Chapter Twenty-Two: Zero Day

In a flash of light, Fireteam Victor appeared on the warp pad in front of the temple. Guns at the ready, they fanned out, certain that Mr. Echo had prepared a trap for them. "Hey, uh, am I crazy or is this the Universe kid's house?" asked Ichigo.

It was indeed, but more concerning than that was what was going on outside. A battle raged on the beach between the Crystal Gems and Blue Diamond, her massive ship hovering just beyond. The house itself was a wreck, but there was just enough room for them to emerge onto the sand.

Vargas leveled his blaster at Blue Diamond. "Should we do something about this?" he asked. But Bridge pushed his weapon down.

"Nothing we have could even slightly scratch her," he said. "We have to let the Crystal Gems handle this one. Besides, Echo and his bomb take precedence."

"Speaking of, where is he?" asked Luke, looking around. "If he wanted to blow up the Diamonds, there's one right there." He peered under the deck, just in case.

Hester scanned the area, managing to spot a series of footprints leading into the town. "That way. I'm betting he's taking cover until the battle winds down. Maybe he thinks the Diamonds will be more vulnerable when they're tired?"

"He must be pretty sure that they're going to win, then," said James. The Fireteam made their way towards Beach City proper, staying low to the ground until they rounded the mountain. Here they were shielded from Blue's blasts, but there was still much danger in the air.

Another giant arm, no doubt Yellow Diamond's ship, had latched onto yet another giant arm. This one didn't seem to be a ship, but something emerging from a crack in the earth. "Is anybody else seeing this?" asked Luke, watching the curious sight with a strange combination of confusion and awe.

"I see it, I just don't care," replied James.

As Fireteam Victor moved closer to Beach City, it became apparent that it was deserted. Mayor Pizza's emergency bunkers were seeing some use after all, which meant they at least didn't have to worry about civilians. But it also meant that Echo could be hiding anywhere, and it would take hours to search the whole city.

"It appears we have no choice but to split up," said Bridge. "Everyone stay on comms, and speak up immediately if you find anything. Echo most likely has a few tricks waiting, so–"

He was cut off as a hail of gunfire rained down from the nearby rooftops, forcing the team to take cover. Rather than soldiers, the guns were held by a battalion of robots, their bodies and limbs rail-thin and their heads perfectly spherical.

"Mimics!" shouted James, returning fire. "Where did they come from!?"

"Echo must have planned out this whole thing!" replied Hester, moving to a better position to snipe from. "Make it harder for us to find that nuke!"

The sound of an amplified static crackle filled the air. "I must admit, you are tenacious little pests." It was Mr. Echo's voice, likewise sounding from all around them. A quick glance revealed he had taken control of the town's emergency alert system. "Is all of this really worth it? One empty town, for two of Homeworld's leaders? Surely even you can see my pragmatic logic."

"Don't listen to him," Bridge ordered. "New plan: we find out where he's broadcasting from. The explosive can't be far away. Ichigo, what do you have?"

"What, you think I know?" he responded. "I may be the go-to explosives guy, but I don't know how all electronics work! Sure, we could try locating the cables and seeing where they lead, but… Actually, yeah, let's do that!"

The mimic robonoids were advancing on the group now, with several leaping from the rooftops to surround them. Rook made use of some of their equipment from the desert to jury-rig a scope to do just that while the others held them light frames did little to make them bulletproof, but their size and agility made them harder to hit.

"Got something," he said, looking through the scope. He could see traces of the wires connecting the speakers–as well as other electronics around town, but he managed to single those ones out. "Looks like they lead across town. Some sort of shack."

"Then that's where we're going." Daniel hurled a grenade, blasting a path through the robonoids. "Move, move, move!" With time on the line, they definitely had to move. It was slow going, though, as every time they started gaining momentum, a hail of bullets halted their advance.

Clearly growing tired of this, Vargas decided to take matters into his own hands. "Alright, enough tiptoein' around. He wants to go loud? Not much louder 'n me." He emerged from cover, unleashing a stream of plasma towards their enemies. Bullets rained down against his armor, but he was undaunted. The robonoids crumbled easily at his assault, with the rest of the team following in his tracks.

As he continued to push, Vargas soon took a more personal approach. Shifting his weapon into its sword mode, he began to literally carve through their defenses. He showed just what the makers of the Quartzbreaker armor had intended, an unstoppable juggernaut able to give as good as he got.

"In there!" shouted Hester, sniping a robonoid protecting the wooden shack. The rest of the guards took aim, but Fireteam Echo made short work of them. Vargas took hold of the door, easily ripping it off of its hinges. Unfortunately, there was no trace of Echo, but there was something else: a makeshift device sitting on a chair, built out of a suitcase. The bomb.

Lowering his gun, Vargas stepped inside. "Right, I'll handle this." He approached to handle, or more accurately, manhandle, the explosive. However, his team wasn't so sure that was a good idea, and instinctively shrank back as he took hold of it.

"Vargas, don't–" Ichigo warned, but his comrade had already crushed the suitcase in his hands–or at least tried to. The moment it gave way, fire erupted from within, though thankfully not of the nuclear variety. The bomb had been a decoy, though it was still a very real explosive, destroying the inside of the shack and throwing Vargas back out the door. He landed on his back several yards away. "Holy hell! You alright?" yelled Ichigo, hurrying over to him.

Having been shielded by the worst of the blast by his armor, Vargas coughed. "I'm still breathin'," he said, trying and failing to get up. "Think I'll lay here for a bit, if that's okay."

"Seeing as you're alive, what the hell were you thinking, you moron!?" yelled Rook. "Are you trying to blow us all up!?"

He coughed again. "Yeah yeah, hindsight's twenty-twenty. Now could someone be a pal and pull me out of the line of fire?" Attracted to the explosion, the robonoids began to converge on the fireteam. While everyone else provided covering fire, Luke and James pulled Vargas into the relative safety of the shack, which was somehow still standing.

"We're running out of time," Bridge growled. In truth, he had no idea what exactly Echo was waiting for, but he knew that everybody in this city was counting on them. "We'll have to split up. Does anyone still have their geiger counters?" After checking their packs, Hester, Luke, and James each found that they still had theirs. "Everyone split up and fan out! Vargas, you fine here?"

Pulling himself up against the wall, Vargas readied his weapon in case the shack was breached. "I took an explosion at point-blank and just got a little dizzy," he said. "I think I'll be able to hold on."

"Ready? Break!" The rest of Fireteam Echo each went in a different direction, avoiding the mimics' fire. Hester and Ichigo took the left side, James headed right alone, and Luke accompanied Bridge down the center. Their geiger counters began clicking as they searched for the nuclear bomb. Surely wherever it was, Echo wouldn't be far off.

There didn't seem to be as many mimic robonoids as there had been Rhinestones, with their numbers gradually thinning out as the search continued. That wasn't to say they weren't still coming at them in droves, however, which they were definitely still doing. James in particular was having a tough time fending them off, as he also had to search for the nuke at the same time.

Showing just how much Echo had prepared for this, several more fake bombs had been placed around the city. A quick scan with the counter revealed them to not be nuclear, and Vargas' earlier experience told them they were better off left alone, but they still presented a real threat. "Is everyone jotting these down?" asked James over comms. "We should take care of them before the civilians return. Assuming we find the real one."

"Don't talk like that, we'll be fine!" said Luke. He peered around a corner as Bridge made short work of a few mimics. Once the coast was clear, they carried on. And just as they did so, he started to pick up a reading on his counter. "I think I've got something!" he cried out.

The two of them hurriedly followed the reading, which led them into a bank. They both aimed their guns around the eerily-still building, but found no robots waiting for them. All of the lights were off, leaving much of the interior hidden by shadow. Cautiously, they crept towards the source of the signal, peering over a desk where it was the strongest.

However, sitting on the chair was not a suitcase bomb as they expected, but a cylindrical glass case containing a glowing rock. "What in–where'd this come from?" Luke asked in confusion. "Did he just have a spare bit of Plutonium lying around?"

Daniel hopped over the counter to get a better look at the substance. "I don't think this is Plutonium," he said, "but whatever it is is definitely radioactive. He definitely put this here as a decoy."

Before Luke could respond, a loud banging sound filled the room, coming from right behind Bridge. He whirled around, expecting to see Luke doing the same, only to instead see him tumble to the ground. Given the large dent on the countertop, the sound had been Luke's head being violently slammed into it. And standing in his place was a figure with bright pink skin, glaring back at him.

Bridge instinctively aimed his weapon, only for Echo to grab it by the barrel. The shotgun fired, hitting the wall with shrapnel, and not even causing him to flinch. He easily wrenched the gun from Daniel's hand, bashing him aside with it before breaking it in half with superhuman strength.

Recovering from the initial hit, Daniel reached for his sidearm, only for Echo to grab him by the neck, hurling him against the wall. "I gave you opportunity after opportunity to walk away," he growled, slowly walking closer. "You could have been part of the new world, free from the shackles of Gemkind. Now you will be consumed by the fires that will forge it!"

Hester barely paid attention to where she was going as she ran down the streets. Her only guide was her geiger counter, following where it clicked the loudest. She was still wary of the robots firing at her, though Ichigo was able to keep them off her back with little difficulty. "We're going back the way we came!" he said, bashing a robonoid with the butt of his rifle. "Are you sure this is the right way?"

"I'm just going where the counter tells me," she replied, ducking behind a building. Though they definitely seemed to be heading back towards the beach, as was indicated by the fierce battle that continued to rage. Lapis Lazuli seemed to have joined the battle, if the unnaturally-undulating waves were anything to go by–or maybe that was an ability of Blue Diamond's, Hester wasn't sure. But she was sure that science didn't lie, so onward they went.

Despite their best efforts, the robonoids were unable to keep them from their destination: the Big Donut. "Nuke in a donut shop. Just a normal day for us," said Ichigo. He and Hester worked their way towards the door, only for her to come to an interesting conclusion.

"It's not in the shop…I think it's up there," he said, getting a stronger signal when she pointed the device up on the roof. "Hold this. You'll need to cover me while I disarm it." She handed him her sniper rifle before climbing up a series of pipes on the wall. Hesitantly looping the strap around his shoulder, he followed after with equal apprehension.

The geiger counter began ticking incredibly fast, and sure enough, the suitcase they were searching for was placed behind the Big Donut's titular sign. Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened up the casing, greeted by a bundle of wires and a flashing light. "You're, uh…sure you know how to do this?" asked Ichigo.

Hester answered after a brief pause, not exactly inspiring confidence. "Of course. I've disarmed plenty of bombs before…just none that could vaporize everything for a few miles around. Keep those robots back, yeah?"

Ichigo hunkered down by the roof's edge, beginning to snipe at the mimics coming their way. "Not that I don't believe you, but please, try not to kill us!" It was more of a plea than a request. And as their battle continued, so too did that of Steven and the others.

With no gun, all Bridge could think to do was charge Echo, attempting to tackle him. He slammed into the ancient warrior, pushing him until they both collided with the wall. Echo raised up his arm, driving his elbow down onto Bridge's back. The impact sent him to the floor.

"In all my centuries, I have seen the best and the worst of humanity," said Mr. Echo. "But of all the hypocrisy, and stupidity, and self-righteousness, none of it has made me angrier than BAINE." He lifted Daniel over his head before he could get up, throwing him back down to the floor. "You claim to fight for humankind, to protect them, but all you are doing is making them complacent. As long as you fight for them, they will never learn to fight for themselves! Had it not been for you and the Crystal Gems, we would be able to stand up to Homeworld!"

Daniel coughed, looking up at his opponent. "If it hadn't been for the Crystal Gems, none of us would be here," he spat. "This planet would just be another one of Homeworld's colonies. You wouldn't exist."

Scowling, Echo kicked him, sending him skidding across the floor. "And where have we ended up instead? Thanks to 'Rose Quartz,' our brave protectors were wiped out! The safety of this planet was placed in the hands of a child! And you, for all your posturing…you keep the public in the dark for their own safety? We could have been working together! Instead, you keep them complacent, helpless, doing nothing but wringing their hands when the enemy is right on their doorstep!"

Despite the throbbing pain, Bridge forced himself to stand. "So you'd have everyone else fight your battles for you? Some leader you'd make." Echo threw a punch, but Bridge was prepared–he ducked it, throwing a punch of his own into Echo's side. He didn't fall, but he was slightly stunned, allowing Daniel to drive his fist in several more times, before he was backhanded away.

This wasn't going well. Thanks to Rose Quartz's power, there was no way Daniel could beat Echo alone. "Everyone, I've engaged Echo," he said over comms, as the pink man slowly approached. "We're overwhelmed, need backup now!"

"I hear you, Cap, but we're pinned down over here!" Ichigo responded. "Hester found the bomb, she's trying to disarm it! We're at the Big Donut!"

"Heard, on my way to your position," replied James. "Bridge, where are you? I'll be there as soon as–"

"No, go help them!" Daniel said. Right now, Disarming the bomb took precedence. He could handle Echo, at least for a while. At least until he stopped toying with him. "We'll group up when this is over! Stop the–" Echo suddenly pulled him up, tearing off his helmet and hurling it away.

He found himself pressed up against the wall. "Is this really how you want this to end!?" Echo yelled in his face. "The Diamonds are out there, right now, decimating your beloved Crystal Gems! Who do you think is next once they're done, hmm? One village! One measly village for the freedom of the entire world! If you aren't willing to make that sacrifice, then you are not the hero you claim to be!"

Echo then tossed him aside, going to retrieve his helmet. Upon picking it up, he then hurled it back over to its owner. Daniel looked down at it in confusion, not yet putting it on.

"Contact the rest of your team," he demanded. "Contact them, and tell them to stand down." He pulled something from his pocket: a detonator. "As soon as Blue and Yellow Diamond are in the same place, we can end this. Two of Homeworld's leaders, wiped from existence. If you really want to win this war, you'll let me do this."

Daniel reached out, taking hold of his helmet. "We can't," he said, panting. "We can't win this war not without the Crystal Gems. Not without Steven. If you blow that bomb, even if it does kill those Diamonds, what then? Homeworld will come at us with every last bit of vengeance they have."

In reply, Echo only smirked. "And with only one Diamond, their approach will be sloppy, careless. And with all of mankind fighting as one, we can finally route their aggression, and drive them off once and for all. Besides, what would be the alternative? Peace talks, with that race of walking combine harvesters? The only thing they know is violence, and conquest, and hunger. If you let that half-breed have his way, then you're no better than the Brotherhood of Glass."

Bridge shrugged. "We have to try. If we don't, we're no better than you."

Mr. Echo's scowl intensified, then disappeared. "I'm disappointed," he sighed. "I really thought someone as noble as you could see reason. I suppose this really is for the best." His thumb hovered over the switch, preparing to detonate.

Moments before he could hit it, the sound of gunshots rang out, bullets piercing his pink hide. Luke sat up against the counter, his pistol raised. No blood poured out of Echo, and he remained upright, but the shots had stunned him. Taking advantage, Daniel launched himself forward, swinging his helmet against Echo's head. It collided with his skull with enough force to crack the visor, as well as force him to drop the detonator.

Before he could recover, Daniel snatched it up and ran for the door. "Run, go!" Luke called after him. He might not have been able to defeat Echo, but so long as he could stop the bomb from exploding, he just might save the day.

Just as he reached for the door, another sound rang out, almost as loud as the gunshots. It was a human voice, a scream, building in intensity until it no longer sounded human. A tremendous shockwave emanated from Echo as he roared at the top of his lungs, hurling Daniel outside as the doors and windows shattered, and the very foundation trembled.

His ears were still ringing when Daniel came to. He was lying on the other side of the street, covered in shards of glass. He cradled the detonator in his hands, which thankfully hadn't been pressed. He hastily placed the cover over the switch so as to not accidentally nuke Beach City. He contemplated destroying it, only to realize the possibility of a failsafe. All he could do now was keep it out of Mr. Echo's hands.

And speaking of, Echo made his way out of the building, fury in his eyes. His body was throbbing even harder than before, but Bridge forced himself to stand. "So…you ready for round two?" he asked his rival, getting ready to run.

"Always." Echo let out another bellow, shaking the very earth beneath him.

"No, go help them!" he heard his captain shout. "We'll group up when this is over! Stop the–" There was a clatter, followed by the sound of static.

"Bridge, are you there? Bridge? Bridge!" But no reply. Rook swore under his breath, reluctantly making his way towards the Big Donut. As much as he wanted to rescue Bridge, he knew that the bomb took priority. He just hoped that his captain could hold his own against Echo.

He could hear the sniper fire before he could see the Big Donut's titular big donut. The robonoids were practically ignoring him, as though they knew Hester was close to dismantling their plans. This made it easy for him to pick off a few, but they were still moving towards the shop en masse.

One of them came up behind him, its gun ready to fire, only for its head to suddenly explode. "Gotcha covered!" Ichigo informed him over the radio, reloading his sniper rifle. "Think you could watch the doors? These things keep trying to get inside!"

"Sure, just watch your back," said Rook. He fought his way past a few more robonoids, entering the Big Donut and blocking the door with a mop. "Any other entrances I should know about?"

"Back door, plus there's a ladder to up here." Hester sounded like she was holding something in her teeth, which she was: her combat knife, used to pry open some of the bomb's panelling. "Just a little longer."

Rook ducked into the back room as a hail of bullets broke through the front. "Alright, and how long is a little?" he asked. The back door started to rattle, so he blocked that one with a chair.

"It'll take however long it takes!" she replied. "Sorry I'm not an expert at manually disarming nukes, but it doesn't come up too often!"

Ichigo continued to snipe the mimics coming at them, only to hear a clattering from the side. To his shock, one of their heads peered up over the roof's edge, and he quickly pivoted to shoot it before it could fire. "They're climbing up the walls!" he cried, looking down to see more of them doing just that. He went to reload, only to find that he was out of cartridges. "Ammo! I need ammo!" He switched to his own rifle, opening fire with one hand.

Hester continued to multi-task, firing her sidearm at the climbing robonoids. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather do this yourself!?" she asked, nevertheless tossing him some more clips. She tore into some of the wires, cutting them only when she was sure of their function.

Down below, the mimics were storming the Big Donut, attacking Rook from both angles. And like the two above, he was starting to run low on bullets. For every one he destroyed, two more seemed to appear. "Not sure how much longer I can keep this up!" he called. "Hope you're getting closer!"

She was, but not as close as she would have liked. She had taken the bomb closer to the door to have more cover, but every step closer to disarming it caused it to beep faster and faster. The slightest wrong movement could set it off.

At last, she was down to two wires, one red and one blue. "You've gotta be kidding," she groaned. "Ichigo! Which wire do I cut?"

"What? I thought you were the expert!" he shouted. "Just cut the red one and let's get outta here!"

"Isn't it always the blue one?" she asked.

"If you think so, why are you asking me!?"

"Just cut them both at once!" yelled Rook. "Better yet, break the thing and be done with it!"

"I can't just–" But he might have a point. Either wire had a fifty-percent chance of blowing them to kingdom come, and she was fairly certain cutting them both wouldn't decrease those odds. But if she could remove the power source… "Quick, down here! I have an idea!" She wrenched the door open, urging Ichigo inside."

He went down, shooting a few robonoids near the ladder. "It was nice knowing you guys," he mumbled. "You know, just in case."

Although Hester didn't appreciate his lack of confidence, she didn't feel much more sure herself. Closing the door and locking it, she used her knife to pry open yet another part of the bomb. Namely, the casing holding the Plutonium canister. "Okay…if I do this right, it'll render this thing inert. If not, well, hopefully we'll at least take the Diamonds out with us."

Her knife went in between the casing and the case, jiggling it ever-so-slightly to get it loose. The radioactive material within began to pulse and hum, and the light beeped faster still. Wiping her brow, she steadied herself for one final push, and wrenched with all her might…

…And there was a clinking sound as the casing hit the floor, rolling harmlessly up against the wall. The suitcase stopped beeping, and its light faded away. "I did it!" She triumphantly threw the bomb to the floor as well, where it smashed into pieces. "Prynne to everyone, bomb neutralized! I repeat, bomb neutralized!"

A palpable sense of relief washed over the three of them…but it didn't last long, as more and more mimics were still descending upon them. "Hey…what are we supposed to do now?" wondered Rook.

"Now?" Hester took her rifle back from Ichigo and reloaded it. "Now we survive, for as long as we can."

Bridge sprinted down the street, ducking to the side as another blast of sound shattered the side of a building in front of him. Echo seemed to merely be strolling, yet was keeping pace with him easily, blasting through anything that got in his way. "You can't run!" he yelled after him, his voice still audible over the commotion on the beach. "All you are doing is delaying the inevitable!"

Maybe. But if he could delay it for long enough, then maybe, just maybe, he could buy his team enough time. He pulled out his sidearm, firing several rounds back at his pursuer. Just as before, Echo flinched as the bullets pierced his body, but he continued walking, undeterred.

He was out of his depth–but, he realized, they weren't. The Crystal Gems could easily handle Mr. Echo if they faced him head-on, to say nothing of the Diamonds. Sure, they were busy right now, but considering the stakes, he was sure they could be persuaded to take a moment. Maybe, considering Echo wanted them both dead, they would be willing to call a temporary truce. Probably wishful thinking, he admitted, but the battle was his best bet. Hoping Echo wouldn't catch on, he ran towards the beach.

However, before he could get much closer, there was a tremendous groaning sound. That noise, as the shadow falling over the city would reveal, was Yellow Diamond's ship being yanked aside by the Cluster. Daniel froze in place as he watched the truly titanic vessel pass by overhead, before it was slammed down onto Blue Diamond's equally-gigantic ship. He steadied himself as the impact sent gale force winds through the town, just barely managing to keep his footing.

Unfortunately for him, this momentary pause allowed Echo to catch up with him. He grabbed him by the shoulder, before turning him around and driving his fist into his abdomen. Hard. Not only did Daniel see stars, but all of the air left his lungs. As he fell to the ground, gasping for breath, he was helpless as Echo took the trigger from his hands.

"This was always the plan, you know," he said, rolling the device over in his hands. "Go out in a blaze of glory, and take as many Homeworld Gems out with me as possible. And despite what you may think of me, I still would have preferred not to endanger these human lives." Bridge tried to retake the trigger, but he could barely breathe, let alone stand. "In the end, at least their deaths will mean something."

Echo pressed the button…and nothing happened.

Confused, he pressed it again, several times in quick succession. But there was a distinct lack of nuclear fire. "What? How is this–What did you do!?"

Laughing as he gasped for breath, Daniel staggered to his feet. "It's over, Echo. You've got nothing left–no bomb, no robots, no followers. You failed. Give up now, while I'm still in a forgiving mood."

With a roar of rage, Echo crushed the detonator before backhanding Daniel back to the ground. "You assume to command me!?" he bellowed. Before Daniel could stand up, he retrieved his pistol, planting his foot on his chest. "I was there, fighting to protect our species when we were still living in straw huts! As we conquered this world with steam and electricity, I was there, guiding us from the shadows! I am the only one who can save this world!" He pulled back the hammer. "You're right, I may have lost everything…but I can rebuild. Until the human race is eliminated down to the last man, there will always be those willing to fight back against Gem tyranny. It may take years, even centuries, but I will see us triumphant over those silicon devils. And you will not be around to stand in my way."

He leveled the pistol at Bridge's forehead, preparing to pull the trigger. But moments before he could, he gasped in pain as a blue light burst out from his chest. It was only after seeing the plasma blade piercing through Echo that Daniel realized that Vargas had snuck up from behind him.

With a shout of exertion, Vargas pulled his sword upwards, cleaving through the rest of Echo's body. The look of shock on his face soon became two looks on just as many faces as he fell to the ground, dropping the gun. Vargas collapsed as well, falling to his knees and holding himself up with his blaster.

"He might have been immortal," he said, "but I'd like to see anyone survive that."

It wasn't exactly a funny quip, but Daniel laughed anyway, moreso because he was relieved it was finally over. The two of them sat there in silence for a little while longer, listening to the sound of the lapping waves.

But wait…if all they could hear was the waves, then more than just his fight with Echo was over. He glanced around, and all around Beach City, the mimic robonoids had all shut down. Without their master, it seemed they were no longer receiving orders. Likewise, he glanced over at the beach, where the fight had likewise ended.

Every Gem, both Crystal and Diamond, were gathered around something. He couldn't see from where he was what they were looking at, but all hostility between them had seemingly evaporated. In that moment, he had no doubt that Steven was involved somehow. It looked like there was hope for their miserable little planet after all.

"Vargas?" said Bridge. "My comms are a bit shot at the moment. Could you call this one in?"

His hand went up to his helmet. "All teams, this is Vargas. Echo is KIA. Nuclear device terminated. No casualties."

It was as though a tremendous weight had been lifted off all of their shoulders. "Vargas?" said Bridge.

"Mm?"

"Thanks for saving my life."

"Eh, don't sweat it. Just doing what any good soldier should've." He looked away, hiding the uncertain look on his face.

Rays of light crossed the sea as the sun began to rise, illuminating the battered, yet unbroken, Beach City. At the end of the day, when all things were said and done, it finally seemed like peace was on the horizon.