The lights flickered—then died.
Only the red emergency glow lit the room now.
The "original" Amara stood in front of me like a shadow from another lifetime. Same voice. Same face. But colder. Sharper. Like her soul had been carved into glass.
She tilted her head. "Still think you're real?"
"I don't need proof to know who I am," I said, fists clenched.
"Then you're not ready," she muttered.
She lunged.
I barely dodged.
Her fist slammed into a steel wall, denting it like cardboard.
She was strong—unnaturally strong.
I rolled away, grabbing a pipe off the floor.
"You were made," she growled. "I was engineered. There's a difference."
"Maybe," I gasped, "but I still have something you don't."
She paused, cocking an eyebrow. "Like what?"
"Love."
Her face twitched.
"You think love makes you strong?" she hissed.
I swung the pipe. She caught it.
"No," I said. "I think it makes me dangerous."
I kicked her off and ran to Elias—still groaning on the floor.
She didn't chase.
She watched.
"I remember when they first designed you," she said softly. "They called you 'The Soft One.' Too emotional. Too unpredictable."
I held Elias as he blinked awake.
"But emotions are messy," she continued. "They make you hesitate. And hesitation gets you killed."
I looked her dead in the eye. "Then let's test that theory."
She came at me again.
Faster this time.
But this time—I was ready.
I moved with instinct, not fear.
Not science.
Just heart.
And for a moment… I had the upper hand.
Until she whispered:
"They activated the failsafe."
Everything went white.
My head split with pain.
Memories—mine? Hers? I didn't know—flooded my mind.
I saw the labs.
The fire.
Mason.
My mother.
Wait—my mother?
A woman I'd never seen before.
Crying as I was taken from her arms.
"Amara!" Elias shouted. "Stay with me!"
I dropped to my knees.
The origin walked toward me.
"You're a copy, Amara. A ghost of a life you'll never live."
I reached into my jacket—pulled out the glowing chip my father gave me.
E13-VX.
I slammed it into the console nearby.
The ground shook.
The room lit up.
Her eyes widened. "What did you do?"
"I made a choice," I said.
Suddenly, a voice filled the chamber.
My father's voice.
"If you're hearing this… it means you're ready. The chip you've inserted will rewrite all access points. One of you will survive."
I stared at her.
She stared at me.
Only one Amara.
I stepped back. "Let fate decide."
---
The chamber began scanning.
The voice echoed: Final Identity Match in Progress…
She rushed at me.
But too late.
A blinding light surrounded us both.
We screamed.
And then—
Silence.
Darkness.
---
I opened my eyes.
One light above me.
A cold floor beneath me.
And someone leaning over me.
Elias.
"Amara?" he whispered.
I sat up slowly.
"Is it really… you?" he asked.
I blinked.
And then answered in a voice that wasn't quite mine.
"It's both of us."