glass beneath my fingertips. "A hologram," I muttered.
Without wasting another second, I stepped through. The other side opened into a metal bridge spanning across a vast underground reservoir.
Below, stagnant rainwater pooled in the depths, its surface rippling under the dim light filtering through cracks in the ceiling. From what I could tell, this place served as a flood prevention system—both for the city above and the underground roads below.
I crossed the bridge, following the only available path—a narrow incline leading to a fractured section of the wall. Squeezing through, I emerged into a warehouse. And the bloody smell hit me like a punch to the gut. Thick. Metallic. Suffocating.
I lifted my jacket's scarf, covering my nose and mouth before pressing on, my other senses on high alert.
Up ahead, the boy was descending to the warehouse floor, slowly lowered by a reeling rope—just like the two devices used to sneak out of the orphanage. Once his feet touched the ground, he walked toward a series of cages. Without hesitation, he stepped inside one. The door slid shut behind him. Tens of other children sat inside similar cages, their faces eerily blank.
Keeping to the rafters, I scanned the warehouse. An operating table. Medical bots. Blood-stained equipment. And at the far end, a massive vault-like freezer—the likely source of the overwhelming stench.
But what drew my eye the most, hanging from the ceiling like a grotesque chandelier, a metallic wasp nest hummed with activity as mind-jackers swarmed in and out, their mechanical wings slicing the air.
Then a low screech of feedback crackled through hidden speakers. A woman's voice, flat and empty, filled the warehouse. "I know you're there, Knight Pilot. There's no way a mind-hacked child could have physically escaped someone of your training. So why don't you come out from behind those boxes?"
[We have been exposed, Pilot.] Andromeda warned. [It is advised to enact scorched earth protocol immediately.]
"Not yet," I whispered. "The children will die if that happens. I'll play along for now."
Slowly, I stood from my hiding place, stepping forward with caution. My eyes swept the room, searching - there was nothing. "Alright," I said evenly. "I'm out. Where are you?"
"A safe place. Somewhere you can't shoot me immediately with that gun tucked under your blouse."
I stiffened. How the hell did she know where I was hiding it?
"Toss it aside." My jaw tightened, but I obeyed, setting the gun down and kicking it across the floor. "Good. Now we can talk face to face."
Light flickered in the corner of the warehouse, digital pixels assembling into a human form. A woman materialized on a chair beside a cluttered office desk—her appearance rugged, her clothes stained. Greasy hair clung to her face, and from the looks of it, she hadn't bathed in weeks.
"My name is Doctor Tanya Clefsi. Former AKP bio-mechanic. And... something akin to your grandmother, perhaps."
The title sent a slow chill down my spine. "You..." My throat tightened. "Which generation of AKPs did you make?" My voice hardened. "Why are you kidnapping these children?"
Tanya tilted her head, amused. With a casual motion, she pulled out her own gun—suppressor attached—and rested it on her knee, the barrel still pointing at me. "Heh. Look at you, all scared now that I pulled this out." She smirked. "Hurts my heart that my grandchild doesn't even know which of her older siblings I created. Then again... it *has* been two decades since I was disposed of."
My fingers twitched at her wording. 'Disposed of...' Realization settled in. "The Eighth-Gen AKPs' creator..." I muttered. That didn't answer why she was here. Or why she was kidnapping children. "Why is someone of your talent hiding in this gutter?"
Tanya exhaled through her nose, amused. "Oh, that's quite simple." She stood, gun still trained on me. "You see, when the previous Emperor ruled, he condoned all sorts of human experiments to advance war technology—against the Dream Swarm, against rogue androids. My work was crucial to the empire's survival." Her eyes darkened. "But then, your precious Empress led her little revolt, dethroned him, and decided my work had no value. She shut it all down."
My fists clenched. "So you're kidnapping and murdering children to get back at her?"
Tanya clicked her tongue. "No, no, no. Grandchild, let me finish my story first." She bent down, retrieving my discarded gun. "She gave me a choice: continue my work without test subjects or stop altogether. But without children to transform into her angels, my research was impossible. I pleaded. I begged." Her fingers curled tightly around the gun's grip. "But she treated my babies like monsters—and called me a madwoman for it."
[Warning, Pilot. She is mentally unstable. It is advised to enter battle-mode and immediately subdue.] Andromeda's voice was sharp now.
"Not yet..." I murmured back, eyes locked on Tanya.
"Oh, but you understand me, don't you, Grandchild?" Tanya Clefsi's voice twisted with manic delight. "You know that without my work, you wouldn't be as perfect as you were made to be! They can say whatever they want, but without the *sacrifices* my work required, the AKPs would still be no different from mindless drones! Incapable of thought—of self-awareness! Freiheit would still control your kind as easily as ever if not for my updates! The production of your species would have ceased entirely if it weren't for me!"
A tightness clenched in my chest. My teeth ground together. "So you're continuing your research here?"
"Yes!" Tanya bellowed, her eyes wild with unhinged excitement. She spun on her heel, running to the freezer at the back of the warehouse. "Granddaughter," she continued, "I'll admit—there were a few failures along the way. My equipment and resources have been... limited. But I got there eventually." She placed a hand against the frost-covered vault door, her fingers trembling with exhilaration. "And with you—with your engineering knowledge on the Knights—we can give your new siblings exactly what they need to become whole!"
My breath stalled.
The vault lock disengaged with a hiss. "Now, children~!" Tanya Clefsi sang. *"Say hello to your big sister!"
The freezer doors swung open. And my stomach lurched. Inside—hanging from hooks like butchered meat—were corpses. No. Not corpses. They were alive.
Crude machinery and exposed organs meshed together in grotesque amalgamations of flesh and metal. Glistening bones jutted through torn muscle, half-replaced by cybernetics that fused into their bodies like rusted shackles. Some twitched. Some *groaned*—their distorted voices rattling from modified jaws, pain lacing every syllable.
They were breathing. Suffering. Existing in agony.
[Pilot, your vitals are spiking! Regain your balance!] Andromeda's voice barely reached me.
I couldn't move. Couldn't think.
I wanted to vomit.
I wanted to run.
I wanted— To burn it all to the ground.
"Firefly!"
Jason and Nicole burst through the warehouse doors, sunlight pouring in behind them. Before their eyes could take in the nightmare I was witnessing, Andromeda materialized around me in an instant. His massive frame shielded them from the horrors within the freezer, and in the next breath—my body disappeared, teleported into the cockpit within his chest.
"Aha~! Magnificent!" Tanya's voice cracked with joy. "An AKP with a Constellation Knight! You're even more perfect than I imagined!" She rushed forward, arms outstretched—attempting to embrace Andromeda's towering form.
I swung the knight's massive arm. The metal limb crashed into Tanya's frail body, sending her hurtling across the warehouse. She hit the wall with a sickening crunch, slumping to the ground.
Piloting Andromeda forward, I raised his arms—aiming directly into the vault. The internal furnaces within his wrists roared to life, heat gathering, primed to reduce the horror before me to ash.
Tanya lifted her head, dazed but still alive. Her bloodied face contorted in horror as she realized what I was about to do. "Wh-what are you doing?! No!!" Her screams rang through the warehouse. "Don't hurt my babies!!!"
From above, the hive stirred. The metallic wasp nest erupted as hundreds of mind-jackers dove from the ceiling, swarming toward Andromeda like a storm of mechanical locusts.
But they never reached me. Andromeda's sensors registered an instant override.
I glanced over his shoulder—Nicole stood there, her fingers moving impossibly fast over her portable console. The mind-jackers twitched in mid-air—then went still. One by one, they collapsed to the ground, hacked before they even had the chance to attack.
Tanya didn't even get to process what had happened.
I turned back to the vault. And Andromeda let the flames pour out. Fire erupted from knight's wrists, consuming the nightmare within the freezer. The burning light swallowed the twisted children whole, purging their agony in a final, merciful embrace of flame.
One of them—a boy, his flesh barely clinging to the metal that had devoured him—shifted. His gaze found mine through the blaze. And then, he smiled with what was left of his face. His charred lips, barely intact, curled upward. "Thank you," he rasped. Then—he was gone. His body crumbled into ash.
A breath shuddered from my lungs. I curled in on myself inside the cockpit, my arms wrapping around my knees as Andromeda's systems dimmed around me. My heart pounded against my ribs.
Something inside me broke. Tears slipped silently down my face, vanishing into the darkness of Andromeda's interior. "Was I really... made by such a villain?" My voice was barely above a whisper.
[Pilot...] Andromeda hesitated.
He didn't know what to say. I couldn't blame him. None of us expected to find her—Tanya Clefsi—at the centre of a simple kidnapping case. If it had been a gang of organ harvesters, or human traffickers, or anything else—I wouldn't have felt like this.
I wouldn't feel this disgusted with myself. I wouldn't be questioning what I am. But right now—right now— all I could see was the horror of flesh and machine that those children had been forced to become.
And I was just like them. The only difference was my body was built to pretend to be human. But underneath it all I was just as much a monster as they were.