…
I must destroy him.
Tears rolled down behind the veil. He saw neither of her eyes, but he knew they could only focus on him. He reached to gently wipe them off, using his still clean hand. She wrapped both of hers around his wrist. They were shaking, trying to grasp all that she could, yet non-committed. Her movements were shifting between freezing themselves into a statue, or letting her fall forward into his blood-soaked chest. He could still smell the iron. He thought he could anymore. He also finally noticed her smell. He further wanted to lean closer to her, even if to touch her skin once.
She was a young woman. In fact, she might have been around the same age as him. Or perhaps, “him.” He removed his arm, only drawing a trail on her cheek with his knuckles. Even if that was what exactly she wanted, what she saw as needed, he wouldn’t let go of him, yet. He, himself, did not even consider for a moment to ask her to do so. 
A series of steps were heard echo behind him. 
Both of them suddenly released each other. There was no doubt about what was happening. He glimpsed the bodies of everyone again. The untouched princess, with only disheveled hair that spread on the table. Right next was the remaining half of her loyal servant, emerald scales still gleaming, also elevated from the floor. The dark assassin, whose clothes hid the gaping wound, had to be laid crudely on the ruby mosaic. As the steps grew nearer, he forwent to give one last look at his other two friends. Both crimson feather and golden sheen simply flashed at the corner of his eyes.
Do what you must.
He stopped right before the door. This was no more an order from her as it was a plea. As soon as he would open it, he would be jumping right into the maw of the beast. He would be sending his own life into darkness. He would be truly, undeniably, dead. The whole world, had finally become dead.
He readied his sword. He exhaled his last breath. He opened the door.
The world shall be reborn once again.
The eyes, similar to his own, stared back at him. The world toppled itself over. A chilling wind embraced his face. A pain travelled down his arm. He was being called, again…
…
“Wake up, spike!” 
Chester groaned from the pain that came from his arm and neck. He rubbed his eyes, until he could finally focus on the light coming from the opened door. The snow was pure white from where he sat. Beyond it was the deer girl herself, tapping her foot loud enough for him to hear. The young hedgehog sprawled over the backseat and stretched, finally reaching the full length that he wanted. Then, promptly closed his eyes.
“Are you kidding me?”
Three of his spikes got violently pulled up.
“OW!” Chester smacked away her hand and glared at her. She was wearing smuggest of smiles.
“How’s beauty sleep?”
“It was great, until someone decided to pull on my spikes!”
“Good to hear. Now, are you gonna help with luggage?” Flora got he phone out. “It’s almost evening soon! C’mon, we have stuff to bring to hotel.”
“Yes, yes, princess, whatever,” Chester grumbled. 
He crawled out of the car with same lethargic energy of an old cat lady. Reaching out to the sky, he kicked the car door closed, then took quick breath of fresh, winter air. Within his horizon were several buildings. In fact, these buildings were pretty much standing side to side. He was surprised how packed they all looked, even compared to their town’s center. That said, it all looked bigger. From the buildings, to the street lamps, to the roads, everything. He even tried to check if the hotel’s other side was just as big as theirs.
“Are you gonna keep gawking or what?” Flora called out, making him stop. “We have several days to tour around, if that’s what you wanna do, so wait till later!”
“How about you start doing the luggage yourself?” Chester muttered. “If you wanna do everything quickly so badly.”
“Actually, I took charge while we were driving!” Flora tapped her hand on his shoulder, causing his to look at her and her large backpack, as well as hand purse. “Mister Mouton got lost, so I had to navigate them all here. Really convenient having someone who grew up in the city, huh? Now then…” She pointed squarely at the trunk, where several bags were stinking out in every direction. “Just bring them all in the lobby for now, while I get Mister Mouton for instructions. That clear?”
Chester didn’t say anything, just trudged his way to the back. Taking that as a unanimous “yes”, she left right before she saw him pluck out one bag using enough force to send both it and himself to the ground. There were some suspicious clattering noise, but Chester took it to mean he got the important bag out first.
The hotel they staying at looked pretty nice, in the young boy’s opinion. The windows were clean, the bricks were shiny, and the door had a pretty good paintjob. There was a sign, in blue and white, that read “For A Song, Corner Hotel!”, plus some cartoony music notes dancing around it. Chester thought this place was professional for sure. 
He entered through the door and stopped at the lobby. On the one side was a man, an odd looking man who Chester later realized was just a capybara, working at the front desk. He was rocking on his chair, shifting it side to side, while constantly clicking something on his computer. Chester thought that, somehow, the man looked five times more tired than he did after full seven hours of travelling in a car. 
After a minute, the man paused his clicking, then turned his stony face to the hedgehog. “May I help you, young man?” he asked.
Chester checked his desk, seeing it littered with papers. He checked the rest of the room, filled with chairs, couches, coffee table, a wall-mounted tv monitor and an artificial Christmas tree, lighting up in five out of six sides. He could either go down two halls, or up the stairs. Seeing that he had no clue where to go, with neither Flora or Mr. Mouton in sight, he decided to stick around and ask the most important question in his mind.
“Is this hotel haunted?”
The man tilted his head, becoming bitter as he looked at the boy.
“What?”
“Like a ghost? Maybe of the previous owner? Or of the tenant? Maybe two girls?”
“We do not have any of those, sir,” the capybara answered, returning to the computer. “If you are waiting for someone, just sit there, please.”
“Sure thing,” Chester said, and chuckled. “Also, you actually do.”
The man side-eyed the boy’s back, as the latter went to turn the tv on with remote on the table. The first channel it showed had the news on, specifically about a fire.
“This is even beyond grander than the streets of Vita,” Azure noted, “less so of your town. The buildings here are erect against each other, yet manage to house more citizens than even any single castle would ever in its life. Is this, as Young Flora puts it, the ‘Life of the City’?”
“I guess,” Chester muttered, only to squint. There was a picture on the tv screen now, and that of some young lady, who was golden-yellow in color. He tried to raise the volume with the remote.
“New development from the scene! Apparently, while the firefighters were still busy putting out the hospital, several have witnessed none other than the city’s own golden girl being at work! Carrying in her arms a little girl, no older than eight, she managed to save her from the jaws of the flame and into the safety of the outside. Many have claimed to have seen her, quite literally, fly in the sky, as she pulled this feat. The little girl has been taken in custody and is now being looked over. And as for Taja? Well, some heroes, it appears, just are bit too shy for the camera. Fortunately, our colleague, Geoffrey, was at the scene when the crime was taken place. Just look at that smile! What do you have to say to us, Geoffrey?”
The screen switched to a young dalmatian, whose desperate grin flashed behind oversized coat. Chester muted him before even a word could be heard. He already heard what he needed.
Isn’t that interesting? The hedgehog looked up to his spirit.
Azure was locked onto the screen. Chester knew that look. She was the last member of their team, one of their comrades who, by some luck, ended up in a completely different location, while partnered with who knows who. None of the kids had any clue who was channeling Taja, as besides four of them, no one else was there at the museum during the attack. Now that they were in the city, all that was left was to locate her. But will they be able to, though?
Chester folded his arms, then nodded his head. Soon, their team was about to be complete. Quite exciting, eh?
“What an odd box,” Azure muttered, moving himself to look under the monitor. “These metal tendrils, they come from the arm, do they not?”
Chester opened his mouth, only to inadvertently let out a chuckle. As the blue spirit stuck his further to look at the arm, all Chester could think was, “Nerd.”
“HELLO!” Flora’s shouts came from upstairs. “Are you coming back to help or what?” 
Chester quickly moved to the stairs and looked up. He couldn’t see here, since the stairs zigzagged on the way, but he heard her tapping her foot at the second-floor carpet rhythmically. 
“Seriously? Where’s the rest of the luggage? What if someone tries to steal it!?”
“Why would anyone want some crummy old clothes of five random kids?” Chester posited logically. He knows for sure that if someone stole from him, he might as well bring it back that useless stuff later. Flora rolled her eyes and did her dramatic sigh, which the hedgehog heard clearly.
“Just bring it to the lobby, please!”
“Where are we going anyways? The second floor?” Chester kept on asking, leaning on the railing, holding on by chin.
“You,” she said in a way that sounded like she pointed to him, “are going to the room two-oh-two. The keys are with Tom! Now hurry up!”
She then immediately left to, he steps tapering of down one of two halls. Chester shrugged, then went after the bag, which was still in the middle of the lobby. He pulled the thing by the handle, all the way up, making sure it banged on every step, clanging loudly. Once reached, he checked both corridors, and then got immediately reminded of that one time in the labyrinth. At least this place looked prettier, he thought, but he still found the tight space a bit…tight. Navigating through the door numbers, he found the aforementioned room 202, and kicked thrice on it.
“Coming!” The door was opened by Tom, whose anxiety switched to joy when he saw the hedgehog. “Hey, Chester! Had a nice nap?” He chuckled, in this slight nosy way, while ribbing his friend with an elbow. before letting the hedgehog in. Chester didn’t say anything, but it reminded him of Matthew, for some reason.
Tom led him inside. The room that they got wasn’t big. In fact, all there was to it was a bedroom, with two beds, and a bathroom. There was also a balcony, though about three or four kids could actually fit in it, only while standing and not shoulder to shoulder. According to Tom, they were going to eat in the restaurant next door, which served breakfast and dinner at a discount for Battle Bot contestants. By sheer luck, it felt like Mr. Mouton just happened to have found it right there. When the hedgehog asked where the rest of the gang were, Tom answered the following:
“So basically, me, you and Pierre are going to be in this room. The girls will be with Mister Mouton’s, because his was bigger and has two bedrooms.”
“Wait, we are sleeping with that beakhead?” Chester complained.
Tom nodded slowly and hesitantly.
Chester sighed and shrugged, already feeling disappointed. 
<I do believe Fotia is far from the worst bedfellow,> Azure noted, coming into the room. He was checking everything in the same manner as a tourist would.
It’s not him that bothers me.
<Oh?> Azure looked at him with a raised brow. 
“Where is your stuff?” Chester asked, changing the topic. He wasn’t going to dwell on it for the moment.
“Oh! It’s here,” Tom said, with renewed energy, and showed his computer on the bed and the machine on the floor. There wasn’t a lot of room for the bot, to be precisely clear, and it looked like Tom was trying his best to make most of the small opening the bed’s feet and the wall parallel to it. “I’ll just need to test the controls again, but it is in pretty good condition now,” said Tom, coming across no less excited to work on it.
Chester squatted down next to the bot, while showing nothing but respect. Somehow, that kid managed to fix up that disheveled thing in a day, with fresh coat of paint and parts. In some ways, it looked even better than the last time. Slicker even. 
“So then, you’re ready to participate again?”
“Well,” Tom scratched his own ear. “I’m thinking of doing something more than participating.” 
“What do you mean?” Chester looked at him, but the kitten wouldn’t return the glance. There was something on his mind.
“I’m…getting as sceptical as you are about it, Chester.”
“Well, duh. The guy is a tool.”
Tom squatted down.
“So I have been thinking of what to do now. I’m still far from some best player. So I have no idea what he did or how he convinced them, yet, cause all Fotia told us, was that he somehow got the principal to vouch for us to get here.…”
Chester nodded, then looked at the bot again. It was one thing that this guy was planning something, but he specifically had all of them in here. That man some sort of a plan. Just like Lord Vaco and his creeps. And the ARKYO Institute. And the mayor. And just…really, everyone here had some sort of secret plan. And all of them had no clue what was going on.
Chester sighed in frustration. Why couldn’t things just be simpler?
“Hey!” Both boys turned to the door, seeing Flora with her hands on hips. There was fire in her eyes. “I know you just woke up, and maybe a little bit groggy, but how about we learn about teamwork, and GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE TO HELP!”
“Okay, okay! Geesh…” Chester muttered, slowly getting up. He increased speed once Flora took a hold of his spikes. “WATCHIT!”
Chester got pulled to the door, only to be halted by Flora turning to Tom.
“You too! Time to get away from the screen and do some exercise!”
“But…um, I’m the star player!” Tom tried to protest.
“Down, now, or I’ll pull you by the scruff!”
“Okay-dokey!” Tom jumped onto his feet and ran right past the two at the speed that betrayed his chubby frame. 
Coward, thought Chester.
<I believe your chance to protest against this has been revoked,> Azure said, chuckling.
Keep on laughing, cause you wouldn’t if you were alive! Ow!!!
Chester was led out by Flora.
Thus was the first day of being in the Liberty City.
…