Reunited Team

"Wake up," Hiroaki says. "We don't need a weakling who will collapse at the earliest sign of hope."

Ephraim fixes his eyes to Hiroaki, who then shot the creature coming near towards them.

"If you want to sleep," he says. "Then drop dead."

Ephraim was then helped by Esmeralda to stand up again. He felt the pain in his rib but Hiroaki's words pierced deeper. He couldn't really say anything to defend himself. Clearly, the former sergeant-in-arms meant to kill him if he would sleep at such a hopeless time.

"H-hey, Hiroaki. I asked you to save him," Anna exclaims. Ephraim was the reason she was able to regain her Hologram form, and he almost drowned just to get her chip. She felt indebted to him.

"Grraaaawww!"

"It's coming nearer, we have to go," says Berthold. "Ephraim, can you stand? Miss Sanders, please help him. Hiroaki, you lead the way and I'll be a backup,"

Hiroaki didn't utter a word, and then the team once again continued to run, way slower than before. Ephraim continued to escape with his team, despite his ribs hurting. It burned from the inside, but he had to bear the excruciating pain or else—they would all die.

**

After the unending battle and chase between the monsters, finally, the team made their escape thanks to Hiroaki and Berthold. Anna was able to lead them to the path with lesser monsters. The ones who deflects any metal were managed to be slowed down, but it isn't guaranteed it won't catch up to them.

Which is why they must make haste.

They arrived at a vault door somehow different from the rest. Lights are surrounding the area, which Samuel found odd.

"How is it that there are lights here when it's long-isolated?" Samuel asks.

"I'm not entirely sure," Anna answers. "This is a section of ANDROMEDA I failed to explore, and since I am a fragment of the real me—if some of you are still unaware of that—my chip got destroyed by the Messier 33 crew."

"Triangulum Galaxy?" Samuel asks.

"Yeah, the crew," says Anna, and then propelling her arm forward, she reached to the identification device. She then waited until the red light atop the door turned green.

"Let's go," Anna says as she passed through the door.

The team nodded to each other and then proceeded to open the vault door.

Ephraim welcomed the light—the light of probable hope.

When the team set foot to the premise, they saw nothing but light. Cold light.

"Wha—!" Samuel exclaims as he jolted in surprise. Underneath all of them was obscure darkness—like unending depths of the abyss. The floor was transparent (made of sturdy glass), and beneath it was a chasm. Ephraim stared down at the glass floor, his reflection looking back at him.

Everything was filled with light. It was strangely bright, and somehow even the walls were made with shiny white material. Just staying at the place made Ephraim dizzy.

"Haahh!" Both Samuel and Esmeralda sighs as they collapse to the floor.

"I can't believe we survive the earthquake," says Samuel. "For a second I thought it was the end of me. And—aaw! Aw, dammit—"

"Sam . . . I told you earlier to keep it down," Berthold says, and then walks towards Samuel, drawing his first aid kit. He then started to clean his wound.

Ephraim too, sat down as he held the skin where his rib was situated. He cannot believe they actually made it alive.

"You guys," Ephraim starts, drawing the attention of his team members.

". . . I'm sorry about earlier," he says. "I'm sorry for being a weakling,"

"Raim . . ." Berthold says. "You don't need to apologize. We understand that you're hurt—"

Ephraim flashes his usual smile.

"I'm a weakling," he says, tightening his grip around his rib. "I don't think I'm fit to be a leader."

"Che," Samuel clicked his tongue. "The hell is with this darn drama? Day one I thought you're some kind of robot programmed to smile—oh, wait, you're an exception, Hologram girl."

"H-hologram girl?" Anna asks, pointing to herself.

"The point is, you're human," Samuel says, eyes locking with Ephraim. "Humans are extremely feeble. Don't sweat it,"

Berthold smiles, "Sam . . . you're growing up,"

"Wh-what?" Samuel frowns, as his cheeks reddened. "I'm not a kid, I'm your colleague! The hell?"

Ephraim stares at Samuel who continued to banter to Berthold, who was simply smiling, evidently accustomed, and used to Samuel's banter. He continued to calm him down by saying Sam was misunderstanding things.

Ephraim found himself smiling.

His task force. His team.

They're alive.

"Samuel," he says. "Thank you."

"What?" Samuel retorts, "f-for what?"

"For comforting me." Ephraim answers.

"Che," Samuel says as he averts his gaze in a prideful manner.

"I'm so happy, everyone . . ." Esmeralda exclaims, "Hic! I-I'm so happy y-you're all . . . we a-all made it alive . . . hic!"

Samuel scowls, "then why are you crying?"

Esmeralda started to sob fervently, "I don't know, don't ask me, Shorty!"

"Wha—" Samuel stopped as he sees Esmeralda cry harder. He blinked, and then he turns to Berthold as if to say 'Did I do something bad?'

And Berthold answered with a smile as if to say, 'No, you didn't. Just let her be.'

Anna stares through her cyan eyes how such a 'heartwarming' event occurred before her. Ephraim started to pat Esmeralda's head, and Samuel started to tell jokes as well (of course, they weren't funny, which made her cry harder), whilst Berthold scolded Samuel.

She then glances at Hiroaki who didn't join such reunion. She decided to approach him.

"Looks like you're quite the loner type, huh~," Anna says. 'I wonder why?"

Hiroaki refused to answer.

"Sometimes I wondered how it would actually feel to hug," Anna mumbles nonchalantly. "To actually have flesh and bones. To be touched and to touch,"

Hiroaki glances over her.

"He-HEY, I'm not having an existential crisis here, alright?" Anna exclaims, clearly frazzled. "I'm just curious."

"Mm." Hiroaki nods.

Anna smiles. "It feels good to see such a reunited team, especially at such a time like this since I only experienced betrayal as they botched system~"

Hiroaki stares at her for a while, but he gave no retort.

"Anna,"

"Yes?" Anna answers to the source of that voice, which was Ephraim.

"Now that we're in a safe space," Ephraim says. "I think it would be best to discuss the best route to escape the laboratory—and the secrets of it."

"But I don't think I could help you plenty since I'm just a fragment," says Anna, and then her eyes lit up as she noticed Berthold, Esmeralda, and Samuel's confused gazes. "Oh! You people don't know what's up with me, huh . . . so a brief introduction didn't do it?"

"It didn't, unfortunately," Berthold answers as he chuckles awkwardly.

"You said I wasn't the only person who came here when I asked you."

Anna tilted her head, "oh . . . yeah, and?"

"I don't think any UHE Archeology graduate set foot to these grounds. Of course, I wouldn't know if it's the other way around . . . so I think this is the time the questions we have need answering, Anna."