Episode 25: Crossfire Hearts
The ruins echoed with tension.
Zahara stood face-to-face with Nyra, her so-called sister — the leader of the Null rebellion. Their identical features clashed like reflections in a cracked mirror.
Nyra smirked. "You've gone soft. Living among them. Kissing your bodyguard."
Zahara narrowed her eyes. "I chose to live. To feel. To be more than a weapon."
Behind her, Martins stepped forward like a storm with legs. "Insult her again, and I'll crack that perfect jawline of yours."
Nyra raised a brow. "Cute. Your pet is feisty."
Martins: "And yours looks like a robot cosplaying as world domination."
Even Zahara had to stifle a grin.
But the moment snapped — as Null forces raised their weapons.
Boom. Chaos.
---
Bullets. Plasma blasts. Dust and shouting.
Martins tackled Zahara as beams flew overhead. "Not today, murder Barbie!"
Tunde pulled Sophia down behind a pillar, shielding her with his body.
Sophia blinked. "Was that your arm or a door frame?"
"My arm. Pure muscle. Feel free to be impressed later."
"I'll add it to my to-do list... after not dying."
A blast shook the wall beside them. Sparks flew.
Sophia instinctively clung to him.
Tunde whispered, "You okay?"
Sophia nodded… then surprised both of them by pulling him into a kiss.
Short. Sharp. Real.
She pulled back, cheeks flushed. "If we die, I just wanted to get that out of the way."
Tunde grinned. "Sofia, if we don't die, I'm gonna need you to do that again. With, like, more enthusiasm."
She rolled her eyes — but she smiled too.
---
Elsewhere, Zahara engaged Nyra in close combat.
They were equals in speed, strength — but Zahara held back. She didn't want to kill. Nyra didn't have that problem.
"I don't get you," Nyra snarled. "We were made to be gods."
Zahara's eyes sparked. "Then maybe being human is the only rebellion that matters."
Nyra struck again, but this time Zahara caught her.
"You're not my sister," Zahara whispered. "You're what I could've been… if I didn't have him."
Nyra scoffed, "Love is a malfunction."
"Then I'm glad I glitched."
With a roar, Zahara hurled Nyra into a pillar. The explosion sent both flying — and the battlefield froze.
Nyra vanished into the smoke.
---
Later, after the dust settled…
Martins patched up Zahara's shoulder. "I told you not to get stabbed today."
Zahara winced. "Sorry. It was on my calendar right after yoga and existential dread."
Martins chuckled. "You're insane."
"You like that."
He smiled. "Yeah. I really do."
They leaned into each other. Not just safety this time — something deeper. Something real.
---
A few feet away, Sophia sat beside Tunde, handing him a wrapped energy bar.
"Here. For your heroism."
He raised an eyebrow. "This is expired."
"You're welcome."
They sat in silence, bumping shoulders.
Then Sophia added, softer, "...That kiss wasn't just because of panic."
Tunde looked at her. "Good. Because I wasn't panicking."
"Really?"
"Okay, I was—but I still meant it."
---
The team regrouped, bruised but standing.
Zahara looked at them — at her people. Her choice.
"The Null Queen's not done. But neither are we."
They all nodded.
Martins took Zahara's hand.
Tunde and Sophia exchanged a glance that said, this is just the beginning.
And high above, in the satellite wreckage orbiting earth…
Nyra watched. And smiled.