The corridor shook with distant blasts. As the evacuation team raced through the final checkpoints, Zae stumbled against Drex, still recovering from sedation and emotional whiplash. Juno kept a tight hold on her rifle, covering every shadow. The exit was close—only two reinforced security doors and a barricade of armed guards stood in their way.
Then came the call.
"Clear the evac path!" Mei's voice crackled over comms. "We've got incoming resistance fighters from the east wing."
Drex looked over his shoulder. "Where the hell is Kirion?"
Before Juno could answer, a side door burst open. Kirion stepped through, blood on his cheek, eyes blazing, and behind him, the one no one expected—Zae's mother.
Juno raised her weapon instantly. "What the hell—!"
"She's with me," Kirion barked. "No time to explain. We've got sixty seconds."
The tension was instant, electric. Zae froze. Her gaze locked with her mother's, confusion battling rage. "You…"
"I never stopped protecting you," her mother whispered.
Zae's fists trembled. "You handed me over."
"They would've killed your father if I didn't cooperate."
"You let them torture me."
"I tried to stop them. They locked me away after I resisted."
Juno swore under her breath. "Not now. Talk later. Move!"
As gunfire erupted behind them, the team pushed forward. Zae's mother stepped into the firefight first, deflecting shots with uncanny precision. She wasn't just a ghost—she was lethal, controlled, and deadly. But this time, her blade turned on her old masters.
Kirion stayed close to Zae, shielding her and guiding her through smoke and chaos. "Almost there."
A blast rocked the corridor ahead—Mei's demolition charges had cleared the outer wall. Sunlight broke through, stinging their eyes after hours underground. The resistance gunship hovered beyond the breach, its bay doors open.
Kirion signaled. "Go!"
Zae hesitated. Her mother stood near the breach, covering their retreat. "You're not coming?"
"I can't," her mother said. "They'll track you through me. I've killed too many of theirs. I'll buy you time."
Zae's eyes welled with tears. "I don't care. I just got you back."
Kirion stepped forward and gently took her hand. "We'll find another way. But right now, we can't lose you again."
Her mother smiled, bitter and proud. "You're stronger than I ever was."
Then she turned, blade in hand, and disappeared into the smoke, drawing fire as the rest of the team leapt into the gunship. The engines roared and the ship ascended, leaving the compound and the storm behind.
Inside the aircraft, silence reigned—heavy, emotional, raw.
Zae sat in the corner, shaking, tears running down her cheeks. Kirion knelt beside her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.
"I thought I lost you," she whispered.
"You didn't," Kirion said softly. "You never will."
The gunship soared into the horizon, the compound fading behind them. The rescue was complete. But the reckoning had just begun.