The crystalline sphere still lingered in Kael's thoughts the next morning. He had stashed the disassembled arm beneath a loose floorboard in the backroom, but its presence seemed to hum in the corners of his mind, a low and constant pulse. He could almost still hear the whispers Help me.
The repair shop buzzed with activity as the morning rush of customers began. Most were standard maintenance requests : oiling joints, tightening bolts, and running diagnostics on aging Clockwork systems. Routine work. Predictable. But Kael's hands moved slower than usual, his mind clouded by the unanswered questions from the night before.
It wasn't until late afternoon that something unusual broke the monotony.
The shop door swung open, and a man stepped inside. His frame was tall and broad, dressed in a heavy trench coat that barely concealed the glint of polished metal beneath. A widened brimmed hat shadowed most of his face, but the faint glow of Clockwork eyes peeked out from under the brim.
"Kael Veyron?" the man asked, his voice low and smooth, but with a faint metallic undertone.
"That's me," Kael said, wiping his hands on a rag. He eyed the man warily. "What can I do for you?"
The man pulled back his coat, revealing a forearm that was damaged beyond the usual wear and tear. The synthetic skin was torn away, exposing a lattice of shattered metal and sparking wires. Kael frowned. He'd repaired countless Clockworks, but the design of this one was… different.
"It's an older model," the man said, as if reading Kael's mind. "But a special one. Needs delicate work."
Kael gestured to the workbench. "Let me take a look."
As the man removed his coat and hat, Kael got a better view of him. His features were sharper than most Clockworks almost unnervingly perfect. The lines of his face had none of the subtle imperfections that usually mimicked human flesh. It was as if whoever had designed him had been aiming for something beyond human.
Kael's unease grew as he examined the damaged arm. Beneath the outer casing was a network of mechanisms that shouldn't have existed in a standard Clockwork model. Layers upon layers of intricate circuits spiraled into a crystalline core, almost identical to the one he'd found in the Echelon arm.
"Where did you get this unit?" Kael asked, his voice steady despite the alarm bells ringing in his mind.
The man tilted his head slightly. "Does it matter?"
"Yes," Kael said firmly. "This isn't standard tech. I don't even think it's legal tech."
The man didn't answer. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, hexagonal data chip. "Run this diagnostic. It will tell you what you need to know."
Kael hesitated. He didn't like the feeling creeping up his spine, but curiosity was already winning. He slid the chip into the interface of his workbench, and the holographic display flickered to life. A cascade of unfamiliar symbols and data scrolled across the screen, faster than Kael could comprehend.
"What the…" Kael muttered, leaning closer. Embedded within the data stream were fragments of code that seemed… alive. They twisted and reshaped themselves, forming patterns that looked almost like words.
Then, the scrolling stopped. A single phrase burned onto the screen:
Awaken the Forgotten.
Kael's heart skipped a beat. He glanced at the man, whose expression hadn't changed. "What does this mean?"
"You're closer than you realize," the man said. His tone carried a weight that sent a chill through Kael. "But there's more to repair than just the body. Keep working."
Kael continued dismantling the arm, his hands moving instinctively even as his mind raced. Beneath the shattered plating and damaged wires, he found another crystalline core but this one larger than the one in the Echelon arm. It pulsed faintly with a dim, rhythmic glow.
As Kael touched the core, the holographic display on his workbench lit up again. This time, it showed a schematic of a figure a Clockwork, but one unlike any Kael had ever seen. It was taller, more streamlined, with reinforced plating and an array of embedded weaponry. The schematic labeled it as "Prototype 07," but the details of its creation and purpose were redacted.
"Prototype?" Kael said aloud.
The man nodded. "One of the first. Before the system was perfected. Before the Echelon took control."
Kael set down his tools, staring at the man. "Why bring this to me? I'm just a mechanic. There are people out there with more resources, more knowledge."
"Because you still see us as people," the man said simply. "Not machines."
The words hit harder than Kael expected. He turned back to the arm, carefully extracting the core. As he did, the faint whisper and returned clearer this time.
Kael.
He froze. "What did you say?"
"I said nothing," the man replied, his expression unreadable.
Kael's grip tightened on the core as the whisper echoed again, unmistakably from within his mind.
Kael. Help me.
His breath quickened. The voice wasn't just a fragment of his imagination. It was real. And it knew his name.
Kael set the core on the workbench and backed away, his heart pounding. "What the hell is this? What's inside this thing?"
"You already know," the man said quietly. "And if you don't help, no one else will."
Before Kael could respond, the shop door creaked open again. A patrol of Echelon enforcers stepped inside, their polished metal forms gleaming in the dim light. Their leader's glowing blue eyes scanned the room, locking onto the man standing by the workbench.
Kael's blood ran cold. He glanced at the disassembled arm, the exposed core still faintly pulsing. He didn't know what he'd stumbled into, but he knew one thing: the Echelon wanted it.
"Kael Veyron," the lead enforcer said, his voice sharp and authoritative. "Step away from the prototype."
The man beside Kael didn't move. Instead, he turned to Kael, his gaze intense. "You've already started. Don't stop now."
Before Kael could react, the man grabbed his coat and hat, moving with unnatural speed. He shoved a small device into Kael's hand a data crystal, glowing faintly.
"Keep it safe," the man said. Then, without another word, he pushed past the enforcers and disappeared into the chaos of the city streets.
Kael stood frozen as the enforcers turned their attention to him. The lead enforcer stepped forward, his mechanical hand outstretched. "Hand over the data and the prototype."
Kael tightened his grip on the crystal, his mind racing. For the first time in years, he felt something stir deep within him. A spark of rebellion, of purpose.
"No," he said, his voice steady.
The enforcer's eyes flashed. "Then you've made a mistake."