The underground escape tunnels trembled under the weight of closing boots and blaring alarms. Kirion held Zae close as they weaved through the labyrinth of metal corridors, red lights pulsing above like a warning heartbeat. Behind them, Juno and Drex cleared their path while Mei and Varik monitored the flank.
But Kirion's instincts pulled at him—an intuition honed by years of survival and countless betrayals.
"She's close," he muttered, slowing.
Zae looked up, eyes still glassy from whatever had been done to her in captivity. "Who?"
Kirion didn't answer. He motioned the others forward. "Take her to the evac point. Now."
Juno frowned. "You're not coming?"
"I will. After I end this."
Drex opened his mouth to argue, but one glance at Kirion's eyes silenced him. The kind of silence only vengeance could inspire.
The tunnel forked ahead. Kirion turned right, deeper into the belly of the facility.
His steps slowed.
A shape emerged from the shadows.
She stood with elegance honed by death—a ghost in black combat gear, her face half-hidden under the government's assassin mask. But her eyes… those eyes he knew. And so did she.
"Hello, Kirion," she said.
He stopped ten feet away. "You shouldn't be here."
"I never left," she replied. "You were the one who ran."
"You left our daughter."
"I protected her."
His fists clenched. "You handed her to monsters."
She removed the mask. Time had left its mark on her features, but her expression was still sharp, still laced with the regret she'd buried for years.
"They threatened you. Her. I didn't have a choice."
"You always have a choice," Kirion growled. "And you chose to become their weapon."
She stepped closer. "I became their weapon to spare you both. If I'd resisted, you'd be dead—and so would she. I kept them watching me so they wouldn't find you."
"That lie might've worked a year ago."
She sighed. "They turned on me anyway. I didn't know they'd bring her here. I only found out days ago. I tried to stop them, but I'm just one ghost in their machine."
Kirion's voice dropped to a whisper. "You're still my enemy."
She unholstered her blade and tossed it to the ground. "Then do it. Kill me if it'll bring you peace."
He stared at her. The pain of years—the questions, the solitude, the unanswered silence—they all screamed at him now. She hadn't come to fight.
She had come to surrender.
Not to the government. Not even to him. But to the truth.
"I won't kill you," Kirion said. "But I won't trust you either."
"Fair," she said softly. "But let me help. Let me finish what I should've started years ago."
He looked into her eyes and saw something unfamiliar: honesty.
Footsteps echoed down the tunnel—guards, closing fast.
"Then help me buy time," Kirion said, picking up her blade and tossing it back.
She caught it and gave the smallest nod. "For Zae."
They turned, side by side for the first time in years, facing the oncoming storm.
The past had torn them apart.
But the present gave them one final fight.
Together.