Drayke stepped closer to Tuka.
The boy was still standing.
Not because he could—but because his body hadn't realized it was already broken.
Blood dripped steadily from his nose, his mouth, down his chin, splashing onto the cracked surface beneath his feet.
His arms hung loosely, fingers trembling, breath uneven, shallow, almost nonexistent.
Drayke tilted his head.
"Still alive?" he muttered, lifting one dagger.
The blade slid toward Tuka's neck.
Just an inch away—
THWIP.
A cable wrapped tightly around Drayke's leg.
The pull was sudden, violent.
Drayke was yanked backward, his strike missing by a breath.
"Guess I'm useful after all."
Peppy stood at a distance, feet dug into the ground, grappling launcher smoking in her hands, chest heaving as she struggled to keep her footing in the low gravity.
Drayke clicked his tongue.
Annoyed.
Tuka's knees finally gave in.
He collapsed forward, landing heavily, his body no longer able to pretend.
Above them, the sky screamed.
A massive spaceship tore through the thin atmosphere, engines blazing, metal glowing red-hot as it descended with terrifying speed.
Inside the cockpit—
"Target locked," Chitki said, hands flying across holographic panels.
"BACK DOOR. NOW," Chiki shouted from behind her.
"Don't rush me! I am not your servant!" she snapped back.
The ship's cannons rotated.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM.
Blazing lasers rained down, forcing Drayke to leap back as the ground around him exploded, chunks of the planet lifting and drifting into the air.
Peppy rolled aside, shielding Tuka instinctively.
"Man...look at your face, it looks like a pizza without cheese." she muttered, gripping his shoulder.
Inside the ship, Chiki didn't wait.
"OPEN IT!"
Chitki clenched her jaw.
"…You know what? Go ahead. Don't cry coming back requesing to be rescued!."
The rear hatch opened.
Wind howled.
Without hesitation, Chiki jumped.
Mid-air, he twisted, already pulling pins.
Bombs.
Too many.
He threw them in a wide arc.
One detonated on impact—
another shattered terrain—
a third ripped open a massive hole in the planet's surface, the shockwave bending light for a split second.
Even Drayke froze.
His eyes widened in genuine shock.
"…That brat," he muttered.
Chiki landed hard, rolling, skidding across the ground before springing back up, breathing fast, eyes burning.
"Miss me?"
Above, Chitki didn't waste time.
Mechanical arms extended from the ship, cables firing out, carefully pulling injured members aboard one by one—Peppy first, then the others scattered across the battlefield.
Her movements were steady.
Focused.
No hesitation.
Drayke straightened slowly, cracking his neck.
A grin crept across his face.
"Using my own line against me?."
Chiki stood his ground.
"Have you seen a mirror? It looks like you got beaten up HARD!"
Behind him, the planet burned.
Above him, allies were being saved.
And somewhere far away—
Tema was still missing.
The fight wasn't over...