Controlled

A/N: Hi readers! Just to inform you all, this book might be getting slower updates from now on, since I'm starting school tomorrow and also starting Year 10. There's only a chapter left, don't worry, and I'm possibly going to write an alternative ending after this. Hope you all had enjoyed reading the book so far! Thanks~

***

Ali was standing stock-still, the IRIS he was wearing glowing bright. But how? Ali considered Iman for a moment, then started slowly approaching her. Iman took several steps back.

"Ali..." Iman tried to bring him back to his senses, but still he advanced.

"You think it was that easy to destroy me, shawl girl?" Ali said emotionlessly. Iris must have found a way somehow to counter-hack into IRIS. This is bad. "Give up, don't fight, and I will spare your life."

Her feet had hit wall. She turned around in spite of herself, hoping for it to be something else; she did not want to die like this. 

"Ali, please, I know you're still somewhere in there!" Iman cried, clearly hoping for a fantasied miracle to happen. 

By the time Ali said nothing but took out his yoyo, Iman's mind had started panicking.

"Rudy, transform into Alicia!" Iman shouted in sheer desperation at the stirring body of Rudy.

Rudy, though still unable to get himself off the floor, closed his eyes as though resisting something painful. In a flash of yellow, instead of Rudy lying down, weak, powerless, now laid Alicia.

Iman quickly reacted. Her goal was get Ali to look over at Alicia. 

As Ali flung his yoyo in her direction, she did a front flip over his head, flinging her shawl to tie around his arm, and, pulling with all the force she could, threw him in an arc to land exactly in front of Rudy. 

"Errrgh..." Ali grunted groggily. He lifted his head slightly up, and his eyes found Alicia. Then, it was as though an instant reaction had occurred.

Ali had let out a scream of torment that echoed off the walls of the arena. It was so loud that even General Astor and Uno, who were locked in close combat, were forced to clap a hand over their ears. 

"Get. Out. Of. My. Head!" Ali screamed, clasping his head in dire agony, though his IRIS was still glowing white. "I- won't- allow-" 

The door to the arena was slammed open. 

Iman looked around to see that the three Chief Pillars, Rizwan and the real Viktor grouped at the entrance, with Agent Ganz holding his large fist aloft. 

Agent Zain swept the arena once with his brown eyes. Past the fighting duo of General Astor and Uno, past the screeching Ali, and past the stirring Alicia. He furrowed his eyebrows and immediately ordered for action.

"Ganz, Rizwan, deal with Uno. Me and Dayang will deal with the kids."

Agents Ganz and Rizwan nodded, going at once to General Astor's aid while Agents Zain, Dayang and Viktor rushed over to where Ali was lying on the floor, thrashing about as if in flames.

"What has happened? What happened to Ali?" Agent Zain asked Iman quickly and urgently. He had long since abandoned his comforting tone, this was a moment of action. "Stay away from him!" he shot at Viktor, who froze where he was, as he was previously trying to comfort Ali.

"I don't know," Iman breathed, still terrified. "Ali had tried to control Iris, but I think somehow it has managed to get into IRIS 2.0. Agent Zain, please help him!" Iman begged, as Ali emitted another hair-raising scream.

"Dayang." Agent Zain turned on the turbaned Tekno Chief Pillar. "Do whatever you can to deactivate IRIS. I'll go check on Rudy."

Agent Dayang nodded, and immediately set to work. "Hang in there, Ali..." she was heard murmuring gently, as Agent Zain, Viktor and Iman ran towards Alicia's doppelganger. When Rudy looked up and saw that it wasn't an enemy, he transformed back into himself.

Agent Zain bent down, the better to observe the crackling hole made by the Azurium blast on Rudy's suit, while Iman sat squeamishly on Rudy's other side, not knowing what to do. Viktor hung awkwardly behind Iman.

"Luckily it's not that serious," Agent Zain said in a mutter a few tense moments later. "The suit has prevented the worst of it all, but I still think a checkup at the medical bay is necessary."

Rudy was so weak he could barely utter a word. Instead, he nodded in the slightest to show that he understood. 

"Dayang," Agent Zain called. "I need a spare suit for this boy."

The still panicking Ali was currently being scanned by one of Agent Dayang's red bot, while another projected a holographic keyboard, which Agent Dayang was furiously typing on. She didn't look up, but merely waved a hand to send one of her free bots towards them.

The red bot positioned neatly itself in front of Rudy and scanned him with a ray of blue light. Next, it released tiny nanoparticles that latched itself on Rudy, and Rudy's suit was replaced by casual wearing. It was an odd sight to see Rudy wearing a black hoodie and grey jeans. Not knowing what to do, Iman only took Rudy's hand in hers and squeezed it. Iman rather thought she saw Rudy's affronted look at their intertwined hands, and felt that Rudy was trying his best to pull his hand out of her grip. But as he barely had energy to talk, he neither had energy to move his hand too.

Viktor hesitated, rather feeling it would be even more awkward if he didn't say what must be said. He bent down so that he was level with Rudy and said in an undertone so that no one heard, "Thanks, Rudy. For everything. You really did according to plan, or else the worst would've happened."

"Iman, Viktor," Agent Zain said hurriedly but urgently. "I need you to look after Rudy for the moment while I'll settle with-"

There was a sudden gagging sound. 

Whipping around, the three saw that Ali had stood up and one of his hand was closed firmly around Agent Dayang's throat as she choked and spluttered. 

"Ali, no!" Viktor shouted.

Iman had barely turned back to Agent Zain to ask for help when both his guns were out. He shot once with each gun and both shots hit Ali squarely in the back, making him fall over and to release Agent Dayang, who fell to the floor, coughing and taking in deep gulps of air.

"Dayang, are you OK?" Agent Zain asked worriedly, approaching her.

"I'm fine," Agent Dayang said through tearful eyes. "I can't deactivate IRIS like this, it has taken full control. We have to completely destroy the humanoid body."

Agent Zain nodded. Laying a few metres from Iris' twitching body was the dropped Azurium sniper he owned. Agent Zain moved forwards, but found a string tied to his leg. 

Ali pulled, and Agent Zain was forced to fall with a splat. Ali advanced, spinning his yoyo menacingly at his side as he went, while Agent Zain quickly got onto his feet and was firing shots at Ali, though he managed to dodge every single one of them.

When Ali came close enough for an attack, he threw his yoyo forwards. Agent Zain analysed where it was expected to blast, and leapt to a safe area, next to the Azurium sniper.

Ali seemed to realise what Agent Zain was about to do, for his expression momentarily changed. As Agent Zain bent down to pick up the sniper, it was shot with a blast of a yoyo and skidded to a halt out of his reach.

Agent Zain was forced to do a backflip in order to dodge Ali sliding along the floor in an attempt to knock him off his feet. But Agent Zain realised only a fraction of second too late when his move was a double-ended dagger. Ali was now within reach of the sniper, and what with Agent Zain in this distance, he would not be able to get there before him. 

But instead of bending down to pick the sniper up, Ali had thrown his yoyo to get it for him. An instinctual move stole over Agent Zain and he whipped out his two guns. The two guns fired, but each shot went in different directions. The first one hit Ali's yoyo away, while the other sent the sniper further away from him.

Ali gave him a look which simply told 'damn you', before blasting off on his aeroboots towards the sniper again. Oh, crap.

But just then, General Astor skidded across him and he had another idea. 

"Astor, use your earpiece, now!" Agent Zain ordered seriously. 

"What?" General Astor asked, confused. "What d'you-"

"I SAID NOW!" 

General Astor gulped hastily and pressed on a silver earpiece with a green button hidden under his messy black hair. Agent Zain's fingers had flew to his ears before a sharp, ear-splitting sound was uttered from what seemed to be General Astor's earpiece. Ali stumbled, fell to his back and was seen screaming out an unheard cry. 

Agent Zain took advantage of his distraction and ran towards the sniper. But the tough part was using his hands. Just when he removed his hands from his ears, a blast of vibration seemed to course through him. His brain even felt like it was shaking inside his skull, making him temporarily stunned, but he must fight it. Trying to ignore the stunning pain, he fought, and reached out a shaking hand to grab the Azurium sniper and threw it clumsily over Ali towards General Astor. The sharp-pitched sound stopped, and Ali was panting.

"ASTOR, DESTROY IRIS' BODY!"

Looking rather as though he had been slapped in the face, General Astor hurriedly stowed his bow aside and hitched up the Azurium sniper onto his shoulder. Before Ali had even time to say "No!", General Astor had shot. 

A crackling blue beam of energy was launched from the sniper's muzzle, whizzing across the air to come straight at Iris' unprotected body.

BOOM.

The entire world was shaking as though in its angriest wrath. Everyone within the arena had fell over their feet from the shock wave of the explosion. The closest ones had even been tossed high into the air to be slammed with the force of the shock wave into the wall. And when they slid down the wall, groaning, it was to find craters all along the walls. 

Agent Zain looked up blearily. The bright room was swimming in and out of focus. He slowly gotten onto his feet, rapidly and desperately blinking away the blurriness. Soon enough, everything came back to view. 

He was the only one on his feet, yet he felt sure that everyone was still conscious, just knocked over, including Ali, who was lying several feet from him, groaning.

"Ali," Agent Zain said, hurrying to rush to his side. "Are you OK?"

Ali sat upright, holding his head in his hand he looked into Agent Zain's worried face. "I-"

But before he could say anymore, a group of people had entered the arena. And it was Dos, Trez and Ocho.