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Chapter Text

2 weeks and 1 day later...

Deep in the heart of the Void, a giant mass of inky black loomed inside of a giant castle, big enough to contain it. It's tentacles rested at it's side as it's giant red eye was fixed on the Voidlings in front of it. The Grand Matriarch was in a meeting with her four generals and a special Voidling she valued more than any of the rest. He was standing in front of the others. He didn't have any defining qualities to separate him from a normal male Voidling. The only special thing about him was the fact that his form kept shifting and jumping around randomly. The side of his face would sometimes jut out and back in a couple of times. Same with every other part of his body. The pattern in which it did it was never the same. Sometimes it would form into an elongated shape, sometimes it would look like waves moving about. The possibilities were endless. These random jumps happened frequently too, about every three seconds.

Behind him from left to right stood the generals. The first one was a woman Voidling. She had twenty tentacles coming out of her back that were constantly shifting about. Next to her was a male Voidling. He looked different from a normal one in his body structure too, however. He was two times bigger than a regular one and his form looked like it had the muscles of a pro bodybuilder from head to toe. It also looked like he had a hat one, which was just a part of how his body looked as they don't have the need for clothing. Besides him stood another woman Voidling but you could only tell from her breasts. Her body looked like it was covered in armor and there was no visible hair, only the distinct shape of an ancient helmet. The breastplate area was jutting out, making it evident she was female. This was again just how her body was. In her hand she was holding a spear just as black as her body, made out of the same shadowy void material everything was, including them. Finally, at the end of the lineup stood a small box. It was also made out of black inky mass, but it looked like it was engraved using light. On every side of it, including the top and bottom, there were indentations that looked like some sort of language.

"Status report!" The Grand Matriarch's voice boomed in the empty room. 

"Implode hasn't reported in for a pretty long time. We suspect something might've happened." The Voidling in the front spoke.

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" She asked.

"We are to assume he must be dead or, by some stretch of the imagination, captured." He confirmed.

"He was a really good soldier! He helped stop many rebellions before when we invaded other worlds! I refuse to believe he was taken down by whatever creatures reside in this new one!" The Grand Matriarch denied the possibility.

"It's possible other Voidlings found out you started breaking a new barrier and have infiltrator ahead of him. Maybe they caught him by surprise." He suggested.

"Even so..." She seemed to debate it in her head.

"Your Majesty, need I remind you who is missing and why we sent him down there that soon, mere days after the cracks formed? Just slipping through could've killed him." He reminded her.

"Fine! I'll accept that he may be lost. If that's the case, what do we do now? It seems like our only solution is to escalate." She pondered.

"Then that's exactly what we'll do! We'll send in more soldiers at a more consistent pace! I volunteer to go in ahead!" He said.

"Are you sure about that, Crazy?" She inquired.

"I'm very much positive! I'm confident I can slip through the cracks without dying! I would, however, like to take one of The Four Horsemen with me!" He requested.

"As you wish!" She granted what he asked for.

"Then..." Crazy turned around and walked towards his choice. "I'd like this one!"

He kneeled down in front of the small box. Everyone looked at him shocked.

"Are you sure that's the one you want?" The Grand Matriarch asked.

"More than sure! With any luck, she will destroy any opposition before you ever crack the seal!" Crazy smiled.

"Those chances are low. She might even kill you or destroy the whole dimension!" She warned, worried.

"I am confident that if they manage to decipher it, I can take care of myself or even restrain her after the job is done! You know me, Your Majesty! I am your most precious and most powerful asset." He grinned.

"I'll trust your judgement then!" She agreed.

"If that's all!" He bowed with an outstretched arm.

"Good luck out there!" She wished him.

"They'll need the good luck!" He giggled creepily.

He grabbed the box and walked out of the room and towards where the cracks in the dimensional barrier was formed. When he reached it, he stared down at the purple cracks in the floor. A touch of color in the otherwise dark world. He smiled as he approached the gateway to the other side further.

"It's time to have some real fun!" Crazy laughed loudly and for a long time in a maniacal way.

It was a pretty regular morning for Cleo. She did her regular morning routine and was ready to face the school day. She went down to get breakfast with her father and that was when her problems started. For one, something was off right from the beginning.

"Morning, dad!" She greeted him with a pep in her step.

"Hey! Slept well?" He sounded like he was annoyed at something.

A bad start and a worse sign. Him being annoyed usually led to one thing: screaming. And most of the time it was about her not doing enough to get ready to take over the business from him. So she got ready to once again tell him that she's doing very well and the path she's choosing to take is going to set her up more than enough to be able to run the business long after he's not the head of it anymore.

He finished their food and placed it at the table before sitting down himself. He didn't say a word for a while and they just ate their food in silence. Once he was almost done eating, he wiped his mouth with a tissue and put his hands on the table. She readied herself for whatever he was about to say.

"How about you skip school and come with me to a business meeting today?" He politely asked.

"I can't just skip school, dad." She responded.

"Why not? It's the last year and you've been nothing but a perfect student so far. They won't mind you skipping a few days near the end. It's much more important to develop the skills needed for what you're going to do in the future." Alejandro pressed the issue.

"With all due respect, I am going to school, so I can enter a good college for business. That will prepare to run it more than enough." Cleo tried to be diplomatic.

"I already told you, it would be better for you to get experience in the field with me and-" He got cut off.

"I get it, dad! But I'd rather focus on my education and learn what I need to before getting experience in the field. We can have this conversation however many times you wish, but my answer will always be the same, I'm sorry!" Cleo explained it plain and clear.

Alejandro rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed loudly. He then suddenly slammed his fist on the table, causing the whole thing to shake and the plates to clatter. Cleo flinched. She never saw him be physically aggressive, even to objects. But he wasn't done. He stood up from the table and walked towards the door, opening it and standing in the doorway.

"Goddammit, girl! When will you wake the fuck up! I got that fucking farmer breathing up my ass everyday, constantly in a seesaw battle with me for number one, and his son is doing actual field work which will help him overtake you when he comes into power! I need you to step it the fuck up! Understand that and understand it quick!" He said before slamming the door behind him and leaving.

Cleo was left at the table speechless and struggling to fully understand what just happened. Was it truly so bad if the Massey's took over as the top company definitively. They would still be number two by a small margin as they've established a stranglehold on the market. Was this not even about money at this point, but some stupid pride thing? Ego? Was it really worth putting his only daughter through torment just for a dick measuring contest? A contest that he was so serious about that he would get that angry? It was really starting to scare her.

She couldn't ruminate on it too long, unfortunately. She still had to go to school, but she decided that she had to find a solution. She wouldn't ruin her plan for the future just so he could satisfy his rivalry with the piece of shit that was the owner of the rival company. What if he was just the same as him? Was she blind this entire time? She finished eating and left for school. Plenty of time for that later.

Jake woke up really tired after playing video games late last night. His father would absolutely be pissed if he knew, but he didn't care. He was confident in his ability to hide it after doing it for so long. Not to mention his dad couldn't complain about him not doing anything to help the company and get ready to take over now that he was working on Cleo. Which he was doing, it was just taking way more effort than he thought it would. The girl was way too headstrong and steady. He hoped she would be a stereotypically malleable naive rich girl. It was troublesome that she was putting up so much resistance.

However, his hopes that his father was quelled down for the time being would be shattered once he arrived downstairs. His father, Mannix Massey, was sitting down at the table with his arms crossed and waiting for him with breakfast on the table. He already ate his. He dyed his hair red. It was short on top, but it extended in the back into multiple split ends. He had a pair of smart folk glasses over his black eyes. He wore a pair of pinkish high boots. He had red shorts that reached his knees and black T-shirt on. Over them he had a lab coat that was red with two upward facing triangles that were black. It also had two big flaps around the chest area that flipped over on the outside with the company logo on the top of each one. On his legs he wore thigh high cotton sock that were red with black stripes. His neck was covered by a skin tight cloth dickie that had the same pattern as his socks. 

"Good morning, father! Where's mother?" He cautiously greeted him and sat down at the table.

"She's off to greet some investors, I'm busy with some trades today." His father said firmly.

"I see." Jake said.

"I want to talk to you about your attempts at seducing the Perez girl. How is that going?" Mannix asked.

"It's going... okay. I've managed to approach her and plant the seed multiple seeds so far. I'll have her under my thumb sooner later than later." Jake assured him.

"I feel the need to remind you that it was you who came up with this plan! I just told you to make sure that she fails to overtake you when you come into power. This served the dual purpose of taking out the competition and getting you to finally be useful. So you better prove that you can do something right on your own and get that girl in line already." His father stressed.

"I know. I promise you she'll be mine before long." He stated.

"I'll tell you again that I managed to get your mother to behave in a matter of a week. She was eating out of my palm by Saturday. You have my genes so prove that you didn't fall to far from the tree. You are the only heir and you better behave like it!" His father pressed.

"I promise! I'll do it!" Jake clenched his fist.

"There you go! Get some fire in that belly!" He got up and moved to his side of the table, patting him on the shoulder. "You're my son! The world is yours! You just have to take it!"

His father walked out the door and Jake was left to think on his own. He kept putting pressure on the girl, but nothing worked. No matter how many times he tried to charm her or ask her out, she always held firm and said no. He knew he was attractive and he had money. Was it really just the rival business thing? Wasn't forbidden romance supposed to be the hottest thing for a girl? What the hell was he doing wrong? He couldn't give in and ask his father for help. That'd be admitting defeat and that he can't do anything right. And asking his mother about how he got her would be way too awkward even if she was more agreeable. What the hell was he supposed to do?

It was early in the morning and Eric, Travis, May and Willy, surprisingly for once, were sitting at their desk and talking about the big upcoming event.

"You guys excited about the School Battle Festival? It's our last chance to do something cool during it!" Travis brought up the subject.

The School Battle Festival was an event held every October between the two high schools in town. Their school, Promise High, would go against Trinity High School. The event would always start on the twenty-first and it would be planned to end the day before Halloween. After the event, the school who won would hold a Halloween party on the premises and give out awards. All four grades would fight together in a round per day which would vary from single to team challenges. The goal was to be the only school that still had students standing when all the students from the other school were eliminated.

Usually most of the ninth and tenth graders would go right off the bat in the first event which was always designed to work as a mass culling and knock a bunch of students out. Some outliers would make it far each time though. There were times a ninth grader made it to the semifinal round. While the event was fun for everyone, the outcome wasn't much of a surprise as Promise High won the last ten years in a row and at this point no one was expecting anything different.

Besides the usual placement awards. which worked differently because of the format and would be decided upon by the teachers, there were awards voted on by the students like: MVP, Best Run, Coolest Moment, Underdog, etc. There were also awards for most wins and other stuff like that. Besides earning you cool points, these awards also came along with extra credit, so everyone was incentivized to give it their all and do well.

"I don't know... are there any awards for losing?" Willy said and they all laughed.

"Vicente stopped coming to school completely too. I don't want to say that he carried us since he never won any awards either, but he did carry his team through two challenges. It will be more difficult to win this time around if he doesn't show up. But I doubt he's that into this event." Eric voiced his thoughts.

"Maybe... I can win an award this time." May spoke softly.

"That's the spirit! You're going to knock it out of the park this time around!" Willy grabbed her shoulder and pumped his fist in the air.

Eric looked at May with an admonishing expression. This wasn't her trying to believe in herself or do better. She was planning on using Buff in some way to help her win. If she was already trying to go down the road of using her Voidling selfishly, it would be a problem in the future. May looked like she acknowledged his warning and looked away in shame at being read so easily.

"Logically, she is right." Shadow suddenly spoke.

"What the fuck, man?" Eric thought.

"There is no reason why you guys shouldn't use this power to enjoy the time you have left with it. Either you guys defeat The Grand Matriarch and we go away or we all die. So as long as it isn't hurting anyone too much, might as well try and make the best of it." Shadow reasoned.

"What do you mean by "go away"?" Eric ignored his ridiculous idea.

"If The Grand Matriarch dies, we do too. I thought I told you this." Shadow explained.

"You didn't..." Eric told him.

"Must've slipped my mind." Shadow brushed it off.

Eric didn't know how to process the information. He had already developed a liking to the strange creature. Even if he didn't get to keep him, he certainly cared enough about him to not want him to die. Why would he hide this?

"Look, we all know what we're getting into. The Grand Matriarch and her army already took over way too many realms. We can't let anymore die. If the cost is sacrificing ourselves, then so be it." Shadow stated.

"What about all the other Voidlings?" Eric inquired.

"If the choice is between them and the other realms, then the choice is clear. The life of all the Voidlings in the Void can't compare to the lives existing in all the millions of realms that are out there!" Shadow said with conviction.

Eric had no response to that. He wasn't wrong, but he also didn't want to admit he was right. Was there no other way to do this? Was it the only answer?

"Look don't focus on that for now! We need to keep an eye out for more Voidlings and figure out if they're on our side or part of her army. The apocalypse must be stopped, right? And that starts with taking out the small fry that are going to try and set up shop." Shadow made an appeal to logic.

"Right..." Eric conceded.

August was chatting with Alex when Jake walked in and sat at his desk looking very grumpy and down about something. Whatever had him so down would no doubt interfere with his ability to intimidate people.

"What's up, man?" August asked.

"My dad's really putting the pressure on the whole Cleo thing." Jake growled.

"Well, it was your idea." Alex pointed out.

"I swear to God, I will kick your teeth in!" Jake snapped at him.

"Calm down!" August put a hand on his shoulder. "You're Jake Massey! You're the shit! And you've got us! Come with me!"

Jake rolled his eyes, but at this point he was out of options. He followed August over to Cleo's desk where she looked up at him with disgust. August leaned on her desk and looked at her with a sly grin.

"Look, little lady! My friend here is one of the best men you could ever lay your eyes on! Frankly, it would be absolutely idiotic to not date him if he offers you the privilege!" August told her.

"I can tell just from the company he keeps that he isn't worth more than my worst pair of socks." Cleo scoffed.

"Listen here!" August put his hand on her shoulder and Cleo recoiled. "You're making the worst mistake of your life right now!"

"I think you're doing that!" Cleo tried to take his hand off, but she couldn't.

Deanna saw it from across the room and was about to get up. But then Eric was suddenly standing right next to her.

"Get your hands off of her!" Eric stated clearly.

"Oh, you don't want to do this shit, man! I'm just having a conversation!" August rolled his eyes.

"Get. Your. Hands. Off. Of. Her!" Eric repeated, putting his hand on August's arm.

"Alright, big boy! Time to teach you a lessons!" August snarled.

He took his hand off her and swung it Eric, hitting his face and knocking backwards into a desk that did not have a student yet.

"I think you forget that I made you my bitch long ago!" August yelled.

"Hey! So remember about using your powers to enjoy yourselves? This guy is actively hurting others and you can improve your life in the process. How about it?" Shadow intervened.

Eric seemed to ponder it for a second and this time, he actually agreed as he couldn't see any potential downsides. 

"Take over!" Eric agreed.

Shadow took control of his body and suddenly jumped up from his downed position. August was a little shaken but ready to go again. He prepared another punch as Eric ran towards him. Shadow used his right foot at the last moment to launch Eric left. As August's punch missed, he shifted his weight to his left foot and launched him again, but this time right. He then used his arm to punch August in the side of his stomach and send him flying across the classroom.

August got up and held his side. He looked at Eric with a mix of fear and disgust. He had a fire in his eyes that screamed murder, but he was afraid to attack again because of the potential that he would somehow get beaten again. Realizing the danger was over Shadow walked Eric back to his desk as August just continued staring at him. Cleo watched the whole thing in amazement. She always thought Eric was a good guy and decent looking, but the way he stood up for her and held his ground made her heart suddenly skip a beat. The business was hanging over her head, but she was starting to hate how her father treated her dreams and independence. Why should she confirm to the old fashioned way of marrying someone else with influence and money? There were much better options right next to her.

"Good job!" Eric praised Shadow.

"Anytime! That'll show him to mess with you!" Shadow giggled.

"I certainly hope so! But he seems headstrong!" Eric stated.

Jake and Alex stood dumbfounded for a few seconds before Jake rushed to August's side and Alex let him bear whatever anger he might've had. Jake put his hand around August, but he immediately slapped them away.

"Stop that shit! I'm not some weak ass bitch! This ain't nothing!" He stood up.

"We can attack him together!" Jake suggested.

"Not today! Just relax for now! I'll pay him back triple for humiliating me in front of others! I can't let rumors spread that I'm not in control anymore!" August raged and started walking away.

"Where are you going?" Jake asked.

"Home! I need to think! Stay put! Don't do anything stupid!" August warned.

With no choice but to obey, Jake returned to his seat and stared at Cleo who was looking at Eric. This was two humiliating defeats for the price of one. But if Eric was the one she was interested in, then maybe taking him out of the equation would be the key to unlocking her heart. As soon as August came back to his senses they could give him a beating that his children would remember.

August was walking angrily down the street towards his house, still holding his side. It hurt like hell. What the hell was that punch? Did the scrawny kid always have that kind of power? If so, was he just playing the fool to make an ass out of him? He would find out soon enough just what happened when you made an ass out of August. Without realizing in his rage, he stepped on a piece of black sludge and suddenly he could hear a voice in his head.

"Hey, though guy!" Crazy greeted.

"What the fuck? Where are you?" August turned around in a 360.

"Calm down! Sit down and let me explain!" Crazy tried to settle him down.

Crazy gave him a rundown of everything except the apocalypse stuff. August sat down on a bench as he listened.

"So, what's your power?" He asked.

"Power? Heh, kid, I'm the most powerful Voidling besides The Grand Matriarch! My power is the power to absorb powers! I just need to touch a Voidling and take it! I got thirty right now, but I'm at my limit! It's taking a toll on my body and mind to hold so many. I can't let go of them either, but I made sure to get some of the best I could. Trust me, you won't find better!" Crazy explained.

"So what you're saying is, I can take revenge on that Eric bastard?" August inquired.

"Kid, with me at your side, you could rule the damn planet!" Crazy laughed evilly. 

"I have the feeling this is the start of a very beneficial relationship!" August smirked.

"You have no idea!" Crazy burst into laughter.

Chapter Text

Yul was sitting at her desk looking over something on her tablet. The makeshift office in the city was quiet today as it was just her and a coworker. He was involved in some other case taking place in the city. An investigation of some sorts. But she had her own problems to worry about. Suddenly, she stood up, put the tablet in her suitcase and headed for the door.

"Where are you headed?" Her coworker asked.

"I have some work to do." She explained.

"On what? Your case? I thought you didn't have any new information on it for a few weeks." He said, confused.

"Exactly!" She smirked cockily before exiting the door.

She headed down to the police station to finally confront Becker about the very interesting video she saw. She could've done it immediately, but she wanted to wait for more hidden evidence to show up or for events that didn't line up to surface. The second happened in the form of a police report and some more digging she managed to do. But ever since then it had been some time and she wanted to make progress, so she had to work with what she had.

She entered the front door and walked past the front desk, flashing her ID to the secretary. Not being bothered to explain anything else she walked straight to his door and knocked rapidly on the door three times. She then straightened herself out and prepared for the interrogation.

"Come in?" Bruce said, confused by the fact he didn't get word from the front desk.

Yul entered the room and closed the door behind her.

"Hello again, Chief Becker!" She greeted politely.

"Oh, it's you! That makes sense!" Bruce responded.

"Glad to see you too! I am, however, a little sad to say it's soured by you not honoring our deal and hiding information." She got to the point.

"What do you mean?" Bruce was taken aback.

"Does a video of a certain street fight ring any bells in that pretty head of yours?" Yul pushed.

"I don't believe so..." Bruce tried to hide his emotions.

"Let me enlighten you!" Yul put down her suitcase and opened it.

She pulled out her tablet and looked for something on it. After a few seconds she turned it around to Bruce to show him the video of May and Eric fighting Nicolo. Bruce flinched when he saw it.

"How about now? Any lights on inside?" She teased.

"I'm not sure." He tried to cover.

She leaned foward and looked down to see the screen too.

"Wait! Here comes my favorite part!" She smiled.

The video got to the part where May ripped off a car door and Nicolo subsequently destroyed it.

"Look there! That's a car door completely gone! A police investigation would surely follow! And it did! I found the report! But it's weird, there's nothing about a culprit, it doesn't even seem like they checked the cameras at all!" Yul had a smirk on her face.

"What are you implying?" Bruce did his best not to say anything.

"Well, it depends. Are you guys just shit at your job or are you hiding evidence from me?" Yul proposed.

"I assure you, we do our very best!" Bruce replied.

"Very careful wording you're using! Then how about we talk about Nicolo Carta and the police raid?" Yul offered.

Bruce flinched again.

"You see, I ran my own follow up investigation and I found something most peculiar. There was a lot of weird damage done to his so called "throne room". Not only that, but I managed to get someone to look at his corpse and it didn't look like the result of a gun fight! More over, a lot of this was left out of your police report too!" Yul revealed.

Bruce was a too stunned to speak, but he kept his eyes trained on her and steeled, trying to be as unreadable as possible.

"So?" Yul put her hand on the desk.

"I have no idea what you're getting at!" Bruce said.

"I could strip away your position right now! Or better yet, ban you from police work entirely! But I believe in redemption! So I'll let this slide right now! But I expect that you'll be cooperative and hand over any information on this very important matter! Is that understood?" She asked.

"I assure you, I wouldn't hide anything from you! We must cooperate after all!" Bruce covered until the very end.

"I certainly hope so!" She smirked and exited his office.

Bruce was left to sit there and breathe a momentary sigh of relief. Yul just made a big power play. There was a big risk associated with trying to hide anything from her now. He would have to risk everything or capitulate. Alberto would certainly have a strong opinion on it.

Vicente was on a rooftop overlooking a small house on the east side of town. It was pretty close to where his father's hideout was. Due to his influence over the whole city all of the gangs significantly reduced their activity, besides the biker gang. But the gang in the east was so vulnerable due to their location that they were practically non-existent at this point. From the intel he gathered by using Capture there were ten people left in their ranks and they were all in the house now for a meeting about the future of the gang. They were ruthless killers who murdered over a hundred people when they were in power. It was rooky numbers compared to the gang in the south, but they terrified this region nonetheless.

"This is where we start! We'll start from here and establish ourselves as the new underground leader! Restore the name of Carta to a name of good!" Vicente talked to Capture out loud.

"I can't say I dislike your plan! I'm down to help with this goal of yours!" Capture replied.

"Then cover me!" Vicente said loudly.

Capture covered the boy with his Voidling form and Vicente jumped off the roof. He hit the ground and phased through it for a second before immediately rising back up to the top. He walked straight to the house and phased through the door. To his right there were stairs going up. To his left there was a big opening leading into a kitchen and then into the living room, where the gangsters were holding their meeting. In front, after the big opening was a hallway with a door in the stairs and a backdoor at the end. Vicente walked directly into the kitchen and looked at the living room where the ten men were sitting at a round table having a discussion. The man right in front of him at the opposite end of the table spotted him and shot up scared.

"What in the fuck is that?" He pointed at Vicente.

Before the other even managed to look in that direction, Vicente transformed his arm into a blade and extended it, stabbing the guy straight through the neck. Everyone started freaking out as they struggled to process exactly what happened and the fact that one of their members was now dead, gurgling on his own blood. Vicente used the same arm to decapitate another member and then another. 

The other seven gangsters came to their senses and drew their guns. They shot their entire magazines into him as he just stood there. His body was filled with bullet holes, but no blood was visible. Soon after, the holes closed back up. Vicente just continued by decapitating two more men. One of the remaining five rushed him with a knife and started stabbing him, but any damage healed right after. 

Vicente turned his other hand into a claw and stabbed his stomach before dragging the claw down and letting his guts spill out on the floor. With no options left two of the four members that were still alive ran towards the door. Vicente turned his clawed hand back to normal and extended towards the door and held it shut. He then stabbed one guy in the back with the blade and threw him across the room before stabbing the other guy right between the eyes.

The last two gangsters stared at the boy in horror as they fell to the floor with no escape. Vicente used his normal hand to pick one of them up by the head, lifting him off the ground, before cutting his neck with the blade hand, only leaving the leader. The boss stood on his knees and put his hands in a prayer stance, begging not to be killed.

"Please! Whatever you want, just keep me alive and I can help you get it! You won't regret it!" He pleaded.

Vicente walked up to him slowly and held out his hand. The boss grabbed it and rose to his feet, shaking it.

"Thank you! You won't regret thi-" He got interrupted by Vicente stabbing his neck from the back.

He let the final body fall to the floor before telling Capture mentally to go back inside him. He looked around at the massacre and put his hands on his hips.

"Well, we're going to have to clean up all these bodies, but after a little work, this is going to make for a good base!" Vicente sighed.

He walked upstairs where there were two massive rooms on the left. Each room had four bunkbeds, two on each side. Between the two beds were small dressers. 

"This is going to work! I won't have that many people anyway!" Vicente contemplated.

"So, what do we do after clean up?" Capture inquired.

"I'm going to go and visit a friend. I need to have a very uncomfortable conversation. If all goes well, one of these bunk beds will be full." Vicente explained.

Peter and Nicky were hanging out at a café after school. Both of them were sitting pretty silent and were swirling their coffees around while staring at nothing. Life hadn't been the same ever since they were captured and subsequently rescued. Everything they knew was flipped upside down by the existence of monsters, but also by the entire experience of their life almost ending.  They weren't going to hand out the info, so it was only a matter of time before the mafia leader got pissed and killed them.

"You ready for the School Battle Festival?" Nicky asked dejectedly.

"Not really, we always got out first and now with all of this there's no chance it will be any different." Peter responded.

They both sat in silence as they contemplated something and looked like they weren't present in the moment.

"How are the withdrawals?" Peter eventually asked.

"Not much better since the last time we spoke about it." Nicky responded solemnly.

"I wish I wasn't born a human." Peter said.

"Huh?" Nicky raised his head in surprise.

"Being human might be the worst thing ever. It comes with so many problems that could otherwise be avoided. All because of our supposed superior intellect." Peter explained.

"Yeah... being born might not have been all it was cracked up to be. I haven't accomplished anything worthwhile." Nicky lowered his head back down.

"Being alive comes with expectations of actually doing something to stand out. It fucking sucks. If I could, I would trade my life as a human in an instant. I don't want it." Peter stated.

Nicky sighed and looked outside through the window.

"Yeah, so about the festival... I might not show up tomorrow... or the days after that." Nicky informed him.

"I get it. I might not either. No point to." Peter agreed.

"Yeah... No point to... No one would notice anyway." Nicky whispered.

Drew Steele, a high ranking member of the biker gang, was out on patrol with four other members. He was wearing blue jeans, black shoes and a red shirt. Under his helmet he had black eyes and short black hair. On the forehead of his helmet was an insignia in the shape of a wheel on fire to indicate he had authority. They were almost finished for the day and were heading to a restaurant to get something to eat after a well done job.

Just as they were closing in on the spot they picked thing went south. They turned on the street the restaurant was located and headed for it with smiles on their faces. But coming towards them from that very restaurant was a group of ten people. It normally wouldn't be too strange, but Drew noticed they were looking straight at them, talking and making weird movements. He was confused at first until he realized he had the insignia on his helmet. 

He raised his hand to signal the rest of his crew just in time as the other gang pulled guns out of their clothes and started firing. Drew and his crew pulled out theirs in retaliation. They all started firing as the biker gang members drove past. Drew made first contact by managing to land a shot directly in the head of one of their members. He fell down to the ground as the gunfire continued. More shots were landed by the bikers due to the other gang having all their people in one area and them moving so fast on their bikes.

Three more of the other gang members died before they finally landed a shot on the biker in the back. The shot hit his neck and he instinctively held his hand up to the wound as his bike veered of the road and he crashed into an alleyway. They were almost past them by this point. They managed to kill two more of their members. Just as they were about to be in the clear, the second biker from the back got shot in the side of his chest and he instantly stopped moving. He was probably struck in the heart.

As he lost control and his bike slowed down, the biker behind him couldn't avoid a collision and the two hit each other. The other biker got launched off his ride and skid across the road. Thankfully, his equipment protected him, but Drew knew he wasn't lucky because of it. He couldn't risk his life and the last member's, so they continued to ride and made a turn towards their base.

The remaining four men ran over to the crashed biker. They were in a hurry so the cops didn't get there. Someone would've reported this by now. As he was struggling to get back up on his feet, one of the men kicked his helmet off and spar on his face.

"What do you want?" He coughed.

"The last two are going to send a message! These are our streets now! We run this town! Y'all are going to bow down or die in piss!" The gang member said.

"Whatever, man! Ethan is going to take you trash out for good! You little rat bast-" His voice got cut out as he was shot in the head.

"Let's get out of here!" The gang member motioned with his hand as he turned around and ran.

The other gang members returned to the south of town where they entered a small complex of houses in a walled off area and headed for the bigger house in the middle. There were three floors. On the top floor there was nothing else but a massive throne room spanning the entire floor. As soon as you climbed the stairs you were standing in a dark orange room with a darn yellow floor. Leading from where the stairs were to the opposite end there was a red path lined with separation poles with red tape. Lining the walls all the way up to the end were a bunch of gang members with submachine guns. They were solemn and unmoving as they stood at attention. At the end of the room there was an iron throne on a small platform with two stairs. Above the throne there was a logo popping out of the wall. It was a fist with a crown above it and two assault rifles pointing upwards and outwards next to the fist. 

On the throne sat the leader of their group, Daryl Galloway. He had black hair styled in a mohawk with the rest of his head being bald and black eyes. He was wearing a black vest with the top buttons undone so his chest was visible. On his chest was a tattoo of their logo. He wore nothing else on his upper body. He had grey, really ripped jeans on his legs and black sneakers on his feet. His body was really hairy and filled with scars, especially his face. Half of his right ear was also missing. He was sitting on the throne with his legs stretched and bent loosely and his arms hanging over the arm rests as he leaned to one side. Hanging out of his left arm was an Uzi.

Next to the throne on the right side was his right hand woman. She was sitting down with her legs crossed and leaning with her back against the wall. Her name was Robin Freeman. Her long hair was tied into two ponytails reaching her shoulders. It was dyed cyan and she had green contacts in her eyes. She was wearing no clothes besides a black puffy coat and her underwear. The coat was unzipped about halfway, leaving her top half exposed. Not that her boobs were big. Her underwear was black with cool green lines going in random patterns across it. Her body was colored in tattoos. A skull with a knife through it adorned her right calf with a rose on the other one. Her right thigh had the gang logo and the other one had a tiger. On her left arm was a snake and vines covered the other one. On the top of her back was a butterfly and the bottom had a spiral galaxy. On her belly rested a scorpion and above her bra was a radioactive symbol. Finally, on her right cheek was a lily flower.

The gang members walked up with the one who shot the last guy being in front. Daryl looked at him with no real emotion. Just a blank stare as he waited for a report. It came soon as he started speaking.

"We initiated contact with The Liberation Front! We killed three of their members, but they took out six of ours!" He informed Daryl.

"That's disappointing! I expect better from you! All of you! Robin could've taken them all out herself!" Daryl stood straight in his throne. "But, good job on letting them know we are back in charge! They need to understand we are going to rule this city and they can either submit or die! Let everybody know to be on guard! And kill any of them on sight!" 

"Yes, sir!" They all saluted and walked away.

"Those fuckers are going to be sorry for trying to rule these streets!" Daryl spoke to himself.

Drew returned back and let the other member go as he entered Ethan's house. That was a disaster. They technically took out more people, but the bikers already had less to begin with. He saw Ethan and Deanna sitting on the couch, drinking orange juice and watching some TV show. Deanna's smiling face turned serious the moment he entered. 

"What's up?" Ethan noticed his expression.

"We lost three people. We took out six of the attacking group. I'm sorry!" Drew reported.

"Hey! It's not your fault! Any idea who it was?" He asked.

"Judging by the fact that they attacked with no provocation, it was probably The Iron Fist Syndicate! It seems they're on the move again." Drew responded.

Ethan looked really troubled. They knew this day would come, however. With the mafia gone and everything, it was only a matter of time.

"Let everybody know! We're going to have to fight! The time has come!" Ethan told him.

"Yes, sir!" Drew saluted and left.

Ethan sat back down on the couch.

"What are you going to do?" Deanna asked him.

"Pay the families. And prepare, I guess. Everyone knows what they signed up for! It's time to fulfill our purpose!" Ethan replied. "What are you going to do?"

"Drink my orange juice." She tried to laugh.

"You know what I meant." Ethan looked at her.

"I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep her safe!" Deanna took a sip of her orange juice. 

Chapter Text

Eric was standing in the courtyard of the school which had been dived into two sides. One was for their school and one was for the other. They all wore pins with their school and grade. The area was crowded with students that chattered about strategy or just random stuff. Vicente was the only student not present, as expected. May, Travis and Willy were all talking about the first event too. Looking behind them, it was pretty obvious what the event was going to be. There were also a lot of parents standing in the audience. The highest number would always be in the middle of the event. Most of the ones that showed up now were parents that thought the kids would lose. Then only the parents of the kids who were still competing would show up at the end. But in the middle it would be uncertain if their kid would go out next, so pretty much every parent showed up to see and support their kid. Eric's mom would probably be busy and not come at any point. And, in a way, it pleased him, as it would've put more pressure on him if she was here. Not that he thought he'd win anyway.

The two schools were already sizing each other up. They were all staring at the competition, especially the 9th and 12th grades. The new kids trying to figure out what they were up against and dealing with the anxiety and the veterans that had the final chance at winning the event. In his class, the popular girls in particular were eyeing the other side's 12th grade students and giving them menacing looks. Jessica Valenzuela was the main leader of the pack and the most well known girl in school. Her hair reached below her shoulder blades and was dyed an almost orange color. Her eyes were blue and she wore a star pin in her hair. She had a blue wool vest on over a white button up in combination with a short pinkish skirt. She had loose white socks and sparkly red shoes. She was almost always chewing bubblegum.

There was Mitzi Morris. Her family had some decent influence in the city. She wore a moon pin in her naturally blonde hair. Her eyes were a brown color. She wore a red blouse with a blue wavy line pattern and green jeans with a flower pattern. Her shoes were black with white accents. She was known for being a bit of a ditz and not having the best grades.

Next was Rhonda Ho. She was popular because rumors of her sleeping with a ton guys floated over her head. She had a sun pin in her hair, which was dyed black with pink accents. Her eyes had pink contacts in. She wore a skimpy white crop top with very short jeans that had chains attached to them. Her shoes were a pair of red stilettoes.

The final girl was Chrystal Petty. She was popular because she hung out with the others, but in reality she was really bitchy and awful to be around. She had a comet pin in her brown hair and had a pair of black eyes. She wore a T-shirt with an image of a skeleton flipping the bird and ripped jeans along with a pair of shoes with fake spikes attached.

Eric didn't have much time to ponder about them as the principal came out on the stage set up at the front of the school. His name was Alphonso Washington. He had short white hair, which was probably died as he was only in his forties. His eyes were brown and he always wore a very nice, full suit that gave him an air of elegance and authority. Eric assumed it was to make up for the fact that he was pretty small in stature.

"Hello, students and parents alike!" He started the address. "I'd like to start this address by saying that I'd like to thank you all for coming and attending this festival once again! It is my tenth year holding this event and I would like to think that I've managed to improve it or at least keep it the same level as my predecessor. If not, I would imagine we wouldn't be standing here! Now, I'd like to wish everyone good luck and encourage everyone to do their best! Not just the ninth and twelfth graders. You never know when you might become the contestant to win it all for your school! Now that the formalities are out of the way, I will proudly introduce the first event of this year's festival!"

He threw his hand behind him and up toward the screen with an open palm as he turned around. Behind him was a big screen installed over the previous days in the courtyard. The screen which had a poster of the School Battle Festival switched to flipping through images of different events with their name written underneath them. Eventually the screen stopped on an image of a road with a bunch of obstacles and people running. Underneath it was written "Obstacle Race". He turned back around and threw his hand foward and into the air like he was inviting someone in for a hug.

"The first event is the fabled "Obstacle Race"! Get in position at the starting line behind you and await for the starting horn! The goal is to race through the road full of obstacles that wraps around the school into the backyard! The first two hundred out of the two hundred and eighty eight gathered here to reach the finish line will make it to the next round! Good luck and have fun!" He announced the event.

Eric and his friends walked to the start line along with everybody else. Looking at the road, it was obvious it was closed off, which gave away the event. The route consisted of four turns and multiple obstacles stretching three km of road. Everyone had protective gear handed out to them so they wouldn't get hurt. The road was also equipped with cameras which transmitted the events from multiple segments of the road to another screen mounted in the backyard.

Looking around at his class, the group of jocks, consisting of three guys and one girl was obviously the most excited. They were stretching and cracking their knuckles. The leader of the pack was Mitch Armstrong. His entire family was made up of athletes who won countless competitions. It seemed he was no different. He never wore a shirt, which showed off his massive chest and well toned muscles with a six pack on top. His arms were also massive. He had short black hair and black eyes. He wore blue sweatpants and blue sneakers.

Besides him stood Nick Jordan. The guy was a bit of a meathead and he could always be seen in the gym doing exercises. His muscles certainly showed it. He wore a green T-shirt, red pants and yellow sneakers. Eric always found it weird and like to say he was cosplaying a rainbow. He had short black hair and brown eyes. His grades were obviously suffering and if you ever used big words around him, he would think you're insulting him.

There was also Clair Phelps. He had slightly flowing blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a black T-shirt, pants and sneakers. His muscles weren't anything to scoff at either. He was known for banging a lot of girls. There were all sorts of rumor about whether he was actually impressive in bed or not and you couldn't avoid them. It was torture to listen to them, but also a bit cathartic to hear that sleeping around had some consequences. All he was known for now was the fact that his penis was talked about.

Finally, there was the girl of the group, Francis Best. No one exactly knew why she hung around with them. She actually had better grades than all of them and pretty popular outside of their group. But she still stuck to them like glue. She had brown hair that reached past her shoulders and brown eyes. Her muscles did not pale in comparison to the others. She could give them a run for their money. She wore a red T-shirt, red pants and white sneakers.

As he was looking around, all the protective gear was handed out and the principal got ready to give the start signal. He stepped up to the mic and spoke. "Now that all the gear has been handed out, I am proud to announce the start of the first event of the School Battle Festival! Get ready! On your marks! Go!" The horn sounded out and everyone started running. Eric was running alongside them with May, Travis and Willy right next to him. The first obstacle this year was hurdles. So he got ready to jump.

Cleo was just a little bit behind Eric and his friends as they were all running so they wouldn't be out in the first round as twelfth graders. Not only were they veterans, but it was their last chance to win the festival. Getting out in the first round would be embarrassing. And yet, she couldn't focus on the hurdles fully. She was making it over them fine just based on instinct, but her head was focused on Eric as, he too, was jumping. She didn't really know why. She was never interested in any guy that ever asked her out or any suitors from other companies that she met. 

Eric wasn't a bad looking or a bad guy in general. He was pretty sweet, with good looks and ok grades. She meant it when she said that she was not interested before, it wasn't him. So what had changed? Was it really just the fact that he protected her yesterday and actually defeated August, making him tuck his tail and run? She would have liked to believe that her mind didn't operate on such a primal level. But in fact, she already had an answer to her question. It was because the more her father pushed her to do what he wanted, the more her desire to just do whatever she felt like was spurred on. And what she wanted right now was to give dating Eric a shot. It was basic psychology. She knew why she was doing it, but did she want to stop? Maybe she should just try and carve her own future. After all, if she did end up marrying "a nobody", as her father put it, it wouldn't mean she couldn't lead the company any less well. She'd just have less money to do it. But their finances were already well off, being one of the top companies in the city and all. More money wouldn't necessary help that much. Was it just greed?

She was snapped out of her train of thought as she almost tripped over a hurdle. She needed to focus. And just when she was ready to focus on the task at hand, something else drew her attention again. Jake was running right beside her a little to the right. She caught a glimpse of him as people cleared a line of sight for a second. She looked at him and he looked at her. He had a look of malice in his eyes. She felt herself shiver. It wasn't directed just at the other competitors, but at her too. It was terrifying.

She got to the second obstacle which was a mine field. There were a bunch of pressure plates the same color as the road on the ground. When they were activated they would shoot out a net upwards that would entrap anyone standing above them.

Just as she tried to concentrate and do her best, she once again gained a line of sight and saw him intentionally bump into some people from the other school. That caused them to fall onto the pressure plates and get ensnared. There weren't any rules against trying to knock other people out of the competition as long as you didn't push anyone too hard. Still, it wasn't a very nice move. Almost no one bothered to actually push others. Only a select group of people like Jake's group would. Just as she thought that she saw August approach Eric just as they got out of the minefield.

The next obstacle was a bunch of cones strewn about. No immediate elimination if you messed up, just like the hurdles. Eric guessed it was a good thing August chose that moment to approach him. But just as he relaxed to try and take him on, Shadow spoke to him.

"August has a Voidling! I sense it!" He warned.

Eric looked up with a surprised expression at August. As he did, August also looked the same way at him and started backing off. He assumed that his Voidling must've told him the same thing.

"Well, that's a problem!" Eric thought.

"We don't know if it's a bad one yet." Shadow tried to ease his worry.

"Let's not play dumb! The symbiosis doesn't necessarily need to form based on morals, sure, but he was 100% trying to help him take me down just now! A good Voidling would work together with someone that could help stop the apocalypse, not someone that was focused on petty grudges that they started!" Eric rationalized. 

"Look, I'm not saying that you're not right! If August learned of the apocalypse and still focused on you, a Voidling on our side would probably realize that it's not going to work out. So it seems likely that the Voidling lied to be able to play the long game in achieving their goal. But the chances of it being a good one aren't completely zero, right?" Shadow asked.

"Just trying to be realistic here." Eric replied.

August backed off as soon as he heard what Crazy said. He eyed Eric carefully from a distance while making sure to avoid the cones.

"That certainly complicates things!" August thought. "I was going to humiliate him here before beating him, but now I guess I'll just beat him up harder."

"Wait, big guy! You can't fight with him!" Crazy warned him.

"Why the hell not?" August asked angrily.

"Because if we get in a fight with him, he'll obviously use his Voidling to protect himself." Crazy told him.

"So? Aren't you the most powerful one? You'd be easily able to overpower him!" August argued.

"You don't want to actually kill the guy, do you? Plus, no matter how powerful I am, all it takes is one well aimed blow and I'm just as dead as anyone else! We don't know what power the Voidling inside him has! If I get caught off guard and end up dead, it's all over!" Crazy tried to calm him down.

"So what? I'm just supposed to sit around?" August only got madder.

"Yeah! For now! Until we find out more!" Crazy reasoned.

August just growled. Crazy obviously didn't mind just destroying everything, but there were already Voidlings opposing them here. Which all but confirmed Implode's fate. He let himself get taken out by some lowly punks. If he just revealed himself or got into a fight carelessly, he could get taken by surprise and killed. He didn't get to where he was by rushing into things. He would patiently find out who his enemies are and what powers they have, then take them out one by one. Only after that could he take over and destroy this worthless planet filled with creatures that could resist their takeover.

Cleo got past the cones just fine and saw the fourth obstacle ahead of her. It was balance beams over mats with glue. Not a theoretical knockout, but the amount of time to get out, especially if you fell near the beginning, would be a devastating setback. There were five separate beams to walk on. Cleo actually had pretty nice balance, so she took the beam in front of her and started making her way across.

When she looked to her left, she saw Jake on the beam next to her. He was doing pretty well himself as he was pretty much right where she was. He was looking at her with a cocky smile as he suddenly stopped and knocked a rival student behind him off. He then grinned at her and raised his eyebrows multiple times.

"See that?" Jake asked.

Cleo did her best to ignore him and just make it across the beam. Jake, however, didn't seem to appreciate her attitude so much as he spoke again.

"I know you can hear me! I asked a simple question!" He said.

"I'm not going to validate your brutish attempt at reducing the competition because you know you can't actually beat them!" Cleo told him.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see his face get red. He was definitely angry, which only spoke to his character. Though it's not as if it was anything new at this point. He was a total misfit for society. Much like the girl behind her on the balance beam, but for different reasons. Deanna was trailing right behind her. The girl was an outcast because of her appearance that she chose for herself. And also the way that she declared herself people's bodyguard without asking first. Though. she was kind of glad that she was there right now. Jake genuinely freaked her out on a regular basis and right now he was being even more of an asshole than usual.

Thankfully, she got ahead him on the balance beam and passed the obstacle before him. As she looked behind she saw Deanna catch up to him and right at the end of the beam, she grabbed his arm and pulled him off. He was at the end, so he could get free pretty quickly. They needed as many people as they could to win after all. Hindering your own school's students was frowned upon, but it's not like he didn't deserve it. Plus, she got the feeling that Deanna didn't really care what people thought about her anyway. However, she did just put a target on her back, which she felt kind of bad for. But it's not like she asked her to defend her in the first place.

Eric reached the final obstacle. It was a set of climbing walls that they needed to get over. Not the hardest thing in the world, but they were quite tired out after everything else. As Eric got to work climbing over the walls he was surprised to see a smaller girl right beside him. It's not like the lower grades got completely wiped out first round, but that was mostly because not enough people were eliminated anyway. It wasn't that rare to see underclassmen somewhere in the front sometimes, but Eric was only a couple people behind the lead. So it was quite impressive. It looked like she was exerting herself quite a lot, though. She was sweating heavily and seemed like she was ready to pass out. She had black eyes and brown hair that reached her shoulders. She was wearing a blue blouse and black pants with black sneakers that had white stripes on them.

Regardless Eric pushed foward and passed the finish line right behind Travis, with May and Willy behind them. He took a minute to catch his breath and then turned towards them.

"Good job, guys! Any idea who that girl is, by the way?" Eric pointed at her.

"Hmmm, looks like a 9th grader, so I haven't seen her before. Still, one hell of a debut though!" Willy responded.

"Yeah, she must be new! I'm sure I'd remember a performance like that!" May said.

"No clue who she is! I have to get going to the bathroom! See you guys later!" Travis excused himself.

As Travis left, the principal got ready to announce the results. He stepped up to a podium in the backyard and started speaking.

"Beautiful showing from everyone! It was an excellent battle! Now, for the results! Out of 288 people, only 200 are left. Let's start with our school, Promise High! Grade 9 has 10 members left, with 26 not making it! Grade 10 has 30 left with only 6 getting out! Meanwhile Grade 11 and 12 made it through unscathed! Fantastic showing! Now let's move onto Trinity High School! Grade 9 has 5 students left with 31 no longer in the competition! Grade 10 has 12 people left in, with 24 out! Grade 11 also lost one person! Meanwhile grade 12 made it through perfectly fine! Not a bad performance! This means that Promise High has 112 people left and Trinity High School has 88 people remaining! However, one student from grade 12 of Promise High is missing, so the total is actually 111. Still, Promise High has a pretty good lead, but things can always change in an instant, so be sure to give it your all tomorrow and until the end of the event!" The principal announced.

Travis was headed for the bathroom when a figure caught his eye. It was a woman just a bit taller than him, walking with a reserved stance. She looked to be in her late 30's. She must've been one of the moms. She was wearing some red stilettos, a red dress with black vertical stripes and a red hat with a rim and a black stripe on it. She had red nylons on along with red elbow fingerless gloves. They were the type that ended in a triangle, showing off most of her hands. Her shy eyes were brown and her long hair that reached her ass was also brown. Speaking of her ass, she had kept her body in top shape. Her curves made her look like she was in her early 20's. He was immediately struck by her beauty and stopped in his tracks.

She hadn't noticed him and kept walking towards him with her face looking at the ground and her hands intertwined. He had to say something. There was no way he missed this shot. The girl of his dreams was right there and there was no one else around. It was almost like it was a fated meeting. He walked until he was right in front of her without changing his path to avoid her.

"Hey there!" He greeted her.

She lifted her head up and met his eyes. He was almost so awestruck that his jaw dropped. He felt like he was looking at an angel. She separated her arms and dropped them to her side.

"I'm Travis!" He introduced himself.

"My name is Cristina! Do you need something?" She inquired.

"No!" He rubbed the back of his head. "I just saw you and you looked way too beautiful to not introduce myself."

"I'm definitely old enough to be your mother, you know?" She blushed and broke eye contact.

It was the cutest thing Travis had ever seen.

"So? I'm 18! Age is just a number at this point! Well, going up at least." He chuckled.

She didn't respond for a little bit as her face heated up.

"Well, you're quite a foward young man, but I am unfortunately married!" She showed him her ring.

In hindsight, he probably should've noticed it, but he was also expecting this anyway. But he had to try. He couldn't hide the drop in his face.

"Are you really that disappointed over an old lady such as myself? You're a very pretty boy, you will surely find a nice girl your age!" She told him.

"You're underselling yourself! You're more beautiful than a lot of girls I know! Your husband is a lucky man!" Travis said.

She blushed again, but there was also a hint of pain in her expression. Before either of them could say anything else, a voice came down the hall.

"Mother! Where are you? Father wants to leave already and get back to business!" It said.

Travis was sure he recognized it. He looked towards her and they both nodded at each other to say their goodbyes. He entered the bathroom and left the door slightly ajar to see who it was. The origin of the voice approached her.

"There you are! Let's get going! He's tired of waiting!" The person said.

Travis peeked out to get a good look. When he did, his eyes widened.

It was Jake Massey.

Chapter Text

After the first event was over, Eric and his friends went to a pizzeria to unwind and talk about it. Also to just generally hang out. They were eating pizza while sat at a table and making light conversation about whatever crossed their mind. For the first time in a long while, Eric felt really at ease. They hung out after they killed Nicolo too, but for some reason, this time it felt different. Perhaps because he was hungry from all the running it amplified the taste of the food. Which made hanging out with them all the better. Plus, since Nicolo, nothing related to the end of the world happened. Well, August had a Voidling now, but he wasn't going to think about any of that right now. He needed this time to feel normal.

"So, we made it!" May said.

"If we got out first round we'd never hear the end of it until we graduated!" Willy laughed.

"I was worried about your lazy ass, but in the end you managed to keep up no problem!" Travis playfully hit his back.

"Whatever, that was the easy stage as far as the event is concerned. Weed out the weaklings. The rounds are only going to get tougher. And the further we go, the more competitive and strong the opposition is going to get. At least the schools are going to stick together. If this was a solo event and we had to form teams to rely on by ourselves, we'd be completely fucked." Eric rationalized.

"Damn, you're a mood killer, man!" Willy sighed.

"Well, he was always the gloomiest of us four! But that's why we love him!" Travis put his arm around Eric. "At least he puts in the effort when it actually matters!"

"Yeah, when he needs to, he goes all in." May emphasized his point.

Eric knew exactly what she was referring to. The raid on the mafia base.

"May's not bad herself! She's a really though gal!" He complimented her back.

She gave him a soft smile.

"What is this? Did you guys spend some time alone and get in a relationship?" Travis looked between the two of them.

Willy looked at him with an angry expression, but he hid it so no one noticed. 

"No, you idiot! Can't I appreciate my friends?" Eric asked.

"You never said something that nice to me! Appreciate me too!" He pointed with both index fingers to himself.

"Your cheery attitude and high energy can be annoying, but most of the time I always like being around you despite that." Eric told him.

"T-thanks." Travis rubbed the back of his neck and looked away.

After they left the restaurant, Travis pulled Eric aside to talk with him. They told May and Willy to go on ahead while they hung back until they were out of sight. Eric turned to Travis as they stopped.

"So what's up, buddy?" Eric inquired.

"So, you know how I told you I'm into older women?" Travis started.

"Oh, not this again! As respectfully as possible, I don't care! I prefer girls my age personally." Eric told him.

"I know, but yesterday I actually met one! She was really beautiful man!" Travis informed him.

"Is this going to be a story about how you didn't talk to her?" Eric sighed.

"No, I did this time!" Travis corrected him.

"So what's the problem? Did she say no?" Eric predicted.

"Technically yes! But also... she's Jake's mom." Travis revealed.

"Excuse me!?" Eric screamed before he realized they were in public.

"Calm down! But seriously, she was literally my dream girl!" Travis daydreamed.

"Look, as much as you fucking his mom would probably bring me more pleasure than the act would bring you, I don't think it's a good idea to get involved with his father! Whether as a friend or as an enemy!" Eric warned him.

"Don't worry! I don't plan to be a side piece! But..." Travis trailed off.

"Here we go! What is it?" Eric relented.

"The reason you said what you said is because there's rumors about him being an evil man, right? So he's probably a bad husband too! When her marriage came up, she had a sorrowful look on her face! So if I can save her from him, then it'll all work out!" Travis explained.

"That still sounds like making yourself his enemy!" Eric protested.

Travis just looked at the ground and kicked his feet.

"Whatever, you're your own person! You can do whatever you want! But I'm not helping you with this! And I'm just begging you to be careful!" Eric told him.

"Sure! I'm nothing if not careful!" Travis smiled.

"Whatever, let's go home!" Eric motioned with his hand.

"Of course!" Travis started moving.

Cleo got back home after the first event of the festival. Her father was not present at it. He saw it as nothing more than a stupid game. It had no value in his eyes. And with how he'd been behaving recently, she anticipated that he would have quite a few words to throw at her when she arrived at the house. Just as she expected, he was sitting down at the table in the kitchen facing the doorway that looked into the hallway. So when she passed on her way upstairs, he saw her. He'd normally be at a meeting around this time, but this was clearly very important for him. 

"Come sit down!" He shouted.

She froze in her tracks and looked at him. He was sitting with his elbows on the table and his hands intertwined beneath his chin. She carefully entered the kitchen and sat down opposite him. He was quiet for a bit before he stared at her face and started speaking.

"There is absolutely no reason for you to participate in that festival! You should be focused on business and learning to become the best leader for this company that you can be!" Alejandro told her.

Cleo could barely contain her disdain. There was absolutely no way she was going to not be part of this festival. She always got pretty far in the previous years and wanted to win at least an award this time around. As much as she loved her father, she wanted to call him a piece of shit from the bottom of her soul. This behavior had been building for a long while, but now he wanted her to give up on something she enjoyed. She was livid.

"With all due respect, dad, I-" She tried to object.

"No more excuses! Tomorrow, you are coming with me!" He ordered. 

Cleo felt tears building up in her eyes so she got up and ran to her room. She locked herself inside and cried into her pillow. There was no way she was going to abandon her entire class. She was going to go, whether her dad wanted to or not. She was 18 now, she could make her own life choices. Advice was fine, but at this point he was trying to take over her independence. Maybe she had to talk to two people tomorrow, instead of just Eric.

At the police station, Alberto was sifting through old files on the creatures that suddenly showed up. There wasn't any incident involving them in a very long time. After their raid on the mafia base, the two that helped them ceased contact after as well. It was disappointing. He hoped that they could maintain a friendly relationship so he could learn more about them. But if they really were the kids as he theorized, maybe it was better for them to stay out of the public eye as much as possible. Remaining hidden was a sensible choice he couldn't be too mad at.

As he was trying to figure out if there was any more info he could gather, he got called into Becker's office. He was hoping that a new sighting related to it was reported. It probably wasn't the best thing that he was hoping for an evil of that magnitude to appear again, but he was kind of obsessed with these creatures at this point. And if it wasn't a new sighting, then a new case to take his mind of them was just as good in his book.

When he entered the office, the chief wasn't doing anything. He wasn't working on the computer or looking through papers. He was just sitting at his desk and looking at Alberto. He knew he didn't do anything wrong, but he had to admit he was at least a little bit scared. For the first time since joining, he saw the chief as an actual authority figure and not a friend. There were no words spoken as he sat down on the other side of the desk.

"I have some unfortunate news." Chief Becker started. "I won't be able to cover for your investigation into the shadowy creatures anymore. Fortunately, it hasn't gone anywhere in a bit."

Alberto couldn't believe how casual he was being. The FBI chick was just going to cover the whole thing up as soon as she got her hands on it. She would likely capture and experiment on them. He was still almost sure they were kids.

"Why?" He asked in shock.

"She got evidence I've been helping hide stuff from her. She has way too much power for me to defy her when she has proof. We're lucky she didn't retaliate already." Becker explained.

"But you agreed with me! We can't let those government bastards win!" Alberto argued.

"I know! All I said was I won't be able to cover it up anymore. If you decide to still investigate into it without reporting back to me, I can't fault you for what you do in your free time!" Becker smiled.

Alberto's heart lifted as he heard those words. He knew he should've had faith in the chief. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Of course, whenever the police has to get involved with an incident that has to do with the creatures, I will have to give over the files. That means you'll have to work harder if you want to beat her!" Becker informed him.

"Thank you, chief! I'll make sure to do my very best!" Alberto smiled with a huge grin.

"Get out of here, troublemaker!" Becker waved him off.

Alberto saluted and ran off with a renewed vigor to find out just what the hell was going on with those creatures. The FBI chick might've been a very attractive lady, but he wasn't going to go easy on her. For everyone's best interest, this was his case to solve.

Sara was making a coffee at her house. Things had quieted down for her recently. The mafia happened to be defeated just after she escaped her execution, which meant she wouldn't have to be worried about being chased down. The fact that she wasn't receiving money from them anymore was a problem, but she had enough stored up until she could get a new gig. She doubt she'd be able to get something as free as hanging out with someone, but she still needed money regardless. 

Speaking of her previous job, Vicente stopped showing up to school altogether. She was a little confused as to why. There was no way that he could've found out about what happened. For starters, if it was about his father dying, he had no way to realize Nicolo was his dad. Even if he saw it in the news, he was living with a different family name. Beyond that, there was nothing that could connect her to them or what her role was.

As she walked with her coffee to the couch, a black shadowy form suddenly dropped down out of her ceiling with the bottom phasing through it as it hung upside down. It's red eyes were starring right at her. She screamed and dropped the coffee cup, making a mess, as she fell to the ground on her ass. She tried to scratch at the creature before seeing that it was just standing there. She looked at it confused before it started speaking.

"Did you calm down?" It asked.

"I guess...?" She responded cautiously.

"Ok!" The creature said as it's face peeled back and retracted into it's body, revealing Vicente's face underneath.

She stared at him with bewilderment on her face. Neither one of them talked. They just looked at eachother waiting for the other one to speak. Vicente held a little bit of resentment towards her and hoped that this meeting would help him get over it. He trusted her. He trusted that she would be able to clear everything up and that he would sense no lies or malice in her words.

For her part, Sara was not only bewildered at what Vicente was or if he possibly knew about the deal with his father, but also scared that if he did, he was here for revenge. And judging on the fact that he was coming out of the ceiling, she was pretty sure she was fucked if he was. And so, neither of them spoke. It was a test of endurance and Vicente broke first.

He dropped out of the ceiling and flipped around in the air, landing on his feet. He still kept the Voidling over the rest of his body, only letting his face be uncovered. Sara looked at him with fear and confusion in her eyes. Vicente had a sad, blank look on his face. But behind it, there was something more. There was a sliver of hope and pleading in there.

"So... hi..." Vicente started.

"Are you here to kill me?" Sara jumped to the point.

"I would like to say something badass like "Depending on your answer, I might.", but I couldn't do that even if I wanted to." Vicente told her.

Sara eyes lit up as she recognized her friend behind his demeanor. It was the same Vicente she always knew, regardless of what he was or what he knew. So she got up and stood face to face with him. Eye to eye, she felt no ill will, only inquisition.

"So, I guess you want to ask some questions." Sara stated.

Vicente recognized his friend too. She wasn't a different person now that she was free of her arrangement. Nothing had changed about her. 

"I was there. I was there when you confronted the mafia people. I know pretty much everything. Unless it goes deeper than I thought." Vicente revealed.

"Thinking back to what I said that day, I think you know everything you need to. If I may be so bold, is that how you found out about your father?" Sara asked with sympathy in her eyes.

"Yeah... I found out he was an evil man right before finding out he died shortly after I had that revelation. There's the fact he killed my stepmother, who was probably also being paid off. But I'd like to believe, based on all the time I spent with her, that she genuinely cared for me. At least on some level. But I can't ask her that anymore. So one of the reasons I am here is to pose that same question to you. How much of it was real?" He asked, hope blooming in his eyes.

"I needed the money." Sara sat down on a chair. She was still looking at his eyes. "It seemed like an easy enough job. Hang out with a bit of a delinquent, but not a bad person, be there for him, be his friend, and gain a ton of money in return. Being involved with the mafia wasn't much of an issue. I've always been around unsavory people. These ones may have been the worst. Maybe. They weren't the first gang I was involved with. And I wasn't even really a part of this one. I try not to get attached to anyone. That way I can cut them off quickly and efficiently. My survival is the top priority. However, you were different. I actually liked being around you. And you actually liked being around me. That was a factor I never encountered before. So... it was genuine. You were my friend. But I was still willing to cut you off. But then when you appeared in front of me tonight, I felt relieved. I was scared, yeah, but part of me felt happy I saw you again. Another factor I never encountered before. So... yeah, that's about all the information I can tell you. It's everything that was behind this scheme."

Vicente stared at her. He sensed no lies. His eyes were fully filled with hope and a smile was forming on his face.

"I believe you!" He told her.

Sara smiled back at him warmly. It looked like she would be around him for a little while longer. Only time would decide if that was good for her survival or not. 

"So are you going to tell me what you are or is that confidential?" She inquired.

"I would never do that to you! It's a bit of a story though." He said, grabbing a chair and fully revealing his body, letting the Voidling retreat inside.

He told Sara everything he learned from Capture. She listened intently and while she wanted to dismiss it all as some crazy story that he came up with out of grief, she just saw firsthand the truth. She had no choice but to accept that what he was saying was reality.

"That's insane... and scary... But I believe you! So, are you recruiting me to help stop the apocalypse?" Sara asked, hoping the answer was no.

"I would need others like me for that goal. That will come in due time. For now, I have a different plan that will help me find them. My father wasn't the only crime ring around. He was just the top dog and a deterrent for the others. They were hiding in the background. Now that he's gone, they will start fighting for the empty throne. I am going to form my own gang to take that throne so nobody else can have it. Even if I have to wipe them all out." Vicente explained.

"So, that's what you want my help with? Just us two?" She asked.

"It will be dangerous. Your life will be on the line. I could do it all myself with no issue. But there's the possibility that people in the other gangs have Voidlings. That's why I need more people by my side. Just like I don't know how many of them might have Voidlings, they can't know how many of my people have them either. If we each only reveal that one of our members has powers, it becomes a risk to launch an attack. It's an information war. So we'll start off small. I'll launch a small attack and send a message. Anyone that wants to help clear the streets of crime and live a better life should come join us. You don't actually have to fight if you don't want to. Just being in my gang would guarantee a possible threat and deterrent." Vicente laid it all down on the table.

Sara thought it over for a bit. She did owe him quite a bit. She had always been in danger her whole life anyway. His plan was pretty sound as long as they could gather more members. There was an apocalypse coming either way, so there was even more reason for her to help out. 

"So, when do we start, partner?" She extended her hand.

Vicente blushed a little before shaking her hand. He stood up and walked towards the door.

"I found us a house and base of operations. I'll show you where it is. We start tomorrow."

"I'm moving?" Sara asked, taken off guard.

"I'll take your stuff over there later!" Vicente told her.

Sara took a little bit to process that her life was about to change for the foreseeable future. She then grabbed her jacket and followed Vicente out the door.

Drew was spending his night on the rooftops above an alleyway with three other Liberation Front Members. He was sent to learn more about what The Iron Fist Syndicate was doing and what their next move would be. An anonymous tip informed them of a drug deal between them and The Vigilant Vipers. Him and one member were sitting on a roof on one side of the alleyway and the other two were on the opposite side. They had pistols on them in case it was trap along with ten other members on some roofs further away with scoped automatic rifles.

Drew was smoking a cigarette while waiting for the people involved in the supposed drug deal to show up. He wished that they could just take them out right here, but it was risky to initiate a war with two gangs at once when they were low on people. There was also the fact that unless they were overconfident or too relaxed, they would probably have some sort of hidden security in case anything went wrong.

Not long after he finished smoking, two groups of people came down from either side of the alleyway. He immediately recognized The Iron Fist Syndicate with their tattoos flaunting who they were. They had ten people in their group. He saw the Daryl up front with Robin right by his side. Any hope he had of taking them out died when he spotted her. She was known to be a ruthless killer who almost never got hurt. More than that, she never lost a fight. There was a story where everyone on her squad died in a fight and she still managed to wipe out 99% of the rival team. Fighting alone, that is considered a win by any metric. Especially when the two remaining survivors ran away like scared dogs.

On the other side, The Vigilant Vipers wore their signature hoodies to cover up their identities as much as possible or at the least not be recognized in public. Despite this, The Liberation Front knew had info on a significant number of their members. Most of it through a person who left the group and gave the details over to them. He assumed their leader had to be here too and he spotted an afro coming out from underneath the hoodie of the person in front. It was reasonable to guess it had to be their boss from what he knew about him and context clues of the situation. Rex Zuniga was his name and he was known to be ruthless. He wasn't just a run of the mill drug dealer, but also skilled in gun fights. While the primary goal of the gang was to run the underground market, with a big focus on drugs, most of the members were trained by him and ready to defend themselves should the need arise.

Drew and his crew listened in on the conversation. They needed to know what exactly the relationship between the two gangs was. The two leaders cautiously approached eachother to make the exchange. 

"You have the stuff?" Daryl asked.

"You remember the deal?" Rex asked.

"We pay you more, you sell less to other people. You still have the reigns over the drug trade, but I'm the one getting all the benefits from it. We both get what we want. You have your money, I have my power." Daryl reiterated.

"Good man!" Rex answered, taking the drugs out of his pocket.

Robin stepped up and handed her boss the money. He exchanged hands with Rex and after both of them sized eachother up a little bit, they left. With both gangs being gone, Drew picked up his walkie-talkie and radioed his boss.

"The tip was right! The Iron Fist Syndicate and The Vigilant Vipers have a business partnership." He reported.

"This is going to make our jobs a lot harder! There's only two other gangs in the city. I don't think we can rely on the psychopaths in the east and Miss Prissy in the center is interested in collaborating with any of us, she'd rather kill us all if she could. Anyway, we'll worry about that later. You can come back for now!" Ethan told him.

"Roger that!" Drew said before leaving the rooftops with the rest of his squad in tow.