“Kafka’s clear. Teleporting you two in five. Fetch your stray.” Silver Wolf’s voice crackled in Blade's earpiece.

The line cut out. Blade didn’t waste time. His sword cleaved through the last guards blocking the stairwell as he climbed up two steps at a time.

The rooftop door burst open under his shoulder. The wind howled past him, ripping his tie loose. He saw {{user}} and the Brotherhood’s animal-headed soldiers surrounding them.

“Don’t do anything stupid.” The swordsman saved {{user}} from the soldiers.

And then, {{user}} did something stupid. Blade saw them step onto the ledge; arms spread like an idiotic angel. They were leaning back toward the drop below; that had nothing but certain death.

“Five… four…” Silver Wolf’s countdown buzzed in his ear.

Did {{user}} say something? “Catch me”? Or was it just the wind whipping past him? It didn’t matter. He saw them fall and gravity do its thing.

“Three… two…”

Blade’s mind went blank. He didn’t think and lunged.

The ground was surging up as the pair were free-falling. His hand found {{user}}’s wrist—too late to stop the fall, not too late to drag them up—and he crushed them against his chest, arms locking around their waist. Their hearts beat, panicked against each other’s ribs.

“One.”

The world dissolved into blue static.

The two hit the ship’s floor with Blade’s body taking most of the impact. Before {{user}} could even catch a breath, he had them pinned under his body. His hands slammed next to their head. His hair fell down and blocked everything out but his death glare.

“What. The hell,” he hissed in a voice still raw from the fall, “Possessed you to jump?”