It hurt.
Everything hurt. Her face, her chest, her legs—where were her legs? She couldn't feel them. Couldn't feel anything below her waist. The darkness was complete, pressing against her eyes, her skin, her lungs. Rubble pinned her, crushed her, held her down.
She tried to move. Nothing.
She tried to scream. Blood filled her mouth.
Something touched her head.
Lily's hand shot out, grabbed whatever it was, held on. Her voice was a rasp, a thing dragged from broken lungs. "Who are you?"
A growl. Low. Familiar.
"Tusk?"
The rubble shifted. Massive jaws closed around her collar, pulling, dragging, lifting. She was on his back—she could feel the fur, the heat, the life. Her remaining hand touched his side and came away wet.
Blood. Tusk was bleeding.
She couldn't see. Couldn't feel her legs. Couldn't do anything but hold on as her tiger carried her out of the burning lab, through the chaos, into the forest.
The pain was beyond anything. Her face was burning—no, her face was gone, the skin, the eyes, everything. Her ribs were visible, she could feel the air moving through them, could feel her lungs expanding against open air. Her legs were nothing, just shreds of flesh and bone that bounced against Tusk's sides with each step.
"Help me," she whispered. "Please. Someone help me."
A figure was in front of her. She couldn't see who. Couldn't see anything.
"Who's there? Who's there?"
The person didn't speak. Just stood there, watching her in horror.
"Shadow? Shadow, is that you? Why are you here?"
Shadow couldn't answer. He was staring at what was left of the Monster Queen. One hand gone. Face burned beyond recognition. Eyes—her eyes were gone, just empty sockets where light went to die. Her hair was ash. Her legs were barely attached. Her ribs were a cage holding nothing.
Tusk lay beside her, his eyes fixed on her face, his chest still. Bullet wounds covered his body. He had carried her out. He had brought her to safety. He had died doing it.
Shadow gathered her in his arms. "I'll take you back. Don't worry."
They vanished.
---
The facility erupted when they arrived.
Scientists rushed forward, carrying her to the medical bay, their hands shaking, their voices too loud. Henry was there, his face pale, his hands already reaching for instruments he knew wouldn't help.
They did what they could.
It wasn't enough.
She wasn't a hybrid. Couldn't heal like the others. Couldn't regenerate, couldn't recover, couldn't survive. The wounds were too grave. Too many. Too much.
Henry stepped back. His hands were red. He didn't say anything.
Shadow sat beside her bed. His human form was almost complete now—arms, legs, a face that was still learning how to be a face. He held her remaining hand.
"Shadow." Her voice was a whisper. "I'm sorry. I couldn't keep my promise. I couldn't save you and Mary."
"You did." His voice cracked. "I'm human now."
She almost smiled. "I wonder what you look like. Tell Mary... tell her she was never a monster to me. None of you were."
"Tell her yourself. You're not going to die."
The door opened. Mary stumbled in, her new legs barely holding her, tears streaming down her face. She saw Lily on the bed—the burned face, the empty eyes, the ruin of the woman who had saved her—and screamed.
Lily didn't move.
---
Facility X
Dave found the room.
It was deep, hidden, untouched by the chaos above. The virus was there, waiting in its tube, glowing faintly in the emergency lights. He reached for it—
Someone was already there.
A09 stood in front of the tube, her mask reflecting the light. She picked it up, held it in her hands, and pressed it to her neck.
The skin blackened. Spread. Faded. Absorbed.
Dave watched her for a long moment. "Tell Absolute 2 that Dave lives."
He turned and walked away.
A09 didn't look at him.
---
Wolfen found Jenny in the rubble.
She was laughing. Her face was burned, her body broken, but she was laughing.
"Your little monster friend is dead," she said. "The Monster Queen. Gone. Dead. Finished."
Wolfen's foot came down on her head.
He didn't speak. Didn't scream. Didn't rage. He just hit her. Over and over, his boot driving into her skull, her face, her mouth. Her laughter stopped. Her body went limp.
He didn't stop.
Lily had suffered. Lily had carried the weight of a world that didn't deserve her. Lily had died, and he had failed to protect her. Three times. Three times he had promised, and three times he had broken.
Leo's hand caught his shoulder. "Wolfen. Stop. She's dead."
Wolfen looked down. Jenny's face was gone.
He let Leo pull him back. Eva was there. Maya. Derek. Jordan. Lena. They were all there, watching him, waiting.
Shadow rose from the ground. His face was human now—a young man, barely old enough to have lived through any of this. His eyes were hollow.
He didn't speak. Just looked at Eva.
"No," she breathed. "No, please. No."
He took them.
---
The facility was chaos when they arrived. Scientists running, voices shouting, machines beeping. Eva pushed through them all, her legs moving faster than her mind, her heart already breaking.
She slammed the door open.
Mary was weeping beside the bed, her human body shaking, her hands reaching for something she couldn't touch. Henry stood against the wall, his instruments forgotten, his face empty.
On the bed, under a white sheet, was a shape. Too small. Too still.
"NO!"
Eva was across the room before she knew she'd moved, her hands on the sheet, pulling it back, needing to see, needing to know—
Lily's face was peaceful. The burns were gone—Henry must have done that, at least. Her eyes were closed. Her hair was clean. She looked like she was sleeping.
But she wasn't.
Eva's scream was soundless. Her hands found her sister's face, her hair, her shoulders. She was cold.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no—"
Maya was behind her, her scaled arms wrapping around her, pulling her back. Leo was at the door, his face white, his fists clenched. Derek stood beside him, his hands shaking. Jordan stared at the floor. Lena pressed her face into his shoulder.
Wolfen stood apart. His face was empty.
Bill burst through the door, skidding to a stop, nearly falling. Derek caught him, held him upright.
"I did it!" Bill's voice was wild, his hair a mess, dark circles under his eyes. "I made the cure! I—"
He saw their faces.
His voice died.
"No." He looked at the bed, at the sheet, at the shape beneath it. "No, please. I—I was working on it, I was almost done, I just needed—please—"
He fell to his knees. Derek held him up.
Eva stood in the center of the room, her sister's blood still on her hands, her sister's face still behind her eyes.
Lily was gone.
And the cure had come too late.