hello my friends! here is chapter five!

hope you guys are liking kai's story! if you miss Hiro, don't worry! he's got a perspective at the end of this chapter!

note: Hiro's sons, Koji and Karu, are both two. as a result, they speak in baby voices, with a lot of dropped letters and rs spoken as ws. If you can't understand what they're saying, just PM me and I'll tell you! (sorry, I just think this adds a lot to the character voicing.)

silvie? I haven't heard from you in a while! I'd love to hear what you think of this story (and also resistance!)

for those of you reading my collab with KeeperOfTheBigHeroQuintessence (posted on her account) I'm working on it! ik it's been a while since i posted, but fear not! I'm figuring it out!

please read and review everyone! i'd love to hear what you think!

peace out!

—KONA—

The door opens, and then Kai is standing there in his hoodie, which is a little singed from the fire and torn over his stomach where he got stuck in the fence. He doesn't look too badly hurt—he's leaning a little to one side, as if his leg is injured, and his round face is crisscrossed with small scratches. But there are no terrible burns, no bloody wounds. I can't help but sigh internally in relief.

"Who're you?" Kai mumbles, his eyes darting around as if he's afraid to meet my gaze.

"I am Kona Kahale," I tell him. "From the other night. I had my face hidden, so you will not recognize me, but I pray that you will heed my warning."

"Did I do something else?" Kai asks, his voice a tiny squeak.

"You survived," I deadpan. "Abigail has discovered that you are alive, as well as the fact that you are the survivor of the bombing of New Hiroshima, and she wishes to bring you in for questioning about Hiroshima Rising. She will come for you tonight. You have three options, Kai—to go with her and answer all the questions, in which case Hiroshima Rising will be incriminated and you will be used as a hostage. You can go with her and refuse to answer any of the questions, in which case you will be tortured and your family targeted. Or you can run away, in which case you will be free and available to help me bring Abigail down."

Kai stares at me, his mouth open rather comically. "Wait—the new governor is coming for me, she wants to interrogate me about Hiroshima Rising, and I have to run away?"

"If you wish to have a greater chance of living," I tell him. "Meet me by the Ubuntu tonight, nine o' clock. You will have to hide yourself. I swear on the spirits of my ancestors that I am not attempting to get you on your own or lead you into a trap—I have decided to leave the Onyx Rebellion, and I believe that you can help me stop Abigail before she hurts any more innocent people."

A note of fear comes into Kai's wide, chocolate-colored eyes. "Where are we going?"

"The Wasteland. I'm afraid you'll just have to trust me."

"I'll—I'll meet you there," Kai whispers, his eyes darting around until they finally come to rest on my face. "Just—let me get my stuff. Can I at least say bye to my family?"

"It is best that they do not know of our mission," I tell him. "Bring your phone. I'll disable its GPS tracking signal, and then you can text them a note telling them where you've gone. If we are lucky, you will return in one piece and we can stop Abigail—from the worst of her plan, at least. I will see you tonight. Tell no one of my plan."

I turn and walk away, back to Abigail, back to Onyx, back to the rebellion I am about to crush.

—KAI—

I crouch in the narrow, dark alley between two buildings, watching the bridge as three dark figures, all appearing to be female, walk up to it, conversing quietly. The tallest of the three hugs the shortest, and then she disappears back into the darkness. The other two turn to face another figure, which is standing guard next to the bridge, and then there's a flash of movement. One of the figures—probably Kona—has lashed out at the guard, who immediately slumps to the ground. I struggle to keep back a gasp—how is this girl so good at martial arts?

"It is safe," comes Kona's voice. "You may approach the Ubuntu."

I stand up and walk to the bridge, where Kona stands next to a shorter figure—I think it's Nora from the other night. Both of the girls' faces are masked, but as I watch, Kona pulls off her hood, letting her braid spill down her back.

"Kai, this is Nora," Kona tells me. "Abigail's sister. She has agreed to leave the rebellion with me and sabotage this mission. We will fill you in on the details once we are safely into the Wasteland."

Nora pulls off her hood, revealing, short, choppy black hair—barely longer than Hiro's—and startling turquoise eyes, which shine in the moonlight. Her pale skin contrasts sharply with her black bodysuit, and she's taller and slenderer than I am, passing me in height by about two inches. Sometimes I hate being only five feet tall.

Kona, her long, dark hair rippling in the wind, steps forward, leading the way across the bridge with her shining white blade drawn. Her muscles contract under her bodysuit, and I'm impressed—Kona also has a fine build, but I know from experience that she's insanely strong. She looks very different from Nora, with her dark eyes and honey-colored skin, but it's easy to tell that the two girls are best friends.

As we cross the bridge, I tiptoe around the unconscious body of the guard, hoping he'll be okay. Kona knocked him out rather forcefully.

We step out onto the soft ash of the Wasteland, and I let my gaze travel over the jagged black landscape, which merges seamlessly with the velvety sky, in which diamond pinpricks piece the darkness. The Wasteland at night isn't something I see often, but it's absolutely beautiful.

What sounds like a muffled thump echoes from behind me, and all three of us spin around, Kona and Nora whipping out their blades. But nothing is there, just a little flurry of ash getting kicked up by the wind. Kona's eyes narrow in suspicion, and she scans the landscape for several seconds. Apparently, she finds nothing, because she turns around again and continues leading us through the ash.

We walk for at least an hour in near-total silence, the only sound the quiet whispering of the wind across the ashy desert. I glance back through the darkness, looking at my footprints in the ash as the wind starts to cover them. I can barely see the darkened skyline anymore, and pain tugs at my heart. I know if I stayed, Abigail would have kidnapped me, but I didn't want to leave my family. I hope everyone is okay.

Just before I turn back, I think I catch a glimpse of yellow, flashing between hills. But I must have imagined it—it's gone now, and I don't hear anything. I shake my head and keep walking, telling myself that everything is fine.

"I can tell you the details of the mission now," Kona decides when we're near Ishi Cliffs, our rock climbing haven. "Kai, Abigail has built a legion of robots and hidden them somewhere in the Wasteland. They require a superconductor called rare-earth barium copper oxide, also called ReBCO, to function. We believe that it is located near the Mount of Destruction, as the eruption caused immense pressure, far more than the amount required to produce a superconductor. Abigail thinks that we are going to retrieve it for her, but in reality, we are going to destroy as much of it as possible so that she cannot use it to power the robots, which are to be used to kill anyone that stands in the way of her new regime."

"Would it help if we knew where the robots were?" I ask timidly. "Because…my siblings and I were rock climbing near here a few days ago, and we found this cave—there were a ton of robots inside. We could just destroy them."

A look of surprise passes over Kona's face, but she shakes her head. "I'm impressed that you found them, but Abigail could always make more robots. It makes much more sense to destroy the ReBCO, because it will power all robots made, not just these ones."

"How're we gonna destroy it?" I ask.

"By excavating it and throwing it into lava," Nora tells me. "It shouldn't be too hard."

Eventually, we reach Ishi Cliffs, and Kona stops between two tall pillars of rock. "We'll camp on the ridge beyond these. You two, begin setting up camp—I need to scout. I'm certain there's something following us."

We climb up onto the ridge, and no sooner has Kona set out than I hear a tiny yelp. "Please don't kill me!"

I straighten up, shocked, and wince at the twinge of pain that shoots through my injured ribs. I ignore it and call, in utter disbelief, "Pippin?"

Kona appears over the top of the ridge, holding my little brother by the hood of his yellow hoodie. Pippin is squirming violently in Kona's grip, trying to kick her in the shins. Kona sighs and tosses him onto the ground, and I rush forward, pulling my brother up.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, unsure of whether to be impressed by his stealth or angry that he snuck out of the house. "You shouldn't be out here—you're still hurt!"

Pippin's huge blue eyes are wide. "I couldn't just let you go off into the Wasteland with a coupla ninjas!"

"I'm trying to save our family!" I tell him. "You included!"

"I wanna help! Please, please, please, Kai, lemme help—I can be super stealthy and run fast and—and—well, I'd just be super awesome on a long trip," Pippin finishes, fingering the gauze still wrapped around his forehead.

"But you've got a concussion," I say worriedly. "I mean, I brought Advil, but you shouldn't be wandering around the Wasteland with a head wound."

"I'm fine!" Pippin says dismissively, reaching up and pulling the gauze off to reveal a two-inch-long cut, held together with several stitches. "I only have a little headache now, Kai, I promise!"

I sigh, putting my hands on Pippin's shoulders. "Pippin, you have to go back!"

"Also I heard all the details of your plan," he says helpfully, looking up at me with innocent eyes. "So…"

I look desperately over at Kona, who shrugs. "We can't very well take him back now. Do you have a bag packed, kid? Because we're gonna have to abandon you here if you can't take care of yourself."

Pippin twists around, showing Kona his backpack. "I've got a buncha clothes and some snacks and water—is that good?"

"You pack fast," Nora says, smiling kindly at Pippin. "I think we should keep him. We could definitely use the help—and besides, he just seems like he would be fun to have around."

"I'll be super good!" Pippin vows, his face splitting into a grin. "I promise! I wanna save the world with you guys!"

"It'll be dangerous," I warn him, worried. "We're going to the supervolcano, Pippin—what if it erupts? It could totally erupt! And what if you fall into a crevice or a lava flow or something? Mom and Dad would kill me—"

Pippin's eyes get wider, and I stare down at him, and I remember why I'm on this mission: to protect the rest of my family from meeting the same fate as my parents, and to avenge their deaths. Mom and Dad were Pippin's parents, too—his biological parents. He has just as much right to do this as I do—and probably even more reason to want to help. Because of the Onyx Rebellion, our parents are dead. And we need to stop Abigail from tearing any more families apart.

"I wanna help, Kai," Pippin whispers. "I promise I'll be good. I don't want you to go all by yourself."

"Okay," I breathe, my voice cracking, and then I scoop Pippin up and` hug him tightly, careful not to aggravate by broken ribs or his concussion. Pippin hugs me back, burying his small face in my shoulder.

We set up camp—thankfully, Kona and Nora brought two tents. Pippin and I curl up in one, and the girls take the other. I'm reminded of Hiroshima Rising's long, complicated journey through the Wasteland, eleven years ago, and wonder if they felt like this—protected by flimsy fabric while the wind howled around them.

Well, if they could do it, I can too. I curl up in my sleeping bag and try to sleep, hoping against hope that this decision was the right one.

My phone buzzes, and I squint against the rising sun as I pull the device out of my pocket and scroll through my texts, realizing that Momo, Tadashi, and Fred have all texted me. They're probably terrified—I feel so bad for forgetting to text them.

I hurriedly send a reply to all of them, explaining where I am, what's going on, and who I'm with. Everyone is relieved to hear that Pippin and I are safe and that we're trying to stop Abigail, but they all want to come help. I insist that they stay behind, to resist from within and protect Saber and Kusho while Pippin and I are gone. San Fransokyo's gonna need Hiroshima Rising—they're pretty much the only ones with enough experience to combat something like this.

As I'm texting Tadashi, who's equal parts worried about me and concerned that I'm not showing up for work, I realize that if anyone a funeral for Wasabi, I won't be there. Tears threaten to fall as I wonder if a funeral will even be allowed, or if Abigail will refuse Wasabi even that respect.

I ask my relatives this, and they respond with the information that they'll bury Wasabi tonight, but that I can always come see the grave and pay my respects. I make an internal promise to do that as soon as I get back—I owe a lot to Wasabi. Everyone does.

Momo texts that I'd better not die, and I respond with the promise that I'll try. I can't say much about Pippin, though—he gets into all kinds of trouble, regardless of whether or not he's trying to.

"Remind me why we're walking?" I pant as I climb over a rock, unused to so much exercise. Pippin runs ahead of us, leaping over ridges and outcroppings like a little cheetah.

"So that we cannot be tracked by any kind of radar," Kona tells me, then pulls up abruptly. "Oh no."

"What's wrong?" I ask, stopping.

Kona exchanges a glance with Nora, who meets it with wide, terrified eyes.

"Don't panic," Nora tells me. "But…Kona put a tracker in your hoodie when she grabbed you the other night. That's how Abigail found out you're alive, and she might be tracking us at any time—we forgot to take it out!"

Kona goes to stand behind me and puts the tip of her blade to my hood. She gives it a swift flick, and then I see something tiny and silver fly into the ash. Kona steps on it, digging her heel into the ground as she crushes the tracker. "Now no one will be able to track us—I've disabled the GPS on all of your phones, correct?"

Nora and I both nod as Pippin comes scampering back, panting. "Are we gonna keep going?"

"Yeah," I tell him. "Just had to take care of something. It's okay now."

We continue walking, the ash flying in little flurries around our feet. I'm unsurprised when I get tired after only about an hour of walking, my feet aching from trekking over the ash for much longer than I'm used to. I reflect again on how much I should be exercising, and how much I haven't been doing it.

My ribs ache as I climb over a rock, and I'm reminded that they're still broken. I brought Advil, which I've been taking for the pain, but it'll take a while for them to heal—at least two weeks, probably more. I've only got hairline fractures—so small they can barely be detected—and my leg is just about healed, but everything still hurts sometimes. Maybe I should've waited a little longer before leaving on this mission.

"How long are we gonna walk?" Pippin asks, bouncing happily over the rocks. "Like, a few more hours? When are we gonna be at the supervolcano? Soon? How soon? Will there be lava? Are we gonna drive at all?"

"We're gonna walk for a month," Kona deadpans, and Pippin laughs, then pales as she continues. "No, kid, I'm serious. Unless we can find a vehicle that can't be tracked on radar, we're going to be walking the whole way."

"Well, then, we should find some kind of vehicle," Pippin grumbles, suddenly losing a lot of the spring in his step. "I don't wanna walk for a month."

"We'll pass a few towns on the way," Nora tells him. "Maybe we can find something there."

"If Hiroshima Rising could do it, so can we," Kona says dismissively. "Let's keep going. I want to cover at least twenty miles today. By then, we'll be out of radar range, so we can see if we can find a car after that. Still, I want to be safe, so let's make it twenty-five miles."

I groan inwardly, knowing that I'll probably pass out before I make it two.

By the fifth day of our journey, though, I haven't passed out, thankfully. Even more surprising is the fact that I have to tighten my belt slightly—proof that I might actually be getting in shape. No more getting stuck in anything.

We decide to shelter in a cave for the evening, and I spread out my sleeping bag on the ash, fluffing my pillow. I miss my bed, but this isn't so bad. The pillow is at least comfortable.

Pippin and Nora pass out almost immediately, and I lay half in, half out of sleep, watching Kona as she sits cross-legged by the cave entrance. Her head is bowed, with her long black hair flowing in the wind and her long white blades shining on the ground next to her. She really is quite pretty. I wonder if she's okay—being the leader of our long and dangerous mission must be hard for her.

"Hey," I whisper, sitting up slightly. "You okay, Kona?"

"I am well, thank you," Kona replies, but her voice trembles slightly.

"It's okay if you're scared," I say softly. "Or sad. Or frustrated. Or anything else you might be feeling. You know what you're doing, and I know you'll be able to get us to the volcano. We can find a car—or we can walk. Either way, we'll get there. I promise."

"I appreciate your confidence, Kai," Kona says, turning to look at me. The moonlight glows on her honey-colored skin and sparkles in her dark eyes. She looks almost otherworldly, a pillar of black silk and shining copper.

A question drifts to the forefront of my mind, and suddenly, it's burning in my chest. "Kona—what Type are you? You're fifteen, so you must have Tested at some point, but you don't wear your wristband."

"I did Test," she whispers, turning away again. "I am an ISTP. But Abigail didn't like us to wear our bands—it was too much of a reminder of the new Testing system, while she wanted to remember the plan her father had. I may not agree with Abigail, Kai, but I can understand her—she wishes to follow in her father's footsteps, to preserve his legacy. I know what that feels like."

Kona sighs. "But that is a story for another time. Go to sleep, Kai. We have another long day tomorrow."

"Okay," I whisper. "Good night."

"Good night."

I roll over in my sleeping bag, snuggling deeper into my pillow.

ISTP…

The next morning dawns rainy and overcast, the precipitation beating down on the ash and making it wet and sticky. I wouldn't want to fall in that.

I'm the last one up, as usual, and when I sit up in my sleeping bag, my ribs aching slightly, I find Kona already packing hers up and Nora texting, her fingers flying across her phone. Pippin is nowhere to be found, and when I inquire about this, Kona replies that he went to relieve himself. Deciding to go do that as well, I climb out of my sleeping bag and find a small, sheltered alcove to do my business in. One thing I miss more than anything is the toilet.

Wet ash sticks to my shoes as I walk back to the cave, where Pippin is almost literally bouncing off the walls in his excitement to get going. I personally don't feel the same way—I'm exhausted.

I roll up my sleeping bag and strap it above my backpack, then fish two capsules of Advil and a granola bar out of the front pocket. Our rations are running a bit low—I hope we can find some kind of vehicle soon. I really don't want this to take a month. If we had a car, it'd be over in a matter of hours.

"We'll come up on a town called Sacramanchu in a few days," Kona tells us as we start walking. "We may be able to find a vehicle there. If anyone back in San Fransokyo is trying to track us, we'll certainly be out of radar range. I do not want this to drag out any more than it has to."

"We're gonna go through some dangerous terrain today," Nora adds. "A car might not do that well on it, so it'll be nice to get it later. It should work okay for the rest of the trip."

"What's so dangerous about this terrain?" I ask, my gaze flicking to Pippin. Knowing him, he'll do the dangerous thing immediately and I'll have to rescue him from it.

"A few small lava flows," Nora tells me. "And a fairly large chasm. There's a bridge, though, so we should be fine."

I swallow nervously. Maybe it won't be Pippin who gets himself into trouble today—I'm insanely clumsy.

The rain pours steadily down as we trudge through the Wasteland, and I remember Momo's stories of when it would rain on Hiroshima Rising's journey. It sounded terrible—they'd carry sleeping bags or backpacks or even tents on their heads, and that was when GoGo had been injured and they had to carry her on a stretcher. The worst time was in Shadow Valley, where GoGo passed away and everyone was in serious danger. I hope we have a car by the time we get there—I don't wanna walk through that kind of place.

We do have to leap over a few small lava flows, but they're only about five or six feet across. With a running start, I can make that leap. Thankfully, so can Pippin.

Jagged rocks stick out of the ground, threatening to trip me up. After the first hour, my shins are scraped and bruised, unhappy with me for trekking over such rough terrain. Even Pippin seems rather downcast by the time we get to the chasm.

"There it is," Kona says as we approach the gash in the rock, a hundred feet wide and stretching as far as I can see. I can't tell how deep it is, which worries me.

Of course, Pippin scampers straight onto the bridge without waiting for the rest of us. He turns and looks back expectantly, silently asking, You guys coming?

"Don't move!" I call as I start to creep up the bridge, which is only six feet wide. "I don't want you to fall!"

"I'll be fine, Kai!" Pippin yells back, the wind and rain whipping through his hair, causing it to fly wildly around his face. "I won't fall! Promise!"

Kona sighs, climbing up beside me. "Kid, I swear if you fall—"

Pippin turns and tries to dash over the bridge, but I catch up to him and grab his hood. My little brother squeaks and struggles violently, and I try to maintain my grip on him as Kona and Nora catch up to us.

"Lemme go, Kai!" Pippin whines, jerking his hood out of my grasp. "I can—eep!"

Pippin lets out a tiny shriek as he stumbles backward. In yanking himself out of my grasp, he's stepped too close to the edge. I watch for a split second, paralyzed, as my brother tumbles over the edge of the bridge, screaming. The sound is abruptly cut off, and I snap out of my trance.

"Pippin!" I scream, dropping to my knees on the rock and peering over the side. "Pippin, are you okay? Are you alive? Please don't be dead—if you're dead, I'll—"

"Shh!" Kona hisses. "We're never going to hear him over your shouting!"

I shut up, scanning the bottom of the chasm nervously. It's all misty and dark, so I can't see Pippin, not even his yellow hoodie. Please don't be dead…

"We have a rope, right?" Nora asks, her voice shaking. "We can go down and find him. I don't think the chasm is all that deep, but he might be unconscious."

"I do have a rope," Kona says calmly. "I'll tie it to a rock, and we can climb down."

"Hurry," I beg her, my brain speeding into overdrive as I imagine every terrible thing that could happen to Pippin. He's so small, so young—I swear if he's dead, I'm never going back to San Fransokyo.

But as Kona ties the rope to a rock at the other edge of the chasm, a small, weak voice gasps, "Kai!"

"Pippin!" I yell down, utmost relief sweeping over me. "Oh my gosh, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I don't think so!" Pippin calls through the mist. "I just couldn't breathe for a sec—I'm okay now! But I can't get back up—do you guys have a rope or something?"

"I'm going to lower it down," Kona calls. "When it gets there, tie it around your waist and hold on as tightly as you can. I don't want you to fall again."

"Hang on, Pippin!" Nora says encouragingly.

The rope goes taut a few seconds after Kona drops it into the mist, and we all help to pull Pippin up. As soon as he appears over the edge of a cliff, I throw my arms around my baby brother, falling to my knees.

"Don't ever do that again," I whisper, my whole body shaking.

"No promises."

I pull back and raise an eyebrow, and Pippin shrugs. "It was an accident. I won't jump off a cliff on purpose."

Standing up, I study Pippin, making sure he isn't hurt. Mostly, he's just streaked with wet ash, with his hair sticking up and his hoodie scuffed. I don't see any injuries, but I hurriedly give him a concussion test, just in case. He already had a head injury—I don't want it to get worse. Thankfully, the worst injury seems to be getting the wind knocked out of him.

"I'm okay, Kai," Pippin reassures me, looking up at me with wide, earnest eyes. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"It's okay," I whisper, mustering a faint smile. "Sorry I grabbed you. I just didn't want you to get hurt."

"And I didn't," Pippin says happily. "Are we gonna keep going?"

"Yeah," I tell him, trying to calm myself down. Everything is fine. Nothing is ruined. No one is dead. "Let's go."

We continue walking into the Wasteland, the wind erasing our footprints behind us.

—HIRO—

Sitting at my desk at work, I study the last of the scratches on my hand, remembering—as I do every time I look at them—the night of the fire. The death. The grief that took hold of innocent children, that shattered their tiny worlds, that consumed the entire city of San Fransokyo. Of course, there are people that aren't really affected by Wasabi's death, that support Abigail's new regime—mostly young people, teenagers and young adults—but the majority of us are opposed to it. We're the ones that remember the old system.

Wow, that makes me feel old. I'm only twenty-five, but I've seen a lot more in my life than most people have. I've survived war, Shadow Valley, and a three-week trek through the Wasteland. Although the things I've gone through since then may have been more taxing than anything else—I've so far survived raising twin boys. I love Koji and Karu, but they can be a handful. Mostly Karu.

Koji toddles into the room, chewing happily on a Twizzler. Momo and I keep the boys at Inspire—the government robotics center where I work—during the day now, since we don't really feel good about leaving them alone at the daycare anymore. There's too high of a chance that Abigail or one of her inner circle will find them, connect them to Momo and I, and kill us before we can do anything about it. Tadashi's doing the same thing—Honey already works in the hospital labs, and Baymax watches their kids all day. When school starts back up, it'll take a lot of pressure off Tadashi and Honey. My poor brother is losing sleep over a lot of things, because he's worried about everyone and people keep coming in with injuries sustained by accidentally ticking off one of Abigail's henchpeople.

I scoop Koji up, letting him cuddle against my chest as I finish my calculations—for a new robot—and my son finishes his Twizzler. The constant snacks might not be good for him.

"Hey, buddy," I say as cheerfully as I can. "What's up?"

"Mommy says I can' have any more Twizzlers," Koji says sadly. "She says they's bad for me."

His huge blue eyes are wide and pleading, begging me to tell him he can have more candy, and I try not to laugh. I can see why Momo doesn't want to give our son more Twizzlers—Koji is short for his age and a little chubby, with a pudgy midsection and a round face. Karu is slightly taller and skinnier, but the twins are identical enough that I still mix them up sometimes, especially if they're wearing the same clothes. I don't know how I still do that, after two years of living with my sons. I think Momo gives them identical outfits just to confuse me.

"If Mommy says you can't have any more, then you can't," I tell Koji, gently patting his stomach. "Do you want a healthy snack? I have some watermelon if you want it."

Koji sighs. "But da fwuit isn' good like da candy."

"Watermelon is good. Here—"

I push off from my desk, rolling in my chair over to my minifridge. Pulling out a Tupperware of watermelon, I offer it to Koji, insisting that it's good and fully aware of my hypocrisy. I'm not great at eating healthy food either.

Koji studies the watermelon for a second, then grabs it in his already-sticky hand, biting into it. Before I know it, the entire Tupperware is gone, and Koji turns pleading eyes on me again, evidently wanting more snacks.

Karu comes into my office, eating his own Twizzler. My other son is dressed in a lab coat and goggles, and smudges of soot decorate the front of his scientist attire. More of it is smeared over his face in a pattern that suggests an explosion.

"Karu," I sigh. "What did you blow up, buddy?"

"A capacitor," Karu informs me, pronouncing the word perfectly. "But I cleaned it up, Daddy, I pwomise."

"I'm gonna come see your lab," I warn, standing up and taking Koji with me. "We don't want to leave any experiments out. Maybe I can show you how to not blow up a capacitor."

"But it was fun," Karu tells me as we walk out the door. "There was a whole buncha smoke, an' it was all hot, an'…"

I put Koji down as we walk down the hall, and the toddler struggles to keep up with me and his brother as Karu leads the way into the lab, showing me his now-spotless workstation.

Koji begs to see a capacitor explode, Karu nodding earnestly beside him. I teach them how to do it safely, putting on goggles and work gloves and performing the procedure several feet away from the twins.

As the capacitor explodes, Koji squeaks and covers his eyes, but then he peers through the gap between his fingers to watch the smoke pouring into the lab. When he realizes that there's no fire if you do it safely, Koji claps his hands, excited. Karu does, too, although I think he likes it better when there's a lot of fire.

Looking at my sons' round, smiling faces, I realize that if Abigail keeps the Testing system in place, Koji and Karu will never have this kind of freedom when they grow up. Man, I hope Kai and Pippin can destroy the ReBCO soon—Abigail will be a lot more in control of San Fransokyo if she can power her robots. They're supposed to punish anyone who opposes Abigail, even kill people if the offense is serious enough.

I want desperately to drive out into the Wasteland, find Kai and Pippin, and join them on their mission, but I couldn't leave Koji and Karu. I couldn't leave Momo, either, but she'd insist on coming with me, so I wouldn't have to. Still, I can't go—my job is to resist from within and work on a plan to stop Abigail. And with my friends' help, I think we can do it.

Hiroshima Rising is about to rise again.