Chapter 14: Trigger Warning: Gore and Pedophilia

"Good morning everyone," Indigo spoke up as we all sat in a circle of chairs. My brother stood in the middle as if he was some kind of preacher or mafia boss or something, "I'm sure you would all like to know why I called you here today."

"We all know that we're having a meeting to discuss the new recruits," I said as straightforward as possible, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible as I hated introduction bullshit like this. There's nothing more anxiety inducing than having to speak up and introduce yourself in front of a bunch of people. I mean sure, we ain't strangers to each other, but still I don't find this necessary.

"Can't you please just let me have some fun every once in a while?" Indigo rebuts, looking mildly annoyed but largely unaffected. "Anyways, we got two new recruits from the other day, but we'll include Charlie 'cause he didn't get a very formal initiation to the team."

"Neither did we," Amy said, pointing to herself and the twins. "Or Simon, if he's even a part of this."

"He said he's joining," Char answered, although the person he's talking about isn't here. "He's just like a very moody cat, you never know when he'll actually give a shit about you."

"You can never trust a cop," Amy replied and Indigo agreed. Char shrugged at them and the 'meeting continued.'

Fast forward through the unnecessary banter, and Charlie came up to introduce himself and his hunter. I took notes in my journal to help us review any combat information about the team members, so Indigo and everyone else could easily strategize and train their skills.

First up is Charlie Anderson, the so-called 'progenitor' of some anime-ish School of culinary arts, whatever that means.

Charlie's character:

Name: Rezamesu

Gender in-game: Male

Weapon: Greatsword (Toad Bereaver)

Armor Set: Bistro Suit

Preferred Role: Technique-based Berserker

Rezamesu is considered technique-based due to his dependence on his 'special moves'. They're basically flashier basic attacks that seem to have an imbued flame element that not only damages the enemy but 'cooks' the attacked body part/s to an intense level. Cooked wounds are unrecoverable and could be ideal in the off chance that a monster gets away and we'll need to hunt it another day.

Onto his personal skills. The first one is his 'Blazing Chef' passive, which allowed him to carry his Greatsword as if it was a mere cooking knife, as well as his cooking ability as already discussed above. The other one is his 'Final Form' which was vaguely explained as 'An unleashing of the awakened and true form of a hero', which was something we've never seen and Charlie has no idea how to use.

"Oy, at least it sounds awesome, innit?" He grins, I make an extra note that his foreign accent could never be pinpointed to one type or stereotype. It's possible that he's faking or has a weird hybrid accent. "Don't worry lads, one o' these days I'll figure it out. Then we'll see who's the real hot potato around here."

"I have no idea what that means but I support you!" Claire exclaims, "Hooray for potatoes!"

"Hooray!" Indigo, and nobody else, joined in. The two of them sank back to their seats in defeat.

Next up was me, and I had already noted all my skills in the journal (with some additional notes by my brother), so I just reiterated them to the team.

Frank's Character:

Name: Artemis

Gender in-game: Female

Armor Set: Lagiacrus X

Weapon: Bow (Hyperion Bow)

Preferred Role: Support Sniper

Unlike Arachnid, who's an offense-type sniper, Artemis was support focused. Her specialty (so far) was debuffing and debilitating monsters with her modified trick arrows.

Speaking of trick arrows, her first personal skill is 'Impromptu Opus ', which allows her to modify certain items in her inventory into trick arrows. A good example would be her Shock Trap arrow, which was basically an arrow that turns into a shock trap on impact. The science or logic behind them are unexplained. We still have yet to experiment on which items are 'arrow-able' and their respective scopes and limitations.

The second personal skill is another passive called 'Learn My Dread' which is apparently an aura of fear which increases nearby enemies' susceptibility to flinching, mounting, and trapping.

"I thought you wanted to be a mage," Yuri noted. He was actually paying attention, which was surprising for a kid his age.

"I'm working on it," I replied, "This is the closest I can get right now."

"I really like how you're second personal skill sounds like the theme song of Persona 3," Amy said with a grin.

"I understood that reference!" Indigo stood up again with his finger pointed at her, and no one else said anything about it. "Oh come on! No one else played Persona 3 here? Shame on you guys."

"Eh," Charlie waved his hand in a so-so manner, "I preferred the 4th one. I found the whole 'shoot yourself in the head' thing a little too edgy."

Claire nodded, "Mm-hmm, shooting yourself in the head is not cool. Suicide is not cool."

"But it's-" Indigo tried to explain, but stopped himself, "Nevermind, if you know me well enough you know I loved Persona 4 too."

"Why?" Yuri asked.

"Ehem—Nanako—Ehem!" Charlie cleared his throat, and Indigo gave him a fist bump.

"We are getting out of topic," Amy spoke up through the rabble, "Next!"

The other recruit stood up, a woman who looks to be in her 20s, just a few inches shorter than Indigo. She introduced herself as Irene Williams, Amy and Claire's Mathematics and Homeroom teacher. She's one of those 'cool teachers' that despite being incredibly studious was also a gamer and updated with enough pop culture to keep her from being too 'normal' (Indigo's words, not mine).

Irene's Character:

Name: Sokkatoa

Gender In-game: Female

Armor Set: Hyuga

Weapon: Switch-Axe (Aksha Switch)

Preferred Role: Support DPS

According to Amy's mission report, Sokkatoa showed an incredible ability to accurately calculate combat statistics, both on enemies and allies. This allows her to support the team by calling out when and where to ideally attack, dodge a potential incoming attack, and optimal openings and opportunities that her teammates can exploit. Despite having lower-leveled equipment and basic combat maneuvers than everyone else, she makes up for it with her intel and nearly Sherlock-level deduction skills. Of course, she disclaims that her calculations are never 100% certain, and there will always be room for Murphy 's Law.

As for her personal skills, one of them is "Numbers Don't Lie" which allows her too see/feel the previously stated statistics, and increases her 'combat IQ' when synced with her hunter. The other one is another passive called 'Calculated Burst' which means that she can easily manipulate how her switch axe phial charges explode. Xavier has vouched for this skill, saying that she made the explosion travel through the ground in order to save his life once.

"Beginner's luck," Irene says, smiling from the praise, "But I'll get better with it."

"Wait, are you telling me that I just got lucky?!" Xavier said, suddenly looking like he had a brush with death. "Holy shit, I almost died!"

"Please mind your language," She replied, not even trying to calm him down, "Kids tend to imitate the older ones, especially when it comes to swearing."

"Hey!" Yuel stood up, weirdly quiet for a while now, "That's not fucking true!"

Everyone laughed at that, including Irene. That's pretty cool, it's good to know that she wasn't a stick in the mud kind of teacher/adult.

"Um, guys," Yuri spoke up, raising his hand, "Doesn't it feel like we're forgetting someone?"

"Ah!" Indigo and Char shouted at the same time, "Simon!"

"I'm sorry, who?" Irene asked me.

I answered with a shrug, "Simon Waltz, a light bowgun user. As far as we know he's an on and off teammate, never really sure if he's really part of the group."

Indigo butted in, placing a hand on my shoulder like some dad or big brother(oh wait, he is), "He may seem doubtful about our team, but if we can encourage or force him to be a permanent member we'll be sort of unstoppable."

Hold on, did he say force?

A few days after our little meeting, we finally found ourselves with a mission request again. The client requested assistance in eliminating a monster that is currently in the uninhabited forest areas, but is slowly getting closer to the city. With the area being near the sea, there were plenty of beaches, resorts, and hotels. The potential risk is too high to allow the monster to just roam around freely while civilians hang out a few miles away from it.

As both the leader and a member of the team, I was more than happy to accept the mission. I could invite everyone to go either to a nearby beach or resort after the mission was done, allowing us to bond even more since we've got a new member. It's not every day we get a chance like this.

"Cool," Claire smiled, "It's been a long time since I've been to the beach."

"Yeah, I could use a good swim," Yuel nodded.

Everyone else agreed, even Frank who usually preferred to stay at home and finish her never-ending school work.

"It's a mission," Frank explained, "I can't sit things out anymore. Plus, I could use some R&R."

"Indeed," Irene noted, "In all 365 days we barely get 5-10% of it to relax, we might as well make the most of this."

"Hold on," Char said, "Going to the beach is nice and all but we still need to fight a monster first. Does the info say anything about what we're up against?"

"Not really," I reply while Frank reread the mission request, "But with all of us there even an elder dragon shouldn't be a problem. Just prepare for the worst enemy, or whatever you hate the most."

Everyone agreed to that, surprisingly enough. While everyone else discussed things like what monster we could end up fighting, or what kind of swimsuit to wear, Amy and I looked over the location for both a strategic planning and to canvass what beach/resort to go to.

"Just pick whatever's clothing optional," I joke, my mind and my eyes wandering over Claire. She'd be fine with that right?

"If it was up to me, we'd leave you behind," Amy rebutted, looking over the digital map of the place. The city itself was near the sea, with a mountain range and a dam nearby. "It'll most likely be staying in the mountain, but if it's a water-habitat monster it could be heading toward the sea."

"Oh I hope it's not a Lagiacrus," I say, having violent flashbacks of MH3U, "God I'd hate to fight anything underwater."

It wasn't just the whole underwater hunting of MH3U that I hated, I hated any kind of sea monster or anything that I'd have to face underwater. As a kid, I always skipped the animal books about sharks or whales. Deep, open waters are scary places, and the things that live in them are ten times scarier.

"By the way, I noticed something," I tell Amy as I sit next to her in front of a laptop, googling around. She was carefully checking each and every hotel nearby the mission area and looking for what I assume is the best balance between luxury and economic options. "Ever since Irene came you've been less talkative than usual."

"What are you talking about? I don't talk much, remember?" She replied, not looking away from the monitor. "I don't waste my time with unnecessary chatter."

I chuckled involuntarily, knowing that she had been more active the last few months that she had gotten accustomed to us. "You always berate me, always have a counter argument, and never miss the opportunity to verbally abuse someone."

She didn't say anything to that, which was weird. She may act incredibly formal to strangers, but once she warms up to you she doesn't stop talking and taking out whatever miniscule anger or irritation she currently has on you.

"Hey, if there's something wrong-"

"There's nothing wrong," she says, looking at me with a sincere and non-hostile look in her eyes. That's a first. "Maybe I just don't feel too comfy with the teacher yet. She's my teacher after all, can you imagine hanging out with yours when you were a kid?"

She has a point, back when I was a kid I only saw my teachers as creatures designed to make my school life more miserable.

"I get you, believe me I do," I reply, putting a hand on her shoulder, a hand she quickly brushes off with a violent slap. "But she's not just your teacher now, she's with us, she's a friend. You'll have to see her for the person she is and accept her for that."

"I don't have 'friends'." She replies, looking back at the monitor and giving me the cold shoulder.

"You know that's not true." I give a final word before I leave to hang out with the others.

"What do you mean you're not coming?" I overheard Char speaking on his phone. I was busy reequipping my Saber's dual blades when his voice brought me back to reality, "Can't that drug cartel wait? I mean it's not like they could potentially kill a lot of people right? Hello? Simon?!"

"Aww, did your boyfriend break up with you?" I teasingly ask my cousin.

"He hung up on me," Char replied, looking furiously at his cellphone, "What a team player."

"He's a BAMF," I told him as I save my game and put the 2DS back to sleep mode, "He does what he wants."

"Yeah he is," He answered with a smirk, "Bad At Making Friends."

So that's basically how the whole team except one 'member' ended up taking on another monster slaying mission. A mission they all hope to finish quickly so they had more time chillaxing on a nearby resort.

After a day of preparation we finally found ourselves in a carpool, making our way through a 3 hour trip to the sea and mountain side city that we have been summoned to. I was in Indigo's dad's car, along with Claire, Char, and Charlie. Frank, the twins, and Irene were with Amy and her driver in their car.

"I'm surprised Amy let Claire ride with you," I tell Indigo, knowing he's probably in cloud nine right now with Claire in the passenger seat.

"It was Claire's idea," He grinned as he looked at Claire.

"It was the only way I was going to ride shotgun," Claire replied with a smiled, "Besides, I think Indigo's an okay driver, I trust him."

"I don't," Char replied, "Why do you think Frank made sure to get in Amy's car? Last time this guy drove for us, he almost gave me a heart attack."

"Hey, that was 3 years ago!" Indigo replied right after almost hitting another car he was trying to overtake, "Whoops, sorry, it's been a while since I drived."

Char didn't say anything, he just pointed at Indigo, then the car we almost hit and did a lot of exaggerated hand gestures that seem to say, 'See?! What the fuck did I tell you?! No monster can kill us but this guy definitely will!'

Charlie, on the other hand, was sleeping soundly and even snoring. Claire and I decided to take a photo and snapchat him to the whole group.

"Put a caption," Char said, "Something that goes, 'This guy may never get to wake up' or something."

"Aww," Claire answered with a teasing frown, "Don't be mean to Indie."

"Ooh, take that Char," Indigo followed up, "Have some faith in me for once."

"I thought you don't like getting called Indie?!"

He just shrugged and for some reason we all laughed at that, and even though still fearing for his life Char seemed to relax a bit as we got closer to our destination. Let's face it, we could all use some R&R.

Hi, this is Indigo on today's 'CAN YOU FUCKING BELIEVE IT?!'

It's the researcher guy, again. The same asshole who made us fight a Rathian and Rathalos on a moving train so he could smuggle the eggs for 'science'. The same asshole who almost got us and a bunch of other people killed just to trap a Deviljho for 'science'.

"So what kind of unreasonable bullshit do you have for us now?" I ask him, who introduced himself as Aldritch Adams, as we now stand in a hotel lobby in the heart of the city.

"Please don't get mad," Aldritch replied, looking the same as he did before. The whole nerdy stereotype package, with the glasses and polos and unkempt hair. "You guys are the only ones I can count on, since everyone else won't accept missions from me, and the foreign mercenaries are too expensive."

He sighed and adjusted his glasses as we nod that we will be listening.

"As you know,our team is trying to research different monsters in hopes of scientific breakthroughs that can improve different aspects of our lives." He started, showing us different documents that his research team had previously worked on. "For now, we want to examine a certain monster with the ability to infect other monsters around it. And I do believe it has been sighted nearby."

A monster that could infect other monsters? Could it be…

"A Gore Magala," Amy said, eyeing him sternly, "Is that what you're getting at?"

"Yes," Aldritch answered with a simple nod, "The request is for you to kill the nearby Gore Magala. As soon as it is confirmed dead, my team will go in and take samples of it. You only need to make sure that it will be too dead to pose a threat to us."

"That doesn't sound so hard now, innit?" Charlie spoke up, "I mean with how many of us there is I doubt even a bloody Gore Magala could stand a chance."

"Agreed," the researcher nodded again, "We'll take care of your lodgings, imagine what we could achieve if we could use the Frenzy virus to our own cause."

"Alright, fine we'll do your stupid mission," I said, and asked the others if they were good for lunchtime and they agreed., "Cool, tell your science team to be ready by…say…high noon?"

I felt a strong punch to my side and saw that Amy was not entertained. Claire was smiling without actually knowing the reference, so I count that as a win.

With that, our mission was set, and I arranged for the researcher guy and his friends to look after Claire while we hunt, even though I was confident that she can take care of herself.

"But I wanna go with you guys," She says, walking beside me as we exited the hotel, "I won't get in the way, I swear!"

"Look, sweetheart," I reply as sincere as I can, "I trust you, but a Gore Magala is too dangerous. Everyone else will be in hunting form and the fight could get hectic and I can't risk anything. Please let me keep you safe."

She stopped walking and looked down, crumpling the edges of her dress with her hands, "Okay, come back soon."

Amy walked up to her and knocked on her forehead with a knuckle, it didn't look like it hurt but it took Claire by surprise.

"Hey, don't fret, you're lucky you get to chill in the hotel room while I have to walk up a mountain and hunt the edgelord of monsters. Don't get in any trouble, okay, dumbass?"

Claire smiled at that, which makes me wonder exactly how Amy's verbal bullshit works, and our tag along went back up to the hotel room.

"That should get her off our backs," Amy grinned, "Let's hope she doesn't take too much from the snack bar."

Apparently Charlie overheard us and walked next to us, "Geez you're such a good friend Amy. Yare yare daze, with mates like these who needs enemies am I right?"

I shrugged at them, hoping that Amy was just acting slightly tsundere as usual. I'm sure she genuinely cares about her best friend…right?

"How you doin' Amy?" I heard Char ask me as we walked with the rest of the team. The surroundings of the mountain path was full of the luscious forest scenery, which would be great if not for all the insects and dirt and all the other animals that God seems to have designed to specifically annoy humans.

"An upper-class lady like me doesn't deserve this," I reply, swatting a fly that's been hovering near my face for the last minute. Why the fuck do they do that?

"Hmm," Ms. Irene said, equally annoyed from the forest trek, "You're upper-class alright, but I doubt the whole lady part. After spending more time with you and the group, I suggest you tone down the whole bitch act and try to actually be a lady."

"What act?" I ask, swatting on the same fly AGAIN. "Goddamit! What is wrong with you?!"

I take my 3DS out, ready to transform and smash this thing with the butt of my bowgun. Indigo stopped me before I could even flip the damn thing from sleep mode.

"We need to conserve our energy as much as possible," He says, "I will not have anyone turn back to normal in the middle of a fight. I'm sure you guys know how that feels."

Char,Xavier, and I nod. I noticed that the fly was getting closer to my face again and prepared to swat it, when out of nowhere Indigo's hands shot out and caught it.

"Holy fuck." I felt my mouth move on its own. "I didn't know you could do that."

"Eh, lucky shot," Indigo shrugged. He threw the dead fly on the ground and stepped on it for good measure, then took out and used a hand sanitizer.

"I always knew you were a newtype," Char said, and didn't bother explaining what that meant. It's either a JoJo reference or a Gundam reference. Or maybe it's a Lazy Town reference, I don't know. Heck, I don't actually care.

So we got a little quiet and walked in silence. Later on, Yuri started pulling on Char's hand.

"Is it still far?" The little boy asked, with his twin looking at him and their big brother with curiosity, "I'm getting tired, will you carry me?"

Char carried him, which resulted to Yuel getting envious, so Indigo carried him, which resulted to…

"Hey!" I shouted, noting that I'm also a little kid and deserves some spoiling, "How about me?!"

"Ah, you want me to carry you?" Indigo replied with a grin only a guy like him could have.

"You want me to suck your dick while you're at it? HELL NO!" I shout at him, surprised that no one else but Indigo and Ms. Irene were volunteering. "Anyone else who's not my teacher or a pedophile?"

I look at Xavier, he looked away, saying, "Eh, you look heavy."

Maybe I should've just punched him, but I had a better retort, "And you look too small to carry me anyway."

Char and Indigo burst into laughter, like true brothers do. Xavier looked like he had more to say, but was probably too bummed from the walking to do anything else.

I look at Charlie, but before I could completely gaze at him he walked twice as fast and went ahead from the group.

"Don't even think about it," Frank said before I could look at her, "You're practically 12 anyway, you don't need to be carried."

"Yeah, you're right." I reply, "After all, I'm the one carrying you when we play video games."

Frank shrugged at that and Ms. Irene volunteered again. I thought long and hard, was the relaxation of my feet worthy of losing my dignity?

I didn't have to worry about that, as we suddenly heard loud scraping noises by the trees near us. As if reading the mood, the sky was getting dimmer and it looked like it would rain.

The accelerated heart beats I had from all the walking went even faster as my instinct go into full-on fight or flight mode. Indigo walked ahead and I look to him for guidance, feeling an ironic sense of trust in his leadership.

What's the plan, jackass?

The noises grew louder, loud thuds in the ground indicating footsteps, leaves scraping wherever the monster walked. With every step we take, loud breathing shook the foliage, as if the monster was becoming aware that someone was looking for it. I hold my breath as I walk ahead of the group, preparing possible strategies and plans depending on what I'm about to see.

We readied our consoles as we walked towards a small ledge, with the creature stalking around a few feet below it. It felt like we everyone was holding their breaths in hopes that it wouldn't detect us before we could launch a surprise attack.

It's right below the low ledge we were on, we could jump down and take it by surprise. If we could kill the Gore Magala before it goes full edgelord on us we'll be able to lessen the potential risks. The last thing I want is one of those powerful darkness explosions it makes.

Besides making sure it dies before it gets super enraged, we also need to make sure that it doesn't try to fly away from us. Oddly enough the monsters we've fought so far never ran away to a different location, but I couldn't afford to let this thing escape if it even decides to try.

I point at Amy and Frank and tell them to target the wings. Which basically meant I had to imitate a shooting gesture and wing flapping in the most awkward and out of place game of charades I've ever experienced.

Everyone was smiling but tried not to laugh, oh well, at least I could lighten them up before a battle. Maybe I was never the leader, just the jester.

Char, Charlie, Xavier, and Irene were to prioritize cutting the tail off. Yuri, Yuel, and I will focus on destroying the head. In retrospect, we should've probably discussed this back at the hotel. Once all parts are broken we go for broke.

Here's hoping no problems arise.

It's an incredibly liberating feeling, jumping down on a monster as you sync with your hunter. Blades at the ready, I brace for impact as I feel myself become one with Saber. I felt a satisfying squish as I plunge my Demolition Blades on the Gore Magala's back. Blood and slimed mixed together, oozing from its wound as the monster itself shrieks in pain. I went straight into mounting mode, and toppled the gore for everyone else to beat up.

As I go for the tail, I watch as Yang pierced the enemy's throat with his lance, pinning it's head in place as Yin blasts it with a fully charged Wyvern Fire. Arachnid and Artemis were sniping from up the ledge, making sure to break both wings first and foremost.

Before Rezamesu, Sokatoa, Relena and I can even completely ruin the tail, the monster was able to get up and do a quick counter attack. It swung around, hitting whoever was unfortunate enough to be in the area of its tail. That would be the four of us, but Rez quickly dashed in front of me and shielded with his greatsword.

"Muda muda!" He screams as the tail collides with his gigantic knife, sending him skidding towards us. We managed to catch him and act like shock absorbers, allowing all of us to get back in the fight faster than expected. "Oretachi no tamashii wa kudakenai!"

"What the hell was that?" Arachnid asked as her shot pierces through one of the wings.

"Weeb speak," Artemis grins, shooting a whetstone-infused arrow at Rezamesu's blade for a quick sharpen.

"I don't need to hear that from someone who listens to K-pop," Rez rebutted, "But thanks, mate. With your quick sharpening arrow, and my greatsword, we'll be unstoppable."

Artemis shrugged, "Only if I can hit you all the time. My aim's still wonky, it's a good thing most of my targets are freaking huge."

"Stay focused," Dirge says as he lands a smash on the Gore's head, breaking it. He jumps back and plays some buffing melodies. "We just might finish this quickly, after all."

"I stabbed it in the throat, and Yin blasted it point-blank," Yang groaned as he goes for a lance-charge, "Why aren't you dead yet?!"

Before any of us could react, the gore magala faced off with Yang with a galloping charge of its own. It was nearly poetic, considering Yang was also wearing a gore magala armor. We watched as the dark knight and the dark dragon charge at each other.

Yang's lance managed to stab the magala on the shoulder, but he was still tackled and flew violently backward. Yin was already waiting and managed to catch him and soften the blow, but they were still sent tumbling on the ground.

"The lance is still in the monster," Sokatoa commented, "If I can strike it with my Switch-axe, there's a 75% chance I could launch it inside and set off a phial charge with the lance."

"Ma'am," Yang said as he stands up, groaning from the pain, "If you can turn my lance into a freaking missile, that would be so cool."

"Go for it," Dirge ordered, nodding at Sokatoa, "Everyone else cover her and keep the Gore Magala busy!"

I didn't even bother answering. I activated my special demon mode, the one that affects my allies, and sprinted straight at the monster. In it's weakened state, the magala couldn't even hit me as I demon dashed my way to it. Like a sharpened gale, I pass through as quickly and as lethally as possible, slashing at its legs to its tail.

"I'll help you with the explosion," Relena said as she finishes charging up her Charge blade.

"As soon as it flinches, that will be our cue." Sokatoa nods at him.

As I finish cutting up the tail, Rezamesu was right behind me to deliver the chopping blow. With one level 3 strike, the tail was decapitated and sent flying off the edge of the forest. We didn't bother with where it went right now, as we were too focused in simply killing the enemy.

"NOW!" Relena and Sokatoa launched their phial charges at Yang's embedded lance, making it glow with an electrical charge and rocket straight into the Gore Magala's body.

Instead of exploding like the Berserk Testsucabra the other day, the Gore Magala let out one final shriek as the lance brutally exits its back like a powerful harpoon-missile hybrid. Bits of internal organs and blood soaked the lance as it lands on the ground, still crackling with energy.

The monster's body shivers for the last time as it crumples dead to the ground, the darkness in the sky fading.

"We…" Dirge whispers as everyone else tries to catch their breath, "We did it?"

"I guess that's what happens when you bring more than 4 hunters in a mission," Amy says as she unsyncs, "You cheese the boss fight."

"Doesn't matter," Indigo replies, unsynced as well, "as long as everyone's safe."

As soon as the research team arrived, we went back to the hotel, slightly unsatisfied with how fast the fight was but thankful that we'll have more time to lounge around.

"Wow," Claire perked up as she sees us enter the room, "That was faster than I expected."

"I wasn't gonna leave you alone any longer than necessary," I reply as sweet and undouchey as possible. Everyone else's reaction proves I failed.

I look around the room that Claire was staying in, we booked two similar rooms, one for boys and one for girls. The room itself was big enough for four people, so the girls should be fine. For us guys we should be able to manage since the twins and Xavier can probably all fit in one bed.

"I'm not sleeping with those two," Xavier replied when I suggested, "Yuri will cuddle you the same way an anaconda cuddles its food. Yuel has a tendency to kick your ass while he's asleep."

Anyways, the room itself was a simple air-conditioned hotel room. Probably the kind you can expect from a 3.5 star hotel. Clean and large enough to hang around in, there was even a small fridge beside the tv that was surprisingly flat screed. Most hotels I've stayed only had those old fat tvs.

Both rooms had 2 double deckers on each side, for a total of four beds. The bathroom was spacious and bright, with a bathtub that even someone as big as I could relax in.

"I call dibs on top bunk," Amy said, throwing her stuff up the bed.

"I call dibs on the other top bunk," Frank reacted quickly.

The other guys looked at each other as if they just realized something, and they all rushed towards the next room where we would sleep. Huh, good thing I don't give much of a damn where I sleep, as long as it's not too close to the wall or ceiling.

"Thank god we finally have a female adult in the group though," Frank said, grinning at me, "Otherwise a certain someone might suggest getting Amy or Claire to sleep with him."

"Wait," Amy replied, "We HAD adults in the group?"

I shrugged, I couldn't afford to say that my sister caught me spot on as usual.

But who cares, we all get to hang out in the nearby beach, and with the current time of year there's not too much people to make things crowded and uncomfortable.

This time, I'd like to believe that we finally got the chance to fully unwind.

I was about to head over to our room when Irene stopped me.

"Hey," She said with simple smile, "I just wanted to say thank you for letting me come with you guys. I know that I'm still very new in this group, but you guys welcomed me with open arms."

I gave her a thumbs up, as I don't really know how to act cool when dealing with non-children, "You proved your worth when you fought alongside my cousins and Amy the other day. Granted that shouldn't be enough for us to trust you completely, but let's just say that my gut believes that you won't let us down."

"I won't, thank you," She replies, looking more relieved than happy, "No one's ever accepted me into their group like this before, I've always been the odd one out since childhood."

"That's why you fit right in."

The weather was surprisingly cooperative and we found ourselves genuinely relaxing next to the beach. Char was swimming with the twins, teaching them how to do different swimming techniques I wasn't aware he knew. Frank was paddling along trying to keep up with them, while Amy was in our rented pavilion either reading a book or already asleep. I couldn't tell as she was wearing shades. Irene and Xavier went to a nearby convenience store to get some drinks.

I had just finished grilling a tilapia when Xavier and Irene arrived with a plastic full of snacks and drinks.

"Where's everyone?" She asks. As soon as she puts the plastic bag down, Amy was already right next to it and took out some chips. We were both too surprised to bother asking anything.

So I just told her where everyone else was, as I've stated before.

"How about Claire?" Amy asked, somehow understandable despite having a mouth full of chips. "And…oh shit, where's Indigo?"

Huh, speaking of which they did say something about…

"…going to another area of the beach, I think. Something about it being less populated or something-something optional."

"Did he say anything close to the term clothing-optional?" Amy asks-no, interrogates me, getting threateningly close to my face like a bad cop. She may not admit it but it's pretty obvious she cares about Claire as much as a best friend does. "Just the two of them?! And you didn't stop them?! Do you realize what you've done?!"

"Relax," Irene said putting a hand on her shoulder, "They're in public, I don't think Indigo's that kind of guy to begin with, but even if he is he won't try anything in public."

Amy shrugs, "Yeah, you could be right. Then again if anything happens it's Claire's fault for going with him. I warned her plenty of times that guy was always up to something."

I was going to say something about how Indigo only seems to joke around with his pedophilia, and hasn't exactly done anything so far. But we were then distracted by what seems to be a loud argument in a nearby bar.

We all looked to see a bartender getting into a fight with a patron, while other people nearby were arguing and shouting threateningly at one another.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! DO YOU WANT A FIGHT, HUH?!"

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!"

And a bunch of other loud obnoxious threats. What the hell was going on?

Char, Frank and the twins had just arrived when the fight went full-blown brawl and people were kicking each others asses like a PG version of the church scene in Kingsmen The Secret Service.

"Something's not right," Xavier mumbled, looking tense. Technically, we all are, as far as I'm concerned everyone else was pretty chill a minute ago.

Now there were tables getting upturned and smashed, bottles and different items lying nearby where used as weapons and the happy-go-lucky customers in the bar are seriously beating each other to a pulp. It was a free-for-all, and everyone was as bloodthirsty as rabid animals.

"We should get back to the hotel," Char commented as Irene and Amy started gathering our things. All of our consoles were in the room, and no one was paranoid enough to bring their DS on the beach. Besides, even if we did the recent combat with the gore magala has left our batteries drained.

We all readied to get going, but then remembered…

"Indigo and Claire," I say, trying to remember the location of the area they went to. All I knew was it was west from our location, "I'll get them."

"Not on your own you ain't," Xavier said, "We'll catch up with you guys, get back to the hotel and hole up until this blows over."

Char nodded at him sternly, and led his group carefully away from the chaos.

Now, where in the specific hell did those two go?

All things considered, this is a nice view. Heck, I didn't even know there was a clothing optional area in the beach/resort we were in. Not much people, so Claire and I can just chill in peace. Only thing missing is Netflix.

"Get it?" I ask after I retell my joke aloud to Claire. She looked like she was thinking it through carefully but was ultimately dumbfounded.

"No, sorry," She replies, laying down a towel so she could go for a full tan under the surprisingly painless sunlight. "Is this one of those pedo lingos Amy warned me about?"

"Nah, those jokes are worse and lamer," I waved off, trying not to stare at her too much. Suffice to say she had absolutely no concerns about her modesty, and even explained that she and her parents used to be naturists. That actually explains a lot.

I kept my shorts on, more embarrassed than the naked kid in front of me. I may be a confident douchebag, but body positivity was one of my weaker points.

"Take it slow," Claire says, an assuring and alluring smile on her face, "Learning to love yourself takes time, there's no need to rush it."

"Oh I love myself," I grin at her, "Just not how I look right now." It's not that I see myself as a disgusting pig or anything like that, I just simply feel like I have nothing to be proud of.

Oh well, I thought, that's a problem for another day. Claire's having fun, and for obvious reasons so was I. I ain't spoiling that with my emo edge-lord bullshit.

So I do what I do best and lie down next to the beautiful girl next to me, admiring every inch of her body like it was the last thing I was going to see before I die.

But I couldn't afford to just be quiet about this.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask Claire, who looked at me like there was nothing questionable with what we're doing.

"Huh?"

"This, thing we're doing," I motion my hands around, "You've been hanging out with me often, and you even agreed to go to a nude beach with me. You know what kind of guy I am."

"What's wrong with what we're doing?" She asks.

"What we're doing, right now, nothing. But who you're doing it with, me, that's just questionable. Are you toying with me or something? Is this one big elaborate practical joke to mess with the resident pedophile or something?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Claire replied, looking slightly pissed off, "Are you implying that I'm doing all this because of you? For you?"

"Yes! There's no way a kid would agree to go with me, take all her clothes off and lie down to sunbathe, and talk to me like I wasn't a gigantic red flag walking around with her. You do understand what a pedophile is, right?" I took a deep breath, it wasn't that I was angry with her. I was scared, scared that this was just one big joke, that someone was just messing with me. Claire was too tolerant of me, and that troubles me.

"I'm not doing this for you!" Claire shouted, for once sounding angry. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second, "I wanted to do this, it's been a long long while since I could go to a beach where I could relax the way me and my family was used to. Now I don't know if this makes me a very stupid girl, but you were the only one I'm comfortable with."

"Why?"

"I…don't know."

Claire stood up and walked closer to the water, soaking her toes in the tide. She sat down and started burying her fingers in the sand, like some weird stress relief. "I really don't know. I'm sorry, I'm really bad with complicated questions."

I sat down next to her, buried my fingers in the same place she did, and held her hand. I wanted to be romantic but it just felt weird with all the sand sticking to our fingers. We took both our hands out and washed it off in the water.

"I'm not a good person," I tell her, trying to keep my eyes on her face. Images of desire flashed in my head and I forced myself to look away. "You can't begin to imagine the things I want to do with you."

"I don't believe that," Claire answered, looking straight at me. Her brow was wrinkled as if she was really focused into looking at me. Was she some kind of telepath and somehow reading my mind or something? "There's no way the guy who was fighting so hard to protect his friends could be as bad as you think."

She stood up and stood right in front of me, and whatever you call the part below her waist was right there near my face.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"You said you wanted to do things, so I should be afraid of you or something. I don't believe you, so go ahead and try."

Ah, shit.

Finding Indigo and Claire would've been easy, but an angry bunch of people just came out of nowhere and started a brawl at exactly where we were. Xavier was able to pull me aside before I got involved in an all-out bloody mess.

People were beating each other up, with whatever they can find. It was only a matter of time before they see us and decide to fuck us up.

"Can you fight?" Xavier asked, tensing up as if he's preparing to fight as well.

"I have never been in a human fight my whole life," I answer, knowing for a damn fact that my only action packed experiences was as Rezamesu.

Some girl in a skimpy bikini took her top off and started strangling someone with it. Some other dude used his crocs as some kind of weapon. This would be funny if it weren't fucking terrifying right now, what with all these people having such bloodlust in their eyes. And…a dark glow?

There's a dark glow emanating from under their skin.

"Frenzy," was all I could mutter.

"What?" Xavier asked.

I thought it through, wondering how it could make sense but decided to just give out my theory anyway.

"These people are frenzied."

It was the only possible explanation, sudden powerful rage, the dark glow, the fact that we just fought against a Gore Magala hours ago?

"But how?" I ask no one in particular, "With the Gore Magala dead there should be no frenzy virus."

"Let's ask that to the researchers," Xavier says, pulling on my arm, "As soon as we get out of here alive."

I look up to see at least three angry dudes eyeing us. Now I know how it feels to be in a zombie movie.

And by god, it's bloody terrifying.

I'm sorry.

That was all I could say as I do what my body told me to do. The lack of surprise in Claire's eyes was…surprisingly comforting.

What I did was stand up and walk away.

"I'm sorry," I say, "I'll just get a glass of water."

And that's what I did. The nearby drinking fountain was nearby but felt like a mile away, I had to keep myself distracted with every step of the way otherwise my brain would betray me. I don't know why Claire did what she did, or why I didn't do a damn thing about it. Normally I'd exploit an opportunity as soon as it presents itself, and yet I just walked away. AS I walked towards the water fountain I could hear the nearby speakers playing Volcano by Damien Rice.

Don't throw yourself like that

In front of me

I always thought I'd be prepared for that moment. I mean, I had nothing to fear, it's not like I was forcing myself on her or anything.

I kissed your mouth and back
Is that all you need?

But think about it, what if I could actually make this work? Wasn't this exactly what I have been praying for my entire life?

Don't drag my love around

Volcanoes melt me down

After getting to the drinking fountain, I looked back to see Claire just staring at me, and shrugged as she soaked herself waist deep in the water. I should cool off too, I thought, things got disturbingly heated back there.

What I am to you is not real

Yeah, that's what I'll do, I'll get in the water with her and straighten things out. I don't know what that girl sees in me but at this point I might as well consider myself in love with her. Heck, she's probably the only chance I have for some romance.

What I am to you you do not need

Assuming she wasn't just messing with me, although she doesn't look like the kind of kid who would risk her own body for a joke.

What I am to you

Is not what you mean to me

With a sigh, I wave the incident off my mind and drank some water to clear my head.

At least, that's what I hoped for, but instead I started palpitating and powerful throb was hammering in my head.

What I really need
Is what makes me bleed

"What…the…fuck," I whisper through gritted teeth, my hands clenching on their own. My mind felt like it was being unraveled nerve by nerve, and my every inch of my body felt like it would burn up with every step.

And like a new disease

She's still too young to treat

The words from the music, the white noise all around me, the sunlight, the sand on my feet, the heat, the sticky moisture of drying water on my skin, all of it started mixing in my head like a violent concoction. A barrage of senses overpower me, as if my brain was threatening to shut itself down, until all I can think of is the song playing in my head. And I walk, and make my way to Claire.

Oh she's too young

She's still too young

As I make my way toward Claire, I see other people walking around with the same look in their eyes. I didn't know what was in that water, but by god I don't care.

She's still too young

I have never felt so powerful in my life.

You do not need me

And I'm ready to take what's mine.

Oh the things I will do to you.

-To Be Continued-