《The DT Journals》


 Chapter 1: Awakening

    "I hope you''ll understand one day" Those were the last words I heard during my normal life, I never understood what it meant, even now. Eventually, after what felt like a lifetime, my eyes opened, and yet, I had no clue what I was looking at, it looked like a ceiling, yet, in my mind, I was meant to be dead, and here I was, I could feel the bed under me, I could hear the flipping pages of a book every now and again.


    "Oh, you''re alive" I heard a seat move and then, a black-haired guy who I assumed to be in his thirties looked at me. "Welcome back to the world of the living" I went to sit up until my entire back felt like a hammer hit it. "Woah...relax, you just died"


    "Wh-who...are you..?" Though it hurt to speak, I managed.


    "Kai, do you remember your own?"


    "Lee..." He waited "Just...Lee"


    "You don''t remember anything?"


    "I remember...it''s just, my friend''s family took me in"


    "Ah...right..."


    "So...where am I?"


    "Eaxura, it''s a home to over 500 million people" It had to register for a moment, what I just heard didn''t sound right in the slightest. "It''s more of an estimate, but, it''s close to being right, listen, all of this will be explained, right now, I need to see if you can stand if you''re able to talk" I grabbed the railing beside my head and begun to pull myself up, it felt like I was being shot a million times over, yet, I was able to manage, and although I had to lean on the railing, I was sitting up. "A bit more, come on" He didn''t help at all "You got a nice surprise waiting for you, but I ain''t gonna carry a lifeless body" With one more painful push I managed to stand, yet, I was now resorting to leaning on the walls. "Good enough, come on now" I looked around the room as I limped my way forward, there were a few things, I was connected to a high tech machine until I woke up, there were a few cabinets filled with things, a wheelchair, and as we almost made it out of the room, a closed door with a caution sign.


    "Isn''t that...?" As we left the room, a few people commented on us, yet, I couldn''t tell who exactly they were referring to.


    "Shut up! They''re gonna hear"


    "Focus on the cleanup, the trials need to be perfected this year" An arm grabbed me and turned me to a door.


    "You were straying too far"


    "Sorry..."


    "Whatever, so, beyond this door, is something that''s going to seem unreal"


    "I think being brought back from the dead is unreal enough"


    "Well, yes, but there''s more...nevermind, just go in" I grabbed the knob of the door and twisted it, moving myself forward so it would open, as I took a few steps into the room, I was greeted by three others conversion with each other. A familiar pink-haired girl who was hyper, the blonde girl who might as well be a doctor already, and the blonde guy who was itching to get back to work, all of them however, were my childhood friends, they were each bandaged differently, based on how they died when we were human.


    "How..." Even though I was quiet, Sam perked up and saw me, if she could she would probably break through the ceiling, instead though, she jumped up and ran to me ready to tackle, until she was met with the hilt of a sword, sadly, with the momentum she had, she couldn''t stop herself from hitting it. I jumped back slightly from it, Kai seemed unfazed, and Sam seemed annoyed.


    "Come on! Really?" She held her nose


    "Kid can barely walk as is, give it a rest" She didn''t respond, at first I thought it was from the response I got, but I noticed she was looking up at my head. "Oh right, I forgot" He grabbed a piece of my hair and pulled it forward.


    "Heyuh!" I staggered forward a bit.


    "Look" It was hard to see considering my hair was still close to my face, but even I could see that it changed color to a pink-ish white.


    "Looks good on you!" Sam was approving of it.


    ''That''s because it''s similar to yours" Nicholai walked over with her arms crossed "Though I will say, it''s way better than the green...I do have to ask, Lee is the most physically fit compared to the rest of us, why didn''t he wake up first? Even if it''s not being fit, Sam would wake up before us considering her energy"


    "It''s hard to explain, Lee was shot through the eye, hence your vision"


    "My vision is fine"


    "You have a bandage over your right eye"


    "I...do?" Kai looked confused, with a slight ting of worry.


    "Nevermind...Anyways, if you haven''t noticed by us bringing you back, magic is a thing, however it works slightly differently, Bonds, Links, Corruption magic, magic, DT Magic"


    "DT Magic?" Kenneth commented


    "That''s what urked you?" Kai sighed. "Listen, let''s get the bad part out of the way, you all are no longer human, instead DTs, resurrected beings reborn to live the life they couldn''t, however, there''s currently a war going on between The Reunion, and us, it''s how our magic has gotten more lethal or potent, there''s another threat, called corruptors, they have a way to nullify our magic and with every person they kill, another person is brought to their side, they look nothing like humans, more so horrific beasts brought to life, because of that, I have to say, the purpose of DTs have been lost, instead, we''ve been fighting wars in other worlds, multiverses, and dimensions, and thus, even though I don''t want teenagers to, I still have to ask if you''re okay with joining" It was a lot to take in, by joining we''d become soldiers. "Now, I''m not saying I''m gonna kill you guys if you say no, if you say no, we''ll just get you all housing and we''ll handle it with the people we have, it''s up to you all" I was waiting for everyone to give an answer first, yet, they all looked to me.


    "What?"


    "Well, you were practically the leader during our human lives" Sam chipperly reminded me.


    "Well...Not all of us are fighters..." I looked at Nicholai and Kenneth, Sam could fight, but...she had a bit of an issue when it comes to that.


    "We don''t have to be" Nicholai looked at Kai "There''s healing magic no?"


    "There is" Kai quickly responded


    "Then I''ll be your medic, and Kenneth can handle any tech."


    "You all get magic and I still gotta use tools...also...you still owe me my bot"


    "Dave? He''s being fixed"


    "The hell you do!"


    "Listen, Dave won''t be able to keep up being a normal bot, so we''re adding the capability for him to get links and bonds too" Kenneth calmed down a bit after he was told that, seemingly understanding.


    "The links and bonds...what are they?" Sam asked.


    "Well, they can typically be used interchangeably, but they do have their differences, Links...actually, we''ll start with bonds...bonds, are what you all have with each other, when you learn how to use the HUD you''ll probably see it, bonds are made from special connections with others, whether it''s enduring a nightmare together, fighting a war together, or simply spending a long time with them, there are typically 5-7 levels of a normal bond, and the more special ones reach 8-10, bonds can form new abilities...an example, Lee, Sam, your roses" Sam looked a bit stunned by the comment. "Sam tends to roses, and Lee helps, even eventually growing his own plants and roses, though this is probably far off, you could probably form an attack or support move based on it, like...maybe burning a fire into a rose...or using roses to heal each other, regardless, both parties are needed to use it" I recall my mind numbing the longer the explanation went. "Links do not require a strong bond, and instead can be formed, however, a strong bond automatically forms a link, links are ways to mimic your link''s powers, if Sam has fire moves Lee doesn''t, they link, and now they permanently have each other''s powers, there is a downside...I''ll use video game terms to better explain it, in RPGs or other games with magic, you have MP, when you use your link''s power, you use your link''s MP, not your own, while us DTs can still use magic without MP, it instead exhausts us overtime, there have been links where they share MP, as in their total MP goes together...though, that''s less common, but not rare either. Links can form from anyone, as they are manually set, thus, if it comes down to it, you can link with an enemy to take out a greater evil, and while links can be broken, it''s more difficult. Understand?"


    "S...sorta?" Was the only response Sam could give.


    "You asked, you got it explained"


    "That''s true..."


    "So, what''s the answer here?" Once again, the four looked to me for a reply


    "We''ll join" Kai smiled


    "Good to hear, Nicholai and Kenneth aren''t fighters right? In that case, we''ll give them a quick training session, for you two" He looked to Sam and I "We''ll go meet Raymond, Neal!" Soon, a person wearing a uniform with a box with an antenna on the back, walked in "Take care of Nicholai and Kenneth"


    "Understood sir! Come along now" With a bit of hesitation, Kenneth and NIcholai went with who I assume is Neal, leaving us with Kai.


    "Let''s get going, you two aren''t gonna be used to warping or portal hopping, so we''ll take the human way" Kai led the way for us, it didn''t take long to leave the building, but when we did, it was startling to see how massive this place was, I could see tall buildings miles away, and a bunch of people were walking about. "Welcome to Eaxura, home to 500 million people, and not a single person is crowded" We walked with Kai, while Sam and I just gazed.


    "ooha...if only I had my camera" Sam slouched a bit, slightly pouting.


    "By the way, what exactly happened? I get how you all died, but I don''t exactly get what started an outbreak"


    "We don''t know either, we kept searching for an answer for two years...never found one"


    "I see..." It was a long walk, it wasn''t silent though, people and kids were running about, everyone of them acted like nothing had changed...not only that, but some of the kids didn''t look at all related to the parents they were with, i guess while some of the parents may have lived...a lot of children would die in the outbreak...schools included...


    "What''s wrong?" Sam leaned over so she was in my vision, breaking me from my thoughts.


    "Just thinking, about if we had gone home that day"


    "Oh...I think about it too, two years of searching and I never found them, not as zombies, not as humans"


    "And we wouldn''t keep you apart from your family" Kai pitched in the conversation.


    "How would you know though?"


    "The pink hair, it''s natural, just like how Lee''s new hair color is his natural color"


    "The hell it is!"


    "Believe what you want, and stop complaining, it looks good on you" I didn''t comment back, looking closer, while there were still a decent amount of people with your average natural hair like, black, brown, ect, ect, the rest had colored hair, and the families that looked related, the kid would always have the colored hair even if a parent had normal hair...was colored hair more of a dominant trait? Maybe that''s why I had this hair, maybe my mom or dad had it...but that meant my hair got dyed...with something stronger than normal hair dye...as even coloring my hair green had to be done every few months, but not the brown hair I was ''born'' with. With my pondering getting cut again, we had arrived to what looked to be a massive stadium, I couldn''t see the top, hell, the entrance looked like a mini pebble compared to the rest of the thing if I recalled right.


    We stepped in the building, people who were clearly from different walks of life from each other, were sitting around the room, either talking with each other, or prepping whatever weapon they had. We however, didn''t wait, we got into an elevator and started going up.


    "You have the power to summon your own weapons you know" His blank expression didn''t change, he just looked forward at the door, waiting for it to open. "Each person''s weapon is linked with their soul, breaking it is near impossible, and you can summon it mostly wherever...though I can''t say what it is, as it''s different for everyone" I tried making a motion, like grabbing a weapon from nowhere, yet nothing happened, I could hear Kai scoff, yet he made no comment, I kept trying a myriad of things until the ding of the elevator alerted us we had made it to the floor we wanted.


    Kai didn''t really wait for us, he walked out the elevator and towards a door at the end of the hall.


    "Need me to slow down?" He said it in a condescending tone.


    "I can catch up"


    "I don''t doubt that" The comment was instantly after I spoke. While we were still catching up, Kai made it to the door and knocked on it "I got em"


    "Come in!" Though it was very faint, the voice was still audible. Kai opened the door as we had finally caught up. We stepped inside and looked around, it was a decently sized office, with the desk in front of the window, bookcases were to the walls beside the door frame, and a small table was close to the desk, with a book on it. A man, with what seems to be the same age range as Kai, was standing next to the small table, a moment after seeing us, he went to his desk and sat down. "Welcome, it''s not much, but this is where I am most of the time" Sam and I took a few steps forward. "You probably have a lot of questions, so feel free to go ahead and as-"


    "Eaxura, what is it?" I asked the moment I got a chance.


    "It''s a dimension, and a city, we use the term Eaxura as both, Eaxura is our massive city, divided in 4 districts, each led by a district ruler, we have a few people defending it too, the CEF, CSF, DTs, we had another group...but the ship they used was destroyed, and repairing it takes years"


    "What''re the CSF and CEF?" Sam asked her own question.


    "Corruption Suppression Force(CSF) and the Corruption Elimination or Extermination Force(CEF), though, the CSF''s name is sorta misleading, as they don''t only deal with corruption, but acts more as a...police force in a way, a very talented police force, helping and aiding multiverses"


    "Should I assume our multiverse has a name like games too?"


    "You''d be right Lee, ours, is Zullo"


    "Zullo?" It wasn''t the name I expected...


    "We didn''t name it, DTs have been around for lifetimes, the people who named it are long gone, the name will grow on you, anything else?"


    "The links, how are they formed" I had only one more question after this.


    "It''s a painful process, however, that''s only for creating the cuff"


    "Cuff?" Sam chipped in


    "Links are like chains linked to wrist-cuffs, the cuffs only appear when links are being used, or when you summon it, its design changes on the person you''re linked to along with its capabilities"


    "One more thing"


    "Go ahead"


    "This stadium, is it for the trials I heard about earlier?" Raymond nodded


    "We can''t accept less than par DTs, as such, we hold trials, as the name suggests, it''s like a...damn what is it...just think of it like surviving in the wild against other people, it''s typically something that lasts a few days, last time we did it, someone tried breaking in and causing chaos...but nevermind that, the culprit was dealt with, to win, it''s simple, through any means, be top 4, everyone is a rookie to DT powers, and all the magic and what not, there will be guides that you can upload to your HUD"


    "What if we don''t find the guide to open this HUD?" Raymond shook his head at Sam


    "The HUD will open automatically when you get a guide...overall though, that''s it, anything you wonder about will be answered during the trials, or after it"


    "Actually" I spoke up once more as Raymond was getting up. "Why us?"


    "Hm?"


    "I may be wrong, but, people are waiting downstairs, probably waiting longer than we have, so, why are we prioritized?" There was a second of silence before Raymond responded.


    "DT Magic, tends to be unique to one person, though sometimes there are copies...although those have slight differences...an example would be, cloaking their entire team, or making their eyes detect heat signatures like an IR sight, you get it...yours, is something we have to worry about"


    "And why is that?"


    :"If I told you, then when you find the guide on how to use it, you''d get people hurt"


    "Wha-


    "It''s harder to use magic when you don''t know what the magic is, that''s another thing, besides for DT magic, and other rare occasions, so long as you know how to do it, and how to look while you do it, and have done it before, you can use the power, meaning, if you were somehow to forget your memories and your powers get reset, or maybe another timeline begins and you''re still conscious of the previous one, you can use the power"


    "Other timelines?"


    "Some people get the power to time travel, thus creating new timelines, however, sometimes people mess up, and drag everyone with them"


    "So instead of just rewinding, they create a branch in time" Raymond nods at what I said


    "Perhaps it was a way for the gods to prevent paradoxes, like killing your younger self or something"


    "Gods?"


    "Zullo has gods, this entire multiverse, is filled with gods, Zaya, Ichor, Askeesh, ect, ect, though, they went missing ages ago...I wouldn''t doubt someone finds them, there''s only so much room, oh, if you find them though, be careful, they''re gods for a reason." The two of us nodded "Also, Kenneth and Nicholai will be sent into the trials with you later on, probably a day or two after...so, will that be all?"


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "Yeah...think so" I crossed my arms, all of this, was much more than just a lot, even now.


    "Before I forget" Out of nowhere, Raymond summoned two IDs "This is for you two" He handed the IDs to me, they had our pictures and names...when the hell did they get this? I thought to myself, yet, I considered the idea that, they knew when we died, perhaps they just used our school pictures. I handed Sam hers while I clipped mine to the center left of my jacket. "There''s not really a uniform for DTs, that''s mostly for CSF, so just wear what you want. Oh! You two know what loadouts are right? Like a preset in a game?"


    "Yeah?" I replied while Sam clipped the ID on her jacket.


    "Well, there''s a thing for that with us, but it''s more so for outfits" Without delay, and without a second even passing, Raymond''s outfit changed to a more formal uniform "Tada" His voice was monotone. "The way to do it is easy as well, but it requires the hud. That''s all, good luck, and find your way"


    "Find our way?"


    "Me and Kai have to go somewhere and deal with something important, it''s not a far walk, just take a left after you leave" I turned around to Kai who was already gone.


    "Guess we better get to it!" Sam started walking before she came to a stop. "Wait...you said be the last of a few teams standing, does that imply we could just die again...or that we have to kill other people?"


    "Yes" Raymond said with a straight face, there was a moment of silence until he continued "But don''t worry about dying or killing, So long as the tower stays up, none of us can die in Eaxura from each other"


    "But we can die from outsiders" I made the point


    "Yes, however, Eaxura can''t be warped to or even seen on any teleporters, warping, magic, at all, unless we allow it." Even I can''t deny that''s one good defense, how they did it though, even to this day I wonder. "Now, get out there and win!" It was worrying that we had someone so important rooting for us...and the reason being unknown.


    Regardless, we got back on track and went out the room, taking a left.


    "I guess in a way we''re gonna be heros!" Sam seemed somewhat happy, yet somewhat gloomy. "I didn''t think it would involve hurting others though"


    "Do you think you''re gonna be alright?"


    "Hm" it wasn''t exactly an answer


    "Sam"


    "hmhm?"


    "I need a yes or no"


    "I don''t know" it was an answer that I had to take, especially when we came across a bunch of different teams talking, some groups were just two people, some up to eight. Each had their unique flair to them, whether it''s their weapons, outfits, whatever


    "So we''re not taught to summon our weapons, but they are..." I mumbled under my breath. Some of the paths were blocked by the different teams, except for one, considering it the only way to go, we started our walk. The floor was all wooden, yet it sounded off, like it was something much denser, I didn''t see many shadows either, so the lights must''ve been coming from below and above, what really got my attention were the walls, they were made of something I had never seen before, yet when touched, it felt warm and smooth, contrary to its appearance of being strong.


    "Damn man, that kinda attitude is why we lost last time" While we were walking along the small hallway, we came across two other people, a guy with blue hair, and another guy with brown, spiky hair. It seemed the blue haired guy was scolding the other.


    "The hell''re you on about? It ain''t my fault the guides don''t come back after being taken, we weren''t told anything" Sam and I tried passing them without being noticed, yet they instantly spotted us.


    "Oh! I guess you two are gonna be in the next trial?" I was going to continue on and ignore them until Sam grabbed my arm and pulled me back.


    "You bet we are! We''re gonna win too!" I guess the competition was hyping her up, not a bad thing. She let go of my arm when I stopped making an attempt to move.


    "Hmhmh, well, top 4 win, I got an idea, you two make an alliance with a group yet?"


    "Not really" I joined the conversation


    "Well, there''s no reason to betray each other, as top 4 wins, and we''re both small groups" They were right, and they know a bit more than we do.


    "If we come across each other, I don''t see why not" The blue haired guy seemed pleased by my answer.


    "Alright then, take care you two, oh! Actually" He took out a shot, a button on the top of it, a glass to see what''s in it, and the two caps, blocking the button, and the top, where I assume the needle was.


    "Yeah, cause I''m gonna take random drugs from a guy" He sighed, as though he''s done this before, using his mouth his took off the needle cap and held the other cap and shot in his left hand, he took out a knife and made a small cut near his stomach, Sam immediately turned away with a shudder, the guy injected the shot, and after a few seconds, the cut had instantly healed itself.


    "ew''ts ugh stiiim"


    "Huh?" Was the only response I could give to that. He took the cap out of his mouth and spoke again.


    "It''s a stim" He took out another identical looking one, although this time I took it. "Don''t worry about blood type, dosage, or hell, even abusing this, it has a way to stop itself, magic is one helluva thing"


    "Attention!" Like an intercom, someone spoke, yet, it felt like it was more in our heads. "Those attending the DT Trials should enter in the next few minutes."


    "Guess this is where we split" The guy with the spiky hair noted.


    "Seems that way" And the blue guy responded. "Hey, you two take care, they don''t really guide you, so it''s all about what you think is right"


    "Hopefully we meet later on!" Sam spoke cheerfully waving goodbye as the two of us continued down the hallway.


    Yet, as soon as the two of us step foot into the next room, we came out of a tent, and into a winter forest.


    "U-...um..." Sam was speechless as much as I was. Our jackets only let a cold feeling through, and not a dying freeze.


    "Well...something tells me we weren''t here before" I said, clearly making a joke. Sam was going to respond, until a chime rang out, and then, the same voice from before.


    "Aaaaalrighty everyone, we have some returning teams, along with many more newcomers, remember, no one actually dies here, so show no mercy! Top 4 teams win, so maybe a little mercy is alright. Regardless! Give it your all! This year''s season is winter! We got some people who are used to the cold feet here, so hopefully they use it to their advantage"


    "Is he referring to us?" The day we died...it was during the winter, snow had been piling up on the school roof...the place I got shot, I tried to remember their face but couldn''t, instead, a painful headache washed over me, I held my head while the guy kept talking.


    "Across the trials there are a few caches that can give you an advantage, but your main weapon should always be the one you can summon, take care now! And goooood luck!"


    "Do I sound li-" Sam turned over to me while talking, until she saw me holding my head. "Are you alright?"


    "Yeah...it''s just, when I try to remember what happened...who shot us...I can''t...yet I remember everything else."


    "O-oh...Are you gonna be okay?" I nodded, I could see some hesitation in her movement, yet, she accepted my answer anyhow. I looked around the area we were brought to, there was a campfire ready to be lit, a few small logs to burn, along with a chest, I crouched down to one knee and opened it, what was revealed to me was a unique looking pistol, I took it out and inspected it. "Just one round?" Sam commented on the fact it was a break action, there were no other bullets, no other mags...not that it could take any. I noticed an engraving on the pistol ''Embrace the Stars''


    "What is that meant to mean?" I stood up and closed the chest, making a swiping motion, and with it, a weird menu appeared, like floating screens in front of me. "What the hell!?" I jumped back slightly, on the main center screen was information about the pistol, the only noteworthy one being, that the pistol''s damage was marked with an infinity symbol. I swiped upwards, opposite of what I did before, and the screens went away, I repeated it, yet instead it was more of a menu you''d see on a pause screen


    Map


    Party


    Inventory


    Skills


    Bonds


    Database


    "What the..." I looked at it all, a part of me understood it, I was thinking of the pistol when I swiped, thus giving me info about it...then I thought about the HUD while I swiped, thus the menu... There were a few screens with the menu, yet, they all seemed passive, not doing anything, I guess I would learn to use them later.


    "What''re you doing?" Sam looked at me confused


    "The...screen?"


    "What...screen?" I swiped the HUD away...I wanted to try something, instead of swiping down, I swiped to my right, the HUD appeared again, though this time, a bit less transparent. "Oh!" Sam was startled a bit, but it was clear she could see it now..."So cool!" She mimicked me, and thus her own HUD appeared. "It really is like a game" I was going to say something until she spoke out again "And I know, I shouldn''t think of something important like a gaaaame"


    "Heh, alright then, no need to say it like that" I spoke jokingly. "What to do now..." There were a few paths, though most of the ''roads'' were covered in snow, making it hard to see what the road actually looked like, but not enough for the path to be unwalkable.


    "You know what they say!" Sam raised a fist in the air "Right, is always right!"


    "Yes, good job knowing your directions"


    "Pri-..er no, I actually walked into that one...Onward!" Disregarding my teasing, we went to the path that would be considered the right one in more ways than one "Wonder where these guides are"


    "Right, in snow like this it''d be hard to see anything small, especially if the pages are white as well." I scanned the road we were walking on, nothing I could see was there. "That, or they may not even be paper, it''s more likely to be stuff for our HUD, in the database section"


    "I was just gonna say that." I looked back down at the pistol I found, I only had one shot with it, it had to be one that counted, or maybe the winning shot of the trial...actually, if it worked outside the trials, could I take down anything with this gun? Sam started humming a tune, it sounded familiar, yet I couldn''t figure out what it was. It most definitely wasn''t from a movie, maybe from a game? It took just a moment until I remembered the tune, it was one I had played before, way before.


    "Still remember that?" I looked over at Sam, who was smiling while walking.


    "Course! First song you learned on your guitar right?"


    "First song I made"


    "Isn''t it both then? I mean, you have to learn the song in order to play it, but you also made the song...so..." I could see her point, it was one that actually made sense in a way.


    "I guess so, wonder where they went..."


    "The Guitar or Kenneth and Nicholai?"


    "Obviously the guitar, it''s what we were talking about, though, I am worried about what those two are doing"


    "Good, I thought you were being heartless for a moment." I sighed at that response


    "You and Nicholai, really"


    "It''s all of us"


    "Yeah yeah" The walk returned to silence, we don''t even know what we were walking to, we just kept going, until of course, a blockade prevented our progress.


    "Huh...well...I can''t climb that..." Sam dejectedly spoke.


    "I think I noticed that, the thing is almost triple our height"


    "No it isn''t! I ain''t that short"


    "Stand up against it then"


    "No"


    "Alright then" I looked to our left, then to the right, the wall seemed to go on for ages, and an attempt at going through the door in the middle proved pointless as it was locked.


    "Why have a path if it''s gonna be locked anyways"


    "We haven''t finished a quest line yet"


    "And you say I shouldn''t think of things like a game" She crossed her arms while looking smug. "Really though, guess we head back?"


    "Well, we could try climbing a tree and jump over" Sam looked at a tree, saw how close they got, and started walking to one. "Guess that''s the plan we''re going with.


    "Hold on! I''ll go by myself, if I can''t open it, you follow" I stopped walking.


    "Alright, be careful then" Using the branches, she climbed up the tree, once she got to a point where it looks like she could make the jump she hugged the tree with her back and hyped herself up. "If you fall I''ll catch you, don''t be scared" That seemed to be all she needed, so with new determination, she ran across a branch and jumped off of it, it did however, cause the branch to snap off the tree and come down at me. I tried moving backwards to avoid it, yet a small part of it still hit me on the neck, I felt it, what I did feel, was a warm feeling slowly dripping from my neck. I sighed before looking back at Sam, it seemed she just pulled herself up onto the wall, that was until we came to an issue.


    "Uh...how do I get down?"


    "Are there any divots or holes on that side?" She peered over the edge to check.


    "Yeah, some"


    "When you go down, catch onto the one closest, then drop, then repeat, either that, or drop down and I''ll catch you, then I''ll do it"


    "Nah, I''ll be fine" I saw her drop down, and after a few noises, the door had opened. "Ta-da!" Her legs were slightly wobbling.


    "Miss a catch?"


    "One...at the end" She was honest with her answer, there wasn''t a reason to lie after all.


    "Are you gonna be okay? Walking wise?"


    "Yeah, I was able to walk to the door just fine...it''s somewhat wobbly, but I''ll be okay"


    "Are you sure?"


    "Mhmh"


    "You mean it?"


    "Yup yup" She shook her legs a bit before her standing returned to normal.


    "If you say so" I let her start walking first in case something came up, but her walking remained normal.


    "We''re on our waaaaay, we''re on the waaaay" To make sure there wasn''t any silence, she began doing what she was.


    "You know, I''m fine with it, but we''re against other teams."


    "Not right now there''s a ceasefire for a few hours"


    "Where''d you see that?"


    "It''s hard to see, but when you summon the hud, in the corner of your eye you can see stuff" I swiped my hand down to summon the HUD "We''re on the roaaaad, to cross the woooorld" In the corner of my sight, I could see a few things. Me and Sam''s HP and MP in the bottom right, a small map on the top left, and a few symbols on the right, one being messaged. They weren''t hard to see, however, if you weren''t looking for them, they''d be difficult to notice. I did have a mark of 2 on the messaged, I tried a few things to open it, however, simply thinking, ''open messages'' seemed to have worked.


    Welcome to the Trials-Trial Host


    Can you see this?-Kenneth Broker


    That was how it was presented until a notification appeared


    ''Current contacts consist of people you have given Nicknames too, would you like to register it now'' Back then I was weirded out, until I realized the HUD was a part of my mind, thus, knowing what I call people. I decided on yes, and there was only a minor change, with Kenneth Broker, being just Kenneth, along with Nicholai Broker and Sam Calstianos, just being their first names as well. I first looked at Kenneth''s


    From: Kenneth


    To: Lee,Sam


    ''Testing, testing...oh god this is weird, Neal mentioned a keyboard, yet he wanted us to try just thinking of the message we wanted to send, uh, dunno what to say, how''s it going with the trials? I assume well, Nicholai wanted to make sure you two are well, and if you''ve gotten hurt at all to send her a message just in case, so she can tell you all how to handle it, then again, I''ve noticed we''re a bit more resilient than we were as humans...Wait, how do you end these things? Just say so? Oh!''


    The message ended then, I guess there''s some command to end the message, I assume it was simply ''End Message'' I went to the next one


    From: Trials Host


    To:Trial Attendees


    ''Goood afternoon people! As like the other trials, there will be a 12 hour ceasefire to allow any newcomers to get their bearings! This does not mean you have to work together, nor does it mean you can''t steal, what this means is simply not to attack any other trial member, the ceasefire does not include animals.''


    "There are animals?" I looked over to Sam, who was continuing her thing. "Actually, I guess it makes sense for hunting" Eventually Sam''s song came to an end. I was wondering what made her stop until I realized we somehow went back to our campsite...it was the exact same, our footprints, the chest being closed, yet not locked.


    "Um...do you think it was locked for that reason?" Sam turned around back to me, she looked guilty.


    "It''s alright, don''t feel bad, we weren''t warned at all, though it makes sense, we most likely got our camp at the edge of whatever map there is, if we head back it''ll probably be an actual path.


    "So it was locked so people don''t cheat?...How could you cheat with that?"


    "Think about it, if we know there are people approaching, we can go through the door, and we''d warp right behind them."


    "Oh...I guess that''s a way...ooh, I''ve been meaning to ask, what do you think our magic is gonna be?" Without words we decided to stop for today, with a quick check in the tent we already had some food and water, and we could try learning things on our own anyways, no one wants to wonder in the dark after all.


    "Yours is fire"


    "ooooh, are you making an assumption on how I act?"


    "Hehe, I was kidding"


    "I know~, yours would probably be some inspire move like any leader does in games, like ''All allies do 10% damage''" She tried making her voice deeper to mock a video game text read, yet with her high-pitched voice, she just sounded slightly deeper than the average girl her age.


    "Just 10%?"


    "It''s a level 1 skill, course it won''t do much"


    "Damn...guess I''ll have to level it up" Soon the fake sun had fully set, I grabbed a stick and began twisting it between my palms endlessly, trying to get it to set a fire.


    "Wish we got a match over a one shot pistol"


    "Well...the pistol...may come in handy" I spoke with pauses, as most of my effort was in the fire.


    "That''s true" Sam started rocking left and right waiting for the fire, she already knew she couldn''t help, so she decided to give me space instead. It felt like I was fighting a war with my hands, if I was still human they''d probably be bruised by now, eventually though, a small fire started, I waited a moment, looked at it, until the fire had become self-sufficient.


    "Fi-na-lly" I sat back beside Sam and looked at the fire. When I faced Sam, she had a somber expression, it wasn''t common, nor a good sight to see...obviously. I didn''t say anything, it''s probably something I can''t handle is what I thought then, not handle in the, I''ll get sad myself sense, but more in the powerless to do anything about it sense. Even with that though, she spoke.


    "How do you think Q and Cypher are?"


    "The hacker kids?" She nodded


    "They were younger than we were, and while they acted mature, they''re still kids...and...we sorta left them, no warning, nothing left behind, they probably think we just abandoned them"


    "Where did this come from?"


    "I guess the adrenaline from coming back alive, and the idea of being a hero wore off"


    "Well, you still wanna be a hero no?"


    "Of course, I get to help people, though, Nicholai, Kenneth, maybe even your reason is different from mine...the misfit crew...heh...remember that?"


    "I do, such a dumb name others gave us...it, was accurate though, we may share things in common but...overall, rather different"


    "We would probably be called it even more if Q and Cypher were around."


    "Mh...I don''t think they''ll think we abandoned them"


    "Hm?"


    "What you were worried about before...you''re right in saying they''re young, but they''re smart too, and not the soulless sorta smart, we did a lot for them, even putting our lives in danger to keep them safe, there''s no reason we''d leave them out of nowhere...and they''ll know it too...at most they''ll think we had no choice but to leave, at least, they''ll figure out what happened."


    "They''ll figure out we died and got brought back to life by magic?"


    "You know how those two were, I wouldn''t doubt it" The fire continued to crackle, I didn''t feel cold at all, more so, the warmth of the fire was more prominent. "Our previous life aside, how''re you doing?"


    "With all this? I think I''m okay...I''m just hoping things don''t go wrong"


    "Why do you think that?"


    "Think about it...yeah, they revived us...but...children fighting in wars? The main initiation is killing others we''re meant to work with? All the groups on earth too, i mean...at least the military wasn''t like most zombie scenarios where they''re killing us, but they weren''t helping either" She leaned back, almost falling on the snow. "And you and Nicholai are meant to be the negative ones"


    "Hey, I''m not always negative" Her somber expression turned to a smile.


    "I guess not, it''s enough to note though" I felt a pain in my stomach, mostly from not eating in a while. Sam was probably feeling it too considering her next words. "Well! We should probably eat something right? I can help"


    "You, can take a rest, I still feel pain in my eye from being shot once, I could only imagine your arms and legs"


    "You had to remind me?"


    "Don''t act like you don''t feel it" Sam pouted before laying down on the ground


    "Fiiiine, don''t complain about doing it all yourself though"


    "I never do" I headed into the tent, there were a few things I could cook, a stew in the cold would probably do well for us, though we''re going to sleep soon, so the warmth of the food doesn''t really matter in the long term....Meh, Stew it is. I grabbed the stuff I needed and went back outside. Sam, disregarding earlier, had prepared a few things so cooking would be easier. Though I smiled I shook my head "Stubborn as ever"


    "It''s called doing my part, I don''t want you doing everything." I don''t know how, but she managed to get some bowls, I pulled over the chest, its length was long enough for a few people to sit on...yet it had such a small pistol, powerful or not. I sat down and began cooking, Sam, eventually getting sick of sitting on snow, sat beside me on the chest as well. She began messing with her hud, and soon, checked the database, the HUD expanded, and a massive timeline showed up, showing key memories from Sam''s past. "Whaaaah?"


    She scrolled to as far back as she could, up till she got to 5 years old, then the key memories stopped


    "Hang on, can you go back right?" She scrolled all the way to current day "Left a bit" With a swipe, she went back to the middle of the apocalypse. There was a branching route, yet it had a lock symbol on it. Maybe...if we hadn''t found more medicine for Sam''s illness, she would''ve died here, thus making a new route was my past conclusion. I opened my own hud and checked the Database, mine went all the way back to 3 years old, yet, my memories until I was 6 were locked. At first, I had thought the lock meant a timeline we avoided, yet, I was clearly looking at it now, showing otherwise.


    "We understand one thing, two more unknown things appear" Sam could see my frustration with all of this. I checked the info tab of the Database, a few guides were there. The first guide was how to bring up your Hu...why the hell is this a thing? You can''t even see it, unless you know how to do it already  A part of me back then was very irritated at it, why not make it appear automatically...even if you were showing someone it, you could just do a visual demonstration. I took a breath before I paid my mind back to the stew, it was finally done. I grabbed the bowl it was in, and put half in each bowl meant for us. "Let''s make a cheer"


    "Isn''t it a toast?"


    "Well, toasts are with drinks"


    "Sometimes food"


    "Is it a yes or no?"


    "Here''s to another life" I raised my bowl.


    "Good enough for me" She raised her bowl clanking it with mine. "To another life" With no warning Sam then lowered her bowl and got to eating. I noticed Sam had managed a way to go through menus in the HUD without touching it.


    "How...?"


    "It was in the how to summon your HUD thing" ah well, that makes more sense now...a bit misleading though. Was my thought. "I''m trying to see...if..." Eventually, she somehow found a way to get to the internet on her HUD, she seemed overjoyed "Thaf shuld mn" She had continued eating as she soon got to what she wanted. "We can watch videos still!"


    "I guess we don''t need the earth to have internet to see already uploaded videos"


    "I love this thing!" She picked a video and we both watched it while eating. It was sorta awkward, knowing these people are probably dead...even more ironic that she picked a video of someone reviewing a zombie show...I guess she knows that they''re not real, and nothing like the zombies we''ve gone against. It was probably due to the fact this show was showing zombies sprinting and spreading in seconds, while ours were slow, and only spread fast when you were bit by patient zero...which was like...4 people. Perhaps in her mind, she thought of them as completely two different things, she wasn''t exactly wrong, but not right either.


    "It''s kinda wild to see how people thought zombies were gonna be, and how far off they were"


    "Right? no airborne virus, no instant infection, no turning after you die...unless you were bit"


    "Hehe~ People really thought the worst would happen huh?" She turned to me, clapsed her hands together and took a short bow while still sitting "Thanks for the amazing food as always"


    "Heh, don''t get used to it"


    "You say that but you''ll be the group''s leader and cook eveeeentulllllly" She stayed seated, looking around.


    "What''re you doing?"


    "Well someone has to keep watch, the ceasefire ends in the middle of the night"


    "I can handle that, we don''t want a relapse like before, with you staying up"


    "Then you''ll be all groggy and tired in the morning"


    "And you won''t?"


    "hmmmm"


    "We''ll compromise, with the time it is now, each of us can get 4-5 hours in, we''ll both be tired, but not completely devoid of sleep"


    "It feels better when you get none"


    "Sometimes I wish Nicholai was here to scold you about your health" I sighed after speaking. "Take the compromise, i''ll ta-"


    "Fine I''ll take the first shift!"


    "Goddamnit" I couldn''t get a word in after, there was no use discussing it. I got up and headed backwards for the tent.


    "Take care! Sleep well!"


    "Don''t go too far from the fire, snub it out if you gotta"


    "Alrighty!" When I got in the tent, I almost crashed, the walking, cooking, it even felt like the HUD was draining my energy It''s probably because I''m not used to it...nor used to having magic the HUD didn''t use MP, nor our health, so it really was just our brains not being used to being connected to it...


    My mind wondered as I layed there, about the day, about what Kenneth and Nicholai were doing, many things. I did however, manage to eventually drift off to sleep.

 Chapter 2: Bravo 6...-

    I was woken up by rapid tapping at my chest. I opened my eyes, and saw the blade end of a spear, it was risky, but I quickly reached for my pistol and aimed it at the spear-wielder, that was until I was greeted by Kenneth and Nicholai.


    "Hello to you too" Nicholai was holding a scythe. Kenneth, wielded the spear. "Yes, it''s ironic the doctor is holding a scythe, don''t mention it. FYI" She moved the scythe away from her shoulder, dropping it, before catching it when it was aiming to my left "It''d wake her up" I looked over and saw Sam peacefully sleeping.


    "Nicholai and I felt you two needed the rest, considering the first day of the trial, it must''ve been difficult" Kenneth''s spear folded inwards, making it smaller, like a machete(Though the blade is at the end, not an entire side) and attached it to his back.


    "Riiiight..."


    "You two did fuck all yesterday didn''t you?" Nicholai looked irritated.


    "Not exactly, we did find something odd"


    "Oh?" Finding out we didn''t sit around all day, Nicholai''s irritation expression, had reverted back to normal.


    "We were walking along a trail, however we came across a wall, Sam hopped over, and unlocked it, then we went through it..but it brought us back to a different path, leading back to the campsite again."


    "Hm..." Kenneth put his hand to his chin as he began thinking. "That..., it could be a way to ambush people"


    "Exactly my thou-...wait..." I had started to wake up more and realized the two holding their weapons "How did you summon it?"


    "Neal decided kicking our asses was the best way for us to learn how to summon our weapons, apparently, summoning it the first time requires something dangerous to happen, yet I don''t see any of them doing anything" Nicholai complained about Neal a little bit more after, something about acting all high and mighty, yet I couldn''t recall the exact words.


    "What Nicholai is trying to say is, we can''t exactly teach you, now, desummoning and resummoning it, that we can" I leaned to the left a bit, and noticed Kenneth''s spear was gone. "By the way, you learn how the HUDs work yet?" I nodded


    "We found out yesterday, near the start of the trials"


    "What about the database?"


    "I saw it"


    "Have you used it?"


    "No" I answered Kenneth "We saw all the memories though..."


    "They''re playable"


    "Huh?"


    "Like a video recording, any key moment can be replayed, meaning-"


    "I can get a better view on the guy who killed us..." I opened my HUD and went all the way back, it however, was locked.


    "That''s not right" Nicholai saw the lock.


    "You''re telling me" I was going to wake up Sam to check her HUD, however Nicholai grabbed my arm.


    "Let her sleep a bit more, she looked ready to knock out when we saw her, stubborn girl as always"


    "I assume you know I tried to tell her to sleep?"


    "Yes, at the cost of your sleep" She hit the top of my head with the blunt end of the scythe "I don''t intend to take care of you 24/7 when you''re tired"


    "Yes...sorry" I stood up and joined them outside, yet there was something I noticed "You know...some of those guys have guns...how do you all handle range?" As though on command, their weapons were resummoned to their hands, and molded, Kenneth''s into a bow, and Nicholai''s into a modern-day pistol, with minor sci-fi elements, mostly the fact there was no mag and instead what looked like a battery. "Uh..."


    "Our weapons have a melee and a range form, mine, is a bow for my accuracy, though I guess that''s mostly based off when I work with tech" Everytime he pulled the string back, an arrow instantly appeared along the bow "There''s a sorta...infinite ammo type of thing, though it uses MP everytime...only when you shoot it though, however" A quiver summoned along Kenneth''s strap "He grabbed an arrow and held it" If you do have normal ammo, it''s not only stronger than the infinite ammo, but it doesn''t use MP"


    "Okay...okay.." My thoughts trailed off as my head started hurting


    "Fair enough" The two desummoned their weapons.


    "Though, I do have one more question...Nicholai...what''s with the pistol?"


    "I can''t showcase it hear, it''d wake up Sam and then some...and not the normal pistol way"


    "Huh..."


    "So, what''s the game plan leader?" Kenneth jokingly, yet somewhat seriously asked


    "I''ll stay with Sam, no reason for all of us to head out" Nicholai sat beside the tent.


    "Well, if it''s just the two of us, we might as well find the other two"


    "There...are no other two"


    "We met two people at the start, since 4 teams can win, we decided if we find each other, we''d team up."


    "That is a good idea, there''s been some huge teams"


    "I noticed" I began walking in the opposite direction of before, Kenneth of course, followed. "By the way, you guys got here in the middle of the night, based on what you said, aren''t you tried?"


    "A bit, but it''s not enough to hinder anything"


    "I''ll take your word on it." It only took a few minutes of walking before we heard people talking.


    "Piney? The hell kinda nickname is that?" From their voice, I could tell who it was, while Kenneth stopped walking, I continued on until I saw them.


    "Whaaaat? Spiky hair, I got blue hair, so Bluey and Piney"


    "You understand just how stuuupid that sounds right?" Eventually, the two noticed me standing there.


    "Oh! It''s you again...where''s your buddy?"


    "Doesn''t matter, regardless, there''s no reason not to team up, we''ve got more numbers"


    "Right, and who''s that guy?" I looked behind me and saw Kenneth walked up more.


    "I told you, we''ve got more numbers"


    "oooooh, that''s what you meant" Bluey snapped his fingers as he understood what I said. "I take it, he''s your friend, considering you''re fine with him just sneaking up on ya"


    "We should head back to our site, get everyone introduced to each other" I looked to Kenneth, who nodded with agreement.


    "Rightio, lead the way leader" I looked to bluey confused "Well, they seem to follow your lead, majority rules"


    "I guess so" We started the walk back.


    "So, how''d you all meet" Bluey made conversation.


    "Lee was playing guitar, and, b-


    "You can play guitar?" Bluey cut Kenneth off, Kenneth rolled his eyes.


    "Alright then"


    "Oh...sorry, continue"


    "We just so happened to be around when he was playing, it''s not often someone so young plays a soothing tune" I could tell he was keeping Nicholai''s existence away from them.


    "Sounds like a miracle, especially if you all stuck together after all these years."


    "We may not get along all the time, but we''re there for each other when it matt-" Cutting me off, five people walked out of the forest, before blocking our path.


    "Seems we''ve come across some others" Piney walked in front of me, he summoned his weapon, being a big hammer, however the main part of the hammer had a few holes in it. Bluey stayed beside me, summoning a mace.


    "It''s nothing personal kids" The five summoned their weapons.


    "You sure as hell make it seem like that" I faced the person who was frontmost.


    "Only 4 teams can win, and from what we can tell, you already got 2, we got 3, there''s no passive way to solve this."


    "Says who? Isn''t joining together technically making 1 team?" It was silent for a moment. Kenneth scooted closer to me, before whispering.


    "These guys just tried to kill us, you gotta be joking with them joining"


    "Nothin in the rules say anything about the merging of teams, only that you can join others, if there was, some saint would''ve had everyone win sooner or later" The guy spoke as though he knew of that. I tapped my foot in the snow, getting the other two''s attention.


    "Anyone got a knife to spare" Piney stepped back, summoning a knife then twirling it so the handle faced me. I grabbed it before speaking.


    "Make an opening so we can all rush through, get them to follow, but not too fast, then I''ll use that door to get behind them" They all seemed to agree in unison. We all grouped up before moving to the right side of the trial where there was enough of an opening to fit through.


    "The hell''re you doing? You all think walking slow will make it so we can''t see you?"


    "Not at all" I did my best not to sound condescending "Rather, I''d prefer we learned a bit more before we get killed" We kept going, we were practically past them, however, one got ahead of themselves, as they started rushing us. "This works too" I threw the knife at them before running with the others, if it hit, good for me, if it didn''t, it gave me an extra second or two.


    "Hey Leada" Bluey''s accent was clearly on purpose "The knife counts as yours now, you can summon it back"


    "I don''t know how to do that"


    "You sure? I thou...nevermind, it''s like the HUD, just think of what you own or have and" He swiped his hand midair like he was grabbing something "There''s an advanced version, but i can''t be bothered" I took a breath, I tried thinking of the knife before I swiped my hand, just like it was explained, the knife reappeared in my hand, with the blade red and dripping.


    "Would you look at that, my throwing is still good."


    "What the hell?" As we continued running, we saw Nicholai sitting at the site.


    "Pleasure to meet you, we''re being followed" Bluey spoke out before sliding to a halt, the other two soon followed while I kept going.


    "And wher-" Kenneth stopped Nicholai from giving me away. Soon, I had gotten far enough that it was silent, I could only hear my beating heart as I started getting tired. After a minute of silence and running, I made it to the wall. Going against my body''s desire for rest, I kept pressing on, until I had noticed I was on the path as before, I could see the footprints, and up ahead, everyone arguing. I slowly trudged forward, no longer having the energy to continue, slowly my body caught its breath, yet I kept using this as an opportunity to regain my energy. When I got close enough that my movements could be heard, I lowered myself to a crouch before getting even closer to one of them. As I got alarmingly close, I stuck to the nearby trees, beside the trial.


    "That ain''t our problem" Piney, sounding extremely annoyed spoke.


    "It ain''t that big of a deal!"


    "It is for us you bastards!" Nicholai instantly replied to one of the hostile people in the opposing group.


    "Everyone, let''s relax now! We can just fight later no? The trials are meant to be a place where we get a grasp of our powers" I looked at the formation of the group, if I gave it my all, I could probably get everyone without them noticing.


    "Well too fuckin bad, we''ve done this for too long." When I got close to the person most at the back, I kicked the inside of their leg before grabbing their mouth and stabbing them in the neck, instantly, they faded away. Well, no need to hide the body then. Kenneth looked at me through the crowd, he tilted his head slightly before blinking with his left eye once. That''s one of our codes from the zombie outbreak isn''t it?..."Give a signal"  When I understood what he wanted, I made a stomping motion.


    "The hell was that?" Seeing that the person who said that was the next in my line, I waited for them to finish before I did the same thing as the other one, now it wouldn''t be weird if they didn''t talk later. I looked back at the rest of the group, they had moved a bit more forward, being more together.


    "Here we go then" I leaped forward, stomping my leg in the snow, letting out a crunching sound, as two of them looked back, my group rushed forward, going for the person in the front. I was able to slash at one of their legs, however they managed the same, I stood back up, yet staggered slightly. The one to my left began approaching with a halberd, I was looking for a chance to counter it, yet one never came, they were however, stopped with an arrow through the chest. As I smirked from Kenneth''s support, I was struck by a bat. I felt my head as I fell to the floor and was greeted with warmth, as I could feel myself bleeding. I looked up, they were raising their bat in the air to slam down at me. As they swung down I attempted to block with the knife, at the very least it would put up some resistance, yet, the hit never came, and the body hit to the floor beside me before vanishing, and with it, a dagger connected to a chain was there, when I looked to where the chain led to, I saw Sam looking away with her hand extended, and the chain wrapped around her arm. Another weapon, a sickle-like weapon, dangled from her other arm, also wrapped around with chain.


    "Heh, good job kid" Bluey spoke as he clashed with the leader of the group, Nicholai tried slashing at them, but their weapon split into two, blocking Bluey and Nicholai. The leader let go of one weapon, moving slightly right to avoid Nicholai. As soon as she was preparing another slash, the leader did a motion before a shockwave knocked everyone back. My body got covered in snow after being thrown back, I began using my arm to wipe away the snow covering my face before I heard a click, when my sight returned I saw the leader holding a flare gun, they had just loaded it. I used my arms to stand faster and I was ready to sprint to at least try and tackle them, yet, right when I took a step on my recently cut leg, I was brought back down to the snow, with my leg in even more pain, as though someone was actively crushing it. They aimed the flare gun at the sky, they pulled the trigger and soon a loud pew sound launched into the air before the entire sky above us was engulfed in bright red. When i looked back down, a beam shot towards the leader, piercing their chest causing them to fade, and from the snow, Nicholai rose up with the pistol from before, yet, one of the pieces connected to the battery were now spinning.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Everything was silent for a while, everyone, except for me begun to stand, seeing everyone was okay, I rested my head back in the snow, trying my best to ignore the crushing pressure on my leg. Using my right arm I turned myself over, I saw the fake sky this place had made, though faint, I could see the constructed stars in the sky. I only got the chance to see it for a moment before I saw pink, I looked slightly more up and noticed Sam.


    "Are you alright!?" She crouched down before looking at me, eventually seeing the cut leg and turning away from it after seeing enough. "Nicholai!" I heard the snow crunch before Nicholai was also within my sight.


    "Jeez, how much blood do you have?"


    "Wha-?" Sam grabbed under my arms after hearing my confusion, helping me sit up, I looked towards my cut leg and saw that the entire area''s snow was red. "oh..god" Although not totally out of it, I still felt slightly faint from it all.


    "On three" I saw Sam nod, they both took an arm. "Three" With no previous warning I was raised up, and the pain on my leg worsened


    "Fu..nnngh...Really!?" I looked at Nicholai.


    "Baby about it later" I saw her look behind us "Ken, you''re carrying"


    "I can limp the way" Nicholai looked back at me, clearly annoyed


    "Even if you could, it''s not healthy, and yeah, key info, you can''t walk with this" There was no use arguing, anytime I tried I get proven wrong anyways. We all turned around, letting me see Kenneth walk over before turning around and crouching.


    "Come on now" I couldn''t do much but practically throw myself. Kenneth did his best not to grab my injured area while picking me up, yet I could tell it was difficult, I felt stupid.


    "Sam, you''re next in line" Nicholai looked over to her


    "Huh?"


    "We decided this"


    "We decided that as a zombie thing...incase something goes wrong, not as a new life with all this"


    "Same thing, no use going out of order here anyways" As Nicholai and Sam spoke, I saw Piney''s hud appear.


    "Hey, we''re gonna have to go"


    "Go where?" Kenneth moved his head to face piney.


    "We''re needed somewhere, meaning we gotta split"


    "Huh? And that makes sense how?" Nicholai spoke with clear irritation.


    "Sorry, it''s not really something we''re allowed to go against if we wanna be one of the top 4. Just take care all of you" Nicholai and Kenneth sighed, while Sam looked worried, soon, the two took off, leaving us.


    "Great, those guys you brought did so well" With sarcasm, Nicholai directed the comment to me.


    "They did well enough" Kenneth began moving.


    "Nicholai, help me carry some stuff" The two went into the tent, before coming back out with the bags of supplies we had.


    "So, where to now?" Nicholai walked ahead of everyone, using the back end of her scythe to clear anything on the ground.


    "We could try going into the woods, create a new camp there" I suggested, thinking of ideas was about the only thing I could do.


    "Well, that tent you two had is a bit big to carry around"


    "I know..." I looked into the woods, it looked endless, the trees would be good cover I thought. While we were moving on, Kenneth tripped up on something, yet managed to keep going, I however, felt the sudden movement in my leg, causing even more pain.


    "Sorry"


    "I-it''s okay..."


    "What''d you trip on anyways?" Nicholai looked back at us.


    "I don''t really know, I couldn''t see it"


    "Want me to go check?" Sam stopped walking as she waited for an answer.


    "No, no, you''re fine" I waved my hand at her, motioning for her to not go. "We can start heading in now" Everyone came to a stop. "This looks the best, it''s a straight path for most of it unlike the others, however we can take a turn to get the cover of the trees"


    "Finding it after walking would be easier too" Nicholai rested most of the scythe on her shoulder.


    "Exactly, just look for the one part of the woods that is a straight line in and out"


    The group continued on, heading into the forest, it wasn''t loud, yet the snow was the heaviest here, and every step had a quiet crunch.


    "At least the snow feels nice"


    "It''s also audible"


    "No need to be a buzzkill" Sam slouched over. While they continued talking I paid attention to how the trees were, seeing which place was the best to go to.


    "We should take a left here"


    "Why''s that? They seem the same, left and right" Nicholai, once more looked back at us.


    "That guy shot a flare, meaning there''s more people who''re gonna be around, if we go right, the straight line we''re on right now makes it easier to see the right side from the left, and vice versa, they''re the same, but, they''re probably going to come from the left...so we''ll be less visible this way"


    "Huh" Sam started walking backwards "I''ll check it!" Sam raised her voice so we could hear her. We shifted a bit to the right. "Yup! It''s good!" She ran back over to us.


    "So, what''s the plan to make shelter?" While Nicholai asked the question, I patted Kenneth''s shoulder, signaling him to let me down. He set me up agaisnt a tree with the least snow around it.


    "Well, we could make a quinzee"


    "A fucking what?"


    "A quinzee...it''s like...an igloo? Sorta? They take a while to make though..."


    "How much is a while?"


    "an hour and a half? minimum"


    "Better than nothing"


    "They''re also used more so for below freezing temps"


    "Well, we''re not doing it because it''s cold" Kenneth pulled his sleeves over his arms


    "Quinzee it is then" With my conflicting instructions, for two hours and a half, they scooped up and dug out snow with just their sleeves.


    "My hands are freeeeezing" Sam started shaking her hands, making her sleeves flop around.


    "Your sleeves are too thin then" Nicholai, still going at it, commented on Sam''s cold.


    "It''s a jacket, it''s as puffy as it can be"


    "I thought it was only the neck area with that extra floof?" Kenneth begun shaking his hands too, taking a break.


    "It doesn''t matter anymore" Trying to put as little pressure on my leg as possible, I leaned against the tree and stood up. I limped my way over and went into it, using the knife to dig a bit down, then, pushing up extra snow to have an elevated place to go on. After it was done, I went back out.


    "Come here, if it does hurt, it''s my responsibility" Nicholai was holding Sam''s hand, they had gotten a bit paler. Nicholai took off her jacket and laid it over Sam''s arms "Take a break and you" She looked over to me. "Leg, lemme see" There wasn''t much I could do but sit down. I stuck my leg out, setting it on the snow, Nicholai crouched down and pulled up the cuff. The area around the cut was stained in red "Ugh" She pressed around it slightly "How is it?"


    "Much...less pain than before"


    "Considering the pause I assume it''s still noticible"


    "I can stand though"


    "It''s not if you can, it''s if you should"


    "I can''t have Kenneth keep carrying me"


    "You know Sam is going to if she notices you''re falling behind...just don''t overdo it" Without warning, she pressed on the cut itself, it hurt enough that I was forced to grit my teeth. "At least you''re not screaming it out...So it''s enough to grit, but not enough to be uncontrollable" She thought for a while "If you want to walk, you do so slowly and for only a few minutes at a time, do you understand?" I nodded. "I''ll try finding something for it, steal if I have to"


    "That''s a bit..."


    "We''re not killing anyone here, there''s no need for morals"


    "I guess so" She stood up before going over to Kenneth.


    "How''re you holding up?" I zoned out of their conversation. That zoning out didn''t last for long as snow crunched to the right of me.


    "It''s only been a day and half..." I could tell Sam was dejected.


    "Well, at least everyone is together...and we have things to defend ourselves"


    "We do...you...still can''t."


    "Yeah, speaking of which, thanks for that" I leaned back, facing my head towards Sam. She was holding her hands together while looking at the snow.


    "Don''t mention it, it''s what we''re here for, to look out for each other." It got colder, I could see my own breath now. "I should probably give this back to Nicholai" She stood up, unwrapping the jacket around her arms. I really couldn''t do much, if I stood up for too long, Nicholai would scold me, and I probably would be more harm than good, as such, I took a look at everything around me. Of course, it was mostly trees, I could however, hear birds chirping, it made me wonder how many animals were being replicated at once, or, was it just noise?


    "It''s pretty" The sun shining through the leaves made beautiful rays and every breath I took was refreshing, though, that could be due to the pain in my leg being relieved with every breath. With nothing better to do, I inspected the knife I had. The serrated edges were stained, but when I looked at the part of the blade closest to the hilt, I noticed what looked like roots of a plant, I moved my hands to the bottom of the hilt, to allow myself to see what it looked like. More root engravings were around the hilt, with an empty section in the middle. I wiped the blade along my leg, it didn''t clean it fully, but at least it mostly was.


    "So with Lee out, who''s cooking this time?" Nicholai started the discussion, in my mind then, I was confused as to why it needed to be someone else, I could still cook, Sam had the same thought.


    "Why not Lee? We can''t just help him up or get him the stuff he needs to get?"


    "And if Lee isn''t around to cook for us?" There was silence, and with that silence, it was agreed a second person should practice.


    "Well, should be easy, we just gotta follow the instructions" Kenneth went to go reach for something in one of the food bags we brought.


    "There are none" After hearing me say that, Kenneth paused, took a breath, then stood up.


    "I''m outta ideas"


    "You''re joking" Nicholai glared at Kenneth. Sam was ready to say something until all of our HUDs opened and Raymond''s face was there, everyone jumped.


    "What the hell!!" Nicholai instinctively swung at it.


    "Relax" Raymond''s voice came out clearly, not like phones or mics that have that effect, it was as though he was right beside us."I could''ve sworn I made it so you get an incoming call message first, and get the choice to accept or decline. Oh! by the way, being able to see the person in the call is not on by default, so, if you wanna keep it on, at least put some kinda profile pic"


    "That''s a thing?" Sam brought up a second HUD, and scrolled about.


    "Anyhow...about why I called, you all had a robot with you guys right? Dave?"


    "He was mine, but yes" Kenneth crossed his arms.


    "Right, anyhow, we''re bringing your stuff down, a camera...that robot...there was also...someone...I think, who went with, they claim to know you...honestly it seemed surreal that you guys knew...whatever it is, when you were human...oh right, since I''m not with you all right now, your HUD has settings, changing the color, accessibility, all that, should be at the bottom of that bar on the left...other than that, take care" The call ended and we were all there, confused.


    "Did...we know something strange as humans?"


    "I don''t think so" Sam responded to my question...though it wasn''t exactly a conclusive answer. We all went into our HUD''s settings and made some adjustments, whether it was the color it appeared as, all the way down to whose call was auto accepted. "Oh! There''s a chat thing instead of that email stuff"


    "Hm?" I stood up a bit too fast, I winced, holding my leg, before recovering and walking slowly over. Along the way, I heard a quiet ping sound, considering how the others reacted, everyone heard it in their own heads. We all went back to our HUDs, looking at the notification.


    ''You have been added to group chat: Bravo 6''


    "Bravo 6?" Nicholai looked at Sam.


    "Well, I mean, there were six of us, it has six letters, it sounds cool...why not?"


    "I...actually see where you''re coming from, nevermind then"


    Soon a chibi like version of Sam appeared in the chat, both of her eyes were closed as she stuck her left arm out with her thumb up with a smile.


    "What the..." I could only look at it confused.


    "We all got our own, they''re perfectly based on how we are" Considering the HUDs are part of our minds now...it made sense. A second later, another chibi appeared, though this time, of Nicholai holding a sign saying ''Don''t be reckless'' with her usual deadpan expression.


    "It''s actually pretty cute" Though rare, Nicholai smiled, seemingly content with her portrayal. On inspection, it seems everyone also chose a profile picture, Sam''s was a Pink Rose, Kenneth had a cog wheel, Nicholai''s was a heartbeat, and mine was a sword engraved on a shield.


    "Oooh! When I get my camera, we should take a picture and make that our pfps" Sam swayed back and forth with joy.


    "That''s if your camera can connect to it."


    "It better" Sam looked annoyed at Nicholai for her comment.


    "I wouldn''t see why not, if it''s connected to our minds"


    "I wouldn''t get your hopes up though"


    "My mind tells me to be more inclined to listen to Lee than you, Nicholai"


    "That''s fair, by the way, how are we gonna cook anything?"


    "With a...fire..." We all looked around, none of us brought anything to start a fire, and all the branches on the trees were higher up.


    "Well, let''s forget about cooking then, there were some snacks left over right?"


    "Rightio! Let''s have a movie night in the Quinzee!" Sam grabbed a bag of stuff and headed in.


    "OI! You''re not picking the movie!" Nicholai followed. The thing was pretty big, but considering it was around other piles of snow, it was overall hard to notice.


    "It''ll be fine, no need to stand guard, come on" I soon headed in with Kenneth.


    "Cozy" Sam sat with her legs to her chest.


    "It''s deserved considering most are normally made for two or three people" We were now all sat down somewhere.


    "Right, we sorta had to extend it" It took a minute to explain how, but Nicholai was eventually taught how to use her HUD for movies, in the middle of her being taught, I sorta realized something.


    "So...who''s gonna find that thing being dropped?"


    "With our stuff?" Sam leaned forward.


    "Yeah"


    "Hm, well-" Kenneth was about to stand until I did


    "I''ll go for i-"


    "Sit down" I sat instantly back down after Nicholai glared at me.


    "I''ll get back to it" Kenneth stood up and went out.


    Nicholai continued to search for something to watch, while she did that, I tried summoning a few things that could be considered mine, yet none of them worked. I held my journal recently before I died...maybe...It strained my head a bit, but when I shut my hand slightly, the journal appeared in my hand.


    "Would ya look at that" I flicked off the clip keeping the mass amount of pages closed, it opened up and stopped at a random page.


    "Oh! That one was the school festival" Sam was peeking over.


    "We''re taking a trip down memory lane huh?" Nicholai closed her hud and looked over at the both of us.


    "We could use the HUD''s database, but this feels much more personal...even if the database is our memories." I put my thumb at the bottom so the pages wouldn''t move.


    "I get what you mean, instead of just rewatching it all happen again, we can see how you felt about it all" Sam opened a box of chocolates and ate one.


    "Well, I guess I''ll give it a read then"


    2 Years Ago-December ??


    Of course, I wouldn''t just rewrite what was in my journal, instead, I''ll include everything that I forgot about when I first wrote it.


    I was walking to school as normal, trudging through the snow, stores and the streets had set up lighting to make up for the darker days at this time of year, it was always odd to me how it would look like it was midnight during the day sometimes, but, at that point in time, I considered it normal. I heard someone scooping up snow and patting it down, while walking I leaned over slightly and grabbed snow from a pile. She had done this many times at this point, that me doing this is warranted. After i patted down the snow into a ball, I waited until I stopped hearing footsteps crunching in the snow, and the moment I did, I turned around and threw the snowball at her, the two snowballs collided mid-air and the snow fell down to the ground, causing a small pewf sound.


    "Come ooon Lee~ Why can''t you just let me have one win?" Sam slouched a bit, clearly joking about being upset, once she was done her normal, positive attitude came back as she skipped over to me.


    "I simply just remember how you are"


    "Wow, I mean that much to you?" Her voice obviously implied that she was teasing. "Oh! Do you know what today is?


    "Festival, I recall"


    "Yep Yep!" I continued walking, with her soon walking at my side. "I''m gonna do the run! Ooh! or! That Cafe thing"


    "You can admit to wanting to do it all"


    "I wanna do it all!"


    "I guess it makes sense you''d be so hyper about it"


    "Of Course I''d be hyper about it, I''m gonna make sure I never have to go back to a hospital"


    Current Time: "Hold on" Nicholai interrupted


    "What?" I looked up from my journal.


    "Who''s to say Sam isn''t still inflicted with that illness?"


    "Well, I seem and feel fine" Sam had put her feet together while her hands were placed in the little circle her legs made.


    "Still...we were able to find something for you before you died, and it''s unlikely it would run out instantly...we should keep a lookout for it returning...anyways...it was just something I noticed, continue." I looked back down and continued.


    Back to the Journal:


    "You can''t stay out of it forever, you still need checkups"


    "Waaaah, It''s been working for two years, I''ll be okay."


    "Riiight"


    "Sir, Miss"


    Current Time: "Oh! It''s Dave!" Sam''s interjected.


    Back to Journal:


    A small robot the size of a torso floated in the air in front of us.


    "Where''s Ken?"


    "The Broker twins have already made it to school, I was sent to go after you two as you are later than normal"


    "Yeah, Sam overslept" With her foot she gently hit my ankle.


    "You could''ve woken me up"


    "Hey, I tried, you''re something else when it comes to not waking up, you could win a competition with that"


    "That''s fair" Before we knew it, we had made it to the school, students were running about, parents were amused, and the teachers looked dead inside from dealing with us


    "Ah, you two are finally here" One of the teachers leaned on the gate, seemingly making sure any adult was actually a parent.


    "Not surprised you noticed us"


    "Pink-haired girl, [email protected]</a> guy, pretty noticeable"


    Current Time: A painful headache washed over me, that wasn''t right at all, that''s not what I wrote...


    :"Uh...wasn''t...it green hair? You got the white hair when you died" Sam leaned back, giving me space.


    "You gonna be alright?" Nicholai sounded concerned. "Maybe you read it wrong?" She took it from my hand and looked at it "...or not..."


    "We all make mistakes...but...Lee''s journal having one...and it being about white-hair..." Sam looked down.


    "Would that mean our memories in that database would be you having white-hair?" Nicholai started going through the database on her HUD.


    "You know...it''s sorta odd that Lee was the only person who changed visually" Sam pointed it out, and we all began thinking on it..


    "What Raymond said about what I may be able to do if I get my power...the visual change...Sam gained her weapon to protect me and not herself like we were told..."


    "And the fact he clearly has a bias to us"


    "Right, why send us our stuff in the middle of thi-" A spike pierced through the snow beside Nicholai, if Kenneth was still in here he would''ve gotten killed.


    "What a waste of two hours!" Nicholai, clearly pissed off, summoned her scythe and slashed above us, splitting apart the snow. Another spike flew at us, grazing Nicholai''s shoulder. We all went to run, it caused my leg to burn heavily, but I managed.


    "How is Kenneth gonna find us?"


    "He''ll figure it out" Nicholai was the person to answer Sam, as I was focused on running and keeping my leg from locking in pain.I winced as the pain had gotten to its peak, I looked down and gritted my teeth that was until my focus went to something else, as my leg was in the middle of the air, before touching the ground, I saw a purple line, something like a tendril, for where I was about to be. It was too late to redirect myself, and as soon as I landed, the tendril recoiled back before it swinged at me, I thought it would be nothing, yet, it felt like I was hit with a cannon, as I was sent flying into a tree. My head slammed into a tree and everything went numb as I landed in the snow on my stomach, i hadn''t realized how far I was until I noticed Sam and Nicholai far off in the distance. Both of them looked worried and frantically looked around. I wanted to tell them to just leave, yet I couldn''t, all I could do was let out a wheeze as I couldn''t catch any breath. I reached out for them, with my shaking, numb hand, yet it was futile, as it didn''t take long for me to succumb to the pain, my eyes closed and my grip on life had eventually let go with it

 Chapter 3:-...Sticks together....forever

    Red lights...and a hallway, I felt like I was a child again...so weak and frail. A white-haired woman crouched down in my sight, holding my shoulders, a familiar man stood behind her wielding a halberd


    "No matter what happens...you...you have to live" Creatures began appearing at the end of the hallway, their tendrils, were similar to the one back at the trial...They all looked similar to each other, yet, there were very distinctive differences, all of this felt surreal.


    "Marin" The man spoke, clearly towards the woman. The woman took out a sheathed sword and clipped the sheath with the blade to my side.


    "Right...good luck... Kiddo" The woman patted me on the head until something began pulling me.


    I took a sharp breath, all I saw was white until I lifted my head, something felt off, using my arms I pushed myself onto my side and there I saw it, a weirdly designed sword attached to my uniform. It was a struggle to stand, after all, who really knows how long it''s been. I took a step yet a sharp pain took over, I was ready to fall back into the snow so I extended my hand to catch myself, however, it went differently, the sword at my hip had summoned at my hand, the blade dug into the ground while my arm was able to rest on the curved hilt. I had only now just come to the realization that this was much more difficult. I raised and moved the sword as far as I could before I dropped back down on it. This was the only way I could move, I could tell my leg got worse as it felt warm, I looked down at it, my blood was still red, yet, I could see a hint of purple along with it. What the hell? There wasn''t much I could do about it except for moving onward. It was a chore, it was painful, and I barely got anywhere. The only reason I kept going was because of my thoughts Who were they? Why did the sword appear now? What were those creatures? Why is there purple in my blood? I couldn''t find an answer to any of them. I stepped forward one more time, my foot hit a root under the snow, sending me down, yet, instead my breath was knocked out of me as I landed on something metal.


    "Sorry Sir" The voice sounded familiar.


    "Dave?"


    "Yes, I intended to follow Kenneth as he ended up alone, however, before I could reach him, I noticed everyone but you reunited with him, thus, I looked for you instead"


    "I got knocked...far from everyone"


    "I know sir, do not speak unless necessary, it is best you recover from injuries"


    "But...I gotta walk"


    "You may lean on me instead of using your sword as a crutch, it will ease your legs, and rid you of the need to move your sword every step"


    "Thanks...Dave"


    "It was not me who found you, I was not yet connected to everyone after they were brought back to life, instead I had help"


    "From?" I moved back a little, that way I could see where Dave was facing, but still close enough to lean on him. I looked towards where he was facing and was greeted by a small cat. "A cat...led you?"


    "Affirmative, you may introduce yourself"


    "It''s a ca-


    "Hewwo! :D"


    "...What the fu-"


    "This is what the breaker is? Not the magic, ressurection?"


    "That''s like...common fantasy stuff not a talking cat"


    ":<" The cat looked sorrowful...it''s expressions sorta remind me of Sam


    "Guess I don''t have much a choice, I''m Lee"


    "Kaz!" With no warning Kaz hopped up onto my shoulder, surprisingly, they barely weighed a thing, at least with what I could feel. And so, although very slowly, the three of us continued on. It was much easier than using the sword like a crutch.


    "You said you saw them with Kenneth...where''d they go?"


    "They are unfortunately far, if you do not feel as though you can proceed, you may rest atop of me."


    "We both know your stuff isn''t strong enough to carry someone"


    "That is true, although, Sam was carrying heavy stuff as well"


    "Sam is also light"


    "That is also true" Somewhere along the way Kaz decided to sleep atop Dave, leaving the two of us to converse instead.


    "So...where''d the cat come from?"


    "I do not know, when I was found, Kaz was with them, Kaz claims she knows us, however, previous records do not show that, I presume it is due to what Raymond and Kai have said about previous timelines."


    "You''re saying Kaz hopped timelines?"


    "It is a claim I cannot prove, perhaps they are from the future of this timeline"


    "Wouldn''t that create a new timeline? As we''re not keeping events the same?"


    "I do not know how this Multiverse''s timelines work, I am making assumptions based on literature and media, as it seems our world has some similarites to them."


    "So much info..."


    "I assume we need to know it all now, rather than later, perhaps there is a greater strength that''s to come"


    "Like that damned thing that launched me?"


    "Pardon?"


    "Some purple tendril thing launched me...thinking on it actually...it looked similar to the ones I saw in that vision..."


    "No creature that can casue harm to the people in the trial should be here"


    "Great...so we got problems"


    "Raymond has formed a team with me, thus I can instantly contact him, I will provide a warning"


    "Form a team?"


    "One moment..." I saw one of Dave''s four blue dots(Which were eyes) turn to a buffer symbol, a second later, it went away "I will explain it in terms easier to understand, rather than the explanation Raymond gave. Teams allow you to warp to each other, see each other''s health and status, along with seeing them on the HUD''s map, and mini-map"


    "That sounds handy"


    "It would have been better if a team was formed amongst you all at the start, that way the others could have found u-"


    The lights of the trials shut down, now it seemed like it was midnight, however it wasn''t the slow shutting down like yesterday, this time was instant, an intercom turned on with static, and a voice could be heard from some trees, and the ground.


    "Warning! Everyone, outside forces have forced their way into the trials, here on out, everyone is on the same team, do not fight each other, I repeat, do not fight other people in the trials, we will be sending CEF forces" The intercom shut down. Like a swarm, in the corner of my eye I saw many names appear, like ''Anna has joined the team'' and all that, it was a ton of names to read, I couldn''t even keep up, yet, like I thought, I saw the others.


    ''Sam Calstianos has joined the team''


    ''Kenneth Broker has joined the team''


    ''Nicholai Broker has joined the team''


    I managed to open the map in my HUD and I saw hundreds of dots, all with different colors, I hovered over one and it said their name, with that understood, I searched the entire map for them I searched the entire top side, seeing they weren''t there, I began to go down the map, I was ready to search again until I saw Pink, Orange, and Yellow dot rapidly approaching me.


    "I see him!" I heard Sam''s voice from the trees and soon saw the three when I turned around.


    "So they were right" Kenneth came over to my side and helped support me.


    "Sit em down" It was clear that they acknowledged Kaz and Dave, however, there were obviously more important things, like making sure I could run from whatever that creature was. Once I was set down Nicholai held her hand above where my heart is, a green mist began coming out and I could see my leg being healed.


    "H-"


    "I learned it on accident when helping up Kenneth" Once the green mist stopped, she moved her hand away. "Try moving it" I moved my foot up and down, there was still a decent amount of pain, but not like before, this pain was much more manageable, from crushing, stabbing pain, to getting hit with a bat pain. I stood up slowly, only staggering slightly.


    "So something did hit you, we looked away for a moment and you were gone the next second" As Sam, spoke I looked around, something moved along the tree-line and it wasn''t showing on the map "I tried looking b-...what''re you looking at?" Sam, and soon everyone else, looked over to where I was, I raised my hand and pointed towards the tree and after three seconds an outline of a creature through the wall appeared.


    "What the hell?" The three summoned their weapons, I went for my sword, yet when I felt where the hilt was nothing was there.


    "uh..." I looked down to my left, it wasn''t there, when I checked my right side, once more, it wasn''t there.


    "What''re you looking for?" Kenneth grabbed my shoulder.


    "I-I had a sword, or, at least I thought I did"


    "Correct" Dave assured me. "You had a sword, however, once you began leaning on me, it vanished."


    "Great" I took out my knife and prepared myself. I began shifting backwards, with everyone doing the same a moment later. The outline soon faded.


    "Hey Lee, try pointing again, maybe it''s a ping system" As Sam suggested, I pointed again, like predicted, the outline appeared.


    "Handy" I sounded irritated, this entire thing has just been me getting bodied, and my thoughts sounded that way too. The outline began to slither around, approaching us while sticking to the trees.


    "Sir, as the Database implies, you are the leader of the team, what is the course of action?" It was hard to think of anything, I didn''t know what it did after all and I didn''t want anyone hurt.


    "Sam, what''s the ranged version?" I looked over at her dagger and sickle. After a moment, they changed into two pistols, yet, the design of them seemed odd, like it was something more. "Think you can use the chains to pull yourself somewhere?"


    "I think there''s a motor" While the chains were wrapped around the hilt of each weapon, it was coming from the bottom.


    "Alright, here''s the idea then" The creature began approaching much more rapidly. "Sam will pull herself onto that tree" Without me even pointing, the tree I was referring to was outlined and pinged "Sam will draw its fire, if it can''t reach keep doing so, if it can, move around but make sure it''s next to the tree, Kenneth will provide support, and Nicholai will cut the bottom of the tree with her scythe, hopefully it crushes it"


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "I can help!" Kaz was standing on Dave, I took another look and noticed her claws were sharp


    "Then you''ll help us finish it off" She seemed content with that.


    "Sound enough plan!" Sam threw her sickle at the branch of the tree, it missed, and so she threw the dagger, stabbing it into the tree. She gripped tighter onto the hilt and soon she was reeled into the side of the tree, though, she stopped herself from hitting it by putting her foot forward.


    "She got the hang of it fast" I looked back at everyone else, it seems we were in agreement. WIth nowhere else to go, the creature got out of the treeline, making itself visible, it was a disgusting monster, it was barely transparent with a purple hue to its entire body, it didn''t even have legs, instead its lower half scrapped amongst the ground, yet no part of it was left even with its liquid like texture.


    "Inside...that''s a body isn''t it?" At first I couldn''t tell what Nicholai was referring to, yet, when I tried really hard to look at it, I noticed a decomposing body within it.


    "No one mention it to Sam, we don''t need friendly fire" Everyone nodded, with Dave using one of his robotic fingers to mimic a thumbs up, most likely due to the fact he couldn''t nod without throwing Kaz off. Nicholai and Kenneth went to their respective spots, Nicholai beside the tree ready to cut it, and Kenneth on the opposite side. Thing was, the creature continued to approach me, Kaz, and Dave instead. I raised my arm, closing my hand into a fist, I waited as long as I could before I pulled my arm down, while making sure my hand was still up. Yet nothing happened, a moment later, instead of the bullet I expected from Sam, her dagger stabbed it instead, even with its liquid look, the dagger didn''t go in and instead, actually acted as though it pierced skin. The creature made some distorted sounding noise before turning up at the tree. That was until an arrow hit it, and it turned to Kenneth instead, it began to approach him, and as soon as it was in range of the tree- "Sam, Off! Nicholai! You''re up!" I couldn''t see if Sam jumped off or not, I could however watch as Nicholai primed herself before swinging, cutting the entire bottom section of the tree except for a small portion that way it''d tilt where we want. The branches of the tree clashed with other branches, causing small pieces to fling around and leaves to crunch as the entire thing came down. The creature looked up before it was fully crushed, yet, it continued to writhe around, seemingly trying to tear itself in half.


    "It is time for Kaz" Dave boosted forwards before curving up slightly, giving Kaz something akin to a ramp for speed. She slashed at the creature, it stopped temporarily, yet soon got back to it.


    "Anymore ideas?" I saw Kenneth turn to me, with that, I decided to do what I thought was best. I rushed forward and when i got close, I gripped the hilt of my knife, put my left hand on the back of the hilt, and impaled it, intending to hit the corpse residing within. As my knife pierced through whatever invisible skin it had, it truely became something similar to slime, as my full hand went through it. It began reforming its invisible skin as I could feel my hand being crushed, but I raised my other hand and slammed it back down on the knife, stabbing the corpse within, I didn''t even have to stab it in far, as soon as it was cut even slightly the creature had gone limp and its grip on my arm faded. I tried pulling my arm out, yet the grip it had on me was enough to keep me there.


    "Heya...anyone mind helping?" I saw Kenneth perk up before he came over.


    "On three" He grabbed my arm "One...two" His grip got stronger "And three!" We both began pulling my arm out, it was slowly ripping itself from the creature''s grasp and soon I was out, both of us fell on the ground and my arm was covered in purple gunk.


    "Ugh" I shook my arm rapidly, it was stuck onto me, it took a while before it came off.


    "Are you two alright?" I felt an arm on my shoulder, and Sam''s voice.


    "I think so...What happened with the pistols?"


    "It wouldn''t shoot, even with the safety off" Sam looked disappointed in herself


    "Well..." I stood up, Kenneth soon did the same "It worked out in the end, nothing to worry about"


    "Yet I doubt that was it" Nicholai was there with her arms crossed "I doubt they''d need a full team to take that out, there are most likely more, perhaps that one was just a weaker variant, like a baby version"


    "You think they get bigger?" Nicholai nodded in response to me.


    "It wouldn''t make sense for an entire military group to be made for such an easy to manage thing" There was short silence.


    "I guess we should head to where everyone else is" Kenneth moved his hair back, looking in a direction I assumed was the gathering place.


    "Agreed, the sooner we''re with others the better" I moved my shoulder a bit, in hopes it relieved the tension it had. Everyone''s feet began moving as we started going through the forest, but not before I turned over to look at the creature one last time.


    "Holding up fine?" I was ready to get back to thinking however Nicholai spoke up instead.


    "Yeah, feels like I''m straining it a bit, but nothing too bad" There was a minor limp to my movement, but not anything else that would be concerning. Dave and Kaz eventually got in front of everyone, probably because he wasn''t getting tired from walking.


    "So, where''d the cat come from!" Sam had a boost of energy to her.


    "Kaz was with me when we were deployed" Kaz hopped off of Dave and landed in Sam''s arms, where she was held with joy.


    "Hehe~"


    "Sam likes cats?" Kenneth looked backwards at me "Thought she had an allergy?"


    "Being DTs probably got rid of it, just like the rest of her medical problems."


    "We should still make sure it doesn''t return though" Sam, stuck in her euphoria, ignored most of the conversation we were having, that was until she stepped on a branch, reverting her attention to reality. We all turned our heads to face ahead, we saw a crowd of people with their weapons drawn to us. "Oi relax, we look nothing alike to them you blind bast-" Kenneth placed his arm on Nicholai''s shoulder


    "And you should relax too." Everyone lowered their weapons.


    "This is the last of em" Amist the crowd were a handful of people wearing black uniforms, and half-masks covering the lower portion of their face, devices on their wrist, and much more modified weaponry, I also took notice of a CEF armband wrapped around their upper arm right before their shoulder. "We''ll have you all exit the facility while we deal with the threat" The crowd began to speak, yet I could only hear bits and pieces


    "We ain''t all rookies!"


    "We dealt with some alone! Where were you then?"


    "My group could get rid of em all"


    "You know, if they''re not bluffing we''d have lost this" Nicholai with her arms crossed spoke towards me, yet didn''t face me in the slightest.


    "I know that, considering they''re double the size of our group." Nicholai was silent for a moment, leaning forward while looking at them.


    "guess so"


    "Don''t kid yourselves" One of the CEF with a much deeper voice spoke. I had started to notice Sam raising her heel, looking around the crowd.


    "Looking for someone?" She jumped a bit from the random conversation.


    "Oh, I''m uh, looking for Kyle and Kayla...we don''t know if they came back or not..."


    "Ah...well...we don''t necessarily know if they even died...they would be good people to help us train though."


    "and they''d probably love fighting even more with magic." She got back to flat feet.


    "You six" A CEF soldier came up to us "I''ll be escorting you all to the exit of the facility"


    "What''d, Raymond send you to help us?" I saw the soldier''s eyes glint with annoyance.


    "Don''t think you are special, even with Raymond''s rank he can''t control our actions, meerly slightly influence them" I saw everyone''s expression go from upbeat to paranoia.


    "Lead the way then" With how it was now, the CEF soldier was leading the way, with Me and Sam right behind them...Kaz if you count her in Sam''s arms, and the other three behind us, we created somewhat of a triangle formation.


    "Didn''t have to be a bitch about it" Nicholai mumbled behind us, I could tell the soldier heard but decided not to respond. It was how the soldier said, other CEF soldiers began taking the groups towards different exits.


    "Reminds me of the outbreak" When I turned my head back I saw Kenneth doing the same, looking to groups of people disorganized, trying to get to exits, some even went on their own.


    "Hm!" Sam joined the looking back crew, while Kenneth looked back forward, towards us. "You and Nicholai were trying to join the evacuation right?


    "Right, though, we were too late, there wasn''t enough room"


    "Oh...that sucks..." Sam didn''t say anything else, yet, we weren''t in silence either, the trees began to rustle and the guard stopped all of us from continuing, by summoning a glowing katana. We followed suit, summoning our weapons...of course, with the exception of me still. Soon, we saw it, a creature just like before, yet, with different features, leaping out of the trees, we were ready to fire at it until a massive red line cut through the air and the creature, it was like time came to a halt until the creature tore apart into pieces along with the body within it. We all stood there shocked, eyes widened, and silent.


    "Come along now, I don''t intend to babysit you all forever" We all followed with our heads down, not saying a word. "You should know by now that they''re corruptors"


    "They don''t look alike at all" Nicholai spoke quietly.


    "No, because the one most of you dealt with were the base variant, if all corruptors were like that, we wouldn''t need the CSF or CEF, as you should''ve seen, that one resembled a horror movie human, walking on arms and legs, climbing walls and surfaces, disfigured, all of that, all Corruptors have a purple hue or mist to them, but not everything with a purple hue or mist is a corruptor." He rested the blade of the weapon on his shoulder. "Here we are" I thought I was dreaming when I saw a wall similar to the one me and Sam found at the start.


    The guard stood beside the door, looking past us and back into the trees, deciding I should do it, i steped forward and opened the door, to see that it led back into the room we were in when we first left Raymond''s office. I stepped forward, into the door and room, where i was greeted by instant warmth. Unlike when we were first here, the room was quiet now that nobody was in here. The others soon followed, some sighing now that they were warm again.


    "I love winter and all...but being warm is better" Sam sat down on a couch, with Kaz still in her arms.


    "Seems everybody is back in one piece" Raymond came out of his office. "Most of the corruptors have been dealt wit-"


    "You got some explaining to do" To the surprise of most of my peers, I interrupted Raymond.


    "Pardon?"


    "Our memories being locked, what''s the deal with that?"


    "The HUD can''t make you remember things you''ve forgotten"


    "Then what about the vision I saw? I was young, and I could''ve sworn I saw creatures that looked similar to the corruptors" Raymond sighed.


    "There have been instances where corruptors have invaded earth, most humans, due to their lack of magic, had difficulties resisting the effects, and thus, most of them lost memories, it''s probably why you don''t recall your family"


    "Lee was born with Brown hair, not white, so why are memories distorting and acting like he always had white hair?" Sam pitched in, standing up and walking back over to everyone


    "Corruptors can influence sight, it''s not far fetched to assume you all thought he had brown or green hair, does anyone even recall him going to get his hair dyed?" His question was a strong point, no one answered.


    "There was a woman with white hair in that memory, is it farfetched to think it was my mother?"


    "Not at all, if anything, it''s highly possible, if you said there were corruptors, she may have sacrificed herself so you could live" I looked to the floor, a hand patted my shoulder.


    "It''s alright, we don''t know that" Sam did her best to sound reassuring, yet, it wasn''t her dying I was concerned about, more so... my past hatred for being left alone, and now I''m learning they died saving me...it was somewhat true...I was left alone, but the reason was the opposite, they did it out of care...and yet, none of this may even be true.


    "So why not revive them?" Nicholai was no longer crossing her arms, instead leaning slightly forward.


    "It''s much harder to revive adults, though, to be specific, the age it gets more difficult is above 26."


    "And I felt like I was 5"


    "Unless your mom had you early, at minimum, she''d still not be easily revivable, you''re 16, 17ish? hell even if she did have you early in her life she''d go past 26, and it becomes almost impossible after 40-50s."


    "You were specific about 26, why is it impossible for 40-50?" NIcholai seemed curious, obviously looking for an answer now.


    "It depends on the person, if they were healthy or not, as I said though, that''s almost impossible, we managed to revive some older people, though we focused more on people experienced in conflicts and war to help strategize with us, sadly, even with my attention on you all, I have to focus on everyone first"


    "I don''t take offense to that, I get you had to do it rather than focus on some random kid''s mom" I was slightly hurt, yet, what could I do about it?


    "Any other questions?" He didn''t sound hostile, rather more somber. No one answered, no one had anymore. Raymond nodded, understanding what the silence meant. "If you all want, you can form your team now that you have the time, I''ve uploaded the guide to your HUDs." He opened a portal about to go in. "If you''re all worried about anything, you all have my contact info, I get you''re all still young, and fighting for a world you don''t know about is stressful...fighting at a young age is stressful, so...make sure you take care of yourselves and if needed, quit, your safety comes first" After that he went into the portal. It was silent once again.


    "W-well...should we get our taem...er team, set up?" Sam fumbled her words slightly.


    "Nothing else to do for now" I went into my HUD, instead of reading the database, I noticed the tab itself, I went into it, and without looking at anything else, pressed the create team button, and then a massive line of text boxes appeared. "Err..."


    "Wh- what the hell is that!?" Nicholai turned over and changed her sentence when seeing all the text boxes.


    "Well, good luck typing buddy" Kenneth patted my back.


    "What do you mean? You''re all helping" I smirked, while Sam was joyful to make a team, the other two looked dead, Dave seemed indifferent, not like he had anything but four circles for eyes to look at, and Kaz had fallen asleep at some point.


    "Right, let''s get this done with already" Nicholai sat down, and Kenneth leaned on a wall.


    "Team nam-" I tried to ask, until Sam instantly responded after realizing what i was gonna say.


    "Bravo 6!"


    "No contest?" No one contested.


    "huh...we can make an emblem here too...we''ll do that later, Base/Outpost of operations...we don''t...really have a base yet just for us huh?"


    "Nope...skip, it''s optional like the emblem." The other three had gotten into the same menu, but instead of typing, it was just to look at what I was seeing.


    "Team Members" When I tapped on the plus symbol, it opened my contacts, I tapped everyone accordingly.


    Lee


    Sam Calstianos


    Kenneth Broker


    Nicholai Broker


    Dave


    Kaz...


    "Kaz?" I must''ve subconsciously tapped her contact...no, how do i have it?


    "Sir, do not think too far into it, it is probably easier to explain than you realize."


    "Skill assessment...oh, this one is automatic, it changes after every fight...guess we didn''t fight enough to be judged...and the text box is just to startle me...weaponry, also automatic, automatic...ah! Team...saying and team tag?"


    "Like a slogan?" Kenneth sounded confused.


    "I guess?"


    "Tag! Like a game! B6STF! if it''ll fit" I inputted what Sam said and instantly, I saw our names change, on the leftmost side it had it, for example.


    [B6STF]Sam Calstianos


    It actually was like a game...there was probably a setting to disable this.


    "STF? Isn''t that..." Nicholai looked towards Sam.


    "It''s a part of our saying! You all know it!" Sam, being eager as ever, went into the center of her room, closing her free hand into a fist and holding it out. "Come on! If we''re gonna say it we gotta do it right!" I couldn''t help but smile, I walked over and held my hand out.


    "You two, come on" Kenneth and Nicholai followed our actions soon after, our fists were all making contact.


    "Ready everyone!" Sam asked, clearly hyper. We all nodded, letting her take the lead. "Bravo Team!" We all opened our hands as we raised them to the sky while we all continued the cheer.


    "Sticks together forever!"

 Chapter 4: Embracing the New Life

    Our hands stayed raised for a little while longer before we lowered them.


    "I take it I''m being the leader?"


    "Yep yep!" Sam nodded while speaking.


    "Gotta say" Nicholai scratched her neck "We got a weird crew very fast, mainly the cat"


    "I have to agree, a lot has happened in such a short time, resurrection, Kaz, Dave, the vision...I just want a break" I sat down and slouched.


    "Oh! apparently we do want a base" Sam had her HUD still open, I noticed that the base of operations section was filled out with an address.


    "Uuuuggggh" I sunk even more into the seat. "Please, we''ll visit it later"


    "And where are you gonna relax?" Nicholai looked down at me.


    "Fiiiine, base it is" I grabbed the armrests and pulled myself up. "Where is it"


    "Seems it''s an extension of Eaxura, oh! There''s a warp button!"


    "Thank whatever god there is" We all opened up our HUDs and pressed the warp button, instantly, as the name suggests, we were warped to the location in less than a second. My sights were taken over by a decently sized building.


    "I take it we''re going to have to add stuff to it ourselves" Kenneth was looking through the windows of the building, while I walked to the front, where a hand-scanner was. I placed my hand on it, and a moment later the door opened. I stood beside the doorway and held the door open for everyone as they went in.


    "Thanks" I barely heard Nicholai as she went in.


    "Thank you" Kenneth nodded with his thanks.


    "Thanks Lee!" It was one of those loud whispers, as to not wake up Kaz.


    "Thank you sir" I saw Dave tilt slightly as he entered, seeing everyone was in, I headed inside myself, to be greeted by, emptiness, sure, there were a few needed things, there was a fridge, a relaxing area with chairs and a couch with a table in the middle, however, everything else, was up to us.


    "Seems like a Sam job" With her hand in her jacket''s pockets, she tilted her head towards Sam.


    "You''re talking like we have money" Though by accident, I mimicked Nicholai''s arm crossing.


    "Ah, damn, good point"


    "We''ll make do for now" All of our HUDs popped up with a message from Raymond


    ''Congrats for making your team (¤Ã£Þ?£Þ)¤Ã. Just so you all know,


    the base, you will all have to manual furnish, however your rooms are


    already made, it works on the same basis the HUD does''


    -Raymond


    ''So why can''t we just band together and have the base


    be based on everyone''s mind''


    -Lee


    ''We actually don''t know, we tried before, but it didn''t work,


    we tried giving essentials, stuff for cooking, relaxing, and even a


    mission briefing area. By the way, we''ll have to teach you all how


    to dimension travel...the whole point of why we exist.''


    -Raymond


    ''Normally we hold a ceremony for DTs who passed the trials but,


    considering the numbers, we can''t do that this time, so...think of


    yourselves as bonafide DTs''


    -Raymond


    ''Doesn''t really feel like it''


    -Sam?


    ''Where''d that thing next to your name come from?''


    -Nicholai


    ''If I see a way to have a rose I get it!''


    -Sam?


    ''Yeah that''s about right''


    -Kenneth


    "You know we''re right next to each other right?" I looked at everyone.


    "Oh...Imma be honest I thought we all went our separate ways to our rooms." Kenneth scratched the back of his neck as he spoke.


    ''Anyways! I''ll let you all relax for the rest of the day, we''ll continue


    things tomorrow, along with trying to get Lee his weapon''


    -Raymond


    "Hey, how did you all summon your weapons"


    "Well, other than the first time, I just felt it in my soul and summoned it, like a prompt" I did my best to follow what Sam said, trying to get some feeling in my soul, I felt a spark of feeling, yet, no matter what I tried it wouldn''t appear. I couldn''t do anything but sigh, even though nothing came from it, I still felt exhausted.


    "Don''t go straining yourself, if you can''t, you can''t." It''s not right though...where did the sword come from then? I leaned on it, so it had to be real. My mind tried rationalizing what it was. However, I came to understand Nicholai had a point, if I couldn''t now, straining myself would make it worse.


    "I don''t see a room for the cat" Kenneth''s voice was quieter, at first I was confused until I noticed he was farther away, looking around a corner.


    "Well, considering the cat took a liking to Sa-"


    "I''ll take care of her" before finishing what Nicholai was saying, Sam nominated herself.


    "Speaking of Kaz, she knew us somehow, we should get to asking how"


    "I was thinking the same thing" Kenneth had returned to the group. "Considering what Raymond said though, we really should use the rest of the day to relax.


    "Agreed, Lee especially" She probably didn''t mean to make it sound like that, but it did sound somewhat mocking.


    "I get it, I didn''t try to get stabbed and whacked a bunch" My voice clearly sounded irritated.


    "So, we''re all heading to bed?" Sam, as always, was still beaming with energy, though slightly less than at the start.


    "I wonder, if we can watch shows on the HUDs, is it possible to play games?" The question washed over me while we started walking to the area our rooms were.


    "Like browser games?" While Nicholai asked, Sam was already checking to see if we could.


    "That, but he probably also meant just games in general, the HUD clearly has some processing power, videos, chats, calls, mail, map, it may be a part of our mind, but it''s the same look for everyone, so it has to be a part of some greater system." Kenneth had entered some thinking mode, if it was possible he''d probably dissect the HUDs and check how it works.


    "We can!" Sam''s voice was sounded with joy, her HUD''s screen was an old browser game, however, the second she tried to actually play with, it was stuck in eternal loading.


    "You went to an online game...to test it, you...remember how the world was when we died right?" Nicholai''s voice was more concerned than her usual mockery.


    "To be fair, the servers are still up...maybe it''s taking it from another version of earth?"


    "Don''t think so, there would be multiple Eaxuras then, so they wouldn''t need us, I think a place is unique to each dimension or Multiverse"


    "So there''s only one earth? Is that what you''re getting at Lee?" We got to where our rooms were, Nicholai leaned on the doorframe while we continued talking.


    "One earth in this multiverse, could be wrong, probably am, but it''s just a guess"


    "Everyone rest well!" Sam spoke to everyone before heading in her room, and with nothing else to say, we all went into our own rooms. When I entered mine, the sword from before was hanging on the wall above my bed, there was also a note by the nightstand, deciding there was no point in questioning things anymore, I walked over to the nightstand, the note was under a coin and a revolver


    ''We found these on you after you died, figured you may want it back''


    -Kai


    I flipped the coin before catching it. The coin was scratched up, with the words engraved on it being the most ruined, to the point it couldn''t be read anymore. There wasn''t anything special about it, just a coin I recalled having for ages wonder what drew me to it I thought as I held up the coin to the light. I put the coin away after yawning, and figuring it was somewhat a hazard, took down the sword, and set it beside the bed instead. Now the revolver. I couldn''t think of where to put it, leaving it on the nightstand seemed fine for now. I sat on my bed and took more of a look around my room. There was desk with a PC on it, though, it looked something out of a Sci-fi show, no real keyboard...it would probably appear on starting up the PC, the mouse too, and the screen was off, obviously. On the opposite end was a mirror and workbench, the workbench, had some a few things to hold up stuff, it seemed more like a Kenneth thing...yet, I guess we would have to manual care for our weapons, not everything is gonna be magic. I leaned backwards before I ended up laying on the bed, looking upwards at the ceiling, the light instantly turned off when I wanted it to, I couldn''t hear anything from the other three, no walking, no shuffling or anything falling over, I was left to myself. Is this what it''s like to be alone? Of course, I didn''t know if it was even close, the other three were nearby in their rooms, yet, during the outbreak we could hear each other, and if it was dangerous, sleep in the same room.


    ''How''s your room?''


    -Sam


    My HUD appeared in my face, I didn''t have to check who it was from, the rose icon was enough.


    ''Nothing special, there''s probably


    other stuff in here I haven''t looked at yet''


    -Lee


    Sam then messaged a picture of herself holding her camera, winking at whatever took the photo.


    ''Look what I got back :D''


    -Sam


    I suspect this is the stuff we couldn''t pick up from that package they sent during the trials.


    ''What''d you get?''


    -Sam


    ''Only my weapons and a coin


    I didn''t really have much''


    -Lee


    ''Oh, right...I wonder what the other two got''


    -Sam


    There was a moment of silence until Sam sent another message


    ''Well, gonna call it a night, see yaaaaa''


    -Sam


    The icon turned grey and I once more was left to myself. I didn''t feel like moving, nor wanted to, I could make myself more comfortable, but then I''d lose the comfort I had right now. By the time I came up with an answer to what I wanted to do, I had already placed my left hand over my eyes, and drifted off to sleep.


    There wasn''t a dream like before, and yet, I felt as though there was, I felt warm, and the scent was gentle, as though I were laying on the grass, looking upon the gorgeous stars. I reached forward, like I was trying to grab one of the stars, I closed my hands grabbing them, the moment I had, my eyes opened, and my sword was in my hand.


    "oh..." Was the only thing I could mutter, I still felt tired, yet, a part of me felt energized, it created a weird feeling. I let go of the sword by instinct without really thinking about where it would go, but instead of falling down and stabbing me, it vanished, and reappeared where I had left it. My hand went back to the top of my head, I gotta get up eventually...Even telling myself that it took a while, but I still managed to get up after a few minutes. I picked up the revolver. Where do I put you now? I couldn''t just leave it...I tried thinking about what the others did, how they summoned their weapon and made it vanish completely. I did the motion they did, a swish with my arm before letting go, like the others, it disappeared, making sure, I tried feeling it, the grip and how it was, I motioned my hand as though grabbing something mid-air, and after a few tries, it appeared. There we go...I didn''t need it now though, so once more, I made it vanish.


    I grabbed the sword and was going to make it vanish until it began moving on its own. I let go of it and shuffled backwards getting ready for anything. The sword flew forwards at me, I was getting ready to move out of the way until the sword moved upwards above me, and went instantly down, I thought I was going to get impaled until I heard a button click. My back felt heavier, I went over to the mirror, on my back was as sword sheath, with the sword holstered in it. "I take it you got some mind of your own?" I tapped the hilt of the sword, it shuffled a bit. "I''ll take that as a yes." Did the sword turn out like this because I felt alone? A small grin formed on my face. With a new-found friend, I walked to the door and opened it, Nicholai and Kenneth were leaning on their doorframe, while Sam was stretching and yawning.


    "Gooood morning everyone!" Sam looked like the only one who got sleep out of us all. Kaz appeared behind Sam leaping up onto her shoulder


    "Gwood Mowning!" Nicholai looked irritated at Kaz, the way she spoke was probably getting to her.


    "We need more clothes..." Nicholai sounded incredibly dejected, if it weren''t for everyone being quiet, I wouldn''t have heard anything.


    "Right, sleeping in the same clothes we were fighting with, and bled in" Kenneth looked at me "Is...disgusting"


    "We''ll nag Raymond about it, for now, let''s get goin-" The door to the base was knocked on, even from the distance we were at, it was still loud and easily snuffed out my voice


    "Damn, not even a minute." Kenneth half-joked, I could tell he was somewhat annoyed. We all dragged ourselves over to the door, of course, Sam was the exception, simply walking over with energy. I stood beside the door and opened it slighty, Raymond was there, hands behind is back, he looked to the left and saw me.


    "Mind letting me in?" With no reason not to, I opened the door. "With you all acting like that, I thought you were doing illegal stuff already" He walked in. "Good morning Bravo 6" I heard Kenneth and Nicholai try to respond, but they were too groggy to actually sound coherent, Sam, although also not giving a response, looked somewhat iffy. "I''ll take it as a good morning...I''ll take the gamble and hope you can at least understand what I''m telling you"


    "Yeah, we can" The others nodded, agreeing with me.


    "Good, in that case, we should get going" Raymond looked back at me, noticing the sword. "Ah, well, seems you learned on your own somehow, no reason to question it, maybe you had some dream" Raymond summoned a mace and slashed down at the air, ripping open a portal.


    "That...simple?" Sam tilted her head slightly.


    "Just gotta know the name of the dimension or world and where you wanna go, otherwise you open a portal to a random spot in that place." Raymond stood beside the portal "You all first" There was a delay in our movement but we eventually started to energize back up and go in the portal. On the other side and where we ended seemed to be a massive arena.


    "Oh, you gotta be kidding" A hand patted my shoulder before they walked forward, showing it was Raymond.


    "Relax, you can''t die remember? And what''s a better way to learn?"


    "You actually teaching us" Nicholai harshly spoke.


    "Nah" The arena began to change, there were highs and lows with the terrain. "We couldn''t do the trials, and we don''t want you fighting our enemies without prior fighting." On the other side of the arena, another team walked in. "It''s newbies against newbies, people with about the same knowledge you do, but instead of hiding in the shadows and striking, it''s simply striking" Raymond continued talking, everyone was more or less half listening. I tapped my sword''s hilt.


    "Hey" The sword hopped out of the sheath a small bit before going back in, showing it heard. "If you can move, does that mean you can fly around and slash people" It moved forward and back twice. "Do it again if that means yes" It did it again "alright."


    "There aren''t really many rules besides for the obvious, one main one is, if someone taps out, they''re out, don''t continue attacking them, three taps is a tap out" Raymond continued, I wasn''t going to listen to much unless I heard ''rules'' or anything about things changing or allowed, or disallowed...While I tried thinking of a strategy, I heard Sam shuffiling over to me.


    "Hey...your sword...is it...? I mean, I saw you talking to it...and it moved..."


    "Yeah, it''s alive, don''t really get how, I was planning to have myself distract anyone who goes for me, while the sword attacks them."


    "Can it do more than slash?" The sword repeated its way of saying yes, by almost hitting me in the back of the head. "You know I don''t mean normal sword stuff right? I meant...you know, weapon changes" Once more, yes. "Oh! Cool"


    "Sam, Lee" Raymond got our attention back "I take it you''re ready?"


    "Always!" Sam had a glint in her eyes, if she could use that as a weapon, it''d probably wipe out the other team instantly. When I looked over at Kenneth and Nicholai, I saw them looking over at the two of us, I took that as a ''We saw the sword being alive'' if I''m wrong I''ll just explain later. A wall appeared in the middle of the arena.


    "Get to whatever spots you want" Raymond vanished after that. Everyone summoned their weapons, while I still had mine sheathed, taking out the revolver instead.


    "Ken" He looked over at me. "How do I do that infinite ammo thing?"


    "Simply imagine the ammunition you''ve used before, it''s very specific, but, you should know by now" I didn''t think of the individual round, that would make reloading this a nightmare, instead, I thought of 6 of them, all in a speedloader. I could tell it was taking a bit longer than just getting the rounds by themselves, yet, it still worked. I reloaded the revolver and readied myself.


    "Are Sam''s weapons broken?" Nicholai leaned backwards, looking at Sam, we turned our attention to her and looked at it.


    "I see" Kenneth walked over and pointed at a little divot in the sickle''s hilt. "Something is missing...I could probably come up wi-"


    "I don''t think so..." I don''t typically interrupt Kenneth, or tell him he''s wrong when it comes to weapons or how things work, yet, I had this nagging feeling that wasn''t it.


    "So what is it?"


    "I...can''t think of anything, it''s...I dunno...too big of a hole for something to be missing."


    "iiiiif everyone is ready, we can get started!" Raymond''s voice came over the intercom, letting his words be heard throughout. "Bravo 6, against the Diamond Dusts"


    "If they''re dust, doesn''t that mean they already got destroyed?" Sam asked it as a genuine question, yet, I could tell no one took it that way. I held my hand up to my mouth to muffle the noise I made while preventing myself from laughing, while Nicholai and Kenneth both chuckled at the comment. "I didn''t mean it like thaaat, it was a simple question!" A beep went off.


    "Seems w-we''re getting a countdown" Nicholai spoke through her smile.


    "Alright everyone, let''s get ready" Another beep. I reached behind me with my left arm and opened my hand, the sword raised itself, and once I felt the hilt in my hand, I grabbed on and pulled forward. I brought the hilt near side, going sideways while still aiming the sword towards where the team was.


    "You act like you''ve used a sword before" Nicholai dug her scythe''s blade in the ground, putting the weight off herself for a while.


    "And you act like you''ve used a scythe before" It was silent for a moment before I gave an actual reply "it''s probably because it''s our souls...we may not know how to actually use it, but our inner souls do, so, simply follow the flow. Ken, when the next beep goes off, fire an arrow"


    "I can do more than one" Kenneth changed his spear into a bow, he primed an arrow, and when the bow started straining on the string, two more arrows appeared, the main arrow looking normal, and the other two looking yellow. The millisecond the beep was heard, Kenneth fired the arrows, it sounded like they cut the air itself. The barrier dropped and a very bright glint aimed towards me was visible. I raised my sword to cut the bullet, but it pierced through my shoulder instead. The force brought me to the ground, I could still hear someone from the opposite team get pissed off as a few arrows hit their mark. A very large blade hooked onto the collar of my outfit before dragging me behind a boulder.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    "DId you really think you were gonna block a bullet?" NIcholai sounded genuinely bothered.


    "I was tryna cut it." Nicholai shook her head.


    "Goddamn child" She unhooked her scythe. When I got a look around, all four of us were behind some cover.


    "Kenneth! Sam, flank around, Nicholai, and the two of us will handle being a diversion"


    "Two of us?" Nicholai looked down at me while pressing her hand near my heart to heal me. The sword left my hand and started flying around. "I...I''m gonna stop questioning things." I got to my feet and grabbed the sword. Sam raised a thumb up before the two started circling around up to the high ground. I took a peek around the corner, the person who shot me was nowhere to be seen, I got back in cover before thinking. The sniper probably went up the hill...Sam and Kenneth are going there too, even if their sniper can change like ours can, it takes time, Sam and Kenneth have advantage


    "Sniper isn''t a problem, ready?" Nicholai nodded. We both turned the corner, the other three were charging at us as well. I got a dumb idea. I thought about what Sam said, if they''re cocky enough to call themselves diamonds...I held the sword in a way the blade was pointing away from the opposite team, but not a reverse grip. Two people went after Nicholai, probably due to the heavy weapon she had. The one going after me pulled their hammer back, about to swing, he looked small, and his expression was intense...way too focused on winning. I brought my sword forward as the hammer swung down at me, it was difficult, but he was clearly too small to use this hammer well...I wouldn''t doubt it wasn''t his main weapon. "So, losing must be your team''s main appeal if you''re calling yourself dust"


    "What?" They looked more confused than hurt, but I still got somewhat what I wanted, their grip loosened. I ducked down under the hammer, it almost dragged me to the floor as the massive blunt end started pulling down my baggy uniform. I hit them with the blunt end of the sword at their chest while I continued moving forward, causing them to stagger backwards. I waited for them to summon their weapon, but when I saw them raise their fists instead...


    "Sword, go and help Nicholai, follow her orders" I opened my hand and the sword instantly flew out of it.


    "What kinda crutch is that?" My opponent was very much annoyed, he slowly, yet carefully started approaching, still with his fists raised. About halfway to me, my HUD opened up with a message from Kenneth


    ''I got it??''


    -Ken


    I was going to tell him not to, that it would be dishonorable, yet, about midway through sending the message, the arrow flew and pierced through the person''s arm, they recoiled back, but they threw their leg back, preventing them from going as far as before.


    "Well, if this is the case" I raised my revolver and shot a round, with no way to react, it pierced through to their heart and knocked them down. A mark appeared above them, signaling that they were out. I turned back towards Nicholai, my sword was up against a two-handed axe. Nicholai seemed to be doing fine with Kenneth''s help. Seeing how much power the guy with the axe was using, I quickly thought of something. I resummoned my sword into my hands and threw it at the axe wielder. Not expecting it, the axe slammed into the ground, digging its blade in. The guy looked bothered, but seeing my sword coming towards him, he let go of the axe and moved out of the way, once the sword passed he got back to where he was before, while trying to dig out his axe.


    I whistled, hopping the sword took that as a ''slash back'' instead, it acted like it meant ''recall'' as it started coming back at me with insane speed, the axe-user heard it going through the air and tried ducking under the sword as it passed, even without a way to express itself, I could sense the sword was irritated, it flipped backwards glowing red and stopping its recall, when it was above the axe-user it immediately shot downwards, the user dug their axe out and slashed upwards, knocking the sword away, he then threw his axe at me. that''s easy to dodge I thought, sidestepping out of the way, and yet, when the axe was beside me, I saw a static effect, and soon, the person was where the axe was, I was too surprised to act, they almost tackled me, yet we both stayed standing, he got behind me and wrapped his arm around my neck before he started pulling. I raised my arm trying to recall my sword, but that only gave him a chance to wrap his other arm around mine before pulling up.


    "No more of that cheap shit" I tried raising my revolver in my other hand, yet felt nothing, my arm had gone numb and I dropped the revolver before I even knew it. I looked down and saw a knife sheath on his leg, I reached down and after a few attempts unclipped it, I went to grab it, but they pulled their leg back and kicked my arm. I looked up at the hill and noticed Kenneth looking for an angle, yet he couldn''t find one. With nothing else to do, I slowly raised my hand and was going to tap out. I tapped once...then twice, yet, on the second tap, I felt his hold loosen, I went to tap one more time but stopped short of an inch, it was enough, his hold got weak enough that I threw my head back, hitting into their nose, seeing their arms move forward I ducked down just enough for Kenneth to fire an arrow and hit the person. Without looking back, I fell to my hands and knees while holding my neck, gasping for air. There was a moment of metal clashing before I heard a thud.


    "Aaaand Bravo Team wins" I looked back at the guy Kenneth shot, he got surrounded by green and his wounds were healed, he easily got back up and although very annoyed, went back to his team. When all four were together they were loudly arguing. The winner''s wounds aren''t healed? I thought, but looking back, it was more a lack of oxygen.


    "Are you alright?" Sam made it down the hill and crouched beside me, placing her hand on my shoulder.


    "He''ll live" Nicholai assured Sam...technically.


    "Dirty fighter as ever" I looked up at Kenneth, he looked smug, it was rightfully deserved for those shots.


    "He tried choking me, course i''m gonna fight dirty...won''t work in a real fight though..." I should''ve come up with a solution that would work in reality as well, but I couldn''t, I was far too panicked about losing. Guess I was too focused on winning too. Sam stood up and offered a hand. I took it and stood with everyone.


    "Your sword is a pretty handy helper" Nicholai looked at my sword dug in the ground. I did the same whistle as before, it ripped from the ground and began charging at us with immense speed.


    "HEY!" Everyone got back, and Sam was even going to pull me back, until the sword raised up at the last second and went back in my sheath. "O-oh..."


    "I doubt it would ever hurt us, maybe unless we''re in a sparring area...or somewhere we can''t die." It was simply an assumption, I had nothing to back it up. Soon, everyone''s HUD opened, a new part appeared, it had a dollar sign next to it, and the 0 went to 50,000, a second later, another dollar sign appeared beside the other, only this one had multiple people with it, this one, jumped up to 250,000.


    "How was I supposed to know there was a fucking cat with them!? Along with that bullshit sword!?" I heard the sniper genuinely about to blow a fuse.


    "Cat?" I looked around, Kaz was nowhere. That was until Kaz appeared out of Sam''s jacket pocket


    "Hello!:D"


    "That explains the extra 50,000 dollars"..."Wait...50,000?" I did a double take on the money, yet it was there. "Wait no, ignoring that for now, when did you get here?"


    "I guess she always was, she''s really light you know, and a great surprise attack" So that''s how Kenneth was able to help me without having to worry about Sam.


    "Guess that''ll be your role for now Kaz"


    "Mh? :>"


    "An assassin type of role" Kaz looked slightly sad at my assumption of roles, that was until Nicholai stepped in


    "At very least till Kenneth can make you something for those claws, an infection is the last thing we want"


    "Owkay! :3"


    "I regret this already" After Nicholai''s regret set in, Raymond warped to us.


    "Good job everyone, you all did very well" Raymond clapped for us "Not only do you have individual money, but money for the team as well"


    "What if we just pool it into the team money?"


    "I mean...if you wanna be that team focused Lee...be my guest" Everyone, except Raymond of course, was stunned by the money we got, this whole thing was so fast, and only after a few minutes we had 250,000 at minimum.


    "Hold on" The joy from the money faded from Nicholai. "How expensive is everything here?"


    "Not too bad, but things are a bit more priced here than on earth, like, maybe 25 or 50 percent more depending on what it is.


    "Just perfect" And soon we all came to realize that while it was still a lot, that it wasn''t that much in the a lot section.


    "Anyways" He redirected the topic. "You all can come here whenever you want, the opponents will be depending on how many people, and who those people are, in your team...so just this once, I''ll look past the unexpected fighter." He looked at Kaz who had gone on top of Sam''s shoulder. "But only because they were a pleasant surprise"


    "So, what now?" I asked before anyone else could.


    "Do whatever you want for the rest of the day, after all, you have spending money now, the team money is there for equipment, stuff for the base, your own money? Whatever you want I''ll handle..." There was still yelling from the other team "The sore losers"


    "Well...I can''t fully blame them" Sam looked guilty "We brought Kaz...and Lee''s sword is like another fighter..."


    "Hmhm" Raymond nodded his head. "Even so, only now, I told them that they would be put with the same amount of people, before and during? I never said such a thing, it''s their own fault they treated it like such"


    "Even s-"


    "Stop feeling guilty for their failing, let''s go to a restaurant, enjoy something or whatever" Nicholai''s voice was deadpan, clearly she was only saying thise for Sam''s sake.


    "But Lee can co-"


    "You know, my shoulder got busted up and my neck still feels a bit bruised" I aided Nicholai, We shouldn''t just hold up in the base until we''re needed.


    "In that case..." Sam looked to the ground, before her guilt turned to a smile, she hopped up in the air a bit before going for the exit "Let''s go!" We all began following Sam, it seems she was picking where we went today. Soon everyone got ahead of me, once that was the case I turned around to the axe-user. He warped to me...is it...possible for us too?


    "Lee" I rejoined everyone once Kenneth called for me. We exited the arena and once again returned outside to the expansive city of Eaxura, it''d take years to walk across the whole city.


    "What places do you think are good?" Sam looked to Nicholai.


    "I dunno, pick whatever" After debating to herself, we eventually decided on a place, it had a fancy feeling to it.


    "A table for 4?" Seems Kaz didn''t count.


    "Yes please" Sam knew to keep her voice down.


    "A moment if you will" The well dressed and mannered man left his station and went looking around.


    "First time I''ve been in a place like this" Nicholai looked disappointed in herself, I couldn''t tell whether it was because she doesn''t want to be here, or because she''s not wearing anything people would normally regard as normal.


    "I went to one before, with Lee and my family"


    "Speaking of that...I take it that''s your first goal when we get the travel powers?" I leaned my back on the wall.


    "Yeah...It''ll be much easier to look for them this way" She looked a bit somber.


    "Well, we''re always here to help" Nicholai had her eyes closed as she spoke, even without seeing that, she sounded genuine.


    "Me too" Kaz spoke gently


    "I know...and I can''t thank you all enough" Sam began to smile again, and with it, the man came back.


    "If you would follow me" With that, we went further into the building. The place was mostly lit by candles and fancy looking ceiling lights, most of the people eating here were couples on dates, or people wearing suits on company meals...then there''s us. "Please, take a seat" We gently sat down. Sam and I on one side(Technically Kaz with us as well), and Kenneth and Nicholai on the other. "We apologize, due to issues we only have one menu, for the inconvenience, the first wave of drinks shall be on us"


    "It''s alright, thank you for the compensation" I looked up at the man while I spoke, he leaned forward, doing a short bow before heading off.


    "So, we rock, paper, scissors it" Kenneth randomly blurted it out. "Winner gets the menu first."


    "You''re game" I leaned forward while holding out my hand.


    "It''s the most fair way" Nicholai did the same, and so did Sam. We all nodded, letting Kenneth know we''re ready.


    "Rock, papers! and shoot" We all moved our hands in different ways, Me, Sam, and Nicholai did scissors, while Kenneth did paper. "Oi, what is this? Already using the HUD against each other?"


    "No, you''re just more predictable than Sam i-"


    "Again" I spoke over Nicholai.


    "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot" Kenneth was still the one to say it, it was a 3 way tie.


    "Come on..." Sam was either confused or annoyed.


    "Agaaaain"


    "Rock paper scissors shoot" For three rounds in a row, I did scissors, Nicholai went to paper, while Sam stuck with scissors as well.


    "Last one"


    "You know the drill, go!" I went to rock, while Sam went to paper


    "Oi, what''s that? The time you switch it''s for Sam?"


    "Don''t matter she won" I waved off Nicholai''s complaint, handing Sam the menu. At first, she was filled with joy, kicking her legs back and forth, until about 30 seconds in her movement slowed and her face molded into confusion.


    "Um..." Kaz was also confused


    "I uh...don''t think my english is good enough for this" I leaned on the table


    "Don''t be like that, you can speak and write without mistakes, lemme see" Sam handed me the menu, at first it was all normal until something called Loukoliure appeared. "Sam that''s not english at all"


    "Figured..." Kenneth and Nicholai stood up and leaned to see the menu before sitting down.


    "Beats me" Kenneth leaned back.


    "Well, we might as well all give it a go" The three looked at me. Nicholai was going to say something, until her mind changed, saying something else.


    "Fine"


    "Really?" Kenneth turned to her.


    "Why not, clearly it''s not from earth, and if we''re allergic to it, I''m here"


    "We should order a ton of new stuff then!" I patted Sam''s shoulder.


    "We''re not made of money, everything that doesn''t seem like it''s from earth is expensive"


    "It''s probably a creature then, that is only born in a certain world" Soon, the man came back.


    "If I may take your requests?" We all ordered, not too much though, we weren''t trying to go broke. "Understood, I will return with your meals shortly.


    "There isn''t much for us to do in our downtime is there?" I leaned forward, putting both arms on the table.


    "And how''d you get that verdict?" Nicholai took out a book, turning the pages to where the bookmark was.


    "Well, when we were humans, we had school, homework, the walks home, parties and all that"


    "Parties? Like you go to any?"


    "Harsh Nicholai" She rolled her eyes at my reply.


    "The same goes to all of you though" Sam''s head tilted slightly, pondering as she spoke.


    "She''s got a point there, she''s about the only one who can say she''s gone to any" Kenneth was looking around the place, more so the cameras.


    "No, I went to one before..."


    "Did Sam drag you into it though?" I paused, before responding to Kenneth.


    "...yes" I saw Nicholai shake her head.


    "Sorry for the wait" Once more, the man returned, he placed our food on the table, along with some drinks, everyone''s looked like water, while mine was dark-red. With no self control, I took a sip and almost immediately started coughing it back up


    "Why the hell is it so sour..."


    "Ah, my apologies, I could not give you food without your drinks, I merely made assumptions that you would be the type to enjoy some of the finest wine."


    "Assumptions?" At first I was conflicted on how I look like someone who''d enjoy wine.


    "Your hair" I felt Sam grab a piece of my hair and twirl it. "It does sorta make you look older." She then let go and placed her hands back on the table.


    "You never really looked young...eh, actually...maybe a bit...but definitely not your age"


    "I will get you water to cleanse your palate, once again, sorry for the apologies"


    "No, no, I''ll be fine" He nodded and left. The food we had was a range of stuff, something that looked like a variant of a steak, yet bigger, and differently shaped. Some style of stew, soup, stuff that looked similar, but different at the same time, they were minor differences, but differences nonetheless. Sam clasped her hands together and mumbled something before she started eating, if her eagerness to continue eating was anything to go by, it was at the very least something that tasted good. I leaned over and grabbed utensils on Sam''s side before I began eating myself, the first bite was a mix of different tastes, it was certainly a type of meat, yet trying to discern what type it was just made me confused, it...surprisingly doesn''t taste bad.


    "I''d eat this everyday after a mission" The other two ate in silence, they probably thought what I did ''it''s good''. Sam however spoke out how she felt about it, clearly thinking it tastes good enough to be mentioned.


    "So" Nicholai twirled her fork in a circle, aiming down at the food. "What mission do we think we''re getting first?"


    "I hope it''s something simple, we still need time to adju-kah" I let out a few coughs, it burned my throat but mostly passed after some time.


    "Go down the wrong side?" Nicholai looked smug.


    "I wasn''t eating at all" I raised my right hand to my neck, nothing felt off but there was still a sense of burning.


    "Could it be because you got hit into a tree?" Kenneth rested his head on his hand while eating.


    "His back would be aching then" Nicholai''s gaze at Kenneth showed disappointment.


    "Could be something relating to corruptors" I gave an answer to myself out loud. "My blood had a little purple...but it went away..." Even with the added part at the end, there were still looks of concern, even everyone in the restaurant looked over at me the second I said ''corruptor''.


    "These gazes are starting to get somewhat bothering" What Kenneth said made me worried, how long have they been staring? Later on they began whispering amongst themselves


    "Alright, let''s take our leave" Nicholai stood up quickly and began ushering Kenneth out the seat too.


    "But we-"


    "You can take the food Lee, I''m sure for the...inconveniences, they''ll have nothing to contest with" Nicholai glared at everyone inside, it stopped their whispering.


    "Come on now!" Sam began ushering me out due where I was sitting being on the outer-side.


    "What happened to taking the food?"


    "It''s fiiiine" It eventually got to her taking my arm and leading me out with the others. At the edge of my vision I saw Kaz on Sam''s shoulder doing a motion at everyone inside which seemed to make them look at the ground instead of us. "Let''s get you something to drink, you''re probably coughing because you''re dehydrated!" We left the building and Nicholai promptly sighed.


    "They started staring the second you coughed like that...along with mentioning you weren''t even eating" Kenneth looked at the doors.


    "So, two things, either because you weren''t eating and they were disgraced, or because you mentioned corruptors...Let''s be honest it was most likely the corruptor bit" Nicholai summoned a small needle and pricked herself, which prompted Sam to turn the other way.


    "Was that really needed?" Kenneth''s voice was dull, no surprise or anything similar. Nicholai''s blood slowly dripped out, very clearly the normal color blood is.


    "Yes, it shows it''s not contagious, meaning if Lee does have something relating to it, there''s no reason for them to worry, only us."


    "Good point, didn''t think of that" Nicholai turned her head to me.


    "Yes?"


    "If something comes up or happens, you come to me, understand?"


    "Got it." Nicholai wiped the blood on the inner side of her sleeve


    "You''re good Sam" I heard the step on concrete, implying she turned back around.


    "So, where do we go no-


    "I told you, we gotta get a drink for you"


    "We have some at base, that or there''s probably something in our HUDs to order stuff" Nicholai looked in the general direction of where our base was.


    "I know a place!" Kaz hopped to my shoulder, it caught me off guard, forcing me to recompose my balance. "Forward!" Kaz started tugging my shoulder forward.


    "Kaz, go easy on poor Lee" Sam was smiling while she said it, clearly joking...sadly. She was however, right about one thing, Kaz felt weightless, but the momentum she had when she jumped earlier, still proved an issue. Kaz tugging me in a direction was mostly how she led us to where she wanted to go.


    "Can''t you just say when to turn like a normal person?"


    "Nwope"


    "Ugh..." After I groaned, Kaz pulled me back.


    "It''s not here" Kaz leapt off my shoulder onto the floor, she began looking around


    "Right, about that" Nicholai crossed her arms and looked down at Kaz. "How do you know us?" Kaz turned around back to us, and slouched down slightly.


    "I was told not to say..."


    "You''re not in any position of power" Nicholai got closer to Kaz, to the point where Kaz was right at her foot. "There''s no talking cats on earth"


    "Nicholai...it''s just a cat...and she helped me and Ken too"


    "That''s the issue, she''s capable of being lethal, she knows us, and won''t tell us how"


    "I promised I wouldn''t say why..." Nicholai started to get more irritated, gritting her teeth.


    "How about this" I started tapping my feet, a slow rhythm. "If Kaz poses a threat to us, then we deal with it alright? I doubt a cat could kill all of us"


    "I wasn''t going to kill any of you!"


    "You better hope so...now, what was meant to be here?"


    "A coffee shop"


    "Sure you didn''t just confuse your places with earth?"


    "Maybe..." Kaz looked sorrowful, I felt bad, yet understood Nicholai''s point of view. All of our HUDs opened up, showing a Crown icon ''Raymond'' We all accepted the call.


    "Watcha need?" Instead of talking in our heads, Kenneth spoke aloud, and even without the video I could hear grunts of pain.


    "God...damnit! Jeez that hurts, please, if you''re gonna speak aloud only have one call open" Without asking, everyone shut theirs off while I kept mine on. "Alright...Oh, while we''re here, gently move your hand to move your HUD" I did so, and it worked.


    "So, what''s the call for?" Nicholai leaned slightly to the side.


    "Simple, I got a mission for you all, since it''s the first one you all are getting, I don''t expect you all to go fight an army, it''s a party"


    "Oh?"


    "You''re not actually meant to fully attend the party"


    "oh..." Sam looked disappointed in herself.


    "You''re sneaking in to get something, best thing is, it''s a party of mostly people your age, meaning, so long as you don''t look or do anything out of place, this will be easy"


    "If they''re people our age why do we need to get something from them?" I placed my hand at my hip.


    "It''s not from them, but their parents" In the middle of Raymond''s explanation I could see Nicholai glancing at Kaz every few moments. "The hosts'' parents are retired soldiers of the opposing military. It is formal, so dress accordingly, you should be able to get things from your HUD, as always it''s convenient. I''ll give you the rest of the info when it''s time. For now, take care" My HUD closed as the call ended.


    "Well...I nominate we go back to base, I wanted to finish working on Dave"


    "Ah, I was wondering where he was." I dropped my hand back to my side.


    "Yeah, they messed him up a little, but, I will admit, he''s more handy now, he has a self-repair, but only for major damage, I won''t ask how it works either...he''s also got his own HUD too"


    "Cool!" A glint shimmered in Sam''s eyes.


    "Back to base it is, meet everyone there" I opened my HUD and warped. My mind felt twisted like before, but it passed...like before. What didn''t pass, is that afterburn feel in my neck. I''ll just hope it goes away on its own. I sat on the couch that had been here, Sam sat down beside me, it took Kenneth a while to sit down, but when he did, he sat at the other end, Kaz laid down on the armrest, and Nicholai stood behind the couch and leaned on it.


    "So, I think we can call our first day a successful one" Kenneth was sat up, working on a disabled Dave.


    "I wouldn''t really call it a full day until we take on a mission" I sat back, slouching into the couch.


    "Fighting Diamond Dust was close enough to a mission" I heard Nicholai say above me.


    "I guess" There was a bit of silence till Sam found the remote to the TV.


    "Fooound it!" I could tell everyone was happy, at the very minimum a little bit. Sam clicked the on button and we were greeted by millions of different channels. "uhm..."


    "Makes sense considering where we are, millions of people live here, and we have access to different dimensions..." Kenneth peeked up from Dave to see what Sam was uhming about.


    "There are games though!" When Sam pressed the home button to show the different connected devices, there were two related to games.


    "Alright, if it''s going this way..." Nicholai did an exaggerated motion, getting herself off from leaning on the couch. "You two take care, don''t stay up too late" In the corner of my eye I could see her walk to her room. Kenneth picked up Dave.


    "You two won''t listen to that anyways" He spoke smugly, very clearly knowing well how it is.


    "What game are you gonna pway?" Kaz continued sitting at the armrest near my head.


    "Do we still have our account?" Sam turned to me, awaiting an answer. Before I gave one though, I looked everywhere for controllers, till I finally figured out there were drawers that were a part of the couch under us. I got two controllers and Sam''s eyes glimmered even more. "This is paradise" She stretched her arms out before leaning back.


    "Seems our account is still alive"


    "LP2 it is!" I don''t know if this was the right choice. Playing games when we have a mission the next day...perhaps we thought we could control when we get off...we could...at first. Playing on the hardest difficulty probably was the wrong choice. I started realizing that midway, but by the time I was ready to stop, we all had already fallen asleep.

 Chapter 5: Party in the Snow

    My eyes opened, albeit slowly. the tv was at the game menu, playing the theme as always, yet I mostly heard faint breathing from the other two still sleeping


    "Uggghh" I moved my right hand over my face as I groaned. I could tell the sun was rising, yet I wanted to keep sleeping, I brought this upon myseeeelf. I was very clearly bothered by my past self from a few hours ago.


    "mh...mhhh, morning" Sam was the next to wake up, looking dull and her hair being fuzzy.


    "Mornin" As I sat up, I felt something in my hand, when I looked in it, I saw the coin which was surrounded by a faint glow. That''s not normal...at all...I pocketed the coin and stood up, it took a bit to balance, my legs were somewhat numb, and that tingling feeling hurt as always. "Let''s geeeet reaaady" I stretched.


    "Yup yup!" After a while she stood as well. My HUD opened, I assume hers did too.


    ''We''re gonna start the mission briefing soon''


    -Raymond


    ''Any location?''


    -Nicholai


    ''Your base has a command center, we''ll be using


    that''


    -Raymond


    ''I take it, it''s the room across the hall?


    -Lee


    ''Correct, the password is preset as 0000, Lee, you can change it


    In your HUD if you want. Be there soon


    -Raymond


    "Welp, guess we better get to it" Sam already began walking to the only door we haven''t gone to, I gently tapped Kaz to wake her up...it did not do anything at all. "Alright then..." I picked Kaz up and walked to the door.


    "You two are here already?" Kenneth leaned on the wall next to the door once he got here.


    "They probably didn''t listen when I said not to stay up too late." The air around Nicholai felt threatening.


    "Guilty~" Sam knocked on her head once. I inputted 0000 on the keypad by the door, it took a while...an annoying amount of awhile, before the doors opened. It was a massive empty(Mostly) room, there was a wall that had some screens, yet some were missing, then on the ground, there were some consoles and desks with computers...yet once again, some of them were missing.


    "Sorry for the lack of some things, we have to supply a lot more bases this time around." Raymond stood at one of the consoles, tapping away.


    "It''s alright" The four of us continued to look around, I had also noticed a table in the center of the room, it had a weird look at the top, like the table-top wasn''t real.


    "Shall we get started then?" Raymond tapped one more thing, the top of the table I had looked at before turned blue instead of the fake looking top it had at first. After a small hum, a hologram appeared based on the area I could only assume we were going to. Kaz moved around in my arms before waking up. "You five are going after a hard drive, now, I wouldn''t suggest all of you go for it, if all of you came to the party, then people never saw you again, then you''ll raise suspicion." The hologram zoomed in onto the third floor of the building. "Those who are going for the hard drive need to head to the third floor into this room" When he pointed at the room he was referring to, it turned red. "A desk will be by the window, the PC at that desk has the hard drive we need."


    "Kenneth is a definite go to for getting the drive" I looked more at the hologram.


    "If it''s a hard drive that''s important, then there may be many to throw us off, and if the PC is locked, we can''t really check, so yeah, I''ll be one of the people going for the hard drive"


    "Then Nicholai should go with, as the person going for the drive is at most risk of getting hurt" I tried to envision the possible outcomes, if we were figured out, if they couldn''t get in somewhere.


    "Ah, I get it, you''re the leader, and Sam is the most friendly one" Nicholai had understood what i was doing. "I won''t deny, I was thinking you did this so you and Sam didn''t have to do much"


    "It may seem that way but no, if they ask where you two are we have to come up with something convincing, not only that, but we have to keep their minds off of you two while you get the drive" Raymond let us talk, he had a proud expression. "Our job is deception, your job is stealing, simple as that."


    "What do I do?" Kaz climbed up to my shoulder.


    "Kaz, you''ll act in the middle, anything we need to know you''ll tell us, Nicholai and Kenneth are in trouble? You let us know, if we get found out, you let them know"


    "Alwighty!"


    "Seems you all got a plan already" Raymond got away from the console.


    "Not even close" I smiled. "We don''t know how we''ll get them in, and we don''t know what alibi we''ll give the two...we have to dress formally as well" There was a pause while I inspected the full view of the area. "I think I got it"


    "Fire away leader" Nicholai sounded dull.


    "There are some vines on the wall here, it leads to the second floor, and if the window is open as the hologram shows, then you can skip the first story."


    "And if it''s not?" Nicholai, along with the others, looked around the hologram.


    "Kenneth should be able to lockpick the door"


    "Fair enough, and the alibi?" Kenneth turned his head to me.


    "I got it handled If it''s me being asked first, then I''ll mention how Nicholai and Kenneth saw how bothered I was about being around so many people, it''s technically not a lie...and that they went to get me something, and Sam just says that for me if she''s asked first"


    "That''s obvious" Nicholai was in thought "Can''t think of anything else...I think we''re good to go"


    "Agreed" We all turned to Raymond.


    "Well, if you''re all ready" Raymond summoned a knife, he raised it into the air before slashing downwards, a portal soon appeared, as though by cutting the air, he cut a portal from it. "This should lead you to just outside...ah, also you can probably use your HUD to make an outfit preset, so just make it, and with a snap you''ll be in that outfit before a millisecond can even pass." We all nodded "Take care you five" We all took a step into the portal but not before snapping. Using the portal was sickening, like I was gonna throw up.


    When we made it through the portal and ended up where we should be, the feeling of illness passed, I was wearing a white suit to fit with my hair, Sam wore a sparkly dress, and Nicholai and Kenneth wore the same colored suit.


    "How can you wear that?" Nicholai looked at Sam.


    "Why couldn''t I? It''s pretty"


    "Thinking on it...actually...nevermind, if you two left now, it would be odd when others see us all together." I extended my arm. "Get going Kaz, we''ll meet back here after the others get the drive." Kaz with determination went off, and before long, I had lost track of her.


    "Let''s get to ''attending'' the party" Kenneth grabbed the collar of his suit and moved it a bit. We all began walking through the forest path, before a mansion came into view.


    "State your names, if you would" A person at the front gate held a notepad.


    "Lee, Sam, Kenneth, and Nicholai" The person looked down at the notepad, flipped through it a few times and checked off four things.


    "You''re here" They did a short bow "Enjoy today, the fireworks start in just a few hours." The gate opened, and we all walked inside. There was a massive pool to the far left, many tables with over a hundred different kind of foods on them, and a massive crowd of people all over the place.


    "We''ll get to it" Kenneth patted me on the shoulder before the two left. I looked past the crowd and noticed some games...the kind you''d play at a festival.


    "Thinking of taking their entire stock?" I didn''t have to look at Sam to know she was staring towards the prizes.


    "One hundred percent, come on!" Sam led the way through the crowd, her eyes set on the prize ahead...literally. I stood beside the booth.


    "Care to try your aim Miss?" It was a ''shooting gallery'', use a toy rifle, hit the pins in a way it knocks them all over, win a prize, at festivals or amusement parks, they''re always rigged, wonder what the case would be here.


    "Yes please!" There was no need to pay...I assume their costs were already covered. Sam was given the toy rifle, she aimed at the left stack, sorta, forcing the attendant to move out of the way, Sam began tapping the side of the rifle, causing it to move, ever so slightly. Her aim was towards the bottom right of the top-most pin. She took a breath and fired, whatever was in it, hit the top pin in a way that made it sink down, colliding with the other two, the ammunition then ricocheted to the other stack, yet, it grazed it instead. "Damnit!" Sam looked disappointed, placing the rifle on the table.


    "No need to be disappointed ma''am, you still knocked o-one down" their voice stuttered slightly. Thinking on it, where did it go? I leaned slightly over the table and saw what the rifle fired right beside the attendant''s leg.


    "Tsss" It was quiet enough that no one heard me, and I couldn''t really tell if it hit them or not.


    "I''ll take the sheep" The attendant grabbed a hook and brought down the sheep plush, it was almost the size of Sam. "It''s so cuuute~" She hugged the plush while smiling, I couldn''t help but smile a bit too. The music playing switched, to something more upbeat, the transition was something to be proud of. I looked up at the mansion, it was hard to see, but by looking through one of the second floor windows, I could just barely see a window around the corner being open, the one Nicholai and Kenneth are in. Things are going accordingly so far...wait. I had come to realize we never made an exit plan. They''ll come up with something, it shouldn''t be too hard...I never got to finish my food...I looked towards the food tables, and it seems Sam was looking towards it as well. We took a few steps before someone grabbed my shoulder.


    "I don''t think I know you...what building were you in?"


    "Do you..."I was coming up with something. "Mind repeating the question?" The second I finished speaking, I quickly sent a message to Raymond


    ''You didn''t tell us who these kids were with!''


    -Lee


    ''They''re kids from some private school, A building, go with that''


    -Raymond


    "What building are you a part of?"


    "A building" The guy looked shocked at me.


    "My apologies then, no wonder why I''ve never met you" He bowed at me before walking off


    "That was weird" Sam looked at the guy "Why''d you go with A building?"


    "Raymond"


    "Oh..." We had made it to the tables with food, someone had left behind a handheld fan, it was brightly colored, and had a shine to it. I grabbed it and looked at it more, no one seemed to care, so with that, I took it. "I''ll be helping myself!" Sam grabbed a plate and began grabbing a variety of food. I on the other hand, didn''t take much, only the things that looked appealing to me.


    "Ah, you two certainly look like A building students" An adult came up to us, he wore a black suit, his hair was shiny, and he held a glass, all of it made him look sophisticated.


    "How so?" I ate another forkful of whatever I had.


    "Most tend to have...defining traits, colored hair, visible scars, makes me wonder what you two specialize in."


    "Humane studies!" Sam blurted out an answer, yet it was the most sensible one.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    "I" A building students have scars...meaning... "I study swordsmanship"


    "Ah, hehe, no offense, but you both seem the types to study those, you have a more stern expression" The man looked at me.


    "Now now, leave the children be" A woman then came by "It''s a party for a reason, don''t bore them with school"


    "My mistake, my curiosity got the better of me." The man did a short bow "Take care you two." I took a sharp breath once they left. My HUD appeared, but not visible to others, considering Sam jumped slightly, I took it, it meant hers did too.


    ''We got it, we had to knock out a guy though''


    -Nicholai


    ''They''ll live. Return the same way you got there


    -Lee


    ''Roger that''


    -Kenneth


    "Let''s get going" Sam nodded and we both began the walk back.


    "Hey, where are you two going? You''re gonna miss the best part of today" A guy around our age walked up to us, considering he looked the most fancy, I took it that he was the person who was hosting.


    "Ah, Me and my friend here have something important to attend to"


    "You and the Miss can surely at least attend a dance, no?"


    "I don''t think she''s one fowhuh?" While in the middle of talking, I looked to my side at Sam, she was already looking at me with the brightest glint in her eyes, if they were an actual light source I''d be blinded.


    "Come on, at least for a little bit" Sam didn''t sound like she was asking, more so compromising. I felt split, like two different people within me, wanted two different things. Kenneth and Nicholai would have to wait more, they''d be more at risk. Then again...I owe Sam this for not going to that last year, that, and it could blow our cover if we don''t stay.


    ''Hey, new info''


    -Nicholai


    ''Parently, days don''t last long in this world, so it''ll be night soon


    -Nicholai


    If we do, do the dance, we could leave at night and be undercover of it, but we may lose our way...we don''t exactly have an exact evac point.


    "Mister Lee?" The guy reminded me that I don''t exactly have forever to decide. I let out a breath.


    "No, it''s important that we leave now" Sam looked disappointed, while the guy looked displeased


    "If it''s really that important, then I have no right to stop ya" He left, and we continued our way to the exit.


    "Sorr-


    "I get it, no need to apologize"


    "If a dance comes up that''s not related to a mission, I''ll go, alright?" Sam went back so smiling.


    "I''ll hold you to that" We exited the place and began walking through the forest path.


    "Hey! The drive is missing!" Their yelling could be heard even with the distance we had on them.


    "Eheh...guess, it was a good idea not to" She looked at me with a guilty expression, scratching the back of her neck.


    "It''s them!" A loud bang rang through the forest, and my ear felt pain as something cut the side of it.


    "Probably shoulda got off the path!" I grabbed Sam''s arm without warning and ran into the forest. Behind us, I could hear leaves crunching and twigs snapping, I did a sharp turn and hid behind a tree with Sam beside me. I quietly snapped and changed back into my previous attire, Sam did the same.


    "Just give the drive back!" A deep voice yelled out to us. I summoned my sword, and Sam summoned the sickle half of her two weapons. The crunching of leaves got closer, I primed a swing, gripping tightly onto the hilt. Another loud bang echoed through the forest, I was ready to wince in pain, thinking they shot through our tree, but the pain never came. I opened my eyes when a gentler thud hit the ground, curiosity got to me, and I peeked around the corner. The man who I assumed was chasing us was dead on the floor, a bullet had passed through him. I turned to ask Sam if she did it, but instead she looked stunned.


    "It...wasn''t me..."


    "It was me!" After rustling from the trees, a familiar feline friend dropped down, this time, with a small sniper rifle fitted to their size.


    "Why is it that every time you show up, you make me question more things?" Kaz didn''t respond, as Kenneth and Nicholai regrouped with us.


    ''Raymond, we''re waiting''


    -Lee


    Like a trigger, a portal was cut open, without even letting anyone out, we all leapt in. We poured through the portal, each of us toppling to the floor.


    "...H...i?" Raymond looked down at all of us.


    "Hey" Nicholai, with no difference in her voice, responded back to him.


    "Where''s the drive?" We all stood up, Kenneth summoned the drive and handed it to Raymond. "Good job, mostly" In the corner of my sight I saw Kaz leaping up to Sam''s shoulder.


    "So what''s on it anyways?" The portal beside me closed.


    "Two things, info about that organization back on your earth, The Lillies if I recall, and then, info about the Reunion, the hostile military opposing us."


    "Those two seem unrelated" Nicholai put her hands in her pockets.


    "For the most part they are, they have very little ties with each other, hence why we easily found out about this drive, two unrelated groups, somehow connecting to one person...well...the person doesn''t matter, we''re just here for the information."


    "What happens now?" Sam tilted slightly.


    "You''ll get your payment soon, if you mean about the war, it''s at a standstill for the time being, corruptors have been getting more aggressive."


    "At a standstill because of a common enemy"


    "Correct, Lee. It''s still early, there''s probably something to do...actually, I do have something for Kenneth and Lee"


    "Oh?" Kenneth, being mentioned, actually started paying mind to what was being said.


    "A component for the Teth got stuck in a tundra world, blizzards and all"


    "The Teth?"


    "A massive ship capable of holding all 500 million DTs in Eaxura and with room to spare. However, it''s mostly used for missions the Guardians went on."


    "A ship that can hold 500 million people? Where are you even holding this thing?" Kenneth sounded concerned.


    "This dimension is pretty big, the Teth is in its own area separate from Eaxura."


    "So why not just send Kenneth?" I asked aloud.


    "Because, I can''t guarantee it''s fully safe, another thing, we can also use it to boost Dave''s processing power, he''ll be able to learn at the rate we can instead of slowly."


    "And that''s why you wanted me to go" Kenneth paused for a second


    "So you''re sending them alone?" Nicholai asked in a stern tone.


    "The less the better, you''ll get noticed less then"


    "So the main risk is other people like us" I looked around, it was our base alright.


    "We''re thinking that, yes"


    "Love the confidence" I spoke while letting a breath out. "Ken?"


    "We can go, I''m not tired"


    "Sam, Nicholai, you mind finding something to do?"


    "Not at all" Nicholai answered for the both of them. "Stay safe you two"


    "We can depart now, I''ll be watching the situation as we have an uplink there" Raymond cut open a portal.


    "Me and you pal" Kenneth patted me on the back before we went in. The second we entered we realized many things, it was dark, there was an endless blizzard, and-


    "Ffffuu..ngh, it''s so goddamn cold!" I instantly started shivering. I snapped, hoping that there was some winter gear that was considered mine, I heard Kenneth snap too. Once more, my outfit changed, I had a white winter jacket and heavy pants, gloves, and a heavy scarf. Even with it all I still felt cold, only now it was a bit less. Kenneth had on a heavy duty jacket, with goggles over his eyes, he had the same gloves I did, along with a beanie and scarf. "w-w-w-why d-d- you get more stuff t-t-than I do?" I began rubbing my arms in hope to make things warmer.


    TTS Active.


    "Isn''t that?"


    Raymond: Yello?


    It was like the calls, only this time, we had a box showing what they said


    "You never told us how cold it is!" I shouted over the loud shifting snow.


    Raymond: Hello!?


    "Try acting like it''s the call thing" I could barely hear Kenneth


    Lee: Raymond?


    Raymond: There we go! How is it going?


    Lee: How is it goin- It''s negative a million degrees over here!


    Raymond: You''re telling me you never been in the cold


    Lee: Clearly neither have you!


    Raymond: Just keep going straight, you should find the base, it looks similar to those moon bases you see in sci-fi, those half-circle hallways with a door at the end...like a dome...


    Lee: Is that all?


    Raymond: Yeah, can''t do much else but be here if you need me


    Lee: Fantastic


    Raymond: Take care


    TTS Deactive


    "Take care? Fuck off"


    "Relax Lee, acting that way won''t help." We were forced to trudge through the snow, and go past the oncoming blizzard. "I wonder why this place is stuck in snow!" Kenneth continued yelling past the blizzard.


    "Could be some magic issue!" Though very faint, I could hear something crack and break after some resistance. "Ken!"


    "I heard" He summoned his spear. It was faint, but in the distance we saw the base...hopefully it was the base. it was impossible to tell at that point. We began to hear snow rustling around to the left side of us. "Don''t think we c-" Before Kenneth could finish speaking whatever was to the left of us let out a harrowing howl before the rustling of snow got louder, and began approaching.


    "Run to the base!" The two of us broke into a sprint, but with the snow, it turned into a jog, it wasn''t possible at all to run. I saw the door to the base was open and began to think...that guy, he warped after he threw his weapon away, maybe... I gripped onto my sword, reeled my arm back, and threw forward, my sword flew through the air going through the door, it landed on the ground...nothing, I tried doing anything, but before anything could happen, something sharp gripped onto my arm and pulled me down.


    "Lee!" My arm began to shake vigorously, I looked at it and saw some beast biting into my right arm. I resummoned my sword and impaled the beast, its bite grew stronger till it let go, I got up and went back for the base, I could hear the creature staggering about before it began going after me again, I heard a quick ''fweh'' cut through the air, it was an arrow that pierced the beast. I looked back at the base and saw Kenneth there with his bow. "Come on!" I gave it my all to be as fast as I could. The second I got into the base I dropped to the ground holding my arm.


    "Goddamnit!" I clenched both hands.


    "You really have some bad luck" Kenneth looked around, after seeing something he ran off, coming back a few minutes later. "It''s pretty old, but better than nothing." He placed an old F.A.K and opened it. "uh...Nicholai taught you a bit right?"


    "Enough" He slid the First aid kit to me before resummoning his bow and aiming towards the door.


    "I''ll cover" I began to clean up my arm, the cold made it all numb. After that, I looked at the bite to check it, it was normal...no purple marks...although my blood was still barely tainted by purple. There were three gaps, holes caused by whatever bit me, three gaps that had blood pooling out. I grabbed gauze after seeing no bandages and began wrapping, it wouldn''t stay in place once I was done. I checked the FAK again, after almost toppling it over, I grabbed a very small ring of tape and taped up the spots that wouldn''t stay. "You good to go?" Kenneth looked down at me.


    "Good enough to move" I got my sword and used it to help me up. "This doesn''t seem worth it"


    "Not at all" After we came to the conclusion it wasn''t getting inside, Kenneth turned his bow back to a spear and slung it onto his back. The base was cluttered with technology, most being destroyed, and anything still working, is on the brink of doing the opposite. "Is Raymond sure this thing still even works? Though...I guess if they know where it is, there''s still a signal"


    "Probably"


    "So helpful"


    "Heh" We searched every single cabinet, locked or not, we broke into them, every drawer, every room, all of them looked similar to each other, a state of disrepair, like something blew up in here.


    "Place is a damn wasteland, we don''t even know what it looks like, or the signal..." Kenneth began to leave things open so we''d recall where we''ve been. When Kenneth opened a drawer I could''ve sworn I saw something shift under it.


    "Hang on!"


    "hm?" He stopped moving the drawer, I walked over and crouched down, feeling around under the drawer, I tapped around a lot, not being able to find anything, until I grazed a handle, I grabbed and pulled it, causing a shelf to our right to shift and open.


    "There we go" I stood up, greeted by a fist beside me, I fistbumped Kenneth...though it sorta hurt my hand with how hard he did it... "Let''s move"


    "Alright Mr Leader" We headed to the room behind the shelf, in the room, we saw everything in perfect condition, and at the center of the entire room, on its own away from everything, a weird device, emanating a powerful feeling. I went to reach it, but was knocked off balance as the entire base shook intensely. I stabbed my sword into the ground and began leaning , with a deep pit below me I lifted one leg. Something grabbed the back of my collar before pulling me back.


    "I almost had it!"


    "And it isn''t worth diving into a pit!" The base shook more.


    TTS Active


    Raymond: Something is happening to the base, are you two alright?


    Lee: Hell no! The thing is shaking!


    Raymond: Alright, listen, we can''t warp directly to the base, but we have a spot the closest we can be, it''s where you two came from, just leave the base and go straight.


    TTS Deactive


    "Just great" Kenneth mumbled. We both rushed back to the entrance.


    "We open and run, nothing else, unless one of us need help"


    "Alright, on you" We both grabbed the door and began pulling it open, the cold rushed in, but there was no time to think about that. We ran back into the intense blizzard, not caring whether or not our legs were burning. The base behind us creaked even more, along with the crunching of snow, by the creatures rushing at us. My sword came out of the sheath and struck at the floor, causing a fire wall to cover us, it soon returned to me after.


    "Thanks little buddy!" The sword hopped slightly to represent understanding. A portal opened, showing the base, we both leapt in, sliding to the floor. We heard something growl behind us, when I turned to look, the portal closed and cut the head of the creature off with it, rolling along the floor. Along with it, I heard the clattering of something metallic.


    "Are you alright?" As always, the pink-haired support made her way to me.


    "I''ll manage." I felt my arm.


    "What''s with the tape?" Nicholai crouched down in front of both of us.


    "The bandage around the gauze wasn''t there...it didn''t stick..."


    "Mh...I guess it''s okay with what you had."


    "Where''s the device" Raymond looked at the both of us.


    "Didn''t get it, as you know the entire base started shaking" I gritted my teeth as Nicholai felt around the bite. "And you especially didn''t mention a bunch of damn monsters." I looked over to the head and where the metallic noise was. The creature was of course, not human at all, its features were disgusting with teeth that would''ve stabbed themselves if it grew any longer. Before I could see more of it, the head faded away like it dissolved. I quickly took out my journal and drew it.


    "Well, I guess you two can''t be blamed neither can we, what happened was unexpected, especially the creature." Nicholai then went over to where the head was, picking up what looked like a flash drive.


    "Dave" He flew over to Nicholai, she put the flash drive in. After a moment, a video...mostly an audio recording, began playing.


    "Unit K-01-EX, your mission is set, the newcomer to the DTs, the kid." A noise happened, before a very hard to see hologram showed up "Make sure-" Soon the hologram cleared, showing someone we all knew...


    "That Lee doesn''t make it through winter"

 Chapter 6: 1 on 1 photography

    "Make sure that Lee doesn''t make it past winter" We all were listening in, expecting more...but nothing, that was it.


    "Raymond?" I looked up at him, expecting answers, but he himself looked concerned and confused.


    "I don''t know who these are, and it seems to have been a robot...with the flash drive and all."


    "We''re not having Lee go on a mission soon right?" Sam had a hand on my shoulder.


    "All of you are gonna stay in Eaxura for a while. We can''t risk anything...but, this isn''t overly worrying...well, obviously worrying, but not new. There have been some people who were hunted, and some for no reason, they may just think you''re easy picking" I wasn''t offended...I couldn''t be, I''ve been getting hit left and right.


    "So what course of action is next?" I finally stood up.


    "Relax, that''s about it, learn whatever you want, you have that arena for a reason. I got stuff to take care of, if you need me, call" With that, Raymond warped away.


    "Soooo..." Sam looked around.


    "Any ideas?" No one responded to me for a moment, everyone was thinking.


    "I''m probably just gonna research some stuff, if we have the time" Nicholai gave her answer.


    "Dave is almost done...probably gonna work on him."


    "And I''ll finally put my camera to use!" With that, everyone gave their answer.


    "I''ll probably just check in with everyone...I just need to do something first"


    "If that''s what you wanna do...see you soon then" WIth that, everyone walked off, doing their own thing, I walked into my room and took out the sword, it hopped around in my hands slightly.


    "You know, I can''t exactly keep calling you, my sword, or the sword...Do you have anything you wanna be called? Or...a name already?" A section of the sword glowed, soon, new engravings appeared, roots of a white rose, however, in the middle of it all, was a crescent moon. "Uh...that''s a few things...Rose? White Rose? Crescent moon?" Soon, the crescent moon engraving glowed. "Crescent moon?" It glowed red before going back to the normal glow. "Crescent?" It glowed brighter, before returning to normal, not glowing at all. "Crescent it is, good to finally know" Crescent returned to the sheath, I tapped it a bit to make sure it was secure, as for all I know it was cutting the bottom of the sheath, but considering how much control it has over itself, maybe it stops just before. "Let''s get to it then." We left the room and went to Nicholai''s, I raised my hand and gently knocked.


    "One second" After a moment, the door opened, her room mostly contained counters filled with lab equipment, it also looked a lot bigger than my room even though the outside looks the same.


    "What''re you working on?" Nicholai leaned on the door before responding.


    "A lot, there are many illnesses that can affect us. Including your corruption"


    "Sure you wanna stay cooped up in here?"


    "You sound like Sam"


    "Even I know when relaxation is needed" She sighed


    "I''ll consider it, that all?"


    "Just making sure everyone is doing okay"


    "I''m fine"


    "Alright then, just don''t push yourself"


    "Heh, hypocrite much?"


    "I tend to be" Nicholai smirked.


    "I''ll get back to this hell then"


    "Take care" She nodded before closing the door. Before I could make it to his door, Kenneth walked out with Dave floating behind him.


    "Hello Sir Lee" Dave spoke after turning to me "More wounds have been inflicted upon you it seems" Dave flew over to me, and not even a second in, a laser scanner went from the bottom to the top. "You are in stable condition, however I would still reccomend getting aid."


    "We''re not human anymore Dave, even this...I can still manage"


    "I see, do take care of yourself first"


    "I know, thanks buddy" Though he was an AI in a robot body, I still rubbed the top of the flat surface at the top of his body. Dave tilted forward to mimic a nod before he flew back to Kenneth, I soon joined them. "He''s working well"


    "Thankfully...trying to get the self-learning AI in Dave took a bit, with all his memories too. I will say the changes they added were good, he can be equipped with weapons if we want, he''s got his own HUD, and can carry a lot of stuff too...though most of it was stuff I was halfway through with anyhow, they most likely just finished it."


    "At least it''s done"


    "At least...the minimum, is done, I still want to add more to Dave, make him practically a human"


    "I am able to think for myself, I do not have to follow the laws inflicted upon robots, thus...I cannot be a robot"


    "Well...true...but do you see yourself as human?" Kenneth looked up at him.


    "No, not yet"


    "Yet...at least it''s something" Kenneth rolled his neck around while having a hand on the back of it. "Gonna go take photos with Sam I assume?"


    "We still don''t know much of Eaxura, it''ll help"


    "You make it sound like work more than a hobby" He stopped rolling his neck but kept his hand there.


    "You all are talented, I gotta keep up somehow" I smiled, thinking of it like a good thing, but Kenneth''s smile faded


    "We''re not friends because our skills intertwine, or even because we have skills at all, we''re a group who bonded from being social outcasts, people are needy, people hate you because you''re too closed, people hate Sam because she''s too outgoing. You can never make everyone happy"


    "Guess so" Kenneth sighed.


    "Just take it easy, especially after that voice recording, the fact they didn''t encrypt it implies they didn''t expect it to be taken...not like the encryption would last for long"


    "Hey, you struggle a bit with those"


    "I get it eventually, and I''ll let you know I''m getting faster"


    "Because you''re a helluva prodigy"


    "...Take care Lee" The pause made me a bit concerned, but Kenneth walked off with Dave floating behind him before I could ask anything. Guess I better get looking for Sam then. I left the base and began to walk around, I had the map on the HUD, but it''s better I look around instead of getting one path. The street next to our base was filled with vendors, there wasn''t any silence either, every corner and sidewalk had people talking, the vendors trying to get people to buy stuff, and the others, just making small talk where they can. I snapped my fingers, changing into attire for normal winter, not the heavy duty stuff from before. My cold breath started becoming once I passed the halfway point of the street, it was a perfect type of cold. I stopped walking and took a deep breath, contrary to all the buildings, the air still felt pure and refreshing. Still keeping it close to me, I raised my hand slightly, holding the palm of it upwards as I let the snow graze against my fingers. A bright flash appeared to the right of me, when I turned to look, Sam stood there smiling.


    "Now that''s a beautiful shot"


    "You think everything is a beautiful shot"


    "That''s because there''s always something stunning" She lowered the camera, looked at the screen, before looking back at me.


    "So can I see it?"


    "Nope~"


    "Can I at least see what you have so far?"


    "Sure!" She skipped over to me, sliding slightly before going to my side and holding out the camera so that I may look at the screen. The first photo were the streets, a shot in the direct middle of the road, people on the sidewalk were visible, along with the vendors, The second was of a tree with colorful leaves, even in the winter it seemed to have lived. The sun''s light cracked through the leaves in a way it only let in partial light to the picture. Before I could get to the third she grabbed the camera. "What''d Ya think?"


    "Good pictures as always." I gave her a gentle pat on the head which seemed to have amused her.


    "Thanks as always, wanna join me?"


    "I got nothing better to do, that''s why I came out here after all"


    "Let''s go forth then!" She raised her empty fist in the air before she began to lead the way, I of course, followed. "There''s a mountain I wanted to go up, it''s pretty tall, but not too bad, considering how everything else looks, I wanted to see how things looked at the top!"


    "One of these days you''re gonna get me killed"


    "Har har, you''ll live through a little hike" We made it to the edge of Eaxura, a mountain was within the walls, overlooking not only Eaxura, but the outskirts. A trail had been carved out, allowing people like us to make it to the top without almost killing ourselves. The moment I planted my foot at the start of the trail, I could already feel my feet bending slightly from the incline, but we continued nonetheless. "So what are Nicholai and Kenneth doing?" She began walking backwards up the hill, I was going to reach out and tell her she was heading off the edge, but she started turning, she did that everytime there was an edge. She smirked after seeing my worry "Aw, thanks, but I''ll be okay."


    "Right...even from this height, you''re fragile, I don''t need your parents disappointment when we find them.


    "Fufu~, so?"


    "Kenneth finished up Dave, he''s trying to make him more human, and Nicholai is studying medical stuff around Eaxura, parently we can just summon books from any library, no need to charge people for overdue stuff if they can just take it back"


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "All of this is so convenient"


    "We shouldn''t get reliant on it though"


    "Buzzkill"


    "You know my point"


    "I do, I can''t say I don''t agree either, but I''m gonna use it to its full ability till I see a reason not to" Sam stopped about a quarter way through the trail, she raised her camera and looked out towards the city, with it being midday, the ''sun'' let out an orange hue across the entire city, and certain lights were turned on, I could just sit here and watch it all, I felt a sense of home. Sam''s camera made a noise from the shot, she looked down at the screen and smiled. "Alright! Up we go!"


    "We were already heading up"


    "Up we continue!" So we continued, the incline got worse, and I could see Sam''s slight struggle to keep her footing. "How''s the ear?"


    "I completely forgot about it"


    "And Nichi didn''t notice" I felt my left ear, I could tell where I got shot when I noticed a slight difference in texutre.


    "Either that or she saw no need, I wasn''t in much pain, nor bleeding too much"


    "Fair point, Nicholai wouldn''t miss such a thing" Sam started messing with her camera on the way up, while I felt my ear again. Did I really expect something different to happen? I thought to myself as we continued upwards. At the halfway point, there were a few benches near the edge, and the ground somewhat leveled out(Except for when the incline got even worse just a few steps going back up). "Here Lee" Sam put the strap from the camera around my neck. "Give it a go!"


    "Sam...this is your thing"


    "It can be our thing, you make stuff with Ken, and Nicholai tutors you, we need something"


    "We play games together"


    "Yeah...but we all do that"


    "Hehe, alright, alright" I grabbed both sides of the camara, looking at the screen, there were a ton of numbers and symbols, along with some buttons.


    "This one" She pointed to the trash can symbol, I could guess what that means. "Is obviously deleting photos, you can press it to delete the one you just took, or if you go in the gallery you can delete the one you''re on right then and there...Now...this one" It was a play sign "Let''s you look at your photos, or videos if you made one...my camara is just for photos though" She pointed to another one...Ae-L? AF-L? "That''s to lock your exposure and focus, the info button is obviously the stuff on the screen, the numbers and all that...aaaand lastly" She started turning the front part of the camara, on the screen it showed it zooming in and out. "Is the zoom, got it all?"


    "I...think?"


    "Give it a go then" Her voice was less hyper and calmer, as though it were late in the night. I raised the camara towards Eaxura, it was much different than last time, now, we were above most buildings, the sun lowered, making more people turn on their lights. "The worlds we go to have to have such short days...it''s always night most of the time we''re here" Sam talked while I looked for the best picture, then I saw one, a bell tower with a lit up clock, the light it emanated provided a shine to all the metal parts, and made certain parts of buildings glow, the best part was the sun setting behind it. I moved the camara so it would be perfect, yet, I could still feel like I was doing it wrong. "Lee, taking photos is about capturing things that you find amazing, It''s not your job, just take what you find to be breathtaking"


    "Alright...something breathtaking..." I took a few steps back, I zoomed out slightly to get a better picture too, I could see Sam moving a bit through the part I was looking through. The bell tower, the sun...the stars coming out. With everything, this was perfect, I snapped the picture, once it made noise Sam came over.


    "Lemme see" She leaned forward while I held out the camara "Oh! I was in your shot...my bad..."


    "You were?...Well, nothing to worry about then, it doesn''t ruin it"


    "If you say so" I gave Sam the camara back and we continued up the trail.


    "Don''t you want a break?" The incline like I mentioned before, had gotten considerably worse, Even with this pretty sight...This hurts me...I complained to myself in my head, not seeing a reason to voice it out.


    "I''ll live" Though she said that, her movement was contradicting her, I could''ve sworn I saw her wobble slightly. "W-we''re almost there anyways." She took a shallow breath at the start of her sentence. "Here weee are!" The minute we placed foot on the top Sam laid down in the middle, before patting beside her. After catching my breath from climbing the trail I sat down before succumbing to the exhaustion and went backwards, laying down. When I opened my eyes I saw hundreds of stars, some in groups, some all by themselves, I could even see that most had different colors."Pretty aren''t they?" I didn''t respond for a while, I could only hear our own breathing


    "Yeah...they are" I paused, breathing in more "Though...I..d-don''t think it was worth it"


    "I...understand...Maybe it...was too overkill..." They were pretty though, I couldn''t tell if any of them made up an image, but when I saw an empty patch in the sky, devoid of all stars, I couldn''t help but feel nostalgic.


    "That patch..." I had caught most of my breath, and managed to point towards the patch. "It''s like the one back then isn''t it?" I could feel myself recalling the past.


    8 years ago, we were all young, no goals, no reason to worry.


    "Lee, look!" A younger Sam, pointing towards the sky while holding onto something from a playground, that type of dome you''d climb on.


    "Don''t yell" Nicholai, with the same tone as her current self, still sounded the same when scolding someone. I looked up to the sky, the area that Sam pointed to, and was greeted by thousands of stars, all of them felt like they gave a piece of hope, a purpose to achieve.


    "It''s pretty" I mumbled to myself, I wanted to grab one of them, even reaching my arm out to check if I could. Through the cracks of my hand I saw a shooting star pass by.


    "Shooting star!" Sam let the others know, while I had already made my wish, yet I couldn''t recall what it was, but by the time I got close to recalling, a shine turned my sight white, before I returned to now, laying on the grass at the top of a random hill. I saw the white light from the left of me, it quickly faded. Must have been Sam''s camara. I didn''t say anything, or even ask if it was her, my sight and thoughts were entranced by the stars while I struggled to recall what i wished for...Does this even matter? not like anything will change.


    "This should be a tradition" Sam spoke quietly, but just enough that I could hear.


    "Hm?"


    "Every night we get the chance, we gather everyone and look at the stars"


    "I feel we''re going to get more busy as time goes on"


    "Maybe, but maybe more people will join us then! Imagine that, it starts with just us, and we get more famous! Then we get tens, maybe hundreds with us up here!"


    "That''s an ambition alright" For a decent while, there wasn''t any talking, and the only thing audible was the conversation way below us back on the ground level of Eaxura. I continued looking up, not at the stars...sorta...instead, the empty patch in the sky, the specks of light from the other stars made sure that empty area wasn''t fully dark, and soon a camara''s interface was in my way.


    "You can always take a picture of it" Sam obviously said to tease me.


    "Gladly then" I grabbed the camara and aimed towards the patch without any stars, it was hard to decide how to take it, but laying down only gave you so many ways. I zoomed in the camara and made sure the other stars weren''t visible, only the mold of colors they created in the patch. I snapped the picture and handed the camara back to Sam.


    "Not so difficult right?"


    "Not at all, I just mimicked you" Like before, there was minor silence.


    "I hope it was a different Lee"


    "Talking about the voice message?"


    "Yeah...I don''t get how you''re so calm"


    "I think being in harm''s way almost 24/7 during the outbreak dulled that sense, and if they''re just gonna keep sending those robot monsters, I''ll be okay"


    "You nearly got your arm torn off"


    "Well, not knowing they exist makes avoiding them fifty times harder"


    "That''s true...still, why you?"


    "Maybe the ability I have, maybe Crescent?"


    "Crescent?"


    "My sword, it told me its name"


    "It can spe-


    "No, no, misunderstanding, it has a bunch of engravings, one of which is a moon, so it glowed the moon as though it was a crescent, and glowed brighter when I called it that"


    "Oh..." I could hear Sam tap the back of her hand with the other one. "Maybe...anything you''re worried about?"


    "Huh?"


    "Well, I''ve voiced my complaints...and worries many times, how about you?" I tried thinking about what''s happened so far, so many things even in just a short amount of time, so many things to question, and while we have the time, we don''t have the ability to travel to places at all yet.


    "I think I''m worried about not knowing anything"


    "Not, what I expected"


    "Back at the outbreak, we knew the city, knew where things were, had a radio to see who was still alive...and while there were times when people were scum, most were still the helpful people they were before anything happened...Now...it''s just the four of us, everything else is new, and from what we''ve been to so far, every world is dangerous."


    "We also left behind people..."


    "That...as well" I couldn''t help but reach to the stars again. why am I doing this? Nostalgia? Habit?...or do I really prefer being back in the past?


    "Hmm?" Sam tilted her head towards me, or, more so my reaching arm.


    "Cypher, Q, Kyle, Kayla" I closed a finger for each person I named, every time, there was a star behind my finger when I lowered it. "Which do you prefer Sam?" I didn''t look to her, only towards the glimmering stars that continued drawing my attention. "This world or ours?"


    "Ours" There wasn''t any hesitation "The sound of being heroes is nice, but we''re already stealing from people, you''re in harm''s way...and we barely even know why we''re doing this...why are we helping them? We don''t know the other side...we just helped because they asked"


    "I don''t think either side is bad" I lowered my arm, resting it on my chest. "Maybe...they''re just fighting for something they believe in"


    "Right! I shouldn''t bog down our photography day!" In a few seconds she hopped back onto her feet with renewed energy "Optimistic Sam is back in service!" I slowly got up, stretching afterwards.


    "Guess we better start the walk down no?"


    "Correct! Keep up Lee! We''re smooth sailing!" The walk back down the mountain was uneventful, it was much easier, nor did anyone slip up,we did however pass someone around midway.


    "hmhm, you two must enjoy hiking if you walked all the way up" The lady spoke in a soft, hushed tone.


    "Oh no, we did it for photography!" Sam slightly raised her camara to emphasize the point.


    "Even better ehheh, the sights are beautiful this time of day, though you always have to lose some sleep for it" They smiled before continuing the trail up "Take care you two"


    "She seem familiar to you?" I looked to Sam when I asked the question.


    "No, you?"


    "I don''t know why...but I feel like I do...maybe someone we passed by on earth before?"


    "Maybe?" We continued going down, all the way until we made it back to ground level. "So, I got a ton of ideas for pictures! One of these days I''m getting you your own camara, we can compete!"


    "Alright, alright. Let''s get to it" That''s how the night went, a photo frenzy, the lights shining through the streets, a particularly good looking sign or light, people in crowds walking along the streets. By the end of it all, my exhaustion led me to a bench, where I promptly sat on while letting out a sigh. "I don''t know how you do it"


    "Hehe~" She sat down beside me. "I simply had two years, you know how boring it is being in the hospital for that long? Sure I get to pick whatever I wanna eat, but getting woken up at 3AM is torture"


    "No wonder you''re energetic all the time."


    "Yup! I got up on all the sleep those nurses made me miss"


    "Definitely more self control than me, I would''ve just used it as an excuse to stay up late, something like ''oh, I have a hard time sleeping because I always got woken up'' something like that"


    "And you stay up late anyways" I was going to respond, thinking it was Sam, until I realized it was nowhere near her pitch, along with the hand on my shoulder.


    "Nicholai?" We both turned to look at her.


    "Why''re you here?" Sam tilted her head slightly like always.


    "You two were out for a while, figured something may have happened, so here I am."


    "Ah! Sorry" Sam clasped her hands together "That''s my mistake, I sorta dragged Lee around"


    "It''s fine, it''s not that late after all" I crossed my leg over the other while I talked, Nicholai, deciding she''d rather not have us hurt our necks to look backwards, eventually went in front of the bench.


    "I''ll give you that one" Nicholai crossed her arms while looking at the street. "I was looking through some books, found something you all may like"


    "A way to warp through places?" There was a pause at my prediction.


    "Yeah...actually"


    "Really? I was right?"


    "Don''t act like it''s some blue moon occurance, you''re right enough of the time" She uncrossed her arms "Bright side is, it''s really easy, though, there''s a difference between portals, teleporting, and warping"


    "How so?" Sam unclasped her hands and set them on her lap.


    "Warping isn''t considered magic, more so something we do with our souls, teleporting is magic, personal use, and not very costly, portals is from our weapons, like Raymond did, we cut one open to where we want, it''s also magic"


    "So what was the thing that guy did..." I mumbled under my breath yet Nicholai heard.


    "Huh?"


    "Back at the arena, some guy threw their weapon, and it let them warp to me...I dunno why, but I have a feeling that wasn''t a skill only they could do."


    "I did see some drawings of that type of motion, apparently it''s more difficult though, so let''s keep with the simple stuff alright?"


    "Yeah..." Sam and I got up from the benches and followed Nicholai as she led the way back to the base.


    "So, how was your first day of photography?" Sam leaned forward, making sure I could see her.


    "Fun, tiring, but fun"


    "You''ll get the hang of it, but as long as you have fun, that''s all that really matters" Sam had a look of satisfaction. "I knew you had the heart of a photographer"


    "I have the heart of someone who stays inside all day" Sam''s look instantly turned to disappointment


    "I know you''re making a joke, but still" It soon returned to a smile "I won''t let anyone just stay indoors all day"


    "Please do so" Nicholai''s voice was hard to hear, as she had some distance, and was facing away from us.


    "Of course! Lee needs as much sun as we do"


    "Hey, why am I being ragged on?"


    "It''s simply your week to be ragged on" Even without seeing her face, I could sense the smugness.


    "Oh! Do you guys think we''ll find a world with pirates?" Sam''s eyes shined once more


    "First it was helping people, now it''s robbing them?"


    "I said with pirates, not that we are pirates"


    "dunno, Lee has a point"


    "No he does not! Why am I being messed with now?"


    "It''s midnight, new week, new person to rag on"


    "Oh come oooon!" We all walked along the streets heading to our base, the cold of winter, yet the warmth of the lights and stores assured me, this night, was a good one.

 Chapter 7: Sabo-Defense

    "I had always known...that you would be the brightest star" Everything around me felt cold, the very opposite of the warmth I was in a moment ago. I could feel emotions swelling in me, anger, disgust, sorrow...all of it, reaching a boiling point. I jolted up, I had woken up from whatever nightmare that was, I didn''t feel like myself during it...was that...a vision of someone else? I couldn''t answer that question, I couldn''t see my body when I saw the vision...I started looking at my surroundings after waking up, I was on the floor, and the TV was playing some show, I rubbed my eyes before looking at the couch, and like before, Sam was there peacefully sleeping with a fuzzy ponytail, though this time I noticed Nicholai leaning on the side of the couch, though she was very much awake.


    "Mornin" She held out a book as always, reading it.


    "Morning..."I held the top of my head with a few fingers, it wasn''t hurting, but it felt off in a way. "What''re you doing here?"


    "I live here now"


    "You know what I meant"


    "You were audible in your sleep, though a majority of it was gibberish, so I''ve been here incase you said something that was important"


    "Oh...aren''t you the one talking about good sleep?"


    "I was sleeping, I got enough sleep before I started observing, don''t try being a smartass"


    "Hey, at least admit I''m a charming one"


    "If charm was being reckless, then yeah" I stood up, stretching my arms like every morning.


    "Might as well make something for everyone before they wake up"


    "I''ll be fine" Nicholai never looked my way once, she only kept reading.


    "I don''t believe that, nothing has moved since yesterday, I find it unlikely you ate anything" She didn''t respond "Figured, any suggestions?"


    "French toooast" Sam raised her hand and arm sluggishly.


    "There''s your suggestion" It was difficult to notice, but I saw a faint smile from Nicholai.


    "So be it then" I went over to the kitchen side, due to it being an open floor type of thing, I was still able to see and hear the other two.


    "How long were you two up?" Nicholai finally closed the book.


    "Not long, just fell asleep to some shows we wanted to finish"


    "mh" Nicholai tapped Sam''s leg multiple times until she sat up, letting Nicholai sit down. "How''s your injuries doing?" Nicholai looked over to me.


    "Love how they''re plural" Like magic(It probably was), the stuff I needed was already on the counter. "I think I''m fine, I can walk and all that"


    "That''s good" Nicholai leaned on one of the armrests while watching whatever was left on the TV. "Why french toast?" I could hear Nicholai questioning Sam.


    "Because, there was so much during the outbreak, I guess I just liked eating it"


    "We had a lot of other foods during the outbreak too"


    "Yeah, if it weren''t for them and the noise they made, we''d be thriving" I inputted on the conversation while mostly focusing on whisking.


    "Right! We were so close to being a beacon in the city! You want food, we have it, water? Games? We have it all!"


    "We got lucky, that''s for sure, like some divine intervention." Nicholai never slouched like Sam and I do, she kept up a posture. Our time during the outbreak...surprisingly peaceful, I surprisingly...miss it. I thought back to the past, we were set for life, we had each other, a power supply, a good connection with the good groups, and through that, we were defended from the bad ones. Moral Compass, Tech, Medicine, through Sam, Kenneth, and Nicholai we had everything needed to thrive, it even started making me feel bad. What...exactly did I do? Sure...I cook, but we made decisions as a team...we fought as one whenever conflict did arise... Eventually, I moved onto the next step, getting all these thoughts out of my head. I took a breath and refocused myself on the task at hand.


    "Need help?" Kenneth leaned on the counter, once he spoke the other two turned to look over.


    "Morning Ken!" Sam was the only one to give an audible response, Nicholai simply nodded.


    "Morning you two" While Kenneth talked to them, Dave uncloaked and landed on the counter.


    "You can really cloak now...neat" Dave made an audible noise before he talked.


    "Thank you sir" The four lights that represented eyes shifted slightly. "My hover has complete noise mitigation as well now, I can be used as a stealth drone with this current state"


    "Good to know, thanks for being handy Dave"


    "Of course, would you desire a recipe?"


    "Don''t worry about it, even if I do mess up, it''s nice to learn"


    "Understood" Dave returned to his spot before, hovering near Kenneth.


    "So, what''s the next course of action?" Kenneth returned his gaze to me.


    "Oh! We can try mimicking what Raymond did" Sam gave the first response.


    "I feel we at least need to know where we''re going to open up a portal" I started walking over to everyone.


    "So let''s just get a mission, see where it is, and try" I set things down at the table near the couch and paused.


    "Well...You all eat, and I''ll try"


    "Thanks for the food!" While the three relaxed and got to eating, I opened my HUD and looked for anything that could give a location, it was difficult until I eventually noticed the mission section of the HUD. I pressed it, and a massive list appeared, some being greyed out with the reason being our Team''s Rank wasn''t high enough, that was fair. I eventually got to one about the Reunion, summarizing it got me the gist, it was a mission about sabotaging a Reunion outpost, it wasn''t a complete loss if we got noticed or anything, it''s not something we have to sabo without them knowing, simply something they need gone. There was one thing that caught my eye though ''Recommended Sniper overwatch: 2 meet standard'' That would mean...I looked over to the crew, soon Kaz was also around, hopping onto the table before sitting down.


    "Has any of you gotten a sniper? Except for Kaz"


    "No?" Nicholai summoned her scythe, resting the blade on the floor before spinning it by the long handle.


    "Not for me either" Kenneth didn''t summon his spear to check, though it makes sense, he already had the bow...but then ...that leaves Sam...who already has two pistols, that was until I recalled the little parts on her blades that looked like they connect.


    "Sam, can you do me a favor and summon your weapons?" Without missing a beat, she did so. "The little gaps, that look like they fit the blade, see em?" It took a second for her to notice.


    "Yup"


    "Try connecting the two"


    "Huh?"


    "Just give it a try...it doesn''t look like the sickle could fit, but I feel it''s for something...why else would it be there?" She shrugged slightly before moving the sickle close to the shortsword, when it got close enough, the sickle crackled slightly before forming into another shortsword, without a second to do anything, the once sickle part went into the gap and soon, the two short bladed weapons had turned into a sword. Nicholai coughed after almost choking.


    "What the hell?"


    "And now, try turning them into the ranged version" Ignoring Nicholai, we continued checking, the sword soon turned, the tip of both combined blades splitting open, the two triggers from the pistols were beside each other, making a dual trigger, when it was all finished, the sword, once two short weapons, had turned into a sniper rifle. The room was silent for a moment, until-


    "Sniper buddies!" Kaz didn''t sound surprised.


    "It''s...kinda heavy" Sam set the stock of the rifle on the ground


    "We figured out the other sniper it seems" Nicholai stood up.


    "Now that everything is settled, we ready to go?" Everyone nodded. I held Crescent, I had my HUD opened and looked at the picture given, and the name of the world, feeling I had everything right, I slashed downwards with purpose, and from it a portal opened, showing the world I tried to go to, though, it wasn''t where i wanted to be in that world. "Let''s get to it everyone"


    "Let''s go!" We all leapt into the portal, it was a grassland, trees, plants, and the noise of animals were all around.


    "One more thing" I looked to everyone. "We don''t exactly know the reason why we''re against the Reunion, at least one we made ourselves, so let''s try sticking to non lethal alright?" Once more, I was given a nod from my peers. I opened my map and saw a mission marker on an empty patch where the forest should still be going. I turned right and began to walk, with the others following, Kaz didn''t go on anyone''s shoulder this time, instead she walked along with us, a little pitter and patter here and there.


    Halfway along the path, I saw a trail that began to lead upwards, it was practically a mountain.


    "Sam, Kaz, think you can get a sightline from there?" I motioned my head to the trail.


    "On it!" Without question, Sam began rushing towards the trail with Kaz shortly behind.


    "I was gonna also say if you can''t to come back down..."


    "Heard ya!" Though I wasn''t loud or even trying to get her to hear, she understood regardless.


    "Alright then, the four of us will continue on then"


    "Four, talking about the sword?" Kenneth looked confused until I tapped the hilt of my sword. "I guess that counts as someone."


    "Lead the way then" As Nicholai requested, we continued the walk through the forest, annoying branches and twigs occasionally whacked my legs, yet, it''s not as though I could burn the entire forest down and clear the path, soon, there it was, a base hiding in the woods with durable looking walls, in the distance, I could see guards. I almost slid across the ground to get behind a tree, with the others following.


    "Non-Lethal right?" I nodded at Kenneth, in response, I noticed he was on his HUD, looking for something, a moment later, he summoned an arrow, the tip wasn''t pointy, instead a ball with a thunderbolt on it.


    "Let''s look for another way first" I held my hand open, and close to the ground, signaling for Kenneth to wait. We started to circle the building, making sure we kept a distance just in case, when we got around to the back, there was a single door. We made sure to go slowly, not only to reduce the noise we made, but so we could be sure we didn''t step on anything that made noise, the moment we could, we leaned against the wall, I was on the side where the handle to the door was, while Kenneth and Nicholai were on the other. Conflicting with the heavy walls, the door was metal bars, letting people look through it.


    "I''ll try picking the lock" Kenneth began rummaging through things before Nicholai spoke up.


    "No offense, but on this one, I trust Lee to do"


    "Pardon?" I looked away from the door and redirected my sight to her.


    "Well, you survived by yourself somehow, you''re telling me you never picked locks?"


    "I...I never said thaaaat"


    "So there we go, Ken" Kenneth finished rummaging through his bag, he then handed me a simple kit.


    "I don''t think skill really matters for this" I came to that conclusion after looking at the lock.


    "How so?"


    "Simple, it''s a terrible lock" I grabbed just one part of the kit and with aggression, jabbing it into the slot, the door immediately opened after all four clicks went off. I did a short bow before heading in. The inside of the base had a few actual buildings, but it was mostly tents and crates. Guards wandered around, yet none looked over. Once Kenneth and Nicholai were in, I went back and made the door look like it was closed. I scanned the base for what we were looking for, and though difficult, I eventually saw it, a machine that was being repaired, its wires were exposed because of that. "Dave" I didn''t know if he followed or not, yet it was worth a try. A minute later, he appeared, uncloaking. "Do you think you can go in the sky and keep a watch over everyone?"


    "Understood, I''ll do my best" Dave went into the sky while cloaking, a moment later, guards started to appear through the walls, letting us see them and where they were, I turned to the other two and noticed they were surrounded by a green effect. I raised my hand and was still able to see them.


    "Dave, helpful as always, ay?" Though Kenneth sounded like he was actually asking, we all already knew the answer.


    ''I am unable to ping Kaz and Miss Sam from here, apologies''


    -Dave


    ''Don''t worry about it, thanks for the aid''


    -Lee


    There were two just around the corner, I tried thinking. We could kick the back of their legs...get them lowered, Kenneth can choke a guy out right?


    "Kenneth" Like before I motioned my head towards the two guards around the corner.


    "And?"


    "Just follow my lead" I got to the edge of the wall and crouched down, Kenneth stood over me and Nicholai kept a distance. I held out three fingers, then went to two, then one. The moment my hand turned to a fist, we both quickly turned the corner, I went to the closest, kicking the back of his leg to get them close to the ground, before using the curved hilt on my sword to choke them, there was heavy reistance, they tried reaching behind them, when that didn''t work they tried elbowing behind them. When their attempts got closer to working, I got away from them, before raising and pushing with my leg, that way I could keep going, it became much harder for them to reach, and when the restiance stopped, and I let go, they landed face first on the ground with a thud. I turned to Kenneth and saw him with his bow out, the person he dealt with was leaning against a wall. "Used your bow?"


    "Well, I think using a bow is much more normal to choke someone than using a sword:"


    "It''s not normal either way" Nicholai started going ahead. "Well?"


    "Right" After a pause we all continued, the device was across an open area, there weren''t any other routes we could take.


    TTS Active


    "Hey Sam"-Lee


    "Hmhm?"-Sam


    "Quick question, does that thing have a suppressor?"-Lee


    "We both know that won''t nullify a shot"-Sam


    "Yeah, yeah I know, we need a quick diversion to make sure no one looks our way, I was hoping you saw something you could shoot, something that could make noise, enough noise that it would silence out the rest of the noise coming from you"-Lee


    "Oh, alright then"-Sam


    TTS Deactive


    It wasn''t even a second later when a loud bell started going off to our right, we heard people rushing over, along with some talking.


    "What the hell does she want this ti-" I could obviously tell what they were going to say afterwards, but audibly-wise, they eventually got too far for that.


    "Let''s go" The three of us seized the chance and rushed across the open field. I looked over towards the bell and saw a few dozen gathering at the front of the room. Once we made it, we hid behind the device. "Ken, you''re good to go" Nicholai and I covered each side while Kenneth began to work on the wires.


    "Dave, some light" A moment after Kenneth made the request, I saw a faint light in my peripheral vision, hopefully it was faint enough that anyone else couldn''t see it. "Well, there''s a few things this device can be...it''s not a bomb though, but I wouldn''t wanna trigger any alarms" Kenneth began to talk to himself, trying to debate what it could be. "Eh screw it, it''s a station now" I heard a wire snap, which implies he cut one, there were no alarms, nor anyone coming over to check things. "Alright then" I did notice however that the device and the things atop it, had begun to slow down. "th th th" After a moment, another was cut, this time the entire thing shut down.


    "Hey! The MEMPs not starting up anymore!" So it was something called a MEMP...It sounded familiar.


    "Ken" I didn''t look back at him, but he heard easily.


    "I know" Another wire snapped before he stood up and aimed his bow at the inside, I joined Nicholai''s side as Kenneth released the arrow, launching it into the MEMP and setting off an electric blast inside of the entire thing. The three of us began sprinting back to the door.


    "Intruders! Back exit!" While we were forced to cross the open field again, I saw two guards aiming towards me. Oh come on, for one day can I get a break! Before they could fire though, two very faint shots rang through the forest, before those same two bullets hit the guards, instead of killing them however, it looked like they were paralyzed, as I could still see them breathing and slightly moving. We pushed through the door and ran into the forest. "Go get them!"


    "Spread out" Kenneth and Nicholai both nodded before we all split off, going our separate ways. I could hear leaves and branches break and snap behind me, either the two didn''t listen, we somehow regrouped, our I was being chased, the last one was most likely. I saw how low some of the branches were, and seeing as they weren''t shooting at me, I must be out of sight. I brought Crescent back into my hand, but instead of the hilt, I grabbed near the end of the blade, after taking a turn I quickly used the curved edge to grab onto one of the more sturdy looking branches, when I began to lift myself though, the hilt broke, I hit the ground and ended up on my back. It took a while, but hearing the guards approaching, I couldn''t sit here, I looked towards my sword and saw that the hilt didn''t actually break, it was something more weird, the hilt instead had two hinges, the hilt was actually opened rather than broken, and two barrels were in the handle this entire time, waiting for the hilt to open. I grabbed onto the sword, trying to get it to change, but it didn''t, instead, a trigger appeared on the handle. "No other choice" I mumbled to myself, I wanted to keep it non-lethal, and hopefully Crescent understood that.


    "There!" The two guards approached, they saw the...''Broken'' sword, and seemed amused, "Ain''t so lucky now are ya?" I wrapped my finger around the trigger, if this did shoot one of the barrels, I wouldn''t know what either did. The moment they lowered their weapons I raised Crescent and pulled the trigger, the force from it caused my arm to go up after firing it, the noise, while not very loud, still was loud enough to disturb things amongst the forest. After recovering from the surprise recoil, I saw the two guards being shocked before they fell down while I stood up.


    "Good job Crescent" I would need some serious audacity to act like I did it all, maybe Crescent purposefully opened the hilt. While I was thinking, I flicked the sword up, hoping to use the momentum to reclose the hilt. It didn''t work, the hilt went back to being open. "Something wrong?" I felt like Crescent was pulling downwards, as such, I flicked down instead, and a shotgun shell popped out steaming hot. The force from the opening sent it flying out and onto the floor. "Ah, course, I should reload it before closing the hilt right?" Crescent moved up and down. "Thanks for reminding me" I tried doing what Kenneth did, getting a normal shell, I reloaded the shotgun section, with the other section still not opening, when I put the shell in, it was marked with a thunderbolt. "Are you able to change what ammo can do?" Once more, up and down, giving me an answer the best way it could. "Thanks again then"


    With no reason to keep standing there, Crescent and I began going back to the hill Sam and Kaz were on, Kenneth and Nicholai are probably going there as well, no reason for messaging. Once I reached the hill and started going up the trail, I heard a whistle, I looked up and saw two snipers aiming at me.


    "It''s Lee" After hearing my voice, and saying my name, the snipers lowered, and I could see Sam and Kaz. "Kenneth and Nicholai make it?"


    "Yeah! They''re a bit ahead on the trail" I nodded and continued, it hasn''t been too long since I just climbed a mountain, in fact, it bothered me, climbing a mountain again so soon. At least it''s not rock climbing...It took what felt like ages and days, but I eventually made it to the top.


    "I''d say that was a success"


    "I actually agree" Though slightly tired, I managed to answer Nicholai. "Good job everyone"


    "Hip hip hooray!" Sam raised her open hand into the air. "Our first mission we picked was a win!" I raised Crescent like before and cut open a portal back to the base.


    "Everyone in" As I asked, everyone one by one went in, with me being last. We were back at the cozy comfort of home, sadly I came to realize that...the portals don''t close automatically. "Uh..." Luckily, no one was in our base, so they didn''t find the other one. Crescent almost ripped out of my hand, only my thumb held on while my other fingers were opened, to my surprise, it actually caused the portals to close, I resheathed Crescent, adding the weight to my back.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "Handy Sword, handy drone" Sam purposefully fell back on the couch, laying down while stretching her arms out. "Wish there was more to do"


    "Right, that mission was a pretty simple one" I sat on the arm rest while looking at the TV, as always it''s playing something from a series we''ve seen before, yet never finished.


    "And she had the boring job"


    "It was nice" Kaz disagreed with Nicholai, considering how Kaz has been, being with Sam was probably enough for her.


    "Hey Ken"


    "Hm?" He turned his head towards me.


    "Think you can find a way to make our weapons non-lethal?" Kenneth was going to answer till I recalled something "Oh, before you answer, you alright with getting modified a bit buddy?" I raised my arm over my shoulder and tapped Crescent. It moved forward and back. "Alright"


    "I can modify them most likely, though, since the weapons are from us, and not exactly normal weapons, they may revert to how they were before"


    "Fair point...it''s still worth a try"


    "Of course it is" Hearing that, Crescent got out from the sheath and flew over to Kenneth, floating beside him. "Nicholai, Sam, leave your weapons outside my door I''ll handle them then"


    "Alrighty!" Surprised it didn''t become a thing sooner, but I had begun to only smell dry blood.


    "Ugghhh...Is there a bath or something?" Immediately the four of them pointed in a direction "Was I really the only person who didn''t know we had one?"


    "Can''t blame you, we only knew we had one because it was marked on the map" Nicholai, along with the others, lowered their hands, no longer pointing.


    "Well, in I go then" I followed where they pointed before and found it relatively soon afterwards, the inside was unbelievably clean. "uh...don''t really feel like a shower..." I turned the knob towards the hot water and started waiting for it to get to a certain point. "I guess I have the time to reflect on things..." The bathroom was made in a way I found interesting, once you enter, there''s a stool and mirror to your left along with other things, then ahead more are two half walls on each side, with the center open...Thinking on this, the journal works in a weird way, I technically write things in it, but the blanks are filled by something else...which would include all this unnecessary stuff...maybe this is being written by that something else...or maybe the terrible scent was just actually getting to me. Should probably set a mat down... I did so, a mat with no design, simply just something that serves as a mat. After a minute or two of the tub filling, I finally got in and sat down. reflecting...reflecting... I didn''t exactly know which part to reflect on, there was so much, and I could barely think. I closed my eyes and tried to relax, a deep breath in...and let the breath out...in...and out. When I opened my eyes, I wasn''t where I was before, It felt like I was underwater, something compressing me. I was endlessly falling deeper into the ocean. What...is this place? As soon as I thought that, Roots from a rose appeared around my wrist before extending off into the water, a moment later, words appeared at the end of the root.


    ''What is this place?'' Ah...Could this be...I wanted to try something. What are the Corrupted? Just like before Roots appeared, now around my ankle, extending off until words appeared ''What are the Corrupted'' This place...It''s for me to reflect on things isn''t it? Soon, the roots connected to ''what is this place'' had actual roses bloom from them, and more words appeared under it. ''This place lets me reflect on things I normally can''t think about'' Why only here? Nothing appeared, was this a question I was already meant to know the answer to? I guess this place can''t cure oblivious people. Then, do the others have this?...Of course they do, right? Instead of another root wrapping around me, a new root stretched off from the one leading to ''What is this place'' with a new one ''Can anyone else do this?'' While the roots brightened slightly, no roses appeared. Is it because I''m not sure?...So I can''t just guess things...This place knows if I have doubts...I might as well do this... I began to think of things i knew the answer to, just in case I forget one day... Some of them were simple, who is Sam, who is Kenneth, what''s the name of my sword, ect, ect. I did review some important things.


    ''What is Eaxura? Eaxura is considered the homeworld of DTs, 500 million in fact. Eaxura has 4 districts, though I don''t know what those are''


    ''What is Crescent? Crescent, is a sword from my soul, with rose engravings along with a moon amongst those roots''


    What else was there...I looked up towards where the surface should be, yet, whether from me being under too long, or just being like this, I couldn''t see the top. A few seconds after looking up, my sight went black before I actually felt as though I was drowning, I struggled, or at least tried to, I didn''t know where to go, or even where I was. I eventually gave in, and took a breath even though I was under, instead of getting consumed by the water, I jolted up, my vision returned back to where I should be in a tub inside our base, I felt fine, no loss of breath, no damage to anything. So...just look up and drown to return back, good to know. I felt around my neck, nothing was wrong, yet I could still feel that sense of drowning. I sat back again Alright...no reflecting unless I need to...if it works like the HUD and other magic, maybe I can create some keyword for it to make it trigger...Mind Space...Reflection...I''ll come up with something... I wasn''t relaxed, I didn''t know if I would go under again, but I wasn''t exactly stressed either, merely sitting down and soaking in. Then my HUD appeared.


    ''You alive?''


    -Ken


    ''Yeah, just entered some water space''


    -Lee


    ''Pardon?''


    -Ken


    ''Nothing, I''ll be out soon''


    -Lee


    I rested my head on the back of the tub. There''s always something new...always something...There wasn''t anything eventful afterwards, I just looked towards the roof after actually using stuff to clean, dressed when I got out, and regrouped with the others.


    "Your hair is so messy now" Sam was still laying down on the couch, resting her head on the armrest.


    "Didn''t feel like brushing or drying it" I noticed there were no weapons at Kenneth''s door, yet Kenneth wasn''t here, nor Crescent. Seems he''s already putting himself to work. I also noticed that the scent of blood wasn''t there anymore, instead a sweet smell you''d get from a field of flowers. How...unfitting...yet it''s nice. I couldn''t help but smile from it.


    "What''re you smiling at?" I hadn''t even realized Nicholai reading a book on a chair, though, she had glasses on this time while reading.


    "Nothing much...what''s with the glasses?"


    "I can see, it just helps so I don''t strain my eyes"


    "Never seen them before though..."


    "Why would you? I didn''t exactly read in school often"


    "Guess you got a point" I didn''t exactly know what we were going to do next. take on missions forever? That doesn''t exactly seem right...I did want to get some magic under control, maybe understand that warping guy from before, it''d really suck if that was a trait but I don''t find that likely. Our HUDs popped open like before.


    New Mission


    Recipients: Bravo Team


    Sender: Kai


    It read as such:


    ''Bravo Team, new mission for you all, simple too, there''s a dimension where we have a train moving things, downside is it broke down midway, as such we need people to defend it while it''s repaired, you don''t have to worry about killing Reunion or other humanoid beings, it''s purely creatures and beasts, I won''t bother coming over and warping you all there, considering you already know how to open portals to places.(We see who completes missions, we have to pay them after all). I''ll be in that world as well if you need me, though I find that unneeded.


    A picture of a train was attached, along with surrounding areas.


    Our HUDs closed once we finished reading.


    "Well, we don''t have a moment to wait" Like I summoned him, Kenneth walked out of his room, Dave was carrying Sam''s weapons, while Kenneth held Nicholai''s, Crescent of course, floating around.


    "Couldn''t finish them before we got that, but it''s far enough in that it won''t break when using the Lethal form"


    "Thanks Ken" Crescent flew into my sheath, while the others got up and got theirs. "Where''s Kaz?" Sam started turning and looking around her.


    "Uh...Sleeping?" It was the only answer Sam could assume. "In my room probably"


    "Well...no use waking her up then" As I did before, I cut open a portal to the train. "Everyone in" While everyone entered, Nicholai put her glasses in a case and gently closed the book in her hands, setting them on a table beside the chair.


    ''You''re pushing yourself just so you know" Nicholai spoke up.


    "Me?" She nodded.


    "Even if I healed you, rest is a must, and no, a day is not enough" She already knew how I would respond. "We don''t know how this fully works, and I''d rather not have your situation get worse...I will say though, Sam''s situation may prove that we''re stronger than normal...I don''t see her coughing a storm up"


    "For now... we know how it was before"


    "And you say I''m the pessimistic one" With nothing else to say she headed in, and I followed shortly after. The world was darker than the picture, but I assumed it was just because time had passed, we ended up on the front of the train, even though I tried to get us off the train so that we could get a better look. I need to practice this more...It''s inaccurate to where I want to go. This place looked familiar, the buildings, and structures far off...This...is earth isn''t it? This...looks too similar to not be. I turned around to check the place out more, yet saw Kai leaning on the front railing, smoking.


    "Friends are already inside, case you were wondering, they didn''t bother to question things like you probably are." He blew out a puff of smoke.


    "This place is earth, right?"


    "What made you assume that?"


    "Off in the distance, the buildings, those three skyscrapers, they look exactly like the ones in the city we were in"


    "Well, maybe it is then"


    "Why are you acting like you didn''t know?"


    "Why are you asking a ton of questions?"


    "Because you chose us, you knew we died here, so why choose a bunch of rookies to protect something important? It seems to me the train''s power is still on, unless it has some sorta infinite light bulb" Kai was silent, a few seconds passed before he let out another puff of smoke.


    "There''s no reason, but I will say, I have no qualms with you and your buddies heading back into the city for things, so long as you''re back by midnight, where most of the creatures come."


    "There were none when we were here"


    "There was also no such thing as magic, DTs, and Corruptors when you were here" It was heavy sarcasm, clearly telling me ''You just didn''t know''. It was true, We never really went outside during midnight. Seeing no reason to continue the conversation, I went inside. The inside of the train was fully lit and warm, seats, open spaces, it had sections you''d see in a normal train, and sections that you''d think it was a military base,


    "We have an hour and half to get through before our mission actually begins" One of the soldiers spoke, the outfit they wore looks like a normal black suit with a white shirt under it, yet if I looked close enough, I could see the armor within it, a few people in the cart had this style. "What you all do in that time is of your own will, we''ll regroup here when there''s five minutes left." Like that, everyone split, while my crew came to me.


    "So, what''re we doing?" Nicholai had her arms crossed as she spoke. Upon asking the question, Sam smirked, reached into her pocket, and pulled out a deck of cards.


    "The only option of course" She held the cards up, treating it like some priceless gem. "Ah! There''s a table" Without even seeing our answers, she headed over to a table and got behind it.


    "Might as well" Kenneth shrugged before we all joined her on the opposite side.


    "Allllrighty! What''s the game today?" She endlessly shuffled the cards while speaking.


    "Blackjack" Nicholai was the first to respond.


    "Isn''t it twenty-one?" While taking a seat, I looked at Nicholai while awaiting an answer.


    "Same game, name depends on the place most of the time"


    "No other answers? Twenty-one it is" Getting an answer, Sam stopped shuffling "Left to right or right to left?" I was in the middle, thus, no real reason to answer.


    "I''ll take the first card" Kenneth being on my left, made it left to right.


    "Okay!" And thus the cards started being dealt, one card facing up, and the other down. Sam didn''t give any cards to herself, she was probably fine with just being the dealer. Looking at both the cards, it was a mix between disappointment and safety, a 2 and 7. Well...I can''t exactly lose if I get another card, but there''s a chance I get small numbers, and then a big one...Kenneth and Nicholai...they act in a certain way too...Breaking my line of thought, Sam put her hand in front of me, on the table.


    "I''ll take another." Another card was slid to the right of my cards, perfectly stopping when it got to where it should be, the card ended up being an 8. So a 17...I feel content with this... Sam went to Nicholai next, She shook her head, when Sam went to Kenneth, he already had a response.


    "I''m good" Sam nodded, and went to me, I shook my head and she stepped back.


    "Alright then, flip your cards over." Everyone, including me, grabbed our cards, flipped over the hidden ones, and put them near the middle. Kenneth went over 21 by 2, while Nicholai was at 14.


    "Ah, felt that you two would go overkill" Nicholai rested her head on her arm which was on the table.


    "You got one of us right" Sam grabbed the cards and began to shuffle them all again. Right when I was starting to relax, a hand went on the table, causing me to jump slightly.


    "Got any room for more?" Some of the soldiers had gathered around the table.


    "Always" Hearing an answer, they sat down. That''s how the time went by, playing cards. By the near end, it somehow turned into a tournament.


    "Oh shiiit!" The guards started hyping up the whole thing when it ended with me and another one of the guards.


    "You got some wild luck man" The guard was at the other end of the table as the whole thing shifted people around.


    "I simply call bluffs" There was no reason to lie and call it luck, I couldn''t get a read on this guy through the entire thing. Our cards were given, two kings...a lovely sight, yet only a 20, not an instant win, and seeing how it''s been for him, he''s likely to somehow win regardless. Thinking on it...I haven''t seen an ace all this time...there has to be a chance it''s on the top, I can''t really see what the guy''s cards are...he''s at a horrible angle for checking...yet the same goes for my cards too. The guard''s face changed for a moment, into a bitter one. Is this a bluff? Or was there genuinely something wrong with the hand he had...Sam would already have an answer...Yet it''s very clear she can''t help here, It''s up to me, and if I can''t come up with an answer, I''ll have to rely on luck alone. "I''ll take another" With that, another card was placed, I had my fingers crossed as I looked over at it. 2...it''s a 2. I let a sigh out after the other guard decided to keep the hand he had. We flipped our cards over, the guard has 14, while I was over with 22. Some of the guards cheered for my opponent, yet, I was surprised to hear that some of the guards were mad in my stead.


    "Were there even any aces in there?" one of the guards questioned Sam, Sam set the cards down and took the one from the top, she raised the card and turned it, showing an ace. "Dammit! You did your best man" They patted my shoulder.


    "Alright!" A soldier in different attire came through one of the carts. Instead of a black suit, it was more so a jacket, it looked even more sound and secure than the suits, along with having a CSF mark on the right shoulder(With the emblem too). "Five minutes until midnight, get ready" Sam quickly grabbed the four cards on the table, shuffled them and put them away, either in that inventory we have, or her pocket. The rest of us either stood up, or checked their gear. While I was checking for Crescent, Kenneth handed it to me, it seemed to have a new function to it, along with all of Bravo Team''s weapons.


    "I finished the non-lethal stuff while you were playing"


    "Heh, thanks for that man, oh before I forget is Dave around?"


    "He always is" Kenneth instantly responded to me, and like a summon, Dave appeared, uncloaking and floating beside us.


    "Think you can provide us an overwatch, buddy?"


    "Of course, I will provide aid from abov-"


    "nhnh, Dave, try to not use any weapons yet, I dunno if they''re really structurally sound."


    "How the hell do you kids have so much shit?" One of the soldiers looked overwhelmed at us.


    "We survived two years in an apocalypse, we didn''t really have much else to do besides learn and make" Kenneth was the one who answered, though he didn''t really mention the fact that all him and his sister did was study...and study.


    "Guess that answers the question...heh, you should start making stuff for all the DTs and CSF, get paid that way instead of risking your necks" I could tell Kenneth actually put consideration into that.


    "2 minutes!" The jacket CSF soldier reminded us. I looked out the front window to see Kai snuffing out whatever he was smoking.


    "BT, let''s head out!" I got Sam and Nicholai''s attention, we all headed out onto the front and waited.


    "First wave missions are always difficult, don''t mess it up" Kai sounded like he was only referring to me, though it was difficult to tell, as he stared off into the forest. Soon the lights on the front of the train turned on, as the entire system began to let out a loud mechanical roar as it started up.


    "Systems finally dried out, we''ll start repairing the system, shouldn''t take longer than a quarter hour, stay on guard!" Someone spoke on an unseeable intercom. Guess that''s why we had to wait till midnight. The trees'' leaves began to rustle, along with a few bushes. We all hopped over the railing, followed shortly by the other soldiers.


    "Everyone ready!?" The jacket CSF soldier got to the front, wielding a flail. With the warning of rustling leaves, creatures that looked akin to dogs came rushing towards us, their heads cracking apart before splitting into three segments, they all started getting pinged along with ones we didn''t see around us. I saw Sam perfectly fine with all this right...no blood came out from them...why though? I felt a rush of wind beside me, and throwing a wild guess, I summoned Crescent and slashed upwards towards my left, with the momentum, one of the dogs were launched over me as they were almost cut in half.


    "Not this time fuckers" Though I just killed something, a small ounce of joy was within me, the joy you get for persevering.


    "They''re not the same robots!" Kenneth ran past me after making the, firing an arrow before changing and throwing his spear. The arrow shocked the dogs around, yet, without warning, and very much to everyone''s surprise, when the spear hit one of the dogs, the shock from the arrow went over to the spear and had another shock blast of its own. "Guess that works?" He looked over to me while shrugging.


    "Hey Ruben!" Kai spoke up to the jacket CSF "Co-op!" The jacket CSF''s flail turned something similar to a mace, Kai ran over, leapt up onto the spikes of the mace, but instead of stabbing him, the spikes had some aura around it. "Go!" The mace turned back into a flail by launching the chain forward, causing Kai to also be sent into the air, the spikes were following, yet none were missing from the flail, he swung his legs down forcing all the spikes to be sent across the field closer to where the creatures were coming from, each time a spike managed to pierce one of the creatures, it pulled in more of them, and any survivors of the pull were soon killed when Kai slammed into the ground, breaking pieces of the ground but not anywhere near the tracks for the train.


    "Cool!" I could hear Sam comment.


    "Hey Kenneth, that gives me an idea!" A group of the creatures rushed towards me "Crescent, wall if you will!" Crescent left my hands and struck the fire wall similar to before. "Back to what I was saying"


    "Go ahead" Kenneth fired an arrow at one behind us, yet the creature side-stepped out of the way and continued rushing towards us.


    "I''ll use my curved hilt to hook onto one, launch it into the air, you''ll hit it with an arrow and redirect the charge with your spear"


    "Ah, I get it, so we can have a more controllable electric attack"


    "Spot on" One of the creatures became bold and leapt through the fire wall, though they were burned, they weren''t killed, I whistled for Crescent, yet they didn''t respond. Why did I think that would work without running it through Crescent first? I summoned Crescent to my hand instead, the moment the dog leapt at me, I crouched down before swinging the hilt at them, when i felt resistance I knew it hit, and so I stood and swung further up but the dog didn''t come off. "Crescent, hilt!" The hilt opened like before, with the momentum it caused the beast to get off the curved, bladed, hilt. I pulled the trigger, causing the beast to be launched further into the air. "You''re up!" I looked to Kenneth, He rushed over before sliding across the dirt ground, he hit the creature directly below it, before quickly turning and throwing his spear. Like before, the charge from the arrow redirected towards the beasts around his spear, however, before the shock went off, the beasts were blasted apart from each other, then, each one of them let off a shock-field.


    "I think I get it, my spear redirects all effects, though, how does a shotgun have some blast effect?" He turned his head to his side, looking at me with one eye while his back was towards me.


    "Figured it out earlier, Crescent changes the shell to what''s best for the situation"


    "Handy, let''s keep this move in mind alright?"


    "Alright" We bumped our fists together.


    "They''re heading to the back of the train!" One of the soldiers spoke out.


    "CSF! Head to the back and get them off, we''ll hold the front" Kai spoke for all of us, yet we all clearly became worried when we understood we would have to defend it by ourselves.


    "Understood!" We watched as 80% of the defenses left.


    "Kai!?" I shouted over to him.


    "We''ll be fine, just holler if you need something" His weapon changed to a two-handed hammer, he sprinted towards a group of the beasts, jumped up, twirled with immense speed, and slammed into the ground, forcing black specks to rise before exploding on the creatures.


    "Sam! Idea"


    "Hmhm?" Sam was mostly keeping her distance from the enemies, using the chains to either wrap around the enemies and slam them down, or throwing her weapons and piercing them before ripping them out.


    "How much knockback is from the sniper?"


    "Uh...I had a few stuff to choose from...There''s one that''s just pure knockback"


    "So they wanted us to try this..."I mumbled to myself. "Here''s the id-" I ducked under as one of the creatures leapt at me, I went to fire the shotgun but was met with a click "Goddamnit!" I flicked down and went to summon a shell. The beast recovered from the missed jump, it was priming another leap till a scythe slammed down on, impaling it.


    "Seems someone else needs to be reminded to reload" Nicholai dug her scythe out before sprinting back to where she was before. Sam soon took her place near me.


    "What was the plan?"


    "What if I hook on you, you fire the knockback round, and I use that momentum like a launched blade?"


    "You want me to send you flying?"


    "Worth a shot no?" Seeing the dogs distracted by Kai''s once more, new weapon and attacks, I latched the hilt onto Sam, ready to be launched.


    "Ready?" I nodded, I expected a small spin, maybe a quick one, what I didn''t expect, is for everything to instantly become a blur as I got hit with nausea, I went to go hold my mouth before I threw up, yet realized I had raised the wrong hand, sending me into a tree instead, the sudden impact caused a small cough, I felt completely ill, but not to the point where I wouldn''t realize a few of the creatures coming for me. I took out my revolver and fired a few shots, none were exceptional shots, but good enough to put them down or send them running.


    ''You okay!?''


    -Sam


    Sam was clearly dazed, even from where I was that was noticeable, yet, she still managed to hold her own if not with a few attacks from the beasts connecting.


    ''Focus on your own health for now''


    -Lee


    I managed to stand


    "Crescent!" I raised my hand into the air, and after a few seconds a small pull from the speed Crescent came at me with.


    "They''re pooling into the train!" The intercom person spoke, and from Kai''s radio, we got a response.


    "We''re having issues at the back, we can''t help"


    "Kai, think you can manage?"


    "Hell no!" Kai looked back at me with anger.


    "Lee, you''ll be fine if you go alone, we trust ya" I couldn''t tell if it was Nicholai''s sarcasm or not, but trusting her, I decided it wasn''t. I started going back to the front of the train to get on, but I could tell I wouldn''t be able to hop over the rail.


    "I got ya!" Sam put her hands together and lowered herself


    "Sorry!" I knew it would hurt her but I didn''t exactly have a quicker option. With a small hop I landed on her hands where she promptly threw them up, giving me the height to hop over the railing.


    "We really did get stronger" I heard Sam speak as I rushed up the stairs and into the train, the maintenance crew were holding off some of the creatures with rifles and other firearms.


    "A DT is here!" I felt guilty for some reason, like I didn''t exactly match the expectation they had. I took out my revolver and fired alongside the others. "DT to your left!" One of the beasts broke through the window and toppled over me. My revolver slid across the floor, Crescent was going to save me until another one leapt over the makeshift barricade and grabbed onto it, my arm started to get gnawed on, I tried reaching for my revolver but it was out of reach and soon taken by one of the creatures. I kept trying to summon them, yet whatever the beasts were doing prevented it


    "Come on!" I then remembered, those two weren''t all I had. I summoned the knife from the trails and stabbed it through the side of the beast''s head, at first the gnawing got worse, but soon it released. I stood up and kicked the beast who grabbed the revolver, I picked it up and fired at the one holding Crescent. "To me!" Crescent flew over and hovered near me. "Be careful, but strike them down" Crescent then left me, flying around with speed while slashing any beast it could. "You all, focus on the train." Knife in my left hand, and revolver in my right, I began to fire at any easy target, when one started dodging, and eventually leapt at me, I''d hold my revolver straight so they''d bite the gun first, then stab the creature through the bottom of their jaw.


    "We''re here!" The train car door opened, and a barrage of bullets tore apart the creatures until they became pure mush, afterwards, silence.


    "That all?" One of the maintenance crew spoke. They seemed joyful a DT was here...are they not DTs themselves?


    "Everyone okay?" Soon, Bravo Team joined up as well.


    "Yes, we can get going now" Once more, the maintenance crew. After everything was checked, the train started running, and at the end of the tracks, a big portal appeared, large enough for the whole train to fit.


    "Good work everyone" The jacket CSF started clapping, and soon the other soldiers cheered.


    "Lemme see" Nicholai spoke behind me, but it was very much directed at me, I rolled up my sleeve and turned around. "Not too bad...makes me wonder if they made our outfits more sturdy too." She applied a patch on the wound before bringing the sleeve back down. "Move it" I did as she said, I was able to move it without any restraint. "Good" We all took a seat back at the table we were before, I made sure my wounded arm wasn''t dangling, but instead resting on the table, Sam, like before, stood at the opposite side of the table, smiling.


    "Everyone!" She spoke to the whole car. "Who''s ready for another round!"


    "Let''s go!"


    "Victory will be mine this match!"


    Everyone cheered as we had the time for another mini torney...whether I won or not...well...that''s not important.

 Chapter 8: Tied through Blood

    "Wakey wakey" I was awoken by endless tapping to my foot.


    "Whaah?" I raised my head from my arms, looked to my left, and was greeted by a mini kingdom outside the window. "What the..." My head almost met the table again as the train came to a screeching halt.


    "Alright crew! Welcome to New Min" The conductor of the train came into the cart while he spoke aloud. I stood up from my seat, rubbing my eyes while resisting the urge to yawn. "If none of you have any missions to do, why not look around a bit?"


    "What''s the verdict?" Nicholai was almost blended in with the crowd, the only thing that let me spot her was the book and blonde hair.


    "I don''t see why not..." Hearing my answer, Bravo Team(Including Dave) regrouped and headed outside. The air felt much better than earth''s, or maybe there was a difference now that I woke up and it was the start of the day.


    "DTs! Welcome to New Min" We were greeted by residents when we stepped outside.


    "I doubt we''re the first ones you''ve seen" Nicholai, although an innocent statement, sounded stern.


    "We can''t be the only ones you''ve met..."One of the guards spoke alongside Nicholai.


    "No no, course not, some DTs even live here instead of Eaxura, it''s just nice to meet new people, especially when we can tell they were brought back only recently" There was a look between the four of us. "So, how is it? being alive again?"


    "Good? I guess?" I didn''t really have an answer for the question, there wouldn''t have been an issue if we didn''t die to begin with. Thinking on it...I should try to figure out who killed us using that reflection space, pain only washed over me when I tried leaving...there shouldn''t be any when I try thinking back.


    "If fighting hellspawns is good...yeah" The CSF wearing the jacket responded with me


    "Well, everyone has their opinions, come in, come in" The gates into the kingdom opened, letting us, and a few other soldiers who tagged along, inside. It was a similar sight to Eaxura, vendors, unknown structures.


    "So, what exacty is your guy''s connection to Eaxura?" We walked while talking, my question was met with an immediate response.


    "Now, in case you''re wondering why Eaxura is helping us, we''re trade partners, New Min has some resources you can''t get anywhere else, the Teth was made from some of that, yet they didn''t hide the weak point well."


    "And that means?"


    "...Illo is what it''s called, it''s a very sturdy resource, almost indestructible...but with enough force, or through a weak point, it can be destroyed...some say we can reinforce it even more, but we haven''t found a solution" I noticed Kenneth''s interest get piqued. As we continued walking through the city, I noticed a portion of buildings looking abandoned, yet, people lived in them.


    "Whatcha looking at?" I looked over to Sam.


    "You''re always asking that you know?"


    "I''m a very curious girl" I looked over back to the abandoned looking buildings, but when I did, they now looked brand new along with the fact I swore I saw Sam''s expression change to worry.


    "What the hell?" Sam looked even more confused. "The buildings over there..."


    "Are you all right sir?" The walking had stopped, as their attention turned to me.


    "Yeah...yeah...just thought I saw something..."


    "Don''t worry too much about it, after all, being brought back from the dead...with all the magic and stuff, course it has side effects"


    "I haven''t seen anything like that before though..."


    "Now, there are a lot of famous buildings here" They completely ignored me.


    "Hello?" I spoke louder to get their attention


    "Taverns that people travel to and get jobs, all that sorta stuff" I heard a book close to the right of me and then heavy footsteps.


    "Oi! You deaf!?" Nicholai grabbed the person''s shoulder, pulling them back.


    "Ah, more people, sorry for not noticing you" Nicholai looked back at me with a mix of confusion and frustration.


    "Lee, can you look at me again?" I looked back to Sam, who grabbed my shoulders and stopped my movement "Aaaand stop walking" I thought that the patch on my arm broke, or somehow the other injures reopened, instead, she looked directly at my eyes.


    "uhh...something the matter?" She only looked more intently.


    "You never had Heterochromia?"


    "You know what that is?"


    "Not the point, yes or no?" Soon Kenneth and Nicholai stood by us.


    "No, never"


    "Your right eye...I can''t tell if that''s purple or not"


    "His eyes are blue, maybe you''re just colorblind." Nicholai tried giving a reasonable answer


    "They made me even worse? i doubt that" With Sam''s response, Nicholai started looking at me too, her eyes soon widening slightly while Sam let go of me.


    "She''s right, though it''s not fully purple, and still mostly blue, on the bottom it''s faint" She looked up, motioning her hand before Dave flew over while uncloaking. "Got a mirror?"


    "Of course" Dave went in front of me, taking out a cracked mirror from a compartment. "It seems the maintenance done on me along with the overwatch has broken some things in my storage, apologies.


    "I can still see Dave, don''t worry." I pulled slightly down on my bottom eyelid to see it better. It didn''t take long till I noticed it, a few purple swirls flooding the blue. "Was I really seeing things?" I stepped back, the soldiers and New Min person were gone as we stayed behind.


    "No, I doubt it" Nicholai shook her head. "Let''s say whatever is with your eye made you see things, that wouldn''t explain why that guy somehow ignored four people who have abnormal hair colors"


    "She''s got a point, sure, some of the soldiers had exotic colors, but not all of them, there''s no reason for us to be disregarded" Kenneth put his knuckles against his chin as he went into thought. "None of us are particularly short..."


    "I think it''s a mix of both" Sam spoke up while we all tried to think. "Maybe, Lee did see something, that''s the impression I got, however I think some people are more influenced by it than others"


    "Influenced?"


    "The soldiers recognized us, even during the time the New Min person didn''t, then, Lee saw something but then it changed, that technically counts as not seeing something no?"


    "That c-...no...no actually that''s a good point, good job Sam" Though monotone, Nicholai still praised Sam. "It has to be related to the eye then...Lee got hit by a corruptor no? And his blood changed with it...maybe...corruption is influencing what he sees"


    "That would mean that guy is corrupted alongside me right?"


    "About the only answer we can come to for now" Kenneth looked over in the direction everyone went.


    "Well, in that case Lee, you need to stay home on the next mission" At first I thought Nicholai said that, until the voice clicked.


    "Oh?" Nicholai looked slightly amused.


    "Don''t oh? me, even I know when Lee shouldn''t go places, it''s mean I know, but you''re getting hurt too often for me not to worry about it, and now you''re even starting to see things, sure we''re not perfect either, but besides for Nicholai, we have lighter weapons to move around with, you''re sorta forced to stand your ground."


    "Yeah...yeah I get it, don''t worry, I''ll try to practice when we get back" Sam just starred at me, unamused. "I will practice when we get back."


    "There you go~"


    "What now Mr leader? We sorta separated from the guide" Kenneth brought his hand back down to his side.


    "There''s more to it than we know"


    "Enlighten us"


    "Think about it, if this is corruption affecting me, why didn''t it do so before? Why only here?"


    "Any guesses on what it could be?" Kenneth, with no idea of his own, looked to the other two.


    "I''m at a loss here, can''t think of any reason"


    "I don''t got anyt- oh, actually! What if it means one of the corruptors are here?"


    "They''d have to be underground." Nicholai crossed her arms.


    "Is something underground really that surprising after all this?" I responded when the sentence finished.


    "I suppose not"


    "So, we got our idea" Kenneth stomped the ground, it was rock like it should be.


    "I think we should stop thinking on this for now, before we overcomplicate it and get a wrong idea"


    "We probably already have" Though still crossed, she raised one of her hands slightly to give motion for her reply at me. Our HUDs soon opened, it was getting annoying to be honest, thankfully I''d figure out a way to stop it...eventually.


    Subject: Base


    Sender: Raymond


    Recipients: Bravo Team(Lee, Sam, Kenneth, Nicholai)


    Hello again, we had a few things left over, so we figured we''d send it to you guys, you don''t have to keep them, they''re there just because, anyhow, take care, if you got anything bothering ya, let me know.


    We closed our HUDs, me and Nicholai sighed afterwards.


    "Guess we''re not on a mission, so it''s not a bother" Sam raised one of her legs backwards, as she tried keeping balance.


    "What''re you doing?" Nicholai couldn''t help but question.


    "We''ve been standing here for a while, my legs are getting tired"


    "So you put more pressure on it?" Sam was ready with a response until she paused right before the first word.


    "Fair" She brought her leg back down.


    "We should look around a bit, normally, splitting up is a no go, but we''re not in the outbreak anymore, we can also contact each other while sharing our location, thus, it''s actually useful to do so. Hey Dave, can you pick 1, 2, or 3?"


    "2"


    "Nicholai, you''re with me"


    "Mhh"


    "Kenneth, Sam, we''ll be back here in 2 hours, you should be as well."


    "Rightio! Come on Kenneth! A vision of adventure awaits!" Without warning Sam started the walk in a random direction.


    "Where to first?" I looked around.


    "The tavern I feel" I stopped looking when I saw it. "Might be able to get some information there"


    "If we''re even let in" I swished my hair with my hand.


    "It looks white enough that I look old."


    "Sure, sure" We headed over to the tavern and wasn''t stopped at all from going in, the door creaked and once we stepped inside, a robot just barely shorter than us came over, it displayed a screen.


    "Welcome Patrons, I haven''t seen you here before" I read the text on the screen while the robot also spoke. Was this another AI like Dave?


    "We haven''t...We won''t be long" We walked past the robot. There were a decent amount of people inside, some at the tables, some at the counter, we took the seats at the end of the counter.


    ''Where are you guys going first?''


    -Sam


    ''We''re already here, at the tavern''


    -Lee


    ''oh! Can I see?''


    -Sam


    I looked around my HUD, saw the camara and took a photo before sending it to Sam.


    "You two don''t seem right for this sorta place" The man behind the counter had a deep voice, wearing a heavy leather jacket.


    "Well, we''re not really here to orde-"


    "No orders, no talking" The man set down a glass after cleaning it.


    ''Huh...the prices are pretty low''


    -Sam


    I looked at the shelf and saw the prices, we each had around 140,000 after those missions...and most drinks were 100 to 800. Is it because most people aren''t DTs? Or...for another reason


    ''Well, the guy isn''t giving us any information...


    "no orders, no talking" to be exact''


    -Lee


    ''So bribe them''


    -Sam


    There was a small delay


    ''Sam?''


    -Lee


    ''Right my bad, Kenneth and I are solving a puzzle right now''


    -Sam


    ''Where even are you?''


    -Lee


    ''To be honest...dunno, somewhere underground..aaaanyways''


    -Sam


    ''If the prices are so low, it''s either due to it being a front for something else,


    oooor, because they don''t have the money or reputation to charge for more!''


    -Sam


    ''Oh...can you tell Nicholai to get some medical stuff ready when we all regroup?''


    -Sam


    ''What happened?''


    -Lee


    ''The g-


    "Lee!"


    My head was slammed into the counter, preventing me from reading the rest of the message.


    "We got em!" With no time to hesitate, I reached for the glass the man put down earlier, and swung behind me, when I heard the glass shatter I threw my head back before summoning Crescent. I quickly got off the chair and faced where the people were, there were seven of them, all with different weapons. The one closest to us had glass stuck in their face. "Bastards..."


    "You alright?" Nicholai asked from my left.


    "I''ll manage"


    "Fuckers have the audacity to sabotage The Reunion! Goddamn Brats!"


    "Maybe if you didn''t have such a shit name we''d reconsider" I made sure the holster on my revolver was clipped as tight as it could.


    "piece of shit you just ignoring who we are?" One of them mumbled under their breath.


    "Read-"


    I took a sharp breath as I looked around again.


    "The hell was that?" We were back sitting, I felt my head, no bruises...no aching...


    ''Oh...can you tell Nicholai to get some medical stuff ready when we all regroup?''


    -Sam


    "I...dunno...I thought we were about to fight..." Was I shot? It would explain the breath...but then why would I be here? It took a while before I realized In just a moment...they''ll come in...if that''s the case...Under the counter I summoned my knife In about 3...2...1...I saw the chance, I gripped my knife with both hands, one on the hilt, one on the back end to drive it forward, I swung back but my slash was cut short by the man from before catching my arm.


    "Nice try fucker" I saw Nicholai leap from her seat, summoning her scythe before she was swiftly shot, hitting the counter and dropping. The man mumbled something before putting a gun to my chest and firing.


    "Khgk..."


    "Lee? You okay?" Nicholai leaned over "Your nose..." I felt near it, and felt the warmth that was slowly dripping out.


    "It''s bleeding..."


    ''Oh...can you tell Nicholai to get some medical stuff ready when we all regroup?''


    -Sam


    "Nicholai! People are going to come through the door and kill us!"


    "You fucking mad?"


    "I know how it looks, it happens regardless!"


    "We strike them together then" I nodded, We headed to the door and hid to the sides, we both waited...and waited...something felt wrong. With a sharp pain, the wall I was leaning on was torn apart from a loud blast, warmth and pain was consuming my stomach as I fell to the ground. Nicholai stayed where she was and when someone came through the door she slashed and cut them in two. After that she rushed over to me.


    "n-...no...th-there''s more..." I quickly went to go to my revolver...yet...it was tightly clipped...I...didn''t even do that yet... The five people came in, and fired in our direction before Nicholai could react, the man...who''s killed me twice now walked over. Once more, he mumbled, the same exact thing as before, I could make out a few words, and it sounded familiar. Yet before I could make out the words, I was shot like before.


    ''Oh...can you tell Nicholai to get some medical stuff ready when we all regroup?''


    -Sam


    "Nicholai! We gotta go!"


    "What?" The people inside the tavern were concerned by my random outburst.


    "People try to kill us through the front door! We gotta leave!" I turned to the man behind the counter "There''s a backdoor right?" At first he didn''t respond.


    "Yes, to the right, then take a left"


    "Let''s go!" With no more time to explain, I grabbed Nicholai''s arm and started pulling her while I ran.


    "I can run too damnit!" With that I let go, and we both burst out from the door. We were in an alleyway, and we had no time to try and decide on where to go, I turned right and started going, I could hear a loud blast behind us.


    "He''s in the alley! There''s two!" Why the hell are they focusing on me!? We turned to the left, that being the only option. The both of us narrowly avoided a blast. I could see a ladder on a building.


    "Nicholai, They want me, go up the ladder and knock it down"


    "Are you dumb?"


    "Just trust me" I could see hesitation within her, yet, she had to agree, I did my best to give her a quick boost on the move so she would be on the ladder for less time, I quickly fired a shot to delay them and kept going while I reloaded. Like I hoped, they continued going for me, ignoring Nicholai completely. When I turned another corner, I saw a manhole cover. "Crescent, Pry please!" Crescent left my hands and flew over, using a shotgun blast as a boost, it dug under and took the cover off. I went into a sprint before sliding forward, I went into the hole and grabbed the ladder before Crescent and I recovered it. Before they could see, I resummoned Crescent. I hopped down the ladder, it was extremely dark, but I had to go forward. "I take it you can''t act like a light?" Crescent moved left and right. "Figured..." Each step I took echoed through the entire place. Sam mentioned being underground...could I find them down here?...No...that''d risk their safety too, they want me, let''s keep it that way. I couldn''t do anything but walk around, I had already gotten used to the smell, but I could still feel my nose bleeding. "Gonna bleed enough to save a life at this rate..." I didn''t know if DTs could die from blood loss...probably could, but...here I was in a temporary loop till I escaped.


    "The hell you mean it ain''t working anymore?" I could hear people talking, and soon flashlights swaying around.


    "You a dumbass or something? Can''t you find them yourself?"


    "Can''t you find them yours- shut up man" Fuck my life I only had one real option to avoid them Into the water I go...I couldn''t jump in, instead, I had to slowly let myself into it...and yet, when I did, it seemed like normal water. Nevermind, I love my luck. With no reason to be disgusted now, I began to swim past them. There were a few pieces of debris that I started to go under, but when I raised up slightly, a loud ting echoed in the water, the flashlights quickly directed into the water. I should lost the ability to think. I had no choice but to quickly swim through making more noise.


    "He''s in the fucking water!" I placed my feet on some of the debris to launch forward, it gave me a short boost, not enough to be overly worth it, but at least it was something. My lungs started to burn, I did notice I held my breath longer, but it''s clearly not infinite.


    "CSF! STOP WHERE YOU ARE!" It wasn''t the same voices, with no other chance, I resurfaced, the people chasing me were being held up by 20 people all with Jackets along with CSF, there was one difference between the other jacket CSF from the train, all of them had symbols on their jackets too, they were all the same one.


    "Corruption Suppression Force my ass! We''re hunting one! Let us be!"


    "You are not authorized to deal with Corruption Missions, nor have you been given the authorization from a higher up, this hunt is against not only protocol but the law as well, surrender, end this hunt, and come willingly, or you, and your organization will be put to an end."


    "Shit..." The one who looked like the leader looked back to the water, but not near me. "Alright...alright"


    "Are you serious man?"


    "Yes, we''re going willingly, no use putting up a fight against them...it ain''t one we''ll win" The CSF and the hunters all started to leave, not a word was said between them. When they had fully left I got back on the platform. I felt five times heavier and cold...and soaked.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "uugh..." I continued through the platform. I''ll head up when I see the chance...


    ''Lee, those hunters left with the CSF''


    -Nicholai


    ''I saw...but thanks for the heads up...we should regroup with the others


    when we can''


    -Lee


    ''Alright, I''ll contact the others''


    -Nicholai


    I felt something burning in my pocket, I quickly took it out and noticed it was the coin, it was glowing, and a few words were now visble from the engraving. ''From the darkness'' This coin...I guess it was never normal to begin with...It took ages to find another one, but I had returned to the surface, away from the horrid smell. Thinking on it...if the water wasn''t the cause...what was? I would certainly visit the reflection when I could, a few new questions arose, and maybe with all the information, I could find answers. I didn''t recall where I was at all, it didn''t help I was out of breath. I staggered to a bench and sat down, the only thing I did was breathe. People walked around, people talked, people bartered, I only breathed, it was all I could do and wanted to do. I looked up, it was still morning. Seems the days are normal here...and it''s not night every few hours. Though the sun(or whatever they called it here) shined, I felt like I still saw that empty patch of stars. I''m not in Eaxura...yet here they are...''Through the darkness..." were the stars involved? But then the sun would be the darkness...and that...just doesn''t make sense.


    ''Where are you?''


    -Sam


    ''Somewhere''


    -Lee


    ''Helpful, you know what she meant''


    -Nicholai


    ''We all managed to regroup, it wasn''t hard noticing someone with a


    scythe hopping around the rooftops''


    -Ken


    ''I''m in some sorta plaza area, lots of people bartering''


    -Lee


    ''We were just there (?©n?)''


    -Sam


    My HUD closed as no new messages came in.


    "How you holding up Crescent? You need to be sharpened or something?" I had set Crescent on the space beside me, they shook no. "Right, I guess if you''re from our souls...no need to be sharpened...pretty sure that was mentioned before..." I had fully caught my breath and noticed the three looking around. "Guess we better get going." I stood and took Crescent before heading over to them.


    "There''s hundreds of people here" Nicholai sounded dejected at the realization


    "Fufu! Don''t worry! I''ll find him!" She turned around, in the middle of a step before seeing me right behind her. "Found him!"


    "Praise be Sam''s talent" She sounded monotone as ever.


    "What happened to your outfit?" Sam tilted her head slightly while she pondered the question.


    "Had to take a dive"


    "But the-...oh, ew..."


    "Yeah"


    "Back on track, as I explained, Lee''s being hunted" Nicholai put her hands in her pockets, leaving only the thumbs out.


    "And I kept rewinding" Nicholai and the rest seemed confused. "Right, the reason I knew those guys were going to bust in is because we were killed by them three times prior...every time I got brought back to when Sam sent the message, it seems to be involved with Corruption too, as that''s why they wanted me"


    "We''ve been around for days...so either they thought Eaxura would protect us...or..." Sam looked at my eye again "It only just started being apparent"


    "Right...once again I''m the only person capable of seeing those visions...and...something else I gotta say" Nicholai was going to talk before I said the last portion. "I had another vision too, about the stars...yet, after that, and when my eye got worse, they stopped happening."


    "May mean Corruption is preventing them" Nicholai looked to the floor as she went into thought.


    "Regardless, we have our first personal goal, one not given to us"


    "Finding why people are hunting you?" Kenneth turned my way.


    "Exactly, the whole vision stuff and rewinds or whatever can wait, this is a lot more pressing"


    "Agreed, we can''t have our leader be in harm''s way" Sam had pride in her eyes.


    "We''ll head back to base and decide from there" I cut open the portal, and we all went in, the only thing that made noise in our base was the TV that wasn''t turned off.


    "Welcome back!" Kaz was laying on the table.


    "Guess that explains the TV" Nicholai sat on the chair she was on prior to us leaving, and we followed that, sitting wherever we could.


    "So! How''d it go!"


    "Good, in a way, we learned a lot of stuff, but Lee''s being hunted" Sam gave the quick version.


    "Why?"


    "Probably something from Corruption, that seems to be an important thing around here, and I think I can gather why." Nicholai had her HUD opened to her side, glancing at it whenever no one was speaking. "Most people tend to die from corruption, now, it''s not like you''re some chosen one, some people do live from it, but living from it isn''t the concern..." She started pondering. "Saying it aloud...i may have forgotten what my point was..."


    "I think I got it" I looked to the ground before returning my gaze to them. "Raymond has been iffy about not telling me, or any of us, what our unique power is, at first I thought maybe it was something cool or powerful, however, now that I''m being hunted, and they seem to hunt corrupted people, I think it actually has to do with Corruption...wait...no...hm..."


    "We don''t have any clue do we?" Kenneth was standing, leaning his back against the wall.


    "I thought I did...but I can''t recall it now..."


    "Corruption messing with your head that badly huh?"


    ''I think it''s just me forgetting" I held my head, trying to recall my point.


    "Well, there''s probably a library somewhere, we can find stuff that way"


    "Let''s get to i-"


    "No...no no..." Sam raised her hand, signaling for me to stop. "You need a rest day, all the cuts, injuries, and now this, you''re being hunted too"


    "What am I meant to do then?"


    "Rest, as she said" I could tell this wasn''t really a choice.


    "We''re not doing anything dangerous, so no need to worry right?"


    "Yeah...that''s true..."


    "That''s that then" Kenneth moved his hair back "Let''s get going" With no further contesting, the three, maybe four if Dave went, left the base. It immediately felt empty, and with it being the only option, I plopped down on the couch, laying down before just watching whatever was on. Being able to use the reflection space wherever I wanted would be amazing right now. Though light, I felt something jump atop me.


    "Hello" Kaz was quiet, but spoke just enough for me to hear.


    "Hi..." She sooned curled into a circle while laying down. Guess getting up isn''t much of a choice either. "What''re you watching...?" The thing on the TV was still what Kaz was watching before...it looked like some sci-fi show, it was difficult to tell what was going on but it seemed to be in the middle of a mecha fight scene, I couldn''t deny it looked cool, this show clearly had some work and money put into it.


    "I dunno half myself, it just looked cool"


    "Heh"


    "What?"


    "You Sam''s pet in some other life? That''s the sorta answer she''d have given"


    "Nope" Hearing that only made me question where she came from even more, another timeline, world? There really wasn''t a way for me to figure it out for the time being. "How''d you all know each other?"


    "We were classmates through all of school, though, Sam''s had a few hospital visits...all of middle school she was gone and we only reunited because we tended to the same sapling by coincidence"


    "What was it?"


    "A Sakura tree"


    "Hmm?"


    "Cherry Blossoms, this one was weird, it bloomed in winter instead, unlike any other tree of its kind."


    "That is weird"


    "Hmhm" My nose had stopped bleeding, clearly a while ago...how long ago, I didn''t know. "You must be bored, sitting here all day"


    "It''s okay, as long as you all get back safe, I''m not bored"


    "Normally...I''d probably ask why...but...I can''t be bothered to question things at the moment." I had turned to the ceiling, the lights weren''t dim, yet they weren''t particularly bright either, a middle ground. The only noise being breathing, and the TV.


    "Can I hear a story?"


    "Huh?"


    "How you all met"


    "It''s not really that interesting"


    "Still..."


    "...alright...It would be aboooout...10...maybe 11 years ago, it was before Sam''s family took me in, and I was on my own."


    11 years ago, it was right after school thinking on it...they really let a kid with no family into a school...what kinda city was that...


    I was sitting against a tree, strumming a guitar clearly too big for someone as small as me, yet, by setting it on the grass I was able to somewhat play a simple tune. I attempted to play it, over and over until I got it right. Through that, someone as small as me waltzed over, crouching down in front of me, and without hesitation spoke.


    "What''s that?" Their high pitched voice caught me off guard, along with the confusion on what they meant. They''d know what a guitar is...right?


    "W-...what do you mean?"


    "This" Without touching the strings, they tapped the end of the guitar.


    "I...-it''s a guitar...When...you pluck the strings it makes music..."


    "It sounds nice" They got up before walking over, sitting against the tree as well.


    "I dunno...I keep messing up the moving for it" I tried again, when switching chords the sound distorted as I pressed too early on the strings. The stranger tilted their head in curiosity.


    "Are you scared?" It was a random question, I didn''t know the right reply either.


    "w-...what?"


    "It...err..." They raised their hands up with their fingers out, closing them while mumbling words under their breath. "You...um...pressing late...would...be...be...slow, so...fast would be, scared?" They spoke as though they were unsure if what they were saying was right, but I could understand what they were trying to say. ''If you were pressing on it too late, that would mean you need more practise, but pressing on it too fast, could be from being scared, scared because you''re trying to get it right quickly'' that was what I understood from it, though it was probably phrased differently in my mind then.


    "...I...dunno..." I started playing again, messing up on the same change, I could feel myself getting agitated.


    "Didn''t you say you met Nicholai and Kenneth too?" Kaz spoke while I told the story.


    "I did...though that was a week after, they eventually heard me playing guitar"


    We didn''t talk often then, most of the time, the stranger...Sam, instead of going home would sit beside me while I played, she was around as I slowly got better.


    "There you go!" There was still a heavy accent in her voice at the time, but I didn''t mind it, course it was difficult but I could still understand what she was saying even while I played. I smiled, not only from the praise, but finally getting the change right.


    "I did meet Nicholai and Kenneth, but by then they didn''t know english" I spoke to Kaz, yet never stopped looking at the ceiling. "Like I said, not really interesting...We simply met because of music."''


    "It''s nice"


    "It is" When the conversation ended, I felt my senses dull, I didn''t really have the choice to do many things at the moment.


    ''How ya holding?''


    -Sam


    ''Bored''


    -Lee


    ''Yeah...I figured, you can continue playing if you want''


    -Sam


    ''We started the game together, we finish it together''


    -Lee


    ''As much as I appreciate that, if you''re really that bored I don''t mind''


    -Sam


    ''I''ll manage''


    -Lee


    ''If you say so...I''ll bring ya something"


    -Sam


    "Sam?"


    "Yeah, just checking on me" I closed the HUD.


    "She''s very nice" The nice portion was phrased differently, to emphasize it. "Any reason why?"


    "Why is someone nice?"


    "It did sound like that..."


    "Did you mean why towards us?"


    "Yep"


    "Well...you know how she has that bright pink hair?"


    "Yeah?"


    "Well, most people found it nice, or cute, or whatever, but sooner or later, people started hating it, like...unreasonably hating it, maybe they found her immature or didn''t believe it was natural and was annoyed because they couldn''t have dyed."


    "Didn''t you have green hair?"


    "Yeah, not natural either, do i really act like some obedient child? Hell it''s how I met a few friends"


    "In detention?"


    "Heh yep, you wouldn''t really think you''d be friends with someone who just punched you"


    "Huh!?" Kaz jumped up slightly.


    "He was the one who taught me how to defend myself...well, more so how to fight people, before that, I could take hits, but not really dish em out"


    "Why isn''t he here?"


    "Probably still alive on earth honestly, dude''s family wasn''t rich, but goddamn did they look like they were prepared for a world ending event, probably could''ve survived an ice age."


    "Oh?"


    "Every winter the dude came to school in some massive, bushy, fur jacket, yet it fit him perfectly, if we visit earth we''ll probably cross paths, though, I''d prioritize Sam''s parents first...they''re not exactly fighters, and it''s been a year"


    "Well, they''re gonna be alive I feel"


    "Agreed, though not fighters, they''d have managed somehow...they gotta..." Though I believed they would be alive, there was a very small drop of doubt in my mind.


    "But General, the opposition won''t stop coming for us if we do this" I had redirected my attention back to the show, it seems they were talking now, along with a holographic table showing a ton of stuff I didn''t know.


    "There''s no other choice, we have to put an end to their supply, if you wish to back out then go ahead, I won''t have non-believers in this corp"


    "Do you have any idea what the hell is happening?" Kaz hopped to the table.


    "So, the opposition are these people called ILLARIO Corp, it doesn''t stand for anything if I recall but that''s how they make it look, then these guys, are a rebellion! Created to fight the ILLARIO Corp in hopes, not for freedom, but instead to take over the order"


    "So they''re not good guys either"


    "No...well...they''re better than ILLARIO Corp"


    "Ahhuh..."


    "There used to be a game of this too! You got to pick a side and whichever side won more events, that decided which side was winning in the show" I couldn''t help but smile. "What?"


    "You picked this show just because it looked cool huh?" I chuckled for a little bit before I refocused on the show, I still had no clue what was going on, but Sam''s shows had trained me to get invested in something...even if I had no idea what I was investing in.


    "Listen up! If we die here, then so be it! None of us will stand for this injustice!"


    "Hoorah!" The soldiers did some weird salute, I couldn''t even begin to describe it.


    "This general sounds horrific, ''yeah guys, we die, we die, nothing we can do''"


    "Well, it''s better dying for a good cause then knowing you could''ve helped, or maybe even save thousands of people."


    "That''s one way of looking at it" Maybe this is one of those shows where deep down both sides are similar in morality, this side seems to be perfectly fine straight up dying for what seems like nothing, just to take over, do the viewers even know what kinda way they''ll rule? Maybe ILLARIO are alright rulers...at least compared to others...The show must''ve hyped up fight scenes heavily, because it was a lot of talking...a lot...of talking... "I''ll just...take a nap" I mumbled under my breath, using my arm as a pillow while I let myself drift off. There was no vision like before, instead I felt, things, I''ve never felt before. I''ve felt uneasiness before but this was something new, but that wasn''t it, safety and strength, it became a swell and mush of things I couldn''t control. After what felt like years in this void, a small purple light appeared. Did this count as a vision? Was this a vision? I reached towards the light, I wouldn''t just drop dead from touching it right? That was the only reason I could come up with on why I touched the light in a void. The closer I got, the more feelings swelled, the more feelings appeared, eventually, i didn''t just feel like touching the light...I wanted to, I needed to. I grabbed onto the light and all at once, those swelling emotions, those feelings twisting and turning, turned to nothing. It was silent, the light was within my hand.


    With nothing else to do, I opened my hand to look at the light, it looked beautiful, something swirling inside the light was what caught my eyes, I wanted to keep it, yet the moment I smiled slightly at the light, it shattered, and those same tendrils from the corruptors broke out before piercing into my chest. I felt like I was drowning, floating in an endless ocean like the reflection space, I tried hard to summon Crescent yet I couldn''t, I reached for my revolver yet it wasn''t there, nothing I tried worked so I was forced to resort to pulling it out in desperation. Nothing I did worked, the more I tried the more numb I became. My own blood floated staining the air like it was water, I lost my grip and was forced to punching on the tendrils, yet, with how numb I was, it was more throwing my hands at it. My blood began to swirl in the air, getting faster the more desperate I was, the blood soon connected together yet the air...water, whatever it was, still tainted it. I threw my hand down one more time but the tendril didn''t budge, none of them did. Before I gave up, in the blink of an eye something ripped through the tendrils, coated in red, once they dissipated I took a breath and I had awoken.


    I almost immediately sat up, I saw the others had returned, all around me, yet before anyone could say anything, I leaned over the side of the couch and began the equivalent of throwing up blood, it stained the floor, my blood, was mostly same, all red with a very, very small hint of purple, yet the purple, was just so ever slightly more present. A hand on my shoulder kept me from falling over.


    "Are you alright!?" Sam ignored the blood on the floor and right under my mouth, more worried about me. I was ready to say something yet, couldn''t think at all, I could speak, but not think, like static clouded my mind.


    "I...don''t know" My voice was in pain, like a young child ready to cry.


    "Kaz, what happened" Though muffled, I could still hear Nicholai talking to Kaz wherever she was.


    "He just went to sleep after watching TV, nothing weird was happening."


    "Why now..." I began blurting out what I wanted to think but couldn''t. "Why a light...why...did my own blood do that..." The static in my mind was still very much present, but I could notice it slowly fading over time.


    "Come on...sit up, fully" I felt like dead weight as I was lifted up, put against the back of the couch instead of leaning on my side. Now that I was farther, my vision was clearly clouded, I still managed to see Kenneth and Dave cleaning up the blood I had let out. "Any ideas Nicholai?"


    "No...we just took whatever was Corruption related...I haven''t looked at any symptoms yet, but...I find it odd...it would''ve killed you instantly if you didn''t have some resistance, so if it is killing you, why not just do it immediately?" My hearing was fully restored first. But the pounding and static in my head, and my sight, were still clearing up. "How are you feeling?"


    "Everything hurts..." I barely managed to slur out my words.


    "Maybe...Lee sitting out isn''t a good idea...wait...what was that earlier about the blood?" Nicholai crouched down so I didn''t have to look up. "What did your blood do?"


    "It...I dunno...I can''t think...it just...killed...? Pierced?...something...to...it..after swirling together..." Nicholai raised my face before I just felt cloth under my mouth.


    "His eyes look hazy too" Nicholai pointed it out, yet I couldn''t see it if I wanted to. "It''ll clear, soon, the color is returning...the purple isn''t any greater than before in his right eye. Think you can stand?" I planted my two feet on the floor, yet the millisecond I put any pressure, they folded, forcing me back down.


    "I''m sorry..." I could only respond that way, anymore was an effort like before.


    "Well, even if we wanna bring him, that''s not the best idea...for now at least, you can lay back down, just don''t go to sleep again" I did what the doc ordered, seeing no way I could keep straining myself. "I''ll go get Raymond, you four keep an eye on him" She stood up and walked out of my sight.


    "I know!" Sam, while standing put her fist where her heart is. "A good meal will help!" She, like Nicholai, went out of my vision.


    "I''ll help!" Kaz hopped off the table and joined her.


    "Guess I''ll watch over you" He sat down on a chair. "You look like you got a tooth pulled" I saw him smirking until he realized I wasn''t finding it funny. "Right...sorry, you must really be in pain if you''re not finding it funny"


    "Ye-..yeah..." I saw his left leg bouncing up and down, he seemed out of it.


    "Lot going on huh...Way to much to register" I didn''t respond, he knew I agreed. "And there''s a lot more to understand, bonds, links, corruption, you''ve been thinking about this too."


    "We''ll manage..." My thoughts and speech returned. "Sure...this is much more confusing than the outbreak...the Lillies...all that, but we managed the impossible without magic, or powers, even without all of us being alive...we''ll manage again."


    "Guess that''s true." My sense of smell was clearly fine, as I started smelling something burning. "Oi!" Kenneth stood up before running over to where the kitchen is.


    "I''m sorry!" It was a mix of Kaz and Sam''s voice, I couldn''t help but chuckle a bit. Every day I think of it at least once. Do I prefer now or then? I never could come to a conclusion, both were equal in preference, the major one for now being that we were all alive together, though, it''s not like we were separated for long during the outbreak. Kai, Raymond, Bluey, Piney, Neal, that diamond team, we were introduced to so many people in such a short time, would we meet all of them again? would we never? We keep meeting Raymond and Kai, but...not really a personal talk, always on a mission or through messages.


    "Alright, I''m here" I heard Raymond and Nicholai come through the door, soon coming into my line of sight. "You weren''t lying..." He crouched down.


    "What the hell did you all do!?" I saw Nicholai turn to the kitchen.


    "What did I do!?" Kenneth retaliated.


    "Loud crowd huh?" Raymond took out a flashlight, checking my eyes. "How''s your head?"


    "I can manage it"


    "Voice is fine too...sight?"


    "Blurs here and there"


    "Hm..." I couldn''t tell what Raymond was thinking, or if he was at all, perhaps he already had an answer. "Well...you''re corrupted all right, but we already knew that, good news is that every person who''ll live through it goes through this, bad news, we don''t have a cure for it, we never did"


    "W-what?"


    "For the rest of your life you''re living with this, you might be able to handle it better later on, but it''s never going away, not for a while even if we start finding a cure, on the bright side, if you have kids later on in your life, even if their mom isn''t, they''ll be immune to corruption."


    "Greaaaat such a positive"


    "You''d be surprised how much of a positive it is, DTs work in weird ways, for instance, you know how people have their limits? Power, willpower ect ect."


    "Yeah...?"


    "Well, the way DTs work is, the kid''s limit is their parent''s limit combined, and it never ends, so...both parents have 200, it goes to 400, that kid grows up, had a kid themselves, it doesn''t even have to be the same limit either, 400 and 200, 600, and it goes on and on. Only issue is, it means you need to teach them how to contain it sooner." Raymond took out a needle filled with something.


    "What''s that for?"


    "Your eye"


    "Oh...alright" I stook out my arm.


    "No, it''s going, in your eye"


    "What!?"


    "Oh don''t worry, it''ll just feel like pressure"


    "It better..." I laid down as still as I could while Raymond began moving the needle towards my eye.


    "You don''t have to look at it, it just needs to hit your eye, so you can focus on the TV or me" I probably should have listened, but instead I still looked at the needle, making sure there were no slips or mess ups. The needle pressed against my eye before going in, Raymond was right, no pain, but it felt disgusting as though I was gagging. After pushing the plunger all the way down he pulled it out. I sat up and held near my eye. "See, just weird, not painful."


    "It''s much more weird than you think" I was in a constant wave of nausea but my sight soon returned to normal along with everything else.


    "I''m gonna get going now, there''s a lot of issues arising at the moment, if you need something let me know. As he said he would, he stood and and was on his way, I looked over at the kitchen to see whatever issue was there, but it was resolved.


    "Sorry again..." Sam was clearly dejected.


    "It''s alright, none of the burning spread...and it was handled quickly" I looked back over to the table, it was now cluttered with books they brought over, I decided to grab the one on top and started reading from the very beginning.


    ''The origin of Change


    Corruption wasn''t always called that, but instead, called purity, a form of change that resulting from reaching one''s true self. However, many things have progressed since that original purity, as the name implies, purity became something worse, a corruption residing in one''s true desires twisted in a way that would cripple the host''s desire rather than achieve it. The origin of Corruption is a simple one, through all the desires that DTs had, one person held the strongest, manifesting Corruption has his own unique trait, but it didn''t stop once he died, instead, it infested things, people, animals, anything it could touch, and by that, the entire world that people considered home was infested, corrupted. No one understands what his desire was, no one understands how they could be so vile that their unique trait changes to something so heinous. One question does remain through all these years "If they died, would their unique trait not have gone with them?"''


    I closed the book after reading the first portion, at the very least it seems they''ve done their best to understand where it came from, but the last section made me wonder as well. If we kill the guy, if he is alive, would corruption be gone? It wasn''t easy to tell, nothing stated he was alive, or if killing him would end it, and if killing him doesn''t end it, what would? I thought more. Being born with a resistance...I don''t know the exact number on how rare it is, but it may be safe to assume I was born from someone who already was and if that were true...could that woman in that vision actually be my mom...? They fought off corrupted, and it would make sense for someone resistant to go after them...All I could do was ponder, I would never know if I couldn''t find her...though I guess my dad would be a good second. I stood up from the couch.


    "Woah, up and walking already?" Nicholai took notice.


    "I''m gonna go take a bath." I took the quickest way to it, going into the reflection space as soon as possible. I opened my eyes once again in the endless water. A few more questions sprouted, more important ones.


    ''Is the person who started corruption alive?''


    ''How can corruption be rid of completely?''


    ''Why don''t I remember anything when i was 3-5 years old?''


    I began throwing ideas around in all sections. The person who caused it, no one can find him, but being under the assumption that killing him ends it, maybe he is alive, Corruptors seem to act as one rather than individual. Maybe I don''t recall things from that long ago because it wasn''t important? Or is it because something major happened that made me forget...Though not a question in the space, I did have one more. What could I do with Corruption? When I was in that other area with the light, I was able to use my blood to protect me...or rather harm something else to protect me. I didn''t particularly have the answer to everything, rather it was better just to look at the very small clues I did have. Though in the water, I took a breath, and soon returned to the real world.


    "So that is the right way to leave" I did my normally thing in the bath before leaving. The five were relaxing around the living room, Sam, Nicholai, and Kenneth were reading, while Kaz and Dave were on the table.


    "Have a good bath?" Sam looked up from her book.


    "Dunno, I was zoned out for half of it. But i guess it was alright" I took the spot beside her, trying my best to relax, yet I found it rather difficult to. Those hunters didn''t mind breaking the rules to hunt me, and I assume other corrupted, there''s no saying if or when they''ll bust through the front door...


    "Paranoid?" Nicholai caught onto it


    "A bit...yeah..."


    "Well, no need" Kenneth closed his book. "The stuff they brought when we were on the mission, some were some normal things, more furniture we have yet to set up, but the main thing was Full on turrets outside, I think Raymond knew people went for you"


    "Would explain why the CSF were there when I needed it the most..."


    "That''s confusing too though..." Keeping her thumb in the book to keep her place, she mostly closed it. "Corruption Suppression force...but then they protect the corrupted?"


    "Right...there was no guarantee I would be immune"


    "So they took a gamble with you, maybe they do that with everyone?"


    "I think so too" I could only agree with Kenneth, I had nothing more to go on.


    "You doing alright Lee?" Sam looked over to me.


    "Hm?"


    "I know I''ve been asking a lot lately, but everyday there''s just more things to worry about, just making sure it''s not overwhelming you, and you don''t gotta worry, I''ve been making sure everyone is alright"


    "Thanks for that...and, I''ll manage"


    "Oki doki!" Sam smiled at my answer before returning to her reading. As did everyone else. I was going to read until Sam got away from her book again. "Almost forgot!" From her pockets, she pulled out one of those vintage handheld game consoles, the ones that hold a ton of games at once. "Da da ba duuuuuh" She held it out like some prized treasure.


    "This is something you''d hold onto no?"


    "I also said I''d get you something, not me"


    "Alright then, if you insist" I know for a fact I never had one, but with how old these were they were certainly something to remember, these tended to have a few gems on them too, stuff I could probably play for days on end. When I looked back to Sam to thank her again, she was already back to the book, swaying her legs forward and back, Kenneth and Nicholai were deep in thought as well while reading, most likely trying to decide what was the best info to keep, and the best info to share. Today was certainly a day I thought to myself, even through all this a part of me understood, this was a lot, a lot of stuff to recall and remember, but one thing for certain, is that we were just getting started

 Chapter 9: Game Plan

    A soft strum of a guitar was all I heard, I could tell I had yet to wake up from wherever I had drifted off and I could tell that my visions had returned, yet, this one was only sound. The guitar played a melody, not one I had heard before or perhaps...not remembered. The melodic playing was both close and far and no matter where I drifted the direction nor volume of it would change. Every mistake the player made in the melody would cause them to restart from the very beginning and even someone not experienced in music could tell how dull they were getting by the repeating, I was stuck here, until the very end when the player had finally gotten it right.


    Compared to the other few awakenings, I had finally woken up in my actual bed, though with no recollection of how I got here, the gift that Sam had given me yesterday reminded me of something, the fact her family were still in that world plagued with infected and zombies, though they may not be DTs, they would still be helpful, them surviving this long proved that. I sat up and looked around, nothing about my room had changed, Crescent was against the wall, my revolver on the bedside drawers...though, on the drawers with the revolver, a rectangular object with a bow tied to it sat there. I picked it up and saw it was a camara, the bow also had a small note. ''Photographer eases the mind, so I can use this as a business expense! Take some photos!'' Other than that, not a thing out of place. I got up and resummoned all my stuff, my holster, my sheathe all of it. I left the room and leaned on the wall beside Sam''s room...and waited, for over an hour before I grew impatient, had they already gone somewhere? During that hour I looked around the entire base, not a soul was around, yet the doors to everyone''s room was still closed, seems everyone was still asleep. In that case, I''ll just go alone The way I had come to a dumb decision like that is stull unknown to me, maybe I wanted to do something good to make up for being an annoyance for the others. I cut open the portal and was halfway until one of their doors creaked open, I turned around and saw Nicholai half asleep.


    "Where the hell are you going?" Even with the hair fuzz and dazed expression I had a dreadful feeling I was going to get scolded.


    "To Earth...to look for Sam''s family."


    "..." Her only response was a long sigh. I was silent too, till eventually she spoke up. "You''re not going alone then" With a snap her gear had come to her as well.


    "You sure?"


    "Yeah...I don''t need you to be in a coma next time you return" I didn''t bother softly laughing it off, I knew she wasn''t joking. "Come on, before the others wanna come along too" I didn''t know why she decided to go along with this dumb idea, but I know I appreciated it.


    We both went into the portal, in the midst of the city, it was mostly empty besides for a few zombies roaming around mindlessly.


    "So, got any leads or are we walking aimlessly?"


    "I got an idea of where to look first"


    "Oh, alright then...let''s get to it" We walked, making out way towards the first place I suspected, the chance they were actually there were next to none, but there being no clues was just as unlikely.


    "Here we are" We had stopped in front of a decayed store, the windows were all boarded yet the front doors were broken apart. We walked in to see everything strewn all around, anything that was food rotted ages ago, and anything left was spilled. I took out my revolver before looking around.


    "Hell happened here?" She mumbled to herself, I checked all the aisles, it was a small store so it didn''t take long, but every aisle I checked was another rush of adrenaline, unknowing of what would be there.


    "Nothing here..." It was difficult to see anything in the corners, the only light we had was from the door and the very small beams of light through the small gaps in the boarded windows. After ensuring nothing was here, I walked over to the backdoor, I noticed Nicholai jamming the door with something before joining me. "Ready?"


    "Yeah" We both nodded before I opened the door and entered, there were a few mattresses on the ground with blankets along with couches, a radio sat on the table in the corner, and unlit candles sat on a shelf. I did also notice a broken plank beside the door-frame, I looked at the door itself and saw a small hook, big enough to hold onto the plank, most likely this was how they locked the door when nothing else worked.


    "DIdn''t seem to work..." I whispered to myself as I continued inspecting the room, I also counted the mattresses and couches, seven, more than Sam''s family had, even if we included Sam herself it would be five, there''s two extras here no matter how you spin it.


    "Maybe they really are building up a whole army"


    "Maybe...looking for those walled districts might actually be a good idea" We left the store once we searched everything, no hidden exits, no clues, all we had to go on were the cities.


    "There''s one to our left, it''s a walk though" I was going to mention warping to her, the thing the guy did during that team vs team fight, but still realized I couldn''t do it...and I forgot to ask Raymond.


    "A walk is better than nothing"


    "Keep that opinion to yourself, I quite prefer nothing" I took another look at the city, the place was in ruins, any tall building was clearly on its last legs. There wasn''t an overgrow which was the most startling part, I was more focused on living than paying attention if there ever was any...but there being none worried me, there was something else going on. "Holding up well?"


    "You know, Sam just asked that yesterday"


    "She was asking about your mental health, as she does, I''m more worried about your body breaking, those cuts, corruption, the fact you got flung into a tree ect ect, you know what I mean"


    "Yeah yeah...I think I''m doing fine, I won''t lie and say I''m all dandy, but I''m not taking last breaths over and over here either"


    "So long as you''re alive" Though starting only as a small chill, my breath was visible once the air got colder. I couldn''t help but look up slightly, the sun rising and the orange hue it created in the sky. I took out the camera and snapped a photo, there was something off with it, yet I couldn''t figure it out. "Oi! Up ahead" Zombies had noticed us.


    "Well, nothing we can''t handle"


    "Obviously, especially now" Nicholai had an uncharacteristic smugness and cockiness feeling to her, there wasn''t a plan needed for this, it''s zombies, I doubt we could get infected anyways...maybe I''m the cocky one...? We both rushed forward with our own ideas in mind, my shotgun blast was strong enough to launch me, as such. I swung around, with the curved and sharp hilt, it pierced through the shoulder of an infected. When another one got close I pulled the trigger and tried pulling it straight towards the right while expecting resistance, however, there wasn''t an ounce of it, the hilt tore through the throat of one and jabbed into the head of the other. The one pierced in the head began to fall forcing me to plant my feet as it hit the ground to not fall over, I pulled the hilt out and slashed behind me on the off chance there was one, to my surprise there was, it staggered them back, I saw a few infected behind them, so I reloaded the shell and jabbed the barrel into their chest, once they had gotten into a group I once again pulled the trigger. Pellets from the shell flew all around in a cone of range, cutting through the closest, and heavily cutting if not killing the ones behind. "Coming your way!" I heard Nicholai from my left, I was getting ready to slash in that direction assuming she meant one was getting the jump on me, but when I turned I instead saw a flying corpse which collided with the others like bowling pins.


    "Good one"


    "Right? Against sentient people it may be unconventional, but against things like these where it cuts easily? Goddamn does it feel good to use!" The doc is certainly having a sense of bloodlust. Most of the bloodshed was from Nicholai, every swing of her scythe was her letting off built up steam, I could tell with that harrowing smile. I did my part, but left most of them to her, it''s very obvious she wanted that. Every obscene thing she said was sworn in russian, and along the way, that''s all she started speaking.


    "Crescent, do your thing" Crescent left my hands as I took out my revolver and knife, slashing and shooting anything in the way up until every last infected in the area was killed. Crescent returned to its sheath with a click and Nicholai''s panting became the only audible noise. I walked over. "Hanging in there?"


    "Y-yeah..." She cleared her throat before standing up right again. "Now...we should get back on track."


    "Alright, doc knows best" Though we did continue the path, I couldn''t help but pay mind to Nicholai, her movement was somewhat shaky but not enough to interfere with her actions. She also kept a death grip onto the scythe with its blade dripping blood. Once we had walked for half an hour, her shaking went away, and she had finally put away the scythe. "You holding?"


    "Holding fi-" A bright searchlight shined on us, if I was looking up I might''ve gone blind. "Course I get interrupted."


    "Identify yourselves"


    "Heya!" Though covering my face from the light with my hand, I responded. "We''re not trying to cause issues"


    "Not what we asked" It was a different voice.


    "Right, right...I''m Lee, this here''s my buddy Nicholai, we''re just looking for some people alright?"


    "Why?"


    "They''re the parents of a good friend of mine, we haven''t seen them in a long time"


    "Their names?"


    "Baker and Cali Calstianos" There was murmuring between them "So!?"


    "They''re not here anymore"


    "That implies they were here before, when?"


    "Months ago, they left for some reason, though some reports do say they went that way" The searchlight was aimed towards our left. "Considering how long it''s been, if they really are the parents of your friend, I hope you find them, they''re good people."


    "Trust me, I know" I gave them a wave before heading in the pointed direction.


    "Cautious yet friendly, guess it works"


    "Exactly how Cali and Baker work too, so they''ve definitely been here as they say"


    "Hmhm..." Something was on her mind, but before I could ask, she spoke it out herself. "You know we probably gotta turn this into multiple trips right? If we''re gone too long the others will know, and the two of us being gone too long is suspicious enough."


    "I see where you''re coming from, I agree with it too, we''ll get one more lead before we head back"


    "Alright, well, it''s been a few months since they left, so I don''t expect much."


    "You''re expecting obvious stuff, people leave a trail behind, and unless they know how to cover it, it doesn''t matter how long it''s been"


    "Course you''d know this"


    "Well, when you''re the one catching and cooking the food, you gotta know how to find things"


    "Who would''ve thought catching and cooking would be so helpful for other stuff" There was minor banter between us until I noticed something while passing a few stores. "What''s the pause for?"


    "The way this store is boarded up, it looks almost the exact same as that other store"


    "So you think they were here too?"


    "Well, it''s not really an effective way of boarding up a window, too many planks and there''s still gaps, Cali and Baker would be the type of people to keep using the same idea"


    "Ain''t broke don''t fix it"


    "It wasn''t broke, but they certainly became broke out of wood if this continued" The comment got a small chuckle out of Nicholai. When we went to enter this store, it was locked.


    "Be my guest" She stepped aside, while I went to the door and faced my back to it with my pistol drawn.


    "Ready?"


    "Ready" Priming a kick, I launched my foot backwards into the door, the door buckled and the hinges creaked, but the door didn''t open, I kicked again, this time breaking whatever was holding the door closed apart. I quickly turned and faced inside, there wasn''t anything at the entrance so I stepped inside, glass was shattered along the floor so I did my best to shift it out of the way with my foot. "Wonder what happened here..." She stepped inside with me, taking her own look around.


    "Might be able to figure that out" I crouched down inspecting whatever I could.


    "Alright mister detective, if you need me let me know, I''ll be looking around" Nicholai began checking the rest of the place, making sure nothing could jump out at us while we were focused on other matters. The first obvious thing was that the glass was inside, not out. So the windows were boarded up after something broke in...but that wasn''t the case in the other store, could they have entered this one in a hurry? Or did they just never bother cleaning it up when they got in...but then why wouldn''t they? I took a few more looks around, there weren''t any places to sleep, even the rooms Nicholai were checking had none. Considering the door was still locked nothing could have been stolen, then again the mattresses were still at the other place, they could have just slept on the floor...but I think they only used this place as a safe haven, not to stay for long. "The place is clear" Nicholai rejoined with me. "Whatcha got so far?"


    "Well, the glass being on the inside implies that not only was someone breaking in, but that it happened before the boards were put up, meaning that either A. They came here after some looting party did, or B. They were using this place to get away from something"


    "Mh...I wouldn''t put it off the chance that it could have been those creatures we dealt with at the train"


    "If it was..." I paused, I could feel like I was missing something...but how...how could I feel as though something was missing when I don''t see anything else, intuition maybe? "Something isn''t right...The door is locked...was there a back door?"


    "Boarded up heavily, but yeah"


    "Then...how did anything leave?"


    "Thinking there''s something we''re missing?"


    "Exactly what I''m thinking" I started to shift more of the glass with my foot, trying to see if anything was hidden under the shards, yet nothing came up. "Something in another room then..." I waltzed into what looked like an office, once more, shards of glass, seeing all the glass made me want to try something, so I went back into the main room. Due to my shifting it was a bit inconsistent, but I saw that the glass was a trail. "Alright... now we''re getting somewhere"


    "Heh?"


    "The glass" I started following the non shifted glass, it led through the office I was in before, then leading to where the back door was, stopping in a small corner.


    "We don''t really have lights here..." Nicholai felt around using her foot, both of us noticed that it grazed something. I crouched down and felt where it happened, soon touching a handle. "Well, this was more complicated than it needed to be" I lifted the handle and below the trapdoor was a ladder leading downwards. "And now we''re descending into a horror cliche, fantastic"


    "We never got far being like that" I started to descend the ladder, dropping down once I was close enough. The tunnel seemed well maintained, yet it looked like a maze, too many paths, I walked forward and heard the ground behind me shift as Nicholai set foot too.


    "I say we take the middle"


    "Hm? Why''s that?"


    "I feel it''s a more concrete way, think about where we were, if we go left or right we''ll be heading into the outskirts of the city depending how far these tunnels go"


    "That can be said for the middle too"


    "But it has more space to go"


    "I...that''s right, middle it is" Going with Nicholai''s idea, the two of us started heading through the middle, once we realized it would take a while, I started to make conversation. "So, still studying medicine?"


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "Yeah, there are some things still not solved by magic, and I don''t wanna drop it incase issues arise again"


    "I get ya, we''ve done our missions well so far, but I feel as we get more known by The Reunion we''ll be having more difficulties"


    "Hmhm, how bout you? Still opening a bakery when this is over?"


    "Hehe, Sam actually wanted me to help her open a Cafe"


    "Right, I recall, think you mentioned it before"


    "You may recall that part...but Sam''s dream for it is a bit...not possible really, as much as I want it to be real"


    "Oh god..what is it?"


    "She wants it to either be really cheap or free for those who are kind to one another, or those that don''t cause issues while they''re drinking or eating"


    "It''s commendable, but...the money you''d need"


    "Yeah, I told her, yet she still wants it. I will say...if we can convert our money here to actual money in this world...it could be possible"


    "Possible, but not assured, do either of you even know how to make drinks?"


    "She does, and my job would be handling the food"


    "Guess that''s one way to give back to this city, if only it wasn''t infested"


    "Aww, miss doc can''t find a solution for this?"


    "My solutions stop you from getting yourself killed last i checked"


    "that would be right..."


    "Oh, while we''re on the topic, when the hell did Sam get cards?"


    "Could''ve been the stuff we got."


    "We had game cards for those gimmick games and all that, not flat out poker or 21 cards."


    "Guess she bought em then"


    "She''d definitely do that" We soon made it to the ladder and began to climb it.


    "We should wrap them in a present when we find them"


    "They''ll suffocate"


    "You know what I mean, with the breathing holes, that way we can present them to Sam instead of just showing her"


    "I don''t think everything needs your pazazz...hang on...we were meant to leave by now damnit!"


    "We can spare some more time"


    "You said that before!" I pushed over the cover at the top and was greeted by three rifles aiming at me, their wielders, people who had half their face covered


    "Uh...hey guuuuys?" They only stared at me.


    "How''d you find this place?" They had a deep voice and spoke with conviction


    "Well, the glass was pretty obvious"


    "The building it was in, its location, and which route to take weren''t"


    "Well, I might know two or more of your people, Cali and Baker? Maybe Alice and Yuki?" They continued aiming their guns. "Listen, I know how sketchy I may seem, but I mean it, I know who they are, Cali and Baker? I know their daughter and I''m just looking for where they are so I can bring them to her"


    "Your sword and gun, place it on the space in front of you, any movements above your head will get you shot, understood?" I nodded before doing as they said. They didn''t mention Nicholai as she desummoned her weapon ages ago. "Come on up" I finished climbing the ladder, standing on solid ground again, I looked around, there were a bunch of shipping containers, seemingly all around the walls of the place...No...those are the walls...no wonder they have hidden entrances, this entire place is hidden. Of course, most shipping containers have empty cars, or metal parts, no one but elites have any reason to check them, thus, never checking that there was a self-made city behind it all. One of the masked people took my stuff, I could just resummon it if I needed, so who cares? People were roaming around the place, seemingly treating our presence like any other.


    "Ugh" Nicholai stretched as she finally got up the ladder.


    "Considering your cooperation, I''ll assume your intentions here are as you stated"


    "Thank you" I nodded my head a bit.


    "Can''t say we haven''t met a Baker or Cali, but I can say none are here anymore" I was ready to curse out to the sky until the deep voiced man continued. "We do know where they went, a settlement just out of the city, they used the same strategy as here, the shipment containers, however, theirs is much less hidden, they''re obvious on purpose, a place where people tend to gather, and they''re always expanding, you can probably find a group of them roaming about looking for more abandoned containers."


    "Thanks for the help buddy, we''ll be heading out no-"


    "People at the front!" One of the people on top of the shipment containers yelled down to us.


    "This place doesn''t seem to be that well hidden anymore" Nicholai had her arms crossed.


    "We still get visitors from time to ti-" Interrupting the man''s sentence, the front of the ''gate'' exploded, and a barrage of people started rushing through.


    "Shoulda told us those visitors were raiders" I looked back to the man who ran into cover, along with some other people joining him. I picked my sword and revolver back up as we prepared ourselves. "Non-Lethal Nicholai"


    "Roger that" My sword''s edge became more blunt when we switched to the mode. One of the raiders, who seemed like their leader, walked over.


    "You kids got balls to stand out on our red carpet" Either they hadn''t noticed, or were unafraid of the giant, electrocuted, scythe that Nicholai had. "But maybe it''s your first time bowing to those better than you, so I''ll give ya another chance to get outta our way as we take what''s ours"


    "This guy sounds like an asshole, Lee, permission?" She didn''t look over to me, probably knowing how I''d respond.


    "Hold" Though, I had another idea.


    "I ain''t seeing you bow to your superiors" I took out my knife and cut my hand, it was incredibly painful, I clearly cut something wrong, but no matter. "A blood gift!? Hehe! Now we''re talking"


    "Oh it''s a blood gift alright"


    "Lee? The hell?"


    "You''ll see" I brought my left hand to my right shoulder before swinging my arm so my left hand faced forward as though I was ordering an army, yet, nothing came from it.


    "Iiiii think I''m seeing an idiot at play"


    "uhh..." I kept my hand where I was, clenching it into a fist instead and swinging my arm down. Immediately, I felt something drain as my blood went into the air.


    "ooooh! Didn''t know we had a magician"


    "Yeah, you wanna see my next trick?" When the blood reached its max point and formed into spheres, I opened my hand and instantly, red tainted spears appears, jabbing into the raiders, but not killing them, instead almost acting like a paralyzer, it didn''t get everyone, but got a decent chunk. "You''re good Nich" A few seconds barely passed before all I could hear were sounds similar to someone running into a tesla gate, and all I could see from Nicholai was, she was definitely slower than before, she wasn''t going on that same rampage, but the raiders were too stunned or terrifyed to retaliate.


    "Fall back!" The raiders in any cars began to leave, firing a few shots at Nicholai, I couldn''t tell if any hit but Nicholai seemed to be doing well. I took out my revolver and made sure I shot a tire, though they didn''t stop, that wasn''t my intention. Soon, only the leader remained.


    "Of course! The gods left just me, to prove my worth to them"


    "God this guy is ill in the head" As the leader faced Nicholai, I started my way over to him, and once I got close, I jabbed him in the side, sending a shock charge through him.


    My god...what was all that!?" The deep voiced man got out of cover and came over to us.


    "Long story, really"


    "Is it possible to gain that power?"


    "Eeehhhhh" I didn''t want to give the actual answer on how we became like this. "No...it''s more of a...exclusivity to certain people"


    "Ah, I understand, not everyone could possibly bear something like that. To carry a scythe so easily too...It probably didn''t matter you put down your weapons"


    "Yeah, that''s actually true, though we probably would''ve gotten a bit hurt" I reminded myself and looked at Nicholai, she had a few spots where she bled from but she seemed unfazed by it.


    "It''ll heal, no need to keep looking at it, I''m not dropping dead that easily" Nicholai rolled her shoulders after the statement.


    "Hey" I looked back to the guards of this place. "Thanks for the tip, I''ll do my best to drop by every once in a while if you all need help, but, if you could, can you look for Cali and Baker?"


    "Oh oh, don''t you worry, sending those raiders off is enough...but...there is the chance they could make another attack."


    "Then I''ll be there"


    "Thank you, I could tell Cali and Baker have been around you a lot, you give off that feeling."


    "You should see their daughter"


    "I have no doubts about that."


    "Come on Nicholai" The two of us left, this day kept getting more hectic as time went, but I had to agree it''s time to call this an end here. When we were out of sight I cut open a portal back to the base, and we left with no further issues.


    Once we had returned, I saw Nicholai holding her shoulder, I could tell it affected her more than she let on.


    "Are you sure you''re alright?"


    "I am, if you can handle all that...I refuse to believe I can''t"


    "Well...maybe I can just tank more hits than you"


    "Let me guess, like a video game?"


    "You sorta have to agree though"


    "Yeah, fair enough...damn shame we don''t gotta XP bar, I''d just farm till I was max level."


    "There you two are" Sam came around the corner with puffy hair and loose clothing carrying a bag of chips...yet wouldn''t you guess it, it was still in a ponytail. "Thought I heard you all in the bath."


    "Do you ever put your hair down?" Nicholai stared at Sam.


    "It just was down, hairstyles are included in the outfit thing" I saw surprise even in Nicholai.


    "Really? Well, this HUD is pretty handy..."I didn''t understand the comment, Nicholai''s hair never really was stylized in any way, or, could it just be in a way I couldn''t see.


    "So..." She ate a chip. "Where..." She yawned "were you two?"


    "Well, we took a stroll around earth, it''s about the same as we left it, no surprise" I lied by omission, I technically wasn''t full on lying, but, still was a form of it. "I also took a photo" I summoned the camara and showed it to Sam.


    "Aww, I always love these photos, though...It''s a bit fogged no?"


    "That was it...I felt something was off"


    "We should have another photography session on earth!" Nicholai and I went into a mini panic. The chances that one of those guys appear again, raiders or the settlement men, are slim, but not nill, they''d realize who Sam is by the hair...that would ruin the surprise.


    "Wouldn''t recommend it, there''s still a decent chunk of zombies roaming" Nicholai covered for me.


    "Oh, alright..." I could tell Sam was still partially out of it, I wouldn''t put it past her to fall asleep in the bath. "Mmhalso...why is Nicholai''s shoulder bleeding?"


    "You didn''t bandage it?" I mumbled in her direction.


    "Sure, I''ll set a world record for bandaging three bullet wounds, how about giving me more time when I get shot again"


    "Shot?"


    "Nicholai had an incident with a few people while we were walking about, it was handled though, and she''ll be fine."


    "That''s good to hear" Sam plopped herself on the couch, eating while watching whatever was on. I couldn''t help but sigh quietly. "We taking a mission today?"


    "Maybe, depends if we get one worth it or not, we could also get hired to do something" I leaned on the couch, just mindlessly gazing at the TV.


    "I''ve been thinking" She only talked when she wasn''t eating. "If we can go into other worlds, wouldn''t that include games, shows, even animated stuff?"


    "Probably" I gave a quick response.


    "We should go in one, see what the world is like through their eyes"


    "Oh god no..." I could hear Nicholai complaining. "If we go into their art style I don''t want my eyes to bleed" Sam raised a chip into the air and waved it around.


    "Hey! Not all the art styles are bad!"


    "I''ll give you that" Nicholai sat down in her chair.


    Before any of us could get comfortable, our HUDs opened.


    Bunker


    Sender: Kai


    Recipients: Bravo Team


    ''We''ve started to notice bunkers in a few worlds, as far as we know, they''ve been there for ages, this isn''t time sensitive, as we made sure it didn''t connect to The Reunion or Corrupted, as such, take your time to do this, and when you do, don''t fuck it up.''


    "So Rude" I heard Sam say below me.


    "Eh, he''s like a war general, can''t blame em" That''s the impression I got, as such I spoke it.


    "Guess not" Kai sent us a list of where the bunkers are, one of them was on earth, I would probably save that one for last as I feared doing them would effect the place heavily.


    "You all get it too?" Kenneth came from the hall where our rooms are, scratching the back of his neck, he wore a blacksmith''s apron, which had oil splattered here and there.


    "Yeah...what were you making?"


    "Just experimenting, I convinced Raymond to get us a vehicle to use too"


    "Huh!?" It came from all of us.


    "What? Last I checked Nicholai and Lee were able to legally drive when we were alive, what''s the issue now?"


    "None" Sam sat up. "Just...where are you fitting that?"


    "Our base had a massive unused portion, as such, there''s two doors leading to it, from my room, and the corner in the end of the hall-"


    "No wonder I never saw it" I stopped leaning and stood up.


    "Right, either way, that stuff that Raymond brought in? Some was for this room, most of it was for that, I basically got a massive workshop to myself now"


    "I can tell where your expenses are going"


    "Well Nicholai, I still have unused sections, we can probably turn it into a lab for you" Nicholai''s expression changed.


    "Alright then, I''ll get to it" She stood up and headed off with her HUD open, probably to buy stuff.


    "I can tell where your expenses are going" I heard Kenneth comment to Nicholai before she went.


    "So, we got a company car is what I understood" I walked around and sat on the couch''s arm.


    "Yeah, I''m just improving it to the best of my ability, we don''t have to worry about gas, it''s electric, it can run for hours and even if it does run out mid mission, I can charge it by myself with my spear and arrow."


    "Handy" Sam sat up.


    "You wanna take a look, Lee? Considering you''re probably gonna be the main driver"


    "Why not" Getting off the couch arm, I followed Kenneth as he led me to the workshop, like he said, it was in the corner of the hallway, practically out of sight of anything else. When we entered, I was met with a decently room, in the direct middle was a vehicle similar to a humvee, yet with very clear changes, it was larger, with more space and seats, beside the driver seat was a built-in laptop, the doors seemingly more durable, a lot of other things were missing though, yet I assumed they were being worked on.


    "Not gonna deny it, after we got reincarnated I felt a bit smarter, I''m not complaining though, pretty handy for this stuff." Nicholai was in her own corner, anything we said was most likely inaudible for her even with the minor echo in the room. "Cars are pretty easy once you got it down though, you tend to know what''s broken or not working after a while without even thinking about it. Main issue comes with making new things, stuff that won''t break down or turn on us." Part way through his sentence I could see Dave flying around, transporting things. Little guy can be anywhere huh?


    "I got an idea"


    "Hm?"


    "Unless you got things in mind, how about you mainly start making things when we ask?" I whinced slightly when I realized how rude that sounded, yet by Kenneth''s expression, he took it the way I was hoping for.


    "So, like, if we need special gasmasks, then you''ll ask and I get making?"


    "Yeah, that way parts aren''t wasted, the only issue would be time,"


    "We can always back out a mission so long as we''re not being told to do it, however I can''t get my parts back without ripping things apart, being too quick with it will cause issues as well"


    "Yeah...guess there''s always a con"


    "Just the downside to making stuff."


    "By the way" I looked back at the Humvee-like car. "Most of our missions have been stealth no? Why are we getting a war vehicle?" There was a pause from Kenneth, as though he was registering what I was saying, he looked at the car, then his eyes went slightly to the floor. He took a breath through clear building anger before opening his eyes and looking back at me.


    "Let''s hope we get another" He spoke through gritted teeth.


    "Hehe...Well...it''s better mentioned now than later"


    "hmhmph" He cleared his throat. "Right, we can test it on a mission that''s pure extermination, there have been some of those popping up recently"


    "What a coincidence"


    "I dunno...more so timing...I''ll make sure this thing is running by the time we get a mission" He pulled over a small stool, standing on it to get an overview of the front portion of the vehicle.


    "I''ll leave ya to it then"


    "Alright" I walked off, towards Nicholai, her section of the room was much different, tables of different things in vials, cups, beakers, all the sort. "You work fast"


    "A lot of things are moving fast" She sat down on a swivel chair with wheels before checking everything again.


    "Probably going to need a wall here if I do start researching corruption, everything here right now are basic things."


    "Heh, we''re practically a military of our own, we got a good tech and engineer, we got a research team, then the fighters."


    "That''s not a good thing I hope you realize" Using the table, she used it as a boost to get to another part of her corner with a computer. Before I could ask, she answered. "Inventory, making sure if anything goes missing or breaks I''ll know."


    "Ah...alright...reading my mind again"


    "You''re just predictable, it''s Sam who''s a struggle, she''ll bounce from a wall one moment, then be passive the next."


    "Well, it''s helped"


    "In school, not here..."


    "What?"


    "Thinking back on things I guess" She tapped on the keyboard once more before turning towards me. "You do it too"


    "I do, nothing wrong with preferring then over now"


    "Course not, PE and festivals be damned, it was still preferable over getting cut, shot, all this and that."


    "Hey, the festivals helped us work together"


    "Didn''t stop you from getting punched"


    "Kyle is a unique case"


    "You got that right" She slowly went left and right slightly, never going too far on one side. "Wonder where he is now"


    "He''d be helpful, that''s for sure, main issue would be if he''d listen"


    "I feel like he respected you before the outbreak happened"


    "He punched me"


    "Because you rallied people on you, and he saw no reason" She paused before continuing. "Maybe he understood before everyone got separated" She held out her hand before putting it back.


    "Expected something?"


    "Sorta, figured after a while you''d get pocky again"


    "Ah, and because we''re talking you expected some?"


    "Exactly why" Well...if things can be warped, summoned around, and all that...if I buy something... I went to the HUD, it took a while, a real long while, long enough that it was embarrassing, but eventually I found a store menu, typing it in, I got Pocky and bought it, checking my inventory right after, and wouldn''t you know, it was right there. I took it out, opened it, and held out one. "Thanks" I started nibbling on my own. "I''ll be here if you need me." She turned back to the computer, and I left her alone, leaving the room and heading back to where Sam was.


    "Hewwo again!" Kaz was sitting beside Sam, curled up. Our HUDs popped up again, this time however, it was Nicholai and Kenneth.


    Ken: Forgot to mention, Nicholai and I have considered staying back on missions, acting more so like handlers.


    Lee: Oh?


    Nicholai: Yeah, in the books we brought over I noticed all of them have maps that are up to date, even including Reunion and Corruption high zones, and Kenneth can stay behind to bring you needed supplies or vehicles...and maybe soon he''ll learn to fly a chopper.


    Ken: She''s kidding on the last part, we can get someone else to do that...eventually


    Sam: We''ll probably have to be more known though right?


    Nicholai: Yes...regardless, if it''s a dangerous mission of course we''ll go, but for basic stuff, we''ll just watch over ya, we''re more supports than attack


    Lee: Don''t think earlier says that


    Nicholai: I left myself open, you should know that too.


    Lee: Yeah...guess you''re a last resort case then huh?


    Nicholai: Hmhm...you''re a smaller group this way too, and even if you take Kaz they''re small enough not to be noticed


    Ken: Course, when it comes to missions that involve tech, it''ll just be me and Lee.


    Ken: Lee''s sorta needed in all missions, so this way we can give Sam and Kaz a break, and I''ll still be doing field work.


    Lee: Reminds me of how we did things before in school


    Ken: Well, that''s where me and Nicholai got it from.


    Nicholai: Those projects...so unneededly difficult.


    Sam: I think this is a bit different than school...


    Ken: Very much so, but the way things are done are the same, Sam and Lee are the field workers, while Nicholai and I do the research and overview.


    Sam: I see it now


    Ken: Well, we had this before, but it''s more...risky now, what''s your say Lee, we doing it this way?


    Lee: I see a few pros and cons, but for the time being I think we can keep it, we''ll test it out.


    Ken: Alright, Nicholai and I will pool our credits to see if we can get enough stuff to actually act like handlers to you all. Take care


    Our HUDs closed.


    "I just realized" Sam spoke up out of nowhere.


    "That realization is?"


    "My weapons are pretty strong in Non-Lethal mode, I just swing them around, when they''re blades they could hit backwards and just bruise them...that way, it''s shocking them no matter how it hits"


    "Be sure to put that to use whenever possible"


    "Alrighty bossman" I took a seat on the couch, I zoned out after a few minutes and began thinking on things, more so about a few days ago. ''Make sure Lee doesn''t make it past winter'' Many things are the problem here...why winter? Why me, were the others questioning it as well, even now? They also had robots somewhere we''ve never been until then...or...were they there since the start? Are there many of them all around dimensions?...but why? "Lee, you alright?"


    "Just thinking about before...those robots"


    "mh..." She sat up, looking at the ground. "None of us really have the answer to that...I wish we did, we can''t solve the problem if we don''t...you know...even know why, there''s too much to think about..."


    "That''s why I have an idea"


    "Oh?" She leaned back and turned back to me.


    "No more asking anything new, trying anything, with the exception for Kenneth and Nicholai''s work, we make we solve every problem first before getting new ones...and for the ones we can''t help, unless they''re dire, we don''t think on it till we get through the others, this way we won''t get overwhelmed again like we are now."


    "Hm, I agree with that"


    "Alright, in that case, first things first, Why am I being prioritized and not any of you?" I came to a conclusion on where to check. "Since we know where they are, we should go back into that blizzard world, with obviously better gear, we can look for more of those robots, hunt em, and hope they have more audio files, or commands, tomorrow we''ll brief it"


    "Calling it a night then?"


    "Probably" I got up. "If you need me just send a message" I headed into my room shortly after. I took out Crescent and laid it against the wall, putting my revolver in the bedside counter, and myself onto my bed while groaning. I turned onto my back and started staring at the ceiling. I hadn''t noticed it till now. This bed...is a bit too big...It was a random thought, yet with both of my arms extended out to my left and right, I still wasn''t at the edge of either side. I let out a yawn before I closed my eyes, and drifted off to another vision I would see once I awaken

 Chapter 10: Recall and Reroute

    A shining star, all alone in its own section of the sky, as though the stars had left it, going into other patches. The star never moved, it continued shining brightly, it was the only thing it could do...wanted, to do, along the way, the star had lost its shine, it was still bright, it still had something, but not all of it. It was missing something, something important, something that made it shine once, and never again, a reason, a purpose...its purpose...was to shine, yet it couldn''t...it couldn''t do its own purpose.


    My eyes opened, still staring at the ceiling, no HUD with messages greeted me, though I didn''t expect it to. I laid there, the vision I had...was more of a story than vision. Crescent had moved from its wall, instead being on the wall, no support, no stand, yet it was perfectly there without struggle. My revolver, having no sentience, sat there on the bedside. Someone began knocking on my door, I let out one more yawn before walking over and opening it.


    "So Nicholai was wrong" Kenneth stood there "You''ve been in bed for a bit now, worried something happened."


    "No...no, just another vision"


    "What was it this time?"


    "A...star"


    "Aaaand?"


    "That''s it...just a star...yet, i could feel all these things, it''s hard to explain"


    "Don''t really think the books we got mentioned anything about stars, so it''s not corruption related." As my vision unblurred from just having woken up, I noticed Kenneth looked a bit tired.


    "You didn''t stay up all night on that car did you?"


    "Not all night...will admit I spent some more time on it than I should have, but it''s working now, Dave was good help"


    "Even so...I may not understand it all that well...but I can help"


    "mmh...maybe...regardless, you said you were briefing this time around right? If so we should get to it while it''s still early."


    "Understood" I walked past Kenneth to the room, Sam, Kaz, and Nicholai were already waiting. "Alright everyone, this one is simple, we''re going after those robots that we encountered last time we were there, we''ll be trying out the handler thing too, Kenneth and Nicholai, will be around to give me, Sam, and Kaz things if we need them, considering the weather, if it''s possible Kenneth, I''d like you to make something to counteract that"


    "If there''s anything in this city that can provide a kind of heat using magic, I might be able to, just gonna take a while"


    "That''s fine, we''ll be going mostly in a straight line, hopefully taking this route" I whipped out the map of the place, it was mostly darkened but I was still able to mark it. "It''s away from where that base went under so we don''t have to worry about falling into a pit. Any questions?"


    "Nope" Sam responded first.


    "We''re good to go" and soon the others.


    "We''ll try to draw attention to ourselves if it takes too long, other than that, let''s go" Raising my sword I cut open a portal as always, Sam and I snapped, changing into winter gear, Kaz seemed fine with the cold, standing right beside the portal. "We''ll be back, hopefully soon" We hopped in and were met by the same unwavering cold, Kaz leapt up to my shoulder and stood, almost like a scanner. "Looking for them already?"


    "Yewp! The faster we get it done, the less chance everyone gets sick!"


    "Aww" Sam patted Kaz "Onward then!" We, like Sam said, went onward, trudging through the snow. A few minutes of empty walking, Sam spoke again. "Hey Lee! Got any stories?"


    "uhh...well, I think I got one from a few months into the outbreak, when I went on my own...right, I recall it now"


    ? months into the outbreak


    I of course, didn''t know the exact date...nor how long it had actually been, all I know is that it''s been a few months.


    "I''ll be back, I promised didn''t I?" I was leaving Sam by herself, I had to, she had gotten sick and we needed things, taking her risked not only me but herself. "Look on the brightside" From my bag I took out two walkie talkies, a faint smile formed from Sam as I handed her one. "If you need me, I''ll always have it on, I got spare batteries" She nodded and rested her head back, focusing on recovery. Now then... I thought to myself Sooner I''m back the better. I stepped outside the building we were held up in, through the window, taking the front door was a risk, I grabbed a sturdy plank leaned against the wall and laid it out, so I could walk from rooftop, to another, picking up the plank I set it down, that way no one would see the route I always took. It was always a long walk, going down too soon was into a horde of infected, even after a few minutes, you''d still encounter a lethal amount. I looked down and proved my point, if I slipped or for whatever reason jumped down, I''d be torn apart instantly.


    Everyday was more or less the same, though today was an exception, when I was about 70% through the route, I saw smoke. Every fire would be snuffed out by now...cars and buildings...this...It had to be someone else, that was what I wanted to say. Taking it from my shoulder, I brought a rifle to my hands, it was the only good thing the mall people left behind, everything else, either broken, inoperable from the misuse, or just flat out useless. This rifle however, it reminded me one message. Not every leader is a good one. If they were cocky, they made a mistake, if they were too cautious the stress makes them falter, there needed to be a balance, every group up to this point only added to that message I learned. This one has to be different. It was a risk, trusting unknown people, yet I couldn''t manage this, leaving Sam alone too long meant stress and the lack of safety, yet, I couldn''t stay either, food, medicine, water, all of it needed, all of it scarce, I couldn''t manage alone. I aimed down the makeshift scope I created, it was horrible of course, made out of a spyglass with marker as the lines, and while it couldn''t really be zeroed, I had come with a solution, if the head is smaller than the lines, aim two lines above, if it''s the same size, aim on the lines. It didn''t always work, but enough to be my solution, Sam''s training with a rifle didn''t require a horrible scope anyways.


    I began aiming towards where the fire should be coming from, and saw a group of people around a fire, some within the group were decently young, even younger than I am. They had a jeep as transport, and within it, my mission, a box with a medical sign, it was like striking gold. There were seven people in total, I checked my rifle, 10 rounds, then took my revolver out, 6 rounds, 3 reserves... I wasn''t going to kill or steal, but if needed to, I would defend myself. Though risky, I kicked down a ladder and descended onto street level before making my way to the group. From inside the buildings I could hear groans of undead, that, or whispers, people who had taken refuge on the higher floors like we did, yet, I decided to ignore them, I had one goal. I had gotten somewhat into the forest where they were, I was getting closer, yet, with one misstep, I was hoisted into the air, dangling upside down after a painful tug on my leg. The group looked my way in surprise, I had dropped my rifle, yet still had my revolver.


    "Well, ain''t this an iffy situation" One of the adults spoke out from my sudden hoisting, this man seemed strong, a stern voice that could intimidate anyone, and what looks to be the strength of someone who could tear steel in half. A few others walked over as well. "What''re you doing sneaking up on us?"


    "I was going to ask to borrow some medicine"


    "What for?"


    "What do people normally need medicine for?"


    "Okay smartass" Though his comment sounded like they were annoyed, he smirked while saying it, like a way of respect, it confused me. "Well, listen, gonna be fairly honest with ya, we don''t need it, but we can''t just give it to ya, however, I don''t think any of us mind if we take you to a place where we left some behind, we''ve been meaning to clear it out for some time to set up a little outpost there, simply speaking, you scratch our back, we scratch yours, and considering you got two guns, I take it you know how to at least use them."


    "I don''t really have ammo to spare"


    "But we do, we just lack the guns themselves" With a swift cut from a knife I landed painfully before standing up. Not too cocky...he admitted to needing help...not too cautious either...yet not so trusting, they won''t give me stuff for free. I picked my rifle back up and slung it around my shoulder...the sling itself was also makeshift, Sam and I never really got cut, we had clothes and rags to make makeshift tourniquets as well as such...the sling was tourniquets, quite a few too... "I''ll carry the rounds for now, just let me know if you need some"


    "Fair enough"


    "Everyone!" He spun his fingers around in the air, it brought a sense of nostalgia somehow, and I understood what it meant a moment later as the group rallied around him. "This gentleman over here has agreed to help us clear out that prime outpost spot, and all he''s asking for is medicine, helluva deal if you ask me" The entire group talked at once after, yet I could tell they agreed. "Alright lad, let''s get to work" The group piled into the jeep, however, seeing as it''s a bad idea to just be in a car with a bunch of random people, I grabbed onto the side, keeping my feet raised by resting them on certain parts of the jeep. After everyone was in, the Jeep started up and soon started driving. It was a long ride, but I made sure to remember certain landmarks, it would take a while to get back if they aren''t generous enough to bring me, but I at least could if I tried. Eventually, the Jeep pulled up to a building, they turned and parked before everyone started getting out, with the exception of the youngest, and one to stay behind and look after them. The others had weapons, most of them bladed, yet a few of them blunt or just not sharp. We all walked to the front door.


    "We ready for this?" Another member of the group spoke up


    "Of course, that''s why we''re here, the man spoke and soon opened the double doors, I could already see the horde. I was worried, it seemed like getting bit here would be unavoidable yet, everyone seemed to be wearing heavy leather, I turned back seeing no more reason to worry. I tried to look around the place for any prime spots, one being atop of some scaffolding.


    "Hey, mind a boost!?" I yelled out to any of them while running to my spot, the man quickly slid over before cupping his hands together, the moment I stood on them I was thrown up, when the momentum ran out and I began descending, I used my hand as a little more oomph to get where I wanted to, now being out of range, I crouched down, resting my left elbow on my knee, while my other leg was on its knee behind me. I took off the scope and looked around, mostly for anyone in dangers way, and whenever someone was about to get ambushed by a zombie, a loud bang, and bullet, from me prevented it. The zombies overwhelmed by the sounds of echoing shots in this near empty building turned over to me as they began to shake the scaffolding. "Goddamnit..." I mumbled to myself, there weren''t many places to go, but I did notice one of those liftable ceiling panels above me, the dull ones, I couldn''t go on them, but another idea struck me, using my rifle I moved the ceiling panel, after it was moved, I rested my rifle against the wall, leaning on it, then I stood atop it, I could hear it shift, so the moment I could, I leapt off the rifle and grabbed a hold of the bars the tiles were on, a few seconds after the scaffolding fell atop the zombies, yet some managed to crawl out, I did also manage to notice that one of the group''s members were trapped under it too.


    "Damnit! Help!" The person trapped seemed young, older than me, but not as old as the rest. The zombies that managed to avoid getting trapped began crawling over to him. I took out my revolver, aimed, and fired at the closest one to them, the recoil made my arm wobble slightly especially after hanging on for this long. I pulled the hammer back and fired again, the others were too busy, yet I could see a clear attempt to help each other. I began contemplating my choices, until I sighed, I fired off my remaining bullets at any zombie I could before letting go of the bar. When I landed, the pain in my legs made it clear, any higher and they''d be broken, yet even at that moment, they wobbled for a while before I could run over and pistol whip one of the undead, the impact knocked them to the ground, they struggled to get up but before they fully could I stomped their head in, they were long gone, no saving them, even if it was possible, it would torment them. Sam, me, Kenneth, and Nicholai, we were fine with killing them with this idea in mind, even if saving them was fine, if zombies are sentient, aware of what they were doing, they''d be tormented from that alone, so killing them was their only mercy, even Sam was content with it, so long as she reminded herself of that. I loaded the three extra rounds I had in my revolver before putting it away.


    "I got ya, on three start pushing alright?" I crouched down near the trapped guy, grabbing onto the broken pieces of the scaffolding. "one, two" I could see their grip getting tighter. "And threee" I gave my best attempt, yet it only barely nudged up. "Again!" Once more we tried, it was even worse, but when we were close to stopping, the burden of all the weight lifted ever so slightly. I saw the man in the corner of my eye giving his best go, so I would try mine again too. Giving it all we had we lifted up, giving the trapped person just enough time to get out. The scaffolding was dropped with a loud echoing thud.


    "How''s that ammo count kid?"


    "Three revolver, 7 rifle, the calibers a-" Before i could finish, I already had exactly the ammo I needed being handed to me. "Alright then" I had 12 revolver rounds now, and 15 rifle, I quickly reloaded any mags and my revolver before taking my rifle back out. When I raised my head back up from reloading, I had noticed a broken chopper crashed through the very top of the building, along with a few cars in the walls, yet, there were hills outside, so as much as I wanted to question it in a more unreasonable way, it had an answer already.


    "Let''s keep it going!" The group kept pushing through, slashing through anything, while any opportunity I got, I covered their advance, shooting any undead that gave them even the slightest trouble. I could see how having no guns would be an issue for this, my rifle rounds tend to pierce through undead, even if it didn''t kill 2 at once, it crippled at least 3, making their movement more sluggish than it already was. Even if one got close to me, I simply hit them with the end of my rifle before stomping their head in, the more I did it, the easier it got, and the less I felt bad about doing it. It became more of an annoyance if anything. The sound of one last bullet echoed again before the silence took over, the only noise left was a body dropping. Blood covered a majority of the floors, and we had to walk over bodies to get anywhere


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "What a massacre" One of the members spoke as they looked around.


    "All thanks to our sharpshooter over here" The man gave a firm pat on my back. "Didn''t miss a shot did you?"


    "I missed a few, don''t go singing untrue praise."


    "Alright then, well, we''re gonna get cleaning up, you see that van over there?" He pointed to one of the vehicles jammed in the wall. "That''s where your medicine should be"


    "Alright, good luck with your outpost" I left them, and began the ascent up the stairs, it was easy and simple, just up the stairs, any standing zombie was stomped on by my heel or shot, nothing on the way proved to be any issue. I could however feel fatigue on my legs, there most likely was some damage from the fall, just not any to permanently bring me down, either way, my feet started burning up until I got to the back of the van. I reached to the handle and pulled, with no resistance it opened, and inside, boxes stacked on each other, some with bullet symbols, some with the medical cross on it. "Alright..." I went in the van and felt everything shift. "So it''s gonna be like that huh?" I had to reach over to any boxes I wanted pulled out, yet, before pulling any out, I checked them, expired...expired...Do I even know what I''m looking for? I barely did, the same color, similar name as the stuff any kid our age took when we were sick. All of it was expired...except for two, two things out of the whole bunch, but they were filled, at the very least half way. I sighed with relief, yet, the ammo was enticing...I needed it, not a want, there are too many zombies, and if those guys aren''t going to be driving me back, I need stuff to defend myself. I knew this van would probably fall if I did, so, filled with greed, I lunged into the van and right as I grabbed onto the box everything started turning over, the van began tipping and soon had left the wall completely, I saw the boxes were clipped, so I unclipped the expired medical boxes and clipped myself, though it was hazardous, I didn''t have anything that was meant to be hooked onto after all.


    Everything went black soon after, only returning to the previous sight of the van soon after, I felt weight pulling down on my head and soon realized the clip had forced me to hang upside down. At least...I''m alive. I felt bruised everywhere, but nothing I couldn''t deal with, I reached up for the clip, once I noticed I can''t reach it, I swing back, then forward, back, then forward, until I grabbed onto the hook. I moved my thumb around, waiting to feel that button, and when I did, I pressed on it and once more hit down painfully. I checked myself and the medicine I needed, it was okay. I sighed once more before opening the box of ammo. Most of it was empty, most of it didn''t have what I needed, but I still found a few bullets I needed, but certainly not enough to make it back.


    Current Time:


    "Surprised you recall all this" Kaz spoke on my shoulder, yet they didn''t sound surprised, maybe she always acted this way, either way I had omitted certain parts of the story, yet still wrote them in here, even if i told others otherwise, the real events have to be mentioned.


    "I have a journal for a reason, I always had this feeling that I''d forget things...it was incredibly nagging"


    "But...you haven''t forgotten anything...right?" Sam asked a question I couldn''t answer with full honesty...or confidence, those unknown memories I can''t recall, those visions that seem connected to me in some way, the change in events...had I just written them wrong? Or, did they ever happen to begin with?


    "I...can''t answer that"


    "So...does that mean you have? I nodded slightly as my only answer. I stopped as I heard something through the blizzard. When I did, Kaz perched up again, trying to see through the falling snow. Then I heard it again, much clearer, though still muffled, crunching of snow. None of us were walking now, nothing could explain how the sound of someone walking in the snow was being made when we weren''t moving. We readied our weapons but just faintly, the outline of a person started moving towards us.


    "Put... away...your...weapons, there''s...no need for...such violence" We waited a moment more, until we decided to listen, we put our weapons away and the outline of the man soon became just the man. Not an inch of him was uncovered, goggles covered his eyes, while a scarf and gasmask covered the lower portion of his face, everything else was bushy and warm to the point just us being in his presence gave warmth, and his hair, clearly long as it reached the middle point of his back. "Thank you... for your cooperation" He spoke slowly, it wasn''t unnerving however.


    "What''re you doing in this cold?" Kaz spoke in a weird way, the man slowly looked up to Kaz.


    "Y-...hm...the question...could go to...you all as...well" I pondered on what the original question was going to be, but soon threw it out of my mind, rendering it pointless to think about any further.


    "We''re looking for some robot animals, you seen any?" There was a pause, before the man slowly spoke again.


    "Yes...I kill...any...nearby"


    "Well...we''re looking for the commands or directives they were given, you think we can borrow them for a while?"


    "of course...I...have plenty" He soon started walking back into the blizzard, and we followed.


    "So...you, didn''t really answer the question"


    "I have...always lived here...I''ve been here...many years now...5...maybe 10...I do not...keep much track...it has always been winter."


    "Must be difficult...the cold..." Sam tried to empathize with them.


    "It...is nothing...winter...was much harsher...back then" A cabin''s outline began forming through all the snow, the lights acting like a guide. When we got close enough, the man rustled through the puffy jacket, taking out a key, unlocking the door. We all stepped inside, and instantly, we were back to being warm, the cabin felt safe. I looked around, empty seats to the side, an armchair by the crackling fireplace, bookshelves on either side of it, filled to the very top with books, some had a red label, yellow label, and green label. "That''s to mark what I have and haven''t read yet" The man spoke much better when we were inside.


    "ah...was...that an act or...?" Sam was confused enough to ask.


    "No, it''s a certain technique I''ve learned in this never ending winter, speaking too fast ruins it, as such...well you heard"


    "So it''s second nature to you" The man looked at me.


    "Yes..."


    "What?"


    "Your hair...is it...meant to be that color?"


    "Yeah...?"


    "I see...well...let''s get back to what you''re here for" Many dangerous things were laid out in the open, no defenses or anything, is this guy the only living soul in this world? The question entered my mind. He put one of the robots on a workbench. "You recall where it is?"


    "Yeah" I stepped forward, Kaz got off my shoulder and went to the ground. "Should be..." I felt around before I pressed a button, just a random button. The jaws of the robot opened, and once more, the audio played.


    "You understand your role right? We don''t have a choice here" It seemed to have recorded an irrelevant conversation.


    "I get that...but, we can''t have things falling apart"


    "They wouldn''t have fallen apart if you understood what orders mean, you follow them, and it''s final!"


    "Understood...I''ll...I''ll try my best" The audio cut soon after.


    "Hm..." The man stood there, watching. "He seems rather bothered by whatever order he was given. I don''t think they''d have the same mission as the robots...otherwise the robots would just be told to do it...then more will be made for the same reason"


    "Agreed...so what could it have been."


    TTS Active


    Lee: Ken!


    Ken: We got it already


    Lee: What?


    Nicholai: The audio recording, that was what you were referring to yes?


    Lee: Yes, it was...but how?


    Nicholai: Seems any documents or recordings you intend to share will be put into the team files...which we weren''t told about it by a random popup in the middle of my work.


    Ken: We''ll be looking into it, take care


    TTS Deactive.


    The man looked at me, surprised.


    "Did...your magic just work?"


    "Yeah, What''s the problem?"


    "I uh...can''t get mine to work" Sam spoke behind me, making me understand the man''s point.


    "Why can mine then?"


    "Snow..." He looked back to my hair. "You''re not affected by the snow..."


    "The snow can cancel magic?" The man nodded at my inquiry.


    "Yet...you''re not affected by it..."


    "Do you have more robots?" Kaz spoke to the man.


    "I have more...but they''re damaged"


    "I''m sure we ca-


    "Heavily, damaged"


    "Oh..."


    "If I may, can I just get the recordings from them? I have a friend who might be able to mimic the robot''s play feature"


    "Alright...if you so wish" Following my request the man went somewhere, I could hear metal tearing before he came back with 2 more audio hard drives. "Here"


    "Thanks for the help" I took the hard drives and stored them away. The man went to sit on the chair beside the campfire.


    "Um...if I can ask...how did you find us" Sam walked to the man.


    "Your friend, is corrupted, people have ways to find those kinds of people."


    "Like those hunters" The man winced at my words.


    "I, was one before, we weren''t meant to kill them...they were just outlawed...to be contained...they killed them with no mercy, I couldn''t be in a group like that" He looked to the floor. "They swore they''d find me...solitude, was my only solution"


    "You can''t even be in Eaxura?"


    "Eaxura...outlaws the corrupted too...your friend...I do not know why he is exempt from this"


    "Well...it''s been years right? You''ve been here so long you consider it your whole life...things may have changed"


    "Maybe...but I cannot be so sure they''d spare me, you''ve gotten what you''ve come for yes? I have some reading to get to" From the arm of the chair, he grabbed an unfinished book, flipping the pages before perfectly recalling where he was. I cut open a portal and we headed in.


    "First mission I didn''t get brutalized in, hopefully it stays that way" I rolled my neck while holding it.


    "Well, we didn''t really get to do much as handlers" Kenneth, pushing himself from the desk, flew by on a swivel seat till he was in front of us.


    "Why''re you in the main room?"


    "Figured I''d greet you all when you got back" I looked over to where the computer was. "...alright, actually put my stuff here so Dave and Nicholai could work peacefully."


    "Much more noble goal" Sam commented.


    "Right...so?"


    "Here''s your so" I handed him the two drives. "If you can...can you get these going?"


    "I can probably just find the type of file and make a program to play it, much better than recreating the whole damn robot vocals." He pressed his foot on the floor and kicked off back to his PC. "I''ll have it done in a bit, come back then"


    "Alright, gonna visit Nicholai then" As I said, I walked over to the corner room and entered, the Humvee like vehicle was much better than before, it seemed more sturdy and ready for conflict, I could also see the frame of another car hanging from the ceiling. And in her section, now with walls, I could see Nicholai working on things through the window. I walked over and knocked, resulting in the door opening a few moments later.


    "Back already?"


    "As you know we didn''t have to go killing them ourselves"


    "Right" She turned back to her work.


    "What''re you working on?"''


    "Something Kenneth wanted"


    "Oh?"


    "It''s a contact lens, it''ll hopefully connect you to Dave, that way, you can see what we see if you have one of those false visions again, or so we can see those false visions with you, it''ll probably also let Dave help you better"


    "So why''re are you making it?"


    "Do you see technicians prescribing medication?"


    "Fair enough, so how''s the progress?"


    "Kenneth has Dave working on that stealth car hanging from the ceiling, so it''s harder to work with stuff involving him...but...I''m managing, I find it unlikely it''ll be done soon though"


    "So that''s what the car was?"


    "Huh?"


    "I saw it hanging up there, didn''t know what it was though"


    "Yeah, and he''s killing my damn budget alongside his."


    "Well, if you need some extra, I haven''t really bought anything...I''m surprised you even managed to get all this"


    "I appreciate the over, but I don''t like owing people things"


    "I wouldn''t say you''d owe me anything, if anything I owe you for all the times you beat safety into our heads" She placed a vial in one of those vial holders, that can hold many at once, before looking at me.


    "If I''m low and really need something, I''ll consider it"


    "Alright, I''ll leave you to it" I headed back for the door before she spoke.


    "Actually, before you go, sit down" I turned back around, and took the closest seat I could. "Just a minute" While I waited I looked around, everything in the room looked like it costs thousands, devices that are spinning, three monitors for a single PC, cabinets filled to the brim with marked things, stuff I''ve never heard of. She got up from her chair with a flashlight. "I spent some time looking in that book, you can typically see how far along it is and when we need to overdrive it" With no warning she flashed the light in my eye, it was overwhelmingly bright, yet I powered through and kept my eyes open. "Look left" I followed her order. "Right, down, up" I listened to every order she gave the moment she spoke them, and without warning, with a curved hammer she hit right under my kneecap, forcing my leg to kick up. Soon later the light clicked off.


    "How is it?"


    "Barely anything changed, your leg reflex was just very slightly different"


    "You know that?"


    "Need I remind you the fact you couldn''t go to the hospital or you''d get put in a foster home?"


    "I...see your point"


    "I''m the team doctor for a reason, don''t contest me"


    "Well, maybe if you were nicer I-"


    "Oh no, Corruption is spreading, here, have this vial, disgusting medicine"


    "Alright! Alright! I''m sorry" Nicholai wasn''t very amused. She walked back over and sat down, her seat turning slightly.


    "You''re good to go, if anything happens give me a holler" She went back to the vials while I stood up and left. Hearing that Dave was working on the car, I looked up back to the hanging vehicle and squinted, and just barely, I made out the faint blue lights from Dave.


    "Hey Dave!" After finishing what he was doing, he floated down.


    "Hello sir"


    "How''ya holding?"


    "I..." He registered what I meant for a moment. "I am...holding...well, the vehicle is progressing well too, though I am unable to estimate the time of completion"


    "That''s alright, we don''t mind working on foot, make sure not to push yourself"


    "I will be okay, I would not be good help if I could not be as capable as you all"


    "Still, we don''t want you breaking something while we''re not here"


    "Understood, I will do more to tend to myself"


    "Good, take care" Dave tilted forward, mimicking a nod, before he ascended back to the car.


    TTS Active


    Ken: Lee, it''s good to go


    TTS Deactive


    I rushed back over to the main room, Sam was beside Kenneth while he typed away, and a moment later, Nicholai joined us.


    "Ready?" He stopped typing, hovering the mouse over the play button.


    "Yeah" He clicked, and the audio played.


    "We can''t manage in this small space, we need somewhere bigger"


    "Do you even have any ideas in mind?"


    "Not at the moment...well...actually...a few ideas...but I haven''t checked myself" Their voices were stern, a woman and a man speaking to each other.


    "Well get to it then if you wanna bitch about it so much, this is the seventh time this day"


    "Because we''re having things explode, like that reject" Even though there was no video, I could assume they pointed at the robot currently recording. "We need better machinery"


    "Well...I may have a planet in mind" The audio cut.


    "This next one is from the same robot, so" He clicked play again.


    "How''s that planet checking going?"


    "Perfect...a perfect place...it''s far from Eaxura, yet in the same multiverse, though, The Lillies are there too" I could hear a small breath from everyone around me, especially Sam and Kaz. The Lillies...the same from earth?...No...No...that can''t be right..yet, that''s when the outbreak happened, that was when people got more hostile...this...could actually be real. "We''ll have to compromise with them, but I already have an idea."


    "Care to elaborate?"


    "They''re working on something, I say we give them a little help with it"


    "Heh, alright...where''s this supposed perfect planet?"


    "Marivo, Marivo is the planet they''re on." An unrivaled rage went through me, The Lillies caused it all...there was a small suspicion of it, but now it was there...and the same people who caused it, are now working with Corruption hunters...the only reason we lived is because I had multiple chances...


    "What''s the plan" Kenneth turned his chair to face me. "We can probably get in without getting noticed, I don''t think Raymond would mind helping"


    "Yeah...the people who caused the outbreak deserve the hell that''s gonna be coming" Nicholai had a glint in her eyes. I took a breath, I understood something, we couldn''t win if we went to face them head on.


    "We sabotage" I spoke. "If they caused the outbreak, and they have killer robots, we get them to turn on their creators, I think Kenneth can manage when the audio files weren''t even encrypted...and Nicholai is our doc for a reason"


    "So we have our plan?" Kaz hopped up onto the table.


    "Yeah, Marivo...here we come" As much as I wanted to think about it rationally, and how I managed to for a while surprised me, yet, a different feeling took over and I could hear the faint sound of glass cracking as the thought came to me.


    That life of suffering...they''ll feel all of it, I''ll see to that

 Chapter 11: Marivo and Mystery

    Marivo, the location the Lillies are, along with the hunters. The Journal closed, pressed together by a hand. The current possessor of the Journal, a girl just a bit younger than Lee was at the time of writing. She leaned back on her seat, sighing after reading up to that point.


    "Seems we got our lead." She looked out the window, the crew was in space, aboard a massive ship, amongst the stars and pieces of rocks in space, planets scattered about also took a smaller part in the space present. She got out of her seat and headed over to someone''s desk, tapping on it. "Hanabi!" After not getting a response, she slammed her fist on the table, getting an immediate reaction of her jumping up.


    "W..wha, where are we" Hanabi, someone with red hair and a red jacket, she never bothered putting her hair up even if it went down halfway her back.


    "In space, like we were two hours ago"


    "So...why wake me up?" Hanabi rubbed her eyes before looking up at the girl.


    "We found where we''re going, Marivo, it''s not too far away."


    "Should I get Dev and the others?"


    "I''ll handle the two, you can get Dev and Maiko" The girl left Hanabi to it, as she herself, went into a room labeled S.U. Upon entry, she could see a machine at the backend, to the left of it was a high-end PC, with four monitors, one of the monitors being on, and showcasing a simulated mission. She took a seat at the PC. She was the creator of this device after all, seeing how well it''s doing is her job. She looked at the screen and saw her two teammates going through a mission.


    "Why the hell did you fight that!" The guy in the blue jacket yelled at his fellow teammate who also wore a blue sweater.


    "Seems they''re having fun" The girl mumbled, raising her hand she pressed a key on the keyboard, after pressing a few more the machine started up, loud, bright, all words that can describe how the machine is presenting itself. A bright light appeared at the center of the machine, the blue sweater one almost tripped over, while the one with the dark blue jacket stood firmly as they were transported into the room. "How''d the simulation go?"


    "Get Random a leech"


    "Hey Rose" Random, it was their actual name, not a random name, but quite literally named "Random", it''s caused confusion on many occasions, but those used to it end up confusing those that aren''t.


    "If we gave Random a leach he couldn''t be helpful" The man in the blue jacket adjusted their tie after Rose''s reply to his request.


    "Did you need something Rose?"


    "Need you two at the front, we have a lead, Marivo is the planet, it''s been ages so I doubt we''ll get exactly what we need, but it''s something, Maruki, you mind getting Len? Hanabi already has the other two"


    "Not at all" The dark blue jacket man, Maruki, set off into the ship''s hallway to get his search going. The two, Random and Rose, headed to the command center, the very front of the ship, where they were greeted by Hanabi and the people she got. Dev, someone who doesn''t have a single pound of skin or hair showing as they wore a heavy mask on their face, and their body was protected by heavy armor coated in all black, he was the tallest of everyone by a whole foot and half. Maiko had a shine through her hair along with a tied up bun at the very back, her jacket was the brightest being a type of a lighter grey.


    "We finally have our mark?" Dev spoke, his voice sounding like gravel.


    "Mhmh, took long enough" Rose walked to the very front, taking a seat at the General''s desk. She swiveled around till she faced the window, it soon becoming a screen.


    "Marivo seems to still be inhabited after all this time...quite a lovely place actually from these photos" Maiko described the planet. "A whole city spanning half the planet as well"


    "It''s not that big of a planet, makes sense" Hanabi started munching on a food bar halfway through the conversation.


    "Well while you''re there" Len and Maruki walked in the room, Len, the eldest of the group, in his 40s, tended to the kitchen to ensure it was as efficient as it could be. Len walked up to Rose''s desk before placing a list. "We need more stuff"


    "Don''t you have enough?" Rose turned back to face Len.


    "We did have enough, but it seems our pantry had a hole in it." It didn''t literally, everyone knew what Len meant by that, some even faced towards Hanabi as a response.


    "I''m still growing alright!?"


    "You''re always growing...no wait, we''re all growing!" Maruki quickly snapped back at Hanabi''s statement.


    "..." Dev didn''t have a desk of his own, he wasn''t staying forever, only temporarily did their goals intertwine.


    "Whatcha thinking about Dev?"


    "It wouldn''t be best for us all to go, or even take this ship" Looking at Maruki''s desk, he looked at the photos of the place that was being projected at everyone''s workplace.


    "Yeah, they''re the Lillies, and those hunters too, that is even if they stayed...regardless we need to be careful...we''ll take a ship in the hangar" Was the response that Rose gave.


    "That would be for the best" Dev tilted his head slightly in agreement.


    "Maruki, Random, Hanabi and I will go" She tapped something on her wrist, marking everyone she mentioned before a new team formed in their HUDs. ''Ground Team'' "Rest of you can stay up here with the other Guardians and watch over the ship" She twirled her finger in the air, symbolizing the ground team to start following. The four went to the hangar, filled with dangerous ships that must be handled carefully when under construction or repair.


    "General Rose!" The Guardian saluted the girl, though they were older and around longer, yet, they respected her regardless. "What brings you by the hangar?"


    "Can you get us a ship? Not with much, we just need to touch down on the planet for a bit."


    "Understood, just a moment Ma''am!" They bowed forward before running off.


    "Thanks" Random responded in Rose''s stead. Rose was more focused on the planet, even from space it looked grand, faint colors of lights could be seen.


    "Alright" It didn''t take even a few minutes for the Guardian to return. "We got a ship for you"


    "Fast as always" Rose smirked in accomplishment


    "You''ll be taking the ship in holding 2-4F" They pointed at the ship to help guide them to the right place.


    "Thanks for the help, come on crew" Random followed closely behind Rose, Hanabi and Maruki gave a quick nod to the Guardian as a thankful gesture. The ship wasn''t small, but not spectacularly large either, it was perfectly tailored for the purpose they needed. "Take your seats, and let''s take our bets on how this is gonna go" She sat on the pilot''s chair, a new menu on her HUD appearing showing multiple diagnostics of the ship, the others sat in seats in the main part of the ship, bars came from above them to keep them in place while the ship was flying.


    "We''re getting into a fight is my bet"


    "Of course it is" Maruki looked at Random who was on the other side of him.


    "I just hope everything goes smoothly" Hanabi was closest to the cockpit of the ship, she looked out the window as well, mostly worried about this ship not being prepared for what may happen.


    "Everything well?" A Guardian spoke through Rose''s HUD.


    "Yup, we''re good to go, nothing wrong"


    "Alright, be careful, and take care" Rose pulled a lever after the ship was released, only a moment later did the ship blast out of the hangar and towards the planet. After a minute of flying, the door of the ship where they had entered, had a screen appear where the briefing appeared, along with Rose talking.


    "Keep in mind why we''re here, this planet, if nothing has changed all these years, is filled with Lillies and C Hunters, as such, we get in, we find their main B.O.O, get our lead, and get out, anything else is purely optional." There was a pause. "Except for Len''s shopping list, understand?"


    "Yup yup!" Everyone responded the same way. The screen changed but not going away, instead a blank profile picture that spoke to the team.


    "Your ship is unregistered in Marivo''s systems, identify yourselves, now" Rose turned on the mic to the radio.


    "Identifying sign, ''G.O.T.T-01''" Silence, until it continued.


    "What is this unannounced visit for?" Rose sighed, the sign wasn''t a lie, however would she have said it fully instead of an acronym...this would have gone much worse.


    "A supply stop, we''ve been in space for a bit now"


    "Understood, your landing space is glowing now" Minutes passed as the group entered the planet''s orbit, the fast travel turned into a slow descent as the shiny, bright city that they had assumed awaited them, in reality was more of a dystopian, where it looked like a city with tall buildings, yet the quality of them was akin to the slums. Rose soon landed the ship on the designated spot they were assigned before everyone got out from their seats, the door to the ship going down to act like a ramp to the very clearly unmaintained landing pads. It didn''t take long before the planet''s guards walked up to the ship either.


    "Move aside, we''re here to inspect the ship" Rose''s neutral expression swiftly changed to be more annoyed.


    "Oh fuc-" Maruki covered her mouth before more issues could arise.


    "Be our guest" He put on a fake smile as the guards walked past them. Once they had, he let go of Rose. "Listen, I''ll stay back and make sure they don''t mess with anything, you three get to it"


    "Good luck" Random waved Maruki goodbye as the three went without any further resistance. The smell of smoke was the majority, smaller smells made it worse, and the smoke somehow became preferable over the others quickly.


    "This place is horrible..."Hanabi complained to the others.


    "We''ll get used to it...hopefully" Rose shifted her eyes elsewhere as she began thinking more. "Oh right, while we''re here, better get that shopping list settled." Like before the others followed closely behind, even more now that a crowd had begun forming along the streets. The two left it to Rose to get stuff on the list, as all the street vendors seemed to be overly hostile. "Too costly considering the normal bags are double the size" Rose began to argue with one after they had their prices nearly triple the rate of normal.


    "If you don''t like it, it is none of my concern, I am just making an honest living, and this bag is bigger than retail"


    "An honest living, bigger than retail? Pal you think I can''t see that discolored trash?" The vendor quickly feigned ignorance, even switching to another language, however, after a few sentences from the vendor, there was a small click from Rose as she started speaking in that language too, being much more than a fluent speaker of it. After a few more sentences the vendor banged their fist on the table.


    "If you do not leave now, I will call for the guards" Random stepped up after the vendor spoke.


    "Wouldn''t do much good"


    "Tsk...half price"


    "Still more than retail."


    "Half price...of retail..." Random and Rose continued to stare the vendor down.


    "Fine" She put down a few credits before taking the bag. The rest of the supplies went off without a hitch, no struggle, no haggling, no deceiving. Rose desummoned it all, course, her space was limited, but it was better than carrying it normally. "Now all that''s left is to sneak in" Rose made sure she spoke quietly, there were people all around the place.


    "Yeah...the sooner the better" Random looked around too. The place has a new feeling, suffocation. The three made sure to move quickly through the crowds, if they were separated, it was only a minor issue, reaching the objective took priority. Hanabi was the first to make it, placing her hand against the wall to rest.


    "Took you all long enough" By the time Random and Rose had made it, Hanabi had fully recovered from the energy wasted to reach here.


    "Long enough? How did you get here this fast?" Hanabi took out her staff, bringing it down to half size.


    "People tend to move when something is hitting their back" Soon after she desummoned it like before.


    "Can''t just go whacking people you know" Rose knew the habit would continue, however this way she can''t blame the others for not giving a warning prior. "Nevermind...the lead is most likely in this building, as such, Random, be my guest" The door they were at was locked, but forcing their way in wouldn''t be very difficult. Random pressed his shield against the door, after a charge, a blast knocked the door off its hinges and onto the floor inside. The three went in but not before peeking around the corners of the room, no one, but there were many pieces of machinery deactivated.


    "You got it Rose" Random gave a thumbs up to Rose as she leaned on the wall, the other two would get to looking around. Something appeared in front of Rose, not the HUD, but not a menu either, instead, a panel filled with complicated numbers and words. Hacking things of course was much easier now, it didn''t even require anything to be on. Hanabi and Random made their way through the building encountering an elevator on the way, any button wouldn''t work, they waited, but nothing, this elevator couldn''t be influenced. "Well...what now?" Hanabi peeked out the elevator, no staircases.


    "Step aside" Random followed the suggestion, standing just out of the elevator. Hanabi''s staff reappeared bursting through the door at the top of the elevator. Getting up was easy, all that was needed was the staff to boost themselves up. "Oh come on..." Hanabi had come to realize just how tall the building was, the top floor was a long climb.


    "Let''s get to it!" Random had already begun the climb with an enthusiastic attitude, Hanabi could only sigh before she joined him, although that in itself is an overstatement, as she could barely keep up.


    While the two climbed, Rose was still at the first floor, she clicked away at the panel, tapping her foot on the floor to keep focus at the near endless resistance that the facility had against any outside intrusions. When she had breathing room, she took another look around the area, the door they had just knocked down, it would definitely be noticed later on, hopefully they were gone by then. The machinery, stuff in a factory, yet not soley that, heavily armored robots, similar to the armor Dev wore but more akin to a prototype. ''what''re they working on...?'' Rose thought to herself, it could be many things after all, mining robots to go against pirates and the intense heat of most planet cores? Military drones and machines to go against people like them? It was hard to decide if she should bother hacking into them, it could just be a waste of time, and the risk of alarms only made the choice harder. ''It''ll be fiiine'' She thought once more, yet that thinking was broken by something moving in the corner of the room. She got a few minutes every time she reached a breathing point in her breakthrough, however it was only a matter of time before the next onslaught came.


    Rose let out a breath before closing the panel, it was better to check the immediate issue.


    "Hey, I know you''re over there, no use hiding now" There was no response, yet Rose was sure of it, someone was there. She walked over, clearly annoyed, she summoned her sword and aimed it at the pile. "I''m not repeating myself" Once more, Rose was bothered by the lack of a reply, or even a sliver of movement. She kicked the boxes away and was promptly greeted by someone lying down, their face tilted to the side, their eyes dull and lifeless. "What the..." The words came out mostly as a breath, this body just moved something a moment ago, and here it was, now a husk. She flipped her sword so the hilt faced the body instead of herself, she jabbed forward, most of the body didn''t move, however, the husk''s lips quivered momentarily.


    Rose crouched down, soon getting on one knee while she inspected the body, it was alive, somewhat, just barely, after gritting her teeth she decided something, it was more strain, more pressure on her, but it was better than leaving this husk to die here of all places. She sat against the wall before bringing back her panel, splitting it to two, whenever there was downtime she''d work on keeping them alive, at least that was hoping they had some tech in them.


    "You can hear me right? Here''s hoping you''re not useless"


    Hanabi and Random had eventually made it to the top, Random rather unfazed while Hanabi was catching her breath, both were in shape, however climbing was very much out of her skillset.


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    "How''re we even bringing the lead down? What if they''re a person?" Random shrugged as a response. "Fantastic" With no more spare time Hanabi forced herself to trudge through the exhaustion and get moving.


    Hanabi: How''s the hacking going?


    Rose: Currently resurrecting a corpse


    Maruki: I know I''m meant to focus on the guards...but seeing as they left, what the hell are you talking about?


    Rose: There''s a husk here, working on them whenever I get breathing room


    Hanabi: isn''t the whole point of the breathing room program so that you could not be in pain?


    Rose: Well, If I don''t do it, who''s to say all the robots here won''t? I don''t need a husk that can''t feel pain attack me.


    Hanabi: If you decide to do it, then I won''t contest any more...you didn''t answer my main question


    Rose: Good, far enough that the alarms won''t trigger if a guard hits a button


    Hanabi: Alriiighty


    "That door meant to be open" Upon hearing a guard the two slid into cover behind very expensive decor. The guard started running past them, Hanabi smirked before using the force of her staff to knock over the expensive decorations, shattering it.


    "Ah! N-no...oh no no" The guard rushed over, not even seeing Hanabi move elsewhere.


    "I told you before! We don''t run in here! Now who''s paying for that!?" Hanabi looked over to Random before they both nodded, Random with his shield, Hanabi with her staff, slammed their weapons down onto the heads of the guards. knocking them to the floor and probably putting them in a coma for an unspecified amount of time.


    "Fufu~" Hanabi hopped over the unconscious body and begun heading down the hall. "Random, this door is probably where they are." The door was locked upon checking the handle.


    "Seems we''re busting in!" Random readied his shield again.


    "On three then, one, two, and three!"


    Rose was still downstairs, she had gained more breathing time.


    "Alright, onto hopefully not a murderer" She moved the main panel away and went to the secondary one, it was much simpler, no resistence or alarm systems, allowing an easy breakthrough. Minutes passed before the previously a husk man started coughing up a storm. They tried to stand. "I wouldn''t try that, you just came back."


    "Where the hell am I?" They clearly sounded panicked, and a greater look could estimate they were in their very early 20s, nothing higher.


    "Some factory...why don''t you know?"


    "I don''t know anything!"


    "..." Rose just looked down at the man.


    "I mean it!...my memory...I think someone wiped it" Rose was ready to comment on it, but then understood something. ''He had tech in his brain...only way I could revive him...not too far fetched to say someone''s memory was wiped''


    "Let''s believe you for now, do you even recall your name?"


    "I...don''t..." Rose sighed.


    "Can you even do anything?"


    "I still have some skill with guns...good pilot too" Rose considered things for a moment before responding.


    "You''re with us then"


    "Huh?"


    "You prefer I leave you here to die? Need I remind you, you were just dying a moment ago."


    "o-of course not! Who...are you anyways?"


    "Rose, General of the Guardians for the time being"


    "You look like a kid!"


    "I can disable your brain again if that''s preferred"


    "I retract my previous comment then"


    "Good"


    Hanabi and Random after a few tries, busted through the double door into the main room, bullets immediately flew at them so they slid back against the walls.


    "Any ideas?" Hanabi looked at Random, he was about to move until she spoke again. "That''s not just running into gunfire?" Random crouched back down. "Figured...actually...Maruki was just getting here..." After some time in her HUD, Hanabi took out a laser pointer, revealing as little skin as possible, she aimed out the window of the room where the gunfire was coming from, she turned it on and off multiple times.


    Maruki: I see it, standby


    After a moment, the window shattered. Breaking through the window was a baton, it released a charge of electricity before Maruki himself warped on top of the weapon. The other two rushed in, Hanabi swung her staff, hitting a guard into the wall before slamming the staff down on the top of their head, Random, using the blades on his shield, threw his, stabbing into a guard before exploding. Maruki, seeing a chance, primed a kick and slammed his leg into the flying guard who just got hit with the shield, but before they could be sent back at Random, Maruki curved his ankle and slammed his foot down.


    "We good?"


    "Yeah...but...what angle did you have to throw your baton in here?"


    "That over there" Maruki pointed to a high structure. "I just warped multiple times"


    "You made sure to use the device and not the magic right?"


    "I used the device, last I need is to be scolded by Rose while dying." The three looked around the room. There was a laptop, that was everything, no hidden door or device, no flash drives, Only the laptop.


    "It''s locked too..." Hanabi looked defeated. "I guess Rose has another job..."


    "I got it" Hanabi thought Random was going to hack it, instead, he just meant he was holding onto it.


    "Right...guess we go back down. The trio, seeing they have nothing else to do here, went back to the elevator, descending by using the lines in the middle. It was much faster than climbing, and they soon returned to the factory floor.


    "Guess we''ll just call you Mo"


    "I''m fine with that...better than being called a husk...or john doe"


    "Much better" Rose looked over to the elevator as the two returned with Maruki now with them. "Find anything?"


    "A laptop, locked though"


    "Better than nothing...we got a newcomer too"


    "Well, welcome aboard!" Hanabi gave a warm introduction.


    "Yo" Random raised his hand in a welcoming gesture.


    "We gotta get going, you at least remember how to walk right?" Mo nodded at Rose''s question. "Then off your ass, we don''t have much time to spare." With aid from Maruki, Mo stood up, and the new member with the four started sprinting off. Two minutes after they left, the alarms went off.


    "Thought you got the alarms?" Hanabi looked at Rose.


    "I got all the buttons and lasers you triggered, I didn''t get the manual input, I did get the robots though, the ones that looked lethal at least"


    "Good enough!" Random commented. A crowd started forming at the building, it was a clear issue that these 5 unknown strangers were running away from a building that had blaring alarms.


    "Hanabi, mind getting the ship started from here?" Rose looked back at her while they ran, she nodded and opened her HUD. "Mo"


    "Hegh!?"


    "You said you can pilot stuff right?"


    "Y-yeah?"


    "Hopefully you flew something similar to our ships." The five ran onto the landing pads.


    "Hey! It''s them! Where are our bots!?" Rose flipped them off with her middle finger before the crew went into the ship.


    "Mo, you''re up! Better not be lying!" Feeling the pressure from Rose, Mo sat in the pilot''s seat.


    "Alright..." It was somewhat familiar to Mo, though some buttons were unfamiliar to him. Rose''s sword turned into a rifle as the four began firing at the guards. After the ship started up, Mo pulled the lever, causing the ship to take off, the door slowly closing.


    "Back up!" The four shuffled back as the door fully closed, taking their seats, with Rose taking the second one in the front. "You managed well"


    "I surprise myself"


    "That massive ship far off" Rose pointed through the glass. "That''s the main ship we''re in"


    "Wouldn''t that be an interstellar ship then?...and this is a shuttle?" Rose paused.


    "I don''t get into specifics" She leaned back into her seat. "We''ll be flying for a while...if you got any questions...I wouldn''t blame you for asking them."


    "Well...who exactly are you all?"


    "We''re guardians, people who help out others all across multiverses, though currently we''re looking for a lead, there''s a lot going on nowadays" Rose looked out the window, thinking about past years. "Before I forget, I''m Rose as you now, the red-haired one is Hanabi, the dark-blue jacket one is Maruki, and the last one is Random"


    "Random what?"


    "That''s just his name, Random, it is his name, don''t question it"


    "Alright...What is the lead meant to lead to?"


    "To a faction, they''re a part of the Lillies, but not many people know of them...hell we don''t either, we were going to investigate somewhere else as well, though that one is a lot more...quiet?"


    "Right...well, why are people your age handling this?"


    "We need everyone, simple as that, if you can fight, you''re needed...we don''t force people...but we really need everyone"


    "It''s that dire huh?" Rose nodded.


    "People are fighting one another for little reason, our home dimension is hanging in there, and corruptors are at an all time high and risk."


    "So that''s why you made me one of you so quickly" Once more, she nodded.


    "We can''t afford to put every single person through some program."


    "I get that...one last one for now...why are the Lillies the enemy?"


    "They started a virus on earth...killed a bunch of people, almost the entire planet cause of it...now they''re traitors, and with new powers they just do whatever they want, all cuz some god''s script"


    "So a cult"


    "Not exactly, but I see where you get that from." The shuttle had entered the ship, touching down in the hangar. "Aaaand we''re here" Rose stood up, stretching. "Welcome aboard" All five of them walked out of the shuttle.


    "Welcome back General" A few of the Guardians waved at Rose.


    "Rose" One Guardian however, walked up to her.


    "What is it?"


    "We can''t stall the investigation anymore"


    "I''ll handle it"


    "Understood" The guardian ran off back to work.


    "What''s that about?" Mo questioned.


    "We had to hold off an investigation for this mission, to just get a laptop though..." Rose was clearly bothered by this, yet it wasn''t anything she could change.


    "Well...I''ll just try doing my best to make it worth it"


    "I guess..." Rose tapped her foot. "Maruki, Hanabi"


    "Yes Rose?"


    "Mind watching over Mo while I do some work with the laptop?"


    "Not at all" Maruki agreed to it, seeing no reason not to.


    "Well, take care." Rose ran off, Random seemingly taking his own route too.


    "Must have good luck Mo, your first day involves an investigation" Hanabi did a small gesture with her hands, glimmer and shines appeared above her.


    "Is it really right for someone like me to tag along?"


    "If anything it''s better" Maruki looked of elsewhere, more focused on the hangar''s crew. "You have no bias, no prior information, meaning, you may find important things we accidently consider useless"


    "I see..."


    "We won''t go immediately, there''s someone else we gotta see." Maruki led the way, the other two still following. "Before you ask, her name is Maiko, she ain''t some prodigy, but she''s certainly great at...convincing...people to stop slacking off"


    "And how so?"


    "She''ll drain their blood out" Hanabi pitched in.


    "She sounds...lovely..."


    "Heh, just do your job and she is" In the hallway they took a right, entering another massive room, similar to the hangar, however, the area the ships left through was replaced with a massive window. Many half done things hang from the ceiling, not abandoned, instead, a more efficient way, ''if the ship were to get attacked, it''s better to have multiple weaker weapons than a single one'' was Maiko''s logic, it had worked many times, it would continue to as far as they knew. On the sides were different things, more wearable, or manual operation type of things, mech, armor, anything in that category. "Maiko!" Maruki shouted upwards, Maiko sat on a seat suspended by heavy chains.


    "Back so soon?"


    "Rose should be sending the report"


    "Right, no need to question the new guy then"


    "Won''t do much good anyways" Mo responded. Maiko pressed a switch, promptly making the seat she sat on descend till it was just barely above the ground.


    "Right, I see it now, so, what do you want from me?" She stood up before scavenging her pockets, upon realizing they were empty she looked in a direction, slightly irritated.


    "We need to continue the investigation...so we need a car"


    "Can''t you just warp?"


    "No uplink, we''d be warping randomly"


    "And your previous car?"


    "..."


    "Hanabi?"


    "Well, we may have had a little incident, that...completely wrecked the car"


    "...so that was the junk that rolled in that day...huh" Maiko looked around the room. "You still owe me you know for the previous repairs"


    "Come on Maiko, you can settle just this once"


    "I have before, you still owe me money"


    "Fine...how much?" Maiko looked up to the mess that used to be a car.


    "850,000"


    "Bullshit"


    "Say it all you want, I think you forget how expensive the cars you get are, and how much I keep fixing it for free"


    "Alright, alright" A massive hit to Maruki''s bank account was processed as he paid off his debt, along with a bit more for the new vehicle.


    "We''re even now, so, since there''s no uplinks, should I have the AI lead the way?"


    "If you can spare it, yeah" Maiko nodded before whistling.


    "Hallow''s crew! Need an G-Interceptor"


    "Alright Maiko! We''ll have it down in a bit" Hallow''s crew, practically Maiko''s main assistance in keeping the place running, got to work instantly, pulling on chains to bring the main body down before getting the wheels in.


    "Anything else before I get back to my project?"


    "We''ll be on a planet with mostly humans, as such..."


    "Guns, alright, you know where the armory is, bring back the guns in one piece and I won''t charge you a penny" Maiko got back on the seat before it ascended again, without even waiting for an affirmation, she got back to work on her project, something that took up a quarter of the whole room.


    "What''s your preference Mo?" Hanabi was already at the armory, taking a look at all the wares.


    "You already trust me with a gun?"


    "Can''t really afford not to, you expect us to baby you all day?" Maruki on arrival leaned on the counter.


    "Eheheh, newcomer not used to all my wares ay?" Though that wasn''t what they were talking about, Mo, when he did look at the weapons, realized they looked nothing alike to what he was used to, even with his limited memory. K-Car, Voltage-U.B, just a few weapons on the back wall.


    "We''re not taking anything heavy Ozzman, just checking a scene."


    "Even investigators need their protection, at least a look at my smaller wares should suffice" Maruki got off the counter as Ozzman grabbed it, it was connected to a hinge, pulling it away revealed more guns of the smaller variety, handguns, hand cannons, the sort.


    "L.P-Pistol for me" Maruki said it in a certain tone, a dull tone, one that makes anyone understand this phrase has been repeated many times before.


    "M.F version for me"


    "I''ll...just take...any really" Ozzman took out another L.P-Pistol for Mo.


    "Be sure to bring em back, they cost a pretty penny."


    "Hehe, of course" Mo tried smiling, although anxious. Mo took one more look at Maiko while they headed to the car, she was working intently on a panel of whatever machine project she was doing, all he knew is that there were many wires, control boards, and an empty slot in the center. They soon entered the vehicle, Mo sat in the back behind the driver seat which soon got occupied by Maruki. Anything outside the car soon became a blur, and just as fast, they were on the streets of a city at night. "What the hell!?" Mo almost sunk into his seat from surprise.


    "I would say to relax, but all things considered...yeah" Maruki started the engine before the drive began.


    "Drive carefully"


    "Look who''s talki-"


    "So...um" Mo interjected. "You four...that Random guy, and Rose, you all friends or something?"


    "Me, Hanabi and Rose knew each other way before Random, Rose and I were bunker kids, and we met Hanabi almost instantly after we escaped . Random was a friend of a friend, think we met about...one, two years ago?"


    "...and you all do this now?"


    "Heh, not much of a glow up right?" Hanabi looked at the mirror on her side, seemingly bored. "Sadly we''re not really prodigies of anything like other DTs, we just trudge along, Maiko is the exception, a bit of Rose too, Maruki and I just get lucky most of the time."


    "Some cases we pull off cool things"


    "Yet they''re still sending you to investigate a crime scene?"


    "Yeah...weird world...oh! Speaking of the crime scene, here" After maneuvering through his HUD and driving steadily, he handed Mo a summary of the scene which he promptly read. It seemed like an attack on a company, most of the outside burned, and apparently, no one saw anything that happened. Mo put away the summary, there wasn''t much more conversation until they had reached the scene.


    "There you all ar-" An officer at the scene spoke towards the group, the building behind them, the one burned, still stood upright, yet the outer walls had been burned heavily. "Who''s the new person?"


    "Mo, not a long story but one I can''t be bothered getting into" Maruki gave a direct answer, seemingly enough for the officer.


    "Well, if they''re with you, I won''t bother questioning it" The officer returned to their clipboard, the three went inside and were met with a scene. Unlike the outside, the inside was rather unburnt, but that wasn''t for everything, some specific parts have burned and every, every few feet there was a corpse, but they clearly didn''t die from burning though that''s what the burn scars would lead you to think.


    "Well, we got one main thing to think about" Maruki crossed his arms as he looked down at all the bodies. "Did the burning come before or after?"


    "Why does that matter?" Mo asked.


    "It matters a lot actually, if the burning came before, why would the arsonists go back in to kill them? Shouldn''t the fire have done that? If the burning came after, then it may have just been done in hopes it''d hide the bodies...or whatever evidence was left behind"


    "I see..." The three began to look around, there wasn''t much to search for, most computers were broken and those still alive were password locked, papers had been burned to ash, there was one thing however that stood out. Maruki crouched down


    "Gloves" He looked up at one of the officers inside with them, they swiftly handed Maruki some, with that, he grabbed it and put them on before picking up a piece of shrapnel.


    "A PC may have just exploded from the fire" Mo tried giving a reasonable answer, Maruki turned over to the ones lined up, they only shut down from burnt wires, the cases and monitors were fine.


    "Doesn''t seem that way" He inspected it further. It was from something that had glass, a bottle maybe? or something else...


    "I''d say it''s a molotov but...all the windows show glass breaking ou...hang on..." Hanabi, speaking aloud realized something.


    "We noticed it too" An officer stood by window, it seems they were also thinking about why it was out, not in. Maruki put the glass back down, trying to put it exactly how it was before.


    "Why throw it from the inside?" Maruki stood up, looking for anything else. "Hanabi, mind getting Rose for those PCs?"


    "Alright" Hanabi went back to the computers, ringing up Rose.


    "Rose here, whatcha need?"


    "There''s a locked PC...could ya...you know, work your magic?" There was a pause.


    "The one you''re close to right now?"


    "Yup!"


    "One moment then"


    "They may have been running away..."Mo threw a theory out.


    "I...actually agree...That would explain why the corpses have cut marks along with the burns...but we need proof for that, why would they be running away?"


    "If the PCs have that info we''ll be waiting for a bit" As though jinxing Hanabi, the PC turned on with the password lock screen gone and an empty folder saying ''You''re welcome'' in the center of the desktop.


    "Well there we go." The three walked over, Maruki was the one who navigated the computer, being the only one wearing gloves. "I do find it odd it''s the only surviving PC." Maruki clicked around, browser, bookmarks, leaving the emails for last. "Nothing seems out of place here...just a bunch of stuff the company worked on" Maruki clicked the trash, once more, nothing out of place.


    "What''s that?" Mo pointed, there was an incredibly small arrow icon.


    "How the hell did you see that" Maruki had to get close to the screen and squint to just barely see it, he clicked it, and was brought to a whole new category of emails.


    Subject: Notice


    Recipients: M


    "M, there''s issues, CIF are catching on, along with the corp themselves, I''ll be heading your way tomorrow" Maruki quickly checked the date, it was sent a few days ago, this investigation opened up the day after, along with when the burning happened. "It''s only a matter of time before they know where we went, so be ready" The rest of the emails has already reached their maximum time in the trash bin, automatically being deleted.


    "Well...they seem to have left by choice" Mo backed up so Maruki could stand.


    "Maruki, Hanabi, come back to the ship whenever you can, I got in the laptop."


    "We''re not done here yet..."


    "huh?" Mo didn''t understand the random comment.


    "Rose called us back, we''ll just try to get a lead using what we got. The two headed out, with Mo waiting slightly before following.


    "We''ll do our best here" An officer spoke to them, Maruki sent over the email along with a few theories the three had, they entered the car soon after and returned to the ship, it was just as disorientating to Mo as before.


    "Welcome back" Maiko was still working on her project, she had moved since their last visit, but was overall in the same area just as before. "Rose wanted ya, but you probably knew that already"


    "Yeah, she got into the laptop"


    "Good for you guys, take care" They didn''t put back the gear, they kept it when they would leave again soon after. It was a walk to Rose''s office, they didn''t frequent it so it was difficult to locate, but they managed eventually.


    "You''re all late" Rose was typing away on the laptop, course, she had gloves on.


    "You don''t call us here often" Maruki took a seat at the other side of the desk, Mo stood, Hanabi took a different seat.


    "The laptop has as few things...a weird looking map" Right beside her, a projection of the map appeared, it was odd, it was heavily dumbed down, showing no mountains, ocean, lakes, it was mostly shapes, but it was certainly a map. "People named M and O, and some menti-"


    "You said M?" Hanabi cut her sentence short.


    "Yeah"


    "On the PC you got into someone sent a message to M, about meeting them after being paranoid we were catching on. May have been O sending it"


    "May?"


    "There wasn''t a sender section, and all the other emails didn''t too" Maruki adjusted himself.


    "Hm...well, only one facility meets the description, the one in the belt of New Min''s planet"


    "...it got one so soon?" Rose nodded at Maruki.


    "Lillies, could be those cannibal guys too"


    "Guess the CIF haven''t made a name for em yet?" Hanabi crossed her legs after a moment of sitting.


    "They''re cannibals, we ain''t giving them a fancy name, all I know is that they wear some sorta outfit like a corp, complete grey, some mask with a symbol, sounds like a cult but I don''t see them pulling off rituals"


    "Don''t jinx yourself" Mo made a comment.


    "Right, right" Rose leaned on her hand. "Anyhow, this facility seems to be inactive, abandoned by the CSF after that war, so it would make sense for them to reside there, because of that, Random will be assisting this time around, better than having him investigate." She tapped her other hand on the table. "You''re free to go, take care" Her HUD appeared, along with a faint sound from a ringtone, it seemed to have been from a show, and enough to fluster Rose. "Out!" The three swiftly left.


    "Seems we got our next op" Maruki adjusted his jacket.


    "Guess I''ll still be tagging along?" Mo asked.


    "Course, we''re not letting you wander on your own for now"


    "So!" Hanabi clasped her hands together. "We''ll meet in twenty!" Mo followed Maruki, Hanabi went on her own, for now they''d rest, the next mission wouldn''t be so easy.

 Chapter 12: Grand City of Marivo

    "This is Beacon, touching down shortly" We stood atop a building, waiting for the helicopter to land on its designated spot.


    "First self mission huh?" Neal stood there with a clipboard. "Good luck" After checking off a few things he moved away as the copter landed. The door automatically opened and we got in, Kaz too. We all took a seat and took notice of the box in the middle.


    "What''s this!?" I shouted over the loud propellers, the pilot motioned to his ears, I first thought that was our answer until I saw the headphones hanging from the roof, we grabbed ours and put them on, even Kaz had a small one. "What''s with the box?"


    "We don''t have much magic in Marivo, some core. So we can''t have you all running around in hoods and jackets" We opened the box, it was vest carriers of varying types and sizes. We took them out one by one.


    "Oh, they have our names on them" Nicholai had raised a part of the vest, it had the names in white, stitched over a black surface. Everyone''s vest were based on their jobs in the team, Nicholai had the medical cross on the right side, along with pouches to carry her stuff, Kenneth, poor guy had it the worst, had many heavy things on him, mainly on the back to carry a special drone...which would be Dave.


    "You stuffed my damn bot into a vest bag?" Kenneth turned to the pilot.


    "Actually...it was Dave''s idea, Dave figured out how to transfer his AI consciousness to other things, this isn''t his main body" On a closer inspection, Dave was much smaller, also weilding a small cannon on the bottom of his new body. "Anyways, when you all need me back, call Beacon...me, I should be in your contacts now. I may have other people to transport though so...may take a while" My vest and Sam''s were much less packed with stuff, mostly ammo for our weapons along with a single self-use first-aid-kit, Sam also had a slot for her camara. "We''ll be touching down in a few, kick back for now" It didn''t take long, the area changed as we were greeted by a new place.


    "Woah!" Sam almost pushed herself into the window as she looked out of it, while Kaz jumped onto her shoulder . Marivo was a grand city, buildings reached the sky, fancy cars drove across the street, it was the equivalent of a gated community but times ten. There''s probably people who''re entitled just like those communities... It was a random thought. I noticed another thing, six people walking up to where we were landing, half were armed. I was half enticed to grab my sword just in case, but decided against it when I realized it would make the whole city aggro against us.


    "This is beacon! Pilot for Eaxura, we''re landing" The six people backed up after beacon spoke. The helicopter landed, we opened the doors and the six people walked forward again.


    "Welcome Newcomers, to Marivo! Grand city just outside of Zullo"


    "How''d you know we were newcomers?" I spoke while looking at them, they wore fancy clothing, yet I didn''t know the word for them, long jackets with fancy patterns, dresses...they were fancy...that was all I could say...


    "Well, it''s not everyday an unmarked helicopter comes strolling in, I merely made an assumption" Now that they were just a few feet away I could noticed the way they talked, it was with some irritating, condescending tone ''everyone is beneath me'' that thing. Footsteps could be heard behind me, as Nicholai and Kenneth walked around the whole chopper.


    "So why are you greeting us?"


    "Right...so why are you greeting us?" Nicholai spoke, crossing her arms like all the times before, though slightly higher than normal.


    "We just thought you all could use a lovely tour of the city, what do you say? It''s a big place" Somehow I felt we could manage, even if we hadn''t been around Eaxura much, I felt like I could get around there, this place should be no different, seeing the four others looking at me made me realize they felt the same, either that, or they also had another thought I had. People who want us dead are here, it''s too much of a risk


    "We''ll pass"


    "Well, I understand that, but perhaps you''d reconsider i-


    "I said we''ll pass" The man''s expression contorted, they clearly didn''t like me declining.


    "Well, at the very least let me tell you about this lovely pla-


    "I''ll pass, how about you all? Care for a history lesson?"


    "Nope!" Sam,


    "God no" Nicholai,


    "I''ll decline" Kenneth,


    Each declined in their own manner.


    "I must assure you that this place has a wonderful history, 50 years of grand m- You" He pointed at Sam. "You must care somewhat, after all, someone who takes photos needs to know all the amazing places and spots."


    "I''m fine, really" Sam fidgeted somewhat.


    "Ar-"


    "Buddy, how long do you intend to keep this up?" I interrupted. "We all said no, you got your answer, can we go now? If this city is so grand we''d like to experience it ourselves"


    "Ah...I...of course" The man put on a smile, as all of the six did, even I could tell it was fake.


    "They felt like a cult" Nicholai sighed after speaking.


    "I don''t think they are..." Kaz gave her opinion.


    "I''ll be heading out now!" Beacon called from the chopper, it started up and he soon left into the sky, and Sam waved him goodbye.


    "We just call him if we need em back right?" Nicholai was looking up as Beacon left.


    "Pretty sure that''s the case, we have his contact for that reason...I don''t think he''d be here instantly though." We walked past the six people who were murmuring to themselves and down the stairs, we were now on the sidewalk of the city, people roamed around, all of them wearing some fancy outfit.


    "Where are we looking first?" Sam asked the crew.


    "Wherever the core is, I feel would be best" Kenneth pondered.


    "It''d be somewhere important right?" I started scanning the area, looking for anything remotely special, and I soon found it, a skyscrapper-like building off in the distance, standing tall and firm. "Hey Kenneth, you can get charges using your spear right? How about trying to sense a charge, not just take it?" I turned back to him, he was already taking out his spear and aiming it towards the building. He took a deep breath and began to concentrate.


    "I got it"


    "Really?" I was surprised that it was actually successful.


    "It''s hard to tell, there''s a lot of electricity everywhere, but I can sense a difference...a slight difference"


    "It''s a core, it should be pretty different right?"


    "We''re also far away Sam"


    "That''s true" I took more looks at the people around the place, there was just something off-putting about everyone, they didn''t just look or seem right, it was more so the way they moved and how they acted, like machines.


    "Should we?" Kenneth looked at me.


    "Shall we what?"


    "Get going?"


    "O-oh! Right, yeah, we should, it''s not much of a risk, and we have some time"


    "To the ominous building then" Nicholai smiled slightly before we all set out, at first I thought I spaced out when the street repeated, or we got stuck in some loop, yet when I turned around, the people who we passed before were there, showing we didn''t get placed back where we were earlier. Seeing that made me realize how specific this place is, if there was no reason to change it, it looked exactly the same on every street, houses, stores, businesses, it was definitely unsettling.


    "Major Deja vu here" Sam spoke softly.


    "Thank god I wasn''t the only one to notice" The names of the buildings weren''t the same, they were actually the only difference on these streets, at the very least it showed we were actually moving.


    "I couldn''t imagine living like this" Sam continued. "There''s nothing breathtaking or...or even remotely picture worthy" Hearing that reminded me of the six from just a little while ago. Could they already know why we''re here? They may have tried to kill us had we taken the offer. I couldn''t prove it, but the way they seemed, and how awkward they acted, it wasn''t off the table.


    "Newcomers! Welcome to Marivo" I almost reacted to it in a way that would''ve blown our cover, if that was still a thing we had, however I soon realized it was a different person, a person at the edge of the sidewalk, there outfit was majorly different from anyone elses, yet it didn''t reveal what they were, there wasn''t a chance it didn''t have some special meaning, not even the six from before had different outfits. "If I may ask, what reason do you all have to be here?"


    "Just got the chance to see new worlds, figured we''d use it" I gave an almost instant answer, but not without a small delay, the others couldn''t even get a word out.


    "Ahhah, of course, staying in one world too long can be boring" I saw a color change in his eye...yet it didn''t cover his eye completely, it was actually moving inside it.


    "Well, a pleasure to meet you" I held out my hand, putting on a smile.


    "No no, the pleasure is mine" He grabbed my hand and shook it, I looked him in the eye, I couldn''t see it, but I was sure it was text. A sharp pain hit my eye and I squinted. Corruption...again...Yet, as I squinted my eye, I saw a line appear, the line soon curved into a circle around the words, zooming a portion of my vision on it, it was incredibly disorientating, but it worked, I could see it much better now even if I didn''t need most of them. The only words I needed to see were ''they''re here''. The moment I read the words I swung my left leg into theirs, knocking them down onto the floor, I could tell the others were surprised by what I did, but before they could asked I spoke.


    "They know who we are! Follow me!" I broke into a sprint and the others followed. The streets were all the same, telling them apart was nigh impossible, but I knew we had to get that core, and at least something. I planted my foot to turn around a corner, I kept most of my speed and tried to focus on what I''d see next, yet all I saw was a jacket when I turned the corner, greeted by the same person at that tavern who killed me and Nicholai multiple times already. I was going to draw my sword until a hand grabbed my shoulder and moved me away, quickly, before anyone could react, Nicholai sprinted forward and kicked the man in between the legs.


    "Let''s go!" I was stunned for a moment until I remembered who it was, my sympathy for them faded quickly after. "We still heading for the skyscraper?"


    "If anyone gets hurt we call in Beacon, we don''t know if he''s busy so we need to give him time."


    "We''ll leave calling him to you" We kept up the sprint to the building, though I started to notice Kenneth trailing behind.


    "Ken?"


    "I stay...inside all day...man..." We were sprinting for a few good minutes, Kenneth''s breathing was getting heavier as he tried to keep going.


    "You were fine with all the sprints before though!" Nicholai yelled back at him.


    "Maybe I just...had stored energy"


    "Stored energy?" I started thinking, clearly Kenneth was too tired for that.


    "Energy...energy around the area..." I started thinking back. Kenneth sensed energy in the area didn''t he? I looked at the buildings. "Hey Crescent! Mind lending us a bit of energy?" However I decided against it, I had another idea. I grabbed Crescent and aimed it back at Kenneth.


    "Lee!?" Sam quickly saw where I was aiming.


    "I got an idea, it''ll probably work"


    "Probably!?" Nicholai turned to me as well.


    "Do it...I don''t care, this is killing me enough as is" Kenneth was getting slower, as such, with no prior contesting I pulled the trigger and fired, instead of the normal shotgun pellets, a blast of energy hit Kenneth, it put him to a stop so we all stopped.


    "Kenneth?" Nicholai looked back to her brother. There was a pause, silence momentarily until Kenneth took a breath.


    "Back to it!" Kenneth started running again, no longer sluggishly, as though he had never been tired. We all ran, we weren''t much farther from the main building.


    "See you should never doubt me"


    "You aimed a gun at my brother"


    "That''s true...But I''d never just kill him" Nicholai rolled her eyes at my comment. We made it to the building, a horde of people already waiting for us.


    "So, what''s the plan now" Nicholai was clearly irritated. I started realizing the fault with my idea. I should have just went along with it...only attacking them when the time was right...damnit...


    "I got an idea" They were decently far, I had a few things that could work, however one idea won over. "Sam, can I see your shortsword?"


    "Sure?" She handed it over, however, I grabbed it by the chain and wrapped it around the sword.


    "Crescent, a round that''ll launch you please?" A special bullet appeared, I grabbed the trigger, aimed the barrel at the ground and pulled. The sword was sent flying, before it could go too far I grabbed the end of chain and planted it on the ground with my foot.


    "Why''re you all standing there! Get them!" The people started running towards us, they all had the same weapon, yet each had its own glow. The sword soon dug into the wall a chain leading from it, to where we were.


    "Everyone, grab on!" With both hands everyone held onto the chain. "Crescent! Fire again!" Another loud bang, the chain started pulling, sending us with it. The chain dug into our hands, yet the pain was just bearable, though only slightly. Once we were above the roof of the building everyone got the same idea, we pulled down on the chain, landing safely. Sam pulled the chain, bringing her weapon, and Crescent back to us.


    "What''s next?" We all looked around, there wasn''t a way to get back on ground level, though that was both good and bad, we couldn''t be reached on foot.


    "Your aim''s pretty good right Sam?" When I turned to Sam she was already twirling the chain. "Alright, think you can make that?" It was still far, yet I had hope she could make it.


    "No need to ask!" Propping her foot on something, she arched her arm back, she made an L with her free hand as a guide. "gotcha" she whispered to herself as she threw her hand forward and released, the weapon and chain were sent flying, piercing the wall of the building soon after.


    "Our weapons should be long enough to let us go down it" The hook on my hilt, Nicholai''s scythe, Kenneth''s spear, Sam''s sickle, they would be enough. "I''ll go first!" I leapt off the roof, or attempted to, but Nicholai grabbed the back of my vest and pulled me back. I saw that Sam hadn''t hooked the chain onto anything. "Oh...thanks"


    "You''re welcome" Sam tied the chain onto a door. "Now go ahead."


    "Alright!" I leapt off the roof for real this time, slamming the hilt of my sword onto the chain, it started slow, yet soon I accelerated from the downward slope of the chain. "It''s not that bad of a slooope!" I started going much faster than should be possible. It didn''t take long before I smashed into a window. Glass was strewn across the floor, I could tell some of the glass had stabbed into me. "Goddamn..." I got on my side, moving my arm away to look at myself, most of the glass hit the vest, but a very minor amount had gotten into the vulnerable spots, my shoulder, my side. The others soon joined me, Kaz leapt off Sam and went to me.


    "Are you alright?" Being on Kaz''s level was weird, I noticed a collar that showed K.C.


    "K.C, sounds like Casey" It was a random comment that left my mouth.


    "What?" Nicholai looked at me with disappointment as she knelt down.


    "Nothing..." Nicholai soon crouched down to look at me.


    "You should manage, didn''t stab too deep, shouldn''t have hit anything important either" She looked at me from a few angles. I went to stand, a few pains in my leg told me I didn''t notice a few. "shouldn''t have, that doesn''t mean push your luck" Sam walked over and extended a hand, I took it and continued standing, but now much slower.


    "The core has to be close, I can sense it above us"


    "You think they''d have it underground or something" Sam tapped the floor with her foot.


    "Seeing how this place is like a cult, maybe they figured it''d be safe" I looked around for stairs, quickly finding some on the other end of the room. "Now, let''s get climbing"


    "Huh?" Kenneth turned to me.


    "Stairs...climbing stairs"


    "Oh, much better" Whether he meant it or not...well I didn''t know. We jogged to the stairs and began going up, the only time we stopped was to take quick peeks in doors, yet none of them had the core. "If this thing is at the top..."


    "Maybe, it could be...ah screw the other floors, we''ll check the top first!" I started sprinting up the stairs, being here was risky, unless we burst through a wall we only had up and down.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Oh you''re kidding..." As I turned to continue up the stairs I saw Kenneth in the corner of my vision roll his eyes before he started sprinting up as well.


    "How''s the energy feeling?"


    "Getting stronger, I think you''re right" With one last burst of energy we reached the top floor, two red, heavy doors were our greeting. Foot after the other I was in front of the door, I pressed my hands against it. "Ready."


    "On you" Everyone had their weapons ready. Using my whole body I pushed the door open, hanging from the top of the room was a massive, beaming core, emanating the main light for the room. At the end, a desk in front of a massive window, facing the door, and on a seat for the desk, someone much different from everyone else, their fingers interlocked while their elbows were on the desk itself. We all stood, staring at her for a while.


    "I guess I should''ve expected this" They put their hands on the table, separating them, before standing. Her outfit was different, certain parts of it glowed. "But I guess the saying exists for a reason" Metal bits tore from the walls and surrounded her arms and hand, soon it glowed and formed into something different, like gauntlets. The floor below the desk opened, lowering it down until it couldn''t be seen anymore before closing. "Who would have thought a buncha brats would be here" She started walking towards us.


    "Hey now, who woulda guessed the leader of a cult did so with an iron fist" It was like a record scratched as everyone looked at me.


    "Really?"


    "Sorry"


    "You boy!" The woman aggressively pointed at me. "You got that corruption in ya, bout time you''re purged."


    "Come on, we can talk about this no? We just want the core, no biggie right?" It was a very obvious lie, but I couldn''t really think of anything else.


    "I ain''t letting your little posse take it again" She arched her arm back as the gauntlet began sparking.


    "Break!" I dove to the side, my choice made clearly right as a blast of energy impacted the wall. I saw the others on the ground as well.


    "Coulda told us what that meant!" I heard Nicholai''s voice.


    "My bad, I just blurted it out!" We all stood, I took notice that I couldn''t see Kaz anywhere, when she left was unknown to me. As the dust from the blast subsided, the woman was present, she stood with certainty. I began to stand, gripping my sword with both hands. The moment I blinked, I saw the woman''s gauntlet just about to hit me, yet things were slowed, I thought I would be too, but when I moved slightly I noticed I wasn''t restricted to the slowdown. "What th-" Before I could finish, time resumed and the gauntlet hit me in the stomach, forcing me to my knees as I held it. "God..ngh" Next I heard a barrage of gunfire before a hand pressed on my shoulder.


    "You broken?" As Nicholai''s hand kept pressing against me, the pain numbed, but was still there.


    "Still standing for now" She took her hand off and held it out, by some weird instinct I just slapped my hand against it, pretty much giving a high-five. When it did hit I noticed a quick blue color around me, once it showed I felt better.


    "Let''s get back to it then" I got back up, not getting hit this time. That slowdown...I had the same feeling as when corruption helped with that guy''s message... Corruption was aiding me, for some reason that I didn''t know, that of course doesn''t mean it''s trustworthy. I looked around the room for the woman, once I saw her, I also saw Sam just barely dodging one of her swings, using the chains on her weapons to pull herself out of harm''s way. I went to load another shell into my sword, but I was reminded of the other barrel, the place for ammunition was a bit bigger than the shotgun shell, it still surprised me that this was in a sword.


    "Crescent, can you load a round into this one?" It didn''t, which gave me one idea, I had to load it myself. "Course...later then" I flicked the sword up, closing it as normal.


    TTS Active


    Lee: Team, I got an idea


    Nicholai: Speak then


    Nicholai had separated from me, going over to the other two to provide support.


    Lee: Kenneth was able to redirect electricity using his own stuff, how about we do that here? We can redirect it back to the core later.


    Kenneth: Hopefully it won''t put too much strain on me


    Lee: You''ll have time, Sam and I will cover ya, Nicholai, if possible can you use that healing power to easen the strain?


    Nicholai: I can try


    Lee: Better than nothing, let''s do it then!


    All: Break!


    TTS Deactive


    Kenneth and Nicholai launched away, trying to lose focus.


    "Sam!" I made a pulling motion. I fired a heavy shell at the woman, forcing her to tumble forward all the while Sam threw one of her weapons at me. Once in range I moved slightly out of the way to grab onto the chain instead of the main weapon and when I did, I pulled it as much as I could. Sam came barreling forward, once possible she kicked the woman before breaking into a spin, still barreling towards me.


    "Leeeewewewewe" I was stuck being stunned by how fast Sam became a blur. Against my better judgement I quickly rushed forward and held my arm out. If I wasn''t a DT, the force I was hit with would''ve taken off my arms, but instead of that, I spun slightly as well. "Gueh..." In my arms, Sam was heavily slouched, her head spinning.


    "Are you okay?"


    "Eeehhh" The ground crackled, I did my best to fire a shockwave shell at the ground, joining Nicholai and Kenneth.


    "Why''re you over here?" Nicholai looked over at me.


    "Watch Sam for a moment!" I set her down before launching back over to the woman, her gauntlets had changed, it had fire all around it. She raised her fist and slammed it into the ground. The floor around her shattered, and it didn''t take long until the ground in front of her broke too, and soon it kept going in a straight line towards me. I couldn''t block it all if I wanted, but if I did nothing it would reach the others, as the ground was ready to break, time slowed once more, and I felt drained along with it. I took a breath, there had to be something I could do, if our powers fit our roles and lives, there has to be some sort of protection skill I can use. A sight...no, more so a vision, it was me, an older me, they looked more calm, more prepared but...also more scarred, an eyepatch on their right eye, the same eye that was corrupted for me...a bandaged arm too...but they didn''t let that persuade them. The older me held onto their sword tightly, right hand up against the hilt, the left hand at the bottom of the handle, they turned the whole sword making an X with their arms while the blade of the sword pointed to the bottom left of them. A beam of unknown origin was just about to hit them until a barrier appeared, a symbol on the other side of it, but it was too faint for me to see.


    My sight soon came back. what was that...why did it happen!? Before I had anytime to question time resumed to normal, following what I saw I held it the same way, moving the same way, I closed my eyes expecting impact, but nothing ever came, only the noise of metal impacting something. I reopened my eyes and saw the barrier, but it looked fainter along with missing the symbol the one I saw had. When the ground breaking subsided I fired a shell into the smoke, when I heard it hit something metallic I launched my way over, slashing mid-air. In the middle of it I felt resistance, but just managed to cut through.


    "Damn brat!" I went to slash again but Crescent was grabbed, a fist through the smoke was coming towards me. I let go of Crescent and ducked under it, when the chance came to me, I resummoned Crescent and slashed forward, leaping back soon after. I didn''t feel right, a part of me wanted to fire a shell to escape their grasp so why did I do that instead? I shook my head, thinking about it now was pointless and only made it more risky. Through the smoke once more, a fist in the middle of slamming down. I quickly stepped to the side, slashing upwards, it seemed to have prevented the ground from shattering again. As the smoke began to fade away, I could see her just faintly through. I took quick steps before jabbing my sword forward. The woman quickly raised her right hand, but the sword pierced right through, I couldn''t help but smirk at it. I pulled the trigger to fire, yet nothing happened. Wait..,I looked more closely at her, not a single cut was there, all the bullets, slashes, not a single thing was still there. I tried to resummon Crescent but was unable, I tried to pull it out but was unable. I looked at her hand, flesh had reformed at the wound, along with Crescent. She purposefully dug the blade deeper into her hand, soon it was fully through, anytime I tried to yank it out, her flesh reformed, keeping me from doing so.


    "What...is that!?" She eventually made it to the hilt, I was about to run until she grabbed me by the throat, her gauntlets crushing it. I took out my knife and attempted to stab any weakpoint, to no avail, she grabbed my knife by the blade and pulled it from my hands.


    "Runts like ya, outta learn their place!" She spun the knife around and jabbed it into my stomach before dropping me. I landed on my back, my lower body became numb. I looked over to the others, the core had some sort of glow to it, more than before, but the energy it had was fading. The woman started walking over to them, soon breaking into a sprint. Closing his fist, Kenneth aimed it at her, sending a blast of energy. It stopped her for a moment, but she began trudging through it, even if it was slowly.


    "Damnit..." I wanted to hold down the wound but the knife was in the way, I looked back up at the core, it was losing more energy. Crescent was on the floor now. I could use it...I gotta. I crawled over to it. "Shock..." It was all I spoke, but Crescent understood, a blue shell loading in and I aimed at the core and fired. The burst of energy in the core was sent to Kenneth, and right back at the woman, it kept her still, almost paralyzed. I also took notice of one important thing, the core was shrinking rapidly, until it was the size of a person. It dropped onto the ground with a loud clang but the energy didn''t stop. Though wounded, I stood. "sam..." I saw that she was up again. "the...core" Barely hearing me from the distance, she rushed over and picked up the core.


    "You shouldn''t be standing" Sam made her way over to me, clearly worried.


    "Don''t have much''uva choice"


    "I guess not"


    "Ken! Nicholai!" It hurt to speak so loudly, but it gained their attention, they rushed over, Kenneth stopping the energy which caused the woman to go full force into a wall.


    "Hell happened to you?" Nicholai looked down at the knife, seeing it was mine.


    "I got careless" I paused, before remembering what I needed to do.


    TTS Active


    Lee: Beacon...we need ya


    Beacon: Be there in a minute


    TTS Deactive


    There wasn''t even smoke, the woman just burst from the rubble, more pissed off.


    "You bastards!" She didn''t sound any different even with our distance.


    "Out the window, repeat last time..." My words skipped during some moments, but the idea was clear. The three rushed to the window, when I took too fast of steps I froze as my body felt twisted from the knife. I dropped to a knee and looked back up, I was going to tell the others to prep it, but by the time I was looking up, I was raised as well by both arms.


    "I''m gonna start charging you" Nicholai spoke right beside me. Kenneth as well. Sam was still ahead, shooting the window open before throwing her blade at the nearest roof.


    "Like hell you do!" The ground shook as the woman approached, but soon even she stopped, but not the shaking. The room was much darker, not only from the missing core, but the lights outside the room having turned off as well.


    "This is beacon! Landing shortly" Through the broken window, I could see Beacon''s chopper landing where Sam''s dagger had ended up.


    "How do we get Lee across?" Sam asked the two as we made it over.


    "You don''t" I blurted out.


    "Exc-"


    "It''s not what you think...I got a plan, just go, it''s better than trying some hail mary, lean me on the wall beside the window..." They didn''t contest, instead did what was asked.


    "That coin brings you back a few seconds before death right?" Nicholai looked down at me as she pressed her hand against the window.


    "If this fails, that coin won''t let it"


    "Guess that''s why you''re so sure...then good luck" The three started leaving, but the woman began to finally approach.


    "You got guts staying here kid."


    "Nah...I''m just...a bit dumb..." I loaded in a blue shell in Crescent, firing. It slowed her down slightly, but not that noticeable. I fired again, it was even less effective, after 4 shots, it was useless. The woman stood above me, looking down. I got Crescent away, hanging on Sam''s chain that was still there.


    "I can see that" She continued looking down at me. I held onto the blade end of Crescent, I was just waiting for something, it had to come soon though. "What made ya think you can do this twice?"


    "Twice?"


    "You runts have been here before, don''t act like it was otherwise"


    "I really don''t get what you mean..." She looked more irritated. "Listen, recently my memory sucks as is, you think I''m gonna remember something like that?"


    "Then I''ll make sure you remember!" Her gauntlet charged up, all the while I felt my sword tug.


    "Good luck with that" Though it cut me, I gripped onto Crescent as much as I could, the chain clipped off the wall and started quickly going towards the others, pulling me along. It felt like I was being torn in half from how fast it was, even coming to a stop was painful, flinging me into the floor from the sudden stop.


    "So that did work" I heard one of them say, as I laid on my back in pain.


    "Come on" I was raised from my arms and slowly brought over to the chopper, being put at the edge of it. I leaned against the door, one leg hanging out and the other in, the others got in as well.


    "We''re heading off, sit tight" The helicopter began ascending, but the roof shook, rubble came from the blast. I held out Crescent and fired a shockwave at the rubble, and just faintly I saw a reaction, a figure moving backwards from the round.


    "Avoid shocks all ya want...can''t absorb that" I smiled to myself. Though it quickly faded as I saw her approaching again. A sniper, bow, my shotgun, the only reaction was annoyance. We ascended fully, quickly going into the sky. I let out a sigh as I leaned back on the door again.


    "Got the core?" Beacon spoke back at us. Sam held it up


    "Yup!"


    "Good, we''ll head back to Eaxura then"


    "Think you can manage" Nicholai spoke to me, I looked up at her. A majority of the pain subsided, but I could still feel the pressure from my lower half being numb.


    "Probably?"


    "Love the confidence" I moved backwards, letting Nicholai close the door.


    "Really though...he''ll be fine right?" Sam spoke to Nicholai, who nodded before responding.


    "He''d have knocked out by now if he was in any danger, I wouldn''t use that logic normally, but...that logic works for DTs, so why complain."


    "Hey..." Everyone turned to me. "That lady talked about this being our second time doing this...Anyone recall, doing this before?" They all looked at each other in confusion, shaking their heads.


    "Not that we can recall" Kenneth answered for them.


    "Yeah...Figured, most likely just another group, after all, blonde people exist"


    "Oh really, what makes you think that?" Nicholai knew it was a joking remark, yet responded as such.


    "Hehe, ow..." Laughing even slightly hurt me.


    "Let''s not do that again"


    "Okay"


    It didn''t take us long to touch back down on Eaxura, it was a simple venture. Raymond was there waiting for us, smiling.


    "Got the core?"


    "Right here" Sam hopped out of the chopper, handing him the core.


    "Mission well done" I thought on it more, the Teth was active before...so it most likely was another team. "What happened to Lee?"


    "I got stabbed...by my own knife" The other two got out, Sam walked back over and held out her hand. "I''ll be fine though" I took her hand and stepped out, almost sinking to my knees.


    "Well, maybe we can change that knife of yours, after all, it''s from the trials, not you"


    "Guess that makes sense" I continued to hold my sides even when talking to Raymond.


    "I''ll get that for ya, for now, get some rest" As Raymond walked away, I felt off. It was odd we got the mission for the core right when we were heading to Marivo, even Neal called it a self mission, thus he didn''t know either. We made it back to base with no further issues and i was set on the couch.


    "Ready?" Nicholai gripped the knife. "Course you are" without waiting for an answer, she pulled the knife out.


    "Fngh" I went to go hold it but Nicholai knocked away my hands.


    "I can''t patch your hands with your stomach genius." She mostly used magic, however, though I couldn''t see, she didn''t only use it, something else was done alongside it. After it was done I relaxed, putting my head against one of the arm rests. "Sam, watch him, make sure he doesn''t do anything"


    "Roger that ma''am!" Sam sat down on the floor with crossed legs, just...staring at me.


    "..."


    "..."


    "You''re not gonna do this all day right?"


    "Not if I don''t need to" I noticed something. "hm?" She tilted her head slightly, seeing my realization.


    "Your eyes...weren''t that pink before, were they?"


    "Not when we were humans"


    "Maybe they glimmer too often that they became more pink" It wasn''t my real theory, but it was better than making her worry if I was wrong.


    "Hehe~" We learned nothing I set my head back to rest...except... The woman''s words repeated in my head once more "Again" what other team went there? And why? Are they being hunted too? If that''s the case, we should meet up with them, but for now... There wasn''t much I could do when my stomach felt twisted, it seems Sam had realized I wasn''t getting up and turned her attention back to the TV. I was ready to close my eyes until my HUD appeared in my face with a message from Nicholai.


    We going parent hunting later?


    -Nicholai


    Thought you didn''t want me


    going out? -Lee


    Do you actually intend to follow that?


    -Nicholai


    Good point


    -Lee


    In that case, yeah, they sound safe but


    I don''t want to take any chances -Lee


    Alright...also


    -Nicholai


    Nicholai uploaded an image of herself holding two boxes, they seemed to be food


    What is this?-Lee


    Which one do you wanna make tomorrow?


    -Nicholai


    Who said I was making anything?-Lee


    You know how exhausting medical magic is?


    -Nicholai


    Alright...just pick whatever


    -Lee


    Hearing only the noises of the TV, and Sam''s occasional shifting, it wasn''t long after I started drifting off, when I did however, I could hear a faint piano, amidst the noises I''ve been hearing before. This one was different, I knew where it was...but it wasn''t familiar to me. An off-world, not normally visible. My eyes opened and sat, not much time had past, the same episode of the show was playing...


    "Something the matter?" Sam leaned back and returned her attention to me.


    "I...saw something...and heard something too..."


    "oh?"


    "A piano...and...a place that I don''t know, yet it feels so familiar...I need to go check it, before I lose the chance" She was going to respond instantly with a disapproving expression, but it soon shifted. "You don''t have to come along, just...don''t tell Nicholai"


    "What''d I tell her? You''re still here" She gave a short wink.


    "Thanks"


    "You owe me one" I stood up, my balance was still wobbly, upon seeing that she stood too. "Lead the way" I didn''t know the name, or the place, but when I raised my sword, without my input I cut the portal open.


    "..." I didn''t know what to say, this unknown feeling overwhelmed me. We went in, the place was littered with trees but even so, a clear path was in front of us.


    "So this felt familiar?"


    "yeah...I don''t exactly know where to go...but..."


    "We''ll find the way"


    "Right...and I''ve been meaning to ask, your fear of blood...hasn''t really been present lately has it?"


    "Oh, I hadn''t even noticed, I think it''s more from adrenaline, maybe that makes me immune to it, I never really got into fights after all" Sam looked confused, as though she wasn''t really confident with that answer.


    "Right, I guess when you were watching me most of the blood was pretty much dried"


    "Probably the other reason, not really much blood for me to see with all this on..." Upon saying that she looked down at herself. "oh...we hadn''t taken this off..."


    "Don''t blame ya, it''s a bit heavy but it''s snu-" Cutting me off, was the same piano I heard before, the odd thing, was Sam reacted to it too. "So it''s not just me this time"


    "This time?" I blurted it out without thinking. The sound of the piano grew louder, approaching. I took a step, a note of another instrument, I took another, the same thing, no music came from Sam, yet with my every step, a violin was played.


    "Sam, do you think you can head back to base"


    "Huh? But, you can''t stand that well..."


    "I know...but I can tell whatever this is, it isn''t counting you in the picture, the violin, have you heard it?"


    "n-..no..."


    "Sorry...can you please leave this to me?" She started walking back, but not before she spoke again.


    "I can''t cover for you if you get hurt more, so don''t"


    "I''ll do my best" I continued onward, the piano, the violin, it begun to play in harmony, even if I paused my walking, my next step would be perfectly on time with the piano. With one lest step, the violin had come to a stop, and from the trees, a figure falling to the ground. I quickly looked over, my curiosity, my confusion with it all, quickly turned to dread and fear, as the figure that had begun to crawl, was nothing more than an aged corpse. Their skin broken and rotted with chunks missing, their face half torn apart missing an eye and ear. Their uniform tattered, yet the letters CSF remained. I took a step back, the corpse continued crawling to me...then I saw it, inside of its skin, just faintly, the color purple. It had turned this poor soul into a puppet. I wanted to throw up, the burning and scratching sensation in my throat made it clear, but I reversed my grip upon Crescent, aiming it down at the poor soul.


    "S..." I could feel my heart sink as the corpse opened their mouth. "o..r..r..y" The piano continued playing, why was I brought here of all people? However that wasn''t the only thought I had...was someone who was corrupted this badly, really sentient still? They''re mostly rotted...missing most of their skin...and...As I thought, the idea of it being the corrupted puppeteering it became less likely, I didn''t know this person, if the corrupted had his memory to say sorry to someone, why would they say it to me?...But...if they were sentient...they wouldn''t be able to see the person. It was silent for a moment, they weren''t able to move towards me anymore.


    "It''s..."It felt wrong, talking, I wasn''t who they were hoping for. "It''s Alright...I''m sure whoever you wanted to apologize to understands that" They grabbed onto my sword, pulling down, their desire was clear, no one should live like this, if he was able to move, even if it was just barely the corruptions grasp on him must be weakening, and he can most likely feel every bit of pain. I felt the wind, it was peaceful, carrying leaves with it. "I don''t know why I was here...or if I should be...but I can only hope..." With more will this time, I raised my sword. "May you rest with the wind" I brought my sword down, their body releasing one more shudder before they lost movement fully. Something called me...whatever it was...I can only hope they had the same intention of ending your misery. I had decided to not leave them like this, instead, burying them below the best tree I could find, things on them made who they were clearer, a few strands of red hair, a dog-tag "Kain Daifen" the most I could do for a gravestone was rocks, the smoothest I could find to stack, burying him was the hardest part...I had no shovel, but it seems Crescent didn''t mind getting dirty, and helped me leverage out some of the dirt...with that, and refilling the grave...we had buried him. The sickness i was feeling hadn''t left, that sight of what they had become, someone was responsible...someone had to be. It wasn''t just that though, the fact no one had come for them, the fact it got that bad before I came here...there was purposeful negligence. A burning in my pocket was what got me out from thinking, yet it would only bring more questions, my coin, burning like when I was brought back. You''re important...not just for bringing me back...and even then...why are you important?


    My mind was too cluttered, with no more words to say to the deceased I returned to the base. I immediately sat on the couch, with a familiar person joining me soon after, holding out a pocky stick. I turned over to Sam, she wasn''t looking my way, nibbling on her own. I reached up and grabbed one, I hadn''t even known my hands were shaking until I grabbed it, shaking her hand too. She looked my way, her expression becoming one of pity.


    ''What was it?"


    "I" Only a single word left my mouth, the rest, stuck like I couldn''t breath out. "It...felt like I just killed an old friend" My gaze was empty, not looking at Sam but past her. These feelings I felt, it wasn''t because I killed him...it felt like...it was because I didn''t feel anything when I did.

 Chapter 13: Guardian

    "Well, we went through the apocalypse, It''s not so far fetched to assume you''ve just gotten used to it" Sam had brought Nicholai over, there was no point in saying I didn''t go anywhere when my hands wouldn''t stop shaking. "Not only that, but your hands shaking, that guilty feeling, isn''t that a reaction in and of itself?"


    "I..." Nicholai wasn''t scolding me for going out, she was too worried to do that.


    "Lee" She paused, but only shortly. "We endured a zombie outbreak, killed even our own classmates, stuff no kids our age should be doing, you not feeling anything for a stranger you can''t help isn''t that off putting as you think it is." I held my own hand, hoping it''d stop the shaking, before it strained itself. "You felt remorse even when you didn''t do anything wrong, you still reacted to it, the reason you think you didn''t is because of everything going on overwhelming you."


    "I guess so..." I looked to the ground


    "I''m not exactly good at this sorta stuff...But it''s not something Sam can help with...so...you have my contact, don''t stress yourself" She stood up and headed off, most likely back to the work she needed to do. I wanted to go back to sleep but it was already morning. Who caused it...why call me? At first it was only a few questions, then it became random thoughts. Killing zombies...isn''t the same as killing someone who''s still aware...Even if they repeated. I just killed someone...someone aware, who did nothing wrong. I felt I did something wrong, even if it was a mercy killing. An innocent person''s blood was on me, not just in a metaphorical sense, but literally, it had already dried on my sword and the sides of my shoes. All I could do was let out a deep breath.


    "The final battle is just over the horizon" The TV was playing as always, the same show as before...how long was this thing? At the very least it got my mind off things.


    "Sir" Dave decloaked right after speaking, he was just slightly to my right. "I''ve sensed a dip in your mood, would you like a drink?" From a compartment, Dave handed out a coffee mug, filled with whatever drink he decided on. I took it slowly and took a minor sip, it was hot but not painful.


    "Thanks Dave..."


    "It is no issue, my purpose is to ensure that you and Miss Calstianos can live a life without issue"


    "Well...that''s a bit difficult now isn''t it?"


    "I can assure you, I will still do whatever I possibly can" I smiled, I never considered Dave an AI, the way he was made, was as though another human was handcrafted. I still shook slightly, but the feeling mostly passed, only a small piece of it lingering. My HUD opened only a moment later.


    New Mission for your team


    Sender: Raymond


    ''There''s a disturbance going on in New Min, should be something you can handle.''


    New Min sounded familiar, it was probably that other mission...I guess we signed up for this...I stood up, Sam, Nicholai, and Kenneth, came out of their respective areas as we regrouped.


    "Wish he specified what sort of disturbance" Nicholai had flipped the switch again, being nonchalant about it all.


    "We can handle it regardless" Then again, I had too. As always, a cut in the air provided our portal to the mission.


    New Min was a mix between a modern and ancient city, certain aspects like structures and the walls, were ancient, but some buildings and tech were modern...I felt I was repeating myself, right, we''ve been here before.


    "Bravo Team, correct?" One of the guards were already waiting for us.


    "Correct" And I already had my response prepared.


    "Well, the disturbance is something we could probably handle but, Raymond asked for us to let you handle it...here" Our maps of the city popped open, with the disturbance area being marked. "Handle it however you want, damn kids already gave me a headache" The guard mumbled the last portion, but I still understood it, the others didn''t seem to, rather, they already started the walk over.


    "Seems like some Inn, maybe they were another team trying to get info" I held the map screen in my palm, if I could''ve made it into a watch, I probably would have.


    "Let''s hope they don''t get shot at" Nicholai was reminded of the confrontation we had with the hunters, but considering what she did to the main guy, he''d be out of commission for the time being.


    "We should resolve it peacefully right?" Sam was the first to give a suggestion on how we should solve the disturbance. "For all we know it''s a situation like Lee had, with all the confusion. He''s not the only one affected after all."


    "Right, but we can''t go in thinking we can solve it that way, we need to access the situation first. But, if it does seem possible, we should give it a go" From my talking, I didn''t realize how close it actually was, and how fast we made it there. One of the windows were already shattered, some guy was thrown through it.


    "Doesn''t seem like it''s gonna go peacefully." Kenneth made a quick comment on it. The four of us walked through the door, something smashed against the wall beside us, the others jumped back, but something in me made my reaction dull, instead I stood there, staring at the three troublemakers. When i caught a glimpse of the uniform they wore something in me clicked, they had the same outfit as the man from before, the one I mercy killed.


    "I''m telling ya, we need that intel"


    "I don''t have it!" They didn''t seem to care one of their own were missing.


    "Well ya had it just a few hours ago, the boogymahn took it?"


    "Sam, Ken, Nicholai"


    "Yeah?" Kenneth and Nicholai made a noise to show their hearing, while Sam responded.


    "Mind if I handle this one?"


    "think you can?"


    "I think so"


    "Alright then" Nicholai patted Sam on the shoulder, almost dragging her out.


    "Hey!" The two stopped arguing and the whole team looked over at me, almost in a disgusted manner. There''s no doubt they''re the same team, I''ve yet to see two with the same outfit...and yet here they were...harassing some guy instead of looking for their teammate...Who knows how long he was there...something like that. I stuck Crescent into the ground, they didn''t have their weapons, and I surely didn''t need mine for a group of delinquents.


    "Fuck ya want?"


    "Missing a teammate?"


    "What?"


    "Your teammate, the one all on his own?"


    "What about the fuckwit?" The accent with that attitude was bothering enough, but the context of it all, them leaving him...and saying all this.


    "Listen bud" Another one spoke up. "We got things all settled here, nothing ya should worry bout" He walked over, a massive smug look only annoyed me more. "Now, you should leave before things get worse" Whether they watched some show to sound like this, or just naturally annoying, it didn''t matter to me. I looked around the room, a pool table near me, some chairs, a lot of usable things.


    "And how worse are we talking?" I leaned on the table.


    "Enough that a wee lad like ya gotta worry about some body bags" It only annoyed me further.


    "Alright then" The moment I heard another step from the one closest, I grabbed onto the pool stick. "Less I gotta worry about" I swung backwards, hitting the closest one at the side of his head, he recoiled backwards, hitting his back against a table.


    "Ghg" The one I hit held their head, the other two approached.


    "What''s your deal?"


    "Bit ironic saying that now" One of their legs glowed, they kicked at a chair and it was sent flying towards me, it was a simple fix, jabbing the pool stick at it made it lose all momentum. As the chair hit the ground I slammed the stick down at it, breaking a piece of it off. I shuffled it towards me with the stick and waited.


    TTS Active


    Nicholai: Lee, I see bleeding on the HUD


    TTS Deactive


    I looked down, it was a very small trickle, nothing to worry about. A part of the chair must''ve cut me when I broke it up. As the other took a step too close, I twirled the stick and sent the broken piece towards them, they raised their arm, blocking it with some energy shield. So their weapons just aren''t visible. I looked back down at the blood trickling from my chest. Alright then...Doing the motion, my blood raised, turning into the spears. Before I could actually use them the door bust open, as I turned to see what happened, something slammed into my face, knocking me onto my back on the ground. I felt dazed, but I could still hear the other three bailing from the area, one even bursting through the window.


    "kh" I pressed my hand against the top of my head, there was constant pain.


    TTS Active


    Sam: Heya! I''m not one to tell you to do crime, but they''re here for you


    TTS Deactive


    My dazed state soon passed and I saw the CSF uniform, it was different then what the guy from yesterday, and the troublemakers had, theirs looked more final, professional.


    "Bastards..." One of them mumbled under their breath, most weren''t looked my way. I could...Seeing that only one was somewhat paying mind to me, I kicked just at their ankle.


    "Damn kid!" I got up as fast as I could and bolted at the door, I half-expected to get shot but instead saw Bravo Team all lined up, being spoken too by other CSF agents


    "What th- Hey!" All the agents aimed their weapons at me. In my hands Crescent moved itself, a second trigger, more secure than the first, the other barrel in the sword...yet Crescent didn''t open, instead wanting me to fire now. As fast as I could I pulled the trigger, before anything even fired I felt the recoil, and my feet sliding across the ground. The bullet fired, impacting one of the agents, unlike the shock shell, a massive flash happened before a paralyzing shock took it over, they didn''t recover from it, instead getting knocked unconscious.


    "So it''s stronger..." Bullets began to fly my way, I could tell they weren''t lethal as I could feel the shock even when they hadn''t hit anything yet. I raised Crescent again, only for the trigger to click, it seemed the stronger round couldn''t reload itself, it was already too late by the time I realized that, a round struck me in the shoulder knocking me down through intense voltage.


    "Really? Tried to run?" The CSF walked over to me, the one I kicked especially pissed off. "Where would you have even gone?" I was paralyzed, unable to even move, yet I still saw Crescent floating. "Someone grab that damn sword" As soon as someone reached for it, it jolted away, staying just above me. "The hell?" What is Crescent doing? Crescent raised higher. "Hang on...wait!" Before I could figure out what was going on, Crescent slammed down, stabbing me, everything went blank soon after. It wasn''t like the coin situation, I was floating in a void just like the reflection space.


    "The final battle is just over the horizon" I jolted up, my heart racing while a pain in my chest took most of my attention. The TV''s audio was familiar, I heard it just a few minutes prior to when we left. Crescent was leaning against the couch, just near where my head was resting.


    "Y-you stabbed me!?" Crescent of course couldn''t talk, but it didn''t seem to regret its decision in the slightest, if anything, it seemed rather proud of its ''accomplishment'' if it even was one.


    "What!?" I heard the clatter of metal, I looked over and saw Sam standing over a bunch of stuff she dropped. "What stabbed you!?" She rushed over.


    "Crescent..." I looked over at Crescent. if it was proud of what it did...and it only lives if I live...did it save me from dying? "I think did a good job"


    "What? You just said it stabbed you..."


    "Sam...remember the coin thing?"


    "Yeah? It brought you to before you died"


    "When Crescent stabbed me, it had the same effect as the coin...except, we seem to be further back than what the coin could do."


    "So we die soon?"


    "No...I didn''t exactly see how it could''ve gotten worse, but considering Crescent has no reason to kill me or itself, I''m assuming it did it to protect me"


    "Is...that actually true?" Though she wanted a more definite answer from me, Crescent did what it could to nod. "O...kay then..." I got my feet off the couch and held my head. "Headache?"


    "No...just, thinking" Sam walked around and sat down with me. "Part of my journal is ripped, more so the start...memories locked too...the woman in that vision seems to be related to me somehow, and wanted me to live, no matter what happens...Crescent seems to try and uphold that" Crescent nodded. "Raymond is practically helicoptering us...even went as far as to give us a mission in Marivo so we couldn''t do our own search"


    "Do you wanna go back?"


    "Too risky at the moment..." Too many mysteries going around...but not any leads. My hud opened, I was ready to close it, thinking it was Raymond''s message again, until I fully read it.


    Clock tower


    Recipient: Your neighborhood Handyman


    You know where to go.


    "What''s that?" Sam clearly read the message. "Clocktower?"


    "I don''t...get it either...but...did you have to read it?"


    "Well, you just said your sword stabbed you...and now some unknown guy messages you"


    "I mean...I guess so" I stood up.


    "Do you even know where to go?"


    "There''s not many places I know that have clock towers, the one in the city is probably where they meant."


    "Should I stay here?"


    "They didn''t say to go alone, if they complain that''s their fault"


    "Hehe, alright then!" She hopped up. I picked up Crescent and slashed down, cutting open the portal.


    "This should be just outside the clock tower"


    "First I go then!" She skipped into the portal, I waited a moment before following. We were back on earth again, this time the clock tower in front of us. The only way up was the elevator.


    "Think it still runs" I waited on Sam''s opinion.


    "Probably, it''d be dumb if they called you here and then didn''t get the only way up running" I clicked the up button, it took a moment, but it soon lit up, indicating it worked.


    "I''ll be damned." I looked up and saw 15 floors, I was ready to wait for the elevator but with a ding, the doors opened. I made sure to step in first just in case, but nothing happened. Sam walked in soon after, tapping the button to the top floor. "Just realized something" The doors closed.


    "Yeah?"


    "They messaged me, so it''s a DT, but i don''t recall knowing any DTs who consider themselves a ''Handyman''" The elevator must''ve already been on the first floor, it''s taking a bit longer.


    "What do you think they wanna talk about?"


    "For all we know they want us dead."


    "Let''s...hope not" The doors opened, the person who messaged me made themselves clear, they stood at the edge of the tower with a rifle, looking down at the city. We stepped out and right as I opened my mouth to question them, they spoke.


    "Shot at a tavern, stabbed by your own sword Sound familiar?"


    "Yeah..." I simply answered them.


    "You''re dying too often, the coin ain''t a miracle worker" The person was offputting, they spoke normally, stood normally, but something was simply...off, the cloak that covered their appearance fully...the rifle...


    "What''d you want?"


    "Straight to the point, about right" They hit the butt of the rifle down, changing it into a sword, with flair they twirled it and masterfully sheathed it on their back. "You''re able to rewind after you die, though you figured out that much, thing is, you can die all you want, but you still gotta use it right."


    "What?"


    "Your sword stabbed you, bringing you further than the coin, don''t you see my point? You can find out whatever you want, you just gotta kill yourself right after so no one knows"


    "Pardon me?"


    "You think people have to kill you to cause it? All you gotta do is stop living, and that coin will prevent it."


    "How do you know about it?" They reached into their pocket, a moment later, a shine in the sky before they catched it.


    "Don''t get it wrong, we''re not the same person, I ain''t some guy from the future or the past, I''m just a handyman, tryna get you on the right path."


    "Why?"


    "Why what?"


    "Why help?"


    "Well, you gotta live don''t ya? No matter what happens?" I raised Crescent.


    "How do you know everything? Even stuff that just happened?" The ''handyman'' raised their index finger, swiping it to the right, I was confused at first, until Crescent flung out of my hand towards the direction he swiped in, my hand felt burned after sliding against the hilt. "Wh...the hell!?" I took out my knife as a last resort, they tried swipping again, though it didn''t work.


    "Oh...well...you know what?" They looked at both of us. "If you both win, I''ll tell ya whatever you want, if ya lose, you quit it with the questions." I almost instantly agreed until I pondered on it longer. I stood straight and put away the knife, I looked over to Sam who already had her weapons drawn, but seeing me put away mine, made her do the same.


    "Let''s go" I turned around "This was pointless."


    "Lee" The handyman spoke. "I hope you know this is all far from over, even when it looks like the end, things are only just starting"


    "What''s your deal?" I turned back around to face them.


    "Told ya already, Just tryna do you a favor"


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    "Tsk" I resummoned Crescent back to me and sheathed it.


    "Let''s just go" I cut open a portal and the two of us returned back to the base. "He just messed with you the entire time"


    "He did mentioned one thing that can help..."


    "Wha-..no"


    "Why not?"


    "It''s killing yourself, what do you need to know that badly?"


    "Why my memories are locked, where my pages went, why I need to live so badly compared to everyone else"


    "..." Sam looked at the floor. "Doesn''t that just ruin the whole point of living? The whole one chance part of it?"


    "We get brought back either way...I''m just getting info in the process"


    "...just...don''t go overboard with it...okay?"


    "I won''t, it''ll be a last resort"


    "Better be..."


    "There you two are" A very annoyed Nicholai walked over. "You two just up and disappeared."


    "We just had to take a quick visit to earth"


    "What?"


    "What''s so wrong with earth?" Sam was confused by Nicholai''s worry


    "Oh, well, nothing...nothing at all, doesn''t explain why you went there though."


    "Just responding to a message we got, it ended up being pointless." I tapped the front of my foot on the ground.


    "Ahhuh, that tends to be how random messages go..."


    "Well, I figured that out, so, you were looking for us right?"


    "Yeah, Raymond wanted us to go on a mission to stop a disturbance, but it was handled before we could go" So the same message was sent, yet I didn''t get one again...


    "Really? I didn''t get anything" Sam responded how I was thinking, neither of us got the message, I understood why I hadn''t gotten it, if my HUD keeps all the information even through a rewind, maybe it was flagged as a repeat, but Sam didn''t get it at all.


    "Huh...i''d say that''s more of a Kenneth needed thing, but I don''t really think he could answer that" Nicholai was seemingly pondering something herself. "Nevermind, you two didn''t get hurt looking into this ''random message'' right?"


    "Maybe a bit of a scratch or two, but nothing much" My hand still tingled minorly, but it was better than before at the very least.


    "You can handle a scratch, if you''re still moving around then you''re fine, probably" Nicholai turned around.


    "Oh, actually before you go" even not being able to see her face I could tell she rolled her eyes before turning around.


    "Hm?"


    "Does anything seem familiar to you?"


    "No?"


    "You?" I turned to Sam, she shook her head.


    "Nope, something the matter?"


    "Just a feeling of deja vu is all"


    "Riiight, I guess if you can rewind at least somewhat, something is gonna seem off, anything else?"


    "No, that''s all, sorry"


    "Just don''t do anything dumb, unless you do there''s no need for an apology" She turned back around and went on her way.


    "Welcome back!" Kaz hopped onto the couch''s left arm and looked over at us.


    "Heya Kaz!, whatcha been up to?" Sam crouched down to be on Kaz''s level...somewhat, even crouched down she was a bit higher than Kaz.


    "Just looooking around"


    "And did you find anything?" I looked down at the two.


    "Yup!" Out of thin air, a file appeared on the couch.


    "You have DT stuff too..."


    "Yuppers!" I couldn''t help but feel bothered by it, regardless, the file seemed important, I picked it up and sat down, Sam beside me, and soon Kaz, hopping over onto Sam''s lap.


    "This looks confidential..."


    "It is!"


    "What?"


    "They weren''t looking at it, it was underneath hundreds of stuff, and it also relates to the corruption issue" There was silence, but only for a moment, I could only respond with a sigh before opening it up.


    "There''s a few things here...Corruption Symptoms, Corruption types, Corruptors...these didn''t come from one file did they?"


    "I put a few together"


    "Figures..." It was hard to decide which to go to first, until I ultimately decided going in order was for the best. I only glanced at the page for a moment until I spoke again. "May wanna cover your ears for this one Sam."


    "Is it that bad?"


    "Sorta...may wanna look away too" Her expression changed to a more somber one before she covered her ears. "Alright...Corruption Symptoms..."


    Corruption Symptoms


    Warning: Not all corrupted DTs/Humans are affected by Corruption the same way, do not use this file as a way to accurately determine the corruption level of an individual.


    Minor Corruption: Slightly Tainted(With Purple)blood, Paranoia, Itchiness, Slight blood in coughs, a bit more coughing(Minor Corruption does not cause more coughing)


    Medium Corruption: Some veins turned purple, Tainted(With Purple) Blood, more severe Paranoia, Insomnia, lack of control, more coughing, blood in coughs, Small visual hallucinations, rare auditory hallucinations, a small lust for power.


    Major Corruption: Most veins turned purple, Almost all blood is purple, Severe Paranoia, Impossible to sleep, almost no control, almost always coughing, the blood in the coughs increased heavily, Visual hallucinations, Auditory Hallucinations, a debilitating lust for power.


    Full Corruption(Not fully turned): No normal blood, constant bleeding from any wounds, nose, mouth, and rarely ears(No bleeding from the eyes have been documented but some "cases" have said otherwise), Coughing has stopped, unable to speak(The Victim if they''re alive, not the corpse), accelerated rotting, endless hallucinations(That is in the rare case the victim has somehow managed to live up to this point.), Voices that speak of "Cleansing time"<-(Are we just going to ignore this?), Sporadic movements, Randomly says words they''ve said just before reaching this state.


    There were clearly some additions added after this was originally written, photos added to showcase their points, the bodies only became more rotted as it went on.


    "Cleansing time..." I reread it multiple times, someone had written down ''Are we just going to ignore this'' but it was much different then the other edits, less organized, a different font...


    "But what would that mean?" Seeing me repeat myself she uncovered her ears, most likely hearing the last time I said it. "They just corrupt people don''t they?"


    "Maybe there''s something more to it..." I went to the next one, corruption types.


    Corruption Types


    This file requires completion, take what you read beyond this point with suspicion


    Normal Corruption: The type we mostly deal with, Corruptors, Corrupted, Ect<-(What the hell is this explanation?)


    Degraded Corruption: A more severe case of Corruption, if anyone is seen to have this version refer to D.C.P and prep heavy rewind(So long as the DC Victim isn''t one of the Rewinders, if so, refer back to D.C.P)


    Pure Corruption: It is impossible to die to this corruption, however, Normal Corruption is needed in the person''s system beforehand. This Version disregards all penalties to Normal Corruption, allowing its magic, abilities, and other positives to be used like normal magic(Stronger abilities and powers still require blood, only a minor amount compared to the original) There have been only 10 cases of this, as progressing to this version has a high chance of death or degraded Corruption, if anyone claims to have Pure Corruption, report them to A District Ruler, if they are a hostile, do not engage, anyone found fighting with an enemy with pure corruption will be killed before they can locate Eaxura, you have been warned.


    There were no images compared to the last, rather it was just the text instead. It seemed as though the other two versions of corruption were to be avoided at all costs. There wasn''t anything I could comment on, compared to the symptoms, I couldn''t go off of anything.


    Corruptors


    This file isn''t about Corruptors, Burn this...


    and find whoever wrote it


    ...


    "What?" I held a blank paper


    "It''s...nothing" It said to burn it, yet nothing was on it to begin with.


    "Did magic do this? Does burning a file mean something different in the context to what we can do?" I looked at the paper, There was something, I could see it just barely, no, it wasn''t even that, even if you used tech it would be unreadable, the only thing that proved something was written at all was the very small indent caused by a pen writing into it. "It''s about corruption...and I''m not the only one who''s immune to it..." I looked at my hand.


    "What''re you thinking?"


    "What if I use my blood?"


    "Wha, huh!?"


    "I...don''t think you should" Kaz was more concerned about why it was my first idea.


    "There''s only one way to find out" I took out my knife and waited for Sam to look away, however she seemed intent on observing. Pressing it against my palm I slashed down, blood trickled down and onto the page, and from there, my idea proved to be correct. Purple text appeared from the red and while difficult to read, it was much better than before.


    TO THE CORRUPTED


    I can''t fully say who''s an ally or not, therefor, if you can read this page, you probably did it how the rest of us did


    Sorry for that, but there wasn''t much of a choice if I wanted only those who''re corrupted to read it


    The CSF and CEF are not looking out for you, I can''t say if A District Ruler made it this way, as the CSF and CEF seem to have higher


    Authority than Raymond and the others. If you''re corrupted and the CSF come knocking on your door, leave, as soon as you can, if the CEF come...


    I''m sorry, but there isn''t much anyone can do against them.


    We have somewhere safe outside of Zullo, sadly, not a planet, rather a massive ship, not the size of the Teth you may have heard of, but


    It''s big enough to house a few cities, there''s not many of us after all.


    Corrupted are seen as hostiles, people who risk the public''s health...I can''t...fully blame the CSF, anyone can turn and cause mass destruction


    but I can''t agree with killing them without even checking their immunity. We have a saying "To Rise and" If you say that, and they reply "Rest upon the stars"


    They''re one of us, if they''re confused then they''re not...if they reply with "Conquer" or something similar they''re CSF, or CEF, and you should leave quickly but discreetly


    Do not be worried if a CSF soldier says the correct phrase, we can assure you, no one but our allies and ourselves know the phrase, they can be trusted


    If they say the correct thing


    We can teach you how to use Corruption, don''t hesitate to contact us, we''re in this together...and there may not be much time left depending how


    Noticeably Corrupted you are.


    -To Rise, and Rest upon the stars


    "What...the hell did I just read?"


    "So...they are hunting you..."


    "Should we meet up with them" Kaz looked up at me waiting for an answer.


    "There''s not much of a choice...We may have to seperate for a while..."


    "Why?"


    "It''s not what I want, but it''d be offputting if we all left, if I just leave, then only I''d be seen as a target, not all of you, that way we can still have people here, while minimizing the risk to all of us"


    "But you''d be alone, wouldn''t you?"


    "I can go!" Kaz went from Sam to me, rising up to my shoulder.


    "We''ll all stay in contact of course, but this may be for the best.


    "Should we tell the others?"


    "I would...but...Kenneth can''t really lie to save himself"


    "I guess so...Nicholai is a bit iffy with lying too...if anything she''s pretty honest" I stood up.


    "We''ll be splitting up for a bit, I can leave things to you right?"


    "Of course, better come back as an unstoppable boss!"


    "If only, hopefully I''m not long" Sam looked sad, but it was for the best. "I''ll contact you when I make it aboard, hopefully I''m not just saying the same phrase endlessly to random people." With my stuff and Kaz, I walked out the door. Looking at Eaxura now, it was different, anyone could be an insider, anyone could want me dead, if the CSF already appeared during that mission, it''s not so farfetched to think they already know I''m corrupted.


    "I have an idea" Kaz spoke atop my shoulder. "What if we go to where the Teth is?"


    "Why~?"


    "Well, they mentioned the Teth...so maybe they''re related somehow?"


    "...Good point" I closed my hand and raised it to Kaz, getting a fistbump in response.


    With how crowded the streets were, I didn''t have to worry about blending in, letting us make it to the Teth rather unbothered. The ship, of course, was beyond comprehension, you weren''t even able to see the end of it. Being back on point, there were many people wondering about, but one, just one, was leaning against a wall as they looked towards the Teth, as though reminiscing. I walked up to him.


    "Whatcha want?" His voice was gravely, and his face has scars though they had seemingly faded with time. I contemplated whether to say it.


    "To Rise and" I could feel my heart pound, waiting for a response. The man looked at me, his eyes squinted as he looked at me more intensely.


    "Rest upon the stars" His answer was slow, and his voice still gravely, but it was the answer I had hoped for, the man smirked. "Ain''t you a sight for sore eyes sharpshooter" It was like someone punched me in the head as my brain churned to understand.


    "Wait...yo-you''re the guy that needed the outpost!"


    "Hehe, at least ya rememba"


    "What happened to you?"


    "One of our guys got a bit pissy he didn''t get extras."


    "That''s it?"


    "You bet, burned the entire stock we had, made it pretty obvious for zombies to waltz in with all the yellin too" He brushed the hair aside that covered his right eye, it had an eyepatch. "Couldn''t recover the eye they said"


    "Jeez..."


    "regardless...guess you didn''t make it either"


    "Some guy shot us."


    "And that friend who needed the medicine?"


    "Got shot too"


    "Tsk...who the hell shots a buncha kids, you were much younger then too"


    "By a year or two, not enough to say much younger"


    "Well you''re helluva lot younger than me, hahaha...eh...god I''m old......Anywho, you''re one of us ay?"


    "Yeah...found the file, or, this fella did"


    "Hewo!"


    "Did...nevermind, honestly that''s not that weird compared to everything else...sad to say I don''t recall your name"


    "Lee, and the cat is Kaz"


    "Lee and Kaz huh? Well, let''s get ya aboard the Teth 2.0"


    "Called it!"


    "You can just call me Loui"


    "Like...Low?"


    "Loui"


    "It just sounds like you''re saying Low"


    "Guess they sound similar enough..." Loui grabbed my shoulder, and almost in an instant, we were somewhere else.


    "W, wha...how..."


    "We''ll teach ya how, it''s not a corrupted skill either"


    "Alright..."


    "Yo! Another new guy!" Someone sitting in a chair pushed themselves back, making the chair spin. Soon everyone looked my way, all of them excited.


    "Welcome to the Guardians, Recruit!"


    "What? I thought the Guardians were the Teth?"


    "We are, ya see" He walked over to the table in the middle of the room...taking a better look it seemed like some command center, the front with many desks and screens and buttons, with a massive window facing in the very front.


    The table pulled up a hologram, showing the Teth and a planet.


    "We were sent on a mission from a district ruler, not Raymond, some other guy...don''t recall them...anywho, we got to the planet and wouldn''t ya know, a buncha fucking corrupted waiting for us, with corruptors behind em. Everyone of us got hit at least once, hence..." He opened his arms, as to show everyone. "Here we are, instead of being taken in or killed by the CSF, we left those bastards in the dust."


    "So you guys are the Guardians of the Teth?"


    "We just call ourselves the Guardians now, but yeah"


    "So...where''s the boss of it all? I wanted to ask them about the note."


    "Use your eyes bud" I looked at everyone, they all wore a black jacket with a star symbol instead of normal military rankings, but when I got over to Loui, his was a grey jacket and a different star compared to the others.


    "How''d you end up leading to very different groups."


    "Guess I have a true charm to me"


    "Sure...but the note...how did it get found out?"


    "It was much different before I made it how it was, before it was actually written, hence it got found out, but, when they erased the whole thing, that''s when I did the whole blood stuff."


    "So the CSF found it before someone who actually needed it"


    "Yeah, we can''t exactly control it when we don''t know who needs it. We can''t sense corruption, most of us anyways. But that don''t matter anymore, we got someone with actual fighting experience now"


    "I wouldn''t go that far"


    "Nah, even they agree, some of these guys are the same people from my ol group, a decent chunk of these guys are new to fighting, we could use any help just like before, in return, I''ll teach ya parts ya don''t know, magic, Corruption skills."


    "Guess this deal is more me sided, safe place, being taught, just for teaching others how to fight"


    "Glad ya see it that way" He walked over to a different table, one that actually looked familiar to me, the machine moved, creating something. "Regardless, may not be an official division now, but while I can." He picked up whatever the machine had made and walked over, what he held were dog tags, on one side was information about me, some spaces open for me to fill, the other side a sword with eligible writing.


    "Think your machine broke."


    "That''s on purpose, you''ll learn to read this sooner or later"


    "Wouldn''t be the first..."


    "Fighter and translator?"


    "I''d rather not cause a misunderstanding"


    "heh, whateva ya say"


    "Loui!" Someone at a desk spoke up, calling for the leader. He quickly rushed over.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "The scout team we sent down is having issues, CSF"


    "Shit..." Loui looked at the monitor, then at the window in the front, I couldn''t tell if the planet was Eaxura as I hadn''t even been in the world''s space yet. "Your end can be done now"


    "How?"


    "Train the new guys while we''re gone!" A few of the Guardians put on gear before a portal was cut open.


    "But aren''t I a new guy too!?"


    "Not what the sword says!" Before I could question them more they disappeared.


    "eh"


    "Well, Lee, we can take ya to the training room" While the soldier talked, they also handed me a tablet. "Before you ask what it is, I''ll explain. This tablet can connect to your HUD, as such, we''ll temporarily create a sub team in your HUD, won''t interfere with your main team, but it''ll still let you see their health and all."


    "And the tablet?"


    "To create simulations, anything they fail at will be up to you to fix"


    "Feel like actual sparring would be more successful"


    "Well, if it''s found your training does well we''ll consider it. Loui may be the main boss but that doesn''t mean he rules every part of this ship"


    "Fair enough, I take it your responsible for the soldier''s care then?"


    "You can say that, either way, good for you for catching on."


    "What about me" Kaz had been mostly silent, but perked up upon realizing they had nothing to do.


    "Ah...where..."


    "She''s pretty small huh?"


    "Whether they are or aren''t I should''ve noticed them!"


    "Maybe they blended in with my hair.


    "It barely reached your shoulder"


    "Beyond me then"


    "Whatever..." He turned on the tablet before fully letting it go. During the startup an emblem appeared, a shield and in the center of it a knight with their fist against their chest like they were saluting. It fully started up, there were a few apps, simulation, Teams, the such. "Good luck, if ya need anything find me."


    "oh shit" I mumbled to myself.


    "What?" I startled Kaz.


    "I didn''t message Sam yet" I opened my HUD and wrote.


    Sorry for the wait, It passed my mind


    -Lee


    It''s alright, how is it?


    -Sam


    A...welcoming bunch I''d say, the guy who helped me


    Get the medication for you is the leader of the Guardians


    -Lee


    The same guardians as the Teth ones?


    -Sam


    Yeah...his name''s Loui, it sorta sounds like Low


    -Lee


    Well, make sure you and Kaz take care, we have stuff to check out down here


    -Sam


    Same goes to you and the others


    -Lee


    "Guess we better get to it" I interlocked my fingers and extended them as far as I could to stretch all the while I began walking wherever my feet brought me, by some miracle I made it to the training room through all the hallways and turns.


    "Surprised you found your way"


    "Just had a hunch, surprised it was right." There wasn''t any handle for the door, no keypad on the side either.


    Just press your hand against it


    -TDM


    "Guess he can see me...TDM...Training Department Manager?" I pressed my hand against the door, it glowed white before opening.


    "Welcome to the training department Lee" I couldn''t tell where exactly it came from, but I heard it all the same. The room seemed overkill, even if it was an illusion it looked like the room expanded on for miles. I took a step and almost tumbled down a set of stairs before catching myself on a railing.


    "God...damnit..." I was too focused on how big the room was instead of seeing the fact there were stairs right below me. I carefully set my feet down and started walking.


    "Hey, where do you think you''re headin?" The TDM spoke from an intercom.


    "Am I not training them?"


    "You have your own area, to your left" When I turned that direction, a portion of the wall opened up, it revealed a hidden area, I walked in and turned right, i saw a desk, a window facing the entire field, and a few monitors. "You can create any scenario here, don''t go overboard"


    "I''ll do my best not to" I pulled out the chair and sat down, I was meant to construct a scenario from scratch, inputting in my own enemies maybe even making my own. "Alright..." I set the tablet on the desk, using a stand to keep it up, all the while Kaz hopped onto the table, watching whatever I did. "Let''s get to work then"

 Chapter 14: Bravo to Synergy

    Kaz rested on the desk beside the monitors, it was hard to gain a grasp on the controls when it was on a tablet so I went with something easy first. I pressed on the button of a mic.


    "We''re running it again, the AI are going to be smarter now, Blue, make sure you fully check a room this time, Red, keeping your guns out when aiming it at someone gives them a chance to retaliate, either arrest them or fire." The entire room changed, fitting to the randomness of the simulation. The blue part of the team reloaded everything, while the red portion were already prepared. Despite being on the same team their tactics and attitudes were different. Red was a lot more hotheaded, like they were trying to speedrun the simulation, Blue was slower, but they were so cautious things slipped past them. If they could combine both of their tactics...It would create a better team. I pondered as they went through the simulation again. My HUD opened, with a message from Sam, it was one of those chibi stickers, this time Sam looking around a corner.


    Yello!


    -Sam


    Busy?


    -Sam


    Not at all, go ahead


    -Lee


    CSF are still looking for you, they''re starting to get really


    annoying with their search


    -Sam


    Kenneth and Nicholai understand so they''re not messaging you,


    Quoting Nicholai "He probably had a plan, he''s not that dumb" It was more Vulgar


    but...i''m not typing or thinking that


    -Sam


    Being brutally honest as always


    -Lee


    Kaz and I are doing fine up here, though it hasn''t been that long so


    who really knows how it''ll be


    -Lee


    Well you seem fine now, it can''t take that major of a down turn right?


    -Sam


    Probably...


    -Lee


    P...probably?


    -Sam


    It''s the Guardians, I wouldn''t doubt if a random CSF ship appears


    -Lee


    How''d we go from future heros to treasoners? :[


    -Sam


    I don''t consider it my home or country


    -Lee


    Fair enough...


    -Sam


    Well, we have a few things to do, take care


    -Sam


    I leaned back on my chair, all I could do was watch the simulation play out, even with it being a simulation, the injuries each person got was at minimum painful, I suppose the reason they did it this way was so they didn''t rush through since there''d be no harm if they made injuries impossible


    "How''re they doing?" Loui came through the door, his eyes instantly going to the monitors.


    "Not bad, their faults are at least obvious"


    "Hah. Least you also have an eye for this stuff."


    "I just said they were obvious. Their other faults are more or less harmless." I crossed my right leg over the left one, trying to find a way to get more comfortable.


    "People even pass over the more obvious things, something like this is no exception" Even though I had just told them their faults they still kept them.


    "I see your point now..."


    "To why I''m here though, it''s bout time you learn some new stuff"


    "I''ve barely been here"


    "You''ve run a few simulations, and I can tell from here they''ve at least...learned...somethin"


    "Exuding confidence here"


    "Ya wanna learn or not?"


    "Right" I uncrossed my legs and stood up. "Kaz, mind watching this for me?"


    "I gotcha!" Still on the table, Kaz turned to actually face the monitors this time.


    "Then let''s get going kiddo" As he said, I began to follow him into an entirely different room, it was more spacious and looked similar to a dojo with the more wooden, padded flooring. Other soldiers were sparring with each other too, but not with magic or weapons, but hand to hand. "You know there''s a record for you right?"


    "Record of what?"


    "A normal record, Name, Date of Birth, all that crap"


    "Your point?"


    "It mentioned you were a delinquent."


    "And? I was just around at the wrong time, and I was seen as the problem"


    "But you still fought"


    "I guess..."


    "So you have to have some sort of style" We stopped walking in the center of the room. Almost immediately upon stopping Loui turned around. "Kid like you wouldn''t just widly throw punches, even if you are a troublemaker"


    "I told you I was there at the wrong time"


    "Say what you will" Loui slid one of his legs back, along with raising both his hands.


    "You''re not fist fighting someone my age are you?"


    "I''m not fighting someone your age, I''m fighting you"


    "That''s the same thi-" Loui threw an uppercut, I almost had to bend back fully to avoid it and even then I could feel it moving the air as it narrowly avoided me. "Hell is your problem?"


    "I said i''d teach you, I never said how."


    "goddamnit" I mumbled. I could see Loui bending his arms slightly. How is this teaching me anything? I was ready to block from the sides but Loui''s arm quickly straightened, throwing a straight jab at the side of my face. I barely kept my footing on the ground and a stinging pain on my face started to become apparent after a moment passed.


    "Don''t make your glare apparent"


    "Whah?"


    "You made it too obvious you were trying to see what I was going to throw, so I changed it."


    "I was just looking goddamnit!" I could faintly see Loui''s eyes squint, clearly annoyed by my response. He threw another straight punch, I closed my hands together, hoping to block it but my arms crumbled from the pressure. Loui quickly retracted his arm before fully punching me in the face, all the while my arms were hurting. "And that?"


    "You whine too much" It was like a different person, even the small accent faded. Loui stepped back before quickly lunging forward with an uppercut.


    "Screw this" I raised my whole arm and slammed my elbow down on his raising fist, the moment it made contact I saw a slight shake from Loui, yet the pressure continued before my elbow and arm were thrown up.


    "Counter can be as good as you want, but if you''re not strong enough it won''t work" Loui''s feet shifted back and forth, whether he was going back to swing, or rush forward...If I''m not strong enough...Then I''d just have to focus on dodging. I saw Loui take a bigger step backwards then he was doing before, his right arm began to raise. I get it. I tilted to the side, Loui''s overhand quickly came by but the distance between it and me were farther than the dodge from before.


    "Gotcha" A smirk formed on my face as I threw my left leg to Loui''s chest, it hit, he moved showing it hurt, but no pain, no major shift or unbalance. Just then a large glimmer in his eyes before his mouth opened with the biggest smirk I''ve seen.


    "Gotcha" His arms quickly formed around my leg before he kicked the inside of my other one, knocking me down. Seeing as both my legs fell down I had assumed he let go upon contact.


    "What the hell are you?"


    "You''re drifting from your style."


    "Pardon?"


    "I never said it was bad you were a troublemaker, sure they have their issues and one can go too far. But that have something that can be tapped into" He thought for a moment. "How bout this" His accent though fainter than before, returned. "We''ll call that style agent, Guardian, or DT Style...whatever. But what we want is to tap into that delinquent style."


    "I don''t really fight like that anymore...I got hit too much."


    "But you won"


    "I..."


    "We''re more durable, and if you haven''t noticed, someone like you would be in more pain right now if you were human, which proves my next statement, we don''t feel pain as much. It''s still there, but less. Your style of fighting aggressively fits more now than ever. Think of it like Reverse Anger Management, or R.A.M"


    "That fit a lot more than you hoped for huh?" By the faint smile I knew I was right.


    "Now, again" I tried thinking of things that would bother me, yet I was more stumped than I thought I''d be, like all my troubles were locked past a haze. I tapped into it somewhat during the tavern, but now I couldn''t even get a drop of it. "Can''t tap into it ay?"


    "...No...Not even a piece" I looked down at my hand. "Maybe i-" Without any prior warning, something impacted against my nose, I staggered backwards while holding it. "Fng, Goddamnit!" By the time I looked up I saw Loui pulling his hand back. "The hell was that for!?"


    "We don''t have forever"


    "So you punch me!?"


    "You seem annoyed enough"


    "Oh, you think!?"


    "So redirect it to me"


    "It already is!" I wanted to throw punches towards him, yet a part of me decided against it, as though instinct told me it''s better to take it slowly.


    "Come on, you can do it, or do I need to hit ya again?" I couldn''t respond, out of nowhere I got hundreds of mixed signals. Hit him, don''t hit him, what if I distract him and get the upper hand that way? All the signals faded as I saw another punch coming my way. I clenched my fists and threw one forward, making contact with Loui''s punch. It hurt, and I could see my arm wobbling momentarily but it worked enough. He pulled his arm back to himself, but his other hand arched back. Not this time. Seeing him throw another uppercut I fully slammed my elbow down again, and though it hurt I kept pressing down until he pulled back. As he recovered I heard the other people in the training room shout.


    "Heads up!" One of their staffs came flying over from above. Seeing as Loui was shifting backwards, I leapt into the air to grab it but the moment I did I could see Loui running up to hit me on the fall. I let go of the staff until I grabbed the very end of it, then I jabbed it towards Loui, he grabbed the staff with both of his hands to stop it all the while I let go. I landed and punched Loui in the stomach, his hands opened and I grabbed the staff before backing away.


    "I get it, weapons..." Loui wiped something that was dripping from his mouth "Are your Forte..." He chuckled a bit, it was unsettling. "For a first day you did alright."


    "I was winning" I kept the staff pointed at him.


    "After you lost" He crossed his arms, his face becoming more stern. "You think I was gonna go all out on a kid your age?"


    "Course it wasn''t that easy..."


    "Hopefully you keep in mind that''s in a non-ideal situation, no magic, no way to summon your weapon. No situation is mostly that."


    "So why''d we start with it?"


    "I just wanted that side of ya to be back."


    "You don''t even know what that side is"


    "Maybe not, but it clearly has some potential to it. Point is, a style of fighting can go to anything, including if you have a weapon, starting with the basics are always good to do as well." While Loui kept talking everywhere I''d been hit slowly started to become numb.


    "Damnit...what did you do?"


    "I simply hit ya hard enough"


    "Course...what''d I expect?" I dropped to a knee while sharply breathing.


    "You''ll be fine in a moment, we have to be quick with your training, the slower we are the faster the CSF can get ya. Speaking of which" Loui turned to fully face me. "How bout you head back down soon"


    "What? Won''t they kill me?"


    "They let you live at the start, even when your corruption is apparent, we''ve seen kids be born and killed the second corruption is seen, along with the parent"


    "Guess I have heard about Corruption transferring to newborns before..."


    "So if you weren''t killed on the spot, they want you for something, we''ll have some Guardians on watch to make sure you don''t die"


    "Are they gonna punch me to help?"


    "Don''t be a smartass, it won''t help. Anyhow, if ya got your team down there, they''re at risk too, seeing as how you went on your own and fought alongside a total group of strangers just to get meds for one of em, I think they''ll see you all are close, they may think they''re lying about not knowing where you are."


    "Well, one of them does actually know."


    "And would that happen to be the sickly one you needed meds for? The CSF and so don''t have to follow Raymond''s general orders, unless they''re explicitly told not to do something they will, I wouldn''t put it past them to interrogate a sick person."


    "So what, you want me to head back down?"


    "Not immediately, just when you figure it''s needed"


    "I''ll go tomorrow morning...they take priority"


    "At least you''re loyal, can''t say that about a lotta people" I was able to stand again once the numbness faded. "You can just stay in your little overwatch room, come in and out when you please"


    "Won''t this place move? How would I know where to go?" Loui shook his head.


    "Not how it works, if that was the case, when a planet orbits wouldn''t you be in space sooner or later or your portal would be inaccurate?"


    "So...It''s like warp points"


    "Warp Perms"


    "Hm?"


    "No one can warp to here because they don''t have perms, otherwise we''d have CSF on our doorstep every day, terrorists and such can''t reach Eaxura because almost no one has perms to it, hell, no one even knows where Eaxura is in Zullo, it''s like a lost dimension"


    "So how did people find it?"


    "It used to be a part of another dimension, but Eaxura was ripped out of it, hence why it''s a similar to a floating island."


    "Wouldn''t someone be able to figure out what dimension Eaxura used to be a part of by noticing the massive goddamn crater is must''ve left behind?"


    "Even if someone does find it, it don''t mean they can get perms to Eaxura."


    "So why have I seen every Eaxura resident warp around? Even if it''s warping in the same dimension, wouldn''t you still need perms?"


    "Everyone born in Eaxura is automatically given perms, that don''t mean it can''t be revoked though, hell, they might revoke your perms today or tomorrow." I was silent, I was debating whether I should go now. "I''m kidding, if that did happen you could just kill yourself and rewind.


    "You know about that?"


    "Your rewinding is only for one dimension you know, you haven''t mastered it enough to rewind the entire multiverse"


    "No...that''s not right..."


    "Oh?"


    "There''s this show that one of my friends watch in the living room, it was playing one episode and when I died by the CSF in a different dimension, I woke up in Eaxura where it was rewinded too...it was playing the same thing and they acted like nothing happened."


    "Did you do it yourself?"


    "No" I took out Crescent. "This did" Loui looked at it.


    "Crescent Moon huh?" He looked at all the engravings. He looked out the window of the ship, even I could see he looked towards the moon just outside of Eaxura, it was difficult to see, seeing as we had to be ages away from Eaxura for us not to get spotted. The moon looked different from earth''s, but from this distance I couldn''t tell what that difference was. "See any visions of stars?"


    "Once, yeah" I saw an expression I haven''t seen from Loui before, it was surprised, but there was another emotion in there I couldn''t pick out.


    "Can I see Crescent real quick?" I nodded, he took Crescent from my hands and after holding it, he flicked down to reveal the two barrels. "It''s the exact same..."


    "To what?" Loui flicked it back up, closing it. He set Crescent down, to which it quickly returned to its sheath.


    "That''s different though" He shook his head. "Listen, there''s someone else with that sword."


    "Yeah, I saw it too in a vision."


    "No, no no, this is different. It''s...nevermind"


    "You can''t just be like that and not tell me."


    "You''ll be too paranoid if I do"


    "And I''ll be paranoid of everything if you don''t" Loui looked conflicted between keeping quiet, and telling me.


    "Protect that coin, that''s all I can say, I can''t say who they are, or even mention them by description or they''ll know" He put one of his hands on my shoulder. "You, are one of the only people with white hair, if you see another person your age with that hair, you run, you hear me?"


    "Why not just defend myse-"


    "You won''t get past two seconds, you have to keep that coin out, that''s the downside, but if possible, if you have to buy time before you can run, you die, instead of letting them take it, you can come back, but if they get it...I''m already risking it by just talking. You can''t tell your buddies about this one, if you slip up even slightly on how you describe them you''re screwed" All I could do was nod. "Good...it''s probably best you head out now, just incase"


    "Guess so" Loui was silent as I left, it wasn''t difficult to find where we were before, and Kaz seemed to be doing well...doing well sleeping that is. "Didn''t I say to watch over them?"


    "The guy from earlier said they were good to go"


    "Sorry then, my bad...we''re heading back"


    "What? So soon?"


    "Yeah, I can''t really explain, but...we gotta"


    "If you say so..." Kaz hopped off the table and made it to my shoulder. Taking out Crescent I opened the portal as normal. I took a single step in, and was rewarded with multiple different variants of rifles aiming at me, their wielders? People who have massive CSF letters on their coats.


    "Course..." Without even seeing where they were, a rifle swung into the side of my head, making my mostly perfect vision into black.


    I heard the splashing of water, vines surrounded my barely visible hands and from that I knew where I was.


    How am I here? I didn''t even mention it or think about it? Am i drowning? They wouldn''t just kill me like that would they...no...Crescent would kill me if I was in danger, or...did Crescent feel betrayed that I made their rewind pointless in the end? More unsolved strands appeared.


    ''The unknown coin hunter''


    ''CSF''s motive''


    all things that just confused me. More importantly


    ''Clouded Memories''


    I still haven''t regained any memories, yet, I was able to replicate a style, even if badly, without remembering any of it.


    ''Is Raymond allowing this?''


    If he is...Forget this...if I was forced into reflection space I''ll force myself out.


    I took a sharp breath, getting out all the ways I have before.


    "-ion" My back was against a wall and my hands were clamped in something. My vision soon returned, the ground and walls were rusting away, I looked up and saw I was locked behind a door with my only visible way to see out the room was a small rectangle window at the top of the door. I barely heard the end of someone''s sentence, my head was pounding, even hurting more than when I was shot or hit with weapons before. I couldn''t have just been hit...something else happened I wasn''t aware of. I coughed, even if it was short it was more painful than anytime i''ve coughed before.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    "W..." No words came out, my head pounded. How''d it get to this...


    "The hell''re you doing?" I heard someone being yelled at outside the room. "He''s already been roaming for days, if he went corrupted he would have ages ago!"


    "You know how it is, we do whatever the hell we find right unless you tell us. Get off your high horse and realize you''re at fault too"


    "Then I''ll take fault now, now move" The door swung open. Raymond was there, but he looked completely different, at least outfit wise, it was way more formal. "You alive?" It was difficult to see Raymond''s face with the light coming into the room from the door behind him. I didn''t respond, not just because I physically couldn''t, but I still wouldn''t by choice.


    "Considering you''re breathing, I''d say so." He took out something before flicking it towards me, the sound clanked towards me. I looked down and saw my coin beside me. "You rewinded didn''t you? The CSF woulda found you sooner if you didn''t"


    "When...you''re about to be shot...yew...you...tend...to preserve yourself..." I spaced out my words to make it easier for me.


    "Sorry about that." Someone came into the room.


    "Raymond, issues"


    "Can you be more specific?"


    "You know what, those issues" Raymond looked worried.


    "Alright..." He knelt down and raised my hands as he took out a key, a moment later, the things around my hands opened. I was getting ready to stand up and leave until Raymond grabbed my shoulder. "Listen, the CSF may not have killed you now, but they''re going to if you seem like a threat, every week, afternoon, you come to me. That way I can convince the CSF I''m testing you"


    "The hell is your obsession with me?"


    "Pardon?" My words blurted out on their own.


    "Kai, and you...this isn''t normal, you''re not watching over anyone else as much as you do to me." I swung my arm forward to escape his grasp. "Not telling me my power, not explaining much, now watching over me like a damn hawk."


    "...I h-...In time, it''ll be clear. If I told you now...I can''t assure the future is going to be good."


    "And how would you know?"


    "There was someone before you, with the same coin, she got herself killed over something stupid, you''ll make the same mistake if you rush too far ahead." For once it was an answer I was content with, one that actually made sense on why I couldn''t be told. "That''s all I can say"


    "Were they killed by the person looking for the coins?"


    "How do you know about that?"


    "Rewinding is one helluva trait"


    "Smug bastard..." Though he said that as an insult, he seemed proud. "No, more so they went missing"


    "So how do you know they died?"


    "Our HUDs, when she was missing we still had a trace, her health and all were perfect, one day, it dipped all the way to zero."


    "So you were part of the same team. That''s the only way you can see that"


    "Good to know some people pay attention...regardless, I have stuff to attend to. Behave yourself" He walked out with the woman who told him about the issues. "Disable that MEMP" I could hear him speaking to one of the guards as he left. The moment it was disabled I got a bunch of messages the more recent ones being-


    Are you alright!?


    -Sam


    Give a location, we''ll plan something


    -Nicholai


    I''m Alive


    -Lee


    Oh, finally!


    -Sam


    Sam was ready to take drastic measures


    -Nicholai


    Weren''t you saying you''re ready to plan something?


    I never said she was the only one


    -Nicholai


    I started to walk out of the facility, it was a straight hallway, any other door was either locked or guarded. Even with that I could hear people behind the doors. Anytime I stopped to listen the guards glared at me.


    So where are you?


    -Sam


    My map ain''t working, I''ll just head back to base


    -Lee


    What if you get nabbed again?


    -Sam


    I don''t think that''ll happen


    -Lee


    Right...


    -Sam


    Jinxing yourself again huh?


    -Nicholai


    The walls were perfectly maintained, a contrast to inside the room I was in, the doors looked more...peaceful? If that was the word.


    "Out this door" The guard standing next to a double door spoke out. I couldn''t really do anything but listen, if I didn''t I''d just be walking in this hallway forever.


    I was almost blinded as I stepped outside, I didn''t realize how dim the lights were until now.


    "There you are!" it was really faint, but I could recognize that voice from miles. She ran over and soon became even more worried. "What happened?" She wasn''t looking directly at me, more so the side of me, I felt the side of my head and flinched as I made contact with a cut.


    "Hit hard enough to do that...apparently. Surprised you saw it."


    "It''s not hard to notice a cut when you have white hair...White...pinkish...yeah I''m sticking with calling it white hair."


    "God...damn..." Kenneth and Nicholai eventually caught up, with Kenneth more tired than the others...though Nicholai seemed a bit out of it too.


    "How long have you guys been looking?"


    "Hours...half a day really" Hearing that made me realize just how long Sam can keep going for if she needs to, being a DT must''ve helped with that.


    "Thanks for that"


    "Don''t mention it"


    "Please mention it...Screw photography she needs to be a goddamn drill instructor"


    "How about we head to the base...there''s some stuff that I found out."


    "Alrighty! Kenneth, get up we''re going!" Kenneth was in the middle of sitting down, at least until Sam told him to do the opposite.


    The trip back was simple, I told them everything, including the coin guy.


    "So this guy has their own version of Crescent?" Kenneth sat on one of the chairs. "Our soul weapons are meant to be one of a kind..."


    "What if it''s from that woman Lee saw in that vision?" Sam leaned forward as she spoke. The two of us were on the couch, Nicholai for one reason or another decided to stand. "If it really is Lee''s mom, then maybe the person who used to be on Raymond''s team was her, that would explain how they also have Crescent."


    "That would mean she''s dead" Nicholai spoke up.


    "That''s...true..." Sam leaned back.


    "First it was the CSF, now it''s some coin guy." I hated the fact I was being hunted, hiding when I should do something. "Actually...I don''t think there''s reason to worry."


    "Don''t get over yourself."


    "No, think about it" I took out the coin. "It glows whenever it rewinds, or I die...so when rewinding...So that''s when its power is apparent, so long as I don''t die or rewind often, there''s no way for them to find out where I am" Everyone thought for a bit.


    "I think you have a point...though we don''t fully know how the coin or magic really works in this yet."


    "Speaking of magic..." She paused, but only for a moment. "Those partner bonds, right now we can know where each other are on a map, but those bonds do more..."


    "You''re thinking we should get them" Nicholai eventually sat down on the couch arm.


    "Yeah, that way if that guy comes along we can at least be a bit more prepared."


    "Your call Lee"


    "I agree with it, it allows us to share powers too if I recall."


    "Bout that" Kenneth stood up. "I''m really the only one who''s learned magic, except for Lee''s blood magic stuff."


    "We won''t have to worry about that" I crossed my arms. "Think about it. If we can share magic, then we have to know what magic we''re sharing, therefor, both parties can know what magic they have."


    "...damn...that''s, actually clever" Nicholai seemed amused.


    "Well, if there''s no contest, we can go now before anything else happens." I stood up, along with the others.


    Links


    Sender: Lee


    Recipient: Raymond


    Those partner-links or bonds, where do we get them?


    I got a response almost immediately


    You know you have my contact right?


    -Raymond


    You responded either way


    -Lee


    The dome where you did the trials, there''s a subsection of it in the right wing


    you''ll figure it out


    -Raymond


    "Back to the dome it is"


    "You got an answer that fast?"


    "Guess he hasn''t gotten to work on those ''issues'' yet" With no further comments we set off back to the dome, we decided to walk instead of opening a portal there, that way we could get a better grasp on Eaxura.


    "There sure are a lot of stores" Sam was looking around. When I looked at them, I realized how many different languages the stores were in.


    "I can attempt to translate them if you wish sir"


    "Goddamnit Dave!" Keeping the theme running, Dave appeared out of nowhere and perfectly guessed what I was thinking. "No...no I''m fine"


    "Understood" Dave cloaked again, most likely going to startle us once more later on. When my attention returned to my surroundings I noticed a few of the people in the crowd were Guardians, when I looked their way, and they looked at mine, they gave a quick nod to acknowledge me, so I did the same.


    "What was that?" Nicholai questioned.


    "Nothing"


    "Ahhuh, you just nodded for no reason."


    "Me nodding can wait, we''re here" Just like Raymond said there was an entirely different portion of the dome when you reached the right wing. It was a room filled to the brim with equipment. Two people just exited the room, they seem content, yet they held their wrists.


    "Ah, there you all are" The person speaking stood in the center of the room where most of the equipment was. Their voice and appearance were modulated in a way. Kinda shady that the person doing this is wearing a full on cloak. "Before you panic, I wear a cloak so that I do not interfere with the process, and so it goes as well as possible" Oh damn...my bad... "It''s rather simple, however, I will say, the process to reverse this is beyond painful compared to this, be sure if you want this"


    "We''re more than sure!" Sam answered for the group.


    "Well, I see four of you"


    "Yeah, we just all came together, it''s me and her" I pointed to Sam. "Then those two" Then Kenneth and Nicholai.


    "Alright then" Kenneth and Nicholai stepped forward. "Guess we''re doing you two first. Place your hands on the table, opposing hands, left and right" Nicholai placed her right hand, Kenneth placed his left. "Now, do you have something you''d like to use as your link?"


    "Pardon?" Nicholai spoke up.


    "Flower, Braclet, rock I don''t really care, when it''s on your person it enhances the link, but when you start out, you need it for the link to even work at all."


    "What about a marking?"


    "I can do a marking"


    "Lightning Bolt" Kenneth gave his idea. "On the back of our hands."


    "A bolt? I''d get it if we both did tech, but I''m the medic"


    "I have an idea then" The person snapped, but it sounded louder than it should be. The table Nicholai and Kenneth had their hands set on shifted as two claws for each of them wrapped around their wrists.


    "What the hell!?"


    "I did say it would hurt"


    "You ba-" Nicholai was cut off by a wave of pain the two experienced. In the corner of my eye I saw Sam walking away. Luckily it was short lived. The claws went back into the table, and a mark was left on their hand. The top left half of a medical cross, and the bottom right half of the bolt. "Huh...not bad" Nicholai shook her hand, yet when she shook it and moved down, what looked like chains formed between the two, with a cuff around their wrists. The chain however looked somewhat faded when it got closer to Kenneth, or more so around the halfway point between the two. "What...is this?"


    "It can be multiple things. A way to launch each other, a way to get to one another quickly. Transfer health, ect. It can really be whatever you need it to be, but only to each other...unless you''re hitting people with the chain. That''s simply just the chain though, as time goes on you''ll become more attuned with it and gain more perks...though that depends on what sorta people you are...Now, the other...hey buddy your missing someone"


    "Yeah...she sorta walked out"


    "Heh, makes sense considering what she just saw" Kenneth and Nicholai walked back over.


    "It''s painful...but not that bad, it''s pretty quick" Nicholai repeated the action of quickly twisting her hand and lowering it. The chain vanished just like she assumed it would


    "Back!" Sam rushed back in, holding two roses.


    "What''re those for?" I looked at the roses better, one was the color of my hair, the other hers. "Where''d you even get them?"


    "The guy said we could make our link be whatever, and for where I got them, I grew them in my room"


    "Well, now that both parties are here can we proceed?"


    "You know you sound familiar" I spoke as I placed my left hand.


    "Millions of people reside in Eaxura, sooner or later someone is going to sound familiar"


    "Got me there..." I looked over at Sam who was clearly worried but placed her hand nonetheless.


    "So, which flower is going to who?"


    "Hm?"


    "Well, is the pink one going to him because it resembles you? Or are you having the same colored flower as your hair?"


    "Uh..."


    "We can do the prior" The guy instantly nodded, and soon snapped his fingers. The claws appeared again, and just like Nicholai said, a quick yet vicious pain. I was going to slam my other hand on the table but before i could the claws already opened and the flowers were gone.


    "You didn''t exactly give me a location for them, so I figured you can move it wherever ya like"


    "Doesn''t explain where they went though." I thought it would be on our outfits, but then I saw Sam looking towards me just a bit more above eye level. Looking up a bit more was when I saw it, similar to the hands we placed, the flowers were intertwined in our hair like a clip, her''s on the right side, mine on the left. "Actually doesn''t look that bad..."


    "Sorta glossy though" I heard Kenneth speak from the side. I mimicked what Nicholai did, and I could see Sam doing it too, flicking our wrists the chain appeared, but unlike the other two, it was complete, no fading whatsoever, and faintly I could see rose vines around the chain.


    "I get it" I mumbled before speaking it again out loud. "It''s stronger when activated at the same time"


    "Spot on" The guy spoke once more. "It doesn''t change much at the start except slight visuals and increased power, but it should still be practised for later...You know, you all are part of a team right?"


    "Yeah, Bravo Team"


    "Hmm" The person pondered for a bit before speaking again. "It''s experimental, but I could try a team link"


    "Hang on now, that typically means there''s an issue" Kenneth spoke before anyone else could.


    "Some teams already have it, but i''ve been told there''s heightened emotions during combat"


    "Elaborate"


    "Our powers, as you should''ve been told, can change on emotions, someone who''s angry typically has a higher chance of inflicting fear into their enemies, but that''s not the point. With it being a link, I''ve noticed things I like to call synergies."


    "And?"


    "hmm, how to explain..." he snapped his fingers, the claws accidentally activated. "Ah...damnit..." He snapped again. "Anyways...think of it like an ultimate move, unblockable, unavoidable, and does heavy damage. It does tend to wear down the users mental state but...otherwise it''s useful."


    "Ahhuh..."


    "Whether you get it or not is up to you. It doesn''t take anything since you all already have links."


    "Bit...sketchy...Guess it''s up to you" Nicholai along with the others seem to have left the choice with me.


    "We''ll get it"


    "Good" He clenched his hand into a fist. "Done"


    "Pardon?"


    "Yup...done"


    "What did you even do?"


    "Doesn''t matter, now, all of you do it." I looked to everyone. We all did the motion and there it was, a chain that connected everyone. Me to Sam, Sam to Kenneth, Kenneth to Nicholai. "You have to be thinking of the team link when doing it, otherwise it''ll be the partner one by default. Now, keep in mind, synergies tend to be two or three people, once it gets to four or more, you''re by yourselves" Looking at our HP bars and the such I saw a new bar.


    ''Synergy:0%


    Emotion:Neutral''


    "Now, take care" They bowed and the four of us departed.


    "Magic, Synergy, Links" I thought out loud. "The main things we need to learn. I mean it this time."


    "Right, if that guy is gonna come for you sooner or later we need to prepare." Everyone seemed energized, more than before. If we can share HP, we might be able to share our energy too...that way, we can all be on the same track. The only negative was that we could all get tired if we keep sharing, but if it''s done right, it may just let us fight for hours.


    "Magic should be first, I think" Sam gave her thoughts on the matter.


    "Agreed, Synergy can be done in the middle of a fight, and Links are mainly sharing our powers" I opened our HUDs, there was a simple mission to take out a few creatures. "We can take this one"


    "Seems good enough" We all accepted it, this one was in a fully different dimension. Krouter. "What a name..."


    "''Parently, it''s pretty cold" I looked for more info about the dimension.


    "We really need to get some actual jackets or something"


    "Agreed" Summoning Crescent I cut open the portal just like all the other times before. "Now, come along!" We entered the icelands, it wasn''t as bad as that one, but it was still cold and the fog made it hard to see farther distances.


    "Jeez..." The cold seemed to have already hit Sam. "It''s bad..."


    "Not that bad"


    "Says you!" Though I was kidding Sam was rather bothered.


    "Yeah Lee, you got years of being outside"


    "Me being homeless doesn''t count, and it wasn''t for that long eithe-" I stopped talking as I heard a snap, but it wasn''t a human sort of snap, more like things clashing together.


    "I think I see our targets!" From the fog crab-like creatures walked towards us, snapping their large pincers.


    "Should be easy!" I grabbed tightly onto Crescent and prepared, I could see the others bringing out their weapons too. The crab creatures were slow at first, and I waited till they were close enough, yet, when they took notice of us, their speed increased drastically.


    "Had to talk"


    "Hey, you saying human running speed is too fast for you?"


    "Smartass" One of the creatures leapt at me, I straightened out Crescent and jabbed it forward, piercing through the underside of the creature. The rest began to circle. I pulled back and the creature slid off the blade, all the while I readied myself for the rest. The kept moving side to side at random intervals, even if it was at a speed I could keep up with, that doesn''t mean I can predict when they''d stop or keep going. I heard slashing from around me, indicating the others decided on their own targets. "Goddamnit I can''t hit any of em!" The stopped leaping, instead they kept trying to jab at our legs with their long pincers, it doesn''t mean it was a threat however, it was easy to avoid it, just like how they could easily avoid us. Hell am I doing? We''re meant to be practicing magic. I leapt back and concentrated, The blood magic stuff came from corruption, meaning I have to have more stuff I can do. I took a deep breath and pressed my free hand against my chest, it wasn''t long before I felt a spark, it felt connected to Crescent somehow. I raised my sword up, aiming at the sky with the blade parallel to my face.


    "Ignite!" Like it was instinct I slashed Crescent at the air, it soon engulfed into flames. The snow next to Crescent began to melt away, but something was off about it, the way it looked didn''t seem familiar at all, and so, even with it most likely being wrong I leapt back and called for Kenneth. "Kenneth! Electrocute!" Almost immediately a spear was in front of me, the creature moved into it just in time, though it was snow water, it still electrocuted the creature all until it stopped moving. The spear soon faded. I turned to the others who were doing their own thing, I also realized each of the creatures were doing their own thing, mine moved side to side, but Sam''s seem to move forward and back. I saw Sam''s begin to rush over to her, so I did the same. "Jump!" With no questions asked Sam jumped up while I slid under her, I slashed the ground and a fire wall appeared, burning the creature as it leapt through.


    "Where''d you learn that?''


    "Felt like instinct...Just to slash the ground"


    "Well good job either way!" The ground shook, and from the fog, a giant variant of the creature appeared, a part of it were other similar creatures all trying to get out of the main one.


    "Oh god...that''s disgusting" The entire creature was one, with what looked like purple welding them together. "Nother corruption thing..." I was starting to wonder what the limits of it were, it gave some powers, rotted others, now it''s welding beings to be one. Light eminated from Kenneth as he continued hitting things with bolts of lightning, it seemed like he had a grasp of his powers already, most likely using it while working on stuff.


    "Succumb to the fear-!" At first I thought the creature was talking, until the voice set in. I turned to Nicholai, she snapped her fingers while her hand was raised. A circle around her appeared and anything in it seemed to freeze up while looking mortified. "-And let the reaping commence!" The expression she had was terrifying, she swung her scythe all around her, cutting the creatures to bits, once it was over though, she seemed to become tired. The main creature began rushing over to Nicholai.


    "Heads up!" I tried rushing over, but calling out to her would be the only way I could help. Nicholai perked back up and swing her scythe up at the beast, it slashed through parts of it until the multitude of pincers grabbed onto the blade.


    "Go fu-" I threw Crescent at Nicholai, it flew over and hit Nicholai with the blunt end to prevent her from getting crushed by the other pincers.


    "How''d you know it''d attack" Sam joined up with me.


    "Once more-"


    "-Instinct?"


    "You know it"


    "You hit me!?" She was faint, but still audible.


    "Damn thing was about to crush you"


    "Just my luck" From where I was I could see Nicholai very much annoyed, she had her Scythe prime but I noticed it was sparking white, from the corner of my eye I saw it.


    ''Synergy: 100%(First time usage costs less)''


    I didn''t see the emotion marker anymore, but it seemed like synergies changed if we had a major emotion between us all.


    "Nicholai! It''s go time!" I said it without thinking, like something took over me.


    "Got it!" Like there was a crack in reality the whole thing changed. The scenery, and even our outfits. The scenery seemed to be a hospital room, yet it was stretched out to fill a massive portion of enemies, our outfits were akin to a military soldier and a military medic. Neither of us were really in control of ourselves, Nicholai took out a syringe and jabbed me with it.


    "This world''s doubt!-" Nicholai threw her Scythe, it wrapped around the enemies and cut them as they were pulled in, I could feel myself more energized, yet, I didn''t know what Nicholai was on about...but even so I continued it.


    "Will be cut away!"Crescent was now sheathed at my hip for whatever reason, as I was unsheathing Crescent the blade shined brighter than the sun. When Crescent was fully unsheathed it engulfed in something, but not fire from before, it engulfed itself with purple and white. I fired forward and slashed, for a moment it looked like I only cut one enemy, but with a single blink of an eye something was cutting through all the enemies, as though a sword quadruple Crescent''s size was what I slashed. I appeared behind the enemies and reseathed Crescent. "Along with our own" The last four words were spoken to myself. Another glass cracking could be heard, and everything returned to normal, only now the creatures were mutilated.


    "What...what was that!?" Sam rushed over to us, she wasn''t terrified instead it was like seeing something mesmerizing.


    "We weren''t really in control but..." I looked at my arm, my fatigue and pain from before were gone entirely. "I wonder why we said that of all things..."


    "That''s how synergy works it seems..." Nicholai walked over, adjusted her outfit. "Emotions, along with who we are dictates what they are"


    "I wonder how the others look then" I lowered my arm.


    "Hey, Lee" Kenneth joined us. "Your sheath" I raised my arm over my shoulder, but I couldn''t feel Crescent or the sheath, I looked down and saw it on the left side of my hip.


    "Why didn''t this change?"


    "Well, that''s what the synergy was like at the end no?"


    "What if it''s like an after effect, a passive?"


    "Pardon?" Nicholai looked at me.


    "I feel more energized, and my sheath is still at my side, unlike everything else which reverted back to how it was before." I tried pulling out Crescent slowly, mimicking the Synergy attack, and just like it, it began to glow, yet not as brightly, I slashed away from everyone, and a slash double the size of Crescent appeared. "Heh...alright, something else to pay attention to."


    "So there are effects we get to using Synergies, I doubt they last forever." Nicholai desummoned her scythe. "I also doubt we can have multiple at once considering it changes us"


    "It''s all connected too" Sam had her HUD open. "When you guys used it, our charge went to zero as well"


    "Hm...so we should think before using any..." The rest of our HUDs opened.


    Mission Complete


    Sender: Dave


    Recipients: Bravo Team


    Well done on the completed mission, you all will receive payment shortly.


    "Hey is that...our Dave?" Sam tilted her head while looking for anything to confirm it.


    "Yes" just like the many times before, Dave appeared in the middle of us. We were used to it, none of us jumping showed that. "Since there is no handler for Bravo Team yet, or at least an official one, I have asked Raymond to make me yours"


    "Thanks for the help"


    "I do my best Sir Lee, take care now" Dave cloaked again, I wouldn''t be surprised if he could warp himself now.


    "Something the matter Sam?" I noticed her looking at the ground.


    "Well, I didn''t get to learn any magic." I was ready to respond until Nicholai did it first.


    "You''re already dual wielding different weapons, short sword, daggers, pistols, sniper. Don''t stress it"


    "That''s true, oh! Let''s head back, the next few episodes of my show should be downloaded."


    "Shoulda just mentioned that instead..." Nicholai spoke aloud but Sam didn''t seem to notice. Grabbing and unsheathing Crescent from my Hip, I slashed open a portal and stepped in. We were back at base, I went to resheath Crescent, but it was gone again.


    "You''re kidding..." I raised Crescent and sheathed it on my back again, it seemed to be there. "Guess the passives go away when we''re safe...that or go into different areas." The rest of the group came through the portal.


    "Welcome back!" Kaz greeted us, it seems she was resting on the table in front of the couch.


    "You know there''s a couch right?"


    "Yup!"


    "Whatever..."


    "Hey Nicholai...now that we''re not in darkness...our outfits got messed up from the synergy huh?"


    "Lee...take a look at yourself, you''re way worse" Instead of looking at my arm I looked at the whole outfit, it was nearly completely stained in purple.


    "Oh, goddamnit!"


    "Seems synergy doesn''t prevent outfits from being stained."


    "You two are acting like you weren''t excessive" Kenneth wiped his hands on his coat.


    "Either way, I say we deserve a break" Sam stretched her arms out before sitting on the couch. "Mostly Lee though"


    "Course, the guy who got hit in the side of the head with a rifle deserves a break" Nicholai threw me off as she spoke in her sarcastic tone. I sat down and took a breath.


    Tomorrow, come to the dome again


    -Raymond


    "Goddamnit"


    "What?" Sam turned to me.


    "Raymond...again"


    "Barely letting you breathe huh?"


    "Nope, but that''s tomorrow''s issue, I''ll check in on the Guardians too." I began to nod off, but I could still hear the others talking, not anything important, just random banter.


    "How ya holding?" Before I knew it, it was the dead of night, I was laying down on the couch all the while Nicholai was sitting on a chair, reading a book.


    "Why''re you still awake?"


    "No reason really, just needed to be out of my room." Though sluggish, I sat up. "I''ll ask again, holding well?"


    "There''s still this painful pressure in my leg, but other than that, yeah I''m fine"


    "It''s been a few days, but considering we''ve been moving around and fighting...I guess it makes sense. There''s nothing I can really give you, nor legally give you"


    "Hm?"


    "I''m still a high schooler, I can''t exactly get medication from a hospital"


    "They''re letting us fight, I don''t think they''d mind"


    "Maybe, still ain''t giving you any unless you start going into major pain though"


    "Fair enough" I could see Crescent leaning against the couch, just beside where my head would be. "Always sticking close huh buddy?"


    "Kaz was too for a while, then Sam went to bed and she followed her"


    "Yeah that seems right, if Kaz was around when we were human Sam would''ve taken her immediately"


    "hmph, we can agree on that" She gently closed the book and stood up. "Now that I know you''re fine, I''ll be heading to bed"


    "So you were here for a reason"


    "Contrary to how annoying you all can be, I still am your medic"


    "We appreciate your service" She shook her head, but a smile was faintly there.


    "Don''t do anything stupid" She walked away shortly after. Crescent moved slightly, wonder if Crescent needs rest too, or maybe if I get tired, so is Crescent, would make sense since It''s my soul weapon.


    "Men, Your dedication to the cause must be rewarded" It felt like whenever there was silence, the TV always made a noise, then again it''s my own fault for not noticing there was still light in the room, even with it being pitch black. how many episodes does this damn thing have? I laid back down on the couch, too tired to ponder on it anymore.


    "eeeugh" I stretched the best I could before relaxing. To think this is just the beginning...

 Chapter 15: The First Spill

    "I want you to join the CSF" The morning was simple, the way here was just as so, but when I sat down I was almost immediately greeted with that request.


    "The hell did you just ask for me to do?"


    "There aren''t any corrupted in the CS-


    "They''re quite literally called, Corruption Suppression force, I''d think they''d have none."


    "That''s the point, no, that, rephrasing. Corruption, can more easily kill corruption, as such, having someone capable of using those powers are needed in the CSF."


    "Maybe you shouldn''t keep killing corrupted then"


    "We can''t guarantee their immunity"


    "But you could for mine?"


    "We could for the Guardians" I waited for Raymond to continue. "They think we don''t have more ships, and that being far will prevent us from spotting a ship that''s the size of a goddamn country"


    "So why keep them up there?"


    "That''s their own choice, it isn''t our fault they not only cut communication, but then fire at us when we try to speak with em"


    "So it''s some stupid misunderstanding"


    "I will admit, I can''t say that fully, there are some CSF hellbent on killing anyone corrupted...but we can''t figure out who that is until they act on that bloodlust."


    "So that''s why"


    "Right, so not only do I want you to join the CSF, I want you to act as a mediator between the CSF and Guardians, I already have a go ahead for you joining"


    "I''m just some kid, I can''t keep up with that"


    "Then we''ll make it so you can"


    "I doubt it''s that easy"


    "Course not, for a while you''ll just be doing basic missio-"


    "Hang on, what about the others?"


    "Take them with you, don''t, not my concern when you''re around"


    "That again...your high expectations..."


    "You have the coin for a reason, you have Crescent for a reason, I''m only trusting in the person who trusted in you"


    "What if I decline?"


    "Declining is fully within your right to do so"


    "The catch?"


    "I can''t guarantee the CSF won''t come for you regardless"


    "What happened to your command?"


    "I''ll repeat what I said prior, we can''t figure out who has that bloodlust for Corrupted until they act, if you go with the commanders who are fully onboard with Corrupted with no risk, they can''t touch you, and hopefully they understand they''re not killing others."


    "You''re not really giving me a choice."


    "There really isn''t one to give" I leaned back on the chair, Raymond seemed determined on me joining the CSF even without having done much. "They''re paid more, they''re under every benefit under the sun, you get injured? You''ll be cared for. You''re stranded, we''ll do everything to come for you, you get the gist, and that''s for every member of Bravo Team."


    "But more dangerous missions"


    "Not at first"


    "...I''ll consider"


    "Not an option, it''s now or never"


    "And care to elaborate that one?"


    "Same thing as before"


    "Course...Fine then, I don''t really get to pick here"


    "Maybe not..." Raymond opened a drawer before throwing something onto the desk. It was an ID badge, it seems they already had something ready for me. I picked it up and inspected it


    ''Second Lieutenant Lee


    Blood Type: AB''


    "The hell is this?"


    "What''s the matter?"


    "''What''s the matter?'' I practically flew up the ranks!?"


    "No use bringing you back down to private"


    "Even so, you expect me to lead a bunch of soldiers?" Raymond held up one hand with it closed, he raised one finger.


    "Bravo Team"


    "That''s different"


    "Bravo Team" He held up another. "That survivor group when you were in the apocalypse."


    "Most of that was still Bravo Team."


    "Half of that was also new people, enough to make a new squad." He lowered his hand. "You already led two squads, and I have a ton more CSF squads who''d love to be under your command."


    "Why?"


    "Ask them yourself" He shrugged it off. "You still need a picture for that badge, so go take one when you get your coat"


    "Right, only the higher up CSF get jackets right?" Raymond shook his head.


    "No one has one"


    "But I could''ve sworn I saw one before"


    "Some coats are modified with armor plates and all that, wouldn''t doubt it''d eventually look like one"


    "So when do I get one?"


    "When you get your ID done"


    "That''s sorta contradicting"


    "You''ll be told when you have your coat done, then you get your I-" Raymond''s HUD opened. "Speak of the topic" He flipped it around so I could see more clearly. "Your coat''s done, but before you go." He stood up, a syringe summoned in his hand. "I need a blood sample."


    "To see the corruption?"


    "Good to know you''re catching on" I rested my arm on the chair, Raymond pressed the syringe end against my arm and pressed forward, he waited then began taking some blood. "Alright" He took the syringe out. "You''re good, location for the CSF HQ should be on your map." He stabbed the syringe into a weird looking vial, without even pressing down the plunger of it, the blood dispensed. "Take care now" The vial vanished, and Raymond sat back down while I stood up.


    "I''ll try" I walked out of the room. The HQ wasn''t that far, just a few blocks away, the front door was guarded by two CSF, what worried me was how tired they looked even when their helmet blocked out their face. Their arms were drooping, they shook themselves to stay awake every so often as well.


    "Ain''t that the kid?"


    "Seems so" I heard them speaking as I walked closer. "Welcome to the CSF Second Lieutenant"


    "Yeah..." They opened the door for me as I made my way over, unlike the facility I was in prior, this one seemed more refined. Other soldiers walked around, some were in side rooms conversing about operations.


    "Photo Room''s to your left" The soldier behind me spoke. Just like they said, I saw a camera being upheld by a tripod, aimed towards a wall. I went into the room, where my coat was also hanging on the wall.


    "Whenever you''re ready." The one standing next to the camera waited, I took the coat off its hook and put it on, it was a perfect fit if not a little big, and even with the heating on I was perfectly comfortable. I went over and sat down on the stool in front of the wall. "Alright, just stare into the lens" I did as instructed. The camera guy was taking a while, adjusting multiple things, all until it was perfect. The camera''s shutter went off and the guy motioned for me to stand. "That good for you?" He turned the camera around, it wasn''t exactly perfect, but I wasn''t risking a worse one being taken.


    "Yeah, I''m alright with that." He pressed a button on the camera, where a cut out version of the photo dispensed.


    "Here you are, you can just slot it in" It wasn''t exactly easy, me having nails made it easier, but not easy. "And now you''re fully one of us. Hope to see your good work." My HUD opened as something new was marked on my map, a room in the CSF HQ was marked as mine. Guess I better head over there to see it. The room was almost dead center in the building, but its size told me it wasn''t fully just a personal room if it was at all. The door leading in had a window, but I prefered seeing it fully.


    "How do I get more stuff thrown on me..." I spoke to myself as my hand rested on the door handle, I turned it and pushed forward.


    The room was far from basic, dispensers for drinks, a table in the middle with a board beside it. Desks with name plates on them. All of it could be described as a mini office, and seeing how there were more rooms on the side, made it clear there wasn''t anything left out.


    "A- Oi! Boss is here!" I didn''t see it at first, but the desks were already filled except for spares and mine. All five of them got up from their seats, two of them looked familiar. "Raymond said you''d be by soon, how''ve you been." They spoke like they knew me too.


    "You''re..." I couldn''t quite get it however.


    "Just making sure I''m under the right boss, you''re the Lee that''s with the Sam girl right?"


    "Correct..."


    "Then let''s get reintroductions outta the way" He stopped slouching and stood straight. "Kyle Towa, Ex-Mercenary" The moment I heard the name I recalled perfectly who he was.


    "So you died too"


    "Mercs'' loyalty are bought, figured I wasn''t paid enough"


    "and?"


    "Figured if they were gonna kill me, might as well take us all out"


    "So that also means." I turned over to the girl beside him. "Kayla Towa"


    "Correct" Her answer was short.


    "And the rests of you all?"


    "Salazar" The guy wore armor that looks like it''d crush me to bits if it was mine. On the upper-half of the armor, resting in a sheath, was a big knife with markings I couldn''t understand. Seeing his armor made me realize they all had the same insignia embedded in their outfits.


    "Anne will be fine" She had a big bag beside her desk, each zipper had a label under it, indicating what was in there.


    "Kieron, or Kay whichever is preferable."


    "As you''ve noticed" Kyle looked down at his insignia. "We were part of the same merc group, it''s been through a lot of names, as no one could figure ut one, along with the fact we had to keep the government off. We died on the name Viper Legion, so that''ll be what sticks...damn shame we''re stuck to stupid shock rounds now..."


    "So that''s what Raymond meant...guess it''s better I know some of you instead of a solely new team."


    "How you know Kyle?" Salazar''s voice was deep, he was clearly the eldest of the group, possibly in his 40s or so, contrary to Kyle and Kayla who were still teenagers...seeing them still as Mercs was...breaking to say the most.


    "Not surprising, he punched me"


    "Explain"


    "That''s a story for another time, we''ve gotten along for the most part."


    "Right, so, we have a job yet?"


    "Before we focus on that, this isn''t the only team, Kyle and Kayla know them, Bravo Team"


    "Course we know, they''re not exactly the most silent." Kyle rolled his neck while speaking, seemingly not enjoying the fact he''s standing


    "Just letting everyone know, so no one is confused why another group is there."


    "So, any job?" Salazar repeated what he said earlier.


    "CSF get different jobs right? How exactly do I check tha-" I opened my HUD and saw a new section for CSF Jobs. "Nevermind" There were a decent section of jobs even with our low ranking.


    "That hostage one takes priority I feel" Though quiet, Kayla suggested a job.


    "Right, this is one of the only missions where we''re on a time limit" Kyle looked at it as well.


    "Guess there''s not much of a choice if a majority agrees" Kay was holding onto the collar of his coat.


    "We''ll do that one then" I sent a message telling Bravo Team I''d be gone for a bit. "Everyone read-" Before I could finish what I was saying, Kyle held out a rifle from its sling, it didn''t look like any I knew. "What is this?"


    "People tend to not like the CSF if you haven''t noticed, so it''d be bad if people recognized our weapons, as such, we use KCARs, heavily customizable automatic rifles"


    "I see" I grabbed the rifle and slung it over my shoulder. "Anything else?"


    "Not that you already don''t know." I grabbed Crescent and cut open the portal to the mission location, with no prior saying, everyone hopped into it, as did I shortly after. The world we were in was nothing I knew, but it felt and looked similar to earth, all the buildings, trees planted partly in the sidewalk, all that stuff that made sense in a city, which included the massive crowd in front of the building we needed entry to.


    "Alright, out the way everyone!" Kyle pushed through the crowd, giving us room to move forward, it was claustrophobic, people smashed together trying to get a better view. Though we struggled, we soon made it past the crowd and to the front of the building where other CSF waited.


    "Viper Legion, guess you all took the mission, where''s the leader?" I went in front of the group. "A-, Second Lieutenant Lee, glad you all made it" The soldier turned his back on us as he faced the building again, it was a tall structure, if we needed to reach the top it could very well take half an hour or so. "We don''t exactly know who they are, but they might as well be terrorists, they''ve been causing mayhem in the city."


    "We don''t need to know this, where are they located?" Kyle spoke up before anyone else could.


    "Regardless of mission importance, more may come along" Salazar gave reason to Kyle, a reason that was seemingly enough for him. "If we have to deal with them later, we may as well listen now."


    "Is it alright if I continue?"


    "Go ahead" Before anyone could contest I gave the soldier permission to continue.


    "They almost blew up the underground tunnels just a few days prior, and they''ve been taking people hostage a lot recently, we also heard rumors of them having some sorta base, but we can''t find the building."


    "Any main leaders or such?" We all started walking in the building, other CSF had taken control of the lobby, letting us speak without the deafening yelling of the crowd.


    "No, well, we have heard them chant something when killing someone"


    "That is?"


    "For the Dollmaker? Dunno who that is"


    "Neither do...actually" I started thinking back, though most of my younger memories were clouded, even those of my time with the Calstianos'', I recalled something. "There was a guy like that, on the news one time." I thought harder, and eventually, through sheer will, or because I had something to go off on, the memory unclouded, or unlocked...either one worked.


    "The current program has been interrupted, the next statement should be taken seriously, this isn''t a test or drill." The TV cut to something, showing a disfigured person, if it wasn''t for what the news channel was saying, you could never tell they were ever human. I was the only one still up, everyone else was asleep. "Recently, abductions have occurred in the nearby region, previously these abductions of people were considered to be for ransom, however, officials have recently discovered buildings with people, looking like what you are currently seeing. These ''dolls'' as the horrific person behind them as called them, are highly dangerous, if you see anything like this, or anyone with unregistered medical supplies, call the local police force immediately, we appreciate your cooperation and this will all be handled soon."


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    That was what I recalled.


    "No wonder you''re opposite of her, you watch gorey shit" Kyle immediately commented.


    "I didn''t choose to"


    "There''s one thing missing" Salazar spoke with his deep voice. "Why wasn''t the city on lockdown if that was the case."


    "I watch out of country stuff, I wouldn''t doubt I caught the news signal on accident, meaning I very well may have seen the same thing the people here have seen."


    "Hm...this place is similar enough to earth to be that, but considering it''s not registered as earth, that''s reason for concern" Anne had checked her HUD, ensuring us this wasn''t earth.


    "We can focus on specifics later, hostage comes first" I went over to the elevator, it was already called down, and open. "Which floor are they on?"


    "30th" I clicked the button immediately and pressed my foot against the door.


    "Everyone in!" The crew rushed over, once everyone was in I retracted my foot, letting the door close.


    "We have a while till we reach the 30th floor, what''s the game plan?" I checked the map and saw we had the floor plan of the 30th floor.


    "Alright, look here everyone" I moved my HUD over to the elevator door, letting everyone see it. "We''ll be coming in from here, so we can get shot at the left and right, so firstly, we''ll divide into left and right, to make sure both sides are covered. "Kyle, Kayla, and I will take left, rest of you''s take the right. After that left will search the left hallways, right will search the right ones, after that''s done we''ll all regroup at room 3001 and decide from there depending on the situation.


    "Understood" Everyone got ready in their own manner. Kyle and I checked our stuff while the others more or less checked their gear.


    "Right before we forget" Anne placed down her bag from before and took out something, it was masks. "Like the CSF downstairs, we wear these too. Just put them around your neck." We all picked up our own, once it was placed on our necks they disappeared, we couldn''t feel it either."


    "Entering mission area" The device emitted audio and soon activated. The mask covered our whole face and yet we could still see as though we never had one on to begin with. The only downside is that it was hard to tell the others apart.


    "Might wanna put our hoodies up too" I recommended.


    "You''re the only one with hair that sticks out"


    "And wouldn''t it be weird if only one guy had it on?"


    "Get your point" Following my lead we all put our hoodies up as well, completely making it impossible to tell one from the other, except for Salazar and his bulky gear.


    "Anyway to see each other''s names? Who''s who?"


    "Not that I know" I could tell it was Kay by his voice, their voices are probably the only way to tell...actually...


    "Real quick, lemme see everyone''s weapons." We were on the 27th floor but everyone still showed their weapons, everyone''s was wildly different, Kyle had an underbarrel shotgun and that was it, Kayla had a knife under the barrel with a small sight, Anne had a smaller version of the rifle, it also had two barrels and two triggers, Kay''s was decently standard with no major changes, and Salazar''s was practically an LMG with a smaller mag size. The paint job also helped, though that was only small differences compared to the attachments. "Alright, I know who''s who"


    "Got photographic memory too?"


    "I think anyone can remember an underbarrel shotgun on a rifle"


    "Tsk, alright Genius" The elevator dinged as we made it to the top. All our fingers went from the side of the trigger, onto it.


    "You recall what to do." In the middle of the doors opening we burst out, Kyle even jumped to the floor. I heard gunshots behind us, but there was no one to shoot on our side. "Left side doesn''t have anyone"


    "Right is clear" Salazar confirmed. "Moving onto the hallways" We all pushed forward in our own direction. I turned left, without even a moment to register anything a bullet went through my shoulder, and I was thrown back around the corner.


    "Guess you got rusty?"


    "Hell you on about?" I gritted my teeth as I sat and held my shoulder.


    "Talking to myself" He pressed on the side of his ear. "SL hit, he''ll be fine though, bastard ain''t that weak" Kyle crouched down to my level "You can stand, come on"


    "I know..." I used my rifle to help me stand. It was hard to hold it, but I had to manage. Kayla walked over with something in her hand, she pulled a pin and tosses it around the corner.


    "Bac-!" A loud bang went off. Kayla turned the corner and fired four shots.


    "It''s Clear" Kayla looked back over to us, speaking quietly.


    "Thanks, let''s move forward" I joined them around the corner and pushed on, the wound in my shoulder was still stinging, but I couldn''t do much without Nicholai. No matter where we checked the halls were clear, with that in mind, I tapped on the map to set off a ping.


    "Other side''s all clear too, we had a bit of resistance" The others made it over relatively quick, not a single one had a scratch.


    "Kyle, you''re breaching, Kayla support him. Salazar, Anne, when the door opens you''ll cover the left side of them, Kieron, you and I got the right side of them."


    "Understood" We huddled up on our spots.


    "Let''s rock!" Kyle fired the shotgun at the door and kicked it open, unlike the rifle, the shotgun was normal, firing the pellets a typical shell would. The moment Kyle went in we all followed, it was hard to squeeze in with two people entering a door at once, but until Salazar was up, it was bearable. "Main room is empty." I heard Kyle shout as I pressed my hand against a door.


    "Kieron, ready?"


    "Of course" I opened the door and without hesitation Kieron went in. They all walk to places with no doubt or hesitation...kinda scary. I followed shortly behind, it was a pretty big bathroom, but overall nothing to mention, no enemies, no traps, fully clear. "Bathroom is free" I made room for Kieron to walk back out.


    "Side room is clear" We all regrouped where the Towa two were. "Onto the next room" I agreed with Salazar.


    "Onto the next" We all exited the room.


    "Elevator is coming down!" Kyle pointed out the faint dinging noise of the elevator, indicating something was in it.


    "Towas with me, Kieron, Salazar, Anne, circle around so we can get both sides"


    "Roger" The three left while we stuck to the walls around the corner, waiting for the elevator to open. My eyes went to the number above the elevator, like Kyle predicted the number ticked down.


    "Do we know if any CSF were on the roof?" I turned back to the others.


    "None as far as we know" Paranoia set in, we''re using shock rounds so we wouldn''t kill anyone, but it was still horribly wrong to fire upon our allies even if they were willing to beat me half to death. "Screw it if they get shot that''s their fault." Like he read my mind, Kyle stepped in front and prepared his rifle. Kayla didn''t say anything but joined him all the same. The two crouched down to get a better aim.


    "Damnit..." I walked over and joined them, raising my rifle over Kyle''s shoulder. The elevator ticked again as they went down another floor, they would be right above us had they gotten out now, but they didn''t, the elevator dinged one last time as the doors slowly began to open. I closed an eye and squinted the other, praying I see the CSF emblem before anyone fired...but it was silent, for a good minute or two nothing came out and no one said a thing. "Stay here" I patted Kyle''s shoulder and stepped forward, I made sure to take slow and silent steps. I could see the other three on the other side, they had their rifles lowered as I walked in their way. My back was against the wall beside the doors. I swear if it''s a bomb...I took a breath and quickly fipped around to check inside. It was empty, before I decide to fully walk, in I checked the sides, but they were empty too. Something feels wrong. I refused to fully step in the elevator, stupid as I can be I wouldn''t do anything like that. I tried to step back but couldn''t. what is it this time? When I tried moving back, it felt like something tugged on my shoulder. I could actively feel the gears in my head turning, when I finally understood I took out my knife and slashed up.


    "Agh!" Something staticed in the elevator, all the while a claw and a rope were clipped onto my shoulder.


    "Enemy in the elevator!" I tried raising my rifle to fire but my gun was raised up, forcing me to shoot the ceiling instead. The person decloaked, the gear they wore looked sci-fi, hundreds of years in the future even. They didn''t talk, they quickly tore out a metal chunk from their suit and swung down the makeshift blade at me. I let go of the rifle and ducked down, when the swing missed I kicked their leg, the moment they flinched back a dozen shock rounds fired their way until they fell.


    "Normally I would''ve just shot ya" Kyle and the others walked over. "Sadly, I can''t accidentally shoot our boss even if I think it''s a clear shot."


    "I give you permission"


    "Heh, trusting guy still?"


    "I don''t need to trust you to know you''re a good shot...though not the best" I smirked at the last comment, Kyle found it amusing too. I opened my HUD and called Raymond.


    "Raymond here"-Raymond


    "Tell the CSF we have people cloaking and stalking about"-Lee


    "Alright, just for future reference, now that you have a high rank, you can read intel about people under you, that includes a call button, just tap them on your map"-Raymond


    "I''ll check later"-Lee


    There was no use checking now, especially if Raymond is going to tell them in my place.


    "Let''s move onto the next room, but before that" I looked to Anne. "Have anything to detain them?"


    "Of course" Anne reached into her bag and took out a zip-tie, she didn''t hold back on them either, using three just for the hands. "We''re set"


    "Okay, same thing as last time." They nodded. It was an exact repeat up until the actual breach. Kyle shot the door and went to kick it but bullets fired through the door. It wasn''t much, but some still hit Kyle to the ground.


    "Salazar!"


    "Got it" Salazar grabbed Kyle off the ground and dragged him around the corner. I felt something tick in me.


    "Forget this..." I stepped closer to the door, stepping a bit forward as well. "Kayla get a flash"


    "Got it" I faced my back to the door and kicked as hard as I could backwards, The hinges creaked loudly as they almost snapped off the wall.


    "Flashbaaaang!" I heard multiple things get tossed and turned before the flash went off. Without me even telling them they understood to march in there and clear it. I left it to them as I crouched down beside Kyle.


    "Guess you got rusty"


    "Go to hell" Though his comment sounded otherwise, he seemed amused. "Mostly hit the vest, still stings like hell" Kyle stood up after he finished speaking.


    "Room is clear, we got something" I went in after hearing that, Kieron was holding a laptop. "Leave it to you" He handed it to me, but it was locked. I thought back to how we could take pictures using our HUDs, i took a pick and sent it to Kenneth.


    Need me to crack it open?


    -Kenneth


    If you can


    -Lee


    Great great, main thing, how do you expect me to do that by just


    Seeing the laptop?


    -Kenneth


    Right...


    -Lee


    It was a good attempt, by the way, Nicholai wanted you back on earth for something


    it''s not often I see her panicked about things


    -Kenneth


    I couldn''t help but feel dread, I most likely knew what it was, but I couldn''t focus on that now. I vanished the laptop to give it to Kenneth later.


    "You won''t...be able to" One of the people who were shocked seem to have resisted it, but not enough to move.


    "Ain''t you cocky" Kyle got to their level, crouching down. The guy continued to speak, but the language wasn''t anything familiar to me, or to anyone with how their faces looked. "Sorry pal, satan ain''t really helping ya here" Kyle stood up and kicked them in the face, fully knocking them out. Seeing the chance, I went on the map and tapped on one of the CSF below.


    ''First Sergeant Hallow''


    huh...I had the option for more info, but found it unneeded, I called them


    "Hallow Here"-Hallow


    "We have a guy here, along with a laptop, I think this might be what we were looking for"-Lee


    "Understood, you guys can come down, we''ll clear the rest of the building"-Hallow


    The call ended.


    "Our job is done here, we found what we''re looking for."


    "Back down we go then?" I wasn''t getting used to Salazar''s voice.


    "Correct" All in agreement, we headed into the elevator...not the same one that guy was in. Starting with Kyle, we all took our hoods and masks off.


    "God we feel like terrorists with this on" Kyle reminded me why I thought he needed a filter all those years ago.


    "Don''t...say that" Anne spoke up.


    "Yeah whatever, so what do we do about the straggler?"


    "What straggler?"


    "Brought the runt with us" I jumped slightly before I looked around, the person who attacked me was against the wall.


    "How''d...you..."


    "I''m talented" his tone was different, indicating sarcasm. "Actually...how''re you doing?" His tone became much more serious.


    "Why do you ask?"


    "Because you don''t look so good" Salazar answered in his place.


    "But, I haven''t really been doing much..."


    "I wouldn''t say that..." The doors to the elevator dinged as they opened. "Well, if you don''t have a problem with it, I don''t have a reason to mind it" Salazar crouched down and picked up the ambusher, it clearly wasn''t an issue for him considering he hadn''t slowed down at all, but that wasn''t the case for me, once my foot pressed against the lobby floor I felt nauseous. My hand instinctively went to my head but it didn''t help at all.


    "Are you sure you''re alright?" Anne leaned over to see me, I couldn''t muster a response.


    "Tch, Ka-a...olai" It was too abrupt to manage, I had to put everything i had to not fall over as it felt like the world''s pull grew tenfold. Someone gripped onto my arm and slung it over their shoulder, but the entire feeling was numb.


    "Second Lieutenant, respond" It was Salazar''s voice, it couldn''t be the person supporting me.


    "I''m...fi-" My throat burned, cutting my sentence short. "I..." One step turned into a spill, landing my whole body onto the ground face first. I couldn''t move, or rather, I wasn''t even awake anymore. My head continued to have a piercing pain right in the center, any breath I took only made it worse. How many times is this? Even thinking hurt. Is this corruption? Did my wound hit something important? There was another thing it could be. Or...did being more pain resistant make me ignore any signs.


    "Your guy!? Whole reason he''s like this is because of you!" I heard familiar yelling, though it burned, I mustered the strength to pry my eyes open.


    "L...o...ui?" My voice was weak and slow. Loui was here, yelling at Raymond and Kai. I attempted to sit up and press my back against whatever I was laying on, but something tugged on my harm...an IV was connected to me, but seeing it go above me made it not worth it to see what the medicine was.


    "Need I remind you I never forced him to take on all those missions, at most I assigned two"


    "Why is Loui here?" I expected my voice to be weak, but hearing it sound normal startled me. The three turned my way.


    "A little risk is worth checking on you" Loui seemed annoyed, his arms were crossed and his expression towards Raymond and Kai was clearly hostile.


    "I guess we should get to explaining what happened." Raymond walked forward until he was at my bedside, then he got on a knee to match my level. "It was simple exhaustion, You''ve undertook a lot of things that overdrove your body, the missions, the corruption, along with mountains of information." I almost ignored what I was being told when I looked around the room, and saw a lack of any friendly faces.


    "Where''s Bravo Team?"


    "They can''t come in yet."


    "Why?"


    "Reasons"


    "What reasons?" Raymond paused, looked to Kai, then back to me before continuing.


    "You have these dreams right?" I didn''t respond. "They''re not exactly...from the past...not all"


    "How does this relate to my friends not being allowed in this room? I hope you realize from my point of view I''m being surrounded by three people who recruited children to their war"


    "I''m getting there...Your unique thing...the coin too, allows you to rewind, however it''s not just rewinding...you can go forward too, even rewind without dying. Those visions are most likely different points of time...tell me, have you ever heard a melody playing when you''ve been out?" It was as though something stabbed my mind, as though I''ve come across an important crossroad...Raymond refuses to give my memories back, even now that I''ve got my power...there''s no excuse to holding my memories unless there''s something else.


    "...No"


    "I see, if you hear it...ignore it, at all costs"


    "Why?"


    "You''re going to see things you don''t want to if you keep following them" Raymond stood up. "Well, now that we''ve confirmed your health, there''s no reason to not let them see you, you have tomorrow off, actually take a break this time instead of going back to earth"


    "Hang on" Raymond and the others were halfway to the door before I called. "The Guardians and the CSF...what happens now"


    "far from settled"


    "Being worked on"


    Loui had a more negative answer while Raymond''s was more positive, I couldn''t help but lean towards Loui''s answer more than Raymond''s.


    "Alright, you''re good to come in" Raymond spoke as he and the others walked out the door. Naively I expected a moment of silence. But almost a second later, Bravo Team and Kyle''s CSF crew walked in.


    "You''re alright!" Sam in a split moment had already made i to my bedside, dragging out a seat and sitting down.


    "Luck must be on your side..." Nicholai commented. "If Sam wasn''t walking around I don''t think Kayla would''ve found me. Granted I wasn''t the one who admitted you nor examined you, but I made damn well sure they didn''t do anything wrong" Nicholai seemed rather calm. "I would be mad and tell you to care for yourself more, but I''m partially responsible for this too, and the fact that we feel less pain doesn''t help."


    "We all caught up if you''re wondering" Kyle''s arms raised as he crossed them. "Doesn''t seem like you''ve all changed a bit...will say, This room is something, treating you like royalty ay second lieutenant?" I hadn''t looked around the room until Kyle mentioned it, but his words turned out to be true. Unlike to my left which was where Sam and co were, to the right of me was a window, letting me gaze upon a view people could only ever dream of, where the stars were at a perfect angle. The only negative was a large plant due to one of its colorful leaves blocking a small corner of the window. Even then it didn''t end there, returning to the left side, just beside Sam was a small plant growing in a sophisticated pot, just a few days off blooming from the looks of it... if I recalled correctly that is.


    "Pretty plant isn''t it? Wonder who grew it" Sam''s tone didn''t leave much to be thought.


    "You obviously"


    "Duh, it''s bored doing nothing for 3 day-


    "3 DAYS!?" I sat up even with the stabbing pain of the IV.


    "Goddamnit Sam!"


    "No one told him!?" Sam stood up and looked to the door. "They didn''t tell him!?"


    "Guess he figured it was best for Lee to hear it from someone like you...doesn''t seem to have worked as well as he thought" Kenneth started leaning against a wall. Dave had also found his spot near my foot.


    "What am I going to even do?" I slouched forward, the blanket covering me shifted with it.


    "For tomorrow?" Sam''s tone was opposite of mine


    "Yeah..."


    "You should focus on what you''re doing for the rest of the night, I doubt you can just fall back asleep" I hadn''t heard the others speak in some time, it was mainly Nicholai, Sam, Kenneth, and Kyle, with Nicholai being the case right now.


    "Ah! First lesson being in a hospital, the doctors can get annoying"


    "Oi, are you trying to catch a scolding?"


    "I was kidding...kidding"


    "Right.." Sam and Nicholai shared some banter before turning back to me. "What she meant by that, is that nurses tend to draw some blood every three to four hours, so be ready for that."


    "Hang on, how long am I staying here?"


    "For the rest of the night most likely. Don''t worry about being alone, Sam and I will check up on you later after we leave."


    "Oh.."


    "Widely different reasons, our times for visiting just aligned somewhat. Don''t be troublesome okay? Now that you got a CSF crew you got more people counting on you, but also don''t overload yourself, today and tomorrow you''re resting, I forbid anything else." Sam stood up for good this time.


    "Like she said! We''re going to go for now, Nicholai and I will be back, but if you need us just call, Oh! And Crescent should be nearby if you need protection."


    "Take care Second Lieutenant" Salazar bowed slightly, as did Anne and Kay. Kyle''s posse shuffled out the room, taking their time to exit.


    "You know, before we start heading out" Just as Sam was going to take a step, having one leg raised, she spun around back to me. "Want me to ask the nurses to get something for you?"


    "No need, I don''t wanna be a bother"


    "If you say so...hospitals tend to have some pretty good crackers though"


    "Really Sam?" Nicholai waited by the door.


    "What? Who better to give the hospital advice than the main girl herself"


    "Heh, just don''t take too long" Opening the door, Nicholai and Kenneth stepped out, almost immediately Sam sat back down.


    "Thought you had to go?"


    "I do, just doing my own personal checkup, how''re you doing?"


    "If I wasn''t told I was out for three days I''d assume perfect"


    "Even after taking that fall?"


    "Alright, maybe not perfect"


    "So?"


    "I guess I''m doing alright, if not still a bit nauseous" As I talked I had begun to notice Sam''s odd behavior, her slight shaking and the minor amount of sweat coming from her head. "You''re not sick yourself, are you?"


    "No...not that...just...your hand" I was reminded of my action earlier that hurt my hand, when I took a glance at it nearly half of my backhand had blood drying out on it.


    "oh god...uh..." I looked around for a napkin or tissue yet neither was around.


    "And I found what I''ll go ask for. Take care Lee" Sam bowed slightly before getting up. "And don''t do anything to get yourself hurt again!" She spoke loud enough to make up for the distance, and the opening door.


    The rest of that night was pure anguish, anytime I was about to fall asleep the door to my room would open and various things would happen, Blood work, pressure, whatever they needed.


    Going to sleep was rather pointless, so I started messing around with my HUD, scrolling through things in hopes to find at least something to satiate this boredom.


    "Huh...wonder if..." I opened up another section of the HUD, if our memories were in the form of videos, then maybe it would be possible to see old videos. I continued to scroll, it felt endless. A majority of the videos played the moment I hovered over them, yet one actually had audio to start with. It was obvious who was in frame too, seeing how only one member of Bravo Team had a white puffy jacket, and the fact it was covering most of the frame.


    "Come on! It can''t be that hard to put a camera on a tripod." From the background I could hear Nicholai''s voice, it was more high pitched here considering how much younger we were, course it wasn''t on par with Sam''s, then against I don''t think anything ever could.


    "The bottom is broken or something" my voice was different as well, and unlike the others I wasn''t in frame, more so behind the camera than anything.


    "Sam?"


    "He''s right, I dunno if it''s gonna wo- oh?" With a click the camera slid into place on the tripod, and Sam stepped back. "There we are!"


    "More difficult than it should''ve been" Soon I walked into frame as well, and with no one covering most of the camera, Nicholai and Kenneth were more visible in the background, both of them at their instruments.


    "We ready?" Sam looked back at everyone, seeing them nod in confirmation. "Alright!" She quickly turned back to the camera.


    "Let''s get it started then" I spoke aloud, seeing myself on camera was odd. Back then I was never really one for talking, rather I was the type to only say what needed to be said, but here I was. The music started soon after, in just a quick second I started to recognize the theme.


    "No..."I spoke out loud. "No it''s not...our first song wasn''t...it was an anime cover" I covered my face with my hands. "Oh god..." I could feel my face get flushed. The cover of course had its flaws, it was too long ago to recall if it was our first time recording or not, but it most definitely sounded that way. Even with that however, it brought a sense of peace, though it was rather small scale compared to everything else, still, it reminded me of how we were before all this.


    "to think..." I closed the HUD, shutting off the music with it too. "We started as normal students...then to a zombie outbreak, to this" It was all tragic, yet I couldn''t help but smile at it. "Goddamn we can''t catch a break can we?" I let myself relax against the bed, keeping myself sat up was exhausting and after the amount of blood work I wanted to relax the best I could.


    ''Still going strong?''


    -Nicholai


    ''Better than I thought I would''


    -Lee


    ''We''ll be by shortly, hope the wait is worth it''


    -Nicholai


    Nicholai and Sam had been keeping tabs on me for a few hours now.


    ''Just for the record, what time is it?''


    -Lee


    ''Somewhere just after midnight, hang on''


    -Nicholai


    Course there was a clock on my HUD, but due to me laying down, and not wanting to strain my neck looking up, I had to ask.


    ''2am...ish''


    -Nicholai


    ''2:14 :3''


    -Sam


    ''Right, there you are''


    -Nicholai


    ''Just making sure the doctors and nurses there haven''t


    been injecting you with stuff you don''t need right''


    -Nicholai


    ''Correct''


    -Lee


    ''And you''re 100% sure?''


    -Nicholai


    ''As sure as I can be''


    -Lee


    ''Alright then, take care for now''


    -Nicholai


    There were still hours until they were able to come by.


    "If they come by in a few hours...and I get my blood drawn in a few hours...I got time for a nap" I started slouching down until I saw laying on my back, once it got to that point I let the tiredness from all the boredom take me. I couldn''t believe it, for once it was peaceful, no nightmare, no abrupt wakening. My whole body relaxed as I drifted off into my own mind...peaceful...yeah, peaceful

 Chapter 16: Spark

    Being in this hospital bed was starting to drive me mad, I couldn''t get up unless I needed to use the bathroom and I could feel that when I was in bed I was being watched. The heart monitors beeping irregularly from my unsteady pulse, the pressure on my arm going off every now and again, the goddamn piece of tape on my finger. I felt completely miserable and yet, it made me realize something.


    "This is how Sam felt" Whether it was the lack of sleep or being driven mad I couldn''t help but chuckle slightly, even with the slight pain in my throat. For two...three years...stuck in a damn bed. Even being in one for so long, I don''t think she ever complained...except for one time...I think it was the first time she ever really cried too, all the needles, being woken up time and time again, even taking multiple medications since no one could figure out what she had, though that''s still the case today.


    Maybe that''s the reason I hated the whole idea of visiting hours, if someone was in agony and they needed someone, they should be able to visit even past pointless hours.


    I recall the sight perfectly, an IV in her arm, the same tape on her finger. It was similar to my state but somehow she just looked so much worse, maybe it was from the lack of sunlight, or that plants normally associated with being near her or for once in our lives I saw her finally with her hair down...Can''t exactly have a Rose in your hair in a hospital bed, or have it up to begin with. I only got the once chance to visit her during her time in the hospital, even then it wasn''t for long as I snuck past the staff just to get in.


    I couldn''t recall what was said, all I know is by the end of it Sam didn''t want me to go, yet I didn''t really have a choice, if I stayed I''d get kicked out and probably wouldn''t be able to visit ever again, but knowing now that I never got another chance...I wish I chose otherwise, I wanted to so that maybe Sam could go back to her old self.


    "I...I''ll stay, just a bit longer" It was just a memory, yet I spoke out regardless, it was still faint through the tears but a smile was still there.


    "thanks..." Hearing how she sounded back then only reminded me of the possible agony she was in. It felt like a small change, just fixing one simple mistake I made.


    "Of course, I know how hospitals are."


    "Heh, pretty bad huh?"


    "Well don''t go telling Nicholai that"


    "Duh"


    It was just a what if, something that wouldn''t come true, it seemed simple, something that wouldn''t have an impact, but seeing how distraught she was when she was trying to have me stay, actually staying would have had a bigger impact than one would think.


    "Greetings from the outside!" Going back to reality and bursting through the door was Sam and Nicholai.


    "Welcome back" I did my best to sit up while not pulling on my IV this time.


    "Seems you''re alive"


    "You think i''d be dead?"


    "Course not, you''re not that reckless"


    "Thanks" Like the day before, Sam pulled out a chair and pulled it over to the bed before sitting down.


    "In just a few hours you''ll be out"


    "What Nicholai means is 2 hours" Sam swayed left and right slowly, like she was going in tune with a slow song. "Hehe, it''s like we swapped places" Though her face showed it was somewhat of an uncomfortable subject for her, it''s clear she made it so I wouldn''t find resting on a hospital bed tragic.


    "Yeah...sorry for not staying."


    "hm?" Her head tilted to the side in confusion. "You...did stay."


    "I...don''t think I did..." Was changing time that easy? There wasn''t any possible way that just thinking back on it through a vision could change events. Did I meet some requirement without realizing? Or...did I actually stay and forgot that easily?


    "Right...I guess I''m misremembering."


    "Course you are, leaving lil-ol me is outta the picture"


    "You''re lucky a kind doctor found you, even if you''re a kid they''d still at the very least shout at you for breaking in."


    "Yeah, I do my best to be lucky"


    "That''s not a thing, you can''t try and be lucky"


    "Don''t ruin his fun Nicholai."


    "Whatever, anyhow, I should be able to pull you out early if you really don''t wanna be here"


    "I''d appreciate it"


    "Right, be back in a bit then, hopefully I can get it in before blood work comes by again." Nicholai made her way out of the room, some small part of me expected blood work to come in the moment Nicholai left but for the moment that wasn''t the case.


    "Don''t know how you did it" I slouched down again, letting my head rest.


    "Did what?"


    "Spend 3 years in a hospital, just one day and I''m going mad."


    "Well" Sam looked up to the ceiling for a bit. "I guess they treated me a bit better since I was fragile, if they pricked me too much I''d end up scratching or biting their hand." So...that doctor did get bit. "Though, I did hate the special treatment"


    "Really, thought you''d love it"


    "I like it when you guys treat me special because I get food or we go to cool places, and that''s because we''re friends, here it just made it more lonely, less blood work meant less people came by."


    "I doubt they did less just because you used to be fragile...maybe it had to do with your illness too"


    "Guess we''ll never know now." Sam seemed saddened by it, no one but the doctors who spent years looking into the illness would know why they did what they did. "Didn''t help my visiting hours were always so early, only possible way you guys were coming by was if you camped outside of the hospital" The same helpless expression slowly started creeping back to Sam.


    "Ahhem! uh, what''ve you guys been up to?"


    "Well, we haven''t really gone on any missions, we''ve just been making a place in Eaxura for us"


    "Mh?"


    "Plants seem to grow faster in Eaxura when they''re tended to really well so I have a few in the base, Nicholai, as you''ve seen, has a foothold in the hospital since she has healing magic and actual medical skills, and Kenneth is working with that Neal guy from before with tech, they''re gonna give Dave an actual body one day to help us more on missions."


    "Like an Android?"


    "Yup!"


    "You''d think Kenneth would do it himself."


    "I think he''s starting to get he needs help...or else he''d make a mistake somewhere"


    "And last we need is a psycho Dave"


    "Even if that was the case I think Dave would still help us out, he''d have all the memories from before"


    "Fair point there" It went silent for a moment. By now we expected the door to open, either Nicholai or a nurse for blood work to come in. "It''s uh, taking a bit huh?"


    "I mean, it does take a bit but...I don''t see why it''s taking this long, back on earth there was a reason, all the paperwork, moving around, but we have the HUDs now." We looked to the door, unease starting setting in.


    "I doubt something bad happened in Eaxura but..." A hospital was typically filled with footsteps, yet not even that could be heard. "Watch the door" Though shaky from the time I spent in the bed, I stood up and held onto the IV stand. "Let''s go"


    "Though I''m glad you still have it, I thought you''d take it out."


    "If it''s a misunderstanding I wouldn''t want Nicholai scolding me for ripping it out."


    "True" Nearly hopping, Sam stood up and went to the door.


    "Hang on" I was down a hand, having to move the stand with me, but it didn''t hinder my walking at least for now. "I wanna hear anything" Crouching down I leaned my ear against the door, I wasn''t greeted with anything, there were no footsteps, no talking. "Crescent" Flying over, Crescent attempted to resheath itself until it stopped, just barely preventing itself from stabbing me in the back. "What''s wrong?" Crescent flew up and started pointing towards my back, I reached and felt nothing. "Course, makes sense" I went to snap before stopping myself.


    "What''s the matter?"


    "If this isn''t a misunderstanding, then I''d give myself away, the snap to change outfits is louder than a normal one."


    "And in silence like this, it''d be much more noticable"


    "Exactly, just stay nearby so I can grab you if I need you Crescent" Doing their best, Crescent ''nodded'' as we opened the door.


    The hallways were void of any life except for ours, but it wasn''t just that, the floor and walls looked like they were torn to bits.


    "Looks just like some buildings during the outbreak"


    "B-but that''s not where we are" Sam''s voice faltered slightly, the change in scenery almost instantly started to set in paranoia.


    "It''s not where we should be, but we can''t say we aren''t."


    There was something else, it wasn''t cold even though we were in the height of winter, even if this place had heating, the tears and broken windows would''ve at least let some cold air in...There was also someone else, at the end of the hall just barely in the light.


    "Oh hell no" I took the IV out and grabbed onto Crescent. "Weapons out"


    "Hu- oh!" Sam summoned her dagger and sickle, her weapons were automatically on non-lethal but the question rested on me, was this a person or a creature? Were they even against us to begin with? Sam could see it too, so it isn''t just related to Corruption or my visions, so this had to be something, but why?


    "Identify yourself!" The figure ignored my demand, instead they started walking forward. Flicking Crescent open, I aimed the barrels at the figure. "Last warning, identify yourself" Again, they ignored us. As they walked more into the light, the figure became more visible, it was a young woman wearing a Green Camo jacket with a hood covering a good portion of their head, all the while, the ground shook, shaking the two-handed Scythe that was on their back, having with multiple barrels at the end of it. Once they became fully visible they came to a halt.


    "What''s the plan?"


    "I don''t know...they look human, but..." Before I could say anymore, the woman raised a finger and pressed it against her lips, signaling silence. I didn''t want to follow their suggestion, but just for the hell of it I did. The shaking grew, sounding like it was right behind us. I was turning until I saw the woman shake her head ''no''. I was annoyed until I saw something just barely in the corner of my vision. The woman started walking forward again, yet she didn''t even make a noise, once she was close she pointed downwards while taking out her Scythe with her other hand.


    I couldn''t even explain what happened when I crouched down, all I recall seeing was the woman swinging her Scythe forward the second I got low, yet it hit something, ringing out an echo like it had just hit metal. The barrels glowed before firing off multiple shots each, and once it was over, she put the Scythe away, but that wasn''t it, the motions she did while the barrels glowed had to have a meaning or use.


    "Now, identify yourself" The woman spoke in a familiar tone.


    "What the hell...Nicholai!?"


    "Heh? Hang on..." She turned to the right slightly, looking at Sam, she looked intently, trying to see in the dark. "Oh my God...That doesn''t make any sense at all."


    "You look older." Sam blurted it out.


    "My world or not I''ll hit you" As usual, Nicholai countered.


    "But...we were just in the hospital a moment ago."


    "You still are, just not yours"


    "Did we...split off?" I was the main one asking questions, Sam seemed like smoke was gonna start coming out of her head.


    "Did you do anything that would''ve effected what world you were in"


    "Not that I recall, I haven''t rewinded time recently."


    "The point you came from, are you still corrupted?"


    "Still?"


    "Being dead sorta makes you not corrupted." I was going to act surprised but then thought about It more, it wasn''t that surprising.


    "Yeah...I guess I am still corrupted."


    "Well there you go...Corruption is messing with you, the longer you have it the more you have to learn to counteract it, I guess at this stage it''s bringing you places where you''d get killed. But the real question is if this is even real."


    "Why wouldn''t it be?"


    "Corruption has affected your vision hasn''t it? Maybe parts want you to live so it''s giving you a warning by having me showcase a corruptor, or maybe it wanted you dead."


    "God...that bad?"


    "It''s going to get worse till you figure out your version and how to go against it."


    "Hang on, if this is a vision why is Sam here? Wouldn''t I be at more risk of dying if she wasn''t here?"


    "Course, maybe it wanted Sam dead too"


    "So...this whole thing is trying to kill Lee" The older Nicholai nodded.


    "Listen, the longer you''re here the worse it''s going to be when you wake up, so I''m gonna do you all a favor" Grabbing onto her Scythe she slashed it down, cutting me in half and sending my sight black.


    "No possible way he''s back in a coma" Unlike other times, my sight came back quickly, we were back in the normal hospital with only minor differences like the IV being out of my arm, and a burning pain in my chest. "Nevermind, welcome back to the living" Nicholai stood at the end of my bed, Kenneth and Kaz were here too, with Kaz on Nicholai''s shoulder. "Sam get cold?" She tilted her head left.


    "Wha-?" When I looked over, I saw a half dazed Sam slouching on the hospital bed like she''s been sleeping on it. "My heaaaaad hurrrts"


    "Nevermind, guess she just knocked out. You good to go?"


    "Yeah...I should be" I waited for Sam to get up before I did, unlike the dream I stood up just fine.


    "I''m glad that you''re out!" Kaz''s expression was as though we won a massive battle, with admiration and joy.


    "Me too..." We clearly had different meanings to our words, but no one knew but Sam and I. "Actually...there was a st-" I was stopped by Sam grabbing my arm.


    "We''ll stress them out and you''ll get jammed back into the hospital bed...let''s wait till we find an answer, Kay?" Sam tilted her head at the end and smiled, It felt like she knew full well I would listen to her.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    "Sttttt- you wanna continue that?" Nicholai was circling with her hand, telling me to get on with it.


    "Strange dream..." I said what I was going to say, but I came up with something to say after.


    "Oh, another vision then, what was it this time?"


    "It wasn''t anything important, more so just an old memory"


    "Guess it would be strange compared to everything else you''ve gotten, maybe it''s cuz Sam was sleeping beside ya" Nicholai said something that I actually agreed with, it was strange that during the days I was out I didn''t see any vision or dream, but the moment it''s just Sam and I, I do.


    "Maybe"


    "Lee makes sense being here for so long, what''s your reason for knocking out?" Nicholai leaned so she could get a line of sight on Sam.


    "Uh...Because sleeping elsewhere doesn''t feel safe"


    "Huh?" Nicholai looked like she was ready to scold Sam to hell.


    "Hey, you think I''m fine with sleeping being separated from everyone? Nicholai was working here, Kenneth was with Neal, and Kaz wasn''t at the base. Even if Lee was sleeping at least Crescent could cover for me."


    "I...guess that''s true...sorry" Nicholai seemed genuinely guilty. "Eaxura does still feel unsafe, so it makes sense" Sam started to look sorry too.


    "Aaaaanyways" Kenneth adjusted himself. "If you remember you have the day off today, we''re off too but we''ll probably be doing our own thing."


    "Always gotta make yourself busy ay?" Kenneth and I looked at each other in silence.


    "...so, yeah...if you find yourself free I guess stop by, I could teach you a bit about tech." With tech being mentioned(Even by himself), it felt like there was an aura around him radiating motivation.


    "Same goes for the rest of us, though maybe Sam needs some sleep"


    "I''m fine"


    "Right" Nicholai handed me a piece of paper. "We''ll be off now." Kenneth giving a simple nod, and Kaz waving goodbye, the three left the room. Leaving Sam and I here once again.


    "I feel terrible" When they were assumed to be out of earshot, Sam voiced her woes.


    "It''s as you said, I dropped after hearing and worrying about a hundred things, same could happen to them."


    "Okay...you''re gonna be okay right?"


    "Yeah, you can head back to base"


    "In that case, Roger that boss man!" While giving a friendly salute, she left the room


    Well...what now then.


    Answering my question, I was sent a message.


    Subject: Before you do anything else


    Sender: Nicholai Broker


    Recipient: Lee


    ''It''s been a while since your last injection for Corruption, Raymond is letting me do it so I suggest we get it done now before he does it himself. I''m still in the hospital, just go down a floor.''


    "Alright then, shall we?" With a snap, my outfit came back, including the sheath this time, where Crescent gladly put itself.


    This time, the hospital remained the same when we left the room, nurses and doctors were moving about, hurried to their next location, it made sense that they were moving faster than on earth considering the amount of people live in Eaxura, but that doesn''t make me feel any less worried for them.


    "So...down a floor...where''re the elevators?" I could have gone left or right, or even just straight, but the hallways were pretty long, I could end up lost if I went too far in one direction.


    "Are you lost?" One of the doctors had stopped to ask me.


    "I...uh...yeah, the elevators"


    "No worries, just go straight, then take the second left you see when going through." Assuming I had no more questions, the doctor continued onward with his mobile desk. Don''t know how you guys do it...


    Part of me considered just warping at the entrance and going from there, for I could not, for the life of me find any second left for ages. No, no possible way he meant it that way Seeing as there was a left when you go straight, there was a chance the doctor counted the left hallway as one of them.


    "I swear..." I put my idea into action, the moment I took that left I saw four elevators. "Goddamnit" All that was left is to hit the down arrow and wait


    .


    .


    And wait... and wait


    and


    wait


    I''m not this unlucky, there''s no way the elevator broke down right when I need it...the button is still lit up.


    Crescent swung back, pulling me that way, I was confused at first until I turned around, with the doors to one elevator open. So just the ding noise thing was broken... Praying that was it, I went in and hit the floor below, there wasn''t a chance Nicholai was in the lobby, so the floor just above that was my best bet.


    Subject: Medication


    Sender: Raymond


    Recipient: Lee


    ''Hey, I dunno if Nicholai messaged you yet, but she''s in charge of your medication from here on out, you don''t have to worry about the eye injection anymore, we found a better solution through just a normal shot, that doesn''t mean you can be anymore careless you still better sit still and cooperate.''


    "I''m gonna get a horde of messages aren''t I?"


    Subject: How''s our Guardian Trainer?


    Sender: Loui, G.O.T.T


    Recipient: Lee


    ''Must''ve sucked being in that bed for so long, if you wanna get back into the motion of it let any of us know, we''re looking forward for your return and we got a new job proposal from someone so come by soon''


    I waited for a sec, but to my surprise no new messages came, and the doors opened, letting me continue my search for Nicholai.


    "What room would she be in?" I could use the map, but I wanted to get back into the swing of things, allow my body to think more so it would get going. Seeing as she didn''t give any directions after the elevator, she should be nearby. I looked up at those weird colored flags, most were red, but one was green. All in all, that''s where she should be. With full confidence and no doubt, I walked over and went in, not surprisingly, Nicholai was there with a laptop, endlessly writing something on it.


    "Oh, you made it. Took a bit"


    "I didn''t know where the elevators were"


    "Did you ask someone for help?"


    "I did...but uh...They gave some confusing information."


    "Not surprising, sit down" Taking off the sheath, I set it aside the bed which I sat on. "While you''re here I''m just gonna check some other stuff while we''re at it."


    "Isn''t ''While you''re here'' and ''While we''re at it'' the sa-"


    "You want the eye injection?"


    "No ma''am"


    "Good" I didn''t know how to feel, seeing Nicholai as a doctor was something that would happen eventually, but that time on earth wouldn''t have been close at all, even after high school there''d be 4 more years, even then she''d have to take more time in a hospital, and yet here she was. "Open your eyes more" From the wall, Nicholai grabbed something, I never really went to a hospital so I couldn''t tell what any of the tools were for.


    "I don''t think I can"


    "Right, you woke up a moment ago, course your eyes would be tired, just do the best you can." Following her instructions, I opened my eyes more, only for them to get blinded by a light coming from the tool Nicholai had.


    "Tsk, really!?"


    "Keep your eyes open, I can''t see a damn thing if they aren''t" She didn''t spend much time looking at my normal eye, instead she spent most of this check looking at the corrupted one. "How''s your leg" She put the light away and grabbed something else, one that looked like a mini hammer.


    "It feels alright for the most part, still hurts once in a while." While I spoke she hit the small hammer in a specific spot on my uninjured leg, it kicked up immediately, then came the leg that got pierced, when Nicholai hit it, it took a moment before it kicked up, and even then only slightly.


    "Don''t struggle against it please."


    "I wasn''t" Nicholai looked dead into my eyes, but I was being honest, and soon she saw that too after hitting it again, with the same delayed response.


    "Hm...Is it ever difficult to walk on?"


    "Not often"


    "But sometimes?"


    "Just a little tinge of pain, nothing to worry about."


    "You and I both know it''ll get worse if you keep walking on it. But." She walked over to Crescent, taking it out of the sheath. "I know you''re too determined to just sit around so." Nicholai took out something and held it near Crescent. Once it made contact, it wrapped around Crescent like a sheath, but the end was a lot more rounded, and the top handle looked a lot more curved. "This sheath also works as a cane, whenever you aren''t in battle I want you to use this.


    "Never expected to use a cane this young"


    "Let''s be glad we died before Sam broke anything important, she''s a lot more likely than you"


    "Hang on, how am I meant to clip the sheath on?" Nicholai motioned me to stand, which I followed quickly.


    "See this circle on this side?" I took a closer look, it looked heavily metallic and it seemed to be sturdy "It''ll clip onto your outfit automatically, so you can have it on your hip or back depending on what you want at that moment." She walked behind me, and soon my back felt heavier, the same heavy when Crescent was on me. "Give it a go" I took Crescent out, it had a new button on it that when pressed, warped the sheath around it, turning it into the Cane.


    "Handy"


    "Kenneth and I are finding a way to have the sheath inside Crescent, that way it won''t make you use magic and drain you." Having the cane reminded me what walking without pain felt like, I had gotten too used to the pressure on my leg to notice it.


    "Thanks"


    "Don''t mention it, it''s my job to look out for you all even when you do something stupid."


    "Sorry for being human, I''ll take my leave now" I took one step and was nearly thrown back by the intense grasp on my arm.


    "You and I both know you''re not done here, sit back down or you''re getting the eye one."


    "Sorry ma''am" I sat back down while Nicholai was prepping the syringe. With her leg, she moved over a table where a pillow was.


    "Rest which ever arm you want on there." I did as she asked, setting my right arm down. "Want a countdown?"


    "I''ll be alright" Though with small pause, Nicholai inserted the syringe in my arm, slowly injecting the medication. "Don''t you typically wrap something on my upper arm?"


    "You do that to find veins, I don''t need a vein" From what I was seeing, and how slowly Nicholai was going, it was made obvious this would take a minute. "If it starts to feel off let me know, it''ll bruise if you don''t."


    "Hey Nicholai"


    "What?"


    "What made you wanna be a doctor?"


    "That''s a left field question"


    "Well, we bicker and don''t get along, yet you still help us, I figured asking was the least I could do." Nicholai didn''t answer at first, she seemed focused solely on the medicine, but after some time had passed.


    "Sam"


    "huh!?"


    "Not just because of Sam, but everyone like her. Suffering because no one can find what''s causing the cause, stuck In a hospital bed for their entire life. Sam was lucky, they found a way to suppress it, but not everyone did...and uh...for my parents."


    "Never knew you had such a heart."


    "I''m letting that pass cuz I don''t want you dropping dead from me pushing the needle further."


    "Thing is, your parents weren''t sick were they?"


    "No, but they focused more on Kenneth, I don''t have a single memory where they took me somewhere without Kenneth."


    "But you do of the opposite."


    "Granted, Kenneth was a prodigy with tech, and I was just some kid."


    "But you were great with medicine weren''t you?"


    "I became a prodigy because I had no choice"


    "Cast aside your life just to be noticed huh?"


    "I don''t need your pity"


    "I know, I just can''t help but relate somehow, like I''ve spent my entire life that way."


    "What''s your opinion?"


    "On what?"


    "Is it better to have bad parents or none at all?"


    "I only know what it''s like to have none"


    "Right, until you met Baker and Cali"


    "If Sam figured out what happened to them..."


    "She''ll find out sooner or later, she''ll hate me if I say it, so I''ll be counting on you to do it"


    "Didn''t I pass out from having multiple jobs?"


    "Except we owe this one to Sam, especially since Cali and Baker looked out for you too."


    "Right..." Nicholai took out the needle and wiped the injection site with a small gauze pack.


    "Want a bandaid?"


    "I''ll manage"


    "Right, I better not see you back here for at least a week, and use that cane"


    "Course, thanks" Nicholai went back to work while I left. It was much easier to walk with the cane, and Crescent was able to help me as well. "You''re a good help ya know that buddy?" Crescent couldn''t move to give a response, otherwise it''d drag me, but I could tell it was happy regardless. "Guess we better decide who to visit first, probably Kenneth, been a while since I''ve chatted with just him around." In a manner of days it seems everyone has gotten accustomed to Eaxura, everyone had their place, and when you look at Nicholai and Kenneth already making improvements to our soul weapons that fact becomes more obvious


    Leaving the hospital was a breath of fresh air, I was out for most of my time in there, but my body still went without being outside.


    "Where Neal is..." Calling my defeat, I looked at the map, Kenneth was smack dab in the middle of an airfield. "What the hell?" He was making a body for Dave, yet there he was in an airfield. "Guess we better get going then." I could''ve warped, anything other than walking, but I needed to walk, get my body back in the rhythm of moving again. "Hey Crescent" Once more, it couldn''t move, however this time I could see the engravings glow from under the sheath. "Are you alive just from being my soul weapon? Or is it something more, glow twice for the second option." Crescent Glowed twice. "RIght, you were given to me after all, I take it you can''t tell me?" It glowed twice for ''no''. "Because you can''t, or you don''t know?" For the third time, it glowed twice. "Makes sense if you''re my weapon now...if I don''t have the memory neither would you..."


    "Hold it" I should''ve expected I''d get stopped when entering the airfield. "Identify yourself"


    "Second Lieutenant Lee"


    "Ah, alright then, you''re free to go" The soldier unlocked the gate for me, I could''ve gone through the building, but the gate was faster.


    When I got far enough in, I could see Kenneth and Neal working on a smaller ship.


    "Yo" No longer walking, I had to lean more on the cane.


    "Hear you got the upgrade" Kenneth closed the hatch to all the wires before turning around. "So, you wanna learn a bit of tech?"


    "Heh, I just came by to see how you''re doing, considering you''re in an airfield of all places."


    "Guess that''s good enough reason"


    "Whatcha making it for?"


    "The Teth, DTs and Guardians are trying to resolve their issues, so they''re making this. This way, DTs can''t warp in the Teth and cause problems, but a small amount can still go up there and communicate...I uh, was also hoping we''d be able to use it once they''re done."


    "For?"


    "Neal was telling me about how a lot of the space in Zullo isn''t really explored, this ship is meant for a small crew, us, and for long time travel. It has personal rooms and all that"


    "So you''re mainly making it so we can explore space."


    "Why not? We can still do missions in space so there''s our income, then we can find new technology or maybe some other hidden stuff. Nicholai is fine with it, I know you don''t really care, our main concern is Sam."


    "I don''t really think it''d be a concern"


    "Think so?"


    "''Hey Sam, look at all the amazing views, you can take some photos''"


    "Fair enough, Guess you would know."


    "She''s not some kid anymore, only issue is the blood."


    "Right, been a while since I''ve actually talked to any of you one on one for a good duration."


    "Not even Nicholai?" Kenneth shook his head, he didn''t seem pleased about that fact either.


    "Sadly not, we''re both just busy all the time, and even if one isn''t that doesn''t mean the other isn''t as well."


    "If this ship is going to be for Bravo Team, I''ll tell the people we''re sending to not go in the personal rooms."


    "We can make them some temporary bedding in storage, if this doesn''t get resolved in the first few visits it''s clear it''s never going to be"


    "Agreed" Kenneth turned back around, opening the hatch again.


    "I''m doing fine Lee, so don''t worry much about me, I''ll just be working on this, give a call if I''m needed"


    "I''ll make sure to do that." I was hoping to talk to Kenneth more, but it seems he''s gonna be focused on this. That leaves Sam, she should be at the base if I recall. I decided against walking this time, the base was much farther out and I didn''t want to get interrupted again. I attached Crescent back to my back as I looked at the base. It was much different than before, outside were flowers and a few other plants growing, it also cleaned up that city smell I was dealing with. "I''m back!" I went through the door, and like outside, there were plants not only in the corners of the room, but also in other empty spaces. I started scanning the room for Sam until I found her tending to one of the plants.


    "Welcome back!" Sam was cutting off the discolored plants, once they were gone, she places the tool down and picked up another. "How''d visiting the others go?" Though she talked to me, she never once looked away from the plants.


    "Could''ve been better, never realized Nicholai was jealous of Kenneth"


    "What?" The moment she heard something negative going on with Bravo Team, she stopped working on the plant. "Why?"


    "Kenneth was a natural born prodigy, Nicholai, well, she became one because she wanted her parents to pay more attention to her."


    "Could that be..."Sam seemed down by the information I gave. "Maybe that''s why she acts the way she does."


    "Maybe"


    "W-well...it''s not something we can fix right now, even though I really want to, so...you wanna help me for a bit?"


    "Just one last thing"


    "Fire away!"


    "Where''s Kaz?"


    "Sleeping, she''s been doing it a lot lately, leaving to somewhere, then falling asleep when she''s back"


    "Think she''s a DT somehow?"


    "That''d be cool, but she knew us didn''t she? So she can''t be born one"


    "Kaz does have a unique look, we''d probably recognize it."


    "Actually, a question of my own."


    "Go ahead" I walked over and crouched beside Sam.


    "The cane...is that permanent?"


    "Hopefully not, I didn''t really get an idea of when I could stop when I visited Nicholai."


    "Well, let''s hope it''s not for long."


    "Thanks, preciate it"


    "Alright, back on track, you see those discolored branches?" Sam was working on a different plant than the one in front of me, yet she still found a way to direct my attention to it.


    "Yeah?"


    "Those are dead branches, you gotta cut them off or else the plant will keep putting nutrients into the dead ones."


    "Ah, that''s what you were doing" Since Sam wasn''t using it, I picked up the tool she used earlier, it was easy to tell the dead branches apart from the alive ones, the leaves, color, thanks to that I cut the ones I needed to quickly.


    "They''re not gonna die if you take a bit longer, it''s an enjoyable hobby, not a competition"


    "Guess that''s the case here huh?"


    "For you it is hehe, back on track, this is called pruning"


    "Pruning..."


    "Yup, simple tending, simple name." Whenever Sam went back to talking about flowers and plants, it always seemed like she had this emanating glow around her. "It''s a bit tiring at first, but it''s a great way to build strength too. Pulling out roots, pruning, ya know?"


    "I think I do."


    "It seems easy at first, but when you get to plants with more branches, and they start intertwining, it gets a ton more difficult depending on the plant.


    "What difficulty is this?"


    "Beginner easy just for you"


    "How long have you been here?"


    "I wasn''t sitting here waiting for you,I just made it to this one last.


    "My mistake then" Sam handed me the watering can.


    "3 seconds for this plant"


    "Hm?"


    "3 seconds of watering"


    "Oh, alright" The can was already filled up, all I had to do was tilt it.


    "You know...doesn''t this still count as doing a lot?"


    "You, Nicholai, and Kenneth? Well, I enjoy hanging out with you all, so I don''t really think it''s that bad."


    "Yeah, I''m just worried they''re gonna hound you tomorrow" I wanted to talk about what happened to her parents, but a part of me just couldn''t. She seemed back to her happy-go-lucky self with everyone around. "Well, it''s not problem, we''ll yell at them if they won''t leave you alone."


    "Hey now, I''m the guy who''s meant to be looking out for you all" I lowered the can, it was a bit over 3 seconds, but not too much that''d it hurt the plant.


    "Exactly why we also look out for you too, Bravo Team sticks together and all that y''know?"


    "Yeah"


    "Hey Lee"


    "Hmhm?" She leaned forward, smiling as always.


    "If the zombie outbreak never happened, and that guy never came by, what do you think you''d be doing?"


    "Uh...huh, I never really thought about it, even when we were human"


    "So what did you put down on that whole ''Plan for the future'' form thing?"


    "Don''t think I even turned that in"


    "Oh come on, Might go tell Nicholai that so she''ll scold you like she did me"


    "You wouldn''t"


    "True" Sam took the watering can and stood up. "Sorry that most of the plants were already tended to, I was gonna show you how to tend them all."


    "That''s alright, there''s always tomorrow or the day after."


    "True that" Whether it was meant to go on top of a shelf, or if that''s just the only free spot, was unimportant to Sam as she set it there regardless. "So?" After making sure it wouldn''t fall, she turned back to me.


    "Sooo..?"


    "If you could be anything you want while we were alive, what would it be?" Sam wasn''t going to take an indecisive answer this time, her gaze was all I needed to see to know that.


    "Well...While I found being in a band fun...I guess a bakery owner."


    "Huh!?"


    "Don''t make fun of me alright?"


    "Why would I? I just found that...I just didn''t expect that, it''s...uh, cute"


    "What?"


    "You know, someone who''s normally all cold and that, owning a bakery? Quite literally the opposite of cold"


    "Say what you will"


    "Wait, hang on...but why? I mean, I want a Cafe because it''s relaxing, and I give other people a place to relax, why a bak-" She took a sharp breath in as she came up with an idea. "Do you actually love cooking and baking that much!?" Without even letting me answer, she clasped her hands together. "In that case, in the future when this is all over, before you open a bakery could you teach me how to make stuff for the Cafe?"


    "You''re running a cafe without knowing how to make food?" She unclasped her hands and looked at me. "Right, the burning stuff."


    "Didn''t have to say it..."


    "Alright, I guess I''ll teach you a bit."


    "Hooray! Well! I gotta put some stuff away, you should probably go sleep for-


    "When they start calling me tomorrow"


    "Yep!" The longer I don''t tell her, the more it''s going to hurt, but I can''t do it now, no, I could feel myself saying something much worse.


    "Sam" She was almost turned around, but hearing me, she faced my way once again.


    "Yeah?"


    "I''ll find your parents, I promise"


    "Wha- Where did that come from?"


    "Just figured they''d be happy to see you after all this time" I was digging myself a grave, or maybe I was in denial myself. The happiness on Sam''s face only made me feel guilt."


    "heh...Thank you, is that what you and Nicholai have been doing all this time?"


    "Yeah, don''t tell her I told you though, it was meant to be a surprise."


    "Alright! Tell me when you find them so I can make sure this place is perfect!" Sam began to Hum while skipping off somewhere. Why did I do that!? What part of me thought that was a good idea!? Wait, the Guardians know a lot of people, maybe there can be someone who can help. I turned to Kaz who was sleeping on the couch.


    Or maybe...you could

 Chapter 17: Future Set

    "Kaz" I sat on the couch as she woke up.


    "Wha- Hello Lee!" Kaz, as she has before, instantly got up and greeted me.


    "You''re from the future right?"


    "Egh, what!?"


    "I''m not taking no as an answer, so what happens?"


    "Nothing happens, I''m not from the future!"


    "But you knew about us, and we''ve never known a talking cat named Kaz."


    "Well."


    "You also stick around Sam, who''s last name is Calstianos, C, like on your collar"


    "Hey, you''d make a good detective Le-"


    "Don''t change the subject"


    "Ewr"


    "Cough it up, what''s your deal?"


    "...ngh...I''m not from the future...just...another time?"


    "That''s the same thing"


    "Is it?"


    "Explain"


    "Well, yes, it''s sworta the future, but...not exactly? It''s not exactly a new timeline either, those are too complicated"


    "So?"


    "Um...we have met before...you just might not remembwer"


    "Oh what? I died?"


    "...yeah?"


    "Huh?"


    "A few times..."


    "huh?"


    "Before you yell at me...you know how you rewiwnd when you die?"


    "I guess?"


    "You just went...a bwit too far sometimes"


    "But I can''t control it"


    "No...but you don''t need to..."


    "I guess that''s true, Crescent rewound me before...actually...it brought me back farther than the whole bar situation...so...if I''m not the one who does it, I get rewinded back farther, and Crescent is still a part of me...meaning, If I went back this far, someone killed me. But then why do I not have memory of it all and you do?"


    "Because I''m connected to you!"


    "Ho-...the bonds..."


    "Yewp!"


    "Hm...but seeing as you''re not telling me who killed me...I take it you don''t exactly remember"


    "No..."


    "Or you could just be keeping info from me again"


    "I-I''m not..." Kaz got up.


    "I''ll take your word this time" I got back up. "Tomorrow I''ll probably have to take a mission...if it''s CSF I might be able to go back to earth more easily with all the weird stuff going on there, but if I go with Bravo Team, we might be able to uncover more stuff..."


    "But that''s if ywa get a mission there"


    "I can''t manifest destiny, so I''ll just have to hope on it."


    "Well, have a good night twhen!" All that was left was to go in my room. Every time I enter it, it''s somehow nostalgic, even without a lot of my stuff from back then being here. ...Does the room feels nostalgic because I''ve been here multiple times before? I may not have asked but it didn''t seem like Kaz knew how far in the future we get either. I turned my back to the bed, and let myself fall onto it. "Gue- Tsk, what the...?" I jumped back up after something stabbed my shoulder, I turned to see the cause, only to find a letter laying there. I picked it up and read it


    Yallo!


    Sam...


    I know we have TTS and all that, but it always feels like someone''s looking at it...I don''t think anyone actually is but


    anyways, I just miss writing these, felt like a spy movie right!? :D


    Oh, I should probably say why I wrote this huh? I heard Nicholai talk about going back to earth earlier!


    When would you have...


    When would I have the chance? Don''t ask! >:D


    You should know me by now, just popping in and out of places.


    So!


    I was thinking, Nicholai is going on her own search, so how about we go on our own!?


    Oh no...Oh no no no...


    You have a lead by now don''t you? And it''d be nice to get some stuff that was left behind, imagine if we got our instruments back!


    We''d probably never actually get a chance to play them...but they''re nice to have! Imagine when we''re on a long mission, all bored, no radio stations,


    We can be the radio music ourselves! Not only that but I-


    Interrupting my reading, my HUD popped up from Nicholai


    Do not


    -Nicholai


    How do you know what I''m reading?


    -Lee


    I don''t, I just know how Sam and you are. Do


    not


    -Nicholai


    I...have to, I may have told you her parents


    could be alive


    -Lee


    ...


    -Nicholai


    Are you braindead?


    -Nicholai


    You didn''t see her, it''s difficult alright?


    -Lee


    Goddamnit Lee, Sam could ask you to jump


    off a bridge and you''d listen wouldn''t you?


    -Nicholai


    I''m not that persuaded


    -Lee


    Right...regardless, If you don''t wanna see the same Sam


    that convinced you to lie about her dead parents turn into misery


    Don''t


    let


    her


    go


    -Nicholai


    Got it


    -Lee


    Do you? Do you fully got it?


    -Nicholai


    Hang on, why''re you going there?


    -Lee


    I still have stuff in the school, I was also hoping Kenneth could


    find what gun the bullet that shot you came from


    -Nicholai


    Why not ask me?


    -Lee


    What? Kenneth is the guy who makes stuff


    -Nicholai


    Yeah but, I''m the gun guy


    -Lee


    ...Right ya weirdo, I''ll send it to you then


    -Nicholai


    I closed my HUD after Nicholai''s status symbol changed, the rest of Sam''s letter was just Sam being Sam, talking about whatever she felt like at the moment. Guess it''s time I get to bed. This time, I actually managed to lay down, and with a snap, I went into casual clothing.


    "Crescent, things aren''t gonna get easier are they?" I don''t know if it was from me spending more time with Crescent, but I didn''t have to even look at them to know they said ''no'' anymore. "Figured."


    Once again, there were no visions, and I was stuck questioning if It was due to the rewinds, perhaps I was no longer on the path the visions wanted me to take, or maybe they had decided I no longer needed a guide and knew the path to take.


    Also unlike the other nights, I woke up to my HUD blaring a ringtone, with Sam''s Rose Pfp smack dab in the middle of it.


    "uuugghhh..." I sat up before answering the call.


    "Gooooood Morning!"-Sam


    "Why so early?"-Lee


    I stood and snapped again, returning to my CSF uniform, it was weird setting aside my clothes into a casual section after already fighting with it, but the CSF outfit just felt so much nicer to fight in (Probably because that''s its purpose).


    "Sorry...I didn''t want to, but Nicholai usually wakes up an hour later than now, so we gotta go before that!"-Sam


    "About that"-Lee


    "Hm? What''s up?"-Sam


    "I was hoping to wait for a mission to be set on earth before we go there, that way everyone can go and there''s less suspicion"-Lee


    "True, that is a good idea, but we won''t be able to search as much if we''re also on a mission"-Sam


    "But we can''t search at all if Nicholai catches us."-Lee


    "...Alright, now you owe me a search and a dance"-Sam


    "You still remember that?"-Lee


    "Course I do, anyways, I''ll be off now! Got plants to tend to"-Sam


    With that the call came to an end.


    "I need another bed..." My back cracked as I stretched. "Come on Crescent" I won''t deny, I was always paranoid Crescent would just miss the sheathe and stab me, but the fear did dwindle after some time, never went away fully, just pushed back into my mind. Contrary to my fear, Crescent didn''t miss its home, and clipped in like every other time. Leaving the room was just like normal, no tripping, no knocking on the door. I''m getting a mission sooner or later...the question is when?


    "Yallo!" From the living room I could see Sam waving to me. Like she said she was going to, she was tending to any plant...they all looked the same state to me, but it was clear some needed more attention than others. "Oh! By the way" Sam quieted down as I got closer to the room. "Complain about being woken up early all you want, but Raymond would''ve woken you up sooner."


    "Huh?"


    "He came by earlier, but I told him to come back in like...30 minutes?"


    "And when was that?"


    "20 minutes...19? 21? I dunno, I just know he''ll be back in less than 10 minutes...unless it was 19 minutes ago."


    "I see..."


    "Did...you want him to wake you up?" Indicated from Sam''s quieting voice, she felt guilty.


    "Oh no, if I got mad at you for waking me up early I would''ve to anyone."


    "True that!" With nothing further to say, she fully focused back on her plants. She never once looked bored tending to them. Guess I better get searching for Raymond. Wonder why he wanted me...a mission or a talk, it could be either or really. With Nicholai and Kenneth still sleeping, I left the base and wandered the sector.


    "One time offer!"


    "Sale is coming to an end tonight"


    Lot of merchants...the same as before. It was probably from all the years Eaxura has existed, people got into a pattern, a habit, if anything I was the strange one for being so inconsistent. Eaxura has its faults, the streets were crowded a majority of the time, it was hard to get anywhere, and places were confusing to traverse, but something about this world had a place in my heart, it felt warming to be here, or maybe it was because I got used to the hellish world that became of earth.


    During my wandering, my HUD had popped up like I was waiting for.


    To my office, now


    -Raymond


    Raymond immediately went offline after that. I don''t recall doing anything that bad...or anything at all the past two days. I didn''t have much of a choice but to make my way over to his office, past the crowd and all that. This was the third...or fourth time I''ve been in the stadium, first time being when we were starting the whole trial thing. The same wood-colored walls and floors, if it had more twists and turns I''d have thought It was a maze.


    I grabbed onto the office doorknob and twisted it, but it didn''t budge at all.


    "To my office, yet here it is, locked" I wanted to mock his voice even though I hadn''t heard it, but whatever it was, made me decide against it.


    Hello agaaaain!


    -Sam


    Something wrong?


    -Lee


    Uh, figured while you were out you could fetch me something


    -Sam


    Guess I could, what is it?


    -Lee


    So, you know how some lights help plants grow?


    -Sam


    ...No?


    -Lee


    Well, some do, could you get me a white light? It helps a lot


    with flowers


    -Sam


    Oh, also don''t worry about using your own money, it''s more of a


    pick up if anything


    -Sam


    Isn''t it sent to you?


    -Lee


    Well...would you want a fragile light bulb to be warped?


    -Sam


    Fair enough...I''ll go after this whole thing with Raymond, funnily enough he locked


    the door to his office after telling me to come here


    -Lee


    That''s stupid, hope it doesn''t take long!


    -Sam


    So you can get your bulb faster?


    -Lee


    Partially, good luck anyways


    -Sam


    Do I even wait here? I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed after knocking on the door. To my regret, there was no answer...and I continued waiting. My mind is gonna be mush by the time he gets here.


    "Sorry for the wait" Thankfully, my mind wasn''t mush yet, in fact it was very much still active.


    "How do you tell me to get here and you''re not even here yourself?"


    "For the very same reason I called you here" Raymond opened the door to his office, with both of us entering. He had a stack of papers being held by one hand that at the slightest breeze would fly away. "You recall The Reunion right?" He set down the papers, and soon sat down at the desk himself.


    "Yeah?" Unlike Raymond, I didn''t sit down, rather I stood near the door.


    "I need you to echo something"


    "Echo?" He snapped his fingers.


    "You know how you were told your rewinding only works in one place?"


    "I do"


    "You can make it even smaller, and sort of...make it like a video, that way nothing can change what happened."


    "So why do you need me?"


    "Every other person who has time travel either A, doesn''t have the ability to change the range or size, or B, is busy"


    "So how do I do it?" Raymond let out a sigh before standing up.


    "I''ll show you the best way I can." Raymond took out a revolver, loaded one bullet, and shot it at the wall. "Now" He took a step away from where he was, and motioned me to do the same. Once we were both in different areas, he held out his hand, palm down, these small threads slowly drifted up from nowhere, into the center of his palm, once they had all gathered there, he quickly closed his hand, crushing the thread.


    It wasn''t even a second before I saw another me and Raymond, they were doing the same exact thing that happened, Raymond fired the bullet, he took a step away, and so did I.


    "You get a more precise picture when you have the exact time, feeling, and date" Raymond didn''t look away from the hole in the wall, the one caused from the bullet. "Otherwise, the video is less clear...Just think about the moment and it''ll bring up those threads, crush it once you have a tingling feeling...Oh, and one more thing, you gotta find a sweet spot."


    "What?"


    "You gotta close your eyes when doing it, you''ll see these small dots that have a feeling to them, like voices speaking...the more moments that happened, the more dots. Find the one that gives the right feeling, in this case it''d be tingling, from the bullet firing, and the surprise"


    "I wasn''t surprised"


    "I was, that wall was meant to withstand the bullet." He shrugged it off. "Guess it doesn''t always do that." He went back to his desk, and opened a drawer. "One more thing, unlike the knife that you have, this one is a part of you, maybe because your corpse had it...or for some other reason. Why you couldn''t summon it? Or even know it existed? Prolly just cause you forgot it even existed"


    "How does that-"


    "How would it be in your inventory if you forgot it?"


    "So I double forgot it?"


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    "I may have said the same thing twice but it does mean different things"


    "Ahhuh..."


    "You''re looking for burning on this one, tell me what you see."


    "Roger that" Raymond, finally finding it, pulled out a Karambit.


    "This is yours now, just like it was before." He walked over, assuming his next action, I opened my hand, Raymond promplty placed it on my palm. I put my thumb through the hole, the feeling of the material, the reflection of the shiny blade.


    "Feels like mine." I gave it a spin, my palm open as my thumb circled around.


    "Good, your uniform already has a sheath for it, the opposite side where your revolver is." It wasn''t hard to find, it looked like a thin, empty pocket, one that the karambit perfectly fit into.


    "Neat" It felt like my uniform was more complete, but it felt like something was still missing from completing it.


    "Get going Second Lieutenant" I was sent the area through my HUD, the dimension wasn''t named which threw me off.


    "Be back soon" I summoned Crescent and opened a portal like always. Heading in was the same as well, the only difference was when I got there.


    It was a purely open field, sure, there were a few trees here and there, but other than that, nothing.


    "Huh...That''s...something alright" I held out my hand. "Just follow the feeling..." and close my eyes...right. I slowly closed them and it was as Raymond said. Burning...burning...There weren''t many dots, yet I could hear them all. People speaking, crying, arguing...There wasn''t burning in any of them. Could I be too far? There was one more, rumbling, cars and vehicles. I decided to hone in on that one, concentrate and hope it worked.


    I could feel the thread pressing against my palm, I took a breath, and once no more pressed against me, crushed it while opening my eyes.


    Multiple vehicles appeared, Reunion soldiers driving on a path that no longer exists.


    "Guess I better follow it." Their speed was rather slow, allowing me to keep up with them even on foot.


    "Man..." What I didn''t expect, was to hear them speak. "This escort is so goddamn boring"


    "Get your foot off my dash"


    "Tsk, hell''s your problem?"


    "My prooooblem, is that I prefer not being six feet under"


    "Ooooh, I''m soooorry, didn''t know this thing would explode if my feet were on the dash"


    "Yes, actually, it very much can"


    "Shit, really!?" It was hard to see, the vehicles and the people themselves were like watching a low resolution video, but from what I saw the person quickly took their feet off the dashboard and put it on the ground.


    "Such an idiot..." The Echo continued, but no one talked afterwards, all that I could do was follow the trucks until it eventually did end.


    "Hm..." I began to look around, I couldn''t feel any Echos around, but they did keep going in this direction. There should still be an Echo...unless. My eyes diverted to the ground, there weren''t any tracks leading the way I thought they went, instead, it was a sharp turn into the denser portion of trees. Now why would that be the case? I made sure Crescent was on standby while I walked into the treeline, just in case anything happened. For the most part it was just walking, even though I was on the right trail, the Echo still didn''t return until I came across ruins. Buildings were burnt down or destroyed. So that''s why Raymond said burning.


    Stepping into the area was unsettling, it felt like I was being watched constantly.


    Burning...burning. I held my hand out while I searched. The thing was, it wasn''t difficult to find at all, it was the only thing that felt that way.


    With another echo, and another pulse, I looked into the past, the city was far from ruins, and the truck from before had parked...For the most part at least. Whatever was in the truck was banging to get out, it was something that was alive.


    "What have you brought here!?" Hearing people talk on the other side of the truck, I walked around, there stood the Reunion from earlier, near the truck, and people who looked like city-folk near the buildings.


    "A new power supply" The guy who had his foot on the dashboard tapped his hand on the truck, which only angered whatever was in it even more. "Like we promised of course"


    "That isn''t a power supply, that''s a monstrous being!"


    "You asked for a power supply and we gave it, time for you to hold up your end of the bargain." I can already piece it together...The creature must''ve broken out and burned the place...that or the Reunion di-. A branch snapping, it broke my line of thinking almost instantly. So it''s still here. I summoned Crescent to my hand


    Dave: "Sir Lee"


    Dave talking to me wasn''t like TTS, yet...it was close enough.


    "Dave?"


    Dave: "Yes, as previously mentioned I am acting as the handler, I am thus adding a new portion on your HUD and a new ability"


    "How did you do that?"


    Dave: "Not important, what is, is that you are now capable of scanning enemies which will allow you to record anything that happens during the fight, including weaknesses, abilities and any other important information. Weaknesses that I can find about them are also uploaded to the bank."


    "Thanks?"


    Dave: "No problem, if you require Bravo Team''s assistance in this fight I will call them for you"


    "No, it''s alright. I''ll manage"


    Dave: "Understood sir."


    A section of the ruins fell apart. So it''s over there. I grabbed onto Crescent with both hands, I could only ready myself. I should have some sort of immunity right? I have fire skills. It probably would''ve been better if I stopped seeing this world like a video game...though I guess if I fully saw it like a game I would be weak to fire.


    ...


    I waited, for more movement, for another building to fall or shift. Then a second later, another building fell nearby. Gotcha. I cut my hand and sent spears in the general direction, I expected it to miss but I could hear the creature make noise from the pain.


    "Alright! Game o...n..." From the ash of a destroyed building, a purple tendril wormed its way out. No way...no way someone would use a corruptor as a power source...yet, why don''t I find that surprising? I quickly opened my HUD and called Raymond.


    Raymond: Find it?


    Lee: More than that, it''s a corruptor!


    Raymond: Damnit...Alright I''ll send people in, just hold on, and don''t try opening a portal here, it won''t let you


    Lee: Understood


    I cut the call short and renewed my stance, all the while the Corruptor made itself fully visible. Unlike the other purple ones, this one seemed to be partially red, with small bits of fire popping up every once in a while. The weird thing was...it didn''t attack me, it stood there, staring at me.


    Hang on...The corruptor only starting getting hostile when it was being bothered a few times...or at least I assumed. Will you not attack me unless I hurt you enoug- "Kgh!" I leaned forward as my head started pounding, I let go of Crescent with my left hand to hold onto my head but it didn''t help at all, I felt like my brain was numbing with static. "Agh!" The Corruptor wasn''t it...Through the pain I saw something...like the echo a sight of the city not before it fully burned down, but just as it was...the Corruptor was there yes, but someone was as well, someone who killed both the Reunion and Civilians. It''s...the same guy. I could only see most of their back, but just a fragment of their front was visible. That goddamn gas mask...that damned glowing blue eye. I felt pulled, compelled to give into whatever was giving me this vision. Seeing it as a last resort, I took out my karambit and stabbed myself in the hand, the moment blood even thought of bleeding out, the vision and pain stopped...at least the pain in my head.


    "Second Lieutenant!" I heard the voices of CSF behind me...no rather they were right next to me.


    I looked up quickly, the corruptor was gone, and a large amount of CSF were looking around for it.


    "But it...was just here..."


    "Do you have any idea where it went sir?"


    "No...at least...not any good idea..."


    "Are you alright sir?"


    "No...not at all..." I couldn''t bluff out of it, though It''s bearable enough to say it isn''t there like before, it did still feel like something was trying to worm its way into my head. "Hey..."


    "Yes sir?"


    "How do you warp?"


    "What?"


    "There was this guy...he threw his weapon and appeared next to it...how do you do that..."


    "Uh...well...sir I know it''s possible for every DT to do that but, I don''t think you should exactly get to learning that now."


    "Course..." It took a while, but I was able to stand just fine. "Raymond still in his office?"


    "Yeah, we have a portal for you" The soldier stepped aside, revealing a portal just a bit away behind him.


    "Appreciate it."


    "No problem sir, take care." I waltzed my way out, the portal brought me almost exactly outside his office, where Raymond was sitting down going through more files.


    "Lee"


    "Raymond" I took a seat this time around, needed a bit of rest.


    "Echoing still counts as an ability, as such it''ll tire you out"


    "I noticed..."


    "CSF said that when they got to you, you were holding you head in pain."


    "Yeah...I''ll ask Nicholai to check it out...but on point"


    "Right."


    "The Reunion were using a corrupted as a power source...they also mentioned some deal"


    "Hm...Anything else?"


    "The guy who killed me...me and Sam, he was there too." Raymond seemed to be taken aback.


    "I thought he was working with the Reunion:"


    "Guess not"


    "I''ll have to look into it, I doubt he''ll just kill you again, no I know he won''t. But it''s something that needs looking into."


    "Ahhuh..." I couldn''t be bothered to think about anything, it would most likely end up with my brain feeling numbed again.


    "One more thing"


    "Yeah?"


    "There''s another mission I want you to undertake when you can"


    "That is?"


    "Sadly, we can''t make much progress on the Doll Maker at the moment, but there''s a group just as bad."


    "Fantastic"


    "I''d appreciate it if you were less sarcastic"


    "I can''t exactly do anything else at the moment."


    "As I was saying, you have a tolerance to gore"


    "and?" I didn''t like where this was going at all.


    "It''s a bit away from New Min, but it''s still in the same world. There''s these cannibalistic freaks who''re causing trouble to humans who support the DTs"


    "That implies humans don''t naturally support us."


    "They don''t, if anything they want us dead...sadly fighting them isn''t much of an option"


    "That sounds like manslaughter considering what we can do." Raymond shook his head.


    "Back. On. Point. Before you ask why I''m telling you to investigate it is because they typically go after people in your age range since they''re easier to nab."


    "You want me as bait."


    "They go after humans since they die with a simple hit to the back of the head with a weapon, we don''t even if it''s bladed...unless of course our HP is already low or it does enough damage...anyways...you can slip in easier thanks to that, only issue is...they do know that DTs exist, so they have MEMPs" I tilted my head in confusion. "Right, you don''t recall. MEMPs, are similar to EMPs, the name doesn''t make much sense, however we named it that for easier understanding. MEMPs will disable your magic, which includes summoning, bright side is, it can be disabled, and the ranges aren''t that large. They also don''t take your weapons so you should be good."


    "And if they do take my weapons?" There was a pause.


    "You got it handled"


    "Yeah, tomorrow"


    "Heh, alright, that''s good enough for me."


    "Better be...well if that''s all" I stood up from my seat and went out the door. "Oh..." Yeah, Sam asked for something didn''t she? White Lights for her plants. I opened my HUD and went to my map, it wasn''t too far away, it would only take a few minutes to get there. "Uaaagh!" I interlocked my hands together and stretched once more. Perhaps my slight lean was why my back started hurting so much...Actually...oh I better use it before Nicholai gets mad at me. I turned Crescent into the can again and started walking. Using it felt degrading, relying on something to even walk normally.


    "Take care Second Lieutenant" One of the soldiers saluted as I left the area. I''m gonna die before I get back to base... Of course, it was an exaggeration, but at the time it genuinely felt like I was going to. The only thing that signified I was going the right way except for the map, was the bustling city, with people walking and talking about. Should be just around the corner... The store was decorated to hell and back, flowers, signs, lights. I walked inside, the smell was nostalgic...actually almost brought tears to my eyes.


    "An amazing place isn''t it." The person speaking to me wore a uniform, it nearly blended in with the flowers just behind them. "How may I help you today sir?" I almost winced upon seeing their blue colored hair...No way I''m gonna get flashbacks everytime I see blue...Perhaps I didn''t see the flashback because it was more teal colored than blue.


    "Just picking some white lights"


    "Sorry, can you be specific on who the order is from?"


    "Sam Calstianos" Something in their head clicked, they clasped their hands together and spoke.


    "Ah! You''re the boyfriend!"


    "The what?" They paused a bit, thinking...they almost looked like they were shaking after realizing their mistake.


    "A-aa..ah, my mistake, I''m used to being human so reading partner made me assume something else" Their shaking only grew worse. "I-i-i...shouldn''t have made an assumption like that, it must be awkward hearing that."


    "I-it''s alright, not the first time I''ve heard it...just take a breath" Almost instantly they stopped shaking, they took a sharp breath and returned to their previous behavior.


    "My apologies regardless! Either way, you''re a good friend, not many people take the responsibility of carrying fragile lights."


    "Well, the plants help make the base less gloomy, so it helps everyone in the end."


    "I''ll have to meet this Sam in person some time, it''s great to have someone else who values plants."


    "She''s a character alright."


    "Though I am curious why she sent you to get it"


    "I was already on the move, and she''s probably tending to plants still."


    "Makes sense, well, I''ll get you those lights, please give me just a moment." They walked into a backroom, I assumed it would take a while, so I leaned against the wall.


    "Wonder why it smells so nostalgic" Something poked my leg, I thought it was a petal of a moving flower, yet it poked me again, grabbing my attention, I looked down to see a child holding a sketchbook. They had the same teal colored hair as the flower woman. "Whatcha got there?" They looked younger than 4, but for all I knew they were younger than that. They flipped the sketchbook around, it...was a drawing. Is that meant to be me? Granted, I only knew it was me because of the white hair and the CSF uniform...otherwise I was lost. "Hehe, what''d you draw me for?"


    "Because you look cool!" Their speech was much more jumbled than what''s written here...but I understood it just fine.


    "Eh...?" I heard that before, it itched on my mind...Where did I hear that before?..."Well, thanks for that"


    "There you are!" The woman from earlier came back with a box. "Don''t nag him"


    "It''s alright, girl is certainly an artist"


    "Heh, that she is. People think we named her on our hair color...we didn''t"


    "So her name is Teal"


    "Yup" She handed me the box with the lights, they were a lot lighter than I expected...I did not intend for a pun to be made..."They shouldn''t be too hard to install, these ones can replace any normal light bulb."


    "Thanks for the help."


    "Take care, and come again!"


    "I probably will if Sam needs anything else, keep up with the drawing too Teal!" Teal seemed heavily motivated to continue drawing when I left. "Now to just get these back to base..." The pain in my head had left at this point, along with any stabbing or numb feeling. "Eh...Nicholai shouldn''t mind me not walking with the cane...not like I can" Course she can just say ''why''re you carrying boxes with that leg?'' She probably will honestly. I kept the thinking up until I got home, Sam, not as I expected, was laying on the couch reading something...how''d I know she was reading? Because she had her arms raised as high as they could...if she dropped the book it''d probably land right on her face.


    "Whatcha got there?"


    "Just some stuff, Nicholai said I should give reading another go."


    "Why''d you stop?"


    "Reminded me of the hospital"


    "Oh...Right I guess that would be the case" Sam closed the book and sat up.


    "You got my lights!" Maybe it was some florist instinct I didn''t know about, but without even looking my way she knew I had them.


    She got off the couch and walked over until she was directly in front of me with her arms out.


    "Gimme gimme"


    "Right, here you go" I set the box in her arms which sunk before she adjusted to the weight.


    "I expected it to be heavier."


    "Well it''s more of the light bulb ones, not the standing light ones."


    "Ah"


    "You...did check what you bought right?"


    "I did, sorta, it was just a ''if we don''t have this, we''ll give you this instead which serves the same function'' so don''t worry about it, it''s not too different...though I''ll probably need a whole room...don''t wanna mess with the bulbs in here Y''know?"


    "I know" overexaggerating her steps, Sam walked over into a room I hadn''t seen before.


    "And by a whole room! I mean the one I already had made!"


    "With what money!?"


    "Nicholai gave me some, in return I also grow some medicinal herbs for her."


    "That actually is a fair trade...I haven''t really checked myself but I assume buying the medication is expensive...so making it herself would be quicker and cheaper...granted she doesn''t explode."


    "I won''t" Something sharp jabbed me, it didn''t pierce, but it was uncomfortable enough to make me move and turn around...to where I saw Nicholai with a syringe.


    "What''d you inject me with!?"


    "Your medication, Raymond told me your head started getting all weird and you saw visions like how corruption was."


    "And let me guess, you did it because-


    "You/I wouldn''t sit still regardless" The two of us spoke at the same time, saying nearly the same thing.


    "And also because you keep going somewhere that it''s best for me not to follow" Nicholai took out a bag, where she put the syringe in after she inspected it. "On the topic, anything else wrong with you?"


    "That phrasing...-


    "Was on purpose"


    "Figured..." I gave it some thought...anything else that could be wrong with me. "Not anything I can think of."


    "Good because I watched you bring a box over here while your leg is still considered recovering."


    "It wasn''t that heavy" Nicholai glared at me, it felt like every second she was closer to seeing my soul.


    "Okay" Her glare went away and returned to a neutral expression. "Just make sure you don''t overdo it, I got stuff to do." I moved aside so Nicholai could get past. "How''re the herbs doing!"


    "I just got started!" The two shouted at each other, with Sam''s voice barely being audible from the other room. "Oh Lee! If you''re still there! You''re welcome in this room anytime!"


    "Why''s that?" Nicholai turned back around towards me.


    "She taught me a bit yesterday, I did a pretty decent job too"


    "Huh, okay, guess it''s something to keep you busy" She continued back to her room.


    What happens next? I scratched my neck while thinking. It''s still early, but no way am I doing that mission right now...or should I? It''d be another solo mission, Nicholai is busy, Kenneth is probably working with Neal still, and Sam would come along, but the amount of blood, gore and the general fact of cannibalism might actually kill her. I opened my HUD and looked at a few missions. There was one in New Min, a rather simple one too that paid well. I went over to the new room that Sam made, upon entering, I realized how big it was, it looked like a full on greenhouse, rows of plants just barely starting to grow.


    Sam was on the far left side, messing with a tablet.


    "Heh, when''d you start getting all techy?" I spoke to her when I got close.


    "Well it involves plants and gardening...not to mention I need to see when the bulbs should be replaced...it''s not like we''re gonna go back to being human anytime soon if at all." She set the tablet down on a stand, where it automatically started charging. "So! need something partner?"


    "Just seeing if you were available for a mission...sadly it''s not on earth"


    "I was just gonna ask that too...Well, I don''t mind, or I guess it depends what it is!" I opened up the mission again.


    "Seems like a simple recon mission, we just have to overlook a Reunion base while the other team handles stuff."


    "Other team?"


    "CSF, it''s not labled as a CSF mission which is weird, but I guess recon isn''t exclusive to CSF."


    "That''s true, seems easy, should be quick too!"


    "You''re game then?"


    "Sure!" With that, I set the mission as accepted.


    "It''s a bit early tomorrow, I wanted to have a mission today, but bright and early tomorrow will do."


    "Fine by me! Have a good sleep."


    "I''ll try." Sam got back to her plants, assuming I had nothing left to say, which was true.


    Guess that''s a night then. For the third time in the past 30 minutes, I opened my HUD, sending a message to Nicholai and Kenneth.


    Sam and I are heading on a recon mission, you can come


    along if you want-Lee


    Roger that-Nicholai


    Also, It may be recon, but that doesn''t mean you can get away with


    doing something stupid, so don''t-Nicholai


    Neal and I are almost done here, if you guys are still on the recon mission I''ll tag


    along when I finish-Kenneth


    I waltzed my way over to my room, something felt different about it, perhaps my home sickness had passed, even if that place on earth was horrible and cold, It was still with the others.


    "Heh" After setting Crescent against the wall I threw myself on my bed. "Maybe I just got used to sleeping in the same room as everyone, hearing them talk, complain...their crying was bad, as was the talking and complaining if a zombie was near the school, but...it let me know they were at least alive and human" Here though, something could happen and I wouldn''t know, I could wake up the next day and not know if anything happened...guess that''s just me being paranoid. The CSF trying to kill me before made me worried, that if I did anything wrong they''d use the others as leverage. Back then...back...then...


    It was about a few months..., keeping track of time in the situations we were always in were pointless...it felt like it was always winter anyways.


    "Could we really not have come up with something better?" Nicholai and I were washing clothes by the river.


    "You wanna waste the little power we get from the solar panels on a washing machine?"


    "Wish we had a washing machine..."


    "If Kenneth manages to make a washing machine run on batteries, be my guest." Brushing our teeth, washing clothes, everything practically resorted to using the river once water was becoming scarcer.


    "Out of all the things to break..." Wash, shake, put in a basket...repeating that constantly.


    "We overused the poor filter"


    "It worked just fine with hundreds of students...why''d it break with ju-


    "Lee! Nicholai!" Sam''s voice echoed into the forest. We picked up whatever weapons we had and rushed towards her. "Zombie are near the edge" Sam lowered her volume once we got closer, she stood atop a RV we used for travel and scavenging, which let her be our recon.


    "Where''s Kenneth?"


    "He''s scrapping a few things."


    "Can''t shoot them?" Nicholai spoke up before I could ask anything else.


    "W..I only have the rifle so I can see through the scope...the recoil would break my shoulder."


    "It ain''t bad if Lee can do it."


    "Oh come on...here"I took out my karambit, remembering this made me realize that my CSF uniform felt incomplete because it helped me get my memories...my weapons, uniform...it all helped. Back to the memory though, I quickly put it back away after realizing this was a good opportunity I climbed to the top of the RV. "It''s only one, so how about we practice."


    "B-but..."


    "Don''t worry, it''s not killing someone...if they''re sentient they''d want this anyways." Sam''s hands trembled. "Let me see" I didn''t fully take the rifle, instead, I grabbed near her hand to guide where the barrel was pointing. "While you won''t need this tip later, you should aim slightly above where you''re trying to shoot. Knowing you, you''ll accidently pull down both hands slightly when pulling the trigger.


    "Okay..."


    "Press the stuck more in your shoulder too, it''s a bit too high up." Even after she readjusted, the stock was still slightly too high. "It''s good for now, just make sure to brace yourself for recoil, but don''t brace too much or your shot will change."


    "What''s the right amount?"


    "Tense yourself just a little but, then lower that a bit more."


    "Is that all?"


    "Well, they''re not far enough to have me lecture you about distance, wind, all that."


    "I thought that was just a game thing..."


    "...no..." I let go of the rifle and stepped back. "Give it a shot, and remember, it''s not a person anymore, and it''ll kill you if you give it the chance." Sam looked into the scope, after looking into it for a while, she moved her aim accordingly, and with that, fired.


    The bullet grazed the zombie in the shoulder, and also got its attention.


    "Eugh!" Sam jumped slightly, seeing the miss and how to tore the shoulder and a section of their arm


    "Just focus on the head, aim a bit higher and to the left, don''t compensate for wind, it''s not far enough."


    "You noticed?"


    "It would have hit the neck if you didn''t."


    "eh..." Once again she changed her aim. "That good?"


    "Does it look good?"


    "You''re not helping?"


    "Well, If I told you your aim was good constantly you''d just start relying on me for your aim."


    "Just this once, you said yourself we can''t waste ammo."


    "...Like a bit higher" She adjusted one more time before firing. It was spot on if not a little of target. From what I could see it dropped the moment the trigger was pulled.


    "Got it!"


    "There you go!" I patted Sam on the back, it felt wrong at first for encouraging killing what looked like people, but as we grew more into the mindset that it didn''t count, and it was more...extermination...like pest extermination, it became a hundred times easier.


    "That''s great and all, but you fired two really loud bullets." Nicholai yelled up at us, holding both baskets from earlier. "We should probably get going."


    "Roger that!" Placing my hand on the roof, I threw my legs forward, and landed on the ground. Sam, being safe and having a rifle, took the ladder on the back.


    "What was that about!?" Kenneth came running out of the woods with a full bag.


    "Fire practice"


    "Made me think you lot were getting shot." Kenneth sprinted over to the RV door and opened it. "Take it we''re bailing?"


    "Cleaning is done, You got scrap, yeah!" We pooled into the RV, Nicholai leaned near the door, I got in the driver''s seat, Kenneth in the passenger, and Sam near one of the windows. "Lee''s RV service is heading off!"


    "Cheesy bastard" Starting it up, changing the gear, and stepping my foot onto the pedal. The ride was bumpy from being offroad, but so long as nothing broke we didn''t care.


    As I lay on my bed in the current day, I thought just how much I missed that...or lives were in danger constantly, sure, but we were alive...we were still human.

 Chapter 18: Descent

    Another day, another question. I had already assumed how the day was going to go, something else would happen that would raise more questions. At least I figured out how to get back some of my memories. I sat up, snapped my fingers like yesterday, and turned to Crescent. That other barrel...What am I meant to load in that one? I stood up and adjusted my gear. Karambit, Revolver...Crescent, everything is here.


    The door to my room banged twice. It wasn''t a mystery who did it, as Sam''s voice followed the bangs soon after.


    "Knock knock! Mission time!"


    "I know!" I grabbed Crescent and attached them to my back as usual, opening the door after.


    "Yello!" Sam''s outfit had changed, it didn''t look like mine or the CSF, but the color scheme was similar. "How do I look? Kai said he had a spare uniform so he gave me one."


    "He...had a spare coincidentally your size?"


    "Weird right? Makes me think...Nah!" She waved her hand, assuring herself that whatever she was thinking was false. "So! We got that mission don''t we?"


    "Correct." I grabbed onto Crescent and held on firmly. "Ready to go now?"


    "What about you? I ate but I didn''t see you do the same."


    "It''s fine, I can eat something small."


    "I woke you up early so you could eat."


    "...Later"


    "Alright, alright. Yeah I''m good to go." Hearing a confirmation, I slashed down, cutting open the portal the same way as always.


    "You know the portals always have this intricate design."


    "I noticed that too, it looks pretty."


    "Won''t deny that." Attaching Crescent back on...my back, I walked through the portal. The CSF were already waiting, four of them. Their weapons looked special just like their uniforms. Upon looking at me, one began coughing. "You alright?"


    "Y-yeah! Keh" He let out one more cough before standing straight again.


    Sam came from the portal soon after.


    "Just the two of ya huh?"


    "Yeah, did you need more?"


    "Nah, keep in mind you two aren''t meant to be spotted, don''t get a whole army for a scouting mission" The main guy, the one with a shoulder piece with his uniform, walked forward, handing me binoculars. "You two are gonna head up a mountain, we four will be infiltrating the building to set an explosive, after we give the signal you''ll cover our escape as we leave the compound. Obviously you''ll also be providing overwatch and recon as we proceed with the mission."


    "Understood. I''m Lee"


    "Sam!"


    "Ahhuh" The leader hesitated for a moment. "If we''re going by first names, Yuri is fine, you''ll be communicating with me primarily, so don''t worry about the other guys."


    "Makes sense, what''s the signal for when you guys set the explosives?" Yuri reached into his pocket and took out a flashlight. "Strobe light?"


    "Heh, surprised you guessed it."


    "Normal light wouldn''t do much so early in the day...But even that won''t do much will it."


    "Special Strobe light" He aimed it at the ground and clicked the button, a high powered light started flickering on and off towards the ground, powerful enough that the grass shriveled from the heat.


    "Showed me wrong."


    "We''ll be heading out now, the moment we enter the compound we''re shutting down all TTS, messages, and the rest. If we have anything to address to you, we''ll use the strobe light. You got an IR Scope?" Yuri turned to Sam.


    "Uh..."


    "No actually...it said you were new to this, so I guess you wouldn''t have many attachments. Nevermind then, the Binoculars should have a setting for it, near the dial on the top." I turned it around a few times until I saw it.


    "Yep"


    "You know Morse code?"


    "Mostly. Just don''t know a few letters."


    "Like?"


    "The uncommon ones, y, z, that sorta stuff."


    "Good enough, we expect good cover." Turning their backs to us, they started heading towards the compound.


    "Guess we better head into position then."


    "Yup yup!" With a sniper in hand, Sam lead the way up the mountain. Part of me wondered why they chose to have a mission like this in the day, but what could I do about it? "Well, if this mission is gonna be just us overwatching, then we get to talk huh?"


    "We typically do that"


    "Well yeah, but talk where no one can intrude by accident."


    "Don''t think we have anything secret to talk about."


    "Maybe not..." I could only see the back of Sam, yet she seemed gloomy.


    Once we reached the edge of the mountain, Sam set her rifle down, and laid on the grass before patting down a spot next to her.


    "You''re my spotter, come on."


    "Right." I laid down at the spot next to her, making sure the sniper nor the binoculars were crushed. "They''re still a bit away from the compound."


    "Hey Lee" Her tone told me how this conversation was going to go, it was going to be either serious or sad. "Remember when the outbreak first happened?"


    "Course, don''t think I could ever forget that if I wanted to."


    "Was...it alright?"


    "Was...what alright?"


    "Well, I couldn''t fight much...even if I could lie and say they weren''t human, blood was still an issue."


    "Are you asking if you did enough?"


    "Well, not that...or, not...I guess...yeah." She rolled onto her back, looking into the sky where the stars were, only we couldn''t see any of them yet. "I guess that was just a random thought, I know I did all I could, lookout, scavenging. I guess dying and being brought back made me wonder if I could''ve done more to prevent it."


    "Well, if our deaths were prevented, Kenneth and Nicholai would still be dead."


    "Makes me wonder what would happen if we all lived. There''s still Cypher and Q too, heh, they''re young but they''d make a pretty good addition to the team right?" Though her body still faced to the invisible stars, her head turned to me, smiling. It was a smile that made me do the same no matter the scenario.


    "You did more than enough."


    "What?"


    "To answer your previous question."


    "Oh" She looked back into the sky. "We should have a day like this."


    "Hm?"


    "Get Nicholai and Kenneth here, no mission, just look up at the night sky and its stars. If anyone has problems we speak about it, no judging, no sarcastic remarks to each other." She raised her arm, as though she was trying to grab onto something.


    "Where''d this come from?"


    "Dunno, I''ve just realized we don''t spend much time together anymore, Elementary school we all spent every day together, going over to my house as we played games or, for Nicholai, made sure we didn''t get ourselves hurt. In middle school..." She didn''t continue on that, we all knew where she and everyone was during that time. "...and high school...we had those after school events and...heh, sorta sad realizing I won''t get to experience Prom."


    "That''s what you''re focused on?"


    "Yeah!" She reached out both arms dramatically before letting them hit the grass beneath her. "It''s the only time where I could wear something like a cute dress, they usually have good food there too."


    "Gotta put that hundred dollar ticket money somewhere."


    "Wha?"


    "For someone who was hoping to go to it you don''t know how much it costs?"


    "W-well no? But a hundred dollars?"


    "Just how it is...hm."


    "What?"


    "Wonder how I''d look in a good suit..."


    "Well it definitely has to be a white one, or actually, maybe the contrast with the black suit and white hair would be better!"


    "I''ve seen some CSF with just suits...wonder if I could get that."


    "This is a whole nother conversation now...You would fight in a suit?"


    "If it''s made well I wouldn''t see why not."


    "And I''m weird..."


    "Oi, what''d I do to you?"


    We''ve made it to the compound.


    Shutting of our HUDs here-Yuri


    "Go time!" Sam flipped over onto her stomach and picked up her rifle, while I grabbed the binoculars. The Compound was lengthy, but the team was only going halfway so they could set something on one of the towers. "Ping, Ping, a ping" Multiple enemies were being marked by Sam, who started making sound effects for every ping.


    "Hey Sam" One of the guards were out in the open, letting me see them in a much greater view. "That isn''t a Reunion outfit is it?"


    "I dunno" She sounded clueless. "Could be like how CSF wear jackets and coats depending on their rank."


    "But they still had CSF on it...these guys...more like an emblem...could it be..." The Cannibals were said to be in this area, did this particular group of Reunion band together with them? Why even resort to cannibalism in this type of world? I noticed something off about the whole situation, groups of Reunion and Cannibals walking together, some wheeling something in a wheelbarrow, covered to prevent anyone from looking into it. "What the hell is this all about?" I looked closer at the cloth covering the contents, it had a small...incredibly small piece of purple. Is this color purple...or Corruption purple? I could overreact, if I did I would start a whole nother mission. Powers...could it be for powers?


    I sent Raymond a mission, I wouldn''t get a reply now, but hopefully after this I would get the answer I wanted. Further in the Compound I saw flashes of light from the strobe flashlight.


    "F-I-R-E A-H-E-A-D"


    "Fire ahead?"


    "The crowd up front"


    "Alright" Pulses of energy fired from Sam''s sniper, it was many times quieter than firing a bullet, but I guess that comes with it being non-lethal.


    "G-O-O-D...That seems unneeded" The team continued on ahead, one of them took out a device and stuck it onto a wall. "They said explosive...not explosives"


    "Are we being that picky?"


    "Hm..." Yuri''s team continued pushing onward, sneaking by a good chunk of the compound''s guards.


    "Pretty sneaky you gotta hand it to them."


    "They are CSF, but it''s like they''re not average ones"


    "LIke a super secret group?"


    "Wouldn''t go that far, I just assume there are different types of CSF."


    "I think a secret service CSF would be cool"


    "If you say so...C-O-V-E-R...Cover...I think"


    "Huh?"


    "I only saw them in the middle of a flash for the first letter."


    "Hold, dot, hold, dot."


    "So C, it was Cover."


    "Got it!" One of Yuri''s guys started setting an explosive, this one was different, more complicated "Taking care of your flower?" Another energy shot came from her sniper, as she fired at a guard approaching the team.


    "Uh..."


    "Come on, it may not die like a normal flower but you still gotta tend to it."


    "Sorry" I didn''t bother making an excuse for myself.


    "Well, as long as you tend to it eventually." Yuri took out the strobe light again, aiming it in our direction like before...however it didn''t work this time, no light came out.


    "Uh..."


    "You see nothing too right?


    "Yeah..." Yuri asked if we had an IR sight before...does that mean...I moved the dial, and like I was told, the tone changed, and I was able to see the flickering light. "C-A-N-T U-S-E N-O-R-M-A-L S-E-T-T-I-N-G B-E-I-N-G W-A-T-C-H-E-D...God my eyes are burning..." I started scanning around the compound, a guard had come out from one of the buildings, staring over in the direction Yuri''s crew is at. "Sam"


    "I see them" The moment I pinged the soldier Sam turned, aiming directly at them. She pulled the trigger, but just as she did, another guard came out the door. "Oh no!" Sam quickly aimed and fired again. The now unconscious guard fell backwards, back inside the building.


    "..." We held our breaths, there could be more guards inside the building who could set off an alarm, there weren''t any windows to see.


    "Do you think..." I lowered the binoculars to see Sam looking at me. Like we jinxed ourselves, the alarms started blarring.


    "Goddamnit!" I stood up and started running.


    "Where are you going!?"


    "Fixing our mistake! Cover them!"


    "A-alright!?" I didn''t have time to go down the entire mountain, so I leapt off once I was halfway down, hoping that our more durable selves could handle it. While I was right, it wasn''t entirely true, as I felt my legs nearly buckle when hitting the ground.


    My HUD opened as a call started coming in from Yuri.


    Yuri: What the hell was that?


    Lee: We messed up, another guy came out when Sam shot


    Yuri: Alright...you couldn''t control that, what are you doing now?


    Lee: I''m coming down, Sam is still covering you guys.


    Yuri: You''re coming over? Well...alright be careful


    The call ended, I was still a few minutes away from the facility, but giving an effort is better than none at all.


    Warning! I see a group of people also going to


    the compound-Sam


    "And I''m crossing paths with more hostiles...fantastic." I nearly mumbled under my breath.


    "We have intruders, engage protocol" I dove to the ground the second I heard people speaking, granted, I didn''t blend in at all, but it was far better than just standing in the open.


    "Understood, searching perimeter" The voice that replied sounded off, it wasn''t human.


    "Sir" I nearly had a heart attack when I heard a different voice in my head. Dave? "Correct, this is not the same as TTS, but It would be much easier if you thought of it that way. Returning to the original point, I am with miss Calstianos, I had warned her about what I will say next, there are robotic entities roaming the area however I am sure you are well aware. However, the part you may be unfamiliar to, when I passed one of the robotic entities, I had scanned it and sent it to Kenneth and Nicholai, Nicholai reported that she could sense a living behind being the metal parts of its body." So it''s a cyborg? "Incorrect, it is as though the robot itself is living, like a human consciousness in it."


    "Life Signature detected" Hearing its voice again...it did sound partially human. Wait...I quickly stood up and started bolting it, I took out Crescent and tried cutting a portal...it didn''t work at all.


    "Wh-" My body froze up and I fell to the ground. I couldn''t move a single part of me and all I could do was lay there as metal footsteps approached. Crescent you have permission to kill me!! But Crescent didn''t move, it sat there, motionless.


    "I...-pray y-your suffering is quick." I could barely see the machine, it looked horrific, like something mimicking a disfigured human.


    It raised their metal arm, and swiftly slammed it onto my head where everything became dark.


    "How many times is this gonna happen." I was in the abyss again, it felt worse somehow, unlike the blank one before, I felt...uneasy here. "Dave is with Sam, she''ll be okay." The main issue was what happens to me. I wasn''t able to open a portal, nor have Crescent to move...are these machines walking MEMPs? I started thinking about what I was told yesterday. I first thought they worked like EMPs, you throw em, and whatever it hits is deactivated, even if only temporarily...But if that was right...that thing wouldn''t have been able to disable mine, unless it was constantly setting them off. The feeling of the abyss became more familiar. Ah...this abyss...it''s the reflection space...but why is it so dark? Nor had I entered any water. Is this meant to represent the depths of the space? If so...where are the threads?


    I was abruptly woken up, dangling upside down all the while something was dug into my legs. The moment I took a breath through my nose I regretted it instantly, as a metallic stench was the majority of what I could smell, but something that smelled much worse was hidden under the rest.


    ''Ugh..." I knew where I was...Most of my outfit remained, the only exception was my coat. Course my gear was gone too. I wanted to throw up, being upside down...the horrible smell, I didn''t even want to look around.


    I started swinging, gaining enough momentum until I could look up. Wrapping around my ankles was rope.


    "I could..." I had a horrible idea...very bad idea, but my mind was mostly static. I pressed my normal foot against the one that was injured. "Breath in...Breath out..." There were no convenient knives nearby...my gear wasn''t set on a table in front of me, in my mind, this was the only option. "I hope Nicholai understands." Letting out a breath I quickly threw my foot forward, bending my injured leg in an unnatural way until it popped. "F-...gh" I pulled back and slipped out of the rope, resulting in my back slamming against the cold ground. "Fu...ck" I rested my foot and grabbed onto it, pulling it back into place. I started slamming my fist into the ground to try and refocus the pain into my hand, but all it did was make my body hurt more. "I wish Nicholai...was here..." By accident, my gaze went upwards to the ceiling I was hung from, like I predicted, many corpses were lined up, hung by a hook through their jaws, the process of decay way more than just started. The instinct to throw up immediately took over but I negated it to just a disgusted cough. "Why is all of this needed...?" I tried thinking about why so much people needed to be killed...Even if it was for food...was so much needed? The room was heavily dim as well, only a small hue of red from the ground letting me see everything I have seen.


    Even though I knew it wouldn''t work, I still have an effort to summon Crescent. So it really is like that...When I get out...which way would I go? Another realization came to me. If I die here...The coin wouldn''t work, meaning if I died, I was done for good. Don''t I regret dislocating my ankle now? I did my best to stand, and though I had a limp, I could manage. Sam should be fine...but that doesn''t mean it''s impossible for her to end up here. Forget it, if there''s even a chance I''m looking to see if she ended up here too, if I die, I die trying and fighting. Fighting my urge to throw up, I inspected the hanging bodies again, praying for anything usable. Most didn''t, most were just IDs, wallets...the more I looked the more horrible I felt. Robbing dead people...even in the situation I feel low. As I searched the last pocket I got pricked, it was something sharp, enough to make a cut. I moved my hand around and took out a pocket knife. Are you fucking kidding me... I thought back to a few minutes ago, and nearly threw the knife until logic returned to me. This is probably the best I''m getting...I shouldn''t let that stupid goddamn mistake get to me. I put the knife away and exited the room. Unlike the room I was in, the halls were lit up a bit better, I could see a few feet ahead, but more than that would be a miracle and a half. Left...or Right...Both ways looked nearly identical. Right it is.


    I leaned against the railings that were built into the wall, it made me more curious about that place. The cold floor, railings in the hallway. I looked down, the floor pattern reminded me of something. This place...is a hospital...I felt disgusted, far more than I already was. I kept walking, walking until I saw any other door to go into, but as I leaned against the wall to take a breather, I could hear something...slowly opening, crackling like its limbs were brittle sticks. My ears pounded with every heartbeat. Do I move? Do I run? Staying here wasn''t an option, but there was no plausible way I could find another room in time even if I headed back. The thing was, for whatever reason I expected it to come my way when it opened a door, yet, its crackling movement became more distant. Otherway it is... I turned around and started making distance, it didn''t matter if my leg was begging for rest, it wouldn''t be able to beg at all if I got killed.


    Something felt wrong after walking for some time, I should have made it back to the room I was hung in, but there was no door. You gotta be kidding me...I understood why I didn''t see any light from the hallway when I was in the room before, the doors were perfectly blended in with the walls. I pressed my hand against the wall and started looking for anything that felt off, to my surprise, there was, a more metallic feeling, more warm than the cold walls. When I pressed deeper into the wall, it opened, leading back into the room I was in prior. So I gotta feel against every wall. It didn''t help the doors also had railings, but there was something I could look for, small little gaps in the railings, showing that they weren''t connected to the ones in the walls.


    Once I saw that, I looked at both hallways, I let out a sigh of relief as I saw how visible it was even from afar...then a sigh of disappointment for not seeing it sooner. So there are a decent amount of rooms. I still of course headed left, going right was asking to be killed. Seems there''s a door here...I pressed my hand against it, and my theory was proven true, the same warm feeling. I pressed hard against the door, opening it towards me. I pulled on the door as I went in, to cover my tracks. What am I gonna see in here? I tried to ready myself, taking a breath, and when I was ready, I looked up. A...normal room...The room assured me I was right that this place was a hospital prior to whatever the hell this was. The cabinets were littered with medications...granted, most of it was anesthetics...or at least what I could guess with what the experiences with Sam''s doctors, and Nicholai''s endless teachings taught me.


    "This would kill Sam. With the medication she takes it would give a reaction. Isn''t that a bit too strong for a short procedure?" All the stuff Nicholai told doctors and myself. Wait...how do I know that? We couldn''t visit her...I shook my head. So it did actually switch...it''s affecting my memories too...My head started to static, the painful one from before. I quickly held my head. Why...would that decision change so much? I pressed my injured foot down, redirecting most of my focus onto my foot, and letting the pain in my head subside. I went over to the cabinets, most were anesthetics, but some actually were medication I could use...if any of them had a reaction to each other. I stood in front of the cabinet, a barrage of messages appeared.


    Where the hell are you!?


    -Nicholai


    Lee!? What happened?


    -Sam


    You said you were coming to reinforce us! What the hell is happening with you?


    -Yuri


    If you don''t respond I''m getting Raymond to have people look for you


    -Kenneth


    There were many more, but these were considered priority by my HUD.


    "My...HUD is working?" I looked around the room, there were 4 beds in a line, the third one had a letter on it. I quickly rushed over and picked it up


    To the poor soul who''s still alive in this place


    I was able to disable most of the MEMP''s effect in this room, but sadly I was still unable to reactivate teleporting and portal functions


    This place is a living hell, but there is one benefit, most of the creatures in this place, the one who''s limbs crack when they move, are blind, they can only feel and


    hear. It''s not like a movie where their hearing is enhanced, but don''t think they''re hard of hearing either, their hearing is similar to ours.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.I doubt I made it out of this place, I doubt I even got far out of this room, but I did make a map...I tried to anyways, it feels like this places is changing every day


    so if I could give you one warning, get out of here as soon as you can, don''t hesitate, don''t fear what may happen, because the longer you''re here, the more the rooms change. The creatures don''t know of this room, nor do the guards, it''s like they can only sense rooms where MEMPs are fully functional...


    simply put, you''re safe here, there may not be food or water, but you''re safe. If you believe in a god, pray...it''s all any of us here can do.


    Sorry for dying on you partner


    -#@(!


    The writing was fully dry, it being red told me the only thing this person had to write with was their own blood. Yet sadly, their name was covered by that blood


    "Don''t be sorry...for giving it your all."


    I don''t know where I am, but it''s one of the cannibal bases


    I nearly encountered one of the monsters, be careful if you come here.


    -Lee


    I sent the message to everyone, I could see it send too...but I didn''t get a reply back, either everyone was here as well, or I just barely managed to get the messages in the first place. I stood there for a while, hoping I would get at least a message from Nicholai or Sam. Sam, to assure she''s safe or in here, Nicholai, so I could know what medication to use to ease the pain in my leg...but it never came.


    "Guess I better move on." I took the map, a lot of the rooms were labeled and if the rooms did shift, they seem to have shifted back to how the map was now as the room I was in, the door I heard earlier, and the safe room i''m in now, matched up perfectly. There were other rooms marked too, four different sections of this place. "Men''s Ward", "Women''s Ward", those two were written professionally, and the rooms looked like they were ripped from an actual map of the place. The other two though..."Experimentation Ward", "-Ward"...It wasn''t cut off, more so like. the person who made this, didn''t even know what to call it. Thinking back, the room I was in was solely guys...meaning if Sam is here, she''d be in the other ward. Doubt started to set in. Could she actually be here? I shook my, hard, far more aggressively until it hurt. She''d search for me, even if she didn''t know I was here. I took another look at the map, the women''s ward was just across the men''s ward...to the right.


    Being careless, I nearly bolted out of the door, but the low light reminded me where I was, I hadn''t even realized the safe room was just a bit more brighter. Guess I''m heading left, towards the creature. Like I thought, I turned left and started walking. I thought at some point the floors would turn to flesh like a horror film, but it never did...and that made it worse, if it was like a horror film I could think of it that way, maybe find a solution that way, but it wasn''t that way. Then I heard it again...the crackling, now heading my way. You''re kidding...I went still instantly, not even bothering to get lower than I already was, I could only assume my ankle would pop again.


    "kgh..krck" The creature''s leg reached out of the darkness it was thin, like a kick would break it, but I was smarter than that to know it wouldn''t break so easily. The noises it made, it sounds like a human coughing, but its coughs were heaping up blood too.


    The more it went into the light the more I realized what it was, two people stitched together, their arms longer than normal and their hands completely gone, the way they walked was on their exposed bones, like they were some spider...but it was far from that, no rather, if Sam had seen it, I truly think she would''ve died then and there with their guts exposed as they were stitched together by the lower stomach, the person who did it clearly didn''t care to make sure nothing on the inside, was outside...or if I could have another opinion...they did it on purpose. Oh God...I''m gonna throw up...Its smell was even worse, whatever was in it preventing it from fully rotting, but not from rotting completely, parts of skin and muscle were gone, and the faces that were on opposite ends of the horrific creature had their eyes missing, purple blood being left behind. That blood...I felt near my corrupted eye, at first I didn''t feel it, at first I thought they tore it out of my socket, but no, I could see, my eye must be heavily bruised from the impact that robot hit me with. Hard enough to numb it. The monster slowly passed, allowing me to continue onward. To think there may be more of them...To think they might''ve turned me to that...I made sure to quietly step around, it was slower, but safer. Are they even cannibals...or are they gunning for something worse? I thought more on the title they were given. They had to have eaten people if they''re called that. I continued on, looking at the map and the doors to see the distance until I made it.


    However there was something different than what the map showed, a garage door in the way, one of the ones that open by going up into the ceiling, but this one was much more reinforced.


    Entering Women''s Ward


    It was neatly written on it. How do I open it? I got closer, pressing my hand against it, it shifted, slightly. Could I... I crouched down, like I hoped there was a handle there. Come on leg, do me good. It was difficult to grab onto it with both hands, but I had no other choice, I tightened my grip and started lifting. God the noise it made, it was far louder than any alarm could pull of. Then I heard it


    "Kgh...Krck...Kck" it was far faster than before, branches snapping in the middle of the words.


    "Goddamnit! Just go up already!" I started sinking pressure into both legs, putting the door on my shoulder even if it was nearly breaking my back. "C''mon!" Taking the risk, I quickly went under, letting go and letting the door slam down. I went back to leaning on the wall, there wasn''t a way to focus on any other pain but my leg, sawing it off would be less painful. I took breaths, as many as I could...then...


    "Kgh...krrrck" Its arm scraping against the door, and even worse...it slowwwwly started opening, I could see its empty eyes looking under the door even if it couldn''t see. I stopped breathing, stopped moving, stopped anything that could possibly make noise. It just kept looking, staring into the abyss. Please...go away...I didn''t believe in a god, but I prayed regardless, that it would just close the door and leave...but it didn''t, if anything it continued opening. I took out the pocket knife and debated internally...There''s no other choice. I barely even had the thing, but I threw it under the door. The creature reacted to the noise, closing the door and started heading the other way, assuming that the pocket knife was me slipping under to run.


    Finally getting the chance, I took a breath. I was once again defenseless. The thoughts that intruded my mind back then only became worse. If I died, that''s that, I had nothing to defend myself with, I had no armor, I''m alone...I''m...alone. I couldn''t rely on anyone else''s skill but my own, if I got hurt, I had to tend it myself, if I needed something built, I''d do it myself. I grabbed onto the railing, the only option was forward.


    "Should be a door coming up..." I referred to the map, it was like a carbon copy of the men''s ward, though I guess the lighting was slightly different. When I reached the separated railings, I pressed my hand against the ''wall'' and pressed into it, opening it like the two before. "huh..." I looked into the room before entering. It wasn''t like the safe room, nor the room where I was hung, rather it was completely empty. "Yeah right, that''s sketchy as hell." I pressed my foot against the door before leaning in, turning to my right, nothing, to the left...there was actually something, it looked similar to a dashboard, buttons galore. ...Am I really gonna risk going in there? I decided against it for now. If I find something to prop the door open, maybe...I instead went to the door opposite of the one I went to a second ago. Unlike the previous one, this one was similar, the hanging bodies, the horrible smell. Against my better judgement I scanned the bodies before realizing none was Sam, seeing that, I left. If she got out already, then this''ll be more difficult...but I''d prefer that than her staying in one place. Then again, I doubt she''d dislocate her ankle like I did. Just thinking back on it made my leg hurt. Guess it''s time to keep going. The hallways, the railings, the barely visible path ahead, if I closed my eyes and turned around, nothing would look different, If I took a hundred steps, it''d look the exact same.


    I made it to the next door, find the separated railings, push on the fake wall, the same thing as always. This room was different, it looked similar to a lounge.


    "Huh..." I felt safe here, not like the safe room, but somewhat similar to it.


    A couch, table, TV, it looked like a small living room, but there was one thing that made checking this room perfect. For whatever reason, someone had left a shotgun here. It was a good ol classic remington, the real question was if it was loaded. I picked it up and pulled the pump back slightly. A purple shell.


    "Don''t think I''ve ever seen a purple shell like this before..." There was only one, one shell in the entire thing. "Better than nothing..." There wasn''t a sling to it, so holding it with one arm was the only option. Purple shell, them going after corrupted people, purple blood, I''m gonna hate purple by the end of this life. I searched the room, hoping another letter from that guy was around, but I couldn''t. "This is probably one of theirs" I left the room, just faintly to my left I could hear footsteps running away.


    I started following the sound, landing on the back of my heels with every step to be silent. A loud whistle broke through the sounds of the footsteps, after a second the whistle paused before continuing again. It wasn''t noticeable at first, but soon more people could be heard running, speaking in a language I couldn''t for the life of me understand. I continued moving onward, getting closer to the barrage of steps. They should''ve been out of earshot by now...Not just that...it sounds off somehow...I stopped walking, even through the darkness I could tell there was no one there. Am I going mad?


    Breaking through one of the doors was a guard, someone who looked almost the exact same as the people in the compound. I instinctively aimed the shotgun at them, surprising them once they turned my way. It was a standoff, on their side I could see a gun, but he knew better than to try and take it out in this scenario.


    "..." In a split second, before I could even react, the guard put their hand on a radio I couldn''t even see. "Intr-!" However, just like how I couldn''t react, the guard didn''t react to a makeshift spear impaling them in the chest.


    I jumped, I didn''t cause it, yet I felt it was related to the off sounding footsteps.


    "There you are" That kind yet intimidating voice behind me.


    "Loui?"


    "Spot on kiddo, good to know you''re more competent than that guy. Right...I looked back to the guard, it seems they died instantly yet...it felt so wrong, the way they died from a single spear was gruesome, with parts of them stuck around the main portion of the spear. "You alright?"


    "Yeah, just not used to it."


    "Seeing dead people?"


    "Being involved with someone''s death."


    "Would you rather it be the lass?" Loui cleared his throat as the accent came back. "Don''t feel bad about killing someone who deserved it."


    "Right...I''ll try...wait, what''re you doing here?" I tried to get my mind to think about something else, but when I turned to see Loui, I nearly jumped again from the change in appearance.


    "Well, I heard our lad got taken underground"


    "We''re underground!?"


    "Yeah" It seems my message got to Loui and the Guardians first. "Don''t sweat it, finding the place was easy, I have some great intuition."


    "Right...do you know the way out?"


    "Sadly it just changed when I got here."


    "And when was that?"


    "An hour or so ago, the place shifts every four."


    "So we have three hours to get out."


    "Ay, I can still get us out if it shifts, the hallways look all too familiar.."


    "Right...but before that, we need to see if Sam is down here too."


    "Guess that explains why you came here instead of leaving."


    "What?"


    "The exit is through the way you came"


    "...Course it was"


    "Hey, don''t feel bad, you''re helping out your friend."


    "Trust me I know, I was just hoping the exit was not where that creature was."


    "Ah, the spider human thing, right?"


    "Glad to see I don''t need to tell you about it." Loui took off the rifle slung around his shoulder and held it out for me.


    "I doubt a shotgun you found is loaded."


    "Oh it is, with a single shell."


    "Heh, I think you''ll be fine with this then." I took the rifle and slung it around my shoulder, even though as DTs we''re stronger, I could still feel the weight of the weapons sinking the strength from my arms and shoulders. "If you need ammo let me know, just like back then." I nodded as my only response. It felt great to have someone watching my back, but it also made me feel worse, knowing I couldn''t show the world what I could do by myself. If I even could...


    "So was that audio made from you?" We started moving again, quickly checking any rooms we came across to look for Sam.


    "Yeah, recorded it to draw the guard''s attention y''know?"


    "I get it, it''s a good plan."


    For the first hallway, nothing. If there was a monster it would''ve felt better, less isolated, to show that we were going into an area that they wanted to protect.


    "What makes you think the lass is here anyways?" Loui very clearly stopped trying to hide the accent.


    "She and I were on a mission, I went down trying to help but got interrupted by some robot...yet it was partially human too...A-anyhow, I got told that they were also hunting down Sam."


    "I see..." Loui looked down.


    "What?"


    "Well, if it wasn''t clear they go after corrupted people. Sam isn''t corrupted we know that, therefore...they don''t exactly have a reason to keep her alive." I stopped walking. I don''t know how long it''s been...and the most I''ve willingly time traveled was a good half of a day...the longer I take, the higher the chance I can''t rewind if she''s dead.


    "She isn''t"


    "I know." I expected Loui to disagree, to be that type of person to talk about how we have to think about the facts...but Loui agreed, not even denying that she''s alive once. "You kids survived a nightmare...longer than me and my crew did" His gaze to the ground, changed to me. "I don''t think she''d just die so easily." Perhaps it was through magic, but I felt something like the echos in Loui, even in this situation I nearly dozed off from just how peaceful it felt.


    "Have you gone mad!?" A voice echoed, yet Loui''s lack of a reaction told me that only I could see it. My steps became more sluggish, it wasn''t the pain, it wasn''t the corruption. What...happened while I was out? I wanted to say it out loud, hoping that Loui would know somehow. Why...is it only now? Even in my haze I found it confusing, the moment I have someone with me I start feeling sluggish. "Even that! Even that is too far!" The same voice echoed.


    "K---o?" I could faintly hear Loui. Static, the static in my head slowly returned, engulfing my mind in pain.


    "You wanna die!? Because that''s what''ll happen, we only got one shot at this! So don''t go fucking it up! Y''hear?" A different voice, yet just as aggressive.


    "I thought...no...I hoped that you''d understand one day...but it''s clear that isn''t happening anytime soon." The pain in my head grew. That voice...that saying...it...it was said the exact same way...tone...volume! But why here? I could barely think. Clean, corpses, clean, ruins, clean, to present day. The scenery kept changing over and over again.


    "Lee!" I felt Loui grabbing onto my shoulder. "Your eye!"


    "Found the bastard!" These voices Loui reacted to, they were real and approaching.


    "Stay here, I''ll handle it." Loui let me go and started going towards the guards. I was still standing, it was blurry, but I could see the clashes and sparks that came from them.


    Loui bit his finger, taking out blood until a ball, the size of his hand, was made. He crushed it and slammed his hand into the ground, spike ripped out in front of him, piercing through the guards. Corruption magic...isn''t affected by MEMPs? Yet even though he had that magic, there were still multiple guards with guns, one of which Loui didn''t seem to notice, their hands were shaking like they didn''t want to shoot Loui.


    "Corruption...helluva thing isn''t it?"


    "Get out of my goddamn head" I could feel something digging into my head, like my skull was being pierced into. I wanted to claw it out.


    I didn''t feel in control as I dropped the shotgun and grabbed onto the rifle.


    "Lose your ground-" I raised it up with a single hand, no shaking, no sway, as though it locked onto a target. "-Lose your hold on it." My finger started pressing down onto the trigger. "And you''ll lose every part of yourself"


    The shot rang out throughout the whole hallway, my vision instantly cleared...the pain went away. The guard I shot held onto their neck, gagging, gasping for any breath they could as they stumbled around. The blood they tried to keep in started soaking their hands, trickling down onto the ground as eventually their hold loosened. Their gagging stopped after a while, their hands that desperately grasped onto their neck went down to their side, and their legs failed as they dropped onto the ground face first, where their body soon started soaking in the growing pool of blood.


    "I..." I dropped the rifle, killing a zombie...killing a mindless creature, is different to this...I...Killed someone, someone who may have not wanted to do this, someone who could feel their life leave their body. I don''t even recall what Loui did to the rest of the guards, I only remember Loui rushing up to me.


    "---, --- --- ----" I couldn''t hear Loui''s voice, his mouth moved, and it was clear he was speaking, but I just couldn''t understand.


    "Lee" This damn voice in my head! "You feel it don''t you? It''s okay. Reunion, DTs, you won''t have to worry about a thing soo-"


    "Shut up already!" I stabbed myself in the hand, breaking me out of whatever it was. Where...did this come from...? The karambit I was given...rather had, was now impaled in my hand. Loui seemed surprised too, yet for a visibly different reason.


    I tore it out of my hand, if I was human, the scars on my end would''ve started merging, yet, it always healed perfectly after some time.


    "So it''s started."


    "What has started?" My voice was nearly in shambled, on the verge of crying for so many things...killing a guy, stabbing my hand, the endless pain in my head during It all.


    "Kiddo" Loui got on one knee, even with that, he was only just barely lower than my level. "People with corruption...even if they''re immune, have a hard time controlling themselves...Every now and again you''ll have these urges to kill. Urges that''ll only grow worse over time, but you can learn to control it...But this isn''t the environment for that...we find Sam first." He stood up. "Whenever you''re ready."


    "I''m good."


    "You sure?"


    "I said I''m good." I didn''t know why Loui was so patient with me, or why he helped me out at all. I slung the rifle around my shoulder and picked up the shotgun.


    "Let''s keep on goin then" Loui led the way, my movement was still sluggish but I could move on my own again. Knowing I could lose control anytime...I looked back down at the person I shot, remembering the desperation in their eyes. Maybe I''m wrong, maybe they did have a choice, but that regret, that desperation in their eyes...it feels like it wasn''t a choice for them.


    "May you rest with the wind" It was all I could say before something started banging on the garage door.


    "It''s that damned thing." Because I shot that rifle...I nearly smacked myself, Where did all this doubt come from?


    "We start running then, it already knows we''re here." I checked the map I had. "There''s a garage door near the end of the hall. We rush there."


    "Thinking the same thing." We both got into a sprint, dashing across the hallway.


    "Kgh...kkhk" The sound it made was distant, yet it slowly started getting louder.


    "I don''t think we can bring up the do-" Loui stopped talking when we were approaching the door, it was propped open with a sickle...Sam''s...Shit! What if she''s on this side!? "That''s hers ain''t it!?"


    "It is!" I wanted to slide and grab it, that way the door would close, yet if Sam was on this side, I''d be condemning her to death. ...I got it. If it was her dagger I''d be screwed, yet it wasn''t, it was the sickle. The blade is pointing at us...and why would she hold it with the blade facing her? So that means she propped it up on the opposite side after she already slid under...not just that, if I started in the men''s ward, she''s start here. "Slide under!" We threw ourselves onto our backs as we slid across the cold floor, right when most of our bodies were past the door I grabbed the sickle propping the door, causing it to slam shut behind us. Loui quickly stood up and slammed his foot onto the handle.


    "Lee!" I quickly got up and did the same, just as the creature slammed against the door. Its arm tried lifting the door, but we managed to keep it shut and eventually it grew bored.


    "Kgh...krk" The noises it made soon went away as it went out of earshot.


    "So...she''s here, very least we know that" Loui got his breath back quickly, while I continued to take breaths.


    "mh..."


    "There''s a safe room up ahead, let''s rest there for now, maybe she''ll come back here." I nodded, following Loui as we made our way to the safe room he spoke of. "So..." I saw him scratch the back of his neck as he looked for something to talk about. "I guess that''s the first time you''ve ever killed someone huh..." I didn''t know if I should be happy or mad with the way Loui asked that, on one hand, he didn''t treat it in a way where he thought ''I should let this kid deal with it himself'' on the other...it felt too soon.


    "Yeah...far as I can remember we''ve always done the opposite...Helping you out..."


    "I recall."


    "And...Cypher and Q"


    "Well...how bout you tell me bout that story?"


    "How we met them?"


    "Why not? Course, you shouldn''t just forget about things that happened here, but that doesn''t mean you have to think about it in the same dangerous scenario."


    "How we met them..."


    During the Outbreak.


    It was the same cold weather, we weren''t in the school as often anymore, we had to go out farther and farther the more time passed. Sam and I were just sticking with Nicholai and Kenneth, Kenneth needed to fix up Dave and get him charged, along with fixing the other broken stuff in the school, and Nicholai needed more medical supplies, ones in case of dire emergencies.


    "That''s my win" Nicholai''s voice was without excitement or joy, the sound of cards gently hitting the table indicating they were playing something.


    "Would make it 4 Nicholai, 3 Sam, and 3 Kenneth right?" I kept my eyes on the road, but moved my head so that I was talking their way.


    "Which means I broke the tie."


    "No kidding you did! I can''t read your expression!" Sam banged the table as I assumed she leaned forward while talking to Nicholai.


    "Consider yourself lucky you even got those wins to begin with"


    "With that, it means Nicholai gets to have the last piece." Kenneth was relaxed, he was more focused on fixing something than the game...thinking on it now, it made me wonder how he even won...or was his lack of attention the reason he did win?


    "Wait, what about Lee?" Sam spoke up before Nicholai could eat the piece.


    "It''s fine, I need to be more focused on driving than eating anyways." There wasn''t a second of hesitation, Nicholai ate it immediately. "Make sure you all get sleep, Kenneth you''re staying up with me tonight."


    "I know" He got up from his seat in the back with the others, and joined me up front.


    "Good night!" Through the mirror, I could see Sam waving to us before throwing herself on the bed to the left.


    "If anything happens wake us up. Kenneth"


    "Hm?" He turned back to them.


    "What do you want me to do with your stuff"


    "Just put it under." Nicholai did as Kenneth said.


    "I need to install more beds..." The only reason we had two people awake at the same time was due to the lack of beds, we only had two and having to change it every time we switched was getting to us. Kenneth had his tools with him as he slept, in case he woke up and had time to work on something, Nicholai slept weirdly therefor messing with the blanket and sheets, I had nightmares and would make noises, and Sam...Sam actually didn''t have much of an issue besides for the occasional murmur, but perhaps that was favoritism and the fact I never had to share with Nicholai or Kenneth.


    "Doubt you could even fit them in." Kenneth looked back behind us. "eh, maybe one more" and just as quickly faced forward again. "How''d you sleep yesterday?"


    "Miserably, you?"


    "Just as bad, lately I''ve just been in this mood to make stuff."


    "We''re living pretty comfortably y''know"


    "Right, we do, but...I dunno, feels like I always gotta put the scrap to work, Dave needs work too...Also doesn''t help I''ve felt like I''ve been getting watched"


    "Can''t really work on it if you knock out every hour or so"


    "It''s fine"


    "I''ll be sure to remind you that when you wake up an hour fr-


    "STOP!" I nearly twisted my ankle after slamming my foot on the breaks. The RV leaned forward and I could hear things move behind us.


    "ow!" I faintly heard Sam''s voice behind us after the RV had fully sopped.


    "What was that?" I turned to Kenneth who looked startled.


    "I saw someone"


    "So we should keep going before they mess with us."


    "Normally I''d agree, but they look familiar."


    "People you know?"


    "The People who''ve been watching me." Kenneth swiftly got up from his seat, reaching for his spear near the door.


    "People have been watching us!?" Sam questioned Kenneth''s statement as she sat up.


    "I felt a hunch, but I didn''t think it was real. Two pair of small eyes looking at me from afar..."


    "Lee" I turned in my seat.


    "Hm?"


    "Doesn''t that sound like kids?"


    "It does" I got up and grabbed my stuff.


    "You''re telling me kids followed us this far? I don''t remember you ever slowing down." Nicholai was holding the back of her head, it most likely hit something when I abruptly stopped.


    "I didn''t, you and Sam watch the RV, me and Kenneth are going to check it out."


    "Alright." The two grabbed their stuff while me and Kenneth left, already with our gear on us.


    "This way." Almost instantly Kenneth led the way, with no other choice I followed, it didn''t seem like he had any doubts about where he was going even though we were going deep into a forest. "were here somewhere...ah." I saw him ready his spear as he aimed it towards a bush.


    "Wait! Okay, okay!" Almost immediately after, a child''s voice came from the same bush Kenneth was aiming at. Two kids soon came out of it, one had a hatchet, while the other had a laptop in a bag, slung around their shoulder.


    "Two kids really did follow us this far..." I starred at them in awe.


    "How?" Kenneth kept his spear ready.


    "w-well, we sorta just remembered the routes you took." The one with shorter hair responded to Kenneth.


    "For what reason?" Now I asked a question.


    "We...we wanted somewhere to be." The kid''s tone quickly shifted to a somber one. "We saw that you guys had it well so...we were hoping...I dunno, if we helped somehow you''d take us in?"


    "Help us out?"


    "Yeah, My dad left this for me." My dad he says...so they aren''t siblings. The shorter haired kid grabbed onto his laptop bag after speaking. "He said it was connected to the city, we can open all sorts of doors and open all kinds of locks...but...it''s...hard to do." This kid doesn''t sound too confident...then again this sounds like a Kenneth thing.


    "It''s like that at first" Almost like I called him, he replied to the kid. "Lee" He soon turned to me. "We have a lot of stuff to work on with the spare parts, we''ll also be able to expand our garden at the school with more hands."


    "Are you nominating yourself to look after them?"


    "...Well...granted I don''t trust myself to be a good influence, but I can be one when teaching them about the stuff on their laptop, three birds one stone."


    "We don''t each much either sir." It was always the shorter haired kid who talked.


    "No, it''s alright...We just don''t have anyone good...with kids..." I looked up while thinking. This might be a good distraction for Sam, though if she has them work on the garden too, they could accidently injure themselves with the equipment...so trouble for Nicholai. "Listen"


    "Hm!?" The two kids had their hands clasped together as they looked at me.


    "Well...I''m not gonna turn away children...but you have to be helpful more than just with the laptop."


    "We will! Her dad gave her a survivor book"


    "Survival book?"


    "Survival Book" The kid acted like I didn''t just correct him. "We can learn how to help!"


    "Alright, alright...come on, we''ll introduce you to the others." Even the quiet one seemed happy, the shorter haired one even more so.


    "Do you...have enough room for us?" The same kid asked. Not at all...


    "We can make it work." We made it out of the forest, at first I was worried something happened to the RV, but it seems they just just turned it off. "We''re back!" I grabbed the door and opened it, stepping aside to let the kids on first.


    "Thank you si-eh!" Yet they were instantly taken aback.


    "O...It really was children. I''m sorry!" I looked in to see Sam putting her rifle away.


    "There..." The quite kid finally spoke up once she entered the RV too, more so she pointed to Nicholai.


    "Do you know them?" Though Sam had turned to face Nicholai, I could tell a glint appeared in her eyes.


    "Not...exactly."


    "You volunteered at the doctors tent in our school festival"


    "I, do recall doing that yes."


    "So that''s why you trusted us." I stepped in after Kenneth.


    "She may be scary but she helped Q when she got hurt."


    "That doesn''t mean we''re trustworthy" Nicholai diverted her gaze from everyone.


    "I''d rather trust people we partly know than be alone."


    "heh, kid''s got some survival instinct, not only that, but I don''t think they''d risk it if they didn''t have to." I took a knee to match the level of the kids. "So you said her name was Q, how about yours?"


    "Her name isn''t Q, I just call her that, and you can call me Cypher!"


    "For the laptop I assume" Kenneth inputted


    "Yup!" A smile crept up on my face, I was sleep deprived to hell, but I had to do my best.


    Present Day


    "Lot simpler than I thought" Loui gave his thoughts.


    "Which a lot of this stuff was too."


    "I can see why you''d wanna get back to earth when you can, they must''ve been young."


    "I never bothered asking their ages, but I know they were, barely even half my height."


    "Ah, here it is." Changing the subject, Loui found the safe room. The two of us entered it, and just like before I felt something, it feels like my message I sent through my HUD had fully spread out to everyone, all that I could do was hope they knew the area we were in prior to when I got dragged here.


    The safe room wasn''t like the other one, rather this was more like a break room, god forbid there be an actual map somewhere, even a remotely vague one slightly better than the one I had already.


    "Take a seat, one of these should be working." Loui walked over to a coffee machine as I took a seat on one of the couches, this room was so different to the hallway, granted the lights were still really dimmed and I had to focus on not tripping, but whatever it was, made me feel really safe here. "Actually, you should probably take a quick nap, you were hung upside down so that ''sleep'' you got must''ve been terrible. Thirty Minutes, I''ll wake you then." I wanted to, but even though I felt safe, I only laid on the couch and looked to the ceiling.


    "No...I''ll manage"


    "Alright, I''ll make you a mug too." Something urked me about what Loui said a moment ago. Yet no matter what I did, I just couldn''t put my thoughts onto it. My paranoia must be back... I did my best to ensure my leg was getting the rest it needed, when I got back up I would start using the rifle I was given as a crutch. thirty minutes...I''ll just rest, only thing I can do.


    So I sat there, at some point Loui set a mug on the table near the couch I was on, while he sat on a chair of his own. It was odd, seeing him in deep thought as well.


    Where is Sam...and Kenneth and Nicholai need to be safe too...I sent another message, this one instantly sending fully, it warned them even more of what was going on down here, everything I had seen so far.


    Corruption...is one helluva thing.

 Chapter 19: Another Awakening

    The scene replayed over and over again in my head, the gagging, the fading strength. I had seen death before, but being the cause of it was another story, one could say they deserved it, that I shouldn''t feel any remorse for what I did...But I felt it regardless.


    "Thirty Minutes are up" My eyes opened, facing towards the ceiling like always. "Sadly Sam ain''t come by, which means we''re going out."


    "Right..." I grabbed the rifle and used it to aid myself, my leg felt worse than it did before, but I had to walk, There weren''t many choices in a place like this one.


    "If we assume Sam is on this side of the building, then we better get going, we''re thirty minutes behind her." Before I had high hopes that Sam was alive, but something in my head was trying to say otherwise, it was sickening, the same mind that was convinced she''s around here somewhere, still alive, was now saying the opposite. "Hey" Loui snapped his fingers in my face. "''member what I told you, don''t let what you''re thinking take over."


    "Sorry."


    I went on ahead as Loui emptied the mug I didn''t drink from, I assumed it was to cover where we were.


    "We should have a good amount of time before the place shifts again" Loui stared down the hallway, the darkness affected him, but he acted like it wasn''t there, like he could see past it. "You do a lot of thinking y''know?"


    "huh?"


    "Can just sense it, ''He''s slowing his pace so we''re at the same speed isn''t he?'' ''What''s he so focused on?'' That?"


    "Erm...you''re not fully wrong."


    "Knew it, listen it ain''t anything to worry about, why worry bout Sam when you do that enough to cover my worry as well?"


    "Well I figured you weren''t anyways."


    "No, there''s a lot of stuff going on at the moment, I don''t exactly like focusing on one thought either."


    "Why not?"


    "Well, there''s a healthy amount of thinking, then there''s an obsession, being corrupted can make any thought an obsession, like now." Loui looked down at me. "Then again..." Just as quickly he turned his gaze to the hallway''s darkness. "Having a hundred thoughts sorta prevents that, unless, you''re obsessed with thoughts or something...probably." He scratched the back of his neck, I couldn''t tell if he was trying to joke around or he was just actually giving his thoughts. As time went on, I could see Loui slowly getting more and more irritated "Geh, these hallways are pissing me off. It''s always the same look."


    "I''ll take emptiness over fighting."


    "Really?"


    "Yeah"


    "Huh..." Loui looked like he was thinking again. "Heads up" But his thoughts were quickly broken as a door opened. It was a singular guard, wielding a shotgun. Loui readied himself, raising his weapon again, until the lights completely shut off. I couldn''t hear Loui, nor the guard, it was complete darkness and silence. I stood still, any noise could bring attention to where I was. After minutes passed, a single footstep approached...then another. Breath in...breath out...they would''ve shot me already if they could see me...if that''s the case. I stayed as still as I could, the footsteps continued to approach and the minute it was even close, I swung my rifle down, hearing it make contact with something, I shoulder bashed them onto the ground. I kept my rifle ready near the noise, if I heard anything move I''d swing again, but instead of noise, a bright light lit up the hallway, I saw the face of the guard, it wasn''t Loui, nor Sam, or even anyone I knew, so I slammed my rifle down again. The guard moved their arm in my way, forcing my rifle to hit their wrist instead. The flashlight broke out of their hand and rolled along the ground.


    "Pink-haired girl, where is she?" Their gun was nowhere to be seen, but even so I kept the rifle ready.


    "Like I know who the fuck that is!" I swung the rifle again, colliding it against their arm again.


    "Don''t give me that, she ran by here, I know it." I kicked their arm aside. The guard didn''t respond. "Fine then, where are they watching us from? And don''t give me any bullshit, the lights don''t magically shut off on their own."


    "I ain''t giving in to some kid." I primed myself to swing the rifle again, but as I was raising my arm, the guard took out a knife and slashed forward, I could barely get out of its range. I walked backwards as the guard started to stand.


    "Fine then." This wasn''t an electric round, the rifle in my hands did damage, seizing the chance, I shot a round into their leg, sending them back onto the ground in pain.


    "GODDAMNIT YOU PR-" In the middle of his shouting I rushed forward and swung the rifle down onto their face. I thought I''d have to swing again, yet the guard seemed to be out cold...not dead...yet, just knocked out.


    "Loui!?" With the danger gone I recalled how I hadn''t heard or seen Loui this entire time. I picked up the flashlight and started looking around, but I couldn''t find him. "You''ve gotta be kidding me." The only thing I could do was continue forward, I could try going back now with all the stuff I had and prop open the door with the buttons, but that would mean dealing with that monster. Guess while we''re here...The guard had a shotgun, the same version of mine, I of course didn''t take it, the rifle and shotgun I had were bad enough, but I did empty it, taking the shells and loading it in my own shotgun after ejecting the purple round and putting it away.


    The flashlight was much better than the lights below us, I could see farther and more than what they did, granted there was a downside, I could only see in one direction.


    Walking and thinking, was all I did for a few minutes, ''what happened to Loui'' ''Is Sam actually here or did I over analyze this sickle?''


    Testing


    -Kenneth


    "Oh my God..." The words slipped out of my mouth as I saw the message. "The MEMP doesn''t reach this exact spot..."


    I see it!


    -Lee


    Finally...we''re in the area you last were, do you have more info to go off of?


    -Kenneth


    Not really...but I know we''re underground, can you use the map to see me?


    -Lee


    Hang on...


    -Kenneth


    Silence, darkness, I wanted his reading of where I was to be accurate, but I also wanted to know that the MEMP wasn''t moved to reach me.


    We see you


    -Kenneth


    How''s the leg?


    -Nicholai


    The message I sent prior also talked about what I did to get out...to my surprise Nicholai seemed to be understanding about it.


    Hurts to walk on, I wanted to use the rifle I have as a crutch but...


    -Lee


    I wanted to describe what happened, but even I didn''t get it, Loui just vanished, not a single trace of where he was or went.


    Sam''s signal is also off like yours just was, we take it she''s in there with you


    -Kenneth


    Two emotions countered each other, relieved, that we weren''t searching for nothing, and worried, that she was by herself.


    When can you get here?


    -Lee


    Twenty Minutes or so


    -Kenneth


    Then I''m going, the longer I delay the more chance


    the other two are in harm''s way


    -Lee


    We know full well when your mind is set, just don''t get yourself killed


    -Nicholai


    The moment I took a step forward, the signal was lost, I wanted to open a portal and see if I could get to Sam or Loui, but there just wasn''t any space for it. Gotta keep it going. I couldn''t be more glad that the flashlight didn''t break, the idea of walking through this all without being able to see anything was horrifying. I bet that thing from earlier can see in the dark too...that''d be my luck. The walls looked more rotted the further I went in, whatever it was built with had become discolored compared to the previous section, there were also gaps in the wall...course it led to nothing but darkness. Guess the walls are longer and wider than I thought...


    "Mh?" Unlike every other door where they were hidden amongst the walls, there was one completely torn apart, whatever made the wall, was broken into a hundred pieces and strewn across the floor. I didn''t go in, but instead peered into it. The room was almost fully coated in red, metal bars rested In the corner of the room, what worried me the most though, was the cage where those metal bars used to be, far bigger than a normal cage, it was practically hitting the ceiling. "You''ve gotta be messing with me..." It could have been the cage that held the creature from before, but something within me felt like it wasn''t, it was something else, I was sure of it. I took a quick look around before bolting out of the room and rushing onward. My rapid footsteps echoed around the hallway all the while I had to see the same thing over and over again, the decaying walls, the barely visible floor. If it broke out recently...then I know it''s nearby and away from Sam or wherever Loui ended up...but shutting off lights doesn''t make me deaf, it already broke out a while ago. The halls felt like they never ended, if I was turning I didn''t realize it, if it looped I couldn''t notice. "This isn''t doing anything..." I quickly came to a stop, the map showed that it couldn''t be this long of a hallway, but it did show that the other sections were here, perhaps the rooms shifted, or perhaps..."The wall." I backtracked, as much as I could before I came across the hole in the wall again. Still complete darkness...But I knew that it couldn''t be possible, the flashlight I had should''ve lit it up. "I got a signal nearby too..." I gazed at it, weighing my options before making a choice. "I have to..." I held my rifle and flashlight tightly before raising my leg and putting it into the hole, but suddenly, the hole grabbed on and pulled me in.


    "Hell of a thing ain''t it? It doesn''t see the right things, right now it thinks we''re like it." It was someone else''s voice, similar to the one in my head, but now it wasn''t, it was out there like it was in front of me.


    "Take it the moving part is your doing?" My vision staticed before everything around me changed, no longer darkness, instead I saw what looked like the room of a hospital, this place before it became whatever nightmare it was now. The voices had no body though, not until the next man spoke.


    "No, rather it seems to be a side effect of corruption."


    "Ah, I''m surprised the specimen is still alive" Along with their bodies, a table with a small rodent appeared. "And this is safe?"


    "Far from it, acting wrongly can have severe consequences, the depths didn''t take too kindly of me taking some corruption either."


    "Damn thing is alive?"


    "Could be, or maybe it was the Corruptors coming my way to slaughter me."


    "The shit you do I swear..." I wanted more to appear, their faces, what they looked like, if they had any emblem or whatever to appear, but it never did.


    "We have ways to kill corrupted, don''t be so uptight about it, and you know already, if I get corrupted-" The guy speaking raised his hand to the side of his head and mimicked a motion of him shooting himself, it was also where the vision vanished, and I appeared in a fully different section, the hospital, it looked somewhat off but, my intuition told me this wasn''t the past, nor a vision, this was current time, day, and I was really here.


    The lights were normal with not being on the ground anymore, and the halls were clean and lit correctly.


    "Oh God..." I heard a voice behind me, I turned around and saw the CSF, Nicholai, and Kenneth standing there.


    "You''re in a lot worse condition than you said!" Nicholai was the first to approach me, more pissed of than I''d seen.


    "What? I told you w-"


    "Look at yourself" As if the CSF were following her orders, one of them brought over a mirror, and it was just like she said. My entire uniform was coated in blood, the leg I dislocated was bleeding, and purple veins were visible. "Could you not find an exit!?" The disgust in how I looked changed to confusion.


    "What? I told you I was gonna look for Sam!" The CSF looked between each other.


    "You gone fucking mental? We told you she was fine."


    "Like hell you did! You said her signal was off!"


    "I said she was f-" Nicholai stopped herself. "Arm"


    "What?"


    "Raise your arm." Nicholai didn''t wait for me to listen, she forcibly took my arm and injected medication. "Look at the message again."


    Sam''s signal seems perfectly fine, we take it we can get to her soon


    -Nicholai


    The messages were slightly similar, but what it said was almost 100 percent different.


    "I think your corruption is getting a lot worse than you think." I could tell Nicholai debated whether or not a second dose would be helpful.


    "No...that place made it worse...I..." I looked down at my hands, like the rest of me they were stained in red. "I killed someone..." Or...was that also an illusion...was Loui even there? ''The Corruption made me think Loui was there...'' Was my main thought...but if that was the case, and if Loui really was fake, then I killed more people than I thought...otherwise they would''ve killed me, I can''t fake things I''ve never seen after all...but then that would have been the case with the vision


    "Ay!" Nicholai tapped me in the shoulder., preventing a spiral of thoughts from forming in my head.


    "You gotta believe me I-"


    "We do." Kenneth spoke up. "We have no reason to doubt you, not only that but Corruption clearly has affected you before, it''s not so far off to think it did all this."


    "We should still search downstairs, we''ve heard reports about patients going missing here" One of the CSF soldiers suggested it.


    "Agreed, Nicholai, Kenneth, take care" Without waiting for a reply, the CSF kept moving on. It protect me...yet harms me...it made me kill people...but it warped me out...I had understood why the hallway looped, or rather, how I know it was a loop, it did it so I took its path, saw the vision, but the main concern was why it did that. Immunity supposedly gives perks like the blood magic...does It also make Corurption more willing to help?


    "Well...back on topic about all this, we can''t check if Loui has a signal, we''re not connected to him like you are." Although he said that, Kenneth still double checked on his HUD, but finding nothing, he shrugged it off and closed it. "But seeing as people were looking for him, I don''t think he was just an illusion."


    "What for?"


    "Probably Teth stuff, the CSF and Guardians don''t fully get along yet...for pretty obvious reasons."


    "Right..."


    "For now, let''s focus on the major issue" Nicholai took another look at me. "My healing magic isn''t exactly perfect yet, it''ll be easier and better for me to fix you up normally.


    "Stitches huh?"


    "Look on the bright side, I made sure Sam''s room and yours are nearby each other."


    "So she did get hurt..."


    "Correct" Kenneth tapped on a device on his wrist, after a moment Dave decloaked and joined us.


    "Like you mentioned in your message, the robots...cyborgs went after Sam" Dave seemed confused with what to call them as well..


    "I see...even if I didn''t want to go you''d drag me anyways right?"


    "Glad you understand, come on now" Nicholai would have dragged me had I not followed, Kenneth and Dave stayed behind for a moment too, looking at something before rejoining us later on. "By the way, we''re in a magic zone again...case you wanna change out of all that."


    "O-oh, I forgot about that." I snapped my fingers and returned to casual wear. "Eh...it sorta..."


    "Your leg bleeds through the clothing? Yeah I see that..." What caused it to bleed?...Internally would make more sense, but I wasn''t shot or stabbed... "Ah, guess there''s no reason to walk in reality. Lee, can you manage?"


    "Yeah, should be fine." I summoned Crescent, it worked perfectly again. I cut open the portal, its destination the hospital. "I should uh...get rid of the guns huh?"


    "Just warp em away for now like you did with the knife during the trials." It was more draining to do so, but it was still possible, it seems the amount of stuff and the size of it mattered when putting it in the inventory. "Alright, in, in." Nicholai made her way behind me and started pushing.


    "Hang on a moment!"


    "I don''t wanna carry a corpse, in." Whether I wanted to or not, I want into the portal, however the destination was different, I was in a hospital room instead of outside the building.


    I''ll be with you in a minute


    -Nicholai


    "Guess they''re checking on Sam first." I took off Crescent and set them against the wall, before laying down on the bed. Back here again, might as well start keeping track. The blanket of the bed started to feel more heavy, when I looked down at it, I was reminded of my hands, I couldn''t change out of my skin, and because of that I had to look at it. Killed someone...Every time I heard the phrase it felt like a stake was being stabbed into me more and more. A bright side of it all was that the voices and temptations had stopped, meaning that the place was the cause.


    "Alright." The door to the room opened, Nicholai of course was there, but along with Kenneth, Kaz, and Sam...Sam though has a bandage covering the side of her head and covering her left eye. My worry must''ve been obvious because Sam almost instantly acted.


    "No no! It''s okay! Dave did this when we were still out there, my eye is fine!"


    "Before you ask because I know you will." Nicholai was holding a clipboard as she walked over to me. "Dave was the one who applied medical attention to her, it was either wrap it around her whole head so it wouldn''t cover the eye, but in the process it''d compress her head and be extremely uncomfortable, or have it just cover an eye, the eye one was also quicker."


    "I see."


    "Hold on! You''re worrying about me but look at you."


    "Hence why we''re here, relax." Nicholai simply gazing in Sam''s direction made her quiet down.


    "Lee!" Kaz leapt onto the edge of the bed. "I got something to tell you when we get outside."


    "Alright..."


    "Ignoring that, do you feel any pain?" Nicholai waved her hand, motioning Kaz to get off the bed which we complied


    "No..."


    "Figured. From what you told us, you shouldn''t have that cut, yet it''s here regardless. Far as I can tell though, it''s most likely that it came from Corruption."


    "Well...I figured."


    "Not what I mean, I don''t think Corruption directly caused it, I think you did something that made it do this." It became clear that in her spare time she was looking into Corruption as much as she could, yet through it all she wasn''t tired even one bit.


    "So I messed up somewhere."


    "Don''t go blaming yourself." Kenneth shook his head. "We don''t fully know what Corruption can do, blaming yourself for it doesn''t make any sense." Nicholai continued to check things, I didn''t know what most of them were for, but I trusted that she knew what she was doing.


    "You seem to be fine again." Nicholai put the light back on the wall. "I''d say to take it easy...but-"


    "Knowing me I won''t?"


    "No, actually. I can''t say it because I don''t think you can" I tried to predict what Nicholai would say, but I was wrong. "It seems when you''re by yourself, Corruption tries to affect you, that or when you start thinking too much, we''ll assume the rifle shot was from the facili-"


    "Wait..."


    "Hm?" Everyone seemed confused.


    "Sam wasn''t there...but I found her weapon."


    "You sure it was mine?" Sam''s question was genuine.


    "Yeah...but if you weren''t down there...then..." That facility took out magic, and DT stuff, the HUDs and weapon summing don''t seem to fit the magic category, yet...thing is, if that''s the case, then would I be able to summon Bravo Team''s weapons if our bond is strong enough? If that''s true, then was the other Lee down there? I relayed my thoughts to them, there was a pause, everyone gave it their own thought.


    "Hm...maybe that''s why your Corruption really peaked." For a moment I thought Nicholai''s voice became more high pitched, but then I was surprised to realize it was Sam who said it. "I mean, maybe...well, it sounds dumb now that I think about it."


    "Say it regardless" Nicholai glared at Sam.


    "A-alright, so, let''s assume this Lee is also corrupted, and that he''s from the future, if corruption acts like a hivemind, then maybe that Lee''s bloodlust is also transferring to our Lee due to the hivemind."


    "Good idea Sam!" I raised my open hand, after a second of confusion she understood and gave me a high five.


    "Let''s assume that Sam''s theory is correct, then that means so long as that other Lee is here, Lee will be prone to violent tendencies."


    "But not to you all."


    "What makes you so sure?"


    "I doubt any Lee wants any of you dead."


    "...Yeah, guess so." Nicholai looked out the window. "Far as I know there''s not another Lee in this world except for that one...if you and Sam are right that is, which means he''s going for you."


    "So I can expect to die soon."


    "What!?"


    "He''s not actually dying soon." One more, Nicholai glared in Sam''s direction while she stood up. "Even if fighting this other Lee is a death sentence we''ll still give it our all, putting it simply." Everyone, including Kaz looked my way, as though they agreed on something while I was waiting here. "We''ll make sure we die before you"


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "Excuse me?" I wanted to say more, but Kenneth talked before I could.


    "You can rewind, even if not accurately, then you have the coin as well, granted it''s going to be painful as all hell. But we won''t be dead forever, and think about it." There was a quick glint in Kenneth''s eyes. "If we can find a way to make sure you only rewind specific stuff, we can make it so you rewind our bodies only, reviving us."


    "More reasons I''m the leader huh?"


    "Hehe, not what we thought when we agreed on that, but if that''s how you see it." Sam scooped up Kaz off the floor.


    "And you told me not to get used to it..." I shrugged off this whole thing, I would do my all to make sure there''s never a chance for them to do that.


    "So what next? We should probably decide together, because whatever you do on your own, tends to get you in trouble." As Nicholai spoke, Sam started spinning Kaz around in her arms.


    "I''d say prepare for that other Lee, but I don''t know what I can even do besides rewinding, the blood spears, and that flame sword stuff."


    "Soooo?"


    "Loui didn''t mind training me...I can see if he can help all of us."


    "So we have our plan for now."


    "Hm?" Sam''s spinning came to an end.


    "We''ll head to the Teth, knowing Loui though, it probably won''t be straight forward."


    "Never is..." After some silence Kenneth spoke up. "Sucks that me and Nicholai only really specialize as supports." For the first time in years, a sense of panic in Nicholai became obvious.


    "Right, it does suck, healing is fine and all but it''d be nice to defend myself better."


    "Nicholai" Sam crouched down at the edge of the bed and leaned on it, looking up to Nicholai. "You''re not a good liar."


    "Shoulda kicked you out the room."


    "So, what is it!?" Kaz perched on the edge of the bed, beside Sam.


    "Lee knows about it." Goddamn, threw me under the bus fast. "It''s a...reaper thing, dunno, I just get this instinct and let it go, I feel exhausted after it and I can''t use it for days after."


    "Maybe we all have that then." Sam came up with another idea. "Lee has corruption, Nicholai has the reaper mode, wonder what me and Kenneth have!" Sam''s eyes also glinted like Kenneth''s before, but the glint for her was far more bright.


    "I didn''t start with corruption though."


    "Come on, it''s close enough."


    "Ahhem." Before a discussion could begin, Nicholai cleared her throat. "You''re good to go"


    "What about my leg?" Nicholai looked at me.


    "Are you really going to tend to it?"


    "Well...if we train with Loui th-


    "No, your answer is no, so I just jabbed something in your leg that the doctors here helped me make." In her hands, a box of Pocky appeared. "This is my payment for tending to you twice, be glad I''m not destroying your wallet." After she started to eat one, she realized she should probably explain what the drug was. "Right, so, it''s a mix of a painkiller and an antibiotic, there''s another thing in the mix but that''s just to make sure you don''t damage it by moving around often. Do not do something like that again unless it really is a last resort."


    "Understood ma''am."


    "Good" She went back to eating the Pocky. "Now get outta here, your blood soaked half the damn bed."


    "Sorry..."


    "You can be sorry by getting off the goddamn bed" I quickly got up and off the bed, joining up with Kenneth, Sam, and Kaz.


    "Sorry again!"


    "Crutch!" I grabbed Crescent and turned it to the crutch variant. "Swear how did you survive back then."


    "I was a smart 5 year old."


    "Smart huh? Didn''t know we swapped the definitions around." Not wanting to bother her anymore, the four of us quickly left the room.


    "So, Kaz, what did you have to tell me?" In response, Kaz climbed up to my shoulder.


    "It''s bad news"


    "What?"


    "Hm?" I was confused on why everyone questioned what Kaz said, until I realized I never told them where Kaz was from.


    "Right...Kaz is well...from the future, however things seem to be different here."


    "What!?"


    "Cool!" Sam kept it optimistic, while Kenneth questioned the whole thing.


    "Bewfor you say anything, I gotta say it...it''s not bawd, bad news, but, I remember everyone having more abilities at this point."


    "Lemme guess, Sam and I...well, I, didn''t end up in that facility before."


    "Right, the mission you accepted also didn''t exist, I thought it was weird..."


    "Well" Kenneth raised a hand to his chin. "That lines up to when the other Lee probably got to this world, meaning somehow, in some way, he altered things."


    "I was thinking the same" I agreed with Kenneth, it was the most likely answer after all.


    "Hey, I thought about something."


    "Well Sam...we''ve all been thinking."


    "You know what I meant Lee"


    "Right right, sorry."


    "Well, actually, I wanted to tell you in private."


    "Oh the-


    "We''ll get outta your way." Kaz leapt over to Kenneth, landing perfectly on his shoulder. When she did land, Kenneth took that as a cue to go.


    "I''ll be at base, waiting till we go see Loui."


    "Right, we shouldn''t be long." I turned back around to Sam once they made some distance. "So, what''s the matter?"


    "Well, as the team''s amazing therapist..." At first her eyes were gleaming with light, but it soon started to fade as the air around us became more depressing. "Um...if you don''t wanna talk about it it''s okay but from what the messages said and now, when you killed someone in the facility...you seemed a lot more distraught about that then when you killed someone you felt was like an old friend. Are you...okay with old friends dying?" I knew what she was really asking ''If I died would you react the same way?''


    "I don''t count mercy killing someone as killing them...the way they were...the agony they clearly were in, if any of you were suffering like that then yes, I would be okay with ending your misery if there''s no other option, but only if there isn''t. I''m not gonna feel bad about giving someone peace, the only thing I regret is that they couldn''t apologize to the person they hoped I was. But regardless, I would rewind, rewind until I find away to make sure you all live."


    "Heh...I told Nicholai you''d say that. Frankly I''m not okay with dying either, once was bad enough...but it''s to give you a chance to rewind so...guess our plans allign...um..."


    "What?"


    "Sorry for asking about the whole killing thing, maybe you don''t realize it yourself but...you''re standing sorta...offish, that alone tells me talking about it is uncomfortable for you. I couldn''t imagine doing that, hurting yourself to escape as well."


    "Maybe I did the same when I was younger, even I''m amazed at how I lived, even though I told Nicholai it was just because I was a smart child...I don''t really remember much of what happened those years ago."


    "That too...forgotten memories, y''know." With a snap of her fingers, the mood changed "So long as you haven''t forgotten about us."


    "Baker, Cali, Leon, Alice, Sam, aka you, Kenneth, Nicholai, Kyle, Kayla, and Dave. I forget anyone?"


    "Nope! At least not anyone who stuck around for long...why''d you name Leon and Alice first?"


    "Dunno actually, I said Baker and Cali first for obvious reasons, I think I named them first because I got used to how I normally say your names in order, from the order I met you all, Sam, Nicholai, Kenneth, Kyle, Kayla, Dave"


    "You said Kenneth before Nicholai the first time..."


    "I''m lost then. Actually...a question for you."


    "Hm!?" Sam was caught off guard.


    "Your phobia of blood, it''s been easing up lately." I figured since our missions were becoming like this, she would be overcoming her phobia, yet her response said otherwise.


    "I''ve just...gotten better at ignoring it."


    "Sam..."


    "It''s only been a week or so, I''d love if I could help out Nicholai more, or act like a nurse to you all so you''d be in less pain, but as of now, I don''t really think I can. Hence!" She snapped her fingers again, I was about to question what she meant until I realized this whole time she''s been gazing directly into my eyes. "I just don''t look any lower and I won''t notice it."


    "Well, if it helps you, I''m not gonna force you to face your fears."


    "You better not, making sure the team is mentally well is my job!" She casually saluted. "Right Lieutenant?"


    "Heh, right, just make sure you keep yourself well too."


    "Understood!" She finished the salute and began marching away.


    "Hell was that about?" I nearly jumped as a voice spoke behind me, the tone was a dead giveaway it was Nicholai, turning around only confirmed I was right, she was leaning against the door frame, her outfit was completely different as well. "Nevermind that, just be sure you clean that outfit, last we need is Sam looking at the ceiling to avoid seeing all the blood on you."


    "Does it come out that easily?" Nicholai nearly laughed, I couldn''t tell if it was scary or surprising.


    "No? ''specially with all you got on you? I said clean it, no part of that said it was easy."


    "Ah...alright..." Nicholai let out a sigh.


    "I''m gonna get back to work, let me know when you all head to Loui."


    "Alright ma''am."


    "I''m not gonna bother telling you to quit with that anymore." She went into the room, closing the door behind her. Alright, guess I better check If Loui is even available. I opened my HUD and messaged him, asking if he was free to teach us.


    I don''t see why not, ain''t nothing really happening round here


    give me a bit though, Teth took a hit


    -Loui


    Everything alright there?


    -Lee


    We''ll manage, asteroid just came out of nowhere, recon couldn''t see it


    -Loui


    Alright, take care then


    -Lee


    Same goes to you.


    -Loui


    Going back to base was the only option now, seeing that, I opened a portal to there and went in. Only a single foot touched the ground before someone called me.


    "Lee" I turned over to the voice to find Kyle and two other people, at first I didn''t recognize them, but it soon clicked.


    "Teal and her mom, what''re you two doing here?" Teal was still holding onto her sketchbook, yet through some intuition I could tell that wasn''t why they were here.


    "Well, we wanted to see how the plants were coming along, you all go on missions too so I was worried during that time something could happen to the flowers. Teal wanted to see you as well"


    "Sam would appreciate that, but Sam typically has it handled, heh, she''s not really good with tech, but if it helps her plants she''ll become the best tech expert you''ve ever seen."


    "I could tell, it''s such a vibrant garden."


    "Now" I walked over and crouched down to Teal''s level. "What can I help you with Teal?"


    "I-is...the CSF cool?"


    "Uh...ah, why I joined them?" She nodded. "Well, I didn''t rea-...mh, I wouldn''t say they''re cool or uncool, I joined for the sake of my friends."


    "That''s cool."


    "If you say s-"


    "Am I done here?" Kyle seems irritated with his arms crossed, alongside interrupting me.


    "Yeah, you''re good to go."


    "-lright then" Kyle began to take out something as he left.


    "Guess you two better get going as well rig-" The ground shook, instinctively we all went outside to see what happened. When we opened the door, Kyle was right there, reaching for the doorknob.


    "Guess you felt it too." There was a cigarette in his mouth, he stepped aside and allowed us to see the cause, the hospital was in a blazing fire. "Bit of a coincidence it went off once you left."


    "...Nicholai is in there...So many people probably are as well..."


    "Well shit...not like you can just rush in there."


    "Well...I might...be able to?"


    "Fire magic, fire resistance, that your logic?"


    "Yeah."


    "Be my guest then"


    "Can you watch the base for me?"


    "Yeah yeah, get to it, I''ll make sur-" The hospital exploded, the fire that had already been eating away at it had grown even more. "Jeez..." I couldn''t tell if this was his normal reaction to things, or if he just couldn''t show that he was worried. "There''s no possible way..."


    "Then I''ll make one!" I brought Crescent to my hands, spinning the blade around till it faced my chest.


    "WAIT!" I nearly dug it into my chest before I heard Raymond yelling in our direction. Instead of warping here, he seemed to have ran all the way. "You won''t come back!"


    "What?"


    "Something is preventing resurrection, including the one from your coin."


    "So he''s here then" Raymond got confused before he realized who I was referring to.


    "Right...we assume that''s the case...we''ve been mentioning him alot so it was only a matter of time, from here on out, we call him CL, that way it sounds like we''re speaking about something else."


    "Won''t talking about him as this moment give him our location?" Raymond quickly shook his head at Kyle''s quesiton.


    "Eaxura can''t be located, that includes traits that can locate people talking about you, the most he gets is that we''re in Eaxura, not where Eaxura is or where in Eaxura."


    "So there''s a traitor somewhere." I blurted it out, I didn''t know if it was the slow rise in anger, or because it was the only thing I can think about. "If CL doesn''t know where Eaxura is, then someone brought him here and told him where I was." Raymond thought for a moment.


    "I think you''re right, it''s not unlikely someone still hates Corrupted even if I called them off."


    "Kyle, I''m not saying it''s you, but I need to know what you were taking out while leaving the base." Almost instantly, he took out the pack of cigarettes, it was completely identical to what I saw earlier.


    "Good day when your bad habits prove you''re in the clear."


    "So what? I''m just meant to just let Nicholai die!?" I turned back to Raymond after clearing any suspicion amongst us.


    "Lee, I don''t mean to let any members of your team die, but if you think she can survive that!" He pointed behind him towards the inferno. "Then go ahead and die with anyone else in there."


    "Damnit..." I held my head, my heart felt like it was pounding beyond what it should be. One hell right into the next... "I should have..."


    "Should have what?"


    "Nicholai wanted to check something...some bullet or whatever...but I never did, for all we know if CL does have another Crescent it could''ve been a shotgun shell like his."


    "What''s done is done, you can rewind once you learn how to control it better, for now we have to figure out what''s next, where are Sam and Kenneth?" Raymond took out a cellphone and typed in a few numbers before putting it to his ear.


    "I don''t know...Kenneth and Kaz were leaving the hospital a while back, and Sam should''ve been just leaving a moment ago"


    "Kaz..." Raymond seemed like he ignored everything but the name Kaz.


    "What?"


    "Nothing...just wonder what that cat knows."


    "Raymond!" Even though the phone wasn''t on speaker, we could hear the CFS yelling through.


    "Soldier, you spot a pink-haired girl with a ponytail, and a blond boy with a cat on his shoulders near the hospital"


    "Yeah actually, they got out a while before it exploded, Lieutenant Lee was there." Upon hearing my name, Raymond turned to me, I shook my head, letting him know that wasn''t me.


    "Did Lee follow them?"


    "No, it looked like he was heading to their base"


    "Shit! Listen, it''s the other Lee"


    "Wait...what!?"


    "Inform everyone we can''t stay in Eaxura, follow evacuation plans for each district, we''ll hopefully regroup later on."


    "Yes sir!"


    "So where do we go?"


    "Earth"


    "Like he won''t think about that."


    "So long as we don''t talk about him while we''re there and call him by CL when we do, he won''t find us, every earth in every world is different."


    "Fine..." I slashed at the air with Crescent, opening a portal for them.


    "A-are we following?" I had completely forgotten that Teal''s mom and Teal herself were with us.


    "Yeah...you''ll be safe" It was hard, but I smiled at them. "Everyone in, I''ll close it once you''re all through." One by one they entered the portal, I did my best to bring them as close to the school as possible, and once they were all through, I closed it. "You can scold me later, but I''m not leaving Sam and Kenneth''s lives to chance.


    Instead of going the obvious way, I sprinted into the alley, trying my best to get to the hospital on foot.


    "Sir" I nearly fired in the direction of the voice, but I was quickly reminded there''s only one person I know with that robotic voice.


    "Dave...you always find me huh?"


    "It is my purpose to ensure that you''re as safe as possible."


    "Thanks...Hey, I need you to find Kenneth and Sam."


    "Do you know of Miss Broker''s location already?"


    "She was in the hospital when it exploded..."


    "...What is preventing her from being alive?"


    "What?"


    "I find it unlikely that a hospital with hundreds of thousands of people are lacking fire protection, perhaps only the exterior was effected."


    "You want me to go in regardless? What happened to keeping me as safe as possible."


    "Being helpless and lost is much more dangerous than fire can ever be, I can also clear the way."


    "I don''t think I can...even if we wanted too...Raymond has a point...surviving that...the explosion...at least the second one, came from within, have fire protection all you want...but explosives? On that scale? If Nicholai is dead too...I don''t think I could handle seeing her corpse."


    "That is understandable...truth be told, I can not sense her either, perhaps I merely hoped I was wrong." Sometimes it felt like Dave was more than just some advanced AI, like he was a human trapped in a drone''s body. All I could do for now was grit my teeth, we may not have been on the best terms, but we weren''t enemies either, dying in an explosion is a terrible way to go as well. "I am able to detect Sam and Kenneth, they are nearby." Dave started to lead the way. Nicholai...I can''t die so I have no clue if there''s something even beyond this, all I can do is hope you understand why I didn''t go in...even if I went with the logic that having fire magic gave fire resistance, I didn''t have much of it...and If I died...and then you died, Sam and Kenneth would be on their own, fending for themselves...the two people we both know can''t fight on their own, they''re supports after all...It''s not that I hate you...I just made the only choice that I could. "Sir, we are approaching their location, however, I can sense a signal similar to yours." I came to a stop as someone began approaching from the end of the road. "Lee, the person approaching has a near identical signal, however, focusing on the signal messes with my system, I am unable to fully scan them without breaking myself, I suggest being as careful as possible."


    "Course." I moved Crescent''s sheath to my hip, and took it out once more.


    "So you are real." Their voice sounded similar to my own, yet their tone suggested they were older. "I was starting to think that coin had gone to someone else." As he approached, I could see an eye patch on the same eye as mine...at least when I still wore one...,the main difference was that his was more official, a permanent one with a symbol similar to the CSF, but not quite. "Musta been told what happened, otherwise, you''d have stabbed yourself by now." He summoned his own version of Crescent, however I noticed three glowing circles at the hilt, Pink, Orange, and Yellow...Sam, Nicholai, Kenneth. "Hand it over, we both know you''re not winning this, least then you can live longer."


    "Bullshit, didn''t give a chance when you bombed a hospital."


    "Well, I could have made your death at least less painless." In a second, the other Lee manifested in front of me, there was no weapon throwing, no portal, only a purple streak from his original location to where he was now. I raised Crescent to defend myself, but while he swung his own Crescent, the pink light glowed even more, as the weapon changed into a weapon near identical to Sam''s, the hook curved around my Crescent and cut into my face before he spun around and kicked me hard enough to have my feet scrape across the ground.


    I raised my free hand and felt my cheek, it burned as I touched near the cut, the pain being similar to how my tolerance was as a human.


    "Sir, I recommend retreating. I mean no offense to your capabilities, but this is not a fight you''re winning."


    "I''m not leaving without the others." I used the back of my free hand to wipe the blood off my face.


    "I suggest listening to the bot, I gave it my all, and here we are." He turned the hook to show-off the colored orbs. "Then again." His weapon returned to Crescent. "That coin won''t give me much if you''re like this."


    "The hell is that meant to mean?" The other Lee shook his head.


    "You''re already off the path" He fired a shell from Crescent, the pellets went away from the two of us. I started to walk backwards while keeping Crescent ready, our stances were different, I had a death grip on Crescent, while the other Lee seemed to have a lighter, one-handed grip. With every step back I took, he took two forward, slowly getting closer. "You know there are multiple timelines yes? Well, we don''t exactly really fit into that, we''re more, alternate realities." He twirled his Crescent around before it became a reverse grip. "You, Me, Yuna, Rhys, TK, we have a lot of different versions of us." The closer he got the more weaker I felt. "But they all end the same way." Out of nowhere, I coughed up purple blood, and eventually, I fell onto one knee, forced to use my sword to at least stay somewhat upright and not falling over. Once he was close enough, he crouched down to my level. "You were meant to meet Yuna by now, Bravo Team was meant to have more magic training while you and a few buddies went missing after the evac left you. But here you are, I''ll hand it to you, you know some things more than the other versions of us...with an exception to me of course." He grabbed the wrist of my free hand and raised it up. "Synergy, Corruption...regardless you''ve completely gone against the order of things. How? Well maybe that''s your trait? Actually...you''d be worth killing now then if that was the case...what do you think?" He already knew the answer, the way he talked and looked at me, it wasn''t possible that he didn''t know everything about us. "Y''know what...so much of our lives revolve around this coin." He took out a coin of his own, it wasn''t rusted, if anything it was shiny. "Heads or tails?"


    "What?"


    "If you guess it right, I may be inclined to answer any question, after all I need you to keep going or you won''t be worth killing."


    "Heads."


    "Final guess?" He didn''t wait long for me to respond before tossing the coin in the air, it flipped multiple times before hitting the ground, spinning before it stopped, landing on heads. "I''ll be damned. Alright then" He picked up his coin and pocketed it. "What''ll it be?" The blood slowly dripping out of my mouth, and my entire body feeling like it''s failing made thinking of a question difficult, especially one that''s good. I came to realize that I didn''t know anything really...I needed something to do to find answers...


    "What do I do?"


    "Well...That''s a bit open ended" He thought for a while. "In New Min there''s a machine, it can dig into your memories, the Bravo Team before yours used it on one of you to prove your innocence, but in your case, you can use it to dig into your memories, you''ll find what to do next there." With nothing else to say, he stood up and started walking away. "Next time I show up, you better be ready, I don''t wanna kill a defenseless cat"


    "Wha-?" In a blink he was gone, no portal, just gone. "Bastard...Killed Nicholai for nothing..." I could barely even yell, my voice had degraded to a wheeze, it was then where I realized that the team bond must''ve made my immunity to Corruption stronger...with Nicholai, the medication must''ve been more effective...So she is dead...Not only had she been killed for no reason, not only was she killed just because of me, but I would need more medication to keep going...if it even worked anymore at all. "Get...up damnit..." I put immense pressure into my arms to help me stand. I need Dave''s help...I n...need it...I tried calling out to Dave but nothing came out of my mouth, nothing but my breath. Dave wasn''t even nearby anymore..."Nicholai..." After struggling, my voice finally returned. "I''m sorry..." Right as I finally gained the strength to stand up, I plummeted back onto the ground. I didn''t black out, or rather, not in the normal sense, purple lines in my vision slowly grew until it was all I saw.


    It was expected at this point, to return somewhere...either reawakening in the hospital, or a memory...


    "Relax, it''s just a scratch" A bandaged tightened just below my knee.


    "Doesn''t mean it hurts any less"


    "Means you''ll live though. Nurse should''ve been here doing this." Nicholai stood up and put away the stuff she took. "You should be fit to head back to class."


    "Come on, just let me stay here a bit longer." She looked at me, there wasn''t any malicious intent, instead she just sighed.


    "You realize I came with you right? If I come back and you don''t it''ll look like I did a bad job."


    "Maybe my injury Is just worse than it looks?" She continued looking at me with a blank gaze.


    "The class is nearly over, you can handle 4 more minutes."


    "Fiiiiine" I stood up from the chair, suddenly however, the bells rung. "See, I got out of it anyways"


    "Not often they ring early though." She quickly looked out the windows, we were on the third floor, pretty high up from the ground.


    "Storm, at least that''s what I get from here." I couldn''t see much from where I stood, however I could see heavy rain start to pour. Then the intercom came on, my guess was right, they were stopping school early because the storm was too much, didn''t help that lightning strikes started to occur a few moments later. "Divine Intervention."


    "Like you believe in a god."


    "Let''s just meet up with the others before we get separated." We left the room, students had started flooding the halls so they could leave.


    "Ugh, can people be patient for one moment? It''s just gonna take longer to get home if you all pile on each other." We were forced to stay put, going into the crowd wasn''t a good idea, knowing Nicholai she''d just say that "If you were complaining about the pain earlier, getting it hit by all these people will make it worse"


    "Yo!" From the crowd, Sam nearly threw herself in our direction, one of her feet slipped, causing her to hop on one foot until she was in the room with us. "Perfect recovery!" I started lightly clapping as she seemed proud of it. "Where''s Ken?"


    "I think his class is in another building."


    "Lucky him" Nicholai was very much being sarcastic. "At least he''ll get out sooner."


    "With what bus?" There was a moment of silence(As quiet as you can get with a buncha kids around you).


    "Shit how are we getting home." Nicholai took out her phone.


    "My mom is already on the way!" Sam already had her phone out, she held it high above her head.


    "She''s alright with driving all four of us?" I leaned against the door frame, the horde of students had started to die out, but I wasn''t going out there even with a lesser crowd.


    "Well, you and I already get driven, and I don''t think she minds Kenneth and Nicholai."


    "Hard remembering there''s more than one person like you" Sam didn''t respond to that.


    "Damnit...what kinda first day is this?" An older voice from the crowd spoke, the horde of students died down and now it was just stragglers and some teachers. We turned to focus on the voice, it was a younger man holding a briefcase, however his voice contradicted how he looked.


    "Kai, hell''re you doing?" Another staff member of the school walked over. "We''re only sending the students home, we still got a meeting."


    "My bad, figured with the whole army of students that some teachers were in the-" Somewhere along the way I zoned out. Kai...Kai...why does that sound familiar? I started staring at the teacher, trying to recall a long lost memory. Kai...Kai...Eventually it finally clicked, but that was the weird part...the name clicked because of Kai from Eaxura, yet if this was a memory why would I know that?


    "Kah!" I was going to say his name, but my stomach began to burn, I held it and coughed into my free hand, it became stained with red.


    "Lee!?" Nicholai rushed over and shook my shoulder while Sam called out to me.


    "Hell''re you coughing up purple for? You eat something you''re not meant to!?" I looked at my hand, the red became purple.


    "What the fuck..." It was like gaining sentience again.


    "Are you alright?" Kai and the other staff member walked over.


    "Oh, you''re alive." I didn''t even blink, nor did I black out, but in nearly a fraction of a second I was looking at a ceiling. I sat up and held onto my head. My heart sank as I recognized the way they spoke, even the room was familiar to me, the first day I woke up here, but something was different...no rather a major difference...when I first got brought back it was just Kai and me in the room, however, now Sam, Kenneth, and Nicholai were here too.


    "Kai..."


    "Ah, you do remember me, take a liking to your mentor that quickly? You remember your own name right?"


    "Yeah...Lee An..." It was on the tip of my tongue, yet because I paused for just a second I forgot it. "An...I can''t recall..." I took a better look at the room, I was in my CSF attire, however, the other''s had their original outfits, without the additions they got. "How long have I been alive?"


    "2 or so days, 3 or 4 if you count the one you were out for. Told Raymond you weren''t ready, damn shame he''s a dumbass" For a moment I thought Kai acted differently, and while he somewhat did, he was still the same for the most part. "Alright" He stood up from the seat he was on. "You know your boy is alive now, can we leave?"


    "Yes, though he''d probably like to come with us, I doubt he''d be able to stand." The head pain, my inability to walk correctly right away, it was near identical to that day I was revived.


    "Take care Lee!"


    "Give us a call when you''re good to go." Sam and Kenneth waved my way before the four left. Once again I was in a hospital bed on my own. I checked my HUD next to see everything.


    "So I met Kyle and the other CSF already...we have our base...Teal and her Mom are marked so I met them too...Neal, the airfield...it''s like I did everything in one day...and yet..." When I checked my mission tab it was empty, except for two missions I still needed to do, one that I recognized from before this, and a new one. "So I guess in this route I spent more time checking around Eaxura..." I laid back down and let out a breath. Normal people would be panicking right now I suppose...yet maybe because I was dying I''m calm now. I couldn''t help but sigh again. "Guess we''re starting again...goddamnit"

 Chapter 20: Reunion

    I kept taking breaths until I was completely settled down, I was meant to be dead for good, yet here we were. The only reason I was still alive was probably due to the other Lee, yet I couldn''t prove it at all, though the ''Not worth killing now'' part was something to go off of. So the coin can do more than just rewind and revive me...just what else can you do.? Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the coin, the look of it hadn''t changed at all, though I suppose it did look less rusted.


    Hey, I''m good now, I''ll be over in a second


    -Lee


    Don''t worry about that, we got it covered!


    -Sam


    A random cut in the sky appeared, soon becoming a portal.


    "Tadaaaa!" Sam had both her arms out, spread to the side. So they can do the portals now too, handy.


    "Where''d you learn that trick?"


    "Silly, we all trained to do it, reme-...Huh...I actually don''t remember either." Sam seemed puzzled. "My memory is probably just bad after getting brought back." I got off the bed and headed over to the portal, going into it with Sam.


    "Seems we both''re having issues with memory." I didn''t know why I felt the need to lie, but with Sam here and time being rewinded, I was reminded of something. "Sam"


    "hmhm?"


    "Your parents...why don''t we go look for them." I hated myself for not asking where Nicholai found their bodies...if it was even them, but I did have an idea.


    "Wah, that''s sorta random"


    "I know, the thought just crossed my mind" If things are slightly different in this timeline, then maybe, even if we''re late, her parents will still be alive.


    "Well how could I refuse!? I''ll rally the others!" The base was identical to how it was before the rewind.


    "So what now?" The TV like all the other times before, was on, however the episode was different, perhaps in this timeline we didn''t really go on any missions...actually from the sounds of it we flat out skipped the trials.


    "I suppose the only thing I can do, retire and pray this really is the end."


    "Seeing as there''s more episodes, sorry to say buddy but you''re mission ain''t over yet." I spoke to the TV, of course they couldn''t hear me, everything was recorded already.


    "Who''re you talking to?" Nicholai looked at me with her arms crossed, if it wasn''t for the TV she''s probably think I was insane...then again if the TV wasn''t on then I wouldn''t have spoken to begin with. "Oh, nevermind" Something about Nicholai looked different, but no matter what I did I couldn''t find the difference that I felt was there. "Sam says we''re going out to save her parents"


    "Yeah, something the matter?"


    "No, just confirming, If this is a rescue mission and we''re going back into the apocalypse, so I need to know what to bring."


    "Right, guess that makes sense."


    "Alright! We ready to go!?" As Sam, Kenneth, Kaz, and Dave regrouped with us, I finally figured out the difference, just faintly on their outfits was the CSF emblem, with Kaz having a small custom outfit for herself as well. No way I was only out for two days...not only that but I only joined the CSF after I met the guardians...does that mean we already met? How much did I do in two days? I shook my head, I couldn''t get wrapped up in a bunch of mysteries again, saving Sam''s parents then figuring out Kai are my main goals for now.


    "Y-yeah...Let''s get going." I cut open a portal with Crescent, before it was just me and Nicholai searching, but now it was with everyone. We all hopped through the portal, at the very least this place stayed the same.


    "Where to first!?" I looked down at Kaz, they didn''t seem to remember anything either


    "I already have a place we can look, there''s a settlement on the side of the city. We can try there first."


    "Lead the way leader!" We began the walk, I had returned to earth a few times already by now but it was still as unnerving as it was the first time, abandoned buildings, clear streets that would get flooded with zombies at any moment...


    "Sorry if my memory is shotty, but when did we become CSF?" I decided to just throw the question out there.


    "Heh? oh, no we''re not, every team has a uniform remember? They just didn''t have ours yet so they gave us these." Sam held her arms out to her side to let me see the uniform, it really was just a CSF outfit, though I only had the coat or sweater or whatever it was.


    "R-right..."


    "You need me to check your head or something?" Nicholai held her Scythe differently too, like that bloodlust version of her from before was gone.


    "No, I think whatever knocked me out just ruined my memory."


    "Right, we still need to find whatever did that too." Kenneth was the only one who had their weapon on their back, rest of us had ours out already.


    "Yeah..." The four of us fell into silence for the rest of the walk there, I would say everything was off, but technically I was the one that was off. "We''re approaching it now, watch ou-"


    "Hold it!"


    "Well this is a different greeting..." From an abandoned buildings, two people came out with guns drawn. "You''re entering our construction."


    "Construction?" I took a look around, huh...yeah looking around, this area was walled off earlier too. "Right well, before you turn us away, we''re looking for two people."


    "And why would we tell you about anyone?"


    "Because their daughter is right behind us." Bravo Team, including myself, still had their weapons drawn, though I guess Kaz''s weapon has to always be drawn.


    "...who''re the two?" They kept their guns aimed at us, if it weren''t for the fact I had something that prevented me dying...prevented me from dying from most things...I''d probably be scared.


    "Cali and Baker." I tried to look closer at the two to see if I recognized them from the previous timeline, at first nothing clicked, but after really digging into my memory, I could recall seeing their face for a minute or two.


    "..." They were quiet, not for long, but enough to make it clear they were thinking. "Yeah, we know em, they''re inside the first district of our settlement"


    "Really!" Sam nearly launched forward, but the bottom end of Nicholai''s scythe blocked her.


    "You''re their daughter alright." Finally, they lowered their guns. "How''d you know they were here?"


    "...Lucky guess." I couldn''t exactly say ''the other timeline gave me an idea.''


    "Right...guess this is just about the safest place there is in this hell of a city."


    "Surprised you believed me about her" I was obviously referring to Sam.


    "Well..." he turned over to Sam. "It''s not like many people have pink hair"


    "One and only!"


    "Two and only" I corrected her.


    "Yo, we found the Calstianos'' kid" At first I was confused why they spoke in that way until I saw the radio.


    "You two found her? I find it insanely more likely they just walked up to you." We were silent. "I figured." The woman on the radio sighed. "Alright, I''ll let Baker and Cali know, for every injury she has by the time she gets here we''re cutting your payment." The radio went silent.


    "...Hey, you don''t have any noticable injuries do you?"


    "Not that I know of." The man sighed in relief.


    "Thank God...Let''s hurry then"


    "Alrighty!" Sam started walking forward until we all went to stop her.


    "Even if they claim they know where the two are that doesn''t mean they''re trustworthy, keep your guard up no matter what." Nicholai warned Sam, Sam just nodded. "Okay then." After that, we all started to follow the two. Honestly, even if they ended up not being trustworthy we were probably safe considering we''re beaming with magic.


    "Surprised we didn''t come across you all sooner."


    "We were on the move often." While I spoke I felt weak tugging on my back. "Ended up in the forest through the course of our scavenging runs often too." The tugging eventually became pressure on my shoulder, and I could see Kaz on there in the corner of my eye.


    "You find the cat there too?"


    "Nope! We found her in the school." Sam answered almost instantly, but just delayed enough that it didn''t seem suspicious


    "Heh, guess she must''ve stuck it out there for a while."


    "Y-


    "Yup!" For a split second there was a panic amongst ourselves, we could just barely hear Kaz speak before Sam covered her voice with her own.


    "We''re on earth, a talking cat isn''t exactly normal." Only I could talk to Kaz without being heard by the two thanks to how close she was.


    "Sorry." Kaz whispered.


    "Anyone available!" The only one of the two who talked to us had their radio go off. "The west wall has a horde on it, we need to clear it out!"


    "Tsk, hope they can handle it well." They had their hand on the radio, but didn''t respond to it.


    "We can get there in time!" A shine returned to Sam''s eyes as she held onto her weapons.


    "Pardon!?" The two turned around.


    "I get it, we''ll be making it even, you help us with Cali and Baker, and we clear the horde."


    "No no no!, we get in trouble if you''re hurt."


    "So we won''t get hurt then!" I started to sprint past them, the other three followed quickly after.


    "Wait!" The two tried to get a hold on us, but we managed to get past fast enough.


    "Hey! How do you know the way?" Kenneth questioned me as we continued to run.


    "You know how we left Cypher and Q in a group?"


    "Yeah? We were meant to grab them after a month or two."


    "That group was affiliated with the settlement." I pulled the entire reasoning out of thin air, anytime I wanted to tell the truth there was a sense of unease, like telling them would set things off course, and if that happened that other Lee would end up killing me again, only this time it''d probably be permanent


    "So we might be able to find them!" Sam''s excitement only grew as we approached the settlement, we''d be getting four people back, maybe more.


    "Up ahead!" Our conversation was cut short as we saw the horde, they clawed at the wall and the amount was extremely dangerous for just normal people to handle, what a coincidence we aren''t normal people. "Sam, anyone around to watch?"


    "Not that I can see."


    "Magic free then, but keep it as hidden as you can! And Kaz! You''re up!" I tossed Kaz into the air, letting her quickly descend into the horde to tear them apart, all the while I bit my thumb till it bled and ignited Crescent. I never really thought about it, but it is odd how I have fire magic when my sword is about the moon...I mean if it was the sun it''d make sense but...While I was thinking I slashed forward into the horde, it cut apart one and ignited three zombies nearby. It became an AOE thing? Whatever caused it I ain''t complaining. Whenever I killed a zombie while my sword was on fire, it seemed to set three more on fire even if the slash wasn''t on them. "I got an idea!" I flipped Crescent around, holding onto the blade instead, I swung upwards to knock a zombie into the sky then quickly flipped Crescent around. "Crescent, fire shell." Crescent quickly loaded in the shell. Before the zombie could hit the ground, I lunged forward and stabbed the zombie with the end of Crescent, pulling the trigger the moment I could.


    I expected them to just engulf in fire and spread a bit more, however for whatever reason the pellets from the shell all split into multiple pieces, once again, I thought it would be normal, just make a small fire on them if they hit, but when some did hit, the zombies completely lit up into flames, which...also lit zombies on fire after they died.


    "Starting a forest fire over there?" Kenneth shouted over after one of his electric arrows went off.


    "Didn''t expect it to!" I tried not to think about the people we were killing just like we used to during the apocalypse, ''they''re not alive, they''re not human anymore'' it helped then and it did now.


    "At this rate we should just let you handle it!" Nicholai swung her Scythe completely around herself, cutting anything standing near her in half.


    "Magic off!" I yelled out as soon as I noticed the two people who were trying to lead us here approached. Most of the horde was gone thanks to the fire and electricity, so we picked off the rest using the weapons normally.


    "My god..." The two were out of breath as they finally stopped running. "How in the fuck did you four do all this.?"


    "Five actually!" Like Sam called her, Kaz leapt onto her shoulder from the ground.


    "Man..." He couldn''t even finish his sentence. The makeshift gate near the wall opened, a horde of armed people rushed out but were dumbfounded as they saw 4 teenagers and a cat standing at the center.


    "What the..." One of them however, were clapping as they walked over to us.


    "Magnificent display! All the fire and sparks, your weapons must be amazingly crafted" Are you kidding me?


    "Y-you bet they areeee." I lied through my teeth


    "Of course! After so long surviving we''d eventually get the chance to make stuff like this, we didn''t have to worry much about food or water" Sam''s lie was more convincing by a long shot.


    "Well I can see that, though I do wonder why you came to he-" The woman stopped speaking once she got a better look at Sam. "Oh...Nevermind I think we got our answer." After she talked a bit more I recognized the voice as the same one on the radio. "It seems your parents were right, your friends and yourself would make it." We all shared a look amongst each other, we all knew we technically died, but that''s not exactly something you correct...not that the average person can.


    "It was difficult but we managed." Sam kept lying, not that we had a choice.


    "Ahhem" She cleared her throat. "Let''s head inside" She turned to her soldiers and did some motion that everyone of them understood. They began to march back inside, and after a while we followed. "I help people learn to fight, like a war general or Drill Sergeant, name is Madoka." All of a sudden I felt uneasy, but I couldn''t explain it at all. "Your parents are definitely a handy duo, those two somehow got everyone to cooperate when no one else could"


    "Sounds like them." Sam walked ahead of us while I focused on looking around. The inside of the settlement looked similar to the last time we were here, only it looked better. It gets worse from here? Or...is it just because of the different things going on this time around. I couldn''t help but let out a breath, it felt like I held it in for hours. I didn''t lie in the end, we''re getting your parents back. It was pure luck though, the only thing I did was well...die.


    "Madoka!" A few of the guards came rushing over.


    "What?"


    "We figured out where the horde came from, there''s people breaking in on the other end. We were able to hold the defenses well since we were able to go back quickly."


    "Then that''s thanks to you five." Though not turning fully, she turned her head to look at us while speaking. "We''ll handle it from here."


    "No, we''ll help where we can as well." I stepped forward as I offered our help.


    "We''ll have to decline, we appreciate the offer, but you''ve done more than enough after all, they would only have a fragment of a chance to break through If that horde still had our attention. Cali and Baker are over there." Madoka pointed over to a building in the distance.


    "Alright, if you''re sure." Madoka grabbed her radio and held down the button.


    "All units regroup by the wall." She didn''t wait for a response, instead she broke into a sprint to the wall


    "Let''s leave it to them." I only faced Bravo Team for a moment before turning back to the building.


    "Onward!" We got a move on, there wasn''t a straight path to it so we had to guess what the quickest path was.


    "Kaz, you have TTS right?" I turned to Kaz who was on Sam''s shoulder.


    "Yup!"


    "Mind guiding the way?"


    "Nwot at all!" Kaz leapt at my direction, I quickly held out my arm and the moment she landed on it, I spun in a circle and threw Kaz up in the air at a rooftop. "Awaaaaaay"


    "Any other context..."


    "Huh?" I turned my head to Nicholai.


    "Throwing a cat that far, any other cat or context and you''d get hit with a charge."


    "What''re you a lawyer too?" She rolled her eyes at me.


    "Lee! Ahead!" I faced the front of the road again, contrary to what Madoka said, some of the raiders had broken in.


    "Tsk, wasn''t hoping to fight so soon..." Our entire group came to a halt, I quickly checked my gear to see if it had changed from one timeline to the next. Crescent is obvious, my revolver is here, so is my karambit, it seems I can summon the shotgun from the other timeline too... "Alright, non-lethal everyone, get ready."


    "Hey it''s those runts again!" As soon as the raider who spoke stepped a single foot in our direction, a massive spike pierced from the sky and landed in the center of the group, letting out a massive electric charge once It landed.


    "Holy..." I could hear Kenneth behind me, part of his skin was glowing from the massive amounts of electricity nearby.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "Mister weapon''s man, that a normal weapon?"


    "Not...one that I know"


    "It''d be funny if Cali and Baker were DTs already." Nicholai didn''t mean that, it was obvious by her sarcastic tone then again that is always her tone, but it did make me ponder the idea, If they were DTs, Raymond is lying even more than we thought.


    We rushed to the building, Nicholai started getting ahead and when we approached the door she kicked it open.


    "Nicholai!" Sam was going to scold Nicholai until she spoke.


    "Sorry I can''t show formality when we got raiders and massive spikes coming from the sky to deal with."


    "That''s a good poi-" When our attention had returned back to the inside, we noticed there were a group of people who had weapons drawn on us.


    "Fantastic." I couldn''t help but comment on the situation under my breath.


    "Hold it!" Someone from the crowd raised their fist halfway into the sky, stopping just above their head. "It''s them!" Everyone lowered their weapons, while the woman from the crowd stepped forward.


    "Mo-...m...uh." The woman was in fact, not Cali, Sam''s mother. but they shared the pink hair so they were related somehow. I pray to whatever God is in Zullo that Sam doesn''t also have alter versions as well. "Alice?" Even though I had spent a good chunk of my life in their house, the name didn''t ring a bell, but I knew I wouldn''t forget someone like them, so it had to be related to the whole memory loss thing, it didn''t help they also had glasses on.


    "What''re you doing here?" Alice went to crouch down until she realized that Sam was only a bit shorter than her.


    "Looking for Mom and Dad!" Alice is her sister then...if that''s the case, she should have been around a lot, so how did I forget?


    "They''re a bit busy right now, they went out to get something." I turned to Nicholai, very much to her confusion.


    "What?" Damnit...I can''t ask where Cali and Baker died now, I should''ve checked. I shook my head and looked back at Alice.


    "Seems everyone is okay, You, Lee, Kenneth, Nicholai...everyone is here, and with a new friend too."


    "Hehe~ Th-" The room immediately went dead silent as soon as Kaz made a noise a cat normally wouldn''t.


    "Uh...did the cat talk?"


    "No, not at all, we thought the same at first too but it''s just a special type of cat, sounds human, cool ain''t it?" Sam immediately came up with a lie to tell her sister, once again the ''we''re dead technically'' and saying we have a talking cat isn''t that much better. Alice looked at our group as a whole, her excited and happy expression soon degraded to sorrow as she made it to our outfits and weapons.


    "So you died after all..." It caught us all off guard. "That symbol, and your weapons...DTs, heh." The group behind her didn''t seem confused, rather they looked like a prophecy just got fulfilled.


    "W-w-wait, how do you know about them?" Alice turned to her sister.


    "Simple." With a quick swipe of her hand, a hand axe appeared in her...well hand.


    "Wait...that means..."


    "I died too, probably a lot sooner than you all did."


    "How?"


    "Got put in a terrible spot. I assume you''ve just died"


    "No" I spoke up. "We died a while back actually."


    "And Raymond never told me?...Tsk, fuckin bastard." Hearing a Calstianos swear was like learning words again, it was such a foreign idea I had to register the whole sentence again to make sure I heard it right. "Ah, sorry for the language...though it probably doesn''t matter much to you guys, you''re close to being adults."


    "Well, if that''s the case then...yeah the cat can talk." Sam blurted it out quick enough that we couldn''t prevent her, but thinking about it, it doesn''t really matter now did it?


    "I figured, so, what''s her name?"


    "Kaz!"


    "Certainly a name to remember." Alice had returned to a smile.


    "Hey, I don''t want to ruin the family reunion but we still have an army outside." Alice nodded at Nicholai and turned around back to her crew, swishing the coat she had on.


    "Let''s rally with the others, you five mind coming along?" Alice spoke to us differently, maybe it''s because her sister was a part of our group, but it seemed she saw us as equals, no overestimations, no taunting or commands.


    "Course, Calstianos'' stick toge-" Once again our words got interrupted as an explosion went off behind us, the impact of it hitting hard enough that the wind from it even hit here, blowing the flaps of our uniforms and our hair aggressively


    "Nevermind then." Alice was calm about the situation.


    "What was that!?"


    "I just showed I''m also a DT, so that implies-


    "There are more here too." I finished her sentence, she nodded slightly after hearing what I said.


    "Correct, though what they did was probably overkill, so!" She clasped her hands together in a similar way that Sam did when she talks. "Now that''s that settled, how about we get something to eat and catch up." I had my doubts at first, but this is a Calstianos alright...


    "I want to ask one thing first."


    "Hmm, ask away Lee"


    "I understand that everything seems to be well here, but why not bring everyone to Eaxura where they''d be safer?"


    "Guess the easiest way to explain that is that It''s not that simple, in concept it''s a really nice thing to do, homes, food, community...being reunited with family." At the last part she turned towards her sister. "But then they''re open to new threats as well, traitors who want to harm Eaxura, Corruption, people misfiring magic, them going to places they shouldn''t and don''t know about like the depths. It''s a terrible thought, but they really are safer here than anywhere else, at least here we''ll know the second a corruptor enters the world since none exist here as of now." I thought for a moment, about our time as humans, and our short time as DTs


    "They both sound equally bad in perspective."


    "oh?"


    "Staying here is physically safer, but more mentally degrading, killing former friends and colleagues, killing in general, the raiders you have to kill, being bitten and having to put each other down, the never-ending search for supplies. on the other hand, Eaxura is more physically dangerous, but more mentally safe. Maybe it''s not possible to find a balance, but I can''t say that the people here are exactly safer in this world than the other. You die here, you become a zombie, you die in a corruptor zone, you become a corruptor." Alice made a noise in response before she actually gave a worded reply.


    "I see your point, it really is sad to think we can''t have both."


    "I can think of something..." I hadn''t been there long so thinking of places to go was difficult, that was until the spaceship came to mind "There''s a massive ship in Eaxura''s space, it can house hundreds of millions."


    "Think i''ve heard of it before..."


    "I know the leader of it, I can try my best to get him to have you guys get aboard after Cali and Baker get back. Afterwards depending on the space we can have everyone do their part, cleaning, maintaining the ship, cooking. No room to be bored, everyone gets a job, everyone is safe both physically and mentally, the best option for the people."


    "My, how much of a diplomat you''ve become."


    "Feel that should go to the others."


    "Nonsense, let''s go grab some stuff to eat." Alice dismissed my comment almost instantly after I spoke the words to it, if it were any other DT i''d have assumed it was so they can get me in top attitude to continue my job, but the way Alice said it, not the words itself, but how it was said, was like a mom uplifting her kid even if what was said was so simple


    "So who''s Madoka?" Sam stood beside Alice while we were a bit behind.


    "A friend of mine from work, she used to be part of a militia group in her world."


    "So she''s also a DT?"


    "Yes, I think she''s been one nearly as long as Raymond." Yet she acted like our style of weapons were unknown to her.


    "Militia huh?" I spoke under my breath, when I first got face to face with Madoka something instilled fear into me, my life felt endangered until Alice came along.


    "Got a problem with it?" My instincts planted my feet into the ground and turned my heels around as Madoka ended up behind me.


    "W-wha?" She didn''t seem offended at all, more like...actually curious.


    "Most Militia exist to keep their city or state safe, same thing mine did, we had the government''s support as well."


    "Wouldn''t that just...make you a part of the army?


    "...No, or, I guess it depends what you consider a part of the army." For a moment she pondered. "Some Militia are just untrained soldiers, or like, a very last resort reserves, some are like...a self...made army...I guess?" As she went on Madoka started to get herself more confused. "It''s a militia regardless. The real question is one that I should be asking...do you recall anything?"


    "I...have been recalling a few things, why is it normal for all DTs to get memory loss?" Madoka started shaking her head halfway through my sentence, sighing once I finished.


    "Madoka K, Madoka P." It sounded like nonesense.


    "I...really don''t know what you''re talking about." Madoka sighed again, though this one sounded more depressing, like she really didn''t want that as an answer.


    "Alright then, no need to tell you more stuff to worry about." Madoka started walking off, saluting once by her open palm on her head to the sky.


    "Hang on, you can''t just say that and not explain!"


    "Wouldn''t get a chance to with her coming to get ya." I turned back before Sam could get the jump on me, yet it wasn''t her at all.


    "Get caught up in something?" Once Nicholai got in talking range her hand went to her hip while her other one had a glass with a orange drink in it.


    "Just hearing more things that make my head hurt."


    "Need a brain surgery?"


    "It''s not that extreme, I doubt you''d know how to do one anyways."


    "Wanna test that?" She started to act like she was actually going to, nearly setting her drink on the ground before I spoke up.


    "I''m good...I''m good."


    "Right, anyways before I forget, came to fetch you before Sam notices and hollers at me or Kenneth to get you either way"


    "Figured she woulda done that already. Surprised it was you and not her." Almost immediately, a smug look on Nicholai appeared.


    "She got reunited with her sister, why, did you want to still be the favorite? Miss the attention?"


    "Don''t make it something it isn''t."


    "Right right" She took a sip from the glass, shivering for just a second after doing so. "I''m here to ensure the team is doing their best after all, no need to lie." Her smug expression hadn''t faded slightly.


    "Then maybe you shouldn''t drink things you can''t handle, teammate."


    "Smartass, but fair. Get going before I drag your ass inside." She let me win the encounter just barely.


    Regardless of who won, we both had to make our way back, the place wasn''t some grand hall or anything, but it was sizeable enough to have a good amount of people walking around without causing a jam.


    "Wasn''t there fighting just a moment ago?" My voice was quiet, but apparently loud enough that Nicholai still heard.


    "Alice explained already, these guys have different jobs that don''t involve fighting, but still valuable to the settlement, so they don''t worry about any raiders outside and just continue about their day."


    "And if the raiders break in?" Nicholai turned her head with a face every kid has seen at least once, a disappointed stare.


    "I would love to see what raider can fight people with magical abilities that nearly exploded the place."


    "True." Seeing Nicholai like this made me question the Nicholai I met in the other world, she was nicer then than now, with now being more accurate to her real self. "Hey Nicholai"


    "Hm?"


    "Why''d you become a doctor?" She nearly tripped on herself when the words registered, she also stopped walking, letting me get a bit ahead before I stopped as well. I wanted an aggressive response to show it was our actual Nicholai, yet what i got... "Our weapons relate to who we are right? Our actual selves?"


    "I...suppose?"


    "So what does that say about you?" I never asked the question before the outbreak actual happened, so while I somewhat understood this was our actual Nicholai...I couldn''t help but regret asking. "I have a Scythe because a doctor is in between life and death" she took a step towards me. "Kenneth''s spear is like a lightning rod for all his tech and shit" and another step. "Sam is all about range because of her blood phobia...yet you." She took one final step before her face turned to pure anger. "Have a sword and shotgun that easily shreds people apart, and can set them ablaze before shooting them into unrecognizable bits, no... that''s not even it..." As she contemplated her next words, she faced the ground, until she did find those words, then she looked at me even more made than before. "Just what the fuck is wrong with you!?" It wasn''t a full shout, but it was loud enough to echo through the halls...but it didn''t, instead it echoed in my head.


    "W-what?"


    "Just think about everything more than just ''it is what it is'' I get that''s how you are but...are you even human?" We were never on the best terms, yet it still hurt. "You lost all your memories from before you met Sam, you''re leading child soldiers who''re your childhood friends, and even leading adult soldiers, you have a sentient sword that''s somehow powered by the goddamn fucking moon. LEE!" Her voice raised in volume almost instantly. "You have some virus in you, taking over even if you''re meant to be immune, have you looked at your eye? HALF OF YOUR FACE LOOKS LIKE A CORPSE! And yet you''re calm? Has it never once crossed your mind how you survived before you met Sam? Not even once? Maybe a five year old can pull it off, a big if, but what about when you were four? Three? When you were first born? What about Kyle? He assaulted you, nearly broke your skull yet your buddies? That makes sense? The only way that even remotely makes sense is if you were like him!"


    "Are you...calling me a child soldier? That I killed people?" To anyone else including me, it was like this whole argument came from nowhere, yet, in Nicholai''s perspective it was probably boiling, all until I asked something that set her off. "I know how it looks, that I seem calm, but I''m confused...afraid...but this...thing..." I wanted to touch near my eye, yet I couldn''t once I recalled what Nicholai said It looks like it''s rotting..."It takes more control the more I am that...I don''t have a choice but to take everything at face value, at least for now...Rest assured, I''m not gonna start worrying until I have to."


    "And when is that?"


    "When this thing starts coming after the three of you" it was silent for a moment, Nicholai''s eyes widened as she took a step back and looked to the ground. "Guess that''s the perk of being an orphan, you have more room to focus on what matters."


    "Lot more complicated than that." By the time she looked back up she was back to how she was prior to the question, but there was this twitch to her, thinking about the answer to that question most likely


    "...Sorry"


    "Yeah..." it took a while, but we started to walk again, and after a minute, Nicholai spoke up. "I''ll get you an eyepatch, should cover most if not all of it."


    "Thanks" It was her own way of an apology, helping out with what she could do. "Do you really think I was like that? A child soldier?" I could see Nicholai wince before responding.


    "I don''t know."


    "Not often I hear that from you."


    "..."


    "Right..."


    When we finally made it to the room the others were in, it was completely silent, everyone was either looking down at the table or fidgeting around.


    "Oh...guess it was that loud huh? Uh, um..." I looked around the room, there wasn''t anything that I wanted badly enough that I''d sit through this awkwardness, so I set off back outside. I''m horrible...Nicholai said all that yet I triggered it...


    Outside, the sun had set a while ago, even if I don''t recall that much time passing, it still was a chance to look up at the stars, so I did exactly that, looked for the tallest building there was, climbed all those stairs, and laid down. Nicholai is right, I should focus more on recovering my memories, maybe that melody, the one I heard back when I found that soldier...While the melody was near them, I never found the actual source...that guy as well...Is that what I could become even with Immunity?


    "If so what''s the point..." Immunity started to seem worse than actually just dropping dead from it, I didn''t understand what caused it either, we fought people before, even during the apocalypse.


    Soon there was a knock on the door to the roof, there were only a few people it could be now, before I would have just said Sam(Though it''s always going to be more likely it''s her) but now that Alice was here, and Nicholai is going to get me an eyepatch, it could be any of the three, Kenneth was possible but never as likely as Sam and possibly even Alice.


    "Got an eyepatch delivery for Lee" I turned my head to the left to see Sam standing at the doorway, an eyepatch dangling by its string on her finger.


    "Would be me" With a bit of effort I stood up, Sam however met me halfway by walking over as I did so.


    "It''s not as bad as she said."


    "hm?"


    "Your eye...and the whole area near it, I think she was just mad."


    "Probably" I took the eyepatch, it took a few tries to do it right, that is making sure it wasn''t hurting me.


    "So, what was it about?" With nothing else to hold in her hands, she held them behind her back.


    "Why she wanted to be a doctor." Sam''s mouth opened slightly as she thought up something to say.


    "Where''d the question come from? You''ve never really be interested in why before."


    "It''s...a bit hard to explain."


    "Come on, we''re partners! I''ll feel useless if I''m not helping out!"


    "...This...is a reset." Her eyes narrowed while her head tilted.


    "Huh?"


    "I died, and involuntarily rewinded, but not to the same version of the world as before, and the Nicholai from the original world seemed off somehow, for instance about the first world...the reason I knew about this place beforehand is because Nicholai and I were searching for your parents in that version of the world...Actually while we''re on the topic..."


    "Hmm?"


    "Maybe it''s not the same since the reset happened, but in that world you kept wanting to look for them, issue was...they...were dead."


    "Ah...guess, that would explain it..."


    "Explain what?" She shook her head.


    "Nothing, I forgive you, and I think Nicholai does as well for...whatever it was." She took a breath and stood up straight. "Alright, that''s all settled, Alice is back, and by what I was told, mom and dad are okay too so let''s not dwindle on it okay?"


    "Oka-...y" I stopped talking as I heard it again, it''s been a while but it was identical to the one those few days ago.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "You don''t hear it?"


    "Lee if it''s corruption then you gotta let me know."


    "It''s a melody...one I heard before."


    "Same one as back then?"


    "Yeah...I was thinking earlier that maybe...it gives my memories back."


    "Do you know where it''s coming from?"


    "I think so"


    "Then what''re we waiting for!?" She threw a fist into the air. "Let''s get going!" I nodded in response.


    We took the stairs back down, the melody sounded close yet it wasn''t, it would never be as easy as that.


    "Where is it now?" Sam asked as we made it to the lobby.


    "Outside the settlement, straight right."


    "Lead the way!" Sam stuck close as we kept making our way to the melody, while I kept my focus on where it was coming from, she focused more on our surroundings due to the fact she couldn''t hear it.


    "Hey! Where are you two going!?" One of the guards called out to us.


    "We''ll be back in a minute! We''re getting memories back!" Sam immediately responded back to him and whether they had a choice or not, they let us by without issues.


    We ran, for a while too, for all I knew the melody was leading me astray or to put another person out of their misery, yet anytime I doubted whether or not I should keep going to it, I got a similar response from Sam every time.


    "What if you lose it for good?"


    "We''ve been going for ages now, you should be there when your parents get back"


    "Hehe~ If they''re anything like before they''ll take forever." With that said we kept going, until finally, it became loud enough that it signified we were near it.


    "I think we''re here..." It was just some random street, yet it felt oddly familiar.


    "Lee" I turned to Sam, I didn''t see anything wrong until she pointed by the sidewalk near an alleyway, it was child me, and someone else standing above me. "I-uh...don''t know if it makes me see it as well if you remember it this way, so I-i''ll probably wal-"


    "It''s fine...Nothing in my memories can be worse than what we''ve already endured." I stepped forward and sat down once I was close enough to myself. It looked similar to a picture, not 2d or anything but more the fact it was frozen in time, unmoving.


    "It''s like a photo..." And Sam seemed to think the same.


    "Alright...this shouldn''t be too bad..." Like it was natural instinct, I reached forward until my hand made contact to my other self''s shoulder.


    "I''m sorry..." I leapt back from the instant response. Color returned to the two people as well, me, a few years younger than when I met the Calstianos'', and a woman, with white hair...and with Crescent... "I''ve done what I could, anything that happens now...it''s up to luck." She turned her back on a 3 year old me. "If everything goes right you''ll remember this one day, so live, even if no one else wants you to"


    "This...is conflicting."


    "Well, it''s a memory of you being abandoned...if that happened to me..."


    "No...no she fought corruptors, wha- what?"


    "You''ve had dreams that are memories no? Maybe...these are actual memories and your dreams are more...remembering the people, but not the actual moments?" I had no choice but to agree with Sam, nothing else made sense at the time.


    The infant me sat there, part of him...me, clearly knew what was happening, yet I kept sitting there as the person I assumed was my mother left.


    "Well, on the bright side we pretty much knew this...just confirms it"


    "Except something between the two memories stayed the same. ''Live, even if no one else wants you to''...which means I was a child no one wanted as well."


    "Lee..." I looked down at my child self, maybe that''s why I accepted this, a slim chance of living was probably better than wherever I came from. "We wanted you, and we''re glad we took you in...okay?" I was going to take a breath and sigh it out, but instead i got choked up and simply spoke a word.


    "Okay" I felt a hand press onto my shoulder.


    "Come o-" I was halfway turned before I saw the memory change, Sam stepped to the side and moved her hand away so we could both watch.


    "What''re doing here?" A five year old Sam crouched down in front of me, it seemed the memory had cut forward 2 years. Her english was clearly broken, if you weren''t fully focused on what she was trying to say it wouldn''t be possible to get a single word down, even hearing the broken words again, I wouldn''t know how to write them down so I just wrote what she meant.


    "..."


    "Quiet?" She did the same head tilt as she''s done the last few years. It was only after she started talking in the language she actually understood that her mother came over. Course I didn''t understand them, I wasn''t the language prodigy who knew Nicholai and Kenneth''s Russian and Sam''s Japanese instantly.


    "God..." She tried to talk more but was interrupted by her own chuckling. "My english really did suck then huh? If it weren''t for you, me and the rest of Bravo Team would be stuck in broken english...so..." Sam walked in front of the memory, doing a 180 turn so that she''d face me with a pure smile. "Don''t go calling yourself an unwanted child." I could only nod again, there was no need to watch the memory again, I knew this one by heart, when they took me in, slowly learning the language...teaching them english when I got older and studied it more, the day I first ate breakfast with them, the day I first had a good breakfast in general. "Ah...Lee?" At first I thought I was crying from joy, remembering every second, but Sam was starring near my heart, and looking down at it, I noticed a small glimmer of light, a part of me started to feel more whole, and that tiny urge from corruption, became even more tiny.


    "I get it..."


    "Hm?"


    "A part of me forgot that our magic and selves are effected by all emotions..."


    "I see...you must''ve been really happy huh?" I nodded once more.


    "If I am immune, enough to fully control it, it means there''s a lot more good memories I forgot, which means maybe I wasn''t entirely an unwanted kid."


    "Let''s do our best to bring those memories back then."


    "Heh, I can probably handl-"


    "Two reasons." She cut me off. "You might encounter a memory you can''t handle alone...something really depressing, or, a memory even I forgot, actually! Three reasons! We may have to fight our way to it! Course." She did the head tilt again. "They''re your memories, I''ll go during the memories at any time if you don''t want me seeing them."


    "Thanks for supporting me for so long."


    "We''re not dead yet so don''t thank me for something I''m not done doing yet, now! Onward! Back to the others!" Sam started to march back to the base with me shortly behind, we didn''t manage to encounter any zombies, but it''s near the settlement, so I assume they were killed and disposed of.


    "hehe" I stopped walking and turned around once I heard my child self speak, my voice was near Sam''s pitch as it is now, high pitched, but that wasn''t my focus, it was the smile I had as I looked upon the two.


    "I''m gonna keep going...so any other Lee gets help finding their way too..." I smiled myself before I continued to follow Sam.


    "Large task Lee."


    "Eh...I meant to whisper it to myself..."


    "Welp, I heard either way."


    "Guess you did...not gonna change my goal."


    "It''s cute."


    "Oi don''t start that again"


    "Ehheh~ My bad, guess seeing the memory made it click again."


    "Don''t act like you didn''t do that recently too."


    "Ain''t recorded, never happened." That sigh I wanted before finally came out after we stopped talking.


    I''ve finally got a foothold in this place, something other than just missions...find the melody...retrieve my memories...hopefully Nicholai understands...she probably will so long as I don''t ask that quesion again...Thinking on it...the reason to being a doctor in actuality is probably much worse, but until she''s okay with telling me, I''ll focus on this...alright...Let''s get to putting in more effort than before.

 Chapter 21: Forests Calling

    "We''re baaaack!" Sam and I made it back to where everyone was eating, Kaz had also made her way here, with Alice sliding her food every now and again. What drew my attention was the normally brash Nicholai was sitting mostly still, picking at her food.


    "My what a look." Alice, having just slid over a plate to Kaz, looked after at me, more specifically my new eyepatch. "You should embroid your rose on it."


    "Like...sew the rose into it?" In the corner of my eye I noticed Sam looking at me, then the flower in my hair, then back to me.


    "Well, no, just a rose design can work, but I can see that working too! It''s a bond item after all, it shouldn''t die from being sewn" I felt my eyepatch, it was probably big enough that the rose could be on it without brushing against my face all the time. Then suddenly Sam snapped her fingers.


    "It''s perfect!" With a quick glint and intense gaze in her eyes she had already imagined what it''d look like. "The rose sorta blends in your hair because they''re similar, but put it on the eyepatch and it lets it shine more!"


    "That''s sorta drowning my look in white..."


    "In your perspective maybe."


    "Hey" Nicholai set down her fork and spoke to the room. "Aren''t Cali and Baker meant to be here already?" Kenneth finished chewing his own food before he started to speak.


    "Seeing how the place is I wouldn''t put it against the odds that they got caught up in something, it took a second for them to realize it was Sam, maybe they haven''t told them she''s here yet." Seeing and hearing no one refute his idea, he went back to eating a few seconds after his sentence finished.


    "Then let''s go help them!" Kenneth paused his eating and set down his fork as Kaz decided to speak up only after he started again.


    "It may just be business involving the settlement, let''s just be patient" Just as I was about to go and take my seat, someone tapped my shoulder before I could go sit down, by the time Sam noticed it she was already half-way to her seat. rest is a myth. I turned around to be greeted by Madoka. "Yes?"


    "Need to borrow you for a sec." Course you do.


    "Alright, let''s get it over with." The floor behind me creaked, signifying movement. "I think she wants me alone Sam."


    "awwww..." The floor creaked again before a chair moved as well.


    "Shouldn''t take too long, isn''t that far either." With Madoka leading the way, the two of us left the room.


    "So, what is it anyways? Or can you not tell me?"


    "Sam''s parents." I was getting ready to hear that they''re dead again, they did die in the other one.


    "What happened!?"


    "Same thing you guys were talkin about, right as they came in they got held up by a bunch of our people." Madoka kept facing forward so as we talked, it certainly made things a lot harder to hear from her.


    "Why get me then and not Sam?" Unlike before, Madoka did turn this time and just looked at me without a word. "It''s Sam"


    "Correct" She pivoted her foot and turned right back around and continued walking, the hallway was actually pretty dead unlike the area before it. "Sam would probably worry, even if they aren''t in harm''s way so I figured I''d nab Mr. Leader" I grunt after she spoke, she took it as a sign and sighed before speaking. "Something the matter?"


    "I sometimes forget I am in fact Bravo Team''s leader" Our walk led us to a door that led outside and seeing me stuck in my head, Madoka opened it for me so I could just keep walking straight. "Been wondering how to be a better one."


    "Team building." Madoka shut the door behind us once we were both through and once she saw that Cali and Baker weren''t where she thought they''d be, we changed the direction we were walking to towards our right.


    "Well isn''t tha-"


    "It''s not just for a team that doesn''t know each other, that''s what you were gonna say right?"


    "Sorta?"


    "...I''ll just take it as close enough." Madoka then cleared her throat. "Because you all knew each other prior, you''re already making the assumption you work well on a team, and granted, you''ve done fine on the missions you have gone, but that was against your grade enemies, as you go on tougher ones, the strategies and room for error become more difficult to handle. The moment you all have a bond-attack for each pair is when your team is fully connected, with maybe two or three for the partners"


    "Can''t force people to bond though, maybe if I learned first-aid I could try bonding with Nicholai."


    "That''s the hard part, you guys are too different so it''s harder to bond the whole team at once, Delinquent, Doctor, Technician/Engineer, and Moral Compass or a damn saint, whichever you prefer to call her."


    "Hm...I''ll try one at a time then, I did a few quick check-ups while they were doing there thing, but maybe if I consciously helped them during it, yes it''ll take longer, but if they''re on good terms with their leader, they should be more willing to do team bonding activites, right?" Madoka shrugged as a reply before actually speaking one.


    "Dunno, you know them best." Madoka smirked at me.


    "Course" Though she was ahead of me, I saw a smile form on her as we began to slow down.


    "There they ar-" When we finally made it to this point, a CSF soldier showed up and came over.


    "Madoka! Is that kid with yo-..." Their question, assuming it was about me, was quickly answered after they simply looked behind Madoka.


    "Hi" I snarkily grinned and waved, but I stopped soon after once I noticed the different uniform, it wasn''t CSF, instead on their arm were the letters C.E.F in bold, everything else however was the same, black coat or uniform, dark pants, and whatever.


    "Lieutenant Lee from Bravo Team correct?" With no care for Madoka, they shoved past her to get to me.


    "One of many."


    "That a joke?" The solider tried to seem intimidating, but something in their expression was more fearfilled than intimidating.


    "Wish it was." They squinted their eyes before grabbing my wrist. "Hey!" They took out a flashlight and aimed it at my face.


    "Open your mouth"


    "What!? What is your problem!?"


    "Yo Blackboot! He''s with the Calstianos'' and seeing as he just got here a while ago I doubt he''s one of em." The soldier clicked the flashlight off, he didn''t seem fearful anymore.


    "Sorry kid" After fiddling with the light he hooked it onto some chain at his hip and without explanation before walking past me while mumbling. "These new corrupted man..." Madoka seemed a bit ashamed.


    "Didn''t know they came by here as well, and they acted like we got used to it too fast." Deciding it was better to not get side-tracked again, I did my best to go past Madoka and to Sam''s parents, but I was promptly prevented.


    "Sure..." For a while Madoka seemed concerned about the CEF soldier, but with a task on our hands already, she couldn''t look into it, and instead turned back to get back on track. "Cali! Baker!" With no soldier to get in my way this time, I was able to step out on the field with Madoka. There weren''t many people here, a few guards, the people at the gate, the driver of the truck, and well...Cali and Baker themselves. It felt jolting for sure, they weren''t my parents, sadly that is the truth, but I had a right as anybody to be glad the people who took care of me are alive.


    "Madoka!" Cali, Sam''s mom, joyfully made her way over, she didn''t recognize me, but I mean that was obviously going to be the case with the pinkish-white hair and the eyepatch...and the fact it''s been a year or so, and the uniform, and Crescent...and pretty much everything. Baker, Sam''s dad, and where most of the pink hair came from, was following a bit far behind Cali. "And who''s this gentleman? Actually..." No way...no possible way you can recognize me like this. "No wait!" In the same way Sam does when she recalls something, she snapped her middle and thumb fingers, letting out that familiar snapping noise. "Lee!?"


    I stood there silent for a moment, for two reasons, being recognized, and remembering that, yeah, this is where Sam gets it from.


    "Yeah...It''s me." Baker seemingly overheard as he picked up the pace to join us.


    "I''ll be damned, I thought to myself what other guy would wear a rose on his head...not, an insult just incase you took it that way." While Baker talked, Cali looked around the place, knowing she''d been here for a while made it pretty clear what she was looking for, or rather who.


    "Sam isn''t with you?" She looked worried "Not even the others?"


    "Well, actually." It felt nice not having to be like all the situations i''ve seen before, when someone mentions someone isn''t with you and you can''t answer because they''re dead, but in this situation it was the opposite, they were alive, perfectly alive, granted, we died before but. "They''re not here here, they''re with Alice right now."


    "I told you they''d be alright!" Baker looked to Cali. "They''re a strong bunch when together."


    "About that actually...the white hair and rose is because..." I summoned Crescent into my hand. "We technically...did die."


    "Oh...that must''ve been horrible, but it seems you''ve all handled things well." Cali gave me a quick pat on the shoulder before she looked to everyone else. "Well! The others aren''t far off no?"


    "Yeah, I can bring you over to them if you want, Sam''ll probably tell you everything she can remember." Cali and Baker snickered amongst themselves.


    "That girl does have great memory, guess we better get to it before she worries anymore!"


    "Alright then, Lee, lead the way if you will, I gotta talk to that CEF guy from earlier" Madoka looked a tad irritated. "If you find me again I''ll explain it to you if you want, least I can do after you got hit by the sun." Madoka saw Cali and Baker about to comment. "Exaggeration, just an exaggeration, have fun with your reunion." Madoka started to walk in the direction the CEF soldier from earlier went, I could even see her say something I couldn''t hear, until she repeated it again louder when no one responded. "Ay Blackboot! Get over here!"


    "Alright, before we get caught up in that, follow me." We followed Madoka for a bit as the way to the CEF guy was the same path we had to take, afterwards though, we split off and I retraced my steps all the way back to the room we were in prior, getting another glimpse at the whole place, it seemed better than the previous time I was in, maybe, it was a possibility that the only reason Cali and Baker died in the other world is because the settlement was worse...I don''t recall CEF being here last time if I recalled right. "And it should be right here." Even if I hadn''t recalled the full way back I could overhear Alice talking about something. I opened the door and stepped in, everyone was where they were before, but now Alice had some flower on the table that Sam stared at.


    "-It''s like a mimic flower, the type you see in a lot of media." Alice seemed to be talking about the flower to Sam, neither aware of me, or the other two entering the room, I expected Nicholai and Kenneth to notice but they seemed to be in their own conversation, albeit a lot quieter. I was getting ready to get their attention, but Cali stopped me and started quietly moving towards Sam, Alice noticed when she was about halfway behind her, but decided to go with it instead of telling Sam.


    "All CSF" I Instinctively twitched upon hearing a voice in my head. "If one of you punks stole the orb and fail to return it I will have the thief executed by dawn, get your ass back here before I make you" Alice towards me, most likely hearing it as well.


    "Hm?" Sadly, Sam noticed Alice was looking past her and turned around to see what it was and nearly leaped out of her seat when she saw her mom right behind her and her dad not far away either. "You jerks!" She playfully punched her mom''s shoulder before turning it into a hug that Baker would join in a moment after.


    "Lee" Alice tilted her head, signaling for me to come over, which I obliged. "You hear that announcement too?"


    "Yeah, didn''t know you were associated with the CSF."


    "I dabble, anyways, if someone maliciously took that orb we might have to all move to Eaxura."


    "Why''s that? How does something in Eaxura affect Earth?" Alice adjusted her posture, sitting up and against the back of the chair.


    "A few ways, I don''t know all the details though...I know it keeps Eaxura from becoming a wasteland, but it also keeps other worlds from being immediately invaded by external forces."


    "There''s more people?" I had thought that DTs, Reunion, and the Humans on earth were the only sentient beings, looking back on it, it was pretty dumb to think that.


    "Course there are, human-animal hybrids, Anthro animals, demons, elves, really any mythical creature that exists, hell you heard about the gods before right? They''re not all good people, not even half, but that doesn''t mean go around purging them, we''re magical beings who can self-revive so lo-..." Alice''s face sunk. "That orb also allows us to revive..."


    "What!?" The room turned towards me while Alice stood up and began walking to the door, pressing on a radio.


    "Alice here, all DT units start bringing everyone to Eaxura." It was all I heard before she got out of earshot. Was it an orb that let us revive? I thought...ugh...After getting brought to this timeline my memory of DT matters felt a bit jumbled, it would most likely be easier if I focused on how each timeline works and not act as though they''re all the same.


    "What''s going on?" Kaz went across the table to reach me.


    "I thought you were from the future, don''t you know?" I responded to Kaz.


    "Far into the future, not here."


    "So?" Nicholai spoke up next wondering the same thing as Kaz.


    "Alright...there''s not a way to ease into it, something from Eaxura was taken, it was the thing that allowed us to revive upon death, it also apparently kept Eaxura warm, there were probably other things but Alice, well, did that before I heard anything else...oh and...it prevented foreign worlds from invading others." Cali and Baker didn''t seem to fully understand, but everyone else stood up from their seats, with Sam going to the door.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Where are you going?" Nicholai called over to Sam.


    "If anyone can come and attack this place I''m gonna try and help!" Sam didn''t elaborate further and quickly left.


    "Lee" Kenneth snapped my attention towards them again. "What''s the call?"


    "What?"


    "We''re allowed to make our own choices yes, but we made you the leader, it''s only right we follow what you have in mind."


    "Hey!" Alice returned, putting a hand on the door while the other held onto some sphere tightly. "I need someone to go with Lee and plant this. Whoever isn''t has gotta help with evacuation, we don''t have much time, earth is the most known world in Zullo it''s bound to be hit first."


    "Why me?" Alice immediately pointed at my eye before answering.


    "Guardians helped us with this in case of an extreme emergency, sadly because they made it, it''s corrupted."


    "So I need to use it or else the user gets corrupted."


    "Pretty much" She seemed saddened that I had no choice but to use it. "May-...Where''d Sam go?"


    "Already made her choice." Nicholai stepped up. "No one is gonna object to going with, nor do I think there''s a right answer."


    "If I take the doctor I have a less chance of dying and getting the device off..." I tried to rationalize my choice. "But then those who need medical get less..." I looked to Kenneth. He could help me with the device if it malfunctions, or if something goes wrong...but the same can go for the people defending the place...it''s not likely I get it off in time unless it''s nearby, people will need their weapons and defenses in the best shape possible...Kaz does better in the middle of fights thanks to her small size, she''d be too obvious and noticeable with me. "Kenneth, how''re Dave''s weapons?" He shook his head, he wasn''t an option. I don''t have the time to think any further..."Nicholai! You''re with me." She was caught off guard, the first time I''ve seen the expression.


    "Here!" Alice handed me the cylinder and then placed her hand on my shoulder. "You''re looking for a tower that has a bright blue flashing light, the Guardians said the tower changes every week so its signal never gets pinged, so I can''t say if it''s nearby or not...good luck" She took her hand off and went to the others. "Rest of you, we''ll help with the evacuati-" I didn''t stick around to hear, I ran out the door with Nicholai close behind.


    "Why''d you pick me?" I didn''t expect Nicholai to question it.


    "I panicked, the longer it took to choose the more likely we''d fail, and I need someone to keep me in check."


    "Do my best not to disappoint then" We soon exited the building, everyone was running around, but not in a panic, except for a small few, everyone else seemed prepared even if they were worried mentally.


    "Blue flashing light..."


    "Far right!" I turned the way she said and pointed, it was clear as day, like a beacon, but it was far, really far away if you took into account the people running, the structures, the maintained buildings.


    "Fuggghck!" I swore through gritted teeth. "We don''t have time to waste." We bolted into a sprint again while thoughts ticked in my mind. It feels horrible, on a time limit I don''t even know, it could be the next minute or even second, and if I fail...Cali and Baker could die again...Suddenly my arm jolted backwards, like my own body was trying to prevent myself from completing the mission. I dug my heels into the ground upon moving in a way I didn''t want to, but there was no time, if I let it confuse me i''d only have less time, so I went into another sprint, slightly behind Nicholai now thanks to the pause.


    "What was that?" Nicholai, still running, turned her head back to me.


    "It''s taking my mind again..." I didn''t have to elaborate further for her to understand. She was probably confused by the again part and I knew I should tell everyone other than Sam, but now was not the time, I had hoped to do so when everyone was together.


    "...If it gets worse toss it to me!"


    "But..." She faced forward again.


    "Corruption? You''d prefer the whole place get attacked than me possibly dying? Doubt it''s even a high chance." Nicholai seemed confident, but maybe being around Sam for so long gave me an instinct, because it felt like Nicholai was lying to reassure the both of us, not just me.


    "Alright...here!" I turned quickly into an alleyway between a few small built structures.


    "Incoming!" The voices of the CEF echoed through the alleyway. "Forget all previous intel about the enemy, this is a dif-" The soldier was cut off after an explosive went off.


    "What...is it?" I couldn''t stop myself from mumbling, the Reunion and Corrupted were the only real threats I knew, but I wasn''t naive enough to think that was it, we''re capable of going through many worlds and multiverses, more enemies than one can count...how could someone fare against that?


    "We''re still a ways off the watchtower, got any ideas!?" I could see Nicholai looking around for more paths, a faster than the one we''re currently on.


    "I got one, but I''d be going farther ahead than you"


    "Better than nothing! Just keep that Corruption in check!"


    "I''ll try!" I looked for something on my gear to hook onto the device, but on second look the device itself had nothing to hook on besides the handle on top. Course..."Crescent! Shockwave rounds" I loaded up the rounds into Crescent and held onto the device tightly. "Nicholai make sure you take the safer routes."


    "I''ll manage!" In a swift motion, I jumped, hooked the handle of Crescent on my foot, and pulled the trigger, I felt like I slipped off for a second until realizing the floatiness I was feeling was due to me soaring into the sky and the quick burst of air in my face.


    "There we go!" But with a sword, gun, heavy device, and just myself, it wasn''t long before I quickly lost acceleration and started plummeting downwards. I fired at a backwards angle again to boost myself towards the tower once again. I had once again gotten enough momentum to start making progress to the tower again, it would soon be in reach but I had no real way to stop. "Crescent, shake a bit if your handle can...handle a pull." I didn''t know how to word it fast enough, but Crescent shook a bit regardless. "Here goes then!" I grabbed the blade of Crescent and swung it at the tower, hoping I''d hook onto something, I felt like I missed, I didn''t feel the blade digging into my skin from the stop, but i didn''t feel anything else either.


    I looked down to notice i was a bit high up, but I wasn''t falling at all, I looked back up and realized I had actually hooked onto the tower''s railings like I hoped, and the reasoning for the blade not cutting me? Some ominous glow around the blade.


    "That''s not the non-lethal mode...you can choose when to cut? Or...is it only to me?" Crescent moved at the later half of my words. "I appreciate it regardless..." Holding onto Crescent with one hand was starting to put strain on me, I hadn''t thought of what to do when I actually made it. "Time to gamble then" I began to swing back and forth, Crescen''t hook handle was curved enough to practically be a grappling hook and it worked just as well as one. When I had decided it would be enough, when swinging back towards the tower, I swung up the device and threw it in. I flinched and held my eyes closed, waiting for it to hit me on the head when it made its way back down, but the only sound was of it hitting the floor of the watchtower. "Bless my heart, I''m lucky enough." Though haphazardly, I climbed up Crescent quickly, just enough until I could grab onto the railing and climb over it. "Okay...just to plant it then." I should have done it right then and there, but my curiosity got the better of me, I turned around and looked towards the settlement to see if I could notice anyone I hadn''t seen before...And I didn''t, but that was already because I knew the main leader of them. "It''s that Lee again!" He was leading other soldiers, once identical to the CEF here, but they looked more...hostile somehow. "I wasted enough time!" I grabbed the device and ran to the middle of the room, guessing this was where I needed to plant it. "Crescent to me!" Making sure I had everything on me incase things went wrong, I called over Crescent, who warped right into their sheath. "Alright...alright...how to use this."


    The device was as mentioned before, a cylinder with a single handle on the top.


    "Doesn''t seem like many options...so." I slammed the device on the ground, where the handle was facing upwards. "Maybe twisting?" I turned the handle right, nothing, then left, where the handle then dug into itself and began to glow white. "..." I had to wait until it finished whatever procedure it had to go through, but once it was done the handle popped up again, with the entire device now glowing. "You kidding me? How many things can I do with one handle?" I tried twisting it right again, it did in fact go that way, but did nothing and forcefully reset itself. "Then!" I twisted right again and pushed down. this time it worked, completely and irreversibly digging itself into the ground and sending a beam of white light into the sky, piercing and destroying anything above that blocked it from doing so. "Better be it..." Hoping the device''s startup was now done, I turned back to where I saw the other Lee last, he was nowhere to be found, but his CEF soldiers could still be seen, they looked near identical to the ones I saw before but I couldn''t get that terrible feeling out of me whenever I saw them.


    "Lee!" Hearing my name get shouted from far below, I looked for the staircase on the tower, after finding it I went down a few steps before looking down. Faintly, like a very rough outline in a very badly lit stairwell, I could see Nicholai. "The thing above is gone! Kenneth and Sam are at the center, you coming or not!?" Nicholai said what needed to be said and went back down the stairs.


    "Time to help the others bud, two more shells of the same type." Crescent seemed to be worried. "Yeah, I''m praying it goes well too." After loading the two shells, I got a running start before leaping over the railing of the watchtower. It took maybe a second before I started to plummet downwards. How did Kenneth describe it...suddenly stopping is what kills... so going right back up would hurt me, better than death but...maybe...I got it... I waited till I was a few seconds from the floor before aiming Crescent behind me, not above me, behind me, so when I shoot I''d go forward. and to stop safely...as safely as possible! I pulled the trigger, redirecting the momentum forward instead of down. "Crescent! Try not to dig in too well!" I was practically telling them to do the impossible, but a warning never hurt anybody. Before going into a building, I jabbed the blade of Crescent into the ground, it pulling my arm aggressively, nearly tearing something, but it worked well enough to stop me just enough till I could put my own two feet on the ground. "My arm is gonna need care soon as well at this point..."


    "Good, you already know you nearly killed yourself," Nicholai exited the watchtower, she didn''t seem bothered until she looked back up. "That''s not even broken bones, that''s death..."


    "All thanks to Crescent."


    "And that we''re more durable." Nicholai didn''t wait up, she started making her way to the center and while I could go ahead of her and go somewhere else, I didn''t want to risk my chances, of messing up something I''ve now done twice by pure luck, nor encounter that other Lee.


    "Kenneth and Sam should be there right?"


    "Huh?"


    "At the center, the two should be around right?"


    "I only got a quick glimpse, can''t say for sure I saw them"


    "And the other Lee?"


    "Y''know I was gonna ask about that" It came to my attention then that I only really told Sam stuff, not to the others.


    "I''ll explain when everyone is together."


    "Better, this stuff is confusing as is without duplicates."


    "Give no Quarter!" Nicholai and I heard the shouting of soldiers and did our best to follow them. To our luck, they were CSF, clashing against other humanoid beings, but they looked melted.


    "They look like me..." It only clicked once we were behind them, the weaponry, gear, looks, it was me. "Why are they me?" Hearing my voice, one of the soldiers turned and was mid-swing before Nicholai''s scythe swung into view to slam it away.


    "Oh god! You''re our Lee...I''m sorry." A massive burst of flame appeared behind the soldier, sending a portion of the unit away from their original positions. The "Lee" who caused it had their sword engulfed in heavy flames. "Get behind us! We''ll cover you!" The soldier turned back around, regrouping with what remained of the team.


    "Hang on, we''re not going this way!" The CSF didn''t hear me; instead, it attacked the horde of melting versions of myself.


    "Works in our favor either way, come on!" Nicholai nearly tugged me along as we continued past the unit, finally reaching the center. The scene was graphic, people torn to pieces, structures set ablaze, the only thing remaining were Sam and Kenneth through some miracle. "Kenneth!" Nicholai bolted past me and slid over to Kenneth, who had blood all over him. "What happened to you!?" She lifted him back onto his feet, nearly being the only reason he can stand.


    "Lee..." Sam slowly turned to me, her face mortified while trying her best to ignore the blood all over our friend.


    "We''re returning to Eaxura, we''re not staying here! Sam, where are Cali and Baker!?" Nicholai didn''t wait a single second for me to respond to whatever it was that Sam wanted to tell or ask me.


    "I...I think they''re already there, they took people into portals, Alice too." Nicholai immediately flicked her head to me.


    "Lee, portal, NOW" I cut it open, specifically one at our base of operations, there didn''t seem to be anything in our path, not until Nicholai and Kenneth went through.


    "LEE" My blood ran cold as I heard the scream of someone who I knew, but only because it was my voice. The portal closed against my will, leaving only Sam and I remaining. "YOU AIN''T RUNNING AGAIN LEE" A version of Crescent impaled the floor in front of me, but it was far beyond a simple desire to warp to it, instead the ground cracked and the same Lee that killed me in the first run appeared again, replacing where their Crescent was. "No...you''re not this time''s Lee...it''s you again, isn''t it?" They looked down at Crescent, seeing the way I was holding it. "This world''s Lee is more experienced than you." He smirked. "How did I manage to meet you again this early?" The smirk just as quickly went away. "No...really...you shouldn''t have appeared here." He looked to Sam. "Are you involved I wonder? I know this Lee had a Sam, but..." He looked down, summoning Crescent back to him. "Fuck it, it ain''t important."


    "Wait! What''s the point of this?" Sam seemed to try asking questions, it, for some reason, worked.


    "I feel like I went over this already...Though I guess that was only with Lee." He looked back up and smiled. "Every Lee''s trait is different, that is all."


    "That can''t be it! I doubt every Lee is the same, but there''s no way a Lee is like this randomly, right!?" The Lee seemed to completely ignore her.


    "No, I know how you''re here now...I had a feeling my being was being called constantly, you kept referring to me...heh...I suppose I got popular enough with you lot for me to be the topic of discussion." A quick, purple blink of light appeared in his right eye. "Whatever, Lee, let''s see how you''ve improved!" Similar to our last battle, that Lee appeared in front of me, mid-slash and ready to end me, I raised my blade in defense, only now I managed to at least keep it up instead of dropping that guard. I learned practically nothing! Anything that happens here is purely from this world''s Lee being better! "Ah! You''ve been slacking! Or have Raymond and Kai been keeping you bu-" Unexpectedly, this Lee''s head recoiled to the side as a blade slashed the side of his face, he stepped back and held the spot that began to bleed, it surprised me as much as it did him.


    "Bastard!" I thought I misheard when Sam swore, but when I turned to her, she had her sickle swinging round and round and had the most pissed off expression that ever crossed her face.


    "The hell?" The hell!? His words and my thoughts were the same.


    "You nearly put Kenneth on his deathbed! And now you''re trying to take another version of you out!?


    "Well, if you''re part of the fight, then you''re included in that!" Seeing a chance, I slammed the hilt of my sword into his shoulder, he winced but was otherwise unfazed.


    "Sam, portal!" Sam stopped her swinging and instead slashed into the air to tear open a portal. "Ge-Kgh!" I was stopped mid-word when his hand grabbed onto my neck, slamming me down onto the ground when I finally registered what was going on.


    "It''s not going to get you far!" With their free hand, he closed an open palm, forcing the portal closed. With our escape closed, he impaled me with his Crescent and dashed towards Sam. I couldn''t even see what was going on, I couldn''t turn my head enough to look at what was occurring.


    "Lieutenant!" A voice gave me an inkling of hope, but whoever it was, was also out of my vision. "Everyone open fire!" From what I heard, a barrage of bullets rained upon that other Lee, yet, I heard it clanging against steel, which told me he was somehow deflecting them all.


    "Aid Sam, I''ll tend to the Lieutenant." Footsteps approached, and soon a uniformed soldier crouched down. "Lee, you hanging in there?" He raised his mask, I could never have been more glad to see him.


    "Kyle...Thank you..." I could barely speak those words.


    "Ain''t just me, Loui, Kayla, Salazar, Kay, and Anne, are here too." I smiled. "Seems they drove that bastard away too, are all you Lees that stubborn?"


    "A...s...Kgk..." Kyle took Crescent out of my chest, it vanished instantly after.


    "I uh...mh..." He was looking over to where Sam was while placing his hand on my wound, not healing, but stabilizing it at the very least. "Sam isn''t much better...I''d wait until you were better to say that but...lass might not make it."


    "What...?"


    "Piece of shit did one good clean cut right across the whole body." He looked back down at me. "Then again, that annoying lass lived through worse...I think." Kyle took my by my left arm and pulled me up to stand, slinging my arm over his shoulder, he tried facing me away from Sam, but I caught a glimpse anyway, it brought back memories. Her jacket was coated in blood, her mouth nearly spitting it up without pause. "I wouldn''t look that way, bossman, let''s get you to the hospital." Aggressively, he forces me into a portal, understanding I was nearly going to bolt towards her.


    "Oh god! Lieutenant, what happened to you!?" I didn''t seem to be at the hospital, but instead at an infirmary owned by the CSF. Kyle went to speak before cutting himself off.


    "Not important...I know we don''t got a lot of magic healers, so make do, we''ve got a lot more on the way." It suddenly clicked, Sam said her family were safe, I saw Kenneth too.


    "Kaz!" I nearly tripped over myself trying to go back. "Where''s Kaz!" I barely knew the cat, but it helped us regardless.


    "SIT DOWN" Kyle grabbed me by the wrist and threw me onto a bed. "We''ll look for the fuckin thing! You try living! Anne, Kayla! Come on! Salazar, don''t let him stand." Salazar walked over. "WITHOUT HURTING HIM."


    "I wasn''t going to do anything." Salazar gently leaned against the...wall? I think? It depends on whether you consider a tent''s side a wall or not.


    "It''s worse than what Kyle said isn''t it?" I looked up at Salazar, his expression stone neutral.


    "The lass, if by some miracle survives, should not walk for a long while."


    "Stuck to a bed again then..." I looked at my hands. "What''s wrong with that guy, Sam is our bud...even if it''s another version..." If I knew how to rewind, rewind exactly where I wanted...I could keep trying, trying to beat him until I won.


    "The fault does not lie with you, young-blood." Salazar continued gazing at nothing. "He''s a horrific monster." I shook slightly, if he was correct, if that Lee was correct, then even mentioning him is the reason I appear in front of him so often... "No worries, Lieutenant, I was lucky enough to have a trait that counteracts his knowing ears. Anyone nearby can speak of the beast without his knowledge."


    "That''s good..."


    "Returning to the point, regardless of your rank, you were hardly trained in the act of combat, magic, or corruption." He took out a photo, slowly handing it to me. "These people will train you, far greater than any one of us can." The photo was of a village in a forest, none of the people in it were human; instead, owl-like, bipedal beings. "Take Nicholai with you as well, someone with a grudge like hers can turn it into great training drive."


    "What if Sam..."


    "Then it is more of a reason to fight against that hellspawn." Salazar began to walk away. "If you decide to go, tell me through your HUD, I will give you an uninterrupted chance to leave."


    "Aren''t you meant to prevent me from leaving?"


    "It will only keep the chance for heartache to remain Young-blood, that is no man who can be reasoned with, he must die, no matter the cost that must be paid." He left the tent, leaving me be with the photo and the chance to truly learn how to fight back against him.