Level 3 Melancholy

"Wait, you sold it?" Odebode asked.

"Another person wanted it, and you weren't there!" The wrinkled old landlord snapped, dressed in nothing but a bathrobe. "We figured you'd be dead by now!"

"I paid my next three months in advance!" Odebode yelled.

"Tough shit." The landlord yelled back, coughing as he did so. "Look, if you get the fuck out of here, I'll give you your money back."

"Yeah, fine." Odebode yelled. The landlord slammed five hundred tua bills on the table, which Odebode put into his pocket.

"And if you come back, I'm calling the authorities!"

"If they splatter my brains against the wall then it'll be the best paintjob this shithole had in years!"

Odebode walked out of the shitty apartment building. Nothing to do except get some food. The old convenience store sounded like a better option than anything else. Making his way through the thin streets, looking at a poster. A movement to expand the street to allow for those 'cars' to freely move. He didn't see cars catching on over the public trains. They were good and fast, all you really needed to get around level 3. He finally found the green walls of the convenience store. With any luck, his old work buddies would be there.

As he walked in, the sleazy voice of old Marty rang out. Freshly shaved with straight long hair and the green work uniform with a few random stains on it. He also had a pair of black headphones, removing one of them when Odebode walked in.

"Yo, Odebode! Good to see you back, man."

"Hey Marty." Odebode replied.

"I've been watching you on TV, man. Good to see the whole blood killer thing is over."

"Wait, you knew?"

"I mean, one of them shoved my head in a toilet in high school, so I figured they deserved it. Didn't know you thought that about all blood types, though."

"Well, I'm working on it, anyway."

"Nice, nice." Marty nodded. "That Valentina chick was hot as hell, anyway. Sucks she died."

"It does." Odebode replied with a heavy sigh. "But anyway, can I get a hotdog?"

"Man, I know you're going through a lot, but suicide ain't the answer." He chuckled slowly. "But seriously, I like you, but not enough to start up the hotdog machine."

"Got it." Odebode nodded. "Also, landlord isn't letting me in. Mind if I stay with you?"

"Ha, told you Mr. Sanson was a jackass." Marty laughed. "But yeah, you can crash with me, man. Just stock some shelves or something until my shift ends."

Odebode did as instructed, taking a couple of cans out of a box and putting them on a shelf as he used to do, moving the old ones to the front. One of the cans fell onto the floor, and a girl went to pick it up. A girl with short chestnut hair and a red dress with a floral pattern on it who jumped slightly when the can hit the floor.

"Oh, sorry." Odebode said with a yawn.

"Can you hand me a can of that?" She asked.

"Sure." Odebode took a can and turned to the girl, who was now leaking blood from her eyes.

"Uh, are you okay?" He asked, dropping the can.

"Oh, I'm fine." The girl assured, taking a tissue box out of her pocket and dabbing her eyes. "It's just my ability, you know? It activates when I get surprised."

"Oh, right." Odebode replied, putting the can on the counter for Marty to scan. The girl left after giving her money, and then quickly left the store.

"Man, I thought you were over the blood hatred thing." Marty sighed.

"Same, but I saw the blood, and I just…froze."

"It's creepy, I'll give you that."

"Look, it's just…I dunno, still something, I guess."

"Eh, my roommates a blood guy. Pretty cool dude. You wanna meet him?"

"I mean, sure?" Odebode replied.

"Neato. I'll just close up shop."

Micah looked at the Weeza building, or at least what was left of it. The logo was gone, for one. Alongside any trace that it was even a medical building. It was just a black metal box alongside the other black metal boxes, only those ones had logos. There didn't seem to be any security outside the building, so he made his way to the automatic doors, which didn't open. Looking around, Micah didn't see anyone roaming around at this time of night.

"What's this?" Asked the guard.

"It's the secret to saving the world, maybe." Micah snapped back. "Watch my back."

Micah kicked the door a few times, but nothing happened. Elbowing the door, and still nothing.

"Sir, I may need you to calm down." The guard said calmly.

"Really? The hell you gonna do, throw me in the gauntlet?"

Micah slashed his thumb against his index finger, producing a stream of blood which quickly hardened. Micah slashed the door until a small crack formed in the wall, which Micah kicked with all his strength until a small hole formed in the door, enough for him to break into. He crawled in slowly, running as fast as he could to not get caught by the guard. He just needed to get to floor five. He ran and kept running. His footsteps echoed through the empty metal hallways, with the guard not being too far behind. He made his way to the fifth floor of the building, feeling like death. He ran over to the end of the room, stomping through the painted wood pallet to get to the hidden case underneath.

Inside was the small blue case, containing about 30 pink pills. Exactly what he was looking for. He ate one, and stuffed rest in his pocket.

"Hey, what happened?" The guard asked, his gun aimed at Micah.

"Nothing, nothing." Micah sighed. "Place got cleared out. Come on, let's go."

Micah followed the guard out, slashing his index finger on the opposite hand. It hurt more than usual, which was something. He looked down at his finger as blood dripped onto the floor. Hot hardening, dripping. The power suppression worked. He was trying not to give away his excitement as he was led out of the building. But once he was let out, he knew where he needed to go.

He crossed the street to the Sin Shaker coffee shop, looking into the window. Sure enough, Amber was there, alongside her guard and an older gentleman in a nice black suit and grey hair. Amber flashed a look at him, and then gestured for him to come in. Micah did as she instructed, with her making a spot for him to sit next to her at the table.

"So, this the new guy?" The man asked. "Gotta say Amber, you adapt quick."

"Hilarious, Jules." Amber sighed. "Rosemary, if you could get us some coffee, please?"

"Oh, sure." The curly haired barista squeaked. "Um, what types would you like, Micah and Mr. Anchor?"

"A…mocha, please?" Micah asked.

"He means an espresso." Amber interrupted. "Trust me on this."

"I'll take a water, if you guys have that." Jules replied confidently, laying his hulking arms across the table.

"Two espressos and a water. Coming right up!" The barista yelled, retreating behind the counter.

"Ah, a discussion over drinks." Jules said, clasping his hands together and rubbing them. "Just like old times, huh?"

"Yeah, sure. Why were you even here?" Amber asked.

"I heard from a guy on the inside that you were coming back, so I decided to check up on you. Could be the last time, you know?"

"So your guys are in there? That…checks out." Amber sighed through clenched teeth.

"Okay." Micah yelled. "But who are you, anyway?"

"Jules Anchor, Micah. Leader of the Anchors." Amber replied emotionlessly.

"And if all goes well, your future father-in-law!" Jules yelled.

"Father in…" Micah started, looking at both of them. "wait, this guy is your dad!?"

"Adopted." Amber replied. "Don't worry."

The barista set down the coffees in front of all three of them, stepping back and falling on her back as she did so.

"Rose, you might want to go to the back." Amber commanded. Rosemary just stepped behind the doors, which Jules chuckled at.

"Guess kids these days do have it easy." Jules laughed. "Whatever, we'll just get back to business."

"Micah, drink your coffee and don't stop." Amber commanded, bringing her cup to her lips, which Micah copied. Jules raised his hand in the air, and Micah felt himself getting more tired. Amber used her shadows to hold their cups in place, as Micah heard the sound of their guards fall behind them. By the time Jules let his hand down, Micah felt exhausted. And so did Amber, but she was hiding it better.

"Relax, I wasn't gonna kill you. You two, anyway. Other guys are dead."

"Got it." Amber replied, glancing at the corpses. "Now, what is it you want?"

"You see, I just want to tell you about what you've been missing. Old Samuel kicked it, and that sent your goons into a frenzy. Bunch of people dead from trying to climb the ladder. Heard some of your guys tipped off the Novas, too. That took care of a few things."

"What did you do to Samuel?" Amber asked, trying to summon her shadows. Nothing happened, and she silently sat down again.

"Like I said, he died. He was pretty old." Jules replied calmly. "But anyway, I tell you this so I can offer you something. An alliance, perhaps?"

"No." Amber snapped back immediately.

"Come on. If you don't, that just means all your team are gonna get slowly picked off. Hell, the comment that little parasite girl made has all of Level Five on lockdown. Wouldn't surprise me if whatever group she's in got taken out next."

"The Ishtarites, correct?" Amber confirmed. "We have no business with them, and they don't seem to have anything we would need."

"Whatever you say, miss." Jules chuckled, shaking his head. "But considering our henchmen, our abilities, and whatever you pulled off, we could turn his city around. Anyway, mull it over and come back to me."

"Already did. No."

Jules didn't respond, leaving the room while casually moving the dead guards out of his way.

"So…should we report that?" Micah asked.

"The guards or the man who killed them?"

"The first one." Micah replied.

"Don't think so. We're too important to kill."

"Oh, right. Naturally." Micah nodded, looking Amber in her green eyes. "But anyway, I managed to get you something. Something that could beat that guy."

Micah felt a figure creep up behind him before his head was slammed against the table. The shadow went over his neck and squeezed his limbs.

"You are going to explain some things to me." Amber announced quietly. "First off, what the fuck are you doing? Pretending to be the mole? For what, me teaming up with you?"

"I am the mole!" Micah yelled. He felt the shadows across his legs tighten as he made his statement.

"You know I can do whatever I want to you, right?" Amber said calmly. "I'm basically the most important to them. And you had to fake your way to this point."

"Okay, okay!" Micah screamed, trying to raise his head. "I'm not the mole!"

The grips around his body loosened, and he sat up straight. "Okay, it seems Ulrich was the mole. But, but, but. Trust me, I had a reason for it."

"Explain." Amber replied coldly, arms crossed.

"Okay, so basically, I got thrown in there for producing these." Micah replied, fumbling around in his pocket, and producing the pills.

"So what would these be for?" Amber asked.

"Basically, power suppressants." Micah explained calmly. "If you take one of these, your powers stop working. They work on blood types, and we were moving to the other categories before the whole raid happened."

"Take one." Amber commanded.

"Sure thing." Micah replied, popping one in his mouth. He cut his pinky, and the blood flowed normally.

"So this is why I need to live." Micah continued. "If this is perfected, it would be perfect for blood diseases, and you could possibly use it to stop…whatever your dad did."

"I see." Amber nodded.

"Listen, Amber. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. People died testing these things. But if these work and I expand on these, they could be the key to fixing Nova. And if I had your resources, then I could totally work on these!"

Amber gave him a gloomy look, and then glanced at the door.

"If we both survive this, you know where to find me. We'll talk then."

Vanessa stepped out of the car alongside her guard. Looking around, she was nowhere near the Ishtarite gathering ground. She just on the outskirts of MaiStreet, outside the train station. It looked normal, a metal awning while people waited for their trains, a series of apartment buildings on the other side.

"Excuse me." Vanessa asked the guard. "Are we able to go further?" She looked around, seeing a street that looked wide enough for the car to go through. "Like, down there?"

"No can do, miss." The guard replied. "Place you asked for had some major crime issues lately."

Wait, what?" Vanessa asked, slamming her palm on her arm when she felt the first parasite burrow out. "What happened?"

The guard tapped their helmet twice, stood in place for a second, and removed their fingers. "So basically, a bunch of people raided your building a couple days ago. Entire area was evacuated."

"Wait, what?!" Vanessa asked. Was this Amber's team? No, she couldn't have worked that fast.

"Do you have a phone?" She asked.

"Not currently." The guard replied.

"Oh, god." Vanessa whispered, the urge to scratch herself creeping on all of her body. She ran to the train station, hoping to find someone there she recognised. She looked around, not finding anyone.

"Hey, is anyone here?" She yelled out, feeling everyone's gaze turn to her.

"Aren't you that girl from the gauntlet?" Someone asked from behind her.

"Yes, I am!" She yelled back. The person who asked was a completely ordinary teenage boy. "D-Do you have a phone?" She asked, stomping the parasite that made it's way out of her body. "I-I'll autograph something for you!"

"Yeah, here." The boy handed her a smartphone, and Vanessa frantically began typing the numbers. The phone rang for a few seconds, before it picked up.

"Elder Ross?" She yelled.

"Vanessa?" He asked. "Where are you?"

"MaiStreet train station!" She yelled back. "You can get here, right?"

"Give me five minutes, please."

Vanessa deleted the number from the boy's phone and handed it back to him, shaking her arm beforehand.

"Do you have a pen?" She asked.

"No?" The boy replied.

"Then I'll sign something once I get out!" Vanessa yelled, running out of the station.

Vanessa waited for a few minutes, looking for out for Ross, the second in command. Or…first in command now that Huang was dead. But before she could dwell on the thought, she saw Ross in the distance. It was pretty clear, with his wide frame, dark skin, and pure white hoodie with an innocent picture of a bird on it.

"Younger Valentina." He said with his usual authoritative tone. "How are you doing?"

"Well enough, I think." Valentina nodded. "But what happened to everyone else?"

"We'll discuss this at my house." Ross replied calmly, his gaze shifting around the setting. "I take it the armoured one has to come."

"If it makes good television." The guard nodded.

"Understood." Ross sighed.

A short walk later, Vanessa and Ross went into the man's apartment. A simple place with a simple yellow paint job, and not much else.

"Kind of barren." The guard commented.

"I don't have much need for possessions." Ross replied. "Things clutter up too quickly. But anyway, I should have some milk or apple juice if you want it."

"I'm fine." The guard replied.

"I'll have some apple juice, please." Vanessa asked.

"Certainly."

Two glasses of apple juice preparation later, Ross began explaining after taking a sip.

"About two days after Huang's death was broadcasted, the building was raided. Around twenty people were killed."

"Wait, killed?" Vanessa asked. "Twenty?"

"According to the police. Could be more or less depending on who's paying them. But anyway, plenty of valuables were stolen, but I managed to salvage the important parts."

"The…P's?" Vanessa asked, glancing at the guard.

"Those, yes." Ross nodded. "I'll give them to you when you get back."

"My apologies, but I'll need to see anything you're hiding." The guard asked, standing up slowly.

"You are not receiving anything." Ross replied sternly, finishing his apple juice. "If you excuse me, younger Vanessa, you must leave me to my devices."

"Sir, you know I can arrest you on charges of cult membership, correct?"

"Very much so." Ross nodded calmly. "You just won't. Like all the others."

The guard placed a hand on Ross's forehead, and he didn't move.

"Go on then."

The guard let a shot of ice out of his palm, and Ross remained unmoving. The guard was frozen solid afterwards.

"Anyway, we can continue, right?" Ross asked Vanessa calmly.

"Certainly." Vanessa nodded. Counter force. Still hasn't failed.

"But anyway. Once you get out, I'll be glad to give you what you need."

"And you believe all of it, right?"

"I have read it, and it's certainly interesting." Ross replied with a slow nod. "But you need to remember that I witnessed the destruction of the outside."

"Okay, but that was forty years ago. You were like, five? You might be remembering things wrong?" Vanessa mumbled to him.

"I'll never forget those days. Not being able to sleep. Seeing explosions in the distance wondering when you'll be next. Being forced to leave your home for a temporary shelter only to never come out. By the time I left it was often hard to breathe."

"Okay…but…it could have cleared." Vanessa replied. "And we need to go anyway! We need to go to the mountain to reach enlightenment!"

"Believe me younger Vanessa. I would love nothing more than to see Huang's dreams come to fruition, but we shouldn't be surprised if the world outside is truly doomed. But anyway, should you survive, I'll be sure to complete your place among the high council."

"And then I'll be able to work on the plan, right?" Vanessa yelled, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Surely." Ross nodded with a relaxed smile. "And Vanessa. Best of luck with it."