"...I'm gonna skin you alive." (2)

-Right after Logan had his arm severed-

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Huffing and puffing, Logan laid on the ground looking up at a starry night sky as he held his bleeding stump of a left forearm. Gritting his teeth and lighting his right hand up in blue, gold, and orange flames; Logan burned his stump to close the wound and stop the bleeding. Due to the suddenness of the amputation and how little the nerves reacted, Logan lost close to a pint of blood. He understood that pure mana can have very vast amounts of ways that it can affect the human body, both positive and negative. This is just one of them.

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With a grunt, Logan sat up and examined his surroundings in hopes of finding out where he was. All he saw were ancient, dilapidated temple ruins covered in moss, dust, dirt, and grime all around him. Below him, even though his blood-covered a good portion of it, was a spell matrix circle that looked as old as the ruins around him.

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Logan: 'Where the hell am I?' Logan thought as he pushed himself up. 'This place looks older than Salem's wardrobe and her. Not to mention, this spell circle. It's similar to those used in the Age of Gods to teleport long distances. But these need a controller to activate and to direct where to send what they teleport along with a receiver. So, where are they?' He thought as he made an ash arm. 'Clunky, but it will do for now.' Logan thought after flexing it for a second

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After a second scan of the room, Logan spotted the exit and slowly made his way out for the room. Carefully making sure there weren't any traps or the like keeping him in the room. As he neared the entrance, he could just make out a few voices not too far from the door on the other side. Taking the [Ace of Spades (Pristine)] out of his [Inventory] and held it in his right hand, while he slowly opened the door with his ash left. Once the door was cracked just enough for light from outside of it to shine in, Logan could hear the voices slowly disappear from his left. With his [Presence Detection] active, Logan could feel five people moving away from his position.

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Having no idea where to go or any better idea, Logan decided to follow the five he could sense and see where they're going. As Logan crept out of the teleporter room, he suddenly felt energized from the amount of mana present in the hallway he found himself in. It was like someone had given him a triple shot of his 'Liquid Death' coffee straight into his veins. Shaking his head to clear the moment of surprise, Logan turned himself and followed the five people he was starting to lose. As he got closer and closer to the five, keeping just out of sight, he was slowly starting to overhear what they were saying.

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They were talking numbers, locations, materials, and places that needed to be cleaned for the 'Great Dream' to come around faster. One that sounded like the leader told another that there was time and not to rush it. A third that was female pointed out how much they had already put into this 'Great Dream' and how they couldn't afford to make a mistake. The fourth, which sounded like a child, just sighed loud enough for Logan to just hear him before the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

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Fourth: "You guys know that someone's been following for a while now, right?" The fourth said suddenly and before Logan knew it, he was surrounded.

First: "Oh, it's just master Logan!" The first and most likely the leader said. The First was a tall light brown-haired young man with Golden cat eyes.

Second: "Haven't we already contacted him?" The Second said, a big burly man thicker than a brick house with the same eyes as the First. "So, why are you sneaking around, sir?"

Third: "From the look of his arm, he must have been forcibly teleported here." The third, a tall and well-endowed female with silver hair with the same eyes, said as she held Logan's ash arm before he could react. "Plus his clothes just scream vacation too."

Fourth: "We haven't made any form of contact with Sir Logan." The fourth, a child with green hair and his eyes sewn shut, spoke up as he sat on an adult version of himself but with the persons' mouth sewn shut and the same eyes as the rest. "My guess is that a mana flux happened at the most recent material collection point occurred and brought him here."

Fifth: "..." The Fifth just stood there without moving with the fourth on his shoulders, as if waiting for a command.

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Before Logan could comprehend what was happening as the five surrounded him, his ash fell away from his arm as did his swimming trunk. Then in a flash of light, his severed arm was restored and he became clothed without a chance to realize what happened. He found himself wearing fitted, black dress pants and shoes with a silver-buttoned, grey dress shirt and a white, three-button vest that had gold buttons. On his left shoulder was a shoulder cape that was a deep wine red with ice blue embroidery. His [Ace of Spades] was in a dark, right-handed, leather holster around his waist. Logan's mind was a mess of trying to figure out how they found and caught him off guard so fast.

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Third: "Hmm, the colors are off..." The woman mumbled to herself before snapping her fingers before Logan could speak or react.

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Once she did, Logan's new clothes went through a myriad of colors like a moving rainbow. Reds and blues flashed by at great speeds. Then came greens and browns. Oranges and purples. Before finally she huffed and snapped her fingers once again. When she did, Logan's dress pants and shoes stayed black while his dress shirt turned white, his vest turned ash grey, and his cape stayed the same. His [Ace of Spades] still holstered in the dark leather holster. His mind finally understood how they did it all. Magic. And they had insane control of it to a degree that was leagues better than Salem or Ozpin had with their centuries of experience.

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Third: "Why is it always hard to make a dress for someone that's colorful while being stylish." The woman sighed, seemingly more focused on Logan's new clothes than him.

02: "Well, since he's here, let's introduce ourselves. I'm 02, second in command, if you will, of this bunch of weirdos; plus I usually handle anything medical-related but your arm was something simple to fix for any of us." The one Logan thought was the leader said once Logan was dressed properly.

03: "I'm 03." The woman huffed, still annoyed that she couldn't find the right colors for Logan's dress. "If you need anything cloth-related, you may call, sir Logan."

04: "I'm 04." The brick house of a man said. "I'm the one that does all the heavy lifting around here along with any construction or craftwork that requires it, sir."

05: "And we're 05. Please don't be fooled, we are one person." The kid said as he bowed his head to Logan. "We just have two bodies instead of one due to how we were made. We're responsible for all the material upkeep and collection."

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Logan: "I-I see..." Logan spoke, but he was wary of these people. They were far too nice to him after meeting for the first time. And the way they acted made him keep his guard up after he regained his composer.

02: "No need to fear, sir." 02 spoke up after seeing Logan's hand twitch. "While we have certain duties to fulfill, we Homunculus have rules and guidelines we cannot cross. One of which is the harm of those our master deems acceptable. Due to this, we can not harm you in any way, shape, or form be it physical, emotional, or mental. We were created to serve."

Logan: "Is that so..." Logan answered the one known as 02. "Well then, may I ask where I am at the moment?" First, he wanted to know where he was. From there, Logan could plan on what to do.

02: "Let's walk and talk, sir." 02 offered while gesturing for Logan to follow him. "It will be easier to explain while we go and meet Master."

Logan: 'Might as well bite.' Logan thought as he kept quiet and started following 02. 'If I tried running, it would only make things worse and I have no idea where I am. All I know is that wherever I am is rich in mana unlike any other place on Remnant.'

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As 02 walked on ahead of the group, he explained where they were to Logan to the best of his knowledge. Currently, they were on an island off the coast of the Grimmlands hidden by the Master's magic that not even the Brother Gods could find. Having been here long before the Brother Gods came to power. The more 02 spoke and answered the questions Logan asked, the more Logan felt like there was far more to Remnant than he had realized. Soon, he was given a quick explanation of the layout of the island and where they were heading. They were currently in the westernmost wing where they kept the storage for the island. The eastern wing was the workshops and medical area, the southern was where they kept the farm, and the Nothern part was the dormitories. The center held the Master's chamber, his library where he spent most of his time, and the meeting room where they were heading to before Logan appeared.

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Once 02 finished explaining everything he could, Logan asked the other Homunculus about what they do, more specifically, what they did over the years they been made. 03 happily talked about how she made numerous clothes that came about with the times and did all she could to enhance them to their limits either via magic, tech, or technique. 04 explained he enjoyed working the forge they had. To him, it was just calming and a good way of relaxing. 05 said they enjoyed their job as it gave way to the aging of history as they got the materials sent to them.

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The more Logan talked with them, he could slowly feel himself lower his guard. Because, to him, they may be Homunculus but they were just as human as he was. They had their own unique dreams, aspirations, likes, dislikes, humor, and personalities. Soon, Logan felt like he was among a family he'd always been a part of. He couldn't help but laugh at some of their jokes, experiences, mishaps, and they did the same with Logan's. Logan knew he wasn't under some spell, as he had his white flames wrapped around his left bicep that was covered by his shoulder cap and his [Status] showed no signs of ailments. What he was feeling was honest to Karma happiness that came from a family gathering after so long apart.

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Before they knew it, the group was upon the central area of the island hideout. The Homunculus straightened themselves and their entire demeanor changed as they stood outside the Library where the Master was. They had told Logan beforehand, that due to the Master being their creator, they always acted professionally regardless of what they were there for. They just held him in too high of regard to be anything less. To them, he was their father, their creator, their God. But they knew he wasn't infallible. He could make mistakes, he could be wrong, but they still loved him so.

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They stood facing a massive oak double door like one that could be found on old castle gates. Countless engravings for numerous spells could be seen on the door too. But, the amount of mana Logan could feel emanating from the door made his skin feel clammy. Soon the doors started to open inwards and the mana Logan could feel easily tripled.

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The library was a circular chamber that was hundreds of feet tall. Numerous golems floating here and there casting magic to preserve the tomes that lined the wall shelves. In the center of the chamber sat an elegantly carved table of ebony with a matching chair with vibrant gold padding in the seat and back. And standing with his back towards them was the one known as Master. From what Logan could see, the man had golden hair that seemed to glow in the room's light. He had a high collared, black peacoat with gold embroidered shoulder epaulets and with black dress pants and boots to round the entire outfit off.

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The Homunculus walked in with purpose in their steps and Logan followed a step behind. Soon they stopped in a line a few feet away from the man with Logan holding himself similarly to them. As the Master turned around, Logan couldn't help but be shocked.