The battle room stood frozen in silence for a long moment. Then came the gasps—slow at first, scattered—then a rising tide of realization.
Meta-bot wearers all around began to grasp, what had just happened. In the blink of an eye, they had been taken—snatched from their lives without warning, without consent, and thrown into a war they never agreed to fight.
Just like every soldier ever drafted. Just like every human forced to face danger for survival.
Just like us.
"My, my…" Blue sat lazily on a hard metal surface, "We're fucked, aren't we?"
Tyson turned his head slowly, only to see his team. The youngsters who always looked up to him as a leader were now scared.
Lara stood trembling like a leaf, her eyes wide with fear and Bee had turned away, hiding his face beneath his arms. Ken just stared, unmoving— trying to process it all. And Shaun… gulped, visibly shaking, lips parted like he was trying to breathe but couldn't.
They were terrified. All of them.
