Jack expected nothingness.
Blackness.
Silence.
The empty void of unconsciousness.
But instead—
He woke standing.
Barefoot.
On cold metal.
A single flickering overhead light illuminated a long, sterile corridor lined with glass panels. Beyond them were shadows — shapes he couldn't quite see.
Breathing.
Whispering.
Watching.
Jack swallowed.
"Hello?"
His voice echoed down the metal hall.
No answer.
He took a shaky step forward.
And the lights behind him shut off.
One by one.
As if something was following.
Jack's heart hammered. "Maya?!"
Silence.
He wasn't in Astra.
He wasn't in the real world.
He was inside something else.
His own mind?
Or the imprint Helix carved into him?
As he walked, the glass panels began to brighten.
Inside each one was—
A version of himself.
But not quite him.
A child Jack connected to wires.
A teenage Jack with glowing eyes and mechanical implants along his spine.
A cold, emotionless Jack dressed in black tactical gear, posture perfect, eyes empty.
Jack stumbled back.
"No," he whispered. "No, that's not me…"
The teenage version tilted its head like a machine.
The combat version didn't blink.
The child cried relentlessly.
Jack backed away—
And hit something solid.
Someone.
A tall silhouette.
He turned—
And felt his bones turn to ice.
Mercer.
But not the real Mercer.
A projection.
A memory.
A ghost made of code and trauma.
Mercer smiled in that calm, gentle, monstrous way.
"Hello, Alpha."
Jack staggered backward.
"Get out of my head—!"
"This is your head," Mercer said smoothly. "I'm simply visiting."
Jack clenched his fists.
His breathing was fast.
Panic clawed at his throat.
"You're not here," he spat. "I know you're not."
"No," Mercer agreed. "Not physically."
He stepped closer.
"But your awakening has opened the neural channels I built long ago.
Enough that I can speak to you."
Jack shook his head violently.
"No! You don't control me!"
Mercer chuckled softly.
"Control? No. Not yet."
Jack froze.
"Yet?"
Mercer stepped behind one of the glass panels — the one showing child Jack.
"Do you remember him?" Mercer asked.
Jack's voice cracked. "No."
"You don't remember being taken?"
"No."
"You don't remember your real name?"
Jack's breath caught.
"M-my… real name…?"
Mercer smiled.
"You weren't born Jack Williams. Astra gave you that identity."
Jack shook his head, denying it, refusing it.
"Stop lying."
"I don't lie."
"You do nothing but lie!"
Mercer's eyes softened.
"I named you Alpha."
"That's not a name."
"That is what you are."
Jack trembled.
"No… I'm Jack. I'm human."
Mercer tilted his head.
"Are you?"
Jack opened his mouth—
—but another voice suddenly echoed through the corridor.
A voice that wasn't his.
A voice that felt like it came from his bones.
"You are not Jack. You are Alpha."
Jack whipped around.
The combat-version of himself inside the glass had spoken.
Its eyes glowed silver.
Mercer smiled proudly.
"You see? Even your subconscious knows who you are."
Jack's pulse pounded in his ears.
"No," he whispered. "You're not real."
Mercer stepped closer.
"But I am."
Suddenly the corridor shifted.
Metal morphed into white lab walls.
The glass panels became observation windows.
Voices echoed.
Doctors murmured.
Machines beeped.
Jack was dragged into a memory he didn't want.
A crib.
A crying child.
Mercer standing over him, touching his forehead.
Jack's knees buckled.
"STOP—!"
The memory continued.
"Subject Alpha-01: Neural imprint successful."
"Condition stable. Proceeding with instinct layering."
Jack clutched his head.
"PLEASE—STOP—"
Mercer's voice echoed through the memory:
"Awaken, Alpha."
Jack screamed into the void—
And everything went black.
THE VOID
Silence.
Cold.
Breathing that wasn't his.
Jack opened his eyes again.
He was in a pitch-black room.
A single spotlight illuminated a chair.
A figure sat in it.
A small figure.
A child.
Jack froze.
The child lifted its head slowly.
It had Jack's face.
But its eyes were pale silver.
Empty.
Jack whispered, choking:
"…what are you…?"
The child Jack tilted its head.
"I am what you were."
Jack shook his head. "No."
A second spotlight turned on.
Another chair.
Another version of Jack.
Older.
Stronger.
Expressionless.
"I am what you were built to be," it said.
Jack's breath stuttered.
Lights flickered again.
A third version of Jack appeared — the combat version, eyes glowing like mercury.
"I am what you will become."
Jack stepped back.
"No—NO! That's not me!"
All three spoke together.
"It IS you."
Jack fell to his knees.
"No…"
"You can't run from yourself," Mercer said calmly from the darkness.
Jack's heart thrashed in his chest.
His vision blurred.
And through the darkness—
He heard another voice.
Soft.
Warm.
Human.
"Jack!"
His head snapped up.
"Maya…?"
Her voice again, faint.
"Jack, listen to me!"
He looked around wildly.
"Where are you?!"
"I'm right here! Follow my voice!"
Jack's breath quickened.
He turned—
toward the warmth in the dark—
but Mercer stepped in front of him.
"You cannot reach her," Mercer said.
Jack's voice cracked.
"She's real. You're not."
Mercer frowned.
"I am the only reality you were built for."
"NO!"
"She cannot save you."
Jack felt something surge inside him.
Strength.
Heat.
Will.
"She already has!"
Mercer's expression shifted — annoyance flickering for the first time.
Jack pushed past him—
Mercer grabbed his arm.
Jack's eyes flashed silver.
He tore free.
Mercer stepped back.
"…interesting," he murmured. "You're accelerating faster than projected."
Jack didn't care.
He ran toward Maya's voice.
The corridor twisted.
Reality bent.
Walls dissolved.
"JACK!" Maya's voice cried again.
He ran harder, chest heaving, darkness dragging at his legs.
"I'm here!" he shouted. "Maya—I'm coming!"
Mercer's voice echoed behind him:
"You cannot escape yourself, Alpha."
Jack screamed:
"I'M NOT ALPHA!"
THE DOOR
A faint light appeared ahead.
A door.
Warmth leaked from beneath it.
Maya's voice came from the other side.
"Jack! Come to me!"
He reached for the handle—
Mercer grabbed him from behind.
"Don't."
Jack strained. "Let go of me."
"You belong with me," Mercer said. "With Helix."
"No."
"You were born for this."
"No."
"You cannot reject your nature."
"WATCH ME!"
Jack slammed his fist back—
—and for the first time in his life,
he struck Mercer.
The man stumbled.
Genuine shock lit his eyes.
Jack didn't wait.
He grabbed the handle.
Pulled the door open.
THE LIGHT
Warm.
Blinding.
Safe.
Jack collapsed forward—
And fell into arms that held him tightly.
"Maya…?" he whispered.
Her voice trembled with relief.
"Yes. You found me."
He buried his face against her shoulder.
"I saw him," he whispered. "I saw Mercer. I saw what he wants me to be."
Maya held him harder.
"You're not what he wants."
Jack shook.
"I'm afraid."
"I know."
"Of him."
"I know."
"Of becoming what he made."
Maya lifted his chin gently, forcing him to meet her eyes.
Her voice was soft.
Fierce.
Alive.
"You won't become him."
"How can you be sure…?"
Her forehead pressed against his.
"Because you ran toward me, not him."
Jack swallowed.
His voice broke.
"Maya… don't leave me."
She hugged him tightly.
"I'm not going anywhere."
The darkness tried to pull at him again.
But Maya held him.
And slowly—
carefully—
Jack opened his eyes in the real world.
Her face was inches from his.
Her hand in his.
"Maya…?"
"You're awake," she whispered.
He exhaled a shaking breath.
"Maya… I saw everything."
She squeezed his hand.
"I know."
His lips trembled.
"Maya… he's coming."
She nodded.
"I know."
"And I don't know… what I'm becoming."
Her voice softened.
"Then we'll find out together."
Jack closed his eyes.
For the first time since the awakening began—
He didn't feel alone.