Stanley didn't flinch at the punch flying towards his face.

Before it reached him, the fist slammed into an invisible and unyielding surface.

Nate laughed and danced around him, his feet moving in a blur as he circled and struck repeatedly with the same results. "Come on guys!" Nate called to the others standing hesitantly around Stanley. "Get him!"

A young man stepped forward and swung a metal pipe that had been sharpened down to a point at one end. His attack also slammed against an unseen wall. Following his example, a woman stabbed forward with her own pipe, this one with a bladed bone secured in one end.

Stanley grimaced at the sight of the improvised weapon but didn't fail to block her attack either.

More and more people stepped forward and attacked. Nate's hands started glowing and he struck again, slowly at first and then faster when he failed to break through until his fists became a blur.

Stanley actually felt it at that point and he kept an eye on his Psionic Energy as he blocked the heavier hits. It was draining but slowly.

Caffeine watched from the sidelines, mostly. He kept running around among the observers and looking for snacks in between casting glances at Stanley.

This whole thing had been Nate's idea. "Let's spar! I want to see what you got." Stanley had been mildly curious about how everyone was doing, strength wise, and figured raising some of his Skills at the same time couldn't hurt.

Stanley closed his eyes while keeping the Psionic shield bubble around himself and tried to feel out the incoming attacks. He could feel all of them around him with his mind or maybe with his [Mind Over Matter] Skill, either way he could 'see' their attacks coming. It was difficult to watch in all directions at once though, akin to looking in two directions at the same time and still making sense of everything. Everytime he started focusing too hard on one person or one direction, the other side faded into an indistinct blur.

He kept at it, trying to use less energy for each block, attempting to divert the attacks and redirect them rather than block straight on. It was manageable but not from all directions at once, so he focused on Nate and let the weak rabble just do as they pleased. He barely felt most of their attacks…

Stanley thought he would have to take a break to recharge but some of the volunteers ran out of their own energy, Mana or Stamina or who knew what else these people used. He hadn't asked.

Considering he used a different power supply it stood to reason that others could as well.

He had noticed that the problem of draining his stamina in a fight was not really affecting him anymore. Stanley wasn't sure if it was the upgraded rank or something to do with his evolution, or even just that he was getting better.

Something streaked into his area of notice and Stanley felt a spike of alarm at the strange sensation. "Magic!"

He thrust his will against the incoming spell as his eyes snapped open. It was a small fireball streaking right towards his face.

Stop

The roiling ball of fire slowed to a crawl as it tumbled towards him and Stanley tried a new tactic.

Disperse

He visualized the spell breaking apart and scattering into useless fragments.

His psi energy dipped noticeably and the fireball exploded weakly into a flaming cloud that quickly vanished as it expanded. A few people yelled at whoever had thrown the spell as the fire washed over them.

"That worked…" Stanley thought. "Though with how weak that guy is…"

He knew Kyle had thrown that at him and it made him angry. Though to be fair Stanley hadn't actually said not to use spells… He closed his eyes again and lifted his feet from the ground and settled into his favorite cross-legged position.

He sank slowly back into his deep focus, once again diverting attacks instead of blocking them. Another fireball came in and this time he tried to divert it as well. A burst of power and an application of his Will later and the fireball sailed into the sky behind him. "Guess it's not a homing spell." He thought as he sacrificed some of his attention to confirm that it wouldn't circle back. It didn't.

Nate was the one draining the most of his power and Stanley decided to change that. He started by pushing against one of Nate's feet right as the man stepped forward to throw a punch. The man staggered and his punch only grazed against Stanley's shield.

Nate recovered well though and spun into a roundhouse kick towards Stanley's head. Once again Stanley simply shoved his grounded foot back and the attack failed.

Nate laughed again. "Sneaky!" He stepped in close and started using quick jabs and punches while keeping his feet planted solidly on the ground and shifted his balance inhumanly fast whenever Stanley tried to trip him up.

"Show me what you got!" Nate challenged.

Stanley opened his eyes to look at the man and saw his wide smile. "Sure." He said after a moment, curious to see what Nate could actually do, though he wasn't going to go all out… maybe if he targeted a small spot he could see just how tough Nate was?

"Everyone, give us some room!" Nate shouted and the other people backed away into a wide circle.

"Let me know when you are ready." Nate said to Stanley as he settled into some martial arts stance. Stanley could feel his Soul settling and calming into a deadly focus.

"Ready…" Stanley had barely finished the word before Nate blurred closer in a sudden burst of speed and a splash of dirt exploding behind him. "So fast…"

He couldn't even follow the other man's movements, only feel the impacts on his shield. His energy started falling faster and Stanley closed his eyes.

"There you are." He felt a smile pull at the corners of his mouth as Nate's movements became easier to perceive with his mind versus his eyes. Stanley started once again turning aside and diverting the man's attacks and the drain on his power leveled off and held steady around 70%.

Then Stanley started his counter attack.

First a foot was pushed to unbalance Nate, then he diverted a punch and held onto his arm. He pulled Nate into the direction he had been moving and performed a telekinetic judo throw. Or at least his best approximation of one.

Nate, disappointingly didn't slam into the dirt in a satisfying crash. Instead he twisted in midair and somehow got his feet under himself and immediately launched back towards Stanley.

The attempt to repeat the throw failed badly. Nate used the pulling force to move even faster in a motion that Stanley failed to follow until a vicious kick drilled into his shield and drained a hefty chunk of his Energy.

Before Stanley could decide on another course of action, Nate was driving a deadly axe kick straight down on his head.

Stanley Moved.

His body shifted almost instantly to one side and Nate's foot slammed into the ground. The earth under his foot cratered and dirt cascaded into the air around both of them.

The dirt and rocks that exploded from the crater didn't give Stanley any damage but the sudden cloud of debris did disrupt his mental imaging of his surroundings enough that the next three blows slammed into his shield with full force.

Stanley pushed everything in a twenty foot radius down, hard into the ground. Nate appeared again as the cloud vanished. He wasn't affected by the ground pound, at least not noticeably, and he immediately pounced on Stanley.

Stop

Nate slowed and Stanley wrapped him up in his power, flipped him over and drove him face first into the ground. Then Nate suddenly flexed and spasmed and Stanley lost his grip. Nate punched the ground, thrusting himself towards Stanley even as his other fist drew back in preparation.

Stanley hadn't forgotten the lesson he'd learned from the red eyes and he threw Nate into the sky.

"Whoops…" Stanley thought as he watched the man go sailing away into the distance. He quickly caught him and sent him flying back.

Just before Nate could land Stanley latched on again and drove him down into the ground. Face first.

Nate apparently didn't like the same tricks used more than once and he managed to wrench one arm free in the bare instant before impact. He somehow managed to turn the ground pound into a ground punch and roll that sent him back towards Stanley.

Nate's feet touched the ground and his whole body burst alight in a brilliant glow. He blurred faster than Stanley had ever seen and a spike of fear flashed through Stanley's mind as he sensed a fist break through his shield and drive towards his face.

Stanley's [Still Mind of the Psionic Beast] activated.

"He is going to kill me." He thought dispassionately as everything slowed to a crawl and pain exploded inside his skull. Stanley ignored the pain and his power wrapped up Nate, pushing his fist to the side while dragging himself in the other direction. Knuckles drenched in Nate's power grazed his cheek and Stanley felt his bones shattering and skin tearing as his head was forced back by the blow. His vision went dark as the impact washed over him. It didn't matter. Stanley didn't need eyes on the man.

CU…

His Skill ended abruptly and Stanley tumbled to the ground and then across it, his face a mass of pain.

Bouncing across the ground did not help.

Stanley heard a voice screaming and Caffeine howled. Then a tongue was licking his wounded face while Stanley was drowning in pain and fighting to remain conscious.

[Source Regeneration] Activated.

Willpower +1

Before he could catch his breath or even form a coherent thought and beg Caff to stop his assault, a familiar golden light poured into him and Stanley drew in a shuddering breath. The indrawn breath left him in a slow and relaxed sigh. The boy's healing had a surprisingly soothing effect, whether it was the sudden lack of pain or some other reason, Stanley was very grateful.

[Source Regeneration] Deactivated.

Vitality +1

Stanley hadn't checked his health percentage after the blow and wasn't sure if he wanted to know how bad that had been.

"Thanks, Zeke." He murmured and opened his eyes.

Caffeine was filling his vision and a wet tongue attacking his face forced him to close his eyes again. He wrapped his arms around the pug and hugged him close to stop the frenzy.

"I'm okay, Caff." He said. "It's okay. You're a good boy." Stanley kissed the slowly calming pug on the top of his head and lifted both of them into the air as he felt Zeke moving away from him and towards Nate.

Stanley opened his eyes and blanched when he looked at Nate. "Oops."

The man was covered in crisscrossing bloody lines everywhere on his body. Like he'd fallen onto a razor sharp chain link fence. "This was his idea…" Stanley thought, somewhat defensively.

Zeke slid to a stop next to the swaying yet somehow still standing man and burst with golden light as he touched him.

Stanley squinted and pulled his eyes from the warm glare. Looking away and around at the spectators to their fight, he finally caught up to what his Soul Awareness was telling him.

The crowd had retreated much further back at some point and the expressions on their faces matched up to the fear and pain Stanley felt from them. He shut his eyes and quickly wrapped his Soul shield around himself again. The feelings dimmed and almost disappeared entirely, muted to a faint whisper instead of the screaming from before.

When Stanley opened his eyes again, Nate had emerged from the gold light and was watching him, only slightly wary as he glanced from Stanley's face to Caffeine in his arms.

Nate held up a sagging Zeke, the boy drained from the two rapid and hefty healings. But Zeke recovered quickly and after a hearty thanks from Nate he moved off slowly.

Stanley got another look and saw that Nate's wounds had vanished after the healing but his clothes were a shredded and blood drenched mess.

Nate suddenly smiled wide and threw up his fists to the sky.

"Awesome fight!" He cheered.

Stanley could feel enough from the faint impressions of his Soul Awareness that the man wasn't feeling quite as cheerful as he appeared, though he didn't feel as upset as Stanley expected. Stanley quickly understood the facade when he noticed frightened faces begin shifting into hesitant smiles on the spectators.

Stanley smiled back and floated towards Nate. "GG." Stanley said to him, then once he was closer, said softly. "Sorry about that."

"Sorry about…" Nate said at the same time and then broke off with another grin. He held out a fist and Stanley obliged with a fist bump. Nate chuckled. "Almost got out of control, just a bit."

"I'm sorry Nate." Stanley said again, feeling a bit sick about how close he'd come to killing the man, despite his attempt at justification. "My Skill… I didn't…"

Nate put a hand on his shoulder. "No Stanley. That was great." He wiped at his bloody face with his other hand and only smeared it around a bit. "You did perfectly, exactly what I wanted." His eyes unfocused slightly as he read a notification. "Well, maybe we went a bit overboard. I didn't expect to break your shield…"

Stanley opened his mouth and Nate spoke before he could say anything. "I'm glad you reacted the way you did." He said, his tone serious. "That is exactly why I wanted you here with us and exactly how you should react to a threat."

His hand moved to pet Caffeine sitting in Stanley's lap. Stanley looked at the bloody handprint that Nate had left on his jacket and saw the blood begin to bead up and roll off. "That's handy."

The pug turned from staring at Stanley's face and licked Nate's bloody hand once. "Who's a good boy? Who saved my life?" Nate said to the dog in that voice people use on babies and puppies. "You're a good boy!" He did finally notice that his hand was covered in blood and refrained from actually petting the pug.

Stanley grimaced slightly at the grim humor and Nate looked into his eyes. "They are still out there." He said softly and Stanley knew what 'they' he meant. "I will protect Humanity." Nate stated. "Whatever it takes. Part of that is using every tool at your disposal."

Stanley nodded slowly. "I know." He said, feeling the pure and utter conviction coming from Nate's Soul, then he cocked his head. "Did you just call me a tool?"

"We should definitely do this again." Nate said with a widening smile. "Make it a regular training session."

Stanley opened his mouth to object. It was a terrible idea. They had both almost died.

"Not today." Nate said quickly. "But we both need to get stronger and if you haven't noticed, no one here can give me a good challenge." He met Stanley's eyes. "I know you want to get stronger too."

Stanley just stared aghast at the crazy man.

"We'll keep Zeke on standby and I'll avoid going for the head shots, just in case."

Stanley thought about it. "It was a crazy fight and it did challenge me... I even gained a couple attributes..." It was actually a good idea, he begrudgingly admitted to himself."I could learn more, get even stronger." A relatively safe way to train without risking too much.

"Yes." Stanley said slowly as he nodded. "You're right. But definitely avoid my head…" He hesitated briefly before continuing in a quieter voice. "I am extra weak physically."

Nate's eyes widened slightly and he nodded in confirmation. "Good to know. I'll be careful." He looked to the side. "Good thing we have such a great healer."

Stanley smiled in agreement and followed Nate's gaze to Zeke. Eve was talking to him and looked over his shoulder to glare at Stanley, her shoulder cannon glowing in preparation to take a shot. Stanley heard Nate chuckling.

Eve's expression shifted into something Stanley couldn't decipher and then a flash of guilt appeared before anger once again became her dominant expression. He saw her glance away to look at something and followed her gaze but couldn't see what if anything she was looking at. When Stanley looked back she was already walking away.

"I'm hungry." Stanley grumbled, feeling the pangs brought on by his Regeneration and the healing. "Let's get some chicken."

Caffeine vanished from his lap and a trail of dust accompanied the sonic boom leading to the gate in the walls. An instant later another boom and another trail of dust brought Caffeine to a stop in front of them, the pug staring intently and tensely as he waited for the magic words again.

Stanley chuckled along with Nate before the man started giving orders and pairing people up for more sparring, exclaiming about how if they only worked hard, they too could fight like him. Stanley doubted it. Some people likely just had better Classes for fighting than others. "Class inequality… Will we have literal Class warfare now?"

Eve disappeared back inside the walls and Zeke stayed on the sidelines, looking ready to spring into action as soon as anyone was injured.

"He really is a good kid." Stanley thought as he flew up and over the gathered people. Caffeine raced him to the kitchen and won by a large margin.

Once they both had some food, Stanley settled on top of the wall and looked over his progress from the last few days while feeding Caffeine and himself.

Status

Name: Stanley Cascade

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Race: [Psionic Source-Touched Human](E Rank)

Traits: [Adaptable] [Source-Touched] [I Made My Choice] [Ruthless Soul]

Titles: [Solo Hunter]

Class: [Soul Psionic(Initiate III)](Rare)

Class Skills:

[Mind Over Matter(Apprentice IV)](Epic)

Attributes:

Strength: 21

Vitality: 22

Dexterity 21

Perception 21

Intelligence 22

Willpower 35

Twin-Soul 200

Non Class Skills:

[Still Mind of the Psionic Beast(Initiate III)](Rare)

[Soul Awareness(Initiate V)](Rare)

[Source Regeneration]

[Heat Resistance I(Passive)]

[Cold Resistance I(Passive)]

Buffs: [Soul Support Tether] [Walter's Gratitude]

Debuffs: [Deadly Soul Wound(Mostly Patched)(Shielded)]

His efforts to repair his Soul Wound had earned mostly Willpower and some Skill levels but not much else. Stanley took another look at his Soul and the wound that he'd been working on. It didn't look any better unless he focused deep down, even then the progress was small.

He could see the area that he had stitched back together just this morning and next to it the small bit from the day before, still healing after his Will enforced restitching. Beyond that was a patch that actually looked stronger than the rest. Apparently, what didn't kill you did really make you stronger now. After all he had gained a point in Vitality after Nate punched him in the face. Though he did notice that he gained the point after being healed.

"Sort of like building muscles?" He mused. "Damage your muscles and once they heal you are stronger…"

Stanley was fully committed to raising his Vit by using Cores rather than getting punched.

Chicken finished, mostly by Caffeine, Stanley very carefully forced another miniscule bit of his Soul back together. The whole of the still healing bit started trembling. Or at least that was the closest description that Stanley could think of. He sighed and pet the pug curled up in his lap while watching the sparing outside the walls. "It's gonna take awhile Caff."

Caffeine sighed and rolled over for a belly rub. Stanley obliged and while doing his due diligence for Caffeine he noticed a strange metal contraption hanging out of a window on the top floor. "That looks a bit like one of Eve's creations…"

He felt something happening around it but couldn't figure out what it was. Then he remembered giving Eve the [Mana Drain] Skill Shard.

"Why are you giving me this?" She had demanded, suspicion plain on her face.

"Nate suggested that you might be the best choice." Stanley had told her. "The touch requirement makes it less useful for the magic users and Nate thought…"

Eve wasn't listening as the Shard dissolved into her hand and she started muttering under her breath before turning and leaving without a second glance.

Maybe the machine was related to her new Skill? Whatever it was, Stanley put it out of his mind, he had more important things to worry about.

"I'll get stronger, Caff. Nothing and no one will keep us from getting home."

On that note he flew down to Nate, who was leading a small group through some martial arts forms. Nate glanced at him questioningly in between moves.

"I'm heading out." Stanley told him. "I'll do a circuit and maybe go check on Daryl's base, depending on how it looks."

Nate looked worried for an instant and his eyes flicked to Caffeine and back before he nodded. "Be careful."

After a quick raid of the kitchen and a harrowing case of starving puppy dog eyes, Stanley flew slowly away from the weak people. Most of them owed their lives to Nate… or Stanley… and Zeke. They would all owe their lives to Zeke in time.

But at least these people outside were training and trying to get stronger, not hiding inside the base with the rest and cowering in their illusion of safety.

Once he was far enough away Stanley dropped his Soul shield and let the information flood in. He took a moment to focus on his [Soul Awareness] and try to get a picture of the surroundings.

The Skill wasn't absolute, he knew that all too well now, but it was better than nothing. The impressions rolled in and Stanley kept it up until the information threatened to overwhelm him before pulling his attention away.

He saw the pack of Wolves near the edge of the Purified area but saw no sign of the Tiger. Maybe it had left, though more likely it was hiding somewhere, the way it had before trying to jump Caffeine. The thought of the Tiger had him clenching his teeth in frustration and anger, as well as a small bit of fear.

After thinking about things for a bit, Stanley dropped lower and let Caffeine onto the ground. The pug was all too happy to run freely and smell everything. Stanley's reasoning was that despite the ground being more likely to have dangerous encounters, it also let Caffeine be ready to pounce rather than being trapped inside his jacket. So Stanley moved alongside and behind the pug as they explored.

He found a lot of wildlife. Raccoons, Opossums, Rabbits, some deer, and a swarm of giant bugs that Stanley didn't recognize.

He killed the bugs and gained some Cores, all E Rank now, but everything else that he even thought about killing brought out the sad whines and puppy dog eyes from Caffeine. Stanley just sighed and let the dog have his 'friends'. Caffeine had earned whatever he wanted.

But Stanley would need to kill something if he wanted to get stronger and going by what Daryl had said, it would take awhile to get to D Rank. "I need a Lair full of something Caffeine doesn't like…" He could go to the beaches and hunt seagulls but… Stanley remembered something. Something big.

When his Soul had been ripped nearly apart, Stanley had felt every Soul for who knew how many miles, and out in the water there had been something almost on par with the Raid Leader.

There had been moments where he wondered if it might have actually been one of the Undead, but on further recollection Stanley had realized just how different it had felt. Plus the Undead could hide…

Either way, Stanley was still a bit hesitant about getting near the water. Visions of giant tentacles reaching out to drag him underwater didn't help. He didn't know how much Caffeine would be able to help in such a scenario, so better to just avoid that, for now.

Things got better when they left the Purified zone. Better for Stanley at least, but not for anything else. All the local life outside was sick, corrupted. Everything attacked on sight, and Caffeine didn't try to befriend any of it. At least not after the first few tries.

Stanley started the slaughter.

He didn't find any Shards, only Chips, but they started to add up as they moved further and further south in a weaving pattern. Caffeine got steadily more and more dejected as they went, until Stanley relented and picked him up. As a compromise, he didn't let the pug into the pocket, but did drape part of his jacket over Caffeine's eyes and tried to let him sleep.

Stanley would reach out the moment something entered his [Soul Awareness] range and upon 'seeing' it with his mind, he would kill it. He also kept his proverbial finger on the button for his [Still Mind of the Psionic Beast].

Despite his dislike of how the Skill made him feel, it did give him an edge. Stanley didn't know how, but while using the Skill his mind seemed to run faster and more time to react was always good. It did hurt his head whenever it happened and it took time for the pain to fade afterwards. He got a few chances to examine the Skill and its aftereffects when particularly fast things charged into his sensory range and he reflexively 'pulled the trigger'.

Caffeine always pulled him out quickly, after the danger had been killed, and before he could spiral too deep into crazy plans to get stronger. It seemed that his mind, or maybe unconscious mind… still had 'gain power' as a focus. Stanley tried a few times to redirect it, focusing on how he wanted to destroy a tree or dig a hole, but each time, once the Skill was active and nothing was eminently threatening his life, he went back to the power trip.

A huge black bear came charging towards him, its fur patchy and the visible skin underneath had blotches of something nasty looking as well as gross looking lumps or tumors.

Cut

Stanley bisected it and waited briefly for a Core to appear before moving on. The sight of it reminded him of the bear that Caffeine had cowed, befriended, a few days… a week… Stanley couldn't remember how long before… but, he did hope that bear was okay. It was Caffeine's friend after all.

Caw!

With no warning a crow suddenly cawed directly in his ear and Stanley triggered his Skill before the sound had finished registering. He felt it with his mental touch, right next to him but only for an instant before it vanished. Stanley turned in place as silence descended on the corrupted land. He hadn't sensed its Soul and the unknown strength factor was a serious threat.

Caw!

"There." It was directly behind him, very close behind, too close.

Cut

He missed. The thing vanished, blinked away before his Will could touch it. "It is similar to the boy." He thought calmly, remembering the teleporting child from before.

Caw!

Right in front of him was a crow, or a raven. Stanley didn't know the difference and didn't care.

Cut

Once again it was gone before he could touch it.

Stanley started pouring Soul Energy into his eyes while also focusing on his [Soul Awareness]. He would find it and kill…

He was suddenly himself again.

Caffeine jumped to the ground as Stanley felt fear rising inside himself. "How strong is it?" He wondered as a vision of it appearing behind him and its sharp beak stabbing into the back of his skull appeared in his mind.

Ca… Boom!

Caffeine was on it almost the instant it appeared to their left and the bird didn't even get to finish its taunt before being forced to pop away again.

Ca… Boom!

Again Caffeine was there, this time it appeared up in a tree but rather than climb the tree, Caffeine simply grew tall enough and big enough to get right up to it. It looked like the pug got a good sniff that time, before the bird vanished.

Again and again the chase continued. Stanley slowly calmed as he caught glimpses of a wagging curly tail. Caffeine was playing so it was probably fine… The question that kept him from relaxing too much, was whether the bird was playing as well.

Trees fell and the ground was completely shredded by the game of chase when Stanley finally felt the bird's Soul. It appeared high above them in the sky and managed to get a whole 'Caw' out before Caffeine howled at it in indignation. At least that was what Stanley thought it meant, though he was more interested in why he could feel the bird all of a sudden.

The crow was no longer hiding its Soul as it circled lazily above them and cawed down at the pug.

It felt almost completely of amusement, with tiny bits of fatigue and exasperation. "It was playing then…" Stanley relaxed, a little.

Caffeine sat in the dirt and howled up at the bird as it started to spiral slowly lower. Stanley watched, tense and ready for sudden and inevitable betrayal but the crow landed calmly in front of Caffeine and hopped closer while the pug tried to smell it.

Caw!

Stanley watched the happy dance of Caffeine's tail and remembered something. "Just before the Undead ambush…" There had been a crow cawing. "Was it trying to warn me? Or maybe it is just a bird…"

He stepped closer and the crow hopped back, its Soul vanishing and reappearing in his awareness, while Caffeine followed after it. Stanley stopped and looked at the bird. "Is it…"

Caw!

It's Soul vanished and reappeared.

Stanley watched intently as he reapplied his Soul shield.

Caw!

This time its Soul remained easily felt and Stanley thought he felt satisfaction coming from it. "Was it you?" Stanley asked, now curious. "Did you try to warn me before?" He wasn't sure but it was possible that they were in the same area as the other day, or at least near it. Stanley couldn't be sure without flying high and getting a good look around.

Caw!

The crow blinked behind Caffeine and tried to peck his tail but the pug spun around too fast and the bird vanished. It reappeared further away and the chase was on again. Or maybe it was just a bird…

"Thanks…" Stanley thought. "For trying at least… if that's what it was." He flew slowly after the chaotic chase as he pondered the question.

Part of his new calm came from the strength of the crows Soul, or rather the lack of strength. It wasn't very strong, on par with most of the E Ranks that Stanley had been killing. Though it did have some neat tricks.

"Crows are supposed to be smart, right?" Stanley mused. "But how is it unaffected by the Miasma?" The bird looked healthy, yet it was weaker than some of the animals that had been corrupted… "Its Soul is weaker…"

Stanley shivered as he followed the playing dog and bird out of the woods and into a suburban neighborhood. The thought that Soul strength might not match actual strength was something he hadn't considered. "I'm an idiot." He had just assumed that was the case and then never thought otherwise. Though to be fair, it had been the case everytime so far… "I'll need to keep it in mind anyway."

The other thing that struck him was the fact that it could hide it's Soul, implying that it could manipulate Soul Energy, and through its actions had seemed to be telling him to put his shield back up. "Does my Shield also hide me like its does?" It was an interesting idea and gave him some hope for avoiding another ambush. Though his primary peace of mind came from the fear he had felt from the Raid Leader just before it fled from him. That fear should protect him, at least for a time. He didn't think the Undead, or at least the surviving Undead, knew what killing the Raid Leader had cost him. Hopefully…

The only problem with his Soul Shield so far, aside from the extra concentration of keeping it active, was that it also blinded his own Soul sense quite a bit. He opened the shield for a moment to check the area, just a quick pulse of awareness, and felt the crows Soul vanish and reappear again. "I don't know if it's telling me that I'm right or using it's own shield to block my Soul leak, or just mocking me…"

A large squirrel charged around a house and…

Cut

The crow appeared above the bisected squirrel the size of a large dog and started pecking at it. Stanley figured it wanted the Core and after a brief moment of anger, calmed and reminded himself that it wasn't a big deal. This one time.

To his surprise and Caffeine's disgust the bird started picking pieces of flesh from the rotten corpse and eating them. Caffeine took one sniff and backed away, leaving the crow to his meal. Instead the pug ran to Stanley and sat in front of him, staring up expectantly.

"Okay Caff." Stanley chuckled and pulled the small bag from his shoulder. "Come on." He patted his lap and Caffeine hopped up, tail wagging.

Stanley pulled out the chicken and started alternating bites with the pug. A few moments later he felt a rush of air and the crow appeared standing on his shoulder.

Stanley tensed. He could still feel it's Soul and it still gave no indication of hostility. Stanley also had his Psionic shield wrapped around himself but he was a bit less confident in that after his fight with Nate earlier… and the bird was much weaker than Nate… or at least it's Soul was…

Something fell into his lap.

Caw!

Stanley winced slightly at the sound directly next to his ear and picked up the Core that the bird had dropped. "Aw what the hell." He thought and held up a piece of chicken. It vanished down the crow's throat. "Everyone loves chicken."

Stanley hovered there and shared a slightly uneasy meal with the bird. Caffeine didn't seem to mind that the crow was getting some of his snacks, only stared intently at the bag while waiting for his bite.

When they were finished with the chicken, the bird blinked back to the dead squirrel and picked out a few more pieces but left most of the corpse alone. "Crows are scavengers." Stanley wondered if that could explain the behavior. "Or it could just be some magic bullshit."

Stanley floated higher to get a better idea of his location and looked around. He had no idea whether this was the same area as the ambush… it all looked kinda the same. Suburbia and green spaces, or previously green spaces, and the city in the distance.

He continued on his way towards the tower that Daryl and Adrian protected. "Might as well check in." It had been at least a few days… or a week? The days were blurring together too much lately. Which he supposed was a good thing, no earth shaking events to almost kill him.

The crow popped onto his shoulder with a sudden rush of air. Stanley managed to only flinch slightly. "Stupid bird." Caffeine didn't even stir, dozing off in his post meal cuddle nap. "Maybe the bird can help keep watch." Stanley thought. The bird hopped into his lap and snuggled his way into a warm spot against Caffeine's belly. "Figures."

Stanley sighed and pulsed his [Soul Awareness]. The bird didn't respond that time and Stanley flew to the next corrupted monster. It was easy enough to know it was corrupted just from it's Soul. It was all pain and hunger. Stanley shivered and killed it.

He felt a sudden ghostly feeling of Magic chains wrapping around him and shook it off. "Could the bird teleport out of those? Could it take us with it? Would it?" Stanley had killed the thing that did that to him. Dead.

The Raid Leader that went after Zeke had told them it was weaker than the one Stanley killed. It also hadn't used as much Magic. Nate said it was more of a brawler, though one with a deadly aura of corruption… If it hadn't been for those chains, Stanley was sure he could have out run the monster. Might have been able to wear it down even. Though they could probably all teleport…

Stanley picked up a dead tree branch and willed it to be over there. His attempted teleportation resulted in the stick shattering into a cloud of splinters when it tried to fly to the destination instead of disappearing and reappearing. "I'll figure it out… if I could teleport, I might have been able to escape."

He continued his experiments in between collecting Cores and Stanley was more than a few Attributes higher when he approached the white tower with fire in the windows.

He flew slowly as he approached, not wanting to cause a panic. He was debating on approaching the ground floor entrance or the top floor where the duo lived, when Caffeine suddenly popped his head up and started sniffing at the air. The crow didn't appreciate the loss of his warm bed, he squawked and pecked at Caffeine who completely ignored him.

Stanley saw someone peering at him from a window near the top and an instant later the sliding glass door on the top floor opened. Walter was inside holding the door and Daryl walked past him onto the porch.

"Stanley!" He called and beckoned him to approach. "Get down here!"

Stanley felt the sick worry radiating from the man. "Shit." He approached and the bird popped onto his shoulder.

Stanley saw Princess step onto the porch, her three tails lashing at the air. Caffeine howled excitedly and jumped ahead. He must have sensed the mood because he abandoned his play bow almost immediately and was whining and looking between the fox and Daryl when Stanley floated down.

"What's up?" Stanley nodded at Walter, still inside the door.

"Can you help us?" Daryl blurted almost before Stanley touched down, he barely glanced at the bird on his shoulder.

"Uh…"

"Please come inside Sirs." Walter said from the doorway.

Daryl ushered him inside as he started in on his need for help.

"...and it's been over a day!" He finished in a rush, somewhat out of breath.

Apparently Adrian had led a team to clear a new Lair and had never returned. Daryl wanted Stanley to go find him.

"Sure." Stanley told him. "Let's go."

Daryl looked surprised for a moment before relief filled his eyes and he started for the door. He opened the door to the hall and looked back. "You coming…"

Stanley walked to the porch. "Let's go the fast way."

"Good luck, Sir." Walter said softly as Daryl headed for the porch, Princess in tow. Caffeine jumped back into Stanley's lap while Daryl paused and looked at the older man.

"Walter…" Daryl started.

"I shall preserve your home until you return." Walter stated in his normal dry voice. His Soul told Stanley of his absolute conviction in the statement.

Daryl stared at him for a long moment before throwing his arms around the older man. "I'll find Adrian and bring him right back."

Walter nodded stiffly. "Of course, Sir." His eyes were locked onto Stanley, his Soul pleading desperately for Daryl to return safely. Demanding it, in fact.

Stanley nodded to Walter. "I'll make sure he gets home." He owed them after all. Stanley kept finding more people that were actually truly good, that helped him for no reason, no reward. And without them Stanley would have almost certainly died. Maybe.

Stanley lifted into the air with the others in tow and Daryl directed him towards the south.

"I'm not actually certain where it is…" Daryl said worriedly. "but I'm hoping to spot the… there!" He pointed and Stanley didn't understand what he was supposed to be seeing until Daryl clarified. "Follow the scorch marks!"

"Ah, of course." Stanley could now see the trail and moved fast along it. "Hold on." Stanley warned him. "I'm going to check for Souls." He dropped his shield and focused as long as he could. There were Human Souls, but far to the southwest, likely not Adrian. Though Stanley wasn't positive that he would recognize the man.

Daryl looked at him hopefully when his shield went back up and Stanley shook his head. "My Skill is not as good as I thought it was. We'll find him."

Daryl nodded shakily but didn't say anything.

The trail of burnt areas was sporadic but not too hard to follow from the air. It led to a mound of dirt and a wide hole that descended into the ground. The area around it was scorched and giant burnt corpses were strewn around. It was taking a moment for Stanley to puzzle out what kind of creatures they were or had once been, before the Magic.

"Ants." Daryl said as they approached and Stanley nodded as the burnt carcasses suddenly became recognizable.

Stanley set Daryl and Princess down and stared at the gaping hole that descended at a fairly steep angle into the ground. "I can't feel any Souls…" He floated closer and the crow bounded off his shoulder and into the air. Stanley jumped slightly, having forgotten about the bird. "How did I forget…" He looked at the bird circling above them. "Did it get in my head?" He shook off the thought. It didn't matter right now. Then he immediately became suspicious again. "Was that more mind… nevermind."

He floated closer and a Notification appeared.

You have entered [Lair of the Fire Ant Queen]

At the same time his [Soul Awareness] started picking up a chaotic mess of faint signals. It felt like he was hearing echoes that repeated endlessly and more than one. "That's…" He was forced to throw up his Soul shield as the information continued to build into a deafening feedback loop.

But not before he felt what he sought. Humans. Or at the very least, one Human, he was sure of that much.

Before he could turn around and tell Daryl what he had felt, something rushed up from the hole.

Cut

The body slid to a wet halt in the dirt, now in two pieces. It was an ant. Maybe the size of Caffeine, normal pug sized Caffeine...

Stanley looked back at the others and the corpses behind them. Those were much bigger… "Someone is alive in there." He told Daryl. "But I don't know who or how many."

Daryl swallowed and nodded. Princess yipped next to him and Caffeine threw back his head and Howled.

You have heard the Howl of the Beast Lord.

+10% Effect of All Attributes to Friends

-10% Effect of All Attributes to Not Friends

Caw!

The crow vanished and reappeared on a nearby tree branch.

"Let's go."