As almost one year had passed since this story was last updated and I was nearing the 40k word mark for the this chapter with no end in sight, I started wondering just how long before I could finally finish it. Then I slap myself in the face when I realized that I could just split it in half and upload one half first.

So yeah, here you go. Sorry it took so long. You know how life is, not that my life is bad or anything. In fact, it's going rather well. There's just too many games being released this year and the last and I got my PC upgraded half a year ago so I could finally play all the games that I couldn't before.

I got very distracted.

The only reason why I managed to even get this out is because I kept dying in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. No one wants to keep dying to the same boss for 20 times straight. My instincts as a Dark Souls player is working against me on this as I kept dodging when I'm suppose to be parrying. This scenario reminds me of my time with Artorias The Abyss Walker, which coincidentally is also the reason why I started writing fanfiction in the first place because I kept dying to him. I mean, if I can't kick his ass in the game then I sure as hell can in my own story!

Anyway, I thought I should share what plans I have for this story since who knows when I'll get around to address it.

So far, I have a three arcs planned out for now. Arc one is Introduction; it mainly focuses on Alex meeting the people in this world and develop relations with them. Arc two is where Alex continues to develop those relationships, learning more about his friends, deepening his friendship with them while simultaneously learning more about the world he inhabits and the secrets that it holds. Since it's an AU, it would have things that are different that Canon. Arc three is where Summer will be at Beacon and the start of the more darker aspects of this story that Alex will be dealing with.

Well then. Now that that's over with, let's get this show on the road.

Warning: Grammar and Spelling Mistakes inbound.

000

##%^% **& #*^!&* !#%%$^#&*^!#*$&%&*%#RƎBOOT SƎQ#ƎNCƎ INIT$ƎD

%^&&**#!# $#^%%$##-

RƎB$#TING….

….

…..

…..

Reboot Compete.

Assessing Memory File.

Retrieving Latest Status Report In Attempt To Locate Source Of Unknown Shutdown.

….

…

….

Retrieval Failed.

Error: Unable To Access Memory Files

Warning: Anomaly Detected In System Mainframe.

System Scan Required Before Any Further Actions Can Be Taken.

Scan Initiated.

Scanning...

….

….

….

System Scan Complete.

Warning: Damage Detected In Main Unit Component.

Cause Of Damage: Blunt Force Trauma.

Analyzing Damage Sustained…

…

…

…...

Analysis Complete.

Assessment As Follows:

Damage Sustained:

Unit Core- 0.00%

Main Power Storage- 0.1%

Backup Power Storage- 0%

Unit Mainframe- 0.0%

Inner Layer Shielding- 3.4%

Outer Layer Shielding- 97.6%

Unit Memory Storage- 10%

Module Storage- 0%

Legacy Template- 5% Warning: Legacy Template Has Been Damaged. Leak Detected. Damage Assessment Interrupted. Protocol #21 Has Been Initia- "-Eila! Get Away From The Windows!" -Ed.

Repairing Damage To Affected Area Has Been Designated As Priority #1. Rerouting All System Processing Power Towards Self-Repair Module.

Self-Repair Initiated.

Repairing.

….

"Where. Is. My. S**T*R!? **at hav* yo* don-"

…

…

Repair Complete.

Leaks No Longer Detected From Template. All Damage To Said Area Has Been Restored. Begin Suppression Of Previous Leaks.

…

….

Suppression Complete. Protocol #21 Successfully Concluded. Returning System To Normal Routines.

Resuming Damage Assessment:

Psychological Control- 14%

Combat System- 40% (Engagement Not Recommended At This Time)

All Essential Components Checked. End Assessment.

Conclusion: Outer Layer Shield Has Absorb Most Of The Force Of Blunt Damage And Prevented Essential Components From Being Affected. Unfortunately, Combat Systems Had Sustained More Damage Than Deemed Acceptable And Will Remain Offline Until Fully Repaired.

Suggestion To Prevent Same Scenario From Occurring: Inform Host To Start Paying More Attention To His Surroundings Or To Wear A Helmet For Improved Protection Of Main Unit.

Contacting Host….

Contact Failed: No Response Received.

Contact Attempt #2: No Response Received.

Contact Attempt #3: No Response Received.

Host Is Unresponsive. Scanning Host Condition….

Scan Complete.

Vitals Stable. No Life-Threatening Injuries Detected

Mild Concussion Detected- Expect Minor Headaches And Bouts Of Dizziness.

Minor Cut On The Back Of The Head Detected- Bleeding Subsided

Host Status: Unconscious

Danger Alert. Host Has Been Rendered Unconscious By Unknown Party. Set Data Collecting To High Priority To Access Possible Threats. Starting Scan….

Error: Unable To Scan Surroundings Without Visual Data From Host.

Adjusting For Lack Of Visual. Shifting Data Collection Focus To Audio Only. Efficiency Of Data Collection Will Be Decreased By 60%. Loss Of Efficiency Deemed Acceptable In Current Situation. Proceeding.

….

….

….

Music Detected. Possible Electronics Nearby. No Other Noise Detected In Host's Vicinity.

Calculating Data Acquired….

….

….

Chances Of Host Being Alone: 60%

Chances Of Attackers Being Present But Silent: 40%

Current Location Unknown. Presume To Be In Hostile Territory.

Time Since Reboot: 10 Seconds

Estimated Time Before Host Awakens: 2 Hours

Current Actions Available: Attempt To Acquire More Data; Continue Repair Of Main Unit; Wake Host; Self-Destruct To Prevent Asset From Being Acquired By Unknown Party; Activating Protocol #1

Evaluating Options…..

Attempt To Acquire More Data= Pros: Will Know More About Surroundings And Situation. Con: Unknown Whether Or Not Attackers Will Take Action Against Host During This Time.

Continue Repair Of V.I Chip= Pros: System Will Be Restored To Full Functionality. Cons: Unknown Whether Or Not Attackers Will Take Action Against Host During This Time.

Wake Host= Pros: Host Might Be Able To Discover His Location, Locate His Attackers And Uncover Their Motive. Able To Acquire Visual Of Surroundings To Calculate Escape Scenarios. Cons: Host Suffering From Concussion, Situational Awareness Assume To Be Affected. Combat Systems Still Offline, Unable To Defend Effectively Until Repaired.

Self-Destruct= Pros: Asset Denial. Cons: Situation Yet To Fully Grasp. Chances Of Escape And Survival Still High. Self-Destruct Deemed Unnecessary As Of Yet.

Activating Protocol #1= Pros: Able To Preserve Body For Future Engagement. Cons: Unable To Activate Without Host's Consent. Situation Still Unknown, Unable Overwrite Host's Authority Without Comprehending Current Circumstances.

Waking The Host Has Been Judged As The Most Favorable Course Of Action.

Searching For Available Means To Awaken Host…. Options Found.

Loading MissSaggyTits .img…

Loading Complete.

…

…

….

Host Is Unresponsive.

….

….

Spamming MissSaggyTits .img….

….

….

….

Host Remains Unresponsive.

Horror Imagery Deemed Ineffective. Switching To Option #2

Charging Taser….

…

….

Charge Complete.

Administering Shock In:

5...

4...

3...

2...

000

Three Hours Ago

000

"Alright then, I'm heading off." Alex called out from the other side of the kitchen with a bright smile on his face, looking very eager to set off and do his thing.

Summer looked to him from the sink with a small smile on her face, a pair of silver eyes glinting of amusement as she thought that he looks like an excited child that had just been entrusted to go shopping all on his own for the very first time. Little did she know that her thoughts wasn't that far off from the truth.

It's a little over Three O'clock right now and Alex decided that he should buy the ingredients for her farewell party right now as there aren't a lot of customers at the moment.

"Well, someone's excited to go out." Summer commented as she turn off the tap. The water stooped flowing as she twist the knob with a slight squeak and she put down the cabbage that she was busy washing into the small basket filled with other vegetables next to her.

Alex's attention snapped towards her after she had spoken, hand already on the doorknob to the door leading outside. He let go of it and turn to face her, pouting slightly at her comment. "I can't help it alright." He whined childishly, hands clenched into fists as he place them on his hips. "This is the first time that I'm allowed to go out on my own after my last attempt months ago!" He told her while waving both hands wildly in the air like he's trying to make a point.

Summer quirked a questioning eyebrow, obviously confused at his reply. "What do you mean by that? Did something happened back then?" She asked with clear confusion on her face, wiping her hands dry on her apron. Now that she thought about it, there never was a time where he went out on his own. He's always accompanied by someone else when he went out, either with Junior, Aunt May or with her.

When Alex first proposed the idea of doing the shopping himself this morning, Aunt May shot that idea down initially and told him to take someone with him. Summer was a bit confused as to why May would be so against the idea chose not to think too much about it because she was having fun watching how Alex was desperately begging for the chance to go shopping on his own.

For some reason, he made it very clear that he wanted to do it alone this time and didn't want anyone else to come with him. Unfortunately for him, letting him out unsupervised is something that Aunt May is completely against which let to them butting heads.

In the end, Alex resorted to groveling on the ground after all other options were exhausted and the older woman finally relented with a heavy sigh and allowed him to go. May did so with much reluctance but she was tired of trying to stop him.

"What? You mean that you don't know?"

"Well obviously," Summer told him with a roll of her eyes. "If I had known what you mean by that then I wouldn't need to ask you now do I?"

"Hmm...point." Alex nodded, more to himself than to her. "Well, to answer your question, I got lost."

Summer snorted before smiling slightly. "Yes, I can see that happening." She said, easily imagining Alex wandering to parts unknown because he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. "But just because you got lost once doesn't necessary mean you won't be allowed out on your own afterwards though."

Alex merely shrugged at her question. "I dunno. May would always make me go with someone else after that time and I'm too scared of her to argue about it."

"Oh? Then how come you not scared to do it today?" Summer prompted, silver eyes staring at the teenager before her with mild curiosity.

"That's because there's something that I want to buy and I want buy it without any help. It would also serve as proof for May that I can be trusted to go out on my own unsupervised." Jerkface answered her with a grin on his face.

"Must be something important then." Summer mused, chuckling at how glad Alex looked to be given this chance. "Mind telling me what it is that you wanted to buy so badly on your own?" She asked, wondering if it's that weird top hat that he had mentioned before or had he found something else that caught his interest. It would certainly explain why he want to buy it on his own since everyone else would stop him from doing so if they came with him as it's a waste of money.

Alex's reaction to her question was not what she expected however. Instead of answering her, he narrowed his eyes with a thoughtful look as he regarded her, looking as though he's contemplating something of great importance.

Summer was confused by this and would've asked just what's wrong. But just as she was about to do so, Alex suddenly nodded to himself, looking as if he had just came to a decision about something.

Then he quickly spun around, moving quickly to open the door like a criminal making an escape.

But sadly, his efforts were thwarted when Summer planted her hand on his shoulder just as the door was half-way opened. As quick as he may be in trying to get away, Summer is quicker in recognizing the signs that says he's about to bolt and had already spur into action just as he was beginning to turn around. The usual signs she had to look out for were a slight tensing of his shoulders and the quick darting of his eyes as he look for any possible escape route.

She wouldn't have recognize it so easily if it wasn't for how frequently she had seen them, usually right after Alex knew that he had gone a bit too far with his teasing and wanted to escape her feminine wrath that he rightfully earned.

Normally, she wouldn't have gone after him if he didn't do anything to her but by now, chasing after him when he wants to make a getaway is almost an instinctual response for Summer she just couldn't help it. Since she already got hold of him, she might as well try to get an answer for his weird behavior. It's not like she's curious or anything, honest.

"Hold it right there mister." She told him while simultaneously tightening her grip on his shoulder to stop him from running out and using her foot to quickly push the door close with a soft slam. She wouldn't want him to run right out if he somehow manage to distract her after all. Falling for the 'look behind you' that he did the last time she cornered him had been incredibly embarrassing. She had already fallen for that trick once and she'll have no one to blame but herself if she fell for it again.

"Eep! How did you get over here so quickly!?" Alex squeaked in panic as he spun around to look at her, causing her to let go or risk being pull in by his spin.

Summer place both her hands on her hips with a puffed up chest and a proud look her on face as she answered his question. "That's because I'm a Huntress-In-Training. Something like traversing small distances instantly is nothing to me." She then cross her arms in front of her, tilting her head slightly to the side as she look at him with narrowed eyes. "Now then. Mind telling me just why you feel the need to run away all of the sudden? If I didn't know any better, it's almost like you've got something to hide." She questioned with a smile.

Alex seem to shrink under her judgmental gaze, squirming in place at how uncomfortable her stare is making him feel. Summer had to work real hard to keep a grin from appearing on her lips just so she could keep the serious look that she has going for her. Watching him squirm is something that she finds very satisfying for some reason. It might have something to do with how she keeps getting teased by him and she rarely got the chance to get back at him for it.

"M-me run away? Psh. You must be imagining things Summer. Why would I even do that? It's definitely not because I have anything to hide." Alex quickly deflects with a small stammer.

"Oh really?" She questioned with a quirked eyebrow.

"Yes really." Alex told her, obviously lying.

"Then you should have no problem telling me what you wanted to buy." Summer's expression became smug when Alex winched as he seem to realize that he had just checkmate himself by telling her that. Summer watched as he brought a hand up and rub the back of his neck with a panicked look on his face as he tries to think of something to say. It's one of his little quirks that she had discovered after spending so much time with him. She knows that it's a gesture that he would sometimes do whenever he's feeling either nervous, awkward or uncomfortable. Best part is, he's not even aware that he's doing it most of the time so it's a clear indicator of how he's really feeling since he's pretty good at keeping a poker face.

He had only recently started trying to hide this habit of his after Summer had pointed it out to him, like he's doing right now as he quickly pull his hand away from his neck after he noticed her staring at him with a smirk on her face.

He pouted slightly but didn't say anything, avoiding eye contact with her while letting out an annoyed harrumph. Summer could spot a faint tint of pink on his face that's almost unnoticeable unless you're paying close attention. He always did looked a bit flustered after being caught.

It's kinda cute actually. Not that she would ever admit it to anyone. She has no doubt that Aunt May and Kali would tease her relentlessly if they knew what her thoughts were. She had enough teasing from Jerkface here as it is, no need to add those two into the mix.

"I'm not telling. You'll just have to find out yourself later. In fact, I'll even show it to you first when I get back." Alex told her.

"Really?" Summer asked, feeling surprised that he's willing to show her what it is considering the length that he's going to keep it a secret. Now she really wanted to know what it is but since he's willing to show it to her, she suppose she'll just have to wait patiently. He probably has his reasons for not telling and she's not going to force an answer out of him just because she's wanted to know more about it; it would be hypocritical of her to do so. After all, she has her own secrets that she want to keep to herself and wouldn't want others to pester her to tell them about it.

But, as this is Alex that she's talking about, it's best to make sure he would uphold his promise. "You're not going to conveniently 'forget' about it and hide it away when you get back right?"

"O-of course not."

That shutter made her suspicious. Could it be that he plans on not showing her at all? If that's how he wants to play it then she'll just have to make sure he actually keeps his promise. "I see." Summer nodded. "But if you somehow did forget, then I just might somehow mention to Aunt May that you were the one who broke her favorite mug." Summer tries her best to say it in an offhanded manner but her efforts had gone to waste as she just couldn't keep the smile off her face.

Alex's eyes widen in panic "I thought we had a deal about that!"

"We have. But you have yet to fulfill your end of the bargain for said deal and therefore, I can alter the deal. Pray that I don't alter it further." Summer stated a matter-of-factly.

"Deals don't work like that!"

"Yes it does. Don't make me tell Amber that you have been stealing from her candy stash as well."

"You wouldn't." Alex gasped. They both know that Amber won't talk to him anymore if she knew; at least for the duration of the day.

Summer merely grinned, and that was all the answer he needed.

"Fineeeeee." The teen relented with a sigh. "I promise I'll show it to you for real. You big meanie."

"Consider it payback for all the embarrassment you've put me through." She tutted playfully

Alex let out another sigh but this time more dramatically as he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess that's fair. I should go now if I ever want to make it back in time to help prepare for the party. The food isn't going to cook itself after all."

"You're just going to buy groceries right? It's not like it's going to take long."

"You underestimated my ability to get distracted." Alex pointed out dryly.

"Ah...I guess so." Summer just shook her head with a wry smile as she remembered that particular fact. "When do you expect you'll make it back then?"

"Probably at five. If I'm not back by then, assume that I'm very lost and have no idea how to get back." He told her, looking very serious. Summer wanted to think that he's joking but the look on his face made her doubt that.

"Are you being for real?" Summer asked, wanting to be sure. Alex just nodded, expression unchanging.

"Surely you're exaggerating. I mean, you've been living in Vale for months now. You should've gotten familiar with the area enough to be able to get around and the market is only a few blocks away." Summer told him with a look of disbelief. It's no secret that Alex isn't from Vale with how he keeps acting like a tourist months ago. Actually, with how he seem to be surprised at every little thing he saw, Summer entertained the thought that he might be from another dimension.

"My first unsupervised shopping trip seem to claim otherwise and that was a month after I started living in Vale."

'He probably did something dumb like walking in the opposite direction.' Summer thought with clear amusement on her face. "Then do you think that you'll be able to make it back here this time without getting lost?" She asked.

"….Sure" He eventually said after a brief silence. His utter lack of confidence made Summer felt a flash of worry about letting him go on his own.

"Maybe this is a bad idea. I think it's safer if you just take someone with you." Summer suggested in concern of his well being.

"What? No! I can do this!"

Knowing from experience that her co-worker isn't going to budge at this, Summer decided to ask just why he's being so stubborn about it. "Why are you so adamant about doing this yourself anyway?"

"Ah, that's a secret." He told her, trying his best to sound all mysterious as he shot her with a smile.

Summer pouted at him, shooting him a mock glare at his refusal to answer her question. "Fine, keep your dirty secrets then. It's not like I wanted to know them anyway." She huffed and look away with her arms crossed.

Alex's smile only grew boarder before he chuckled. "Okay, sure. Whatever you say." He told her, sounding like how an adult would to a child when they're merely humoring them. "Welp, time to go. See you later Summy." He told her as he quickly head out the door, opening in a hurry and darting out.

"Alright then. Don't get lost now." She called out to him as he closed the door.

"No promises." She heard his muffled reply coming from the other side and rolled her eyes. With their exchange done, the redhead decided that it's time to get back to work and start cutting up the vegetables so May could use them.

She walk back to where the basket is and made to reach for it before she suddenly heard the voice of her employer speaking to her. "I still think that it's best if someone went with him." She heard May spoke from behind her, causing her to jolt in surprise as she wasn't expecting it.

Summer quickly turn her head and saw that Aunt May had pop her head into the kitchen from the serving hatch. Her arms were resting on the ledge as she rest against them, looking utterly displeased and worried at the fact that Alex had left on his own.

"Aunt May? Wait, you've been listening in on us?" Summer utter out in shock, point an accusing finger at the green haired woman.

"I've always been listening in on you two. It's the main source of entertainment around here after all." The green haired woman told her without an ounce of shame, sounding as though she had just commented on the weather instead of admitting to spying on her employees. "So, do you want to go with him? You should be able to catch up to him before he finds himself at the wrong side of Vale again if you leave now." The woman suggested, gesturing at the door that Alex had exited from.

Summer look towards the door as she purse her lips to the side, wondering if May was just exaggerating when she said that. She looked back to the woman and saw the serious look on her face.'So he really did ended up heading in the opposite direction. Huh, who would've thought." Summer thought to herself before thinking about the prospect of joining Alex in his little shopping trip.

It'll most likely be a fun trip like always, one filled with light hearted banters and terrible jokes. They would poke fun at each other just because they could, knowing full well that no offense will be taken. Maybe they would take detours again to see if they can get more free stuff at the market as well. Summer smiled slightly as she thought about the things that they did and the fun times that they had; it's never boring with him around that's for sure.

But still, as much as she wanted to fool around with the jerk since it's her last day here, she can't. He made it pretty clear that he wanted to go alone and she'll respect his wishes despite not knowing why.

"I think I'll pass." Summer told her, trying her best to hide the dejection that she's feeling from reaching her voice.

"Are you sure? You might not have the chance to goof around with him like you used to after today." May asked, wanting to make sure that she's absolutely certain of her decision.

"We do not goof around..." Summer denied weakly, knowing full well that it was all they did whenever they were together.

"You guys took 3 hours to finish a shopping trip that could've been done in half an hour. Twice now I might add." May pointed out with a quirk of her lips. Instead of being angry with them for ditching work, she seemed rather amused about the whole thing.

"It was Jerkface's fault." Summer told the older woman almost reflexively, using the default response that she always uses whenever something happens, mainly because it's true.

May merely smiled in amusement at how Summer tried to deflect the blame to Alex before a frown appeared on her face. "I still think that it's better if someone were to go with him." She told Summer with a sigh.

"You're worrying too much Aunt May." Summer tried to reassure her, wondering just what could've warrant so much concern over her friend going out on his own.

"No I'm not." May deadpanned. "The kid's a trouble magnet. He drew you towards him didn't he?" She quipped, smiling at the redhead as she looked somehow offended at that.

"Just what part of me is trouble? I'm a perfectly normal girl." Summer replied with an annoyed huff as she place her hands on her hips.

May would only roll her eyes in response, looking like she knew something that she didn't. It was then did Summer notice something because she was looking at them. The redhead purse her lips together as she study May's visage with an analytic eye. There were dark rings her eyes, indicating that May haven't been getting enough sleep. Summer wondered why but then recalled a little tidbit that Alex told her. He told her that May had been spending a lot of time out at night and coming back at who knows what hour. Probably went to the pub or the casino he said. Oh well, what May does with her free time is not her problem. She's the adult here so she can take care of herself...probably. "If you're so worried then why did you let him go in the first place." Summer asked instead, looking the older woman in curiosity.

"You try changing his mind once it's set on something. I swear he could be as stubborn as you sometimes." May told her with a smile, finding the similarities between the two to be amusing.

Summer crossed her arms and pouted at her long time friend -slash- aunt figure for calling her stubborn but chose not to say anything about it because she knew that May was just trying to get a rise out of her. Normally she would succeed easily with just that and Summer would cry out denials and snark back. But after months of being teased by Alex, Summer's control over her emotions had improved significantly. "Then do you know why he would be so insistent on going out on his own?" Summer asked as she scratch the side of her head with a finger, trying to think of a plausible explanation for her co-worker's sudden interest in shopping. "There must be a reason for him to be so interested in this. Normally, he would try his best to avoid being given shopping duty but today his attitude gained an 180 and he's all for it." Summer pointed out.

"Hmm, you're right about that." May muttered as she sank into thought. Alex's request to go shopping came as a surprise to May just as much as Summer. In fact, May had actually wondered if he had been replaced with an impostor for a moment.

The woman let out a thoughtful hum while Summer could only watch on as May ponder about Alex's mysterious change of interest as she couldn't come up with anything that would make sense. It's a well known fact that Alex just didn't like outdoor activities; he prefers to stay coop inside all day long if he could get away with it. One time she had to physically drag him out because he got too into the new book that he found and didn't want to leave until he finish reading it.

All of the sudden, a wide slime broke out from May's face seemingly from nowhere and she started chuckling to herself. That got Summer's curiosity. "Oh. I think I know why he's acting so differently now." May said coyly, sounding very amused for some reason.

"Really? Tell me." Summer asked eagerly, wanting to learn what she knows.

Instead of telling her, May just shook her head with her smile still in place. "You'll have to ask him yourself once he comes back."

"Ehhhhh. That's not fair." Summer whined.

"If he could make it back that is." May continued with a sigh while ignoring her complaint.

Summer just rolled her eyes at the needless worry that May is exhibiting. Alex is old enough to look after himself and yet May is treating him like a baby. Besides, Vale's is a pretty safe place so she really didn't understand why May is being so paranoid for. "Oh come on Aunt May, like I said before, you're worrying too much. After all, what's the worse that could happen?" Summer told her with a reassuring smile.

0000

"Hmmmmm." Way back in a shady alleyway within the streets of Vale, there was a guy humming to himself as he stared into his Scroll in one hand. While that by itself isn't anything odd, the limp body laying beside him might raise a few eyebrows as well as a few concern calls to the police if anyone saw him with the it. He was look at the picture of a teen on his scroll and comparing it to the guy laying face first on the ground before him. 'Hmm, same spiky black hair, same uniform and same face. Yep, that's our guy alright.' He thought to himself as he uses his foot to nudge the body, checking if his target is still conscious at the moment.

Alex, that's his name according to the intel that he'd received, not that Grey really cared what he's called but it's definitely easier than just referring him to as 'that guy'. Alex looked completely ordinary from Grey's perspective and he could tell that this person have never seen combat before given how utterly slow he was to react to the sudden change of surroundings before Grey knocked him out. His physique showed that he didn't have a lot of muscle on him and his hands are smooth, likely never held a weapon before in his life. Looks like Cobalt was right about him being a civi then.

This complicates things a bit. Grey had hoped that his target would at least be used to dangerous situations since he hung out with dangerous people like this Junior guy.

Being unresponsive to his prods, Grey concluded that Alex is completely out cold and let the metal pipe on his other hand drop with a clank, it's tips coated with a bit of blood from his target. Looks like he didn't have his Aura unlocked yet. It's a good thing that Grey noticed that something was odd about his target's behavior before he hit him in the head and held off from using his full strength, otherwise he might be left with a dead body instead of a captive.

"Didn't expect it to be this easy." He muttered to himself, almost in disbelief at how simple it was to capture him. Usually things never went this smoothly for him before but whatever, he's not about to look at the gift horse in the mouth. His life is hard enough as it is, no need to add more grief and misery to it.

A pair of brown wolf ears twitched underneath the cap that he's wearing when he heard the sound of footsteps coming his way.

He turn to look at the source while putting his scroll away and saw a girl strolling towards his way. She look like a girl in her late teens with her young face and relatively short structure. Interestingly, she has long mismatch coloured hair that reaches down to her back; pink on the left and white on the right. She has a pair of calm, pale pink eyes that stared right at him. She regarded him with a stoic face that betrayed none of her true thoughts and is completely unfazed by the fact that there's an unconscious body underneath him.

That would be Mary, his partner in crime.

She is dressed in a casual civilian garb to avoid drawing any attention to herself during this mission. She spots a simple white t-shirt that showed some of her curves as they hug her torso, brown loose jeans and black sneakers.

Like her, Grey was outfitted like a civilian; using the classic disguise of a ball cap, sunglasses, black jacket, blue jeans and white shoes. Nothing could go wrong with the tried and true 'I'm just a civilian' starter pack. But, if there's one thing that he didn't like about this disguise then it's the cap. A downside of having wolf ears on his head as his ears would itch while being pressed down by the cap. But he didn't have much options as he needed to hide his ears from sight. Being a Faunus means that someone with too much free time would leer at you, and when they're leering at you then it means that they're looking at you.

You can't very well be kidnapping someone when someone else is looking at you now can you?

"Hey Mary." Grey greeted her.

She inclined her head to acknowledge his greeting. "We're clear. No one saw what happened." She reported, meaning that no one saw him use his Semblance to teleport the kid away from the middle of the street over to the alley so he could knock him out. It really wasn't that hard really. The target wasn't even pay attention to where he's going and easily stepped into the portal that he created right in front of him.

Having a teleportation based Semblance is convenient like that.

But there were certain risks involve that Grey had to consider when attempting to pull this stunt off. First off, the target was in the middle of the street, surrounded by a lot of people so there's a chance that someone else might step into the portal instead.

Secondly, when he uses his Semblance, it causes glass like cracks in the fabric of reality that's clearly visible to anyone who isn't blind to create the portal. So when cracks started appearing in the middle of the street to form a hole, it'll undoubtedly draw attention from people nearby.

Thankfully, his partner has an easy fix to solve those problems for him via her own semblance; illusion. His job became a whole lot easier with her around, something that he's endlessly grateful for. She can cast her Semblance in a wide area, affecting everyone within her radius to make them see what she wants them to see. She can manipulate people on a large scale and have them do whatever she wants while thinking that it's what they want.

But sadly, she has her limits as her illusions can't be too complex and have to be believable at the same time; otherwise it'll lose it's focus or people won't believe what they're seeing. She also have to keep track of what she had made and keep things constant or people will notice that something's wrong.

Naturally that meant that the more people she has to use her semblance on, the harder it is for her.

As luck would have it, there's no need for Mary to go that far and she could just use simple illusions to make their plan work. People getting in the way? Simple, make them see obstacles in their path so they would change directions, leaving the target the only person walking in there. A big ass flashy portal hanging in the middle of the street? Just make them ignore it by hiding it from their sight.

Mary's Semblance is extremely valuable and it had save his hide far more times than he could count. He can rely on her to watch his back and he knows that the same holds true for the opposite.

"We got the right guy?" Mary queried as she step up to him. With her so close to him, one can easily see that she's a full head shorter than Grey as he stood at his full height at 5'7 feet.

"Yep. No doubt about it." Grey replied as he turn the teen over with his foot, letting Mary get a clear view of his face. He could see that a trail of blood had flowed down his face from his head via the wound that he had caused. He probably won't die from it….probably. At any rate, now all that's left is to bring Alex back and leave him in his 'boss'' grubby hands before he could consider the job's done.

But Grey's not going to do that; he has other plans in mind for the teen before him. Their target that they were suppose to capture present the perfect opportunity for them to enact their plan that they have been secretly scheming behind Cobalt's back. If they succeeded then they would be free from Cobalt's grasp and would be able to do whatever they want, including getting some sweet revenge on the guy.

But Grey's feeling rather hesitant in wanting to pull it off now that he knew Alex is a civilian. His life isn't the only one that's on the line if things went wrong after all. If it was his own life on the life then Grey sure as hell have no problem gambling it away. But Mary would suffer the consequences as well if their plan went south and that is completely unacceptable. He guess that's why he's just standing here hesitating, staring at the unconscious guy in hopes that some kind of solution to their problem would magically present itself so he wouldn't need to initiate this plan of theirs.

"He looks young." Mary commented, almost sounding pitiful if the strain your ears hard enough and know what you're looking for. "Doesn't seem like the kind that would get involved in unsavory businesses like ours." She sent him a meaningful glance and Grey instantly knew what she's thinking about. She's hesitant like he is, but for entirely different reasons.

He is hesitant because of what might go wrong while she didn't want to get innocents involved.

"So? We're were a whole lot younger when we got dragged into this life. Not like we have much of a choice back then." Grey muttered as he crouch down next to Alex. "I dunno what his deal is but it doesn't matter. Cobalt says he wants him and that's that. We're lucky that he's out alone today; reports says that he usually have someone accompanying him whenever he goes out. Convenient. Very convenient….Did I just jinx myself?" Grey muttered the last part softly to himself.

"You sure you want to bring him to Cobalt? He could very well be uninvolved with everything that's going on lately." Mary voiced out her concern. Ah. That's the Mary that he knows; kind and caring despite all that she's been through. She may act like she doesn't care much but she's a real softy deep inside. Not that he would ever say it out loud since he prefers to keep on living.

"Maybe, maybe not. We have no way of knowing except for the little details that Cobalt gave us for the mission and it doesn't exactly say much about him." Grey replied as he grab hold of Alex's arm in preparation to lift him up. The silence he received after speaking made him pause in what he was doing. He felt a familiar feeling that he always felt whenever Mary has something that she wants to say but decided to hold back for whatever reason.

He turn to look at her and found out that he was right, Mary did look like she has something that she wanted to say, not that one could tell from that impassive face of hers. At first glace, her face showed no emotions, but as someone who had known her for a very long time he knew what to look for. The miniature tilt of her eyebrow, a slight shift in her body language, told him that she's feeling conflicted about this arrangement.

"I know, I know. You don't want to put an innocent in harms way. But orders are orders Mary. You know we can't disobey them no matter how badly we want to. We barely have enough wriggle room for this rebellion of ours." Grey reminded her with a great deal of distaste in his voice, not aimed at her but at their current situation.

Grey sighed and rubbed his face with his hand before turning his attention back to Mary. "Look, there's nothing we can do about bringing this guy to Cobalt, but we might be able to save him if he decides to helps us. All we need is a chance to convince him that helping us is in his best interest so that we'll be able to do our part in making sure he could walk out of that place alive and well."

Mary stared at Grey for a moment with those pale pink eyes of hers, thinking of thoughts that Grey have no way of knowing before she nodded. "I understand."

"Great." Grey acknowledge before he let out a grunt as he lifted Alex into a fireman's carry.

"This may be our only chance to do this." Mary spoke up once Grey had Alex secured over his shoulders. "You sure you wanna do it now? If it fails then it's all over and we'll never get another chance. Mainly because we'll be dead for trying." Though she didn't show it, Grey can tell that she's feeling nervous. Not that he blamed her for it as he's feeling the same thing as well. "We could postpone it, wait until we have more to work with to increase our chances."

Grey understood Mary's uncertainty in whether or not their plan would succeed. Hell, even he has doubts on whether or not they might pull it off, mainly because of what their plan would require them to do.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

That's what making him and Mary anxious. They are both used to actually doing things on their own and never once sitting back and let someone else do the dirty work. For this plan to work though, they would have to put their faith in Alex completely as they both wouldn't be able to do anything while Alex does his thing. They're essentially putting their lives on his hands; if he screwed up then they're all as good as dead.

"No." Grey shook his head in effort to get rid of the doubts that were swarming in his mind. It would be a whole lot safer to wait until everything's ready but sadly, time was not on their side. "I've seen the look on Cobalt's face when he looks at me. I have a sinking feeling that he thinks that we're starting to be more trouble than we're worth with our recent performance out in the field. We kept making mistakes here and there and he doesn't like it one bit. None of it is our fault since he haven't let us rest since this chick with a wolf mask started raiding his turf."

Grey turn his head to give Mary a small comforting smile. "Besides, we're as prepared as we can be. We didn't spent all this time silently twiddling our thumbs and hoping for a miracle now did we?" They had spent years under Cobalt's thumb, silently scheming and recruiting other people working for him that hated his guts like they do, which basically amounts to everyone working for him. It wasn't that hard for people to hate really. At any rate, they're ready. All they need now is the final piece of the cog to be in place for everything to work properly like a well oiled machine.

But... if that cog turns out to be a bust then everything will break down and their years of hard work and preparation would be for naught.

Grey doesn't trust this Alex person one bit and rather not leave his life in the hands of a complete stranger if he had the choice. The only person he had ever trusted fully and unconditionally is Mary, someone that he knows will always have his back. They've always stuck together for almost everything and never letting any one else into their little group. It has always been that way since they were both thrown out of the orphanage together.

It's just two of them against the world and damn everyone else. Grey's not sure if he could learn to trust another like he does with Mary, but he's going to have to trust in Alex just a little and hope that his trust isn't misplaced. God knows that he had his trust betrayed many times before.

Mary simply nodded her head seem to steel herself for what's to come and Grey took it as a cue to start their operation before either of them could get cold feet. He turn his attention forward and closed his eyes, visualizing the place where Cobalt had made his base of operations in his mind as he channel his Aura into activating his Semblance.

Soon after, cracks started to appear before them, looking like a large sheet of glass that had just been hit. Then, as if it was hit again by some unseen force, it shattered into countless floating shards. The shards started to move away from the center to reveal the sight of their destination instead of the alleyway beyond it. If one were to try and look at the portal from behind, all they would see is the endless swirl of energy.

"Well then, it's all or nothing." Grey muttered before be step into the portal, Mary following close behind.

0000

Present time

0000

[1...]

BZZZT

"Hrk!" I let out a pained grunt as my body reflexively jerk and spasm as I felt the familiar sensation of electricity coursing through it. My eyes immediately shot open in panic and my breath came out in short pants from the shock (Pun not intended) of being awoken so abruptly.

I squeeze my eyes shut just as soon as they were open as pain suddenly flared at the back of my head. Not knowing the cause for it other than the sudden movement that I made from waking up, I opted to stay very still until it subsided. I noticed that my ears were picking up something but I can't register just what it is in my current state.

I tried to think but my thoughts were muddled somewhat, like my mind is enveloped in heavy fog, making it hard for me to think clearly. All I could feel was confusion with questions swarming my mind while I tried to get my bearings. You know, the usual stuff when you have a blackout after drinking too much. Somehow I got the feeling that this blackout isn't caused by passing out drunk though. The headache that I'm feeling right now is completely different from the hangovers that I'm accustomed to.

I also had the scariest nightmare of being chase by Miss Saggy Tits. First she was alone in her relentless pursue but before long, a horde of Miss Saggy Tits just appeared out of no where, rushing to grope my ass.

I've never been so scared for my life before.

When I finally calmed down enough, I realized that the sound that I kept hearing this entire time was music. Wondering just where it's coming from, I open my eyes again and take a good look around me for the first time.

I seem to be in a large bland room filled with crates and boxes and the only light source is above me in the form of a hanging bulb that barely lit up my surrounding area. A storage room maybe? There's not much to take note of here except for the metal door in front of me and the small radio was placed on one of the boxes near the door to my right.

This is weird. I don't remember coming to this place. In fact, the last thing I remembered was walking down the street.

I tried getting up to look around some more but felt something dug into my body uncomfortably as I moved. My eyebrows shot upwards in surprise and I look down to find my body completely tied up by a piece of rope.

My mind immediately came to a conclusion upon after seeing it. With all the information in hand combined, there could only be one explanation for all this.

Good god! Miss Saggy Tits kidnapped me! That's the only possible explanation for that nightmare that I had. I must've been running away from that demon in real life before she caught up to me. Now I'm sitting on this chair like one of those BDSM porn actresses inside a sex dungeon with boxes and crates that could possible be filled with sex toys.

Needless to say, I started panicking immediately and tried to escape my bindings. I did everything I could possible think of but my kidnapper did a very good job with the rope as I couldn't get it to loosen no matter what.

Eventually, I ran out of steam and let my body sag against the chair as the tension seep away. I sat there motionless, feeling defeated and a sense of acceptance at my current situation.

I guess that means there's only one thing left I could do to escape this mess. That is to bite my tongue out in order to commit suicide. I'm not going to let myself be raped while I'm still alive! Especially by that saggy tits demon!

[Good afternoon, Alex.] Sheila greeted me in her usual monotonous synthetic voice and the familiar sense of calm wash over me. That would mean that Sheila just did the thing that she always do when I'm emotionally stressed. It helped a lot and my mind is cleared for me to think calmly again. Woah, did I really just thought about killing myself to prevent being raped?

[Affirmative. We really need to have a talk one of these days about your tendency to overthink things once you are panicking. On a side note, please wear a helmet next time you go out. Being hit by a metal pipe was not a very pleasant experience for me.] Sheila told me, somehow managing to sound exasperated despite her voice being spoken in the same tone as before.

'Ah. That explains the headache.' I thought to myself. 'Any idea who did it?' I asked her, silently praying to whatever deity that exist in this universe that it wasn't Miss Saggy Tits.

[Unknown. I have analyzed your memory in order to identify the attacker but there is not much for me to go through. From the glimpse that you have caught of him before you were out of commission, I can tell that it was a male. That is all I can deduce from your memory as he was simply too fast for you to see anything else.] Sheila answered, causing me to let out a relieved sigh.

'Thank God. It's just some random dude.' I started relaxing even though I'm still in an unknown location after being caught by God knows who for whatever reason.

[Who knows, Miss Saggy Tits could still have hired him to kidnap you for her.] Sheila pointed out.

'God damn it Sheila! Why do you have to ruin my hope like that.' I cried out comically, silently cursing the 'me' who had made her so much like my little sister in terms of personality and planted her inside the back of my skull in the first place.

Before anything else could be said by either of us, the door in front of me suddenly swing open with a slam and I immediately jerk in surprise. My attention became fully focused on whoever that came walking through it and I involuntarily stiffen when I saw the person coming through is incredibly dangerous looking.

He looked like a middle aged man that's dressed like a thug, completely plain and distinguishable from any other thugs you can encounter in shady alleyways. Kinda like Junior's friends that I usually see hanging around him back at his pub actually. It's kinda a mean thing to say about his buddies but it's the truth; I swear most of them have the same face or something since I could never tell them apart.

The thuggish looking guy stood to the left to allow room for the others to enter, standing straight as a board with his arms behind his back as he faces forward without even giving me a glance. I quirk an eyebrow at his stance as it's kinda military like for someone dressed like a thug.

[Be caution of this one.] Sheila informed me, most likely already finished profiling him with what she could see. [From the looks of it, he seem to have some form of military training at some point in his life. Either that or he is just putting up a show to frighten you. Caution is still advised however, as the amount of muscles that is clearly visible from his tight clothing shows that you are clearly and hilariously outmatched. Have I ever mentioned that you are very out of shape?] She added unnecessarily in at end of her assessment.

My eye twitched at her comment but I chose to ignore it as another person stepped through the door. The other guy that came in seemed familiar to me for some reason. He appears to be much younger than the first guy, probably a bit older than me if I were to make a guess. His clothes were very ordinary and I can't find anything on him that would stand out from the crowd; he wore a simple black jacket that's left open with a white shirt underneath, blue jeans and white shoes. He's also wearing sunglasses for some reason despite being indoors. I made a mental note to be suspicious of him. If there's anything that I learned from Resident Evil, it's to never trust a dude that wears sunglasses indoors. Fucking Wanker- I mean Wesker.

Another thing to note is that he's a Faunus as well if that animal ear on his head is anything to go by. Not sure what species he is though and I'm not about to make any assumptions unless I wanted to be called a racist again.

He seem to give me a brief stare before moving to the right. I watched as he lean against the boxes where the radio was at with his legs crossed and hands stuffed inside of his pockets and for some reason. He gave me a disinterest gaze when we made eye contact, or at least I think we did since I can't see through that sunglasses of his, before opting to ignore me in favor of pulling out his Scroll to play with.

He seem to be quite disinterest about this whole kidnapping business that I'm in as far as I can tell.

'Sheila, what can you tell me about this guy?' I asked the V.I, hoping that she might've noticed something that I missed as even some random tidbit of information would help a lot in the long run.

[Very little. However, his profile does match the one that attacked you.Unless there is someone herewith the exact some body size and height as him then chances are that he did it.] Sheila answered. [I have also noticed some telltale signs in his body posturethat showed thathe is actually feeling quite tense yet is hiding it very well from the others.]She added after a slight pause.

Evidently he's not hiding that well since Sheila spotted it but then again, she is a highly intelligent V.I who's programmed to detect things like body language so she'll know how to tell if someone is a threat. Still, that bit of information gave me something to think about. The guy could be tense because he's on standby just in case I tried something to escape or because he didn't like the guts of the guy next to him. Either way, I'll need to be careful not to startle him unless I want to set something off.

Then, the third and last guy came striding in like he own the place and exhibiting an air of great importance like some kind of generic asshole. He wore snobbish clothes that reflect his asshole status in the form of a very expensive looking business suit that looked very out of place in here as it really doesn't match his subordinates' casual clothing theme that they had going for them. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that he's the boss around here.

He's also very large. Large as in very muscular and tall, looking like he could easily pop my head in his hands like it's a balloon.

He walk towards me slowly in a way that made me suspect that it's on purpose. In fact, his speed is so slow that that serve no purpose than to drag out the amount of time needed for him to reach me. Sheila chimed in and told me that it's an intimidation tactic to make me afraid as it would make me fear for what's to come but didn't choose to elaborate any further than that. At least she confirmed my suspicion about his penguin walk.

He's got an ugly mug for a face as he have a grisly burn mark that almost covered the entirety of the right side of his face. His injury was so severe that even his right eye and ear were missing, seemingly melded with his flesh. His disfigurement would no doubt appall people meeting him for the first time and it serve that made him look all the more intimidating. He only has a single brown eye on his left side that showed no emotion as he regarded me coolly, like I'm some sort of insect beneath his feet that only gained his attention because I crawled up onto his shoe.

Quite frankly, he might be the first unattractive person that I've ever met since my arrival here in Remnant.

[You forgot Miss Saggy Tits.] Sheila commented while I was busy studying the man.

'Shut up. She's old so she doesn't count. Everyone knows that old people are generally ugly by default.'

But sadly, the man's face is not what caught my attention the most. What I'm really focusing on is what lay above his scarred facial features that seem to be drawing attention to it just by being out in the open. "Shiny." I accidentally spoke my true thoughts out loud as I stare at the bald head of his. It literally just shone when he walked under the light bulb.

The man pause in his approach, mouth slightly slacked at my unexpected rude remark.

"Pfff." I heard some odd sound coming from the side and saw that it's the Faunus guy that did it. He seem to be trying hard to suppress his laughter with his hand over his mouth.

The heavily scarred guy immediately turns to glare at him and that shut him up quickly as he stood perfectly still. No wait, I can still see the shaking of his shoulders. I shift my eyes to look at the other guy and saw that the minute twitch of his lips. Apparently, they both find my comment about their boss' shiny head funny.

'Er...Sheila, I think I may have pissed him off with my comment. Any chance you can turn on the combat thingy so we can get out of here?'

[Negative. Combat systems are currently offline and will remain so until I can repair it.]

'Offline!? Why the hell is it offline?' I asked in surprise and worry.

[Because someone hit you at the back of the head and by extension, me, so now I'm heavily damaged and much of my utility is unavailable because of it. Combat Systems included.]

'Well shit. The only time that I need it, it's not available. Just how unlucky can I get.' I thought in despair, feeling a sense of fear taking over me before it suddenly vanished again. 'At least the emotion control is still working.' I noted before I heard the bald man let out an annoyed sounding grunt before turning back to me with a glare that made me gulp in fear.

I got a feeling that what's coming isn't going to be pleasant at all.

0000

Have you ever got the strange feeling that you know what's coming but also know that you can't do anything at all to change it? Well, that's how I felt when I saw the man interrogating me lift his foot up in the air and shot it towards me.

I could've swore that I could feel every bone in my body juddered when it landed.

A strangled cry of pain was caught in my throat and what escaped my mouth was the air from my lungs instead. I was vaguely aware that my chair has been tipped over from the force. My brain finally had the time to register the flaring pain in my chest once I fell onto the ground with a resounding crash. I had a coughing fit before ending it with a pained hiss through gritted teeth. My arms took the brunt of the fall since they were tied behind the chair and they stung like crazy.

Oh god. Why is everything so painful? The worst pain that I've ever felt before coming to Remnant was falling from my bike as I was learning how to ride it.

[Status report: Rib 4-6 bruised. No permanent damage detected. Recommendation: Bed rest.] Sheila chimed in to inform me the amount of damage that I've received from that kick, like all the other times that I've been hit by that guy while he grill me for information.

Information that I simply do not have.

Too bad he doesn't believe me.

We've been going at it for a while now, dunno how long since my sense of time is muddled from the amount of pain that I'm experiencing. I could ask Sheila but I don't really wanna know how long I've been stuck here. I've been slapped, punched repeatedly in the gut and lastly kicked over the duration of the interrogation. It may be agonizing for me but at least I learned some things while I was here.

First things first. The guy interrogating me, named Cobalt, wants to know something about some crazy woman that's been hitting his territory, weakening it severely so that the rival gang could move in and pick up the pieces; he somehow got the idea that I know something about it. Apparently, he's the head of some sort of gang and the woman problem that he's been having is putting his nerves on edge because of her relentless assault. He's losing more territory, money and influence each day and is nowhere closer to finding out who the woman is.

He really wasn't happy when I kept saying that I don't know shit and my bruised ribs shows.

Now that I think about it, the man's rough treatment would've reduced me into a crying baby from the overwhelming pain if Sheila wasn't there to calm me down. The fear that I've felt for my situation had long since dissolve into an eerie calm once the beating started. Oddly enough, I'm more focused than I've ever been before.

"W-why do you think t-that I know anything related to gang stuff? I'm just some guy working in a cafe." I voiced my opinion through labored breathing. Seriously, I don't get why he would even come to this conclusion. Does he just take anyone off the streets and question them until he got the right one that has the answers for his questions?

Cobalt reach down and grab me by the hair. "Aragh!" I cried out as I felt myself and the chair that I'm tied to being yank back up by my hair so hard that I was afraid a large portion of it would come off, leaving me bald like he is. He lifted my head so that I would be looking at him. I saw his face and couldn't help but feel a bit of anger surging through me at how he kept looking at me in contempt like I'm some trash from the street.

"Because you're real close with Hei." Cobalt spat at my face angrily. I would've reel back in disgust when his saliva made contact with my face but I'm not really in any position to move as I please right now. "I know for a fact that he doesn't let people close to him that easily yet, we've seen you get all buddy buddy with him. That makes you the best person for me to get answers from. I won't believe for a second that you're not involve with his father's business in some way. You must've known something, or have something, to make Hei consider you important enough for him to keep you close." His words came out with an angry snarl.

"Who's Hei!?" I couldn't help but cry out in confusion as the name doesn't even ring a bell at all. 'Does that meant that they got the wrong guy after all!? Will they let me go if they realized that?' I thought to myself, starting to feel hopeful.

[Unlikely. There is a high probability thatthey will kill you after everything is said and done.] Sheila informed me, dashing my hope before it had the chance to properly form.

I winched in pain as I felt Cobalt's grip on my hair tighten even further.

"The guy that you've been seen spending so much time with!" He all but shouted in my face. "The guy who will be next in line to take charge of that god damned 'Red Axe Gang' that's well on it's way in taking over half of Vale's underground. But for some ridiculous reason, he has been reduced to being a pack mule for a woman who owns a cafe!" As he finished his last sentence, something seem to click in my mind and I finally realized just who he was talking about.

"Wait! Junior's in a gang!?" I shouted out, flabbergasted at the revelation before me while simultaneously thinking to myself, 'Who the fuck calls themselves the Red Axe Gang!?' Like seriously, who does that? A bloody four year old?!

This- this explains so much. So that's why Junior looked so shady most of the time and tend to know things that normal, law abiding citizens wouldn't know. Then there's the pub. I thought that it's just a normal pub that likes to equip their workers with guns and knifes but now I know the truth! Those guys were actually gang members! Good God! How could've I been so blind to it all!?

[That is the million dollar question. How did you not notice any of the obvious signs is beyond me. Even Summer knows after spending a bit of time with them.] Sheila deadpanned.

'Wait? Summer knows?' I asked Sheila, feeling another wave of shock coming over me. How the hell did that gullible little spitfire figured it out before I did?

[Well, not at first. But she eventually pieced together the clues after some time.]

Great. Now I'm feeling disappointed that she caught on before I did.

"Yes!" Cobalt shouted at me, his face slowly setting on a look of disbelief, most likely slowly realizing that I'm not much help at all. "So I ask you again, just what kind of relationship do those two have!? Why is he helping her? What else does he do for her besides being a pack mule!?" Cobalt questioned me, shaking my head repeatedly as he spoke.

I let out a pained hiss at his rough treatment but toughed it out and spoke through the pain. "I didn't even know Junior was a gangster until just now! What makes you think that I know anything else!? I know that you're bald and all but that's no reason to make other people that same as you by pulling my hair off!" I snapped back, which in hindsight, is a very bad idea since since he could very easily end my life at any moment.

"You're fucking useless!" The man roared at my face almost hysterically, looking completely pissed off and almost foaming from the mouth from the anger that he's currently experiencing. It made me wonder really, is it even possible for someone to be that angry just from asking questions? Sadly yes, because pain blossomed across my face as his swung his fist at me and the sound of skin being smack echoed throughout the room.

Everything seem to have blacken out for a brief moment before it slowly starts to clear up and I found myself with a broken and bleeding nose. I let out a pitiful groan as I sat leaning back, finally noticing that Cobalt had already let go of my hair and had stepped away. He had his back turned to me, hand rubbing the temples of his head while muttering something to himself. Angrily of course.

He started breathing slowly, like how one would when they're calming themselves down after a workout and I could visibly see the tension slowly seep out of his body. "Fucking hell." I heard Cobalt swore as he stump on the ground repeatedly while continuing to swear to no one in particular.

Say what you will, but I think that the guy have some real anger issue. Then again, it must be from the ever growing stress and desperation from slowly losing everything that he had worked so hard to build.

Eventually, the heavily burnt man calmed down. He tug at his suit to adjust it after he noticed that it became disheveled after his ranting fit. "Fine." Cobalt said before letting out an annoyed sigh. "If he doesn't have anything we can use then we'll just get the girl instead. She should know more than him at any rate."

'The Girl?' Are they saying that there's someone else in their suspicion list? And it's a girl to boot.

"Grey, she will be your next target. I don't care how, just get her here, even if you have to cause a scene. I have reports saying that the Red Axe Gang is preparing for something big but we have no idea what or when they're going to do it so you better do it fast."

"The redhead right?" The Faunus, presumably Grey, asked and I stilled. Something in me seem to froze and a heavy weight settled in my gut when I thought about what he had said.

'Summer?' She was the only one that came to mind as she's the only redhead that I know of and had interacted with Junior just as much as I did. The fear that I thought I had already shoved away came back to greet me like a sledgehammer. Only this time, I'm not afraid for my own life but for Summer's safety. I could feel my breathing hitched for a moment as my mind starts to whirl with the possibility that Summer could be in my position, getting tortured for information that she didn't have.

No wait. Let's calm down and think rationally for a moment. Summer is a strong girl and a Huntress to boot, albeit one still in training. But still, even if she's still in training, she's more than a match than any adult when it comes to combat. Base on what little I still remember from the show, didn't her daughter totally trounced a bunch of faceless nooks all on her own with little to no effort? Now that I think about it, those faceless mooks seemed quite familiar somehow….At any rate, if someone did came after her then she should be able to take care of herself. Yes, that's right. She will be completely fine so there's no need to worry about her at all….so just why can't I stop feeling so anxious?

[You should worry about yourself first before worrying about others. We still have to find a way to escape your current predicament.]

I realized that Sheila had a point so I took a deep breath and push aside my fear with a bit of effort. Seeing how Sheila haven't shut my anxiety down on her own, I suppose it isn't strong enough to warrant it.

Alright, first thing's first, escape whatever the hell this place is so I can warn Summer about some crazy dude coming after her. Maybe I can call the cop and tell them about it as well, not that I'm expecting much from them since they're always pretty useless in movies so it's better to expect the same amount of incompetence from them in real life too. 'Sheila, got any plans we can use to escape yet?' I asked the V.I. Surely she must've come up with something by now after the amount of time that I spent being interrogated.

[None. Unless you find a way to escape your bindings yourself, we have absolutely no chance to escape whatsoever.]

'Fuck.' I cursed internally as my turn my head to look at the rope tying my hands. It looks thicker than my wrist.

Yep, no way I'm breaking out of that.

"So what are we going to do with him?" I heard Grey ask and I immediately turn my attention back to my captors.

"Kill him." Cobalt's promptly reply, sounding disturbingly happy when giving the order.

'Fuck.' I curse again because the situation demands it. I started struggling against my bindings in hopes that it would actually do something to loosen it.

As I was doing so, the thug guy who had been quiet all this time moved forward towards me. I slowly look up to him, eyes staring at his hand that was reaching behind his back. He pulled out a pistol and level it at my forehead. I froze as my body tensed on it's own, already forgotten to keep my hands moving when the instrument of death was placed right next to my face. I wasn't able to move, fearing that he might pull the trigger quicker if I did and wanting to live even a few seconds longer.

I was staring at the entrance of the barrel so intensely that I almost didn't noticed that Cobalt was watching the entire thing with an ugly smile on his face, happy that he would be rid of me soon.

'Well then, I guess this is it.' I thought to myself in grim acceptance. 'Sheila, before I die, I want you to know that I think of you as an annoying little sister.

[I do not think about you at all.] She replied smoothly, unperturbed by the gun pointing at my head and... was that a tingle of warm affection that I hear in her synthetic voice? Typical Sheila behavior; always the tsundere in the household. If she have a body, she would be crossing her arms and looking away with small blush on her face. [May I ask for permission to initiate protocol #1?] Sheila continued.

'What's protocol #1?' I asked in confusion as it was the first time that I heard of it.

Sheila never got to answer my question as I saw the thug's finger twitched. 'Oh shi-' I barely have time to finish my thoughts before I instinctively closed my eyes as the muzzle flashed.

The sound of the gun going off rang in my ears and I could feel something wet spraying onto my face and chest before everything went silent.

And then there was nothing.

….

….

Is-is this what death feels like?

I thought death was suppose to feel cold and comforting but somehow I can still feel the pained sores all over my body and face that I got from Cobalt's rough treatment. Does this mean that if you die you kept the injuries that you died with?

Does that mean that if you got stabbed, eaten by a Grimm or ran over by a car, you would feel the pain of dying from that for all eternity? That would totally suck balls if that's true.

[Alex, please open your eyes. I cannot analyze the situation properly if I do not have visual input from you.] Sheila's voice chimed in my head just as I wondered just how bad it would be if someone died from embarrassment and if they would have to suffer feeling embarrass forever.

Wait. Why am I hearing her voice when I'm already shot in the head? Does this mean that I still alive? Eager yet slightly afraid to find out, I tentatively open my a single eye to check.

I was immediately greeted with the same scene as before I had closed my eyes. The only difference being Cobalt looking absolutely gobsmacked like he couldn't believe what he was seeing for some reason.

I quickly open both my eyes to check why I'm not dead yet and gave myself a once-over.

'Bloody hell, is that water?' I thought to myself as I look at my dirt covered shirt that now sports wet splotches alongside a few red stains. I look up towards the gun and saw a droplet of water hanging by the edge of the barrel and couldn't help but raise an incredulous eyebrow at the absurdity of that just happened. "Did you just….shoot a water gun at me?" I voiced my thoughts slowly, not knowing what the answer might be and feeling glad that I'm not dead yet.

Instead of answering me, the guy brought the gun up to examine it in visible confusion. [Hmm, odd.] Sheila suddenly said as I watch the man fumble with his gun a bit.

'What's odd?' I asked her as the man leveled the gun at my head again, this time not feeling as scared as before because of what happened just now. It'll probably just shoot water again.

[His confusion seemed faked.] Sheila pointed out.

'Huh?' What do you mea-' That was as far as I got before the thug pulled the trigger again. There was another bang, but instead of water coming out of the gun like I was expecting, a flag popped out instead that says 'BANG' in big bold letters along with plenty of confetti. Like, a lot of confetti. Enough to make me wonder just how could so much confetti fit in such a small gun.

"Oh shit! My roommate must've taken my gun by mistake!" The thug exclaimed in surprise, talking for the first time since his appearance. I noted that he sounded like a gruff, grumpy guy who hates it when kids enter his lawn.

The thug's voice seem to shake Cobalt out of his gobsmacked state and he quickly glared and shouted for an explanation. "How the hell could you even take the wrong gun by mistake!?" Coincidentally, that is also the question that I have but I'm not dumb enough to voice it out and thereby drawing attention back to me.

"It's not my fault that our guns looks identical from one another. It's almost impossible to distinguish one from the other when they're placed together. I guess that's how we got it mixed up." He calmly explained.

Before Cobalt could say anything more, Grey interrupted. "Wait, doesn't your roommate work as a clown for hire?"

I wanted very much to say 'wtf' out loud since the mental image of a clown and a thug sharing the same room is very bizarre. But amazingly enough, my self preservation instinct prevailed for once and I managed to hold my tongue before I say something stupid like I always do.

Just as Cobalt opened his mouth to speak, a man's voice suddenly spoke from the radio that was previously playing smooth jazz and everyone's attention immediately turn to it. "We interrupt this broadcast to bring you this breaking news."

"This is Cyril Ian reporting live form Vale News Network. This just in, a gunshot was reported being heard at West Residential Street here in Vale. Police rushed to the scene immediately only to find a coulrophobia's worst nightmare as a child was shot by a clown. The victim, who shall not be named for privacy reasons, was attending a party that his parents had thrown for him with his friends and relatives while the perpetrator, whose identity is still unknown at this time, was hired as a clown for the party."

"Right as the party was at full swing, the perpetrator pulled out a gun that everyone assumed to be a toy. But to their shock and horror, it was real as they soon found out after the victim was shot in the stomach. The child has been rushed to the hospital while the clown remains in police custody for-" The Radio was cut off when Cobalt yank it off the box it was resting on and toss it to the ground.

Then the man started stomping on it repeatedly, crushing the machine under his heels with ease, leading me to wonder just how strong he actually is and how much was he holding back when he was interrogating me. The three of us just stayed where we were, watching him with no idea what to do other then let him vent his anger out on the poor machine. Once the radio is nothing more than a flatten piece of metal on the floor, Cobalt press his face against his palms and let out a silent scream of frustration.

Minutes pass before he finally quiet down and stood there panting like he had just ran a marathon. "So, what do you want to do with him?" Grey spoke without any regards to the tension in the room.

Cobalt's slowly turn his head towards the Faunus and stare at him with bloodshot eyes for a tense moment. Then he took multiple deep breaths as he visibly calmed down. "Do whatever you want to him. Just make sure he's no longer around once I'm back." Cobalt snapped before as he left, walking briskly out the room to parts unknown. The other two just watch him as he left, keeping their eyes on the door even after he's gone.

With Cobalt gone, I felt myself relaxing just a little bit as he's the main threat to my heath so far as oppose to the other two who were quite chill. I sagged into my chair with a relieved sigh as I felt the tension in my body slowly seep away. 'Ugh, what did I do to deserve all this.'

[You know, you could've avoided this outcome had you reacted to my warning instead of standing shock still like you did back in the alleyway.] Sheila chided me sternly despite the situation we're in.

'I would've done sohad you notshouted in my god damn head with your 'Proximity Alert! Tactical Options Available' and bombard my mind with shit ton of evasive maneuvers' I shot back angrily before grimacing from the pain that suddenly flared in my chest. God damn, that guy kicks like a truck. 'Can't you just, I dunno, give me one option instead of everything?'

[But that would severely limit yourself in combat. With numerous course of action available, you can easily dominate the battlefield by controlling your opponent's actions via limiting what they could do or preventing them from retaliating entirely.]

'For when the fighting is about to start where I would have time to think about them, yeah. It'll be great to have options to choose from to control how the battle will go. But for evading an attack that could kill me, I don't think it'll be much use if I couldn't pick one on time. Next time I'm about to get hit, just pick the one that you think is best and give me that yeah?'

[Affirmative. I shall do as you asked from now on.] Sheila agreed. [Assuming that you managed to survive this ordeal that is.] She added, reminding me of my current predicament.

Right, still trapped in god knows where with two of my kidnappers that have god knows what kind of nefarious plans in store for me. I'm really starting to miss home. Life was so much easier back there where the only thing I have to worry about is not having enough food to eat instead of people or things that could easily end my life like I'm a bug.

While I was busy bantering with Sheila, I have been busy looking around for a way to escape. Sadly, I still haven't found anything that I could use nor reach without being seen. But as I was looking around, I noticed something odd.

The area beside Grey seem to be shimmering like a mirage. I tried to peer closer at the weird phenomenon happening before me but like a switch that had just been flicked, my mind suddenly registered that there's a girl there instead of the shimmering. It's like she appeared out of thin air.

Where on earth did she- you know what, I'm not even going to question it. This is a world where superpowers exist so it's probably her semblance or something. I tried to examine her without being too obvious but from the way she looked at me, I'm guessing that she knows.

Anyway, she seem to be wearing civilian's clothing just like Grey; a simple white tee, brown jeans and black sneakers. She has a pair of light pink eyes but the most notable thing about her is her hair. It both pink and white at the same time, split evenly in the middle. It made me wonder if she dyed them or something since it's impossible to have hair like that naturally. Or is it? This is a different world after all so it's not that surprising if people have have odd hair like that. I must admit that it look cool though.

There was movement from the edge of my vision so I quickly stop looking at the girl and saw that Grey was looking at me. "So...wut ca thinking about?" He asked me, sounding rather curious.

"Oh, nothing much. Just wondering when my life stopped making sense." I answered him.

"I can relate. I've been there as well." He told me with a sympathetic nod. "So this girl that Cobalt was talking about, she someone important to you?" He asked and I couldn't help but feel suspicious. After all, Cobalt did ordered him to capture Summer. Maybe he's fishing for information he could use. If so then it'll be best if I don't give him anything he could use against her like how she could easily be distracted by throwing cookies around.

[Agreed. You best limit the things you say and keep to half-truths. Remember to never straight out lie since they are easier to expose than lies with a bit of truth mixed in them.]

"She's just someone working at the same cafe as I am." I told him dismissively while keeping a straight face, trying my best to act natural as a guy tied to a chair can be. "She didn't do anything to deserve getting involve with...whatever all this is."

"I see." Grey replied with another nod, rubbing his chin and looking like he's thinking about something. "So, judging by how protective you sounded, I'm guessing that she's somewhat important to you and you want to keep her safe now that Cobalt has his attention turn on her."

Well shit. I thought I was being dismissive about her!? How did he figure that out?

"Well? Am I right?" He asked after I failed to respond and I let out a self deprecating chuckle at the thought of me trying to protect Summer, causing the guy quirk his eyebrow at me. If I tried that then Summer will most likely have to save me and complain about how much trouble I am while doing so.

"Oh please, I can't even save myself, how am I even going to do that?"

Grey seem to perk up at that and started moving in closer to me. "That's where we come in of course. We'll help you just as long as you help us. If all goes well then that girl of yours will not be harmed. So whaddaya say? Interested?" Grey told me with a smile as he stood in front of me. I don't know why but his smile reminded me of how a shady businessman would make whenever they're plotting something. Needless to say, I'm feeling quite confused at the offer since he's suppose to be the bad guy and all.

"Why?" I simply asked the guy since there's not much else I could do. "Are you planning to betray your boss or something?"

"Yep." He stated a matter of factly, causing me to raise an eyebrow because I really wasn't expecting that. "First things you should know is that I hate him. Hell, we all do." He gestured to the other two in the room with us before he looked as though he just remembered something. "Oh, and by we, I wasn't taking about just us three. I actually meant everyone working under him."

"If everyone hates him so much then why are even work for him?"

"Does it look like we want to work for him?" He shot me an irritated scowl. "Fuck no mate. We'd rather shove his ass down a blender if we could. The only reason we can't is because of his Semblance. It more or less binds us to him like some kind of soul contract so we can't go against him and have to do everything he says."

"That's so bullshit." I said with a slight quiver in my voice as the implication of what said Semblance can do scares me.

"I know. Hell, he could've done it to you too." He told me, causing my heart to sink at the thought of being controlled like that. "But you're lucky since you're pretty much useless to him so he won't." He added after seeing my expression, causing me to sigh in relief. "He only collects those that interest him or have useful application somewhere in his business. Almost everyone you see here isn't here willingly but as you cab see, we don't have much of a choice in that matter." Grey informed me, causing me to gulped. I can't imagine me being a slave for someone I absolutely loath and have to obey everything he says, but just thinking about the possibility of ending up like that sent shivers down my spine.

I could feel my lips going dry so I licked them, grimacing in disgust as I tasted the dirt and blood on my mouth before I spoke again. "How did you managed to get yourself contracted to him in the first place?"

"Well, me and her-" Grey pointed at the multi coloured haired girl, "-tried to rob him but got beat up pretty bad and was forced to make a choice between signing a contract with him or dying. Him, I don't really know." Grey said as he jerk his thumb at the thuggish looking guy.

"Why would you even want to rob him for? That seems like a very stupid thing to do considering how big he is."

"We were kids back then, desperate for a way to survive the harsh and unforgiving world. You can't blame us for going after what we thought was a harmless rich man." Grey explained with a shrug.

"You thought a horribly scarred man that looked like he wrestles oversize Ursas for fun harmless?" I asked incredulously. Just how much INT do they have to come to that kind of conclusion. Hell, I would've just said nope and run away when I saw Cobalt's face if I were in their position.

Grey had the decency to look sheepish as he chuckled "Like I said, we were hungrily desperate. To be fair, we already had out aura unlocked and had some degree of control over our semblances so we thought we could take on one guy. Besides, he didn't have those scars back then so he wasn't that intimidating at the time aside from the muscles."

"Ah. I see." Well that explains the mystery of why they would attack Cobalt. It's just a case of overconfidence. It had proven to be the downfall of many people in history and it makes sense that young people would often feel that way when they have literal super powers in their hands. "Wait, didn't you say that you signed a contract with him? How are you going to go against him if that's the case? Doesn't it prevent betrayals or something?"

Grey purse his lips and scratch the back of his head, looking as though he's thinking about how to answer my question. "Well, to start things off, we are obliged to follow his orders that he gives us and only that. So it has more to do with how he worded his orders than the contract we signed. He has to word what he wanted us to do carefully or else people could find loopholes around his orders and go against him like say, 'you are not allowed to harm me' means you can get someone else to do it for you or 'You cannot go through here' so you went in from another direction."

"Wow. That's some Jinn level wording he has to deal with on a daily basis." I said, thinking about the stories where I read about Genies and Jinns who would grant wishes. But the catch is, they would grant it in a twisted way based on what you've said so you would get exactly what you wished for but not in the way you wanted it.

Grey looked like he didn't understand what I've said but nevertheless chose to ignore it in favor of continuing his explanation. "So in order to deal with that little problem of his, Cobalt actually made a list filled with things that he would have to read out to new recruits just so they wouldn't be able to do anything against him." Grey seem to brighten a bit as he spoke about the next part. "But as luck would have it, he was in a big hurry during the time we attacked him, most likely having some important meeting he needs to get to and he didn't bring the list with him. He had to improvise his orders on the spot after he forced us into a contract and forgot to update it afterwards. Because of that, we have a lot of wiggle room than most, if not all, of his minions."

"Other people forced to work under Cobalt generally have a heap of rules that prevents them from harming him but not for us. It's the reason why we're are able to engineer this entire situation and drug Cobalt's coffee to make him incredibly agitated. That way, he would have to leave in order calm down and thus, allowing us this private moment to recruit you for our little rebellion."

"You engineered this!?" I exclaimed in surprise. "So the part where the kid in the news got shot was also part of your plan? Is he going to be alright?" I asked in growing horror as I thought how a little kid was used as a diversion for this scheme of his.

Grey just shrugged nonchalantly. "Hell if I know, it's not like it actually happened."

"Huh?"

"The entire part about the clown shooting a kid you heard just now, totally fake. That's not even a real broadcast, just a prerecorded one." He informed me with a smile. "We all know that Cobalt would head out to his favorite spot whenever he's pissed and he like to spent hours there. So, we had someone drug him to make him easily stressed when he give us the order to capture you. After that, we waited until he's losing his temper with you and then used the fake news to push him further. He hates incompetent underlings so it's rather easy to come up with some stupid story for him."

"That's a rather dumb thing to do. What if he killed me in a fit of rage instead of leaving?" I questioned apprehensively.

"Well, we don't really know you so no loss there except for our chance to escape his clutches. Worst case scenario is that we wait until he wanted us to capture someone again." Grey said with another shrug in a manner that seem to convey 'what can you do?'.

"Ouch." I muttered softly to myself, winching at the casual dismissal of my life. I realized that he has a point. I'm just a stranger to him but is in a position to help him do whatever it is he required to free himself from Cobalt. Sure he needs me if he wants to be free but he can get rid of me if I proof to be too much of a hassle to deal with and find someone else to do it instead. With him showing such disregard for my life, I could only dread what they have planned for me after I helped them.

[I have noted that he seem to be withholding something from us.] Sheila informed me.

'Really? Can you tell me what it is?' I asked Sheila, hopeful that it would be something I could use to help me survive this mess.

[I am not a psychic Alex. I cannot read minds. I can only make calculations with the data that I am given and make assessments with them as accurate as I can. Naturally, the more data I have, the more accurate the results I can provide. All I know is that he seem as anxious as you are, almost as if he wants you to accept the offer badly for some reason. That is all I know for now.]

Realizing that Sheila wouldn't be able to tell me more, I turn my attention my to my captors. "What are you going to do with me afterwards?" I asked timidly, wanting to know what my fate is after this.

Grey stared at me for a moment, seemingly thinking about my question before shrugging. "Nothing really. We only want Cobalt, not you. You're free to go after you free us but if you want, I'll let you get a hit or two in for what he did to you. You can't kill him though since we all have some business with him." He offered, presumably out of goodwill.

I quickly shook my head at his offer even though I really wanted to. I have more morals than that and hurting someone just because they hurt you is a big no no for me. I prefer a more indirect method of getting back at them. Typically in a way that doesn't get it traced back to me, like getting someone else to beat them up for me by giving them a reason to do so. Since Grey is going to do it anyway, it saves me the trouble of convincing him that Cobalt needed a beating and I'll rest easy knowing that the baldy is going to get his due.

"Really? I thought that you would've want to get back at him for what he did to you."

"While it's true that I don't like him but I don't think violence is the solution. I'm a pacifist." I lied, hoping that he would do the beating up himself for me.

The guy looked at me weirdly, looking as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're the thing that babies suck on?" He replied with a confused frown of his own.

"No, that's a pedophile." Thug guy at the back commented.

"A pedophile? I thought that it's what people call pervs who's sexually attracted to little boys." Grey said as he turn his head to the guy at the back.

"No, that's a catholic priest." I answered.

"What in the world does catholic mean?" Grey asked, turning back to me.

"Err..." Not feeling comfortable talking about the religion that doesn't exist in this world nor my atheistic views on religion in general, I opt to change the subject as best as I can. Thankfully, I just so happen to have another question ready to fire. "Wait. Now that I think about it, instead of giving Cobalt drugs that causes anger issues, can't you just-" I pause a bit to think of what else he could've done instead of slipping him a drug that made him seem like Godzilla. "I dunno, poison him?"

"Can't. The contract forbids it since it counts as indirect harming." Grey informed me, looking very disappointed by the fact and seemingly forgotten about what I said before. "Which is weird considering that we can drug him with whatever else as long as it's not lethal."

"Do you think that it has something to do with the method you used to drug him?" I quickly inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"How should I know? All I did was dump an entire bottle of the stuff into his coffee. Maybe if we're lucky, it'll also give him a bad case of diarrhea." He said with a laugh.

The girl that had been silent all this time spoke up and Grey's laugh stopped short. "We should hurry before Cobalt comes back."

Grey turn to look at her and nodded before looking back at me and took off his sunglasses that he had been wearing this entire time. I was surprise to see that his eyes were of different colors from each other. Red and brown eyes stared into mine, his face was set in grim seriousness and his entire body shifted from his casual and relaxed posture that he had adopted this entire time to one more serious. "Right. Time's running out and you have a choice to make. So to do you accept our offer? I swear that once you managed to free us from Cobalt, we will do everything we can to keep you safe and sent you back to your home."

[I recommend accepting their offer.] Sheila chimed. [Your chances of survival will increase by a large margin if you do.]

'B-' Before I saying anything to protest, Sheila interrupted me.

[But nothing Alex. I know that you are scared out of wits right now but you need to face the fact that no one is coming to save you in time. By the time that someone back home realized that you've been gone for too long, it'll be too late. You are incapable of escaping on your own and the only outcome from rejecting the offer is death or a fate worst than death. Accepting his offer not only provides you a way to survive this ordeal but also ensures that Summer doesn't suffer the same fate you did as Cobalt had already voiced his desire to capture her as well.

I am hesitant to trust them with just their words but as I've said before, we have no choice. And if what he told us is true then we shouldn't have to worry about dying by their hands as they need us for whatever their plan is to work. Just be careful of backstabbing when you freed them. We can't do anything when we're tied up but with our mobility restored, I can at least guarantee that we can find ways to escape or fight back.] Sheila told me reassuringly and I felt the familiar sense of calming wave washing over me again. [For now you need to focus. Gather as much intel as you can so we do not run into any surprises.]

There really wasn't much to think about after Sheila finished speaking. What she had said is true, accepting Grey's offer is the best chance I have in getting out of this alive. I took a deep breath before nodding. "Alright. I accept."

Grey beamed at me in what looked like gratefulness before he nodded and took a step back, arms spread out. "Then allow me formally introduce ourselves. My name is Grey, the guy who kick ass and take names. The girl over there is Mary, the silent and stoic one. I dunno who that guy is but you can ask him yourself if you want." He said as he gestured at the other two during his introduction before turning serious.

"Well then, let's get to business shall we. Here's what we need you to do."

-0-

I reach my hand out and pressed the button before me and it lit up upon being pressed. I stood tensely as I wait for the lift to come to me, my eyes darting around in worry to see if anyone would walk by and see me standing in the middle of the hallway even though Grey had assured me that they wouldn't.

I looked around, noticing that the place is very bland from what I could see in the low lighting. No decoration, no wallpapers or anything you would normally see to give a place some flavor. Instead it's all just a small space of smooth metal walls and floors, giving the place the unsettling vibe that belongs in a secret laboratory build by mad scientist or a torture area for the claustrophobic.

It's a pretty cool place actually. Could use some decorating though.

It was an odd feeling to be walking down a metal corridor, hearing the metallic thunk of my footsteps echoing when I walked. Every path that I had been through looks almost the same, nearly indistinguishable from one another. If it weren't for the signs hanging on the walls telling me where I w, I'd asnever be able to find my way here. The only issue I have with this place is that it's too bland and lifeless.

It made me wonder if this is what it feels like to be inside of a ship.

From what I was told, I'm in some kind of hidden base deep underground somewhere and only a handful of people who works for Cobalt knows how to enter and others have to be blindfolded before they were led or teleported in. No one knows how or when it was build, not even Cobalt since he essentially found it by pure luck, stumbling upon one of it's entrances back when he was younger.

It raises the question as to who build it and why to many of those who had entered this place but not for Cobalt. He wasn't interested in that and was only focusing on the here and now. As far as he's concern, he had found himself a neat hidden base to start his making a name for himself in the seedy underbelly of Vale.

While waiting for the lift, my nose start to itch slightly so I reflexively reach my hand up to scratch it. Instead of feeling relief, I immediately winched and squeeze my eyes shut as pain flare from the contact and my hand quickly dart away from my nose like it had just been scathed.

"Ow." I muttered as I cross my arms in front of me, rubbing my forearm in attempt to comfort myself. "Right. Broken nose." I said softly to myself with a humorless chuckle. It's a good thing that Cobalt didn't hit me with an Aura enhanced fist, otherwise my nose along with my skull would've shattered instead of it being bend out of shape. At least the thug guy was nice enough to put it back in place before I go.

I turn around and rest my back against the wall, hugging myself closer as I let myself get used to the pain that my body is experiencing. Though I'm not in as much pain as before, it still hurt to move around normally so I need to move carefully to avoid feeling more pain than necessary.

I sighed tiredly, mind drifting back towards the things that Grey had told me to see if I had missed anything.

"First and foremost, you need to find the contract that he's using to bind us with. Then you need to destroy it. The contract is actually a piece of paper with the teams of our enslavement written on it and our blood to act as the anchor binding us to it. It's hidden in a safe inside Cobalt's office. As for where that is, it's at the bottom last floor. It isn't that hard to miss since it's literally the only room in that floor. You'll need to use the elevator in order to reach it."

I heard a 'ding' from behind me and I push myself off the wall, turning around to see the door to the lift opening. I quickly walk in and press the floor that I wanted to go. I watched tensely as the door slowly shuts, still wary of any potential threats that could come around the corner. I never once relaxed until the door closes completely and I let my body sag against the elevator wall.

"We know that the safe is hidden behind a narcissistic portrait of himself. He shows it off sometimes, in a smug asshole-ish way because he knows we can't do anything about it. You'll know it when you see it since it's pretty much unmissable when you enter his office. He keeps everything important and valuable in there like our contracts so don't be shy to nick a few things that catches your fancy when you're going through it. Think of it as a reward for helping."

"That's a stupid thing to do." I muttered as I thought over what Grey had said in confusion. No matter how much I think about it, Cobalt's method of hiding his contracts seem like an illogical thing to do. Why would he put something so valuable in one spot and let people know where it is? Especially when said valuables controls all your minions. If it were me, I'd store each one at separate locations scattered all over the world just to make it hard for people to regain their freedom.

[Alex, are you alright? Your body is currently experiencing slight tremors.] Sheila pointed out in concern.

'No I'm not alright. I just want to get this over with so I can go home.' I answered her testily. 'This really isn't what I had in mind when I went out today.'

[But there's something else isn't it?] She prompted.

A soft sigh escaped my lips as I lean my head against the wall. 'Yeah, I suppose there is. But it's nothing, so you shouldn't worry about it.' I told her. In actuality,I keep getting this feeling at the back of my head when I was exploring this place. It's like the sense of déjà vu; which shouldn't be possible since I've never been here before. Have I? Maybe I actually have seen this place before but had forgotten about it. While it's impossible for me to see this place in person but what about seeing it in the show? I really can't recall since I had already forgotten most of it already. I mean, there's just no point for me to remember everything that happened in the show since I've arrive years too early to meet the main cast.

Is there an off chance that I'm actually in one of the places that the main cast will visit one day?

Before I could go further into that line of thought, the elevator pinged, signifying that I've reached my floor. I quickly move to the door and press my back against the wall where the panel was at as the door slowly opens. That way, I won't be seen standing right in the open like an idiot waiting to be gunned down.

I move my hand behind my back and kept a finger pressed against the open button. I waited for 5 seconds to pass as instructed before peeking my head out to take a look at what's out there. I saw an extremely long, narrow corridor with barely enough space for three or less people walking side by side. The corridor leads straight to the only metal door visible at the far end. From what I can see from this floor's design, I can tell that it's made this way to be the perfect defensible position as well as a kill zone.

Grey had told me that the only way into this floor is through the elevator and it could only hold so many people. If Cobalt's enemies were to come here with extremely large numbers, they'd have no choice but to come to him in small groups. Even if they managed to find a way around that problem via Semblances or some other methods, the corridor will act as a funnel so that the enemies are more easily manageable and can't put their large number to use and swarm the defenders. Due to the distance from the elevator to the door, it will take some time for the invaders to reach them, giving the defenders enough time to take them down.

Grey also mentioned that there are deployable sandbags and turrets hidden in the walls and ceiling at the end of the corridor to make mowing enemies down easier.

With nothing to hide behind in the corridor, they are completely exposed to the hail of gunfire that will rain down upon them. Unless they have super speed or brought a bulletproof shield that could withstand armor piercing rounds, they're fucked.

Impressive corridor aside, I also spotted two men standing by the door. Anyone can guess that they're guards stationed here to keep anyone from entering Cobalt's office. Sadly, they're not doing their job very well as they're currently staring really hard at the walls instead of the elevator just like Grey had said they would.

Those two guards are mostly just for show since no one could enter this floor without Cobalt's say so and anyone who could are either expected by him or people like me who's was brought here by force to meet with him in his office. But since those two are in on Grey's plan of betraying Cobalt, they should let me in without trouble just as long as I don't enter their line of sight.

They, like a bunch of others stationed around here, are under orders to apprehend anyone not under Cobalt's command just on the off chance that someone did manage to break or sneak into his base. They'll be compelled to apprehend me even if they don't want to. So, in order to counter Cobalt's orders, they thought up a neat trick to use. By hiding and waiting inside the elevator and keeping the door open, they would know that it's me that's inside once they saw that it's empty. That way, they would have time to turn around and face the wall, allowing me to enter his office unimpeded. So as long as I don't do anything stupid like say, walk in front of them, I'll be fine.

I quickly walk out of the lift and make my way towards the office. My movements were slower than normal as I had to move with a slight hobble while keeping a hand pressed against my chest in effort to lessen the pain that flares when I'm moving. I move past the guards and reached the door without any complications while thinking that the two beside me could bore holes into the walls with how intensely that they're staring at it.

But before I enter, there's one thing that I need to do first. Grey had told me that he's not all that clear about what's in Cobalt's office aside from the safe since he could only enter it when Cobalt's around. He didn't have the chance to look around for any potential traps or alarms so he warned me to be careful.

'Hey Sheila, is the combat thingy repaired yet?'

[Affirmative. It has been repaired approximately 2 minutes ago.]

'Ugh, that could've been useful to have when Cobalt was interrogating me.' I thought in annoyance before focusing on what I need to do. 'Alright Sheila, can you turn it on for me? I don't want to be caught with my pants down just in case there's any surprises hidden in there somewhere.'

[Affirmative. Activating: Hyper Lethal mode.] Sheila replied rather cheerily and moments after she finished her sentence, my knees almost buckled at the sheer amount of data being shoved into my head. Tactics to employ at close quarters, techniques to utilize for every combat situation and most importantly, numerous ways to murder someone with extreme efficiency.

'What? Wait! No! I want a non-lethal option! I don't want to kill anyone!' I screamed in panic inside my head.

[Deactivating: Hyper Lethal mode.] Sheila replied, sounding disappointing at my decision. Sheesh, for an V.I, she sure has an insatiable murder boner. [Shifting from Hyper Lethal mode to standard combat readiness.]

The hundreds of ways to kill someone faded from my mind but in place of that, I noticed that that it's a lot more focused and sharper than before. 'Oh, thank god.' I sighed in relief, extremely thankful that interesting ways to dispatch people was no longer filling my mind. 'I had no idea you could use someone's skull like that. It just doesn't seem physically possible.' I thought as I opened the door carefully.

[Do keep in mind that knowledge and experience are completely different things. Even if you do know how to fight now, being unable to properly utilize the knowledge given to you makes it useless.]

'Right. I'll be careful.' With the door slightly ajar, I tried peeking inside to spot anything that could resemble a trap but couldn't do so as the room was shrouded in darkness. The only source of light was from the opened door, making it hard for me to see anything inside.

I cautiously stick my hand inside and tried touching the wall to find anything that resembles a light switch. My fingers soon found something and I pushed against it, hearing the familiar click that every light switch would make when flicked.

Oddly enough, the room still remained as it was, completely dark.

I flick the switch again multiple times, hearing it click repeatedly but no light came bursting forward to illuminate the area.

Seeing that the lights aren't working, I swing door open instead and the light from the corridor traveled into the room, revealing lavishly decorated office. I looked inside and couldn't help but let out a wry smile. The room looked to be the epitome of a crime lord's personal office, filled to the brim with cliché decorations. Cobalt has everything he needs here to let the world know that he's filthy rich.

There's a larger than necessary desk with gold edges that had a laptop and stacks of paper on it; big potted plants at the corners; a wine cabinet one the right side; file cabinets on the left side; lots of expensive looking paintings on the walls; very fine looking carpet and extra chairs presumably for other people to sit on during meetings and last but not least, the portrait of Cobalt.

There it is, sitting on the wall right behind the desk, positioned in a way that it's the first thing that everyone would see when they walked into this office. The painting itself looked very tasteless in my opinion and it's also twice my size so I couldn't help but wonder if I'm strong enough to lift it off the wall. It would suck if the entire thing fell on me because I can't do more than lift it off whatever nails that it's hanging on.

I quickly make way towards it and place my hands on the edges of the frame. I took a deep breath and braced myself for the weight that I'm going to lifting. I heaved and was surprised when the entire portrait swing open like a door instead when I pulled on the edge.

I took a step back and push the portrait open the rest of the way and saw the safe that Grey was talking about. It looked like a giant metal slab installed seamlessly into the wall that's just as large as the portrait with a glowy futuristic looking interface for you to input the password into. Well, this sure is easy. Now all I need to do is to put in the password that Grey had provided and start destroying contracts.

I frowned as I type in the code, watching the buttons glow as I pressed on them. 'You know, this entire situation feels like a stealth game with cheats turn on.' I thought as the interface showed the words 'Password accepted.' on it's screen before it goes black and I heard a distinctive beeping sound before the safe plop open.

[More like you're playing the tutorial section.] Sheila replied as I pull open the safe, taking a good look at it's insides.

"True. I don't know why but I feel kind of disappoi- Woah...that's a lot of contracts." My eyes slowly trail upwards just to see the extent of how large the stacks of papers are. They stacked to the point where they almost filled the entire safe. Jesus, just how many people do Cobalt has under his command?

[Judging by how thin the paper is….Approximately three thousand, give or take a few hundreds.]

'So er...how are we going to destroy all this before Cobalt gets back?' I asked Sheila.

[Hmm, I suggest that we burn it all. It would be the fastest way to do it.] Sheila suggested.

'Right, it would be a whole lot quicker than tear them one at a time.' I agreed with her reasoning. 'Let's just hope that it doesn't spread and burn down everything'

[It is unlikely that the fire would spread beyond this room as there is nothing flammable outside for the fire to spread on to. There is also no sprinklers visible so we do not need to worry about it being extinguish right after you start it.]Sheila informed me.

"Er...hey kid." An unknown's voice seem to call out from outside the office, causing me to turn around in confusion as I wondered just who it was. The only ones here are me and the other two guys so it had to be one of them. "The elevator just closed so that means that someone's coming. Whatever you're doing in there you better do it fast." He said and my eyes widen in panic.

[Search the desk for anything you can use. I noticed that Cobalt smelt of tobacco so he must be a smoker, meaning that there should be a lighter somewhere.] Sheila told me urgently and I quickly did so.

I move to one side of the desk and pulled open the drawers as fast as I can, ruffling through them for anything that resembles a lighter. My eyes would dart outside to look at the number bar at the top of the elevator door while I searched; my mind calculating just how much time I have before whoever it is arrived.

'Fucking hell! Why is that elevator moving so fast!?' I thought to myself as I pulled another drawer open just a bit too hard and it came off, scattering the things inside all over the place.

I ignored them and toss the drawer to the ground and move on to search the rest but Sheila stopped me in my tracks. [Wait. I think I saw a lighter just now.]

'Really!? Where!?'

[From the drawer that you pulled out.] Sheila informed me and I quickly turn back around and saw the mess that I've made. It would seem that in my haste to find a lighter, I had toss the contains of every drawer out just to make my search quicker. Now everything is on the floor and scattered all around, making my task of finding the lighter that Sheila said she saw a lot harder than it's suppose to be.

"We're so screwed." I uttered out in despair.

[Not if you pick up the lighter.]

"Yeah but where is it!?" I asked out loud as my eyes dart all over the floor in search for said lighter.

[It is right there.] Sheila told me, sounding impatient at my inability to find it.

"There as in where!? I'm looking but I don't see it." By now, I had already crouched down and started ruffling through the mess.

[There, by the paper located 1 meter south east of our current position.]

"South east? I don't even know which direction I'm facing right now Sheila. You can't expect me to be constantly aware of the cardinal points like a freaking compass do you? And which paper? There's paper all over the place! Argh, it would be so much easier if you could just point it out for me." I complained as I run my hand through my hair in frustration.

[Or, you could just look behind you.]Sheila suggested and I did just that.

"Oh." I let out when I instantly spotted the black lighter lying on top of the pile of papers. I picked it up without any delay and quickly turn to set the contracts on fire.

[Maybe we should turn on the heads-up display so we will not have to go through this again. We wasted 10.05 seconds just to find a lighter.] Sheila commented with a tired sounding sigh. I wasn't sure how she could even sigh as she has no mouth but I was only focused on one thing that she had said.

'I have HUD!?' I exclaimed in surprise.

[Not now. It will take time for you assimilate it so turning it on now would be We will go through it later so do the thing so we can escape already.]

'Oh, right.' I flick the lighter on with my left hand and place the flame against the papers. The fire caught on almost immediately and I quickly move my hand away and watch as it spread. Slowly. "Tch. Too slow." I clicked my tongue as I move to light up other parts of the stack to make the fire spread faster.

Right as I had finish lighting the stack at a different spot for the third time, Sheila suddenly shouted a warning at me that I've heard once before. Right when I was teleported to the alleyway.

[PROXIMITY ALERT]

I winched in surprise at the suddenness of the warning and that proved to be my mistake as it cost me precious time to react. I saw something blurred into my line of sight. My mind was barely able to register a large hand grabbing onto my outstretched arm for a split second before I found myself flying in the air. My sudden flight was accompanied with the sound of something popping in my ears that I think originated from my left shoulder.

I slammed into the wall hard, air expunged from my lungs so utterly that I think I may have blacked out for a moment.

I hit the ground with a thud and a painting fell on top of my head after being loosen from it's place from my impact. Thankfully, it hit me with the canvas instead of the frame so I was spared from further head injuries. I gritted my teeth as I fought against the pain flaring all over my body. My left arm might have just gotten dislocated from being thrown. If the popping sound wasn't conclusive enough then the pain that I'm experiencing as well as my inability to move my left arm sure as hell confirmed it for me.

I use my right arm to lift the painting up I so that I could see. I saw Cobalt frantically trying his best to extinguish the fire by pulling everything out of the safe and stomping on them. The scene before me looked akin to a mad man doing a crazy dance or a cultist trying to summon Cthulhu as he repeatedly stomp on the burning piles of paper.

'Ho boy, he looks very pissed. Maybe if I stay really still, he won't notice me.' I managed to think past the haze of agony enveloping my mind.

[He is not a dinosaur and thus, does not have vision based on movement. The fire has spread sufficiently already and extinguishing it without the aid of a fire extinguisher or Semblances is currently impossible. Mission is considered accomplished unless an unforeseen incident occurs. Suggestion: Maybe you should start escaping instead.]

'Excellent plan Sheila.' I answered weakly as I tried to get up, pushing the painting off me so I could move. The painting cluttered onto the floor loudly, easily exceeding the sound of the frantic stomping of the man. I froze in panic, realizing just how much I've fucked up by making so much noise and slowly turn my head to look back at the man. True to my fears, the sound managed to draw the attention of the stomping gorilla. He cease his stomping in order to turn his sights onto me, eyes burning with uninhibited rage at my prone form.

"You...You..." His gritted out as he clench his teeth so hard that veins became visible on his red face.

'Well...shit.' Was all I could think of before I made a mad scramble to get up. My body screaming at me in protest as Cobalt went from standing and glaring to a full burst sprint in one second flat.

[If you are planning to engage Cobalt in combat then joint locks are not recommended as someone with aura enchanted strength might be more than you can handle. In fact, from what we know of Huntsmen, it's more than any normal civilian could handle. Note: You are very out of shape.] Sheila suggested to me as I fully stood back up.

'How the fuck am I going to put him in a joint lock with only one arm!?' I asked her as Cobalt stopped in front of me and lifted his leg backwards like he's preparing to kick me.

[You have a point there.] Sheila noted as she sent the predicted path that Cobalt's kick would take into my brain, showing me that it would go straight towards the side of my head. She also told me what to do and I reacted as quickly as I could by raising my only working arm to guard against the kick and while not knowing why, leaped towards the opposite direction of where the kick is coming from.

It turns out that leaping away was a good thing because it allows me to avoid being hit with the full force of Cobalt's roundhouse kick. If I just stood there and took the kick as it is, I would've broken my arm from the sheer power the kick was packing; evident by how I found myself being sent flying away again when the foot met my arm.

I skid against the floor on my stomach and let out a cry of pain as Cobalt's foot stomp on my back to keep me in place. Holy hell, the man is fast when he wants to be.

The man moved without pause, grabbing my dislocated arm and pulling it upwards. He held it in the air, causing me a lot of pain just by the movement alone. He lifted his foot from my back and I realized just what he was about to do. "Wai-" My cries went ignored and Cobalt mercilessly stomp onto my arm with full force. A sickening snap echoed in my ears that was soon followed by a howl of agony coming out of my mouth. The pain that I was feeling before pales in comparison to the one I'm experiencing now.

I didn't register the fact I was screaming in pain nor did I noticed that Cobalt had already let go of my out of shape arm as I lay on my side, cradling it to my chest with tears spilling from my eyes. My mind unable to work properly as it was shouting at me the entire time, telling me to do something to stop the pain.

The man stepped back, seemingly relishing my screams of anguish with a nasty grin on his face.

[Mental facilities has been compromised due to pain threshold reaching overwhelming levels.Mental break unacceptable during combat scenario.Shutting off pain receptors….] Somehow, I managed to register Sheila's voice past the physical and mental screaming and right as she finished speaking, something changed. I don't know how to explain it other than it was like a switch had been flipped, but I was no longer feeling the agony that was so debilitating before. My mind instantly started focusing on the situation at hand.

Just one glance was enough for Sheila to tell me what I need to know. The fire is spreading fast; the side where the safe once was was already covered in flames. The room is rapidly being filled with smoke, meaning that the longer that I stay here, the higher chance there is for me to die from inhaling too much smoke. If Cobalt haven't kill me before then that is, which is unlikely seeing how pissed he is right now. The temperature is also rising rapidly for obvious reasons.

My eyes dart towards my injured limb to excess just how badly broken it is. The bone is broken at the forearm, snapped right in half and I can tell that it's not a clean break too judging by the bone fragments that I could feel moving inside my flesh. It's a freakish weird sensation truth be told.

My sight shifted towards the door, noting the distance between me and it and Sheila instantly deem escape to be an impossible task as Cobalt is way faster than me and could easily catch me if I tried to bail.

My eyes dart back to Cobalt and saw that he was in the process of reaching down to grab me, eyes still burning with rage but with a hint of confusion in them. I'm guessing that he's probably wondering just why I stopped screaming all of the sudden.

A course of action was put into my brain by Sheila and I execute it without even questioning what it is.

Right as he was about to grab onto my shirt, I quickly shot out my only working arm to grab onto Cobalt's sleeve. I pulled in as hard as I could with what little leverage I had and I managed to put him off balance. I had my left leg already pulled up the moment I grabbed onto the sleeve and I kicked it towards Cobalt's leg. To my surprise, I managed to knock him off his feet and he would've crash onto my had I not already rolled away after kicking him.

Cobalt let out a grunt when he hit the floor, more out of surprise than pain and I got up as quickly as I could while he's still down. I made a mad dash towards the door, eager to get out of this room and escape through the lift.

Right as I made my first step, I felt something curl around my ankle and yanked hard, causing me to fall flat on my face. I felt the impact of the fall but not the pain and I lifted my torso up so I could turn my head around to see what it was. It was Cobalt. He's keeping a firm grip on my ankle, clearly not intending to let go of it anytime soon.

[Escape attempt failed. Recalculating course of action.] I heard Sheila chimed as Cobalt slowly got up. I used my other leg to kick at his hand frantically, trying my damnedest to get him to loosen his grip. But each time my foot made contact with it, I saw a layer of light covering his hand like a force field. So this is what Aura looks like in action. It would've been a cool thing to witness if my life isn't in danger but now it's just a hindrance to me.

Cobalt finally got up, lifting me up along by the foot as he did so. My only working hand scramble for something to grab hold on but there was nothing nearby and all I managed to accomplish was scratch against the carpet and ruining it.

I was hanging upside down now and I could feel the blood in my body rushing towards my head. The first thing I noticed is that Cobalt's crotch was next to my face. Then I noticed that he was only using one arm to hang me by my leg. It's a very impressive feat of strength as well as a daunting one considering how much I weigh.

"Do you know how many years it took me to get a hold of this many people!?" He said with a snarl. "All my life's work, all that time I spent patiently gathering more men and resources just so I could take over Vale's underworld, GONE! Because of you!"

He looked like he wanted to rip me in half and I have no doubt that he could easily do so with his bare hands alone seeing how strong he is. However, I have no desire of finding out whether or not that theory is true so I did the most sensible thing and punch him in the balls with all my might.

My fist collided with his family jewels with a loud smack, his Aura shimmer to life upon contact and I felt a jolt being sent down my arm like I had just punched a wall. I really wasn't expecting much by doing this but to my surprise, Cobalt actually felt that as he let out a pained cry and dropped me.

I was stunned by the unexpected turn of events but didn't let it stop me from trying to get away. With any luck, Cobalt's later generations would be suing him for child abuse and he'd be too busy paying for the lawsuit to be dealing with me.

[I have analyze the scene just now and have come up with a theory: From what we have seen and know of so far, Aura protects a person's body and thus, prevents them from being hurt. But from what we have seen just now, Aura does not protect their insides from receiving the impacts from said attack as seen with your nut shot. So theoretically, we could hurt people with Aura, just not as effective as we could have with a normal person. I could be wrong of course. There's just too little data for me to formulate anything concrete.] Sheila informed me as I climb up and started hobbling away. I would've run right away but my limbs aren't as responsive as they used to be for some reason so hobbling is the best I could manage.

'Huh, food for thought. Maybe we should ask Summer about it.'

[Agreed. Assuming that we survive that is.]

'Why do you have to be so pessimistic?'

[I am merely being realistic. At our current speed, escape is highly improbable. Unless you managed to completely shatter Cobalt's family jewels with that punch of yours, he should be recovering right about-] Sheila's words were interrupted when I chocked on my the collar of my shirt as it was pulled harshly from behind. [-now.] Sheila concluded as I heard the sound of fabric ripping from my shirt as I was toss unceremoniously towards the wall...again.

My back made contact with the metal surface with a heavy thunk, a strangled cry of pain got stuck in my throat as I landed on the ground. I managed to push myself into a sitting position and lean against the wall tiredly. My vision was swimming as I thought about whether this is what it's like to face off against someone from this world.

I'm pathetic. I was completely unable to fight back against Cobalt while he could easily toss me around like a rag doll. With my body in this state, there's nothing I could do aside from feeling the sheer frustration of being so utterly powerless in front of him. I hate it.

I tried to move but my body didn't respond to my commands and I can feel a stinging sensation all over my body. If I could still feel pain then I'd probably be in a world of it right now.

"You…. You!" Cobalt spat out with great malice burning in his eye. By now he had completely recovered from the nut shot that I gave him and is standing over me with clear intent to kill in his eyes. He took out a futuristic looking pistol that was from his side holster that I never noticed before and a sense of dread hit me when I realized that there's no way I'm going to be saved this time around. "No more playing around. You die." He growled out and level his pistol between my eyes.

Knowing deep down that there's no way out of this and that I'm going to die anyway, I've decided I might as well go out with a bit of dignity. I look at Cobalt in the eye dispassionately and spat the words out in my best Scottish accent.

"Yer a cunt."

BANG

000

End of Chapter

000

AN: You and I both know that he's not dead so I'm not even going to put in effort to convince you that he is. Anyway, I came to stunning realization that the longer my story gets the less motivation I am at writing it. Mostly because of the tedious editing I have to go through which is made worse because of my short attention span.

So, in effort to not take so long to update another chapter, I'll do my best to keep my chapters as short as I can from now on.