Justice

Clang! Clang! Clang! "Wow! You've gotten pretty good at using that rope of yours!" Clang! Star thrust his dagger upwards, deflecting Ethan's kusarigama. Slice! "Don't call it a rope! Call it a kusarigama!" Slice! The scythe blade shot in an arc, leaving a deep gash on Star's thigh.

"Ahh!" Star screamed in pain as he lost his balance. Thud! He fell down, clutching his leg in pain. Clank! Ethan swing his kusarigama downwards. "You need to learn to tolerate some pain." Splotch! Star's face was sliced open, blood dripping as Ethan finished him off.

Bzzzz! Whoosh! Ethan's surroundings melted away disappearing into blue glitches. Shhhh! The VR capsule opened, exposing him to the outside. He held his hand up,shielding his hands from the light. This VR capsule was placed awfully, right underneath one of the lights. So every time anybody would emerge form it, they'd be assaulted by a sharp beam of light before they could adjust their eyes. "Hey Ethan! Can't you be a little more lenient?"

He heard a loud voice stabbing into his ears from his right. "Not so loud!" He rubbed his ears in pain. It was a good thing that VR capsules were expensive. If humans transitioned into a species that spent most of their time in the virtual world, they might start losing their basic senses, which were already pathetic compared to other animals.

"What's the score right now? 25-22, right?" Ethan looked at Star. "In my favour" Star spoke with a straight face. "Yeah, right!" Ethan rolled his eyes. "You should really improve your pain tolerance." Star was good at fighting. He had the refined moves of a heavily trained professional. However, he didn't have a good battle instinct. Or, to put it in another way, his fighting style worked completely against his instincts, making his judgements go haywire.

Creak! Suddenly, the doors of the augmented section were pushed open. Ethan had a strange sense of dejavu. Tap....tap....tap. He sighed. It was 3:00 p.m. right now. The exact tike he was supposed to meet Noah here. Though, he didn't expect him to be on time today.

Ethan slowly got to his feet. "Hey Ethan! Where are you looking? Did you see a beautiful....." Star's voice trailed off as his eyes landed on Noah. Who didn't know Noah? The super-awakener who defeated every single person from the five families despite being a nobody. Or, rather, despite being born to nobodies.

"Hey, isn't that Noah Evans?" Star's voice had turned frosty. His usual happy tone had completely disappeared. "Yeah, it is." Ethan took a step forward, walking towards Noah. "Hey! What are you..." Star frowned. "I'm sorry. I've got to go now. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye!" Ethan waved slightly.

Star was a part of the rich people. The 'nobles', as Darius would call them. And he was fairly high up, considering the fact that he even had bodyguards who he had to shed every time he came to hang out with Ethan. So it was obvious that he wouldn't like Noah. His existence was a threat to their power. And, frankly, most of them would have torn him to pieces if they could.

Ethan glanced behind slightly. He could see a complicated expression on Star's face. Of course, he couldn't completely shed his purist ideas. But, he had started to waver from them. After all, hanging out with Ethan was an example of that. And it didn't matter if he was some kind of a snake like Luna. Ethan had never used him as a member of Pebble House. There was nothing to lose.

"Let's go!" Noah's cold, sharp voice pierced forward, pulling him out of his thoughts. He nodded slightly. Creak! Ethan took one last look at Star before leaving the augmented section. Star was the closest thing he had to a friend right now. He didn't want to lose him.

Slam! The door shut, closing on its own. Tap....tap....tap. Ethan followed Noah outside Obsidian Block. The sun's warm rays fell on his face, making him squint slightly. He rubbed his arms, basking in the warmth. It felt nice stepping outside after sitting in an air-conditioned building for so long. Noah headed further into the school, navigating through the twisting pathways as he walked further from the entrance. Ethan didn't question him. He wouldn't get an answer anyways.

Wait. He could recognise this place. Was Noah going towards the Combat Club? Suddenly, he turned at a corner. No. He wasn't going there. Maybe all of the hidden, spooky things at KGS were gathered at one place.

Noah entered a building, walking towards a wooden door. He'd made it here naturally, without looking around for directions. Maybe he had come this way often. Knock! Knock! He knocked twice on the door. "Come in!" A old, sweet voice called from inside. Noah opened the door. Ethan froze for a moment. It was Elizabeth.

"Who's this?" She frowned at Ethan. "He's with me. You don't need to worry about him." Noah pulled a chair as he sat down. "Alright." She nodded. Scribble...scribble. She pulled out a piece of paper, scribbling something down on it. Ethan could see her long nails glinting slightly as they reflected the sunlight. He wondered how she stopped herself from stabbing her fingers while writing. Well, she was an S rank awakener. She'd manage.

"Here." She slid the paper towards Noah. "Thanks!" He grabbed the paper, placing it in his pocket. Beep! Elizabeth pressed a button underneath her desk. Whirr...Creak! Gears started turning, making the room shake slightly as a section of the wall started breaking apart. Creak....whoosh!

There was a large transparent glass tube hidden behind the wall. It was a transfer tube! Kinda like a hi-fi version of elevators used in extremely tall skyscrapers. Yet, for some reason, it didn't look out of place in Elizabeth's messy room. "This tube is made for only one person. Both of you will have to squeeze in together."

Noah stepped inside silently. His dark eyes glanced over Ethan slightly. Ethan stared at the tube. There wasn't enough space to fit the two of them comfortably. Tack.....tack....tack. Elizabeth tapped the desk with her long nails as she stared down at her papers silently. Whatever. If he was scrunched up for a while, there was nothing that he could do. Elizabeth glanced up. "Go inside. Quickly. Or I'll send the lift without you."

"Cough...cough." Ethan stared at Noah awkwardly as he squeezed into the tube. They were incredibly close. He could see every inch of Noah's face. Suddenly, Noah glanced down. His cold eyes bore right into Ethan.

"Grab on." Ethan's face reddened. "Gr...grab on?" To what? What did Noah want him to grab onto? As far as he knew, 'The Ghost System' wasn't a BL book. Right? Creak! Suddenly, the tube shook. "What's happening...."

CRASH!!! The tube dropped down, accelerating as it rushed down faster an d faster. "Fucking...." Slam! Ethan crashed into the ceiling. So that's what Noah was talking about when he said grab on. ROOAAAAR!!!!

Whoosh! Suddenly, the tube turned a whole ninety degrees, rushing forward as it started moving horizontally. ROAAAAAR! "Gotta....grab....on..." Ethan's fingers curled around a metal railing. "Arghhh!" He pulled himself towards the edge, straining his arms as he tried to bring his body downwards.

WHOOSH! Slam! Suddenly, the tube came to a stop. "Owww!" Ethan groaned in pain as his arms were almost wrenched out of their sockets. His feet touched the floor for the first tike since the ube had left KGS. Speaking of which, where were they?

Shhhhh. The doors slowly slid open, revealing a pink coloured washroom. Noah stepped out, finally giving Ethan enough space to breath. Throughout the tumultuous journey, he hadn't budged even a single inch. Either he was used to this tube, or he simply wasn't affected by the twists and turns. Maybe it was both.

"Follow me." Noah commanded. Ethan stepped out, following Noah outside the washroom. Tap...tap...tap. Ethan eyes widened as he took in the scene in front of him. The floor was covered in white tiles, as if it were an office building. The ceiling stretched up, probably about 20 metres above their head- almost as long as the emerald krait.

He could see many people wearing office clothes walking about. Some people headed towards the elevators. A couple of them were standing near a few reception desks. Some walked out of through a set of sliding doors. A couple of gatekeepers wearing skin-tight black suits were the only people that stood out- and from their demeanour, it looked like they were some of the most important people in this building.

Suddenly, a woman's voice sounded throughout the area. "Welcome to the Awakener Protection Force! Humanity's strongest defenders! Where heroes are born and lives are saved every single second!" The APF! So that's where he was. In the one of the Dragopolis branches of the APF.

"Hello! How may I help you?" Noah took the paper out of his pocket as he gave it to the receptionist. She slid it beneath a terminal. Beep! A light turned green. Ethan frowned at her slightly. Wasn't that the paper on which Elizabeth had written something. He hadn't seen her putting a stamp or something. So how had this woman verified its authenticity?

"Here!" She slid a card towards Noah. "Him too." Noah pointed at Ethan with her thumb. "Sure!" She smiled at Ethan as she gave him another card. "The next time you come here, please make sure nobody sees you leaving the women's washroom. We've gotten a lot of complaints from our employees." She looked at Noah. He stared back at her silently. "I...I see. No worries." She coughed awkwardly.

Noah turned around, walking towards the exit. It seemed like he'd come here a couple of times. How had Elizabeth's paper worked though? Maybe it was metallic ink or something? That didn't seem particularly safe though. Well, it didn't matter. It wasn't like he'd join the APF anyways.

Tap...tap...tap. Noah turned right, walking towards a bus stop. Flat Den. He wondered how tough it would be. A G ranked gate wouldn't be tough, especially considering the fact that he was almost at the peak of G rank. In fact, the monsters there would probably be a piece of cake for Noah. There was no reason for him to waste his time there.

Whoosh! Suddenly, a large bus slowed down, its thrusters tilting slightly as it slowed down to a stop. Shhhhh! Its door slid open. Beep! Ethan swiped his card along a terminal as he walked into the bus.

Noah plopped on to one of the single seats. Apparently, he didn't want to share a spot with Ethan. Well, being orphaned and bullied for most of your life would do that to a person. Ethan knew how it felt. He sighed as he sat down on a seat behind Noah.

Shhhh! The doors slowly closed as the bus started moving. "Next stop! APF Wolfsville. Estimated time of arrival: 15:45." Half an hour. He had some time to kill. He took a deep breath. Alright. He was here. He was Noah's sidekick for now. And he had no idea what was waiting for him in the gate.

Well, then. What did he know? Noah had made a deal with the APF. Or, to be precise, Elizabeth Black. The principal of KGS. And a supposed ex-member of the APF. The APF was a government body that was dedicated to dealing with non-human and sub-human threats. Its main goal was the protection of humanity. Not humans, but humanity.

It was a cold, ruthless organisation that didn't hesitate to use any sorts of methods to achieve their goals- whatever they may be. He glanced at his watch. One of the most viewed articles related to the APF was, not surprisingly, their involvement in a controversy.

'Senator White demands more transparency in the workings of APF, says, "While the APF's goals are noble, without a suitable reign on their powers and clearances, there cannot be cooperation between the government and the gatekeepers"'.

The APF was incredibly powerful. So powerful, that if they wanted to rebel against the government, they wouldn't be able to fight back. If the government was alone. Every single politician was dirty, having some connections with people working in major gatekeeper corporations, or G-Corps as they were commonly called. Which was what the APF's founders must have predicted.

He smiled slightly. Maybe the APF was the only 'good' organisation in the world left. Most people craved power enough to do anything to acquire it. Haven, Stella, Gibson, Richter, Gloss, Black. Ultimately, every one of these wanted to grow stronger. Their methods varied. But their goals were never something as noble as the APF.

Then, the APF should be the best choice for anybody to join, right? No. While the five families had terrible goals, their methods weren't as bad. The awakeners they employed were treated decently, rising to stardom under their overfunded PR campaigns and lucrative businesses. In contrast, the APF treated their gatekeepers terribly.

Most of their members weren't widely known. Their work was dreary and dirty, often involving the worst aspects of society. They were kind of a pseudo-intelligence organisation. They dealt with the management and assigning of gates, as well as terrorists like Haven as well. Maybe that's why they were manipulative. Once you joined the APF, you couldn't leave. Not unless you were prepared to pay a heavy price.

Ethan stared at the back of Noah's seat. He wouldn't have to worry about any of that. He would easily outclass any APF member by the time he was reached the peak of his powerss. And, perhaps, he was crazier than the APF. Noah had an intense bloodlust, a hunger for killing that couldn't be quenched. If he joined the APF, they might not be able to control him.

Whoosh! Suddenly, he felt the bus lurch forwards as it started slowing down. "You have now reached Wolfsville. The time is 15:42." They were early. Well, three minutes to be precise. "Let's go!" Noah stood up as he started heading towards the door.

Tap...tap...crunch. Ethan's feet touched the gravel as he stepped off the bus. The warm air embraced his arms, feeling good after he'd sat in the cold bus for so long. Suddenly, Noah paused slightly. He turned around, staring at Ethan. Ethan frowned slightly. This....he could see a faint smirk lining Noah's face as his cold eyes stared into him.

"Wear your suit properly. The Flat Den is an F ranked gate." Ethan's eyes widened. Fucking hell! He should have doubted Noah when he told him gate's name so easily. Crunch...crunch...crunch. Noah turned around