The victory celebration at Arcadia which was postponed out of consideration for the contestants was supposed to last for days. Instead, it ended in a single, brutal moment.
They stood in the main hall, surrounded by cheering cadets and proud instructors, the championship trophy gleaming under the lights. Gareth held it up for the cameras, the weight of the metal nothing compared to the weight of the expectations now pressing down on him. The "Arcadian Evolver" smiled for the holograms, but his ability was screaming warnings.
\[Multiple Threat Vectors Converging\]
\[Security Systems: Compromised\]
\[Unknown Energy Signatures: Detected\]
\[Calibration: 99.9% - Critical Threshold\]
Then the world exploded.
Not with weapons or abilities, but with information.
Every screen in the hall—holographic displays, datapads, even personal communicators—flashed to life simultaneously. Classified documents scrolled across them at impossible speeds. Project Aurora. The L-Series experiments. Gareth's own file, marked with designations he'd never seen before.
SUBJECT: L-01
STATUS: PROTOTYPE
THREAT CLASSIFICATION: OMEGA
The cheering died instantly, replaced by confused murmurs that quickly turned to shouts of alarm. Cadets pointed at screens showing things they were never meant to see—the origins of the Erebus Virus, the truth about Project Aurora, the fact that one of their champions wasn't entirely human.
Commander Vale moved first, her voice cutting through the chaos. "Security lockdown! All cadets to emergency stations!"
But the damage was done. The truth was out, and Gareth stood at the center of the storm.
He looked across the room and found Riven watching him, a strange mixture of guilt and satisfaction on his face. Their eyes met, and in that moment, Gareth knew. The security breaches, the manipulated patrol patterns, the data spike—it had all been leading to this.
"You," Gareth said, the word barely audible over the growing panic.
Riven didn't deny it. "They promised they wouldn't hurt anyone. They just wanted the truth to come out."
Before Gareth could respond, Lyra was at his side, her hand on his arm. "We need to move. Now."
Nova formed up on his other side, her blasters drawn. "The whole world just saw those files. We're not safe here."
Eve and Sera joined them, creating a protective formation. "The academy's external communications have been jammed," Eve reported. "We're cut off."
Sera's datapad flashed with emergency alerts. "Military channels are reporting simultaneous attacks on government facilities across Aeria. This was coordinated."
They moved through the chaos, the team forming a tight shield around Gareth. Everywhere they went, eyes followed him—some fearful, some accusing, some calculating.
"They think I'm a threat," Gareth realized, his ability processing the hostile gazes, the whispered accusations.
"You are a threat," Eve said calmly. "But you're our threat."
Commander Vale intercepted them at the secure elevator. "We're moving you to the bunker complex. The council has been compromised—I don't know who to trust."
As the elevator descended, the reality of their situation settled over them. The tournament, the victory, the fame—it had all been a setup. A way to put Gareth in the spotlight before tearing him down.
"The man in the crowd," Gareth said suddenly. "The one with the grin. He wasn't just watching—he was waiting for this moment."
Lyra's grip tightened on his arm. "This is what they wanted. To isolate you. To turn everyone against you."
The elevator doors opened to reveal Commander Rael and a full security team. But something was wrong. Rael's expression was grim, and the security team had their weapons drawn.
"Stand down, cadets," Rael ordered. "Lancer, you're to be taken into protective custody."
Nova stepped forward, her blasters humming. "Like hell he is."
"It's not a request," Rael said, his cybernetic arm glowing with restrained power. "The council has issued orders. Gareth Lancer is to be contained until the threat assessment is complete."
Gareth's ability analyzed the situation in milliseconds. The security team's stances were too aggressive for protective custody. Their weapon energy signatures were set to lethal levels. This wasn't protection—it was an arrest. Or an execution.
THREAT DETECTED: Hostile intent confirmed
ADAPTIVE COUNTER: Multiple solutions generating
CALIBRATION: 99.9% - Memory locks straining
"I can't go with you, Commander," Gareth said quietly.
Rael's expression didn't change. "Don't make this difficult, son."
The standoff stretched, tension crackling in the air. Then Riven's voice came from behind them.
"It doesn't have to be this way."
He stood at the elevator entrance, his hands raised in a placating gesture. But Gareth's ability registered the energy signature of a concealed weapon and the psionic patterns Eve had identified—the subtle manipulation that had been influencing him.
"You did this," Lyra snarled, her photonic energy flaring.
Riven's gaze was fixed on Gareth. "They showed me the truth. About what you are. What you were designed to be. You're not just a weapon, Gareth—you're the key to everything. But Arcadia would never let you reach your full potential."
The pieces finally clicked into place. The tournament, the security breaches, the leaked files—it was all about forcing a confrontation. About pushing Gareth to choose a side.
"They promised you power," Gareth said, his voice calm despite the storm raging inside him. "But they're using you, Riven. Just like they tried to use me."
Riven's confident mask slipped, revealing the conflicted young man beneath. "You don't understand—"
The explosion cut him off.
The entire bunker complex shook, emergency lights strobing as dust rained from the ceiling. Alarms blared, and through the chaos, Gareth's ability registered a familiar, terrifying energy signature.
L-02.
It was here.
The security team turned their weapons toward the new threat, but it was too late. Sections of the wall melted away, revealing black-armored figures with crimson energy veins—units identical to the one that had attacked them in training.
The man with the manic grin stepped through the breach, his ordinary clothing a stark contrast to the combat units flanking him.
"Hello, L-01," he said, his voice somehow cutting through the chaos. "It's time to come home."
In that moment, surrounded by enemies on all sides, with his team looking to him for leadership and his very existence threatening to tear apart everything he'd come to care about, Gareth felt something inside him shift.
The memory locks, strained to their breaking point by weeks of pressure and the emotional turmoil of this moment, finally shattered.
CALIBRATION: 100%
MEMORY LOCKS: RELEASED
FULL AWAKENING: INITIATED
The world dissolved into light and pain as eighteen years of suppressed memories flooded into his consciousness. The white room. The scientists. The experiments. The truth about what he was—and what he was meant to become.
When his vision cleared, everything had changed. He could feel new abilities awakening within him, ancient protocols coming online, and a terrible understanding dawning.
He looked at the grinning man, then at his team—Lyra, Nova, Eve, and Sera, standing ready to fight for him despite everything they'd just learned.
The choice was his. The weapon or the man. The prototype or the person.
He met the grinning man's eyes, his own now glowing with newfound power.
"I am not L-01," he said, the words carrying a weight that seemed to shake the very foundation of the bunker. "My name is Gareth Lancer. And I'm not going anywhere with you."
The battle began not with a shot, but with a choice. And for the first time, Gareth understood that some threats couldn't be countered with abilities alone—they had to be faced with who you chose to be.
\[System Online - Full Integration Achieved\]
\[Directive: Protect\]
\[Parameters: Set by User\]
The Arcadian Evolver was gone. In his place stood something new. Something dangerous. Something free.