Imperator Wei Lingyue had barely made it to the secure room before the chaos erupted. Her security team had rushed her away, their hands gripping her arms just a little too tightly, shielding her from the frantic energy that had overtaken the press conference. The sounds of the crowd—a clamor of shouts, jeers, and confusion—still reverberated through the thick walls, like an echo of a storm that refused to die down. Word of Blue's detention and interrogation had spread quickly, igniting a frenzy outside the facility. A few injuries were reported, the result of shoving and panic in the masses, but inside, the atmosphere felt as though it was teetering on the edge of something far darker and far more dangerous.
Inside the secure room, however, it wasn't the outside noise that pressed in on her—it was the suffocating tension between her and General Kassens. Wei Lingyue leaned back against the cold concrete wall, struggling to steady her breath, but it felt impossible. Her chest tightened with each inhale, her fists clenching at her sides. The weight of everything that had just happened—the decision, the secrecy, the rawness of the situation—pressed down on her, making her heart pound. Her whole body vibrated with frustration, anger, and something much deeper that she couldn't quite name.
Across the room, Kassens stood unmoving, a statue of control. His back was straight, arms folded tightly across his chest, his posture rigid as though he were preparing for a battle he had already won. His eyes—cold, calculating—never left her. They were sharp, piercing, like a wolf watching its prey, waiting for the slightest misstep before he pounced. His presence filled the room like a dark shadow, pushing her back, constricting the space between them.
She couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Can you hear that?" she snapped, her voice sharp and cutting, her frustration bubbling to the surface. She motioned toward the wall monitor, where the chaos outside could still be heard. "Can you hear the crowd outside?" Her words were like a lash, aimed at him, but she couldn't help herself. "This is your doing. You've just made Blue into an unknown element, and you think you've fixed something?"
Kassens held his ground, his posture unyielding, his eyes narrowing in response. He was unflinching, unmoved by her anger, but she saw the flicker in his gaze—the briefest hint of irritation that only seemed to harden his resolve. Wei Lingyue took a step forward, her voice rising as the heat of the moment overtook her. "You've either turned him into a possible enemy—or you've just undercut the most valuable assets we have. A man who could protect this entire planet—and you've locked him up like a criminal!"
Her breath came in sharp, staccato bursts as she continued, her voice low but seething with frustration. "Do you even realize what you've done? You've created a rift that we may never recover from. Do you have any idea what the consequences are? Children aren't going to want to eat or sleep tonight. They won't know whether they can trust their own heroes anymore!" Her fists tightened, her nails digging into her palms, but she didn't flinch. Not now. Not in front of him.
Kassens' gaze hardened, the faintest flicker of annoyance crossing his features. Finally, he spoke, his voice rough like gravel grinding beneath boots, each word deliberate and heavy. "I don't care about your idealism, Wei." His tone was colder than she had ever heard it. "This isn't about what's fair or what's right. It's about keeping all of us safe. And that includes keeping people like Blue locked away before they turn on us." His words were like ice, slashing through the air between them. "You may not see it, but that's what this is. A necessary evil. And you're too deep in your own guilt to admit it."
The sting of his words hit her harder than she wanted to admit. Her jaw clenched so tightly that it ached, but she refused to let him see how deeply his words had cut. She fought to hold her ground, standing tall, eyes blazing. "And how long are you going to keep him locked up, Kassens?" she shot back, her voice low and biting, the tension in her voice unmistakable. "Until the truth is erased entirely? Until we've all forgotten who he was? He's the one who stood with us, who bled for us! And now you've locked him away, shoved him in the dark, just because you can't stomach the reality of what's happened to him."
Her words hung in the air like a heavy weight, but Kassens didn't flinch. He didn't even move as the room grew colder with every word, the distance between them feeling more like an impassable chasm. Neither of them backed down, neither of them moved.
"Do what you have to do," Wei Lingyue finally said, her voice quiet, but the anger still simmering just beneath the surface. "But don't act like you've solved anything. You haven't fixed this. You've only made it worse."
Kassens didn't respond immediately. Instead, he turned on his heel and walked toward the door, his boots clicking loudly against the floor as he made his exit. "You'll see," he muttered just before the door closed behind him. "You'll see exactly how far gone he is."
Outside, the Rangers lingered in the hallway, still unsure of what they had just witnessed. Wei Lingyue turned toward the door, taking a deep breath to steady herself before walking out. There was no more room for hesitation. They were in this together, but she couldn't shake the feeling that everything had just shifted.
Black stood silently at the far end of the hallway, arms crossed, his focus unwavering. Bastion, appeared next to him, materializing in full-size through the holo-projector. Bastion didn't speak, nor did Black feel the need to engage. The exchange between Wei Lingyue and Kassens was messy, but it didn't concern him. Black wasn't about politics, and neither was Bastion.
Fighting was simple—there were clear objectives, clear enemies. Politics, however, were a labyrinth that Black had no interest in navigating. Bastion's hologram flickered slightly as it turned its attention to the hallway, its silent presence adding to the tension, but it didn't press Black to engage in what was happening behind that door. They had their own roles, and they were not the ones who would decide this internal conflict.
Pink, on the other hand, was seething. She paced back and forth, her fists clenched in frustration. Prism, appeared beside her in a flash of light, its hologram fully materializing with the familiar gleam of its energy-based form. Pink didn't even have to look at Prism to know it was ready to back her up.
Blue was family to her. She had stood by him through thick and thin, and hearing his name dragged through the mud like that—treated like a criminal—ignited a fire in her. She was 1000% in favor of him, and no amount of cold logic from Kassens would change that. She wanted to barge into that room and make him understand, but instead, she ground her teeth, knowing she couldn't risk getting caught up in the fallout. Prism's glowing projection stood still beside her, as angry and loyal as Pink herself. No matter what, Pink was not backing down from supporting Blue.
Yellow was the most uneasy of them all. Standing a little apart from the others, her mind worked through the argument she had overheard, the weight of Kassens' words lingering. Echo appeared at her side, its form flickering into solid presence. Echo wasn't exactly as loud as Prism or Bastion, but its quiet projection was comforting. Yellow's thoughts were less emotional than Pink's and more cautious.
She had seen Blue's betrayal up close and heard Kassens' warnings loud and clear. While others were blinded by loyalty, Yellow couldn't ignore the risks. There was power in Blue, but it was the kind of power that could destroy them all if misused. She didn't trust him. Her instincts told her Blue was dangerous. Whether Kassens was right or not, Yellow couldn't ignore the possibility that Blue might turn against them.
Red stood firm in the face of the mounting tension, her mind focused solely on the fleet. Aegis materialized next to her, its full-size projection standing solid and unwavering. Red wasn't interested in internal politics; she had one thing on her mind. The Elvanurus were coming, and if they were going to survive what lay ahead, they would need Blue and Nova. The rest didn't matter. Blue's past, his failings—none of it could get in the way of that cold, hard fact. Her team had been through too much, and now, with the fleet on the horizon, Blue's strength and Nova's support were essential. Whatever happened behind those walls—whether Kassens was right or wrong, whether they liked it or not—Red knew one thing: they needed Blue.
It wasn't up for debate.