Author's Note: Hello! Whether you've decided to reset at the end of "Determination," I hope you enjoy this next story! Please take a moment to leave a review, so I can BE FILLED WITH WRITING DETERMINATION! ;-D

(As of 4/21/16, this story is up for adoption. Please PM if you're interested.)

The child trembled as they stood at the mouth of the cave. Even though the sun had shone for three days, its heat uninhibited by so much as a mention of a cloud, the child felt a deep chill like that of a winter's night. They were taught time and again about this cave on Mount Ebbot, making it both a mysterious and familiar place. They couldn't pinpoint the first time they knew about the cave, as there was always a strong suspicion that knowledge of this place was taught to them before the Caretakers taught them how to walk. And no one could answer how or when the cave was first discovered, as the existence of the massive subterranean expanse survived long past the memory of its original discoverer. When the war drew to an end, all the generals knew about it was that it had one opening and was large enough to trap their enemies.

The child put a hand on the ground which encompassed the only entry to the cave beneath. They stared, momentarily wondering if it really was some group of magicians or wizards who sealed away the enemy army, but laughed bitterly at the idea of humans possessing more power than just to speak, lie, hurt, kill and be killed. It was just a group of fighters who got lucky, they recited to themselves, just like us. They looked up the height of the entrance from one side around to the other, the earth and rock seeming to rise up from the ground, encircle a lightless gap, and return to the ground again. The child held on with both hands, as staring up and around the edge of the mouth of the cave made them dizzy. It felt like an impossibly large creature waiting for a hearty meal. Or a wayward child.

A sharp sensation like a tooth across the palm of their right hand threatened to elicit a scream of pain and fear and surprise and terror and hatred and fear, but they instinctively clapped their prominent hand over their nose and mouth. The sharp smell of iron made their eyes grow wide, but the swirling senses- the dizziness, the smell and taste of blood, throbbing pain in the hand- all of these worked together to draw a smile back onto their face. They rubbed their lips together, wondering if it would be better to clean them or if blood could act as a protection against chapped lips. They looked at the cut on the right hand and laughed that the assailant was merely a particularly sharp rock. As they wiped their hand on their pants, wanting to keep from staining their striped sweater unless absolutely necessary, a memory came to them.

When the adults brought the other children to the House, the child remembered the strangers and their Caretakers cutting their hands before both of them shaking hands together. The child forgot what was said exactly apart from the repeated words "money" and "power," but they always remembered that they were some forms of promises that made the departing adults either cry a little less or become downright joyful. The child looked up at the cave mouth again, no longer dizzy by the abyss before them. Raising their right hand, they whispered, "So, it's you or me. I swear that this is the last time I'll be scared or beaten. If you want to see more blood, it won't be mine."

With a deep breathe of resolve, the child carefully stepped into the cave to defeat the monsters.