Question

-=\\Decaying Winter//=-

Timeline (~[02]~)

Thank you @Extrinix for sharing his fonts!
Link to Extrinix’s post : https://questioncove.com/study#/updates/644a7d70904969aae487680

Also huge thanks to NWCbautastica For helping me out with this novel.

Hope you enjoy your stay..

You are now entering "Decaying Winter"

Answer 1

Decaying Winter -:timeline:- //[02]\\



Author: PureSoulless, NWCBautastica Ideator: PotatooCake


The quiet rustling of falling leaves masked the complete silence of the park. Only that and the footsteps of Leah and Max were audible. The sun set on the two Agents as they strolled along the pathway. Leah looked out into the void. She seemed to lack her normal presence of mind, as if she was blind. Max peered over his shoulder to look closely at her.


|–Dossier Info–| Name: Leah gyatmen Gender: Female Perk: None (At least not yet) Date of birth: April 19th Scars and marks: Fractures in the manubrium Complexion: Pale Voice: A typical women at her 20’s Occupation: AGENT, Account specialist Country of origin: United states Place of birth: Ohio, Columbus Remarks: Caring and always looking out for others, has never failed in teamwork based missions, calm, Loyal to the agency |–Dossier Info End–| |–Dossier Info–| [2] Name: Max willsmith Gender: Male Perk: None (At least not yet) Date of birth: August 21st Scars and marks: Burns on his left testical Complexion: Rose blige Voice: A typical male at his 20’s Occupation: AGENT Country of origin: Australia Place of birth: Tweed Heads, New South Wales Remarks: A fast runner, will accomplish any mission assigned to him no matter what happens, Loyal to the agency |–Dossier Info end–|

"Are you okay?"

Leah jumped a little upon hearing Max's voice.


"Yeah, I'm fine." Leah responded, now looking at the dirt she was walking across.


Max knew that something was off about Leah, something was bothering her.

"You know I'm someone you can talk to."

"Fine."

Leah then made eye contact with Max, with a mildly worried expression on her face.

"I'm... worried. We were all enlisted as Agents, and the four of us haven't been assigned a mission yet. I'm starting to worry that the fun times we have are about to end." "I-, don't think about it too hard, Leah. This is what we enlisted for, so at least be happy that we had those memories with the others. You're talking about Arthur and Carmen, correct?"

"Yeah, those two were a bit hard to get a grasp on. They seemed a bit off. But at least we'll get to meet up with them tonight."

The two continue their walk back to their apartment. The sun sets behind the horizon as the cold autumn air swept past their clothes. Leah shivered a little in her orange jumpsuit as Max rested his arm on her shoulders. The couple walked up the stairs leading to their room.

Leah and Max arrived at their neatly arranged apartment. The lights shone a perfect white glow, illuminating the clean yet seemingly lived-in rooms. Leah turned to the heater and switched it on while Max walked to the kitchen to grab some drinks.

"English Breakfast or Earl Grey?" Max asked in a loud voice from across the room.

"Grey." Leah responded quickly.

Max walked back to the coffee table, sat in the living room and gently laid down a cup of Earl Grey tea.


"Enjoy, it'll help you calm down." "Thanks."

Max walked back to the mini-fridge and pulled out a half bottle of vodka and an orange. He rested a liquor glass on the counter while he started to slice the oranges into wedges.

“Are you sure they’re coming tonight?” Max pondered for a moment as he applied the salt rim to the edge of his glass.

“Yes, probably.”

The two sat down next to the coffee table, Max taking a sip from his Wizardtail.

Twilight fell upon the windows of the city as the pair awaited the others' arrival. Footsteps were heard outside the door of the apartment. The noise stopped right outside the door, and a person started to knock on the door.

“Max? Leah? Is this even the right room?” A low raspy voice asked behind the door.

“Arthur? Come in!” Max responded.

A tall man with a cigarette in his mouth appeared in the doorway. He wore a black dark suit, and his face was cloaked behind a wide-brimmed black sun hat.

|–Dossier Info–| [3] Name: Arthur goodman Gender: Male Perk: None (At least not yet) Date of birth: June 9th Scars and marks: Lungs decaying from smoking too much cigarettes, several cuts and stab marks on both of his arms Complexion: Honey Voice: A low raspy voice Occupation: AGENT, Quality control coordinator Country of origin: Brazil Place of birth: Tocantins, Gurupi Remarks: Achieved 100% accuracy in the agency’s aim test, Loyal to the agency |–Dossier Info End–|

“Long time no see Max.”

“It’s great to see you Arthur.”

Max walked up to Arthur and wrapped his arms around him. They patted each other on the backs and let go.

"Drinks?" "Sure, thanks." Arthur responded.


Max walked off to the mini fridge to grab beverages for the guests.

"Carmen's here too, right?" Leah asked Arthur.

"Of course she is."

A short woman hid behind Arthur's tall stature. Her face was covered by neck-long black hair, and she was wearing a white lab coat. Carmen walked across the room and squatted next to the coffee table.

"Hi Carmen, nice to see you." Leah told Carmen.

She only gestured back with a wave before returning to silence.

|–Dossier Info–| [4] Name: Carmen maybee Gender: Female Perk: None (At least not yet) Date of birth: December 31st Scars and marks: Always has a band aid on her left cheek Complexion: Pale Voice: high female voice Occupation: AGENT, Medical Researcher Country of origin: Antarctica Place of birth: Unknown lighthouse Remarks: Medical knowledge, Loyal to the agency |–Dossier Info End–|

Leah walked away from the two and brought back a portable induction stove. She rested a pot of water and copious vegetables and meats.

"Do you guys want soup?" Leah asked Arthur and Carmen.

"Yes, thank you." Arthur responded.

Carmen nodded at Leah's question.

The watch on Max's left arm started to glow.

"ORDER, ARE YOU THERE?" a robotic voice emitted from the device.

"Yes." Max responded.

"INFORM YOUR TEAM REGARDING A MISSION. PLEASE USE THE AGENCY RADIO."

Max walked back to the group with a soda and a beer in hand. He put them on the table and turned on the TV.


"A movie?" Leah asked.


"No, it's something else." Max responded

The channel was set to the Agency's frequency, as a voice was played through the speakers.
"TABS, KINDLE, ORDER, DEFT. YOU ARE ALL HERE, CORRECT?"

"Yes." Three responded, and Carmen nodded in agreement.

"YOU HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED A MISSION ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, NICKNAMED EDEN-227. YOU ALL WILL BE DEPLOYED THERE DURING THE MIDDLE OF WINTER. DELAY THE ATTACK OF THE SCAVENGERS ON OUR DATABASE."

Max and Arthur laughed and cheered, "Hooray for a mission!", while they started to drink and joke with each other. The other two sat in silence, it was befitting for one of them, the other not so much. Leah was a very warm and caring person, not one to sit in her own thoughts.

"I think the soup's ready." Leah said to break her silence.

She starts ladling out bowls for herself and the other three, her hand shaking slightly with each scoop. Carmen shuffles over to Leah and whispers quietly,

"Troubled?"

Leah serves a bowl of soup to Carmen and nods. They sit down on the couch, Leah shaking with fear and sadness. Carmen rests calmly and eats spoons of soup. Leah shivers and whispers back to Carmen.

"We could all die... I'm scared of that."

She acknowledges Leah's worry and leans onto her. "Eat." Carmen whispers while gesturing the motion. Leah picks up her bowl of soup, her mind clouded by the thought of imminent doom.

The evening went by quickly, with the Agents passed out from alcohol intoxication. Everyone but Leah was fast asleep in the living room. She looked closely at the mantle of the induction stove before turning it off. The smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke filled the air. Leah looked at Arthur and took the burning cigarette out of his mouth.
"Sorry..." was heard faintly from Arthur's mouth before he fell unconscious again.

Leah extinguished the cigarette and lied down on the bed next to Max. Her thoughts spun around in her head, her consciousness slowly drifting past the walls of the room and into the void . Leah fell asleep, but not soundly in the slightest.

Beams of sunlight shimmered through the veil of the curtains. Not a single one of the other Agents had yet to wake up. It was a Sunday, you'd normally sleep in a while before eating breakfast. Only Leah was left, still and awake on her part of the couch. She could barely sleep during the long night. She limped off the couch and directly into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.

Her shuffling and bumping into things started to wake up the other Agents. Both Max and Arthur woke up tired from last night.


"You guys want coffee too?” "Mhm."


It was only the quiet Carmen who remained asleep.

“Did you…sleep at all?” Max asked.

“Yeah, but barely any. I couldn’t clear my mind to rest”

Arthur walked behind Leah, who was brewing coffee. He patted her on the shoulder and said, “That was some great soup, thanks.”

The comment felt oddly sincere coming from him, but it was probably from the sleep inertia.

“Here’s your coffee. Drink well.”

Arthur grabs three cups of coffee and brings them to the coffee table in the middle. One next to Max and another next to Carmen's head. Carmen was still asleep on the table, kneeling next to it. Arthur blows the top of his cup and takes a small sip from the piping hot beverage.

"Leah, are you sure you're okay? I mea-"
Leah starts chugging the entire mug of scalding coffee without a flinch.

“...What the fu-”

“Oh, I was a bit impatient. I forgot that you people usually wait for your drinks to cool down.” Leah says, making it unable to hear the last two letters of what Arthur was gonna say.

The ECHO wristwatch on Leah's arm started to glow and turn on.
"KINDLE, THIS IS YOUR ECHO IF I RECALL?", the glowing yellow wristwatch asked.


"Yeah, I was drinking coffee."


"PERFECT, INFORM YOUR TEAM THAT YOU WILL BE LEAVING IN A WEEK. START TO MAKE YOUR FINAL PREPARATIONS."


The yellow screen turned off. Max and Arthur overheard the conversation with the Agency.


"One week? That isn't a lot of time." Max commented across the room.


The watch screen turned back on.


"ALSO MEET AT THE AGENCY TO TEST YOUR EQUIPMENT. WE'LL BE EXPECTING YOU."


"Well we should get going. They're expecting us, aren't they?" Leah asked the group.


"Sure, let's go." Max responds.


Arthur looks over at Carmen to see if she's awake yet. She hasn't moved an inch since she was last seen, but the cup of coffee resting beside her is almost empty.

"You're awake, aren't you Carmen?"

She smiles and nods lightly.

"Eat first, then go." She says lightly.

"Also, Max, Leah, sorry for sleeping over today. I hope we didn't trouble you."

"It was no problem Arthur, thanks for coming over." Max responds.
He gets up from the couch and goes into the bathroom.

"Get ready, we'll take turns in the bathroom. You okay with going third?"

"Sure. You okay with last, Carmen?"

Carmen raises her arm up slightly and gives a thumbs up to the group.

A little while later, they head to the local café for some breakfast. The sun shines through the slightly cloudy sky as it illuminates the tops of the shaded tables. The four Agents sit down in chairs around a table and wait for their turn. One of the waiters comes up to the group and asks for their order.

"Good morning, I'm Stephen, may I take your order?" He asks politely while glancing at the peculiar yellow watches on the group's arms.

"Those watches look quite nice, but they don't seem to tell the time. What are they for?" Stephen continues.

"Oh, it's for work." Arthur responds.

"I'll have a tuna sandwich I guess, do you want a Cuban sandwich, Max?"

"Sure."

"Alright, and I'll have a classic American Breakfast, and what about you, Carmen?"

Carmen points towards the pancakes in the breakfast section.

"Alright, so your order is a tuna sandwich, a Cuban sandwich, a Classic American Breakfast, and breakfast pancakes?" Stephen confirms.

"Yeah, that's all. Thanks." Arthur responds.

Stephen quickly jots something down on his clipboard and leaves to the inside of the restaurant. The crew sits and waits for a few minutes while the food is being prepared. All of them sit normally, except for Carmen, who is leaning forward and has her arms outstretched on the table similar to a child.

The food was served a few minutes later, once again by Stephen. He sets down the plates of food in a professional manner onto the table. Carmen gets up and starts to eat her pancakes quickly.

"Thanks for the food again, Stephen." Max says.

"It was no problem. We hope to see you again soon." Stephen responds, before returning to receive the order of another guest.

All the Agents finish their breakfast and pay for the food. Arthur leaves a note and a twenty dollar tip. "He seemed like a nice guy." Arthur commented before leaving. The group continued their walk to the Agency building.

The crew arrives at the Agency base. It only took a single glance of the woman at the front desk to see their ECHO devices.

"Agents are here." She spoke into her headset.

The elevator going down into the training grounds played a calm jazz theme. The yellow glow on the watches grew brighter.

"AGENTS, YOU ARE AT THE BASE, CORRECT?" The voice asked through the microphone.

"Hey, doesn't that voice sound a little familiar now?" Max whispered to Leah.

"Probably nothing." Leah responds.

The Quartermaster greeted the group when the elevator doors opened.

"Good morning, team~."

|–Dossier Info–| [5] Name: Quartermaster (Unable to share her real name, due to having to remain anonymous) Gender: Female Perk: Prophet Date of birth: Jan 15th Scars and marks: A scar on her right palm Complexion: Pale Voice: Mommy voice (The best I could describe her voice) Occupation: AGENT, Biostatistician, Drafter, Quartermaster, Recruiter, Attorney Country of origin: United States Place of birth: Detroit, Michigan Remarks: Served for the agency for 9 years, Trusted by the agency, pledged several times gaining the “Quartermaster” rank, Successful takedowns of REIKGON shadows, Loyal to the agency |–Dossier Info End–|

"Wait, are you going to be teaching us, Quartermaster?" Max asked politely.

"Pffft, in your dreams. Your mentor for the week is coming down the next elevator cycle. Wait for them right here."

The Quartermaster then walked away from the group to continue her tasks.

“Man she’s thic-”

“I wonder who our mentor’s gonna be.” Arthur tells the team, cutting off what Max was gonna say.

The elevator reached the bottom floor, and the doors slowly opened.

“Hey guys thanks for the tip.”

The group went silent seeing Stephen's face appear from the elevator.

"S-Stephen!?"

|–Dossier Info–|
Name: Stephen Ambatukam
Gender: Male
Perk: Apostle
Date of birth: Oct 13th
Scars and marks: “Meat veins” growing from “its” body, severe blood loss due to the “meat veins” growing from blood,
a mark of skin getting shed multiple times on “its” right arm, vital organs replaced with the apostle's decaying parts
Complexion: Pale
Voice: low scratchy voice, a voice unique to apostle users only, a little german accent
Occupation: AGENT, Drafter, Onboarding specialist, Recruiter
Country of origin: Germany
Place of birth: Gütersloh, Nordrhein-Westfalen
Remarks: Served for the agency for 6 years, Trusted by the agency, Pledged several times, Successful takedowns of REIKGON shadows, Loyal to the agency

"Hey. I served you back at the café right?"

"Wait, if you're really our mentor, then why didn't you recognize the ECHO watches?" Max asks.

"The truth is, I did. I didn't know you were my students, but I didn't call out the watches. Professionalism."

"Why do you need two jobs? Doesn't being an Agent give enough money?" Leah continued.

"..."

"That's aside from the point. We need you to pick your perks for your trip to Eden-227."

Stephen gestured towards the battlements, free of people. There lay an amassment of items, from glass vials filled with metal bees, to a large minigun, to a bundle of grenades.

There were three pieces of equipment that were stored in glass display cases. There was a hand of throwing knives, an arm mounted blade, and a beating decaying heart with black tar flowing out.

Carmen walks over to the heart and asks softly, "What is it?"

"It's part of our cast of restricted perks. These are unlocked once you prove yourself able to handle them." Stephen responds.

"Crosslink, Drifter, and Apostle. If you can prove yourself to the Agency then you can choose to be them."

"Anyway, we'll be dropping you off in a simulation of Eden-227. We made the digital world go as far as we could scan from the base. Prove yourself worthy before you secure a perk. Get on the treadmill."

Stephen gestures at a strange looking treadmill with a headset and gloves attached.



The Agents put on their headsets and wear their gloves. Stephen's voice grew more static and distorted, as if coming out of a damaged speaker.

"This is as clean as my voice will be during the mission. I'll be your communications for this test. Good luck, Agents."

The group spawns in the indoor section of the digital world, the cold winter air of the simulation chills their skin. Four mattresses rest on the floor of the communications base. The radio muffled voice played through their headsets.

"Team, scavenge outside. There, dangers and resources await you."

"This place is chilly. Freezing even." Leah says in her jacket.

"Let's get going. The faster, the better." Max comments.

"Agents, I forgot to mention. The storm of Eden-227 will roll in quickly. Check your ECHO watches to see the time. Try not to get caught in it."

The team starts to run out of base. Max and Leah head to the right and start to climb up the ladder to the mountain. Arthur and Carmen go to the left into the outpost.

“Hey, Max.” Stephen calls through the radio.

“Yeah? What is it?” Max responds.

“Try to point at something with your index finger.”

“Alright.”

Max points precisely at a strange crate in the distance. "Now what?" Max asks.

"Move your thumb around like you're pressing a joystick button. I can see you from the real world. But I won't when you're actually in Eden-227. Get used to the motion."

A blue light glows on Max's inner wrist. A square blue marker appears on his HUD.

"Woah, so this is the spotter they talked about. That's so cool."

"Yeah, your entire team can see that too. Use it to mark important items that others may need."

"Max? Max? Are you there? We only have a minute left." Leah says, breaking Max's concentration.

"Sorry Leah. Let's go."

The radio disconnects from Max's channel and reconnects to Carmen and Arthur's.

"Carmen, Arthur, do you see that thin wire on the ground?"

"Yeah, what does it do?" Arthur asks.

"It either sets off dynamite which'll blow your leg off, or a flare which attracts all your opponents. Try not to step on it either way."

Arthur cautiously jumps over the dynamite trap's string.

"Your turn, Carmen."

Carmen nods and walks over the trap, barely dodging the trigger. She smiles innocently and continues looking through lockers and the tops of tables.

"You didn't need to do that, you know." Arthur says before accompanying her.

The Agents rummage through containers and lockers, finding medical supplies and weaponry. Leah finds a crate with a M1911A1 inside of it. But the group can only hold so much in their hands, and head back carrying as much as they can.

Carmen lazily drops her stuff at the edge of the base before going back out again. She walks through the outpost, around the small hill, and sees a glitchy blue mess covering half of a destroyed building.

"Is this normal?" Carmen whispers into the headset.

"Well, yes and no. This is intended, as this is as far as we can scan through the storm. But no, this is not what that building will actually look like when you're on Eden-227."

"Later then." Carmen responds before running back to the safe zone.

She runs back and trips the dynamite trap absent-mindedly. A loud blast played through the group's headsets.

"Arthur! Carmen just ran over a dynamite trap! Is she okay?!" Stephen shouted through the speakers.

Arthur looks closely at Carmen, who is approaching the entrance to the base.


"Nah, she seems fine."


"Great to hear. If she did break her leg, then fix it with a splint or a stimulant. The one called Hemostatic Zanustin."


Stephen displays a picture of the glass vial to the crew.
"This one."

"You experience the pain of the damage you take here. You won't get hurt in real life, but if you get blown up by a bomb or stabbed to death, then you'll really feel it. This is to prevent you from... dying stupidly when you're there. Anyway, the storm is about to roll in. The area right next to the base is safe from its reach though. The scavengers are about to attack. I hope you're experienced in melee combat."

The cyan-gray storm surrounds the base quickly before stopping at the edge of the building. It's cold grasp reaching in and freezing the group. The stomping of scavs is heard loudly and clearly, as four enemies holding weapons walk out of the blizzard.

"I'm a little rusty, won't you help me clean off?"

The translucent fog of the storm enveloped the outside of the facility. Its cold and intimidating atmosphere prevents the Agents from moving forward. Their bodies are dotted with slices and bruises from their battle against the scavengers.

"This is the time when you'd normally sleep." Stephen announced through the headsets.

"It takes a while for the storm to dissipate completely. You'll need the rest."

The group heads behind the red shipping container in the base. They attempt to lie down on the worn mattresses before slipping on the treadmills.

Stephen laughs through the headsets, "That's enough. Do that ten more times when you're actually on Eden and you've completed the mission."

The digital simulation of Eden warps and melts around the Agents. The textures on the walls and floors turn gray and the shadows disappear and appear randomly. Eden-227's digital world went completely black.

"Take off your headsets. The test's over." Stephen says clearly through the group's headphones.

The group takes off their virtual reality headsets and removes their haptic gloves. The pain of their slices and wounds in the simulation immediately disappear once their headsets are off.

"How did you manage to make us feel fake pain?" Leah asks.

"It's the Agency, even I don't know." Stephen responds.

...

“So, you’ve all proved yourselves worthy of being on this mission. It’s time to choose your perk for this mission.”

Stephen gestures towards the armory equipment in the hall.

"They all have downsides and upsides. Read their descriptions well and think about their implications. You'll have to change the way you operate to match your equipment."

Carmen walks up to the wall first, her eyes darting to and from the different perks available. She continues this for a while before something stops her. A medical case and an arm-mounted launcher. She points at the pair with an inquisitive look.

"Oh, did Lazarus catch your attention?"

She nods in affirmation.

The other Agents start to browse the selection of equipment.

"Well, Carmen, Lazarus is a perk that is great for melee and support. You could also hang back with a rifle. If you get hurt while holding a gun, your bolt-launcher deactivates temporarily until you drop it."

Carmen whispers, "Medical license?"

"Oh, well... I'm not too sure about that." Stephen responds.

Meanwhile, Arthur inspects the VULKAN very closely. The minigun seems like a great choice for being a helping hand for the team. He thinks for a moment, before saying, "Hey, Stephen."

"Yes?" Stephen responds.

"This, VULKAN thing. How are you expected to get bullets for it? Aren't bullets rare on Eden-227?"

"Ah, yes. The VULKAN produces its own bullets with the fabricator tank at the back. You can also feed some of the bullets you find to turn into VULKAN rounds, but it's a little selfish."

Arthur thinks for a bit.

"I guess I'll give it a try. Let's head to the shooting range."

Arthur and Stephen haul the minigun towards the indoor shooting range. Its empty field is dotted with cardboard targets. Arthur sets himself in front of the shooting stands and enters the field itself.

"Alright. I need to be mobile if I don't want to bother my friends."

He pulls out the VULKAN and starts shooting the cardboard targets, the high velocity rounds piercing through them cleanly. While shooting, his aim jumps and shakes with the recoil, and the weight of the gun prevents him from moving faster than a crawl.

"I... can't use this, Stephen."

"Oh. Alright then. I guess Riskrunner just isn't for you. Return it and find another perk you'd like more."

Arthur walks back to the wall and looks for a perk that would fit him better. Carmen sits down and starts playfully shooting Nantite-Bolts at him and Max.

Max finds a strange-looking device that should be strapped to a wrist and a leg brace.

"Stephen, is this some kind of punch-enhancing machine?"

"Half right. It shoots out an exploding shotshell. It does some damage to scavengers, and you can use it to jump high and reach tall places. The leg braces prevent you from breaking your legs, but the fall will still hurt." Stephen responds.

"I'll take it. Movement and combos, I'm a real fan of those tactical shooters."

"Alright then, Arbiter it is."

Leah strays away from the group and sees a small desk with a diverse selection of equipment. It ranged from Holographic emitters to a bottle of whiskey. She sees a small box of matches and picks them up. She lights a candle on the table and stares at it for a moment, before returning to the group.

On the way back to the wall, she sees Arthur and Stephen trying out a strange looking revolver.

"This one is much nicer. Fast and helpful for the team." Arthur comments.

She makes it back to the wall, where she sees Max with half a dozen bolts in his back. Carmen looks closely at the Lazarus launcher before shooting it at Max again.

"Leah, don't worry. It doesn't hurt at all. I'm actually feeling quite good."

Leah smiles and nods at Max before perusing the wall again.

She sees a large gas canister with a hand-mounted flamethrower. The gas canister has a large danger symbol and a fire symbol printed on it.

"Immolator? A frail but powerful perk. Your flamethrower prevents you from aiming your firearms properly, so try shotguns."

"W-wha? No, I'm just a bit of a firebug. It seemed interesting." Leah responds.

"Immolator's ability is to set you and teammates close to you on fire... safely. It prevents you and your teammates from getting burnt, while enchanting your attacks with fire." Stephen adds.

Leah looks a little embarrassed before grabbing the canister and walking off silently. Stephen smiles before calling everyone to the second table.

"Alright crew, it's time to pick your..."

Stephen looks at the back of Max's jacket, the Nantite bolts hanging out of him. He walks behind him and pulls out the needles. He looks at Carmen and scolds her, "Don't do that, you're wasting your bolts. The effect lasts a while, they'll tell you when to reapply your buff."

Carmen's face turns slightly saddened and nods.

"Anyway, this small desk bears some auxiliary equipment you can bring on your mission. Your default choice is an emergency mask, but you can choose other-"

Max grabs the bottle of alcohol, "Dan Janiel, one of my favorites."

Arthur grabs the pack of Koldera Black, "Cheap brand, but it's fine."

Carmen grabs the Ballistic Dagger. She whispers, "Poison..."

"Good to know that you guys already have choices in mind. Train and spend your last week here wisely. You might not come back from this."

Leah walks off silently towards the shooting range, where burning and explosions can be heard from the perk gallery.

"Leah. Calm down. We'll try our best not to die." Arthur says.

Leah is sitting next to a burning cardboard cutout, her face turned away from the group. She turns her head, just enough to get a glance at her slightly teary face.

"Stand." Carmen whispers into her ear.

Carmen grabs her torso and attempts to lift her off the ground.

Leah stands up and wipes the tears off her face.
"Alright. We had training to do, right?"

The group smiles in response to her change in mood. The four Agents split off into their own separate quadrants for training.

From Max's room, the sounds of constant shotshell blasts and parkour are heard. Glass bottles and aluminum cans breaking from revolver shots are heard from Arthur's room. Shotgun rounds and fire explosions are heard from Leah's fire-resistant training room. The only person not in a specific training area is Carmen. She sits down on a bench, shooting Nantite Bolts at the wall with a stopwatch in her right hand.

Stephen approaches the focused Carmen.
"Working on your timing?" He asks.

Carmen nods in affirmation before staring at the stopwatch again. She shoots at exactly fifteen seconds and smiles. She shows the stopwatch to Stephen with an accomplished look.

"Great job on getting that timing down. It's tricky to judge your teammates' buff."

He walks up from the bench and leaves Carmen alone again. She resets the timing on the stopwatch and continues shooting bolts at the wall. Stephen approaches the rest of the Agents in their respective rooms.

"Leave when you're done training. You're not required to be here, do what you want to with your time."

Stephen then promptly leaves them to continue his tasks.

Max, Leah, and Arthur confirm Stephen's words and continue with their practice.

In the evening, the group leave their rooms and head outside the Agency building. They stopped by the same café they visited on their trip this morning. They sit at the exact same table, the moonlight faintly illuminating the outside seating. A familiar voice greets them.

"Good evening crew, what can I serve you?"

"Good evening, Stephen. Hmm... I guess I'll take this one. And what about you, Leah?"

The Agents all order their meals for the night, the food being served quickly and efficiently. They finish eating under the moonlight and wave Stephen goodbye.

"Goodbye, Agents. I hope you had a good time here. We hope to see you again soon!"

"Yeah, I'll definitely come again." Arthur responds before the group leaves back to their apartment.

"Alright, we should spend the last week hanging out and training together. It'll help build teamwork for us." Max announces.

"Great idea. We should ask Stephen if we can borrow the headsets for training." Leah responds.

They walk through the sandy dirt paths that line the park before reaching the stairs to the apartment. Leah and Max wave the other two goodbye.

"See you tomorrow, then." Arthur says before leaving with Carmen.

After seeing the two leave, Leah lets out a deep sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Max asks.

“You know what’s wrong.” Leah answers frustrated.

“Come on, just relax. We’ll be fine.” Max comforts her.

“Really? Is that really an attempt at comforting me-”

Max leans over Leah.

“Mmph..!?♡”

Max kisses Leah while hugging her tightly. Leah’s face slowly turns red from the amount of embarrassment. Max slowly reaches for Leah’s thighs. Leah blushes harder and lets out a small squeak before pushing Max as hard as she could, resulting in Max getting shoved to the corner of the room.

“What..why, did you do that?” She asks while panting.

“Heh, just tried comforting you.” Max answers, also panting.

“Well..” Leah gets up and heads towards Max.

“I guess it wasn’t a bad attempt..♡”

Leah grabs Max’s arm and heads to the bedroom.

“Let’s have some fun..♡”



couple of hours later…



“Haah.. That was.. Intense to say the least..” Max whispers.

“Heh, had too much?”[/i] Max continues.

Max has been chatting with Leah for a while, or should I say, has been chatting to himself for a while, since Leah won’t answer nor look at him. Still looking satisfied as ever. It probably looked funny to him. He flashed a slight smirk.

“Damn you..” Leah says weakly before falling onto her back again.

“You’re the one who wanted to continue.” Max says while chuckling a little.

Processing Echo Playback.

“Huh?” Max looks at the AGENT watch.

Echo Playback successfully created.

“...” “...” “Wh- WHAT!?” Leah got up and shouted. “No way..” Max was also flabbergasted. =\\-Writer’s Note-//= I’m “NWCBautastica”, a writer collaborating with this cringe animator/artist “PureSoulless”. And I’m gonna explain what the heck just happened. So, Leah “Gyatmen” and Max Willsmith had some relaxing and charming time together in bed, you know what I mean. And since the AGENCY’s Echo wristwatch saves every single moment of your life and creates those “memories” into “Echo Playbacks” and makes it public to the AGENCY, their “funny moment” is now saved into the Echo wristwatch, making their “funny moment” become visible to everyone. “Echo Playback” is just a youtube video but is shown from a watch into a hologram. It’s like VR but you don’t have no headsets. And yeah, I don’t think you would want your “funny moment” visible to everyone at work right? That’s why they’re freaking out rn. Sorry if my english sucks, I’m from Russia. Also I’m trapped in Pure’s basement. Please help, please get me outta here.*Basement door opens* Oh god.. Wait.. WAIT PLEASE I’M SORRY. HELP. PLEASE. PLEA- *Metal pole sound effect* =\\-Writer’s note |END|-//= The next day, the two Agents walked to the AGENCY all by themselves since both Carmen and Arthur didn’t come. “I hope the quote on quote info didn’t leak.” Max says uncomfortably. As soon as they got to the AGENCY, everyone stared at the two, some looking disappointed, some straight up looking like the freaking troll face. “I- I ca- can explain-.” Leah says embarrassed. ”NaH, iT’s GoOd.” Everyone says, all together at the same time. The final week of preparation and relaxation passes by quickly. The moon shines brightly on the snow-topped surfaces of early winter. Each one of the Agents prepared and trained for their trip to Eden-227. The door of the apartment opens, revealing Max and Leah wearing jackets. The couple walk down the stairs of their complex and reach the entrance, where Carmen and Arthur await them. "Evening." Carmen whispers, forming a small cloud of mist around her mouth. "Good evening, off to the rendezvous?" Leah responds. The three nod and start walking to a bus station near the park. There sits Stephen under the roof of the bench. "Ready to go? We're leaving on the next stop, about 3 minutes." Stephen says to the group. The group sits down, and a few minutes later a bus arrives at the stop. The team walks in and sits down on their seats. The bus cruises across the urban environment of the city before stopping at the Agency Transportation Hub. The Agents all dismount the bus before walking into the building. They brandish their yellow watches and sit down on lobby chairs while Stephen books a boat for the mission. The inside of the transport hub is well lit, with the place being populated by a couple dozen people, coming and going. Each one of them is wearing an ECHO watch, which is to be expected from an Agency building. Stephen finishes his talk with one of the staff and returns to the group. "Okay, we have a ship set for Eden. Let's board it and go." Stephen says to the crew. The Agents rise from their chairs and walk towards one of the boats dotting the water port of the transport hub. They board the boat and are greeted by the captain, an older man with short, gray hair. "Are you the crew going for Eden-227?" The captain asked. "That's right. Thanks." Stephen responds. The captain smiles and starts the engines of the boat. The ship starts to move slowly across the glimmering waters of night. "There's a deck below you can stay in until we're there." The captain says before continuing with his work. The Agents all move below deck in the lounge area of the boat, filled with drinks, food, and a table and couches. Max immediately goes to the kitchen to make Wizardtails for everyone. "Whoa, what a selection. They have so much to choose from. Pillaging time." Max mutters, before rummaging around the cupboards. Stephen starts to make conversation with the rest of the Agents. In his talk, Max catches a specific point that he announced to the group. "Apparently there were some cases of Agents being able to use items without really using them. Like gaining the effects of a stimulant without the needle emptying. They were even able to store objects in invisible backpacks. The Agency dubbed this, "Duping"." Max stored this in his memory, before continuing his drink looting. While the other Agents start talking, Arthur leans back in his chair and pulls out a small note of paper. He writes down some words before stowing it in his pocket. No one else seemed to notice him writing. He finishes and gets back up from his chair to join the conversation with Stephen and Leah. Time passes. Their demise... Coming closer and closer. To be Continued…