Author's Preface
The team stepped out of the gate. Chris dragged Blue and Cynthia on his shield. They were both awake, but both had pushed past their limits. The team followed behind. Everyone looked like they’d been to hell and back. Cuts, bruises, blood all over their gear.
Grayson was already there. He approached Chris first and stopped right in front of him. For a moment, he didn’t speak. His eyes landed on Blue. “Oh my… what happened that put him in that condition?”
Chris looked back at Eve. Then he turned back to Grayson.
“Just an S-rank gate. That’s what happened.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Grayson said with a smile.
Aaron approached with Olivia and Arthur in tow. Grayson noticed them and gave Chris a tap on the shoulder. “My, my… you’re a sturdy one. I must get going. You’ll tell Blue I stopped by, won’t you?”
Chris nodded.
As Grayson walked away, he smiled and waved at Aaron. Olivia sneered. “What the hell is he here for?”
“I’m not sure,” Aaron said. “But he’s always around when things happen to Blue.”
Aaron stared at Grayson a little longer as he walked away. Olivia noticed Darrien’s arm and rushed to him. “Oh my God, are you okay?”
Darrien pointed to the gate. “You should see the other guys.”
Aaron approached Eve. “My God… what happened in there to make all of you look like this?” Aaron snapped his fingers. Four men rushed to Chris with stretchers and carried Blue and Cynthia off.
“Looks like you all fought hard. Must’ve been a tough boss. Thank God you’re all alright.”
Samantha looked at Aaron. “Thank Cynthia, not God. I don’t know what she did, but if not for her… we all would be dead.”
Aaron looked back at Cynthia being carried on a stretcher. “Really now? What happened to Blue, then?”
Darrien laughed. “He went a little overboard, I think. Can we stop talking now? The adrenaline’s wearing off, and my fucking arm is killing me.”
Aaron nodded. Everyone hopped into the guild vehicles and left, except for Darrien. Olivia snatched him and took him herself to the guild infirmary.
The team all lay in beds in the infirmary. Doctors and nurses used varying potions and medicine to heal what injuries they could. Chris and Darrien were put to sleep and given a drip of Nytheran potions that would cause the tissues, nerves, and muscles to grow back and reattach. It was very painful, but effective. Blue and Cynthia were watched around the clock until they both woke up. Both suffered from exhausting their energy, though Blue'scase was something else entirely. The doctors once again stared at Blue and his charts, his vitals, unable to comprehend what was happening. They tested his core, and the levels it read were normal. His heartbeat. Blood pressure. Brain. All functioned normally. Eve and Samantha refused to leave the infirmary until everyone woke up. A few days later, Cynthia woke up. Darrien and Chris had woken up the night before. Blue still lay in bed, unconscious. The doctors had no explanation and no way of fixing him.
“He’s not in a coma,” the doctor said, looking at Grayson, who stood over Blue’s bed.
“I will have doctors from D.C. here in two days’ time. Call my office if his status changes between now and then.”
Grayson walked out. Chris looked over at Eve. “That guy really makes me uncomfortable.”
Cynthia sat up. “But he seems to want to help Blue… and isn’t he like the president’s right-hand man?”
“He is,” Darrien said. “But his vibes are like that of everyone’s creepy uncle that shows up to events uninvited.”
Then Blue lifted his head. “Is he gone?”
Eve heard Blue’s voice and jumped on him, hugging him, then punched him in the arm. “You’ve been awake this whole time, you jerk?”
“Only for a minute. I pretended to be unconscious until he left. I don’t have the energy to deal with Grayson right now.”
Blue’s system pinged.
[System Notification]
[Recommended rest for recovery: 72 hours]
[Divine energy unavailable: 72 hours]
[Everything will come with time and patience.]
Blue sat up and began to meditate. His divine energy was clashing like a tsunami against his qi in his dantian. It surged violently, unstable. He cycled through his breathing techniques. Slowly, the divine energy calmed, just slightly.
No wonder it’s three days, he thought. It feels like it’s running rampant.
Blue tried to use his qi, but the moment he did, his dantian felt like it was going to explode. He clutched his abdomen. The team immediately looked over.
“Are you okay?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Blue said, forcing a breath. “Just going to take a few days to recover, I guess.”
Eve looked at him, not entirely convinced.
“Good,” she said. “We’ll get you home and I won’t let you lift a finger.”
Over the next few days, Eve stayed with Blue and his parents. She took care of everything, cleaning, cooking, and the occasional sharp reminder for Blue to sit down when he tried to do too much too soon. Mary and David mostly stayed out of the way, watching from a comfortable distance. They didn’t say anything about it. They didn’t need to. They both knew this was about more than taking care of a teammate. On the last morning of Blue’s recovery, David was up before anyone else. Eve was asleep on the couch, one arm tucked under her head, still dressed from the night before. David moved quietly through the kitchen, pulling out bacon, eggs, and the ingredients for homemade biscuits. Blue’s favorite since he was a kid.
When everything was ready, he loaded two plates and carried them upstairs. He nudged the door open with his foot. “Good morning, sunshine.”
Blue stirred, eyes still half-closed, then the smell hit him. He sat up immediately, reaching for the plate. “What’s the occasion?” Blue asked, already folding a strip of bacon into his mouth.
“Where’s Eve?”
David set his own plate down and pulled the chair from the desk. “She’s sleeping. And no occasion. Just wanted to feed you and have a man-to-man talk.”
Blue slowed his chewing slightly. “These seem to be happening more recently.”
“They do, don’t they?” David laughed quietly. He set his plate down. “I’m not sure how to put this, so I’ll just come out and say it.” He looked at Blue directly. “I think you should move out.”
Blue dropped his bacon. “Not this again, Dad.”
“No, listen to me.” David leaned forward slightly, elbows on his knees. “First. Eve has been here for three days. She’s cooked, she’s cleaned, she’s barely slept. Are you really that blind? You are never going to get a woman like that while you’re still living with your mom and dad.”
Blue opened his mouth. David kept going.
“Second. I can handle seeing you hurt. I know what you do out there is dangerous. I’ve made my peace with that.” He paused, his voice dropping slightly. “But your mom is a different story. The look on her face when you come home like that…” He was quiet for a moment. “It reminds me of the days when I was in Iraq. Video calling her from base. Watching her try to hold it together on the other side of the screen.” He shook his head once. “That’s not your fault. None of this is. But if you have your own place, she doesn’t have to see it every time. At least not like this.”
Blue said nothing. He thought to himself. I hadn’t thought about that. Not once. I've been so focused on gates and guilds and the pendant, I hadn’t stopped to consider what it looked like from mom's side, watching her son come home bruised and bleeding every other week, after already losing him for over a year.
He set his plate down on the nightstand and looked at David. “I’ve got a few weeks before the ranker competition,” he said quietly. “Help me find a place. I don’t want to live in the barracks.”
David laughed. “I don’t blame you. I hated the barracks too.”
After that, neither of them said much. They finished their breakfast, turned on the TV, and sat together in the kind of comfortable silence that doesn’t need to be filled.
That evening, Eve was in the kitchen with Mary, the two of them moving around each other. The smell of whatever they were cooking had already reached the living room. Then came a knock at the door. Blue headed downstairs and pulled it open. Darrien walked straight past him without a word, nose already in the air.
“Oh.” He turned toward the kitchen. “Smells good, Eve. What are we having?”
Chris followed, both hands raised before anyone could say anything. “I’m sorry. He’s still not house trained.”
David laughed from the couch. “What brings you two by?” David asked, glancing between them. “Fair warning. I’m out of beer.”
“Guildmaster needs to meet with the team,” Chris said. “So we’re here to collect you two.”
Mary appeared in the kitchen doorway, dish towel in hand, eyes already on Blue. “Are you sure you’re feeling well enough?”
“Yes, Mom. I’m fine.”
He looked at her for a moment, then glanced back at David. He saw it now... exactly what his dad had been talking about that morning. The look on her face. The way she watched him. He filed it away without a word.
Eve was already untying her apron. “I’m so sorry, we’ll be back later, I promise.” She set the knife down on the counter and smiled at Mary. “I’ll bring back dessert.”
The team filed into Aaron’s office. Samantha and Cynthia were already there. Samantha had claimed the most comfortable chair in the room and was sprawled across it with the energy of someone who had already decided this meeting was taking too long.
Aaron stood as they came in. “How are you feeling, Blue?”
“Good,” Blue said. “Ready to get back to it.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” Aaron moved around to the front of his desk. “Because that’s exactly what’s about to happen. We have three weeks until the competition. No gates. No Association assignments. Nothing.” He looked around the room. “You train. That’s it. If you want to form your own guild, this is how you do it.” He let that land for a second. “As you all know, the number one team is German. Three S-rankers. The rest of the field isn’t much easier. So here’s how the next three weeks look.”
He went through the list without rushing. Eve would train with Yuki, a transfer from Japan, S-rank spirit user. Darrien with Olivia. Cynthia with Terrance. Samantha with Arthur.
"Chris." Aaron paused slightly. “I got Titus to agree to train you.”
Chris said nothing, just smiled and nodded.
“And Blue.” Aaron looked at him last. A slow grin crossed his face. “You’re with me.”
Blue glanced around the room. Everyone else looked at least reasonably satisfied with what they’d been handed. He looked back at Aaron.
"Why do I always get the lunatics?"