District C looked untouched.
The group walked in a loose column, the Doctor at the front with Kharon just behind him, his spears slung across his back. The sunlight spilled evenly across clean pavements and neat rows of buildings, the glass still unbroken, the walls freshly painted.
It was jarring.
Civilians wandered freely, chatting with street vendors as if the city's collapse hadn't even grazed them. Children ran laughing across open squares, darting between benches and market stalls. There were no barricades, no rubble, no stench of fear.
"Feels like we stepped into a different world," Zima muttered under her breath, hand resting near the haft of her weapon as she scanned the side streets.
"It's eerie," Rosa agreed quietly, her finger resting along her rifle's guard.
Gummy's face lit up when she spotted a familiar figure across the square waving in her direction.
"Lada?" the girl called, jogging over with a wide grin.
"Katerina!" Gummy exclaimed, rushing forward. "I can't believe you're here! Are you okay?"
"Of course I am," Katerina laughed easily. "Why wouldn't I be? What's got you looking like you just crawled out of a warzone?"
Gummy's mouth opened, but nothing came out.
"Hah, school really is that bad, huh?" Katerina teased, patting her on the arm. "Don't worry about me, I've got errands to finish. See you later, Lada!"
And just like that, she vanished back into the crowd, humming like nothing at all was wrong.
"This isn't right," the Doctor said as they turned a corner, his voice low and analytical.
"Looks perfectly fine to me," Burngear muttered. His mechanical fingers flexed once before shoving deep into his coat pocket. "Maybe you're just not used to normal."
"You're missing the point," the Doctor said sharply.
"No," Burngear snapped back, irritation flashing across his mismatched eyes. "You're wasting time."
His voice rose with each word, drawing a few glances from nearby pedestrians.
Zima let out a heavy breath, her expression taut.
"He's right. We should be out there helping him, not sightseeing."
Leto and Istina nodded quickly, Rosa giving a silent, firm agreement with the tilt of her head.
The Doctor stopped, turning to face them fully.
"And what exactly will you do if you find him? Throw yourselves into a fight you aren't prepared for? Slow him down with good intentions?"
His words hung heavy in the air, but they didn't back down.
Burngear's mechanical hand clenched and released with an audible whir.
"Slow him down? He's the one who trained me!," Burngear growled. "I'd just be doing what he taught."
They all remembered the moment Fang had made his choice.
Earlier…
The group stood around the cracked map Kal'tsit had projected across a broken tabletop, its faint blue light flickering across their faces.
"Reunion's moving back into the southern block," Kal'tsit's drone explained, hovering over the map's center. "A number of Rhodes Island operators left without my authorization to slow them down. They're holding, but not for long."
"Then I'm going," Fang had said without hesitation, his voice quiet but final.
Burngear's jaw had set immediately, a spark flaring in his mismatched eyes.
"Alright let's go!"
Kal'tsit's tone hardened.
"Fang can reach them and maneuver without drawing attention. Sending the rest of you now will put more lives at risk."
"We can't just sit here," Zima said sharply, her fists tightening.
"You can, and you will," Kal'tsit said flatly.
Fang had raised a hand gently, halting the brewing argument.
"I'll go first," he said simply. " Continue with the doctor's plan, I'll make sure to do my part as well."
"Sensei—" Leto began, but Fang had already started moving toward the door.
Burngear's grumbling was cut short by a sound that didn't belong.
Laughter.
It started soft, distant, and then came again—clearer, layered with static, echoing from somewhere close but nowhere visible.
The group froze.
One by one, every screen in the nearby appliance store flickered to life, their surfaces bathing the street in pale light. Old monitors, cracked flatscreens, even dusty display units that shouldn't have had power—all of them blinked on in perfect unison.
And every single one showed the same image.
A man sat in an immaculately kept chair, legs crossed, his posture perfectly casual yet unyieldingly precise. His face was handsome in a sharp, deliberate way, his features symmetrical enough to seem almost artificial. Behind him, countless wires descended from the ceiling like the roots of a metal tree, each one disappearing into terminals that blinked with faint green light.
The man adjusted the cuff of his sleeve before speaking.
"Ah… the Ember Priest's newest children," he remarked smoothly, his tone more amused than surprised. "How wonderfully capable you all are"
He leaned forward slightly, resting his chin against the back of his clasped hands.
"A new generation of fighters… one that would never have needed to shed blood—"
His eyes shifted.
"—if it weren't for you… Doctor."
The words carried no heat, no anger—only an observation delivered like fact.
"But I digress."
He leaned back again, the smile never leaving his face.
"It is… truly a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is irrelevant to most, but for those who need it…"
The screens all glitched briefly, his face fragmenting into shifting pixels before reforming perfectly again.
"You may call me the Director of Continuity."