Stars shone as sugar spilt over black marble, glistening in the sun. The night sky was such a welcome sight, appearing like magic at each sunset, promising to return as she faded in dawn's first light. There were times in the daytime, under skies of blue, Nina would think of those faraway stars and how they'd return after the shadows blended into the dark. This was one of such moments. 

The press conference had been over some time ago. Yet there she was, sipping vintage wine alone under the light of the millions of stars. She was thinking about the man she thought she apparently knew the more than anyone else, yet no matter how hard she tried to look for hidden desire behind his actions, she just couldn't find any. First, it was Nicole and now the sudden announcement for retirement. She was confused more than ever. 

She knew the people who had been blaming Arnold were going to get silenced by his actions. The best part? Arnold gave them exactly what they wanted yet they were the ones who couldn't accept his decision. 

Why? Because they knew if in future another similar situation arose like a monster even deadlier than Tiamut, they would've next to no chance of making it alive. Not with how the Warriors have been dealing with monsters until now. Besides, having Arnold around was like having a walking life insurance, like having a giant, green hulking monster as your bodyguard. But with him out of the picture, there was no way for them to reassure themselves for their safety. Arnold was something special and she wasn't afraid to admit that. 

Soon after Arnold's announcement, all hell broke loose. As expected. It took the people a few minutes to realize what had just happened. By the time, they came to their senses, Arnold had already walked off the stage and disappeared in thin air.

Nathan's surprised face told them that even he didn't have any idea about his plan. All of them there, from the members of the family to the reporters had facial expression resembling surprised Pikachu face. 

Shock can be good, can be bad, yet it is always a signal that a change in the game is required. But Arnold changed the entire game with one statement. Now most of the nation which had either silently supported him or tried to remain neutral, immediately turned against Arnold's haters. Soon the hate comments were drowned into words of encouragement. But words were not enough to express themselves and with Arnold nowhere to be seen, it was way more difficult to calm everyone down. 

The thick-skinned reporters were still trying to blame him for 'not owning up to the standards of a national hero'. Nathan wasn't going to let them say whatever they liked anymore. Not while they were busy doing that on his front porch. 

Nathan took to the stage and let it all out. He said how the ones Arnold saved were the ones to let him down the most. Including him. 

"I am shocked by what he said," Nathan continued, "but I'm not surprised. Every man has a breaking point and with what all of you have been saying about him on his face and behind his back was more than sufficient to force him to make this decision. I've seen how passionate he is about saving everyone he can no matter the cost and what did you do? You called him an opportunist, a coward, even a psychotic nuisance and still believe he'll go through all that to endanger his life saving you two-faced ungrateful pieces of sh*ts?"

Everyone silently saw Nathan burn the haters down. And he was pissed. 

"Not once I heard you call him a hero before you pounced on him like a bunch of hyenas and now that he left he suddenly became 'the nation's hero'? Do you have no boundaries? No limits?"

One of the reporters signalled the cameraman to cut off the feed. A couple of them followed his example. 

"Don't you dare."

Johnny roared from the back and the camera crew instantly froze on their spot. Afraid of even moving a finger. The country needed to know Arnold's side as well. It was the reason why Nathan had called him on the stage in the first place. Sadly, these people didn't even let him talk properly. 

While all of this was happening, Nathan continued making the nation realise it's faults but seeing that his words were falling on dead ears, he finally relented and officially ended the conference.

It was then all hell broke loose over the internet. People were taking sides, blaming each other, yet most of the people refused to understand what their fault was in all of this mess. But they did realise if Arnold did what he said he would, then only God knows what they'll do if another dragon or something worse came out of a dungeon. 

But it didn't matter anymore because Arnold had already left West America and went to the Alpha base. He needed a place where he wasn't judged based on assumptions. As much as he didn't want to think about it, someone like him was supposed to be in the wasteland not in some judgemental 'higher society'. He needed to be around people who he could trust. Also, he needed to do something. Something he had been wanting to do for a long time. 

Once he was there, he went to visit Amanda. The effect of coaxing blood could be over at any time now. Luckily, the cooldown of his Blood Bond skill had reset a while ago so he didn't have much to worry about. 

He went inside her room. She quickly greeted him and went about explaining the progress at the base in detail. Once she was done, Arnold grappled her as she willingly let him do as he pleased.

'Good looks like she's still under the influence of the blood.' Arnold thought, 'At least it made my life a bit easier.'

But soon, the tantrum began with her breath turning from quiet and regular to a panting gasp. Arnold's nails grew in size and turned blood red. His right hand turned pitch black, exactly like the way it had when he had used the ability on Allen. As usual, a warning flashed before his eyes. 

___

WARNING ⚠

If for some reason the bond isn't able to form, it might lead the target to lose all his/her sense and may or may not go berserk. if during this time the target harms someone else, the user of this skill would be penalised for the target's actions.

Do you still want to continue? 

Yes or No

___

"Just do it already!" Arnold gritted his teeth as his nails penetrated through Amanda's soft skin but not a drop of blood came out it. 

Amanda started struggling frantically. She sucked at the air like it had suddenly become thick and was now almost too difficult to draw into her lungs. In her attempts, she managed to grab his arms but by then it was irreversible. The process had already begun. Her vision soon started to fade away. She felt like her strength was being taken away. Yet she kept struggling. Until the pupils of her eyes could no longer be seen. 

Slowly the blackness on his hands was absorbed by Amanda, notifying Arnold that the process was a success. However, it took much longer than it did when he blooded Allen. After around ten minutes, a notification popped up in front of his eyes. 

___

Bond formation... SUCCESS!

Transformation complete!

You've gained a new ally!

[ALLY TYPE] : [Blood Servant]

[Blood Servant]: A unique type of Ally, who would go to hell and beyond to fulfil their master's wishes till their last breath. This type of ally excels at following orders unconditionally. Once you give them an order to do something, they will do it, no matter the cost. These are most loyal among the other types of ally and are often called a necessity when fighting against strong enemies in ranged combat. 

[SYNERGY EFFECTS]:

[As you wish, master]:

(When attacking the same target)

HP boosted by 10%

Agility (AGI) boosted by 15%

Accuracy (ACC) : 10%

[Gain more allies to unlock better synergy effects.]

[United we stand]:

(Unlocks when you have blooded two or more beings) 

All blooded gain:

+5% Mana

+3% Strength (STR) 

+5% Defense (DEF) 

[Gain 2 more allies to unlock better synergy effects.]

You've gained your first Loyal servant to aid you in your battles.

EXP: +4500

___

"A servant, at last." He got off Amanda as she laid there, unconscious. 

He then went ahead to analyse the synergy effects. And they were better than he had expected. Mana, strength, HP, defence, agility all of them had been boosted. Sadly, the effects of [United we stand] would only activate when Allen was there and Arnold had left him behind in LA... 

"He can find his way back... I think." He mumbled and left to stroll around the base.