NOVEL FROG Mob 5.7
Mob 5.7
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
"I'm sorry. It's just..."
"I love you…"
"Greg… sweetheart…"
"I love you…"
"I'm worried that if I don't hold on, you'll just… run away…"
"My worst nightmare…"
"You're all I have left."
"I'm sorry… for everything…"
00:00
"Mo-!"
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
April 18, 2011
12:33 AM
VIT + 2
Greg Veder let out a deep gasp as he jerked awake with a start. The boy shook as he scrambled around in confusion, unseeing eyes wide with shock. Breathing heavily, the blond let out another shuddering breath, a coating of sweat lining every inch of his body despite the chill of the air on his bare skin. He sat up where he was, hands scrambling for purchase across the gravel that he could feel under him. Where… am I?
His face swung to both sides, tilting his head as the sounds of a multitude of repeating sirens filled his ears like an orchestra of the worst kind. What's going on? What happened to me?! Greg blinked in clear confusion about to wonder what that could be about, only for another thought to send a heavy shock of panic through him as he realized something else. My… my eyes…
[Terror] negated by Gamer's Mind.
Why… He let out another shaky breath, hands rising to his face as he felt his eyelids close, a slowly rising itch beginning to skirt the very edge of pain in his sockets. The odd note of dulled panic in his thoughts only highlighted the absurdity of the situation to him, fear coming out in his mind with a bit of a monotone. Why can't I see?
He opened his mouth to voice that same confusion, only to find himself cut off as he let out a pained retching noise. "Wha-" The boy paused, coughing again as he choked on the words. "Whe-" His body only continued to fight him, rejecting his attempts to put words to his thoughts as the more he tried to speak, the harder it became. What he knew as his own voice came out raspy and hoarse, as if he had spent an inordinate amount gargling the gravel that was currently underfoot. "Wha-"
One hand going to his throat, Greg's body jerked forward as his frame was wracked with a hacking fit, the boy coughing for all his worth. A few seconds of this passed until he was nearly hunched over completely until finally, "...Hrrrrk!"
Something thick and bitter spilled from Greg's mouth, the blond retching even more as the disgusting taste of the gelatinous substance lingered on his tongue. Blood?
The smell and taste of it was all too familiar, but the texture was something else entirely and a wholly unwanted surprise for Greg as he retched up everything he could feel clogging his throat. Mouth and nose filled with the disgusting taste and overpowering stench of rusted iron, the boy simply remained where he was, continuing to heave as the congealed substance continued dripping from his mouth. Over and over again, he hacked up chunk after chunk of thick, gelatinous… Blood? What happened to me?!
Just like that, it finally stopped and Greg was able to draw breath without the feel of something constricting his throat. Chest still heaving as if he had just run a marathon, the boy began to scramble away from the heap of whatever he had just thrown up, a horrified expression on his face. His bare hands and feet skittered on the gravel, sending the small rocks darting away from him as he kicked and pushed himself back, not stopping for a second until his back met something firm, his head slamming into it an instant later.
What? Pale, blind eyes widened as Greg's hands rose to pat at the surface behind him, confusion clear on his face. A wall?
A brick wall, by the feel of it.
Another surprise, but a far more welcome one than the blood.
He tilted his head, blinking as the feel of the crumbling brick under his hands brought a thought to mind, the blond shaking his head as he began to recall exactly how he had gotten here.
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
7 Hours and 50 minutes ago
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
4:38 PM
Resistance: Piercing Lvl Up!
21→29
Resistance: Slashing Lvl Up!
9→14
Blunt Force Resistance Lvl Up!
56→63
Ten minutes.
Ten pointless minutes. Just the thought of it sent a wave of annoyance to the forefront of his mind that was quickly forgotten in the wake of his body's protests.
That was how much time he had wasted uselessly twitching his fingers and toes, all in a pointless attempt to get himself mobile. The pain from the pointless attempt at moving from his position had almost been enough to break his concentration but even still, he held on to what focus that he could muster.
The bright blue words were almost seared into his mind by this point.
Ten minutes of twitching, struggling and pained groaning had passed by with Greg still deaf and blind to the world, leaving him in basically the same position as when he started. He was ashamed to say that it took him half again as long to even think about using his energy the way he had a week ago, just after fighting Lung and the Undersiders.
The first few moments of it had been almost heavenly, at least compared to the hell that was the last forty-five minutes of consciousness. The instant he pulled on the bright yellow energy, Greg felt his heart rate pick up, his breathing becoming much less labored as the broken blond had let out a body-shaking shudder, not of pain but out of sheer relief.
It had almost been enough of a shock for him to let go of the energy.
Almost.
He wasn't stupid enough to let go of his life-saver over something that small.
No longer an oppressive, overbearing force driving him to silent screams, the pain had lessened to a dull, aching throb all over his body. It still hurt, of course, and Greg would be lying if he said it didn't.
On top of his aching chest, throbbing skull, sore jaw, itchy skin, and legs and arms tender to the point of irritation, what little remained of his eyes in their sockets stung like an entire beehive had made their home in them!
In retrospect, that was probably all the glass shards, but the point remained.
Still, at least now, he only felt like he had been hit by a Mack Truck going ninety down the highway instead of like he had just been shoved into a woodchipper. Compared to the perpetual torture of less than a minute ago, at the very least, he could actually think with a clear head so that was a definite plus. To make the situation even better, he managed to move far more than his fingers and toes, which was… odd. Judging from how limp they were, he could tell that a good chunk of his bones were still broken but even then, moving them wasn't an impossibility… somehow.
Regardless, Greg wasn't one to punch a gift horse in the throat so he purposely chose not to waste much time questioning the weirdness of his own abilities.
Finally able to move his broken form without dissolving into a whimpering mess, Greg Veder took his first step off of the shattered car that had been his resting place for over an hour now, only to plunge directly onto the floor like a sack of potatoes.
-45
-26
-13
-9
-6
-4
-2
-1
-3
-1
-2
-2
-1
The sound of bones cracking and snapping as they moved in ways they were definitely not supposed to hit Greg's ears, the disgusting cacophony made completely irrelevant in that same instant as the pain he had been dreading returned with a vengeance. Blinding pain seared into his skull, forcing another garbled groan from his throat.
Status Effect: Visible Bone
Doubles the remaining healing time for the affected wound.
Unable to hold himself back, Greg Veder once again found himself screaming internally as a bone tore itself free from his forearm and jutted out by his elbow, his raw, bloody and glass-embedded throat continuing to make its usual weak gurgling sound as the mute boy tried his best to vocalize his pain. To his credit, he only continued screaming for only half a minute at most.
After that…
Well, after that came the vomiting.
It took him only five minutes to get back on his feet after that. Four to stop hacking up what remained in his now-emptied stomach and one more for Greg to attempt moving again. Trying to step up onto two feet was almost an impossibility, his mind filling with pained curses every time he tried to balance his weight on a broken leg and another with an upper thigh resembled something closer to a tenderized hamburger than anything else.
For nearly a minute, the boy just lay there silently as he tried to think of what to do, never forgetting to keep his flow of will active to dull his body's reaction to the pain. Can't stand. Can't walk. Don't even know where I'm going cause I'm fucking blind and deaf, Greg groused to himself as his mouth closed in a twisted scowl on the last part, the stinging sensation in his eyes seeming to intensify at that. How am I supposed to do anything if I can't…
Can't… Greg's thoughts slowed down as an idea popped into his head, the fingers on his good hand twitching as the boy came to a realization. Can't even see, huh? Calling mana to his hand, the boy placed his palm down on the ground and said the words in his own head. [Structural Analysis.]
The mana he gathered to his palm shot forward as he discharged it, sinking into the ground and sending a vague image of nothing back into Greg's head. All he could really discern was the few shards of glass in a general radius of six inches around his palm.
What the- The scowl on the blond's face sunk further as he realized that all he got back was something he could already basically figure out for himself. Okay, that didn't work. Let's try this a different way. With a slight breath, Greg brought his hand down again — in a weak fist, this time — and gathered mana to it as he thought the words. [Structural Analysis.]
As he felt it try to leave him in a quick rush, the blond tightened his hold on the mana and pulled back on the flow, his fingers slowly opening up as he let the energy trickle out of his grasp. Unlike before, where it sunk underground in an instant, the mana that left Greg's hand this time seemed to spread out in a forward arc, trickling over the ground in a small wave of energy that Greg could feel.
INT + 1
Structural Analysis Lvl Up!
10→11
I can… I can see? He tilted his head, frowning slightly at the stiffness in his neck as he did so. I mean, I guess? Kinda. If you can call this seeing. Rather than waste any more time thinking about it, he shook his head slightly, placing his good hand back on the ground. Let's just do this.
With one problem out of the way, Greg decided to charge forward the only way he could think of and began to crawl along the ground, his one working arm assisting him at inching forward across the asphalt. Granted, doing that while lying in a pool of his own throw-up and with so many chunks of glass sticking out from the front of his body was in and of itself a terrible idea.
-1
-2
-2
-1
-1
-1
-1
-2
-1
-1
Nevertheless, he persisted.
Even with no idea of where he was going, it didn't take long for him to complete the quest he had started, his fingers sinking into a mound of dirt as he dragged his body onto what could only be manicured grass.
Quest Success!
"Just Move" Completed!
Gained 250 XP
Before Greg could even stop to let out a ragged breath, something else popped up in his mind, the boy letting out a groaning gurgle that had nothing to do with pain as he realized what it was.
Quest Created!
Just Move II
Details: Continuing in the same direction, move 5 meters away from your current location.
Success: +500 XP
Failure: Discovery by PRT
Son of a... His chin dropped onto the grass, Greg's mouth twisting into a frustrated frown as he realized that this was probably going to be a chain of missions, each one sending him even further away from where he was now. Son of a bitch.
Praying he wouldn't run out before all this was over, Greg's body flared slightly brighter with golden light as he began to move again.
VIT + 1
Stamina Lvl Up!
11→12
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
5:23 PM
VIT + 5
Stamina Lvl Up!
12→15
Greg Veder hurt.
All over.
From the bottom of his feet all the way up to his scalp, every inch of him cried out in pain, figuratively begging him to just stop moving and find a nice hole in the ground to pass out in.
He wasn't gonna lie, either. The idea was extremely appealing and Greg knew that if he had no other choice, he would have gladly let himself fall into blissful unconsciousness.
And that in itself was the problem.
He had no other choice.
At least, no other choice that wouldn't have him shoved into a PRT van and his identity exposed. Seeing as he was in no rush to have either of those events come to pass, — the former more than the latter, really — Greg had quickly done his best to follow the instructions laid out for him in glowing blue lettering.
Every time he had completed one of these quests, another one would pop up in a second to replace the last one, reminding him to keep walking in whatever direction it felt like giving him.
What was he on now?
Just Move VII
Details: Turn left and head 1500 meters away from your current location.
Success: +5000 XP
Failure: Discovery by PRT
Yeah, that made sense.
Each quest only served to multiply the previous one, usually by a factor of five for whatever reason. The quest descriptions had been oddly contradictory as well, annoying Greg as he found himself hobbling repeatedly from point to point simply to keep up.
Continue in the same direction, turn right, turn left, double back for one-hundred steps and then make a right and walk two hundred and fifty meters; All of it was enough to make him want to tear his hair out. It really didn't help that every step was an effort in and of itself.
It really hadn't taken all that long for Greg to try walking again, simply out of a sheer need to move faster. This time, instead of trying to walk like at least part of his lower body didn't look like it had just been through a meat grinder, he managed to keep himself stable enough to shuffle down the street, his limping gait likely resembling that of a zombie. As it was, with the fact that he was likely leaving a trail of blood behind him with every labored footstep, it was doubtless that he looked like the exact picture of a zombie, slight flaring of golden light on his body aside.
Reinforcement (Apprentice) Lvl Up!
18→19
He had been forced to rely on Structural Analysis to guide himself around with his eyes still useless in their sockets, making his stumbling gait even more exaggerated. Both his feet had to touch the ground for him to really get a picture of what was within a few meters of him, forcing him to nearly fall over several times before he got the hang of it.
To make matters worse, spreading out the skill's range the way he had to only hurt the detail of his 'sight'. So much of what he could detect around him was just a vague lump projected into his mind, giving off a general idea of the shape and size but not much else. All in all, what he was doing was a far cry from the detail that he had come to know from the skill and definitely less useful than actually being able to see for himself.
Apart from the relentless itching in his sockets, though, Greg had almost grown used to the nerve-wracking sensation that his blindness wrought. Having awareness for a few meters all around him somewhat made up for it by being incredibly useful, if hard to get used to. At the very least, he was walking again. Still, for all that it let him cover more ground, getting back on his feet had him struggle with learning how to use the skill from the bottom of his soles, requiring more focus than Greg thought he had to spare.
Awareness: Mana Lvl Up!
8→11
Structural Analysis Lvl Up!
11→12
The boy continued to hobble around, limping through the back streets and abandoned alleys of Brockton Bay as he moved farther away from the hospital with no real idea of where he was going. As random as his pattern of movement was, Greg felt he had to be getting somewhere. By now, he must have been walking for what felt like hours through the city, meaning wherever he was headed to had to be close by now.
Any moment now and he would be done finally, able to let himself pass out for real this time. Hopefully, after he removed the last shards of glass still jutting from his skin. The blond worked his jaw, swollen and bleeding tongue moving carefully over the jagged remains of still-growing teeth and empty gums. Any moment now.
5:58 PM
Reinforcement (Apprentice) Lvl Up!
19→20
Stamina Lvl Up!
15→17
VIT + 4
Any moment now.
Those three words repeated in Greg's head as he continued to hobble in the direction he had been headed towards for what felt like the last eight hours. His shambling gait didn't let him cover much distance at any pace that would be considered quick but this was insane.
Blood-encrusted fingers twitched as he lurched forward, quickly balancing the movement by throwing his arms back before he could lose his balance due to a lack of focus. Unable to firmly place his weight down on his legs, Greg stumbled forward a few more times, repeating the balancing motion every time with a growing frustration.
Interrupting the litany of curses firing off in his mind for a second, the blond decided to check on something before it got too late. Will.
Will: 42/530
Shit. And just like that, the cursing returned again in full force.
It was a routine he had gotten familiar with over the time since he had finally pulled himself to his feet. Stumbling around like this only happened when he started to run low on Will, a phenomenon he had caught on to quick after the first time he nearly went sprawling to the floor. Certain movements had gotten easier as certain pains seemed to fade, several of his negative status effects dissipating as the time on them ran out. Greg could only be glad for that but it was still only a drop in the bucket compared to everything else.
Even if he wasn't using more than a fraction of his the energy to keep himself mobile, it had to start getting low eventually. When it came to topping himself up with a little extra juice, he had an inventory filled with enough energy drinks to last him for days, even taking into account how quickly he chugged them. Thankfully, the thing responded just as well to thought as it did to speech, Greg quickly realized. The boy only wished it didn't take him literally losing the ability to speak to find out that bit of information.
He barely managed to hold the bottles he pulled from his inventory to refill his Will, let alone open them. Managing to raise the things to his mouth was less of a challenge but it was annoying to Greg that he even had to consider it one. Granted, it was still a better option than struggling to chew with his mouth and teeth as torn up as they were. Come on, any moment now.
He continued forward, still swaying on his feet but managing to stay upright. Any moment now.
Structural Analysis Lvl Up!
12→13
6:32 PM
Any. Moment. Now.
Agonizing step after agonizing step.
Any moment now and he would be done with this goddamn quest.
Just Move VII
Details: Turn left and head 1500 meters away from your current location.
Success: +5000 XP
Failure: Discovery by PRT
Fifteen hundred meters.
Seven hundred and fifty meters.
Two hundred and fifty meters.
Fifty.
Twenty-five.
Five.
One.
Greg didn't need any help adding all of those together and he certainly didn't need any to get the answer he needed next.
Almost two miles.
He had been walking… no, stumbling through the oddly empty back streets of the city for however long it'd been and he'd only almost made it two miles. No, it was worse than that, Greg realized. The last quest — the longest one so far at fifteen hundred meters — wasn't even over with yet.
Any. Moment. Now.
Fingers at his side — each one still sticky from the last bottle of the sugary sports drink he had shakily poured into his mouth — clenched into fists as he lurched forward again, one leg only lightly meeting the ground as he forced himself to keep his weight off it lest he do even more damage to it. The further he walked, the more Greg was beginning to feel like all of this was utterly pointless. For all he knew, he could be walking for hours more without ever finishing this stupid qu-
"Just Move VII" Completed!
Gained 5000 XP
I'm done? Greg Veder stumbled back in shock at the words that popped into his head before making another cautious retreating motion, his Structural Analysis warning him of an obstacle directly in his path. He waited with bated breath for a few seconds, nervously expecting another set of blue words ordering him to continue on this endless trek any moment now.
When none came, Greg allowed himself a deep — albeit rather shaky — breath, only wincing slightly at the twinge of pain in his chest. I'm finally done?
The boy lurched forward again, throat gurgling quietly as he painfully caught himself on the obstacle in front of him, his palms meeting the distinct rough and grainy texture of a brick wall. Greg let out another breath, this one much less labored, as he turned his back on the wall itself and let himself lean on it, seeking a moment's respite from his long trek.
It lasted roughly that long.
Just Move VIII
Details: Make your way to the rooftop of the building in front of you.
Success: +7500 XP
Failure: Discovery by PRT
If there happened to be words to properly describe how he felt about this situation without profanity, Greg Veder was not aware of any of them.
VIT + 1
Stamina Lvl Up!
17→18
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
6:52 PM
Reinforcement (Apprentice) Lvl Up!
20→21
Surface Adhesion Lvl Up!
9→11
Stamina Lvl Up!
18→19
Bloody fingers latched on to the edge of the rooftop, gripping the masonry with a level of strength that was wholly artificial. The faded golden glow flickering around the digits could only attest to that.
Come… The fingers gripped on even tighter, digging into the brickwork for all they worth as a head of filthy, matted hair made itself visible over the edge as well. That too was then followed by a just as filthy face, one that would have been horrific to look upon if anyone had actually been around to see it.
Thankfully, the rooftop was empty.
Greg Veder didn't find himself wondering about any of that, though. The boy's attention was all too focused on how much his fingers were protesting his current actions, the rest of his body not too far behind in making itself heard. Come on.
It was a testament to the boy's resilience that he was managing this much, really. Although, it could be said that if anyone were to compare his injuries from just a few hours ago to right now, they would conclude that he was in a lot better condition than when he started. The fact that his skin was no longer slick with his own blood was a fairly obvious signifier of that fact. Even more obvious was the fact that a large section of bone along his left arm was firmly back where it belonged; his head no longer pounding like someone had taken a jumbo-sized wrench to it yet a third item to add to a quickly growing list. It was safe to say, though, that none of that meant the boy was in a condition that any reasonable person would term 'good.'
Despite what could be said about his current 'condition', everything for Greg was still a tapestry of pain and varying levels of discomfort. While a good deal of the pain that he felt was dulled by the golden energy that currently suffused him and he knew very well that even without it, he wouldn't be in anywhere near the same amount of pain as when he first started on his hands and knees. Still, it didn't take away from the fact that the reinforcement was not much of a painkiller as it only served to dull the intense pain he was already feeling.
It took the edge off, so to speak.
That ignored the fact that there was still plenty of edge left.
All of this aside, Greg Veder was doing well for someone who should, by all means, be in traction. Very well, if one was to be honest.
Almost… As he continued to climb, mana poured off of him in waves, the blue light clashing vividly and distinctly with the gold of his Will as the boy kept every inch of bare skin that he could manage stuck to the wall as he reinforced his broken body to provide him enough strength to make it to the rooftop. It had been like this for about twenty minutes now, Greg using his Surface Adhesion and reinforced body to make his way up the side of the brick building. Doing something like this blind was harrowing enough but what made it even more tense was the fact that his Surface Adhesion skill only lasted him roughly four minutes.
Thankfully, Greg had inched his way high enough on the three-story building that he could rest for a short time on the recessed window ledge that he found himself on by the time he got to the second floor, allowing himself enough time for his mana to recover to the point where he felt safe continuing his climb.
It was slow going but he was making the best of it even now as he pulled himself upward bit by bit, his hands digging in for greater purchase on the rooftop. It was just as he raised himself up even further, both his shoulders just cresting the rooftop that Greg Veder felt a sudden change, mouth falling open as he felt the last of the golden light flicker and fade from his body. ...No.
It struck like a speeding car, unstoppable and unavoidable; Greg's entire body weakening as a wave of exhaustion and mind-numbing pain dropped into his muscles without warning. As the pain resurfaced in full, Greg couldn't help but let out a long pain-induced groan, his throat having healed somewhat enough to do that much. Still-healing skin burned as a multitude of small untreated cuts stung under the open air, remaining shards of glass now niggling at Greg as he was acquainted with their presence. How did I…
The thought was interrupted as Greg's right leg twitched against his will, shards of bone in his leg suddenly without any support screaming for his attention.
Fuck… Greg let out a raspy breath, weak limbs shuddering as he struggled to hold tight to the roof's edge. How did I… His chest heaved as he felt the return of a burning tightness around his midsection that he could say without a doubt that he did not miss in the slightest. How did I forget to check…
"Nghh-!" He bit back a groan as his body refused to cooperate, his attempt at pushing himself over the edge failing again. ...to check on will? How did it even fall so fast? The questions went unanswered as Greg continued to struggle, the current situation leaving him no time to even consider them.
His only saving grace was the fact that his Surface Adhesion skill was still going strong but even that had a time limit that was drawing closer by the second. You can do this… The dizziness and nausea threatening to overwhelm him were even more obstacles, albeit neither being nearly as powerful as the many, many injuries he could now feel in full force. Just hold on.
Trying to pull himself up like this was just pointless. As hurt as he was, his body wouldn't be able to respond the way he wanted without will acting to mediate the situation. Come on. Still, all he needed… Just a few more seconds.
The blond grit his teeth as he felt his fingers beginning to slacken, well aware that in just a little more time his Surface Adhesion would do the same. Come on…
All he needed…
Will: 1/546
All he needed was to wait it out.
Burst! The boy's body flared a pale gold for a heartbeat, a pained grunt leaving his mouth in that same moment as he thrust his hands down on the rooftop with all his strength. Masonry cracked apart from the sheer force of his action and for a single moment, Greg Veder was airborne as he forced himself over the edge in a move that could only be called a bastardized vault.
The moment ended as ingloriously as it begun as he quickly fell to the ground face down in a heap of limbs. His face met what could only be the gravel that lined the rooftop, pieces of smoothed rock digging into his face giving him a very good idea of what he had just landed on.
-40
-9
-3
...Ow.
An understatement if there ever was one.
"Just Move VIII" Completed!
Gained 7500 XP
+ 1 STR
Stamina Lvl Up!
19→20
Will: -19/551
Status Effect: Severe Exhaustion - 4 Hours
Severe… A wave of tiredness washed over the prone boy, interrupting his line of thought for a moment. Severe… Severe Exhaustion? What's th…
As quickly as if someone had flipped a switch, what little tension still in his paralyzed form faded as Greg Veder lost himself to a deep sleep, his body forcing him into a long-needed rest.
Perk Gained!
Catch Your Breath
Endurance is patience concentrated.
After forcing yourself to move under extreme circumstances for a long period of time, your willpower recovery rate has doubled. (1 Will per 5 Seconds)
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
Now
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
No!
The blond surged up, pulling away from the brick wall in front of him in a panic as he quickly rose to his feet. One hand clutched at his skull, quickly followed by the second as unwanted memories of the last day came rushing back to Greg with the force of a river set free from a broken dam, battering the boy with a pain that felt all too physical. No.
Memories.
Memories of being hurled like a ragdoll.
Memories of glass flying everywhere.
Into him.
Into the sky.
Into everything.
Everyone.
Memories of…
Mom. He stumbled forward, the blond physically reeling as he tried to process everything he remembered all at once. Emma. Nononono. Another thought hit him and the blond nearly tripped again, partially from shock as well as lack of sight.
This can't… His back brushed against the wall again, Greg clumsily staggering away from it with all the grace of a drunk with his fingers grasping at his own temples. This can't be real.
[Grief] negated by Gamer's M-
No!He pushed aside the sudden calm with a wild anger, hand almost trembling as he thrust it out in front of him into the empty air. No. Greg shook his head angrily, teeth grit to the point of straining as he did so. He wasn't going to even think about allowing himself to just ignore this… pain.
So much of this was wrong already. He couldn't make it worse by trying to forget that. His thoughts, almost unbidden, went back to what he could recall of the day.
...Emma. Yes, the parts with Emma stood out strongly in his mind's eye, every single moment after the first bomb event almost crystal clear in his thoughts. There were still so many questions he had about that by itself, but everything was moving so fast before and now…
Well, now just wasn't the right time.
His time in the hospital was the next thing to stand out in his recollections, Greg sitting apart from the teeming masses in actual need of help.
So much time spent just looking at the TV, not even really watching, just looking on as video and images of the damages from Downtown were broadcast on the local news.
And then…
Then...
Mom. The teen dropped to his knees, nearly hunching over as his chin met his chest. He shook his head, ignoring the feeling of his own dirty and matted hair as it struck him in the face.
[Grief] negated by G-
I said NO! A surge of angry bitterness rose up in his cheat, Greg mentally shoving away the sinister calm he could feel creeping up on his thoughts.
So much was wrong here.
"...Mom," His voice came out in an awkward croak, Greg still struggling with his newly regrown vocal cords. Fingers tightened again in the gravel, the stones cold to the touch. This is wrong.
Greg bit back what could have been a sob if it didn't sound so angry, the boy wiping his tears with the back of one hand. "This is so… so wr-nnnngghh!" A choked scream burst from his lips as pain lanced through his eyes, the boy blinking rapidly as the unnatural brightness of the streetlight nearest him made itself known.
I... Eyes widened as color returned to them, milky-white irises suddenly a bright blue. Greg Veder stumbled again, this time out of raw shock as his vision returned. His gaze dropped to his own body, blood and dirt streaked arms and bare torso browned with much of the same. Stained and tattered trousers appearing far more like shorts and bare feet greeted him as he glanced down.
Trails of blood stained the gravel of the roof below his feet, turning white and gray into varying shades of brown and red, from the edge all the way to where he stood intermixed with chunks of something dark in a dark pool of what could only really be what he had thrown up a few minutes ago.
A feeling bubbled up in his chest as he looked down at himself, the realization that he was seeing again after so long.
Not relief or happiness.
A pit of anger blazed in his chest, burning brighter than it ever had before. Fingers clenched themselves into tight fists and Greg turned his head upwards, forcing the wetness in his eyes to retreat.
All of this and… Greg bit back the urge to scream as he stared up at the starless night sky, toes twitching slightly as they acclimated to the feeling of cold gravel beneath his bare soles. All of this and…
"I'm perfectly fine." His croaking voice hit his ears again as Greg recalled those words. He remembered telling her that when she asked him how he felt not too long ago in the hospital. She had stood in front of him, smiling her worried Mom smile… And I just brushed her off, Greg thought, expression shifting into an angry grimace. I just brushed her off and I told her that...
"I'm perfectly fine." He found himself almost spitting, so much raw anger behind the three words that it was almost palpable. Part of him felt like screaming again, screaming and crying and slamming his fist into the wall in front of him until something broke.
Until everything broke.
The other part was busy thinking, half his mind at work trying to piece together everything he remembered from before… before it happened.
The crowd, the cops, the PRT, Triumph…
All of those had been in front of him before he turned back towards the hospital, running as fast as he could.
He remembered the force, the glass, the sound like a hundred windows shattering at once…
Just everything.
More than anything else, though, he remembered the one face that looked familiar, if only a little. In that thick, swarming crowd, his mother was impossible to make out but that woman had been right in front of him. Just meters away in the center of a terrified crowd, she had opened her fur coat completely, allowing Greg to see exactly what was under it.
The red lights on that panel almost seemed burned into his thoughts, a countdown that he had been too late to stop. Just above that, though, was something else Greg couldn't remove from his mind.
The crying face of an old Asian woman.
She didn't… He blinked again, a smaller thought making itself known through the blinding haze that was his emotions. She didn't want to do it. That much was obvious to him. It didn't do a thing to quell the roaring anger he felt but that much was clear to him. Then why…
Why... His mind went back to Triumph, something missing in his own thoughts about the lion-helmed hero that he was fighting to remember. I… Greg paused, fists so tight they felt on the cusp of drawing blood. I remember now.
He did remember.
… in the wake of the recent ABB terror attack.
Observing Triumph had told him everything he needed to know.
But nowhere near enough.
The blond turned narrowed eyes out onto the mess of a city around him, the sight of smoke trailing from several buildings still visible even in the dark and the sound of multiple sirens his first reintroduction to the place he called home.
"I'm perfectly fine."
[Anger] negated by Gamer's Mind
He nodded again at those words and looked back out over the edge of the rooftop facing away from the hospital, expression visibly shifting in the span of a few seconds. Greg let the void that was Gamer's Mind subsume him, almost embracing the quiet with open arms as his hands slowly uncurled from white-knuckled fists at his sides
He couldn't afford to let himself fall apart.
"I'm perfectly fine." The lie felt numb on his tongue but Greg paid it no mind, pushing it down to the same place his rage simmered. Again, he didn't have time for that, too busy thinking about what lay in front of him.
Bright blue eyes gained a distinct edge to them that no one who knew Greg would ever recognize.
Quest Created!
ABB I: Avenge The Fallen
Details: Destroy the Azn Bad Boys through any means possible
Success: ???
Failure: ???
He had a job to do.
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
Spoiler: STATUS