I got back to base. In the common room, only one person was waiting for me, that being Mark. As soon as he heard me walk through the portal, he looked up and quickly rushed over to me. For a sec, I thought it was gonna be a repeat of what happened a few days ago, but once he approached me, I could see in his face that he looked worried

-Hey, are you okay? You didn’t get hurt did you?- Mark was looking all over me, making sure I wasn’t heavily wounded or anything -This is a lot more bruising than I was expecting. Did Ness do all this?-

-Oh, uh, no, he didn’t do this. This was… I was ambushed by Anima. I was able to escape in time, but they did damage me a lot- I lied out my ass to try to get him off me, but it seems like that probably wasn’t the best option

-And you just let them go free?! You realize what that could do to the area?!- As he said this, he equipped his armor and rushed to the portal.

I knew that by that point, Dee and James were already back in their base, so it was fine to let him go to the portal. I would probably talk with him after I talked with Martha, so seeing that the area is unharmed would probably be a good thing.

I let him rush into the portal, before I looked over at where Martha was after she got hit by Ness. There was a dent in the wall, but it seemed like she went back to her room. I went into the hallway to try to get to her room. As I walked through, I saw Ness coming towards me, in the same direction of Martha’s room. We both exchanged a glance, but he looked forward again after a bit. No talk, no sound, no nothing. Ness would definitely be the hardest to convince, but I still needed to try.

I got to Martha’s door. Just looking at it filled me with a bit of dread. My last conversation with Martha was not the best, and the last thing we did together was something that just deeply scarred her. I needed to navigate this carefully. 

I knocked on the door. At first, I didn’t hear anything, but then I heard some rustling, before some footsteps came up to the door. But it didn’t open

-What do you want now, Ness? You already got yours handed to you, now leave me alone!- Martha was very angry as she said this. I took in a deep sigh before I responded, as calmly as I could

-It’s not Ness. It's me. There’s something I need to talk with you about- I tried to keep as serious of a tone as I could.

I heard a bit of shuffling behind the door, before it slid open a little, just to let in a gap

-What is it? Can’t I just have a rest for a single day?- Martha said this in between sniffles. I could see her eyes a bit. Her eyeliner was runny, as if she had been crying for a long time

I really needed to talk about this with her. But, in her current state, I feel like I would just be adding more fuel to the fire.

I stayed quiet for a bit before responding-...While what I want to talk about is important, I also don’t want to distress you more, and, you’re right, you need a break. Do you think you could come to my room tomorrow?-

She just sighed a bit, still trembling a bit -Yeah, that sounds fine. See you tomorrow- She closed the door calmly before we stopped talking. Clearly, this would need to wait until tomorrow. 

I headed back to my room. When I got there, I saw Mark standing right outside my door, waiting for me. As soon as he heard me getting close, he turned his head towards me. His expression looked sour.

-We need to talk- He said this in a really stern tone

-I’m guessing you saw the… “aftermath”?- I responded, trying to keep the topic hidden, at least while in the hallway

-Yeah, I did. Your room, now- He was still stern, as he moved to the side so I could open my door. I followed suit, with him following behind me, closing the door

It was silent for a few seconds. I could see that he was confused, but angry at the same time, as he turned to face me.

-Who are you conspiring with?- He immediately shot the question, as he raised his hand, ready to strike me the moment the wrong answer came out of my mouth

-Wow, wow, hey, no need to get hos- I didn’t get to finish my sentence before he got closer in a flash to me

-Answer. Who did you talk with?- He was  angry. Even just him standing there, I felt intimidated. But, I tried to stay calm.

-I talked with James and Dee after I sent Ness back to base- I could see him bracing to attack, but before he did, I said -But I’m not betraying you all. Not after what I did 3 months ago. This was for the good of all of us-

When I said that, he stopped in his tracks, but still kept his arm up -How can I trust you? You left us to die. We could not handle all of them by ourselves- As he said this, his armor materialized around him, powering himself up -We survived by the skin of our teeth. If it hadn’t been for the armor pieces awakening to us, we would’ve died-

-You mean the awakening you haven’t even told me about? The one only you have kept hidden from me? I’ve heard about how everyone else awakened their pieces except for you-I walked closer to him, getting closer to his piece -You want me to be someone that can be trusted? Then show me that you should be one that can be trusted too-

Mark hesitated for a moment, looking down a bit, but he shook his head, looking back at me -Do you really think I want to trust you? At this point you’ve lost every ounce of trust I had for you. You’re on thin ice, and it just cracked. So you better choose your next words very carefully or I’ll cave your skull…- Before he finished his sentence, I quickly activated Fire Witch, punching him in the stomach as hard as I could. While it wasn’t my full strength, he buckled a bit, losing his stance for a moment

-You forget who you’re talking to- I walked around him as I talked -You all might be stronger, but I can still match you, even by a little bit. And you know that punch was not at my full strength- I stood back behind him -If you really think you can take me, then let’s go to the training room and settle this accordingly. But, if you’re just doing this to prove a point, there’s nothing you can do- I stayed in my position, not moving at all -I want to trust you. Now the only question is if you can trust me-

Mark panted for a bit. I hoped that my message at least got to him, but he just shook his head, before trying to hit me again. He was really fast, but the moment he composed himself, I activated Ghastly Illusion. His attack went right through me, not doing anything. He tried to attack me multiple times, but after some time, I just held up both of his hands, stopping him. 

-Clearly, we cannot agree- I slid the door to my room open with my foot, before spinning around and launching him outside, I then quickly closed my door before he could come in again, locking it. I could hear him slamming the door, trying to get in, but I didn’t unlock it. I just went to my bed and layed down. It had been a long day. I was tired, and all that energy I had remaining just sapped out of me after a few minutes, falling asleep. 

END OF CHAPTER 32