Hiro grabbed onto the base of a branch and prised it off the tree trunk. It cracked apart before he tore the loose pieces of bark off. He tossed the stick aside and kept on walking through the jungle. Century and Ezra kept behind him—the branch being removed now allowing them an easier time to traverse the jungle. Century kicked a small rock forward, every time she'd catch up to it she would kick it again.

Ezra mumbled something beneath his mask while fiddling with a loose thread from his cloak.

"What about the jokes? Those were funny. I still have some if you guys wanna hear..."

"No, that won't work. I think making it more natural would be better."

Ezra cleared his throat, continuing to mumble to himself.

Hiro then stopped and turned around.

"Ezra."

Ezra's head shot up, startled by Hiro's sudden acknowledgement.

"H-Huh? What seems to be the matter?"

Hiro looked over his shoulder at Ezra, his stare menacing.

"How far away until the next memory?"

"Not far! I think..."

Hiro squinted.

"And how far is not far exactly?"

"I'm not too accustomed to this part of the island but I will know when we are close! I sense it shouldn't be more than a few minutes."

Century lifted her head, her expression showed how dejected she was.

"What'll it be this time?"

Her tone was cold and hid any emotion she could be feeling.

"I have no idea. The memories are kinda random."

Hiro continued to walk.

"Random isn't a good thing. We could be wasting our time with pointless flashbacks and that's not what I signed up for."

"Okay I exaggerated a little, the memories aren't completely random, they're just trying to... convey something or tell you information."

Hiro tears through more bushes and branches, clearing the way for Century and Ezra.

"Information from this Father character, yes?"

"Correct. I am unsure of Father's true goal, but in the past, these journeys have helped people remove any lingering regrets they had. Most who complete the journey become... enlightened."

"Sounds like bullshit to me."

Century kicks the rock but, this time, it veers off their path into the bushes. She frowns as she has to leave it behind.

"Hm. You said most who complete the journey. That implies some have not."

"Unfortunately, yes. Sometimes the past is too much for one to handle and they reject facing it. Nothing bad happens to those who don't complete it, they just never recover."

Hiro nods.

"So, if we weren't currently slowly losing our minds then we could just... leave?"

Ezra puts his hands together.

"Uh... I would dissuade you if you tried but... if you really didn't want to go on the journey then yes. You could just leave."

"Just fantastic."

Century looks away.

Ezra attempts to lighten the mood.

"B-But remember I'm also taking you toward Father and also the Haab'. If you had tried to get there on your own terms then you would run into a lot of trouble."

"I can handle myself just fine."

As they continue walking, Ezra suddenly runs ahead. He looks around before facing the others.

"This is it."

Hiro and Century stop. They look around and it looks exactly like the rest of the jungle.

Century crosses her arms.

"So if we walk towards you we'll enter a memory?"

Ezra holds out a thumbs up.

"Yep. When you both are ready walk over to me. I'll try to have you both enter at the same time."

Hiro scratches his chin.

"I'm a little unsure about this. Why are our memories tied to specific places on the island? This area just looks normal, nothing too special like the cliff, so why here?"

"I'm not sure. I think it has to do with the journey aspect of this whole place. These are checkpoints along your travels, that help you remember what it is you're doing and why. Though, that's only my theory. I'd have to ask Father for the actual reason."

Hiro sighs.

"Alright then. Let's get this over with."

Hiro and Century walk forward. To them, the space around them begins to glow brighter. They close their eyes before both of them stop walking and stand idly by. Ezra makes sure they are both secure before entering the memory as well. As Ezra entered the memory, a twig snapped behind him.

The undercity bustled below Century. The neon signs and smoggy sky blended as her eyes began to lose focus. Flying cars whizzed overhead while the streets were packed with people. With the amount of foot traffic, the concrete that everyone walked on seemed more like a fable. Vendors screamed over the hundreds of voices, and ads flashed brightly, attracting everyone's attention. Distant gunshots were drowned out by the noise as the colossal pillar overlooking this district began to sound an alarm.

Large pipes began to vacuum out all the harmful toxins in the air and siphoned fresh air from the surface. On the side of the pillar was the number one. Soon, it stopped, and everything returned to normal. For a brief moment, the ceiling could be seen, but it quickly disappeared behind the smog. Century brought a straw to her mouth as she drank from a small box of chocolate milk.

"Hey."

Hiro put his hand on Century's shoulder and smiled.

Century turned to him, tossing the box down onto the street.

"The hell do you want?"

"Same reason you are."

Hiro looked out onto the undercity.

"I wanted some fresh air."

Century cracked a smile but hid it.

"Whatever you say."

Century crossed her arms.

"Come on! We stopped an assassination on Julie's life today! That's a successful mission if you ask me. And after every successful mission, I gotta make sure everyone's having an equal amount of fun."

"You buddied up quick. Barely been a couple of weeks you're acting like we're friends."

"You laughed at my joke before so yes. We are friends now."

"Hell no. I'm a teammate. If you want to tell jokes to a friend go talk to Kaleido."

"Maybe. But she's a kid. Can hardly have a normal conversation with her."

"I'm telling her that."

Hiro looked frightened.

"Hey, come on!"

Century leaned back against the railing.

"If you say any more dumbass jokes I will. But I'm curious what the haughty Hiro thinks a normal conversation is."

"Just... y'know. Normal stuff."

"Should I add idiotic to that title of yours?"

"Well, I dunno! You're the only cookie I have left to crack. Annabelle's only fun to talk to when she's drunk, every other time she's just talking about logistics and data. Casper is too busy looking after Kaleido and Annabelle, when she's drunk, to have a conversation for more than three minutes and Kaleido... she's like fifteen or something."

"Maybe talk to Julie then."

"You crazy?! I'd die!"

Century rolls her eyes.

"That's the point..."

Hiro faces Century directly.

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"You're the only one in our team to not open up. You're a pretty mysterious person."

"In that thick skull of yours have you ever considered that it's on purpose?"

"I have. Don't care too much."

Century looked into Hiro's eyes. In it, she saw a strange innocence.

"You have the same look every new agent has."

"Huh?"

"Let me guess, you couldn't wait to be an agent. You would do anything to become one."

"Duh. Being a Spectator sucks! Everyone hates you, you have to work alone most of the time and you're just cannon fodder. Being an agent means I get friends to help me! It's... refreshing if anything."

Century loses her cold and dismissive attitude as her expression shifts to a blank stare.

"As I said. Same look every new agent has."

"Oh come on. You have to admit this is way more fun than being stuck in those training facilities all the time. Same white walls wherever you go. The annoying instructor always finding an excuse to beat the shit out of you. Not to mention you're packed in a room with a hundred other people who also want to beat the shit out of you. These past couple of weeks, I haven't gotten my shit beaten once!"

"Could always change."

"Not if I don't warm up to the team. We'll be so much more in tune if we can all understand each other."

Century looked weirded out.

"This isn't some anime or book. I stick to what I'm good at and you do the same."

Hiro sighed.

"Nothing gets through to you, huh?"

Century shrugs.

"What... What about that curse?"

Hiro stood up straight.

"Is that why you don't wanna talk with everyone?"

Century turns to him slowly.

"The fuck did you just say?"

"I didn't mean in a bad way I was just... it was an observation."

Century shakes her head.

"Take a hint asshole. I'm in this team to kill whoever gets in my way. You piss me off and I'll consider you another obstacle. I don't want to speak with you. I don't want to know you. Never try to become buddies with me again and never bring up that curse bullshit."

Century huffs before walking away. She clenches her fist before pulling open a door to a small bar. Kaleido, Annabelle and Casper were sitting at a table and yelling pretty loud. Century took a deep breath.

"I'll break it!"

Hiro shouted out.

Century looked back, glaring at him but he seemed unfazed by her malice.

"What?"

"You won't open up because of that curse, right? Then I'll break the curse. Then you won't have an excuse for not talking to me."

Century snarled.

"Shut up about that curse will you!"

Century walked back over to him, her knuckles turning white.

"This isn't about the curse! This is about you. We'll be a team! A true team if I break it. It's all I want right now so I'll do anything I can to—"

Century punched Hiro across his jaw.

"I said shut up! If you keep talking about that I'll make it come true right now!"

Century pulled out a hair tie and glared at Hiro.

Hiro looked up and smiled. He got his helmet ready.

"Oh yeah? Well, I'll break it right now! Let's see who's stronger!"

"This isn't about strength! This is about proving you wrong!"

Hiro smirked.

"We'll see about that."

Casper helped drag Annabelle out of the bar. She was flailing and kicking about as she clung to the door. Kaleido ran past and began to cheer as Century and Hiro fought in the middle of the city. Explosions erupt all around them. Casper groaned before pulling Annabelle away and taking Kaleido's hand. He wasn't in the mood to deal with those two at the moment.

As their battle raged on the memory began to blur. For a split second Century was given consciousness. In it she saw a smile so pure, so warm her heart felt at ease. For a second she thought everything that had happened was a dream but reality came back quickly. She fell to the floor, beads of sweat falling from her chin. She tried to lift her head but something whacked the back of her head.

Hiro struggled as he looked around. People in wooden armour surrounded them. They held a staff to Hiro's head as they tightened a rope around his wrists. One of the Invaders kept Century on the ground with her hands secure. Ezra was lying on the ground, his mask in pieces and strange green markings covering his body.

"Ezra!"

Hiro tried to move but a green energy bolt hit him. He groaned in agony as it sunk deep into his heart. He could feel his power diminish as his whole body tensed.

"What... What the hell is happening?"

One of the Invaders turned to him.

"No need to worry about that."

The Invader used the tip of their staff to guide Hiro's gaze up to them.

"You are SHS. What are they doing here? What are your goals on this island? Where did this island come from? How many of you are there?"

Hiro spat in the Invader's face.

"Shut up. Not telling you shit."

The Invader wiped the spit from their mask before grabbing Hiro by the jaw. The Invader's mask's dead eyes stared deep into Hiro.

"What is your mission?"

Hiro tried to look away but the Invader fired another blast of green energy into Hiro's chest. Hiro coughed up blood, splattering it across the Invader's face.

"I... I..."

Hiro tried to remember what he was doing but his mind had begun to break apart. Attempting to recall his mission gave him a headache.

"Shit... I don't know."

Hiro froze. His mind went blank on the subject.

The Invader sighed and looked down.

"This is pure Strand energy. Extracted from Necrosites and put in a weapon. Combined with our own Strand abilities it creates a blast of Strand. When a Strand user is struck with one of these blasts it feels like a harsh burn that sinks deeper but the more your body is hit with it, the deeper it digs. Slowly, Strand seeps into your body and once it reaches your brain... well I'm sure you know what happens when your brain receives more Strand than it can handle."

Hiro glares up at the Invader.

"So... you're telling me... all of you just go around... with your staffs and... wooden attire acting like... dumbass wizards?"

Hiro began to laugh.

Century watched Hiro, her gaze blurring.

The Invader crouched down.

"After much testing... we've found that this prototype takes three to four blasts before someone... succumbs to the parasite."

The Invader pointed their staff at Hiro.

"Let's do an on-field test."

Century's eyes widened and she thrashed around.

"Hiro!"

Another Invader slammed Century's head into the ground before gripping her by the hair and pulling her head up.

"Not another word. You're next on the chopping block so don't get too excited."

Century, blood running down her nose, grits her teeth and throws her head down towards the ground. The Invader's grip loosens and they let go, however, a few strands of Century's hair were pulled out igniting an explosion. The Invader is reduced to red chunks of meat that get flung around. Century bursts out from the smoke of the explosion with a silver hatchet in her hand.

She uses her glove to ignite more explosions, propelling her around the area at incredible speeds. The Invaders barely have enough time to grab their staffs before Century slams hatchets into the wooden armour of the Invaders. She dashes around planting hatchets into all of the Invaders before coming face to face with the one interrogating Hiro.

The Invader looks down at Century before gazing around at the other Invaders. All of them were fine, the hatchets hadn't even broken through their armour they were just stuck.

The Invader chuckles.

"What? I seriously thought—"

The hatchets all exploded creating a wall of fire and smoke. Each Invader was reduced to ash. Century had a couple of loose strands of hair tied around the hatchets. She stuck the hatchets in hard-to-rip-out places so that when they exploded it would almost certainly kill the Invaders.

The Invader stumbled back.

"W-Woah!? Y-You monster!"

Century didn't spare a second and turned her fist into diamond. She punched the Invader's mask off before throwing them to the ground. She saw their disfigured face, morphed and twisted with weird pulsating growths all over their face. Parts of their skin were a dark shade of green and the whites in their eyes were almost completely red. Century felt sick just staring at them so she began to pummel his face with her fist over and over. Chunks of the Invader were stuck to her fist as they soon became unrecognizable.

Hiro managed to worm his way out of his bindings before running over to Ezra.

"Ezra!"

Hiro pulled his hood back and revealed his face. Ezra was entirely human, he had shaggy brown hair and looked remarkably young.

"Wake up!"

Hiro tried to shake Ezra up but he didn't wake. Century walked over and picked up the Invaders staff, the pulsing heart in the centre still beating. She dropped it before walking over to Hiro and Ezra.

"He's... human."

Century was surprised. She thought someone who hid their face did it for a reason but Ezra looked normal so why did he hide his face?

Hiro picked him up.

"I have no idea what those freaks did to him. Judging from what that one told me before..."

Hiro looked closely at the glowing green markings all over Ezra.

"This is probably something related to Strand."

"Got any clues to fix it?"

"..."

Hiro stared down at Ezra before looking to Century.

"Who... Who are you?"

Century's eyes widened.

"Huh?"

Hiro stared blankly at Century.

"You're the new girl, right? I think I'm new too. My name's Hiro."

Century's head began to spin.

"You gotta be kidding me..."

Century looked down at the unconscious Ezra.

"Already...? Damnit."

Hiro softly smiled.

"Well, you don't have to tell me right now. I hope we can become good teammates!"

Century's brain bashed against the inside of her skull. The situation seemed to only get worse...