Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 545: Four deaths.

Back in the forest, the battle was winding down, but the air suddenly felt ten degrees colder. A swirl of ice and electricity tore open the space right in front of the Kid Squad. Sunshine stepped out of the rift, looking less like a mother and more like a goddess of war. Immediately she ordered the hammer to smash every threat in the area that was still remaining. Then she turned to face the kids, no tears fell. Instead, shards of frost crystallized in her eyes, making her gaze look like frozen glass

Pico dropped his gun. "Uh oh. We’re in so much trouble. That’s the look my mom gives me before she throws a shoe at my head.

"It was not my idea." Earl blurted, legs trembling.

"Mom, I... I..." Ariel’s voice trailed off. He looked at his boots, the words dying in his throat as the cold air from her frost-filled gaze hit him.

Sunshine looked back at the injured adults, then at her dusty, bruised children. "Ariel, Earl" she said, her voice dangerously calm.

Leah gulped and said weakly, "Suni....they were...."

"My babies, my popsicles." Sunshine dashed forward, her boots skidding through the dusty yet bloody ground.

The frost that had been blooming from her eyes melted into warm, frantic tears. She threw her arms around her sons, pulling them into a hug so tight that Ariel’s ribs groaned.

"Mom, I cannot breathe." He complained, happy that she was not as mad as she appeared to be. In fact, given what had happened, he had no complaints about being hugged in front of his squad.

He was wrong because she was furious at his recklessness but a mother first. So naturally, relief came first. Then anger, disappointment, and the fear that had been suffocating her since Hades’ phone call finally began to lift, replaced by the reality of what had just happened.

"Don’t you ever," she whispered into Ariel’s hair, "ever do that to me again." She kissed Earl’s head. "What were you thinking by teleporting into the forest on your own? Wait till we get home, I will revisit this issue."

She pulled back, looking at the rest of the members of the kids’ squad that had sneaked out-- Pico, Lyra, Mickey, and Ala. They were covered in soot and smudges of blood. Some had dirt and leaves in their hair. They looked like a band of miniature troublemakers. Their parents would be so furious when they heard what the children had been up to. Some of them would even be pulled from the kids’ squad, perhaps.

Before she could start the scolding of a century, Phillip stepped forward, limping slightly. He gestured toward a group of weary-looking fighters standing near the tree line. "Ma’am, you need to meet them. This is Arwin and his group. If they hadn’t come when they did... we wouldn’t be standing here. They saved us."

Arwin stepped forward, wiping a smear of black grease from his forehead. He looked exhausted, the Dragonoid gun held loosely at his side. "I’m Arwin," he said, his voice gravelly. He looked back at his small group, and his expression darkened. "Too bad this is not a win we can celebrate; I have lost four men in this fight. There are only six of us left now."

"My condolences." Sunshine glanced at the bodies that were being gathered and laid on the ground by medics in exo suits. There were more than four. She turned her eyes back to Arwin. "Thank you for helping my people. I will repay the favor you have done for us. Might I be introduced to our saviors."

Arwin went ahead and introduced them, names and abilities. He was so open that Sunshine was shocked.

"Mom...." Earl tapped Sunshine’s thigh. "Old Simon."

Sunshine patted his head. The old man was a beloved elder on the base. The children loved his stories; most were about wars fought a very long time ago. His death would pain many. But it would also remind them that safety was not guaranteed in the apocalypse.

A heavy cloud of grief settled over the clearing. Sunshine looked at the battle-worn men and single woman and nodded with deep respect. Her eyes landed on one man in particular. She had seen his pictures before. "Eric?" she asked softly. "Are you the husband of Nina Rudolf?"

The man froze, his eyes widening. "I am. How... how do you know Nina?"

Sunshine managed a small, sad smile. "Your wife and your people reached out to us after your disappearance. They are part of Fortress Four now. They’re safe, they’re healthy, and they’ve been hoping for your return."

Eric’s knees almost buckled. He covered his mouth with a shaking hand, a sob escaping his throat. For the first time in what felt like years, he had a reason to keep breathing. The long brutal and tedious journey had truly been worth it.

"I’ll arrange transport for you," Sunshine promised. "We’ll get you to the other side of the mountain and have you settled in with your family. The rest of the people you brought too, they will receive a warm welcome."

They were led away by a team evacuating the area.

Then, it was back to grief. Sunshine looked around the clearing, listening to the officer that was taking a count of the survivors. "Not everyone is accounted for. Where’s Pamela? Stone and Geoff?"

Morris, looked at the ground, pointing to the body that had been cut in half. "Geoff, he didn’t make it. I found this half of his body up in a tree."

Alena, standing by a massive mangrove tree, pointed a trembling finger toward the roots. "There are two women over here, too. I... I moved them so the mutated beasts wouldn’t eat them. They’re over there."

Some people recognized Alena as part of Arwin’s group, why she had remained behind as others were led away was a question nobody wanted to ask at the moment.

Phillip identified them immediately. "It’s Pamela and Stone."

Silence fell like a heavy shroud. The joy of surviving vanished, replaced by the raw, stinging reality of war.

Mickey, trying to break the suffocating sadness, wiped her nose and muttered, "You know, more adults would’ve died if we hadn’t come. We actually helped."

Nimo, who had been standing silently by Sunshine, let out a harsh, disbelieving scoff. "Helped? What you did was stupid. It was reckless. You’re children! You could have been slaughtered before backup arrived! What would we have told your parents."

Ala stepped forward then, her small shoulders squared. "It wasn’t their fault," she said, her voice clear and surprisingly steady. "I forced them to come. I’m the one who teleported us here. If you want to be mad, be mad at me. I take the blame, so do not blame my teammates."

Sunshine’s head snapped toward Ala. The relief she had felt moments ago vanished, replaced by a flare of white-hot fury. "Ala, do not say another word," Sunshine snapped, her voice like a whip. "I am too angry to listen to a single excuse right now. You are right, this little trip is your fault. The adults that died out here, three of them are superhuman. If they were struggling against these beasts, what made you think you could beat them?"