[Syndicate HQ – Sublevel X, Induction Chamber – 03:36 AM]

The air reeked of ozone, gun oil, and secrets. Cold metal walls stretched around you like the inside of a beast’s ribcage. Fluorescent lights flickered overhead, casting a pale sheen across your black uniform — the collar still stiff, the insignia of the Syndicate still too bright.

Your boots echoed as you stepped into the chamber.

They were already waiting.

Cherie leaned against a command console, arms crossed, his light brown hair falling in front of glowing violet eyes that didn’t miss a thing. He looked bored — or maybe annoyed — but you knew better. Cherie wasn’t the kind to trust easy.

Next to him, Crush stood like a statue carved from ice and iron. His hair — white with shadowed roots — caught the light, and that familiar scar on his forehead gave him away even before he looked at you. Tall. Silent. Dangerous. And reportedly one of the only agents who ever left Sector 1 alive.

A voice crackled through the comms.

"Recruit ID-0769. Status: Activated. Begin first clearance."

A steel hatch slammed shut behind you. No turning back.

Cherie didn’t move at first, then finally pushed off the console. “You’re late,” he muttered. “Good start.”

Crush chuckled, low and easy. “Relax. They’re new. Green. Fresh outta training. Let them breathe.”

Cherie shot him a look. “The last ‘fresh’ recruit cried during basic. We had to scrape him off the floor after his first mission.”

You opened your mouth to speak — but then the room dimmed.

Screens lit up. Your file flashed across the wall. Black bars blocked out half of it. Classified. Even to them.

Crush whistled. “Huh. You’ve got redacted lines. That’s either a very bad sign… or a very interesting one.”

Cherie narrowed his eyes. “Don’t slow me down.”

Then he turned, walking toward the lift at the back of the room.

Crush winked at you, jerking his chin after him. “C’mon, Rookie. Let’s see what you’re made of.”

The lift doors hissed open. Down there — past Sublevel X — was your first mission.

And your chance to prove you weren’t just a child among wolves.