The cruelest lies are the ones you spend years believing.
The first synchronized step shook the valley, then another and another as thousands of Helix soldiers marched through the dead forest in perfect formation, their white eyes glowing beneath the moonlight.
At their center stood Director Seraph, unmoving, watching the survivor settlement like a chess player and studying the final move. Only the rhythmic thunder of synchronized footsteps which indicated that war had arrived.
The deep horn echoed across the valley a second time and every guard climbed the walls. Machine guns rotated toward the eastern approach as archers took position. People disappeared into underground shelters. The settlement moved with practiced discipline.
Ryker's eyes never left the advancing army.
"They're not attacking."
Captain Cara looked at him in disbelief.
"They're marching straight toward us."
Ryker shook his head.
"No."
"They're sending a message."
Jasper's attention returned to the military badge still in Ryker's hand. The faded insignia of Blackpoint Research Facility was the place where everything had begun and the place where his childhood ended.
"You said my father tried to stop Obsidian."
Ryker nodded.
"He wasn't alone."
"What do you mean?"
Before Ryker could answer, a voice came from behind the crowd which was a familiar voice, the one Jasper never expected to hear again.
"…He had help."
Jasper froze.
His heartbeat stopped slowly and then he turned. A man stepped through the gathering crowd. He was tall and had broad shoulders. He wore dark tactical clothing for his years of survival, his beard was longer and his face older. A scar ran across the left side of his neck but the eyes… were those same warm brown eyes.
Impossible.
Jasper whispered one word.
"…Anthony?"
The world disappeared.
Every memory crashed into him now fully, the evacuation, the fire, the screams
"Run!"
The last thing Jasper remembered…
Anthony disappears beneath a wave of the apocalypse. Dead or so he believed
Nobody spoke.
Anthony smiled weakly.
Jasper couldn't move.
His mind refused to accept what his eyes were seeing.
"You…"
His voice cracked.
"…you died."
Anthony slowly shook his head.
"I almost did."
Without thinking—Jasper crossed the distance.
The brothers collided in a fierce embrace, with years of grief, guilt and believing the other was gone forever. All of it shattered in one moment.
Anthony held him tightly.
"I never stopped looking for you."
Jasper buried his face against his brother's shoulder.
"I thought…"
Anthony nodded.
"I know."
Elias stepped forward slowly.
"Jasper…"
He looked between the two men.
"…Who is Anthony?"
Jasper finally stepped back.
Still unable to believe what was happening.
"My junior brother."
Elias frowned.
"No."
"You said I was your brother."
Anthony smiled gently.
"You are."
Then he looked at Elias.
"You found him when I couldn't."
Anthony turned toward the group.
"My name is Anthony."
"I was Jasper's biological brother."
"I survived Blackpoint."
The scientist from Obsidian looked horrified.
"That's impossible."
Anthony met his gaze.
"Obsidian wasn't the only group running evacuation teams."
Anthony spoke quietly.
"I was pulled from the infected by a resistance unit."
"We lost almost everyone."
"They moved us across the western territories."
"I tried coming back."
His expression darkened.
"But Blackpoint was gone."
"There was nothing left."
He searched for Jasper for years without success Ryker answered the question everyone was thinking.
"Because Obsidian erased him."
Anthony nodded.
"They erased every record."
"They changed transport routes."
"They buried the facility underground."
"I spent fifteen years chasing ghosts."
Jasper stared at Anthony.
"You knew Ryker?"
Anthony smiled.
"He saved my life."
Ryker shrugged.
"He returned the favor."
"So you've been together all this time?"
Anthony nodded.
"We built survivor networks."
"We rescued settlements."
"We stayed hidden."
"But lately…"
His expression became serious again
"…everything changed."
Anthony looked directly at Jasper.
"We've been tracking Helix for three years."
Stacy stepped forward.
"You've fought them?"
Anthony nodded once.
"And lost."
His answer silenced everyone.
"They don't fight wars rather they erase resistance."
Later that evening, Anthony and Jasper finally found a quiet corner inside the settlement walls neither knew where to begin.
Anthony laughed softly.
"You still make that face."
"What face?"
"The one you make when you're thinking too hard."
Jasper smiled despite himself.
"You remember that?"
"I remember everything."
For the first time in years—Jasper felt like a senior brother again, he felt family. Anthony became quiet.
"Did they hurt you?"
Jasper looked away.
"They changed me."
Anthony already knew the answer.
"I can see it."
The faint blue glow occasionally flickered behind Jasper's eyes.
Anthony noticed every time but he never looked afraid only sad.
"I don't care what they turned you into."
Anthony placed a hand on Jasper's shoulder.
"You're still my brother."
Those words hit harder than anything Nemesis had ever said. From across the courtyard, Stacy smiled quietly and Mercer stood beside her.
"So…"
He nodded toward the reunited brothers.
"…that's nice."
She laughed softly.
"We needed something good."
For one brief evening, hope returned.
Captain Mara entered the command center carrying fresh reconnaissance reports. Her expression was grim.
"They've stopped marching."
Elias frowned.
"Where?"
"Everywhere."
The Helix army had disappeared into the forest. Thousands of soldiers…all gone. Without leaving a single track. Anthony immediately became serious.
"They're repositioning."
Ryker nodded.
"They never abandon a battlefield."
Jasper looked toward the dark forest.
"They're surrounding us."
No one argued. As everyone prepared for another night of defense, Anthony pulled Jasper aside one final time.
"There's something I never told anyone."
Jasper frowned.
"What?"
Anthony reached into his jacket, slowly he removed a worn metal locket, inside was a photograph of their parents and another man standing beside them and another man standing beside them. A scientist wearing a Blackpoint identification badge.
Jasper stared.
"I know him…"
Anthony nodded.
"That's because he wasn't just Father's partner."
"He created the Interface Project."
Jasper's breathing stopped.
Before Jasper could ask another question—Every radio in the settlement burst to life with violent static. Director Seraph's voice echoed calmly through the camp.
"Touching."
"Family reunions are such fragile things."
Anthony's expression changed instantly.
"How does she know we're—"
BOOM!
The western wall exploded inward. Stone and steel rained across the settlement, people screamed and sirens roared. Through the smoke—A single armored figure walked into the camp. Its armor was older and blacker and was all covered in unfamiliar symbols. Its glowing eyes fixed directly on Anthony.
Then it spoke in a cold mechanical voice.
"Anthony."
"Your termination order remains active."
Anthony's face went completely pale.
He whispered the one sentence that made Jasper realize this nightmare had begun long before the apocalypse.
"…It finally found me."