Swirls of ominous dark mist billowed from Georg's cloak, fast enough to physically impact Issei and make him step back. It swirled around them all for a moment before it felt as though he was suddenly plunged into ice water. His whole body went cold and he was pretty sure his balls may have receded into his body due to the sudden shock. A half second later it was gone and the mist dissipated to reveal a tranquil, almost heavenly grove.
Soft, lush grass swayed in the light breeze that surrounded the greenery. The sun shone down upon them with radiance, serving to cast the whole area in an ephemeral glow. Issei's breath caught in his throat as he peered down the tree lined path before him. At the end of the grotto stood what appeared to be a mighty oak, but it was off.
Instead of bark, the entire thing seemed to be cast out of solid gold and meticulously carved to resemble a living tree. Veins of flowing silver and platinum suffused the trunk of it, pulsing as though it threatened to escape its innermost depths. In the light of the sun it nearly sparkled like a mirage.
"This place is a pocket dimension produced by my Dimension Lost. We were forced to lock this one away due to its high value and turbulent acquisition," Georg explained as they approached it. "What you see before you is known as Innovate Clear, a Sacred Gear capable of slaying gods and demons alike."
"So this is one of those Longina things?" Issei stepped forward, transfixed by its beauty.
Irina made an aggrieved sound. "Longinus, Issei. Longinus."
"Innovate Clear was produced from the body of the Tree of Life that gave Adam and Eve knowledge of Good and Evil. When God made the thirteen Longinus he was careful to finetune this one's abilities. It is unique among its brethren in that it is perhaps both the weakest and the strongest Longinus currently existing."
Issei paused before he could touch the tree and turned back to Georg. How could something be both the weakest and strongest at the same time? The young man thought that his newfound tour guide liked stroking his own intelligence too much. Maybe that's how he got his rocks off or something.
"You wonder how?" he hummed, confirming Issei's thoughts. "Well, it doesn't grant a normal suite of abilities. For instance, my Dimension Lost allows me to manipulate space and dimensions to create pocket realities such as this. Others such as the Boosted Gear or Divine Dividing allow the user to manipulate the efficacy of certain abilities."
"But this one is different?"
"This Longinus grants the user knowledge in the same way it granted Eve knowledge. However, it no longer gives the user the secrets to morality, but rather the secrets to everything. It allows the user to understand even the most miniscule physical interactions of our reality, including how to manipulate them."
That… sounded like a lot of words that didn't make sense. Issei didn't want to look like some knuckle-dragging ape in front of the guy, but that really didn't clear things up. Irina sighed and crossed her arms. "Care to clarify, Georg?"
He fixed his glasses smarmily. "Of course. In layman's terms it grants the wielder complete and total knowledge of physics, thermodynamics, engineering principles; all the technological aspects of science. Previous users utilized this understanding to produce advanced technology and devices, far beyond even the most cutting-edge supernatural science."
"So, what, like laser guns?"
Georg made a small, disappointed sound, but nodded. "Yes, laser guns. But also things such as alternative power sources and weaponry capable of replicating the abilities of nearly any person, monster, or Sacred Gear. That is why it is the strongest and the weakest."
Issei looked upwards into the tree and saw that the leaves resembled computer chips. Upon each wiry, thrumming branch golden fruit hung, each with its own distinctive pattern and design. It seemed to be made of the same material as the tree and beckoned at him to pick it. He felt his hand twitch and begin reaching before he was brought back to reality by Irina.
"So basically because the user has to make everything they need they don't start with any actual abilities?" she questioned.
"Correct. It is why so many of Innovate Clear's users died early on. They bit off more than they could chew or attracted the wrong attention. There are many who see the Longinus as a great boon given its abilities to replicate and mass produce abilities that would otherwise be out of their hands. Just imagine a low-class devil capable of using holy light like an angel could. Or an army of invaders utilizing nigh-undetectable camouflage and stealth technology."
"What's the catch?" Issei spoke up. "There's no way it's that easy."
Georg stepped closer to the tree until he was beside him. The bespectacled man looked up with an almost distasteful expression on his face. He was silent a moment before he explained, although he did not turn to Issei.
"There are seldom few who can contain such knowledge. Many who try find it too overwhelming, and they die gruesome deaths. The last one we tried to implant the Sacred Gear into ripped off his own face before his heart exploded. It was quite the show."
Issei felt a wave of revulsion flow through him. Both from the story and the blase attitude this guy had about it. Then again, he was the one who had said he was ready to lay down his life for a shot at that monstrous bitch. Now faced with the very real chance he was going to die, he was less confident than he hoped.
"In the end it's your choice. If you manage to survive, we do expect your help in return. I won't misdirect you and say this is a purely charitable contribution. Although once it gets out that you are the newest inheritor, you may need our help just staying alive and free."
His knees threatened to buckle from the pressure and his stomach was doing flip-flops, but he had come too far to back out. His friends had given their lives for his, so he couldn't- wouldn't die to some dumb golden apple. Cautiously, Issei pulled one of the fruits free and held it before him. It was warm, and thumped like the heart of some dying beast. This was it, he could do this.
He just had to take the plunge.
Before his insecurities could betray him, the young pervert bit deep into the fruit. Despite its metallic exterior, it came apart with ease. It didn't taste like much of anything, and for a moment he thought that it wouldn't be so bad.
He was wrong.
Something rocked him bodily, sending him toppling to the ground. The world fell over itself as he ceased to be able to comprehend. Shapes, people surrounded him, their names and identities lost to him. There was only a mounting sense of fear and confusion as knowledge poured in like a tsunami. The air was sucked from his lungs as he saw the rolling calculations and minute interactions that made everything tick. He could understand what they meant and where they came from. How they fit together and how to make them fit together. It was suffocating as it was euphoric.
He tasted something like pennies. His chest burned. He was dying.
No, no. This isn't how it ends! Even as he desperately thought it the words lost their meaning to him. There was no higher reasoning, only form. The tide rose and threatened to swallow him whole if he didn't stop it.
Something soft pressed against his arm. He rolled over and glanced down. Wait… he recognized those fleshy mounds. Those were boobs! Man, they felt so soft on him. To think he would ever be able to snuggle up against a nice pair. He took a deep breath and relaxed a touch from the brief skinship.
Wait, that was it! Eureka! If he couldn't rationally think, then there were only images to go off of. With extraordinary willpower, he opened up his mental spank bank and let its contents flood his brand. Every tight body and gorgeous pair of knockers he had ever glimpsed clashed against the knowledge of the universe and halted its rage. He focused harder and visualized the most perfect pair he could imagine. Their shape, their firmness, their size. He would hold onto the thought and use it as an impenetrable shield. The perverse cavalcade of thoughts stemmed the tide, building a mental seawall against the onslaught. Before long, the chaotic maelstrom of knowledge settled, calming like the sea after a rough storm.
He took another deep breath, and tried to slow his heart rate. He was Issei Hyoudou, he could picture his parents, their names, and how to spell them. He remembered why he was here, and what he was supposed to do. Someone had their hand on his chest, too rough to be anything but the man who brought him, them here- Georg. The fruit began to crumble in his hand, reducing to dust. Issei squeezed and destroyed the remains before letting them flutter away in the wind. He opened his eyes again.
Nothing had changed. Everything had changed.
He didn't see new colors or through walls or anything like that, but something was different. He could look at a tree and accurately gauge its current age, its optimal nutritional circumstances, how to take it apart and use it for a variety of things. He could look at his hand and see the connections between nerve and muscle, tendon and bone. Even closer than that, he could see how he moved and the energy it consumed or the molecules he displaced. He knew the momentum the clouds in the sky carried and how the wind could be used to harness more energy.
"Issei?" Georg shook him. "Are you alive?"
"I-I'm fine," he hadn't a moment like that since he first manhandled his ham candle. He licked his lips and found they were bloody. His nose had been gushing blood this whole time. He would need iron and vitamin C. "What happened?"
"We thought you were going to die there for a moment. Then it was like all the sudden you calmed down. You stopped spasming and just went still. I thought your heart had given out."
He tried to sit up but wobbled precariously. Georg reached out and steadied him with a hand on his shoulder. "Where's Irina?"
The magician nodded to his friend who sat a step away, her face a beet red. Issei cocked his head in confusion before he suddenly realized his pants were a bit tight. Glancing down, he realized with utter humiliation that he was sporting a raging erection. Georg coughed into his fist, not amused.
"I suppose touching the secrets of the universe would invigorate a man," he grumbled somewhat.
"Sorry! Sorry!" He tried to cover himself up as best he could. "I started thinking about boobs."
"Ugh, gross!" Irina smacked him over the head.
Alright, maybe not his best line. Georg stood up and muttered something to himself. His friend, despite her outrage, leaned over and grabbed either side of his face. She stared him hard in the eyes for a few seconds before letting go and giving an immense sigh of relief. Issei allowed himself to relax fully and rubbed his aching head.
"Talk about a headrush."
"How do you feel?" she asked, concerned. "Is it… different?"
"Yes," he frowned. "No? Sorry, it's… it's complicated. I don't feel different, but I keep having these thoughts that aren't my own."
"I imagine that gets easier to deal with in time. For now though, it may be overwhelming," Georg handed him a water bottle.
He accepted with thanks and drained the entire thing in a few seconds. He was starving, but that hunger warred with the desire to just collapse into his bed and sleep for an eternity. With Irina's help he stood up and shook his head. His mind was still a jumbled mess of quantum mechanics and engineering design. This would take some time to sort through. What he really needed was to get his hands on some scrap metal and a generator.
Georg watched them both for a moment before the fog spread around them again. With the same jarring transition as before they were returned to the warehouse. Beaufort perked up and walked over to the three of them, a big grin already splitting his face.
"Well, did he do it?"
Georg sniffed. "He's alive, isn't he? Yes he did it!"
"Sweet!" he hollered. "Get down here guys!"
The figures that had once been hidden now descended the stairs to join them. The largest among them was a figure wreathed in heavy armor that brought to mind a roman legionnaire. He had a sparse sprout of stubble around his chin and heavy features that seemed almost caveman like. The two others followed in step behind him, each a mirror of the other. They wore a stylized chinese garb in blue and green respectively.
"Well, glad you didn't die," the large man said, arms crossed. "Did Georg give you the go-ahead?"
Despite the fact the question was aimed at him, the armored figure turned to the man in question who nodded. With a laugh, the one who appeared to be the ringleader of the group spat off to the side.
"You can call me Ajax, these two are Castor and Pollux."
"Are those… given names?" Irina ventured.
"Nah, each person who enters the hero faction gets to pick their codename. Helps protect our identities and lets us carry on the spirit of the heroes who came before us," Beaufort explained.
Ajax nodded in turn. "Which means you'll need one for yourself. I won't push you to do it today, but it'll need to get done before you get out in the field."
This was all going so fast. He was already in, like that? But there was so much he needed to do, that he didn't feel prepared for. Issei didn't even have a solid grasp on his powers let alone how to properly use them. Ajax caught his shocked look and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, you know, we'll give it some time. How about that? Guess you need to get situated now don't you?" the man asked. "Georg, are you sticking around?"
"The President will want to know we have a new Longinus user among us. I'll be back in a few days to check on things, but for now work with him. It'll take him a bit to get adjusted so keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
Issei opened his mouth to protest that but was cut off as Beaufort threw an arm around his shoulder. "Welcome to the Hero Faction, buddy. Kicking monster ass and taking cool codenames since ninety-five."
"That is not when we were founded," the one Issei was pretty sure was called Castor spoke up in an austere tone.
Oh great, just what did I get myself into?
0-0-0-0
"Issei! Time for school!" his mother called up to him.
It had been almost a week since he had received his Sacred Gear. Most of that time was merely spent adjusting to his new perceptions. It was still a bit odd, but now it only tickled at the back of his head instead of overwhelming him. And with it, it was as if things could begin fixing themselves. The tension between him and his parents was lessening by the day, and though the pain of loss still ached it felt good to know he wasn't helpless.
"Coming!" he yelled downstairs, dropping the odd ball of metal and wires he had been tinkering with.
It was a simple trans-amulite core, surmounted in a baseplate of aluminum composite to better conduct the flow of magical energy. He lacked the funds for proper gold conduction wiring right now, but his new friends had been able to help him with that. With just a little more work he'd be able to finalize the creation of his first lasgun.
He stood up from his desk and glanced around his room. His therapist said that a change in scenery can sometimes be beneficial for those going through depression. It took them out of the setting where they first fell into it and promoted change. He wasn't sure how true that was, but Issei's room had changed, more out of necessity than desire. He'd been first to convert much of his living space into a makeshift laboratory, hiding the most damning materials in various nooks around his room.
It meant having to toss out some of his beloved collections which brought tears to his eyes, but it would all be worth it. There was no gain without sacrifice. He just needed to shoulder this burden and march onward. He threw on his uniform's jacket and descended down the stairs with his bag in hand. His mother had prepared another big breakfast for him, his father reading the morning paper with a smile on his face.
"Looks great mom, thanks," he smiled and his mother patted his head.
They'd both been so ecstatic to see his improvement. Ever since he had come back from that trip to the factory it was all smiles and laughs. His self-destructive attitude had taken its toll on them, he could see that now. Was it selfish? Maybe not, but the last thing he wanted was to hurt them.
"Got anything going on after school, champ?" his dad pondered, eyes just slightly over the newspaper.
Issei took a massive bite of egg and swallowed it. Using so much brain power worked up an appetite after all. "Yesh, mmm," he swallowed. "Irina and I were going to hang out after school."
"She's a good sort, that Irina. Definitely wife material you know," his mother "subtly" thought aloud from the kitchen.
"Come on, mom, don't say that! She's like my best f-friend," he coughed and tried to pick up the conversation before they could notice his pause. "It'd be weird to date her."
His father just laughed as he finished his food and headed out towards school. Slowly but surely he was healing. The sun on his face didn't feel so distant, and the fullness in his belly felt satisfying. Kuoh Academy was still the same old place, at least on the surface, but the knowledge that it was run by and used for devils did stick in his mind. Irina had been borderline manic in making him promise not to mention Georg or the others to anyone. Apparently the Hero Faction was not well-tolerated by the devils which struck him as natural.
Homeroom went on without much fanfare. People gave him the side eye but the looks of sympathy and pity had finally melted away. He was starting to feel like himself again. As the bell rang and class concluded, Issei packed up his stuff and got ready to go to second period before being stopped as someone new and familiar stepped forward.
Aika Kiryuu was a pretty infamous girl and a walking definition of double standards. She was just as pervy and lecherous as he and his friends had been in their prime, but because she was a woman she mostly got off. Or maybe because she never really tried to peep. Either way, she was a known quantity to him. Snarky, full of quips, and with the same glasses as Motohama. Maybe that was why the expression on her face made him pause. For once in the whole time they had known each other, she looked concerned of all things. Conflicted emotions warred on her face as she seemed to hesitate to get the words out.
"Aika?" he asked, confused. They were really more friendly acquaintances than friends, so this was unusual.
"Hey master blaster, got a minute before you leave? Need to talk you real quick."
He eyed her with suspicion. "You're not gonna, like, check my prostate or something, right?"
"Eugh, as if. Look, it won't take more than five minutes. C'mon," she dragged him out of the classroom and into the area beneath the staircase.
She stood there with arms crossed as if he was the one who brought her here. He waited for a moment as she summoned up the nerve to talk. When she did, her question surprised him.
"Are you really doing okay, Issei?"
He blinked. "Uh, yeah? That's… an odd question for you to ask, Aika."
"Look, it's just- ugh, this is so dumb, but I felt I need to ask. Don't expect me to tell you why, but I have a bit of experience with this. After you spent the whole month drowning in your own sadness, to see you so happy is…"
She trailed off, unsure. Issei suspected that heart-to-hearts weren't her specialty. He could guess what she was getting at though.
"I won't lie and say I'm totally over it, but things are looking up. Bit by bit."
It was her turn to eye him with suspicion. "I'll believe you, but really Issei, I know we haven't been pals but I did always think of you as a good person. An unrepentant pervert and threat to womankind, sure, but bad? No."
That was certainly forthright of her. He looked out towards the sea of people milling about on the main floor. How many of them were like Kiba, or Irina? How many of them were really aware of this whole secret world going on around them?
"You're worried about me," he said offhandedly.
"Like I said, I know a thing or two. It's usually when a depressed person suddenly gets better out of nowhere that you should be the most worried."
"You thought I was going to kill myself."
The statement was blunt, but true. Aika nearly flinched, but didn't deny it. The two of them stood like that for a few moments. Awkward tension grew between them with each passing second, yet neither broke the silence. Eventually, the bespectacled girl caved.
"Sometimes the decision to end their life is euphoric to someone with depression. It feels like they can let go and not worry anymore. Last time… last time I was too caught up in my relief to see it was coming."
Issei didn't want to pry, but it was obvious she knew what she was talking about. He was at a loss for words. To think someone as debaucherous as Aika Kiryuu was asking him about his personal feelings and making sure he was okay.
"I'm fine, Aika, really. And if I'm lying and I do kill myself I promise not to haunt you for not trying hard enough," he went for a smile but was caught off as Aika kicked him solidly in the gonads. The wind was sucked out of his lungs as he bent over and nearly hurled.
"Not. Funny. Asshole."
Again, not his greatest line. He hadn't expected her to care so much. With monumental effort he reigned the agony and nausea in and nodded his head in penance. Maybe he had that one coming. He straightened and tried to go for a reassuring smile.
"Point taken. Sorry. Look, really Aika I'm… better. It takes time to get over it, but I like to think I'm on my way."
She let out an angry sigh and uncrossed her arms. "Fine. As an apology how about you take me out for ice cream this Sunday?"
"Sunday? Uh, sure, but I don't see how-"
"Good, I expect to see you at The Cold Front at two PM this weekend," without another word she turned and walked off.
Had he just given into ice cream extortion? Wait, had Aika Kiryuu just asked him out on a date? Maybe that fruit he had eaten had killed him and this was just his deathbed hallucination. He went through the rest of his school day in a relative daze. Irina ate with him at lunch, and he could feel the attention of Rias's club members on the back of his neck throughout his classes. Irina had informed him that it was very likely that the Occult Club president would sense the change in his aura, but that their deal would prevent her from doing anything overt. At the very least he was spared from a sudden, much less friendly visit from Kiba.
When the day was done he and Irina broke off from the rest of the crowd and snuck their way back to the factory the Hero Faction was hiding in. Things were still a little brusque between him and them, but he was thankful for their help. Ajax greeted him when he entered, the armored man jumping down from the top railing, nearly two stories, and landing without even a grunt.
"Issei!" he laughed. "Good to see you, again."
He extended his hand and Issei reluctantly took it, wincing at the crushing force the man exerted. From what he had learned from Beaufort, Ajax was the acting leader of this cell which was smaller than some of the others. The large man was a "Middle Manager" for the Hero Faction, and thus had some leadership responsibilities.
"Did you finish the core?" he asked, throwing an arm around him as Irina followed a few steps behind.
"Not yet, should only take another hour of work or so. Then I'll be ready to test it."
"Capitol, get to work then!"
Despite the man's cheery demeanor, Beaufort assured Issei that the guy was a slavedriver. With a shove, Issei was sent staggering towards his makeshift workshop. It was a cross between a mad scientist's lab and the world's most ghetto auto shop. Bits and pieces of scrap metal, glowing sockets, and spark plugs were littered across the various tables. Thanks to Georg's assistance there were few things they couldn't procure as needed, something he was majorly grateful for. On the largest bench sat his working prototype: The Mk. I Martial Lasgun.
"I guess I can leave you all to it?" Irina asked.
"What, you're leaving already?"
"Can't stay for too long or else it may look suspicious. I'll check back on you guys in a couple hours."
There was a rustling from the second floor as Beaufort descended the stairs. The main factory floor was where they did their training, planning, and general work while the second had been retrofitted as a living quarters. It contained enough rooms for all of them and a lounge area complete with a sofa, a TV, and a pool table. The redhaired man whooped as he leapt over the stair railing and landed a few paces beside Issei.
"What's good, Da Vinci?" he asked.
"Where're Castor and Pollux?" Ajax interrupted before he could say anything.
"You know them, they're off in that forest looking for that Zatouji guy. They promised to be back within the hour with dinner."
"Zatouji?" Issei ventured.
Ajax spat onto the ground and stepped by them both. "A guy who trains familiars for the devils of this town. Figured if we find out what his shtick is we might figure out what the devils in this town are up to."
Issei hummed and grabbed a pair of modified welding goggles from a nearby bench. He grabbed the transorbital welding piece and began to work on perfecting the rifling for the inner magic harmonizing barrel for the lasgun. The Amulite Core really only needed the plug-in so he could put it in the weapon which wouldn't take very long, but there were a few power redundancy issues with the gun he wanted to fix. Beaufort had promised to take him on a "safari" once he got trained up on his powers. The more time he spent perfecting his craft, the sooner he'd be able to nail that bitch Abella.
Ajax had devised a training regime for him to follow, something that would, apparently, help him keep up with the others. Most of it was endurance instead of strength training, owing to the fact he wasn't much of a power-type fighter with his Longinus. Thanks to some scans of Castor and Pollux his first ever weapon would be able to completely annihilate lower-level dark entities.
"Almost done," he mumbled to himself, glancing at the clock only to realize he'd been at it for nearly two and a half hours. "Just one more piece."
With reverent care he slowly lowered the core into the central power unit of the lasgun. As he laid the device in, there was a click and a hiss followed by the weapon lighting up. Issei smiled satisfactorily as he picked up the now-complete light gun.
"Eureka! It's done!" he called to his allies who were currently sparring in the center of the room. Ajax stepped away from the chalk outlined ring and smiled.
"'Bout damn time, son! Show us what you can do!"
The young inventor joined his comrades and shuffled over to the old target range on the other side of the factory. It was little more than a few makeshift dummies made out of sandbags and scrap, but it would serve for what he needed it for. With a flourish and a bit of flair he displayed the rifle to the four young men.
"I've managed to maintain the earlier destabilization of the power core thanks to the new redundant feeding system. This way I can build an essentially limitless charge with more time," he explained. "Castor, mind helping me with a demonstration?"
The chinese man stepped forward with a neutral expression on his face. He held out his hand which was almost immediately engulfed in searing blue light. A moment later it faded and a long azure bow composed of what appeared to be hard light was held in his hand. He and Pollux possessed "twin" Sacred Gears, both having identical abilities and forms. It was their help which allowed him to form the basis of the lasgun's energy type.
Castor's Staring Blue shone brightly even in the relative illumination of the factory. Wordlessly, he stepped up next to Issei and got into a position to fire the bow.
"Castor, mind shooting at one of the targets with a mid-tier shot?" Issei requested. The man nodded and let the bowstring go.
The projectile was more of a light missile than an arrow, but it worked either way. It struck the target dummy dead center, its trajectory altered ever so slightly by its user mid-flight. The dummy shook and bent backwards as the missile burned almost clean through the scrap coating. With a smug noise Issei readied his weapon and pointed it down range.
"Based off the scans I took from Castor's Sacred Gear, I was able to replicate the purifying light that devils, vampires, and other evil creatures are weak against."
He pulled the lasgun's trigger and let loose a burning red stream that slammed into the dummy. Whereas Staring Blue functioned more like an individual shot this was a sustained blast that whittled away at the dummy like a drill boring through wood. After nearly four seconds of focus it pierced the collection of sand, wood, and metal to hit the wall behind it.
Ajax and Beaufort clapped at the display, the twins following along politely. Issei let go of the trigger and flicked a switch on the rifle's side.
"However, I had the ingenious idea to recycle the powered shots. Now, the longer I go without firing the stronger and more condensed the next blast is," the lasgun hummed and glowed brighter with each passing second.
He waited twenty seconds before he aimed and fired again. This time the shot was not a stream, but rather an oblong blast that rocketed down the length of the room to strike the dummy. With a flash and a thunderclap of heat the unfortunate target was blown to burning bits like a hotdog in the microwave. This time the applause was louder, more earnest.
"Incredible!" Ajax laughed. "I love it! Of course we'll need to get you in the ring to see how you do against a real opponent, but to think you managed to replicate a light blast like that in as little as four days."
Beaufort wolf whistled. "Fuck yeah, that's awesome! Let's see how those pansy ass devils deal with us now!"
"With some time and a few more resources I plan to port this to a handheld version for ease of use. Given the right machinery I could probably mass produce these light guns for us," Issei sniffed.
The armored man nodded and mentally took down the idea. "Those clowns over in the Vatican have something similar but on a lesser scale. I could probably procure a few of those if you think it would help?"
"It would," he nodded. "Thank you. If I'm being honest, I'm really jonesing to get out there and prove myself, but I also know I need to take it slow."
It was no use if he got himself killed on his first outing. Instead he would gear himself as much as possible so he'd have a response to any situation he found himself in. That way he'd never be useless like that again, he'd never let down a comrade like that again. Beaufort came over and gave him a double high five as Castor patted him on the back. They were a gang of colorful characters, sure, but man if he didn't find himself warming up to them.
Better days were coming. Bit by bit.