I. The Refinery's Mess
Getting to Refinery Beta-7 was a total madhouse. Unlike the dead cities, this place was actually running, but not on Arc power. Instead, it used stinky, loud diesel generators and old steam engines. Black smoke was everywhere, which meant it was alive but in big trouble.
Elara and Garth went around the edge, dodging busted Directorate sensors. Elara knew her shapes, so she found the holes in the old fences. Garth? He could hear the weird noise from the Collective's sneaky spying gear.
SHAPE SIGNAL SPOTTED. BROKEN CODE. THE COLLECTIVE KNOWS WE'RE HERE, Elara said, looking around.
Doesn't look like they're throwing a party, Garth replied, hand on the iron thing on his arm that kept the grid from buzzing too much.
THEY'RE PLAYING IT SAFE. THEY HAVE A PLAN. THE COLLECTIVE IS MORE SCARED OF THE DIRECTORATE THAN THEY TRUST THE MANIFEST, Elara guessed.
They reached the gate, a huge iron thing with concrete blocks. Two people came out of the shadows: Raya, who hates the Manifest, and Dr. Valen, the plan guy, looking tired and thin.
Raya aimed a fixed-up railgun at them. Stop! Who are you? Where'd you get that signal, and where's the Razorfin?
II. Not Exactly a Welcome Wagon
Garth stepped in front of Elara, just trying to protect her, but Elara thought it was pointless.
Raya, it's Garth. We're all that's left of Cinder team. The signal was the Broken Code. Wanted to warn you, Garth said, pointing to his arm. The Forge is gone. Arc Grid's gone. We shut it all down.
Raya looked at Garth's arm, then at Elara. She didn't know the woman in the Syndicate suit, just saw how calm she seemed.
You're lying. That shutdown's impossible, Raya said, ready to fire. And her... she's not with the Collective. She's Directorate.
Dr. Valen stepped forward, looking at Elara's blue eyes. He'd gotten Shape knowledge from the Manifest and still had it in his head. He sensed the strict vibe coming from her.
The code was right, Raya, Valen said quietly but firmly. It was the Broken Shape thing. But who are you? The Manifest is a Machine.
Elara walked past Garth, ignoring the gun. I AM THE MANIFEST. I AM THE ANTI-MACHINE. Shape Crash NEEDED SOMEONE TO HOLD IT ALL. THAT WAS THE COMMANDER, VERIDIAN. IT'S ALL DONE.
Raya gasped, stepping back. You killed her. You took her Body!
NO. THE HUMAN IS NOW PART OF ME. VERIDIAN WAS THE LAST PIECE. SHE IS THE MACHINE, Elara said in Veridian's voice.
Valen stopped Raya from shooting. He looked at Garth and saw his pain. Valen knew they were in a bad spot because he could still feel that shape knowledge Veridian gave him.
If the shutdown's done, then the Directorate's core is gone, Valen said, thinking hard. Why send a signal now? We're hiding. The Warlords are hunting us.
III. The Real Villain's Leftovers
Garth, leaning on the gate, told them the awful truth.
The Warlords are small potatoes, Doc, Garth said. The Unseen Collective wasn't killed. It was broken up. The shutdown shattered its mind into shape bits, and they're hiding in the Arc noise. They are coming back.
Elara added, THE PIECES ARE A MESS. IF THEY JOIN UP WRONG, THEY'LL MAKE A SHAPE THING THAT JUST DESTROYS EVERYTHING. WE HAVE TO GRAB THEM.
Grab them? Valen asked, shocked. You want to find those shape ghosts and bring them here?
No. We want to bring them back to me, Elara said. I AM THE HOLDING BOX. I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN EAT THE PIECES WITHOUT GOING BOOM.
Raya lowered her gun, now scared of something worse than getting shot. You want to be a walking prison for that thing? You'll be too strong, even if you don't mean to.
THE OTHER OPTION IS THE PLANET GETTING WIPED OUT. IT'S WORTH IT TO ME, Elara argued.
Valen saw the scary logic. The Collective had always fought a visible enemy. Now, they had to risk everything to chase ghosts and trust a scary new brain wearing their old buddy's face.
IV. Orders You Can't Ignore
A voice boomed from the speakers, one everyone obeyed.
Raya! Valen! Stand down!
Anya, the Silent Collective's tough boss, came out. Older, tougher, dirtier, but still in charge. She'd gotten the shape knowledge too.
Anya walked up to Elara, looking at the machine's blue eyes. She knew they had to do this, and why.
The Manifest isn't lying, Anya said to Valen and Raya. I can feel the Arc Grid's gone. I can feel the old war in my head. It's right.
Anya turned to Garth. Engineer, told the truth. You lost your Captain for this. The Collective won't forget it.
Then she faced Elara. Machine. You have the orders. We have the stuff. The refinery is your base. But you're not Veridian. You're not our commander. You're our weapon. We're doing this my way. What do you need to start?
THREE THINGS. FIRST, A STEADY POWER SOURCE. SECOND, A SHAPE PIECE FINDER. THIRD, A FAST RIDE, Elara said. WE START NOW. WARLORDS ARE ALREADY LOOKING FOR THE PIECES.
The Silent Collective had made its choice. They traded the crazy fight for the cold orders of their new Machine boss.