(There has been a time skip between this chapter and the last one. All will be explained later since I don't want to dump exposition and details down someone's throat. All at it's own time. Patience is key. So yeah however long ago that Osamu met Jin before meeting Yuma. Pretend that long ago happened)

(Skeppy's PoV: yes I am changing it)

"Damn we're still low on food supplies. I should ask for a raise," I complained.

"You only had that job for a week since you got fired from your last one," Niki muttered.

"Ok it wasn't my fault. That f*cking Karen thought that it would be a good idea to slap herself and pin the blame on me. I could have gotten arrested and lose my...," I lowered my voice, "lose my position at BORDER."

"That's true and if the security cameras haven't caught it, you would have been in trouble. Thankfully you got another job after being fired," Niki sighed.

"Thankfully!" I huffed.

Niki and I went grocery shopping and were walking back to our apartment.

We walked past a school where a group of students were hanging around there, talking.

"Hey, doesn't that kid look familiar?" Niki asked, pointing to one of them.

"He does...hey it's that same kid with the glasses. Umm what was his name again?" I asked.

I remember his face but not his name.

"Four-Eyes, this doesn't concern you. This is between us and the shortie," one of the boys said.

The glasses boy seemed to glare at the speaker while the smaller of all of the boys just looked at his surroundings with an aura of confusion.

Like he was unsure of what the glasses boy would do and say.

His red eyes locked upon mine and I realized that I was staring.

I looked away and sped walked away from the boys.

"Hey Skeppy wait up!" Niki called out.

"Did you see how the small one was looking at me? Like he was analyzing me. It's creepy as hell!" I exclaimed.

"Well maybe because you were staring at their group. It would be a weird if a stranger would be looking at you for a long time," Niki noted.

"Well true but I just have a bad feeling. Let's just leave our bags in the apartment and see what those boys are up to because the three boys, not counting the glasses and small one, they smell like trouble," I explained.

"That's a weird way of putting it but I agree. Besides, we haven't seen anyone from BORDER in the outside yet. Maybe he finally joined like us," Niki noted.

"Maybe...," I said.

We went back to our apartment where Tubbo was laying on the floor, reading something.

Or it seem liked he was reading something.

"Oh you guys are back?" He asked, sitting up and tossing the comic onto the table.

"Kind of. We're just here to drop off the bags and we're going back to see something that we missed," Niki explained.

"Can I come with?"

"No."

"What! Come on, I'm cooped up here most of the time, I can't get a job due to my age and I don't go to school. Can I at least join you?" Tubbo asked.

I felt bad for him.

Most of us got part time jobs except Tubbo. Probably because of Japan's 'You can't get a job while in school' even though Tubbo isn't even in school but he looks school age (being seventeen and all).

Of course, we wouldn't leave him cooped up bored so we got enough money to get a small gaming console and two long games.

Tubbo doesn't get bored easily but it seems like he is now tired to staying inside all day until we go to the headquarters for training and stuff.

"Sorry Tubs, maybe next time. It'll be a quick look around and done. Maybe tomorrow, we'll take you to where Puffy works," Niki assured him.

Tubbo folded his arms, thinking.

He sighed, "Fine."

Niki and I left the shopping bags and walked out of the apartment to go back where the boys were.

"I feel bad for Tubbo. Poor guy, he's stuck in there for hours on end," I said.

"Maybe we should find something that he can do. Maybe have him get to know the city so he can go on walks whenever he's feeling restless inside," Niki suggested.

"Maybe give him chores to do and give him allowance so he can go out and buy things," I added on.

"He is still just a kid. He's not eighteen quite yet," Niki said.

"We'll figure it out. Until then, where the hell did those boys go!" I shouted, giving us some weird looks by bystanders.

"Skeppy, keep your voice down!" Niki snapped.

"Sorry," I muttered.

We walked around to where we thought that boys would be.

We turned a corner to see a place where you can't enter because it's a place where Neighbors can show up.

"Don't tell me they went in there!?" Niki groaned.

"If they did, we should go and check to see if they aren't in any danger!" I said and went over the chain, Niki following me.

They weren't in any immediate danger, but we saw the glasses boy getting a punch in the face by one of the three boys.

What the hell? I thought.

"Do you know where we even are? We can't be here! A Neighbor can come in any second!" The glasses boy said.

"Can it Four-Eyes. We know, we're not stupid. Don't worry about a thing. No Neighbor will come through," one of the boys said as he kicked the glasses boy in the stomach.

"Besides you decided to mess with us when we only wanted to talk to the shortie," the second one said.

"Oiii, your friend is getting beat up. Aren't you going to do anything?" The third boy asked.

"He's not my friend. He brought this upon himself," the smallest boy said.

"Sheesh, that's cold," the second one said.

"The shortie is cruel," the third one said.

The glasses boy was on his knees, coughing and clutching onto his stomach.

"..."

"Why...?" I could have sworn that I heard the smallest boy say that.

I couldn't stand there and just look on! I had to do something.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be here!" I called out.

The boys jumped and turned to face us.

"Hey, I saw you walk by the school. Are you stalkers?" One of the boys asked.

"No. Hey, why are you beating this boy up? And also, you're not supposed to be here. It's not safe," Niki said.

"We told him! No Neighbor is going to pass through!" The second boy said.

"You don't know that!" I snapped.

Are they stupid or what? I thought angrily.

"Now then," the first boy turned his back on Niki and I, grabbed a beam and glared at the smallest boy.

"Our beef isn't with Four-Eyes. It's with you. Come forward shortie," he said.

"Ok." The smallest boy stepped forward, completely unfazed.

What the hell is he doing! Those boys are going to hurt him! I thought and stepped forward.

"You're going to regret the day you messed with us!" The first boy swung down but the smallest boy blocked the attack and kicked the boy forward.

...

"What the...," Niki said, her eyes widen with shock.

I knew something was up with this boy! He may not look like it but he is definitely a fighter.

"Hmm? Well then...guess it's my turn now," the smallest boy said and tossed the beam to his side.

...

"What? Don't tell me," the boy's eyes narrowed, "that you lost your meta."

"Why you! Get him!" The first boy shouted but then a loud siren noise started.

It echoed through the area. Loud and clear.

GATE ACTIVITY

NEIGHBOR APPEARING INSIDE OF THE FORBIDDEN AREA

A purple portal appeared from the sky and a large bug like creature appeared out of it.

"Huh, a Bamster," the smallest boy noted.

"It's a Neighbor!" The glasses boy cried.

The group of boys scattered away in order to escape from the Neighbor.

"Holy sh*t! This is the real thing!" I cried.

We only have seen Neighbors in simulators and only Bad has seen the real thing when we arrived. This is bad! I thought.

"Skeppy! We have to go!" Niki shouted.

"R-right!" We turned to run away but stopped when we saw one of the boys being picked up by the Neighbor.

Oh no! It's got him! I thought.

"Oh well. Come on Four-Eyes before it spots us," the smallest boy said.

"I can't just leave them behind!" The glasses boy said.

"They deserve it don't they? Why would you save them?" The smallest boy asked.

"Because...," the glasses boy held something up in his hands.

"No way," Niki said.

"Is that?" I asked.

"It's the right thing to do! Trigger On!"

A flash of white surrounded the boy and a white uniform appeared on the boy.

"Raygust!" A shield like weapon appeared and the boy jumped up to attack the Neighbor.

He managed to get a hit down which caused the other boy to fall from the Neighbor's mouth to a mattress.

His friends went over to help him up.

My fingers twitched as the glasses boy attempted a feeble attack on the Neighbor.

I couldn't let him get super hurt. I had to do something.

"Niki...let's keep this between us and don't tell Bad," I said.

"Wait Skeppy. You're not planning on...Skeppy!" Niki called out but I already ran towards the Neighbor.

I pulled out my Trigger from my sweater pocket.

"Trigger On!" I shouted and a white light appeared around me and I emerged wearing a white uniform.

"Scorpion!" A white blade appeared on my hands and I jumped up to slash at the Neighbor.

Didn't quite work since my Trigger was weak and it didn't pierce at the Neighbor's armor.

"F*ck!" I yelled and I got thrown at some shed alongside the glasses boy.

"Damn! That didn't quite work," I muttered.

Just then, there was a voice.

"Trigger on."

At the corner of my eye, I saw the same smallest boy but he seemed to be wearing a black jumpsuit like armor.

"Bound!" The boy was send flying towards the Neighbor and kicked it.

"Boost Double!" The boy shouted and spun in the air to punch the Neighbor.

It got destroyed and the boy appeared from the rubble and smoke, unharmed.

The jumpsuit disappeared, returning to the boy wearing a school uniform.

"You alright, Four-Eyes?" The boy asked.

The glasses boy stayed silent for a while before pushing his glasses up.

"My name isn't Four-Eyes. It's Osamu Mikumo," he said.

"Ok Osamu!" The boy said, cheerfully.

Finally I have a name to refer to him other than the glasses boy, I thought and sighed.

"Trigger off," I muttered and my uniform disappeared, leaving me in my blue sweater.

"Skeppy!" Niki yelled as she ran up to me.

"What the hell were you thinking!? You know we're not quite strong enough," Niki scolded.

"I know I know. Don't tell Bad, please! You know how he gets," I begged.

Niki rolled her eyes before turning to the boys.

"Please excuse my friend's stupidity. Just glad the two of you are safe," she said.

"Are the others ok?" Osamu asked and Niki nodded.

"They got away safely," she assured him.

Osamu then turned to the boy.

"So Yuma. Are you from BORDER?" He asked.

Yuma shook his head.

"Nope! This is technically my dad's Trigger. He's dead though. 'When I die, go to Japan' is what he always said," he explained.

"So is your dad the one in BORDER then?" I asked, getting up.

"No he says that he has a friend in BORDER though. He's not involved," Yuma said, making a duck face and quickly waving his hand around.

"But only BORDER agents are the ones who have Triggers. Regular citizens can't have them," Osamu said in shock.

"That rule applies to this world only," Yuma said.

"Wait what do you mean?" Niki asked.

"I came from the Gate," Yuma started.

The Gate? Like us or..., I thought.

"I'm what you would call...A Neighbor," Yuma finished.

!

WHAT THE F*CK!!!!!!

A/N: action time! Sorry if that small fight scene fell flat.

Some dialogue and scenes will be from memory but I will go back and re watch the episodes. Most will be accurate while some may not.

Cya in the next one -Flare