Arriving at the edge of U Corp, the sight before us was… unreal.
Everything was rubble.
Collapsed buildings, torn streets, shattered structures stacked atop one another like a graveyard made of concrete and steel. Smoke still rose in thin trails, and the air smelled burnt metal, ash, something bitter that clung to the back of my throat.
The report said less than fifteen percent of the populace managed to escape.
The Nest was decimated.
"This place…" one of the fixers muttered. "It's worse. Worse than the Pianist back in District 9."
No one argued.
The convoy continued forward, rolling deeper into what used to be the city. We were heading toward the Hana Association camp stationed in U Corp assuming it was still standing.
Assuming anyone there was still alive.
"That man, Roland…" the same fixer beside me spoke again, his tone far more serious than before. "He's a monster."
He paused.
"And whoever he's fighting isn't any better."
I glanced at him. For someone clearly experienced, fear still crept into his expression. Not panic but something heavier.
The kind of fear that comes from understanding just how bad things really are.
The drive to the camp was mercifully short.
The Hana camp was still standing barely.
Several structures were damaged, barriers cracked, emergency lights flickering. There were far fewer personnel than expected.
Some lay in medical tents, bandaged, exhausted, or unconscious.
As the convoy stopped, a Hana personnel approached us. They wore the same white coat but the badge was different.
A supervisor, I realized.
"They're fighting in the center of the city," the personnel reported.
"Got it," the superior nodded, then turned to face the convoy. "Prepare to move out."
That was all it took.
Fixers poured out of the trucks almost instantly, lining up, weapons ready. The mood shifted no hesitation, no chatter. Just grim focus.
I scrambled out after them, heart pounding.
This is it… my first real mission.
"Oh right." I nearly fumbled as I pulled out my clipboard. "Time to write everything down…"
____
"This wing's clinging to dear life," the Hana supervisor muttered as we moved through the rubble.
We advanced toward the city's center, stepping over debris, broken roads, and shattered remains of what once passed for safety. Behind him were Hana fixers and personnel like me.
Then.
CLANG.
BOOM!
BOOM!
The sounds hit us before the sight did.
Metal screaming against metal. Explosions shaking the ground beneath our feet. Each step closer made the noise louder, heavier, more violent.
And then.
We saw them.
An unknown Fixer, standing toe-to-toe with a man who would've become the next Black Silence if the previous one hadn't already fallen.
The battlefield was chaos incarnate.
Buildings torn apart mid-collapse. Craters etched into the streets. Shockwaves rippling through the air with every clash.
Are they even human…?
The thought echoed silently in my head as I stared at the fight unfolding before us.
Because whatever they were. They were far beyond anything I had ever imagined.