"We're baaaack!" Sam and I made it back to where everyone was eating, Kaz had also made her way here, with Alice sliding her food every now and again. What drew my attention was the normally brash Nicholai was sitting mostly still, picking at her food.

  "My what a look." Alice, having just slid over a plate to Kaz, looked after at me, more specifically my new eyepatch. "You should embroid your rose on it."

  "Like...sew the rose into it?" In the corner of my eye I noticed Sam looking at me, then the flower in my hair, then back to me.

  "Well, no, just a rose design can work, but I can see that working too! It's a bond item after all, it shouldn't die from being sewn" I felt my eyepatch, it was probably big enough that the rose could be on it without brushing against my face all the time. Then suddenly Sam snapped her fingers.

  "It's perfect!" With a quick glint and intense gaze in her eyes she had already imagined what it'd look like. "The rose sorta blends in your hair because they're similar, but put it on the eyepatch and it lets it shine more!"

  "That's sorta drowning my look in white..."

  "In your perspective maybe."

  "Hey" Nicholai set down her fork and spoke to the room. "Aren't Cali and Baker meant to be here already?" Kenneth finished chewing his own food before he started to speak.

  "Seeing how the place is I wouldn't put it against the odds that they got caught up in something, it took a second for them to realize it was Sam, maybe they haven't told them she's here yet." Seeing and hearing no one refute his idea, he went back to eating a few seconds after his sentence finished.

  "Then let's go help them!" Kenneth paused his eating and set down his fork as Kaz decided to speak up only after he started again.

  "It may just be business involving the settlement, let's just be patient" Just as I was about to go and take my seat, someone tapped my shoulder before I could go sit down, by the time Sam noticed it she was already half-way to her seat. rest is a myth. I turned around to be greeted by Madoka. "Yes?"

  "Need to borrow you for a sec." Course you do.

  "Alright, let's get it over with." The floor behind me creaked, signifying movement. "I think she wants me alone Sam."

  "awwww..." The floor creaked again before a chair moved as well.

  "Shouldn't take too long, isn't that far either." With Madoka leading the way, the two of us left the room.

  "So, what is it anyways? Or can you not tell me?"

  "Sam's parents." I was getting ready to hear that they're dead again, they did die in the other one.

  "What happened!?"

  "Same thing you guys were talkin about, right as they came in they got held up by a bunch of our people." Madoka kept facing forward so as we talked, it certainly made things a lot harder to hear from her.

  "Why get me then and not Sam?" Unlike before, Madoka did turn this time and just looked at me without a word. "It's Sam"

  "Correct" She pivoted her foot and turned right back around and continued walking, the hallway was actually pretty dead unlike the area before it. "Sam would probably worry, even if they aren't in harm's way so I figured I'd nab Mr. Leader" I grunt after she spoke, she took it as a sign and sighed before speaking. "Something the matter?"

  "I sometimes forget I am in fact Bravo Team's leader" Our walk led us to a door that led outside and seeing me stuck in my head, Madoka opened it for me so I could just keep walking straight. "Been wondering how to be a better one."

  "Team building." Madoka shut the door behind us once we were both through and once she saw that Cali and Baker weren't where she thought they'd be, we changed the direction we were walking to towards our right.

  "Well isn't tha-"

  "It's not just for a team that doesn't know each other, that's what you were gonna say right?"

  "Sorta?"

  "...I'll just take it as close enough." Madoka then cleared her throat. "Because you all knew each other prior, you're already making the assumption you work well on a team, and granted, you've done fine on the missions you have gone, but that was against your grade enemies, as you go on tougher ones, the strategies and room for error become more difficult to handle. The moment you all have a bond-attack for each pair is when your team is fully connected, with maybe two or three for the partners"

  "Can't force people to bond though, maybe if I learned first-aid I could try bonding with Nicholai."

  "That's the hard part, you guys are too different so it's harder to bond the whole team at once, Delinquent, Doctor, Technician/Engineer, and Moral Compass or a damn saint, whichever you prefer to call her."

  "Hm...I'll try one at a time then, I did a few quick check-ups while they were doing there thing, but maybe if I consciously helped them during it, yes it'll take longer, but if they're on good terms with their leader, they should be more willing to do team bonding activites, right?" Madoka shrugged as a reply before actually speaking one.

  "Dunno, you know them best." Madoka smirked at me.

  "Course" Though she was ahead of me, I saw a smile form on her as we began to slow down.

  "There they ar-" When we finally made it to this point, a CSF soldier showed up and came over.

  "Madoka! Is that kid with yo-..." Their question, assuming it was about me, was quickly answered after they simply looked behind Madoka.

  "Hi" I snarkily grinned and waved, but I stopped soon after once I noticed the different uniform, it wasn't CSF, instead on their arm were the letters C.E.F in bold, everything else however was the same, black coat or uniform, dark pants, and whatever.

  "Lieutenant Lee from Bravo Team correct?" With no care for Madoka, they shoved past her to get to me.

  "One of many."

  "That a joke?" The solider tried to seem intimidating, but something in their expression was more fearfilled than intimidating.

  "Wish it was." They squinted their eyes before grabbing my wrist. "Hey!" They took out a flashlight and aimed it at my face.

  "Open your mouth"

  "What!? What is your problem!?"

  "Yo Blackboot! He's with the Calstianos' and seeing as he just got here a while ago I doubt he's one of em." The soldier clicked the flashlight off, he didn't seem fearful anymore.

  "Sorry kid" After fiddling with the light he hooked it onto some chain at his hip and without explanation before walking past me while mumbling. "These new corrupted man..." Madoka seemed a bit ashamed.

  "Didn't know they came by here as well, and they acted like we got used to it too fast." Deciding it was better to not get side-tracked again, I did my best to go past Madoka and to Sam's parents, but I was promptly prevented.

  "Sure..." For a while Madoka seemed concerned about the CEF soldier, but with a task on our hands already, she couldn't look into it, and instead turned back to get back on track. "Cali! Baker!" With no soldier to get in my way this time, I was able to step out on the field with Madoka. There weren't many people here, a few guards, the people at the gate, the driver of the truck, and well...Cali and Baker themselves. It felt jolting for sure, they weren't my parents, sadly that is the truth, but I had a right as anybody to be glad the people who took care of me are alive.

  "Madoka!" Cali, Sam's mom, joyfully made her way over, she didn't recognize me, but I mean that was obviously going to be the case with the pinkish-white hair and the eyepatch...and the fact it's been a year or so, and the uniform, and Crescent...and pretty much everything. Baker, Sam's dad, and where most of the pink hair came from, was following a bit far behind Cali. "And who's this gentleman? Actually..." No way...no possible way you can recognize me like this. "No wait!" In the same way Sam does when she recalls something, she snapped her middle and thumb fingers, letting out that familiar snapping noise. "Lee!?"

  I stood there silent for a moment, for two reasons, being recognized, and remembering that, yeah, this is where Sam gets it from.

  "Yeah...It's me." Baker seemingly overheard as he picked up the pace to join us.

  "I'll be damned, I thought to myself what other guy would wear a rose on his head...not, an insult just incase you took it that way." While Baker talked, Cali looked around the place, knowing she'd been here for a while made it pretty clear what she was looking for, or rather who.

  "Sam isn't with you?" She looked worried "Not even the others?"

  "Well, actually." It felt nice not having to be like all the situations i've seen before, when someone mentions someone isn't with you and you can't answer because they're dead, but in this situation it was the opposite, they were alive, perfectly alive, granted, we died before but. "They're not here here, they're with Alice right now."

  "I told you they'd be alright!" Baker looked to Cali. "They're a strong bunch when together."

  "About that actually...the white hair and rose is because..." I summoned Crescent into my hand. "We technically...did die."

  "Oh...that must've been horrible, but it seems you've all handled things well." Cali gave me a quick pat on the shoulder before she looked to everyone else. "Well! The others aren't far off no?"

  "Yeah, I can bring you over to them if you want, Sam'll probably tell you everything she can remember." Cali and Baker snickered amongst themselves.

  "That girl does have great memory, guess we better get to it before she worries anymore!"

  "Alright then, Lee, lead the way if you will, I gotta talk to that CEF guy from earlier" Madoka looked a tad irritated. "If you find me again I'll explain it to you if you want, least I can do after you got hit by the sun." Madoka saw Cali and Baker about to comment. "Exaggeration, just an exaggeration, have fun with your reunion." Madoka started to walk in the direction the CEF soldier from earlier went, I could even see her say something I couldn't hear, until she repeated it again louder when no one responded. "Ay Blackboot! Get over here!"

  "Alright, before we get caught up in that, follow me." We followed Madoka for a bit as the way to the CEF guy was the same path we had to take, afterwards though, we split off and I retraced my steps all the way back to the room we were in prior, getting another glimpse at the whole place, it seemed better than the previous time I was in, maybe, it was a possibility that the only reason Cali and Baker died in the other world is because the settlement was worse...I don't recall CEF being here last time if I recalled right. "And it should be right here." Even if I hadn't recalled the full way back I could overhear Alice talking about something. I opened the door and stepped in, everyone was where they were before, but now Alice had some flower on the table that Sam stared at.

  "-It's like a mimic flower, the type you see in a lot of media." Alice seemed to be talking about the flower to Sam, neither aware of me, or the other two entering the room, I expected Nicholai and Kenneth to notice but they seemed to be in their own conversation, albeit a lot quieter. I was getting ready to get their attention, but Cali stopped me and started quietly moving towards Sam, Alice noticed when she was about halfway behind her, but decided to go with it instead of telling Sam.

  "All CSF" I Instinctively twitched upon hearing a voice in my head. "If one of you punks stole the orb and fail to return it I will have the thief executed by dawn, get your ass back here before I make you" Alice towards me, most likely hearing it as well.

  "Hm?" Sadly, Sam noticed Alice was looking past her and turned around to see what it was and nearly leaped out of her seat when she saw her mom right behind her and her dad not far away either. "You jerks!" She playfully punched her mom's shoulder before turning it into a hug that Baker would join in a moment after.

  "Lee" Alice tilted her head, signaling for me to come over, which I obliged. "You hear that announcement too?"

  "Yeah, didn't know you were associated with the CSF."

  "I dabble, anyways, if someone maliciously took that orb we might have to all move to Eaxura."

  "Why's that? How does something in Eaxura affect Earth?" Alice adjusted her posture, sitting up and against the back of the chair.

  "A few ways, I don't know all the details though...I know it keeps Eaxura from becoming a wasteland, but it also keeps other worlds from being immediately invaded by external forces."

  "There's more people?" I had thought that DTs, Reunion, and the Humans on earth were the only sentient beings, looking back on it, it was pretty dumb to think that.

  "Course there are, human-animal hybrids, Anthro animals, demons, elves, really any mythical creature that exists, hell you heard about the gods before right? They're not all good people, not even half, but that doesn't mean go around purging them, we're magical beings who can self-revive so lo-..." Alice's face sunk. "That orb also allows us to revive..."

  "What!?" The room turned towards me while Alice stood up and began walking to the door, pressing on a radio.

  "Alice here, all DT units start bringing everyone to Eaxura." It was all I heard before she got out of earshot. Was it an orb that let us revive? I thought...ugh...After getting brought to this timeline my memory of DT matters felt a bit jumbled, it would most likely be easier if I focused on how each timeline works and not act as though they're all the same.

  "What's going on?" Kaz went across the table to reach me.

  "I thought you were from the future, don't you know?" I responded to Kaz.

  "Far into the future, not here."

  "So?" Nicholai spoke up next wondering the same thing as Kaz.

  "Alright...there's not a way to ease into it, something from Eaxura was taken, it was the thing that allowed us to revive upon death, it also apparently kept Eaxura warm, there were probably other things but Alice, well, did that before I heard anything else...oh and...it prevented foreign worlds from invading others." Cali and Baker didn't seem to fully understand, but everyone else stood up from their seats, with Sam going to the door.

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  "Where are you going?" Nicholai called over to Sam.

  "If anyone can come and attack this place I'm gonna try and help!" Sam didn't elaborate further and quickly left.

  "Lee" Kenneth snapped my attention towards them again. "What's the call?"

  "What?"

  "We're allowed to make our own choices yes, but we made you the leader, it's only right we follow what you have in mind."

  "Hey!" Alice returned, putting a hand on the door while the other held onto some sphere tightly. "I need someone to go with Lee and plant this. Whoever isn't has gotta help with evacuation, we don't have much time, earth is the most known world in Zullo it's bound to be hit first."

  "Why me?" Alice immediately pointed at my eye before answering.

  "Guardians helped us with this in case of an extreme emergency, sadly because they made it, it's corrupted."

  "So I need to use it or else the user gets corrupted."

  "Pretty much" She seemed saddened that I had no choice but to use it. "May-...Where'd Sam go?"

  "Already made her choice." Nicholai stepped up. "No one is gonna object to going with, nor do I think there's a right answer."

  "If I take the doctor I have a less chance of dying and getting the device off..." I tried to rationalize my choice. "But then those who need medical get less..." I looked to Kenneth. He could help me with the device if it malfunctions, or if something goes wrong...but the same can go for the people defending the place...it's not likely I get it off in time unless it's nearby, people will need their weapons and defenses in the best shape possible...Kaz does better in the middle of fights thanks to her small size, she'd be too obvious and noticeable with me. "Kenneth, how're Dave's weapons?" He shook his head, he wasn't an option. I don't have the time to think any further..."Nicholai! You're with me." She was caught off guard, the first time I've seen the expression.

  "Here!" Alice handed me the cylinder and then placed her hand on my shoulder. "You're looking for a tower that has a bright blue flashing light, the Guardians said the tower changes every week so its signal never gets pinged, so I can't say if it's nearby or not...good luck" She took her hand off and went to the others. "Rest of you, we'll help with the evacuati-" I didn't stick around to hear, I ran out the door with Nicholai close behind.

  "Why'd you pick me?" I didn't expect Nicholai to question it.

  "I panicked, the longer it took to choose the more likely we'd fail, and I need someone to keep me in check."

  "Do my best not to disappoint then" We soon exited the building, everyone was running around, but not in a panic, except for a small few, everyone else seemed prepared even if they were worried mentally.

  "Blue flashing light..."

  "Far right!" I turned the way she said and pointed, it was clear as day, like a beacon, but it was far, really far away if you took into account the people running, the structures, the maintained buildings.

  "Fuggghck!" I swore through gritted teeth. "We don't have time to waste." We bolted into a sprint again while thoughts ticked in my mind. It feels horrible, on a time limit I don't even know, it could be the next minute or even second, and if I fail...Cali and Baker could die again...Suddenly my arm jolted backwards, like my own body was trying to prevent myself from completing the mission. I dug my heels into the ground upon moving in a way I didn't want to, but there was no time, if I let it confuse me i'd only have less time, so I went into another sprint, slightly behind Nicholai now thanks to the pause.

  "What was that?" Nicholai, still running, turned her head back to me.

  "It's taking my mind again..." I didn't have to elaborate further for her to understand. She was probably confused by the again part and I knew I should tell everyone other than Sam, but now was not the time, I had hoped to do so when everyone was together.

  "...If it gets worse toss it to me!"

  "But..." She faced forward again.

  "Corruption? You'd prefer the whole place get attacked than me possibly dying? Doubt it's even a high chance." Nicholai seemed confident, but maybe being around Sam for so long gave me an instinct, because it felt like Nicholai was lying to reassure the both of us, not just me.

  "Alright...here!" I turned quickly into an alleyway between a few small built structures.

  "Incoming!" The voices of the CEF echoed through the alleyway. "Forget all previous intel about the enemy, this is a dif-" The soldier was cut off after an explosive went off.

  "What...is it?" I couldn't stop myself from mumbling, the Reunion and Corrupted were the only real threats I knew, but I wasn't naive enough to think that was it, we're capable of going through many worlds and multiverses, more enemies than one can count...how could someone fare against that?

  "We're still a ways off the watchtower, got any ideas!?" I could see Nicholai looking around for more paths, a faster than the one we're currently on.

  "I got one, but I'd be going farther ahead than you"

  "Better than nothing! Just keep that Corruption in check!"

  "I'll try!" I looked for something on my gear to hook onto the device, but on second look the device itself had nothing to hook on besides the handle on top. Course..."Crescent! Shockwave rounds" I loaded up the rounds into Crescent and held onto the device tightly. "Nicholai make sure you take the safer routes."

  "I'll manage!" In a swift motion, I jumped, hooked the handle of Crescent on my foot, and pulled the trigger, I felt like I slipped off for a second until realizing the floatiness I was feeling was due to me soaring into the sky and the quick burst of air in my face.

  "There we go!" But with a sword, gun, heavy device, and just myself, it wasn't long before I quickly lost acceleration and started plummeting downwards. I fired at a backwards angle again to boost myself towards the tower once again. I had once again gotten enough momentum to start making progress to the tower again, it would soon be in reach but I had no real way to stop. "Crescent, shake a bit if your handle can...handle a pull." I didn't know how to word it fast enough, but Crescent shook a bit regardless. "Here goes then!" I grabbed the blade of Crescent and swung it at the tower, hoping I'd hook onto something, I felt like I missed, I didn't feel the blade digging into my skin from the stop, but i didn't feel anything else either.

  I looked down to notice i was a bit high up, but I wasn't falling at all, I looked back up and realized I had actually hooked onto the tower's railings like I hoped, and the reasoning for the blade not cutting me? Some ominous glow around the blade.

  "That's not the non-lethal mode...you can choose when to cut? Or...is it only to me?" Crescent moved at the later half of my words. "I appreciate it regardless..." Holding onto Crescent with one hand was starting to put strain on me, I hadn't thought of what to do when I actually made it. "Time to gamble then" I began to swing back and forth, Crescen't hook handle was curved enough to practically be a grappling hook and it worked just as well as one. When I had decided it would be enough, when swinging back towards the tower, I swung up the device and threw it in. I flinched and held my eyes closed, waiting for it to hit me on the head when it made its way back down, but the only sound was of it hitting the floor of the watchtower. "Bless my heart, I'm lucky enough." Though haphazardly, I climbed up Crescent quickly, just enough until I could grab onto the railing and climb over it. "Okay...just to plant it then." I should have done it right then and there, but my curiosity got the better of me, I turned around and looked towards the settlement to see if I could notice anyone I hadn't seen before...And I didn't, but that was already because I knew the main leader of them. "It's that Lee again!" He was leading other soldiers, once identical to the CEF here, but they looked more...hostile somehow. "I wasted enough time!" I grabbed the device and ran to the middle of the room, guessing this was where I needed to plant it. "Crescent to me!" Making sure I had everything on me incase things went wrong, I called over Crescent, who warped right into their sheath. "Alright...alright...how to use this."

  The device was as mentioned before, a cylinder with a single handle on the top.

  "Doesn't seem like many options...so." I slammed the device on the ground, where the handle was facing upwards. "Maybe twisting?" I turned the handle right, nothing, then left, where the handle then dug into itself and began to glow white. "..." I had to wait until it finished whatever procedure it had to go through, but once it was done the handle popped up again, with the entire device now glowing. "You kidding me? How many things can I do with one handle?" I tried twisting it right again, it did in fact go that way, but did nothing and forcefully reset itself. "Then!" I twisted right again and pushed down. this time it worked, completely and irreversibly digging itself into the ground and sending a beam of white light into the sky, piercing and destroying anything above that blocked it from doing so. "Better be it..." Hoping the device's startup was now done, I turned back to where I saw the other Lee last, he was nowhere to be found, but his CEF soldiers could still be seen, they looked near identical to the ones I saw before but I couldn't get that terrible feeling out of me whenever I saw them.

  "Lee!" Hearing my name get shouted from far below, I looked for the staircase on the tower, after finding it I went down a few steps before looking down. Faintly, like a very rough outline in a very badly lit stairwell, I could see Nicholai. "The thing above is gone! Kenneth and Sam are at the center, you coming or not!?" Nicholai said what needed to be said and went back down the stairs.

  "Time to help the others bud, two more shells of the same type." Crescent seemed to be worried. "Yeah, I'm praying it goes well too." After loading the two shells, I got a running start before leaping over the railing of the watchtower. It took maybe a second before I started to plummet downwards. How did Kenneth describe it...suddenly stopping is what kills... so going right back up would hurt me, better than death but...maybe...I got it... I waited till I was a few seconds from the floor before aiming Crescent behind me, not above me, behind me, so when I shoot I'd go forward. and to stop safely...as safely as possible! I pulled the trigger, redirecting the momentum forward instead of down. "Crescent! Try not to dig in too well!" I was practically telling them to do the impossible, but a warning never hurt anybody. Before going into a building, I jabbed the blade of Crescent into the ground, it pulling my arm aggressively, nearly tearing something, but it worked well enough to stop me just enough till I could put my own two feet on the ground. "My arm is gonna need care soon as well at this point..."

  "Good, you already know you nearly killed yourself," Nicholai exited the watchtower, she didn't seem bothered until she looked back up. "That's not even broken bones, that's death..."

  "All thanks to Crescent."

  "And that we're more durable." Nicholai didn't wait up, she started making her way to the center and while I could go ahead of her and go somewhere else, I didn't want to risk my chances, of messing up something I've now done twice by pure luck, nor encounter that other Lee.

  "Kenneth and Sam should be there right?"

  "Huh?"

  "At the center, the two should be around right?"

  "I only got a quick glimpse, can't say for sure I saw them"

  "And the other Lee?"

  "Y'know I was gonna ask about that" It came to my attention then that I only really told Sam stuff, not to the others.

  "I'll explain when everyone is together."

  "Better, this stuff is confusing as is without duplicates."

  "Give no Quarter!" Nicholai and I heard the shouting of soldiers and did our best to follow them. To our luck, they were CSF, clashing against other humanoid beings, but they looked melted.

  "They look like me..." It only clicked once we were behind them, the weaponry, gear, looks, it was me. "Why are they me?" Hearing my voice, one of the soldiers turned and was mid-swing before Nicholai's scythe swung into view to slam it away.

  "Oh god! You're our Lee...I'm sorry." A massive burst of flame appeared behind the soldier, sending a portion of the unit away from their original positions. The "Lee" who caused it had their sword engulfed in heavy flames. "Get behind us! We'll cover you!" The soldier turned back around, regrouping with what remained of the team.

  "Hang on, we're not going this way!" The CSF didn't hear me; instead, it attacked the horde of melting versions of myself.

  "Works in our favor either way, come on!" Nicholai nearly tugged me along as we continued past the unit, finally reaching the center. The scene was graphic, people torn to pieces, structures set ablaze, the only thing remaining were Sam and Kenneth through some miracle. "Kenneth!" Nicholai bolted past me and slid over to Kenneth, who had blood all over him. "What happened to you!?" She lifted him back onto his feet, nearly being the only reason he can stand.

  "Lee..." Sam slowly turned to me, her face mortified while trying her best to ignore the blood all over our friend.

  "We're returning to Eaxura, we're not staying here! Sam, where are Cali and Baker!?" Nicholai didn't wait a single second for me to respond to whatever it was that Sam wanted to tell or ask me.

  "I...I think they're already there, they took people into portals, Alice too." Nicholai immediately flicked her head to me.

  "Lee, portal, NOW" I cut it open, specifically one at our base of operations, there didn't seem to be anything in our path, not until Nicholai and Kenneth went through.

  "LEE" My blood ran cold as I heard the scream of someone who I knew, but only because it was my voice. The portal closed against my will, leaving only Sam and I remaining. "YOU AIN'T RUNNING AGAIN LEE" A version of Crescent impaled the floor in front of me, but it was far beyond a simple desire to warp to it, instead the ground cracked and the same Lee that killed me in the first run appeared again, replacing where their Crescent was. "No...you're not this time's Lee...it's you again, isn't it?" They looked down at Crescent, seeing the way I was holding it. "This world's Lee is more experienced than you." He smirked. "How did I manage to meet you again this early?" The smirk just as quickly went away. "No...really...you shouldn't have appeared here." He looked to Sam. "Are you involved I wonder? I know this Lee had a Sam, but..." He looked down, summoning Crescent back to him. "Fuck it, it ain't important."

  "Wait! What's the point of this?" Sam seemed to try asking questions, it, for some reason, worked.

  "I feel like I went over this already...Though I guess that was only with Lee." He looked back up and smiled. "Every Lee's trait is different, that is all."

  "That can't be it! I doubt every Lee is the same, but there's no way a Lee is like this randomly, right!?" The Lee seemed to completely ignore her.

  "No, I know how you're here now...I had a feeling my being was being called constantly, you kept referring to me...heh...I suppose I got popular enough with you lot for me to be the topic of discussion." A quick, purple blink of light appeared in his right eye. "Whatever, Lee, let's see how you've improved!" Similar to our last battle, that Lee appeared in front of me, mid-slash and ready to end me, I raised my blade in defense, only now I managed to at least keep it up instead of dropping that guard. I learned practically nothing! Anything that happens here is purely from this world's Lee being better! "Ah! You've been slacking! Or have Raymond and Kai been keeping you bu-" Unexpectedly, this Lee's head recoiled to the side as a blade slashed the side of his face, he stepped back and held the spot that began to bleed, it surprised me as much as it did him.

  "Bastard!" I thought I misheard when Sam swore, but when I turned to her, she had her sickle swinging round and round and had the most pissed off expression that ever crossed her face.

  "The hell?" The hell!? His words and my thoughts were the same.

  "You nearly put Kenneth on his deathbed! And now you're trying to take another version of you out!?

  "Well, if you're part of the fight, then you're included in that!" Seeing a chance, I slammed the hilt of my sword into his shoulder, he winced but was otherwise unfazed.

  "Sam, portal!" Sam stopped her swinging and instead slashed into the air to tear open a portal. "Ge-Kgh!" I was stopped mid-word when his hand grabbed onto my neck, slamming me down onto the ground when I finally registered what was going on.

  "It's not going to get you far!" With their free hand, he closed an open palm, forcing the portal closed. With our escape closed, he impaled me with his Crescent and dashed towards Sam. I couldn't even see what was going on, I couldn't turn my head enough to look at what was occurring.

  "Lieutenant!" A voice gave me an inkling of hope, but whoever it was, was also out of my vision. "Everyone open fire!" From what I heard, a barrage of bullets rained upon that other Lee, yet, I heard it clanging against steel, which told me he was somehow deflecting them all.

  "Aid Sam, I'll tend to the Lieutenant." Footsteps approached, and soon a uniformed soldier crouched down. "Lee, you hanging in there?" He raised his mask, I could never have been more glad to see him.

  "Kyle...Thank you..." I could barely speak those words.

  "Ain't just me, Loui, Kayla, Salazar, Kay, and Anne, are here too." I smiled. "Seems they drove that bastard away too, are all you Lees that stubborn?"

  "A...s...Kgk..." Kyle took Crescent out of my chest, it vanished instantly after.

  "I uh...mh..." He was looking over to where Sam was while placing his hand on my wound, not healing, but stabilizing it at the very least. "Sam isn't much better...I'd wait until you were better to say that but...lass might not make it."

  "What...?"

  "Piece of shit did one good clean cut right across the whole body." He looked back down at me. "Then again, that annoying lass lived through worse...I think." Kyle took my by my left arm and pulled me up to stand, slinging my arm over his shoulder, he tried facing me away from Sam, but I caught a glimpse anyway, it brought back memories. Her jacket was coated in blood, her mouth nearly spitting it up without pause. "I wouldn't look that way, bossman, let's get you to the hospital." Aggressively, he forces me into a portal, understanding I was nearly going to bolt towards her.

  "Oh god! Lieutenant, what happened to you!?" I didn't seem to be at the hospital, but instead at an infirmary owned by the CSF. Kyle went to speak before cutting himself off.

  "Not important...I know we don't got a lot of magic healers, so make do, we've got a lot more on the way." It suddenly clicked, Sam said her family were safe, I saw Kenneth too.

  "Kaz!" I nearly tripped over myself trying to go back. "Where's Kaz!" I barely knew the cat, but it helped us regardless.

  "SIT DOWN" Kyle grabbed me by the wrist and threw me onto a bed. "We'll look for the fuckin thing! You try living! Anne, Kayla! Come on! Salazar, don't let him stand." Salazar walked over. "WITHOUT HURTING HIM."

  "I wasn't going to do anything." Salazar gently leaned against the...wall? I think? It depends on whether you consider a tent's side a wall or not.

  "It's worse than what Kyle said isn't it?" I looked up at Salazar, his expression stone neutral.

  "The lass, if by some miracle survives, should not walk for a long while."

  "Stuck to a bed again then..." I looked at my hands. "What's wrong with that guy, Sam is our bud...even if it's another version..." If I knew how to rewind, rewind exactly where I wanted...I could keep trying, trying to beat him until I won.

  "The fault does not lie with you, young-blood." Salazar continued gazing at nothing. "He's a horrific monster." I shook slightly, if he was correct, if that Lee was correct, then even mentioning him is the reason I appear in front of him so often... "No worries, Lieutenant, I was lucky enough to have a trait that counteracts his knowing ears. Anyone nearby can speak of the beast without his knowledge."

  "That's good..."

  "Returning to the point, regardless of your rank, you were hardly trained in the act of combat, magic, or corruption." He took out a photo, slowly handing it to me. "These people will train you, far greater than any one of us can." The photo was of a village in a forest, none of the people in it were human; instead, owl-like, bipedal beings. "Take Nicholai with you as well, someone with a grudge like hers can turn it into great training drive."

  "What if Sam..."

  "Then it is more of a reason to fight against that hellspawn." Salazar began to walk away. "If you decide to go, tell me through your HUD, I will give you an uninterrupted chance to leave."

  "Aren't you meant to prevent me from leaving?"

  "It will only keep the chance for heartache to remain Young-blood, that is no man who can be reasoned with, he must die, no matter the cost that must be paid." He left the tent, leaving me be with the photo and the chance to truly learn how to fight back against him.