"Come," Kronos called, pointing at Bento's group as he walked towards the edge overlooking the ruined village. "We'll investigate the ruins while the rest go home." Kronos stood upon the railing before jumping down, thrusters in his feet flaring to life and slowing his descent. Bento could only nod along with the others, his fists trembling with barely restrained hatred.

Jav laughed as she sprinted to the edge, leaping down just behind Kronos with Rand not too far behind. As a dozen other Vox joined the descent, Bento begrudgingly followed, landing behind the others in the sand. "Here's hoping there's still some action waiting!" Jav exclaimed, holding three knives in each hand.

The village was practically erased. Only ten hunts even remained, barely held together in the aftermath of the plasma explosion. While all the others explored the ruins, Bento's gaze fell upon a large tent far from the rest of the village. He glanced around to ensure no one was watching before beelining straight to the tent. 

Gently lifting the flap, he looked inside, only to find a terrified and injured woman sitting beside a cot, her eyes filled with pain as she held up an old revolver, aimed directly at Bento. He raised his hands immediately, setting his twin pistols aside. "...it's alright. I'm not with the others. Are you hurt badly?" The woman's eyes narrowed with caution, but she relented, lowering the revolver. She nodded quickly, lifting her shirt to reveal a metal shard lodged in her abdomen. 

Bento slowly approached, sitting beside her. He gently lifted her shirt a bit more, taking in the severity of her injury. She flinched but remained still, allowing Bento to investigate.

"I... I can remove it and ease the pain, but... not much else." She scooted closer, finally speaking up. "...okay." He opened a pack filled with homemade ointments, and with a gentle squeeze he applied the cream to the wound. Bento took hold of the metal shard, the woman shifting in discomfort as the shard left her body, clattering to the ground. She breathed shakily, leaning against Bento for support as he pulled her onto his lap. Her eyes watered, her body clearly losing strength rapidly.

"...please, stay. I can't be a-alone." Bento nodded, his grip firm but careful. "Of course. I... I'm Bento, by the way." She smiled softly for the first time since he found her, her eyes meeting his. "I'm Lila. Bento...  I like it. Sweet, like you are." She paused, thinking for a moment. "...I-I have a son, in the bunker on the opposite side of town... please, take him to the city. I c-can't..."

Bento shuddered, his metaphorical heart breaking for her. "There must be something... he needs you, I'm sure. I can't let you die here!" She shook her head, silencing him. With the last bit of energy she had, she took the orange scarf she was wearing and tied it around Bento's neck. "...no. P-promise me he'll live." He relented, reaching up to touch the scarf, feeling the finely woven fabrics. "Alright, but I'm not leaving your side."

They remained in silence for several minutes, Lila's frail form cradled in Bento's arms. She pointed weakly at a map pinned to one of the walls of the tent, showing the village with dozens of small dots painted over several locations throughout. "T-there's mines buried under the sand... a self-destruct plan just in c-case we got attacked. Use it." Bento glanced over, seeing a small remote hanging beside the map. He quickly snatched it, inspecting the red button on top. 

Before he could respond, he felt Lila's pulse slow as her eyes fluttered shut. Her body went limp as blood dripped from the wound below her chest. "N-no!" he yelled desperately. "Not yet, fight it! Fight it, please, you can't die too-"

Her breaths halted as her heart fell silent, leaving her motionless in his grasp. He could do nothing but stare, struggling to process this strange weight that suddenly held him down. His hands trembled, and he gently set her down, wrapping her in one of the tattered blankets that lay in the sand.

Without thinking for a moment longer, he pressed in the button on the detonator. 

Explosions could be heard for miles around, muffled by blasts of sand shooting through the sky. Flicks of dust hit the sides of the tent, leaving behind dark marks on the fabric. He quickly crawled out of the tent, standing to see the remaining huts and scrap piles covered in flames. All around him lay the broken bodies of Vox, torn to shreds by the hidden mines. None remained standing, but Bento couldn't bring himself to care. 

All except one. 

Kronos burst from one of the smoking piles of debris, missing one arm and a sizable chunk of his torso, leaving a steaming gash soaked in oil. He stumbled toward Bento, his eye filled with pain and fury. "What the hell was that!? Everyone's gone! Someone attacked us, was waiting-" 

He froze in place, tensing as he noticed the remote held loosely in Bento's hand, along with his cold gaze. "Y-you..." Kronos stammered as he desperately reached for his pistol, struggling with his remaining arm. Before he could pull it free, Bento cried out and charged, slamming into the commander and pinning him to the ground, crashing his four fists right into Kronos' face.

He could hardly struggle under Bento's relentless strikes, the weakened metal cracking from each blow. "S-stop, I order you... you can't do this-" With one final slam, Bento's fist punched right through the brittle surface as Kronos' pleas were immediately silenced. His voicebox crackled as Bento raised his fist, pulling it out of the slimy mess, his hand covered in orange liquid and slick wiring. 

As he stood and shook his hand of the slimy remains, he scanned the village before finding a stone slab with a handle next to a small hill. He rushed across, kicking up sand with each labored step. He fell to his knees, gripping the handle tightly and tossing the slab aside.

There he was, bundled up in a small basket and coddled in hand-sown blankets. Sound asleep and barely a few months old, he lay silent and blissfully unaware of the events that led up to his rescue. Bento's hands shook as he reached for the basket, cradling it close to his chest. His body hurt in ways he couldn't describe, but none of that mattered now. His path had shifted, and all he cared about was the little life he now held firmly. 

The flames had died down, leaving only the burnt bodies of both Vox and humans in the scorched wreckage. 

...

Using planks left behind from the two devastating explosions, Bento built a headstone, carving Lila's name into the surface with one finger. He'd delicately buried her in the sand, leaving her to rest in the blankets that had sat beside her. The promise he'd made sat at the forefront of his thoughts, and not a day would go by without him fulfilling it. 

His gaze lingered on the grave, feeling as if it was incomplete. In a swift motion he removed Lila's scarf from his neck, tying it around the top of the vertical plank, his fingers trailing along the soft blue edge. He took one last blanket and set it down, covering the mound that indicated the precious soul left behind in the attack. 

Words couldn't describe how Bento felt. He stayed silent, his hand tightly gripping the basket's handle as he stared at the destroyed settlement. He glanced toward the south sun, seeing broken superscrapers barely peeking over the horizon, their forms bent and shifting in the heated air. 

Step by step he began his journey to the city, leaving behind everything else. The village was quiet, oddly serene despite what it now represented.

All that remained were the crossed planks, and the reddish blanket marked with two words: "Jarvis" and "Lila", signed off by the blue heart between them.