Billy and I, continued to move. I felt like we were no closer to the stairs, which was odd. Still, I didn’t check my watch. Something was happening, and I didn’t need an additional shock.

  Billy had stabilized. Whatever happened to him was no longer happening, but I knew it was just a matter of time until he started panicking again.

  “What happened to that friend of yours?” He asked, to both my relief and frustration.

  I didn’t want to answer, but I felt like if I didn’t, he might just spiral all over again. So, I bit the bullet.

  “I let them down.” I stated quite simply. Though, I knew that wasn’t enough. “They did everything to help and support me. Even as I worked myself to death. Inevitably, they too began to work as well. pushing themselves to the brink. I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t handle it. I was afraid. So, I left.”

  “Oh…” He muttered.

  “Right? I was a coward. I couldn’t bear to see them killing themselves like I was. I wanted them to stop, to quit, but they always doubled down when I did, swearing if I could do it, they could too. Then, I thought that, maybe my ambitions weren’t worth it, that maybe I should just stop and then, maybe then they would stop killing themselves.”

  My words carried. He didn’t say anything. He was silent.

  “In the end, I left. I chose my ambition over them. Happy?” I said, with a bit more bite than intended.

  He didn’t reply, though… after a bit of time passed, the air shifted. My ears popped, and our footsteps echoed eerily into the distance. The path before us changed as well, transitioning into a tiled floor, flickering lights illuminated the path ahead.

  Billy, on seeing the changed scenery, immediately let go of my hand and charged forward with a triumphant yell. I followed him and like him, I recognized the place. It was the subway. Somehow, I walked from the water works all the way to the subway. All without finding the stairs I had gone down.

  I felt out for Cobalt, and felt him a ways away, he was constantly sending back worried pings, and with a mental ping back, he calmed down. Checking my watch, it was late. Far too late for me to go back, not if I planned to be up to meet éclair later.

  With another mental ping, I ordered Cobalt to return back to the warehouse. As for where we were… We weren’t that far from the port district. If I left now, I’d probably catch up with Cobalt as he left the sewers.

  After confirming that I wasn’t totally lost, I looked back to Billy. By now, he’d collected himself, and he gave me a sheepish look.

  “Sorry… I just… Got really excited.”

  “Its fine.” I say, “And I didn’t mean to snap at you earlier.”

  “No, I get it, it’s just…”

  “Just?” I asked back.

  “Well, I don’t think you should be beating yourself over what had happened.”

  I narrowed my eyes and he picked up the pace.

  “Whoever they were, I mean, I don’t think they would have been happy at first, but you had to have your reasons for leaving?”

  “You mean for choosing my ambitions over them?”

  “Partially, after all, I, I really can’t judge. You seem like a good person, and I don’t think you’d just up and leave, not without a proper reason. Even if they didn’t understand at first, I’m sure they understood at some point.”

  “Still…” I start and trail off.

  “If you’re worried that it might happen again, then, ask yourself, what made you want what you want so badly.”

  I go quiet.

  “Anyway… I should be getting back soon… Thank you again for saving me!” he bows, and bolts. Not letting me answer back.

  Though, his question did bother me. What exactly instilled in me, my desire to succeed? Was it just my desire to be seen? No, that’s not true. I wanted to be at the top, to prove them wrong, and yet… That wasn’t it either, was it?

  I never really thought about it, but… I wanted to be the top. I knew that, it was my goal, I knew that, but… when exactly was I motivated to pursue that goal? After all, most of my childhood memories were, faded. Distant. Some pieces stuck out, like a crooked nail. Others, were flush, without any notable memory and yet…

  Had it been when I fell in the ice? Surely, it had, but the incident itself didn’t lend towards me doing something, except…

  How did I get out of the ice? Had I pulled myself out, had someone saved me?

  I only know, that when I finally woke up, I began to firmly pursue every chance to excel with all I had. Up until the moment I fell down the rabbit hole.

  No matter how I tried, the memories were still obscured. So, with a sigh, I moved on. A light crackled. A hum and buzz caught my attention. A small desk, a place where an attendant would stand for customer service purposes. There, on the counter, was a pouch.

  Curious, I picked it up. It felt heavy, and inside, a note. On one side, was a picture of a white rabbit. The other side had a small note.

  -Good Work!

  No signed name, but I instinctively understood. It was from Usagi. Under the note, were bronze coins. Six of them in total. A gift? Or possibly, a reward?

  With Usagi, I couldn’t possibly know. Regardless, it was getting late, and not the good kind of late.

  Stashing the coins in my pocket, I recall my rifle and rush out. I stick to the light as best as I can, and make good time back to the warehouse, where Cobalt and company wait for me. By some miracle, I manage to make it home before the sun rises, but either way, my day started somewhat late.

  Grabbing food on the go, I rush over to meet up with éclair, who observed, “You look like shit.”

  “I feel like it… I decided to head underground last night and well, an unexpected event happened.”

  She nods sagely. “That happens, not often, but it does. Now, we heading to the Wizard Gang base?”

  “Yeah, there was something I wanted to work on.”

  When we arrived, once again with an escort, though, not Black Hawk this time, there was a thrum in the air. A literal thrum, a constant roar of thunder. The earth below our feet shook, with each blast. Nobody seemed concerned as they went about their day. Not a soul seemed panicked, not even as thick plumes of smoke drifted into the sky. A heavy fog settled over the inner areas that smelled strangely similar to gunpowder.

  Once inside the inner area, we split again, with éclair heading off to the tournament grounds. From her words, it was an unfinished stadium that was reworked into an arena and training grounds.

  I was tempted to give it a go, but… I had other plans. Back in the gallery, I met up with the man in charge.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Name’s Berry, I realized that I didn’t tell you last time we met.” He said on recognizing me.

  “Prima.” I replied back, we shook hands briefly.

  “Now, I suppose you want to get shooting?”

  “I do, but what’s going on out there?” As if to punctuate my statement another round of thunder reverberated through the establishment. The ground shook, even the bowling pins shuddered to whistles and shouts.

  “Artillery practice. There is a park not so far away, that’s both a dump and infested with monsters. So, we use it to practice with artillery. You’ll be hearing a whole lot more of it in the coming month, since next month is the blood moon.”

  “Blood moon? How is that different from a full moon?”

  “Other than it being red, a blood moon usually represents a trial or tribulation of sorts. An invasion, a powerful monster appearing, or very rarely, a beneficial event.”

  “I guess that makes a blood moon an all hands-on deck situation.”

  “You would be right. Everyone in the city buckles down and readies, just like when preparing for a coming storm.”

  “That is good to know, and I didn’t just come for shooting. I wanted your advice on a new bullet type I had in mind.”

  “Oh? Do share.”

  So, I did. He eyed me, half in amusement, but with a twinkle of child-like curiosity in his eye.

  “That could be interesting, but focus on the basics today, and next time, we can work on that together.”

  “Thank you. I wouldn’t know where to begin learning to shoot, if not for you and your shooting range.”

  “Just doing my job. We’re all from the same city and you don’t seem like a bad person. Offering you a place to train is only natural.”

  Was it though? That was what I thought, but I didn’t question it. Instead, I focused on shooting through the day. Practicing and further familiarizing myself with my rifle.

  I went home alone without éclair, again, but when I arrived on my floor, something was different.

  “What do you think you’re doing!” A shout broke through the normally silent hallways of the apartments I lived in. Apparently, I had new neighbors. Right next door. An older couple, by the looks of it. The older man though, was currently chewing out his wife. Both looked worn out, with sunken eyes.

  I stared as he continued to yell at his wife. If he was now living next door, that might cause me problems… The walls weren’t exactly well insulated. Most of my fellow tenants kept to themselves. Save for the occasional housewife or older woman that liked to wander about. Their favorite spot being near the laundry machines in the basement… Which made running into them, inevitable.

  As I sighed, the older woman tripped, causing a cascading effect as a small pile of boxes crashed to the ground.

  “You old hag! Why do I even keep you around!” He began to shout, his face red as spittle flew out of his mouth. I grimaced in annoyance, but my eyes caught onto something. The knocked over boxes had their contents spilled out. Among the contents, was a suspicious black box, hose lid had pried open, only just a bit. Letting out an odd glow. I could almost feel the energy in the air, the magic seeping from the container.

  “What are you looking at!?” The older man, challenged me. His eyes widened slightly as his gaze followed mine. I could see him tense, ready to do something regrettable…

  “I live next door, and you’re blocking the way.” I pointed at their luggage taking up the hallway. Pointedly, not mentioning the glowing box. It didn’t help that the pair’s spectacle made trying to bypass them impossible.

  The man eyed me, his eyes swiveled, taking in the surrounding area before, not so casually picking up the spilled contents, box and all before giving what could pass for a derisive snort. With a final shout at his wife, he retired to the room. Leaving me in the hallway with his clearly distraught wife.

  “I’m so sorry.” She started and hurriedly moved some of their stuff aside. One look, and I knew they’d have trouble getting everything inside. “He’s usually not so angry, it’s just…” She continued to make excuses for the man, but at that point I was tuning her out.

  At best, I returned noncommittal noises of agreement, up until I was able to escape and get into my room. The moment I did, I collapsed into bed, only…

  It wasn’t much later before shouting broke out again…

  Still, I managed to sleep.

  It was the fourth week. New, annoying neighbors aside, the week pressed on with little to no issues. Work was being handled promptly and quickly, and we were beginning to transition to the next phase, just before the multi-day break for the coming full moon hit.

  Amidst this all, there were talks about thanksgiving plans, meeting with family, and such. On the final day of work, Terada managed to keep people in check and work, despite the looming weekend. Even these consummate professionals themselves were found wanting when faced with a busy weekend with family and friends.

  As we wound down, Liche showed me something. A familiar card. An invitation.

  “I guess this means you’re going to the second event?” I asked the pair.

  Both Liche and Joan had received an invitation.

  “Yup, we’re feeling rather confident, especially since you showed us some of those arrays and all, but… we were wondering if you had some last-minute advice for us, boss?” Liche asked.

  “There needs to be leadership. Someone needs to take charge, even if it sounds like a pain. Everyone will probably be content letting everyone do their own thing, but you won’t win or even survive like that. That is what I learned.”

  Had I been in a better state of mind… No, even if I had, I wouldn’t have forced myself into a position of leadership. Had I taken the dive, perhaps we could have avoided that final crash in leadership. I relied on them to do their part, and for the most part it worked. Nobody really led, but if I had…

  No, no point dwelling on if or buts…

  “That’s about it, oh, and…” I handed over the bronze coins I had earned. My savings were looking rather ill, but… “Take these, it’s still not enough to pay you back, but it will help keep you alive.”

  Liche looked at me, her eyes searching for something. “Right, we’ll take them boss, but this doesn’t even come close to making us equal.”

  “No, it doesn’t. So, don’t die Liche, or you Joan. I still have use for both of you.”

  Liche sighed, a smile on her face. “Of course you do, well, I look forward to seeing what you have in mind, boss.”

  “I’m sure you are…” A moment passed. What was Liche to me? Joan? They weren’t quite subordinates, despite what Liche said.

  “What are your plans for the weekend?” I move on, picking the discussion back up.

  “Oh, you know, this and a little of that. Nothing much.” Liche gave an evasive answer, as for Joan…

  “Uhm, I didn’t really have anything planned.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say to that. Invite them some place? Give them some preparatory training? I didn’t want to overstep, nor did I want to seem uncaring, but as it was…

  “Well, if you ever need anything or help with anything, feel free to give me a call or text.”

  “Will do boss.” Liche replied as did Joan and went back to work.

  As we finished up for the day, Leo called out. “Prima, mind heading to my office before you leave?”

  “I’ll be there.” I replied and got back to work. The clock ticks down, and soon enough, everyone was clocking out. I bid adieu to my fellow colleagues, and as the last person walked out, I made my way into Leo’s office.

  Once inside, I found Leo not drinking, not lazing about, no, he was working. Had I not seen him working over the past month, I would have sworn he had been replaced by an alien. He looked up at me and pulled out a stack of papers.

  “Mind looking these over.”

  “Sure.” I took them in hand and rifled through. “Looks good.” Was my assessment. “We should be able to start the next step when we come back after break.”

  “I agree.” Leo says with a sigh, he leans back in his chair, swivels it to face me head on. “Care to take a seat?”

  Silently, I sat down. Once I did, he stood up, walked in front of me, and sat on his desk. Just like he had the first time we had a meeting.

  “Feel familiar?” He asked. His hands crossed in front of him.

  “A bit too familiar.”

  He smiled, showing teeth. “I have to admit, when you first walked into this office, it never crossed my mind that you would actually get me to do my job.” He lets out a small laugh. I stay silent.

  “However, thanks to you, I’ve seen how it works, and as you can see, I’m more then capable of handling this work.”

  “You could use some work filling out your forms. You always miss something.” I jab.

  “Right? Its rather tedious and honestly, if I was on my own I’d just throw it aside, but I’m not.”

  “Are you going somewhere with this?”

  “I am. I’m sure you have questions. Like, wondering what happens now, where we’re headed. Especially since I took back my throne.” He takes a moment to pat his desk, his eyes never leaving me. “Which is why, I have an offer for you.”

  “An offer, you say?” I didn’t like how he was looking down on me. That smile, it was such a familiar smile.

  “Yes, as you know, this weekend is a special one. Family meetings and all.”

  I nod.

  “Well, I’m expected to attend a family party, the whole shindig, with relatives, family, the whole works, and I need a date.”

  “A date?”

  “Yep, a date.”

  “Can’t you just find some girl at the bar to fill that role?”

  “I could, but… I’m sure you’d like the opportunity. Not just that, but I’m not likely to be ridiculed with you at my side.”

  “As if you care.” I retort.

  He laughs. “I don’t, but if I can avoid a headache, why not.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t have the attire. Nor do I currently have the money to afford proper attire.” I pushed, trying to weasel my way out of this commitment.

  “I can handle that; I’ll have a dress with accessories mailed to your place before the party.”

  I stared at him. Tried to search for why he was doing this. To make fun of me? To display me? Show me off? Or rather, to denigrate me, to put me down?

  What made it worse, was… it was a tempting offer regardless. Being able to rub shoulders with elites would give me the chance to network and prep. Which would give me leverage for future moves.

  “Fine… when is the party?”

  “The night of the full moon, ah, but don’t worry, the party will end well before the moon fully rises. So, no need to worry about that.”

  A frown made its way onto my face. Should I be worried? Concerned? In the end, it didn’t matter.

  “As long as you get me home before that happens, I’ll be there.”

  “Wonderful, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of fun.”

  I’m sure I won’t… Whatever game Leo was playing, I’d make sure I came out on top.