The Reactor was set and the outer alarms had been disabled. All that was left now was to get César and leave the lab behind. Hopefully, their youngest son was still asleep after the dose of trizolam that Violeta had given him. He wouldn't have to see the compound's destruction.

The telltale hiss of the failsafe kicking in alerted shocked them out of their sync.

The Salazars ran to the door to find it locked. They tried in vain to deactivate the mechanism from the inside; but the loud, unmistakable crackle of electricity from the other side was their only answer. Violeta chanced a glance through the digital viewer and found that the culprit was none other than Dr. Van Kliess, holding the smashed remains of the locking panel in his hands.

"What have you done?" She snapped.

"I am only doing the world a favour," Van Kliess answered smugly. "I'm sure that when the world discovers the perpetrators of the largest lab accident in human history they'll be perfectly happy to know that they died in the act!"

Rafael glared at him as he left a thousand curses on his tongue but never leaving his lips. Instead, he brought his attention to his wife who was working tirelessly to find some way to break the door down. Soon the Reactor's alarms went off, alerting all that it was approaching critical mass.

Time was not on their side.

They had minutes at best to get out and get to César's ship. They needed to get out and make sure their sons were safe. Rafael managed to detach a gantry arm from the Reactor and pounding it against the door whilst Violeta tried in vain to reroute the locking mechanisms controls. If they didn't get out soon…

"Mamí! Papí!"

Rafael felt his heart sink ask he heard his eldest son's voice. He looked up at the communications screen and watched as his son tried and failed to rewire the panel from the smashed remains. He had begun banging at the door. He glanced at Violeta and watched as her heart broke as she watched their son banging at the door with tears in his eyes.

"César, stop!" Violeta finally begged.

César froze, ever the obedient child. Rafael was proud of his control, and felt his heart break a little more knowing he would never know that feeling again.

"Mijo, listen to us," Rafael said. "There isn't enough time to get us out of here. You need to get to the ship."

"But, Papí, the Reactor-"

"Is going to blow. We can't stop it."

"César, you need to get to the ship," Violeta said. "Van Kliess activated the Reactor's replication cycle. Rex needs you now more than ever."

Violeta paused for a split second before speaking again, her determination not wavering for even a moment.

"You need to protect Rex, find the OM1, and stop the Consortium."

"Mamí…" César murmured once more.

Rafael and Violeta shared a glance and held one another closer. Something they always did if they were caught in an argument to assure their sons that it everything would be all right. César glanced between them for a few more seconds, very obviously torn between obeying and wanting to save them.

"Mi hijto, it's okay," Violeta soothed, "go."

At her words, he relented with tears in his eyes that he fervently wiped away as he ran towards the exit. The kept their gaze on him until he was out of the sight. In exhaustion, Violeta collapsed to her knees.

"What have we done Rafael?"

"We have done the best we can, given the circumstances we've been given," Rafael answered, helping her stand to her feet once more. "Do not kneel mi amor, they may have beaten us, but they have not broken us."

"Rafa, we are going to die and leave our sons behind!"

At her outburst, Rafael pressed a final kiss to her lips; trying to pour out every bit of affection he could muster to quell her worries. Finally, he pulled away and looked into her eyes one last time, seeing his own fears reflected in her gaze.

"Violeta, mi todo, por favor," he pleaded. "Let's not dwell on that. The boys will have each other. They'll be alright."

Violeta wrapped her arm around him one more time and buried her face in his chest. She released a pitiful sigh and spoke again, her voice wry.

"You don't know that."

"You're right, Violeta," he conceded. "I don't."

Violeta gave one light, shaky laugh, a laugh that echoed in the silence beyond the daunting alarms that bombarded them. Violeta's faint humming followed it; the tune of first song they danced to at their wedding. For a few seconds they swayed to the sound of Violeta's humming, even as the Reactor finally reached critical mass. They held one another ever closer; breathing the words they knew would be their last.

"Te amo, Violeta."

"Te amo, Rafael."

The reactor exploded and the two knew no more.