Location: En Route to Celine's Island – Blackhawk Stealth Jet
The drone of engines was the only sound inside the darkened aircraft. Damien sat between Nora and Lucas, eyes closed, mentally mapping every exit point, every tactical angle. This wasn't just a mission. It was a reckoning.
"We land five clicks from the southern perimeter," Lucas said, his tone crisp. "Celine's bunker is sealed with biometric locks and satellite interference. We disable the relay tower first, then breach."
"What about Kael?" Nora asked.
"If we're lucky," Damien said, eyes opening, "he'll remember who he was before she turned him."
"And if we're not?"
Damien's voice was steel. "Then I'll remind him."
---
Location: Celine's Island – South Jungle Quadrant
Night had fallen like a silent veil. The team moved through the dense foliage, dressed in adaptive camo. Damien's elite squad fanned out in a diamond formation.
At the relay tower, Lucas wired the explosives. "Fifteen seconds to blackout."
"Make it ten," Damien ordered.
Lucas nodded. "Ten seconds. Brace for EMP."
The countdown hit zero—and in an instant, the night flared white.
---
Location: Celine's Fortress – Central Command
Alarms screamed through the control center as screens flickered into darkness. Celine stood calmly, lips curled.
"They're here," she whispered.
Roka cursed. "Should I deploy Hybrid-X?"
"Not yet," she said. "Kael will handle this. Let's see where his loyalty truly lies."
---
Location: Fortress Corridor – Sector 3B
Damien moved like a shadow, silenced pistol dropping two guards before they could blink. Nora watched his back, covering blind spots. They entered the data wing, searching for Celine's neural reconditioning files.
"There," Nora pointed. "That's the chamber with the original footage. Kael's first experiments."
Damien inserted a drive and copied everything. His eyes lingered on one frozen frame—Kael as a child, strapped to a table. A mirror of his own past.
"They broke us," he said softly. "But we rebuilt."
Suddenly, metal doors slammed shut behind them. A cold voice echoed through the room.
"You shouldn't have come here, Damien."
Kael stepped from the shadows, eyes glowing faintly with bio-tech enhancements. His face was unreadable.
Damien straightened. "It's me, Kael. Your brother."
A flicker of hesitation crossed Kael's face—then vanished.
"I don't have a brother."
And he charged.