We last read Chapter 30, in which the "Mainframe" which Imperator Barrows, Rogue, and the rest of the Shattered Circle have been referring to the whole time is, in fact, Craig, the son of the late Iron Kingpin; the same monarch who brought the Rusted Citadel so much pain and misery countless years ago. In a lengthy exposition sequence, Craig lays out the full span of events between the formation of Specter's rebellion in 2021 up to the present day, revealing that he had uploaded an entire copy of his consciousness to an almost-complete supercomputer, entrusted it to Barrows, and tasked him and the Shattered Circle with subtly causing mayhem within the Rusted Citadel all while Barrows searched for the final part needed to fully reactivate the supercomputer and bring Craig—now occasionally calling himself the "Mainframe"—back to life.....all while using the Imperator's Armory as both a front and a storage building for the supercomputer itself.
Rogue is clearly impressed with the Mainframe's shrewdness, but Barrows informs the Mainframe that King Ryker and his court still live, as does Moody a.k.a. Specter, the exact same girl who led a successful rebellion against the Iron Kingpin, the Mainframe's father, back in 2021. The Mainframe, however, starts out having a similar attitude towards Specter as Barrows did before, underestimating her, brushing her off as not too big of a threat, and assuring that he, Barrows, and Rogue will now work together to stop her since he's been successfully revived. Barrows then briefly talks about how the Iron Kingpin and his ideals live on through his son Craig, and re-pledges himself, Rogue, and the Shattered Circle to the Mainframe's service, all while the Mainframe laughs triumphantly.
This time, Ollie and Specter run into a snag in their working relationship, and Dashie discovers a horrifying truth about her past upon her return home.....
***********************************************************************************************
-Teleportation Network, Obsidian Sanctum Basement, Obsidian Sanctum, Rusted Citadel, Asia-
After Specter had left the Obsidian Sanctum's main building by vaulting off the balcony following her tense conversation with King Ryker, she instead retreated to the basement to check on Ollie and the Teleportation Network one more time before heading off to get some rest. Their conversation had initially started off civil, with Ollie expressing his relief at Specter's safe return from the Pearly Skates Skating Rink and giving her an enthusiastic and detailed explanation of how the network actually functioned. He also confided in her about how he was worried for his own reputation; he and Doc had been close colleagues once upon a time, before the latter fell from grace. Now, Ollie had started suffering mild backlash himself for simply continuing to associate with Doc, with others even going so far as to claim that he supported Doc's behavior, when that clearly wasn't the case.
"I'm sorry that that happened to you....." Specter said quietly. "But at least the rest of the court and I have always seen you as a hero. And if you have the king's approval, then, well.....shouldn't that be all you need?"
"Do I, though? Do I have your approval? Do we have your approval?" Ollie shot back.
"What do you mean?"
"At the start, Ryker said that all of us would be at your disposal. All of our talents, gifts, and abilities, put towards you finding out who's behind the dissenter attacks," the scientist started off. "But....."
He briefly raised his hands and then let them drop at his sides again. "Two locations in, and you've only ever worked with T.J. You've never even used the Teleportation Network. You know? The system which you implied you wanted me to put together?"
".....Ollie, it's not like that at all---"
"Feels like it to me," Ollie countered. "You know.....if you secretly hated me for still backing Doc on the side, you could've just admitted it to me. Instead of throwing me and my work to the wayside like we didn't matter. It's not like I've suffered enough from the Citadel's citizens, anyway....."
YOU ARE READING
Specter
Teen Fiction~PARAGON CINEMATIC UNIVERSE: PHASE 3, BOOK 2~ *This novel serves as the 2nd novel of Phase 3 and a sequel to "Spark of the Rebellion".* "War is part of nature, and it's time that you accept that. When we return this Citadel to its warring state...
