《Dragonwood Plaza 2247: The Golden Era》
Episode 0: Shattered Sky
As the clock struck midnight, everything suddenly became eerily quiet. Conversations stopped mid-sentence. It was as if everyone could tell that something had changed. An unexplainable shift in the very fabric of reality that even those without heightened senses were able to notice.
And then suddenly, blue semi-transparent windows began to appear in front of people. These windows were the manifestation of The System. Some took it in stride while others laughed it off as a bad dream.
Cassius¡¯ friends were taking it pretty well and discussing what was going on with a rather casual tone.
¡°Hey, Cass, any ideas what¡¯s causing this?¡± Dan asked, turning to him.
Cassius was not paying attention.
Instead, he was looking straight up into the sky. His hands balled into fists and his teeth were clenched. His eyes narrowed, like he was searching for something up above.
Dan raised an eyebrow but then he noticed something.
Of everyone around them, Cassius was the only person who did not have a blue window floating in front of him.
His gaze then turned upwards to see what Cassius was seeing.
Just as he looked up, a massive rift appeared in the sky, spreading out like cracked glass. He was about to say something when it suddenly shattered open.
A storm of mana erupted from it. Waves and waves of just barely visible blue energy shot out in every direction.
Everyone around took notice. Some started screaming and panicking, others took out their phones and started recording what was going on.
Off in the distance a swirling vortex of mana appeared. The portal appeared on the edge of Archfield, but it was so massive that it could be seen from every point in the city.
The commotion and chaos picked up. They quickly realized that what was happening wasn¡¯t a dream. No one knew what to do. Those that were already panicking were running, trying to get as far away as they could. Those who were recording stood frozen in place.
Cassius¡¯ friends remained where they were.
¡°Cass! What do we do?¡± Dan asked.
He raised his voice but that didn¡¯t get Cassius¡¯ attention.
¡°Is there anything we can do?¡± Spencer asked.
He was looking around at people to see what everyone else was doing. He remained strangely calm.
¡°This is a little bit beyond our skill level.¡± Rob commented.
He was staring at the mana vortex off in the distance.
¡°If anyone has a plan, it¡¯s him.¡± Jesse spoke, sounding almost offended.
¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Dan turned to him, confused.
Then suddenly Cassius rushed off without saying anything. His friends attempted to give chase, thinking he definitely knew something. They couldn¡¯t keep up and he got far ahead of them.
A mix of confusion and betrayal was all they felt as they watched a young woman rise up from his shadow and instantly transform into a massive dragon.
Cassius leapt up onto her back and with a single flap of her wings, the dragon launched high into the air carrying him away. They tried to call out to him, but their voices were drowned out by the yelling from the other people around who witnessed it.
There had been portals before that he dealt with. Usually, it was only a couple at a time, and they were all generally pretty small. The monsters they spewed out were typically easily dispatched with too, except for the odd monster that gave him a hard time on occasion.
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As he was flying high above the city, he could see more and more portals spawning. That tingling feeling he got at the base of his neck when a situation got dangerous was getting worse.
He had been dealing with them in secret, protecting people from the unknown threats. But now, there were portals beyond count that the public could see. All of his hard work, undone in a matter of minutes.
The portals from before were manageable, but this situation was beyond his expectations. A large portal probably meant much bigger monsters. He¡¯d deal with the largest one as fast as he could and then take care of the others that had spawned.
As he got closer to the largest portal, he was bombarded by the intense waves of pressure it was emitting. It was the first time he was met with pressure from pure mana waves. His dragon was powerful in her own right, but the pressure was even getting to her.
She landed as quickly as she could. Upon landing, she dispersed into a shadowy mist and absorbed back into Cassius, leaving him alone for the moment.
He attempted to call forth some of his other soldiers, but his summoning powers were being interrupted by the mana waves.
The center of the portal was directly over an unfinished neighborhood near the west side of the gigacity. Partially built houses and hastily left construction equipment littered the entire area. If there had been anyone around it would¡¯ve been a lot more concerning but with no one around he wouldn¡¯t have to hold back as much.
Then suddenly, the portal above shattered open.
Instead of a large monster or an entire force of a monsters, a single Entity descended from it.
This Entity was humanoid, adorned in intricate white armor with black trim. In its right hand it wielded a longsword with an oddly shaped blade.
It landed in front of Cassius.
He could tell it was strong, incredibly strong, yet it gave off no pressure.
The Entity turned its head, scanning the area before transfixing on Cassius.
¡°Hmm¡Curious, no link to the System. And yet¡You possess a strength that doesn¡¯t belong here.¡± They spoke.
¡°Are you¡a fragment of His power?¡± They questioned further.
Instead of answering, Cassius called forth his weapons. There was a brief flash of light in his hands, yet nothing came to him.
He then felt his consciousness shift but not fade. He was suddenly thrust outside of his body. Nothing more than a floating transparent ghost. The Entity before him noticed nothing.
As Cassius looked at his body from a third person perspective, his posture changed, and he saw his own eyes begin to glow pink. He recognized them as his eyes but the look in them was that of someone else entirely.
¡°Let me take this one.¡± A voice called out to him.
It was a familiar sounding voice but not one he could fully recall.
¡°An Envoy dare step on this planet?¡± The Being Residing in Cassius asked.
The voice that came from Cassius¡¯ mouth was both his own and someone else¡¯s. They were layered over one another and just barely distinguishable from one another.
The Envoy suddenly readied its weapon.
¡°There you are.¡± The Envoy said, giving off a shrill laugh.
"We¡¯ve been looking for you.¡±
The sword they wielded began to glow bright red with a slight golden hue to it.
¡°Hiding inside of a human is the last thing we expected.¡±
Their tone turned to disgust
The Being Residing in Cassius then held out his hand and called forth his weapon. There was a flash of light, and a large broadsword materialized in his hand. He flourished it around easily, despite its size, before it came to rest on his shoulders.
¡°That vessel can¡¯t possibly channel your power.¡± The Envoy laughed.
¡°You should¡¯ve stayed in that portal.¡± The Being Residing in Cassius spoke.
They were both ignoring each other¡¯s words to a certain degree.
The Envoy then summoned several swords made of pure energy and launched them at Cassius.
He stuck out his left hand and an invisible force seemed to grab the blades, shattering them midair.
The Envoy then unleashed its pressure, filling the area its killing intent.
It passed over Cassius¡¯ body like a wave, yet it remained standing. Cassius, in his floating out of body experience, could still feel the killing intent. It hardly affected him.
The Envoy then began to visibly tremble.
Dust, dirt, and other random debris in the area began to float off the ground ever so slightly.
The Being Residing in Cassius then smirked.
He unleashed his own pressure. In an instant, the area was filled with a feeling of death far beyond anything Cassius had ever produced or that the Envoy had ever felt. This pressure was so intense it was visible as a transparent wave of black energy.
It felt as though death itself had descended upon the area.
Even though it came from his own body, it terrified him. It wasn¡¯t his power; it was something else entirely.
The Envoy struggled to just barely remain standing.
They suddenly yelled, breaking free of the pressure.
The Envoy closed the distance, thrusting its blade at Cassius.
The Being Residing in Cassius tilted his head to the side ever so slightly. The Envoy¡¯s blade passed by his head and was immediately countered by a wide swing. The broadsword cut through the blade with ease.
The Envoy tossed the broken sword away and summoned another far stranger sword.
The Being Residing in Cassius seemed to be toying with the Envoy. Blocking swings or purposefully dodging just close enough to make the Envoy think there was a chance of victory.
He pushed the Envoy back and summoned forth numerous short swords and daggers. He used his powers to stab them all into the Envoy, catching them off guard.
They clashed again, the Envoy just barely holding on while the Being Residing in Cassius laughed maniacally as a shower of sparks exploded out from the impact of their blades.
Whoever that Being was.
They had the upper hand.
Episode 1: Plaza Tech Stores
Despite it being the year 2247 in the 23rd Century, the Dragonbyte Retro Tech and Repair store persisted, even though it was years and years away from when people would actually care about the tech that was sold within its walls. It had a nice little spot within the Dragonwood Plaza, one of many plazas that could be found within the confines of the gigacity known as Archfield.
If one was looking for tech from before the year 2000, they could find it at the Dragonbyte. Knick knacks from the 90¡¯s? An odd accessory or add on from the 80¡¯s? Music players from the 70¡¯s? It was all there and if it wasn¡¯t at the Dragonbyte in Archfield, there were other Dragonbyte Retro Tech and Repair stores located not just in other gigacities but even off world. There were a number of locations throughout the galaxy that one could visit.
No one on Earth really understood how it was able to persist. A few employees had their suspicions about how it was sustained but they didn¡¯t have anything concrete. One employee that figured it out but chose to remain ignorant of it was none other than Cassius Reyes. He had no reason to care about why it persisted, only that it did.
For him, the Dragonbyte checked off numerous boxes for the sort of place he was looking for. It more often than not had no customers. There were only a handful of employees that worked at the store. The Managers were eccentric but not overbearing. And most importantly, the pay was quite high. It maybe afforded him more money than a teenager should ever actually have but he saved it regularly and rarely splurged on stuff.
It was his refuge away from his friends who could get extremely chaotic. Most of his coworkers were a lot more relaxed than his friends but they still had their fair share of quirks. It made for the perfect place to just get away from his problems for a while.
When he signed up to work there, he was unaware that the Dragonbyte had its own share of problems to deal with. Most of those problems came from the tech store on the other side of the Plaza.
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Across from the Dragonbyte Retro Tech and Repair was what people referred to as The Crown Jewel of Dragonwood Plaza, the APEX Tech store.
Unlike the Dragonbyte, Apex Tech was a monolith.
It was the center store in the North Building of the Plaza. Five floors of every sort of modern tech one could get their hands on. At least a hundred employees were on the clock any given day of the week, and it was open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Plus, Apex became the major draw for people to come to the Plaza and traffic within it increased quite a bit once they moved in.
The exact opposite to the Dragonbyte in every possible way.
For reasons unknown to Cassius, APEX would send employees over to the Dragonbyte on occasion and have them commit various acts against the store. They were done in an attempt to either scare off the workers or get the store shut down completely.
The Apex employees were quickly dispatched by Cassius the first time they attempted something while he was on the clock. It wasn¡¯t anything personal, but he took it personally. He had designated the Dragonbyte as a place for him to just let his mind be quiet and they had trespassed upon it.
To which he dealt with them accordingly.
Afterwards, he was informed of some of their previous attempts to attack the Dragonbyte. It hadn¡¯t been anything too extreme, nothing the employees couldn¡¯t handle.
All they knew was that that specific APEX Tech store was doing everything it could to try and remove the Dragonbyte Retro Tech and Repair from the Plaza. Apex even prided itself on being better than every other tech store in every way possible. They would specifically call out the Dragonbyte, but most people really didn¡¯t get it and they didn¡¯t care to begin with.
None of the Apex customers were aware of the intricacies of the Plaza drama. Even if they did know what was going on, it probably wouldn¡¯t have affected their opinion of the place anyway. Not like they were going to get their 23rd-century phones at a tiny little Retro Tech Store.
In the time since Cassius joined on, they ramped up their attempts but as long as he was there, they would continue to fail
Episode 2: Average Dragonbyte Day
For the Dragonbyte Retro Tech and Repair, it was like any other day. Which meant there were absolutely no customers. It was even the last day of summer before school started and still no one was wandering over to their little store. No last-minute dares or people coming to satisfy their curiosity.
It did make it easy for the two employees that were there, the two who seemed to always be working there. Cassius of course, and his ever-present coworker Rory Lampros.
Cassius was messing around with his phone as he typically did when the store was empty. Rory was just staring at the wall of CRT TVs lining the wall opposite the counter where they sat. He had been gazing at it without saying anything for at least an hour.
¡°Hey.¡± Rory suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
His gaze still trained on the TV wall.
¡°Yeah?¡± Cassius responded, not even bothering to look up from his phone.
¡°Do you ever wonder¡why we¡¯re here?¡± Rory asked.
¡°Like, in a metaphysical sense? Or why we¡¯re here in this store?¡± Cassius asked back.
He looked over to Rory for clarification.
¡°Uh¡Why we¡¯re here in this store. Obviously.¡± Rory said, just a bit mockingly.
He then shook his head and let out an annoyed sigh.
¡°You think I¡¯m smart enough to give enough of a shit to talk metaphysics?¡± He asked.
¡°Rory, I never know with you. And you¡¯ve asked me weirder questions, let¡¯s be real.¡± Cassius asserted.
¡°Seriously though! What are we doing here? This is a tech store that shouldn¡¯t even exist.¡± Rory said, continuing his original train of thought.
¡°Probably not.¡± Cassius shrugged.
¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the only reason this store is here is because Apex is over there.¡± Rory pointed out the window in the general direction of Apex.
Cassius put his phone down.
¡°Actually, the only reason why Apex is over there is because we¡¯re over here.¡± He corrected him, mimicking Rory pointing to Apex and then pointing to where they were for emphasis.
¡°Yeah, but that¡¯s just it. What¡¯s so important that they move in here to try and take this store out? Do they just want us gone or do they want another store location?¡± Rory asked.
¡°Even if they were to succeed, which they won¡¯t, then they would have TWO whole stores in this fucking plaza.¡± Rory said, holding up two fingers for extra emphasis.
¡°Like, whoop-dee-fucking-doo, man. Great job Apex. Your goals are absolutely fucking pathetic and petty.¡± He grumbled.
¡°PLUS! That¡¯s another thing. They don¡¯t need another store, but they keep attacking this dinky little store where nothing ever happens and rarely ever gets customers. Like, what¡¯s up with that? I just can¡¯t figure out what they fucking want with this store.¡± Rory rambled on.
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¡°It¡¯s pretty annoying that they do keep attacking. I like this place when it¡¯s quiet and peaceful but those guys really like throwing a wrench into that.¡± Cassius said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
¡°Why do you like this place for that? Isn¡¯t it kind of¡I dunno, boring?¡± Rory asked.
¡°It¡¯s a nice break from my chaotic as hell friends.¡± Cassius told him.
¡°Things get hectic when all five of us are together and I need a break from that sometimes.¡± He added.
¡°Maybe you should just consider new friends if they wear you out so easily.¡± Rory commented.
¡°My friends are just fine.¡± Cassius assured him.
¡°And you choose to come hang out with me to take a break from them? I¡¯m flattered.¡± Rory cheekily remarked.
¡°Don¡¯t flatter yourself too much.¡± Cassius quickly retorted.
Rory frowned.
¡°You hate me.¡± He sulked.
Cassius rolled his eyes.
¡°Okay, why do you keep coming here then?¡± he suddenly asked.
The question stunned Rory. He was at a complete loss for words. The question had never come his way, and he had never put any kind of thought into it. Coming to the Dragonbyte was just a part of his routine, something he had been doing for so long that he no longer questioned it.
¡°I¡¯ll answer that for you. You keep coming here because the pay is nice, the AC is top notch, and even with those assholes at Apex trying to ruin things we have never had a stressful day of work. Ever.¡± Cassius emphasized his last word.
¡°You know, you¡¯re right. Even before you showed up, those losers were never able to succeed. It¡¯s always fun fighting with them, actually. Plus, the pay is pretty nice.¡± Rory agreed.
¡°I still want to complain about work. It¡¯s my right to.¡± He tacked on.
¡°You do like to complain.¡± Cassius chuckled.
¡°But you know, it¡¯s hard to argue that the pay here is really nice and honestly that probably makes it all the more worth it.¡± Rory said.
¡°You fuckin¡¯ know it.¡± Cassius smirked.
¡°You know, I wonder if they ever would¡¯ve succeeded if you hadn¡¯t shown up.¡± Rory wondered aloud.
Cassius shrugged.
¡°Who knows, if they were doing that badly against this place without me here then they probably wouldn¡¯t have ever succeeded.¡± He suggested.
¡°Maybe¡¡± Rory trailed off, scratching his chin.
¡°Maybe we can launch an attack on Apex first now.¡± Cassius jokingly suggested.
¡°MAYBE.¡± Rory scratched his chin more.
But his face had shifted from a look of concern to confidence.
¡°How far can you push your telekinesis?¡± He then asked.
¡°Not sure.¡± Cassius shrugged.
He was lying though.
Cassius was in a unique situation where he possessed a few supernatural abilities. His telekinesis was something he used quite frequently when he was alone, and he knew exactly how far he could push it. His ability did have its limits but only in the number of objects he could lift. The weight of an object did not matter. It was extremely useful but quite odd that it worked that way.
He had accidentally revealed his telekinesis to Rory about a year ago. An accident occurred while they were in the receiving area in the back. Rory fell off a ladder and Cassius instinctively used his telekinesis to catch him, preventing him from cracking his head open on the concrete ground.
Rory was not the first to find out about his abilities, but he did take it pretty well.
¡°You could still wreak some serious havoc if you were to just go in there and start flinging shit.¡± Rory said with a devilish smirk.
¡°I could probably cause a lot of mayhem, but we¡¯ll save that for a last resort. They¡¯d have to do something incredibly heinous for me to go and reveal my power like that.¡± Cassius gave a wry chuckle.
¡°Yeah¡Not to mention the other consequences it would have if the whole world found out.¡± Rory said.
¡°Yeah.¡± Cassius nodded.
He crossed his arms and thought about it briefly.
¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready for the world to know what I can do.¡±
The thought gave him chills.
¡°I don¡¯t think the world is ready either.¡± Rory admitted.
¡°Do you think you could do that little coin trick you can do?¡± he then asked, beaming a bit like a child in a candy store.
¡°Yeah, sure.¡±
Cassius used his telekinesis to float a handful of coins out of the tray underneath the counter. He made them gracefully dance over the countertop and then sent them out into the store. They flew through the aisles, danced on top of the CRTs, spelled out a few words in the air, and then Cassius made them spin into a coin tornado before sending them back into the coin tray.
¡°Damn, it still blows my mind.¡± Rory laughed.
He did a few slow claps.
¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Cassius shrugged.
¡°Imagine if you were to do the dance with like¡blades or something.¡± Rory said.
There were stars in his eyes as he pictured it.
¡°Yeah, that would be something.¡± Cassius chuckled uneasily.
Episode 3: Dragon Watching
Across the way, on top of the APEX building, two Apex employees were staked out. One of them was vigilantly watching the Dragonbyte while the other sat nearby.
¡°So, what are they doing?¡± Gui asked.
Lazarus turned around slowly, still holding the binoculars up to his eyes. He looked at Gui with them and just for a second his face was ultra close and funny looking. He then lowered them slowly and stared at him.
¡°What?¡± Lazarus asked, slightly aggravated.
¡°C¡¯mon man, I asked, what are they doing now?¡± Gui repeated.
¡°You know, I am getting really fucking sick of answering that.¡± Lazarus said, extremely aggravated.
¡°You¡¯re the one with the fucking binoculars. I can¡¯t see shit, dude. Maybe if you let me use them once in a while I wouldn¡¯t be asking you. So, don¡¯t get on my fucking case about it.¡± Gui laid into him.
¡°Okay, okay, look. They appear to be doing the same thing that they do every day.¡± Lazarus said.
¡°Which is?¡± Gui asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.
¡°Talking. All they do is talk.¡± Lazarus said calmly.
¡°That¡¯s all they ever do and that¡¯s all they probably ever will do.¡± He continued.
¡°BECAUSE THAT FUCKING STORE NEVER HAS CUSTOMERS. THEY HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO DO BUT TALK. SO, THAT¡¯S ALL THEY DO IS JUST IN THERE AND FUCKING TALK!¡± Lazarus yelled.
A few people in the parking lot could faintly hear his yelling, looking up trying to pinpoint the source of the noise. They couldn¡¯t figure it out.
¡°What do you think they¡¯re talking about?¡± Gui asked.
He had completely tuned out all of Lazarus¡¯ yelling.
¡°I fucking hate you Gui.¡± Lazarus groaned.
¡°I know you do.¡± Gui chuckled wryly.
He then had a realization as he remembered something.
¡°Hey, wait, they don¡¯t always talk. What about when the other Apex guys go over there to hassle them?¡± Gui asked, bringing up a valid point.
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¡°Well, anytime I¡¯m watching them, they¡¯re always talking.¡± Lazarus said.
He rolled his eyes and then went back to watching the Dragonbyte with his binoculars.
¡°Maybe you shouldn¡¯t use absolutes like that.¡± Gui said.
Lazarus just huffed instead of giving a real response.
While Lazarus was into the idea of spying on the competition, it was done more out of curiosity than because he was ordered to. He wasn¡¯t up on the roof by choice. He had been assigned to it after a few bouts of insubordination. He had simply been doing a better job at managing some things than the managers and they didn¡¯t like that. His making valid points to their arguments only made them madder.
It had put him in a unique position and from that position he knew a few important things about the competition, but the main one was something that he kept very close to the belt. He had witnessed Cassius use his power and that meant that he was aware of the reason why Cassius was able to do exactly what he could.
After spotting it, he had made the decision to vehemently refuse Gui when he asked to use the binoculars. He wasn¡¯t going to tell his managers either even though they expected updates if anything was spotted. The knowledge of Cassius¡¯ power was his and his alone among the Apex employees.
He couldn¡¯t take any chances that they found out about it.
Gui just saw Lazarus as someone who was kind of stingy. The only time he spent with Lazarus was the time they had up on the roof together. He did not have a lot to go off of. Nor was Gui the sort of person to theorize about what someone might be like outside of work. He took people at face value, which in this case meant that Lazarus was the sort of person that annoyed him.
His reason for being on the roof was because he hadn¡¯t been doing his job the exact way that he should¡¯ve been doing it, but that didn¡¯t stop him from quickly finishing his tasks. He was a good employee without actually being a good employee. He had so many complaints against him because he was constantly flirting with customers. The managers did the only thing they saw fit to do that they actually could. Which was to exile him up on the roof away from customers.
¡°Hey, do you ever wonder why they want us to watch that store anyway?¡± Gui asked, breaking the silence after a few minutes.
¡°I do from time to time, but I don¡¯t put a lot of thought into it.¡± Lazarus answered.
¡°Like, it¡¯s just a dinky little tech store. Is it really that important that this store monitor and harass them?¡± Gui continued.
Lazarus put the binoculars down and turned back to him.
¡°They¡¯ve been trying to shut it down before we both worked here. I don¡¯t really get it, but they made a mistake putting us up here to ¡®monitor¡¯ them.¡± Lazarus said, using air quotes.
¡°What do you mean?¡± Gui tilted his head, not really getting it.
¡°I don¡¯t go tell them anything about what¡¯s happening. And you definitely don¡¯t go telling our managers about anything.¡± Lazarus explained.
¡°Well, all they do is talk. It¡¯s not like we really need to report anything anyways.¡± Gui said.
¡°And if they ever do anything more exciting, we¡¯re not gonna tell them anyways.¡± Lazarus added.
¡°I ain¡¯t no fuckin¡¯ narc.¡± Gui asserted.
He paused.
¡°Unless it¡¯s that Douglas guy doing something. I¡¯ll narc on him, but only him.¡± Gui groaned.
¡°Agreed. Douglas kinda sucks.¡± Lazarus nodded.
Gui¡¯s jaw then suddenly dropped.
¡°What? What is it?¡± Lazarus asked.
Gui simply pointed up into the sky.
Lazarus turned around and spotted a hover van descending into the Plaza. The van had the logo of the Dragonbyte sprayed onto its side.
¡°No fucking way.¡± Lazarus said in disbelief.
The Dragonbyte obtaining a delivery van was the very last thing he expected to see.
Episode 4: Operation Change
Rory lightly smacked Cassius¡¯ arm to get his attention.
¡°Dude, check it out.¡± He said, pointing towards the front of the store.
Cassius looked up and turned his gaze to where Rory pointed.
¡°You gotta be kidding me.¡± He chuckled.
They both saw the hover van sitting out front.
The side they could see had an image of a dragon wrapped around a CRT TV and drawn on the screen of the television was the Dragonbyte logo and text.
¡°It¡¯s kind of awesome, actually.¡± Rory admitted.
¡°Only kind of.¡± Cassius said, nodding in agreement.
¡°I think the logo would look better on a beat-up conversion van.¡± He added.
¡°What, like, one of those vans a guy in a band would drive? Like a van someone covers the back in carpets and blasts music from the 1980s while driving it?¡± Rory asked for clarification.
¡°Yeah, exactly.¡± Cassius said.
¡°That¡¯s kinda weird man.¡± Rory shook his head in disappointment.
¡°You just don¡¯t see my vision.¡± Cassius shrugged.
¡°I don¡¯t know if I want to.¡± Rory said.
Outside, the driver jumped out of the van. He walked to the front and leaned up against it. He slipped the cigarette that was resting behind his ear into his mouth. He then produced a lighter and very carefully lit it.
¡°Ah, fuck. Shoulda guessed this would be something Armand cooked up.¡± Rory sighed.
Armand was essentially a manager for the store even though that wasn¡¯t his official title. He had the appearance of someone that was more suited to be a military sergeant than a guy managing an outdated tech store.
¡°We should probably brace for anything.¡± Rory suggested.
¡°Yeah, who knows what he¡¯s got cooked up this time.¡± Cassius said.
Then suddenly the back door of the van opened. Their other coworker Niko jumped out of it. He reached back in to grab a moving dolly and easily maneuver a large box out. It was suspiciously shaped like an old arcade cabinet.
¡°Wonder what that is.¡± Rory commented.
¡°Dunno but it looks big. Maybe he finally found one of those arcade cabinets he¡¯s been looking for?¡± Cassius guessed.
¡°There¡¯s no fucking way.¡± Rory immediately rejected the idea, ignoring that the box was shaped exactly like that.
Niko made his way into the store. He pushed the huge box through the door so hard that it didn¡¯t even trigger the synth that was nailed to the ceiling which usually played a quick chime to let them know someone entered. He then pushed it through the space in front of the TV wall while completely ignoring Cassius and Rory. The two of them noticed that Niko had a disgusting look of pleasure on his face. They silently agreed with one another that it was better not to talk to him while he was like that.
Niko pushed his way through the door that led into the back hallway. Once the door closed behind him, he was finally out of sight. Cassius and Rory tried to erase the image of Niko¡¯s twisted face from their minds. Unfortunately, it was stuck in there.
A few moments later Armand stepped inside.
¡°Alright, you two. Out front. On the double.¡± He ordered.
Cassius and Rory looked at each other.
¡°Fuck.¡± Rory mouthed.
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They got up and headed out front.
Cassius gave the van a once over. It looked like a pretty standard cargo van that had been given a hover conversion and had slight modifications to the back that made it just a little larger. The exterior was gun metal gray and the actual hover wheels looked like someone¡¯s interpretation of sci-fi wheels that went for style over function.
¡°Would either of you like to guess what¡¯s going on and why I brought you two out here?¡± Armand asked.
¡°You just wanted us to see your new toy?¡± Cassius offered up as a guess.
¡°Good guess.¡± Armand said.
He then looked at Rory.
¡°Uh, because you want our shift to be over early and you¡¯re going to take us somewhere in your new toy here?¡± Rory asked, both sarcastically and hopefully.
¡°Oh, yeah, that¡¯s exactly it.¡± Armand started.
¡°Shift¡¯s over. I¡¯m gonna take you and Cass here out to eat. We¡¯re gonna go order drive thru somewhere and I¡¯m gonna get you a nice big glass of SHUT THE FUCK UP.¡± He aggressively remarked.
¡°Well, it was a worth a shot.¡± Rory said, unfazed.
He shrugged while looking over at Cassius.
¡°But no. It seems that Corporate has seen fit to increase our numbers here. For the first time in several years, we¡¯ll be getting a new member of the store.¡± Armand revealed.
¡°Cass has only been working here for two years.¡± Rory pointed out.
¡°Cassius is what we refer to as an Important Asset, more valuable than a simple member of the store. His ability to quickly dispatch the enemy is unparalleled. His time here is more meaningful and therefore he stands in a category of his own.¡± Armand explained.
Cassius laughed wryly.
¡°It¡¯s really not that big of a deal.¡± He said, trying to wave it off.
¡°I really don¡¯t need to hear you sing Cassius¡¯ praises. Especially not out here in the heat. You could¡¯ve just told us we were getting a new employee inside. Ya know, in the air-conditioned store?¡± Rory¡¯s annoyance was making itself known.
¡°Hearing announcements in the heat makes you remember them.¡± Armand declared.
¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s how it works.¡± Rory countered.
¡°Plus, there are some other things in the back that need to be moved out and immediately put on the shelves.¡± Armand added.
He ignored Rory¡¯s comment entirely.
¡°Rory won¡¯t like it, but we can move things.¡± Cassius chimed in.
¡°Good. Get to work.¡± Armand said.
Armand walked inside and headed towards the back. No doubt he was going to use the break room and stay there for a while rather than supervise the two employees that he was supposed to be managing.
Cassius and Rory, meanwhile, looked inside the back of the van. Aside from the space where Niko and his box had been, the rest of the boxes were unmarked and all about the same size. Cassius jumped in and pushed a few boxes to Rory.
¡°There¡¯s no way you expect me to carry some of these when you could just use your telekinesis.¡± Rory said, sounding offended.
¡°Now¡¯s not the time for jokes, Rory. You pick that shit up, right the fuck now.¡± Cassius barked.
¡°OKAY!¡± Rory panicked.
He quickly stacked the boxes and headed inside with them.
Cassius stacked several boxes and kept them stable with his telekinesis. Between the two of them they got all of the boxes inside in just a couple trips.
They let Armand know they were done. He confirmed that everything had been moved and then took the van and parked it at the back of the building by their receiving door. He took off afterwards, he wasn¡¯t going to stick around. He had even less interest in watching the two stock shelves than he had supervising them unpacking the van.
They got to putting stuff on the shelves after they made sure he was gone.
¡°So, a new recruit.¡± Rory said.
¡°Wonder what kind of person we¡¯ll get this time.¡± Cassius responded.
¡°Maybe someone normal for once?¡± Rory chuckled.
¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible for someone to work here and be normal.¡± Cassius said, straight faced.
¡°That¡That might be true.¡± Rory said, slightly surprised.
He then paused to think about it.
¡°Niko looks like he should be the frontman for a metal band. Armand¡¯s an out of place jarhead. Ruby is a fucking delinquent, and I don¡¯t know how she has a job here still. Xavier¡¯s gotta be the laziest fucking employee I¡¯ve ever seen. And Wesley thinks he¡¯s the smartest motherfucker in the room but that¡¯s only when the room is empty.¡± He rambled his thoughts aloud.
¡°And then there¡¯s us. You¡¯ve got fucking powers and I¡¡±
He paused again, reluctant to say anything bad about himself. Cassius watched his whole internal struggle while mindlessly floating things out of the boxes and onto the shelves.
¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing wrong with me actually. I¡¯m normal.¡± Rory declared.
Cassius nearly choked hearing that.
¡°Dude, if you¡¯re normal, normal¡¯s fucked.¡± He quipped.
¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?!¡± Rory cried out.
¡°Saying you¡¯re normal is definitely not normal.¡± Cassius said.
Rory sighed.
¡°Fine.¡±
¡°What about Lyndon? You forgot about him.¡± Cassius then pointed out.
¡°Lyndon is a criminal. Like, actually for real.¡± Rory asserted forcefully.
¡°I think he might just be eccentric.¡± Cassius said.
¡°Eccentric or not, that guy wigs me out.¡± Rory shivered.
Even just thinking about it gave him goosebumps.
¡°Man, what the hell is most of this shit?¡± Rory asked, changing subjects.
He held up what looked like a small robot in one hand and a small box with some dials, a metal loop on one side, and a tall metal rod on the other.
¡°That is an old console buddy add-on, and the other thing is a theremin.¡± Cassius said.
He recognized both things instantly, knowing what they were thanks to his friends.
¡°How the hell did Armand get his hands on these?¡± Rory asked, slightly in disbelief.
¡°I don¡¯t want to know, actually. Let¡¯s just finish putting this shit on the selves.¡± Cassius urged.
¡°Good point. Let¡¯s just finish this up.¡± Rory agreed.
Episode 5: The Newbies Plight
Far earlier than usual, his alarm began to blare, sounding like it was an alert for an incoming nuclear bomb threat. It needed to be something extremely loud in order to wake him up. After all, he had made the mistake of staying out late, but he had managed to get away from his so-called friends so he wouldn¡¯t have to explain his actions in the morning if they caught him sneaking out. Plus, he always felt more comfortable sleeping in his own bed and for a day like this he wanted to be fully rested.
Despite its noise, even after blaring for thirty minutes, he still hadn¡¯t woken up.
Eventually, Elowen Blythe, one of the servants of the Donahue household that had been tasked with keeping an eye on him entered his room. She casually stepped over to the alarm clock and turned it off.
¡°Master Myron. It¡¯s time for you to awaken.¡± Elowen said, standing over his bed.
He did not stir at all hearing her voice.
Myron had tossed and turned so much while sleeping that his covers had been thrown off. They were bunched up in the corner at the edge of his bed.
Without any hesitation she reached down, grabbed him by the shoulders, and shook him vigorously. It took about thirty seconds of shaking before Myron finally came to.
He slowly opened his eyes, blinked a few times, and then shouted. He pulled away from her, grabbed his blankets, and hid under them.
¡°What do you want, Elowen?¡± Myron asked, his voice slightly muffled by his blankets.
¡°Your alarm has been going off for some time now. I thought it would help if I provided some assistance and woke you up.¡± Elowen said, speaking in a polite tone.
Myron crawled out from under the covers and looked at his clock.
¡°OH NO!¡± He yelled.
He then smacked the clock off his bedside table as hard as he could. Elowen caught it effortlessly.
¡°Come now. That¡¯s no way to act.¡± She spoke, calmly putting the clock back down in its spot on the table.
¡°It is! I¡¯m behind schedule!¡± Myron raised his voice in a panic.
He scrambled out of bed and started looking for something to wear. He needed something kind of formal but not too formal. Ideally, an outfit that gave off rich boy vibes but only just barely. It would be overkill, but it was that kind of outfit or nothing at all.
¡°You still have plenty of time to dye your hair and sneak out for your appointment.¡± She spoke.
Myron froze like a deer in headlights. He slowly turned to look at her.
¡°You¡¯re not very good at hiding things. I¡¯m impressed none of the other servants figured out that you were up to something. I¡¯m especially shocked none of your so-called friends noticed either.¡± She continued.
Myron groaned.
¡°Fret not. I¡¯ll help you.¡± Elowen assured him.
Myron immediately brightened up.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
¡°For real? And you won¡¯t tell anyone?¡± Myron asked, beaming.
¡°If you wish for it to remain between us, then it shall.¡± Elowen said, smiling sweetly.
Though there was something just off enough about her smile that it creeped Myron out.
¡°OKAY! No more time to waste!¡± He declared.
He hastily decided on an outfit and immediately set to work getting his hair dyed. With Elowen¡¯s help and a few tricks that she had up her sleeves, it was done faster than it should¡¯ve taken but it was still rushed, and some parts were undyed.
¡°You think they¡¯ll notice?¡± Myron asked.
He was staring in the mirror at himself. He had changed his hair to black from the bright neon pink that he had previously. The tips of his hair, however, were still that bright neon pink.
¡°It¡¯s hard not to miss. It is such a bright pink you chose this time.¡± Elowen commented.
¡°I think you¡¯re right.¡± Myron sighed.
He twirled one of the tips in his fingers.
¡°Whatever. It doesn¡¯t matter. I pretty much have the job, I just gotta show up.¡± He then said.
He turned from the mirror back to Elowen.
¡°How do I look?¡± He asked.
¡°Under qualified and overdressed.¡± she said bluntly.
¡°You are so cruel, Elowen.¡± he said, sounding hurt.
¡°But you¡¯re probably right.¡± He added.
He grabbed his phone and looked at the time on it. He still had plenty of time to get to where he needed to be, but it was going to be close.
¡°Have you taken precautions for your friends who usually arrive soon?¡± Elowen asked.
¡°All taken care of.¡± He assured her.
He gave her a thumbs up and a sparkling smile.
¡°Your confidence doesn¡¯t give me any confidence in the matter.¡± Elowen said, shaking her head slightly.
¡°Well, I¡¯m going now so even if they do show up¡¡± He started, turning back to the mirror.
¡°I¡¯ll be long gone.¡± He said, fixing his hair a little more.
¡°OKAY! Let¡¯s go!¡±
He was about to dart out the door, but Elowen grabbed him. He looked at her and was about to say something, but she stopped him. She then walked over to his closet, opened the door and stepped inside. When he didn¡¯t follow, she had to step back out and gesture for him to come along.
Myron¡¯s closet was huge, it was practically a small warehouse of its own. Elowen guided him to the back of it.
¡°If you go out through your usual way, you¡¯ll be spotted and stopped. Your father has chosen this morning to have some of his Corporate Colleagues over.¡± Elowen began.
¡°Yeah, but what does that have to do with going deep into my closet?¡± he asked, cutting her off.
¡°Come now, Master Myron. You really think a house this big doesn¡¯t have other ways of getting around?¡± She resumed.
Elowen moved a rack of clothes, revealing a section of the wall with a black outline around it. It was suspiciously shaped like a door. She looked back at Myron while smirking. She pressed two spots on the door and it slid back and off to the side.
Myron¡¯s jaw dropped as the secret passageway was revealed.
¡°Has this been here the whole time?¡± He asked.
¡°Indeed, it has.¡± Elowen said.
¡°Damn, I feel like an idiot.¡± Myron chuckled.
¡°You are an idiot.¡± Elowen said, matter-of-factly.
¡°Oh¡¡± He groaned dejectedly.
She then led him through the passageways. There were a lot of doors that led to other rooms, the middle of hallways, up to the roof, and down to the lowest basements. Myron knew his house was huge, but he hadn¡¯t realized just how big it was.
After several minutes of walking, the two of them stepped out into the underground garage beneath the Donahue Estate.
The underground garage was custom built to have a similar structure to a public parking garage but instead of exposed concrete it was made with special alloys and covered in a white material. The garage was bright, but it had a sterile look to it. All of the cars were clean and reflected lights in specific ways that made their colors pop a lot more than they really needed to.
On the right-side wall next to the secret passage¡¯s exit was a large workbench with a rack of keys beside it. Elowen walked over to the rack and grabbed a specific set of keys. She handed them to Myron and then led him over to one of their more inconspicuous cars.
She had chosen a black sedan with overly tinted windows.
¡°You want me to drive this?¡± he asked, offended.
He looked at it and something about it made him feel gross.
¡°You can¡¯t drive out of here with one of the conspicuous and brightly colored sports cars.¡± Elowen remarked.
¡°But I like to drive those cars.¡± Myron whined.
Elowen shot him a stern look.
¡°Never mind. I¡¯ll drive this one. This one is fine.¡± He quickly said, tensing up.
He got into the car, turned the engine over, and drove off.
Destination? The Dragonwood Plaza.