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<01/28/1972 – 18:45 | Lennith City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>

The day grew older after Jane's second and third treatment of Starlov Boosters. Falling asleep after the second injection, Jane managed to give herself a full six-hour rest before being waken for the third injection. Officially allowed to take a six-hour break from being in the medical facility, Jane only wanted a moment alone in her patient room to regain her energy and collect her thoughts. Despite the medical staff leaving her to her wish, Jane was in fact not alone.

With the sound of the spinning nob on the white door, another person entered the room where Jane was stationed. With the same height and age as Jane, it was quickly evident that the teenager was not part of the medical team, nor did Jane recognize her at first through her peripheral. But after she turned her head in search for Jane while shutting the door behind her, the unforgetful face and jet-black hair immediately identified her.

"Alyssa?"

She perched her head around some more, taking in the small environment of this room. Jane was sitting up on the medical bed, though she has no ivies attached, and the medical equipment was currently switched off. "Surprised to see me?" Alyssa didn't seem all that excited or focused on Jane, as if something else had been currently distracting her.

"I thought I was going to visit you, but I won't need to now." Everything snapped into focus for Jane. She had been viewing things with slight blurs or dark spots from the side effects with the previous injection. Though now her vision was crystal clear.

Finally facing Jane directly, Alyssa partially squinted her eyes and responded, "Tell me why I should care?"

Jane's breath escaped her, shocked at how quickly the atmosphere deteriorated. Alyssa was angry at her? Jane knew that she had lied to her class as well, but she also revealed her secret to them days ago. Was it because she took advantage of Claudia's training and still failed? No. Jane realized how close she came to death by heading into the dark zone, but didn't Alyssa already know about that too? Left with one question too many to ask, Jane didn't utter a sound, prompting Alyssa to do so instead.

"Was anything you ever said true?" Alyssa glared into Jane's confused eyes, raging at the woman in front of her who has done so wrong. Her arms were tense while her expression was more focused on Jane so suddenly.

"What is this about?" Jane demanded. Nobody else was around right now, so the people outside would not hear the argument. Dr. Ashly and Seth have already given Jane the continued instructions for the rest of today.

"Paying for classes under the table, false registrations, lies to the school council, the class, me?!" Alyssa's voice was on the verge of collapse with the shrieking function of her aggressive tone. Jane suddenly seemed more ashamed than confused for the moment.

Her eyes fell to the floor with a brief exhale, finally aware by those small hints the reason Alyssa was so upset. Jane had clearly forgotten by now. It was too vague to even remember clearly what she said to Alyssa and the others about herself and to Claudia, but Jane figured she had to tell many lies to get any real training and experience from the teacher to begin with. Even so, after showing her secret crest to her own class, it was hard to pinpoint exactly which lies Alyssa was so upset about.

"I knew something was up with you since you arrived in our school, but you had to be lying to Claudia as well, because even she would not help out a total stranger out of the blue. You manipulated her for your own benefit."

Alyssa sounded so sure of herself, and Jane struggled to figure out a proper way to apologize for all of this. Still, Alyssa already knew long ago that Jane lied her way to Claudia for admissions, so this fight didn't seem justified. "Alyssa, I—" Failing to chime in, Alyssa cut Jane off before she could begin to explain.

"You're a stranger, Jane! I don't even know if that is your real name." Alyssa shifted in her stance, holding her face in the humility. "And to think of all the things I said about you, all of the faith I had that you were a good person! You couldn't even keep the one promise we gave you, to turn around when things got tough!"

So that's what this is about. Jane came close enough to dying, all after promising that she wouldn't. "Alyssa, I didn't know what else to do," Jane argued back. At least she was quiet just for now. "I came to Lennith, knowing nothing, not even about the evil in our backyard. I didn't know who to trust. The dark zone was tougher than I thought it would be."

Alyssa sighed and glanced away from Jane, a clear gesture that she wasn't listening anymore. "You must have said all kinds of things to our teacher just to get her to help you fight in the dark zone. She isn't off the hook for this either."

Jane elaborated on what she meant by her earlier claim. "I needed help, and I messed up! I'm sorry! I truly am a terrible person by all of this; I don't need you remind me." Jane stopped herself there. Alyssa was already making it clear that she didn't want anything to do with Jane anymore.

Alyssa didn't let it get to her, but at least Jane was self-aware. She could barely face Jane where she stood, crossing her arms and stamping her feet on the metal ground. "All I truly know is that you are no expert at anything. People who graduate only a week after basic don't get to just strafe into our school and pretend to belong. I know that being marked must be a tough thing to deal with, but you're also a liar and an idiot. I won't associate myself with either of those things." Still unwilling to look Jane in the eye, Alyssa turned to the door and prepared to leave without another word. She dared it could not be so, but failed to accept the remote possibility that Jane is who she says she is.

"Wha— Alyssa!" Jane called. Standing on the floor from her bed wasn't nearly a quick enough reaction to stop Alyssa from leaving, which is what she did next, not even bothering to slam the door. The argument was so short sided, Jane didn't even get to explain who she really was and where she was really from. But with the thought so fresh on her mind, the memories of her words were much clearer to her now than they were before.

It wasn't the lie about where she was from, her identity, or even the symbol. Jane remembered only revealing the spell bomb secrets to Claudia, but Alyssa was hovering nearby as well, learning about this by mistake. Alyssa must have found out about the smaller details Jane left out, like the fact that she used a crazy spell bomb on herself that has yet to be identified, or the fact that Jane did so in a way that was also considered an illegal activity at the time. It's probably the smaller things, such as every little thing that happened up to the point where the new teacher gave Jane the upgrade for her power unknowingly. Jane remembered coming to the same conclusion when she was close to passing out in the Alpha Zero, and now Alyssa must fully realize it herself. Claudia must have spoken to Alyssa about something, and some unattained information might have been given to her that way, but Jane had always thought that Alyssa knew as much as Claudia did. Or did her teacher find out some more news as well? Man! Why couldn't she be any clearer?!

"Who was that?" another female voice called.

Jane didn't expect Taylor to show up so soon, but Jane was still so deep in her thoughts that she didn't understand the greeting. "Huh?"

Taylor clarified after walking into the medical room, realizing that Jane was already on her feet again. She must be ready for a longer walk. "There was a girl with black hair, who came out of your room in tears."

Jane was at first distracted by the fact that Taylor found the time and money to change into a new dress sphere, one that well suited her eyes and hair. It took a second to register what Taylor had been referencing. "Uh..." Alyssa was crying? Alyssa?! Jane never expected this. She isn't exactly easy to read, but it was more than clear that Alyssa must really hate people who lie, even just the tiniest of all lies, but she is always walking around with a tough head, so Jane thought. Seeing her march out of the room with that heavy lecture was expected all the way around, but to add tears only meant she was more upset than anything. It wasn't the same when Taylor decked Jane in the face earlier. Alyssa has a goal too right? It's something they never shared with each other, but something about this must have messed her up more than Jane imagined. Still to her question, Jane needed to focus on Taylor right now. They had more catching up to do, and it didn't seem like Danny was around. "Never mind that now. I still need a moment before I can leave."

"Fine," Taylor allowed. "But I still want to hear about this big master plan thing you have for... What did you want to do again? Remove the symbol, right?" Taylor leaned against the cold wall, making herself comfortable in expecting this to drag on for a while.

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Chapter Theme Shift: Kamihama Polyphonic ~ Magia Record OST

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Jane nodded to partially confirm Taylor's theory. "That would be one of many objectives I need to complete, but first I need to hear more about what happened at Tilsit Port."

"Oh, right. That big mess. You really didn't know what went down when you left on that boat?"

Jane nodded left and right calmly, sitting back on the medical bed to rest her legs. "All I knew was that the asshole who attacked me did so because I partially witnessed one of the Leray agents being teleported away. And when I tried to make my escape, I was lucky I got distance from the shore when I did. Then that's when the boat broke down and—"

"I'm talking about after all of that. Why didn't you come back or make a call from Monoc Port?"

Jane had to give Taylor a few seconds. She had not considered using one of the phones the morning after she arrived to Monoc. The phone wouldn't reach though when she first arrived there, which had something to do with invalid hours or something. The point is that she forgot that this was a way she could check it out, while the news failed to report anything about the incident. "I didn't know what it was about, not until Danny summarized it up for me. I'm still fuzzy on those details too though. I couldn't find it out on the news, the phone at Monoc didn't work the way I wished it would, and I knew that I needed to make haste to the Den of Purity before it was too late."

Taylor seemed somewhat smug in her expression, but it didn't look to be as a response from anything Jane was saying. "You know, Danny was the one who figured it out. We both came to the conclusion together that you stole a broken water vehicle to make your escape. But when you weren't at Monoc Port, he realized that your most likely destination would be to remove your imaginary curse using the Den of Purity in the Outback. If it weren't for that, you actually would have died in there, because we didn't know about Alpha Zero until arriving in Lennith City as well."

"And again, I'm so sorry for leaving you two behind like that, to think that I could go and do this all by myself. Still... In truth, even if you were there with me the entire time, I wouldn't have let either of you follow me into such a dangerous place."

"I still debate why you let yourself try it," Taylor pointed out. "What made you think that you were going to make it there? That thing on your hand can't possible have that much power, not going by the state I found you in."

"I honestly let myself believe that I could make it there. I learned more about my symbol, and more about how to use some of those passive effects. But none of it matters now." Jane let her moping expression intensify in front of Taylor.

"Hey," Taylor called. "You don't have to be like that. I don't care if you've been riddled with eight symbols. You're alive! That's what matters! If the General Army can't accept this thing that's happened is an accident, then they can go to hell!"

Jane ptyalized through the crevices in her teeth in disagreement. "Good luck with that argument. They don't care either way, and my career doesn't stand a chance anymore. But I've still one important thing to do. Even if I can't reverse this mark on me, I can do something about that dark zone problem."

"You said something about that earlier, but I don't know what you've meant by that."

Jane had to try and explain it again, seeing as Taylor was as honest as she has ever been. "I'm talking about removing the entire zone itself from existence, and it remains more important to me than it did before. Seeing as the zone limits are actually growing in size, we can't just ignore it. If we do, it could destroy our homes, our families... It's possible that everyone in Sprawn Valley will be in danger."

That sure sounded quite devastating, and grand to hear someone say it aloud. Jane is talking about this as if it referred to the very destruction of the entire continent; an end-of-the-world scenario. But it can't be that bad, can it? "I still don't get all of that," she confessed. "How do you destroy a non-physical zone of evil magic? I don't understand how that evil magic can exist in the form of a zone, or..." The stress of not learning enough about Leray magic finally reached the level where she couldn't even pretend to know what it was about.

But Jane knew very well that this was dark magic they were dealing with, not the same thing as Leray magic. "The dark zone is like a field," Jane lectured. "A field in which the Leray veil of protection gets blocked out, amplifying the effectiveness of dark magic and reducing the effectiveness of Leray magic. But it's still magic, and so is the field. This enables all magic to be used; it only dampens Leray magic, while canceling out the veil's protection. For that reason, dark magic is most dangerous because it can be used to kill." Jane wished she could credit Claudia to some extent, since 80% of that explanation was learned from her.

"But how?" Taylor barely recalled hearing this before from Eliza. There was something to that concept, that there is an evil force called dark magic, which is a derivative of Leray magic. Such a force can be used to kill while negating the effects of the natural veil here, but how does that work?

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"You know how every time a person passes unconscious when their HP status reaches zero?" she referenced.

Taylor nodded carefully, "Yeah."

"If you're hit with enough dark magic, and your health reaches zero, you simply don't wake up the next time. It's possible to use dark magic outside of a dark magic zone, but obviously less preferred. If you infuse a specific area with a dark magic field, and then use dark magic in that same field, your power would be amplified tenfold. And without the field, dark magic is much more powerful than Leray magic with regards to damage potential on its own. The field, this particular one called the Alpha Zero is unique because of its large size, and the fact that it is much stronger than any other official dark zone in all of our history. Alpha Zero is recent too. What used to be a massive wild land called the Outback has been destroyed and replaced by this zone of dark magic."

Taylor let silence prevail for several moments, processing it all in one gulp. She then sat on Jane's bed beside her for comfort, continuing to figure this all out. "What was it like in there?"

Jane let a stressful sigh escape her. How could she even begin to explain the horrible things she had to face there? All of the pain she felt, the fear instilled into her heart... "It's, not even describable," she began. "You only saw the weather and color change slightly. It gets even worse the deeper in you go." Struggling for the right words, Jane's voice was beginning to break up. Just thinking about what she faced had her fighting her body's response to tremble in the fear it instated on her. "Beasts! Beasts the size of entire houses only wanted to eat me, and they very well could had I given them the chance. Monsters were spawning out of nowhere without the aid of any other creature there. I had to fight anything near me because I couldn't run fast enough. Even the monsters could invoke dark magic, that and withstand brutal punishment. It was the scariest thing I think I ever faced." Jane could feel a buildup of fluid in her eyes, but she fought back the tears.

"I..." Taylor could hardly believe that such terrible things could even exist in the real world, let alone the magical country she thought to be so peaceful all the time. But Jane was shaking right now, trying to hide it as it was barely noticeable. No matter how stupid Jane was being, Taylor had no idea what she went through during their absence. "I had no idea."

Jane wasn't done continuing her story, letting on about what happened next. "There were also turrets."

"Turrets?" Taylor repeated.

"Sentry guns, physical metal machinery built specifically by human hands, whom which none were around at the time. I suspect Brightworth had to build them himself, or who else knows? There could be many more people involved for destroying the Outback, but the turrets were even harder to fight. Automated defense systems shooting anything and everything at that was scanned as a potential intruder. They even activated powerful dome shields that prevented my very escape even though none of the battles there could invoke normal Siriean shields. I had to fight no matter how beat up I was, no matter how terrified or how much pain I faced."

"I got it," Taylor interrupted.

"Several piercing hits I took, burns, scrapes, sharp cuts that should have been fatal. I had to fight and win - or die otherwise."

Taylor didn't want to hear the rest anymore. Everything Jane was saying, Taylor still managed to visually imagine what it could have been like for her, even though she tried not to imagine anything. "That's enough Jane."

Jane didn't slow down or pause for a moment. What she continued to describe flew to her tongue automatically, feeling obligating to share every horrifying detail. "Each time taking real time damage instead of normal damage, struggling just to stand up straight or overcome moments that completely incapacitated me for battle, just from how tired I was or how badly something hurt. The heat of the air rose the further in I went, scorching my skin even through a dress sphere, which is supposed to be impervious to all damage of all types."

"I said that is enough," Taylor begged.

Jane had to go along with Taylor's wishes for now. It was hard to stop describing it, all of which were reasons to actually do something about it, but the worse bit of it all was that Jane remembered feeling so alone out there. The red fog and howling wind created a silence louder than anything she could remember, and from there, all of her negative emotions flooded the gate of her mind. "You wanted to know," Jane summarized. "And I only got maybe like forty percent inland to the original destination..." Jane was silent, contemplating how she might ever accomplish her task if she isn't prepared to face those fears again. "It's a completely messed up situation, but the dark zone bares an evil presence of which I've never experienced before then... I won't allow anyone else to experience it either."

"I don't see how they can," Taylor retorted. "Doesn't the General Army have that zone on lockdown? Nobody will enter it, so..."

Jane stared at Taylor ominously, baring but the faintest crooked smiles from the thought of their plan. "Alpha Zero is growing, expanding in size." Taylor's expression looked defeated just upon realizing this. "Eventually it will try and swallow this city up and destroy more than just wild lands, yet the General Army isn't doing anything about it. They've stopped sending in the scouts or the cavalry."

"But," her head obtained the speed of a worried bird. "Don't they care that people will die?"

"They don't know what else to do." Jane sympathized with those in the army who were sent into that hell for nothing in return. "With scouts dying before being able to report anything in, how could an entire army be sacrificed for something that is too dangerous to even mess with? Despite this threat, they aren't going to try and do anything physical about the issue."

"Shouldn't we be leaving here then?"

Jane noticed much misplaced worry in Taylor, and did her best to ease the tension. "Relax. It's not growing that fast. It might be on this city in a month or two? Maybe a little longer. If this city were in immediate danger, we would all be evacuating. The army's soldiers are not monsters."

"Still... A whole city sentenced to doom..." Despite being around mythical magic only thought of in her dreams as a child, and then invoking that magic with her own bare hands, Taylor still found things that were as impossible to believe. But what other choice did she have now?

"Not if I can help it," Jane insisted.

"You?" Taylor aimed at Jane with her head, mystified by the cryptic thought.

Jane backed up to the wall, folding in her arms and her right knee inwards slightly since she had been sitting uncomfortably for too long. "The creatures inside of Alpha Zero can spawn randomly, and therefore endlessly, plus their hardware is quite lethal. But both of which are still not immune to damage by Leray attacks, not even physical damage for that matter. If the dark zone's army is not invincible, and the bigwigs understand this, they might not think twice before finally sending in the big guns to take care of the situation. Now I don't know if it is possible to actually destroy the Alpha Zero. I don't even get how it works with the projection field, but at least it can be shut down; there must be a way. If Brightworth is the source, it means we don't even have to fight all of the creatures. Instead, drill straight down the line to the Den of Purity, with the backing of elite soldiers and an army. It can't be that hard with many more numbers, because I didn't die."

"You also didn't get a holographic magical symbol turning you into a super soldier every time something pisses you off, not according to what the army knows."

Taylor had a good point. Jane figured by that description that she borrowed some lines from Danny, being that he could be jealous of her cool crest, but it was beside the point. "Even so, I can't risk the idea of confessing everything to a few soldiers in hopes they will do the right thing. I'm public enemy number two - or whatever if they discover that I'm marked before I can make this right. And then we're really screwed."

But Jane already said otherwise that she had some master plan. "So I ask again, what is the plan?" Taylor was obviously frustrated, after learning so much without knowing what Jane was really up to.

"I need to be in charge of the General Army for at least a day."

Taylor and Jane exchanged looks, with Taylor's expense holding back a laugh in her expression. Was Jane joking, or pretending to be crazy? Taylor imagined her just walking up to their commander and asking if Jane could be in charge, a thought that made Taylor chuckle into her hands. It was too funny to not react to, and the chain reaction caused Taylor to laugh even harder. Jane naturally took it the wrong way.

"Don't mock what you don't know." Jane was actually embarrassed that Taylor didn't believe she stood a chance, but there was more to this that neither Taylor nor Danny would realize, being total outsiders. "Do you even know who is in charge?"

"Hmhm, someone who would be laughing at the idea too?"

Cute. I think I'm going to wait on showing these two my new abilities. Wait till they shit their pants and film their faces. "I think his name is Stanton or something like that, but he is otherwise known as the Leray champion, absolute best of the best in regards to Leray magical combat." Jane paused, allowing Taylor's silly mood to fade with the eye opener. "Being a champion, one of his responsibilities is accepting high ranking challengers who make it to his front door. It's a very long process with gruesome Leray fights in between, but whoever defeats the champion is blessed with their title, often demoting the rank and status of the original."

"Okay..."

Jane prepared the punch line, "The champion's second duty is to protect all of Sprawn Valley, being chief in command for the General Army of this country. That also makes Alpha Zero his responsibility, though he has been ignoring the threat while allowing official battles to continue within Eldora Tower." Either Taylor was slow, or she didn't know what to say at this point. "In other words, my plan is to enter the Eldora championship, and defeat the leader in order to become leader myself. That way, I will literally be in charge of the army, thus allowing all of us to rush into the dark zone together and fix everything at once."

Instead of pretending it could have been a joke, Taylor seemed disappointed quickly, lowering her head to brace Jane for the big letdown. "I'm not even going to imagine you were serious about that. I know you're gotten better, and that crest of yours might be a handy tool after all, but come on! The champion? League of Elites? Even if you win, they're not just going to let you be in charge with..."

"Continue," Jane ordered. "I want to hear from you what is so ridiculous about the plan, but do be specific. Is it because I'm marked? I don't have to say anything to anyone about that. In fact, I've been told for some reason by Claudi that it can be legalized in certain circumstances. I don't believe her yet, but..."

"Who's Claudi?"

Jane ignored the question completely due to its irrelevance. "Or is it because you don't have any faith in me? It might be a championship, and I do understand that it is no walk in the park, but even champions don't fight with dark magic. It's illegal to use and I never would if I could. I figure something has to be easier if you're not directly facing that hell. Think of it; with all of the soldiers united together, it will be impossible for monsters to take us all out at once."

"What about their schedule?"

Jane cleared up the next question with ease. "They have these events every two to four weeks, depending on the demand for it. All I have to do is sign up and win five fights in a row."

"Why is this suddenly so important to you?" Jane didn't answer back immediately, something Taylor sort of expected, but it was a good question. Jane just decides to run off and get killed for a stupid crest that only this mastermind criminal can erase. Now Jane wants to apprehend and arrest this criminal to destroy the dark zone? Sure, it might expand and kill everyone, but Jane could easily survive this by fleeing the country, everyone could do this! Taylor felt bad about pinning Jane to be some sort of evil person for having ulterior motives about restoring the Outback when she thought about it before, but was it so ridiculously different from what she has already done before?

"Because..." Jane answered with reluctancey. "After staying in there for a few hours, I won't rest until I see it destroyed or removed. I might even have to go back in there with a unit in the process. I don't ever want to go back again, but I have to do something. I didn't know the dark zone was growing until after waking up in this room, but I won't condone it any longer. I can't go on living knowing that something like that place exists in my own country! Maybe I can never practice magic again once I'm found out, but I won't let other people suffer for it."

Taylor nodded quietly, satisfied with the answer. Still, she never took Jane to be such a nationalist. As dangerous as it could be, that still classifies as a master plan, no matter how bad or weak it is. Just so long as Jane doesn't go back into the Alpha Zero, it's not the worse idea. Additionally Jane's crest cannot stay hidden forever.

"And while I'm at it," Jane expanded, "Maybe I'll complain about the champion's rules about only having just one guy in one place being the only capable person to remove permanent spells. I mean that's just messed up. I don't think I'll be able to remove my symbol. I don't know what will happen with me after this business with Alpha Zero is over, but I don't want to stay champion after defeating the existing one. It wouldn't be right for a marked one to take ownership of something forever, nor would the battle be that fair anyway."

"Jane?"

"Yes?" Jane waited for something else, but Taylor didn't say anything so soon, leaving her to believe that there was another heavy question on her mind. It almost took forever to hear another word.

"I'm coming with."

"Out of the question," Jane denied. She knew being alone sucked, but this official business itself would have some serious risks involved. Protecting Danny and Taylor is paramount, and it goes double now since they realize what is at stake. Wait, she must be referencing going to the dark zone on the second run. Totally out of the question!

"But—"

"Not even going to think about it. Carrying you two all the way to Eldora may be beneficial, since you need to be there for the airport. It's in a small area just southeast of Eldora. But no way in hell am I going to take you and Danny with me back into the dark zone. Not even sure if I will be going myself, but if I do, I won't risk your lives for this!"

"Danny and I can fend for ourselves though. We have gotten a little better with magic and—"

"A little?" Jane repeated with enthusiasm, "A little? You have any idea what that means in there? My skills probably rank on level four of official training by guesses, but I'd say that you and Danny put together barely come near level two. You're still just basic Leray wielders, so I won't sentence you to certain deaths, all while you should be on a plane back home right now."

"I'm in no rush to get home," Taylor reminded. "And I happen to like it here in Sprawn Valley. You get to use magic, something you can't do in any other part of the world, but more importantly, I found you alive in there, barely breathing. Ever since you graduated from Dakota, you've always been trying to go about things on your own."

"You're really using a speech to—"

"I'll speak as long as I need for you to shut up and listen!" Taylor hissed. "Look where this has gotten you. First you think it to be a good idea to activate a legendary symbol without even letting either of us know about it ahead of time. Then, you somehow convince yourself that hiding that dangerous thing in your hand from us was an even safer choice. And after what happened at Tilsit put you so far away from us, you've been in fear of discovery ever since that moment. Then there are the potential lies you told just to make contacts here in Lennith, and then the fact that we all found you almost a moment too late!"

Jane still wasn't condoning this, but she couldn't fight her back with logic. There wasn't any grounds on which Taylor was wrong. Jane did do all of that. Taylor even guessed correctly about her lying to Lennith about things to get in deeper to train more. Everything she did solo ended up crumbling under her fingers. Still, at least once it is time to storm Alpha Zero, they can't be a part of that.

"I don't want this to sound like some excuse I am using because I'm worried for your safety. I've long since crossed that road." Taylor tried to remember her real motivation again. Ever since their arrival in Sprawn Valley, things were interesting, but not fun, not until they found Jane for that matter. Such a wonderful person, if not so hard headed and childish about reaching her own goals. Now Jane is all adult like and taking on responsibilities that are not even officially her own. But it's my turn to do this for her. "Are we not friends Jane? Whatever your problems are also belong to me and vice versa?"

Damn! Jane cursed. Taylor's playing the friends card, although she had no idea what vice versa means. Must be a foreign saying. "It's-too-dangerous."

"We'll both train on your way to Eldora Tower. Trust me," Taylor breathed. "I wouldn't dare head into danger if I thought it was too much for me to handle. Danny will train as much as I do too."

Jane heard that line before from herself! But she focused more on the way she was speaking for Danny so suddenly, who isn't even here right now. "And what you do he does, huh?" Jane believed that Taylor had a funny way of seeing his choices for him. What logic! Then again, they do love each other and all, or is Danny still in the dark about that? "You really have this bossy wife thing down on Danny don't you?"

"We're not married!"

"Oh, but doesn't he know about your decisions?" Jane teased.

"He will after I tell him." It wasn't the best comeback, but Taylor would get Danny to come with as well. Or else...

"Maybe while you're at it you can also remind him why he would risk his life over something you want to do? If he doesn't know that he loves you, then why would he follow us into death valley?"

Taylor sarcastically rebuttaled, "Hm, I don't know. Maybe because you're supposed to be his friend too. Or did I have that wrong all along? Maybe you really do want to be a loner? How about we just leave and never find you again? Or maybe I'll stay under a disguise? I think I'll just do my own thing for a while, pretending to be someone you don't recognize, and then rush into the dark zone to help destroy it, wondering why my best friend isn't around to save me when something goes wrong in there!"

Now who's being childish? Jane held her comment back though, realizing where Taylor was going with this. It didn't matter what Jane didn't agree to, because Taylor is crazy enough to fall full on her promise. Taylor will go into the dark zone if it means taking that risk away from Jane, and she'll try this with or without Jane's help, possibly even without Danny's help. Friends or not, Jane couldn't fathom the thought of either Danny or Taylor getting killed by something only because she wasn't around to help them. Hell, she couldn't fathom the thought of them being killed regardless of the reason or circumstance. A sister came well prepared to defend her dignity and honor, and she did so perfectly too. Willowing the defeat of all attempts to convince Taylor and Danny to stay back from this one, Jane prayed that their safety be guaranteed even against all odds. Jane stood pushed off from the wall, getting closer to Taylor for clarity. "Fine! You can come with. But I'm buying you two protection."

"Eew!" Taylor slapped Jane on the arm. "What's wrong with you? We're not going to do that!"

"I meant physical armored protection from dark magic," she paraphrased.

"Oh..." Taylor felt quite stupid coming to the wrong thought process, blushing from the conclusion she just came to right in front of Jane Venn. "Well you didn't have to say something like that with no context! What's wrong with you?!" Oh, that was just awkward! Why does Jane have to be so literal all the time?

Jane giggled while trying to muffle her laugh with her hand, but she didn't let it last for more than a second. The time was already slipping by faster than she wanted it to. It was time to get up and reunite again. Jane started walking out the door, preparing to fill Danny in on the rest of the plan. Taylor followed closely behind, confirming all of her belongings were in hand. "What's wrong with me?" Jane repeated sarcastically. "There's nothing wrong with me. You're the one with a dirty mind." Jane was suddenly pushed into the wall on her left, immediately concluding that it was Taylor's doing.

Taylor was thus shoved into the other wall by Jane's right arm, though both kept walking straight as if everything was cool.

Everything was cool, Jane was certain of it. Though shoving each other around was quite a different way to see it, Jane figured that this was their new system for getting along. They were playful shoves, hardly surpassing a nudge any direction. Jane could keep it up all day too, but Taylor didn't want people looking at them like that, shoving each other for fun while walking out of the building. At least they both understood one another. That had to be it right? Jane could see Taylor smirking in her peripheral, like everything was better now. She didn't know what was going to happen next, but she could not begin to describe how good it feels to finally have them back. Jane in response displayed a smile of solace too, wearing it all the way to the double door exit.