"Well, we went through the apocalypse, It's not so far fetched to assume you've just gotten used to it" Sam had brought Nicholai over, there was no point in saying I didn't go anywhere when my hands wouldn't stop shaking. "Not only that, but your hands shaking, that guilty feeling, isn't that a reaction in and of itself?"
"I..." Nicholai wasn't scolding me for going out, she was too worried to do that.
"Lee" She paused, but only shortly. "We endured a zombie outbreak, killed even our own classmates, stuff no kids our age should be doing, you not feeling anything for a stranger you can't help isn't that off putting as you think it is." I held my own hand, hoping it'd stop the shaking, before it strained itself. "You felt remorse even when you didn't do anything wrong, you still reacted to it, the reason you think you didn't is because of everything going on overwhelming you."
"I guess so..." I looked to the ground
"I'm not exactly good at this sorta stuff...But it's not something Sam can help with...so...you have my contact, don't stress yourself" She stood up and headed off, most likely back to the work she needed to do. I wanted to go back to sleep but it was already morning. Who caused it...why call me? At first it was only a few questions, then it became random thoughts. Killing zombies...isn't the same as killing someone who's still aware...Even if they repeated. I just killed someone...someone aware, who did nothing wrong. I felt I did something wrong, even if it was a mercy killing. An innocent person's blood was on me, not just in a metaphorical sense, but literally, it had already dried on my sword and the sides of my shoes. All I could do was let out a deep breath.
"The final battle is just over the horizon" The TV was playing as always, the same show as before...how long was this thing? At the very least it got my mind off things.
"Sir" Dave decloaked right after speaking, he was just slightly to my right. "I've sensed a dip in your mood, would you like a drink?" From a compartment, Dave handed out a coffee mug, filled with whatever drink he decided on. I took it slowly and took a minor sip, it was hot but not painful.
"Thanks Dave..."
"It is no issue, my purpose is to ensure that you and Miss Calstianos can live a life without issue"
"Well...that's a bit difficult now isn't it?"
"I can assure you, I will still do whatever I possibly can" I smiled, I never considered Dave an AI, the way he was made, was as though another human was handcrafted. I still shook slightly, but the feeling mostly passed, only a small piece of it lingering. My HUD opened only a moment later.
New Mission for your team
Sender: Raymond
'There's a disturbance going on in New Min, should be something you can handle.'
New Min sounded familiar, it was probably that other mission...I guess we signed up for this...I stood up, Sam, Nicholai, and Kenneth, came out of their respective areas as we regrouped.
"Wish he specified what sort of disturbance" Nicholai had flipped the switch again, being nonchalant about it all.
"We can handle it regardless" Then again, I had too. As always, a cut in the air provided our portal to the mission.
New Min was a mix between a modern and ancient city, certain aspects like structures and the walls, were ancient, but some buildings and tech were modern...I felt I was repeating myself, right, we've been here before.
"Bravo Team, correct?" One of the guards were already waiting for us.
"Correct" And I already had my response prepared.
"Well, the disturbance is something we could probably handle but, Raymond asked for us to let you handle it...here" Our maps of the city popped open, with the disturbance area being marked. "Handle it however you want, damn kids already gave me a headache" The guard mumbled the last portion, but I still understood it, the others didn't seem to, rather, they already started the walk over.
"Seems like some Inn, maybe they were another team trying to get info" I held the map screen in my palm, if I could've made it into a watch, I probably would have.
"Let's hope they don't get shot at" Nicholai was reminded of the confrontation we had with the hunters, but considering what she did to the main guy, he'd be out of commission for the time being.
"We should resolve it peacefully right?" Sam was the first to give a suggestion on how we should solve the disturbance. "For all we know it's a situation like Lee had, with all the confusion. He's not the only one affected after all."
"Right, but we can't go in thinking we can solve it that way, we need to access the situation first. But, if it does seem possible, we should give it a go" From my talking, I didn't realize how close it actually was, and how fast we made it there. One of the windows were already shattered, some guy was thrown through it.
"Doesn't seem like it's gonna go peacefully." Kenneth made a quick comment on it. The four of us walked through the door, something smashed against the wall beside us, the others jumped back, but something in me made my reaction dull, instead I stood there, staring at the three troublemakers. When i caught a glimpse of the uniform they wore something in me clicked, they had the same outfit as the man from before, the one I mercy killed.
"I'm telling ya, we need that intel"
"I don't have it!" They didn't seem to care one of their own were missing.
"Well ya had it just a few hours ago, the boogymahn took it?"
"Sam, Ken, Nicholai"
"Yeah?" Kenneth and Nicholai made a noise to show their hearing, while Sam responded.
"Mind if I handle this one?"
"think you can?"
"I think so"
"Alright then" Nicholai patted Sam on the shoulder, almost dragging her out.
"Hey!" The two stopped arguing and the whole team looked over at me, almost in a disgusted manner. There's no doubt they're the same team, I've yet to see two with the same outfit...and yet here they were...harassing some guy instead of looking for their teammate...Who knows how long he was there...something like that. I stuck Crescent into the ground, they didn't have their weapons, and I surely didn't need mine for a group of delinquents.
"Fuck ya want?"
"Missing a teammate?"
"What?"
"Your teammate, the one all on his own?"
"What about the fuckwit?" The accent with that attitude was bothering enough, but the context of it all, them leaving him...and saying all this.
"Listen bud" Another one spoke up. "We got things all settled here, nothing ya should worry bout" He walked over, a massive smug look only annoyed me more. "Now, you should leave before things get worse" Whether they watched some show to sound like this, or just naturally annoying, it didn't matter to me. I looked around the room, a pool table near me, some chairs, a lot of usable things.
"And how worse are we talking?" I leaned on the table.
"Enough that a wee lad like ya gotta worry about some body bags" It only annoyed me further.
"Alright then" The moment I heard another step from the one closest, I grabbed onto the pool stick. "Less I gotta worry about" I swung backwards, hitting the closest one at the side of his head, he recoiled backwards, hitting his back against a table.
"Ghg" The one I hit held their head, the other two approached.
"What's your deal?"
"Bit ironic saying that now" One of their legs glowed, they kicked at a chair and it was sent flying towards me, it was a simple fix, jabbing the pool stick at it made it lose all momentum. As the chair hit the ground I slammed the stick down at it, breaking a piece of it off. I shuffled it towards me with the stick and waited.
TTS Active
Nicholai: Lee, I see bleeding on the HUD
TTS Deactive
I looked down, it was a very small trickle, nothing to worry about. A part of the chair must've cut me when I broke it up. As the other took a step too close, I twirled the stick and sent the broken piece towards them, they raised their arm, blocking it with some energy shield. So their weapons just aren't visible. I looked back down at the blood trickling from my chest. Alright then...Doing the motion, my blood raised, turning into the spears. Before I could actually use them the door bust open, as I turned to see what happened, something slammed into my face, knocking me onto my back on the ground. I felt dazed, but I could still hear the other three bailing from the area, one even bursting through the window.
"kh" I pressed my hand against the top of my head, there was constant pain.
TTS Active
Sam: Heya! I'm not one to tell you to do crime, but they're here for you
TTS Deactive
My dazed state soon passed and I saw the CSF uniform, it was different then what the guy from yesterday, and the troublemakers had, theirs looked more final, professional.
"Bastards..." One of them mumbled under their breath, most weren't looked my way. I could...Seeing that only one was somewhat paying mind to me, I kicked just at their ankle.
"Damn kid!" I got up as fast as I could and bolted at the door, I half-expected to get shot but instead saw Bravo Team all lined up, being spoken too by other CSF agents
"What th- Hey!" All the agents aimed their weapons at me. In my hands Crescent moved itself, a second trigger, more secure than the first, the other barrel in the sword...yet Crescent didn't open, instead wanting me to fire now. As fast as I could I pulled the trigger, before anything even fired I felt the recoil, and my feet sliding across the ground. The bullet fired, impacting one of the agents, unlike the shock shell, a massive flash happened before a paralyzing shock took it over, they didn't recover from it, instead getting knocked unconscious.
"So it's stronger..." Bullets began to fly my way, I could tell they weren't lethal as I could feel the shock even when they hadn't hit anything yet. I raised Crescent again, only for the trigger to click, it seemed the stronger round couldn't reload itself, it was already too late by the time I realized that, a round struck me in the shoulder knocking me down through intense voltage.
"Really? Tried to run?" The CSF walked over to me, the one I kicked especially pissed off. "Where would you have even gone?" I was paralyzed, unable to even move, yet I still saw Crescent floating. "Someone grab that damn sword" As soon as someone reached for it, it jolted away, staying just above me. "The hell?" What is Crescent doing? Crescent raised higher. "Hang on...wait!" Before I could figure out what was going on, Crescent slammed down, stabbing me, everything went blank soon after. It wasn't like the coin situation, I was floating in a void just like the reflection space.
"The final battle is just over the horizon" I jolted up, my heart racing while a pain in my chest took most of my attention. The TV's audio was familiar, I heard it just a few minutes prior to when we left. Crescent was leaning against the couch, just near where my head was resting.
"Y-you stabbed me!?" Crescent of course couldn't talk, but it didn't seem to regret its decision in the slightest, if anything, it seemed rather proud of its 'accomplishment' if it even was one.
"What!?" I heard the clatter of metal, I looked over and saw Sam standing over a bunch of stuff she dropped. "What stabbed you!?" She rushed over.
"Crescent..." I looked over at Crescent. if it was proud of what it did...and it only lives if I live...did it save me from dying? "I think did a good job"
"What? You just said it stabbed you..."
"Sam...remember the coin thing?"
"Yeah? It brought you to before you died"
"When Crescent stabbed me, it had the same effect as the coin...except, we seem to be further back than what the coin could do."
"So we die soon?"
"No...I didn't exactly see how it could've gotten worse, but considering Crescent has no reason to kill me or itself, I'm assuming it did it to protect me"
"Is...that actually true?" Though she wanted a more definite answer from me, Crescent did what it could to nod. "O...kay then..." I got my feet off the couch and held my head. "Headache?"
"No...just, thinking" Sam walked around and sat down with me. "Part of my journal is ripped, more so the start...memories locked too...the woman in that vision seems to be related to me somehow, and wanted me to live, no matter what happens...Crescent seems to try and uphold that" Crescent nodded. "Raymond is practically helicoptering us...even went as far as to give us a mission in Marivo so we couldn't do our own search"
"Do you wanna go back?"
"Too risky at the moment..." Too many mysteries going around...but not any leads. My hud opened, I was ready to close it, thinking it was Raymond's message again, until I fully read it.
Clock tower
Recipient: Your neighborhood Handyman
You know where to go.
"What's that?" Sam clearly read the message. "Clocktower?"
"I don't...get it either...but...did you have to read it?"
"Well, you just said your sword stabbed you...and now some unknown guy messages you"
"I mean...I guess so" I stood up.
"Do you even know where to go?"
"There's not many places I know that have clock towers, the one in the city is probably where they meant."
"Should I stay here?"
"They didn't say to go alone, if they complain that's their fault"
"Hehe, alright then!" She hopped up. I picked up Crescent and slashed down, cutting open the portal.
"This should be just outside the clock tower"
"First I go then!" She skipped into the portal, I waited a moment before following. We were back on earth again, this time the clock tower in front of us. The only way up was the elevator.
"Think it still runs" I waited on Sam's opinion.
"Probably, it'd be dumb if they called you here and then didn't get the only way up running" I clicked the up button, it took a moment, but it soon lit up, indicating it worked.
"I'll be damned." I looked up and saw 15 floors, I was ready to wait for the elevator but with a ding, the doors opened. I made sure to step in first just in case, but nothing happened. Sam walked in soon after, tapping the button to the top floor. "Just realized something" The doors closed.
"Yeah?"
"They messaged me, so it's a DT, but i don't recall knowing any DTs who consider themselves a 'Handyman'" The elevator must've already been on the first floor, it's taking a bit longer.
"What do you think they wanna talk about?"
"For all we know they want us dead."
"Let's...hope not" The doors opened, the person who messaged me made themselves clear, they stood at the edge of the tower with a rifle, looking down at the city. We stepped out and right as I opened my mouth to question them, they spoke.
"Shot at a tavern, stabbed by your own sword Sound familiar?"
"Yeah..." I simply answered them.
"You're dying too often, the coin ain't a miracle worker" The person was offputting, they spoke normally, stood normally, but something was simply...off, the cloak that covered their appearance fully...the rifle...
"What'd you want?"
"Straight to the point, about right" They hit the butt of the rifle down, changing it into a sword, with flair they twirled it and masterfully sheathed it on their back. "You're able to rewind after you die, though you figured out that much, thing is, you can die all you want, but you still gotta use it right."
"What?"
"Your sword stabbed you, bringing you further than the coin, don't you see my point? You can find out whatever you want, you just gotta kill yourself right after so no one knows"
"Pardon me?"
"You think people have to kill you to cause it? All you gotta do is stop living, and that coin will prevent it."
"How do you know about it?" They reached into their pocket, a moment later, a shine in the sky before they catched it.
"Don't get it wrong, we're not the same person, I ain't some guy from the future or the past, I'm just a handyman, tryna get you on the right path."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why help?"
"Well, you gotta live don't ya? No matter what happens?" I raised Crescent.
"How do you know everything? Even stuff that just happened?" The 'handyman' raised their index finger, swiping it to the right, I was confused at first, until Crescent flung out of my hand towards the direction he swiped in, my hand felt burned after sliding against the hilt. "Wh...the hell!?" I took out my knife as a last resort, they tried swipping again, though it didn't work.
"Oh...well...you know what?" They looked at both of us. "If you both win, I'll tell ya whatever you want, if ya lose, you quit it with the questions." I almost instantly agreed until I pondered on it longer. I stood straight and put away the knife, I looked over to Sam who already had her weapons drawn, but seeing me put away mine, made her do the same.
"Let's go" I turned around "This was pointless."
"Lee" The handyman spoke. "I hope you know this is all far from over, even when it looks like the end, things are only just starting"
"What's your deal?" I turned back around to face them.
"Told ya already, Just tryna do you a favor"
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Tsk" I resummoned Crescent back to me and sheathed it.
"Let's just go" I cut open a portal and the two of us returned back to the base. "He just messed with you the entire time"
"He did mentioned one thing that can help..."
"Wha-..no"
"Why not?"
"It's killing yourself, what do you need to know that badly?"
"Why my memories are locked, where my pages went, why I need to live so badly compared to everyone else"
"..." Sam looked at the floor. "Doesn't that just ruin the whole point of living? The whole one chance part of it?"
"We get brought back either way...I'm just getting info in the process"
"...just...don't go overboard with it...okay?"
"I won't, it'll be a last resort"
"Better be..."
"There you two are" A very annoyed Nicholai walked over. "You two just up and disappeared."
"We just had to take a quick visit to earth"
"What?"
"What's so wrong with earth?" Sam was confused by Nicholai's worry
"Oh, well, nothing...nothing at all, doesn't explain why you went there though."
"Just responding to a message we got, it ended up being pointless." I tapped the front of my foot on the ground.
"Ahhuh, that tends to be how random messages go..."
"Well, I figured that out, so, you were looking for us right?"
"Yeah, Raymond wanted us to go on a mission to stop a disturbance, but it was handled before we could go" So the same message was sent, yet I didn't get one again...
"Really? I didn't get anything" Sam responded how I was thinking, neither of us got the message, I understood why I hadn't gotten it, if my HUD keeps all the information even through a rewind, maybe it was flagged as a repeat, but Sam didn't get it at all.
"Huh...i'd say that's more of a Kenneth needed thing, but I don't really think he could answer that" Nicholai was seemingly pondering something herself. "Nevermind, you two didn't get hurt looking into this 'random message' right?"
"Maybe a bit of a scratch or two, but nothing much" My hand still tingled minorly, but it was better than before at the very least.
"You can handle a scratch, if you're still moving around then you're fine, probably" Nicholai turned around.
"Oh, actually before you go" even not being able to see her face I could tell she rolled her eyes before turning around.
"Hm?"
"Does anything seem familiar to you?"
"No?"
"You?" I turned to Sam, she shook her head.
"Nope, something the matter?"
"Just a feeling of deja vu is all"
"Riiight, I guess if you can rewind at least somewhat, something is gonna seem off, anything else?"
"No, that's all, sorry"
"Just don't do anything dumb, unless you do there's no need for an apology" She turned back around and went on her way.
"Welcome back!" Kaz hopped onto the couch's left arm and looked over at us.
"Heya Kaz!, whatcha been up to?" Sam crouched down to be on Kaz's level...somewhat, even crouched down she was a bit higher than Kaz.
"Just looooking around"
"And did you find anything?" I looked down at the two.
"Yup!" Out of thin air, a file appeared on the couch.
"You have DT stuff too..."
"Yuppers!" I couldn't help but feel bothered by it, regardless, the file seemed important, I picked it up and sat down, Sam beside me, and soon Kaz, hopping over onto Sam's lap.
"This looks confidential..."
"It is!"
"What?"
"They weren't looking at it, it was underneath hundreds of stuff, and it also relates to the corruption issue" There was silence, but only for a moment, I could only respond with a sigh before opening it up.
"There's a few things here...Corruption Symptoms, Corruption types, Corruptors...these didn't come from one file did they?"
"I put a few together"
"Figures..." It was hard to decide which to go to first, until I ultimately decided going in order was for the best. I only glanced at the page for a moment until I spoke again. "May wanna cover your ears for this one Sam."
"Is it that bad?"
"Sorta...may wanna look away too" Her expression changed to a more somber one before she covered her ears. "Alright...Corruption Symptoms..."
Corruption Symptoms
Warning: Not all corrupted DTs/Humans are affected by Corruption the same way, do not use this file as a way to accurately determine the corruption level of an individual.
Minor Corruption: Slightly Tainted(With Purple)blood, Paranoia, Itchiness, Slight blood in coughs, a bit more coughing(Minor Corruption does not cause more coughing)
Medium Corruption: Some veins turned purple, Tainted(With Purple) Blood, more severe Paranoia, Insomnia, lack of control, more coughing, blood in coughs, Small visual hallucinations, rare auditory hallucinations, a small lust for power.
Major Corruption: Most veins turned purple, Almost all blood is purple, Severe Paranoia, Impossible to sleep, almost no control, almost always coughing, the blood in the coughs increased heavily, Visual hallucinations, Auditory Hallucinations, a debilitating lust for power.
Full Corruption(Not fully turned): No normal blood, constant bleeding from any wounds, nose, mouth, and rarely ears(No bleeding from the eyes have been documented but some "cases" have said otherwise), Coughing has stopped, unable to speak(The Victim if they're alive, not the corpse), accelerated rotting, endless hallucinations(That is in the rare case the victim has somehow managed to live up to this point.), Voices that speak of "Cleansing time"<-(Are we just going to ignore this?), Sporadic movements, Randomly says words they've said just before reaching this state.
There were clearly some additions added after this was originally written, photos added to showcase their points, the bodies only became more rotted as it went on.
"Cleansing time..." I reread it multiple times, someone had written down 'Are we just going to ignore this' but it was much different then the other edits, less organized, a different font...
"But what would that mean?" Seeing me repeat myself she uncovered her ears, most likely hearing the last time I said it. "They just corrupt people don't they?"
"Maybe there's something more to it..." I went to the next one, corruption types.
Corruption Types
This file requires completion, take what you read beyond this point with suspicion
Normal Corruption: The type we mostly deal with, Corruptors, Corrupted, Ect<-(What the hell is this explanation?)
Degraded Corruption: A more severe case of Corruption, if anyone is seen to have this version refer to D.C.P and prep heavy rewind(So long as the DC Victim isn't one of the Rewinders, if so, refer back to D.C.P)
Pure Corruption: It is impossible to die to this corruption, however, Normal Corruption is needed in the person's system beforehand. This Version disregards all penalties to Normal Corruption, allowing its magic, abilities, and other positives to be used like normal magic(Stronger abilities and powers still require blood, only a minor amount compared to the original) There have been only 10 cases of this, as progressing to this version has a high chance of death or degraded Corruption, if anyone claims to have Pure Corruption, report them to A District Ruler, if they are a hostile, do not engage, anyone found fighting with an enemy with pure corruption will be killed before they can locate Eaxura, you have been warned.
There were no images compared to the last, rather it was just the text instead. It seemed as though the other two versions of corruption were to be avoided at all costs. There wasn't anything I could comment on, compared to the symptoms, I couldn't go off of anything.
Corruptors
This file isn't about Corruptors, Burn this...
and find whoever wrote it
...
"What?" I held a blank paper
"It's...nothing" It said to burn it, yet nothing was on it to begin with.
"Did magic do this? Does burning a file mean something different in the context to what we can do?" I looked at the paper, There was something, I could see it just barely, no, it wasn't even that, even if you used tech it would be unreadable, the only thing that proved something was written at all was the very small indent caused by a pen writing into it. "It's about corruption...and I'm not the only one who's immune to it..." I looked at my hand.
"What're you thinking?"
"What if I use my blood?"
"Wha, huh!?"
"I...don't think you should" Kaz was more concerned about why it was my first idea.
"There's only one way to find out" I took out my knife and waited for Sam to look away, however she seemed intent on observing. Pressing it against my palm I slashed down, blood trickled down and onto the page, and from there, my idea proved to be correct. Purple text appeared from the red and while difficult to read, it was much better than before.
TO THE CORRUPTED
I can't fully say who's an ally or not, therefor, if you can read this page, you probably did it how the rest of us did
Sorry for that, but there wasn't much of a choice if I wanted only those who're corrupted to read it
The CSF and CEF are not looking out for you, I can't say if A District Ruler made it this way, as the CSF and CEF seem to have higher
Authority than Raymond and the others. If you're corrupted and the CSF come knocking on your door, leave, as soon as you can, if the CEF come...
I'm sorry, but there isn't much anyone can do against them.
We have somewhere safe outside of Zullo, sadly, not a planet, rather a massive ship, not the size of the Teth you may have heard of, but
It's big enough to house a few cities, there's not many of us after all.
Corrupted are seen as hostiles, people who risk the public's health...I can't...fully blame the CSF, anyone can turn and cause mass destruction
but I can't agree with killing them without even checking their immunity. We have a saying "To Rise and" If you say that, and they reply "Rest upon the stars"
They're one of us, if they're confused then they're not...if they reply with "Conquer" or something similar they're CSF, or CEF, and you should leave quickly but discreetly
Do not be worried if a CSF soldier says the correct phrase, we can assure you, no one but our allies and ourselves know the phrase, they can be trusted
If they say the correct thing
We can teach you how to use Corruption, don't hesitate to contact us, we're in this together...and there may not be much time left depending how
Noticeably Corrupted you are.
-To Rise, and Rest upon the stars
"What...the hell did I just read?"
"So...they are hunting you..."
"Should we meet up with them" Kaz looked up at me waiting for an answer.
"There's not much of a choice...We may have to seperate for a while..."
"Why?"
"It's not what I want, but it'd be offputting if we all left, if I just leave, then only I'd be seen as a target, not all of you, that way we can still have people here, while minimizing the risk to all of us"
"But you'd be alone, wouldn't you?"
"I can go!" Kaz went from Sam to me, rising up to my shoulder.
"We'll all stay in contact of course, but this may be for the best.
"Should we tell the others?"
"I would...but...Kenneth can't really lie to save himself"
"I guess so...Nicholai is a bit iffy with lying too...if anything she's pretty honest" I stood up.
"We'll be splitting up for a bit, I can leave things to you right?"
"Of course, better come back as an unstoppable boss!"
"If only, hopefully I'm not long" Sam looked sad, but it was for the best. "I'll contact you when I make it aboard, hopefully I'm not just saying the same phrase endlessly to random people." With my stuff and Kaz, I walked out the door. Looking at Eaxura now, it was different, anyone could be an insider, anyone could want me dead, if the CSF already appeared during that mission, it's not so farfetched to think they already know I'm corrupted.
"I have an idea" Kaz spoke atop my shoulder. "What if we go to where the Teth is?"
"Why~?"
"Well, they mentioned the Teth...so maybe they're related somehow?"
"...Good point" I closed my hand and raised it to Kaz, getting a fistbump in response.
With how crowded the streets were, I didn't have to worry about blending in, letting us make it to the Teth rather unbothered. The ship, of course, was beyond comprehension, you weren't even able to see the end of it. Being back on point, there were many people wondering about, but one, just one, was leaning against a wall as they looked towards the Teth, as though reminiscing. I walked up to him.
"Whatcha want?" His voice was gravely, and his face has scars though they had seemingly faded with time. I contemplated whether to say it.
"To Rise and" I could feel my heart pound, waiting for a response. The man looked at me, his eyes squinted as he looked at me more intensely.
"Rest upon the stars" His answer was slow, and his voice still gravely, but it was the answer I had hoped for, the man smirked. "Ain't you a sight for sore eyes sharpshooter" It was like someone punched me in the head as my brain churned to understand.
"Wait...yo-you're the guy that needed the outpost!"
"Hehe, at least ya rememba"
"What happened to you?"
"One of our guys got a bit pissy he didn't get extras."
"That's it?"
"You bet, burned the entire stock we had, made it pretty obvious for zombies to waltz in with all the yellin too" He brushed the hair aside that covered his right eye, it had an eyepatch. "Couldn't recover the eye they said"
"Jeez..."
"regardless...guess you didn't make it either"
"Some guy shot us."
"And that friend who needed the medicine?"
"Got shot too"
"Tsk...who the hell shots a buncha kids, you were much younger then too"
"By a year or two, not enough to say much younger"
"Well you're helluva lot younger than me, hahaha...eh...god I'm old......Anywho, you're one of us ay?"
"Yeah...found the file, or, this fella did"
"Hewo!"
"Did...nevermind, honestly that's not that weird compared to everything else...sad to say I don't recall your name"
"Lee, and the cat is Kaz"
"Lee and Kaz huh? Well, let's get ya aboard the Teth 2.0"
"Called it!"
"You can just call me Loui"
"Like...Low?"
"Loui"
"It just sounds like you're saying Low"
"Guess they sound similar enough..." Loui grabbed my shoulder, and almost in an instant, we were somewhere else.
"W, wha...how..."
"We'll teach ya how, it's not a corrupted skill either"
"Alright..."
"Yo! Another new guy!" Someone sitting in a chair pushed themselves back, making the chair spin. Soon everyone looked my way, all of them excited.
"Welcome to the Guardians, Recruit!"
"What? I thought the Guardians were the Teth?"
"We are, ya see" He walked over to the table in the middle of the room...taking a better look it seemed like some command center, the front with many desks and screens and buttons, with a massive window facing in the very front.
The table pulled up a hologram, showing the Teth and a planet.
"We were sent on a mission from a district ruler, not Raymond, some other guy...don't recall them...anywho, we got to the planet and wouldn't ya know, a buncha fucking corrupted waiting for us, with corruptors behind em. Everyone of us got hit at least once, hence..." He opened his arms, as to show everyone. "Here we are, instead of being taken in or killed by the CSF, we left those bastards in the dust."
"So you guys are the Guardians of the Teth?"
"We just call ourselves the Guardians now, but yeah"
"So...where's the boss of it all? I wanted to ask them about the note."
"Use your eyes bud" I looked at everyone, they all wore a black jacket with a star symbol instead of normal military rankings, but when I got over to Loui, his was a grey jacket and a different star compared to the others.
"How'd you end up leading to very different groups."
"Guess I have a true charm to me"
"Sure...but the note...how did it get found out?"
"It was much different before I made it how it was, before it was actually written, hence it got found out, but, when they erased the whole thing, that's when I did the whole blood stuff."
"So the CSF found it before someone who actually needed it"
"Yeah, we can't exactly control it when we don't know who needs it. We can't sense corruption, most of us anyways. But that don't matter anymore, we got someone with actual fighting experience now"
"I wouldn't go that far"
"Nah, even they agree, some of these guys are the same people from my ol group, a decent chunk of these guys are new to fighting, we could use any help just like before, in return, I'll teach ya parts ya don't know, magic, Corruption skills."
"Guess this deal is more me sided, safe place, being taught, just for teaching others how to fight"
"Glad ya see it that way" He walked over to a different table, one that actually looked familiar to me, the machine moved, creating something. "Regardless, may not be an official division now, but while I can." He picked up whatever the machine had made and walked over, what he held were dog tags, on one side was information about me, some spaces open for me to fill, the other side a sword with eligible writing.
"Think your machine broke."
"That's on purpose, you'll learn to read this sooner or later"
"Wouldn't be the first..."
"Fighter and translator?"
"I'd rather not cause a misunderstanding"
"heh, whateva ya say"
"Loui!" Someone at a desk spoke up, calling for the leader. He quickly rushed over.
"What's wrong?"
"The scout team we sent down is having issues, CSF"
"Shit..." Loui looked at the monitor, then at the window in the front, I couldn't tell if the planet was Eaxura as I hadn't even been in the world's space yet. "Your end can be done now"
"How?"
"Train the new guys while we're gone!" A few of the Guardians put on gear before a portal was cut open.
"But aren't I a new guy too!?"
"Not what the sword says!" Before I could question them more they disappeared.
"eh"
"Well, Lee, we can take ya to the training room" While the soldier talked, they also handed me a tablet. "Before you ask what it is, I'll explain. This tablet can connect to your HUD, as such, we'll temporarily create a sub team in your HUD, won't interfere with your main team, but it'll still let you see their health and all."
"And the tablet?"
"To create simulations, anything they fail at will be up to you to fix"
"Feel like actual sparring would be more successful"
"Well, if it's found your training does well we'll consider it. Loui may be the main boss but that doesn't mean he rules every part of this ship"
"Fair enough, I take it your responsible for the soldier's care then?"
"You can say that, either way, good for you for catching on."
"What about me" Kaz had been mostly silent, but perked up upon realizing they had nothing to do.
"Ah...where..."
"She's pretty small huh?"
"Whether they are or aren't I should've noticed them!"
"Maybe they blended in with my hair.
"It barely reached your shoulder"
"Beyond me then"
"Whatever..." He turned on the tablet before fully letting it go. During the startup an emblem appeared, a shield and in the center of it a knight with their fist against their chest like they were saluting. It fully started up, there were a few apps, simulation, Teams, the such. "Good luck, if ya need anything find me."
"oh shit" I mumbled to myself.
"What?" I startled Kaz.
"I didn't message Sam yet" I opened my HUD and wrote.
Sorry for the wait, It passed my mind
-Lee
It's alright, how is it?
-Sam
A...welcoming bunch I'd say, the guy who helped me
Get the medication for you is the leader of the Guardians
-Lee
The same guardians as the Teth ones?
-Sam
Yeah...his name's Loui, it sorta sounds like Low
-Lee
Well, make sure you and Kaz take care, we have stuff to check out down here
-Sam
Same goes to you and the others
-Lee
"Guess we better get to it" I interlocked my fingers and extended them as far as I could to stretch all the while I began walking wherever my feet brought me, by some miracle I made it to the training room through all the hallways and turns.
"Surprised you found your way"
"Just had a hunch, surprised it was right." There wasn't any handle for the door, no keypad on the side either.
Just press your hand against it
-TDM
"Guess he can see me...TDM...Training Department Manager?" I pressed my hand against the door, it glowed white before opening.
"Welcome to the training department Lee" I couldn't tell where exactly it came from, but I heard it all the same. The room seemed overkill, even if it was an illusion it looked like the room expanded on for miles. I took a step and almost tumbled down a set of stairs before catching myself on a railing.
"God...damnit..." I was too focused on how big the room was instead of seeing the fact there were stairs right below me. I carefully set my feet down and started walking.
"Hey, where do you think you're headin?" The TDM spoke from an intercom.
"Am I not training them?"
"You have your own area, to your left" When I turned that direction, a portion of the wall opened up, it revealed a hidden area, I walked in and turned right, i saw a desk, a window facing the entire field, and a few monitors. "You can create any scenario here, don't go overboard"
"I'll do my best not to" I pulled out the chair and sat down, I was meant to construct a scenario from scratch, inputting in my own enemies maybe even making my own. "Alright..." I set the tablet on the desk, using a stand to keep it up, all the while Kaz hopped onto the table, watching whatever I did. "Let's get to work then"