Chapter 17

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The doors to the main control room of the compound were opened, Doctor Zox striding inside with a confidant walk. "How was the last mission?" A grin displayed on his face. For some reason, just looking at it annoyed Lydia.

"The whole Resistance base was cleared out." A subordinate stated. "There were no complications. The Alpha Sentinel swiftly dealt with all of them."

"I would expect nothing less from Experiment Seven." Doctor Zox smiled in pride at his own creation. He had finally gotten his best experiment back, and his head was saved. He was a little bit worried at first, as he couldn't regain the same amount of control over the Alpha Sentinel. However, they had come to a silent agreement to work together for now.

Doctor Zox knew the Alpha Sentinel's goal; the memory chip. And the Alpha Sentinel knew that he knew. So, of course, if the Alpha Sentinel would want that chip, then he had no choice but to obey Doctor Zox. After all, Doctor Zox had no more need for it and was easily capable of destroying it. While he personally had already gotten what he wanted from it, it worked as an excellent bargaining chip to prevent the Alpha Sentinel from disobeying.

"What has you in such a good mood today?" Lydia questioned.

"Oh, it's nothing much." Doctor Zox laughed. "But soon, everything will change."

He looked over to the large screen which projected the Alpha Sentinel's vision. He was approaching an abandoned warehouse, which used to be a former Resistance base.

"What is he doing there?" Doctor Zox asked. He recognized that building. That was the one where they had lost contact with the Alpha Sentinel months ago.

"There was another leak." Lydia stated. "This time delivered through the Dark Web. Apparently the Rebellion has decided to reuse an old base of theirs."

"How stupid." Doctor Zox condescendingly replied.

"This is a good sign. We are making them desperate." Lydia smiled. "It won't be much longer until the Resistance is done for good. The public has been calling out for their riddance for far too long."

They watched the screen, following the Alpha Sentinel as he made his way to the window. He gripped the edge, before pulling himself in. As soon as his feet touched the ground inside the warehouse, their screen went static. They all looked in confusion, waiting for their vision to come back. But nothing happened.

"Hey! What's going on?!" Doctor Zox yelled.

"I-I don't know?!" A subordinate gasped in terror, frantically pressing on buttons to try and get their view back. "It just cut out!"

"Get it back on. Now." Lydia ordered, before tapping her ear. "Five, head out to Seven's last known location."

Doctor Zox frowned at the screen. He had a bad feeling about this. But it would work out. After all, if the Alpha Sentinel still wanted his memory chip, then he would return without a single complaint. Everything was going perfectly for him so far. This would as well.

. . .

The Alpha Sentinel landed onto the second floor of the warehouse. He remembered this place. This would be his third time coming here, after murdering a bunch of Rebellion members the first time and then being disabled by a Corebreaker the second. He had no idea of what was happening back at the compound, only that they had gone silent like usual when he started his missions.

With his cloaking device on he silently walked through the second floor, but could not find a single person. The base had looked completely untouched since the last time he had been here. Was the leak fake?

No, there was still the first floor. He had to check that first. Sometimes everybody was just in a different area of the base instead of spread around. It made his job easier, as everybody was practically in a line for him to plow over with bullets. He descended down to the first floor, making his way through.

          

Still nobody. At least, not until he made it to the large, open room full of shipping containers. The room was extremely dark, and only with his night vision could he see a person in front of him. The person stood with their back to him, bald and with a trenchcoat. He scanned for heat signatures, only to find nothing in his vision. It was a decoy.

They knew he was supposed to be here. He looked around, attempting to detect more heat signatures, but couldn't detect any with these abandoned metal crates in the area. If that was the case, then he could either walk through this whole place in circles, or reveal himself and lure them to him.

He opted for the second. He uncloaked himself, walking over to the dummy and whacking it to the side. It clattered to the ground, alerting anyone who was in the vicinity of the Alpha Sentinel's arrival. The Alpha Sentinel waited for a second, before finally the sounds of steps from behind him approached.

He turned around, looking as Cerberus stood in front of him. Of course, out of all of the people, it had to be her. However, he could only look at her as another target. His set parameters would not allow any other emotion. He morphed his hand into a gun, pointing it towards her.

"Seven. Stop." Cerberus spoke, freezing him in his tracks. "I know it's you."

He froze, waiting for the compound to say something. But they didn't. If they weren't saying anything at something this major, then maybe the signal between them had been interrupted. He looked at her, before slowly reaching for his helmet and taking it off, revealing his face to her. She frowned at the confirmation, as even though she completely believed it, a part of her didn't want it to be him.

"Holy shit." Captain Spear, hiding behind a crate, let out a soft whisper.

"How did you know?" Seven kept the gun trained on her. The compound still said nothing. She must have interrupted the signal between them somehow.

She brought her hands up, revealing she wasn't holding any weapon in a show of peace. "I just want to talk."

"You want answers." Seven guessed.

"Yes." Cerberus admitted.

"Leave. Now." Seven stated. "Before they hear you, and make me kill you."

"You don't need to worry. We've interrupted their signal. They can't see or hear us." Cerberus replied. We. Seven became even more on guard. This was a trap, likely to take revenge for Leader Jupiter's death.

"Why are you working for them?" Cerberus asked.

"I have my reasons." Seven replied. "Go. Final warning." He wasn't sure why he was giving her so many chances.

"I'll risk it." She replied.

And then he heard it. He whirled around, aiming his gun towards Captain Spear, which now rushed at him from behind with a Corebreaker. Before he could shoot at the approaching figure, he had to dodge a bullet from Gorilla which whizzed by his head. He picked up his helmet, placing it back on and firing shots towards Gorilla.

Gorilla dove behind a crate, saving himself from a hailstorm of bullets. Seven, now once more as the Alpha Sentinel, dodged Captain Spear, before going to kick him in the side. He was forced to retreat from the kick as Cerberus appeared with another Corebreaker, almost hitting him in the chest.

He could see the reflection of his helmet off of her silver arm. This slight hesitation gave Leader Hand and Slick the perfect chance. They appeared from behind another crate, rushing towards Seven. He went to shoot at them, only for his body to forcibly freeze up as he connected eyes with Slick. He watched, in confusion at his own body, as he let Slick's Corebreaker slam into his chest.

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