The crowd roared.

Lights beamed from the transforming stage of the semi-truck, casting long shadows across the plaza of their home city. Speakers thrummed with the last fading notes of their set, the music still echoing through the streets like aftershocks of a distant storm.

Louis stood on the left side of the stage, sweat lining the edge of his brow, his bass humming against his chest with the memory of the final chord. But this time—unlike that first concert almost a year ago—he wasn’t lost in thought. He was here. Present.

His fingers ached in the best way. The kind that told him he'd earned this.

He looked to his right.

Sona stood at center stage, raising her mic high above her head, letting the crowd shout their thanks and love. Her voice—piercing and ethereal—had carried through every heart in the crowd like wildfire.

The screams were deafening, but Louis smiled through them. Not because of the applause, but because for once, it all felt… right.

In the past year, so much had changed. He’d found a family in Rock On. Friends in Arven, Isa, and Isaac. A new home. A purpose.

But even now—every once in a while—he’d catch himself thinking about Roxanne. About how things ended. Not with anger… not anymore. Just a soft, lingering ache. Like a song you used to love, but can’t bring yourself to play again.

Yet when he looked at Sona, there was something else. Something warmer.

She turned, her eyes catching his, and her smile was so effortless it made the noise of the world fade for a moment.

Since that day she opened up to me… it’s like something changed, Louis thought, watching her approach. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but…

“You were incredible,” Sona said, nudging him lightly with her elbow as she stood beside him.

He chuckled. “You say that every time.”

“Yeah, but this time I mean it.”

The two of them laughed quietly, sharing the kind of moment that didn’t need to be explained. The kind that just was.

The crowd had begun to thin now, the applause turning to scattered cheers as people made their way back to the streets and alleyways of the underground scene.

Isaac jogged over from the control panel in the truck. “Yo, everything’s disconnected. Stage is locked up and good to go. Arven’s got the gear packed.”

“Appreciate it,” Louis nodded.

Isaac gave a two-fingered salute and headed back to the cab.

Sona looked back at him, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Hey, when we get back… you wanna go to The Fray with me?”

Louis hesitated, not out of discomfort, but because he’d already made plans.

“I’d love to, but I promised Arven I’d hang with him tonight. Help him sort through some demos.”

Sona blinked, then nodded with a soft smile. “Next time then.”

“Definitely.”

She gave his hand a brief squeeze before letting go. “You played great.”

And then she turned and walked toward the truck, leaving Louis standing there, just for a moment longer.

He watched her go, a quiet swirl of thoughts spinning in his chest—memories, feelings, fragments he couldn’t quite name.

That smile…

He exhaled and followed behind.

The semi’s engines rumbled to life, headlights cutting through the dim evening fog as they began their slow drive back to the warehouse—their home.

But far behind them, perched silently on the rusted frame of a rooftop vent, something watched.

Omega.

Its red eyes pulsed quietly in the darkness. The crowd’s emotions still lingered like afterimages in its sensors.

For the past several months, it had been neutral—observing. Reporting smaller bands to authorities, resulting in several arrests… yet it had never submitted anything about them. About Rock On.

It didn’t know why. Not then.

But tonight… watching the way they moved, hearing that sound again—so raw, so human…

Something had shifted.

Omega had made its decision.

And it would see it through.