Back on Jaya Planet…
The night was loud with the roars of monsters and the burning crackle of destroyed trees and smoke. Bright green and red lights flashed across the dark sky as fires from earlier fights still glowed in the distance. Near the hidden launch area, the small ship sat half-open, its engines dead, wires exposed. Inside it, Sharmitha worked with shaking hands, trying to fix what little she could. Sparks flew. Tools clattered. Her breath came fast.
Outside, Sakudara stood like a wall between her and the monsters. He was not calm.
He was fighting like a wild beast—no, like a monster himself.
His coat was torn, soaked in blood. His face was dirtied, his chest rising and falling fast. His arms swung like blades, and every time a monster lunged, it was met with steel or his bare fists. Claws scratched across his chest, teeth snapped near his face, but he didn't stop.
One creature, huge and covered in armor-like skin, leaped toward him. Sakudara roared—an inhuman, throat-ripping sound—and grabbed it mid-air. He slammed it down so hard the ground shook. Another rushed at him from behind—he twisted around8 and stabbed through its head. He didn't even look tired.
But inside the ship...
Sharmitha wiped sweat from her forehead. Her fingers were dirty, her arms trembling as she connected wire after wire. "Come on… please… work…" she whispered. She reached for the ignition switch.
Nothing.
She bit her lip, adjusted the power core again, and tried the switch one more time.
Still nothing.
Then... she heard it.
A slow, heavy breathing behind her.
She turned her head.
A monster had entered the ship.
Its glowing yellow eyes stared at her. It was tall, its black tongue slipping between long, cracked teeth. It crouched low, creeping closer. Each step made the metal floor creak. Sharmitha froze. Her hands slipped off the panel. She backed away slowly until her back hit the wall.
Her knees gave up. She slid to the floor, terrified.
"No… no, no, please…" she whispered. Her hands trembled. "I can't... I can't do this…"
Tears welled in her eyes. She looked away, bracing for the end.
The monster opened its jaws wide—
SLASH!!!
In one horrifying instant, its body split in two, clean down the middle. Blood sprayed against the ship walls like a red storm. The top half fell left, the bottom right. Standing behind it… was Sakudara.
His sword dripped thick black-red blood. His face was unreadable. His eyes were wide, glowing, almost demonic. Blood ran down his face, across his cheeks, even dripping from his chin.
He leaned close, staring at Sharmitha. "...Did it hurt you?" he asked in a low voice.
Sharmitha flinched. Her breath caught in her throat. She had never seen him like this. He looked like someone—or something—else.
She shook her head slowly, still crying. "N-No…"
He stood tall again, silent.
Without another word, he turned to the front of the ship, sat at the console, and cracked his bloody knuckles. He began slamming buttons and switches like he knew the machine by heart. Sparks flew. The engine coughed. Lights blinked.
And then—
VRRRROOOMMMM!!
The ship came to life.
Sharmitha gasped, her eyes wide with hope. Sakudara shouted over the engine noise, "HOLD ON!"
The ship shook, then blasted upward, ripping through the forest canopy. Trees bent and broke. Flames rushed past the windows as they sped through the night sky.
They were flying. Finally flying!
Sharmitha laughed through her tears. Sakudara, still soaked in blood, allowed a small smile. After two whole years of hiding, building, and surviving they had finally done it. They were free.
But just above Jaya's orbit…
A Federation soldier, burned and half-armored, watched from a broken Jaya's moon . His eyes followed the strange ship rising into the sky. Smoke trailed behind it. His jaw dropped. He turned and ran. "Someone just left Jaya! A ship it wasn't ours! I saw it! A survivor"
But he was too late.
The ship vanished into the stars—
flying faster than any tracker could follow.
Sakudara, gripping the flight yoke with a bloodied hand, growled, "They're not taking us back."
And in the co-pilot seat, Sharmitha finally let herself breathe.
They were gone.
For now.
In the sky above Jaya Planet…
The ship was flying smoothly now, its engines humming low like a tired beast finally given rest. Inside, Sharmitha sat beside Sakudara, her body still shaking from the fight and the rush of escape. Her eyes were wide with relief, her lips trembling. Then—suddenly, without warning—she turned and threw her arms around him.
"I can't believe it…" she whispered, burying her face into his chest. "We did it. We finally did it… after two whole years. We're not hiding anymore. We're not dying in that place…"
Her voice broke as tears spilled freely. "I thought I'd never leave that forest. I thought… we'd die down there. I thought you would die tonight..."
Sakudara didn't speak at first. He just wrapped one strong arm around her, holding her close. His other hand stayed firm on the flight controls, but his jaw clenched. His eyes, usually sharp and cold, softened a little. Blood still ran from cuts on his face and hands, but in that moment... they were safe.
"I told you," he said softly. "I would get us out. No matter what."
Sharmitha nodded, still holding him tight. "You did... Saku, you really did."
Then Suddenly
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
The radar panel, half-broken and sparking, lit up with a red glow.
Sakudara snapped to attention.
"...What?" he muttered.
What it could be ....