INT. METAL SHAFT – CONTINUOUS
He falls fast — air whipping past — then SLAMS onto a padded floor with a brutal THUD.
Coughing. Dazed. Faint lights glow overhead. The walls are steel, welded shut. No doors.
Gas hisses from the vents.
JUNO
(weakly)
No—no, no, no...
He stumbles to his knees, coughing, eyes watering — then collapses beside the already-unconscious LUCY, just visible now in the low light.
EXT. R&D FACILITY – SECONDS LATER
MAXIMUS
(gritting his teeth, limping)
Damnit. Damnit!
He pushes through the front door. It slams shut behind him with a metallic THUD.
MAXIMUS
(yelling)
Lucy? Juno!
No answer.
He tries one hallway door. Locked. Another — no handle.
Suddenly, steam hisses from above. He glances up—
PSHHHHHT! — Steam floods the corridor.
MAXIMUS
What the—
The floor beneath him shifts with a loud CLANK — then drops out.
THOOM!
MAXIMUS falls, swallowed by darkness.
INT. SUBLEVEL – UNKNOWN FACILITY – MOMENTS LATER
THUMP.
MAXIMUS crashes down onto a padded floor in a dimly lit corridor. He grunts, wincing, and sits up slowly — his armor groaning under the strain.
Ahead, soft fluorescent lights buzz to life overhead as JUNO and LUCY come into view, just getting to their feet.
LUCY is already at the far end, peering through a reinforced observation window. Her breath fogs the glass slightly.
MAXIMUS
(grimacing)
Where... are we?
LUCY
(turning slightly)
It's okay.
(pauses, steadies her voice)
We'll be all right.
MAXIMUS pushes himself up, stepping closer, eyes darting across the corridor walls — intact paint, preserved flooring, faint emergency lights. No signs of decay. No rot.
MAXIMUS
(staring)
What is this place?
LUCY
(softly, a little stunned)
We're in the best place in the world.
JUNO
(catching his breath, smirking faintly)
Mission complete.
+FIND VAULT +100XP
The camera drifts over their shoulders — revealing a wide Vault corridor, the kind only seen in old brochures or broken dreams. Unspoiled. Still.
FAINT SOUND — maybe an air filter cycling or a sealed door releasing pressure in the distance.
The Vault is breathing.