Day 8: Onward, towards the Library

The five of us were prepared, Me, Oliver, Shina, Ao, and Taylor were going to the Urban myth ranked Library, It was going to be dangerous but at the very least one of us had to succeed

“So” Shina broke the silence “Anyone wanna talk about why they’re going to the Library?” Everyone besides me and Shina looked to the floor. I pulled Shina aside out of earshot of the others “Leo?”

“Shina...be honest, what’s with you, before you didn’t care what happened, now you’re focusing on everyone” Shina’s pessimistic stance returned

“Glad someone has been paying attention, listen Leo, I don’t know if you noticed but Oliver has been acting off lately, I know you haven’t known him long, but take it from me, he’s a different person” Maybe Shina knew that Oliver wasn’t human and he was just hiding it, or maybe, maybe he didn’t know the truth. “I tried acting different so maybe he’d notice and question me like the caring person he was, but, he didn’t, he’s more or less watching out for himself and whatever book he’s trying to grab” Shina, even when acting like himself, still was looking out for Oliver, guess that’s how deep their friendship goes

“Well, let’s just hope things turn out alright, you know? Maybe it’s something we don’t understand, we...you weren’t with him that day right” Shina stopped after my words

“What do you mean, “I wasn’t with him”, you weren’t either” I looked down at the floor, me telling him could go either way, and yet, I opened my mouth anyways

“Shina...I feel as though, I was there, a-and before you say anything, just know, I didn’t remember, it feels as though my memories were cut off, yet when I looked at that Invitation, I got these sudden memories and...it just...I was there, okay?” Shina slowly looked away, either by surprise or because he didn’t believe me, thinking about it now, it said we were all, members of the old LC, maybe, just maybe, Shina was there also

“So. did...did you also get that thought?” Shina had his hands over his mouth “The thought that Oliver isn’t human” I forced a nod and I saw the light in his eyes fade away “That..explains so much, he can’t...be human, no matter what, there’s no way, that even someone like him could survive an attack from an Aleph alone, all of us...did...all of us know each other, and yet...Oliver, was he the one who erased our memories, or was it that reset” Hearing Shina go off on his suspicions of countless things told me, that he also was an old member of LC. I grabbed him and got in whispering range

“Shina, if Oliver truly is a threat we can’t let him know, I..want to trust him but, so many things go against him now”

“I...Understand” Seeing Shina look depressed was something I couldn’t imagine, maybe, by his memories being erased he lost his ability to care, it didn’t matter anymore, he had his feelings back now, all that’s left is to go to the Library and figure it out ourselves...if we win.

“Everyone ready to go?” Oliver asked as we all finally walked back to the table we left the invitation at “We don’t know what’s waiting for us, so retreat if it’s necessary, understand?” Everyone except Taylor nodded, he was looking around, probably questioning what happened to the place, or maybe, he didn’t know an old LC existed. Regardless, we all gathered

“Well, hopefully I see you all on the other side.”Ao taunted, we all took out pens and began writing our names

“Oh, boy, what am I getting myself into”Taylor once more playfully stated. After we all signed it seemed as though we just teleported

“Oh....that’s...a bit odd” I questioned on how it worked, if the placed warped us or the paper

“Is it really? It’s an urban myth, hell probably more by now, I wouldn’t doubt if it was magic after all, we literally deal with mythic beings, like a goddamn skull on bones” Ao with his “Expertees” continued talking until Taylor glared at him causing him to shut it. We continued talking until we noticed someone standing at an entryway. Taylor, Oliver, and Ao both had some form of disgust on their faces

“W-

“Don’t” Oliver cut the woman off “You may not know us, but we sure as hell heard of you, we get the books after fighting things, yeah, and we turn to books if we lose, we get it” We all stood there waiting for the woman to move

“...May you find your book here” And so, after the woman finished talking, Oliver pushed past her, along with Ao and Taylor, me and Shina followed and I gestured some sort of fast way to say sorry. I ran to catch up with the others

“Hey, Oliver! What was that for?” Oliver continued walking mostly ignoring me and yet still gagged up a response

“I...I just don’t wanna hear that voice, I can’t bear to be reminded of those days I spent in eternal hell, whoever was the manager there....I hope they’re dead, and I hope they suffered” Oliver looked different, his eyes showed an aggressive look, and yet his face, looked pained, like the more we do this, the more he doesn’t wish to push onwards, maybe once I get my memories back all the way, I’ll be the same.

“So, the place looks bigger than before..mhh probably upgraded, Urban Legend maybe?, Perhaps an Urban Plague?” The longer Taylor was here, the more psychotic he began to seem as he didn’t look more fearful of the amount of enemies we’ll face, but instead more happy.

“It doesn’t matter, we’ll just kill them all the same, an ex Agent, a current Agent, 2 clerks who have battle experience and know their stuff and a psycho sephirah, we’ll be a-okay” Ao attempted to boost our spirits Yet most of us continued the walk towards our first ordeal without talking, as we continued to walk the confined space we were in grew to a massive size with an purple tint around the area, Oliver, who was leading the group came to a halt “Hey! What’s the hold up Oli!?” Oliver raised his hand to point ahead, Me and Shina, who were in the back, moved to the sides and what awaited us, was a medium haired man, and two others

“So, they did upgrade, hmm, pretty fast if I say so, then again we spent the day walking and looking for stuff” Ao took out a spear “Alright then everyone ready?”

“Ready on you” Taylor stood beside Ao and Oliver continued to hold the front

“Alright then, Everyone Engage!”Ao screamed out and The three charged and Shina just looked at me confused, I shrugged and both of us joined the rush towards our three opponents. Oliver, from the looks of it, was going after the man in purple and Ao and Taylor were alternating between the two others, looking at Taylor made me understand him more, the guy was a certified psychopath, he couldn’t care about his own wellbeing any less as he just kept trying to break the guard of a blond-haired girl, I took out a dagger and tried to find an opportunity to hel-...I felt something warm, there was no point looking down, I already knew what happened, I was stabbed, I turned to look at who did it and saw a blond boy, he had scars on his face, such a young boy got wrapped up in this. I fell on top the boy and saw fear in his eyes, he tried running away but I grabbed him

“I..it’s okay...this...We asked for this….You’re scared right? You’re not that young...so I know..you understand...this...won’t kill me...so...just go...and...don’t...worry about me, i’ll be okay” I let go of him and he ran, I didn’t know if I told him the right thing or not but hey, it was worth a shot

“Leo!” Shina grabbed me before I fell and put my arm over his shoulder “Oh, no, you’ll be fine right? It wasn’t that deep, just enough to be really painful” he paused and regained his composure “Right, it’s okay, I can handle this” Shina set me down “Armor did nothing, what terrible luck you got Leo” I smiled but felt pain right after

“Sorry Leo'' Shina, his emotions must have been cut off when his memories were erased, so this is what he was like befo- Something sharp hit me “Hey I did say sorry” I tried my best to look at myself and saw a syringe hitting me, I looked at the hand that syringed m- Ao? I double checked the needle and saw it, Enkephalin “This’ll help, just try to not give into temptations alright?”

“You ja-

“Yeah, wow, look at me I’m a kind samaritan” Ao cut me off but then I noticed something, I..was going to cuss someone out, guess my loyalty came from my negligence, great…

“YAHHH” The three of us turned over the the scream and saw Oliver with books flying next to him, he hunched over putting his hands on his legs “It’s...over” He looked at me and his eyes widened “Leo!” He slid next to me “Are..you okay?” I nodded “Good...good” I hid the syringe from Oliver and, took it out of me while he looked away

??? Hours later

I gained enough strength to continue walking and to fight, and yet it feels like we’ve been walking for centuries,and I’ve been feeling nauseous since an hour or two ago, I started getting tired at least until Oliver stopped again, he had more of a face of disgust and hatred than before

“Well ready to face your hatred head on Oli?” Ao must have been referring to the sephirah that Oliver hated

“Alright gents,how we feeling about our chances, a woman who just looks hesitant, a blond haired girl who looks too cocky wielding two daggers, and...actually, that guy might prove a threat”Taylor pointed towards a man with White-pinkish hair holding a sword, he had one of his hands in his jacket pocket . Oliver looked over at me and Shina

“You two, use guns first, only use your weapons when you’re out of ammo, if anyone has to die it should be us, understand?”

“Yes Sir!” We both said simultaneously, Oliver, even though it looked forced gave a smile and turned back towards the opposition

“They come back even if we kill them, so don’t be afraid to go all out, we got these three then another group but just because we outnumber them doesn’t mean we should get cocky, everyone should stay defensive yet not too defensive” Ao, even though he sounded confused tried stepping up as a leader “Shina, Leo, give us some covering fire, bullets in this time and age are expensive for a reason so be careful when firing, Taylor, stick with me and take out the other two!”

“What about the girl front and center?” Shina asked

“She’s mine!” After we heard that we saw a figure dash towards her, Ao looked disappointed in him

“Alright Oliver, yeah, you can take her on, sure, just ignore me. Everyone else! Remember what I said and don’t lower your guard for even a second, strike and bleed-em dry!!” Taylor and Ao rushed the other two as me and Shina tried to give cover fire. It’ll be fine, I kept telling myself, these memories rushing me made me start to doubt everything including myself, I shook my head I couldn’t think of it right now, it would put everyone at risk instead I tried focusing on support for Oliver as he was alone, the guy was fully offensive purposefully taking hits if it meant he gets closer. Oliver...A memory hit me, and it hit hard

???, Lobotomy Corp?

“Remember Leo, this thing is dangerous so be cautious” The man’s face was blurred yet, he looked familiar “First day as an agent and you’re already facing an Aleph, you must got potential” His voice was gentle without any pain or malice, the face began to unblur and Shina was in front of me, he smiled “Well, good luck bud!” Shina unlocked the door and I entered, a weird slimy abomination awaited me, but I couldn’t hesitate, I had to do my job. Not even a minute in an alarm started playing, the 1st warning was a sign that whatever broke out could be resolved, I didn’t panic, anything I did, that wasn’t what I was supposed to do, was a risk, a second later the alarm jumped, 2nd warning. Whatever was going on outside the door was nothing to worry about they could handle it, I just had to do this righ- the door behind me opened, another person with a blurred face and yet, when even the blurriness went away, the man looked crazed and, it was Oliver, I felt a jab of pain in my arm, it..felt like something was injected in me, I looked at Melting Love while backing away, I grabbed my baton and without looking, turned and smacked Oliver in the head. I grabbed him and started running, the door wasn’t repairable, or at least, not in time.

“I...i’m sorry” I heard a faint voice from my arms

“It’s okay” I set him down from my back “Here, take this, we’re both agents so we got a job to do right?” I handed him a phone “Use it whenever you’re in trouble, and I'll come on running to you alright?” Oliver nodded and darted off taking his rifle with him. Alright then, time to get this show on the road. I ran the opposite way, trying to recall where Shina went, it was this way wasn’t it?

“Hey Leo!” I heard Shina’s voice beside me

“You’re sneaky huh?” I looked to my right and saw him running beside me “Alright, Shina, we gotta contain everything, including Melting Love!” I had to shout over the alarm, at this point it was getting irritating

“Hold on! Didn’t you just work with it not even two minutes ago? Err forget it, doesn’t matter, listen, there’s someone we should regroup with” We turned the corner and I noticed myself getting tired, it got to the point where I needed to kneel down “Leo?” It was hard to see, but when I looked at the vents I noticed something coming through. I forced myself to stand and continue walking while putting myself on the wall

“Shina, we have to meet with that guy, then immediately get to Oliver, understand!?” It was hard to hear, all I know was that he agreed.

“Hey? Shina that you?” Once again another familiar voice rang out “Ahh! It is you! Oh, You okay?” I felt someone grab my arm and put it around their shoulder, here this might help, I mean, maybe?” I felt a needle inject into me, it felt painful yet, felt like I was in bliss, although, I was still nauseous “Well, it helped enough, come one then, let’s get a move on to Oli” This memory, was, this just my imagination fabricating something, I..couldn’t have been an Agent, no, then why was I a clerk, if this memory is real, than why out of all thing, did I become a useless clerk. My memory of this day, was hazy at best, it felt like things were being skipped, like I’m not being told everything

“Oliver?” Shina’s voice, that’s all I heard, other than the sound of blood dripping, this, this was the moment Oliver killed everyone with that rifle, I was there on that day, and I couldn’t even remember. As I began going through my memories, another, terrible thought popped up in my head, sas there some chance that Oliver , in the real world, wasn’t even real? It made sense, why he mentioned having to take medicine on that wheelchair on in bed, yet he’s fighting right now, stronger than ever before, then in or new LC he got scared of something, and even though I said i’d kill it, I can do no such thing, as the creature he was scared of wasn’t even there.

“LEO!” A voice screamed out calling my name, I opened my eyes and noticed a big slash on my chest. Ahh, this is what I get for zoning out huh? What... a worthless...way to die

Oliver’s POV

Strike after strike, I was letting my anger out, after all these years, if it wasn’t for that meltdown, then everything would still be alright, I heard something cutting through something like paper, I turned and saw Leo with a giant slash on his chest

“LEO!” I ducked under an attack and darted towards him, the man who cut him was that guy with the white-pink hair, I wanted to kill him put, when I saw the boys face, I just felt pity, the boy showed so much remorse, his face showing that he didn’t want to do this, but had no other choice. Were they really not told? The fact that they come back after death? Although it made sense, if you knew you couldn’t die you’d get cocky, nevermind that, what mattered was Leo being injured. I sprinted towards him shoving him aside “Leo, Leo?” I grabbed under his arms and started dragging him “Shina, Ao, Taylor, fall back!” The three looked over at me

“Leo?” Shina showed concern while the others were more surprised

“Damnit, we’re leaving already?” Taylor slid behind me, providing cover fire

“Alrighty, this didn’t go as predicted” Ao defended Shina as the dual wielding girl attacked him

“Ol..iver?” I heard a faint voice below me, Leo was dying, and this time there wasn’t anything to help him “Do you... really remember...that day?” I paused, the only sound was gunfire and the noise of me dragging Leo

“Yes...I..remember”

“Ah...I..thought so...you..always were off...hey..here after all...I gave..it to you first” Leo put a phone in my pocket “Or maybe, should I call you since i’m dying?” Leo forced a smile..he forced...such a pained smile “Hey Oliver?”

“Ye..yeah?”

“Why’d you kill me?” Hu..huh? I looked down, Leo...Leo was...bleeding all over “Why...why did you get everyone killed? You opened that door and because of that, you had to shoot everyone” I dropped Leo, but, he wasn’t even there it was just a voice in my head, everything, was dark, I was surrounded by darkness

“No..no... that...I was insane..I..I couldn’t do anything! Hod it was her fa-

“Blaming her again aren’t we? Doesn’t that get old, blaming others for your mistakes, blaming others for the people you slaughtered, you were already addicted to that drug, Hod, if anything, helped you, you’re a murderer, and in the end, that’s all you’ll ever be”

“No..I..I’m..i’m a good person...I...just wanted to help”

“And yet, when you were given instructions for that gun, you ignored it, and because of that they’re dead, Oliver, you’re nowhere near, a good person..No wonder I died, after all, you were always reckless no matter how you tried to hide it, jeez, it got to the point where you thought I was still alive, you thought I was loyal. Honestly, why would I be loyal to someone like you, someone as vile as you, as insane as you, why..would I be loyal..to the person who killed me

Modern day

I woke up again, another nightmare, I swear, they kept getting longer and longer. I sat up and faced my desk, I fell asleep while working again. I let out a yawn and looked at a picture, Leo...Leo, was dead, he was for a long time...for so long I blamed Hod, I threw away the blame and pinned it on someone else, I still had the phone he gave me that day, either because I feel too guilty to throw it away, or because maybe, I just don’t want to forget

“Hey Oli!” I felt two arms on my shoulder “Your birthday is tomorrow, how old are you now, 26? 30? Somewhere on that scale right?” Ao, changed from back then, he wasn’t high on Hod and Netzach’s supply anymore, he...was a lot more optimistic than before, Shina was also more expressive, maybe that’s why his personality changed drastically in that dream “Either way, we gotta celebrate, I already told Shina all about it”

“Trust me, he did” Shina peeked from his cubicle “The guy won’t be quiet” He jokingly smirked. I faked a smile, they already moved on from Leo, maybe because they weren’t at fault, either way, I couldn’t remind them, I don’t deserve their help.

“I say we get a drink, it’ll get us to be more loose” The two went towards the exit “Hey Oli, You tagging along? Fixer work is hard enough on its own and if we’re gonna get into the library we gotta lay down and relax every now and then” Right, I thought of why in my dream we were in the library, but know I knew, it’s because I made it my life mission to get into it

“Hey Ao, you getting an invite to the library is very slim of a chance”

“Huuuh? You taunting me?” Ao and Shina were messing with each other, right, I had to push on, for their sake, and Leo’s

“Hold on, I’m coming, give me a minute” I got up from my desk, running a fixer office was difficult, but we pulled through.

The three of us entered...well...at least something that resembled a bar, the place looked weird to me though, something just felt off

“It’s on me, get whatever, not too expensive though, otherwise i’ll bash ya” I laughed at Ao’s..I guess you can call it a joke, it felt weird, after all it’s been a while since we’ve all gone out like this “Ahh, Shina, come with me for a sec, I wanna show you something” Shina sighed

“Alright, alright, stay put Oliver, I’ll be back in a sec” The to went off to the other side of the establishment, Ao was showing Shina some sort of expensive food. I noticed a gust of wind hitting me from behind as I heard a screech of some sort of chair

“Tsuki”

“How’d you know it was me?”

“I just...I guess I got used to how quiet your footsteps are” I faced the counter and called for a drink. In reality, it’s really just because I don’t speak or see her much, then again she barely appeared in my dream.

“Hmm”

“What?”

“I..dunno, you just seem off well, I guess, I have no say in that, after all I barely see you” When I looked over at her, she seemed different, taller, she was short back then, so seeing her near my height, at least from a glance, was startling “It’s...I mean, I don’t wanna bring up the past but, it’s about Leo, isn’t it” I looked down at the counter, she was spot on. I reluctantly nodded “I..thought so, the guy was impressive, taking on an Aleph for his first day too ba-”She looked at me, the anger at myself must’ve been obvious “Right….changing subject, yeah. How’s the other two?

“Fine, they’re about the same from when you last saw them, well, I guess Ao is a bit more positive” She laughed, although it didn’t seem fake, she seemed tired

“If you really aren’t joking then damn, time..really flies by doesn’t it….Well, I got things to do, see ya again Oliver” She waved goodbye and headed for the exit door

“Tsuki!”

“Hmm, what is it?” She turned over to look at me, she was taller, but...looked really tired

“I’m sorry, for last week” She walked over back to me putting money on the counter

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it, If I can’t make it to your birthday tomorrow than take this money as a gift” She patted my shoulder “Don’t burden yourself too much Oliver” She walked out the door and Shina and Ao came back over sitting beside me

“Wasn’t that Tsuki?” Ao with a mouth full of food was looking at the door, questioning if the person he saw was real

“Of course it was, you think only we come here? It’s the best bar after all” Ahh, that’s why everything is so damn expensive, anyways, we got that huge check from last week, so let’s celebrate until Oliver’s birthday”

“What, like an after party but before the party?” Shina pointed at me

“Spot on, alright everyone, let’s drink till we’re out!” We all clashed our drinks together ready to blast the night away.

And boy, was it the most happy night I‘ve had in awhile