Vaya had gone all day without hearing from Afomia and was beginning to worry. She wasn't in her room and she wasn't anywhere in the old prison block. Vaya called for her and searched everywhere she could and still didn't find her. She began to panic now, a hundred 'what if's driving her mad. Every one of those scenarios ending with Asad Mavis.

She clambered down the stairs and made for the exit when she heard her.
Vaya followed the sound of her voice, till she found her standing among a line of kids all aiming a gun.

"Afomia!"

The young girl dropped the gun. Everyone else stopped to stare as a silence fell upon them.

"Vaya," Jared said, approaching her. "Don't be mad at her ok, I only wanted to teach the children how to defend themselves."

"Are these Nairo's kids?" Vaya demanded.

"Yes but—"

"Does he know?" She snapped.

"I did what I thought was best."

She lowered her voice, speaking through clenched teeth. "These kids have already lost their parents and the one person they look up to is Nairo. You should've at least asked him." Vaya took Afomia by the hand. "Let's go Afomia."

Afomia remained standing. "But—"

"I said let's go."

The little girl did as she told. But as soon as they were back in the prison block, Afomia halted. Vaya dropped her hand, pacing as a wave of fear, anger and desperation overwhelmed her.

"We weren't doing anything wrong," Afomia said.

"Wrong?" Vaya spat. "No that wasn't just wrong, that was stupid and dangerous. You have no idea the power you hold in your hands."

"I have to know, they could show up at any moment. The kids from Upstairs told me all about the men from the surface, they killed everyone. I have to learn, I'm not a baby anymore, I can help too!"

"You're still a child that's why you don't get it. This isn't a game. A gun isn't a toy. You don't just learn to shoot you learn to kill."

"I'll kill them if I have to, if thats what I have to do to keep us safe."

Vaya stilled. This was all her fault. She lowered to a knee, taking Afomia by the hands. "I'll protect you. I'll keep us both safe, that's my responsibility."

Afomia ripped her hands from Vaya's. "How can you when you don't even know what I look like?!"

Vaya watched her storm away. But all she saw was the heat signature of a little living girl.

"She reminds me of you." Harran stepped out from behind a pillar.

Vaya scowled. "Oh yeah what part? The insufferableness? The know-it-all attitude? Because I definitely wasn't as bratty as a kid."

Harran shook his head. "In the way you care."

Memories of so long ago unfolded like an album before her. She was the oldest of the three, naturally taking on the role of the big sister. And while her childhood was riddled with anguish, she'd never trade the memory of them for anything, because it reminded her over and over when she'd forget that she was human.

"You're actually the reason I joined the academy and became her guard," Harran continued.

Vaya lowered to the floor. Harran seated himself beside her.

She smiled his way, her heart at ease in his presence. "I'm glad you guys grew up to be such good people. And I'm so glad you aren't such a cry baby anymore."

Harran coughed abruptly. "Cry baby? I highly doubt your memory serves you right. Cry? Me?" He scoffed, turning away.

Vaya laughed, seeing his cheeks warm. "We always had to sing you a song to get you to sleep. Do you know how many nursery rhymes we learned for you?"

"Shut up," he muttered, his cheeks inflaming which made Vaya laugh even harder. She missed this. She missed him and her, and what they used to be. Vaya only hoped their missing third was alright.

Vaya removed her mask because she didn't have to hide her scars from Harran. She reached out and Harran placed his hand in hers without complaint. She felt along the grooves of his bionic hand and traced the edge, where skin met metal. "You got a new leg as well, didn't you?"

"I did. You don't have to baby me anymore, I'm stronger now."

She shook her head, holding his real hand like she did when they were little, when all he knew to do was to cry through the pain. "You were always strong. You both were so strong."

"We always wondered what happened to you, where you went, if you were alright," Harran said, but guilt was strung along his words. "One day you were on the bed beside us the next you were gone. We thought your parents came to get you like you always said they would. The hospital wouldn't release your records which made it harder to look for you when we did. But we figured, if you wanted to be found we'd have found you sooner. I'm just glad we found each other again and I'm glad you're still you."

"I'm not—" She let go. Stood. Placed her mask back on, putting up a wall between them again. "I'm not. I'm not the same girl you once knew, look at me, all metal and wires. I'm not even human."

Harran caught her hand in a desperate grip. "That doesn't change who you are. You're still the Vaya we once knew."

She shook her head, pushing him away. "I'm not. You don't get it. If you knew the things I've done you wouldn't think I'm human anymore either."

~~~

Something felt off to Vaya. The air was thick with a tension invisible to her.  Then everything fell in place when one of her men burst through her door with news, before everything would fell apart.

"Tayo isn't back yet," he said.

Vaya moved to the control room, where people tapped away at computer screens hurriedly.

"Where is he?" Vaya demanded.

"An emergency ping pinpoints him in the lower folds of the Royal Palace."

"Royal Palace?" Vaya blurted. "What would he be doing there?"

"We've yet to receive another signal, we don't have any updates on his current status. I'm afraid he could be dead."

No, Vaya couldn't have Tayo dead. She needed him and his knowledge, his skills and leadership qualities. He'd be leading their army into Dhulka, no other man fit that role better.

"I'll bring him back," Vaya announced. "Send me the coordinates."

~~~

The vents of the lower folds were few and small, Vaya could travel through them only so far before she had to walk. But as soon as she set foot in the lower folds, she realized how quiet it was. She padded through the corridors, gun gripped in her hand. But as she peeked around the corners, she found nothing but cold empty space.

A hand went over her mouth. She was pulled back into a wall, past a door. She ripped herself away from the hands that took her and raised her gun to her captor, a man so consumed by warmth, to Vaya, his skin appeared to crawl with flames. She'd only ever seen such on Lua and his warriors.

"Woah, woah," he said, hands raised "Hold on now. It's me, Zaki, I'm with Lua, remember."

Vaya sighed, lowering her gun.

"How did you find this place?" Zaki asked, his tone suddenly urgent. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for—"

"You shouldn't be here. They're looking for you."

Vaya bristled. "Who's looking for me? What's going on?"

"A video was sent, most likely from Asad Mavis. You were in it and so was Lua and a little girl. The prince has already been—"

"Little girl?" Vaya prayed it wasn't her, let it have been anyone but her. "What little girl?"

"The little girl with red hair."

Vaya was at the door immediately but Zaki caught her by the shoulder.

"Makapa was sent an hour ago to warn you," he said. "It might be too late if you go now."

Vaya paced the tiny room as she pieced together everything she knew. She looked at Zaki and froze. "Go to the Underbelly, find her. Find my Afomia."

"But—"

Vaya pulled back the metal cover of her wrist and slipped out a piece of paper. "This is her, please make sure she is safe. Bring her back to the Vermillion."

Zaki took the paper but still refused to move. "What about you?"

"If they already have her, I'll bring her back. It would be too risky if you did it."

"What if she isn't here?"

"If Asad Mavis is working with the Cadits they will stop at nothing to come after me. But I'm not going down without a fight."

~~~

She climbed the elevator shaft into the floor above and pried the elevator doors open with her bare hands to be met with an empty corridor.

She hefted herself onto the floor and cocked her gun. A man stood guard round the corner, who noticed her a moment too late. Boom. He dropped. More men rounded the corner at the invitation of gunfire.

She shot down her targets in quick succession without hesitation. Cadits tried to steal control of her limbs but what blood they wielded was few too little, so much so that she shouldn't have even be able to stand let alone walk. Her whole face was hidden behind a white mask, striped a firelight-red. She shouldn't have been able to see but her aim was precise, always between the eyes. No human should've been able to do the things she did, so to the Cadits she didn't even seem human.

She was showered by flaming bullets only to have them fly off her skin with a ting and a spark. She didn't bleed and she certainly didn't stop. She picked up a gun from her victims and stepped into a junction where gangs of men met her from both ends. She only needed a glance in each direction before she began firing. Warm blood spilled where she walked. Till they would run cold like the bodies they seeped from.

Among the heaps of cold bodies strewn about, one laid warm. She stood over him, a masked girl with a gun who'd killed all his comrades with no hesitation at all. "Get up," she said. "Get up or you'll be just as dead as the rest of them."

He clambered to trembling knees. He must've been crying. He must've been scared for his life. Wetting his pants or as pale as dead. But all she saw was a warm body.

She threw him a rope. "Tye up your hands."

He complied quietly.

"Take me to your leader," she instructed. "If you try anything I'll kill you. If anyone else tries to stop us, you die and they die too. If that's clear, you can start walking."

A/n: sorry for the cliffhanger, if I continued the chapter would've been too long and I wouldn't want to make you all read that plus the next chapters gonna be a little different so I figured I'd just end things here. Hmmm, well how are you liking all the characters so far? I hope they're interesting you more than they are boring you😅 but whatever ttyl