Two battery down.

Two to go.



He slammed the next pack into the red terminal and the Red gate groaned open.

Inside, a long tunnel.



Dozens of androids lined the walls.

Silent. Dormant.

Yet.

The battery was through a window at the tunnel's end. He braced himself.

"Okay, time to speed-run this bad boy-"

He grabbed it.

BZZT.

All the androids lit up.



"KNEW IT-!"

They sprinted after him. The tunnel became a death trap. The metal hands clawed at his back.

A footstep... too slow-and he'd be dead.



He vaulted over a fallen android, ducked under a swinging pipe, and dove back through the server hub gate just as it slammed shut behind him.

Breathless.

"3 down. Piece of cake. Not even sweating."



Blood dripped from his cut.

"Okay, maybe sweating a little."

The third gate opened and he entered a sprawling maze of catwalks. The battery was on a walkway at the very back.

"Oh yeah, definitely not an obvious trap."

He navigated left. Then right.

Ducking, weaving-

And then-

THUNK.

Something lowered from the ceiling.



A robot.

Its head twisted unnaturally toward him.

Then-BOLT.



It charged.

"OH COME ON!"

He RAN.

Metal platforms clanged under his feet.

Corners vanished.

He nearly slammed into another android, twisting last second.

A dead end.

"Oh no-"

He faked left. Then dove right.

The android smashed into the wall, giving him just enough time to-

GRAB THE BATTERY.

No time to celebrate-more were coming.

Sprinting, dodging, narrowly avoiding iron fingers that wanted to rip him apart. One nearly snagged his ankle-

SLAM!

He slammed a door behind him.

Back in the hub.

"Didn't even break a sweat."

His arm throbbed.

"...Okay, that's a lie."



He connected the final battery and he saw the wires glow blue. Then the Yellow gate creaked open.

He went in and followed the wire that leads to a staircase.



He sprinted.

The androids?

They were done playing.

Every last one of them activated. The floor quaked as they rushed after him.

Metal crashed behind him-

He hurled himself through the doorway-

And arrived back to The Doctor's lair.



He grabbed the Omni-Chip on the center machine where a Brain was contained.



BZZT.

The androids activated.

He immediately backed away-but a wall is already behind him.

Shit! No escape!

I'm dead! I'm dead! I'm dead!

He muttered while closing his eyes.



They raised their hands.

This is it.

Then-

BOOM.

The Doctor's tank exploded.

Sparks. Smoke. Silence.

The androids froze, inches from his face. Then Sawyer's voice crackled one last time.

"You've... saved... no one."

Silence.

Then-

"Bite me, Doc."

He grabbed the Omni-Hand, updating his GrabPack.



Then, past the rows of monitors. He saw many monitors surrounding the Brain below but here, there's still more.



Ever since Huggy Wuggy.

Ever since Mommy Long Legs.

His every step.

Sawyer had been watching him this whole time.

With one last look, He left.

He rode a cable car and then passed through a vent.

And finally-

Back to Safe Haven.

The air was thick with dust and smoke as he stumbled out of the vent, boots hitting solid ground. The eerie hum of the Factory faded behind him. The tension that had coiled in his chest since the server hub slowly loosened, but the ache in his arm was getting worse. Blood had soaked through his torn sleeve, warm and sticky.



Then-

"You... you have it!"

Poppy.

She rushed toward him, eyes wide with disbelief.



"The Omni-Hand! You-You actually did it!"

He barely had time to react before she grabbed his wrist, turning the newly upgraded red GrabPack hand over in awe.

"This... this changes everything!" she breathed, looking up at him with something close to reverence. "You have no idea what this means! It's... it's everything!"

She shook her head, almost laughing.

"You've done what none of us ever could. Given us hope. And believe me, down here, that's worth something."

He blinked at her, still lightheaded from blood loss and the fact that he was, miraculously, still alive.

"Yeah? Well, I also gave a bunch of murder-bots a free cardio session, so, y'know-win-win."

Then, Poppy's gaze hardened.

She had finally noticed the blood dripping from his arm.

"You're hurt."

She turned back toward the others.

"Medic! Someone, get him patched up!"

A few Safe Haven workers hurried over, one already pulling out bandages.

"It's fine, really," he muttered.

Then he nearly collapsed.

Poppy shot him a glare.

"Take a minute. Catch your breath. I mean it."

One of the medics guided him to a chair, already working on his wound. As the bandages wrapped around his arm, he exhaled-letting himself, just for a moment, feel the exhaustion settle into his bones.

"I'm sure the others would love to talk with you," Poppy continued.

She nodded toward the rest of the survivors, some looking at him with newfound hope, others with cautious curiosity.

"Doey and I will be in the generator room whenever you're ready."

She hesitated, then added, softer-

"...And really. Thank you."

He let out a breath, offering a tired smirk.

"Eh, just another Tuesday."

And for the first time in what felt like forever-

he was safe.

-----

Elsewhere....

Moments ago..

His voice came, smooth but laced with irritation.

"That germ is starting to get on my nerves."

She exhaled through her nose. "There's one thing about you that never fails to irritate me, Sawyer." She met his gaze with quiet defiance. "Your arrogance. The way you treat everything like it's disposable."

His head tilted slightly, the screen flickering with amusement.

"Well, if there's brilliance, there comes arrogance." His tone was unbearably smug. "Wouldn't you agree, Doctor Yaz?"

His fingers flexed idly, the syringe still in his grip.

"And if something were to happen to me..." He paused, letting the words settle. "I always have a backup plan."

His tone was maddeningly casual, but there was something sharp underneath. "It's up to you if you want to help me with a favor. After all, your blood is quite special."

He tilted his head slightly, studying her like a particularly fascinating test subject. "That blood of yours... it never stopped changing. The poppy gas, the venom-three forces battling for dominance in your veins. And that..." His voice slowed, savoring the words. "That is what makes you fascinating."

His eye flickered again. "To study you is to study something beyond nature. Beyond science. Aside from the Prototype, you're A perfect anomaly."

He leaned back slightly, his robotic fingers tapping against the metal table beside him. "You know, recognition is a funny thing. The Bigger Bodies Initiative was supposed to be mine. But Leith took that from me." The distortion in his voice deepened, crackling through the speakers. "That success should have been mine. But now..."

The screen dimmed, his voice lowering, softer now. "Now, your blood could be what finally sets things right."

"You're insane."

Sawyer let out a static-laced chuckle, his eye flickering with amusement. "Well, that's a compliment."

The glow in his screen pulsed, almost as if he were grinning. "After all, you love crazy people, don't you, Yazmina?"

He leaned in slightly, his voice lowering to a mockingly sweet murmur. "A crazy and a psychopath-aren't they just the perfect pair?"

Her lips parted, a sharp retort already forming-

Then, without warning, Sawyer shut down.

The light in his screen flickered violently, static crackling across the display before cutting to nothing.

Silence.