They waited in Timothy's bunker for the rest of the day. The living quarters (the room with the monitors) had three doors attached. One led to a tight kitchen, the second was a toilet and the third opened to the Displincia underground.

Axel winced as Timothy placed a plate of fried butter beans on the table. Like his living quarters, the kitchen was filthy. Muck lined the walls. He cooked the beans on a grimy hob. Axel's stomach rumbled. He picked one of the beans up and placed it in his mouth. It was the first bit of food he had eaten since the invasion began. He'd never liked butter beans but today they tasted as pure as chocolate.

Axel sat in the living quarters and ate with Raz and Timothy. Marcella sat alone in the kitchen. After he finished chewing his sprouts, he knocked on the kitchen door and let himself in. Marcella hadn't touched her food yet . She didn't even look up at him as he took a seat next to her.

"You sure you don't want to eat that?" Axel asked. "I know this place is gross but it's the last chance we're going to have before we get your Dad free."

She didn't break her stare. "Not hungry."

"I get that you're worried, but you're going to need the energy," he replied. She looked at him.

"You really think we can do this?" she asked.

The question took him off guard. "We've got a pretty decent shot. Look, I don't know Raz, Timothy and your Dad but it's quite clear they have experience in this kind of thing. They'll get him out of this mess."

"What makes you so sure about that?"

Axel didn't know what to say.

"The aliens haven't killed your Dad and that's a pretty good sign, right?"

She shrugged. "I guess."

"We're going to get through this, Marcella," he said and they caught eye contact for a moment. It was the first time he'd taken her in. Her deep green eyes had wisdom beyond their years. He wished he could say something to help but he felt just as terrified. He thought about placing a hand on hers but wasn't sure how weird that would be. She looked away from him.

"If something...if something happens to my Dad," started Marcella.

"Don't think like--"

"Wait," she snapped. "Let me finish...if something happens to my Dad...promise me you won't leave me behind."

Axel nodded. "Promise."

She smiled weakly then pulled a piece of fried bean off of the stick and placed it in her mouth. She winced. "Always hated sprouts," she said through a mouthful. They chuckled.

A knock at the door got their attention, Raz pushed open the entrance to the kitchen and popped her head around. "Alright you two, it's time."

They reconvened in the main room of the house and Timothy led them to the third door. He typed something into the keypad. The doorway beeped and slowly slid apart revealing a long path which connected to the Displincia underground.

"Down here for five miles, there's a ladder to the right," said Timothy. "Take it all the way to the top. You'll be on central tower. I'll guide you from there."

They got their stuff together and headed through the open wall. Raz turned to face Timothy.

"Thanks," she muttered, then allowed him to throw his arms around her once more.

"Just bring Hyke and Quentin back alive," said Timothy and, with one final wave, they made their way through the tunnel. The wall panels slipped back into place behind them.

They walked for over an hour in total silence. It was amazing the effect the darkness had on their focus. Axel fell into his thoughts, wondering if he was being too naive to think that he might one day be reunited with his father. He meant what he'd said to Marcella. Their fathers had been friends so it almost felt like she was part of a family he had never known.

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Marcella's face was pensive too. He wondered what she was thinking. He'd grown used to his father's absence and while he was always worried about him he felt used to the nerves by now.

Raz stopped when she reached the ladder. She allowed Axel to go first. He started to climb then looked behind him. Marcella stopped in her tracks.

"I-I've never been a fan of heights," she uttered. "You go, I can't-"

Raz placed a hand on her shoulder. "We all get the jitters first time we have to try something new. I've done this a thousand times before. Go ahead of me and I'll keep an eye on you."

Marcella hesitated then did as she was told.

Axel coughed as the ladder led him out of the underground and up towards the top of central tower. He'd hoped to breath in the fresh air of another night of Displincia but found his nostrils invaded by the smell of smoke and death. The place was a complete wasteland. There were no longer any Vaxorians in sight. Patrols of the green-skinned Engen'ozus were walking around below them, some accompanied by Sabre Zoones others in a small formation.

In the darkness of the night, it was quite unlikely they would be seen against the deep black of the central tower. This was probably why Timothy had sent them this way.

It took another twenty minutes of climbing before they reached the top. Raz pressed the comms against her ear. "We've reached the tower, Tim."

A crackle came and Axel could hear the voice of Timothy pouring into her ear. "Alrighty, looking at the cams you're gonna want to jump rooftops towards the left of you. There are less patrols that way."

Raz nodded and turned to them both.

Marcella shook her head. "Didn't you hear what I said down there, I hate heights, I can't do this."

"Your father needs you," Raz replied softly though it was clear comfort wasn't her strong suit.

"Don't you think I know that?" snapped Marcella. She took a peek below her and Axel was pretty sure if it wasn't so dark he would have seen her face go pale. He stepped towards her.

"Listen to me," he said, a warmth washing over him as she looked in his direction. "We can do this. We've come this far."

He held out his hand. "Let's do it together," he said.

She thought about it then took his hand. They backed up a little to give themselves space. Axel had done similar things during his training at the Academy. All they had to do was time their speed right and they'd go far enough to hit the next building. He'd sometimes done this on the way to the Academy. It helped cut out the traffic. He pulled her into a run. "Jump!" he yelled as they reached the edge of the building.

He kicked his legs in the air, it carried him across to the other side. They stumbled forwards as their feet thumped down on the roof.

Marcella fixed him with a face of awe. "That...was amazing," she exclaimed. The rush of nerves clearly transformed into excitement. She let go of Axel's hand and jumped across to the next building. Axel and Raz followed her and they continued to jump until they landed opposite the place Hyke was being held. The building next to the Kaarzee hangar.

A crackle came from Raz's comms and Timothy chimed in. "This is where things get a little bit complicated," he said. "You've got two patrols circling the area below and one watchman stood on the roof opposite. You're going to want to take the rooftop entrance. Do you think you can manage that?"

Raz crouched down and peeked over at the watchman on the rooftop. Two of his four arms were holding an assault rifle Axel had never seen before. The other held binocs to his face as he scanned the area. She beckoned Axel over to her. "Reckon you can shoot the door behind him? Create a distraction?"

"I can try," he said and took out his T-90 energy-based pistol.

She snatched it away.

"We don't have time to try," she said and aimed up and fired a blast which collided into the door. The watchman turned and went to investigate as Raz launched herself to the other side then motioned for Axel and Marcella to wait.

Raz leapt on top of the watchman and cracked him round the head with the hilt of her gun. He dropped to the ground and she climbed on top and smashed him with her weapon again and again. Blue blood splattered her black leather boots. She looked over to them and gave the thumbs up.

Axel and Marcella jumped across to her and followed her as she kicked open the rooftop entrance. The three dropped into a crouch.

"I never tire watching you do stuff like that," came the voice of Timothy. Axel jumped, he'd forgotten that Timothy was even there. "Follow those stairs down to the first corridor. They patrol in sets of two so if you can avoid conflict that would be great but, if you need to be kick ass again, let's face it, you can take them."

They crept into the corridor and Axel felt a pang of anxiety as he remembered how this went for him last time. Raz stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked around the corner. Then gave them the thumbs up. Axel and Marcella joined her as they walked down the corridor. "If you're quick, they won't see you," came the voice of Timothy. "Get to the entry at the end there."

They hurried along to the other side of the corridor and pushed open a set of double doors. Axel tried not to think about what would have happened if Raz hadn't come to save him. He realised now how out of his depth he had been when he tried to save Striker. If only he'd had the guidance of Raz and Timothy back then, Striker might still be alive.

They stopped at a staircase.

"You're going to want to take these to the bottom floor," said Timothy. "Place seems just about empty, so this bit should be a breeze."

Raz nodded and they made their way down the steps. They got three floors down before it happened. With the intel that nobody was around, they'd dropped their guard so it was more than a little shock when they found themselves face-to-face with two green troopers.

"Oi!" the troopers shouted as they lifted their guns.