One would think, after seeing it time and time again, that they’d get used to a street twisting onto itself.

And before all of that, was a wall made of street that stood in front of them.

Panting, looking at each other, they slowly made their way towards the base, before stopping.

Their breathing, almost in sync, all of them gearing up for what they were about to do.

They sprinted forward, launching themselves upwards, grappling onto the surface.

They staggered. Paused. Slipped back. Locked up as they tried to reach the summit.

But soon, either by siVis or their own muscle memory, they managed to scale towards it, only to position themselves to slide downward the slope. Tired. Dazed. But ready until they fell into the impression below.

Climbing out into the night, this hazy and bleak night, as she watched the ground writhe uncontrollably—Jackie knew this was it. That this was the test.

This false start of theirs could end with the proof that they haven’t lost anything, that they can still survive in this world. Or it was all a fluke, and this is going to be the tragic end to a worthless journey with incredibly flawed people.

“… Tabby has some tapes of us,” Jackie turned towards the emerging rest. Prompting her to turn towards them fully. “Th—that’s what she called me over for. She felt bad, researching it.”

Jackie studied the reactions. Maddie was distant, from the cold resurfacing or her checking out earlier: maybe a combination. Looking off to the side, but starting at nothing in particular.

Confusion written all over Tracy’s face, but it stabilized. If only halting itself depending on what Jackie was going to say.

Aiko was just attentive, subtly nodding her head as if to make Jackie go on.

“Even the Fountain incident at the Megaplex?” River tried cracking a joke again, shaking tone still driven by fear, despite what her neutral face tried to tell Jackie. “Now I’m really glad I didn’t jump in with you guys.”

“…Do you think—” Jackie not only cut herself off, but had to hold in a burst of emotion that rocketed from her throat, causing her to avert her gaze. She felt her own pause, and forced herself to swallow air so she could continue. “You think… If we really do end here… Y-you think they’d pity us? Care about us?”

Silence. Despite the buzzing static in the air, the rumbling of asphalt: the silence they created damped the surroundings around them.

Ironically, removing them from this space for the first time in ages.

“I-I guess… For a few weeks. Families forever, of course… Other than that, it’ll be reflection of what we were able to accomplish with life, I’d say…” Tracy rubbed her arm. Clearly, with her twisting lips and struggling eyes, having a hard time in accepting that.

“Or, people rightfully won’t care and have their own asses to save,” Maddie chimed in like a gong. “So they don’t end up like us. This shit happens to schmucks every single day, and now we care about who shows up dead on the news?”

“… So, uh, either-or,” Aiko answered for them.

Jackie shut her eyes, and allowed the outside noise to flood back in.

Turning around, and then glumly starting to jump in place, she said what could be her final “speech”.

“Regardless of everything, regardless if it’s all for nothing… This is our mark. Let’s hope they don’t need to clean it up.”

She felt the street move under her feet, but she tried to stand firm, strong. By her sides, she was joined by people that she couldn’t call friends—but shared so much compared to a family member.

They pivoted forward, and launched themselves into the mess.

Every step they took, they fought against the rippling road. Trekking through snow that is pure gravel, the rises like rushing waters.

Jackie expanded her senses again, wincing immediately. Where were the Enforcers on pursuit? They all couldn’t be held up, dealing with N’atural—who also seemed to disappear, leaving her victims howling and screaming.

But it was seconds taken too much.

Stolen story; please report.

They were immediately launched upwards, soaring up into the air.

It was pretty much a sick joke, at this point.

She didn’t care, at least she was given a new vantage point, trying to scan further to no avail. The static of a crumbling reality getting thicker by the second. To the point she saw… Air? Space? Whatever one would call something in front of them, diffusing into mess.

Glancing at the others, she saw that they were trying to make it back down, shifting… But struggling. Barely maintaining it for a second.

She shifted herself, trying to angle down and dive in the air.

Flashes of pain forced her out.

She tried twisting her body—only having a warped flashback of the first time she’s done this, a millisecond long, but enough to leave an impression. Tried shifting her weight downwards, using her legs. Only brief shots of how she’s ruining them as long as she continues on this stupid dream—this barely-there hope.

She closed her eyes, trying to dig deep—the deepest she could. Once again, nothing being there. Nothing, starting to fill entirely with the flashes of pain.

In those moments of hopelessness, she had to manifest what she’s been begging herself for.

Keep it together.

Learn from your mistakes.

She opened her open to scream, so once that ended, she can vocalize what they needed to hear and keep hearing.

“PUSHING THROUGH IS THE ONLY WAY! SCREW WHAT OUR BODIES TELL US! SCREW WHATEVER LIMITS WE HAVE! WE SURVIVE AND WE’LL DO IT AGAIN!”

Tensing, struggling to shift so much that she was flashing, but managed to dive right back down towards unstable ground.

But said ground was coming up to meet them.

The hills that the streets became pointed, elongated ridges that shot into the air with accelerated speeds.

If that weren’t enough, whatever was on them—be it caked into the sidewalks or gently floating in the wind before all of this—became makeshift projectiles.

The gust of air, the reverse rain, pelted the teens with no mercy—wedging small items into their clothes and skin.

Some of these clothes, representing the time before. The few things that nearly survived.

Jackie found herself straining, once moving but now stuck. They were now pinned within the air. All that, for nothing again.

Thankfully, her ears picked up Aiko’s siVis, saving her from using the precious little she has left for the rage against the world, motivation for a very costly breakout.

Looking over, Jackie saw her zoom across the skies within the comet she becomes. Taking over the fender that pinned River, the steel bench part that hit River’s right side, and the small tree fencing that tangled Tracy’s legs, before turning back to Aiko, twitching. A sign that she’s spent.

She couldn’t leave her like that.

Adjusting midair, growling and shouting in distress, she angled herself to dive towards Aiko, grabbing her with the one arm. Looking at the rest, she knew that she had leverage over them, thus no fear in saying:

“WE DO IT AGAIN, AS LONG AS IT TAKES!”

Wiggling, stuttering, clawing their way through the air. It was a sight to behold, as these girls didn’t even have their all. No energy to really speak of. But the bits that they had to have had, out of the necessity of being alive, they used everything to fall right into the uneven, spiked ground.

The worse part was their goal the entire time: to stand up afterward, to stand up again.

Doing it, side by side, wasn’t the hard part. It was keeping it on.

Delirium. Enlightenment, because she forced it upon herself. Dwelling on such a bad day and praying that she can get her hands on who’s responsible, the elating fantasy keeping her mind awake. She didn’t know what it was that caused her to realize.

This path. The reason it’s so hazy.

It’s Mayhem’s direct pathway.

Jackie’s throat, she couldn’t really feel it anymore. When she opened her mouth, it felt like whatever vocalization was tearing herself apart from the inside.

So she pointed, realizing that Aiko was still on her side. She pointed, and it shook.

And then, she struggled to align her finger towards her lips. Until that arm gave out.

Their faces started to become blurry, the more she looked at them.

But she saw their movements, as they didn’t nod. They started to shift again. Flickering before her eyes.

With a smile, she returned forward, closed her eyes.

Started to flicker as well.

And then took off. Moving forward. Moving along against rubble, obstacles, and ruin.

Moving. Because like it or not. It’s their life now.

There was no plan or special tracking. No more details to accurately pinpoint location. She pushed on until she could see remotely better than she could then in that moment.

Time was barely felt anymore. Locations blurred together within the smog and the tunnel vision.

But somehow, the flimsy instinct proved to be so right.

She was instantly blinded by lights, covering her eyes and stopping herself in her tracks.

Backing away until it didn’t burn her eyes, she looked up. Massive glass building, with searchlights several miles up.

She teared up, huffed in being overwhelmed. Stumbling back, but righting herself. It wasn’t over yet.

Because on the tip of the spire, a teen covered in darkness held a grown man over the city.

Jackie looked further, probably better than what normal people could see, but it wasn’t the best. She saw the manchild… Fumble for something? Searching Mr. Davenport for plans of some kind?

Then he brought his hand to his face. There was this boom-bassed murmur.

He was searching for the man’s microphone piece.

“… Was gonna do this nice… But what the hell… --ice speech prepared, but really, if you don’t get me now? Then this new world order is… for you. Look the past ones up… -ep playing them all around the clock on the news, if we have that anymo… Last thing. Fuck you, Daven Disney Rip-off fucker… -won’t scrub you off the fucking pavement—”

And then he dropped the man that promised to make everything better, off the building.

But from the corner of Jackie’s eye… Rubble from across the street began to rattle.

And from her other side, shake.

Wires lashed out into the air, dragging themselves out of the reality miasma, and slingshot towards Mr. Davenport.

Sailing through the air, the wire started to wrap themselves into individual shapes. Runes, but laying on top of the design, over and over, until they made the humanoid shape.

The four robots caught the man out of the air and proceeded to land on the building, latching onto it vertically.

“NO NEED TO FEAR: THE DAVENOID(S) ARE HERE~!” the whimsical things said into the cold night air.

Jackie turned to the rest, with a dead-eyed stare.