Reves stood by the fallen Golem and Deacon with a smile on his face. He watched Deacon climb out of the robot’s shell, seemingly unscathed by the fall; Ragnar was still moving, slowly, but moving nonetheless.

Its joints creaked slowly, struggling to get back up on its feet after the assault it had suffered from Reves’s own Golem. The wound in Ragnar’s chest was exposed and ready to open even wider with any kind of force it received.

“You two are either really brave or really stupid.” Reves scoffed, “Why in the hell did you guys decide to try to stop me on your own?”

“Because you’re a monster, plain and simple.” Deacon struggled his way out of Ragnar’s shell.

“A monster?” Reves took offense. “Why? Because I killed thousands of people for no apparent reason? Or because I figured that my own government was more powerful than the current joke we have now?”

“The fact that you have those as reasons really proves my point.” Deacon smirked.

“Let’s see if that point matters when I get the fuel cell and leave Elvander with nothing.” Reves snapped his fingers to signal his Golem to walk up to him with Ashe and the fuel cell in tow.

“Let me go Reves or I’ll kill you and then—” Ashe yelled out at Reves, who only returned a smile to answer Ashe’s empty threats. She couldn’t do anything in her current situation. He had combat-trained soldiers and a large Golem on his side while she only had Deacon and a weakened Ragnar.

“I’m glad to see you still retained your spunk, kid.” Reves spoke to her with a familiarity that left Deacon confused. He wasn’t sure about the connection and grew more worried about his own situation.

“Shut up!” Ashe yelled angrily as she tried to shake herself off of Reves’s Golem’s grip. The machine applied minimal force but was enough to keep her pinned.

“You look confused.” Reves turned to Deacon, who looked like a deer caught in a headlight. “I assume she never told you her last name. Didn’t you, Ashe?”

“Don’t say another damn word, you sonofa—”

“Severs. Her last name is Severs, same as mine,” Reves turned to Ashe with an arrogant smile. “I guess she was ashamed to be associated with the name of a ‘terrorist’.”

“Dad should have disowned you!” Ashe gritted her teeth.

“Yeah,” Reves sucked the air through his teeth, “but he’s dead just like the rest of Hazlan.”

“How can you just say that?!” Ashe screamed at her brother.

“I just gave your friend here my reasons.” He pointed at Deacon, he didn’t care much about the consequences of his words or actions. He was a psychopath out in the world for destruction by any means. His own family was just another target to wipe out. A means to an end.

“This world doesn’t need all these diplomats,” Reves gave his speech, “no votes, no speeches. This world needs a leader, someone who is willing to take the weeds out. Someone who is willing to dip his feet into the chaos.”

“Someone like you.” Deacon said with fear in his voice.

“Your buddy gets it. Maybe he’s not as stupid as he looks.” Reves pointed at Deacon with his hand.

“Then you better hope you kill me first!” Ashe continued to struggle out of the Golem’s grip, but still nothing.

“Are you crazy?” Reves chuckled. “I’m not going to kill you. Your friend, yes, but not you.”

Deacon’s eyes began to tear a little. No matter how hard he tried to avoid it, he was back into the violence. He should have just realized the first sign of trouble when they were in Livica and then the ship. The whole trip was one big calamity and Deacon still tried to do right by the people of Elvander and to Ragnar, and now Ashe.

He failed. He failed and he now had to watch Reves stand before him and snuff him out like if he was nothing. Worthless, like a plastic bag or a pebble that was stuck in a person’s shoe.

“Ragnar!” Deacon whispered to his fallen friend.

Its eyes barely responded and the red light was flickering, a sign that Ragnar was prepared to power off at a moment’s notice.

“What I’m going to do for you, Ashe will probably make you wish you were dead. I’m going to rise from the ashes of the world and you will be witness to it all.” Reves walked closely to Ashe.

“What did I ever do to you?” Ashe’s eyes began to tear up a bit like Deacon’s.

“Nothing. Hazlan did enough. You were busy ignoring the corruption while they shoved their deceit down your throat. Maybe when you see me pull this off, you will soon see the method to my madness.”

“It just sounds like you’re just trying to justify your mass murdering spree.” Deacon said.

“Yeah, I expect to hear that from you!” Reves never understood why people questioned his intelligence and just assumed everyone around him was imbeciles in need of some guidance. Reves was out of touch with his actions and was quick to say that the only way the world can sort itself out was with him, a mass murdering lunatic, taking the reins of society and becoming its unofficial leader. Reves, the leader of the world, sounded good to his ears, but the only things in his way were Ashe and her friends as well as Elvander, but with the fuel cell in his possession he can make a power move against Elvander without any power source giving them a defensive edge.

Reves snapped his finger again at Toomes so he can take the fuel cell from the Golem and stow it away in his ship while he figured out what to do with Ragnar and Deacon, who seemed like annoyances than threats now without the fuel cell. He looked at the burning building and then to the pair and then back to the building.

“Throw them inside and let the building bury them. I don’t like the idea of wasting another bullet.” Reves walked to his ship with his squad of soldiers following close behind.

Toomes clutched onto Ashe tightly making sure she couldn’t get out of their grasp.

The Shadow Cannon Golem stepped to the pair and held them each with one hand then dragged them toward the skyscraper, which looked as if it was going to fall at any second.

“No!” Ashe yelled out, but her words were ignored, “Let them go, you bastard!”

Deacon struggled, but his strength alone wasn’t enough to get loose of the Golem’s grip. The only thing on his mind was his death and looking at Ashe, who was being taken away just made the feeling worse. His only hope of escaping laid almost lifeless from its beating. Deacon swallowed his fear and faced the fact that this moment was going to be his last; the last thing he wanted to do was to leave the world with tears in his eyes.

The enemy Golem tossed Ragnar through the glass entrance first and then Deacon followed. The loud crashing noise of the glass would’ve raised an alarm in the building, but the fire and falling debris were muffling the sound. Deacon’s face was bloodied from the pieces of glass he fell on, but he still managed to crawl to Ragnar to provide some type of aid for the machine.

The Shadow Cannon Golem looked over Deacon and Ragnar a second and made its exit back to Reves’s ship to allow the building a chance to finish the job.

Before Deacon even knew it, they were alone surrounded by fire. He quickly rushed to any exit that he can get to, but was quickly cut off by the heat. The searing pain on his skin was unbearable, his thoughts weren’t able to be completed as he was busy trying to keep his breathing normal and avoid the smoke.

“Ragnar!” Deacon yelled out to his friend, “You need to get up buddy! We’re not going to make it!”

He tried to move some of the fallen pillars, only for the weight to be heavier than what he had imagined. His palms began to pulsate with the pain of the hot support beams. No matter what, his desperation made him not want to stand still; the worst thing he can do to himself and Ragnar was not trying. Minute after minute was another failed attempt.

He shoulder charged the doors, but the debris on the other side blocked it from opening fully. He tried to build a makeshift ladder, only for the fire to reach it before he did. Deacon was defeated. He knelt down and tried to accept it. His hope was lost and his chances were slim to none.

A familiar screeching noise appeared behind him. That spark of hope was ignited and a confident smile appeared on his face.

Ragnar stood in front of Deacon with the remains of its power, he grabbed onto Deacon and placed him inside its shell. Deacon didn’t know what to make of the situation, but he was fully aware that Ragnar would be able to make an escape without an issue now that it was functional again.

Ragnar’s arms waved through the fire and effortlessly cleared the obstacles in front of them. The Golem was intent on getting Deacon out of there. Its walking speed began to increase into a jog and then to a full sprint to quickly bulldoze the walls and used its powerful jump to get onto the next floor with relative ease. Deacon smiled away as he watched Ragnar get through the burning building with minimal effort.

“You got this!” Deacon cheered on Ragnar while he stayed safely inside the shell. Ragnar’s remains of its powerful armor kept the heat away from Deacon, which was a big relief since he spent the past few minutes trapped in a literal hell.

Ragnar managed itself out of the fire and saw a ray of sunlight shining through the tattered remains of an office’s window blinds. It quickly turned to face the window and charged toward it.

Deacon prepped himself for a bumpy landing once Ragnar got through it.

Ragnar dived through the window, easily shattering the glass into tiny pieces and fell a few stories down on the road below. The loud noise of Ragnar’s body meeting the asphalt along with the sight of the burning building gave the population of the island something of a spectacle; they couldn’t make any sense to what they were seeing only that their only landmark of the island was up in smoke.

The Golem weakly turned to its back and opened up its shell to allow Deacon out to get some fresh air away from the pollution that was suffocating him earlier.

Deacon took deep breaths and smiled at his second chance at life. All thanks to Ragnar.

“You did it buddy!” Deacon turned to face Ragnar, but his expression changed from relief to worry.

His friend’s red eyes weren’t shining anymore. They were off and no sign of its battery’s humming noise made his darkest thoughts a reality. “Ragnar! Wake up, you’re fine! I know you’re fine! Ragnar!”

People gathered around Deacon and the fallen, lifeless Ragnar trying to see what the whole thing was about. The first thought in their heads was Shadow Cannon, but seeing the weeping Deacon made their accusations fall flat in an instant.

“Don’t do this to me, Ragnar! You just saved my life, you can’t just leave it!” Deacon wept more heavily. He shook Ragnar’s still body, hoping to wake it as if it were asleep. They only knew each other for a few days, but he bonded too deep with the Golem. He never thought he would cry over a machine, but here he was thanking him and bargaining with any kind of deity that would be able to bring Ragnar back to life.

Deacon knelt down and his tears kept tapping on Ragnar’s head. The only thing that remained in his mind was Ragnar’s mission.

“Elvander.”