Silence still weighed in the cell when the door opened. Matt lifted his head, his eyes red from anger and grief. Three familiar figures entered the room. Behind them, a fourth, smaller and quieter, her face unreadable.
"Clara…" Matt murmured.
The dark-haired young woman stepped closer, trembling. Her eyes were shadowed with exhaustion, her voice weak.
"Matt… Rudy is…?"
He couldn’t answer immediately. His throat tightened. He shut his eyes, inhaling slowly.
"He fought until the very end. He was a hero."
Clara turned away. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks. But she didn’t scream. She didn’t collapse. She already knew. Deep down, she had been preparing for this moment since Rudy volunteered for the mission.
"He would have been proud of you," she said simply.
Matt nodded, lips pressed tightly together.
"Thank you."
Sébastien, arms crossed, broke the silence.
"Mind explaining what the hell is going on? Why are you locked up?"
Matt sat up straighter.
"If I survived, it was because of Sehr’mana. I promised her we would go back to help her people. They captured her. They want to… study her. To learn how to fight her people. Because they know they’re destroying this planet with their Xénium mining. And instead of stopping, they’d rather start a war."
A heavy silence followed.
"You get it, right?" Matt continued. "They armed the Drakomites. On purpose. So the Shivenars would be too busy defending themselves to stop the mining."
Isabella paled. Ken clenched his jaw.
Sébastien exhaled sharply.
"And what exactly do you plan to do?"
"I’m getting her out. Alone, if I have to."
"You’re insane, Matt! It’s suicide! Have you seen how many guards there are? The cameras? The security systems? You wouldn’t last two minutes."
"Then I’ll die trying," Matt answered, his voice calm but unwavering.
They stared at him, speechless.
Clara lifted her eyes.
"He doesn’t deserve to die here. Not alone. Not after everything he’s been through."
Isabella nodded slowly.
"I agree."
Sébastien sighed, frustrated, crossing his arms.
"You’re all crazy…"
Ken, who had been quiet, finally stepped forward with a half-smile.
"Remember Turbo?"
Matt blinked.
"How could I forget?"
"Back then, we stood up to people who thought they had all the power."
A small laugh escaped Matt’s lips.
"You’re serious…?"
Sébastien shrugged.
"Fine. But if I get shot, you better write me a song in my honor."
Matt couldn’t help but grin.
"Deal."
Ken pulled out a key and unlocked Matt’s restraints.
"Alright, hero. We have a princess to rescue."
The main laboratory was eerily quiet. Matt moved carefully, weaving through smooth corridors and locked doors. The lights flickered dimly. Hardly any staff at this hour.
He reached the experimental section. The access was locked, but Ken had hacked the system from security.
The door slid open.
Matt stepped inside.
"Sehr’mana?" he whispered. "Sehr’mana!"
No response.
White walls, reinforced glass. He scanned each room—all empty.
But Sehr’mana could hear him. She knew he was close. She screamed his name, but the sound didn’t reach—she was trapped in a soundproof cell.
Matt started to wonder if they had hidden her somewhere else.
Then—
He felt something.
A warmth. Soft.
A faint light emanating from a room at the far end.
He sprinted toward it.
"Sehr’mana!"
But he couldn’t see her. The glass was opaque on the other side.
On the other side of the wall, Sehr’mana heard him but couldn’t see him. Yet, she felt his presence. She placed her hand against the surface. Shut her eyes. And slowly, she let her heart glow—casting light into the darkness.
Matt saw the light.
"There!" He rushed forward, forcing the lock. A sharp click. A hiss.
The door slid open.
She was there.
They collided, arms locking around each other as if their lives depended on it. He held her tightly—she was trembling. Their faces were close, but there was no time for tenderness. Just this embrace. Just the certainty that they weren’t alone anymore.
"We’re getting out of here," Matt said.
They tore through the annex lab. Matt knew exactly what he needed—a pulse bomb, designed to disable human weapons.
He found the case. Opened it. Active.
"It’s ready."
A noise. Footsteps.
Matt stiffened.
He placed his hand over the detonator.
Then—
"It’s just us!" a voice called out.
Sébastien, Ken, and Isabella ran in, out of breath.
"We lost the patrol. For now."
"We have to move," Isabella said.
"The garage," Ken added. "There’s a light transport—fast enough to cross the jungle."
They ran. Alarms blared. Someone had triggered the alert. Guards appeared at intersections. They dodged, sprinted, shoved open barriers.
Finally—the hangar.
A small ship, sleek, ready to fly.
"Get in!" Ken shouted.
Matt climbed in with Sehr’mana. The others followed.
Gunfire erupted behind them.
Clara and Ken stayed back.
"Go!" Clara yelled. "Rudy saved you. Now you have to go on."
"No!" Matt shouted.
But Ken smiled.
"We’ll hold them off. And please—don’t cry. I hate goodbyes."
They slammed the door shut.
The engine roared to life.
And in a metallic thunder, the ship shot into Elora’s sky—pursued by a hail of bullets.
Matt stared through the window.
Two heroes stayed behind.
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