The group moved in tense silence through the narrow corridors of the Hold.

Somewhere along the twisting route, Skadi had taken point, her knowledge of the corridors proving more valuable than brute strength.

Akiko drifted to the rear, guarding their flank as they moved, her foxfire claws flickering in and out of existence, restless beneath the surface.

Ahead, Skadi suddenly raised a hand, her shoulders taut. "Hold up," she whispered, pointing down the alley. A faint hum rose, steady and mechanical, and grew louder.

"Drone," she muttered. "And a patrol."

Akiko's tail flicked. "Nothing we can't handle."

"No," Skadi snapped. "We can't handle it. Not here."

The Hallvik parents tightened their grip on their children, drawing them closer as the drone's searchlight swept across a nearby intersection.

The hum crackled in Akiko's jaw like bad mana feedback. Skadi gestured sharply to a recessed doorway, and the group slipped into the shadows, pressing against the cold metal walls.

The patrol passed close. Close enough that Akiko heard the clink of rifles, the scratch of boots on frost-damp steel. Her claws itched. She shifted, tension bleeding off her in sparks.

"Don't even think about it," Raya whispered beside her.

Akiko arched an eyebrow. "What? I wasn't gonna do anything."

Raya gave her a look that said otherwise.

Before she could quip again, Skadi motioned for silence. "I'll check ahead," she breathed, then melted into the gloom.

Akiko leaned back against the wall, exhaling through her nose. Her tail tapped once. Twice. Her thoughts spun. Routes, contingencies, worst-case scenarios she'd prefer not to voice. That was when she felt the hand.

"Akiko," Raya said quietly, fingers curling gently around her arm. "We need to talk."

Akiko blinked. "Talk now? Kinda busy saving the day."

"Akiko," Raya said again.

That cut through.

Akiko let herself be pulled a few steps aside. Skadi was still ahead, scouting. The Hallviks huddled behind a length of pipe. No one was listening.

"What's up?" Akiko asked, summoning her grin like armor.

Raya didn't smile.

"What's the actual plan?"

Akiko tilted her head, ears flicking. "Get to the maintenance bay, find the thing Haven doesn't want us to see, punch some bad guys if we have to. Classic hero stuff."

Raya's brow furrowed. "It's not that simple. You're treating this like an adventure. Like it's just you against the villains, and everything's going to fall into place because you're clever and charming."

Akiko gave a half-shrug. "Well… I am."

"Akiko."

The weight of her name, spoken without affection or anger, just gravity, made her freeze.

Raya ran a hand through her hair, frustrated but controlled. "This isn't a solo mission. Every time you throw yourself headfirst into a fight, Haven retaliates harder. The crackdown spreads. People like the Hallviks pay for it."

Akiko started to speak, but Raya held up a hand.

"I know you're trying to help. And I love that about you. But it's not enough to care. You need to see the ripple effect. Look past the immediate win and think about what comes after."

Akiko's tail dipped. She glanced toward the Hallviks. The mother's protective arms around her children. The father's wary eyes.

"I didn't ask for them to get caught up in this," Akiko said, voice low. "I'm just trying to do what's right."

"I know," Raya said gently. "But sometimes doing what's right means slowing down. Thinking bigger. Because every time you swing, someone else bleeds."

Akiko didn't answer right away.

Her ears flattened slightly, and she rubbed a hand through her hair. "You think I'm reckless."

"I think you're brave," Raya said. "And impulsive. And trying your best. But this isn't just about you anymore."

Akiko sighed. "So… what? No more big moves?"

"No more reflexive ones," Raya said. "That's all I'm asking."

Akiko gave a quiet laugh. "That's gonna be a tough habit to break."

Raya's lips curved, faintly. "You're stubborn. Not incapable."

Before Akiko could respond, Skadi reappeared, crouching low beside them. "It's clear for now," she said, glancing over her shoulder. "But it won't stay that way. Haven's setting checkpoints faster than I've ever seen."

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Akiko nodded, slipping her grin back on like a mask. This time, one that didn't quite fit.

"Alright," she said. "Let's move."

They fell into formation again. Skadi at the front, the Hallviks behind her. Akiko kept to the back, ears sharp, claws quiet. But her mind wasn't on the patrols or the path.

It was on Raya's words.

Think bigger.

She flexed her claws once. Not to fight, but to feel.

The bigger picture. That had always been someone else's job. Back in her old world, it had been Valric and Kaede. Valric, the stoic knight, was the moral compass, all duty and justice. Kaede, her sister, the strategist. Calm, steady, always ten steps ahead.

Akiko had just... done her thing.

When Kaede said wait, she waited. Grudgingly. When Kaede said strike, she struck.

Sure, there'd been moments she wanted to rush in, finish the job while Kaede was busy "lining up contingencies." But she'd trusted her. Kaede always knew what to do.

Now there was no Kaede. No Valric.

Just Akiko. And the weight of every decision pressed down like a mantle she'd never asked for.

Her thoughts drifted to one of their old adventures.

The time they'd toppled an evil empire. The details blurred, battles and betrayals folded into a haze, but she remembered Kaede's voice: Wait. We're not ready yet. If we rush, we lose more than we gain.

Akiko had hated those words.

But they'd waited. They'd won. Freed people. Saved lives.

Kaede had been right.

And here? There was no Kaede to rein her in. No neat empire to topple. Just Haven, a system sprawling through every corner of this new world. Even if she could bring it down, what would rise in its place? And if she didn't…

Who would pay?

And it wasn't just Haven.

There was Karn and his grotesque science. The entity still watching from the edge of space with her stolen face and evolving mind.

It wasn't one problem. It was all of them. Layered. Twisted. Moving faster than she could unweave.

Her tail flicked in irritation.

This wasn't what she was good at. She wasn't Kaede. She wasn't Valric. She wasn't a leader or a planner or a symbol.

She was Akiko. She hit things. Snuck where she wasn't supposed to be. Made flashy last-minute saves and everything somehow worked out. Except now... it wasn't working out.

She glanced ahead at Skadi. Muttering to herself, scanning corridors like every corner might bite.

Behind them, the Hallvik family moved in a tight huddle. Parents tense. Children silent.

They were all counting on her.

Even Raya, steady, principled, quietly disappointed, was counting on her.

Akiko let out a breath. Her ears drooped slightly.

Think bigger.

She didn't even know where to start. Topple Haven? Protect the colonies? Stop Karn? Fight the entity?

Could she do one without making the others worse?

Her claws tapped rhythmically against the corridor wall, a faint staccato of thought.

She didn't have answers, but she knew one thing: she couldn't afford to screw this up. Not with so many lives hanging off her shadow.

Her eyes drifted to Raya just ahead. Spine straight, eyes focused. Akiko felt a pang low in her chest. She hadn't been fair. Dismissing Raya's caution like it didn't matter.

But it did. She just didn't know how to say so. Not in a way that wouldn't sound like fear.

So she did what she always did. She forced a grin, tail swishing behind her like confidence she didn't feel.

She'd figure it out. She had to.

Ahead, Skadi halted, raising a hand, a silent signal. "We're close," she whispered. "Maintenance bay's just around the corner."

Akiko nodded, ears perking up.

One step at a time.

Akiko pressed her back to the wall as they crept forward, boots silent against the grated flooring. The corridor bent sharply to the right. Skadi peeked around the corner, then gestured them onward with a quick flick of her fingers.

They slipped into the shadows, ducking low behind a stack of rusted crates. The air shifted, coolant and grease thick in her nose.

Akiko peered through a narrow gap, ears twitching at the hum of mana detectors ahead. Six enforcers patrolled the maintenance bay entrance, rifles gleaming under cold industrial lights.

But it wasn't the guns that made her tail freeze mid-sway.

It was the man at the center: crisp uniform, sharp gestures, voice slicing through the air like a scalpel. The enforcers snapped to his commands with robotic precision.

Akiko frowned. "Who's the suit?"

Behind her, Skadi went still.

Akiko turned in time to see her face go pale. Hands trembled as they gripped the crate's edge.

"That's Marcus Vehrin," Skadi whispered. "Haven Corporate Oversight."

Akiko raised an eyebrow. "Fancy title. What is he, head enforcer?"

"He's the one who interrogated me," Skadi murmured. "About the bay. About the protests. About my brother."

Akiko's ears tilted back. She studied Vehrin again. Not tall, not bulky, but with that air. The kind of man who didn't follow rules because he wrote them.

"Sounds like a real charmer."

Skadi didn't respond. Her gaze locked on Vehrin as if he might turn and spot her across the span of steel and shadow.

Akiko exhaled and backed into the gloom. "New plan."

Skadi tore her eyes away. "What plan?"

"The one where you don't go in there."

Skadi blinked. "We already agreed I wasn't going."

"Just making sure." Akiko's voice was light, but her eyes softened. "You got us here. That's more than enough."

Skadi's jaw clenched. Her fingers closed tighter around the stun baton. "And you're going in?"

"That was always the plan."

"What if you don't come back?"

Akiko smiled, but it faltered at the edges. "Then you'll have to find someone else to complain about."

"That's not funny."

"No," Akiko said after a pause. "It's not."

She reached beneath her jacket, fingers brushing the charged panels along her spine. One of the lower panels just above her tail pulsed gently with residual heat, like a pulse caught under the skin.

Her thumb found the release latch. Click.

Auxiliary spellform relay disconnected.

Mana reservoir capacity reduced by 12%.

A soft hum discharged into the air, barely audible.

She slid the panel free and held it out.

"Here."

Skadi stared. "What is it?"

"Backup," Akiko said. "You squeeze it. My… friend," she gestured vaguely, "will know you need help."

Skadi's brow furrowed. "What kind of help?"

"It'll throw up a shield around you. Just for a second. But that might be all you need."

"And then?"

"It'll buy me time to get to you."

Skadi held the device like it might vanish. "Why are you giving me this?"

Akiko shrugged, flashing a lopsided grin. "Because I'm thoughtful. And because I don't like leaving people unarmed in messes I helped make."

Skadi stared down at it, her voice soft. "Thanks."

Akiko's grin dimmed. Her gaze flicked sideways. To Raya, who stood silently nearby, watching with that too-quiet look. The kind that saw straight through her.

Skadi hesitated. Her fingers closed around the shield panel one last time before slipping it into her pocket. Then she reached for her datapad and keyed in a quick sequence. A soft chime. A brief flicker of light.

She held the pad out to Akiko.

"These are the access codes," she said. "They'll get you through the maintenance seals down there. Most of them are still locked tight."

Akiko took it, her expression unreadable for a breath. "You sure?"

Skadi nodded. "I do repairs. I know where the doors are, and how dangerous it gets past them."

The moment stretched. Then Akiko tucked the pad away with a nod of thanks.

"Let's go," Akiko said. Her tone was quieter now. "Time's wasting."

Raya nodded.

Akiko turned back to Skadi, her ears angling forward. "Keep your head down. No stupid risks."

"You, too," Skadi said.

Akiko smirked. "We both know I can't promise that."

She motioned to Raya, and the two of them slipped into the shadows, movements careful. For once, Akiko didn't swagger. Her steps were silent. Intentional.

And just before the gloom swallowed her, she glanced back.

Skadi still stood there, clutching the device. Watching her go.

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