Amani's grip tightened around Kelly's wrist as he forced his voice to stay steady. "You can have the toy," he said, nudging the battered aircraft toward Kanda with his foot. Then, tugging Kelly's arm, he muttered, "Come on, Kelly."
They barely took two steps before the world erupted in fire.
Boom!
The aircraft exploded in a burst of flame and twisted metal, the shockwave kicking dust into the air. Kelly flinched, her ears ringing as the heat licked at her skin. Amani froze, his pulse hammering in his throat. Behind them, Kanda lowered his still-smoldering hand, his grin sharp as a knife.
"And who said it's the toy I want?"
The truth crashed over Amani like a collapsing roof. This wasn't about scavenged junk or petty theft. Kanda wasn't here for scraps—he was here for the chase, the cruel thrill of watching them squirm before he burned them to cinders. The realization turned Amani's blood to ice. Even if they ran, Kanda was faster. Even if they fought, his gang would swarm them like vultures. And Kelly—Kelly had no powers, no way to defend herself. She'd be nothing but kindling in this fight.
"Didn't you hear me?" Kanda sneered, rolling his shoulders as flames danced along his knuckles. "I'm here to cook the King of Lizards and that lil' mindless macheen with ya."
Amani's jaw clenched at the slur—Lizard—but he swallowed the rage before it could boil over. Now wasn't the time.
"Macheen?" One of Kanda's lackeys piped up, wrinkling his nose. "What the hell's a macheen?"
The others snickered, their attention flickering to the boy. Kanda's smirk faltered, irritation flashing across his face like a struck match.
"She builds those things, those macheens," he snapped, jabbing a finger at Kelly.
"Ohhh," the boy drawled, grinning. "You mean machine."
"That's what I said!" Kanda barked, his cheeks flushing.
"Nah, man, you said 'macheen.' It's not that hard—just say 'ma-sh—'"
"SHUT UP!" Kanda whirled on him, flames flaring at his fingertips. "Did you just laugh at me?"
The gang's dynamic fractured in an instant. Kanda stormed toward the boy, his goons scrambling to either egg him on or back away. The distraction was a gift—a sliver of chaos in their favor.
Amani didn't hesitate. He yanked Kelly's arm, hissing, "Now! Run!"
They bolted, feet pounding against cracked earth, the sound of Kanda's enraged shouts chasing them like embers on the wind.
Meanwhile...
Leo's boots kicked up dust as he stormed through the narrow alleys of the slums, his red dreadlocks swinging like agitated serpents with each forceful step. The metal beads woven into his hair clattered softly - tiny warning bells that matched the turmoil in his mind. His brow was furrowed so deeply it hurt, jaw clenched tight enough to grind stone.
The Chimera are coming.
The thought echoed in his skull like a death knell. His fingers twitched at his sides, itching to summon flames that wouldn't solve this. People would die. Good people. People who couldn't defend themselves against what was coming.
His arms swung aggressively as he walked, disturbing the thick air. Around him, the slum carried on oblivious - children's laughter from somewhere behind corrugated metal walls, the sizzle of street food on makeshift grills, the ever-present hum of generators fighting against entropy. The normalcy of it all made him sick.
A pair of stray dogs tussling in the path ahead suddenly froze as he approached. Their ears flattened, tails tucking between legs as they scrambled away. Even the mangy cats perched on rusted rooftops arched their backs and hissed at his passing. The animals always knew first when danger simmered beneath human skin.
The Chief's office was exactly as he expected - a bolted metal door set in a crumbling concrete wall. Leo stared at it, nostrils flaring. "Of course it's locked," he muttered, rubbing a hand down his face. The rough callouses scraped against days-old stubble. "Is that fool ever at work?"
His teeth ground together. No help here. No reinforcements. No warning system for the people who'd be slaughtered in their sleep.
"Urgh," he growled to the empty street, "who even elected this guy?"
Turning on his heel, Leo stalked toward home. The setting sun painted the standing water in the road's ruts with streaks of blood-red. His mind raced with contingency plans - he'd have to organize the neighborhood watches himself, set up patrols, maybe-
"Leo!"
The voice sliced through his thoughts like a knife. Familiar. Unwelcome. Leo froze mid-step, shoulders tensing beneath his threadbare shirt. Every muscle coiled like a spring. Slowly, so slowly, he turned to face the interruption.
The voice belonged to Will, a man whose lanky frame carried the wear of late-thirties hardship as he strode toward Leo. His faded denim jacket hung loose on shoulders that had once been broader, before life whittled him down. The afternoon sun caught the premature silver threading through his cornrows as he approached, his gait uneven from that old knee injury he'd never gotten properly fixed.
Leo drew a slow breath through his nose, exhaling through barely-parted lips. Some of the tension left his shoulders, though his mind still churned with visions of a theoretical idea of Chimera attacks and unprepared slums. He forced his expression neutral as Will stopped before him, the familiar scent of cheap tobacco and motor oil clinging to his friend.
"Will, wassuh," Leo said, raising his fist. Their knuckles met in the practiced rhythm of a decade-old greeting, callouses scraping briefly before parting.
"Sup bro," Will answered, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. There was a tightness around his mouth that hadn't been there last week.
Leo took half a step back, crossing his arms. The movement made the beads in his dreads clink softly. "Talk to me."
Will scratched at the stubble along his jaw, gaze darting to a rusted gutter leaking murky water nearby. "Right, so uhh, I wanted to talk to you about som'n."
"Mhm." Leo's fingers tapped against his bicep.
The words came in a rush, like Will had been rehearsing them. "Lately the carrier gig ain't been doin' me justice, you know? The money I get from it..." He made a weighing motion with his hands. "Ain't really that much. Ain't enough for my wife, my daughter." A flicker of something desperate crossed his face as he mentioned his family.
"I hear you," Leo said quietly. He did. The carrier jobs - running packages between districts - paid in scraps and broken promises these days.
Will seized the opening. "Yeah, so I wanted to ask if maybe... you could connect me. Maybe I can get a gig at the coliseum."
For the briefest moment, Leo's eyes narrowed to slits. The coliseum - where elementals fought for coin and crowds cheered for blood. His own scars ached at the memory.
"Uhh, I don't know man," Leo hedged, shifting his weight. The mud beneath his boots made a wet, sucking sound.
Will leaned in, the buttons on his jacket straining. "Come on bro, I really need this money."
"Yeah but..." Leo rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "Money ain't everything. And this line of work? It's pretty dangerous."
"It is but you do it?" Will countered, too quickly. "Besides, I'd still be pretty low tier. They'd give me the weaker fighters."
Leo shook his head, dreads swaying. "Will, the weaker ones ain't that weak. They're still pretty strong compared to the average elemental."
"OK then I'll practice!" Will's sudden enthusiasm made Leo take half a step back. His friend's eyes had taken on a manic gleam, his entire body leaning forward like a man reaching for a lifeline.
"You sounding a lil' desperate, man," Leo said carefully, studying Will's face. The shadows under his eyes were darker up close.
"Lemme guess," Will laughed, but it came out jagged. "Like I did when I was a junkie?"
"That's not..." Leo exhaled sharply through his nose. "Ugh. Look, it's not that simple. But I'll think about it, OK? Just slow down and do the same."
The tension in Will's shoulders eased slightly. "I have. So you do that, man. Gimme an answer once you come to a conclusion."
"Sure," Leo agreed, though the word tasted bitter. "Anyway, I need to go."
"Me too," Will said, already turning away. The fading sunlight caught the frayed edges of his jacket as he lifted a hand in farewell. "Later bro."
Leo watched him disappear around a corrugated metal corner, the sounds of the slum swallowing his retreating footsteps. The weight of the coming Chimera attack pressed down once more, but now joined by this new burden. Somewhere in the distance, a generator sputtered and died, plunging another shack into darkness.