Chapter 11 - Facing Old Matters

09.04.1642

The Southeast Military Base

14:53

A few days have passed since the shocking information that was spread around the whole base and some people seem to get better and accept the incident. Of course, others still live in the past, or, well... at least two of them do, that's for sure. RY4N has been doing a bit better, though he surely still can't accept everything that was said to him that day. But MY4... MY4 is a lost cause. She fulfilled her duty as a Healer at the shelter, but not a single soul had seen her smile ever since that day. It was like her whole world crashed in front of her eyes. Even Officer KYR4 and LUK3 were worried every time they saw her this way, LUK3 even trying to cheer her up by making her laugh whenever he was with her, but it was in vain.

In the past days, the base wasn't so productive as it was before. Not because they are lazy or RY4N doesn't know how to lead everyone right, but they've changed their roles compared to what they were doing before. Mrs. M4EK0, the Leader of the South Base who are specialised in spying around the City of Above, has accepted for the Southeast Base to be their partners for a while. These were boring days for them, that's for sure. No action at all, only investigating the situation above.

They didn't find anything new either. Most of the things found were already known by them from the Great Leader such as the economical problem of the city, the slavery abuse of the high titles and everything regarding the black market. The patrols of the soldiers still didn't end and doesn't seem as it will end any sooner either. So far, they recorded about 461 new C born slaves which were either sold, found while they were hiding in the city or simply taken away from the people who were in debts to the soldiers for some time, and these are only confirmed by them. There could be even more than this simple number that they aren't aware about.

But something that they did find unusual was the absence of the crevaators in the City of Above. The whole area which was colonised by them somewhere in the west part of the city, was now an abandoned and ruined village. Nobody knows where they went. From what they've discovered so far, they found out that their entrance to the City of Above was now completely destroyed, removing one of the many entrances from the list. Some soldiers of the M even claimed that they simply disappeared over the night, without leaving any trace behind. But none of those two parties know what truly happened. Probably the only person who is aware of what happened to them is the one who planned this all along.

But for now, it doesn't matter, as we only see the people of the base resting, even though it won't be long until they have to wake up and begin their work. We only see a few though, like some of the soldiers having restless nights because of the whole problem with the Great Leader, such as RY4N, who couldn't really fall asleep these days that much, or MY4 who didn't even sleep during the nights because of the news, maybe thinking that He will come back.

But the room on which we are focusing now is LUK3's. Though he does seem to be able to sleep, even if it's not that peaceful sleep as before everything, that's not actually the problem we care about. More exactly, our attention is driven to his communication device, which seems to light up for some time now, giving some "beep" sounds over and over again, until LUK3 finally wakes up because of them.

He gets a bit confused since he just woke up and starts wiping his eyes to see clearly, until he takes the device in his hand to see what's going on. He is a bit sleepy though, so it takes him some time to read, yet the moment he manages to do so, he gets rather in a bad mood all of a sudden, stopping the "beep" sounds, putting the device back and getting up on his butt to wake up properly. But even so, he looks down and takes a deep breath, before he finally starts his new day.

17:24

And now that everyone woke up, LUK3 is helping N04H train as usual. He shows him some moves and tries as much as possible to stay focused on what they are doing, as it seems that something is bothering him a bit.

[LUK3]-Okay, now, try and knock down the training dummy with a kick. Do it as hard as you can.

At his command, N04H tries to kick the training dummy with his foot, yet his kick is too weak and barely moves it, almost even getting out of his balance and falling.

[LUK3]-No, no, not like that! You have to raise your foot a bit higher if you want to knock someone down!

He gets his foot a bit higher at his command once again and looks for an approval.

[N04H]-Like this?

[LUK3]-I mean, if your goal is to just tickle your opponent with your foot fingers, yeah, like that!

[N04H]-Then how!? I can't kick someone with this move even if I train the rest of the day!

[LUK3]-Ughhh....

So, seeing that N04H doesn't succeed, LUK3 finally gets up from the ground where he was sitting all along, and gets closer to N04H who was standing in front of a training dummy. He moves him a bit away and performs the move himself as an example, kicking the head of the dummy and knocking it on the ground. He places back the dummy on its initial position and looks at the recruit.

[LUK3]-Like that! You got it now?

[N04H]-Well, of course YOU can do it! You are two times taller than me!!

[LUK3]-Yeesh, such excuses... It doesn't matter your size. If you do the move as I said, the only thing you will need to focus on will be your strength. The stronger the kick, the better the chances of knocking your opponent down. Now do it again!

Then, he goes back to his seat, but he seems a bit pissed. It was no day when the recruit actually pissed him off by doing something wrong, even N04H knew that. So of course, he is unsure of what's happening with this strange man. The only thing he does while sitting is watching a bit the small guy train. He doesn't joke around or anything that is normal for his character.

But as he trains more, N04H notices how he lost LUK3's attention and how he looks with a serious face at his arm for no reason. So, of course he stops a bit and goes towards him to ask what's happening.

[N04H]-...Hey, LUK3?

[LUK3]-Hm?

[N04H]-Did I do something wrong?

He looks for a while confused at N04H though. He doesn't really understand what is he talking about at first, but as he thinks more about it, he gets why he is so concerned.

[LUK3]-...No, it's not you, buddy. Don't say that.

[N04H]-Then what's wrong?

[LUK3]-...

[N04H]-Do you... miss Him too?

[LUK3]-*sigh*...Yeah, I miss Him, but that's not what's bothering me, little guy. Sorry if I was a bit... difficult today. Let's just say I have to settle down a problem that I've confronted for years now.

[N04H]-And what's that? Maybe I can try and help you with it.

[LUK3]-Heheh... I can ensure you for one thing: you can't do anything about it.

[N04H]-Why not?

[LUK3]-Mm... just that it's simply impossible to solve it that easily. Anyway, do not bother yourself with it. Let's get back to your training for now.

[N04H]-But you look awfully... pissed about that problem. You don't seem to even pay attention to me either.

[LUK3]-Hey, who said I am pissed??

[N04H]-From your behaviour?

[LUK3]-Well, I'm not pissed! You are just imagining things!

[N04H]-It doesn't really look like it... Are you sure everything is alright?

He looks a bit at N04H at first this time actually, before taking a breath and calming himself down.

[LUK3]-...Okay, how about this? When we go out in a few moments with the group, I will go fix my problem that I'm talking about, and then come back to you guys. A-And I promise I will be back to the same guy you met the first time! You won't see this pissed person you say you see anymore!

[N04H]-You say so?

[LUK3]-Yeah! I'm not going out of my word!

[N04H]-But can't we come with you as well? Maybe we can help you with it. 'Cause from what it seems, it doesn't appear to be something small to me...

[LUK3]-No, no! You all go wherever you want in the meantime! I promise I will be quick! And don't worry! It's nothing serious! I just... want to confront it alone this time.

N04H looks at him concerned this time, but he trusts his words for now.

[N04H]-...Alright. You win.

[LUK3]-I always win, buddy! that's the first rule of the game!

[N04H]-Really? I thought that I've beaten you the first time we've met from what I recall...

[LUK3]-Nuh-uuhhh! You are straight up lying! I'm the winner of each game! You just dreamt about it!

[N04H]-Hmm, strange... 'Cause I remember I took your most powerful piece from the first moves.

[LUK3]-Nope! You lost, hehe! ...Shut up!

[N04H]-Alright, alright... Can we train now?

[LUK3]-Well, I mean, I didn't tell you to stop in the first place, god dammit!

He seems as he managed to get LUK3's lively and stupid character back for a moment, but it's not really the full character itself. It is still with that burden that he doesn't know about. So in the end, even with this jokes and all, LUK3 still seems to he obsessed of looking at his hand. From N04H's perspective, he doesn't really get why would he do that randomly. But from his perspective, the device on his hand shows him as if someone is calling, and it's not the first time either. It is most likely what woke him up in the morning, but he chooses to ignore it once again.

17:53

After the whole training, they both seem to have left the training room in order to get ready for the morning leaving around the city. N04H seems as he went to his room, yet LUK3 seems as he wanders the hallways in order to get to a different location. And for some reason, his location is Miss MY4's room.

[LUK3]-MY4?

As he opens the door to look for her, he simply sees her staring down, the same way he saw her the last time he looked for her. After all, this is how MY4 behaved in these past days since the information has spread around the whole base.

[LUK3]-...Come on, MY4. You can't live like this forever. I've promised you, He will come back!

[MY4]-...Then why didn't He come back already?

[LUK3]-You know Boss better than me, girl! He always just disappears in front of our eyes and comes back when we need Him the most! Maybe He is just busy up there! Don't just lose your hope so easily!

[MY4]-...

He sees that there is no hope in ensuring her that He is still alive out there. She has fought for His life in the past, now she can't even see Him anymore, dead or alive. As well as Officer RY4N, LUK3 knew how much they both loved each other. After all, MY4 used to tell him everything that was on her mind but didn't have the courage to tell Him as well when they were younger. She was always so embarrassed every time she was talking about Him, but she trusted him as they were best friends ever since school years. And, like her, he had his times when he needed to speak about what's on his mind too, but he doesn't find the right sentence to start with now.

[LUK3]-MY4... Look, I know it hurts and all since you two were so close to each other, but do you really think that He wanted to see you like this? No! He would've wanted you to be strong for Him, for ALL of us! You trust my word... right?

[MY4]-Mhm...

[LUK3]-Then let's stop thinking about all of these bad things about this problem that is taking the happiness of our lives! Come on! Cheer up! I wanna see the strong MY4, not the cry-baby MY4!

She looks a bit at her best friend that was standing next to her, trying to make her feel even a tiny bit better than she feels now. In the end, she gives up and does as he says.

[MY4]-...Alright. I will... try to be myself from now on.

[LUK3]-That's my little Mimi! Now stop being sad and smile!

She chuckles a bit to what he said, but seems as he doesn't really listen to that word of his himself.

[LUK3]-You know, I... actually have a small problem as well. I thought of speaking to you about it since it's something a bit personal and I want to get rid of this rock that's stuck on my heart... And since we are best friends, you were the first person that came into my thoughts. Because... you know... He is not here to help me out with it again. And until He comes back... I fear that I might have to deal with it alone.

[MY4]-Alright... Then what's the problem?

[LUK3]-Well... I got calls from him pretty often recently for a reason that I don't know. I mean, I don't mind that since he is used to calling me each month to see how am I doing and all, but it's a bit too often than I remember. And... well...

[MY4]-And...?

[LUK3]-And he... called me again this morning as well... I think it's the 30th time, I swear...

[MY4]-...And you still didn't respond?

[LUK3]-Respond for what!? It's the same story every time, he won't listen to me that easily! You already know that! He will keep it as he wants until I get mad at him and end the call with a small lie, like "Ohh, the Leader wants to see me..." or "Ohh, I have some documents to complete..."!

[MY4]-Maybe he is worried about you if he keeps calling you this often now, LUK3.

[LUK3]-I-I don't... *sigh* I don't know... I'm not sure about that... If anything, I will go and pay him a visit to end this whole conversation for once and for all. Which... brings us back to another reason of why I came to you in the first place.

[MY4]-Let me guess: you invite me out again alongside KYR4 and N04H, if possible even more people.

[LUK3]-Oh, you are a good guesser, Miss MY4! Tell me the secrets of your powers!

[MY4]-It's not like you don't invite me almost every single day to go out in our old group. Come on...

[LUK3]-Hey! I'm not asking EVERY SINGLE DAY!! You are just exaggerating now!

Even with his struggles at first try, he managed to achieve his goal: he cracked a smile on her face. If anything goes wrong when he will solve his problem, at least he knows he managed to make her smile again. So, of course... he smiles back at her.

[LUK3]-...Do you feel better now?

[MY4]-Mhm... Thank you, LUK3.

[LUK3]-But of course! I'm your best little buddy after all, am I not? And as a repayment... help me out with KYR4, please...

[MY4]-*giggles* I will try. I promise.

Then, LUK3 raises his hand, showing her his fist, only for her to raise hers and hitting their hands gently and opening their fists after, maybe some kind of friendship symbol that they've developed over the years. But before LUK3 leaves, he looks a bit at her once again.

[LUK3]-Oh, and... one more thing before I leave...

[MY4]-What is it?

[LUK3]-Can you look at my arm when we get back? I don't know why, but it started to hurt me a little.

[MY4]-*sigh* What did you do this time?