The night didn't stay quiet for long.
Cities never do—
especially not when they're divided, frightened, and starting to believe in someone they're not supposed to.
Hope is dangerous.
And the Director knew it
Loki and Axis kept moving, weaving between empty streets and glowing towers.
The city still murmured behind them—soft, uncertain, alive.
Axis let out a breath.
"Okay… so the city didn't turn on us. That's good, right?
…Right?"
Loki didn't answer.
He stopped walking.
Axis followed his stare.
And felt his stomach drop.
Ahead—
where the district's main square should have been empty—
a crowd had formed.
Not soldiers.
Not civilians.
Something in between.
Faces half-hidden. Clothes mismatched. People from rooftops, alleys, underground stations, and old markets.
Citizens.
But not just citizens…
Something was different about them.
Their stance wasn't fearful.
It was ready.
A figure pushed through the crowd.
A young boy, maybe nineteen. Dirty hoodie. Metal piercings glinting under neon. Eyes blazing with something wild.
He didn't run. He didn't shake. He didn't look impressed or afraid.
He looked decided.
He walked right up to Loki—
close enough that Axis nearly threw himself between them.
But the boy raised both hands.
"Relax. I'm not here to fight."
He swallowed.
"…I'm here to start."
Axis blinked.
"Start what? A riot? A suicide attempt? What—?"
The boy ignored him and looked straight at Loki.
"My name's Jax."
Loki waited.
"And since Division Zero wants your head…"
Jax tapped his own chest.
"…I figure they'll want mine too."
Axis frowned.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing," Jax said. "That's the problem."
His voice cracked—not from fear, but anger held too long.
"They took my brother a year ago.
Said he was a 'potential threat.'
Said he might grow into something dangerous."
Loki's eyes sharpened.
"They killed him?"
"No."
Jax's smile was colder.
"They made him disappear."
His voice lowered.
"And when you showed up…
when you faced a Reaper and didn't bow…
people like me realized we're done being quiet."
He stepped back.
And the entire crowd behind him stepped forward.
A wave.
A decision.
Axis whispered:
"Loki… they're forming a rebellion because of you."
Loki didn't react.
Didn't smile.
Didn't deny it.
His voice was soft, flat, dangerous.
"I didn't ask for allies."
"You didn't need to," Jax said. "We chose ourselves."
The crowd nodded behind him.
Jax stepped closer again.
"Look… I don't know what you are.
Or what you can do.
But you walked through the city tonight like someone who's not scared to exist."
His fists clenched.
"And that's more than anyone else here's ever done."
He lowered his head slightly—
not a bow, not submission.
Respect.
"We're with you."
A siren wailed in the distance.
Multiple.
Division Zero patrol.
Everyone flinched—
Except Jax.
He squared his shoulders.
"If they're coming for you, then let them come for me too."
He lifted his chin.
"I'm not hiding anymore. I won't be another missing name."
Jax—
a nobody in the city's forgotten cracks—
had just drawn a line in the sand.
And crossed it.
Axis whispered:
"…Holy crap. He's serious."
Loki looked at Jax for a long moment.
Then:
"You're making a choice you can't take back."
Jax smirked.
"Finally. Something worth not taking back."
The crowd stiffened as Division Zero lights flashed down the street—
glowing blue and white, slicing through shadows.
Jax turned to them.
"You all know what happens next."
Some nodded.
Some tightened their grip on makeshift weapons.
Some simply stopped breathing.
Jax faced Loki again.
"They're not coming for you alone anymore."
Loki's eyes narrowed just slightly.
"They're coming for anyone who believes you exist''
For the first time, Loki stepped forward.
Not much.
Just one step.
But the crowd felt the ground shift under it.
Jax swallowed.
Loki said quietly:
"Then stand behind me."
The entire square went silent.
Utterly, painfully silent.
Axis blinked in shock.
The crowd froze.
Jax stared.
Because Loki had just chosen something too:
Not to run.
Not to let them fight alone.
Not to let Division Zero erase them.
Loki had chosen—
To stand for the people who stood for him.
Jax didn't smile.
He grinned like he'd been waiting his entire life to hear those words.
He turned to the crowd.
"You heard him."
And the first rebel stepped behind Loki.
Then another.
Then twenty.
Then fifty.
A wave of shadows taking form.
Blue-white lights slammed into the square.
Division Zero soldiers stormed in—
masks glowing, weapons humming, orders booming:
> "CITIZENS—DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY."
> "TARGET IDENTIFIED: LOKI."
> "STAND DOWN OR FACE CLASS-A CONSEQUENCES."
But no one moved.
Not one rebel.
Not one voice.
Not even Loki.
Jax whispered:
"This is it."
Axis exhaled shakily.
"Oh, we're dead. We're so dead."
Loki stepped forward alone.
He didn't draw a weapon.
Didn't flare an aura.
He simply looked at the soldiers with his hands in his pockets.
And the rebels behind him straightened like they were standing behind a king.
A soldier raised a weapon.
Jax raised his chin.
The city held its breath.
Then—
Loki's voice cut through everything:
"Touch them…"
His eyes glowed faintly.
"…and you won't leave this square."
Every soldier froze.
The crowd stared.
Jax whispered behind him:
"…We chose right."