Evening had fallen, and the world outside the abandoned building was turning a deep bruised red, the last bit of sunlight dying behind the fractured skyline. Shadows stretched long across the cracked concrete, filtering through gaps in the broken walls like dying embers breathing their last.
Inside the shelter, silence ruled.
Vince's body lay on a makeshift platform— an old metal slab covered with a patched cloth. His face was pale, strangely peaceful, as if he were only sleeping. But everyone in the room knew better. They had cleaned the blood from his ears, brushed dirt from his hair, straightened his clothes. Anything to make him look… less gone.
Leo stood at the front, unmoving, his eyes red and swollen. The others—Levi, Nick, Rem, Tessia, and Anya—huddled around him. Their shoulders shook silently. No one dared speak; even their sobs were small, muffled, afraid to disturb the stillness around Vince.
Yash sat at the far corner, his posture casual despite the tension in the room. He was polishing guns, checking chambers, tightening bolts. The rhythmic clack-click of metal was the only sound in the room.
Jake finally broke the silence.
"What happened to the hover bikes?" he asked, voice low but firm—not emotional, but strained with urgency.
Tosh tapped the side of his visor. "Wait… they're approaching in stealth mode," he said, analyzing the faint signals only he could see. "Because of the commotion we caused, Penta Corps is already heading this way. And looks like the other mercs want to finish this quickly too."
He breathed out heavily.
"So the moment those hover bikes arrive… every second counts."
Jake nodded grimly and took the Guns from Yash. He handed the guns back to the mercs.
Then, with a soft tremor in the air, the hover bikes descended.
Three machines glided down from the darkened sky like silent predators.
Their white armored plating gleamed faintly in the dusk, and glowing cyan energy lines pulsed rhythmically along their sleek frames. The hum of their anti-grav fields resonated through the ruins with a metallic echo. Their sharp, angular noses pointed downward with deadly precision, slit-thin headlights cutting through dust. The side thrusters flickered with cold blue light, keeping each bike perfectly balanced. A circular engine ring burned gently at the rear, giving off a low, ominous whine.
They landed without a sound—almost ceremonial.
The children stared with wide eyes.
If Vince had been alive, he would've practically screamed in excitement. He would've touched every panel, asked every question, memorized every feature.
Now he could only lie still.
Lucy slowly pushed herself upright, one arm wrapped around her bandaged midsection. She looked at Vince's body, her expression tightening. Mercenaries grow numb to death eventually, but even then, the sight of a child hit differently.
She took a single step— then grimaced.
"The painkiller's wearing off…" she muttered, clutching her stomach.
Leo immediately rushed to her and caught her arm before she could collapse.
Lucy allowed herself to lean into him, her forehead resting briefly on his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him gently. His face pressed against her chest, but Leo felt nothing remotely flustered. Only sorrow tightened inside him.
A single tear escaped.
Then—
She jerked violently— then shoved Leo away with pure reflex.
Leo tumbled backward, stunned, his mind blank for a heartbeat.
Then he looked up.
BANG!
A violent crack echoed through the shelter.
Blood splattered across Lucy's jacket.
Leo turned towards the shooter.
"I aimed for the kid's head," Yash said, voice chillingly flat. "Even injured, Lucy's awareness is still sharp."
"What the f**k!?" Jake and Tosh both aimed and pulled their triggers—
CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.
but their guns didn't fire.
"Oh, I locked all the guns temporarily when I did their maintenance earlier," Yash said with a grin. "Hahaha!"
Then he pulled the trigger on his own gun and fired again.
Jake deflected the bullets with his cybernetic arms.
"I was wondering how they kept finding us," he growled. "Today was supposed to be a secret operation. So you're the traitor…"
"The hell, Yash?! You son of a—" Tosh roared, his voice shaking.
He had treated Yash like a brother. They had survived countless life-and-death battles together.
Yash only laughed.
"My mission was to kill these kids and finish every last one of you. When I went to find Lucy earlier, I planned to kill her too…" He glanced at Leo, who was glaring at him like a cornered wolf. "But this brat showed up holding a gun, so I changed plans. I'll kill all of you here instead."
He grinned wider.
"I've already notified the mercs. They're on their way. Your deaths are inevitable.
And you have no idea how much they paid me."
Tosh shook with fury. "I'll— I'll kill you…"
He fired—
or tried to.
"I told you," Yash mocked. "No gun here can shoo—"
BAM.
A shot tore cleanly through Yash's neck.
Metal and blood splattered.
Yash dropped his gun, choking and stumbling. He looked back while falling.
Leo stood behind him. Harpie in hand. His Expression was unreadable.
'I forgot the kid had a gun…' Yash thought numbly.
'Even if he did… who would expect him to hit a vital spot in his first shot?
Killed by a slum brat…
using a beginner's gun…?'
His eyes dimmed.
He fell.
Leo immediately kept the Gun and rushed to Lucy.
He tore her top open just enough to reach the wound— her bandage was already soaked with fresh blood. Shrapnel glinted under the skin.
He grabbed the first aid kit— and froze.
He didn't know what to do.
"It's useless," Jake said quietly. "That bullet might've pierced near her heart. Nanomeds could push the shrapnel into the artery."
"We can save her only if we get her back to the ship," Tosh added.
"Then let's go back to the ship," Leo said firmly.
Jake shook his head.
Leo almost grabbed his collar— but didn't. His voice remained calm.
"What does that mean?"
Tosh guided the frightened kids toward the hover bikes, giving the two some space.
Jake nodded slowly, impressed by Leo's restraint.
"Kid… you're smart. So I'll keep it simple."
He pointed at the sky.
"More mercs are coming. We only have three hover bikes. We can ride two. Lucy is unconscious— she'll slow one bike down."
"Even if we put the third one on autopilot… autopilot doesn't dodge bullets."
Jake pointed at the children.
"I'll take three kids with me. Tosh will take three. That load is already heavy— it'll slow us, but manageable."
He looked directly into Leo's eyes.
"The best way is to leave her."
Leo inhaled shakily, then turned toward Lucy.
---
Jake sat at the rear of his hover bike, the three girls squeezed in front of him.
"Stay behind my arms. No bullet's getting through," he reassured them.
On the second bike, Tosh sat up front with Levi and Nick behind.
Leo placed Lucy— heavily bandaged— between Levi and Nick.
"Hold her tightly. No matter what happens," Leo said.
"What about you?" Levi asked.
Leo smiled softly. "I'll use the autopilot on the third one."
But the kids were suspicious.
Jake remembered Leo's earlier conversation with him.
"No," Leo had said. "Save Lucy.
I'll take the third one.
Just set the coordinates toward those two fallen buildings over there.
I can escape.
If I go in a different direction, it'll split their forces."
Jake looked at Leo for a long moment.
Then nodded.
"Alright. But we won't wait for you."
Leo smiled faintly.
"Then please tell them goodbye for me… and tell them this goodbye isn't forever."
A flying AV and several armored mercs surrounded the building.
The hover bikes lifted off.
Leo in a hover bike, looked at Vince one last time.
Then—
"FIRE." Someone ordered.
A deafening explosion shook the entire structure.
The building began to crumble.