Cold steel pressed against Maron's back as he came to consciousness, disoriented and in excruciating pain. The teleportation had worked—they'd arrived somewhere distinctly non-terrestrial. The air held a metallic tang beneath the sharp chemical smell of industrial cleaners, and the gravity felt slightly wrong—just enough to make his combat-trained senses alert to the difference.

  But something was horribly wrong.

  Maron tried to shift his weight to stand and found himself immediately off-balance, crashing to the floor with a grunt of agony. Where his right leg should have been, there was nothing—just a ragged stump ending mid-thigh.

  "What the—" he gasped, his military training barely keeping panic at bay.

  "Maron!" Akira's voice came from nearby, strained with his own pain. The Japanese Sovereign was propped against a nearby console, his face ashen beneath his tan. His left arm was entirely missing, severed clean at the shoulder, blood still seeping from the partially sealed wound.

  "Something went wrong with the teleportation," Era whispered, kneeling beside Akira, her hands pressed against his shoulder to slow the bleeding. "There wasn't enough energy to bring us all through completely."

  "Where are we?" Maron demanded through gritted teeth, forcing himself to focus beyond the shock and pain.

  "Some kind of laboratory," Era responded, her eyes darting around the dimly lit space. "An abandoned section, based on the dust."

  They had materialized in what appeared to be a vast chamber filled with equipment that defied conventional understanding—tubes and wires hung from every surface, connecting to machinery that pulsed with eerie blue-green illumination. The architecture bore no resemblance to human design—angles that seemed wrong somehow, proportions that created subtle discomfort in the observer.

  "We can breathe," Maron noted pragmatically, his military mind cataloging survival factors despite their horrific situation. "Means things work or live here."

  A small figure moved in the shadows nearby, approaching with unnaturally fluid movements. Maron tensed, preparing to defend himself despite his crippled state—then froze in shock as the figure stepped into the dim light.

  "Daisy?" he whispered, recognizing his shadow's ginger hair and youthful complexion. "How did you—"

  Daisy said nothing, her normally impish expression replaced by an almost vacant stare. Without a word, she knelt beside Maron, placing her small hands on his severed thigh. Her touch was unnaturally cool as she closed her eyes in concentration.

  "What is she—" Akira began, then stopped in astonishment as the raw flesh of Maron's wound began to seal itself, blood vessels contracting and skin growing over the stump with supernatural speed.

  When Daisy finished with Maron, she moved to Akira with the same silent purpose, placing her hands on his severed shoulder. The bleeding stopped immediately as she worked, flesh knitting together to seal the grievous wound.

  "She's manipulating your flesh," Era observed with quiet awe. "Just like she did with stone."

  Maron watched his shadow work, noting the stark difference in her demeanor—gone was the playful, mischievous child who had appeared during their crisis on the mountain. This Daisy was silent, focused, almost predatory in her movements.

  Once she finished sealing their wounds, Daisy rose and turned toward a massive door at the far side of the laboratory. Faint voices filtered through—too distant to distinguish words but unmistakably present.

  "Wait," Maron hissed, trying to stand before remembering his missing limb. "We need to plan—"

  But Daisy was already moving, silent as a ghost as she approached the door.

  "Help me up," Maron ordered Era, who quickly moved to support him. Akira pushed himself upright against the console, grimacing as he adjusted to his new balance without his left arm.

  "We need to stop her before she gives us away," Akira whispered, his voice strained with pain despite Daisy's intervention.

  As they hobbled toward the door, supporting each other in a grotesque three-legged race, the voices became clearer—an imperious tone that could only belong to an Anunnaki, interspersed with what sounded like mechanical responses.

  "...reconfiguration at ninety-two percent," came a mechanical voice. "Neural pathways prepared for overwrite sequence."

  "Excellent," responded the unmistakable voice of Nergal. "Solaris' consciousness will make a perfect template for our purposes. With his frequency patterns incorporated into the Matrix, we can finally correct the System's deterioration."

  They reached the door just as Daisy simply walked through it—not opening it, but somehow passing through the solid metal as if it were mist. The door swung open moments later, revealing Daisy standing motionless in the entrance, staring at the scene before her with that same blank expression.

  The room beyond froze in tableau—Nergal standing before an elaborate control console, his massive form momentarily startled by the unexpected intrusion. Behind him, Solaris lay unconscious on a table angled slightly upright, various monitoring devices attached to his temples and chest. To the side, the partially melted forms of Enki and Inanna rested on medical platforms, their bodies in various stages of reconstruction.

  "Impossible," Nergal snarled, recovering quickly from his surprise. "How did—"

  Maron, Akira, and Era hobbled through the doorway behind Daisy, their damaged forms creating a grotesque but determined rescue party.

  "We had help," Maron interrupted, his combat-hardened eyes scanning for tactical advantages despite his crippled state.

  "The twin flame," Nergal's golden eyes narrowed with calculation. "Extracting her consciousness twice in such rapid succession should have been impossible."

  "Nothing's impossible for family," Akira responded, blue flames dancing along his remaining hand. "We're not leaving without our brother."

  "The brashness of two crippled Sovereigns, my wife's failed experiment, and a..." Nergal paused, studying Daisy with genuine confusion before dismissing her with a contemptuous glance. "A child? You misunderstand the situation entirely. You won't be leaving with Solaris because Solaris won't exist anymore."

  Before they could respond, Nergal slammed his hand against a massive lever on the control console. The table supporting Solaris's unconscious form tilted backward, submerging him into a previously unseen vat of viscous black liquid behind him.

  "NO!" Era screamed, her voice harmonizing with Draco's deeper tones as they recognized the substance. "The Draco Matrix!" Era started towards the vat.

  Nergal reacted instantly, abandoning the control levers, racing to block the path toward the vat.

  Akira responded as well, summoning a wall of blue flames between Nergal and Era. "Focus on us," he challenged, his voice carrying authority despite his missing arm.

  Simultaneously, Daisy stepped forward, raising her hands. The metal floor beneath Nergal's feet suddenly liquefied, flowing like quicksand as it attempted to engulf the Anunnaki lord's lower body.

  "What is this?" Nergal snarled, surprise evident in his golden eyes as he struggled against the suddenly animate metal. "The child manipulates elements?"

  Maron leaned heavily against a nearby console, unable to join the direct combat but offering tactical guidance. "Akira, left flank! Daisy, contain him!"

  Nergal's golden eyes narrowed with genuine rage. "You insects think you can challenge me? Here? In one of the hearts of our power?" His form seemed to expand, obsidian armor flowing like liquid across his scaled skin as he tore himself free from the metal trying to consume him. "I will annihilate you all!"

  While Akira and Daisy engaged Nergal directly—blue flames and manipulated metal creating a coordinated assault that even the mighty Anunnaki found challenging to counter in this state—Era reached the vat containing Solaris.

  "Even if it costs us our life, we won't leave him in there," Era whispered, clearly speaking to Draco within her.

  Without further hesitation, she dove into the viscous blackness.

  The liquid felt wrong—not merely cold but anti-life, as if it consumed more than just physical warmth. Era felt her consciousness beginning to separate from her body as she swam deeper, searching desperately for any sign of Solaris.

  I can't breathe, she thought, panic rising as the substance invaded her lungs. I can't reach him.

  I can, Draco's voice resonated within her mind. I will. This is home.

  Era surrendered control, allowing Draco's consciousness to dominate their shared form. The transition wasn't clean—Era's mind began dissolving at the edges, her identity fragmenting as the Draco Matrix recognized and began consuming her.

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  Draco pushed deeper, immune to the need for oxygen, searching for any trace of Solaris's consciousness. The Matrix resisted, recognizing Draco as both kindred and intruder.

  Finally, through the swirling blackness, Draco sensed Solaris—not his physical form yet but the dissolving fragments of his consciousness. They were losing him rapidly.

  Only one way, Draco realized.

  Draco reached out, not physically but with essence, making contact with what remained of Solaris's dissolving mind.

  The bathroom was filthy.

  Yellow fluorescent light buzzed erratically overhead, casting sickly illuminations across cracked tiles and mildewed grout. Solaris recognized it instantly—the motel bathroom where he, Vander, and Alice had stayed briefly during their journey.

  He wasn't in his integrated form. He felt smaller, weaker, more human. More like Tris than Solaris.

  Turning slowly, he confronted two impossible sights—Era, diminished, submerged to her neck in a bathtub filled with black liquid, and beside her, a massive, smooth head emerging from the viscous surface, featureless.

  "Era? Draco?" he questioned, his voice echoing strangely in the confined space.

  Era nodded weakly, her head unmoving, her eyes unfocused and distant.

  "She can't survive much longer," Draco's voice emanated from the black head protruding from the tub. "I'm surprised you can withstand this much without complete dissolution. You truly are something special, Sun God."

  Black liquid began seeping from the walls and ceiling, dripping with increasing speed as the bathroom itself seemed to melt around them.

  "Our time ends," Draco observed, intention fixed on Solaris. "I offer you a choice, though it must be made quickly."

  "What choice?" Solaris asked, watching in horror as Era sank deeper into the black liquid, her form visibly fading.

  "Era will give you what remains of her life energy," Draco explained. "And I will give you... myself. My essence can create a pathway through the Matrix, allowing your consciousness to escape dissolution. Era and I will both cease to exist as separate entities."

  "You'd sacrifice yourselves so willingly?" Solaris whispered, emotion overwhelming him as he looked between Draco's unsettling form and Era's fading presence.

  "DECIDE!" Draco commanded as the room deteriorated rapidly, black liquid now pooling ankle-deep around Solaris. "There is no time!"

  Tears streamed down Solaris's face as he looked at Era—someone who had been healing, growing, finding her place despite the darkness Draco represented. "I can't ask you to—"

  "You didn't ask," Draco interrupted. "We offer."

  The bathroom walls had nearly dissolved completely now, black liquid consuming everything around them.

  "Yes," Solaris finally answered, his voice breaking. "I accept."

  Draco's head shot toward him with explosive speed, the featureless face merging with Solaris's own as everything dissolved into absolute darkness.

  In the laboratory, chaos reigned. Akira and Daisy maintained their coordinated assault against Nergal—blue flames corralling the Anunnaki lord while Daisy manipulated the very structure of the facility around them, metal flowing like water to trap and contain their vastly more powerful opponent.

  Despite missing his left arm, Akira fought with extraordinary discipline, channeling his flame abilities through precise movements, maintaining perfect spacing that maximized efficiency while minimizing energy expenditure. Daisy remained eerily silent throughout, her body moving with unnatural grace as she commanded the metal and stone of the moonbase itself.

  Maron had managed to position himself strategically, using consoles and equipment for support as he called out tactical observations, directing their combined efforts against Nergal. His military experience proved invaluable in coordinating their assault, identifying vulnerabilities in the Anunnaki lord's defense that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.

  But Nergal was far from defeated. The ancient being moved with millennia of combat experience, absorbing their combined assault while steadily gaining ground. A massive fist caught Akira in the chest, sending him crashing against a far wall with bone-crushing force.

  "Your flames are impressive, little Sovereign," Nergal mocked, advancing on the stunned Akira. "But ultimately inadequate against one such as I."

  Daisy immediately redirected her attack, the floor beneath Nergal suddenly becoming a whirlpool of liquid metal that threatened to consume him entirely. The distraction bought precious seconds as Akira struggled to regain his feet, blood trickling from his mouth as he fought to remain conscious.

  Maron realized with grim clarity that they were losing—their injuries and exhaustion simply too great against Nergal's overwhelming power. Even Daisy's remarkable abilities were being systematically countered as Nergal adapted to her techniques, his ancient mind quickly analyzing and neutralizing each new approach.

  Just as despair threatened to overwhelm them, the vat containing the Draco Matrix suddenly stilled—the churning black liquid becoming unnaturally calm before parting like curtains.

  Solaris rose from the depths, his integrated form now rippling with patterns of darkness that flowed beneath his skin like living shadow. His blue eyes burned with internal fire, and his physical presence seemed somehow greater—more solid, more definite.

  "Step away from my family," he commanded, his voice carrying a lower, creepier range of harmonics that suggested Draco's influence merged with his own.

  Nergal's expression transformed from triumph to disbelief. "Impossible," he breathed. "You should have been completely dissolved by now."

  Solaris emerged fully from the vat, black liquid streaming from his form as he stepped onto the laboratory floor. Daisy immediately ceased her attack, stepping back to observe with that same blank, unreadable expression.

  Before Nergal could react further, Solaris materialized directly before the Anunnaki lord, one hand closing around his throat.

  Nergal struggled against the grip, surprise evident in his golden eyes as he failed to break free. With desperate inspiration, he reached into a hidden pocket, producing a small device—a neural disruptor.

  The device activated with alarming intensity, sending waves of disruptive frequencies throughout the laboratory. Everyone present collapsed under its influence—Maron's vision blurring further, Akira's broken body convulsing weakly, even Nergal himself dropping to one knee from the indiscriminate effect.

  Solaris groaned in agony as the merged consciousness began separating, Draco's essence visibly trying to tear away from his form.

  Then, a small red energy beam lanced across the laboratory, striking the neural disruptor with precision. The device exploded in Nergal's hand, silencing its disruptive output instantly.

  Maron turned his head with painful effort, identifying the source—Inanna, still partially melted on her medical platform, had summoned enough strength to fire a final shot from her fingertips. Beside her, Enki lay motionless, apparently having succumbed to his injuries. Inanna's eyes met Maron's briefly, something like satisfaction visible in her alien gaze before the light faded from them entirely.

  Solaris recovered immediately, standing over Nergal's crumpled form. The Anunnaki lord looked up, defeat finally registered in his ancient eyes.

  "You've won this battle, Sun God," he acknowledged, his voice carrying resigned certainty. "But the System—"

  "Is ending," Solaris completed, raising his hand toward Nergal's forehead. Two fingers extended with thumb raised, precisely as he had when confronting Ereshkigal.

  Nergal met his gaze without flinching. "Then finish it."

  A radiant golden beam erupted from Solaris's fingertips, passing through Nergal's skull. The Anunnaki lord's massive form collapsed instantly, golden light briefly shining from his eyes and mouth before fading to emptiness.

  The solar beam continued beyond its target, its power far greater than Solaris had anticipated. The concentrated energy tore through the laboratory wall behind Nergal, then through the next structural barrier, and the next.

  A terrible groaning sound filled the facility as warning lights activated throughout the laboratory. The beam had penetrated multiple critical systems, compromising the structural integrity of the entire moonbase.

  "We need to leave," Solaris announced, kneeling beside Akira's broken form. "This entire place is destabilizing."

  Maron managed to pull himself upright, head spinning with concussive disorientation. "How?" he asked. "There’s… no way back."

  Akira had finally lost consciousness, his blue flames receding as his body surrendered to its injuries. Small explosions began erupting throughout the laboratory as systems overloaded and failed.

  Solaris closed his eyes, appearing to hold an internal conversation. After a moment, his expression shifted to profound sadness.

  "Draco can't maintain his place within me," he explained. "The Blue Flame inside my DNA is actively rejecting him, despite my wishes."

  Draco's consciousness partially separated from Solaris, maintaining a tenuous connection that allowed communication without complete integration.

  "Did I find belonging?" Draco's voice emerged from Solaris's mouth, the harmonics carrying genuine uncertainty.

  Tears formed in Solaris's eyes as he responded: "Of course you did. Despite everything, despite it all, you chose love instead of hate. I will never forget you... or Era."

  The rejection accelerated, Draco's essence visibly tearing away from Solaris's form, the dark patterns beneath his skin withdrawing toward a central point over his heart.

  "Era's soul still exists somewhere, she didn’t disappear completely," Solaris promised as the separation neared completion. "I swear I'll find her after ending this whole mess."

  “Thank you…” With a final, violent expulsion, Draco's essence separated completely from Solaris, the dark substance flowing toward the remains of the Draco Matrix, merging with the black liquid. The consciousness that had been Draco faded from perception, leaving Solaris alone in his original integrated state, though somehow stronger than before.

  The crown that Solaris had received in New Tara—still somehow present throughout his ordeal—began glowing with increasing brilliance, responding to his emotional state. Golden light enveloped him entirely, radiating from every cell as power surged through his system. A beautiful harmony played from the energy surrounding him, getting more harmonious the brighter he became.

  He knew instinctively this power wouldn't last long; but it might be enough.

  Daisy approached silently, her hand reaching up to take Solaris's. The contact created an immediate resonance.

  "Can you help us get home?" Solaris asked her, somehow understanding her capabilities despite her continued silence.

  Daisy nodded once, her green eyes showing the first hint of expression since their arrival—a determination that mirrored Maron's own.

  Solaris gathered Maron and Akira close, one hand holding Daisy's while the other rested on his injured companions' shoulders. He closed his eyes in concentration, focusing on the most familiar location he could visualize: the Chamber of the Sun in New Tara, where Solarion's body rested in stasis.

  Reality folded around them as Solaris and Daisy executed the most ambitious warp he ever attempted—not merely across kilometers but across the void of space itself, directly into the sealed underground city that permitted no external entry.

  The golden light surrounding Solaris intensified to blinding levels, merging with an earthy brown glow emanating from Daisy. Their combined power created a sphere of energy that enveloped the entire group as space itself seemed to tear around them.

  When the light faded, they found themselves within the subtle glow of the sacred chamber below—Solarion's preserved body still floating in its crystal enclosure, undisturbed by the chaos above.

  Solaris staggered forward, his remaining energy depleted beyond recovery, and collapsed against the crystal chamber containing his ancient form. Maron and Akira lay unconscious nearby, their grievous injuries stabilized but far from healed.

  Only Daisy remained standing with her hands clasped behind her back, watching over them with the first smile she had shown since their arrival—a small, satisfied expression that held none of her previous childlike mischief, but rather a stoic pride in having protected her counterpart and his family. She surrounded them with a beautiful arrangement of sunflowers, pink daisies, and white poppies.

  Thirty seconds later, the chamber doors burst open as the Lead Keeper rushed in, accompanied by Solar Adepts responding to the unprecedented breach of their most sacred sanctum. Their expressions transformed from alarm to wonder as they beheld the impossible scene—the Sun God returned with his injured companions, wreathed in flowers, having somehow penetrated New Tara's impenetrable barriers.

  Daisy turned to face the newcomers, placing herself protectively between them and the unconscious Sovereigns, radiating quiet determination as she stood guard over those she had helped save.