A Interruption

The night was calm as Remond and Innes made their way back home. The cool air brushed against their faces, and the dim glow of the streetlights cast long shadows on the pavement. It was one of those rare moments where life felt normal—like neither of them had to worry about school, crime, or secret battles waged in the dark corners of the city.

Innes was still sipping on the soda she had bought earlier, glancing at Remond with a small smirk. "So, are you going to pretend tonight was just a normal outing? Or are you going to admit that you had fun?"

Remond scoffed. "What kind of question is that? I already said I had fun."

She tilted her head playfully. "Yeah, but there's saying it and then there's admitting it."

He rolled his eyes. "I admit that I had fun. There. Happy?"

Innes grinned. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

They walked in silence for a few moments, the sound of their footsteps echoing softly.

Then Innes spoke again, her tone shifting to something more serious. "You know… I'm glad you're letting people in, Remond."

Remond glanced at her. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged, kicking a stray pebble on the sidewalk. "Ever since that night—the fire, your uncle, then your dad..... at the shootout, all of it—you've been keeping everything bottled up. I get it, you want to be strong, but…" She hesitated before continuing. "You don't have to carry it alone. I know it's hard to forget that pain but still....."

Remond let out a slow breath. He wasn't sure how to respond to that. Innes always had a way of cutting through his defenses without even trying.

"It's not that simple," he muttered. "I just… don't want people getting involved in something dangerous because of me."

Innes stopped walking and turned to face him. "Remond, people who care about you are already involved. Whether you like it or not. That includes me, Sid, Hayato…" Her voice softened. "You're not as alone as you think."

Remond looked at her, struggling to find the right words.

Innes continued. "I know what loss feels like. You know that. And I know what it's like to keep moving forward even when it hurts. So don't push people away, okay?"

Remond clenched his fists.

His father had always told him the same thing—before he was taken from him I that damn shootout.

Remond looked at her for a long moment before sighing. "You're annoyingly good at this, you know that?"

She smirked. "It's my specialty."

Before Remond could say anything else, his phone buzzed, vibrating in his pocket. When he pulled it out, the screen lit up with a radio message from Sid.

[Sid: Remond, Hayato—get to my place. Now. I've got something big.]

Remond tensed. The peaceful moment they had was gone.

He shoved his phone back into his pocket and turned to Innes. "I, uh… I gotta go."

Innes raised an eyebrow. "Sid?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It sounds important."

She studied his face for a moment before nodding. "Be careful, okay?"

He offered her a reassuring smile. "Always."

With that, he turned and jogged off into the night, leaving Innes standing under the streetlight, watching him go.

---

The Workshop – Hayato's First Visit

By the time Remond arrived at Sid's apartment, Hayato was already waiting outside.

The night walker leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed, his crimson scarf fluttering slightly in the night breeze. His sharp golden eyes flicked toward Remond as he approached.

"Took your time," Hayato muttered.

Remond exhaled, still catching his breath. "Yeah, yeah. Where's Sid?"

Hayato jerked his head toward the building. "Upstairs. He said he found something important."

Without another word, the two of them entered the apartment and made their way up the stairs.

As soon as they stepped into Sid's room, Hayato's eyes widened slightly.

Sid's in-house workshop was small but incredibly well-organized. Various tools and mechanical parts were neatly arranged on shelves, and a sturdy workbench stood in the center of the room, covered with half-finished projects and blueprints. The dim glow of a computer screen illuminated the space, casting a soft blue light over the walls lined with diagrams and sketches.

Hayato let out a low whistle. "Didn't expect this."

Sid, who was hunched over his laptop, barely spared them a glance. "What, thought I just slapped things together in a garage?"

Hayato smirked. "Honestly? Kind of."

Sid rolled his eyes. "Well, surprise. Welcome to the nerve center of our operations."

Remond stepped closer, glancing at the computer screen. "Alright, what's so urgent?"

Sid finally turned to face them, his expression unusually serious. He hit a key on his laptop, and the room was filled with a distorted voice recording.

A crackling sound played first, followed by a heavily glitched and broken voice.

"... Project.... nngh.... evolution.... Axiom... complete..."

Hayato frowned. "What the hell?"

Sid adjusted the settings, cleaning up the audio further. More words emerged.

"... next phase... soon... the subject... prepared..."

A cold chill settled over the room.

Remond clenched his fists. "They're planning something."

Sid nodded grimly. "And whatever it is, it's happening soon."

For a moment, no one spoke. The weight of what they had just heard hung heavy in the air.

Finally, Hayato broke the silence. "So… what's the plan?"

Sid leaned back, crossing his arms. "First, we find out what the hell 'Project Evolution' is. Then, we stop it before it can get any further."

Remond exhaled slowly, his mind racing.

This was bigger than they had thought.

And it was just getting started.