Roan and Ravine finally emerged from the facility to join Aria, Zhon, and Irene's still-unconscious bodies.

  Ravine leaned closer. "How is she?"

  Zhon continued working on Irene's damaged mainframe. "Whatever that thing was, it definitely got her good."

  Roan crossed his arms. "But how do you know that? Her body seems fine to me."

  "While she didn't receive outside damage, her wiring is severely compromised," Zhon explained. He sighed heavily. "Honestly, it almost would have been better if her damage were solely physical."

  He looked at Aria. "Last time someone got hurt that badly..."

  Aria moved closer and bumped into him gently. "Hey, what happened to my body wasn't your fault, all right? It was going to happen sooner or later because of those wolves. But her?" She looked into his eyes. "You have all the time to fix her. You got this, yeah?"

  Zhon looked down for a moment before meeting her gaze. "Right!"

  Ravine's expression grew serious. "In the meantime, we need to talk about what we do next. I mean, we can't just look past what Mother Phoenix said or did, right?" She looked at Roan, then Aria, then Zhon. "She knew all along what really happened and still made us go through this nonsense. So many of us died in the process, and yet her voice seemed like she didn't care."

  Aria looked at Ravine in denial. "You don't know that. There has to be a reason."

  Zhon stopped his repairs. "Ravine is right. She definitely has a lot to answer for." He looked up at the starry night and full moon. "Is that why she wiped our memory on arrival?"

  "There's really only one way to find out," Roan said, projecting a map. "She already sent us the location where she wants to meet."

  "But can we even trust her?" Ravine paced back and forth. "If she wiped our memory, it's because there's something from the database she doesn't want us to know. And I can't shake the feeling that whatever she wants to say will be another lie, trying to make us fall in line again. She's done it once—she can do it again."

  "That's not fair to her," Aria protested. "She may have known it would disturb us to learn the truth."

  Ravine turned to her with barely contained anger. "Yeah, tell that to all the dead squadron members who died thinking they were actually helping us figure out what really happened." She laughed bitterly. "And while they died in vain, she was sitting there on the Mother Ship laughing at us for believing in her." She tightened her fists. "No amount of explanation can or will make it okay for me."

  She looked toward the horizon where sand flowed beneath the moonlight, her brows furrowed with resolve. "And for that, she will pay."

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  Roan approached slowly. "Hey now, let's not do anything rash, okay? Let's wait for Irene to come to and—"

  "And what?" Ravine interrupted. "Stay here while this traitor laughs at us?" She exhaled and closed her eyes, checking her map. "There's a transport tube they used to move weapons to other countries. According to the map, it's still operational and can get to Japan in just a few minutes."

  Zhon stood up. "You can't be serious right now. That thing is dangerous—it's made for weapons, not for us."

  "Oh, she's going to figure out real soon what a weapon can do," Ravine replied coldly.

  "Please don't do this," Aria said. "The protocol says we need to stick together through the mission."

  Ravine approached her slowly, her voice sharp. "You know, being the one who lost the most out of all of us, I thought you would understand and side with me. But I guess you're just too weak to do anything about it."

  Aria flinched. A long moment of silence followed before she looked down. "That's not true. I want her to give answers too, but right now—at least until Irene's back—we need to have each other's backs." She continued, looking at Ravine as she backed away. "That's what the Irene I know would have said."

  Zhon nodded. "She's right, Ravine." He lifted his hands, then dropped them. "Irene might be able to give us a better approach and make sure we make the right decisions." He looked her dead in the eyes. "You know that's the right thing to do."

  Ravine groaned. "I need to think." She turned and stepped back into the facility entrance.

  "What are you doing?" Aria asked.

  "I need to blow off some steam," Ravine replied as she walked away. "Don't follow me."

  Roan called after her. "Just don't do anything stupid. We still need you on this team."

  Ravine paused but continued walking.

  Aria looked worried. "She'll be all right, right?"

  Zhon put a hand on her shoulder. "She's just angry right now. She'll come around. And don't worry about what she said—she must have projected her frustration on you. It could have been said to any of us."

  Aria nodded slowly.

  Deep in the darkened corridors, Ravine walked alone, lost in thought. Mother Phoenix is right there with the tube. We could be there in minutes and demand she fix Irene for what she did. So why do they insist on staying here?

  As she ventured deeper into a shadowed section of the lab, she stepped on something mushy but didn't register it, too preoccupied to notice. A strange noise behind her snapped her back to awareness.

  She quickly activated her built-in flashlight and spun around, drawing her spear in one fluid motion.

  A chunk of flesh lunged at her. She slashed it in half. "What the hell was that—"

  Something entered her body. Her vision blurred, then went black.

  She felt her body moving—back toward the others—but the movement was irregular, jerky, wrong.

  "What is going on with my body? I can't control it. What's happening? Is it her doing?"

  A voice echoed in her mind, cold and commanding. So you want to kill me, you say? How about I show you the consequences of defying me, Ravine?

  Ravine's consciousness screamed internally. It was you?

  I can't have the others doubt me. Not yet. If they think you've finally lost your mind, they will dispose of you, and then come to me like good children.

  I won't let you hurt them, you hear me? Ravine raged.

  Oh, I won't hurt them, my child. You are.

  W-what do you mean?

  Mother Phoenix's voice was eerily calm. Just sit back and enjoy the show as I massacre your trusting allies.

  Mother Phoenix, if even one of them dies, I will not rest until you die. Do you hear me?

  Mother Phoenix laughed. Such determination. Let's see if it still holds up after this. Her vision cleared as the possessed body approached the entrance. Do me a favor and try not to scream too much.

  As Ravine's body came into view of the others, Ravine desperately screamed through her own paralysis: "Please, guys—notice it isn't me!"