Teshia flinched at the sound of her own name, her words hanging in the sterile air like fragile glass threatening to shatter. Her hollow gaze remained locked on Matthew, searching for something she couldn't name. She watched his face as her statement landed, her breath hitching slightly as though bracing for his reaction.

Matthew's expression stayed stoic, his eyes narrowing slightly as he processed her words. "Vause sent you?" he repeated, his tone low, measured. The name alone sent a jolt through him, tightening the unease already coiling in his chest.

She nodded faintly, her trembling hands clutching the edge of the bed as though the movement itself grounded her. "He said... I'd be safe here," she rasped, her voice barely more than a broken whisper. "That you'd... help me." Her gaze faltered, dropping to her hands, her knuckles white from how tightly she gripped the blanket.

Matthew exhaled, the weight of her admission settling heavily on his shoulders. Vause. The mage. The man who owed him a debt he never thought would surface like this. And now, Teshia—Ezra's daughter—had been thrust into his orbit, carrying a storm of unknowns he couldn't afford to ignore. The implications felt like a noose tightening around him.

"Vause knows I can keep you safe," he said, his voice even but laced with quiet intensity. He stepped closer, the quiet authority in his movements palpable, and sat down in the chair beside her bed. His presence loomed, steady and unyielding, as he leaned slightly forward. "But that only works if I know what's happening. Why are you here? What does this mean?"

Her lips parted, but she hesitated, her thin frame trembling under the weight of his gaze. He studied her carefully, his mind racing to reconcile the stories with the woman before him. Teshia was a shadow of herself, skeletal and weathered, her cheekbones cutting sharply beneath hollow eyes that seemed to hold an eternity of sleepless nights. Her skin was marked by scars, each one a silent testament to battles fought, some external, some within.

Her eyes met his again, and he saw it—desperation, raw and unfiltered, tinged with a faint spark of defiance. But there was something else, too. Apprehension. The kind that came from someone who'd been betrayed too many times to trust easily.

Matthew had heard the stories. The human who loved a mage. The one who crossed lines and betrayed expectations. A name whispered in the same breath as rebellion and ruin. Every detail about her had been a cautionary tale, yet here she was, a living contradiction to the myths. Was this a trap? His instincts urged him to question everything, but the depth of her anguish—the way her pain bled into the room—made it harder to ignore.

"Teshia," he said, his tone sharp but not cruel, cutting through her silence. "I don't have the patience for half-truths or hesitation. If there's something I need to know, something that needs doing, you need to tell me. Now."

"I didn't... have a choice. Vause said—I had to come here."

"I understand that part. Why?"

"Because they hunted us," Teshia said, her voice shaking. "The mages... they were slaughtered in an ambush. Vause told me to find you. He said you'd know what to do next."

Matthew leaned forward, his tone sharp but controlled. "Who ambushed you? Who's after Vause?" Dread coiled in his chest, an uneasy weight pressing down as he considered the implications. If someone had been strong enough to take down Vause—a mage as formidable as he was—it meant something far worse was at play.

Teshia's hands trembled as she gripped the edge of the bed, her breaths shallow and uneven. The memories clawed at her, fresh wounds beneath the surface. "The Sorceress," she whispered, her voice barely audible. Her hollow gaze fixed on Matthew, but her eyes seemed to see far beyond the room. "And the Sorcerer. They came for us."

Matthew's expression darkened, his jaw tightening. The silence they'd clung to for months was over. The enemies they feared—Cid and Isis—had returned, and they were leaving devastation in their wake.

Teshia's frame quaked as if the weight of the chaos she'd survived was crushing her now. Her voice was hollow as she continued, "They didn't spare anyone. Everyone who tried to help... gone. I don't even know how I made it out."

Matthew leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a quieter, more deliberate tone. "How long ago?"

"Yesterday," Teshia replied, her words quivering with the effort. "I barely made it here. Transporting didn't work right. The crystal..." Her hand hovered shakily over her chest, as if just mentioning it was a burden.

Matthew's brow furrowed, his voice edged with suspicion. "What crystal?" The thought that more crystals existed, unaccounted for, sent a fresh wave of unease through him. Could they have been tied to Madison—or to something far worse?

Teshia's gaze darkened, her frailty giving way to something raw, almost defiant. She nodded faintly, her voice gaining a strained edge. "Before Christmas," she began, her tone clipped and halting. "They appeared with it. And when I had the chance... I took them." Her throat tightened as she swallowed hard. "Both crystals. And I ran."

"For fuck's sake," Matthew muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose as the weight of her words sank in. "You took these from Cid and Isis?"

"Yes," Teshia confirmed, her voice flat but unwavering. Her eyes locked with his, a bitter edge creeping into her tone. "Your princess—she had them both when she showed up."

Matthew froze, his breath catching as her words hit him like a blow. "Maddy? You mean Sera?" he asked, his voice rough with disbelief. His mind raced, spinning with a storm of emotions. "You're saying... she's alive?"

Teshia's expression crumpled, her voice trembling. "I don't think she is anymore," she admitted, her gaze dropping as she struggled to steady her breathing. "But before I escaped... she was. They were torturing her then."

Matthew's stomach twisted violently, his fists clenching as anger flared beneath the surface. "Torturing her for what?"

Teshia's hollow eyes met his, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Allegiant," she said, the word heavy, final. "You."

Matthew swallowed hard, the weight of Teshia's confirmation hitting him square in the chest. The word "you" echoed in his mind, each syllable laced with a sharp blend of disbelief and fury. He tightened his fists, the knuckles blanching as he forced himself to remain outwardly composed. His voice, when it came, was low, deliberate. "Me?"

Teshia didn't flinch, her gaze unwavering and solemn. "Yes," she replied softly, nodding once. "She was telling them everything she could, from what I heard."

Matthew exhaled sharply through his nose, a grim attempt to focus. "Right," he muttered, his tone clipped as he dragged himself back to the present. "That's fine. It doesn't matter." But even as the words left his mouth, his mind churned, racing through the implications. His jaw tightened. "Whatever they got out of her, it couldn't have been more than what Cid already knew. She couldn't have given them anything worthwhile."

Leaning forward, he pressed the heels of his hands against his temples, his leg bouncing in restless rhythm against the floor. "When exactly did you escape?" His voice softened but remained firm, demanding precision. "You said it was around Christmas?"

Teshia closed her eyes briefly, her expression twisting as she fought to pull order from chaos. "Just before Christmas," she murmured, her voice brittle with strain. "Everything after that... it's a blur. It was chaos. I've been running since. Time..." She hesitated, shaking her head faintly. "It wasn't a priority."

Matthew nodded, his thoughts threading through the timeline she described. "So, you've been lying low for almost nine months?"

"Yes," she confirmed, her tone flat but resolute.

Matthew's brows furrowed deeply, the pieces falling into place with a sickening weight. "Then it's possible," he said, his voice tinged with dread. "The crystals—using them could've left a trace. A signature, something they could follow right to you." His sharp gaze locked onto hers, the weight of his words heavy in the air. "Did you use the crystal's power? Even once?"

Teshia's head snapped up, her voice breaking through the sterile silence. "No," she said, her tone sharp but trembling. "It was like they already knew. Like he already knew exactly where we were hiding. Vause thought someone betrayed us... but I don't know who it could've been." Her voice faltered, her words trailing off as her trembling hands clutched the blanket draped over her lap. "None of it makes sense. He kept saying... they were never supposed to be part of the war."

Matthew's brow furrowed deeply, confusion flickering across his face. "They weren't supposed to be part of the war?" he repeated, leaning forward slightly. "Cid said that?"

Teshia shook her head weakly, her voice breaking as she fought to articulate the memory. "No. Not Cid." Her body shuddered, her eyes distant and glazed as though seeing a nightmare playing out all over again. "It wasn't him. It was... something else. Someone else. He looked like something out of a nightmare." Her voice dropped, trembling with barely contained fear. "Have you ever heard the old stories? About the beast cursed to look monstrous, cursed to live like a beast?" She paused, her voice cracking. "He looked like that. Only worse... far worse."

Matthew studied her, his brow furrowed as he tried to parse her words. "Can't say I grew up on fairytales, Teshia. Not much time for them in the orphanages," he replied quietly, his voice tinged with skepticism but laced with curiosity.

Teshia exhaled shakily, gripping the blanket as if it were the only thing keeping her grounded. Her voice wavered under the weight of the memory. "Imagine a creature—a beast—massive horns, black fur, claws... but more than that. He was intelligent. Terrifyingly intelligent. He knew every spell, every tactic. He fought like he'd already studied us, like he'd already won before we even had the chance to fight back. And the mages... they don't fight, Matthew. You know that. They never stood a chance."

Her voice cracked completely, dissolving into a sob that shook her frail frame. She clutched the blanket tighter, her words now little more than a whisper. "He slaughtered them. There was so much blood. They were trying to help me, and he just... he killed them all."

Matthew's foot tapped against the floor in a relentless rhythm, his jaw tightening as Teshia's words clawed at his thoughts. "Teshia," he said carefully, his voice tight with rising dread. "Did they... kill Vause?"

Teshia's breath hitched, her composure unraveling before his eyes. "I... I don't know," she stammered, her voice cracking under the strain. "One moment he was there, and then he told me to run." Her face crumpled, the dam breaking as sobs racked her body, each one more raw and unrelenting than the last. "And I ran."

The room filled with the sound of her grief, sharp and jagged, cutting through the sterile quietness and as the minutes dragged on, heavy and endless, her sobs finally quieted, leaving behind the deep, uneven breathing of someone utterly spent.

"Get some rest, I'll be back," He rose from the chair, but she didn't look up, her body limp, her breathing shallow but steady. She needed rest. He needed answers, letting Teshia rest. She needed the reprieve as much as he needed answers. His next step was clear: he had to return to the scene of the attack. Somewhere in the wreckage, there might be something—anything—that could give him a direction, a clue to their enemies' movements.

He rose and exited out of the infirmary. As the infirmary doors clicked shut behind him, muffling the echoes of pain and desperation. Matthew paused in the corridor, his hand pressed against his chest as he fought to steady the chaos raging inside him.

"Fuck," he whispered to the empty corridor.

*** 7:30PM ***

The night clung heavily as the warriors approached the edge of the Mage's sanctuary, now a bleak and lifeless ruin. What had once been a place of refuge and power lay in tatters, its remains silhouetted by the faint glow of embers still clinging to life. Shadows played cruel tricks in the flickering light, amplifying the scene's devastation as if to drive the point home: no one was safe.

The air was thick with smoke and ash, clinging to their skin and biting at their throats. Each breath was a struggle, the acrid tang of destruction filling their lungs. Ash fell like snow, blanketing the remnants of a shattered world, muffling their footsteps as though the earth itself sought to swallow the horror whole. It was Seatac all over again.

As they pressed further into the wreckage, the ash thickened, clinging to their clothes and hair. Jesse and Mya coughed violently, their hands clamped over their mouths in a futile attempt to filter the air. Jasmine, quick to react, tore a strip from her jacket, fashioning a crude mask for herself, her eyes darting warily over the rubble-strewn ground.

Toni broke the oppressive silence, his voice low and hollow. "This is brutal."

Mya's head shook, her voice trembling as she finally found the courage to speak. "No one..." she faltered, her tone barely above a whisper, "no one could have survived this."

Matthew moved ahead of the group, his arm raised to shield his face from the swirling ash. His eyes darted over the desolation, every muscle in his body coiled tight, his instincts screaming at him to stay sharp. "Watch your step," he said, his voice low and controlled, cutting through the stifling quiet. "We don't know who—or what—might still be out here."

"If Isis and Cid have the kind of power to do this... to wipe out the mages so completely..." Jasmine hesitated, swallowing hard before continuing. "What kind of fight are we walking into?"

Richie muttered under his breath as he stepped over a scorched body, his jaw tight. "A brutal one." Without looking back, he extended a hand to help Mya over a jagged mound of rubble, his movements instinctive, honed by years of battles and a building of trust between them.

As Jesse leaned in to speak to Toni, Eko's voice sliced through the ash-laden air, sharp and laced with frustration. She and Toni had already gone head-to-head with Matthew earlier, wearing him down after he'd returned from the infirmary. They had defied every objection he threw their way with relentless determination—a combination Matthew had no real chance against when they teamed up. The antibiotics had done their job for Eko, restoring her energy and her fire, while Toni's unusually good mood only made their persistence more unyielding. Together, they were an unstoppable force, and Matthew had finally relented, albeit reluctantly.

"If you're going to talk to me like that again, Matthew, seriously, turn around and go home!" Eko snapped, her tone searing as her words struck him square in the back. The ember-lit ruins cast jagged shadows across her face, their glow flickering in tandem with the tension crackling between them. "I don't need you second-guessing me every damn second! I said I'm FINE!"

Matthew stopped dead in his tracks, his silhouette framed by the ruins behind him. When he spoke, his voice was sharp and deliberate, each word cutting through the ash-filled haze. "Fine? Two hours ago, you could barely stand, Eko! And now you're out here like nothing happened, charging straight into chaos. I can't—" He broke off, his frustration flaring as he dragged a hand through his hair. "I can't do this right now!"

Eko's eyes narrowed, her fury igniting like a spark catching dry kindling. "What do you expect me to do, Matthew? Stand by and watch while everything burns? Look at this!" She gestured wildly at the ruins, her voice trembling with raw urgency. "This is the warning we've been ignoring! They've been planning this for ages, and if we don't act now—if we don't get every academy on high alert, including Allegiant—we're done. This isn't the time to play it safe!"

"And start a panic?" Matthew shot back, his tone cold and razor-sharp. His fists clenched at his sides, the tension radiating off him like heat from the wreckage. "You want me to send every academy into chaos when we don't even know the full scope of what we're up against? We've been over this, Eko! You can't just—"

"Hold that thought," Eko cut in sharply, her voice taut with strain as her hand shot up to her mouth. A sudden wave of nausea doubled her over, forcing her to stagger sideways. One arm wrapped around her stomach while the other braced against a jagged piece of rubble, her knuckles white with the effort to stay upright. "Oh, for fuck's sake," she muttered through clenched teeth, the frustration bleeding into a guttural groan.

Matthew's expression shifted instantly, his frustration replaced by concern as he closed the distance between them. "Eko, seriously," he started, his voice softer but edged with urgency. "You're not okay. Go home. The antibiotics still—"

"I said no!" Eko snapped, shoving his hands away with more force than he expected. Her pale, sweat-slicked face might have betrayed her physical state, but the fire in her eyes burned undiminished. She jabbed a finger into his chest, each word hitting like a blow. "You think this is going to stop me? You think I'm backing down now?"

Matthew froze, caught off guard by the raw intensity in her voice, the unrelenting force of her resolve despite her obvious struggle.

"Sound the academies, Matthew," Eko demanded, her voice shaking with anger and urgency. "This isn't some half-assed warning. Do it. Now."

He hesitated, his jaw tightening as he grappled with the weight of her words and the state she was in. Before he could respond, Eko turned abruptly, her hands bracing against her knees as her body shuddered with another surge of nausea. Her breaths were fast and shallow, her frame trembling, but her determination didn't waver. It was as if sheer willpower alone was keeping her upright.

Matthew's voice erupted, sharp and unrelenting, cutting through the air like a whip. "Eko!" he barked, stepping toward her with a commanding presence that filled the space between them. His hand shot out in a fierce gesture, his frustration barely restrained. "Go. Now. Let me handle this before you collapse on me!"

"Stop it!" Eko roared, her voice cracking as fury and exhaustion collided. Her chest heaved, and her magic flared wildly, erratic sparks arcing off her fingertips like they were alive, untamed. "Stop treating me like I'm fragile—like I can't handle this!" Her fiery gaze locked onto his, her defiance flaring brighter than the embers around them.

Matthew moved without hesitation, his strides fierce and in one swift motion, he grabbed her wrist, pulling her so close that the tension between them threatened to ignite. His grip was firm, possessive, his voice dropping into a low, commanding growl. "Back off with this, Eko. Right now."

Her magic sputtered as the sheer force of his presence bore down on her like an unrelenting wave, the wild energy around her dimming and fading. Eko's breath came in sharp, shallow bursts, her fiery defiance still burning in her eyes, but it was tempered by something raw and uncertain—a flicker of vulnerability.

"Enough," Matthew growled, his tone cutting, possessive, leaving no room for argument. His steel-blue eyes locked onto hers, unwavering and intense. "Do you think this is some kind of fucking game? You're running on empty, your magic is barely in control, and you're standing here acting like you've fucking got this."

Eko's lips parted, her voice trembling with fury and something more—something brittle and fragile beneath her rage. "What do you expect me to do, Matthew? Stand back while—"

"I expect you to listen to me," he cut her off, his voice razor-sharp. "I expect you to stop throwing yourself into danger like it's going to solve everything! You don't get to ignore me, blow past every damn warning, and act like your stubbornness is going to win this war!"

Eko wrenched her wrist, trying to pull free, but his grip didn't budge. Instead, his other hand shot up, cupping her jaw firmly but not unkindly, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Look at me," he demanded, his voice low and vibrating with emotion. "You don't have to like this. You can hate me all you want, but you're not okay. You're not thinking clearly, and I'm not letting you tear yourself apart just because you're too damn proud to back down."

The charged air between them crackled, every word laced with a mix of desperation and dominance that held her in place. Eko's chest heaved as her fists trembled at her sides, the weight of his presence stripping her magic of its wild edge. Her fury simmered just beneath the surface, but Matthew's unyielding resolve bore down on her like a fortress she couldn't breach.

"What's gotten into you?" Eko whispered finally, her voice quieter, though it carried the edge of frustration and confusion. "Matthew, you haven't slept. You're—"

"-I'm still thinking clearer than you are right now," he snapped, his thumb brushing lightly along her jaw in an uncharacteristic moment of tenderness. His voice softened slightly but still carried the weight of command. "Stop fighting me."

Before she could reply, his sharp voice rang out again, breaking the intimate moment like a thunderclap. "Jasmine! Take Eko back. Now."

Jasmine blinked, caught off guard by the raw intensity in his voice. "Why am I always the one stuck babysitting?" she muttered as she stepped forward, though her usual sarcasm wavered in the face of Matthew's unrelenting presence. She glanced between him and Eko, the tension so thick it seemed to press against her like a physical weight.

Eko tore her wrist free, her magic sparking back to life as her Catania staff appeared in her hand with a crackling surge of energy. She straightened, her eyes blazing. "I am not going anywhere, Matthew!" she shouted, her voice reverberating with fury and conviction. "We are going to shove this war down their throats until they choke on it!"

Matthew almost lost his mind when he stepped even closer, his body towering over hers, his voice dropping into a cold, biting whisper. "Are you fucking delusional? We don't even know where they are, Eko. What are you planning to fight? Fucking shadows? Ghosts?"

Their voices collided like crashing waves, raw emotion spilling over in a volatile clash. Every word, every accusation carried the weight of sleepless nights, relentless battles, and unspoken fears. Husband and wife stood toe-to-toe, both unyielding, their shared anger consuming the space around them.

From a short distance, Jesse and Toni exchanged uneasy glances, their movements hesitant as they navigated the charred remains of the sanctuary. Mya glanced back toward the arguing pair, a faint smirk tugging at her lips despite the gravity of the moment. "I swear, they need counseling more than we do," she muttered, her voice dry.

Richie snorted, his eyes fixed on the wreckage ahead as he placed a steadying hand on Mya's back, guiding her over the unstable terrain. "Yeah? Go suggest it. I triple dare you."

Mya's smirk widened into a mock gasp of horror. "Triple dare? Oh, absolutely not. I enjoy living, thanks."

Richie chuckled darkly, shaking his head. "Smart woman."

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" Eko's voice erupted, slicing through the smoky air like a thunderclap as she stormed toward Matthew, her eyes blazing with unrelenting fury. Their faces were nearly touching, the heat of her anger burning in the space between them. "I'm talking about taking action, not sitting on our asses waiting for the next catastrophe to hit us! Activate the academies, Matthew! Launch the SIO offensively, not as some passive fallback! We have the crystal—it can amplify our strikes, and you know it!"

"Firstly, our strikes at fucking what!" Matthew's own anger flared, his voice cutting through hers like a blade. "Secondly, keep SIO out of this!" he roared, his finger jabbing the air between them. His body was rigid, every muscle taut with barely restrained fury. "She's a defense system, Eko! That's what we built her for! And that crystal? It's not a weapon—it's our home's last line of defense!"

Eko wasn't backing down. Her defiance was searing, her gaze locked onto his as she jabbed her finger into his chest, forcing him back a step. "You're too goddamn stubborn to see what's right in front of you!" she snapped, her words hitting with the precision of a blade. "You're so fucking tired, Matthew, you're can't see the bigger fucking picture here!"

The air between them crackled with tension, the weight of Matthew and Eko's heated exchange grounding the group in a heavy, uncomfortable silence. Their voices reverberated through the ruins, sharp and unyielding, forcing every step to falter and every glance to shift uneasily between them.

"This is gonna turn into a domestic soon," Richie muttered under his breath, his voice low but audible enough for Mya to hear. His attempt at humor barely masked the unease tightening his features, his sharp eyes flicking toward the arguing pair.

Nearby, Toni leaned in toward Jesse, his voice quiet but laced with urgency. "How bad is he, Jesse? When you texted, you said 'only slightly concerning.' This is far from slightly concerning."

Jesse hesitated, her gaze darting to Matthew before she responded, her tone soft but weighted. "He's been on edge the past few days. Tonight is clearly alot worse. You know... how it is this time of year." Her voice dipped at the end, the unspoken significance of August hanging heavily between them.

Toni's brow furrowed as he nodded, his own expression darkening. "Yeah," he murmured, his tone quieter now. "August sucks."

Jesse's shoulders sagged slightly, her eyes distant for a moment as though caught in a memory. "Worst month of the year," she said acknowledgment.

Toni opened his mouth to respond, but the words froze on his tongue as his body tensed suddenly, his sharp gaze locking onto the haze of swirling smoke just beyond the ruins. His shift in posture was immediate and electric, pulling Jesse's focus in an instant. "Wait," he said, his voice dropping, now sharp and deliberate. "Do you see that?"

Jesse followed his line of sight, her hand instinctively drifting to her weapon as she mirrored his tension. Her eyes narrowed as she strained to make sense of the faint movement in the distance. "What the hell..." she murmured, her voice barely a whisper.

At the edge of the ruins, a lone figure emerged, shrouded in ash and shadows. Their steps were unnervingly deliberate, each one echoing faintly against the scorched ground as if the devastation itself were amplifying their presence. The dim, flickering light of the smoldering fires caught on their tattered clothing, casting jagged, ghostly shapes that clung to the edges of the darkness.

"Guys," Toni said again, his voice taut, each syllable weighted with a sharp edge of unease. He gestured toward the figure with a subtle motion, his hand hovering near his weapon, fingers flexing and ready. "We've got company."

Mya's pulse quickened as her eyes locked on the emerging silhouette—but then she saw more. Figures, indistinct and ghostly, began to materialize through the haze. Their movements were fluid, otherworldly, and unsettling, a faint aura of elemental energy crackling around them like restrained lightning. Her grip tightened on Richie's arm as she whispered urgently, "Richie... there's more. They're closing in."

Richie's sharp gaze swept the ruins, taking in the encroaching figures with grim calculation. He straightened, his voice cutting through the air with authority. "Fall back! Form up!"

The command broke through the stunned silence, spurring Jesse and Toni into motion. Their boots crunched against the ash as they moved swiftly to form a defensive line, their weapons drawn. But Matthew and Eko, locked in the heat of their argument, didn't even flinch, their raised voices still echoing through the air, oblivious to the encroaching danger.

"Matthew!" Richie's voice boomed, louder now, laced with urgency and command. The sheer force of it cut through the charged atmosphere, but Matthew remained locked in place, his focus entirely consumed by Eko.

Mya glanced at him, irritation flashing across her face. "Don't think he heard you," she muttered. Her eyes flicked back to the tree line as movement stirred the shadows.

But the shouting didn't stop.

"-YOU ENDED UP IN THE HOSPITAL, MATTHEW! The HOSPITAL!" Eko's voice cracked, her anger sharp enough to cut through the ash-laden air. Her hands trembled at her sides, fists clenching as her emotions poured out unchecked, raw and fiery. "Mya found you unconscious! Fevered! Dehydrated! Your fucking heart was out of rhythm!" Her voice wavered as something deeper pushed its way through the fury—fear, anguish, the memory of nearly losing him. "And then you wake up three days later and think an 'IOU, babe, sorry for ruining your birthday' just FIXES IT?!"

Matthew groaned loudly, his frustration spilling over as he raked his hands through his hair in a frantic, almost desperate motion. He was like a coiled spring, wound too tightly and ready to snap. "How many goddamn times do I have to apologize, Eko? I SAID I WAS SORRY!" His voice climbed, matching hers in sheer intensity. "But nothing is wrong, alright? No Brugada, no arrhythmia, NOTHING! I'm literally doing checks every second day right now!" His words lashed out, raw and defensive, carrying a sharp edge of exasperation as if trying to hammer his point into her.

Eko's eyes blazed, her frustration erupting as she pressed her fingers to her temples, her voice sharp and raw. "Nothing wrong?! You're not sleeping again, Matthew—not at all! You're refusing to, to the point where your body is forcing you to shut down because it literally can't cope! So don't you dare stand there and tell me nothing is wrong, and it doesn't help when you won't talk to me about what's spiraling you at the moment!"

Matthew let out a harsh, guttural groan, his hands dragging through his hair in a rough, frantic motion. His voice rose, sharp and cutting, as he snapped back. "Oh, my fucking God, Eko! This is NOT the time for this!"

"It is when you're not thinking clearly!" she fired back, her tone cracking like a whip. Each word hit with venomous precision, slicing through the air between them.

"I'M NOT THINKING CLEARLY?!" Matthew roared, his voice booming across the desolate ruins. His fists clenched tightly at his sides as he stepped closer, the tension between them building like an oncoming storm. His tone turned razor-sharp, biting with barely contained rage. "You seriously have the nerve to say that to me, Eko?"

"YES, MATTHEW!" Eko's voice lashed out, fierce and unrelenting, as she took a bold step toward him. Her magic sparked violently, wild and untamed, dancing around her like flames feeding off her fury. "You're not thinking clearly! You never do when you're like this—pushing yourself past every goddamn limit until you break!"

Matthew barked a bitter laugh, his tone dripping with icy sarcasm as he matched her steps, his body brimming with tension. "Oh, that's rich!" he spat, leaning in closer, his steel-blue eyes burning with anger. "So fucking rich coming from you!" His finger jabbed toward her, every word slicing like a knife. "You, who barrels headfirst into chaos, hoping your 'fuck it, we'll figure it out later' attitude magically fixes everything! Like you always do, Snow!"

"SNOW?!" Eko's magic surged in response, the energy around her crackling and shimmering with dangerous intensity. Her staff materialized in her grip, her knuckles turning white as she held it tightly. The weapon hummed with raw, volatile power. Her voice dropped into a lethal snarl, sharp and unyielding. "Oh, we're doing this now, are we? You want to play the asshole, Ace? FINE! Let's fucking GO!"

Her staff crackled and split, the weapon thrumming with raw, volatile energy as she leveled it toward him, her stance unyielding. "OPEN YOUR MOUTH ONE MORE TIME, ACE, AND I WILL KNOCK OUT YOUR FUCKING TEETH!" she roared, her words carrying the force of a thunderclap, reverberating through the scorched air. "THEN WE'LL SEE HOW FUNNY THIS SHIT IS TO YOU!"

"MATTHEW! EKO!" Toni's voice rang out like a cannon blast, commanding and edged with urgency as he sprinted toward them. His face was taut with tension, his weapon drawn and at the ready. "FUCKING ENOUGH, WE NEED TO MOVE—NOW!"

But neither of them flinched, the fury between them too thick to cut through.

"LIKE I SAID, SNOW!" Matthew bellowed, his voice cutting through the tension like a whip. "YOUR EMOTIONS ARE ALL OVER THE JOINT LATELY! WHAT'S WITH THE CONSTANT DEATH THREATS? WHAT'S NEXT—DO YOU NEED TO FUCKING BUTCHER SOMETHING, DO YOU WANT TO PUNCH ON WITH ME, HUH?"

Eko's magic surged again, wild and untamed, radiating heat that shimmered in the suffocating air. "DON'T TEMPT ME!" she snarled, her voice cutting through the rising chaos. Sparks danced around her twin blades, mirroring the fire in her eyes. Her grip tightened on the weapons, and her stance was one of sheer defiance, daring him to push her further.

"Christ," Jesse muttered, her sharp eyes darting toward the shifting shadows creeping along the field's edge. Her grip on her sword tightened as unease rippled through her. "What a fucking time to argue."

The cloaked figures swelled in the distance, their dark forms inching closer as if feeding off the tension radiating from the group. The air itself seemed to constrict, charged with a palpable sense of dread.

"MATTHEW! EKO!" Toni roared again, his tone sharper, desperation slicing through his words as he neared them. "WHATEVER THIS IS, END IT! NOW! COMPANY 1 O'CLOCK!"

The sheer force of Toni's voice shattered the argument like glass, leaving an almost suffocating silence in its wake. Both of them stilled, their fiery gazes snapping toward the advancing figure in unison.

Matthew's body reacted instinctively. His stance shifted, his arm snapping out protectively in front of Eko. His voice was low and commanding, leaving no room for argument. "Stay behind me," he growled, his gaze locked unflinchingly onto the shadowed figure.

But Eko bristled, her defiance blazing like the embers around them. She shrugged past his arm with a forceful bump of her shoulder, stepping into the fray with her head held high. "Not happening," she snapped, her words laced with a fiery resolve. In one swift motion, her Catania staff materialized, splitting into twin blades that glinted menacingly in the flickering light. She held them with deadly precision, her body coiled and ready to strike.

"Not yet," Matthew hissed through gritted teeth, his tone a warning as he moved closer, his frame taut with anticipation.

But Eko bristled, her resolve as unshakable as the flames that crackled around her. She shrugged past his arm with a forceful bump of her shoulder, her expression fierce and unyielding. "Not happening," she shot back, her voice laced with fiery determination.

In one fluid motion, Eko's Catania staff surged to life, splitting into twin blades that shimmered dangerously in the flickering light. She spun them with precision, the sparking energy arcing off the edges like lightning. Her movements were poised and deliberate, every step forward radiating defiance and readiness for the fight ahead.

"F-fuck. Eko, wait—" Matthew's voice stumbled, breaking the charged air. His weapon lowered as his sharp gaze fixed on the figure staggering toward them. Something about the unsteady, halting gait struck him like a punch to the gut. It wasn't just exhaustion—it was desperation, raw and unfiltered. Recognition slammed into him, the realization draining every bit of color from his face. His breath hitched, and he stumbled forward, his voice cracking with disbelief.

"Vause?" The name escaped him, trembling and uncertain, heavy with the clash of dread and fragile hope.

Eko froze mid-stride, her grip on the staff faltering as her gaze snapped to the figure. Her heart thundered in her chest, the air around her seeming to still. She glanced sideways at Matthew, her brow furrowing at the uncharacteristic look on his face. He, the unshakable, stood as if the ground had been pulled from under him.

Vause dragged himself closer, his movements labored and uneven. His once-commanding presence was now a shadow, his gaunt frame barely holding itself together. His face was ghostly pale, streaked with blood and grime, his breathing uneven and ragged, each step an act of sheer will.

"God... Vause," Matthew whispered, his voice thick and unsteady. He took a step forward, his weapon dissipating into thin air as though he couldn't even bear to hold it. He reached out cautiously, his fingers trembling as they found Vause's shoulder. The mage's bloodied hand rose weakly, grasping Matthew's arm as though it were a lifeline. When their grips locked, Matthew pulled him into a steady embrace, his grip firm, grounding the battered man.

"Did she find you?" Vause rasped, his voice cracked and broken, each word dragging itself out with difficulty.

Matthew's grip tightened on his shoulders, his voice steady as he anchored the shattered Mage. "Yes. She's safe at Allegiant," he replied, his tone reassuring but edged with an intensity that belied his own fears.

Vause's hollow gaze bore into Matthew's, his voice quivering with exhaustion yet underpinned by an unrelenting urgency. "We didn't stand a chance," he admitted, his words heavy with grim finality. "This—what's coming—is beyond anything we could have prepared for. We were right. Everything we thought we knew, everything they've shown us... it's all been a goddamn front."

Eko's jaw clenched tightly as her sharp eyes flicked between Matthew and Vause. Their silent exchange pressed down on her like a barrier she couldn't break through, a language only they seemed to understand. It burned, this growing trust between her husband and the mage—a trust she hadn't fully grasped until now. How had Matthew come to know Vause so well? How had he come to rely on him so deeply? The questions churned in her chest, but before she could give them voice, the hurried footsteps of their team shattered the moment.

Vause turned toward the approaching group, the weight of his exhaustion clear in his hunched posture, but his voice was firm, unwavering. "We need sanctuary for the survivors," he said, leaving no room for argument.

Matthew's jaw tightened, the strain evident in the rigid line of his shoulders. He gave a sharp nod, his tone clipped and decisive. "Jesse, make it happen," he commanded, his words cutting through the tension like a blade. "Jump back and bring two ships. We'll need all the space we can get."

Jesse's fiery red hair gleamed in the dim light as she nodded without hesitation. "I'm on it," she said briskly, her voice steady. She turned toward Jasmine, her gaze sharp. "You're with me." Without another word, the two disappeared in a swirling rush of energy, leaving the ruins behind as their mission took precedence.

"I'll head back to prep the infirmary," Mya said, her voice steady but edged with urgency as her gaze swept over the battered survivors. Concern shadowed her expression, her fingers flexing like she was itching to move. "They're going to need immediate care." With a sharp motion, she snapped her fingers, vanishing in a burst of energy that whisked her back to Allegiant.

"We'll handle intake and secure the perimeter," Richie said firmly, his voice leaving no room for argument as he stepped closer to Eko.

Eko's eyes flared, her defiance crackling in the air like static. "Wait—what? No way!" Her hand flew to her hip, the fire in her gaze daring Richie to repeat himself.

But Richie reached out and grabbed her wrist instead, his eyes locked onto hers, steady and unrelenting. "Yes. You and Matthew need to cool off before you torch the goddamn battlefield. You're both too wound up, and this isn't helping anyone."

Before Eko could unleash the retort burning on her tongue, Richie's powers surged. In the blink of an eye, they vanished, leaving Matthew and Toni standing alone with Vause in the ashes of the sanctuary. The oppressive quiet that followed pressed against them like the aftermath of a thunderclap.

Vause shifted uneasily, his haunted gaze darting between the two men. Shadows of exhaustion darkened his face, but his resolve burned stubbornly beneath it. He opened his mouth, but Toni cut in, his head towards Matthew, "What's the plan?"

"Once everyone is secure, we'll regroup, pick this apart, and figure out what's coming next. But for that, I need complete cooperation."

Vause nodded, his shoulders sagging under the weight of the moment. "Whatever it takes," he rasped, the words imbued with a grim determination. "We can't do this alone anymore. We need to be in this together."

Matthew's eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on the horizon where faint silhouettes of more mages began to emerge from the smoky distance. His thoughts churned with a singular focus—preparing for the battle that loomed just beyond their understanding. The fragments of their enemy's plans—the alliances shattered, the powerful taken—seemed like puzzle pieces scattered before him, infuriatingly incomplete, and all they could do was hold the line and prepare for the storm that was sure to follow.