The air was thick with tension as Nathan, Zara, Sana, and Elias found themselves cornered. The core's energy levels were spiking, and Lucien stood between them and their only escape. His menacing grin didn't falter, his confidence unshaken despite the chaos around them.
"Did you really think it would be this easy?" Lucien taunted. "The game isn't over until I say it is."
Nathan tightened his grip on the makeshift weapon in his hand. He glanced at his team, their expressions a mixture of fear and determination. They had come too far to back down now. But the reality of their predicament was grim the core was seconds away from overloading, and their path was blocked by a man who seemed untouchable.
Zara's voice broke the silence. "Nathan, there's one last fail-safe'The Last Key.' It's a manual shutdown mechanism hidden in Lucien's private vault. If we can get to it, we can stop the core from exploding."
Lucien chuckled darkly. "You think I'd let you anywhere near it? The key is mine, and so is your fate."
Nathan exchanged a look with Sana. They had to act fast. Every second they wasted brought them closer to destruction.
"We'll make a path," Nathan said firmly. "Zara, guide us to the vault. Elias, cover her."
Without waiting for a response, Nathan charged at Lucien, drawing his attention away from the others. The clash was brutal Nathan's attacks were fueled by desperation, but Lucien's strength was overwhelming. Every blow felt like hitting a brick wall.
Sana joined the fight, her movements quick and precise. She aimed for Lucien's weak points, trying to destabilize him. Together, they managed to push him back slightly, creating a narrow opening for Zara and Elias.
"Go!" Nathan yelled, his voice strained as he dodged a powerful swing from Lucien.
Zara and Elias sprinted past Lucien, heading deeper into the facility. The hallways were dark, illuminated only by the flickering lights from the unstable core. Zara's tablet beeped as she followed the signal leading to the vault.
"We're close," she whispered, her heart racing. But as they turned a corner, they were met with a squad of Lucien's guards.
Elias didn't hesitate. "Keep going! I'll hold them off."
"But—" Zara started to protest, but Elias cut her off.
"Don't argue. Just go!"
Reluctantly, Zara nodded and pressed on, leaving Elias to face the guards alone.
Zara finally reached the vault, a massive steel door with intricate mechanisms. Her tablet buzzed as she scanned the area. The fail-safe was inside, but the door required a code and she didn't have it.
"Come on, think," she muttered to herself, her fingers flying over the tablet. She bypassed several layers of security, but the final lock was biometric. The system demanded Lucien's fingerprint.
Nathan's voice crackled through her earpiece. "Zara, we're running out of time. What's the holdup?"
She hesitated before responding. "The door needs Lucien's fingerprint. I can't open it without him."
Back at the fight, Nathan and Sana were barely holding their own against Lucien. He was relentless, his strength and speed unmatched. But when Nathan heard Zara's predicament, an idea sparked in his mind.
"Sana, we need his handprint," Nathan said between labored breaths. "We have to take him down."
Sana nodded grimly. "Let's end this."
The two launched a coordinated attack, targeting Lucien's legs and arms to immobilize him. The fight was brutal, every move calculated and desperate. Lucien roared in anger as Nathan managed to land a solid blow to his knee, forcing him to stumble.
Seizing the opportunity, Sana tackled him, pinning his arm to the ground. Nathan quickly pressed Lucien's hand against a portable scanner Zara had left behind.
The scanner beeped, and Nathan relayed the data to Zara. "You've got his print. Open that door!"
In the vault, Zara uploaded the fingerprint data. The mechanism whirred to life, and the massive door slowly creaked open. Inside was a small device the fail-safe, glowing faintly in the dim light.
She grabbed it and spoke into the earpiece. "I have the key. Heading back now!"
But as she turned to leave, alarms blared throughout the facility. Lucien's voice echoed over the intercom.
"You really think it's that simple? The moment you touch that fail-safe, the timer accelerates."
Zara's heart sank. "Nathan, we've got less than two minutes now!"
Nathan and Sana barely heard her over the chaos. Lucien, enraged, broke free from their hold. His eyes burned with fury as he lunged at them, but they dodged just in time.
"Fall back!" Nathan yelled. They regrouped with Elias, who was injured but still standing.
Zara appeared moments later, clutching the fail-safe. "We need to activate this at the core. It's the only way to stop the explosion."
"Then let's move!" Nathan shouted.
The team raced through the facility, dodging guards and debris. Lucien pursued them relentlessly, his voice a constant reminder of their dwindling time.
"You can't escape me!" he bellowed.
As they reached the core chamber, Zara prepared the fail-safe. Her hands trembled as she worked, the countdown ticking louder in her mind.
"Nathan, keep him off me!" she pleaded.
Nathan turned to face Lucien, who stood at the entrance, a dark silhouette against the glowing core. The two locked eyes, their final confrontation inevitable.
Lucien smirked. "Even if you stop the core, you'll never make it out alive."
Nathan didn't flinch. "We'll see about that."
The chapter ended with Zara's voice cutting through the chaos. "Nathan, it's ready!"
But before they could activate the fail-safe, Lucien lunged forward, his blade aimed directly at Zara. The screen went black with a single sound the sharp clang of metal meeting flesh.