Ashes of Our Flame
by RapwizzyDebaron
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Episode 92: "The Spark Before the Storm"
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The countdown had begun.
Red lights pulsed in the depths of the Lazarus chamber as Kara stood before the massive archive console—its hum like the slow breathing of a dying beast. Digital files flickered on the screen, layer after layer of experiments, names, failures... lives.
Adrian's voice cut through the rising tension. "Charges are set. We've got five minutes until this place becomes a grave."
Kara didn't look away from the console. "We can't just destroy it without taking the truth with us. The world needs to know what Vane did. What Lazarus really is."
Her mother stepped forward. "There's a data crystal inside the command core. Backups of every file… every subject. But it's deep, guarded, and locked behind retinal access."
Zero stepped forward without hesitation. "Mine will work. I was his failsafe."
Kara nodded. "Then let's move. Now."
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They tore through the corridors, alarms screaming louder now, as if the building itself knew it was living its last moments.
Outside the vault, two sentries blocked the path—taller, faster, and equipped with thermal lances.
Seraphina ducked behind cover. "We don't have time for a full-out fight!"
Adrian tossed her a pulse grenade. "No fight. Just precision."
With perfect timing, Seraphina rolled the device across the floor. It detonated in a pulse of EMP, stunning the sentries just long enough for Ronan to charge forward and sever their cores with surgical precision.
The path was clear.
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Inside the vault, the chamber was ice-cold. A single pedestal in the center cradled the crystal—glowing faintly blue. Layers of lasers protected it, and a retina scanner blinked red above.
Zero approached slowly. "You sure you want to trust me?"
Kara looked at him, eyes unreadable. "Just do it."
He leaned in.
The scanner beeped.
Green light. Access granted.
The lasers deactivated.
Adrian snatched the crystal and placed it in Kara's hand. "Now we run."
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As they made their way back toward the extraction point, the facility shook violently. Flames burst through collapsing walls. The timer hit two minutes.
But something wasn't right.
The path they'd cleared… was gone.
Blocked by steel reinforcements. Emergency lockdown had sealed the lower levels.
"We're trapped," Ronan cursed. "That was the only route."
Zero pointed upward. "There's an old maintenance shaft through the ventilation system. It'll lead to the upper exit."
Kara didn't hesitate. "Lead the way."
They climbed—one by one—into the narrow tunnel, crawling upward through the darkness, smoke thick and heat rising beneath them.
Halfway up, a tremor rocked the shaft.
A section collapsed.
Kara screamed. "Adrian!"
He slipped, catching the edge just in time.
"I've got you!" she yelled, reaching down.
Their fingers touched.
Another quake.
Adrian looked into her eyes. "No matter what happens—get that crystal out."
"No! I'm not leaving you behind again!" she shouted.
Ronan reached from above, helping pull Adrian up. "Save the goodbye for when we're clear."
They reached the surface just as the final explosion ruptured the earth beneath them. The Lazarus facility was gone—swallowed in fire and dust.
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Silence.
They stood at the edge of the smoking crater, the sun rising slowly behind them.
Kara clutched the data crystal against her chest.
Her mother stepped beside her. "This is the end of his empire…"
Kara shook her head. "No. It's the beginning of the truth."
Behind them, a sleek black vehicle pulled up—Seraphina's extraction.
As they loaded in, Zero looked at Kara.
"You still don't trust me, do you?"
"I don't need to trust you," she replied. "I just need you to help me finish this."
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Far away, on a remote island… a figure watched the news feed on a cracked monitor. The Lazarus facility had been destroyed. Project Omega terminated.
He smiled.
"Well played, Kara," said the man—his voice nearly identical to Vane's.
"But the fire isn't out… not yet."
Behind him, hundreds of clones floated in tubes, perfectly preserved.
One of them opened her eyes.
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To be continued…
🔥 The truth was only step one. Now comes th
e reckoning.
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The flame has escaped the lab… and it's heading for the world.