Within SHU—
Chaos had taken hold.
But it hadn’t fully broken.
Not yet.
The stadium grounds were filled with movent. Crowds pushed outward in waves, guided—sotis forced—into evacuation routes by security personnel and students alike.
"Keep moving—this way!"
"Don’t stop—stairs only!"
Uniford SHU security ford lines, redirecting people away from damaged sections while others rushed back in toward the injured.
Above—
Paradic androids moved with speed and precision.
One descended from above, landing beside a man pinned beneath a collapsed beam. Its arms extended, gripping the tal and lifting it clean off before setting it aside. Another scanned a body on the ground, a thin beam passing over what remained—
Bzzzt—~
A small compartnt opened from its side. A sample was taken.
The body—
Unrecognizable.
It was left where it lay.
Nearby, two students worked together, one holding pressure against a bleeding wound while the other tried to keep the victim awake.
"Stay with —hey, stay with !"
"I’m here—just breathe—"
Even in all this—
There was structure.
Fragile.
But present.
High above SHU—
Figures hovered.
Androids.
Personnel.
Weapons ready.
Scanning the skies.
Waiting.
Prepared to intercept anything that ca down again.
---
At one of the school’s helipads—
Don arrived.
His pace never slowed until his boots hit the painted surface.
Several helicopters were already present, rotors spinning as staff ushered high-profile guests inside.
Wind whipped across the platform, tugging at clothes and hair as people rushed in controlled panic.
Charles’s silver chopper sat just ahead.
Engine running.
Ready.
Don remained at the front, his eyes moving constantly, scanning everything—sky, movent, distance.
Nothing escaped him.
He dipped his head slightly.
"Stay low," he said.
The won behind him followed without question, lowering themselves instinctively as they moved with him toward the helicopter.
One by one—
They boarded.
Samantha first, guided in by Don.
Claire followed, pulling Sylvia in with her.
Amanda climbed in next, steady but quick.
Sumr lingered for half a second before stepping inside.
Don remained outside.
Charles stood beside him.
For a mont—
Don glanced inside.
The cabin was full.
Every seat taken.
He paused.
"There’s only room for one more," he said.
His gaze shifted to Charles.
"I’ll stay back and co by ca—"
He didn’t finish.
SHRRAANG—!
Charles’s wings burst from his back.
They spread low, controlled, carefully angled beneath the spinning rotors above.
The damaged wing held.
Don looked at him.
Then—
A tired smile.
Small.
He said nothing more.
He stepped into the helicopter and pulled the door shut behind him.
THUD—!
The pilot didn’t wait.
The chopper lifted almost imdiately—
It rose off the pad, tilting forward as it cleared the platform.
Outside—
Charles launched.
BOOM—!
Air buckled beneath him as he took to the sky, keeping pace with the helicopter, flying at the sa height but a short distance out.
---
Inside the cabin—
The space was tight.
Bodies close.
The hum of the engine filled the interior as the city stretched out below them.
Samantha leaned slightly toward the window.
Her eyes tracked Charles outside.
He moved steadily through the air, wings beating with controlled force.
She frowned faintly.
"I thought you said he was injured?" she asked. "Is it okay for him to fly?"
Don’s gaze shifted briefly toward the window.
Then back ahead.
"He knows his body best," he replied.
A short pause.
"Besides... it’s probably safer in case sothing else goes wrong."
As the words left him—
An arm wrapped around his.
Tight.
He looked down.
Sumr.
She had pressed close to him, her grip firm, almost desperate. Her other hand rested near her chest, fingers curled as she tried to steady herself.
Her eyes weren’t on him.
They were on Claire.
Sylvia had drawn close to her, almost tucked against her side, still shaken.
Claire’s arm rested around her, holding her in place while her gaze stayed forward.
Focused.
Thinking.
Don didn’t say anything.
He simply shifted his arm—
And wrapped it around Sumr.
Holding her there.
---
At the front of the cabin—
A mounted screen flickered.
A news broadcast.
The anchor sat behind a desk, posture straight, expression controlled.
But her eyes—
They gave it away.
"This afternoon," she began, voice steady, "the city has been brought to a standstill due to multiple missile attacks hitting various crowded areas across Santos City."
Images flashed briefly behind her.
Smoke.
Collapsed structures.
Ergency response units flooding streets.
"The current death toll remains unconfird," she continued, "but early estimates from experts suggest as many as fifty thousand casualties—"
She paused briefly.
"...across all age groups."
The cabin remained quiet.
The only sound—
The engine.
"The source of these attacks is still unknown," the anchor went on, "though speculation among the public continues to grow. City officials, including the mayor—"
The room behind her shook.
Rattle—!
Her words stopped.
Her eyes flicked slightly to the side.
"...one mont," she said, maintaining composure as best she could.
Inside the helicopter—
Don’s head turned.
Slowly.
His gaze shifted toward the window.
It didn’t take long.
Not even a second.
In the distance—
At the heart of the city—
Sothing moved.
The ground—
Split.
A massive green structure forced its way upward.
Rumbling through concrete and steel alike—
GRRRRRR—!
A thick stem rose from below, tearing through streets, buildings cracking apart around it as it climbed higher—
And higher—
Towering over skyscrapers.
Don’s eyes narrowed.
Debris blasted outward in all directions.
Chunks of pavent.
Twisted tal.
Fragnts of shattered structures.
They scattered through the air like shrapnel, so spinning wildly as they fell back down toward the streets below.
Inside the helicopter—
The girls saw it.
At first only in pieces through the window—
Then fully.
And when they did—
They stiffened.
Sumr pulled away from Don’s hold, her back pressing into her seat as her eyes locked onto the towering structure outside.
Sylvia did the sa, drawing away from Claire, her fingers gripping the edge of her seat as she leaned forward just slightly—
Trying to understand what she was looking at.
Don didn’t waste ti.
"Don’t get close to that thing," he said, voice firm as he leaned toward the cockpit. "Its vines can knock this chopper out of the air."
The pilot glanced back quickly.
"Don’t worry, sir—we weren’t planning on—"
He didn’t finish.
Another rupture—
Closer.
Much closer.
BOOOOM—!
A second stem burst from the ground not far from their position, forcing its way upward through a cluster of buildings. Windows shattered outward as the structure rose, debris spraying into the air.
The helicopter shook.
Not violently—
But enough.
Fragnts struck the exterior—
Small pieces bounced off the body and windows.
Don’s eyes narrowed.
"Move away from it," he urged, sharper now. "As fast as you can."
The pilot didn’t argue.
His hands tightened on the controls—
But they were already too close.
From the base of the newly ford stem—
Sothing moved.
Fast.
A vine shot upward.
WHOOOSH—!
It tore through the air toward the helicopter.
Don saw it.
From his side.
His eyes widened.
Too fast—
Before he could act—
A blur shot upward from below.
BOOM—!
Charles.
He surged past the underside of the helicopter, body twisting mid-air as he angled himself sideways—
His good wing extended.
Then—
SLASH—!
The feathers cut clean through the vine.
Green fluid sprayed outward—
Thick.
Viscous.
It scattered across the air in wide arcs as the severed portion dropped away.
For a fraction of a second—
Relief.
Don exhaled lightly—
But it didn’t last.
Another vine struck.
From the opposite side.
BOOM—!
The impact slamd into the helicopter’s body near Samantha’s side, denting the tal inward with force.
The entire cabin jolted.
Claire let out a short cry—more reaction than fear—
But Sylvia—
Her voice broke out louder.
"Aah—!"
The window beside them cracked.
Fractures spread across the glass in branching lines.
The helicopter lurched.
Then—
It began to spin.
"Shit—!"
The pilot fought the controls, but the balance was gone.
Alarms blared through the cabin—
"We’re gonna crash!?" Amanda shouted, gripping the side of her seat as her body jerked with the motion.
The second pilot didn’t even look back.
"Brace for impact!" he yelled.
All formality gone.
"Brace—!"
The helicopter tilted hard.
Spinning as it dropped toward the city below.
A large apartnt complex rushed up to et them.
"Shit—shit—shit—!"
The pilot’s voice broke into frantic muttering.
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