Under the cloak of night, Sky and Hazel crouched in the shadows outside Anti-Ageing Inc.'s imposing headquarters. Their mission was clear: plant a bug in the company's computer system to aid Kovak in his quest to dethrone Mrs Evergreen and bring about her demise through Endurance's intervention.

While Elite soldiers still fought against phoenixes all over the city, Hazel, with nimble fingers, extracted her Swiss army knife from her pocket and got to work on the door leading into the distribution area, where the lorries and vans stood silent sentinels.

Sky kept watch, his eyes darting around for any signs of security personnel. He had a hand over his sonic gun, retrieved from the gadgets' chest, and now stored in a holster hanging from his jeans.

The lock clicked open, and Hazel slowly pushed the door ajar. They slipped inside like phantoms, the dimly lit space smelling of diesel and industrial grease.

Hazel whispered, her voice trembling with a mix of excitement and anxiety, "Are you sure about this, Sky? We'll be an accessory to murder if we carry on."

He swallowed and nodded. "I know. If you don't want to do this, you can still turn back and leave. I'll do it alone."

They were alone but checked in every direction for guards.

"No. I'll be with you through thick and thin. Let's go."

They stealthily moved through the labyrinthine hallways, the silence broken only by the soft echo of their footsteps. After what felt like an eternity, they found a room with a terminal glowing softly in the dark.

Sky inserted a flash drive into the computer and initiated the process. Lines of code scrolled across the screen as the bug wormed its way into the system.

Hazel watched nervously. "What if we get caught?"

Sky glanced at her, his eyes filled with determination. "We won't. It's done."

As the bug took hold of the system, a series of windows popped up on the screen one after the other in rapid succession. Endurance was infiltrating the system, causing digital and physical chaos once more in the company's headquarters, that time worse than before: doors opening when they should be closed, opened doors being locked, and electrical appliances going live and moving about without any human to guide them.

Mrs Evergreen's private quarters in a restricted area of the headquarters suddenly appeared on screen.

They were an opulent oasis hidden within the heart of the sprawling Anti-Ageing Inc. complex. The walls were adorned with rich, dark wood panelling. A dark marble fireplace dominated one wall, the flames within dancing with a subdued intensity, casting flickering shadows that brought the room to life. Plush velvet sofas and armchairs were strategically placed around a meticulously crafted Persian rug. A grand piano stood in one corner. Numerous flower arrangements adorned the room. The windows, draped with heavy curtains of deep burgundy silk, offered a view of the cityscape below, twinkling with artificial stars. On the walls, priceless works of art were illuminated by discreet spotlights, each piece telling a story of wealth and power.

That peaceful atmosphere was no more. The camera footage displayed an unnerving scene in which red lasers started being shot at anything that moved, including some goons who kept guard by the entrance doors.

Her virtual assistant, an independent small spheric bot lying on a coffee table, turned on its light due to the fuss—only to get shot with a laser too.

A mix of fear and awe played on Hazel's face as she saw the power of the AI they were dealing with. "Endurance is incredible!"

Many more rooms were displayed, but Mrs Evergreen was nowhere in the footage, which picked Sky's interest.

"Where is she?" he whispered with furrowed brows.

The computer went haywire and shot dozens of camera footage windows on that big screen, all at once, cascading one over the other at the speed of lightning.

Hazel couldn't bear that frenzy and looked away with a groan. But the sight of something intriguing bewitched Sky.

"We need to go, Hazel." Sky extracted the pen in a hurry, as if something important had hit him at full speed. He rushed past her and looked left and right to check for guards.

"Why?" she asked, rushing to follow him. "What about blocking Endurance's access, the back door, and all that?"

"It would be useless. She's not there." He sprinted down the corridor towards the exit.

"Now what? Where are we going?" she asked, following closely as she ran.

"To the arena. I saw something."

"What?" she asked, panting.

"Haywire," he replied, his chest heaving. "He's been taken to the arena... by Mrs Evergreen. She's wearing my watch."

Hazel's face paled, but she pressed on, following him.

They raced out of the distribution area, retracing their steps through the maze-like corridors. Adrenaline coursed through them as they ran.

Running and panting, they reached the door with the lock they had picked before when the facility's alarms began to blare. Red emergency lights bathed the place in an eerie glow.

"Security personnel will swarm the area soon," Sky said as he opened the door. As he took one last glance back, he let Hazel through it.

When he crossed the threshold, the night air hit him hard with a sudden coolness. They raced toward their destination, the Elite Academy's arena.

Why wasn't Mrs Evergreen in her private chambers? Is the reason the fact that she's preparing that kamikaze mission with all the phoenixes at her disposal? If so, I hope we're not too late. Will she use my watch if the mission doesn't go as she planned?

"Are you absolutely sure you saw Haywire being taken here?" Hazel asked, whispering with honest doubts as they entered the arena.

The place was more silent than a graveyard despite the war going on outside.

"I swear I did," Sky replied as the light of their phone torches aimed for the doors at the far back.

"It doesn't make sense," she said as if she couldn't believe it. "The arena is exactly as we left it the other night. All doors closed so as not to raise any suspicion."

"I just saw Haywire forced into one of these cells, I swear!" he insisted. Was I imagining things? Haywire, Mrs Evergreen, my watch. Did I see those because I badly wanted to see them, so that I could do something about it?

She approached the nearest door. "Let's check, shall we?"

Before they could make the next move, all the spotlights in the arena turned on. The blinding light of several dozens of spotlights, hanging from the dome and the circular perimeter of the arena, forced Sky and Hazel to close their eyes and shield them with their arms.

Someone's here. I wish I could see! Damn it!

Sky groaned and yelled, "Who's there?!"

"The defensiveness in your voice doesn't do justice to the occasion, young Mr Falcon," a feminine voice replied through the speakerphones with cold formality and masterfully veiled anger. "I should be the one voicing my concern about you sneaking in here."

The owner of the voice chuckled.

Sky tried hard to see through his arms and fingers, aiming his gaze up at the control room, but it was no use. His pupils were still too agitated due to the light to respond properly.

"At the end of the day, you're in my property," she added with a funny kind of disdain.

"Mrs Evergreen?!" he yelled.

"Of course, dear." Her powerful voice sent chills down his spine.

I wasn't imagining things.

"I must admit that your determination and your skills never cease to amaze me," she said. "You hacked my security system better than anyone could ever have—or just like someone who used to work at Anti-Ageing Inc. would, that is. My, my! Am I wrong in assuming that you've had the valuable assistance of a certain miserable man who formerly was a brilliant scientist of mine?"

"Kovak helped me, yes."

"No offence, but you're quite a pitiful team," she said with amusement. "Next time, before you try to murder your enemy, make sure they're where you expect them to be."

Sky huffed with frowned brows. "You know."

"Of course, I do. I know everything that happens in my city. I control everything."

But you never saw me befriending a phoenix. And you sure couldn't control that. He blinked fast, trying to force his eyes to readjust to the light quickly. His heartbeats rushed to a demonic rhythm.

"Like your winged friend. I control him now pretty well." A low giggle echoed in the arena through the speakerphones. "Haywire, isn't it? What a ghastly name. I've changed it, by the way." And then, she added with a deviant, lusty tone of voice, "Monster."

The nerve! She changed his name?!

"Do you like it?" she asked.

"What have you done with him?!" he yelled, taking his arms off his face, heaving.

"Something you're not expecting. You see, I have good news for you, Sky Falcon," she replied with joy. "Your friend will not join the others on that suicide mission I told you about."

Why have you spared him? Why have I got the feeling that this is not good either?

"Why not?!" he shouted as his eyes started to see better.

"It turned out to be the best non-human specimen on which we've tested the Lifebringer so far. The results are fascinating. So, I'll keep my dear Monster to further investigate the effects of the serum... and as a pet."

That blew a fuse inside Sky's mind. He's not your pet!

Clenching his fists and frowning, he said, "I won't let that happen!"

His eyes were glued to Mrs Evergreen's imposing figure, standing up there, in the control room, with a despicable grin on her face. A hand was placed on the metal cane, with Sky's time-skipping wristwatch tied to her wrist.

Sky's eyes went open wide. My watch! Again, I wasn't imagining things.

Then, she tilted her head slightly onto one side and said, "Are you sure? You can't stop me, young man. My Monster doesn't remember anything about its past. It won't recognise you. It has changed... drastically. It's a freak of nature now—not to mention incredibly dangerous."

"I know!" He displayed his teeth as he spoke with a tense jaw.

Mrs Evergreen's voice erupted in a loud fit of laughter. Her long golden earrings shone brightly as her chest heaved with amusement. Her pristine white blazer almost burst a button.

"What's so funny?!" Sky asked, grunting.

"You think you know, but you don't know anything." She wiped a small tear with a forefinger. Her defiant grin never left her face. "The Lifebringer serum in it has started a chain reaction which nobody could foresee. I know you went to set it free yesterday—and failed. What you saw isn't the end result by far."

"He... he went on changing? More?!" Hazel exclaimed with wide eyes.

"My dear pet is the most violent and vicious beast to ever lay its feet in this world," she replied with pride and satisfaction. A naughty glint in her eyes made the two teens swallow. "It's my precious Monster now."

"Only because you enslaved him with your coding!" Sky said.

"By the way, I also know you've been contaminated with the serum, too. The first human being to test it," she replied with lust as she stared at him, not caring to answer his provocation. "What an undeserved honour, don't you think so? I see you have changed as well, but not so... beautifully as my pet."

"Why do you care?"

"Because I'd like to test a theory. You see, science is fascinating, isn't it? I feel the pull," she said, raising a fist with passion, "just like you, young man. I get an idea—and I want to test it."

"Don't ever compare us! We're not similar in any way!"

"I couldn't agree more." Her smile grew wider. "The point is... what I want to test is how similar you and Haywire are right now, with the effects of the Lifebringer coursing through your bodies. He's gained special abilities. I assume that so have you."

What kind of sick test is she thinking about? This is not good. I have to release Haywire and flee as soon as possible.

"Hand Haywire over to me right now, and I'll stop helping Kovak kill you," Sky said. "We'll flee—and you won't ever hear from us again. I promise."

Mrs Evergreen laughed under her nose. "I will set my Monster free—in a second." She pushed a red button on a remote she had on a table nearby. "But not for both of you to flee."

The massive double doors behind Hazel and Sky started to open. A deep, blood-chilling, demonic growl echoed throughout the arena.

Oh-oh. Sky and Hazel turned to face that grunting threat with pale faces.

"Hazel, go away. Now," Sky urged her, raising an arm to shield her and push her back.

"But-"

"I said, GO AWAY!" he yelled, still staring ahead of him.

Hazel sprinted to the main doors, but they automatically closed before she could escape.

"Sorry, dear," Mrs Evergreen said with a funny attitude. "You can't miss this historic event, Miss Beam."

Sky took a few steps back.

Haywire jumped into the light, walking on all fours. He stared at Sky with his ears pushed back and his metal feathers standing on end in an aggressive attitude. His growling fluctuated in intensity, matching Sky's retreating footsteps.

"Now, Mr Falcon," Mrs Evergreen went on, "be a good lad and help me test my theory."

"What theory?"

"Who is a better recipient of the Lifebringer serum?" she asked with passion. "Who is more lethal thanks to their newfound powers and skills? A phoenix... or a human being?"

Haywire put his front legs apart and imposingly stood before Sky. His red eyes flashed vividly, glued to the teen's. That dangerous fiery mist started to appear from under his metal feathers. Tiny golden and reddish sparks flew around him in a chaotic manner.

Damn! Not that fiery mist again! If I'm anywhere near it, it'll burn and kill me.

Mrs Evergreen whispered with a deviant tone of voice, "Let the combat begin. My curiosity is burning."

Sky gulped.

Hello, my sugar cubes!

Will Haywire kill Sky? Will Sky kill Haywire?

Stay tuned!

XOXO

Mar