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“Pain in my goddamn ass,” the disembodied voice of the Legend muttered.

Niko quickly reactivated his own stealth. “I’m going to need you to stick close to me, but we won’t be able to see each other. So, we’ll just have to rely on saying where we are, and where to go. Follow my directions.”

“Got it.”

“You’re with him now, Niko?” Death asked.

“Yep. We should be good to go, D.”

“We’re going to start pulling out, then.”

“Stay safe.”

Yet another pair of drones rounded the entrance to the alleyway, then sped toward their location. Niko’s hands twitched; it was instinct to try and shoot them down. But the drones passed right by, not noticing them anymore.

“Damn, this shit’s useful,” Esteban mused. “Dude coulda just sold this for a fortune and had it made, instead of this whole murder thing. Retired on a yacht on Eanan.”

“Uh, yeah, well, things are a little more complicated than that. Listen, we need to make a run for it. And we need to do it now.” Niko stood, stray shards of glass falling from his suit.

They cracked beneath his boots as he started forward.

“Let’s go. Head down the alley and we’re going to keep to Naiaa Avenue for a while. I’m gonna need you to keep up.”

“Don’t patronize me, kid,” the Legend said. “I do my cardio.”

Niko broke into a swift jog, praying the old man could keep decent pace with him. They made their way back through the alley the way he’d arrived, but were forced to halt in their tracks.

An impenetrable, building wall of blue and red lights and wailing sirens cut off their path back to the Sonadora now.

Even in stealth, there was no easy way around them, and though the ORA helped, it was all too easy to be spotted if one got too close or careless.

Niko had been forced to face that reality not even an hour ago with Elliott.

To get back out of this, he and the Legend would need to make a go for Lady Death’s ships.

“Change of plans. Are you still on the ground, D?”

“Yes, but not for long.”

“ We’re gonna need to try and make it to you.”

“Niko, I don’t know how much longer we can hold out,” Death pressed, her voice carrying a gravelly fatigue and strain that shaped every word. She hesitated, before asking, “How soon can the two of you make it to Hannua Park?”

“We’re going now. We should have a clear shot straight through to you.”

“Make it happen, then. Our time is up.”

“Alright, this is gonna suck,” he grunted out. May as well be honest about it. “We’re gonna need to go faster.”

Both men backtracked, breaking into a run now as they made their way back into the alleyway, this time heading toward the opposite exit.

They emerged into an open, circular plaza full of abstract sculptures and littered with more hastily abandoned possessions.

A wall of Imperial Guards wielding tower shields had formed a living barricade and were closing in on the alleyway, dozens of special ops Galapol agents behind them in armor as impenetrable as Niko’s own.

Another minute spent in the alley and they’d have been done for.

Niko spotted a gap to the far right of them in the open plaza. “Keep right!” he called to the Legend, maintaining a healthy distance from the hostile forces. “Still with me?”

“I’m with you!” the other man responded over their comms.

“Niko, I need you to go faster,” Death pressed.

“We’re going as fast as we can!” He consulted the map. Ahead of them, a major throughway led straight past Hannua Park, where Death’s group was holding out at. “Straight onto the highway,” Niko directed the Legend.

“Hey! What’re those drones doing?” the old man called back, his tone wary.

Niko couldn’t afford to stop. He spared a brief glance over his shoulder, nearly tripping over a curb in the process.

Dozens of Galapol drones had risen high into the air, spreading out into a quickly widening circle.

He magnified his view of them through his visor.

Each was carrying something he couldn’t quite make out, some heading straight in their direction.

“Shit— Esteban—”

It was too late. The drones dropped what they were holding all at once, the nearest to them releasing a glint of silver that tumbled through the air and down into the city streets below.

Niko instinctively crouched, bracing himself for an explosion, but instead, a shockwave tore through the city block, killing all the nearby traffic lights and holographic ads, and instantly darkening the windows of the conical buildings around them.

The quiet hum of still-running abandoned cars and other machinery fell to an eerie silence, only the distant explosions and staccato gunfire in Death’s direction and his own heavy breathing echoing through his helmet filling the vacant quiet now.

EMP explosives. They’d been willing to shut down entire sectors of their own city to get at him.

“Aw, fuck,” the Legend said, mirroring his own thoughts.

Niko glanced down at himself, his body quaking now with a new kind of fear. The glossy, dinged and dented black of his suit was plainly visible, his stealth and shield fallen away.

But they’d protected him from the initial hit. His suit still functioned.

He could still run. He could still fight.

Niko rose out of his defensive crouch and glanced back at the old man, a mirror of him in his own dark armor, also visible again now.

“GO!” Niko shouted. Already, he could see Galapol agents pointing his way, turning their weapons on them. “Stick close to me!”

He shoved the Legend forward again, both men audibly panting from pushing themselves so hard. He knew the older hunter had to be in agony; he himself was. But it didn’t matter. They had to keep going, or they were dead.

Shots pinged off the back of their armor, causing Niko to stumble.

“The hell’s your armor made of? Mine’s good, but not that good.”

Shit. He’s not going to hold up through this.

Niko positioned himself beside Esteban to try and form a barrier between him and the hail of gunfire assaulting them now.

“Stay behind me. I don’t want you getting hit, if that’s the case.

” He twisted, taking a few shots back at the guards, who deflected them with their own fortified shields.

Assholes. Only a Gheroun was able to wield two-handed firearms and massive shields at the same time—the benefit of having ten limbs. It was particularly inconvenient for Niko.

He kept the two of them pressing forward, continuing to use himself to shield the other man from the unrelenting onslaught of bullets.

The sound was nearly deafening as each impact rang through his suit.

Though they weren’t able to penetrate his armor, they still jolted him again and again, but he held his ground, firing back into their ranks and trying to keep them at bay.

If they could just keep going, just keep closing the distance between themselves and Deleera’s getaway ships—

Niko halted to a sudden stop, grabbing the other man hard. “Oh, shit.”

Before them was another line of Imperial guards fanning out across the throughway, cutting them off from being able to reach Hannua Park now.

Just like during his and Elliott’s last foray onto Haneen, it was all falling apart. He was grateful this time Elliott was safe with the ship—as was his father and Loolae.

But he wasn’t ready to give up yet.

“They have fucking EMPs. Are you holding up?” Deleera called.

“We’re trying to get there, D, but it’s not looking good over here. They have us completely surrounded now. They cut off the path to you.”

“Where are you?”

“South of Luuvoa Plaza, moving onto Palnna Way. But it’s blocked.”

“Try Frieseba. It’s a detour down here to the park.”

“On it. Come on,” he shouted to the Legend, shoving the old man ahead of him as they ran. After a moment, the other hunter slowed, and Niko nearly collided with the back of him.

“Got bad news, kid. Frieseba’s cut off too. Galapol’s joinin’ the party over there. They know where we’re tryin’ to get to, and they don’t want us there.”

“Status, Niko?” Lady Death pressed, her words painfully desperate now.

Niko readied his rifle, drawing in a breath that became strangled in his throat.

They could try to use brute force, push their way through the gathering resistance on Frieseba Street.

He could, at the least, buy time for the older man to get through.

He’d done what he’d come to do, had gotten his family out.

Deleera and her people could still make a clean getaway.

Elliott was safe, back on the ship and hidden in its stealth.

His father and Loolae were with him now.

Niko could try to act as a distraction, could get the Legend through to make a final run for Deleera. It would have to be enough.

“We’re gonna try to make a go for it. But they’re bringing in more reinforcements. Lots of them.”

“Niko,” Elliott’s voice rang out over his intercom. A mournful pang of affection pooled in his chest at the sound of the other man saying his name.

“Elliott? Hey, babe, I… Things aren’t going so great out here. Think we might have gotten in over our heads, a little.” He exhaled slowly, trying to keep himself steady, to not stop and think about the reality of his own situation. “It’s really good to hear your voice, though.”

“Hang on just a little longer.”

The words frightened him. They weren’t a plea; they were a command.

“Wait, what? Listen, I—I’m gonna need you to take Dad and—”

“No. We’re all making it out of this alive. Do you still trust me, Niko?”

He wanted to lash out, wanted to fight against that question.

The last thing he wanted was for Elliott to dive into this chaotic ocean and drown alongside the rest of them in another heroic but ultimately tragic rescue attempt.

He didn’t want a repeat of the Starlight Awards.

And this time, Elliott had Niko’s family with him.

But.