The sky was finally quiet.
For the first time in hours, the thunder of artillery and the screech of tearing metal faded behind them as the Sawtooth Razors scattered in retreat.
Their blimps limped into the horizon like wounded predators, smoke trailing from shredded hulls. Krane Stratos was gone—what was left of him—and with his retreating forces vanished the storm he had brought.
But victory meant nothing when the Bloodhawk was dying beneath their feet.
The deck lurched violently, nearly sliding out from under Netoshka as she sprinted across it. Flames licked through broken panels. Gears screamed. The stabilizer wings flickered in and out, half-melted from the bombardment.
Zev yelled into the wind behind her.
"GET TO THE MAIN ROOM! NOW!"
She didn't need to be told twice.
They burst through the hatch. Almost the entire Inferius squad was already there—shaken, bruised, soot-covered, but moving.
Ron was gripping the primary control yoke with white knuckles, Battery assisting him with three robotic arms at once. The screens flickered with red warnings faster than the system could list them.
ENGINE FAILURE DETECTED
ALTITUDE CRITICAL
STABILIZER OFFLINE
IMPACT IMMINENT
"Ron—status!" Netoshka demanded.
He didn't look back. "We're losing her! I can't lift the nose, the left thrusters are gone, and the stabilizer's cooked like a cheap breakfast!"
Battery added flatly,
"Correction: the stabilizer is currently on fire."
As if on cue, something exploded somewhere below the deck.
The Bloodhawk tilted down hard.
Everyone slid toward the front wall. Zev caught Rue before she slammed into a pipe. Alev braced Serah. Twila split into two forms to help anchor Zopi and Raine.
Netoshka grabbed the railing, her whole body shaking with the violent descent.
"STABILIZE IT!" she yelled.
Ron barked back,
"THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO—OH GODS—BATTERY, VENT THE ENGINE—NO NOT THAT ONE—"
Another explosion shook the airship
.
"What the hell did you do?" Surgien shouted, slipping across the floor.
Battery calmly replied,
"I vented the correct engine. The incorrect engine vented itself."
"We're going down fast!" Renzo yelled. "There's swamp terrain below us—soft soil, heavy water—IT MIGHT SAVE US!"
Genrihk's dead eyes flickered a ghostly teal.
He peered through the hull as if through glass.
"…Impact in seven seconds."
"EVERYONE BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Netoshka ordered.
And then—
The Bloodhawk plunged into the swamp like a torpedo.
The impact threw everyone forward. Wood, steel, and glass exploded around them. Water surged through cracks. Something massive snapped overhead. Reality flashed white—then dark—then white again.
When the world steadied, they were half-submerged, half-tilted, sinking slowly.
The interior lights flickered once before dying for good.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then Surgien groaned. "My… medical supplies… gods damn it all—my supplies.. no—"
Netoshka coughed swamp water out of her lungs.
"…Forget the supplies. Everyone out. Now!."
They scrambled through the buckled hatch and climbed onto the side of the Bloodhawk, which was sinking nose-first into the murky green depths.
One by one they leapt into the swamp water and dragged themselves toward the banks.
Genrihk floated above it all, spectral and annoyed.
A final, hollow BOOM echoed as the Bloodhawk detonated from within—its last act of service. A plume of fire shot into the sky, briefly lighting the drowned remains before they disappeared forever.
Ron wiped mud from his face.
"…Goodbye, old girl."
Battery placed a metal hand on his shoulder.
"Statistically speaking, she lasted significantly longer than anticipated."
Ron replied with sadness on his face but tried to kepe up a calm demeanor:
"That doesn't make me feel any better."
Netoshka looked back at the steaming crater where their airship used to be… then forward.
Dense forest stretched on their right.
A road disappeared to the left.
Ahead—barely visible through mist and shadow—was an enormous concrete tunnel mouth carved into the hills. A cold wind poured out of it like breath from something ancient.
Rue whispered,
"That tunnel… It feels wrong."
Renzo nodded, shivering.
"There's something… inside. Interference. Malice."
Netoshka tightened her gloves.
"Okay....We're splitting up."
She pointed:
**"Team A — Ron, Battery, Serah, Raine, Alev, Ginny, SP3CTR, Renzo.
"You guys Take the forest route. Make for Delta City ASAP."
"And as for Team B — Taran, Zopi, Twila, Genrihk, Circe, Zev, Surgien and Rue… with me."**
Zev frowned.
"Why us?"
She stared at the tunnel.
Its darkness seemed to breathe.
"Because that tunnel isn't normal. And if something is waiting inside…"
Her voice dropped.
"…it's better if the ones who've already touched the abyss handle it."
Surgien groaned.
"Oh gods, don't tell me—"
"Yes, Surgien, we are going Inside of the Tunnels, no if or buts okay?" Netoshka said.
"Inferius Squad is going into the tunnel, well not all of us as we are splitting up, but just up, we'll Rendezvous back to A team later, but now, you all have to follow my lead, got it?."
Surgien swallowed hard as he gulped his saliva.
"…Is it too late to change squads?"
Netoshka remained quiet, ignoring his plea.
"is that a Yes?."
They stood before the vast entrance—an unlit maw disappearing into blackness.
The air was colder here, as if sunlight refused to touch it.
Zopi squinted.
"Hear that?"
Everyone went still.
Something… scraping.
Something big.
Somewhere deep inside.
Netoshka exhaled slowly.
"Squad. Lights on. Weapons ready, we're going in, Stay Frosty, don't wanna catch a Cold while we explore this place."
And with no Bloodhawk behind them—only swamp water and smoke—they descended into the tunnel, swallowed by the dark.