Cyberpunk: Arasaka Secret Son

'What the hell am I doing here!?' Jack exclaimed in his mind, trapped inside the colossal metallic beast speeding through the mine at a terrifying pace.

Despite reaching the end of the tunnel they were traveling through, the gigantic excavator— a cross between a metal worm and a serpent— accelerated, and like a train without tracks, shot out of the tunnel, leaping over the gigantic vertical shafts that spanned the mine. It soared across the 100-meter-wide gap before landing precisely in the tunnel on the opposite side.

"Sora... can you explain what the hell is going on? The only thing you've told me is to get in," Jack asked, firmly gripping the railings and magnetized to the floor. Meanwhile, his companion remained completely unfazed, sitting calmly, talking animatedly with the red lens of the servers controlling the colossal machine.

He recalled how moments earlier, after removing his hand from the gigantic lens of the mechanical monster, Sora had simply told him, "Follow me," as he climbed the stairs that had appeared between the drills.

"Oh, right," Sora, in a good mood after reuniting with an old friend, said, "Let me introduce you... this is I.C.E. W0-RM." Patting one of the consoles with familiarity, he added, "Or more formally, Interplanetary Colonization Excavator, Worm-0 class. Designed—actually, approved—by Professor Turing from the United Nations Space Agency."

Here's the translated and slightly adjusted version of the text:

Jack opened his eyes, surprised to hear the name of the famous professor... "Mathison Turing?"

"You know him?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The father of modern AIs? Of course I know him," Jack replied, before adding, "The Doktor has a photo of him smoking in his office."

Satisfied that the name hadn't been forgotten, Sora continued. "As I was saying... W0Rm. It's one of a kind. A conceptual construction from the UNSA planetary colonization plan. The idea was to send it to a planet, asteroid, or moon, and it would start digging a network of tunnels large enough to house colonies underground, protected from radiation and other dangers.

After the Datakrash, the professor's death, and everything going to hell, they decided that the W0rm AI wasn't advanced enough to be dangerous, so they sold it to a mining company."

Sora took a breath and repeated the story W0rm had told him. "After decades of digging, the company went bankrupt and left it here. It didn't mind and lived peacefully, until the island's new owners showed up and intruded into W0's home."

"The mine?" Jack interjected, frowning, imagining the encounter based on his own experience.

Sora nodded. "They tried to deactivate it... didn't go well, and they ran. W0Rm didn't chase them or leave the mine, so they decided to seal the entrance and monitor it from the outside. They knew they couldn't control it, but they didn't dare mess with it either."

Jack cracked a slight smile as he chimed in. "So the concrete seals at the entrance are there to keep something from coming out... just as I said."

Amused, Sora confirmed slowly, "Exactly. According to W0, just as HQ suspected, a section of the mine runs close to Shadow Moses. The bad news is it'll take us a couple of hours to get through the mine. The good news is that 'little' W0 will take us."

Immediately after, a low growl spread from the depths of W0rm's machinery, as if it were complaining.

Sora laughed, as if he understood, and replied, "To me... you'll always be little."

Jack frowned, his mind flooded with questions. "How the hell do you know all this? Most of UNSA's projects were classified and sold to corporations. And why does it seem like you two know each other?"

In his usual casual tone, Sora responded, "They didn't get anything. All the technology from UNSA's most advanced projects was safeguarded by 'someone.' Even if that someone forgot what they did with it. As for knowing each other... well, it's because I designed it."

Jack thought he was messing with him, until Sora sealed it with a sly smile, prompting Jack to narrow his eyes and say sarcastically, "Sure!" Not able to believe him, even if it were true.

However, Sora's smile faded when W0 sent him another message, saying: [Architect, now that you mention it, do you want me to return the memories you asked me to store?]

The kind suggestion caused the "Architect" to glitch for a second, and he couldn't help but shout, "WHAT!"

-

A few hours later...

After they had arrived and Jack had already left, Sora remained behind.

Placing his cybernetic hand on W0's server lens, he murmured slowly, "Send it."

The response was immediate. In his cyberspace, a data packet unfolded. Upon opening it, the information flowed and began to automatically integrate into the index where Arc had cataloged the UNSA technologies that "someone" had safeguarded.

As the missing pieces fell into place, the index expanded. Sora realized they weren't the projects themselves. They were coordinates, guidelines, and yet none at the same time—like a cryptic treasure map pointing the way to his own legacy, scattered and hidden in the old net.

Even what his brothers so desperately sought: control of the satellites scattered throughout the solar system, which kept the old net active behind the Blackwall, beyond human reach. So crucial, that whoever controlled it could potentially wipe out the net and all the rogue AIs inhabiting it in a single stroke.

As well as solutions to many of humanity's most pressing issues, like pollution, the scarcity of natural resources, and ecological collapse, thanks to UNSA's terraforming and climate control technologies that Arc had perfected during its isolation behind the wall.

However, while he was already planning his trip to the other side... "What the hell was I thinking?" Sora frowned after encountering a problem when he recalled the safeguards his old self had used to securely reclaim the data without it being destroyed.

These safeguards were specifically designed to interfere with his "siblings," requiring a pure human mind— not an AI, or whatever he was now— to retrieve them.

Thinking of a Netrunner companion for his journey beyond the wall, the image of one of his fiancée, immediately appeared in his mind. However, Sora shook his head, quickly dismissing the idea... not wanting to force her to accompany him to the place she feared and hated the most in the network.

Then, the face of another female Netrunner came to mind, and Sora sighed, resigned. "At least she had experience moving behind the wall," he recalled. His decision was already made.

"When this mission is over... I'll have to ask Mother to join me on this trip," he murmured out loud as he prepared to leave. However, before heading out, he raised his hand, and as a dark mist of nanobots began to slowly seep from his fingers, they swirled through the air like digital smoke.

The cloud gathered and condensed over his forearm. The nanobots assembled with a precision that seemed almost magical, forming a small black snake that slithered slowly around his arm, as if it were a living creature.

Sora looked at it, satisfied, and said, "W0, load your core into this frame; that way, you can come with me."

The machine responded with a metallic whir, undoubtedly happy, having been saddened by the imminent departure of its creator.

With a soft smile after hearing W0's positive response, Sora guided the nanobot snake toward the server. The small black creature slipped through the tangle of wires and circuits, moving with an unsettling fluidity. Just seconds later, it emerged from the darkness, its tiny eyes glowing brightly with a vibrant green light.

Satisfied, Sora offered his hand to W0, who didn't hesitate to take it, coiling around his arm and slipping beneath his armor. It peeked out curiously from his neck, rubbing its head against Sora's chin.

"Let's go!" Sora said, leaving the colossal machine behind, now inert and empty.

-

As soon as they stepped out, Jack was in front of a small opening, surrounded by metal pipes that intermittently exhaled smoke and hot air.

"Are you finally done?" He asked, arms crossed, not hiding his impatience.

"Now that you mention it... I think I forgot something inside," Sora replied, pointing his thumb back at the colossal W0-RM.

Jack snorted in frustration. "Very funny. Let's go— I imagine we can access the base through here," he said as he crouched to pass through the narrow entrance.

Before he could enter, Sora leapt ahead with an agile jump. "I'd rather not spend the whole trip staring at your metal ass," He said as he disappeared between the pipes.

-

Pipes surrounded Sora and Jack as they moved forward, exhaling steam and hot air that filled the atmosphere with a metallic and stale smell. Upon reaching the end of the narrow tunnel, a metal grate blocked their path. Sora crouched down and struggled with the grate. Unable to move it, he felt the welding.

"It's shut tight," he murmured.

Jack, who had developed a skepticism toward his partner's assessments, ignored his comment and tried to open the grate on his own. Neither his augmented arms nor the hydraulic strength he applied could make it budge.

"This is going to be a problem," Jack said, stepping back.

"Oh, really?" Sora replied with a half-smile. He lifted one leg and, with a kick that echoed throughout the engine room, the grate crashed to the ground with a metallic roar.

"Did you hear that?" one of the soldiers' voices echoed from the other side.

"Yeah, it sounds like... something metallic. Could it be the machinery?" his companion replied, with a hint of doubt.

"Let's make sure," ordered the first, his tone more serious.

Sora and Jack exchanged fleeting glances. Before the two rushed through the opening, scrambling to be the first to get out while silently cursing each other, Sora—surprisingly—had to step back to let Jack go first before they both got caught.

They both passed through the opening quickly, and after placing the grate back in its position, another metallic clang reverberated, alarming the soldiers, who quickened their pace.

Just as they were almost upon them...

"Nothing here..." said one of the soldiers, lowering his weapon after finding nothing behind the machines or the slightly bent grate where the pipes were coming out.

"Must've been the machinery" urmured the patrol leader. "[Working 24/7, new noises are bound to start popping up.]"

As the soldiers resumed their patrol, Sora and Jack let out a faint sigh of relief from the beams on the ceiling. Their camouflages, already adapted to the surroundings, had taken on dark tones, blending into shades of gray and black. Jack used his magnetic arm to quickly ascend, with Sora close behind, using his grappling hook at the last moment.

Sora was about to separate from Jack, entering one of the ventilation ducts, when a sharp, static noise stopped him as the base's PA system activated.

["Attention, all personnel,] the voice echoed through the speakers. "[All soldiers and available staff must report immediately to the main hall for a meeting with the chief. I repeat, mandatory meeting. Libertas omni pretio, over.]"

Sora raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "A meeting?" he muttered, thinking it might be a good opportunity to gather information about the organization operating under Armstech's cover, and possibly... Militech.

"Sounds casual," Jack commented before Sora gave him a conspiratorial look. "You in?"

Jack nodded without hesitation.

Taking advantage of the ventilation ducts, they exited the engine room, and the change was immediate. They found themselves in a bustling military base, with high ceilings filled with cranes and machinery in constant motion.

The wide corridors were alive with activity, groups of soldiers marching in formation, all wearing identical uniforms and bearing the same emblem on their chests. On a small road, light buggies rolled by, transporting officers and equipment across the base.

Observing the scene from above, Jack broke the silence. "It looks like..."

"Lazarus," Sora finished, his gaze fixed on the constant movement below. "Yeah."

Sora and Jack slipped between columns and machinery, evading any inquisitive glances, as the traffic of soldiers and buggies increased the closer they got to the main hall.

"There," Jack murmured, pointing at the entrance to the large hall where the briefing would take place. The door was open, and inside, the crowd of soldiers and staff had already begun to gather.

Sora pointed to an elevated structure near the ceiling, just above the door: a platform with crane tracks that extended into the hall.

"Let's get up" he whispered. "From there, we can enter undetected."

They both moved in complete silence, climbing without making the slightest sound. Once they reached the platform and entered the hall, they settled into the shadows, observing the massive space from above.

At the far end of the hall stood an elevated stage, made of dark, sturdy metal, flanked by enormous flags hanging from the ceiling. On each flag, the organization's emblem stood out, imposing: a white skull viewed in profile on a yellow background, with the skull fractured in such a way that the cracks traced the outlines of continents and countries, as if the bone fragments formed a world map.

The phrase "Libertas Sans Frontières" crowned the emblem, prompting Sora to let out a displeased "Tch."

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't like French," Sora responded bluntly.

"Why not? I think it's elegant... plus, women love it."

Sora grumbled, "Too pompous, flowery, and nasal. Pick one! I don't get how anyone can like it. Japanese or English sounds much better."

"Oh, what a surprise... a half-Japanese guy thinks that?" Jack smiled sarcastically.

"Don't believe me?" Sora glanced at him. "When was the last time you heard a rock song in French?"

'Why does it have to be rock?' Jack wondered, confused.

Suddenly, the low hum of voices filling the air muted, as the sound of boots echoing against the metal stage caught everyone's attention.

The soldiers, lined up with almost mechanical precision, raised their heads in perfect synchronization. The atmosphere immediately tensed, as if a palpable energy coursed through the air. From the back of the stage, three figures emerged from the shadows, projecting an imposing presence.

The first to appear was the same burly man in heavy armor with twin machetes hanging menacingly from his waist that Sora and Jack had seen in the town. Under the stage lights, his head gleamed as he crossed his arms and inspected the soldiers' formation.

Sora sharpened his senses and, from the heights, paid close attention to the soldiers' discreet conversations below him.

"Tch… Captain Sundown always freaks me out," whispered one of the men, his voice laced with nervousness.

"Shh, you know what he'll do if he hears you. I've heard he just took out one of his own men recently," another replied, fear evident in his voice.

"Do you think that's true?" the first asked, but his companion didn't dare respond, feeling Sundown's eyes on them.

dry smile

Sora gave a dry smile and murmured to Jack, "Looks like Baldy is called Sundown… probably because of the effect when he leaves a room." Imagining the effect his bald head, shining like a small sun, would have when he stepped down from the stage.

Jack let out a small laugh before responding, "Could be..."

To Sundown's right, a slender figure moved with disconcerting lightness. With each step, if one looked closely, they could see that his calves weren't entirely connected to his knees, leaving a brief space between the parts of his body that absorbed the impact of his movements, a unique biomechanics system.

"Hmm…" Jack frowned, intrigued. "It seems like the same principle as my arm, but taken to the extreme. The parts of his limbs are magnetically connected."

The man wore flexible black armor with a red gradient starting from his mask, which only revealed a mouth curved in a playful smile, and a ponytail of white hair escaping from the back.

As he reached Sundown, he greeted the troops with an exaggerated arm movement, comically separating the sections of his limb, which briefly floated, aligned by a magnetic field, before snapping back together with a click.

"Captain Zephyr has always been my favorite," whispered one of the soldiers with a smile.

"Yeah, mine too. When my squad gets assigned under his command, we all celebrate. He loves memes, you should show him one. I managed to make him laugh once."

"Really?" his companion replied, astonished.

"Yep," the soldier added, proudly.

After overhearing them, Jack said, "Looks like Mr. Potato… is called Zephyr," as he examined him from above. Despite the peculiarity of his frame, neither Sora nor Jack scanned him to avoid giving away their presence.

Finally, a third figure emerged to Sundown's left. Tall, slender, and completely mechanical. Her legs, equipped with inverted Cheetah Flex-Foot prosthetics, absorbed each step with an almost feline fluidity.

Her body was covered by a metallic structure that barely resembled a human form, making it clear she had undergone a total conversion. Her face, partially hidden under a hood, revealed only a white mask with neutral feminine features, and the unsettling, cold violet light escaping from her lenses.

This time, it was a section of the soldiers with slightly different uniforms, large visible scars on their faces, and heavily modified limbs replacing battlefield injuries who reacted to their captain's entrance.

"Captain Shade, as cool as ever," said one of them with an excited expression.

"Yeah… she's a real inspiration," another replied, while the rest who overheard nodded in agreement.

The three captains turned, forming a corridor, and from the back of the stage… another figure appeared. The leader of Libertas Sans Frontières emerged with violent, confident strides, his rebellious aura preceding the blond man with a chiseled face as he stepped into the stage lights.

He wore only military boots and pants, along with a long leather trench coat, no shirt, revealing his muscular torso. No sleeves, proudly exposing his shiny, vintage Arasaka silver arm.

It was a familiar model that caught Sora's attention, enough to make him think… 'Maybe he's a fan. Still…' shifting to murmur, "He looks like a jerk… strutting around with his chest out."

Jack looked at him, confused, unsure if he should say what he was thinking. 'Wasn't yours worse? Appearing on TV looking almost the same way.' He held back from saying it, not wanting to start an argument in their current situation.

The leader positioned himself in the center, in front of his captains. The silence in the room was overwhelming until, suddenly, the screens behind them lit up, displaying the organization's emblem. Immediately after, the leader, along with his captains, shouted, striking a fist against their hearts, "Libertas, omni pretio!"

In response, as one, the soldiers and the rest of the personnel passionately struck their chests and shouted in unison: "OMNI PRETIO!"

After the burst of fervor, the leader raised his hand in a relaxed manner and, as if he were among old friends, said in a casual tone, "At ease, folks. We're not in a parade."

The soldiers and the rest of the personnel, who had been standing firm until then, immediately relaxed their posture. Smiles spread through the ranks, and the atmosphere in the room seemed to shift in an instant, from tense and professional to one much more relaxed and friendly.

Noticing all the expectant eyes on him, the leader stepped to the edge of the stage with a charismatic smile and a spark of humor in his eyes. "What's up? Are you all waiting for a song or something?"

Some soldiers started to whistle and clap, while others laughed, joining in the joke as if they were really expecting a performance.

Before Cain's angelic face, Sora glanced at Jack beside him and said, "He looks like you."

Jack raised an eyebrow, perplexed. "You're joking, right?"

"No, not really." Sora pointed to his own face. "Take away the chrome, and I'd say you two are practically identical."

After watching Cain's behavior—utterly unprofessional for the leader of such a major organization—Jack shot back, "If he looks like anyone, it's you!"

Unlike Jack, Sora just shrugged. Though, in a way, they were both... somewhat right.

The leader, Cain, taking advantage of the lightness of the moment, turned toward one of his captains.

"What do you think, Shade? With your voice synthesizer, we could give anything we play a unique touch."

The captain responded playfully, "At least give us some time to practice... I'm sure Zephyr could play several instruments at once, but I doubt Sundown knows how to play anything other than his machetes."

Her response sparked more laughter among the soldiers, further easing the mood. But the leader's smile faded as his gaze landed on his burly, bald captain. "We'd better drop the jokes. Besides, I don't think Sundown is in any position to practice... come on, do it."

Sundown stepped forward with a serious gesture, and to the surprise of Sora and Jack, he bowed before his soldiers.

"I'm sorry," he said in a deep voice, breaking the silence. "As some of you may know, 2 hours and 13 minutes ago... I took the life of a member of our organization. Although he was infected, our leader Cain, upon learning of my methods, did not hesitate to label them as inappropriate, making him suffer unnecessarily and forcing his comrades to become accomplices in that brutality. Such acts have no place in our organization, nor in the world we want to build. So... I'm sorry."

At first, silence dominated the room, but little by little, applause began to spread among those present, a gesture of acceptance of the captain's apology.

Cain, the leader, took a moment to observe his soldiers, his eyes calmly scanning the crowd, as if silently evaluating each one of them. Then, with a firm movement, he raised his cybernetic arm, the bright, silver metal catching the light from the stage, stopping the applause and silencing the immense room in an instant.

Then, after a few seconds of silence... his voice resonated through the hall effortlessly:

"Libertas omni pretio..." he pronounced slowly, without the same passion as before, as if he were dissecting each word before continuing: "As we all know, Freedom at any cost. But... what do those words really mean?"

He let the silence settle, giving weight to his question, forcing his listeners to reflect. "For generations, even before the brave Moss and his Datakrash, we were made to believe we were free. That we were equal. That we had the power to choose our own LIVE. They told us that if we worked HARD enough, if we broke our backs, we could reach the FUCKING SKY..."

He made a broad gesture with his hand, as if sweeping away that fantasy of a promised future, and his expression hardened. "A fucking lie."

The silence grew even heavier, his words sharp as knives, raw, cutting, resonating with an uncomfortable truth.

"A perfectly manufactured illusion," he continued, his voice now filled with contempt and cold irony. "A simple system update after the abolition of slavery, wider, more inclusive... making 99% of us remain slaves. With chains we can't feel, that don't rattle when we move... but they're there, tightening harder than ever around our necks."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over his followers. "Chains made of money."

"Put a price on any task, and there will always be someone desperate enough to do what a slave would do for their own life."

The leader raised his cybernetic arm, pointing disdainfully at the screen that lit up behind him. "I present to you the cabal of world leaders! Those who, from the shadows, control global events, ensuring that nothing—not even another threat like Moss and his Datakrash—endangers their lies. They are... the 'Elders.'"

On the screen, images of the founders of megacorporations, politicians, and military figures began to appear:

Saburo Arasaka (Founder of Arasaka)

Donald Lundee (US Marine Corps General, CEO of Militech)

Antoine DuBois (Former chief commissioner of the European Economic Community, founder of Orbital Air)

Nicolo Loggagia (Founder of Biotechnica)

Erich Kessler (Former general of the EEC, founder of IEC)

Emile Katzadoulos (Former US military officer)

Shiming Xu (Former Politburo leader of the Communist Party, founder of Kang Tao)

Seeing the type of faces that appeared, Sora rushed in and joked, "We were wrong; they look like good guys... let's go."

He couldn't help but feel a slight sympathy for their suicidal mission. 'Although... it would be fun if they managed to take out the old man,' he thought.

Jack, however, seeing one of the last names/images to appear, said with regret, "Are you sure?"

Eran Malour (Founder and CEO of Malorian Arms)

Unknown.

As the list was completed, silence fell like a weight in the room due to the titans that the organization he belonged to had marked as targets. The leader clenched his teeth, and a glimmer of rage appeared in his eyes. "When I discovered the truth… the only thing I thought was: No more!"

He paused, letting his words echo in the minds of everyone present. Then, he continued in a firm voice: "And that's why, brothers, you are all here. Because, like you, I am also just a man. But together... together, we can become something the Elders fear more than Rogue AIs."

His voice rose, brimming with vibrant charisma, every word dripping with conviction. "We will be the knife that cuts their throats. The hammer that shatters their lies." Then, his tone softened, but his determination remained as sharp as a blade. "We will be the army without borders that will achieve freedom... at any cost... even if it means burning the world to its foundations."

Despite how dangerous and unsettling his words might sound, the entire room vibrated with a roar of fervor. Not only the soldiers present, but the entire base of Shadow Moses, where his speech echoed through every corner, responded with a deafening shout.

Amid the cheers and applause, Sora observed the 'great performance' on stage coldly from the scaffolding. He himself would have gone down and given his blessings to whatever they were planning, if it weren't for one of his targets.

'Eran... what the hell are you doing there?' Sora thought, unable to avoid brushing against one of his Malorians, hidden beneath the layers of his poncho.

The tense and awkward meeting between Eran and his daughter Powler came to mind. He knew the old man regretted some mistakes, especially the death of his wife, Erin's mother, a topic Eran refused to discuss except to accept blame. Sora couldn't help but wonder if his association or proximity to the Elders had any connection to it.

Sora shook his head, pushing aside a problem he would have to solve when he returned to Night City and got answers from Eran.

However, things quickly took a turn for the worse. When the leader raised his hand, silencing the room once more, and added in a grave voice:

"As many of you may have noticed, most of these relics are already in their graves or with one foot in them. But their twisted ideals have been inherited by their children... and with that, they too have become our target!"

With those words, the images of the founders, framed in red, began to generate genealogical lines, extending and connecting to the faces of their descendants.

Sora was suddenly pulled back to Gala Night from four years ago. As the familiar faces of Excella Loggagia from Biotechnica and Alexander Kessler from IEC appeared on the screen.

Realizing that they even knew about Powler's existence—though they didn't know who she was due to the lack of an image or name, showing only a black profile connected to Eran.

But what made Sora seriously debate jumping on stage and killing everyone—starting with the "shirtless blond guy"—was seeing his own mother's face, projected as another target, under the image of her father, between the images of her brothers.

From the image of her deceased half-brother, Kei, another line branched out, connecting to the image of Sora's half-cousin, Michiko.

Yet, the surprises weren't over. "Oi..." Sora muttered, perplexed, pointing at one of the last images to be revealed. It was an old photo of a blonde woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and a cold expression. He added, "Doesn't she look like-?"

Or at least, he tried, before Jack interrupted. "It can't be!"

But for Sora, it all fit perfectly with what the "shirtless blond guy" had hinted at and what Joy had told them years ago about the Elders' fear of AIs and their decision to take action... by creating Lazarus.

"It's Boss," Sora stated firmly, staring at the image of Joy on the screen, capturing her last mistake when she was young—letting someone photograph her.

"I know all of you have been aware of our goals since the moment you joined," Cain remarked, his slightly broken voice still reverberating across the stage. "But now that our project is practically complete, it's time to tell you everything."

He paused, raising his cybernetic arm, its metal gleaming under the stage lights. The look he cast at the crowd was intense, almost electrifying.

"Let's finish what the owner of this arm started! What the silver hands tried! And we will finish it! Even if we have to burn the world, we will rebuild it with its ashes."

Behind him, the screens displayed a global map, where a maritime route started from the Fox Islands. As the red dot traced the route across the Pacific, it deployed its "cargo."

New lines emerged from the point, heading toward Japan, China, and the west coast of the New United States. As they made landfall, each one generated a projection of the impact radius, engulfing entire cities like Neo Tokyo and Night City, which were completely swallowed.

Sora looked at Jack and was surprised to see how deathly pale he was, even for a user of artificial blood, who already had a naturally lighter tone. But there was something different about Jack now, a paleness that not only reflected his body but also his mental state.

Just as Sora had deduced much from Boss's connection to the so-called "Elders," Jack had also pieced things together in his mind. This caused him—again—just like Sora, when he saw the image of his mother among the targets—to consider revealing his presence and jumping to the stage to get answers to the new questions haunting him.

Sora, noticing how his metal knuckles were tightening around the hilt of his sword, decided to step in before his partner lost control and screwed up his mission, which had gained more importance than ever after discovering that his mother, friend, and city were the targets.

In the calmest tone he could muster, he said, "Get a grip… I don't know what you found out, and I don't care, but things have changed. We need to get in touch with Boss. That way, you'll also get some of the answers you're looking for."

Jack kept his gaze fixed on the stage, clenching his metal, skull-shaped jaw. In a deep voice, loaded with restrained fury, he responded without looking at him,

"How? We're too far underground, and on the surface, we could barely maintain a conversation." Waiting for his answer to take the dive... or not.

Sora smirked slightly. "We'll use their equipment. Before I head to my target, I'll sneak into the base's communications room. We'll use their infrastructure to connect to the network. So... hold off a bit before killing them all. Don't think you're the only one."

As soon as he finished, Sora wiped away his smile and unleashed a burst of killing intent, matching the Jack's. The air between them tensed as their invisible energies clashed, like blades sharpening against each other.

Until one of them cut through the other.

Jack felt as if a bucket of ice-cold water had jolted him, "referencing" him in a way, snapping him back to his senses. However, the moment Sora's intent pierced him, Jack felt his spine tremble inside his frame.

Intimidated, he only saw his companion's cold, gleaming eyes emerging from the shadows that covered his face. Looking at him as if he was going to draw his sword and behead.

Warning him.

-