Chapter 78: Deepwater 9

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Deepwater 9 Oil Rig. The Main Deck.3:00 PM.

They breached the airlock door. Sebastian ripped the rusted handle off with his hydraulic claw. SCREECH. Inside, the wind stopped howling. The silence was heavy, broken only by the hum of fluorescent lights flickering overhead.

"This isn't an oil rig," Jack spat tobacco juice on the clean metal floor. "Oil rigs smell like crude. This place smells like... bleach."

"It's a sterile environment," Dr. Braun sniffed. "Hospital grade."

Sebastian scanned the corridor with his HUD.[ POWER LEVEL: 12% ][ THREAT DETECTED: ZERO. ] "No guards," Sebastian whispered. "No cameras active. It's like they left the door open for us."

"Or they want us to come inside," Harper gripped her rifle tight. Her hands were shaking. Not from cold, but from a strange, instinctive dread.

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[The Black Site]

They moved deeper. They passed rooms that looked like offices, but the papers were all shredded. They passed a cafeteria with moldy food still on the trays, as if everyone had left in a hurry years ago.

Then, they reached Level B-4. A heavy blast door stood open. Above it, a faded sign:[ ASSET CONTAINMENT ]

"Containment?" Jack read the sign. "Like for animals?"

"No," Sebastian walked in. "For people."

It was a prison block. Rows of glass cells lined the walls. Most were empty. Some contained rusted medical equipment. But inside one cell, there was a skeleton. It was wearing a tattered jumpsuit. On the wall, scratched in what looked like blood or rust, were thousands of tally marks. Counting days.

"My god," Braun covered his mouth. "These people... they were the 'failures' of Project Helios. The ones who didn't die immediately."

"They kept them here," Sebastian’s voice was cold. "To study the degeneration. To watch them rot."

He looked at his own hand. If not for the stabilizer, he would be in one of these cages.

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[The Lullaby]

Suddenly, a sound drifted through the stale air. A voice. Soft. Cracked. Humming a tune.

Sur le pont d'Avignon,On y danse, on y danse...

Harper froze. She dropped her rifle. It clattered loudly on the floor.

"Harper?" Sebastian turned to her.

"That song," Harper whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "My mother used to sing it. To make me sleep when I was scared of the thunder."

"Harper, your mother is dead," Sebastian said gently. "She died in a car crash in 1996. We saw the police report."

"No," Harper shook her head. She started walking toward the sound. Like a moth to a flame. "It's her."

"Harper! Wait!" Sebastian chased after her. His suit was heavy, the battery dying. Every step was a struggle.

They reached the end of the hall.Cell 001. The glass was thick, bulletproof. Inside, sitting on a pristine white bed, was a woman. She had long, silver hair that touched the floor. She was wearing a white hospital gown. She was painting on the glass wall with her finger. Drawing a face. A child's face.

She stopped humming. She slowly turned her head. Her face was lined with age, but the eyes... the eyes were unmistakable. Violet. Just like Harper's.

Catherine Rousseau.

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[The Reunion]

Harper walked up to the glass. She placed her hand on it. "Mom?" she choked out.

The woman blinked. She looked at Harper’s hand. Then at her face. A flicker of recognition crossed her vacate eyes. Then, fear. She scrambled back into the corner of her bed, curling into a ball.

"No! No!" Catherine screamed, covering her ears. "I won't tell you! I don't know the code! Go away, Arthur! Go away!"

"Mom, it's me!" Harper sobbed, banging on the glass. "It's Harper! Your daughter!"

"Harper is safe," Catherine rocked back and forth, muttering like a mantra. "Harper is far away. Harper is safe. You can't hurt her."

"She's been conditioned," Braun whispered, looking at the woman with professional horror. "Psychological torture. For decades. She thinks this is another trick."

Sebastian looked at the electronic lock on the door. He raised his hydraulic fist. "Stand back."

SMASH. He punched the control panel. Sparks flew. The lock disengaged. The glass door hissed open.

Harper ran in. She knelt beside the bed. "Mom, look at me. Look at the ring." She held up her hand. The Gold & Steel Ring.

Catherine stopped rocking. She looked at the ring. She touched the cold steel. "The Rolling Pin?" she whispered.

"Yes," Harper cried. "We found it. We used it. We came for you."

Catherine looked up at Harper’s face. She reached out a trembling hand to touch her daughter’s cheek. "My... masterpiece," she whispered. "You grew up."

---

[The Trap Sprung]

"This is touching," a voice boomed over the intercom system. "Truly. I'm tearing up."

Sebastian spun around, shielding the women. Jack raised his rifle.

The lights in the corridor turned red. At the far end of the hall, a heavy blast door opened. A figure walked out. He wasn't wearing armor. He was wearing a pristine white suit. He held a cane, much like Sebastian used to. But his cane was tipped with a glowing blue crystal.

The Warden.

"Welcome to Deepwater 9, Mr. Sterling," The Warden smiled. He looked strangely... perfect. Too symmetrical. Like a plastic doll brought to life. "I've been expecting you. Victoria said you were persistent."

"Who are you?" Sebastian demanded. His HUD flashed a warning.[ BATTERY CRITICAL: 5% ][ SYSTEM SHUTDOWN IMMINENT. ]

"I am the caretaker of this zoo," The Warden tapped his cane. "And you..." He pointed the cane at Sebastian. A pulse of electromagnetic energy shot out from the blue crystal.ZAP.

It hit Sebastian’s chest plate. The Ratnik-3 suit short-circuited instantly. Sparks exploded. The servos locked up. Sebastian fell to his knees, paralyzed by the dead weight of his own armor. 300 pounds of dead metal trapping him.

"Sebastian!" Harper screamed.

"Don't move," The Warden said calmly. Behind him, a dozen combat droids—sleek, faceless machines—marched into the hall.

"You see," The Warden walked closer, looking down at the trapped Sebastian. "We didn't keep Catherine alive just for her knowledge." "We kept her as bait." "And look what a big fish we caught."

He turned to Harper. "Mrs. Sterling. Please step away from the asset. Or I will have the robots tear your husband apart, piece by expensive piece."