Finn looked around desperately. Spotted a fire alarm on the wall near the door they'd come through.
He grabbed Peter and shoved him back into the corridor, then slammed his fist into the alarm.
The entire building erupted in sound. Sirens blaring. Emergency lights flashing. Automated announcements about evacuation procedures.
The guards in the staging area paused, confused by the sudden chaos.
Finn and Peter ran. Took the right path this time. Found stairs leading down. Descended three flights in a controlled fall, hands on railings to keep from tumbling completely.
The lower level was darker. Maintenance areas. Storage. The kind of places normal people didn't go.
Finn spotted a door marked 'Utility Access' and tried the handle. Locked.
He checked his system. Spark Capacity was regenerating but slowly. Maybe one point recovered every minute or so. Still nowhere near enough to use any abilities.
"Peter, the door."
"What about it?"
"Can you pick it?"
"I'm an inventor, not a thief! Well, okay, I guess I am a thief now but I don't know how to pick locks!"
Finn considered his options. Then noticed the hinges. External hinges. Poorly maintained and rusted.
He grabbed a piece of metal pipe lying nearby and wedged it between the door and frame near the top hinge. Leveraged his weight against it. The hinge groaned and started to give.
Peter caught on and grabbed another pipe, working on the bottom hinge. Together they pried until both hinges popped free. The door swung inward despite still being locked, the bolt ripping through the weakened frame.
They pushed through into a utility tunnel. Pipes and cables everywhere. Dim emergency lighting. It smelled like rust and stagnant water.
"This way," Finn said, picking a direction at random.
They ran through the tunnel, footsteps echoing. Behind them, more shouting. The security team had found the broken door.
The tunnel branched. Finn took the left path. Then right at the next junction. Just kept moving, trying to put distance between them and pursuit.
His Spark Capacity ticked up slowly in his peripheral vision.
[SPARK CAPACITY: 0/14 → 1/14]
Not enough to use anything yet but at least it was recovering.
Finally they hit a ladder leading up. Finn climbed, Peter right behind him. The ladder ended at a hatch.
Finn pushed it open carefully and cool night air rushed in.
They were outside. In an alley behind the venue. The sounds of the celebration were distant now, muffled by walls and distance. The fire alarm was still blaring inside but out here it was just background noise.
Finn climbed out and helped Peter up. They stood there for a moment, both breathing hard, covered in sweat and grime.
"We need to move," Finn said. "They'll check the exits."
"Right. Yeah. Okay." Peter was still catching his breath. "That was insane. That was the most insane thing I've ever done."
"You stole from a hero celebration. What did you think would happen?"
"I don't know! I thought we'd be quiet about it!" Peter looked at him, eyes wide. "But you... you saved me. You came back for me."
Finn didn't respond. Didn't know what to say.
"I mean it," Peter continued. "You didn't have to do that. You could've just left. But you came back and fought those guards and got us both out." He grinned despite everything. "You're a real friend, Finn."
The word 'friend' sat uncomfortably in Finn's mind but he just nodded.
"Come on," Finn said. "We need to get back to the outer districts before they lock down the area."
They moved through the back alleys, staying away from main streets and lit areas. Peter kept the conversation going, talking about how crazy the escape had been, how he couldn't believe they'd pulled it off, how grateful he was.
Finn let him talk. Nodded at the right moments. But his mind was elsewhere, replaying the events.
The chase had proven something important. His abilities worked. Phase Step was incredibly useful for mobility and escape. Spatial Blade could cut through almost anything when he needed it to.
But he'd made critical mistakes. Hadn't placed an Anchor Point before going in. That was stupid. If he'd set one somewhere safe, he could've teleported out instead of running through corridors and hoping to find an exit.
Next time he'd be smarter.
They reached the maintenance tunnels after an hour of careful movement through back alleys and service roads. Peter's access device still worked and they slipped back underground.
The trip back felt longer than the trip there. Exhaustion settling into both of them. By the time they climbed out near sector four, Finn's legs felt like lead.
[SPARK CAPACITY: 1/14 → 7/14]
Recovering but still not full. It would take hours to get back to maximum.
They stood in the street near the maintenance building, the outer districts quiet around them.
"That was something," Peter said finally. "But you know what? It was worth it." He patted his pocket where he'd stuffed the Spark amplifier. "With this, I can build something incredible. Something that'll actually help people out here."
"You're going to sell it, aren't you?"
"Eventually. Maybe. I don't know yet." Peter grinned. "But when I do figure out what to do with it, I'm splitting the proceeds with you. Fair's fair. You saved my ass back there."
Finn didn't argue. If Peter wanted to give him money, he wouldn't refuse it. Money meant resources.
"I should go," Finn said. "Need to get home before the patrols increase."
"Yeah. Yeah, me too." Peter hesitated. "Thanks again. Really. For everything."
"Don't mention it."
"I won't. To anyone. We never went anywhere tonight, right?"
"Right."
They split up. Peter heading toward his apartment in sector five. Finn walking back to sector three.
The streets were emptier now. Deep into night. Only a few people out, all of them looking like they didn't want to be noticed either.
Finn's mind replayed the events as he walked. The chase. The guards. Using his abilities in actual combat for the first time.
And the heroes. Standing on that stage. Being celebrated.
Marcus. Vanessa. Joel.
His tormentors. The people who'd held him prisoner and forced him to corrupt his own story. Now they were heroes. Beloved and admired.
The rage had cooled into something colder and more focused.
He couldn't fight them now. Not directly.
They were S-rank Awakened with teams and sponsors and all the advantages. He was a nobody with a system and abilities he barely understood.
But he had time. Had the ability to grow.
He'd get stronger, level up and master his abilities. Build the foundation he needed.
And then he'd make them pay for what they'd done.
Finn reached his building and climbed the stairs to his apartment. Unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The apartment looked exactly as he'd left it. Small and cramped. Everything he owned in one room.
He locked the door and pulled up his system interface.
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Finn Porter
Level: 3
Class: Spatial Reaver
Generation: 4th Gen
Stats:
Strength: F (21/100)
Agility: F (24/100)
Stamina: E (22/100)
Intelligence: C (58/100)
Spark Capacity: F (7/14)
Luck: E (25/100)
Active Skills:
Anchor Point (Lv. 1)
Phase Step (Lv. 1)
Spatial Blade (Lv. 1)
Passive Skills:
Scan (Lv. 1)
Spatial Cache (Lv. 1)
Skill Points: 2
Attribute Points: 0
Anchor Point sat there unused. The skill he should've activated before everything went wrong.
Finn walked to the center of the room and activated it.
[ANCHOR POINT PLACED]
[ANCHORS: 1/3]
A marker appeared in his system interface, showing the location. His apartment. A safe point he could teleport back to if things went sideways again.
He should've done this before. Should've thought ahead.
Next time he would.
Finn sat on his bed and stared at the ceiling.
Peter thought he'd saved him out of friendship. Thought they'd bonded through shared danger.
But now, alone in the quiet of his apartment, Finn let himself examine the truth of what had happened.
Why had he gone back? Why had he risked capture, fought guards, drained his Spark Capacity completely just to save someone he barely knew?
The answer came slowly, uncomfortably.
It was not friendship nor loyalty. It was not because it was the right thing to do.
He'd gone back because Peter was useful.
An inventor.
A genius with scrap technology. Someone who understood Spark-tech and could build things, fix things, reverse engineer equipment that would normally be inaccessible to someone like Finn.
And more than that, Peter was already operating outside the law. Already comfortable bending rules. Someone who wouldn't ask too many questions about what Finn was doing or why he needed certain things.
If Finn wanted to get strong enough to face the heroes, he'd need every advantage he could get. Peter could provide some of those advantages.
The realization sat cold in his chest.
He hadn't saved Peter.
He'd saved himself. Saved a future asset. A tool he'd need for the long game ahead.
Peter would never know that. Would go on thinking they were friends, that Finn had risked everything out of genuine care.
And Finn would let him think that. Because a grateful Peter was more useful than one who knew the truth.
'Is this what I've become?' Finn thought. 'Someone who calculates the value of people before deciding if they're worth saving?'
Maybe.
Probably.
Four weeks of torture had done that. Had burned away whatever idealism he'd once had about people and relationships and doing the right thing.
If Marcus and Vanessa and Joel could torture him while calling it help, could destroy his story while claiming they were saving it, could become celebrated heroes after everything they'd done, then Finn could use people without guilt.
Fair was fair.
He closed his eyes and let exhaustion pull him toward sleep.
Tomorrow he'd figure out his next move. How to get stronger. How to stay hidden while building power.
How to eventually destroy the three people who'd taken everything from him.
But tonight, he just needed rest.
And somewhere in the inner districts, five heroes slept peacefully in their expensive apartments, completely unaware that the author who'd created their world was planning their destruction.