After two years, here I am with a confused look to my uttermost dismay I couldn't clear out the situation.
Ben turned looking at us, with his hand directly stationed on the switch.
" Step away from the switch." Kade said softly.
The words hung in the stale air, a thin thread that could snap at any moment. I stared at Ben's hand, the metal of the switch cold against his palm, and felt the weight of every choice that had led us here.
"Step away from the switch, with your hands up," Kade repeated, his voice barely louder than the hum of the lighthouse's dying generators. He kept his gun trained on Ben, the barrel gliding smoothly as he shifted his weight, eyes never leaving the man who had once been my partner.
"And if I don't?" Ben's tone was almost amused, a crooked grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. He didn't move his hand; instead, he pressed his thumb lightly against the lever, as if testing its resistance.
The flicker of the emergency lights painted his face in alternating shades of red and blue, making his scar stand out like a dark river. He wasn't scared—he was something else, something that had been forged in the fire of the Eclipse Project and the hollow promises that followed. He was ready, perhaps even eager, to see how this final act would play out.
Kade's finger twitched on the trigger, the click echoing louder than the distant rumble of the storm outside. "You know I won't shoot you, Ben. Not unless you force my hand. But you're not the only one who's tired of this endless cycle."
Ben's eyes flicked to the badge pinned to my chest, then back to Kade. "You think you can stop it? You think any of us can? The Hollow Law isn't a switch you can flip off. It's a contract written in blood, and we're all just… signatories."
A low chuckle escaped Kade, half bitter, half resigned. "Maybe. Or maybe we're the ones who get to rewrite the fine print."
Mara shifted beside me, her own weapon lowered but still in her grip, her gaze darting between the two men. "We're not here to argue semantics," she said, voice steady despite the tremor I could feel in the air. "We're here to end this. Ben, step back. Let us finish it."
Ben's thumb hovered, then he exhaled—a slow, deliberate breath that seemed to carry the weight of two years of regret, loyalty, and loss. "Fine," he said, finally pulling his hand away from the switch. He raised both palms, the metal of his badge catching the erratic light.
For a heartbeat, the room held its breath. Then Kade lowered his gun, the tension draining from his shoulders like water from a cracked pipe.
"Now," Kade said, his voice softer now, almost weary, "we get that override up and make sure this thing never sees the light of day again."
I stepped forward, the badge in my hand warm against my palm, and slipped it into the biometric scanner. The ancient mechanism whirred to life, gears grinding as the lock disengaged with a resonant click.
Ben watched, a faint smile playing on his lips, as the lever beside the scanner shifted, the blue glow of the core intensifying. "Looks like you finally got a chance to do something right, Waller," he murmured, more to himself than to anyone else.
Mara moved to the control panel, fingers flying over the keys, while Kade kept a vigilant eye on the perimeter, his gun now pointed at the floor, ready for any unexpected threat.
The lighthouse shuddered, the beam above us flickering as the eclipse began to watter, the darkness receding like a tide pulling back from the shore. In that moment, the past two years— the betrayals, the losses, the endless chase— felt like a distant echo, fading into the background as we all stood, finally, on the brink of something new.
"Ready?" I asked, voice barely above a whisper, feeling the surge of the override building beneath us.
Ben gave a short, resolute nod. "Let's finish this."
____The lever clicked into place, and a deep, resonant hum rose from the core, vibrating through the metal floor and into my bones. The blue light swelled, spilling out of the ancient machinery like a tide reclaiming a shore. For a split second the entire chamber was bathed in a cold, electric glow, and the sound of the eclipse outside seemed to falter, as if the world itself were holding its breath.
Ben's eyes never left the switch. He kept his hands raised, the badge on his chest catching the flickering light, but his jaw was set, the old fire in his gaze still burning. "Keep it steady," he whispered, more to himself than to anyone else.
Kade's gun was still trained on the doorway, his finger twitching on the trigger. He didn't speak, but the tension in his shoulders told me he was ready to fire if anything—any one—tried to stop us now.
Mara moved to the main console, her fingers dancing over the keys with a practiced ease that made the frantic beeping of the alarms sound almost musical. "I'm rerouting the power," she muttered, eyes scanning the scrolling code. "If we can feed the override into the main transmitter, the signal should broadcast a counter‑pulse and collapse the eclipse without blowing the whole district."
The countdown on the wall ticked down—02:12:34—each second a hammer strike on the fragile hope we were building. I could feel the badge against my skin, warm now, as if it were syncing with the core's rhythm.
A sudden, sharp crack split the air. The ceiling above the control panel shattered, sending a cascade of sparks and debris raining down. A hulking figure lunged from the shadows—a mercenary in black armor, the emblem of the Eclipse Project emblazoned on his chest. He fired, the shot ricocheting off the metal walls and striking the console.
Mara dove to the side, the impact sending her sprawling, but she kept her grip on the keyboard. "I'm hit!" she gasped, a spray of blood staining her jacket. "Keep… keep going!"
Kade reacted instantly, his gun blazing. The mercenary's armor absorbed the rounds, but the force knocked him back a step. He raised his own weapon, a sleek plasma rifle, and aimed directly at Ben.
Time seemed to stretch. Ben's hand hovered over the switch, his thumb hovering just above the lever. He could have pulled it, could have ended everything in a flash of fire, but instead he turned his head, meeting my eyes.
"Waller," he said, voice steady despite the chaos, "you've always been the one who sees the bigger picture. Finish it."
I didn't think. I lunged forward, slamming my palm onto the lever beside the core. The ancient mechanism roared to life, gears grinding as the override surged through the lighthouse's veins. A blinding white light erupted from the core, flooding the chamber and spilling out through the shattered ceiling.
The mercenary's plasma shot fired, but the beam was swallowed by the surge, disintegrating in a burst of violet sparks. The force of the override threw Kade and the mercenary backward; Kade hit the wall hard, his gun clattering to the floor, while the mercenary was thrown into the open shaft, his scream echoing down into darkness.
The light intensified, and the eclipse outside began to watter, the moon's shadow receding like a curtain being pulled back. The sky cracked, a thin line of sunrise bleeding through the clouds, painting the city in a hesitant gold.
When the brilliance finally faded, the chamber was silent except for the soft whine of dying machinery. The core's blue glow dimmed to a faint ember. Mara lay on the floor, clutching her side, breath shallow but steady. Kade was on his knees, blood staining his shirt, his eyes wide with a mix of disbelief and relief.
Ben lowered his hands, the badge on his chest now dark. He looked at me, a faint smile breaking through the grime and sweat. "We did it," he said, voice hoarse. "We actually did it."
I helped Mara to her feet, supporting her as she winced with each step. "You okay?" I asked, though the words felt inadequate.
She managed a weak grin. "Never better. Guess we're not done yet."
Kade pushed himself up, wiping blood from his lip. "The Eclipse Project… they'll try again. They always do." He glanced at the shattered ceiling, where the first rays of true daylight now filtered in. "But they'll have to go through us first."
Ben walked to the edge of the shaft, looking down into the abyss where the mercenary had vanished. He turned back to us, his expression a mixture of resolve and weariness. "There's still a lot we don't know about the Hollow Law. The badge… it's only a piece of a larger puzzle."
I slipped the badge into my pocket, feeling its faint pulse against my thigh. "Then we keep digging."
Outside, the city began to stir. The storm had passed, leaving the streets glwet and reflective. People emerged from their shelters, blinking at the unexpected sunrise, unaware of how close they had come to darkness.
We stood at the lighthouse's base, the wind tugging at our coats, the sound of distant sirens growing louder as emergency crews converged on the scene. The future was uncertain, but for the first time in years, it felt like we had a chance to write our own story—one where the switch stayed off, the badge stayed hidden, and the shadows didn't win.
Mara leaned against the lighthouse door, her breath steadying. "What now?" she asked, eyes scanning the horizon.
Ben looked out over the city, the badge's faint glow still visible beneath his shirt. "Now we make sure no one ever has to stand where we just did."
Kade cracked a half‑smile, his gun now holstered. "And maybe… we take a break. Find a place that serves coffee that isn't made from ash."
I laughed, the sound echoing off the stone. "Sounds like a plan."
As the first true light of day bathed the world, we turned away from the lighthouse, the echo of its beam fading behind us, and walked into the uncertain future—together.
We walked out the lighthouse, by then the security had been highlighted running to the scene.
We sneaked out without any notice.
After getting to a clear out environment Ben stopped abruptly behind us.
" I think I'll take my leave for now Waller." His word were like a sharp needle piercing my skin.
" Ben we can work it out, you just have to help, I need your help." I said.
" Well, you have your crew, and behind you two criminals ready to help you out, I think am out this one."
I wanted to reply him when mara held my shoulder looking directly at my face. Her expression said it all. " Just let go."
I walked over to Ben with my hand stretched out.
" I hope we meet again, but under good circumstances."
He smiled at me as and received the gesture of a handshake.
" Indeed Waller I hope we do." His final words were cold, especially when looking at him fade into the shadows of the city streets.
I had only one thought in mind, breaking down one of the major setbacks of the eclipse is a step. Now it's to find those behind it all.