Drayke didn't hesitate.
The moment Chiki turned, the air twisted violently beneath Tema's feet. A circular distortion opened like a wound in space itself.
Tema fell.
Her body dropped straight down as gravity betrayed her, her fingers snapping forward in pure instinct.
"Chiki—!"
She almost caught him.
Almost.
A sharp schlk echoed as the portal snapped shut.
The sudden pressure shift threw Chiki backward, the edge of the distortion grazing past him by mere centimeters.
His heart slammed against his chest as he realized—
If his reflex had been even a fraction slower, his arm would've been gone.
He barely had time to breathe.
Drayke was already there.
Without a smile.
Two daggers glinted inches from Chiki's face.
Before Chiki could even raise his guard, Drayke drove a brutal kick straight into his gut.
The impact folded him in half.
Air blasted out of Chiki's lungs as he was launched backward, crashing through glass and steel, disappearing out of the building entirely.
Silence followed for half a second.
Then—
A shadow appeared behind Drayke.
Bear.
No words. No warning.
A kick slammed into Drayke's side with crushing force.
The air warped violently as Drayke was sent flying, smashing through multiple layers of reinforced structure before stabilizing himself mid-air.
The building groaned under the strain.
Chitki reacted instantly.
"Oxygen masks—now!"
Panels snapped open across the facility.
Sleek helmets sealed around everyone's heads in seconds, locking into place with soft hisses as pressure equalized.
Bear exhaled slowly.
"Kanten," he muttered under his breath.
The world folded.
Reality collapsed inward with a deafening boom.
In an instant, nearly every Tema member—Peppy, Chitki, Bandri, Tuka, Bear—vanished from the building.
Even Drayke was dragged along.
They reappeared suspended in open space.
Then gravity—light, unfamiliar—pulled at them.
They crashed down onto crimson terrain.
Dust exploded upward as bodies skidded and rolled across rocky ground. The sky above was vast and alien, tinted with deep orange and violet hues.
Marsh.
A deserted planet.
Low gravity made every movement feel wrong. Steps carried too far. Balance wavered. Power control felt distorted, unstable.
Bear landed on one knee, steadying himself.
"This place can take the damage," he said calmly. "Our world can't."
Drayke rose slowly, brushing dust from his coat.
Even here—
He was smiling again.
Around him, the Tema members struggled to adjust, boots digging into unfamiliar soil, muscles fighting against altered physics.
The battlefield had changed.
And this time—
There would be no collateral to hide behind.