"And to think you were so angry earlier"

Resting the bottle down on the counter, I slouched down, barely hearing what Tsuki said

"But still, all this time...No wonder you were so set on revenge, having the last family you had killed because of a mistake someone made."

"What's done is done, I can't change what happened no matter how much I want to, all that's left is to kill Hod and Angela"

"No grudge against the others huh?"

"They were all bad, but I have no reason to confront the others. Hod got Leo killed, and Angela, with all that rewinding...that goddamn script she whined so much about, they have no right to live" The bottle hit the counter again after another swig. "Must be nice" My head also found its way to the counter, though luckily I turned it towards Tsuki before it did. "Having family to go back to"

"It is, which is why I'm with you, granted I didn't know Leo much, but I can see how he'd keep someone going."

"Come on...ya ain't drinkin?~"

"Someone has to make sure you make it to the office safely"

"My rifle, never...misses ya hear? I can take on the world after the Library" Tsuki clearly found it amusing with that smile that formed on her face.

"Ahhuh"

"I'll make sure Hod and Angela regret it"

"Mhmh"

"You're making fun of me huh?"

"No, not exactly. Just listening to our manager's goals" My mind was blurred, my only goal now was to get to the end of the bottle.

"Yeah right" It was hard to control what I thought about, there was so much to think on. If I got my nest permit, should I just give up this revenge? Do I even have a choice anymore.

"Mh...Leo cooked for you didn't he? Must've been one good meal if you were so happy every day"

"A good pancake" Tsuki nearly sat up in complete confusion.

"Really? Just a pancake?"

"Mh" Scrapping my head on the counter, I nodded. By her face I could tell my expression had become somber.

"He must've been a good brother for all this to happen to avenge him."

"Damn shame good people in the city don't last"

"There's always a downside."

"Tsuki"

"Yes Oliver?"

"Thanks, for Leo, and for Taylor."

"It should've been Shina's job, but I can't blame him for going, someone needed to be at LCSW just in case."

"Then it should've gone to me, yet you and Fixit did it instead."

"Because I wanted to, they're part of the office after all, and if we're gonna die and see Leo...we're all going together."

"Yeah..." There weren't many people here, just the bartender, and a few people who looked half-dead. The notable thing was that some were part of associations, but other than that, it was just a bar. "Tsuki"

"You're saying my name an awful lot today."

"..."

"Right, what is it?"

"If I die before we beat the library, carry on in my place alright?" Though still smiling, Tsuki's expression was saddened, her eyebrows sinking slightly.

"Don't think I can compare, most I got going for me is my weapons, couldn't become grade one if I had the guts to."

"I just need to make sure someone will continue if I fail."

"Then yeah, I will, Taylor, Shina, all of us will continue where you left off on. Not just for Leo, but for every agent who died in L Corp."

"Good to hear...And uh...uuuuh" The drink got the better of me, I slipt into a peaceful slumber, even with Leo's voice just barely echoing in my head.

"We got a new Abnormality" Hod brought everyone into the main department room. "It's supposedly the first ALEPH we have so be careful everyone" The first day with it wasn't so bad.

"What the hell..." I was the first person ever assigned to its room, slime was all over the place, and the main center of it tried to resemble a human. "Hm?" Just near the end of my work, it wanted to put some of it on me, the slime that made up the whole room. I was going to accept it, it felt warming and yet just right before It landed on my cheek I took one last look. "W...wha!?" in the depths of the slime I saw a tiny piece of bone, the fragments of a skull, I understood then, I wasn't the first person to ever work on it, I was only the first in the facility. "Back off!" I swung my rifle, hitting the slime away as I bolted out the room, having just finished my work. I feel to the ground, my heart nearly leaving my chest as it kept beating.

The door didn't close though...not like everything else...not like it always does when we leave.

"I...I" Panic begun to set in, this wasn't the day everything went wrong...no, this couldn't even be a real memory...and yet just in the depths of my mind his voice echoed out again.

"Oliver" I jolted up, I wasn't in the bar anymore, and an amazing smell filled the office. Turning to the table I saw 4 pancakes set up on a plate, their scent reminding me of old days that were long gone. Leo wasn't coming back, no matter how many times I said it, it didn't change anything, the memories, the sights, his voice, till the very end I'd live with it, up until I got my revenge on Hod and Angela.

"Morning" Another voice startled me, turning to the source I saw Tsuki in her casual outfit holding empty boxes.

"These're..."

"Yeah, you sounded like you were gonna throw up in your sleep, so I got food prepped just incase, I don't need to drag a cripple into their manager chair.

I sat up, grabbing the fork on the side and taking a small bite.

"Sorry if they don't compare to Leo's, I ain't exactly a good cook." Tsuki walked just out of my sight, yet opposite of what she said, they were perfect, this taste, the smell of it. It felt like I was home, no L Corp, no scars, just Me, Leo and the others, back then nothing mattered, back then...

"...Leo..." My voice wavered, my vision blurred. There was no more hesitation after that, I just ate, ate until there wasn't even a crumb left.

"Ol- oh...heh, glad you like it" She wasn't mocking me, her voice was sincere. Tsuki waited until I was done, not just eating but composing myself. "We alright now?"

"Yeah..." My hands wandered to my eyes, wiping them until the blur was gone."Yeah...I should be...why do this?"

"Help out our boss? Dunno maybe I want a paid vacation"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"The real reason"

"Fine, you haven't been eating, you're nearly at your breaking point, and you're getting flashbacks constantly that you sound like you're gagging in your sleep. My bad for looking after you"

"Am I...that tunnel visioned?"

"To be honest, yeah...a little bit."

"Sorry..."

"Huh?"

"Sorry...for making you take care of me." Tsuki sighed, unsure of how to respond.

"Listen, if we beat the library you're gonna need to figure out what to do with your life. If you continue being a fixer then you gotta take care of yourself, if you find yourself a girl you can't expect her to take care of you especially when you have another one getting a prescript to protect you from...something"

"I get it...I'll try"

"But you can't promise anything?"

"Don't go predicting my words."

"Hmph, with that, I guess I'll head back to LCSW" She stood up and headed for the door.

"Tsuki"

"Hmhm?"

"Thanks"

"Make it up to me some other time" She waved me off as she left the room, so there I was, alone in the office, the body from before was gone, and knowing there was a full on workshop below me...

"Grade 3 fixer one week, leader of a bootleg L Corp and Grade 1 fixer the next." I stood up and put on my gear, calling it EGO didn't exactly sound right, and it wasn't EGO Gear from Der Feischütz anymore. "Aren't I just special" I did some stretches to get myself ready for the day, until a bang on the door stopped me, Tsuki was already long gone, she wasn't the type to waste time, so this was someone new knocking.

I slung down the rifle to have it in one hand as I headed to the door. When I opened it, someone in a white robe was there.

"In...dex..." My words slowed as a member of the index were at my doorstep. My prescript punishment couldn't be that bad right? Am I really about to be killed over not taking a few extra steps?

"Oliver" There was only one, and they had a blindfold on so they were new to the index...I could take them. "You were an agent at the old L Corp before it became ruins"

"..."

"The prescripts we have been given indicate we must commence a war against the thumb to get a grasp on L Corp, as such the prescripts have also guided us to you, someone who can release abnormalities if they desire."

"What're you asking"

"We were given a prescript, to not kill Oliver Reid no matter how many prescripts he goes against, so long as he assists in the war involving L Corp"

"I doubt it was as straightforward as that."

"The index's proxies have rewritten it so I may explain it to you in simpler terms, if it's what the prescript wants, then we will follow it accordingly."

"So I get off free if I help"

"If the prescripts says it, then it shall be so" The Proselyte stepped aside, allowing me to walk out of the office, to my left was 5 other index members...I never stood a chance.

"So if I disagree"

"The next prescript may ask for us to kill you, or perhaps let you go regardless."

"Not the answer I was expecting."

"The prescript dictates that you must help during war time, it does not say when, as such, you could theoretically be let go under the pretense that there may be another war."

"Didn't think a Proselyte would be so willing to tell me loopholes."

"The prescript says we must participate in the war, if I die, then I could not bear the fact I have died before my prescript could be completed."

"Always with the prescripts..." I scratched the back of my neck, Tsuki scolded me just earlier to do what I wanted, and yet here I was being forced to fight against the thumb, the fact the thumb had some semblance of respect towards me only made it worse. Fight with the Thumb and hope I get protected due to my grade, or go against the index. "Alright, I'll follow the prescript" They seemed satisfied with that answer and left. Going with the Thumb felt like a better option, they also have ranged weaponry like I do...but LCSW comes first. If they fully take over L Corp, LCSW is likely to be discovered, and I find it unlikely the Index or Thumb would cover for us.

"Manager Oliver!" I was saluted by an agent when I got in the elevator going down. Seeing how easy it was to get here, I assumed the Thumb and Index weren't fighting at the moment.

"Good morning" It was dark enough at my office that I assume it hit the next day already, either that or I wasn't as out for as long as I thought.

"It's been a while since you were by."

"I just missed a day or two, what's the sit?"

"Just a few more abnormalities, the qliphoth meltdowns have gotten worse but that's normal."

"What about our readiness for the library?"

"Getting better, it's hard trying to replicate what they have"

"I guess so...Hey...Melting Love is here right?"

"Yes sir...may I ask why you wanted to be reminded about that?"

"...It's...the same one from back then right?"

"Y-yes sir..."

"...then..." I took a sharp breath, took the rifle and let the breath out. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Of course manager"

"Tell every agent to leave and lockdown the area that it's in."

"O-okay sir..." I left the office and started heading to the department. We'll be able to open the disciplinary department soon, so Fixit can help out more too. The hell am I thinking? I can't distract myself from what's ahead...Melting Love...even if...even so...you still have something left. Something that should've been put under like everything else. The warning alarm started going off, as hundreds of agents began leaving the area...was this selfish? Risking the facility just so I can press on?

"Manager Oliver! This section of the department is being locked down!"

"I know..." The agents looked surprised, but I didn't answer anything else, I continued moving onward. The halls turned red. "Even if I can't kill you, even if you'll just come back, before the Library...before anything else." Soon, its room was right in front of me. The button to open that door, just beside me. "Heh...to think that this rifle hurts you more...I had your weakness...and yet here we are." With no more hesitation, I slammed my hand against the door's button, stepping back after. I stood far back just enough to have some distance. "3 shots...I can get off three before it gets close." That fake body of its...to allure any lonely agent to get slaughtered...But as it left its containment room, I was reminded how it really looked...a horrific being, standing stall with only a drooping mouth left. The warning alarm changed, it was official that it breached...heh, can you say it breached if I let it out?

I aimed the rifle at it and fired...then fired again, my prediction was wrong, by the time I got the second shot off it was already getting close.

"How many people have you slaughtered!?" Its arms slammed down from above me, but my rifle was able to act as a shield, it nearly broke my arm from the impact but even the pain from that couldn't bother me. I threw myself back while firing, the moment I landed on my back I quickly got up as its arms slammed down again. This makes the seventh shot...I aimed again, and pulled the trigger, but even with it being the 7th bullet, I still saw the portal open up behind it...and then an idea came to my mind. I risked it all, rushing forward towards the blue circle the bullet went into, but it didn't fail, I was above this horrific creature...behind it too, exactly where the portal was. "You!" ..."You should've killed me instead! It should've been me who died! Not him!" I didn't shoot, I just slammed the rifle into what could only be described as its skull...its fake skull...made from the bones of an unlucky agent...the bastard who hid it...the bastard who didn't contain it and put their own desires over the protection of everyone else.

Another hit, another reckless hit was all I could do.

"I..." Its arms slammed against me, had it been from above I would've had everything broken as I went into the ground, but instead, it threw me across the room, hitting a wall. No matter how much I was bleeding I got up again. "Are you fuckng with me? You can't just kill me like everyone else!?" It had no expression, it never did, it just continued to stare. I just continued to fire. "You good for nothing...goddamn freak, your own goddamn Weapon kills you better...You're just filled with hypocrisy!" The bullet hit it once again. The bones that made most of its figure seeable...I hoped it was the guy who loved it so dearly...I hoped they suffered. Again...and again...I fired at it. I shot it in hopes that maybe it would somehow bring Leo back. While I shot it, I realized just what I was doing. I wasn't moving past it, I was just spitting every ounce of hatred I had at it. I would end up as just another distortion case.

"I, get it..." I fired once more before coming to a halt. The bones that resided in it, was not the person who died hiding it...the 7th bullet, goes to the one I cherish most...and it fired towards the bones...Leo, was looking right at me. "It ain't...yours..." The bullet I stopped on...the 7th bullet. I aimed it at Melted Love once again and fired. This time, going into the portal, but not hitting it. I landed on top of it, slowly sinking into its melting slime. "Those goddamn bones...ain't yours!" I dug my arm into it, grabbing onto the bones, my arm and legs burned, but I continued pulling it. "The day I can...I'm putting an end to you! The day I can! I'm putting an end to the library! To you! To HOD!" With one last pull, I ripped the bones out, and Melting Love had returned to their egg form, while I landed on my back, nearly knocking the breath from me. I would recover, it hadn't burned me enough to do anything permanent, but the pain was still there, still present while I thought and breathed.

"Oliver!" A voice echoed through the hall, barely audible while I remained in my thoughts. Perhaps it wasn't the melting love I knew, ripping the bones out...or maybe it was just some unknown way to kill it. "Oliver the hell were you thinking!?" Tuski, Shina, Burns. They were all standing over me as they accessed the situation, with Tsuki looking the most annoyed. "Do you know how suicidal that was? Fighting an ALEPH alone? You don't even have ALEPH gear!"

"Yeah..." I barely responded I just laid there, stuck in my pain and racing thoughts.

"Get it back in containment." Shina ordered one of the other agents, I could hear them walking over and picking up the egg before going away.

"Where did this come from?" They stood there, waiting for my answer.

"I can't lead you all to the Library when all of this is going on...I needed to think clearly...need...to make sure I know what I'm ready to do." I couldn't tell if my answer was enough for them, they didn't respond, their expressions only changed variously, from sorrow to confusion. "Doesn't matter...Now-" I used my rifle to help myself stand, it was barely enough...just so barely enough to stand. "Now I'm ready for when we go"

"Have we decided when we're going?"

"Day 50" Everyone turned to me. "Day 50...the day they took it all from us...the light...our jobs and lives...They won't understand...to everyone it'll seem like some random day but to us...to us it's our day"

"No problems there."

"Agreed sir!" Even the agents who had just put Melting Love away agreed.

"It's decided then...Day 50...Day 50 is the day the Library falls"