Thirty Minutes Later – The War Room
The war room was alive with tension and purpose.
Everyone was suited up in underwater combat gear, the sleek, reinforced diving suits custom-built by Ethan for extreme ocean depths. They weren't just armor—they were survival.
Jeffrie, Ray, and Trice stood at the front while Azul prepped the final schematics. Seated along the room's perimeter, the 12 rescued recruits—Elliot, Luis, Adrian, Dante, Zane, Sergei, Toby, Jiro, Ezra, Cameron, Kai, and Ayana—listened in sharp silence.
Jeffrie's voice cut through the air. "This is it. Leviathan Prison is our last stop before we take the fight straight to Sable. We're going in for three more targets—Idris Faheem, Nia Caldwell, and Tasha Grant. We get them out, and we sink the place."
Ray crossed his arms. "We've never done an op like this before. Deep-sea combat, no easy exits. We either succeed, or we drown."
Trice cracked his knuckles. "So let's make sure we win."
Azul pulled up a holographic projection of Leviathan—a massive, fortress-like structure buried into the ocean floor, surrounded by towering defense turrets and an intricate security grid.
"This is our target," she said. "One of the most heavily guarded black sites in the world. No one has ever broken into it—or out of it."
Sophia leaned forward. "Good thing we specialize in the impossible."
Scarlett smirked. "Damn right."
Jeffrie turned to Azul. "Entry point?"
She nodded, tapping the display. "We'll hijack one of their high-security submersibles and use it to infiltrate. The Kraken will remain in stealth mode outside the perimeter. Once we're in, we get the targets, disable tracking, and extract before they can react."
Ethan stepped forward. "And if something does go wrong?"
Jeffrie's expression darkened.
"Then we sink them before they sink us."
A heavy silence filled the room.
Then Ray exhaled. "Well, damn. Let's get to it."
The team dispersed, each one knowing what was at stake.
This was their final rescue.
And somewhere in the deep…
Something was waiting.
The dim glow of the room cast long shadows across the walls as Jeffrie sat at the edge of the bed, rubbing his temples. The weight of command had settled on his shoulders heavier than usual.
Azul, fresh from her last round of Kraken diagnostics, leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. "You haven't slept."
Jeffrie let out a humorless chuckle. "Didn't plan on it."
She stepped inside, voice laced with irritation. "You're good at a lot of things, Jeff, but shutting off that damn brain of yours isn't one of them."
He exhaled, looking up at her. "If this goes south, it's on me."
Azul's expression darkened. "Bullshit."
Jeffrie arched a brow, but before he could speak, she strode forward, planting herself between his knees. Her fingers gripped his jaw firmly, forcing him to meet her gaze.
"You're not carrying this alone. You hear me?"
For a moment, the tension in the room shifted—not just the weight of war, but something deeper, something unspoken. Her eyes burned with something fierce, something warm.
Then, the door swung open.
Scarlett leaned against the frame, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Interrupting something?"
Azul sighed, rolling her eyes. "Do you ever knock?"
Scarlett strolled in without hesitation. "Not when I know what's mine."
Jeffrie exhaled in amusement. "You two done staking claims?"
Scarlett smirked and leaned down, pressing a slow, teasing kiss against his lips. Azul, not one to be outdone, bit softly at his jawline before stepping back, her eyes gleaming with mischief.
Scarlett plopped onto the bed beside him. "Look, I get why you're stressed. But if you crash before we even get to the fight, I'm kicking your ass."
Jeffrie smirked. "Noted."
Azul folded her arms. "Good. Now get some damn sleep."
Command Deck – 2 Hours Before Arrival
Azul sat at her station, fingers flying over the deep-sea scanners when something pinged on the sensors.
Her brow furrowed.
Most of the crew was scattered, either prepping gear or resting, so she enhanced the visuals.
Her stomach tightened.
"Jeff," she called over the comms, voice sharp. "You need to see this."
Within minutes, Jeffrie, Ray, and Trice were at her side.
Trice folded his arms. "What are we looking at?"
Azul gestured toward the external cameras. "I was running thermal scans, and we picked up… this."
The holographic screen zoomed in.
At first, the water outside looked empty.
Then—something moved.
Jeffrie's eyes narrowed. "What the hell am I looking at?"
The first shape appeared. At a glance, it looked like a shark, but… wrong.
It swam closer to the Kraken's external cameras.
Ray stiffened. "The fuck…?"
The creature had the shape of a shark, but its eyes glowed red, and metallic plating covered its body in jagged, armor-like patches. Its fins weren't natural—they were razor-edged, mechanical blades. Instead of normal gills, small mechanical vents exhaled bursts of steam.
Scarlett's voice came from behind them. "Tell me that's not what I think it is."
Azul's grip tightened on the console. "It's a machine-hybrid."
Jeffrie's jaw clenched. "Sable's experiments."
Trice muttered a curse. "Man's out here making weaponized sharks?!"
Azul's fingers flew across the console. "It gets worse."
She pulled up the sonar feed.
And that's when they saw it.
There weren't just a few of them.
There were hundreds.
A massive swarm of bio-mechanical sharks, swimming in coordinated formations, surrounding Leviathan Prison like a living, moving minefield.
Ray ran a hand down his face. "A whole damn ocean full of killer robots."
Sophia walked in, eyebrow raised. "So what's the plan? We fight them?"
Silence.
Jeffrie stared at the swarm, eyes dark, calculating.
And for a split second—**a fraction of a moment he couldn't explain—**he felt something.
Something alien.
The sharks weren't just moving.
They were… listening.
Watching.
He had no idea how he knew that.
But he did.
And suddenly—he wasn't so sure the Kraken was the most dangerous thing in these waters.
Silent Maneuvers & Mechanical Monsters
The holographic display flickered as Azul expanded the sonar scan, the deep-sea trench now illuminated in eerie blue light. Outside, the Kraken drifted in the abyss, its sleek hull blending with the darkness.
Jeffrie studied the swarm of bio-mechanical sharks patrolling Leviathan's perimeter, their glowing red eyes cutting through the water like malevolent beacons.
He narrowed his eyes. "No. We outmaneuver them."
Azul turned to him. "We're running silent, but the second we get too close, they'll detect us. The Kraken's hull can withstand damage, but if they swarm us, we're done."
Trice grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Then we don't let 'em swarm us."
Jeffrie smirked. "Exactly."
Azul exhaled sharply, shaking her head. "Y'all are insane."
Scarlett leaned against the console. "And yet, here you are."
Jeffrie ignored the banter and turned to Azul. "What's our safest approach?"
Azul zoomed in on the depth charts, tracing a route with her fingertip. "If we hug the lower trench and cut propulsion at the right time, we might be able to drift past them. The current should carry us into a blind spot near the prison's outer docks."
Ray frowned. "Might?"
Azul shot him a look. "You wanna go out there and swim?"
Ray held up his hands. "I'll shut up."
Jeffrie exhaled. "Alright. Everyone get some rest while you can."
Scarlett smirked. "Right, because sleeping while surrounded by killer cyborg sharks is relaxing."
Azul rolled her eyes. "You'll be fine, Red."
Scarlett scowled. "I swear to God if you keep calling me that—"
Before she could finish, Jeffrie grabbed both their waists and pulled them flush against him.
They let out small gasps—caught off guard.
Jeffrie smirked. "Shut up, and get some sleep."
Azul huffed. "Cocky bastard."
Scarlett grinned. "You love it."
Jeffrie released them, already heading for the door. "I'll take first watch."
Ray eyed him. "Bro, you don't sleep."
Jeffrie glanced back, smirking. "That's why I'm still alive."
Trice chuckled. "Well, don't get eaten."
Jeffrie's grin lingered as he turned the corner. "No promises."
The others dispersed, boots fading into silence as the Kraken slipped deeper into the dark.
Jeffrie stood alone at the observation deck near the helm—the lights dimmed, the sea swallowing everything. Just beyond the reinforced glass, a massive stretch of black water pressed in on all sides, broken only by the faint pulses of red bio-lights cutting through the void.
The mechanical sharks were still out there—gliding slowly past the viewports, sleek and terrible.
Half-machine, half-nightmare.
Built like predators.
Programmed to patrol.
Engineered to kill.
Their eyes glowed faintly, scanning. Watching.
Jeffrie sipped from the steaming mug in his hand, jaw tight, eyes tracking one as it passed within meters of the ship. Its body moved with terrifying grace, the quiet whir of its inner machinery barely audible through the hull.
"Not even real sharks anymore," he muttered. "Of course Sable would do this."
He leaned against the window frame, one hand resting on the glass.
The Kraken vibrated beneath him, engines humming low and steady. In every direction—nothing but dark.
Not the kind of dark you could light up.
The kind you had to survive.
He let the silence settle around him. No comms. No chatter. No pressure to lead.
Just a man watching monsters swim.
His reflection in the glass looked distant. Tired. Not broken—but worn in all the places no armor could cover.
Still, his eyes burned with the same fire they always had.
"You can send whatever you want," he said under his breath. "We're still coming."
Outside, one of the biomechanical sharks passed by again—its movements fluid, perfect, almost curious.
Jeffrie met its gaze through the glass.
And didn't blink
Jeffrie stood alone at the observation deck, eyes locked on the biomechanical sharks drifting just beyond the glass. Red pulses of artificial light moved like slow heartbeats in the black water—each creature a perfect machine, designed to kill.
He didn't hear the door open. But he felt it.
The soft, almost deliberate footsteps behind him were not tactical boots.
When he turned, Scarlett and Azul stood in the dim glow of the control panel—both dressed for the night, but not modestly.
Scarlett wore a deep crimson slip, satin-thin, clinging to every line of her body. One strap was already off her shoulder like it hadn't been there in the first place.
Azul's nightwear was darker—midnight blue silk, barely buttoned, with shorts that weren't trying to hide a thing. Her curls were damp, and her legs were bare and flawless in the low light.
They weren't here to be subtle.
Jeffrie blinked. "You two lost?"
Scarlett smirked, sauntering forward, slow and confident. "Funny. I was about to ask you the same thing."
Azul followed, her tone smooth. "You told us you loved us all. Then Lily claims your lap and suddenly we're supposed to pretend we're good with scraps?"
Jeffrie raised an eyebrow, voice low. "Is that what you think I gave you?"
Scarlett stopped just shy of his chest, tilting her head. "I think we're owed a little... clarity."
Azul's hand ghosted along his shoulder. "And attention."
Jeffrie let out a slow breath, looking from one to the other. "You came out here looking like that for answers?"
Scarlett leaned in. "No. We came out here to remind you what you'd be a fool to forget."
Azul smiled sweetly, eyes dark. "And because Lily might have curled into your lap like a cat—"
She leaned up and kissed the corner of his mouth.
"—but we bite."
Before Jeffrie could respond, Scarlett's lips found his neck—teasing, slow, calculated.
Azul pressed in from behind, her hands slipping around his waist, her voice soft by his ear. "Still think you're on watch?"
Jeffrie growled under his breath. "Not anymore."
Clothes barely made it to the floor.
Hands roamed like they were memorizing territory.
Lips tangled. Breath quickened. Bodies collided—Scarlett bold, Azul sharp, and Jeffrie caught between them with no desire to escape.
Azul straddled his lap first, grinding slow and deep as her robe slipped open. Scarlett claimed his mouth, nails dragging down his chest, her voice a whisper against his lips.
Everything blurred—satin, skin, breathless laughter, soft gasps swallowed by heat and desperation.
They didn't ask for permission.
They took him.
And Jeffrie? He gave in completely.
After
The three of them lay tangled across the observation deck's plush corner seat—blankets hastily pulled over bare skin, the soft hum of the Kraken all around them.
Azul rested on his chest, lips swollen, hair wild. Scarlett curled into his side, one leg over his waist, her hand lazily tracing circles on his stomach.
Scarlett exhaled. "So…"
Azul smirked without looking up. "Lily, huh?"
Jeffrie groaned softly. "Do we have to talk about this right now?"
Scarlett grinned. "No. But we will."
Azul kissed his chest. "Until then... we made our point."
Jeffrie closed his eyes, letting the pressure of their bodies soothe the exhaustion in his bones.
"I got the message," he murmured.
But deep down?
He knew it wasn't over.
Not even close.
The Kraken hummed beneath the surface, steady in its deep drift, while crew members moved through the corridors, half-dressed and half-awake,
Jeffrie stepped out of the observation deck first, hair still damp, shirt halfway buttoned, Azul and Scarlett nowhere in sight.
He turned the corner, jaw tight, mind spinning.
And walked directly into Lily.
She stood there with a cup of tea, freshly brewed, hands wrapped around it like she had all the time in the world.
Her eyes flicked down.
Then up.
One slow, calm sip.
"Busy night?"
Jeffrie froze for a split second—long enough for her to catch it.
"…Lily."
"I thought you were on watch."
Another sip.
"I was," he said carefully.
"Mm." She nodded, pretending to think. "You must've been watching very closely."
Jeffrie opened his mouth, but she cut him off.
"Observation deck has security footage, you know. Azul never disabled the logs."
Her tone was light. Way too light.
"…You watched it?" he asked quietly.
"No," she said. "Didn't have to."
Jeffrie swallowed.
Lily tilted her head slightly, a soft smile on her lips. But her eyes?
Sharp as hell.
"You know, I wasn't mad."
"I know," he said, genuine.
"I understood. I still do."
She stepped closer now, chest almost against his.
"But I meant what I said. I'm not competing for your heart."
Jeffrie's breath hitched. "Lily—"
"But don't mistake that," she said, eyes piercing into his, "for me not knowing my worth."
He blinked.
She leaned in just slightly—close enough to whisper against his lips.
"I may be small, Jeffrie... but I take up a lot of space."
And with that, she kissed his cheek, slow and deliberate. Then turned and walked away—hips swaying, spine straight, heart intact.
Leaving Jeffrie standing there like the ocean just swallowed him.