Separate Ways
"So yeah, we've struck a deal with the military. The plan is to move out in a couple of hours," Magnus stated with an excited grin.
Before him, sitting at a dining table in the 'conference room', everybody had just listened to Magnus' plan and was now wearing mixed expressions. Markus was seen calmly observing everyone's faces, while his wife showed a slightly concerned look. Patrick was discussing something with Henry and Gina. Next to him, Mrs. Wang had a neutral expression, her fingers rubbing the [Bringer of Order] ring. Garrett seemed lost in thought and Katja was…not drinking this time, surprisingly. The girl simply looked bored out of her mind. Sitting a bit further away were TJ and Lisa, and both had the same—
Hold up. Since when had Lisa been picking up TJ's mannerisms? Both had their arms crossed, faces looking as if nothing could bother them. Magnus pressed his lips and struggled to stifle his laugh at the sight.
'Our best friend just got a little sister,' Magnus 2.0 remarked, totally amused.
'They look freaking adorable,' Magnus added.
Summer noticed her boyfriend's behavior and leaned in to whisper, "I find them cute, too."
Magnus breathed in her flowery scent and couldn't help himself. He turned his face to give her a quick peck on the lips.
"Ahem," his father tried to get Magnus back on track.
Magnus smirked before noticing TJ looking daggers at Summer; his sharp Perception had picked up on her earlier comment. Magnus was about to respond to this before Summer beat him to it. She gave TJ a raised eyebrow, as if challenging him.
Magnus snorted. He then coughed and reminded himself to focus back on the topic. "Yeah so, we're sending six people to assist the soldiers tonight. Who wants to come?"
Owen immediately raised his hand. "You're going to appoint either Tyler or Ms. Murphy to lead us, correct?"
"No, dad," TJ interrupted. "I'm going alone."
"What?" Victoria whipped her head, startled by her son's statement. "Absolutely not!"
Magnus scratched his cheek. "Actually, me and him already had a discussion about this. I think it's fine if he went solo. He's got like, over five hundred Health and eight hundred Mana. So he's gonna be alright. Besides, he also said he didn't want to share his gain—"
"Then I'm coming with him." It was not Victoria who said this, but Lisa.
Hearing that, TJ glanced at her with visible irritation.
Magnus wanted to facepalm himself. "Listen, Lisa. In case you haven't noticed, that guy isn't exactly the type who can protect you all the—"
"Which is why I'm coming with him," Lisa interjected. "I don't need him to babysit me. I can take care of myself. I don't want to rely on you, or him, or anybody else, anyway."
Magnus sighed helplessly. It wasn't as if he hadn't figured out what she really wanted. He understood she was desperate to prove herself and get stronger more quickly. "Whatever. But promise me you're not going to have any stupid idea and go overboard."
TJ frowned and shot her a glare. "Aren't you going to ask if I'm willing to tolerate having you around or not? 'Cause I think we both know the answer."
"Nope," Lisa replied. "You clearly don't welcome my company. But you don't need to worry about that. I'm not going to be much of a bother. Again, I can take care of myself."
TJ scoffed. "We'll see about that."
Victoria was seen opening her mouth, about to protest, but her husband held up a hand. He nodded at her reassuringly, causing her to resign.
Magnus caught the couple's silent interaction from the corner of his eyes, much to his relief. He was confident TJ was able to handle any group of monsters or even a Protagonist by himself. It would be even easier for him to mow down monsters if he didn't have to worry about anyone's safety, but Lisa was a new variable that could get in his way.
Since TJ was planning to enter a portal and all that. So Magnus had to improvise a little bit later.
After informing everyone about the monster-extermination locations they were going to target, they then agreed on the first six people going out tonight. Apart from TJ and Lisa, of course.
They were Patrick Murphy, Amy Wang, Henry Williams, Fiona Helvig, and Nikolai Alexandrov. Led by Summer.
Earlier that morning, most people had managed to learn [Lesser Heal], easing the burden of the healing job off Summer's shoulders. In this group, most were on Level 3 except Summer, Mrs. Wang, and Nikolai. Summer was on Level 5, Mrs. Wang Level 4, and Nikolai Level 2.
And then there was the second group, consisting of TJ and Lisa. Lisa herself was actually on the highest Level among all the Supporting Characters, whereas TJ was…well, he was only behind Magnus in overall strength. So that was enough to reassure everyone that the two weren't going to encounter much problem. Hopefully.
Even Mrs. Wang hadn't stopped her daughter from going. As much as she was worried sick that she'd lose another one of her children, she knew Lisa needed this. And the only thing the woman could do was trust in her daughter.
The two groups were going to head for separate portal locations, each only a couple of blocks away from the other. Magnus had chosen the locations and informed the military about it, which they had agreed on. There were still people stuck in their apartments in that neighborhood, after all.
"So, you're staying here?" Fiona asked her son.
"Yes, mom," answered Magnus while giving her a warm hug. "I need to hold the fort."
'Besides, I want everyone to get used to not having me around.'
"Don't worry. I'll be able to watch over all of you through Summer's eyes. If trouble occurs, I'll be there in a flash," he added, letting go of her and giving her a tender smile.
The woman then went to kiss her husband. "Be careful out there," Markus said.
Both groups would've taken around thirty minutes to walk to the Butler Field camp—it had taken less than ten for Magnus and his father since they were able to use [Gale]. However, the military had agreed to meet them halfway through in order to save time and mana. It would be more efficient if they could avoid wasting energy on defeating monsters on the way to the camp.
Magnus sat on the dining chair as he observed Summer's POV screen while Magnus 2.0 kept his eyes on TJ's screen. Unfortunately, both Magnuses shared the same call channel. So if one were to be on a Protagonist call with someone, the other had to wait until they were finished.
Before departing, TJ had agreed to take on an Objective to defeat the monster beyond the portal and obtain its sword. Meanwhile, Summer was tasked to 'kill as many monsters as you can and help evacuate civilians while keeping everyone in your group safe'.
'Giving out Objectives is actually pretty beneficial,' Magnus 2.0 pointed out. 'We gained 300 DP after we were back from the camp, since it counted as TJ finishing his Objective. It isn't much, but it's still something. Besides, TJ gained 150 XP for doing absolutely nothing. Just because we told him to remain here till we were back.'
Magnus watched through Summer's POV as the two groups finally encountered a military truck after bypassing a group of monsters. They boarded the truck and sped through the monster hordes toward the camp.
Upon arriving at the headquarters, the group was greeted by two squad leaders—Sergeant Hank Jordan and Sergeant Rachel O'Brien. Both of them would be in charge of escorting the groups.
A short distance away, they could see a few boxes of what Magnus assumed to be their promised food and other supplies. It seemed the soldiers had done their job collecting all of that from the people over at the other camp. The groups couldn't get their hands on the supplies yet, though. They had to fulfill their end of the deal, first.
"Good evening, sir, ma'am," Summer greeted the two sergeants. "My name is Summer Murphy, and I'll be responsible for this group." She then proceeded to introduce each one of the members.
"Nice to meet you all," Sergeant O'Brien responded with an amiable smile. She had a sturdy build, firm muscles bulging along her tanned complexion. Her brown ponytail swayed as she gestured to the two teenagers standing a bit apart from the group. "And, what about them?"
Of course, she was referring to TJ and Lisa.
"We're the second group," Lisa replied.
Sergeant Jordan, who was supposed to be responsible for escorting the second group, frowned. "Only you two?"
Lisa gave the dark-skinned man a smug grin while crossing her arms. "We're more than enough."
TJ could be seen rolling his eyes. "You mean 'I' am more than enough."
Hank alternated his look between the two. His face showed visible skepticism. "I heard you guys could use magic. Is that true? Does that mean being able to use magic makes you two that confident?"
Lisa nodded vehemently. "This guy next to me is what you'd call overpowered. Oh wait, that would be Magnus. But this one's pretty strong, too."
Hank didn't know what to say. He seriously couldn't believe that magic would make that much of a difference between trained soldiers with automatic rifles and a seemingly normal civilian. Besides…
"How old are you again?" he asked, clearly directing it at Lisa.
Fortunately, Lisa didn't seem offended. She knew she looked too young to be here. "I'm twelve. But I can assure you, sir, that my age doesn't make me any weaker than my friends."
Hank still didn't seem convinced.
"Hank," Rachel called.
The man turned to her and saw her nudging her head slightly at TJ. Hank glanced at the boy and after meeting his eyes, understood what she meant. The boy was definitely far from being just a normal civilian. He carried a vibe that felt as if he knew what he was doing.
The sergeant sighed and finally said, "Fine. If you're that confident, then I won't stop you. Just know that while I was tasked to escort you, I'll mostly be responsible for my squad. My soldiers and I can't keep our eyes on you all the time. You'll have to be able to protect yourself."
"Aye, sir!" Lisa responded.
And so, the two groups and their escort teams moved out of the camp toward the north, where Abyss portals had spawned near Navy Pier and civilians were still trapped in the earthquake-affected buildings. About three-fourth of the way, the two groups went their separate ways.