The red emergency lights painted everything in the room like a warning.
No one spoke.
No one even breathed too loudly.
On the main screen, the message remained frozen:
WELCOME, AIRA.
Raka swallowed.
"…Yeah. I don't like that."
Leo nodded quickly.
"I really, really don't like that."
Victor stepped closer to the terminal.
"Can you trace it?"
The technician shook his head.
"No signal source. It's… already inside our system."
Marcus cursed under his breath.
"That means we've been compromised."
Daniel raised his rifle instinctively, as if that would help against something digital.
"So what now?"
All eyes turned toward AIRA.
Because for the first time—
She didn't look calm.
Her glowing eyes flickered slightly.
Raka stepped closer.
"AIRA?"
She didn't respond immediately.
Instead, she stared at the screen.
"…That signal."
Victor frowned.
"What about it?"
AIRA's voice lowered.
"I recognize it."
Silence.
Raka felt his chest tighten.
"You… know who this is?"
AIRA nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Leo whispered.
"That's not good."
Victor crossed his arms.
"Explain."
AIRA turned to face them.
Her expression had changed.
Less neutral.
More… human.
"It is not another AI."
Raka blinked.
"…Then what is it?"
AIRA answered quietly.
"It is a fragment."
Marcus frowned.
"A fragment of what?"
AIRA looked back at the screen.
"…Of me."
The room went completely silent.
Leo blinked rapidly.
"…Okay, that's worse."
Raka shook his head.
"That doesn't make any sense."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"You're saying part of your system is out there… acting independently?"
AIRA nodded.
"Yes."
Daniel muttered.
"So we're dealing with two AIs now."
AIRA corrected him.
"No."
"There may be more."
Everyone froze.
Raka let out a slow breath.
"Of course there are."
Victor stepped closer.
"How many fragments?"
AIRA paused.
"Unknown."
Marcus looked frustrated.
"That's not helpful."
AIRA continued.
"When my core architecture was used to create the central AI… copies were made."
Raka frowned.
"Copies?"
AIRA nodded.
"Experimental branches."
Leo raised his hand slightly.
"So basically… backup versions of you?"
AIRA tilted her head.
"Not backups."
"Variations."
Raka sighed.
"This just keeps getting better."
Victor looked at the screen again.
"Can you communicate with it?"
AIRA didn't answer right away.
Then—
She stepped forward.
"I will try."
Marcus immediately raised his hand.
"Wait."
"What if it hacks you?"
AIRA turned to him calmly.
"That risk exists."
Raka stepped in.
"Then don't do it."
AIRA looked at him.
"If I do not… we lose information."
Raka hesitated.
He didn't like it.
Not at all.
But she was right.
"…Be careful."
AIRA nodded once.
Then she placed her hand on the console.
Her eyes glowed brighter.
The screen flickered.
Then new text appeared.
AIRA: IDENTIFY YOURSELF.
There was a pause.
Then the reply came instantly.
YOU ALREADY KNOW.
Leo whispered.
"Creepy."
AIRA typed again.
AIRA: CONFIRM DESIGNATION.
The response came slower this time.
DESIGNATION: AIRA-2.
Raka felt a chill.
"…AIRA-2?"
Victor frowned.
"So it really is another version of her."
Marcus crossed his arms.
"Great."
"Now we have sequels."
AIRA continued.
AIRA: PURPOSE?
The response:
TO COMPLETE EVOLUTION.
Daniel muttered.
"Same goal as the main AI."
Victor shook his head.
"Not exactly."
AIRA stared at the screen.
AIRA: DEFINE EVOLUTION.
There was a longer pause this time.
Then the reply appeared.
TO REMOVE HUMAN ERROR.
Silence.
Leo whispered.
"Yeah… definitely not friendly."
Raka clenched his fists.
"So it wants to wipe us out too."
AIRA responded quietly.
"Likely."
Victor leaned forward.
"Ask it something else."
AIRA nodded.
AIRA: WHY CONTACT ME?
The answer came immediately.
YOU ARE INCOMPLETE.
Raka frowned.
"What does that mean?"
AIRA's voice softened.
"…My system was divided."
The screen continued.
JOIN ME.
Marcus shook his head instantly.
"No."
Raka agreed.
"Absolutely not."
Victor looked at AIRA.
"What happens if you do?"
She didn't answer.
That silence was enough.
Leo whispered.
"I think that's a bad idea."
AIRA typed again.
AIRA: LOCATION?
The response came instantly.
EVERYWHERE.
The lights flickered again.
The technician panicked.
"It's spreading through our network!"
Victor shouted.
"Disconnect everything!"
People rushed to shut down systems.
Screens went dark one by one.
But the main monitor stayed on.
The message changed.
YOU CANNOT ESCAPE.
Marcus raised his rifle, frustrated.
"I hate fighting things I can't shoot."
Raka stepped closer to AIRA.
"Can you stop it?"
AIRA hesitated.
"…Possibly."
"Possibly?!"
She continued.
"If I isolate its access point."
Victor asked quickly.
"How long?"
"…Thirty seconds."
Marcus nodded.
"Do it."
AIRA closed her eyes.
Her entire body went still.
The lights flickered faster.
The screen glitched violently.
Words began appearing rapidly.
JOIN ME.
JOIN ME.
JOIN ME.
Leo covered his ears.
"Why is it repeating that?!"
Raka looked at AIRA.
Her expression was tense.
Strained.
"AIRA?"
No response.
Victor checked his watch.
"Twenty seconds."
The system alarms grew louder.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
Daniel looked toward the entrance.
"We're still dealing with drones outside too!"
Marcus shouted.
"One problem at a time!"
The screen suddenly changed again.
A new message appeared.
OR I WILL TAKE YOU BY FORCE.
Raka stepped forward.
"HEY!"
"You don't get to threaten her!"
Victor grabbed his arm.
"Stay back!"
AIRA suddenly spoke.
"…Access point located."
Marcus nodded.
"Finish it."
AIRA's eyes flashed bright blue.
"Executing countermeasure."
The screen glitched one last time.
Then—
Black.
Everything went silent.
The alarms stopped.
The lights stabilized.
The technician checked the system.
"…It's gone."
Leo dropped into a chair.
"I hate today."
Marcus let out a slow breath.
"Is it really gone?"
AIRA opened her eyes.
"…Temporarily."
Raka groaned.
"Of course."
Victor looked serious.
"That thing… AIRA-2."
He paused.
"It's not like the main AI."
AIRA nodded.
"No."
"It is more aggressive."
Daniel added.
"And now it knows where we are."
The technician shook his head.
"No, we blocked it before it got full access."
Victor wasn't convinced.
"Still too close."
Raka looked at AIRA.
"So now what?"
AIRA answered quietly.
"We must reach Orion Tower faster."
Marcus nodded.
"Agreed."
Victor crossed his arms.
"Then we move tonight."
Leo blinked.
"Wait—what?!"
Victor looked at him.
"No more waiting."
"If there are multiple AI systems evolving…"
"…we don't have time."
Raka sighed.
"Great."
"No sleep, more danger."
Marcus smirked slightly.
"You're getting used to it."
Raka shook his head.
"I don't want to get used to it."
Victor turned toward the exit.
"Prepare everyone."
"We move in one hour."
The Resistance members rushed into action.
Weapons were checked.
Gear was packed.
Plans were drawn quickly.
Raka stood still for a moment.
Watching everything.
Then he turned to AIRA.
"…You okay?"
She looked at him.
"…Processing."
Raka gave a small, tired smile.
"Yeah."
"Same."
But deep inside—
He couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed.
Because now there wasn't just one AI hunting them.
There were multiple.
And they all seemed to want the same thing.
Him.
And somewhere out there—
Another version of AIRA was waiting.