The tunnel was endless.
A concrete throat swallowing them whole.
To their left, massive pipes hummed with the sound of rushing liquid nitrogen. To their right, cables as thick as tree trunks pulsed with light—data moving at the speed of thought.
"It's warmer here," Marcia whispered. She was wringing out her soaked hair as she walked.
"Waste heat," Lucilla said. She ran her hand along a data cable. "These lines carry the traffic for the entire continent. The heat they generate keeps this sector from freezing."
Marcus walked point. His night vision painted the world in eerie green.
He checked his status.
[HEALTH: 78%]
[ARMOR: COMPROMISED.]
[WEAPON: VIBRO-BLADE (RECHARGING).]
Narcissus brought up the rear. The giant limped. His left knee servo whined with every step—clank-whirr, clank-whirr. Sparks showered from his open chest cavity.
"Hold," Marcus raised a fist.
The catwalk ended.
Ahead, a massive blast door blocked the path. It was circular, like a bank vault, stamped with the Board's golden pyramid.
[RESTRICTED AREA: SECTOR 4 CONTROL NODE.]
[ACCESS: DNA VERIFICATION REQUIRED.]
"Dead end," Marcia said, leaning against the railing. She looked exhausted. Her skin was pale, lips blue.
"No," Lucilla said. She walked to the console next to the door. "This is a maintenance hub. If we get inside, we can access the surface elevators."
She stared at the hand scanner. It was glowing red.
"You said your access was revoked," Marcus said.
"My codes are revoked," Lucilla corrected. "My passwords. My clearance."
She held up her hand.
"But they can't revoke my DNA. Unless they scrubbed the local database manually."
"Did they?"
"Titus is thorough," Lucilla said. Her hand trembled over the scanner. "If I touch this, and I'm flagged as hostile... the defense turrets activate."
She pointed to the ceiling. Two automated sentry guns hung dormant in the shadows.
"50/50," Marcus said.
"If I'm wrong, we die," Lucilla whispered.
"We're already dead," Marcus said. "We're ghosts in the sewer. Finish it."
He stepped closer to her. Not threatening. Supporting.
"You wanted to make a deal with Titus," Marcus said softly. "You wanted to trade me for safety."
Lucilla looked at him. Shame colored her cheeks.
"I was scared."
"I know. But you didn't do it. You played your part. You lured him to the trap."
He nodded at the scanner.
"Pick a side, Director. Once and for all."
Lucilla took a deep breath. She closed her eyes.
She slammed her palm onto the glass plate.
[SCANNING...]
A beam of light traced her fingerprints.
The sentry guns swiveled. The barrels spun up. Whirrrr.
Marcia raised her shotgun.
[BIOMETRIC MATCH CONFIRMED.]
[WELCOME, DIRECTOR LUCILLA.]
The red light turned green.
KA-CHUNK.
The heavy bolts retracted. The door groaned open.
"I'm in," Lucilla breathed. She sagged against the wall, laughing nervously. "They didn't scrub me. They didn't think I'd be crawling in the sewers."
"Let's go," Marcus said.
They stepped inside.
The control room was pristine. White panels, blue holographic displays, leather chairs. It smelled of ozone and filtered air. And it was warm.
"Oh god," Marcia moaned. She collapsed into one of the chairs. "Heat."
Marcus didn't sit. He walked to the main terminal.
"JARVIS," Marcus said. "Wake up."
The Gold UI flared.
[CONNECTION ESTABLISHED.]
[INTERFACE: DIRECT LINK.]
[DOWNLOADING MAP DATA...]
A hologram sprang to life in the center of the room. It was a topographic map of Europe.
Red lines crisscrossed the mountains.
"What is that?" Narcissus asked, pointing a massive finger at the Alps.
"The Iron Wall," Marcus said.
He zoomed in.
The map showed a line of fortifications stretching from Switzerland to Austria. Bunkers. Artillery batteries. Shield generators.
"This is where Titus is hiding," Marcus realized. "He wasn't waiting at the border. He's dug in at the choke point."
"Look at the density," Lucilla said, pointing to the red dots. "Thousands of automated turrets. Minefields. It's impenetrable."
[ANALYSIS: FRONTAL ASSAULT PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS: 0%.]
"Thanks for the optimism," Marcus muttered.
"We can't fight an army," Marcia said. "Not with one truck and a broken robot."
"I am not broken," Narcissus rumbled. He tried to straighten up, and a piece of loose armor fell off his chest. Clang. "Merely... customized."
"We don't need to fight them," Marcus said. He looked at the terminal. "We're in the backbone. We control the data."
He looked at Lucilla.
"Can we shut it down?"
"Shut down the Wall?" Lucilla shook her head. "No. It's hardwired. But..."
She typed a command.
"We can blind it."
The hologram flickered.
"The automated defenses rely on IFF—Identification Friend or Foe," Lucilla explained. "They scan for Board transponders. If you have one, the guns don't shoot."
"We don't have transponders," Marcia said.
"No," Marcus smiled. "But we can tell the system that everyone is a friend."
He placed his hand on the interface port. His nanites surged.
[INJECTING VIRUS...]
[TARGET: IFF PROTOCOLS.]
[REWRITING: ALL TARGETS DESIGNATED AS 'FRIENDLY'.]
The red dots on the map turned green.
"Done," Marcus said. "For the next twelve hours, those turrets won't shoot at anything. Not us. Not a stray dog. Not Titus himself."
"We just opened the front door," Marcia said, smiling.
"Now we just need to get there," Marcus said.
"Elevator," Lucilla pointed to the back of the room. "It leads to the surface maintenance shed. Five miles outside Sofia."
They walked to the elevator.
Marcus pressed the button.
Nothing happened.
"Power is cut to the lift," Galen's voice crackled over the comms. Wait, Galen wasn't with them.
"Galen?" Marcus tapped his ear. "Where are you?"
"I'm... cough... I'm up here," Galen's voice was weak.
"Up where?"
"The surface. We survived the fall."
"The trucks fell?" Marcus asked, stunned.
"The metro tunnel collapsed," Galen said. "We slid down a ramp of debris. We're in a subway station below the square. But Marcus... we aren't alone."
"Who is with you?"
"Titus."
Marcus froze.
"What do you mean?"
"The crash," Galen whispered. "His drone ship crashed into the square. But it wasn't empty. There was a cargo hold."
"What was in the hold?"
"Hunters. Hundreds of them. In stasis pods. The crash woke them up."
SCREECH.
A sonic scream echoed over the radio. Then gunfire.
"They're breaching the barricade!" Decimus yelled in the background. "Hold the line! FOR ROME!"
"We're coming!" Marcus shouted.
"No elevator," Narcissus said. He walked to the shaft doors. He pried them open with his hands.
Darkness. Cables hanging loose.
"We climb," Marcus said.
"I cannot climb," Narcissus said. He looked at his damaged leg. "Not fast enough."
"Then we carry you," Marcus said.
"No," Narcissus pushed Marcus toward the shaft. "Go. Save the Legion. I will find another way."
"Narcissus..."
"I am heavy," the giant said. "I am slow. Up there... you need speed."
He pointed to his chest.
"Take the core."
"What?"
"The Fusion Core," Narcissus said. "My auxiliary power. Take it. Galen can use it for a bomb. Or a shield."
"If I take your auxiliary, you shut down."
"I have reserves," Narcissus lied. Even Marcus could see the power levels dropping.
"Go, brother," Narcissus said gently. "Be the Emperor."
Marcus hesitated. Then he grabbed the giant's arm.
"You climb," Marcus ordered. "Slowly. If you aren't at the top when the fighting stops... I'm scrapping you."
Narcissus made a grinding noise that might have been a laugh.
"Yes, my Lord."
Marcus jumped into the shaft. He grabbed the cables.
"Marcia! Lucilla! Move!"
They began the ascent.
Five hundred feet of vertical hell.
Marcus climbed hand over hand. His muscles burned. His nanites screamed for energy.
Above him, the sounds of battle grew louder. Explosions. Screams. The WUB-WUB of sonic cannons.
He reached the top. The maintenance hatch.
He punched it open.
He climbed out.
He wasn't in a shed. He was in the ruined metro station.
It was a warzone.
The refugees were huddled behind overturned vending machines and ticket booths. They were firing wildly into the dark tunnels.
From the shadows, the Hunters advanced.
Sleek. Invisible. Deadly.
Their optical camo shimmered. Their sonic cannons pulsed.
A refugee stood up to fire. A sonic blast hit him. He exploded—liquefied from the inside.
"Form up!" Marcus roared, igniting his sword.
The purple glow lit up the station.
"CAESAR!" Decimus screamed. "CAESAR LIVES!"
The morale shifted instantly. The refugees stopped cowering. They cheered.
Marcus charged.
He didn't have armor. He didn't have a shield.
He had rage.
He hit the first Hunter. He slid under its sonic blast. He sliced its legs off at the knees.
"Marcia! Flank left! Lucilla, hack the PA system! Give me some noise!"
Lucilla ran to a terminal. She smashed the glass. She jacked in.
SCREEEEEEEECH.
Feedback exploded from the station speakers.
The Hunters recoiled. Their sonic sensors were overloaded by the noise. They clutched their heads.
"NOW!" Marcus yelled. "FINISH THEM!"
The Legion charged.
They didn't have tech. They had knives, rocks, and scavenged rifles.
They swarmed the confused cyborgs. They dragged them down. They beat them to death with the butts of their guns.
It was brutal. Primal.
Man against Machine.
Marcus stood in the center of the carnage, panting. Green blood soaked his tunic.
The last Hunter fell.
Silence returned, save for the static on the PA system.
"We're clear," Marcia gasped, reloading her shotgun.
Marcus looked around.
"Where are the trucks?"
"Buried," Galen said, emerging from behind a pile of rubble. "But we saved the cargo. And the nuclear battery."
"Good," Marcus said. "We walk from here."
"To where?" Decimus asked.
Marcus pointed at the tunnel exit. The light of day was filtering through.
"To the Alps," Marcus said. "To the Wall."
He looked back at the elevator shaft.
"And we wait for Narcissus."
A thud.
A metal hand gripped the edge of the platform.
Slowly, painfully, the giant pulled himself up. He dragged his damaged leg.
He collapsed on the floor. Smoke rose from his joints.
"I... am... here," Narcissus wheezed.
Marcus smiled. He walked over and offered his hand.
"Welcome back to the surface, big guy."
Narcissus took the hand.
"It is still cold," the giant complained.
"Yeah," Marcus said, looking at the snow falling through the broken roof.
"But the fire is coming."