The Architect’s recorded voice cut out, leaving behind a silence that pressed against the chrome walls. Suddenly, twin portals shimmered into existence on opposite walls. One glowed with a cool azure light, the other a fiery crimson. Simultaneously, a fresh holographic display flared across the central steel terminal, replacing Fenris’s intricate genetic blueprints. A schematic depicted the labyrinth's power hub bottlenecking at the junction to the next sector. [WARNING: ENERGY CORE CAPACITY – SINGLE LIFE-FORM TRANSFER PROTOCOL INITIATED.] [CHOICE WINDOW: 60 SECONDS. FAILURE TO SELECT WILL RESULT IN ATMOSPHERIC PURGE.] A guttural growl rumbled deep in Fenris’s chest, the Vesperian Wolfhound sensing the sudden shift in the air. He nudged Lena’s hand, his intelligent eyes scanning the ominous display. “Sixty?” Lena’s voice dropped low, her gaze fixed on the readout before snapping to Kajetan. “This is… impossible.” She took a step towards the azure portal, teeth set hard. “I have to go. My case. You know what’s at stake, Kajetan. The entire city.” He watched her, the familiar pull of apathy threatening to engulf him, but a deeper, unsettling resolve had taken root. The Architect wanted to reclaim him, to resurrect the ruthless monster he had tried so desperately to bury. But if that monster meant harm to Lena, then Kajetan would be its final, fatal obstacle. He needed to ensure her survival, even if it meant sacrificing himself. The thought felt foreign, unwelcome, yet undeniably present. “Wait,” he said, his voice calmer than he felt. He wasn’t looking at the doors, or even at Lena. His attention remained fixed on the veterinary deck, focusing on the schematic of Fenris’s newly installed ‘upgrade’ module. A small detail in the schematics, a tiny footnote about air-filtration biology, surfaced in his mind. Lena paused, her hand hovering near the azure portal’s threshold. “Wait for what, Orlo? He just told us, one of us goes. And I –” “It’s a trick,” Kajetan cut her off, moving to the holotable. He tapped at the light array, pulling up Fenris’s post-upgrade diagnostics. “Fenris’s modification wasn't just for tracking. Look here.” He pointed to a small node on the hound's wireframe, isolating an added chemical pathway. Lena peered closer, her prosecutor’s mind immediately trying to parse the complex bio-engineering diagrams. “What is that? A filtration system?” “More than that. It’s an airborne agent breakdown cycle, tailored to process—and neutralize—certain gaseous compounds.” Kajetan’s fingers flew across the screen, sluggishness momentarily discarded. “The Architect built this into the upgrade. He knows the neurotoxin threat. He *wants* us to think only one can go. But Fenris… Fenris can absorb the agent. It’s the key. He’s designed to be the countermeasure.” [CHOICE WINDOW: 38 SECONDS REMAINING.] A low thrum vibrated through the floor. A panel in the ceiling slid open with a hiss, revealing a cluster of gleaming, multi-barreled sentry pods. Their targeting lasers, pinpricks of crimson, swept across the room, locking onto Kajetan. The Architect was not going to make this easy. “Neurotoxin,” Lena breathed, comprehension dawning, swiftly followed by a surge of pure, unadulterated fury. “He’s still playing games! Even now!” Her hand went to the stun-baton at her hip, pulling it free with a practiced motion. “Get to work, Orlo. I’ll handle the welcoming committee.” The first gun spat a volley of plasma bolts, streaking towards Kajetan. Lena moved with a terrifying efficiency. She leapt, the stun-baton a blur of motion, deflecting the bolts with precise, arcing swings. Sparks showered the chrome floor as she charged the nearest turret, her movements economical and lethal. Fenris, a silent, grey blur, moved to cover Kajetan, positioning his massive body between the veterinarian and the incoming fire, absorbing a glancing blow off his reinforced collar. Kajetan ignored the chaos, his focus absolute. He was back in his element, solving a complex biological puzzle under extreme pressure. He needed to bypass the labyrinth’s purge routine and reroute it through Fenris’s upgraded glandular system. The interface proved a maze of sub-menus and coded overrides. His fingers danced, recalling muscle memory he didn’t know he possessed, inputting sequences that felt both alien and intimately familiar. [ATMOSPHERIC PURGE INITIATION IMMINENT: 20 SECONDS.] Lena parried another series of blasts, the air crackling with discharged energy. She spun, bringing the blunt end of her baton down on the turret’s optical sensor with crushing force. The casing sparked violently, then went dark. Another cannon immediately rotated into place, its targeting laser sweeping for her. “Faster, Kajetan!” Her voice was strained, exertion tightening her muscles. She barely dodged a concentrated burst, the bolts scorching the air where she had been a moment before. Fenris snarled, lunging forward, tearing at the swivel mount with powerful jaws, ripping wires and plating free. Kajetan braced himself, finally isolating the ventilation sub-routine amidst nested strings of encrypted commands. His brow furrowed in concentration. The Architect had hidden this well, banking on panic, on the immediate, obvious threat. But Kajetan’s lazy mind, trained to find the path of least resistance, found the backdoor. He saw the elegant, brutal logic of his past self’s design, and he saw the flaw. [OVERRIDE PROTOCOL ENGAGED.] [RECALIBRATING ATMOSPHERIC RELEASE SEQUENCE. ROUTING VIA BIOMASS-SPECIFIC METABOLIC ABSORPTION.] [SYSTEM REBOOT INITIATED. DOORS – ACTIVATING.] [CHOICE WINDOW: 0 SECONDS. PURGE ABORTED.] The guns, suddenly lifeless, retracted into the ceiling with a dull thud. The crimson and azure doors shimmered, then both slid open, revealing dim corridors beyond. Cool, scrubbed air rushed into the room, carrying no trace of the promised neurotoxin. Lena stood panting, her stun-baton held loosely, staring unblinkingly at the two open doors. Kajetan leaned against the workstation and let out a long, ragged exhale. Fenris nudged him, a low whine in his throat, as if to confirm the success. “You… you did it,” Lena said, her voice a whisper of disbelief and something akin to reluctant admiration. “You actually… broke his game.” He offered her a weak, lopsided smile, too exhausted to respond with words. The adrenaline began to recede, leaving him feeling hollowed out, but the image of her fighting, defending him, settled a warmth in his chest he hadn't known was missing. Without a word, Lena took a step, then another, towards the azure portal. Kajetan followed, Fenris at his heels. They stumbled through the shimmering threshold, into the next chamber. The air here was heavy, metallic, and cold. Before them, a massive, reinforced cage of electro-laced bars dominated the room, its interior shrouded in gloom. As their eyes adjusted, a figure stirred within the cage, illuminated by the faint glow of a wall-mounted panel. The man inside was corpulent, his face scarred, his eyes holding a calculating, predatory gleam. He wore the expensive, tailored synth-silks of a syndicate lord, but they were torn, dirtied. He looked up, his gaze locking onto Lena, and a slow, malicious grin spread across his face. “Well, well, Prosecutor Novikov,” he rasped, his voice thick with unvarnished malice. “Fancy meeting you here.”

One Goes, One Stays