V.I.R.A.L

"I don't believe this. No, I refuse to believe such blatant lies! You, you of all people, have a date?!" Destiny yelled as the two girls followed a ticked off Marco through the streets. "Impossible. Impossible."

"Will you stop going on about how impossible that is! What's so hard to imagine myself having a girlfriend?" Marco snapped, turning on the spot, looking for guidance from either Sam or Destiny. Both girls fell silent at his remark, making him even more furious yet hurt at the same time. "Both of you?!"

Sam rubbed the back of her head, thinking of an excuse. "It's not you can't get a girlfriend…. It's just you know."

"You aren't exactly the most jaw-dropping person out there." Destiny finished off with a nervous chuckle.

"There's more to life than just good looks, you know." Marco blew off, trying his best to keep cool.

Destiny gave a faint nod agreeing to some extent, but that agreement trailed off as she spoke. "Well, you see, Marco…. Have you ever wondered why only Sam and myself are friends with you, why all the other girls won't talk to you?"

"No? The other girls talk to me…. What are you on about?"

"He's in denial, Sam. I think it's time we told him."

"You're the one who dragged us into this. It's only fair you tell him." She shot back, refusing to damper the situation any further.

"You seem, Marco, we're only friends because our parents were friends since high school. We've been together since then, but truth be told, many of the girls are uncomfortable around you."

Marco took the hit badly, holding his chest. "Direct hit…. It was super effective."

"You're really just proving her point here, Marco," Sam added.

Shaking his head, trying to get over it, Marco huffed, taken back. "You're jealous, aren't you? That's what this is all about, right? You're all jealous I've got a girlfriend while you're all still single pringles."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where did this all come from?" Destiny said, offended. "I never claimed such terms."

"What else could it be?! I thought you'd be happy for me. You're all so mean!"

Sam raised her hands, calming the situation sighing. "Easy, easy. We are happy for you, Marco. How about you tell us about this girl?"

"Well, truth is said, I don't know much about her. Her name is Maya, and she's from Rhinefield. We've been talking for a few weeks now, and we finally decided to meet up this weekend."

"Maya? And she's a city girl, how interesting. Have you got a picture of her?"

"Nope. I have no idea what she looks like."

"He's being catfished."

"He's being catfished."

"Am not!" Marco ranted, walking away. "Maya isn't like that. She just gets me; it's almost like we're meant to be."

"Right…. Sorry if I don't seem too trustworthy about this all. What did you have in mind for this date?"

"Well, it's funny you mention it. She insisted she's in charge of the date. She just told me to meet her at the Rhinefield Station Saturday at noon."

"He's being catfished."

"He's being catfished."

"Will you fucking…. Will you stop with that, please?"

Sam began tapping her finger against her arm, humming. "Well, it's determined, we're going with you."

"Excuse me, what? Umm, no, you're not. Imagine how that would look to Maya?"

"He has a point…. Well, we can't just let him go in alone. So, we'll tag along from the shadows. You know, keep an eye out, and if it's getting fishy, we jump in to rescue you."

"I don't need rescuing! You're just afraid to admit I actually have a girl who likes me for me."

"No. No, it's not that…. Umm, this is difficult."

Sam shakes her head. "Just agree to it, Marco. Destiny won't stop; you won't even see us. We'll be nowhere in sight, I promise."

"This is so stupid! In fact, it's even more stupid due to the fact I agree to this!" Marco boasted, rubbing his head violently, losing his mind. "You win…. You can come along, but I swear to God if you mess my chances up with this girl, I'll never forgive you!"

"Promise, cross my heart and hope to die. Is that alright by you, Sam?" Destiny questioned, not really asking in advance. "We can do our girly day out another time, yeah?"

"Yeah. That's just fine." She said in a dry tone. "But if this all turns out to be nothing more than an actual date, you're buying me dinner. Where ever I want."

"Hey, that wasn't part of the deal!"

"It is now."

"I've got a bad feeling about this…."

****

Zinnia had found herself at the foot of a scrapyard. Cars and other things were being torn apart and cast aside for their materials. She was beyond confused, standing idly as serval workers gave her strange looks. Rhapsody gave a gruffy cough limping on. "Come on, Stag is waiting."

"Stag is here? I mean, it's out of the way from Alton's eyes, but it isn't exactly hidden…. Anyone could spot this place for a mile." Zinnia whispered before stopping dead in her tracks, feeling dizzy. She began to sway, feeling sick as if she was drunk. "What the?"

"Passing through the field takes a little to get used to. Take deep breaths, and you'll be fine." He replied, stepping inside the scrapyard vanishing.

Zinnia was taken back, staring on blankly. Blinking serval times, she looked around gobsmacked. "Rhapsody? Hello, where did you go?" Waiting for a short moment, it wasn't long before she took the leap of faith, stepping forward. Passing through a thin veil that felt like cobwebs, Zinnia appeared in a completely different location. Standing at the entrance of a small cove underground, children were playing around Harmony. She was singing to herself, playing the guitar. The floor was covered in flowers, heaping down to the small river surrounding the area. Turning, Zinnia could see the city she was just in looking almost like a painting. The surrounding area was hollow, matching that of the inside of a tree. Walking down to the group, Zinnia saw tiny houses made from wood placed up around the area. Meeting with Harmony, she stared idly amazed. "This place…."

"Hello, there, young one." Harmony spoke in a soft tone flicking her fingers against the strings. "It's always good to find another lost soul home. Welcome to Monarch."

"Monarch? What's…. Wait for a second, Harmony, it's me. Zinnia."

Harmony, still playing, frowned slightly, staring blankly on. "I'm sorry to inform you if you knew this girl Harmony; she isn't here right now."

Zinnia was confused, finding her hand had the ring Bargaining bestowed to them before the jump. "That ring…."

"Oh, you noticed too? This here is a piece of old Fairy-Tale history. A relic of our past. Harmony used it to save her and the little girl's life a few weeks ago; She called upon me to help her. I am one of the Ten's Judgement. I was given the number six."

"The Ten's Judgement…. Just like Alton."

"Alton Brantley or we better knew him as Ten. Yes, I've heard he has become quite the hassle for the Garden and Humanity. I can sense a history with the two of you. Worry not, I am not here to harm anybody and yes. Harmony willingly allowed me to take control; she's safe in a dream until I return her. Mind you, the process did, unfortunately, blind her, so forgive me for this rudeness. Being blind isn't the most ideal situation."

"Can we stop him?"

"Ten? Without a shadow of a doubt." Harmony spoke with a smile. "The question is, should we?"

"What does that supposed to mean?"

"Well, just think about it. We stop Ten. We also stop the best chance we have at defeating the Garden. Your Alton is the key to the end of this tragic war once and for all." Harmony suggested finishing her song. "Looking through Harmony's memories, I understand everything there is."

"You said you got here a few weeks ago. But we only just arrived ourselves."

"Yes, well. Time isn't exactly relative in this plane of existence. This whole world has the stench of the Garden, even here a pocket outside Ten's world untouched."

"What exactly is this place?"

Harmony smiled, moving onto her next song. "A bubble unfinished. Ten is hard at work making this world piece by piece. But of course, he can't fill up this whole world. There are barriers to keep most inside. However, many can easily be penetrated with enough willpower. Any normal person would turn back after feeling sick. However, the few who wish to leave can enter or go as they see fit. That's what everyone is here for. Finding a way home."

Zinnia looked up, seeing Rhapsody waiting. Turning to Harmony, she sighed. "I need to go."

"You arrived here with Rhapsody, correct? I could sense him from a mile off. Be careful around that thing. It has the scent of the Garden all over it."

Zinnia met with Rhapsody as he nodded. "Monarch good enough for you then?"

"It sure is unexpected." That was all Zinnia could muster.

"Stag is waiting. Please, come."

Zinnia stepped into a large building ducking under a set of vines finding herself in the middle of what looked to be a courthouse. The room was pretty empty apart from Tempo sitting in the stands reading a book. He gazed up from her with a stern look before returning to his book, tapping his hand to a rhythm similar to Harmony's song. In the end, sitting in the judge's seat sat a girl wearing torn trousers and a simple cloth covering her chest. Claw marks and scars were all over her body, showing a battle-worn woman. She wore a stag's skull covering her main facial features apart from her neon green eyes. Her ginger hair was tacky lossy made into a ponytail as the girl was shown to have little care for her appearance, almost matching that of a wild animal. "So that's Stag…. The former number three streamer. You were there during the raid on Sunset Peak's Titan, weren't you?"

The stag didn't respond, staring at Zinnia blankly. As she kept waiting, Zinnia spoke up again, trying to break the ice. "I've come for your help; I want to stop this pocket world and free Alton. But I need people to help me. That's what you've been doing, right?" Stag replied with a huff as Zinnia was confused. "What?"

"The girl cannot speak," Tempo added, turning the page of his book with a smirk. "She lost that privilege travelling the harsh winters of the outside. She hasn't spoken a word since Sunset Peak fell."

"And she's the leader? What?" Zinnia whispered. "Will you help me?"

Stag raised her hand, huffing three times again, making Zinnia more confused. "You will help us help you," Rhapsody informed, arms folded. "We all want the same. This world will fall once we pluck Alton Brantley and kill him once and for all."

Zinnia's heart skipped a beat as she turned to them, startled with a whisper. "Kill?"