Beneath the surface

Angus and Sakura walk into the elevator, still silent, both looking toward the ground.

Angus is nervous. He doesn't really know what to expect. His palms are sweaty. Usually if he had a smoke, he could calm his nerves and wouldn't be acting the way he is—but without it, his emotions get the best of him.

Sakura looks calm, like she's going to a place of comfort, a place of safety. But there's still something in her—quiet tension—like even she doesn't fully know what bringing Angus will entail.

Still going down in the slow, ever-descending elevator, Angus tries to clear his mind. He's still on edge about wherever they're going. But seeing how composed Sakura looks on the outside gives him a small sense of relief. Finally, his mind starts to settle.

Then a thought shoots through his head, stealing away the brief relief and dragging him right back into the chaos.

The crest.

 He mutters it under his breath as sweat resurfaces, mind racing.

Wait—she's had the crest showing this whole time.

 He quickly glances at Sakura's forehead.

Wait. It's not there.

I swear it was there when we were in the alley…

Maybe that's why the shopkeeper didn't say anything.

He exhales, finally catching a bit of calm again.

"At least the crest's gone. We're already in deep—don't need to scream royalty on top of wanted human."

They finally come to a stop. The thick steel doors creak open. Sakura immediately steps forward, taking the lead, and starts walking out of the elevator. Angus follows.

But after a few steps, he slows to a stop.

He stops—eyes wide, heart thudding. For a moment, the noise of the world fades.

In shock, he begins to look around, taking it all in like he's seeing it for the first time.

The underground base stretches out before him—massive and alive.

Dim, oval-shaped bulbs dangle from thick cords overhead, each one the size of a full-grown lizardfolk. Their dull amber glow spills down onto the space below, casting soft shadows over makeshift camps. Tents made from scrap cloth and rope are packed tightly along the walls. Low-powered heaters hum beside clusters of people, their soft light pulsing like quiet heartbeats.

And people—so many people. All shapes, all races, all corners of the ship's fractured world—crammed together in one hidden sanctuary.

Massive banners hang from the walls above, each marked with a distinct sword emblem. They're old—weathered by time and recycled air, edges fraying from age and dust—but they still stand proud. They line the space like watchful eyes.

The path ahead curves and splits, a branching maze of metal and stone, hallways veering off into shadowed corridors. The end is lost in the distance.

This is no small hideout. This is a city beneath a city.

Sakura is still walking, but after a few seconds she realizes Angus isn't behind her. She glances over her shoulder, then turns around, spotting him in the distance—completely still.

She let out a breath and called after him, her voice laced with urgency.

"Angus. Come on," she called, her tone firmer than before. "You can take it all in later."

Angus blinked, pulled from his daze by her voice. He nodded and picked up his pace, hurrying to catch up.

As he continued jogging toward Sakura, Angus caught something in his peripheral vision. A massive figure moved with slow, deliberate steps. Each footfall gave a subtle tremor beneath the metal flooring. The closer the figure got, the colder Angus felt, a creeping tension crawling down his spine.

He turns toward the booming footsteps—and freezes.

A towering figure emerges through the haze of steam and metal—ten feet tall, green-skinned, and clad in armor that fuses ancient design with futuristic menace. Her gear mirrors Viking craftsmanship but is reinforced with a dark alloy streaked with glowing violet lines. Jagged shoulder guards jut outward like blades, and her chestplate, though ceremonial in appearance, hides layers of reactive shielding beneath. Padded plating wraps from her waist to mid-thigh—just enough to balance agility with defense, prioritizing dominance over modesty. A massive cybernetic hammer rests across her back, and a deep scar slashes through her left eye, the mark of countless battles survived.

She walks with slow, deliberate force, each step pounding against the floor with enough weight to make nearby debris tremble. When she stops in front of Angus, the air feels heavier—like the room itself is holding its breath.

Her eyes lock onto his—intense, unwelcoming.

Angus breaks into a cold sweat. His throat tightens. He flicks his eyes around the room as if pretending she isn't towering over him like a living war machine, but his thoughts are spiraling too fast to hold onto anything.

Then—she speaks.

Her voice is sharp and feminine, a dissonant contrast to her brutal look. "Who the hell are you, human?" she snaps, her words ricocheting off the metal walls.

Before he can react, she lunges forward in one fluid, terrifying motion. Her hand seizes the front of his trench coat and yanks him clean off the floor as if he weighed nothing. His boots dangle above the ground.

"I said—who the hell are you?" she growls, her face inches from his, eyes burning with suspicion and barely-restrained violence.

Angus stammers, his brain stuttering like a machine misfiring. "I—I'm Angus! Sakura brought me here! I'm just her friend!"

A voice cuts sharply through the rising tension—Sakura's.

"He's with me! Please, Lagertha, don't hurt him!"

Lagertha's head snaps toward her. She doesn't look convinced. Her eyes narrow, studying Sakura for a heartbeat longer. Then, with a grunt of irritation, she finally lets go.

Angus crashes to the floor with a rough thud, palms scraping against the cold metal as he catches himself just before hitting face-first. He winces, the breath knocked out of him, heart hammering like a warning drum in his chest.

Lagertha glares down at him, unmoving. Her body is still coiled like a spring, her posture rigid, ready.

Her voice comes low and sharp—deadly quiet.

"Don't you dare move an inch, or I swear—" she leans down slightly, her tone dropping into something feral, "I'll kill you before you even figure out why."

The room feels like it's holding its breath, the tension thick as steel. Angus freezes, too afraid to even blink.

She stomps past him, her armor clanking with every step as she closes in on Sakura. Her expression is a storm of frustration and fury.

"You finally decide to show up after two days—and you bring a human into the base?" Her voice echoes off the metal walls. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? You could get all of us killed."

Her eyes narrow into thin slits. "It was already risky enough letting you in here," Lagertha growls, her voice low but sharp enough to cut stone.

Sakura takes a step forward, her breath catching in her throat. "Lagertha, please—just listen. I know how this looks. But there's a reason I've been gone. And a reason he's with me."

Lagertha marches toward her, each armored step landing with a mechanical thud. She towers over Sakura now, her tone rising with authority. "What possible reason justifies bringing a human into our base? He's wanted by the government. The moment they trace him here, we're dead. All of us. You risked everything."

"I know," Sakura says, voice shaking. "I know what I did. But you don't understand. I was being hunted—cornered in an alley by lizard bounty hunters. They were sent for me. I couldn't outrun them, I—I was gone, Lagertha."

Her voice cracks slightly as she looks over at Angus. The vulnerability in her words is a stark contrast to the cold steel of the woman before her.

"And then he came out of nowhere. He didn't even think—he just grabbed me and pulled me out. We barely escaped. If he hadn't shown up when he did… I'd be gone."

Lagertha's gaze flicks to Angus, studying him with cold scrutiny, before snapping back to Sakura. Her jaw tightens, the muscle in her clenched teeth twitching with the force of her anger. Her eyes narrow, locking onto Sakura's, demanding an answer.

"And your solution… is to lead him here? To the one place we're not supposed to be found?" Her voice rumbles like the low growl of an engine revving, the tension radiating off her.

Sakura flinches slightly at the sharpness in her voice, but she stands her ground, her words firm despite the nerves still creeping up on her.

"He's not just anyone," Sakura says, her voice growing stronger. "He's different. I don't know how, but I trust him."

Lagertha's expression remains unreadable as she eyes Angus again. For a split second, she looks like she might say something, but instead, her fingers twitch near the grip of her hammer, her muscles tensing slightly. The weight of her silence stretches between them, and the air feels thick with unresolved tension.

"That still isn't a reason to bring him here." Her words cut through the air like a blade, each syllable heavy with disdain.

Sakura takes a breath, her eyes hardening with a newfound determination. "There's more to it... I brought him here for Makoto," she says softly, her voice carrying a weight of trust and worry. "He doesn't know the meaning of his name. And after what he did for me—I wanted to repay him."

Her shoulders sag with the burden of everything she's holding back, the truth of her emotions pressing heavily against her chest.

"He saved me. He has no one... and I just want to help him." Her voice falters just slightly, a quiet admission of her own helplessness.

Lagertha's gaze flicks between them, a deep crease forming between her brows. Her fingers brush the hilt of her hammer again, the movement almost subconscious—a reflex that speaks volumes about the tension in the room. She looks back at Angus, her expression unreadable, like she's trying to assess whether he's worth the risk. For a moment, silence hangs thick between them, the weight of the decision pressing down like the gravity of the whole world.

Finally, Lagertha exhales sharply, her voice dropping to a more controlled tone, though the underlying edge is still there.

"Were you followed?" she asks, her eyes narrowing as she searches Sakura's face for any hint of deception.

Sakura nods quickly, her breath a little more relieved, but still on edge. "No… I don't think so. I was wearing a cloak—Angus gave it to me. It kept my face hidden."

"Lagertha doesn't move, her expression hardening as the silence drags on. She stares at Sakura for a long moment, her gaze pressing down on her like the weight of a collapsing ceiling."

"If you're lying… if you brought heat on us—this whole place burns. I'll hold you both responsible." Her words are low, deadly serious. The implication hangs in the air, thick and suffocating. Lagertha's hand grips the hilt of her hammer, the tension in her body palpable, like a coiled spring ready to snap.

Angus, still sitting on the cold floor, trembles under the weight of Lagertha's intimidating presence. His heart races as he tries to steady his breathing, but the panic still clings to him like a thick fog. Suddenly, Lagertha's large hand grips his arm, hoisting him up with effortless strength. She leans down until her face is dangerously close to his, her breath warm and sharp against his ear.

Her voice is low and menacing, the kind of whisper that feels like a promise of violence. "You better not do anything shady, human," she growls, her words slow and deliberate. "Because if you do... I'll actually kill you."

The weight of her threat hangs in the air, heavy and suffocating, as she pulls back just enough to lock eyes with him. The coldness in her gaze sends a shiver down his spine, making every inch of his body tense in fear. For a brief moment, he wonders if she might do it right there, her words carrying the weight of someone used to taking life without hesitation