Update from my end

This is Kallaway. Figured I'd make a post since the SMSC apparently has you running errands.

I was talking with Elie about options for how we could get a tree sample, and I think we've settled on something.

"We really don't know many people with access to the domain the tree exists on," Elie said. "The only guy I can think of off the top of my head is Raoul, and I doubt he'd willing to help."

"Then I'll talk to him," I said.

"I'm sorry, but what?" Elie asked.

"You get me to him, and I'll convince him to help," I said.

"You make it sound easy," he said.

"Trust me, I can handle this," I said. "But first, we should get some volunteers. If we're going to another domain to get a sample of a dangerous tree, we'll need some capable hands on deck."

"I agree," Elie said. "What about Ren? Skilled swordsman could make a good addition to the group."

"I'll swing by the training grounds and see if he's there," I said. "If so, I'll ask if he's game."

We parted ways and headed to the training ground, thinking about how I should really just get Ren's number so I wouldn't have to go looking for him whenever I needed to talk. I didn't find him at the training grounds, but I did find Tyler there, practicing with a wooden sword against a training dummy. He was breathing pretty heavily, and working up a sweat.

"How long have you been at this, kid?" I asked.

"I dunno," he said. "An hour-ish?"

I sat down on a bench and patted the spot next to me.

"Take a break, okay?" I said.

"I'm not gonna get any stronger if I slack off," he said.

"Yeah, well if all you do is train, all you're gonna accomplish is exhausting yourself and succumbing to fatigue," I said. "Have a seat."

He reluctantly set his sword down and sat beside me.

"So why are you so determined to get stronger?" I asked. "You must have something driving you."

He stayed quiet for a little bit before speaking.

"You've been around the boss a lot, right?" he asked.

"Daniel? Yeah, I guess I've had to deal with him quite a bit," I said. "Why?"

"Whenever he's around, it always feels like he's the most powerful person in the room," he said. "Even before I learned about all this eldritch stuff, and just what he was really capable of, he always has this air of confidence that makes him seem so much bigger than everyone else."

Well, I can't exactly say that's inaccurate. It's true that Daniel's presence feels just as dangerous as his reputation would imply. That's not even getting into how powerful he actually is.

"I want to feel that kind of strength," Tyler said. "I kind of... envy him."

"I see," I said.

"But I have a long way to go," he sighed. "My form is still terrible. That's why I'm out here training."

"Have you ever had any training before?" I asked.

"Not really," Tyler said. "Ren's the first real combat trainer I've ever had."

I see. That was the problem...

"Tell you what," I said. "You feel rested?"

"Yeah, I think so," he said.

"Good," I said. "Let's spar."

He stood up and went to retrieve his wooden sword.

"Hey, can I see that for a sec?" he asked.

"Sure," he said.

I took it from him and tossed it aside.

"Hey!" he exclaimed.

I stood in front of him and took a stance.

"The reason you're having trouble fighting with a weapon is because you never learned to fight without one," I said. "Trust me, swordplay will come a lot more naturally to you if you practice some regular martial arts first."

He hesitantly took a stance across from me.

"We're gonna do some semi-kumite," I said. "We're gonna train with each other at a fraction of our normal speed, so that we can observe each other easier and adapt to the other's moves."

He nodded, and we began sparring. I threw a punch, which he dodged with a small spin, and he attempted a spinning back-fist while doing so, without bothering to look where his attack was going. I caught his hand easily.

"Quick note," I said. "Any time you do any kind of spinning attack like that, you should make sure your head is full turned before delivering the blow, otherwise you won't be able to aim it properly."

We continued sparring for a while, with me occasionally having to correct him on something, but he seemed to absorb my advice pretty quickly, and was doing a little better by the time Elie and Ren showed u there.

"Hey!" Elie called out to us. "I ran into Ren after you left. He said he'd be willing to come along. Kimiko and Jane said they'd help as well."

"Help with what?" Tyler asked.

"We're planning an expedition to the Path of Black Leaves," Elie said. "We're going to try and get another sample from the Bleeding Tree."

"We need some extra help in case there's trouble," I said.

"I could help!" Tyler said enthusiastically.

"It could be dangerous," I pointed out.

"I wanna be a part of things," Tyler said.

"Well, you've got some potential," I told him. "Let's have a few more training sessions and see how much progress you make. Then we'll see about taking you on this mission."

"Okay!" Tyler said, getting back into a fighting stance, determination lighting up on his face.

"Tomorrow," I said, causing him a bit of disappointment. "Like I said. We can't just train constantly. And it's getting kind of late. Let's just relax the rest of the day, and we can pick this up in the morning."

"I guess you have a point," Tyler said. "All right. First thing in the morning. Let's meet here."

"Okay," I said. "See you then."

A Temporary Partnership

Sorry for the delays, everybody. A lot has been going on, but let's start with my meeting with the SMSC. I was taken to their headquarters, where I met with Agents Touchshriek and Garden.


"Long time no see," I said.

"Hello, Doctor," Agent Garden replied.

"What's this about?" I inquired.

"We'd like to start with an apology," Agent Touchshriek said.

"Despite the danger you pose, our actions during our last encounter were going too far," Agent Garden said. "We're sorry for attacking you."

"And?" I asked.

"We're sorry for threatening your colleagues as well," Agent Touchshriek said.

"And?" I pressed.

"We're sorry for the damage we did to your headquarters and property," Agent Garden said.

I narrowed my eyes at them and provided another "And?"

Agent Touchshriek let at a sigh before saying "We're sorry we didn't get your Godfather joke."

"Apology accepted," I said with a smile. "So, what else do you have to say to me."

"We need your help," Agent Moss said. "We need your level of dangerous right now. We need someone who can play the role of a hero."

I narrowed my eyes again.

"Escuse me?" I asked.

"Several people owe their lives to you after the incident in Seattle," Agent Toughshriek said. "To them, you're a h-"

"No!" I snapped, cutting her off, much to both of their shock. "You do not call me that."

"But, you saved so many people," she said, in a state of confusion.

I produced the card Abdalin gave to me and showed it to them.

"You know when I used this card?" I said. "When I got my legs back? When that happened, there was a moment where I honestly considered just getting myself out of there and leaving all those people to die. That is not a thought that a hero has. Not even for a second. So not, you don't get to call me that. Nobody does!"

There was a period of silence in which none of us spoke. I decided to break the silence by taking a deep breathe, putting the card away, and straightening my posture before speaking.

"Now, what is it you need from me?" I asked.

"We um... have some missions we'd like to send you on," Agent Garden said. "If you'll accept them, that is."

"Will thee missions help solve the problem with that forest?" I asked.

"With any luck, yes," Agent Touchshriek said.

"Very well," I said. "If there's a chance at trim that forest down to size, I'll take it. And like you said. The world could use my level of dangerous."

"Speaking of dangerous," Agent Garden said. "We have someone we'd like you to meet."

"And who might-" I began, but I was cut off when someone suddenly through themselves against the other side of a glass door.

"Is this our guy!?" The man asked enthusiastically, looking right at me.

He was wearing a white coat with the sleeves burned off, had messy red hair, and was wearing a blindfold, which made it a little weird that he new exactly where I was. Unless, of course, he could sense me somehow. I observed him more carefully and noticed some rotting tissue on his neck.

The Dying Man. The SMSC had an actual Dying Man shard in their custody.

"God damn it," Agent Touchshriek said. "He burnt through his straightjacket again."

"Kiss your mum with that mouth?" The shard asked.

"Who the fuck is this?" I asked.

"Oh, so you're gonna swear too, huh?" the shard asked.

"Shut the fuck up," Agent Garden said.

"Okay, that one was out of spite," the shard said.

"This," Agent Touchshriek said, grimacing. "Is your partner."

"You're pairing me with a Dying Man shard?" I asked. "You sure that's a good idea?"

"We're sure you can handle him," Agent Garden said. "You're more powerful than him, and in the event he tries to possess you, your powers as a Devil Killer will give you a strong chance of resisting him long enough for an extraction."

"An extraction, huh?" I asked. "You guys have a way to do that?"

"It's possible, but difficult," Agent Touchshriek replied.

"Of, course, there is an alternative," the shard said.

"No!" Aent Garden snapped. "We've been over this! You are not-"

"Hold up," I said, silencing Agent Garden. "Let me here what he has to say."

I didn't have the Dying Man's power yet, so I was a little curios about where this was going. After all, it could lead to me growing stronger.

"What if... you let me possess you?" the shard said.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, hear me out," the shard continued. "I'll play nice, let you have full control." He then added under his breath "Unless there's a good reason for me to take the wheel." He then raised a hand and said "Scout's honor."

"Go on," I said.

"It'd be pretty advantageous," he said. "Less bodies to worry about, we could strategize internally, without our potentially enemies overhear us, and you'd obviously gain my powers."

"I'm almost sold," I informed him. "But not quite. What else do you have to offer?"

He chuckled at that.

"You see, when I say 'my powers', I'm not just referring to my power as the Dying Man," he said.

He then lit his hand on fire and melted through the knob of the door separating us, and stepped through it. The Agents immediately drew their guns and took aim, but I raised a hand and shot them a look to hold back.

"I offer you not one, but two Fear powers," he said.

I stepped forward.

"Very well," I said, offering him my hand. "To our temporary partnership."

"To our temporary partnership," he echoed before shaking my hand.

The transfer occurred. The shard entered into me, and the body he was inhabiting collapsed into hysterics, babbling gibberish and writhing on the floor.

"Um, what is this?" I asked.

Oh yeah, the shard said, from within my head. I sort of drove him to insanity. Easier to possess that way.

"Oh, well in that case...," I said, aiming my finger at the flopping body in front of me. "BANG!"

I blasted through his skull with a lightning bolt.

"Dude!" Agent Garden gasped.

"What the fuck!" Agent Touchshriek said.

The shard my head to face her and snapped "Language!"

It then ave me control back, and I let out a sigh.

"e was beyond saving," I said. "I did him a mercy, really."

Hey, can we have a word in your mind? the shard asked.

"Sure," I said. "I'll be right back, I have to go have a head chat or something."

A moment later, I found myself standing in a dim lab. My cane was missing, but I noticed I no longer needed it. My leg felt just fine. Interesting...

The shard stood before me, a mass of black flames in the shape of a human wearing a labcoat and a blindfold. He looked a lot like myself, actually. even had my braid.

"So this is what you look like?" I asked.

"Yep," he replied. "At least to you. I change form depending on my host."

"And this is...," I said, looking around.

"Your subconscious," he answered. "I gotta say, it's pretty dimly lit in here."

"Yeah, it is pretty dark," I said. "So, what's this about?"

"Well, normally it would take you a while to fully absorb my powers," the shard said. "But I had an idea that might just speed things along."

"Go on," I said.

He pointed to a desk, where my Extractor was sitting.

"We use that," he said.

"But that's just a subconscious replica," I said. "Will that actually work?"

"We won't know if we don't try," the shard said, producing a small flame in his hand.

He handed me the flame, which I was somehow able to hold, and he gave me a nod. I put it inside the Extractor and started it up. I immediately realized that this was a bad idea. Both Fear powers were being extracted at the same time, and I knew that the Extractor wouldn't be able to handing it if I tried amplifying them both at the same time, which would sort of be unavoidable. Not to mention they were both blending together chaotically, which definitely wouldn't turn out well.

"Shit," I said. "The Extractor isn't built for stuff like this! That's not how it works."

"First of all, stop swearing," the shard said. "Second of all, we're in your head. Make it how it works."

"How do I-?" I started to ask.

"You're a genius, aren't you?" the shard interrupted. "Figure it out."

Right. Okay. I took a breathe and focused. I could handle this. First off, I couldn't put these samples in the same Cell. That'd be a disaster waiting to happen. I needed two Cells. One for each. I closed my eyes and reopened them to find my Extractor replaced with Elie's, with it's capability to fill two separate Cells. Perfect.

Next, I needed to separate the two energies. I thought of how I could do that, and my mind seemed to settle on coding. A laptop appeared beside the Extractor, hooked up to it, with a text window opened.

"Okay, I'm assuming this second power is the Burning Bride, right?" I asked.

"That's right," the shard said.

I honestly don't know too much about coding. I've taken a couple classes in it, but there's so much about it that I've never learned. But like the shard said. This was all in my head. I had control here. I could make this work.

I typed in "execute function; burning_bride + dying_man /separate" and hit enter, holding my breathe.

Slowly, the two energies untangled from each other, moving to separate sides of the Extractor. The Burning Bride's power appeared as a burning aurora, shifting between shades of red and blue. The Dying Man's power was harder to describe. It was a weird mixture of sickly green and dark gray. It was like staring at the very concept of decay itself.

Next step. I needed to amplify them one at a time, which the Extractor normally wouldn't be capable of. I typed in "execute function; burning_bride/ignore" and hit enter. The Burning Bride's power grew dimmer, and was compressed to a corner of the Extractor, as the Dying Man's power expanded to fill the void. Good. It was working so far.

I input "execute function; dying_man/amplify" and began turning the dial to increase the Dying Man's power. The Burning Bride's power was unaffected by the amplification, just like I wanted. I then input "execute function; dying_man/transfer:cell1". The Dying Man's power began to transfer to one of the Cells, but the Cell started to crack slightly, and for a moment, I was worried this worried work. But I quickly reminded myself that this was my mind. I could make it work. The crack faded, and the power was easily compress.

I let out a breathe before continuing. I typed in "end function; burning_bride/ignore", followed by "execute function; burning_bride/amplify". The Bride's power was amplified as well, and I continued to type in "execute function; burning_bride/transfer:cell2", and it was successfully compressed in the second Cell.

"Nice!" the shard said. "So, what comes next? How to you go about absorbing that power?"

"With the Vambrace," I replied.

He raised an eyebrow, which I could barely notice with his blindfold. I'm gonna have to question him on that...

"You mean the armor piece?" he asked.

"How many other meanings does the word 'Vambrace' have?" I replied.

"Point taken," he said.

I produced a device and slipped it onto my forearm. It resembled its namesake;  a piece of armor that goes over ones forearm. But it had a spot where I could plug a Cell into. I inserted the Dying Man Cell into it and flipped a switch. Some of the Cell's power was quickly pumped into my body, and I quivered a bit as the sensation overtook me. Once it was over, I took the Cell out and set it aside.

"There's still some energy left in there," the shard pointed out.

"Yeah," I said. "I usual don't absorb all the energy I extract. I keep a bit around for research purposes."

I repeated the process with the Burning Bride's power.

"Well, this seems to have worked in my mind," I said. "But will any of this actually affect my physical body?"

"Who knows?" the shard said. "Why don't you go back out there and find out?"

I did so. I was standing before the Agent's again. They were looking pretty concerned.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"You've kind of been zoned out there for the past couple minutes," Agent Garden informed me.

"Really?" I asked. "felt longer from my end..."

Oh, yeah, the shard piped up. Subconscious time can be a bit screwy.

"Well that doesn't seem scientifically accurate," I noted.

"Are you feeling alright?" Agent Touchshriek asked.

I raised a hand, and managed to produce a small flame in my palm. I smiled.

"Never better," I said. "So. What's my first mission?"