Contemplation

Companionship was a strange thing. Friendship that arose out of companionship was even stranger.

It left one feeling a sense of fullness. Like a good meal after days of starvation, or like a good night's sleep after staying awake for weeks.

If one were to ask Winston about it, and he were to answer truthfully -which he would rarely do- he would answer; 'It reminds me of my time with Old Man.'

Indeed. It was a strange feeling.

A feeling of home.

And in the tower, home was a foreign concept to most of the residents.

"I'm telling you, that stream was absolutely insane! When Tommy from the RAB(ranking administration bureau) donated those points, everyone was shocked!" Zarhan spoke with enthusiasm as the trio walked along the halls of the ships.

The regulars had not met Urek Mazino yet. Urek had gone back to his chambers on Winston's request. It was solely because he wanted to record their collective reactions to meeting the dude; he did not want to spoil the experience by splitting them up and having Urek meet them one by one.

In the meantime, the regulars gathered in one place and took the time to catch up.

There were a few outliers in between, like Vespa and Verdi who were not originally a part of their group, but they didn't let it bother them.

Everyone got along nicely.

They talked for hours about what both Winston and Bam had been doing. Needless to say, everyone was pretty angry at FUG for doing what they did and some, like Endorsi, even blamed Hwaryun for it.

To everyone's surprise, Bam protected Hwaryun and told them to leave her alone.

Although it was weird, it brought a smile to everyone's faces. Bam had not changed even now.

Winston, naturally had nothing to hide. He was too conspicuous for his own good now. Any move he made was closely monitored by almost everyone in the tower.

Naturally, it didn't matter with his avatars being spread all around.

After that, everyone addressed the elephant in the room.

Charlotte.

People had a lot of ask about her.

Especially Endorsi. She seemed to have developed a strange rivalry with her. Khun and Wangnan were under the heavy impression that Winston and her were dating, for some strange reason. Naturally, the misunderstanding was cleared up.

Another thing that Winston noticed during it all was Rak the Alligator.

His gaze was alternating between Winston and Charlotte.

It was plenty obvious that he had figured it out. Rak's animalistic instincts were sharper than he gave them credit for. Winston would absolutely not bring it up with the Alligator, and it seemed he too was content with being non vocal about it.

Perhaps he was too scared to speak about.

After all that was done and everyone headed off to rest for a while, Winston, Zarhan and Amon were the only ones left.

And so, they decided to take a stroll around the ship.

"The way you fought the Corps Commander was amazing!" Amon said from the side, excitement palpable in his voice.

Winston scratched the back of his head and smiled.

"Well, it was nothing really. I can teach you some tricks if you like." He laughed.

"Hell yeah!" Zarhan clenched his fists and roared in elation.

Amon also looked at him with stars in his eyes.

Suddenly, Winston looked at him and wiggled his brows.

"Also, how's the relation between you and Anaak coming along?" He smirked.

Amon seemingly froze in his steps before he coughed and adopted a stoic face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Ah, quit it!" Zarhan slapped his head with a chuckle. "You never care to admit it!"

"I really have no idea what you mean by that."

Winston shook his head and spoke with a teasing undertone.

"Well, if you don't wanna admit it, that's fine too. What's love, if it isn't accompanied by a bit of secrecy, eh?"

Seeing their smirks, Amon felt a blush creep up on his face.

"We're just friends that all." He said in a finalizing tone.

"Don't tell me... you were friendzoned?"

"Really?" Winston also expressed his shock.

"Wha!? No! Of course not!"

It wasn't until he snapped out of the momentary confusion that Amon realized he had walked into a trap.

"Hehe. Well, as long as your relation hasn't turned static, I advice you to keep pursuing her!" Winston gave him a thumbs up.

Zarhan also mimicked his motion.

"Also, you shouldn't wait too long. Letting it marinate is one thing, but don't take absurdly long like decades you know? You must seize the opportunity." Winston nodded sagely.

Amon felt a burst of heat from his head as his cheeks were overtaken by a shade of red.

"...I'll keep that in mind."

Hmm. I can't say I haven't missed this... Winston held a serene smile on his face and mused.

Their idle chatter had been something he enjoyed at the test floor and even some floors after it. It gave momentary respite from his own thoughts and gave him the time to take a rest.

And now, it seemed all the more enjoyable.

They made their way to the top of the airship.

It had already become night time by now.

The sky was darkened with a layer of clouds and a slight drizzle poured down. The sussurus of the wind rang clear and wide, throwing their clothes around and making them feel chills.

They were still on the 30th floor. They couldn't go up the floors the normal way from a warp drive, since Wangnan and Co still hadn't gone beyond the 30th floor.

As for Winston, it was a special case. Since he had parasitized so many rankers, he, in essence, was now allowed to go to any and all unlocked floors on the tower.

It was not something that made sense in the traditional manner. It was basically Winston taking the place of other people or 'stealing' their place in the tower. He embodied their identity.

And since he and his avatars were one and the same, he naturally attained the ability to freely travel through all the floors. And the more people he parasitised, the more people he 'embodied' in the sense of the guardians.

And so, even though he had never climbed the Tower, he was considered equivalent to a ranker.

But funnily enough, his original body was still a regular, and that also meant that each and every avatar was also as such. It was a very weird connection.

"It feels like it's about to rain." Amon shielded his eyes from the wind as he walked.

They were all wearing simple T shirts, shorts and sandals.

It was a very simple way of clothing that Winston rarely ever wore. But it was comfortable.

"The Administrator's watching us." Winston suddenly dropped a bomb, making both Amon and Zarhan turn to him with a deadpan.

"What do you mean he's watching us?" Zarhan was the first to ask.

"Did I stutter?" Winston chuckled. "Irregulars are a big deal, even for Administrator's... and let's just say I have a special place even among those."

"So you're like a super criminal?" Amon raised a brow.

"...See when you put it like that..." Winston had no words. Guardians were the Gods of the tower. The undisputed powerhouse, standing atop every other being in the tower. And someone that Guardians had to be vary of could indeed be marked as a criminal. It was simply a way of words.

Not to mention Irregulars were viewed in a negative light in the first place.

"...Yeah. Basically a super criminal."

Winston did not feel the word to be definitive, but he just chose to go with it. He did not wish to spend brain power to refute that.

"Well, that's surely gratifying, I imagine." Zarhan said. "Being so strong even the Gods of the tower need be vary."

"Eh. It's a pain really. Having hundreds of eyes constantly watching you isn't a pleasant sensation I tell you." He chuckled.

"Can't relate."

"Can't relate." They both said at the same time.

Suddenly, Winston had a peculiar thought in his mind.

"...Say." He said, making them turn towards him.

"Would you like to get powers similar to mine?"

Amon and Zarhan raised a single brow.

"Powers like yours?"

"How so?"

"Let's see... I can't be sure if it'll work really, but if I can succeed." He extended his hand, making the illusion of a small bottle appear at his hand. "I could make you some handy things..."

Amon and Zarhan looked at each other and then to Winston and then back again.

Then, he collectively smiled and rain towards him.

"Hell yeah!"

"Of course!"

They jumped into the air and towards their friend. Who only smiled and gotnout of the way, casting a silent tumble on their sandals.

Bam! Bam!

They both fell onto the metal floor, Amon on his face and Zarhan on his butt.

Ouch!

Winston gave a silent laugh seeing them.

He looked out to the air and where the administrator was watching them.

"...it seems the tower will get even more chaotic soon..." He said.

As if in response, the wind began to pick up and soon became a Storm!

Seeing that, they all headed inside.

They walked back to their respective rooms and headed inside for rest.

And as Winston laid on the bed mattress, he felt thoughts drifting in his head.

This team... it had indeed become precious to him.

Amon and Zarhan were like little brothers he never had. Endorsi, Anaak, Shibisu, Khun, Bam and Rak... it was all like a dysfunctional family that somehow, worked.

A bottle materialized in the air above him.

The other potions.

Since shinsu was limitless, he felt it would also be possible for him to create beyonder characteristics. However it were possible, he wished to take his teammates with him.

He did not want to outgrow them, however much he might need to.

His eyes held melancholy.

"But should I?" He asked himself.

He left the question to drift in the air, unanswered.

Some answers need not be said.

And so, he closed his eyes, taking a rest and letting his thoughts go adrift and into the sweet domain of dreams.

~~~

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A/N: Throw some stones.

And tell me how this chapter turned out.

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Cheers~