Sincan was ready to pack up. Vanessa recommended a trip into the woods for a week as a team building exercise. Sincan was terrified at the prospect of the trip but then realized it might actually be a good way to ease the workers into the idea of Sincan as their boss.

He was on a group call with the rest of the workers while they packed up.

Kos: "You boss around everyone already so I'm sure this must be fulfilling some sort of fantasy for you."

Sincan loaded his toothbrush into the giant case.

Sincan: "Excuse me, it's not my fault that we keep getting into trouble."

Jake: "I highly doubt that."

Jake was tinkering with some devices.

Firil: "Shouldn't you pack up?"

Jake: "I work fast. So no need to worry, princess."

Moris: "I wish I was a princess. I wouldn't have to do anything then."

Kos: "You got a point there, princes are always the ones who save princesses while all they do is sit around."

Sincan: "Back on topic, I'm going to pick up the RV and meet you guys at the office. We can get anything we need, lock up and be on our way."

Firil: "See you there, Sincan!"

----

Sincan was driving the RV towards the office, his bags already loaded into it. He had everything they would need for the time being in the forest. The RV was average looking. A light yellow coloured vehicle with one red strip running horizontally running through it. The inside was clean. It had three beds and a bathroom as well as a small kitchen. There were two seats in the front.

Sincan was pleased with the deal he got for it. As he pulls up at the office he sees his employees standing there. Three Derlins and a Lyclan.

Sincan*: "It'll be interesting at least."

Moris: "Hey, Sincan. Sweet ride!"

Jake: "A little too sweet, don't you think?"

Firil give him a light slap against his head, not enough to hurt but enough to get him to knock it off.

Firil: "Just enjoy it for once!"

Sincan gives a little smirk to Jake which he returns with an annoyed expression.

Sincan: "Bags over there, by the way."

As they put their bags into storage, Sincan gets a call. He steps outside and answers the call.

Sincan: "Oh hey....Yeah it's today...why though?...Oh no. No you can't jus-and she hung up on me..."

Sincan enters the RV where everyone is checking it out.

Kos: "What's up?"

Sincan: "So we might be getting one extra camper..."

----

The trees pass by as Moris plays a video game on the bed. Jake is using the lunch table to tinker with his machines. Kos is reading a book on the front passenger seat and Firil is passing the time by watching a movie. Sincan is driving and will be for the next 6 hours.

Cervo: "Can I borrow a chip?"

Moris: "Sure, go ahead..."

Cervo grabs a chip and puts it in his mouth. He's listening to music on an old device.

Sincan: "So why exactly are you here, Cervo?"

Cervo: "You guys are troublemakers so your bosses decided to hire me for the next week. Make sure you don't mess up."

Sincan: "I thought you hated working?"

Cervo: "I get to relax in the woods for a week and get paid for it. What's not to love?"

Sincan: "Fair enough."

Cervo: "And Shuk told me I might as well take it."

Sincan clenches his fists at those words.

Sincan*: "Of course it had to be that asshole."

Cervo: "Something wrong?"

Sincan: "Nothing."

A silence falls over the entire car as Sincan continues driving.

----

They finally arrive at the campsite and start unpacking. They take out their bags and start setting up their tent. Jake starts gathering some wood for a fire as their first day is coming to a close. They spent the entire day inside the RV and are thusly tired. After setting up the tents and the fire, Moris cooks the food.

Firil: "Woah, Mor. This is really good!"

Moris: "Really?"

Jake: "Colour me impressed."

Sincan: "Yeah, it's pretty good."

Cervo: "Never had anything this good outside a restaurant. Why don't you become a chef?"

Moris: "Too much work, you know..."

Kos notices a slight hesitation in Moris' voice but decides to ignore it so that the mood isn't ruined.

Jake: "It's about time we go to sleep. Lots of stuff to do tomorrow."

Moris puts out the fire with a water revolution.

Sincan: "I'm going to go check around the forest, just in case."

Cervo: "I guess I'll join you, then."

Sincan: "Sure..."

The rest of them go to sleep as Sincan and Cervo go around the premises in search of anything weird. They're walking through the forest as Cervo breaks the ice.

Cervo: "So, not a fan of Shuk?"

Sincan: "How did you? Never mind, yeah."

Cervo: "Any reason why? He's risked his life for a lot of people."

Sincan: "But what if he's doing it for himself. Soliks get a lot of perks as they climb the ranks."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Cervo: "Does it matter? As long as he's saving lives, he's good in my book."

Sincan stops walking and stares at Cervo.

Sincan: "What if he didn't save enough?"

Cervo: "What if he couldn't?"

Sincan: "He should have tried."

Cervo: "He saved my life once. It's the reason I wanted to become a Solik."

Sincan: "Well, good for you then."

Sincan and Cervo finish their search and head back to camp. They split up and go to sleep afterwards.

Sincan*: "I'll have to ask him about that myself."

Sincan keeps thinking as he slowly drifts into sleep.

----

While Sincan and Cervo were patrolling the area, Firil couldn't get any sleep. She got up and went outside for some fresh air. Partly because she had to share a tent with Kos.

She walked outside and stared into the sky.

Firil*: "I should visit grandpa soon. He would've loved this."

As she thinks about the problems she's faced with, she hears a rustling sound. She catches a shadow moving by and stands up.

Firil*: "I should actually sleep now. Guess the stress is getting to me."

She walks back into the tent and falls asleep.

Once everyone is asleep a small sound can be heard in the forest. A giant shadow that looms over it.

*WEOW*

----

Sincan is the first one to wake up the next day. Or so he thinks but Moris woke up early to make breakfast.

Moris Yawns: "Go wake up the others, dude."

Sincan: "Sure."

He goes to do as such and they share a somewhat quiet breakfast with each other with a few small jokes sprinkled in.

Cervo: "Hey, Sincan. Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Sincan answers while eating his stew: "Sure."

They both go away from the group so that they can't hear them.

Sincan: "So?"

Cervo: "I think I heard something last night."

Sincan: "It's just Jake messing with his stuff. Don't worry about it."

Cervo: "You sure?"

Sincan: "Yes I am."

Cervo: "Well apart from that, you want to tell me the story behind why you hate Shuk Vinters so much?"

Sincan: "Not in the mood."

Sincan leaves after saying that. The group decides to scale a nearby hill for fun.

Firil: "It's got a great view!"

Moris: "I'm down for it."

Jake: "Somebody needs to stay behind so I'll do it."

Sincan: "Shouldn't I stay behind? As the manager?"

Kos: "It's a team building exercise and the team manager needs it the most. So come on."

So everyone gets ready to go up the hill path. Jake is the only one who stays behind. As jake goes into the RV in order to work on his project, he hears a sound. A shadow passes by.

----

Sincan and the rest make their way up the hill path all the while talking with each other.

Sincan*: "Seems like they're starting to like Cervo."

Kos: "Rock."

Sincan almost trips on a rock that's in his way.

Sincan: "Thanks for that."

Kos: "Don't be."

Sincan: "Okay..."

Kos: "I heard something interesting from Cervo. He told me how you helped him escape from that night."

Sincan: "..."

Kos: "You couldn't have gotten another Kopler without my help."

Sincan and her fall back as the rest walk up ahead.

Kos: "Sincan. You went against what I said. After we're done here, I'm telling the police."

Sincan: "What will that accomplish."

Kos: "You might not get fully arrested but you will have to pay a fine. A heavy one."

Sincan: "It won't affect my position in the company. I can fire you anytime, Kos."

Kos glares at Sincan. Her eyes are filled with anger.

Sincan: "You can't do a thing to me."

Kos: "I can tell the others."

Sincan: "Same story. You get fired. Now let's make a deal. I keep you around even if you're slacking off and you don't tell anyone. Seems fair to me."

Kos: "Piss off."

Moris: "Hey guys! Come on, we're waiting for you!"

Moris gestures towards Sincan and Kos.

They silently walk towards him and make their way up the hill.

The top of the hill is a beautiful area. It's open so that they can see the morning sun shining away. A long distance away they can spot the city of Gard.

Firil: "Did you know that Gard produces Valkar's best ice cream?"

Moris: "Neat, maybe we can get some on our way back?"

Firil perks up at the idea.

Firil: "Ooooh. Sincan, can we?"

Sincan puts on a fake smile.

Sincan: "Of course we can!"

Kos is over by the fence. She tries to hide her disgusted expression.

Cervo: "Enjoying the view?"

Kos: "Yup..."

Cervo: "You don't look it."

Kos: "It's none of your business."

Cervo: "I think it is. Considering I'm a Solik and we protect the people."

Kos: "Well I haven't put in a request, now have I?"

Cervo: "Fair enough."

Cervo moves away from her and joins Firil whose taking pictures. They stay there for about an hour.

----

When they come back down the trail, they see Jake tinkering away.

Firil: "You're still doing that?"

Jake: "Yup."

Firil: "That just won't do. Come on, we'll make you have fun somehow!"

She drags Jake along with them. They visit the river by the campsite in order to have some fun. Moris dominates the battlefield by throwing snow at everyone. The weather had gotten warmer so this was a shock to them. Sincan used his tail to its potential to kick up as much water as he could.

It was fun for all of them but Jake couldn't keep his eyes off of the forest and the feeling that something was still in there.

----

After taking a dip in the river, they went back to the campsite to get warm again. The sun was going down for the day.

Sincan and Cervo went to get wood again for the fire.

Cervo: "Today was pretty fun actually. Never thought I'd say that."

Sincan: "Yeah. I guess it was."

They pick up some wood for the fire as Sincan feels a heavy feeling in his chest.

Sincan*: "I've been like this ever since I forced Kos to make that deal. Why the hell does my chest feel so heavy?"

Cervo: "Hey, Sincan. Catch!"

Sincan barely catches the log thrown at him.

Sincan: "Why do people keep doing that?"

Cervo: "Because it's fun."

Cervo has a little chuckle and they make their way back to camp.

Arriving at the camp, they witness something that they couldn't have predicted. Jake is on the ground, unconscious. Kos and Firil are tired as Moris is trying to heal Jake.

Cervo and Sincan rush over to them as fast as they can.

Sincan: "What the hell happened!"

Cervo: "And why was there no noise!"

Moris: "You couldn't hear us screaming?"

Cervo: "No we couldn't!"

Firil: "I might have somewhat of an idea..."

Sincan: "Please tell us."

Firil: "Not here. Sincan, can we please talk in private?"

Sincan nods in agreement and they make their way to a corner of the camping area. Cervo is helping the others in the meantime.

Sincan: "So, out with it. Who did this?"

Firil: "Sincan, do you promise not to tell anyone?"

Sincan pauses for a moment.

Sincan: "I promise."

Firil: "Do you know the Meyer's family?"

Sincan: "Yeah they're one of the richest families in the world. One of their ancestors was the leader of Jonzu."

Firil: "Well 2 years ago Volt Meyers was hospitalized. They expect him to die soon so Oxe Meyers took over. While he was hospitalized, he told his granddaughter a secret code. A code to a safe which he hid. A safe which has all the dirty dealings of the company recorded in it by the previous Meyers family members."

Sincan: "You mean you're?"

Firil: "I am his granddaughter, yes. Now Uncle wants to make me confess what the password is or I'll expose it all."

Sincan: "Can't he just destroy the safe?"

Sincan's mind was racing a mile a minute. How could he have been so careless as not to recognize her as part of the Meyers family.

Firil: "Even he doesn't know where it is. The servents and employees of the companies he owned really liked Grandpa so they won't budge."

Sincan: "Then why this?"

Firil: "I'm guessing he wants to break me by threatening my friends."

Sincan: "H-How do we win then?"

Firil: "No way. The best we can do is capture the person he sent after us and take him to the police. I'm sure if we wait too long, he'll disappear."

Sincan: "This is too much to take in right now but I think I'm beginning to understand."

Sincan*: "So if I can strike a deal with Oxe, I'll be set for life. I guess opportunities just keep revealing themselves to me. I'll spring a trap on him, be alone with him and then tell him to send Oxe a message."

Sincan: "I think I have an idea for a trap."

----

After patching everything up, Cervo and Firil make their way into the forest.

Firil: "So Cervo..."

Cervo: "U-uh yeah?"

Firil: "You were reaallly brave back there."

She gets closer to him in a seductive manner.

Cervo: "I-I mean anyone would b-be when someone was in trouble."

A shadow is stalking them from the trees. It moves while they're moving.

Firil: "You have to keep this a secret alright? I've got a code you need to know in case."

Cervo: "In case of what?"

Firil: "In case I don't live long enough."

The shadow keeps looking on, bored.

Firil: "Anyway, the code is..."

Sincan blasts the top of the trees with powerful wind and the shadow falls down. It creates a loud sound that can be heard anywhere.

Sincan: "GOTCHA!"

The shadow tries to readjust itself but Cervo pulls out his weapons and readies them.

Cervo: "I can't believe that worked!"

Sincan: "I guess the upgrade isn't too bad."

Sincan*: "Even though Jake made it for someone else."

The shadow does not speak but is surrounded on all sides by enemies. It dashes past Firil with ease.

Sincan: "After him!"

They make their way through the forest chasing the shadow and come upon a cave.

Sincan: "Damn it. He went in ."

Cervo: "There might be another exit in there. You and Firil go chase after him. I'll stay here so he can't escape."

Sincan: "Alright. Let's go, Firil!"

The make their way through the cave. It's open and has many twists and turns. At last, they reach the end of the cave. The shadow stands there, motionless.

Firil: "Who sent you, you freak!"

The shadow doesn't respond.

Sincan skips the questions and readies a wind blast. He shoots it at the shadow...and it disperses.

Firil: "Could he have created a trick clone?"

Sincan: "No way...There's no other exits so let's go back to Cervo!"

----

Outside Cervo is waiting diligently. He's keeping his eyes out for anyone who might look suspicious.

A loud noise erupts from the forest. It's the sound of an engine starting up. Cervo readies his weapons. The sound gets louder and a giant mechanical creature appears in the sky. It's the same gear Cervo saw that was being smuggled. The giant looks at Cervo.

It turns around slowly, and leaves the area. The sound is so immense and the experience so frightening, Cervo doesn't manage to notice Sincan and Firil's cries as they're running out of the cave. They arrive too late and are not able to see the giant gear escaping.

Cervo: "What..."

Even the people who were staying back at camp arrive. All they see is Cervo, on the ground, trembling.