The Outside World

21:01

Some time later, CHE5TER managed to take His equipment needed for the outside, as well as informing all the others that He will have a small trip outside the Great Walls with the stranger, while the boy simply stood hidden from everyone else and waited for the ruler to be done.

And when He was done, they found themselves going towards the Great Walls first, exiting the cities and their area while trying to not be seen on the cameras while being invisible, and then took the vehicle borrowed for the base from the EZR4H Clan and headed towards the location of the ore. Or... more exactly towards the corpse where He found the ore. The boy sure doesn't like to travel with vehicles from the expression it has though...

But another problem they had is that even if the ruler brought the map with Him to help Himself with it, He still doesn't know the exact location. He just goes forward as He did with His team last time and when He thinks the kilometers are reached, He stops the vehicle and travels around by foot. And there they are. After a long road of stopping to set the devices for Him to know the way back and forever looking around and asking the stranger if it recognises anything, He stops to set the last device and then look at the map properly without moving.

[CHE5TER]-...Do you recognise anything now?

[General]-Umm... I'm not sure...

[CHE5TER]-You told me that two times already, General. Are you sure you can recognise any road you've seen?

[General]-Yes, I'm sure of it! God dammit, Seven! Just trust me!

[CHE5TER]-Oh, dear Heaven...

He was making the last adjustments at the device in the meantime, finally getting it done and getting up from the sand to take a look at the view and start to analyse the map.

[CHE5TER]-...General, I swear, if we lose the way back to my cities, I'm going to kill you right here. Everything seems to be the same to me.

[General]-Well, how did you find the ore then? And how do you know that we are going the right way?

[CHE5TER]-Because I'm not using the environment as landmarks, but orientation. We took the same road and direction I had with my people, and we should've gotten to the same distance if I calculated it right again.

[General]-*sigh* Even so, you can get pretty easily lost by doing something like this. Landmarks coming from the environment itself help you better. If you lost your direction, you can always use the familiar view to help you.

[CHE5TER]-You are used to your techniques, I'm used to mine.

[General]-Alright, alright... I was just saying...

The ruler continues to examine the map in order to make sure they are heading the right way. But even the boy got a bit curious and got closer to look around it.

[General]-...Soo, what do you have there?

[CHE5TER]-A map?

[General]-To mark what exactly? You said you don't use the environment's landmarks.

[CHE5TER]-No, but I made some notes on it to know how to reach our destination again from my last visit to the outside. Though it technically had its own notes for it...

[General]-Like?

[CHE5TER]-Well, I wrote on it some distances I have to take, as well as what happened last time. But the map itself has a weird sign as its destination which I couldn't really find what's behind it. We thought it is a rock or a hills form and should look for it, but in vain.

[General]-Weird sign? What's it about?

[CHE5TER]-You tell me...

So, the boy begins to look around the map too, noticing the strange combination of the colours, the notes made by the ruler... but also a sign that seems to have put the outsider in shock.

[General]-...H-Hey, that's my people's seal!

...And it sure shocked the ruler too.

[CHE5TER]-...W-What do you mean your people's seal?

[General]-I mean that we use this seal to represent our village! L-Look!

The outsider then reveals the same sign on a part of its weird clothes, its seal carved on these clothes, hidden from the naked eye behind the long clothes similar to those of a crevaator.

[CHE5TER]-...T-That's y-your people's seal?

[General]-Yes, it is!! What is w... Where did you get this map from??

But the ruler doesn't seem to respond. Instead, He looks so shocked at the young boy that stands in front of Him, breathing so heavily as if He remains without air, all because of some new information He wasn't aware of and most likely just put Him in horror to know that something isn't right about this map at all.

[General]-...Seven? Hey, Seven! Say something, man!

But no response. So, the boy starts shacking Him a bit to wake Him up to reality, calling His name for some seconds, before finally managing to get the ruler back on the ground.

[General]-Seven!

[CHE5TER]-...H-Huh?

[General]-Are you alright, buddy? What's happening?

[CHE5TER]-...O-Oh, y-yes, I'm alright.

[General]-Where did you get this map from? How come you aren't aware of my village, nor I was about your cities, but you have a map with the seal of my people?

[CHE5TER]-M-My father gave it to me after He died...

[General]-Hm? Your father?

[CHE5TER]-...Tell me, please! Do you know anything about the name "LENKOV"??

[General]-"LENKOV"? I mean, more than knowing you, I don't really... I've never met anybody by the name of LENKOV until you, nor did my village had a man by that name. Why? Why are you asking?

[CHE5TER]-...

But He doesn't respond once again. It sure brought Him even more questions than before, and it sure annoys Him.

[CHE5TER]-...But how was He aware of your village? Of your people?? Are you sure you don't know anybody by that name??

[General]-Umm... Yeah, I'm pretty sure... I mean, I don't say I know ALL the people in my village, but I know most of them and I don't recall anybody by that name. Maybe it was a person that I didn't know about.

[CHE5TER]-...Could the first LENKOV be a citizen of your village?

[General]-I... guess...?

[CHE5TER]-If that's true, then I will find my answers when we arrive at your home... I can't believe! My ancestors aren't from my cities! W-We are outsiders!!

[General]-You mean that you are one of my siblings too? Hard to say that though... But why are you so sure of it?

[CHE5TER]-Then explain to me: how was He aware of your people!?

[General]-I don't know! Maybe he just... knew...

[CHE5TER]-Oh, now we have to get quicker to your village, General! I have questions to ask your people!

[General]-Sure then... I guess my master was the one perfect for you. He somehow knew all the answers... *sigh* What a pity that he died.

21:47

They've walked for a while now to find the location of the corpse that CHE5TER wants to show, though He sure is curious of the truth now. The boy starts to have some doubts about ruler's orientation after a while though, but it continues to follow Him.

[General]-So... Are we getting close to the location, Seven?

[CHE5TER]-We should be... We've walked for some time now and we got pretty far away from the device from what I see.

[General]-Pffft, orientation in my ass... Just admit it, buddy! We are lost!

[CHE5TER]-We aren't lost yet! We still have the device that will lead us back! We simply just don't find what we need!

[General]-Yeah, right... Okay then, Mr. "Explorer", tell me what the fuck are we trying to find?

[CHE5TER]-There has to be a cave somewhere here in which we find the previous location of the ore! Just shut up and walk!

[General]-Man, you tell me that you want to get rid of me as soon as possible to get back to your work, but I all see is that you are the one who loses time just because of stupidity alone! If you did as I said and had some environmental landmarks, we would've found that cave in no time!

[CHE5TER]-Well, maybe I wasn't taught to explore this way, General! I don't know who taught you these craps, but I've learnt from survival itself!

[General]-Survival? You call that "survival"? You have two big cities out there, both protected by the creatures of these lands, and you tell me about "survival"? Oh, boy, you sure will have to change that mindset of yours when we arrive where I want...

[CHE5TER]-Okay then! Instead of criticising my work, why don't you help me out!? Do something instead of letting me try and find the answers alone!

[General]-Well, I would've done something if I recognised where I am! God dammit, Seven! You probably just try and get rid of me here, in the wilderness, and then leave to go back home!

[CHE5TER]-You told me you can find a way back wherever you are just by landmarks! How exactly do you think I can get rid of y--

[General]- --Wait, shut up for a bit...

[CHE5TER]-What do even me--

[General]- --Just shut up, man!

Something strange happens to the boy's expression, as if it senses something familiar. At the outsider's command, the ruler shuts His mouth a bit pissed, but continues to observes the boy that seems a bit perplexed, looking around the area.

[CHE5TER]-...What? What is it?

[General]-Something feels familiar, but I can't really understand what...

[CHE5TER]-So you mean that you recognise the road?

[General]-I think so... I mean, I don't recognise any landmark, but I feel like I've been here before.

[CHE5TER]-So? Where are we heading?

The boy stops from walking, then looks around again, before starting to run all of a sudden towards a random direction, making the ruler follow. It does run for a bit, climbing up a hill of sand and looking into the horizon. When reaching the top though, it gets perplexed again and even a bit disappointed. It is nothing where it looks at, just sand and other hills. The ruler finally catches up, looks around and then looks back at the stranger again.

[CHE5TER]-...Did we get on the road back to your home? What's with all the running?

[General]-I-I don't understand... I don't recognise this area at all, yet I feel like I've been here before!

[CHE5TER]-Maybe you've confused it with a different road?

[General]-Impossible! I've never done such a thing before!

[CHE5TER]-Well, you just did it now...

They look a bit at the horizon once again, with the boy being a bit sad, but getting into its character back.

[General]-Say... What did you say you wanted us to find?

[CHE5TER]-A cave. Last time I found it, it was buried in sand and I have fallen into one of its unstable areas by accident.

[General]-Then why didn't you say that before, buddy? We've walked past an unstable area a few steps ago. You sure don't know anything about survival in the wilderness...

[CHE5TER]-What!? And why didn't you say anything!?

[General]-I thought it didn't matter to you! Now, let's go! Back where we came from!

The ruler seems a bit pissed since the boy didn't help Him at all until now, but He does as it commanded and started to go down the hill. But before the outsider does the same, it looks again into the horizon, battling a sad thought, before saying its last words and starting following the Great Leader again.

[General]-...I'm coming home, my dear siblings. Wherever you are. I promise.