The penthouse's lounge was warm with soft blue lighting and a low table cluttered with takeout boxes and drinks. Jack sat sprawled on one couch. Lenny lounged sideways on another, one leg hanging off the armrest, while Ichiro was half-listening from the floor, leaning back against the sofa. Emilia sat cross-legged in an armchair, sipping tea.
Lenny: "So, anyone else notice how Henry and Elara have been… you know… talking more?"
Jack smirked without looking up from his drink.
Jack: "Talking, huh? That's what we're calling it now?"
Ichiro: "What else would you call it?"
Jack glanced up, grinning.
Jack: "Something that's going to be awkward as hell if they keep dancing around it."
Emilia rolled her eyes.
Emilia: "Leave them alone. Both have been through enough. If she's opening up to Henry, that's a good thing."
Lenny tilted his head.
Lenny: "Yeah, but it's funny seeing her actually, like… care. She always had that 'stay away or I'll cut you' vibe."
Ichiro smirked faintly.
Ichiro: "She still does."
They all laughed lightly, the tension of the past days easing for a moment. Jack leaned back, finally setting his drink down.
Jack: "Honestly, though… whatever's going on there, it's making Henry sharper. More focused and happier."
Emilia nodded.
Emilia: "I hadn't seen him smile for a while until we came crash-landing into Neoterra.
Ichiro agreed, but his tone turned more thoughtful.
Ichiro: "Focused is good. But distractions get people killed. We're walking into something bigger than the Black Halo. I can feel it."
The room quieted for a moment, his words lingering in the air. Jack broke it with a small grin.
Jack: "There's the Samurai and his wisdom."
The silence in the room broke into laughter.
Lenny: "Well, at least we're all still here. And I don't know about you guys, but I'm not planning on going anywhere."
Jack smirked and tossed him a soda can.
Jack: "Then let's make sure none of us do."
The group shared a small, unspoken agreement—a fragile peace in the middle of everything.
After a while, everyone has entered their rooms. Henry stood alone in the kitchen, eating leftovers from earlier. He didn't notice the footsteps approaching him from behind—not until Jack took the leftovers from his hands.
Henry: "Hey, I was eating that."
Jack chuckles, taking a big bite of the half-eaten chicken wrap.
Jack: "Come on, man, you should have eaten with us."
Henry (grinning): "Asshole."
Jack (grinning): "Am I seeing right? Henry, are you grinning?"
Henry (chuckles): "Come on, man, that's not funny."
In one quick motion, he takes the wrap off Jack's hands.
Jack leans backwards on the fridge—with crossed arms he stares at Henry, who quickly eats his wrap.
Henry: "What's up? It's late."
Jack: "Can't sleep. And you?"
Henry: "Haven't slept in a while."
Jack (laughing): "Liar, I've seen you sleep in the safe house."
Henry (raising an eyebrow): "So you are stalking me. Alright."
Jack: "Come on, man, why didn't you eat with us?"
Henry shrugged his shoulders.
Henry: "Didn't feel like it… not yet."
Jack: "Not yet? You wanted some alone time with your new girl."
Henry: "New girl? What are you talking about?"
Jack: "Don't do me like that. I've known you for a while now."
Henry: "Elara and I are just…talking."
Jack (laughing): "For now."
Henry: "Oh, shut it, man."
Jack breaks into laughter. Overshadowing the door, which slightly opens.
Ronnie enters the kitchen—only wearing pants.
Henry and Jack stare at the battle scars all over Ronnie's body.
Ronnie: "Seeing a ghost, you two?"
Jack points out the scars on Ronnie's chest.
Jack: "Those are pretty cool scars."
Ronnie: "Yeah? Those were when I fought a serial killer."
Ronnie points out another scar on his chest.
Ronnie: "Those were from my master. She was really tough on me."
Henry: "Who was your master?"
Ronnie: "A mysterious woman who had many names over the years. Don't know what she is doing now."
Jack: "So she's alive?"
Ronnie: "Must be. I would like to see someone actually landing a hit on her."
Jack yawned loudly.
Henry: "Can't sleep my ass."
Jack hit the back of Henry's head softly.
Jack: "Get some rest, Henry. You too, Ronnie."
Jack quietly left the kitchen, leaving both of them alone.
Jack passed the lounge—the laughter of before was still echoing in his head when the air outside the glass wall dimmed unnaturally. The neon lights of Vanterra were swallowed by a looming shadow.
Jack opened a can, drinking out of it with a smile before he looked out of the window—his smile faded first.
Jack lowered the can.
Jack: "… What the hell is that?"
A figure descended from the clouds, his silhouette framed by the moon—standing atop a shimmering golden cloud, his hair whipping in the wind. In his hand, a wooden staff extended longer and longer, growing to an impossible length.
Rai Tenshiro.
He grinned with a predator's ease and swung.
The staff slammed into the side of the tower with a deafening CRACK. Glass and steel screamed as the entire lounge wall exploded inward—furniture, shards, and light raining down into the city below. The floor beneath him shook violently.
Jack rolled to his feet instantly, wings half-sprouting from his back as Kaelvyn's voice roared in Lenny's mind. Ichiro spun into stance, Emilia already summoning mist to shield them.
Jack: "What the hell was that!"
Before he could fully process Rai's arrival, a different storm hit the building from below.
The marble floor was splintered with scorch marks, overturned desks, and groaning guards. Joren walked through the front doors like a man strolling through a garden, his grin wicked under the flickering light.
One guard raised his weapon—too slow. A flash of orange heat erupted around Joren's arm, and an explosive shockwave sent the guard flying into the far wall.
Another lunged; Joren barely flicked his wrist, a small detonation bursting at the man's feet, sending him crumpling in a heap.
He stepped over the downed men casually, pressing the elevator button with a bloodied thumb.
Joren (to himself, amused): "Penthouse, please."
The elevator doors slid shut. As they began their ascent, faint traces of smoke curled from his fingers, his eyes glinting with the thrill of the hunt.