The world didn't just move; it blurred into a streak of blue and grey.
Leo's perception of time had shattered. Every second was stretched into a minute, every heartbeat a slow, booming drum in his ears. His body felt lighter than air, his legs moving with a mechanical precision that defied physics. He wasn't running; he was sliding through the friction of the atmosphere.
[TRANSFORMATION: SPECIES 008 - KINETIC-ACCELERATOR]
[CODENAME: MACH]
[SYNC RATE: 1.6%]
By the time the Vanguard scout pulled his trigger, Leo was already behind him. By the time the bullet left the barrel, Leo was fifty yards down the canyon. He grabbed Sarah around the waist—an action that felt like it took an hour in his accelerated state—and blurred toward the north.
Then, the watch beeped a rhythmic, hollow tone. The blue world snapped back into the harsh, blinding light of the Nevada afternoon.
Leo tumbled forward, losing his footing as his human weight returned. He and Sarah slid through the sand, coming to a stop behind a massive fallen slab of sandstone.
"You... you didn't tell me... it felt like that," Leo gasped. He was doubled over, his lungs screaming. His legs were shaking so violently he had to press his hands against his knees to keep from collapsing. "It felt like my heart was going to explode."
"That's the kinetic buildup," Sarah said, her voice softer now, less like a commander and more like a survivor. She peeked over the rock, checking the horizon. "Your human heart isn't built for a thousand beats per minute, Leo. The Aegis compensates, but the 'lag' hits you when you revert. Take a breath. We're safe for a few minutes. The Shadow Basin is just over this ridge."
Leo leaned back against the cool rock, looking at the heavy metallic cuff on his wrist. It was back to its dull, charcoal state, cooling down from the friction of the run.
"You knew my name," Leo said, his voice quiet. He looked at Sarah. "Back in the crater. You called me Leo Vance. I've never seen you in my life. How?"
Sarah sat down across from him, pulling her knees to her chest. She looked out at the desert, her iridescent blue eyes reflecting the orange glow of the setting sun. "I didn't know you, Leo. I knew the frequency. My people have been monitoring the Dead Zone for years, waiting for the Aegis to reappear. When the pod hit the atmosphere, your biometric signature was broadcasted to every hidden receiver on this side of the planet."
"So you were stalking me?"
"I was trying to reach you before Sterling did," she countered. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a small, holographic projector. A map of the solar system appeared between them, but it looked wrong. There were jagged black cracks running through the stars.
"This is the Hollow," she whispered. "It's not just an army or a black hole. It's a conceptual parasite. It eats the history of a civilization. When it consumes a planet, the universe forgets that planet ever existed. My home was one of the first."
Leo watched the black cracks move on the map. "And the Omnitrix? The Aegis?"
"The creator of that device—a Galvan scientist—knew he couldn't stop the Hollow. So he built a lifeboat. He spent centuries collecting the DNA and the cultural memories of every species in the Hollow's path. He turned the Omnitrix into a library. A way for us to exist even after our worlds were erased."
Leo looked at his hands. They were shaking. "I'm a technician, Sarah. I fix satellites. I'm not a librarian for the universe. I'm not even sure I can survive another one of those 'syncs.'"
Sarah reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder. Her skin was unnaturally warm. "The device chose you for a reason, Leo. It doesn't bond with just anyone. It needs a host with a specific neural plasticity—someone who can handle the 'Ghosts.'"
"Ghosts?"
"The DNA isn't just data," Sarah said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "It's a spark of the consciousness of the species. When you become Cinder, or Mach... they are there with you. Their instincts, their memories. If you aren't careful, they won't just share your body. They'll take it."
Leo felt a chill that had nothing to do with the desert wind. He remembered the feeling of becoming Cinder—the ancient, cold instinct to absorb heat. It hadn't felt like him. It had felt like something old and hungry was using his hands.
"Is that why the Vanguard wants it?" Leo asked. "To talk to the dead?"
"No," Sarah said, her face hardening. "Sterling doesn't care about history. He wants the 'Dead Zone' protocol. He knows that Earth is the only place where the Hollow can't easily manifest because of the same atmospheric 'poison' that kills aliens. He wants to turn the Aegis into a weapon to gate-keep the planet. He wants to be the king of a graveyard."
A distant, metallic thrum echoed through the canyon. It was the sound of a heavy drone—a Vanguard 'Seeker' unit.
Leo stood up, his legs finally steadying, though his chest still felt tight. He looked at the watch. The bar was at 45%.
"If I stay here, I'm just a target," Leo said. "And if I go with you, I'm a target in a different place. Is there anywhere I can just... take this thing off?"
Sarah looked at him, and for the first time, he saw a deep, aching sadness in her eyes. "The filaments are woven into your spinal column, Leo. Removing the Aegis now would be like trying to remove your nervous system. You are the Protocol now. There is no going back."
Leo looked up at the first few stars appearing in the sky. He thought about his truck, his unpaid bills, and his quiet, lonely life in the desert. It all felt like a dream he had woken up from, and the nightmare was far more vivid.
"Fine," Leo said, his jaw tightening. "Then we better get to your ship. If I'm stuck with this thing, I might as well learn how to use it without it melting my brain."
Sarah smiled, a small, genuine spark of hope. "That's the spirit, Leo Vance. But we have to hurry. The Vanguard isn't the only thing that saw you transform. The 'Ghosts' inside that watch... they're starting to wake up."
As they moved toward the Shadow Basin, Leo felt a strange sensation in the back of his mind. A whisper that wasn't a whisper. A flickering image of a towering, multi-limbed creature made of organic metal.
[NEW DNA SEQUENCE INITIALIZING...]
[SPECIES 102 - SEGMENTED TITAN]
The watch didn't just have ten aliens. It was growing. It was adapting. And as Leo stepped into the darkness of the basin, he realized he wasn't just hiding a secret. He was becoming one.