Chapter 15 - Debrief

Aaron, Grayson and Eve stood where the gate once had been. Eight hours and none of them had left. They had barely moved from the spots they stood when Blue first entered. The space where the gate stood, was now empty. A patch of earth, dry and barren. Then the air distorted, the space where the gate was before folded in on itself.

Aaron's head snapped up. "What the hell?" The space tore open and a gate, blue in color appeared.

Aaron's eyes widened. "...No way. This kid, I swear."

Grayson let out a low laugh, unable to hide his amusement of the situation. Eve said nothing, she let out a deep breath, as if she'd been holding her breath for hours.

After the gate stilled, and the area around it became stable, Blue stepped through. The moment his feet touched back on Earth he paused and scanned the area. Titus was gone, only Aaron, Eve and Grayson remained. Each of them wore a different expression. Shock, amusement and relief.

Eve moved first. She crossed the distance and wrapped her arms around Blue's neck without hesitation. "Holy shit." She said as she pulled back slightly and examined Blue up and down. "Pardon my French, but you fucking did it!"

Blue exhaled, steadying himself. "Yeah... I did."

Before anything else could be said, a man from the Association appeared from a vehicle. He had been waiting the entire time. He approached Blue. "Blue, congratulations." He shook his hand. "You are to report to the Association tomorrow at noon for a debrief. Please refrain from discussing anything that occured inside the gate until then." The man turned and walked away without another word, he got in the backseat of the car. As the car pulled away, everyone stared at it. Grayson let out a small chuckle. "Seems like trouble." Grayson put a hand on Blue's shoulder. "Would you like my help again, young man?"

Blue didn't even look at Grayson, he watched the car pull off. Anger was clearly written on his face. "I think you've helped enough... for now."

Aaron stepped forward and slapped Blue on the back. "How about I treat you to dinner?"

Blue shook his head, his gaze now fixed on the ground. "I just want to go home and relax." He glanced at Eve. "I'm sorry, I'll come find you after the debrief tomorrow." Just like that Blue walked away. No joy, or excitement of what he just accomplished. He simply walked away leaving the three of them staring at each other, confused.

Aaron finally looked at Eve as Blue disappeared into the distance. "Doesn't he realize what he just accomplished?"

Grayson stepped forward, still staring in the direction Blue just was visible. “It seems he realized something else entirely.” A brief pause. “That someone put him in that situation on purpose.” He adjusted his sleeve, already turning away. “Now, if you’ll excuse me… I have somewhere to be.”

Grayson made his way through the lobby of the Association. It was nearly nine at night. At this hour, the building was empty. All but one office. Titus’ light was still on. Grayson didn’t knock. He let himself in. Titus didn’t look up. “Are you mourning,” Grayson said casually, “or celebrating?”

“Cut the shit,” Titus replied flatly. Grayson smiled faintly, stepping further into the room. “What are we to do with him now?” he asked. “He just cleared an S-rank gate. By himself, no less.”

Titus leaned back in his chair, letting out a slow breath. “I’m not sure,” he said. “We can’t very well give him S-rank… but we can’t deny him ranker status either.” A pause. “How the hell did he even manage to clear it in the first place?”

Grayson’s eyes narrowed slightly, interest flickering behind them. “I’m curious about that as well,” he said. “Which is why I’ll be attending the debrief tomorrow.” He took another step forward. “If I may offer a suggestion…” Titus didn’t respond, but he didn’t stop him either. “Give him A-rank,” Grayson continued, “and place him as a provisional ranker. Known only to the Association.” A faint smile touched his lips. “To the public, and the guilds, he’s just another A-rank. For now. Until we can ascertain who this young man really is.”

That got Titus’ attention. His eyes finally lifted. “I appreciate your input,” Titus said slowly. “But this is my jurisdiction.” He leaned forward slightly. “I’ll handle it.”

Grayson chuckled under his breath. “So touchy.” He turned, already heading for the door. “It would be best if we worked together, Titus… instead of always being at odds.” He paused just long enough to glance back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then he left.

The next morning a sharp knock hit the front door. “BLUE!” Mary called from downstairs. “The suits are back again!” She opened the door just enough to see them, then gave the men a hard look. “He’ll be right down.” One of them started to speak and Mary slammed the door in his face. She turned toward David, shaking her head. “This is maddening. Who do they think they are?”

Blue stepped into the room. “It’s okay, Mom,” he said. “They’re just from the Association. They’re here to give me a ride, that’s all.”

“That’s all, huh?” Mary muttered. She sat back down on the couch, picking up her ball of thread and crochet needles. “If you say so, sweetheart.”

Blue didn’t argue. He just headed for the door. Outside, the men were already waiting. He followed them to the SUV without a word. The ride was silent. Blue sat back, tension sitting heavy in his chest. He had spent the entire night going over what to say, what he needed to tell them… and what he couldn’t. He couldn’t lie. But he couldn’t tell the full truth either. The SUV slowed to a stop. Blue frowned slightly as he looked out the window. This wasn’t the Association. It was a rundown house on the outskirts of town.

“…This isn’t-” he started.

“We know, sir,” one of the men said. “For reasons unknown to us, the Association Leader changed the debriefing location last minute.”

That didn’t help. Blue stepped out anyway. Inside, you could feel the tension, no one who sat in the room looked pleased. Titus was already there. So was Aaron. Along with a few S-rank awakeners from the Association, scattered throughout the room. “Thank you for coming, Blue,” Titus said. Blue gave a small nod, taking everything in.

Then the door opened. Grayson stepped inside like he belonged there. Titus’ jaw tightened, just for a moment. Behind him, the two S-rankers exchanged a quick look, both of them going still. One of them glanced at Titus. Not confusion. Something closer to alarm. “Glad I made it in time.” Grayson smiled.

“…Son of a bitch.” Titus muttered under his breath. His eyes flicked, just for a second, around the room. Aaron’s expression shifted slightly, the smallest tension settling in his face. Grayson glanced around, completely at ease. “Have we started yet?” A faint smile crossed his face. “Oh and I’ve got coffee and donuts on the way. I skipped breakfast this morning. Hope ya don't mind.”

Grayson grabbed a chair and dragged it over, placing it right next to Titus, close enough that their shoulders nearly touched, then turned it to face Blue. He sat. Titus didn’t even look at him. He simply shifted his leg and shoved. The chair scraped hard across the floor, sliding back several feet with Grayson still in it. Grayson steadied himself, then frowned. “…So childish.” He brushed off his sleeve, glanced back at Titus. “I thought our conversation last night moved us past this.”

Titus didn’t respond. Blue looked between the two of them. Titus looked… irritated. Grayson... was smiling. “Blue,” Titus said, his voice cutting through the room, “tell us exactly what happened inside the gate.”

Blue nodded once. “It wasn’t anything like the document described,” he said. “No minotaurs. No hybrid beasts.” He paused briefly, choosing his words. “It was… desolate. A wasteland. Gray. Everything smelled like rot.” A few of the S-rankers shifted slightly. “Undead,” Blue continued. “Ghouls. Dog-like creatures. Some kind of flying things... bats, maybe. There was one boss.”

Titus’ eyes narrowed slightly. “What kind?”

“Some kind of necromancer,” Blue said. “Or a lich. I’m not entirely sure.” He shrugged faintly. “But it controlled everything. The ghouls, the beasts… all of it. Its attacks weren’t flashy, more like… debuffs. Paralysis. Something close to poison. Fast, hard to react to.” He let that sit for a second. “I got lucky though, it started casting something big,” Blue said. “Took time to chant. Left itself open so I closed the distance and cut it down before it finished.”

Grayson’s eyes lit up slightly. “You make it sound easy.”

Blue shook his head. “It wasn’t.” He shifted his weight, still standing calm but firm. “I spent hours fighting through those things alone. They didn’t stop. Didn’t hesitate. Only killing blows to the head or neck worked. Anything else…” he trailed off slightly, “…they just kept coming.” Two of the S-rankers exchanged quiet looks.

“Like I said,” Blue continued, “I got lucky with the boss. It summoned armored ghouls, dropped its guard while casting something big…” He met Titus’ eyes. “I took the opening. It was exhausting. Way more difficult than what I expected from an A-rank gate.” He watched Titus carefully. Nothing. Titus didn’t flinch.

“Well,” Titus said finally, his tone even, “you handled yourself well, Blue.” He folded his hands on the desk. “I’ll have my staff look into why the gate didn’t match the documentation. Most likely a clerical error.”

Blue let out a quiet breath through his nose. “Clerical errors seem to happen a lot around here, sir.”

Titus’ grip tightened slightly on the arm of his chair. Before he could respond... Grayson spoke. “We are only human, Blue,” he said lightly. “Mistakes happen.” A faint smile crept across his face. “If they didn’t…” He leaned back slightly. “…we would be gods... Isn’t that right?”

Blue held his gaze for a moment. “…I suppose.”

Aaron stood abruptly. His chair scraped loudly against the floor as he pushed it back. “Unbelievable…” He didn’t wait for a response. He just walked out. Silence lingered.

Titus cleared his throat. “Blue, we’ve come to a decision.” Titus glanced at Grayson who was smiling. "You will be granted A-rank status. However," Titus continued, “given that the gate you cleared did not match the one assigned… it’s possible it was of a lower classification than standard ranker exams.”

Blue’s expression didn’t change, but something in his eyes did. “For that reason... we will not be issuing you ranker status at this time.”

“Oh my,” Grayson said softly.

Titus ignored him. “You may report to the Association tomorrow to receive your updated identification. You’ll also be entitled to increased payouts for materials and gate clears.” He extended his hand. “Congratulations.” Blue stared at it his hand for too long. "What the hell does he mean lower classification… Is he serious?" Blue didn’t take the hand. He simply nodded and then turned and walked out.

The moment his foot hit the sidewalk he exhaled hard. “What the fuck…” Aaron was already there, leaned against the wall, a cigarette between his fingers. “That’s what I’m saying,” Aaron muttered. He held the pack out. “Want one?”

Blue hesitated. “I don’t really smoke…”

Aaron chuckled. "Me either, but right now i do before I say something that gets both of us killed.” Aaron let out a short laugh. “So what’d they say?”

Blue took a breath. “A-rank. Said the gate was probably lower than what they use for ranker exams.”

Aaron blinked. “…He said that?”

Blue nodded. “Yeah. Why?”

Aaron looked off for a second, then shook his head. “…No reason." Aaron took a puff of his cigarette and blew the smoke towards the sky. "Well, at least now you can run gates with Eve’s team.” He glanced back down at him. “How about that dinner?”

Blue looked at him, still trying to piece everything together. Then sighed. “…Yeah. Sure.”

Back inside, Grayson stood, adjusting his sleeve as he made his way toward the door. He paused. Turned slightly. “You sly dog,” he said, a faint grin forming. “Didn’t think you had it in you.” He let the words hang for a moment, then left.

Titus leaned toward one of the S-rankers. The man stepped closer. Titus spoke quietly. Too quiet for anyone else to hear. The ranker’s eyebrows lifted. “…Really?” A beat. “Are you sure?” Titus didn’t answer, he simply nodded. “…Understood.” The ranker straightened and vanished. Titus leaned back in his chair, eyes settling forward. He glanced at the remaining S-ranker. “Well,” he said calmly. “That went smoothly, didn’t it?”