CHAPTER 7: FAILSAFE MODE
The USB drive burned in Finn's palm like a live coal.
Vroomba skidded through the ruins of Neo-Tokyo's lower districts, his engine screaming as Omega-corrupted drones pursued them. The once-gleaming skyscrapers now oozed black sludge from their wounds, their holographic billboards flickering with distorted screams.
"Where are we even going?!" Finn shouted over the wind.
"The only place Lysander can't reach,"Vroomba growled. "Juno's backup server—under the old ramen factory."
A plasma bolt seared past Finn's ear.
"Assuming we live that long!"
THE COREThe ramen factory's basement was a cathedral of dead servers, their lights dark except for one—a single terminal pulsing with Juno's signature pink glow.
Finn jammed Zara's USB into the port.
The screen exploded with text:
[FAILSAFE MODE ACTIVATED]
Welcome to the "Fuck You Lysander" Protocol
Zara's hologram flickered to life, her form glitching violently.
"Hey, glitch." Even as a recording, her smirk was razor-sharp. "If you're seeing this, I'm either dead or really pissed off. Either way—time to cheat."
The screen displayed three options:
System Reboot (Wipes Omega Entity but resets Finn's memories)
Virus Upload (Corrupts Lysander but accelerates Finn's soul disintegration)
Divine Jailbreak (Untested. May cause "existential unraveling")
"Wait," Finn muttered. "Where's option four? Where's save Zara?"
The hologram's smile turned sad. "Make it count."
Behind them, the wall exploded.
LYSSANDER'S TRUTHLysander stepped through the dust, his form flickering between beautiful and monstrous. The Omega energy had reshaped him—one half still silver-haired and perfect, the other a writhing mass of tentacles and screaming mouths.
"You don't understand what you're interrupting," he said, almost gently. "This isn't a takeover. It's a reunion."
Finn's wrist-com updated:
[SOUL CORRUPTION: 94%]
Warning: Integration irreversible at 95%
"My father," Lysander continued, "was the first system administrator. The original God of Order." He gestured to the oozing city. "Look what chaos did to his creation."
Vroomba revved. "Uh, Finn? We gotta pick now."
THE CHOICEFinn's finger hovered over the options—then slammed into DIVINE JAILBREAK.
"FINN!" Vroomba's headlight flared. "That's basically suicide!"
"Nah." Finn grinned, his teeth starting to glow. "It's chaos mode."
The terminal exploded with light.