Haido had never been the best with awkward social situations.

He stared into his bowl of butternut squash soup, its murky depths doing well enough to distract him from the Ashens family. Mostly Azuma, in truth; she had been staring a hole through him the moment he entered their apartment, as if he were some disgusting little vermin. And yet, they had been the ones to invite him over for dinner.

It was easy enough to tell that the next hour wouldn't be pleasant.

Maybe he was misreading the situation, but the air felt thick around him. It wasn't just Azuma; Michael practically mirrored his nervous demeanor, while Sally stared down her own bowl of soup, despondent. Aside from the clinking of their cutlery on ceramic, it was quiet, but not for a lack of trying on his part.

"It's a very good soup," he said, cracking a forced smile. His words were absorbed by the all-encompassing silence of the dinner table, "Good recipe."

"Thank you," Azuma responded curtly, measured. And like that, another potential conversation fizzled out.

While Haido wasn't the best with the cold shoulder, he was someone who could keep up a stoic face when it was needed of him, whether it be work-related or for more personal matters. He needed to be, especially when one had been around Great Uncle and his buddies during his childhood, and then navigating the job market amidst wartime. His body may have been a trained mask, but the mental pressure was mounting like nothing else, and when his demeanor inevitably cracked, it woud crack hard .

No small surprise there. The horrid string of events that had led him back to this city had left him broken, and frankly, it was a miracle he was still somewhat functional. He was going to need one shell of a therapist when his business with Polaris was concluded, and that was assuming he would survive! He just didn't belong, and for once, not in the whole 'human in a marine life's world' way. The last time he had had a dinner like this was what felt like months ago with his own family before he had left the States to begin working with Polaris. Back when he was still 'normal', whatever that meant for him at this point.

That one last supper, the last time he saw his family before the world died. It still hadn't quite hit him that everyone he knew in the past was dead.

Over twelve thousand years ago. He couldn't fathom how long ago that actually was, it felt like an utter disconnect in reality. He knew, he knew in his bones that this was still the same Earth, but time had done a thorough job of wiping away most traces of humanity from the face of the planet. They had existed in this same space once, yet if no one remembered that, could it be said their species had really existed?

Modern science had done much to reveal the past, but only fragments. There was so much lost to time, and when he and Emily died, it would be gone with the wind. And that was just historial knowledge, not important matters such as his family, friends, who they were, who we are.

Sitting here at this table, almost like a family felt wrong after everything that had happened. It was only bringing negative thoughts to the surface of what he had lost.

What was wrong with him?

No, actually, what was right with him at this point? Again, the fact that he was still relatively functional wasn't a good sign.

"Haido, you good there? You've barely touched your soup."

Sally, bless her heart, looked at him with a concerned gaze. She didn't look much better than him, in truth; sunken eyes, tense posture, the Metro still had a hold on the both of them.

"I'm fine, just haven't had much of an appetite recently."

It wasn't a lie, he had been having trouble keeping food down recently, not long after getting into his apartment. Sure, he was snagging plenty of freebies from Mako Mart, but it just didn't sit right with him. The food itself, not snagging it from the backroom, Makomart could eat those losses for all he cared. Nothing tasted quite right, and it was almost all junk food and microwave dinners, nothing healthy.

At this point, most of the stuff he grabbed wasn't for himself. He had a whole bag full of it he had brought to his supper with the Ashens, as a matter of fact. Assuming everything went to plan, he had some stuff to do after this was all done with.

"No appetite? Are you sick?" Michael asked. He leaned over the table, "I imagined that some diseases would affect you…"

"Probably nerves and stress," Azuma butted in, laying a hand on her husband's shoulder, "Those people have been harassing everyone about him," her hand tightened, fingernails digging in, "Like what happened last week with us, remember ?"

"Ah, w-well, yes…" Michael mumbled. it was an innocuous comment, but Haido felt the sheer venom woven into it, nevermind how quickly Michael had paled, nor when Sally flinched, "I was hoping we could save that for after we're done eating."

Aaaaaaand there it was. Once again, his skepticism about everything in his life having some conditional price was proven once again, and judging by Azuma, this particular price was going to be painful.

The soup was great, but not great enough for this carp.

The table lapsed into silence again, everyone picking at their own food. He was able to get a few spoonfuls down, it really was good, but he couldn't bring himself to enjoy it. They wouldn't be having a dinner with actual decent food if it wasn't truly bad news, but it still had him on edge, especially as they were skirting the topic around him. At this point in his life, he was just done with this passive aggressive beating around the bush; if they were going to tell him something bad, he just wanted it up front.

Haido put down his spoon and wiped his mouth with his napkin.

"Alright, let's just get to the point here," he started, leaning against the table and steepling his fingers. He locked eyes with Azuma, Michael and Sally staring on in horror, "What did you want to talk about? Let's just… get this over with, I don't think my nerves can take any more surprises," a half laugh, half nervous chortle escaped him. The old butterflies in his stomach were growing restless.

Much like a rock through a glass pane, he shattered whatever etiquette was left at the table. All eyes were on him now, for better or worse.

"Please, just… tell me, alright?"

Azuma sighed, sitting up in her chair, "Ok, fine then. Haido, the strain you've been putting on our family is too much. I'm sorry, but we need you out of our lives for now."

Oh.

"Dear, we were going to be more gentle with-" Michael had barely begun to speak before Azuma cut him off.

"Michael, this isn't healthy for any of us, this isn't healthy for our daughter ," her voice was rising in volume, the aloof facade crumbling. A long finger was soon pointed at Haido, "People keep showing up to our home, sniffing around for information about you . They've been harassing me at work, lying to my husband, and for cod's sake, trying to pay off Sally's therapist for information!"

"Oh." That was all Haido could think, Oh .

"We're sorry Haido," Michael cut in, apologetic yet quick, "I was hoping to be a bit more polite, but the attention you're putting onto us is just too much. Two of them were able to talk their way into our living room. Sally, she needs peace from this, she needs to put this all behind her."

Haido sat there, body lethargic as he finally absorbed the news. It wasn't completely unexpected, but it still hit him like a punch to the gut. As grim as it was, the Ashens had provided him with a sense that was almost normalcy, even if he could never truly feel it. They were his last true connections with whom he could be honest with about his humanity. The only other person who knew was Vista, but she felt more like that one coworker you never wanted to talk to because they always had bad news, nevermind the dirt she had on him. His actual coworkers at Makomart were nice, but he felt isolated from him, he just couldn't make those connections anymore.

Nothing felt permanent or safe after his world was ripped away from him. First his own flesh and blood family, and now the next closest thing.

He thought for a moment, tempted to bargain, to threaten. Michael was desperate for the information Haido had, considering it could revolutionize his field of study, maybe even get him back into the good graces of his colleagues and thus, better support his family. But, Haido couldn't bring himself to do it, to weaponize the memories of humanity just for such petty personal gain. And the Ashens, they didn't deserve it either.

"I… I do understand, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry I brought this upon you all," he swallowed back the lump in his throat; after everything that had happened, his own emotions had grown into a tempest he could no longer keep concealed.

Michael sighed, "We don't like this any more than you do, but I need to do what's best for my family, for my daughter."

He leaned over the table, hands propping up his chin, "We have a more pressing issue, though. They were able to get into my study, and they figured out that you went through the Church. They don't have your information, but they'll be able to narrow down where you are eventually, the paper trails the Church leaves aren't well hidden, and they only have so much property to shuffle refugees into. They're desperate to get their hands on you."

Another slap from reality, but one that stung far less. He knew they were gunning for his head, but he hadn't anticipated them getting so close so early on; he would have given it another three months before they got a scrap of info, that's how long it took the FBI with Great Uncle. This problem with the agents, at least, was something he could actually do something about. He didn't enjoy that pattern of thought, the visceral understanding of violence and deceit, but he would take comfort where he could find it.

"Haido, you're looking intense… are you fine?"

Bless your heart, Sally, bless your heart.

"Oh, uh, sorry, just thinking. This… may be for the best, honestly. If they want me, they can certainly try and fail," that was one of the few things he felt confident about, at least if they came at him directly. If not… he'd figure something out.

Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say, as Sally shrunk back, and Michael and Azuma looked at him as if his skin had gone leprous. Perhaps he had sounded a little too vengeful.

"I'll just… go now."

Going against every social norm, he got up from the table.

"Haido, wait," Michael gestured for him to sit back down, which he didn't. He was stuck in an odd purgatory, "It's not as if we're not sympathetic-"

"Look, I understand, alright? I'm not angry with you guys, and with how psychotic the agents are getting, it's best if I handle this alone. No need to bring innocents into this, after all. I'll be fine, I promise."

He left the table, going over to the door. No one said anything, or tried to stop him.

Haido wanted to say something, some kind of assurance, a goodbye, an apology, but he couldn't find the words. So instead, he left. It was just too much for him.

This was all just another regret to throw onto the pile.

It was a warmer evening, almost balmy, but still rather humid. The steely gray blanket of clouds covering the sky cast a rather somber mood over the city as Haido stood on the balcony, paused for a second as he gazed down at the street below. A sigh slipped through his lips. It was good to finally get closure with the Ashens, but it felt draining all the same.

That could have gone better.

They were out of the picture for now, a safety net he would need to refrain from for now. They had already helped him more than enough, and after everything Sally had gone through, he wanted to give her some normalcy, even if that meant cutting the family off.

She was the first friendly face he had seen since he had woken up, and without her, he never would have made it out of the Metro. He owed her that much. But another sacrifice after he had already been stripped of so much. He should have been grateful for what he had, especially compared to how he had started out, but he was finding it harder and harder as the days ticked on.

It was psychological poison, an insidious thing, something he couldn't afford at all if he were to pull through.

But, if there was one thing Haido knew, the best way to get over those feelings was to distract yourself with some good old labor. It worked back during his teenage years, during Polaris, and during the Great Flood, and those times had been far worse than now! And as a bonus, the things he needed to get done would be rather… nostalgic, as odd as that sounded.

Push those emotions down, process them when he'd be safe to do so. Still though…

"Hold up, hold up!"

He turned back from the railing, seeing Sally just outside the door to the apartment. Still a bit ghoulish, but far less under the orange glow of the sunset. Her face was scrunched into a wobbling frown.

"I just… wanted to say goodbye for now. Mom and dad said I wouldn't get to see you for a while."

He sighed, "It's for the best, and this isn't a permanent thing. Things are going to get ugly soon, and it's nothing I want you dragged into. Focus on yourself for now, don't end up like me."

Sally sniffled.

"But… I don't want to lose you. You're the only one who understands, I…. Everyone else at school doesn't get it."

Another sigh escaped him. He knew Sally was talking with a therapist about what happened down in the Metro (details about his personage altered, of course), but such scars, torn deep through flesh and psyche alike never truly went away. At least in Haido's case, his fate was already sealed, and he had accepted his status as a social pariah; He couldn't connect with anyone, and that was alright.

But Sally, she didn't deserve that. She still had her life ahead of her, and she didn't deserve to be alienated from her friends. It was too late for him, but Sally's story could end differently.

He got down onto a knee.

"Sally," he began, voice unsure, "I won't lie, after everything that happened, it's not going to be easy to go back to your old life. Stuff like what happened down in the Metro, it's not something that just goes away."

Sally huffed, "You're sounding like my therapist. And you're just letting mom and dad kick you out!" she broke into a sigh, running a hand over her tentacles, "Can you please just stop being formal, for like, five fucking minutes?"

"Language, Sally."

But… no, she was right.

"But, ok, I'll level with you," this was going to be a bit painful, "I'm… formal like that because it's either that or everything just starts to unravel . Look, you and I, what we went through down in the Metro is something we will never quite get over, that's the truth. Getting over something like this is brutal, and you still have a chance to."

His voice was speeding up, raw emotion infecting his tone.

"You've still got a chance at life, don't end up like me. You've got friends at school, people who still care about you. They'll have your back, even if you're having trouble connecting to them. Please, please, please , focus on yourself. You've got a bright future ahead of you."

Sally blinked.

"I… I'll try."

"It's the best any of us can do. If you want to talk, you have my phone number."

She looked like she wanted to say more, but couldn't find the words.

"I may do that. Uh… thanks Haido."

"Of course, just take care of yourself, don't worry about me."

He got back to his feet, heading to the stairs to get down to the street. There was still much to be done this night, and the sun was quickly setting.

"Haido, please, stay safe," Sally said from the balcony, just as he got down to the ground level.

It was enough to stir some warmth in his heart, "Always."

Haido took to the street, the large paper bag he had brought in hand. Even though things hadn't gone as he had hoped with the Ashens, at least he still was able to get some work done this evening. It was a fair walk to his main destination, but that was fine, he still had some sunlight to work with, and it was good to give the legs a bit of a stretch after supper. Good to help acclimate him as well. He nodded curtly to a prawn and jellyfish he passed on the street, them barely giving him a side glance as they passed. Between these excursions, his work at Mako Mart, and his interactions with his neighbors, he was getting used to this new society and its people. Not to where he was entirely comfortable, but it didn't feel like he wanted to tear his own skin off anymore.

Before long, he was back in his own part of town. It certainly wasn't as nice as some other parts of the cities, but it certainly did have its advantages. Cheap living, looser stores, and of course, the people. In a lot of ways, Haido owed those same people for keeping him sane and getting him to where he was now. The Ashens and Vista were good examples, and he was rather keen on creating more connections.

Case in point, while he was passing by an alley, someone called out to him.

"Hey, Haido! Man, how's it hanging?"

He had been making plenty of new 'friends' ever since he had started working at Makomart, and who was he to be picky at the moment? The speaker stepped out of the alley, an Octoling wearing an unkempt combination of forgotten military apparel and older Inkling clothing.

"Pretty well Terry, got something for you and your boys."

Haido handed over the large paper bag he had, Terry taking a quick peek at the contents. They were several smaller paper lunch bags, rolled up and filled with food.

"Got some sandwiches, chips, apples, pop, the usual. Should keep you guys fed for a bit, I reckon."

"You're the best man."

It was simple, really. The Mako Mart he worked at was incredibly laid back, to the point where everyone was pinching stock. On top of that, there was quite a bit of stock that had to be thrown out due to it hitting its 'expiration' date, really a best by date, never mind some of the other situations mandated by corporate where they had to throw stuff out. It was a waste, and while Haido didn't pretend to care too much about wasted food (he had much more pressing issues to deal with), he did see an opportunity to take advantage of this situation. He took the fat of the surplus and distributed it to the deficit. In plain terms, 'charity' to the disfranchised citizens of this fine city for his own gain.

Was it scummy? Yes. But equally, he needed every advantage he could get, and he wasn't able to afford niceties such as 'ethics' and 'morality' at the moment.

Regardless, those same people had been quite forthcoming with information once he got to know them. Particularly, there was a rather large migration of Octolings coming in from Octarian society, and some just slipped through the cracks, or alternatively, were fine with living as vagrants.

Terry was one of those latter, embracing the freedom of his new life. Haido had met him when he had begun his rounds as the 'Sandwich Man', and this plan of his was already beginning to bear fruit. Having these people on his side was already paying dividends, if only for what they were able to tell him about where they came from. It certainly filled in a lot of the gaps of what happened after humanity perished.

On one hand, he was impressed a whole society was able to co-opt a lot of humanity's old technology and end up leaps and bounds ahead of every other civilization on the planet. But on the other, if that same group realized he was still alive after his little stunt at the Dome, he was unequivocally screwed. They didn't have quite have the grasp of the fundamental principles their technology was based on, and they didn't need to know how something worked in order to replicate the original product.

Even if they didn't have human weaponry at their disposal (that he knew of), everything he had heard only terrified him, and if he could get into the good graces of a bunch of defectors, that was fine in his book.

"Don't mention it, mate. Another day in paradise?"

"Absolutely. Beats spending all day up to my arms in Ancestor Assembly code, I know that much. Speaking of that, by the way…"

Reaching into his tattered jacket, he pulled out a few folded sheets of grubby paper, "I got that stuff written out for you, should have everything you were asking about. Handle it well, and you didn't get this from me"

Haido looked over the sheets quickly, nodding to himself. Terry may have had a few screws loose, but he certainly did know his expertise. According to some of the others, Terry had been one of the best Octarian programmers in recent memory, considering it took a special talent to write an operating system based on code no one understood. And for someone so high up with so many projects under his belt, he had plenty of knowledge to bargain with.

"Of course, thanks. Don't worry, just need it for a little project I'm working on."

While Haido had far more immediate, pressing concerns in the forms of the agents, it paid to know as much about the Octarians as he could. If not for the threat they posed to his life, then for… as bad as it sounded, curiosity. If the Inklings had inherited humanity's culture, then the Octarians had inherited their technological edge, and it honestly fascinated him. Once this was all done with, it was something he wanted to look into further.

But for now, the more practical aspects where what worried him. The Council, Takozonesu Special Forces, Kamabo , that was what kept him up at night. And for that, Terry and his friends were a goldmine of nightmares. All it took was talking about his past as a Chemist (details of his human ancestry omitted of course) and his beef with the Agents, and then they were all too willing to talk about otherwise classified information.

Really, they were quite nice people.

"I'll have some hot coffee made up tomorrow at around four tomorrow morning, if you guys want to swing by. I'm curious to hear about what news you have, could talk about it over some more food."

"Oh, always man, always!" He raised his fist, which Haido awkwardly bumped, "We'll be there for sure!"

"Great man, great. I'll be seeing you there, then."

He certainly was not 'hip with it', so to speak, but he would do what had to be done.

And with that, he continued his walk. It was already getting dark out, so he wanted to get back home soon, but at the same moment, he found his feet taking him down a different street, one that led to the area's hardware store. At this time of day, it was mostly deserted save for a few bored employees, leaving him in peace as he perused the aisles.

It wasn't the best hardware store, not by any margin; a tinny pop song by the Squid Sisters played over the speakers (he was surprisingly fond of that group. This city had plenty of good bands), nevermind how limited their stock was. For someone born in the early 2030s, their tools were primitive and their available products underwhelming, but some things never changed, and by all that was good and holy, Great Uncle had taught him how to get creative.

Into his little cart a pile started to form; paints, drywall, tools, all sorts of seemingly unrelated products that only held meaning to him, mostly various chemicals. Those last items in particular were especially important, and here his family (excluding Great Uncle) said his work in chemistry was worthless. Outside of his profession, he did have some experience with renovations, experience that was going to be very handy in the future, far sooner than he had ever hoped.

Bleach, his favorite chemical chlorine, PVC pipes, all sorts of bits and bobs and odds and ends followed. Some of the packaging and branding was unfamiliar, but the core was still similar to what he knew. Too similar, honestly. Their measurements even followed the metric system! Certainly made his calculations easier, but the similarities still picked at him nonetheless. And then, there were other details to consider too. Everything in this city just felt… softer, compared to what he knew. Relatively low crime, the food was cheap, his wages were good, even his rent was quite reasonable. It was a far cry from his old situation during his days before the Flood.

As long as it worked in his favor, he wouldn't question it. Not yet, at least; it was another mystery to add to the anthropological anomaly that was the new marine life.

But that was neither there nor now. Haido wasn't a fool, the Agents would find him eventually, but tonight's supper had certainly bumped up the timescale of when they might. They were coming, but at this point, he was done running. It was either stand his ground here, or go live in the woods again with Jeffrey, and the agents had nothing on him. He was not throwing away his newfound stability away over some militia group.

Not long after, and after a rather flummoxed cashier and a great deal of money (there went most of his paycheck), he was making his way back home, weighed down by bags upon bags of his newly purchased product. Back to the apartment building, through the vacant lobby and back to his little fortress by the pier.

Of course, however, his luck couldn't be quite perfect, as two of Vista's roommates, the male inkling and that tie-dyed girl were just leaving their own apartment to go to who knows where.

"-They've got the best Sushi, Marius, you'll love it!"

"As long as they have peanuts, it'll be…"

Both of them fell silent as they saw him. He gave them a blank stare of his own as he stepped around them, "Evening."

"Uh, evening?" the boy said, peering closer at the bags Haido was carrying, "Doing a bit of cleaning?"

He had tried to initiate 'live and let live' with those guys, but it just wasn't working. Vista kept assuring him that they were firmly in the dark, but he swore they knew more than they were letting on. It was most likely his paranoia, he prayed it was just his paranoia, there was almost nothing to link him back to when they saw him outside of Polaris, but it still left him on edge regardless.

If nothing else, they were usually busy with their own lives, enough to where they didn't pay too much attention to the actions of their 'wacky, zany' neighbor. Realistically, he was probably fine as long as he didn't talk with them much, which was much harder when they were your neighbors.

"Evening," he said, nodding in greeting. He had mustered every bit of Midwestern charm he could muster, but it wasn't enough to distract them from the bulging bags he carried from the hardware store, "Something like that, yeah, let's just say I'm having a bit of a pest problem."

Once again, not entirely a lie, though his 'pests' were certainly larger than a fly or mouse, and something a glue trap couldn't solve. His traps would need to be a bit more… industrial, in a manner of speaking.

"Must be some big pests then," the girl chimed in, "You don't think those mutant bugs will get into our place, do you?"

"Mutant bugs, Rio? You know that's impossible," said the human-like squid boy to the human-like squid girl. Not as impossible as they thought.

"Then why does he have all those chemicals? I use some of those to strip paint."

Of course she would recognize some of these . He needed to nip this in the bud, fast. The last thing he needed was her telling the landlord about his rennovation plans.

"Oh, those? I got some of these for…" he froze for a moment, realizing he spoke before actually thinking up an excuse. C'mon … "Paint stripping," he finished lamely, "Part of some moonlighting work I do. Now if you'll excuse me-"

He had hastily turned to get back into his apartment, but the girl grabbed at his sleeve, keeping him from leaving, "Woah, you can't just say that and walk away like that! What are you stripping paint from?"

Why couldn't she mind her own damn business?

"Walls, obviously. Graffii left by vandals. The bills don't pay themselves" he was trying to keep the frustration out of his voice, but some of it was slipping through. He was not in the mood to deal with a hippie questioning his choice of legal chemical purchases just after the tumultuous evening he had had. There was nothing more he wanted than to take a load off, and here she was, getting in the way of that.

Unfortunately, Rio took his tone the wrong way, "Well, I suppose you can thank those artists for keeping you in house, then," she shot back, hands on her hips. Marius tried to pull her back, but to no avail, "They at least they have passion, Mr. 'Boring as Squit'."

Oh, how right she was, he gave her that. Though, in a sense, this little home project of his certainly was a passion, in a sense. It certainly had been a long time since he had been able to really let loose, and he intended to make the most of it.

"Look, I agree, alright? But, you gotta do what you gotta do to scrape by, and please, I haven't had a good day, can we just can this for now?"

Rio blinked, caught off guard by his tired tone, "That's… uh…"

He wished he could say he had perfectly caught her off guard, but he was just too tired to keep his thoughts in check.

"Rio- it is Rio, right? Today has been a, frankly, disappointing day, in more ways than one. Please, can we just shelve this for another day? I'm tired, I want to sleep."

Her friend, thank goodness, seemed to have some brains, "That may be for the best Rio, c'mon, there's some sushi with our name on it."

It was enough for him to lead her away, and enough for him to cast Haido an apologetic glance over the shoulder. Haido offered a wave in return, to which he received a curt nod.

Good guy, Marius was.

But still, Rio… maybe he was being a bit of a jackass, but he couldn't keep this up forever.

He just wanted this all to be over with

And yet, there was still work to be done. As soon as he was firmly ensconced within his apartment, he slumped against the door, a sort of finality welling up inside of him. This was his life, this small, empty apartment and a minimum wage job. It felt hopeless, for a moment.

And yet, as Haido laid out every chemical and tool he had purchased over his countertop and little table, determination welled up in him. He wasn't going down without a fight, and he refused to give up.

From the back of a cupboard, he pulled out a small notebook, absolutely filled to the brim with chemical equations, processes, schematics, and plans. It was the ultimate culmination of days worth of scribbling and writing during his shifts at work, and it was about to come in handy.

He was ready, all that was left was to assemble everything.

Those agents wanted a human, and by Cod, they would far more than what they bargained for.


For the first time in far too long, Emily finally had a schedule she could follow.

She would wake up in her rats nest of blankets and pillows she had stolen from the UFOs tiny crew quarters, then head to an equally tiny kitchenette to fix herself up a cup of instant coffee. The UFO had come stocked with plenty of preserved food and water, and she had never been eating better as pathetic as that sounded.

Following her morning feast, still tired and nursing her precious caffeinated beverage, she would make her way to the aircraft's central control cabin. Daedalus had well established himself within the space, a portion of his mass snaking over the controls. It was a repulsive display, a stark reminder that the same material was still embedded in her hazardous environment suit. Thankfully, the UFO was safe enough for her to actually just wear her regular Borealis employee uniform, but she felt oddly… exposed, unsafe.

And that was one symptom of a larger problem she was facing; boredom. She had been holed up within the UFO for what felt like (and honestly was) weeks, and it was driving her insane.

Her time post-cryogenic thawing had been a constant fight for survival, for material, for food, and now that she was suddenly faced with nothing to do, and no worries about her next meal, not even about her next move considering Daedalus had that covered, it gave her time to think about, well, everything .

She hadn't had a chance to properly grieve for her friends, her family, even the staff of Borealis who had been killed by the 'Inklings', as Daedealus called them. She wasn't close with any of them, but it still hurt . Beyond that, a seed of guilt had taken root in her gut now that she wasn't fighting for her life.

What happened at Borealis, that was self-defense. Those Inklings had broken into the laboratory complex, cut off the power to the cryogenic array and flash-thawing every pod, killing everyone but her, and that whole debacle ended up destroying the facility. Even during her time squatting in a cavern, when she was pillaging from the nearby city, that was just theft, and considering her situation, it seemed reasonable to her.

But then, kidnapping the Octoling? That was… complicated.

She didn't even want to think about what happened in the malleable tunnels of Kamabo Co's old spatial warping experiments.

The airfield, though? That had been all her. She had killed , and not in self-defense this time. Her anger had cooled, leaving only her actions left to think over and over and over again.

Regardless of what they had done, Emily had rampaged through the compound like a bull, leaving nothing but destruction in her wake. It was revenge, but the guilt was crushing. Was this all that she was good for, mindless destruction?

Daedalus's plans had sounded appealing at the time, down in the dark depths of a warped earth, but now that they were actually going through with it? It was easy enough to talk about mass destruction, but to snuff at so many lives?

She was in far too deep now. Whatever chance she had a future hinged on Daedalus, especially considering she had pissesd off both the Inklings and the Octolings.

In short, she was rather nervous.

In that vein, she had taken to sitting in the command cabin, staring out at the landscape through the clear cockpit. It helped calm her mind and ground her, somewhat.

At the moment, they were currently within the mountain ranges within Central Japan, and even before this damn trip, they had been a source of fascination for Emily. To see such geographic exaggeration dominate and define the landscape was breathtaking, doubly so as she had grown up deep within Texas back within the good ole' US of A, which was as flat as a board save for a few mountainous areas far west. Which, of course, she never actually saw as travel was a luxury her family was too poor to afford, never mind the other struggles they faced. To that end, when she had moved to Japan (much to the dismay of her family) to pursue work with Borealis, she had been enchanted by the beauty of these mountain ranges.

And now, twelve thousand years later, she was back, and the mountains hadn't changed one bit. There was a bit of comfort to be found in that, honestly; almost made her forget about the death of humanity.

Almost. While the mountains physically hadn't changed much, the weather, on the other hand…

She was staring out one of the few ports available in the UFO's central command station, trying to make sense of the blurry scenery. Heavy rainfall pattered relentlessly against the hull of the aircraft, leaving a rather stubborn condensation on the glass that utterly belied her efforts to view the outside world.

Emily jumped, clutching too tightly onto a railing as another flash of light streaked through the UFO's little control room, followed nearly instantly by a deafening clap of thunder. Even behind the safety offered by thick glass and alloyed plating, her hair still stood up on end at yet another close strike. They had been rather commonplace the past few days, but that initial shock still hadn't worn off, especially as Daedalus had said they were a good sign, and that they were 'getting close to something important'.

Hopefully he wasn't lying, because it had been a long few weeks, and she needed a confirmation that all of this had been worth it. That their progress through the mountain ranges had been slowed to a crawl by the constant storm, and at this point, she just needed anything to stay motivated, before she lost her nerve.

"It should be coming into sight just now…" Daedalus murmured over the UFO's PA system, the tinny voice nearly impossible to understand through the poor speakers. How this craft could utilize highly advanced gravitic drives and yet still have such a slapdash approach to the craft's amenities still pissed her off,

Regardless, Emily leaned closer to the port, trying to make out anything beyond the cloying rain. It was utterly futile, of course; they were low to the mountain, but still high enough to where the vertical forest below was nothing more than a forest. Honestly, she would love to be down there, she loved how the rain brought the colors into a sharp contrast.

And yet, that would have to wait. Through the blurry greens, a uniform patch of grey was a bit farther up the mountain side, slashing through the natural foliage like a knife carved patch.

In truth, she didn't enjoy the look of it.

"And here WE are! All passengers, please fold up your serving table and wait for the aircraft to come to a complete stop before-"

"It better have been worth the headache it took to get here," she interrupted, still staring out the window as the grey patch slowly came into focus as the UFO came closer, a concrete landing pad. Worn down by time and rain, yet still here. Kind of like her, in a weird, definitely mentally unhealthy comparison.

When did her life go wrong, to where she was comparing herself to concrete?

"Oh, it will be, as soon as I finish 'negotiating' with the base's Warden AI. Be a dear a grab the Zapfish before you leave," and with a static crackle, the PA system went silent as the UFO landed on the concrete pad.

Demeaning comment aside, Emily rolled her eyes and slipped on her APP. With it, it was easy enough to fish out the miraculous energy fish from the UFO's energy tank, and from there, exited out of the cargo bay, the hydraulic ramp quickly growing slick with rainfall. She decided to go without her helmet, safety and comfort be damned, she just wanted to feel the rain on her face and get air that hadn't been recycled for days on end.

The cold was a shock, but a good one that finally threw the world into sharp relief.

It was beautiful, staring off into the forest if only for a moment. On the other end of the concrete landing pad, carved into a particularly rough and vertical section of the mountain was a tunnel that ended in a set of heavily reinforced blast doors.

And with a shriek of metal on metal and stone, they slowly parted, the first time in millenia.

"Engineer Hawthorne, the facility's AI has been assimilated, we are good to begin."

She turned her back on the trees, heading into the tunnel. It reminded her vaguely of Borealis's entrance, how it had been bathed in fire when she left for the last time. But now was not the time for recollections, not when the last time she had been outside a place like this, it had thrown her into the underworld.

There was work to be done.


Long after the human had vanished into the subterranean complex, and long after the sun had set, the rain continued on, indomitable and unstoppable. It was a fixture of this environment, in a sense. Transient, even, beautiful.

However, only if one were to ignore just how horrible it made actually getting through these forsaken mountains.

This was something Tamarin had learned the hard way. In her opinion, this rain was a blight against all that was good and holy, and especially far from natural, even if she didn't know how such a phenomenon was possible. Regardless of how, however, she now understood why expeditions weren't scheduled within this territory.

She shifted uncomfortably on the muddy ground, looking through binoculars at the distant, landed UFO. It didn't matter if her uniform kept it out, the sensation was quite uncomfortable.

"That's her, all right," Tamarin spoke, wincing slightly as the action brought some pain to her cheek. The newly installed microphone within her cheek still ached, mandatory implants considering her new role as an Ordinal, "EXIF is scrambled, but the markings on the UFO are consistent."

Beside her was Scalpel-Five, whose gaze was focused too. Despite not having any binoculars, she swore he could see the UFO better than her through his visor.

"Affirmative, updating asset status," he quietly murmured, "Projections indicate the Ancestor has gone to ground at this location. This is worrying"

"Command dug up more information about this site?"

Much of the inner island had yet to be properly mapped out due to the rain, but despite that, the Octarians did hold a few ancient records of the area and what may have lied there, In combination with the portable tracking technology they had been able to bring with them, finding the rogue Ancestor had been a matter of effort and coordination.

Effort and coordination that had now paid off.

"No. Translation efforts of old blueprints remain ineffective, but it is assumed this facility is affiliated with the Kamabo Corporation in some capacity. From previous intelligence, there are too many potential variables to quantify, yet many probable vectors may prove deadly. Considering the forces at our disposal, we will have to move forward with immense caution."

That was just what Tamarin wanted to hear.

Not.

They had only been able to bring so much with them on this mission, on account of the rugged nature of the area and the constant rainfall. No mechanical support save for a miniscule fleet of transportation UFOs, minimal heavy weaponry, and only a a handful of Takozonesu. Getting to this point had been a logistical nightmare for their small task force. She shuddered to think about the trying to get a Great Octoweapon out here, nevermind a few extra troops or supplies.

It wasn't just the weather. Intelligence was spotty at best out here (the best they had was a few maps and what may exist out here), and leading an assault on a potentially fortified Kamabo facility was one of Tamarin's worst fears. They didn't have the tools or numbers at their disposal for an effective assault, not with the lack of intelligence they had. When one threw in the fact that the Ancestor could permanently put down Octolings, throwing bodies at the problem suddely lost its appeal.

It was a sentiment Scalpel-Five shared.

"The Ancestor would not have traveled here without good reason. It is imperative we strike before they can succeed at achieving what they have come here for. To the best of our knowledge, there may be only one active hostile present, but we do not know what defenses may be in place."

"Agreed. How do you believe we should approach this?"

Technically, she was the leader of this group, but her experience was more geared towards mechanical and architectural applications, not tactics and strategies like this. She had her engineers already scouting around the area, but for assaulting a place like this without causing much collateral damage that was another matter entirely.

Despite being an ally, she did shiver when a smile crept up on Scalpel-Five's lips, an action that was utterly wrong on his face.

"Ordinal, worry not, this is not the Takozonesu's first time bringing an Ancestor facility into compliance. There is nothing to fear."

Everything was going to be fine, that was what Tamarin thought. Yet somehow, her heart disagreed.


Another chapter down, and written in a semi-reasonable timeframe! Rejoice!

This one was another odd chapter with some issues to work around, but I feel that it turned out pretty well! Tension is rising, everyone is preparing, and everything is falling into place. Time will only tell who will come out on top.

Anyways though, onto other news, my situation has stabilized somewhat, and I'm hoping to get as much written as I can over the coming year, as we are starting to come to the pen-ultimate conflict of this story, and we intend to see it through to the end. It was a bit of a rough summer, but the future is looking bright. On another note, we'll be revamping the Discord server soon, so stay tuned for that! You won't need to worry about access pass checks or anything like that anymore, as soon as we implement it.

Thank you for reading and reviewing, and see you next time!

As always, we have a Discord server, the invite code being qCMxkGzzBg.