The station groaned like an old god dreaming in metal. Steam hissed from broken pipes above the alleys of Sector Nine, casting shadows on junk-stacked walls and neon graffiti that flickered like dying stars.
Xion Moon walked alone, boots heavy with dust from the asteroid mine. His uniform, oil-stained and torn at the sleeves, clung to his frame with the scent of heat and iron. He passed the broken vendor bots, the flickering lights of a half-dead noodle stall, and the limp form of a man sleeping beneath a tarp of stitched sails.
He was almost home.
Then he heard it.
A scream of fear.
He froze.
The air in Sector Nine always tasted like rust and regret.
She sat where she always did beneath the crooked fuel arch between the scrap wall and the dead vendor bot. The ground was cold, metal flaked with ash and soot. Her knees were pressed to her chest, arms wrapped tight around them, eyes flicking toward boots that passed her by.
"Please," she whispered. "Just a little… anything."
No one looked at her. No one ever did.
She was fourteen. Thin, dirty, and invisible just another piece of broken metal in the bones of the station.
She hadn't eaten since yesterday.
But she could wait.
She always could.
And then she saw him.
Xion Moon.
He didn't speak. But he always looked at her Like she mattered. Everyday, he gave her food. Some days, a few credits. And always, always a smile that made her chest ache.
Today, he walked past like usual. Tired. Dust-covered from the mines. His black clothes smeared with oil. Shoulders stiff with exhaustion.
But still… he looked at her.
Still, he smiled.
She didn't know why, but it made her feel stronger.
Then he disappeared down the alley.
And that's when they came.
Five of them. Hooded. Moving too quietly.
She didn't notice them until hands grabbed her.
One on her arm. Another wrapped around her mouth.
"Don't struggle," a voice hissed. "We'll make it quick."
She kicked. Bit. Thrashed.
They didn't care.
She screamed, the sound breaking through her throat, raw and cracked.
People heard. She saw them.
Faces in windows. Heads turning. A man crossed the street… then turned away.
"HELP!" she cried. "PLEASE...."
Nothing.
No one moved.
No one ever moved.
Her heart thundered. She clawed at the ground as they dragged her from the corner, her heel scraping metal.
"LET HER GO!"
He smashed into the first man, fist crashing against his jaw with a crack. The girl tumbled to the ground, gasping.
But the others moved quick like they expected trouble.
A blow caught Xion from the side. Then another. He staggered, fell. Fists rained down on him. Cold boots slammed into his ribs. A voice snarled in a tongue he didn't recognize.
The girl screamed again this time choking with panic as they grabbed her leg, dragging her across rusted ground.
'No. Not her'
He felt Something snap in him.
A pulse.
A tremor under his skin.
His eyes flared silver.
Veins bulged.
Muscles tensed and thickened.
The air itself seemed to recoil from his presence.
And then
He rose.
With a roar that didn't sound human.
He grabbed the nearest attacker by the arm snapped it like dry wood. The man didn't even scream before hitting the wall like a broken doll.
The others turned, shocked. But too slow.
One lunged. Xion caught him mid-stride, slammed his head into the ground with enough force to bend steel plating. Another reached for a weapon, but Xion was already there, punching straight through his chest bones crushed.
They tried to run.
He didn't let them.
When it was over, they were dead. All of them. Limbs twisted. Eyes wide with frozen fear.
Xion stood in the middle of it chest heaving, fists bloodied, his frame still trembling with residual energy.
Around him, the people who had once watched in silence now fled in panic. The streets emptied.
Only the girl remained.
She knelt a few meters away, dust streaked across her cheeks, eyes wide in disbelief.
"...Xion?" she whispered.
He turned to her, breath slowing. The glow in his eyes fading. His heart beginning to calm. Muscles relaxed, pulse slowed, the storm inside him retreating.
He staggered.
He collapsed to one knee.
Then fell.
"Ah.." the girl gasped
Before he hit the ground, she caught him.
Small arms, trembling but firm, pulled his head onto her lap. She brushed the blood from his brow with dirt-streaked fingers.
She didn't flinch.
She looked down at him in silence.