As much as they tried, they had to wait in a long line to leave, just as they did when they entered.

A silent atmosphere reigned inside the spaceship. Solar and Serion had already claimed their respective bedrooms and decided to rest while they waited to leave the planet.

Angron sat alone in the cockpit. After switching to autopilot, he reclined in the comfortable seat, crossed his legs on the instrument panel, and waited. He was nervous as he listened to the admiral's message over and over. He couldn't understand why Sephra had surrendered. Obviously, the rebels had the upper hand, but still... perhaps there could have been another way. She wasn't the type who just gave up without a fight.

He looked at the green metal piece lying beside him and picked it up, baffled. He couldn't see the reason for being sent off the starship because of such a trifle.

As he turned it in his hands, he felt his heart begin to beat irregularly, and his head pulsated. The serpent-like line slowly faded before his eyes. For a moment, he couldn't comprehend what had happened.

"Where is it?" he whispered in fear as he came to his senses.

His gaze wandered around the cockpit, but he couldn't find what he was looking for anywhere. He got up from his seat and started walking with trembling legs. He wasn't surprised to see only blotches. He hoped he could find it in time.

But he couldn't find it.

Everything was covered in blood. Angron cried out in horror and buried his face in his hands.

"This isn't real. This isn't real, this isn't real..."

He heard the boy's scream, followed immediately by the girl's. He remembered them.

He had to find it. He couldn't live without it. He didn't want to go through it all over again.

He set out, heading straight for the bedrooms, pushing everything aside in his path. Nothing could stop him. He could hear his own laughter as he ran his claws along one of the metal doors and grasped the handle. He could smell them. These two meant nothing to him. He could find much better ones somewhere else, back on Shouta. He wanted to go in and kill the soldier and the girl. Shouta was far away. These two were here, locked up with him. He wanted them. He needed them.

For a moment, everything was clear.

Angron looked up. He didn't know when or how he ended up on the floor, and he didn't know why his hands were bloody. Had he already done it? He couldn't hear them. He saw that his clothes were hanging in tatters on his arm, revealing the bloody, scaly skin beneath. He felt no pain.

He could think. Now he had time. He needed to retrieve it before he harmed someone. He was unable to stand up, so he crawled back desperately on all fours to his cabin and immediately started searching. It had to be there somewhere, but his vision started to blur again.

His hand stumbled upon the small box. He didn't know how it fell out of his pocket, but he didn't care now. His vision was overwhelmed with blood. With trembling hands, he tore off the paper cover and took out the first cigarette. He didn't see it as a cigarette. Bloody shreds dangled from his hand, but he had enough presence of mind to know what it really was. He didn't need a lighter. This cigarette lit itself. He put it into his mouth immediately, and he watched the tip flare up.

He lowered his head to the cool floor and closed his eyes. He let the screams flood his mind.

He lay like this for a long time. The cigarette had already burned out, but he still held the end in his mouth. He didn't know when the voices had died. They just weren't there anymore.

Angron cautiously looked up and was horrified to notice his vision was still blurred. When he touched his eyes with trembling hands, he realized it was because of the tears. Nothing was bloody anymore, only his fingers, which he used to scratch his arms. The claws were gone.

Then he felt how much the wounds hurt. He slowly got up and realized that he needed to hold onto the wall to avoid falling. Somewhere on the ship, there must be a disinfectant. He noticed it when he had looked around. He tore off the sleeves of his torn clothes, disinfected the wounds, and bandaged them. He didn't have to wait too long.

He looked around again, and everything had returned to normal. He tried to laugh at his situation, but all that came out was a faint groan.

He simply slumped to the floor, embraced his knees, and let the tears flow. They wanted to come on their own, and there was no one around to see them.

He hated himself. He thought that by leaving the place where all of this had started, he might find peace. That's why he became a pilot in the first place. Pilots could fly across the galaxy, so he could be as far away from Shouta as possible. He didn't expect his visions to come back. He knew that they could appear anywhere, but still...

His comrades weren't safe. He could have killed them at any moment.

He had to find Sephra. The admiral knew everything. She was always prepared for this situation. She knew what had to be done.

Sephra was capable of protecting him.

As he contemplated all this, he suddenly heard a noise from the back of the ship. It was a good enough reason to wipe away his tears, get up, and go see what was there. The sound came from a distance. Even in such a miserable condition, his caution didn't abandon him, so he immediately took out his gun.

He followed the source of the noises, which led him straight to the engine room. There was no one there, although he was sure he had heard something for a few moments.

He burst into painful laughter. He had seen blood. Why couldn't he hallucinate something else as well?

No matter how hard he listened, the only thing making noise was the engine. Angron carefully inspected the machinery from all sides. Perhaps something was wrong with it. Apart from the creaking, it seemed like the engine was functioning properly. There were no external damages to it. It would be impossible to check it from the inside now. While he had some knowledge of repairs, he couldn't be sure if he was capable of focusing well in his current state. Additionally, he would have needed tools, which he couldn't find.

He immediately made his way to the storage to check if there was suitable equipment for repairs. However, as he rummaged through the clutter, he found nothing. This time, he cursed Solar for not being able to procure everything needed for a spaceship.

He then headed back to the storage with a clear head to make sure he had the right tools.

He put the box in his pocket. He swore that he wouldn't lose it again. As long as he had it, nothing could happen.

Solar was wide awake. She had recently left her room because she knew something was wrong. She could hear Angron's voice, but it sounded like he was talking to himself. She didn't understand, so she decided to look outside, but when his continuous speech suddenly turned into a fit of madness, she rushed back to her room and locked the door.

She could hear that Angron had gone exactly to where she had been before. He was outside for a while, then he left, came back, made strange noises, and left again.

Whatever had happened, Solar was terrified. Since then, she had been lying on her bed, staring at the door. She had locked it with several locks, but for some reason, she felt that if Angron had wanted to come in, these wouldn't have stopped him.

Solar didn't know if Serion had heard the noises from his room or if he had woken up at all. She didn't dare go check, so she just lay under the covers, clutching the small ray gun in her hand. She felt like a stowaway on her own ship, as if she could have been caught at any moment, just like she did years ago, the very first time she had flown. The one and only time.

Back then, she had been sitting in the arms of her father's friend, allowing him to rush with her. She didn't know where they were going, and no matter how many questions she asked, she received no answers. The man had taken her between numerous spaceships and then left her beside the lowered ramp of one of them. There was no one around. He placed a tiny ray gun in her hand and assured her to be careful with it, only to use it when necessary, and to always keep it with her. He said the weapon would protect her from anything, just never let it go. After that, he sent her onto the spaceship, and Solar, crying, searched for the storeroom. There, she climbed into a large crate filled with food. She had no idea how long she was there, but when the spaceship landed somewhere, her first action was to rush off when no one was looking. She had no idea where she was or what she was doing there, and why her father wasn't with her. That's how she ended up on Darella.

The way she was hiding now reminded her of the feeling she had as a little girl. She didn't dare move, for fear of being noticed.

For some time, she hadn't heard anything, no more noises, banging, talking. There was complete silence.

Solar carefully opened the door slightly and peeked out. There was no one in sight. Encouraged by this, she sneaked into the hallway and started moving forward. She held the small ray gun in her hand. She had sworn to do what her father's friend had told her. She had never put it down.

She hesitated when she saw blood on the floor. She continued quietly, skirting around the red puddle and the toppled crates. She made her way straight to the cockpit, keeping the ray gun ready. She had vowed to follow her father's friend's advice. She never put it down.

She stopped when she saw blood on the floor. It made her move even more cautiously as she bypassed the red puddle and the overturned crates. She continued to the cockpit and found Angron there, slumped in the chair. His head hung to the side as if he had fainted.

Solar unsecured her ray gun before entering.

"Are you okay?"

She received no response, and she didn't dare touch him, so she raised her voice slightly.

"Are you okay?"

At this, Angron raised his head to see who was there. When he spotted Solar, he seemed to be relieved.

"Help..."

"What? How? What happened?"

"Help!" the man repeated, lifting his hands.

Solar then noticed that Angron's arms were bandaged, and they were already bloody. She couldn't understand. Had he been attacked? There was no one else on the spaceship besides the three of them.

The girl fell silent and eventually sighed. She draped Angron's arm over her shoulder and helped him stand. For a moment, she felt like her spine would break under the weight. She noticed that the man couldn't support his own weight. Without saying anything, she gritted her teeth and mustered all her strength to drag him to an empty bedroom. There, she couldn't go any further and simply let the man fall onto one of the beds before collapsing herself onto the floor.

Solar sat there silently, gasping for air. When she looked up, she saw that Angron had passed out. She gazed at his bloody arms. She couldn't understand how they got injured or why Angron had gone berserk.

She cautiously got up and went out. She decided to use what little knowledge of healing she had been forced to acquire on Darella. She collected everything she deemed necessary from the storage room and rushed back, settling on the floor again. She pulled one of the man's arms close and removed the entirely bloodied, sloppily wrapped bandages. Then she dropped everything in shock.

Angron's arm was completely unharmed. Solar stared at it and then the bloody rags. She couldn't comprehend it. The man had clearly been injured, but it looked like nothing had happened to him. It made no sense.

This was too much for her. She needed something sweet.

Solar quietly got up, went out, and closed the door behind her. She hurried to the other storage room and rummaged through the various food items until she found something that met her current desires. With the sweet treat in hand, she returned to the pilot's cabin. The queue outside still showed no sign of ending.

For a while, she attempted to make sense of everything that had happened, but her head eventually began to throb, so she decided to stretch and recline in her seat. She pondered why that woman they were searching for was so important. Surely, no one would risk so much for her. She had no friends or family. She wasn't in a romantic relationship, and she didn't want to be, at least until her vengeance was complete. Even after all this excitement, she couldn't forget about it. It was her life's purpose. Sometimes the thought crossed her mind that maybe she should never fulfill it; otherwise, there would be nothing left for her to fight for, but she always dismissed this notion.

She had been planning the big confrontation for years, onsidering every possibility, trap, weapon, verbal duel, even the final monologue before the great death. She had visualized themselves on many planets, in various situations, but she still hadn't figured out the perfect scenario. She believed that no matter where it happened, she would accept it, yet she still enjoyed daydreaming about it. She had only seen the target once, but she would never forget that face. She didn't know his name, but she was sure she would recognize him instantly. She wished they could finally meet, that she could finally confront him.

At least then there would be a purpose to staying alive.

Solar rubbed her eyes, got up, and decided to knock on Serion's door.

She thought it would be better to stay awake.