Ashes of Our Flame
by RapwizzyDebaron
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Episode 53: "The First Sentinel"
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The skies over Eastern Europe rumbled with unnatural thunder as a shadow swept through the clouds, swift and silent. At 20,000 feet, cloaked from all detection, a sleek obsidian aircraft known only as The Revenant pierced the sky. Inside, a figure sat motionless—armor fused to his skin, eyes flickering with electric gold.
Subject Zero.
The first Sentinel.
His mission: Hunt down every awakened.
His target: Kara.
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Safehouse – Emergency Briefing Room
Tessa slammed her fist on the table. "They sent a Sentinel. There's no stopping it. Not with brute force."
Ronan frowned. "We've taken down half a dozen Lazarus death squads. What makes this one different?"
Kyra's voice was hollow. "This one isn't Lazarus. It was made before them—before us. Subject Zero wasn't built to follow orders. He was built to end evolution itself."
Kara folded her arms tightly, eyes blazing. "Then he's not just coming for me. He's coming for everyone like me."
Adrian stepped forward. "So we make our stand."
"No," Kara said, shaking her head. "We move. Fast."
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Meanwhile – The Revenant, Approaching Berlin
Subject Zero stared at Kara's image glowing on the projection wall. The AI's voice whispered in his helmet.
> "Primary: Kara. Secondary: Ghost. Tertiary: Echo Clones. Directive: Neutralize with extreme precision. No collateral. No failure."
He blinked once.
The screen shifted.
> "Target proximity detected. Signal locked."
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Hideout – Underground Hall
Kara descended the metal stairs, boots echoing on concrete, until she reached the sealed chamber labeled "Omega." She scanned her hand, and the reinforced doors hissed open.
Inside: ten containment pods. Only one was still active.
Subject 21 – Codename: Ember.
Her eyes—when they opened—were twin suns burning gold.
Kara stared at her reflection in the pod glass. "You're like me. Maybe worse."
Kyra entered behind her, cautiously. "We never activated her because… she didn't stop burning."
Kara turned slowly. "She's the only one strong enough to face him."
Kyra stepped closer, lowering her voice. "Or to burn us all down if she loses control."
Kara placed her palm on the control pad. "We'll take that chance."
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Berlin – Abandoned Cathedral
Ghost stood in silence, watching the sky. His breath fogged the cold air, but his body remained perfectly still. He felt it—power closing in.
A whisper behind him: "They're coming for you too."
He turned slowly to see a young girl, no older than ten, with eyes like shattered mirrors.
"I'm not the only Ghost," she said. "I'm the key."
Before he could ask more, the air split with the sound of sonic rupture. Subject Zero had arrived.
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Hideout – Omega Chamber
Alarms blared.
Adrian's voice echoed over the comms. "He's here!"
The walls shuddered as something massive slammed into the upper levels. Tessa shouted from the comms room, "The Revenant just crash-landed on top of us!"
Kara's hand hovered over the release for Ember's pod. "If I open this… there's no going back."
Kyra nodded solemnly. "Then do it. Because if we don't… we die here."
With a breath, Kara slammed her palm on the release.
The chamber filled with golden fire.
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Upper Levels – Main Hall
Subject Zero stepped through the flames, metal skin untouched. His eyes scanned the room. Ronan and Tessa opened fire—advanced pulse rounds ricocheting off his armor.
He raised one hand.
And the entire ceiling collapsed.
Screams echoed. Rubble crashed.
Then—silence.
Until the floor glowed beneath his feet… and Ember rose from the inferno, her body wrapped in living flame.
"You're not the first monster I've seen," she said, eyes burning.
Subject Zero tilted his head. "But I am the last."
And they collided like titans.
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Kara & Adrian – Below Ground
"Kara, we have to go!" Adrian grabbed her hand, dragging her through the collapsing corridors.
"I can't leave them," she shouted.
"They knew the risk!"
Explosions roared above as Ember and Subject Zero's powers tore the building apart.
Suddenly, a section of the wall burst inward. Ghost stood there, the mirror-eyed girl beside him.
"You want to live?" he asked. "Then follow me."
Kara froze. "Why are you helping us?"
Ghost's eyes narrowed. "Because I remember everything now. And I know what you really are."
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Back in the Wreckage
Ember screamed as Subject Zero drove her through three steel pillars. Her fire sputtered, then roared back to life, fiercer than ever.
But Zero adapted.
He bent her flame to his will, twisting it, consuming it.
"You were built to burn," he said coldly. "I was built to end you."
And with one final blow, he sent Ember crashing through the floor—where she lay still, her fire dimming.
Zero turned, his target reacquired.
Kara.
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Final Moments – Tunnel Exit
Kara stumbled out into the night with Ghost, Adrian, and the girl. The ground trembled behind them. The ruins of the hideout began to collapse.
But Ghost suddenly stopped.
"They're not done," he said. "You haven't seen what's buried under all of this."
Kara turned. "What do you mean?"
He pointed downward. "The Lazarus Core isn't just an idea. It's alive. And it's waking up."
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To be continued…
🔥 Sentinels. Secre
ts. Powers untamed. As one enemy falls, another rises from the shadows.
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