Spyglass had ended up being the one to teach me how things worked here at the UnderBarn the name everyone affectionately gave the base. She was a fair teacher, even though it was clear she wasn’t enjoying the situation, never talking more than necessary.

My attempts to try and lighten the mood, or to talk more about anything, were received with non-committal answers or even just nods or ‘Hn's’. I left it at that after a while, just focusing on finishing the chores.

We started taking the food and putting it all in plastic containers to go on the fridge, anyone could eat it as they wished, so I hadn't made anyone mad yesterday unintentionally.

We also took the dishes and cleaned them, she letting the drying for me while she scrubbed them.

After that we went to the bathroom, taking the towels and the clothes, and going to the laundry that I found out was on the opposite side to the bathroom only taking a left instead of a right when coming from the elevator room.

They had some heavy-duty washers so we just separated the clothes and put them on, the mood between us staying distant, like colleagues just doing their job together, at least I didn’t feel any outright hate.

“We only have to make the dinner now.” she told me. After we finished putting everything to wash and the clean clothes to dry in the dryers, I thought it made sense to automate everything as people here had more stuff to worry about than keeping their clothes clean.

The clean clothes were put on a long table against the cleaners and dryers, and the owners just came and took them, as everyone mostly just remembered which clothes were their own.

She was leaning against one of the dryers, arms crossed, not looking at me. Taking the clue that we weren’t moving right now I waited for what she wanted to say, her behavior clearly showing she wanted to talk.

Her short hair was long enough to partially hide her face as she looks down and away, making it hard to read her expression it seemed contemplative to me though. She was attractive, I noted but I wasn’t the type to bring those things to a professional setting, even more in a relationship that wasn’t on the best of foots.

She sighed, uncrossing her arms and running a hand over her face, she looked at me, some kind of resignation on her face.

“I haven't been very fair to you.” She started, rising a hand to signify she was not finished, I stayed quiet.

“I've always been against the recruitment of more sleepwalkers, giving them powers and pulling them to unsafety.”

She worked her jaw a bit, holding one of her arms with the other hand. “And when I saw how power-hungry you are, it just confirmed my opinions on the matter.”

She still wasn’t looking my way and I thought it over in the lull in the conversation, I knew myself and I knew the perception people had of the sleepwalkers, and I also knew the extents people would go to get power, the extends I had gone. So, I learned to control the impulse and only take more thoughtful risks, it was an ongoing process even to this day tough. When she finally looked my way I spoke.

“I can't really, defend myself about that, I really was, still am, a very power-hungry person.” I looked at my hand, my body that now held the thing I always dreamed about. “You know the day I awakened, I had some kind of vision, I was swallowed by a sky that screamed ‘more’. Some other stuff as well. I think it was telling that I can't be swayed by this hunger, else it swallows me.”

“Very poetic” she gave a little smirk I covered my face with one hand just realizing how I had worded that. I heard she sighing again. “It's true tough. I saw it happen before, that’s why I don’t agree with it, it doesn’t just end with only you as well.”

I had nothing to say to that really so I stayed quiet, she mulled over her thoughts a bit before continuing.

“It isn't fair with you again though, you're in this organization now, for better or worse.”

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“You don’t seem to have much trust in it.”

She shook her head. “It isn't about trust, I just know our odds better than the others, I don’t get how you can commit to it, haven't you gained what you always wanted?” she stared at me intently, waiting for my answer.

“Well, it's what I told you, the regime is just plain bad, but personally, they kept powers from me, the rich families having access to awakeners while I ran after it my whole life, powers shouldn’t be kept behind a wall like that.”

She sighed with a dejected expression. “You really remind me of her.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. it doesn’t matter in the end, Joseph. it's impossible to win.”

“Runing after what seems impossible isn't new to me, I want to grow this power that I gained, and that aligns very well with the Dawnbreakers.”

She stared at me, I stared back, she seemed to search me for my conviction, or maybe was relating me to the person she remembered?

“You don’t know what I know, it’s naivety. Their size, their leader, when he gets fed up with us. it’s over.

“Well, I only need to get powerful enough that I'll survive him by then.” she shook her head at me, exasperated. “I know my motivation is lacking, and quite selfish, but that never stopped me before.”

I thought a bit, mulling over my hidden away motivations. The ones I never wanted to think about.

I said finally gravelly. “I’ve also lost people waiting the same thing as me, I pushed away others that appeared in my life, and never could give up this obsession. I know it isn't healthy but, in the end, they would deserve a place where they hadn't needed to die for a chance at getting powers.”

“You know you just feeding your power obsession, right, under all these motivations that’s the core of it.” she said looking intently at me.

I stayed quiet, that might be the case after all, that only power was my real intention.

But I felt differently, I never denied that getting more powerful was part of my objectives, all the rest was true as well though, I knew it.

She stared at me some more, thinking. “I just hope you know when to back off when the time comes, you haven't met the powerful ones yet.”

I frowned, hadn't I just fought Thunder the other day? Was she saying he was weak? She spoke again drawing my attention to her.

“They are way stronger than us, Joseph, we can't even be called a full uprising, we can’t fight them” I was going to argue again but she just stared at me, the intensity made me stay quiet.

Her eyes glowed, the ambient gloom making the effect clearer.

“I know.” she said, a haunt to her word, fear. She was showing me how she knew, why she had no hope, she had seen it.

After that I didn’t find anything to say and she left the room first, I followed after her, the rest of the chores made in a silence, that while not oppressive or with unresolved things in the air was a different type of heavy.

Spyglass stayed in this gloom mood making it even harder to try and have any type of conversation although now she tried to answer me, just never with much of anything.

I mulled as well in her words, and apparently how I had overestimated the Dawnbreakers, could the leader really be that strong?

That night the food was the blandest I had yet, my culinary skills not helping pull the gloom that was in that kitchen, seeming like the depressing mood passed to the food itself.

No one commented on it though, and I just caught some nods from them, seemingly seeing through how we had ended up talking something.

After that the day ended without any more surprises, I went to bed earlier, with how tired I was, I would be finally getting a full night of sleep.

----------------------------------------

I was in the gym with LED, it being the middle of the morning and he helping me through my new strength and stamina training.

The stamina was the part I was lacking the most and we agreed that with more stamina I could fight for longer as it seemed that the amount I could move and fight was only dependent on my own stamina, my powers not supplying much. We trained until close to lunch and went together to eat.

I took a shower first, changing out of my sweaty clothes, today I already felt completely healthy, making myself wonder about the new capabilities of my body, I smiled, the exercises giving a boost to my mood together with the positive results of training my power.

I greeted everyone already having lunch while I served myself, only Spotlight, Victor and Glassmetal were missing.

Today, I planned on going to the lab and seeing what I could help with, or learn more about, but while we were eating, Spyglass got a glint on her eyes, something I was realizing, more and more, that she did very often, it just being hard to notice in the day and only now I was talking more to her.

“Araphel is arriving” she said simply, everyone sitting a little straighter.

“Who?” I asked shattering the mood a bit. Swordjuice with a spoon in her mouth seemed just as confused

Payback smiled at me, saying; “He’s something like a boss.”

“He’s the one who gives us the briefing on the missions we have to do, the important ones.” LED explained.

“There's unimportant missions?” I asked, confused.

“Sometimes. it’s other people that give information for us, so it can be a bit unreliable. LED answered this question as well, always patient with the curious recruits.

“When it's from Araphel, it’s things from the closest thing we have to a leadership.”

“He’s a big deal then? Swordjuice asked animatedly.

“Hmhum, you could say that” LED confirmed nodding.

“Hmm” I nodded, so a big shot was coming, I wonder what kind of mission he was bringing for us.