They were about to reach the ruins of Ramnusia. After crossing all of Kervel, they had finally arrived.

However, they were hungry, tired and lacked many supplies, so they made a last stop in Krunvir, the closest town to the ruins: a small place in a basin between the great mountains, constantly plagued by the cold.

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Erica looked at a display case with some distaste. On the other side of the glass were weapons, tents, gun batteries, shields, canteens and all sorts of survival items. There were even potions, just what she was looking for, only she hadn't expected them to be so expensive.

—Fifty fists for a potion?— she protested in her mind.

Fifty fists was enough to stay in a fancy hotel for several days or buy a used car. She thought she could easily steal the potion. After all, she was already a wanted criminal, but she didn't feel like doing that either. She didn't like people stealing from her.

So she went into the store, grabbed some three potions and took them to the counter, but didn't notice that the salesman was a human like her and not a noni. He stared at her, curious.

—Don't I know you from somewhere?— the guy asked.

Erica looked at him and shook her head, she had never seen him before in her life, but at that moment the salesman noticed her and jumped away, alarmed. Then, before the astonished gaze of the customers, he pointed at her and shouted at the top of his lungs.

—It's Erica! She's a dangerous terrorist!

Everyone in the room jumped in fright. Some customers left immediately, while other nonis, in their youth, tried their luck by beating up the dreaded criminal. She slapped them off and then turned to the vendor, but he had already left through the back door.

Then she looked at her potions, still unpurchased. She couldn't buy them if no one was selling them.

—But I need them!— she exclaimed.

She thought again of stealing them. There were so many, no one would blame the seller for saving his life instead of a few potions, no one would notice that she had taken a couple of small bottles, compared to the other crimes she was accused of...

But then she imagined what her friends would think seeing her with so many potions. Arturo would surely add two plus two in seconds and Liliana would definitely guess what had happened just by looking at her face. Resigned, she put down a wad of 15 bills of ten fists each and left with three of the eighty potions in the store.

She walked quickly down the sidewalk, covering herself as much as her hat would allow. She was looking at the ground, for Liliana had once told her that eye contact drew attention, so the less she looked at people, the less they would recognize her. However, as she was crossing the busiest street in the whole city, something caught her attention upstairs. As she looked up, she saw her face just as it was, looking up that same street.

—Shit!— she said.

She looked for the camera that had captured her. To her surprise, she found a flying drone hovering in front of her. Erica formed a harpoon of timitio, threw it hard and skewered it into the drone rather than let it flee, but as she looked up, she found her face again, this time from a different angle. She turned around to find twenty more drones, while another large number approached from the sky. She had been caught.

Immediately police and army patrols appeared in the streets. The officers pointed their guns at her, but Erica had no time for that. There were only a few kilometers left to the ruins, she couldn't think of giving up at that point, so she kicked a patrol car to send it flying and distract the nonis. She immediately started running in another direction.

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Inside the ship, Arturo was reading a book about the ruins of Ramnusia. Some useful information came out, such as that it was covered in snow and that the area usually had a lot of fog and occasional blizzards, but most of the information was garbage and reading it only wasted his time. Meanwhile, Liliana looked in the mirror; she was thinner than ever. The constant exercise had given her a slightly slimmer figure, although given a choice, she would prefer to live in a quiet world where she didn't have to face monsters every other day. She still had a few scrapes from when they wandered into the source of timitio. Traveling while worrying about her image was an odyssey, but even with all they had been through, she didn't think she looked bad. Finally, Brontes' fang mark stood out on her chest. She wondered what her parents and Arturo's mom would say when they saw her like that.

Then she looked at the boy, she noticed him fighting in his mind with the author of the tourist book. "Jerks, they're all jerks," he must have been thinking. Next she got dressed again and went to the bookshelf to grab a book herself, about the history of Kervel, which she had been reading lately. It was very interesting, for although the nonis were as intelligent as the "humas", their predilection for strength inclined them to ways of behaving that took Liliana completely by surprise.

Before reaching it, however, the ship the alarm went off. Arturo, startled, stood up to see what it was all about, while Liliana watched from where she was. Soon, a screen with Erica's face appeared on the side of the windshield, reading "Dangerous terrorist sighted in the center of Krunvir".

They showed a live video of Erica sliding through the streets at full speed. Quickly Arturo looked up the city map on the ship's computer, scanned Erica's location, her speed, and then the ship's location. He made some quick mental calculations, and after a hasty decision, he activated the engines.

—What are you going to do?

—We'll have to leave right away!— he said.

—What about Erica?

—We're gonna pick her up.

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It seemed to her that she had left the policemen behind, but she couldn't stop to rest. As they had shown her location on the news, Tur would surely see her and prepare his troops to receive her with all his defenses.

Suddenly a flying ship stopped in front of her; Tur's ship. A side door opened, from the other side Liliana appeared, beckoning her to approach. Erica took a huge leap, grabbed the lower edges of the door and rushed in. Liliana closed behind her.

—I'm sorry, I've been discovered— she said when she saw her friends.

Arturo was watching the road, in the pilot's seat, while Liliana checked the news.

—It's all right. It's surprising it took them so long— Liliana downplayed it.

—Grab on to something!— warned the mage.

Both girls looked for the closest thing they could grab, while the ship turned sharply to head east at full speed. They almost collided with other ships, but those stepped aside to let them pass. They streaked through the city like a comet, dodging obstacles left and right.

For a moment it seemed to them that no one was following, they thought they could get out of Krunvir without a fight, but suddenly six police ships emerged from behind a building, swooping down on them. Arturo had the reflex to slow down, but Erica wasn't about to stop for them, so she shot at them with the ship's laser beams.

—Keep going!— she shouted.

Arturo accelerated to full throttle. The ship took off again at full speed, dodging the warning shots from the police ships.

—Erica, get them off us! Lili, tell me where to go!

—Understood!— they both exclaimed.

Erica readied the robotic arms on the outside of the ship to fire at the pursuing ships, while Liliana moved the map out of Arturo's sight and checked the route they had chosen. As expected, there was a roadblock ahead.

—They have a blockade. Go up— said Liliana.

—We would be an easy target— explained Arturo.

Liliana quickly looked for a street parallel to the blockade. Some others were also surrounded. Krunvir was a small city and there were not many options, but also, there were few policemen.

—We'll have to go south and go around the blockade— said the girl.

—Good.

They quickly turned, slowed down and hid between two large buildings. Then they continued through streets with little traffic to where Liliana indicated. All the time she was checking the news. Suddenly, to their relief, they announced that they had lost sight of them.

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It took them a little longer than they had expected, but in the end they managed to get out of the city without major problems. From there they aimed for their destination and continued on towards the snowy mountains. Arturo left the autopilot on, but did not move away from the pilot seat, as something was bothering him.

—Alright!— exclaimed Erica— Finally, today is the day we teach that damn First noni his lesson. I can't wait to take his ring off!

—And that he lifts the bounty on us— reminded Arturo.

—Of course, that's very important— stressed Erica.

—And take revenge for what he did to our world— added Liliana, with her head down.

The others stared at her, surprised. For a moment they had forgotten Liliana's resentment towards Tur. When no one said anything, she looked up and noticed her friends puzzled. She already knew that none of them shared her frustration, but remembering it made her feel poor in mind and spirit. Of the three of them, she was the only one who stayed in the past. She felt immature, but she couldn't let go of that feeling either.

In that moment a hand rested on her shoulder. It was Erica, who nodded to her with conviction.

—And we will take revenge for what he did to Mother— she assured her.

Liliana smiled, relieved and happy to know she was in company.

—And we will not let him do anything else— added Arturo.

The girls nodded. The three of them were already focused on the same thing. They felt that no one could stop them.

But they didn't have much time to cheer each other up, because suddenly on the screen appeared a flying ship that looked very familiar. They noticed they were being recorded from higher up.

—Breaking news!— said the reporter— The human terrorists sighted in Krunvir moments ago are trying to escape into the mountains! Here is the chief of police to give you more information.

The screen flicked back to reveal an elderly noni in a police uniform.

—Yes, yes, we were already prepared for these crooks. We drove them out of town to avoid harm, but now that no one is around, we can take them by force. Bounty hunters nearby are invited to participate. All those who have ships and want to fight, go and stop these criminals.

—I've been informed the police force know which way the terrorists will go— added the reporter— Is this true?

—Yes, it is true. We already know where they are headed. I'm telling you, we have them trapped.

—And can you tell me how you got this information?— the reporter asked.

—I'm sorry, my source prefers to remain anonymous, but I assure you that his reliability is irrefutable.

Then on the screen they showed the route the children planned to take to the ruins of Ramnusia.

—Let's go another way!— said Erica.

—There is no other way!— argued Arturo— at least not on the maps, and none of us know the area. We have no other choice.

—How did they know exactly where we were going?!— exclaimed Liliana.

For a moment no one said anything, while everyone thought of the same answer. It was obvious, only one person had the authority and the necessary information to pass it on to the police.

—That damn Tur!— exclaimed Erica— I can't wait to give him the beating of his life!

—Right now we'd better worry about those guys chasing us— said the boy.

The girls nodded and went to their places. Liliana examined the radar.

—Three ships are approaching, very fast.

—Arturo, accelerate to the maximum!— Erica commanded.

—That's what I'm doing, but there are faster ships.

—Five more ships are approaching— said Liliana.

Erica readied the cannons and aimed at the dots that could be seen approaching from the distance, but soon those dots increased in number until they became a multitude.

—There are so many of them!— exclaimed Liliana.

—How many bounty hunters are there in Krunvir?— asked Erica.

—This must also be his doing— deduced Arturo.

—Then let them come!

Erica started shooting with everything they had. Liliana put the radar aside to activate the secondary defenses and started firing too. The ships from behind attacked them back.

—Arturo!— Liliana exclaimed.

—I see them!

The ship dodged to one side with a sudden movement. The missiles followed it, but it rose, then turned to the other side, made a turn and continued zigzagging.

The girls were firing left and right, but the enemy ships were too many, and it took several shots to eliminate each one. Suddenly an impact jolted all three of them. A diagram of the ship appeared on a screen on the windshield. It showed the damaged area.

—They shot at us!— said Arturo.

—If we keep going like this, we'll never make it to the ruins!— said Liliana.

—We still have the super mega laser beam— reminded Erica— but once we use it, we will need some time to recharge.

While dodging enemy gunfire, Arturo noticed the mountains ahead, no longer so far away. Beyond, near the road was a fissure between two large elevations, a narrow hole through which hopefully a single ship could pass at a time. The hole continued into a narrow tunnel, inside of which it seemed difficult to maneuver. An idea occurred to him.

—Ready the hyper cannon!— he commanded.

Erica turned back to the panel to pull out the cannon and load it.

—All right, hyper mega ultra laser beam ready, on your mark!

Arturo headed for the fissure between the mountains and pushed through without slowing down. The rock walls grazed them a couple of times, a few meters away from the ship.

—Radar!— the mage ordered.

Liliana turned to the screen.

—A large group is chasing us, they're in a straight line.

—Perfect! Erica, give'em hell!

The girl pressed the button that shouldn't be pressed. The ship fired a laser beam much more powerful than the rest, straight backwards. The pursuing ships got hit and made emergency landings, while the children's ship suffered a huge boost. They accelerated rapidly through the narrow tunnel. Arturo held the controls tight with his hands and mind, doing his best to keep it in a straight line. After a few seconds, the walls ended and they emerged on the other side of the fissure. The ship flew free for a few moments and got lost in the snow. The icy cave behind them collapsed from the impacts, blocking the only way through.

No one was chasing them anymore, the gunfire and noises were over. After the recent adrenaline rush, calm hit them like a concrete wall.

In that moment they found themselves in a small snowy valley, covered in pale pink between the mountain peaks. No more bounty hunter ships emerged from then, they found themselves alone against the falling snowfall, the fog that shortened their view and the steep slopes. No one was to be found for kilometers ahead, and those who had been left behind were already retreating. There was an imposing silence, penetrating the bones stronger than the cold; it infected them with its stillness.

They continued alert and silent. The mountain peaks could hide many enemies and look as quiet as a portrait. The fog did not go away, it only grew denser. Soon they were forced to slow down, for they risked hitting obstacles they could not see.

So they went for quite a while at the slowest speed, until the fog cleared a little and they noticed that they were under a stone archway. Then they spotted part of a thick pillar on one side, the remains of ancient stone construction and a damaged rocky path; they were entering some sort of ruins: The ruins of Ramnusia.

Despite the fog, they could make out the road that continued almost in a straight line. They increased their speed, but at that moment a light came on to one side, through the mist.

—What is that?— they wondered.

To everyone's surprise, five laser beams suddenly struck the windshield, shattering it.

—Ah!— shrieked Liliana.

Erica thought about heading for the firing booth, when suddenly, a bunch of other lights appeared at both sides of the first one. Then the fog cleared and allowed them to see the source of the lights; they were robots, one-eyed humanoids, the size of nonis, pointing laser cannons they held in their hands at them.

—Shit!— shouted Arturo.

He accelerated the ship to full throttle to dodge the gunfire, but before they could go very far, they hit something and were jolted. Then they looked ahead, but only encountered a metal wall.

—What was that?— asked Erica.

—Oh, no.

Something lifted the nose of the ship, tilting it almost at a right angle. Liliana and Arturo fell, but Erica braced her feet to the ground with her timitio and grabbed her friends before they could fall to the bottom. From the windshield, which pointed skyward, the face of a huge three-eyed robot looked down at them.

—What the hell?!— the brika shouted.

At that moment the laser beams of the other robots began to penetrate the hull of the ship. At the same time, the giant robot brought its metallic hand close to the windshield to put it inside. Erica thought no more, threw herself against the door and, together with her friends, flew out of the ship.

The snow cushioned her fall. But they immediately found themselves in the middle of a hundred hostile robots the size of nonis, plus a giant one, at least ten stories tall.

Erica released her friends. The three of them prepared to defend themselves.

—There's no way out! Destroy them all!

Liliana took Brontes out, while Arturo observed what he could control around him.

—Yes— they replied.

Erica threw herself at the robots in front, destroying one in a second. Then she cut off the leg of another, jumped to tear the head off a third, and when the fourth aimed to shoot her, she grabbed him by the arm and threw him with all her might at a fifth. She then launched herself against the others.

Liliana dodged the shots with agile and precise movements, already accustomed to Brontes' way of fighting. Fleeting like a breeze, she approached her enemies and effortlessly slashed them with the blade of her munima.

Arturo realized that he had not only the ground to help him, but the bodies of the robots themselves and the snow all around. He covered himself with a wall of compressed snow to protect himself from the laser beams, while he dismantled the automatons with his mind, one by one.

After a couple of minutes, the three kids managed to take out several robots. But several more were still shooting at them. Among them, the giant was blocking the way, menacingly. Seeing that they had finished off their enemies on one side, Arturo erected a wall of rock and snow to cover himself from the lasers for a moment. The three of them took cover behind it. From there they studied the giant robot, which was holding its ship steady with its tremendous hands. It was so big it could hold it on its side like a small surfboard. The lasers began to tear apart the wall, there was not much time. On top of that, the giant suddenly threw the ship over their heads to finish them off.

—Shit!

Erica grabbed her friends and ran to the side before the ship smashed the wall. But she didn't stop there. Without letting go, she continued at full speed towards the giant robot. Arturo raised walls on the sides to block the lasers. Erica reached the vanguard and leaped over their heads toward the giant's armor. She quickly used her timitio to slide up to the giant's massive metal head.

—Now!— she exclaimed.

At her signal, the three attacked him with everything they had and smashed its head into a thousand tiny pieces. The huge body fell heavily on the snow. The other robots continued firing. Erica landed with her friends in her arms, dropped them on the ground and they launched themselves at the rest.

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After the fight was over, the children found themselves surrounded by piles of metal pieces and robotic limbs. Erica noticed the giant robot, somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected something so strange.

After seeing and treating her wounds, they returned to their ship. It was upside down, with a shattered windshield, a pile of snow inside the computers and water in the engine.

—No, our ship!— Liliana complained.

Arturo ran a hand through his hair, resigned.

—There's nothing we can do. We'll have to continue on foot.

—Nooooo!— Liliana cryed out— Our bed!

Erica sighed. She too disliked being left without a place to rest.

—Let's see what we can salvage— she suggested.

Arturo nodded.

—Good idea.

Liliana calmed down.

—It's true. At least after today we'll be able to walk through the streets in peace.

—That's the spirit!— Erica congratulated her.

With hope in their mission, they started to look for anything they needed inside the ship. It was the last time they went inside, and seeing it broken and upside down made them nostalgic for the moments they spent there.

They pulled out some coats, which they would need to brave the snow. Arturo also pulled out several energy bars and fruits, which he stuffed into his pockets. They did not forget the potions, which they had stored in a first aid kit to withstand the impacts. What was left in the storeroom and in the refrigerator was eaten between the three of them. At the end they said goodbye to the ship and departed.

Erica took the map out of her pocket to check the course, but when she turned it on, it only showed a blurry screen.

—It looks like it's broken— said Arturo.

—Agh, shit, everything breaks these days— the brika pleaded.

She passed it to Arturo, in case he could find materials to fix it, but for the moment they were mapless. They could only continue in a straight line and hope to run into the ruins.