“So let me get this straight,” I asked the officer that cuffed me and took me to an interrogation room, “You’ve separated me from my family because you think we’re a bunch of spies working against you? Get real, man! We’re harmless no matter how you look at it!”

Grr, me and my big mouth…! I should’ve just kept quiet and we’d already be on the outer perimeters of Lis by now! But noooo, instead I just had to tell the armed guy all about our plans! It’d be fine if I was the only person getting interrogated, but they actually singled out Nelly and Cecily as well! I don’t even know what intel they can extract from Nelly, but so help me if they even lay a finger on her…!

“Right you are, sir.” Some other officer that actually knows Entropic replied, “But you have to understand our situation as well. We’re people who have been at war for years now. We’re this close to turning the tides on the enemy soldiers, and now three random suspicious people suddenly happen to want to pass through our territory and wind up in our enemy’s territory? You gotta admit, that’s pretty suspicious.”

“Well, when you put it like that…” I scratched my cheek, “But come on, it’s your guys’ fault for not having a dock in the first place!”

“A dock?” He furrowed his brows, “Why would you need to go to Maior for the dock in the first place? If you really just wanna go back home like you told us, then there are tons of docks in Abyssus Solis that are way closer. Singling this one specific dock out makes no sense. That is of course, if you’re not criminals or anything…”

This guy’s way too good of a detective. If I’m not careful, he’ll turn the tides on me and I’ll end up in more trouble than ever before! Lawyers are scary like that – they always have this calm demeanor to them, they have incredible interrogating skills, and are amazing at lying. All three of these traits lead to a scandalous combo, as they can essentially frame you for something you could never even imagine doing. It’s improbable, but it’s still a possibility, and a possibility I’m not willing to bet on!

“That’s because we got lost while on a family trip through the desert.” I calmly stated these untrue facts, “While on a desert walk with our tour, we got separated from our group, and before we knew it we wound up near this mountain range. My daughter nearly died of a heatstroke, so I’d really like to avoid stepping another foot on that sandy wasteland ever again.”

“…” The officer didn’t at all buy it, “She looked fine to me when I interrogated her a couple minutes ago.”

“Dude, that bluff isn’t gonna work. I’m literally the first person you started interrogating, so there’s no way you interrogated her before me. Stop trying to yank my chains.”

“You’re awfully smart for someone who claims they got lost from a tour group. Pardon me for asking, but have you ever been a part of a war before?”

“No, not an official one at least.” I answered back, “That being the case, I had my fair share of gang disputes to deal with, so there’s that.”

“Gang disputes?” He sounded interested, “Y’know my brother’s in a gang, actually. That guy was never serious about anything. No matter how many letters I send him telling him to join me in a real man’s war, he keeps insisting…”

Ugh, there goes all the fear I had of you. Way to go in turning the entire interrogation session into you bragging about your delinquent brother. But actually, this could be good now that I think about it, as this way he’s not focusing on me, meaning I’ll be able to control the flow of the conversation however I want.

“Really now?” I tried to sound interested, “As someone who doesn’t have any real siblings, only close friends and acquaintances, I really do admire you for sharing such a close bond with your brother.”

“Close bond?” He leaned back, “Did you not listen to a word I said? My brother’s a complete child, despite his age! He’s still waging gang wars up north despite being more than capable of being a higher ranked officer than even me if he was to enlist in the army!”

“Yeah, but maybe enlisting in the army isn’t something he wants to spend his life doing?” I suggested, “I don’t think it’s wise for you to nag him continuously about doing something he doesn’t wanna do. From the way you’re phrasing it, you seem to care an awful lot about your brother, so it’d be more than a shame for him to stop talking to you because of you bothering him too much.”

“No, that’d never happen.” He waved his hand, “He’s older than me, so he knows all too well the importance of family. He can certainly try though, but no matter what, blood relations are an unbreakable tie.”

Okay, just what kind of fantasy world does this guy think he lives in? Just like my parents, this guy keeps insisting to his family member to do something that he wishes to see instead of something that the person in question actually wants and still doesn’t expect to lose contact with them. For all I know, that brother of his might’ve already cut ties and the officer is just too delusional to notice it himself.

“But never mind that, we’re currently investigating your case, so please don’t stray off topic.” The officer warned, “I’ve seen your type. I know just how sharp of a tongue you’ve got, but I won’t be swayed by your words!”

“Whoa, you’re suddenly jumping all over the place with the topics here. Are you sure that this whole interrogation isn’t just a façade behind which you hide your feelings and regrets towards your brother?” I tried my best psychiatrist impression.

“I’m not that dumb, dude.” He replied, “Please don’t treat me like a kid with zero object permanence getting his favorite toy hidden from him. Now answer the question, why are you really here?”

“Uhhh…”

***

Looking through the door’s windows, I could see two faint silhouettes of soldiers walking by our room. Just then, in the spur of the moment, I blurted out, “Alright, if you want me to prove that we’re not spies, I’ll join the war effort on your side and become a Lis soldier!”

“Really?!” He suddenly made a full emotional one eighty as he jumped from his seat, “You’d do that for me?! Oh, I’m so happy right now! I haven’t gotten a new batch of recruits in so long! All these veterans have grown way too boring!”

Eh? Did I just make a mistake? This guy’s sudden enthusiasm is somehow making me feel extremely anxious about what will happen to us from now on. Well, at least I’m not gonna get held up anywhere too long. It’ll be hard to explain to Nelly and Cecily, but we’ll think of a way to leave soon enough. Oh, wait, if I become a soldier here, then what will happen to them?

“Oh, but before that, I have some questions!” I quickly raised my worries, “My family, what will become of them?”

“Ooh, right, you have that.” He rolled his eyes, “Well, I don’t know, just tell them to go home, I guess.”

“That’s our goal from the start, dumbass!”

Geez, and he has the gall to tell me that I wasn’t listening to his story at all…! What an ass, to say something so insensitive! Don’t you think I’d go home with them myself if I could?

“Whoa, lower your voice when talking to a commanding officer!” He reached for his belt that housed an AFP, “Otherwise you might just get shot.”

“Oh please!” I approached him and tucked the gun back under his shirt, “If you’d really shoot me her, you’d get dishonorably discharged within the minute! Not to mention you obviously have no idea how an AFP works, given you’re not even holstering it correctly.”

“You getting smart with me?!” He whipped the gun out, only there was no gun in his hands at all, “Wuh, huh!?”

“Looking for this?” I Materialized the gun behind my back, making it seem like I stole it while tucking his shirt in earlier, “Honestly, someone like you being my instructor? I think I’ll pass on being a soldier here, after all. See here, this little bit is called the barrel, that’s where you fire from…”

“I-I know how an AFP works!” He took the gun from my hands, “I just happened to holster it upside down the last time I put it on my belt is all!”

“That blunder is fine now, but in a real battle I’d already be hosting your funeral, y’know? Unless, of course, that was your plan from the start?”

“And why would it be?! I’d never think of taking the easy way out, no matter what!” He broke down, “I still have to see my big brother once more before I bite the dust! If you wanna make fun of that, then go ahead, laugh!”

This guy’s just a walking stick of dynamite, isn’t he? One moment he’s calm and collected, the other moment he’s having a mental breakdown. Seriously, I’m really regretting joining this guy’s army. I’m anti-war to begin with, so why the hell did I even suggest such a stupid idea?

“Alright, alright, no need to get your panties in a twist.” I patted him on the shoulder, “But yeah, looks like we’re a lot more similar than I thought. Both of us just want to protect our family, and we’re both fighting the urge to disappear on the daily.”

“Really now?” He stood up with a chuckle, “Then I couldn’t be happier to have you with us, soldier.”

“A-Actually, that was kind of a joke, ha-ha…”

“Excuse me?” He shouted, “That’s That was kind of a joke, sir! to you!”

“Y-Yessir…”

Just like that, I apparently became a rookie at the Lis side of the army. Wait until Cecily hears about this, she’ll tear me limb from limb. I’m really not looking forward to that!