Second to last Act 2 chapter, don't worry to those who found these kinda boring, we'll be back on track in just a bit.

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Mono and Seven's relationship began to shake after the incident in the elevator. Whenever Seven had to report to him, he would ask Bread or Rain to come with him to avoid any awkwardness.

He and Mono both tried to not pay any attention to it, both agreeing that whatever happened on the elevator stayed on the elevator, no matter what.

Because of his new position, Mono could no longer accompany supply runs as much as he use to, which made getting supplies take longer and be a bit more laborious without the help of his teleportation skills.

To Seven, it was both a relief and a problem. His last run ended up not going as he planned, having a scar on his shoulder to prove it. Never again is he going to let Bread carry the Molotovs while they are being chased by whatever the hell sort of monsters the hospital had. He didn't like talking about it, it was just another thing he could hide with his jacket anyways.

But, pushing that aside, he couldn't always get someone to come with him when he reported. Unfortunately, now was one of those times.

He stood in front of the curtain that separated the Commander's chamber from the outside, feeling his mouth dry. He didn't want to talk to him, despite already knowing the other won't bring his confession up.

He knew it would happen, the rejection, but it still stung. He was sure if the hospital didn't have such valuable resources, he could have blown up the place by now for ruining their once great friendship with one another.

The boy in blue nervously reached out, drawing the curtain back. Mono sat at his desk, a small notebook in his hand, candle light aiding him. For the first time in a while, Seven saw the other's tangled mess of hair.

Mono wasn't wearing his bag, something he rarely ever did, saying he rather not scare newbies with his scarred face after the fox attack.

Mono looked up, taken aback by the sudden intrusion of the other. Seven saw his bad eye, his green eye, a small cloudy look to it, a small series of claw marks on his face, the longest going from the corner of his eyebrow down to the bottom of his cheek.

The boy in the trenchcoat rose his hand, coving his eye with it, hunched over to hide his old wounds. "Seven, knock next time!" He shouted, his other hand hurrying to find his paper bag that was folded neatly inside his coat pocket.

Seven looked away, blocking his vision with his hand. "Sorry! Didn't think you'd take your bag off," he said quickly. Hearing the bag stop crinckling, he looked back up, seeing the other now have his bag on.

"It's...," Mono put a hand to his head, holding it suddenly, "it's fine, don't worry about it." His voice sounded pained, making Seven feel concern stir in his belly.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked quietly, wishing to reach out and touch the other's shoulder in comfort. Mono nodded his head, taking a small breath.

"I'm fine, just a headache. I've been so stressed the past few weeks, probably taking its total now. What can I help you with?" Mono asked, a small cheerful tone in his voice Seven knew was forced. Mono had been forcing himself to act cheerful around him, and he knew exactly why, but... now wasn't the right time.

Seven shuffled his papers out, placing them on the desk for the other to see. "I got the Molotovs done, I'm gonna test them out by the old settlement near the riverbank to the south. Gonna take One and Two with me to scout the area," he stated.

Mono looked over the papers as he spoke, looking over the plans the other had made, lines of poorly drawn ink explaining what was what on the diagram of Molotov, a small list of what was needed for them.

He looked up, neatly staking the papers in order, holding them back out to him after he read over it. "That's good news. Don't suppose you have room for an old friend?" He asked, standing up from his wooden chair, fixing his coat and shirt.

Seven looked at him, a bit surprised by the other's request. He wanted to join him on a run? The boy in blue gave a small nod.

"I... I don't see why not. Are you sure though?" He asked. His Commander nodded, walking passed him, holding the curtain for him.

"Of course, the rebellion will be fine without me for an hour or two, besides, Rain is here to help if needed. She's capable of leading for a little bit," Mono replied, a sudden chipper tone to him.

Reluctantly and hesitantly, Seven nodded, beginning to make his way out of the Commander's chamber. Mono followed behind him, the pyro tech pointed to the side, slightly sounding dumbfounded as he steered off.

"I need to uh... get my stuff," he muttered, leaving the other, not waiting for a reply. Seven walked to his workspace, mind suddenly being wracked with thought after thought.

Why the hell did Mono want to join him? Normally their visits were short to avoid any awkward tension, but now, the boy with the bag wanted to join him? It didn't feel right to him...

Once inside, Seven looked up, being greeted by Rain, who sat on his desk, swinging her legs. "Oh, hey, Sev, was wondering where you went. I wanted to know if you have any spare lighter fluid? My lighter went out," Rain said.

Seven gave a nod. "Yeah, gimme a sec," he mumbled, going to his backpack, digging in it and grabbing a small containers. He tossed it to her, turning back and started gathering his supplies, tying his usual arsenal of flammables around him. Molotov belt, gas vial sash, fire cracker anklet... it would be bad if he ever tripped.

"You okay? You look like you seen a ghost," Rain muttered from her spot, catching the containers, beginning to refuel her small silver lighter that normally housed in her coat pocket.

Seven glanced at her, should he tell her? It seemed fair he talked to her about his concerns too now that he thought about it, after all, he was always there for her. He took a breath.

"Hey... Rain?"

"Yeah, Sev?"

"Have you notice Mono has been acting... slightly diffrent?" He asked. Rain looked up, giving a small hum of thought.

"Hmmm... no, not really. Why?" She asked. Seven's dark sapphire blue eyes looked up, seeing his sister idly look over a few of the notes he didn't bring to Mono.

"Well, he just-" Rain cut him off, putting her finger to a piece of paper, dragging it along as she tried to sound out the words.

"What's nitro... nitroglycerin?" She asked, looking over to him. Seven blinked his eyes, a bit taken aback by her sudden question after he tried to bring up his concerns.

"Nitroglycerin is a combustible substance that gives dynamite's their boom power. It's dangerous, so I don't tend to really use it all that much," he said almost automatically. He normally dealt with Bread's flurry of questions, so he wasn't that surprised he could answer with such little of a struggle. "Anyways, I just noticed he-"

Rain suddenly let out gasp. "Oh, wait, shoot! What time is it?" She asked in a frantic manner. Seven shrugged his shoulders. "Around dusk, almost dark last time I looked. Look, Rain, something just-"

Rain jumped down from his desk, quickly walking past him. "Sorry, I didn't realize how late it was getting. Could this wait until tomorrow? I promised North I'd be early tonight. I promise, tomorrow will be all about you, we could even go to the beach like the old times!"

Seven barely had time to protest against her leave, but before he could gather a breath to speak, his sister was already at the curtain.

"Bye, Sev!" His cheery twin chirped, pulling the curtain to the side, waving a goodbye. Seven watched her leave, standing dumbfoundedly as he watched the curtain close.

What the hell just happened? Did she really just brush him off like that? Seven clenched his fist, growling. Whatever, he had to get going anyways.

He slung his backpack onto him, looking over to his desk one final time, noticing something shiny on the it. Seven came over, picking it up. Rain's lighter, she left it after she refueled it. Whatever, he could give it back to her later.

With that, he started making his way back to the Commander, stopping by and requesting for the scouts to assist him.

Meeting back up with Mono, the small group started their way south, the two scouts on the lookout for any sort of dangers, Seven and Mono trailing behind them.

The two didn't speak, the pyro tech looking straight forward, not sparing a glance to the other. Mono seemed to copy him, only having his hands buried in his coat pockets, bag making slightly noises as the wind passed him.

The walk was longer than Seven had anticipated, but once they came to the settlement, the tiredness in their legs didn't matter anymore.

Seven threw a rope from his bag up and over a branch, a rock attached to the end wrapping around it and securing it in place. He started to climb the tree, Mono, One, and Two staying on the ground.

The two scouts started to do their usual look around, making sure the streets were clear before the fire set ablaze. The pyro tech placed his backpack down, digging in and retrieving three Molotovs.

No cloth was seen on it, and besides their green glass bottle exterior, they looked like regular Molotov cocktails. He felt around as his jacket pockets, brushing against Rain's lighter, which he now claimed as his for the night. Next step was to wait.

One and Two took more time this go around, mostly do to the sheer size of the settlement. It was large, multiple small houses with what looked like small stores as well. Maybe it would have been a good place to stock up if he didn't plan on blowing it up.

The nighttime darkness gave them cover, hiding their figures in the shadows. One and Two could be seen running around, One's orange hood standing out more than Two's green coat.

Finally, they gave the cue it was clear, a small grin of excitement plastering the boy in blue's face. He slipped a vial from a sash lapel, popping the lid open and dumping a time bit of gasoline on the top, running down the glass exterior, none luckily getting on his hand from the way he was holding it.

He reached over, taking a match, striking it against the rough sandpaper like side, a flame coming to life. These Molotoves in their own would be quite useless, but with a fire source...

The gasoline was lit ablaze on the bottle, the familiar heat that was beginning to grow around his hand making his heart beat with excitement. Wasting no time, Seven threw the bottle at the first building. As soon as the neck of the bottle broke, a large explosion took place as the nitroglycerin and alcohol ignited with the fire, gas droplets cascading down and lighting small scrubs and nearby shoots of grass into flames.

From the tree branch, Seven could already feel the heat of the flames, despite the fire's birth just two seconds ago.

Already cries of adults rang, the boy in blue wasting no time in throwing regular Molotoves jumping to nearby branches like a squirrel to get around. The fire started to devour the first couple of houses, which were close together, making it easier for him. Occasionally he threw one over to it, giving it a boost as it continued with its hungry escapade.

He finally came around the other side, seeing adults now stagger out to see what was happening. With a twisted grin, the boy in blue, took a few vials from his sash again, throwing them down, having some of them splash onto confused and unknowing victims. Without a worry, Seven flicked a lit match down, watching it fall with a pleased look on his face.

It ignited onto an elderly woman, who screamed out in pain as the gasoline on her head and shoulders was struck ablaze. With a fire source now in place, Seven threw another special Molotov, shattering on the woman's head, cutting her screams short.

The second great fire started up, lighting the second rose of building up, screams piercing the night air. Seven held back the want to chuckle or snicker, but let out a small noise of surprises as a stray lick of fire brushed past his face, singeing the ends of his bangs and gently burning his skin. Seven stepped back, nearly losing his footing on the branch.

He balanced himself as quickly as he could, seeing the ends of the branch begin to catch fire. Seven looked at it with a sudden fear overcoming him, realization that he lost control of the fire coming upon him.

The flames grew higher and higher, merging into one giant fire. It continued to grow to the point it was over the treeline, red, orange, and yellow claws beginning to reach up into more and more of the branches.

He stepped back from the edge, making his way down the tree trunk and back down onto the now dying grass. This wasn't good. He didn't actually account for the flames merging into one giant fire, nor actually losing control of it.

If this was what only two Molotovs could do... if he already lost control of it in such a short amount of time...

He ran around the edge of the bushes, making his way back to Mono and the others. His Commander looked out to the flames, seemingly frozen in his place as he watched the buildings inside collapse.

Seven grabbed his hand, looking to the scouts. "We need to go now, we stay any longer this place, we're in the same boat as them," he explained with a short snap. One and Two nodded their heads, beginning to run back towards the hide out.

The fire would burn itself out eventually (hopefully), but for now, it wasn't safe to be near it. Seven silently cursed himself for his stupidity. The Molotovs were to make it safer for kids to grab them and use them, he didn't know he made something that powerful.

His thoughts went on, before shivering at a particular one. If Bread ever got his hands on these, or anyone for that matter, the whole forest and possibly the city over would be nothing but a charred wasteland. No matter which way he thought about it, they were no longer as safe as he once imagined them to be.

He knew fires could merge, but that fire in particular... it didn't feel or seem right. Maybe too much nitroglycerin? Possibly too much alcohol as well...

He shook his head, continuing to hold his Commander's hand, leading them forward behind the scouts. He couldn't make any more of these, they were too dangerous. He'd have to hide or burn his notes and not tell a word about what was in them.

The long walk to the settlement seemed shorter than the one on the way back, dark smoke clouds rolling overhead over them.

The four went down in the hideout, Seven releasing Mono's hand, now realizing he had been holding it the entire trip. Before a word could be said, Seven excused himself, retreating into his workspace without waiting for anyone to answer him.

He threw his curtain to the side, startling Bread, who was cleaning off the gasoline splattered table they had in the room. "Seven, is something-"

"Get out, I need some time to think," Seven ordered, pointing to the door, coming over to the desk. Bread blinked his dark brown eyes.

"Did something go-"

"Get out!"

Bread didn't speak, but left his teacher upon his demand. Seven rested his head in his hand, brain wracking as to what would happen now.

He looked at the desk, seeing his notes neatly stacked in a small overhead nook right above the back of it. He reached out, taking it, reading over them.

He couldn't keep these, these were nothing more by hand made grenades if not anything else. He took out his sister's lighter from his pocket, burning the end of the paper, having it char and incinerate in his hands.

The next few met the same fate, before being interrupted by someone walking in. Seven looked over, about to growl and snap at whoever had disturbed him, before realizing it was Mono.

He didn't say a word, turning back, shuffling his notes. It was Mono who spoke first, "Are you okay?"

Seven glanced at him, but didn't answer verbally, just nodding his head. He was fine, just leave, go, go away.

Mono came over, going to rest a hand on his shoulder, but the other jerked away from him, head low at his desk, staring at the paper, a hand carding through his rough brown hair.

"Sev?"

"I... need a moment,"

"Is this about the Molotovs? I think you did great, they could really help us when-"

"Mono, did you not see what happened? We could have set the entire forest on fire. They aren't safe, they'll kill hundreds of kids-"

"Seven, calm down. This was just a one time thing, I'm sure. I think you did wonderful, and,"

"Mono-"

"I think they could give us a major advantage when-"

"Stop, talking,"

"we try to-"

"MONO, GET OUT!"

Before Seven could even rethink his actions, he found himself standing up from his chair, pointing to the entrance of the room, growling as he tried to recollect himself. He didn't look back as Mono slowly left, and after a moment, Seven dropped back down.

He held his head in his hand, taking a breath. Great, now he snapped at his Commander; but he didn't fully care at that moment. Mono can suck it up, he wasn't in the mood to handle with those thoughts just yet.

He took a deep breath, looking back to his notes. He could throw some into the river, he even couldn't burn all of them without many kids asking or wondering why there was a lot of smoke after they returned from a destruction run so soon.

Seven got up, untying his explosives from him and put them back in their respected placements. He reached into his backpack, pulling out the last cocktail, looking at the glass exterior. It was smooth in his hand, pretty heavy as well from all of the flammable ingredients in it.

He looked at the charred roots overhead, before pulling one, a skylight, much the like one in his room, opening. He came over to his desk, picking the notes up, before climbing out, holding the things he worked so hard on in a death grip.

He closed the skylight with his foot, making his way down to the riverbank. It was quiet, but the large cloud of smoke still covered the air.

He tried to concentrate as to where he was going, head low as the end of his pants grew muddy as he neared his destination.

Seven finally looked up as he heard the creek up ahead, sighing in relief as he could finally start to put his mind to ease.

He grabbed a few papers, tossing just a few sheets them in, before stopping as a voice made him jump.

"I'd stop it I were you."

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Finished - Mar. 2nd, 2021

When your birthday is in a month and you still have nothing planned lol

Anyways, yeah, cliffhanger, should have known. De had way too much fun writing the fire scene, whoops.

Hope you all enjoyed!

Take care!

* Edited Mar. 22nd, 2021 *

De just realized she never included the scene between Rain and Sev when he tries to talk to her but she just brushes him off. Whoops. Here it is now though!

I'm trying to work on some more of the character refs too, but we'll see how that goes.

Anyways, we're almost caught up with all the chapters, so that's good.

And to end this off with, a huge thank you to everyone for reading this, voting on this, just taking time out of your day to even look at this, and helping me get to 1k followers. It means so much to me that so many people are liking something I was originally just going to scrap. This book would have never have happened without everyone's love for this weird as hecc series.

But with that all out of the way, hope you all enjoyed!

Take care!

* Edited May 26th, 2021 *