#getting the link and tag ready in advance because... i can feel the brain rot... sinking in........................

[thecmaly]

congratulations to ivantill for finally tying the knot with the red string of fate death!! 🥰🎉

-

more alnst comics

[mysteli]

Endless Summer Imperfect - Chapter 20

A/N: Yas! So here is Chapter 20 of Imperfect! This is actually gonna be two parter so I hope you’re ready. This chapter is very long and complex, packed with a lot of my ideas so please let me know if it gets confusing. 

Warning: T

ES IMPERFECT TAG: @princessstellaris @mechaspirit @xo-endlessmayhem-xo @endlessly-searching-for-you @brightpinkpeppercorn @aragornesprincessgeekymamma @justboredtrash @diego-vii  @indiacater @countrymusicandncis-blog @zigortega4life @nekkidmolerat @ravengalaxia @ladyseaheart1668 @endless-jake @theendofallsummers 

Masterlist

Imperfect Masterlist

Endless Summer Aftermath - Ending 1 Imperfect Chapter 20 - Saviour

Estela 

As quickly as she can, Estela stumbles through the halls of the building, trying so hard to fight her way through this hell hole. She needs to get out of here. She needs to. This isn’t normal. This isn’t a place of stability. It’s a crap hole in its own right and Estela shouldn’t be here. Hell, she can’t even really place where she is. It’s so hard to understand and guess because it’s clearly none existing on a map but it’s still here. So colossal but so hidden.

How does no one notice this place in broad daylight and question what the hell is in there?

No matter what, Estela needs to come back to reality and realise that she really is here and she can’t change it until she acts on instinct. As she stumbles through the iron hallways, her entire body numbs over occasionally from all the shit they’d injected her with. Stuff she can’t even identify because of how advanced it is and it’s crazy. Truly crazy that something mere like a formula can numb your entire body from time to time. The feeling comes and goes but Estela has to fight through it. She can’t count how many times her legs have buckled underneath her or her head has wracked from the pain of all the pills. 

It’s impossible to consider how much effort they were willing to go through just to make her pass out for a long period of time and the side-effects are always doomed to be brutal. 

Thank god Estela got out of that damp cell though. Unbearable, it is and who knew how long her limp body was rotting in there? It’s crazy to think about but Estela feels like absolute shit and she just wants to go home. That’s it. The only problem is... she doesn’t have a home. She doesn’t really know where she belongs and she can’t fucking figure out why the hell she is here? Why her of all people? Why pull her into the darkness? Maybe there is a clear reason and some part of Estela knows it. She just can’t... remember it.

That’s it. That has to be it. There just has to be some part of her that can find those hidden memories and bring them to the surface, ready to be enlightened. But all this time they’ve chosen to stay hidden and if only Estela could access them, then everything would make sense. Maybe all of this crazy shit would seem normal and Estela wouldn’t have to pretend she’s not afraid. 

However, the real wonder is how the fuck she got out of such a guarded cell in the first place. The true answer is something you’d never believe and expect from a monster of whoever owns this place. You’d expect a cell with such high security that it would be literally impossible to escape at any time. And that’s how it seemed because Estela is apparently so important to whatever is going on here. But she found a way. She found a way out of that cell. 

After hours of not being able to get up, she finally managed to vacate her lying state and climb to her feet, barely though and she was immediately shocked at how pained she was and her body was as numb as possible. Estela was climbing up the walls, her nails scratching the dark brick as she was fighting to get to her feet. Then suddenly, a door opened when her blistered hand barely grazed over a brick on the wall. It was blended in so well that any naked eye could have missed it. But Estela got lucky and she found a brick that left an opening that would hopefully lead to her to freedom. A tunnel of sorts was revealed and that was apparently the key to getting out of this hell hole, at least that’s what Estela hoped. Immediately when Estela entered the passageway without any hesitation, the brick slowly closed over behind her and she was left in bitter darkness, the only light being the dimly lit ones hovering over the ceiling but they really didn’t help when it came to guiding her. But Estela kept going... and she’s been running ever since.

Estela certainly hasn’t wasted any time with the amount of agony she’s willing to go through just to be free, even as all her the blisters, bruises, scars and wounds activate their pain filters and torture Estela, not even the numbness could help her. She’s truly hopeless and helpless but she’s also careless. She has no time to waste. She truly has nothing to lose so why not fight for freedom if it’s the only thing left to fight for? 

Family is no longer an option for Estela, as her mother is truly gone or at least impossible to ever find. Estela has no other relatives to turn out so she can’t really picture what she will do if she ever gets out of this place. At this point, it almost sounds better to lie here forever. Unless the strange secret Lila announced was true... that Estela has a nearby father who wants to speak with her. Estela never believed it at all, doubted any word that Lila came up with because of the evil bitch she is. But now... it almost all seems plausible and that is terrifying to Estela. Because her only link left to family might just be a sick psychopath. 

Might, though. 

Suddenly, Estela stumbles upon a dead end, her dark eyes met with yet another brick wall. “Fuck...” Estela curses under her breath, a heavy puff of smoke escaping her cold, chapped lips and her voice comes out as a shaky echo. Her suspicions immediately rise as she narrowly scans the hard surface, having an idea that there may be more to this barrier than meets the eye.

It almost appears like an obstacle; a block in her path and she has to remove it to gain her freedom. Letting caution take over, Estela begins planting her hands on every brick she can find until one of them accesses yet another opening. Finally, one appears and Estela can’t help but twitch her eyebrows at the sight. Perhaps this is the exit to the outside world, she hopes. 

But after a moment it doesn’t seem so possible, as there is no sunlight creeping in as the brick breaks free or a feeling of crisp wind running through Estela and lifting her brunette hair. Zero feeling of relief and hope. Just nothing and that’s when Estela realises... she’s still inside.

Not another dark cell though. No there is much more light in this room and Estela is almost blinded by the mediocre light, only because she had only been experiencing darkness over the last few weeks. She brings her brunette hair to the front, thankful that it had been thrown into a loose ponytail, as Estela refuses to think about the grease that roams through the dark hair. She can only focus on getting out of here. That’s all that really matters at this point. 

The more Estela ventures through the new room, the closer the light seems to get and that’s when Estela begins to hear muffled voices coming further down the area. She remains obviously cautious about her surroundings as she suddenly stops in her tracks when her dark eyes land on yet another door but this time it isn’t made of brick and it isn’t disguised. It’s made of classic oak wood and actually contains a door handle. Clearly it’s easy to identify as an actual door, unlike some of the other openings Estela has encountered. 

Throwing all caution to the wind, Estela creeps up to the door and sucks in a sharp breath, trying to find something to fight for but coming up short in that attempt. The only thing that comes to mind is freedom and that’s what she needs to trust. That freedom will find her and behind this door may be the answer to all her problems. 

Estela starts a silent motion to open the door but suddenly pauses when she hears the muffled voices from before - the ones she pictured as her own hallucinations fooling her once more and she blamed her own state of mind. But now, they’re definitely real and oh so clear. Behind the door. 

Carefully, Estela presses her ear up against the door and starts to eavesdrop in on what’s going on, her pace of breathing increasing with each passing second.

“...Estela.” The immediate mention of her name throws off straight away, startling her as a stranger’s voice that must have belonged to a British man says her name so idly even though Estela has never heard it used in such a voice before. It’s undeniably strange. She has never known anyone of British decent, not has she encountered anyone like that who happen to know of her. How her name can even get to the Brit’s brain is unimaginable. 

A tense moment of silence takes place, the only sound being the surprised reaction of a gasp escaping another voice in the room and Estela can catch the faint sound of chains rattling against a wood floor. She tries to make that out as she awaits for words to be spoken. She’s just too curious to walk away now and she’s come too far to give up. 

“...Why would you take Estela?” Someone finally speaks but it definitely isn’t the same one as before, judging by the lack of a prominent accent. No, this time it’s a sort of southern voice but there’s also a mix of classic America in the tone as well. A voice Estela happens to recognise but can’t find a face to match it with. 

She furrows her brows and her jaw falls open at the next statement, spoken by the Brit. “Because she’s the key to activating the Omega Mech.” 

Perplexed, Estela tries her best to process new information, unfortunate to not have any idea what they’re talking about. She is the key to some of project, which seems like the easiest assumption. Something she can only make work but with what... a part of her? Something she contains? Her... life? Perhaps? Hell no is she giving them that.

Listening closer, Estela tries to carefully digest every word they say and find a way to understand it but half the things they end talking about is impossible for Estela to contemplate. They continue to discuss an army of sorts and mention names of certain folk that Estela had never heard of before. Lundgren? Fiddler? But there is just one that happens to bring forth one memory... Mike. 

Estela has encountered a man called Mike a few times in fact. She had suggested that they were friends but even mutuals seemed like a stretch. In truth, they are barely acquaintances and it’s probably a complete coincidence that his name happened to come up mere weeks after they’d met. He always seemed a little suspicious, especially with how he rushed out of her dorm as soon as he spotted her estimated drawing of a possible Jake McKenzie, who always reoccurred in the dreams she had frequently. This can’t be enough. This has to just be a coincidence. Estela can’t think any more of it.

One particular line spoken completely rattles Estela’s brain. A line explained by the British man. “She’s locked away in her own cell but don’t worry, you’ll see each other again soon. Better yet, she doesn’t hold her memories so she’ll be clueless if she sees you.” 

See now that was just fucking strange.

Their conversation continues until another pair of doors suddenly burst open and a figure comes rushing in, judging by the sound of footsteps marching on the floor. Those movements are played out with anger and panic. Clearly something incredulous has occurred. Estela’s dark eyes widen and her mind boggles when she hears the familiar voice that speaks. At least there is one she can recognise.

“Lila, what’s wrong?” Goddamnit Lila. Can’t she just go away???

“It’s Estela... she’s gone.” Lila declares in an anxious tone, something that may have a hidden intention of her being scared for her life because that’s what it sounds like. Whoever she’s addressing is definitely someone she’s scared of. Lila’s voice comes across like she’s out of breath and it’s clear she’s realised Estela is gone.

All Estela hears then is loud scoff from the British man and some cocky words from the Southern man, who seems particularly proud of Estela for escaping - even though she can’t even identify who it is.

“So much for locked up, huh?” 

The British man huffs in annoyance and Estela listens in closer. “That cell is one of the most guarded in the entire facility. How the hell did she get out?” He seems to be addressing Lila.

“I can’t say, sir. Maybe she found a way to pick the lock.” Lila suggests and Estela can practically hear the steam popping out of the Brit’s ears.

“That’s impossible! The cell door doesn’t even have a damn lock! It’s advanced technology that I tested for years!”

The Southern one can’t help but chuckle at the Brit’s incompetence. “Well, maybe you should have waited a little longer.” 

“Shut it, Wolf.” The Brit scolds the Southerner, followed by the sound of a rough slap. “Guards, take him back to his cell and I’ll make sure everyone is out searching for Estela. She’s definitely still in the building and no matter what... I will find my daughter.” 

Hearing that, Estela’s eyes widen and her jaw drops at the revelation. Is that... her father? The one that Lila happened to mention half a second before she left the cell? No... this can’t be it. Estela took it as a mere attempt at manipulation, a way of putting ideas into her head but... why would he say that if it wasn’t true? No fucking way. This is absolute madness. Every event in the last 24 hours has been crazy and Estela hasn’t even been here that long. A few hours at most and she’s already managed to get out.

High security. Complete bullshit. 

Hell, all of this is bullshit. Estela feels like she’s entered an entire new world and it’s almost as if she’s a entirely different person. Her whole life has been explained to her in the worst possible way and she spent most of it thinking she had no living blood relatives left. Then suddenly... she has a father now? This can’t be real. This has to be some sort of nightmare because Estela just refuses to believe that this is all really happening. 

Suddenly, a door creaks open and footsteps can be heard stomping along the wooden floor, causing the planks to shriek at the impact. Before the door slams shut, the British man speaks one last time.

“I’m going to alert the soldiers. Protect the army and we’ll see this as a test. Lila... stay here and guard the prisoner.”

“Prisoner? Who the fuck do you think I am?” The Southerner retorts, scoffing incredulously - almost refusing to believe that he was just referred to as a prisoner. Even Estela can’t believe it. The Southerner must be the one in chains then. What the hell is this place? Some kind of prison or asylum or something completely different? 

“Watch your tone, Pilot. You will remain a prisoner until you accept that you’re my soldier. But don’t worry, there are still good things to come...” The British one, or Estela’s supposable father, pauses for a moment and his next words release a gasp from the other. “...you will have the chance to see your precious Princess soon.” 

“Hold up, jackass! You got Princess?” 

The Brit laughs deviously and Estela can practically picture the deceiving smirk on his face. “Not yet. But I will. And I’ll make sure you’re there to watch her die.” 

With that, the door is yanked shut and Estela is left in absolute shock. But she has no time to process anything that just happened. In order to receive any information on what happened, she needs to rescue the Southerner who still remains shackled in that room. It’s only Lila who is guarding him and maybe a few extra unnamed security. Pretty easy.

But Estela definitely can’t charge in there empty handed. It’s essential that she’s prepared. 

Frantically, her dark eyes dart around the dimly lit that she hasn’t really had a chance to scan as she was beckoned by the voices in the next room. But now she has to act fast. Her brunette hair rushes with her as she swiftly searches the room for anything that will help her with this act of rescue. A sigh of relief escapes when she finally spots her weapon of choice. She can’t help but crack a weak smile as she makes her way over to her findings. 

A gun. Random, of course. Something that shouldn’t just be left on a box in the corner of a dark, empty room. Hell, this room looks as though someone has moved out of it. Who knows what it was used for but it appears pretty hidden and difficult to find? Before Estela launches out the door, she spots a simple light glowing in the distance and she can’t help but wanna check it out. Shes almost tainted by it and it’s almost like it’s calling out to her. 

Estela knows she has to hurry though. With curiosity sparkling in her eyes, she creeps over to the light which is sheltered by a maroon curtain and Estela can barely make out the colour. Sucking in a sharp breath, she finally reaches the curtain and uses her tan hand to push aside the shredded material. She’s immediately shocked by the sight she sees. 

A giant robot with a glowing light sparkling from its stomach. A vibrant red colour it is and it’s so colossal that the head of it almost touches the ceiling. It almost appears like it’s waiting to something and it seems to be crying out for help. But it almost seems like it’s begging and Estela feels tempted to touch it. Unable to resist, her hand slowly reaches forward as she cautiously begins to approach the broad daylight. She’s barely fingertips away from touching the light until... something snaps her out of her trance.

“AGH! FUCK!” 

An agonised voice cries out in pain and Estela quickly rushes from the curtain, grabs the gun and bursts through the wooden door - knowing the voice is the sound of the supposable prisoner hissing in pain and she knows she needs to help.

By the time she enters the room on heavy feet, all eyes are on her as she raises her gun and points it directly at Lila - who’s eyes are widened with shock as she clutches a taser between her grasp while her hands shake uncontrollably. Vacated in the corner on his knees is someone rather familiar... someone Estela has definitely seen before.

That’s when she realises. That’s the one she encountered when he knocked on her door. He’s the one from the visions! Estela knew she’d seen him before. Wait... that’s Jake! Jake fucking McKenzie. Oh god... all of has to link with the visions. It all has to. Time is finally catching up to Estela. Everything might finally be explained. 

Estela keeps a tight grip on her gun, refusing to show the fear she truly feels. Her eyes darken with a danger she’s summoned from deep within her and she’s never felt such control over anything before. This has to be her calling. Everything she’s waited for her entire life. And once again... she’s here with Lila. A scene where one of them is at gunpoint. Why is this their entire life now? 

Logan 

“What the fuck is this?” Logan questions with irritation, exhausted after having to walk what seemed like a million miles to the outskirts of London, where they’ve encountered what could easily be assumed as being the middle of nowhere. 

Rebecca assured they needed to walk to get to the entrance of Rourke’s new ‘lair’ of sorts and she described getting there as complicated because of how hidden the place is. Logan, Mike and Diego have been complaining for hours and they haven’t been able to resist being suspicious of Rebecca because what if she’s just sending them in circles or on a wild goose chase. It’s completely strange and now suddenly... Rebecca has stopped walking and now they’re here... well somewhere.

Rebecca rolls her eyes at Logan’s constant impatience. “Just be patient.” She states, trying to keep Logan calm because of her desperation, it causes her to be a little short tempered when someone tells her to be patient.

“Patient? I’ve been fucking patient enough.” 

Mike and Diego share an incredulous look, even they believe Logan needs to calm down but they also understand because of how much she’s been missing Jake and it’s clear how much she wants him back, especially recently.

“Logan, I know you’re desperate to find Jake but you gotta let me help you and you can help me by just waiting.” Rebecca points out, folding her arms and she glances down at the ground yet again. She’s been doing that constantly in the last few minutes.

“Are you fucking kidding me? I will actually— Woah!” Logan’s poorly executed threat is cut off when she feels the grumbling sensation of the floor shifting beneath her. The ground slowly begins crumbling away and everyone is forced to step back on Rebecca’s urge. 

Everyone is immediately gobsmacked by the sight of a vast hole now planted on the surface and they even dare to glance into it, only to be met with a pitch-blackness like the night sky in a man made city - not natural. Rebecca raises her hand and waves the others off cautiously.

“What the actual fuck is this?” Logan questions, not able to close her damn jaw so luckily, Diego does it for her, shooting her a calming look that only soothes her slightly.

“It’s how we get in. Now wait.” Rebecca speaks in a hushed tone, scanning the hole momentarily and it almost appears like she’s checking for cameras or anything that could expose their presence. 

Satisfied with the result of nothing, Rebecca steps back once more, not able to hold back a smirk as she hears the sound of metal rising within the hole. The others are just startled and their eyes widen even more when they catch sight of an elevator of sorts making its way to the surface - clearly here to take them underground.

“Wow,” Mike sighs out of shock, only able to let out a heavy whisper of words.

Rebecca slowly steps onto the metal. “Come on.” She urges for the others to step on, which they obey and join her on the metal plate. She clutches her gun and releases a deep sigh when she suddenly remembers something disturbing. “As we go down here, you’re going to see something you’re gonna wanna forget.” 

Logan furrows her brows, not liking what’s coming. “What do you mean?” 

“This elevator is the secret entrance for security so it leads into the prison area.”

Logan suddenly feels an ounce of hope and it shows within her ocean eyes. “...Is Jake in there?” She dares to ask.

“...No. He was in there but Rourke moved him to the interrogation area and that’s where he should be now. That’s where we’re gonna go.” Rebecca clarifies, moving her auburn ponytail to the front.

“Wait... so what’s in the prison area then?” Diego enquires, almost scared to ask such a thing.

“...That’s where Rourke’s army is being held. All his... animals. All his projects. Everything he manipulates to join his side. Only the successful ones live in cages within this area. You might call them... the Vaanti.” 

Everyone gasps faintly, their pace of breaking increasing rapidly. They don’t really have time to question it as the elevator begins venturing down into the hole and in that moment they know... there’s no turning back. 

“Buckle up. You’re in for a ride.” 

Michelle

The night rolls on and the outside side world silences itself as the moon slowly rises and causes half the world to shut down and an entirely different atmosphere takes over. That’s the part of the world that Michelle hates most. The silent side. The dangerous side. The feared side. The dark side. Michelle finds it soothing sometimes because she’s been there so many times. She’s seen all the flaws in people and what it can do them. Her old friends, if that’s what she can even dare call them. The ones who kicked her from the sorority left her with absolutely nothing. She was left alone, bombarded by isolation and she felt hopeless.

Then suddenly, Michelle encountered Quinn. This wonderful person labelled by stereotypes as cheerful and delighted by everything and the world around her. She could easily seem like the happiest person alive but... deep down she was suffering. All that time she was in pain and that smile on her face was there by force and urgency because she always stayed strong for the people she loved. 

Now look where she is.

Tossed aside by the world and taken over by disease. Her soul was needed on this earth and one can hope it’s still here and here to stay. Because no one wants her to go. No one does. 

Michelle has literally been comforting Quinn most of the night and the nurse had alerted her earlier that Quinn’s parents would be driving out tomorrow. By then, Michelle would definitely still be here because she sure as hell isnt leaving Quinn’s side. She can’t be left alone and she refuses to leave Quinn stranded in a coma. There has to be hope, despite what the medicals say.

Michelle is balled up in a chair, so close to drifting off to sleep but she’s been trying so hard to keep herself awake. She can’t sleep, especially not after everything that occurred today. Sean offered to stay with her when she made the decision to stay all night but she assured him that she was gonna be okay and urged him to go get some sleep. But Sean promised to be back to support her early the next day.

Sucking in a sharp breath at the sight of a limp Quinn, Michelle brings her knees up on the chair, clutching them as she shivers from the crisp cold of the room. She can’t say she’s not exhausted and she can’t say she isn’t hurting. Quinn doesn’t deserve this. She should be happy and healthy and able to live her life because all of this is just an bunch of bullshit.

Why does the world always curse the ones who are good and pure? I thought it was supposed to be about catching the evil and letting the heroes live on.

Suddenly, the door to the hospital creaks open and Michelle expects it to be another nurse asking if she’s alright to leave again but once again, she’ll say she’s determined to stay for Quinn all night and the nurse just rolls her eyes and walks out. But now it isn’t a nurse. No it’s... Zahra Namazi. What the fuck is she doing in a hospital? Now this is strange. 

Michelle bats her eyelashes in disbelief, checking if she hasn’t gotten crazy because Zahra is actually in a hospital. She’s probably here to check on Michelle though but she’s had enough of those from Sean.

With an expression of concern, Zahra makes her way over to Michelle and seats herself on the armrest of the chair. She throws her arm around Michelle and rubs the side of her shoulder comfortingly. 

“You didn’t have to come here. It’s 1am.” Michelle assures in a muttered tone, so quiet its barely a whisper. 

Zahra just scoffs playfully. “Sean called me, Craig and Raj and we wanted to help so we came down here. Besides, I have nothing better to do.” Zahra jokes but is also undeniably serious, judging by the bluntness of her tone. 

Michelle giggles ever so lowly. “Wait... so Craig and Raj are here too?” 

“In the waiting room. I suggested coming in first. Sean told us how broken you are over this.” Zahra points out, moving Michelle’s stray strands of ombré hair out of her face, saddened by the look of grief and doubt in her hazel eyes. “Hey... she could still be alive, you know?”

“I know... but it’s a coma. She’s supposed to just die now... but I don’t wanna believe that.” Tears start to drop out of the corners of Michelle’s eyes but she holds back the unwanted show of emotion.

“It’s okay to cry, Meech. Quinn was important to you. You helped her through a lot... but I still don’t know what happened.” Zahra tries to state this as vaguely as possible but Michelle catches on, sighing heavily.

“She’s had Rotterdam’s Syndrome since she was born. The last stage is a coma and well... this is it.” 

Zahra sucks in a sharp breath, having heard that. She doesn’t contain much knowledge of Rotterdam’s but she knows it’s pretty fatal. Just the thought of it is chilling. “You’re okay. This is gonna work out. Quinn could still be okay.”

“And what if she’s not? What do I have then?” Michelle questions and for a moment, Zahra doesn’t know how to answer. 

“...You have us. And we’re here to help you through this.” 

Suddenly, hearing that, something clicks in Michelle’s mind and she can’t help but start breathing heavily, remembering Quinn’s last words.

“Zahra... you know Logan Mercer, right?” Michelle suddenly pipes up and Zahra is slightly taken aback, having only just seen Michelle in a state of grief only to see her in a state of curiosity now.

“Yeah?”

“Well... you’ll never believe what Quinn said to me before she... you know.” 

“Tell me.” 

Jake

Estela fucking Montoya. Jake knew she’d find a way out. She ain’t the type of girl to just sit back and give up. No way would she fucking surrender to anything. No that ain’t who she is. Now she’s here, standing before a shackled Jake - a steady gun tangled in her fingers as she points it directly as the traitor. Now this is the Estela that Jake came to respect at least. 

He always appreciated that she was a fighter and never looked away from a single challenge. Even the most dangerous situation she’d take with ease and agility. She holds her family within her heart as well or at leat the members she wants to remember. Her mother was always the biggest motivation for the revenge against Rourke and even though Estela lacks any knowledge from the island or her past self, she’s still out to get the vicious bastard and she’s appearing like the person she once was. A woman with a weapon but that weapon isn’t the gun in her grasp. No... it’s the heart that drives her and keeps her going every damn day.

Jake can’t help but form a smirk when he sees Estela, even after just being tasered and tortured. He doesn’t even care because he feels so much relief right now that the pain has numbed over. All he can focus on is the fact that he might finally get out of this hell hole today and it’s about fucking time. 

Estela barely glances at Jake, focusing all her attention on Lila - who is actually trembling from the sight of Estela with her weapon in her hands. Now she has the power. Now she has control and she’s loving every second of it.

“Drop the taser.” Estela orders rather slowly, gesturing for Lila to drop her weapon, which she doesn’t do at first - merely glancing at the weapon and hesitating ever so slightly. “Drop the taser!” Estela demands so much louder and viciously this time and Lila immediately drops the taser - the startled instinct from the volume of Estela’s voice caused the taser to just slip out of her hands. 

Jake watches the situation with ease, actually enjoying what he’s seeing right now. For a minute, he just forgets about everything he’s been through and just focuses on the satisfying feeling of sweet sweet revenge. 

“Leave.” Estela gives a stern, one word order but Lila just scowls, arching her eyebrows out of irritation.

“No.” Lila dismisses the idea of surrendering and Estela’s deadly glare deepens even more. That almost didn’t seem possible. 

“Leave or I will shoot you.” 

“No you won’t.” Lila takes a cautious step towards Estela, meeting her face to face. “You don’t have the guts, Stela. Admit it.”

Estela’s blood-curdling scowl starts to burn out and her weaknesses start to crack through the defence walls that sheltered the intimidation - tears begin to swell in her corners of her dark eyes, a rare innocence shining through. 

“Yes I do. This has to fucking end, Lila, and it ain’t gonna be over if you don’t back down.” 

“There’s no difference between me backing down and being dead so you may as well choose the easy option. Lock me up or have me killed. Which one sounds quicker?” Lila taunts Estela, laughing mockingly when she spots a mere tear drifting down Estela’s cheek. A pained show of emotion. Something she shouldn’t have let out. “Aw, is Stela crying? Is this hurting you because if it is, then good. It was your goddamn memories that kept you going and now you don’t have them so guess what... you’re just weak.” 

Estela’s blood begins to boil hearing that, her anger threatening to pop out of her veins as she tightens her grip on the gun, moving it so it’s pointing directly at Lila’s head. One bullet and it would all be over.

“Leave, Lila. I don’t wanna kill you.” 

“Oh yes you do. So do it. Put that damn bullet through my head and see what it does for you... murder is a relief like no other and once you’ve killed me, you won’t be able to stop. You’ll wanna kill forever and that’s what happened to me and I know it will happen to you because you’re so easily tempted by the satisfaction of a kill.” 

Estela suddenly looks to Jake as if she’s begging for help or some sort of advice. For a moment, he’s clueless and doesn’t know how to help her. He merely nods to her and basically is signalling to her to just do it. This damn woman has put Estela through so much unimaginable pain and she doesn’t deserve it so it’s better to just end it all.

Estela suddenly feels her first sign of certainty and with that, her confidence returns and a devious smirk finds her lips as a glare matches that amount of intimidation she carried within her before. 

“You know what, Lila...” Estela hesitates for a moment but quickly shakes the feeling away. She knows she has to do this. For her mother. For the world. “...I always hated you.”

With that said, Estela applies pressure to the trigger of the gun and plants a bullet through Lila’s head. Lila barely has time to process what just happened before her life fades away and her limp body aimlessly collapses onto the wooden floor - a deafening shriek echoing throughout the room at the pressure of the action. 

Estela 

Estela suddenly feels a sense of relief and risk and she skims over her work, eyeing the deceased with no remorse what so ever. And suddenly, from that thrill and adrenaline, Estela’s memories just flow through her mind, rushing through her body continuously and giving her a chance to feel something familiar. Something she hasn’t felt in a long time and it almost feels like she’s right back where she started. Her head starts to ache from the amount of memories but she also feels an endless amount of relief.

Finally, she remembers everything. How she lost her mother. How she almost killed Lila. Getting trapped on the island. Almost killing a colossal crab. Attacking a sea monster. Meeting a pirate. Mike... seeing him tortured but also falling in love with him only to then watch him die in the air - an explosion taking him away from her. Absolutely everything. She remembers it all. Everything and everyone, causing her to look back at Jake with a weak smile.

Jake furrows his brows and she nods at him respectively — shooting him an all too familiar look. One he hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing in a long damn time. There’s only one explanation for a look like that.

“Do you...” 

Estela simply nods, speaking in a hushed whisper. “Yeah, cabron.” 

Jake begins to chuckle and he can’t believe it. Finally he can see someone he actually cares about. It isn’t Logan but it’s still someone undeniably close to him and that’s just taking him one step closer to his soulmate. She can’t be far now.

“I’d love a reunion but... I’m a little deprived.” Jake acknowledges, gesturing to the fact that he’s still shackled and bounded by chains. Remembering, Estela cracks a laugh and tries to find anything that could free him, knowing Rourke probably keeps the key with him. Oh yeah... she knows now that Rourke is her father. Ew.

Estela ends up stumbling upon a fire extinguisher and uses it to break Jake’s chains, clearly stealing the idea from Logan who used it during the sabertooth and clearly Jake recognises that.

“Steal that off Princess, did ya?” 

Once he’s free, Estela carefully guides him to his feet, only then realising how damaged and bruised Jake is. “Damn, Jake. They really fucked you up, didn’t they?”

Jake raises Estela’s arm and rolls her sleeve up, gesturing to the scattered scars on her arm. “I could say the same thing about you, Katniss.” 

Estela giggles lowly. “Still at it with the nicknames, huh?” 

“What else? Nothing has really changed.” Jake sighs heavily, hanging his head and gazing hopelessly at the ground. It’s so easy to guess what he’s thinking about.

“You thinking about Logan?” Estela acknowledges, almost wishing she didn’t when she sees the heavy tinge of sadness in Jake’s cerulean eyes when he lifts his head.

“Of course I am. Haven’t been thinking about anything else since I got here.” 

Estela places a comforting hand on Jake’s shoulder. “Hey, Jake... we’ll find her.” She promises in her most effective reassuring tone and she’s not even sure if it works.

Jake just chooses to shake off his grief and summons all the strength he has because he knows he can’t break down now. Not when he has the chance to escape. “Not if we sit around here moping, Katniss. You got a gun for me?” 

“Not really. This gun was just kinda neglected” Estela realises, searching the room for any sign of a weapon. “Maybe there’s something around here. This is Rourke’s office.” 

“Do we have time?”

“We’re okay if we’re quick.” 

With that, Jake and Estela spend a few minutes searching for something. Anything that would assist them in this escape because deep down they knew that Jake needs some sort of protection if he’s gonna have any chance of getting out here. While Jake searches the book shelf for god knows what reason, he stumbles upon an opening when he applies pressure to one the books and he can’t help but be curious about what’s behind the book shelf as it starts to drift away. 

Estela notices what’s happening and her dark eyes widen with bewilderment. “What the fuck is this?” 

“I don’t know.” 

All of a sudden, Jake and Estela are left shellshocked when they catch sight of a familiar face resigning in a heavily guarded cage and they are contained rather well. Almost sitting in a danger zone and Estela almost drops her weapon when she realises who it is, sitting in the corner and clutching their knees as they shiver with fear. They almost don’t seem human but like one of Rourke’s projects. An animal, if you dare to see it that way.

“...Mother?” 

Mike

This is absolutely insane. What kind of man would hold all these innocent creatures like this? They’re hyper-evolved humans and they’re basically forms of technology but they don’t know that. They only believe in living in peace and harmony. All the Vaanti believed they were past the war, yet here they are - trapped in cages unwillingly and they aren’t even aware of who they are anymore. They look dazed, confused as they claw at the cages and at the humans as the elevator finally comes to a stop, forcing them off it. 

But the cages don’t stop there. There are thousands of the Vaanti trapped within this facility and this seems to be Rourke’s entire plan. To build an army and take over the world after Project Janus failed him in gaining power. This is his way of resolving it all. Waging war and taking back a world that was never really his. He has no other option though but there is always a chance at peace but there’s no way in hell he’d choose that. Rourke is too much of a monster to stoop that high. 

Mike is truly trembling at the sight of all of these creatures, who have been manipulated by Rourke to worship him and act like raw, animalistic predators who only believe in war and nothing else. Mike used to be like that, when Rourke found a way to use mind games against him and completely take control. That’s why Mike hates this so much and wants justice because he’s been through all this.

All these helpless Vaanti members fighting for freedom they can’t define anymore. They don’t even know what they’re reaching for but Rourke wants them to be reaching for war and revenge. He wants them to feel helpless enough to turn to Rourke for support and shelter. It seems like they’re already torn to his side and now he’s just waiting for the right time to unleash the monsters he’s created and release them onto the battlefield. 

It’s truly heartbreaking and a dreaded situation that no one should be in. Their lives now lie in Rourke’s hands, as well as their blood should it be necessary.

Tears roam down the eyes of Logan and Diego, as they sympathise with the Vaanti and their desperate conditions. Diego even gets terrified that Vaaryn is among them but Logan reminds him that he was in the same cell as Jake so they’re both probably in the interrogation area that Rebecca described, which seemed to reassure him a little.

Soon enough, the cages finally end and Rebecca leads everyone through a door that ends the sound of the desperate cries of the Vaanti and the form of torture finally fades away but everyone is still left with aches and shivers that will never go away. They’re scarred and that’s what Rebecca predicted.

As soon as everyone is given as chance to calm down - they scan their surroundings, realising they’ve reached the main aspect of the facility - a line up of iron hallways that could go on for hours. It’s like a maze in here. 

Logan is still startled by what she just saw, shivering uncontrollably. “Did Rourke do that to them?” 

Rebecca nods hesitantly, ashamed that she even knows of that information. “Yes, unfortunately. I only know of his plan to make an army out of them.”

“He’s gonna use them to take over the world.” Mike acknowledges, folding his arms in a solemn manor and arching his eyebrows at the mention of Rourke.

“Exactly, which is why we have to keep moving. The interrogation area is this way.” Rebecca starts to lead them through the iron halls until she suddenly pauses, raising her hand as a sign of warning and it almost reminds Mike of what Jake used to do when he knew danger was coming. It was the stop moving sign and clearly Logan knew of it too - as they share a reminiscent look. 

The sound of muffled voices travelling closer can be heard and Rebecca’s eyes widen with fear, as she quickly turns around and gestures to one of the empty cells.

“Hide in there.” Rebecca motions and Mike hesitates, eyeing her suspiciously.

“How do we know you won’t lock us in there?” 

“You don’t trust me? Okay I’ll give you the fucking key. Let yourself out.” Rebecca suddenly tosses a card towards Mike that seems to be the idea of not using a key but scanning a card to get though. “Now get in the cell.”

Mike just nods with zero emotion, leading both Logan and Diego into the cell before following them in. They try to remain as silent as possible, as the voices loom closer to Rebecca. They clearly belong to two guards as they suddenly stop to talk to Rebecca.

“What are you do doing down here, McKenzie?” One of them ask her in a questioning tone.

“What do you mean what am I doing? I’m guarding the cells.” Rebecca replies bluntly.

“Didn’t ya hear? Rourke wants us all on alert, searching for one of the prisoners that went missing.” 

Rebecca is a little startled at this news and she can’t help but ask who. “Who? No one even told me.” 

“Rourke made an announcement on the speaker and were all supposed to be looking for um... Estela Montoya.” 

Mike’s dark eyes immediately widen when he hears that they have Estela. Such a familiar name to his ears and it kills him to hear that she’s been taken as well. She’s here. Being held captive. Just like Jake. Fuck now that’s two people Mike loves that have been taking away from him. Damn... Estela doesn’t remember either so why would Rourke kidnap her like that?

“Estela Montoya? But—“

Before Rebecca can protest, the speaker above them begins to buffer and that means Rourke is about to declare something - perhaps update them on this whole Estela situation.

“Every soldier should be on higher alert now. I’ve just received news that not only Estela Montoya has gone missing but... Jake McKenzie has slipped away,” Hearing Jake’s name causes Logan’s jaw to drop but she still feels some kind of hope. “I order every soldier to bring me both of them and I want them alive!” 

The speaker cuts off and everyone is left shell-shocked - aside from officers who just shrug off the news.

“Well, looks like we got two loose canons to watch out for. Take it easy, McKenzie.” Finally the two security guards leave and Rebecca feels like she can’t even breathe. Jake has escaped and Estela has escaped, even though they’re both still in the building. That is a certainty.

Mike quickly swipes the card over the lock and opens the cell door, not surprised to find Rebecca just as shocked as he is. No one can believe this is actually happening. The worst of them is definitely Logan, who is struggling to catch her breath and she can’t decide if she wants to feel hope or feel dread and fear. What if Jake is impossible to find now and he’s already gone? No one can be sure of anything anymore. Estela as well. It’s awful. 

“So Jake is still here, right?” Logan dares to ask, countless stutters in her voice after what she just heard.

“Definitely. He couldn’t have gone far. This news only just came through.” Rebecca assures.

“So we just need to search the place then? Hope we run in to him.” Mike suggests, stroking his jaw thoughtfully.

“And fight any bastards that stand in our way.” Logan adds, a deadly look of determination in her sapphire eyes.

“Wait... what about the interrogation area? Vaaryn is in there.” Diego suddenly acknowledges, looking slightly annoyed that everyone forgot such an important detail.

“We can save him immediately after, Diego.” Mike assures, patting Diego on the back reassuringly but he is having none of it.

“No. That doesn’t matter. We might run out of time by then. I’m gonna go there. Whether you guys like it or not.” Diego states triumphantly, acting like he knows what he’s doing.

“But Diego...” Logan approaches him with an anxious expression, afraid for his safety and even his life.

Diego wraps Logan in a meaningful hug, letting her know he’s gonna be okay. He won’t forget everything she’s taught him and he definitely won’t forget those minor survival skills he learnt on the island. “I’ll be safe, Lo. I promise. I just wanna find my soulmate like you wanna find yours.” Diego whispers sweetly, a bravery Logan hasn’t seen within him since he chose to sacrifice himself. 

“I’ll go with him. He could use the protection.” Rebecca volunteers and Logan nods towards her thankfully, showing Rebecca an ounce of respect. 

Tears soaking her cheeks, Logan wraps Diego in yet another hug, knowing she’ll never get tired of Diego and she vows not to lose him. “I love you, okay? Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

With last words unleashed, both Diego and Rebecca begin rushing down the iron hallways and Diego shoots Logan one last meaningful wave just as he passes a corner, causing him to disappear completely out of view. Logan only hopes that isn’t the last time she’s gonna see her best friend.

Right now, she needs to focus on finding Jake and maybe Estela if he’s with her. Sucking in a sharp breath, Logan wipes away her tears and nods towards Mike when he glances at her with concern in his chestnut eyes.

“I’m fine.” She assures bluntly, fidgeting with Jake’s jacket which she’s still wearing and she stuffs her hands in the pockets, her fingers grazing over the compass that is classed as her Ember of Hope. She reaches in and pulls the golden compass out, admiring its simplicity and everything it symbolises. “This ain’t really giving me much hope is it?”

Mike eyes her with sympathy, unable to even imagine the kind of pain she’s experiencing. He places a hand on her shoulder. “It ain’t fair, kid.” 

“Of course it isn’t fair. Since when did I deserve this kind of life?” Logan starts to question everything and Mike can see where this is going and it will only result in panic.

“Please don’t start breaking down now, Lo. Jake’s not far away, okay? We’re gonna get to him.” 

“But what if—“

“No... no what ifs. We’re gonna save him, okay? That’s the bottom line.” Mike assures, stroking the surface of Logan’s platinum hair in a friendly, comforting manor but Logan can’t focus on relief, as she notices a slight shift in the direction of the compass. Mike catches the suspicion in her ocean eyes and can’t help but be confused and curious. “What are you looking at?” 

Logan blinks a few times, trying to figure out of if it was a hallucination or not. “Nothing it’s just... I swear I saw this move. It was actually pointing somewhere.” She shakes her head and is about to close the compass until she hears it shift in direction again. 

“Look! It’s moving.” Mike swiftly acknowledges, finally able to hope that maybe this is the key to finding Jake. Maybe this is their link to being soulmates and Logan can find them when they’re close. 

Soon enough, the compass starts moving everywhere, pointing in every direction possible until it settles on one specific way... down the iron hallways, pointing North and Logan just feels an urge to follow the compass and trust in its message. 

“Come on. This has to be the key.”

Zahra

“So... do any of you have my laptop?” Zahra suddenly questions and everyone is confused as to why that is the first thing she says when she walks out the room after going in there to check on Michelle.

Raj is completely baffled, reaching into his bag and retrieving the laptop. “Yeah... still don’t understand why you had to bring that by the way.” 

Zahra grabs the laptop off Raj and sticks her tongue out at him before falling back into a chair. “You don’t know how long we’re gonna be here. I was prepared so I brought entertainment.” 

“We’ve been here less than ten minutes.” Craig rightly points out.

“Quiet, Craiggers.” Zahra brings her finger to her lips and shushes Craig, causing him to eye her questioningly as she begins to frantically type away. Both Raj and Craig are undeniably curious and intrigued.

“What are you even doing?” 

“I’m looking up something very important.” Zahra points out, not letting her gaze shift away from the screen as she remains focused, calm and collected. 

“Which is what exactly? Is it to do with Michelle?” Raj asks, running a hand through the black curls off his hair.

Zahra raises an eyebrow. “Something like that.” 

“Is she okay?” Raj questions, suddenly concerned that Zahra doesn’t care because she isn’t giving them anything to go off. 

“She’s fine. Little shaken up but she’s fine.” 

Raj shakes his head out of disappointment, starting into the room. “I’m gonna go check on her.”

With Raj out of view, Craig wanders over to where Zahra is sitting and is immediately bewildered by what he’s met with on the screen. A website about... some kind of heart?

“What the hell is this, Z?” 

“The island’s heart. Something Michelle described to me. She asked me to check it out and find out more about it. Has some strong history with a tribe called the Vaanti and it’s something that’s never been seen before.” Zahra explains, skimming over the website she’d found.

“Why is Michelle talking about this?”

“Because of something Quinn mentioned in her last few words. And you won’t believe that it has something to do with Logan Mercer.” 

“Everything does these days.” Craig jokes, laughing lowly.

“Exactly, which is why I’m gonna find out everything about this damn thing.” 

Jake 

Jake actually can’t believe what he’s seeing right now. Olivia Montoya, at least in appearance, is trapped in a cage, isolated and alone and acting as though she has no ounce of knowledge whatsoever. Something isn’t right. Rourke has been keeping her locked up for a while and she seems to be stored as one of his projects. Did he find her revived and then decided to experiment on her? Make her into something inhumane and lifeless almost. He must have taught Olivia that her only source for an answer to anything should be war and violence because that’s all she’s been doing for the amount of time Estela and Jake have been staring at her.

Jake can’t help but feel especially sorry for Estela, as she is forced to go through this all over again. There is no subtle way to say that Estela may never get her real mother back now because what humanity could be left in a creature like this? Whatever project or formula of Rourke’s this is is completely fucked up and he would have made sure there was no form of cure. It can’t be possible.

Staring. That’s all that’s going on now. Estela can’t believe what she’s seeing. Her actual mother, who she thought she’d never see again, sitting shackled in a cage, unable to claw at the electrical defences of the cage or she would suffer from burn marks - judging by the marks on her body it seems like she already has. What the hell has Rourke done, bringing Olivia back to life and using her as some kind of pawn is just horrible? Of all people someone he actually might have loved once. It’s completely insane. Her own father is experimenting on her own mother.

Damn... what a fucked up family tree.

After a moment, Estela finally swerves around, pivoting to face Jake who is eyeing her with the most concern he can summon. He’s never been good at comfort but Logan left with him with some methods after everything she’s done for him. Estela doesn’t even look mournful or in grief or anything. She just furious, her dark eyes blazing with a menace Jake only ever saw when she found out Lila killed her mother in cold blood. Now it’s happening all over again.

It’s easy to see that Estela is so goddamn protective over her mother and any respectable family she has left, not including Rourke and it’s uncertain about Aleister. But Jake has never seen anyone so dedicated to her family like Estela is. It’s so admirable but it’s also really depressing with everything that keeps getting thrown at Estela in the absolute worst ways.

Now she’s met with her mother being strained and held captive and who knows what’s going through her mind?

Her deadly gaze burns a hole through Jake’s skull and he can’t help but shake his head at her, trying to silently signal for her to calm down. “Rourke fucking did this. I’m gonna kill that bastard.” Estela vows, barely glancing back at her tortured mother before immediately turning back. She just can’t stand the sight.

“Katniss, I know you’re hurting but you gotta stay calm if we’re gonna get out of here alive.” Jake urges, placing a hand on Estela’s shoulder and rubbing it as comfortingly as he can but nothing seems to be working. 

“Stay calm? Jake, I ain’t fucking leaving without Rourke’s head on a pike and I sure as hell don’t wanna go without my mother. I can’t leave her in this goddamn place.” 

“There’s no time! We gotta run now or we’re just gonna die!” Jake clarifies, running a hand through his sandy hair and he surveys the room, once again searching for a weapon or any form of defence.

“If it was Logan trapped like this, would you leave her?” Estela dares to question that and Jake can immediately understand what’s she getting at. Of course he’d save Logan and nothing would stop him from getting her back. Even if this isn’t the same thing, Jake has gotta let Estela try and at least gain a piece of her family back.

All of a sudden, the double doors to the office burst open and approximately five Arachnids appear on the other side, heavy loaded guns in their grasp - quite sizeable as well. Jake just rolls his eyes at the sight and quickly shreds a wooden plank off the floor - left with no choice as he couldn’t locate a weapon. 

“Agh, fuck. Why now?” He curses under his breath and tilts his head towards Estela, as she prepares to load her gun. “No, Katniss. Give me that gun and I’ll fight them off. You get your goddamn mother!” Jake urges and Estela nods respectfully, thankful to have his approval of saving her mother. She would have done it anyway but knowing Jake is on board is always great. That way she can least assume she’s doing the right thing. 

Estela tosses Jake the gun and he skilfully catches it, realising he still has the wooden board in his other hand. “What the hell?” He throws all caution to the wind and aimlessly throws the wooden plank at one of Arachnids and he chuckles mockingly when it bounces off their head and sends them on the floor.

Spotting the scene, the other Arachnids eye Jake suspiciously and he just laughs out loud once more. “Oh. That was just a joke.” He states, finally raising the gun Estela gave to him a little earlier. “This baby is the real deal. Now, let’s dance, Assholes!” 

With that, Jake takes advantage of the distraction and starts aiming and shooting bullets wherever he has a clear shot. Some of the Arachnids avoid the bullets while others are hit clean in places but they don’t fall or die. Jake heavily boots on the Arachnids as soon as they dare to get closer to him and they instantly stagger back, dropping their weapon in the process. Smirking proudly, Jake retrieves the weapons and faces the Arachnids with ease. 

“Bye bye! Have fun at Charlotte’s web!” Jake bids them farewell before completely wiping out the Arachnids with a crisp line of bullets that take them out one by one. Soon enough, they all lie lifeless on the ground, with no source of freedom or recovery. 

Jake can’t help but admire his work, even though he should probably feel some ounce of remorse. Honestly, he couldn’t care less after everything these bastards put him through. “Now that is how you tango!” 

“Ugh!”

Jake suddenly stops in his tracks when he hears Estela cry out in frustration and he swiftly carries the bigger gun over his shoulder and ventures into the once hidden area, where Estela is fiddling with a control panel that lies against the wall. She constantly curses under breath when she’s unsuccessful with the password. Meanwhile, Olivia just watches Estela like a hawk, observing rather creepily and she tilts her head to the side, unaware of what’s really happening. Clearly she’s just a clueless animal now who only believes in waging war. 

“Hey, Katniss. You okay?” Jake questions, placing a hand on her shoulder and forcing her to look up with frustration. 

“No! I can’t find the goddamn passcode.” 

“What about that Hadean Zodiac mess of a password?” Jake guesses, realising he may have stated the obvious.

“I already tried that, dumbass. That’s the first thing I tried.” Estela responds coldly and Jake isn’t offended because he understands how desperate she is to have her mother back. She suddenly furrows her brows when she spots the giant gun in Jake’s grasp. “Damn. Nice catch. You kill them all?”

“‘Course I did. There’s like four other guns just sitting out there. Who knows how many we can use?” 

Estela smirks at that. “Well take them all, just in case.” With that, Estela suddenly realises something and just the thought of it causes her to heart to sink inside her chest and she closes her eyes as tears soak her face and her knees start to buckle underneath her. She glances at her mindless mother, knowing escaping alive with her is close to impossible. “I have to leave her here, don’t I? It’s too late to get her out.”

Jake just sighs heavily, not wanting to be the one to say it. “I’m sorry, Katniss. No one deserves this but... Rourke already has control of your mother. Hell, he has control of almost all the Vaanti too. We can’t save any of them.” The truth he told is brutal, of course, but it also makes perfect sense. They can’t save everyone and someone was always gonna be left behind here.

Realising, Estela nods to Jake and slowly approaches her mother, startled when Olivia jumps up and nearly grabs at the bars of the cell roughly before she pauses midway, realising that they are charged electrically. Anyone who touched it would be shocked. And Olivia seems to know that. Wow, maybe one day she can be saved.

“I’ll come back for you. One day. I’m not gonna let Rourke own you forever. I promise.” Estela is wracked with sobs and the agony of leaving her mother is just timeless and she knows she’ll never recover. “I love you, mother. Please don’t forget that.” 

Out of the blue, the faint sound of heavy soldiers marching through the hallways can be heard and that’s when they know they need to move now before they get caught.

Estela slowly rises, facing Jake with much more ease and certainty than before. “Come on. Let’s get out of this hell hole.”

“You still want a gun... or four?” 

Logan 

Both Logan and Mike continue to follow the compass and let it guide them into the right direction. With enough hope and promise, it might just lead them to Jake. This has to be the impact of soulmates and there must a connection within the Ember of Hope. The purpose of this compass was to reveal a future with Jake McKenzie and maybe one day it would come true. Jake is her Ember of Hope and the compass is merely a symbol of that and Logan wants nothing more than to be reunited with the man she loves oh so much. 

This may finally be the key to finding Jake. Who knows? With each footstep they might just be getting closer and closer. Mike trusts in this theory 100% since he’s practically the one who made it known to Logan in the first place. He’s the reason she even came up with this crazy assumption and they’re both choosing to act on it and just hope. The real question is why now?

Why couldn’t this have been a guide to them all those weeks ago? It would have helped tremendously and Logan wouldn’t have had to go through the pain and suffering that she did. Now she’s here and she can’t help but wonder if Jake is really gonna be here. What if he’s already escaped? She knows Mike clarified that he’s definitely still here but Logan has been shut down before and her hopes have collapsed with her, as well as her mental state. She just can’t live with any more disappointment or she’ll crumble like she always does. 

As they try to be quick and cautious as they speed through the halls, the facility seems to get bigger the further they venture through it and they know they may not be able to find their way back. Even with Rebecca and Diego off searching for Vaaryn, Logan’s worries are at their peak and she can’t stay calm. She just can’t. Not when everything is so at risk. 

Suddenly, Mike hears the heavy sound of footsteps marching through the hallways and it’s clearly guards out searching for Jake and Estela. The sound of their guns being activated alarms Logan and her ocean eyes narrow as she instinctively pulls out her weapon of choice. Mike carefully guides her beside him on the wall and he cautiously peers around the corner, only to quickly turn back when he spots the soldiers marching in their direction.

“How many are there?” Logan questions in a hushed tone. 

Mike’s shoulders slump back as he raises his gun and peeks around the corner once more, glancing back when he manages to count them. “Six. But there could easily be more coming.” 

Logan glances back at the open compass, noticing how it’s pointing in the direction of the soldiers. “Damnit. The compass wants us to go through the soldiers.”

“Well, if it’s gonna lead us to Jake then we better fucking fight.” Mike states with absolute certainty and almost on instinct, he aims his gun at one of the soldiers and plants a bullet in their skull. Immediately, the Arachnid staggers back, places a hand over the fresh wound and collapses to the metal ground, going completely limp in seconds.

Logan eyes him with an uneven surprise. “You could have at least told me you were gonna do that.” She clarifies, shaking her head at him.

Mike just smirks faintly. “You have got a lot to learn, kid. Now move your ass and fight.” 

Logan rolls her sapphire eyes and steadies her grasp on the gun. Her petite figure leaps out from behind the corner and she immediately starts shooting at the soldiers, as soon as she comes into view and giving them the element of surprise. The remaining Arachnids ready their guns and start releasing bullets aimlessly into the air. Luckily, Logan avoids all of them rolling to the side, as Mike rushes out and shoots at Arachnids, managing to plant a bullet in the leg of one and slow the blood flow with a bullet in arm of another one. 

A gruesome scene, it truly is. But it’s the only way Logan can get her husband back and she’s waited too damn long for this. So long that she’s willing to do anything to get him back because nothing else really matters anymore. It was the only thing really going for her in the first place. Nothing will stop her from succeeding in her rescue. Not even Everett Rourke.

One of Arachnids lose their gun and throw all caution to the wind by pouncing at Logan but she dodges it instantly, catching the warning. The soldier staggers slowly and Logan takes advantage of the distraction and weakens the soldier by attacking their leg with her own. She swiftly shoots at the leg and the soldier falls down, clutching the wound. She isn’t prepared to kill anyone who is innocent - the most she’ll do is slow them down and maybe leave a lasting scar. 

After what seems like forever, Mike manages to shoot down the last soldier and soon enough, every one of them is either dead or unable to stand or fight any longer. One of them even dared to retreat and Logan hesitantly let them go, knowing that finding Jake is more important than revenge right now.

Mike wipes some sweat off his forehead and offers Logan a high five. “Good job, kid. That was some good defence.” Mike applauds her and she returns with a grateful smile, accepting his high five.

“Not bad either, Mike.” Logan appreciates Mike’s help so much. He’s helped her an endless amount over the last several weeks. He’s stuck by her his entire time and she could not ask for a better person to assist her in saving Jake. They’ve both been on the same page since day one and they’ve been an unstoppable force since. 

Logan wouldn’t be this close if it wasn’t for Mike and she’s so thankful for his help. She’ll never be able to stop being grateful for everything he’s done for her.

Out of the blue, Logan feels a vibration going off in her pocket and she feels dazed out of nowhere. Narrowing her ocean eyes, she digs into her pocket and pulls out the golden compass, realising that’s what causing the vibration to occur. The compass’ direction is exploding right now, snapping in every possible area before settling on North again but it doesn’t stop vibrating. It just keeps begging for both Logan and Mike to venture down the hallway, like it’s alerting them that what they’re searching for is extremely close by. 

All of a sudden, Mike and Logan catch the sound of footsteps echoing down the hallway and muffled voices finally calling out throughout the space, followed by many bullets being released from guns. At first, they can’t quite figure out what it is and Mike firstly assumes that it’s more soldiers so he readies his gun, aiming it directly at the danger that might be lurking around the corner.

Logan still has an instinctive feeling that it isn’t any Arachnids lingering around the corner. No... it’s something else. Someone else. The compass starts to explode again, gesturing towards the heavy footsteps as they continue to get louder and closer - forcing Logan to steady her weapon as well, just in case.

Just when they’re expecting the Arachnids soldiers to revisit them, Logan sees someone else, trudging around the corner and stopping right in their tracks when they spot Logan. They appear just as shocked as she is. A face she’s been begging to see for two fucking months. A face so familiar, it’s actually a mix of pain and delight to see. A face she’s pictured so many times in her head but can now see right before her.

Is it really Jake McKenzie before her very eyes? 

At first, Logan believes she’s hallucinating and it almost seems impossible to believe that after all this time, Jake is really standing before her. He looks so much more damaged than she last saw him and it’s clear he’d been so tortured and abused in all this time they’ve been apart. His sandy hair is greased and his cerulean eyes are still as captivating as ever, despite the water pouring from his eyes. Sweat creases his forehead and his lips are chapped and worn out. All kinds of pain wreck his body. Scars, bruises, wounds, burn marks, scratches, scrapes, cuts. All so deep and individual and it pains Logan to see him so ruined. She’s honestly surprised he’s even walking after all he’s been through. Logan’s ocean eyes drift over his damaged demeanour and tears swell her eyes as she tries not to sympathise him.

This is Jake, she tells herself, you should be happy to see him.

Logan’s eyes then snap over to Mike, who is staring at a familiar figure beside Estela with widened hazel eyes. Estela looks just as fucked up as Jake but slightly less affected by torture as he is. Her plump lips are swollen and her brunette hair is tousled from all the efforts. She also contains an endless amount of scars and stings that she may never be able to recover from. She looks battered and beaten but not defeated. No, she still looks completely determined and in the zone. 

Mike slowly lowers his gun and Logan does the same, shooting Jake a relieved smile and sighing ever so heavily. Jake drops his weapon, which is a gun that looked like it belonged to one of the Arachnids. He must have stolen it. Classic Jake.

After an endless moment of silence, Logan just rushes over to Jake and leaps into his arms and she’s never felt such relief than she does when she feels Jake’s familiar touch against her once more. Jake barely manages to sweep her off her feet, still affected from the exhaustion his muscles had endured but he doesn’t even care because he finally has Logan back in his arms. Logan wraps Jake in a meaningful hug, all their mixed emotions and longing for each other being poured out in that one emotional moment. She winds her arms around his neck and he tightens his grasp on her, pulling her impossibly close against him.

This is all she’s wanted since she got here. To be with Jake again. That’s all. Just to be with him. What else does she really need? 

After what seems like forever, they finally pull away and Jake takes a moment to take in Logan’s exterior, admiring how she’s even more beautiful than he remembers. Wordlessly, he captures her plump lips in a well overdue kiss. A kiss that’s been forever in the making and now they’re here, finally back together. Logan immediately returns the kiss, tangling her fingers in Jake’s greased hair, completely aware that he needs a goddamn shower. But right now, she’s too relieved to care. 

The kiss deepens and even more longing starts to shine through, as Logan and Jake savour this moment of being reunited after all this time. Finally... reluctantly... they pull away, knocking their foreheads together as their faces stream with sobs.

“Holy fuck, Princess. Is it really you?” Jake dares to ask, suddenly wondering if this is all one of his dreams or just a form of his imagination. It’s impossible to believe this is real.

Smiling brightly, Logan cups Jake’s cheeks and plants another lingering kiss on his lips. Finally, so much satisfaction just being with each other again. It’s uplifting. And in that moment, they just forget about everything and everyone. All their troubles and their surroundings become nothing but a blur. 

“I can’t fucking believe it. It’s you, darlin’. You’re real.” Jake starts to laugh incredulously, unable to believe this is really happening.

“I’m real. I promise. And I’m not ever leaving you again.” Logan vows, not able to let that wonderful smile of hers burn out.

“Baby, you better not or I’m gonna kick some fate’s ass.” Jake jokes but it almost sounds like he’s serious as well. That’s the way his tone comes across. “I fucking love you, Princess. But I do got some questions.”

“Me too. Like what the hell happened to you? They’ve completely ruined you.” Logan acknowledges, grazing her fingers over one of his most prominent scars and tracing her finger over the outline, causing Jake to wince in response.

“Shit... long story, darlin.” 

“I’ve got time.” 

“No we don’t. Not if we wanna get outta here.”

Logan and Jake suddenly snap their heads in the direction of Estela and Mike, who are wrapped in their own hug but it almost seems tense and rushed. They both seem completely star struck to see one another which is undeniably strange.

Once they pull away, Mike narrows his eyes at Estela.

“I thought you were... dead.” Estela dares to point out, tears threatening to pour from her dark eyes.

“And I thought you had amnesia.” Mike counters, folding his arms at Estela and there’s a clear tension between the two of them and not the good time.

Mike suddenly catches Logan and Jake staring at them and Jake gets the idea to hesitantly break from Logan’s grasp and wrap Mike up in a hug.

“Missed ya, kid.” Jake points out, taking a deep breath as they end the hug.

“You have no idea, Grandpa.” 

“Nice reunion and all but... what do we do now?” Estela questions out of nowhere and that’s when everyone realises they really don’t have a plan.

“Escape. That’s the main goal. Fight any Arachnids in our path.” Logan clarifies, raising her gun and scanning it thoughtfully. While she speaks, Jake entwines their hands together, needing physical contact with her just to settle the doubts in his mind that she isn’t safe or really there.

“But there’s so many of them. Besides, you ain’t gonna get anywhere using those useless things.” Estela responds, retrieving two extra Arachnid guns from her duffel bag and tossing them to both Mike and Logan. They catch them with ease, admiring the pieces of weaponry.

“Damn... did Rourke make these?” Mike asks, slightly impressed.

“He can make anything with all the shit he owns.” Estela states, rolling her eyes at the mention of her own father. 

“We just gotta start running then. We ain’t got nothing to lose.” Jake starts to talk over the plan, keeping close to Logan as he continues to speak. “Just fuck shit up and don’t die.” 

“We can’t just charge in there, genius. We gotta show them the element of surprise.” Estela interrupts, shooting Jake a disapproving look. “If you wanna protect Logan, you gotta listen to me.”

“I don’t need protecting. I’m stronger than all three of you.” Logan furrows his brows at the assumption that she needs protecting.

“Emotionally, yes. Physically? Not so much.” 

Before Logan can protest, everyone grits their teeth at the sound of a slow applause interrupting their debate and plan preparation. They all barely manage to tilt their heads before they catch sight of the person they hate most in this world. 

Everett Rourke - stood idly in front of him, almost as if he’s asking to be shot.

“I know you’re all unhappy to see me. But I just have to say, look at you all. Back together again. What a relief!” Rourke exaggerates his tone as he speaks, a mocking laugh escaping him as he smirks deviously, especially when Estela almost charged forward only to be held back by Mike.

“You bastard.” Jake curses under his breath, quickly stepping in front of Logan and arching his brows at the unpleasant sight of Rourke.

“Now, now, Jacob. What I did to you was fair.”

“Really? Endless torture is fair to you? Making an army out of innocent creatures is fair?” Logan pipes up, raising the fresh gun she’s been given and aiming it directly at Rourke.

“Ah, Logan. How I’ve missed you. I noticed Rebecca betrayed me just to bring you back to your oh so brave soldier. It’s ridiculous and trust me, Rebecca will be punished when I find her. Right now, I get to focus on you.” Rourke explains, retrieving something from the inside pocket of his jacket and he smirks when everyone realises what it is.

“I-Is that a bomb?” Logan reacts, trying so hard to keep steady as Jake attempts to calm her by gently shaking her shoulders and stop her from shivering. 

“Of course. This entire place will be no more in exactly thirty minutes.” Rourke clarifies, attaching the bomb to the wall and activating it. With that, the countdown starts.

“What about your army and your precious Project Janus?” Estela enquires, remembering how she came upon what she now knows is a do over of Project Janus.

“Easy. Both sections are sheltered. You really underestimate me, Estela. You always have. No matter... you’ll all be dead soon anyway.”

“No we won’t. We’ll get out of here. We will. And when we do, we’ll hunt you down and kill you.” Logan vows, gritting his teeth at Rourke and forming a deadly scowl that ruins the innocence in her natural expression completely.

“Good luck with that. Meanwhile, I’ll be taking over the world and you’ll have no power. Since you’ll all be dead soon anyway... I may as well give you a head start.” Rourke threatens, retrieving his own gun and aiming it directly at Jake’s head, who glares in response.

Logan’s ocean eyes widen in response and suddenly she’s scared. “You won’t dare.” She hisses, trying to gain back her confidence.

“Oh I will. Say goodbye to your precious pilot, Logan.” Rourke bids Jake farewell and unleashes a bullet with the purpose to end Jake’s life.

Logan immediately darts for Jake and out of the blue everything seems to go on in slow motion. But Logan is still moving at the same speed. It’s almost like a certain energy within her has slowed down time and she has enough extra milliseconds to step before the bullet and let it take her instead.

Hands outstretched, she prepares for strong impact and she closes her eyes, unable to prepare for pain. But nothing happens. No... Jake is still there. She is still there. Rourke is still there. 

The bullet is still in the air... trapped in between Logan’s fingers. She couldn’t believe it. She actually stopped the bullet... but it still needs to hit someone because it technically has only been delayed... not stopped.