Chapter 3: Encounters and Reunions

"This tunnel should take us back to Park Street Station from here" Noa mentioned, as he tapped a wall. "Yep. It does. We are good to go".

"This place is so dark and mazelike, how can you tell where you are going?" Simon asked.

"Noa uses his hearing and soundwaves for echolocation" Zarian mentioned. "With it, we have perfect visibility and awareness of our surroundings in places like this. But it only works in inside areas with minimal noises or disruptions".

"I thought major wishes were more specific and not as flexible in exchange for their power?"

"Generally yes, the scope of abilities is, but not how you can use them. For example, I could use my inversion to make a microwave refreeze ice cream. I can also use it to enhance my own speed, by inversing the reaction force of my steps".

"...wait what? Inversing the reaction force?"

"Every action has an equal but opposite reaction. Its one of Newton's laws. I can use this to my advantage. I can inverse that opposite reaction, adding it to the force of my own action. This powers up my kicks and punches, makes me faster, that sort of thing".

Hold on...but wasn't that...

Simon had a number of thoughts pop into his head, but he decided to sideline them for now. What he really wanted to know though was how they knew so much. They said Inheriting a Wish always had some sort of cost, but the cost itself was not entirely fixed. Furthermore, both Zarian and Noa had Major Wishes, and at least Zarian had a minor wish. For both of them to have found them so easily, he did have to wonder how that happened, although those other two apparently did as well. Furthermore, he had the distinct impression Noa knew more about what happened to Zarian then Simon did. He seemed to know this Theo as well, which was likely Theodore Veil as well.

Still, he had promised to hold off his questions till they were safe. At the very least, he had to admit now was not the time to pry. Noa needed to focus on monitoring their surroundings. It appeared his headphones were not there just for sport. They existed to protect his ears, since he apparently had rather sensitive hearing. It wasn't part of his Wishes it seemed, but something he was born with instead. The headphones would adjust the sound to help make it easier to sort through or manage, but it did weaken his hearing a bit. However, his normal hearing was better than a dog's, so even weakened it was still way better than the average human.

It didn't take long to get to the station, but Noa stopped them and scowled.

"We have an issue. There are quite a few people ahead. Well, we are closer to the center of the city, so I suppose running into more people was inevitable. I don't hear any fighting for the moment though, and most of them are in separate groups. That said...one group is right inside the underground tunnel we could have used, so we have to go through Park Street Station's underground area now".

"Don't they have like, an entire park?"

"Yeah. They have solar lamps, but also a number of ducts that lead to the surface that bring in plenty of natural sunlight when its sunny. There is also a shopping area and other things as well. To get to Theo's place, if we cut through the shopping areas and the park and go directly across, we should be able to make it. And if we are lucky, we avoid any fights".

"Can you pinpoint them?"

"My hearing isn't that good. Best I can tell is that they have multiple people and that there is a park up ahead. The space is big and wide open, so it's dulling my echolocation".

With their radar weakening now, they decided to head out into the main area of Park Street Station. This was closest to the Grand Park, the largest park in the city. It consisted of a huge amount of city blocks, to the point it was sometimes compared to being a mini forest. Zarian didn't even want to think about the sheer amount of killing that was probably going on above. Right now, it was better to find allies and take refuge then join that slaughter. The most violent will likely battle for supremacy, which meant advantage went to those who could find good groups.

It was promising the groups nearby were underground, where encounters were less likely, and already in groups. The fact they weren't mindlessly slaughtering or roaming around might indicate a good number of peaceful organized groups. Perhaps they would even be able to make alliances with each other.

It was pretty clear so far, although they did see some fresh corpses. Unlike the ones at the start, new corpses that were made did not disappear, indicating that it was probably a one time effect at the start. This meant that any new corpses would stay where they were, which meant this was a recent battlefield. It put them all on edge, especially since two of the bodies looked like they could have been in high school and middle school respectively. The group pushed forward, trying to endure such things, when they started to sense people approaching them. A new group from the others they sensed before, Noa was shocked when they appeared out of nowhere.

"People just appeared out of nowhere, and quickly came to approach the group. The three of them took positions, as a few others arrived.

"Well now, a few new moths to the flame" one girl said. She appeared to be high school age, or perhaps even college. She was wearing a black sweatshirt and jeans, and had a knife in her hand. She didn't seem all that bothered despite what was happening, but seemed to be the most wary of the group.

"Does that make me the flame then?" a young man asked, perhaps in his mid to late twenties. He held what appeared to be a fireball in his hand, and looked rather menacing and strong. He had a sort of bad boy vibe to him, but something told Zarian he was far more then how he appeared.

And the final one was a rather adorable eight-year-old boy. However that was only in appearance, with his cat eared purple hoodie with a cat paw print on the front, green cargo shorts, and blue sneakers. The look in his eyes was actually the fiercest of them all, with the most determination. He put Zarian on edge even more than the man did.

The look in his eyes…he might be the most ready to kill us all.

That was Zarian’s thoughts. Not an emotional or bloodthirsty look, but one of resolve.

“Two kids and a cop, going by the badge” the man mentioned. “I doubt they will be willing to go along with us”.

“The other two haven’t killed yet, but the Blue Haired Boy is ready to kill us in a moment” the young boy mentioned. “It seems we may already be in his attack range. The cop is still sizing us up, but the other boy is already ready to evade and defend I would say”.

“Interesting. The two kids are more battle ready than him? Unexpected” the girl muttered, keeping an eye on them.

That kid nailed it! He read us perfectly!

It was clear this group didn’t form out of fear or panic. They formed with a united goal in mind. A united desire, or a united alliance to fulfill all their desires.

Compared to the panicking man and the two psychopaths, Zarian felt this group was far more dangerous. He understood this was a fight they could very well lose, and a group they should be wary of.

Furthermore they didn’t mind showing off the guy had fire abilities. It was only a few hours so far, but there was a real chance they all had powers, and they guy was just there to distract them. It was also possible that there was a fourth member hiding themselves. They had just appeared out of nowhere after all. If it was some sort of perception blocking ability, then it was possible that they had someone else hidden, taking aim at them.

“Tell me, police detective. Do you think you will be okay with us going out together and actively killing people?”

Simon flinched as he heard those words. “Why would we do that?!”

”To survive of course, and make it out of this alive”.

"But we can't just submit to The Game Master's scheme!"

The man let out a sigh. "I had a feeling when I spotted the badge, but he is far too uptight to be able to adapt well in this situation. Right, Zeke?"

The boy frowned. "Yeah, Hakuto. He doesn't get it yet".

Simon got irritated at their words. "I am just not willing to bend over backwards and submit to a murderous lunatic".

"The Game Master is many things. Scheming yes, but he isn't a lunatic".

Zeke nodded. "And I doubt he is a liar. A manipulator sure, and deceptive, absolutely, but not a liar. He will grant wishes, which means if I can't find what I am looking for in this game, I will just get it from him. And I wont let anyone stand in my way".

The girl just let out a sigh. "Honestly, I just want to survive, no matter what it takes. And being all goody two shoes won't save you here".

Zarian grimaced a little at their words. None of them are wrong. I hate to say it, but its clear they have the conviction necessary. Especially the boy. I don't know what Zeke wants, but he is hellbent on getting it. Which means...

"Still, there is a chance some of them have Wishes. If they won't work with us, then...I guess we have no choice" Hakuto mentioned. "Seri, Zeke".

The two nodded, as everyone took action instantly.

"Major Wish of Soundwaves!"

"Major Wish of Destruction!"

Noa fired off a soundwave attack, but some sort of field or barrier appeared around Hakuto, Seri, and Zeke when Zeke used his major wish. It seemed to cancel out, or perhaps even destroy, the Soundwaves. The woman meanwhile attacked next, throwing the knife right at them.

"Minor Wish of Gravity Manipulation".

"Major Wish of Priority".

"Major Wish of Inversion!"

Zarian found the flying knife a bit suspicious, so he tried to divert it with gravity manipulation. However, somehow the knife prioritized normal motion when she used her wish, so he had to use his Major Wish of Inversion to reverse her Major Wish, causing the alternate gravity to take priority instead. She clicked her tongue at the exchange, while Zarian took a more warried approach.

At the same time, Hakuto unleashed a few fireballs at Simon. Simon shot a few of them down, but they exploded every time. Zeke meanwhile charged forward towards Noa.

Zarian was able to hold his own against the girl, Seri, but Noa was clearly badly matched up against his opponent, and Simon wasn't any better.

And that was when Zarian noticed it. Someone emerging from the shadows behind them, holding a short blade and coming right towards them. He quickly used Gravity Manipulation to pick up various rocks and launch them at the attacker, but they seemed to dodge them as he began to run up towards him. Zarian was now trapped between two opponents, as Seri pulled out two more knives.

But then, the one charging behind Zarian and Hakuto were both forced to stop their attacks and dodge when two arrows were fired at them. Hakuto just barely dodged out of the way, and the shadowed figure was grazed in the arm. Everyone looked, to see there was a boy wearing a traditional japanese archery, or Kyudo, outfit and sneakers, holding a bow as he notched another two arrows. What was noticable was that he was quite the long distance away, at least fifty meters, and standing on top of a large boulder. He also seemed to be glaring at Hakuto.

"Ah, its Kotaro".

Zeke looked shocked. "Wait, that Kotaro?"

"Mhm".

The kyudo boy, whose name was apparently Kotaro, was aiming more arrows at them. He loosed them, and Zeke tried to block them with his wish, but they went right through the destruction field like it was nothing. Zeke just barely dodged any critical injuries, but he got cut up a bit. Hakuto frowned at this development.

"Shit. He must have a major wish. This is not the time to settle things. Jun, get us out of here!"

The moment he heard that, the shadowed attacker who was named Jun quickly moved to them, and then they seemed to retreat into the shadows themselves. At the same time, the Kyudo boy quickly ran over to them. Although he seemed quite short, his features seemed defined enough that he had to at least be thirteen or fourteen. He was wearing a white short sleeved keiko-gi, held in place by a dark obi belt, and a hakama which was a shirt like divided trousers. It wasn't clear if he was wearing the socks though since he was wearing sneakers, but he had brown hair and brownish amber eyes.

That said, there was one thing on everyone's mind.

"Wait, your name is Kotaro?"

"I am adopted okay! Sheesh. I guess Hakuto mentioned my name then, that bastard. To think he ran so quickly too. Are you all okay? We can have sensei take a look at you".

"Sensei?"

"Ah, I mean a doctor I ran into. Sorry, family speaking habits".

At those words, a woman who appeared to be dressed in a doctor's outfit came out. She appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties, and appeared quite confident as she came out without fear or worry.

"I take it he disappeared?"

"Mhm. I will have to settle things with that guy later".

"Right. Are all of you okay?"

Simon nodded. "Yeah. Detective Simon Jakota. Is this everyone in your group, doctor?"

"Yeah. The first day or so felt like it might be too dangerous to be out on the streets, so we came down here where there would be both food and shelter. Unfortunately I live on the other side of town, so it was too risky to try and go back to my apartment, and Kotaro's house is even further out".

"I was only here because my club had been selected to perform an archery firework display. We were going to release small fireworks with our bows into the air, and have them explode so everyone could see some up close. Well, they would have been smaller, safe ones as a result though".

That explained why he was dressed like that for the festival. Although, a lot of people liked to wear outfits like that for the festival anyways, since it helped appreciate cultures and also set a nice vibe for it. It was especially encouraged for children, and even more so for the central festival, where it was practically required since that was the center and the core of the celebration.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"We are heading towards a friend's place. He already has a hideout here, if you want to join us" Noa mentioned.

The doctor and Kotaro both nodded. "I am Doctor Emilia Cross. Although since I also do a lot of teaching for both residents and some classes in medical school, as well as a bit of an inventor of some new medical tools, a lot of people have taken to calling me Sensei".

She is one in every possible sense as one!

Zarian and Noa both reacted like such, understanding why Kotaro couldn't help but use the term with her.

With this, the group of five now headed towards a few of the undertunnels. The soon found themselves in a side hallway, and then a back hallway that wasn't even listed on the maps. There was another turn or two, but Noa led the way perfectly. It did not take long for them to eventually find what appeared to be a dead end.

"Woah...Theo really outdid himself this time" Zarian muttered.

"Yeah. Looks like he find a clever hiding spot" Noa agreed.

"Hold on, you mean this isn't a dead end?" Kotaro asked.

"Secret passages and doors exist all over the city. This was partially due to construction work being changed and halted, and partially by smugglers who tried to take advantage of the rush in construction to establish their own routes" Simon mentioned. "Though, I must say, I have never seen one look this good before".

Noa seemed to investigate what appeared to be tiles on the side, but they looked just a bit cleaner then the others. He pressed them in, and something seemed to click, as it then popped outward, and opened up, revealing hidden hinges and a keypad. Noa then covered the keypad with his arm, while Zarian provided additional cover, ensuring no one else saw him enter the code.

They are bringing us in, but keeping the code hidden? Why?

Once they were done, the wall which looked seemless began to open up, revealing a trick door. However, what was interesting was what came next. There was a rather heavy duty metal door, one that Simon was familiar with.

"Hold on, this is a military grade door. I have seen them before when there was a case involving an old bunker...this isn't a smuggler's den, but an old military bunker?"

At those words, the doors then slid open, revealing an older man of perhaps sixty or seventy. He looked like a wise old elder, and he had greying hairs, although he still looked like he had a lot of vitality and life left as well. He was wearing a suit too, which sort of made him feel like an old butler, although none of them were totally sure if he was an actual butler or not.

"I see you gained some more people along the way. Master Theo is down in the main room, just down these stairs".

Behind the man was a set of stairs, although there was also an elevator to the side. It appeared they went into some sort of big room, so the group followed the man in.

"Sorry, but who are you?" Simon asked.

"I am Reginald Veil, Theo's grandfather and if it matters at all, President and CEO of Veil Industries".

"Nice to meet you again, Theo's gramps".

"Thanks for having us again, gramps".

"Mhm. Just make sure you remember to take your shoes off when you get down the stairs".

"Kay" the two boys responded.

As they descended the stairs, they eventually came into a large room. There was a lot of computer equipment and monitors, although a lot of it looked haphazardly connected and it was kind of messy. Furthermore, there were chairs and snack wrappers around, but even moreso, there was a white haired boy who was watching the monitors. He was currently dressed in a purple hoodie and red shorts that were rather short, exposing a lot of his legs. Noticably one of his thigh's was covered in bandages. When he heard everyone reach the ground floor and taking off their shoes, he spun around, using his bare feet to adjust the chair's spin so he could face them.

"Theo! Noa!"

Jumping to his feet fast, he ran over, entering a sprint almost instantly, and rushed towards them with his arms open. He basically tackled them to the ground, and the two just smiled awkwardly as they were pinned by the boy.

"Hey Theo".

"Thanks for having us".

"I am so glad you both are okay! I was really worried you know, considering everything that happened! I mean, I was certain you both had the desire and willpower to survive the tally, but still even after I heard from you I just couldn't rest till I saw you even after I heard from you!"

"Sorry sorry" Zarian said. "We got interrupted by attackers. One of them actually felt rather serious. Also, you repeated yourself a bit there".

"Yeah. They had some major firepower already. They must have either gotten lucky, or scattered a lot of wishes around".

"Well never fear! Its not just me and gramps here either, we have three others. A middle schooler in a red yukata whose school was apparently doing some cultural appreciation event tonight for the festival, a high school girl, and a guy who runs a grocery store. He is helping to supply us with a lot of snacks and cooking, and he even has a Production Type Wish that lets him produce a lot of food. This new secret base of mine has running water that tastes really good, and we even have public baths even".

"I think that was one too many evens Theo. But good to know, we have been sweating like crazy".

"Its not gender segregated, but given the situation, its against the rules to complain about that stuff. Either wait or deal with it, cause we have only one makeshift sleeping room as well".

Certainly, it was not at all the time to worry about such stupid and trivial things. It sounded like Theo had to explain this to someone earlier.

Given how loud his voice was, the others who he had mentioned also began to gather. This meant there was now ten of them in total.

"By the way, Theo...could you get up so we could stand up now. And what is with the bandages?"

"Oh, that? I got attacked and stabbed on the way here. We bandaged it up to be safe, but its probably healed now".

Theo stood up and unraveled the bandages on his thigh. The bandages had blood on them, but the leg was without injury. In fact, it was without scar or blemish. Emilia Cross seemed shocked at this.

"Hold on, it healed in just a few hours?!"

"Yep! Thanks to my Minor Wish of Amplification!"

"You have a wish as well?"

Theo seemed to pick up on Simon's question. "A-ah yes! I managed to get lucky and find some! I have the Major Wish of Stasis and the Minor Wish of Amplification. Stasis essentially lets me stop time and preserve things, which sounds great but there are limitations to it, like I have to see it and I can only keep a certain amount of things stopped. I can't stop time for everything but myself, but rather certain things and areas. I can put time limits and other conditions to delay activation and allow remote release, but I can't keep something frozen forever. As for Amplification, it allows me to amplify my strength, speed, healing rate, endurance, for myself and anyone who I touched recently! I am no longer a weakling! I can also amplify tools and weapons I have touched recently. Unfortunately, I can't do it at range, and it can be a bit taxing to use. I have been working hard to practice and train and improve my limits though, so don't worry! I am not the weakling I once was!"

Theo puffed out his chest, but Zarian and Noa groaned.

"Theo, you..."

"Theo, some control please..."

They didn't even bother to hide it, not that there was much point. They saw the look in Simon's eyes.

"...its as I suspected. You three at least, had Wishes before Cataclysm began, didn't you?"

A few others seemed shocked by that, however Noa raised his hand.

"You have questions I am sure, but we need to introduce everyone to each other so we all know our names. My name is Noa Bell. That is spelled N-O-A, not N-O-A-H. My parents decided to be creative and drop the H for my name when they named me. I have sensitive hearing, so don't even bother trying to hide talk about me behind my back. I have the Major Wish of Soundwaves and the Minor Wish of Enhanced Legs. One basically lets me use soundwaves to attack and do some other stuff, while the other one makes me able to run and kick much faster, heal faster, and overall be stronger when it comes to my legs. Unfortunately this kind of builds up a lot of heat, so if you go on a clothing supply run, please avoid long pants for me. My parents are dead, so I have been on my own for awhile".

"Overheating is a common issue for Enhancement type Wishes" Theo said with a nod. "My Amplication can do the same. Just so you know, you may think there is overlap there regarding our wishes, but its not. His is passive, so it doesn't take additional stamina to use, while my Amplification does. Furthermore, my Amplication isn't as strong as Enhanced Legs, but it can be used on various parts of the body. Well, both are minor wishes, so they don't give us the raw power we might want. I also have the Major Wish of Stasis. Ahh, I am Theodore Veil, but please just call me Theo. My parents are dead, so I have either been on my own or relying on help from gramps”.

After that was Emilia’s turn.

"I am Doctor Emilia Cross. I am a Doctor, and I possess the minor wish of reconstitution. It lets me do a variety of things, but I can use it to help heal and restore injuries. That said, it can depend on the mass available and the injury. I have no Major Wishes. I once worked..."

She gave a bit more detailed version of her employment history at that point, before the thirty something man went next.

"My name is Micheal Salvador. I am pretty good at throwing punches, but otherwise I don't really have much combat abilities. I have a Major Wish of Food Production, and a Minor Wish of Tool Creation. The first one can only produce food, but I can produce a lot of it per day including packages to go with the food, and basically anything that was sold in my grocery store is fair game. I guess I will be someone who helps manage things at the base. I am thirty three and single. Tool Creation can be used to create tools as well as materials to a degree, but I can only do it a few times a day. I exceed my limit, and I could die".

Zarian nodded. Two production wishes? That would seriously help them, although they still might need more.

The high school girl went next. She was wearing a blue skirt, white sweatshirt with a purple comet on it, and blue sneakers. She had medium length blonde hair that didn't reach her shoulders and brown eyes.

"My name is Rebeca Pierce. I have the Major Wish of Blades, which lets me perform great feats and attacks with a blade including some crazy stuff, but it requires a blade to use. A bigger blade would be better, but I do have a knife. I was in my first year of high school, and I...I am the only one of my family who survived the tally".

It got a bit somber for a moment, but then someone new spoke up.

"My name is Kotaro Ichiko. I have the Major Wish of Piercing. Any projectile weapon I use cannot be blocked by anything.I am fourteen years old, and before you say that I don't look like that at all, I am adopted. I have not heard from my parents, but...well, they have not responded to my calls or texts yet. I am in my Archery, or rather, my Kyudo club, and we were going to be a part of the fireworks celebration, hence why I am dressed like this. Well, I don't mind too much, because this is the outfit I am used to wearing when I use my bow, and I get the feeling I will be using it quite a bit from now on. That said...if someone could make an underwear run soon, I would appreciate it".

The boy looked away, his face a bit red when he said that. Theo looked at him.

"Don't tell me you..."

"...obviously they are not still on, but can you blame me given what happened? Incidentally, I also need a washing machine, or at least some stuff to wash them".

"Yeah...I guess that makes sense".

Simon introduced himself next, while Theo and the boy in the red yukata spoke with his grandfather who seemed to go out suddenly once their talk was done. After that was the boy in the red yukata.

"My name is Ren LuPont. I am ten years old. My school was also doing something for the festival and I kinda got forced into this as part of our cultural appreciation display. Well, I suppose this is still better than the last two years. The year before was Greece, and the year before that was Hawaiian. At least this is better then togas and grass skirts I suppose, at least in my opinion".

Zarian wondered if whoever was in charge of this school activity might just be an idiot, or at least didn't bother to plan these things out much.

"Anyways, I have the Major Wish of Script. I can write a single word on a piece of paper and use it to influence things, but I have to be careful because it could influence things in a way I didn’t want or anticipate. I also have the Minor Wish of Illusions, which lets me make and control illusions. This is useful for distractions while I use my major wish”.

With that, Zarian went next.

“My name is Zarian Root. I am eleven years old. I possess the Major Wish of Inversion and the Minor Wish of Gravity Manipulation. I have a lot of defense so don’t worry about me. I am also really good with locks and technology, so I can handle a wide variety of tasks. My parents are dead, so iv been on my own for awhile, but that means I am good at being independent and handling things”.

Simon couldn’t help but notice.

“Hold on, in terms of those three, didn’t you all just say the same thing?”

Zarian Root, Theodore Veil, and Noa Bell had all in essence said the same thing, with Theo having a small extra bit thanks to his grandfather. But in short, they said that all of their parents had been killed. All three seemed to already have some experience with their powers and abilities too. And they knew each other, and at least Theodore and Zarian were suspected to be victims of some human trafficking organization.

Zarian gave him a look. "Its a city, it happens sometimes".

At those words, Noa let out a sigh.

"Zarian" Noa sighed.

"We can't be fully certain yet..."

"Zarian" Theo added with crossed arms.

"We barely know him".

"Zarian" both Noa and Theo said at the same time.

"Oh fine! The truth us...all three of us were escapees from a secret organization performing human experimentation! There, happy guys?!"

"No, we aren't. But it was necessary, so we had to" Noa pointed out.

"Actually I am. I think its a relief we can finally talk about it after hiding for a year" Theo corrected, looking a whole lot more carefree as he sat in the large chair that was in front of the monitors. Because it was a lot bigger then him, he could even sit in it cross legged despite the fact it had arm wrests totally fine as he watched the conversation unfold, his back to the monitors.

Meanwhile, Simon was processing what he heard.

"Wait hold on, what?"

"Things like that actually happen in the real world?"

"I thought that was only something that happened in fiction as well".

Simon, Rebeca, and Ren all expressed their disbelief. However, rather then one of the boys, it was Emilia Cross that responded.

"I can assure you such things do happen. They target isolated families with no extended families, trick them into going somewhere for a job or whatever, and then kidnap and capture them. It happens more in countries with less security and monitoring though. And I have never heard as a family as connected as the Veils being targeted".

"Ah, that was a mistake on their part. And the hotel's part. We ended up staying in a hotel when the house needed to be closed off, and in the process, the hotel mixed up the room assignments. As a result, they thought we were another family. But when it was already done, it was too late to go back".

"So that was why that seemed way different...but wait, you three escaped a year ago? Why did none of you ever go public?"

Zarian let out a sigh.

"Because we didn't know who they had on the inside. It was blatently obvious they had some cops on the payroll, no way every missing person's investigation for their crimes fizzled out into nothing. They probably had lots of people in town hall too, and we knew they had people inside of hotels and transit hubs because how else could they falsify the trails? ANd also...honestly speaking, you lot did shit for us, so we were hesitant to trust anyone outside of our own group".

"I see...exactly how did you escape anyways?"

Zarian hesitated for a moment, but it was Theo that picked up the pace.

"There was a big explosion! A lot of people died, both evil organization people, and also test subjects. But it caused a lot of underground tunnels that had been sealed to open up, and in the chaos, a good number of us were able to escape. At least two or three hundred was my guess. That was really hard, especially since we had to rob some clothing stores as well" Theo mentioned, using his hands and arms and expressions to help provide visual elements to the storytelling.

"Wait, clothing stores?" Ren asked. "Wait hold on, are you talking about the explosion last year in the factory district? And how on that same night, a lot of clothing stores were robbed right in that area?!"

"Yes, that is exactly it Ren!" Theo proclaimed, pointing at Ren with a smug and pleased look on his face.

"Why did you need to rob clothing stores for clothes?" Rebeca asked.

"Well, the scientists treated us like lab rats, not humans. They never bothered to give us new clothes, and for some experiments took our clothes away. Most of the escapees didn't have a stitch to their name. The scientists thought it made us easier to monitor and control as well".

That was both rather disturbing and heartless, but also made a bit of sense.

"Anyways. After a lot of hard work and planning, I was eventually able to make contact with my grandfather and slip him a phone I had...err...acquired, and that let us communicate in secret, since I figured they were probably monitoring his normal phone lines. From there, we found places to set up hideouts, including this place. This is our best one yet. Pretty sweet right? It was windy, but lets out into a crowded area no one would think twice of, with ways to move all around the city. Not only that, but its actually linked into the security system of the station, so I can monitor things pretty well from right here. Pretty sweet right?"

He had deviated a bit from the story to bragging about the secret base. Simon was beginning to notice Theo had a tendency to repeat himself a bit though, since he said "Pretty Sweet right?" twice.

"Anyways, we got a nice good bath, a game room, this cool ops center, a secret exit, a bunk room, my room, toilets, our own power and water supply, and even a training room full of training mats. I figure we can wait here while we figure out how to punch that shitty gamemaster in the face".

Salvador looked a bit shocked.

"So you don't plan on gathering and collecting crystals to deal with him?"

Zarian shook his head. "That method is a trap. He didn't specify a number, so he could keep raising it to string you along. Also, he said he would let you leave the game and the city...but I get the feeling it would be as a corpse. ANd...he is probably trying to accumulate power by gathering all the powers he can to make him invincible, although I have no idea how yet. Besides, the Game Master might be the organization for all we know. They absolutely have multiple different people doing this".

Kotaro looked a bit shocked. "Wait, you sure about that? The announcer did seem like it might be two different people speaking one after another, but..."

"There is no way you could produce that barrier over the city, spread out all these weapons and Wishes, and perform that Tally with a single wish. And all of them have to be from Major Wishes given the large area they effected. I don't know the full list of Wishes, but...if I had to take some guesses at what they might be, the Major Wish of Isolation, the Major Wish of...Scattering Maybe, and the Major Wish of Imbalance. Some of them have direct names, but some also have indirect and quirky names, or have some rather strange effects. Its a shame the dome is already down, or else I would ask Zarian to just invert the barrier so people could get through it without dying" Noa mentioned. "However, I don't know if Isolation could produce a death barrier instead of just a normal one. If I had to guess, I think the Major Wish of Games is at play. The way they worded their announcement made me think that".

Simon meanwhile, had finally put the pieces together.

"Wait hold on, these Crystals...These Wishes...if you know this much about them, and you already had some, then does that mean..."

Zarian nodded.

"Yes. They were experimenting on people and wishes, and often forced people to inherit wishes. In other words, the wishes did not result from this game, but have existed for years in this world already".

And so, the first step was made towards the Truth.