In the pitch black of a night,
The trio all sat around a fire quietly.
The full moon was shining bright and big,
Illuminating all the trees and surroundings.
Even the small patches of sand glowed.
Autumn was there, hugging her legs, staring into the fire.
Leo was perched on a dead log, looking zoned out.
Thomas kept trying to make shapes in the fire.
...
"D-do you guys remember anything?" Leo asked.
"What do you mean?" Autumn sat up.
"Like anything before this stupid game," Leo answered.
There was silence for awhile. The crackles of flames could be heard.
"No..." she finally answered.
Leo then looked at Thomas.
Thomas shook his head.
"I see..." Leo replied.
....
Autumn looked at him.
"You alright?"
"Yeah, it's just I... nothing," he answered.
Autumn stared at him for a few seconds before looking away.
"We're gonna get out of here, remember?"
"We just need to find the other keys," she said.
"The staff is useless..." Thomas added.
He was still using his finger to create shapes with the flames.
"Hey, we just need to figure it out," Autumn protested.
"You said that a lot before we left Lenon,"
Thomas replied.
"Like, ooh we got to find a way to bring back the shady guy."
"Ooh we got to find what it does."
"Ooh maybe the staff disappearing is a hint."
Thomas was mimicking Autumn's earlier bickerings at Lenon.
Leo couldn't help but laugh when he mimicked her in his girly voice.
"Ooh this and ooh that," he continued.
Autumn folded her arms.
"Hey, at least I try to help. What do you do?"
"Listen, Autumn, no one knows anything, alright?"
"This world is fucked in so many ways that nothing surprises me again."
"If the staff wanna appear and reappear when it feels like, good for it."
"But I'd rather not be walking around with Frederic in my hand."
A deep silence lingered when Thomas called Frederic's name.
Autumn's folded arms loosened.
One fell to her side while she looked away.
Leo looked down at the ground, then back up at Thomas.
He was still making shapes in the fire.
....
He looked and noticed their reactions.
"I-I didn't mean it like that," Thomas said.
"It's alright..." Autumn answered.
"I-I guess I'm just a little heated," Thomas added.
"I'd never—"
"Yo, just shut up," Leo cut him off.
...
Thomas snuggled back into his comfortable spot.
"I'm sorry..." he muttered.
Silence lingered as the trio slowly got comfortable on the bare ground.
The flames crackled softly... one of the few things to put them to sleep.
GROUP OF TEENS POV
In the same biome as the trio, where grass and sand patch the ground.
A low shaking was heard.
Was it an earthquake?
The shaking got louder, until the earth burst open.
And out shot the four teens.
First the muscular one.
Then Dezmond.
Then the goggled one.
The muscular one stood up, spitting out blood.
"That was a bad idea," he said, holding his stomach.
Dezmond stood up, clutching his arm, which was twisted in the opposite angle.
"Damian, you're an asshole, you know that?" he asked, wincing.
The goggled one already held his broken arm to snap it back.
"Ready?" he asked.
Dezmond nods.
A huge snap was heard, like a branch breaking.
"AAAAGH FUCK!!" Dezmond shouted.
The one with goggles started backing up as Dezmond breathed heavily.
He heaved as he held his newly fixed arm.
A low buzz was heard running along his body.
"That guy's gonna pay dearly."
"Oi, calm down, you stupid," the muscular one demanded.
The low ongoing buzz faded.
"Fuck you, Damian," Dezmond shoved the middle finger.
"Wait, where's Lydia?" the goggled one asked.
The two stopped bickering and froze.
...
A flock of birds flapped overhead.
They could literally hear the trees growing.
"....No," Dezmond breathed.
"You left her."
"What?" Damian asked. "No, I felt her presence with us."
"You left her with that psycho," Dezmond accused.
"We are going back now," Damian said.
As they walked over back to the hole, they saw Lydia.
She was perched up in the hole.
"Thank God," they all muttered with relief.
They started grinning at each other.
"I really didn't wanna go back," Dezmond chuckled.
"Me neither," the one with goggles said.
"She's unconscious," Damian shouted from the hole.
He lifted her and jumped out.
He rested her on the ground.
She was bleeding from the nose.
"What do we do?" the goggled one asked.
"Scott, try—"
Dezmond was cut off by Damian, who held up his hand.
"Listen," he said.
They listened.
A few groans were let out by Lydia as she shuffled.
And slowly, her eyes fluttered.
Her eyes opened and closed, adjusting to the moonlight.
"Where?" she muttered.
"Rise and shine," the goggled one waved.
"Quit that," Dezmond swatted his hand from her face.
The two then started glaring at each other.
But when Lydia sat up, the three looked at her and smiled.
"Hey," the goggled one said.
"Scott? I'm alive." Her face filled with relief.
"I-I mean, duh," Scott answered.
Dezmond and Damian snickered.
Lydia sits up.
"Welcome back, Lid," Damian grinned.
Lydia was about to hug him but stopped and pouted.
"I dare you to call me that again," she threatened.
Damian scoffs.
Lydia was about to greet Dezmond but stopped.
She looks away, then at the ground, fidgeting.
"Burn," Damian whispered near him.
On instinct, Damian twisted and fired a right hook.
Before it reached Damian's face, he caught it.
Then squeezed.
A few crackling of knuckles were heard.
"Ow ow ow ow," Dezmond squirmed, low-key kneeling.
"You don't want another broken arm, do yuh?"
He swatted Dezmond's hand away.
"I can't take it with you guys. What was that for?" Lydia asked.
"I don't know, ask him," Damian smirked.
Lydia looked at Dezmond again. When their eyes met, she looked away.
Silence lingered except for the environment.
A cricket sang loudly nearby.
"Alright, time for the problem," Scott finally spoke up.
"We got our ass whooped, and we lost track of whoever had the key."
"Don't worry, I got this," Damian says.
He knelt and placed his palm on the ground.
His eyes shut.
Dezmond groaned as he folded his arm.
He walked off past a few trees and bushes.
Damian opened his eyes.
"Nothing."
Scott hissed his teeth and kicked a rock.
"Oh man, I hate this," he grumbled, sitting on a rock.
"We'll spend the night here, then continue tomorrow," Damian said.
Lydia went and leaned on a tree.
She let out a deep sigh.
I wonder if Dezmond hates me?
She looked to see if Dezmond was at the tree by himself, but he wasn't.
"Hey, where's Dezmond?" she asked.
Huh?
Damian looked up.
Scott got up too.
"Don't tell me he's mad," muttered Damian.
But just then, he started feeling the metal soldier armor pulling.
"What the?"
The two looked at Damian's armor pulling toward a direction.
It was pulling soft at first, but when Damian didn't budge, it pulled harder.
Making him skid forward.
Electricity started enveloping the armor a bit.
Shocking Damian every time it had to pull harder.
"He's calling us," Scott says.
"I swear if he's fucking with me this time," Damian said.
....
It took about five minutes for them to reach Dezmond.
"What!?" Damian shouted.
But Dezmond put a finger on his lips.
"Shhhh." He then points in a clearing.
What they saw were three kids about their age sleeping.
"My, my," Damian smiles. "You are good for something."
The four walked around the bushes and circled the trio.
Dezmond in a tree.
Scott at another corner, pulling his goggle over his eye.
Damian at the same spot.
And Lydia hiding behind a tree, ready to strike.
The moon illuminated their shadows.
It stood big and bright in the sky, ready to witness what was to come.
DESTROYED CITY OF TURNBUCK
There, Kaito knelt on top of all the rubble.
He was panting like crazy.
His yellow eyes glowed in the night and flickered so softly.
He was kneeling on top of what looked like the head of a stone dragon.
Two of them at that.
But they were destroyed.
Kaito clutched a wound on his stomach.
He stood to his feet.
Then jumped off the pile of rubble, landing on the desert ground.
He was still panting.
Suddenly, a golden portal appeared in front of him.
Kaito stopped panting and stared.
Slowly, Alwich stepped out with his signature smile.
"Oh my, Kaito," Alwich says with an exaggerated gasp.
"Sorry I'm late. I was busy working on our old friend."
Alwich signaled at the portal.
Kaito looked.
Suddenly, a bald figure stepped through the portal, stretching his neck.
His face was cracked, eyes glowing yellow, with a big grin on his face.
It was Boris.
"Wassup, partner?"
He walked and dropped his hands on his shoulder.
Kaito just stared up at him.
...
"Come now, we've got a mission."
Alwich says, stepping through the portal.
Kaito brushed his hands off, then walked through.
Boris groaned.
"Oh, I forgot you're one of those..."
He then stepped through.
...
A gnawing sound could be heard among the rubble.
A mutated civilian was walking.
Dragging his broken legs across the desert.
His jaw was basically held together by a piece of skin.
He was making his way toward the portal.
His golden eyes pale and blurry.
But the portal disappeared before he was close.
He stopped, completely hopeless.
The creature just took a seat and leaned against the rubble.
End.