Chapter 5: So Long, and Thanks for All the Duel Runner Parts
Disclaimer: I'm sure you've all realized by now, but I suck at chapter titles.
The evening sunlight stings my eyes as I help Blitz limp out of the dim building, the sky dyed a deep orange-red as the bright yellow circle begins to sink behind a row of crumbling buildings. A dry breeze has picked up in the east, whistling through the labyrinth of buildings and carrying the faint stench of trash along with it, but days of searching for Duel Runner parts have made it so I only detect it on the very edge of my senses.
With one arm around his shoulder and one arm around mine, we descend the broken concrete steps that lead up to the abandoned building we leave behind. It's now that I can get a good sense for how tall I am; I knew that I was taller than Rally, who is still rather young, but even hunched over I can tell that I'm roughly of a height with Blitz, who I'd place at six feet or so.
It's steady going at first, not in any big hurry as we move at an easy pace toward the alley that provides our exit from the area. I can feel him tense with every step, and hear every ragged breath that he inhales and exhales as I pull him along. I have to feel bad as I guide him across the plaza, cringing every time he scowls or lets out a grunt of pain. Those thugs really did a number on him.
"Those thugs really did a number on you, huh?" I ask, trying to make a joke. I can't remember where, but I heard once that laughter can be as good as actual medicine… well, obviously not that good, but it can't hurt, can it?
Wrong; it hurt very much. He lets out a wheezy chuckle, then immediately clutches his stomach with the other hand.
"Sorry," I apologize quickly, feeling ashamed again. I don't try and make him laugh again during the long trek back.
[Cue in opening theme: "Imagination" by Caleb Hyles feat. Gareth West (English cover of the first opening for Haikyuu!)]
As the sweat rolls down my face, sweltering heat comes in waves
We open on a shot of Ben's face, staring up at the sky as the shadow of a cloud passes over his face. As the cloud drifts past and the sun beams down on his face again, he begins to smile.
I hear our voices echo, as we're standing side by side!
The camera begins to zoom outward, revealing that standing in a circle around Ben is each of the Omni-Heroes; in no particular order, Escuridão, Great Tornado, Absolute Zero, Nova Master, Gaia, and The Shining.
An open window lets in light, I turn my eyes up to the sky,
Now the camera shoots down to the ground, looking up at the assembled group of heroes and their leader as the urban sprawl of Skyscraper shoots up above them
Questionings if to someone will come our way, Mr. Future
Ben's face focuses in on the camera as we see the shadow of someone's legs stepping in front of us. We can see Ben grin as his heroes fall in line beside him.
(Oh come on, come on) If there is still a chance…
A sudden swift upward shift from the camera, and we're viewing Ben and his heroes from above, and in the shadows of Skyscraper, dark figures begin to form, faceless phantoms that stand to oppose our hero.
(Oh come on, come on) Go and get… it!
Taking the first step, Ben leads the charge as his heroes run forward at the shadow figures. Great Tornado streaks through the sky, a bright green wind trailing behind him as The Shining appears alongside him, bright light emanating from his body. Absolute Zero and Nova run right beside Ben, leaving trails of ice and fire in their tracks, respectively, while Gaia stomps alongside, and Escuridão dodges from shadow to shadow, as dark as darkness itself. Just as they reach the figures and begin to fight, a bright light suddenly consumes the screen.
You can't move me, you can't break me!
The light dissipates and shows the heroes at battle. First, we see The Shining lashing out for a punch, his fist enclosed in a blinding bright aura as it smashes into the stomach of Crab Turtle. Next we see Great Tornado blasting away a slew of Spellcaster monsters, namely Endymion and Breaker, among others.
You will always look right through me!
Nova Master appears on screen next, its full body aflame as it lunges toward Frost and Flame Dragon, Absolute Zero combatting the Flame half as Nova Master prepares to strike the Frost half.
I will falter, I will stumble, but I'll keep on suffering!
Gaia raises a massive boulder above its head, hurling it at Doom Dozer as the insect is restrained by shadow tendrils courtesy of Escuridão.
Never give up, never give in—I can't let it end in failure!
We spin to view Ben now, his fist clenched in anticipation as we begin to rotate, revealing that all the battles are going on simultaneously. Finally tired of seeing his heroes fight at his command, he charges into the fray as well—focusing specifically on one shadow figure.
Oh, my imagination's fighting to believe—
Ben throws a punch of his own as he reaches the character, the air around his fist blurring as he strikes mere shadow—though as the figure disappears, we get a sudden glimpse of gray hair…
Believing in something!
The shadows, Skyscraper, and the heroes all disappear at once, leaving Ben standing in the subway tunnel with Rally and the rest of the Satellite crew, looking at him hopefully.
Oh-oh! Believing in something!
Ben mounts his Duel Runner, pulling his helmet on and giving them a grin.
Oh-oh!
And on the last note, he speeds off down the tunnel, the shot fading to grayscale on his friends waving him off. The title, "Stardust Accelerator: A Hero in Time" appears in bright gold lettering, standing out against the gray as the form of the Crimson Dragon wraps around it.
Given Blitz's injuries, we make better time than I had expected as he finds the strength to push onward; though the first ten minutes are like a three-legged race with one person being more or less dragged along, he slowly wills himself to move in time with my steps. I can feel his body protest every time his foot touches the ground, but he bites the bullet and walks on, heedless of the angry pain lancing through his body.
And finally, we see the crumbling overhead of the subway's entrance coming into view from behind the rusted skeleton of a car. If I've ever felt more relieved to see a decrepit concrete tunnel entrance that might be in danger of collapse, I can't remember.
As we approach, I hear Rally's overjoyed voice yelling from the gaping maw of the tunnel, and soon he comes bolting out of the darkness like a rush of orange fire. "Blitz! Ben! You're alright!" he says, looking as if he's about to tackle us but he comes to a screeching halt when he spots Blitz's condition.
"Spoke too soon, huh?" Blitz says, giving Rally a weak smile. "Sorry Rally… I didn't mean to worry everybody."
Ignoring Blitz's remark, giving a surprising display of strength Rally reaches behind Blitz, almost having to stand on his tiptoes at first, gently removing my hand from his shoulders and steadying the much taller man on his own. "Thanks so much Ben… I'm gonna see to his injuries, we'll be back in a bit."
"Thanks again, Ben. You're the best," Blitz says, favoring me with a pained smile as Rally begins marching him off.
"get me if you need any help," I call after them, but with an astonishing amount of speed Rally is able to get Blitz around the corner and out of sight within moments. I don't even hear Blitz scream like I would have expected.
Now that Blitz is safe, I feel a swell of pride in my chest. Is this what it feels like to help someone? I could get used to this; in fact, there's something in the back of my mind that says I am used to it, somewhat. It's familiar, and almost bittersweet, somewhat like those voices that reminded me of my name.
Either way, I think I kind of like helping people. Ironic I know, considering I use a deck full of superheroes.
Turning back toward the gaping abyss that leads down into the blackness of the subway, I give a small shrug, figuring that if they do need me they'll come for me, and begin the climb down. My footsteps echo off the concrete walls, and it seems as if another of the few remaining lights has joined the ranks of the drained. It's dark, and without Rally, admittedly a little creepy.
Going up and down repeatedly for the past few days has helped me figure out where I need to step to avoid slipping and breaking my neck, so despite the childish fear of the dark I don't waste any time getting down to the platform. There's nothing in the dark for me to be afraid of, after all; the only thing around here to fear is thugs, and they'll come at you right out in the open.
Nonetheless, I feel a slight chill shooting down my spine as I kick a bit of loose concrete and it scratches across the paved steps, before bouncing down to the very bottom. I don't like admitting to it, but I move a bit faster as I make for the beams of fluorescent light that are now one fewer.
And after what feels like an eternity of dodging between circles of light and hoping that something doesn't grab me in the shadows, my shoes touch down on the cracked gray floor of the platform. Gathered around the large shaft of sunlight that filters down from the crevice above are Tank and Nervin, sitting cross-legged beside my Duel Runner, talking in hushed voices.
Tank looks over in my direction, and a moment later Nervin does too. A quiet tink cuts through the air, and soon Yusei's spiky head pokes up over my Duel Runner, a bit of grime covering his face.
Almost at once the three are on their feet, hurrying over to me.
"Ben, you're back!" Nervin says.
"Where's Blitz? Is he okay?" Tank asks quickly, looking over my shoulders to see if Blitz were following after.
Yusei doesn't say anything, so instead I start speaking. "Yeah, he should be okay. Rally's looking after him now," I confirm, walking forward to meet them.
"Are you alright, Ben?" Yusei asks finally, his blue eyes fixing on me. There's something intense in his gaze, something that sends a shiver down my spine when I meet it.
I nod. "Nothing my Heroes and I couldn't handle," I say, giving them a smile. "So what have you guys been up to while I was out?"
Nervin and Tank look at each other, then at Yusei, then at my Duel Runner, and then back to Yusei, who nods at them. Tank grins. "We were fixing up your Duel Runner!" he announces, beaming broadly at me.
My eyes widen slightly, my mind jumping to conclusions faster than Stratos jumped off the banlist… whatever that means. Did they somehow finish it all while I was gone? No, they couldn't have…
"Yusei was fixing up your Duel Runner," Nervin corrects. "You were standing there holding a wrench tapping on things."
Tank looks sheepish then. "Well yeah, but—"
"And then you tried to untighten the bolt carriage, and I don't even know what that means," Nervin points out.
"Yeah, but I still helped…" Tank says, looking down.
The conversation lulls for a moment. "I'm sure you did a great job holding that wrench, Tank," I say finally, before sidling past him and walking toward my Duel Runner.
The light that beams down from the ceiling doesn't reveal anything new on it immediately, but as I get closer I can see that it's much cleaner than it was. The dust that covered the worn seat has been wiped away carefully, and a few holes in the old material have been mended. Some smudges on the paint have been taken care of, and, walking around the side that they had been working on, I can now see that a portion of the side panel has been removed, exposing the jungle of circuitry inside.
Yusei crouches down beside me and holds up a battered old flashlight, twisting the top and a dim light bursts into existence, a flat bronze circle that just barely shows the innards of the machine. He focuses in on a round, cylindrical device made of metal; it's clearly old, the light painting it a tarnished gray here and a dull reddish brown that is just a step above corrosion.
"This engine is one of my older ones," Yusei explains, pulling back and turning off the flashlight. "I cobbled it together from some old parts, so it's nothing fancy but it should serve you fine until you get to the city."
Hand-me-down mess or not, it's one of the most beautiful things I've seen since I woke up in the Satellite. "Thank you, Yusei," I say, smiling brightly at him.
"Don't mention it. It's the least I can do since you saved Blitz," he replies. His lips quirk upward slightly; I think he's smiling? It's hard to tell, as his eyes are still that same intense blue as before.
After a brief, but surprisingly detailed explanation on how to insert, remove and maintain the engine on a Duel Runner, Yusei excuses himself and again I hear the sound of his Duel Runner tearing down the echoing tunnels. Nervin and Tank had wandered off sometime during his lesson on maintaining motorcycles built for trading card game purposes, so now I find myself alone with my machine.
Briefly swivelling my head around like an owl to ensure I'm truly alone, I slowly hoist myself onto the seat of the Duel Runner. It bounces slightly as my weight presses down on it, but as I wrap my hands around the rubber grips on the handlebars, a feeling of calmness washes over me. There's something about this that just feels… right.
Suddenly the sound of laughter, weak and somewhat wheezy, comes from the darkened area a few feet outside of the light. Squinting my eyes through the gloom, I can recognize the form of Blitz, limping forward but with minimal difficulty. He's got more than a few bruises, angry purple lumps risen on his face and arms, and his favorite vest has been torn, but he's alive.
And it's in that moment, as I sit on my Duel Runner wondering why he was laughing, that I realize that I must have been making motorcycle noises as I pretended to rev up my Duel Runner. My cheeks flush a deep red as I quickly let go of the handlebars, sitting back on the dusty old seat.
"Yusei's got a new rival ahead of him, huh?" Blitz asks me, grinning through his pain. He leans against the front of my Duel Runner, sighing heavily as he shifts the weight from his right foot.
Finally, after I say nothing for a while, he says, "Ben, I don't know if I can ever repay you for what you did back there."
I shake my head. "Don't care if you can. I didn't help you because I wanted anything from you," I reply.
"But you wouldn't have had to go through all that if—"
"Doesn't matter. You're my friend, and you needed my help," I cut him off. "Now if you want to keep going on about repaying me, you'll wind up with three black eyes instead of two."
"W-what… how can you give someone three black eyes?" he pauses for a moment, gobsmacked.
"Keep asking and you'll find out," I remark airily, turning my stormy eyes to the crack in the concrete ceiling above. The orange sky is settling into deep, steadily darkening red, with no clouds in sight; I can swear I see a star too, gleaming a hot red-white, winking in and out of existence as if it's pulsating, but it should be too early to see stars…
Blitz laughs. "Thanks, Ben," he says.
We sit in silence for a few more moments, before he speaks up again. "You know, Yusei's leaving tonight. For the City, I mean," he says.
"I was wondering about that," I comment, prying my gaze away from the blinking star. "How come he's leaving? Does he have amnesia too?"
Blitz chuckles softly, letting out a quick, quiet cough as he does so, but shakes his head. "A long time ago, we had this friend named Jack," he explains. "One day, Jack stole one of Yusei's most prized cards, this amazing Synchro called Stardust Dragon, and then he ran off to the City!"
I nod in immediate understanding. "I'm guessing that's why he's been getting so much more intense with his rides lately," I note, glancing down the dark subway tunnel and casually wondering how long it'd been since someone other than Yusei had driven down it.
"Exactly. He wants to get to the City, find Jack, and see if he can't get his Stardust Dragon back," Blitz agrees.
"I'm still curious though, what's a Synchro? Rally mentioned it a time or two, but I could never get him to answer," I shift slightly in the seat of my Duel Runner, gently bouncing against the springy frame. Some part of me wondered if I should be doing that or not—but another part said, 'Keep bouncing, or you will die.'
I kept bouncing.
Blitz reached up a shaky hand and pushed his glasses higher up on his nose. "Well, a Synchro… is a lot like your Fusion monsters, Ben," he says after taking a moment to gather his thoughts. "It's made up of two or more monsters, though usually the materials aren't so specific as Fusions; they always require a Tuner monster, which is combined with the other monsters to match the level of the Synchro."
Tuners, Synchros… it's a lot more complicated than a Fusion, that's for sure. "So… no Polymerization?"
"No Polymerization," Blitz confirms with a nod of his head, tossing his purple dreadlocks up and down. "The monsters have to be face-up on the field, though. So if a Tuner is face-down, but the other monsters are face-up, no matter what their levels add up to you can't Synchro."
I let out a low whistle. "I… am very glad that my Heroes don't do any Synchro Summoning."
"It's really not that hard, maybe you'll learn firsthand once you're in the City," Blitz smiles, pushing himself back into a standing position, using the handlebars as a grip for his weak arms. "I'm gonna go see if Rally's got any more of that ointment… I'll see you at dinner, Ben."
I raise my hand in goodbye as he limps back toward the entrance and disappears into the darkness of the stairwell, his shuffling footsteps echoing until finally they fade away. Glancing around the platform area, I can't help but notice just how… eerie this area is when you're alone; I understand why Yusei and Rally built that tent monstrosity rather than rough it in the open.
Again I find my gaze being drawn up toward that blinking red and white star, now flashing and pulsating like a flame in the purpling sky. Down here, the shadows are starting to close in, dark fingers reaching out to consume everything around me in dusk. A chill runs down my spine, and suddenly I hear a voice whisper in the back of my mind…
"Shadow Game…"
My head whips around, spinning like a tornado as I search for the source of the voice, but I only find myself isolated among a growing army of shadows.
"Shadow Game, huh…" I repeat, tossing the word around in my mind as I try and get some sort of read on what it means, or how it might relate to me. As usual, no such luck. Finally, I shake my head in defeat, hoping I'll one day win the war for my memories.
My stomach rumbles ravenously, suddenly reminding me of the fact that I haven't eaten since breakfast, skipping lunch while I was out trying to rescue Blitz. I start toward the shadow-cloaked staircase, wondering whether or not the others had found a good enough rock to bust open the dinner cans with. Rubble crunches under my feet as I cross the platform, the distinct feeling of being watched creeping up my back, though I shrug it off; everyone was up topside, and surely Yusei would have mentioned anyone wandering the tunnels.
Nonetheless, I feel increasingly relieved as I begin the climb up the dark stairway, darting in between the dim circles of bronze light as the platform gets further and further away, and the deep purple sky gets closer and closer.
"I've got the link set up, Yusei!" Rally's voice calls from the tent. "It's almost time!"
Night has fallen, drowning the underground in darkness. The only light comes from inside the tent, a dull bronze like the dying lamps that light up the stairway.
And inside—Rally sits at a computer, the same one that he warned me away from the other day, tapping away on the keyboard and doing intermittent clicks with the old mouse. It whirs and roars like an ancient animatronic dinosaur, occasionally shuddering and making me wonder if we should be standing so close to it.
Outside, Yusei's Duel Runner roars in response, the engine growling low and energetic, almost as if it's excited for the ride ahead. The sound echoes around the old tunnel, a trembling chorus that makes the walls seem to shake, a deep rumble that I can feel reverberating in my chest.
I shudder in anticipation, turning to the spiky-haired man who stands at the flap of the tent. "Time to go, Yusei?" I ask, walking over to him, partially in an attempt to get away from the explosion hazard.
"Time to go," he confirms, looking me over again. "Everyone's already said their goodbyes, and I've got a really short window of time."
"Good luck, Yusei," I say, sticking out my hand.
He grasps mine, and we give each other a firm handshake. We look at one another for a moment, and finally he says, "Look out for Rally for me. Until you leave."
I give him a nod. "Next time we see each other, it'll be in the City," I say.
"I'll be looking forward to it. I want to see those Heroes of yours firsthand," he replies, turning his back to me and heading towards the opening. "Be seeing you."
As he exits the tent, we all pour out onto the dark platform, the outline of his Duel Runner barely visible in the night. Finally, his headlight kicks on and he revs up the engine, filling the tunnel with the angry roar of a dragon as he takes off, the tires kicking up sparks as they strike against long-disused rails.
He speeds off into the tunnel toward the west, the pale headlight disappearing off into the darkness.
Rally hurries us all back inside, plopping down eagerly on a beaten-up old wooden stool in front of the desktop and staring at the screen. "Guys, come on! We've gotta watch!"
The screen, which only showed a sign-in screen the first time I saw it, now displays a large grayscale map of the areas around us. Rally points out our position, a very basic outline of the subway's entrance, and moves his finger a few inches to his right to a fast-moving blue dot. Blitz and Tank stare at it for a moment.
"That's Yusei, isn't it?" I ask, watching the dot twist and turn and take corners, the map scrolling the further away from us he moves. What else around here could be going that fast?
"That's right! Before he left, we put a tracker on his Runner so that we could follow it with the computer," Rally replies, his eyes practically glued to the old monitor.
We all stand around the computer for what seems like hours. Nervin's eyes settle on a counting clock in the corner of the screen. Blitz's brow is beaded with sweat. Tank's stomach rumbles.
All of us stay silent, our hearts beating in our throats. Yusei's dot crosses a bridge, into the outline of what appears to be some great complex.
"He's in!" Rally shouts ecstatically. "He's almost there!"
"So, what exactly is he doing?" I inquire as the blip pulsates with blue light, worming its way through a maze of obstacles.
"That's the Pipeline he's going for," Nervin explains, unblinking. "It's a massive chute that transports all the garbage from the City to here… once a month, they shut it down for maintenance. Once he's in, he'll have three minutes to get through, or…"
The threat hangs in the air without the need for completion. If he doesn't get through… he'll be trashed.
"And I'm guessing I'll have to go through there when it's my time to leave," I deduce.
"For lack of a better alternative," Blitz nods, dabbing at his forehead with an old handkerchief.
We spend about ten more minutes discussing the Pipeline—then a new blip appears on the screen, this one red, and coming after Yusei at a quick pace.
"What's that?" I ask, pointing at the new dot. I'm not sure I like the looks of it.
"Uninvited guest," Nervin grumbles.
"Sector Security," Rally clarifies, pounding a small fist on the old desk. "It's gotta be—they're the only ones that can match the speed of a Duel Runner around here."
We watch the chase as Yusei turns into a long corridor… no, he's in—he's in the Pipeline! Yusei barrels down the enormous pipe, the red dot in hot pursuit. They battle for position, the red dot sometimes closing, Yusei sometimes pulling far enough ahead. But one thing's for sure…
Yusei's slowed down. My eyes glance between the chase and the clock, my heart beating every other second as the timer ticks down. Three minutes turns to two. Two minutes to one. One minute to thirty seconds… twenty-nine, twenty-eight…
Fifteen… Yusei's pulling ahead again. His speed is picking up.
Ten… the red dot stopped?! It disappears as the screen rolls over it, Yusei darting forward.
Five… is that… the end of the tunnel is in sight! We can see where it ends, he's almost there!
Four. Three. Two…
"HE'S THROUGH!"
Tank lets out a wild whoop as Blitz begins dancing, wincing in pain every time he moves. Nervin throws his arms up and grins, while I pull Rally in for a bear hug and spin him around, his short legs dangling off the ground as he laughs.
Later that night…
Silence falls over the tunnel once more. After the excitement died down, Tank and the rest made their exit, leaving Ben and Rally to the tent. Perhaps due to missing Yusei, rather than sleeping on the lumpy old mattress, Rally took Yusei's spot on the lumpy old chair. Both are fast asleep, with Rally eliciting soft snores as he lays curled up in the chair.
The computer screen has returned to the log-in screen, now dimmed as it prepares to go to sleep as well. Inside the tent, it's just bright enough to see the figure standing over Ben…
"Come on, Ben, can't you hear me?!" the figure says, prodding a gloved finger against the sleeping teen. "Wake up! Listen to me!"
"Easy, Shining," comes another voice as a second figure appears. It's tall and broad-shouldered, with what appear to be flames leaping about on its shoulders, orange and red, twisting and dancing in the dark tent, though they put off no light. "He's been gone a long time. It might take a while before he can connect with us again."
"Nova's right," agrees a third voice, rumbling like an earthquake as an absolute behemoth appears in front of ben, squatting in such a way that it looks like a massive boulder. "He knows us, but he doesn't remember us. The memory is there, but… it's locked away. I saw as much in his eyes when he summoned me."
The one called Shining exhales a deep sigh, a puff of light briefly flashing through the room. It sits down on the floor, placing an arm on the sleeping form of Ben, digging its elbow into his side; his face twists in slight discomfort—can he feel it?
"Has anyone been able to contact the leader?" rumbles the boulder-looking fellow. "I cannot sense him."
"No such luck," Nova replies. "I've been trying to reach him ever since Ben woke up, but… he's nowhere to be found. He must not be in Ben's deck."
"Where could he be then?" Shining questions, but to no answer.
The boulder-looking dude harrumphs, looking down on the boy he's served faithfully for so long. "We have our orders. Watch over Ben, guide him when we can… maybe this time things will turn out differently."
"H-hey! He's waking up!" Shining says, moving to its knees to look at the slowly awakening Ben.
"Somebody… there?" Ben mutters sleepily, blinking away the bleariness from his eyes. He lifts his head, barely, and glances around the room.
"Ben! Can you see us?" / "Can you see us, Young Master?" / "Hey, lazybones."
"…Guess not," Ben says quietly, laying his head back down and drifting off to sleep once more.
Shining drops to the floor, crestfallen. Nova turns away. Boulder-looking guy stands up, his height reaching the very top of the tent.
"I cannot say what is preventing us from reaching him, but it is no matter. We'll perform our duties, as we have all these years," the boulder says with finality in his deep voice.
Nova nods. "Let's let him have his sleep… we've waited this long for him, what's a little longer?"
And so, the three figures disappear into the night, melting away as if they'd never even been there to start with.
And in his dreams, Ben hears voices… but he cannot make out what they say. They're familiar to him, however, voices he's heard many times.
"…Shadow… Game…"
AND THERE WE HAVE IT, WHAT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!
I sincerely apologize for how long I've taken to actually get this up. As I said in the author's note I posted, the Satellite portion of the story is a bit tedious for me, but hopefully we won't be too much longer in it.
I'm a little out of practice in writing, I'll admit, so I hope that this chapter was acceptable for you all. No duel, but I was on the edge about whether or not to show Yusei vs Trudge since the gang would have no way to see it. I really hope that you guys enjoyed this one, but I can promise that things will be better from here on out.
So! This chapter, we see Yusei leave the Satellite, like our boy hopefully will soon enough. Blitz gets home safe, a lot of banter, and Yusei takes off while Trudge gets left in the Pipeline. And… what's this Shadow Game business, and who are the three figures who watch Ben sleep? …Well, we all know who those three are, but who is their "leader"? I mean, we kind of know that too, but just play along peeps.
Anyway, I don't intent for my next absence to take so long, though I will say that while I might have a new chapter out before Christmas, I wouldn't count on it. I have final exams this week, and then a fairly busy schedule for a little while. Nonetheless, I can't express how much I appreciate the fact that you all have stuck with the story in this long absence, and I swear on my honor as a Stark* that things are looking up from here on.
Anyways, rather than keep rambling, allow me to say,
Take care, brrrrush yo hair, I'll see ya when I see ya, and if I don't see you until then, happy general holidays so that I can't be picked on for singling specific ones out because it's 2019!
~Chase
P.S. Not sure if any of y'all are the praying kind, but if you are, please say one for my dog. She's an old bat, I've had her for a long time but she's been a bit sick lately. Taking her to the vet soon to see what's wrong, hoping she'll be okay but because of her age I'm a lot more worried than I normally would be. Thanks guys, y'all are the best
*I'm not actually a Stark, but nonetheless I like to think I have the honor of one.