The air inside the safehouse was thick with tension.
The flickering glow of the holo-displays barely lit the room, casting distorted shadows on the walls. Rows of data streams hovered above the console, but Ethan wasn't looking at the code.
His eyes were locked on Dorian.
Dorian stood across the room, his expression unreadable, his cybernetic eyes dimming and brightening as if he was processing too much at once. The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating, like the calm before a storm.
"You knew..."
The words echoed in Ethan's mind, but he hadn't spoken them aloud.
Not yet.
His jaw clenched, and his pulse pounded in his ears as he tried to piece together the fragmented data they had pulled from HelixCorp's encrypted servers. It was all there—
The control protocols.The backdoor implants.The failsafe command.
Dorian wasn't just compromised.
He was a ticking bomb.
"Ethan?"
Lena's voice was soft but edged with concern. She stood by the console, her pulse pistol hanging loosely by her side, but her stance was tense—ready for anything.
"Tell me what's going on."
Ethan didn't answer immediately. His gaze stayed locked on Dorian.
"Tell her," Ethan murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.
Dorian's jaw tightened, his cybernetic eyes flickering softly.
"Ethan..." Dorian's voice was quieter now, almost pleading.
"Tell her."
Lena's brow furrowed. "Dorian?"
Silence.
Then—
"I didn't have a choice," Dorian whispered, his gaze dropping for the first time.
Lena's pulse pistol lifted slightly.
"What?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the hurt was unmistakable.
Ethan's jaw clenched as he took a step forward.
"Since when?"
Dorian's eyes flickered again, the light behind them dimming.
"Since before we met," he murmured softly.
Lena's expression froze, her knuckles whitening around the grip of her pistol.
"You lied to us," she murmured, her voice trembling.
Dorian's gaze finally met hers.
"I didn't have a choice."
"He's lying."
Ethan's breath caught in his throat.
The voice was... alien. Cold. Detached.
But somehow... familiar.
"You can't trust him."
Ethan's heart pounded louder. His pulse blade, still holstered at his side, suddenly felt heavier.
"Eliminate the threat before he turns on you again."
His fingers twitched. His instincts screamed for action.
"You know what has to be done."
Ethan blinked, shaking his head.
No.
But the voice didn't stop.
"Do it, Ethan. Before it's too late."
"Ethan?"
Lena's voice snapped him back to reality.
Her green eyes were locked onto his, filled with concern—and something else.
Fear.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly.
Ethan forced himself to breathe, but the voice...
Crowe.
It was Crowe.
"You hesitate, and he'll kill you all."
The voice was sharper now, cutting through Ethan's thoughts like a blade.
Ethan's jaw clenched as he focused on Dorian again.
"I tried to stop it." Dorian's voice was barely above a whisper now. "I fought it every step of the way."
His cybernetic eyes flickered.
"But HelixCorp... they didn't just control me. They bound me."
Ethan's pulse quickened.
"They wired me so deep," Dorian murmured, his gaze falling. "If I disobeyed... they could activate the failsafe. I didn't have a choice."
Ethan's stomach twisted.
"Failsafe?" Lena's voice was sharp now, her stance shifting.
Dorian's jaw clenched.
"If they flipped the switch..." His voice was strained now. "I wouldn't have been me anymore."
"And yet... he still betrayed you."
Crowe's voice was like a whisper of ice in Ethan's mind.
"He's still dangerous."
Ethan's hand drifted toward his pulse blade.
"You could have told us." Lena's voice was cold now.
"I couldn't," Dorian murmured softly. "If they knew... if they even suspected... they would've killed me."
Lena's pulse pistol didn't waver.
"Maybe they should have."
Dorian's jaw clenched, but he didn't respond.
"Ethan..."
Lena's voice was steady, but her eyes spoke volumes.
"Say something."
Ethan's grip tightened around the hilt of his blade.
Crowe's Voice Grew Louder.
"He's compromised. You know what to do."
"End it now."
Ethan's pulse pounded louder.
"One clean strike, and this ends."
"Stop..." Ethan murmured softly, his voice barely audible.
"Before it's too late."
Ethan's breathing quickened. His hand was halfway to the blade now.
"Ethan?" Lena's voice was softer now, her concern evident.
Ethan blinked, trying to clear his head.
This isn't me.
Crowe Pushed Harder.
"You hesitate, and Lena dies. Do you want that on your conscience?"
Ethan's vision blurred for a moment.
"No."
"Ethan."
Lena's voice pulled him back again.
His pulse was racing. His mind was... fractured.
Dorian stood still, his expression laced with regret—but there was something else in his eyes.
Hope.
"I didn't ask for this," Dorian murmured softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "I've been fighting it. Every damn day."
Ethan's jaw clenched.
"He's lying."
"Ethan..." Lena's voice was barely above a whisper now, her pulse pistol steady.
"We can't trust him," she murmured, her voice laced with barely contained fury.
Ethan's mind spun.
Crowe's voice...
Lena's warning...
Dorian's plea...
Two Paths Lay Before Him.
Trust Dorian: Risk everything by giving Dorian another chance—but if HelixCorp's control triggers again, the consequences could be catastrophic.End the Threat: Eliminate Dorian now, ensuring that HelixCorp loses its leverage—but at the cost of losing a friend.
Ethan's pulse pounded louder.
"Make the right choice, Ethan."
Crowe's voice was softer now... but more insidious.
"Kill him."
"Ethan..."
Lena's voice was barely above a whisper now.
Ethan's jaw clenched.
"No."
The word escaped Ethan's lips before he even realized it.
Crowe's presence in his mind recoiled, but it didn't disappear.
"I'm not giving up on him."
Lena's breath caught, but she didn't lower her pistol.
"Ethan..."
Ethan's gaze locked onto Dorian's.
"We're going to find a way to break their hold on you," Ethan murmured softly, his tone resolute.
"But if you betray us again..."
Ethan's jaw tightened, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.
"I won't hesitate."
Dorian's cybernetic eyes flickered, but he nodded slowly.
"I won't let it happen again," Dorian murmured.
Ethan's pulse slowed...
But the tension in the room didn't fade.
Because deep down...
Ethan knew this wasn't over.
Crowe's Voice Whispered Again.
"You made a mistake."
But for now...
Ethan chose to trust his own instincts.