Roan soared through the air, Ravine secure in his arms, while Zhon's drone struggled to keep pace some distance behind them.

  "You know, for someone who definitely never had wings before, you seem to have gotten the hang of it pretty quickly," Ravine observed.

  Roan smiled. "Well, considering I got the bat's experience, I guess it makes sense, right?"

  Ravine shrugged. "You might be right. After all, even I was able to use mine as if I'd always known how." She paused. "Too bad it's probably going to be useless to us now."

  Roan nodded, and several minutes of silence passed.

  Zhon's voice suddenly crackled through the drone. "I've run some analysis, and it seems the high radiation levels in the factory have dropped significantly since we killed that bat. Do you think that creature was a product of whatever that virus was?"

  "Beats me," Ravine said. "All I know is that virus absolutely destroyed those workers."

  Roan looked thoughtful. "Now that this is done, what do you think our next mission will be? I wonder if we'll ever encounter any of the past squadrons."

  Ravine gave him a confused look. "Why would you want to see them?"

  "Well, for one, they might have extra data that couldn't be sent to Mother Phoenix. Plus, it's because of them we have a better chance at surviving this. They deserve to be honored."

  Ravine nodded slowly. "Yes, however, we shouldn't dwell on them. That is what they would want, I think." After a brief pause, she added, "We're almost there." She smirked. "You do know how to land, I hope?"

  Roan laughed. "Well, only one way to find out, right?" His tone shifted to pure amazement. "I think I can see Irene from here and... woah, no way! She did it!"

  "What?" Ravine asked before looking down toward the building. Her eyes widened. "She did this? All alone? I couldn't even defeat four... how strong is she?"

  "Well, to be fair, you three were ambushed," Roan pointed out. "She, on the other hand, saw them coming. You're still a great warrior, no question."

  Ravine's head turned away in response as they finally approached the building.

  A system message suddenly appeared on Roan's menu: "FLIGHT SKILL DEACTIVATED. DURATION EXCEEDED."

  The wings vanished, sending them plummeting.

  "Just like that? No warning?" Ravine screamed.

  Roan, trying to stay composed, said through gritted teeth, "Zhon, DO SOMETHING!"

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  Zhon's voice came through the drone. "Sorry, my drone isn't strong enough to fly you two home. However, I can try to redirect you to the rooftop, but I won't lie—landing will be rough."

  The drone grabbed hold of both androids as they fell.

  Ravine looked at Roan. "I swear, if I make it out of this, it's the last time I'm ever flying with you."

  They crashed onto the roof with a thunderous impact, rolling across the surface until they slammed into the wall where Zhon had been hiding, leaving a cloud of smoke and debris. The drone slid across the ground, throwing sparks.

  As the smoke cleared, Irene ran to them with a worried expression. "You two okay?"

  After a moment, Roan groaned. "Yep, that was something. Let's not let that happen again." He struggled to his feet.

  "Anyone willing to help me up?" Ravine asked. "I still can't move."

  Irene dragged her to a small wall on the roof. "You should be good there," she said with a comforting smile.

  Ravine nodded gratefully. "Thank you."

  Roan chuckled softly. "It seems we all got hurt, huh?"

  Irene recovered her serious tone. "Yes, however, Aria still takes priority. In the meantime, we should discuss our next objective."

  Ravine's eyes widened as she remembered Aria's condition. "Speaking of which, how is she?"

  Zhon emerged from the now-unsealed door with a stressed expression, carrying Aria's body. He dropped it gently on the floor. "It's gotten worse."

  Ravine's eyes narrowed. "Worse? How? I thought you said you could handle it."

  Zhon sat beside the body and pulled out a severed wire from her system, dripping with brown substance.

  "The tracking substance from the wolves?" Irene asked, then looked at Zhon intently. "What's really going on with her?"

  Zhon swallowed hard. "I don't know if I can repair her body. This substance didn't only serve as tracking for the wolves—it also slowly eats at the victim's body like an organic toxin."

  Ravine's face hardened. "So now what? We just give up on her?"

  "No, we can't do that. It's my fault she's like this in the first place," Zhon said with frustration evident in his voice. "All she ever wanted was to see the world with us. I won't take that away from her." He held her damaged hand gently.

  Irene put a hand on his shoulder. "What can be done?"

  Zhon thought for a moment. "Her body is withering away by the hour on the inside. At this rate, her OS chip will be damaged, and there will be no way to save her at all."

  "Let's say you pull her OS chip out," Ravine said. "You still don't have a body to put her in. What then? If it gets damaged, the same outcome will happen either way."

  Zhon paused. "What if... what if I put her in the drone?"

  A moment of silence fell as they all stared at each other.

  Roan spoke first. "Can that really work? I mean, I haven't heard of any of the other squadrons doing that in our data."

  Zhon shook his head. "I don't know, but this is the only way I can think of—at least until we can find another body for her."

  "Another body?" Ravine repeated.

  Zhon stood and began pacing. "You two came across a factory, right? Of course it's destroyed, but what are the chances we'll run into more of those? There was a reason we were sent there, and for some reason, I don't think this will be the last one either."

  Irene sighed. "Fine, we can try it. How long will it take you?"

  Zhon nodded with grateful eyes. "Thank you. It shouldn't be long—the transfer is practically instant once the chip goes in the drone. The question is whether the chip will be compatible with it."

  Ravine raised her head. "What happens if it isn't?"

  "We lose the drone and Aria," Zhon said quietly.

  Ravine nodded solemnly. "Please be safe."

  Zhon nodded before entering the room with the body and the drone.

  Irene clapped her hands together, her voice calm but stern. "We should focus on our next target." She looked at Roan and Ravine. "Mother Phoenix has given us our next location to head toward."

  Ravine and Roan looked at each other, then at Irene, and nodded in unison.