The battle in Bluejam's hideout ended with steel and smoke. But even as Tessal's gauntlet slammed Bluejam back through a shattered wall, the first sickly whoosh carried through the night. Flames licked the horizon. The fire had begun.
The stench of accelerant hit them next, thick and choking. Beyond the treeline, the Grey Terminal blazed alive, orange light spilling like a sunrise of ash. Screams carried with the smoke.
Tessal's visor flared with warning glyphs as his swarm relayed the spreading fire. He snapped into command mode.
"Bulwark — return to the shop!" The massive machine roared, panels closing as it began its retreat.
"All deployed mechas — disengage and return to carriers!" Across the battlefield, Bee Shooters, Trapper Spiders, and the Scorpion hissed and chittered as they broke off, their wings folding and legs clicking into withdrawal formations.
"Rend — mount Crawler. You'll cover the others."
The machines obeyed, retreating in coordinated waves. Tessal turned to Ace, Sabo, and Luffy, his tone sharp but steady.
"Follow my bugs. They'll guide you out."
"What about you?" Ace demanded, pipe gripped tight.
Tessal's iron helm turned toward the pirate captain dragging himself from the rubble, bloodied but not beaten. Bluejam's eyes burned with rage.
"I'll finish the trash," Tessal said simply.
The brothers hesitated, but Sabo grabbed Ace's arm. "We trust him. Come on!"
With Crawler leading and Rend flanking, the boys vanished into the smoke. Tessal remained, his armored silhouette framed against the flames. He raised his hopper gun, meeting Bluejam's charge head-on as the Grey Terminal burned around them.
The night sky burned orange. Grey Terminal roared with fire, the screams of its people carried on the choking wind.
Bulwark and the others were gone, retreating with Ace, Sabo, and Luffy in tow. Only Tessal remained. His armor whirred and locked into place, the Iron Shield and Ironclad plating glowing faintly with heat.
Bluejam rose from the rubble, spitting blood, his eyes wild. "You think some tin toys make you strong, boy?" He hefted his jagged cutlass and spat. "I'll gut you here and now, and then I'll hunt down your friends one by one."
Tessal leveled his hopper gun. "Try it."
The air split with the thunk-thunk-thunk of hopper fire. Bluejam rolled aside, cutlass sparking as he batted two rounds away, the third exploding behind him in a burst of shrapnel. He charged through the smoke, sword raised.
Tessal caught the swing on his armored forearm, sparks spraying. The force rattled his plating, but his servos held. With a roar of gears, his gauntlet blade extended and slashed across Bluejam's chest, drawing blood.
Bluejam staggered but countered with a savage kick, driving Tessal back a step. "Not bad for a brat."
"You're weaker than I thought," Tessal replied coldly.
They clashed again. Sword against steel, flesh against machine. Bluejam hacked and slashed, wild but strong, each strike forcing Tessal to block or deflect. Sparks lit the air like fireflies.
Tessal's HUD flashed warnings — armor stress rising. He ignored it. Shoving forward, he fired his gauntlet's built-in launcher at point-blank range. The hopper round exploded between them, blasting Bluejam off his feet and hurling him into the burning wreckage of his hideout.
Coughing blood, Bluejam dragged himself upright, blade trembling in his grip. But Tessal was already upon him, armored fist closing around the cutlass and crushing the blade to shards.
"This is the end of your fire," Tessal said, voice low and unyielding. With one final blow, he smashed Bluejam into the ground, leaving the pirate captain broken in the dirt as flames raged behind them.
For a moment, Tessal stood still, the firelight reflecting in his visor. Then he turned and followed the trail his machines had carved, leaving Bluejam to the ashes.
---
Time Skip
The fire was over. Grey Terminal was gone, consumed by smoke and ruin. But on a quiet hillside, far from the chaos, four boys gathered.
Ace, Sabo, Luffy, and Tessal knelt around a small sake cup, rough and chipped but sacred in its purpose. The air was still.
Ace's voice was firm, steady. "From now on, we're brothers."
Sabo smiled faintly. "Not by blood… but by choice."
Luffy grinned, bruised but unshaken. "Forever!"
Tessal's armored hand lifted his cup. His voice was softer now, almost human beneath the steel. "Forged in fire. Bound in oath. Family."
They raised their cups as one, then drank.
The bond was sealed. Four lives, one brotherhood — unbreakable.
The forge of brotherhood was complete.