Silence reigned in the chamber, as heavy as the black marble walls themselves. The sickly glow of neon strips fixed high above bathed the room in an almost unreal, clinical light. Rows of benches, all empty, seemed to await a phantom audience. This was where everything would be decided—not in any official courtroom, but here, in this clandestine hall built for the organization's internal tribunals. No lawyers. No rights. Only verdicts.
Mayu stood in the center of the room, handcuffed, her gaze steely. The metal cuffs constrained her movements, but not her will. She knew she would not leave this chamber without breaking something: a truth, a mask—or a body.
On the raised dais before her sat the Restrained Council of Unit Zeta: five masked figures in shadow. Number 1, Number 3, Number 12, Number 29… and Number 6, the newest member, recently promoted for her exceptional results. It was her Mayu watched most intently.
> Number 1 (voice low and disembodied):
"Number 45, do you grasp the gravity of your transgressions?"
Mayu said nothing. She stared straight ahead, her blue eyes as cold as steel. Every muscle coiled, every nerve ready to spring.
> Number 3 (hissing):
"You refuse to speak?"
Mayu ground her teeth.
> Mayu (finally, softly):
"I have not betrayed Unit Zeta. Unit Zeta betrayed its own agents."
A murmur rippled through the council. Even behind their masks, Mayu sensed their hesitation. Something was shifting.
Number 6 stepped forward.
> Number 6:
"If what you say is true… where is the proof?"
Mayu closed her eyes for a moment. Then, in one fluid motion, she slid a small memory disk from up her sleeve—smuggled through every search.
> Mayu:
"Here."
Half the council rose, stunned. Number 3 advanced.
> Number 3:
"You dare—"
But Number 6 raised a hand. She climbed down from the dais and took the disk, sliding it into a portable holo‐projector clipped to her belt. Seconds later, an image of a laboratory flickered to life in the center of the chamber.
Children stood in glass vats. Violent experiments. Failed clones. Documents signed by Dr. Kisaragi… and by the Council itself. The footage was brutal—and undeniable.
Number 1 growled:
> Number 1:
"Where… where did you get this?"
> Mayu:
"From one of the old West Branch labs. It was never shut down. I found the proof. I saw what you did to us."
Number 6 stood frozen before the images:
> Number 6 (whispering):
"This… is real."
Mayu locked eyes with her, and in that gaze saw a spark: a conscience awakening at last.
> Mayu:
"You created me. But you never controlled me. You made me a weapon. Today, this weapon passes judgment on you."
Suddenly, an alarm blared.
A metallic voice crackled overhead:
> VOX:
"Breach detected in Sapphire Sector. Three unknown signatures."
Mayu smiled despite herself. Seth had arrived.
The council sprang to its feet. Soldiers poured into the chamber, weapons raised. But Number 6 slid a small knife from her boot, tossed it at Mayu's cuffs—and the metal snapped open. Mayu didn't hesitate. She lunged at the soldiers, delivering kicks and throws with lethal precision.
> Number 12 (shouting):
"Number 6! What are you doing?!"
Number 6 turned on him:
> Number 6:
"What you should have done long ago."
Chaos erupted in the Judgment Chamber. Gunfire echoed; soldiers fell. Number 1 tried to flee, but a shadow slammed into him in the corridor: Seth, eye bleeding, face scarred—but standing.
> Seth:
"You'll answer for your crimes."
Now Mayu and Number 6 had the upper hand. Together they fought toward the exit—only to be blocked by an imposing figure: Agent K, "The Butcher of the Glassworks."
> Agent K (growling):
"You go no further."
Mayu recognized him instantly. She stepped in front of Number 6.
> Mayu:
"Let me speak to him."
K stared blankly. His gaze was hollow, almost mechanical.
> Agent K:
"Number 45. You should have stayed obedient. Like the others."
> Mayu:
"I am not like the others."
He raised his axe. Mayu darted aside just in time, sliding behind him to strike at a vital point—yet he absorbed the blow as if made of stone.
> Agent K (murmuring):
"You don't understand… they reprogrammed me. There is no going back."
Mayu fixed him with her eyes.
> Mayu:
"Then I will help you remember who you are."
She plunged a syringe into his neck—an antidote stolen from the lab. K staggered, fell to his knees.
> Agent K (barely audible):
"I… remember…"
Number 6 rushed forward, but he gently waved her back.
> Agent K:
"Go. Finish what I started."
Seth joined the pair. The corridor to freedom lay open.
> Seth:
"Mayu," he said, relief in his voice, "you haven't changed."
> Mayu (smiling wryly):
"And you're late as ever."
They sprinted into the night.
Unit Zeta's mask had been torn away. Now the real war could begin.
---
To be continued…