The abandoned train station retained a broken-down building, and next to it was a vintage wood sign that read Ticket Booth. Various parts of the railway were destroyed, tracks altered in direction, or even spots simply gone — the shattered metal components were so damaged that it seemed as if it was never an operational design. Trains were impossible to operate on such commodities. The vacant area could only be described as a no-man's-land, and all that roamed the area was the occasional sand that wafted by from the desert nearby.

But in this forsaken area, a few individuals ventured.

Void stood on the broken rails with his hands raised as he gazed at the floor. His black and yellow hood mostly hid his luscious combed white hair, and his sweatshirt had a red upside-down smiley face in the middle. Two heroes were in front of him, and the other two were behind. Those behind him were the ninja twins — a female and a male ninja. Those in front were Pyroman and Lady Googa. Pyroman controlled pyromancy, and Lady Googa could sing notes resembling that of a screaming baby. The ninja twins were ninjas.

"We have you surrounded," Pyroman said. "Give yourself up. We've already captured Meth. It's over for you too. Come quietly, there's no reason to fight."

"You finally snagged that bastard?"

"Pardon?"

Void's full white eyes oddly complemented his face, making him look abnormal. He smiled as his polished teeth shined against the sun. "Don't lie to me."

Lady Googa softly whispered, her voice creating a sound barricade around Void. "Stay." Her powers could slightly be seen as the air particles around Void moved in hyper speed, but it was very much there and particularly dangerous.

"Grim Reaper is after him. He has no chance."

Void pressed his palm against the sound barrier and continued smiling. "You'll need more than death to kill that damn cockroach."

The ninja twins approached Void as they held their swords pointed at him. Their dark black outfits made them intimidating, and any normal human wouldn't want to come near these two. Unfortunately for the ninja twins, they weren't encountering a mere human.

Void flicked his finger against the voice barrier, cracking and shattering it. He somehow broke sound itself with a flick of his finger.

"Fire!" Pyroman positioned his hand at Void, unleashing a shower of flames at him. The red blaze mostly covered Void in a circular manner, roasting him alive as he could be seen on fire.

"Spin," Lady Googa whispered, her voice shifting around Pyroman's power, soon turning into a fiery tornado that swallowed Void, no longer allowing him to be visible.

One of the ninja twins chucked their shurikens at the fiery tornado while the other blew into their poisoned blowgun, shooting darts.

In a flash, the fire turned towards the ninja twins. Almost like a Beyblade, it spun around them and scorched them to a crisp. They sprawled on the floor, the fire burning them to ashes, and all they could do was scream as their bodies were scorched to nothingness.

Void was smiling as he bit his teeth against a shuriken, but he spat it out and placed his hand behind his neck, taking out a poisoned dart as he stared at it. "It seems poison doesn't really affect me."

Pyroman's eyes widened, looking at Void. "How?"

"DIE-" Lady Googa screamed, but Void shook his head.

"No," Void said, throwing the poisoned dart into Lady Googa's mouth.

She grabbed her neck and closed her mouth, but this caused her vocal cords and other parts of her body to explode. It was safe to say, she instantly died.

"That's what I never got about heroes that opt to train their vocals. If you're too slow, then you're simply too slow." Void, in an instant, was behind Pyroman, almost like he teleported there. He grabbed Pyroman's shoulder and massaged it. "Hey man, are you okay? You are kind of stiff."

He couldn't answer. He couldn't. The fear inside him didn't let him, and all he could do was shiver as he tried to avoid looking back.

"Come on, don't get cold feet on me. After all, you're Pyroman."

"Mom... Mommy..." Pyroman said with his eyes closed.

"Tell the agency to fuck off. This is the third time this week. It's almost like you guys know where I am."

"... Please, let me live."

"Sure."

"Really?" the once proud hero asked as he stopped shivering in his own piss.

"Are you willing to tell the truth?"

"I swear upon my mother, my father, and my-"

Void cut him off and closed his eyes. "Who among The Wanderers is sending you folk information?"

"Who? No..." He said. "It's not a single person, but multiple."

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"Is it now?" Void lifted Pyroman up from the ground by his neck. "How many?"

"I-I-I am not sure, please... trust me!"

Void let go of him and shrugged. "Are you telling the truth about Meth?"

He nodded and closed his eyes, sweat dripping down his face. "Can... Can I... go?"

"Skedaddle."

Pyroman flailed his arms in the air as he ran away, his steps were clumsy yet fast.

'Did that bastard really die? Surely not.' Void thought, smiling and placing his hand behind his head. 'Right?' He exited the abandoned train station and made his way to the mansion. The Wanderer's base was far from civilization, or at least far from current society. It took him around one hour to get to the base, mostly because he ran all the way there for exercise. The first thing he did when he got to the mansion was head to the seventh floor since he knew the geriatrics were having a meeting.

He opened the meeting room and saw four individuals: Meth, Zoork, Vanilla, and an unfamiliar face, who slept on the table — peacefully like a baby.

"Yo," Meth said, waving at Void.

"Void..." Vanilla avoided eye contact with him and placed her head against the table.

Zoork stood up and passed Void, touching his arm. "Take it easy."

"Old man, where are you heading?" Void asked.

Meth stood up and smiled. "Your pops had a long day. He needs the rest."

Zoork exited the room, his face still puzzled and baffled. He retired to his room to rest. He needed it. The whole day was of mystery to him, so he necessitated the rest to think about everything.

Arthur scratched his face as he rested his head against the table. He sniffed and took a few deep breaths, sleeping ever so calmly. His demeanor was expected. After all, he fought a hero, who slashed his arms over and over, so rest was a must.

"We have a few traitors," Void said. "I hate to say it, but my suspicion was right. It's not just among the members. It's the geriatrics as well."

"Don't worry about it. They're already dealt with."

Void chuckled. "And those scrubs had the audacity to tell me you were dead."

Meth pointed to his stitched-up finger and then at his broken face. "It takes more than a bullet to stop a bull moose."

"They shot you?"

"My finger," Meth said, proudly lifting his chin. He relaxed his body. "Void, I'm planning to have you join a squad with Vanilla and Arthur."

"What?"

Vanilla pressed her head against the table harder, hoping she was invisible. She gulped, her cheeks growing redder. She wasn't accustomed to great responsibilities, plus working with higher-ups was daunting — her sister didn't count. Her sister treated her more like a pet than a sibling.

"That orange-haired guy is The Wanderer. I want you to form a group with him."

Void's eyes widened, his white eyes gaping at Meth. "Hey, hey... You're joking, right?"

Meth grabbed Void's hood and yanked it off his head. "Try to keep it professional."

"Meth, are you serious?"

He nodded and grabbed Void's shoulder. "I wouldn't joke about this."

Void shook his head out of disbelief. "You and my brother's dream is finally here. That's... It's finally here."

"Indeed, it is," Meth said. He grabbed a food container off the table, forcefully shoving the plastic box up Arthur's mouth.

He gasped for air, standing up and pushing Meth off him.

Void looked speechless as his mouth dropped. He placed his hand on his head. "You did not just do that to the Wanderer."

Arthur scratched his head and rubbed his belly, looking at Void. "Who's that odd fellow? He looks like he came right out of an anime." For a moment, Arthur pondered what he said, but he shrugged it off as nothing significant.

"My name is Void, oh esteemed, Wanderer."

"Yeah, about that," Arthur said. "I'm not really-"

Meth covered Arthur's mouth. "Arthur, why don't you tell Void about yourself?"

Arthur sighed, his lips forcefully stretching into a smile. He ignored Meth and looked at Void. "My name is Arthur Penfish, and if you can't tell, I'm a fish. Well... I'm not sure how I got into this body, but I am one hundred percent fish and... I guess one hundred percent human?"

"Yeah...?"

Meth turned around, glancing at the table. "Vanilla, would you please introduce yourself to Arthur? You've been silent this whole time."

"Sure thing, boss."

"So, if I'm getting this right. You want me to join a squad with Vanilla and Arthur, who's the living manifestation of The Wanderer?"

"Yeah," Meth said, giving Void a thumbs up. "Hurry up, Vanilla. We don't have all day."

"Yes, sir! My first name is Vanna, and my last name is Illa. But people call me Vanilla because yeah if you add the names..."

"Talk about angsty teens," Meth said, awkwardly smiling.

"Vanilla and I are in our twenties," Void said.

"Same thing. Anyway, now that you're all..." Meth said, pausing and looking at Arthur and winking. "... acclimated to the waters. You can leave."

"Is that really all?"

"Yep, that's all for today," Meth said, placing his arms around Void and Vanilla, pushing them out of the room. "The real fun begins tomorrow! But for now, you two can still have fun at night. If you so please to."

"What?" Void asked as Meth pushed him out of the room. Vanilla was red as an apple, also pushed out of the room.

Meth and Arthur were alone in the meeting room. The room was silent, none of them speaking. Arthur wasn't sure what to say, his whole time in the room was disarray.

"Now, before you get mad at me," Meth said. "Let me explain all this."

Arthur didn't reply to him and sat on the table, hanging his legs as he swayed them up and down. "It'd be nice to wear shoes."

"I'll get you some by tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Arthur, I know you're probably confused about what the Wanderer even is, and I don't blame you, but don't forget, my primary goal is yours, so whatever I do is for your interest. Just trust me. Trust. Okay?"

"I don't want to roleplay any shitty character of yours. The Wanderer is not me. I'm Arthur Penfish, and my life is simple. A life where I seek revenge. I don't know who The Wanderer is, but neither do I care. Still, I'd love to know how roleplaying The Wanderer gets me closer to my goal?"

"The Wanderer is a tale about a being who will travel the world and change the way we live. I know you're The Wanderer because I can see you enacting a shift in the very balance of this planet. To the very root of it."

"No," Arthur said, closing his eyes. "I just want to do one thing, put Lewis in a fishbowl-"

Meth cut him off and asserted his voice. "Then what? You kill yourself?"

"I already did it once. What's a second?"

The silence in the room was loud. Both parties knew the other wouldn't budge, but at the same time, there needed to be a consensus. If they wanted their goals to be completed, they needed one another.

"I'll have you go on a mission tomorrow. You'll be killing a former hero and not just any hero. You'll be killing a former top ten hero."

"Why? Again, how does that help my goal?"

"If you want to get to Lewis, you need to get through his father. You need experience with killing heroes."

"Then what about my Tuam? Don't I need to learn about that before I fight?"

Meth took out a flip phone from his pocket and dialed a number. He held it against his ear and sighed. "Zoork won't let me have a smartphone. Last time I got some viruses..."

The phone rang three times and was picked up. Meth picked at his ear and spoke into the phone. "Yo, have the kitchen get me twenty energy drinks."

The phone wasn't on speaker, so Arthur could only hear mumbles.

"Yeah, yeah, any kind." Meth closed his phone. "I'm going to spend the whole night teaching you about Tuam."

"But-"

Meth cut him off and hushed him, placing his finger on his face. "I'm about to make you a Tuam master."