The observatory felt colder than ever. The night had settled like a heavy weight around us, and the glass walls seemed to magnify the chaos outside. A storm raged across the horizon, lightning flashing in brief, blinding bursts, while shadows flitted in the darkness below. The memorisutira were closing in, their guttural growls cutting through the air, mixing with the low rumble of thunder that seemed to echo inside our bones. Our defenses, including the hastily assembled force field Cleo and the tech team had thrown together, were barely holding up. The pressure outside grew by the minute, each impact of a memorisutira against the force field sending a ripple of vibrations through the room.

A muffled explosion rocked the observatory, followed by another violent tremor. The walls groaned in protest, and I could hear the strained breathing of the others, their eyes locked on the force field monitors. The force field flickered, its edges shimmering as the strain mounted. With each new assault, it felt like it was only a matter of time before it failed.

"How much longer do we have?" I asked Cleo, my voice steady but the edge of worry undeniable.

He didn't look up from the console, his fingers flying over the keys as he typed in rapid succession. "I'm trying to reroute some power to reinforce the shields, but... It's not looking good. They're relentless."

I could see it in his eyes—exhaustion, frustration, and the gnawing fear that we'd be overwhelmed before reinforcements could reach us. There was no way to know how much longer we could keep the force field intact. I glanced around at the others, all of them battered and weary from the battles of the past few days. Even Jax, usually the pillar of strength, looked worn out. The bruises on his face, the blood on his clothes, and the haunted look in his eyes told the story of how long we'd been fighting, and how much we'd lost.

"We need to make sure they don't break through," Jax growled, his voice hoarse with tension. "If they do, it's over."

I nodded in agreement, even though the weight of his words settled heavily on my chest. Sean's betrayal still stung, a raw wound that none of us had quite been able to heal. The thought of him out there, working with the memorisutira, helping them breach our defenses, made my stomach twist. Sean had been more than just a member of our team—he had been one of us, someone we trusted implicitly. Someone I trusted.

But trust, it seemed, had been misplaced.

"We'll hold them off as long as we can," I said, my words more for myself than anyone else. "If we fall, we fall together."

That seemed to settle something in the room. Cupcake, whose real name I'd never quite gotten used to calling her, had been quiet for the past few minutes. She was leaning against a pillar, her hand pressed to her arm where she had taken a hit earlier in the fight. Her eyes were closed, but I could see the tears threatening to fall, and the way her body was tense with the pain of the wound, both physical and emotional.

"I can't believe it's him," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. "Sean... We trusted him. I trusted him."

The words were barely a breath, yet they carried the weight of a thousand unsaid things. My heart ached for her—I had never liked him. Thought of him as annoying. But this? This was betrayal on a scale none of us had ever anticipated.

"You're not alone in this," I said, walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "We all trusted him, Cupcake. We've been through too much for this to tear us apart."

She gave me a shaky smile, but the tears still clung to her lashes. "I just... I never thought he'd do this. Never."

I couldn't answer. The words wouldn't come. The truth was, none of us had expected this. We had all been so sure that Sean was one of the good guys. But now, standing here, it felt like a cruel joke. And the worst part was, he hadn't just betrayed us; he had betrayed everything we had fought for. The people, the mission, the cause—it all meant nothing to him anymore. And worse, he had made sure that the fallen would win this war.

I looked over at Jax, who stood by the window, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. His gaze was fixed on the shadowy figures outside, the memorisutira thrashing against the force field, gnashing their teeth and clawing at the walls. His jaw was clenched tight, his body coiled with tension.

"We need more intel," Jax said, his voice low but filled with urgency. "If we can get through to Inferna's spies, maybe they can tell us how to turn this around."

Cleo looked up, wiping sweat from his brow as he adjusted his specs. "It's risky. If the fallen are intercepting our communications, they'll know what we're planning. But I agree. We don't have much time."

"Do it," Cupcake snapped, her tone sharp, but it was clear she was beyond the point of hesitation. The grief over Sean was still there, but the battle was still going on, and it had to be fought. "We don't have any other choice."

Cleo nodded grimly, fingers already flying over the console. He opened a secure channel, his eyes scanning the monitor with narrowed focus. We all waited in tense silence, the only sound the frantic tapping of Cleo's fingers and the far-off rumble of the memorisutira's attacks.

The response came quickly, crackling through the speakers. "This is Sigma, reporting from Inferna. I've got your back. But it's bad. They're pushing in from all sides. Reinforcements are on standby, but they're not here yet."

"Reinforcements?" I repeated, my voice tight with disbelief. "How bad is it?"

"They've got more memorisutira—high-level ones—and fallen reinforcements from the outer regions. They're going all-in," Sigma's voice crackled back. "And... Sean's been feeding them intel for months. Every weakness, every detail about your defenses. He's the reason they know where to hit."

Cupcake's face crumpled at that, her hand gripping the side of the wall for support. I couldn't blame her. I felt the same way. How could he do this? How could he have been working against us all this time, pretending to be one of us while feeding the enemy everything they needed to crush us?

Jax's fists slammed against the window, the glass shuddering beneath the impact. "I knew it," he growled. "I knew he was too clean, too perfect to be true. I should've seen it."

Cupcake turned away, her face a mask of grief and anger. "How could we have been so blind? He was one of us—he was my friend."

"We'll deal with that later," I said, trying to steady the storm of emotions swirling in the room. "Right now, we focus on surviving. Sigma, do you have anything else?"

Sigma's response was curt but grim. "We're trying to send reinforcements, but it's not looking good. They're pushing hard. If you can hold them off just a little longer, we might be able to get something to you."

"Thanks, Sigma," I said, my voice rough. "Just... hold tight. We're not giving up."

The line went silent again, leaving us to stew in our own thoughts. We stood there for a moment, the weight of Sean's betrayal hanging between us like an unbearable fog.

"They're coming in waves," Reyna murmured, her voice grim as she watched the figures outside. "Memorisutira first, then the fallen. They're trying to wear us down."

"We fight until there's nothing left," Cupcake said through gritted teeth, determination lacing her voice despite the raw edge of pain that clung to her words.

I met her eyes and nodded. We had no choice. This was it—the final stand.