I will be the Villian

> "They said I'd be the villain. So I chose to become the kind even nightmares fear."

---

00:00:01 – The Override Protocol Activates

All across the city, streetlights blinked.

Phones vibrated.

Cameras rotated on their own.

A soft voice whispered from every device:

> "Welcome to the new Eden. You are now seen."

Every citizen. Every rebel. Every child.

Tracked. Watched. Mapped.

---

Amaris Watches the City Turn

From a rooftop, she watched as curfew drones scanned faces, drones buzzing like wasps.

Zayden stood behind her, silent.

"They want order," she said.

"They want control," he corrected.

Her eyes didn't blink. "Then let's make them choke on it."

---

Meanwhile – Raze Is Dying

The chip Amaris ripped out saved his mind, but left his body poisoned.

He lay in a secure bunker, fever rising.

Amaris sat beside him, wiping his forehead.

"I'm not afraid," he murmured.

"You should be."

"I'm not afraid of death," he whispered. "I'm afraid of forgetting your face before I go."

She pressed her forehead to his, quietly breaking.

---

Zayden's Mother Appears

Her name: Liora Kross

She arrived in a black coat, no guards, just purpose.

Zayden opened the door in disbelief.

Amaris didn't speak. She just stared.

Liora walked forward, holding out an old photograph.

Amaris. Age 6. In a park. Laughing.

"I was there," Liora said softly. "Your father wanted to sell you to ACE. I bribed a handler to delay it. You were supposed to be taken at 10. He made them come at 8."

Amaris clenched her jaw. "You didn't stop him."

"No," Liora admitted. "But I never stopped watching."

Then she handed Amaris a drive.

Inside: the kill codes for Override.

> "This is your weapon. But it comes with a price."

---

The Price

"To disable the system," Liora said, "someone has to manually enter the codes from within the original ACE server. The one in Subzone Zero."

Zayden tensed. "That place is death."

Liora nodded. "And only one person still has the biometric access."

Everyone turned to Amaris.

Of course.

---

Raze's Final Gift

Barely alive, he pulled Amaris down close.

"There's a vault… below Subzone Zero. File marked "Project Siren." It's about you."

"I don't care about the past," she whispered.

"You should," he rasped. "Because they built you for more than pain."

Then, with a faint smile—

He died.

And something in her broke quietly.

---

Amaris Doesn't Cry

She doesn't scream.

She just stands.

Walks to the table.

Picks up the detonator for the EMP disruptor.

Looks at Zayden and says:

> "Burn them all. I'll handle the rest."

---

Infiltration Begins

Amaris enters Subzone Zero alone.

Zayden leads the rebellion above, using the EMPs to knock out Override's outer defenses.

Liora disappears, last seen walking into the Edenrose boardroom with a gun.

---

Inside Subzone Zero

ACE's underground facility is colder than she remembers.

Walls still stained. Lights flickering.

Every hallway is a grave.

She walks past the room where they injected her.

Where she screamed.

Where Raze bled.

Where they recorded her dreams and dissected her fear.

She finds the control room.

Types in the kill codes.

Override deactivates.

The city goes dark.

Freedom.

For a second.

Then—alarms.

---

Celeste Appears on the Monitor

> "You really thought I'd make it easy?"

A new system begins booting:

> "Protocol CHIMERA – Activating Prototype Host."

And from behind her—

a glass pod opens.

Inside: Another Amaris.

A clone.

Barely formed. Barely conscious.

Amaris stares.

"You made a copy," she whispers.

"Not a copy," Celeste replies. "A version without the pain. Without the rage. Perfect. Loyal. Pure."

"Empty," Amaris says.

She walks to the pod. Places her hand on the glass.

Then lifts her gun.

And kills it.

---

The Collapse

As the clone dies, the system crashes.

Explosions rock the facility.

She runs, breath ragged, memories flashing.

Footsteps behind her.

It's Zayden.

He came for her.

They burst into the open—

And ACE collapses behind them.

---

Above Ground – The Revolution Ends

The people erupt.

Override is gone.

Celeste is exposed—her final broadcast leaked by Liora.

Riots end.

People weep.

Some kneel.

But not for peace.

For Amaris Lane.

---

Final Scene – The Funeral

Raze's body is burned under the moonlight.

No words. Just ashes.

Amaris holds a locket he made in captivity.

Inside:

Her name, etched next to the word:

> "Home."

She doesn't cry.

Zayden wraps an arm around her.

She leans into him, whispering:

> "I'm not done."

He kisses her temple.

"I know."

---