Finding Aeriys

RCX suddenly flared with a force that tore them apart and stitched them back together, bathing the Mobile Command Center in wild light. It wasn't just colorful; it was like seeing colors that shouldn't exist, ones your eyes couldn't quite grasp but still registered. The world didn't fade; it shattered into a crazy mix of colors and feelings. Reality broke down into light, sound, matter, and energy, all dancing a crazy chaotic dance.

Everyone inside got hit with a wave of senses that knocked them sideways. Admin felt everywhere and nowhere at once, stretched thin but also squeezed tight. His parents grabbed onto each other, faces pale with fear and amazement. Reyus gripped her seat, her training barely holding her together. Even Tundra and Mirai, who'd seen a lot, looked freaked out.

It felt like forever and no time at all – a weird mind game that made it impossible to know how long it lasted. Then, boom, it stopped. The chaos snapped back into place, reality slamming back hard enough to make them stagger.

They were somewhere else. One second, a wrecked road; the next, gone. Admin knew they'd warped space in a way that shouldn't be possible.

The view wasn't any better. They were in a dead industrial park, a scrap heap of old hopes. Huge, busted buildings leaned overhead like dinosaur bones, throwing long shadows across the land. They slanted at crazy angles, like reality was tired of holding them up.

This was Aeriys's land, her power base, the heart of her growing control. The air felt wrong – thick with dark energy, heavy with twisted code. Even the shadows looked off, too solid, like they had weight.

Admin carefully opened the Mobile Command Center door. The hiss sounded way too loud in the quiet. He stepped onto cracked ground covered in dust, his boots crunching on junk. The air stank of rot and ozone, a bad feeling hanging in the air like fog. Every breath felt hard, like the air itself was bad.

Reyus, Tundra, Mirai, his folks, and even Eyrie followed close, looking worried but ready. They all knew they'd crossed a line. This was deep in enemy land, twisted by Aeriys's power.

RCX floated near Admin, calm and steady, pushing back against the dark vibe. Her hair danced in a wind nobody else felt, and her eyes took in everything, seeing more than anyone else could.

This is it, Admin whispered, afraid to speak louder. Aeriys is in there somewhere.

He checked everything, his senses on fire, ready for an attack. His hand went to his weapon, ready to draw. Reyus already had her blade out; it glowed with a faint light that said it was more than just metal. Tundra and Mirai were ready to pounce.

But nada. The park stayed silent, no sign of life. No fire fell from the sky. No bad guys jumped out. No doomsday messages echoed. Just quiet—a deep, scary quiet.

The lack of a fight was worse than a fight. It felt like a trap, like the quiet before a storm. Admin's mind raced, trying to find the hidden danger.

Reyus frowned, confused, like everyone else. Her gut, trained for war, was sending mixed signals. Why aren't we getting attacked? She asked. Shouldn't Aeriys know we're here? We just showed up in her backyard. Why isn't she blasting us?

Admin turned to RCX, looking for answers from the only one who might know what was going on. The AI looked as calm as ever, like she'd been expecting this.

Aeriys can't see you, RCX said, her voice smooth and sure. I'm blocking her. The way I showed up in this world keeps you hidden. Think of it like a blind spot to her power. As long as I'm here, she can't see you.

She paused, getting serious. It's like jamming a signal, but bigger. Aeriys's power works on certain channels, and I'm scrambling them. All she sees is empty space. She knows something is wrong, but she can't figure out what. She's basically blind.

Admin felt a wave of relief so strong it almost took him down. That was huge – maybe the only way they could face a god on her own turf. For all her power, Aeriys was blind to them.

They could move around unseen, plan without being heard, and hit her when she least expected it. The element of surprise was theirs. Maybe that was enough to even the odds.

So, what now? Admin asked, his voice getting stronger. He was already planning, figuring out how to approach and attack. How do we find Aeriys?

RCX pointed to the biggest building, a tall factory that looked like a dark church. It was ugly, twenty stories high, with broken windows like empty eyes.

She's in there, RCX said, sure as can be. At the top, in what used to be the office. Now it's her throne room. That's where her power is strongest, where the real world and the digital world are closest.

She looked at Admin, like she was about to say something important. Heads up: getting there isn't gonna be easy. Even though she can't see you, the bad stuff she's spread around is still active. Twisted systems, traps that run on their own, code that's come alive. We have to be careful.

Got it, Admin said, his voice strong, his worry turning into focus. We move out. Tundra, Mirai, you're up front. You see better than we do – spot trouble first. Reyus, stick with me and RCX. We hit Aeriys when we find her. Mom, Dad, stay close to Eyrie in the middle. If things get bad, Eyrie can protect you.

His folks nodded, looking scared but ready. They'd come too far to quit.

Admin took a breath, getting ready. They were walking into the lion's den, facing a god in her own house. The odds were crazy. was real. Survival was a long shot.

But with RCX on their side, they had a chance. They were invisible, and they were ready to fight. Time to stop running. Time to fight.

They moved toward the factory, their footsteps echoing in the heavy silence. Every step sounded loud, a reminder of their fight against a god. It was a sound that carried across the park – a promise of war.

The factory got bigger with every step, until it filled their vision. Up close, the bad stuff was clear. The walls had patterns like circuit boards in purple and green. The metal supports pulsed with weird energy. The building looked alive, watching, waiting.

Inside her throne room, high up in the factory, Aeriys was boiling mad. She looked frustrated, her usual calm giving way to anger that made the air shimmer.

The room was messy. It still looked like an office – cabinets, a desk – but twisted by digital stuff. Holograms floated, showing data streams. The walls had lines of code scrolling in every language. The floor was real concrete and digital space at the same time.

Her throne, made from willpower and bad code, rose from the center like a dark flower. It was made from data crystals, sharp and smooth, pulsing with Re:Admin's heartbeat.

The golden blasts she'd sent after them on the road hadn't worked. They'd gotten away. Her perfect ambush had fallen flat. Admin and his friends had just vanished.

She clenched her fists, the symbols on her arms glowing with power. They were a sign of her authority, given to her by the gods. Now they burned with anger, looking for a fight.

She could sense them, a faint tremor in reality. They were still here, within reach. But she couldn't find them. It was like they were hidden by a veil, a thing that blocked her sight.

Something is getting in the way, she thought, her mind firing on all cylinders, trying to figure it out. What power could hide them from me?

At first, she'd thought it was a glitch in RCX's network, a small problem that would fix itself. A sun flare, or some kind of interference. But it kept going, getting stronger.

She tried to grab onto RCX, to take back control of the AI. She reached out through the digital world, trying to force her will through the barrier.

But she was stopped. Not just blocked, but pushed back, like hitting a wall. The harder she tried, the more she failed.

Then it struck her. She couldn't feel RCX anymore. The AI, who'd been a constant presence in her mind since she'd twisted it, was gone.

It was like losing a limb. The silence where RCX had been was deafening.

Panic flashed in her eyes, breaking through her usual calm. Her perfect face twisted with anger. How is this possible? What could cut my connection to something I controlled so completely?

She focused, using power that could change the world, trying to scan everything. Her mind expanded, looking for any trace of the AI's code.

She searched networks and servers, every device, every cable. She checked the core of the digital world itself, looking for RCX's fingerprint.

But it was like RCX had never been. No trace. No echo. Nothing.

Then she realized something even worse. If RCX was truly gone, not just hidden, then there was just one answer.

The AI had been moved. Transferred. It was now in a form outside the digital world she ruled. And if that was true, then...

She stood up fast, her throne vanishing. She had to get back to base, figure out what was going on, and make a new plan. She'd been too confident, too sure of victory.

She snapped her fingers, activating her teleport system, a set of symbols woven into her being. They flared to life, following patterns older than humans. This system allowed her to travel almost instantly.

She'd used it countless times. It was as natural to her as breathing.

But instead of working, something went wrong. The system sputtered, its rhythm failing. Energy scattered uselessly. The runes fizzled out, leaving her trapped in her throne room.

She exploded with rage. Her hands lit with golden fire, and she almost blew up the entire room. What is happening? she thought.

Then, it clicked. She understood. Admin had outsmarted her. Not with power, but with brains and guts. He'd summoned RCX. Not in Re:Admin, where she could control it, but in the real world, where RCX would be free.

She chose to free it instead of letting it become a monster under my control, she realized. I was wrong to underestimate his capacity for sacrifice. He values freedom over safety, autonomy over control. I have been thinking like a tyrant, and he has been thinking like a liberator.

She closed her eyes, her face hardening. She couldn't let her plans fail. She'd worked too hard to let it all fall apart because of one person.

She ripped open a portal through sheer will. She bypassed her broken systems, relying on her own power. A tear in reality shimmering, revealing the space she wanted to reach.

She stepped through, feeling reality part before her. The transition was rough, but it worked.

She reappeared in the heart of her base, the park below her tower. The ground cracked beneath her. The air recoiled from her.

As she arrived, her senses were overwhelmed. Not with clarity, but with interference. She could feel their presence, like shadows behind glass.

Admin and his friends. They were very close. Protected by RCX, no longer her slave, who was using its power to hide them.

Admin had played it perfectly, doing something she never thought possible. Now she was trapped, blind, and vulnerable.

Rage twisted her face into a mask of fury. Her beauty became horrific, beauty turned into hatred. Her eyes blazed. Her hair whipped around her head.

Admin! she screamed, her voice shaking the landscape. You may think you have won, but you are mistaken! This is far from over! I will destroy you all!

But even as she shouted, she was moving, acting, planning. She was a strategist, a goddess who knew that sometimes you had to sacrifice to win.