The Lower Sector was nothing like the sterile Academy.
The air was warm and dusty, filled with the hum of machinery and the shouts of vendors. Kaelan stood there in plain clothes, feeling strangely exposed without his usual escort.
"You look terrible," Lena greeted, waiting in front of a small café.
"Thanks," Kaelan answered dryly, his voice rough. "So what's really going on? Why are we here?"
"You need a break. And…" Lena lowered her voice, "there's something I need to talk about. But later. Today, just try to be normal."
They walked through the busy flea market. Kaelan, used to the precision of machines, felt overwhelmed by the chaos and raw energy of the place. His eyes caught on a stall selling old robots.
Among the outdated models, something stood out — a hyena-shaped robot with peeling paint. What froze him in place was the spiral pattern on its forehead, eerily similar to the scar on his own hand.
"How much for this one?" he asked the old vendor.
"Ah, good eye!" the man said. "That one's experimental. Doesn't work anymore, but makes for an interesting piece."
Kaelan bought it without much bargaining. The moment his hand touched the robot, he felt a strange vibration — not pain, like with Rustbucket, but something closer to… recognition.
Lena groaned.
> "Okay, are you done wasting money on stuff like that?"
> "I brought you here to relax, but fine… if that makes you happy, let's keep going."
Kaelan blinked in confusion.
> "Wait, if this is supposed to be a break, why here? Wouldn't the Upper District be more fun?"
Lena explained:
> "Because this place has something special. The kind of fun you used to have back when you were still just a regular human — a night market."
Hearing that, Kaelan's eyes lit up, excitement replacing his usual stiffness.
Lena, curious, asked:
> "By the way, why did you look so exhausted when I found you? Didn't the Foundation give you enough time off?"
Kaelan, smiling brightly, replied:
> "Actually, they gave me plenty of rest time. But they also offered me a side quest I could take during vacation. So last time, I accepted one and finished it. When you think about it, the Foundation's pretty amazing."
Lena's expression hardened.
> "Have you forgotten why you're really here, Kaelan? Why you're still holding on?"
Kaelan grinned.
> "Of course I haven't. But hey, what's the harm?"
Lena stared at him flatly.
> "…"
> "Fine. Let's go to the night market!"
---
That midnight, back in his room, Kaelan cleaned and examined the hyena robot. Its design was crude, like the work of a talented amateur. When his scarred finger touched the spiral on its forehead, something extraordinary happened.
The robot shuddered. Parts shifted and rotated with intricate precision. Within seconds, the hyena's form had unfolded into a young woman with messy blonde hair and sharp yellow eyes.
"Finally!" she yawned, stretching like someone waking from a long nap. "I've been stuck in that form for months!"
Kaelan nearly dropped his phone, which he'd been using for documentation. "You… you can talk? And shapeshift?"
The girl smirked, flashing slightly pointed teeth. "And more. Name's Yena. And you… you smell weird. Like old metal and… pain."
Yena turned out to be an experimental companion robot, abandoned by some mad scientist. She could change forms, had incredibly sharp senses, and most importantly — she could detect people's emotions and intent.
"I used to be a lab assistant," Yena explained, sniffing around his room. "But my master left me. I got stuck in hyena form because of a system error."
For the next two days of his vacation, Yena dragged Kaelan to places he'd never gone before — underground tunnels covered in graffiti, rooftops with stunning city views, even a hidden café only known to mechanics.
"You're way too serious," Yena teased one afternoon, stealing fries from his plate. "The world won't end if you laugh once in a while."
For the first time since touching Rustbucket, Kaelan felt… lighter. Yena, with her sarcastic humor and strange habits (like sniffing everything before touching it), made him forget the burdens he carried.
But even in these moments of peace, Kaelan couldn't completely forget the mission that awaited him. And Lena still hadn't told him what was really going on.
As the sun set on the second day, Yena suddenly went quiet, her nose twitching. "I can smell something coming," she said. "Electricity… and fear. You're in big trouble, aren't you?"
Kaelan nodded slowly. "I think so."
"Good!" Yena grinned. "I was getting bored of a normal life. I'm coming with you."
A simple decision. But no one knew that choice would change everything — and eventually shatter Kaelan's heart in ways he never imagined.