The cargo shuttle's hold reeked of metal. Machine oil. Compressed air. Rust. In the shadow of stacked containers, Ren Kazahana and Ariel crouched low. The shuttle's floor transmitted a faint vibration. They were flying now, roughly 40 kilometers from Prometheus Tower. Ren held a portable terminal on his lap, eyes fixed on the screen. He was searching through communication logs with the relay station. Normally, data about nearby shuttle movements and weather patterns should be flowing in. And yet—— It was too quiet. The receiving channels were returning almost nothing. An unnaturally muted silence, as if deliberately throttled. (I have a bad feeling about this.) Ren closed the terminal and looked up at the ceiling. Beyond the metal panels, the shuttle's engines whined. They'd touch down in about twenty minutes, by his calculation. "Is that... a lamp?" Ariel's voice came from beside him. He turned to see her staring intently at a small red warning light mounted on the side of a container. Her pale silver hair swayed slightly with the vibration. Her expression was serious. "Yeah. It's just telling us the temperature's being regulated so the cargo doesn't shift." "I see." She nodded, then placed her palm against the shuttle's wall. Slowly, as if confirming the vibration. Her lavender eyes seemed to be looking at something far away. "It's so fast. I've never moved this quickly before." Her voice had taken on a slightly childlike quality. Ren couldn't tell if she was frightened or simply curious. Ariel's right hand reached out and gently grasped Ren's sleeve. Not tightly. Just... confirming. As if saying to herself, "I'm here." Ren didn't pull away. (I feel like I need to protect her. I won't think about why right now.) --- The shuttle decelerated. The impact of landing. The containers groaned low. Rastel Relay Station——a material distribution hub positioned at the boundary between the mid-levels and the deepest zones. If they switched to the next transport shuttle here, they could reach the surface levels. According to the plan, they were supposed to make the transfer in under ten minutes. Ren stood and extended his hand to Ariel. "Let's go. We leave before they start unloading." "[serious]Yes." The cargo hold hatch opened from outside. With a mechanical sound, the ramp descended. Ren led Ariel through the gaps between stacked containers. He could hear workers' voices——or thought he could. But he couldn't. It was quiet. The moment they stepped down, Ren stopped. The platform was silent. Normally, workers would be running everywhere, forklifts moving, voices shouting orders during unloading. Now there was no one. Containers sat stacked, the unloading process frozen mid-operation. As if everyone had simply vanished—— "[whispers]Ren." Ariel spoke softly. Ren pulled a terminal from his pocket and launched a hacking program. He infiltrated the relay station's surveillance cameras. Three seconds. Five seconds. The feed came through. A figure in black armor stood in the corridor. Not alone. Every time he switched cameras, another person in the same uniform appeared. Platform entrance. Loading passage. Central control room. Mizgards. The Pursuit Enforcement Division——an armed enforcement organization under direct control of the Sephiroth Council. A unit of approximately 340 operatives specialized in tracking and apprehending those who defied the Council. They'd been cut off. They were already here, waiting. "[scared]Already......" Ren kept his voice low. "Cargo storage. Right side. Now." "[serious]Understood." The two crossed the platform. They didn't run. They made no sound. They wove between the containers where unloading had stopped. Ren's hand found the heavy door of the storage unit, and they slipped inside. Darkness. Only emergency lights cast a red glow across the floor. Shelves held materials. Empty containers lined up in rows. The deeper they went, the darker it became. Ren pulled Ariel forward, moving between the shelves toward the back. Voices drifted in from outside. "The target will definitely pass through this relay station. Seal all areas." A radio voice. Cold. Emotionless. "[serious]Initiating thermal scan. Report any anomalies." Another voice. Footsteps approached the storage door. Ren's eyes found the back wall. Several pipes ran along it. Beneath them was a narrow maintenance space——the minimal gap workers used for equipment inspections. Barely a meter in each direction. Whether two people could fit was a question of inches. "Get in there." He pointed without speaking. Ariel nodded and squeezed herself into the space first. Ren followed. As he slid his body between wall and pipe, Ariel's form pressed against him. Her back was against his chest. Her silver hair hung just below his jaw. He felt her body heat——the subtle warmth of artificial skin that androids possessed. Slightly cooler than human warmth. But unmistakably warm. The storage door opened. A light swept across the shelves. Boots. More than one set. Multiple figures moving through, checking shelves as they advanced toward the back. Ariel's body trembled slightly. Fear, Ren thought. Not a programmed response. The genuine fear of a living thing. An emotion born only three days ago, now shaking in this moment, in this place. Ren slowly brought his arm around Ariel's back. "[whispers]It's okay. I'm here." He whispered, barely a sound. Ariel went still. The trembling eased, just a little. "[whispers]Thermal signature detected. Rear area." ——He heard it. Something pounded violently in Ren's chest. His hand gripping the terminal grew slick with sweat. The footsteps drew closer. The light moved methodically down each row of shelves. Two more rows. One more row. Ariel slowly tilted her face upward. Her lavender eyes wavered just below his chin. So close. Closer than they'd ever been, Ren thought. He'd never seen this girl's eyes speak so clearly about anything. They said: I'm afraid. They said: I don't want to lose this. Ariel's lips parted slightly. She made no sound. Only looked at him. What floated in her eyes——Ren couldn't name it. If he named it, something would change. The Mizgards operative reached the row with the maintenance space. The light illuminated the pipes. It reached within two centimeters——and stopped. "[serious]Weak signal in this row. Move on." He spoke curtly into his radio and the footsteps receded. Ren realized he'd been holding his breath. Slowly, carefully, he drew air back in. Ariel pressed her face against his chest. Her arms trembled faintly. (I want to protect this child. It's not an obligation. Not a researcher's responsibility. It's just... I hate seeing her afraid.) The moment he understood that, something crystallized inside him. Something he couldn't put into words, yet unmistakably real. --- The footsteps faded completely. Ren checked his terminal. The Mizgards were sweeping the front half of the storage unit and heading toward the exit. In three minutes, they'd be back. "[whispers]We move. Find the exhaust duct." "[whispers]Yes." They emerged from the maintenance space. Ren moved along the wall, checking as he went. He had the building's layout memorized——he'd downloaded the design data for Rastel Relay Station before their escape. The emergency exhaust duct was in the storage unit's deepest section, near the ceiling. There. A metal opening roughly sixty centimeters in diameter. He removed the cover. Four screws. No tools. Ren used the corner of his terminal case, forcing them with raw strength. His hand ached. It didn't matter. "[serious]Get in first." Ariel pulled herself into the duct. Ren followed. Tight. He felt the cold metal against his entire body as he crawled forward on elbows and knees. Ahead, he could see the soles of Ariel's shoes. Thirty seconds. One minute. The duct angled upward and opened to the outside. Night air touched his face. Both of them tumbled out onto an external passage. Behind the relay station. Searchlights cut through the sky on the opposite side of the building. The pursuit team's gaze hadn't reached them yet. Ren stood and extended his hand to Ariel. "Are you hurt?" "[gentle]No. Are you?" "No." Ariel took his hand and stood. She didn't let go. Neither did Ren. He checked the map on his portable terminal. Taking the next shuttle was impossible now. The Mizgards controlled all of them. The only option was to walk the 350 kilometers to Kalta Ferzen, a small city in the surface levels. If they crossed Brückenwald——the vast crystal forest that sprawled across the surface——they might lose their pursuers. It would take days. There would be danger. But right now, there was no other way. He looked at Ariel. Her face was tired. Yet her eyes had lost some of their trembling. "[serious]I'm coming with you." It was a statement, not a question. Not "May I go?" but "I'm going." Ren heard the shift in her voice. (This child is growing stronger.) "Yeah." He answered briefly and began walking. The otherworldly phosphorescence drifted across the sky, and the crystalline sand beneath their feet reflected the light. Searchlights swept in the distance. The pursuit continued. But in this moment, their hands were clasped together. The long road to Kalta Ferzen was beginning. The shadows of Brückenwald's crystal trees loomed black against the distant horizon.