The law does not protect fools.

Water seeped into his helmet, cutting off his supply of air.

Panicking, he opened his eyes but couldn't see anything due to the water.

He moved clumsily and desperately, trying to escape the water.

Struggling upward, he clawed at the rushing current, hoping for just one breath. The pressure of the water exhausted him quickly, and he began to feel drowsy and weak.

With one last desperate effort, he managed to break free and crawl onto the muddy riverbank. Throwing off his water-filled helmet, he gasped for air frantically, tears streaming from his eyes as he focused on nothing but the precious air around him.

He vomited the water that had entered his mouth and lay on the ground, drained of energy and willpower. For a brief moment, he felt peace.

Twenty minutes passed as he dragged himself slowly across the ground, clutching his helmet, until he slumped against a tree.

"Damn it... damn it!" he muttered weakly, catching his breath.

"A dead planet, they said. Dead? Is this their idea of dead?!"

He gasped for air, slamming his fist into the ground.

"A sewer city... and that giant statue... The giant statue...?"

He whispered, realization dawning on him as his eyes widened.

"The statue's armor... its eye... and the metal it was made of..."

The pieces started falling into place, his mind racing to connect the dots.

He remembered the assistant he met before the mission, her silvery, sculpted skin resembling the statue's metallic surface, and her eye color matching the gem in the statue's head.

Everything was suddenly different. Everything became unclear. Then he recalled the destroyed ships he had seen earlier.

"No... it can't be..."

He quickly picked up his helmet and tried to reactivate it. Relief washed over him when it powered back on.

"Garish... Garish!"

He yelled for the AI, but there was no response.

"Garish, you damned machine!"

Desperately, he screamed for minutes, but still, no one answered.

Frustrated, he threw his helmet to the ground, only to hear a familiar sound from above. He looked up in terror, dread, and disbelief to see the ship he had arrived on leaving the planet without him.

"No... it can't be... Did someone steal it?" he muttered, trying to deny what he was seeing.

"No... it's impossible. I hold the activation codes. Without them, it can't even launch..."

Unconsciously, he stood on his shaky legs and began running, panicked and screaming, paying no attention to the creatures around him.

"Stop!!!" he shouted desperately.

"Please... take me with you. I'm begging you, don't leave me here!" he cried and cried, but there was no sign the ship would stop.

He collapsed to the ground but didn't give up. He stood and ran again, watching helplessly as the ship moved further away, breaching the planet's atmosphere.

"GARISH!!!!!!!!!"

He screamed, throwing himself to the ground as the ship disappeared from view.

"No... no, you can't do this to me...!"

He pounded the ground, tears flowing uncontrollably as he watched his only way off the planet vanish.

He slammed his fists into the earth, crying out in anguish and pain.

Tears streamed down his face, and his cries echoed throughout the forest, drawing the attention of many creatures nearby.