Spectrum Act 2, Chapter 3: Please Remember

I was planning on this chapter being longer, but adding a scene just to justify a longer length is just filler and not what good writing is supposed to be.

Act 2, Chapter 3: Please Remember

Maria, Lily, Caleb and Jonah were walking along the sidewalk after taking nearly a 10 days trip, all of them back in their school uniforms, Maria with her long red scarf around her neck and draping off her shoulders. Jonah and Caleb with their suits, and Lily with her school dress. Each one had a bag either on their back, over a shoulder or being pulled behind them. Maria yawned some as Jonah walked up beside her to talk. “Now that wasn't so bad, was it?” He asked Maria, who just kind of glared at him and sighed, her nose slightly red from the fact the flowers were beginning to bloom around them, making her allergies react.

“Maybe you guys and relay information to me when you actually want me to do something.” Maria complained, rubbing her nose on her sleeve some and squinting her eyes from the stinging sensation. Jonah pat her gently on the shoulder her bag wasn't slung over. “Well.. Maybe we were a bit extreme, but we just didn't want you to shoot down taking a break.” He tried to take a step back in justifying his actions as a bit stupid. Maria shoving his hand off and spinning around to start walking backwards.

“Look man, I had a rematch and I would have had 1000 more Geld than I have now... Which is 0. I consider that a pretty important thing!” She shouted at him, Lily sighed, rubbing one of her free arms as the bumpy sidewalk they were walking up made a clicking noise every time her suitcase rolled over a bump or hole. “Oh Maria we've all already apologized, can't you let it go?” Lily asked, Maria growling a bit as she turned to shout at Lily as well.

“YOU TOLD CUSTOMS THAT I WAS A BONDAGE FETISHIST SO YOU COULD GET ME ON THE PLANE WHILE TIED UP!” Maria shouted, clenching her fists and glaring right at her, she rubbed the back of her head awkwardly as she chuckled. “Not every plan works the way we want it to.” Lily tried to brush it off again, Maria giving up on her anger again as she just turned her shoulder to go back to walking. “Just don't pull that shit on me again.” Maria warned the three others, before her eyes began to widen, stopping in place. “Uhh... What is it, Maria?”

“...Did anyone feed the cat?” Maria turned to face Lily, she began to rub her cheek with one hand while she thought. Maria glaring at her and crossing her arms. “Well? He can't refill the bowl itself.” Lily raised a finger at Maria with a grin as she just remembered. “Oh, right! I bought the cat an automatic feeder.” Lily recalled, Maria began to rub her head, lightly rubbing the side of her head and hair as she murmured to herself. “Automatic feeder...” She began to imagine Snowy gently pressing a little button and eating food whenever it wanted when it dispensed from a feeder. It's probably more dedicated to feeding the cat than she ever was, but DAMN IT MARIA TRIES.

Lily awkwardly laughed a bit as Maria huffed, stuffing her hands back into her black coat pockets out of annoyance for her not telling her another thing. Maria began to look down the road, realizing that they were on the same road as the Cemetery she visited all the way last year. “Where are you looking at ,Maria?” Jonah asked, trying to speed up his walking to make the pace. “Well.. My parents are buried here, I would like to visit the grave while not in some kind of emotional crisis.” Maria answered.

“Oh. Well since we're all tired, maybe we should go home first.” Jonah replied, Maria looking at the floor as she stepped up to the entrance, turning her head to look at it. “Actually, just go without me, I'll be back in an hour or two.” Maria said, walking down the sidewalk into the entry gates, swinging them open as the others observed her. “Uhh... Well, See ya then.” He said loud enough to make it sound awkward with his voice, Maria just raised a hand and waved it gently while the three returned back to Spectrum together.
Maria hummed to herself, putting her hands in her pocket, looking off to the side as each gravestone passed by. The sidewalk winded like a snake between each row of gravestones. The older ones looking a bit more pale and cracked by the wear and tear of weather. She finally stopped at a familiar spot, her parents graves sitting side by side. The weather much clearer just like her head was, unlike that one time 9 months ago. “I felt like it wasn't fair that I don't visit more.” Maria stated, her voice somewhat quiet as she felt gusts of spring wind blow through her hair, and unfortunately blow some more pollen in her face.

She sneezed loudly, wiping her nose with her hand as she felt tears in her eyes for the wrong reasons. “Damn pollen allergies.” She muttered to herself, lightly crouching on her knees and looking at both of the gravestones in silence, before a familiar voice rang out just behind her. “Well... What do we have here?” He asked her, Maria standing up and looking over her shoulder. There stood a man in his late 30's, with a neatly trimmed goatee. His chestnut brown hair was to his shoulders, but some of it was loosely tied in a ponytail to not have his bangs in his face. He was wearing a blue jacket with a buttoned up undershirt and black pants. Beside him stood a girl, what appeared to be in her early teens, yet seemed to be about Maria's height. She was wearing a plain brown jacket with a fur lining around her shoulders and collar that could be pulled into a hood.

“Elliot?” Maria asked, when the girl suddenly rushed up to hug Maria tightly. “I missed you!” She said with a big smile, Maria smiled some, but gently tried to start pushing her off. “Hey Rosalyn.” Maria replied, the hug breaking off as Elliot calmly inspected his gloves. “Why are you here?” Maria asked Elliot, he looked down calmly at her and folded his arms together. “I'm visiting my sister, I do this every Sunday.” He responded flatly, gently sliding his cane up into his hands and calmly inspecting it.

“Oh... Is it Sunday?” Maria asked him, he lightly nodded his head, walking up and softly rubbing his hand on the gravestone. “It's been three years now, hasn't it?” He said, since it was the month his sister, Maria's mother passed away in the Riftfallen attack. “I tried not to remember it.” Maria muttered, looking at both of them. “I feel bad I didn't get to spend too much time with Laurette.” Rosalyn said with a somber face, Maria turned to her, lightly putting a hand on her shoulder with a smile.

“Yeah, whenever you came over they'd have me babysit you while Elliot was at work.” Maria reminisced, she nodded some. “Oh yeah! And you would never let me touch your DVD Collection.” Rosalyn said with a grin, Maria looked away and huffed quietly. “And you still can't touch my DVD collection.” Maria mentioned, She frowned and stomped a foot against the ground out of frustration. “Aww, why not!?” She complained, Maria stuck her tongue out for a second. “They all melted.” Maria replied, Rosalyn laughing awkwardly at the response.

“Wait, I actually got some cooking DVD's... I could probably lend you those.” Maria stated, knowing that those are the depressing microwave cooking DVD's Lily sent her, which means Rosalyn would get bored and never ask her again. Elliot lightly put his hands on each shoulders of the two teenage girls, looking at the two of them. “Well, since we haven't spoke again in three years... I'm glad we're getting this whole train started again.” He said with a reassuring smile, though Maria looked up at him with a tilted brow. “Well... Wait a second, can I ask you something?” Maria asked of Elliot, who calmly looked at her, hands in his pockets.

“What did you want to know?” Elliot replied, Maria looking away from Rosalyn with a serious look on her face. “Why didn't you take me in after my parents died? You're my uncle so you could legally do it, but I had to go to a boarding school when Sienna said she couldn't take me under her wing either.” Maria explained, he took a deep breath and released a light sigh, looking down at her.

“It's very difficult to balance my work life and taking care of my family,” Elliot started, slowly gesturing his daughter and his niece to begin walking with him along the sidewalk with his hand. “I feel bad enough that I have to leave my lovely daughter completely on her own unless it's the weekend.” He added, Rosalyn nodding her head some as she turned to Maria, who was just calmly walking with her hands in her pockets. “It's true you know... Dad usually only comes back when I'm asleep unless it's the weekend.”

Maria raised her eyebrow a little bit as they were walking behind him. He was about a head height taller than the both of them, but that would only make him 5'10, which is a pretty average height, he lightly pressed his cane into the ground with each step, making Maria wonder if he hurt his leg a while ago. “Who works that much? Shouldn't you find a different job with better hours?” Maria wondered aloud, Elliot lifted his cane higher along his hand to no longer use it to help him walk, looking back at Maria with his bright blue eyes. “I'm happy with my job. It feels like I'm doing the right thing.” Elliot calmly replied, Maria keeping her arms crossed over each other.

“Yeah, and we barely make the bills anyway, I would find ways to help but it's still not really enough to get us by unless Elliot works as much as he does, it sucks.” Rosalyn complained some, Maria chuckling lightly and looking up at her. “Eh I know what it's like to not have money,” Maria mentioned, Elliot shaking his head with a light laugh. “Fallen on hard times?” He asked somewhat amused of her. “Yeah, I keep losing my money every time I expect to earn some, those are hard times.” Maria replied, looking over to Rosalyn to pat her gingerly on one of her shoulders.

“I'm saddened by what happened to you, Maria. I know you didn't even get to go to your mothers funeral since you were stuck in the hospital.” Maria looked at the sidewalk, walking a little bit faster then both of them so she could get a little bit ahead, spinning on one heel and beginning to walk backward at the two of them. “Yeah, it's one of those things I wish that I could back and fix.” Maria lamented some, Elliot nodding when Rosalyn walked up and held her hand, Maria instantly pulled her hand away from her since well, she didn't really enjoy being touched.

“Elliot, is it fine if I took Maria with me to places...? I haven't spent time with her in a long time.” Maria asked Elliot, he lightly nodded at her. “It's fine, but I'd prefer you not to stay at my place if you intend to spend time with her, I have a lot of projects.” He said, Maria found that slightly odd but she wasn't sure if she could really bring up any questions for it on the top of her head. “Awesome I guess,” Maria said with a grin, turning to Rosalyn before continuing. “I'm taking part of a boxing tournament and I want you to come watch it, I can bring one person for free!” Maria said with some strange excitement, though Rosalyn began to look a bit apprehensive. “Uhm, I'm not really a big fan of watching fights.” She mentioned with some concern, Maria gently reached up to pat her on a shoulder.

“Don't worry, it'll be fine. All you need to do is watch me punch someone for 30 minutes and then we can go out and eat some ice cream or something.” Maria mentioned, Rosalyn chuckling a bit at her statement. “Well okay I guess, I'll give it a try if there's ice cream involved.” She replied, Maria smiling and ruffling her long brown hair with one of her hands. “Fantastic, but I need to get going now, I think my friends are waiting for me.” Maria said, turning and running off down the street. “Take care, Maria!” Rosalyn said with a smile, As Elliot reached down to pat her on the shoulder, slowly walking with her back to his home.

Spectrum intermission #2: Spring

Alcohol is both a window into truth and shame.

Intermission 2: Spring
Between chapter 2 and 3
Robin's Journal
Quarto 10, 535 PB
Entry 15

I'm glad we're finally through with all of the lengthy vacation to Erika's home. While it was nice not to worry about the typical trials and tribulations of this tumultuous territory of Spectrum, where things are hectic and I use a lot of T's. It felt like I was out of my environment and purpose, almost as if I wanted to commit to my current job as a Slayer, even if I didn't like it at first, it's grown on me. Morgan said during one of the first weeks that I needed to be here for my own intentions, not just to help babysit Florence... Even though I still intend to do that, he needs direction if he really wants to prove himself.
Older sisters always will take care of their younger brothers, I'm not sure Morgan gets that. I don't think she's ever had family, but it's the older siblings birthright and duty to make sure their younger ones do not do something stupid.

Erika's parents lived in the country of Kingsweld, a snowbound country across the Jade Sea. I was completely shocked how technology can be so different when you head outside of Rosewall, I heard even Cambris hasn't gotten around to manufacturing as advanced technology such as high performance computers and those strange cell phones you can tap on the screen. Kingsweld has cars without the typical rubber tire, the streets are lit with lamps and the roads are paved with bricks. Actually, I really got a kick out of that.

Even if circumstance says that the roads in Kingsweld are paved with bricks is more just a lack of resources, labor and money from the fact it technically isn't controlled by any governing body who could probably set up an agenda, everyone tends to fend for themselves and they seem to like it. The bricks in each city as we drove through each one were different. I actually had Erika's dad, who was a builder tell me each and every type of brick paving so I can possibly one day pave the Goldshore manor with my own special brick road.

The first kind is called the 'Herring Bone.' It's named after a Herring, duh. Well, it's actually named after the bones of the fish. Each tile is set up to press up against other tiles at two different angles, allowing less amount of slip in exchange for symmetry. The second is the 'Stretcher Bond.' It's kind of like how most brick buildings are made in such a way so they can slightly sway from a breeze or light earthquake and not send the entire thing to pieces like the block play sets I gave to Florence when I stepped on one and ended up kicking it across the room. Don't step on those.

Actually, I just realized how boring this journal is, I'm not sure if whoever is eventually going to steal or read this journal is going to actually care how bricks are paved, but damn it, it matters to me! But I digress, and will return to the subject of Erika's home for our 2 weeks of vacation. Well... It was more like 10 days not counting the traveling... I need to stop undermining my own points. Erika's parents, Brandt and Hanna are very stout and stuck in their old ways. They fish for their own food just outside of their home, which was surprisingly a re-purposed boat from the Ash War about 20 years back, when Astra invaded Rosewall while it's territories, my fathers included were starting to fall apart when the Ash weapons caused a rebalance of power.

They took us in with open arms we quickly sat down and had a long dinner and a conversation as well, we learned that Erika moved to another country because her father was a member of Spectrum before he settled down back in the early days of the company.
She decided to take up attempting to do it to somewhat live up to his fathers legacy, though it seemed his mother really just wanted her to stay in the country and get a somewhat normal, less deadly profession, but she began to argue about how she wants to prove to herself that she could do it. I admit, I admire her determination, but it seems like if she tries too hard she'll end up burning her candle's wick to the end, if you don't mind the metaphor.

After that, we slept for nearly 10 hours each, I didn't think traveling in a plane could be so potentially tiring, but it turns out that because of the sun moving as we traveled, it completely messed with all of us. I had to slap Florence to get him awake, and that barely ever happens now a days. And no I don't hit him all the time, that would be very cruel. I just hit him sometimes, there's a difference.

The first thing we did after recovering from the flight was go camping, camping wasn't my thing back when I tried it out back during our entry exams, and it still isn't. I didn't have an outfit for it, and one of my dressed was torn up by a branch as I was running past it, it's kind of what I get for wearing long skirts in any sort of action. After that, we went fishing even though no one brought a fishing rod.

Her parents apparently FISH BY HAND, it was probably the craziest thing I've ever seen, digging hands into holes, grabbing fish by the mouths and throwing them over to be cooked for later. I mean, Erika's Mother and Father are quite strong, her dad is nearly 7 feet tall with this huge beard that covers half of his face, her mother is pretty hardy herself but it's still quite interesting to watch. They invited me to join them but I was afraid to since I didn't want a fish to rip one of my fingers off in a horrific accident, they just called me paranoid.

After that, we set up our tents and created a campfire so we could some of the fish and got ready to rest for the night. The floor was hard and I ended up sleeping on a rock that night, we all had to squeeze into one tent and it was loud and noisy and Erika kept trying to sneakily open a bag of chips that we bought from the bazaar while not waking anybody up, she failed. Everyone woke up and got upset with her and her discrete chip bag opening.

After that, we took another trip to the bazaar where I actually managed to pick up some legitimate outdoorsy wear, along with a very nice sun hat that everyone mistakes for wearing some kind of sombrero. It's a sun hat, not a sombrero you nincompoops. There's an entire market street comprised of people sitting at small booths to sell their wares, it's a fairly free market and people advertise not by radio or television, but by shouting it at the street for anyone willing to hear. That's why Erika was interested when a mustachioed man shouted that he had chips. Erika cannot escape her willingness to buy chips, I am a woman without that quality.

After that, Erika's Parents, Erika, Morgan and I all began to drink at the tavern, we left Florence at an ice cream shop where apparently he caused another pistachio related incident that I had to pay out of pocket, it was one of the reasons I wasn't able to buy a horse so I can have a proper horse-drawn carriage and not a depressing embroidered shack with wheels. Erika got into a bar fight with a midget until she decided to give him the rest of her chips as an apology, I was confused.

There was one particular shopkeeper who was selling animal masks, having a beard that could rival Erika's father, he was shouting literally as we walked three feet from the booth. Telling us how we should “BECOME LIKE THE SHEEP PEOPLE! THE SHEEPLE!” as we just picked up the pace, walking away and back home out of fear the man was on some sort of drug that makes you want to become a sheep man, his accent was so thick that if he wasn't yelling he just sounded like he was using entirely euphemisms. Kingsweld is weird.

Morgan has been acting stranger the past couple of months, she occasionally glances in her pocket to pull out a red cell phone, I asked her about why she never would actually call anybody on it, but she tells me only to “forget about it” and “it isn't your issue.” We all decided to sit down to talk about it, but Morgan got upset and left for the night until we actually got on the plane to get home. I'm somewhat worried about her as she's gone strangely aloof since the new year broke through.

Maybe if we give her space, she'll actually listen to us and let us in on this issue.

Maria's Journal entry #2
Quarto 10, 535 PB

I hate planes so much.
Someone forgot the cat food.
Lily is the dumb.

I made a haiku, this journal still sucks.

Spectrum Act 2, Chapter 2: Vigilant, Part 1

Anybody can be a monster

Act 2, Chapter 2: Vigilant, Part 1

It was a cold night in the town of Ravenglass, especially for spring. Gabriel was shivering some, even in his large dark brown coat he was still feeling the chill on his skin. He had a job to do, so he took a couple of deep breaths before reaching into a large duffel bag. “C'mon... C'mon...” He muttered to himself, sticking elbow deep into it before grabbing the two things he wanted by lacing them between his fingers. Pulling out a pair of binoculars and a small transceiver, he slipped it over his eyes with one hand, blinking a couple of times as he scanned the streets.

He scanned the cracked, pothole ridden roads and the knocked over street lamps, along with ruins of old cars that were scrapped for parts and left on cinder blocks instead of tires. He finally found what he was looking for, two men in dark blue coats and steel masks, blades strapped on their backs slowly walking out of the back alleyways, walking together as he observed them. His heart beating so hard that he had a very hard time keeping the binoculars steady enough to track them. He calmly spoke with each step, nowhere near loud enough for the two people 100 or so feet away from him to hear him. “One... Two... Three...” He counted, before turning to press the button on his receiver. “This channel secure, L?” He asked, the wind blowing at his hooded jacket, covering some of his face.

“Of course it is.” A male voice, slightly deeper than Gabriel's voice responded. “The channel we communicate on rotates every minute between over 270 different frequencies in a random order, It's actually pretty cool.” He added, clearly enjoying talking about some of the tech a little too much, a female voice, slightly fuzzy from being farther off than the two of them cut in. “Don't be a fool over trivial matters, L.” She reprimanded L quickly, before switching the subject, her voice was low and stern for a woman's, but it projected a very business like personality.

“G, do you have any information on our mark?” She asked Gabriel, Gabriel checked his binoculars one more time before responding. “This is my third scouting point, M. They're all moving to a central point near the edge of the city's slums.” He elaborated, making sure he spoke slowly and clearly enough for her to hear him though the fuzz. “That's about 5 miles off from my current location, my only guess as to why they would set up shop in the slums is because it's been long abaondoned. ” M deduced, sounding like she was pondering. “And I'm about 3 miles off.” L added, since he was finished gawking over how awesome walkie-talkies are.

“I don't actually know how far off I am. I don't think we'd be able to hit the place at the same time.” Gabriel admitted, he knew where the water treatment plant was but he never really bothered cross referencing maps or anything trivial like that. “We could meet at one place, discuss a plan and attack at the same time.” M thought aloud, she had quite an accent on her, it was more typical of people in western Rosewall, it reminded Gabriel of Robin's voice, since they lived in a similar area.

“I know a good place, there is an old grocery store just before the slums I checked like a week ago and they have a bunch of canned stuff we can eat!” L said with excitement, M sighing quietly as Gabriel slowly put away his Binoculars, closing the bag and hiking it back onto his shoulder. “Good luck getting there while we're still in the dark of night. Silent Fall's goons have been all over Ravenglass recently, it makes navigating a bloody pain.” M complained aloud, Gabriel sighed and slowly stepped over to pop open the door that lead to the staircase to head back down the building he climbed up, hand still on his receiver to speak. “Do you think we could tail them to wherever they're hiding from the store?” Gabriel asked, waiting for a response. “It's a good reconnaissance point, there are a lot of Silent Fall goons here, they'd need quite a big base of operations, and since it's the slums we can narrow it down.” M responded calmly, before changing the subject as Gabriel stopped, leaning on a railing.

“We'll meet at that grocery store near the slum border,” M ordered with a demanding voice, Gabriel slowly beginning to climb down the stairs and get to the bottom of the abandoned apartment complex, he popped the door open just enough to look out of it and check for anyone nearby, but it seemed clear. “I want radio silence for the next 30 minutes, after those 30 minutes I will be issuing a status report. Find a safe place to have a conversation within that time as you make your way, understood?” She asked for confirmation, there was a brief pause as Gabriel slowly pushed the door open. “Got it.” L replied, Gabriel hitting the talk button one more time before attempting to put it back in his bag.

“Well... What direction is the slums again?” Gabriel asked with an awkward chuckle, two audible sighs coming from both people on the other side of the radio line. “It's southwest of your current location, it's along the shore since it's a WATER TREATMENT PLANT! Go Southwest!” L bemoaned to Gabriel, Gabriel sighed himself and put away the radio into his back hastily, hiking his bag up over his shoulder.

He calmly stepped out onto the main road, walking past a couple of the buildings with no feeling of immediate threat, but just for safety's sake, he quietly dipped into an alleyway, the ground still riddled with puddles from the rain earlier today, even if the sky had cleared hours before. It was oddly peaceful in the silence, even if the silence is because of something pretty grim in nature. The city wasn't a big one, it covered a fairly big area but it was sparse unless you were downtown. His parents lived there for a couple of years and it was nice to leave the big city of Riverside to come back home and recharge here.

It was full of stores where all the people walking in knew the shopkeepers and the shopkeepers could call the customers by name, it was more of a family than a town at times especially during the holidays. You would often get your neighbors involved in birthday parties and even if you didn't have family, this place was just a good place to settle down. Gabriel wanted to come here with a girl one day to marry her and settle down since it was a pretty relaxed town, if they ever wanted their lives to be busy, he would be able to pick when it was busy instead of having that come to him.

At least, that was what he hoped. About 6 months ago, the city was attacked by a massive roaming pack of Riftfallen, they tend to congregate together into bigger and bigger groups if they go unchecked. The entire town was hit by a wave of them, thousands died or fled to the coast to hope to halt the attack. By the time Spectrum arrived, the damage was done, and it was more collecting the bodies than actually helping anyone. One of the biggest flaws of Spectrum was the fact they were more reactive than proactive, and if you were not in Rosewall or any other major operating cities, you had to sit on your thumbs to wait until they helped.

They had a police force, but due to the laws put in place by Rosewall's attempt to reduce violence after the fiefdoms collapsed post invasion by Astra, they weren't equipped to take down anything outside of a typical criminal, not a giant monster, and definitely not a pack of them. Monsters attacked Gabriel's sister, Karen while she was in her middle school. She died, and her parents called so he could attend her funeral. Not visiting her in the hospital, not giving her support, not saving her... Her funeral. Gabriel was heartbroken, he left home in one of his attempts to find his calling and be part of something bigger than himself, and his sister dies without even hearing a phone call from him.

The funeral was depressing, but what was even worse was the condition of the town, it was falling apart. People were abandoning it instead of rebuilding it because they realized that if they can't save themselves, or be saved, that being here was a death sentence.
His parents were one of the many people who migrated away from the city for greener pastures, they somewhat lost Gabriel's respect from that. He understood that maybe this wasn't the safest place to live, but he felt like it shouldn't be thrown aside like a lost cause and turning it into a ghost town. Some people stayed in hopes to rebuild and Gabriel, who was soul searching at the time volunteered to help with the rebuilding. But once again, because life is a pain in the ass, Silent Fall began to station here.

They scuttle about like vultures waiting for the husks of towns or companies to cry its shrill death rattle before coming in to pick up the pieces and bolster their own cause. They prey on the weak, not intending to harm them, but to use their vulnerability and bitterness to coerce them into joining their cause. It's a bit gross, especially if you manage to keep up on the radios and televisions on how they pretty much straight murder and rob from people.

It turned out that his house was in disrepair, he was forced to pack up and wander the city to see if he could find a place to live while he helps keep everything together. This is where he met Spera, A small group of people led by a young woman named Mia Thompson, Her and her group live in an abandoned hotel to sell stolen goods to passerby's to make enough money to both build up the hotel as a place to live, but to supply the people who decide to support Spera by stealing weapons from Silent Fall's encampments.

This was one of those runs, but this one was different, this was the first one Gabriel was involved in it, and he felt very nervous, even if he continued to just quietly walk through the alleyways with no opposition. He would look up to occasionally check the position of the moon to see if he was traveling the right way, since he didn't stash a compass on himself for this situation. He realized to actually go southwest, he would have to duck out of the alleyway. He calmly approached around the roadway to see if there were any members of Silent Fall patrolling the area.

There were about 2 people standing by a makeshift campfire, probably using some kerosene and cloth to make some warmth to stave off the bite of being in such a cold area in the middle of the night. He quietly began to step onto the sidewalk as it was the only other pathway, he guessed he would just have to stay quiet and out of line of sight to be able to slip past them. He quietly began to crouch down, leaning against a couple of the ruins of cars to maybe make himself more inconspicuous. He occasionally peaked back up to check if they were sitting still, when suddenly his receiver went off in his backpack. “It's been 30 minutes, where are you?” It rang out in the open air of the night, making it seam louder than it was.

Gabriel panicked, struggling to get his backpack off and pull the receiver out to turn it off, he was still pretty new to this and he wasn't sure of all the procedures Spera would have him do. The two Silent Fall members grabbed their blades, turning their head to his direction. “What was that?” One of them asked, sporting a full beard underneath his mask. The one who was clean shaven turned to the bearded one and shrugged his shoulders. “No clue, let's find out.” He replied, both of them getting up and slowly walking over to investigate. “G, please respond.” Mia spoke a second time to try and get him to report. Gabriel lost his mind, dropping the receiver onto the ground before picking it up and turning it off, putting it in his pocket and getting ready to run as a pair of hands grabbed onto his shoulders to yank him into standing up, a sword held at his throat.

“Ain't it a little past curfew, kiddo?” He said in a mocking tone to Gabriel, Gabriel began to struggle, but that just made the bearded man squeeze a little tighter. “What are you doing out here?” The other man asked, the moonlight reflecting from his brushed steel mask. Gabriel growled a bit before glaring at them. “None of your damn business.” He muttered out, the man not holding him punching him square in the stomach in response.
Gabriel groaned, bending forward as far as they let him until they wrenched on him. “I think it's our business now, kid.” He replied with a threat, Gabriel suddenly kicking one man square in the chest while simultaneously smashing his head into the chin of the bearded man. Using the shock to slip to the ground, his shoulders planting on the pavement. He quickly rolled and got back on his feet, the two men already about to give chase. Gabriel spun on his feet and broke out into a sprint, covering the ground with the two in tow. They ran at roughly the same speed, Gabriel dipping into another alleyway down the road. There was a dumpster along with some rusty pipes, boxes and various other trash. He grabbed a pipe and rolled behind the garbage can to wait. They both ran past, Gabriel shouting as he charged at them.

He clocked one with the pipe as hard as he could, sending him to the floor with a small amount of blood coming from a wound in the back of his head. This was the downside to using Pulse armor, you can only block something you know is going to hit you. The other man was not caught by surprise, so the trick could only work once. He swung at Gabriel with his blade, Gabriel hopping over it and tucking into a roll to grab the blade of the knocked out man. The man dashed using pulse with sudden speed, slicing Gabriel on the shoulder deep enough for him to wince in pain.

He slung the blade in his other arm, slashing at the man's chest, but it just got pushed away by his Pulse. He sighed some, grabbing the blade with both hands as the man lunged at him again, catching his blade with Gabriel's to a stalemate. The man had a couple inches and a couple dozen pounds to Gabriel, meaning he knew he would probably lose in a test of strength. Gabriel spun the blade in a circle, making a ringing sound as the blades swung together until the bearded man pushed off hard enough for Gabriel to step back to regain his footing.

He swung at the ground, Gabriel leaping back and dodging it with a handspring, before quickly using the momentum to leap in and quickly slash 3 times at his chest. They all bounced off, but blocking with pulse whittled down stamina, and the bearded Silent Fall member was starting to breath heavier and move more sluggishly. While he was tired as well, he at least had the advantage of being more athletic. He smashed his fist into Gabriel, while he blocked it as well, he still had to reel back from the momentum, the big man smashing his leg so hard against his sternum that he fell onto his back.

“Time's up!” The guy shouted, lifting his sword over his head in an attempt to smash it back down and kill Gabriel in one hit. Gabriel quickly lurched onto his shoulders, smashing his calf into the blade to knock it to the side, the sword cutting the same arm he got his shoulder injury with a quite nasty looking gash. He groaned in pain, the man pulling his blade and kicking him in the side and making him roll along the ground, shouting in pain.

He stood back up and rubbed his arm, giving a cough as the man charged at him once again, he quickly parried the strike and ducked behind him, smashing shoulder first into him and sending him careening onto his face. He quickly dove overtop of him, ripping off his mask and smashing his elbow into the back of his head over and over again until he was knocked out. He sighed and began to pant, standing back up and stumbling over to his bag to open it back up.

He pulled out some bandages along with his receiver. He grabbed the sleeve of his now torn, bloodstained coat and slowly began to roll it back. The gash on his arm was pretty nasty, but nothing extremely hindering. He grabbed his bandage in one hand and spun it along his arm, a red stain quickly forming as he tied it and cut it with his teeth before putting it in his bag. He walked between the two unconscious men and turned his radio back on. “I'm here guys, sorry about that... not turning off the radio made them catch me.” Gabriel stated, his breath still heavy as he slowly tried to recover.
“And how did you deal with them?” Mia asked, Gabriel grabbed his bag and hiked it back onto his shoulder as he leaned against the wall of the alleyway, when he was done with the conversation, he was intending to walk down it since conveniently it was going the same way he was preparing to go. “Both of them are out cold,” Gabriel started, the bag on his shoulders feeling much heavier. He decided to keep one of the blades, even though he didn't have a sheathe for it just yet.

“What is the status on you, M?” L asked, Mia pausing some from annoyance her response for Gabriel got cut off. “Well, I haven't caught on the attention of anything so far, I had a close call but it's been a pretty quiet night.” Mia responded quickly, waiting for L to ask any other questions before he cut in with his own status report. “I'm just outside of the store, actually.” L mentioned, Gabriel shaking his head some, before going down to check if both men were still knocked out. The aching in his shoulder wound was being stung by the cold night wind, but it was slowly fading as the bleeding stopped itself.

“Well good for you, I guess.” Mia said, not really too interested in that fact since only one of three people were at their destination before their actual destination, she cleared her throat some to address Gabriel directly. “G, Dispose of the two men you've come across and proceed to our objective.” Mia stated sternly, Gabriel feeling some confusion at the statement, blade still in his other hand. “Wait... Dispose?” He wondered aloud, Mia quickly confirming the statement. “Yes, kill them and move the bodies somewhere that's hard to notice.” She commanded, Gabriel's hair stood up on the back of his neck as he heard that, his confidence broken as he had to ask her why.

“Kill them? Why kill them? I dealt with the problem... As soon as they're up, I'll be a ghost.” Gabriel tried to justify, pacing the ground a bit as Mia grew somewhat incensed. “No, dispose of them Gabriel.” She spoke again with a stern order, her somewhat deep sounding accent coming through her anger. “Spera is a secret operation, as soon as Silent Fall know of our existence they will effectively take steps against us, halting our progress in rebuilding this damned town.” She ranted some, Gabriel frowning a bit as he looked at the two men. “If you let them live, they will report in with your interference and we may face retaliation.” She said, Gabriel furrowing his brow and looking at the floor, not saying anything.

“It's not like I revel in murder, Gabriel. I'm just making sure we're erring on the side of caution.” She said, hoping to convince him. He sighed and spoke quietly into the radio, not really having the energy to shout. “It feels wrong, it makes me think we're not any better than these people are.” Gabriel said, sitting down on the concrete and eyeing the short sword he put in his lap. There was another short pause before the radio made a static sound to indicate someone has pressed the button once again.

“When the rules we always use to dictate how the world works break down, when we truly have no one else to rely on... Humanity becomes a war.” Mia began to essentially start a tract, whenever she got passionate about something she would do these kinds of grandiose speeches hoping to justify her point by pretending to be an authority. “It's not anymore about your fellow man, this might contradict what you've learned in school that humanity is a social creature. When things go to shit, we will throw anyone else under the bus to get what we need.” She continued, Gabriel glaring at the radio some more as she continued.

“These men oppose us, these men oppress us, these men want to see everything we've built so far in the ruins of tragedy and they want to pull out their dicks and piss on our graves to just spite us. It's us or them, we adapt or we die, Gabriel. I've chosen us, these men have thrown away their humanity to prove an absolutely ignorant point by using violence to promote equality. ” She added, Gabriel standing up and tucking the blade gently under one of his arms.

“They've made their decision, they've chosen to become our enemies. And out in the streets of chaos, where rules are discarded and humanity goes back to it's brutal roots of man vs man to prove who is worthy of survival... Our enemies need to die so we may live. Kill them, Gabriel; or damn us all.” She finished and immediately shut her radio off, Gabriel slightly wiping a tear he felt forming in his eye. He paused, grabbing his blade and crouching down to hold it at the throat of the one without the beard. He felt his hands shake, he never really intentionally took a life before. The most he's ever done was squash a spider who got into his car... But those animals don't really think or show much emotion.

This was a person, he had a family, friends, and a goal in his life. He went down the wrong path, but everyone has a reason for it. Does he really have to harm someone to keep himself safe? But... If they get up, they will oust him and eventually Spera and all the remaining survivors of the town might get destroyed. Gabriel paused once again, taking a deep breath as he tried to fulfill the order... But he couldn't. He realized then and there that he wasn't the kind of person who could kill someone for his own gain... Some people might be able to, but he wasn't one of them. Yes, he might be a bad man, and yes he did attempt to attack Gabriel with a malefic intent, but Gabriel just didn't know if that means he should die.

He might be considered weak, or stupid, or using his heart over his head... But this respect for another life capable of feeling felt like it was the only string he could hold onto after his family left his life and his many failures afterward. Yet... Keeping him alive means this will cause more bloodshed. Keeping these two people alive could potentially cause another one hundred deaths. Women, children, elders, his friends, Lucas's little sister, Violet. All wiped out in a massive pointless act of revenge just because Gabriel couldn't muster the courage to do one morally reprehensible act.

It's for the best, it's the best chance they have for survival... But Gabriel realized then and there that he wasn't a killing man. He shouted, grabbing his stolen sword and threw it as hard as he could, bouncing off a wall and sliding along the concrete. “God damn it!” He screamed, looking at the ground to see the two bodies, before stomping away from them in his intended goal. “Yeah, it's kind of a shitty policy, G, but we all have to listen to it.” Lucas said, still thinking Gabriel is still in the middle of making a decision.

“Did you do it?” Mia asked Gabriel, hoping the pause was enough time to listen to orders. “....Yeah, I did.” Gabriel lied, he wanted to help Spera every way he can, but not if he has to become a monster. “Proceed as planned.” Mia stated, before turning off her receiver. Gabriel turned off his, sliding it back into the bag on his shoulder and he sighed quietly. He began to walk off to the store they promised to meet at as he thought quietly to himself.“Even if they do attack... I'll stop them my damn self,” He quietly muttered, rubbing his injured arm as he broke out into a run, not seeing anyone near by and trying to cover some more distance.

“Come what may.”

Spectrum: Act 2, Chapter 1: Night

Clarity can be achieved when all distractions are removed

Act 2, Chapter 1: Night

A woman was adjusting her coat as she sat in front of her desk, making sure her name tag was perfectly aligned as the double doors at the front of the room swung open. Lily, Caleb and Jonah in the lead with Maria just behind them slightly being blocked by the people in front of her. The blonde haired girl at the front desk feigned her best smile and greeted the four approaching her. “Welcome to the Cambris gateway hotel, you four.” She said with enthusiasm. Lily reached into a small handbag she had strapped over her shoulder and resting on the long white dress she was wearing and pulled out some identification.

“My father owns this hotel and I believe we have reservations.” She said matter-of-factly, the woman reached down and inspected the picture of the girl, looking up to check her face. While she had much longer hair and no huge scar on the side of her face, it was still matched up pretty well. “Ah, Ms. Sterling then.” She said with a smile, reaching down and unfolding a small flap underneath the desk, pulling out two pairs of keys and sliding them toward her. “These are for the top floor, all expenses have been paid for already out of your bank account.” She said with a smile, Lily grabbing them and giving a nod of thanks before she noticed the secretary glaring with an odd face.

She was looking at Maria, who had a glossy piece of duct tape over her mouth. Along with disheveled hair and still wearing her school uniform, her hands bound together by a hemp rope. “...Can I ask why this young woman is bound in ropes and tape?” She asked curiously, Lily tilting her head and rubbing her chin as she tried to explain, Caleb walked up and placed his hands on the desk to look at her. “Hey, we're paying you not to ask questions!” He said to her, but that just made her more confused. Jonah reached up and grabbed a corner of the tape over Maria mouth.

Her eyes widened a bit, shaking her head out of fear and attempting to mumble a warning to him not to do it. He ripped off the tape in one swift pull, the stinging feeling nearly sharp and instant in the amount of pain. “SHIT!” Maria shouted, the large somewhat empty main room echoing her voice several times. Jonah then quickly unbound her hands, which were tied long enough to have the reddened, rope burned look to her wrists. Maria glared up at him with a furious look. “S-sorry for tying you up, Maria... Was the best idea we had to make you go.” He apologized nervously, Maria reaching up and grabbing the collar of his simple blue cotton jacket.

“I have so much contempt for all of you cunts...” She growled, cocking her fist back at Jonah in preparation to punch him in the face. “No! No! Wait!” Jonah shouted, raising his hands in preparation for any face punches about to come his way. Maria let go of his collar, not really intending to hit him. “Calm down everyone, you're making a scene...” The secretary spoke bashfully to try and keep everything calm. She reached up to the phone and held it up to Maria as she turned to look at her. “If you want, we can call the authorities on them!” She offered, Maria's anger subsided as she realized how stupid this entire thing was. She just sunk her head and began to walk toward the marble staircase. “Oh fuck it, never mind...” She said out of defeat.

Everyone quietly walked after her, Lily pocketing the keys quietly as they followed Maria up the stairs, slightly going at a faster pace so they could catch up with her. “Hey Maria! We're sorry!” Lily shouted over to her, Maria glaring up at her and keeping silent until they got to their room. She reached out to get her keys, but Maria snatched one out of her hands, walking to the room adjacent to it and unlocking the door. “I'm going to lay down, don't bother me.” She said, popping the door open and slamming it so hard they could hear the walls rattle slightly. Caleb walked up to the door and shouted through it to see if she could hear him.

“Hey! We're going to head to the beach, come join us when you want!” He shouted through the door, only to hear her shout “GO FUCK YOURSELVES!” in response. Jonah walked up and leaned against the wall to look at Caleb with some slight annoyance. “Hey, man... Who said we were going to the beach?” He questioned. Caleb looked back at him nonplussed and gave a soft sigh. “We need to wait until Lily's butlers unpack all of our things and get them in the hotel room... And isn't Cambris known for it's beaches?

Lily reached up to lightly stroke her chin, Jonah and Caleb getting away from the door to stand at a more comfortable distance. “Hey, Rosewall has alright beaches too...” Lily calmly argued, Caleb throwing his head back for a brief bemused chuckle. “It's only hot enough to want to go to the beach for like... 10 days out of the year, and even then it's windy.” He complained, Jonah and Lily just kind of staring up at him.

“Rosewall is shitty, Lily. Cambris has Bright skies, warm sun, pretty girls to possibly meet... I think I have enough reasons to go. How about you two?” He asked, pressing his hands onto both of their shoulders and giving a jovial grin. “I don't really care about meeting a bunch of girls, but I might as well go.” Jonah said in slight agreement, Lily nodding and walking off ahead of them. “I'll tell Sebastian to get our swimsuits.” She said, walking down the stairs. Jonah and Caleb looking at each other for a second before going to follow her once again.

A couple of hours later, as the sun slowly drifted from noon to a couple of hours before sunset. Maria walked up to a parasol with a couple of blankets underneath of it. Jonah was wearing a baggy pair of blue shorts, and Lily was wearing a light blue modest one piece and a pair of oversized sunglasses as well. She looked up at Maria and smiled. “Hey! You finally made it out.” She said, Maria was wearing a long baggy pair of pants and a loose white T shirt with a black cat on it.

“Hey... You're wearing a shirt with a cat on it!” She said, pointing an accusatory finger up toward Maria's chest. Maria reached down, pinching the cotton of her shirt and looking at it. “That I am.” She replied flatly. Lily leaped up onto her feet to point even more ridiculously at her. “You wouldn't wear the cat sweater I made for you, yet you wear this picture of a cat!? EXPLAIN YOURSELF!” She shouted, before realizing she was poking her finger against Maria's chest. Maria responded by shoving her off hard enough to spin her around and landing face first onto the sand. “...The cat sweater sucked, Lily.” Maria casually commented, Lily lifted her head off of the sand, her short hair now full of it.

“But I got it because I loved you!” She shouted loudly enough to make other beach goers stop in their tracks and stare at her. Maria blinked a couple of times, looking around at everyone glaring at both of them with strange feelings. “Uhhh... Okay.” She awkwardly replied, crossing her arms together and looking at her. “It's not fair!” She shouted as Jonah lightly pressed a hand on her shoulder. “It's fine, Lily... Calm down.” He said, trying to be the voice of reason. He awkwardly smiled at Maria, standing up and standing at her face to face.

“So uhh... Do you feel like swimming, Maria?” He asked her, clasping his hands together and glaring at Maria. Maria scratched her chin gently and sighed some. “No, not really.” She replied, Jonah looking down at Lily before talking through his gritted teeth. “Go swimming, Maria.” He said, not sounding like it was a suggestion. Maria sighed and shrugged her shoulders, turning around to walk over to the water. “God... You people are weird.” She yelled back at them before getting to the shore. Jonah knelt down beside her and started brushing the sand out of her hair as he spoke. “Hey, Lily... Can I ask you something?” He said, Lily crossing her arms over her knees out of frustration. “Yeah? What do you want?” She wondered, Jonah taking a deep breath before responding.

“Uhh... I want you to meet me on the overhanging balcony of the hotel later.” He requested, Lily looking a bit confused as to what could be the reason why. “Uhm.. What time?” She asked, Jonah rubbed his now clean shaven face, the stubble long gone. “Well.. how about 11 PM?” He offered, Lily pondering a bit before smiling at him. “Well alright, Jonah... I usually sleep earlier than that but well... it's a vacation.” She claimed happily, Jonah smiling as Caleb walked up to their side in a pair of black shorts, putting his hands on his hips and sighing some in defeat.

“Man, I have no idea what's happening to me today.” Caleb sighed, rubbing some sweat off his brow and taking a seat back on the beach towel. Jonah sat down next to him and leaned back onto his arms as Lily watched Maria attempting to pad around in the water like a dog. Not because she was having fun, mostly because she felt like she was being spited. “What are you talking about?” Jonah asked, watching Caleb finish the last sip of his knock-off brand of lime flavored soda before setting it down on the beach towel.

“I tried to see if there was a single girl interested in me, and everyone told me to leave.” He explained, Jonah raising a brow at him as he started to shake his head at nothing in particular. “What am I doing wrong? Do people think I'm just an asshole?” He complained, shrugging his hands as Jonah just sort of stared at him. “Yes, you're an asshole.” Jonah said without a beat, his face completely straight. Caleb groaned out of annoyance and glared up at him. “You have at least tried to humor me a little, Jo...” He commented, Jonah chuckling a little bit until he was cut off by the sound of shouting.

“Oh shit, a current!” Maria shouted while in the water. Lily instantly sprung to her feet and ran to the shoreline, watching as Maria struggled against the water. It didn't seem like she was drowning, but she was slowly drifting west along the water, not really being pulled toward or away. “Maria!” Lily shouted, as Maria started to flail and kick at the water to move. “Why is there a current here!?” Maria shouted back at her, but Lily realized something very quickly. Maria was moving away really slowly, like... stupidly slowly. She was barely even being pulled away at this point, Lily sighed softly and resumed shouting at Maria. “Have you tried swimming out of it?” She shouted, Maria kind of flopping onto her back and flailing her arms like a child.

“I never said I was a good swimmer!” She shouted back, Lily sighing as Jonah and Caleb watched the very unusual sight. Jonah walked up to watch this strange sight, clasping his hands together to shout at her as well. “But I've SEEN you swim well, why can't you do it NOW!?” He questioned, Maria pausing a bit as she kept flailing. “...Go fuck yourself, Jonah! I'm panicking!” Maria shouted, Jonah sighing as Caleb sighed. “...She's being dramatic again, let's just go back to the hotel.” Caleb mentioned, Maria shouting incoherently out of anger while everyone pretty much abandoned her to head to the hotel.

“Come back here you pricks! Fuck... fuckfuckfuckfuck!” She muttered out of annoyance, slowly drifting down the beach by the slow but pretty strong current, but admittedly she decided to half ass it and not actually bother swimming back to the shore until she was about a mile away from where she started. She paddled to the nearby shore, stepping through the wet sand as her body was dripping seawater. Gale emerged once again with a very confused expression on his face, at least as confused as a bird could be.

“What the hell was that?” He asked calmly, Maria glaring at him as she slowly began to walk through the dry sand, the wind of the evening making her much colder thanks to the water. “I'm not exactly sure why I forgot how to swim just there... Maybe the current was just a surprise. Wait, where the hell was the lifeguard?” She asked, Gale just shrugging his wings some as he started to float along side of her. “I guess it was one of those strange moments where no one really wanted to bother.” She replied.
Gale sighed some, looking over to the flowing ocean waves as the sun began to paint the sky a deep purple color. “That's so unusual.” He mentioned, Maria looking at him to see what he was staring at, slipping her hands into the pockets of her wet pants as she turned to face the sunset as well. “Look at the rift, Maria.” He said, pointing a wing in that general direction. Maria glanced up to stare at it. It was the same way she remembered, north to south right in the very center of the sky. “Yeah... what about the rift, Gale?” She wondered, kicking her sneaker covered feet in the sand with a light squelch, she was soaked to the bone from being in the water for too long.

“How far are we away from Rosewall?” He asked her, Maria reached up to scratch her head some, trying to remember some semblance of a thing she learned back when she attended school. “Uhh... Ballpark guess here... About 2000 miles south and 800 miles east, I remember that because we have to memorize all the time zones while in Mrs. Baker's class.” Maria replied, Gale staring up at it some more before approaching her a bit closer and perching onto her shoulder. “So, where is it in the sky, then?” He questioned, Maria's eyes widening as she just figured out what that could possibly mean.

“It's in the exact same place... the EXACT same place. It's like we haven't moved.” She realized, her voice carrying a bit of a shock as she slowly turned to start walking while staring in the sky. “From what I learned, this is spitting in the face of all current knowledge... The rift is truly something beyond human comprehension.” He said quietly, Maria furrowing her brow and poking a finger through him out of annoyance. He flinched, even if he couldn't interact with the real world in this form. “Why are you getting all introspective on me?” She asked, He just chuckled awkwardly as Maria stood on her toes to look over the hill. The resort in the horizon in what appeared to be another 10 minutes of walking.

“I don't know, Maria... I just worry for you and your kind. I kind of wonder if this will eventually be the end of humanity.” He said with a somber voice. Maria grabbed her shirt and wringed some more water out of it to sate the cold she was feeling. “I don't know... Spectrum has been doing pretty well.. Some attacks happen but we can usually deal with it.” She replied, mentioning how she and her team tend to only have missions every couple of weeks, but he shook his head some at that. “Broaden your perspective, Maria.” He replied, Maria looking at the ground for a second before she turned to walk up the hill, pressing her toes in deep into the soil so she wouldn't slip back down.

“I guess most places without Spectum in the city are a bit more fucked... One town about 100 miles from Rosewall had over 1000 casualties because it took us a couple of hours to actually arrive with enough people to clear them out.” She answered, standing at a somewhat cracked two lane road. The cars passing by and blowing a gust of wind, before a semi truck flew past and completely sent Maria's wet hair crazy, a mop on her head. She sighed and crossed the street quickly, walking into the parking lot and stopping just before the door of the hotel.

“I don't really know the answer, I think we just need to do the best we can.” She said with a sigh, Gale fading away into nothing before Maria popped the door of the hotel open, pretty much attempting to ignore people as she got in the elevator up to the top floor, getting to her room and unlocking the door, Jonah and Lily sitting together as they looked at the wet, sand covered Maria step in. Lily getting up and staring at her. “So uhh... Welcome back.” She said with an awkward grin, Maria spit on the floor, wiping her wet and dirty face with a wrist as she walked up in front of both of them. “Hi.” Maria said with a scowl. Jonah folded his arms and sighed some. He was now dressed in a blue sport coat with a black undershirt and a pair of jeans instead of the swimming trunks he had earlier.

“So uhh... Why did you suddenly become too stupid to swim?” He asked somewhat bluntly.
Maria shook her head gently, rubbing her hands through her hair to slide it from her face. “Sometimes fucking around backfires.” Maria replied bluntly, Lily getting off the bed on her side and walking around to stand off to the left side of her. “Actually, I had a question too.” Lily mentioned, Maria coughed some and folded her arms, raising an eyebrow as she waited. “What?” Maria said with a slightly annoyed voice, waiting for what Lily wanted to ask. “Why were you so resistant to us wanting to take you on a vacation? Normal people don't usually have to be tied up to go take a break.” She asked Maria, who went to unzip her black suitcase, pulling out a small piece of paper and presenting it to Lily.

“Can you read this for me?” Maria asked her, Lily inspecting the white paper with details written on it. “Hmmm... 4/9/535, 291 Able street. What does that mean?” She asked, Maria tugging the paper away from her and holding it between two fingers so it was facing Lily and Jonah. “I was going to get a rematch for the combat tournament I was in, it was canceled when some Riftfallen attacked.” Maria explained, reaching into her bag once again to pull out a pair of dry clothes. “Oh, well I'm sorry you missed it, Maria.” Lily apologized sincerely, frowning some.

Maria scowled, tossing the clothing on her shoulder. “That would have helped before you decided to kidnap me and send me 2000 miles away.” Maria complained, looking for the bathroom and walking to it to open the door. “I'm going to clean up and go to bed early.” Maria said, closing the door. Lily and Jonah looked at each other for a second before Jonah walked to the door, holding it open for her. “Let's just go, alright?” He asked, Lily nodding her head and walking through the door after him. She was back wearing her long white dress once again, the skirt lightly swaying near the hard wood floor as she began to walk along the hallway to the balcony facing the outside of the hotel.

Jonah followed as well, opening the double foldable glass doors to stand on the balcony, it was about 50 feet up in the air and made of very sturdy, steel reinforced concrete. It would probably be able to withstand an earthquake if there ever was one. Lily grabbed the double glass doors and slowly pulled them closed. “So why did you want to meet privately, Jonah?” Lily asked, turning to face him. He was leaning his hands against the stylized railing, that was about the height of his stomach. “I just want to talk to you about a couple of subjects, Lily.” He said, Lily walking up and turning to lean her back and hips against the very same railing.

Jonah looked up at the sky, it was now essentially night, the skyline was still bright near the edge but the sunlight was mostly replaced with stars. This city was smaller than Rosewall, so the lack of light pollution meant he could see a lot more stars than what he's used to. “I guess it's about the promotion exam coming up.” He finally admitted, Lily turning her head to look at him, he had a somewhat somber look on his face, his hands gripping into the side of the balcony. “What about it?” She asked him back, Jonah pushing himself gently off of the balcony and slowly pacing the floor.

“I feel like a liability, Lily.” He admitted, Lily frowning softly and lowering her brow as she lightly rubbed her hands along the concrete, her eyes tracking his movements as he clasped his arms together. “It feels like if the exam comes up and we all have to be tested as a team, I'm the biggest soft spot.” He said, crossing his arms over his chest, Lily stood up and approached him, rubbing his shoulder some. “Oh come on Jonah... You're not that bad.” She said with a reassuring smile, Jonah grabbed her hand and gently pulled it off. “No, I'm pretty sure of it, Lily. Maria is a mixed martial arts fighter, you learned from one of the best fencers in the world, and Caleb is a 3 year veteran, what do I have?” He asked even though he knew she didn't have the right answer. “I'm just some brat trying to make himself not feel useless, I feel like I don't belong here... I'm always the one who preforms the worst and I think I'm just going to hold the team back.”
Lily sighed, looking at the floor a little bit. “I just don't think I could trust myself in carrying my own weight, Lily. It's not okay to doubt myself like this, but it feels so true I can't do anything about it.” He said with a sigh, kicking lightly at the floor once before walking up to lean back against the railing, Lily frowning a little bit as she sighed. “Well... You're trying your hardest, right?” She asked him, he furrowed his brow and shook his head softly out of slight disdain for the question. “I have since the very first day, Lily... I just have been slowly realizing over the last 10 months that it might not be enough to make me turn into someone important.” He said, looking away from her and sighing again.

“That's kind of pessimistic, don't you think?” Lily mentioned, Turning to look out from the balcony down at the beach, the shimmering water reflecting the moonlight as a light breeze began to pick up. Jonah turned to face her, looking down at the road and watching the cars slowly hum by. “I never said I was an optimist, Lily... I just wanted to tell you my concerns without Maria or Caleb insulting me... You're probably the nicest person out of the three of us.” He admitted, Lily giving a light chuckle at that as she reached up to poke Jonah on the cheek. “Maria and Caleb aren't that bad,” She said in a casual protest.

“You kind of need to get used to them, you tend to keep to yourself a lot, so I don't think you've ever gone out of your way to spend time with them.” She criticized, he nodded some and wrapped his hands together around his other hand. “I guess... But what do I do about the fact I'm just not a good fighter?” He asked, Lily started to think when the double doors swung open. “Did someone say they sucked!?” Caleb shouted with a grin, Jonah spun around with a frustrated look on his face. “Oh fuck off, Caleb!” He shouted at him, Caleb frowned a bit and sighed, leaning against the balcony between them. “Oh quiet Jo, I'm offering to help you learn how to fight like I do.” Caleb said with annoyance in his voice.

“You scared the shit out of me, sorry.” Jonah replied, Caleb laughing one more time and waiting for him to answer his question. “Look... If you really think you can help, then go ahead and try, Caleb.” Jonah answered, Caleb grinning and grabbing Jonah by the shoulders. “Look man, as long as you stick by me, I can turn you from shit to slightly less shit.” He said with a reassuring smile. “Thanks, I guess.” Jonah said a bit annoyed by the mixed insults.

“Well we'll start as soon as this vacation is over, I'll be back in the hotel room if you need me.” He said to both of them, quietly leaving as Lily turned back to Jonah, gently placing her hand against his arm and smiling. “I'm here for you, Jonah. No matter what happens.” She said, Jonah smiling back at her as she did, before quietly leaving back to her room as well. Jonah just sighed and opened the door, going back down the hallway as well to get ready for the night.