Victor landed besides Nas. What he saw made his stomach drop, half of Nas's torso gone, his left arm missing entirely.
"How... How are you still alive?" He whispered, kneeling.
Nas's lips cracked into a weak grin. "Mom's going to have your head for this..."
"This isn't the time for jokes... We have to get you to a hospital "
"She wouldn't want that." Nas coughed, blood flocking his chin. "Just look at me. I'm already dead. Go save the others... Please..."
"I can't. I can't just let you die. Fight a little more!" Victor's voice broke.
"I'm scared, Master" Nas whispered. "Everything hurts... It hurts so much..."
Victor gave a wet laugh. "Of all the times to call me master? How many times have I begged you? And you choose now?"
"I don't want to die, Victor" Nas sobbed. "I still haven't gotten my magic yet. But ... at least I finally get to be of help to my friends. I protected them. Just like they've always protected me...that does make me happy"
"Taking the easy way out, huh?" Victor said, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I won't accept it. And you do have magic. How else do you explain this?" He gestured to the scorched, broken battle field. "No dud could fight an intellectual and leave the field like this. Whether it's just a suit or not, you did amazing."
He touched Nas's body, golden light spilling from his hand. The bleeding slowed. The weight of Nas's body eased as Victor lifted him, making him light enough to carry.
"Hold on" victor said. "We're going to save them. All of them."
With Nas in his arms, he launched into the sky, chasing the rest of the team.
"Maybe my magic came out because my job is done" Nas whispered, his voice trembling with both pain and defiance. "It sure is a fine way to go out, don't you think?" He managed a weak chuckle.
Victor gritted his teeth on seeing the rest of the team on the ground and flew down to meet them. Flourish, Phoebe, Peter, the unconscious Adrian, Michael, and Alexei were yanked towards him as if magnetized. Their bloodied bodies floated gently around him, cradled in invisible arms of force. Victor rose into the open sky, carrying them towards the city.
But then....
The heavens darkened.
Clouds swirled into a furious vortex, swallowing the Sun. Thunder cracked like splitting stone. Lightning formed across the sky, brighter and closer than any natural storm.
Victor froze in mid-air, shielding the children instinctively. "What... This weather... This is magic."
The storm peaked. And from its heart descended a figure wreathed in lightning.
Kendra.
Her bare feet touched the air itself as though it were solid ground. A red wrapper clung to her waist, a simple white shirt above, her body adorned in glowing red beads at her wrists, neck, and ankles. Lightning coiled and uncoiled around her like living serpents.
"My son" she whispered
Her arms stretched wide.
"... Mom?" Nas croaked, his fading eyes widening.
"Era mwẹn..." She breathed, her voice crackling under grief. "My child" she took him into her arms as he lost consciousness. "Mommy's So sorry this happened to you. This is all my fault."
Victor's jaw tightened. "Who..."
"Say nothing" Kendra's voice cut like thunder, sharp enough to still the question before it formed. With a snap of her fingers, the other children slumped into sleep, their bodies still gently supported by Victor's force.
"I know you have questions. Victor. You'll have answers in due time." She said, eyes flashing with sorrow and command. "I know HE sent you. I know your relationship with HIM is meant to remain secret. And I know HE worries far too much. When HE asks, tell HIM this: I will handle this myself. It is not his turn to get involved."
Victor's breath caught in his throat. Whoever she was, she knew.
She lowered her gaze, soft for just a moment. "They will come to interrogate you. Say nothing of me or my son. Please. This, I beg of you."
Before he could speak, the storm cracked again. A pillar of lightning swallowed her and the boy, and in the blink of an eye, they were gone. The sky cleared, blue and calm, as though the wrath of heaven had never fallen.
Victor hovered, stunned "...Master" he whispered, bitter laughter escaping his throat. "Is this the woman? The child you asked me to protect? They don't need me. She doesn't need protecting. Just what have you dragged me into, you old fool?"
He carried the team the rest of the way, landing at the central Hospital. "Help them!" He roared, flashing his ACE badge. Doctors rushed in.
Hours later, the verdict came:
Flourish had saved them, but at a terrible cost. Michael would never speak again. Phoebe's arm would never heal. Adrian would never walk. Alexei's ribs had shattered his organs, stabilization was possible, but cutting him open was nearly impossible. Only Flourish himself would recover fully with rest.
Victor clenched his fists, his stomach turning as the weight of their sacrifice settled over him.
And Nas?
Nas wasn't in the hospital.
He lay on a stone altar deep within a forest, his mother kneeling above him, a knife glinting in her hand. Her shadow stretched unnaturally long, as if cast by an unseen fire.
Nas opened his eyes to find himself... Elsewhere.
A Valley of green stretched before him, endless and serene. Tall trees, waterfalls spilling into clear rivers, birds soaring under a sky of endless blue. He wandered aimlessly, barefoot on the soft grass, until he came to a gate.
A barred door that reached into the clouds and beyond the horizon in both directions. Immeasurable. Impassable.
Then fire devoured the world.
In an instant, the paradise was ash. He stood ankle deep in blood, surrounded by mountains of corpses. Smoke blotted out the Sun.
And there across the see of blood, stood and older man.
The man stared into Nas's eyes. His voice was deep, ancient, echoing with power.
"Who are you?"