It seemed Joaquim was going to land on his face.

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  No longer flipping upwards to see the sky, no longer hearing his brother yelling somewhere midair, and now far away from the mountain, the river, and the chasm, he was now falling towards the glade at the edge of the flying platform. He did briefly see suburban flying platforms past the edge, but now only the tallest pine on the platform and snowbanks filled his field of vision. If it was not for it becoming a future crash landing for the falling cadet, the glade would look quite serene. It was as if the forest was deliberate with where to adorn the grids of shadows and the rays of sunlight, appearing virtual and real at the same time.

  Chair number four has been removed from play.

  Joaquim collided with the first towering pine, and even though he coated himself with flux to grasp the tree as a way to slow momentum, he sliced through it like freshly brandished sword. It was like cutting hot air. However, the more pine trees he collided into faceward, the more friction registered and the more his momentum slowed.

  Round will resume shortly. Remain still until the song returns.

  None of it was not enough to stop the crater, chunks of rubble, and smoke he created with his landing. Joaquim cradled his face within his elbows, and the pain in his elbows, shoulders, and forearms were ineffable. It took every atom in his soul to not cry, until he realized he damaged his ribs too. He only allowed his eyes to get red before forcing himself to stand up with only his knees and feet. It was not until his combat boots clanged against it that he realized that his fall dug all the way into the metal platform beneath the snowbank and earth. He dug all the way into the bedrock of the flying platform.

  "Alright Gabe. Kill him. Do it and we'll know you're one of us."

  By the time Joaquim spotted his silhouette within the rising smoke, Farouq grabbed him by the collar and shoved him forward. Joaquim faced forward to find two more silhouettes, the smoke dispersing to reveal that it was Camilo as Dalia dragging Gabe across the metal floor. On top of the pain Joaquim felt something crawling inside his army jacket.

  Fireflies? Joaquim thought.

  "Alright," Camilo said. "You are just pretending to be wounded Gabriel. Naomi has excuses but you don't."

  The fireflies under Joaquim's shirt already flew out, and one of them was about to burst like a flash grenade. A dormant memory came to Joaquim, reminding him of this specific flux ability from Gabe. Camilo as Dalia screamed while Joaquim rushed to punch Farouq while he forced his eyes shut. However, Farouq caught it, but he did not catch the punch that also came from Gabe. The older brother launched Farouq towards the middle of the glade, echoes of the boulders he collided into echoing across the flying platform. Before the brothers could turn their attention towards the shapeshifter, the shapeshifter already transmuted another eye. Indeed, in the middle of his feminine eyebrows, a third eye staring right at the brothers manifested on her forehead.

  There was no use to plan for any martial maneuvers, the shapeshifter grasped them both by the neck. Joaquim caught in the corner of his eye that fireflies were returning Gabe's knapsack from wherever Farouq and Camilo ditched it, but it would not arrive in time unlike the firefly that was already flying behind Camilo's bun. An explosion manifested bringing Camilo on his knees. Uncanny was his shapeshifted face, his two blinded eyes looking in random directions while the third eye was deadlocked on the brothers.

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  Gabe and Joaquim both tried to attack Camilo as he was forced down by the explosion, but the explosion's force was too strong and they were being pushed too. They dug in their combat boots, however Joaquim was flung into the air while Gabe remained on the ground. This time the momentum was not too intense, but Joaquim landed top of thorn thickets, his combat uniform getting pierced by them. However, they did not tear through into his flux-coated skin.

  Joaquim heard another boom, but it came from someone else entirely. The attack sounded unrecognizable.

  "Corporal Dalia Banks... that doesn't look like medic work to me," Sergeant Uzi said.

  "Dalia, I'll help you," Gabe said. "We can't let this city know about us. You'll be more forgiving than this damn flying city. Just don't kill either of them please, I beg you."

  Joaquim's heart sank. He finally found the floor while digging his feet into bushes underneath him and fluxjumped towards Gabe, Camilo, and Sergeant Uzi. However, Camilo as Dalia already dug his fist deep into Gabe's belly. With no air to scream, only a squeak left his lips. Joaquim had never seen so much white in Gabe's eyes, until they eventually closed and Gabe collapsed on the floor.

  Spotting all the levitating rubble, and the one ve used to try attack Camilo earlier, Joaquim then spotted Sergeant Uzi levitating between towering pines. However, all the rubble dropped to the floor. Cascades of rocks falling echoed across the platform, and even though Joaquim wanted to land an attack on the shapeshifter, he could not. His arms were stuck to his sides, and his legs would not move either.

  Joaquim shifted his eyeballs to find that Camilo was standing in the exact same position. And even Sergeant Uzi was now crawling on the floor like a spider, no longer being able to levitate.

  "Do not worry Naomi. I'll make the arak forget this all ever happened," Camilo whispered.

  "How could this be corporal?" Sergeant Uzi moaned. "I was the one that trained you. There's no way you could have gotten this strong so fast. You're not even an esper!"

  "She is not. She is—"

  "So you still insist on betraying Prophet Ameen," Camilo grumbled.

  "No way... you're not an extre—"

  Sergeant Uzi went unconscious on top of the snow.

  "I am going to kill you and Gabe once I wipe the arak's memories," Camilo told Joaquim. "That's it. The arak will no longer remember this happened."

  Camilo as Dalia lost control of his body. It was as if he was about to go into a seizure, arms and legs twisting and contorting. He groaned trying to reach Joaquim with a contorted hand. Joaquim could still not move, forced to watch the shapeshifter in terror with only his eyeballs moving.

  Then Camilo's third eye was no longer locked on Joaquim. Rather, all of Camilo's eyes stared forward. His lips twisted and contorted, until a demonic voice spoke from his mouth.

  Give me my body back.

  Camilo regained his body to clasp one half of his face until his entire body became a digital outburst. Quantum and code mists splashed from one hot white flash, eventually dimming away. Joaquim was able to catch his breath, but he was barely able to move. Whether it was from fear or Camilo's power still persisting after he vanished like that, Joaquim still had a hard time moving as he heard Sergeant Uzi waking up.

  With his mind going utterly blank from what just happened, all Joaquim could do was slowly turn his head to meet Sergeant Uzi's gaze, who eventually was able to levitate back in the air.

  "It seems Gabe did not land too well," Sergeant Uzi mumbled, most likely thinking ve fell unconscious from falling too.

  "We should get him to a medic. Corporal Banks is a friend of mine, but I don't think she is on duty today."