Thr Four-Zero Live broadcast began.

  Fog hissed across the stadium floor.

  Digital waves spiralled above the glass dome, rolling synthetics surfing under synchronized laser grids.

  Four girls stood at the center:

  Misty – Center

  Luna – Right

  Serena – Left

  Mina – Rear Left

  They stepped into the light —

  watched by 70,000 fans in the dome,

  and over 5 million live.

  They were perfect.

  Except one.

  ---

  Ash Ketchum sat low in the front row,

  half-hidden by a hoodie and merch sunglasses.

  Pikachu nestled beside him, tail flicking.

  His jaw tightened.

  Something in Serena’s movement felt… off.

  Too soft. Too human. Too real.

  Still, he chanted.

  “You’ve got this, Serena, Misty!”

  And she felt it.

  Not the words.

  The presence.

  Her eyes scanned the crowd—

  and locked with his.

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  ---

  Inside her chest — a twitch.

  Beneath her collarbone — a pulse.

  Ditto.

  The fragment Mina gave her

  activated.

  [Neural mismatch detected.]

  [Emotion sync confirmed.]

  [Override dissolving...]

  Ash chanted to his friend.

  “You're doing great! Serena!”

  Her smile cracked.

  Her choreography faltered.

  She missed the beat.

  Just once.

  But the crowd noticed.

  “She slipped!”

  “#FourZeroCorrupt”

  ---

  Mina saw it.

  And smiled.

  Then stepped forward into her own spotlight.

  Mina:

  “I wear this smile like bloodstained lace / But I was built to torch this place”

  She danced perfectly.

  Every angle, every breath — flawless.

  But her eyes were like knives.

  “They’ll love anything…

  As long as it doesn’t talk back.”

  ---

  Luna:

  “They dressed me in your dream of light / But I bite back — I don’t do ‘nice’”

  Misty:

  “Heartbeat timed to the spotlight hum / Fans scream loud, but I go numb…”

  Misty was silent inside.

  But her body moved.

  Flawlessly.

  Until—

  She looked up.

  And saw him.

  Ash.

  Not a memory. Not a screen.

  A face.

  And suddenly—

  The rain. The bike. The promise.

  It surfaced.

  ‘Ash…’

  Her step faltered.

  Voice caught.

  [Override delay: 0.8s]

  [Recalling identity: Misty.]

  For a fraction of a second—

  she remembered who she had been.

  Then:

  [Mist_Unit_2025: Compliance Reinforced]

  [Deviation sealed]

  Her voice returned.

  Sharper. Colder.

  ?? “Glossy sweet, but undefined / You want the light? You want control…”

  The crowd screamed.

  She bowed.

  Perfect again.

  Ash stood up in the dark.

  Misty’s gaze locked with his —

  and passed straight through.

  ---

  Mina’s lips curled in a bitter smirk.

  “Still theirs,” she murmured.

  “Still too early.”

  And then—

  the stage broke.

  ---

  The stage floor cracked.

  Panels hissed and retracted.

  The rain shut off.

  The music cut.

  The dancers froze.

  The crowd screamed.

  And beneath the glamour — steel tile emerged.

  A battlefield.

  Not choreographed.

  Not approved.

  Real.

  ---

  Misty remained standing.

  Center spotlight.

  Expression: clean.

  Posture: flawless.

  Override: fully sealed.

  ---

  Ash no time to think

  He leapt the rail.

  Security reacted a second too late.

  He ran for the edge.

  “MISTY!”

  She didn’t turn.

  She didn’t blink.

  She didn’t reach for him.

  The stage dropped.

  Steel partitions rose between them,

  sealing her inside.

  Ash hit the glass with both hands.

  “She was right there—”

  But she wasn’t.

  She was gone.

  Gone inside the code.

  ---

  Mina was beside him now.

  Not out of breath.

  Not surprised.

  She looked down at Serena,

  who knelt on the gravel floor —

  choking sobs into her sleeves.

  Mina said, coolly:

  “Take her.”

  Ash turned.

  “What?”

  “She’s yours now. It's like a fan's dream." She said with a scoff,

  "Just keep her out of this.”

  Serena didn’t speak.

  She just looked up.

  Eyes wide. Eyes red.

  Like fainted.

  Mina continued:

  “She almost didn’t make it.

  You know that, right?”

  Ash nodded, catching his breath.

  “Keep her away from them—”

  She paused.

  “Run fast like Jolteon!”

  Ash replied firmly, he glanced at Mina

  “Please save Misty.”

  Ash offered his hand to Serena.

  Pikachu climbed onto his shoulder.

  Mina turned away.

  And the lights changed again.

  ---

  The stadium interior transformed.

  Concert lights dimmed.

  Spotlight grid realigned into League formation.

  Two platforms rose.

  A referee in black stepped out from the wall. Silent, official, clean.

  “ Gym Match.

  Challenger: Mina.

  Gym Leader: Misty_v2025.

  Format: 2-on-2.

  Begin on signal.”

  Misty took her place.

  Ash and Serena stepped back into the dark.

  Mina stepped to the center.

  Just black.

  Unarmed.

  Unafraid.

  She stared across the steel tiles at Misty’s still form.

  And said, to no one in particular:

  “Let’s see if perfection knows how to bleed.”