RAILEY stood stock still, bracing as the hand came down on her shoulder, expecting pain. Of course, my hand was lighter and kinder than the one she'd been expecting. I laid it on her shoulder gently, smiling down at the pink-eyed, blue-haired girl. Her face was swamped by fear and confusion, though I'd like to believe my smile put her at ease. She stammered over her words, holding the knife in front of her like it would reach out and slice her.

  "Hey, it's okay." I said, trying my best to calm her. "Here, let me show you how to properly slice the onions. This dish calls for it specifically."

  "You can help her, but not too much." Lia called from the other side of the kitchen. "She needs to learn how to cook by herself."

  "We all have to learn." I hollered back. "You're the only 'professional chef' here. And all I really know is the grill. I never did this side dish stuff." As I spoke, I moved back toward said grill and flipped the patties, the smell of grilling meat assaulting my nose. Oh yeah, it's all coming together. I laid a sliced piece of yellow cheese on each patty, unable to keep the smile from my face. Turning back to Railey, I moved behind her and held her hands, showing her how to slice the onion-like vegetable Lia had found out in the market. I felt a chill creep down my spine and glanced over my shoulder at Lia who was very clearly ignoring us. She cast her eyes back at us, a scowl on her face. She caught me looking at her and rolled her eyes, turning back to her salad. I smiled at her back, even though she couldn't see me. Railey leaned back a little, pressing her body into mine as her head rested against my chest. I looked down and immediately had to look away. Railey's shirt was far too small. I glanced back over at my Lady, choosing to stare at her smaller frame as opposed to the larger one pressing into me. I'll make it up to her tonight, I vowed. She must have heard my thoughts because she glanced at us again. I blew her a kiss when our eyes met, forcing a deep crimson blush onto her cheeks. It looked lovely on her, darkening her caramel skin just a little. I chuckled deeply, turning back to Railey. She had finished slicing the onions and faced me, casting furtive glances at Lia behind me.

  "I finished, Sir." she said, folding her hands in front of her. I opened my mouth to say something but froze as a vision of my sister overlayed itself on top of her, blue hair being replaced by chestnut. I smiled down at Railey, placing my hand on her head and rubbing it a few times like I would for my sister back on Earth. Railey froze in shock for half a moment, but rose onto her tiptoes, pressing my hand harder into her head. She moaned a happy little sound, closing her eyes and smiling up at me. I removed my hand and stepped around her, forcing the image of my sister from my mind. The cheese had just started to melt so I pulled the patties off the grill, setting them on a plate and covering them with one of those silver covers fancy restaurants used. I grabbed a loaf of bread, slicing it with ease and setting several pieces aside.

  "Normally you'd use bread specifically designed for these pieces of meat," I said to the air, not looking up from what I was doing. "but we don't have the time for that. Lia, would you grab the fries, please?" My lady nodded and moved to the pan filled with oil scooping out lengths of the potato-like vegetable. I sprinkled salt over them, letting them rest as I pieced the burgers together. I laid a green leaf of something that tasted like lettuce on top of the burgers, closing them with finality. "And. . . done."

  "What are they?" Railey asked, leaning in next to me. I forced myself not to look down.

  "Hamburgers," I replied, plating each burger with a side of fries. "and french fries. A staple food where I come from. Damn near every household has their own recipe. This one is my family's. We liked for our meat to be a little more flavorful and the toppings to take a back seat." Lia took a plate from me with a word of thanks and moved out into the dining room, claiming one of the tables. I followed, holding two plates in my hands. Railey came next, also holding two plates. We had made more than I expected to, but that was fine. I could eat a lot. Railey waited for me to sit and I frowned at her, putting my plates on the table, pulling a seat out for the ladies like my momma taught me to. Lia accepted my offer but Railey tried to fight me on it.

  "Sit." I commanded, my tone allowing for no discussion. Her face went pale and the vartin sat down hard. I scooted her in and sat myself, bowing my head in a silent prayer. When I was finished, I opened my eyes and looked up, excited for my first burger in this new world.

  It was delicious. The meat was cooked perfectly, if I do say so myself. Meaty juice exploded into my mouth when I took a bite, nicely contrasted with the crunch of the onion and lettuce. I hadn't found any ketchup or mustard, but we made do with things that tasted somewhat similar. It wasn't quite the same, however, and I couldn't stop the pang of homesickness from rising. I missed true burgers, man. There's nothing quite like a genuine one hundred percent lean beef patty. Still, the Carminal equivalents were pretty good.

  I was dragged from my thoughts when I felt a presence tentatively approach us from behind. It felt like a rainforest just beginning to recover from a wildfire, quiet and lonely.

  My face dropped into one of fear and I looked at Lia. "What the fuck is that?" I asked in a hushed whisper.

  "What is what?" she replied, a confused look on her face.

  "That presence. It feels. . .like the forest after a fire. Lonely. What the hell is happening? I shouldn't be able to feel things like that."

  "Can you really sense her Spark? At your level?"

  "Yeah. It feels natural, but something like that isn't possible for me."

  "Yes, it is. You are a wayfinder now, straight out of the stories. Your Spark awoke two months ago and you can already sense the Sparks of others. You are amazing."

  "I can sense Sparks?"

  "I'll explain later. Safe to say your training will need to increase its pace if you are that strong already. She's here."

  Lia pointed over my shoulder and, looking behind me, I found Jennifer approaching us carefully. She stopped when she caught me looking, her eyes going wide like a deer's. I caught her nose twitching and smiled, taking one of my extra plates and placing it in front of the open seat, gesturing for her to sit with us. She loved when I made burgers for us. Looking back on it, whenever I cooked for her was one of the few times I got a genuine smile from the woman. Jen sat gently, her nerves clear on her face. She kept looking between me, Lia, and the table. I ignored her as best I could, diving into my meal with gusto. I'd always been a big eater, but it seemed my appetite had grown since I came to this world. I devoured the meal in front of me, emitting noises of appreciation and joy.

  "So," I said when we were mostly done with our food. No one had spoken the entire time and it was getting kind of awkward. "you been good? Doin' alright?" Jen froze, her shoulders tensing at my words. She hadn't touched her food at all.

  "Yes." she stated simply. She finally took a bite of her burger and seemed conflicted about something. "These don't taste right." she said. I nodded in agreement.

  "Yeah, I know. They ain't got mustard or ketchup here, but ya work with what ya got." She made a noise of assent, bitting into her burger again. Jen's lips twitched up slightly and I couldn't stop the pang of sorrow in my heart. There were few things I liked more than football and one of those was seeing people enjoy my cooking. Jen had been the first person outside of my immediate family to praise my cooking ability. Her blue eyes shone out from under pale brows and again, I had to fight off the happiness her smile sent into my heart. Lia made a noise and I felt the sting of her glare once again, an almost physical force slamming into my chest. I looked over at her. She was glaring at me and didn't look away as we made eye contact. She raised her eyebrows, "What are you doing?" written pointedly in her emerald eyes. I smiled at her, though it felt hollow even to me.

  "Why is she sitting with us?" Lia hissed into my ear. I placed my hand on her knee comfortingly, shrugging.

  "Dunno. But I don't think it's a bad thing. Maybe she needs a friend. Anthony hasn't come to morning training in a while." It had been about a month and a half since the 'incident' between the four of us and Anthony had stopped coming to training in the mornings. Jen still showed up, along with Railey, Lia, and I, but no one had seen Anthony. I would catch glimpses of him in the dining hall, but other than that, I wouldn't see him. When I asked Kiltont about it, he was suspiciously dodgey. "With him being gone, I'm the person she knows the best in this world. I have you, Rosie, and Diego for support, but she doesn't. Far as I know, she's alone. Plus, tomorrow is our actual test. She's supposed to be taking it with us."

  "That might be true, but I still don't like the way she looks at you." I grinned and pulled Lia closer to me, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and planting a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

  "That might be true," I said, echoing her words. "but I think it'll be alright. After what you pulled. . .I hope she's given up on me. I've given up on her." As I said the words, I felt another presence, that of the woods themselves approaching. I shivered against Lia and she pressed herself a little further into me for a moment.

  "Don't worry. I'll start teaching you how to control it tonight." she whispered.

  "My lady. Jennifer, Marshall." Kiltont's baritone said, bowing to Lia, then Jennifer, then me. He appeared to glow green, a verdant green aura surrounding his skin. A sense of peace surrounded me, as if the land itself had hugged me. Lia looked down her nose at the bird man.

  "Yes?" she asked, her voice pitching particularly high.

  "You have a mission that has been assigned to you. Tzolob gave it to me specifically. You are to hunt a dangitor." He said the last bit with hesitation, like he was afraid to give us the mission.

  "Aw, hell." I said, lowering my head. "What can we expect?"

  Kiltont smiled at us but didn't say anything. I chuckled ruefully.

  "Guess we'll figure it out for ourselves. All of us?"

  "All of you. We had to go digging into the protocols, but Hunters are allowed to take their familiars and vartin's out on missions with them."

  "Nice. Hear that, Rosie and Diego? Y'all can come with us." Rosie barked and Diego yowled assent. I was pretty sure I could have snuck them out, but better to have them out in the open.

  "We are hunting a Silver rank?" Lia asked, narrowing her eyes. "I thought the Bronze assessment was to bring in a Bronze rank monster."

  "It is, but you all aren't exactly normal. Marshall here has already killed a nevind, and Jennifer hasn't even been ranked. We have no idea where your abilities stand, either, my lady. The only one we have any idea about is him."

  "Wouldn't it be better to send us after a Bronze, then? Ensure our survival?" Lia asked.

  "Who's the 'we' you keep talkin' about?" I asked at the same time.

  "The Guild. I am still a member, and now that I am out of a job, Marin and I have taken on administrative roles here. I am you go-between. You will come to me for anything relating to the Guild. And no, we are not sending you after a Bronze. Marshall could kill it by himself and not give us any data on you."

  "Where is this dagnabbit?" I asked.

  "Dangitor," Kiltont corrected, giving me a dirty look.

  "That's what I said, right?" Rosie nodded and Diego licked its paw. "See? They agree with me."

  Kiltont sighed heavily and turned away from us. "Be ready by dawn. You leave then."

  Two hours later, Lia and I were sitting cross-legged on the floor of our bedroom. Railey was there as well, but she wasn't meditating. She was cleaning up after the bath the three of us had taken together. It was strange, how comfortable the three of us were now. I was glad that Tzolob hadn't come to take Railey from me, but I also hadn't paid the man. Maybe she was a reward? That's weird. I don't like thinking about people as a reward.

  I grunted as a fist slammed into my jaw. "Fuck, Lia!" I cried, grabbing my jaw and moving it around a bit. "What the hell?"

  "Focus." she snapped, her emerald eyes blazing. "If what Elysin said is true, your Spark if far more powerful than you at the moment. You must train your body and mind to use it properly. You have done well with your body so far, but your mind must keep pace or you could kill someone by accident."

  "That's possible?"

  "Yes. I once saw a noble walk through my market without restraining his Spark and those left behind screamed in agony. A few elders died and a former mother lost her child because he was too lazy to properly learn."

  "I certainly don't want to kill I kid. How do I 'restrain my Spark'?"

  "You shouldn't need to worry about it until you hit Crystal, but who knows? You might already be there. There are two bases to controlling your Spark. Physical advancement, which you have covered, and meditation. Meditation is where you take the raw power produced by your Spark and cement it as your new baseline."

  "You best is your new normal." I said, putting the pieces together.

  "Yes. I will guide you through meditation when you need or want it, but not everyone meditates the same way. There are some who advocate moving meditation, sword dances and the like. I follow the silent path, sitting and exploring my body for as long as necessary. You will find your own technique in time. When it comes to restraining your Spark, you are doing two opposite actions at the same time, both clamping down on your power and projecting it into the world at the same time. This process allows you to integrate into the ambient magic, becoming closer to the world itself, which means that normal people are protected by the world. Some are better at this than others, but it is necessary for everyone above a certain threshold. Now, close your eyes and feel for my Spark."

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  I sighed and did as she asked, focusing on the faint heat and golden red hue coming from her. "Can you feel me?" she asked, her Spark brushing gently against mine.

  "Yeah, I think so. You feel warm, soft." I frowned as the heat intensified for half a second, painfully so. I flashed back to the fire, to the feeling of burning alive. Suffocating in fresh air because I inhaled too much smoke. When I looked over at Jen, it wasn't her. It was a different woman with pink hair. She looked like an older Lia, but there were clear differences. She had azure eyes, not emerald, and her nose was a little too big. I gasped and came back to myself, shaking my head. I looked at my lady with concern.

  "What the hell was that?" I asked her.

  "What was what?"

  "I saw something when your Spark touched mine. When I died, I died saving Jen and some others from a fire. The last thing I saw was Jen's snow white skin against my charred hand. That vision has haunted me a few times since I got here and I just saw it again. It was different, though. The girl wasn't Jen, and it wasn't you. It was someone who looked like you but with blue eyes, not green."

  Lia blinked, stunned. "What?"

  "I don't know. Your Spark is warm and comforting, but I can feel a terrible heat sometimes. The heat I felt when I died."

  "You mean to tell me that your Spark is so powerful you can see the memories of my family through me?"

  "They're technically my family now, remember?"

  Lia blinked, then scoffed. "Gods above. You never cease to amaze, do you?"

  A cocky grin spread over my face. "You know it."

  "Still though, the fact you saw my mother is surprising."

  "Your mother?"

  Lia nodded slowly. "Yes. My mother and father died in a fire. She died from smoke inhalation and my father from burns after carrying her out."

  My eyes narrowed in concern. "Like Jen and I. That's a little too much to be coincidence. Something is going on here."

  "I have no idea what that could be."

  "Me neither. I am glad for it, though. Sorry, that came out wrong. I'm not glad any of us died, but I wouldn't have met you if it didn't, is what I'm saying."

  "I know what you are saying, Marshall. Close your eyes and settle your mind. Feel your Spark running through you."

  I did as she asked, dropping the subject for now. It was surprisingly easy to find the big ball of gold within me, pulsing with anticipation. I swear I could see a little smile coming from my core as my consciousness approached it.

  "'Sup, dude?" I reflectively asked it. I felt a little silly, but my core blinked in response, flickering in a pattern. I shook my head, the blinking meaning nothing to me. "No idea what you're sayin', brother, but I'm happy to lay eyes on you. You've come up clutch more times than I can count. Just want to say 'thank you'."

  The flickering increased in pace, so fast I had to look away. "Still can't understand you!" I called over my shoulder. I felt it calm down and looked back at my core. It flickered slowly, but all I got was a sense of disappointment. I shrugged. "Sorry, dude. Something to work on, I guess." A sense of resolve flickered from my core.

  "So, how's this all supposed to work? I take your energy and imbue it into me? Or--" I was interrupted as my Spark glowed with power before a section detached and floated over to me. It entered my consciousness and I felt my power rise. My mind sharpened, becoming aware of every little bit of me and some of my surroundings. Even though my eyes were closed, I could see about a foot and a half around me in all directions. It was kind of like having an out of body experience. I saw myself sitting cross-legged on the floor and could easily pick out the grain in the wood around me. Everything was high definition, but turned into the blackness of space after that foot and a half. The power subsumed into me and I knew I was stronger than before.

  Opening my eyes, I became aware of my surroundings again. It took a moment to adjust to the darkness of the room and there was a moment of disorientation. I rose, stretching my muscles with a groan before stumbling over to the bed. I collapsed into the bed, causing Rosie to yip and spring to her feet.

  "Sorry, Rosie." I grumbled as I slipped under the covers, closing my eyes.

  The next morning, the six of us stood at the edge of the gate facing north. Supposedly, tha dangitor's nesting grounds were half a day's travel by horse, but we would be running. Diego rode on my shoulder in camo mode, and Rosie was in my shadow with the others lined up to my left; Lia, Railey, and Jen respectively. Jen was nervous, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Lia covered a yawn and Railey adjusted her new clothes. They fit her much better than those old rags. She wore a blue jacket, white shirt, and traveling pants we had gotten for her while out on our shopping spree. I wore much the same, with Lia wearing green instead of our blue. I was just happy to be repping the Rebels once more. The red pants I could have done without, but it reminded me of my football uniform, so I didn't mind too much.

  I was hyping myself up for the run, going through my pregame rituals and doing my stretches. I tested my Spark and felt it raring to go. Power flooded my limbs and I almost took off right then, but I held myself. Wouldn't do to go racin' off half cocked. I distracted myself by going over our gear. Each of us had a short sword on our hip, with Lia and I having the addition of daggers. Both were bone, but her's was our original steban and mine was made from the nevind. Jen had a bow on her back and a quiver of arrows on her hip. I carried two extra quivers for her in my Inventory, along with three days worth of food. It was supposed to be a short journey, but I wouldn't put it past the Guild to throw some shit our way.

  I was just considering ignoring the instructions to wait for Kiltont when I spotted the man walking up to us, the feeling of a damp forest growing stonger. He sighed as he reached us, then crossed his arms.

  "Mornin'." I said, reaching out to shake his hand. He took it, though the scowl remained.

  "This is your first mission." he said, skipping the niceties. "You are supposed to have a Gold-rank joining you, but it seems she has yet to arive." As he said the words, I felt the moon come from behind me, which didn't make since as I was watching the sun rise in front of me. I turned and found a woman almost as large as me stumbling up to us. Her face was flushed and my nose crinkled as her aroma hit me. She smelled like week old sweat and unwashed body parts, and she stumbled to a stop. Her eyes were unfocused, though they ignited with a fire that sat wrong in my soul when she looked at Railey.

  "Hey, sweetheart," she said, hiccuping. She giggled, covering her mouth. "Oops." She stumbled forward and I reached out, catching her before she could fall. She looked at me, her eyes roving over my body. I had to suppress a shudder. "Aren't you a big one."

  This time I couldn't stop the shiver of disgust from running down my back or showing on my face. "Please let go of me, ma'am." I said, trying my best to be cordial. Lia, not so much.

  "Back off." she growled, hate in her eyes. The lady stood up and let go of me, grinning down at Lia.

  "Relax. I was just joking around."

  "It was not funny." Lia said, her disdain for the woman audible.

  "What is your name?" I asked before things escalated.

  "Adrianas. I'm a Gold-ranked Hunter." Adrianas said. She put her hands on her hips and stuck out her chest with pride. "The highest ranked Hunter in the city."

  "And a perv." Lia whispered. I didn't know if Adrianas caught the slight, but if she did, she didn't react. I shushed Lia and nodded to the Hunter.

  "It's nice to meet you, Adrianas. I'm Marshall. This is Lia, Jennifer, and Railey."

  "I know who you are." she said to me. "I was on the wall when you killed the nevind."

  "You were?" Lia asked. "I didn't see you."

  "I was guarding the gate, making sure nobody came in who wasn't supposed to."

  "Now that you are all here," Kiltont said, interjecting. "We can get started. Today's mission is a simple one. Take down a dangitor. It is a simple task and should not take more than a day to accomplish."

  Adrianas scoffed, crossing her arms and looking away. Kiltont continued on, ignoring her.

  "You have two days to complete this assessment. If any one of you dies, you fail. Injury is expected for Hunters, but death is unacceptable. Be prepared for the worst and expect nothing to go according to plan. Understood?"

  "Yes, sir." we all responded, except for Adrianas. She scoffed again and rolled her eyes, already looking bored.

  "Good. Adrianas will be with you to prevent any deaths, but the field is unpredictable. I wish you all luck on your hunt." With that, the chief spun on his heels and marched back into the town, leaving us alone. Adrianas sighed and closed her eyes, rubbing them softly with a grunt.

  "Fine," she said with a heavy sigh. "Let's get this over with. Come on, the dangitor are this way."

  "Aren't we supposed to find it?" I asked Lia, confusion on my face. Lia scowled at Adrianas's back before responding.

  "Yes. She's going to mess this whole thing up."

  "Maybe that's the test. Accomplish the mission despite who you're working with. Tzolob did say most Hunter's were divas."

  "Keep up!" Adrianas called over her shoulder. "I am not waiting for you!" I sighed and began to jog after her. This was going to be a fun-filled day, wasn't it?

  The outside of the city was a deep green plain of grass with very few trees. We would have to run north for a good minute to reach any sort of forest, and I took a moment to enjoy the scenery. Being in another world was terrifying sometimes, but watching a bird the size of a jet fly a hundred feet above my head was something else. Not even two hours into our run and Jen called for a stop. We had left any sort of civilization a good forty-five minutes ago, so we tool a break on the side of the road. The road itself was dirt with the barest of treads visible from the rare wagon that passed this way. I had time to study the road as the last two months of daily running had really helped out my stamina, it seemed. Railey seemed a little out of breath, but she wasn't complaining. Our training was proving its worth in more ways than one. Jen leaned her hands on her knees, gasping for air. She had trained with us, but it seemed that she still had yet to grasp her Spark as I had.

  "Is that all you've got?" Adrianas asked, glaring at the other woman. Jen tried to answer but couldn't, her lungs not having enough air. I sighed and knelt down in front of her.

  "Hop on," I said. "I'll carry you 'til you're able to run again." Adrianas shook her head and clicked her tongue, resuming her run. She had an evil glint in her eyes and ran faster than before, forcing us to keep up. I cursed her in my mind, but continued on regardless. The next one to flag was Railey a half hour later. Lia was now breathing heavily and sweating, but I figured she was fine. Railey, however, was not. She collapsed onto her knees when we stopped, retching. I set Jen down and picked Railey up.

  "Your turn to run," I said. Jen nodded and I turned to Lia. "You okay?"

  "I am fine. Do not coddle them. They should pass or fail this examination under their own power."

  "Well said," Adrianas chimed in. "Right now, only you two are passing. If they cannot even make this simple run, they will not survive the dangitor's nest."

  "Then perhaps we should take a break," I suggested. "Have some water, maybe a snack. Let Rosie and Diego stretch their legs as well." At my words, Rosie leaped from my shadow, shaking like a dog. Diego jumped down from my shoulder, de-camo'ing and yowling like a hungry cat. I pet the both of them and pulled some water and jerky out of my Inventory for everyone. I turned to give some to Adrianas, but she was staring at Rosie and Diego with wide eyes.

  "Right, totally forgot. Rosie, Diego, this is Adrianas. Adrianas, Rosie and Diego. They're my familiars."

  Lia took some water with a word of thanks, as did Railey. I knew Jen was thankful for the break too, she just didn't say it. Adrianas thought otherwise. She had recovered from her shock, and a scowl formed on her face.

  "I do not care how tired you are," she said, getting in Railey's face. "You keep going. That is an order." Railey's collar glowed a soft purple and she let out a grunt of pain, but that was it. The lack of reaction appeared to make Adrianas even madder, and she drew back her hand. Time seemed to slow as I stepped between the women, taking the slap to the chest. I kept the look of pain from my face as best I could, but it stung like a bitch.

  "That's enough, Adrianas," I said, staring at the Hunter. "You've made your point. We can afford to take a little break." Kiltont's words sounded in my head as I spoke.

  "A Hunter must be able to run. Whether chasing or fleeing, you must run." Or something like that. His words rang true as I watched my little crew take a break. If this were life or death, I didn't know if i could carry them all. I fought the scowl from my face as Lia's desecrated corpse flashed in my vision. She hadn't flagged, but I could see that she was slightly winded. I felt fine, like I could run for another few hours at least before needing a break, which surprised the hell out of me. Seeing as how I started barely able to run around the village ten times, I was now able to run about thirty times that without stopping. Sparks were a hell of a thing.

  Adrianas's scoff drug me from my thoughts. "They will not survive this test." she said.

  "Then we will see them through." I retorted, keeping my emotions from my voice.

  "That is not your job. You finish the hunt, regardless of who or what is lost." she argued.

  I scowled, feeling the lines around my mouth show themselves. "I will not sacrifice my team."

  "Then perhaps they should not be on your team." Adrianas licked her lips, her eyes undressing my body.

  I shuddered, her gaze sending razor blades skimming over my skin. "I will see them through this, even if they decide not to continue. I will not leave them behind."

  "Then you will die with them. Come, break time is over. We continue."

  We ran for another two or so hours, with me alternating between carrying Jen and Railey. Lia kept up, but was almost out of gas by the time we reached the line of trees that marked the edge of the forest. I could see the exhaustion on her face and the bags under her eyes. When we stopped, she put her hands on her knees for a moment before standing back up. I shot her a grin and turned to face the forest we had come to. The trees were massive, almost a hundred feet tall at the smallest with the taller ones nearly touching the clouds. Every one appeared to be a pine, with long, thin needles for leaves that swayed gently in the breeze. The only difference from a coniferous forest back home was the fact that these trees were all colored blue, red, and yellow. The colors appeared to be random, but something rubbed me wrong. It seemed almost too random, like someone had decided to build a forest and make it look natural. That whole uncanny valley thing.

  I took a moment to marvel at the fantastical forest, a grin forming on my face. "This shit is so fuckin' cool," I said to myself.

  "Marshall!" one of the women hollered at me. I turned to find Adriannas glaring at me with her hands on her hips.

  "What?" I asked.

  "Come here. We need to talk and formulate a plan." I sighed and walked over to the others, crouching down next to Lia, who was passing out food and water to the others. She handed me a waterskin and I drank greedily, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand before putting the empty skin in my Inventory.

  "So," I said, looking at Adriannas. "What's the plan?"

  "That is for you to discuss amongst your team. I am here simply to observe."

  "Uh-huh." I turned to Lia and Railey. "Either of you know what the dangitor is?"

  "It is an herbivorous monster covered in scaly armor." Railey said. "It has a large piece of bone attached to its tail that it uses as a weapon to bludgeon Hunters and predators."

  "An anklyosaurus."

  "I do not know what that is, Sir."

  "It's exactly what you described. How smart are these creatures? The prevailing belief where I come from is that they weren't that smart, but incredibly hardy."

  "Dangitors can be quite smart, at least the older ones can be. The young ones tend to be on the stupider side, but. . ."

  "Maturity comes with age." I said. "That goes for any species, I suppose. What's the weak spot?"

  "The belly tends to be softer than the shell, so the typical approach is to attack from beneath."

  "New entry unlocked. Check Journal." Robot Lady said. I pulled out my journal and opened to the newly formed page. The picture had a question mark over it, which kind of sucked, but I wasn't too mad. Figure I gotta see the creature for the picture to unlock. Or draw it myself. I still had yet to figure out how most of the magic shit is this world worked, but that was a problem for another time.

  "Speaking of all the magic fuckery," I said aloud, looking at Lia. "my Spark talked to me last night."

  Lia's face formed into one of confusion. "What?'

  "Well, it didn't talk so much as flash at me, but we were able to communicate a little bit. I supose that it is me so it makes a little bit of sense. I know what I want and need, so I'll follow its guidance for now. It gave me some power witch is why I was able to run for so long while carrying the others. I think. You got any ideas?"

  "That is as sound as any theory I could come up with. I have no idea what you are or how you work. Regardless, the plan is this. Marshall, you will take the lead with Rosie and Diego. Railey, Whore, and I will back you up with damage and support. Rosie, will you be our secret weapon again? You should be able to get under the dangitor and bring it down." Rosie barked her assent and melded into my shadow. Diego yowled and hopped onto Lia's shoulder, changing colors to meld with her clothes.

  "Looks like it's going to keep an eye on you," I said. "That's fine by me. I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do, Diego." I leaned down and pet the cerintino on its furry head. It purred loudly and pressed its head into my hand. Chuckling, I pat it a little harder.

  "Are you all ready?" Adrianas asked. I took a look over my team, passing out weapons and ammunition before nodding.

  "Let's go fuck some shit up."