She can't believe how evil these people are. She assumed they seized that bracelet after the attack. The idea of them taking it off one of her family members' corpses. They prove to be more than just evil, but purely diabolical. That's the same bracelet her mother gave her and her siblings. She snaps out of her thoughts as she notices Joe start pointing his gun at Dhati as she freezes. Niko runs and stands in front of her, shielding her with her body not caring if she gets shot in the process. The other three soldiers are on guard, waiting for a breath out of place to pull the trigger.
She points her gun at Joe. “Think about it and I'll kill you,” she tells Joe as he smirks.
“Kill who? You’re just a kid, what damage will you do?” Joe says smirking as he crosses his arms confidently.
“Believe me, if you're the target,” she says stitching her gaze between him and Mitchel, “I won’t miss.”
He laughs out loud as he starts to walk along the ship, belittling her by turning his back to her. She shoots one of the soldiers he had, to prove a point. Leaving only him, Mitchel and two other soldiers.
“Don’t be so reckless, Niko,” he says as her eyes widen slightly at him knowing her name.
“How do you know my name?” she asks out loud.
“Don’t act all surprised, we are well acquainted with each other, aren’t we?” he asks her looking devilishly.
“You won’t shoot me, you’re not a killer,” he says mocking her.
“You wouldn’t want them to follow in your family’s footsteps now, would you?” she glares as she follows him with her gun.
“You must miss them,” he says as he walks along the ship towards one of the soldiers and Mitchel.
She gets so angry that she wants to shoot him right there, she doesn’t care if a bullet goes into her head, as long as she gets one into theirs first. But she needs to be aware and cautious that she’s not the only one on that ship.
“Don’t even mention them,” she says as the grip on her gun tightens.
On the ship, there are her and three other soldiers, each protecting Dhati, Nevan, and Akit since they are handcuffed. As well as Joe, Mitchel, and the two other soldiers against them. If any of them start shooting someone will get hurt or worse, killed and she couldn’t risk that. Niko has to think of a way to get out of here, she needs time to think, and a way to distract them.
She hears Anu in her earpiece asking her. Are you okay? did you get to them safely? what’s taking so long? But she can’t reply to any of his questions.
“So sad they had to die,” he adds faking a sob. “But damn that island earned us a lot of money.”
“Good thing is, you didn’t lose everyone, I mean one of them survived,” he adds mockingly.
She replies thinking he is referring to her. “I would’ve rather died with them.”
“He is not referring to you,” Mitchel corrects, smirking as he clasps the soldier that was wearing the familiar bracelet on the shoulder.
She then notices that he not only wears the same bracelet as her but also shares the same red eyes. The gears in her head are working overtime. It can’t be, he can't be alive.
“Where did he get that?” she asks, referring to the bracelet the boy is wearing. When no one replies she screams the question again.
“Why don’t you ask him?” Mitchel adds, as Niko shifts her eyes to the boy, but the gun still pointed at Joe.
The boy replies hesitantly, “It's mine,” and adds in a lower voice. “My mother gave it to me.” He pauses a moment before continuing, “Our mother.”
She is dumbfounded but she can’t show it, she can’t show that she is falling apart. Everything clicks, he looks like her, the bracelet. The wound on his shoulder that she just noticed, he is the figure at her old village.
“No, my brother is dead, you killed him,” she says, in denial, turning to Joe.
“Well, surprisingly he made it. You should be happy,” he says sarcastically as he stands behind him, pressing his hand on Kiro’s wounded shoulder as he winces.
Her gun then is pointed at her brother as well, she wants to make sure that is him.
“What was the name of our little sister?” She says pointing the gun at her brother as the soldiers on Niko's side are pointing their weapons at Joe, switching their gaze between him and Mitchel. Niko never spoked of her sister to anyone since she died, didn’t even mention her name to anyone other than Dhati.
“Rora,” He adds adjusting his grip on the gun. “She loved the water.”
Niko's world is unraveling, with threads from her past and present tangled into a chaotic knot. He confirms that he is indeed her brother. The weight of the gun in her hand feels like an anchor. Rora—the name echoes through her mind like a fragile whisper, threatening to break her. Niko’s fingers tremble, torn between vengeance and concern. She wants justice for her family, for the life stolen from Rora and her parents. But she also sees the fear in Dhati and the others’ eyes.
As the standoff continues, Niko is falling apart emotionally, the weight of her choices threatening to drown her. Yet, even in her turmoil, she clings to the remnants of love—the memory of Rora’s laughter, the memories of her parents. How could he do this? How could he stand with those who had shattered their family? The gun feels heavier now, not just a weapon, but a symbol of her fractured soul.
“How could you do this? How are you on their side after what they did?” Niko asks as her voice breaks, gripping the gun tighter.
“I thought you were dead,” She says on the verge of tears. “I mourned you.”
She then adds as her face gets sterner, “How do I show you how much I missed you, in a way that will make your heart ache as much as mine did all these years.” She says a tear falling down her cheek.
“Niko, they are not going to hurt you. They promised me.” Kiro says convinced, putting his gun down, trying to explain himself.
“They’d made everyone I love die! “ she screams, almost pulling the trigger. “I was ten, how could you do that?”
She answers her own question, “you know why? Because you’re a coward” another tear fell down her cheek as she looked at him, her brother.
“Hate to break this heartwarming reunion but, you have two options,” Mitchel interrupts pointing at Niko, “either take us to your island peacefully, for us to take what we want and leave, or we do this the hard way.”
He adds smirking, “Either way, You know I’ll get what I want.”
Mitchel and Joe raised their guns again, pointing it at Dhati, Akit, and Nevan who had been standing behind the three soldiers that entire time.
“And you know I’ll fight,” Niko growls.
She doesn’t care if she dies that day, but she won’t let Anu, Tul, Neyt, and Sur feel the way she has been feeling for the past eight years. Anu is still trying to reach her through the earpiece, but she still can’t respond. They have retreated from the other ship and are heading to the one Niko is at. Since both ships are far apart, it is going to take a while.
At that moment, a neigh is heard from the sky, everybody looks up and sees it is Teyluk’s horse as he shoots an arrow straight through Mitchel’s head, killing him on the spot. The other soldiers immediately take cover while Joe, Kiro, and the other soldier fire back, grabbing the three kids with them.
“Take them and go, Your dad is waiting for you down there,” Niko says pointing down at the water.
“What about you?” Dhati asks worried as she holds Niko’s shoulder.
“I need to get Teyluk, now go!” She demands as she pushes them in the water.
Before she turns around, she is startled by a body being thrown into the water; apparently, one of Joe's soldiers was following them, but Teyluk shot him with a gun he found on board. He lends her his hand to help her get back on deck, and they both smile briefly.
“What is it with you following me?” She remarked.
“I am really good at it, apparently.” He smiled confidently.
The stood there until they are interrupted by a bullet fired behind them, causing them to scramble for cover. On that ship, Niko and Teyluk are pitted against Joe and Kiro, and they all hide while firing at each other.
“Leave,” Niko demands as she reloads her gun, not wanting to look Teyluk in the eye.
“No, forget about it. I’m not leaving you,” he replies assertively, refusing to leave her alone in that mess.
“Your parents are waiting for you down there,” she finally looks in the eyes kindly.
They then notice that, despite the fact that shots are fired, none of them are directed at them. When they try to look discreetly, they discover that Kiro is the one who has been shooting at Joe to protect them.
“Go and don’t look back,” she says turning back to Teyluk, he replies by shaking his head aggressively.
“Do you trust me?” She adds looking him in the eyes, he nods gently.
“Then, I’ll be right behind you,” she adds looking back. “Make sure Dhati and your sibling are safe.” He jumps, hesitantly. But decides to wait for her on the lower deck not wanting to leave her. He doesn’t want to as the only people remaining up there are Joe, Kiro, and Niko.
She resumes firing at Joe and notices that her brother doesn’t turn to shoot her. They fight until their bullets run out; she hears footsteps running away. It is her brother, running away as soon as his bullets run out as well. She has to think of a way to kill joe and avenge her family. She won’t leave unless he is dead, for her parents and sister.
“How about we do this the old fashioned way,” she shouts trying to provoke him as she gets her knife out. “Or are you afraid of a girl beating you in a fight.”
Joe replies get out walking towards the middle of the ship, ready to fight. “C’mon kid, I’ll finish you and head back for dinner.” Then adds smirking, “Just like I finished your family, quick and easy.”
She is filled with rage when she charges at him attacking him throwing, and receiving hits, Niko with her knife and Joe with his fists. Niko is a skilled fighter, but Joe has more experience and is larger in size. He finds a clearing and punches her in the stomach, flinging her across the deck, groaning. She stands up holding her stomach with one hand and the knife with the other. He walks towards her grabbing her by the neck, holding her up high that her feet are off the ground. He chokes her so hard that she has to let go of the knife to try and free herself, but in vain.
Teyluk, Dhati, and the others can see her struggling from the lower deck, they are waiting for her to go back together. Teyluk stands up to go help her when Dhati holds him back,
“Don’t,” she says sternly, trusting that Niko has a plan when in fact she doesn’t.
She is suffocating, on the verge of passing out when she hears a gunshot. She thinks it is the end, that she is shot. But she falls on the ground as she crawls back, realizes Joe has been shot. Kiro shot him, he comes back. She lies on the ground, gasping for air as she clutches her neck. Kiro throws the gun away and rushes towards her, trying to help her up but she pushes him away. All of a sudden, another shot is heard, it comes from behind them, Joe gets ahold of the gun and fires at them.
Kiro takes cover and Niko hurries off to hide as he leaves her to fend for herself, once again. She contemplates jumping above the rail and leaving them both end each other. She jumps to land in front of Teyluk and the others. He rushes towards her, checking her neck for injuries. After he makes sure she is fine and takes a deep breath, he stays close to her. She and Dhati order the others to jump in the water and get to their parents. As Niko gets behind Dhati to leave, she holds her back.
Her parents used to say that family always comes first but is family by blood and family by choice the same. Does Kiro deserve to be called family after what he did? She can’t leave Kiro behind, not after she just got him back, not without answers.
Dhati notices and says “Go! We’ll be waiting right here.”
She is referring to herself and the Poteks. She turns to look at Teyluk, he gives her his bow and arrows. As he hands them to her, he doesn’t let go.
“Be careful!” he demands.
“Are you worried about me?” She replies, teasing him trying to lighten the mood.
“Hells yeah, I am.” He answers affirmatively. She didn’t think he’d admit it in front of everyone.
Niko decides to go back to help Kiro fight off Joe with Teyluk’s bow and arrow. Once she gets on the ship, she hides behind a wall. Joe can be seen clearly as he lays on the ground firing at Kiro. Apparently, he is shot in the thigh, which is why it wasn’t fatal. She shoots an arrow at him, and it strikes his arm, causing him to drop the gun. Niko then motions for Kiro to run towards her and exit the ship, and as they jump, Joe leans on the rail and fires one last shot before falling to the ground.
The Rivens fall into the water, Teyluk holding onto Niko as they take off, and Dhati takes Kiro, swimming to their parents with their serpents. None of them notice Niko is shot in the left shoulder.
ns 18.68.41.175da2
