'Finally!' Tatehan thought.

He normally shouldn't be happy that this happened, but right now, he was. It meant that they were at least making some progress on their journey.

"We need to stop soon," Tatehan called back to Riven. "Core's almost dead."

"Alright. Find a clear spot," she replied.

Tatehan scanned the landscape and spotted a flat area with good visibility in all directions. There were no boulders for creatures to hide behind, nor were there strange rock formations that could conceal threats.

He slowed the bike gradually, bringing it to a stop. The engine's hum died down as the core's energy finally depleted completely.

[Core exhausted]

[Motorcycle systems offline]

Tatehan dismounted, stretching his legs. His muscles ached from maintaining the same position for so long. Riven climbed off behind him, also stretching, her joints popping audibly.

"Finally," she groaned. "My butt was going numb."

Tatehan walked around to the engine compartment and popped it open. The Shadow Goblin core inside had gone dark, its veins of energy completely extinguished. He carefully extracted it— it was still warm but inert now, just a dead piece of bio-mechanical matter.

He tossed it aside and reached into his inventory, summoning another core.

As he crouched to install it, he felt eyes on him.

He turned and found Riven staring at him intently.

"What?" he asked.

She didn't respond immediately. Just kept staring.

Then it hit him.

He wasn't wearing his helmet.

For the first time since they'd met, Riven was actually seeing his face.

"Oh," Tatehan said, suddenly self-conscious. "Right."

Riven's eyes were wide, scanning every feature of his face like she was trying to memorize it. His dark hair, still windswept from the ride. His sharp jawline. His eyes...

"You're..." she started, then stopped.

"I'm what?"

"You're actually really handsome," she said bluntly, no hint of embarrassment in her voice. "Like, annoyingly handsome. I was expecting scars or something. Maybe a weird nose. But no, you're just... conventionally attractive."

Tatehan felt heat rise to his cheeks. "Uh... thanks?"

"How old are you?"

Tatehan hesitated, not wanting to give away too much, but since it wasn't his real age anyway, he replied:

"Seventeen... uh... I think. Probably eighteen. Time's been weird."

Riven nodded slowly. "Same age as me..."

She kept staring.

"Are you going to keep looking at me, or can I install this core?" Tatehan asked, holding up the new Shadow Goblin core.

"Right. Sorry. It's just... you've been this mysterious armored guy for hours. Weird to see you're just a person under there."

"What did you think I was? A robot?"

"Maybe." She grinned. "Or an alien. Or a really advanced AI."

Tatehan shook his head and turned back to the motorcycle, slotting the new core into place. The Dust Rider roared back to life immediately, energy coursing through its systems.

[New core installed]

[Duration: One hour, twelve minutes]

"We should take a break," Riven said, pulling out her proximity alarm device and setting it down on the ground. "Drink some water. Rest for a few minutes."

Tatehan nodded. He reached into his backpack and pulled out one of the water containers. He took a long drink, the liquid cooling his dry throat.

When he lowered the container, he noticed Riven looking at him expectantly.

"What?"

"Can I...?" She gestured to the water.

"You don't have any?"

Riven shook her head. "Ran out yesterday. Been rationing what little I had left."

Tatehan felt a pang of guilt. He should have asked earlier. He handed her the container without hesitation.

"Drink as much as you need."

Riven took it gratefully and drank deeply, water dribbling down her chin. When she finished, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Thanks. I owe you one."

"You don't owe me anything."

They sat in silence for a moment, just resting. The Martian sun beat down on them, hot but not unbearable. The landscape around them was quiet except for the distant whistle of wind.

"How much farther?" Riven asked.

Tatehan pulled up his map overlay, checking their progress.

[Journey progress: 34%]

[Estimated time remaining: 4 hours, 47 minutes at current speed]

"A few more hours," he said. "We're making good time."

An hour and he'd covered this much, that meant he was going at an insane speed.

Riven nodded. "Good. I'm ready to sleep in an actual bed again. And eat something that isn't dried meat."

Tatehan smiled. "Same."

After five minutes of rest, they mounted the Dust Rider again. Riven wrapped her arms around his waist, and Tatehan revved the engine.

They took off again, the wasteland blurring around them.

---

Time passed in a strange haze. More barren landscapes. More scattered rock formations. More distant creatures they didn't stop to identify.

They stopped two more times to change cores. Each time, Riven would make small talk, asking questions about random things, about what life was like for him. Tatehan answered what he could, careful not to give too much away.

The sun began its descent toward the horizon, casting the entire landscape in shades of orange and deep red.

Then, finally, something changed.

Tatehan saw it first, a structure in the distance. Not natural. Man-made.

"Is that...?" Riven leaned forward, squinting.

As they got closer, it became clear. A signboard, weathered and faded but still standing. Large letters painted across it read:

**WAYTHON HOLLOW — 15 KM**

And beneath it, an arrow pointing toward a paved road.

An actual road.

He felt bloated with joy. Finally, he would see the advanced and colonized region of Mars, not the monster-filled wastelands he'd grown slightly accustomed to.

His eyes widened as he followed the arrow's direction. There, cutting through the desert like a dark ribbon, was a road. And on that road, he could see vehicles— actual working vehicles, not wrecks— moving in both directions.

Motorcycles. Trucks. Strange wheeled contraptions he didn't recognize.

Civilization.

Words flashed across his retina:

[Journey progress: 90%]

[Destination approaching: Waython Hollow]

[Estimated arrival: 34 minutes]

Tatehan felt something loosen in his chest. They'd made it. They were almost there.

"We're here," Riven breathed behind him, sounding almost disbelieving. "We actually made it."

Tatehan guided the Dust Rider toward the road, slowing as they approached the junction. Other travelers glanced at them as they merged into the flow of traffic, some curious, some indifferent.

No one seemed particularly surprised to see two people on a dust-covered motorcycle. This was Mars. Everyone had a story.

Tatehan accelerated slightly, matching the pace of the other vehicles.

The road stretched ahead, leading toward a cluster of structures visible on the horizon.

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