As expected, the Orphanage's elevator left me in a random location within the Otherworld. As the doors opened, I prayed that Lady Luck would bless me. Much to my delight, she had; when I exited the elevator, the first thing I saw was the logo of the Molten Fist Clan. But before I could relax, the clanging and rumbling of giant machines filled the air, drawing a groan from me. An industrial ward, then. Shit.

Industrial wards, especially those of clans, were shielded against mapping technology and had automated defenses. They had to defend themselves from industrial spies and all that.

Unfortunately for me, it didn’t matter that I had no interest in the industrial secrets of the Molten Fist clan.

I had no map and no idea where I was or where I would have to go to get out, and turning a corner to an automated turret would end badly. Lovely.

I started wandering around in the labyrinth that was the industrial ward, checking my corners and making sure to stay out of sight of any defenses, hoping to hear the sound of people talking. These sorts of operations were largely automated, but human oversight was always present. It was just a matter of time until I stumbled across a person. Or at least elevators that went to the main Otherworld.

About 30 minutes later, just as I was starting to get annoyed and the scents of industrial chemicals started grating on my nerves, the universe decided to throw me a bone. A beautiful yellow sign beckoned me with the words “EXIT ELEVATORS” and an arrow pointing to the left. I happily followed the directions, and before long, I saw the beautiful doors of a pair of elevators.

“Hey, who’re you?” I heard someone shout behind me. I turned to see a surly-looking older man stomp towards me, a terrifyingly powerful-looking shotgun in his hands.

I raised my hands in a placating gesture. “Easy. I’m a friend.”

He snorted derisively, “Oh yeah, of who?”

“Uh,” I hesitated. I couldn’t tell him I was a friend of Zuri or the patriarch. I doubt he’d believe it enough to even check. Ah! “Elder Dinos,” I answered with a smile.

The man squinted at me, his glower getting deeper. “Elder Dinos, you say? Well, we’ll see about that,” he waved at me to follow him, the shotgun never pointing away from me. I shrugged and followed, my hands still in the air, until we reached the terminal recessed in a wall, and the man sent a message to Fortress Zuri.

A few minutes later, the man’s eyes widened in alarm, and the shotgun that had been slowly lowering pointed right back up to my head.

“What? I really do know him,” I said.

The man’s scowl got deeper. “I guess you do, or else he wouldn’t be coming here right now. But until I know it’s safe to let you traipse about from his lips, you ain’t movin’ an inch.”

I let out an exasperated grunt and surrendered myself to this little distraction.

Less than five minutes later, I heard the sound of someone huffing. A moment later, Elder Dinos turned the corner. “Razel, what are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to be in the Orphanage?”

“Ah, Zuri told you. Yeah, that’s why I’m here, actually. The Orphanage elevator deposited me right in the middle of this ward. Your good man here,” I pointed at the man who still hadn’t lowered his gun, “Intercepted me before I got to the elevators.”

Elder Dinos glanced at the ill-tempered man and waved him down. "Put the gun away, Clarence. Can’t you tell by the way I’m talking to him that we’re familiar?”

The gun was finally lowered, and the man, Clarence, turned around and stomped away while muttering to himself, “I never get to shoot anything fun. Oh, sure, Clarence, make the awesome guns, Clarence. But do I ever get to shoot the awesome guns? No.”

Elder Dinos chuckled awkwardly, shaking his head. “Sorry about that. This ward has a lot of experimental weapons, so the folks here tend to be pretty trigger-happy about protecting this place. I didn’t know this location was in the rotation for potential locations where the Orphanage elevator can dump people. I’ll talk about it with Master Shal. See if we can prevent that from happening again.”

“Fair enough,” I shrugged. “So, I owe you a beer. Help me find my way out of this blasted place, and I’ll owe you two.”

Elder Dinos smirked and waved at me, “Well, you already know the way out of this place, but I won’t say no to free booze.”

We chuckled, returned to the elevator I had found before, and rode it to the main Otherworld thoroughfare." I looked around and spotted a nearby Newbie bar. I pointed at it, looking at Elder Dinos with a questioning look.

He nodded with another chuckle. “Why not? I haven’t newbie-watched in years.”

We made our way to the bar and were immediately given premium spots when Elder Dinos mentioned his position within the Molten Fist Clan.

“So,” Elder Dinos grunted as he settled into his seat and ordered a pint of beer. “What are your plans now, lad?”

I sighed and leaned back, ordering a glass of fizzy, iced peach tea. “Well, for one, I need to wipe my name from the public records.”

“Aye, as I understand it, you got into a spot of trouble. Bad enough you need an identity wipe, though?”

“Yeah,” a waitress brought us our drinks, and we took a moment to enjoy them. I let out a long sigh, the bubbly and sweet drink being the final, missing puzzle piece on my road to recovery. I put down the drink, feeling like a new man, and shook my head. “I need a full wipe, but I can’t go to the Codebreakers at the guild.” I waved away his questioning look. “Long story, someone is angry at me, and if I show up, they might go ballistic.”

The elevator doors on the other side of the road opened, and the first two rows of the bar got to see someone take their first steps into the Otherworld. The man looked to be in his early 20s and walked forward with a confident, almost cocky smile. As soon as his foot touched the cobblestone of the Otherworld, though, he collapsed to the ground and started spewing his guts. His companion looked on with an exasperated sort of annoyance.

The entire bar cheered, some jeering and throwing out taunts to the newcomer. From the corner of my vision, I spotted some people shaking their heads with disappointed expressions. Recruiters, no doubt.

“Well, I might be able to help you with that,” Elder Dinos said after the din died down and the newbie was given the Otherworld patch. “Got a friend of a cousin who is an independent Codebreaker. Can probably get you a wipe that won’t cost an arm and a leg.” He looked down at my metallic arm. “No offense.”

I snorted with a smirk, “No offense taken, Elder Dinos. I’d be glad for the help.”

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“Good, and please, just call me Dinos. I’ve not been elder long enough for the arrogance to set in.”

“Fair enough, Dinos.” I took another swig of my drink and ordered us both a rack of ribs with fries, “So, you said something about an independent Codebreaker…”

…

I walked through the streets of the Otherworld, my heart hammering in my chest. I left Elder Dinos at the bar. He was having way too much fun watching newbies get humbled. He’d given me the contact details of this Codebreaker, along with a “token of introduction” in the form of a small purple coin, and sent me on my way.

And now, I had to do the hard part.

I stopped and stared at the pier of synthwood doors in front of me. Behind the doors, I could hear the sound of people training, fighting, and laughing. Familiar sounds. Sounds I hadn’t heard in almost a decade.

Not since I was banished from this dojo. The last time I had seen these doors, I walked through them in shame. And here I was, back again.

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. For a few agonizing moments, nothing happened. I raised my hand to knock again, but a moment before my fist struck the door, it swung open. Unfortunately, I was mid-movement and was too slow to stop myself. My arm kept moving, and I watched with silent horror as it touched the forehead of a short, green-haired woman in pigtails.

We stared at each other for a moment, me with my first against her forehead and her going cross-eyed staring at it.

“Hey, uh, Yrin,” I said, my nerves getting the better of me and leaving me speechless. So, of course, I did what anyone in my position would do, and I gently tapped my fist against my old friend’s forehead twice. “Can I come in?”

“Raz?” She looked back and forth from my fist to my face, stunned as she processed the sequence of events. With an almost audible click, something seemed to snap in her head, and she went bright red, grabbed me by the wrist and the elbow, and bodily threw me through the doors and into the courtyard of the Iron Peace Dojo.

Considering how out of shape and out of practice I was, the old me of a couple weeks ago would have landed hard and probably sprained something. The gem and my recent experiences, though, had seen me go through a drastic change.

I landed hard, but my Dexterity statistic kicked in, and I managed to salvage my dignity. I turned my landing into a roll. I planted my hands on the ground and used my momentum to hop back to my feet. The noises around me stopped as everyone in the courtyard turned to look at us.

“Ow! What the fuck, Yrin?” I shouted at the fuming woman approaching me menacingly.

“Eight. Years.” she raised a finger to point at my face as she got closer. “For eight years, you haven’t come to visit; you don’t even send a message to your old pal. You just disappear. Then, out of nowhere, you return, and the first thing you do is knock on my head like you suspect me to be an overripe melon. Are you looking to get your face kicked in?”

“Yeah. That’s fair. Sorry. I’m a little out of sorts today,” I said, my apologetic tone seeming to deflate her anger a little.

She adjusted her Gi and planted her hands on her hips. “Where have you been? And what are you doing here, Raz?”

“I’ve been living in sector 16 for the past few years. Been working as a mission runner. Or, at least, I was. It’s a long story.” I said, waving her questions off. “Listen, Yrin, I would love to catch up, and I promise we will, but I have something to take care of first. Does Master have time for a visitor right now?”

“A visitor, is it?" The corners of her mouth moved downward. “And here I was hoping you came back to grovel at her feet and come back to us.”

I shook my head with a sad smile. “Sorry to disappoint, but today I’m not here for me.”

She raised an eyebrow and slowly looked at me up and down. Something seemed to catch her attention, and her gaze paused. “Your arm, what happened to it?”

“Yrin, I promise we’ll catch up later. Is Master available?” I insisted. I knew that answering one of her questions would lead to fifteen more, and I had neither the time nor the energy for it.

She huffed and crossed her arms, her right sandal slapping against the courtyard tiles impatiently. “What do you need to see her for?”

“I have a new prospective student.”

“Tonfas?”

I nodded.

She let out another huff, “A banished student, coming back to ask we take on a recommendation of his. I have to congratulate you. This might be the first time this has happened in the history of this dojo.”

I shrugged, giving her a cheeky grin. “What can I say? I like keeping you on your toes.”

“Mmm,” she hummed, looking at me up and down again. “You always did.”

I cleared my throat, rolling my eyes at her brazen staring. “Right, so, the Master?”

She rolled her eyes and gave me an equally cheeky grin. “The Master is indisposed right now. Send me the information on your charge, and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Indisposed? Is everything okay?” I sent Yrin an info packet I wrote on Aren during my stay at the infirmary. It wasn’t anything impressive, just my observations of the kid’s skill and character.

She waved my concerns away, her eyes going unfocused as she read the info packet. “Nothing for you to worry about.” she nodded in satisfaction and focused back to me. “If what you wrote here is true, he seems like a decent candidate. We’ll take him on, see what he can do.”

I blinked at her. “You have that authority?”

“Well, as the Master’s successor, I do.” She replied smugly.

“She finally named you as her successor?” I asked, my smirk turning into a grin. “Fuckin’ finally!” I raised my hand for a high-five. She looked at my raised hand and hesitated. “Don’t leave me hanging,” I urged her.

Yrin blushed, glanced around at the staring students of the Iron Peace Dojo, and hopped up, giving my palm a slap.

“There, didn’t leave you hanging. Now get out of here. You interrupted my lesson.” She made a shooing motion. “Go and tell this Aren that I’m gonna come by to evaluate him in the next two days.”

I nodded gratefully. “Thanks, Yrin.”

“You’re welcome. Now, off with you.” She made the shooing motion again, and I hurried out, promising to have a drink together once I had some free time.

…

“So, you’ve got me a place at a Dojo where you and a clan heiress trained?” Aren asked, incredulous.

“Yep!” I said, planting my fists on my hips and puffing out my chest in pride.

He tried to speak but the squeaky noises he made were unintelligible. I gave him time to sort his thoughts out, and he seemed to end up on one question.

“... Why?” He asked, looking at me askance, suspicion in his eyes.

His reaction was, as always, not what I had hoped for. “Well, Kornok’s crew was disbanded. The scrap crawler has been sold off to a different gang. I can’t just abandon you. We went on a mission together. We’re comrades!”

Aren glanced around suspiciously and then back to my face, squinting. “But, what do you gain out of it?”

That was a good question. What did I gain out of all this? “You know, I haven’t really thought about it until now. But I can tell you this. You’ve got potential, kid.”

“I do?” Asked Aren, his eyes lighting up.

I nodded encouragingly, “Damn right you do. Apply yourself and train, and you have the potential to become a legend. You just need fertile ground to grow. That’s what the Dojo is. As for what I get out of it, consider it… An investment.”

“An investment?”

I nodded and pointed at his new prosthetic leg. “Get used to fighting with that, grow strong enough to get Yrin’s approval, and in two years, when you turn 16, we’ll get you registered to the Guild and start running missions together. How does that sound?”

His eyes lit up. “Really?”

I smiled at his enthusiasm. “Really.”

All the fire in him seemed to go out all at once. “But, Razel, I… I was…”

“Tasked with killing me during the mission,” I finished for him. He looked up in alarm. “I know.”

“Then…” His bottom lip trembled.

I shrugged and patted him on the shoulder. “You didn’t even try to betray me once, kid. I was looking out for it the entire time. You chose the path of honor even if it meant failing your mission. I respect that. It’s partially why I want you by my side. I trust you.”

“Really?” he asked again.

“Really,” I said with a smile.

I stayed for a few more minutes, engaging in light conversation with Aren, but he had lessons to get to, and I had a Codebreaker to contact. We said our goodbyes, and I promised to check in after his evaluation.

I left the Orphanage in a good mood. Things were starting to look up!