The ballroom pulsed with panic — shattered crystal underfoot, smoke trailing from the fired pistol, and a sea of social elites in velvet and silk stampeding for the exits like cattle sensing slaughter. Carlos's grip tightened around Elarion's limp body, the younger man's blood smearing against his jacket. His weight was featherlight — all bones and secrets — but Carlos could already feel how dangerously cold his skin was.
"Triyon!" Carlos barked into the comms, weaving through the chaos. "Route. Now."
"Exit plan's toast," came the groggy reply. "Security's locking down every outer gate. Cops are en route. We've got maybe… five minutes before they start sealing floors."
Carlos clenched his jaw. Five minutes. Not enough.
"Rin, Near — fallback to service corridor Delta-9. Mahiru, cover their trail. Shim — I want a path cleared. Loud and fast."
"On it," Shim rumbled, his voice thick like gravel over steel.
As he moved, Carlos scanned the crowd. Guards in black were pushing through the guests, yelling orders, scanning faces. The assistant was out cold. The briefcase was secure. But Elarion…
Carlos looked down. The boy's wristwatch blinked erratically, red against the dark fabric.
"Stay with me," Carlos whispered, almost to himself.
He tightened his grip and pressed forward — through glitter, screams, and guns drawn in panic.
The mission wasn't over.
The escape had just begun.
Carlos shifted Elarion's weight in his arms, one hand on the briefcase handle, the other steadying the boy's slumped body against his chest. Elarion's blood had started to soak through Carlos's shirt — sticky, warm, and far too much.
They had to move. Now.
"Shim, status," Carlos barked again.
A second later, the ballroom's far-right doors exploded inward, shattered wood and smoke flooding the space as guests screamed louder. Shim barreled in, towering over the crowd, wearing a black waitstaff jacket that barely fit his frame. One of the security guards lunged at him — bad move.
Shim's fist hit the man like a wrecking ball. The body flew sideways, taking out a decorative table and two more guards with it.
"Path's open," he growled into the comms.
Carlos darted forward, ducking behind Shim's frame as his massive teammate became a walking riot shield. Rin and Near flanked them, clearing angles. Rin's knife danced like lightning, slashing a guard's belt and sending his sidearm clattering away. Near moved like smoke — almost unseen, sliding between bodies, disarming, striking, disappearing.
"Mahiru, I need a fire alarm now," Carlos snapped.
Her voice was calm. "Five seconds. Get to the stairwell."
Then came the blaring shriek of fire sirens, sprinklers sputtering overhead — raining down cold mist onto rich perfume and panic. Gilded gowns turned dark with water. Someone screamed "Bomb!" and the floodgates opened.
Chaos turned into stampede.
"Move, move!" Carlos shouted, holding Elarion tighter. The boy's watch flickered — Alexia must be watching his vitals in real-time.
"Still dropping," Alexia said through the comm. "No exit wound. But he's losing too much."
"I'm aware," Carlos hissed.
They ducked into the corridor behind the service kitchen, sloshing through water and wine. Near paused long enough to grab a fallen guard's keycard and swiped it at the emergency gate ahead.
Nothing.
"Locked down," Near muttered.
"Carlos," Triyon cut in. "I'm hijacking gate protocols — gimme twenty seconds. Guards just entered the west corridor. That's your tail."
Shim turned. "I'll slow 'em."
Carlos glanced up. "You sure?"
Shim's grin cracked like stone. "Let's play."
He turned, cracking his knuckles, as a squad of guards rounded the corner.
Shim charged.
He was a wall of fury. His shoulder crushed one man against the tile. He ducked a baton swing, picked up a metal tray cart, and sent it flying down the hallway like a missile. Alarms screamed. Bones cracked. The sound of his growl and fists echoed behind them like thunder.
The lock on the gate blinked green. Triyon's voice came: "Door's yours. Go!"
Carlos shoved through. Near and Rin slipped in behind him.
"Shim's falling back in ten," Rin panted. "He's having way too much fun."
The hallway twisted — underground now, dim lights, pipes lining the walls. They had reached one of Jo's old wine cellars, a rumored escape path used by smugglers and corrupt guests.
Triyon came back. "Next turn, steel grate door. Get through, take stairs, then tunnel under the koi pond. I'll pick you up north side, rear access. I just need ten minutes to reroute the patrol drones."
Carlos kicked the grate open. His arms were burning. Elarion hadn't moved. His pulse was thready against Carlos's wrist.
"Alexia?"
"Still alive," she said softly. "But fading."
"Rin," Carlos barked. "Pressure bandage. Now."
Rin sprinted ahead, cracked open a stolen med kit, and tossed Carlos a seal patch. Carlos pulled them to a stop in the stairwell and jammed it hard against Elarion's wound. The boy groaned faintly.
"He's still in there," Rin whispered, eyes wide.
Carlos didn't reply. He just kept moving.
Behind them, a door burst open. Shim reappeared, limping, bruised, but grinning like a madman.
"Down goes six," he said. "Time to go?"
Carlos nodded. "Tunnel. Let's vanish."
---
Cut to: Exterior — Triyon's van, 8 minutes later
The back doors flew open, and Mahiru slid aside her sniper gear to make space. Shim climbed in first, hoisting Elarion like a sack of flour as Carlos followed with the briefcase.
"Drive!" Carlos shouted.
Triyon popped a sour candy in his mouth and slammed the gas. "Yeah yeah, I got us. Nice work out there. No one even died this time."
From the passenger seat, Mahiru stared at Carlos. "He needs real medical care. That wound—"
"We're taking him to Delta Post," Carlos said. "Secure bunker. Alexia has a medic on standby."
As they drove, Carlos finally let go of the briefcase. He stared down at it.
Blood still smeared the handle.
Scene Continuation – Streets of Davienne, Minutes After Escape
The black van tore through the misty streets, tires squealing as Triyon whipped around a narrow bend. Mahiru steadied herself, eyes scanning every mirror. The scent of blood, smoke, and adrenaline still hung thick inside the van.
Carlos kept pressure on Elarion's wound, his knuckles white on the bloodied bandage. Rin sat beside him, panting, a hand on her thigh where a graze had torn her dress and skin alike.
"We're clear," Triyon muttered. "For now."
And then the van's comm unit crackled.
"This is Jo Grivanni."
His voice was like oil and glass. Cold. Controlled. But underneath it — rage.
"You've stolen something that belongs to me," Jo continued. "Turn around. Drop the boy. Leave the briefcase. Maybe I let you walk."
Carlos's blood chilled.
Triyon blinked. "He's hijacking emergency channels. How the hell—?"
"I see you, Carlos," Jo's voice hissed again, colder now. "You think you've won? I own this city. The police, the streets, even the air you breathe."
Outside, red and blue lights flared.
From every side street — sirens. Cop cruisers peeled out of alleyways, engines roaring, blocking intersections. A helicopter spun into view above them, a spotlight slicing through the night.
Carlos swore. "How the hell did he mobilize this fast?!"
"He paid them!" Mahiru snapped. "Half these uniforms are dirty. We're not facing cops — we're facing Jo's army!"
"Spike strip, two blocks ahead!" Near shouted.
Triyon spun the wheel, hard.
The van smashed through a fruit cart, skidded sideways, and burst down a side road, narrow and slick with rain. One of the pursuing cruisers overcompensated, slammed into a wall, and flipped.
Another took its place.
"Drive faster!" Shim growled.
"I'm doing magic, man!" Triyon shouted, dodging another barricade.
Carlos looked back. A black car — armored — with tinted windows, closed the gap behind them.
"Jo's in that car," Mahiru whispered. "He's not waiting for court. He wants us dead."
The back window of Jo's car lowered slightly.
A muzzle flashed.
Bullets ripped into the van's rear. Metal screeched. Rin yelped as a round grazed her shoulder. Carlos threw himself over Elarion, shielding the unconscious boy with his body.
"They're trying to take out the wheels!" Triyon shouted.
"We need to split!" Near said suddenly. "They're tracking us. The case."
Mahiru's eyes snapped to the briefcase. "There's a tracker inside."
Carlos didn't hesitate. He grabbed the case and looked at Rin and Near.
"You two take the case. Go dark."
Rin's eyes widened. "Carlos—"
"Near knows a tunnel through the old aqueducts. Head west. Drop the signal. Shim and I draw the heat."
Shim grinned. "Hell yeah."
Triyon was already turning. "Two minutes to the split point!"
Cut to: Near & Rin — Alley Escape
Rain battered the cobblestones as the two slipped out the back of the van during a sharp turn. Near tossed a flashbang behind them — the explosion echoed off the walls and momentarily blinded the pursuing drones.
Rin cradled the briefcase tight as they vanished into the shadowed maze of Davienne's forgotten underground.
---
Cut to: Carlos, Shim, Mahiru and triyon — Final Chase
Jo's car surged forward again, now face-to-face with the wounded van. From the back seat, Jo leaned forward, eyes burning.
"Bring me that damn case!" he snarled to his driver. "I don't care who dies!"
Carlos looked at Mahiru. "Got any of those firecrackers left?"
She grinned. "Three. And one shaped like a pigeon."
"…What?"
"Just drive."
…into the foggy maze of Davienne's underbelly — ancient aqueduct tunnels that twisted beneath the city like veins forgotten by time. Moss clung to the walls. Footsteps echoed weirdly. The roar of pursuit above faded, replaced by dripping water and distant thunder.
"Left up ahead," Near whispered, pulling Rin by the wrist. "There's an old filtration vault. Dead cameras. No drones."
Rin clutched the briefcase tighter. "Do you think Carlos—?"
"He'll buy us time." Near's tone was hard. "That's what he does."
They ducked into the vault, sealing a rusted hatch behind them just as a patrol drone buzzed overhead, its searchlight slicing through a nearby grate.
Darkness.
Then Near cracked a glow-stick and slipped it under his collar, the faint green light casting eerie shadows across the vault walls. Rin sank to one knee, gasping, finally able to catch her breath.
She glanced at the case. "Tracker?"
Near nodded, already pulling a multitool from his belt. "Give me two minutes."
As he worked, Rin kept watch. Her shoulder throbbed, warm blood soaking her dress, but she didn't flinch.
Above, the city burned — metaphorically and literally — as Jo's wrath scorched every alley and signal hub. But down here, for a moment, they had a sliver of silence.
"Done," Near said.
He popped the tracker from a false panel inside the briefcase and slid it into a ratty backpack. "We toss this in the next storm drain, let it run east."
"What about the contents?" Rin asked, her voice low.
Near paused. "Encrypted. Triple-folded quantum lock. Only Alexia or Triyon can crack it."
Rin frowned. "So why does Jo want it?"
"Because it's not just a case," Near murmured. "It's leverage. Against the council. Against the syndicates. Maybe even against the Core Authority."
Rin's grip on her knife tightened. "Then we can't let him have it."
Near nodded once. "No matter what."
Cut to: Carlos & Shim — Highway Showdown
The decoy van roared across the high bridge over Davienne's canal, police drones tailing it like hungry wolves. Shim had cracked open the back doors, firing a short-barreled pulse rifle at the nearest vehicle. The blasts cracked glass and buckled metal, sending one cruiser tumbling into the water below.
"They're adapting!" Shim barked. "They're switching to EMP nets!"
Carlos was at the passenger window, aiming out with a scoped pistol. "Let them try."
Then the black armored car pulled up beside them — sleek, silent, and deadly.
Inside: Jo Grivanni, eyes blazing.
A sleek railgun slid from the roof of his car — glowing blue.
"TRIYON!" Carlos roared. "Ditch the van now!"
"No arguments!"
Triyon slammed the brakes, yanked the wheel, and the van swerved — directly into the side of a maintenance tunnel access. Shim and Carlos leapt out just before it smashed in, Carlos clutching a backup med case and the van's comm relay.
Jo's railgun fired — but too late.
The van exploded into flame and smoke.
But no bodies.
Carlos, shim, mahiru, triyon were gone.
Cut to: Jo Grivanni — Inside Armored Car
Smoke curled around the wreckage.
Jo's jaw clenched. "Where's the briefcase?"
His aide hesitated. "They… they must've split. The signal's diverging. One in the canal drains. One in the upper city."
Jo's eyes narrowed. "They're buying time. Protecting the real carrier."
He snapped his fingers. "Launch the Seraphim."
The aide blinked. "Sir, that's not sanctioned. The fallout—"
"I don't care," Jo hissed. "I want that case. I want the boy. And I want Carlos Rael's heart on my goddamn desk."
---
Elarion's POV:
Sunlight streamed through the curtains, soft and golden, casting a warm glow across the room. For a moment, Elarion just lay there, blinking at the ceiling. The fan spun lazily above, the air smelled like toasted bread, and the distant clatter of utensils echoed from downstairs.
He sat up slowly.
This… this was his old room. From thirteen years ago.
The faded poster of his favorite game still hung crooked on the wall. His old schoolbag rested by the desk. The carpet, the creaky floorboard near the door — everything was exactly how it used to be. No glowing monitors. No blood. No battlefield. Just… home.
His door opened with a soft knock.
"Elarion? You're going to be late," his mother called, peeking in with a familiar smile — the one he hadn't seen in what felt like forever. "Come on, sleepyhead. Breakfast's ready."
He stared at her, stunned. "Mom…?"
She gave him a puzzled look. "Yes? You alright? You've been acting strange since you woke up. Did you have a bad dream?"
"I…" He hesitated, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Yeah. Maybe."
"Well, shake it off. Get dressed. You've got school today — and I'm not writing another excuse note for you."
As she left, the door clicked shut behind her. Elarion stood there in silence, staring at his reflection in the mirror. Seventeen. Again. Not a scar on his chest. No trace of what had happened in 2038. Not a whisper of blood or betrayal.
But his thoughts were a storm.
Carlos. Shim. Triyon. Mahiru. Near. Rin.
His team — where were they? Were they safe? Did this mean none of that ever happened?
And what about the file? The briefcase that held the only proof of the truth — the truth they had fought and bled for. Had it vanished? Or… was it here, hidden somewhere in this past?
He dressed in a daze, slung on his bag, and stepped outside into the crisp morning. The world looked normal. Peaceful. Teenagers on bikes, shop shutters creaking open, birds overhead. It was the same town… but something about it felt slightly off, like a memory retold one too many times.
As he walked down the familiar street toward school, questions spiraled in his mind.
Was this a second chance? A trap? Or something else entirely?
Then suddenly—
"Hey, Elarion!"
He stopped in his tracks.
The voice. It was bright. Familiar.
He turned his head slowly… and there she was.
A girl walking toward him, smile soft, steps light. Elarion was surprised but happy at the same time upon seeing the girl--
Ayase.