The auction itself passed without leaving much of a mark on him. Xavier stayed for hours, watching money move the way power always did in places like that, quiet hands lifting paddles while entire fortunes vanished into numbers on a screen. He avoided the loud centerpiece items and focused on smaller things instead, pieces that felt personal rather than symbolic.
For Rin, he picked up a compact blade maintenance kit forged from layered alloys, tuned for swords that saw real use rather than display.
For Arlen, he chose a stripped-down sidearm module, legal nowhere and traceable everywhere, designed to be rebuilt and modified on the fly. For Klatos, it was a data-slate loaded with restricted planetary maps and undercity schematics, old routes layered with newer blind spots, the kind of thing only soone native would fully understand how to use.
He lingered longer than he expected while browsing, considering gifts for Reva and Lyra, but nothing felt right. Everything either felt too loud or too empty, and he left those bids untouched.
By the ti he and Veyr returned underground, the cycle had shifted toward rest. The corridors were quieter, guards thinner, lights dimd to a functional glow. They split up, each heading to their assigned rooms, fatigue finally catching up to the montum they had been riding for days.
The auction didn't co up until the next morning.
Rin was already halfway through his plate when Xavier sat down. Arlen had a cup in her hands, elbows on the table, watching him the way she did when she wanted answers but didn't want to ask first.
"So," Rin said, not looking up, "how was the legendary underworld auction?"
Xavier picked up a fork and started eating. "Boring."
Arlen snorted. "You disappear for half a night, sit with one of the most dangerous people on this planet, and all you've got is boring?"
"It was exactly what you think it was," Xavier replied. "People with too much money buying things they don't need to feel important."
Rin finally looked up. "You're saying you didn't buy anything?"
Xavier didn't answer right away. He reached into his jacket and placed a slim case on the table, sliding it toward Rin. "Open it."
Rin frowned, wiped his hands, and unlatched it. The expression on his face changed the mont he saw what was inside. He lifted one of the tools carefully, testing its balance without even realizing he was doing it.
"…You serious?" Rin asked. "This isn't cheap."
Xavier shrugged. "Your blades aren't either."
Before Rin could respond, Xavier pushed a second item across the table toward Arlen. She caught it on instinct, then froze when she recognized the build.
"This isn't registered," she said quietly. "This isn't even supposed to exist."
"It doesn't," Xavier replied. "That's why it's useful."
Arlen stared at him for a long second, then exhaled slowly and set the module down like it might bite her. "You really went shopping for us."
Rin closed the case and slid it back, hesitating. "We were giving you shit earlier. That's on us."
Xavier waved it off and kept eating. "Don't make it weird."
Arlen glanced at Rin, then back at Xavier. "You didn't get anything for yourself?"
Xavier paused, fork hovering, then shook his head. "Didn't see anything worth keeping."
The table went quiet for a mont after that. Rin cleared his throat and muttered an apology, this ti more sincere. Arlen followed with a quieter one, her voice lower than usual.
Xavier didn't acknowledge either directly. He finished his al, leaned back, and looked at both of them. "The auction's over. We've got work to do. Let's not pretend gifts change that."
Xavier leaned back in his chair and glanced between Rin and Arlen like he was about to assign chores.
"Alright," he said, "grab whatever you actually need from my half of the haul. Weapons, tools, d stuff, parts, anything that'll keep you alive or make you dangerous. Don't pick shiny trash just because it looks expensive."
Rin raised a brow. "You're letting us shop your share now?"
Xavier pointed his fork at him. "I'm letting you not die later. Take it or don't. Either way, I'm not dragging cargo around Jupiter like so broke scavenger."
Arlen took a slow sip and watched him over the rim of the cup. "And the rest?"
"I sell it to Veyr," Xavier replied. "It's useless to . He can turn it into money, favors, leverage, whatever the underworld uses to pretend it's civilized."
Klatos nodded, like that part made perfect sense. "Veyr will happily buy it. He's already looking at it like it's a holiday."
"Good," Xavier said. "Then everybody wins and I don't beco a moving warehouse."
Rin smirked. "Look at you. Responsible."
Xavier gave him a look. "Don't push it."
They didn't waste ti after that. A short eting with Veyr, a quick inventory check, a few crates pulled aside and repacked into smaller cases that could actually be carried without drawing attention. The rest got signed off and sealed under Veyr's crew, numbers running across a slate while Veyr acted like he was doing Xavier a favor instead of scoring the best deal of his week.
Xavier sold everything for 5 billion USC, which was equivalent to one and a half trillion dollars.
When it was done, Xavier didn't linger.
He wanted out of the underworld. He'd gotten what he needed from it, and staying longer only ant eventually stepping on the wrong toes for no reason.
They left the sa way they'd co in, riding through the access tunnels and up through the layers until Helior Pri's surface lights appeared again, bright and clean in a way that felt fake after days underground. The city swallowed them imdiately, traffic flowing around their vehicle like nothing mattered outside of lanes and signals.
Xavier wore the mask.
It settled on him the mont they stepped out, the damaged face staring back at the world again. He didn't do it because he thought it looked cool. He did it because it made people hesitate, and hesitation was a kind of armor too. Arlen didn't comnt on it this ti. Rin didn't either. Klatos looked out the window, quiet, watching the skyline like he was comparing two planets that happened to share the sa na.
They were all still being hunted by the Iron Mandate. That didn't vanish just because they'd moved cities, but Helior Pri had its own rules, and Iron Mandate couldn't play soldier here without paying a price that even they didn't like paying.
The hotel staff recognized them imdiately. They checked in again, got their keys, moved upstairs, and dropped their things without talking much. Everyone was tired in different ways, the kind of tired that didn't go away with sleep.
Then, then had dinner.
After that, they split without debate.
Rin and Klatos took one room. Xavier and Arlen took the other.
The door shut behind them. Arlen didn't waste ti pretending she wasn't exhausted. They stayed close, hands finding familiar places, mouths finding heat, bodies moving like they were trying to burn the last few days out of their blood.
By the ti exhaustion finally pinned them down, the sheets were twisted, the room slled like sex and sweat, and Arlen was asleep with her leg thrown over him like a claim she didn't feel the need to explain.
Xavier stared at the ceiling for a while after that, mask tossed sowhere on the floor, face bare in the dark, thoughts moving even when his body didn't want to.
'Man… I really wanted that jacket…'
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