From what the man told Don, it seemed like that mysterious group was something he knew of. Don had never actually met the Leader of that group or their people face-to-face, but he did hear about them. He knew they were a strong bunch since none of them had ever died, and it appeared they had been around since the beginning. Since this was a different world, Don knew that the beginning had to be years ago since there were people here with multiple Seed Powers, just like Rose.
"Must be the Rosario Group," Don said. "Rosario Group?" The man asked. "That doesn't concern you. Tell me, why are people preparing for War?" Don asked. Even if the New World Government stopped recruiting people, they still had other operations, so it didn't make sense. "Well, supplies are running dry. There used to be an abundance of supplies, but with the constant appearance of people, the supplies are being used up. Factions are starting to show up to take over towns and cities. This is to keep the supplies for themselves. Eventually, people will break out in war just to find more supplies." The guard explained.
What the Guard said was true. This is what happened during each run, but it only happened during Don's final two months. This was way too early. The Factions didn't pop up until the final four months, which was around the time the stronger bugs and undead appeared. Right now, he was only about three months in. Not even halfway through the third month, and things are already at this point.
Judging how things were progressing now, Don could only assume that the war would break out within two more months. Don wasn't around for the aftermath of the war, but he figured it wasn't going to be pretty. So, Don needed to hurry along. There were too many preparations he needed to complete, and right now, he was behind on the biggest one of them all.
"Is that all?" The guard asked, noticing Don wasn't answering back. "No. Have you ever heard of the Faction, Nightfall?" Don asked. If the Factions were starting to pop up, he wanted to make sure the most troublesome of them all wasn't around yet. "Nightfall?" The guard asked with a confused expression.
Don was relieved to hear that Nightfall wasn't known yet. They weren't a Faction Don liked dealing with. They had people capable of resisting a portion of Don's Timeless Flow and Spatial Distortion. So, Don couldn't just outright kill them like he could these people. He wanted to get the NS armor to make dealing with them easier.
In fact, after getting the NS armor, Don was planning on getting rid of the top leaders of Nightfall before they became too strong. He didn't want to chance it with them since they were one of the third-highest power. The first being the New World Government and the second being the Rosario Group. They were the most troublesome since they actively went after people, unlike the Rosario Group or the New World Government. Nightfall kidnapped women as slaves for their own pleasures and enslaved men to do their dirty work. Any that disobeyed were not killed but tortured to near death then healed by one of the top leaders.
This is what allowed Nightfall to work so well. They didn't need to kill anyone. They could just break them with torture or other means. People feared them, and no one could deal with them since the Rosario Group was busy with the New World Government and vice versa. Don was the one who took out Nightfall, but he didn't necessarily come out of it unscathed. It took a lot of energy, and he nearly lost his life during the siege.
He didn't have an army with him either. He was alone and by himself. If he did have any connection, it was with the Amazoness'. However, he didn't even think of asking for their aid. Not only that, when he went to check on them, Downtown was obliterated completely. So, he took out an entire Faction of hundreds of armed men by himself.
"One more thing, how much do you know about the other factions? How many are there? Where are they located? What kind of supplies do they have?" Don started asking multiple questions, even though he only said one more thing.
"Uhh... I... I don't have that information. I only know what has been disclosed. If anything, the Leader probably knows." The guard said with a stutter. This was the first time he didn't have the answers that Don sought, and he feared for his life. "And who is your Leader?" Don asked, which caused the man to gulp.
"L-Linda." The man said. "Linda?" Don thought aloud, which caused the guard to nod. "Wasn't she the one who was taken by Nightfall..." Don thought to himself. He recalled hearing the Leader of Freedom Fighters being taken as a slave for Nightfall. The Leader went by the name Lovely Linda since she was beautiful, but she was also deadly.
The woman knew how to fight. It was not an exaggeration to say that she could take out an entire platoon of armed fighters with her dual swords. Don witnessed her strength once, but that was early in the creation of the Factions. She wasn't a Leader back then but merely a guard.
"Good, that's all," Don said and pushed off the guard. "Wait! Wha--" The guard's mouth was wide open, but before he could finish his sentence, he was in still-motion. Don did think about killing the man. He honestly wanted to. Seeing him touch April brought about his bloodlust, and he truly wanted to slit the man's throat or put a bullet in his head; however, he held back. He didn't want to cause needless bloodshed.
Don moved to April and slowly wrapped his arms around her from behind. When he touched her, she began to animate. "H-Hey! What do you think you are doing!?" April exclaimed. "It's me, April," Don said. His voice soothed her instantly, and she relaxed in his arms. She looked around to see all of the time had been stopped. "Is this your doing?" April asked.
Don nodded. "It is." He replied. April would have smiled, but a frown took over instead. A thought ran throughout her mind, "It's quite lonely...." That was what she thought. "Do you experience this all the time?" April asked. "Experience what?" Don replied with a question of his own.
"This emptiness..." April spoke softly. Don didn't answer at first because he was a bit taken back by her remark. A smile curved across his lips since he realized she was worried about him. "Not all the time. Only when I activate my Seed Power to this extent. Besides...." Even though everyone was grayscale, April was the only one who had color. She was bright, like that of light. A reminder that April was his light.
"The one I love is with me," Don said softly, and April's lips curved into a smile. She would hold his arms and lean back against him happily. They shared this moment for who knew how long until April said something. "Well, did you kill that guy?" April asked. "Are you talking about the guy who was touching you all over?" Don asked.
"Yeah," April replied. "I wanted to, but I didn't. I don't want to cause a scene and attract too much attention." Don replied, and April nodded. "Good," April said, then Don's brow rose. "Good?" He asked. "Yeah, I want to kick him in the balls. Only you can touch me like that."April said with annoyance in her voice.
Don smirked, "Alright, but you'll have to keep touching me; otherwise, you will return to still-motion." Don said, and April would smile brightly, "Like that will be a problem. I love touching you." April replied but laced her words with a bit of tease and playfulness. Don just chuckled at her remark and took hold of her hand while giving her space to turn around.
The two of them walked over to the man and behind him. He was already in a good position, with his butt in the air and his legs spread out. It was the perfect chance for April to kick the man in the nuts. "Go ahead," Don said since April was looking at him, then April nodded cutely before kicking the guard in the nuts. The moment her foot connected with the man, his time resumed.
"What about-- UG--" The man felt an immense amount of pain in his netherregion. He moved his hands to the area, but before he could, his time stopped since April moved her foot away from the man. She looked towards Don since she didn't understand why the man's time resumed. "It's because you are connected to me. Since you touched him, he was connected to you. I knew this would happen, but he won't be able to do anything. As long as you remove your foot within a decent time frame, his time will halt." Don explained, and April nodded.
She wasn't done. The man had gotten to fell all over her thighs and legs, then her waist, and was about to start feeling up her chest which was why she repeatedly kicked the man in the nuts. At least another six or seven times. We aren't talking playful kick either. She full-on drove her boot into his family jewels. If anything, they would be broken.
By the third time, the man couldn't say anything. The pain was too much, and his voice wouldn't come out. His hands did reach his nether region after the sixth time, though, so April stopped. "All done." She looked towards Don with an innocent smile. She hadn't said a word while she did what she did. She saw no reason to, but her actions were more than enough to show Don just how pissed she was.
"I suppose this is a more fitting punishment for you. Killing you would have been too light. I wonder if you will recover from this." Don thought to himself.
'Boy, I wouldn't want to piss her off. If she does that to a man, I don't even want to know what she'll do a woman.' Melissa's voice spoke inside Don's head, which made him chuckle inward, and a smirk curved across his face.
They made their way back to where April previously was. "As to not raise suspicion, we'll return to our normal positions," Don said. Still, before he released April, she pressed herself against him and kissed him deeply. "Don't make me wait too long," April said as she broke the kiss. Her voice was soft but audible. Don smiled at her and nodded. "Of course." April would smile then retake her position with her arms spread out. Once she was in position, Don released her, and she went back into still-motion.
Still, she was full of color and bright, which was why Don was still smiling. When he moved back to his bike, he would fold his arms over his chest, but that was when he realized it. He still had the gun in his hand. "Almost forgot about this," Don said since he was about to resume time or at least his perception of it. He returned the gun to his Spatial Storage then resumed time.
"HHHHGNNN." The man fell over onto his side, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he passed out. Everyone looked at the guard, and even April turned around to see him on the ground. "Oh no, is he okay?" April asked, looking around. Some of the other guards came over to check up on him but found nothing wrong.
"Idiot probably got himself in trouble. He didn't hurt you, did he?" One of the guards asked April, and April shook her head innocently. "Nope." The guard nodded, "Good. You are free to go. Head to the interview table." The new guard said. A few of the other guards had to pick up the guy in the ground to remove him from the scene. Meanwhile, the new guard took over and went through the pat-down; however, he wasn't as touchy-feely as the previous guard. This meant that the previous guard was just a sick bastard and got what he deserved.
April skipped over to Don and clung to his arm. "Heya, Darling, miss me?" April asked cutely, and Don just chuckled. "Of course. Shall we?" Don asked, and April nodded. They made their way over to the interview table, where they sat down in a seat. Two seats were in front of one interviewer. It was clear that people came as families, groups, or even couples, so they did things this way.
"Sorry about that. David is a scum bag. We've honestly been trying to get the guy fired, but people keep taking his side. Don't let this sway your decision if you plan to stay with us, though. Our Leader is plenty strong and a respectable woman." The guard in front of them said, apologizing for their colleague's behavior and trying to keep these people on their side.
"No problem," April replied innocently, as if she didn't just neuter the man. "Good, good. Now, if you don't mind me asking a few questions. First, are you a family or friends?" The guard asked. "He is my wonderful husband, and I am his beautiful wife!" April answered proudly, which caused the guard's brow to raise. "She sure loves you, huh?" The guard looked to Don, and Don nodded. "And I love her just as much," Don said, and the guard nodded with a smile.
"That's good! Not many people can find such a thing nowadays. I am sure you two will go far. Just be sure to keep each other safe." The guard said, and April nodded happily, "Of course!" The guard moved onto the next question. "Are you the only ones, or are there any delayed arrivals with you?" The guard asked, and this time Don answered. "No. Just us." Don replied. The guard nodded and wrote something down.
He had done this when April asked earlier as well. In fact, the guard had a clipboard and piece of paper in hand with a pen, but no one could see the paper. Don could have stopped time and moved around if he truly wanted to see what was on the paper, but he saw no need to. This place didn't feel like a threat to him. The only reason he would have killed everyone here was that one of them touched his girl.
"I see. Next, what are you two here for?" The guard asked. "Just passing through. We were actually planning on headed elsewhere, and this was the quickest route." Don explained. The guard's smile turned into a frown. "I see. I can request a leave permit, but people who generally come here don't get to leave until a few weeks. It's to keep out spies and make sure no one is planning anything. Surely you understand." The guard said. He wasn't upset because they wanted to leave, it was because they seemed like nice people, and he felt bad about them having to stay here since they were just passing through.
"Leave permit?" Don inquired, and the guard nodded. "Yes. Normally, we aren't supposed to do this sort of thing; however, you two seem like good folk. So, I wouldn't want to cause any problems for you. Especially if you are on a honeymoon or something. Even if this world was brought to ruin, there are still beautiful places to go." The guard said. April looked to Don when the guard said something about a honeymoon. "Darling~" April seemed to happily snuggle into him, and the guard smiled lightly.
"Ah, I know that feeling. I'll do what I can for you two." The guard said. Don could see a silver band on the man's ring finger. He was clearly had a significant other. "With that said, there is one final question I must ask. Do you two know about Seed Powers?" The guard asked. Don nodded. "We do," Don replied. The guard wrote something down then continued on with another question. "Can you tell me what yours are?" The guard asked.
"Mine is Spatial Distortion, and her's is Eagle Eye." Don hide the fact he had a Time Seed Power and April's mixed Green Seed Power. "Spatial Distortion?" The guard's eyes went wide. "Are you saying you have a Black Seed Power?" The guard asked since it was one of the rarer Seed Powers for someone to have. Don nodded. "Is that a problem?" Don asked, and the man shook his head.
"Not at all, but we'll have to ask you to demonstrate your Seed Powers. Although..." The guard paused for a second, and a frown took his face. "I'll do my best to make sure you two get that leave permit. Just be patient, please." The guard said. It was quite clear that the Freedom Faction would try to recruit them or keep them here if they knew about their Seed Powers. Being a man with a wife, he understood what it was like not going where you wanted.
"Okay. I can tell you are a good man. What's your name?" April asked with a smile. "My name?" The man asked, and April nodded. "My name is Gaberial, but most people just call me Gabe. Also, before we leave, I'll need to put your names down. That was supposed to be the first question, but I forgot due to the incident. Again sorry about that." Gabe said with an apologetic expression.
"No problem. My name is April Douglass, and this man is Donathan Douglass." April said brightly. Don didn't let go of the fact that she used his last name instead of her own. Although he didn't say anything about it, Melissa did, 'Alright! One down, five more to go!' Melissa exclaimed. It seemed she wasn't going to let go of the fact that Don should have a mistress.'
The guard wrote their names down with a nod. "Wonderful, now if you two will come this way." The guard escorted them to one of the tents, and when they entered, he handed the clipboard to another guard. This one was a woman, and she nodded. "I hope you two will have a wonderful stay," Gabe said. "Tell the wife I said hi," April said with a smile, and Gabe smiled brightly and nodded before leaving.
"I see you three got along quite well. That's good." The woman said since she saw the interaction. "Yup. We both have our own significant others." April replied happily while snuggling up to Don. "Does the bike count?" The woman asked, seeing Don still holding onto it. "It is his baby," April replied teasingly, but Don nodded with pride.
"She's beautiful." The woman said. "Oh? You fancy bikes?" Don asked, and the woman nodded. "That I do, but that is a conversation for another time. For now, we need to finish up your entry progress." The woman replied, then looked over the paper and when she did her eyes went wide.