"How can they do this?" Layla said, her voice trembling with disbelief.
Everyone's faces were tense as Duke's words echoed through the feed—he had just ordered all eight students to be sent to the Red Planet.
Logan didn't waste a second. His fingers flew across the keyboard, the screens around him lighting up with streams of code. Mechanical spiders began crawling across the floor, forming strange geometric patterns as he programmed them in real time.
Information about Red Portals and interplanetary coordinates flashed on the big screen. Logan's eyes glowed faint green as he worked faster—spiders fusing, breaking apart, and recombining until a new, unique cluster emerged.
Within seconds, the spiders skittered toward the ventilation ducts and disappeared.
Vorden stood abruptly. "Guys, what are we doing just sitting here? We have to get Quinn out of there!"
"Hold it, big guy," Logan said, spinning around in his chair. "We can't. The guards have already sealed the perimeter—no one's getting in or out. Even if we try, we'll get caught. With sergeants and a general involved, we won't last ten seconds."
"So what, we just sit here while they send them to die on a Red Portal?" Vorden shot back.
Logan smirked faintly. "Why don't you cool off for a second, hotshot? I've got a plan. Most Red Planets have at least a small traveler camp nearby. If we hire them, we can extract Quinn and the others safely."
"That doesn't solve the bigger problem," Vicky cut in sharply. "Even if you save them, they'll still be exiled. They can't return to the academy. Either way, they're on their own." She rose from her seat, brushing imaginary dust off her uniform. "So that settles it. I'm done."
Everyone turned toward her, stunned.
"You're leaving?" Layla asked quietly.
"Why wouldn't I?" Vicky replied flatly. "I didn't have to come save his ass in the first place. I've got my freedom, that was my only goal and my deal with him is over anyway. From what I've seen, He can pretty much handle himself from here."
Layla opened her mouth to protest, but before she could speak, Vicky was already gone—the door sliding shut behind her with a cold finality.
The room fell into silence again, filled only with the soft hum of Logan's monitors and the faint, echoing dread of what was to come.
---
Meanwhile, Logan's spiders had already reached their destination. They slipped unseen through the tiny spaces and into the room where Quinn and the other students were being held.
From the vents above, the mechanical spiders descended silently, hooking themselves onto each unconscious body—including Erin and Quinn—before disappearing beneath their clothes, hidden from sight.
Moments later, the doors burst open. The guards stormed in, lifting each student with mechanical precision and carrying them toward the portal chamber.
Quinn, still feigning unconsciousness, caught a glimpse of one of the spiders clinging to his sleeve. His pulse quickened, but he forced his eyes shut, careful not to draw suspicion.
Then came the heavy voice he dreaded—Duke's.
He couldn't make out the full conversation, just fragments of commands and the low hum of soldiers moving about.
And then, the sound hit—a deep, thrumming buzz as the portal powered up.
A sudden rush of energy tore through the air. Quinn felt someone lifting his body, But then suddenly a familiar shout came from behind Quinn.... you will regret keeping a hand upon him bastards he shouted but then that sound faded, Quinn felt his stomach lurch, and then—distortion.A violent pull twisted through every nerve as his head throbbed with unbearable pressure.
And then—silence.
Only a faint ringing remained in his ears.
When Quinn finally opened his eyes, the world was unrecognizable. Darkness stretched in every direction, the ground cold beneath him. Above, a pale moon glowed faintly through thick clouds.
He staggered to his feet, breath unsteady."Damn… why the hell would they do this?" he cursed under his breath, his voice swallowed by the alien quiet of the Red portal planet.
---
At the portal chamber, it was none other than Vorden who arrived—too late.
He burst through the doors just in time to see Quinn's body hurled into the swirling light of the portal.
"You bastards!" Vorden roared, fury exploding in his chest. He raised his hand, summoning a blazing sphere of fire that tore through the air and erupted against the guards. Flames scattered in every direction, swallowing the room in a wave of heat and chaos.
Duke's head snapped toward the disturbance, his expression darkening. Amid the smoke and flickering light, he caught sight of the intruder standing defiantly before him.
"And who the hell are you supposed to be?" Duke asked, voice edged with mock irritation.
The flames crackled between them as Vorden stepped forward, his eyes burning just as fiercely.
Now, it was Duke and Vorden—face to face.
Vorden instantly channeled his ability—the flames around him roared higher, swirling into a vortex that shimmered with heat and fury.
The ground trembled beneath Duke's boots as his hand clenched. Cracks splintered outward across the floor, and jagged pillars of stone erupted around him like fangs rising from the earth.
Then the ground split open. Duke hurled a wall of rock forward, but Vorden's flames surged to meet it, shattering the barrier mid-air into molten shards. The explosion sent both men staggering backward, fire and dust colliding in a storm of power.
Vorden's eyes blazed crimson as heat rippled through the chamber.
"You should've stayed out of this," Duke growled, slamming both palms to the ground. From beneath, stone tendrils erupted, writhing toward Vorden like serpents.
But the one standing there wasn't just Vorden anymore. It was Rayten.
With a low snarl, Rayten spun sharply, flames bursting from his hands as he sliced through the stone restraints and lunged forward.
Duke twisted his arms, commanding the terrain itself—the earth caved inward, pulling rock and debris to form a tightening sphere around his opponent.
But Rayten wasn't about to be trapped. Concentrating his energy, he launched a massive fireball toward Duke. The general raised an earthen shield just in time, the impact sending cracks through the ground.
It was a diversion.
By the time the flames died down, Vorden had already switched back with Rayten. Vorden stood near the edge of the Red Portal, its crimson light flickering against his face.
He met Duke's eyes one last time. "This isn't over."
Then, without hesitation, Vorden stepped into the portal.
The light swallowed him whole, and the room fell eerily silent—only the faint echo of burning stone and Duke's clenched jaw left behind.