The night was completely silent, save for the soft wind flowing through the treetops and the smallest glimmer of light began to edge over the horizon—a world caught between darkness and dawn. As Solara paused at the edge of the forest, ready to vanish into the shadows, she heard what she least expected—a voice drifting down from high in the branches above.

  "Ohhhh, I saw that, asshole! Don’t tell me you’re just going to wander off without saying goodbye to everyone first. You know I’ll be the one getting it in the neck from Keira for this—cheers, asshole."

  She let her guard down and allowed herself a rare smile, turning back to answer. “Well, you’re all truly crazy, weird, and a wonderful little group of people. I do hope you make it far, and I’m truly honoured for your consideration..."

  Caelan interrupted with a snort of laughter. "Aww, fucking please—get over yourself. Do you honestly think that’s what’s going down right now? Get your head out of your ass—I don’t work like that."

  Solara blinked, confused. "What do you mean, Caelan?"

  With a fluid movement, Caelan dropped from the tree, landing lightly on the grass before her, his eyes serious.

  "You’ve got two options," he said. "First: if you want to leave here, fine—but you’ll have to eliminate me before I let you. Or the easy option: turn your ass around, go back to bed, and I’ll make breakfast for everyone in the morning. And trust me, I’m not giving you any other option."

  Solara’s eyes narrowed, matching Caelan’s unflinching gaze. “First off, you really don’t need the act and all the swearing. You can be better than that. Honestly, with the followers you’ve got, they deserve better, too. Second, do you actually think you can make me do anything? Two minutes, tops, before I put you in the ground. So do us both a favour and go back to your bed.”

  Caelan just grinned and slowly drew his sword, a dangerous spark in his eyes. “Aw, don’t promise me a good time and then not deliver, asshole.”

  Solara rolled her eyes, exasperated. “Fine. But we’re not fighting here—we’ll do it where the monster was killed last night. At least then you won’t destroy the whole damn place.”

  Caelan’s smile only widened, almost wolfish. “Fine, bitch. Follow me—and try to keep up.”

  They headed into the forest together, trading insults under their breath as they disappeared into the trees.

  A short while later, Caelan and Solara collapsed side by side onto the dew-soaked grass, the sky above paling as dawn crept in. They lay there in silence, catching their breath, the wind weaving through the branches and their ragged breathing the only sounds in the forest.

  Finally, Caelan started rambling between gulps of air. “You know, it takes a lot to impress Keira. She wouldn’t shut up last night about watching you fight—honestly, I’m only here because of that kid. She’s my hero in this hellhole. And don’t even get me started on Milo and Aidan. That Milo can turn any disaster into a laugh—these fourteen-hour nights aren’t long enough for him to run out of dumb things to make us smile. And Aidan, damn that boy’s come such a long way. I know I’m not his dad, but every day I’m proud of how far he pushes himself. He fights battles none of us see, but he never lets it hold him back from keeping us all safe.

  “Then there’s Braen—nobody would guess it, but she used to be the quiet one, all shy and reserved. Now? I love the giant we’ve got. I swear, if a mountain stubbed any of our toes, she’d tear it down just to get even.” Caelan tried to laugh, but coughed and winced. “Aw, and Veyra—I feel bad for all the chaos we put her through, but when I see her chasing Milo and Aidan around like a scary aunt, that smile she tries to hide… I can’t imagine her not being with us for a second.”

  He paused, then grinned. “And lastly, the madman himself—Takeshi. I don’t know if it’s luck or fate, but finding another idiot my age from Earth who likes games? Sure, they’re shit games, but it’s a godsend. And the man’s an insane engineer—he never even brags about being third in his whole class. He makes me want to fight ten times harder, just to see what the hell he’ll invent for us next.”

  Solara gently said, “Caelan…”

  He didn’t stop. “And then you’ve got the biggest, most reckless idiot of the group—Caelan. The captain. The big hero. The man is so strong that nothing will stand after he’s done with it. That’s what I need to show the world. That’s the mask I have to wear. But honestly? This whole thing is a shit show. I have zero control over anything. I’m honestly surprised one of my many, many idiotic on-the-spot plans hasn’t gotten us all killed yet.

  “They deserve someone so much better than I can be. I mean, what am I even doing? I act like this whole thing’s in the bag, but I’m shitting myself every single day. What if I’m not strong enough? What if I’m not fast enough? What if I lose those smiles they have? I’d rather die than see that happen. I’m a complete fuck-up. My life before this place is… well, nothing compared to what you went through, but still, I have my scars.

  “But this place? It gave me a second chance—one I didn’t deserve. And so many others here got another chance, too. Hell, if my gut says someone can’t be allowed to keep going, they can’t be allowed to stand at the top of this. The power at the end of all this must be insane. Even if I don’t win, even if it’s all for nothing—if I can just stop one monster from getting there, then I can sleep easier. I know it sounds dumb, but hell, there isn’t much magic to make this special sauce work.”

  Solara just reached over and took Caelan’s hand, still watching the pale sky above. Her voice was quiet but steady. “I was going to say there are still some of my sick on your face, sorry again, but let’s ask you three questions. If you think you’re even lying for a second, I’m out of here.”

  Caelan only squeezed her hand tighter, nodding for her to continue.

  “First question,” Solara said. “Last night—how much of that did you plan in your head without telling them?”

  Caelan just lay there, staring at the clouds. “Honestly? More than I care to mention. When I was sneaking to wake Keira, I knew I was being loud enough to wake the others. I knew they’d follow. But if I’d tried to ask, each of them would’ve found a reason to stick to the plan and wait a week for more intel. That’s why I push us—because I never doubt that when it starts going down, they’ll be exactly where I know they’ll be. They’re just that incredible. Drives me crazy that they don’t see it in themselves. And, to be totally honest… yeah, I could’ve got us both out of the way of that attack. I just wanted to see if you’d abandon me or protect me.”

  Solara laughed, shaking her head. “Damn. I asked for honesty—I didn’t actually think I’d get this side of you. It suits you sometimes.”

  Caelan grinned, a little sheepish. “Don’t tell the others, please, especially Keira. Plus, I know you’d never follow a mask, so I might as well let you decide based on what’s under it.”

  “Don’t worry,” Solara said, still looking up at the sky. “This is our secret. You can say whatever you want here, Caelan. Second question: What would it mean to you to win here? Why would you want to get there, and what would you do with the powers of a god?”

  Caelan was quiet for a moment before answering. “Honestly… I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve given it nonstop thought ever since we woke up here—even if I don’t deserve to. The only reason I’d win this is if I don’t find anyone else who I think should have that power. Even if they’re not perfect… what if someone wins who wants to make everyone’s lives worse? What if they want to be a vengeful god and rule with an iron fist? Winning, to me, is stopping someone like that from ever having that shot. And what would I do with that power? Honestly, I don’t think I’d want to do much. Life is so damn hard. Every day, waking up took so much, and I know my life wasn’t the worst. But day in and day out, a lot of people like me had to stand up just to live a life we weren’t even happy with. Having someone with that power… it should be used to make life even a little bit easier. That’s honestly the dream. I know it sounds crazy, but that’s it.”

  Solara rolled over, wrapping one arm around Caelan and resting her head on his chest. She spoke softly, eyes still on the sky. “Last question, Caelan. Why did you decide to come into the fight? What made you want to save me?” She quickly added, whispering, “For the record, I proved I didn’t need saving.”

  Caelan wrapped his arm around hers, thinking for a moment. “Ever since I saw you yesterday, something just started screaming inside me—‘save her, save everyone,’ over and over again. Even when you left for the night, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It didn’t even feel like my own voice. But the thing that really got me was—even if the voice said to save you, I had no idea how I’d even start. Someone as amazing as you… That monster ripped through everyone else, but you were still standing. Even with its insane speed and strength, you took your time, figured out its attack patterns, and found a way to counter everything it threw at you. Hell, you even did it to me, which, for the record, the hit to the balls was a low blow.”

  He grinned, then grew serious. “But the thing is, instead of me saving you, I need you to save me. I love every one of those goofballs so much, but I struggle with so much basic communication. It’s a miracle we’ve made it here. And maybe, just maybe, if someone like you were here, you could help show me how to be the leader they deserve. Understand what I mean when I don’t know how to say it. I need to be better—not for me, but for them. So maybe I can push things in a direction that’ll make life just a little bit better for everyone else.”

  He paused, and Solara just lay there quietly, watching the sun rise. After a long moment, Caelan said, “Well, trust you to find option three, Solara.” He chuckled, then added, “I honestly thought I’d destroy you, but damn, how you blocked that…”

  Solara let out a small laugh herself. “Yeah, but your counter to that was dumb—but beautiful. You need to teach me that.”

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  Caelan smirked, exhaustion in his voice. “Well, if you want to leave, I’m not going to stop you. I sure as shit don’t have the energy.”

  Solara squeezed his hand, then sat up and leaned in closer to his ear. “One last question, Caelan, then I’ll decide… Last night, when we were running through the forest, you said ‘plaything.’ Who were you referring to when you said that?”

  Caelan laughed nervously, gulping. “Emm, well, you see, the thing is…”

  Solara started slapping him lightly on the chest. “Don’t… ever… call… me… your… plaything… again. People might get the wrong idea—and trust me, you don’t want that. Now, do we, Captain?”

  Caelan started, “Solara, it was a draw. You don’t have to—”

  She immediately put her hand over his mouth. “My knee touched the ground a fraction of a second before yours. Now, I’m not that easy. I have five conditions. Don’t speak—just nod if you accept, okay?”

  Caelan, with Solara’s hand still over his mouth, nodded up and down.

  “Condition one: You’re fast and strong, but your technique is a mess. From now on, I’m in charge of training—for you and everyone else that follows you.”

  Caelan nodded, not even blinking.

  “Condition two: If I speak, you listen. If you speak, I’ll listen. No matter how hard it is.”

  Another nod.

  “Condition three: I don’t answer to anyone when it’s just you and me. We have equal say—fancy Captain or Commander titles are left at the door.”

  He nodded again, this time with a small, wry smile.

  Solara grinned, clearly enjoying this. “Almost there, Caelan. Condition four: you shave off that pathetic excuse for facial hair.”

  Caelan immediately shook his head, wriggling Solara’s hand off his mouth. She let go, frowning. “What?”

  “Aww, come on—it doesn’t look that bad! This took me, like, two years to grow this time.”

  Solara raised an eyebrow. “Well, your choice: the beard or that horrible ponytail.”

  Caelan looked genuinely torn. “So… clean-shaven, or just every-few-days type thing?”

  “Clean,” Solara said, totally serious. “No excuses.”

  Caelan sighed, then nodded, finally sitting up and looking her right in the eye as she still held his hand.

  “Now, last one—don’t mess it up here,” Solara said quietly.

  Caelan tried to play it cool. “Try me.”

  Solara’s lips curled into a smirk. “Condition five: no more swearing.”

  Caelan’s eyes shot open, genuinely horrified. “You can’t be serious. I mean, telling you I’m Scottish would mean nothing to you, but it’s sort of our thing—we mostly swear, it’s normal to us.”

  Solara closed her eyes and crossed her arms. “No debate, Caelan. What will it be?”

  Caelan scrambled, desperate. “Fine—but I need a buffer! This won’t work cold turkey. Give me, like, one or two a day—please, for the love of God.”

  Solara grinned, offering her hand to seal the deal. “Deal. You should’ve held out—I would’ve gone to five a day. But no take-backs.”

  As Caelan reached out to meet her hand, he paused, pulling back at the last second. “One more condition.”

  Solara, a bit surprised, asked, “What did you have in mind?”

  Caelan looked down, voice quieter. “If I ever go too far… please stop me. Sometimes I get caught up in the moment and do dumb things. If I ever put someone in danger—please, just stop me.”

  Without hesitation, Solara pulled him into a tight hug. “Deal, Captain.”

  As she released him, a small golden orb floated from Solara’s chest to Caelan’s, making her jump back. “What the hell is that thing?!”

  Caelan burst out laughing. “You’ve never seen that before? It’s what happens when you make someone your commander.”

  Solara, still a little pale, muttered, “I honestly thought I’d been eliminated. Scared the hell out of me.”

  They both laughed, and as Caelan struggled to his feet, he reached down to help Solara up. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I did promise to cook everyone breakfast.”

  Solara groaned. “Why do you even need to cook it? Everything tastes fine the way it is.”

  As they walked toward the tree line, Caelan shook his head. “The hell it does! I can barely call it food. What kind of god makes the only nice thing in this place the damn booze?”

  Solara just grinned as they left the clearing.

  When they reached the trees, she asked, “So… does our group have a name?”

  Caelan smirked. “Not yet, but I’ve been playing with an idea for a while.”

  He leaned in and whispered it in her ear. Solara burst out laughing. “I think you’ve spent too much time with Keira, but… I like the idea. Has a nice ring to it.”

  And with that, they disappeared into the sunrise—leaving the clearing and the night behind, as the scene faded back to the rooftop where it all began.

  As the sun began to rise over the town, Keira, Aidan, Milo, Veyra, Braen, and Takeshi all found their way back up to the rooftop—most of them groaning and nursing brutal hangovers. The only exception, as usual, was Veyra, who somehow always found the energy in the morning to scold Milo and Aidan for getting too drunk again.

  Everyone else was busy complaining about how the captain always seemed to rope them into drinking way more than planned. “It’s like a talent,” Milo muttered, squinting against the light.

  Keira sat slouched with a damp cloth over her head, moaning, “Damn, bro and his never-ending topping up. I couldn’t hit the side of a building right now.”

  Takeshi, half-laughing, replied, “Well, you better, after spending all that money on one damn sniper, you idiot.”

  Keira didn’t even bother looking up. With one arm, she reached behind her chair, pulled out her sniper, and lazily pointed it at Takeshi. “Shh, shh, shh. Auntie Keira is way too hungover for your shit today, Takeshi. Shut up, or I’ll put a hole in you. There’s a good boy.”

  Takeshi put his hands up in surrender. “Why yes, of course, Keira…”

  Keira glared at him, “Keira, what?”

  Takeshi hesitated. “I’m… sorry?”

  Keira just grinned wickedly. “From now on, you call me Master Keira, and enough of the backchat. You know everything invested in me is worth it in the long run.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him, stowed her sniper, and slumped back down, grumbling about her hangover as the sun climbed higher and the day began.

  The group heard two voices coming up the stairs. Aidan, still rubbing his temples, muttered, “Well, guess he brought her back.”

  They all paused, hearing the argument echoing up from below.

  “I am not short! I’m only, like, five inches shorter than you!” Caelan shouted indignantly.

  Solara’s reply was perfectly deadpan: “So yes, that makes you short, by definition.”

  “That doesn’t mean I’m short—it just means you’re large for a woman!” Caelan fired back.

  There was a thump, followed by Caelan yelping, “Ow! That still hurts, asshole!”

  As the door opened, Solara strolled in, looking smug. “Watch it—you’ve only got one left for today. Don’t waste it.”

  Caelan followed her onto the rooftop, acting as if nothing had happened. “Aww, don’t you worry, I won’t waste it—Hey! What are you all doing up at this time?”

  The rest of the team just stared at them, stunned into silence.

  Braen, still hanging over the edge of the roof and looking half-dead, turned and managed a wobbly smile. “Oh, good morning, my little cuties. Captain, please tell me you brought breakfast—I could die over here.”

  Caelan just held up a bag in triumph.

  Milo stared at the two of them, mock horror on his face. “What the hell did you two get up to? You look like you’ve been chewed up by a monster for a week—except you, Solara. You’re looking fresh after a night dealing with our captain.”

  Caelan shot him a look. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

  Aidan piped up, squinting, “Why the hell do you have matching clothes as the captain? Black t-shirt and combat trousers? You know that’s literally all he ever wears, right? I think he has, like, ten of that outfit.”

  Veyra joined in, groaning, “And don’t start on the crime to cuteness of that damn jacket. We get it, Captain—you look so cool in your beaten-up jacket. Just get a new one or something, at least something cute.”

  Solara just shrugged, half-smiling. “Well, he wouldn’t let us leave the market without getting me a new outfit, and I learned pretty quickly our captain here really doesn’t like to wait. The shopkeepers are terrified if he has to.”

  Keira started laughing, clutching her head. “Oh yeah, the last time he had to wait, he almost broke down half the street. They learned their lesson fast… Wait—hold up. Did you just say Solara? Our captain?”

  Solara deadpanned, “He doesn’t shut up when he knows what he wants, does he—?”

  Before she could finish, Keira barreled into her, wrapping her up in a hug. “Finally! God damn, finally—a sister! Aww, we are going to get in so much trouble together.”

  Solara sighed with mock resignation. “I’m sure I don’t have a choice in the matter now, do I?”

  Veyra, a little hurt, chimed in, “But Keira, you have me?”

  Keira grinned. “Yeah, but we all know you’re more the scary auntie.”

  Veyra muttered under her breath, “I’m five years younger than Solara…” and sighed.

  Milo muttered, “Maybe because you’re scary,” at the exact same time Aidan said, “Maybe because you’re mean.”

  Veyra’s eyes narrowed, a hint of flames in her gaze. “I heard that, you brats! Just wait until you see the training I’ve got lined up for you today.”

  Solara, with Keira still clinging to her neck, plopped down next to Caelan as he started unpacking the food. Solara glanced at Veyra, giving her an approving nod. “Well, good to see someone around here actually takes things seriously. Caelan’s put me in charge of everyone’s training, so I’d love to see what you’ve been working on with them.”

  Caelan pointed at Aidan and Milo, grinning. “Ha! You boys are screwed now. She aims for the damn balls.”

  Keira, still hanging on to Solara, took the cup of tea from Caelan. “Well, Captain, it worked effectively enough on you—and don’t forget, you still answer to me for training, Captain or not.”

  Caelan just groaned. “Yeah, forgot that part. Is it too late to—?”

  Solara cut him off with a sharp, “Yes.”

  Keira, spotting something, squealed, “Oh my god, where did you find that? A golden glitter bauble—it matches your eyes! So damn cute.”

  Solara deadpanned, “The Captain said the same thing. I think it’s too flashy, but he insisted—it was a bribe to keep me from telling you all how he screamed like a little girl.”

  Keira stared at the two of them. “Wait, you two idiots are the reason we’re up this early? We thought there was an earthquake or maybe a bear attacking a little girl.”

  Solara sipped her tea, proud. “As long as we all agree, I’m not the one who screams like a little girl from a gentle touch.”

  Caelan stood up, bowed his head to the team, and said, “Sorry, guys. Just… don’t cry.” Each of the men instinctively put a hand over their balls and groaned.

  Keira suddenly shouted, “Hey, Captain, I fucking love you, but since I’m up this early and it’s your fault—chop chop with the breakfast!”

  Solara added with a smirk, “Oh, and one more thing, Keira. I made a deal with our little Captain—new rule: you get up to two swear words a day, and you’ve hit your cap already.”

  Keira’s eyes went wide, her head tilting in confusion. “Are you fucking shitting me right now, bro? Like, what the actual fuck? Swearing is our whole thing—you can’t be serious!”

  Caelan shot her a horrified look, going pale.

  Keira narrowed her eyes. “What is it? Don’t tell me you’ve become a fucking pussy all of a sudden.”

  Caelan just pointed silently at Solara.

  Keira turned to look at her—and saw pure menace in Solara’s expression as she spoke in a voice that sent chills down everyone’s spine. “Keira, I told you: you get two per day, and you just used four extra in under a minute. Each additional swear word results in the offending member receiving one extra hour of training per offence. And don’t forget, I still expect my basic four hours every morning, young Keira. So keep going, and let’s see if you survive a whole day of training. Go on, try me.”

  Solara started laughing, the kind that promised chaos for everyone.

  At that, Keira abruptly let go of Solara and dove to clutch Caelan’s leg, her voice trembling and eyes wide. “Come on, big bro—she can be serious! Eight hours of training for a couple of swear words? Please don’t let her break your adorable little sister. Pretty please!”

  Caelan just smiled, ruffling her hair with a gentle hand. “Aww, did you really think I’d let that happen?”

  Keira looked up at him with hope and the sweetest smile. “You’re the best big bro I could ever wish for.”

  He grinned and shrugged. “Yes, I would absolutely let that happen, little sis. Sorry—we made a few agreements for Solara to join, so… yeah, out of my hands now.”

  Keira instantly slumped to the ground, groaning. “I’m doomed. Eight whole hours… There goes any hope of finding hot chocolate now.” She started thumping the rooftop with her fist. “Fuck sake…”

  Quietly, Solara came over and wrapped an arm around Keira, voice bright and teasing. “Don’t be like that—it’ll be fun, I promise. Oh, and by the way, that’s now nine hours. Better eat up—you’ll need the energy.”

  We fade back to Caelan, sitting in the police station, finishing his story: “…and that’s how I met her. Lieutenant Solara – Second-in-Command of the Revolutionary Army.”