Stanley had one of his split minds using [Quiet Meditating Soul] at full strength while the other two were trying to figure out how to hover in relation to the moving trailer around him and not as he usually did, in regard to the ground.

The meditating split didn't cause any reaction from the sleeping pug in his Soul, no matter how much he pushed it, which was good because the hovering attempts felt ominously close to waking up the glowing Soul. One effect of the meditation was to block out his senses completely, but only for the singular split that was using it. The other three splits had no such deficits, and the world around him was freely available to be experienced.

It honestly felt a bit like a cheat to be able to use it this way, and Stanley loved it. The only minor restriction was that he had to keep his body in the proper cross-legged position to maintain the Skill, and of course, the oddity of everyone moving and talking slightly too slow. Luckily, he could move his hands just enough to give the physical pug in his lap some gentle pets. Caffeine had finally dozed off, and Stanley was being extra careful to avoid waking him, part of the reason for his attempts to hover rather than bounce along with everyone else.

Stanley did manage it a short while later and was so immersed in the process that he didn't notice when the truck stopped. He was brought back to reality when an approaching finger threatened to poke him and brought Caffeine scrambling back awake.

"...talk to yourself over there," Eve was saying, "I need to fix this, so you're not leaving a trail for anyone to detect."

Caffeine was almost in a panic as his head popped up, and his body followed. Until his gaze settled on Stanley's face, and the whining tongue-lashing resumed. Stanley smiled, happy and just a bit sad for the pug as he did his best to comfort Caffeine while he settled down beside the half-melted cocoon to let Eve access it.

Then Stanley spread one of his split minds wide to take in their situation. Though, it was more that he just started paying more attention as his mind was already touching a vast area around the truck.

There wasn't much to see. In fact, there was no wildlife anywhere in his range. Aside from a few small critters here and there, all of them sporting tiny Souls that made Stanley think they had to be beyond weak. An assumption that might be unwarranted, judging threats based solely on the strength of the Soul he could sense, but one that hadn't proved false yet.

It didn't hurt that everyone in the truck had a quantitative aura of… power aside from their Souls, a feeling that Stanley attributed to the fact that they were all C Rank. A sense that was utterly lacking from everything outside.

In the meantime, Eve's words about leaving a trail caught up to him, and Stanley had an idea. His [Psionic Soul Shield] was not tagged as having Source, yet it used his Psionic power, which he could feel was a hair trigger away from the Source, and it used his Soul, which Stanley was reasonably sure was a big part of containing said Source. Though, mainly he believed his Soul was sheltering Caffeine's Soul, which was the actual home of the Source. In fact, he hadn't really used the Soul Shield since fixing the wound in their Soul, but it was still worth a shot.

Stanley very gently and slowly started up the Skill. The whole time waiting for any indication that it was about to start burning him, and yet it never did as he built the shield stronger and then finally settled the fully powered Skill around himself.

It must have had an effect because he'd gotten Eve's attention. "That also works…" She looked back at the metal that flowed like clay in her hands as she finished reshaping it into the disc it used to be before Stanley melted it and frowned. "It also blocks the extra charge… Was that your Soul Shield?"

Stanley assigned the second split mind to maintain the shield. "Yea, but how did you know… oh right, you did get some kind of Soul Skill, didn't you?" Eve didn't look at him, but her Soul felt… guilty? "Why is she feeling guilty? I offered to teach it…"

"Look, Stanley!" Eve burst out, anger rising over her guilt, "I've been trying my god's damndest to keep us alive, to keep you alive, or at least to get you the fuck out of…"

"Shit!" Stanley held up his hands, heat rising on his face as he realized that he'd verbalized his thoughts yet again, "I didn't mean anything!"

"Stanley," Zeke said, interrupting and coming to Stanley's rescue, "what happened to you before? If you don't mind… talking… about it…" Zeke trailed off when Stanley looked at him, but Stanley felt everyone else perk up at the question. Eve settled back down as well, continuing to fix the cocoon. Apparently, they all wanted to know. To be fair, Stanley hadn't really had an opportunity to explain his rather noticeable lack of assistance with the Undead, aside from the one who attacked Caffeine… So Stanley told them his side of events and, in return, also heard what he'd missed.

He told them about the collar dragging his and Lee's minds together and how he'd fought the collar. In return, he learned that Zeke and Adrian had both worked most of the night to keep him alive during that time.

He also found out that slave collars were a thing over here as well, something that Nate hunted down with vigorous ruthlessness at even a rumor of a whisper.

Then he learned of Sam's betrayal… "I could have killed her when we first met," Stanley thought with some regret, remembering how close it had been. "...if Caff hadn't stopped me, I would have."

"Caffeine did end up finishing the job on that bitch," Eve said, with a grim smile, "took her head off, twice, in fact. Though, I wish she had suffered more…"

Stanley also found out why Adrian was an egg… "I'm sorry, Daryl. I should have been there… or at least done more."

"But you did!" Zeke protested, "you gave me the…" He glanced at Eve and then said quietly, "the tether."

Stanley had almost forgotten about that… but before he could ask about it, Daryl said, "It wasn't your fault, Stanley. It's mine. I was too weak!"

"They were all too weak," Stanley thought, looking around at the others, "though fighting a C Rank might have been too much even… for… me…" Everyone was staring at him oddly. "I thought that out loud again, didn't I?"

Eve looked torn between glaring at him for calling her weak and trying not to laugh at what Stanley knew was his increasingly red face.

"Sorry…" Stanley focused very intently on petting Caffeine.

"What the hell is up with you?" Eve finally demanded, anger winning out despite the worry deep in her Soul.

"So, about that," Stanley said, still blushing slightly, and then told them about his newest Skill. "...so I may have gotten a bit too used to talking to myself…" The reactions were mixed between amusement and pity. "I had no one else to talk to…"

"You poor bastard," Eve said deadpan, "I can't imagine how bad it must have been to put up with yourself for so long." Stanley could sense that she did feel bad deep down… deep, deep down. But honestly, he preferred her response over Zeke, whom Stanley worried was about to start crying…

"You lived," Daryl said pragmatically, and everyone quieted in the aftermath of that statement. "But you're right," Daryl said, into the now somber silence, "we were all too weak!"

"Hey," Eve snapped, "I killed one of the fuckers!"

Daryl sighed, "Yea, sorry, Eve. I was the really useless one, standing around like an idiot while everyone else actually fought and killed the fucks!"

"You made an army…" Zeke said softly, as his golden aura intensified in the confined space of the trailer.

"I only delayed the trash," Daryl replied bitterly, "anyone could have done that. But I won't be that weak again!"

"I like your trick with the Souls," Stanley said to Daryl, latching onto the new subject as he remembered when he first woke up and felt like a whole army of Souls was coming to the tower.

"This?" Daryl stepped to the side, and then there were two of him. Both of the Daryl's had the same Soul, but one was obviously brighter. Stanley said so, and Daryl waved a hand. Dozens of copies spread from him, filling the trailer, then spilling outside to surround it, and when the spawning stopped, Stanley couldn't pick out the real one anymore. Everyone else seemed entirely unfazed by the display, likely having seen his ability many times in the six months since Stanley had gone into Stasis.

Eve kept working on her machines, and Zeke watched Daryl with concern in his Soul. Meanwhile, the wolves relaxed under Adam's attentions, and Walter looked like he was getting ready to cook something instead of rushing to comfort Daryl as he so obviously wished to.

"The sweet spot," the first Daryl explained, some of his dour mood lifting as he touched upon a topic that he was obviously enthusiastic about. "Any more or less, and I can't match the Soul levels." The amusing part was that all of his copies cheered up simultaneously. Amusing and just a bit creepy.

"They even feel like they have a physical body," Stanley said, his mind prodding at the illusions and finding them solid to his mental touch.

"They have enough," one of the Daryls said and swung a blade at Stanley's shoulder.

The blade hit, and Stanley felt his power reflexively block the attack, flaring to what felt dangerously close to waking the Source. The copy exploded into sparkling lights upon hitting him and then dispersed almost immediately to nothing. Stanley felt the Soul energy leave the clone and easily traced it back to the real Daryl, now standing in a different place that Stanley hadn't seen him move to.

"Careful with that," Stanley admonished the illusions of Daryl. The copies all shared the confusion at his response, obviously thinking Stanley was stronger, so he told them the bad news…

"So…" Stanley said after his explanation of the Slumbering Source, including the pug in his Soul, "I'm really grateful that you all decided to help me… because I might be the useless one now…"

"No way," one of the fake Daryls said, "you just dragged us…"

"Forty miles or so," Eve supplied.

"Damn. Forty miles in an instant!"

"I lost six hundred Attributes for doing that," Stanley said, after some elementary math, and then frowned. It sounded a lot worse when he added it up… though he hadn't realized just how far he'd Moved.

"Yea, so like, maybe don't go forty miles when one will do it?" a different fake Daryl said.

"I did overdo it… a bit," Stanley admitted somewhat sheepishly, but he had been spooked by Nate… and those presences in the sky…

While they were talking, Stanley noticed that Zeke seemed to be able to tell which was the real Daryl as well. "It's the only one I can heal," Zeke explained upon seeing Stanley looking back and forth.

That made an obvious kind of sense once Stanley thought about it, and, "Speaking of Souls," Stanley said, happy to change the subject from his own mistakes, "we got incoming. Humans, I think." He could feel a relatively large amount of them approaching from the direction they had been driving toward, and rapidly at that. He hadn't noticed until they got pretty close, thanks to his Soul shield muffling his awareness, but as far as he could tell now, none of them were even C Rank…

"They won't see us," Daryl said as his numerous copies faded away. "I've been shrouding the truck since you… overdid it, whatever that was."

Stanley floated to the open doorway as the first of the Souls arrived, indeed human as he'd suspected, and ran right past without even glancing toward him. Caffeine huffed softly at them as they went by, and still, no one seemed to notice. However, Stanley saw some people veering around the truck as if avoiding an obstacle.

"What do they see here?" he asked Daryl.

"I kept it simple," Daryl replied, "we just look like a big rock."

"And they can't hear us either?"

"Long as Caff doesn't start howling…" Daryl said, with a glance at the still softly woofing pug.

The runners passed on by and were followed by a slower and much larger crowd of men, women, and children. Among them, Stanley saw many who looked injured, some quite badly. At least, they were until they walked into a slightly brighter patch of sunlight and the injuries started healing.

People noticed the phenomenon immediately, creating a new rush as the injured further back hurried forward.

"Damn it, Zeke!" Eve cursed in a low voice.

"They're hurt!"

Eve sighed as she kept working on the cocoon. "Fine, but stay inside. I spotted some non-humans in the crowd, and we don't want to leave a trail if something is hunting us… Though, they're still going to see the Buff… god damn it."

The people outside were forced to move along by those coming behind that also wanted healing, and so it at least kept people from lingering around the apparently magic rock. A few reached out to touch the illusion, and it seemed to hold up just fine under their attention, but they were quickly ushered on. Some of the earlier runners returned at the commotion, the fighters of the group from the looks of them, and rather than investigate too deeply, they only urged the healed people to hurry ahead. From what Stanley overheard, it sounded like they were trying to reach New Boston, presumably Nate's city, since Stanley had never actually heard anyone say what they had named it.

"They are worried for nothing," Daryl said after overhearing some of the conversations outside, "Caffeine cleared out every hostile beast or monster for miles and miles. This is practically a safe zone…"

"It's not," Eve interrupted him, "Stanley dragged us… far. We are almost to Springfield, or what used to be Springfield…"

Daryl whistled, "That's good time… wait, what do you mean used to be?"

Eve was quiet for a few moments as she continued the repairs, then finally spoke. "It's gone. I've been scouting ahead, trying to figure out where the hell we are mostly, and the city ahead is gone. Well, mostly. It looks like a giant pit swallowed half of it, and I figured I'd fix this shit while I look for a way around the mess."

"So that's what they're running from," Daryl mused, "any idea what happened?"

Eve shook her head, and Stanley felt a bit of Soul energy flow from Daryl. It coalesced into a human form inside the treeline, then walked out into the road and around the hidden truck. Once it stopped near the door to the trailer, Stanley could see that it wasn't a copy of Daryl but rather an unknown face mostly hidden behind thick furs and scruffy hair. Sound abruptly came through the illusion, and they heard a slightly off version of Daryl's voice. "What happened? Where yall goin' in such a rush?"

It was hard to hear over the din of voices, some shouting for the injured to hurry up while others called for the healed people to keep moving, but one man did stop to talk to the illusion. "Springfield has fallen!"

"Whatcha mean by that?" Stanley could feel Daryl's amusement at trying to use the terrible accent.

The man he was talking to didn't seem to care. "Ground swallowed half the city, and when the monsters came from the pit, we ran. The only lucky break we got is that they didn't chase us very far." He turned to nudge someone away from the light and further along the road. "Keep going. Let the others get some healing!" Then he turned back to Daryl's illusory man, suspicion rising finally. "Where'd you come from anyway, and what do you know about this healing… rock?"

"Oh, it sure is nice init," Daryl said, while at the same time inside the trailer, he asked Zeke, "Did your Apprentice ever get the Class?"

"Shelly," Zeke said with a smile, "and yea, she got it… just this morning, in fact." His smile faded, and upon sensing his Soul, Stanley felt just a bit bad about dragging the young man away from whatever life they had been building.

"I seen't it before," the illusion said outside, "little girl in the city over yonder, she'll fix you up right good she will. Though, I reckon this here will fade soon, seeing as how yall are using it up."

Back inside, Daryl told Zeke to start shutting his aura down. Zeke complied, mainly because the majority of the injured had already gotten healed. There was one small surge before it went out entirely as an exhausted woman staggered into range. She was carrying a small child that had both legs ending in bloody bandages above the knees. A few people noticed the visible flash of golden light. Still, they were distracted from investigating by the woman's scream, immediately followed by joyful tears, and then the child waking up suddenly free of pain with fully restored legs.

Eve scowled where she was bent over the cocoon, but Stanley knew she must have eyes on what was happening outside because her Soul agreed with Zeke's actions. Zeke ended his aura after that, and the last stragglers slowly vanished up the road. Daryl's illusion had said goodbye and wandered back into the trees that lined both sides of the road before disappearing as well.

Meanwhile, Stanley had moved out of the doorway and sat on the floor when he saw the non-humans go by earlier. They had looked like humanoid cats, and Caffeine had perked up upon seeing them. Stanley didn't want the pug to go say hello, so he distracted him with belly rubs and then pointed him toward Walter, who was frying something on the stove now. Caffeine seemed torn between rushing to beg at the stove and wanting to stay in Stanley's lap. So Stanley compromised by going over and sitting next to Walter, who 'accidentally' started dropping small pieces of meat directly toward the all-consuming maw of the Beast Lord.

In regards to the aliens, Stanley also mentioned the fact that they might not even be aliens, he'd had an evolution option similar to that, and they could just be humans that had evolved into those cat-like things. Unfortunately, the only way to know if that was the case was to talk to the creatures or, ideally, the people who had known them before and after the evolution. Something that Daryl's illusion did ask and something the man outside didn't know.

Stanley did try to see if he could detect the Soul, or Souls, of whatever had attacked the city, but his shield was muting far too much of his previously massive range. He considered and abandoned the idea of dropping the shield, especially after seeing the maybe aliens going past outside. Hell, for that matter, even humans might be a threat if they'd been told to watch for… well, maybe the aliens hadn't recruited humans just yet. It did seem like they had been waiting for the Earth to rank up, and if the Source was so valuable, then they probably wouldn't go around telling people about it. But that didn't mean they couldn't just offer rewards for information on certain people.

The real problem was that they had no idea how, or even if, those monsters in the sky had been specifically after him. Though, Stanley had a bad feeling that it was indeed all about him. The other issue was how they had targeted him. Eve said that he was oozing Source, and everyone else agreed. Stanley had definitely felt the monsters, more specifically, had felt the Source that they carried. Could they sense him just as easily, and if so, could they somehow sense him while still wherever they had tried to invade from?

The only way to find that out… would be to ask one of the Invaders. Stanley sent his third split into his Soul Fortress and called out for Lee, trying to get his attention. It worked, and his twin faded into the Soul space a few moments later. He looked tired… "Did you kill them all?" Stanley asked though he doubted it based on what he'd felt earlier.

"Not exactly," Lee said, sitting on the floor with Stanley. He then proceeded to tell Stanley what had happened. Lee even vanished from the Fortress briefly to ask his new monster vassel about Stanley's question, to no success. "He didn't know," Lee said when he returned, "and I doubt the other one would have told me if it did."

"Lord… Lee," Stanley said slowly, a smile on his lips.

"Don't start," Lee glared at him, and Stanley laughed.

"I'm gonna have to look into becoming a lord myself," Stanley said.

"You can forget about me ever bowing to you," Eve said back in the trailer.

Stanley didn't care that he was apparently talking aloud still. Being here with Lee, being able to just see and chat with him, was great! So Stanley only laughed and then told his twin about the Skill and the issues he was having with it, along with how great it was despite the problems. Lee laughed as well and then mentioned that he could also still monitor what was going on outside their Soul, even while inside talking with Stanley.

"It's called [Mana Mind], and it's awesome..." That topic led to Lee explaining how he'd dealt with the monsters, including a damn laser beam skill!

"It was horrible," Lee said with a frown after talking about the slaughtering rampage he had gone on, "I could feel their Souls screaming…"

"Eh, you'll get used to it," Stanley assured him, which for some reason, failed to comfort his brother. To be fair, Stanley hadn't killed all that many of what might be considered sentient or sapient, while the ones he had killed… Well, Stanley had really, really wanted those ones dead or been in Still Mind and not even cared… For example, that little dictator in the golden armor, or the cannibal… Stanley suddenly had a terrible feeling.

"Walter!" Stanley shouted back inside the truck, and the man actually flinched at his yell. "Did you ever find a way to destroy that Core? The… cannibal one?"

"I am afraid I was unable to…" Walter began.

"You didn't leave it at the tower, did you?" Stanley had terrible visions of someone finding that nightmare and unleashing… "No, Nate would kill anyone who…"

"I did not leave it," Walter said, and a metal ball appeared on the counter next to him. Walter didn't touch it but did nod toward it. The ball was small, maybe the size of a billiard ball, and it gave off none of the aura that Stanley remembered… though it did carry traces of Walter's Soul.

"I'll admit that I was sorely tempted to use it during the Undead attack," Walter said as he started putting food onto plates.

Stanley just stared at him in horror. "You… why would… what?"

Walter seemed confused for a moment and then shook his head. "Not like that." The orb of metal floated from the counter, through no action of Stanley's, but stopped within his reach. "Touch it and look past the abominable Class choice."

Caffeine had stopped begging for scraps and was now entirely focused on the orb. His steady growl made the entire trailer vibrate around them as Stanley hesitantly reached out…

Class Core: [Cannibal King](Mythic)

Class Skill: [Sacrificial Binding of the Cannibal King(Journeyman VI)](Mythic)

The Cannibal King has been Crowned on Dungeon World [Earth], and He has Perfected the Ritual to Perfectly Savor every delicious Morsel of his Meals!

As the Slayer of the King, you may Consume this Core and Take Up His Legacy.

Requirements:

Race of Flesh and Blood.

The Cannibal King Must have Available Subjects of his own Species to Devour, or he Will Wither and Die.

Somehow he could still touch the Core through the metal, and Stanley felt the same revulsion as the first time he'd touched the thing, but now his mind felt much less traumatized… maybe because of the higher rank or the fact that his meditation was still currently going strong, or both. Either way, he made it through the description and, this time, saw what came after.

Reject the Class Offer and instead Consume the Power Within the Core.

Mythic Class Core Effects:

+1000 All Base Attributes

Side Effects may Occur Dependent on the Nature of the Class Contained Within the Core.

"That…" Stanley didn't know what to say. It was a massive amount of Attributes and actually tempting… but that mention of side effects was extremely off-putting. "Wait, wouldn't that have been way more at D Rank? Could you even have absorbed it?"

"It was two thousand at the time, and I may have been able to…"

"It wouldn't have helped, Walter," Daryl said, "even if you could have survived, everyone else would have been dead before you finished evolving."

"Of course, Sir," was all Walter said as he resumed preparing the food, but Stanley could feel the what if's and if only's from Walter's Soul.

Though, at the moment, something else was on Stanley's mind. "Did all of you see this?"

"I may have offered the Attribute option to a select few," Walter said, "including those present."

"What about Nate?" Stanley asked. If anyone could give them an idea about what would happen, it would be Nate with his crazy intuition…

"I did," Walter said, "and he said, and I quote, 'Fuck no, and don't you dare let anyone touch that thing, especially not at D Rank.' End quote."

Stanley nodded at the response he would have expected from anyone, and the D Rank mention made him think about what kind of evolution option someone would get if they used the Shard to rank up to C…

"I still say we chuck it into the ocean," Eve added to the conversation, "let a fish have it. Who cares if the fuckers start eating each other?"

"Your suggestion has been thoroughly heard, Miss," Walter said, his tone skirting just to the edge of dry but not quite crossing over. "However," he turned back to Stanley, "I did use it to root out a few suspect individuals amongst our ranks."

"That's a great idea!" Stanley exclaimed, "just give it to some asshole and then kill them once they accept. Anyone that would take that class would be asking to die…"

"That's terrible!" Zeke exclaimed, "Nate would never…"

"Sir, I am sorry to tell you that it was his idea," Walter said, shattering Zeke's expectations. Stanley had no problem with it. He truly believed that anyone who would accept a class like that deserved to die. But if they had done that already…

"They just drop it again, don't they?" Stanley stated more than he asked.

"Quite so, Sir. And…" Walter hesitated before continuing, "it returned slightly stronger each time. As if we were feeding them to it."

Eve dropped something with a loud clang and yelled, "would you put it away already? I can't do this with Caff shaking the damn truck!" The vibrating growl hadn't ceased since the Core was brought out, and Caffeine's attention never wavered from the thing he obviously despised.

"Apologies, Miss." The orb vanished, and the vibration along with it. At the same time, Walter set a plate down in front of Caffeine… and picked it up an instant later after a ghostly shark appeared to swallow everything in a heartbeat. Though, somehow he managed not to eat the plate… More plates were passed around, and Stanley accepted the one proffered to him. It was some kind of meat, with green stuff that Stanley didn't recognize.

Eve ignored the plate Walter offered, her eyes staring at nothing. Then she blinked and looked at the plate. "Not now, Walter." She stood up from her work. "I found a route around the mess. Stanley, just keep your shield up for now, and I'll fix this later. Despite destroying all of this, you did dump a shit ton of power into the batteries. At least the ones that survived," she said, the last part under her breath. "In the meantime…" She went to a cupboard and pulled out what looked like metal bracelets, then passed them out to everyone. "Put these on."

"What's this for?" Daryl asked, eyeing the band of metal suspiciously.

"Drains your Mana," Eve said, "or, at least, your Mana regen."

"I don't have any…" Stanley started, and Eve cut him off, already expecting his response, apparently.

"Everyone and everything has Mana," she stated. "Zeke doesn't have a Mana bar, but only because he converts it all to Faith energy… or whatever you wanna call it. You should be the same, only with whatever energy you use."

Stanley couldn't find fault with her logic… mostly because he literally had no idea about anything Mana-related. He had seen that there was more Mana around him, though he'd always assumed that it was simply because of the Source radiation, and while that might be part of it, it also made sense that he was merely converting Mana to Psionic Energy.

So Stanley put on the bracelet as Eve went forward toward the truck… and felt nothing change.

The truck lurched into motion a few moments later, and Eve's voice came through the connecting tunnel, "Stanley, can I talk to you up here?"

She was feeling guilty again, but this time Stanley made sure to keep his thoughts out of his mouth by instead using said mouth to say, "Sure."

Rather than trying to struggle with using his power to fly inside the moving vehicle, Stanley just stood up on his own feet and walked to the front of the trailer. His movement was facilitated by Caffeine being busy begging for scraps from the other people holding plates of food. Then Caffeine saw him leaving and remembered that Stanley was also carrying a plate…

The tunnel connecting the truck to the trailer was tall enough that Stanley could easily walk straight through it, if a bit unsteadily, due to the bouncing. Eve had clearly redesigned the sleeper area of his old truck, enlarging it and filling most of the space with… stuff. Stanley had no idea what all the metal contraptions and glowy bits here and there were for, but presumably, it had a purpose that Eve understood.

The gear shift was gone from between the seats, which made some sense since Stanley assumed that the truck was closer to an electric vehicle now, or Mana vehicle… but he didn't really care. Even before, Stanley hadn't put much thought into the technical details of his truck. That was something for mechanics to worry about while all he did was check fluid levels and the like. Though, he may have cared more before the event… if he could ever remember.

Regardless, Stanley settled into the passenger seat and immediately had two paws on his leg as the black pug alternated between staring at his plate and his face. Back and forth. Back and forth. Until Stanley finally took a bite and… "This is sooo good!"

Eve made a sound that might have been an agreement but kept her eyes on the road ahead. Something that Stanley found to be rather difficult with how little he could see past the extensive armor that almost completely blocked the windshield. But given that she could see through her spiders and had also been scouting ahead with what Stanley assumed was a flying… something, she could probably see where she was going just fine. Likely better than Stanley could while using his mind to feel ahead… at least, he hoped so. She was going really fast…

Despite all that, Stanley was wholly focused on his food. More specifically, on the pug that was staring at him with starving eyes. "Good boy," Stanley said softly and proceeded to rip the meat into small pieces before handing them to Caffeine. He even offered up one of the green things, which Caffeine happily took, chewed on it for a moment, and then dropped it on the floor, all without taking his eyes from the meat still on the plate.

Stanley tried one, and it was… okay? He'd never been one to go in for vegetables, as far as he could remember. But Caffeine wanted the meat, and Stanley wouldn't deny him. He ate his vegetables and fed Caffeine the good stuff. Stanley honestly felt bad for Caffeine, and guilty. The pug had saved his life once again and had saved Lee as well. Stanley didn't even know how many times Caffeine had saved them, but it was beyond enough that he felt guilty, like he was taking advantage of him. All Caffeine ever asked of him was food, belly rubs, and cuddles. In return, he had fought for six months… six months of fighting and killing monsters. As far as Stanley was concerned, Caffeine had earned first dibs on… everything.

In the meantime, Eve stayed silent while they ate. Stanley could feel that something was bothering her, and he kept his mouth busy chewing green things while she stewed over whatever it was.

When the food was gone, Stanley let Caffeine lick the plate before considering that Walter might not appreciate it and then just saying fuck it. Once all traces of food had been thoroughly removed, Caffeine jumped into his lap to sniff at his mouth, just in case Stanley was hiding anything in there. Stanley set the plate on the floor, and it vanished the moment his hand left it. "Thanks, Walter. It was delicious."

"Of course, Sir." Walter's voice came both from the tunnel into the trailer and from the air around them.

"Walter," Eve finally spoke, "you can have the trailer, but can you please leave the truck to me?"

"Of course, Miss," Walter's voice said from nowhere in particular, "and thank you." Then his Domain pulled back into the trailer, and they were alone, sort of. The engine was pretty quiet, and despite the sounds of the road rumbling past beneath them, Stanley could still hear Zeke and Daryl talking in the back, thanks to his much-improved perception. A thousand points of perception, in fact. Then Eve must have done something because the tunnel retracted before collapsing in on itself and closing off the truck from the trailer.

Caffeine spun around a few times and then curled up on Stanley's lap.

All of this time, Stanley kept one of his split minds inside the Soul Fortress and communicating with Lee. He was pretty sure that he'd kept that split from talking out loud in the truck… mostly. Lee had to step out a few times to give orders or ask questions of people on his side of things, but they did get to catch up on more of the details of their lives. Including some mention of the Civilized Invaders and the fact that they could target specific areas. Unfortunately, Lee's new vassel didn't know how much could be detected during the process.

Lee also mentioned that there was a cooldown of sorts after defeating an Invasion, which meant that Stanley would have been safe to go back after Nate defeated whatever had come through. Well, probably not safe. He had a feeling that those monstrous presences had known he was there, especially after he left and fucked with the invasion by doing so. They might not be able to attack the same place immediately, but they would know where he was and might be able to pop in nearby… No, it was better to move and move fast. Of course, the one thing he couldn't do now was move fast. The unfortunate downside of his entire powerset being focused around a singular Skill.

"I haven't seen him rest like this in a long time," Eve suddenly spoke over the roar of tires on gravel. "He was always in a rush to get back out there."

"I don't know if I said this to you yet, but thanks for watching out for him," Stanley said while petting the softly twitching pug in his lap.

"I tried," Eve said, "we all fed him Cores whenever he came back, though I think Adam was actually following him around. He used to vanish with piles of food."

"I owe all of you a…"

"You don't owe anyone," Eve cut him off, "I know that you gave Zeke some of that power. It was how he survived the fucking spike from that bitch… and how he saved everyone else. No, Stanley, at worst, I think you're even, and many people owe you their lives."

Eve stopped talking after that, and Stanley let the silence linger as he was again reminded of the Source Tether. He, of course, mentioned it to Lee, and his twin mentioned his own suspicions that he had given one to the building.

"I've been stealing your Soul," Eve blurted out. Stanley had felt the building tension from her but had not expected what came out of her mouth. To be fair, he hadn't really had any idea what was bothering her.

She continued, "When you tried to teach me your Soul Skill, I instead got one called Soul Leech, and I've been using it to steal Soul from you… but only before the Undead attack!" She clarified and then wilted before adding much more quietly, "I'm sorry."

Stanley was surprised, but more at the fact she was apologizing rather than her claim of stealing Soul. He would have noticed something like that… "I haven't lost any Soul points from… well, anything like that," Stanley said, "All the losses I got were from my own actions or my brother's."

"But I gained a lot of Soul from you," Eve protested, "I even got a damn Trait from leeching you…"

"I was leaking Soul before…" Stanley mused aloud, "that was probably it. You were sucking up the trickle I was already losing." Stanley grinned at the mental image that came to him and made some sucking sounds as he mimed slurping something up. "That's gross, Eve. Slurp, slurp…"

"Damn it, Stanley!" Eve cursed angrily, "I'm serious!"

"Eve," Stanley drawled, "I seriously doubt that your Skill can actually drain my Soul."

"The description said that it might go unnoticed," Eve explained, and Stanley cut her off again.

"Eve, just try the Skill on me. Don't worry, it's not going to work. Plus, I've got a lot of Soul now."

"Fine," Eve growled, and…

[Soul Leech] Resisted.

Eve jumped slightly and stared at him in surprise. More specifically, she was staring at Caffeine, who had snapped awake and was looking very intently back at her. The pug didn't growl or anything. In fact, he seemed as surprised as Eve.

"It's okay, Caff," Stanley comforted the dog in his lap with pets and head kisses. "I told her to do that." Caffeine turned away from her to return some face licks and tail wags before curling up again and dozing off.

Eve seemed a bit shaken as she drove. "But I know it was working…"

"There is a bit more to tell about mine and my brother's circumstances," Stanley said, and then told her how Lee's solution to the whole collar incident had been resolved, including the Title his brother had gained.

"So a very powerful, maybe even god-like being, tried to do something negative to our Soul," Stanley explained, "and Caffeine basically said, no thanks. So yea, don't worry about your Skill. I'm ninety-nine percent sure that you were only sucking up the already leaking bits."

"Well, shit. I didn't even need to apologize for that!"

Stanley grinned at her obvious embarrassment. "But doesn't it feel good to get it off your chest?"

"Go fuck yourself."

"So, what Trait did you get?" Stanley asked, a sneaking suspicion already growing, and saw her hunch down…

"Angry Soul," Eve said reluctantly, and Stanley resisted the urge to burst out laughing, though he may have chuckled slightly… "I hate you," Eve grumbled.

"We should still try it again," Stanley said, once he made sure that he wouldn't laugh, "but without the Soul Shield."

"I really don't want to get on the wrong side of Caffeine…"

"Hold up," Stanley said, raising his hand to stop her, "there are more humans over there, C ranks, and I think I know that one…" Eve slowed down the truck as Stanley focused on what he was sensing despite the shield. He could feel some monsters now, but in the opposite direction from the human Souls. "I'm pretty sure that is Kira… and her team."

"What's she doing this far out?" Eve said as she slowed down even more, and Stanley could feel tiny flickers going from her up into the sky as she probably looked for herself. Then she swerved off the road, weaving between some trees and through what might have once been someone's yard, before turning onto what could barely be called a path. She followed that for a bit and then stopped at the edge of a clearing with a large two-story structure at the other end of the open field.

It looked like it had been an office building, or maybe a municipal building, before the system. Only now, it had a bit more fortification built up on and around it, and a small squad of people was out front, yelling at the ones inside.

The shouts died down momentarily when they saw the truck arrive, and Eve put her hand on the door before turning to Stanley. "Go hide in the back. I'll see what's happening." As she spoke, the tunnel moved and reconnected to the trailer.

"I'm not completely…"

"And keep Caffeine inside with you," Eve spoke over his protests, and a sinister smile grew on her face. "Didn't you say that you're the useless one?" She was obviously getting back at him for laughing earlier… but then she relented. "We still don't know how they are looking for you, or if they can see into our world somehow, or if they have agents on Earth. So maybe we can get lucky, and they don't know you're with me?" It was a fair argument. "And aside from the fact that a lot of people know that Caffeine is with you, you also said that he is tied to the Source somehow. Not that I've ever detected anything from him, but still…"

"All right, all right," Stanley conceded, "I'll hide."

Zeke and Daryl had already gone outside, and Eve joined them as Stanley went into the trailer to hang out with Walter and… the wolves also strolled out the door, and Adam blinked after them, though they only settled down right outside.

"Just you and me, Walter," Stanley said as he settled onto the couch and tried to keep Caffeine from immediately sprinting outside after the others. He wasn't sure if he could even stop Caffeine without burning himself… but fortunately and sadly, the pug was still traumatized from Stanley's prolonged Stasis and was very eager to stay in his lap.

"Very good, Sir." Walter stood at the doorway, watching the others walking away.

Stanley busied himself further by setting his third split mind onto once again using [Soul Awareness] to strengthen his Soul. All the recent talk of Souls and such had reminded him of unpleasant things and, more importantly, of the fact that he could never have too much Soul. Especially if it became necessary to defy death in the case of an emergency… an action that he was sure would cost even more Soul now that they were both C Rank. He also took the time to try and teach Lee how to do the same thing, something his brother was more than happy to do since he also wanted more Soul to give to Three.

Then a spider on the counter moved. It took a few steps, and then a light shone from it onto the wall and revealed a slightly bobbing view of the rapidly approaching structure outside. A view that Stanley immediately guessed came from Eve's metal eye. Sound also emerged from the spider, and they could hear the thud of her feet striking the ground.

"Neat. Home movies," Stanley said, "speaking of which… Eve, do you have any movies saved with your… devices?"

"I've been a bit busy," Eve's voice growled from the spider, "and yea, I have some…"

Then she got close enough that they could hear Kira yelling at the people inside the building. "...the Truthspeaker has confirmed an assault charge against you! If you wish to contest the charge, you may go before the Truthspeaker and have him test your words. Regardless, you will return with us and face the King's justice. Resistance to our orders will be taken as an admission of guilt, and we are authorized to execute you if you attack us."

Kira turned as Eve approached and said in a more normal volume, "Hi, Eve. Finally got your truck moving?" Then she lowered her voice even more, now speaking in a faint whisper, "you brought Stanley? I heard some commotion earlier… did something change?" Stanley had no idea how she knew he was there… and double-checked his shield just in case. It was still going strong.

Eve sighed, and the picture projected on the wall bobbed up and down as she nodded. "Yea, that was probably Caff carving a path through the city."

"And the call about Ruler's Authority?"

"Something came through," Eve said, "an Invasion. But apparently, Nate won."

"That explains why we didn't get drained…" Kira's face was thoughtful as she stared off toward the city in the far distance.

"What's going on here?" Eve asked, looking at the building. Some voices were shouting from inside, but they were unintelligible on the spider's speaker.

"Remember Kyle?" Kira said, and Eve nodded. "Well, looks like he might have finally got tired of nobody falling for his creepy bullshit and forced himself on a D rank. Allegedly."

"Bet he did it," Eve stated, "should've killed the creepy fucker way back."

"Most likely," Kira agreed and looked back at the building. "We're pretty sure that he's hiding in there."

"So go in, and fucking kill him," Eve said, sounding exasperated.

"We don't know that any of the others were involved or even if they know what he did. The King did not authorize us to kill everyone in our way, not unless they attack us first, and this group seems smarter than some…"

"Tyrant King," Eve grumbled, "and his tyrant laws…"

Kira just smiled at what Stanley was guessing was Eve's usual attitude. Then she turned back to the building as Eve greeted the other group members. Stanley recognized all of them from the Tower. They had never really become friends or did much together at all, but that group had done a lot for him when it mattered. As for the mention of Kyle…

"Where do I know that name from?" Stanley asked no one in particular, trying to remember…

"Creepy guy that I shot in the ass for being creepy," Eve said through the spider, obviously having heard him.

"Oh yea," Stanley murmured, "that idiot…"

He felt at the Souls inside the building, trying to remember what the guy's Soul had felt like, but it was unnecessary. One of the people there was much more terrified than anyone else, with most being more cautious than afraid. All of them were C Ranks, which likely explained why they hadn't fled the city with the weaklings from before.

The scared individual, likely Kyle, was hiding next to a broken window on the top floor and sneaking glances at the people outside. Stanley waited for him to peak once more and then nudged the man with a relatively gentle push. He didn't use any more power than was necessary to carry himself, but it was enough.

Kyle yelped in surprise, and Stanley felt the man's Will begin to resist his weak push, but it was too late as he was already tilted too far forward and tumbled to the ground outside with a scream.

Eve laughed while Kira walked closer. "Kyle, are you surrendering?" The spear in her hand glowed a deep crimson as she spoke.

"I… I didn't do anything!" Kyle protested as he scrambled to his feet. "Some crazy bitch accuses me, and you just believe her?"

"He's lying," Stanley said, not that he thought it was necessary.

"No shit," Eve muttered.

"Don't tell me," Kira said calmly, "tell the Truthspeaker."

Stanley wanted to ask what a truthspeaker was, but honestly, he guessed it was all there in the name. Considering that he could sense people's Souls and thereby know if they were lying, it wasn't much of a leap to assume that someone else might be able to do the same. Maybe even with a dedicated Class or Skill.

"I don't have to listen to you," Kyle said, with false bravado, "I am not one of Nate's bootlickers. I'm a key member of the Flaming Fist of Power!" His grand statement was mostly met with silence, along with a few mutters from the other people inside.

Stanley heard Daryl's voice from where he stood next to Eve, "That is a horrible name… and it sounds really gay."

"Shut up!" Kyle yelled, "You don't…"

"Your opposition to return has been recognized," Kira stated loudly, "any who assist the fugitive will be treated as accomplices and given the same sentence."

"W… wait!" Kyle stammered, and then fire bloomed bright around him, "Die bitc…"

The fire faded almost as quickly as it had appeared and revealed Kyle's limp body dangling from the blood-red spear that pinned his head to the wall behind him. Red lightning arced from the spear in a storm of bolts, all stabbing into the man's body and then trailing behind the spear as it flew smoothly back to Kira's hand. As the last few sparks faded from Kyle, they left behind a mummified corpse that crumbled to the ground.

"As for the rest of you," Kira said into the now tranquil ambiance, "if you wish to hunt and train in this area, be aware that this is King Nate's territory, and he will not tolerate any violation of his Laws, even if you are unsworn."

"We don't give a shit what that ni…" Stanley saw the yelling man get decked through a wall by the man next to him.

"Ignore what he said," the man said, rubbing his knuckles, "we will totally obey the laws!"

"You fucking traitor!" the first man yelled as he scrambled back to his feet, only to be tackled by two others.

"Are you trying to get us all killed, you idiot!?" one of them yelled.

"The King doesn't care if you're a racist piece of shit," Kira called up to them, "so long as you follow the laws." Then she turned away and walked toward the truck. "Come on, let's get out of here."

As she walked, Kira pulled out a metal rod identical to the one Stanley had seen Nate use. "Kira, checking in," she said into the rod.

"Roger," a voice came back from the metal, "report."

"We found Kyle, and he refused to return."

"Understood."

"Has the refugee recovery gone out?" Kira asked.

"They are en route, and…" a different voice said something in the background, and there were some shuffling sounds.

Then a voice they all recognized came through, "Kira," Nate said, "have you seen any signs of Eve or her truck in the area?"

Kira glanced at Eve with a small smile, while Eve just sighed. "I'm looking at her right now," Kira said.

"Excellent!" Nate laughed, "I want to talk to Stanley. Oh, and if you have any Cores, give them to him. I'll reimburse you later. Just let me know how much."

"Yes, Sir," Kira said, continuing toward the truck.

Stanley smiled at her as she stepped through the door. "Hi, Kira. Hi guys!" Stanley greeted them as they all followed her in. Caffeine jumped to greet each of them with paws on their legs and happy little tail wags. In return, he got pets and a few snacks.

"Good to see you moving again," Kira said to Stanley, handing him the rod, "and you have a call." Then she glanced at the video feed projected on the wall and smiled sadly at Eve. "I'm going to miss movie night, Eve."

Stanley took the metal stick as Eve sighed, "I'm sorry, but I…"

"I know. We all have our own paths." Kira hugged her and whispered, "Just don't die out there…"

"Stanley?" Nate's voice pulled Stanley's attention back.

"Yeah, I'm here, and glad you survived. What happened?"

"A B rank came through," Nate said, "just one, but it only wanted me to surrender and said something about important business it needed to attend to. I'm sure that it just wanted out of the barrier…"

"Fuck," Stanley said. That was precisely what he'd feared, something that knew he had left and wanted to chase after him. "How did you beat it, and did it use the… you know?"

"Well, obviously, I just slapped it around a bit, and it died," Nate said, definitely lying. "It didn't use the power, but it had it… and I'm pretty sure that it tried to use it at the end there. Though, I think it couldn't use it… or something. It was just a bit hectic."

"I felt three of them when I left," Stanley said, "what if the others come after you again?"

"I hope they do!" Nate said, and Stanley could vividly picture the wide toothy grin he knew was on the man's face.

"Anyway, I have to get back to it over here. Take those Cores and keep moving… I have a feeling that a lot is riding on you, Stanley. You and your brother. So get stronger, and I'll be seeing you."

"Thank you," Stanley said, trying to convey his genuine gratitude, "I… look forward to it."

"Likewise," Nate replied, and then the metal rod went silent.

Stanley handed it back to Kira and looked at the small pile of Cores they had dumped on the counter. "Thanks, guys, I don't know…"

"Aw, don't sweat it," Sven said with a big smile, "Nate will give us even more."

Stanley, of course, gave all of the Cores to Caffeine, drawing only some surprise when he mentioned that Caffeine was still D Rank, but not much. It seemed that these people at least had seen enough of Caffeine in action and were no longer shocked when he did the impossible. Unfortunately…

Soul-Bonded Beast(Caffeine) Sacrificed -500 All Base Attributes(D Rank).

+50 All Base Attributes(C Rank)

Caffeine stared up at Stanley with a wagging tail as he immediately dumped the Attributes they had just given him. Stanley wanted to tell him no, bad dog… but couldn't do it. "I love you, Caff." He gave the pug his lap and showered him with affection. Even if that was terrible reinforcement, Stanley couldn't do anything else. As for a solution to the issue, Stanley would try to give Caffeine more than he needed to evolve, and all at once. Maybe he could trick Caffeine into evolving if he forced enough Attributes on him…

After that mistake was a brief round of farewells, as both groups were in a hurry to move on, Kira was going back to Boston, while Eve's group would go west.

West on the first day of what would hopefully be a short journey… but Stanley had a bad feeling it wouldn't be so easy.