Core marveled, and she hadn't even opened the box yet!

She was stunned by the cuteness of the designs etched into the cardboard, and the handwritten message meant just for her.

When she bought the hoodie, she didn't expect them to go all out like this. Well, it was the first time she'd bought anything from anyone. Maybe this was normal?

Her parents never explained what it was like living in a city; so cities could create things like this, as if it was nothing?

Core continued marveling and lifted the lid off the box reverently, as if she were performing a religious ceremony.

Her hoodie his hidden by a by a thick layer of whispy paper, which she brushed aside gently, revealing the snow-white cloth underneath. Not being able to hold back her curiosity, she grabbed her hoodie and lifted it so she could take in all of its grandeur.

But as soon as she unfolded its arms, she was overcome with desire and slipped her hoodie over her shoulders in a spasm of glee.

It was so warm. So soft. So...comfy!

Core whimpered in delight and fell back onto a bed of warm grass and hugged herself until her consciousness faded into an easy-going slumber.

...

"Hello, Core speaking." Core said cheerfully, hoping Rick was on the other end of her earbud.

"Good work today." Yates said.

"Oh. Yeah." Hearing Yates' bored voice was disappointing and Core didn't bother to hide it from her voice. If there was one thing she had learned from working with him, it was that he hated pretense even more than small talk. "How can I help you?"

"You can take the rest of the day off."

"This is new..."

"Are you interested in inheriting a garden?"

Of all the words Core was expecting him to say, what he said was the complete opposite. The blunt, disinterested Yates almost she'd come to know almost sounded playful.

"Yes."

"How long will it take to meet me at the crossroads?"

"I can go now."

...

Core had become a road stomping expert. She had created 7 new roads since her career began, and most of them met at a spot called the crossroads. It was a place she was usually forbidden from approaching; hoards of men on heavy machinery drove through there often, working hard to replace the forest with patches of suburbs. Their work was dangerous and Core couldn't help but be a distraction, no matter how discretely she watched them.

On the job injuries were a big deal. A really, really big deal.

As she she walked along the road toward the crossroads, she noticed that the forest was unnervingly quiet, and the air smelled a little too fresh. She loved the smell of burning oil and the sound of heavy machines, and the silence of birdsong and whispering trees put her in a solemn mood.

She was quiet as she met up with Yates and he led her through a cathedral of delicate branches and emerald leaves. He said nothing and Core was content to watch the bobbing of his drone.

After a time, they approached Hunkeryork's wall; an area Core had been before. The wall was covered in thick ivy and the forest beside it looked undisturbed.

It reminded her of a graveyard.

Yates didn't hesitate to fly over the wall and Core followed closely behind him.

The wall itself was crooked, following an eccentric path without rhyme or reason. Beside them, there were no buildings or other structures; even the defenses atop the wall were missing. Walking through such a place intensified Core's mood but she was grateful for the feeling, even though it felt like she hadn't felt it in a lifetime.

Eventually, the wall's crooked path began to straighten out and Core began to perceive something hidden behind a veil of ivy. As she peered closer; she realized they were buildings, just so overgrown and decayed that looked they like long-forgotten monuments of stone.

The buildings were different sizes, and their arrangement told her that roads used to run through here.

"What is this place?" Core said, talking only to herself.

"Hunkeryork wasn't always underground. This was where my ancestors lived before they descended. That was over 10,000 years ago."

Yates words had undone the reverent mood which had fallen on Core when she wasn't looking, and she was suddenly hungry to know more about Hunkeryork's history.

Because it reminded her of her own.

"Why did they descend?"

"Dealing with kaiju is a hassle. It was easier to hunker down and build underground." Yates said. "Not all of these buildings are abandoned. There is an access point up ahead that maintenance workers use from time to time. See the hatch at the bottom of the wall?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Core could see a round hatch, made of clean, gray metal. It stood out starkly against the bleached white wall of a ruined building, and it was larger than she expected. She estimated that the hatch was at least 5 Ricks wide.

"Where does it go?" Core said.

"I have no idea; I'm just a Captain. But it mustn't be too far out of the way." Yates said. "My King says your visitors can use it, if they wish. But it is the only entrance for miles around. There is also a stream to the north, and the soil here is ideal. Plants have chosen to grow and die here for millennia." Yates turned to face Core. "Sorry, I forgot to mention it. Your garden's borders extend to Hunkeryork's wall. We've been passing through your garden for the last hour or so. The wall you see here doesn't exist officially. kaiju aren't interested in this place, for whatever reason, so I suppose its existence is somewhat of an embarrassment."

This was the most Yates had ever said to Core. Was she seeing the real Yates? The Yates that existed outside work? She wanted to see this Yates again but it looked like he was preparing to leave. It was sudden, but he was always like that. "I trust that you can handle yourself from here."

"So this is my garden, huh? Thanks for showing me."

"You're welcome. Let me know if there is anything more you need."

"Do you have any flower seeds?"

"I'll see what I can scrounge up. Oh, and you have the weekend off, if you want it."

After Yates disappeared from view, Core felt like examining her garden, though she didn't know where to start. Everything was weeds. But as her eyes darted from weed to weed, she saw potential.

But first the weeds had to go.

Core was wearing short sleeves but she rolled them up anyway.

"Weeds, what am I going to do with you?"

...

"Thanks for coming on such short notice." Rick said, not looking away from the tablet he held in his hands.

"I've got a lot of free time." Core said.

Core was meeting Rick in an unfamiliar part of the staging area. Another podium had been built, which Rick was standing on, but unlike the other one, it felt bigger, like it was made just for Rick.

Core fidgeted as Rick hit buttons on his tablet; she wasn't used to waiting!

But eventually Rick cleared his throat.

"I need to ask you a few questions before we proceed. Can you describe for me how your camping field works? What is your process when you use it?"

"I guess you could call it an instinct. I just want it to work and I know its working. I can feel it... It goes out from me and I know where it stops."

"Can you control its strength?"

Core nodded and though Rick didn't look up from his tablet, Core knew he saw. "I'm ready for your test. Are you good to go?" he said.

"I'm ready."

"Please extend your camping field to the device next to me, as gently as possible."

Core stared at the device, a metal sphere on a pole. Then she did as she was instructed, careful to use her camping field at its lowest setting.

"Can you hold it for me?" Rick said and stared at the device along with Core. "Good. I have everything I need." Rick's attention turned back to his tablet and he turned his back on Core.

"W-when will you have some free time? You look busy."

"I don't have time for free time at the moment. But never fear, I'm having fun when I'm busy."

"That's good." Core watched as Rick's back grew smaller and smaller, until it disappeared out of view. Then she whispered to herself. "Why didn't you say it?"

…

The halls of staging area 8 had grown crowded.

Thankfully, Rick was able to navigate them swiftly, even as he stared at the tablet in his hands. There was a river of people all around him, but he could see over it, even if he was only looking out of the corner of his eyes. And he was sure that even if he couldn't, no one would dare stand in his way.

As he proceeded deeper into the bowels of the staging area, he felt someone trying to catch his attention. When he looked down to his elbow, he found a woman's face there. He recognized her as the secretary for one of his superiors. She let go of his sleeve, and though she looked nervous, her voice was steady.

"I have a message from Mr. Langley." she said and held up a bundle of papers.

"Thank you." Rick said as he took the bundle from the secretary.

"You have a mandatory interview, about Core. Sorry, that's all I know."

"It's quite alright." Rick said.

Just like that, the secretary was gone.

...

"It's a jasper!" Core said, marveling at a glistening boulder of red stone.

"We aren't looking for jasper." Yates said.

"But it's so pretty..." Core hesitated before she tossed the jasper into her basket, where it joined a pile of plain stones.

"You've been distracted lately." Core dug her hand deep into the riverbank and plucked out another boulder which soon joined the others. "Care to explain yourself?"

"I'm just worried about Rick. He's been acting weird lately. It's like he's drifting away from me..."

"And why is that a problem? You should've expected it."

"What do you mean?"

"Spending time with that man is a waste of time. He's a snake. Do you even know why he wants your blood?"

"To become a famous scientist. It's awesome!"

"And did he tell you that his dream is impossible?" Yates drifted closer.

"I don't care about any of that."

"Good. The sooner you distance yourself from that reckless man the better. You are nothing but a step on that man's career path... Do I really need to spell it out for you? He already has everything he needs from you, he's bled you dry, and now he's just parading you along."

"He needs my blood."

"Another lie. He's already used the most powerful weapons on the planet; he didn't tell you that did he? That you're an invincible girl who'll just obey his whims like a lost puppy." Yates moved even closer, and there was an anger in his voice that Core had never heard before.

"He's already done everything right! He saved me!" Core yelled, her whole body overcome with sudden desperation.

"If that were true, why is he hiding so many secrets?"

"What secrets?"

...

"Rick speaking."

"How're you doing?"

"Did something come up?"

"Not really. Actually, I just wanted to talk."

"Let me write down my train of thought."

…

"Am I really invincible?"

"That's hard to say." Rick said. "The universe is a big place. Did you know that there are thousands of planets just like this one out there in space?"

"Really?"

"If we wanted to, we could go meet the people who live on them."

Rick said. "But for now we just want to reclaim the surface, maybe it's to salvage our pride. We are aware that we are a very insignificant planet."

"So someone out there could get my blood."

"It's too early to say. And besides, I'm not through with you yet, my specimen. We have time, plenty of time." Rick said. "Care for a history lesson?"

"Yeah."

Rick paced for a few moments, then spoke in a loud voice. "Alegway is our creator. He desired to make men and women in his own image. He began by creating a group of women, who he named the Sindtari. These women were filled with His divine light, and he tasked them with making the stars. So they poured out he light and the circling of stars came into existence. Once the Sindtari were finished with their work, Alegway had them awaken the men, who he named the Indari. The Indari would rule the Sindtari, and with them, decide the form of the planets.

Together, they chose a spiral and created the Spiral of Planets. After the planets were complete, Alegway himself seeded the 19th planet with animals and plants and finally, with mortal men and women."

"What about the kaiju?" Core cut in.

"I was just getting to that!" Rick said with a laugh. "Why do you think He created them?"

"Because they're delicious!"

"Did you know that in space there are crab kaiju? I hear they're quite the delicacy."

"Really?"

"I heard it takes an entire fleet of ships to hunt them down, but it sounds like it's worth it." Rick said. "By the way, I'm having an interview tomorrow."

"Yates told me."

"Could you watch it for me?"

"Of course!" Core chirped.

"If that's everything..."

"Yeah."