Tomi heard his door fly open with a loud bang, the hinges creaking from the force. The unmistakable voice of Blaze echoed through the room, full of energy and confusion.
"What are you doing, my guy?" Blaze called out, his tone both curious and amused as he took in the sight of Tomi sprawled out on the floor, sweat-soaked and gasping for air.
Tomi barely lifted his head, chest still heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Before he could respond, another voice broke the tension—calm and nonchalant.
"I'm guessing he's trying to get stronger," Zane remarked as he strolled in casually, hands in his pockets, observing the scene with disinterest.
Blaze's face lit up with excitement.
"On God?!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide. In a flash, he was beside Tomi, practically bouncing on his feet.
"If that's the case, we can be gym bros, bro! I'm telling you, I got you." He enthusiastically tapped his watch, and a holographic schedule flickered to life above his wrist.
It displayed an intense workout regimen, complete with color-coded charts and alarms.
Tomi's gaze shifted to the schedule, and his stomach churned. He pushed himself up on trembling arms, his muscles protesting.
"You're... crazy," he muttered, barely able to sit up, his entire body still shaking from his earlier attempt to complete Liyah's impossible tasks.
Zane, standing off to the side, cracked a small, amused smile.
"Most certainly," he said in his usual dry tone, giving Blaze a knowing look.
He caught Tomi's glare and his smile widened slightly, sensing the insult beneath Tomi's words.
Blaze turned, narrowing his eyes at Zane.
"Who asked you to chime in anyway?" he snapped, his voice sharp with annoyance.
He moved closer to Tomi, bending down to offer a hand to help him up.
But before Blaze could touch him, Tomi smacked his hand away, eyes dark with lingering anger.
The thought of anyone touching him brought a rush of memories—being restrained, helpless in that lab as they experimented on him. The trauma boiled just under his skin, making his pulse race.
"Don't touch me," Tomi hissed, his voice low and dangerous.
Blaze stepped back, his hands raised in mock surrender.
"Alright, alright. Chill, man. Just trying to help," he said, though his tone held a flicker of concern now.
Just then, Liyah's teasing voice chimed in, her mischievous holographic form flickering beside him. "Master, that Blaze guy seems like a good partner for your daily workout tasks. Don't you think?"
Tomi clenched his jaw, his frustration surging as he turned to glare at the tiny, glowing figure floating beside him.
"Shut it!" he snapped, his voice harsh as he fought the overwhelming urge to lash out at both Liyah and the painful memories still clawing at his mind.
Liyah hovered silently for a moment, her innocent smile unchanged, though her eyes gleamed with playful mischief.
Blaze and Zane exchanged a glance, sensing that the tension in the room had shifted but not fully understanding why.
Blaze sighed and shrugged. "Alright, man, I'll leave you to it. But for real, hit me up if you want to train. I'm always down."
Blaze's demeanor shifted as he squinted at Zane, now confused by the sudden change in the atmosphere.
"Tomi right?"
"you're a test subject too, right?" Zane asked, a smug grin curling at the edges of his lips.
Tomi's eyes widened at the bluntness, while Blaze's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"For real?" Blaze blurted, glancing between Tomi and Zane.
His voice held an edge of disbelief as he saw Zane, now comfortably seated on Tomi's bed with an air of nonchalance.
Tomi's frown deepened, tension radiating from his body as he heard Liyah's voice floating in his mind.
"That guy... he knows something, Master." Liyah's holographic form drifted toward Zane, a playful smirk tugging at her lips.
Tomi's response was cold, his eyes narrowing. "Yes... and?"
Zane, unfazed by the iciness in Tomi's voice, casually leaned back.
"Hey, just an observation. Test subjects—ones like you—tend to talk to themselves... no reason at all,"
he said with a knowing smile, his attempt to defuse the tension doing little to hide the fact he was onto something.
Liyah's eyes widened in shock as Zane made direct eye contact with her.
He smirked as if he could see her as if he understood exactly who—or what—she was.
"Master!" Liyah exclaimed, her voice suddenly sharp.
"This guy's a chip holder!" Her form shimmered as she floated toward Tomi, now alert. She watched Zane closely, sensing his hidden power.
It was then that she felt it—a connection, a familiar resonance from Zane's chip that seemed to sync with hers, drawn out by Tomi's emotional turmoil.
Intrigued, Liyah tried to dig deeper, scanning for what type of chip Zane possessed that allowed him to see her.
Tomi's gaze sharpened, studying Zane with a newfound suspicion.
Meanwhile, Blaze broke the silence with a thoughtful expression, his mind catching up.
"Yeah... sometimes I see some of the F2 talking to themselves. Layla, the captain... a few of the other ten captains too." He paused, then added, "And Ace. Yeah, Ace does it too."
Zane chuckled, his smirk widening as he turned toward Blaze. "Slow as always," he teased, his tone dripping with condescension.
Blaze's face twisted in anger. "Shut your trap, joker!" he growled, grabbing Zane by the collar, his fists clenched tight with frustration.
Before the situation could escalate further, Tomi's voice cut through the tension like ice.
"Zane, right?" His tone was cold, weary, and filled with exhaustion as he remained slumped on the floor, still struggling to gather enough strength to stand.
Both Blaze and Zane froze, turning their attention toward Tomi.
He was pale, his breathing labored, but the weight of his words and the intensity in his eyes demanded respect. Even Zane's smirk faltered as he met Tomi's gaze.
"Yeah?" Zane finally replied, his voice losing some of its usual arrogance.
He tilted his head, intrigued by the quiet authority in Tomi's voice despite his weakened state.
Tomi's voice dropped, chilling the air around him.
"Tell me, are you also a test subject?" His cold eyes locked on Zane, who sat on his bed like he owned the place.
Zane rose slowly, meeting Tomi's gaze with a faint smirk that hinted he wasn't entirely wrong.
"Me? A test subject?" he scoffed, brushing off the accusation. "Talk about poor judgment."
"Poor judgment, huh?" Tomi's tone was laced with venom, his body tensing. The tension in the room thickened like a storm about to break.
Zane's smirk deepened as he stared into Tomi's eyes, his voice dropping low. "Yes... because I hate those freaks. The ones that call themselves human."
His words dripped with menace, and for a moment, the room felt as cold as his tone. Blaze, standing nearby, could feel the rising tension like static electricity in the air. He stepped in, trying to ease the brewing conflict.
"Hey, you two, cut it out." Blaze's voice was firm as he placed a hand between them, attempting to diffuse the situation.
"Shut it, Blaze." Zane snapped, his tone shifting, the usual casual indifference replaced with a sharp edge.
His eyes flicked toward Blaze, but they were distant, cold. The shift in his demeanor caught Blaze off guard.
Zane's mind wandered as resentment bubbled beneath his surface, the memory of losing his humanity to the chip surfacing like a shadow he couldn't escape.
He hated what he had become—what they had turned him into.
Just then, Tomi's voice cut through Zane's dark reflection.
"That makes two of us." Tomi's hatred for what the Eclipse organization had done to him simmered in his voice, fueling his resentment.
His eyes darkened with the weight of his self-loathing.
Zane's expression shifted as if caught off guard by Tomi's words.
"Oh?" He paused, eyeing Tomi with a newfound interest.
"Interesting," he muttered, his gaze cold and calculating. It was as if he was sizing Tomi up, trying to decide if he was friend or foe.
Before the tension could escalate further, Blaze forcefully pushed them apart, his frustration boiling over.
"You two need to get along!" he yelled, exasperated. "We need a healthy team to fight."
"Don't touch me!" Tomi's voice roared with rage as he recoiled from Blaze, his eyes flashing with the trauma of unwanted contact.
His body stiffened, muscles twitching as if ready to explode from the sheer force of his anger.
Blaze stepped back, his hands raised in surrender, but his eyes flicked toward Zane.
The smirk on Zane's face remained, but his eyes had changed—glinting with something darker, more dangerous.
The energy in the room had shifted, and Blaze could feel it, a silent understanding passing between Zane and Tomi.
"Anyway, we need to get ready for the next mission," Blaze began, his voice tight with frustration. "Especially after that humiliating defeat. The other teams in Fighter Force (F2) are having a field day with us."
He clenched his fists, the memory of their failure burning in his chest.
"And of course, Captain Archer and his baby crew." Blaze's tone dripped with anger, his pride still stinging after being mocked by one of Archer's squad members.
Zane, lounging nearby with a smirk, couldn't resist.
"I figured. You seem more concerned with your ego than the mission," he said, his voice laced with sarcasm.
Blaze whipped around, glaring at Zane.
"Hey, joker! That goes for you too. Our team was supposed to be the best—top tier amongst the others."
Tomi, silent and distant, caught Zane's eye as Blaze stormed off. Zane flashed him a knowing smile, the kind that unsettled Tomi but also piqued his curiosity.