[THE HAVEN]

Bander’s eyes wandered across Janzo’s room. This was the largest unit she’d ever seen. Why did one person need this many desks and beds? Typical floor forty four over-indulgence.

Esara drifted across the unit like a ghost, settling on a bed against the far wall. Moving in with a Deadly Skull made it that much easier for V to hunt her down. Still, it was better than staying in their previous unit; enduring that rotting stink was a fate worse than death.

Janzo sat on a bed, comic book in hand.

“When you’re done moving in, you all need a shower,” said Janzo.

“I call this bed,” said Jay, falling backwards against one of four beds.

“Uh huh,” said Janzo. “But only after you shower. You need to wash those sheets now too.”

Bander dumped the last of her stuff into a closet. She disinfected as much of it as she could; lower-floor cleaners could finish the job. Wait -- that was a repulsive thought. Only a few hours in, and she was already becoming a floor forty four snob.

Bander glanced towards Esara, trembling in the corner.

“You doing okay, weirdo?” asked Bander.

Esara glanced up.

“O-Oh yeah,” said Esara. “E-Everything’s fine.”

“You don’t look fine,” said Bander.

“I-I’m just tired,” said Esara.

“You’re a terrible liar,” said Bander.

“W-What about you?” asked Esara, quickly changing the subject. “Please tell me you’ll be able to hack up here.”

“Yeah, past floor forty, you can pretty much do whatever you want,” said Bander. “Enforcers don’t track people this high, unless they do something really bad.”

“Hold up,” said Shae. “Hacking’s back on?”

“Not yet, dummy,” said Bander. “I can run Zero Space again, but I still need better parts for hacking. I can’t afford them.”

“I can,” said Janzo.

“Rub it in, jerk,” said Bander.

“I’ll buy them for you,” said Janzo.

Bander gave him a blank look.

“You’d do that for me?” asked Bander.

“Uh huh,” said Janzo. “I have lots of rep points.”

Bander narrowed her eyes.

“What do you want in return, weirdo?” asked Bander.

“Take a shower,” said Janzo.

Shae tossed a silver orb in his hand - the one from that Static tongue-lizard monster thing.

“It will be fun living with friends,” said Janzo. “Let’s see who can defeat the Dragon first.”

“Probably us, dummy,” said Bander. “You jerks still need the Dragon Sword.”

“No,” said Janzo. “We got that yesterday.”

All three Feather Birds froze solid.

“We’re fighting the dragon today,” said Janzo.

Jay leapt to his feet.

“Feather Bird meeting,” said Jay. “Right now.”

Esara and Bander were on the same page. They hopped into their fancy new chairs, strapping on Zero Space headsets.

Jay tucked the silver orb away, slipping into his Captain Lair mask.

“Gather everyone at the tavern,” said Jay. “I gotta take care of something real quick.”

“Hang on, idiot,” said Bander. “You call a team meeting, and then you immediately leave?”

“Yeah,” said Jay. “Be right back.”

***

Jay admired his reflection in the enforcer elevator. He twirled his pistols from finger to finger, tossing one over his shoulder and catching it behind his back. All this time, he could have been doing cool fancy pistol tricks. A whole new world of showboating was at his fingertips.

DING

Two Infinities entered on floor thirty seven. One had a tea kettle painted on his face, and the other, a lightbulb.

That was bad. Jay squeezed himself into a corner, doing his best to avoid their ire.

“I’m glad we’re finally hunting that dude down,” said Tea Kettle.

“Agreed,” said Lightbulb. “He’s been a thorn in our sides for too long.”

Jay’s eyes went wide. Were they talking about him?

“Still, seems like a lot of effort to waste on one dude who wasn’t bothering us much anyway,” said Tea Kettle.

“It’s Dragon’s decision,” said Lightbulb. “Best to tie up loose ends before transport.”

Jay froze. That had to be him. Who else could it be?

“I’m not worried about it,” said Lightbulb. “It’s just one dude.”

“It’s not just one dude!” yelled Tea Kettle. “You know this!”

Jay fingers trembled against his pistol triggers. One Infinity? He could handle that. But two Infinities? That was pushing it.

DING

Both Infinities departed on floor twenty nine; Jay chose not to follow. He already knew where their base was. There was nothing to learn, and plenty to lose.

Sweat leaked from his rubber mask. The Infinities were hunting him, just as Flame predicted. Did they know Flame was dead? Or that Jay killed him? it was only a matter of time until they figured it out.

Jay was in danger.

His friends were in danger.

It was time to prepare!

***

Danny took a long puff of his inhaler, staring at the corpse of his bandaged bodyguard. Bandages and flesh lay in tatters, adrift in a thick pool of red. The culprit perched on a sofa nearby - a pale man, shivering from an endless chill, feral eyes bulging.

This pale man didn’t respond to words, but responded violently to force, as Danny’s poor bandaged bodyguard had discovered. Deserters now fled the sanctuary in droves, even with nowhere else to go. Only a handful remained, creeping in dark corners with petrified eyes.

“Sucks to be you right now,” said Jay.

“Zayder’s balls, I don’t need your sympathy,” said Danny. “Or your jokes. Whatever that was. Just hand over the Silver Soul and get the hell out. I’m not in a great mood right now, eh?”

“Enforcer weapon first,” said Jay.

Danny grunted, then shoved a red duffel bag into Jay’s hands. Jay extracted a glowing purple cube with a handlebar on each side.

“I don’t know how to use this,” said Jay.

“They don’t come with instruction manuals,” said Danny. “Just point and shoot, eh?”

“I can’t even tell which end shoots,” said Jay.

“Sounds like a you problem,” said Danny. “Now pass the Silver Soul.”

Jay pitched the silver orb from beneath his leg. Danny scrambled to catch it.

“Careful!” shouted Danny. “Those things are valuable, eh?”

“You told me to pass it,” said Jay. “What are those anyway?”

“No one knows,” said Danny. “I’ve got theories, but you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me,” said Jay.

“Okay, okay,” said Danny. “But only ‘cause you asked.”

Danny blew a flume of smoke into the air.

“Do ya know how when you die in Zero Space, you turn into a little green orb and fly back to your HQ?” asked Danny.

“Yeah, I die a lot,” said Jay.

“Right, well that orb’s your soul,” said Danny. “Or your consciousness. Whatever you want to call it. Zero Space takes it when you start playing, and it doesn’t give it back.”

Jay gave Danny a sideways look.

“So like, Zero Space steals your soul or something?” asked Jay.

“Yep, that’s why most Enforcers don’t play Zero Space,” said Danny. “They know. Haven leadership knows too. They’re hiding it from us. Using those souls for something bad, no doubt.”

Jay scratched his head with a pistol.

“What’s that have to do with Silver Orbs?” asked Jay.

“Well, some people think the Static came from Zero Space,” said Danny. “Those silver orbs that Static monsters drop? Static souls. Same little green balls from in-game, petrified and corrupted. Something made ‘em that way. And someone out there wants ‘em.”

Danny’s baseball cap tipped up towards Jay.

“You probably don’t believe me, eh?” asked Danny.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” said Jay.

“Zayder’s balls, we got that in common,” said Danny. “Those theories sound more plausible than whatever bullshit the Haven’s feeding us though, eh?”

Jay shrugged. It was time to get out of here.

“Hey, you’re a premium,” said Danny. “Maybe there’s one more little job you can do for me, eh?”

Danny gave the pale man a grim stare.

“There’s someone I need taken care of,” said Danny. “I’ll really owe ya for this one.”

Jay slung the duffel bag over his shoulder.

“Sounds like a you problem,” said Jay. “Peace!”

[ZERO SPACE]

Six Feather Birds shared an outdoor table in Shield Tavern. A spread of food lay before them. Crispy drumsticks. Creamy chowder. Warm meat dumplings. And that was just Lanzer’s portion.

“Stop eating so much,” said Dane. “We’re about to raid.”

“Sorry sorry sorry,” said Lanzer. “I eat when I’m nervous. Or hungry.”

Shae flipped onto the table, spilling several beers.

“Hey losers,” said Shae. “I’m back.”

Shae squeezed in between Dalli and Umi.

“Hi Shae!” shouted Umi. “I love it when you make us wait for over an hour!”

“What the hell took you so long?” snarled Dalli.

“Just giving you time to eat,” said Shae. “So we doing this thing or what?”

“We can’t do this thing, idiot,” said Bander. “We need an eighth.”

“Maybe we can ask Chief?” suggested Asira.

Dalli shot Asira a harsh glare; she returned a beamish smile.

“There’s gotta be another healer,” said Shae.

“I’m the only good healer, idiot,” said Bander. “Everyone else is either flakey or awful.”

“I know some people!” shouted Umi. “They’re not healers, but they need lots of healing!”

“C-Chief would be a really good candidate,” said Asira.

“Enough with Chief!” snarled Dalli.

“Guys guys guys, there’s almost fifty Feather Birds,” said Lanzer. “There must be somebody.”

“Excuse me,” said a nearby voice. “Shae?”

Shae turned towards a dragonoid. His shoulders were hunched, a defeated expression curved across his scaly snout. A long scar rested just under his right eye. Sunlight bounced off a golden microphone in his hand.

“Bez?” asked Asira. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just wandering around,” said Bez. “Then I saw you guys. The Deadly Skulls are heading towards the dragon, you know.”

“We know,” said Dane.

“Hold up,” said Shae. “Why aren’t you with them?”

“I quit the Deadly Skulls,” said Bez. “Master Valdi went too far. I-I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Bez rubbed a scar below his right eye.

“You and Dane saved my life,” said Bez. “Please let me make it up to you.”

Bez knelt before Shae.

“You proposing or something?” asked Shae.

“Yeah, I’m proposing something,” said Bez. “You need a healer, and I need a guild.”

Bez gripped Shae by the hand.

“Please Shae,” said Bez. “Let me join the Feather Birds!”