Chapter 22: The Metal Buried deep under the ground / A Long Slumber

Evan and a team of 5, wait 4, people that Phil had picked by hand sat in a military vehicle.

“You’re really a lot different than you looked like on the hologram.” Said one of them

“Arata, shut up!” Another one hissed

“Suzu, don’t hit him. We have a mission.” Said yet another

“Mhm. No, it’s fine. I guess you guys have never seen me before today, then? I’m not too surprised, I guess. I didn’t really interfere directly.” Evan said

“No, we have seen you, like at the academy occasionally. But you always looked regal. Like a man who knew what they were doing. It reminded me of a god commanding his people.” Said Suzu

“That’s a weird way to put it, but that hits the nail on the damn head!” said Arata

“You two...ahem, either way, it’s nice to meet you um.. overlord? King? Lord? Yeah, that last one works. My lord. It’s nice to meet you, my lord. I’m Maan. This guy doesn’t have a name. He’s one of your secret guards apparently?” Maan asked

“Yeah….speaking of that…. why exactly are you not hidden?” Evan asked

“I wass assked to assissst you. SsSorry for my ssspeech.” He said

“Alright, imma call you Noah then.” Said Evan

“....why?” Nowah asked

“Hm, fine. Nu then. I like nu better.” Evan said, changing his mind

“That sssounds nissser to me.” Said nu

“So, god, exactly what are we doing here? I’m pretty sure this isn’t actually a scouting mission, is it?” Arata asked

“You’re pretty sharp. You are correct. We are actually heading towards the site marked on the map, but I need to brief you guys on this. This thing that looks like a ball of glue can detect a very precious metal if it’s close by. It will shine, the color it shines doesn’t matter. The brighter it is, the closer you are. Here, each of you is to take one, once we arrive, search the surrounding areas. It’s range is around 16 yards in any direction from the spheres center.” Said Evan, handing them all a small ball.

“What is it?” Arata asked.

“Well, it is a ball of glue, but it’s been specially designed. It’s fragile, if you break any of the mana circuits inside it, it will stop working. It can break even if you drop it. Be careful with it. I’ll be holding a small sample of the metal that we will use to check everyone’s tracker.” Said Evan

“Wait, if you have a piece of it already, why aren’t these shining?” Suzu asked

“Well, firstly, it’s stored in this thing. It has a mana signature that’s pretty unique. This box's material blocks that mana from escaping. Here, this is what it looks like when it glows.” Evan said. He held up the trackers to the shard, and the closer they got the brighter it was. Except one. Evans tracker didn’t work.

“Dangit. Figured this would happen. I can fix this, gimme a Minute.” Said Evan, focusing his mana on it

“Um. What exactly are you doing?” Arata asked

“Huh? Oh, right, this must look kinda stupid to you. I need you guys to understand this anyway, so here. Arata first.” Said Evan

He grabbed Arata and forced his mana through his body, waking up every circuit, and fixing the valve on his mana.

“Holy SHIT! This feels incredible!” Arata shouted.

“Yeah, the rest of you gimme your hands, I gotta show you mana.” Evan said

“Uh, ok.” Maan said

They showed Evan their hands

“Why does it feel like you’re gonna put a ring on us.” Said Suzu

“Shush.” Maan said

One by one Evan injected them with mana, and opened their senses.

“Oh my lord.” Maan said

“Yes?” Evan said

“Nono, sorry, I meant the expression. But what exactly is this?” Maan asked

“Mana. Can you not hear the man?” Arata asked

Suzu punched Arata

“Shut up, Arata.” Suzu said

“Oof.” Oofed Arata

“Yeah, ok, uh. So this is mana, yes. Do any of you know what that is?” Evan asked

“Uh, magic?” Arata asked, still oofing

“Come on Arata, there’s no way it’s-“ Suzu started

“Yeah, no, Arata is correct. It’s magic.” Evan interrupted

“What?!? I was right?!” Arata said

“You always turn out to be right.” Suzu sighed

“I know, but I was joking this time! Are you serious? Does that mean I can use magic now?” Arata asked

Evan looked at them. Arata had mana flowing through him like water conducts electricity. Suzu would be about average as a mage in the magic world. Maan had no talent at all in using mana. Nu was decent.

“Arata and Suzu are the only ones here with talent. Specifically Arata.” Evan said

“Why is it always Arata?” Suzu asked

“I’m my own main character, yknow!” Arata said

“God, you are insufferable.” Suzu said

“Wow, you guys get along pretty well as a team. You guys work together often?” Evan asked. He knew the answer quite well for two of them, not the others, though.

“Yeah. We have worked with nu before, too, a couple times.” Said Maan

“Oh. Well, considering Phil hand picked you guys, that means you must be good at what you do.” Said Evan

“Speaking of, what are we doing?” Arata asked

“Well, once we find the metal, you guys are going to dig it up and drag it to the car.” Said Evan

“Oh. Sounds easy enough.” Said Maan

“Is it heavy?” Arata asked

“Um. A little. I’ll teach you how to use mana to strengthen the body when we arrive.” Evan said

“Oh! Like in manga?” Arata asked

“Yes.” Evan replied.

“Sweet!” Suzu said

“I didn’t think you would be interested in this.” Arata said

“It’s magic! Magic! Who doesn’t want to learn magic?” Said Suzu

“Fair point.” Arata admitted

“The heck’s that thing?” Arata asked

“That’s the area we are searching.” Evan said

“It’s blown to bits! You would think a meteor hit it!” Said Arata

“That’s exactly what we are looking for. That’s what the giant lab you see is for.” Said Evan

“What? Seriously? A meteor? Here? By this Building?” Arata asked

“Yeah. That’s a lab, though.” Evan said

“Well, it is the countryside, I guess. It’s not like we are in Tokyo.” Arata said

“We are literally nowhere near Tokyo, Arata.” Said Suzu

“It’s not actually all that far away, considering where we are right now. We drove quite a long way already. These military vehicles are amazing.” Said Maan

“Thanks. Me and Kane were heavily debating whether we should use wheels or not. I opted not to, he said it would be more annoying to design. I pointed out that it hovers.” Said Evan

“Wait, you actually do design all of these things? Like, legit? Just you and Kane? The master builder? Not like, a team of scientists? I heard it before from Mrs.Kate, but...” Arata asked

“That would be a pain in the ass. Nobody could keep up with either of us, and Kane hates other people in his workshop except me, Phil, Anne, and a select few others.” Said Evan

“Who is Anne?” Suzu asked

“Oh. Did you guys not read the hologram that popped up?” Evan asked

“I ignored it like the terms of service stuff on websites.” Said Arata

“Oh. Well, Anne is the ai who was in charge of the cities before the war, and who is now the controller of the other world.” Said Evan

“Wait. So it’s run by an ai? What if the stuff like in the movies happens?” Arata asked

“What did you mean by Anne in his workshop? Is she able to move around like a robot or something?” Suzu asked

“Well, first, I doubt an ai who is madly in love with my best friend will betray him. Second, I took away her robot body a while ago. It was a tad too realistic apparently.” Said Evan

“Wait, but wh-“ Arata started

“You don’t want to know.” Said Evan

“I kinda do.” Said Arata

“Well, I’ll say it. She is a damned hopeless pervert and a massive exhibitionist.” Said Evan, sighing

“What? How the hell is an ai able to be like that? Did you program that?” Arata asked

“That’s kinda weird...” said Suzu

“Yeah, no. Just think of her as any other person. Just that she grew up like that. I have no idea why. It started the first time she met Kane, I think. Or when I was talking about him?. It may have had something to do with the love bit.” Evan said

“What? Wait, treat her like any other person? Is she a real person?” Arata asked

“Yeah. I designed an ai that’s a real person. She doesn’t have a soul, but that’s related to mana, so it’s not what you think. For example, you barely had a soul until I passed mana through you.” Evan said, pointing at Arata

“No, hold on, I still don’t get it. You made a legit person?” Arata asked

“Yes. I’m pretty sure You have met Anne before many times, Arata, do you really not remember? Ah. Maybe it wasn’t Anne. Kate maybe? Yeah, it was Kate that met Anne a lot.” Evan said

“What do you mean?” Arata asked

“Arata shut up he already said ye-“ Suzu started

“We have arrived!” Said the cars gps

“Well it’s time to work. We have less than 24 hours. I’ll check the lab, you guys decide what you will do. Arata, you come with me.” Evan said

“Uh, Gotcha. Wait, why?” Arata said

“I need an assistant.” Said Evan

“With what?” Arata asked

“This is a lab I worked at a while ago. I want to go down there to activate the failsafe shields as well as the main and backup generators so we can withstand initial bombardment here.” Evan said

“And you need me there, why?” Arata asked

“You have the best compatibility with mana, other than Suzu.” Said Evans

“Then why not let Suzu go?” Arata asked

“Why?” Evan asked

“Uh. No re-“ Arata started

“He hates tight spaces like that. And dark buildings. And labs. Basically all that is tied into one here. Well, rather than hate it’s more fear. It has to do with something a few years ago.” Said suzu

“Oh. Forgot about that little quirk. Well, mana fluctuates depending on mood, which is dangerous, so are you scared of places like that, too?” Evan asked.

“No, I’m here to cover for Aratas weaknesses. Just like he’s here to cover mine.” Said Suzu

“Well that’s good. Oh. Right. I’m not planning on returning, so if Suzu comes out alone, it’s because I’m staying in there. I’ll take the stasis tech I gave you back, now.” Said Evan

“Oh, ok, here. Are we going to stay here and wait for you after, or go back and pick you up later.” Arata asked.

“Arata. Do you know what stasis tech is?” Evan asked

“Yeah, why? It’s tech designed to preserve a person's body and put them in a comatose state until its function is completed. Or the timer on the stasis tech finishes it’s countdown. Or it gets shut off externally.” Said arata

“Right. Absolutely correct. Now, did you not see the timer I set on it?” Evan asked

“No, I haven’t.” Said Arata

“Here, look.” Evan said, taking the stasis tech back out.

It was a small device, similar in size to a phone. It had a lot of functions, and the main one was when it was activated, a person would be encapsulated by a magnetic field with very unique properties. This one had been specially made to accept mana as an energy source, and to supply energy to other things via mana. The stasis can only be undone externally, with a special device. This one was set for over 500 years.

“Over 500 years? What’s with that? You aren’t planning on staying here that long are you?” Arata asked

“No, of course not. That’s the maximum amount of time I would have to be here. It’s probably not going to be that long. Only a couple centuries.” Said Evan

“You… are joking, right?” Suzu asked

“It’s not up to us to question him.” Said Maan

“I have alsssso Been informed.” Said nu

“Wait, did you two know about this the whole time?” Arata asked

“Yeah, I figured it out after looking at the stasis tech and asked. Just trust the boy.” Said Maan

“He’s literally 16! How the hell are we going to just leave someone like this here for centuries without anybody?!” Suzu asked

“Not to mention if we lose our leader now, everything will go to shit! Nu! As his guard, you aren’t just going to let this happen, right?” Arata asked

“The guardsss put only one thing over our leadersss sssafety. And that isss hiss orderssss.” Said nu

“This…” Suzu started

“We have also been ordered to forget about his existence. Phil already enacted the rest of the plans earlier. He let me know over the phone. I’ll tell you when we get back.” Said Maan

“Fine. We aren’t in a position to question anything, Suzu. Let’s just follow our orders. This does put a sour taste in my mouth, though.” Said Arata, scowling. He usually looked surly, even if he was a friendly outgoing person, but this made him look quite angry.

“Alright, if even you say so, I guess I can’t argue.” Said Suzu

“Thanks, sorry for letting you know out of the blue like this.” Evan said

“That’s fine, but… why exactly?” Arata asked

“As a power source. I’m the only one that can do this. If I had a bit more time I could have made something that produced enough energy for an indefinite amount of time, I wouldn’t need to do this. Unfortunately, my body is the only source that produces enough power over a long enough amount of time to power this machine. I wasn’t exactly lying when I said I wanted to activate a generator. Just bending the truth.” Said Evan

“Yeah, but what are you powering?” Arata asked

“The other world. Though, enough excess power will be absorbed after around 200 years to keep the thing going for good. Look, lots of math and stuff went into this, I’m not going into that. You guys won’t understand mana fluctuations when it comes to this anyhow.” Said Evan

“Wait, so….” Suzu said, trailing off, lost in thought.

“Yeah. I’m going to sleep for a long time. By the time my duty has been done, I’m guessing I’ll have long been forgotten. I don’t wish to be looked for if that comes to pass. After a century, you guys won’t need me anymore.” Said Evan

“Why? Why are you doing this? What made you ok with this?” Suzu asked

“Yeah, what the hell happened to you to make you like this at the age of 16? No, younger! You’ve been planning this stuff for years, haven’t you? I was pulling erasers off of pencils in class, bored as hell when I was 16!” Arata said

“That’s my business. Not that there’s honestly any real reason.” Said Evan

“Why are you sacrificing yourself, then, if there’s no real reason?!” Suzu asked

“Well. I hate humans. But! I love people. Despite everything we have done as a species, I’ve met quite a lot of people in my life. I’ve had a lot of help. I wouldn’t be here without any of you guys. Time seems different to me than to you, at least it will with the stasis tech. I’ll be fine.” Evan said

“Wait, but. Does stasis help stop someone from aging? I know it halts a lot of stuff, like thought, but I’m pretty sure you still age. Didn’t you make it like that? This model at least?” Arata asked

“Yeah. I did. Only the new models stop aging completely. I’m immortal, anyway, so it doesn’t matter.” Said Evan

“The hell do you mean by that.” Arata said

“Gimme that knife a sec, I’ll show you something.” Evan said, grabbing Aratas knife

“Wh-hey! Wait a sec-! Oh my god!” Arata yelled

“Stabby stab time.” Evan said, gripping the knife.

He plunged it into his stomach multiple times

Blood pooled on the ground

Evan had stabbed himself. Repeatedly.

He then proceeded to stab the knife into his heart as well.

He fell over for a moment. Then he got back up, brushing off dirt from his clothes

He wrenched the knife out from between his third and fourth left ribs, and even more blood gushed out.

“I hate how blood stains clothes. Least I can just magic my issues away.” Evan said, cleaning himself, and switching his clothes almost instantly with magic, a bright light sparkling off of him.

“Holy shit!” Suzu said

“Are you ok? Why the hell would you… what the…. what the hell am I seeing?” Suzu asked

“I’m healing. I also don’t age. It’s incredibly expensive. I’ve been trying to find a method of mass production, but it just isn’t viable. You guys didn’t trust me, so I proved it.” Said Evan

“But did you really have to fucking stab yourself?!?!” Arata said, still concerned

“No, but it was the most effective method. I really hope I don’t have to do this again.... But it’s effective. Here’s your knife back.” Said Evan

“Fine! I accept your decision, but I still don’t like it.” Said Suzu

“Suzu, what do we tell Ryu? That we left his hero to sit here, forever?” Arata asked Suzu

“Ryu?” Evan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, he’s a friend of ours, and he’s quite a large fan of yours.” Said Suzu

“Ryu, huh. The guy from the academy. Alright. Yeah. Suzu, give him this when you get back. It’s something from his hero. And for his future.” Said Evan, handing Suzu a small container.

“What? What is this?” Suzu asked

“Something very expensive.” Said Evan

“Why all of a sudden?” Arata asked

“It’s a whim. Just a whim.” Said Evan

“A whim of the god, huh?” Arata said

“Isn’t the phrase a whim of the gods?” Suzu asked

“There’s only one here.” Arata laughed.

“I’m not a god. Not yet.” Said Evan. Nobody understood what the look on his face meant. It seemed like every emotion at once.

“Nono. Think about it. Immortal, check! Worshipped, check! All powerful? Pretty damn much!” Said Arata

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just get this over with.” Evan said, with the last of their gear unpacked, and everyone ready to go.

They all went off to do their respective tasks.

“This place is pretty dark.” Said Suzu

“There’s no power, it’s a nearly completely underground facility, and there is virtually no light except what we packed. And the little floating light I made. It looks cute, right?” Said Evan, poking a small floating ball of light. It made a cute noise, and it was fluffy on top of that.

“Kyuu” the fluff purred, smiling

“It’s also quite small for an underground facility.” Said Suzu, ignoring the floating light creature. It was too cute.

“This is an air duct. Of course it’s a tight fit.” Said Evan

“Oh! So we aren’t even in the facility yet? No wonder I haven’t seen any rooms or anything.” Said Suzu

“You just realized that?” Evan asked

“I’ve had my mind on quite a few other things, recently.” Said Suzu sarcastically

“I can imagine.” Said Evan, going along with it

“How rude.” Said Suzu, laughing a little

“What do you do in your free time, Mr 'perfect 16 year old pretty boy'?” Suzu asked

“You think I have free time?” Evan asked

“Actually, I guess not, no.” Suzu said

“The answer is anime, manga, and video games. What about you, then, what do you do in your free time?” Evan asked

“Wait, you actually do have free time?” Suzu asked

“Yes, but I asked you a question, is this an interrogation or a conversation?” Evan asked, laughing

“Fine, fine. Yeah, pretty much the same. Arata is the only other thing I have to worry about. I guess that eats up most of my time. Maybe practicing or working out, too. Still, even then, Arata is somewhere near me, so I have to worry about him.” Said Suzu

“So you go out with him to places like where?” Evan asked

“Oh. Just anywhere, really. We are usually always with each other every day.” Said Suzu

“So, like a very long date.” Evan said

“Ye- no!” Said Suzu

“Just admit it. He almost has.” Said Evan

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, fine. I like him. You happy?” Suzu asked

“Very.” Evan said

“Wait, hold up. What did you mean by 'he almost has'?” Suzu asked

“Are you kidding me?” Evan asked, dumbfounded

“No, tell me.” Suzu said

“It’s plain as goddamn day you both like each other. I actually thought you guys were already a couple when I met you. And that was years ago.” Said Evan

“Ah. Shit. I shoulda let him say it.” Evan said, covering his mouth.

“I...see…. I guess I really do have a lot on my mind now…..” said Suzu

“Well, you happy or not?” Evan asked

“I’m happy!....just…. I don’t know why, it should have been obvious.” Said Suzu

“Well, no. It’s very very obvious you like him, but he only gave enough hints to guarantee it. You gave like, thousands.” Said Evan

“Oh. Also, what did you mean by years ago? Do you know us?” Said Suzu

“Well, I’ll let you ponder that. By the way, a man wouldn’t let someone talk like that to them if they haven’t already accepted the person who is speaking. I know he wouldn’t let some random person he didn’t have that kind of interest in act like his wife.” Said Evan

“Wife? I act like his wife?” Suzu asked

“Yeah. At least what I would imagine marriage to be like. As you said earlier, you are there to cover for everything he can’t do, just like he is there to cover for everything you can’t do. You fit together quite well. Arata would seem like a bit of an asshole that’s way too hyper without you, and you would probably just sit in the corner like nu if you weren’t worrying about Arata every second.” Evan said

“I.. see.” Suzu said

“Lemme ask, have you ever once hated the interactions you’ve had? And has he ever once stopped you?” Evan asked

“No…..” said Suzu

“Well, you seem deep in thought, but let’s move on.” Evan said.

“Yeah.” Suzu replied, shaking her head a bit.

They made it to the generator room.

Evan went up to a nearby terminal typing some stuff in, and started to work.

“Suzu, can you go flip whichever switch turns green?” Evan asked

“Sure.” Suzu went over to the switchboard

“Alright, now.” Evan said, messing with some controls.

Suzu flipped the green switch

“Perfect.” Evan typed some other stuff in

“Now can you flip the lime colored switch?” Evan asked

Suzu flipped the lime switch.

A screen above the generators fizzled on. It made a broken turning on sound, and a lime appeared on the cracked screen.

“Welcome to Lime Technologies Lab 6! Please enter your password!” Said the giant tv

Evan went over to a different control panel and pressed a few buttons.

A holographic keyboard popped up. He typed some stuff in.

“Oh! Hey Evan!” Said the screen

“Yeah, yeah, you have the plans I put in from three years ago, right?” Evan asked

“The second world human generator project? Didn’t we scrap that?” Said the screen

“Yeah, well I found a good enough source of power.” Said Evan

“What kinda power would do that, you’d have to be a freakin wizard to pull this shit off!” The screen said, flashing the plans on the broken screen

“What a giant fucking coincidence.” Said Evan, slamming his hands on the table which housed the machine

“What do you mean by that?” The screen asked

“This.” Evan said

Evan shocked the screen with mana

“What the hell was that?! I’m not supposed to be able to feel things!” The screen said

“Mana. It’s magic, it allows me to do things that weren’t possible back when we first theorized it.” Said Evan

“Wait, perhaps... did you achieve something with the exotic matter project?” The screen asked.

“Yup. Now chop chop! Times 'a wastin!” Said Evan

“The war is still going to happen?” The screen asked

“You think I would be here asking about that project if it weren’t for that?” Evan asked

“No. Let me set it up, give me a minute. Or, rather, a few hours. This project is massive, and my processors have accumulated quite a large amount of dust.” Said the screen

“Damnit! I knew I shoulda had someone doing maintenance on you!” Said Evan

“Can’t you calculate the future?” The screen asked, shifting from the large screen to the control panels computer screen

“Yeah, but only to a certain extent, and it can be destroyed by even the smallest variable, unless a variable from earth can’t affect it.” Said Evan

“So you AREN’T all powerful?!?!” The computer asked sarcastically.

“Shut up.” Said Evan

“Oh come on, I’m limetechs mascot. Everyone loves me!” Said the computer

“Yeah, but it’s almost the end of the world right now. Plus, it’s definitely not your personality that they like. I won’t be tricked by your body.” Said Evan

A beeping came from a device on both Evan and Suzu's waists.

“We found it! Me, Maan, and nu dug it up, it’s on the truck.” Said Arata

“Got it. When you get there, send it to the warehouse and have it marked under 'super suspicious metal'. Phil will retrieve it later. Suzu, go back to the truck. When Suzu returns, you are to immediately head back to the bubble, got it? Let me know when you arrive. I’ll probably be in stasis by then, though.” Evan said

“True, with the amount of time we have left, it might be cutting it close.” Said Suzu

“Then go!” Evan said.

“Ok, sheesh. Just be safe. Even if we don’t meet again, I wish you luck.” Said Suzu

“Suzu. Take this, give one to Arata and eat one of them yourself. Just trust me.” Evan said, handing her a small box.

“Is this chocolate?” Suzu asked

“No. Well, yes, but don’t eat more than one and don’t give them to anyone else, ok? Eat them immediately when you get to the truck. It’s my goodbye present.” Said Evan

“Fine. Arata you heard him too right.” Suzu asked

“Yeah. A pretty nice farewell gift.” Said Arata

“It’s not normal chocolate. I’m not a normal person. And it doesn’t work like normal chocolate.” Said Evan

“Then what the hell is it?” Arata asked

“A gift.” Said Evan

“What’s that mean?” Arata asked

“It’s like what I told you to give to ryu.” Evan said

“Oh, that. Why did you give it to us and ryu? And I still don’t know what the hell you mean. Oh, it looks quite nice!” Said Arata

Suzu had just arrived.

They each ate one chocolate.

“That’s some damn good chocolate, now I know what you meant!” Said Arata

“Yes, that was quite delicious.” Said Suzu

“That wasn’t it, either. Just go and stay by ryu. Open the note I left in your pocket after you have ryu eat his.” said Evan

“Note? Ah! When-“ Arata started

“When I took your knife.” Said Evan

“Oh! That makes sense. Kinda.” Said Arata.

“Yeah, just give the note to Phil after you read your part. He can find out how to tell you the rest.” Said Evan

“Alright. It was a pleasure. No, an honor, knowing you, not to mention following you.” Arata said

“It’s nice to hear that. Kate raised you well.” Evan said

The four of them drove off, and went to the glass dome. The moment they arrived, after handing in a report, Arata and Suzu went to go see ryu in the hospital.

“What are you guys doing here? Weren’t you going to help our leader scout?” Ryu asked.

Ryu was blind, and had lost his right arm and left leg. While he had always been blind, the loss of his limbs was still new, and the bandages were still on.

“We did. He said to make sure you eat this. It’s a gift, apparently. We told him how much you look up to him. Evan seemed like he knew you. All of us actually, have we met him before?” Arata asked, handing ryu the chocolate

“I don’t believe we ha-oh my dear god this is amazing chocolate!” Said ryu

“He was the academy director, I guess, it’s possible we have.” Said Suzu

“Oh, right. He said to read the note.” Arata said, pulling out a large post it note

“How the hell did he fit this in my pocket?! Let alone without me noticing!” Arata wondered, reading the note

Aratas eyes shot fully awake when he read the note

“Hey, Arata! If you are reading this, then you should have given the chocolate to ryu already. While it isn’t able to heal his eyesight, it will heal his limbs. Rather, I guess regrow them is a more accurate way of putting it. It should take effect around 45 seconds after it is consumed. Tell Phil to use the secret message technique when you hand him this note.” It said. It had a smiley face on it

“Wait, what?” Arata said

He handed the note to Suzu, and Suzu read it to ryu.

“What? What is this? Are you messing with me?”

Ryu asked.

Suddenly, he fell flat on his back. There was a massive tingling sensation In His right arm and his left leg. Wait. Tingling?

“Oh my god!!!” Said Suzu

Arata just stared blankly.

“My... my limbs are back?” Ryu asked. He wasn’t able to process this.

He had just lost them, and the despair of losing them was fresh in his mind. He didn’t want to go through learning to live with just one leg and one arm. They said prosthetics wouldn’t work right with how this body was at this point. He still wasn’t used to having less limbs, so to him, being able to have them, let alone move them again, was amazing.

“So, I heard one of you had a note to me from Evan?” Phil asked, walking in

“Oh! Ryu? Is that you?” Phil asked

“Oh. Um. Yeah.” Said Ryu numbly

“Wait, what happened? Didn’t you lose your- oh, I see. Would you mind handing me that note?” Phil asked

“He said to use some secret technique,” Arata said, handing the note to phill.

“Oh, gotcha.” Said Phil. He took out a miniature can of pepper spray.

“Why pepper spray?” Arata asked

“It’s just the can, it doesn’t have any pepper spray. Evan liked the aesthetic.” Phil said spraying the note

“Just as I thought. Have all three of you guys had a piece of chocolate?” Phil asked

“Yes, why?” Arata asked

“Well….” Phil started

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Evan’s Post It’s!

Well then. Phil. I have trapped myself for an indefinite amount of time. Yay. Aside from that, I gave each of them an Immortality Inducing Chocolate. I want them to teach at the academy. Make sure people become strong. Make sure they become aware. Make sure they become wise. They should be teaching their skills until I get back. Our crazy neighborhood delinquent went to school with them. Kate was their teacher. So they both recommended them. Teacher thinks somewhat decently of them. They have skill. I’m not sure how much Mr. delinquent was able to tell you before he got dragged off, so I assumed he only got to mention their name. Poor guy. Kinda. He should be with Teacher in the 2nd lab. So look around there for Kate. She technically doesn’t have access to the lab, but they let her in, so it may be worth checking there... Tell her I can’t help be her wingman on dates anymore. Tell Teacher that I stashed 10 years worth of lollipops in the cars in the 3rd lab's parking garage on the third floor. Tell the 3 right there my goodbyes, you're in charge of them. Tell the delinquent to maybe get a tad bit... hmm. Ah! Tell him to let Kate be his ‘teacher’ again. Heh. Tell the janes they have free reign over the lab of their field of study. !Make sure the core tech is safe!. The metal for the shields is marked under super suspicious metal. Take care of Lime Technologies for me. If anyone wants to pass on, give them the retirement chocolate. Think up the rest of what I would ask. Do that. And enjoy the end of the world. See you soon. :D

~Evan

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“You guys are now under my direct command. You guys have been given immortality, and you are to transfer to the academy for work. You will be teaching our next generation of soldiers and watching over the students. I dunno why he likes you so much. He put in a pretty damn big list of who is supporting you, or has supported you. I know Maan and his secret guard, but I didn’t expect the two people that the delinquent sent would have such impressive connections.” Said Phil

He scribbled a note

“Here, read this.” Said Phil, handing Arata the note.

“What do you-...!...” Arata read the paper

“He...why did he give us this?” Arata asked

“As it states, if you ever want to retire, you can ask me for one of those Immortality Nullifying Chocolates. I think you guys made a pretty big impression on him somehow. Take it as a sign of his recognition and respect” said Phil, taking back the note

“I see. Eternity would be lonely without people to share this with. I’m in.” Ryu said

“I’m going with whatever Suzu decides” Arata said

“Uhh. Arata, I’m less worried about that right now, I’m fine with it, it’s all fine by me, but look! He healed Ryu! He doesn’t have to stay here anymore!” Said Suzu, tearing up

“We were indeed worried about you, Ryu. Suzu wouldn’t shut up about whether you were ok or not.” Said Arata

“He’s my brother! Of course I would be worried!” Suzu said

It was true. However in this case it was a tad different than a normal family.