Friends

Ace and Stellis stood before an inconspicuous concrete building. The pair was covered in blood and all sorts of viscera. The journey to the orphanage had been a vengeful one. Each street they entered was packed full rats, ravens, or wolves. In rare cases all three would be present. 

To Ace, it made no difference. He charged through the mobs at full speed, his crowbar making short work of the creatures. It almost wasn't fair. The month he had spent in the forest had easily prepared him to deal with the weak creatures that were attacking his home. 

Most of them didn't even react to his presence, too busy gorging themselves on the human corpses that littered the streets. Seeing them do so only filled him with more rage. While he wasn't close to anyone outside of his family, it still hurt to see so many of his kind meet undesirable ends. 

Eventually, after cutting through dozens of Sever Beasts, they had made it to the road that housed the orphanage. Despite its discreet location, it had not been spared from the carnage. The bodies on the ground indicated as much.

Seeing them so close to his home gave him a bad feeling. That wasn't all. Unlike in the first wave, Ace noticed that many buildings were in rough shape. The beasts seemed to have adapted to the hiding places of the humans, easily tearing through concrete and steel. It was truly a massacre. 

Looking down, he saw a large steel placard on the ground. It had words on it but was smeared with so much blood that it was hard to read. It didn't matter, he knew what the words said anyway. 

'Thalia's House of the Lost' 

He had made it home. However, his journey wasn't over yet.

Mustering his courage, he stepped over the placard and entered the building with Stellis right behind him. 

As soon as they found themselves over the threshold, their wardens shimmered into existence and issued a simultaneous alert. 

[Congratulations! You have survived the Third Wave of GQC-1!...] 

Ace tuned out the words from his floating companion. With shaky steps, he explored the once organized interior of his home.

Blood was plastered everywhere with nothing being spared from the reach of the red liquid. Various organs and guts were also strewn about. He couldn't tell if they were human but his mind was already fearing the worst.

That wasn't all. 

The concrete tables and seats had been reduced to rubble along with the stove top and water storage unit. Even the cracked ceiling had been completely caved in, allowing harsh sunlight into the interior of the foyer.

It was clear to Ace what had happened but he needed to confirm it. He had to know. 

Resisting the urge to throw up, he pushed forward to his sibling's rooms.

He checked Thalia's first. Nothing was there but a puddle of blood and a giant hole in the wall. 

Covering his mouth in horror and disgust, he ran to the room of his younger siblings. It was the same. Blood was thrown everywhere and there were large holes in the walls, as if beasts had run through them. Pausing briefly, he began to feel hot tears gather in his eyes.

He then ran into his own room, hoping for a different result. It was also the same as the others. 

He fell to his knees in silence. Waves of nausea and fatigue hit him all at once, forcing him to put his hand on the blood soaked concrete to support his own weight. When the liquid touched his hand, he jerked backwards.

It was still warm.

"T-this happened recently... I... was too slow. There's.... nothing left of them."

Raising his hand in rage, Ace slammed a clenched fist down into the concrete floor, cracking it. He then hunched over and let the onslaught of tears fall from his face and into the puddle of blood below. 

*** 

Standing behind Ace in the doorway, Stellis watched as he remained silent. Still, the ripples in the puddle of blood beneath his face told her all she needed to know. Taking a step forward, she reached out towards his shoulder but caught herself.

After, she quickly exited the building and sat down by the entrance. 

'He needs time...' 

She sat patiently by the dented steel door for hours. Eventually, The Sun dropped closer to the horizon, transitioning the sky from a bright blue to a dull orange. After that, the midnight tapestry of the night sky soon revealed itself. 

When the first stars made their appearance, Ace did the same, walking with slow and sonorous footsteps towards the entrance. When he emerged, Stellis got a good look at his face. His once brilliantly purple eyes were now dimmed, as if they had lost their light. 

Seeing his armored companion sitting by the door, Ace spoke to her, his words laced with both fatigue and disdain. 

"Why are you still here... city dweller?"

Stellis only looked at him with a poignant stare. Growing frustrated, he gripped his crowbar tightly and spoke again, his eyes now dangerously cold and distant. 

"Leave... now... I won't repeat myself."

Rising to her feet, she met Ace's gaze and took a step closer. 

"Or what? You're going to kill me? The person who helped you make it back here in the first place? What will that accomplish? What is your plan? It pains me to say it like this but..."

Ace widened his stance and lowered his body. 

"I'm warning you Stellis. Don't say anything else." 

She ignored him and continued. 

"You need to hear this... You have lost everything. You have nowhere left to go. Staying here will only serve as a reminder of what was l-" 

Ace lunged at her without warning, instantly crossing the gap between them. Holding his crowbar tightly, he threw a tight hook, aiming for her ribs. Not even attempting to intercept him, she stood like a statue, accepting his attack. 

The impact shook her entire body and even the steel platform they were standing on. Spitting out blood from her helmet, Stellis remained on her feet. Despite the power behind the strike, she hadn't even been moved by the blow. 

In a frenzy, Ace reeled his arm back for another strike. Before it could connect, she punched him square in the chest, feeling various bones shatter beneath her fist. Unlike his first strike, hers sent him flying into a hut across the street. 

From her perch on the steel platform, she could only see the darkness of the hut's interior. The sound of bones popping and being healed was enough to let her know the fight wasn't over. 

Only a few seconds later, she saw the pile of rubble shift.

In the next instant, a crowbar was sent flying straight for her face. Swatting it aside easily, she saw Ace running at her, quickly trailing his thrown projectile. Learning from his previous attack, he ducked down low and swept out his foot. 

Moving with a grace that betrayed the armor she wore, Stellis spun over his leg with a short hop and punched him into the ground. Her strike was so strong that it left an impression of Ace's body in the road and cracked even more bones than the first hit.

Groaning in pain, Ace glared sharply at her as he circulated Sever through his body to recover. 

While he healed, she pulled out her sword and pushed the sheath into Ace's chest, pinning him even more deeply into the ground. She spoke with a somber stone while looking him dead in the eyes. 

"You can't defeat me in this state. Please... ca-"

"Calm down?! How dare you!" Ace hissed. "It's because of your people that my family is dead, devoured by these creatures. You city dwellers deserve the same... or worse. How could you leave us out here to die like this! There are millions of you in there, if you didn't want to help, fine, all you had to do was open the damn wall! So why..."

Tears began to stream from Ace's face as he broke eye contact with Stellis. She stared down at him for a long while before responding. 

"I'm... sorry. What you say is true, the people of GQC-1... we've lost our way. It's not an excuse but there is much you don't unders-"

Ace cut her off. 

"I don't care! You will all will get what's coming, that I will make sure of..." 

Looking off into the distance back at The Wall, Stellis spoke once more. 

"I understand that you are angry, but aimless rage will not bring you peace. What you need is direction. What you need is... revenge." 

She turned back to Ace, lifting her sword off his chest and lowering her hand, offering to help him up. 

"And I will help you acquire it. But you must come with me. Your home and old life... they are no more. My house... we can help you, put you on the path to getting what you need. You see... we have a common interest." 

Having finally calmed down, Ace only looked at her with a puzzled look. She hurriedly spoke again. 

"Never mind that last part. What you really need right now are people you can trust. I would like to be one of the first... I hope you will be the same for me."

Taking a second to stop, Stellis took off her helmet. A mental battle was being waged within her mind. She wasn't sure if she should say what she had in mind. A quick look down at Ace's skeptical expression was the only affirmation she needed. 

"To show you how serious I am... Retribution... that is my Notch. When struck in any way, I experience a comprehensive boost to all abilities that will continue to grow based on continued aggression from enemies. There is more to the specifics but for now I hope that will be enough. Please..."

She dropped down to a knee while keeping her hand extended. 

"What do you say Ace? Friends?"