Code Collector

"You're seeing a guy?!" Gwen yelled, making both Allen and Gary cover their ears with their hands. "I didn't know you were gay."

"There are people called bisexual, Gwen," Allen sighed. He didn't have any other excuse after Gwen and Gary saw Winston take him home through the portal. The first thing that came to his mind was a lie that he was now completely regretting.

"Oh," Gwen closed her mouth and pursed her lips. "Who is the girl and the– You should call him back. Plus, I've never seen a Code like that. He must be someone who's strong or at least he's a Hunter with a good background. Rich and good background."

Allen did not even bother on listening to Gwen. He simply laid on his couch and closed his eyes, digesting everything that was happening at the moment. He was first talking to Jake about his request, now he was lying to his friends.

Allen wanted to ask himself why he was feeling bitter about this particular lie. He was hiding the truth that he was the Wandering Trader, basically he was lying to them this whole time. And that lie was much bigger than this, so he was confused about what he was feeling.

Maybe because this time, he had no other choice but to lie. He was caught off guard when the two saw him, and he couldn't make any excuse as to what he was doing. The identity of the Wandering Trader was a lie that he chose not to tell, but this one was different. This was a lie that he couldn't control.

"You space out a lot, I wonder why," Gwen said as she walked over to Allen. She placed the remaining cake that she was sure that was clean on the table and sat on the floor. "I think you don't notice it, but you do."

"I'm just thinking of a lot of things," Allen sighed. "What's with the cake, anyway? And how did you even enter my unit?"

"Dante," Gwen smirked. "I was a police officer. And I'm always curious about what people does and theirs information, so I sometimes always search for people's bios. And as for entering, I still have a master key that was given to us at the police office. They just completely forgot that I have it."

"Wait, you mean it's my birthday?" Allen asked, making Gwen and Gary look at each other with confused faces.

"You're don't know when's your birthday?" Gary asked. "Why won't someone know their own birthday?"

Allen stopped for a bit. He forgot that his new identity provided him with a different birthday. He immediately recovered his posture and shook his head, "No. I didn't think time went by so quickly."

"That's because everyone had been so busy these days," Gwen sighed. "The Phantom Cunt, the appearance of the Fire Dragon for the second time, and now the death of the chairman. It's all so surreal that you wouldn't think all of these would happen in a span of one year."

"All after that Snake appeared," Gary whispered, making Allen froze in spot. "When the news broke out that the Snake's Code had been found, everything started taking downhill. Perhaps this was why the Bearers are looking closely at the Snake's movements. Maybe he did become strong already, and he's now out to eliminate every Hunter there is."

"Why would the Snake do that?" Allen asked. "And how could they do that? They got the Code for less than a year. You think they can match to the strength of the Bearers?"

"They already have a cult for the Hunter. That person must have been rich and strong even before they gor the Snake," Gary said. "What's weird is that how he targeted Drake Nelson. He could've just asked for something. But he killed he chairman without saying any clear motive."

"Why are you opening up to such rumors?" Gwen gasped fakely. "Who are you and what did you did to Gary? He's not someone who believes in sh*t like that. That man follows logic, and that ain't logical at all."

"No," Allen raised his hand. He wanted to clear some air and steer their topic. "I mean, maybe yeah. The Snake could be behind it or something, but that doesn't matter anymore. All we have to do now is to wait for their investigation."

"That is true," Gwen sighed. "Well, let's eat your cake. Come on."

Not long after they started eating the safe part of the cake, the doorbell of Allen's unit rang. He walked there and saw Jeremy, Sarah, and Jack all standing by the door. "Yes?"

"Happy birthday," Sarah said, seemingly dismissing Allen and walked inside. "Gwen! It's good that you told me. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have ever known. Dante hides a lot of things, doesn't he?"

Jeremy snorted, following the woman inside and sitting on the floor right by the coffee table where Gwen was at. "He does keep quite a few secrets."

"He does, doesn't he?" Gwen smirked, narrowing her eyes at Allen. "Dante, you should tell them."

"Gwen, don't make it a big deal. It was nothing," Allen said. "Just stop."

He was starting to feel irritated. Now he remembered why he didn't like to be with other people's company, that even when Gary offered his life, he refused and even when Jeremy knew who he was, he distanced himself from him.

"Okay," Gwen whispered, feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

Allen smiled flatly, "Okay."

The time went on and everyone acted awkwardly around each other. They were now sitting there, eating the cake that Jeremy brought over. They were talking, but they weren't really communicating. It was awkward to say the least.

After a while, everyone left, leaving Jeremy with Allen in his room. The formet looked at the latter who was washing the dishes even after he said that he'll do it.

"Why don't you try your Body to do the chore?" Jeremy suggested. Allen looked at him and pursed his lips, nodding slowly. "You still need my help after all."

"Thanks," Allen sighed. "You helped me today. Jack and your presence calmed me when I was choking on the pressure. It all seemed so suffocating."

"We're here," Jeremy smiled. "Don't worry about it. Your secret is safe with us."

"Thank you," Allen smiled. He raised his hand and summoned one of his Bodies. For today, he was going to master controlling Oliver while moving on his own. He was going to follow Kevin's plan, and see where it'll go from there on.

The boy was summoned, standing in front of the sink. Allen took a deep breath and slowly controlled the Body, making him pick up the plate and wash it. 

When controlling a Body, the user would feel everything the body was feeling. It was like they have another body that could feel other senses. This was why this Code was dangerous. The feeling was ethereal and if used incorrectly, the senses would go numb and lose its function.

Allen made Oliver pick up the sponge and ran it over the ceramic plate. His hands were shaking, and the boy was getting more unsteady. His movements were unstable, and it would seem like the plate would fall.

"Just pick it," Allen groaned. His hand slipped and the plate fell off of his hand. His real body opened his eyes as he watched a pair of hands take the plate before it would crash on the ground. "Jeremy?"

"I'll help you," Jeremy smiled. "Just take things slow. One movement at a time. You don't need to rush anything because we have all the time in the world."

Allen nodded slowly. "Okay."

He returned his focus on Oliver and made the boy take the plate from Jeremy's hands. His other hand took the sponge and slowly graze through the plate. He was getting nervous, but he was also determined to finish this training.

If he can do this, he will be one step closer to achieving his goal. He can't progress if he won't grow. And this training would do nothing for him but grow as a Hunter and as a person.

After a gruesome two hours, Allen finished washing all the plates. His movements were slow and inconsistent, that was why he was slow in his progress. He was just washing plates, but his energy was already drained.

"What more if we would fight?" Jeremy asked. He helped Allen guide Oliver to the sofa where they made the Body sit. "Could you command Oliver to do something basic while you take a step forward and then a step backward?"

Allen shrugged. "I don't know. But I'm willing to try."

He walked in front of Oliver and linked their minds again. He made Oliver stand and walk to the side while he stood there, sighing while trying to take a step forward. His legs were shaking and his focus was dwindling. Oliver was swaying his body as the control of Allen was starting to dwindle.

"I can do this!"

His feet moved one step forward.