A bit late with the arrival syncing, several tunes and whimsical melodies began blasting out from boomboxes, hidden within the resort-like estate.
As Rockfish and Pueris made their way through the resort, Rockfish did his best to explain the mandatory requirements and as much as he could force out as if he were a solemn studios member of Red 0 who definitely didn't sneak out twice a week.
"You see that."
Rockfish pointed towards a solemn entirely black scaly tower that was the tallest building in the surroundings. It just oozed death.
Pueris nodded calmly.
The tour was quite unnecessary.
"Don't go near it. Unless you want to see this place become just like the rest of the shadow realm. A place fit for no human life."
"Don't even look at it for too long, it might damage you mentally."
Pueris had not looked at it once but still nodded calmly once more.
"Next, everything here is good to use. The only places you cannot go are other members' rooms and the boss' office."
Pueris gave out another nod like a bopping toy.
Rockfish groomed his chin cautiously like the grandmaster that he was not.
"There are 8 members including you. All -S- Ranks and all quite strange. Don't anger them during meetings. They've got a lot pent up, those lot."
Pueris felt a small ache in his chest. The wounds that had stained through his leather jacket were becoming unavoidable.
Pueris let out a small comment in hopes to solve this.
"There is a medical bay, right? May I use such a place? I've got something I need to check up on."
Rockfish halted before making a sharp right turn like a glitchy machine.
"No problem, It's not like the medbay is off-limits. It's the place with the refrigerated food so it's quite popular, in actuality."
A small beep transmitted from Rockfish's iPhone.
He opened it and let out a small hiss before shoving it back into one of his suit's many pockets.
"Pueris, I've got to ask."
"How did you get a future force-control ability?"
Pueris gave out an answer in instantaneous confidence.
"Fateless, I got it from Fateless years back."
It was sure to succeed.
"Eh?"
Rockfish looked at Pueris with a look of a misdemeanor.
"Who's Fateless?"
Pueris hadn't dealt with a case like this in the previous timeline.
Nevertheless, Pueris attempted to piece this puzzle.
"Fateless... the -A- Rank Hero."
Rockfish sent a small note through his iPhone. His fingers tapped away before he turned to Pueris as they continued strolling.
"Pueris, I don't know a Fateless and neither does the database. Are you sure he doesn't go by a different name now? Our databases were only made 5 years ago."
Pueris resisted the impulsive desire to cough and screech.
Fateless didn't exist in their database?
"Wait. Doesn't your database have a face scanner?"
Pueris' voice got a bit too enthusiastic, he toned it back down by hiding his emotions with a subtle cough at the end of his sentence.
Rockfish nodded his head steadily.
"Yes, we do. But..."
"How did you know?"
Pueris and Rockfish briefly stopped moving.
The sound of melancholy tunes had been cut short and now only the shimmer of silence resonated with the air.
"It was just a strong guess."
The two began walking again in concession.
"But still, I am quite glad that my guess was both strong and correct. So may I do the honors of searching for Fateless? I'm confident I could draw him line for line and scan for his face."
Rockfish nodded.
"Sounds like quite the plan."
Rockfish briefly added a note to his device.
{Caution: Pueris (Unregulated member) knows how to perfectly use the Database face-scanner. Potential suspicion?}
Rockfish swiftly shoved his iPhone down his pocket as he continued walking, unfazed.
Rockfish turned a slow left before nodding to Pueris, his chin boinging up and down as he did so.
"Well, we're here."
Chrr-.
A sound of mechanical apparatus moving sounded as two modern and flawlessly white doors of humble sizes opened automatically.
They revealed a white-red med-bay filled with fluffy blankets, piled pillows, and thrown mattresses.
There was of course a colossal white fridge in the middle of the room, unfazed.
Pueris acted shocked and unaware of his surroundings, raising his eyebrows and waving his arms about as the old him had once done.
Rockfish pointed to a circular and transparent chamber.
"That's the scanner, for you."
Rockfish then pointed to an entirely green cylinder.
"And that'll be your medical assistance."
A moment of silence followed.
"I'll wait outside."
Chrr-.
As the white doors clamped shut, Pueris wandered straight to the scanner sphere.
Like a curse of nature, he passed through the bubble without flaw but as soon as he entered it all solidified into a translucent blue solid sphere.
There was of course, still air but it was quite threatening.
Pueris lifted his arms and straightened his body without the need to be told and waited for the usual.
Soon, a borderline female Robotron voice came from who knows where.
{"Hello, X. Would you like something else to be called by?"}
Pueris muttered briefly.
"Pueris."
{"Wonderful, Pueris. I will now begin the scanning and alert you if any issues are found."}
A dark-violet ray began plummeting down and scavenging the insides of the sphere.
It felt soothing and cushy when it shadowed Pueris' skin.
{"Processing data..."}
Pueris shut his eyes in anticipation.
{You have 3 holes in your chest, none serious, and a bad cut on your back. These are all extremely easy to heal however there are more serious matters."
Pueris continued his wait, he was already aware of 1 curse he carried.
{"You, Pueris, currently possess 2 curses."}
"Fuck."
Pueris gritted his teeth. His eyes grew several degrees darker.
He had gained a curse since time traveling.
Curses were probably one of the worst things to have in this world.
(More to be explained later.)
{"Curse 1- Curse of Tydimir. Every full moon you will receive the very same injuries that you possess today without flaw. This curse cannot be removed but can be worsened."}
{"Curse 2- Curse of Youthful Wonder. You cannot age. This curse has been partially broken for a brief lapse in time. This curse is meant to be unbreakable but it seems not so. However, to break this curse again, you may suffer and the bounds of your first Curse may worsen."}
Pueris sighed. But there was good news too. In his first time in the med-bay, he had received different news.
A young Pueris looked up in hope.
{"Pueris you possess the Curse of Youthful Wonder. You cannot age. This curse is unbreakable to this point in time."}
And so it went like that previously. Who knows, Pueris' memory was extremely fuzzy so he had assumed the word orders and vocabulary a bit.
"Wooow. That sounds awful."
A small red-headed girl spoke whilst tearing the top half of a baguette off in one yanky bite.
She wore a flattering velvety red dress that hit the floor.
"Even so, you have more than enough energy to need to grow up."
Her eyes were an eerie yellow.
Pueris stopped himself by the instance from calling out her name.
"I'm Angjayre and you're..."
"Pue-."
"Pueris, right?"
Pueris held his voice back. The girl was too hyper. She was clearly around 11 in appearance but her true age should've been at 24 right now.
"Pueris, you've got way too much energy even with that curse."
Angjayre watched in wonder through her two cloudy yellow eyes.
A force of nature only equal to 3 she had seen before. The force-stables of Justice 7, Reta, and Herculainz were the only 3 that were above such a mysterious level of energy.
A swaying and controlled bonfire of silver particles crashed like a legion of torrents in a world of black.
They all wilted and waved before one small figure.
Pueris'.
Pueris sighed. He had liked this character in the past. She and he were quite similar, but she had aged. Her hair could grow.
She just hadn't really... grown in other areas.
The girl walked up to Pueris unbothered for the machine which went a distasteful red shade.
"Did you know that the stronger an ability is, the more energy the user is gifted to sustain it? And the older we get, that gift of energy grows and the strength of our abilities grow until a certain point?"
(To summarise Reta and Justice 7 would have far more energy than the average human but their abilities take lots of energy to use and maintain. As Justice 7 and Reta grew from 10-20 their abilities would get stronger so they would need more energy to use them. Pueris who hasn't been able to grow has stagnated since the age of 12.)
"Imagine how much-locked potential you have, Pueris. I just can't even decipher-."
"Angjayre."
Rockfish stood at the door mercilessly.
"I'm still expecting a report on Fateless."
Angjayre jerked her head back before shrugging, bored.
"No need. He doesn't exist."
Pueris looked up in pain.
"He has to exist-."
"Look."
Angjayre met eyes with Pueris.
"If my eyes can't grasp him, then he doesn't exist. Not in this whole dimension."
Pueris backed down.
She wasn't wrong.
Her ability which was her eyes could grasp anything in a dimension.
So if even she could not find fateless?
"Alright. I need to get fixed up."
A bit of distance formed.
Angjayre raised her eyebrows as she continued to examine the new arrival.
"How'd you get injured?"
Pueris shrugged his shoulders innocently.
"In a fight."
Angjayre tapped her right eye, a small luminescent ring of gold trailed into the air.
She had looked back into her memory to when she saw Pueris' file.
"Lines upright."
Pueris entered the green cylinder calmly.
An underwhelming green mirage welcomed him.
Before he knew it, he had been healed.
His tongue felt like a strucid sponge.
His skin felt like iron plates.
His eyes felt cold and metallic.
His hair felt silken to the groom.
His hands scattered around his body to make sure he was settled.
As he got out, not even a moment of rest was to be prepared.
"Hurry."
Angjayre was moments from shutting the mechanical door of the infirmary. Rockfish had already fled. Her arms were crossed tightly.
"There's a meeting to be held for you."