—— 𝙁𝙊𝙍 𝘼 𝘽𝙍𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙁𝙐𝙏𝙐𝙍𝙀. . .

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Oh‎ ?

And what's 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 I see ?
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And don’t get caught, preferably. Bad press.

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I don’t care, as long as it’s not an investor.

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a person is holding a syringe in front of a candle holder ALT: a person is holding a syringe in front of a candle holder

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Of course we will. Naturally, there wasn’t any other option.

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We’ll need to up your dosage.

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Even so, you are expected to be in pristine condition. I don’t accept minor setbacks.

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That is greatly concerning.

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Are there any other symptoms?

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A glitch? This is an issue.

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What an odd air today.

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𝙀𝙉𝘿.
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" They thought that this would end you.

I will prove them wrong. "
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a melancholy smile crossed their lips, almost in jest.

" Ah. Of course it's locked. "

as centra was lifted free of the wreckage, dust cascading from her ruined armor, the lights under her flesh pulsed once. then twice.

rubble burned behind them, carefully stepping away from the scene.
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" I will see to it. "

a faint glow bled through openings in centras skin, like a waking eye.

diagnostics scrolled across kane's eyes, reevaluating. just what was that. . . ?

— 𝙲𝙾𝚁𝙴 𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙰𝙲𝚃
— 𝙽𝙴𝚄𝚁𝙰𝙻 𝙼𝙰𝙿: 𝙿𝚁𝙴𝚂𝙴𝚁𝚅𝙴𝙳
— 𝙿𝙷𝚈𝚂𝙸𝙲𝙰𝙻 𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙴𝙶𝚁𝙸𝚃𝚈: 𝙲𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙲𝙰𝙻
— 𝚁𝙴𝙲𝙾𝙽𝚂𝚃𝚁𝚄𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝚃𝙾𝙲𝙾𝙻: 𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙺𝙴𝙳
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kane knelt beside her.

brushing debris from the side of her neck, fingers steady and gentle.

a second passed. then another.

kane’s breath left them in a slow exhale.

" Every sign points to the conclusion that you're dead. But I still hold onto the shred of hope that you will survive. "
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what remained of her suit was tainted with dust - scorched and cracked. one arm was pinned at an unnatural angle. blood darkened the rubble beneath her, dry at the edges.
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they uncovered a pocket beneath a fallen beam, shielded by a collapsed support column that had bent. the space was small. in normal circumstances, the lack of oxygen would make survivability near impossible.

and yet.

centra was there.
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carefully stepping across rubble and dust, their pupils shrunk and dilated as they scanned the area.

“Show me survivability estimates.”

. . . 𝚂𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙶.

𝙻𝙾𝚆 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙱𝙰𝙱𝙸𝙻𝙸𝚃𝚈.

fingers pinched the bridge of their nose, deeply exhaling.

" . . . God, fuck. "
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“Seal the perimeter. No press. No external feeds.

Bishop will return. But for the time being, no media outlet is to locate her body.”

hand lowered away from their ear piece, eyebrows slightly furrowed in a growing fear.

she knew this would happen. so, why . . . ?
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. . . hours later, civilians and government officials had long since evacuated the area- and the wasteland that had become the surrounding land remained silent once the dust had settled.

floodlights cut through the dust in harsh white cones, searching through the debris.
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the weight pressed down, pinning her to the floor of a room designed to symbolize peace.

darkness closed in.

and to the rest of the world, centra was 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙.
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thrown onto the ground- the ceiling beginning to crumble into rubble and crash into the ground.

her mouth filled with grit. she knew what would soon come.

alarms wailed, layered and frantic.
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stone slammed into her shoulder. heat flashed past her face. her head snapped sideways as the world dissolved into dust and debris.

yet her stone cold expression never faded.

even as the heat melted skin away from muscle- even as her half-lidded expression rid itself of her eyelids.
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the roar swallowed everything as the walls bowed inward. centra felt herself lift, weightless, her vision stuttering between ceiling and flame.

faintly, she could here kane call her name through her earpiece - a sound soon replaced by a sharp and agonizing ring.
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the floor leapt.

the table tore free of its anchors with a scream of metal. light detonated into white.

the air slammed into centra’s chest, ripping the breath from her lungs.
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𝘽𝙊𝙊𝙈 — ! !
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“Do you truly believe this ends peacefully?”

" . . .

No. "
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there was a pause. long enough to feel deliberate.

the leader glanced down at the table, then back up. bishop's eyes remained fixed and near unblinking. notably not denying his claim.

“Centra,” they spoke. the usage of her first name puts a twitch in her eye.
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