“Alright, so what's your desert island book?” I ask.
Madeline is clapping a recently burned, then healed, Henry on the back. She shoots me a “not the time, Jun!”
I look around. Why doesn't this feel like normal? Or at least what's normal for us. People look strained, stressed. There's fear in some eyes.
That's when I get it. We have five more floors. Five more places trying their damnedest to kill us. Five increasingly dangerous floors, and probably some sort of Mecha-Washington at the top. The big pig almost killed four of us. We barely made it without a death. And things are going to be harder from now on.
I look at the people here. I have to send some home. There's a clear power difference between some of us. I can use the wounded as an excuse.
“Kailani, I want you and Cappy to escort Henry, Scarlett and Parker out.”
There's relief in their eyes. Except for Cappy. She looks pissed. “They don't need me to walk them out.”
What do I say? I'm worried that one hit will snap you in half? I'm concerned that your stats and levels aren't up to snuff? No.
I motion to Parker's broken legs. Biscuits healed them but we know from previous experience that when Biscuits repairs part of your body, it doesn't work right for a while. “If they run into trouble they'll need your firepower and speed.” It's not a lie. It's not the whole truth, but it's not a lie.
Cappy gives me a burningly powerful eye roll and turns away from me.
I offer as much of an olive branch as I can. “But we're going to rest for a while before we move on, so you guys can stay and hang out or head up now.”
“Thank fuck ‘cuz my legs aren't doing shit anytime soon.” Parker's Boston accent seems most at home when cursing.
We blast the pig apart so it's corpse and related gore disappear. I use Ki Cloth Weaving on everyone to clean up and repair their clothes. I get several people cursing at me for not doing that earlier. Like last dungeon earlier.
We take turns taking naps in the warm sunny field we've found ourselves in. The thick green grass and soft earth makes a surprisingly nice place to lie down. Pull a helmet over your eyes and you're right asleep.
“What's everyone going to do with their money?” asks Kailani. Apparently she's the only one who can ask ice breakers.
There's an odd silence. I hadn't thought about it. I guess not many of us had, if any.
“I've been ‘olding off on buyin’ this one bow, the PSE Mach 30 DS Special. It's just the regular ol’ PSE,” Quins points at his current bow, which we all suppose is the regular ol’ PSE. “But this ‘un has got this hyper carbon whatsit that makes it shoot real good. Or something. Anyway, it's about 2500 pounds, so I'd get that.”
“That's it?” asks Kailani, incredulous. “You're going to have around five million after taxes.”
Quins shrugs. “I am not a fancy lad.”
“I'm already putting everything away for my kids,” Madeline says. “No change there.”
Kailani nods. A mom-respects-mom nod.
“Same.” Jose nods at them both and they both give him a nod. Sheesh, parents are so weird about their kids.
“So, um, the Cyberpunk 2077 anime on Netflix, right?” Rutger seems nervous. It's a nervous I recognize as a I hope the normies don't judge my nerd shit nervousness. “So the game company paid the animators about a million bucks for the eight episodes. So I'd try to buy an anime. Or pay for it to be made. However it works.”
“Ooh!” Mercy does the slight wiggle back and forth she does when she's excited. “What's the story? Or do you already have a manga in mind? Oh my gosh, Studio Trigger, right? They're soooo good!” Mercy promptly grabs Rutger by the hand and leads them off to the side to talk anime.
“I'll probably put it aside for...” Henry doesn't finish, but we all know he means his future political campaigns. Those cost big bucks.
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Scarlett Fletcher timidly says, “I just want to own my own house. Live out in the country, away from... All this.” She almost died. I can't blame her.
“Better armor,” says Parker. “No offense bro.” She motions to the expensive uniform she's wearing. “I figure that if I can get my strength around 60 or so, I should be able to wear like some real heavy plate armor. Buy some custom stuff that looks real sci-fi and shit.”
Madeline looks up at that. “I've been thinking the same thing. We could get this dragon steel armor reforged into some futuristic armor. We'd look like Master Chef.”
Quins asks “You mean Master Chief? From Halo? Oh I'd be quite interested in getting in on that.”
Suddenly we're talking about the cool new armor we can get with superhuman Strength and a lot of money. Suddenly we're talking about the future. Talking about living, talking about continuing the fight. How we can be better, stronger, tougher.
The Pathbreakers are going to be okay.
---
6/22
Washington D.C.
2:30 AM
So the inventory system works like this: You have a number of inventory slots equal to your Luck. Things in your inventory are essentially in stasis until you take them out. You can put in anything you can lift. Something that “contains other things” counts as one thing.
Because of all that, and because Jose has a tremendous amount of Luck, our dungeon break lifestyles have improved tremendously. He's got a plastic picnic table with attached benches. He's got a hamper with pillows and blankets. He's got plastic tubs full of tacos and coolers full of drinks.
For my part, I've got less Luck (45) but more Strength, so I've got some heavy items. I have three different refrigerators full of food and condiments. I have a gas powered generator. I have a bureau of spare clothes. And most importantly, I have a whole Port-A-Potty. That last one has basically improved our lives tremendously. Being able to do your business in private helps maintain dignity in a way that only soldiers in the field can truly appreciate. This alone has made me a more trusted and respected leader. As we all learned during the pandemic, toilet paper is not a privilege, but a right.
After naps, snacks and a game of King Of Tokyo (Jose's favorite board game), we finally break up the party and start on our separate ways.
“The Martian,” Cappy calls out to me as they're leaving. I must look confused because she yells, “my desert island book. For inspiration!”
It's a perfect choice. That one is about an astronaut surviving alone on Mars. What more could you ask for when you're alone on an island?
We're now a group of six. It's me, Jose, Mercy, Madeline, Quins and Rutger.
“We ready?” I say before we head over to the door.
Rutger looks nervous again. I keep forgetting that despite that we're only a few years apart, they've gone through a lot less than I have. I ask, “what's up Rutger?”
“You told us you wanted to break the system, right?”
I nod. “Yeah, that's my plan.”
“Have you thought about how? I mean, the nanomachines are apparently everywhere, right? How do we put the genie back in the bottle?”
“For now, it's closing dungeons, ruins and arenas. Getting places that kill people off the map. Then... Honestly I'm hoping for interference. I'm hoping these pricks who made this mess try to stop us. And when they do-” I slam my fists together and there's a spark of electricity between them.
Rutger looks away. They don't sound convinced. “I dunno. I dunno if there's a way to really stop it. I mean, we're doing our part in America, right? But what about the rest of the world? There's plenty of places that are abusing the system, letting it run wild or treating it like a windfall.”
“That's part of why Pathbreakers is a company and not a government agency,” Mercy explains. “We can travel the world if we want to. We can take on anything, anywhere.” She's got strength in her voice. Conviction. She didn't have that before all this. She's really something else, this girl.
Quins tries to help. “I jus’ leave the big ideas to the bigwigs, usually. They tell me where to aim, and I fire the arrow. You don't need much more than that, mate.”
“We won't do everything,” I say. “We can't solve all the problems ourselves. But we don't have to. That's still something I'm coming to grips with.”
“Having super powers doesn't make you superman,” Jose says sagely. “We're only the main characters in our stories. Plenty of other capable folks out there.”
“And what if that's not enough?” Rutger asks. “What if I need to avenge my sister and just closing some Dracosys sites won't be enough? What if...” and Rutger looks me in the eyes. “What if I need to take on those responsible?”
There's a silence between us. It feels like something big is about to happen. Some decision is about to be made. And I have to decide.
Do I really want to hunt my brother and the others behind the Dracosys? Or do I just want to keep closing dungeons? I'm good at closing dungeons. Closing dungeons makes a difference in people's lives. It saves lives. But is that enough?
I keep Rutger's gaze, but not aggressively. I try to convey understanding, leadership and, most importantly, trust. “We'll take on the biggest threats we can. No matter who or what they are.”
I hope those words reach them. I hope Rutger knows that I'm on their side, regardless of who my brother is, or what he's done.
Rutger turns away, but I see some recognition in their face. It'll be okay. They'll be okay.
“Right, but we go back to killing monstas now, yeah?” Quins obviously hasn't increased his Wisdom. I heard his was only nine.