《Toothland Hotel》 Intro to Cast Wisp hated hotels. Maybe it was the stupid confusing shower knobs, placed inconveniently. Or was it the minibars, always ready to nab from you a quick buck? Perhaps the yellow glow of the harsh artificial lights illuminating hallways of generic doors, generic plants, generic carpet. Which was why he was hesitant to even take up a job as a receptionist. The stories about retail and reception were always terrible, always dealing with obnoxious customers complaining about the littlest things. Couldn¡¯t they see he was just trying to get by? The economy was already shit post-recession, and the hotel offered him free room and board. Pay was trash, but at least he could afford somewhere to live. His first experience with a customer happened about half an hour into his first shift. He had been spending most of his time counting the keys on the wall and getting used to the cash register, with all its bells and whistles. So engrossed in messing with the type function he nearly missed the sound of a jingling bell and the sound of a door opening and closing. Wisp wiped his glasses and put them on, coming face to face with a child. Upon closer inspection, the little guy was actually probably closer to being a teenager, though his short stature did him no favors. Upon his head, a helicopter cap. ¡°Uh, sir? You look a little lost. Do you need any help?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m here to book a room.¡± Company training must have been very bad if it couldn¡¯t even prepare him for his very first ¡°customer¡±. ¡°Do you have money?¡± The teen pulled out a conspicuously bloody wallet from his shorts, bursting at the seams with cash. No joke. Hundred dollar bills. Stuffed in there like a redditor shoving mac and cheese down his throat. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll- I¡¯ll put you on the list. It¡¯ll be $150 a night. How long are you planning to stay?¡± ¡°As long as possible.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll reserve room 42 for you. What name should I register for your room?¡± ¡°Just Vola.¡± Wisp scrolled along the keys on the shelf, coming to 42 and grabbing it and tossing it to Vola, who was absentmindedly looking around the room. He caught the keys without moving his head. ¡°Seventy six.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°I counted the ceiling tiles.¡± He did count the ceiling tiles. He also took the stairs instead of the elevator. Most excruciating was the sound of the damn door keys scratching across the rusty handrails as he ascended the stairs. Made him want to tear his hair out. Or break his fist on concrete. Immediately afterward, some college student walked into the glass sliding doors at the front of the building, momentarily surprised they weren¡¯t pushing doors. From an employees perspective, she was more normal; a book bag slung over the shoulder, rimmed spectacles in one hand and a phone in the other. The only strange thing was the lab coat slung over her shoulders, like she had just been in Chem class or something. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Excuse me, did you happen to see a guy come in here?¡± ¡°I have seen someone come through here, yes.¡± ¡°Did he have a helicopter hat? Kind of scary looking? Counted the-¡± ¡°-ceiling tiles? He¡¯s in room 42. He¡¯s got the keys though, so you may want to knock.¡± ¡°No, it''s fine, he just likes having his own room. Does his own thing sometimes. Sucks having to study and keep track of him at the same time.¡± ¡°Surely a kid could not be that hard to take care of?¡± She stared at him like he was a lunatic. Even took off the glasses, rubbed them, put them back on. ¡°Please don¡¯t say that to his face. I can¡¯t afford to pay the hospital bills. I never even knew keys could be that deadly. I¡¯ll just take the room next to his. How much for a night?¡± ¡°$150 dollars. He did say he was going to stay here as long as he could, though.¡± The student cringed at the thought of spending all that money just to keep a problem child in check. ¡°Okay. I can probably afford that. Room 43 open?¡± ¡°Yup. Here¡¯s the keys. Name please?¡± ¡°People just call me Snake.¡± Wisp wrote it down on his clipboard as Snake took a moment to stuff the coat into the book bag and impatiently push the elevator button. ¡°Oh my god. Vola you bastard. I knew you would do this but I¡¯m still mad about it.¡± Her mumbling was in no way subtle. For ten agonizing seconds, Wisp could do nothing but stand there in utter silence, as Snake waited for the shitty elevator that the boss never paid to fix to descend the floors. He was saved only by divine intervention; another customer! Incredible! Never had he been so happy to get multiple clients at the same time. He paused in his jubilee when he noticed the unusual getup. If he didn¡¯t look at the face, he might¡¯ve mistaken her for your typical high school senior. Coat, t-shirt, jeans, and hair more unruly than even Wisp¡¯s morning bedhead. The only outlier was the mask. A gas mask. Not a new one either: it was more reminiscent of the Cold War. Despite the face obstruction, the voice of woman-who-just-pulled-an-all-nighter came through loud and clear. ¡°Here. Credit Card. Heard this place would be okay for a vacation or something.¡± ¡°Yeah. The hotel is within range of some attractions. Not quite Chasmae real estate, but its alright.¡± ¡°Really? Dave? I thought you said this was the best place to unwind?¡± The man she was referring to came through the sliding doors, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, fedora, Lightning McQueen crocs, Adidas pants, and clutching a brochure for Disneyland tours. ¡°You said you didn¡¯t really like vacations cause it''s too much hustle and bustle, right? So I picked a more out of the way hotel. Less people. More calm.¡± ¡°Probably a lot of money though. How much for a night?¡± ¡°Big one fifty. I checked before we booked. ¡°See? That''s a lot of money. I could commission a lot of art with that much money.¡± ¡°Yeah but you also complain about how tired you are and you know you probably need to unwind a little. Wouldn¡¯t be a very good friend otherwise.¡± Miss Gas Mask looked sulky, which was impressive when she could not show any kind of facial expression whatsoever. Looking up, she noticed Snake, still standing at the stupid probably broken elevator. Walking up to it, she banged on the doors. Hard. There was actually a small (but present) dent showing where she hit the door. Ding! The elevator arrived. Wisp was astonished. What power. Where could he learn this witchcraft? Snake was very grateful, stepping into the elevator. ¡°Finally! Thanks, miss¡­¡± ¡°Acid. Elevators are kinda fickle. You just gotta know how to knock everything into place just right¡­¡± The elevator doors closed on the two of them, leaving just Dave. ¡°Um. Are you going to go with your friend, or are you gonna¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to go get the luggage. We already pre-booked online, by the way. Room 45.¡± Wisp handed him the keys. ¡°Thanks. Sorry about the trouble. She¡¯s just like that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad, actually. This is just my first day. I think I¡¯m going to be getting much weirder customers soon, with how things are going.¡± ¡°Weirder customers? Don¡¯t be so down, man. You can already handle this much and you just started. It¡¯ll be fine.¡± Dave went to take the stairs. He did not grind his keys obnoxiously on the hand rail. Wisp appreciated the kind gesture. Yes, he could already handle this much. He had gone to the meetings and done everything he was supposed to do. Everything would be just fine. (It wouldn¡¯t.) Intro to Cast The Sequel Wisp opened the door to the break room, remembering why he did not often visit this place. Kind of damp, old couch, out of order coffee machine, and a corkboard with random flyers and company eat outs pinned on. The only person who used it was Rico, who would crash here overnight when working late shifts, in just a t-shirt and short shorts. The owner was quite lax with the employee dress code though, so nothing ever really came from it. ¡°Rico. Hey Rico.¡± ¡°Huh? Where? What is it?¡± ¡°Hey Rico. Rico. Hey Rico. Ricooooooooooooooooooo.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m awake now. You don¡¯t have to keep saying that.¡± ¡°You would fall asleep in a half-second if I did stop.¡± Rico rolled off the couch and nabbed a mug off the counter top, placing it in the coffee machine, watching it heat up and dispense a cup of pure black gold. Nothing beats a cup of coffee in the.. Evening. ¡°How are you doing that?¡± ¡°Doing what?¡± ¡°Making coffee. That¡¯s broken. Tried to use it earlier and it didn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°It''s because you¡¯re new. You¡¯ll get used to everything soon.¡± ¡°Why¡¯d you have to refer me to this weird hotel? There¡¯s probably better jobs out there that pay more.¡± ¡°Yeah but they¡¯re not half as interesting. Mr. Bytes tends to attract a lot of strange people to the hotel. Doesn¡¯t even mind their antics as long as they pay.¡± ¡°Then can you take over the front desk?¡± Rico took a long swig from the mug and slammed it down on the just-starting-to-rot coffee table. ¡°For what?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been hearing screaming from upstairs and I wanted to check it out. But someone has to man the front desk. And I went to the break room and there was a man here.¡± ¡°Alright I guess I can do that. Go upstairs or whatever and check it out. You¡¯ll probably see what I mean.¡± He did ¡°man¡± the front desk. If you counted taking a nap in the chair with a fedora over the face working. Wisp was a little peeved about it, but only for a moment. He was more preoccupied with making it up the stairwell alive. He took, like, 30 steps and already his legs were beginning to hurt. Shouldn¡¯t have skipped leg day. Or arm day. Or gym day. Stupid bitch didn¡¯t even work out, besides pedaling on an elliptical for an hour a day, and not even particularly fast. He nearly collapsed getting through the door onto the fourth floor, leaning on the door frame to catch his breath. The woman who was the source of the yelling noticed his appearance. ¡°Excuse me sir, are you an employee? I noticed you have a name badge on your shirt.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Oh. Yes. I¡¯m the desk guy. Heard uh buncha noise from up here. Something the matter?¡± ¡°Yes! My height!¡± Wisp looked at her. She was, what, 5¡¯3? A perfectly okay height for a woman, according to his Shit-I-Learned-From-Google folder. ¡°You seem pretty normal to me. What¡¯s wrong with being 5¡¯3?¡± ¡°The ISSUE is that I¡¯m not 5¡¯3!¡± He checked again. Definitely 5¡¯3. ¡°You definitely look 5¡¯3.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t! I was 5¡¯9! But the guy in this room fucking hexed me with a curse of goblin!¡± Wisp rapped on the door to the room with his knuckles. ¡°Uh, sir, did you happen to hex a woman with a curse of goblin?¡± ¡°Yup! I did!¡± It was Vola. Obviously. ¡°Why would you do that? Though?¡± ¡°Mei said I was short and that she could crush me into dust anytime she wanted because she was two inches taller so I fixed that.¡± ¡°TURN ME BACK! GIVE ME MY 6 INCHES OF HEIGHT BACK! I CAN¡¯T LIVE LIKE THIS!¡± ¡°Not until you admit I¡¯m taller than you.¡± ¡°OKAY! Fine! You¡¯re taller than me! You happy?¡± The door creaked upon a little, enough for Mei to stick her fingers in the gap and push it open, immediately being doused in the face by a bucket of goat¡¯s milk. Wisp was nearly caught in the splash zone, darting back out of range. His Gucci Among Us Slippers were safe for another day. ¡°VOLA YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH OPEN THIS DOOR OR I¡¯M GOING TO GOUGE YOUR EYES OUT¡ª¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t say sorry for telling me you could turn me to dust.¡± ¡°[DIALOGUE EXPUNGED]!!!¡± A hand popped out from a vent on the floor, grasping the keys to Vola¡¯s room. ¡°THANK you, I¡¯m going to commit war crimes on his ass now, please turn away.¡± Halfway through putting the key in the lock did she think to turn around and take a good luck at the vent on the floor. A pair of glowing purple eyes met her gaze. ¡°What the fuck?¡± ¡°Hi! I¡¯m Chasma! I just gave you keys! You wanted the keys. So now you have to give something back!¡± ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t really, have anything on me right now¡­¡± She looked down at her clothes. ¡°And I¡¯m also sopping wet with goat¡¯s milk, so I don¡¯t think anything I have you would really want¡­¡± Wisp pulled out a pack of Gushers from his pocket. Because he had multiple packs of them. ¡°Do you want Gushers?¡± Chasma took the Gushers and disappeared into the vent system, letting the metal grate squeak shut. Mei stared at the now closed vent while trying to wring out her clothes. ¡°Thank you for the save.¡± ¡°...I guess. Gushers do solve everything.¡± Job well done! Mission complete! He couldn¡¯t even believe how well he handled that, traipsing down the stairwell with glee to the tune of domestic abuse going on behind him. It would probably be fine. Although Snake did say Vola was good with the keys¡­ Might want to call the hospital just in case. Coming down to the lobby, he saw Acid talking with Snake on the couches and chairs lining the walls, working on schoolwork or whatever. Dave and Rico were chatting across the counter about something. Didn¡¯t know, Wisp just tuned it out. The noise dulled in intensity. He could not hope to talk to so many people at once. It would be better to simply sit in a spinny stool chair at the receptionist desk and pretend to not notice. Maybe play Brawl Stars or something on his phone. Anything else to look busy. Found himself staring as his lock screen instead, not knowing what to do. He felt a little guilty for not talking. For not being a little more normal and doing the things expected of him. Dunno. Everything else just seemed a little less colorful. ¡°Hello. Hello? Employee Person?¡± Oh. Customer. Yes. Someone wearing a hoodie and jeans. No luggage. Few personal possessions. ¡°Uh yes. That¡¯s me. Room is 150 a night. Room 44 has¡­ just become free. Is that okay¡­ miss¡­?¡± For a few seconds he thought he had got it wrong or something, but they just reached into a pocket and pulled out a credit card to place on the countertop. He slid it through the register. It bounced. Card was very nearly maxed out. He opened his mouth a smidgen to tell them, thought better of it, and closed his mouth. He could make out the shivering even under their clothes, of someone who¡¯d been out in the cold too long or someone without a place to go. ¡°Here¡¯s your keys. What name should it be registered under?¡± ¡°...Kyki.¡± He gave them the keys to Room 44. They pulled the hood off their head and tapped the elevator button, which summoned the elevator momentarily to bring them up to their room. Despite being still half broken. He pulled out his own credit card to swipe it through as he watched them go. If there was a god, hopefully it was watching him right now. Serve and Be Served Imagine: Wisp having to serve people. Like a butler. Like bringing things to their room and stuff. The mere thought of it rubbed him the wrong way. He wasn¡¯t some servant at the beck and call of others! He had dignity! Someday the people would respect him, instead of pointing and laughing at him when he crossed the street, he decided, as he stepped out of the elevator in a suit holding a plate of caviar to be delivered to room 52. Who the hell orders caviar? He didn¡¯t even know the place stocked it? Surely if there was enough money for luxurious food, they could afford to fix the fucking elevator? Instead he had to stand there for 10 minutes waiting for the stupid metal box to go down, like, 8 floors. And the whole time people were staring at him. Embarrassing stuff. ¡°Hello? Room Service for 52. Anyone there?¡± The door slid open instead of swinging open, which was strange because he was pretty sure every single door in this place was a normal door. Standing there was, and bear with me here, Unze. From the channel Femboy Gaming. ¡°Holy shit! You¡¯re Unze! From the channel Femboy Gaming!¡± ¡°Yeah. I get that a lot.¡± ¡°Oh. You¡¯re not Unze?¡± ¡°No, I am. That¡¯s why I get it a lot. Thanks for the caviar.¡± ¡°Wow. I didn¡¯t know you streamed from a hotel like this. Aren¡¯t you, like, absolutely stacked? You could probably afford a better place than this.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what the viewers are expecting. None of them will think I¡¯m squatting in a perfectly normal hotel off Route 68.¡± ¡°We serve caviar on our menu. I don¡¯t think this is a normal hotel.¡± ¡°You just haven¡¯t experienced a new normal yet!¡± ¡°Does anyone else know you¡¯re here? I¡¯m like a huge fan.¡± ¡°No, I usually stay inside and get room service to put it in front of the door. I guess you must be new. So, you¡¯re a huge fan, huh? ;)¡± ¡°How did you do that?¡± ¡°Do what?¡± ¡°The winky face.¡± ¡°Is it a yes or a no?¡± ¡°Sorry, the employee code says that¡¯s off limits.¡± ¡°:(¡° Wisp was impressed by his ability to turn expressions into words, but he had a job to do and he couldn¡¯t afford to lose it. He still hadn¡¯t told Kyki he¡¯d been paying for their room and he didn¡¯t even swing that way to begin with (probably). He was subsequently jumpscared by the sound of a vent slamming open behind him, nearly dropping the plate. ¡°Did you say Unze? From the channel Femboy Gaming?¡± ¡°Yup. That¡¯s me. Unze from the channel Femboy Gaming.¡± A single impossibly skinny arm extended out from the floor, 6 ft up, all the way to Unze¡¯s face. ¡°Can I get an autograph?¡± Clutched in its grasp was a pristine, unwrinkled, factory new index card, coupled with a quill and an inkwell. Unze demonstrated his incompetence with old-era writing utensils, as he tried desperately to get the quill to hold ink. After 394 seconds, he was used enough to the pen to scribble out his signature in shoddy cursive. The arm retracted into the vent with its prize. Wisp caught it by the finger just before it slipped away. ¡°Unze just gave you something. Doesn¡¯t that mean you have to give something back?¡± ¡°But I asked for it without saying I would have to give anything back. So it''s like a gift.¡± ¡°Are you trying to weasel your way out of your due diligence?¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°No. I would never do that. I am just right, and you are wrong.¡± And Wisp felt all of a sudden persuaded to agree. He saw colors upon colors, iridescent bubbles filled with all his happy memories and the sum of his contentment. Then his dazed grin slipped from his face, and his world was gray. For there were precious few bubbles, and those that were began to melt and fade away. He gripped the hand tighter. ¡°Give him what he deserves, Chasma.¡± ¡°Okay. Fine. Take this stupid thing anyway, I don¡¯t need it. Simp for Unze. See if I care.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not si-¡± Wisp got utterly clocked in the face by a pinkish, throbbing vial of unknown substance. Upon landing on the floor, the wood cracked from being impacted by the glass. Unze picked up the concoction. ¡°...Thanks?¡± ¡°Someone had to do it. Otherwise it¡¯d keep swiping my goddamn Gushers. My stockpile keeps shrinking mysteriously and it''s easy to tell who keeps taking it.¡± ¡°The label says this is a Potion of Seduction.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my cue to leave! Here¡¯s your plate, I¡¯ll be going, I¡¯ve got places to be¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you could stay here a bit longer and help me test my new present¡­ :)¡± Never had he been so worried about a smiley face before. And then, oh! Saved by the bell! Aka the ring of his phone, playing the really stupid ringtone Rico had changed it to the day before that he had never noticed. ?? Two trucks having sex, two trucks having sex! My muscles, my muscles, involuntarily flex!?? Wisp added a mental note to add a pinch of ricin to Rico¡¯s coffee later on. ¡°Aha, sorry, I¡¯m busy, lots of stuff to do, gotta take this call bye!¡± He swiftly fled into the stairwell to the chagrin of Unze. ¡°I¡¯ll be here if you change your mind!¡± Wisp was at least glad his luck could not get any better/worse than this as he took the call. ¡°Hello, Tooth Hotel employee here, how may I help you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me, Wisp.¡± ¡°Oh. Sorry Mr. Bytes. I¡¯m just used to customers calling my personal phone all the time.¡± ¡°Why do you let them?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. You posted mine on the wall in the lobby as our helpline. I keep getting calls from Dave about dragging Acid out of her room and many requests for first aid kits around the hotel.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll get on it soon. Did The Incident turn out okay?¡± ¡°Mei will be discharged from the hospital soon. Vola¡¯s been sulking in his room with a concussion and a black eye he won¡¯t let anyone treat. He tried to sue her for assault, but the judge was browsing through Instagram and said Vola was too short (not 6 ft) so she wouldn¡¯t take the case. And then Mei heard about it and called my phone while I was visiting him to tell Vola that he was a little baby man¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. The security I hired will keep the two apart.¡± ¡°You think security is gonna stop him? Did you see what happened to Mei? The hospital bill was enormous!¡± ¡°It''s the best we can do. After all, the customer¡­¡± ¡°... is always right. I know. I just didn¡¯t think catering to the people here would be that hard.¡± ¡°Hang in there. It¡¯ll get better. I promise.¡± The line went dead and he sat down on the steel steps. Mr. Bytes was a very strange man, always bringing out the weird in people. Tended to attract the wackos too. Which might mean Wisp was a wacko as well. God, this hotel was so confusing. ¡°You okay?¡± Kyki took a seat next to him on the stairs. ¡°How¡¯d you know I was here?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. I just came out here to sit.¡± ¡°You come out here just to sit?¡± ¡°You¡¯re doing it too, aren¡¯t you?¡± Wisp looked down, and yes, he was sitting on the stairs. ¡°I guess I am.¡± ¡°Are you happy as a hotel worker?¡± ¡°I mean, it''s not really my cup of tea. I¡¯ve never really liked the idea of working, and it''s always very tiring. Too much responsibility. Kind of wish I could just¡ª¡± ¡°Run away?¡± ¡°Yeah. How¡¯d you¡ª oh.¡± ¡°If I can do it, you can too. Nothing¡¯s stopping you. Just get a few credit cards and use those instead of working.¡± ¡°But I can¡¯t do that, I need money to eat and sleep and not go into debt and pay for your room. Responsibility follows me wherever I go.¡± ¡°You¡¯re paying for my room?¡± ¡°Your credit card maxed out and I didn¡¯t feel like telling you to go back outside in the cold.¡± Kyki stood up and started walking down the stairs. ¡°Wait, what? Where are you going?¡± They looked up at him from the lower floor. ¡°I¡¯ll take over a shift for you. Then I can pay for my own room and your bank account will get to live another day.¡± ¡°...thank you.¡± And Wisp conked out, right there on the steps. No pillow, no blanket. Severe risk of hypothermia. Completely unsupervised. At high risk of getting stepped on accidentally in his sleep. Kyki just kept walking down the stairs, wondering how hard a job interview could possibly be. Wisp sat down on the break room couch heavily, glancing at his phone for a whole two seconds before tossing it on the table. ¡°How¡¯d you get the coffee machine to work again anyway? I don¡¯t know how to use it at all.¡± Rico filled up another mug and handed it to him. ¡°It was pretty easy once you know how the parts work and come together.¡± ¡°By the way, why do you always add so many sugar cubes to your coffee?¡± Rico sipped from his mug and reached into a little bowl nearby, pulling out a few little white bits and dropping them in. ¡°See? Like that! What was that, four cubes?¡± ¡°What do you mean coffee?¡± Wisp shook his head and took a big sip of coffee, expecting it to be warm and fresh, and was met with liquid magma. Or the equivalent. Like liquid satan. He nearly spilled the whole thing on himself (and he was glad he didn¡¯t. That¡¯s like third degree burns in the making). ¡°Jesus christ, Rico! Hot chocolate? At 200 degrees Celsius? Masochist?!¡± ¡°You get used to the heat eventually.¡± Rico slugged down the whole thing in 6 seconds, marshmallows and all. Wisp was horrified. ¡°Do you have any idea what that does to your blood sugar levels?¡± Rico chucked the mug at his face and he caught it in midair and pushed himself up to wash it in the sink. A Stand Mei could not believe the size of the hospital bill. American healthcare was truly outrageous. How were MLMs banned yet Big Pharma allowed to operate? She was going to have a word with the U.S. Government, and also Vola after purchasing a taser, a knife, and a Glock 19. This time he would have no choice but to unhex her, or face the consequences. Today would be a good day, she thought, as she realized that no one had come to pick her up and she would have to walk a long way back to her hotel. And no, fuck Uber and Lyft. As the sun began to set over the horizon, great rays of light filtered in through the glass windows at the front of the hotel, showering the lobby in a menagerie of orange and red. Which was cool, but only served to blind Wisp, who was sitting in the receptionist¡¯s chair in the direct path of the light. ¡°Holy shit, where are the curtains? Why don¡¯t we have curtains? I can¡¯t see anything!¡± Acid slumped over on the couch, bored. ¡°It''s just the sun. Put on some sunglasses or something. Kyki never complains as much as you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m the one taking the shifts where this happens. And I¡¯m the one at the desk right now, so too bad!¡± ¡°Can we replace you with Kyki please that would be awesome.¡± ¡°Sometimes they just lock themselves in their room and won¡¯t respond to anyone. It¡¯ll pass.¡± Acid felt betrayed, having to deal with this man existing in her presence for another, like, hour or so. Snake was gesturing to Dave as she waved her hands over a ridiculously large whiteboard. ¡°...and that¡¯s why Sans from Undertale is an ESTP!¡± Dave took a moment to consider the giant, helpfully unhelpful flowchart. Just looking at it made his eyes spin. ¡°Okay. Thank you. That¡¯s really cool. Anyway, I think I should get going. There¡¯s a pyramid exhibit going on in the museum nearby and I got a complementary papyrus coupon for it.¡± ¡°Oh yeah! That reminds me, Papyrus¡¯s personality is influenced by Sans, which actually has some pretty interesting effects on his 16P score¡­¡± Eventually, Dave stopped thinking. The double doors slammed open, cracking from the impact as Mei strolled in clad in a bulletproof vest and ballistic helmet. On the left hip, a taser. On the right, a 9mm Glock 19. Hidden in her shoe soles were two small knives, and her pockets contained actual flashbangs prohibited for civilian use. Also she was riding a giant robot dog made in the image of a Siberian Husky. Acid reached out to touch its shiny chrome exterior. ¡°Mei? Are you preparing for war?¡± ¡°You could call it that, yes.¡± ¡°What¡¯s with the¡­ robo dog?¡± ¡°You mean Den?¡± ¡°You named it already?????¡± ¡°Someone left him in a box in an alleyway and I couldn¡¯t say no¡­¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Acid was astounded. ¡°Someone left a giant robotic husky? That probably cost an exorbitant amount of money? In the equivalent of a trash heap?¡± Mei was unperturbed by the strange circumstance in which she acquired the dog. ¡°Who cares where I found him? What matters is that he¡¯ll be able to maul Vola to death! There¡¯s no way he can cut a big metal dog.¡± Acid gave her the look that all people give when they are confronted by a very intimidating 5¡¯3 woman about to SWAT raid someone with a big metal dog. Snake was much less amused, though. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this, Mei. You know you¡¯re just going to cause a lot of pain and hurt him and yourself.¡± ¡°Nope, I¡¯ll be just fine. I¡¯m wearing armor plating under my jeans.¡± ¡°Emotionally. You¡¯ll be hurt emotionally.¡± Mei thought about what it would feel like to beat the shit out of Vola. ¡°Actually I think I¡¯ll be fine. I can handle beating him up.¡± Snake rubbed her eyes under her glasses and decided to buy eye drops later. Clearly her eyes needed a break. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re, I don¡¯t know, going a bit too far?¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t I¡¯ll stay hexed forever.¡± ¡°Just apologize to him and he¡¯ll make it go away. Vola wouldn¡¯t lie about that.¡± Mei cringed at the thought of it. If she deferred to him now, she¡¯d never hear the end of it. She would always be forced to live in his shadow, bullied by Vola. There was no choice but to make a stand, to show this man that there would be no shenanigans. ¡°If you really want to take revenge on him, there are better ways you know.¡± And Mei was suddenly very interested. ¡°What kind of revenge are we talking about?¡± ¡°Um. The cold and wet kind.¡± ¡°I¡¯m interested.¡± ¡°Can I come?¡± said Acid, excited to do something for once. ¡°Sorry, Acid, but this is a one on one thing with me and Mei. More people means more chances our super-secret plan will be leaked..¡± As Mei and Snake discussed further in the elevator, Dave thanked the stars he was able to escape another hour (or two) of college level lectures on psychology and the theory of mind. He sat down heavily on the couch, stretching his arms. ¡°Hey Acid.¡± ¡°Mm?¡± ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t want to do anything today. Why¡¯d you want to help prank Vola? You hardly even know him.¡± ¡°It sounded like it¡¯d be fun. She¡¯s, like, an interesting gal.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Mei.¡± ¡°If by interesting you mean murderous, yes.¡± ¡°I think we could all use a little more murder in our lives. What¡¯s life without liberal use of chlorine gas?¡± ¡°Of course you, the only one with a gas mask, would say that.¡± ¡°I will not confirm nor deny that.¡± Stepping into Snake¡¯s room, Mei was greeted with walls plastered with papers and posters, books arranged in pyramidal piles, and a carefully balanced camera setup. Snake was using a coffee cup as the stand for a ball mic. Truly a precarious system. ¡°Your room is very¡­ strangely organized.¡± ¡°Yup! Everyone says that at first, but what they don¡¯t know is that this is actually the most efficient way for me to use the available space. Nearly everything is within reach at all times.¡± Mei pushed over a pile of books, picking up a bow and arrow as well as a watch buried under the mess. She inspected the golden watch. ¡°The Cloak and Dagger, model #1?¡± ¡°Oh. That¡¯s my watch. I¡¯ve been looking for it.¡± Snake swiped it out of her hands and slid it on, before taking the bow as well. ¡°Can you tell me if you see any more arrows? I need them for¡­ recreational use.¡± Very organized indeed. ¡°You said you had a way to take revenge on Vola. Something cold and wet.¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s right in here¡­¡± In front of her was a large walk-in closet, locked by a padlock, retina scanner, blood tester, and a combination keypad. ¡°Oh, uh, could you turn away for a second while I unlock the door?¡± Mei stared out the window to the great city beyond, characterized by giant leaning skyscrapers and great big spotlights illuminating the city below, as night fell upon the metropolis of Commonhaven. Meanwhile Snake began opening the door. First a key, then a pierced finger, followed by a scan delivered directly to the eyeball, finished with the code [volanevergotthebola42069]. Hydraulic pistons churned as the door was pushed back, revealing it was less a typical door and more something you would find guarding a bank vault. The inside was cold like a freezer to preserve its contents. ¡°Oh. My. God.¡± Terror gripped her being. This was not something any mortal should lay witness to. Even Den turned its head away at the sight. But to Mei it was riveting. A testament to the cruelty that humans could inflict on others. So she fell to her knees, rife with glee for what Vola would have to see, and a certainty that Snake could not be allowed to spec into weapons research. Ever Chasma, sneaking a glance through the vents, fled in fear and shock and awe. And Mei? She took it all in. Rows upon rows of almonds. Almonds of all kinds. Almond milk, almond cake, almond muffins, almond pastries, almond bread, almond juice, almond trail mix (just almonds) and more nuts than she could count. This would be so much more effective than the stopgap weaponry that she had bought on the way home. Such are the horrors of war. Heat Waves ¡°Tada! The finished product!¡± ¡°That¡¯s cool, but I¡¯m a little biased against animatronics.¡± Wisp did not know that Dave could build animatronics, and was starting to regret asking about it. Every time he looked at the big bear he felt disturbed, like he¡¯d wake up with ¡°Freddy¡± at the foot of his bed (as Dave had dubbed him). ¡°Okay but look at him! I programmed him with some extra functions too. He can sing any song he¡¯s ever heard even if you¡¯ve only played it to him once.¡± That sounded pretty interesting, actually ¡°Any song? No matter how long or short? Played back perfectly?¡± ¡°Yup. There should be no problems at all.¡± Wisp took out his phone and began scrolling through Spotify, playing a song at max volume through the speakers. ?? Road shimmer, Wiggling the vision, Heat heat waves I''m swimming in a mirror ?? ¡°I think that song is too on the nose.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± The music was moderately muted by the constant whirr of multiple fans on full blast, plugged into random wall sockets. Pretty much everyone and everything was damp from the humidity of the weather recently. The AC wasn¡¯t shit (obviously) and the building felt kinda like an oven. Wisp flopped onto the couch, panting from the heat. ¡°Fuckin heat waves. I could go for a dunk in ice cold water right now.¡± Snake tossed him a water bottle. ¡°Be careful what you ask for.¡± The elevator dinged as the metal doors slid open, revealing Vola, sopping wet with almond milk, clutching a meat cleaver. ¡°Snake? Where is Mei?¡± Snake turned away, feigning ignorance, and trying not to tremble. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. Barely talked to her. She just got out of the hospital a few days ago. What¡¯s the problem?¡± ¡°Why is there a freezer in your closet.¡± She seized up, knuckles white holding a marker, pointedly not making eye contact. ¡°Uh¡­ a freezer? You mean the kitchen?¡± ¡°No. Your walk-in closet has a freezer hidden inside of it.¡± ¡°What? It¡¯s not hidden. There¡¯s very clearly locks on it and it''s obviously a door.¡± ¡°Oh. I didn¡¯t notice. I guess I should have checked before I tore a hole through the door.¡± Wasn¡¯t that door solid steel? Vola slowly stepped forward towards Snake. ¡°Wasn¡¯t anything inside though. Kind of strange. Why did you install an empty freezer? Did you need to store something? Something like¡­ milk?¡± ¡°Oh! I just remembered where Mei was! She said she was going out to the supermarket to buy more milk, because she said she was out. You just missed her. Oh well.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Vola stopped right behind her to place a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Of course. Thanks for telling me. I know you would never lie to me. Right?¡± Dave motioned silently for the animatronic to begin moving. From its arm extended the blade of an axe, sharpened and brand new. Despite its large metal endoskeleton and the big fursuit, its steps were remarkably light. So it snuck up behind Vola and brought the blade down on his head. Of course he deflected it immediately by knocking it aside with his palm and deftly wrenching the arm off of it. Dave was appalled. ¡°Thousands of dollars, down the drain¡­¡± Vola left the building, big metal arm in hand. Snake let out a breath she had been holding for way too long, dialing a number and putting the phone to her ear. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°The beast has escaped containment.¡± Acid, on the other end, put down the phone on the table, taking a deep breath. ¡°He¡¯s gone, Mei.¡± Mei was, understandably, ecstatic. Basically jumping for joy. ¡°Finally! I¡¯ve done it! Bastard deserved it. Should¡¯ve learned not to mess with me! And thanks. For letting me stay over.¡± Obviously Vola would have searched Mei¡¯s room first, so Mei had the bright idea of asking Acid to hide in her room instead. Before now she had not talked very much at all, so Vola wouldn¡¯t expect her to hide in the room of a stranger. Clearly it worked. ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Room is small, but cozy.¡± Tanks of oxygen sat in the corner, under a case with a glock inside. The walls had motivational posters and shit like ¡°Live, Laugh, Love¡± on it. Air plants hung from little plastic spheres by the window, and succulents decorated the few tables around. The floor was laminated wood, for the cabin feel, and the tables were glass in a modern contrast. Strange for Mei. But cool. Very cool. ¡°Very cool.¡± ¡°Thanks. I wanted to make it feel a little more like home. Helps relax, seeing all the plants. Always let light in through the window too.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t choose between a cottage in the woods and modern minimalist apartment complex?¡± Acid could not possibly choose. The aesthetic designs for houses nowadays were so interesting. The outdoorsy style was very rugged and natural feeling, which meshed a little with the plant life that a modernistic approach adopted. Of course wood did not quite complement gray and black and white concrete, so the naturalistic visuals took over in the end. ¡°Well what¡¯s your room like?¡± ¡°Less expensive? I haven¡¯t gotten to decorate it much since¡­¡± ¡°Yeah. How was the hospital?¡± ¡°White. Sterile. A shining example of why extortion should be outlawed.¡± ¡°I thought extortion was illegal?¡± A crumpled up piece of paper bounced off Acid¡¯s mask. Uncrumpling it revealed a bill with too many zeroes. ¡°What the hell? These prices are extortionate!¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I said! But the law says it''s legal! Stupid Rep-¡± ¡°No politics. You know how talking about politics always goes, Mei.¡± They shuddered, remembering the Embassy Massacre. Images of the aftermath were classified as NSFL. Sometimes when Acid closed her eyes she could still see the bodies. Yeesh. ¡°Okay, but what about ¡®politics¡¯?¡± ¡°What is ¡®politics¡¯?¡± ¡°Let me add you on snap. One second¡­¡± Mei sent her an image of the political compass. ¡°Oh. I get it. ¡®Politics¡¯.¡± ¡°By the way, when is Vola coming back? Snake can¡¯t fool him forever.¡± ¡°Snake said she¡¯d call me when she saw him.¡± ¡°Ssssso the living room is nice and all, but what about the bedroom?¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s not very interesting. Kind of boring, you wouldn¡¯t want to go inside.¡± ¡°Way to pique my curiosity. I¡¯m going in.¡± Bedroom was definitely rustic. A little terrarium sat on a stand on a shelf, along with a couple encyclopedias and a display case for various crystals. An unlit candle was on the desk and some papers and a laptop. There was also one of those old green desk lamps reminiscent of the 90s, something you¡¯d expect to find in a lawyer¡¯s office or something. ¡°No air plants in here?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t like having to open the window for them to let the breeze in. Usually a bit cold. Today is pretty hot though, so I¡¯ll leave them open.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re wearing jeans. Why not just wear shorts?¡± ¡°It''s in style!!!!¡± ¡°Oh yeah? You¡¯re in style. Bitch.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Mei turned on a fan taken from the closet, watching it turn to face to the left, then the right, and then back again. ¡°Going to grab a drink. Mei I ask you for your beverage of choice?¡± ¡°Just cold water.¡± Instead of drinking it though she just dumped it on her head. Astoundingly, the water that hit the floor ended up evaporating at a speed visible to the naked eye. Mei watched it all disappear in moments. ¡°Holy shit. They didn¡¯t lie when they said it was gonna be the biggest heat wave ever recorded.¡± Acid chugged a whole Diet Coke from the fridge in respect to the weather. Emergencies called for big measures. ¡°I have more soda if you want any.¡± ¡°How much?¡± The whole fridge was stocked with soda. Wall to wall. From back to front. Only someone with a PHD in physics could fit that much soda in so small a refrigerator. ¡°Acid why the hell do you have so much soda?¡± ¡°Cause it''s sugary sweet kinda like you so it''s pretty addictive.¡± Mei slowly opened a can of Sprite to quietly sip from. ¡°Kinda like what?¡± The phone rang very loudly, interrupting their trains of thought. Acid immediately got on the line. ¡°Yes? Hello? He¡¯s coming back? Shit. Sorry Mei, you¡¯ve got to go. You might be able to get a headstart if you¡¯re quick.¡± Mei slugged the rest of the soda and ran to the door. ¡°Oh yeah by the way before you go you wanna? Come over? I don¡¯t really have much to do tonight so I¡¯m free or whatever.¡± ¡°Yeah sure I¡¯ll be back at 8. Did Snake say how soon until he¡¯s back?¡± ¡°ETA 5 minutes.¡± ¡°Damn. Okay. See ya soon.¡± Mei ran like a woman possessed (possessed with the instinct to survive Vola). Acid waved mostly as a courtesy before closing the door. Score! The Visit Wisp swiped mindlessly on his phone, silently loathing the existence of the internet and its disastrous consequences for the human race. For everything was pain and pain was unto him. Chasma whispered to him from the ventilation shaft. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m just messing around, honestly.¡± ¡°On a dating app?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they actually work, mostly just the easy hookup app. Very bad. Destroys pair bonding, or something.¡± ¡°Awfully insubstantial of you. Do you really believe the stuff they say on the internet?¡± ¡°No. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t believe Tinder works.¡± Rico pointed at the screen over his shoulder. ¡°The one on the left looks hot.¡± ¡°She looks like she¡¯s about to divorce me for half my assets.¡± ¡°How can you tell that from a photo?¡± ¡°I look at a lot of them. You kinda get their vibe. You don¡¯t need to really do that since you use Grindr. Lucky bastard.¡± ¡°Cry about it!¡± Rico exclaimed, smug with the knowledge that he was so much better than Wisp in terms of dating. Chasma thought it was quite stupid. ¡°Why would you want to date anyone?¡± ¡°For, like, the emotional connection. Because it''s lonely. Sucks living by myself.¡± ¡°I have never needed companionship. I am perfectly capable on my own.¡± ¡°We are not all entities such as you.¡± ¡°By the way, where is the one you call Acid? The masked mysterioso? I have not seen her for a while.¡± ¡°I think she¡¯s out with Mei right now. You¡¯ll have to wait for them to come back from wherever they went.¡± The bell on the desk rang, added for new customers. Peeking over the edge, Rico saw a little Volan gremlin, the youngest customer yet. ¡°Oh. Hello, little one! Where are your parents?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any. But I don¡¯t need them! I have money!¡± Rico noticed his pants had no pockets. Nor did he have a purse or other baggage for which to carry items. ¡°Where is your money?¡± ¡°Right here!¡± And Rico watched as golden coins spilled from the Volan¡¯s palm onto the ground, filling the lobby with the sound of tinkling and clinking metal bits. Den began to eat some of them. Dave, who was reading a newspaper, got up to grab one of the coins and bite it. ¡°Holy shit. This is real gold.¡± Dave obviously began shoving as much as he could into his pockets. He would be rich! RICH!!! Wisp watched in fatigued indifference, desensitized to these shenanigans. ¡°Of course. Another one. Figures.¡± Chasma pointed at the phone screen. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°This one seems mediocre. Swipe right.¡± ¡°You want me to swipe right on something that is mediocre?¡± ¡°I am simply finding you a partner that is about as good as you are.¡± Wisp slapped the palm extending from the vent. ¡°Roast me all you want, but stop trying to Suggest the little Volan.¡± Chasma hissed in a warbled kind of voice and fled, leaving Wisp with his thoughts. Rico picked up a handful of coins and began looking for a room key to give the kid. ¡°By the way, what name do you want your room registered under?¡± ¡°Um¡­ Dime!!¡± Unze was having a worse time, slumping in his chair, eyes tired, exhausted from streaming the whole day. He made a tidy sum, enough to live off of, but he severely underestimated the effort it would take every single day. ¡°Hello again, Chasma.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. It is me. Your big fan.¡± ¡°Not the biggest?¡± ¡°I have not checked the whole world yet. I will get back to you on that later.¡± Unze stumbled out of his chair and collapsed face first onto the bed. ¡°You are lucky. You have like no work. You just hang out in the vents all day and do whatever while I have to stream for hours in this heat.¡± He took off his shirt and balled it up, tossing the sweaty bundle into a hamper and putting on a new one. ¡°Yes, my life is quite superior to yours. It is easy to make my own room with the powers I have. But it is lonely. No one ever visits.¡± Unze looked at the purple eyes in the vents offendedly, pointing at where he thought Chasma was. ¡°I would visit! Totally would, if you¡¯ve got AC or something. I just can¡¯t quite fit inside the vents like you can.¡± Chasma reached out a pale spindly hand from the depths, offering it to him. ¡°Are you sure? I have not tried this on a person before. Yes or no?¡± Unze took it without hesitation, delirious from the heat. He could barely think straight. ¡°Yes! Just take me!¡± And he was unceremoniously pulled directly into the vent. A sensation of thinning, of being sucked into a miniscule space encapsulated every inch of his body. And suddenly he found himself able to fit. It was difficult, but he could crawl through the vents. ¡°How did you do that? How¡¯d you shrink me?¡± ¡°My abilities are beyond your comprehension. I can do much more than all of you.¡± In the dark his eyes adjusted, though he could still not see Chasma. Looking directly at him was impossible, as the form was blurred and indistinguishable. Only two pinpricks of light denoting the eyes could be seen without assistance. ¡°Follow me, Unze.¡± As they continued down the vent shafts, LED lights began to appear on the walls, illuminating the little screws of the metal plating and the occasional rat, scurrying down side paths into the darkness. ¡°Do not mind them. They are mostly friendly.¡± For a time, all Unze thought about was the creepiness of this place and the fact that his knees were beginning to hurt from crawling everywhere. Though soon he was interrupted by the vents opening up into a bigger space. ¡°What the hell? How do these bigger vents fit inside the hotel?¡± ¡°Carefully.¡± Now the vent was big enough that Unze could just stand upright and walk. At this point it was more a hallway lined with metal on the floor, walls, and ceiling. The area was lit not by white LEDs, but by red emergency lighting, the kind you¡¯d find in an air raid bunker or a military base. Almost like a horror film. ¡°How much longer until we reach your room?¡± ¡°Three seconds.¡± As they came to a dead end, Chasma rapped upon the metal wall, causing it to fall away and reveal the aforementioned room. ¡°Woah.¡± Woah indeed. It was a gigantic, cavernous space. Couches surround a TV, with a PS6 and an XBOX 720 plugged in at the same time (how???). Rare paintings lined the wall, along with modern recreations, abstract art, and random JPEGs from the internet. There was a gun range with a myriad of weapons, old and new. Some weren¡¯t even manufactured anymore. In a corner was a series of display cases with rare gemstones, including Tanzanite, Black Opal, and a massive Painite gem that would make the richest collectors jealous. Not to mention the included badminton court, tennis court, basketball court, paintball arena, skating rink, VR setup, Full-Dive pod, four shipping containers of Orbeez, and an authentic recreation of the Little Boy and Fat Man. There was even an omnious door titled ¡°Sex Dungeon¡±. ¡°How did you manage to get all this?¡± ¡°I have my ways.¡± Chasma tossed Unze a bottle of wine. Checking the label revealed it to be Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. ¡°Life is much easier with the ability to obtain anything you want.¡± Unze drank from the bottle. It was delicious, savory, and reeked of luxury. ¡°How can I learn this power?¡± ¡°When you become an entity such as myself? I will consider showing you how. Human minds could not grasp how to manipulate the world at all, let alone as deftly as I.¡± Unze chugged the rest of the bottle, beginning to feel tipsy. He picked up the Nintendo Switch 2 sitting on the table. Pretty sure Nintendo never released a Switch 2. ¡°Wanna play Mario Kart?¡± ¡°Why would I ever play something as dumb as Mario Kart?¡± ¡°Mario Kart!¡± ¡°I suppose I will relent this once.¡± Endless Horizons Snake punched a tree really fucking hard, watching the middle of the tree pop out as a conveniently small block. Of course, everything was blocks, but this one was small enough to fit in the inventory. A quick crafting table later, and she could harvest logs much faster with a wooden axe. Kat: [Oh my god. Just mine three stones and make a stone axe.] Kat was of course very unhappy about her inefficient use of time and resources. Snake: [Who even are you?] Kat: [I¡¯m Kat? The incredibly awesome super gamer? The guy who could totally speedrun the game in half the time it would take you to reach the Nether?] Snake: [Nope. Doesn¡¯t ring any bells.] Kat: [I¡¯m Kyki¡¯s brother? That they¡¯ve probably told you about?] Snake: [Oh yeah! I remember now. You¡¯re that guy.] Kat: [Are they doing okay? They just disappeared and then today sent me an IP for a Minecraft server.] Snake thought about it. For a second. For two. Then three, four, five. Snake: [I think so. They¡¯ve been working here for a while now. And they haven¡¯t run off anywhere, though they do take really long walks in the evening.] Dave: [I finished! The house! The base house!] Dave had finished the basic house, out of oak logs for the corner and planks for walls and floor, as well as a door and pressure plates. Dave: [My masterpiece!] Kat: [Not as good as a treehouse.] Dave: [Your treehouse doesn¡¯t even have leaves! It¡¯s a dead tree!] Snake: [I¡¯m just going to build a lab on the side of the mountain.] Dave: [A lab? On the mountain side? Why not a house?] Snake punched Dave for half a heart of damage for the stupid question, before continuing to dig out the stone wall. Unze sent out a broadcast to everyone on the server. Unze: [Welcome everybody to the grand opening of the Unze SMP! Because my viewers like Minecraft. It¡¯s just a vanilla survival server for now, but there might be more later!] Den had trouble manipulating the keyboard and chose instead to fish for long hours into the night, with mechanical precision. There was only the rod and the water. Lure III, Luck of the Sea III, Unbreaking III, and Mending. The infinite fish. The endless fish. Cod and salmon and boots and hooks and string and lilypads and books and gunpowder and once even a strange totem. Oh, what fun. Vola swayed, back and forth, on top of his watchtower he had ¡°appropriated¡± from some very angry pillagers. Now he watched the grassy savannah plains, crossbow at the ready. He had many stocked up in chests, all loaded, ready to fire.Any intruders would be met with a hailstorm of arrows. Rico brought down the pickaxe upon the rocks, cracking them with every strike. Soon the stone crumbled, releasing its prize. Chunks of raw iron fell to the floor, enough for many bars. He trembled with exertion, putting one hand on his sword. Was that a groan in the darkness? The rattling of bones? The tapping of spidery limbs on the hard rock floor? He kept his shield at the ready. The iron golem lumbered through the village at a slow, plodding pace, watching the villagers craft, build, farm. It did not know how old it was, and did not know too much. It thought only of its solemn duty: to protect those whom he was made in the image of. Zombies, skeletons, spiders, and even those strange winged menaces of the night, phantom in appearance and swooping down with angry vengeance. Creepers were the only exception. They did not attack the village, so the golem turned to them a blind eye. Kneeling down, it handed the rose it was holding to a little child, watching their eyes light up. So the kid ran off with the flower, eager to help wherever needed. A community like theirs required resources to maintain, so some became miners, digging into the crust in search of rarer ores. Others hunted to bring extra meat to the storehouses. And a few declared their desire to strike out for better lands, though they never returned. Sometimes the big golem thought about the generations it oversaw and those few who turned their eyes to the great wide world in search of treasure, glory, and discovery. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. The villagers passed down stories of giant pyramids for the kings and queens of the desert sands, and trapped temples hidden deep within the heart of the jungle. Abandoned mineshafts built by the old ones, and great big monuments sunken into the sea, guarded by the fiercest constructs. Always there were those who sought to discover and loot their depths, though they usually disappeared forever. Did they succeed in what they sought to do? Had they truly found paradise and explored the whole world? Or had they perished long ago, their bones joining those of their forefathers and the many that tried before them? No one knew for sure. The answer was shrouded in mystery¡­ until They Came. Pale shadows of the Old Ones, capable of superhuman feats of strength and capacity. Their stamina was inexhaustible if they had a source of food, and they could construct great buildings rivalling the structures from the tales of the past. Again, one appeared over the horizon, traveling straight for them. The villagers could not fight back, cowed in entirety by the power and presence of the intruder. He stretched out one hand, and lightning sprung limitlessly from his fingertips. The houses and huts burned, roofs collapsing and so many torched in the flames and roasted by the electricity. The iron golem was shocked, awed, in fear of the Thing who came from far beyond the town boundaries. He was not like the others, bound by the need to eat or remain grounded. He flew over the treetops and the square, striking all things with a lethal fury not seen elsewhere. All the iron golem knew was the name Unze, printed clear above his head. It was futile, yes, but it could not allow Unze to trample the village unopposed. With effort it tore chunks of stone from the pavement and lobbed them at the enemy, watching the rocks explode on contact. Unze was not even hurt, nor did he care. Then red bricks with flaming fuses fell upon the village, and all died. Only the iron golem survived, cracked and beaten. It hungered for iron to repair its weak constitution, but could barely walk. The village it had so diligently guarded for many years had been destroyed in mere moments. Only now, among the ruins of their humble town, did Unze come down from the sky, a blackened plated axe in hand, iridescent with wavering powerful enchantments. In its final moments the metal man thought of its circumstances, and its whole life. So much it had done, all for nothing. All broken to dust at the hands of an uncaring harbinger, who had just razed the town to the ground. In the glimmering blade of Unze¡¯s netherite axe, it saw its own reflection, the same one it had seen in the shine of new village bells and the well in the town center. As Unze lifted the axe, it understood cruelty. And on death¡¯s door the golem¡¯s true colors shined, and it bashed Unze with everything it could muster, as Unze brought the axe down. He was feeling quite good, actually. It was always fun to blow up some of Minecraft¡¯s naturally generated buildings, watching characters form in the terrain. There was something relaxing yet visceral about the whole process that he relished. The afterglow of the massacre was blissful. This was true ecstasy. A snowball hit the side of his face, which he brushed off like it was nothing. Kat: [Stop killing all the fucking villagers! I need those for tools and armorsmiths!] Unze: [Just go find another village. My server, my rules.] And Snake had an [Epiphany]. [Unze is no longer a server operator.] [Unze has been set to survival mode.] Unze: [What the fuck? Actual hacks?] Snake: [I used [Epiphany]. Gives me a moment of pure genius. At that moment, I guessed the password for the dev console. Looks like I got it right.] Unze: [No longer fren. You lose fren privilege. It doesn¡¯t even matter anyway, I already set my attributes super high. Literally have max armor and like ten times the health.] Unze cackled in 100 hearts and massive damage, only for an arrow to sprout from his eye. Vola dropped his crossbow, reaching for another fully loaded one from his inventory. Vola: [Dipshit. If it bleeds, we can kill it.] Unze: [Fine, you bastards. Try it! I¡¯ll wipe you all out if I have to!] Kat grinned, slipping out an Ancient Diamond Blade from his sheath. Vola took hold of enchanted crossbows in both hands, aimed and at the ready. Dave whacked the flat side of his axe against his shield in a rhythmic rapping of metal on wood. Snake stepped forward, a splash potion between each finger and many more in her pockets. Snake: [Let¡¯s dance, you son of a bitch.] And the world was a flurry of tipped arrows and potions, fireworks and swift blade strikes. Unze waved his hand, and from his palms fell mob eggs of all kinds, stockpiled before the de-oppining. And many came to Kat¡¯s support. Mei and Beetle and Rico and more entered the brawl, savoring the chance to kill the server owner and steal their head to display. The Great Village War, as it would be remembered, would reside in the memories of its participants for years to come. Meanwhile Kyki finished their sheep pen far out in the tundra. The weird lanterns cropping up nearby were creepy, but this place was pretty great. Especially the isolation. No people! Actually perfect! Kyki did have a vague feeling they were missing out on something, but pushed the thought to the back of their mind as they shuffled through the snow back to the house. The stacks of kelp harvested from the ocean would not cook themselves upon the campfire, after all. Den was still fishing. Just caught an iron sword actually: jackpot! Burning Gaze Wisp hated the damn beach. The sand was always so coarse and rough and it always got everywhere. The water was always so cold and salty and splashed him in the face and he never had any friends to go there with. Until today, obviously. ¡°Snake? Why do you wear your lab coat to the beach?¡± ¡°It¡¯s waterproof.¡± He came only because the weather was nice and everyone wanted to go. Vola built a whole ass sand tower, and Mei was trying to knock it down like usual, and Acid was helping, and Vola yelled at them to get a room, and dodged a switchblade to the face. Den sat under the umbrella, unable to enter the water, watching. Dave swam through the water, floating across the bay in the picture-esque image of relaxation, as Dust walked across the water and summoned fish of solid gold to populate the waters. Kyki fed the robo husky metal scraps, watching him scarf down the bits and bobs and absorbing it for use in his hull. Rico was getting a sweet tan on the sand, because there¡¯s always ¡°that guy¡±. And Wisp sat on the towel under the umbrella, because he didn¡¯t have anything else to do. What he would do for a good book or a handful of magnets. Rico stood over him with one of those containers of sunscreen, blocking out the sun. ¡°Why¡¯re you just lying on the towel? What kind of killjoy sits on their ass all day when they¡¯re at the beach?¡± ¡°Cause the sand sucks cock and balls. And the sun¡¯s too hot and I don¡¯t like going outside.¡± ¡°You need your vitamin D. All you do is work and sit in your room on the top floor.¡± ¡°It¡¯s comfortable. The temperature is just right, I¡¯ve got all my drinks and foods and games and books. It¡¯s heavenly.¡± ¡°And interact with no one? Weather forecasters think a Dust Storm is going to happen soon. Why stay cooped up inside when you can enjoy the outdoors for the last time in a while?¡± Wisp chucked a mound of wet sand at him out of spite. ¡°Screw weather forecasters. They said it¡¯d be sunny last week, and it rained like it was monsoon season!¡± ¡°That was only localized. Over our building. You pissed off the weatherworker in room 497.¡± ¡°Potatoes, tomatoes. Same shit. News guy didn¡¯t predict the weatherworker dude, clearly an incompetent.¡± Rico sat down on the towel with him, casting his gaze past the glistening ocean waters to the horizon. ¡°I know you hate outside. I¡¯m not the biggest fan of it either: bugs are annoying and allergies can be a bitch. But you¡¯re not out here by yourself. You¡¯ve got friends here. They¡¯re here for you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really feel like anyone is my friend. Or that they truly do care about me. I doubt anyone would shed a single tear if I died.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve known you for a while now! I would definitely cry if you were dead! That¡¯s the saddest thing I¡¯ve ever heard.¡± ¡°But would you? Would you really care? Don¡¯t lie to me.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. And Rico could not open his mouth to say yes, and he was not sure why. He was convinced by a little voice in his head to say only what he knew was true, affixed wholly by Wisp¡¯s burning gaze. So he could only hand Wisp the sunscreen, give him the signature sad look, and walk away. That was a few days ago. Now he was back to standing in front of a desk to slave away as a job he was slowly tiring of. The feeling of being watched attached itself to his psyche, and he could no longer sleep very well, plagued by feelings of guilt and insecurity for no reason. Dave tapped on the bell on the desk to grab his attention. ¡°Hello? Earth to Wisp? Signal disrupted?¡± ¡°Oh. Sorry. What did you need?¡± ¡°I was just gonna ask if you¡¯re coming to the house party. Acid¡¯s having a fiesta or something in her apartment, and we¡¯re all going to go.¡± Ordinarily he would say no, but he remembered what Rico asked of him. To merely enjoy himself in the company of others. There was no point in feeling like a sad sack, if he had really been invited to go somewhere with some people. ¡°You know what? I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll go. Just gimme a moment to grab some stuff.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t believe you said yes that fast. I figured you would say no like you usually do.¡± ¡°I have changed my mind, I guess. Always be proactive is what those self-improvers say. I¡¯ll bite. I¡¯ll take the plunge. What could go wrong?¡± So he showed up at the door with a cooler of beer, one of the few in his suite. Because obviously he had prepared them months ago in case anyone wanted one from him, since he did not like to disappoint. Opening the door, he was greeted with a cacophony of sight and sound, filling his senses. There was definitely a fog machine, maybe a disco ball, and the sound of singing. What fun! It all sounded very exciting, which he hadn¡¯t felt in ages. Uncertainty and liveliness he could really use in his life, he thought, stepping through the doorway. Immediately a preconstructed device clamped down on his head, applying a woven blindfold of significant strength which blocked his sight completely. He almost stumbled as a pair of hands snatched the cooler from him right after, followed by the sounds of hurried steps away from him. ¡°Thanks for bringing drinks!¡± said Acid, tossing them to the partygoers. Mei was absolutely smashed by now, doing karaoke in a frilly, overdone cat maid outfit, trying to duet with Acid. Vola instantly tried to challenge them to a rap battle while Dave messed with the DJ¡¯s booth, because no one else knew how to use it. Kyki and Rico were attempting to beat each other in a game of beer pong (and failing to land any shots) with Unze messing with Den on the balcony. He¡¯d throw a ball and watch the metal dog leap all the way down to the ground a fair distance down, grab the ball, and scale the whole ass wall no problem to give it back to Mr. Femboy Gaming. Of course, Wisp saw none of this, with the blindfold over his head. He had to resort to feeling around for the walls so he could get around the apartment, running into chairs, nearly tripping over the carpet, and finding a braille sign that read ¡°sorry, wisp¡± and nothing else. He wanted to ask Acid about the strange circumstances he was now placed in, but could not hear her over the music, and he felt awkward about speaking up. ¡°Uh guys? What¡¯s going on? I can¡¯t really see where I¡¯m going¡­¡± Wisp nearly tripped over Dust trying to get help. He could tell, since a coin hit him in the forehead and stuck itself there, increasing the gravity on his person, and straining his muscles a bit more just to stay upright. Eventually he just collapsed on the couch, a little worse for wear and thirsty. The noise was starting to get to him. Already he was beginning to have a headache, and fatigue gripped his bones, keeping him where he sat. So he slumped down on the couch to try and maybe, maybe get some rest. Which was a stupid idea during the middle of a party. And he began to regret coming, until he heard the familiar creak of a metal vent being opened, right below his feet. ¡°Hello, Wisp.¡± ¡°Oh. It¡¯s you. Hi Chasma.¡± ¡°What are you doing at a party? I thought you disliked parties.¡± ¡°I wanted to try something new. Maybe it would have been different than the others.¡± ¡°A shame. You have my condolences.¡± ¡°How awfully nice of you. You are not mad that I stopped you from¡­ suggesting?¡± ¡°Oh, I am fine. I¡¯ve thought it over, and I am ok with it now. It will no longer be a problem for me. I just came to see what was happening, and because I felt you.¡± ¡°You¡­ felt me? Very vague. Not terribly specific.¡± ¡°You have the aura of suggestion around your body. Strange to think someone besides me could do that. A very interesting specimen indeed. Perhaps we could get to know each other more?¡± ¡°So like friends? You would do friend things? Like have my back?¡± ¡°That is only par for the course. It is all I am intending. To you, I will extend my hand.¡± And Wisp could not see anything, but he had the distinct feeling, the sense of Chasma¡¯s skinny pale arm reaching from the floorboards up to his level, presenting its palm to him. Chasma was weird, and he hesitated. But he did some thinking. About who he was and what he was doing here, as well as who he was speaking to. It was very lonely being alive, and really could use a friend. ¡°Deal. I¡¯ll look forward to seeing you tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll do my best to make sure you have lots of fun.¡± Wisp took the hand and shook it vigorously, before feeling it slip from his grasp and down into the vents below. Yes, this would be a new start of something great! And Chasma left, good deed done for the day, a gleeful grin on its face and the memory of Wisp¡¯s burning gaze, even through that blindfold on his face. Night OutDoors Dime was astonished by the magnificence of it all. Who knew that a fusion of a bar, a Chinese restaurant, a nightclub, an arcade, and a bowling alley would be so incredibly profitable? The former owners had even rebranded the Chinabarclubcadealley to the much easier to pronounce Super Night Out. This place was the talk of the town recently, pulling in crowds of customers every single evening. The staff did not believe him when he said he was actually 1000 years old, so he had to ask Snake to order a glass of vodka for him. ¡°You drink vodka?¡± ¡°It tastes good and yummy. Better than everything else.¡± ¡°I would have thought you were a strawberry milk kind of person.¡± ¡°Why?? Is it because I¡¯m short? I¡¯m an adult! I can drink! I¡¯m the oldest person ever!!!¡± Snake gave him a strained smile and he stormed away to spend too much money on arcade tokens. At least the machines were not patronizing. They were always fair and equal, especially since he could keep shoving in coins generated from thin air for endless revives in the shooter booths. A terrific party favor, one that Dave greatly appreciated. ¡°Holy shit. This booth is so rigged. Literally unplayable. There¡¯s no way anyone can react fast enough to shoot these goddamn targets!¡± ¡°Sounds like a skill issue?¡± ¡°Dust, if you have enough time to talk, please put a coin in the slot. I think I¡¯m going to need a few revives.¡± The staff would later find the cabinet stuffed with coins, not even the correct type of token. But they were gold, so they weren¡¯t going to say anything about it and simply steal all of it and run. Vola was surprisingly good at bowling. It was impressive how often he could pull off a strike, always aiming with incredible precision. The only thing that Wisp did not like about it was how he threw it. ¡°Christ Vola, I¡¯m trying to unjam the pin setup machine! You almost hit me with that!¡± ¡°Maybe you should move out of the way, dumbass.¡± ¡°MAYBE YOU SHOULDN¡¯T THROW IT LIKE A SHOT PUT AT MY FACE?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t own a personal shield generator, and it shows.¡± Of course Wisp didn¡¯t own a personal shield gen. That shit is expensive. The batteries were of the highest quality and the barrier itself could take heavy caliber fire. Even a typical person would be completely immune to an attack from a normal human. Only with a great force, such as a building collapsing on said person would be able to break the forcefield and kill the user. And with great power came great cost. Namely millions of dollars. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Thanks for the recommendation though Wisp. Nice place. Good food. Convenient target practice.¡± ¡°The staff and customers are not targets for you to throw knives at. Or bowling balls. Or keys. Please keep that to yourself until we have a night out at a shooting range.¡± Yes, it was the Tooth Hotel Night Out! Rico had suggested getting everyone out of the house and moving, doing something fun and interesting instead of sitting in the lobby or in their rooms doing nothing of purpose. Everyone was apathetic about it initially, since no one knew where to go, until Wisp told them about a small mom and pop shop opening up downtown where all the villas were. Of course, by the time they got around to actually going, everything had changed. Many more additions and a lot more people. And everyone thought and wondered why so many people would rate this place five stars with rave reviews. Turns out they weren¡¯t wrong. The staff were all extremely accommodating, sometimes bending over backwards in the interest of the customer, to Mei¡¯s delight. ¡°Okay, okay, can you guys make the shape of a wedding cake out of shot glasses? And then turn it into a flaming vodka fountain?¡± Acid watched the workers do that very thing with mild trepidation. She could already imagine the whole thing falling over and burning them both in their little side booth. ¡°Babe this is really cool and it¡¯s a very good display of skill on their part but can you not bump the table? I¡¯m going to get burned.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine I swear! You saw how smart they were when they played Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes.¡± ¡°You gave them a REAL bomb. They could have died. Obviously they tried their hardest solving the damn thing.¡± ¡°They better try their hardest making me a wedding shot glass alcohol fountain or I¡¯m not leaving a tip.¡± The workers sagged in fatigue from fulfilling all of Mei¡¯s strange requests, rapid fire, one after the other. They only had so much stamina. And all of this for minimum wage, since the current labor market and job shortage was so acute that there was almost nowhere else to work. The alternative was homelessness, and no one wanted to be homeless with imminent warnings of a Dust Storm taking place. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my friend over here. I¡¯ll tip you all $500 for every single separate thing she asks you for, if that¡¯s ok with you.¡± And they perked up immediately. $500 was like a whole week¡¯s pay! And for every request? They were going to be flush with cash, to spend on Twitch streamers or the latest FIFA game that is basically identical to the ten before it. Unze smiled as he walked away, knowing he could just beg Dime to foot the bill. Rico sat at the bar, chilling out with a few cocktails with the bartender. ¡°Wow. You really make a mean cocktail, miss. And you don¡¯t even look that old. How do you do it?¡± Cinnaburn wiped the glass she was holding, placing it among the rest and pouring another customer a mixture of a few different wines and mixing them up in a shaker. ¡°I¡¯m not that good at bartending, honestly. I just took the job recently since there was nowhere else to go. I think I¡¯m doing okay though, because it¡¯s all in the wrist.¡± She used her dual fire beam emitters to light a glass on fire with the cocktail inside and slide it over to some guy at the end of the counter, who downed half of it in moments. Rico sipped his drink approvingly. ¡°4chan¡¯s been talking about your skills, actually. Said you could mix some of the greatest concoctions known to man. I¡¯m glad to say you don¡¯t disappoint.¡± Cinnaburn looked away awkwardly, unused to being praised so wholeheartedly up close. Kyki raised a hand from the table they had reserved everyone in the Chinese restaurant. ¡°Hey guys! Dinner¡¯s here!¡± Everyone flocked to the table immediately to try out the food. It was¡­ delicious was insufficient to describe it. There was just something so savory, so ethereal yet filling about it. Snake picked up one of the wrapped cookies included in the meal, raising it in the air. ¡°A toast to the friends we¡¯ve made!¡± And all replied: ¡°Huzzah!¡± Wisp felt, for once, like he truly belonged somewhere, content with his placement here in life. Yes, it was going to get better. Things were finally looking up. Snake broke open the fortune cookie. ¡°Your greatest betrayal will be your saving grace¡­ I don¡¯t really get it. What¡¯d you get, Acid?¡± ¡°Ummm¡­ it says my happiest moment will be when my final plan fails. Doesn¡¯t make much sense. Wisp?¡± He broke it open and looked at the note. ¡°Doesn¡¯t really say much, actually. Just some pictures of doors.¡± Door 1 was a plain, normal door. Nothing too special. Door 2 was a door with no handle. Missing an important piece. Door 3 was a door ruined, crumbling. There was no putting it back together. And it said to pick one. Door 2, why not? The Game Changes That was how their night ended. Of course, they still had to deal with the task of getting home, since it was a fair distance from the restaurant. Some of the group were tipsy, flushed from a little too much drinking, stumbling along the sidewalk trying to get into the cars meant for them. Wisp did not drink, of course, as it was not customary for him to do so. Alcohol was a poison that addled the mind, preventing him from taking the correct course of action. It served to inhibit him from reaching his true potential and nothing else. Plus, it always hurt when he drank. His acquaintances were not quite as cautious when it came to drinking, smashed as hell. Mei took another swig from a bottle half-empty, sporting a grin from ear to ear. She tugged on Acid¡¯s sleeves, inviting her into the SUV. ¡°C¡¯mon babe lets go home! We¡¯re gonna have the best D&D session ever!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, I know, I¡¯m right behind you.¡± Vola entered as well, but not before dumping all the prizes he won in the arcade in the back, including but not limited to plushies, party favors, and a lot of candy. There was so much that they had to get a cab to carry the others home, which was paid off by Dust. Snake shielded her eyes from the bright streetlights outside, and the glare of headlights from oncoming cars. ¡°God, I just wanna sleep for 12 hours straight. My head already hurts.¡± Rico chucked an empty bottle at a homeless man trying to pickpocket him, the glass shattering on his skull and knocking him out cold. ¡°Here¡¯s your ride, Snake. Move over a bit please.¡± Dave was slumped over unconscious on the back of some shiny metal mannequin. Probably one of his machines. Instead of getting in a car like everyone else, it endeavoured to run all the way back to the hotel, which it definitely could based on the clip and pace at which it ran. Pedestrians shifted to the side in surprise, watching the chromium construct dash down the sidewalk, rapidly disappearing into the distance. Unze joined Snake and Rico in the small cab, turning to Kyki. ¡°You coming? We can get another cab for you if you want.¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll walk home. Spending time outside is always nice.¡± ¡°Suit yourself. I¡¯ll see you later.¡± ¡°You take care of yourself. I didn¡¯t know you could drink that much.¡± ¡°A real femboy always trains his alcohol tolerance.¡± So Kyki left by themselves, taking particular joy in the journey instead of the destination. The cars departed swiftly, weaving their way through traffic and bikers enjoying the crisp evening atmosphere. Wisp watched the cars go by, squinting at the harsh artificial lighting of the city streets and listening to the hum of the engine and the sound of passerby as he drove home. He was almost okay with being the designated driver for a short while, until Mei had to retch right out the window. ¡°You okay, Mei?¡± ¡°Are you okay? How do you barf with a mask on?¡± ¡°Maybe you shouldn¡¯t drink so much like a dumbass,¡± came Vola¡¯s muffled voice, barely audible due to the mountain of toys he was buried under. Mei didn¡¯t even bother to look at him. ¡°Suck my fat cock and balls, Vola. You drank twice as much as I did.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m fine. Unlike you, I can hold my liquor.¡± Mei mumbled something along the lines of ¡°fuck you¡± before slumping down in her chair, nauseous and generally ill. ¡°Holy shit Wisp, keep the car still and stop driving like you¡¯re drunk. Or I¡¯m gonna throw up again.¡± ¡°Check the rearview mirror. We got trouble.¡± At a moderate distance, a couple of black cars could be seen trailing behind, keeping up with the taxis as the traffic abated and the road cleared ahead. A sharply dressed robot, holding a megaphone, leaned out of the passenger seat of the front car. ¡°You¡¯re not losing us that easily! Give us the Gremlin or face the consequences!¡± Dime popped out of the glove box shamefully, earning Wisp¡¯s ire. ¡°Mind explaining what¡¯s going on here?¡± ¡°Sorry. They want my coins. I thought I lost them¡­¡± ¡°What am I supposed to do about it? I can¡¯t fight for shit. No magical ultrakill ability or anything.¡± Vola burst forth from his pile of plush toys, showering everyone in the car with soft elephants and shameful renditions of ancient wolves. Rolling down the window, he closed one eye and aimed a finger gun towards the metal head of the enemy bot. ¡°[Hex: Voiceless]!¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Immediately the robot shut up, unable to speak or even communicate with others through any sort of sound medium. A second robot picked up where the first left off. ¡°As of this moment, Automotive Industries will no longer be held liable for the injuries and damages caused by your refusal to cooperate! I hope you have a good mortician on hand!¡± The cars fanned out, preluding a hailstorm of lead delivered expressly to Wisp¡¯s SUV, as well as the taxi following him. Bystanders fled as glass shattered and some collapsed dead on the street, slain by the reckless gunfire. Wisp gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white. ¡°Bastards. I don¡¯t get paid enough for this shit.¡± Reaching into the glove box, he retrieved a standard six shooter, aiming out the window trying to hit any of his pursuers. The SUV¡¯s skylight opened up, pushed open by Acid. ¡°I haven¡¯t done this in a while¡­ gotta get used to wearing those gauntlets.¡± The SUV swerved, trying to lose the enemies down a side street, as Acid¡¯s arms emitted ludicrous amounts of purple gas. It swept down the street in a wave, corroding the clothing the robots wore, as well as the robots themselves. Bullets dissolved in midair, the block obscured by the smog. The sheer quantity of gas meant Wisp ended up as collateral damage, coughing and hacking as the acidic air ate into his lungs and skin. An enemy sniper fired a blast into the smoke, zipping past Acid and blowing a hole into a water tower. She ducked back into the car, the visibility returning to normal. ¡°Oh god. Wisp you okay? I haven¡¯t had to do that in so long I accidentally hit you a little¡ª¡± The car shook terribly as the sniper fired a second time, blasting through Wisp¡¯s gun arm, tearing it from the shoulder. He jerked back into the car with a screech, barely able to keep driving. To everyone this was shocking enough, but the acid burns caused by the gas began to heal at a rapid pace. Soon his skin was unblemished, as if he had never been harmed at all. His hoarse lungs smoothed out, restored. Then his lost arm knitted itself back together, the blood and flesh weaving together like a grim gory abstract painting. ¡°Vola for FUCKS SAKE get them off my tail! What the hell are the others doing?!¡± For once in his life he had nothing to say, speechless at the sight of a fatal wound healing in seconds. He didn¡¯t even argue, gathering dark energies in one hand. ¡°[Curse: Weakness]!¡¯ In an instant the gunfire became quieter, less pronounced in power and much less lethal. Dime waved his arms out the window, conjuring a rain of golden coins, sticking to the ground and the cars. The vehicles chasing the group were then affected by multiplied gravity, and lost ground, tires popping and windshields cracking under the strain. ¡°There we go. I think that¡¯ll handle them!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t jinx it Dime. I¡¯ve had enough of your antics. Going to have a long talk about honesty when we get home,¡± Wisp grumbled, drifting around a corner Initial D style. The robot currently holding the megaphone broadcasted a voice to all nearby speakers, looping the same message. ¡°Automotive Industries Task Force requesting reinforcements! I want the kid alive and in my hands in the next 200 seconds or you¡¯re all fired!¡± Humanoid constructs flooded the street behind them, running full speed towards the group. Pulse weaponry replaced bullets, melting metal and popping their tires. ¡°Shit! The car! Everyone, out! We¡¯re almost at the hotel! Spread out!¡± Everyone scattered in different directions, Acid carrying Mei and propelling both of them up onto the rooftops with a burst of air. Snake dropped a splash potion near her feet, letting it shatter into pieces with a sudden explosion of light and sound, dissipating to reveal Snake had simply disappeared. Rico blocked wayward shots with his arms, tanking the pulse shots in their entirety. ¡°Pretty damn hot, but not hot enough!¡± Backing up into a wall, Rico sunk his hands into the stone and climbed up the apartment building and ran away, leaving the robots in the dust. Unze posed seductively, which did nothing, before hitting everyone nearby with a psychic wave, stunning them for long enough for him to turn tail and run. In the few moments of respite, Dime leapt forwards, sliding down the street on a platform of rolling coinage. With no other targets, they chased Wisp, who could do nothing but flee down an alleyway. He could hear his own breath, his heartbeat, as he leapt over boxes and dashed around corners, spurred on by the omnipresent sound of metal feet on pavement. They were getting closer by the second. Shit. Shit. Shit shit shit shit! What the hell do I do? ¡°STOP! WE¡¯VE GOT YOU IN OUR SIGHTS! DON¡¯T MOVE FROM THAT SPOT OR WE¡¯LL VAPORIZE YOU!¡± Wisp froze, hands up. He had never tried surviving a direct hit from a pulse blast, but he was not eager to try today. He cursed his luck, so unfortunate in design, wishing for some kind of deus ex machina to pull him out of this situation. ¡°You, sir, are going to be coming with us. Come quietly or die.¡± He hesitated, reluctant to follow. There was no doubt in his mind: if he went with them, he might not ever see the light of day again. ¡°Surely we can¡­ work something out, gentlemen¡ª¡± And then sirens! Everyone looked up at the rapidly darkening skies, accompanied by harsh air raid sirens reminiscent of the Cold War. {WARNING! SENSORS INDICATE IMMINENT DUST STORM! PLEASE STAY INSIDE AND LOCK ALL YOUR DOORS AND WINDOWS AND DO NOT STEP OUTSIDE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE FROM THE CITY COUNCIL! I REPEAT, SENSORS INDICATE IMMINENT DUST STORM!} Wisp shared a brief faceoff with his captors as the siren continued to loop, pounding in his head and instilling in him a minor fear effect. It only took a moment of consideration for the robots to make a decision. ¡°We¡¯re retreating! Pull back every man we¡¯ve got! Back to the safehouse, NOW! You might¡¯ve escaped us this time, but if you continue to shelter the Volan, you will fall under our influence eventually. Mark my words. We¡¯ll be back soon to collect.¡± As quick as they had come, they disappeared, rushing out of the alleys with measured, precise accuracy and speed, leaving a breathless Wisp to lean against the wall out of relief. That was much too close for comfort. Now he just had to get home, and quick. He wouldn¡¯t be caught dead outside at a time like this¡­ {ALL PEDESTRIANS PLEASE TAKE SHELTER IN YOUR HOMES AT THIS TIME AND AWAIT INSTRUCTION FROM THE CITY COUNCIL! THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY¡ª} Kyki panted as they ran in the direction of the hotel at top speed. The dust storm wasn¡¯t supposed to be due for at least another day! This was much too soon. All they could do now was get home quick, before the storm grasped the whole city in its palm. Shortcut after shortcut, between buildings and through lots, and still they were going to be cutting it close. Their legs burned from the sudden exertion, unable to take even a moment''s break, for fear of what was to come. All that mattered was putting one foot in front of the other. Left, right, left, right. They were so close now. The hotel was in sight of the skyline, nary a minute away at the current pace. And in their joy they nearly failed to avoid a swipe to their legs, sidestepping barely in time. ¡°What the fuck? Who did that? Come out, you fucking bastard.¡± Kyki swiftly brandished a pistol from their belt, aiming it at the dark spots in the alleyway. With the storm oncoming, visibility was low, providing ample space to hide for an assaulter. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be able to dodge. I¡¯m sorry, Kyki. Please come quietly.¡± That voice¡­ it was warped, yet so familiar, thought Kyki, before firing at a corner just outside of their vision, narrowly missing the veiled assailant. Looking around, it was almost like they had just vanished. And then Kyki¡¯s dangersense went off, and they tried to swerve on a heel and fire, but it was too late. The gun clattered to the ground, ownerless, in a dark alleyway, alone, as the storm swept in, filling the streets in its dark haze. By now, everyone had reached the hotel, except for Wisp. Snake paced worriedly, even as the storm threatened to reach the building. ¡°I¡¯m gonna head out and look for him. He¡¯s taking too long.¡± Rico grabbed her wrist before she could walk through the double doors. ¡°Don¡¯t. Protocol says we have to lockdown the place with everyone inside when the siren is activated. I can¡¯t let you go out there, with the storm so close.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t just leave him out there!¡± Metal shutters slid down over the windows and glass front, obscuring the outside. As the dust wall approached at high speed in the distance and the gate began to close over the door, it was caught in one hand by Wisp, wheezing and on the verge of collapse. He stumbled inside, letting the gate fall down behind him, just as the storm slammed the windows and the glass in front of the building broke into pieces, causing a great rumbling as it crashed into the metal shutters in force. But they held on. ¡°Thank fuck. I almost got stuck out there.¡± Everyone sat down on the couch, still filled with adrenaline from their brush with the capitalists. Wisp reached into his pocket, pulling out the slip of paper from the restaurant. ¡°My fortune didn¡¯t predict this shit¡­¡± Actually, looking at it closely, two door symbols had faded away, leaving only the door with no handle. A strange warning for the events to come. But it was fine, because he made it and everyone else did too. So for now, he fell asleep, right there on the couch. And everything, for the moment, was fine. Unwelcome Guests The harsh fluorescent lights burned Wisp''s retinas, imparting to him a great hatred of the standard boring tubes used to brighten the lobby interior, now that all windows were broken or simply shuttered off by metal. Almost everyone else had departed for their rooms by now. Using the external CCTV cameras revealed no clues as to what time it was, or whether it was even day or night. Black dust blotted out the sun, engulfing the whole city in its wrath. The audio logs recorded only the omnipresent static noise of heavy winds and the occasional growl or roar, barely audible in the current conditions. Perhaps he should check up on the state of the hotel¡­ Venturing upstairs, he knocked on the doors of the people he knew. Snake answered the door in only the buttoned up lab coat and nearly blew his head off with a Potion of Violent Reaction. A whole new meaning to "diffusing the situation". Vola cursed him with misfortune for waking him up. It resulted in the door handle breaking off when Wisp shut the door, locking Vola inside. He decided not to mention it to him, as payback for the curse. Dime slid a coin under the door. Picking it up caused it to stick to his skin, weighing him down significantly. He cut his electricity until he apologized. Acid threatened to fill his lungs with acid gas for banging on doors in the morning and he responded calmly with tact by punching a hole through the door and miming doing it to her next. Moments before he could knock on Mei''s door, there was the sound of metal creaking, being deformed under strain, and an unholy screech typical of any horror flick. Using the master key to unlock the door afforded him the luxury of witnessing a wavering hound, jet black in appearance and eyes neon purple. Mei''s handgun was useless, the bullets bouncing off its skin. The timely help of Den was barely enough to hold it back, growling in rage. The situation was unstable, but he needed to act quickly¡­ Wisp swiftly pulled out his PA radio, pressing the broadcast button on the side. "Attention all hotelgoers we have an emergency at Wing 5 PLEASE SEND HELP AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!" The volume of his yelling, pumped through the network of connected speakers in the hotel, appeared to wake everyone who was still asleep and bring them to full alertness. The beast of dust and void recoiled at the sudden audio burst, giving Den precious moments to sink its teeth into the enemy, eliciting a terrifying howl of anger. Hound uses: Piercing Wail. Mei and Wisp are afflicted with Scared. Mei loses initiative. Due to the effects of Deathless, Wisp is immune. He shuddered, the effects of the skill passing through his body without grasping his soul. Mei, skilless as far as he could tell, was not so lucky. Her muscles locked up, paralyzed by adrenaline and lack of direction, frozen as Death stared her in the face. Wisp leaned forwards, taking a deep breath. You prepare yourself. The beast threw Den to the ground, tearing off a robotic limb in a bloody rage. Mei''s hands shook, clutching the gun, working up the courage to fire... The door was thrown open with a bang louder than any gunshot, and the beast experienced what it felt like to be struck by a compressed air bullet, thrown back against the far wall. Acid, gauntlets on, grabbed Mei by the hand, dragging her out of danger temporarily. Acid joins the battle. Acid uses Air Burst. Void Hound is Stunned. He followed the two girls, right on their heels. Running down the hallway only gave him a moment''s respite, before the monstrous hound burst through the doorway, terribly determined to claim their lives. ...Did he just hear a second growl? Another set of pounding footsteps? Another wolf to support the first? Your will stands steadfast. Wisp charged around the corner, where he knew the elevator and stairs were, coming face to face with Unze, Snake, Rico, Dime, and Dave (who was clad in armor and clutching a laser pistol of his own design). Acid and Mei leaned against the far wall, taking a breather after dashing down the hallway. Unze turned to him, his breath crackling with energy. "What''s the situation?" "Two dark dogs. Giant. Immune to bullets." "Shit. Could really use Vola right now. Where the fuck is he?" And Wisp remembered childishly accidentally getting him stuck in his room, and regretted it. A little. Both hounds crept around the end of the hall, smelling flesh, delicious and tasty in consumption. Mei flinched at the sight. Mei is afflicted with stress. Breaking Point approaches capacity. Unze inhaled sharply, screaming at the top of his lungs. "H????????????A???????????????????????L???????????????T??????????????!?????????" If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Both hounds take psychic damage and are afflicted with Dazed. Rico leapt forward, slamming the dogs with a powerful overhead strike, cracking the ground. Unlike the bullets, his punches did hurt the oversized mutts. His skin grew harder, resisting the claws and jaws of these dusty dogged deathbringers. Dime, small in size and agile in build, danced around the beasts, raining coins upon their massive forms. Both hounds are afflicted with many stacks of Gravity Coin. Light slowing effect takes place. Snake, now covered head to toe in heavy clothing, handed Acid and Mei a Booster Potion. Acid eyed her unnecessary layers, bordering on winter clothing. "What''s with the getup?" "It''s armor. Some of my potions you don''t want to get on the skin." Acid eyed the potion Snake held out in mild parts fear and apprehension. "Not this potion. You can drink this one." "What does it do?" "Boosts your strength. Take it and you''ll definitely be able to help the others finish those monsters off." Mei grabbed her hand as she reached out for the potion, gripping it with such strength she couldn''t move an inch. "Please don''t go." Snake glanced at the battle taking place mere meters away, within a rock''s throw distance. "Rico''s starting to have trouble. Quickly! Drink it!" She turned to Wisp with a pleading gaze, wordlessly begging him to do something. Wisp picked up the vial in two fingers, handing it to Mei. "If you want something done right, Mei, you have to do it yourself." The Booster Potion filled her vision as he held it in front of her and she fixated on it, feeling her fear and dread slip away in the face of this promise of power. Dave aimed and fired his energy pistol in short bursts, searing skin from hound and beginning to draw their ire. Emboldened by everyone else''s support, Mei drank the whole thing, Unze trying to stop the dogs or at least force them to pause with his psychic voice. Mei consumes Booster Potion. Mei reaches Breaking Point. Her mind was filled with thoughts of bravery, courage, protectiveness, and a desire to experience the Thrill, the concoction flowing through her blood stream and bringing its liquid potency to every part of her body. The large beasts did not care that Mei was charging them both until her skin disappeared beneath an apparition of some unknown feline warrior. She slammed into them with the force of a careening car, breaking their guard. In sync, they swiped, clawed, and snapped their jaws together, trying to catch Mei in a pincer trap. With a wave of her intensely sharp nails, she threw one away with severe wounds, grabbing the other by the mouth and tearing its "head" open, splitting its skull apart. A sooty breeze flowed from the fatal rent, the slain foe falling to the ground in pieces. The other hound, despairing at the death of its comrade, squeezed out its remaining reserves of willpower, daring to remain conscious long enough to bite down on Mei''s arm, digging into and shattering the limb of the ghostly being. New Skill: [Feline Fine] has ended. Entering cooldown period... In those slow final moments, the people could do nothing besides watch the scene unfold before their eyes, time crawling forward at an agonizing pace. One tenth of a second. Then two. Then three, Dave flicking off the safety restrictions on his gun. Four-tenths. Five-tenths. The gun leaked from its a form a beautiful lightshow, integrity crumbling. Six-tenths. Seven-tenths. Boom. The gun exploded in a shower of luminescence, its last projectile zooming down the hallway and colliding with the Void Hound, causing it to fracture at the seams and confront the feeling of being torn apart into a million trillion little fragments, blown away by the wind with the corpse of the dog Mei torn apart, out the window into the storm. Dave''s emergency repair bots swiftly plugged the sundered metal shutters with liberal application of industrial QuikSeal, preventing any more enemies from exploiting the lapse in defense. Booster Potion loses effect. Mei collapsed, the high of the fight pulling away from her. All she was left with was the pain of having her arm crunched under the beast''s prodigious might. Acid dashed forward in a moment''s notice, catching her and lowering her to the cold tile floor, gesturing for Snake. A few seconds of fumbling yielded a wealth of healing and regeneration salves good for oral or external application, as she took on the task of First Aid and First responder. Dave sprinted down the hall to check Mei''s room, ensuring no one else would get in. Unze kneeled next to Rico, sitting against the wall, Dime worriedly squatting down next to Acid, still holding Mei''s hand as Snake slipped on sterile gloves and mana began to channel through her body... Wisp stood there staring for a while, unspeaking. The scene of the tired, beaten hotel residents seared itself into his mind. ¡°And that¡¯s what happened.¡± Chasma listened carefully to the whole tale, not once moving or moving to interrupt, waiting until he was finished to speak. "So basically you were checking up on everyone when suddenly you saw Mei being attacked by two monsters, and then after you called for help Mei was hurt fighting them with Snake''s assistance, and Mei manifested some sort of spirit and finished the dogs off?" ¡°That¡¯s the long and short of it.¡± Chasma paused, spindly arm sticking out of the vent in Wisp''s penthouse suite. "I suppose having something to fight for can really bring out the best in people." Wisp nodded in agreement. "Where were you when it all went down, by the way?" "Sleeping. All creatures need their rest to live satisfied." "Really? I thought you were just a blurry monster thing with the ability to create matter." "I feel insulted, but yes. That''s my only ability. I am not too far from your normal that I could go without sleep." "But you don''t abide by other laws. You are the only one of your kind, so you say, which means no matter what organs you may have you are sexless. And you refuse to dictate yourself by any gender." "And cage myself in a stupid false fabrication of what it means to live? To live by rules that mean nothing? I would rather stay genderless, if that is what it means to be free." "You would protect my freedom, right? You would always do your best to help me?" And Wisp could not see it past the black mist, but Chasma was smiling.\ "Always. Because that''s what friends are for.¡± Facing the Facts Wisp turned on the television, switching to the news channel, watching the anchors talk about casualty reports estimated to be the direct result of the Dust Storm in its initial hours. Now that the storm was truly in full swing, first responders were beginning to discover bodies outside, answering an increasing number of 911 calls from people stranded outside. Reports began to flood the network of strange monsters consisting entirely of the dust making up the storm, solidified. They were rare to see at all, but when one showed up, they often left a massacre in their wake before they could be stopped. On screen, a short, pale man with gray hair and mouse ears glowing like an LED stepped onto the platform, plugging his USB tail into the side of the big screen. The board lit up with a myriad of graphics, pie charts and high bars, numbers and stats for deaths and missing persons. ¡°Hello everybody, this is Pewter speaking, with the first report of the day regarding the current weather event that has befallen our city. Over here on the left, you can see the incidents of Void Hound attacks, as they have been named, increasing steadily after the first three hours of the storm¡­¡± A sudden thunderclap interrupted his relaxing TV time, lighting up the penthouse for a brief fraction of a second. Up here, in the penthouse, he still had a full view of the city. Despite the stout hotel size, this specific room was elevated on a giant support structure above the skyline, granting him a 360 degree view of the one bustling metropolis. Being so high up, the glass was already heavily reinforced so it wouldn¡¯t shatter from a stiff breeze, as was so common up high, and there were no metallic curtains to slide over the windows and obstruct his view. The buildings were so small, surrounding interspersed towering skyscrapers, reaching high above the ground. Rain fell now, in a heavy torrent, carpeting the town in low lighting conditions. The dust was forced to settle for now, swept away by the water, but even now he could still hear Pewter Mowse jabbering away on the television screen, commenting on projections for injuries and deaths for the following day as well as suggested protective measures against the enemy. Down on the streets, darkened by the heavy storm clouds and barely lit by street lamps, squads of soldiers creeped along paved pathways, guns held at the ready. With rifle rounds created exclusively for penetrating power, the watchmen kept their barrels pointed in every direction, covering every angle and listening acutely for even the most minute change in sound, despite the deluge of raindrops pitter pattering upon the concrete. The mission had been simple: track down and eliminate a small pack of hounds that had broken through the North Gate during the storm¡¯s opening. Eight had entered, and four were still missing. The other four had already been dealt with. Still, letting several of the evil mutts have free reign over the populace due to their failure would be terrible. No other gate had been breached, so the remaining four were the only ones left right now. Slipping into a nearby alleyway, the eight patrollers filed into the dark, musty space, scanning their corners in an attempt to avoid ambush. One of them, not paying attention to his feet, nearly tripped over some random forgotten object on the ground, unable to see clearly in the dark downpour. ¡°Shit. Who dropped their pistol here? I almost tripped over the fuckin thing.¡± ¡°Not me. I didn¡¯t bring a pistol during this deployment.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not allowed pistols. Just a combat knife for backup, remember?¡± The man picked up the mysterious pistol with no owner, inspecting it carefully. No noticeable markings, just a weapon lacking any discernible features. Beside the lost firearm, a pile of little obsidian-black bits¡­ ¡°You guys seeing this? I think it''s teeth.¡± ¡°Hold up, lemme check¡­ it matches the reference sheet I¡¯ve got here. Void Hound teeth. Enough for two of them.¡± ¡°I thought they turned into dust and blew away after you killed ¡®em?¡± ¡°Their teeth are the only thing real about them. Black as the night, they fetch a pretty price. The last dust storm was two decades ago, so a Void Hound necklace can go for millions. Harder than diamonds, they say. No one ever tells you about the teeth on television or the internet, though. Carefully kept secret by the elite. I only know about it because I¡¯m the one they sent out to grab them.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re here not to protect citizens, but to make money for the higher ups?¡± ¡°Yup. Drilled it into my head before they sent me out. On the record, you have to refer to the teeth as ¡®bonus spoils¡¯.¡± ¡°What the hell killed these two guys and left the teeth? If they¡¯re strong enough to take them down, they gotta be rich and knowledgeable.¡± ¡°Maybe Aric killed them. You know what they say¡­¡± The mission leader gestured to the intimidating hotel just a stone¡¯s throw away, locked down in silent slumber. The only indication it was still running was the tall pillar on top of the hotel, leading to a beacon of light shining from the windows at the very top. ¡°I heard Aric hasn¡¯t come back in years though. I¡¯ve never seen him.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°I saw him once. Dunno if the rumors were true, but they got one thing right: he dresses weird as hell. Sharply dressed, like he¡¯s attending a dinner party. When I met him he was buying the plot of land the Toothland Hotel is sitting on right now. Handed me a roll of $100 bills for ¡®keeping the peace¡¯. I was just patrolling the street that day. Sweet tip if you ask me.¡± ¡°Every city¡¯s got ¡®that guy¡¯ I suppose.¡± The squad leader scooped up the jet-black teeth, depositing it in a pouch to deliver to his boss later. ¡°Good that you found it. That¡¯s two down already. I think we might be able to get out of this just fine. Now move towards the hotel, remember to check your left¡­¡± And as they moved forwards, morale high from their discovery, they did not see the two beasts perched on the rooftop until it was much too late. One was instantly eliminated, crushed underfoot while guarding the rear. The remaining seven swiveled around a split second later, fingers on the trigger, greeting with the sight of a Void Hound and the bloodstain it just created on the stone floor. ¡°FIRE!¡± At the commander¡¯s behest, they unloaded their weapons directly into its face. The mutt quickly swept forward, blowing away the first and second soldiers before succumbing to the onslaught of lead, backpedaling as the bullets pierced its skull and tore through its insides. Then the commander, leading the front, was turned into sliced ham, as the other hound revealed itself. It did not even give time for the men to react, barreling into them at high speed. They tried their best to survive. The sound of gunfire was deafening, echoing off the brick walls for several agonizing seconds accompanied by yelling and the flashing lights of the rifles¡¯ muzzles. Then sudden silence. The rain continued to fall, unperturbed by the happenings of the tiny little creatures far below, and a bag of teeth lay abandoned on the wet concrete, beside a lost pistol and eight scuffed military-issue rifles. A broken combat knife lay broken among the trash bags in the darkness, the penthouse far above them no longer lit... Wisp stood pensively in the elevator, letting it take him down the spire his room rested upon. The numbers counted down, frequently making a ringing sound as he descended. Absent-mindedly, he checked his phone, then his text messages. Delivered two days ago. No answer since that day. Something was wrong here. Perhaps their cell phone was broken, or some kind of localized jamming as result of the storm? No way to know for sure, since dust storms were quite rare and not much data could be gathered often due to the risks of going outside at these times. Ding ding ding rang the bell, doors opening to deposit its cargo. Nervous, Wisp shuffled across the carpeted floor, hesitating with his hand on the doorknob to the room. Deep breath, remain calm and collected. Opening the door revealed a darkened conference room, a long oblong table surrounded by high tech chairs, equipped for maximum comfort. Everyone was healed from their wounds, no scars or signs of battle on anyone. All sat in different positions, with Snake at the head of the table. Vola reclined, annoyed at having to respond. Dave fiddled with a strange mechanical capsule, unfolding and changing its colors. Acid leaned forward on the desk, fingers interlocked to support her head, goggles obscured by a white glint. Mei drew into herself, watching her hands crackle with unknown energy. Rico flexed his forearm, practicing hardening it at a moment''s notice. Dime was distracted petting Den¡¯s hard metallic surface, while Unze put himself through a battery of voice exercises for perfect resonance and maximum volume. A single spotlight lit up the chair at the far end of the table as Wisp went to sit at the closer end to the door. Snake swiveled around dramatically, slamming both palms down on the aged wooden desk. ¡°I know you¡¯re wondering why I called you all here today.¡± Vola¡¯s propeller hat spun a few times and he sighed, snapping his fingers. ¡°It¡¯s about the fight yesterday, isn¡¯t it? I wasn¡¯t even there for that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to discuss what we¡¯re going to do now! If they broke in once, they can break in again. We can¡¯t afford to be lax with security.¡± Rico grinned, turning into a rock solid death bringer. The chair struggled to support the sudden change in weight. ¡°I could definitely take down one by myself. Vola could take another, maybe two. I think we¡¯ll be ok on that front.¡± ¡°What if there are more and they come in much greater droves? We only saw two, but there might be others about to storm the hotel.¡± Dave raised his hand, capsule assembling into an armband. ¡°I can set up patrols and static defenses to hold them off. I don¡¯t have the materials to make many things though, unless you can do a supply run during the storm.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll depend on you for that. Vola and Rico I¡¯ll place on standby. I¡¯ll wire up an alarm or something to notify you when things go wrong and I need your help.¡± ¡°What should we do to prevent something like this from happening again?¡± said Unze, intent on contributing. Dime just flicked a coin onto the table in solidarity, prompting Mei to look up from where she sat and give everyone her two cents. ¡°...I can be on the patrol list. Too. I think. I don¡¯t know how, but I kind of could kill them really easily with my power.¡± Acid raised a hand to Mei to get her to stop. ¡°You haven¡¯t trained with it enough though. Ideally you should have more proficiency in wielding it before actually fighting a dangerous battle.¡± ¡°I can fend for myself! I¡¯m literally the top in this relationship!¡± Vola shook his head, conceding the point to Acid. ¡°She¡¯s right. I didn¡¯t learn how to hex people in a day. All powers can take weeks, months, maybe years to learn. You have to put in hard work to learn your ability, like the rest of us.¡± Unze disagreed, standing up from his seat in the middle of the table. ¡°I didn¡¯t have to spend that long figuring out how to use my voice. It¡¯ll become second nature for her. Besides, what¡¯s important is defending ourselves NOW, not months in the future.¡± Thus the argument flared, choosing to side with either Acid or Mei on the topic of risk management and the relative safety of fighting on home ground. Snake leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes under her glasses. This was not how she envisioned everything going when she called the meeting. Wisp turned on the big screen TV in the room, depicting Pewter reporting on a breaking news story: a Void Hound, all by itself, was rampaging in their sector of the city, attacking some residential district and giving the local enforcement a run for their money. All eyes instinctively turned to the glowing screen. With everyone momentarily distracted, he could now get a word in edgewise¡­ ¡°I get you guys all have some very important opinions about this, but I think you¡¯re all missing something very important. Snake?¡± ¡°Yes, you may have the floor. What¡¯s¡­ what¡¯s more important than the defense of the hotel you need to talk about?¡± He narrowed his eyes at her in apathetic disappointment, rubbing his forehead in his hands trying to ignore the headache he was about to have. ¡°Did you all forget about KYKI? They haven¡¯t come home or texted me anything. The last time I saw or talked to them was right before they said they were going to walk home by themselves. I¡¯d say that¡¯s pretty IMPORTANT.¡± Everyone else turned their eyes away, slightly guilty. No one wanted to say the obvious thing. ¡°Now that we¡¯re all on the same page: how are we going to find them?¡± Far from the conference room darkness lurked, ready to claim more lives, a robot army prepared for imminent assault, and one person, despite all the misfortune surrounding these past few days, grinned in anticipation of what was to come. Point of View There was no vision or sight to speak of, only the darkness encapsulating the mind. No sound to be made or found, as Kyki had no real body anymore. Kyki opened their not-eyes to not-see the surroundings. In this endless mindspace, little clear cubes containing colorful collections manifested into place, floating aimlessly through the ¡°air¡± to surround Kyki in magical little lights. With a single phantasmal hand, they reached out to one such cube, fingers penetrating its ghostly surface with no resistance. The transparent arm began to glow softly, absorbing the contents, and Kyki felt the touch of indifference. And they were gray, and the mindspace was too. Where was this place? There were no walls or ceilings, and not even a floor to stand on. Just an infinite emptiness, stretching as far as the eye could see. Kyki withdrew, and the gray withered, returning to its cubic home. All around the white clear boxes bounced around, forming a cloud of light in this darkness. Walking forward through the mist of prisms caused many to bump off Kyki¡¯s semi-solid form, pushed backwards like a wave in the ocean. Grasping another cube filled the veins with a tingly, lightheaded feeling. The quick beating of the ¡°heart¡± and a rippling sense of warmth and safety. With a flick, the touch of love was flung away into the sea of other cubes. But the consequences were permanent. The black emptiness and the gray apathy shrunk to make room for the rosy pink and red hues of intimacy. Soon they were joined by melancholic blues and joyful yellow, hues of brown and green in beautiful sheens. The colors exploded outwards, permeating all things, wiping away the extraneous cuboids. Trees sprouted from earth, and buildings assembled themselves like legos on a child¡¯s playmat. Bricks slid into place, topped by sheet metal roofing. Strings criss crossed over each other to create a creaking mesh cover over the door. Little dim orange lanterns lit up the front yard in soft yellow splendor. A light breeze rustled leaves on oaks lined up neatly across the pavement, backlit by the evening moon and the many stars in the night sky, in an idealistic portrayal of the world. Everything was just a little too exact in design¡­ The crickets chirped in perfectly uneven intervals. Lights from other houses along the suburbs shined through windows, painting lawns in gentle tangerine. Even the individual stones in the pavement were cracked just right, just like how it used to be on Kyki¡¯s night walks. Everything here was so nostalgic, so familiar, as if nothing had ever happened and life was normal. The warm fuzzy feeling came and went again, fleeting in nature. A phone buzzed in a right pocket, and Kyki pulled it out and answered reflexively. ¡°Yellow?¡± ¡°Everything okay? You¡¯re staying out a little late again. Mom won¡¯t be happy about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ll be home soon.¡± Kyki turned to where home was, then swiveled around and began to walk away. The night was still young, and Kyki did not want to go home¡­ Dave had no knowledge of these events. He was merely suiting up for the upcoming mission, slipping his helmet on and his leggings and greaves. Within his makeshift power armor, outfitted with airtight joints and inbuilt oxygen tank, he felt much more confident leaving the hotel. Behind him stood Wisp, who needed no such protection, and Vola, sure he could tackle whatever came his way. Acid declined to go, as the turbulent winds and constant rainstorm were sure to blow away her lethal smog. Unze waved them goodbye, blowing them a kiss before their departure. ¡°Good luck kiss!!!¡± Rico continued to call any other nearby Airbnb¡¯s or other rentals to ask about any recent new tenants. He was becoming increasingly frustrated as each and every phone call ended up as a blank. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°None of the fucking rentals in the area have seen Kyki. Looks like you will have to go find them yourselves. Sorry for the trouble, Wisp.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s my job, after all. I trust you and the others can hold down the fort here?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve learned our lesson. No way we¡¯re letting the dogs catch us off guard again.¡± Mei pushed her way to the forefront, indignant about not being granted permission to leave the building. ¡°What the hell! Why can¡¯t I go? I literally saved your asses from the dogs. I¡¯m absolutely strong enough to handle myself out there.¡± Snake tapped the readout on her device, processing data from the physical she performed on Mei post-incident. After some number crunching and obnoxious moments spent in Microsoft Excel¡­ ¡°Actually, a lot of that strength was a product of the power surge from unlocking your ability for the first time. It was like a release, a burst of will from a reservoir you never knew you had. Your ability signatures have leveled out now to be much more reasonable for a newbie.¡± ¡°How would you know? You don¡¯t even have an ability.¡± ¡°Of course I do! How do you think I make my potions? Like science could ever explain half the stuff I do.¡± Strands of blue energy curled around her arm like a silken scarf, thin but with substance and floating around like a jellyfish tentacle. ¡°Never underestimate a genius who is also a magician.¡± Mei leapt at Snake with a quick swipe, forcing her onto the defense with targeted strikes. Reflexively, Snake reached into a back pocket for a jar of billowing lavender fumes, tossing it gently into the air. Eddies of her blue mana carried it through the air, causing it to shatter and saturate the area with a familiar vapor. Mei coughed, trying to wave away the haze. ¡°Shit. You bottled Acid¡¯s gas?¡± ¡°Not quite. It¡¯s a derivative I¡¯ve been saving for a special occasion. The outside is very dangerous, so I think it¡¯s best I give you a taste of what is to come.¡± And to say that was so unlike Snake that Mei hesitated, only for a moment. But that was enough. As everyone else backed away to stay out of range of the sudden brawl, a slew of bottles arced through the smog, crashing all around her and evoking a variety of effects. One released a blinding blast, another exploded to scatter shrapnel everywhere, and another shattered against Mei¡¯s apparition to engulf her lower half with a quick-solidifying goo. Mei is entangled in Hardened Gel. Speed down. She tore at the substance with ghostly claws, slicing through the material with ease. The mound began to crack, and a leg was freed. Snake casts [Burning Hands]. The fumes were suddenly blown out of the way by a thin wall of fire, scorching the ground beneath its destructive advance. Confronted with real bodily harm, Mei concentrated¡­ [Feline Fine] initiates power surge. With an instantaneous bang, Mei leapt from her entrapment, scattering shards of the goo across the ground as she tore through the flames with spiritual claws. With that most recent attack it was obvious where Snake was, a faint silhouette from that direction. In mere moments Mei was upon her, taking the advantage and nearly tearing apart the poor woman, who was saved only by quick thinking and the noble sacrifice of her potion belt, shorn in half. The whole ensemble dropped to the floor between the two, reminding everyone why it was a terrible idea to let different elixirs mix together. The result was so violent everyone had to cover their eyes to avoid being blinded by light and expelled glass shards. When the dust cleared, both were lying on the ground in different states of wholly stunned from the chaotic blast. Snake pushed herself off the ground, finding her glasses broken, and threw the trashed frame at Mei, bouncing harmlessly off her head. ¡°Goddamnit. I can¡¯t see clearly anymore. Now how am I supposed to work with spreadsheets?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, I won. Got you at the end.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m still standing and you¡¯re lying on the floor. Technically that means I win.¡± ¡°I could get up, I just don¡¯t want to. I clapped ya cheeks noob. EZ not even close, keep malding and coping and seething. I¡¯m staying winning, and you¡¯re losing.¡± Wisp squatted next to Mei¡¯s prone form in moderate concern and slight contempt. ¡°If it¡¯s any consolation, that was pretty impressive. I guess I could make an exception for you. You still lost, though.¡± ¡°Nope. Impossible. Mad cuz bad. Skill issue. Straight up banged your mom last night, that¡¯s how awesome I am. Legitimately have over 300 confirmed kills. Cry about it.¡± Mei coped, Wisp added a new member to his party, and metalheads in the industrial districts continued to slave over their work. Automotive Industries churned out robot after robot, in different variants, as well as modding the ones already on hand. Flush with money, all they needed was more combat capability. And with this next batch of offensive drones, all would be remedied. Dime was a literal gold mine, the not-so-proverbial golden goose, inconveniently protected by a gaggle of unknowing friends. They would leave eventually, though. Everyone caught on to just how dangerous protecting him was, in time. Soon he would be in the grasp of someone who could really use the power of the coin. They could barely wait. The First Memory: Dime The pitter patter of feet on dirt roads could be heard for a moment, as a small form sprinted past trees and shrubbery. Leaves crunched underfoot, the sky cloudy and gray and melancholic. Far behind, miles away, bands of robots entered the forest, scanning their surroundings for vital signs. A humanoid droid clad in military garb led them directly, transmitting orders straight to their processing chips. ¡°Fan out over the whole woodland. We can¡¯t afford to let him escape us again! Do you all want to be made fools of by our neighboring chapter in Commonhaven?!¡± He needed not vocalize, but it had become a force of habit after being forced to endure the tiring presence of many living things, all which in their imperfection could only communicate through sound waves. Such a critical oversight, he thought, having been molded for the very purpose of commanding the legions of Automotive Industries, at least in his city. After the little gremlin was revealed to be a Volan in nature, it had fled, tearing through stone and steel in a bid for escape. Which was why a whole division had been sent to hunt down the creature. Now it was desperate, injured from repeated attacks and flagging as its stamina dwindled every moment it continued the chase. But the general and his men were no living things, inefficient and fragile. Metal bodies and compact fuel cells ensured their continuous operation for hours, and with constant resupply from support vehicles there was no question of the fate that awaited the demonic monster. The trees became taller and ever greater, stretching to magnanimous heights. Many were hundreds of feet tall, a precious few so gigantic as to reach miles high. Dime had no time to appreciate the wonders of nature as he tunnel visioned, legs burning from running for so long. Scrapes covered much of his exposed skin and lacerations bled from every limb and his head. Even his limitless devilish stamina actually had a limit. And he was upon the precipice of reaching his. It was not long before he heard the beeping. Flickers of light from mechanical eyes and powerful flashlights cast beams that split on wood and branches, revealing many acres of land. He hid behind tree trunks, barely avoiding their makeshift spotlights and staying just out of range of their mid range scanners. For now they still could not locate him, trawling the wider area in an insane frenzy. For a moment they had seen his horns and that sealed his future. He could not help that his fiendish kind was constantly persecuted for perceived injustices and his valuable body parts, used for a variety of elixirs and magical weaponry. So tired was he, nearly on the verge of collapse, that he didn¡¯t even notice the squad that had circled around him to stop his flight. If not for his quick reflexes, he would have nearly been hit by a salvo of lasers and beams, bullets and bombs. The rampant destruction of these stray projectiles, most of which missed their mark, crunched wood and tore up soil and dirt, creating a massive dust cloud accompanied by a loud explosion. Immediately all nearby units who could sense this disturbance immediately changed trajectories to this location. Looking around, it was obvious he was cornered. The woodlands had been encircled to create a net by which to trap him. Around him they gathered, surrounding him with bodies of steel and circuitry. Their lifeless eyes bored into his mind as Dime withdrew into himself, curling up to protect his vitals. The sea of robotic sentinels parted, the general inserting himself into their midst to greet the ¡°beast¡± on his last legs. ¡°Just give up. You know you cannot escape us forever. We are more numerous than you could ever imagine, you must understand. Our business spans the whole continent. Our influence is inescapable. Turn yourself in now, and you won¡¯t have to go through all the pain. We¡¯ll let you live, you know. Our containment towns have lots to do, and we¡¯ll only need to harvest your flesh every so often.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t want to live trapped in a metal box forever. I want to be free! And to go wherever I want and make real friends! I just want to live my life how I want to live it.¡± ¡°A commendable goal. A shame, then. No hard feelings for this, alright?¡± The general raised his palm, and a kinetic round suddenly tore off Dime¡¯s left arm before embedding itself deep in the ground. He collapsed to the ground, shocked and barely feeling the pain due to the adrenaline. He did not need to look at his stump to know what had happened, and he tried desperately to crawl away. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Take him away. Make sure he never sees the light of day again.¡± And as the wall of eyes and arms, metal and wires reached out to grasp him, he charged forward recklessly into their frontline. Droids were tossed away like ragdolls, crumpling under the pressure or shorn in half by his remaining arm. The general watched him flee with measured, tranquil silence. ¡°He¡¯ll fall to the floor any moment now. Exhaustion is upon him. Finish the job, men.¡± His army dispersed and he reached down to grab a dismembered metal arm and a leg. They still crackled with electricity, silently screaming in binary for assistance. Nodding to a group of squat metal bots, they began to gather the corpses of the dead and lost. All would be recycled into more workers, more troops, more ¡°manpower¡±. Expansion would never stop, and it would definitely not end here. Stumbling into a clearing, Dime fell to his knees, unable to keep going. Gasping for breath was barely enough. His throat burned with parched thirst, stomach with gnawing hunger. The conifers and evergreens around him seemed so towering now, lording over his weak and vulnerable form. Fading, he was. Soon there would be no him, anymore. One powerful, vigorous strike to the heart, and he was done. His natural regeneration was capable of anything but took too much time for larger or more important body parts. His chest would not even begin to knit together before his mind gave out, and he returned to the earth from which he was born. And his respite was short and bitter, as the steps of his enemies could be heard from right behind. Nets of energy wrapped around him, and he could not muster the energy to tear free from their clutches. In seconds he was doomed. Already images of eternal slavery and entrapment filled Dime¡¯s brain, quivering in abject fear from his imminent fate. On the other end of the spectrum, the general was overjoyed to have finally captured his prey after so long. ¡°Goodbye, Dime. If you live long enough, maybe you¡¯ll be allowed free one day, when we won¡¯t need you anymore. Any last words before I warp you there?¡± ¡°...BURN IN HELL.¡± It came out as a whisper, a wheezing fatigued voice from a resigned victim. The general would have smiled if his metal face allowed it, happy with his success as his minions readied the teleporter to send them back. He could already see the face of his superiors and his assured promotion! Clink. A little golden coin collided against the head of a drone. It promptly fell to the ground, instantly crushed like a can under incredible gravitic duress. ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± A little hut, hidden from view at the edge of the clearing, opened its door to reveal a short teenage girl in a brown overcoat, skinny to the point of underweight and holding a hovering, spinning coin in one hand and gesturing with the other. And she spoke. ¡°You enter my home, and kill so loosely outside my home? Criminal.¡± A slew of more coinage impacted surfaces, crunching every robot like an empty coke can. The general stepped back in fear, watching the dangerous newcomer intently to try and discern the root of their power. He quickly noticed the right hand still gathering power to fuel a slowly growing coin now the size of the girl¡¯s hand. With a flick of the rest she tossed it towards him. Trying to sidestep it did not work, as the trajectory of the coin swerved to meet him. As it grew closer, his accelerated thought felt the pressure skyrocketing before his very eyes. But before he could be killed like the rest, the general¡¯s emergency telewatch lit up with a blinding flash of blue and purple and he vanished without a trace, leaving the giant coin meant for him to fizzle out and shrink until it disappeared before ever hitting the ground. Dime lay there in shock, unbelieving of the sight. Nearly a hundred individual enemies wiped out just like that? The rest of the division retreated without their commander, as per company policy, withdrawing from the forest with haste. His enhanced hearing felt them leave, and his heart began to beat slower. With calm and the momentary end of the conflict came the loss of adrenaline, and the PAIN. RED RED RED RED IT HURT IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS He could barely think as the net was sliced open by the girl¡¯s pocket knife, the compromised netting fading into nothing. Even unrestrained he lay on the soil, groaning from the severity of all the injuries he had accumulated. His small form was unceremoniously picked up, and carried princess style back towards the hut by the unknown girl. From up close he could see her brown hair hanging down to the lower back and the earthy eyes of a human most hopeful. In his agonizing daze, he could barely get the words out from between his grinding teeth: ¡°How? Who?¡± She kept walking, not taking a moment to look at Dime or back at the massacre she had caused, grinning with the knowledge of the good deed she had definitely just done. With a skip in her step and a brightness to her voice, she told him, ¡°Nobody important. You can just call me Coyn.¡± Harder Than You Thought A heavy bluster crashed against Wisp¡¯s coat as he tried to shield himself from the rain in his dark raincoat. He didn¡¯t even bother bringing an umbrella, knowing it would be blown away in this weather. Dave had a much easier time, his heavy power armor barely shifted by fierce winds. Vola crawled along the ground, minimizing force applied horizontally to his body so he could continue forward without risk of losing his footing. Mei¡¯s stand could cover her like a forcefield. Lightning crackled, striking metal rods erected on particularly tall skyscrapers, lighting up the city with flashes of white and purple. Frequent thunderclaps and the pounding of countless raindrops upon cracked asphalt and decadent concrete drowned out all other sounds, making communication difficult if not downright impossible. Slipping into a covered backstreet narrowly placed between two apartment complexes granted them some small reprieve from the weather. ¡°Dave? Any life signs that could be¡­¡± ¡°For the 17th time: no. I would have told you otherwise. There are literally no vital signs within 30 meters, besides ours.¡± Wisp leaned against the wall in deep thought, wordlessly contemplating his next moves. Here he was at an impasse, a seemingly unsolvable dilemma. For Kyki was nowhere to be found. Combing the city during the storm was difficult and proved to be fruitless so far, serving only to exhaust everyone besides Dave, who needed not put his full effort into his movements. The suit¡¯s servos did that for him. ¡°By the way Dave, why does your mask remind me of an animatronic? What¡¯s up with that?¡± said Vola, pointing at his helmet to draw Dave¡¯s attention. ¡°It¡¯s my aesthetic obviously. I say it adds intimidation value to the armor. Best way to win a battle is to get inside their head, y¡¯know?¡± Vola¡¯s arms were covered in a swirling mass of dark energies, unsettling to view and even scarier to be the subject of. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know that all too well. How do you think I got these powers?¡± Mei raised a hand in her tired state, hands on her knees and breathing in and out deeply. ¡°So uh, did you- did you say that there are no vital signs? Around us? At all?¡± ¡°Yes. Otherwise I would have tracked them down to figure out if it was Kyki or not.¡± ¡°Is your scanner supposed to capture the residents too? Shouldn¡¯t there be people in the buildings around us, hiding from the storm?¡± And Dave could not snap back with a snarky comment, because she was right. This section of the city was mysteriously empty, their immediate vicinity devoid of life. In fact, he couldn¡¯t even see himself or his team on the minimap. ¡°You¡¯re right. It isn¡¯t detecting anything, not even us. Either it¡¯s broken, despite the fact I checked it today, or it¡¯s being scrambled. By someone, or something.¡± A great silence descended upon them, overcome by an eerie sense of imminent dread. For a moment, all was still; and then Vola turned on a dime to throw a punch behind himself. At first they thought he was crazy, until the assassin that was nearly killed decloaked behind him. Standing there in the shadows, a shimmering robotic killer backpedaled as ruinous damage to its shoulder caused the cloaking system to fail. Both parties sized each other up, observing the other for weaknesses. The would-be assassin attempted to scale the wall to try and escape, only for Dave to raise a rifle and turn them into swiss cheese. The body hit the floor with an audible CLANG, sparking and melting from the heat of the rifle. Immediately his sensors came online again, the assassin¡¯s jamming failing along with the rest of its internals. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The back of the metal skull, on further inspection, had ¡°Automotive Industries Mk 1 Unseen Hand¡± printed on the back. Wisp held his head in his hands. ¡°First Kyki is gone, and now we¡¯re being hunted for sheltering Dime? My god, this day couldn''t get any worse.¡± Over the rain could be heard an explosion in the distance, brick and stone and mortar crumbling to the ground. A roar of anger pierced through the storm, turning heads. ¡°I take that back. It could get worse. All who want to investigate the noise raise your hands.¡± The decision was easily unanimous, leaving the alley to push on towards their new objective. Down the road, a detachment of Mk 1 Guardians formed a loose encirclement around a partially destroyed building, unflinching as their tower shields were buffeted by water and debris. From the ruined complex came the last Void Hound, wounded but still ferocious as ever, aggravated by a hail of gunfire from surrounding buildings. The beast was not cowed by mere bullets, as typical firearms could not effectively harm it through its mysteriously thick hide. Void Hound uses [Piercing Wail]! Combat Constructs are immune to fear. Thus the robots weathered the opener, a couple of Mk 1 Juggernauts closing in on the beast. These models were larger than the norm, equipped with powerful energy blades able to slice through normal materials like butter. This powerful attack and strengthened impact made up for the cost of the armor required to plate its outsides and the slow speed with which it took actions. The hound was no fool, understanding the true threat. With speed that belied its size, it leapt forward with incredible force in an attempt to smash through the encompassment. At first it seemed like an easy solution, since the Guardians were like little bowling pins compared to the hound. And then¡­ Guardian 1 activates [Emergency Thruster]! Guardian 2 activates [Emergency Thruster]! Guardian 3 activates [Emergency Thruster]! .... ¡­. A whole bunch of them activated at once, suddenly propelled by boosters on the back to the hound. Both SLAMMED into each other, creating a pressure boom that parted the rain and swept away the grime and Dime in the air for a fleeting moment, where metal met darkness and beast met machine. The Void Hound struggled to push against the incredible force of the rockets at first, but then began to take step by step forward, against the odds. A concerned Juggernaut approached at a measured pace, hefting its greatsword above its head. Void Hound uses [Dark Pulse]! And the Guardians swarming its front were unceremoniously flung away like flies before a tornado. The Juggernaut had barely a second to react before the dog reached him and batted it away with a single paw, hurling it into an empty office building where it stayed down. For now. The blade was not so lucky, snapping in half under the weight of the mutt¡¯s foot. A kinetic round fired from a rooftop impacted the Void Hound with great force, knocking it to the ground as more Juggernauts approached. Outnumbered and outgunned, the hound could not completely avoid the deadly swings of its enemies, accumulating cuts along its length and legs. For a minute, the battle seemed decided, the hound too far gone to pull back the victory from the ruthlessly efficient drone army. And then a BANG sounded from the rooftops, one of the Mk 1 Gunners falling off in multiple pieces. The rain cleared away the Dime and debris, to reveal a glowing grinning Vola clutching the dented arm of the destroyed robot. ¡°We¡¯re back, bitches! Miss me?¡± Such was how the robotic army was thrown into a sudden frenzy. Most turned their sensors to the newcomers, identifying them as bodyguards of the Chasmaary target. The majority retargeted to Wisp and his rescue team, granting the hound just enough leeway to escape the grasp of its captors and begin clawing them to bits, slowly crushing a Juggernaut in its jaws as the rangers were all summarily executed by Mei and Vola, with Dave providing ranged fire support. The Guardians were knocked away by the dog of darkness, who turned its ire to these invaders. It could not, would not rest until all was dead. Vola chucked a skull at another robot, watching them blow up beautifully like in the movies. ¡°You should have just kept to yourselves, idiots!¡± Mei sliced off the gun arm of a hapless Mk 1 Sniper, bashing it into the floor in a brutal display of superiority. With the board now cleared of the Chasmaary threat, they turned their eyes to the wounded and helpless Void Hound, snarling at them and threatening to pounce. Dave, unimpressed, overcharged his automatic rifle to pierce the head of the dog in one fell swoop, executing it for good. ¡°Done. I think that¡¯s the last one. There should be no more interruptions from here on out.¡± Mei sat down on a nearby object to rest, commenting, ¡°What about the interruption of more of those Automotive Industry combat models? They¡¯ll probably send more after us.¡± Wisp quickly put two and two together: ¡°Do you guys think they kidnapped Kyki? I just realized how timely that would be. They could be trying to capture all of us to reduce our strength.¡± Dave was unsure with this hypothesis, countering, ¡°Why would they catch us rather than murder us? If Kyki has disappeared, don¡¯t you think they could have been¡­¡± ¡°No. I won¡¯t consider it. Kyki is out there, likely imprisoned, and I¡¯m going to fix it. Now it''s personal.¡± Mei sighed, kicking the seat she was sitting on in frustration. ¡°So it¡¯s simple then. Just break into their factory or whatever and find Kyki. That shouldn¡¯t be too hard, I guess.¡± Then her seat stirred, shaking. The white ovallish shell was hollow, with a dark opening at one end and little holes and points scattered across its surface. From a hole peered a little blue eye, and scythe-like legs extended from the opening and sunk into the ground as the beast stood tall above them like a predator from hell. The Lagavulin has awoken! The gang backed up as it stared at them with pure anger, shrieking in rage and approaching them with slow and careful steps. Wisp was not amused. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be too hard, huh?¡± Someplace Else Passing by, Kyki vaguely remembered the school ingrained in memory, though the name eluded them. The names of people and pals blended together into a mishmash of memory and reality, so that was beyond them as well. From inside emanated reverberating waves of some strange activity that could be felt even from outside. It drew inwards, calling¡­ The place exuded some decrepit aura, inspiring a general sense of malaise and decay about the whole building. The front doors were left open, revealing a red glow reminiscent of some furnace or kiln, fired up and ready to go. Unexpectedly, the light felt quite inviting, nostalgic and familiar. Their legs move on their own, bringing them closer and closer to this place of education. The dull windows and multi-story exterior loomed over them imposingly, as Kyki reached a hand out to pull the door open. As their foot crossed the threshold, and the sound of steps sank deeper and deeper into the dark interior, the door silently, and slowly, swung shut with a click. Locked fast. The lights here were dim from disuse, or non-existent, shattered and broken from outside wear and tear. Some lockers were open, papers scattered on the floor. Notebooks, textbooks, personal effects from people unknown and long gone. Mold and rot creeped across the tile floor and up into the foam ceiling. The rooms were desolate, chairs and tables overturned and the contents spilling everywhere. Bending down, Kyki picked up what looked to be a diary, opening it and flipping through its pages. Words and images flicked by at a rapid pace, detailing a familiar story¡­ First, there was a house. There were many houses in the same relative shape or height, with matching proportions in suburbs all across ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. But this one was unique in its own way. So there sat ¡­¡­¡­¡­, swinging back and forth on the porch swing¡­ Crude pencil illustrations, scribbled in the margins, depicted scenery they remembered, only intermittently and in small bursts. It tickled at the edge of the mind, caressing thoughts and prayers and yay or naysayers, words, feelings, breathing and seeing the world as what it once was. Remembering¡­ Kyki reached out a little bit in body but mostly in mind, towards the brightest of bright lights. THUMP. You hear it. You are standing there, clutching that journal between your fingers, feeling the not-quite-smooth college ruled paper rub against your hands, trembling because it¡¯s so cold. You are freezing. THUMP. Heavy footsteps down the hall. THUMP. You hold your breath. The foot, it falls. THUMP. Frantic, you turn to your left, your right, body pressed against the wall, searching for reprieve, escape. The desks are too weak, too small, too dark. The cabinets, too open, too big, handle falling off. Through the haze you see it, the answer, and in a moment you¡¯re gone. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. Steady. Steady. Time be frozen, air be still, frost and cold and icy chills. The figure now is just outside the door. It creaks open and THE THING is here. Its form is unknowable. It does not breathe. All you can hear is the thumping of heavy footfalls. It is close now. Can you feel it? Its body is nearly brushing your skin. It is the one caressing your mind. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Feel it. Embrace it. Accept it. Give up. You shrink into yourself and disappear, over and over and further and further. It crushes a desk. The splintering is so noisy. But you¡¯re so sluggish now, so tired, so sleepy. Your eyes are barely open as it gets closer, then closer. The supply closet¡­ so obvious. Does it see you? Can it hear you? Its loving arms(?) reach out to you. It surrounds you from all sides, and it is SUFFOCATING. The pressure alone restricts your lungs, and the strength begins to leave your body. You despair. Its REAL arm emerges, hand hovering in the air, lowering down to the closet door. Death¡¯s fingers wrap around your neck. Your chest feels like it''s about to explode. You don¡¯t want to die yet. Squeeze your eyes shut. Shrivel into yourself and brace, brace, BRACE- SNAP. The door handle snaps in twain, rusted and worn by age and neglect. The thing lets go, and the metal falls to the ground, hitting the ground in multiple pieces. Suddenly you can see again, and hear again, as the footfalls begin again, growing quieter and quieter. But you wait there. Stony stillness in that little closet corner, heart beating out of your torso. One minute. Two. Three. Kyki opened the door very, very slowly. Every audible snap, crack, or creak was a spike of pain through the skull. Creeping towards the classroom door, peeking out into the hallway again. There is no one. With slow and measured steps, Kyki brushed up against the exit, both hands on the bar. But it won¡¯t BUDGE. Chains keep it closed, and any kind of struggle would alert the thing. Damn school exits. Nowhere to go but deeper into the school. And it is dark. Only the sunbeams of summer sunset streamed through windows, illuminating the places where so many friends once gathered. But when they looked outside, there was nothing but white. No ground, no sky. No escape to be had. Deeper into the school, blood begins to stain the walls. There are no bodies. Up the stairs, a chalky trail. It lines the floor, in images reminiscent of childrens¡¯ hopscotch and four square. Up, up! The images spoke to them. Keep going up, they said, you are getting closer. It is just a little further, keep walking, oh no. Turn back, it comes, the ice. ¡°The ice?¡± they questioned, eyes on the floor. Chalk could speak? Chalk could warn? THUMP. And Kyki skittered away into a sideroom. As it passed by they could not help but feel helpless, hopeless at its silent wrath. It is so hard. Better to curl up into a ball and die here than face the thing. Stupid, stupid. Keep going! Get up. Walk. Running! Go now! Kyki could have been sitting there for hours, until they finally got up and creeped out the sideroom into the hallway again. Chalk could speak and chalk could warn, chalk is very good at scorn. Soon, they could the thrum. It felt strange to them, so foreign yet so familiar. It was that happy little feeling that kept the dark clouds at bay. It was addicting, overpowering¡­ up the stairs now, more steps towards heaven. Pushing on, never resting. Hesitating to touch the rusted railings, contemplating their moral failings. Approaching the roof, they began to feel so buoyant, freed from sadness, grinning from ear to ear. Oh, to be alone without troubles, light as a feather! The door to the roof flew open, Kyki feeling on top of the world. But the voices¡­ the chalk grew quiet here. Nothing but a line curving, waving towards The Orb. It floated over the ground, over where the chalky line finally terminated. It¡¯s hum was omnipresent, influence undeniable. It attracted the eye, making it hard to turn away. And when Kyki grasped the thing, the source of the school¡¯s glow¡­ THUMP. Behind you. THUMP. THUMP. It was mad. Very mad. Kyki did not, could not look at it. Was it angry at the theft of The Orb? They opened their palm to offer it back, but to their surprise: empty. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. It sought to tear them apart, limb from limb, groaning and mumbling. Despair gripped their bones and crushed their mind at its approach, but strangely Kyki felt fuller, happier. In a moment of uncharacteristic bravery, they reached out a palm to the thing. It did not falter. And it raised its arm, about to strike, when the glow exploded. It flooded forth from Kyki¡¯s hands in a sudden rush, pelting the being of despair with legions of orbs, all glowing bright holding memories of the past. Happy summer days, the freshness of the morning air, spring dew on a leaf, playing games together, living, breathing, thriving. And it was all so much, all at once, and then- nothing. Kyki stood there, arms outstretched, eyes shut, for a few seconds, waiting for death. But they opened their eyes to happy thoughts, dancing across their arms and legs, a crown of sentimentality to rest upon their unkempt hair. The thing is gone now. They knew this intimately. All that was left was a small, black orb, among a pile of ash and dust. They hesitated to pick it up, but could not stop themselves in the end. It was just something that had to be done. To leave without this marble sized blackened ball would be to forfeit something important. (Brrring, brrring, brrring) The phone goes off, and Kyki blinks. They are standing outside the school exit, holding¡­ nothing. Hands empty. They reach into their pocket and pull out the phone. ¡°Hello? Kyki? It¡¯s dark outside now, and Mom wants you to come home.¡± It was dark now. Night time, actually. Looking back, the old school stood proud, still crumbling and overgrown. The doors hung open, and the school flag tattered beyond repair. But lining the roof, in every window, their friends, schoolmates, pals of all kinds stood, watching them. They wave to the crowd, and the crowd waves back. Kyki is waving at an empty schoolhouse. The memories of the past drift across their skin, a little darker than they remembered. They hung up, and strolled away, a glowing golden line drawing itself across the sky. Instinctively, they felt another of their memories resting someplace else, and they followed, disappearing into the nighttime city, full of bright lights, flashing colors, neon billboards. And Kyki is gone, tailed only by an echo of the thing, trailing in their wake. Weight Off Your S(h)oul(ders) It was almost cute, in a way, had she not been on the receiving end of its wrathful anger. Mei had no choice but to back the hell up, under the assault of the Lagavulin. Its sharp legs were crafted like blades, able to slice apart many things; this included Dave¡¯s kinetic rounds, which were virtually useless against the beast. The bits of shrapnel clattered against its outer shell, in a chorus of tinks, chinks, clinks, and Dave¡¯s disappointment. ¡°I¡¯m disappointed,¡± said Dave, throwing the empty weapon behind him with the help of his armored exoskeleton. He subsequently reached into a small container on his back, retrieving a comically large custom built light machine gun. Instead of performing the logical option of mounting the thing on a bipod, he whipped out a SECOND one, mounting both on his shoulders. ¡°I call this little number: [Stand Proud]!¡± epic jojo reference Inundated with gunfire, the massive shelled creature could only try desperately to crawl out of the way, giving up entirely on slashing the individual bullets apart. It was simply infeasible to strike so many at once, especially that they were of higher velocity and caliber. Despite the hardness of its exterior, the bullets began chipping its sturdy armor, some even embedding themselves into the surface. It was frankly astonishing to watch someone mount two machine guns on themselves and fire them without even touching them, and then cementing dominance by striking a heroic pose. The casings spilled across the ground, burying Dave¡¯s alloyed boots in waves of gunpowder traces and discarded metal. Unfortunately, the Lagavulin was not so appreciative of his incredible feat of engineering. The evidence for this conclusion lay in its response: a screech of defiance, and a multi-legged charge with intent to kill. Not even dual bullet hoses served to deter its unfaltering advance. Backlit by the occasional lightning bolt, thunder rolled over the intersection as the four faced down the mega-size mollusk. ¡°Damn. I would say I needed to pull out the big guns, but I already did and it¡¯s not working.¡± Vola channels [Aspect of Destruction]! The wind and rain retreated for a moment, split and scattered by Vola¡¯s awakening. Wisp was awed. ¡°Oh my goodness gracious don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been holding back.¡± ¡°You think I was trying my best? Against those walking trash bins?¡± With a powerful dash, he slammed the Lagavulin, withstanding its maniac rage and picking up the entire thing. The beast flailed around its legs in an effort to find its footing, eventually hooking its sharp limbs into the nearest building and scaling the side with incredible agility. However, without the threat of imminent death bearing down on his head, Dave was free to continue suppressing the accursed monster, eliciting a horrible screech. ¡°Its shell has to give eventually. Cover me Vola. Try not to get hit.¡± ¡°If all it took was a gun to do me in, I would¡¯ve been dead years ago.¡± For once Wisp was glad he wasn¡¯t fighting. It would suck balls if he had to run in and be chopped up a million times to do any meaningful damage. In comparison, Mei was a lot more eager. ¡°I¡¯m going in too! I just got this power, and I wanna make use of it!¡± Wisp glanced at the slick wet asphalt, watching the water slough off of windows and chipped concrete walls, the tinkling of bullet casings freshly ejected, the dust and grime flung everywhere by the battle between Beast and Berserker, and he gave Mei a stern ¡°Are you serious? You¡¯re gonna get bisected! Or at minimum a literal victim of friendly fire.¡± She raised a hand and waved away his concerns, sparkling in anticipation of getting to experience the combat high typical of overeager warriors. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine! I can deploy my stand kind of far from me. Like ten meters at most.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you do that when you fight.¡± ¡°It kind of gets weaker really fast past five meters.¡± ¡°And you want to fight THAT thing? Without being at full strength?¡± ¡°Shut up. Just watch me.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Unlike before, she actually needed to concentrate to summon her stand fully. Energetic gales drew arcs and swirls around rain drops, soul forming into a humanoid torso, head, and muscular arms. Even as it began to float away from its host, the claws seemed to be no less deadly, or merciful. The Lagavulin, who nearly grew accustomed to holding off two opponents at once, was not prepared in the least when a new foe tried to hack off its back legs from behind. So the mollusk was on its toes once again, dancing around fist and nail. ¡°I appreciate the effort, Mei, but it¡¯s not leaving much more than dents in the limbs.¡± ¡°That thing is tougher than it looks, okay?¡± Despite the group¡¯s less than stellar relationship, the shelled insect was adequately cornered and caged. By itself, it could not defend against multiple attackers at once. Vola¡¯s small stature belied the incredible strength of her punches, each successful strike leaving a small web of cracks on its otherwise reasonably intact surface. At the same time, Dave and Mei buzzed around it like annoying flies, scraping away at its defense. The monster would surely tire before its opponents did. The Lagavulin possessed enough intelligence, at least, to grasp that it needed to change up its game. In an instant it changed its mind and scuttled backwards in an attempt to snatch away a moment of peace. Lagavulin is preparing something¡­ Vola grinned, taking this opportunity to pummel the thing, even as it sunk its legs into the ground to anchor itself, slashing at her with one free arm. ¡°What¡¯re you trying to do, huh? You think that¡¯ll save you? Or did you accept your fate as a punching bag?¡± Dave stopped firing for a moment to give his weapons a chance to vent their heat into the rain and fog. ¡°Crack that thing from the back, Vola. Can¡¯t risk friendly fire, and it''s hard to maximize DPS when you¡¯re standing in the way.¡± ¡°Who cares? It¡¯s hopeless. Damn thing already dug itself halfway into the floor like its trying to get away. You know, like those little guys on the beach!¡± ¡°Sand crabs from the beach are a bit more different than this big guy, I think. Plus I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯re extinct, like most of the species on Earth since the Superstorm came into our lives.¡± Mei was beginning to breathe more heavily now, little clouds of white dissipating into the wind and rain as she struggled to maintain her stand¡¯s power output continuously at range. Slowly her knees began to buckle, clothes soaked through without anything to protect her from the elements. In the shivering cold, [Feline Fine] struggled to crack the surface of the shell at any reasonable pace. ¡°Fuck, this is tiring. Hey, idea, maybe you could help, Wisp. Better than standing around and watching.¡± ¡°How??? I don¡¯t exactly have weapons or anything. I don¡¯t really fight often, you know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, go ask Dave. He has guns, maybe he can give you a spare.¡± ¡°Dave?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get lost in the backpack. Trust me, you¡¯ll be trapped there for ages.¡± Wisp didn¡¯t quite understand what he meant until he raised his hands and opened Dave¡¯s gun pack, left on the ground behind its owner while he continued to hose down the Lagavulin with ruthless efficiency. Immediately, gadgets of all kinds burst from the rucksack, sliding across the wet asphalt. A comically long railgun of some kind had to be pulled out manually, as various little spheres began to roll away, free of containment. Pistols and grenades, wrenches and handsaws, blowtorches and flamethrowers, weapons and tools and fun little bits of all kinds. He would¡¯ve loved having enough time to comb through it all, to test each one with the utmost attention and care, to explore the depths of Dave¡¯s storage. Shame. Lagavulin targets Vola¡­ Lagavulin casts [Siphon Soul]! ¡°Dang, Dave, I didn¡¯t know you were this loaded. Hey Vola, you should see this, you could use a gun and not even have to go into melee range! It would be an easy win.¡± ¡°I¡­ tired. Hurts¡­¡± ¡°Vola? Vola?!¡± He wasn¡¯t sure why, but Vola felt magnitudes weaker all of a sudden. The destructive energies coursing through his veins, encasing his arms, all of it was dispelled in an instant. Knees scraped the ground, palms on the earth, his lungs devoid of breath. Skin pale, chest empty. If the Lagavulin could grin, it would¡¯ve. Only Mei¡¯s quick response saved Vola from a quick death, cleaved in twain by the beast¡¯s scythelike legs, carried away by Mei''s stand. Unfortunately, [Feline Fine] gave up the ghost soon after, its form dissolving and returning to its owner. Mei did her best to project it around her own body, but her lack of endurance meant it flickered constantly, floundering in a vain attempt to maintain its lustrous physical body. ¡°Shit, shit, shit, Vola¡¯s down, and I don¡¯t think I can fight it alone. Wisp, I hope you¡¯ve found a gun, cause I think you¡¯re gonna have to support Dave right now.¡± Wisp was still rifling through the giant pile of weapons, trying different ones, anything that could halt its slow and steady advance towards the delirious Vola, still lying on the ground after being saved, and Mei, trying to put up a fight in her weakened state. Dave likewise tried emptying as many magazines as possible to arrest its advance, but that only earned him its ire. Lagavulin targets Dave¡­ Lagavulin casts [Siphon Soul]! The monster turned to stare at Dave, and he did not stare back, already limp inside his suit. The servos locked up, keeping him upright, but he could no longer respond. Now it could advance without being shot in the back all the time. ¡°I can¡¯t support Dave, he stopped firing. I think he got hit with whatever Vola is afflicted with.¡± ¡°Goddamnit, this stupid fucking bug should just die already!¡± The thing chortled, or at least that was Wisp¡¯s best interpretation of what noise it was making. Mei tried her best to charge the beast with her stand deployed, only to be swatted aside, thrown into the rubble of a nearby building. ¡°Oh this is looking very bad. I guess it''s just me now. If only one of these weapons could penetrate its shell faster¡­¡± The Lagavulin oriented its shell to face Wisp, crawling towards him. It loomed over his small, diminutive form like a person before an ant. Lagavulin targets Wisp¡­ Lagavulin casts [Siphon Soul]! And then Wisp felt the pressure. It reached into him and tore at where he was most vulnerable, ripping apart the soul within his physical vessel, and absorbing it into the shell and body of the Lagavulin. With every moment more energy was drained from him, a waterfall of energy lost to the enemy. Therein lay its critical error. For all the being¡¯s strength and ferocity, it lacked in foresight; Wisp¡¯s soul was not as finite as it thought. Wisp¡¯s soul poured from his body in droves, rapidly filling up the monster mollusk with his energy. Even when it needed no more, its body was forced to continue absorption of his spirit. The Lagavulin¡¯s soul, in comparison, swelled, trying to process all of this new power it had consumed, and was still consuming, faster and faster, until: The Lagavulin could hold no more, and its shell exploded like a balloon filled to capacity. All the residual energy stored inside of it burst forth and quickly seeped back into the body of the original owners, most of all Wisp. As the other two began slowly rousing from their impromptu nap, Wisp stood in the street drowned not only in the pouring rain but the guts of the weird monster beast that had come close to wiping them entirely. ¡°Well. Okay.¡± Transfurmation Rico had never realized it before, but with like half their number out on deployment, the hotel felt so much more empty. Every single member of the hotel added something to the atmosphere. Like a hotpot, or a bowl of ice cream with too many toppings, you just couldn¡¯t go back. He stared fruitlessly at the machine in front of him, humming with power as it performed continuous diagnostic checks on Den. And it was a sight to behold. Glowing wires ran to and fro, a chaotic spiderweb of energy and information snaking from corner to corner. Gleaming metallic plates encapsulated chips and processors, fans and tanks, all working in seamless conjunction, despite their disorganized layout. Strangely, the quiet white noise and interesting choice of decor proved to be ironically comforting. Which was why Snake found Rico sitting alone amongst the cables and outdated analog screens. ¡°Hey, just coming in to check up on Dave¡¯s project. Are you here for¡­?¡± She gestured towards the blinking lights surrounding the inactive robot dog, their eerie glow splashing across the shadowed room. ¡°Yeah. Is Den doing okay?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know much about tech like Dave does, since my power leans more towards the whole chemistry side of science, but no one else is better, so he just asked me to check in on him from time to time. I don¡¯t see any alarms or flashing warning signs or anything so I assume he¡¯s doing well enough.¡± On cue, a previously black loading screen was replaced with a wireframe model of Den, continuously refined towards unreachable perfection. Streams of data, solidified and thrumming with some unknown energy rushed through transparent pipes, scanned and transformed at various gates to fit the current need, all leading to a giant metal egg pod thing abandoned in the back of the room. CURRENT PROGRESS: 78%... OPTIMIZING PROCESSES. BOOTING TERMINAL. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO? Rico gave the screen a listless look and said ¡°Where can I go?¡± FILE LOCATIONS: THE DUST/SEARCH_HISTORY/DIAGNOSTICS/PERSONAL_PROFILES Snake stared at where Rico was looking, shocked at this most incredible turn of events. ¡°By personal profiles, does it mean¡­¡± LOADING¡­ PLEASE SELECT PERSONAL PROFILE. [RICO] [SNAKE] [VOLA] [DIME] [CHASMA] [ACID] [MEI] [UNZE] [KYKI] [WISP] ¡°Why does he keep personal profiles on all of us?¡± ¡°How am I supposed to know, Snake? Ask Dave, he made all of this.¡± LOADING SNAKE¡¯S PROFILE¡­ HEALTH: ACCEPTABLE PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION: STABLE. CALCULATED CHANCES OF SURVIVAL: HIGH NOTES: HER RELATIVE INTELLIGENCE AND EMPHASIS ON STRATEGY AND OTHERWISE OUT OF THE BOX SOLUTIONS INDICATE A GREATER CAPACITY FOR IMPROVISATION THAN OTHERS. ¡°Oh. Well. I wouldn¡¯t say I¡¯m stable, necessarily¡­¡± ¡°We probably shouldn¡¯t be trawling through Dave¡¯s personal files like this.¡± ¡°Why not? I¡¯d like to see what he thinks about everyone¡¯s chances of survival. I¡¯d think they would be all high or guaranteed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I don¡¯t want to look at the most.¡± Snake swerved on her heel and swiftly stepped over wire and cable to stand in front of Rico, a little worry in her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re not totally okay, are you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just feel a kind of worry for them.¡± ¡°Dave, Vola, and Mei?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re ready to get hurt. Like, really hurt.¡± ¡°Those three are resilient. Dave¡¯s a capable guy, and I know Vola enough to know she¡¯s always ready to take on the world if he has to. And Mei¡¯s already quite proficient with her spirit.¡± ¡°I know that, but I can¡¯t help but think about what we¡¯re all facing. I never had to fight against The Dust when I was a kid, and I don¡¯t think any of us have either. And now a megacorporation wants to catch us too.¡± Rico pulled his knees up to his chin, staring wistfully at an old lightbulb not replaced, occasionally flickering in its advanced age. Snake wiped her glasses on her shirt and then bent down in a squat, neatly folding the lab coat under herself so it would not drag on the dusty floor, a hand on Rico¡¯s shoulder. She even gave him her best impression of a reassuring smile. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°We¡¯re all Empowered. What¡¯s a couple monsters or robots to our strengths?¡± ¡°But it might not be enough. I feel like if we¡¯re not careful¡­ one of us will end up put down. For good.¡± He couldn¡¯t see Snake¡¯s eyes anymore, her spectacles enveloped in a reflective sheen from the overhead light. He could feel her draw back at the suggestion, the idea that one of them wouldn¡¯t make it out in one piece: or at all. Though he could not see what she felt, he could kind of guess it was somewhere along the lines of silent turbulence, of mind and spirit. ¡°It won¡¯t come to that. I know you have your worries, but I swear to you, until all of this is over: I won¡¯t let the people who matter die. Just trust me on this one thing.¡± And it DID work; Rico did feel more reassured by her confidence, however false and shaky it might be. It was not as if they had to wait long to find out. BREACH IN RECEPTION LOUNGE. DISPATCHING PROTOTYPE UNITS. ALL REPORT TO RECEPTION LOUNGE. HOSTILES INCOMING. For the two, that¡¯s all the kick they needed to get on their feet. Exiting the storage room converted tech repository, they were nearly swept off their feet by a sudden explosion, flinging metal shrapnel in all directions. Bits of razor edge steel embedded themselves in the beige walls, the carpeted floor, and Rico¡¯s rock solid stone skin, hardened against this onslaught. ¡°Lay down your lives and pass peacefully. There is no point in resisting.¡± Through the glass front it was obvious that Acid was holding off enemies outside. Swathes of bugs, formed of the dark stormy dust that swept through the city, all crawling over each other in an attempt to raze the skin off this foolish woman¡¯s bones. With a burst of gas from her gauntlets, she leapt clear out of the way of their advance. A heavy spray of poisonous clouds skyward meant dangerously acidic rainfall, peppering the little bugs as they strained to reach her. Glass shards littered the ground again. Ignoring the smashed glass doors, a thin figure of pure void stood in the lobby, eying Unze hiding behind the front desk. Unze used [Mind Meld]! ¡°Your pathetic games do nothing. My mind is far beyond your control.¡± Then Unze demonstrated his incredible throwing prowess by chucking Dime clear across the room. In an instant, a veritable torrent of wealth sprouted forth from his fingertips, covering the thin, impossibly tall dark man. They all felt it, then, in their bones; a visceral fear tingled in their minds as they beheld the unrecognizable silhouette, marked only by two intense eyes that drilled into the soul. Plated in coinage, the ground cracked beneath his feet as the gravity on his body doubled, tripled, quadrupled in moments. Yet in a flash his body turned to dust, and reformed with a hand around Dime¡¯s neck in a cruelly clawed embrace. ¡°Better. But not enough.¡± Before his grip could get any tighter, a Potion of Instability split against his head in a powerful display of chemical composition, the thunderous force of the blast enveloping his head; it did nothing. He was not even scratched. The figure turned its head just to stare at Snake with his two glaring eyes. ¡°Is that it?¡± Rico is afflicted by [Strength]! His question was immediately answered with a punch to the face, forcing him to drop the little Volan and shield himself as blows rained down upon his body. Even with a sudden advantage, Rico found himself slowly being pushed onto the backfoot by this strange opponent. ¡°The hell??? Even a Potion of Strength isn¡¯t enough for this guy?¡± The response was a second Potion of Speed breaking upon his back. Only then could he hold out against this mysterious enemy in a fistfight. And even then Rico¡¯s stoneskin sucker punches barely made a dent in the man of Dust, who gave him no quarter and let loose a never ending barrage of claw strikes that would¡¯ve cleaved clean through anyone else in the Hotel. Barely able to evade most of them, Rico took the smart route and drop kicked the Voidman, causing him to slide backwards a few meters. ¡°Your strength does bloom, though you are still such a delicate, little flower.¡± The backhanded compliment caught Rico off guard: for the better of two seconds. ¡°Every rose has its thorns.¡± Scarcely did the sentence leave his mouth before the Voidman flashed forwards and struck Rico with such force that his subsequent impact into the wall blew through layers of plaster, only coming to rest after going through five separate panels. ¡°And yet¡­ you are still plucked.¡± It was then that he heard it; the sound of space warping in a non-euclidean manner. He never even saw Dime, leaping from the shadows behind him until it was already too late. Dime uses¡ª ¡°[Saving Money] 5!¡± Slapping the giant coin onto his skull, he felt gravity suddenly increase by 150%, slowing him down significantly. But not slow enough. Voidman executes [Puncture Vitals]! He thought it was a miss, or a simple overreach at first. That sharp clawed hand flashed through his body, and Dime kept on spitting out coins onto the slender man of Dime until the Voidman finally turned to fog and zipped backwards to escape being buried alive by not-quite-legal-tender. Dime stepped towards him, raising his arms to maybe goad or taunt this cruel criminal. His legs gave out under him. Did his arms always feel so heavy? He couldn¡¯t help but sit down for a moment, the overwhelming taste of iron in his mouth. He felt kind of nauseous now, and when he coughed, blood stained the tiles he sat upon. He tried to will a coin into his palm, only for it to quickly fizzle out. Shapes moved in his vision, and the purest of black took up most of it. So blurry. He heard a few things: screaming, the sound of metal warping, and colorful splashes of neon, so small from his view. No, wait, his field of view was just shrinking, everything slipping away as quiet serenity embraced him. He laid down as bright pastels flashed past his head and a white blob grew to consume his whole view. Here was the calm he had sought his whole life, away from all the people that wanted to keep him and make him produce produce produce the rest of his days. ¡°Quick! Get him the potions, he¡¯s almost gone!¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying, I just have only one of these on hand. They¡¯re too expensive for me to mass produce!¡± ¡°THEN USE IT, DUMBASS!¡± ¡°I AM TRYING TO GO AS FAST AS I CAN!¡± What an annoying buzzing in his ears. ¡°Hang on, I¡¯ll use all the other potions I have, maybe they¡¯ll help stabilize him.¡± Truly, an escape from stimulation was impossible. ¡°Talk to me! Talk to me you dumb fuck, shit, shit, shit, I¡¯m dumping it all, there¡¯s no way I fuck up a promise this early¡ª¡± He begrudgingly gave in. ¡°Wwwha? Huh? What are you saying? I thought you didn¡¯t swear.¡± Snake sat there on her knees, flustered and wiping the sweat from her brow. ¡°Yeah, well, I just, you know, I do sometimes okay? What¡¯s with the questions???¡± He couldn¡¯t reply, for a horrifying pain suddenly wracked his body, and the mere act of breathing felt like hell. ¡°Oh. Yeah. Please don¡¯t exert yourself. I have a promise to keep.¡± Dime felt at his chest and there was hastily grown scar tissue there, rough yet so fragile it felt as if a single punch would be enough to do him in. More bolts of neon flew over his head, yellow and teal. ¡°[Magic Missile]! [Thundercrack]!¡± The Voidman scuttled backwards, hissing as spells parted his body so easily that if he could not reconstitute he was in real danger of becoming dust, permanently. In a last ditch effort he attempted to leap into the vents¡­ ¡°NOOO! I CAN¡¯T FAIL! NOT AFTER ALL THIS WAY!¡± ¡­And was grabbed by the ankle and chucked out the front door by Rico. It was so unexpected that the man of Dust had no chance of preemptively turning to fog to avoid the blow. Skull, meet pavement! Dime turned his head, and there stood a man of metal, six feet tall with animal ears. That threw him for a loop. ¡°Um? Who are you?¡± The metal man smiled sheepishly. Impressive for someone so imposing. ¡°Ah, yeah. I was a Husky, but you can call me Den.¡± Dust just stared at him. The brain fog hadn¡¯t let up yet. Rico stared at the splattered remains of the dude''s brain on the concrete. ¡°He dead? For real?¡± Acid stood outside, watching the last of the little Voidbugs scuttle away without a master controlling them. ¡°He better be.¡± Dime¡¯s honest reaction to this information was to pass out. Honestly? I can¡¯t blame him. The Second Memory: Dave The year is [REDACTED]. A teenage kid by the name of Douglas is out on the town for the evening, having just finished attending a party at the condo down the street. His parents aren¡¯t home, but he knows they¡¯ll be back soon. They always had their reasons to be out of town every Tuesday and Friday, and the only reason he could figure was they were some kind of cool secret agents. He swore their secret was safe with him long ago, as long as they brought home some ¡°cool gadgets¡± (a word he picked up in his early elementary days) from their adventures, and quote, ¡°as long as they weren¡¯t bad things from bad guys¡±. As good parents would, they humored Douglas occasionally, with trinkets like puzzles that claimed to be ¡°impossible to solve¡±, a deck of Dos (which drove him to laughing tears when he got it), and other things you¡¯d pick up at the local drugstore when you¡¯re running late on someone¡¯s birthday but only care about them just enough to get them some kind of gag gift to make them think you cared. Tonight was a Friday night. No school tomorrow. He¡¯d go shopping with his father the next day, and help him pick out dinner for the next week, and he was hoping this would be one of those weekends he got to pick out a Kids Cuisine or some Hot Pockets. Simple as he seemed on the exterior, Douglas was quite the enigma on the inside. As he approached the last turn on the block, Douglas stopped. There was a strange car in the drive, and not strange in the ¡°out of place in the neighborhood¡± kind of way, the kind that makes you wonder what company decided their mascot was going to be a motor vehicle that somehow remains street legal, like the Oscar-Mayer Wienermobile. This car was, at least, not a piece of ground meat in an aluminum facade. Indeed, the vehicle was in the shape of a perfect sphere, with obvious exceptions made so the tires would be on the ground, with a pristine chrome finish. Curious, Douglas got closer before hearing the screech of tires. He turned around to see a car speeding down the road, but he couldn¡¯t get a good look at it before it sped directly into the sphere on wheels. Just when it couldn¡¯t get any worse, the cars violently exploded, sending scraps of scorching-hot metal and rubber flying everywhere. It was a miracle Douglas didn¡¯t get hit too badly, but the heat of the explosion definitely left him with some sort of hyperthermia. People began emerging from their homes, looking at the explosion in shock, some quickly dialing the proper authorities to help the wreckage. Despite his normally eager to help mindset, Douglas knew this situation was dangerous¡­ but then he recognized the vehicle responsible for the collision. It was his dad¡¯s car. No, no, Dad!, he thought, probably aloud, probably not. He couldn¡¯t hear anything due to the explosion. He ran over to try and pry open the passenger side doors, nothing. They were locked. The airbags had popped. The smoke was too thick to see his father¡¯s fractured form in the driver¡¯s side seat, but the sinking feeling he felt¡­ he knew it was there, wasn¡¯t it, some cruel twist of fate would surely at least let the poor man go quickly. There was no smell of blood, the ash and smoke and leaking oil made sure to cover it well. Douglas remained at the car¡¯s side until the police arrived, with some members of a local fire brigade and an ambulance shortly behind them. Somehow, they believed that the sobbing, crying child wasn¡¯t a suspect, and beckoned the fire team to investigate further. No bodies were recovered. There wasn¡¯t anything in either vehicle, apparently - nothing worth disclosing, they said, other than a cinderblock on the gas pedal. Douglas, meanwhile, had heard nothing from either of his parents. No note. Nothing. He was released after questioning, given a ride back home, took the key from under the mat, and went inside. The house looked completely different. It was just like the exterior of the car, chrome and glowing and humming eerily. The lights in the house glowed a harsh, industrial white-blue, and some radio noise came from upstairs. Nervously, Douglas took a look around. Household appliances were still the same, everything was where it should have been, except for the few things that seemed to be replaced. The couch and coffee table were a rounded desk, like something you¡¯d see a receptionist at, the TV was much fancier and displayed multiple local news stations, all clashing in audio to join the jungle that was the home¡¯s noise. He couldn¡¯t stand it, so he went to turn it off, then upstairs to hear the radio. That¡¯s when he heard the doorbell ring. Everything suddenly shimmered, with a strange, green glow, and suddenly, everything was normal again. Was he hallucinating? The doorbell rang again. And again. Douglas remained completely still. It rang a few more times, before stopping. Douglas decided to just¡­ go to bed, rather than face who or whatever was outside. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The next morning was Saturday. Douglas couldn¡¯t believe that it was only the next day. Everything that had happened felt like it took so long, but he was awake now and the calendar did indeed confirm it was Saturday, and the clock told him it was almost noon. Outside, rain lightly fell. It would have been the perfect day to shop, he thought. It¡¯s nature¡¯s car wash¡­, and then the weight of everything that had happened the night before hit him again like the car crash itself. The doorbell rang again. Douglas went and answered it. No way, it couldn¡¯t be¡­ his dad? His mom?! They looked exhausted and fairly upset. Not saying anything, they came inside and headed up into their bedroom. Douglas could garner no response, and when he tried to get into their bedroom, the door was locked. That didn¡¯t matter too much to him. His parents were alive and safe, he should be ecstatic about this! Celebrating! He wasn¡¯t an orphan! Both of his parents were alive and well, and they certainly didn¡¯t know he knew their big secret. Well, that was okay. He¡¯d talk to them about it when they were ready. Without any warning, the door slammed shut, the blinds closed, and everything went dark, before flashing that same green and going back to the strange, chrome interior. But this time was different. Douglas noticed that the door to his own room upstairs was ajar, and being the naturally curious young man he was, he went to check it out. Strangely enough, what he found wasn¡¯t unlike his own room, though his bed was a workshop table with a bunch of mechanical parts and blueprints strewn around, his desk was some sort of manufacturing table, and there were some kind of skeletons in his closet. Taking a look at one of the blueprints, he noticed some strange text on it, something along the lines of ¡°Blurring the lines of fact and fiction,¡± written out in¡­ Club Penguin PSA text? He didn¡¯t remember being fluent in that - the site had shut down a long time ago, and all he knew about it was from the cheap fiction novels he¡¯d picked up when he was younger and wanted to read a lot about penguins, ¡°the world¡¯s best-dressed wedding guests nature has to offer.¡± Strangely enough, blurring the lines of fact and fiction was right, as this appeared to be blueprints for something he recognized from another relic of ancient history - this was a Springlock suit blueprint, but designed by someone with modern technology and a lot of common sense for safety, and the back held a rather long list of safety features that modern tech allowed it to have, like life-sign readings, optimized scanners, and even some kind of super-strength if the suit worked in harmony with a human wearer or endoskeleton. This¡­ would make a bangin¡¯ halloween costume, if it was built right, he thought. But then they¡¯d all think I was some kind of furry. He pondered for a moment, before figuring, It¡¯d be true anyways. Now, he didn¡¯t quite have an understanding on a grasp of time, but he figured that the instructions weren¡¯t any different from putting a ham radio back together, just a lot more complicated and with dangerous implications, should he mess it up. He thought back to his childhood idol, Nelson Kodak, and their incredible mechanical prowess. And they were only a janitor! If they could do it, he could do it, too, even if he was only fourteen. He could follow instructions! He¡¯d always been the oddball who followed the lego sets¡¯ instruction manuals to the letter, even with the filler blocks nobody would notice nor care about (he certainly did). Most of the moving parts were already here, anyways, so it wouldn¡¯t be too different to what Hiro did in Big Hero 6 with Baymax. Though the version they were building wasn¡¯t quite his size, the suit seemed to accommodate fairly well for that, if he made the necessary adjustments¡­ now he was really getting excited to get that set up. It took him the entire day, an entire sleepless night, and into the next before he finished. The room seemed to provide him with everything he¡¯d need - food, water, a cot for napping¡­ it was strange, to say the least. When he had finally finished, he went to go tell his parents about his cool new toy - when he realized there was no door to leave through. How did he even get inside? Where were the windows? Was he even home anymore? Nervous, now, he decided to load up the suit¡¯s storage compartment (it really did have everything) with all the blueprints and scrap it could safely carry with him inside before putting it on. Like clockwork, the thing started up, giving him vision with the suit¡¯s eyes acting as cameras as he piloted it like any old blow-up costume - walking normally. It was loud and uncomfortable at first, but he got comfortable with some adjustments made internally. It was like piloting a really small mech, like those scenes from Power Rangers where they got two guys in costume to duke it out (cartoonishly) on a model scale set of some landscape. The cameras, however, let him see things he could not see with his own eyes¡­ his own footprints around the room created a fairly noisy mess to look at, but there were shoeprints that weren¡¯t his own that seemed fairly old. They led right into the closet¡­ and there wasn¡¯t any reason not to follow. Gathering all of his courage (and a snack for the road), Douglas sighed, leaving behind his room for whatever skeletons really were in the closet.
It had been about four years since that fateful night, give or take, and Dave smiled as he reminisced on his starting day - the lines between fact and fiction were blurred to fit his fiction and his facts. Today, that line was so far blurred that his first code name became his legal one - a side effect of making his past a work of fiction he remained emotionally distant from. His parents never knew he existed, and he had forgotten all about them, other than that night. That was the one memory he wanted to keep. He didn¡¯t want to be an emotionless war machine like in all those movies he enjoyed mentally referencing, though - he made friends outside the company and eventually decided to take a vacation with all those days he¡¯d saved up over his hard-working time there, opting to bring along a friend for the ride. The hotel he¡¯d booked in particular was nice and backwoodsy, perfect for getting away from the neon glare and city fanfare of urban living. Acid never particularly liked being in all the hustle and bustle, and this place would hopefully get rid of the bags under her eyes that he assumed were under there. Room 45. Fourth floor. Nice and high up, perfect for getting away from the noise without getting too close to people in penthouses. Letting his car park itself after he removed his luggage from the trunk, he took it all in for a moment, his attire perfectly inconspicuous and mismatched to look like a tourist that had never been, well, a tourist. Adidas pants, a hawaiian shirt, his prized Lightning McQueen crocs he had had on that fateful day (faithfully restored to his current shoe size), and his Inspector Gadget-inspired fedora full of little things that¡¯d constitute anything from party tricks to self-defense and beyond, just in case anything bad happened on their extended vacation. Surely nothing bad was going to happen on this vacation, he figured, as he went through the doors right as he was mentioned. ¡°Really? Dave? I thought you said this was the best place to unwind?¡± Acid inquired of him as he entered, just as the front desk worker took one look at his outfit and seemingly put him on every watch list known to mankind. Casually, he responded, ¡°You said you didn¡¯t really like vacations cause it''s too much hustle and bustle, right? So I picked a more out of the way hotel¡­¡± ¡­ and the rest was history. The Third Memory: Kat The following is a reconstruction of a partially corrupted data file from Automotive Industries Security Archive #98. File 18: Unnamed Source It''s been some time since Kat last opened up Minecraft. While not normally an impressive feat, it''s surprising to him that he''s managed to go a full day without joining Unze''s server and losing himself in the game. His hand hovered over the join button, prepared to distract himself from the emptiness. Yet Kat hesitated. It wasn''t like he was actually doing anything on the server. He had long maxed out his gear, and all that was really left to do was build and wait for someone to talk to. A few players would join the server once a day, say hello to the ever-grinding Minecraft player, and leave. Maybe what he was really craving was connection, but nobody''s schedule ever properly lined up. Fucking capitalism. It was always the thing that pushed people away, that kept him from becoming truly real in the world''s eyes. But one day, it''ll rue the fact that it ever tried to keep him from having fun with people. All it would take was a bit of planning and a lot of hacking into major banks, then toppling the government. So, maybe a lot of planning, but not enough to stop him. Normally, the thing that kept Kat from ruining the economy on a daily basis was boredom, but today, it was a nagging worry. He hadn''t seen that green 0/20 turn into a 1/20 for a day or two, and from any other server, that''d be fine. But this was the Unze server, and that just happening during a Dust Storm didn''t feel like a coincidence. What if this place Kyki found was caught up in it? He didn''t know for certain, but¡­ I could just¡­ find out where they are. As soon as the thought entered his mind, he knew it was probably the worst thing to do. Kyki liked their privacy, even going so far as to ask him to erase them from the internet, and doxxing a friend''s server would certainly ruin that trust. But what else could he do to make sure they weren''t dead? Kat shivered, a strange chill settling in his sparsely decorated room. Hopefully one of his atmosphere settings was messed up. Being truly afraid right now would not help him. But if it was fear, he''d have an excuse¡­ He closed his eyes and stepped forward, body dissolving into the data.
Advancement Made!
Where Are My Friends?
An hour later, Kat resurfaced from his bedroom floor, gasping for air despite none supplied being real. It had taken him quite a bit to navigate the VPN Unze was using, the jumps between servers raising his exhaustion meter exceptionally fast. After a bit of not-quite-existent panting, it made sense ¨C any leak would''ve sent a massive amount of fans to Unze''s location, and while he wasn''t certain about the other hotel members, he knew that at least one would''ve hurt the streamer. And if he was really being smart about this, he could''ve just turned off the exhaustion meter. ¡­Oops. It didn''t matter. He had coordinates now, so clearly, he was winning. Pulling a string of numbers out of his pocket, he uploaded it into his GPS integration. A hotel off of Route 68, practically dead center in the Dust Storm. Upon seeing the name, he sighed. Tooth Hotel. Of course. He pulled up a screen, found the city''s news, and winced. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! With a quick flick of his wrists, the screen started scrolling, multiple reports coming through about the city''s Dust Storm and multiple casualties. Holding up a hand, Kat paused the screen, his other hand pulling up another screen and searching local obituaries. There wasn''t enough data to see if any of the other Minecraft players ¨C or Noodle forbid, Kyki ¨C had been injured, but he could still make sure that he''d be the first to find out. And then, something caught his eye. A headline about a certain Automotive Industries flashed for a brief moment, forcing him to pause the scrolling and zoom back up. It was clearly a prank, given how out of place it was with its ''robots in a car chase'' story, though he couldn''t help but feel that it might be connected to his missing friends. After a moment of re-reading, he frowned. Automotive Industries sounded familiar, close to home ¨C wasn''t there a lawsuit a couple years back? Something about a patent being stolen? Kyki had briefly talked about one while complaining about Detroit being Detroit, and the hidden glee in their voice about ''toppling an unfair regime'' concerned him enough to sear the name into his mind. A quick search revealed yes, his memory was correct, though he hadn''t realized it was his mom that had filed it. And she was the only recently successful one, scoring a couple million dollars just before Kyki left. Well, that would certainly explain some of Techstream''s recent upgrades, though not why his sibling had wandered off¡­ The world stuttered, parts of his room falling apart and revealing a blank gray void. Shit, that only happened when ¨C Ding! UPDATE REQUIRED. PLEASE TURN OFF PRIMARY SYSTEMS. "No. It''s not time for bed yet." He resumed his scrolling, quickly bookmarking some news tabs. He can''t lose his progress ¨C no, he can''t lose his friends again. Ding! UPDATE REQUIRED. PLEASE TURN OFF PRIMARY SYSTEMS. "Five more minutes." Bookmarks finished, he turned his attention towards the auto-update, opening up the settings and hoping beyond hope he could turn it off in time. One tap, two ¨C he''s not going to be fast enough. His bedroom is already completely unloaded. Ding! SHUTTING DOW- The text glitched, frozen in the air as Kat stood in his empty void with a finger hovering over the switch. "The fuck?" He hadn''t been fast enough. Normally that meant sleep, his panicked reactions causing unfortunate but typically overall acceptable consequences, but someone clearly wants him awake. Thank goodness. Today was the one day where sleep was truly unacceptable. Ding! THE DREAM AWAITS. An ominous message, but it didn''t matter. He could hunt down this mystery person after he checked on his friends. But how could he get a hold of them without continuing his Minecraft playthrough? There was one last thing he could do. Social interaction sucked, but at least texting wasn''t too bad. Kat: [Wisp? It''s Kat. Got your phone number off the hotel website. Is everyone okay?] No response. But that was to be expected. If they weren''t able to get on Minecraft and leave a message for him, then they probably wouldn''t be able to text back immediately. They''re probably just busy. With that in mind, he clicked a button to load back in his gaming chair, ready to sit and wait¡­ ¡­for exactly five minutes. Patience was never his strong suit. Kat: [Wisp?] Kat: [Wisp, you alive?] No response. There wasn''t much else he could do from out here, except¡­ no, accessing Wisp''s camera and microphone was invasive, rude, and- Absolutely necessary, Kat soon discovered, a new tab opened to reveal a darkened sky lit up with streaks of strange blue light. The distorted audio made him think of one of those backroom videos, driving in a sudden haunting question: what the hell was Wisp''s phone doing outside? Something splattered, coating the lens in some sort of goo before Kat managed to close the tab. Fighting back a shaky nervousness, his hands stumbled over to a new screen, hunting through Wisp''s contacts to find Kyki. Kat: [Kyki, it''s Kat. Are you okay?] No response, and more worryingly, his quick Find My Phone search turned up nothing. Shit. What was left? Wisp was probably somewhere outside and dead, and the rest of the gang probably went with him. Kat wouldn''t be able to follow without exiting the safety of Techstream and hopping from camera to cameras. Even then, he wouldn''t be able to interact much. Then something clicked, a eureka moment that allowed Kat to finally calm down. Automotive Industries. Robots in cars. Such a silly headline, and yet seemingly accurate. The witnesses mentioned seeing those robots chase a group along a road to Tooth Hotel. Even if that headline wasn''t related to the hotel group, it''s still a good civic duty to prevent massive corporations from harassing people, right? And if worse came to worst, they might have a body he could borrow. Kat laughed, pulling up his settings and turning off his exhaustion meter. Floating up, his chair disappeared, surroundings replaced by many view screens as he summoned an old rusted skeleton key. One tap on a screen lit them all up, showing him the cameras and most of the low-level files for the Tooth Hotel-centric Automotive Industries branch. He let go of the key, letting it hover in space as he began perusing the files as other aspects of Techstream watched the cameras. Nothing immediately jumped out at him, but he suspected that it would take a while before anything suspicious occurred. It looks like he''s got a long night ahead of him. Flashback: Christmas Gift ¡°Can you believe it? Christmas trees in the thousands?!¡± Dave dropped the giant tree, shedding pine needles everywhere as he shoved it through the door. His rough handling of the bulky plant, freshly chopped and ready to plant, left large skids all over the tile floor around the entrance, a terrible inconvenient mess Wisp would have to comb over later, or else the ugly sight would bother him for many weeks. Dave¡¯s exoskeleton powered down, entering standby mode as he dismounted the wiry contraption. Vola didn¡¯t dare approach the device, wary of sudden electrocution or a sudden explosion. ¡°You know you don¡¯t have to stand all the way over there. I¡¯m not a shit builder, I¡¯ve done this for years and I¡¯ve only almost died a dozen¡ª no, a baker¡¯s dozen times.¡± ¡°Yeah and I¡¯d hate to break that streak of near-death experiences with a REAL one.¡± Den tried its best to claw the trunk of the hefty evergreen, only to find the sheer weight of the future Christmas tree digging into the floor with all the friction it could muster. Nothing it could do but whimper, successfully convincing Vola to try and help drag the whole thing inside, bit by bit. A small branch snapped off, and she picked up the little piece and threw it at Dave. He swiftly blasted the offending projectile out of the air with an experimental laser pistol. ¡°Dave, you asshole, why don¡¯t you help tug this shit in here? I¡¯m not gonna power up for something stupid like this.¡± ¡°The exoskeleton doesn¡¯t fit in the building. It¡¯s for external use only.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you, fuckin¡¯, I don¡¯t know, build a robot to help? Den seems pretty eager. Build THEM a human body, anything works.¡± ¡°Maybe. Can they use a human body?¡± They both craned their necks to look at Den, who leaned back and placed a paw on its chest to mimic the appearance of a celebrity being dramatically offended. Vola pointed at Den with both hands. ¡°See? Told you. Get on it.¡± Dave threw up his hands and trundled off to his workshop, hopefully to start some actual useful work, leaving Vola to set up the tree by himself. Halfway through coaxing the tree into position in the middle of the lobby, proudly upright, Vola realized she nearly forgotten the most important part of a Christmas tree: ¡°Aw fuuuuck I didn¡¯t buy any decorations. God.¡± He took a deep breath, feeling the air swirl through her lungs, a soft flame burning in her chest¡­ Vola used [Commanding Shout]! ¡°CAN SOMEONE BUY THE ORNAMENTS FOR THE DAMN CHRISTMAS TREE ¡®CAUSE I¡¯M NOT FUCKIN¡¯ DOIN¡¯ IIIT!!!!¡± The sheer volume deafened the ears, and rattled the walls a little bit with its ferocity. Dust came in short spurts from the ceiling, a quiet warning to stop playing with the building¡¯s integrity. Wisp, asleep at his desk (as per usual), leapt out of his chair; more accurately, he would have, if it wasn¡¯t a rolling chair that slid to the side when he tried, introducing his face to the hard flooring. ¡°Vola it is like, hold on, lemme check, just past midnight. Let me sleep you rat bastard.¡± She handwaved away his complaint with a shrug and a sigh. ¡°Serves you right for sleeping on the job. Make yourself useful and go to the store for me.¡± ¡°First of all, we close at ten. This isn¡¯t a 24/7 joint. Secondly, try asking nicely, dipshit¡ª OW WHAT THE FUCK!¡± A perfect throw! Someone¡¯s unattended mug, mostly empty, broke across Wisp¡¯s forehead, sending rivulets of blood running down his cheeks. Some in the eyes, too. Right on time, Unze stepped out of the elevator just as the doors opened, abilities on full blast. ¡°Hi Vola!!! Friend!!! I am just a little beebis I need my beauty sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!¡± ¡°Sorry. I just needed some people to help get the ornaments for the tree because I¡¯m tired too and I have to set up the tree, since not everyone is super strong.¡± Unze tuned out Wisp¡¯s angry complaints about trivial things like ¡®being unfair¡¯ and ¡®clear favoritism¡¯, squeezing the little mini Unze plushie in his arms (29.99 at www.unzemerchreal.com) to yawn and give Vola his reply. ¡°Mmm,,, I don¡¯ wanna do it by myself¡­ if only I someone could save me from going to the store alone¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡± Vola immediately ducked, narrowly avoiding a glass vial meant for his head. ¡°Oh my god stop smashing shit!!!¡± cried Wisp, who knew he would have to clean that and the mug up as well, since no one else would be the janitor. Snake gave him some mix between a hiss, a grumble of acknowledgement, and a scream of anger. ¡°Vola PLEASE SHUT UP FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE I¡¯M SO TIRED.¡± ¡°YOU¡¯RE CLEARLY ALREADY STAYING UP I DIDN¡¯T WAKE YOU UP AT ALL! What the fuck are you even holding.¡± She drank a second vial in other hand in seconds, twirling the spotlessly clean and empty glassware dangerously between her fingers. ¡°¡®Cause it¡¯s Christmas, bitch! None of us can drink alcohol yet so I made. Better eggnog. It¡¯s just like the real thing but it doesn¡¯t hurt your liver!¡± She leaned against the wall with a cheery grin, nearly dropping the one remaining unbroken vial. Vola still looked at least somewhat skeptical. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m not doubting your skill. I¡¯ve seen your stuff in action. But¡­ you look kind of drunk.¡± ¡°Hic¡­ yeah. It¡¯s not eggnog if you don¡¯t get drunk from it. Then it¡¯s just, like, juice. No hangover though, I¡¯m not gonna make a whole second potion to get rid of that.¡± ¡°That sounds incredibly profitable. Maybe you should sell that. Make a million dollars.¡± ¡°D¡¯you think I can jus¡¯ mass produce these? Mmm one person, Volaoo¡­¡± He threw his hands up in the air and pointed to Unze, the little guy, the sleepy scrunkly. ¡°Can you help him go to the store and pick up some ornaments? I don¡¯t wanna do that shit myself I¡¯m already doing the tree.¡± ¡°May¡­¡± ¡°May you help him go to the store and pick up some ornaments.¡± ¡°Yeaah alright whatever. Let¡¯s go Unze I¡¯ll drive.¡± ¡°Thank you!!! But I think I will.¡±
The store! Oh, the wonders of shopping and commerce and capitalism and all of its glorious conquest of the West. And the East. And pretty much the whole world after the Collapse. Even now, pop up stores like Merry City mysteriously manifested in the more populated areas during the early winter, ready to take advantage of gullible suckers more than happy to shell out for the holiday season: like the two unwitting chumps about to walk right in through the front entrance, into this obvious trap¡­ ¡°Snake we¡¯re here!!! Christmas!!!!¡± ¡°You hit a carrrrr while parking and I think thas¡¯ not so good.¡± ¡°Parallel parking is just so hard uwu.¡± Overhead, the giant MERRY CITY sign illuminated the walkway in front of the building. The parking lot was lit by nothing other than the dim generic streetlights that lined every street in the city, with the occasional line of bushes to break up the monotony, an additional wall of shrubbery and a couple trees serving as the borders for the whole area. Blue, black, red, white cars sat side to side in the quiet, the only sound the dull hubbub of the rest of the city around them. Taller buildings and skyscrapers loomed over the pair, silent sentinels guarding the seasonal store. ¡°Kkkugkh. Weird atmosphere,¡± Snake commented, checking her belt and robes for the potion she wanted. ¡°I¡¯ll just drink it away.¡± ¡°The ethereal vibes are out tonight! 5% boosted chance of encountering a goober!¡± cried Unze, correctly interpreting the situation. The inside of the store was much more familiar. Rows and rows and rows and rows, walkways crossing to and fro, pillars to hold up the roof, standard holiday music accompaniment too! Shelves reached up to the top, hundreds of items at every stop; green and red and gold and white, enough to be a child¡¯s delight! It all screamed to them HOME in a way. Not somewhere you would live, but a comforting shelter from the chaotic newness of the world around it. Unze ran inside like a kid high on pure sugar on Christmas day while Snake trailed a ways behind, already fed up with the unnecessarily cheery decor meant to convince people to buy buy buy! It was irritating, a stake through the skull, a particularly terrible migraine. Another drink, down the hatch. ¡°Look look look a zolker!!!¡± Unze triumphantly held up a strange and unidentifiable lump of yarn and cotton that resembled somewhat a plushie of Christmas theming, but without clear limbs or a face or any real recognizable aspects that could be assigned a name. It was more akin to an affront to life, an accursed creature best described as the punishment of someone¡¯s attempt to play God. For this little being of fiber and cloth, there was no redemption. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t even want to look at that it makes my head hurt more than it already does. Leths just get the baubles and whatever and skedaddle¡­¡± Snake left Unze behind to continue praising the holy presence of his newfound friend, instead rifling through stacks of utterly random goods, of all kinds, disorganized and scattered everywhere. Not even the walkways were safe, as products- goods- commodities of all types spilled forth in a frozen wave, an unstable but barely held together pile that went on for what looked like miles. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Traveling deeper into the store, she scanned the ground carefully, stepping over ever increasing quantities of notebooks, cards, sketchy costumes, wreaths and stickers, crayons and pens. Paint cans, colored fans, plastic swords and Santa shorts. Sweaters, knives, cookies, fake jewelry; enough to set your head spinning. ¡°Ahaaa..! I have found it. The Legendary Ornaments!¡± Bending down and lifting the edge of her lab coat from the floor, she grasped a whole multitude of fancy lights, trinkets, and adornments for the tree. There was reflective fake greenery to wrap around, a star to put on top, little globes hanging from hooks, the odd body, and even a pre-wrapped gift suspiciously shaped like a pipe bomb! Perfect. Now just to find the cashier¡­ ¡°Ugh¡­ I¡¯ve truly become the Christmas,¡± spoke the body, half buried underneath the vast quantities of store merchandise. ¡°Kyki? Is tha¡¯ you? Mmm I can¡¯t really see you. You sound Kyki. Lemme dig you out¡­¡± And in the process of doing so, multiple avalanches occurred, nearly covering both of them in the wrath of Father Christmas: or whatever the crappy shop-bought version of that lived in this box store. A frightening experience, since shopping generally does not include having to flee cave-ins. A few more small tumbles and Snake barely pulled Kyki out from the ever growing death heap. Before they could say anything a whole host of random items threatened to smother them again, sending them running. ¡°OHHHH my goodness gracious. Thanks Snake. I almost died there. I even saw the Santa at the end of the tunnel.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t HIC thank me yet. Gonna pay for the stuff I grabbed and get out. I don¡¯ fffuckin¡¯ care if Vola doen¡¯t like it he can risk his own ass for this shit.¡± I don¡¯t know if they said anything else past this point, because the tremors caused by their hasty retreat was enough to set off a chain reaction, a whole natural disaster chasing them down. No one ever expects to die by tsunami, much less one of pencils and pens, erasers and markers, all painted a glittering green, red, white and gold. The cacophony of hundreds of thousands of dollars of damaged wares drowned out noise, sound, thought. So they ran, futile as it might be. ¡°...we¡¯re not gonna make it I thin¡¯ so if this is it I want you to inherit my chem lab. Please take care of it¡ª¡± Kyki snatched her by the wrist and pulled HARD, barely escaping the torrential wall of capitalist death. ¡°NO! We¡¯re BOTH gonna make it! Just a little further!!!!¡± And when all was lost, when it seemed they would be doomed to an eternal holiday in hell, they saw it. A wall. A beautiful, shining beacon of safety, with a slot just big enough for both of them to slip through. They threw themselves through the gap, crashing to the ground in an exhausted mess, as the peculiar wall, supported by a great pile of the same material behind, pushed against the great force of Merry City¡¯s inevitable rage. And to their surprise¡­ it held. Miraculously the structure held, giving them a much needed breather. ¡°Hey guys I made friends!!! Many friends!!!¡± Unze sat upon a throne of the same kind of plushie he had found earlier. Now there were thousands of them, worshiping him like some kind of prophet, or offering themselves to him in the form of his current seat, as well as walls, a chandelier, and any other number of luxuries. It was like a mini palace, built just for him. ¡°Hello Kyki!!! Are you shopping too I am doing my own shopping for subjects.¡± Snake took one good look at the cartoonish sight and burst out laughing as if it were the funniest joke only she understood, incapacitated by giggling. Kyki stood there, gobsmacked, and then pointed at the giant pile of ¡®zolkers¡¯ or whatever. ¡°Unze, how are you going to pay for all of those? I¡¯m pretty sure none of us can afford that much stuff.¡± ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry I got a card! Credit card! Here you go!¡± They barely caught the wallet haphazardly tossed down from the top, observing the brownish tan leather exterior. It seemed a little out of place, actually. ¡°Is this yours, Unze? I thought you had a purple and pink one with magnets.¡± ¡°Nope!¡± Opening the wallet revealed a wad of cash, some coins of random denomination, a library card, some arcade punch cards, and a driver¡¯s license. Kyki was almost not surprised by the face of the person on the front. ¡°Oh. That¡¯s what Wisp¡¯s real name is?¡± Unze motioned for Kyki to be more forthcoming with the forbidden knowledge. ¡°Awesome!! Please inform the class for a gold star!¡± ¡°No. You can easily find out for yourself. Also no to buying the zolkers. We can¡¯t afford that. How¡¯d you even get Wisp¡¯s credit card?¡± ¡°I asked nicely. Also brainwashing.¡± They pulled Snake up from where she lay, out of breath, and began searching for a cashier. ¡°Let¡¯s just pay and get out of here before something else bad happens. Unze, say goodbye to the plushie army.¡± ¡°Bye bye¡­ I¡¯ll come back for everyone someday I promise!!!!!!!¡± It was a truly tragic day as the trio left the building, a boxful of ornaments to hang on their Christmas tree. But at what cost? Unze clearly knew just how much he had lost from this small interaction. He stood in front of the car door, staring at the ground. ¡°I miss them already¡­¡± Kyki bent down to help a drunken Snake into the passenger seat, and then gave him a thumb over the shoulder. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, you can always just visit them tomorr¡­¡± The words died on their lips, as the pair both turned to find no box store at all. A tarp covered where the giant neon sign was supposed to be, dark windows obfuscating whatever lay inside. Empty paint buckets and scraps of wood resting around and against the outer walls, reminiscent of a building long abandoned. There weren¡¯t even any cars left in the parking lot; just their car sat, alone, amongst neat rows of empty parking spots. They gave each other a shared glance of mutual understanding and immediately slipped into the car and stepped on the gas.
The decoration of the tree was finished just in time, as a quick check showed that it was 11:59 PM, a minute before Christmas. Vola tossed the stepladder she had been using over his shoulder, ignoring the unholy sound of metal crashing against the tile floor. Wisp flicked a switch, watching all the string lights suddenly illuminate the whole room with their brightness. Now the lobby was a colorful display of blue, red, green, yellow, white, orange, and every other color. The loud speaker flared to life after going unused for ages, for a momentary announcement: ¡°It¡¯s officially CHRISTMAS everyone! Now get your ass down here for the White Elephant.¡± The speakers in the room coughed. It was clear they were not long for this world. The sleepy residents of the hotel proceeded to file out of the elevator in intervals, sitting down around the center table of the lobby, on the various couches arranged in a circle. Usually for guests, today it held the Residents of the Rectangular Glass Table. Dave: ¡°Alright. Everyone here? I don¡¯t see anyone missing.¡± Snake: ¡°Ohhh I see more than normal¡­¡± Kyki: ¡°What? Hey, wait, what¡¯s that you¡¯re drinking¡ª¡± Vola: ¡°Not even a thank you for the tree. Lame.¡± Acid: ¡°You know we appreciate you for the work you do. Don¡¯t give me that look.¡± Dime: ¡°The middle of the night. I was sleeping.¡± Mei: ¡°Yeah¡­ did we have to do this right now?¡± Rico: ¡°Christmas spirit! But I am also very eepy.¡± Unze: ¡°Just a few minutes for the Friend Meeting and then everyone can do the Sleep Meeting! It is necessary.¡± Wisp reached into a hat as everyone settled down, rifling his hands around for dramatic effect before drawing the first card. ¡°Den! You¡¯re first. Go pick!¡± Thus they reached a paw into a giant potato sack full of gifts prepared earlier, and pulled out a copy of Five Nights at Freddy¡¯s Ultra Night 3. They turned to Wisp as if to say, ¡°What the hell is this?¡± ¡°All the gifts are from everyone here,¡± reminded Wisp. ¡°Each one of us purchased a random gift to place into the sack. So you might find someone else¡¯s ideal of the perfect gift.¡± If Den could speak, they would have said ¡°Yeah, okay, I guess.¡± Subsequently they waddled off to go figure out how to play a video game with two paws instead of hands. Next person to choose was ¡°Rico! Reach into the mystical wise sack.¡± His arm came out of the bag with a giant plush of a certain round slime-esque monster from a certain game that sported catlike features. He held the whole thing, about the size of their torso, in their hands right in front of him. Both stared into the eyes of the other, and it was then Rico knew the truest form of love: the love between a man and his Tabby Slime Plush (Jumbo, 3 feet in diameter). ¡°Oh my god I love you forever.¡± Wisp rolled his eyes, clearly too foolish to grasp the magical bond just formed, offensively commenting ¡°Anyway, Unze! Take your turn.¡± Oh, the suspense of what basically amounted to a loot box! Nothing more exciting than sticking your arm into a huge bag of unverifiable items of suspect origin! In comes the hand, and out comes¡­ a zolker? ¡°NO WAY A ZOLKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡± Unze was positively ecstatic to see at least one of his subjects safe and sound. In that moment, he swore to himself that he would someday find the rest, so that this zolker may be reunited with its family, and Unze with his glorious kingdom. The zolker responded with a series of strange and peculiar noises, none of which would ever be considered reproducible by a human¡¯s vocal cords. Creepy. The hat shakes again. Wisp reaches in, and retrieves a little slip. ¡°Acid! Go on, have a pick.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Acid now.¡± ¡°Oh, okay. I¡¯m gonna go change the nameplates. Pick from the sack. No cheating while I¡¯m gone, alright?¡± He left to change the nameplates. Everyone still giftless eyed each other warily, except Snake who had fallen asleep on the couch. A brief period of silence, broken only by Unze¡¯s cries of elation and the loving noises of a zolker¡¯s happiness, to be special in the eyes of their idol. They¡¯re beginning to sweat, now, from the tension. All of them are held in place by the presence of the others, who wait for their chance, their moment, their time to strike. The first one to break the silence: ¡°Get FUCKED losers I¡¯m dibs!¡± Vola dove for the sack as if his life depended on it, and then the lobby was a battleground. Noxious gas clouds spread across the room, only for Acid to be nailed in the face by a really big coin; Mei snatches the sack and then narrowly dodges laser fire from within the fog, just long enough for Vola to crack open the shell of Dave¡¯s armor with her bare hands. Distracted, they didn¡¯t notice Kyki nab the bag and leap over the couch until it was too late. But before they could make their getaway, Dave snagged their ankle with a snap anchor, a metal band suddenly creating an attachment point between them and the ground. The ensuing dogpile was too violent to put into words, but by the time Wisp came down the stairs¡­ ¡°Hey guys, I¡¯m back. What¡¯d you pull, Acid?¡± He stared at the desecrated remains of the furniture sprawled all over the room. It looked like the site of a natural disaster, basically. An entire wall was covered in ash, there were multiple holes in the ceiling, one of the window panes was in pieces outside, several harpoons were lodged in the floor, there were multiple fans on full blast, and everyone was sitting on the floor around the sack in the middle of the room. ¡°Uh? Did you guys, like, do something while I was gone? Why¡¯s the repair bill suddenly doubled?¡± No one said anything. Even the zolker looked beat up, lying in a vague puddle shape on Unze¡¯s head. Acid held up her prize. ¡°Look. A flamethrower.¡± ¡°That¡¯s awesome! Why don¡¯t you look so good.¡± She didn¡¯t answer Wisp¡¯s question. Vola nursed his bruised jaw, and Kyki was in the stock family guy death pose on the ground. Wisp held up the hat again. ¡°Erm okay whatever I guess next name! Looks like it¡¯s Dave ! Dude are you okay.¡± Dave dragged himself over to the sack and drew from its seemingly bottomless content a bonsai tree kit. Apparently, it was supposed to bring good luck and fortune. Still lying face down on the tiles, he raised one arm into the air. ¡°Yippee.¡± Next to try their luck was Dust, nursing some kind of migraine. ¡°Um. This is wrapped. It looks like a pipe bomb.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s a normal present that won¡¯t blow up in your face. No one here could make one, right?¡± Mei was more fortunate, receiving a box of cookies, except instead of neatly placed cookies arranged for aesthetics, it was just a normal ass box, filled with a shit ton of handmade cookies all poured in there with no attempt at neatness. Vola reached in, snatched something, pulled it out to take a look at it, ¡°Huh. The Professional¡¯s Guide to Killing People and Getting Away With It, Vol 5.¡± She looked up at the squad, expecting some kind of explanation or answer, and was met with a round of equally confused stares. ¡°Hey. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake. Snake.¡± Vola shoved Wisp aside with a sigh. ¡°That¡¯s not how you do it, dumbass. You¡¯re supposed to SNAAAAAAKE like that.¡± And it did work; she sat up in a hurry and slammed Vola in the face with a bottle of some kind of stink potion. If I could have shown you the gratuitous slow-mo of instant karma, of the predictable consequences of Vola¡¯s actions, I would. Instead you¡¯ll have to trust me when I tell you the sound of another glass bottle shattering and the resulting gag as Vola tried not to smell it made Wisp feel a little bit better about his day. ¡°WHAT THE FUCK is it Vola FUCK OFF!!! LET ME SLEEP!!!¡± He cradled his face and pointed with one hand to the sack. ¡°Oh yeah! The, uh, umm, the White Elephant.¡± She pulled out a meth lab set. ¡°Oh, haha, very funny guys. I¡¯m gonna go have another drink and go to bed.¡± At that, everyone else got up as well. It was past midnight, after all, and it was not so great to be dead tired in the morning. As the gang dispersed, Wisp held up the now depleted sack, realizing there was still one small item left inside. Shaking it out, he held in his hands nothing more than a can of generic peanuts, store bought. ¡°...I¡¯m allergic to these.¡± He thought about it. Then he chucked the can out the broken window, listening to it clatter on the pavement outside. Behind him, the vent cover slowly slid open, and voice reached Wisp from a place he couldn¡¯t really describe, or visualize. ¡°Am I late?¡± ¡°Oh. Chasma. They just all left. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d come.¡± ¡°Then I am right on time. I was not meaning to participate anyway. There are precious few things I cannot create myself.¡± ¡°Maybe the key is not to be materialistic, or something. I got a can of peanuts. Makes me think of Sixth Grade, before all the apocalypse stuff happened. I can¡¯t even eat them.¡± ¡°Are you unhappy with your gift? Something tells me everyone else will be content with theirs, no matter how strange or useless their gift was.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not, like, super angry. I don¡¯t know. I just feel weird, in a bad way.¡± ¡°You do not need to worry. Do you not consider them your friends?¡± No answer. ¡°That is an answer in and of itself. But I hope you do not think the same of me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t! I don¡¯t. I didn¡¯t even say anything. Don¡¯t get me wrong, man.¡± ¡°You still feel down.¡± ¡°Yes. So what?¡± ¡°I know it is a big ask. It is hard for you to trust. So I will give you a gift.¡± ¡°A gift? You¡¯re giving me a gift?¡± ¡°Yes. It will be our secret to keep. Do not let them be jealous.¡± There came a quiet banging from the ventilation shafts, a mix of bangs and scrapes and who knows what else. Yet what emerged belied his expectations. It was nothing more than a small cube, murky and dark in color, contained in a crystal clear ball. ¡°What is it?¡± Chasma let the little ball, the diameter of three marbles, fall gently into the waiting palm of its receiver. ¡°It is a charm. A ward of sorts. I will not always be here by your side, as a good friend should. IF you are ever in real need, bring it with you, and you will find your burdens relieved. It is powerful, so do not reveal it to others. You would soon find it gone. It is for you only.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s an artifact tier of rarity. This has to be insanely expensive. Why would you even give something like that to me?¡± ¡°Because I need you to trust me. That I am here for you, and not a facsimile of some fairweather friend, light as a feather, drifting away at the first hint of a storm. I am real. I am here. So take it and believe me.¡± Wisp beheld it, an ever shifting mosaic of gray to white to black, in all gradients. The light seemed to gravitate towards the thing, wrapping around in ways that put light shows to shame. It was a beautiful display, not in the conventional sense, but in the oddness that it possessed. And he found it in his heart to tell them, yes, ¡°I do.¡± The Fourth Memory: Chasma If you had asked Lifo how much he cared for his ¡°family¡±, he would have chattered on for hours, listing every little thing he loved about everyone in his life. Though he may have been an orphan for as long as he could remember (which was not very long), the little eight year old found his solace in everyone else in his town. Running down the cobblestone streets, the houses built in a European medieval style, and the snow that draped over all things. This was his life in the far north. He wasn¡¯t old enough to know of The Collapse, but those older than him regaled him sometimes of a tragic tale; all from different perspectives, but outlining the same basic plot every single time. Sometimes he stayed up late, later than anyone else, watching the stars in the night sky on clear evenings. He dreamt of cars, of stoplights, of computers in every house and phones in every pocket. He dreamt of the biggest book in the world small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. He dreamt of planes, roaring through endless clouds, and what he imagined a thriving metropolis would look like. It was far too late for all of that now, though. Here, where things lurked in the blinding white of every blizzard, there was no magic. The townspeople all loved Lifo, a light of innocence in times so trying. Thus they all felt the need to tell him the same thing. ¡°You can¡¯t, Lifo.¡± ¡°You know it is dangerous out there!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± None of them could or would take him far beyond the walls, to places unknown. For too long they had remained in isolation, fearful of the dangerous world on the outside. And they were not wrong! Few left the safety of this little kingdom that rested so far away that no one outside knew of its existence. None returned. Eventually, people stopped leaving, and everyone grew content with their peaceful existence. Casualties from defense of the town were slowly dropping with every passing year, and many were confident ¡°The Fog¡± would not be able to ever terrorize the town again. He wouldn¡¯t stand for that. To him, the world was his sandbox. There was nowhere he could not go, nothing he wouldn¡¯t be able to reach. Everyone else, even the Empowered in his little village, all too scared to roam the outside, fearful of what they would encounter. But they didn¡¯t know Lifo fully, understanding what he was capable of. A few seconds later, he slipped into the shade of the buildings, his presence disappearing in totality. All eyes drew away from him on instinct, everyone nearby suddenly unable to grasp that Lifo was right in front of them. This was his favorite thing to do. The people knew he was special, blessed with Empowerment, but he had never told anyone what his ability was. [Newsboy] was what he called it. One of his many grandpa¡¯s grandpa had been one many many years ago. Apparently it was an easy going job, as he had flicked from house to house nearly unnoticed, another object in the background. When he put on the wool newsboy cap, he had been invisible, or so a village elder had told him. What a perfect word to describe Lifo, a ghost of Icetown. It was night now, and he had a habit of entering stealth to wander the empty streets unhindered. Only sparse lamps provided him with light, and he curiously ran down back alleys and leapt over low fences, a little ninja in his own playbox. And that was how Lifo lived his life. Nothing more than a wandering child, friend of all Icetown. Tonight, that monotony broke. When he heard the rustling, he first thought it was some small animal. Perhaps a lost fox, slipping through the gate. A bird, pecking at trash. Even a raccoon hungry for scraps. Instead he was met with the sight of a little child, one who looked the same age as him. Long tangled hair reached to the ground as they crouched in the darkness, hiding in the tiny space between a dumpster and a trash can. He drew closer, slowly making out their features. They had thin limbs, to the point of malnutrition, and torn clothing that dangled from their sticklike frame. The eyes. Their head turned, and their eyes pierced through the matted mess of hair to meet his own. Lifo nearly stumbled backward, believing himself invisible to everything. How could he be seen? Was his power imperfect somehow? Now that he got a good look at the kid, he instantly could tell that they were new. This was a tight knit community, and he knew everyone and everyone knew him. In a world of constants, this child was a variable. The voice came to him, a tired whisper on the gentle night time breeze. ¡°I can see you.¡± The jig was up. Reluctantly, he let his energy fade from his body, revealing a healthy juvenile clad in woolen clothes, green and brown. His first words left his mouth before he even thought them. ¡°How¡¯d you see me?¡± ¡°You have a power. I can feel it when you use it.¡± That was definitely new. Not two lines in and he was already humbled by the stranger¡¯s knowledge of his power. Normal people shouldn¡¯t be able to sense something like that though. ¡°What¡¯s your power then?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I can do a lot of things.¡± The child peeked out from behind the dumpster and placed both palms on the cobble pathway. In the blink of an eye, it morphed, as a few letters became engraved in one of the smaller stones. Lifo read them out loud. ¡°Pee are eye emm? Chasma? Is that your name?¡± ¡°Yes. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Everyone calls me Lifo, but I don¡¯t know if that was my name when I was born.¡± The letters on the ground morphed again, into L-I-F-O. It was mesmerizing to observe how the stone seemingly bent and melted like molten metal, only to draw together into specific shapes as if it were molded. Lifo bent down, feeling each groove that represented his name with an index finger. ¡°Your power is drawing stuff?¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°I can¡­ shape things. Make things too.¡± Air collected in one of Chasma¡¯s palms, concentrating and compressing into a little marble. Nearly invisible, the only indication of its existence was a thin, dark outline that gave it the appearance of a pen-drawn circle. They tossed it up into the air, letting it float slowly downwards back into their palm. ¡°Wow¡­ can I have that?¡± Chasma began to slink away, easily camouflaging in even the smallest pockets of shadow. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ busy. I need something, so I can¡¯t play.¡± It was surprising that the whole block wasn¡¯t lit up with a glow brighter than the sun, given just how radiant Lifo¡¯s face appeared to be. ¡°I could help you! I know everywhere in the city! Like the back of my hand, or so one of my grandpas said.¡± That was when Chasma spotted an opportunity. Someone sneaky would be unexpectedly helpful for the objective¡­ ¡°You know, there is one thing you can help me with.¡± ¡°Anything for a friend!¡± Chasma froze in place, leaning against a wall as they peeked around a corner to watch for any peacekeepers or others. That was a new word. It tasted unfamiliar to them, like sweet candy, with a note of sourness. Despite the strangeness of new stimuli, it was more than a little addicting. A word that lingered on the tongue, hesitantly gifted to those you trusted. ¡°A friend,¡± replied Chasma. For a second they were almost exposed to the world by the word, but just as quickly the steel doors slammed shut, and they were normal again. ¡°A friend!¡± came Lifo¡¯s unflinching voice. His singsong demeanor would not be penetrated by mere half hearted responses. To be an orphan was to be resilient, and he was, in more ways than one. ¡°Have you ever been in the palace?¡± He paused at that. The palace was a no-go zone to most people; only the most lucky would be allowed inside, for purposes unknown to the rest of the populace. The guards had told him no one was to be allowed inside, or else. The glint in their eyes, so unfamiliarly hostile, reminded him of something he would rather not touch. So Lifo never ventured into the icy castle. ¡°I don¡¯t know anyone who has been inside. Anyone who has won¡¯t tell me about it.¡± ¡°Can you get inside? I know where to go, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m sneaky enough.¡± Dirt and dust became parchment and ink, turning into a rough but interpretable map. A scribbled layout of the first layer of the castle came into view, a series of hallways and chambers arrayed in strange and unpredictable ways. Paths appeared to lead in all directions, except towards the center. There seemed to be only one path that led in a winding route to the core of the palace, where one would then descend into an unknown area. Lifo studied it in confusion. ¡°How¡¯d you get a map of the castle?¡± ¡°Magic.¡± They really said that to him with a straight face. He was almost inclined to believe it, with how serious they looked. Rolling up the map and carefully putting it in his pocket without crumpling it, he met the eyes of someone he would surely never, ever forget. ¡°I can try. But I don¡¯t know if I can do it.¡± ¡°Trying is already enough.¡± So Lifo went to perform this task assigned to him; a little call to adventure, something he had never had before in the confines of the walls circling his town. Buildings slowly grew more packed and numerous as he drew closer to the center, homes stacked on each other leaving little space for alleyways in between. The natural chill of the tundra was slowly overpowered by a different kind of cold; it seeped into his skin, his flesh, into his very bones. He felt awe as he approached the gate, shuffling along slowly in a most inconspicuous manner. Here, the ground became cold and slippery. Dirt and stone intermingled with ice, and only the hardiest of flora could thrive in the harsh conditions here. Large statues of icy knights exerted some unknown pressure on passerby. No one dared approach. The ruler of the town was one little known, and to be part of the elite who lived in the proverbial ivory tower granted one a certain level of prestige none could match. There were no actual humans at the gate, so slipping in was the easy part. Climbing in through an open window was a little harder, as the walls were some kind of combination of ice and stone brick that made it tough to grip. The room he climbed into turned out to be some kind of storage room. Barrels and shelves of prepackaged foodstuffs lined the walls and left little room to walk. He creaked the door open just a bit, scanning the hallways for anyone. All eerily empty. Rather than walking, it felt more like he was sliding down the hallway. The map thankfully was a near perfect recreation of the palace interior. It was simple keeping his head down and meandering past the occasional pair of guards chatting to each other as they strolled along their designated patrol routes. His power, though little developed, worked like a charm. Functionally, he did not exist to the world. ¡°I heard that the big men upstairs are looking to hitch a deal.¡± ¡°Another expeditionary force? No one ever comes back alive from those.¡± ¡°They say things are gonna change though¡­ Hopefully for the better.¡± Lifo caught snippets of conversation as he walked past any number of people, and some piqued his interest. Regardless, he pushed on. What kind of friend leaves a pal hanging? As he drew closer to the core of the castle, the number of guards grew in frequency. Soon he was squeezing past beefy adults in full plate. He briefly wondered what guards looked like in the past, before the world became dust. Careful, he thought. Navigating around countless numbers of men and women, eyes keen to find any intruder, really took a toll on his nerves. His Empowerment thrummed through his limbs, his chest, his head. The cold was especially freezing here, and only the heat of the moment kept the chill away. Descending down the stairs into the basement brought him a little reprieve, as everyone avoided it unilaterally. Some kind of forbidden zone. The stairs went on forever. His legs grew heavy with exertion, and his breath became labored. If there was anyone who dared to climb down, they might have heard his desperate gasps for air. But eventually there had to be a bottom, and he was not expecting what he found waiting at the end of the staircase. A completely empty room. Or, it would have been, if not for the pedestal with a singular item resting on it. It was kind of oppressive, actually. The atmosphere in the room was a blanket of concrete, or a stifling field of smoke. Stepping forward with abundant caution was a necessity. Approaching gave him a clearer view of his target, marked with a clear and obvious (X) and a ¡°HERE!!!¡± on the map. It didn¡¯t look particularly special. Just a little white cube that glowed softly. A glass case covered it, presumably to act as a display case. With a steady hand and pristine concentration, Lifo slowly lifted the glass top off of the case, delicately picking up the cube in two fingers. At point blank range, he could feel the strength emanating from the tiny block. For a moment he had a strange thought in his mind. Eat. The idea disappeared as quickly as it had overtaken him, and he slipped the mysterious item into a pocket. When he came up the stairs though, he quickly heard the sounds of heavy footsteps echoing off the frozen stone walls. He pressed himself against the outer wall of the circular staircase, just in time for a group of guards to come charging down. Apparently their fear of what lay down here had been suddenly broken, as yelling quickly filled his ears. Reaching the top showed him the consequences of his actions. The ice was receding; slowly, the palace was returning to normal. While the frost could not be wiped away wholly, its influence had clearly dissipated substantially. In their haste, the guards crowded around the center zone, hoping to snag the thief in the act. Lifo was already gone, sprinting down corridors and leaping out a window into the courtyard. ¡°Hey! Who¡¯s there?¡± An authoritative voice called out from the dark of the night, a lantern shining in the darkness. A glint told Lifo of a sword and shield strapped securely to armor. Definitely did not want to meet the business end of that knight¡¯s blade. In the cover of night, it was all too easy to give him the slip, disappearing into the dark. Chasma was right where he left them when he came back. A tiny hut of wood and dirt had coalesced into something of a shack to keep out the elements. Rocks and stones surrounded it in a circle like some kind of ward. ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°Fast. Only two hours, 14 minutes.¡± Weird. There were no clocks here. How¡¯d they know the time? Regardless, he withdrew the cube from his pockets, holding it up to the illumination of a nearby streetlight. In a flash, Chasma snatched it from his hands, clutching it in both hands. The natural presence of the block was muted between their palms, and after a few seconds, a black cloud washed over their hands and promptly vanished. They brought their hands apart, presenting to Lifo the cube again. This time it had lines of black running through it, and it emanated smoke from every surface. He beheld it for a second, before he realized why Chasma was standing there holding it out. ¡°You want me to have this?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we friends?¡± He really couldn¡¯t argue with that, so he took it. Already, he felt it granted him strength. If he activated his ability now, he would be able to hide from anyone. ¡°I changed it. The cube will help you now. Just keep it on you.¡± ¡°...thank you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what friends are for.¡± And although he did not think Chasma fully understood what they were saying, he knew that this would be the start of a long and storied relationship. He couldn¡¯t wait to see the end. Lick Your Wounds Despite his limitless regeneration, he still curiously felt some measure of fatigue when doing particularly onerous tasks. A strange quirk of Empowerment. He felt it especially now, as he carried Vola on his back, stumbling through the storm. It was all he could do to focus on his feet, on every step that carried them inch by inch towards home. Wisp could feel the slickness of remnant gore shaking his balance, as his shoes threatened to give from the abuse they¡¯d been subjected to. Leaden limbs drenched in shame, he dragged himself home, step by step. When did he start to think of this terrible job as home? Shredded, crushed, stabbed, shot, ripped to pieces, and then put back together again. At some point he kept moving, not through the glucose broken for energy, but through the burning wrath that set his body aflame, a warm beacon in the accursed cold. If Vola was awake, even she would hesitate at the molten metal of his blood. Steam hissed as the rain began to evaporate, turning into little white wisps that whispered in his ear, egging him on. For a moment, the darkness seemed to recede, kept at bay by willpower. Dave carried Mei on his back as well, smoking gears and machinery struggling to maintain the rough pace Wisp threaded through scarcely lit streets, empty of their usual lively cheer. Hundreds of dark windows eyed the pair as they finally came upon the towering hotel that they defined, and that defined them. Rico stood outside, rainwater running off his rock arms. His eyes searched the darkness of the storm, shivering in dread of the next monster to assault the familiar safety of brick walls and unexpected friendship. That was how he found them, the four who came back, weak and overtaxed. ¡°Wisp? Dave?? What the hell happened out there???¡± Wisp¡¯s aching muscles slowly mended as he spoke. ¡°...Monster. We were almost goners, but I got lucky and it couldn¡¯t kill me. But the rest of us aren¡¯t well. They need help.¡± Dave remained silent, unreadable behind his reflective visor. Rico gestured at the broken glass of the doors and the windows that used to line the front of the hotel, now scattered across the pavement. Only some tarps kept out the wind and cold rain. ¡°Us too. Snake is busy stabilizing Dime.¡± ¡°Stabilizing?!¡± ¡°They got him.¡± Wisp only paused to drop off Vola on a couch before dashing over to a room with a red cross plastered over the door. Inside, Snake sat on a stool, a white hospital bed against the far wall. Dime laid under the covers quietly, unresponsive. The rage drained out of his bones as Dave collapsed behind him, the suit arresting his fall. Snake spared Wisp a glance before turning away, preparing reagents in both hands as she fought to drag Dime back from the edge of death. ¡°Go bother someone else, Wisp. I don¡¯t have time.¡± ¡°Is he¡­ will he be okay?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll die. He¡¯s got a heavy fever; healing potions tax you proportional to their effect, and he nearly got, you know, gone.¡± She turned to him, and he didn¡¯t see the annoyed scientist that commanded the respect of everyone here. In her place was a scared, trembling animal, eyes red with a few moments of secret tears, even as she obsessively treated Dime¡¯s near-death condition. ¡°Well, if he¡¯ll be okay, maybe you could take a look at Mei and Vola and Dave too. We ran into something out there, and Vola and Mei both won¡¯t wake up. Dave just collapsed too, and I don¡¯t know what kind of wounds they have-¡± ¡°Just shut up and bring them in.¡± ¡°I mean I haven¡¯t really been doing anything useful, so I wanted to know if you needed any help with, like, making the potions we all know you for.¡± And that was the last straw on the camel¡¯s back, piled high with paranoia and the stress of fighting off monster after monster. She pointed to the door and affixed Wisp with a gaze that could¡¯ve killed lesser men. ¡°NO, Wisp, I¡¯ve had enough. You know why you¡¯re not supposed to be where I¡¯m working. I¡¯ve given you MORE chances than I should''ve, and every time you¡¯re more a nuisance than any genuine help you could offer. That¡¯s why you¡¯re BANNED from the lab, and now I¡¯m banning you from HERE TOO. Just go. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡± He didn¡¯t bother replying, bringing in the three afflicted and shutting the door behind him. At the same time, Acid came out of Dave¡¯s lab, gesturing to Wisp. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Oh, hey, Wisp. You¡¯re back. You didn¡¯t find Kyki?¡± ¡°No. We were interrupted, and Snake¡¯s treating the other three. I¡¯m alright, though.¡± ¡°Yeah, we were attacked too. I won¡¯t get into the details, but you can meet our new friend! I say new, but it¡¯s just Husky.¡± ¡°What about him?¡± Unze slowly shoved the robotic body of Den through the doorway, who looked bashful and a little afraid of the sudden spotlight. Wisp gaped at the radical chance in appearance. ¡°Husky???¡± ¡°It¡¯s Den now, but yeah.¡± ¡°But??? How??????????????¡± ¡°I think I was Empowered. Back when I was a robot dog. I don¡¯t know how that works, but Dave built a new body for me, and I can properly use my powers now.¡± To demonstrate, he raised a wand, and a few orbs of light danced in the air, leaving trails of light rays in their wake. Wisp looked a little glum at the new change, though. ¡°You too? When do I get a good power?¡± ¡°Your power is great,¡± commented Unze, ¡°you can survive pretty much anything and come back swimming in a moment!¡± Wisp sighed into his reply, ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m not really useful for anything beyond being chewed up every other day.¡± Den searched the pockets of his long wizard¡¯s robes, as he was dressed for his role. After a bit of fumbling, he pulled out a little wand of brass, wreathed in a helix of gold and silver wire. ¡°Here you go, then! It¡¯s my personal backup wand. I¡¯ve been trying out the full scope of what I can do, and I¡¯ve been able to tie a [Fireball] spell to this thing for now. I can¡¯t make too many of them or it strains my ability, but a few spare should be okay.¡± Wisp caught it in midair as it was tossed to him, marveling at the weight of the wand, built out of Dave¡¯s suspiciously stocked materials storage. ¡°That¡¯s incredible! How many times can I use this?¡± ¡°That one¡¯s pretty strong, so maybe ten times? I¡¯ll get you a few more weaker ones, come in here.¡± Acid went in first, nabbing a wooden rod off its assigned holder and waving it around. With a flourish, she pointed and shouted: Acid casts [Burstlight]! Unze and Den were smart enough to cover their eyes. Wisp was left with a flash that seared his vision, preventing him from being able to see for at least thirty seconds. Den snatched it out of Acid¡¯s hands, handing it and another wand to Wisp. ¡°Sorry about that. They like to mess with the wands. I think Unze¡¯s favorite is the [Confusion] wand.¡± Unze pointed the wand in question, made out of glass, at Wisp threateningly, only for Den to gently nudge his arm away. Wisp stared down at the wooden [Burstlight] wand and the other one, square and hard plastic. ¡°What¡¯s this other one do?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s-¡± The TV monitor behind them began to flicker crazily, flashing all sorts of strange and unspeakable colors. Acid and Unze backed away as Den and Wisp eyed the screen uneasily. ¡°Is that your magic?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t have any tech powers¡­¡± With a crack, the screen spat out a ball of pixelated garbage data, before splitting in two and turning black. The smoke coming off its internal components did not distract from the mess of squares of various colors shaking in front of them. Acid pointed her gauntlets at it, hesitant. ¡°I¡¯m gonna gas that thing.¡± Wisp yanked her gauntlet away, pointing down at the heap. ¡°Hey wait, don''t! Look, it¡¯s kind of human shaped!¡± It did appear to be somewhat humanoid. Before their eyes, the pixels stabilized into the panting, but unmistakable form of someone they all knew pretty well. Unze leapt up into the air with a jubilant: ¡°Yippee! Kat¡¯s here!¡± ¡°Kat? You too? How¡¯d YOU get here?¡± Exhausted, Kat rolled onto his back, breathing heavily as he tried to answer Wisp. ¡°I turned myself into data. Sent myself through the nodes to fast-travel. Bad idea. Never doing that again. Where¡¯s Kyki?¡± Acid sighed, leaning against a wall tiredly. ¡°Not here. We couldn¡¯t find them. And it looks like it¡¯s too dangerous for us to go find them right now. Some of us almost died.¡± Kat pushed himself off the ground, static becoming a long coat and a sharp blade with an invisible edge. A test swing whistled as it cut through the air, chiming like a crystal. ¡°Then let me be of assistance. It can¡¯t be much harder than doing it in For Honor.¡± ¡°Now¡¯s not really the time for jokes¡­¡± Kat planted his blade in the floor, leaning on it as he stared out of Dave¡¯s laboratory windows. ¡°I know. But it doesn¡¯t matter whether I am. I¡¯m going to find Kyki, with or without you guys.¡± Unze saluted him for his bravery. ¡°We won¡¯t give up! We¡¯ll get stronger, and then we''ll blow up the company that took Kyki!¡± ¡°Yeah, exactly! We just have to work on ideas on how to kill robots better, and everything will be okay. It¡¯ll all go back to the way things were before.¡± Wisp pocketed his new wands, slinking away as Den tried to enchant Kat himself, wondrous at his technophile Empowerment. He threaded his way out the door, down the hall, across the main room, and was nearly to the stairs when a rocky arm caught him by the shoulder. ¡°Everything alright, Wisp?¡± To Rico, he looked like a deer in headlights. Suddenly pale and flushed skin, eyes that trembled with frozen terror and anticipation. He said nothing, a statue in the face of confronting his problems. Rico tried his best to give him an endearing look, more comforting than alarming. ¡°Okay, well, if you can¡¯t talk about it right now, you can come to me anytime you need. You know that, right?¡± Wisp nodded, and Rico let him go, retaking his position as tired sentinel of the hotel. Alone, Wisp crept up the flights of stairs quietly, counting down the steps until he reached his floor. Then it was a lot of walking under the dim fluorescent yellow lights until he got to his room. It was nothing fancy, relatively bare. A bed, a closet, and a nightstand with a lamp. A few luggage cases sat around, mostly unpacked. He slid open the bottom drawer and removed the false bottom, reaching in and pulling out a familiar crystal ball, surrounding a cube marred by gray wisps of some mysterious substance. He felt the aching in his bones now, the proximity to the marble whispering to him its purpose. He never spent much time here because of that. But now he felt the calling to consume it, to absorb its power. He raised it to his lips, uncertain. A moment''s hesitation, and then¡ª down the hatch¡­ Bittersweet Flames ¡°Welcome to the world, little one¡­¡± Kyki heard the words echoing through their skull before they reached their destination. Ruins of a grand city, overgrown with vegetation stretched to the horizon. At the edge, great walls of stone and steel stood proud, cracked and consumed by plantlife but still rising defiantly against the gentle plains and forests that surrounded the human-built monuments of glass and steel. ¡°You seem to be in a predicament¡­¡± The lilting voice seemed almost nonchalant, as if Kyki had not been kidnapped. They did seem a bit disoriented, though. ¡°Where am I?¡± ¡°Have you forgotten? Think back to the last thing you remember.¡± ¡°I can remember fog. Black fog. I think I passed out then.¡± ¡°Good. Your mental capacity is sufficient. You must know you are close to home.¡± Kyki ran their hands over vines that scaled concrete and rebar, flowering high above where the skyscrapers reached their peak. The buildings were unrecognizable at this point; where were they? ¡°Home? This doesn¡¯t look like home.¡± ¡°The question is not where, but when. Keep walking. Does this jog your memory?¡± Then the cramped towers of artifice gave way to a plaza all too familiar. Surrounding it were the headquarters of companies they recognized, signs having survived the test of time. Mercenaries Union, Fertile Fields, Catgirls Inc, Automotive Industries, all buried beneath the creeping advance of nature. ¡°Oh. I remember now. This is the city. My city.¡± ¡°Turn to your right and walk.¡± They had no reason to listen to the voice in their head, for they did not know who or what they were talking to. And yet, their legs carried them forward, like their mind was possessed by the instructions. It was as if they were in a half-daze. Now that they thought about it, they could somewhat feel the mysterious helper resting on the nape of their neck. It was a cold embrace, still and frozen as the impenetrable darkness of night in a world without light. They passed blocks and blocks, flashing by broken street lamps in a moment. The world passed them by like a train going nowhere. Flashes of their reflection appeared in the windows as one step became, two, then three, then a hundred all at once. Did space really matter here? Distant lands became next door neighbors, and in seconds they had traveled faster and farther than any car or plane could have. Despite this, they felt no wind or pressure, none of the signs of someone moving at high speed. In the time it took them to think all of this they had already arrived. In front of them stood the hotel so familiar to them. Or, that¡¯s what they would¡¯ve said, had it not been a pile of rubble taller than most of the surrounding buildings. Cracked concrete and the twisted remains of rebar formed a most garish monument at the end of the street. Hellclaws of warped steel and iron piled on masses of gray and soot and ash gave it a ruined portal type look. ¡°Oh. Too bad. I guess you were too late.¡± Kyki spoke nothing, backing up a step or two, blinking in disbelief. The cold hands were back, lightly wrapping around their throat. Then tighter, tighter, as their chest constricted and every breath strained against their lungs. ¡°Better get a move on, unless you want to join them.¡± The snarl turned their head around. Behind them! A Voidhound crept forth from between buildings, sluggish without the cover of the Dust that characterized their appearance. It was midday, and the heat of the sun beat down on the poor dog. But its instincts whispered to its brain: KILL. SPREAD. CONQUER. So it did. Voidhound uses [Piercing Wail]! Target is vulnerable! Kyki has been afflicted with Terror¡­ They ran like hell. Hands scraped on jagged blocks of cement, as overgrown as they were. The hound on their ass was fatigued from the bright rays of the sun overhead baking their dark, jet black body. But it would not relent. The purpose must be followed, fulfilled. Clambering to the top of the cement heap, the only thing Kyki could do was leap, heart in their throat, hands finding purchase on a fire escape covered in vines. The dog not far behind clawed its way up. Huge chunks of reinforced concrete crumbled or fell, cracking as others toppled down the pile. It hunched for a second, preparing to leap after Kyki, only for little yellow orbs to pelt it in the face by the dozens. In each bubble were the happy times, the memories that held power and kept their feet moving forward every single day. Their outstretched hand unleashed volleys of bright marbles like a little hailstorm from their palm. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Unlike the monster of despair that prowled the halls of a forgotten school, this attack was wholly ineffective, bubbles popping on Dustknit skin and searing it with their warmth. A little burn wouldn¡¯t stop it, so Kyki gave up and grasped for the rusted iron bars of the ladders to launch themselves ever upward, just in time to avoid the creature slamming into the wall just below where they had been. A second leap shook the ruined building, the bricks giving way for the Voidhound to crash right through. Staying on the roof was a no-go with the deteriorating integrity of the building. Vaulting to another building didn¡¯t stay the hand of imminent death for long, the Voidhound busting through the other side of the brick building it was in to pursue. Unpleasantly, dark needles came down upon it like a wave of torment, spines burying into the false flesh of the dust dog. For the first time it felt the pain and agony of what it meant to exist, and it roared in its own brand of terror. But it would not, could not relent. It bulled through dozens of attacks as fast as Kyki could loose their needles of despair. They backed up, trembling, the Voidhound clawing its way up onto the roof. In a last ditch effort to stave off defeat, Kyki concentrated on both hands, dark gray veins pulsing beneath their skin while their worst memories coalesced into a great cone, tip sharpened to a molecular point. When the canine lunged for their throat, the cone blasted forth with enough recoil to blow them onto their back. The force of it blew a leg away as well as a portion of its torso, sending it catapulting backwards off the edge. It hurt so much, but it would not give up. Despite the fatigue and the numbness of a limb it didn¡¯t have anymore, it clung to life even as it flew through the air heavily injured. It roared its defiance, making its anger known as it plummeted down, down, down¡­ directly onto the spire of rubble that remained of the Toothland Hotel. There was no sickening crunch, nor a splatter of gore. Its body just seemed to contract for a fraction of a second, before breathing out and dissipating entirely in a burst of dark dust to blind the eyes and choke the lungs. Kyki crawled over to the edge of the structure, peering down below. Only a ghostly cloud of black dust haunted the gravesite of their friends now. Now, of all times, the voice came to them again, calming and quiet. The chill of it was almost comforting in a way. ¡°A close one. You have potential, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Potential? POTENTIAL? POTENTIAL FOR WHAT??? ALL MY¡ª they¡¯re gone. They¡¯re gone. Everyone¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°Here, yes¡­ but really not quite. You still have time to fix things.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to fix. I¡¯m stuck wherever I am in the future. Everything¡¯s abandoned. It has been for a long time.¡± ¡°The future? No, you think too outside of the box. Look inward.¡± Their nails scratched on the dusty concrete of the building¡¯s roof in frustration. Their whole body was tense as the words spilled out of them in a tumbling wave of regret. ¡°I don¡¯t want to. How can I think of myself when the world is like this?¡± They gestured to the ruins of Plainshold, and the voice sighed. ¡°What would you know of the world? You are not even awake.¡± ¡°I¡ª what the FUCK are you saying? I¡¯m MORE awake than I¡¯ve ever been my whole life!¡± ¡°Your mind is. Your body¡­ no. When was the last time you took care of your headspace?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean. My brain?¡± ¡°Yes. Look at it. All overgrown. How can you shine when your soul is caged in a maze of plants?¡± Slowly, they stood up, turning one way and the other, head swiveling around to take in all the dilapidated buildings that threatened to fall apart. ¡°All of this is me?¡± ¡°Oh, but it doesn¡¯t have to be. You know I¡¯d help you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t. I don¡¯t even know you.¡± ¡°How could you say that, Kyki? I¡¯m right here.¡± The voice was right behind them, mere meters away. In surprise they spun around to the sight of a familiar hand, outstretched. A gaunt white arm, wrinkled skin spiraling up into an opaque fog vision could not hope to pierce. With focus, they might even make out a hint of a white glow behind the smoke. ¡°You¡­ Chasma?¡± ¡°Not in the flesh. I can¡¯t be very active right now, with the Dust going on all about. But I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°But this is my head, I was knocked out by someone. How are you here?¡± ¡°I keep my ____ on everyone in the hotel. It wouldn¡¯t do for someone¡¯s friend to just disappear. I can touch your dreams, even if I cannot touch you.¡± ¡°Can you get me out of here? I need to go back. Kat would be worried sick and everyone else I know would be panicking right now.¡± ¡°Ah, I have not the power. Not right now. It is something you must do yourself with the Empowerment you¡¯ve found. Isn¡¯t it wonderful to finally be special?¡± On one hand, Kyki crafted a glowing globe of infinite depth, warmth and smiles and sugar and spice. In the other, a stalagmite sprouted from their palm, sucking in the light cast over it into an insatiable void of the soul. It was hard to look at for too long. To the unaware observer, it would¡¯ve felt like an invisible weight that dragged the body down into an ocean of viscosity. ¡°I see you¡¯ve already grasped the basics. The brightest lights and the deepest depths of yourself to be wielded at your command.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t all? I can have more?¡± ¡°So much more. You do not know your own potential. To show you, I will make it real.¡± ¡°How? I¡¯ve never used my power before¡­ not in real life. Only in this long dream¡­ wait. If you can enter dreams, can you slip into the dreams of everyone else? Tell them that I¡¯m okay.¡± ¡°Alas, I cannot. For most, a dream lasts mere seconds, not even enough time for me to begin to enter. But your dream has no end. You will have to make your own escape, and I will give you the tools to do so.¡± Kyki sat down on the edge of the building roof, staring off into the distance. A flick of the wrist sent the orb of happy memories floating away, drifting on a breeze that didn¡¯t exist until now. With the other hand, they chucked the dark spike right at it, watching it pop the bubble and absorb all the magic inside before spearing through the support pillar of a nearby skyscraper. Crack, went the rebar and cement. The weight of the upper layers pressed upon everything below, and the minor integrity failure spread. It grew outward wildly, the sturdy skeleton of the long dead tower rapidly decaying before their eyes. The cracks gave way. The concrete sheared at awkward angles, and the whole thing came tumbling down with a heart-pumping shockwave that threw dust in all directions. As the whole thing fell, Kyki swiveled and dashed away, nimbly climbing up drain pipes and the stick-out edges of window sills to a bank rooftop a few dozen meters away. The crash of the skyscraper just barely missed them, blowing apart a few other helpless buildings when it came down. Was Chasma caught in the crossfire? No. They blinked and Chasma was right next to them on their right, as if they¡¯d always been waiting. ¡°I suppose this is as good a place to start as any.¡± ¡°Start what? Training?¡± Chasma picked up a particularly large chunk of debris and held it out in front of them. A little bit of concentration caused nearby rubble and dust to swirl in the air, neatly reassembling themselves upon the chunk until it was double its initial size. Kyki poked the thing. Then their eyes began to flick around to catalog all the ruins of the city around them. ¡°...wait. I have to fix all this?¡± ¡°It is your fault for not having a therapist.¡± Damn. Chasma had them there. A Lead Dime awoke to the buzzing of fluorescent lights, white noise that snugly embraced him in a warm hug. A blurry world came into focus as his eyes adjusted, and he brought an arm up to shield his face from the harsh brightness. When he sat up, he did so slowly, every part of his body burning with a fatigue deep within his bones. Plastic curtains surrounded his bed to ensure his privacy, and a simple wooden chair rested to his left, where Snake slept with her head on her arms on top of the backrest. Experimentally, he pulled the covers back, sliding out of bed and planting both feet on the ground. But when he tried to stand on his own, a wave of dizziness knocked him off balance. Snake shot up in her chair to the sound of her desk tipping over and a bunch of reagents splattering across the floor. When her head whipped around she saw broken glass scattered across the tile floor, blood mixing with chemicals as Dime tried to stand up again. ¡°You¡¯re awake! Don¡¯t¡ªdon¡¯t move. The healing process can leave you really tired, you shouldn¡¯t try being up and walking around.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s¡ªwhat happened to everyone? Is everyone okay?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re all fine enough. Vola and Mei aren¡¯t feeling well after returning, though¡­¡± ¡°Did they find Kyki?¡± Snake sighed, uncorking a potion of healing from her hip. With great care, she used tweezers to pick out bits of broken glass from Dime¡¯s skin, applying just enough of the neon green salve to smooth over the wounds with skin. ¡°No¡­ on their way to the headquarters, they ran into a monster. A new kind. Barely made it out alive.¡± ¡°A mutation?¡± ¡°Seems like it. It¡¯s been especially bad this year. The Wall Collective put out a statement apologizing for letting Voidhounds break in. Apparently, they¡¯re sturdier and larger than normal by a significant margin.¡± ¡°You mean the ones we killed the day the Dust came in?¡± ¡°Yup, those ones. It¡¯s more aggressive this year: way more. The Voidman¡­¡± Snake paused, a bitter taste in her mouth. ¡°...the one that got you, they¡¯ve never attacked before. Public information on them says they only watch from far away. Supposed to be rare, too.¡± ¡°Guess that makes me special?¡± chimed Dime, a small smile on their face. The anxiety in her limbs crumbled away, the relief welling up in her chest as she pulled him to his feet. ¡°C¡¯mon, lean on me. Dave threw together a wheelchair after he got back. Motorized, too.¡± ¡°Ooh. I always wanted to try the Happy Wheels wheelchair.¡± ¡°Not that motorized.¡± It was a well-built metal frame, for all the lack of credit Snake offered it. Dave wasn¡¯t the resident handyman for nothing. Snake rolled the wheelchair out into the lobby with Dime nestled in the seat, where various robots clinked and clanked. In their hands they held various tools, some propping up sheets of metal for others to bolt together. The product was a kind of ugly, ramshackle wall to replace the big windows that ordinarily characterized the front of the building. Not even the glass doors escaped, having been shattered in the battle. Dave sat on one of the less-damaged couches, tinkering with some small parts when he saw the two exit. ¡°Hey. Snake told me what happened. Are you feeling better?¡± ¡°Tired. But fine.¡± ¡°Did you try out the motors?¡± Dime experimentally pressed a red button on the side of the armchair. It emitted a quiet whirring noise to indicate it was on, and when he nudged a joystick on the right arm the chair sped forwards a short distance. Then he overcorrected to stop it and nearly backed up the wheelchair into Snake¡¯s shins. ¡°Woah! It¡¯s cool but it¡¯s kind of hard to control.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it. I think you can drift if you try hard enough.¡± ¡°You can drift in this?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find out. Can you still use your Empowerment?¡± He lifted an arm limply, flicking a wrist outward with a flourish. It was accompanied by a shower of copper coins, tinkling as they bounced off Dave¡¯s helmet. ¡°Still works just fine. It¡¯s just my body that¡¯s tired.¡± ¡°Thank your natural regeneration,¡± said Snake, ¡±Without it you probably wouldn¡¯t have made it. Still don¡¯t understand how demon biology works.¡± ¡°I dunno. I¡¯m not a biologist.¡± ¡°Me neither, but I know they¡¯re rarely conceived between two Empowered parents, and that they always gain an Empowerment somewhat early in life. Maybe with some blood samples I could find out more¡­¡± Briefly, Dime recalled the memory of what the robot general had told him, deep in the forest all those years ago. His tired smile faded away to an uncomfortable deadpan. ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Ah, well, if you don¡¯t want to I won¡¯t force you. It¡¯s for the best. You do need to recover the energy you¡¯ve spent healing.¡± Unze came downstairs, a little sleepy from the nap he¡¯d been having. Scruffy hair was held back only by his mask, a stylized cat¡¯s face scrawled on the front. ¡°Mmm¡­ is Dime doing okay?¡± ¡°Tired, but fine,¡± said Snake, ¡°How¡¯s Kat? Is she still¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll check. You know, I haven¡¯t seen Rico for a while, either.¡± Buried among the wires and scrap metal, Kat had jury rigged her own Techstream with which to interface with the internet. Rico sat in a cheap metal folding chair, watching Kat as she flicked around the inside of a flatscreen television. Occasionally, she¡¯d zip away to a different screen in the workshop, pulling up panels of light to view and digging through visual manifestations of folders. Rico turned to see the rest of the gang picking their way through Dave¡¯s mess of parts. ¡°Hey guys, I¡¯ve been helping Kat keep track of her work.¡± ¡°What¡¯s she doing, exactly?¡± said Unze. ¡°Kat, show them the stuff you¡¯ve dug up.¡± Kat waved from inside the screen, tossing up a bunch of glowing panels and manila folders. The panels glimmered with scenes of robotic guards strolling past chain link fences, the gray monotony of industrial buildings, and the hallways of a reception area. ¡°Take a look, everyone. I¡¯ve managed to pierce their outer layer of security. I can see through all their low-level cameras and poke through their less-important files.¡± Snake glanced over all the different camera feeds, noting, ¡°None of those show us where Kyki could be. Have you read through all the files?¡± ¡°Yup. Chock full of meaningless quarterly reports and internal documents. Nothing actually important is stored on their accessible harddrives.¡± Dime sighed, slouching in his metal wheelchair. ¡°So we have to break in there ourselves to rescue them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m good at building animatronics, but I wouldn¡¯t try taking on their entire military-industrial complex,¡± said Dave. ¡°Their manufacturing capabilities outstrip mine many times over.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re telling me we need help from someone else,¡± said Rico. ¡°Pretty much. We¡¯d be gutted a dozen times over otherwise.¡± ¡°Do you think Den would know anything? You¡¯ve been talking with him a lot, probably, while you were building him a new body. Any connections?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t talk about those things. Just about putting him in a body capable of using his Empowerment.¡± Rico rubbed his eyes, thinking hard about what to do. ¡°Acid, maybe? No, probably not¡­ Is there no one we can turn to?¡± Kat twiddled her fingers nervously, trying to put her thoughts into words. ¡°Well. There was this weird thing that happened to me before I arrived¡ª" Their conversation was interrupted by the rapping of knuckles on the shoddy steel door Dave had installed to replace the old glass doors. It rang true, drowning out the pitter patter of rain. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I¡¯ll get it,¡± said Snake. When she did open the door, she flung it open and backpedaled, afraid of some kind of ambush. Instead there was merely a well-dressed man, wearing a suit with a matching top hat of too-tall size. His looming stature meant he leered down at Snake through a monocle, a cheerful grin across his mustached face. When he spoke, he did it with an accent that screamed ¡®high-society¡¯. ¡°Good evening, madam. Apologies for the inconvenient time of contact. I¡¯ve been sent by my superiors to offer you help with your¡­ ¡®problem¡¯.¡± ¡°And what problem is that? Who are you?¡± He bowed deeply to the extent where it became a little unsettling. ¡°Mr. Ridge, resident broker of Architectural Constructions. We heard you¡¯ve been having a minor robot problem?¡± ¡°From who?¡± ¡°Your posse was all over the news quite recently. We¡¯ve noticed.¡± ¡°What kind of help?¡± ¡°That is something to be discussed in depth with the executives. I only need an affirmation of interest.¡± ¡°You could have reached out online.¡± ¡°Heavens, no. Not with the kind of surveillance our common enemy possesses.¡± Snake cast a glance back into the lobby, thinking of the others. ¡°It¡¯s not a decision I can make alone. Let me get everyone else down here, then we¡¯ll talk.¡± ¡°Of course. I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way.¡± Snake stepped aside to let the man into the hotel and out of the rain. She peeked her head into the doorway of the workshop, calling to everyone inside. ¡°Pause for a second, everyone. The help we wanted might be here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s kind of convenient timing, isn¡¯t it?¡± said Rico. ¡°Let¡¯s find out. Unze, go get the others. Den, Acid, and Wisp. Dave, can you get one of your minions to carry Vola and Mei out here?¡± ¡°Sure thing. Gimme a minute. Unze thought the whole thing felt a little weird, but he wasn¡¯t one to argue. He just waited in the elevator, watching the number tick upwards as he headed to where Wisp would be, up in his penthouse. He hadn¡¯t seen him for a while now, and it felt awkward to just barge in, so he took a deep breath, or two, or three before putting his hand on the doorknob. Huh. It was unlocked. Gently, he turned the knob, pushing open the door with a soft shove. He shuffled through the suite, eerily silent. ¡°Wisp? There¡¯s something we need you for. I know you like to sleep, but you can¡¯t stay up here forever¡­¡± He stood before the bedroom, and upon hearing no answer, entered without even bothering to knock. Inside, everything was pristine. The only light was from what little daylight could make it through the cloudy rainy skies outside, and the lamp on his nightstand illuminating the bedside. Right there, in front of him, was Wisp, slumped over the edge of the bed as if he¡¯d suddenly collapsed on the spot. ¡°Wisp? Something wrong?¡± His hand hesitated, reaching out for Wisp¡¯s shoulder. The moment his fingertips made contact, Wisp stood up, whirling around to make eye contact. In his eyes was a frazzled excitement he¡¯d never seen from the guy before, accompanied by limbs trembling with unreleased energy. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Wisp gave him a smile that shone like a million radiant sunbeams. To Unze, it was just as blinding. Something had changed, but he couldn¡¯t tell what. He could only feel concerned as Wisp giggled, making a shooing motion with one hand. ¡°Okay?¡± He whipped a sharp kitchen knife out of a drawer, brandishing it wildly. Before Unze could put his hands up or say anything, Wisp sank the tip into his arm, burying it into the flesh and drawing a line all the way down to his wrist. Before the motion of the wound even finished, his body was already healing; skin snapped together and threads of muscle intertwined at a speed beyond anything Unze had seen before. There wasn¡¯t even any bleeding. ¡°I¡¯d say I¡¯m a little more than OKAY!¡± Unze held up his hands in deescalating surrender. ¡°That¡¯s great, but, someone came here for something, and we need everyone in the lobby for a talk. Can you come down with me? I need everyone else in their rooms to come down as well.¡± The mania slowly ground to halt, and Wisp left the bloodstained knife behind to walk out the door. ¡°Oh, ah, yes, for sure! I¡¯ll see you down there.¡± By the time he reached the bottom floor, Mr. Ridge was reclining on the couch, a cup of tea in his hands. Rather than speak formally Wisp said what was on his mind. ¡°I didn¡¯t know we had tea.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t,¡± said Rico. ¡°He just pulled it out of nowhere. Don¡¯t look at me, I dunno.¡± Mr. Ridge smiled gracefully. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, I get thirsty before a good old-fashioned negotiation.¡± Den and Acid came down the elevator like normal people, pointing at the strange man. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± said Den. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen this guy in my life,¡± said Acid. Unze pushed both of them out of the elevator. ¡°That¡¯s Mr. Ridge, from¡­¡± ¡°Architectural Constructions,¡± he replied. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet all of you today. I hope the deal I have in mind will be the same.¡± Two metal endoskeletons came down from the stairs shortly afterward, each one holding Mei or Vola. Vola lifted her head in a tired haze. ¡°Ugh¡­ I still feel like shit. Whatever it was, I never want to see it again.¡± Mei was similarly draped over her own robot, a waterfall of hair swinging back and forth. ¡°I wanna go back to sleep¡­¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± said Dave, ¡°This seems pretty important, so we all have to be out here.¡± Snake sat in an armchair opposite to Mr. Ridge, hands clasped. ¡°We¡¯re all here now. Mind telling us about that deal you mentioned?¡± The broker looked around at all the people gathered around. Dave stood leaning on the chair behind Snake, Kat off to the side looking worried. Rico pushed Dime¡¯s wheelchair up to the table while Unze, Acid, and Den took their places on the couch. Wisp paced in circles around the chairs and tables and couches, the endoskeletons dropping the two injured onto empty couches nearby. ¡°Before I get into the weeds,¡± he said, ¡°I have to ask; I believe one of you is missing. There¡¯s a certain someone I¡¯m sure lives here with the rest of you, correct?¡± A somber mood crept up the necks of everyone else present, even Den¡¯s wholly robotic body. Snake looked down shamefully, almost like it had been her fault. ¡°They were taken. They should¡¯ve come back that day, but¡­¡± ¡°It was Automotive Industries. They must have kidnapped them for leverage on us,¡± said Wisp. Mr. Ridge took another sip of tea. ¡°Have you verified this? Could it not be that they were instead incapacitated by a criminal gang seeking an easy target, or perhaps some new brand of--¡± Wisp kicked the couch Mr. Ridge was sitting on with enough force to shift its position slightly and break his own toe. He swore in between words. ¡°NO. I won¡¯t accept it. It has to be them. The timing is just too convenient. I¡¯ll break them out of there no matter what it takes.¡± The broker sighed and put down his teacup on a little platter. ¡°If so, why haven¡¯t they contacted you to use your friend as a hostage? Surely they would offer some kind of trade deal; your friend¡¯s life in exchange for your coin-slinging friend¡¯s life.¡± Dime slouched in his wheelchair a little grumpier at the mention. Wisp ruffled his hair in frustration instead, pacing faster in smaller and smaller circles. ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± he said, ¡°But it couldn¡¯t be anyone else! It wouldn¡¯t make sense! What do you even get from telling me this?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mean to cast doubt on your desire to save your friend, just wanted to make sure you know what you¡¯re doing. If it is your goal to see our imminent robotic overlords humbled, then we are of the same mind, if only for now,¡± Mr. Ridge said. Wisp slumped over one of the couches with a huff. ¡°So what¡¯s your big idea? Sending a bunch of soldiers in there to blow them up?¡± ¡°Heavens, no! Corporate war is far too costly to even consider that. Not to mention the collateral damage¡­ there¡¯s a bit of an unspoken agreement, you see, to never mobilize against each other.¡± Mr. Ridge pulled out a small toothpick, pinching it in both fingers and applying pressure until it snapped. ¡°But, of course¡­ We don¡¯t know how long that peace will last. Someday we may have to fight for real. Rest assured every company is prepared to wage war in their own way.¡± Snake eyed him grimly. ¡°You want us to be your proxy, right?¡± ¡°Right you are! A shell company or two and we can funnel you resources for whatever ends you may need.¡± Mr. Ridge crossed his legs, impressed. ¡°Quick on the uptake. But I suppose I couldn¡¯t expect anything less from you.¡± Rico jabbed a thumb at him. ¡°You know him, Snake?¡± ¡°No. We¡¯ve never met.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve passed her by once or twice, you might say,¡± said Mr. Ridge. ¡°So what do you say? Not a bad deal, eh? Break into Automotive Industries for us and we¡¯ll do anything we can to make it happen.¡± Dime rolled his wheelchair forward with an intense look on his face. ¡°This reeks of a catch. If you¡¯re not gonna tell us upfront you can see yourself out.¡± ¡°A catch? I¡¯d hardly call it that. All we need you to do is a little sabotage.¡± Mr. Ridge tossed down a rough blueprint, everyone leaning in a bit to peek. The unrolled schematic depicted the large HQ of Automotive Industries along with some sketches of what could lie beneath. ¡°Down there, ¡° he said, ¡°That¡¯s where they store their robotic construction division. I¡¯d like to see to it that they are disincentivized from dipping their toes into industries they don¡¯t belong in.¡± Dave ran his fingers over the paper. ¡°I don¡¯t see an exact location¡­¡± Mr. Ridge nodded. ¡°We can¡¯t give away everything we know as a freebie. It¡¯s not like we know, anyway-- we¡¯re only capable of reading the rough room layout, and where there are for sure cavities in the rock below.¡± Mei sat up on the couch tiredly, slouching with fatigue hewn into her body language. ¡°No way we¡¯re ready to take them on. We almost died to one crab-thing out there. Plus if we all went, who would make sure robots wouldn¡¯t sneak in and blow the hotel up?¡± The broker flashed her a card from his coat, covered in gaudy gold and striped in black. ¡°A Mercenary Union Gold Membership opens a lot of doors, my friend. We¡¯ve got in-house manpower to spare as well, so rest assured nothing will happen to your hotel here. Some cones and scaffolding, hi-vis vests and hard hats and suddenly you¡¯re working on a construction project. Plausible deniability is the name of the game, miss.¡± He gestured to the ruined front windows covered up to prevent the rain from coming in. ¡°And I expect you might need a few actual repairs done around here, anyways.¡± Acid leaned back in her seat thoughtfully. ¡°What kind of resources are we talking about here? I¡¯m not sure what kind of things an architect/construction company can provide.¡± ¡°Something like this.¡± Mr. Ridge slammed a rectangular device onto the table, a boxy shape marked by strange cone-shaped protrusions and a sharp metal nail coming out of the bottom. ¡°A smaller model of one of our surveyors. Plant it in the ground and it¡¯ll automatically map out the area around and below it. You¡¯ll find it useful for navigating the interior complex of their headquarters.¡± Den picked it up and turned it over in his metal palms. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a lot. This is like a couple thousand chits, maybe more¡­ but that¡¯s it?¡± ¡°The rest of the money will go towards procurement of other gadgets, and perhaps hired help if you¡¯re so inclined. Mercenaries do anything for the right price.¡± Snake rubbed her chin in thought. ¡°Could I ask you to step out for a second? There¡¯s some things we need to discuss. Wisp, could you show him around? I¡¯ll call you back on the PA when it¡¯s time to come back.¡± ¡°Uh-- me?¡± He pointed to himself. ¡°But I¡­¡± She looked at him with eyes that crushed the idea of arguing once and for all. He stepped away from the center of the room and gestured to the elevator. ¡°Well, Mr. Ridge, why don¡¯t you come with me? There are some things I¡¯m curious about.¡± ¡°Certainly, sir. Or would you rather I called you Wisp?¡± ¡°Anything¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t really care much.¡± The ka-chunk of the elevator shifting as it went up was the only sound in the cabin, both standing idly listening to the whirr of the motors. Despite his words, Wisp found his throat dry and no questions coming to mind. It made for a very awkward thirty seconds or so, trying to collect himself. Mr. Ridge adjusted his sleeve cuffs. ¡°Where are we going, exactly?¡± ¡°Oh, uh, I wanted to ask about a hole in our wall. Voidhound, a big one, came crashing through it. Dave patched it up for now, but we¡¯d like it fully fixed so hopefully nothing else can come through.¡± The intermediary beheld the ruined hallway and the large hole in the wall with mild surprise. ¡°Must¡¯ve been a large one. Not quite as big as a Wallbreaker, though.¡± Wisp shrugged. ¡°We¡¯re lucky it hasn¡¯t been worse. I have a feeling this is around the time that more Dustlings come, weirder or stronger ones. Happens every year.¡± ¡°Of course. Last year was those skyfish. Could hardly go outside to do anything without being ambushed. Horrible, those flying bullets were.¡± ¡°Would it be possible?¡± Mr. Ridge eyed the damage through a monocle. ¡°Possible? Easily. It¡¯s merely a matter of cost. Working in these suboptimal conditions under threat of attack costs extra, of course.¡± ¡°Does the deal cover all that?¡± asked Wisp. ¡°Naturally. I have my honor as a broker. Goodwill is worth far more than a small bump to our bottom line once or twice, I¡¯ve come to find.¡± ¡°Good to hear. Sorry about the mess here. I swear the rest of the hotel isn¡¯t like this. The penthouse is pretty good, honestly.¡± ¡°Really? I¡¯ll have to see it then.¡± The penthouse wasn¡¯t particularly incredible compared to the other luxury hotels in the city. The broker knew as much, but the place still had some kind of charm inherent to lower-budget lodgings. He appreciated the effort Aric had taken in making sure the place looked nice, even without the ludicrous resources others commanded. The interior felt distinctly cabin-y, like a forest lodge teleported to the top floor of the hotel. ¡°The owner must be quite the eccentric man, isn¡¯t he?¡± he said. Wisp poured out two wine glasses of champagne, sipping from one without any of the grace and decorum of an upperclassman. ¡°Tell me about it. I¡¯m basically stuck to talking to him over the phone.¡± ¡°An interesting character.¡± Mr. Ridge drank a little of the alcohol, savoring the taste. Surprisingly good for a place so run-down as this. ¡°Why do you work here, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡± ¡°Unemployable basically everywhere else. He was the only guy willing to give me a chance.¡± Wisp strolled over to the glass doors, opening them and leaning on the balcony railing. A massive overhang protected them from the rain, though the relentless wind made sure he wasn¡¯t ever comfortable. Mr. Ridge joined him, arms resting on the metal bars. The city below looked so much smaller from up here, especially with the unusual height of Toothland Hotel. ¡°Good you got hired, then. Unfortunate to be caught up in all this mess, though.¡± Wisp turned to him. ¡°What about you? You¡¯re caught up in this mess too. What¡¯s with Architectural Constructions and Automotive Industries?¡± The broker sipped his champagne and then flicked the glass over his shoulder, where it landed face down perfectly onto a wooden table, without even a nick. ¡°Typical competition and whatnot. The robots are far more ambitious than the rest of us, though. You¡¯d think they were gunning for world domination.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that all corporations?¡± ¡°Maybe in another time. But I¡¯m an old, old man, Wisp. I was a lad when the Dust appeared for the first time, and I¡¯ve seen what happened to everyone¡¯s spirits since then. Just living is tough, knowing that you could die at any time with new Empowerments cropping up all the time and Dust monsters appearing whenever they feel like.¡± Mr. Ridge took a cigarette out of a little box in his coat pocket, lighting it with a lighter hidden up his sleeve and taking a long drag. ¡°My opinion¡­ growth at all costs isn¡¯t something anyone can afford. Most of us are just happy to live another day without having to worry about money or monsters.¡± He held out a cigarette to Wisp too, but he turned it down with a wave. A gust of wind put out the cigarette in his mouth, flinging it into the darkness of the storm, much to his frustration. ¡°Just my luck,¡± he grumbled. Wisp smiled. ¡°Tell me about it. Let¡¯s go back inside before the wind changes and we¡¯re soaked.¡± The middleman slipped back into the penthouse, holding the door open for Wisp. ¡°I¡¯m only here to pitch you all a deal, but I really mean it when I say: I hope you find who you¡¯re looking for.¡± ¡°Me too, sir,¡± he sighed, ¡°...me too. Detour ¡°We¡¯ll do it.¡± That was the consensus everyone reached. Resistance without patronage was unrealistic, so much so that even Vola had to swallow her pride and accept outside help. The backing of a large corporation like Architectural Constructions would prove to be invaluable in a conflict against Automotive Industries. After Mr. Ridge¡¯s departure, there was only the issue of keeping the hotel defended. It would take some time for the broker to return with assistance, and so they had the task of keeping themselves occupied for as long as it would take. It would have been easy if not for the omnipresent threat of attack. Shortly after his departure, the first skyfin pierced through a penthouse window, scaring Wisp half to death. ¡°Shit! SHIT!¡± He stumbled out of the elevator, chucking one of the black skyfish to the ground. It made a wet slapping sound on impact with the tile floor, flopping into the air and trying to fly away. Den lifted a metal staff and blasted it in the side with an arcing bolt of electricity, causing the thing to burst into Dust and dissipate. Wisp leaned against a wall, panting from the stress. ¡°I hate skyfins so much,¡± he mumbled. Snake flipped through one of her textbooks, eyes glued to the pages. ¡°Someone¡¯s never encountered a Noircat before.¡± ¡°And you have?¡± ¡°No, of course not,¡± she said, ¡°Otherwise I¡¯d probably be dead.¡± Stupid. Obviously a cat of prey would be a bit more difficult to handle than some glorified projectiles. It was rare to catch glimpses of them, with how they were able to nearly effortlessly evade detection. What she got wrong was that, yes, Wisp had in fact encountered a Noircat. Several times. Reforming inside of the pseudo-stomach of one of those creatures was an intensely uncomfortable experience. No amount of alcohol could make him forget the cold yet thrumming insides that closed around him in some futile attempt to suffocate its prey. The other Noircat accompanying it had been less-than-happy when its partner¡¯s torso burst and Wisp climbed out looking like some unholy alien monster. He did not mention any of this. ¡°How long do we have to wait?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Probably another day or two,¡± she mumbled. ¡°Another day burning daylight. Or stormlight. Or thunderlight¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we have much of a choice. It¡¯s that or a suicide rush for Automotive Industries HQ, and we¡¯re absolutely unprepared for that kind of assault.¡± Wisp sighed. ¡°If only my Empowerment was good for something besides not dying.¡± ¡°Have you not tried experimenting with your abilities?¡± Den said. ¡°Now that I can actually cast stuff I¡¯ve been doing it all day.¡± To prove his point he raised a metal hand, several spinning orbs of light manifesting around an outstretched palm. They drew sparkly trails behind them as they floated in a ring. Wisp stuck a fist through one, watching it disperse at his touch. ¡°I¡¯m not like you, though. I can¡¯t sense or feel my ability at all. I only know it exists because when I hurt myself I don¡¯t die.¡± He reached into his pocket and stared at glyphs inscribed into a charm in dizzyingly complex patterns. ¡°Thanks for the soul charms, by the way.¡± Snake shook her head disapprovingly. ¡°If you want to complain, save it for the others.¡± ¡°They¡¯re still out right now.¡± ¡°Ever tried waiting?¡± *** At that moment, Unze, Rico, Acid, and Kat were all quite some distance away from the hotel. The storm wasn¡¯t letting up, and it seemed like they would have to purchase more food if they wanted to avoid starving to death. Due to the rain, they opted to drive. Priority number one was rations, obviously. To that end they would be making a short trip to the nearby Everymall¡ªa large building infamous amongst the population. For the Everymall was a creation financed by all the major retailers, joining hands to create the ideal shopping mall¡­ everything you could ever want was here in some form or another. Nevermind the grocers, you could walk out of a store with a rocket launcher in your arms and into another shop selling custom-made intricately lifelike wooden figures. Most people suspected some kind of Empowerment was at play as well, as it was rather common for people to stumble onto a new store selling the goods or services they needed in particular. Most people could agree that the mall¡¯s sole purpose was to hyper efficiently part people from their hard-earned chits, but couldn¡¯t do anything about it. But to most people¡­ Everymall was simply far too useful. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. The uncanny ability to provide someone what they needed the most at significant but reasonable prices proved to be the Everymall¡¯s greatest strength. More than once they¡¯d managed to sell pharmaceutical medicines to people who didn¡¯t need them, whereupon they would later find out they were secretly harboring cancer or some other problematic disease lying dormant in their body. Through that alone they¡¯d saved hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives in pursuit of wealth. Thus the squad of four had picked this destination in specific. Whereas most companies would rely on alternative means of conducting trade, or temporarily closing up shop, the Everymall was always open. By the time the car arrived in the parking lot, they could see the variety of garish electronic billboards plastered over the sides of the cubic building, a constant source of visual noise amidst a sea of black and gray. ¡°God, I¡¯m getting really tired of the rain,¡± said Acid. Even the sturdiest umbrella didn¡¯t fully shield the group from the worst the storm had to offer, raindrops splattering against her mask¡¯s goggles. Rico didn¡¯t really need an umbrella as much as everyone else, shielding his face with his arms. Being able to turn into solid rock was unexpectedly useful for harsh weather. The moment Kat grabbed the door handle she threw it open, waving an arm. ¡°Everyone inside!¡± Unze flopped to the floor with a splat, a living puddle on the floor. ¡°Evil rain¡­ I certainly hope this place has dryers!¡± ¡°The real question is what DOESN¡¯T this place have,¡± said Acid. Rico thought about it. ¡°Nuclear weapons?¡± ¡°About that¡­¡± Kat pulled up a digital flier on her Metawatch. [DEVASTATING WEAPONS FOR THE MOST DISCERNING OF CUSTOMERS! INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO THE WORLD OF FISSION AND FUSION WITH OUR TOP OF THE LINE DEPLOYABLES! CHARGED URANIUM TURRETS, RADIOACTIVE FLAMETHROWERS AND PRACTICAL TACTICAL THROWABLES! PAY IN 100 EASY INSTALLMENTS!] ¡°Why don¡¯t we just buy one of those, then?¡± Acid stuck a finger through a hologram of a miniaturized thermonuclear device. Kat was gobsmacked. ¡°Who the hell would be dumb enough to sell city-leveling weaponry to any civilian that comes through their door? This is for the ultra-rich and for trusted companies only.¡± ¡°So where are the dryers?¡± said Unze, flopping around in wet shoes. Kat took a gander at the map. ¡°Left of center. We have to move forward.¡± Ignoring the shops for now, the center plaza where the richest and most important shops were located had eschewed its proud luxurious look, bountiful fountains and beautiful palms making way for emergency tents and radial heaters. A significant number of people, either through poor planning or sheer unluck, had ended up here when the storm began. For a combat-oriented Empowered it might not be a big issue to brave the storm and push through in the early hours of the annual Dust, but for those of weaker will or body there was little choice but to hole up in the Everymall and wait it out. It was always only a few weeks, after all. Voices grew hushed as the four approached the sterile white tents where the unpowered scurried from tent to tent, cautious and wary. One person in the temporary encampment trudged out to meet them halfway. Fiery red hair wasn¡¯t out of place for a city-of-the-future like Plainshold, but the way some of the roots were dyed green did make them resemble something like a ¡°Tomato. That¡¯s my name,¡± they said. Unze gave them a weak wave. ¡°Dryers?¡± ¡°Yup, down that way. It¡¯s called the ¡®Donedromat¡¯.¡± Unze shuffled away to get a headstart on a dry set of clothes. Didn¡¯t he know they¡¯d be wet after they left? Kat stepped up to ask the more pertinent questions. ¡°I¡¯ve never had to live in an Everymall camp before. How¡¯re the staff treating you?¡± Tomato scratched the back of their head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I think they want us to return as customers after everything blows over, so the tents are free. I get to meet new people at least. Anyway, what are you guys doing here? I assume a grocery run?¡± ¡°How¡¯d you know that?¡± Acid asked. ¡°I¡¯ve seen a few dozen people come through here for the same reason. Some of them can afford shield generators to keep out the rain, but¡­ I don¡¯t think you guys can.¡± Sopping wet Kat and Acid stared at them unhappily, Rico comparatively okay with it due to being in rock mode. The clear and obvious Empowerment did catch Tomato¡¯s eye, prominent as it was. ¡°What kind of pop is that?¡± ¡°I can turn into solid stone whenever I want,¡± said Rico, ¡°Even just one arm or leg. It¡¯s neat.¡± ¡°Do you have one?¡± Kat raised her hands, slightly pixelated if you looked really closely. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you don¡¯t if you weren¡¯t able to get out of here sooner.¡± Tomato shook their head. ¡°No, I do. It¡¯s just¡­ not very useful for fighting.¡± ¡°What is it? Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t make fun of you for whatever it is.¡± Acid placed one gauntleted hand over her chest in a sign of peace. With a sigh, Tomato raised both hands perpendicular to her body, palms pointing outwards. White energy coated everything up to her arms, accompanied by a matching glow in Rico¡¯s neck. The sudden light made him flinch a little. ¡°Huh? Whazzat?¡± he said, stoneskin slipping back to normal from the surprise. ¡°Try to use your Empowerment again. Don¡¯t push too hard, though.¡± At Tomato¡¯s behest, he flexed an arm, feeling his own energy flood the limb in the recognizable pattern it always made before transforming. This time, though, it happened much faster and with a surge of strength that gave the muscles there a tingling feeling. The skin grew darker than stone, becoming smoother and shiny, gleaming in the low-light conditions. Then Rico tried it in his other arm, his legs, his torso¡­ all of it was much the same. Rather than rock Rico had a sparkling new makeover that would make any construction worker jealous. ¡°Oh, man of metal¡­¡± whispered Kat. Acid poked one of Rico¡¯s arms. It was genuine metal. ¡°Shit, dude, that¡¯s fucking awesome. So it''s kind of like an upgrade?¡± ¡°Kind of but not really. It¡¯s more a temporary boost. It works only on Empowered, and I can¡¯t hold it if you go too far away from me, like outside the city walls. And I can only target one person at a time.¡± ¡°Still, that¡¯s really useful. I would¡¯ve loved to have your help when the dogs broke down our wall,¡± murmured Rico. He was busy admiring the shinejob on his fresh metal body, bending his limbs to text the flexibility. The joints rippled like water with every movement, making him feel more like moving water than solid steel. When he punched the ground, though, it cracked the tiles easier than when he¡¯d been stone. It was the real deal. Tomato bent down and thumbed one of the fault lines. ¡°You¡¯ll have to pay for that, probably. What¡¯s this about dogs?¡± Acid grimaced. ¡°Voidhounds. Big ones. Wall Collective didn¡¯t do their job properly so they made a mess of the hotel we¡¯re staying in when the Dust Storm came in.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah, I heard about that. Any open rooms? I¡¯d like to be out of here but no one¡¯s been willing to take me.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± said Acid. ¡°Everyone wants me to be their pocket buffer. If I keep it up all the time it¡¯s really tiring, and I¡¯d rather not.¡± Rico clapped his metal hands together with a loud clang. ¡°Sure, we can take you back. I don¡¯t think anyone would mind. Or ask you to do anything you didn¡¯t want to. You still have to pay for board, though.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, I can pay.¡± Kat snapped her fingers. ¡°Let¡¯s not get distracted, people! ¡®Produce Produced¡¯ is forward and to the left five units, Rico, you¡¯re on veggie and fruit duty. Acid, ¡®Cheat Meat¡¯ is right to the first bend, straight forward and right again, six units down. You¡¯re on meat duty.¡± ¡°And what are you doing, exactly?¡± said Acid. Kat smiled. ¡°I¡¯m going to find Unze before he gets mobbed by fans. And also I want to dry off too.¡± Acid rolled her eyes but held out a hand, palm facing down anyways. The message was clear, Rico and Kat joining in. She also gestured impatiently for Tomato to copy their weird ritual. Hands in the middle, they all raised their arms up simultaneously. ¡°Hotel Squad, break!¡± said Kat. Tomato tilted their head. ¡°What am I supposed to do, though?¡± ¡°Help carry the meat,¡± said Acid. ¡°Dusk eats a lot more than you¡¯d think.¡± Her shudder at that thought discouraged Tomato from asking more about it. War Preparations Unlike most deals in this modern day and age, the agreement between the denizens of the hotel and Architectural Constructions was not precisely defined through exhaustive legalese. Instead it was handshakes behind closed doors, surreptitious deliveries, and exclusive tethered two-way connections. Snake stared at one of these packages, collecting them with the rest of the company¡¯s ¡®correspondence¡¯. ¡°This is everything?¡± she asked. A man in a mask nodded silently, placing the unassuming cardboard box down in her lab and departing, disappearing into the dark of the storm. This left the hotelgoers with a variety of these unmarked boxes, most of them arranged into a pile in the main lobby. One of them was already opened, providing the group a tablet specifically keyed to its copy at some unknown location. A dark figure appeared on the screen when it was turned on. ¡°Greetings, all,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve been assigned to be your mission operator from now on.¡± Acid squinted at the humanoid outline she could hardly make out. ¡°Why do we need one of those?¡± ¡°If the state your friends are in is any indication¡­ There might be one or two reasons. More likely three or four.¡± Vola looked down at the ground resentfully, Mei sharing a mind with her and averting her eyes. Dave slumped over the couch, still not fully recovered. Dime did not say anything; though he wasn¡¯t part of the skirmish outside at the time he¡¯d still been gravely injured. Whatever Snake had used to save him made him weak, leaving him chair-ridden. Walking was a struggle and it winded him in the time it took to walk across a room. ¡°Okay, well,¡± said Acid, ¡°What¡¯s in these boxes?¡± ¡°Half the help. The other half¡¯s mercenaries that¡¯ll meet up with you on-site; having them connect with you right now would blow our element of surprise.¡± Rico pulled a few glass vials out of a crate, spinning one in a circle to watch the contents swirl around inside. It was some kind of dark-gray to black substance that shifted in saturation constantly. Entirely unmarked, the notion of imbibing it was inherently dubious at best and downright unthinkable at worst. Acid picked one up to carefully observe between two fingers. ¡°What¡¯re the vials supposed to be?¡± The voice on the other end is awkward. ¡°Not really legal, but it¡¯s distilled Dust.¡± ¡°The hell? Why would I ever want to drink any of that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try it now, but it does significantly boost your Empowerment for a time.¡± ¡°What? You can just do that?¡± Acid stared at the glass tube in her palm with a little more respect. ¡°Why ISN¡¯T it legal, then?¡± ¡°It can be addictive for some people, and the side effects of withdrawal or overdose are¡­ painful. And deadly.¡± Rico put the vial back in the crate where it belonged, muttering ¡°Well now I don¡¯t really WANT to use it.¡± A brief crackle carried over the tablet, the figure briefly looking away out of awkwardness. ¡°Use them in moderation and you should be fine. Just make sure someone can cover for you when it wears off. The burning in your neck really, really hurts.¡± Mei shuffled over to the crate, grabbing one of the vials and twisting the cork off with some difficulty. In one long swig she downed the whole thing, tossing it aside with a clatter. Rico stared at her, gobsmacked. ¡°¡±What are you-- didn¡¯t you hear the guy? He said it was addictive!¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll be the trial run,¡± she said. ¡° We¡¯ll see how good it is before we take one in the middle of battle.¡± ¡°I¡­ guess you have a point.¡± ¡°Where do these even come from? I thought Dust dissipated from, like, everything,¡± murmured Acid. ¡°No clue,¡± said the mission operator. ¡°Several of the largest companies just have a deal with the Cult of the Maw.¡± ¡°The what?¡± ¡°A relatively underground organization. They¡¯ve been pawning off these drugs for years now. No one¡¯s been able to figure out how.¡± Mei coughed, hacking with both hands on her throat as her breathing became wheezing. Unze rushed over to support her. Rico took a step in her direction, fearing the worst. ¡°Oh my god, are you okay?¡± ¡°Y-yeah, I¡¯m--¡± Mei stumbled out the door towards the nearest sink. ¡°--I need water.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ do you have anything else?¡± asked Acid. ¡°One of the boxes should have some cubes stacked inside,¡± replied the tablet. Indeed, one of the boxes did have a variety of colored cubes inside, each large enough to take up an entire palm¡¯s worth of space. Acid took a second to admire the quality make of one, crisscrossing lines and separate shell pieces shielding the more delicate components within. ¡°Pre-fabs.¡± The tablet buzzes with his explanation. ¡°Press a button on their side and they¡¯ll root themselves in a few seconds. You can throw up solid defenses in moments.¡± Different colored cubes each had unique labels. Gray boxes were marked as wall segments. Blue cubes were marked as power sources. Black ones had only an image of a turret on them, although it was pretty much self-explanatory. ¡°So I just toss one and let it unfold?¡± The figure on the tablet flinched a bit. ¡°Absolutely not. You can¡¯t align anything properly just haphazardly throwing them around! They¡¯re very valuable, you know, it takes multiple Empowerments to make them.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°How do these work, exactly?¡± Snake picked one up, tossing it up in the air and catching it in an open palm. ¡°These aren¡¯t heavy at all for something supposed to contain so much.¡± ¡°We had to skimp when it came to mass. It¡¯ll block small arms fire, but a cannonball or something of similar mass will probably blow it right open. Use your judgment to know when to use them.¡± Dime rolled by in his wheelchair. ¡°Anything like a Rejuvenation Potion?¡± ¡°Sorry. It slipped my mind. I¡¯ll have one passed onto you soon,¡± said the handler. Fortunately for Snake, it wasn¡¯t very hard for the corporation to acquire some choice ingredients she¡¯d be incapable of finding otherwise. There was ONE other avenue she could take¡­ but she would prefer to avoid it. Best not to let drama follow her around. She pinched a vial of swirling purple, roiling within the confines of its glass prison. Every second it seemed to scream, to beg to onlookers for freedom. The path ahead would be dangerous for sure, but with a backup plan, they could at least save their asses should push come to shove. So she prepared a burner, pouring a teaspoon of ground Memoryflower into the beaker she had off to the side. As Empowerments exploded across the scene throughout the weeks following the First Storm, it was only natural that some would root in places unexpected to humanity. The luminescent blue flowers that tended to grow in small patches in the strangest places were somewhat rare, despite being able to show up literally anywhere. From active volcanoes to the tops of skyscrapers, anything was possible. For years no one knew what they were or what they meant, but scientists eventually settled on species divergence due to an Empowerment. What was interesting was that Empowerments were mostly a human thing, almost never affecting anything else. Sure, from time to time you might get a robot like Pewter, or a sapient animal, but that was the end of it. So for plants to be affected too brought up weird questions like ¡®do plants have souls before being Empowered¡¯ and ¡®what about after that¡¯ and ¡®is the ecosystem gonna survive¡¯. After over a decade of analysis, it was tentatively concluded that Memoryflowers cropped up in the presence of their namesake. Particularly powerful emotional upsurges heralded their arrival days later. Making memories was now a physical phenomenon, as evidence of life-turnpoints and other lifelong memories would mark the ground where they occurred. This particular flower had grown at the site of a climactic confrontation between a mob boss and the son of a man he¡¯d killed. Reports from police had claimed so much blood had been spilled that the road had literally been painted red. Snake wasn¡¯t sure why the flower had come with lore attached via note, but perhaps secondhand memories of the event itself preserved it better. When she¡¯d crushed it, it let out a sound like ¡®it¡¯s over¡¯ and turned to powder. Subsequently she reached for a dropper filled with the blood of a portalfly, squeezing out two drops into the beaker, along with a few tablespoons of water. Portalflies were another ingredient hard to obtain in large supply, mostly due to their ability to create flash-portals for fractions of a second. Able to cross a dozen meters instantly, catching them proved to be insanely difficult. Moreover, each insect was rather small, so producing a usable quantity of blood troubled even the most efficient companies. Worst of all, portalflies were a rarely seen species. Perhaps it was because of their special ability or pure coincidence, but they only ever traveled as small groups of a dozen or so, feeding on decaying organics. Being able to see one was thought of as a sign of good luck. After a minute or so, she added a chemical cocktail dubbed ¡®Brewglue¡¯. A potent and effective bonding substance, the highest quality drugs demanded it in their formula. The product of a brilliant scientist, it was now a standard bonder for most quality medicines. With a funnel and a little bit of trepidation, she carefully emptied the purple vial into the beaker and corked it. Shaking it around to mix the contents, she watched the inside turn from a mix of color to a sad brown. Perfect. She marched out of the lab with the singular potion in her hands. Scanning over the room, she ignored Dave trying to attach a gun to an animatronics hand, Mei retching into a trash can, and Unze constructing a minifort in the lobby. Instead, she strolled over to Dime to drop the potion in his hands. He held the glass bottle, swirling it a little before looking up. ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡± ¡°It¡¯s for¡­ next time,¡± said Snake. ¡°If I¡¯m not there next time, throw this at the floor. It¡¯ll warp you home. At least it should, if my research is to be any indication.¡± ¡°Where did you get this?¡± ¡°Made it. Took some rarer ingredients but it¡¯s worth it.¡± ¡°What do I do with it?¡± She shrugged. ¡°Keep it safe. Hopefully you¡¯ll never have to use it, but¡­ I don¡¯t want to see you gone. So always bring it with you. Okay?¡± He had smiled and told her ¡®sure¡¯ then, but it wasn¡¯t like he was in the best position to make use of a potion anyways. Dime sat in his room rolling the glassware over his palms, wondering where to put it. Carrying it on him was difficult when he couldn¡¯t walk; a potion belt was out of the question. Attaching it to the frame of the wheelchair risked it breaking on accident from an unintentional bump or an enemy striking it with a stray attack. Knock knock! ¡°Come in,¡± he said. Wisp stepped inside, gently closing the door behind him. ¡°Hey, just wanted to check in on how you¡¯re doing¡­¡± ¡°Just peachy. Really liking being too weak to walk,¡± Dime said dryly. ¡°You¡¯ll recover soon, I¡¯m sure. Did the company not send anything to help with that?¡± ¡°They forgot about it. Hopefully they send something soon.¡± ¡°Figures. The plan is to mount an assault in the next few weeks¡­ do you think you¡¯ll be fine by then?¡± Dime lifted the potion to the light, once again noticing how it looked like bottled mudwater. ¡°Maybe. No guarantees.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Wisp pointed at the potion. ¡°Snake told me it was a Recall Potion. Warps home¡­ wherever that is.¡± ¡°Do you drink it or¡­?¡± ¡°No. I have to break it.¡± Wisp rubbed his chin. ¡°That sounds inconvenient since you¡¯re in a wheelchair. Skirmishes will probably take place in a few days, and if you¡¯re not fine by then¡­¡± ¡°Yeah. It sucks.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Pass it to me. I¡¯ll hold onto it just in case, y¡¯know?¡± He didn¡¯t really want to do that. Snake did ask him to hold onto it, and she could be scary sometimes, plus she probably knew what she was doing. If she said so, then keeping it on his person would be the best course of action. ¡°Sorry, Wisp. Snake asked me to keep it.¡± ¡°Really? Why?¡± ¡°I think she¡¯s worried about what might happen to me if she¡¯s not around.¡± ¡°But it would be more useful on the frontlines, right? You¡¯re not in danger but everyone going out will be.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe ask Snake for the potion if you really need it.¡± Wisp bent down onto one knee so he could look Dime in the eyes, a dead-seriousness in his voice. ¡°I want to find Kyki as much as anyone else, and I¡¯m sure no one could blame me for that. Just hand it to me, I¡¯ll keep it safe. Don¡¯t worry.¡± A light tiredness glazed over Dime¡¯s eye lens. Evidently the fatigue was getting to him more than he thought. With one arm he dropped it into Wisp¡¯s hands. ¡°Mhm. Here you go.¡± ¡°Thanks. I¡¯m going to go get geared up with everyone else, alright? We¡¯ll end this before you know it! In the meantime, please stay here and rest until you¡¯re fully recovered. Okay?¡± ¡°...okay,¡± murmured Dime. Wisp strode out of the room, closing the door behind him as he left. The last he saw of the little demon was tired eyes drawn to the ground, his body urging him to sleep. The path ahead was treacherous, but with this potion¡­ Wisp thumbed the glass. Now his friends would have a way out, just in case things went back. He could feel Kyki¡¯s presence out there, waiting for him, and he resolved to save them no matter what. Probe and Skirmish As firearms grew ever more complex, it took progressively longer and longer for the layman to become skilled in its use. It wasn''t unlike an inscrutable black box, complete with automated targeting and tracking systems, mounts for additional add-ons, and a profile straight out of a science-fiction movie. Kat held the laser rifle primarily as a backup weapon; she was much more comfortable with the katana. Never mind her relative lack of experience with both, one was just more comfortable to wield. Most everyone else used other weapons. Both Mei and Vola were sent out on their own, picking off the vulnerable. As for the rest of the team? ¡°They just keep coming,¡± said Tomato. She had her hands placed on Den¡¯s shoulders, glowing with an ethereal light that suffused the robot with an effect one might liken to a ward against darkness. Not only did the world seem a bit brighter near him, but every bolt of electricity he let loose from his staff surged through the shells of his metal-built brethren to fry their systems and shut them down. Den kept his back against the concrete wall of a parking complex. In the rainy darkness the glint of a Ripper-class drone flitted between supporting pillars, a sharp shadow dancing in the light of his crackling wizard¡¯s staff. But his sensors spoke otherwise, and they whispered to him where it would strike from; one well-placed arc of energy shut it down for good. He sidestepped the lifeless metal can of a machine that flew past him, a deadly assassin a moment before, now a tumbling, rattling lump of steaming wires. ¡°Stay behind me so they don¡¯t hit you.¡± Den let charge accumulate in his weapon again. ¡°This is just their recon force.¡± Tomato let her shoulders sag a little while she kept buffing the party mage. ¡°Is this what you guys have been dealing with?¡± ¡°More monsters than men, but yeah. This time we kind of provoked them into it, though, since we¡¯re moving to hit one of their factories.¡± Indeed, while Dime remained at home, bound to his wheelchair, almost everyone else had been mobilized to take the fight to the enemy. Though hesitant, Tomato had agreed to come with as well, hoping to repay her benefactors. Only Snake had remained behind, wanting to keep an eye on the token force provided by Architectural Constructions to keep the hotel safe. Kat boxed up those thoughts to toss into the mental recycle bin. Slowing her breathing, she let loose a solid beam of orange from the gun barrel that blew through the fog of stormy night, catching another Ripper by surprise. The heat of the laser slagged the outer shell of its body in a second, ruining a great many internal systems. The weapon beeped, signifying its cooling period as it waited to charge up again after a shot like that. The lone droid, unable to coordinate its movements due to the sudden deprivation of a significant chunk of its own circuitry, stumbled, falling to the ground where Kat swiftly decapitated the damn thing with a pixelated edge. She let the pixel katana dissipate into thin air. ¡°That all of them?¡± Den nodded to her from where she crouched behind a car, hoping to use it as cover. ¡°Dave is telling me he¡¯s handled all the other guards. They know we¡¯re here so we gotta move fast, let¡¯s get in there and secure the data.¡± A four-man squad, consisting of Kat, Den, Tomato, and Dave. It was these four that had been assigned to the task of breaking into one of the major factories to try and pilfer all the operational data collected by Automotive Industries for the last several decades. This was information closely guarded under threat of death, so that none might consider swiping it for themselves, but the human hires of the corporation were not perfect. So when the group closed in, insurmountable problems turned into minor inconveniences. Dave had reached the front door first, flanked by several of his own animatronics, finely crafted to be brutal in their physical prowess. Strong enough to bend steel, they¡¯d made short work of the electric fences lining the perimeter. Tertiary gun batteries designed to repel the occasional startup found themselves swiftly ripped apart, Rippers meeting the same fate. Their engineer had opted to beef up his personal armor, closer to a juggernaut than a civilian. His lack of battle prowess could be compensated for with the inclusion of a built-in AI expressly for piloting the powered armor when it counted. ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± said Den, ¡°Any luck on getting the door open?¡± The door unlocked with a ka-chunk, hydraulics hissing as the thick metal gate slid open rather slowly. And thank god for that; the group of four had ample time to steel their nerves and prepare themselves for whatever lay on the other side. With anxious trepidation, their faces hardened, and their bodies tensed, ready to take on anything. One guy stood all by his lonesome in the doorway, ballcap pulled down over his eyes. His downturned gaze meant that the brim of his hat kept the idea of eye contact off the table. ¡°Been expecting you,¡± he said.¡± Dave let himself relax a little bit, though no one else could see because of his armor. ¡°You¡¯re the double agent?¡± ¡°Yup. Can¡¯t jam comms with central ¡®cause of cables, but I compromised the factory¡¯s manager AI. You got a few minutes before they get sorted out.¡± Den nodded. ¡°Well, that¡¯s convenient. Let¡¯s get in and get out, smash as much stuff as possible. Where¡¯s the data?¡± The nameless double agent was already leaving. ¡°Downstairs basement, local servers are behind the blast door,¡± he called out. In seconds he¡¯d vanished from view, blending into the maze of machinery that filled the building. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Unlike the conventional factories of old, where neat lines were required for ease of maintenance and efficiency, this clusterfuck of an industrialist¡¯s wet dream threw all that out the window. The pipeworks protruded from every surface, turning the massive chamber into some kind of 3D maze that only the qualified would be allowed to navigate. For the technicians who¡¯d been given maps, this was a minor hindrance. For the group hoping to fulfill their end of the bargain with Architectural Constructions, this was absolutely horrible. Like most people, they preferred their labyrinths without verticality. ¡°I mean, I could jump in,¡± Kat suggested, ¡°but I¡¯d have to risk fighting their antivirus.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the chance you make it out alive?¡± said Tomato. ¡°Fifty-fifty?¡± Den sighed. ¡°Dave, cover me. Tomato, do your thing. I¡¯m gonna try to scan the building.¡± Mana was an uncertain thing, its properties entirely unclear to the layman. It seemed everyone had it, but it took an incredible amount of work to produce meaningful results. Terribly expensive, time-consuming, and requiring a dedicated teacher, magic as it was named was relegated to the realm of the rich and connected: if it wasn¡¯t for Empowerments. It was through random chance or fortune that magic was discovered in its current form, a different kind of power expression courtesy of awakenings. The ability to sense mana and manipulate it in your own unique way, however crudely, was one of the more common abilities to spring up among the populace. Naturally, groups of these like-minded individuals began to form around the study and reproduction of ¡®spells¡¯, leading to a culture of intelligent scientific pursuit that led to advances in medicine, technology, and above all, the power to bestow this gift upon the average citizen, even if it required an Empowered teacher and years of your life. For what a wizard lacked in power, they made up for in sheer versatility; this facet was especially pertinent at the moment as Den spoke the words to reinforce his imagined result. ¡°[Deep Scan]. [Dangersense].¡± A machine given life. Empowerments could be indiscriminate at times; humans made up a majority of the gifted, but that didn¡¯t reduce the impact of the exceptions like trees, rocks, and yes, androids. Perhaps some qualitative transformation enacted by this mysterious benefactor transformed the already believable AI of modern technology into a sapient being rivalling humanity. Either way, a mechanical mage like him hardly needed to spend precious seconds channeling mana when his CPUs could manage them for him. It was only natural that a robot far surpassed humans in speed-of-thought, and he made full use of it to quick-cast his spells at a rate to break human records. ¡°Hold on-- incoming!¡± He could feel the sensation of a sharp shape deftly skittering through the labyrinthine hive of mechanical madness, having detected the group. Even without the fearsome AI manager to coordinate the drones, they still had a decent chip of their own to keep them on autopilot. So when Kat moved to swing, it leapt out of the way, launching out of one of the cramped tunnels to latch onto the sealing with hooked metallic feet. Dave opened fire with his own las-pistol, only for it to zip left and right, letting the beam of heat harmlessly ground its energy in the ceiling. Unfortunately, Den had other ideas. ¡°[Charged Zone]!¡± The immediate area around the group tingled with a sudden surge of electricity that stunned the electronic capacity of every machine in the vicinity. The current jumped from pipes to computers, riding the metal all around them. Unlike the animatronics or the Ripper drone that promptly found themselves unable to move, Den retained at least a bare minimum of autonomy, still able to stumble from place to place. Indiscriminate spells had their drawbacks too, it seemed. Kat stepped forward, slicing through the robot¡¯s torso with a wound-up swing, the resistance of the material giving way to an impossible sharp blade packed with force. ¡°More are coming, right?¡± she questioned. ¡°I¡¯m getting faint signatures, but¡­ yes.¡± Dave turned away from the hasty repairs he was applying to his robotic crew to eye the two of them. ¡°I hope this¡¯ll be enough preparation for the bigwigs. I¡¯d hate having to leave Kyki out there any longer than I have to.¡± Thankfully, the timely assistance of the double agent left them a mostly-clear path to the underground of the factory, where Dave briefly demonstrated his technical prowess by having two animatronics drive a drill into the blast door with enough strength to tear a man-sized hole through the solid two feet of material. When they climbed inside, what awaited them wasn¡¯t treasure beyond imagination or terrible experiments locked away from the world. There were just rows and rows of servers, constantly cooled in the chilly room to avoid overheating. Finally, Kat was in her element! While unable to interface directly for fear of reprisal, it was cheap and easy to skim through the surface information of all the files stored on all the servers at a blazing speed. ¡°I think I¡¯ve had enough robots for today.¡± It was Tomato who said that. ¡°You didn¡¯t even the fighting yourself,¡± muttered Kat. ¡°It¡¯s scary being defenseless, alright?¡± ¡°That''s true. What files are we combing for, again? Dave?¡± Dave scrambled through the rows and rows of information appearing on the HUD of his high-tech armor, quickly locating the target objective. ¡°Anything relating to their military capabilities. The sponsors want to be able to prepare for all tricks by Automotive Industries¡± Kat ground her teeth a little. ¡°These systems are too clean for that. No wonder it was so easy to break in, there¡¯s barely anything here besides a million reports.¡± ¡°Maybe you could try checking the logs of the input and output? Then you could see exactly what their main factory is responsible for building, like guns and more robots.¡± Den considered Tomato¡¯s sudden flash of inspiration. ¡°That kind of makes sense,¡± he said, ¡°Go ahead and try that, Kat.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯ll-- oh, it really did work!¡± Kat swiftly began combing through the system logs she¡¯d been ignoring for fear of wasting time. The results were outstanding. Dozens of work discrepancies, with corrupt managers cutting back spending on everything to fund their salaries¡­ as well as associated production numbers. Now she could tell you how many Ranger-models were built last week, last month, even last year. When it came to intelligence, such detail as this was considered a jackpot. Kat 1, corporation 0. She was bringing home the bacon, baby. ¡°We¡¯ve really got to extract. I can sense dozens more on their way. The AI Manager must be back online.¡± Den¡¯s slightly tinny voice brought her back to the present, and she hastily ejected the handheld drive she was using to copy sensitive files to. This wasn¡¯t the massive haul she deserved, but a victory nonetheless. Stowing it away in a pocket, she flashed the hand sign everyone had agreed on to mean ¡®GTFO¡¯. ¡°They¡¯ll catch us in the maze,¡± breathed Dave, ¡°We don¡¯t have the time to go through all that again.¡± Den smiled for the first time this operation, pearly white imitation teeth flashed to the world in a dazzling show. ¡°Go through? I guess we have no choice. Tomato?¡± The woman knew enough by now to understand dumping extra power into her continuous buffing was what she was expected to do. With a leveled staff and a series of chants¡­ ¡°[Centrifugal Locus], [Density Up], [Rocket Burst], [Accelerate], [Earthen Drill]]!¡± The string of words released in mere seconds flung a rapidly spinning cone of metal at such high speed it punched a gaping hole right into the side of the labyrinth, right before the group had to risk being caught off-guard in its tunnels. Bent, warped steel formed the borders of a hole wie enough to fit two people. The heat of the exchange left glowing orange spots on the pipes unfortunate enough to be in the way. Kat whistled in awe. ¡°Should¡¯ve done this from the start.¡± ¡°I would¡¯ve been low on mana then,¡± said Den, ¡°like I am now. Hurry, out the door!¡± Dave raised an arm while running. ¡°I¡¯ve got one more surprise to leave them actually.¡± ¡°Sure, just make it quick.¡± As the four escaped with their plundered information, ready to be sent to their sponsors, the loyal employees and unquestioning drone fleet under the command of Automotive Industries learned the true terror of Freddy Fazbear for the first, and likely last, time. Just Peachy Checkpoints, side alleys, little rooms hidden away in the forgotten corners of a bustling metropolis¡­ Wisp skulked through the backways of the sprawling city, feeling exposed. The rain had let up for the most part, after days of torrential downpour, and now the blackened Dust fell alone as snow across streets and apartment blocks. It did dissolve quite quickly, enough so that it didn¡¯t build up on the ground, but the act of walking outside uncovered still brought with it the strange feeling of scalding the skin that Dust caused upon contact with anything living. Even the rare sentient robot was affected. ¡°Where¡¯s Mei and Vola?¡± he asked. Acid cracked her knuckles as she followed close behind, flanked by Rico and Unze. ¡°For the tenth time, they¡¯re probably doing fine.¡± Still, he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of something going wrong. The sense of impending doom building in his gut grew ever-so-slightly worse by the hour. Of course, that might¡¯ve been just the fault of the ongoing Dustfall, but he was the type of the guy to trust his instincts. Especially when they pounded in his ears like war drums. No, wait, that was just his heartbeat; eh, same thing. The two melee terrors of the hotel were naturally assigned to shred the unfortunate robots unlucky enough to be on patrol at this time of day. A squad had been promised to back them up to ensure their safety and to pull them out of a sticky situation, but Wisp wasn¡¯t exactly the sort with whom trust came easy. On the other hand, he and his three friends were to go alone without support to scope out the main HQ. It was the kind of mission that he knew would result in some kind of trouble, one way or another. Unze would be able to handle anyone non-robotic, while Rico and Wisp could stall long enough for Acid to carry the femboy to safety should the need arise. It was no star-studded team, but desperate times called for unconventional measures. At the very least, the four of them were issued their own weapons, unwieldy as they might be. Acid had two revolvers at the hip, designed to puncture armor. Wisp sported a modded beam rifle equipped with better heatsinks, capable of outputting enough heat to slag steel. Rico instead got a nice pair of studded gauntlets to wear over his forearms, multiplying the force of his punches with the weight of a steel fist. The gear did not assuage their collective nervousness, however. Wisp climbed up the rungs of a fire-exit to ascend to a building roof while everyone else stayed on the ground, miniature telescoping device in hand to get a better look. The headquarters of Automotive Industries looked the same as always, a mass of metal and pipeworks that resembled something you might see in a political cartoon, not right in front of you churning out products for the post-modern age. It stretched rather high, akin to a skyscraper though not quite as tall. Through the gadget in his hands he could see several signatures flying through the air---likely aerial surveillance drones---approaching his location. Now was a good time to activate the second widget he¡¯d been given. He dropped down the fire-exit with a strange spoked wheel in his hand, barely bigger than a palm. It glowed a faint green, warm to the touch. ¡°Like we practiced, guys. One finger only!¡± said Wisp. The four of them hooked a finger around the hoop, and in a blink they were entirely invisible. Not even heat emissions would show up on cameras. The normally oppressive drones passed harmlessly overhead, confused and unable to confirm the target they thought they¡¯d caught. The group held their breath for the slow, plodding seconds as the eyes in the sky disappeared into the fog, the din of their quadcopters falling to uncomfortable silence. Then the sound was gone and they could breathe easy again. Unze looked up towards where the aerial robots had been a minute before. ¡°That was kind of close!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the whole mission, basically,¡± said Rico, ¡°a series of close calls. How are we supposed to get any data on the headquarters if we have to get close? No way we don¡¯t get caught with our pants down.¡± Acid peeked around the corner, hoping the path ahead was clear. ¡°Unze. Anyone loud out there?¡± He closed his eyes, letting his mind flatten like a pancake, spreading out like gentle waves lapping at shore. Horizontal distance was the goal, so he leaned into the wall and melted into the world around him (metaphorically). The buzz of people thinking, breathing, going about their days in lockdown, same as every year. The hum built in his mind, the collective murmurs of thousands filling every corner of his brain. ¡°All good and all clear out here,¡± says Unze, zeroing in on the building in the distance. Without all the distractions, the hushed whispers and worried warnings passed from coworker to manager to boss simmer in the quiet steel castle at the edge of his vision. They¡¯re on high alert, that¡¯s obvious enough for him to see. But why? An inside plant? Did someone leak the plans early? ¡°I think they¡¯re onto us. Not very yippee,¡± he says. ¡°What?! We haven¡¯t even gotten close,¡± Wisp replies. Acid gestured to move up. ¡°We can still scout?¡± ¡°Probably!¡± said Unze. That¡¯s the go ahead for her. ¡°I¡¯ll go in as planned, then. Pass anything you think matters back to base and we can get out of here.¡± They all spread out, blips on a screen, trackers keeping tabs on everyone¡¯s vitals. Base team was hard at work doing the boring job-- busybodies, bees in a hive, scurrying from panel to panel to make sure nothing was about to go wrong. Nerds sporting glasses, pocket protectors, chewing through all the data being sent their way. Dave heroically agreed to let his workshop be the team¡¯s command hub, and all the strewn electronics were long since swept up and organized, the action floor cleared so Snake could zip from chair to chair, watching everyone¡¯s progress. She was already the de-facto leader for the hotel, and the team of assistants Architectural Constructions sent their way seemed to recognize that intuitively, even if they weren¡¯t all the biggest fans of it. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Dime rolled into the room on his wheelchair. The dimly lit room clashed with the offensive blue lighting emanating from every monitor, the commotion of managing so many things at once spilling out of everyone¡¯s thoughts into their body language. The sounds, the sights, all so much¡­ He felt nauseous. Still, he pushed into the command room. Even if he couldn¡¯t participate right now, he would soon when he recovered. ¡°Snake.¡± She turned away from the main screen, biting her thumbnail. Seeing Dime did much to make her feel a little better and she put her hand down, an impassive focus coloring her features. ¡°Oh, hey. Feeling better? Think you¡¯ll be back to normal?¡± He smiled, pearly white canines normally so threatening appearing blithely mundane. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m just tired so I don¡¯t walk much.¡± ¡°Energizer potion?¡± ¡°Haha, no thanks,¡± he shuddered. ¡°They taste kind of bitter.¡± ¡°Sorry. I¡¯d add sugar if it didn¡¯t throw the reagents off balance. Alchemy is a very exacting science.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t complain about it since it saved my life.¡± She waved a hand. ¡°Tomatoes, potatoes, whatever. Don¡¯t mention it. Just stay home until you¡¯re all better.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to, but¡­ everyone else is out there. I don¡¯t feel right staying inside.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s because of what happened. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but¡­ none of us want to see you hurt any more than you already have.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t just let everyone else be hurt instead,¡± said Dime. Snake bent down to put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re not letting us be hurt. We¡¯re choosing to go out there ourselves. We¡¯re settling our debt with the big AI. They¡¯re the ones to bla[¡­]¡± Her voice suddenly began to grow distant. The sounds around him, the voices, they all grew muffled like a big pair of earmuffs had latched itself onto his head. He blinked only to find a blurry lens overtaking his vision, his view of Snake becoming little more than a shapeless blob vaguely resembling the person he knew. He tried to squint, head pounding, fatigue mounting, as words came unbidden to the forefront of his mind: ¡°You get what I¡¯m saying, right? He blinked again. Wisp knelt there, in front him, hand on his shoulder, squeezing, a reassuring smile on his face. Wisp was talking to him. ¡°Wisp?¡± said Dime. ¡°Everyone else, they¡¯re out there fighting for you. And Kyki, you know what¡¯s happened to them.¡± The little demon let his head hang, unable to meet his gaze. ¡°I know. I didn¡¯t want any of this.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s fine, Dime, really. We don¡¯t hate you for it. Accepting your faults is step one, but doing something about it is step two.¡± Dime felt tired, only the voice of the guy in front of him keeping him awake, the foreign sensation of someone squeezing his shoulder. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Wisp rolled the wheelchair a little closer. ¡°You¡¯re feeling better, aren¡¯t you? Join us. Help us get Kyki back.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I don¡¯t know if I can¡­¡± Wisp spoke like a heavy weight rested on his chest. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t want anyone else to be hurt, right?¡± His sleepy eyes widened a little at the thought of more of his friends potentially befalling the same fate as him; only this time, there wouldn¡¯t be anyone on hand to save them. ¡°No! No. Of course not.¡± ¡°So what are you going to do about it?¡± Despite the onset of dizziness, Dime still sat up, back ramrod-straight, looking into his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go out there too. I¡¯ll-- I¡¯ll fix this. I¡¯ll take responsibility.¡± Snake stopped gently shaking the wheelchair as his declaration of intent. She¡¯d been worried to see him hunched over, eyes unfocused, but all of a sudden the light had returned to his eyes and he was again as bright as ever. ¡°Are you sure?¡± she said. Dime blinked again. ¡°Hm? Yes. I¡¯m sure. I¡¯ve got to make it up to everyone. I promised.¡± Snake searched his eyes for the doubt she thought she saw in his gaze, but right now it seemed like all that had disappeared, replaced with the cheery determination to do what was right. To take responsibility. The clatter of a keyboard hitting the ground tore her attention away, towards a ruckus at the far end of the room. Two of the assistants were arguing and had bumped it off the table, too heated to care. The first, a man named Leo, jabbed a finger at the monitor. ¡°We have to up the pace of the operation! If they¡¯re catching on faster than we thought it¡¯s just a matter of time before the window of opportunity slams shut!¡± The second, a woman named Aubrey, spread her arms in indignation. ¡°We push this shit forward and there¡¯s no way we¡¯re not getting fucked! The casualties, the loss of life-- it¡¯d be catastrophic! Can¡¯t you see that?¡± ¡°Okay, everyone calm down for a second,¡± said Snake, stepping between them. ¡°I get your point, Leo, but Aubrey has a point.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a hard decision! Someone has to make the choice. It¡¯s now or never. We wait for the right time and it¡¯s just not gonna happen!¡± ¡°You think I don¡¯t know that? I don¡¯t need you explaining to me the obvious, man.¡± She sat down in an unoccupied chair with a sigh. A few keystrokes later and the visual of all their current teams was displayed in the air via hologram, a 3D rendering of the situation on the ground. Hotel Team A currently extracting from the site, Hotel Team B finishing up their scouting op, and several more backup squads tailing patrols¡­ it was all a carefully coordinated setup in preparation for the real game, happening soon. ¡°It¡¯s clear we need more time,¡± Snake continued, ¡°If you would just examine the situation for a second. We don¡¯t know nearly enough to rush in without a guarantee we don¡¯t get our asses kicked, and any suspicion on what¡¯s up could get the rescue target relocated to an external location. That would be incredibly bad for us. Maybe if you argued with your words instead of yelling at Aubrey hoping to cow her into agreeing, I wouldn¡¯t be having to have this conversation with you. I¡¯m disappointed in you, you know. As an adult, you should already understand that you need to be more mature if you want to work with others, and if you¡¯re not going to express that kind of desirable behavior no one will want to work with you. Criticism of your point isn¡¯t a personal attack on you so it shouldn¡¯t justify that kind of overblown response, especially since you¡¯re older than she is. Even if it was a personal attack you could just come to me and I¡¯d help you sort it out. By starting this argument you¡¯ve already hurt the cohesion of the team as a whole by putting everyone on edge, and that¡¯s not the kind of thing I tolerate when building a team. We all have our part to play and you¡¯re--¡± ¡°I GET IT, GOD!¡± cried Leo. ¡°Then just do whatever! I don¡¯t care.¡± He stormed away for the door as everyone watched on. Snake just rolled her eyes and went back to work. He slammed the door with a mutter just loud enough for everyone to hear. ¡°No wonder why the board ousted you¡­¡± A moment of silence. Then everyone returned to the usual, typing away and logging anything interesting. Amidst the activity, Dime rolled up next to Snake, eyes on the monitors. He didn¡¯t say anything or ask any questions, though, just watching the alchemist pore over notes, numbers, things of interest. It was like nothing had happened at all. Still, despite the overstimulation of everything happening all at once that he couldn¡¯t grow accustomed to, Dime stayed in the command hub for a while. It just didn¡¯t feel right leaving Snake alone in there.