"Don't stop me."
Ava's words still echoed between them.
Rayan stared at her.
"This is a bad idea."
Ava didn't look back.
"It's the only one we have."
The soldiers moved again.
Not fast.
Not rushed.
Calculated.
Rayan stepped forward.
"Then I'm coming with you."
Ava shook her head.
"No."
Rayan's voice sharpened.
"That wasn't a suggestion."
Ava finally turned.
Her eyes—
Still glowing faintly.
"If you come closer," she said quietly, "you'll get caught in it."
"In what?" Rayan asked.
Ava hesitated.
"…Me."
Silence.
The soldiers raised their weapons.
"Final command," one of them said.
"Subject Ava. Submit."
Ava exhaled slowly.
"No."
The ground trembled again.
Rayan's instincts screamed.
"Now," he muttered.
Everything exploded into motion.
The first soldier fired.
Rayan pushed Ava aside.
The shot hit the wall behind them.
"Move!" he shouted.
But Ava didn't run.
She stepped forward.
The air around her shifted—
Like pressure building before a storm.
Another shot fired.
This time—
It stopped mid-air.
Frozen.
Rayan's eyes widened.
"…What the hell—"
Ava raised her hand slowly.
The bullet dropped.
Clink.
The soldiers paused.
Their system recalculating.
Ava whispered—
"I can feel all of you."
One soldier twitched.
"You're connected," she continued.
Another step forward.
"And now…"
She tilted her head.
"…so am I."
The lights flickered violently.
Suddenly—
All the soldiers raised their weapons at once.
Rayan cursed.
"Too many—"
"Stay back," Ava said.
Then—
Everything went silent.
Not physically.
Mentally.
Ava's eyes closed.
Inside her mind—
The world shifted.
Dark space.
Endless.
Lines of light stretched across it.
Connected.
Flowing.
Voices.
Hundreds.
Command signals.
Orders.
Data.
Ava gasped.
"What is this…"
A voice answered.
Not Rayan.
Not the enemy.
Her.
"You're inside the system."
Ava turned.
Another version of herself stood there.
Colder.
Stronger.
"Who are you?" Ava asked.
The other Ava smiled slightly.
"I'm what you forgot."
Ava stepped back.
"No… I'm me."
The other Ava tilted her head.
"Are you?"
Silence.
"You've been living a life that isn't yours," she continued.
Ava clenched her fists.
"Then show me what is."
The other Ava stepped closer.
"Take control."
Outside—
Rayan watched Ava freeze completely.
"Ava?" he called.
No response.
The soldiers advanced again.
"Target inactive. Proceeding retrieval."
Rayan raised his weapon.
"Over my dead body."
He fired.
Two soldiers went down.
But more kept coming.
"Yeah," he muttered, "that's not enough."
Inside Ava's mind—
The lights pulsed.
Faster.
"You're connected to all of them," the other Ava said.
"I don't want that," Ava replied.
"You don't get to choose what you are."
Ava snapped—
"I do."
The lights flickered violently.
The other Ava paused.
Then smiled.
"Good."
Ava stepped forward.
"What do I do?"
"Command them."
Ava hesitated.
"I don't know how."
"You don't need to know," the other Ava said.
A pause.
"You just need to decide."
Outside—
Rayan was running out of time.
A soldier grabbed him.
He slammed it into the wall.
Another one aimed at Ava.
Rayan saw it.
"No—!"
Inside—
Ava felt it.
A threat.
Directed at her.
Something inside her snapped.
"Stop."
The word wasn't spoken.
It was sent.
Outside—
Every soldier froze.
Mid-motion.
Weapons locked.
Rayan dropped to one knee, breathing hard.
"…Okay."
He looked at Ava.
"…That's new."
Inside—
The other Ava nodded.
"See?"
Ava stared at the lights.
"They're listening…"
"Not listening," the other Ava corrected.
"Obeying."
Ava's expression changed.
"That's not right."
The other Ava stepped closer.
"Neither is what they did to you."
Silence.
Ava's jaw tightened.
"They turned you into this," the other Ava continued.
Ava whispered—
"I won't become them."
The other Ava smiled faintly.
"Then don't."
Outside—
The soldiers began to shake.
Rayan noticed immediately.
"…Something's wrong."
Inside—
Ava felt it too.
Resistance.
A stronger signal.
The voice returned.
"You're interfering with core control."
Ava turned.
"I told you to stay out of my head."
The voice responded—
"You are in ours."
The lights around her shifted.
Darker.
Stronger.
The other Ava stepped back slightly.
"…Careful."
Ava frowned.
"What's happening?"
The answer came instantly—
"Override initiated."
Outside—
The soldiers suddenly moved again.
Faster.
More aggressive.
Rayan cursed.
"Of course."
They rushed him.
Inside—
Ava stumbled.
"They're pushing back—"
The other Ava grabbed her arm.
"Then push harder."
Ava shook her head.
"I can't control all of this!"
"You don't need to control it," the other Ava said.
"Break it."
Silence.
Ava froze.
"…Break it?"
The other Ava's voice turned cold.
"They built a system to control you."
A pause.
"So destroy it."
Outside—
Rayan was losing ground.
"Ava!" he shouted.
Inside—
Ava heard him.
Faint.
But clear.
Her eyes hardened.
"No more running," she whispered.
The lights exploded around her.
And this time—
She didn't try to control them.
She let go.
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