"Are you sure this is a good idea?", JD asked in a soft voice as he glanced over to you.

With an annoyed expression, you rolled your eyes. Your fingers were tightly clawed into the seat of the raven, refusing to relax one single bit. Flying wasn't a problem, but the way Fahz navigated the huge thing was enough to make your stomach turn.

"I think you should shut up and let me help.", you replied and looked out the window. "At least in some kind of way..."

Below, a desert of red sand and stones. A wave of heat made the landscape tremble and chased the sand across mountains and dried out river beds.

"And you think we'll find them here?", you asked.

JD nodded. He seemed quite confident, but the constant movements of his body told you that he was nervous about something.

He had told you that the friendship was rough at the moment. You didn't have anything against him wanting to reconnect with them, but after the little stories that the others had told you, Kait seemed to be a bit much, someone you would try to get around unless it was necessary to talk to her. Del, however, sounded like a good guy.

Sand and dust mixed as a cloud in the air as the raven landed. The wheels almost sunk into the ground, but Fahz was a better pilot than expected, managing to land the bird safely.

As the door swung open, a heatwave struck you. Irritated by the sudden change of temperature, your body pulled together and goosebumps grew. The sudden movement of the skin pulled at the edges of your healing wound.

Struck by pain, you stumbled and almost fell out of the raven.

JD caught you.

"Are you alright?", he asked with concern in his eyes and wrapped his arms tighter around you. "If this is too much, you should rest inside."

Sighing, you swallowed the frustration that was growing inside of you and shook your head.

"I'll be fine.", you assured him and tested out if your legs would work on the uneven ground. "I just need to get into the control center. If the power works I can manage everything from there."

Understanding he nodded.

But before the two of you could get to work, Del and Kait came running. While he looked displeased but still hesitant, Kait looked like she was about to shred JD into pieces.

"I don't believe this...", she mumbled and gifted him a grim look. "I hope you're not here to stop us."

JD frowned.

"Actually..."

But she cut him off.

"Because you can't.", she hissed.

You frowned.

"Rude...", you mumbled and had to tighten your grip on his arm to not loose balance.

Confused, Kait eyed you.

"Who are you?", she asked in a tone that made you pull a face.

"That's (Y/N).", JD said and pushed himself in front of you in a protective manner. "And if you have a problem, talk to me."

Kait let out a huff.

"Oh? So you're bringing your lover here now?"

With a grim expression on his scarred face, he came closer to her.

"Yes. And believe it or not but (Y/N) will save your asses."

"We don't need your help!"

You laughed.

"I don't want to brag, but I'm quite good with satellites.", you crossed your arms in front of your chest. "And I heard you need a new one. For the Hammer of Dawn."

Struck by surprise, Del pushed himself between the two and looked at you.

"You can help?", he asked, almost with excited enthusiasm.

You shrugged.

"Pretty sure about that, but I'll have to take a look at the situation first.", you raised a thick folder, stuffed with many loose papers inside. "I did some research when I was younger. You know, fantasising about power like a maniac. I thought about how we could relaunch the Hammer. I guess today's the day we find out if my delusional thinking is worth something."

Del smiled. His eyes jumped to JD, so full of hope.
But Kait did not share his excitement. Frowning, she eyed you from top to bottom again.

"We don't want your help.", she insisted.

You shook your head.

"No.", you said drily. "But you need it. Most of the time those are two different things."

A low growl escaped her. But before the tempers could be let loose, JD raised his hands to calm everyone's nerves.

"We're here to help.", he said and looked at her and then at Del. "Dad told us about Mount Kadar. What you learned."

Kait crossed her arms in front of her chest. She looked so grim, so stubborn, that it almost made her appear like a brat.

Usually, you would have turned your back on a person like her. Human interactions were hard to handle, especially when the people you were talking to were acting as difficult as her. But you did this for JD, so, complaining wasn't an option.

"Why would we trust you?", she asked and raised her chin to glance at Del for reassurance. "After everything you've done. Or didn't do."

With a sorry expression, Del sighed and had to nod.

"True...", he mumbled and avoided JD's gaze. "So, what does Jinn think about you being here?"

"Jinn... doesn't know.", JD admitted and looked at you.

With a gentle smile, you squeezed his arm for reassurance.

"I wanted to be of help.", you said and raised the folder again. "You probably don't know, but I woke up from a long ass sleep and now I'm feeling left behind. But I can do my part. Just not in the field."

For a moment, Kait kept her mouth shut. With her lips pressed into a thin line, she looked around and frowned in surprise as her eyes fell onto Fahz, who was standing behind you.

"And let me guess...", she pointed at him. "He's here to pitch in too?"

JD smirked.

"Yeah.", he nodded. "Turns out Fahz isn't too bad."

You huffed amused.

"If you want to keep this marital dispute going, I would like to go inside first.", you limped past the group. "I can put things up in the meantime."

JD laughed.

"Hey, you know I would never marry someone else than you!", he complained but immediately blushed afterwards as he noticed what he just had said.