?Location: The Gear-Heart Station – Central Core Chamber

  Time: 1 Minute after the Power Outage

  ?Darkness.

  ?Absolute, suffocating darkness. The hum of the magnetic containment field was gone. The only sound was the bubbling of the Overseer's brain-fluid and the distant screech of tearing metal as the Earth Sect warship ground against the station's outer hull.

  ?"My Core!" Overseer Gear-Head shrieked, his voice synthesizing into a chaotic screech of static. "Emergency Power! Reboot!"

  ?Red emergency lights flickered on, bathing the room in a bloody gloom.

  ?But Aris was already moving.

  ?[Abyssal Eye: Night Vision Mode]

  ?He grabbed Mo's arm and slid into the shadows of the ventilation shafts just as the blast doors were ripped off their hinges.

  ?CRASH.

  ?Dust and debris flooded the room. Standing in the breach was Elder Iron-Fist. He was glowing with golden earth-Qi, a literal god of war amidst the machinery.

  ?"PUPPETEER!" Iron-Fist roared, spotting the Overseer. "WHERE IS MY SON?"

  ?The Overseer, confused and enraged by the theft of his Core, swiveled his massive mechanical body. He saw the intruder. He didn't see an Elder; he saw a target.

  ?"You broke my hull!" Gear-Head bellowed. "You stole my power!"

  ?"I will steal your life!" Iron-Fist charged.

  ?The two Half-Step Divinity experts collided.

  ?It was a battle of concepts. Iron-Fist summoned meteors of compressed rock from the ether. Gear-Head countered with swarms of nanobots and plasma cannons powered by his internal reserves.

  ?BOOM.

  ?The shockwave pulverized the control consoles. Gravity fluctuated wildly.

  ?Aris, perched inside the vent, watched the chaos with a cold smile.

  ?"Look at them, Mo," Aris whispered. "Two Level 90s trying to destroy each other over a misunderstanding I wrote in five minutes."

  ?"Do we stay?" Mo asked, shielding his face from flying shrapnel.

  ?"No. The structural integrity is failing. We need to get back to the shuttle, switch personas, and get 'rescued'."

  ?Location: Hangar Bay 4

  Time: 15 Minutes Later

  ?The station was falling apart. Fires burned in zero-gravity, creating terrifying spheres of flame. Scavengers and Necro-Cyborgs ran screaming through the corridors.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  ?Aris and Mo sprinted into the hangar. Their shuttle was still there, clamped down.

  ?"Strip," Aris commanded.

  ?"Here?" Mo paused.

  ?"The disguise, Mo! We can't be Vex anymore. Vex is the villain. Han Xiao is the victim."

  ?Aris ripped off his trench coat and goggles, revealing his tattered grey robes underneath. He rubbed oil and grease onto his face. He messed up his hair.

  ?"Mo, damage the shuttle. Make it look like we took fire."

  ?Mo nodded. He punched the shuttle's wing. CRUNCH. Then he slashed the hull with his laser rifle (set to thermal cut).

  ?"Perfect," Aris nodded. "Now, we launch. We fly into the debris field, drift for an hour, and send a distress signal."

  ?They boarded the shuttle. Aris punched the launch sequence.

  ?The clamps released. The battered shuttle drifted out into the void, away from the burning station.

  ?Behind them, the Gear-Heart Station erupted. A massive beam of Earth Qi pierced the station from one side to the other, shattering the central spoke.

  ?"Iron-Fist isn't holding back," Aris noted, watching the explosion on the rear monitor. "He really loved that hammer."

  ?Location: Sector 12 – The Debris Field

  Time: 3 Hours Later

  ?The shuttle drifted silently among the wrecks of ancient starships. The power was cut. The temperature was dropping.

  ?Aris sat in the cockpit, eating a nutrient bar.

  ?"Status," Aris asked.

  ?"Distress beacon active," Mo reported. "Myriad Beasts Sect frequency. We are claiming that Iron-Mountain was killed by the Scavengers and we barely escaped."

  ?"Good. The narrative is solid. Iron-Mountain died fighting 'Vex' the Scavenger Lord. Vex stole the hammer and the key. Han Xiao, the brave but useless servant, hid in the shuttle."

  ?PING.

  ?A massive shadow fell over them.

  ?Aris looked out the window.

  ?It wasn't a rescue ship. It was the Earth Sect Warship. It had finished destroying the station and was now scanning for survivors.

  ?"They found us," Mo said, his hand tightening on his sword hilt. "Iron-Fist is on that ship."

  ?"Relax," Aris said, putting on his 'terror' mask. "He can't kill us. Not yet. He needs a witness."

  ?A tractor beam locked onto their shuttle, dragging them into the warship's hangar.

  ?Location: Earth Sect Warship – Interrogation Room

  Time: 1 Hour Later

  ?Aris was thrown onto the metal floor.

  ?He looked up. Elder Iron-Fist sat on a chair, covered in oil and blood (not his own). He looked exhausted and murderous.

  ?"Speak," Iron-Fist growled. "Tell me how my son died. And make it believable, or I will peel your soul apart layer by layer."

  ?Aris began to sob. It was an ugly, snotty crying.

  ?"It was the Merchant!" Aris wailed. "A cyborg! He called himself Vex! He... he had lasers! Lasers that came out of the floor!"

  ?"Lasers?" Iron-Fist frowned. "Tech-weapons?"

  ?"Yes! Brother Iron-Mountain fought bravely! He smashed the first ambush! But then... then Vex used a gravity trap! He pinned Brother Iron-Mountain down and... and..."

  ?Aris retched, acting out the horror.

  ?"He executed him! He took the hammer! He laughed and said he was selling it to the Puppet Sect!"

  ?Iron-Fist slammed his fist into the wall, denting the reinforced steel.

  ?"I knew it! That Overseer... he had the hammer! I felt its resonance in the station!"

  ?The Elder's rage blinded him to the gaps in the story. Why did the shuttle survive? Why was the Alchemist spared?

  ?"I... I ran," Aris whispered shamefully. "I hid in the shuttle while they were looting the body. I'm a coward, Elder! I'm sorry!"

  ?Iron-Fist looked at the pathetic creature on the floor. A Level 25 trash alchemist against a Scavenger Lord? Of course he ran. If he had fought, it would have been suspicious.

  ?"You are a coward," Iron-Fist spat. "But you are my witness."

  ?He stood up.

  ?"We are returning to the Sect. You will testify before the Council. You will tell them that the Puppet Sect declared war on us."

  ?Aris nodded furiously. "Yes! Anything you say!"

  ?As the Elder stormed out, Aris stayed on the floor, burying his face in his hands.

  ?Underneath his hands, a smile cut across his face.

  ?"Phase 2 complete," Aris projected to Mo. "The Earth Sect is now at war with the Puppet Sect. Sector 12 is a warzone. No one will notice that a few pieces of Old Tech go missing in the chaos."

  ?"And the Necklace?" Mo asked.

  ?"I have the Void Key Fragment," Aris patted his chest, where the blue cube was stored in his inventory. "I can crave a piece off the corner. It glows blue. It has infinite energy. Lady Bai won't know the difference between a Star-Heart and a cosmic navigation chip."