MEMELAND

The first thing Kai heard was coughing.

The second thing he heard was more coughing.

The third thing he heard was Andre.

"Ow."

Kai opened his eyes.

Dust filled the air.

The sky looked gray.

For a moment he didn't remember what happened.

Then he did.

The explosion.

The robot.

Udit.

The city.

Everything came back at once.

Kai slowly sat up.

Every muscle in his body hurt.

Nearby—

Andre was buried beneath pieces of wood.

Only his head was sticking out.

"Good."

Kai stood.

"You're alive."

Andre looked offended.

"Why do people keep sounding surprised?"

Kai ignored him.

Pulling debris away until Andre climbed free.

The thief stretched.

Then immediately regretted it.

"Definitely broke something."

"You say that every week."

"And I'm right every week."

Not far away—

A pile of rubble suddenly shifted.

Then shifted again.

Then exploded outward.

Eric emerged.

Covered in dust.

Covered in dirt.

Covered in things nobody wanted identified.

The architect looked around.

Then shouted:

"I'M ALIVE!"

A pause.

Then he added:

"UNFORTUNATELY!"

Kai wasn't sure whether that counted as optimism.

Another pile shifted.

Noah crawled out.

The engineer looked exhausted.

His clothes were torn.

His hair was a disaster.

His face was blackened by soot.

But he was alive.

The moment Noah stood—

He looked toward the horizon.

Toward where the GFR had exploded.

The smile disappeared from his face.

Nobody spoke.

Because there wasn't much to say.

The Manufacturing District was gone.

Entire blocks had vanished.

Buildings that had stood for decades were now rubble.

Smoke rose from countless fires.

The battle was over.

But the damage remained.

Far away—

Emergency bells rang throughout the city.

Not war alarms.

Rescue alarms.

A very different sound.

And somehow worse.

Soldiers moved through the streets.

Mages searched collapsed buildings.

Volunteers carried supplies.

Medical teams ran from one location to another.

The entire city was working.

Not to fight.

But to save whoever could still be saved.

Kai watched a group of guards pull a child from collapsed debris.

The child was crying.

The guard was crying too.

Neither said anything.

They didn't need to.

Nearby—

Andre looked unusually quiet.

A rare sight.

Kai noticed.

"You okay?"

Andre stared toward the ruins.

Then shrugged.

"Yeah."

The answer came too quickly.

Kai didn't push.

Some questions didn't need asking.

Meanwhile—

At the center of the destruction—

Alice walked through the ruins.

No floating platform.

No royal escort.

No grand entrance.

Just Alice.

Raj followed behind carrying reports.

Again.

Because life was unfair.

The Queen stepped over broken stone.

Past burned buildings.

Past rescue workers.

Past bodies covered with cloth.

The usual smug smile was gone.

Nobody approached her.

Nobody blamed her.

Nobody praised her.

The people were too tired for either.

One rescue worker noticed her.

Then simply nodded.

Alice nodded back.

Nothing more.

Raj watched quietly.

For once she wasn't complaining.

Because even she understood.

This wasn't the time.

Ahead—

Nish stood among military officers.

Reviewing casualty reports.

The commander looked exhausted.

The moment he saw Alice—

He handed over a stack of papers.

She accepted them.

Read them.

Then kept reading.

Her expression never changed.

Which somehow made it worse.

Raj knew Alice.

Knew her well.

Too well.

The Queen only became expressionless when something hurt.

After several minutes—

Alice lowered the papers.

Silence followed.

Finally—

Nish spoke.

"The center survived."

Alice nodded.

"Good."

"The eastern districts survived."

Alice nodded again.

"Good."

"The refugee camps survived."

A third nod.

"Good."

Then Nish hesitated.

The next words were harder.

"The Manufacturing District is effectively gone."

Silence.

Nobody spoke.

Alice looked toward the horizon.

Toward the smoke.

Toward the fires.

Toward what remained of an entire district.

Then quietly asked:

"How many?"

Nish answered.

Not immediately.

But eventually.

The number wasn't spoken loudly.

It didn't need to be.

Raj's face paled.

Alice closed her eye.

Just for a moment.

Only a moment.

Then opened it again.

The Queen returned.

Not because she wanted to.

Because she had to.

"Continue rescue operations."

Nish nodded.

"Already underway."

"Food distribution?"

"Started."

"Shelters?"

"Being established."

"Medical support?"

"On the way."

Alice nodded.

Then looked toward the ruins again.

Her city had survived.

But survival wasn't victory.

Not today.

Elsewhere—

Kai and the others finally reached a military checkpoint.

The guards immediately recognized the plaque Alice had given him.

Their attitudes changed instantly.

One guard nearly saluted.

Kai still wasn't sure how powerful a plaque with Alice giving the middle finger actually was.

Apparently—

Very powerful.

The group was escorted through emergency lines.

Medical personnel checked injuries.

Supplies were distributed.

Food was handed out.

Andre took enough for five people.

Nobody stopped him.

They were too tired.

Eventually—

The four sat together near a temporary camp.

Watching smoke rise into the evening sky.

Noah stared into the distance.

Eric remained unusually quiet.

Andre ate.

Because of course he did.

Kai simply watched the city.

Then asked the question everyone was thinking.

"Do you think Udit is dead?"

Silence.

Nobody answered immediately.

Finally—

Andre shrugged.

"Probably."

Noah looked unconvinced.

Eric looked unconvinced.

Kai looked unconvinced.

The silence itself became the answer.

Because people like Udit never seemed to die conveniently.

Far away—

Alice stood atop a ruined building.

Looking over the city she had protected for nearly two centuries.

The wind carried smoke through the air.

The fires still burned.

The dead were still being counted.

The survivors still searched for loved ones.

And for the first time in a very long while—

Alice felt tired.

Not physically.

Something deeper.

Older.

The kind of exhaustion only years could create.

Raj eventually approached.

Standing beside her.

Neither spoke for a while.

Then Raj quietly asked:

"Do you think it's over?"

Alice looked toward the dark horizon.

Toward the unknown future.

Toward the enemies who had returned after a century.

Then gave the only honest answer she had.

"No."

And somehow—

That answer frightened her more than the battle ever did.