Crackles of lightning snap as arcs of vibrant pink electricity spark past the two remaining intruders from above. The two intruders, the blowdart man and the vacuum man, immediately freeze as the blowdart man doesn’t fire in sudden petrification from an overwhelming force as more pink arcs race past him.

“You’re not getting rid of any of my guests,” asserts a deeply commanding recognizable female voice from above, causing the two intruders to turn around to face the source. The Tempest raises his head as well as Ekitai and Dana, to which both Ekitai and Dana are flooded with overwhelming awe visible on their faces. A pink light reflects off Ekitai’s wide yellow eyes as he stares speechless.

Far up in the air above the group seemingly without support hovers Kokei, however her entire body constantly sparks with pink arcs, and her hair flies violently as though she’s standing in front of a rageful wind. Her hoodie also rustles as her oversized sleeve and hoodie thrashes violently. Streaks of pink electricity course through her visible skin, and her pupils emanate a strong pink luminescence with a horizontal arc passing through the center of her iris.

Long pink arcs project off her body, slithering around the two intruders as more arcs branch off to constantly surround the two, causing the air to feel oddly stiff. Neither of the attackers could move a muscle as though they had been frozen, as they could only stare with dropped jaws.

“So get-,” Kokei’s eyes contract to a vengeful glare, “-out of my-,” Kokei’s hands open as arcs protrude off all of her fingertips, sending bolts racing towards the intruders, “-HOME!”

All five arcs of each hand strike each intruder, causing their entire body to begin sparking as they scream in agony.

Both bodies simultaneously plunge onto the floor, lightly sparking for a few moments as the pink arcs stop generating, allowing the few remaining ones to spark and disperse. The energy glowing in Kokei’s skin dims to nothing, and her eyes close softly. As though falling asleep, she begins to plummet limp.

The Tempest immediately pushes himself to his feet and leaps forward, holding his arms out in desperation. Descending from the skies above, Kokei falls on the Tempest’s arms in a bridal style, her body laying strengthless.

He drops to his knees, skidding a few feet on the carpet floor before coming to a stop. He pants heavily in a mixture of exhaustion and immense perplexion, holding Kokei in his arms as he gazes on her calm face.

Groaning in pain, Dana stands up to her feet, turning to the Tempest before imploring, “Should I neutralize both of them just in case?”

Still disoriented from the surreal sight, the Tempest nods his head, granting “Go ahead.” Behind him, Dana aims her conal cannon at each of the bodies, firing a black bolt into each of them, and causing their unconscious bodies to flash black. She then lowers her cannon, reconfiguring it to the shape of a hand before turning to her left wrist, which has no hand, and watches as golden strings begin extending out from the wrist and swiftly builds a new hand as though sewn together.

The three specters then flash green before disintegrating completely in a golden mist which dissipates soon after, having fulfilled their duty. Dana approaches the Tempest, inquiring, “Do you think it’s fine if we-.”

The Tempest nods his head and answers before she finishes, “Yes, that’s the whole squad.”

Dana holds her hand up before reasoning, “Yeah but, what about her?”

Easily deducing who she was referring to, the Tempest maintains his gaze on Kokei’s body. He stays silent for a few moments before replying, “She’s not deceased, nor is she in comatose or any serious unconscious state. She’s just…tired, seems asleep.”

The black carbon fiber mask vanishes as well as the goggles in an azureus flash, unmasking the Tempest. His hood stays on however as both of his hands are being used to support the host, but now seeing without the mask, his soft blue eyes gaze on Kokei’s sleeping face with deep contemplation.

Dana notices the relinquishment, and she nods her head. Suddenly, her entire body emits a blinding golden flash, and once it dissipates, it leaves her as she appeared before, with fair human skin and sporting her attire with the white shirt under the black blazer, black leggings and black and white shoes. She then approaches her ally, standing beside him as he continues to stare at Kokei. She places her hand on his shoulder, lowering her head to face her as well before asking softly, “Rohan, what are we going to do?”

She turns around to face the rest of the house, glancing at the five neutralized intruders, the dented walls, the broken chandelier, and the cupcakes all littering the floor except for a single one remaining on the tray. The single one catches her attention, as the white cupcake encased in the pink wrapper sits on the tray with the open book topping, completely untouched.

Rohan lets out a soft sigh, frowning in restlessness before admitting, “I don’t know…. This was a bad idea…I led them here…they must’ve somehow tracked me down, and because of it they tore this place down and endangered innocents. Even if we clean up the place and replace all the damages, the fact is, this place is going to be targeted. They assumed she was an ally, and after you both joined, now they’ll suspect you’re all accomplices.”

Rohan’s pale hands squeeze Kokei’s body tighter in stress as he lowers his head with a tense expression before exclaiming, “Dammit, why did I let myself go along with this. Now she’s going to be targeted, you’re lucky you have that disguise but Ekitai doesn’t. Both of them are going to be targeted. If I just leave them back to their normal lives, that’s leaving them out to die. But what am I supposed to do…the only safe place I know is the….”

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Silence follows as Rohan’s voice tapers, and Dana lowers her head. Behind the two, Ekitai groans as he sits up, turning to face the other three. His yellow eyes are still expanded with his jaw dropped, still unable to process his situation.

“...but I can’t just take them to my house, for one I’m not sure if they’d even be fine with it, and also even if it’s off grid enough that they won’t be found, there’s too much there. They’d be exposed to so much…too much…there’s a reason I don’t let others in,” verbally contemplates Rohan, pondering this conundrum befallen him.

“Is she going to be hunted?”

Both Rohan’s and Dana’s pupils shrink, and they simultaneously turn behind themselves to the one who spoke. They stare at Ekitai, who sits up, staring at both of them with dreadful expressions.

“Huh?” asks Dana, still disoriented from the heavy pile of events.

“My friend…is she going to be hunted by…them? I’ve lived a dangerous life, but she’s tried her best to keep out of trouble. She’s worked so hard to earn a comfortable life, so is she going to be hunted by these Exhumans? I’m sorry for bringing you here…I didn’t think anything of it, I honestly just wanted to have fun. This is on me…but even then…she can’t be left here if that means she won’t be safe,” pleads Ekitai before coughing raspily. He continues coughing while Dana and Rohan exchange gazes.

Dana’s pupils remain dilated in perplexion, unable to react properly. Rohan’s pupils instead have calmed into a sentimental expression before he turns back to regard Kokei.

Letting out a soft sigh of exhaustion and releasing his immense apprehension, he stands up straight, still carrying Kokei. While facing forwards towards the exit, he instructs, “Ekitai, stand up.”

Ekitai stares at Rohan before asking dumbfoundedly, “Huh?”

Lowering his head, Rohan declares, “We’re going to my pod. I’ll leave her body in the back with you Ekitai, the three of you stay there and I’ll clean up the mess in here. Then we’re leaving.”

His expression still unchanged, Ekitai inquires befuddled, “To where?”

Raising his head, Rohan answers, “My home.”

With that, he begins marching forward, carrying Kokei’s limp body straight towards the exit of the house. Behind him, both Dana and Ekitai stare with wide eyes in utter astoundment, unable to speak. All they can do is silently watch as Rohan walks in through the kitchen, carrying Kokei past the room she was initially pummeled into, and walking her to the door on the far side of her home.

Eventually, the two follow Rohan outside, and following his orders, they sit in the interior of Rohan’s matte black pod. Dana sits on the front passenger seat, staring forward in a petrified gaze, still processing this abrupt choice.

Behind her, Ekitai is seated, staring straight at the second passenger in the back, Kokei, who remains asleep. Outside the window is complete darkness, as it appears they are in the heart of the night, the sun far from them.

After a tedious cleaning session, Rohan makes efforts in tidying the mess he made, such as returning all the merchandise back to the shelves where they belong and disposing of the broken couch and chandelier. Inside the dining hall, he cleans the mess of the cupcakes he made on the floor, placing the fallen cupcake and fragments back on the tray and cleaning the floor of the icing.

He stands back up with a drained groan before turning towards the dining table and glancing at the final remaining cupcake. His white locks of hair rested free as his hood had been down after leaving Kokei, resting against his pale head. He gazes at the untouched cupcake for a few moments, drowned in reflection.

After making his choice, he wraps up cleaning the house, checking for any remaining messes or any other broken furniture he has yet to either attempt to repair or simply dispose of. After making the rounds, he returns to the heap of bodies from the invasive squad, and five cables fire off his hands, grabbing all of them.

He drags the bodies out of the house, letting the door materialize and shut after he steps out. He then raises his head, and leaps up with a boost, flying straight up while carrying the bodies. Below him, Ekitai and Dana gaze from inside the pod, watching him soar to the rooftops with the defeated assailants.

After completing the necessary process, he leaps off of the rooftop, gliding down towards the lawn. Blue light emanates off his body as his descent is slowed down, providing a soft landing. Standing on the grassy lawn, he glances back at the house, eyeing the row of pink flowers along the wall, which dance softly in the nightly breeze.

He lets out a soft sigh with a sentimental stare before turning around and approaching the pod, which creates an opening for him. Once he sits inside, the opening is once again covered, with the final person accounted for.

The pod then roars as the engine awakens before it lifts a foot off the ground. It begins to rise higher as the pod rotates to face away from the house, the roar calming to a hum as it faces the streets it came from. It then races off and dives down to the lit blue river of pods in the distance, departing from the house and leaving the pink flowers waving.

Joining the flow, the matte black pod begins its trip, leaving the cube-stacked complex, and following the long road ahead. Hours of driving pass as Rohan maintains a calm yet fully focused expression, his full attention set on the road. He leans straight up rather than against his seat, combating exhaustion to reach his destination. Beside him, Dana and Ekitai both slouch against their seats, neither of their eyes open as they have already fallen into deep sleep in the long trip, leaving Rohan as the only conscious person inside.

While Rohan maintains attention on the road, there are still an immense plethora of questions haunting him. How was he followed? Why did the others also take up arms when neither of them had an obligation, especially Ekitai, who was clearly no fighter?

The more prevailing question however was on the host who sleeps soundly behind him, her head resting against the seat, with strands of pink hair beside her face. Who was she? What was she?

But the greatest question of all, the one at the forefront of his mind was one that felt far more difficult to find a satisfactory answer to:

What life did he just get into?