Part 2: After The Blast

Chapter 26: Rubble! / Centuries later! / Lime!

Evan plugged the stasis tech into the generator.

“Well, here we go. This should activate it.” Evan said.

He stuck the stasis tech onto a strap on his chest and pressed a button.

“Well, then......Why did Phil put a countdown timer in this? I know I sure as hell didn’t. Wait, did I?” Evan asked as it started to count down.

30

“The power will redirect to the shields first, and then to the generator, correct?” Evan asked

“Shields should be up in a few moments.” The computer said

29

An alarm on Evans watch beeped. The time for bombardment had arrived.

28

“There’s a few projectiles headed over here, Evan. Shields won’t be fully up in time. They will only absorb some of the damage. The second world generators will be safe, but this room is going to collapse. Are you sure that magnetic field can protect you?” The computer asked

“Yes. It’s reinforced with mana. I showed you that.” Evan said

“Is it going to activate anytime soon?” The computer asked

“10 seconds” Evan said

9

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5

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3

BOOM! An explosion rocked the building, breaking it apart

2

1

The stasis tech activated, a magnetic field protecting him.

Evan fell into a deep sleep. Rocks and debris covered him as his vision faded.

Evan woke up to the voice of a young woman.

“Ah! Are you ok? You were in stasis! The dial on your tech says that you have been asleep for quite a long time!” The young woman said

“Welp..... I’m awake. I really didn’t expect that…huh..... OH! Right. Um, excuse me....” Evan started

“I’m Tourmaline! It’s nice to meet you!” Said line, smiling

“I’ll call you line, then. It’s nice to meet you. Do you know where we are, Line?” Evan asked

“Ah! One second. Do you mind if I look at the procedures for stasis tech for a little? I’m not sure how I’m supposed to answer you. I don’t think you will recognize its name right now.” Line said

“Just tell me, that makes me more curious.” Evan poked her repeatedly

“You’re quite energetic for someone who just woke up, aren’t you!” Line said, laughing.

She was ticklish.

This made him happy, so he did it for a few minutes.

Evan got up and stretched, still a bit loopy from being in stasis for so long.

“Speaking of, you have no questions as to my age?” Evan asked

“Huh? Uhhh.. oh! OH! Doesn’t stasis tech like this continue the aging process? Wait. If this info is right… you shouldn’t be right in front of me! Not to mention, you barely look 16!” Line said

“Hm. 16, huh? You talked about procedures, are you in the military? A rescue group? A survivor base? Has the Endless War passed already?” Evan asked

“Woah, gimme a sec. uhh. First! I am in the military! You are correct! Uhh. Second! Wait, no. I said that.” Line looked through some notes

“Line. Calm down a bit. You ok?” Evan asked, surprised at his concern.

He never expected to actually leave the building, so he didn't know what to think of the world. He saw it with a different shade. He was no longer tired from working too hard. He no longer had stress from obligations and responsibilities. He felt happy when he met another person. For some reason, he felt incredibly happy with line. She seemed interesting to him.

“Well. If I must say, meeting somebody that’s centuries old, yet still looks 16, isn’t really all that common. There’s only one person that keeps showing up whenever I scan this stasis tech code. But it’s impossible. This person shouldn’t actually exist, which is odd. He’s something of a legend around our base, just a myth. A story to give us hope. What’s your name?” Line asked

“Evan” Evan said

“Ah. Oh dear. It is you. Well, this must be a bug… no… this isn’t a bug. What the hell is with this thing? Who are you?” Line asked

“Uh. You have access to the internet with one of your devices correct?” Evan asked

“Yes, I do. Do you need to look something up?” Line asked

“Lets see, look up LimeTech labs 6 Evan Kami” Evan said

“Wait… ok, that’s familiar. Hold on.” Line said.

She grabbed a device and looked up the name he had given her.

A bunch of access restricted and security level alerts popped up.

“Oh, wow. They did it more thoroughly than I said to. Good job, Phil.” Evan said

“Eh? Did you just say Phil? How do you know Phil?” Line asked

“Hm. What’s happened over the last few centuries?” Evan asked

“Lets see...first, there was a genius. Evan. He brought the entire world together in preparation for a war. A war nobody had seen coming. Except him. He saved over 60% of the population in the second world project, and led the other remaining 38% to survival bases. Uhh. He went missing for a long time. Or that’s what we thought. Apparently, according to elder Suzu, he had given his body to become a generator for the second world project, and that we were instructed not to look for him. Phil took over, by the leaders decree. He's still the leader. The head elder. After that... well. We were brought into glass domes. They’re broken, now. They had been made to protect us from the initial bombardment. We survived. A larger amount of the world was left intact than was predicted, and there were a lot of supply stations that Evan had been working to set up. So we had plenty of food and weapons, as well as other gear. Then came the gods. Reptilian creatures who can fly. They are in possession of something called core technology. As far as I know, we don’t understand it yet, but it allows them to use magic. Mana.” Line said

“You mean this?” Evan asked, twirling a ball of mana on his finger. He changed its form and element multiple times.

“That…. how are you able to do that? That’s something that even the gods can’t do! What kind of person are you! Nothing about you makes sense!” Line said

“You said core tech, right?” Evan asked

“Yeah. But they aren’t invincible. I’ve killed one before.” Said line, proudly

“With what?!” Evan asked, alarmed

“A gun, what else?” Line asked

“Oh. Fake gods, then! Ha!” Evan said

“Fake gods?” Lime asked

“Hmmm. Shoot me.” Evan said

“What?” Line asked

“I said, shoot me. Even if your bullet can go through my passive mana shield, I’ll heal from the injury anyway.” Evan said

“Uhhh” line just sat there.

“What?” Evan asked

“That.” Line said.

She pointed at a reptilian monster behind Evan. It looked like a fat humanoid crocodile with the tiny wings of an angel, golden armor, and a gold trident.

It roared.

“For a fake god, this thing has quite a large pair of lungs.” Evan said, covering his ears

“Run! I know I said I killed one, but that was by luck! It will kill us before we can shoot it!” Line said, pushing Evan behind her to protect him

He smiled.

She confused him in a good way, making him even more curious. He wondered why she risked her life for him.

“Line. I suggest maybe moving outside of the direction the monster would be attacking. At this point, both of us would have been skewered if I were a normal person.” Said Evan

“You are a civilian. You aren’t a part of the war, and I won’t let you be dragged into it. Especially not someone as young as you!” Line said

“Well then, how old are you?” Evan asked

“22. I’m 22.” Line said

“Hey, you aren’t much older than I am. What are you talking about?” Evan asked

“What do you mean? I’m a lot older than you!” Line said

“6 years!” Evan said

“That’s a long time to try and survive in a world like this!” Said line

“Wait. What’s the average lifespan of a person these days?” Evan asked

“30-40? I don’t know.” Line said

“Jesus, Phil. I gave you literally one fucking job! How the hell-no. I’m calm. It’s fine. He’s done good, so far.” Evan said

“Why isn’t this thing moving?” Line asked, poking the fake god with a long pole

“I froze it in place with my mana.” Evan said

“Wait, so… you weren’t in any trouble?” Line asked

“Nope. Not at all.” Evan said, smiling

“Oh thank god!” Said line. She fell to her knees, exhausted

“She’s quite a good person. I've never met anybody like this before. I feel like getting to know her would be a good idea. Wait, that looks....” Evan mumbled

“Hm. Interesting.” Evan said

“What?” Line asked

“This gun is pretty new. Where did you get it?” Evan asked, taking it from her waist

“The workshop at base provides everyone with armaments.” Line said

“Well. I guess I’ll prove another thing to you with this.” Evan said

“What? OH GOD WAIT NO DO-“ line yelled

“Pew pew.” Evan said

He shot himself in the head

“JESUS! Fuck, ok, what do I do? Uhhhh there’s blood everywhere!” line started to freak out

“I’m fine. Jeez. Have you never seen Phil get shot before?” Evan asked.

He got up, the hole in his head healed.

“You! You’re one of the elders?” Line asked

“I’m the ORIGINAL elder.” Evan said

“What do you mean by- OH MY GOD. Y-you're the person who led us all, centuries ago?! Our savior?!” Line said

“Yeah. I’m Evan. Nice to meet you, line.” Evan said, extending his hand to shake hers.

Line passed out

“Oh dear.” Evan said, catching her

He put her bag, and a few other things to the side, and laid her head down on his lap, he leaned against a wall himself.

“Line, huh? Sounds nice. It feels a bit incomplete. Tourmaline is a good name, and line is an amazing pet name, but it’s still not perfect. Line is fine, I guess. For now.” Evan said, thinking. He wondered why he felt so weird around her.

He sat there, waiting for line to wake up.

Line woke up.

“Oh! Handsome!” She said, half awake

“Huh?” Evan asked

“Oh! Wait, no! Ughh. You said your name was Evan, right? It’s nice to meet you. I honestly don’t know what to say. I guess I should contact the elders.” Line said

“Sit. You’re still lightheaded. After you sit for a while, drink some of this water.” Evan said

“Water? I don’t have much, I have to ration it.” Line said, somewhat groggily

“Yeah, well, I refilled your water bottle.” Evan said

“Wha? How the-“ line said

Evan shoved the water bottle into her mouth.

“Drink, dangit.” Evan said

“Glub!” Line said, drinking water

She pushed the water away. It sprayed everywhere

“Dangit, line. You got my clothes all wet.” Said Evan

“What the heck?! I didn’t have that much water left! Where did it come from?!” Line asked

Evan sighed

“Huh? Why can’t I move.” Line asked

“I said to rest. People need rest.” Evan said, freezing her in place with mana

He laid her back down on his lap, smiling.

“I’m fine now!” Line said, whining

“Cute.” Evan said

He released her.

“Ungg. Mean.” Said line, cheeks puffed up.

“Yes, yes. Let’s get ready. Can you call the elders real quick?” Evan asked

“Oh, sure.” Line said. She dialed their number.

“Here, I’ll talk to them.” Evan said

“Wha-?” Line said

Evan put his hand out. She handed him the phone

“Hello? Line? You called? Did you need something?” Phil asked

“Hey Phil, where’s the base?” Evan asked

“I can guide you!” Line said

“Uhhh. WAIT! THIS VOICE! THIS ATTITUDE! Evan?! Where the heck have you been?!” Phil asked

“Where the goddamn hell do you think you damn horse!! The stasis tech was set to 500 years! I was buried under rubble and being used as a human generator for the second world project!” Evan said

“Oh. Uh… little line. Can you possibly please, pretty please, take Evan to the base for us?” Phil asked

“I was already planning to.” Line said

“I’ll talk to you geezers in person.” Evan said to Phil

His mood wasn’t exactly great, having just taken a multiple century long nap.

“Um. You do realize who you were talking to, right? He’s the most powerful and influential person on the planet. He worked by our savior's side to help us all, I seriously suggest not annoying him. Others might try to make life hard for you.” Said line

“He pushes others around with power?” Evan asked, frowning

“No, definitely not. They do it without him realizing it. He is heralded as a hero among the people. Even some of the greatest people from around the entire world hold an extreme amount of respect for him. Of course he wouldn’t do that. There’s literally only two people held in higher regard. Kane, the master builder, a god to every person who works with their hands. And our one god. Our savior. Evan.” Line said

“I see.” Evan said, cheering up from the sound of her soft voice.

They were almost halfway to the base

“Hey line. Can you use magic?” Evan asked

“Of course not. Only the gods can. Well, except for you. Apparently.” Line said

“Did that idiot seriously lose the core schems I gave him! Dammit! I thought maybe the enemy took them, but the core that was in the weird reptile thing was like a shitty Chinese mass produced knockoff version of my gen 1 cores. Basically, weak as hell. Well, I mean, to a normal person they may be like a… god. Ah, I see where the name came from.” Evan said

“What do you mean?” Line asked

“Do you guys not know how cores are made?” Evan asked

“You can’t make a core.” Line said

“Dammit!….sigh…. Cores can be made artificially by humans, or formed by fusing natural ambient mana with the soul, solidifying it and making a mana core.” Evan said

Line stopped walking

“Line?” Evan asked

She looked like she had been hit by a truck.

“Line! Are you alright!?” Evan asked, shaking her

He was genuinely surprised by how much he seemed to care about her well being at this point.

“Ah.. yeah.. but what did you mean by we can make cores?” Line asked

“I left you guys schematics for an artificial core hundreds of times more powerful than that. The gen one core. There’s also the gen 2 core which is even stronger, and a true artificial mana core.” Evan said

“You left schematics for us to build cores? We could have been using cores this entire time?” Line asked, horrified

“Hm…….. No, no I guess not.” Evan lied, worried

“Oh….” line said

“Cheer up. I’m here. I’ll destroy the army for you!” Evan said, smiling

“Ah. Yeah!” Said line. She smiled back. A large grin.

“Well, let’s go in.” Evan said, he was in a good mood now.

“Ah, alright, give me a second!” said line

She went up to the gate and talked to a guard. She handed them a card. They scanned it, and raised an eyebrow.

“The little girl can go. We wanna have some words with this guy.” Said the guard

“Is this the hello or the I’ll teach you a lesson one?” Evan asked

“The second one. I’ve never heard Phil act nervous. That’s suspi-gak!” Said a guard, reaching for his neck

“Well then. Normally I would have killed you, but I'm in a good mood today. What to do?” Evan asked, raising the guard into the air with mana. He shoved his hands in his pockets, whistling as he watched the guard hang for a little.

A minute passed.

He whistled some more, slowly tightening his mana

“Gahk!” The guard gahked

Evan stopped whistling

“Line. What do you say should be this guys fate?” Evan asked, pointing

“Uh. I’d love it if you would let him go. Is that an option?” Line asked, worried

“Of course.” Evan said, smiling. He released the guard.

“Well, I suggest not trying that with him again.” Line said to the guard, chiding him.

“No shit! Is he a danger to Phil?” The guard asked lime

“Hell no. Phil’s my… how would he put it? Ah! He’s my underling.” Evan said

“What… is your name again?” Asked the guard

“Evan. Head of limetech. Ruler of the world.” Evan said, smiling

His character card flashed on the screen

“Ah!!! Apologies! I didn’t recognize you! It’s good to have you back, sir!” The guard said, saluting him.

“Mhmm. Line, lets go.” Evan said

“Ah! Right.” Said line, following behind him.

She started humming happily.

They walked into the elders building.

Evan walked down the room to a wood door.

“Ah. They should be in here” line said

"Thank you, Line." Evan smiled

Evan kicked open the door

The janes were squabbling again.

“Hey! You old geezers, shut up!” Evan yelled.

“Evan!!!!” They all yelled.

They looked as if god had descended down upon earth

“Jesus. You guys never change. Phil, what’s our situation. It seems you never taught anybody about mana cores. Or at least introduced our gen 1 core tech!” Evan said

“That… it got stolen.” Phil said

“How. The. Hell. Did. You. Manage. To. Lose. The literal ONE thing I left behind for you to save everyone!! I'm guessing that the technology was stolen by the fuxking crocodiles! Ugh. I’m tired.” Evan said.

He collapsed on the floor, sleeping.

“Ah. uh, line, would you mind taking him to bed in your room?” Phil asked, smiling

“You sure? Isnt he like, 16?” line asked, slightly excited

“Hes centuries old.” Phil said

“Ok. Good enough for me.” line said, going with it.

She brought him to her bedroom.

“Ugh. line. Where are we? And what the heck are you doing?” Evan asked

“Hush! It'll be over soon!” line said

He fell asleep.

He woke up, again.

“Line. I thought you said soon.” Evan said

“It’s… a tad harder than it looks, you know. I’ll keep going. Besides, I like it.” line said

Evan was literally too tired to fight back.

“This feels… familiar. Line, have I met you before? No. Impossible. Hm. It’s more warm than familiar, actually.” Evan said

“Mmff emm” line said

“What?” Evan asked

“I don’t think we’ve met before but I understand what you mean. Odd, isn’t it.... But nice.” Line said.

“Line. You finished?” Evan asked

“Yeah. About a minute ago.” Line said

“Good to know. You took tons of energy. I was already tired… Ah, whatever. Sleep at last.” Evan said

He passed out

“Mhmm. Cute.” Line said, poking his cheek

“Ehnnn.” Evan said

“Cute. Very, very cute.” Line said

It was morning.

“Line. You awake?” Evan asked.

He poked her cheek

“Fwee.” Line said.

“Cute.” Evan said

“Oh. Dang it. At least put clothes on. You’re gonna get sick at this rate.” Evan said quietly

He pulled the blanket over them.

He spent the next few hours staring at the ceiling. He took this time to think about what had happened.

“I wonder how everyone is in the second world.” Evan said

He raised his right hand to the ceiling and stared at it, thinking. Line was coiled tight around his left arm. It had fallen asleep ages ago.

“Fweee.” Lime said, reacting slightly to Evans words

“Ah. Sorry, line.” Evan whispered.

Her face right next to his, he did something he thought he would never do. He kissed her forehead, gently.

“I wonder what this feeling is. It seems… deeper than love. And...good? I’ve been asleep for centuries… What happened to me? Am I just...finished? My work is done. I guess there isn’t much else I need to do.... can I just...enjoy my life, then?” Evan asked, very softly.

A few more hours passed.

Line started to wake up.

“You act like you're drunk when you're half asleep.” Evan said, when line woke up completely.

“Huh? Evan? Wait, where am...AH! Right. Sorry!” Line said

“For what?” Evan asked, confused

“I, Uh.. did... stuff.... without you saying yes to it.” Line said, blushing.

“Huh? Oh. Right. Normally that is wrong….. I wonder why it felt right. No, I didn’t have any problems with it. We are, after all, living together. A life like this isn’t too bad, is it?” Evan asked, smiling. He hugged her closer to him.

“No...no, it isn’t. Rather, I feel… happy. Very very happy. It’s strange. To do this with someone you met for the first time that day, and giving up.... Ah. Oh dear.” Line said, starting to completely realize what had happened.

“Line. Don’t worry.” Evan said, smiling deeply. He found it cute to watch her panic like that though.

“Huh? You’re ok with it? Just like that? I’m assuming it was the first time for us both, right? Wait… hold on. Aren’t you 16?! Oh god! What was I thinking? Wait… what I was thinking... huh. Huh? Uhhh. Evan, I feel confused. But happy? Evaaan. Help meeee.” Line said, whining

“Love?” Evan asked, summing it up

“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds right. Love….” line said, calming down.

They sat for a few minutes peacefully, Lime coiling around his arm again.

“Ah! Right. Phil said you were supposed to train me to learn how to detect mana. Or.... something?” line said

“Oh. Open your valves. Give you the ability to feel, store, and use mana.” Evan said

“Yeah. That.” Line said

“Fine, I’ll teach you creation magic, too, if you can learn fast enough.” Evan said

“What’s that?” Line asked

“Oh. It’s this.” Evan said

He held out his hand. He made a sword, and then he made a pen.

“What was that?” Line asked

“Oh. Well, if we consider mana as another form of energy and we transform that energy into matter while getting rid of the antimatter through a process similar to reverse annihilation, then, due to how we manipulate mana, all we need to do is twist it into shapes in our mind, and activate that process. The process occurs when neutral mana is passed through a creation core while it’s still a certain shape, with specific characteristics to decide what type of element, phase, etc. it will have as a finished product. That’s the basic bit. The entire process is quite interesting, though.” Evan said

“Uh. I barely passed our military exam. I have literally no idea what any of that meant.” Line said

“Fine fine. Let’s just teach you, cmere.” Evan said, picking her up

“Oh! Wait! Phil said to go out on the field and do it. He said we have free private access to it for the rest of the day.” Line said

“Hmm. I can’t see any problem that… oh. Right. Yeah, I don’t want to destroy our room.” Evan said, thinking

“Eh? Destroy our room? How would learning mana destroy our room?” Line asked

“So Phil told you a lot, but didn’t tell you about what I was going to teach you? Did he act oddly?” Evan asked

“Uh. No, he just said we have access to the field. He was wearing an odd smile though.” Line said

“Line. I’m guessing the reason he gave us specifically private access was NOT to practice mana. Rather, I’m pretty sure Phil was thinking something completely different. However, I am going to be teaching you mana. Depending on your abilities, I might actually have some work to do training you.” Evan said

“WAit if Phil meant to give us the field for that, what kinda training are you talking about?” Line asked

She poked him

“I...hey! Stop that! Fine, whatever.” Said Evan

“So you’ll do it?” Line asked

“If you promise to practice mana, I’ll… train you.” Evan said

“Sweet!” Line said

“Are you really into that?” Evan asked

“Uh. Never really thought about it. Honestly, I paid basically zero attention to this stuff until I met you. That’s probably the reason I’ve never been in any kind of relationship…. Ah whatever. I’m into anything then, I guess. I think I'll try to figure out what I like most.” Line said

“I...let’s just get to trai-practicing mana.” Evan said

Line laughed a little

“Hey! If you keep that up I won’t do it!” Evan said

“Oh. Is that an order? Are you already training me?” Line asked

“Ugh. Just come over here.” Evan said

“Woof.” Line said

“Alright alright. Enough goofing off, lets get serious.” Evan said

“I was serious.” Line said

“.... I meant let’s move on to mana practice.” Evan said

“Ack! Fine! That feels good, actually.” Line said.

Evan pulled her by the ear to the middle of the field

“I’ll ignore that for now. Anyway, sit here.” Evan said

“Uhh. Sit?” Line asked

“Yes. No not knee- yknow what. Like this.” Evan said

He sat down next to her

“Like this. Give me your hand for a second.” Evan said

“Alright.” Line said. She gave him her hand.

“This... Is mana.” Evan said

He grinned, sending a shockwave of mana through her body. Every single valve had been opened and everything fixed. A little too well.

“Jeez! You’re a natural at this!” Evan said

“Fweeeee.” Line said, steaming a little

“Ah. A tad bit too much stimulation, eh? This is nor-uhhh.” Evan said

He had seen it in books, specifically the ones line had shown him earlier, for some reason. He didn’t think a person could make it in real life. Let alone when they passed out. He closed her eyes and put her tongue back in her mouth, closing it.

“This might be a while. That was quite the shock, more stimulation than I had intended. But dear god, her compatibility with mana is insane. Hmm. I’ll bring her with me. Let’s go to the workshop. I’m gonna make her a core.” Evan said, happy.

He picked her up and headed towards the workshop.

“Is... is this Kane’s old workshop?” Evan asked as he walked in. He flicked on the lights.

“Yup! And your office is right over there!” Phil said, emerging from the darkness

“Gah! You’re getting pretty good at that.” Evan said, humoring him

“Thanks. Centuries of practice.” Phil said proudly

“And it only improved a little? Ah, never mind. Wait… you said my office? So is this the old lab?” Evan asked

“Yeah. You didn’t notice? We built the entire base around lab 6.” Phil said

“No wonder everything seemed so familiar. I never really thought of it until now.” Evan said

“Wait! That means all of my stuff is in there right?” Evan asked

“Yeah. We have every single one of your offices and labs in a stasis field. They should be as new as the day you left.” Phil said

“How thoughtful. That’s exactly what I needed!” Evan said

“Errr. Sorry, they asked us to do that not out of respect… it’s just… we have no idea Which inventions are ticking time bombs. That was Kane’s job. He’s in the second world now.” Phil said

“That.. makes even more sense than I thought. That was the right decision.” Evan said

“But you even put a stasis field on the workshop. That was your choice, right?” Evan asked

“Ah! Yeah. You noticed?” Phil asked

“None of the machines in kanes workshop are dangerous, unless handled improperly. He used to tell me something about knives. I think it went along the lines of, ‘A knife is a knife. I know how it works. It’s sharp. It cuts. It stabs. However, what I don’t know is what the knife is going to be used for. I can guess, but I can never truly tell if someone’s gonna use a kitchen knife to stab someone, or use it to chop lettuce. Not until I see it, at least.’ It’s pretty cool.” Evan said

“Kane thought about stuff like that? Well, I guess he isn't completely like you...” Phil asked

“You do realize I have my own philosophies and ethics too, right?” Evan asked

“You have ethics?” Phil asked

“Shut up, you old horse.” Evan said, smiling

“I still have no idea why you call me that. I do know it’s when you're being sentimental, though. The entire place is yours. Unless Kane gets back.” Phil said

“Thanks. He should be happy, though. I asked Anne to build him a replica of his workshop in the notes I left her.” Evan said

He took line to the lounge, laying her down on a super comfy couch. He went to a machine and pulled out a decently large jug. He put milk in the machine, and it came out scalding hot. He mixed in a few things. Phil couldn’t tell exactly what he was doing. When he finished, he poured it into three separate mugs. He put marshmallows in them, and topped them with whipped cream. He sprinkled the top of the whipped cream with very finely crushed milk Chocolate. Finally, he put a straw in each of them. He set one to the side and put it in the miniature stasis chamber that almost all kitchens had, back before the war. He took one for himself.

“Is...is this your special hot Chocolate?! Dear god! I’ve had this once before! It was the best fucking thing I ever had! How the hell do you make these things?!” Phil asked, grabbing for the mug.

“Oh. I like mixing drinks. You know how I don’t believe in drinking myself, right? That doesn’t mean I can’t make a damn good margarita.” Evan said

“Yeah, but… this is hot chocolate!” Phil said

“Oh. That. I’ve gone around the world, remember? When we were in all those places for business trips I stopped by a lot of different local sweets restaurants. I saw new ways that people made classic sweets, I saw new sweets made from current and classic sweets, I saw new sweets that I’d never even heard of. I went to these places, and I took notes. I’ve put together perfect techniques and recipes for almost any dessert you can think of, ones that do or don’t exist.” Evan said

“Oh, right. I forgot you were this passionate about the weirdest things.” Phil said

“Oi.” Evan retorted

“Hey, I didn’t question why a 16 year old like you knows how to make a margarita.” Phil said

“I’m not 16.” Evan said

“Oh. Right. Well, you pretty much are.” Phil said

“Then isn’t what you asked line to do illegal?” Evan asked

“Is she gonna be waking up anytime soon?” Phil asked, whipped cream froth dotted his nose and he had a small white mustache, while dodging the question

Phil stared at the couch, straining his eyes.

“Why do you think I bothered putting the mug in stasis? It will be a while. I opened her mana valves. She won’t be up anytime soon, unless her talent is completely insane. Oh..... And thanks, by the way.” Evan said. He smiled at Phil with the grin of a demon

“Uhhhhh. Uh oh.” Phil said

“The field was a very nice present. Thanks to you, line may have found a side of herself she never knew of…. wait. Is there a problem with this? Ah! Right, it was the intention with which you let us borrow the field! You knew all along what line had meant when you had asked her to take me up, didn’t you.” Evan said

“Yes! I just thought that you don’t have to worry about stuff anymore! Me and the janes have everything under control! I just wanted to let you be a damn normal person for once! The world doesn't need any damn saving right now! You can just relax!” Phil blurted.

“Oh…” Evan said

“Did you hate it? Do you hate me for letting it happen? What do you feel right now? What do you want?” Phil asked

“Yeah, no. I gotta thank you for that.” Evan said

“It was plain as day, I just sped it up. I could see it in your eyes.” Phil said confidently

“Yeah yeah. Enough with the psyche student bullshit. I love her. Is that not enough? I’ll just forget what you did. It turned out to be a blessing to me anyways… you know I don’t mean this often, but… thanks. I owe you one. Imma go work on an artificial core, her talent with mana is incredible. I think she might be able to take in one of the more potent cores.” Evan said

He ran off into the workshop, and into his office. He picked up his tools and started to work, mixing magic and technology flawlessly. A wonder to behold.

“Line. You were awake, right?” Phil asked, after Evan left

Line flinched

“... you still suck at pretending.” Phil said

“Fine! Yes! I was up!” Said line, sitting up

“I don’t know how the hell Evan wasn’t able to tell you were awake, but I’m guessing you heard that? All of it?” Phil asked

“Yeah.” Line said

“What do you think?” Phil asked

“I never believed the stories. I always thought that the love they talked about was actually one sided. Only reciprocated with acceptance. I didn’t really think that a love like this could happen. I guess stories aren’t always wrong.” Line said

“So you just thought he said fuck it, and settled for you?” Phil asked

“Yeah… for a little. Only at the beginning. To be honest, I didn’t think life had times that were as convenient as meeting each other in some random place, or work, or whatever, and everything falls into place, both of them in love. It sounded too good to be true.” Line said

“Is that why you weren’t interested in romance?” Phil asked

“I’m... not sure how I feel about all this. I’m not even sure what I said is accurate. There’s only one thing I know here. I love him.” Said line

“Isn’t that good enough?” Phil asked

“Is it?” Line wondered

“Hmm. It depends on the person. Some people find love easily, others never find it at all. All I can say is, treasure the time you have together. You never know when it could end. That regret is the worst kind of regret.” Phill said. He touched a pair of rings he had on a chain necklace, gently feeling for the words engraved on the underside of the bands. He got lost in memories of the past.

“Phil? You ok?” Line asked

“Ah! Yeah.” Phil said, snapping back to the present

“Phil. What if it never ended? Would that be ok too?” Line asked

“What?” Phil asked

“Would it be ok to stay by the side of the person you love for eternity?” Line asked

“...If you become so blessed to have that happen, yes.” Phil said

“Am I being greedy by asking that?” Line asked

“No. Well, yes, but In this case it’s the right thing to be.” Phil said

“The right thing… what should I do now?” Line asked

“Stop zoning out, firstly. It makes you look like you’re depressed. Second, ask Evan that question, not me.” Phil said.

“Ah. Sorry. I was thinking.” Line said

“I can tell. I’ll let you know something about Evan. He would tear reality itself apart for something he cares about. He has the ability, as well as a deep pit of emotions which ensnares anyone who falls into it, for better or for worse. He is probably one of the most selfish people I know. In his case, it’s a good thing. For example, he likes people. Because of that one simple thought, not even something that was considered important compared to the other things he believed or hated, he united the entire world and prepared us for this war, just so people would live. Even if he hates humans. Humans can be people too... He has a sense of justice and righteousness. In that regard, as lazy as he looks, he’s closest to being a hero more than anyone else. His inventions can go beyond the boundaries of time and space, outside of our dimension, and he made them for others. Of course, he made silly stuff for his own enjoyment, but most of the major projects he worked on were to help others. Not himself. Back then… maybe we were the things he cared about most. Stuff like hot chocolate wouldn't even be second. If he didn’t have to worry about us, if he could spend his time lazily. If he could live a normal life...what he loves, huh?... You know what I think?” Phil asked

“What do you think?” Line asked

“I think he may well go further than just going beyond reality. I’d wager he might even choose to break it, if it’s for you.” Phil said

“You aren’t wrong. Because that isn’t even close to how large my wrath can be, or what I’ll sacrifice for what I love. Or what I would do if she asked me to...for the most part. The training thing is going in a little bit of a weird direction.” Evan said

“Gah!” Phil exclaimed

“Hey line. How are you?” Evan asked

“Ah... happy. Very happy.” Line said. She smiled brightly

“I see. What a coincidence. I’m happy too.” Evan said, smiling back

“Oh, right. I finished your core.” Evan said

“Wait. I know it's you we’re talking about, but wasn’t that a little fast? Are you sure it’s a good core?” Phil asked

“Honestly? It’s probably the best core I’ve ever made. No. It’s easily the strongest core I’ve ever made Artificially.” Evan said

“You’re joking, right?” Phil said

“No. My hands seemed to flow a lot quicker and more precise this time...no, rather my entire body, all of my senses, and my mana as well. They all felt as if they were guiding me. It was an incredible feeling. Here, check it out.” Evan said, holding up a nearly invisibly clear core.

It shone with a holy light brighter than a billion suns, yet it wasn't painful to look at. It soothed the soul, rather.

“Oh, it looks pretty!” Line said

“Evan… where, uh. Where are the mana circuits? I can’t see any. Also… what’s with this pressure? The amount of pressure this thing emits is insane! And that light! How pure is it!” Phil asked

“When did you learn so much about cores?” Evan asked

“You talked about what makes a core seem good or bad at a glance.” Phil said

“Ah. I probably did. By the way. I never asked this. Phil, do you have a core? Actually, rather, can you use mana at all? I’m not seeing anything.” Evan said

“Ah. No, I can’t. I didn’t have a need for it. The janes take care of all magic related issues in the world.” Phil said

“It’s not really a requirement, I guess.” Evan said

“I’ll help you out with your core tomorrow, line. It’s better to let your body adjust to the new mana flow.” Evan said

“Alright. What are we going to do then?” Line asked

“I wanna Look around. I know nothing about this place. I’d like to have a general idea of what we are working with here.” Evan said, as they walked out the workshops front entrance.

It led to a street full of shops and other things, like restaurants. Evan was surprised.