Sorry this is so late, I've been in a motivational slump lately...

Well, that's why I'm going to be writing on a schedule now. Hopefully that will fix my motivation issues.

Monday-Nothing

Tuesday-Tournament of the Gods

Wednesday-ANUC

Thursday-Nothing

Friday-Some other project. (For now, this will be another chapter of TotG.)

Saturday-ANUC

Sunday-ANUC

This counts as Saturday's chapter, despite it being 1:30 AM for me at the time of posting.

As you might have noticed, The Technomage does not appear anywhere on there. This is because I have decided to drop it. I've been going over my plans for it over the past week, as well as what I've written so far, and decided I wasn't happy with it at all. The mechanics I had planned for it were completely unbalanced, the characters flat, the plot - well, the plot was alright, but kind of boring.

So, I've decided to drop it, and start work on something new, whatever I decide that to be.

Btw, check out 'Throne of All: Tournament of the Gods', a joint project written by me and five other authors!

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Simon ran down the wide hallway, frantically dodging or even jumping over the various people lazing about. He scanned the shops on either side as he went by, searching for his missing mother.

He managed to clear about a fifth of the mall this way before he finally found her. Fortunately, she wasn’t in mortal danger as he had suspected in his paranoia, but was simply speaking with Thomas in the middle of the hall.

“Mom!”, Simon shouted breathlessly, jogging over to them.

“I was looking all over for you! How come you’re out here in the middle of the hallway?”, he asked.

She looked startled at his disgruntled appearance. Out of the corner of his eye, Simon noticed Thomas glaring at him angrily.

“Oh dear, no need to get so worked up. I had heard little Tommy had come back from his job so I came out here to meet him.”, she said, smiling at Thomas.

Thomas glanced away, embarrassed. “I thought I told you to stop calling me that...”, he muttered.

Simon sighed, relieved she was safe.

“Tiffany made dinner, you should probably head back before it gets any colder.”, he told her.

Mrs. Belfonse’ eyes lit up excitedly at the mention of Tiffany’s cooking. It seemed the woman’s godly culinary skill was universally revered.

“Oh, wonderful! My that woman can cook up a storm. Have you tried it yet, Simon? Oh dear, I’d better get over there quick before I miss out. Good bye, you two, try not to be at each other’s throats for too long now.”, she chattered excitedly, before rushing off at a high speed.

Simon rolled his eyes, not surprised in the slightest at his mother’s intuition. He turned to Thomas, who had gone back to glaring at him.

They stood there for a few moments, staring at each other.

“You better not drag her into anything dangerous.”, Simon warned.

Thomas snorted. “Likewise. I don’t want to see you dragging her into any of your delusions.”

Simon’s eyelid twitched at the provocation, but chose not to reply, perhaps wisely.

For another few tense moments, they sized each other up, before eventually, Thomas turned away, disinterested.

“Elliot’s calling all the powereds up to the command room. That means you too, so don’t get any bright ideas about skipping.”, he said warningly.

Simon harumphed, but replied, “If you can call a decked out Wallmart a “control room”. Whatever. I’ll go up and see what he wants, at least.”

Simon followed Thomas reluctantly down the hall and up the stairs to the bustling Wallmart. Inside, Simon counted about eighteen people crowded around one of the checkout counters. Elliot stood atop it with the aura of a king observing his kingdom.

Spotting the two brothers, Elliot gave a wide smile and spoke. “It seems everyone has arrived. Now we can finally begin.”

Thomas moved to mingle with a few people in the crowd. Simon recognized them as the people he had gone scouting with. On the other side of the throng, Simon noticed Tiffany standing about, looking bored. Simon took a spot a little away from the edge of the crowd himself.

Elliot took a deep breath and adopted a serious expression.

“As of eight hours ago, the world has fallen.”, he began.

Simon almost snorted. While he had seen the chaos for himself, it was certainly a little dramatic.

“Countries fell, governments toppled, and chaos ruled the streets.”

People were nodding, solemnly agreeing with him.

“We are all that’s left of the order we once had. Us few are the only thing that stands between our loved ones and death. By your valiant efforts, we have saved countless lives, rescued families, and gained a semblance of the life we once had.” He paused, taking another deep breath.

“But it’s not enough!”, he said passionately. “Through the city, fighting and war run rampant! Innocent people suffer from the whims of violent forces like the Blue Bloods or the Reapers! These people are in desperate need of help. They call out, hoping for somebody, anybody to save them.” He paused again, letting it sink in to his audience. Many of them were nodding and staring up at him almost religiously.

“But no one will. No one but us, but you. You valiant heroes who have proven time and time again that you will not let evil run its course. If you need prove, simply walk out that door. Walk out and witness the countless faces bearing gratitude and praise at your benevolence. The police are outmatched. The military outgunned. It is left to you strong men and women to protect the people.”

Many of the people in the crowd were whispering, saying things like, “Yes!”, “That’s right!”, or “A hero... I’m a hero...”. Simon even witnessed a few of them crying tears of joy.

“We must take back the city! There are countless innocent people out there just waiting for someone to come save them! For you to save them! On the morrow, I will begin an assault to take back our homes. Who here will stand with me?!”, Elliot shouted fervidly.

A chorus of “I will!”s and “Aye!”s met his words, and the crowd clamored in excitement.

Unwilling to be singled out, Simon pumped his fist in the air, mimicking the others.

‘What the hell...’, he thought darkly. ‘He’s like a goddamn general. My god, he’s trying to take over the city!’

Simon was appalled, though he didn’t let it show on his face. It was like he was seeing the start of a crusade.

Elliot wiped a tear from his face, and started to speak. The clamour died down instantly as people strained to hear his words.

“I thank you my friends. I pray you all get a good rest. Tomorrow we will take down our homes!”

The crowd cheered again, and at a wave of his hand, everyone dispersed, chattering excitedly.

Simon noticed Tiffany waving at him, and jogging over, a huge smile on her face.

He gulped nervously. ‘Oh god, I hope she didn’t buy into that crap’

Despite his inner thoughts, he greeted her with a smile of his own.

When she reached him, she looked around, and noticing they were alone, she dropped her smile and looked at him seriously.

“Que o homen e porra louca! He’s fucking crazy, I can’t believe people were cheering for that shit.”, she said.

Simon sighed, relieved. “I agree.”, he said. “We need to get the hell out of here before that bastard starts his little war.”

Tiffany nodded in agreement, but seemed to realize something. “What about your brother? Isn’t he in on it too?”, she asked.

Simon sighed, and muttered darkly, “Don’t worry about him. I’ll take care of it.”

In this episode of ANUC: Simon witnesses the creation of a cult worshipping flowing long hair, and sighs a lot. What happens next? Find out next time on A N U C!