swallowing space

The cave had become a tomb.

The fire burned low, barely casting shadows.

Unit 404 — Oris, Tyren, and Kael — sat in different corners, backs to the rock walls, faces hidden in shade.

Not speaking.

Not moving.

They hadn't touched the food the girls left for them.

Hadn't answered a single question.

They didn't look injured. But in truth, they were bleeding inside — wounded in the kind of way that left no marks on flesh, but scorched every reason to keep going.

---

Freya, Kira, and Lisette stood near the mouth of the cave, whispering.

"They're not eating," Freya murmured.

"They're not doing anything," Kira added. "They're like statues."

Lisette's eyes flicked to the center of the cave. "They're grieving. In their own way."

Trask and Draan watched too, but from a distance.

"This isn't normal," Draan whispered. "This is what comes after too many losses."

Trask nodded grimly. "They've crossed the threshold. Either they snap and burn out…"

"Or they come back sharper than ever," Draan finished.

---

Suddenly, the silence broke.

Oris stood up.

His movements were slow, mechanical — like a machine booting up after being dormant for years.

He didn't look at anyone but Tyren.

"You were right," he said flatly. "About all of it."

Tyren didn't look up. "Doesn't change anything."

"No," Oris agreed. "It doesn't."

He paused.

"But it makes it easier to stop pretending."

---

That's when Kael spoke.

His voice cut through the air like a blade.

"I'm not ready to let Ravager die."

Everyone turned to him.

Even Tyren froze mid-motion.

Kael stood up slowly, the shard of his melted mech core still clutched in one fist.

"I don't care if it's melted. I don't care if we have to forge every screw from Kaiju bones," he growled. "We're going to rebuild."

Oris blinked. "Kael, the entire core—"

"Then we'll make a new core." Kael stepped forward. His voice sharpened with each word. "Ravager isn't just a machine. It's mine. I bled in it. I survived in it. And I'll burn half this galaxy down before I let some rat bastard take it from me."

Kira stepped back, startled by the heat in his eyes.

He wasn't ranting.

He wasn't broken anymore.

He was furious.

---

Kael turned toward Oris.

"Tell me the truth. Can you rebuild it?"

Oris exhaled through his nose. "I'll need metal. A lot of it. The right kind. Stabilized radium composites, Kaiju plating, atmospheric isolators... and probably new blood cores."

Kael nodded. "Then we hunt."

Tyren stood slowly, grinding his knuckles.

"You think I'm just gonna sit here while you get revenge?"

He stepped beside Kael.

His voice trembled — but with rage, not fear.

"I want them dead, Kael. Every single one of them. The ones who sent us here. The ones who killed our machines. The ones who watched us drown and called it discipline."

Kael gritted his teeth. "Then let's become monsters."

---

Lisette took a step forward. "You mean…"

Kael turned toward her, eyes burning like twin suns.

"I mean we're done running. Done sulking. Done pretending we're 'survivors.'"

He pointed toward the open fog beyond the cave.

"There's a forge waiting out there. One made of blood, fire, and bone. And from it… we rise."

---

Oris wiped his face, his calm demeanor warping into something sharper.

"I'll rebuild Ravager. I'll scavenge every lizard, rhino, and serpent Kaiju on this planet if I have to."

He glanced toward the melted spot where Specter used to stand.

"And I'll build it better."

Tyren cracked his neck, fists clenched.

"No more defense. No more hiding. We start hunting. Not just Kaiju."

---

Freya stepped forward. "What do you mean 'not just Kaiju'?"

Kael turned his head slightly.

"There's someone else on this planet. Or watching it."

Oris nodded grimly. "It was a remote detonation. Internal. Meaning… someone had access codes to our mech cores."

Kira gasped. "You think someone from your own faction did it?"

"I think someone from our own past did it," Kael said coldly.

Tyren nodded. "And now? They get to find out what it means to betray Unit 404."

---

The cave no longer felt like a tomb.

It felt like the eye of a storm — one that had been quiet for far too long.

Something had awakened.

Not mercy.

Not hope.

But fury.

And soon, it would have a body.

---