"So many memories," Tempest said as he looked up. Standing before him was the Tower of Power, one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world that housed the headquarters for the Heroes Association in L'Manberg. This tower was built by the same man who created Pandora's Vault, and it was one of his first creations. The Tower of Power had been Tempest's home when he had been a legal hero. He had spent his first days and last days as Dream's sidekick while sleeping in a room on one of the highest floors. It had been the Muffinteers floor. Tempest had neighbored George and Dream while across the hall from SapNap. He had the best food of his life in that kitchen, sitting at that dinner table with a bright smile and good friends. He snuck his first sip of alcohol in that home. It wasn't as cozy as George's house and it wasn't as filled with hope as his current apartment, but that Tower had been the first place Tommy believed was his home.

        "We'll make more good memories," Halo reassured as he placed a hand on Tempest's shoulder. It all came back to the man in a rush. His memories painted a vivid picture of him under the Egg's influence. Halo was able to remember that Tempest had been evicted from the Tower after his third strike with the Heroes Association. Halo recalled how furious SapNap was, and he could remember staying up with Dream all night as the hero sobbed and self-blamed. The next day, Halo was taken by the Egg, enraptured by the powers that the device held. That was the last time he had seen any of the Muffinteers besides on the news. Halo had planted the bomb a week before the events happening now.

        "Only if we pull this shitty plan off," Tempest said with a disappointed sigh. Tempest pulled his hood over his head, attempting to shadow his entire face. Halo did the same. They both were trying to keep a low profile as they walked into the main lobby. Tempest bit his tongue to keep from making a noise as the familiar smell washed into his nose. He could hear heroes that he had known before talking to each other carelessly. They had no idea what was happening. They didn't know that their lives were in danger. Tempest wanted to let them know, but none of them would believe an exile like him. Tempest had to prove he was trustworthy before he could expect any of them to believe he was telling the truth. There was a chance they would believe Halo, but his unexplained absence wouldn't give them any points in the trust department. No, they would need to deal with the bomb first.

        Tempest pushed the recall button beside one of the elevators. The down button began to glow a soft yellow while the red lines making up numbers decreased above the elevator doors. Tempest stared at it impatiently. His foot began to tap against the tile. To make it more interesting, he only hit the tile when he heard a conjunction from someone in the mass of heroes. Tempest felt anxiety rise in his stomach. They were going to get caught if the elevator took this long to come down. He could feel someone's stare on his back, and he heard the footsteps of someone approaching wearing heels. Tempest heard someone call out a 'hey, you!'. While he couldn't be sure who it was aimed for, Tempest grabbed Halo's hand to yank him into the elevator before the doors opened all the way. Halo muttered some muffin-based curse as Tempest turned around to see the receptionist coming towards them with furrowed eyebrows. The doors shut on her face.

        "Don't," Tempest told Halo before the man could tap a floor number. Tempest put his foot on the railing that went around the perimeter of the elevator to lift himself. Tempest slammed his palm against the latch on the ceiling. It creaked loudly as it opened. Tempest placed both arms around the edges to hoist himself onto the ceiling. He reached a hand down to Halo who stared at him like he lost his mind. Tempest sighed. "The elevator will recognize us as intruders. XD locked me out of the fucking system the moment he shoved my ass out of here. We'll have to climb up."

        "Language!" Halo gasped as he took Tempest's hand. Using his strength and Tempest's help, Halo was able to pull himself up. Tempest grabbed the rope of the elevator with a soft exhale. He pulled on the rope to test it before nodding to himself. Tempest pulled his body up, hand going one over the other as he pulled himself up the shaft. Tempest felt the vibrations run through the rope as Halo followed him up. The thick black rope dug into Tempest's skin, and he could feel the irritation begin. Tempest wanted to let go, but a fall from this height had the possibility of killing him. If it didn't kill him, he would have many broken bodily functions. Thankfully, he would be immune to the Egg. He would be stuck in a world where most people were, however. It would be a long process to cure everyone, so Tempest decided he would deal with the pain now so he could be lazy later.

        Tempest placed his feet on a little opening while pushing his weight against the rope to keep him standing. He tugged out his sword while trying not to fall. With one fluid strike, Tempest's blade went right through the crack of the outer doors of the elevator. The system didn't recognize the response and opened the door to let loose anything that had gotten stuck. Tempest jumped onto the floor as soon as the doors were open. He leaned down with his hand to grab help Halo get onto the floor as well. Halo thanked Tempest. "No problem, Big Man, just tell me where the bomb is."

        "It's in my room," Halo said as he led the way. He didn't need to since Tempest knew exactly where Halo's room was. Tempest knew this floor of the tower with such precision that he could be blindfolded and it would not mess up his day. Still, Tempest needed Halo before him to remind Tempest that it wasn't time for reminiscing. Tempest had a mission to complete. He didn't have time to deal with hiraeth.

        "What's going on?" A voice asked. Tempest blinked in surprise as he saw Totem standing there, all suited up. Tempest wished that he would have brought Hannah along so that way she could explain to her friend everything that was happening. Tempest opened his mouth to explain when he realized: Totem's normally emerald eyes were now a ruby red.

        "Aww, shit!" Tempest complained as he slid his knives out of his belt loops. He kept the knives even in front of him as Halo drew a rune in the air out of white illusion ink. Totem leaned his head to the side as lightning burst from his skin, slamming against the hallway to create an electrical cage around him. His face was completely expressionless in a way that was unsettling to Tempest. He remembered Totem being all smiles and good vibes so this was uncharacteristic. Tempest didn't know what he expected considering that the Egg was creepy.

        Totem started to walk towards them. The lightning began arcing out of the hallway onto other objects that were in the main room. Tempest ducked into the kitchen behind the island. Tempest looked around for something before he saw a toaster on the counter. Tempest reached for it. He unplugged the toaster before tossing it at Totem. Tempest knew that it wouldn't do damage to Totem. The toaster hit his stomach before falling onto the ground. Instead of the lightning bouncing around the room, it travelled through the toaster and Totem to create a closed circuit system. Totem stared down at the toaster with empty eyes before the lightning completely shut out. He lifted his hand. A vapor started to pour out of his pores into the room. A fog washed over the room thick enough that Tempest couldn't see. Luckily, his mask blocked out most of the mist that way Tempest wasn't choking on it. He knew the room well enough that way he didn't need to see anyways.

        Tempest darted back into the room. He closed his eyes to focus on smell and sound. Totem smelled like the moments right after a storm blew away. It was distinctly different from the smell of muffins that hovered around Halo, and the dusty air that the apartment smelled like. Tempest flashed his knife to the side to strike through the mist before slamming into someone's flesh. Totem didn't flinch as the knife rammed into his upper arm. He blinked at Tempest before his entire body shifted to create a fist that slammed into Tempest's stomach. He wouldn't have been that Halo if the fist wasn't charged with lightning. Tempest whimpered as he was thrown into a wall. At least he cleared most of the smoke out with his flying experience.

        Halo took the opportunity to come up behind Totem with a rune drawn in the air. His entire body spasmed in pain, but his face remained eerily unaware that his body was going through Hell. When the spasms stopped, Totem ran forwards while turning around. He threw his arm in a quarter circle from in front of him to his side. All around him, raindrops formed from the remaining clouds before crystallizing into hail. Totem pointed at Halo. All the hail shot down like bullets at Halo. The man had to quickly write a rune for fire that illuminated a small hell flame that he cradled in his hands that his main body and head were safe. A few of the shards cut into his arms and legs to cause ruptures of blood.

        While Totem was distracted, Tempest got onto his feet while holding his knives tight. When he was in close range, Tempest made two slashes on Totem's back. The Egg must have been one hell of an adrenaline boost because Totem turned around like his back and arm weren't a bloody mess. Tempest created an 'x' with his blades to block the high kick that Totem delivered. Tempest was pushed back by the force, and he released one of his knives as he went flying back. Tempest took the opportunity to grab his handgun. He shot at Totem, smiling when the bullet embedded itself in Totem's upper body. That would probably rupture a lung which would be the fatal wound Tempest needed to deliver to send Totem to Spawn.

        The sidekick had more fight in him, though. He stomped on his foot which caused a high voltage shock to wash across the floor. Tempest jumped into the air when he saw what Totem was doing, but Halo wasn't as lucky with his danger sense. Halo screamed as the electricity washed through his veins. Tempest landed on the ground once the lightning had subsided. Tempest ran with his body lowered forwards. When he was close to Totem, he prepared his fist for a punch into the gut. Totem didn't make a noise as he was thrown across the room. Totem would have landed had he not tripped over Halo's injured body. Totem started coughing up blood as he looked around the room with empty eyes. Tempest thought he saw those emeralds once more before Totem poofed. His body was now fully healed at Spawn.

        "Halo, come on," Tempest said through gritted teeth as he helped Halo onto his feet. The two of them stumbled into Halo's room where a metal box was sitting in the corner of the room over the vent. Tempest and Halo sat down right in front of it. They were bleeding onto the carpet while looking around the box for a way to shut it off. Tempest tapped against the surface. "It needs a code word to unlock. What word would you use?"

        "Skeppy?" Halo tries. The box made an error noise while the screen flashed red. "Egg?" The box made an error noise while the screen flashed red. "Cult of Red?" The box made an error noise while the screen flashed red. "Dream? Clay? Unfound? George? Aedus? SapNap? Tempest? Tommy? Muffinteers? Muffin?" The box made an error noise while the screen flashed red. Halo made an irritated noise as he slammed a fist against the box. He looked at Tempest with an apologetic look. "I don't know what it could be!"

        Tempest stared at the clock as the seconds dwindled. He tried to get inside Halo's head. What would Halo choose to be the password to a bomb that would brainwash all heroes for a mystical Egg that was controlling his every action that he didn't want anybody else to figure out? Tempest shook his head. There was no way that Halo would choose a word that wasn't one he already said. Halo wasn't exactly predictable, but he had certain patterns that he followed. Tempest saw the seconds flash to 10...

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

"Theseus," Tempest said. The box flashed a green color, and the timer stopped. Halo looked at Tempest with wide eyes. Tempest snarled underneath his mask as he turned around. Standing at the door was a ghost of the past.

        "Hello, Theseus, dear. I am so proud that you could figure out Mommy's puzzle!" Clara said with a sly smile.