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"Move, or your health bar hits zero." Knox shoved me behind a broken support pillar as a drone blade cut through the space where my throat had been.
"You always this charming?" I ducked under his arm and fired my shock pistol at the machine.
The bolt hit its side. The drone spun once, sparks snapping from its armor, then locked its red eye on me.
My wrist display flashed.
[SYNC REQUIRED] [COMBAT LINK: UNSTABLE] [HOST HEALTH: 42%] [PARTNER HEALTH: 39%] [FAILURE RATE: 87%]
"That didn't kill it," Knox said.
"I noticed. Thanks for the report."
"Then stop wasting shots."
The drone launched again.
Knox caught my jacket and yanked me backward. His chest hit my shoulder blades for half a second. Heat pressed through the thin fabric, his breath brushing my ear as the machine screamed past us.
"Left side," he said.
"I know where left is."
"Then use it."
I planted my boot against the pillar, twisted out of his grip, and threw a pulse charge beneath the drone. The charge popped. The machine dipped, one stabilizer flickering.
Knox moved before I could call it.
He stepped into the open and drove his baton into the drone's underside. The impact knocked him hard against a metal rail. His health dropped from thirty-nine to thirty-one.
"Knox!"
"Eyes up!"
The drone recovered.
Three smaller blades unfolded from its body.
My mouth went dry. "That wasn't in the mission file."
"The mission file was six years old."
"You had six years to mention the murder machine?"
"You had six seconds to read the warning."
A blade fired.
I shoved Knox down. The blade tore through my sleeve and buried itself in the pillar. Pain flashed hot along my arm.
[HOST HEALTH: 35%]
Knox grabbed my wrist and pulled me close enough that our shoulders locked together.
"Stop fighting the link," he said.
"I'm not fighting anything. I'm trying not to get carved into spare parts."
"Your pulse keeps spiking every time I move."
"Maybe because you keep grabbing me."
His eyes dropped to my mouth for one quick, dangerous second. Then they came back to mine.
"You want me to let go?"
The question landed harder than it should have.
His fingers were still wrapped around my wrist. Firm. Warm. Not hurting me, but making it very clear he could.
Another blade struck the rail beside my head.
"No," I snapped. "I want you to make yourself useful."
Knox's mouth tightened. "Finally. Something we agree on."
He dragged me out from behind the pillar and shoved me toward the center of the depot.
The floor lights came alive under our boots. A blue grid spread across the concrete, lines snapping into place around us.
[COOPERATIVE COMBAT EVENT DETECTED] [REQUIRED ACTION: SYNCHRONIZED STRIKE] [TIME LIMIT: 00:38] [FAILURE RESULT: HOST AND PARTNER HEALTH REDUCED TO 0%]
"You have got to be kidding me," I said.
"No."
"The system wants us to hit it together?"
"The system wants to see if we can follow instructions."
"Then it should try asking nicely."
The drone hovered above us. Its armor split down the middle, revealing a rotating core wrapped in black energy.
Knox's grip shifted from my wrist to my palm. He shoved my hand against the hilt of my shock pistol.
"You strike when I strike."
"You don't give orders to me."
"I do when your life is attached to mine."
My display pulsed between our health bars.
[LINKED VITALS: ACTIVE]
I stared at the words. "That wasn't there before."
"It is now."
"And whose idea was that?"
"Not mine."
"You expect me to believe that?"
Knox stepped closer. The space between us disappeared. His hand stayed over mine, guiding the pistol upward while the drone circled overhead.
"Believe whatever keeps you alive," he said. "But if you miss the timing, your heart stops before mine does."
"How comforting."
"Mara. Look at me."
I did.
That was the problem. His face was too close. A thin cut ran along his jaw, bright with fresh blood. His eyes held mine like he could pin me there with nothing but attention.
"Listen to my count," he said.
"I don't take orders well."
"You don't have to like me. You just have to match me."
The drone's core flared.
[00:29]
Knox lifted our joined hands. "Three."
"That's not much warning."
"Two."
"You really are terrible at teamwork."
"One."
The drone dropped.
Knox pulled me right. I fired left.
The bolt missed the core by inches.
The machine slammed into the floor between us. A shockwave punched through my knees and threw me backward.
Knox hit the ground on one shoulder. His health dropped to twenty-four.
Mine fell to twenty-eight.
"That was your count," I yelled.
"You moved early."
"You moved late."
"I moved when you did."
The drone rose, damaged but faster. Its blades spun in a tight circle, chewing through old cables and steel supports. Shards rained across the grid.
Knox rolled behind a cargo crate. I slid after him, landing hard on my hip.
"We have twenty seconds," he said.
"Then stop arguing."
"You started it."
"You were born starting things."
He looked at me. "You know a lot about me for someone who claims she doesn't care."
"I know you're an officer with a trigger in my spine. That makes you hard to ignore."
His expression went flat.
The red warning at the base of my neck pulsed once. Knox could trigger the kill code. We both knew it. He didn't need to touch me. He only needed to say the command.
He leaned close, voice dropping. "Don't make me use it."
"Don't make me give you a reason."
For a second, neither of us moved.
His knee pressed against mine in the narrow space. His fingers braced beside my hip. The crate shook as a blade struck the other side.
"You keep threatening me," he said.
"You keep earning it."
"And you keep saving me."
"I saved myself. You're attached."
His gaze stayed on my face. "Tell yourself that."
The crate split with a metallic crack.
Knox caught the back of my neck and pulled me down as the drone tore through the top. Its core flashed overhead.
[00:14]
"Now," he said.
"We don't have a clean angle."
"Make one."
I looked at the overhead rails. A maintenance cable hung loose above the drone, still connected to a live junction box.
"Can you get me up there?"
"Can you hit the core?"
"Can you stop asking stupid questions?"
He pushed to his feet and caught my waist.
The contact was brief, but my body reacted before my brain did. His palm locked against my side. He lifted me onto the crate as if I weighed nothing.
"Don't drop me," I said.
"Then don't fall."
"That isn't how promises work."
"It's the only one you're getting."
The drone turned.
Knox stepped into its path and slammed his baton into the nearest blade. The machine shrieked. Its arm punched into his chest and drove him back across the grid.
His health dropped to sixteen.
"Knox!"
"Cable, Mara!"
I jumped.
My fingers caught the loose line. Current snapped through my palm. The interface over my wrist stuttered, then projected a new command.
[UNAUTHORIZED SKILL AVAILABLE] [STATIC THREAD] [ACTIVATE? Y/N]
I grinned despite the pain. "Hey, system. I choose yes."
The cable lit blue.
The drone jerked toward me.
Knox shoved himself up, blood running from the corner of his mouth. "Mara, don't use an untested skill."
"You have a better plan?"
"Yes. Let go."
"Not happening."
"That's not a suggestion."
"You don't get to decide what happens to me."
The drone charged. Its core opened wide, gathering enough power to burn through the entire depot.
My display flashed.
[STATIC THREAD: 3%] [FAILURE RATE: 87%]
"The skill's failing," Knox shouted.
"I can read."
"Then release the cable."
"And let it vaporize us?"
"Better than letting the system eat your nervous signal."
"You sound worried."
His eyes snapped to mine. "I'm trying to keep you alive."
"Why?"
The question came out sharper than I meant it to.
Knox froze for half a beat.
The drone fired.
He moved under the blast and hit the control panel beside the rail. Sparks burst around him. The impact threw him onto one knee, but the beam bent just enough for me to stay standing.
"Because you're linked to me," he said.
"That isn't the whole answer."
"It's the only one you need."
"Liar."
His jaw flexed. "Pull the cable down. On my mark."
"You still haven't told me the plan."
"I break its shield. You thread the charge into the core."
"And if the skill fails?"
"Then I trigger your kill code before the drone does."
I stared at him.
"You'd kill me?"
"I'd stop the pain."
"That's supposed to make me feel better?"
"No. It's supposed to make you trust me."
The words hit somewhere under my ribs.
The drone raised both blades.
[00:06]
Knox stood. His uniform was torn at the shoulder. The city badge on his chest flickered between silver and red, like even the system couldn't decide what he was anymore.
"Mara," he said. "On three."
"If you miss—"
"I won't."
"That's not what I was going to say."
"I know."
He charged.
The drone swung. Knox ducked beneath the first blade and caught the second with both hands. Metal screamed against metal. His boots slid across the grid.
"One!" he shouted.
I pulled the cable down.
Blue current snapped around my arm and raced into the floor.
"Two!"
The drone pushed Knox backward. His health dropped to nine.
"Knox!"
"Three!"
He twisted and drove his baton straight into the exposed core.
I slammed the cable into the opening.
For one second, everything locked.
His heartbeat punched against the link.
One beat.
Mine answered.
Another beat.
The same rhythm. The same speed. Like the system had taken both of us and forced our bodies into one ugly machine.
[SYNC WINDOW OPEN] [STRIKE NOW]
"Mara!" Knox yelled.
"I'm trying!"
The drone's core fought back. Static climbed my arm. My fingers cramped around the cable.
Knox's hand found mine.
His palm covered my knuckles, steadying them against the shaking current.
"Don't pull away," he said.
"You first."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"You say that like you get a choice."
His face was inches from mine now. Heat, metal, and the sharp smell of blood filled the space between us.
"Hit it with me," he said.
The link tightened.
His heartbeat struck.
I struck with it.
The power ripped through the drone. Its armor buckled inward. The red eye flashed once, twice, then shattered in a burst of white sparks.
The machine dropped between us.
The silence lasted less than a second.
Then the system screamed.
[COOPERATIVE EVENT COMPLETE] [SYNC ACCURACY: 100%] [REWARD: UNKNOWN] [HOST HEALTH: 8%] [PARTNER HEALTH: 8%] [FAILURE RATE: 86%]
I stared at the numbers. "We lost another percent."
Knox let go of my hand. His fingers dragged across mine as he pulled away.
"We survived."
"That is a very low standard."
"It keeps being useful."
The ruined drone twitched.
Knox raised his baton again.
"Wait." I caught his sleeve. "It's not dead."
"Everything is dead if I hit it enough."
"That's not what I mean."
The drone's broken eye projected a thin line of text across the floor.
[ERROR MEMORY RECOVERED] [FAILURE PATTERN: ARDEN, KNOX] [REPEAT: 14,201]
Knox went still.
The air between us changed.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"Nothing."
"It just used your name."
"It used my officer ID."
"No. It said Knox Arden."
His hand closed around the baton until the metal frame creaked.
"Mara, step away from the projection."
"Why?"
"Because I told you to."
"That's not an answer."
He moved toward me, blocking the text with his body.
I stepped sideways.
He matched me.
"You don't get to hide behind your height and a city badge," I said.
"You don't get to dig through a system you don't understand."
"Funny. You keep dragging me through it."
"Because you're the only person who can open the doors."
The words slipped out.
His face tightened.
Mine did too.
"The only person?" I asked.
"Forget I said it."
"What doors, Knox?"
"Mara."
"How many people have you brought into this district?"
"None."
"How many died trying?"
He didn't answer.
The broken drone clicked again. A small compartment opened beneath its core. Inside sat a black metal key, no bigger than my thumb. Its surface carried a thin line of gold light.
My wrist display reacted before I touched it.
[ACCESS OBJECT DETECTED] [ROUTE CLASSIFICATION: TOP TIER] [LOCK STATUS: SEALED]
I looked at Knox. "Top Tier?"
"Don't touch it."
"You said that about the cable."
"And you nearly burned through your own hand."
"Still alive."
"Barely."
He caught my wrist again, but this time I didn't pull free. His thumb rested over my pulse, right where the link had started syncing us. His eyes dropped to the contact, and the moment stretched too long.
"Let go," I said quietly.
His grip loosened.
Not enough.
"You want the key," he said.
"I want out of this district. My brother needs treatment, and the only clinic that can keep him alive is outside the purge zone."
"The key won't get you there."
"Then what does it open?"
"A level you can't survive."
"You survived it."
A muscle jumped in his cheek. "No, I didn't."
The answer was so quiet I almost missed it.
He released me and crouched beside the dead drone. With two fingers, he lifted the key from its compartment.
The gold line flared.
Knox's interface appeared in the air between us.
[ACCESS ACCEPTED] [DESTINATION: TOP TIER ASCENSION GATE] [AUTHORIZED USER: ARDEN, KNOX] [SECONDARY USER: VEY, MARA]
My breath caught.
"Secondary user?" I said.
Knox stared at the display like it had put a gun to his head.
"You knew this would happen."
"No."
"You knew my name would be on it."
"I said no."
"Then why is the system calling me an authorized user?"
He shoved the key into his pocket.
I stepped in front of him. "Give it back."
"We're leaving."
"Not until you tell me why that gate recognizes me."
"You want the truth?"
"For once."
Knox planted one hand against the wall beside my head and leaned in. His body blocked the exit. His voice dropped low enough to vibrate through the narrow space between us.
"The gate doesn't recognize you because you're special. It recognizes you because somebody put your access code in the system before you were old enough to—"
A siren cut through the depot.
The red purge lights snapped on.
[WARNING] [UNAUTHORIZED ASCENSION EVENT] [ALL HOSTILE UNITS DEPLOYING] [ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: 00:17]
Knox's eyes shifted past me to the sealed blast door.
Metal locks began to turn on the other side.
I grabbed the front of his uniform. "Before I was old enough to what?"
He looked down at my hand, then back at my face.
"Mara, if that door opens, you run when I say run."
"You're not changing the subject."
"I'm not. I'm telling you the truth."
The first lock released.
The second one followed.
Knox pulled the black key from his pocket and held it between us. Gold light spilled over his fingers.
"Your code was entered by the first person who ever—"
The blast door buckled inward, and something on the other side slammed into it hard enough to split the metal as Knox said, "—reset the city."