Several hours later, the apartment door flew open, and a wide-eyed, broad-shouldered young man stormed inside, followed by four tough-looking men and women. They all carried make-shift weapons, ranging from tyre irons to sharp knives.
"Mom?! T-Rex?!" the first man called out, voice tight with panic.
In an instant, everyone in the small apartment snapped awake. Aurora and Tilly jolted upright, nerves primed for trouble. Aurora reflexively drew her gun on the intruder, only to recognize him a mere moment before pulling the trigger.
"Dammit, Crash," she hissed, visibly relaxing as she slumped back into her chair. She rubbed her forehead wearily with her free hand. "Don't come busting in like that! I could've put a hole in you—or worse, you nearly gave me a heart attack."
Crash froze mid-step, blinking rapidly as he absorbed the scene. From his position near the door, he couldn't spot Damian because the back of the couch was aimed towards him, and the latter had refrained from getting up.
Yet, his mother sitting in her chair at this hour and Tilly having moved her mattress to the living room were plenty of reasons for surprise.
"I—" he started, only to be cut off as his little sister launched herself at him like a pint-sized missile.
"Big brother!" Tilly exclaimed, grinning brightly as she hugged him tight.
"T-Rex, hey," Crash murmured, relief mingling with lingering confusion. He placed his knife down on the nearest cluttered table and gently returned her hug, still cautiously scanning the shadowy corners of the room.
Behind him, his companions shuffled awkwardly into the doorway, weapons lowering slowly as they exchanged uncertain glances, scratching nervously at grimy scalps.
"You alright, Tilly?" Crash asked, trying to sound casual even as his eyes flicked restlessly around the dim apartment.
Tilly stepped back, smiling up at him, her usual enthusiasm undiminished despite the tension lingering in the air. "Of course!" she nodded brightly. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Crash blinked again, and as the realization that she was truly unhurt finally started to sink in, his body began trembling from relief. "Thank fuck," he breathed, leaning forward to brace himself on his knees as his heartbeat gradually returned to normal.
"Crash? What's wrong?" Tilly asked as a cute frown appeared on her brow.
"I— I just—" Crash shook his head as he continued to pant from relief, barely able to get a word out. "I just thought—"
"He was just glitching out over you two," a young woman cut in, stepping forward from his companions, her expression flickering between concern and something deeper. "He's been wired tighter than a stimmed-out decker all shift…"
She looked fondly at the bend-over man beside her and rubbed his back wryly.
"I've got a fair guess what went down…" Aurora grumbled, having left her chair to join her son and daughter. "Zenith upped the quota out of nowhere, and when you lot couldn't scrape enough credits together, she threatened to hit us for the shortfall."
"Dead on, Mrs A," the woman nodded, a flash of anger passing through her eyes. "The sadistic bitch cornered us right before shift at the factory, took her payment, dropped her threat, and fragged off again. We tried to bolt and warn you, but…" She shrugged helplessly.
"Hmph, yeah, Kiyomi painted a pretty clear vid of how much the factory cares about its workers," Aurora scoffed bitterly. "Guessing they just told you to shut up and get back to it."
The woman nodded, matching Aurora's bitterness perfectly. "It's a wonder Crash didn't glitch straight into a grinder, twitchy as he was all night."
"Big brother…" Tilly muttered sadly, putting a hand on Crash's shoulder, worry etched on her face. Aurora also released a sigh, thanking any who would listen that her son didn't die tonight.
"Well, thank you for coming with him, Echo," Aurora nodded at the woman before glancing at the three people behind her. "And you guys, too. I'm glad my son has friends like you watching out for him."
"Haha, no worries, Mrs A," Echo laughed and smiled freely, still rubbing Crash's back. "It's the least we could do." She thumbed over her shoulder at the other three. "It's not like we have any family left, at least none we care about. Least we can do is help look after the one of us that still does!"
"Thank you," Aurora smiled, showing none of the suspicion she'd reserved for Damian. "Why don't you four come in and sit down? We have plenty of leftovers from last night's dinner."
"You do?!" another voice exclaimed from behind Echo. A somewhat lanky man, covered in grime, stepped forward with a hungry grin. "If you don't mind, Mrs. A, I'm pretty sure we're all starving!"
Chuckling, Aurora waved them towards the kitchen, and they quickly stormed over there to sate their hunger, the earlier tension completely forgotten. Only Echo remained while Crash was finally recovering.
"Hoooh," he sighed, righting his back with a wide grin. "It's such a relief you're both okay! And you even have food! I guess that credit ghoul was making empty threats, huh?"
Not noticing his mother and sister's wry expression, he continued with a wry smirk. "Although, I'm sure that won't last for long… No matter what, she upped the quota, and we'll have to find a way to pay her…"
But Echo was far more observant. "I think something might have happened, love…" she frowned, her hand still pressed against his back.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, his gaze panning between Echo and his family. "They're unharmed and had money for food. What could have happened?"
Then, as if suddenly thinking of this again, he pointed at the strange setup in the living room, still unable to see Damian on the couch. "Also… what's with the setup?"
Aurora sighed as Tilly smiled, unconcerned. "She did come for us, Crash," the former answered him wryly. "Zenith took all the money we had left. Fortunately, she left us unharmed afterwards."
Crash's eyes widened. "W— What?! But then where did—"
"Damian helped us!" Tilly smiled with bright innocence.
Crash blinked, as did Echo, and even the three people snacking on food in the kitchen looked up with raised eyebrows. Aurora smirked wryly and thumbed at the couch…
* * *
Several moments later, Crash and his four friends were gathered around the couch with hostile expressions. Crash himself had taken his mother's gun, and now aimed it straight at Damian's head.
Behind him, an astonished Tilly was looking at this scene with wide eyes. "B— Big brother! W— What are you doing? He helped us!"
"You have three seconds to open your eyes!" Crash growled at the man on his couch, ignoring Tilly. "I'll never believe you slept through all that, so do it!"
Slowly, Damian opened his crimson eyes and looked at the barrel of the gun with a gentle smile.
He was unconcerned.