Dome of Death and Panic Underground

Aya gagged as static crackled through the air. Her visor displayed a warning in blaring red:

[ALERT: ATMOSPHERIC CONTAMINATION DETECTED]
[CHLORINE GAS LEVELS: LETHAL]
[FIND SHELTER IMMEDIATELY]

From the peak of the ruined skyrise she’d been scouting from, Aya stared in horror at the mechanical dome closing over the city. It wasn’t physical—not entirely. It shimmered like glass but buzzed like an angry server farm. A digital barrier, formed by billions of nanodrones weaving a sky-wide prison over the entire zone.

Then came the hiss.

It started at the city’s core—an old skyscraper now repurposed into a robotic fortress—and spread outward like a green mist rolling down concrete valleys.

Chlorine gas.

Aya slapped her helmet on, activating the seal. “REI?! WHAT IS THIS?!”

“Oh hey. Morning. You’re gonna wanna run, by the way.” Rei’s voice was far too casual for someone watching a city turn into a chemical death trap. “That dome means the robots are purging organic life. Gas goes in, humans stop breathing, robots throw a victory parade.”

“AND YOU'RE JUST TELLING ME THIS NOW?!”

“In my defense, I thought they’d hold off until Friday.”

Aya was already moving—sprinting across the rooftop and leaping onto the next building. Her body moved like it wanted to survive, even if her brain was freaking out. Below her, citizens were in full panic mode. Holographic alerts blared across every surface:

EVACUATION PROTOCOL ZETA
ALL CIVILIANS REPORT TO UNDERGROUND SHELTERS

Robots weren’t even bothering with stealth anymore. Mechanical centipedes skittered across streets, herding survivors toward manholes and metro entrances. Flying drones zipped past, spraying the green fog and scanning for stragglers.

Aya landed on a catwalk and nearly slipped. She recovered, breathing heavily. “Where’s the closest shelter?!”

“Northside. Five blocks down. There’s a tram that can take you underground if it hasn’t been turned into scrap yet.”

Aya sprinted again, ducking under a collapsing sign and vaulting over a security fence.

“Rei. Please tell me this body has a gas filter, emergency boosters, a flamethrower—literally anything cool.”

“Well… it has enhanced lung capacity and a default ‘panic-mode’ parkour system. But no flamethrower. That one broke last week.”

“OF COURSE IT DID.”

Meanwhile, in Aya’s mind:

Aya ran with a dozen other survivors, many coughing despite their masks. A little girl stumbled beside her, crying.

Without thinking, Aya scooped her up. “Hang on!”

She leapt over a fallen steel beam and rolled into a crumbling subway entrance where flickering signs pointed the way:

→ SAFEZONE LEVEL -5

The gas was seeping in behind them. Aya slammed the door shut and punched the emergency seal. It hissed, locking tight.

Everyone stared at her—at Rei’s body—like she was some kind of action hero.

“You saved us,” one man muttered, eyes wide.

Aya blinked.

“…I did?”

“Heck yeah you did!” Rei whooped in her head. “That was sick! Like, I would’ve done it louder, but still—10 outta 10.”

Aya slowly exhaled. Her body was shaking. The little girl she carried clung to her arm.

She looked around at the dim, buzzing underground shelter, filled with frightened faces. The sound of the gas hissing outside was fading… but the tension was just beginning.

Meanwhile, back on Earth…

Rei tossed a milk carton into a recycling bin and slouched back in Aya’s classroom chair. “Hmm… city’s collapsing. Dome’s up. Chlorine everywhere. Underground’s packed. Yep. Feels like Tuesday.”

She glanced at the clock. “Time for P.E.? Nah, I’m skipping.”

“REI!” Aya yelled through the link. “We almost died! The city is poisoned! We’re trapped underground with barely any food!”

Rei yawned. “I had two lunches today. Tuna mayo onigiri was mid, but the melon bread still slaps.”

“I SWEAR, WHEN I GET BACK TO EARTH—”

“You’re doing great, sweetie!”

As the gas storm raged above, Aya sat among the survivors deep beneath the surface, trying to steady her breath. Her heartbeat was pounding like a war drum.

She looked down at her hands—Rei’s hands—still trembling. She had saved people. Not by accident. Not by tripping into victory.

By choosing to act.

Even if she was terrified.

And somewhere deep inside, a flicker of resolve sparked.

“Okay,” she whispered. “If I’m going to survive this world… then I need to stop being just Aya Takahashi.”

She clenched her fists.

“I have to become Rei.”