Xin reached the base just before night settled in.
The guards at the gate stiffened the moment they saw him. Blood stained his shirt. One sleeve hung torn. His boots left dark prints on the concrete.
Tara stepped out first.
She looked him up and down once. No shouting. No panic.
"Why are you bleeding," she asked.
Xin shrugged, casual as he could manage. "Was just playing with some puppies."
Alec snorted. Lila crossed her arms. Rion didn't react at all.
Tara raised an eyebrow. "Those puppies shoot back now."
Xin gave a half smile and walked past her. "They were annoying."
Everyone watched him move. The limp was slight but there. The way he held his chest was not subtle.
No one believed him. No one pushed it.
Inside the command room, the lights flickered like they were tired too.
Alaric stood near the console, staring at a screen that had not been there an hour ago. His face looked older somehow.
"Tara," he said. "We've been contacted."
She stopped. "By who."
Alaric swallowed. "The Masked Overseer."
The room went quiet.
"He sent a direct signal to me," Alaric continued. "Not encrypted. Not hidden. A message."
Xin leaned against the wall. "What did it say."
Alaric read it once more before answering. "That they are watching us. That we are allowed to keep moving for now. And that when they decide to close the hand, there will be no escape."
A pause.
"Basically," Alaric added, "it was a warning. Prepare for death."
Alec cursed under his breath. Lila shook her head slowly.
Tara exhaled and nodded once. "Alright."
Xin looked at her. "That's it."
"That's it," she said. "This place is burned."
They gathered everyone within the hour.
Families. Fighters. Medics. Anyone who could still walk.
Tara stood on a crate so people could see her.
"We abandon this base tonight," she said. "Not because we're weak. Because staying predictable gets people killed."
Murmurs spread through the crowd.
"We split into smaller groups," Tara continued. "Different routes. Different shelters. No more big targets."
She looked at Xin and Rion.
"You two," she said, "are not staying with the main group."
Xin straightened. "Where."
Tara answered without hesitation. "Droplin."
Xin froze.
Rion tilted his head. "Your old home."
"Yes," Tara said. "The city you and Kaila ran to after everything fell apart. It's quiet now. Overlooked. Good place to disappear."
Xin looked down at his hands.
Droplin.
Narrow streets. Rusted balconies. The room with the cracked window. The place where Kaila counted money at night and told him not to worry.
"She saved up," Xin said quietly. "For emergencies."
Tara nodded. "Then you go get it. Supplies. Anything useful. And you lay low."
Rion added, "And if Dive is watching."
"They will be," Tara said. "That's the point."
Later, Xin sat alone near the loading bay, wrapping his wounds properly this time.
Rion approached and sat beside him.
"You didn't have to fight them alone," Rion said.
Xin tied the bandage and shrugged. "Didn't feel like asking permission."
Rion almost smiled.
After a moment, Xin spoke again. "She always said Droplin was temporary."
Rion nodded. "Most safe places are."
Xin stood up and looked toward the dark road ahead.
"Then let's go back," he said. "One last time."
Behind them, engines started. People moved. The base slowly emptied.