Aika's trembling body pressed weakly against his again as tears continued pouring down her face, her thoughts completely collapsing under the weight of grief and desperation. She moved against him again without thinking, trying to force herself to feel wanted, trying to imitate the happiness she once saw in Rose.
"This is what men want… right…?" she cried shakily, her voice barely holding together anymore. "R-Right…?"
Her hands weakly grabbed onto his shirt again as she pressed herself against him, desperately trying to chase some kind of warmth through the emotional numbness crushing her heart.
Suddenly—
Her trembling hand moved lower.
Arnik's eyes widened instantly as he grabbed her wrist before she could go any further.
"Aika—NO."
His voice came out sharp and panicked as he immediately stopped her hand, his face completely red while his chest rose heavily from stress and restraint.
But Aika looked at him with watery, broken eyes.
"…You're hard… aren't you…?" she whispered weakly through tears, her voice sounding more hurt than seductive. "D-Doesn't that mean you want to…?"
Arnik immediately shook his head hard.
"That's not what this is!" he snapped back instantly, still firmly holding her wrist to stop her from touching him again. "I'm a guy, okay?! That doesn't mean I want this!"
Aika's lips trembled weakly.
"Then why…" she whispered shakily. "…why won't you…"
Arnik's expression tightened painfully.
"Because you're not thinking straight right now!" he shouted back.
That made her freeze.
Tears continued rolling silently down her cheeks while her small body trembled above him.
Arnik's grip slowly softened slightly around her wrist as his breathing steadied.
"Aika…" he said more quietly now. "If this happened tomorrow… after you healed… after you actually knew what you wanted…"
He swallowed hard.
"…then maybe things would be different."
Aika's eyes trembled slightly.
"But right now?" Arnik shook his head firmly. "You're drowning in grief and trying to use me to escape it."
His voice cracked slightly near the end.
"And I care about you way too much to let that happen."
Aika's lips trembled violently after hearing those words, and for a few seconds she just stared down at him silently before her entire expression finally collapsed.
"…I miss her…" she whispered weakly.
Then suddenly—
She broke.
"I MISS HER SO MUCH…" Aika cried, her voice cracking apart completely as tears poured endlessly from her eyes. Her small body shook violently above him while she clutched tightly onto his shirt like it was the only thing keeping her together.
"Every day hurts…" she sobbed. "Every single day without her hurts so bad…"
Arnik's chest tightened painfully as he listened to her completely fall apart.
"She was always there…" Aika cried weakly. "Rose was always there for me…"
Her breathing became uneven again as more tears rolled down her face.
"She smiled even when things were horrible… she always protected everyone… and now she's just…"
Her voice broke apart completely.
"…gone…"
Arnik slowly sat up more despite her still sitting against him, immediately wrapping his arms around her small trembling body as she cried against him.
Aika grabbed tightly onto him the moment he did.
"I don't know what to do anymore…" she sobbed into his chest. "Everything feels empty without her…"
Arnik shut his eyes tightly for a moment before gently resting his hand against the back of her head.
"…I know," he whispered quietly.
Aika continued crying uncontrollably against him, her entire body trembling from grief while Arnik simply held her there, letting her finally let all of it out instead of bottling it inside anymore.
***
Crowne stood quietly near the bridge's viewing glass, an old photograph resting in his hand. It was a photo of Vayne, Crowne, Andrew, Alexander, Takashima, Miu, Blitz… and one young woman with long red hair and freckles across her cheeks.
His eyes lingered on her. Even in the photograph, she was looking directly at him with the same warm smile she always had.
The sound of footsteps echoed across the bridge.
"Crowne…"
Crowne didn't turn around as Alaric Vayne came to a stop beside him. For a few moments neither of them spoke, and Crowne quietly slipped the photograph back into his coat before folding his arms across his chest.
Then Vayne let out a long sigh. "Malrik…"
Crowne immediately looked annoyed. "There it is."
Vayne adjusted his glasses slightly. "What?"
"You only call me Malrik when you're about to say something that's going to ruin my day."
Vayne remained silent.
Crowne's eyes narrowed. "I hate your guts."
Vayne closed his eyes for a moment. "I am aware."
Crowne clicked his tongue. "Good."
The bridge fell quiet for a few moments before Vayne finally spoke. "Malrik… what happened that day was wrong."
Crowne immediately looked annoyed, his jaw tightening and his eyes narrowing as he stared at Vayne. "It was over twenty years ago." His annoyance only grew as he looked away. "And stop calling me Malrik."
Vayne slowly placed a hand against his chest. "It has me thinking."
Crowne rolled his eyes. "That sounds dangerous."
Vayne ignored him and looked out toward the stars beyond the bridge. "This team reminds me of us. Every one of them reminds me of who we used to be before everything went wrong, and every time I look at them I cannot help but think they are heading down the same path."
Crowne remained silent.
"They are going to end up broken."
Crowne immediately scoffed. "Shocker. Having the weight of saving humanity dumped onto a bunch of kids is going to break them. What exactly did you expect?"
Vayne didn't answer.
Crowne looked away toward the viewing glass. "Arnik is carrying the hopes of humanity, Kai willingly threw away most of his lifespan, Aika is barely holding herself together after losing Rose, and Markus is one bad day away from completely losing himself. None of this is normal."
Vayne lowered his eyes slightly. "No… it isn't."
Crowne shoved his hands into his pockets. "The difference between them and us is that nobody gave them a choice. We walked into our mess willingly. They inherited theirs."
As they were speaking, the pilot's voice suddenly came through the bridge.
"Sir! We are approaching Saturn's space field."
Vayne looked toward the front of the bridge and gave a firm nod. "Aye, aye." He clicked the device attached to his arm before speaking into it. "Angel Squad, all hands on deck. Prepare for arrival."
Within ten minutes, Angel Squad arrived on the bridge, all of them dressed in their combat uniforms and prepared for anything that could happen once they entered Saturn's territory. Arnik walked in confidently with Aika, Kai, and Markus following close behind him.
As soon as everyone arrived, Vayne turned toward them. "We don't know what to expect. Saturn has finally agreed to speak with us after months of complete radio silence, so I want all of you prepared for anything."
Arnik nodded confidently, his expression showing none of the uncertainty he had carried before. "Right. I won't let my guard down."
Vayne smiled slightly at his response. "Good."
Kai adjusted his glasses as he looked toward Vayne. "If they so happen to open fire on us, what is your plan?"
"Nothing we can do," Crowne quickly answered, folding his arms across his chest. "Without Saturn, we practically have no chance of winning this war. Right now, humanity is hanging on by a thread."
Vayne nodded slightly. "But don't expect anything from them. Saturn was officially declared a neutral planet after the Great Pirate War, so they have always been reluctant to involve themselves in conflicts outside their territory. Still… this situation is strange."
Markus looked toward him, his ears twitching slightly at the comment. "Strange? Strange how?"
Vayne looked toward the viewing glass as he answered. "Andrew briefed all of the Sovereigns on Lionel and what he really is. Most of them were skeptical, but Saturn was actually the first to offer its support in taking Lionel down." His expression tightened slightly as he remembered how quickly everything had fallen apart. "Sadly, Lionel attacked before we could properly organize anything against him."
Vayne remained focused on the stars ahead. "That is why I find it strange that Saturn suddenly went completely radio silent after offering its support."
Crowne remained quiet as he looked toward the viewing glass.
"We can only hope…" Vayne continued, his expression growing more serious. "…that they are still on our side."
Almost immediately after he said it, a transmission came through the bridge.
"Identify yourself, Martian vessel."
Vayne stepped toward the communication system. "This is Alaric Vayne, captain of this vessel. We are requesting permission to come aboard."
There was a brief delay before the voice responded.
"Vayne? We have been expecting you. Please continue on your current course."
Vayne nodded slightly. "Understood."
The ship continued forward as Saturn slowly came into full view through the massive viewing glass, growing larger with every passing second until they were finally close enough to see just how massive it truly was.
The enormous planet was surrounded by a colossal ring-shaped space station that wrapped completely around it, covered in countless lights, buildings, towers, and docking platforms. Ships moved around the station in every direction, making Vayne's vessel look as if it was a grain of rice in comparison.
***
As they got closer, two Saturnian ships suddenly came into view, moving into position on either side of Vayne's vessel before matching its speed and escorting them toward the massive ring station.
The closer they got, the more impossible its size became to ignore. The outer walls of the station stretched endlessly in both directions, curving around Saturn until they disappeared from sight. Thousands of lights covered its surface while ships moved between enormous docking sections built directly into the ring.
It truly was a beautiful sight to behold.
A testament to human advancement.
The ultimate civilization.
As Vayne's ship approached the station, a section of the massive outer wall began to separate. Enormous metal doors slowly pulled apart, revealing a landing dock so large that it seemed to stretch for miles into the station.
A transmission came through from one of the Saturnian escort ships. "Proceed inside and land. Once you have landed, we will escort you from your vessel."
Vayne gave a small nod. "Aye, aye."
The ship passed through the enormous opening with the two Saturnian vessels remaining beside it until they crossed into the station. Rows of landing platforms stretched across the massive dock as countless ships sat parked throughout it, some small enough to carry only a few people while others towered over Vayne's vessel.
The pilots slowly lowered the ship toward the assigned platform, the landing gear extending beneath them before touching down against the metal floor with a heavy thud. The engines gradually powered down as the lights around the platform came on.
Behind them, the massive doors began closing.
The two enormous sections slowly moved back together, blocking out the view of space piece by piece until Saturn itself disappeared behind them. A deep metallic rumble traveled throughout the docking bay as the doors finally met and locked together.
Vayne looked toward the others.
"We're here."
They exited the ship, stepping out onto the massive landing platform as the doors behind them slowly closed.
For a moment, Angel Squad simply stood there in awe, looking around at the enormous docking bay surrounding them.
Arnik's eyes widened as he looked up toward the ceiling far above them. "This is massive! How is this even possible?"
Kai adjusted his glasses slightly as he looked around. "Everything you see here is conjured by magic."
Arnik looked toward him. "How is this even possible?"
Kai glanced at him. "You'd be surprised how magical our universe really is…"
The two Saturnian escort ships landed nearby, their doors opening before two men stepped out and approached them.
One of the escorts looked toward Vayne and Crowne. "It's good to see you survived… even after everything that happened."
Crowne immediately narrowed his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"
The other escort quickly looked toward his partner. "Warren, we were ordered not to ask them about everything that happened. It was… a lot."
Vayne raised an eyebrow at that comment, clearly noticing how strangely the two men were speaking, but he didn't say anything yet.
Markus looked around the enormous docking bay before glancing toward the distant walls. "How are we supposed to get out of this place?"
Almost as soon as he said it, a deep mechanical sound came from beneath them.
Markus froze. "What the—"
The entire platform began to lower.
Not just the section beneath their feet.
Vayne's entire ship descended with them.
The massive platform slowly sank into the floor, carrying everyone downward as thick glass walls rose around its sides. Within seconds, they realized they weren't simply standing on a landing platform anymore.
They were inside a massive glass elevator.
As they descended farther, the metal walls surrounding them disappeared—
And Saturn's city came into view.
Everyone went silent.
The inside of the ring was an entire world.
The city stretched farther than they could see, built across the enormous inner walls of the station itself. Thousands of buildings rose along the curved surface, some disappearing high above them as the ring continued around, while enormous towers of glass and metal reached toward the center of the station.
But it wasn't only a city.
Forests grew between the buildings. Rivers ran through enormous green valleys before pouring into lakes that reflected the artificial sunlight above. Fields of flowers covered entire sections of the ring, while waterfalls poured down from higher levels of the city and disappeared into the forests below.
Birds flew past the glass tube as they continued descending.
Arnik slowly stepped closer to the glass, staring out at everything. "There's… an entire ecosystem in here…"
Kai's eyes moved across the city. "Of course there is. With hundreds of billions of people living here, Saturn couldn't depend entirely on supplies from other planets. The ring was built to sustain itself."
Farther below, massive streets ran between the buildings while trains moved through clear tubes suspended high above the city. Smaller spacecraft traveled between different sections of the ring, disappearing into openings built directly into its walls.
And everywhere they looked—
Life.
People filled the streets.
Ships moved overhead.
Animals wandered through enormous parks.
The entire civilization continued around the inner surface of the ring until the distance made it impossible to tell where the city ended.
Aika slowly approached the glass, her hollow eyes widening slightly for the first time since they left Mercury.
Even after everything humanity had lost…
Something this beautiful still existed.
Crowne stared out through the glass as the platform continued carrying them deeper into Saturn.
"Welcome to paradise…"