Zora heard shouting.
She didn't care.
Everything felt… right.
Warmth blanketed her body like a dream she never wanted to leave.
But then—
A violent yank.
The dream shattered.
Zora's eyes flew open as the world snapped back into focus. Her mother's voice roared from behind her, filled with fury:
"¡Ni muerta dejo que eso pase, maldita!"
Zora spun around.
Her mother stood between her and Sia, arms outstretched, rage in her eyes.
"Now that's not a very nice thing to say, Ramona," Sia replied sweetly, her tone unchanging. Kind. Calm.
Zora's mother snapped her attention to her, urgency in her voice.
"My baby... listen to me. Ju a fighter. But not now. Run, mami. RUN!"
Zora barely had time to react before she felt her father shove her toward the front door.
"Mom…? Dad!?" she cried, stumbling.
She turned back—just in time to see them fade into dust, vanishing like they had never existed.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
She snapped her gaze to Sia, fury rising in her chest.
"What did you do to them!?"
Sia smiled gently.
"I freed them from this world, Zora. From pain. From suffering. They don't have to endure what's coming."
With a wave of her hand, Zora's parents reappeared—
Standing. Motionless. Eyes glassy. Empty.
"Of course... they'll need time to come to terms with it. But it's better this way."
Zora stumbled back, her heart breaking.
"That's not your choice to make..."
Her voice cracked.
"You killed them—for what? Mercy?"
Sia's smile faltered into a look of mock sadness.
"Zora... you'll understand. Once Tariq arrives—"
"TARIQ IS OUT THERE KILLING PEOPLE!" she screamed.
Sia simply nodded.
"I know. He's ended the suffering of thousands."
Zora's stomach twisted.
Her breathing was shallow. The world spun.
Her parents. Soulless husks. Her best friend, a killer. And this monster pretending to care.
She backed up until her spine hit the door. Scrambling, she spun around, fumbling with the lock.
Click.
She threw the door open and lunged forward—
But something yanked her back.
A gauntlet.
Cold metal gripped the collar of her shirt.
She twisted her neck to look—and froze.
A knight stood behind her. Towering. Faceless. Armor glowing faintly green.
Its grip tightened.
She was caught.
"Nexus!"
Aegis' voice rang out.
The star zipped straight into Zora's chest — the familiar burn searing through her veins like fire.
Zora's hand snapped up, and a jet of flame burst from her palm, slamming into the armor's helmet.
Nothing.
The grip on her collar didn't loosen. It didn't flinch.
"Siri!" she shouted, panic rising in her throat.
"I can't!" Siri cried. "You're not ready — if you mess up, you'll die!"
Zora fired again. And again. Desperate bursts of flame.
Still nothing.
The towering knight stood unmoving.
Behind it floated Sia — or what used to be her. She drifted forward with eerie grace, white robes billowing, face serene.
"I'm sorry, Zora. You'll have to join us by force."
She raised a pale hand toward her.
Zora's breath caught.
Her fingers trembled.
I'm sorry... she thought.
To her parents.
To the stars she didn't listen to.
The knight suddenly pulled her close.
Its grip tightened — like a final goodbye.
"Keep. Tariq... away."
The voice — gravelly, strained.
Zora's eyes widened.
"M-Mr. Mathis!?"
The knight released her.
She tumbled backwards — falling hard, bouncing down the stairs, her back slamming into the entryway floor.
She gasped. Adrenaline roared through her.
She got up.
And ran.
Sprinting down the street, not looking back.
But something made her turn.
At the top of the stairs, the knight stood motionless.
No glow. No movement.
Like a statue, holding the line.
His message was clear.
Don't come back. Don't let Tariq return.
Then, he, too, dissolved into smoke, fading into the wind like he'd never been there at all.
The front door creaked shut behind him.
Zora rounded the corner — and collapsed.
She hit the sidewalk hard, knees scraping the pavement, but she didn't care.
The sobs came fast. Violent. Endless.
Her parents were dead.
Gone.
Killed by the woman she once called her second mother.
The stars hovered silently around her. Not one spoke.
Nexus blinked as if to say something — but Ricochet's low hum cut her off.
Zora cried until she could barely breathe. Her shoulders trembled with each breath.
She pressed her forehead to the ground.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
She didn't know if she was saying it to her parents... to herself... or to the stars.
Maybe all of them.
Eventually, she forced herself to her feet.
Her eyes were puffy. Her throat raw.
She wiped her face on her sleeve.
"Let's... see if Tariq shows up," she murmured. "If he's not himself... if he's like them... we leave."
"Okay," Aegis replied softly.
Zora sniffled, glanced around the street, and picked a nearby hiding spot — a parked car near the last house at the end of the block.
She crouched behind it, lowering herself out of sight.
Her heart was still pounding.
And she waited.
Finally, she heard someone shuffling down the sidewalk — mumbling to themselves.
"Nexus, get ready," Zora whispered.
The star zipped silently into her chest.
She peeked around the edge of the car... and her heart sank.
There he was — Tariq.
He looked awful.
Shuffling forward like a sleepwalker, his clothes torn, his eyes sunken. He paused in front of her house, stared at it for a few seconds, then kept walking.
Zora's breath caught. Her body tensed. What if he tries to kill me? I saw him murder those people — what if I'm next?
But then — he muttered something under his breath.
"Mom will know what to do."
Her heart shattered.
That wasn't a monster. That was just… Tariq.
She stood up. "Tariq!"
No response.
"Tariq!"
Still nothing.
Frustrated, she grabbed an empty can from the sidewalk and hurled it at him. It bounced off his back — and he didn't even turn around.
She clenched her fists.
"We tried," Ricochet said. "It's time to go, Zora."
Zora spun on him. "He's not one of them! He's not crazy!"
Nexus floated out from her chest, her glow dimmed with concern. "We saw what he did. You saw it. He burned those people alive. You don't know when he'll snap again."
Zora's voice cracked. "Aegis? Please tell me you don't think that too."
Aegis floated low, blinking slowly. "...I'm sorry, Zora. But it's too much of a risk."
She turned to look back over the car — too late. The front door closed behind him.
"Siri?" she whispered.
The teenage-sounding star sighed. "Keep me out of this. It's not like you listen to us anyway."
Zora slumped back against the car and closed her eyes.
God... I'm so tired.
All she wanted was to sleep — just for a minute. But then it hit her.
A burning pain surged through her chest.
She gasped.
It pulled her — like something inside her blood was magnetized toward the house.
"What is this?!" Ricochet shouted.
"I-I don't know!" Zora stammered, staggering to her feet.
The pain worsened every time she resisted. She stumbled up the steps of the porch, barely able to breathe.
And then — she heard it.
"GET HIM OUT OF HERE!"
Mr. Mathis.