Veyra walks forward, grabs Kiro, and lays him down. A small shock tingles through her fingers, surprising her.
Then the collar breaks.
VEYRA: "Seems like too many blows. The collar broke."
FOREMAN: "Makes sense. That's only a Level 2 collar. Only so much it can hold back like 100k power."
TAKEAKI: "A Cube user? How interesting. I never gave him my name. I want a rematch someday. What's his name?"
He turns his back.
David listens.
AURORA: "It's Kiro."
Takeaki picks up his downed ally and carries him.
David moves to stop him. "Wait you're under"
Fuzanglong stops him calmly, voice steady. "Easy now, rookie. He's Red Clan. You can't arrest him especially a high rank like him. If a manager tries, it's not easy. But grunts, yes."
DAVID: "What? They commit crimes and get away with it?"
FUZANGLONG: "Not really. Let me explain. They work for the government. With that, they get away with crimes. The government looks away in exchange for their support. What kind depends on the clan. Like Blue is technology. Then Red is manpower. But what happened today... let's say he was never here. And the grunts? They're traitors because they lost. Corrupted, right?"
David stands tall, anger rising. "Then I have to clean up the system from within someday. I will capture him."
Takeaki walks away in the distance.
Kiro wakes up at the base, in the mayor's office.
He stands up, touches his head, confused. "Where am I? What happened?"
He steps out of the room.
Aurora is outside, watching the construction. "Oh, you're up, Mr. Mayor. They started."
Kiro: "What happened?"
Aurora: "Oh, they're building new homes and a dock place. Also upgrading current houses those don't look that bad. But the water system will be done in the next two weeks, I think."
Kiro: "I know about that. But the manager... and how did we get here?"
Aurora: "Long story. You didn't lose your fight, but you got knocked out, so they carried you back. But in that town, we ran into trouble. The two bounty hunters—they found out we have bounties, so..."
"So they wanted to claim it."
The Previous Day
Bounty Hunter 1 (Milo): "Jack, I feel like I've seen these women with the staff and the man with the ugly face."
Jack: "Yeah, I've seen them. It's them, Milo. We should claim it. We'll get a promotion. After all, we've been hard-stuck Bronze 2-3. This is a big break."
They step forward.
Milo: "Due to the bounties on your two heads, we should claim it. No other way."
Aurora: "So it's a fight?"
Veyra gets her guns ready.
David: "Wait you two have bounties?"
Veyra gets ready. Then Milo pulls out a shield made of pure ray energy. Veyra shoots at him no effect. He still dashes forward, then throws a bomb round.
Aurora, with her staff, parries Jack's gauntlet. But a second one comes flying, steam swirling around it. Aurora's vision is blinded, but she still dashes up. With her staff's help, she picks it up again and shifts into a hit.
Then Xuelong steps in, both arms covered in ice. She blocks both attacks with ease.
Meanwhile, Fuzanglong does the same with flames. He burns Veyra's bullets and kicks Milo away.
Foreman: "Now, now, ladies and gentlemen. No fighting and collecting bounties in the Dome. You know the rules. If they're here as clients, they're off-limits."
The bounty hunters step back.
Milo: "Fine. Watch your backs, you three. Those two bounties are ours."
They left.
Foreman: "Think it's time to leave for that village. Begin work and get Kiro patched up. There's a hospital nearby, but seems like he's healing already."
That huge crack on his head is closing regrowing new bone.
The Foreman helps them move him.
Present Day
Kiro: "So that's what happened. So we're upgrading the town's old buildings? The sandstone houses? And building extra homes?"
Aurora: "So you have to tell Veyra you're okay. She's been worried sick, even if she doesn't show it."
Kiro: "Sure."
They leave.
They see Veyra and Raiji standing next to each other.
Veyra notices Kiro. "Wait you're all healed?"
She hugs him then punches him.
"That's for getting knocked out."
Kiro: "Ouch. That hurt."
Raiji: "You're finally up. So, the villagers I left to train? Let's just say I send them for runs and make them eat a lot. Also, they hunt for their own food they were too skinny. So I build their core strength with push-ups each day. Then, the army-trained men they spar with me or each other. They hunt bigger prey with my help."
Kiro: "You're a slave driver."
The Foreman gives orders while the Twins carry wood, building each house. The rest of the crew repairs and upgrades the sandstone houses.
Meanwhile, at the city of Briarwood...
David is on errands.
David: "Time to meet the scary Guildmaster. She's too scary."
He enters. Some bounty hunters' eyes are on him.
Random Bounty Hunter: "Look, it's an Air Force grunt."
He walks through and asks the receptionist for the Guildmaster.
She looks impatient and upset. "You know she has no time for the Air Force. Told your captain there's no work for you."
David: "Okay, but what if I come as me, not as the captain?"
The receptionist gets up. "Fine. I'll get her."
She goes to tell the Guildmaster, then steps back out.
Receptionist: "The Guildmaster will see you now."
He steps in.
David: "Sir I mean, Ms. Guildmaster, ma'am. Anyway, I'm here to convince you to give some bounties to us."
The Guildmaster looks calm, but her eyes are upset red and blazing like fire toward David. Not literally, just red.
Guildmaster: "All you Air Force goons... I don't buy it. But I'll humor you. I won't give you a bounty not even the worst one. Go do grunt work. Help people. For example, Sam the car mechanic needs a hand with his car parts. Those flying cars always need their jets fixed. Now go do it."
David: "Yes, ma'am."
David leaves to help at the mechanic shop.
David enters. It smells like grease and oil and artificial gas.
David steps in and sees Sam working alone.
David: "Hi. I'm here to help with the cars."
Sam: "Finally, some help. The Guildmaster found someone. Least I can pay is 100 credits."
David: "Wait I get paid?"
Sam: "You're not here for the job that pays 100 to be my helper? You're a good kid. Working for free?" He slaps him on the back multiple times, leaving a hand stain. "Let's get to work. Go get that engine. You're strong enough, right?"
David looks disappointed. "I could've gotten paid."
He goes to get the engine and carries it. This thing weighs a ton.
Sam: "It's good old steel and copper and magnets. And real oil."
David: "Why don't you use real oil? It doesn't stink, and it's faster and cheaper."
He puts the engine down.
Sam: "Oh, the real stuff lasts longer. It's more efficient."
Then they worked on the car for hours. David learned how oil works and got the engine running.
They fixed the problem.
Then Sam starts the car. No noise.
David: "It works. So how does this work, even though you replaced the ionization fuel?"
Sam: "Good question. Can you believe it? Like, hundreds of years ago, we upgraded starters and spark plugs. But now, you need magnets too, to let it start with no noise. But here's the part you won't know: magnets can break, but only after a hundred years. The fuel ionization can extend that. So this car's fuel ionization ran out, and the repulsion didn't kick in because the thing underneath it broke. So we replaced it."
"That thing probably just confused you. All you need to know: no fuel."
David: "Makes sense. Kinda."
Sam: "Thanks for the help."
David thanks him for the wisdom and leaves.
David returns to the Guildmaster.
David: "I have completed the task you gave me."
Guildmaster: "Very good. But no bounty just yet, rookie. Go and help Sam again the whole week. Anyone else around him who needs help help them too."
David: "Yes, madam."
He leaves, then sees the Twins returning from their job site. He goes to them.
David: "Hi, umm..." (He thinks hard of their names.) "Fuzanglong and Xuelong, right?"
Xuelong (cold breath): "That's right, kid."
Fuzanglong: "Don't forget it. We're the strongest duo here."
David's hands and clothes have a lot of oil on them. "I wanted to ask can I be trained by you two?"
Fuzanglong (his fire heats up): "The training would be hard and need a lot of willpower. You look like a shrimp."
Xuelong (extra cold air around him): "My brother's trying to say we'll destroy your body and rebuild it."
David: "I accept it. Anything to be stronger. Master Xuelong and Master Fuzanglong."
Fuzanglong (laughs): "You hear that, brother? We're masters now. Fine, we accept."
They give it some thought.
Xuelong: "Here's what we came up with. Listen carefully. We first need a gofer, so you've got that job now. From Monday until Friday, after you're done with your work, you come to us. That means early morning or night 5 PM."
Fuzanglong: "Then Saturday and Sunday, we train. This will break you badly. Don't worry we'll rebuild you. We'll play tag on Saturday and Sunday."
David carries heavy planks twenty at a time a long walk to the truck, then back.
Then he's chopping down a tree.
He breathes heavily.
Fuzanglong: "Hurry up, rookie. Should be two trees. I know it's a big tree, but hurry up."
David looks at the tree, then at the ones they've already taken down. They look like babies compared to this adult. "These trees are way smaller, but the thick trunks are too hard to get down."
He just about gets two trees down, then carries the last planks.
The flying truck leaves.
Fuzanglong: "Oh, you're too late, David. Walk up the hill and deliver it to us. We'll be waiting about thirty minutes."
David breathes heavily. "This is going to be a long week."