"What does Father have to do with all this!?" Kane exclaimed, unsure if he should be happy or concerned with his arrival.
"Not as much as me, but he's not ignorant about it," Archy shrugged, a slight frown on his face. "He certainly shouldn't have had any idea this was happening today."
"Why do you look concerned?" Kane questioned with a frown of his own. "You are in the fourth stage and Father is in the third."
"He used to be…" Archy mumbled with narrowed eyes. "But I sense the power of fourth stage cybernetics from that hovercopter. Either he brought some of his bosses or… the Cartel promoted him."
As if suddenly ripping himself free from his own thoughts, Archy turned to Kane and Luna, his voice hurried. "There's still a few minutes left before they arrive, but it won't be time for you to jump before they do, so congratulations, you get a choice now."
His gaze intensified as he continued, "Either go back to the life you had, struggling constantly to perhaps someday get out from under your father's boot, or… take a literal leap of faith. I can't promise things will be better for you if you do, but you'll have a chance."
"The same goes for you, Miss Luna," he turned to the catling with a frown. "I highly suggest you stay. I'd even be willing to give you a place in the Cabal until your master returns."
"When or if?" Luna snarled, to which Archibald remained suspiciously silent. She turned to Kane and grabbed his arm. "The choice is yours, Master," she said with a gaze full of trust and devotion. "But I'm going with you no matter what you choose. I dare you to try and stop me."
Kane sank into thought as he stared into Luna's eyes. Around them, the Cabal enforcers had become a bustle of activity as they prepared for the hovercopter's arrival.
'I don't know what's going to happen to me if I jump off that edge…' Kane pondered. 'But this Archibald seems to think I won't be able to return to Riftshade for a while, assuming I survive in the first place, and that doesn't seem so bad.'
His realized something, 'Perhaps this is the chance that I've been waiting for? The chance to get away from Father and take the time to grow stronger before taking my revenge? Either way, whatever's on the other end of all this can't be much worse than my current life.'
Yet as he stared into Luna's eyes, he remembered that there was another life tied to his decision. 'Archibald said she would likely die if she came with me…'
He opened his mouth to talk, but Luna was ahead of him again. "Do not take the safe choice to try and protect me!" she growled.
"I don't need your protection!" she continued. "I serve you of my own free will and I can damn well choose to risk my life of my own free will! I know you want to take the chance and so do I! No matter the consequences!"
Kane closed his mouth again and couldn't help but smirk a little. "You know you're getting awfully mouthy for a Valkyrie. I might have to punish you a little to bring you back in line."
"Promises, promises," Luna grinned suggestively, knowing she had him.
Indeed, Kane sighed and turned to the impatiently waiting Archibald. "We'll jump. Together."
'No matter what, we'll be together,' Kane thought grimly. 'And if this ends in her death… I will burn Riftshade down to the ground.'
Archy looked at them with a strange expression before sighing helplessly. "Well, at least don't say I didn't warn you." A little struggle appeared in his eyes before he sighed again and reached into his pocket.
Before either Luna or Kane could respond, Archy used his superior strength to quickly close a bracelet around Luna's wrist.
"Hey!" Luna exclaimed indignantly while shaking her wrist and trying yet failing to rip the bracelet off. "What the hell?!"
Kane, too, finally drew his sword, held it in front of him with both hands, and glared at Archibald angrily. "What is that?!"
"It's a gift," Archy shrugged, uncaring for their threats. "I admire your loyalty, Miss Luna. Now take this," he handed a small device that looked like a timer to Kane. There were five minutes left on it. "When it reaches zero, jump. Not before, not after; exactly at zero."
Taking the device, Kane opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Archibald pushed two books into his hands as well. With a sly grin, he explained, "These techniques should suit you two well."
Stunned into silence, Kane and luna looked at the books in their hands. They were shocked. Suddenly, after four years of scrounging, this guy just hands them the thing they've been wanting most?
Quickly, Luna snatched the books from her master's hands, and stuffed them in her backpack before Archibald could chance his mind.
Kane actually felt the urge to thank Archy, despite the trap, but before either of them could say any more, the approaching hovercopter arrived and landed just behind them. "Kane!" a voice well known to them roared over their heads. "Step away from them!"
Father had arrived.
Kane turned to send a withering glare at his so-called father but didn't say anything. Instead, his eyes were full of promise for the future. "Come on, Luna," he turned and started moving towards the edge.
Behind them, a group of Cybers streamed out of the hovercopter and took position opposite the Cabal enforcers. "Kane!" Father roared again as he took position at the head. His expression was seething as he looked helplessly past Archibald and all the enforcers in his way.
"If you don't get back here, I will kill Luna!" he seethed loudly, intending to use Luna as the bargaining chip she was always meant to be in his eyes.
Kane staggered a moment. Years of living under Father's tyranny had instilled a sort of instinctive fear of his threats, making them seem inevitable. There was even a short-lived thought that this was all just another game of his.
But he knew that was bullshit.
Ignoring those thoughts, he kept walking until he stood at the edge together with Luna, their eyes fixated on the timer. Just two minutes were left.
Meanwhile, a thoroughly confused and anxious Nova was thinking to herself, 'What do I do now?! Should I just use this confusion to run?! But whose to say they won't come after me in the city?! I'll implicate the others too!'
As if answering her thoughts, Archibald turned to her, "Miss Nova, if you fight on our side today, not only will I not kill you, but I will give you a discount on our services. Predicated on the condition that you don't spread word of today's events."
That offer quickly settled the wolfling's thoughts. 'The others need me… and a discount on techniques and resources would improve so many of their lives,' she muttered inwardly.
After casting a strange glance at the pair of master and catling, she burned the image of their faces in her mind. It was clear they were apparently far more interesting than she first thought. Turning her eyes away, she drew the large sword on her back and took position next to the Cabal enforcers.
"Damn it!" Father exclaimed furiously, causing a bright smile to appear on Kane and Luna's faces. They had never heard him so helpless before, and that alone made this whole thing almost worth it.
But then, their smiles faltered when Father once again threatened Luna, "I can kill her Kane! Even from here!"
But nothing happened. There was no way for him to get passed the Cabal, so they quickly regained their calm.
"Attack!" Father roared and charged an amusedly grinning Archibald.
The two groups clashed, and sounds of fighting echoed across the early evening sky while the old bridge shook with the impacts of their fighting, making some of them wonder if the bridge would collapse before the fighting was done.
Meanwhile, the timer in Kane's hand had reached the last five seconds. "High probability of death. Small chance of success," he chuckled, and looked at the woman next to him.
"What are we waiting for?" she grinned almost excitedly.
Thus, in the soft orange glow of a late winter evening, they took a leap of faith.