The underground chamber shook.
Warning lights flashed red.
The creature inside the glass capsule roared—
A layered sound, as if multiple voices emerged at once.
Growlithe.
Arcanine.
Something between.
Something beyond.
Helios Facility — Core Lab
Scientists scrambled across steel platforms.
Energy conduits pulsed with stolen Anchor resonance.
Screens overflowed with unstable data.
[SUBJECT H-01][FORM STATE: NON-LINEAR][EVOLUTION PHASES OVERLAPPING][POWER OUTPUT: EXCEEDING LIMITS]
The lead scientist smiled.
"Beautiful."
The Second Variable stood nearby, expression unreadable.
"…It's suffering."
The scientist glanced sideways.
"Suffering is transitional."
Name Revealed
Dr. Elias Voss.
Founder of the Helios Initiative.
Former dimensional theorist.
Now something else.
Philosophy of Helios
"We were judged by beings beyond worlds," Voss said calmly.
"Do you know what I learned?"
He turned to the boy.
"That nature is obsolete."
The boy remained silent.
Voss continued:
"If survival requires adaptation…"
"…then we accelerate it."
The Experiment Breaks Free
Inside the chamber—
Subject H-01's body flickered violently.
Its fur became flame.
Its claws elongated.
Its eyes split between wild fear and rage.
Then—
CRACK.
The capsule shattered.
Glass vaporized.
The creature leapt free.
Emergency Response
"Containment team!"
Steel doors sealed.
Turrets activated.
Electric nets fired.
The creature vanished—
Then reappeared across the room mid-lunge.
"…Spatial skipping?" a scientist gasped.
Voss smiled wider.
"Temporal strain inheritance."
The Second Variable Moves
The creature charged toward fleeing staff.
The boy raised one hand.
Anchor chains shot forward.
Wrapped the beast.
It thrashed violently.
For a moment—
Control held.
Then the chains burned away.
The boy narrowed his eyes.
"…It's rejecting imposed authority."
Voss laughed softly.
"Even better."
Back in Neo-Grid City
Ben jerked upright.
A sharp pulse struck his Resonance Sense.
Painful.
Wrong.
Charizard burst from its Pokéball on instinct, roaring.
Sarah ran in from the next room.
"What happened?"
Ben grabbed his jacket.
"Something alive is being torn apart."
System Alert
[MAJOR FRACTURE EVENT DETECTED][SOURCE: ARTIFICIAL ANCHOR EXTRACTION][DISTANCE: UNKNOWN / SHIELDED][THREAT CLASS: ESCALATING]
Sarah's expression hardened.
"Helios."
Ben nodded.
"They just crossed a line."
Tracking the Signal
Gardevoir projected maps.
Dozens of false echoes.
Static walls.
Signal masking.
Sarah frowned.
"They built interference layers."
Ben closed his eyes.
"…Then we don't track the machine."
He focused deeper.
Past noise.
Past tech.
Into pain.
There.
A living cry.
Southwest.
Decision
"I found it."
Sarah grabbed her gear.
"Then we move now."
Ben looked at Charizard.
"Fast."
Charizard knelt.
Wings spread.
Meanwhile — Helios Core
Subject H-01 cornered three scientists.
Body shifting rapidly between forms.
A mane of fire.
Then armor plating.
Then spectral afterimages.
It howled in confusion.
The boy stepped forward again.
"Stop."
The creature hesitated.
Its eyes met his.
For one second—
Recognition.
Shared pain.
Then Voss activated a remote pulse.
A surge hit the beast.
It screamed and attacked again.
The boy turned sharply.
"…You provoked it."
Voss shrugged.
"I measured it."
Moral Breakpoint
"You said survival."
The boy's voice chilled.
"This is torture."
Voss adjusted his glasses.
"Same process. Different wording."
Arrival Approaches
Far above ground—
A shadow crossed the moon.
Charizard descending at extreme speed.
Ben on its back.
Sarah beside him.
Below them—
An isolated industrial mountain facility pulsed with hidden energy.
Ben pointed.
"There."
Final Scene
Inside Helios, alarms changed tone.
[EXTERNAL BREACH THREAT DETECTED]
Voss smiled.
"Excellent."
He looked toward the ceiling.
"Let's test the approved model."
The Second Variable turned toward the incoming presence.
Silent.
Thinking.
Choosing.