Kiyoka shut the lid, looking around to make sure nothing outside noticed the light. She slipped her hand in the case, disconnected the capsule from its harness, and pulled it out. Her bracer vibrated in response.

Looking at her bracer, she chuckled. “It’s Corona.”

Andre’s eyes went wide. “You sure?”

Kiyoka’s bracer opened, revealing a pre-loaded, empty capsule. She removed it, placing the glowing white capsule inside. Her bracer chimed, confirming the pairing between them. Then, she pressed [Summon].

White particles flowed through the air, coalescing into a beautiful form of a white raven. As its wings fluttered, it landed on the case in front of Kiyoka.

Julian’s bracer vibrated.

[Eidos detected.]

[Running Identification protocol.]

“He’s beautiful,” Maria said, watching the raven take in its surroundings.

“He was Dad’s favorite. I can’t believe he sent me out with him,” Kiyoka rubbed Corona’s feathers softly, getting a soft cawing out of the raven.

Julian’s bracer vibrated again.

[Eidos Identified.]

[Corvus: Level 1]

[Affinity: Light]

Julian suddenly felt Omen across their bond, sending a wave of discomfort.

“Omen doesn’t seem to like Corona,” Julian said, watching as the raven hopped onto Kiyoka’s shoulder.

Kiyoka chuckled. “That’s understandable. Light and darkness are opposites.” She opened the case again, revealing a set of empty Eidos capsules lining the lid. “Looks like we might capture a few more Eidos tomorrow.” She pulled the capsules down, counting eight in total. “That’s two a piece. This could give us a small edge.”

Julian took two, along with the others, and set them aside. He opened his map again, looking their location over. “If we’re doing this, we need some gear. At least a backpack to carry this stuff in.”

Maria piped up at this. “I’m all for a shopping trip. These clothes have seen better days.”

Andre got up from his seat, heading towards the booths near the window. “Sounds like we have our work cut out of us tomorrow. I’ll take the first watch. Get some rest while you can.”

Julian reached his hand under the table and Omen quickly appeared out of the shadows, letting Julian scratch his ears. “Want to borrow Omen?”

“Sounds good. I could use the company.” Andre said, taking his post at the windows.

Omen slipped through the shadows and over to Andre. He jumped up on a booth table and laid down, looking out towards the city.

Julian sent a wave of emotion to Omen, giving him thanks.

Omen was already snoring.

“Poor guy is exhausted,” Maria said, hearing the snores fill the room.

“He isn’t the only one,” Julian said, stifling a yawn of his own.

As the others spread out around the room in different booths, Julian soon was soothed by the sounds of the pouring rain.

——

The morning was soon upon them as the sun rose over the city.

Julian was shaken awake, his eyes shooting open to find Maria standing over him.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you. It’s morning, already.” She whispered, handing him a bottle of juice of orange juice that was still a little cold.

He looked from the bottle to her, surprised.

Maria shrugged. “The cooler in the back is surprisingly well-insulated.”

Julian nodded, rubbing his eyes as she sat up, setting his drink on the booth table. As he looked around the room, he saw Omen still asleep on the table he watched from last night, and Kiyoka was being woken up by Maria. Andre was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Andre?” Julian asked.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Maria handed Kiyoka juice and a muffin. “He took Oryx out a little while ago. He said something about finding the rendezvous point. He should be back soon.”

Julian cracked open his juice and tapped on his bracer. Opening the map, he found Andre’s icon a few blocks away, heading back towards the cafe. He also saw a pin drop from Andre, pointing towards the rendezvous point about a mile away.

“Awesome, he found them. He’s on his way back,” Julian said, settling in for a quick breakfast.

A little while later, Julian was cleaning up his trash as Andre came riding up to the cafe. He slid off Oryx’s back with a certain hop in his step.

“Morning, everyone!” He cheered.

“Morning!” Maria matched his energy.

“Hmm,” Kiyoka and Julian chimed in as they both waved at him. Seems like they both hated mornings.

Andre sat at Julian’s booth, grabbing a muffin and a bottle of juice. “I made contact with the rendezvous team. They are planning on moving out towards the tower in a few hours and want us to join them.”

“We’re still going shopping, right?” Maria asked, a tone of desperation in her voice.

“Don’t see why not,” Andre said between bites. “I saw a store on the way back. If it hasn’t been raided too badly, we might get lucky.”

“Sweet! Let’s go!” Maria said, heading towards the doorway.

Kiyoka looked over at Julian.

Julian shrugged. “She loves shopping.”

Kiyoka leaned in. “She does realize that no one will be there to take our money, right?”

Julian chuckled. “Would be kinda funny if she didn’t.”

Together, they followed Andre and Oryx towards the store.

——

“What do you mean?! We can’t steal this stuff!” Maria yelled over the empty store.

"Shh!" Everyone said for the fifth time that morning.

Julian changed into dark cargo pants, new dark boots, and a dark jacket. He found a backpack large enough to carry a second set of clothes and secured extra socks and underwear. However, no weapons were found anywhere. Not even baseball bats. For now, he and Andre were busy going through protein packs and MREs.

Kiyoka sighed, patting Maria’s hand gently. “Dear, the world is ending. This isn’t stealing, it’s scavenging.”

Maria looked from Julian to Andre, pleading with them.

Julian sighed, “Maria, you’ve always been the most level-headed, rational person I know. What’s going on?”

Maria sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Shopping was a favorite pastime. I’m going to miss it.”

Julian chuckled. “There, there. If the system has anything to say about it, we should be able to barter here and there with other survivors. I’m sure you’ll find joy in shopping again.”

Maria glared at him. “You’re mocking me.”

Julian held his hands up in mock defense, stepping away. “Only a bit. Now, get your shit, and let’s get out of here!”

As everyone stepped out of the store and back onto the streets, they were wearing new clothes and body armor to protect themselves. They had gotten lucky. It appeared other survivors hadn’t gotten this far across the city. Either that, or they were trying to get other necessities together.

Regardless, Julian felt a sense of preparedness as he walked towards the rendezvous point with the others. His party, as his bracer called them.

Omen was already running point, and Oryx setting the pace.

Matilda was riding on Oryx’s back, and Corona, the newest member of their party, was flying overhead, keeping an eye out on everything.

Checking his bracer, he noticed Kiyoka had been added to their party list. He didn’t remember doing that. Maybe Andre had.

Soon enough, the rendezvous point came into view.

A box truck was parked on a street corner. It was unmarked and looked like it had been there for a bit.

“There it is. Dangle is inside,” Andre said, jogging across the street. Everyone followed him, following his lead as he called Oryx back to his capsule. With their Eidos stored in their bracers, Andre knocked on the door of the van.

The door burst open, and a large, sweaty man with coke-bottle glasses and receding hairline greeted them. “Finally! What took so long?”

Julian looked over at Maria, who was looking back at him.

Kiyoka stepped forward, smiling. “It’s good to see you, Dangle.”

“Yes, yes, get inside, quickly!” Dangle waved a hand at them, ushering them inside the large box van.

Once inside, Dangle shut the door, locking it multiple times over.

The van was filled with computers and equipment. Over the cab was a large bed that looked like it hadn't been slept in. Tucked away in a small alcove was a shower and toilet combo. The research van was essentially a sleeper van.

Andre stepped forward. “Everyone, this is Dangle. He’s the head analyst for Dr. Miura’s research team.”

“Was,” Dangle interrupted, “was the head analyst. Now, I’m just a survivor, like the rest of you.”

“Dangle, have you been able to locate my father?”

“Not yet, Miss. We haven’t been in touch since the failsafe kicked in.”

“Failsafe?” Julian asked.

Dangle looked over at Julian and Maria. “Who are they?”

Andre stepped between Dangle and the others. “This is Julian and Maria. Julian is who tamed the Canis.”

“Ah, very good. That pup is worth a fortune. Well, maybe not. Now, he is worth a dime a dozen.” Dangle took a seat at his desk, typing away into his computer.

“Dangle, the failsafe,” Kiyoka interjected.

“Huh? Oh right! The failsafe. The tower was to go on lockdown and keep everything in or out as needed.” Dangle slid his chair over to another screen. “Based on our observation, the tower is still on lockdown, regardless of the Eidos flooding out of the top.”

“I have a question,” Julian interrupted. “How is it that you have power and access to anything here while the rest of the city is in the dark?”

Dangle looked from his computer to Andre.

Andre shrugged, folding his arms. “Honestly, I’d like to know that as well.”

Dangle took a deep breath, growing nervous. “Well, everything went dark for about the first minute the energy transfer failed. The next thing I know, our system comes back online, power and all, and our computers are under a new IP address. I checked the network and tried to track it down, but it was unlike any code I have ever seen. I could only get a name.”

Dangle looked from Andre to his computer. He hit a few keys, and the screen changed to show a screenshot.

[IP: OGEN_NETWORK_IZUN}

“I could only screenshot this before the network itself reshuffled the IP address. I haven’t been able to locate the address ever since.” Dangle swallowed hard, fanning himself as sweat poured off his brow.

“Wait, wasn’t Izun one of the AIs we had working on the project?” Andre asked, staring at the screen.

“Yes, yes! That’s why I’m so terrified! I knew artificial intelligence was going to be the end of us!” Dangle squealed in his seat.

“Calm down, Dangle,” Kiyoka said, reaching out a hand and patting the man on his shoulder. “We can speculate all we want. It won’t help us until we get back inside the tower.”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Dangle said, taking a deep breath. “The rest of the team has been delivering item drops here from their battles on the front lines. Look and see if there is anything you can use.”

Dangle opened up a drawer, revealing a clear case with dividers inside of it. In each slot were capsules similar to the one Omen had gifted Julian yesterday. They all looked the same: oval-shaped and fragile, but they came in different colors. White, Green, Blue, and Red all sorted in the different trays.

Andre took the case and put it in his bag. “Thanks, Dangle. We appreciate this.”

“No problem, just be safe, and keep in touch!”

Everyone's bracer went off, revealing that Dangle’s contact information had been added. Dangle squealed in fear, turning back to his screens as he shivered.

“Let’s go guys,” Julian said, turning towards the door.

“Not that way!” Dangle yelled. He slid his chair to the center of the floor and pulled back a rug, revealing a hatch in the floor. “This way.”

Andre pulled the hatch open, revealing a utility hole in the road with steps going down into the sewer. He nodded to the others before stepping into the hole and descending the stairs. Kiyoka and Maria followed, leaving Julian to take the rear.

As he stepped over the railing, Dangle turned in his seat towards him. “Be careful out there.”

“You too, Dangle.”

With that, Julian descended into the sewers after his party.