They slid down a rusted ladder, boots clanking off handles until they hit solid ground.
An old tunnel stretched ahead—wide enough for two people shoulder to shoulder, arched and ribbed with decaying support beams. The scent of mold and metal choked the air.
"Move!" Elliot hissed, and they took off again, feet pounding through the muck and sludge-covered floor.
Behind them, the open hatch yawned.
Unclosed.
Forgotten.
But they didn't stop to notice. Not yet.
After minutes of hard running, they slowed to a jog, lungs burning, the silence of the tunnel more deafening than the chaos they'd just escaped.
Bobo let out a low breath and glanced at the walls. "This place is 'boutta collapse," he muttered with a deep, gravelly chuckle.
Luce smiled, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
"Sure is."
They kept moving through the tunnel, boots clanging against rusted grate walkways, every step echoing down the endless dark. The air down here was damp, metallic, thick with the scent of salt and rust.
After several tense minutes, they reached the end—a corroded iron ladder stretching up into shadow. Elliot went first, climbing steadily. Luce followed close behind. Bobo took up the rear, his hands gripping the handles with mechanical ease.
At the top, Elliot punched in a code on a keypad. With a hiss and a faint burst of cold, fresh air, the hatch split open.
Elliot hoisted himself up and turned, reaching a hand down for Luce. He pulled her up with ease. Then he turned to Bobo, who looked at his outstretched hand and snorted.
"I'm not a princess," Bobo muttered with a grin, grabbing the edge and hoisting himself out without assistance.
Elliot laughed. "Could've fooled me."
They all stood, finally, under the open sky.
The ocean greeted them with a roaring whisper—constant, ancient. They stood on a tiny concrete platform, no more than fifteen by fifteen feet wide, just big enough for three people and a boat. This was one of the old smuggler's docks, built into the jagged rocks of the coastline long before the war, now forgotten and overgrown with patches of sea moss and rusted moorings.
Before them stretched the sea—vast, silver under the moonlight, the waves glinting like liquid glass. The ocean smelled clean, sharp, salted. Far in the distance, the Council walls rose like a monolith—cold, metallic, and pulsing with artificial light. Towers glowed with sterile brilliance. Drones buzzed overhead like angry fireflies.
But here, a mile out, it felt like another world.
Bobo exhaled slowly, a smile stretching across his face.
"Every time I leave that place," he said, "I remember how damn good it feels to breathe out here."
The sea wind ruffled his shirt. Luce brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear and laughed softly.
"Yeah."
The three of them stood there for a moment, quietly taking it in—the sounds of the waves, the chill in the air, the wide-open night sky they could finally see without interference.
Bobo turned to Elliot and clapped a heavy hand on his shoulder.
"Thanks for helping us, buddy."
They pulled into a brief, back-slapping hug. Bobo had to lean down quite a bit, his size making Elliot look like a kid by comparison.
"Anytime, pal," Elliot said, his voice low and genuine.
Bobo pulled back.
"You could come with us, y'know. We could use the help. Jöten's a bitch."
Elliot gave a small shake of his head, a bittersweet smile playing on his lips. "I got a family to get back to. Kids need their old man. Besides…" He gave Bobo a sideways look. "Tell Amelia I said hi. I know she misses my wife's cooking."
Bobo let out a soft chuckle.
"She talked about it the last time I saw her. Wouldn't shut up about those damn sweet rolls."
They both laughed.
Luce stepped forward and gave Elliot a quick, tight hug.
"Thanks, Elliot. We're even now."
Elliot raised an eyebrow. "Even?" He pulled back and smirked. "You bet your ass we are. I'm not doing this crazy shit again. I'm retired."
They shared a round of chuckles. The tension was finally bleeding off of them.
Elliot walked toward the far edge of the platform, about five feet away. Nestled there, tucked beneath a camouflage tarp, was a sleek, sea-worn speedboat. Matte black, low profile. Silent engine.
"Here's your ride," Elliot said, pulling the tarp off with a flick of his wrist. The boat bobbed gently in the tide, already fueled, already waiting.
They climbed onto the boat, its sleek, low-slung frame bobbing gently in the tide. The ocean stretched endlessly before them, moonlight carving silver lines across its surface.
Luce dropped into the driver's seat, flipping switches with practiced hands. The silent engine thrummed beneath them—barely a whisper, but full of power. Bobo settled onto one of the long bench seats, his metal hand gripping the edge.
Elliot stood on the dock, arms crossed, wind tousling his short hair. He watched them, a tired smile in his eyes.
"Give 'em hell," he said, voice firm but warm. "Set them free."
Bobo nodded once.
"Will do."
The boat peeled away from the island, carving through black water like a shadow. The Council's walls began to shrink behind them.
They were on their way—to Jöten. To Amelia. To Ryosuke. To retrieve them.
But then—
A voice, high and ragged, cracked through the night like a lightning strike.
"RAH!!!"
Elliot spun around just in time to catch a blur of movement flying up the ladder. A figure burst from the tunnel hatch, slamming into Elliot with a thud that sent him stumbling sideways.
"What the hell—?"
Bobo and Luce both turned sharply at the commotion.
Luce twisted in her seat, alarm flashing across her face. Bobo was already rising halfway from his seat.
And then, in the silver wash of moonlight, they saw it.
A figure—mid-air, leaping wildly from the dock.
His limbs flailed, barely coordinated, driven more by desperation than grace.
Blood-streaked hoodie flapping.
Long black curly hair snapping in the wind.
A pistol clutched tight in one bruised, shaking hand.
In that second, the moon caught him—just right. Framing his face in silver, outlining his sharp features, those stubborn green eyes shining through grime and sweat.
Mikey.
Suspended midair.
Back arched.
Face lit by moonlight.
"WAIT FOR ME!!!"