“You know, I do not blame anyone. So leave things behind us.”

“The reason I’m going there is the past. I’m clueless about leaving things behind.”

“I don’t mean it like that. I've waited years to go, too.”

“...”

“We all have our problems, but I want you to overcome your regrets. Would be a shame to die regretful.”

“You’re right.”

“Know that I have nothing to forgive you for. That is how I think.”

“...thank you. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“With that said, you could spit it out. Any more secrets about your business there.”

“Why, you plan to complete my mission, if I die trying?”

“Hell, no. Don’t kill yourself like that, Myke.”

“I won’t.”

“Promise that. We will find them all, whatever it takes.”

“I promise. Hurry up, I’ll tell you on the way.”

"Alright."

Unable to inspect his position with the aid of the battlefield sounds, Houston took an inefficient path for his pursuit. As he was already delayed by a simple trick, Myke had all the time he needed to try regrouping. Reaching the deepest part of the maze, he sat down, his back lying on the rock wall that spanned both sides as far as the eye could see. The few lights spanned every few meters were already flickering, many completely turned off. Soon, the destruction would be substantial enough to set the place into total darkness.

Sitting there, a heavy breath, an acute noise in his ears. A flashback to his hopeless fights against the same enemies; somehow, his allies could always turn the tide around.

Again, he could only have faith.

The bloodbath was getting closer to an end, but that morning, it was overshadowed by an even greater tragedy. All of their efforts that morning were decisive, but in history's eyes, numbers sometimes solely decide the attention.

While Myke and the others were fighting, the Federation had declared the manned moon outpost and its orbiting stations as allies of the Autonomous Resistance Nation established in the Mars colonies. While on earth's underground the fight was balanced, on the Moon it could barely be called a battle.

It was pretty much one-sided. A sweep wipe-out of over two thousand people, adding up those on ground structures and those on the orbiting stations.

Hundreds of billions of dollars exploded in a matter of hours. The First-Order General carried out the command, supported by most authority figures of the Federation’s leading sovereign states. Their plan was to simply claim the ruins left on earth’s natural satellite and rebuild the research facilities, orbiting stations, inter-planetary terminals, and everything they annihilated. This time, under their absolute banner. A symbol of total victory was to be achieved.

The International Space Fleet was officially restored to its old form, something they frantically aimed for in the last thirty years.

A sample of power to show they were ready.

Claire and Franklin approached the despairing hostages set as bait at the dead-end of a tunnel, with hopes of freeing at least one group.

They were divided into two-man groups, ordered to advance deeper into the Metropolis. The mechanism used to activate the bombs was a rather simple improvised trick, enough so it could be quickly arranged for all decoys.

A small observer sphere was placed on top of the drill. Franklin assumed it was set to detonate the explosives would the hostages stop advancing for a certain amount of time. Knowing the speed at which their drone from before was moving on and where it blew up, he could estimate a safe distance from the trap.

Each of his options had its own risks. Could they shoot at the gadget without dooming their lives? Would it be safer to try hacking it with so little time available? He wondered how much of this wicked strategy was just a bluff by the enemy, making his worries meaningless.

“Now that I think about it,” Claire observed – “you’re a better shooter than I am…”

“Don’t even think about it. You’re already here” Franklin replied, stopping shortly after – “This distance is good.”

Franklin kneeled, lifting his rifle. For this kind of weapon, it was surprisingly compact. Truth is, he had brought it to this mission purely due to nostalgia. In this environment, no one would expect a long-range firearm to be of any use.

“What do I want?” he thought – “I do not have time to play it safe. Do I want to risk it all just to save some strangers?”

“Hey, Fran, what’s up?” Claire asked

“Do I want to increase our chances? Would those guys even help us?” Franklin kept thinking – “I want to live, sure. I can’t die here. Now that I think about it, that’s why I came. I wanted to live.”

“Fran, listen to me!” Claire snapped – “What are you doing?”

“In hindsight, you should probably run.” Franklin said, aiming his rifle – “You have 5 seconds”

“Hey! You-”

“4…3…”

“Damnit!”

She thought about going. But Claire had made a resolution to not hesitate. In such a high-risk situation, they were gambling their lives all along. Franklin only decided to call another bluff, as he was used to in his old job.

He wanted it all. To live, to help others, to make a difference, to fight, he had come across many who couldn't do any of it.

He breathed in, out, and calmly fired.

Walking down the tunnel, a group of five wasted people came across an old man, sitting in a corner and covered in blood. He had a bent arm and looked completely beat up.

“Hey, good to see you.”

“What the hell happened,” Claire angrily replied – “you’re wounded all over, and that broken bone…”

“Broken bone?” Myke said, looking throughout his body – “Where?”

“Uh…”

“That’s what you get for throwing the plan out of the window immediately,” Franklin interrupted – “did you do it? Whatever you wanted?”

“Well, yes.” Myke responded – “But a dangerous guy remained, and is coming here. We should hurry.”

Franklin managed to save Amos and Henry. Thanks to Bruce, Alex had reached them. But no one had time for introductions.

The Rat remotely detonated all the remaining planted explosives, triggering a collapse all over the place.

With most lights turning off, night-vision equipment was to be completely relied on, but it wouldn’t be useful for very long as a thick smoke continued to spread everywhere.

The main tunnel had already reached the entrance. He had the authority to decide whether they should go to the city regardless, or wait for Houston to come back. He didn’t completely trust Houston but was willing to wait. Unquestionable success in this mission could only be achieved with the one most experienced accompanying them. Not grasping the full picture of Houston’s nature, he couldn't imagine how dire the current situation really was.

Again, Claire was the first to notice the incoming threat. While they could already see the last enemy group on the GPS, behind them one dot rapidly approached. Definitely, the enemy Myke had spoken of. They had to hurry.

Unconscious, Myke had become a weight. But they could not afford to leave him behind. Out of time to ponder how to deal with Houston, the solution presented itself to them.

As he sprinted through the smoke, he started blasting aimlessly ahead, not minding whoever got hit. With most of his senses gone and the use of adrenaline boosters plus other drugs, he had gone berserk.

His enemies had thrown themselves to the side; in such darkness, he could only see ahead the lights of Rat and his soldiers. Several of them were shot by Houston himself.

Their commander wondered if they had been betrayed. Many surprises came up ever since they came down the stairs into this hellhole.

Rat's real name was Loyd. And when it came down to it, he didn't really trust anyone to complete this mission besides himself once they got inside Akro. He counted on Houston being useful, but not on his complete loyalty. But Loyd was angry regardless. The gateway was falling down; rubble rapidly dropped and accumulated, covering the tunnels.

He could either make a run for it at the entrance or run back and report that no one managed to enter the city. As long as he lived another day, Loyd thought that he could see to it that the supreme leader brought absolute justice and glory to mankind. The Federation meant nothing, and he had a purpose yet to be fulfilled.

Loyd ran away, leaving them all behind.

They had all gone the way around to reach the entry, but Franklin stayed. Houston had passed them, going forward and still shooting. He got shot back, several times, Franklin poke his head out, only viewing Houston due to the light of his blasting assault rifle. He got hit countless times by his own allies. A few seconds later, it stopped, and Houston disappeared into the smoke.

Houston turned around and started walking back as if nothing had happened. Three steps, and he fell to his knees. He saw the figure of Bruce in the distance.

"Right until the end, none of you showed up...you damn pests..."

He took a pin out of a grenade and threw it into the ground. The faint sound it produced saved Franklin, and as he hid, the explosion buried Houston and almost closed off the area.

When they regrouped and reached the tunnel, all soldiers except one were laying dead. At this point, the underground was finally silent. And silent it stood as the soldier pointed his pistol to Alex's head, who pointed back his own gun. They all looked into his eyes.

There was no point in fighting anymore. Like his commander, the nameless soldier slowly stepped back and eventually ran away. Relieved, they continued.

They took turns carrying Myke. It was another underground labyrinth, but completely different. The tunnels were pitch-black on all sides and continuous thin light-blue shining lines seemed carved into the ground, being responsible for the ambient dim luminosity. The place looked endless and unaffected by the collapse that happened relatively close by.

There, localizing devices were useless. All signals were unable to reach the outside. Whatever those walls were made of, it left people unreachable. Claire could only think how this was what Julian and Sasha went through eight years before. She wondered if they actually managed to find a way out.

They were all tired and had to stop and rest not long after their entry. A feeling of unease loomed over, but there was no choice except push forward.

Amos and Henry could not shake off their terrified expressions. Just before, death was a certainty for them.

Alex was not the kind of guy to start conversations when this kind of mood hit the room. They just had an essential triumph, he was confident everybody agreed on that, but the situation still presented itself as hopeless. He decided to take a stroll ahead while the others rested, and something caught his eye.

Alex walked for a minute to reach it. A light at the end of the tunnel.

It was an arrow. A very big one. He followed it. Ahead, another arrow, pointing in the same direction. A little farther, a sign was stuck to the wall.

"Follow for the end

– J, S"

Alex dashed back to his allies.

After resting and partially tending to Myke’s injuries, they moved ahead. In his state of half-consciousness, Myke understood.

Claire knew that they made it.

Not only did Julian and Sasha find the way out, but they believed in those left behind to one day reach the impregnable lost city. And they’ve gone through considerable efforts to make it easier.

They did not know if it was in time, or too late. If true hell was about to show itself, or if it was left behind.

The five of them moved on regardless.