The sky cracked.
Not literally, but the air above the Aqua flagship rippled like shattered glass as Mai descended in a streak of flaming orange. Clouds parted in a ring around her body. From below, the ship looked like a steel coffin floating in the heavens.
Inside, alarms blared.
"Target approaching—velocity surpasses Mach 5!"
"She's burning the clouds! Activate barrier grid—NOW!"
Commander Veyra stood unfazed on the main deck. Her navy armor glinted. Her eyes locked on the shape descending through the upper atmosphere.
"She's early."
Behind her, Tiffany strained against her restraints. The energy cuffs buzzed, suppressing her aura. Still, she clenched her teeth.
"She'll burn you alive," Tiffany hissed.
"Only if she's still conscious when she arrives," Veyra replied. "We have her mind fragmenting. The Ixora will do the rest."
Tiffany's body slumped slightly.
Then she smiled.
"You think she's the only one who bites?"
Outside — impact.
Mai slammed into the outer hull like a meteor.
The deck exploded upward. Metal curled. Soldiers flew. The ship shuddered and tilted, warning sirens shrieking in every corridor.
Mai rose from the dented metal, hair blazing orange, mouth wide with a crooked smile. "Where is she?" she growled.
Dozens of Aqua elites charged. Guns, swords, enhanced limbs.
She didn't dodge.
Shedevoured.
Elsewhere on the ship.
Duncan crawled through the underside maintenance shafts, bruised and bleeding. He whispered, "Just hold on..."
Tiffany's cell.
Her cuffs sparked.
She took a breath.
Closed her eyes.
Inside her chest, the sunflower glowed faintly. Its petals shimmered yellow, then gold.
Then she snapped her wrists forward.
Crack!
The cuffs broke. Metal and light shattered.
She landed softly on her feet, body arched, eyes glowing yellow, hair flickering gold.
"Alright," she said with a grin. "Time to remind them who the sun answers to."
She bolted out of the cell, flipping through corridors like liquid light. Her feet barely touched the floor. Every guard in her path was blinded by flares.
She spun, ducked, kicked, and laughed.
In one vaulting leap, she crashed through the ceiling, up into the open air of the top deck.
Mai stood in a crater, surrounded by broken bodies.
"Tiph?"
Tiffany landed beside her, skidding with a smirk.
"Miss me?"
Mai's expression twitched—recognition battling the Ixora rage.
Tiffany raised a hand. "Let's clean house. Together."
For the first time in minutes, Mai didn't smile like a demon.
She smiled like Mai.
To be continued...