GRUDGE BURST - Urban Fantasy Multi Protag Downward Spiral

7:34 AM

Up in the mountains of Utah, Solomon, Chad, Edward, and Jinsei sit down. Trees are plentiful. The sky is bright, blue, and sunny. Little tufts of cloud float by. The birds chirp loudly. A small camp is made, with fire on the ground. They're all on top of a small hill, overseeing the beautiful scenery.

Solomon stands tall and firm, breathing in the fresh air. "Aaaaaaaaah. You smell that guys?" He says. "That's god right there."

Chad too, stands up and enjoys the view. "What do you mean?"

"That's God's splendor. The trees. The smell of vanilla." Solomon crouches and picks up a dribble of dirt. "He made this- all of it. And he brought us all together. Isn't that cool?" Solomon turns to Edward, who's on the ground, unpacking the small backpacks they brought along.

"Wouldn't you agree, brother Edward?"

Edward takes off his headphones. "Huh? Uhh, yeah, sure."

Jinsei sits down in front of the fire. He stares at it. Waiting.

Step. Step. Step. Step. Audible crunches of leaves and branches crackle nearby.

Jinsei looks up. "About time."

Dani, Scotia, ZXVC9, and Vincent walk towards the camp. Scotia and Z still wear their typical attire, meanwhile Vincent and Dani wear camo fatigue and coats.

Both groups glance at each other. Z and Chad lock eyes. They both automatically think to themselves: "(Oh ℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥 not 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 asshole 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟)."

"Howdy fellas!" Greets Dani.

Jinsei narrows his eyes. "I thought you said only two people were coming..." Says Jinsei towards Dani.

"Oh yeah sorry about that. See, originally it was just going to be me and Vincent, but we thought to bring Z along with us because, the more, the merrier, right?"

Chad looks over at the stereotypical archer. "That's one, but what about him?"

Dani turns around. "Oh Scotia? Yeah, he heard we were all going for a walk in the woods and he just invited himself."

"They're right," adds Scotia, smiling. His cap still shadows his face. The only thing visible is his smile.

Edward squints. "That's... I mean- ok. Wait, how'd you guys get here?"

Dani chuckles before answering. "So- funny story. We were supposed to come here on helicopter. And then we did five minutes of researching." Dani clasps his hands together. "Perhaps you guys didn't realize but- *clap*- you're on private property right now."

The group of terrorists all shrug. "Yeah we knew," explains Chad.

Dani's eye twitches as he forces a smile.

"𝕀𝕕𝕚𝕠𝕥𝕤, 𝕀'𝕞 𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕪𝕠𝕦," comments ZXVC9

"Nonono-" assures Dani. "It's fine. It's just a couple mile long hike and we're already here. Asking permission would take too long, rescheduling's a bitch for everyone its just- its ok. As long as nobody sees us- we weren't even here to begin with."

Chad shrugs. "Fair enough. You wanna start, Jinsei?"

Jinsei, still staring at the fire, slowly closes his eyes and grabs his bag. "Yes. Take a seat, all of you."

The agents and terrorists all gather around the camp fire. Jinsei stands up. "I'm sure all of you are already aware of the tri-power system. Seeing as how some of you have already fought each other, we can all clearly see a few gaps in each other's strengths. Some of you are good, while most of you are still novices."

Chad and Vincent both glare at each other.

"(Fuck you)" telepathically calls Vincent to Chad.

"(Fuck you)" responds Chad.

"(𝔽𝕦𝕔𝕜 𝕪𝕠𝕦)"

The agent and terrorist both look at Z.

"(You're not even a part of this,)" radios Vinny.

"(𝕀 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕓𝕠𝕥𝕙 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕠𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘.)"

"Gentlemen," says Dani.

The three of them stop

"Continue," says Dani.

"Thank you. I'll make this brief by showing you a quick way of improving your resources. As you all know, the greater a limitation, the stronger a technique. Whether it be for a niche situation, or a technique that's best used sparingly, they're stronger than something you can use with no drawbacks. That's fine, however, there's something you can do to any technique to make it stronger: Incantations and hand signs."

Edward leans in closer, staring at the lecturer. Jinsei continues to explain.

"You see, if you chant a technique before you use it, it charges it up. Depending on what you assign the chant to, you can either make the technique stronger, or make it cost less."

"Chanting?" Asks Scotia. "What do you mean by that? Like prayers?"

"To a certain extent, yes." Clarifies Jinsei. "Moreso the other way around. Prayers came from holy people chanting to themselves. Normal humans pray for the sake of help, unknowingly leaking all the potential for magic-"

Jinsei stands in front of the fire.

"But as sorcerers, instead of letting it slip through our fingers, we grasp on to it."

Edward smiles.

"But chanting isn't necessarily religious. All that matters is that it comes from the soul. It doesn't matter what you say, as long as it means something to you in that moment."

Vincent scoffs. "What, so we're just going to be spitting poetry in the middle of a fight?"

"Yes. Literally." Says Jinsei.

"Next things are hand signs. Much like incantations, mudras are very similar in nature. It doesn't matter what you do, much less if you even know how to do proper hand signs. But the more you do them, and restrict yourself by going 'as long as I finish the mudra, or string of mudras,' then you can fire off a better version of your technique."

Jinsei smiles and scoffs to himself.

"I just remembered... There's actually a martial art based entirely around this."

Z pays closer attention.

Jinsei continues: "Ninjutsu. Back in the Ordinance Academy, there used to be a magic specialist who sacrificed all of his skin to kill a the baseball spirit."

Vincent squints at Dani and mouths the words "what the fuck?"

Jinsei continues: "He then commissioned a cyborg body for himself, turned into a ki specialist, and then used Ninjutsu. Every time he fought, he'd flash a flurry of mudras before sending a finishing blow. I remember the rogue sorcerer's torsos blowing up into chunks. Tcheheh... And the one who taught him that was-"

Jinsei stops. He stares into the woods. Those golden eyes stare back.

Confused, most of the men look behind them. They see nothing.

A solid minute passes before Chad gently taps Jinsei.

"Jinsei, are you o-"

Jinsei momentarily snaps back to reality and violently pulls away. "Don't touch me." Jinsei takes heightened raspy breathes before sitting down. He still stares into the woods, gritting his teeth.

"Is he ok?" Asks Dani.

"Don't worry, it happens. I'll take it from here, though." Assures Chad. "Now, all of these are fine and all if you don't have a guy up in your face or if you have a couple seconds to spare. Adding them to an attack won't hurt. However, restrictions are again, the real make or break of this skill. Sure, if you sprinkle it to any attack, that's extra credit. But if you really specify, and restrict it so that you can't use the technique until you do one or the other, then that makes it way stronger. For example, when I summon my personal spirits, it's only done through hand signs. A part of it boosts its power, but even then, there's a specific one that's so strong, that the only way to summon it is through the handsign."

All the CIA agents take a mental note of what he just said.

"Now, that's fine and dandy, but there's a catch. Whether its someone who uses it too much, or especially if its someone who solely locked all their techniques through the mudras/incantations. You aim for the throat or for their fingers. If you chop the throat, they won't be able to speak. If you break their fingers, all their mudras are fucked up now. Easier said than done but, if you know how the enemy plays their cards, it'd be really stupid to let them play it."

Z glares at Chad's fingers.

Dani starts up. "I see. By any chance, do any of you use a spellbook or wands?"

Z and Scotia look at Dani with confusion. Vincent flashes an 'ok' hand gesture at them.

Chad ponders a second before answering. "No. Those are typically used for beginners. Why do you ask?"

"So that's the thing," continues Dani. "Most of us still use spellbooks."

"What about the wands?" Asks Edward.

"Nah, that's more of an MI6 thing. But I digress. You're saying if most of the force focuses on hand signs and chants, it'll make us stronger?"

"To an extent, yes," says Chad. "But obviously the best way to actually develop your techniques is through practicing it. These only help with output, resource management, etc. You don't wanna depend too much on it."

"I see. Is there anything else we should train on?" Asks Dani.

"Well yeah. We're on the mountains. We're going to be practicing our ki."

"How?"

"By punching the side of the mountain of course."

Everyone stares at Chad.

Edward then props up: "Oh wait you're not joking."

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Moving the camp less than a mile away, all of them stand in front of the side of a mountain. Some are punching said side of the mountains. Bloodstains and knuckle indentions decorate the wall. Others are meditating, focusing on the material world. Really grasping on to the atoms that make the trees, the rocks, and the air around them. Scotia is nowhere to be seen. And Edward is punching the wall, yet isn't putting much effort into it.

Chad walks up to him. "What's wrong Edward? You're barely bleeding from your fists."

Edward smiles at him. "Two things. One, I realized I'm a magic specialist, so training for Ki isn't my top priority."

Chad tilts his head to the side. "That's fair. However, it doesn't hurt to train it, especially since specialists of the other kinds are way more 'squishier.' But, you know yourself more than I do, so its up to you. And what's the other?"

Edward shoots a grin at Chad. "Well, your friend over here managed to land a date."

Chad looks around. "Who?"

Edward's smile droops down. "M...Me. It's me dude."

"Oh well congratulations. Who's the lucky girl?"

"Girl? Eheh, uh yeah sure," chuckles Edward while rolling his eyes. "The lucky person is someone I met at The Underground."

Chad slightly frowns. "Hey now. I don't mean to tell you how to live your life but, dating a sorcerer from there doesn't seem very...safe."

Edward gives Chad a weird look. "Weren't you going to invite Jordy over here with us?"

"Jordy's a different case. Training him isn't the same as dating. Plus I know he's the innocent type. Ultimately he couldn't come because his schedule was full but, I realized maybe he shouldn't be involved in all of this."

"Mhm. Yeah, how sweet. So tell me what's the difference between him and Quinn?"

"Well I understand its a bit of a biased perspective from the both of us. Maybe its because I don't know this 'Quinn' girl-"

"Person."

"Uh-yeah, person, that I'm a little uneasy about it. Don't you think she's suspicious?"

"Oh yeah no. They're 100% sussy."

Chad makes a confused face. "Then why the fuck- why would you- wha- 💀"

Edward shakes his head and puts his hands on his hips. "Don't worry about it guy. This is my business. There's the potential to win something here. And most importantly- I want to see where this goes."

Chad shakes his head in disappointment. "Just don't die."

"I wouldn't count on it."

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Jinsei is in the woods, staring at the others. His demeanor seems calmer.

A voice calls out from behind. "You think you're too good to train with us?"

Jinsei looks behind. It's Scotia. He has shortbow wrapped around his shoulder. In his other hand is an elk, getting dragged on the ground by the antlers. It has a single, clean hole in its neck. There is no arrow to be seen, however.

"I got us lunch," says Scotia.

Jinsei raises his eyebrow. "I...see. Thank you."

" 'course."

"Say," says Jinsei. "wasn't there an African American agent with you back the first time we met?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, there were two of them. Geo and Jules. What about them?"

"Jules... where is he?"

"Oh, he's a busy guy, so he's out on a mission. We were just gonna copy and paste the notes you guys explained to us and show it to the rest of the force. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, I was simply expecting him to show up. For someone who's not that versed in sorcery, I'm surprised he lasted so long in our fight."

"Yeah. For a diversity hire, he's actually worth the merit."

Jinsei gives him an odd look.

"Oh yeah, diversity hire. It's an American thing. But he's good, you know?"

"...I see."

"Say, by the way, within this chart," says Scotia rummaging through his pocket, "which one would you say you're around?"

Jinsei stares at the chart. He then laughs.

"You Americans are cute."

Scotia gives him a confused look. "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing. It's just that we use a different style chart in my home country." Jinsei then points at the center; "All-rounder."

Scotia smiles. "Interesting."

"Why do you ask?"

"Oh nothin'. Just curious." Scotia shoves the chart back in his pocket and walks towards the rest of the group. "Boys, I got us some lunch!"

Jinsei looks at the agent with his nerves weary. He then breathes in and out. He looks at them again. His worried demeanor melts into realization. From realization to a relieved smile. He then scoffs.

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As Solomon helps Scotia cook the elk, Chad stays by the mountain to help Vincent.

"No man, no. When you punch you wanna make a sound. Like 'OSU' or 'ITZ'. Did they never teach you that in martial arts?"

Vincent juts his lower jaw out in a cocky fashion. "Nah. Back where I'm from, when coach taught me how to box, he also taught me to shit-talk. Not making noises or whatever."

Chad's eye twitches. "Well, Vincent, making those noises is like an instinct thing. It gets that little bit of oomf out of your stomach and into your punches. Ignore ki for a moment. It's a real thing martial artists do. When you're beating someone up, shit talking might get into their head. But you're strike a direct hit and go-"

"EISH."

Chad punches a hole about 13 inches deep into the side of the mountain. He pulls his fist out. His knuckles barely have little scratches on them.

"It get's the oomf out of you. And it scares the shit out of the guy. Got it?"

Vincent purses his lips. "tch, showoff..." He says under his breath. "So I just gotta make noises?"

"That's right."

"Ok."

Vincent punches the side of the mountain. "OW."

He punches again. "OW."

"OW. OW. OW. FUCk- hang on that one was real. OW. OW. OW."

He turns to Chad, and does a thumbs up. His knuckles are bleeding profusely. "Like that, right?"

Chad makes a blank expression. "Yeah man, sure."

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As some continue to cook, others still take the time to punch or meditate. A noise from the woods creaks out. They all turn to the witness.

A hiker. A Caucasian male in his late 20s. He's got prescription glasses, a beard, a bucket hat, and a hiking pack. He stares at the scene in bewilderment.

The agents and the terrorists all share the same thought: "(Shit.)"

"Who- who are you people? What is this?" Says the hiker, pointing at the blood splattered side of the mountain. "Did you get permission from the owner?"

"Yes," calmly says Chad.

"Bullshit. He's my cousin and he'd let me know who came through here. I'm calling the cops."

"I say we kill him," says Edward aloud.

Everyone looks at him, including the hiker.

"Imbecile!" Curses Jinsei aloud.

"𝔽𝕠𝕣 𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕖, 𝕀 𝕒𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕖. ℍ𝕖'𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕪 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕦𝕤, 𝕤𝕠 𝕨𝕖 𝕞𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕒𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙."

"Wha-what?" Asks the hiker with a quivering voice. The hiker instinctively reaches for the gun in his belt. A colt python. His hand trembles. His heart thumps so loud, its all the hiker can hear. The hiker pulls the gun out and aims it at the crowd of sorcerers.

All of them are still. None of them react. Except for one.

An audible chuckle. Edward stands up and raises his arms. "Go ahead and try. See what happens."

THWACK.

Chad punches Edward in the jaw. Edward looks up in confusion. Chad is visibly pissed.

"Edward calm the FUCK down. We'll think of something." Chad raises his hand up to the hiker. "It's going to be ok. We're not gonna hurt you, lets all just calm down and talk this out."

"𝕎𝕙𝕠 𝕡𝕦𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕚𝕟 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕕?" Prods Z.

"I'm trying to make this better. So unless you want to fight right here, right now, all while a witness is in front of us, be my guest." Responds Chad. "Besides, you don't have any other ideas, do you?" He looks at Jinsei and Dani.

Jinsei looks calm and silent. Dani bites his fingernails, muttering under his breath. "This isn't good..."

The hiker is still shaking in place, unsure if whether to shoot at them, or run away.

Jinsei calmly looks at Chad and responds. "I have no ideas." He then turns to Dani, and stares at him. Studies him.

Dani responds. "Killing him is an option, but I really don't want to go with that. Wait, can't some of you use PsychoPower?"

They all awkwardly shuffle and come into the same conclusion. "No."

"Wha- WHAT? Out of eight sorcerers. EIGHT. Not one of us can alter his brain?"

To prove that none of them can do anything, each one says their specialization:

"Wait a sec," continues Dani. "Vincent, I understand you're not at the level to alter minds yet, right?"

"Nope."

"You, Solomon...was it?"

"Yes sir," says Solomon with a smile.

"You can alter minds right? You're Half and Half PsychoPower and Magic?"

Solomon does a haughty laugh. "That I am. However, I can say for certain my PsychoPower ability is the LAST thing that would be helpful in this situation."

"Dammit ok....Then what about you Jinsei? You're the most experienced out of all of us. You can just alter his mind to forget about us, right?"

Jinsei pauses for a sec before he answers. "No. I'm experienced but even using PsychoPower at that level is too much for a simple all-rounder."

Edward, Chad, and Scotia look at him.

"Damn it..." Says Dani. After a couple seconds of pondering, he makes a motion with his hand. "Fuck it. Bring him over here. Let's negotiate."

Chad announces to the hiker: "Come over here. Let's talk it out. We have venison. It's fresh and its good. You can keep the gun, just don't fire it."

Edward gets up, frustrated. His right cheek is swollen. He stares at Chad and grits his teeth.

The hiker slowly walks over to the circle of sorcerers. He stays a few feet behind, aiming his gun at a different person every few seconds. None of the agents nor terorrists bat an eye at the gun.

Dani opens up. "Ok. So. We're a part of the government." Dani opens up his wallet and shows his CIA ID. "We're conducting some top secret research here. I'd advise you leave. And never speak about this ever again."

"Do you have a warrant?"

Everyone looks at the hiker confused.

"What?" Asks Dani.

"A warrant. I understand you're government. But under private property, that doesn't matter."

"He's right," interrupts Scotia. "Technically speaking, we have no authority here."

"How do you know that?" Asks Edward, rubbing his cheek.

"My family is all cops so I know a thing or two 'bout the law. Counterpoint: we're the government. Unless you want to waste you and your cousin's time, I'd suggest you just leave this be. We'll clean up this mess and it'll be fine and dandy."

"And if I don't? What then? Are you going to kill me? Just for the sake of protecting my family's property?"

Dani chuckles softly before he leans in closely to the hiker. "Buddy. If you just leave, there'll be no trouble. I'll even throw in a bonus. A five thousand dollar check with your name on it, if you just agree to not talk about this. Ok?"

The hiker stares at Dani. "I don't want your damn money."

Dani forces a smile. "Buddy. I hate to sound rude but- and I mean take this in the most professional manner possible. Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"I'm just a guy who thinks I have the right of a citizen. To protect my land and my family."

"Hey- newsflash pal. It's not YOUR LAND. YOU FUCKING-" Dani stops himself. He breathes in and out. "I'm sorry about that. It was a lapse in my judgement, let's just....ease down. Chad." Dani turns to Chad. "Can you escort our friend back to where he came? Thanks."

"Escort?"

As Dani stands up, he telepathically radios a message to Chad. "(Do what you gotta do.)"

Chad then stands up and walks towards the hiker. "Let's go."

"I'm not going with you? I'm calling the cops," says the biker.

Chad leans in to the biker's ear. "It's either me or them. There's no other choice."

Taken aback, the hiker hesitates, before standing up, and walking alongside Chad.

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A mile down the path, Chad starts.

"Look. I don't want to hurt you. I really don't. And I think I already know the answer but, the only way you're getting out of here alive is if you agree to stay quiet about this whole situation."

"No. This is a gross use of government force. I need your ID please."

Chad scratches the back of his own head. "I don't mean to lecture you but, sometimes you have to know when to back down. Trust me, I know their types too. I hate paying for taxes and this whole bullshit about paying for shit that I have no need for. Not to mention, they can listen and browse whatever you're doing. I get that. I hate the government too. I'm gonna be honest. I'm not even a part of them. But, even I can't go against them. As much as I hate to say it, as we are right now, we can't do anything. We can only kneel. I don't want to talk about going up and arms about fighting them back because that's not the point. For right now, just give up. It'll save you and your family."

The hiker looks at Chad. They hold a stern face. It takes a couple seconds before the hiker states: "Ok. I won't tell anybody."

"Good. Now, say it like you mean it. This is a contract. You agree to not speak about the situation in the woods to anybody else for as long as you live?"

The hiker looks confused but answers nervously. "Yes."

"All right." Chad turns around and walks away. "It's been a pleasure."

Chad walks back towards the camp.

Step.

Step.

Stepp...

Rustle.

Plop.

Chad looks behind himself.

Within five steps, the hiker, kneels, bends over, and holds his heart. The leaves beneath the hiker start to turn a crimson color. It's unclear where but, blood is leaking from the hiker's body. Chad hears a faint gargling sound.

With a genuine frown, Chad looks down and continues walking. "Liar."

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Chad arrives back at camp.

He explains to the group of what happened. "The bears will take the corpse. There's no blood in my hands," he explains.

Dani, with a sour expression, is relieved. "We did all we could." Says Dani. "If he didn't want to accept it, that's on him."

Chad looks at Jinsei. "Yeah."

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Hours pass by. Eventually, the groups say their goodbyes, and split off towards where they came from.

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"Scotia," says Dani. "You got what he was?"

"Yup. It's a shame he eventually revealed that he's an all-rounder when we all said our specializations."

"Nonono, you did well," explains Dani. "That just means he's not lying. Or, he pays attention to his own lies. Either way, either he's telling us the truth, or we catch him slip up eventually. It's all fair."

"𝔸𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕥-𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕, 𝕨𝕖 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕖'𝕤 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤," says Z.

"Good observation skills Z. Thing is- A. There's still a decent gap between him, and you...much less all of us. And B. even with broken fingers, we still don't know what else he has up his sleeves. But at least that's one thing to consider. Any reads on Solomon?"

"From what I can tell, he's the squishy type, so a couple of hits from ki should take him down," explains Scotia. The only issue are his abilities. We still don't know if the invisibility spell is either Chad's or Solomon's. But if that's it, an attack with a wide range should do the trick."

"And Edward?"

Scotia and Z look at each other before turning to Dani. "𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕙𝕚𝕞?"

A couple seconds pass before the three of them all laugh in unison.

Vincent looks at them weird. "It wasn't that funny..." Vincent continues: "Wait, hang on guys. Look, I know I'm the last person to give a shit about any of those four but, what about the whole contract thing? It's not like we can kill them?"

Dani turns to Vincent and puts his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. :)"

"𝕄𝕒𝕪𝕓𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕝𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕓𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕪 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕓𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤."

Scotia then adds a comment. "Perhaps you should pass the chip test first before you consider coming over."

Vincent is taken aback. "Wait, this thing's a test?" He asks, pointing at the chip in the back of his neck.

All three of them stop walking. Dani turns to Scotia. He gives the most irked smile possible.

Scotia turns to Dani. "...Was I not supposed to say that?"

Silence.

"...I'm gonna drink some tea in the break room if anybody needs me," announces Dani.

Z doesn't say anything and just walks away.

Vincent and Scotia stand next to each other. Scotia turns around and continues towards the hall. In frustration, Vincent blurts out: "Oh yeah? Don't forget I could've been in there with you guys. I just chose NOT TO."

Scotia doesn't turn around.

Vincent wrinkles his nose. "Prick."

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In a rented out pick up truck, Chad is driving. Solomon and Edward are in the back. And Jinsei is in the passenger seat.

"Jinsei," starts Chad. "Why didn't you save the hiker?"

"What do you mean."

"You could've wiped his memory off instead of us having to go through all of that. Why didn't you do it?"

"It's simple. I wanted to see how the agents would react."

Chad wrinkles his nose. "Did you get anything?"

"I have a basic understanding of how they think," answer Jinsei. He chuckles to himself. "For the first time in a while, I've actually felt humorous."

"How so?"

"Peheheh...Don't you get it? They think they're so clever. I don't know what they're trying to pull, or how. But they're trying to analyze us. Lo and behold. They're doing a real sloppy job of doing so. For now, we don't have anything to worry about. How they try to break the contract is going to be interesting but, we're still working with them in the mean time. So for now, we're fine."

Edward slouches over. His cheek has gotten less swollen. "Hey Chad," he says. "You didn't say sorry."

"You were being a moron. I needed to shut you up."

"..."

"Look Eddie, I'm sorry. But you can't just be escalating situations like that. Come on. Even in retrospect, you gotta admit that was dumb. I'm sorry man just, don't do that shit. Ok?"

Edward smiles. "Of course pal. It's like Jesus said. Forgive and forget!"

"Actually, he said 'love thy neighbor,'" interrupts Solomon.

Edward looks at him. "What...yeah, sure???"

.

.

.

A week passes.

Chad wakes up, and does his morning routine. "I'm heading out to work ma!"

No response.

He goes to the garage and opens the garage door.

As he sits on his bicycle, it feels odd.

"...What the?"

He looks at it again. The back tire is popped. A puncture wound, clear as day.

Confused, Chad puts the bike back against the wall. He looks at his Jeep. No marks. No puncture wounds on the wheels, nor a scratch on the side of the doors.

"(Somebody that knows I only take the bike to work did this.)"

He looks at both the bicycle and the Jeep. "Oh but gas costs too much right now...."

Chad, slightly disappointed, shrugs.

"I'll figure this out later. I guess I'm jogging to work today."

He closes the garage door. He stretches and starts his brisk jog to work. "This counts as training..."

Self improvement.

Ire not given.

Opportunistic optimism.

Jog forward.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, in Japan.

Makoto falls to her death.