Chap 158: Someone To Lean Into

The five Sentinels had learned to treasure the moments when the world wasn’t ending. When there were no alarms, no urgent calls, no weight pressing on their chests. In the cool hush of early morning, before breakfast and before duty, Tee and Kie lingered beneath the gazebo in the lush garden, sharing a pair of earbuds as sunlight filtered through the leaves.

Romantic music drifted between them, quiet and intimate. Then a familiar rhythm slipped into Kie’s ear, and his breath caught.

His heart began to race as memories surfaced—soft ones, tucked away and rarely touched. Every note felt known, every lyric already waiting on his tongue.

“This song,” he breathed. “I know it.”

Tee turned toward him, curiosity lighting her expression. “Really?”

Kie leaned away from the concrete railing and faced her fully. His voice softened. “My mom and dad used to dance to this. Late at night—when they thought we were asleep.”

A small, fond smile curved his lips as he held out his hand to her. “I think… I remember how it’s done.”

Tee laughed, the sound catching a little as if it surprised her too. “I don’t really dance,” she admitted dryly.

“That’s okay,” he said gently. “Me either.”

With one earbud in an ear, they joined hands beneath the gazebo. For a moment, they simply stood there, fingers warm against one another, smiling—both a little nervous, both quietly excited—wondering what kind of beautiful, ridiculous thing they were about to try.

Kie cleared his throat and straightened a little, suddenly very focused. “Okay—no, wait. I’ve got it. I remember this part.”

Tee smiled skeptically. “Sure you know what you’re doing?”

“I’m sure,” he said, nodding like that distinction mattered. He shifted his grip on her hand, gentler now. “Just… follow me.”

“That’s a bold request,” she teased.

He started guiding her anyway, counting softly under his breath this time—actually on beat. Left, right, slow turn. It wasn’t perfect, but it was smoother, and Tee found herself relaxing into it.

“Oh,” she said. “Okay. That’s not terrible.”

Kie’s smile spread. “See? Told you.”

Then he got a little too confident and tried to add flair, stepping back and tugging her forward. Tee laughed as she followed, nearly bumping into him.

“Whoa—easy there, pro dancer.”

“I’m improvising,” he said, clearly lying.

They swayed, half-dancing, half-shuffling, and Kie gently guided her into a turn that almost worked. Almost. Tee wobbled, and without thinking, Kie leaned her toward the ground, one hand steady at her back.

They froze again.

Tee stared up at him, then burst out laughing. “Hey—wait.”

Kie blinked. “What? Did I mess up?”

She laughed harder. “Is this where you got that move from? You know—when you leaned me like this before? You know, our first kiss.”

His ears went pink instantly. “Oh. That.” He winced. “Yeah. I think… yeah, that’s probably it.”

“So,” she said, still laughing, “you’ve been secretly watching your parents dance.”

“Tragically,” Kie replied, pulling her upright and shaking his head. “If my parents could see me now, they’d be so disappointed.”

“Or proud,” Tee said. “You’re passing on the tradition.”

He snorted. “I refuse.”

The song ended as they dissolved into laughter, abandoning any attempt at dancing. They leaned side by side under the gazebo, still sharing the earbuds, smiles lingering.

“Well,” Tee said, nudging him lightly, “thanks for the lesson.”

Kie smiled back, relaxed and warm. “Anytime.”

“Just… no dramatic dips next time.”

He grinned. “No promises.”

They headed back for breakfast, figuring it would be ready by then. Tee couldn’t help noticing Zod and Miko standing unnaturally close, laughing about something as they shared food onto their plates. She wondered what could be so funny.

Another group combat training. Tee’s growl echoed loudly in her head. She wasn’t interested in losing again, but she couldn’t let her teammates see her darkness. The red face and fiery, reptile-like eyes of the man who had spoken to her resurfaced in her mind. Claims of her being the savior of the world… rubbish. She was just a mistake, and the Harbingers were trying to blackmail her or use it against her. It was smart, but she wasn’t an idiot.

A loud boom in the air stole her thoughts away. That time, instead of scattering, they stayed nearby to fight. Zod held his breath and spun, delivering a deadly three-sixty blast. Everyone ducked, narrowly missing it.

With his chest flat on the ground, Kie summoned a sword and sent it spinning low toward Zod’s legs.

Zod sensed the deadly attack and leaped, cutting off the flow of energy from his fists. In the blink of an eye, swords came at him from all angles—each one from his wonderful teammates.

Zod’s life flashed before his eyes. His teammates hadn’t expected them all to strike at once. Realizing they’d given him no space to escape, the outcome was going to be brutal.

Surprisingly, Zod thrust out his palms, trying to blast away at least some of the swords before they reached him. Instead, the energy surged forward and curved around him, forming an energy orb. The swords bounced off, leaving him spotless.

His teammates gasped. Seeing that, the others scattered among the tall, decrepit buildings of the battlefield. Windows were shattered and smeared, doors rotten, dust everywhere.

It didn’t take long for Miko to find Tee. Miko had won the last combat training. Tee had been the first one out. It seemed the outcome would be the same when Miko appeared behind her in a flash, spinning with her sword edges aimed outward like a razor disc.

Tee summoned her swords and crossed them into an X to counter the attack.

Sparks flew, and she was pushed back.

When they stood feet apart, breathing hard, they took one last breath before charging again. With a sword in each hand, they sent sparks into the air as their buster swords collided. The sound gave life to the otherwise dead silence.

Then Tee caught a shimmer in the far corner of her eye—something approaching. Her heart sank. She switched to her foreseeing vision for a second and saw Zod perched on a rooftop, his blast already leaving his hand and heading straight for her.

Crap.

She had no time to react. All she could do was deflect Miko’s final whip of her sword and take the blast.

She shut her eyes as the force smashed into her right side, sending her tumbling and rolling. Her entire body ached, and she couldn’t get back up.

Above her, a low boom echoed through the sky. A hologram shimmered overhead.

—Tee: ELIMINATED—

Tee lay motionless on the ground, blood streaking from her mouth and nose. Again… she was the first one out.

Echoes of Kie’s words that she was weak ran through her head. But what could she have done? She couldn’t let her dark powers show in front of her teammates.

Over the next few days, training became déjà vu for Tee. The Commander insisted on group combat training to strengthen and reveal their unique abilities. Tee was always the first one out.

Before long, Saeda could create her energy orb at will. Her swords flamed brightly, and she claimed she was getting to the bottom of the interference affecting her aura-sensing.

Meanwhile, Zod learned to blast energy from his hands without holding his breath. He was also gaining control over his energy orb.

Kie could summon his crystallized Ultramana sword at will and was improving at creating energy constructs.

With sheer determination, Miko learned to vibrate her molecules to move through solid objects and was getting better at one-step teleportations.

While Tee watched her teammates develop their abilities, thoughts of being weak haunted her. It was made worse by Kie’s subtle hints.

“Come train with me at night,” he’d say. “It’ll just be the two of us.”

But all he did was remind her that, in his eyes, she was weak. It made her blood boil. An MG-off wannabe thinking she was weak? If only he knew what she was capable of.

The evening was cool when he told her, “How about we start small?”

The wind brushed his bangs as he looked past the tall grass swaying in the breeze.

“Work on getting your hands to glow again.”

The deep dimple in his cheek told her he was holding back a laugh. Tee didn’t get the joke. She made an annoyed sound and rolled her eyes.

She stood up and brushed off her skirt.

“Leaving already?” he asked, getting up to follow her.

Seeing not a trace of a smile on her face, he took her hand as they walked. She glanced at it, and the anger she’d felt toward him faded like steam. But then she pouted, realizing she’d just let a clever idea go to waste.

She should have dragged out her rage, eventually prompting him to want to make it up to her. Then she could have humbly suggested another steamy session with him. That would have mended any wound she had. Her mouth watered just thinking about it.

“Are you alright?” Kie asked, noticing her staring temptingly at the air in front of her.

She tightened her grip on his hand and pulled him closer. “I’m fine, Cooper. Just thinking about dinner.”

That, he understood. “Miko is such a good cook. I can cook a few things too,” he added.

Tee chuckled. “Sure. And that’s why your Mid-Guard Thursday Special is still in the back of the fridge, barely touched.”

Kie bit his lip. He couldn’t argue with that.

Thinking of his smoking abs and arms all over her made her heart pound. She decided to test her luck and stopped walking. Turning to him, she looked straight into his beautiful red eyes—but the words wouldn’t come.

He met her gaze and smiled. “Has anyone ever told you that you have beautiful eyes?”

Jack’s smile flickered through her mind. She frowned and looked away. Jack was dead, and so was Tetra.

Kie sensed he’d said something wrong and pulled her back to him. “Sorry. I thought that would come off as a compliment.”

“It’s not you,” Tee said. “It’s just that the person who used to tell me that all the time is dead.”

Kie pulled her closer and hugged her. She felt his heartbeat echo through her body.

“You and I are alike in so many ways,” he said softly. “We have no family. We have incredible powers. And we’re tasked with saving the world. We understand each other…”

Tee knew he didn’t truly understand her. She was a hybrid Xeno-victim, after all. How could he?

He continued, his eyes drifting into the distance. “What will we do once we defeat the Harbingers and go back to our normal lives?”

“Defeat the Harbingers?” Tee asked, doubtful.

“Yeah,” he said, his hand warm at the back of her head. “Legion’s getting slimmer. I can feel it—we’re getting closer to eliminating the Harbingers.” His arms tightened around her. “We can move in together. Buy a nice five-story mansion with a pool and training grounds… and plenty of rooms for the kids.”

Tee laughed into his neck. She hadn’t heard anything so crazy in a long while, but she decided to play along. “Sure. Primus will pay us for our services. We can afford it.”

“If not, we can always sue them,” he added.

“Or better yet, threaten them with our god-like powers,” she blurted.

There was a brief silence, then laughter.

“We obviously have nothing better to do right now,” he said.

“Whatever outing Zod has planned next sounds pretty good,” she replied, her arms tightening around his back. “Primus is getting to us.”

“Right now, we’d be in the Mid-Guard,” he said in a low voice. “The repetitive cycle of patrol, with the only breaks being deaths and Xeno-victim attacks every now and then.”

Tee nodded. “At least we have more freedom here. But if you’re that bored, there is something else we could be doing,” she added flirtatiously.

Their lips were close as she tugged at the belt around his waist, hoping he’d get the message.

“You are so thirsty,” he murmured low into her ear.

Tee felt her entire world shatter. She pulled away, unable to meet his eyes. She stuttered, “What? It—it’s so good.” Her eyes finally met his. “Don’t tell me you don’t enjoy it too?”

“No, no, that’s not it,” he rushed out. He lifted a hand to his mouth and whispered, “Technically, we aren’t committed yet. It’d be a shame if we had kids outside of wedlock.”

“We wear protection.”

“That’s not the point. My parents raised me better.” He covered part of his face and spoke sorrowfully. “I can’t believe you persuaded me into doing it twice.”

Tee’s eyes went wide. “What?” she blurted.

Kie shoved both hands into his pockets and started walking away, sensing an argument he didn’t want. “Let’s not talk about this. About that night training—what do you say?”

Those words again. She wanted to vomit.

“What do I say?” she asked, plucking berries from the nearest tree.

Kie noticed her movement and narrowly missed the berries she threw at him. That wasn’t the reaction he’d expected. He took off running, and she chased after him. They made light of the moment, laughter breaking through despite everything.

Saeda spent her days in the garden, hands buried in the soil as she planted flowers around Snicker’s grave. The quiet there was easier to bear than the house. She couldn’t stand being around Miko and Zod anymore. Te memory of seeing them tangled together still burned behind her eyes, sharp and unwanted. Kie had Tee. Everyone seemed to have found someone to lean into.

Everyone except her.

She told herself she didn’t want a romantic partner. She never had. Still, the ache remained—a simple, human longing for someone to share the small moments with, someone who chose her company. Snickers would have been perfect. He always was. He filled the silence without asking for anything in return.

But he was gone.

The empty cage in her room hurt more than the grave. His toys lay where he’d left them—untouched, motionless. Once they’d been flung across the floor, chewed and loved by a lively, happy creature. The stillness hurt the most. It was proof that something warm and alive had existed… and that it was never coming back.