“Yay for me. My personality made you a hero. Who still gets off on slashing people’s faces open.”
Paul Ballard

Trevor sits in a crumbling building overlooking the Arizona sprawl, watching Butchers tear through the neighbourhood. Beside him, the man he wiped earlier stares out blankly. Trevor could go out there, stop them — but then they’d be blank, helpless, like his new companion. When a brick crashes through the window, Trevor helps the Doll to safety and tells him Echo will save them. But he won’t leave the man behind. Alpha knows he’s here.

He mutters that the guy doesn’t even have an interface — no way to add skills. The man just looks at him, vacant. “I try to do my best,” he says.

In the truck, the remaining Ivies are uneasy. Alpha and Trevor have been gone over twenty-four hours. No check-in. They decide to go after them.

Elsewhere, in a darkened room, Alpha sits tied to a chair. Paul Ballard looms, questioning his motives. Is Echo still the object of his twisted fantasies? Alpha says they have something in common. Paul disagrees — one shared personality doesn’t make them kindred spirits. Alpha insists Echo is the key. Paul knows that. That’s why Alpha can’t be anywhere near her.

Paul demands answers. Alpha repeats: he needs Echo to stop the imprinting. He’s built a device with Ivy that might work. Paul doesn’t buy it — says Ivy never made it out of Tokyo. He cocks his gun, presses it to Alpha’s temple.

Alpha tells him he won’t pull the trigger. Because it’s Paul’s personality inside Alpha’s head that’s keeping him from killing. “Without it, I wouldn’t have gained control of the chaos in here. I wouldn’t have decided to bring Rossum down.”

Paul isn’t moved. A killer who calls himself a hero is still a killer. Alpha says if he loses control, Paul will help him find it again — like before. Paul asks why he should believe any of it. Then a voice crackles over the radio. He asks who he’s speaking to — and freezes when she says her name is Ivy.

At the base of the Hollywood Hills, Zone doubts they can take down the transmitter. Mag smiles. While Zone rested, Griff recruited. There are now two dozen ordinary people ready to fight.

Back in Tucson, Ballard stands over Alpha. The two Ivies arrive and confirm Alpha’s story. Ballard hesitates, then agrees — Alpha can go, but his hands stay tied and he doesn’t leave Paul’s side. Alpha nods. He asks Ivy 3 to find Trevor.

As she heads out, the other Ivy flirts with Paul. Alpha tells him to knock it off. He admits he didn’t expect Paul to help. Paul says he wouldn’t have — but Echo went missing three days ago. He needs all the help he can get.

Ivy 3 finds Trevor’s hideout — and gets punched in the face for her trouble. Trevor assumes Alpha sent her. She confirms it. When he accuses Alpha of killing people, Ivy 3 says she knows. But she also knows the Wielder disrupted everything in Alpha’s head. Trevor realises — if he’d left Ivy 2 alone, Alpha might have stabilised.

Looking out over central Tucson, a cluster of fortified buildings surrounds the heart of the city. Echo went in. She hasn’t come out. Rossum calls it the City of Minds, Paul explains. Beyond Rossum HQ, no one knows what’s inside. Echo entered. Paul tried to follow — couldn’t get within five feet. He’s rattled.

Alpha volunteers to go in. Paul insists on joining. Trevor offers to go with Alpha. Alpha protests, but Trevor stands firm — this is what the interface was for. To be like Alpha, without the damage. Alpha apologises. Trevor shrugs it off — if Alpha threatens anyone again, he’ll use the imprint. Again and again, until every personality is gone.

Ballard is impressed. He points toward Echo’s last known location. Trevor uploads city building codes, civil engineering, and basic spelunking. Ballard is stunned. Alpha offers him an interface. Ballard recoils. “You really are insane if you think I’m ever going to let you near my brain again.”

Trevor leaves his companion with the Ivies. He promises to do his best to restore the man’s original personality. He doesn’t believe he’s lost forever. Then he and Alpha enter the City of Minds — Neuropolis, as Rossum calls it.

In Hollywood, Zone, Mag, Griff and their allies prepare to strike the transmitter.

Inside the ramshackle Neuropolis, Alpha and Trevor move quietly, avoiding the Imprinted. But the city’s structure — reinforced piping and steel — is unstable. The floor gives way. They fall.

Then a voice.

“Alpha. Never thought I’d be happy to see you.”

Echo stands before them.