Ryu sat with the others in a large conference room once they were back at the headquarters and he watched everyone’s faces as they glanced at the screen.  Zion quickly fill him in the way back that the leader of the hunters national association was none other than Kai’s aunt.  There were several hunter associations across the countries but the global one was above them all.  And Callista Hart was the executive director.

“The dungeons from ten years ago up to the present have been tagged across the globe and we’ve had no rhyme or reason for how they appear, when they appear and much less why.”

Ryu saw several towers dotting the map of the world on the screen, noting the size, grading and even color of the towers.  He tried to zoom in on the tablet in front of him to see if the tower Rika is still stuck in was noted and was surprised to see it was the only onyx coloured one across the globe.  On top of that it was noted that it was an SS rank and had a star beside it with the name ‘Andromeda’.

The name pulled him back into a memory.

Ryu called out to Rika to grab some water and bandages as the dying star in the form of a human gripped his hand tightly.  He could see her form flickering as she gasped from the pain and the silver molten blood that oozed from her side.

“I fear I must leave you two. I am sorry I cannot keep my promise and help you escape this place.”  Her usually silvery voice was hoarse and she struggled through her breathing.  Her eyes observed his face as he shook his head, continuing to hold her hand and using his other hand to try and stem the bleeding.

“Don’t say that.  Rika will be back.  Just hold on.  Please, we can’t lose you.” He was babbling whatever came to mind, even as he could see the blood seeping through his fingers.

She raised her free hand and wiped at a tear on his face. “I can do one more thing for you two.  My gift and hope to you in your journey home.”

He shook his head, even as Rika finally made it back and kneeled on the other side.

Andromeda glanced at the siblings and smiled, holding out her free hand to Rika.  She closed her eyes and began to glow softly.  The siblings glanced at each other wide wide eyes, watching as the glow extended towards them, covering them from head to toe.

“No, don’t!”  Ryu tried to reject the glow seeping into his skin but it was too late.  

Andromeda smiled at the two as the silver in her eyes slowly dulled.  Rika hugged her, tears streaming down her face as Ryu blankly glanced at the hand now limply laying in his.

“Ryu?”  

He snapped out of it, hearing his name while Zion gently nudged him.  Callista observed his expression as he sat up and nodded.

“Yes?”

Callista seemed to change her mind and shook her head.  “Great job today.  We’ll regroup again in the morning.”

Ryu was about to protest but Zion already clapped an arm around his shoulder and led him out of the room.

“You are lucky, my friend.” The other man confided.  “Most people don’t even dare to blink, let alone zone out in front of the executive director.”  

Ryu’s eyes widened but relaxed when he realized Zion was teasing him.  He managed a small smile.  “Sorry, I did have a few things on my mind.  Did I miss anything?”

“Zion can bring you up to speed.  For now, I’m sure you’ll be wanting some rest.”  Kai spoke over his shoulder as he led the group down the hall and through double doors into a wide main space.

Gia and Zariah waved at Ryu and the others before splitting up down one end while Kai nodded to Ryu before joining his aunt down another hall.

Zion scratched his chin as he looked towards two hallways.  “Let’s see.  Which way were the dorms again?”  He muttered, already looking back at Kai to shout back.

“Exit the building, and turn left brother.”  Zariah shouted, with a shake of her head as she winked at Ryu before disappearing down the hallway.

Zion grinned, leading Ryu towards the main entrance.  “We have been here for a week, you see.”

Ryu nodded, watching as Zion saluted some soldiers passing by.  

“We tend to spend a few days to a week tops in each country to help with the towers.  We don’t stay for very long so I don’t really bother to recall the buildings.”

Zion held the door open to the building and Ryu saw that it was similar large compound space as the last one they were in, but he could see people in more casual joggers as they passed by.

Ryu glanced at the large training room to his right, watching various people training solo and one-on-one.

“So how long will you be staying here?”  Ryu found himself realizing how much he’s come to rely and enjoy this group’s company.

“Tough to say.  We have been alerted that the towers have sprouted like weeds in this part of the world with more velocity than the others.” Zion scanned his badge in front of the elevator and the metallic doors opened.

“Why do you think that is?”

Zion shrugged, but he was frowning slightly.  “We think the reason they appeared all these years are leading to a plan they are triggering now.”

Ryu thought about his time in the tower and slowly nodded.  “That would make sense.  There were quite a few things I learned while in a tower.”

Zion pressed the fourth floor, the highest floor in the building and he leaned back, folding his arms.  “Kai would love to hear all about it.  But I’ve convinced him to give you some space for now.”

Ryu was grateful, trying to avoid overthinking about what could be happening to Rika right now.  

Knowing her, she would be finding a place to shelter and hide until I can find her.

Zion tapped at the poster on the side.

“Looks like they have a gaming get together in the lounge tonight.  Do you play?”

Ryu thought about the handheld game he left in the tower and nodded.  “A little.”

The elevator opened with a small ping sound and Ryu stepped out to see five doors down the wide hallway.

Zion gestured towards the two on the left.  “These are the ladies’ rooms.  The building is co-ed.” He nodded towards the one to his right as they walked.  “This one is mine and the one at the end of the hall is Kai’s.  The one next to mine is all yours, my friend.”

Ryu gratefully accepted the badge from Zion and watched as Zion happily whistled in front of his own room.

“Thanks Zion.”  So much more was unsaid, knowing they could have easily sent him back to his home and alerted his father.  

 Zion grinned.  “You are one of us now.”

Ryu smiled back as he opened the door to his room.

“Once we settle you into your room, let us have some much needed fun yes?”

——

An hour later Zion was happily cursing in fluent French as Ryu beat him for the seventh time in the shooting game they chose in the lounge.  Several other people were playing their own games but eventually gathered and were cheering as the previously undefeated Zion was finally moved to second place in the history screen.

Zion rubbed his face, a determined grin as he chewed on a candy and restarted the game.  The controller looked too small in his big hands as he quickly maneuvered as soon as the game counted down to restart.

“One more.  If you win, I’ll do one thing you ask.”  He promised.

The crowd laughed, clapping Ryu on the shoulder.

“Get him Ryu!  He’s got nothing on you.”

Ryu glanced around him, and noticed that Gia and Zariah had joined to watch as well.  They were standing at the end of the large couch where Zariah seemed to be taking bets from the others.  She noticed him and winked.  “If you win, we can split the jackpot!” 

Gia just shook her head but smiled at him.  “Put Zion in his place for once.”  She added.

Ryu found himself grinning back and concentrating on the game.  It only took a few minutes and he found Zion crouched by the roof of an abandoned building.  Using a maneuver where he jumped and kicked against two narrow buildings, he arched through the sky and got him in one shot.

Zion swore again as the screen flashed ‘game over’.  He dropped the controller and shook Ryu’s hand.  “Ah my friend.  I think I am in love.”  He roared, hugging him.

The crowd cheered while Ryu tried to get out of the larger man’s grip.

“He doesn’t mean it like you think he means.”  Kai showed up, as everyone were slowly putting things away to settle in for the night.  

Zion pulled back and grinned widely at Ryu.  “You must play this game with me again and show me how you do it.  I need to figure out your moves.”  He babbled happily, still holding Ryu.

Ryu couldn’t help but smile and nod.  “Sure, we can trade moves.”

Zion finally let go of him and Kai glanced around before revealing the folder tucked under his arm.

“Great work today.  I wanted to just give you this to help you with finding your sister.”  

Ryu glanced at the folder offered to him, his chest tightening.  “Has anything happened to the tower?  Did it show up again?”

Kai shook his head while Zion took the folder and pressed it gently into Ryu’s hands.  “I’m afraid not.  This contains everything we know about that tower.  I wanted to share with you in good faith.”

Ryu gripped the folder and nodded at Kai.  “Appreciate it. I want to continue to help with the other towers.  I’m sure we’ll find out more information as we go.”

The girls joined them and Zariah was counting a large pile of cash in her hands as she leaned against her brother.  “So?  What’s the plan?”

Gia noted the folder Ryu held and glanced at Kai.  “There’s been more sightings of the towers.  We may need to split up for the next round.”