Chapter 19

"That's the situation," Alley explained.

She had to tell them the truth, the full truth. Despite her best efforts, the cure is out of reach for the time being. "I am so sorry I got your hopes up. I should have looked into this a lot better. I didn't realize the cure is a one shot deal. But I knew I couldn't leave you three to turn into full fledged monsters like that…"

"It's okay Alley!" Max insisted. "Honestly, this is going to sound strange, but… I want to stay like this."

She was taken aback by his comment. "You want to stay like this?" she asked.

Max nodded. "I have grown use to it. I mean, I am a lot stronger, faster and can take down monsters pretty easily now. I am still adjusting to the electricity power, but… I can live with it."

"Suiryu?"

He smiled and leaned back in his chair. "I don't think I look THAT bad!" he said. "Different, yet, but not disturbingly different. Besides, it's a nice change of pace for me. A new adventure if you think about it."

She nodded, however, she knew what Snek would say. He's been looking forward to the cure ever since he woke up in the hospital. He was oddly silent, yet looking to Alley.

He finally spoke. "I am not happy about it…" he said. "But, I am not surprised either. No one… NO ONE was working on something like this before. If it weren't for you, I have no doubt you dad would have eaten me like serpent spaghetti the moment I lost my mind and became a full monster." He snickered. But then fell serious once more. "I am still coming to terms with this. I can do a lot more like this than I could before. I still want to be human, but, I may want to stay like this too, I am a little confused on the matter and still working it out in my head," he explained. "I understand it's beyond your control right now Alley, but I still have faith in you. Perhaps by the time you find something, I will know for sure what I want to do."

"You know I won't stop trying." She said.

Snek nodded. "I appreciate that, for now. I can live with it, I can be like this since I am damn good at being a snake!"

Suddenly the compute blipped. Curiosity got the better of Alley as she checked the screen, the hero listing just updated. "What is it?" asked Max.

Alley smirked. "My brother, Hunter. Just made it into the B Class."

"That only took what, three days?!" asked Snek.

"Yeah… I wonder how long it would be until the Fubuki group come looking for him."