RUINED PLAYGROUND

TERMINUS, GRATA - 9:24 AM

Two children walk alongside the rubble of a playground recently attacked by a demon. Of all the places to be destroyed, the only silver lining for children living in the slums of Terminus was not on Eternal Drive’s radar, nor did they take action, even when the attack was on their territory.

Grata is already deemed the black sheep of South Lavia. Crime rates are exponentially higher in Grata than in other regions, and Terminus in particular is no man’s land. The poorest of the poor come to live here after being driven out of their squatter residences by Eternal Drive. Fortunately for them, Palladium was kind enough to send two of their officers to deal with the demon that destroyed the playground. Unfortunately the damage has been done, and the playground remains destroyed as Palladium has no control over South Lavia.

Though the majority of the playground had been reduced to rubble, the slide, usually regarded as the worst playground ride, was still intact. The children climb up the ladder, but sit still at the top instead of sliding down. One of the children, a little boy with blonde hair and blue eyes speaks up towards the other, a boy with brown hair and emerald eyes; a young Zack Evergreen.

“Did you see it?” he asks the other boy, who shakes his head in response.

“No. But I wish I had,” Zack responds.

“What?! You aren’t scared of ‘em?” the boy asks, bewildered and in awe of the other.

“Why would I be scared of something I’m not even sure is real?” states Zack. The other boy looks around before disagreeing with Zack.

“Well, jus’ look at the damage! Slide’s the only thing left!” exclaims the other boy as he jumps down. “Sliding” would be a generous term. The boy’s back had grinded itself on a very coarse metal, proven by several fresh cuts as the boy takes his shirt off, yelling in pain.

“Why’d you do that, Jason?” asks Zack as he climbs down the ladder to check on his friend.

“Augh!! It burns!” Jason continues to yell in agony.

RUINED PLAYGROUND

TERMINUS, GRATA - 9:36 AM

The two boys continue to talk as Zack patches up Jason’s wounds with bandages.

“I saw it,” says Jason, taking Zack aback for a bit before he continues the bandaging.

“It was huge. Looked like a big scorpion but red like a crab.”

“How far away were you?”

“Jus’ outside the playground. I helped my nan with the cookin’ so she gave me permission to play.”

Zack finishes patching up Jason as Jason’s voice begins to quiver in fear.

“Tha-that thing, it… I saw it kill Mason and Alicia,” Jason says, standing up after being treated by Zack.

“So don’t tell me they aren’t real! It’s like you’re sayin’ Mason, Alicia and this playground weren’t real either!” Jason snaps at him. Zack reflects for a bit before apologizing to Jason, who had calmed down.

“I’m sorry.”

7 YEARS LATER

RESTORED PLAYGROUND

TERMINUS, GRATA - 10:44 AM

The two boys, grown past pubescence, meet at the same playground, now fixed along with the metal slide being replaced by a plastic one. Several children can be seen playing around on the different rides, a luxury that the two boys used to share before the demon attack of 1983. Jason, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts greets the more well-dressed Zack, who shows up in full formal gear and luggage.

“Well, ain’t you dressed today, bigshot!” says Jason, clapping his hands in support.

“Gotta look the part,” Zack smiles back at him.

“Aye, your balls gotta be sweatier than those kids out there! If you wanted to say goodbye, we could have talked at my place!” exclaims Jason, ruffling up Zack’s suit.

“Hah, I know but… I wanted to see it again. Where it all began.”

“Where’d you be without my pep talk?” Jason jokingly asks Zack who shrugs.

“It’s crazy. I always knew you were smart, but working for Eternal Drive at seventeen?”

“Hey, you said it man. Never would have taken initiative without you,” says Zack as the two admire the playground.

“I’m gonna miss it,” Zack says as Jason begins to break out in laughter.

“No really, I am. I’m gonna miss this place,” states Zack as Jason continues laughing before picking up his composure.

“Boy, that’s a first. Someone who grew fond of Terminus.”

“Grew fond of the people, really.”

“Bet you’re gonna miss my nan’s cooking, aye?”

The two become silent for a moment, appreciating the hidden beauty of Terminus: humanity, before continuing their conversation more seriously. Jason lightly bumps Zack's shoulder with his fist, facing him with a smile.

“Goodluck, man. Show ‘em what you’re made of.”

“Thank you. Jason. Take care of old Dolly while I’m away, yeah?”

12 YEARS LATER

ETERNAL TOWER - 38TH FLOOR

EVERNIGHT, NAZENDEL - 7:18 PM

A loud alarm sounds throughout the area. Two men are running away in a facility from someone, or something out of view. One of the men is a much older Zack Evergreen, with the other man being around Zack’s age, but blonde and shorter, stained crimson with blood. Both are exhausted, seemingly from running for quite some time. The two arrive at a barricaded area, but circle around a room to go through. The two men take a short break as one of the men collapses.

“Ugh… We’re in really deep shit now,” says the unknown man as Zack picks him up.

“Come on, hang in there! This is our only shot to get out. Don’t you fucking lay down now!” Zack says to the man.

“Shit… I’m trying here… But this bullet... It's fucking me up...” says the man, clutching his stomach, revealing the mark “PD” on his hand. He is bleeding from his side, and groans in severe pain as he tries to get back up.

A wave of soldiers carrying firearms and riot shields pass through the windows. Zack and the man quickly duck and hide behind a desk as one soldier enters the opposite room. The soldier walks by slowly, clutching his lapel mic.

“Room 20, clear,” says the soldier.

“Affirmative. Remember, we need these two alive.” a voice says from the soldier’s earpiece.

As the soldier enters their room, Zack gets up and strangles him from behind. The soldier passes out, and Zack carries his body to hide it inside a locker as the injured man finally musters the strength to stand up. The two are spotted through the window by a soldier.

“Found ‘em! Room 21! Gacy has been compro-”

Before the soldier can finish his sentence, he is shot through the head with a prismatic laser by Zack that pierced through the window.

“Shit! What did I tell you?!” Zack says to his cohort as they rush to leave the room.

“Damn you… I’m the one who took a fucking bullet for you!” says the man as he is shot once more, this time in the shoulder. Several soldiers enter the room, but Zack refuses to save his cohort and turns the other way, continuing his escape. The injured man looks on at Zack with hateful eyes as he is restrained and neutralized by the soldiers.

“After everything I did for you… Zack… Evergreen…” says the man as he passes out.

15 YEARS LATER - PRESENT DAY

EVERGREEN RESIDENCE A

VIRTUM, GRATA - 8:21 AM

Water is gushing from a showerhead. Several droplets of water hit the walls, the bathroom floor, and Zack’s bare skin. He washes his face, reflecting on his betrayal fifteen years ago in the demediom breakout. He steps outside of the shower and dries himself. He takes a good look at himself in the mirror, revealing several scars on his chest, shoulders and stomach, as well as a very prominent “PE” on his right breast. The reflection staring back at him is a broken man, physically and mentally. He stares daggers at himself through the mirror, and leaves the bathroom after washing his face once more.

He opens his phone after getting notified about a reply from Nick Altair.

Got you. I’m heading to Precidia tomorrow morning, Celeste and Luke will take care of Briken

Zack exits out, only to get notified of another message from a person whom he nicknamed “Rage”.

Do you have the DSG ready?

Yes. Meet you at the usual. Zack texts back.

Don’t be late. Rage instantly replies.

He closes his phone and heads outside. He opens his garage door, revealing a navy blue sedan holsted up with several tools around it. Inside the car was the assault rifle he and Nick dug up earlier in the morning. Zack picks up a remote from the garage and presses a button, revealing a flight of stairs hidden beneath the car. He descends down the steps, and enters a large underground facility. In this facility are several weapons, very similar to the ones he sells. These weapons are made to fire bullets filled with energy from Zack’s heat lasers. Why he keeps them hidden here though, is unknown.

He continues to walk around and turns on the lights. After passing a corner, a gigantic unfinished missile about 40-feet long and 3-feet wide is hoisted in place with Eternal Drive’s gravity dispenser. Several blueprints can be found scattered around the floor, suggesting this missile took a large amount of effort and time to build. On one blueprint, a large writing with white ink can be seen on the bottom right. It reads:

ESTREVAL MUST DIE

Zack admires the missile for a moment before continuing ahead. He arrives at a secluded room, where a microscope, a conveyer belt and several other tools can be found. He sits on a chair situated in the center of the room, and uses a machine to craft a bullet. Using the tools, he modifies the bullet into gaining a much sharper and larger build. He holds the bullet up against the light revealing a tiny dent on the side, and crushes it with his bare hands. He looks down in disappointment, rubbing his eyes.

He readjusts the lamp attached to the table to fit an angle that would cover all sides of the bullet. He repeats the same process, but with more care. The result is a fine-edged 50 caliber bullet filled to the brim with prismatic energy. Zack takes the bullet, and puts it in his pocket. He leaves the lab, lowers the car and enters it, driving off after closing the garage door.

To Be Continued...