Chapter 25
Guess who finished another book? Yup, it was me! Now I can do more chapters for this one! Sorry that it's been so long since I last updated.
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"Should you have left him like that? I know I said you should do some investigating but I didn't think you would do that right now. Won't they ne suspicious of you?" Eun said. "They're already suspicious of me and I have no doubt that they'll be watching my every move. They said that I'm the only varying factor so if that's the case, I need to prevent my own death so that Add doesn't have to worry," Ara thought as she finally escaped the crowd. The first person she saw there was Owen but before he could say anything, Seris called to Ara.
"Hey, Ara come over here!" Seris called from where she was leaving the crowd. "Amusing. They seem to ne keeping an eye on you. You're the only wild card in whatever they have planned," Eun said, noticing that Seris had been looking for Ara. "Oh, hey Seris. Where will Add and I be staying? I'm a little tired and I want to rest a bit before I go exploring. I'm sure Add will be a bit busy for a while," Ara said as she glanced at the crowd, mentally apologizing to Add again. He was going to be so annoyed later on.
"Where you'll be staying huh. You guys are right near our tent area so...that would be this way," Seris said, pointing off in a direction away from the crowd. "Come on, I'll take you there," Seris offered. "Sure, thanks," Ara said and began to follow behind Seris. "I was also thinking you should start your training immediately. If you learn those skills that my power allowed you to use, you'd be able to perform them without the help of my power," Eun was saying.
"Sound like a plan but right now, we need to focus on keeping Add safe. I don't think these people have his best interests in mind. If anything, I think we're being used and I don't like that," Ara thought. "Hey, Ara, did you hear me?" Seris said. "Huh? Oh, sorry. I was talking to Eun. You know Eun right?" Ara said with a bit of embarrassment. "Yes, of course I know Eun. She's your fox friend isn't she," Seris said. Ara simply nodded. "You two must have been through so much together for the two of you to be so close. I don't really know much about her myself though. You never really told me much about her," Seris said.
"Really? Raven said we got along pretty well so I thought I would have told you more about Eun," Ara said thoughtfully. "Can't you see that she's trying to pull information out of you? Throw her off or redirect the conversation," Eun growled. She was obviously uncomfortable with the details of her life being shared with someone she hardly knew. "I will, just calm down. I need to play things off as cool," Ara thought in reply just before speaking. "Oh, well then I'll just have to tell you some other time when we hang out," Ara said with a smile.
"Cool. We're here now. This is the area where we've set up our little tents and just behind it is our base of operations. We don't sleep inside the building because we want to be immediately available if there is ever an attack on this village. Don't worry though. You and Add's room is actually on the inside of the building," Seris said with a slight laugh. "It's okay. I wasn't worried about any of that. I'd actually liked it if we were outside. Last time we stayed in a building in a foreign area, things didn't go so well for us," Ara said.
"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that. Do you want me to show you to the room or do you think you can find it from there?" Seris asked. "I actually don't know where this is so I don't think I'd be able to find anywhere to be honest," Ara answered with a laugh as she scratched her head a bit. "Right. I forgot. You don't remember anything," Seris said as she playfully facepalmed before leading Ara ro her room. The building was a simple inn but it was obvious that the place had been turned into some sort of headquarters rather than a simple bed and breakfast.
Ara's room was on the top floor, the fourth, and she got a bad feeling about it for some odd reason. "Well this is it. Let me know if you need anything. I'm sure the others will be glad to help you out too," Seris said once Ara was at the door to her room. "Thanks Seris. Oh, and can you guide Add here too once he finishes answering all of the questions from his admirers," Ara said as she opened the door. "Sure thing," Seris said with a smile. Ara promptly entered and shut herself into her room.
She didn't really take notice of the simple decor but she most certainly noticed that there was only one bed. It was a large bed but a singular bed nevertheless and that was not going to work. Add was going to try and make Ara take the bed and Ara wasn't going to allow it. "You can worry about matters like that later. Right now you need to focus on how you're going to get the both of you out of here. It's clear that these people are up to something a little more sinister than they let on," Eun said.
"I suppose so but I don't knkw for sure if leaving this place is our best option. If we go back above ground, Eve will capture us and probably have us executed. If we stay here with these people who know too much, there isn't really a particular outcome for us to help guide our actions. I honestly think we should stay put for now but letting down my guard is never an option," Ara replied to Eun's statements. "True. That means you'll need something to keep you occupied right. Why don't you try training. I can guide you," Eun suggested.
"Not now. I'm not in the mood to do anything. It's ture that it's been a good bit since I last trained but now isn't the time. I sort of just want to have a moment of peace. These past days have been crazy," Ara thought with a sigh as she plopped onto the middle of the bed. "Then what do you plan on doing until albino boy returns. You like him don't you so doesn't that mean that the two of you should be inseparable?" Eun said. Ara shrugged.
"We are inseparable but that doesn't mean I meed to be near him every second of his life. Besides, I bet he's still adjusting to this while situation. A lot has happened in such a short amount of time and it sort of annoys me," Ara thought as she rolled onto her side. "Perhaps you need to rest and take your mind off of things. If you'd like, I can take over for a bit so that you won't have to worry about letting your guard down," Eun offered.
Ara considered it to be a good idea so she agreed and allowed the fox to plunge her mind into darkness. With that darkness came the familiar feeling of no worries and like always, she felt temporarily free but as soon as it began, it ended just as it always did. Ara woke up just as Add did. Yes, Ara had been unaware, but Add had fallen asleep on the bed. The thing is, Eun had given Add the bed and watched over him for Ara as he slept. He had been quite agitated upon his arrival and didn't even argue with Eun when she suggested that he take a rest to get his mind off of things.
The moment Eun was sure he was asleep, she lay near him, thinking that Ara would be happy to see him when she woke up. Eun didn't quite understand certain ways of humans and she didn't get why Ara didn't want to share a bed with Add so she had seen nothing wrong with her actions. And for those reasons, Ara found herself waking up at the exact same time as Add did, both of them sleepily looking each other in the eyes before realizing where they were. Both of them had the same reactions as well.
Eyes widened in shock and minds filled with uncertainty, the two of them quickly shot up and backed away from each other with Ara being the one to fall off of the bed's edge. "...Ara?" she heard Add call. "I'm okay. Sorry about that. I...I didn't know Eun would do something like that. I am so sorry," Ara quickly said as she got up from the floor. Add stayed silent and only stared at Ara from where he now sat on the other side of the bed. They just stayed there in awkwardness, unsure of how to handle the situation from there.
Thankfully, a knock was heard on their door and saved them from the awkwardness. "I'll get it," Add muttered as he got up amd walked to the door. "I don't get it. Why are you and albino boy so shaken from a simple nap?" Eun commented but Ara didn't respond because she was to busy being shocked at thejr visitor. She immediately went on edge and Add backed away from the door, bringing his dynamos to him. "Don't fret, I am on your side," none other than Proto said as she stood rather calmly at their door.
"Why are you here?" Add asked, still not letting his guard dropping his guard. "I told you we'd talk didn't I? I didn't let you and Ara go free for no reason. These people down here are sort of my allies and my enemies at the same time but you...Add, you are the only person capable of being my and my people's savior," Proto said. Add looked back at Ara who gave him a confused look but nodded, signifying that Proto could be trusted. "Come in I guess but if you try anything, I won't hesitate to use these," Add said with clear warning in his voice.
Proto nodded before entering the room and closing the door behind her. "Lunch is to be served for the members of the Crow Mercenaries. In return for their protection, the villagers here provide them with supoort in various ways such as feeding them voluntarily. The point is, I don't have much time to talk with the two of you. I hope you both can save us," Proto began. "Save you from what? The Crow Mercenaries are attempting to save lives here," Add said.
"Surely you've noticed the odd air that that particular group gives off. You of all people should be able to see right through them Ara. You have Eun to help you and I'm sure that her years of experience have helped you see through the somewhat fake personas that the Crow Mercenary group has been showing you," Proto said. "How do you know so much about Eun? Not even Seris knew that much about Eun," Ara questioned.
"She's obviously only telling or showing you what she wants you to know. You are the only unpredictable person in this whole setup so they'll be keeping a close watch on you. Besides, Add's invention works on me as well. The Crow Mercenaries don't know this but he included me in the group of people who remember things during on of the failed timelines. Ara, you mist find the invention's location. Add once knew where it was but Raven had his memory of that event erased," Proto said.
"You aren't exactly making sense here. Why wouldn't I know where my own invention is and how is Raven able to use it if he doesn't know where it is?" Add inquired. "Is that what he told you? Do you really believe everything he says just because he can relay some basic facts about you?" Proto said. Add looked like he wanted to say something more but couldn't find the words. Proto was right though and Ara liked this. She could perhaps trust this nasod just a little.
"Are you going to believe her just because she can relay a few basic 'facts' to you?" Eun asked her. Ara was caught off guard by Eun's words but she was right. They really didn't know for sure who was telling the truth and who wasn't. Ara knew for sure that the entire setup was shady to begin with. "I must go now. If I don't get back to my room before I am checked on, they'll know and they'll do everything in their power to reset again," Proto said. She left before either Add or Ara could say anything more to her.
The two of them exchanged precarious looks, still not sure on what they would do next. It was obvious that they weren't entirely safe where they were but even if they were to leave, they'd be stuck in Altera anyway. Ara had a feeling that the shield around Altera wouldn't be letting up any sooner. Ara sighed and sat back on the edge of the bed but Add stayed standing. The both of them were lost in thought for a moment until another knock was heard at the door. Add looked at the door for a couple of seconds before actually going to open it. It was no surprise to Ara when it happened to be Seris that showed up. "You guys ready for lunch?" she asked cheerfully.
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I need to update more frequently, sorry bout that you guys. I've been a bit busy wirh some things. Anyway, until next time you remarkable readers!
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