RSW - Naomi's perspective

Unsuccessfully, Ransom was nosing my hands, trying to cheer me up.

I patted his head, and then whispered, "Ransom, go charge. You're running out of power."

Ransom hung his head as he went to his charging station: a small doggie bed made of yet more metal. He lay down, and when the amber glow of his eyes dimmed to black, I saw electricity flowing from the sides of the bed to his body.

I went through his abilities in my head, trying to remember what I had wanted for his new upgrade.

Speed, sharp teeth... Storage compartment... Voice recognition... Camera... What was the thing I was thinking of? A gun...?

The sharp teeth function was mostly for disposing of things, and I imagined that one day I would have to use that ability of his for blackmail.

The camera was extremely useful. Whenever Ransom was activated, he would take pictures of anything that Bethany programmed him to recognize, such as suspicious people, license plates, or street names. The camera could also help him to find his way around the city if I needed to get a message to someone.

Everything else was self-explanatory.

I rubbed my temples, trying to clear my mind of the seemingly unstoppable memories of the day when I introduced Ransom to Ry and Dark.

I can't think about that!

They had been surprised to see that I had a new companion, and they had loved him. Back then, he only had the basic Storage Compartment function and the Voice Recognition, so he had been upgraded and re-programmed a lot.

Shaking my head, I muttered a curse. "Dragons blood, I need to stop!"

I can't think about them... They're only going to bring back painful memories.

As soon as that train of thought entered my mind, I couldn't stop it.

Izzie. Venn. Kelsey. Dagger. Glitch. Leo. Ender. Choco. Alvin. All dead.

No! I-

Izzie gave me a grin as she ran out the door of the Endventurers mansion. "I'll be back soon, and Radish Land is going DOWN. I swear it!"

I had been barely concious, but I heard a scream... And a gunshot.

"Izzie! NOOO!" I had shrieked, wanting so badly to join her to Death's door. My tears flowed swiftly and numerously as I fell to the floor.

I finally came back to reality, tears threatening to fall. "No... No, no, nonononono. I need to stop." I scolded myself, holding my head in my hands.

I just need to stop remembering the way they died, and focus on how they would want me to act.

Izzie wouldn't want me to break down. She'd want me to keep going; to push on and be determined.

But how would she want me to act in this situation, with Dark and Ry no longer trusting me? What would she do?

I picked up my phone, and texted Laurel.

Want to get some hot chocolate in an hour or two? I just need someone to talk to...

She replied less than two minutes later: Sure! I'm always here for you:)

She reminds me so much of Iz- STOP.

I got up, and started to wait for Ransom to charge so I could take him with me.

Unconsciously, I reached for my amulet. The pendant was my symbol, the symbol that Venn had once created for me. She created one for all five of the Shadow Walkers before the war with Radish Land, and mine was a blue peace sign with wings.

The amulets were keys that would unlock things that belonged to us, and before she was nuked, Venn gave me a safe that could only be unlocked using all five of the amulets in their slots on the safe. I needed all five, but I only had three.

I had mine, Kelsey's, and Dagger's. Izzie's and Venn's were lost in the war with Radish Land, but I was still keeping an eye out for them. I always wore mine, so if someone wanted to open the safe, they'd have to take mine from around my neck.

And I always wore it.

The amulet was a silver circle with my symbol placed in the middle, with the obsidian outline of the wings and the peace sign sticking out further than the rest of the symbol to make it a key. A silver chain was looped through it, with a clasp to put it on and take it off.

I always reached for it unconsciously when I felt troubled, or just needed something to finger.

Right now, I was clutching it and rubbing the smooth stained glass that made up the colors.

~~~~~~~~

I pulled my hood up even more as someone passed by. I wanted to stay hidden, not attract attention, for I desired privacy.

Privacy, when you were this important, might as well be made of gold.

Ransom was in my pocket, in his metal sphere form, for he was a dead giveaway. As far as I knew, no one owned a robot dog other than me.

And everyone in the Republic probably knew of Ransom's existence, since I took him with me everywhere.

Walking the street of the capital city Langdale, I was heading to the cafe that I usually met at when I wanted to talk with someone outside of my house. The October air was quite chilly, but it seemed just right to me.

When I got to the cafe, it was not very busy, so I went inside and claimed a table for me and Laurel, ordering two cups of hot chocolate on my way to the corner where I wanted to sit.

A few minutes after I sat down, the bell on the door rang, and I glanced up to see Laurel entering. I waved at her from my spot, and she saw me immediately.

Laurel had platinum blonde hair and dark blue eyes, and the most beautiful, pale skin you could imagine. She was a few inches shorter than me.

"Hey!" She gave me a quick hug.

Good Lord, I needed that.

"Hi Laurel! I already ordered two cups of hot chocolate, by the way."

"Nice," She studied my gaze as she stared into my eyes. "Something's troubling you. No, multiple things. What is it?"

Laurel could read emotions very well, and she was accurate yet again.

I explained what I had remembered earlier, and she listened patiently, offering me support when I needed it.

Then I went on to recent events, telling her how Dark and Ry no longer trusted me, and how they had been demanding me so much to stop expanding.

"I just... This is a lot to handle all at once." I ended the explanation, looking down at my feet below the table.

"Naomi, look at me."

Reluctantly, I met her gaze, and she launched into what could be considered a speech:

"You cannot afford to be like this, to be broken down, to be vulnerable. These are the times when the true enemy will attack! He will make you doubt yourself, and that's not what we want. You are brave, determined, strong, and you were born to protect. Don't let anyone make you believe otherwise. You have to stop tearing yourself apart!" She reached over and placed two fingers on my amulet, which I was fiddling with. "The Shadow Walkers wouldn't want you to be like this, neither would the rest of the Endventurers. So be that person you used to be! Stand strong, and hold on, even when it is tough."

She sat back, silent once more. I was silent for a short time, until I finally whispered a response.

"You're right."

Laurel smiled at me. "You've got the spirit, you just have to bring it out!"

I'm brave. I'm determined. I'm strong.

I can push through this.

I looked up, smiling in triumph. "Laurel, I will try to be that person again, no matter what happens next. I won't lose my determination, I won't lose my hope for brighter days."

"Naomi, I believe in you." She tilted her head at me. "You've never failed to overcome the things life is throwing at you."

I gave her a determined smile before my cell phone rang.

I raced to the bathroom for maximum privacy, and there seemed to be no one in there. Taking the call, I sat down on a bench that was against the wall.

"Ello?"

"Naomi! Thank goodness you picked up."

"What? What is it, Tim?" I recognized his voice.

"We ran into some... Unexpected detours?"

"What happened?! Just tell me, darn you!"

"Um, well... Pyolangi is still alive..."

"That's great!" I smiled.

"Ha. It would be if we weren't attacking them right now."

"..... Say WHAT?! You, Timothy Ashkill, are officially an idiot." I growled.

"We approached, but they attacked us without any words exchanged."

"Oh. Well, you're still an idiot. So what you're saaaying is that you attacked Pyolangi, and they're annihilating you, and you're not retreating?"

"No! I'll explain further when I have time."

"Have you given orders to retreat yet?"

"No..."

"Do it. Right now."

"What?! They've already gotten mad, there's no going back and fixing this-"

"Just do it!"

"Might I ask why?"

"I... Just do it, I'll explain later."

"Fine. But you better have an explanation when I get home."

"Don't you dare die. And that's an order!"

He hung up, and I growled, starting to pace.

As I glanced in the mirror, my reflection glanced back. My long auburn hair and pale skin set me apart from the crowd easily, which was one of the reasons why I chose to put my hood up in public when I wanted peace.

My own dark green eyes stared back at me, slightly deeper than the color of pines.

I started to pace up and down the bathroom, wondering what would happen now that Pyolangi had been discovered and attacked.

Suddenly, a toilet flushed, and I practically jumped out of my skin.

Did someone just hear all that?!

A lady who seemed to be in her twenties came out of the stall, and looked at me weirdly. I noticed her take out her phone and press something.

Then she washed her hands, and then left, and it was as if nothing had happened.

But I had a strange feeling that she had recorded the entire conversation.

And if all she had heard was my side of the conversation, and not what Tim was saying on the other end...

Oh no.

~~~~~~~~

"Bodyguards? Laurel, are you ever going to put that subject down?" I sighed as we walked up the stairs of my mansion, towards my study.

"No! You need bodyguards, don't you see?"

"Not really. I can take care of myself!"

"Just wait until something happens to you, like a near-death experience..."

I rolled my eyes as I opened my laptop.

I had received several messages from Dark and Ry, both questioning me on why I had attached Pyolangi.

I read one of Ry's:

What is the meaning of this?!

Along with that message, was a link, and I followed it to Facebook.

It was a post, with a recording attached to it, and the profile picture of the person who posted it looked kind of like the lady whom I had seen in the bathroom.

I listened to the recording, and sure enough, you could only hear my side of the conversation.

Dark and Ry know about it.

Laurel gasped, and looked at me with wide eyes. "This is bad..."

"I have a bad feeling about this, Laurel." I muttered.

An extremely bad one.

A/N: That's Chapter Four.

What will happen next? Will Naomi discover the last two amulets? Will the situation with Pyolangi get any worse? Will Laurel EVER succeed in getting bodyguards to protect Naomi? Why do Laurel and Naomi both have a bad feeling about what will happen next? Find out next time, on Chasing Chaos!

Alright. See ya soon!