“Little bro.”

  The words didn’t echo.

  They settled.

  Heavy.

  Andrei and Tessa both turned sharply toward Casper.

  Casper looked like someone had drained the color from his body. His usually steady posture faltered, shoulders tightening beneath the plating of his exosuit.

  “That’s not possible,” Casper muttered.

  Across the room, Asher tilted his head slightly, as if mildly amused by the reaction.

  “You should be dead,” Casper said, louder now. “I saw it. The collapse. The whole sector came down. You were crushed under rubble.”

  Asher’s visible eye narrowed faintly.

  “Oh, I was,” he replied calmly. “Buried under about three tons of concrete and steel.”

  He lifted a hand to his eyepatch and, without breaking eye contact, pulled it up.

  The left side of his face was marred by a jagged scar that ran from brow to cheekbone. The eye beneath was pale and clouded, the iris shattered into milky fragments.

  “Luck was on my side that day,” Asher continued. “Though not without cost.”

  He lowered the patch again.

  “It’s a shame,” he added, voice softening slightly, “that we’re meeting like this.”

  His tone sharpened.

  “On opposite sides.”

  The air shifted.

  From his back, two metallic constructs unfolded with a hiss of compressed hydraulics. They were long, segmented, and flexible. Serpent-like in design, each section rotating independently with quiet precision. Their surfaces gleamed dark silver under the room’s lights.

  They hovered behind him for half a second.

  Then they lunged forward.

  “Split!” Andrei shouted.

  Tessa dashed right, blade dragging sparks across the floor as she accelerated. Andrei pivoted left, already drawing his sidearm. Casper’s exosuit flared to life, jets igniting beneath his boots as he lifted off the ground.

  Casper opened fire immediately.

  A rain of bullets poured down toward Asher.

  The metallic serpents reacted faster than thought. They coiled around Asher, spinning in tight arcs, deflecting and redirecting the bullets in a whirl of sparks. The projectiles ricocheted harmlessly into walls and ceiling.

  Tessa came in from the right flank.

  Wind gathered around her blade as she invoked Gale Force. The massive sword elongated, reshaping into a sleek, elongated pike with a razor-point tip.

  She thrust forward with explosive speed.

  Asher stepped aside fluidly.

  The pike grazed his shoulder instead of piercing through, slicing fabric and drawing a thin line of blood.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Before he could fully recover—

  Bang.

  Andrei’s shot rang out from behind.

  The bullet struck Asher’s side, slipping past the rotating serpents for a split second.

  Asher clicked his tongue in irritation.

  He backflipped away, landing lightly and creating distance between them.

  “That’s not fair,” he muttered. “Three-on-one.”

  The serpents swirled protectively around him.

  He snapped his fingers.

  The ceiling groaned.

  A section of reinforced wall detached from above and crashed down between them.

  “Move!” Casper shouted.

  They scattered.

  The wall slammed into the floor with a thunderous crash, dust erupting into the air.

  When it cleared—

  Tessa stood on the opposite side.

  Separated.

  She immediately tried to slice through the fallen barrier, but her blade barely scratched its surface.

  “What is this thing made of?!” she shouted.

  “Reinforced composite,” Andrei called back. “Designed to withstand heavy ordinance.”

  Tessa cursed under her breath.

  “I’ll find another way around!” she yelled. “Don’t die before I get back!”

  Casper didn’t respond.

  He couldn’t.

  Because on this side of the wall, it was just him, Andrei—

  And Asher.

  The serpents slithered forward again.

  Casper lowered slightly from the air, hovering at eye level with his brother.

  “Is there a way to save him?” Casper asked quietly, not taking his eyes off Asher.

  Andrei didn’t hesitate.

  “No.”

  Casper swallowed.

  “But,” Andrei added, adjusting his glasses, “we don’t have to defeat him.”

  Casper blinked.

  “We just need to detain him.”

  Casper blinked again.

  “…How?”

  Andrei reached into his coat and pulled out a small cylindrical device.

  “Trust me,” he said calmly. “Buy me time.”

  Casper exhaled deeply.

  “Great,” he muttered. “I’m the distraction. Again.”

  He rocketed forward.

  Missile ports opened along his exosuit’s back. A volley of small guided rockets launched toward Asher.

  The serpents intercepted them mid-air, smashing and deflecting each missile before detonation. Explosions bloomed harmlessly away from Asher’s position.

  Asher advanced through the smoke.

  He sent one serpent toward Andrei, aiming to skewer him

  Casper intercepted mid-flight, slamming into the construct and knocking it off course.

  “Hey!” Casper shouted. “Focus on me!”

  He unleashed another barrage of bullets, forcing Asher to pivot defensively.

  Asher’s expression shifted to annoyance.

  “Missiles. Bullets,” he said flatly while weaving between shots. “You still think brute force will solve everything?”

  Casper smirked faintly beneath his visor.

  “Oh, I agree,” he replied.

  His left exosuit arm began to transform.

  Panels shifted.

  Plates unfolded.

  The hand reshaped into a circular emitter resembling a speaker.

  Asher frowned slightly.

  Casper fired.

  A high-frequency sonic blast erupted from the emitter, invisible but violently disruptive. The air itself seemed to distort.

  Asher recoiled instantly.

  The serpents faltered mid-motion.

  He clutched at his head, one knee dipping as the sound assaulted his senses.

  “Ah—!”

  The frequency intensified.

  Casper winced slightly himself, though his suit filtered most of the output.

  “Specially tuned for your hardware,” Casper said through gritted teeth. “And that fancy spine rig you’re using.”

  Asher tried to stand, teeth bared.

  Casper eased the frequency just enough to speak clearly.

  “Just surrender,” he said.

  He deactivated the emitter.

  The room fell silent except for Asher’s heavy breathing.

  Casper descended slowly and removed his helmet’s faceplate, revealing his expression.

  “If you surrender quietly,” he continued, “I can talk to the higher-ups. Maybe reduce your sentence.”

  He extended a hand.

  “We’re still brothers.”

  For a moment—

  Asher’s gaze softened.

  Just slightly.

  He looked at the outstretched hand.

  The serpents lowered.

  Casper took a tentative step forward.

  Asher’s expression changed.

  Cold.

  Disappointed.

  The serpent snapped forward without warning.

  It slammed into Casper’s abdomen, knocking the air from his lungs and sending him stumbling backward several steps.

  Casper fell to one knee.

  Asher stood tall again.

  “Naive,” he said quietly.

  “You always wanted to be the hero.”

  He approached slowly.

  “But you’re still the same graceless nobody in this family.”

  Casper’s jaw tightened.

  “No matter what tech you wear,” Asher continued, “you’re still you.”

  He stopped in front of Casper.

  “Any last words?”

  Casper looked up.

  He nodded once.

  Raised his hand.

  And extended his middle finger.

  “You’re a shitty older brother.”

  Before Asher could react—

  Casper activated the sonic emitter again at point-blank range.

  The blast stunned Asher just long enough.

  “Andrei!” Casper shouted.

  “Now!”

  A sharp crack echoed.

  Andrei fired the cylindrical device.

  It shattered against Asher’s chest.

  Instead of exploding—

  A strange gray substance erupted outward, coating Asher instantly. It expanded like foam, then hardened within seconds, pinning him against the wall behind him.

  The serpents flailed wildly before being immobilized as well.

  Asher strained against the binding, muscles flexing.

  “This isn’t enough!” he growled. “I’ll break free—”

  “We know,” Andrei replied calmly.

  He stepped forward and fired a second dart.

  The projectile embedded into Asher’s neck.

  Within seconds, Asher’s movements slowed.

  His breathing deepened.

  His head tilted forward.

  And then—

  He went limp.

  Casper stared at him.

  Silent.

  The room felt unbearably still.

  He looked at the unconscious figure.

  Then at the doorway Asher had entered from.

  Without a word, he grabbed Andrei by the collar.

  “We’re regrouping with Tessa,” he said firmly.

  Andrei adjusted his glasses mid-drag.

  “Yes, yes, I was planning that.”

  They disappeared through the doorway.

  —

  Far below

  Zane strolled down the corridor with his hands in his pockets.

  He whistled softly to himself.

  “Well,” he muttered casually, “this has been smooth sailing.”

  He hadn’t encountered much resistance since the teleportation shuffle. A few minor skirmishes. Nothing serious.

  He stopped at a reinforced door.

  “Huh,” he said.

  He reached out.

  Turned the handle.

  Opened it.

  And froze.

  Dozens of syndicate grunts filled the room beyond.

  Armed.

  Armored.

  Waiting.

  Every head turned toward him at once.

  Zane blinked.

  “…Ah.”

  The first gun lifted.

  Zane scratched the back of his head.

  “Okay,” he muttered. “Maybe I spoke too soon.”

  The room erupted into motion.

  And the door slammed shut behind him.

  [End of Chapter]