San is leaned against a wall with his arms crossed. His finger begins tapping from the anxious wait. A door slides with Heymlir and two guards standing behind him present.

Heymlir: Ah, San. Sorry for making you wait. What did you urgently need to talk to me about?

San: I’m here for Jayce.

Heymlir: …..I figured as much…Did Punk Riot come to you?

San: No. But it’s probably only a matter of time. I can imagine just how disorganized those guys are without their leader. – He lied in order to keep their cover safe for the time being.

San: Speaking of, I am curious how you managed to get Jayce to offer to help you.

Heymlir: Like I said, he only helped us so that he could try and get the core for himself. It was all a ruse.You know what kind of people Punk Riot is.

Again, San couldn’t tell who was telling the truth. For how long he’s known the mayor, Heymlir was always open to his people. It would make more logical sense for Punk Riot to be deceiving him. However, San also knew that if Punk Riot were to lie about something, it wouldn’t be anything like this.

Heymlir: I’m sorry San, but Jayce and Punk Riot went too far this time...Please understand, they even took the lives of my men….

San: …...

San: So? What is the verdict on Jayce?

Heymlir: Jayce will be spending the rest of his life in this prison, nothing more, nothing less. He’s a danger to this city. You probably might think that may be too much for him though… – He answers, remaining in his usual character perceived by San.

San: No…Perhaps that is for the best…

San: Can I see him? I just want to have a chat.

Heymlir pauses before giving an answer. Both are self aware of suspecting each other. However, there was no real reason to deny his request. Moreso, denying it would arouse more suspicions; this, Heymlir knows.

Heymlir:....Sure.

Heymlir escorts San to Jayce’s prison cell. The door pops open with a creak, until it ends at an abrupt “clang!” Jayce lifts his head up, and is completely shocked to see San.

Jayce: San!?

Heymlir: leave these two be. – He says to the guards outside the cell.

Heymlir: With that, it’ll just be you two. You may leave whenever you are ready.

San: Ah….thank you Heymlir…

Heymlir leaves the two to be alone, closing the cell door on the two. He and the remaining prison guards evict themselves out of the prison sector in courtesy of their privacy.

Jayce: San...There’s something wrong with Heymlir…Something ain’t right about him…!

San’s eyebrow twitches, he looks at Jayce with disdain.

San: You know, your bois came to my place just recently, and they told me their side of the story of what happened. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to them as long as they stay in my house. Though Hector did manage to get away.

San: Jayce...This isn’t a joke…! If this is your way of covering what you and your bois did, it’s better to confess now while you can…! If you can do that, I can try put in good words for you all and–

Jayce: What my bois told you is the truth!

Jayce: I don’t know what you heard from Heymlir, but he’s most likely lying to you! That guy’s acting all kinds of sketchy!

Jayce: Heymlir he…! He backstabbed us!

San was appalled. It was one thing to hear it from the Punk Riot members, but from Jayce whom he respected just as equally with Heymlir – San couldn’t help but snap.

San: Do you know who you’re talking about right now!? I know that even you are aware of the respect Heymlir deserves!

San: That man sacrificed a lot for this city and people! He would never betray any one of them, even you Jayce!

Jayce: I know…! But ya gotta believe us San!

San’s faith was wavering. A dichotomy of thought then occurred to him.

San: ...Why would you even help the mayor anyways…? It’s not like you chaps, especially you Jayce, to do something like that….

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San: I understand you chaps are thugs...But you wouldn’t stoop as low as to deceive someone to get what you want…

Jayce fell silently calm. If it was San, he could tell him. While he wouldn’t openly admit it, he was somebody who Jayce held in high regards as much as his bois. But what would he think of him after he tells him?

Jayce: The mayor….We made a deal that in exchange for helping him, he would give me something that I want.

San (raising a brow): And you did it just because of that? That’s not right. I’d figure you’d find that offensive.

Jayce (flustered): Hmph! Well...It’s not like I did it for myself!

Jayce: I...

Jayce: Just want to give my bois the opportunity to live a normal life.

San was baffled by what he just heard come from Jayce.

San: What…?! – He gasps in bewilderment.

San: If that was the case…Why didn’t you accept Heymlir’s offer when–

Jayce (frustrated): Aarrgghh..!!! I know! I know! People are allowed to change their mind ya know...!

Jayce: I was perfectly fine living the thug life, and even now I still am.

Jayce: But the more time I spent with my bois...The more I felt…This isn’t how they should live….

Jayce: My bois...They deserve better than this…They all look up to me because they think I'm strong, cool, and can kick anybody’s ass.

Jayce’s mind flashbacks to a scene when he easily defeated an adventurer going after his bois. He holds the face of the adventurer with his hand while the bois in the background gushes about how amazing their bro is – like how a kid admires their superheroes. He cracks a light smile remembering those adoring moments.

Jayce: Do you remember what you told me when we first met? You asked me if I was scared of getting hurt.

He recalls the moment he met San at the scrapyard as a kid, the small tantrum he threw when San asked if Jayce was running away because he was scared to be hurt again. The scene then transitions to his mother telling him she loves him – and then telling him to leave the family.

Jayce: I now understand what you meant back then….And even now...I’m still scared…

His thoughts return to Heymlir striking the deal with Jayce in the alley – hesitant if he could trust another person again other than his bois.

Jayce: Scared…To have my trust be betrayed again…To get hurt by the people that are close to me…That’s why I still live like this…I may be tough on the outside, but on the inside, I'm weak…!

“I just can’t move on….”

*Flashback

His memories return to a brief memory of him younger roaming the streets. He finds himself in a familiar neighborhood. Jayce comes to a sudden stop. He stumbles upon his house a couple street lamps away from him.

‘It didn’t matter’ – Was what Jayce thought. He had already committed to never seeing his family again as his mother wished. However, the brightful laugh of another child distracts Jayce. He looks beside him to see a girl and mother happily holding hands with each other. His sight fixates on their hands holding together, triggering memories of when he used to be with his mother.

It’s been years since he seen his mother. Because of the happy girl and mother, Jayce couldn’t help but wonder – Was it okay for him to return? How was his mother? Is she happy now? What would she think or say? Could things be the same, like with that girl and mother? Thoughts that he didn’t want to ever fantasize about intrudes his mind.

Suddenly, his security of having to remain tough begins to wane. To be strong. His pride. He began to feel tired of it–is what he begun to realize. How ironic it was, that a man respected for all his strength and battle prowess, the most difficult thing for him was to show weakness.

Jayce turns his body, and begins walking away. He comes to a stop once more to sneak a final glimpse of the little girl and her mother. In the end, even after he has grown so much – He still had the kid inside of him that yearned for that affection, but is too scared to approach it.

*Flashback ends

Jayce: I don’t want my bois to take after me like that….

“They…Need to move on…”

Jayce envisions the Punk Riot members reformed as ordinary citizens, living a happy proper normal life. One by one, they leave him as he watches over them with a bittersweet smile.

San didn’t have words to say. All he could do was look solemnly down at Jayce. At this very moment, he was witnessing Jayce at his very lowest, but at the same time, at his most earnest.

A loud clanging sound disrupts the emotional mood – a door outside can be heard closing. The two are left confused as the sound of a door creaking intensifies.The sector’s door slams shut.

San: ...What the –?

San (thinking): Did they do what I think they did…?! Did they lock us inside…!?

A grin smears across Heymlir’s face.

Heymlir (thinking delightfully): How perfect…!

Heymlir (thinking): I didn’t plan for it, but now the two people who posed the biggest threat to me have been eliminated altogether…!

Heymlir (thinking): And now to tidy up my preparations…!

*Night time.

Heymlir visits one of the guard posts where the chief guard is stationed. He walks into the post room where he greets a person with a small stature similar to Dr. Crogsbell – The small person wears a guard outfit decorated with various badges and a giant military combat helmet that covers all the way to his eyes.

Heymlir: Chief Gregundy.

Gregundy: ! Mayor Heymlir!

Gregundy: Is something the matter?

Heymlir: Yes. We just found out after interrogating the thief that his accomplices are still within the city, and I would like for them to be captured.

Heymlir: Please close off the city for tomorrow. We won’t be taking in any guests.

Meanwhile out in the streets, Malone has managed to knock out one of the search guards and has stripped him of his uniform. Malone disguises himself in hopes of breaking Jayce out through infiltration.

[https://i.imgur.com/AaTtm1V.png]