“ZENA?!”

The sight of an old friend returned Ten back to his senses.

“You…”

“How do you know my name?”

“What are you talking about Zena? It’s me! Ten!”

“Huh? I don’t know anyone by the name of Ten…” She coldly replied.

“Tenebris! Back in Elysion! The Kingdom of Aurelia!”

Zena looked completely lost. Nothing Ten was saying made any sense to her. He slowly came to the realization.

“Wait… you… don’t remember?” He asked slowly.

“Sorry… I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“B-but…”

“I see two possibilities here. A, you’re either someone who has forgotten to take their daily medication. Or B, you’re a tad.”

“Medication? Tad?” Ten asked, knowing he had heard that word used before.

“Well that confirms it. Tad is short for tadpole, it’s the name we give to individuals who have recently broken out of their protocols. Which faction managed to recruit you?”

“What? Protocol? Faction?”

Zena sighed.

“You must be really fresh then. A protocol is the simulated reality that a test subject is assigned under BANE experimentation. And a faction refers to one of the five groups present in the Axis of Associations. Biologicals, Psychodynamics, Cognitives, Behaviourals and Humanistics.”

“Humanistics… I believe that’s what they called themselves.”

“Is that so?” Zena’s expression changed to a much more relaxed look. Ten noticed he could freely move again, the vines had gone somewhat limp.

“That makes us allies then. I am Zena, a recent recruit of Psychodynamic’s second division. Although I’m still curious about how you know my name, I have an urgent matter I must attend to.”

“Hold on Zena, I still have so many ques-”

“You should return back to your hideout. And just some advice. Don’t ever reveal the fact that you’re a tad. If I had been a BANE operative, you would have been captured and executed on the spot.” Zena says as she shoots off into the night sky with her vines and cybernetic limbs.

“WAIT! ZENA!!” Ten called out running after her; before tripping and stumbling onto the floor. His legs had finally given up on him. 

He still had so many unanswered questions. There was no doubt that it was Zena. After all, they looked alike and even had the same name. But there was a glaring problem. Zena never acted or behaved that way back during their adventuring days. It was like he was talking to a completely different Zena.

After stumbling around in the direction Zena had run off to, Ten hears a nearby explosion followed by plumes of smoke.

“Zena?” Ten whispered to himself as he swiftly made his way towards the chaos.

When he finally arrived at the scene, his eyes were met with bloodied corpses strewn across the broken pavement. His eyes moved towards a destroyed building that was on fire. Another explosion sent Ten recoiling back from the shockwave. This time a large net of vines shot from the smoke as Zena rose into the air. As the clouds of haze began clearing, Ten could make out the appearance of a monstrous like entity that made him shudder to his core.

Its pale white flesh was a mangled mess of pulsating veins and contorted organelles. It suddenly jolted its ‘head’ in Ten’s direction. In a split second, it catapulted itself straight for him, letting out a screech more terrifying than that of a banshee.

“I thought I told you to return to your hideout!” Zena shouted as she tried to intercept the Abnormal. But it was impossible. She couldn’t reach him in time.

Ten’s life flashed before his eyes. The world around him had faded into darkness and he found himself all alone in an infinite black plane of nothingness.

“Wha… Where am I? Did I… die?”

He slowly stood up, his movements sending subtle white ripples across the void. Scanning around, he notices an older man sitting alone in the distance. He slowly approaches the old man, hoping to get some answers.

As he got closer, he began to hear a soft whimpering. The man was silently sobbing to himself.

“E… Excuse me?”

The man had suddenly stopped his weeping. His head suddenly jerked back towards Ten and his limbs began to twist into that of an Abnormal.

***

Ten let out a bloodcurdling scream as he suddenly found himself back in the ravaged streets of Sensory City.

Wolf had managed to deflect the Abnormal away from Ten with his barrier ability.

“W-wolf…” Ten was scrambling to find the right words. He had no business being there.

“I don’t wanna hear it… save it for later...” Wolf sharply responded.

The Abnormal recoils back from making contact with Wolf’s barrier. Zena seizes the opportunity to completely entangle the Abnormal in a thick bundle of vines.

“TITAN’S HAND!” Wolf shouted as he summoned a large hand shaped barrier which came crashing down from the sky. Within mere seconds, the fight was over and the Abnormal was squashed like that of an insect.

Ten watched in awe at Wolf’s incredible attack. An awkward silence filled the air as Ten tried to find an explanation, but before he could, a bloodied Dreya stormed up to him and grabbed him by the collar.

“DO YOU HAVE A DEATHWISH?!” She furiously shouted as she shook him around.

“I-argh”

Dreya raises her fist preparing to strike Ten square in the face but she is stopped short when Wolf grabs her hand. He gave her a nod of disapproval.

“C-captain…” She questioned him.

“It was my negligence that led to this…” Wolf said in a weak and defeated voice. He was completely exhausted.

“You’re lucky you know that… if Wolf wasn’t here, you’d be in a whole world of pain right now…”

Their fiery confrontation is cut short when Zena approaches them.

“Zena…” Ten called out to her.

“You must be the Captain of Humanistic’s fourth branch. Wolf was it?” 

Zena had completely ignored Ten.

“Yes, that’s right…”

“Make sure to keep an eye on that new recruit of yours… he’s been quite the handful.”

“I apologize…”

“If you so desire, we at Psychodynamics would gladly take him in. I believe Humanistics has the lowest conversion rate of the five factions. Meanwhile we have a 100% track record of converting all new recruits, no matter how disagreeable they may be. ”

“Huh?” Dreya looked annoyed.

“T-That won’t be necessary. Although what you say is true, we believe the methods used by Psychodynamics run contrary to Humanistic’s beliefs.”

“Completely irrational. It’s no wonder you people are the weakest and most mentally displaced of the AA factions. Your lofty ideals of justice and morality can only take you so far. Do what you will with him.”

In a split second, Dreya had portaled behind Zena. She had completely lost control of her temper and was ready to lash out.

“I don’t wanna hear another word coming from your mouth about our faction…”

Zena was quick to react, effortlessly smashing Dreya to the ground with her vines.

“ARGH!” Dreya screamed in pain.

“As I said… completely irrational.” Zena repeated.

Wolf collapsed to the ground begging.

“As the Captain of Humanistic’s fourth branch, I sincerely apologize for the actions of my members. Could you please overlook this incident? Humanistics will clean everything up and give full credit to Psychodynamic’s for this victory.”

After a moment of thought, Zena smiled.

“A logical compromise. I will not mention anything about these two misfits to my superior officer. Just make sure to keep them under control, I can’t make any guarantees if this happens again.”

The blaring of distant sirens marked the end of their tense meeting.

“Well then… I will see myself off.” Zena said as leaves began circling around and enveloping her entire body.

“WAIT! ZENA I-” Ten tried to stop her but it was too late. She had disappeared into the darkness of the night, leaving only a small pile of leaves behind.

Dreya managed to finally free herself from the vines that were pinning her down.

“That bitch… who the hell does she think she is?!” Dreya angrily blurted out to herself.

Wolf was shaking with both fear and anger. What Zena said had stuck with him. He finally turned to look at Ten who was still trying to process everything.

Wolf silently stared at him, as if waiting for him to speak first.

“I… I was scared… after seeing what happened to those two at the hideout… I ran away… I have no excuses… I’m weak… I’m pathetic… I have no right to call myself a king…”

Wolf let out a sigh.

“Those feelings are not just unique to you… we’re all scared… we’re all weak… We fight everyday knowing it might be our last…”

He paused.

“What that girl said was true… We’re the most pathetic group of misfits that exist in this broken country. So…”

Ten finally looks up at Wolf.

“Even knowing all that… What do you want to do?” Wolf asks.

Ten clenched his fists. Up until this point he has been nothing but a liability to everyone around him. He began to recall everything that happened so far. His promise to Kal and Zena. The battle at the BANE facility. His conversation with Naomi. Seeing Zena again. The infinite dark plane. The captivating fight against the Abnormal. 

A spark ignited within him. Perhaps it was the burning curiosity for questions. Perhaps it was an acceptance of his new reality. Or perhaps it was to make up for his reckless mistakes. But he knew one thing. The reason why he was in this predicament right now was because of his overwhelming weakness.

He finally got up off the ground. A burning glow emanating from his eyes. He slammed the palms of his hands onto his face.

“I used to be the strongest hero of the land… There was never a challenge that was too much for me to handle… But that’s all gone now… Complaining about it… running away… moping around… doing those things won’t bring any of that back…”

Wolf continued to stare silently at Ten.

“I’ve hit rock bottom… the lowest of the low… there’s still so much I have yet to process…”

He paused.

“But there's one thing that’s absolute… There’s a friend I have to save…”

Ten fell to the floor bowing his head down in shame, casting aside his ego.

“Please… teach me how to become strong… strong enough to uphold a promise I made long ago… strong enough to protect and save the things that are dear to me… strong enough… to survive in this hellish world…”

After a long moment of silence.

“Stand up…” Wolf said.

Ten got up and looked Wolf dead in his eyes.

“Training starts tomorrow… prepare yourself…”

The blaring sirens got louder and louder.

A group of surviving Humanistic’s members appeared before them.

“Wolf, we need to get out of here right now… the ATF is on their way!” A woman exclaimed.

“Grab everyone we can, dead or alive. Dreya, open up a portal back to the hideout.” Wolf finished in an exhausted and defeated voice.

***

Ten’s mind was still swirling around as he stared up at the dull ceiling of the hideout. There was a tense atmosphere in the room as he tried to consolidate everything he had learned from this incident. It turns out that Zena was still alive, however, she wasn’t the same Zena from before. Then there were the different factions of the AA.

His train of thought was quickly broken when he heard a loud thump on his table. He looked down to find a tray of food in front of him.

“Eat.” Said the voice.

He turned to look at who it was. An unfamiliar face. A younger looking boy who was wearing an apron and a chef’s hat.

“W-what is this…”

“Food! What else would it be silly?” The young boy laughed as he sat down across from Ten. He was staring intently at him, waiting for a reaction.

Ten awkwardly picked up a spoon and gave it a taste. With everything that was going on, he realized that this was the first time he was having a proper meal ever since coming to this world. 

After the first bite, a wave of familiar feelings began to wash over him. His eyes had a soft glimmer as he savored the flavor of this foreign cuisine. Reminded of the times he had feasted with Kal and Zena after a long and hard fought victory.

One bite turned to two, and then two to four. He began devouring the food as a tear streamed down his cheek.

“They say food and diet play a huge role in a person’s mental state and behaviour. You simply can’t think straight when you’re on an empty stomach after all.”

Ten paused after nearly choking. He had to slow himself down. Never had he tasted a delicacy with so much richness. It was leagues above anything he had consumed, even as a king.

“The name’s Magnolia. You can call me Mag. I’m the head chef for Humanistic’s fourth branch!” The boy chimed with a delightful smile.

Ten could feel his energy rapidly returning back to him. After a couple of moments he had cleaned the entire plate.

“So… how was it? The dish I cooked?”

“I’ve never tasted something so delicious…”

“Glad to hear that! Everyone’s been talking about you ya know? A newbie who managed to not only witness but survive an Abnormal. All on his very first day! Do you realize how insane that is?!”

Ten couldn’t help but blush from Mag showering him with praise.

“T-thank you.”

“Anyways, Wolf told me that you’ll be starting your training tomorrow. So I made sure to pack that meal with some extra love. Feeling rejuvenated yet?”

Ten moved his hands around. Everything felt so light and easy, a huge contrast to his condition earlier.

“It almost feels like I’m floating…”

Mag flashed a smile of accomplishment.

“Is there more?” Naomi asked, appearing out of nowhere. Both Ten and Mag jolted up in surprise. Was she just sitting there the whole time?

“I’m pretty sure you just finished eating yours Naomi,” Mag laughed.

“I did?” She asked innocently.

“Yup!”

“Eh?!” Naomi walked away sulking like that of a child.

“Isn’t Naomi just adorable! There’s just something about her!” Mag chimed with excitement.

Ten casually smiled and looked over at Naomi.

All of a sudden a loud cry erupted from the floor above. Ten and Mag quickly hurried up a flight of stairs to see what the commotion was all about.

“I’LL KILL ALL OF THEM!! THOSE BANE DEMONS!!” Dreya was furiously sobbing.

She was standing next to a bed where Ikara’s lifeless body was lying.

“Ikara’s dead…” Mag uttered in horror as tears began welling up in his eyes.

Ten couldn’t help but recoil from the horrific sight. Dreya was now engaged in a violent altercation with Wolf who was trying to calm her down. She had completely lost all self control, swinging her sword wildly at anyone who approached her. 

“DON’T GET IN MY FUCKIN WAY!!” Dreya retaliated, slashing at a table and slicing it in half.

“FUCK!! DREYA CALM DOWN!” Wolf screamed as he was tussling back and forth with her.

It was the first time Ten had heard his stoic captain raise his voice in anger. The powerful resolve Ten had obtained before was now wavering ever so slightly. As the confrontation intensified, the world around Ten began to fade away. The cacophony of screams had become echoes in the far distance.

It was the infinite black plane again. The same phenomenon that had occurred during his near death encounter with the Abnormal.