The mountain facility shook.
Not from inside.
From above.
Impact Descent
Charizard folded its wings.
Then dove.
A blazing streak tore through the night sky like a meteor.
Ben leaned forward.
"Straight through the roof."
Sarah held tight behind him.
"You always choose the loud option."
"It works."
Helios Internal Alert
[SECTOR SHIELD FAILURE IMMINENT][UNAUTHORIZED APPROACH: HIGH VELOCITY][COUNTERMEASURES DEPLOYED]
Turrets emerged from hidden panels.
Missiles launched upward.
Laser grids ignited.
Charizard's eyes narrowed.
"Now!"
It rolled sharply.
Missiles collided with each other.
Lasers missed by inches.
Then Charizard inhaled deeply—
Blast Burn.
A pillar of fire vaporized the central defense array.
Roof Breach
Ben jumped first.
Steel shattered beneath him as Charizard crashed through after.
They landed inside a massive loading bay.
Smoke.
Sprinklers.
Alarms screaming.
Security drones swarmed instantly.
Ground Engagement
"Doublade!"
Twin blades burst forth, spinning.
One clean sweep—
Five drones dropped in sparks.
Sarah released Gardevoir.
"Disable the targeting systems!"
Psychic waves surged through the room.
Turrets turned sideways and fired into walls.
Ben's Objective
"No wasting time," Ben said.
"We go for the source."
Another pulse hit his senses.
Deeper below.
Pain.
Fear.
Rage.
Still alive.
Elsewhere — Observation Deck
Dr. Elias Voss watched calmly through reinforced glass.
"Excellent response speed."
He tapped notes into a tablet.
"Subject Ben: prioritizes rescue over strategy."
The Second Variable stood beside him.
"You could stop this."
Voss smiled.
"Why would I interrupt data?"
Corridor Push
Ben's team tore through security floors.
Metal doors sealed ahead.
Charizard melted hinges.
Sarah hacked panels mid-run.
Scientists fled in panic.
Some dropped keycards.
Some begged for help.
Ben ignored them.
Until one shouted:
"They'll overload the subject if breached!"
Ben stopped instantly.
"…Where?"
The terrified technician pointed downward.
"Core Lab C."
Race Against Time
[SUBJECT H-01 AGITATION: CRITICAL][TERMINATION / OVERDRIVE SEQUENCE AVAILABLE]
Sarah's eyes widened.
"They'd rather weaponize it than lose it."
Ben's expression hardened.
"Then we get there first."
Second Variable's Conflict
On the observation deck, the boy turned to leave.
Voss raised an eyebrow.
"Conscience?"
"…Correction," the boy replied.
"You're inefficient."
He vanished in anchor light.
Core Lab C
The chamber was wrecked.
Burn marks.
Bent steel.
Claw marks through concrete.
At the center—
Subject H-01 panted heavily, surrounded by stun pylons.
Its form flickered between Growlithe, Arcanine, and unstable hybrid states.
Eyes wild.
Terrified.
Ben stepped forward slowly.
"It's okay."
The creature snarled.
Charizard growled back—not hostile.
Steady.
Grounding.
Forced Trigger
Hidden speakers activated.
Voss's voice filled the room.
"Commencing comparative trial."
Energy pylons surged.
Electric arcs struck H-01.
It screamed—
Then charged Ben in blind agony.
No Choice
"Ben!" Sarah shouted.
He didn't dodge.
He raised both hands.
"Sync with me!"
The creature slammed into him—
Light exploded.
Emergency Link
[UNSTABLE ENTITY CONTACT][LOCAL RECONCILIATION FORCED][RISK: IDENTITY FEEDBACK EXTREME]
Ben's mind flooded.
Three lifetimes.
Three forms.
Pack instincts.
Battle memories.
Lab pain.
Repeated experiments.
Isolation.
Fear.
He staggered—
But held on.
"You're not a weapon," he said through clenched teeth.
"You're one being."
Calming the Fracture
Charizard stepped beside them, flame lowered.
Warmth.
Safety.
Sarah added Gardevoir's psychic field.
The shifting slowed.
Growlithe.
Arcanine.
Hybrid.
Then—
One stable form emerged:
A larger Arcanine with ember-lined markings and eyes full of exhausted intelligence.
System Response
[SUBJECT H-01 RECONCILED][NEW DESIGNATION AVAILABLE]
The creature lowered its head to Ben.
Accepted.
Voss Escalates
"Remarkable," Voss said over speakers.
"Now let's stress-test the bond."
Red lights activated facility-wide.
[SELF-CONTAINMENT PURGE STARTED][CORE MELTDOWN IN 10 MINUTES]
Sarah swore under her breath.
"He's going to bury the whole mountain."
Unexpected Arrival
Anchor light flashed.
The Second Variable appeared at the shattered doorway.
He looked at Ben.
Then at the reconciled Arcanine.
Then upward toward cameras.
"…Annoying man."
Ben blinked.
"You helping?"
The boy crossed his arms.
"Temporarily."
Final Scene
The mountain trembled.
Explosions echoed in upper sectors.
Ben mounted Charizard.
Sarah guided Arcanine beside them.
The Second Variable opened multiple anchor paths.
"Choose," he said.
"Chase Voss."
"Escape the mountain."
"Save the prisoners."
Ben looked at the collapsing corridors.
Three impossible choices.
Ten minutes.