Wazup y'all!
I am finally back with chapter 2, yes I know it's been a while, I've just got some other stuff going on in life. Updates may be a bit slow in the future.
Anyway... I'd appreciate any feedback you would like to give me via review. Thanks again to bigvic150 for your review in chapter 1.
For those who couldn't see his review, his question was "what other characters might we see further along the story in terms of a non-spoiler answer to the question?" I can tell you that there will be some well-known characters appearing such as Megatron, as well as some new OCs as you will see in this chapter.
Enjoy!
"So… run that all by me again?"
Synapsis sighed and dropped his head as he once again typed the same buttons on his console to show me the statistics.
"The project is to create a stable yet functioning combiner. Devastator is composed of six different components, which is no easy task. All members of Devastator must be in near perfect mental unison in order for Devastator to even think, let alone move, let alone fight. That was our previous theory. My theory is that Devastator doesn't think. He doesn't think because he can't. It's nearly impossible for six different entities to think in perfect synchrony… that is if they weren't Insecticons… but that's beside the point." Synapsis reiterated.
"Alright, so you want our combiner to be mindless. Is that right?" I clarified.
"...Kind of."
"I've got all day." I sighed as I leaned up against the doorway of Synapsis' lab. Optimus Prime has just entered the room as Synapsis continued his explanation.
"One of the things Devastator is not strong in is his decision-making and general speed because of his size. I want to be able to take advantage of these weaknesses. The only way to do that, however, is to make our combiner intelligent. That is theoretically impossible with the current knowledge we have on combiners. Now for my idea. I believe that we can make the combined form a completely separate entity or consciousness rather than the combined consciousnesses of the components."
"And… how do we do that?" I asked.
"I would have to get into a lot of scientific explanations to answer that, so I will simplify it to this: I know what I'm doing, don't worry about it." He replied bluntly.
"That's good to hear." Optimus queued in.
"Ah, sorry Optimus, didn't see you," Synapsis said, spinning around to face us.
"Rest assured Synapsis, it is sometimes preferable to receive a blunt reassurance."
Synapsis nodded in reply.
"Now, have you considered who may be eligible as candidates?" Optimus asked.
"Not specifically, but unfortunately I don't know of any six Autobots who are physically and mentally adequate for this mission, let alone willing."
"I'm sure that won't be an issue." Optimus replied, "What do you require specifically when it comes to physical capabilities?"
"I need bots who are skilled in combat and mentally strong enough to have their minds torn apart and sewn back together essentially," Synapsis replied simply.
"Very well. Continue your research, we will start a recruiting training session in order for them to meet those requirements. Keep me updated on your progress." Optimus stated as he exited the room.
After a moment someone else spoke up, "Torn apart and sown back together huh? Sounds delightful." Interceptor mused from a dark part of the room.
"That's not unnerving at all." Synapsis replied sarcastically, "But yes. I'm sure you heard the context for that."
"I did, and I wanna join so bad." He chuckled.
"What, are you a masochist or something?" I asked jokingly.
"No, but imagine being a part of the first Autobot combiner. We would go down in history as one of the most memorable Autobot squads in history." He replied, exiting his shadowy corner.
"Is that all you care about? Glory and fame?" I pestered.
"Well… not all I care about. But definitely most of it." He said enthusiastically as he left the room.
Synapsis had already turned back to the console, pulling up another screen depicting combiner statistics I didn't bother reading.
"I have a question… that I probably should have asked earlier." I began.
"Well I'm clearly not busy."
"How do you know all of this information on Devastator. We just found out that he existed two days ago. We shouldn't know anything about him, let alone his name."
"You can thank me for that." An unfamiliar voice mused from behind me.
I turned to see a large green bot, he was much taller than me considering his alt form was clearly a construction vehicle. He was extremely reminiscent of a Constructicon, so I instinctively deployed my rifle upon noticing him.
"Hey, hey. I'm on your side, quick draw." He quipped. His voice was deep and somewhat commanding, similar to Ultra Magnus.
I slowly lowered my gun as he fully entered the room.
"This is Hauler, he is a former Constructicon. He joined the Autobots not long after you did." Synapsis introduced.
"You left your team to join the opposite faction to them? That sounds like a stretch." I responded.
"It's not if you knew the context behind it." Hauler defended.
"Go ahead." I emplored.
"In the Golden Age, Megatron created a machine called the Robosmasher… while it did anything but smash, its purpose was to brainwash its target to serve the Decepticon cause… My Constructicon brothers were one of the first victims. I, however, managed to escape being reprogramed among the panic, but nobody noticed. I only learned then of the Robosmasher's purpose and that it took over my brothers. I knew that they could all kill me if they found out that I had not been turned, so I faked it. I pretended that I had become a Decepticon. Megatron's entire purpose for us was to be a perfect combiner team. While the others still had their original personalities, but with added unbreakable loyalty to the Decepticons; that shared loyalty made us a perfect candidate for Shocwave's new project: Project Devastator. I gathered all the information I could before they first attempted to combine us, but since I knew I was not compatible with the others any longer and it would be revealed that I was a mole once they tried, I slipped away and fled to Metroplex City for refuge. I gave all of the information on the Robosmasher and Devastator to the Autobots and later decided to join the faction. And now… here I am." He explained.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Hauler." I consoled.
"Why? They aren't dead. I like to think they are still in there somewhere."
I was about to question the logic behind that but decided to remain silent.
"Well, I'm off to training." Hauler announced.
"You want to be part of the combiner designed to kill Devastator?" I clarified.
"Maybe not kill, but hopefully fix. I at least want to try." He replied as he left the room.
I decided to finally leave Synapsis alone with his work and loosely followed Hauler. He unknowingly led me into a lower part of Metroplex City I had not been in before. It was directly below the main entrance where the hangar is. This room wasn't as large, yet still reminiscent of the hangar, being a large open room. There were seven rows of individual bots in a shooting range. They all shot targets which had scribbles of well-known Decepticons on them such as Megatron and Soundwave. There were even smaller targets closer to the ceiling portrayed as Lazerbeak for snipers to practice on. There was another section of the room, however, dedicated to hand-to-hand combat. This caught my attention. There was a small zone of Autobots boxing with dummies that would move every time their limbs were hit, there were three levels of limbs on swivels. These bots seemed very skilled for a moment if they were able to attack, dodge incoming attacks from the dummy and counter again. But it didn't always last long and they were either slapped in the face or the back of the hand. Another set of trainees was gathering around a cage making a lot of commotion. I approached out of curiosity.
As I got closer I began to make out a loud bot's voice, yelling and laughing among the crowd. Once I got through the crowd to the cage's outer wall, I saw Junction sparring with a skinny bot three times as small as him… at least. The bot went in for a charge, But Junction let out a warcry as he hooked him hard enough in the face to make him completely flip backwards in the air once and land on his front. Junction laughed loudly upon seeing this.
"Stop running into my attacks boy! You should be much faster than me."
The bot grunted in frustration as he propped himself up and eventually stood. He ran at Junction again, this time he dodged one of his jabs and slid in between his legs. He stood behind him and landed his most brutal punch on Junction's back. Junction, however, didn't even flinch. He slowly turned to face the poor Autobot in shock.
"You poor thing. Tell Ratchet I said hello." Then he sent one of his hardest uppercuts into the bot's face, flipping him in the air to hit the adjacent cage wall and collapse to the ground. Two other bots rushed into the cage and extracted him from the floor.
"Anyone else?" Junction mused in a laugh.
After nobody stepped forward, Junction started mocking the crowd.
"What? You afraid to get a couple of hits? C'mon, maybe you'll learn somethin'." He pried.
"I'll do it." I stepped forward after a moment.
"HA! Jaeger! Get in here!" He exclaimed excitedly.
Another bot opened the cage door for me while muttering "good luck" sarcastically.
I walked in to see Junction stretching his arms.
"Now…" He started between stretches, "Tell me, Jaeger… How skilled do you think you're gonna be in the ring?"
"I guess it's time to find out." I joked.
"That's what I like to hear." He mused as he crouched in a fighting stance. I would not consider Junction to be as overweight as Hound, but he is definitely bulky. He acted like an impenetrable wall closing in on his target with the stance he was in.
My fighting stance was defensive, my arms raised in front of me and my right ped back a little for balance. After Junction learned I would certainly not be attacking first, he charged me suddenly.
"RAAARGH!"
I easily dashed to the left out of his charge, causing him to crash into the cage wall. Junction may be able to hit like a truck, but he isn't very quick.
Junction turned back to me, smiling in a confused yet playful way. He slowly walked toward me cautious of what move I was going to make after his. I instinctively backed up slowly, but I knew if I went all the way back I would be pinned against the wall. I then had an idea.
I charged him, which he was not expecting judging by his slightly surprised expression. He went for a hook like the last time, but I dodged to the left out of its reach. But once I passed him, he grabbed my backplate and threw me ahead of him into the cage wall. All the onlookers ooh'd and laughed when I made contact. My back hit the cage hard. Hard enough for it to feel like the inside of the cage was laced with small spikes. I dropped to one knee once gravity kicked in again.
"You may think I'm slow, and you'd be right." Junction mused as he slowly approached me, "But I'm not stupid."
"I'm aware, I never insinuated that you were," I replied in a pained groan."Then prove it, stop making stupid decisions. Use your noggin." He advised.
I slowly stood and saw Junction approaching me in his fighting stance again. I painfully resumed mine. This time instead of backing away, I slowly approached him as well. Once Junction was close enough, he went for a short jab as bait to trip me up. I didn't even flinch. He then went for a legitimate attack in the form of a left hook. I backed up slightly and barely avoided it. Junction went for a right hook right after but much closer to me, so I ducked. Then he went for a left uppercut which just grabbed onto my chin and sent me back.
"That was better, now keep going." Junction encouraged.
We resumed our fighting positions again, this time Junction ran at me instantly, while not in a full-out charge. He sent a jab at my face quickly, I combat rolled to the right to evade it, making Junction punch the cage wall. He quickly adapted as I stood again, slightly crouched awaiting his next move. He tried to grab me but I knocked his arm away with my own, creating an opening for an attack of my own. I went for a swift right hook to the face, but it did not move him as much as I expected for a follow-up. He simply rotated his jaw a couple of times before smiling at me, as if he was saying "well done" without actually saying it aloud. He went for a quick jab a little too much left of my face by accident which made it way too easy for me to evade. I took advantage of it and grabbed his protruding arm a split second after he sent the jab at me, I pulled him hard anticipating moving the hulk of the bot to be very difficult. My prediction was correct. I pulled him hard over my shoulder and threw him at the same part of the cage wall that he had thrown me.
The crowd was silent.
Junction grunted as he propped himself up, but after a moment started laughing loudly.
Now I was getting used to the flow of back and fourth combat, and he knew it. Junction came at me again, now going for a left hook, a right punch, and a left uppercut in quick succession, all of which I dodged. But as he was attacking, we were both slowly moving toward the cage wall behind me. Junction was trying to overwhelm me and box me in. I could not think of a way to escape it in the moment, so as soon as my right ped backed into the cage wall, Junction sent a heavy right hook at me. I dashed toward it, but as soon as his fist was about to make contact with my face, I dropped to my knees and slid below it, my back almost scraping along the floor as I slid. Since Junction put all his momentum into that hook, he was slightly disoriented when he missed, which gave me the opportunity to jump over his back and grab the back of his head. Once I landed on my peds in front of him, his head and chest plate in my servos, I leapt up above him. Using both our momentum to pivot off of his back and flip him backwards with speed, sending him through the cage fence. I let out a loud cry as I flipped him over me after pivoting off his back from the sheer weight of him. Once he broke through the fence, I noticed he also took out a few bystanders, who were now pinned beneath the hulk. Junction lay flat on his back, unconscious. There was no applause from the audience at first, as they were all in utter and complete shock. I admit I was partially among them. Then the cheers erupted from everyone. Only now did I notice that the audience grew much bigger as I was fighting. Among the unfamiliar faces, I noticed Hound cheering with both his arms in the air, as well as Interceptor, Throttle and Hauler all staring in complete shock. Especially Throttle.
I left the cage in their direction with a much brighter smile than I would've liked. Once I approached them, they finally decided to pick their jaws up off of the floor.
"What… How… When..?" Throttle sputtered.
"It's called being smart. You should try it sometime." I quipped.
"I'm just as shocked as he is. Aren't you still new to combat?" Interceptor asked.
"All living beings are born with instinct. I just figured out how to utilise it intelligently."
"You should show me a couple of your moves. That… cowabunga was insane." Hauler mused.
"Well, I really shouldn't take all the credit," I admitted, "Junction did help me a little while we were in there."
"And you did fantastically." Junction mused as he approached from behind us. He was not very injured besides a couple scratches, probably from the broken fence.
"Thank you." I responded, turning to him.
"I hope you didn't get too roughed up." Hauler mentioned.
"Agh!" Junction refuted, "I've been hit much harder. Did I ever tell you about the time I sparred with three Gyronian Sentries?"
The others laughed in reply as we all finally departed from the crowd.
As we were leaving, Ultra Magnus spoke up to get the attention of all the bots training.
"Attention everyone!" He called out, "Now you all know why you're here. You are here because you volunteered to be a member of the first Autobot combiner. Most of you have shown exceptional qualities required to be on this team. Some of you… not so much."
A few laughed among the audience.
"For your own dignity, you will be advised in private that you will be removed from the training program. Now for most of you in the end you will not be accepted. Only six of you will be members of this strike team. You won't lose anything other than your pride, but please know that your volunteering is greatly appreciated. Now, progress. We have reduced the numbers of those who are being considered for the position to 50 bots. There are currently roughly 75 of you. There will be more training courses developed to further test your skill and enhance it. Good luck to you all."
All of the audience members murmured amongst themselves about Magnus's speech, including Throttle and the others.
"I think it's safe to say I'm staying." Throttle mused while brandishing one of his blasters.
"Eh, thing is, with Magnus you never know. That kind of cockiness could be the very thing he's eliminating contestants for." Interceptor commented.
"Hah, by that understanding I would've been kicked out the moment I walked in." Junction laughed.
I decided to depart from the group and check on Synapsis, just for some extra information on the upcoming combiner.
"What?" Synapsis asked in almost an angry tone without breaking concentration on a peculiar machine.
He probably heard me enter the room, even then, with how engrossed he was in the project I'm surprised he heard me enter when I did.
"That… doesn't look like a combiner to me," I replied.
"Well if it's any of your business, it's not."
"So… what is it?" I pried.
"Y'know what… I'll show you." He mused.
"Stand here." He said to me.
His machine looked like two doorways, he was directing me to stand in the closest one to the door. I stepped into the doorway as Synapsis typed into a small holoscreen on the side of the machine. Once I was inside the doorway and Synapsis set the machine properly, I began being scanned by the machine. A blue ray traced me back and forth and then disappeared.
Suddenly in the other doorway, the machine began outputting something with another blue ray. The blue ray in the second doorway seemed to be slowly… building something. Or someone.
"Can you explain this?"
"This is a cloning machine. The machine is designed to scan a host and replicate it. Unfortunately, I haven't got it perfect just yet." Synapsis replied. (1)
Once the cloning process was complete, a mangled abomination fell out of the doorway. It gurgled and propped itself up on its three mangled arms. It suddenly jumped toward Synapsis in a screech. Without a second thought, Synapsis deployed a blaster-type weapon and shot its head clean off, the body crumbling to the floor of the lab.
"It needs a little tweaking." He said simply.
"I can see that." I mused, "So what made you want to make a cloning machine exactly?"
"Ah… just an idea I had. Once I perfect the cloning process, I may be able to perfectly clone the members of our future combiner and have several perfect replicas. We could have an army of combiners, the Decepticons won't know how to respond." He explained.
"Looking forward to it." I mused, patting his shoulder.
"Don't touch me." He snapped.
"You got it." I obliged, backing up with my hands in the air.
Before I could exit, an Autobot drone pushed past me. About to call him out, I overheard what he was in such a hurry to say.
"Synapsis!" He called out.
"It's not done yet." He replied simply.
"Optimus told me to tell you the news." He said somberly.
"What news?" Synapsis asked.
"Devastator has been obliterating all battles we defend. We haven't won a battle since before you touched a battlefield. Whenever this is going to get done, get it done sooner."
Synapsis sighed, looking down slightly, "Alright. Tell him I will grant his request."
As the Autobot left and I began to follow him past the lab, I was surprised when Interceptor bumped into me. He was also in a hurry to get to Synapsis.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Haven't you heard about Devastator?" He replied.
"Just now," I confirmed.
"When will it be done?" He asked urgently.
"I don't know. From the sounds of it… not soon." I mumbled under my breath.
"So what do we do? Just send endless troops out there to die? How can one strike team be the whole balance of our factions? It doesn't make sense!" He exclaimed above a whisper in panic.
"All I know is that this combiner will make a difference. How much of a difference I couldn't tell you." I replied, hopefully consolingly.
"I just don't understand how we can put so much faith in one idea. What if it fails? Then we lose all our chips." He shot back.
"Even if it doesn't work, we will bounce back. You have to have faith in that." I responded.
"How? How can you have faith in nothing?"
"Is that how you feel Interceptor?" I asked seriously, "Do you feel our cause can only be based on hard facts? The Decepticons have always hilariously outmatched us in every way. Yet here we are."
"No… I… maybe." He stuttered.
"Well, maybe this will be of some encouragement." I began. "Did Junction ever actually tell you about his first battle?"
"Are you seriously about to repeat one of his fairy tales?" He sighed.
"Do me a favour and check the logs, then tell me again if it's just a fairy tale."
"Wait… you're actually telling me that Junction's first battle where he led a strike team into an Insecticon hive was legit?" He clarified.
"Ask Optimus, he's the one who sent him there."
"Well I'll be honest before I never listened, but I am now." He chuckled.
"In his first battle, we were being slaughtered. Reinforcements were delayed and what was left of the Autobots in that battle were essentially fleeing. Optimus was holding off the Decepticons along with Warpath and Ultra Magnus. Junction, even though being brand new to the cause, was very handy with a blaster. Not to mention he still brandished his hot-headed personality."
Interceptor laughed at that one.
"Optimus saw his spirit and then got an idea. He organized a strike team with Junction leading them. You were not the only one who thought it was a joke, Interceptor. The others did not have faith in him, but Optimus did. And he told all of them that. He gave such a good speech that he put faith in not only the whole team but also Junction. With that faith, Junction sprinted to that hive, shot a rocket at it and led the Insecticons to the battle. Some of the team died, but Junction and the few that remained sped directly into the deepest parts of the Decepticon army, unleashing all of their ammunition ahead of them to clear a path. They came out on the other side as the Insecticons ripped the Decepticons to shreds. Once the two thinned each other out, the Autobots finished off what remained. That day Junction was awarded one of the highest honours, but he denied it."
"Why? He's always bragging about all of these stories, why not take some real physical credit?" Interceptor asked.
"Because he wanted to stay on the field." I stated, "The promotion he was given would've put him in a tall tower amongst the high council. He wanted to stay on the field so that he could continue defending what he cared about. He put his life on the line every day so that he might save someone else's. In that battle, he had almost no chance of survival. But he charged in there with blaze and glory and saved almost an entire faction at the time. Now if you are still going to tell me that faith is useless, then I don't know what is."
"I will admit, that does make me feel better. But I'm still not completely convinced." Interceptor replied.
"That's ok. Maybe it's something you have to experience firsthand." I consoled, patting his shoulder as I walked down the hallway behind him.
…
Two Deca-cycles have passed. The utilisation of Devastator is constantly evident in nearly every single battle. There have been rumours that so much unsettlement within the Autobots has accumulated that some have actually splintered off into their own factions in hiding. I guess Interceptor isn't the only one with doubts. With all this in mind, it seems that Warpath has become a bit uneasy himself; seeing as he insisted to take over overseeing the combiner project. Thankfully, Ultra Magnus still mainly oversees the training program, while Warpath now has the authority to determine the combiner team. This is because they now have a second commanding officer only focusing directly on Synapsis' research to try to make it go a bit faster, but I know Optimus has more faith in him. With this new arrangement now in place, it did not take long for Ultra Magnus and Warpath to make a decision.
All of the volunteered trainees that remained gathered in the centre of the training hangar with Magnus and Warpath at the centre on a small platform.
"Now I'm gonna skip all the sappy introduction about how we thank you for your willing spirit and blah blah blah." Warpath began; some laughter from the audience followed, "We have decided on six members for the new strike team."
I was two rows behind the centre of the room among the standing crowd, Interceptor, Junction and Throttle pushed through the crowds to my side while Warpath was talking.
"This is it, boys." Throttle whispered in anticipation.
"I have here the list of names we have chosen, if you hear your name I invite you to come up here on the platform with myself and Ultra Magnus…"
All the audience members seemed very anxious about the incoming results, not only will this determine if they become a member of the first Autobot combiner, but it will also put them above the rest of the trainees when it comes to their overall skill, whether that was originally intended by the officials organising this or not.
"Vertigo!" Warpath called out.
A skinny bot with black and green paint practically jumped in the air in excitement and ran up to the platform.
"Sandstorm!"
A hunky bot in a very pale brown and orange clunked onto the platform.
"Twilight!"
A jet black slender bot about the same mass as Vertigo followed onto the stage.
"Blockbuster!"
A very large bot with massive arms that even went past the elbows hobbled over to the stage.
"Flywheel!"
A fairly small bot who seemed to form some sort of motorcycle sprinted to the stage.
"And finally… Hauler!"
The former Constructicon himself marched onto the platform with the other seven. The others seemed more uneasy when Hauler's name was called, they had become friends in the time we spent here.
Throttle was pissed. Without a word, he stomped through the crowd out of the hangar as the rest applauded the chosen six. Junction and Interceptor also seemed a little down about the results but did a decent job of hiding it.
"It doesn't matter." I tried reassuring, "They chose the best guys for the job. I guess they just weren't us."
"Whatever," Interceptor growled as he followed Throttle. Junction joined him.
At first, I honestly didn't care if I made the combiner team or not, I only enjoyed gaining fighting experience in training. But now I see why the others were so pissed. Just as Magnus pointed out when he spoke, now everyone knows who the top dogs are. Those six bots are better than everyone else, and I'll admit I did envy them for that.
Even though the combiner team was chosen, the combiner program itself was still not complete. With this in mind, the Autobot officials viewed the chosen six as highly valuable and wouldn't let their peds touch a battlefield until Synapsis' research is complete. But the battles wouldn't wait for him. The Decepticons never held back, and we had no choice but to defend, no matter how helpless it seemed. Finally, we were drafted. Those I knew personally that would defend the Crystal City in this battle were myself, Hound, Interceptor, Cliffjumper and Bumblebee who was not very well known at the time. As was expected, Interceptor had his fears. Everyone around him was fearful that this was essentially a suicide mission and that they weren't coming back. Unfortunately for most of them, that was true.
"You take care of yourselves, eh?" Junction parted, taking my hand as the transports were being prepared behind us. It was almost as if he was saying goodbye to us for the last time.
"We'll be just fine," I reassured, looking to Interceptor slightly behind me sharpening his knives with a blank expression. Throttle didn't bother saying goodbye, which was predictable as he usually is. We left Junction and boarded the transports.
Since we were a fair distance from the Crystal City, we flew there via large helicarriers. I stood by the open doors, staring back at Metroplex City, watching the large cannons slowly scan the horizon. I stared for as long as I could, almost as if I would never see it again. This was my legacy, and I was determined to defend it. What truly scared me was that the others weren't as convinced. If the rest of the Autobots continue to flee out of fear, our morale will be slim to none and our loss will be a certainty. There is always a chance in every scenario, but everyone must do their part.
The chopper landed on the ground with a thud. Commands from commanding officers rang out all around us, ordering drones to erect outposts and mortars before the enemy arrives. The atmosphere around us was almost eerie. The sky was grey and dull as usual and there was a thin mist in the air. Interceptor then exited the chopper and stood beside me, gazing at our view.
For once, I couldn't read him like I normally could. He still had that blank expression as before, perhaps he was frozen in fear.
"You good?" I asked.
"Do you want the answer you want to hear? Or the honest one?" He replied simply without breaking eye contact on the opposite side of what would soon become a battlefield.
"Let's go with honest."
"I'm terrified. I am never terrified."
"I know. I am too. But can I trust that we will have each other's back out there?" I asked.
It took him a moment to answer.
"Yeah. You know I will." He smirked, finally making eye contact with me.
"Then let's do this together, whether we make it out or not," I stated, stretching my hand out to him.
"Together." He confirmed, taking my hand with his.
That day Interceptor didn't just learn how to trust in faith, but also to trust himself and his allies. He did not need to fight alone, I made sure I made that abundantly clear. While we did walk out of that battle alive, disregarding the absolute aft-kicking we received, we were of the lucky few. We still lost, but we lost together, as one faction. Not as individual survivors as was assumed in the past. We still mourned those who gave their lives in battle, but we walked away with growth. We walked away with pride. With faith. Without that, we would never survive.
(1) A big thank you to bigvic150 for this idea! It will certainly be used in the future...
Thank you for reading! I will do my best to get the next chapter out in 2 weeks at the latest.