Your mother is a wildfire, a hurricane of ash and flames.

As the smoke swirls and the fiery tongues consume the last remnants of the shadows, you squint to catch a glimpse of her.

Beyond the blaze, you see only a crimson silhouette, a figure of untamed power as wild as her.

Beside you, Telio squeezes your hand tightly, a gesture that reflects both his palpable fear and your rising excitement. Then, in an almost automatic movement, he steps back, giving you the space to respond to the irresistible call burning within you, that cry from the heart you can no longer contain.

“Mom!”

Your voice rises, cutting through the clamor, and for a moment, the entire world seems to stop. The flames flicker as if they are suspended at this moment as if your mother herself had paused before surging back with even greater intensity.

Now, they know. Now, they understand, and as several soot-streaked faces turn toward you, Sloan finally seems to grasp the full gravity of the situation. His face contorts in a grimace of cold panic, his eyes scanning the scene before locking onto your face.

Your heart skips a beat as he shouts over the flames, "Seize the children!"

His voice cracks under the strain, just as the ground does. It swallows two Renegades into its depths before they even have a chance to move.

Chaos and Justice spring into action.

Even fly, you note, tears welling in your eyes as a shadow streaks through the fire, swift and precise. You gasp in relief as Saschta swoops in, the vanguard. A living arrow of feathers, bathed in the glow of the flames she slices through with deadly grace.