Even when Neo did get to sleep, he was cruelly awakened when Bethany marched in, bumping the door against the wall and flinging open the curtains, "Up you get Neo! Got orders to move you."

Neo just stared at her before sarcastically speaking, "Good morning Bethany, had a good night?"

Bethany stared right back before shaking herself, "Good morning Neo, I did indeed a have a good night’s sleep, how about yourself?"

Neo replied with a bit more sarcasm, "No, not really. I had a really bad nightmare, had difficulty sleeping, and then this short, confident, bouncy, and beautiful woman strode in here and cruelly smashed open my door. Even worse, this lady yanked open my curtains shouted at me to get up because she had orders. Now, I'm sure any considerate being would of kindly knocked on the door and gently woke me up, which would mean I wouldn't be in a bad mood would it. Now I am glad it wasn't my ki…" Neo stopped his teasing speech as he watched Bethany's face changed to one of worry, one that he didn't wanted to see, "What's up?"

Bethany started agitatedly picking at her gear. With a far off look she spoke, "The counsel of Beacon City has called you to court, where they wish to question you."

Neo shrugged and sighed, he just had to go with the flow. "Well, that doesn't sound good, better not let them wait then."

It didn't take them that long to get him out of the dorm. He noticed that the rooms that had been disruptive were calm and still, which made Neo worry enough to ask Bethany about them. He found out that they had been sedated. There were still a lot of people and guards walking about. It was a red dawn, with the temperature heating up as the fireball slowly travelled across the sky, lighting the dorms and giving the morning a warm feeling.

He saw the headmaster standing by a carriage, nodding at Neo. He asked a question of the headmaster,"So, how'd we do? They're a lot of good items in there that we almost died for multiple times. I was wondering if we'd get it back?"

The headmaster’s long eyebrows rose,"You did very well, the only things in the ring that had any real world worth were these," He held up Elisa's notebooks,"which I do intend to give back to her now."

"What? Then what about the creatures we killed that were written in them, that are in the white ring, wouldn't they be worth more than notes on them?"

Neo was a little confused, as to what he had been doing these last few days, he touched his stomach where he had almost died. The headmaster, "Those bodies have no worth outside of the bubble. A little bit of explanation, it's called the Secret Gardens, I think you humans may have legend on it or something, but you cannot take anything out of it and anything you do try and take will cause the bubble to reach through reality and extinguish its life. So, the only real world worth is information of the other terrains, plants, and creatures that may travel them."

"So, it is real?" Neo questioned as the thought that it was an illusion popped into his head.

The headmaster shook his head, "We’re not sure on that one. It disappears, taking everything that's in it, even people which are never seen again, but what is reality?"

Neo was annoyed that everything they had achieved was for nothing but a test, which could of most likely gotten them killed, and almost did. He gritted his teeth and clenched his hand, but held in his disgust that they would be dispassionate enough to send them in to it.

With that ,the headmaster, probably sensing the tension now in the air, excused himself before getting into a carriage in front of the one Neo was escorted to.But Neo didn't care, "Bethany, why the hell would someone send their children here to be taught if they're likely to be killed out of nowhere?"

Bethany shrugged, "I wasn't given a choice, there was no one who'd teach me so it was the only way for me to learn, and I think I did well so it worked out. See you on the other side."

Bethany closed the carriage doors and he found himself alone with his own mind. He really didn't want to be thinking at the moment so he tried avoiding his own thoughts and misjudgements. So, he busied himself with counting the grains of the wood and how many bumps the carriage went over.

After a while, Neo realised that they had stopped moving. The double doors of the carriage opened, blinding him for a few seconds before blinking away the spots to be met by a cobbled street that lead to a huge palace. The palace was coloured like the rainbow with the addition of black. It was the weirdest building he'd seen since arriving in this new reality of his. With a quick glance, it looked like the castles he’d seen almost 2 months ago had all been shoved into one building.

It didn't work at all, the dark spires of the undead mixed with the symbolic practicality of the dwarfs, and with that there were a lot of guards from every race, each with their own unique armour and weapon design. There was an atmosphere of tension. Getting out of his stupor that Bethany broke he asked her, "Is it usually like this?"

Bethany shook her head, "I've been here a few times but never during a council meeting or any events. So it could be this tension is normal when there is, or something bad is happening and they're keeping it quiet. That wouldn't surprise me. Either way, we got orders. They've made a room that's been separated for you."

They walked past the great double doors, around a corner and through a side door that lead into cramped corridors. Moving through the corridor they came to a small room that had a window, bed, and even a toilet and therewas a tray of food, so it was better than he'd expected. But he did find it strange, as they were walking through the corridor they didn't meet a single soul other than himself, Bethany, and two other guards that set themselves outside his door.

Bethany left him to it, telling him that she'd be back when the council calls for him. She also told him to eat and use the facilities to make himself look presentable.

It was a long time before Bethany came back and he'd managed to eat, nap, and clean himself up while trying not to think too much. Bethany and his personal guards walked through cramped corridors until they meta bigger corridor, which was much gaudier and richly dressed with silk curtains and a blood red carpet layered onto the marble floor. There were also lovely golden chandeliers hanging from the ceiling that were painted in magnificently made art depicting fanciful wars, battles, victories, and defeats.

Neo was so engrossed in the art that he had a bit of vertigo when the ceiling suddenly increased into a huge hall that rose high into the air. He closed his eyes and brought his hand to his head and waited for his mind to stop spinning.

Looking around he found that the hall was busy with people. His group turned away from the main exit that was the huge double doors to another slightly smaller pair. It didn't take long for them to get to the doors, which had a much smaller door open for them from within the bigger door. Stepping through the seamless door he was met with a circular room that stood as tall as the hall before it, with thirteen grand statues facing a curled dragon with heads bowed.

Underneath the statues were the same species that were depicted within them. In the middle of the room was a chair that sat a haggard and bruised Jane, Neo eyebrows went up as this, 'Jeez do they have any ethics? Have they beaten her? Why would they?'

Some old crock called aloud and it echoed throughout the room, "Here, here, Neo Marwolaeth, here to take questions and queries, against the accused Jane Rhianwen."

Neo nearly took a step back shocked and wondered, 'What is she accused of?'

He was, in short order, questioned by the strangers in their high seats. Neo stopped them with his hand,raising it andcoughing then he spoke, "What is she accused of, and what's happened for her to get in to that condition?"

They collectively took a step back as Neo voiced his question. The Dwarf councilman seemed to have knowledge of Neo, and he recovered and answered in a deep voice, "When Jane and their small escort returned their numbers had dwindled by two thirds. After asking where the others were Jane told us that theirgroup had split up to get their samples back earlier. But when they didn't return for a few days we sent out a squad of soldiers, only a few came back and they weren't alone, they were being chased. If we didn't have extra guards around that Atlantean bubble, they might have made it through to cause chaos in Beacon City. They had red eyes, bleeding nails, and were madly attacking everyone around them, chasing them endlessly. We lost some good men. As for Jane’s bruise, it happened in one of the cells. Someone took a disliking to her."

Neo thought through the information that he had just been given, 'Oh damn, that's not good. 'He also wondered if it really was just another inmate, not that he was going to push his luck. But something popped into his head.

"Where is Conway?" Neo said aloud,

Jane,who'd been quiet, whispered, "He was left behind to bring back the equipment. I haven't seen him since."

Neo then looked at the dwarf and asked, "Did you find Conway's body, was he part of the attacking group?"

The Dwarf motion someone behind him who came forward handing over a file that he flipped through them and simply said, "No."

Neo was relieved a little but that turned to concern as they're was a possibility that Conway was alive, if not one of these mad ones. The Dwarf continued, "So, now that you've got your answers can you maybe answer our own, tell us every interaction with Jane you've had."

So he did, from the first time he'd met her to the jabs before she left. It seemed as his words stirred the pot, as the council members started shouting guilty as he finished. The self-appointed speaker, the dwarf, answered Neo’s confused face, "We got a report, before she left to the Atlantean bubble, that you had cleared all her tests. But, as we had another team analyze the sample, she should have easily recognised that you were infected. Definitely, as we had the last blood drawn from you showing the disease, but it's not able to say that Neo does seem to be immune to it. So," he finished and looked towards Jane, "Jane what do you have to say for yourself?"

She stood up, "I have no knowledge on what was found on second samples as I was away from my research station, and trusted my other teammates. If they didn't do the right thing then how can I be responsible? I swear to the Red Dragon that I didn't see any disease in his body from his first round of testing that I observed!"

The room went dead silent. So silent that the only sound was coming from the grating of rock on rock that came from above them. Neo took a step back as he looked up to find that the stone dragon that had been resting under the image of the tree had started moving, pulling itself from the ceiling. All the while it changed colour and plunged to the floor in front of Jane, staring her in the eyes. It roared at her, scaring her witless, before it started to climb the stone wall and got back in its place. Neo thought, 'Crap, didn't see that one coming, but at least it was quick if very dramatic.'

After that quick thought, Neo decided that it was cool, but that wasn’t what everyone else in the room thought. Not that Neo would know, but they were suddenly realising after that daring statement that they didn't have anyone that could be held responsible. There was an underlying murmur of worry and conversation as they discussed their lack of leads, which soon flowed to ideas about who could be behind it, or if it really was just a uncontrolled disease, which frightened them even more.

Neo could remedy their misunderstandingbut there wasn't any need as Jane beat him to the punch, speaking loudly, "Tell me, Neo did your blood ever touch another person within the time you were in the academy?"

Neo shook his head as he remembered, noticing everyone's eyes on him, he gave a little cough, "N…" He remembered Sordelia and Elisa being covered in his blood and he continued, "No, not in the academy. But when the academy test came around, Sordelia and Elisa got a lot of my blood on them. But they seemed fine, even a few days later, but they eventually turned."

Jane nodded, "From what little I've studied, and from Neo here, it's seems to be a blood born disease, considering that Neo hasn't infected anyone else since his been in the school. So, it can't have been that this is a natural disease, someone is pushing it a lot since something like this wouldn't spread nearly as quickly."

This stirred up the room, as they now knew that they had a target, but who? Neo had an idea, but he didn't like it. As the discussion went down the already small list of the people with the capability and opportunity, it wasn't long before they came to the same conclusion as Neo, Conway. He was honestly one of the very few people who had both the skills and opportunity, and he couldn't be found.

The council now had a target to chase, and like bloodhounds, once they smelt the blood in the water they went at with zeal. With the sudden increase in couriers walking in and out, he took a seat in the back and waited for something to happen. Neo was sadly rewarded for his patience as a courier came screaming in to the room.

"Good sirs! Attacks in the street! Red eyed, bleeding beings attacking everyone they see!"

The room was in an uproar but another person came in a while later and, not to be out done, the soldier came running up calling aloud, "The academy's Scar has been flooded with the red eyed disease, they madly attack everyone who approaches!"

Questions were thrown around and it was decided that a rapid response company would detain and secure the scar, and then they would send a battalion to the academy to see what was up and find the one responsible.

Jane then stood up catch everyone's attention, "Councilmen, if it is Conway, I don't know why he would be heading to the academy, unless he has a plan. But we have the cure right here,” she said, gesturing with a hand towards Neo, “he isn't crazy or mad. He is a carrier but isn't affected. We can make a cure from him and start distributing it. I'll need my lab, however, with custom made equipment we can get one pretty quickly."

The council dithered, questioning whether they should send a possible cure along with the battalion into possible danger if they could just wait a while to secure the area. Jane pointed out that Conway maybe there to destroy the equipment, and that they'd need to get there as fast as possible. She also pointed out that they could take blood from him and store it in the other labs in the city, if they weren't destroyed, and slowly create a cure. Of course, she emphasized that they could get started straight away at the academy.

Neo added that he would like to go back, as his friends were there. With that all said and done, Neo was horrifically stabbed in the arm again. With a few couriers holding a vial of the blood each, they each got two guards assigned to get them to their designated labs.

With that done, a paler Neo joined up with Bethany and Gie, where they headed outside. The first thing they saw were dozens and dozens of black smoke flumes from every corner of the city, it was even clogging up the sky outside the palace. In front of them were six companies that Neo could see, all looking ready and awake while being a very diverse group of beings. From dwarfs to giants, he could see almost every type of being was represented.

Neo asked his quiet companions, "So, will two be coming along?"

Gie’s eyebrows rose and Bethany crossed her arms as if he'd said something stupid, but thankfully, Gie beat Bethany to the punch, "Of course we are, we're still assigned to you. Even if we weren't, we would still come protect our friend."

That made Neo smile, "Thanks!"

It wasn't long until the men got into carriages andNeo joined them.At least he wasn't alone, even if Gie had to run alongside them, his loping strides causing the ground to shaking.

The carriages actually had a back window, which he could actually see out of. Looking out of it, Neo could see the chaotic streets they travelled past. With dusk putting a red tint to everything, he saw some people in normal clothes tackling and trying to scratch others around them, while guards and soldiers tried to knock them down and restrain them. But there were beings that couldn't be easily restrained, even more so when they stood head and shoulders above the houses, only others of the same species could handle them. Neo watched a small group of giants try to subdue a rogue giant that was crashing through buildings. Within the huge trees, Neo could see flashes of light and flames erupting, even the water way was roiling and spitting.

Neo spoke aloud, "How the hell did this spread so far?"

Bethany tilted her head shrugging, "Don't know. If I was to guess, something was contaminated with this disease, like food, drink, or both. It can't be direct contact since that would need either a lot of people or time. As far as I know, Conway would have neither of those."

Neo didn't know whether Conway could do this, but her idea made sense. Contamination of food wasn't out of the ordinary. If a chef cut himself and bled into or onto foods, they'd have to get rid of everything that might have been contaminated, setting them back hours of work.

As they left the city proper, Neo could only watch the city slowly burn and listen to the cries of people as buildings were destroyed, people killed, and the world obscured by ash and smoke.

Reaching the academy’s scar, he saw where the barracks had been was burnt almost to the ground and the watch towers had collapsed. There were a good number of tents being put up as he watched, with a large one taking place as a command centre, with people continuously arriving and leaving. The battalion commander ignored their little group, as he was just tagging along and Neo didn't mind staying out of it.

Talking about staying out of it, Neo returned from using the toilet, passing by a carriage and found Death just sitting on it. Taking a second look he was sure it was Death. "What are you doing here?"

Death, who was playing on a phone, nonchalantly replied, "Oh nothing, just chilling, enjoying the atmosphere. It’s very calming to my senses."

Neo just nodded, having no clue on how to reply. "How’s the social media account? Learning a lot, I hope."

Death huffed, "I'm so confused, so much information, I can't keep up. I don't know how you do it. I put it down for it's a lot of work and I haven't got that kind of time. You'd better not talk too much or get too distracted."

Death finished, gesturing past the carriage, where Neo saw that the battalion had lined up outside the scar. The commander walked up to the scar and placed a hand on it, opening it up. The commander waited while his soldiers charged through, Neo had to run to get there before it closed. Death called out, making Neo stop and turn, reflexively catching a silver and gold object thrown at him. Taking a moment to check, he found that Death had thrown his flute at him. He turned to thank him but Neo found that he was already gone.

Neo spoke aloud anyway, just in case he was just standing around the corner, before he ran after Bethany and Gie. "Thank you!"

The long walk through the bubble way was over far too quickly. As they exited out, they found a shocked and slightly nervous guardsmen who was just doing their job and suddenly had a battalion of soldiers march past them.

Bethany went off to find out what was happening. She came back to inform the two of them that Conway indeed travelled through, giving them a keg of beer on his way. The men hadn’t gotten around to drinking it yet, so Jane had examined it and found that it was definitely tainted with something. Neo’s stomach fell as he listened to Bethany confirm that Conway was the one doing all this and that wasn't all. Conway wasn't alone. There was a large group of cloaked figures with him, and they had decided to go the tunnel route, but, as they were with Conway, the guards didn't have any problem with it, largely thanks to the keg.