It is pretty late at night now. She’s in a black hoodie and jeans walking down the sidewalk. She holds herself tight thinking about what she just saw. 

‘What am I doing? How did I end up in this situation? How did I let myself get involved with them?’

She starts rubbing the sides of her head realizing the severity of her situation. As she comes across this alley shadowed in darkness she hears frantic footsteps. She looks and sees a man come from around a corner, stumbling into some trash cans, running in her direction. He then stops and turns around, pulling out a gun and firing at something behind and above him. Amber freaks out from the loud shots and dives behind the wall as the man tries to run out of the alley in her direction. He gets out by a step before long black, almost goop-like things grab onto him, wrapping around his neck, arms and legs. Amber covers her head seeing this as he is pulled back into the alley. Amber lets go and slowly looks back into the alley to see a person covered in shadows standing on the man. Large black wings out of her back and a silver eye glowing in the darkness. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I wasn’t going to kill them, I promise!” The man begs.

“I believe you. Don’t worry.”

She breaks the man’s arm that was holding the gun. The man screams as she presses on his head with her hand.

“I will know if you try anything like that again. And if you do, I will kill you.”

Fullsky threatens in his ear with a sharp tone. She steps off of him as he holds his arm in pain. Fullsky then quickly snaps her head towards Amber who ducks behind the wall covering her mouth. She slowly looks back into the alley only for Fullsky nowhere to be found. She gets a confused and scared look on her face as she slowly stands up.

“Hey, it’s you again.”

“AHH!”

Amber screams and jumps back to see Fullsky standing on the wall as if she’s standing on the ground completely normally. Fullsky crosses her arms.

“What are you doing here? Don’t you have criminal activities to attend to?” Fullsky asks with a bit of an attitude.

“N-no! I’m… just on my way home…” Amber responds timidly, looking away.

“You sure? Cause last time we met, you took that truck off somewhere I couldn’t track.”

Fullsky responds, a look in her eye indicating disapproval. Amber looks down, sweating.

“What was in that truck?”

“I already told you, I don’t know! They don’t tell me these things. There was that machine you were hit by then some crates full of guns maybe? I don’t know… It was shipped off later that night, I couldn’t-”

She suddenly remembers what she saw earlier. The men being turned to ash and Spark warning her to never betray them. She gets a terrified look on her face. Fullsky notices the change in demeanor and speaks gently to her.

“What’s your name?”

“Amber…”

She responds in almost a whisper. Fullsky smiles at her.

“Nice to meet you Amber. Some advice: get out. You don’t want to be involved with these guys.”

Fullsky advises with a supportive yet stern tone. Amber gets a conflicted look.

“I… can’t…” Fullsky looks confused. “They don’t let anyone go… Once you’re in, you stay there. Or else they’ll…”

She begins hyperventilating, getting freaked out as everything starts to flood her at once. Noticing her anxiety ramping up, Fullsky steps down and lands in front of her. She places her hands gently on Amber’s shoulders. This brings her in a bit.

“What happened? Why did you join them in the first place? Let me help you.”

She says with an almost begging tone to let her in as she smiles softly. Amber exhales softly and looks down.

“I don’t know… I just left home for college, just out of town. It was going well. Then my roommate told me one night that they heard some other students talking about this huge get together. It was going to be under the Rivera Bridge. They said we should totally go and I agreed. I didn’t realize that… it was going to be an initiation.”

She says, carefully recollecting the time it started as Fullsky listens intently.

“Everyone who went was looking for something, anything. The Syndicate came with a few soldiers. They offered the students a place to belong, unimaginable wealth and fantastical power. Anyone who stepped forward was given a gun and once no one else came forward, they were told to open fire onto the crowd.”

She says with a shaky voice. Anxiety filling her chest remembering that night.

“There was… so much screaming… so much blood… my roommate, they… I… I was so scared… I just didn’t move. Even when a bullet grazed my cheek, I didn’t flinch.”

She pulls her hair aside revealing a scar under her left eye going across her cheek. Something Fullsky hadn’t noticed before. 

“When the screaming stopped… He approached me. He wiped the blood from my face. He said, ‘You’re quite the interesting one, aren’t you? Is it disconnect or pure fear that keeps you standing here?’ Then he took my hand and began walking away, pulling me with him. ‘We will find a place for you here with us. Just like the rest.’ Then he smiled at me. That twisted smile… I can’t… get it out!..”

Amber begins holding her head remembering the events and falls to her knees. She knows the person who approached her that night wasn’t like anyone she’s ever met.

“…he’s worse than Spark…”

She whispers under her breath, barely able to breath right. Fullsky is shocked at her description. 

‘There’s nothing they won’t do…’ She thinks. “Hey, look at me. It’s going to be alright. Watchdog and I will protect you. We are going to bring them down and set you free.”

Fullsky comforts her. She crouches down in front of Amber and takes her hand. Amber calms down once again feeling Fullsky’s presence. 

“Thank you…” She whispers.

“But I am going to need your help. I need you to just do as they say for now. I want you to meet with me and inform me of anything you think might help us in stopping them for good.”

She pulls out a small device from her pocket and hands it to Amber.

“If you ever feel that you are in deep trouble and need saving, just hit the button there. Watchdog or I will come save you immediately, okay?”

She promises. Amber’s eyes begin to tear up as she sniffles and nods. They stand and Fullsky hugs her tightly.

“I promise, I will get you out.”

She says with determined eyes, holding Amber as she cries under the starry sky.