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"Arnest!" Hyde snatched the gun out of his hands.

"What is she doing here?" Arnest spat. "I thought you..." He paused to glance at Yanpu, before drawing his finger across his neck, and pointed at Harper.

"I was going to,"

"And? What? Did she flash her stuff and brainwash you?"

Harper was offended by that comment, but she understood where his anger was coming from. "You have every right to be mad at me. I was wrong for luring Bomb there. And I regret what happened."

"You regret it?" Arnest cackled. "My family... they're gone, because of you..."

He then looked to Hyde, "We barely survived! You don't realize how much antidote Hyde had to take just for him to function! Your stupid decision cost me everything! And you're smug!"

"I know, and I feel awful!" Harper grabbed onto his arm. "I didn't know Bomb would go that far. I didn't know anything at all. And I know that isn't a good excuse. I won't blame you for hating me. But at least give me a chance to get Yanpu far away from him!"

"Am I missing something here? Are you playing a trick?"

"I swear, I'm not!" Harper squeezed his hand gently. "Bomb lied to me. Everything about saving Westona was a lie. You were right! Both of you were."

There was so much guilt she felt. She was trying everything to stay composed in front of Yanpu, but it was difficult.

"I want to protect him." Harper stated. "I won't make the same mistake."

"We're running out of time... You both can cry it out another time," Hyde cut in. "Get the kid in the pod and let's go."

Hyde popped the latch that held the door firmly shut. He opened it easily. Arnest lifted Yanpu and placed him inside. All was going well until a gunshot went off. The bullet, electric pulses flashing on it, whizzed by.

Arnest fell flat on his back, with a bullet hole in the middle of his head. It went straight through, killing him instantly.

"Arnest!" Harper screeched and reached for him, but another bullet grazed her arm. She fell against the wall, and Hyde blocked another bullet from hurting her with his blade.

"No!"

"Going somewhere?" Vesper turned his pistol aside, inserting 3 more bullets. 1 for Harper, and 2 for Hyde. It clicked when it closed, and he raised it high.

"How could you?" Harper screamed.

"No, Harper," Bomb's voice rang on the intercom. "How could YOU? Helping our worst enemy bypass security? That is just... disappointing."

"You know what's even more disappointing?" Harper grunted, holding her injured arm tight to stop the blood running down to her fingers. "You lying to me about EVERYTHING!"

"When did I lie?"

"Don't give me that shite! You don't want to save Westona! You're going to use Yanpu to cure President Wever!"

Hyde widened his eyes at her statement. She really did know it all, he thought.

"And what's so wrong with that? The President is our country, he is the foundation of Westona . Saving him means saving ourselves."

"That's your problem! How is Westalis's life any more important than an innocent child's?"

There was silence on the intercom, and then a long sigh. "Harper, I thought you would understand. You knew what the job entailed when I entrusted Yanpu to you. I told you not to get your emotions involved."

"You're sick in the head!"

"There's still a chance for you to fix your attitude," Bomb spat. "Hand the boy over, and we won't kill you."

"Kiss, my, arse!" Harper retorted.

"It's a shame... now I'll have to hire another assistant. Mr. Thorne, you already know how to handle it."

"Eh, sure thing." Vesper raised his eyebrows happily when the intercom cut off. "Alright who's first? The lady?" He teased, moving his pistol to the left. "Or Mr. Hot Shot?"

"Get in the pod," Hyde commanded her, before charging forward.

Vesper began unloading all 3 bullets, which Hyde sliced through easily. He took out his other sword as well, and jumped into the air, landing a hard blow.

The iron blades clashed with the pistol. Hyde pushed his blades down hard, fighting for control over him.

How was he able to block his swipes? Who exactly was this guy?

Hyde looked into Vesper's blue eyes, and he saw a tinge of red floating within the pupils. They both knocked each other back, and skidded down the narrow hall opposing one another to catch themselves.

A drop of sweat cascaded down Hyde's face. He wiped it, and glanced at the liquid. It was his first time ever breaking a sweat in combat.

"Puron?" Hyde guessed. He could've sworn he saw red crystals floating around in his eyes. Vesper gripped onto his gauntlet and coughed.

It wasn't until Vesper raised his sleeve that Hyde saw the bluish veins creeping up his arm like a tattoo. He realized that Vesper was suffering the same condition as he was. That would explain why he was able to match Hyde.

Vesper reacted quick, but Hyde reacted much quicker. He swung his sword, and Vesper dodged it by ducking under.

Vesper twisted and aimed his gun, but Hyde's sword knocked it away from his face, just before he pulled the trigger again.

This man was no rookie. He was almost as skilled as Hyde, but he could tell Vesper had a bit of sloppy movements. On the other hand, Hyde was more grounded and confident.

"You're good," Hyde commented, before knocking him away with his forearm. "You're Not me, though,"

"Always so smug," Vesper wiped his mouth. "Don't brag when your fighting skills are rusty."

"Rusty?" Hyde chortled. "I have 13 years experience. More than enough to know that you're slow, sluggish, and...unkempt."

"Says the weirdo with long messy hair."

"Are we stooping low to insult each other's appearance now?" Hyde raised a brow. "Childish."

"I struck a nerve didn't I?" Vesper smiled.

Hyde glanced at the clock above. There wasn't much time left to leave. Hyde and Vesper swung at each other repeatedly. Every time Hyde tried to leave, Vesper would block his way.

"Fight!" Vesper growled. "Stop trying to run!"

"Any other time I'd enjoy propping your severed head on a wall. But I'm not in the mood." Hyde swiped his sword down, cutting Vesper's shirt. Then he lept over him, knocking Vesper on his back, and ran toward the pod.

Arnest's body was still there, but there was no time for him to stop and mourn. He would return every last deed that Vesper committed against him. But in the meantime, he needed to leave.

Vesper placed a clip in his pistol and shot every last bullet. One clipped Hyde in the torso as he jumped into the pod.

Vesper ran after him, roaring out Hyde's name.

"Warning, Pod launching in 3 seconds... please shut the door." The automatic voice on the pod spoke.

"Come on, Hyde!" Harper panicked and reached for the door. Hyde grabbed a hold of it, but a metal gauntlet clasped onto his wrist. Vesper tried to climb inside, and Harper cursed.

"Let him GO!" She growled, frustrated by his persistence.

Harper raised her foot and kicked Vesper in the face, sending him flying into the hallway. The pod shook and dismantled from the airship, sending a gush of wind inside.

"AHHHH!" Harper screamed as her body shot into the air. Hyde grabbed her waist, and dragged her into his chest. Then he used his abilities to yank the door shut.

The latch clicked, locking them in, and Hyde fell against one of the chairs. Harper landed on top of him.

The door was made of glass, so they could see everything happening from outside of it. A small compartment on the airship exploded, and Hyde smirked.

Harper gasped and glanced at him. "What did you do!?"

"They won't stay up there for much longer." He answered.

Arnest and Hyde hijacked a droid and used it to break onto the airship. Hyde set a self-destruct sequence on it to the engine room. He wanted to make sure that Bomb went down with him if he didn't make it out alive.

Now, his hope would come true.

Suddenly the pod jerked, and the light inside began blinking red. "What's happening?!" Harper climbed off of Hyde to check the controls.

"Low battery." Hyde swore under his breath and quickly began pushing buttons. "Turn everything off,"

"What? But the pod is set to specific coordinates! If we turn it off, who knows where we will land?"

"Just do it!" Hyde argued.

"But—"

"We have to save power. The more power we conserve, the least we will have to worry about crashing! That will kill you on impact! These pods aren't sturdy!"

Harper swallowed hard. Just when she thought everything was fine, she had to make another sacrifice. At least she knew he was worried about her safety as well.

Harper turned off the lights and the controls. The only thing still on was an autopilot feature that would take them as far as the pod could until the battery ran out. She strapped herself into a seat next to Yanpu and grabbed his hand.

"Everything will be okay, Yani."

"Where are we going?" Yanpu whined.

"Somewhere safe."

"He's coming too?" Yanpu pointed at Hyde.

"Yes,"

"Why?"

"Because he is." Harper stroked his head.

"He's bad."

"No, he—"

"You don't have to bother correcting him." Hyde sat down and strapped himself into a seat facing them.

"If I don't correct him, he won't understand your intentions."

"What intentions?" Hyde scoffed.

"He's your brother." Harper said, letting Yanpu in on the newfound information. "You have to take care of him."

"Says who?" Hyde spat. "That's your job. Not mine."

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely."

"He's your brother! Don't you feel any remorse or empathy toward him? He would've been raised captive and manipulated! You don't care about that at all?"

"He's alive and well now." Hyde frowned. "I took care of Bomb and the others. Why are you yelling at me?"

He exhaled heavily. "We may be blood, but he has nothing to do with me. My family was in Piccposto. I have no one left."

Those words hurt her. Hyde was most likely still angered by the attack. Giada, Anna Bella... everyone, including Arnest was gone. Harper began to bawl.

Her sobs startled Yanpu. He reached over to comfort her, but she pulled away.

She felt guilty. Everything could've been avoided had she just stayed put. Finding everything out this way was traumatic.

She tried to wipe her tears, but they kept coming as she broke down bit by bit. She would never forgive herself.

"Enough," Hyde commented. "What happened, happened. You can't change the past. Sitting there and crying won't do anything."

Harper sobbed harder. "Why are you acting so reserved? Don't you hate me too?"

"Oh, I'm enraged." Hyde seethed. "But it's stupid for me to blame you completely. Bomb is the one who initiated the attack, not you."

"I don't understand how he found me."

"I think I do," Hyde mumbled to himself. It probably had something to do with the new recruit. Vesper wasn't someone to be overlooked. Hyde was sure of that.

But he had to find Harald to get any answers.

"Don't think about it anymore. You got what you wanted. Freedom and the kid."

"But you—"

"I have more important things to worry about right now." Hyde needed to focus on getting a cure for his condition. He didn't know much time he had left to live.

Harper knew that he was keeping his composure on purpose. He didn't want to show any emotion.

They remained silent for the rest of the ride.

~~~

The pod smacked against the dirt, jolting everyone inside awake. Harper instinctively reached for Yanpu, while Hyde examined the contents outside of the glass window.

The pod powered down completely, and came to an abrupt stop.

It was dark outside. It didn't help that there was no light on the inside of the pod either. And the moon wasn't as bright as it was in Itaria.

"You don't think we landed in Westona, do you?" Harper was already starting to overwhelm herself with the anxiety.

"I highly doubt it. Westona is another 12 hours away." Hyde unbuckled his seat belt and reached for the door.

"Don't," Harper stopped him.

"Why?"

"What if something attacks us? We won't be able to see."

"There's a man with over 10 years of experience fighting who's sitting in front of you, and you're worried about a little bit of darkness?" Hyde chortled.

"Hyde,"

Hyde rolled his eyes and began searching through a small compartment on the side of the door. He pulled out a flashlight, and knocked the side of it before flicking the button upward.

It came on and the beam of it was in Harper's face. She squinted and blocked her face.

"Happy now?" Hyde popped the latch. He stuck his head out first and used the flashlight to expose their environment.

"What's out there?" Harper voiced anxiously.

"Trees," Hyde snorted. "Lots of them."

It looked like a jungle, or a forest. The air was misty, but fresh. Hyde climbed out of the pod first and landed on his feet. But he stumbled a bit, feeling a pain in his side.

He ignored it, and tapped on the pod's exterior. "Give me the kid first," He raised his arms.

Harper scooped Yanpu in her arms and placed him into Hyde's hands. When he placed Yanpu down safely, Harper climbed out of the pod too and tried to slide down the side of it on her own.

She was struggling, and Hyde noticed.

"Need help?"

"No! I've got it!" Harper's legs dangled but she couldn't feel the ground. "Ugh!"

Hyde placed his hands on her waist and aided her. "Don't drop me! Wah!" Harper slipped, not intentionally. Hyde let her fall, but caught onto her before she hit the ground as a way to joke with her.

She flung her arms over his shoulders, and slapped his chest. "Stop that!"

Harper snatched the flashlight out of Hyde's hands. She held it up, revealing trees upon trees. "Definitely not Westona,"

"I already told you that." Hyde's bottom lip twitched.

"Do you think we'll be able to find shelter?"

"We might have to make one..." Hyde breathed and took one more step before pressing his hand on his side.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Hyde clenched his jaw. "Let's keep moving."

Harper dragged his shirt downward a few inches, and could see that his scar was glowing. She felt nervous. There was no antidote on them. Would Hyde die here?

She didn't want to lose another person.

"Come here, get on," Harper motioned for him to climb onto her back.

"You must be joking. I'm not doing that."

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"It does, but let's focus on finding a place to sleep first." Hyde huffed. He placed an arm over her shoulder and leaned on her for support.

"Okay." Harper gave the flashlight to Yanpu. "Lead the way, Yani. Don't stray too far ahead, you could get hurt."

"Okay!" Yanpu nodded and did as he was told.

The three kept walking, Hyde hobbling against Harper, and Yanpu occasionally getting ahead of them, in the dark.

It was damp, a feeling that Harper has never experienced. Every step she took, her shoes were getting more soaked in the mud.

She felt droplets of water on her head and looked up. Was it sap coming down?

More drops of water pranced on her skin. Then it started to rain. "Oh, crap," Harper hissed. She fixed her posture, also shifting Hyde against her so they could stand in a more balanced way.

Of all times, the overseers decided to send down their tears on this day. It was just perfect timing.

After an hour, Hyde's head sank the further they walked into the forest. "Hey," Harper tapped his face to keep him aware. "Don't die on me."

"I'm not dying," Hyde grunted. "It just...."

"Just what?"

"Don't worry about it," Hyde sighed. "Just keep walking."

"It doesn't seem like we're getting anywhere. Maybe we should go back to the pod? It was probably safer to stay there and wait for the morning anyways."

Harper reasoned, but Hyde wasn't responding. He was hunched over, and weighing her down.

"Oh! No! Hyde?"

Hyde collapsed, and she squealed when her body was drug down to the dirt with him. "Hyde! Oh overseers!" She let his arm rest at his side. "Hyde, don't do this to me! Please!"

She shook his shoulders. Yanpu stopped when he heard her, and rushed back over to them. He raised the flashlight helping her see better.

Harper reached for his shirt and pulled it up to look at the scar. It was glowing brighter than it did before. Maybe he had never gone this long without any antidote?

She wiped his face, as it was covered in water. His hair was wet and pressed against his head. Harper tried to think of a solution, but there were no options. She didn't know where they were.

There was no way for her to contact anyone for help. The pod was an hour away in the opposite direction, and she was sure there was nothing inside of it that could help him.

Harper breathed out heavily and grabbed onto Hyde's hand. She didn't want to imagine it being the end for him. But if it was, she decided not to leave him alone.

Yanpu squatted down and looked at Harper as she cried. He frowned, and wished there was something he could do to comfort her. "Harper,"

"I'm okay," Harper sniffled. "Everything will be okay, Yani." She tried her best to convince him but her tone lacked confidence. It lacked life and any sign of hope.

Footsteps. There was a sound of footsteps slowly sloshing their way. Yanpu quickly stood and turned the flashlight. Then he moved closer to Harper for safety.

"Harper, someone's over there." He mumbled softly, grabbing a hold of her bicep. He pointed, and Harper glanced upward. The figure appeared from behind the bark of the tree, the outline of them being crooked, rugged, and terrifying.

"Who's there!" Harper called, hoping she didn't just make a stupid decision by making herself known. She took the flashlight from Yanpu and aimed the beam higher.

It was a short tan woman with long gray hair tied into a braid. She had a black rain cloak on, old leather sandals, and a wooden staff with feathers as a decorative accessory hanging from them.

Her face had bags under her eyes, and 2 lines on her head. But her skin was clear. Though somewhat youthful in appearance, she was probably around 50 or 60 years of age.

"Nek tamph nu?" She asked Harper, looking down at Hyde who was unconscious.

"I don't... understand."

She sighed. "You don't speak Paradisian. You must be a foreigner."

Harper wiped her tears away when the woman got closer.

"Your friend," The woman skimmed over his body. "Bring him and follow me. I will help you."

"What? How can you help? Why should I follow you? I don't know you!"

"His condition looks no good," the woman acknowledged. "I am a healer. I will examine him."

Harper bit her lip and thought hard. She didn't have much of a choice. Perhaps the overseers blessed her by sending this woman here?

Harper decided to follow her, so she pulled Hyde over her back. He was heavy, but she ignored the pain the best she could. Yanpu followed behind closely, observing the woman skeptically.

~~~