"You're an impressive creature, Zan McCawl," the Mayor said. He had a deep, gravelly voice with a commanding presence that demanded attention.

Zan stood there, fists clenched by his side.

"But I cannot let you continue, I'm afraid." The Mayor began to pace, slow and deliberate, his cloak swishing quietly along the ground. "I know you learned of the failsafe. You won't understand this, but it's for the greater good that everyone remains in the city."

"It should be their choice," Zan said, the fire within him raising his voice. Now faced with the man behind his da's murder, rather than being struck with a crippling fear, he burned with a shivering emotion. "Why can't you see that we owe it to the world to restore the atmosphere? We should be living outside. People shouldn't be kept inside against their will, even if they don't know it's against their will."

"So that we can destroy the world once again?" the Mayor said, frowning. "We are destined to ruin all we create. Sometimes we have to do things we don't like for the greater good."

"Like killing my ma," Zan said, gritting his teeth. "And my da."

"Your mother was a terrible loss, to us all. But she meddled where she shouldn't have. I see you take after her. I did care for her greatly. And your father. It pained me to keep him away from the broken machines. My men are still looking into the problem, though. Maybe I should've kept one good man behind."

"You just kill whoever you like, and say it's for the greater good. There's no good in killing people."

"Some might disagree with that."

A metal door on the side opened with a loud hiss, throwing smoke into the room. A shadow moved through the dissipating smoke, revealing himself to be Ryker.

"Ryker, my boy," the Mayor said casually. "It's good to see you again."

"Alpheus," Ryker said, standing tense with the staff by his side. His hair had come loose and hung wildly over his sweaty, dirty face. "It's over."

Somewhere in the distance, Zan determined a low buzzing sound, like shifting gears.

"I'm afraid I have to disagree with that, old friend." The Mayor unclipped his cloak and it fell away, revealing a black combat suit with augmented metal parts, giving him a powerful, menacing appearance despite his years.

"Nice suit," Ryker said.

"Mostly a bit of fancy," the Mayor said. "I don't expect to best you in combat. I have my personal guards for that. You know my special creatures?"

The buzzing sound increased and behind the Mayor a platform rose into view and came to a stop. Six of the black armoured guards stepped into the arena, all over six foot tall with hulking, powerful frames. The head guard wore studded shoulder pads and a red armband. The one who killed his da. They extended similar staffs to Ryker, and some held out batons.

"Guns would only risk damaging the core," the Mayor went on, "or cause a reaction that'll blow up the entire structure. Either way that would mean the definitive end to everyone here. But, my suit does have a few tricks. Let me show you."

The Mayor raised a hand and two small black objects broke away from his suit, flicking into sharply pointed spikes. They hovered around him for a moment – drones, Zan realised – before shooting towards Ryker. His staff swung out and knocked both drones out of the air.

"You always were a talented one," the Mayor said. His eyes softened as he smiled at Ryker, the way someone recalls fond memories. Then his expression twisted into an angry, hideous scowl. "Kill them both."

The black guards headed for Ryker, who readied his staff. Several more of the spiked drones broke away from the Mayor and flew through the air, spiralling around the room like angry bees.

Adrenaline shocked Zan into action. He knew Ryker wouldn't last long on his own. He spun and hunched over the console, fingers moving frantically. In theory, setting up the procedures for the failsafe wasn't that difficult, you just had to know the routes to take and what sequences to hit. He spared a look at Ryker, seeing him surrounded by black guards in a storm of staffs and batons. It was a strange sight, seeing a man in Eclipse armour fighting a horde of black armoured guards.

Zan focused on the console. A buzzing sound cut through the air and he turned as a drone shot towards him. He jerked away but the spike sliced through his arm, spraying a trail of blood. Zan cried out and steadied himself, seeing the gleeful look in the Mayor's eyes. He slammed his hands back on the console and continued.

A thought came to Zan, and he cursed himself for not thinking of it earlier. He ran along the higher platform, closer to the group of guards, and threw out one of the devices Ryker had given him.

The metal object hit the ground and a bubble of electricity burst out, hitting several of the guards and causing them to drop to the ground in convulsions. Zan pumped a fist in the air, and then noticed the blood that ran down Rykers shoulder and the bruise on his forehead. He fought on, but Zan knew he was losing the battle.

Zan threw his hand out again and a small cylinder hit the ground, exploding in a cloud of smoke, hopefully giving Ryker some advantage. Buzzing rang in the air and dozens of the bee-drones darted through the smoke towards Zan. He broke into a run along the platform, flipping into a cartwheel and then diving in a spinning, acrobatic flip as the drones passed through him. He flipped away from another set of drones, and pain flared in his thigh as one of them bit into him. He collapsed on the ground, holding his bloodied leg, seeing the end of a drone sticking out of his thigh. Gritting his teeth, sweating pouring from him, Zan pushed himself back to the console, smearing blood behind him. He did what he could with whatever time he had there.

Flicking through the commands in the room, something caught Zan's eye, and he redirected his focus for a moment. Blood dripped down his arm and onto the console but he fought through the stinging pain. Initiating a defensive procedure, he flicked a switch and the air charged around him, emitting a hazy wave of energy that passed over the room. The electro-disrupter field caused the drones to waver and stutter, some dropping to the ground.

"That's enough from you!" the Mayor called out.

He moved towards Zan but his actions were stilted and inhibited, his suit seizing up. A drone spiralled out of control towards the Mayor, striking his armoured chest. A second drone plunged into his neck with a sickening pop. The Mayor's eyes bulged, his expression freezing. Parts of his suit burst with sparks, sections of his chest plate falling away.

The hazy air dissipated, removing the disruptive effects, but the Mayor just stood there, blood gushing from his neck. Ryker continued to battle the guards, now down to the last three, surrounded by bodies. Zan tore his eyes away from the Mayor and returned to the consoles. He was almost there, he thought.

The Mayor dropped to his knees, his armour clanging loudly. Ryker cried out, stumbling in exhaustion, now faced with one final guard. Zan tensed. The final guard wore the red armband. He was set to take Ryker away from him too. The console buzzed and lights flashed around it as Zan entered the framework for the failsafe, frantically reading through the streaming data and punching commands. Some sections he remembered from the diagnostics disk, some he moved through from instinct and trial and error, but mostly he felt like something was guiding him along.

Ryker called out again, but Zan forced himself to remain focused on the console.

There. The failsafe was finally installing. A heavy sigh of relief burst from Zan and his shoulders sagged, seeing the progress bar filling up.

Bodies dropped to the ground behind him.

Zan turned and saw everyone on the ground. Ryker groaned and tried to rise. The Mayor had fallen onto his back. Zan climbed down, pain shooting through his leg and arm, and hobbled over to Ryker. Blood covered most of Ryker's torso, his face a mess of hair and bruises. Zan helped him to his feet, steadying him, and they supported each other as they moved towards the Mayor. Zan spared a look at the still body of the guard with the red armband, and felt nothing – just a dull, distant sense of triumph.

Blood oozed from the Mayor's neck wound as he looked up at them, his eyes heavy, panting with shallow breaths.

"Don't..." the Mayor gasped, blood spurting from his mouth. "Don't.... you're making a great.... mistake."

"It should be our free will to make our mistakes," Ryker said, held up by Zan.

"No..." the Mayor said. "There are greater dangers out in the world. You must not..." He sighed quietly. Eventually his head slumped to the side.

Zan stared at his lifeless body for some time, a torrent of mixed emotions washing over him. The man responsible for his parent's death was finally dead, but somehow he didn't feel relief, or triumph. He just felt hollow and exhausted.

Ryker faltered and Zan caught him, helping him stand.

"You did good, Zan. Real good."

Zan nodded to him. Behind them, the console steadily beeped.

"Shall we?" Zan asked. "It's ready. Shall we bring back the world?" The words sounded crazy to him.

Ryker nodded towards the console. "Do it. I'm just going to sit here a moment."

Zan made his way up the platform, trailing spots of blood, while Ryker dropped to the ground with a loud huff. He pushed himself up to the console and accepted the failsafe command.

Generators and engines blared to life instantly, a deep, booming reverberation shaking the machines surrounding the room. Beams of light ran up the machines and brightened the area.

Something chimed in the room.

Zan looked over and saw Ryker bringing a device up to his face. Marcin's voice came on the other end, an excited Edrund in the background. They had found Dallos and San. Relief washed over Zan, like a soothing, numbing balm. Ryker told them they'd meet up shortly.

Zan checked the consoles one last time. Everything seemed to be working perfectly now. He turned and found a device in front of him, coming down from the ceiling. A camera lens pointed at him, and screens turned on around the room, showing Zan's face.

He froze, hearing his breaths projected around the room and echoing softly. His face reddened when he realised what was happening. The machines had turned back on, and he was now being projected across the entire city, in place of the Mayor.

Ryker chuckled and then grimaced, stifling the pain in his torso. "Say something," he said.

"Uh..." Zan said, clearing his throat. "A- Attention." He paused, feeling stupid. What was he to say to everyone? "The machines are back online. As- as you all probably know already. There is something everyone needs to know... the Mayor was hiding a secret failsafe built into the machines, which could restore the atmosphere in the world outside. That failsafe has been activated now, and it'll take a few weeks to fully complete. It's your choice if you want to stay in the city, or go out. But we have that option now. We no longer have to live under the Mayor's rule." He looked away in thought, wondering how to end this. "Uh. Stay safe, everyone. All we have is each other."

Zan ducked away from the camera and turned to the console, switching it to sleep mode. He collapsed to the ground and lay there, staring unfocused at the ceiling. He rolled over to face Ryker. The Eclipse Guard was smiling, brighter than he had ever seen him, despite his injuries. "Great speech. Grid Runner."

Zan leaned his head back, sighing. He closed his eyes, and couldn't help but smile.

(2041 words)