The Story of a Minifigure: Strange Odd Shadow

### Chapter 1: Lost

A lone figure stood in the midst of the near-empty meadow. A few steps away from the site of his recently crashed rocket, Strange Odd Shadow was lost in his thoughts. Green hills framed the grassy plain, but his surroundings had barely registered with the young man. He’d scarcely noticed his own injuries from the crash after all.

He’d been pretty shaken by what he had just lived through. He’d been reminded of the cruel reality of the world when he’d arrogantly started to believe he could overcome all obstacles. But he was far too little compared to the darkness of the Maelstrom.

The threat of the Maelstrom wasn’t new to him. After all, that was why he was joining the Nexus Force: to fight the force of chaos that brought only destruction and death. But the Maelstrom itself had prevented him. Separated him from his friends. Forced him to flee to this place called Avant Gardens, not quite his destination.

He was alone now. No friends, no allies, no information on his location. He had already noticed servants of the Maelstrom loitering here and there in the otherwise empty meadow. If he explored the world more, he was sure to find it swarming with them. It was closer to the centre of the Crux System after all, where the power of the Maelstrom was the strongest.

He didn’t have much hope he could fight them. It was fully infected minifigures he was dealing with –though after the corruption of their Imagination whether or not they could be called minifigures, Touched by Imagination, was questionable. He’d had trouble fighting half-infected ones before and now he was without weapon –for he had lost his crossbow– and facing far more dangerous enemies. He couldn’t defend himself. What about the other passengers of the ship? Many of them were bound to have little to no combat experience. Would they be okay?

He knew they were within the Nimbus System, so the Nexus Force couldn’t be that far away, but even that little distance separating them could be critical for their survival. If the Force found them, they’d be safe. But could they make it till then? Could he? He sure could use the help of Tony at a moment like this.

Shadow sighed. His friends. Would he see them again? Everything had happened so quickly, he wasn’t sure when exactly they got separated. But they had and now he might never find them again. When the Maelstrom struck, they’d been instructed to head for the Avant Gardens, but the world was surrounded by many more smaller chunks of Crux and pursued by the Maelstrom, there was no guarantee where they’d ended up. In fact, who knew whether they’d even made it anywhere? As far as his eye could reach, he was the only person –uninfected that is– in a pretty expansive area. That alone spoke volumes of how scattered the passengers of the Venture Explorer had been. In conclusion, he had no clue where his friends could be. Had he lost them forever?

Sarah.

Tony.

Kate.

His hand unconsciously slipped into his pocket and felt a coin inside. When he realised what he was doing, he was reassured to find it there. He’d feared he might have lost it, too.

Memories he’d made with his friends in Yorkanton City flashed through his mind. They had been his whole world the last few years. What would he do without them?

Engrossed in his thoughts as he was, he did not notice the approach of another creature, despite its heavy steps and loud breath. Coloured in shades of black and purple, it was shaped like a human, but its humanity was long lost. Its skin turned dark and wrinkled, its bones bared in places from anything other than thin translucent tissue, its skeletal figure covered in tattered clothes, having a crooked blade instead of an arm and an ominous purple aura akin to flames engulfing it, the creature couldn't look more grotesque. A red light glowed on its eyes as it looked at Shadow with a wild look of hatred.

The creature growled angrily and charged towards Shadow. It was only then that the absent-minded minifigure was drawn out of his daydreaming and he finally saw it coming. He recognised it as a servant of chaos; a human turned by dark forces to the Maelstrom, mindlessly serving its will. Fear struck through him. He had little time to react and he was defenceless. Taken by surprise it didn't even occur to him to run. He simply stared at the malicious red eyes approaching him.

In a second, the ghastly being was upon him raising its blade-arm to strike. Finally, at the realisation of the impeding doom, Strange Odd Shadow broke out of his shock and dodged. As the creature’s –known as a stromling to the Nexus Force, if he recalled correctly– arm dug into the earth, he seized the chance to kick it on the stomach, pushing it backwards. The stromling stumbling a couple of steps, he proceeded to turn tail and run away.

After a moment of daze as a result, the stromling followed in pursuit, snarling loudly. With a rabid look on its eyes, saliva spilling from its open mouth, it came after him faster than he could run. If he didn't do anything about it, it'd soon catch up.

Noticing a tree nearby, he ran towards it only to suddenly change direction once he was almost upon it. The stromling, having greater momentum and lower intelligence, couldn't avoid it in time and crashed onto its trunk.

As he moved away, he laughed at the success of his plan. He had been stunned earlier, but with his gears turning again, he could use his one advantage over the beast-like stromlings: his brain.

However, his exultation didn't last long as with all the commotion two more stromlings were alerted of his presence and proceeded to chase after him. Running as fast as his legs could take him, he tried to think of another trick to use on multiple Maelstromlings, but there wasn’t a lot of time. The creatures of Maelstrom, whose number continued to increase, were getting closer and closer. He had no weapon to fight them… Only his creativity… Wait, that was it! How could he be so stupid?

Shadow focused, while opening his backpack. He then pointed his arm forward almost as if ordering an invisible army to attack and little pieces of clay flew out of the backpack. However, as they all moved towards the direction his arm pointed at, they began to grow until they’d assumed the size of proper bricks. Bricks that flying quickly came together to build a makeshift wall just as he’d envisioned. Built from the edges to the middle wall, he had just enough time to pass through before the inner gap of the wall closed, blocking passage to all the stromlings following him. They weren’t smart enough to think to go around it in time and all smashed onto it. Shadow could hear them from the other side of the wall.

They’d find the right way quickly enough, so he hadn’t shaken them off forever, but it should give a good distance for the moment. He came to a part of the plain where the ground grew uphill, before it became downhill, blocking the view of what was beyond. Shadow climbed up the slope where he was finally met with his first good news. Or were they? From the top, he could see a building, some facility of sorts, but it was half-wrecked and the Maelstrom had left its signs on it. Still, it wasn’t completely overtaken by it, so he wasn’t sure what’d he’d find there. He could only hope for help.

Looking over his shoulder at his pursuers, closing in on him again, he sprinted the last distance towards the lone facility. As he approached, one door opened and a man emerged from it.

“Get down!” the man yelled and Shadow obeyed falling down face-first, hoping that whatever the man was about to do, he'd do it fast enough before the stromlings caught up.

By the time he rolled around, he'd already heard several objects whiz over him and looking at the stromlings, he noticed a dagger embedded on each one’s chest. The creatures of chaos stopped in their tracks, looking down at their wounds with confusion. A moment later, they started convulsing violently, purple and red fluid erupting from their mouth. They struggled for a few seconds before they finally collapsed, any semblance of life they previously had now absent from their eyes.

Shadow was frankly somewhat shocked from the gruesome sight of what, for all he knew, might have been the stromlings' insides exploding. Nonetheless, he turned to his saviour to express his gratitude, but was surprised yet again when he noticed the man's hands were covered in the very same purple aura as the creatures he'd just felled. Not only that, but he was also wearing bandages in places and an eye-patch over his left eye. Had he been in an accident or perhaps a fight gone wrong?

“Th- thank you”, the young man said, shaking off that train of thought as too personal. “How did you do that?” he pointed to the remains of the stromlings.

“Not here. It's still dangerous. Come inside”.

The man led Shadow inside the building he'd come out of, closing the door behind them and locking it by typing a password into a keypad. By the look of it, not even the rabid stromlings could force their way in (or out) through the heavy metal door and its sophisticated locking system.

The door led into a corridor that looked like it belonged to a research facility or hospital. Its plain white walls still gave you that clean sterile impression even with the thick layer of dust that had come to rest upon them. The doors on either side of them were also metal and almost as secure, by the looks of it, as the first one. Signs indicated the purpose of the rooms that lay on the other side of them. Shadow noted *Microbiology Lab* and *Floral Research* on some of the nearby ones and figured it was a research facility after all.

“Do you conduct biology research here?” he asked, as the man started walking down the corridor.

“Yes and no. This is a Maelstrom Research Facility. We study all matters Maelstrom and that includes biological topics, too. Though there hasn't been much actual research done in a while”.

Maelstrom Research... Well, it made sense that people would want to study it, but he'd never thought about it too much. He wondered what they intended to do with it. Understanding the Maelstrom could be useful, but it could also turn sinister.

 “More importantly, though, how did you get here? Did you leave the Camp alone and got lost? Why did you not carry a weapon at least?” the man asked as he stopped in front of a door that was labelled as the *Break Room*.

“Not quite. I crash landed nearby”, Shadow explained. “I was aboard the Venture Explorer, you see, but it got attacked by Maelstrom”.

“The Explorer was...? What happened to everyone? How's Bob? Sky? The crew?” the man's mostly expressionless, slightly melancholic face finally formed an expression of concern as he turned from the door's keypad to face Shadow.

“I'm afraid I don't know. Mr. Bob and Captain Lane were guiding the recruits till the last I saw of them, but we were all so rushed to leave the ship that I really don't know what happened to anyone. Didn't even manage to meet up with my own friends”.

Once again, he got an empty feeling at the pit of his stomach. This conversation was reminding him of everything that had been worrying him earlier and it was getting him depressed quickly. The other man didn't look much better, as he processed the information. He opened his mouth to speak, but then after a few moments of silence, decided to close it again. He turned back to the keypad and opened the door, ushering Shadow in.

 The room on the other side was populated with several tables and chairs around them, but no people. It largely looked abandoned, much like the corridor actually, except for a single table, on top of which several objects were laid out, from clothes to research notes. The man walked to said table and slumped on a chair, looking quite lost. Shadow joined him, sitting down on another chair and took his time examining the mismatched objects: a radio, a walkie-talkie, a towel, a dirty shirt, an unfinished plate of pasta, various stacks of papers that looked like research notes and more. He looked to the man, considered addressing him, then realised he still didn't know his name.

“Uhm. Might I know your name?” he asked awkwardly.

“It's Wisp Lee”, he replied laconically. “And you?”

“You can call me Strange Odd Shadow”. That wasn't of course his actual given name, but it was a nickname he'd chosen for himself in the three-word fashion he'd heard the Nexus-Forcers chose their codenames.

“I see. So, I assume you're looking to join the Nexus Force then?” Wisp Lee enquired, having regained his composure and returned to his melancholic resting face.

“That's right. Why, can you contact them?”

“Well yeah, considering I'm Nexus Force myself. After all, this is a Paradox facility”.

Shadow's eyes lit up, as he realised there may be hope yet, “Can you do that?”

“Yeah. I should probably contact Epsilon. I can't leave the facility myself, but Epsilon's in the area so he could pick you up probably”, Wisp Lee told him, while he grabbed the walkie-talkie on the table.

Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel. He could join the Nexus Force. He could get the resources to be able to fight the Maelstrom. He could use their help to look for his friends. He could find his friends.

“Epsilon, you there? Epsilon, can you hear me?” Wisp talked to the radio-telephone.

“Epsilon here, I hear you loud and clear. Anything I can do for you? Over” a voice was heard through the static.

For sure, he'd find his friends. . .

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

The spaceship, overtaken by purple mist and flames, now floated in stasis in the middle of space near the bright green world of Avant Gardens. A figure of darkness sat before a wide hole made in the Venture Explorer’s hull, unfazed by the emptiness of the void leaking in through it and examining the world that lay below. The Avant Gardens’ life and brilliance was in stark contrast to the dull dead shell of a ship the Explorer had been reduced to.

“The targets escaped to the Gardens”, the dark man spoke. “Shall I track them down?”

There was a shift in the movement of the mist, creating little vortices in the air that came together to form the vague shape of a humanoid figure.

“There’s no need for that. I can use my own eyes”, a voice coming from the nebulous figure replied. “Besides, they can’t get far either way”.

“In that case, I’ll get ready for the hunt”.

“Yes. Soon they will be mine”. . .

Bewαre of the shαdows becαuse I might be there.

### Chapter 2: En Route to the Nexus Force

West of the Paradox Research Facility lies a field. In the centre of that field stands a rock formation, a tall landmark to be seen from a great distance away. On the side of the location, there’s a small sheltered plateau. On top of that plateau, one will often find the camp of the man by name Epsilon Starcracker when he’s on a scouting mission. In that instance, a flustered Strange Odd Shadow climbed onto the plateau to find three men and a woman hiding in the shelter of the location, surrounded by camping supplies. Two of them were rather plain-looking in clothing compared to the other two, who were clad in futuristic metal outfits, one in orange colours the other in blue.

The man in blue attire, previously occupied with looking over the rocks at the encompassing field, now turned to examine the newcomer. There was something in his face maybe that made Shadow think he was the one in charge and most likely the man he was looking for.

“Are you Epsilon?” he asked.

“I was not under the impression that it was considered good manners nowadays for strangers to address one another by first name”, the man replied in a disapproving tone. “I’m Epsilon Starcracker. And I presume you’re one of the passengers of the Explorer”.

“That’s correct. As for my form of addressing you, Wisp Lee didn’t happen to mention your last name”, Shadow responded, perhaps ever slightly indignantly.

“Oh, you’re the one from the Facility. Where’s Wisp? Didn’t he say he was coming with?”

“He’s just behind me, dealing with a couple stromlings that took interest in us. Didn’t you see us coming from here?”

“My attention was engaged otherwise”, Epsilon pointed in the distance where a mass of purple –a closer look revealed it to be made up of many smaller parts; perhaps stromlings– was moving towards them.

“Ominous”.

“Very. We’ll have to move out shortly to avoid meeting with them”, Epsilon said looking in the direction Shadow had come from. “Now, what’s taking Wisp so long? Quantum, why don’t you go have a look?”

“Yes sir”, the man in orange gear obeyed and was soon out of sight.

“I don’t believe you told your name by the way”, Epsilon turned back to him.

“It’s Strange Odd Shadow”.

“Well, aren’t you eager? In any case, these are Karen and Jethro. They were passengers aboard the Explorer along with you”, Epsilon waved in the general direction of the other two people there.

Shadow examined the two of them and confirmed that he didn’t really recognise them. That didn’t surprise him though, seeing as the Venture Explorer’s passengers were held in cryo-sleep chambers for the majority of the journey’s duration. They looked a little ruffled, maybe somewhat scared –Jethro especially, a boy barely out of his teens it seemed, was rather fidgety–, but Shadow thought that made sense considering the situation. In fact, for all he knew he might have been giving the very same impression himself.

Just as they waved awkwardly at each other in greeting, Wisp Lee and the other person, Quantum, appeared on the plateau. The bandaged man looked fine, but maybe his cheeks were flushed, most likely as the result of his engagement in combat.

“Ah there you are Wisp! Thanks, Quantum. Was there an issue?”

“Nothing in particular. Just an over-abundance of pests”, Wisp answered nonchalantly “So, I can leave Strange Odd Shadow to your care then?”.

“I’ll take good care of him, Wisp, don’t worry. You can go back to the Facility”, Epsilon spoke as he aimed his gun between Quantum and Shadow, firing a cyan ray which struck a stromling that’d showed up nearby. “We’re going to move out soon, so if you meet any more lost newbies, you’d better just wait for a drop-ship to come your way and pick them up”.

“Thanks. I’ll do that. Strange Odd Shadow, stay safe. Everyone, good luck. I’ll take my leave now”, the man sluggishly waved two fingers before making a turn on the spot and walking away.

“Will he be okay?” Karen asked, following the scientist with her eyes.

“You needn’t worry about him. Wisp can look out for himself. Worry about yourselves instead. Do any of you have a weapon?”

None of the three former passengers of the Explorer spoke up and Jethro shook his head no.

“Thought so. Luckily enough, I tend to store some spares here, so I can equip you with something. One second”, Epsilon told them as he entered the upper half of his body into a small tent, apparently looking for something. A few moments later, he came out holding a bag, which he offered to the recruits. “They’re nothing special, but it’s the best you’ve got if you find yourselves alone with a stromling”.

“You won’t protect us?” Jethro squeaked anxiously.

“We will, of course, do our best. But what will you do if we get separated or killed?”

Jethro’s face grew pale, “That might happen?”

“Sir, I think you’re scaring him too much”, Quantum interjected.

“Anyway, just pick a weapon out of these”, the scout pointed to the bag he’d placed down before them.

With Karen’s initiative, they found a small selection of weapons inside, a few swords sheathed in simple scabbards, a couple of spears and even a hammer, whose handlebar was long enough so that it could be used in combat. The three young recruits made to examine the different choices, but Epsilon’s “And please be quick about it” hurried them just a bit.

Jethro picked a sword in the end and Karen selected a spear. Shadow, himself, thought that those choices required some skill to be used effectively, something which he honestly lacked. The hammer, on the other hand, could deal its damage even if you were clumsy with it as long as you put force into your blows. He picked the weapon to feel its weight and found out it was lighter than he’d thought. With that concern out of the way, he too made his choice and proceeded to hang the hammer from his belt.

In the meantime, Starcracker had collected some supplies into a backpack that he now wore on his back, “Good, you’re all ready then. Let’s head out”.

Before beginning the road down the plateau, Shadow gave a last look to the purple mass in the distance. It had gotten closer in the time that’d passed. He couldn’t quite tell what speed it was moving with, yet. Could it possibly reach them?

“Come, you don’t want to stay behind”, Quantum called to him. “Don’t fret about it”, he added glancing at the Maelstrom crowd. “It’s probably a horde moving randomly through the meadows. We can easily avoid it”.

“Does this kind of thing happen often?” Shadow asked, as they started walking behind the others.

“Not particularly. But it’s not unheard of”.

Catching up with Epsilon and the other two, Shadow noted that the former was on the radio talking to ‘Base’, informing them they were leaving Camp Site Beta and should be expected in four to five hours.

“Looks like a long walk...” Shadow sighed.

“Why can’t we ride on one of those airships?” Jethro enquired, seeing one of them fly high in the sky far from them; indeed, Shadow had noticed them go about a few times, too, on his way to the camp site.

“Your fellow passengers have landed all over this world, you know”, Epsilon explained. “We’ve dispatched all of our available aircraft to find them all before the stromlings do. Most of them don’t have the luxury of a senior member of the Force protecting them. Everyone else has priority now, so the drop-ships can’t be spared for us. Unless there’s an emergency, we’re walking”.

Thus began their long trek across the meadows of Avant Gardens. It would have been like a nice walk in the park –the Gardens were really beautiful–, if it weren’t for the occasional stromling showing up only to be swiftly killed by Epsilon, the ever-present fear that more than just that might attack them and the remembrance every once in a while of how long they still had ahead of them.

To pass the time (and perhaps to calm his juniors’ spirits), Quantum entertained everyone with stories about Avant Gardens, explaining how it was first a man by the name of Preston Southeast who made it his home there in order to take advantage of the mines in the area; and the parks of his and his eventual neighbours’ houses were called the Avant Gardens.

“And the train station that was built in a nearby village was called Nimbus Station, the one you might have heard as one of the Nexus Force’s important bases. It’s separated from this world nowadays, though”.

“You seem to have a rather good knowledge of Batheian history”, Shadow noted. “And yet from your accent I’d say you’re North-Expian, right?”

“Ah yes. Since I joined the Nexus Force, I’ve done my studying, talked to the locals. It’s good to have an understanding of the places the Nexus Force’s made its bases at. What about you, though? You sound South-Expian, if I’m not wrong”, Quantum replied cheerfully.

“I’m from Yorkanton actually”.

“Aah. That’s a strange place you’re from. Don’t I hear they don’t let their people go outside the city’s borders? How did you get out?”

“My friends and I weren’t on the best of terms with the authorities there, so I don’t suppose they were that sad to see us go”, Shadow’s face took a derisive expression. “They did give us some trouble, still, though”.

“Oh, you’ve got friends joining with you?”

The young man paused slightly, his features growing dark, “Yes… but I don’t know where they are now. We got separated in the ship...” he let his voice fade, implying but not uttering his concerns out loud.

“Oh. I’m sorry… I should have realised… Don’t worry, though. I’m sure they’ll be fine. Maybe they’re already at the Base Camp, safe and sound”, the Nexus-Forcer tried to reassure him. There was a short silence before Quantum changed the subject: “But how about you guys, Karen, Jethro? Where are *you* from?”

 It turned out Karen was Zytherian and Jethro was from Dumania. Quantum started a discussion with them about their homelands. Shadow listened for he was also interested about foreign lands, but only absent-mindedly, missing parts of the conversation whenever his train of thought took a turn of its own. It was about then that Starcracker abruptly came to a stop.

 “And that’s the weird thing about it, today’s children, the next generation’s adults won’t even remember what their homes were like before the explosion. In this state of shuffled chunks, the feeling of nationality might get entirely- Sir, is there a problem?” Quantum interrupted his impromptu speech upon seeing the scout stop.

 “That Maelstrom horde. It’s gotten closer. At a concerning speed and it seems to be headed our way”.

 Indeed, upon looking back Shadow found that the purple mass, whose parts could now a lot more clearly be distinguished as different creatures, had approached them dangerously much. Judging by the distance it must have crossed in that time, the horde would reach them in maybe half an hour, if they didn’t change course.

 “We’ll have to take a detour to avoid meeting with them. Come, this way”.

 Whereas until then, the group had been taking a very direct route towards where the Base Camp presumably were, now Epsilon led them off their path and in the direction of some hills. While Quantum had been able to keep a relatively cheerful atmosphere previously, everyone stayed quite after this, a lot more aware of the looming danger of the host of stromlings. Shadow caught Jethro and Karen glancing back to check its position several times, but he didn’t blame them for he did the same thing, too. In fact, it was rather infectious.

Climbing up the hills had all the recruits panting; none of them seemed to be particularly fit and they’d already been pretty walking in a fast pace for a while. Upon reaching the top, they stopped to rest for a minute and Epsilon passed around a bottle of water. From there, one could see all of the Avant Gardens for kilometres. However, the view wasn’t good.

“Well, it can’t be denied now”, Epsilon said. “It’s definite they’ve changed directions as well. They’re still headed towards us”.

“You think they’re following us?” Karen asked.

 “Normally, a typical stromling wouldn’t be able to tell apart a person’s creative spark to the Imagination in the air and they don’t have the intelligence to take interest in moving figures so far away from them. Plus, I don’t think a group of five people would be enough to have them moving in a pack. I don’t see how or why they’d be following us”, Quantum gave his opinion.

“And yet here they are inexplicably changing course...” Epsilon considered the situation. “We can’t be sure yet that it wasn’t random. Let’s change paths again and see if they still follow us”.

 As they descended the hills, Starcracker took an opposite turn than he had before, leading them back the way they were previously going in. Everyone was on edge now, watching the stromlings constantly to see if they’ll turn as well. Why would they be following them, though? Quantum’s explanation had been very logical. If they were pursuing the five of them, did this mean there was something more fouler at play? Either way, they absolutely had to avoid crossing ways with the mob. He wondered if there were more such hordes in Avant Gardens currently, terrorising other passengers of the Explorers; or perhaps his friends.

On the other side of the hills, a small patch of forest to their left interrupted the Gardens’ otherwise endless sea of grass. As they approached it, Jethro spoke up “Should we hide in there maybe?”

“I doubt it will do us any good”, Epsilon gave his answer. “If they really are coming after us, I don’t think its cover will stop them and at the same time we’ll lose visual contact with them. We won’t know if they’re following us”.

They decided to stay out of the forest, but stuck close to it in order to go through the shortest possible route. Shadow watched the trees, wondering if something might show up from their shadows. Rather than his eyes, though, he tried to keep his ears open; if anything came he’d probably hear of it before he saw it.

“How much longer have we got after this?” Jethro asked a little later, when they were about halfway through getting past the forest.

“A little short of four hours”, Starcracker grunted, possibly realising that he might have to hear this question many times, yet.

Jethro groaned, “What? We’ve been walking all this time and we still have four more hours? Four hours while chased by this… thing”.

“Yes, we did take a detour after all. Now be quiet, I’m trying to listen”.

“Listen to what?”

At that moment, as if answering to Jethro’s whimper, a loud crunch was heard akin to the breaking of dry leaves by the foot crushing them. Then, more steps were heard, multiple feet of multiple beings.

“Get back!” Epsilon yelled and the three recruits rushed backwards; Shadow drew his hammer.

In an instant, several stromlings appeared out of the woods in a cacophony of growls and screeches, jumping to where they’d been standing just a moment ago. Shadow counted at least fifteen. The ones that charged at Epsilon met an inglorious fate, as they were quickly taken out by his gun. In fact, the man shot as many of the creatures as he could before they passed him by. Quantum, on the other hand, had somehow managed to build a fortified turret around him before the Stromlings reached him; Shadow was amazed at how quickly he’d done it, even if he was using Imagination.

Right when the turret started rapidly firing, Shadow’s attention was drawn by one of the stromlings that had slipped through both the Nexus-Forcers and was charging towards him. His mind in disarray from the fear –it wasn’t the first time he saw or faced a stromling, but the rabid deformed creatures didn’t get any less scary, especially considering that his previous times hadn’t gone very well either–, he madly swung his hammer, hoping to not to miss. With a thud, the hammerhead hit the stromling on the head, causing it to stumble a few steps backwards.

Examining the injury, he realised he’d left a dent to the Maelstrom being’s forehead with blood and purple goo bleeding out of it. A little shocked at the wound he himself had inflicted, he waited expecting the stromling to collapse after such a critical injury. However, it instead turned its face back to him, growling angrily. It raised its blade-arm to strike, but the panicked Shadow flailed his weapon once more, this time connecting with its chest. He quite distinctly heard a cracking sound and yet the humanoid monster was still undeterred. It swung its blade and he dodged, but fell down in the process.

Another attack and he’d be gone for, but just in time one of Epsilon Starcracker’s blue rays struck its back and the stromling stopped moving –barring some twitching– before it could finish its wild assault. It lifelessly dropped to the ground and Shadow hastily rolled aside to avoid being touched by its misty skin. A scorched patch, a burn that went deep into its flesh reaching the very heart, had been left on its back, still smoking. He looked away from the grotesque sight, but begrudgingly wondered why his weapon wasn’t as effective as Epsilon’s or Wisp’s all the same.

Getting up, he heard a scream and found the source of it had been Karen who was now being chased by a stromling that had a spear sticking through its stomach. Quantum rushed to aid her catching up and hitting it with his strangely shaped weapon, creating a spark on impact, killing it instantly. Starcracker had also just eliminated the last two stromlings, thus bringing an end to the battle.

“Is everybody all right?” he asked, while checking them out with his eyes himself; before anyone could get a chance to reply, he continued anyway. “Good, we’re running. Let’s hurry”.

Confused but trusting in their leader’s orders, they began running as Epsilon had instructed; Karen didn’t even get a chance to get back her spear. She asked what was going on and Shadow might have done the same, but he quickly came to a conclusion and looking back, he confirmed the reason that had sent the scout in such a hurry: in the time it’d taken them to defeat the stromlings, the Maelstrom horde had grown dangerously close and there was no longer any doubt that it was following them.

Epsilon didn’t even bother to answer, instead producing his walkie-talkie and turning it on, “Come in, Base, do you copy?” he spoke loudly and worriedly.

“This is Sentinel Base Camp, We copy, Eagle Five. What’s your status?” a voice in the radio-telephone responded.

“We need a drop-ship to pick us up asap! We’re being pursued by a Maelstrom horde. Send it to my coordinates immediately!”

“We hear you, Eagle Five. Nexus Talon Delta-Forty-Two will be with you shortly. Hang in there till then”.

Shadow wasn’t sure how reassured he was by ‘shortly’. He feared the Maelstrom beings’ might reach them even more shortly. He could already make out the wild stromlings in a lot of detail, manically running after them, some of them on all fours, their red eyes locked on them. Beyond the regular infected humans, however, there was also another kind of creature, looking like a misshapen blob of purple with four legs, two gun-loaded short arms and many irregularly placed eyes. They were vaguely reminiscent to spiders. He believed he’d seen a similar Maelstromling before, but that one had been a lot bigger. The similarity didn’t predispose him well to them.

The distance between them was pretty short and getting shorter by the minute. Realising what was going on with a yelp, Jethro had started running with everything he’d got and seeing him, everyone followed his example. Nevertheless, the Maelstrom-enhanced creatures were still faster than them by a long shot. He could hear Jethro muttering something under his breath that might have been a prayer. Shadow wanted to tell him that he was wasting precious breath, but couldn’t speak up about it in the end; perhaps a good prayer would help them more than slightly more oxygen.

“Come in, Eagle Five. This is Falcon Seven”, another voice spoke on the radio suddenly. “Delta-Forty-Two will be in your location in sixteen seconds, prepare for boarding”.

Sixteen seconds. Could they make it for sixteen seconds? Shadow’s legs were already hurting, but he was pushing himself as long as he could make it. He wasn’t completely out of breath, yet. And at least… it was fifteen seconds now.

He glanced back. He was met with a plethora of bloodthirsty eyes and drooling mouths, but they hadn’t reached them, yet. Fourteen… Thirteen… The seconds, counting down in his head, were passing so slowly. He wasn’t even sure if he was counting correctly or if he was rushing, because he wanted it all to be over quickly. Twelve… Was he slowing down somewhat? He was being left behind by his companions. Eleven… The creatures of darkness were almost upon them now. Ten seconds… Bolts of Maelstrom were fired at them; the spider-like beasts seemed to be using their guns. Their aim was inaccurate and all the blasts missed, but there was more than one person screaming. Nine… Epsilon drew his gun and retaliated, shooting behind him indiscriminately, without decelerating. Eight… Could he hear the faint sound of an engine roaring behind them? Seven… The spider darklings continued their attack. Some of the bolts came dangerously close to hitting them. Six… His muscles were really starting to burn. He wasn’t built for this. Five… a stromling, having dashed ahead of the group was now almost caught up with him, trying to kill him. With a surprised yell, Shadow drew his weapon and knocked his pursuer back, causing it to trip. Four… He could definitely see the drop-ship now, but that made it even clearer that the pack of darklings was going to reach them first. Quantum must have thought the same, for with a motion of his arms, a lot of parts flew out of his backpack. Three… Under Quantum’s guidance, the pieces came together to build a small turret, which started rapidly firing all over the horde, pushing back the first wave just a little. Two… A spider creature reached the turret and smashed with one jab of its leg. One… A shower of bullets came from above, wreaking havoc among the stromlings’ ranks. The drop-ship now flew over the horde. Zero… His timing was a little off, but surprisingly not by far. The aircraft slowed down to match their pace. A woman stood on the flying vehicle’s opening side, ready to help them get on board.

“Come on, go go go”, she shouted.

Minus one, he counted, finding it strange that he’d reached that far and hadn’t been killed, yet. Jethro and Karen got on with the woman’s help one by one. Although Epsilon was ahead of him, he waited for Shadow to get on board. Minus two… He couldn’t believe he’d made it. It wasn’t exactly that he hadn’t believed they’d be able to rescue him, but rather with how much this chase had stretched into eternity, he half-believed it’d never end. But he was now safe. Oh, how glad he was that he was safe. That he could rest. As he let himself drop to the floor, feeling his muscles’ complaining even more than when he was straining them moments ago, Quantum was helped onto the ship and Epsilon jumped in alone. Minus three… They were all on board now and the drop-ship started rising higher. The sound of stromlings trying to jump onto the vessel’s rear compelled him to look back at the crowd of darklings desperately trying to keep up.

Minus four… his eye caught a shadowy figure he hadn’t seen before in the distance behind the stromlings. It was human-shaped and looked dark. He tried to take a better glimpse at it, but as soon as he blinked he found out it’d vanished. What was it?

“Did you see that?”

“See what?”

By the looks in his companions’ eyes, he could tell that none of them had any idea what he was talking about (he couldn’t see Quantum’s eyes, but his silence led him to the same conclusion). Had he imagined it? Not necessarily, it was quite possible they’d just not seen it in the midst of everything that was going on.

“Nothing”.

And so as the drop-ship gained altitude and led them definitively out of the Maelstrom’s reach and into safety, just as Shadow had been able to rest in his relief, he was brought back to reality with a burning question: what was the meaning of that. . .

Bewαre of the shαdows becαuse I might be there.

### Chapter 3: Start line

“So, who’s Strongheart?”

“See the man surrounded by people there?”

“He looks busy”.

“Well, he’s not the Commander of this place for nothing”.

As soon as they were brought to the Sentinel Base Camp, Shadow and the others’ state of well-being had been checked up on thoroughly, they had given their information and then they’d been shown to an area where all the Venture Explorer passengers were held until it was decided what to do with them. There were about twenty of them there and Shadow had anxiously examined all of their faces, but found no one he recognised. Disappointed, he was now seated on a rock by the tent set up to house the injured listening to the conversation his fellows made. Some of them who’d apparently arrived earlier and talked to the Nexus-Forcers who’d been entrusted with their safety were now orienting the rest.

“What are they going to do with us?”

“One of the Forcers said they’ll train us here probably”.

“Honestly, I’m not sure I want to join still. This was the scariest thing in my life”.

“Weren’t you prepared for stuff like that, dude? It’s not like we were signing up for a vacation”.

“You act tough now, Craig, but you were terrified earlier, too”.

“That’s got nothing to do with it”.

“What about the people who’ve not made it, yet? Are they dead?”

“They’re still looking for them apparently. Don’t know how many they’ll find if they’re taking so long now”.

“I’m glad I’m not them”.

“That’s a terrible thing to say”.

“Well, we’re all thinking it, aren’t we?”

No one replied to that. There was silence for a few moments until someone spoke in a language Shadow did not understand.

“Does anyone understand what she’s saying? We’ve been trying to find an interpreter since she arrived”.

“I have no idea”.

“It can’t be that exotic if she came all this way. She must have been able to communicate with someone at some point”.

“Well, that someone is nowhere to be found now”.

“How long do you think we will stay like this?”

“Don’t know. Hours? Days? They don’t seem to have time for us now”.

“Do you think they care?”

“They hardly patched us up and left us. They’re probably doing it all to save face, but we’re all just numbers to them”.

“In the first place, shouldn’t they have been more prepared for something like this? Their response to the whole fiasco has honestly been far too inadequate”.

“This conversation is depressing”.

Truly, it wasn’t helping Shadow’s case either, though he had much reason to be distressed on his own. He figured he wasn’t the only person worrying over the whole situation. Maybe that was the reason the others were having the conversation in the first place: stress relief. But in the end, he thought it wasn’t good to everyone’s anxiety. It definitely annoyed him anyway.

“Hey there man. How are you doing?” a new voice came.

“Quantum? Oh you’re here? I thought they’d have sent you to look for more people. They did, but that one was a short ride and I thought I might check up on everyone before I have to go again. How are Karen and Jethro?”

“They’re over there, keeping to themselves mostly. I suppose they must be coping, too”.

“And what about you? Are you holding up all right?”

“As best as I can in this situation. I’m fine myself, but I’m worried. Do you maybe know of people who’ve been found, but are not yet brought here?”

“If you give me names, I could check the list for you”.

“You’d do that? Thank you very much…” and Shadow repeated their names a few times so Quantum would remember them.

“I’ll look them up as soon as possible. I just… I need you to know, Shadow, that we’ll all get through this. Don’t despair just yet”.

After that, Quantum left to talk to some more people, recruits and members alike. Shadow watched him as he went busily about the encampment, expecting the moment of his return. His gaze followed the man until he was lost from sight. After that Shadow looked downward once again and absent-mindedly registered the discussion of the other passengers and the general buzz of the base.

“Do you think we’ll ever wear gear like that?” one of them said, possibly referring to the recently disappeared Quantum and his striking suit.

“Wouldn’t we naturally, if we rise through the ranks?”

“I don’t know it looked like it might be the rare kind. That guy might actually be really important”.

He had not seemed very important to Shadow. A friendly fellow and approachable, yes, but that reinforced the opposite feeling. And he probably wasn’t high-ranking if he followed orders from Starcracker. He wondered, though, whether everyone could so readily have access to information about the situation and if the Nexus Force was that open an organisation.

It was a few more changes in subject in the conversation before Quantum returned to actually fulfil his promise. Even when he did so, he seemed hurried and didn’t stay long.

“Hey Shadow. Don’t have long, but about your friends. I’m afraid their names are still on the missing list. Don’t worry just yet, though. There’s people whose identity we’ve not been able to confirm and we’re also locating more people constantly, so they’re not lost. There’s many people who’ve wound up in the small chunks in the periphery of Avant Gardens, too, so finding them is taking time, but it’s getting done. We’ll surely find them. I need to go now. Stay positive”.

Despite Quantum’s attempts, his heart sank. If they’d not been found so far, the chances that they hadn’t already been killed by the ever present stromlings were very low. Shadow felt awful. Not being able to do anything but just uselessly sit there and wait was killing him. He’d thought he had experience, but his encounter with true stromlings just now had shown him that he was out of his depth and he didn’t like it. He just wished there was something he could do.

But there wasn’t. The rest of the day passed slowly and agonisingly. Nexus-Forcers came up to check on them every now and then, bringing food and other necessities sometimes; and more of the Explorer’s passengers were gathered there. But in the meantime, there was nothing to do to occupy his mind and so time stretched on and on endlessly. Shadow did not see Quantum again after he left, except maybe once or twice from a distance. So, he just waited by the tent, keeping to himself and lifting his head in hope every time someone approached only to be disappointed. His friends weren’t found that day.

At night (though due to the world’s unique rotation through space, it could hardly be called a night; nonetheless one’s biological clock still ticked), the members of the base finally addressed the question of what was to be done with them, looking for space where the former passengers were to sleep. They were escorted in small groups as tents were found or set up for them where they could stay for the night. Shadow too was shown to a place along with a couple more people. From the look and sound of them, they seemed to be from distant lands (by the old standards of Crux), but he was not in a mood to get excited over that and hardly noticed with whom he was sharing the small tent. He merely laid on his share of the cramped space and waited for sleep to take him.

Sleep wasn’t merciful, though, and he stayed with his depressed thoughts long still. When they were awakened the next day, he was both anxious and tired. Despite his terrible mood, though, he followed the Forcers in hope that they’d lead him to good news, or at least that they’d give him something to do for a change.

He and the other passengers were gathered in one place once again. There were more than thirty people now as well as the Nexus Force members. He still did not see his friends, but Quantum was also among them. They all seemed to be waiting for something.

“Hey Quantum, what’s going on here, do you know?” Shadow asked as he approached.

“You will begin training. Beck Strongheart will oversee it personally”.

“Ah, so that’s what this is. At least we’ll do something finally. You didn’t hear anything about the people I told you?”

“No, I’m afraid not. But try to focus more on what’s ahead of you. It’ll be hard enough as it is. Professionals are already working on this, so the best you can do now for everyone is keep going forward. Your friends aren’t the only ones who need saving”.

“I know that. I don’t intend to fall behind in this at all. After all, it’s my best shot…”

*My best shot at finding them*, he thought inwardly, but cut himself off for he didn’t think that’s what Quantum wanted to hear.

 “Well, in any case. Good luck with the training. Strongheart can be pretty ruthless in his methods, but he means well. Ah and also, do remember your salute. He really likes that formal stuff and it might help with the first impression. Need to go now. Break a leg! But don’t actually break a leg”.

 It was a little while more before the man himself, Commander Strongheart, showed up. Shadow did not blame him, he must have been a busy man. And if the delay showed just a little disorganisation, it would be justified given the sitution.

From the outset, Beck Strongheart made the impression of a strong and charismatic man. He had a battle-worn look about him as if he’d seen too much strife throughout the years and a commanding presence felt by everyone. He examined the gathered recruits, who were in a bit of a state of chaos as upon his arrival many of them rushed to stand upright or otherwise fix themselves up in whatever means each of them thought necessary.

 Everyone waited anxiously to see what the man would do or what he would say. Many of them had showed different ways of thinking up till then, not all of them entirely respectful to the ones managing the base, but there was something about Strongheart that compelled them to acting with discipline, hanging from his every word he hadn’t said yet. Finally, the commander did one simple and abrupt motion with his hand.

He saluted.

That caused some confusion among the ranks of the newcomers. Some were pretty quick to respond in kind –Shadow among them, who had been warned already–, but others were surprised and hesitated, not expecting something like this from someone so higher up than them and were delayed in saluting back. And there were also people who just didn’t read the situation right at all and dismissed the gesture up until they saw everyone else, especially the Nexus-Forcers, doing it, upon which most of them imitated them awkwardly.

 Strongheart watched all of that with disapproval in his eyes. He shook his head and finally spoke, “Never forget your salute, everyone. It is a sign of respect to your seniors, but also to your brothers in arms, representing the links between us that bring us together and make us a strong union, the only way to defeat the Maelstrom”.

The former passengers looked at him in embarrassment for having failed this task that had seemed so important to the man. Some of them were even compelled to repeat the motion, more deliberately as if to right their errors in their failed first attempt.

 “Now, to cut to the chase”, he continued. “The tragedy that has befallen us weighs heavy on us all. We are doing our best to deal with it, but in the meantime we must address the people that are already here. It is understood that you boarded the Venture Explorer intending to join the Nexus Force. Yet, no one is going to stop you or blame you if after this incident you have changed your mind. You still have the option to leave if this experience has made you think the Nexus Force is not right for you. If you choose so, we will be escorting you to Nimbus Station shortly whereupon you can decide how to continue yourselves as civilians”

“However, before you make that choice, I encourage you to think first. The reasons that pushed you to join the Nexus Force in the first place. To think of what happened yesterday and whether you wish it to happen to more people. Whether you wish it to happen you again. For I remind you, if you do not fight, who will? The fight against the Maelstrom is still going on and no one can tell for sure if we will prevail. Should we fall, who will protect you? Your friends? Your families? If you choose to leave now, you might face later tenfold of what you are scared to meet now. The only possible way you have to guarantee yourselves such future will not come to pass is to fight for it yourselves. The world needs you, but you also need the world. So, I ask of you to be brave. Do not falter in the face of danger. And be assured that we can train you, we can arm you so that you too can have the power to defend yourselves against the scourge. Take your fates in your own hands and save yourselves”.

The end of the speech was followed by cheers from several people, recruits and members alike, though Shadow wondered if the people who didn’t speak Galazian had been conveyed the meaning of it in some way. Strongheart seemed pleased by the response. After that he continued with the more technical, but also practical information in regards to joining.

“If you wish to join still, then you will be asked to give your personal information and sign the appropriate papers. Be warned, however, that once you do so, you become soldiers and are expected to act accordingly. Respect the chain of command and obey the orders received by your superiors. Understand that for as long as your training lasts, I Beck Strongheart am going to be in full command of all of you. Even after that, the Nexus Force is no fun and games and you will be expected to follow your new superiors. If you are not prepared to do that, you might as well leave now. We fight for the greatest good, but insubordination will not be tolerated still and no recruits are better off than half-hearted soldiers. But I have high hopes in all of you. If you understand our great peril, then you will also understand the need for discipline. So, with that said, let us begin”.

Following that, they were directed to form lines to register their information and officially go through the sign-up process; there was also a line for those who wished to opt out of joining and despite Strongheart’s speech, it was not few people who did so.

Commander Strongheart appeared to impatiently look at the slow progress of the process, perhaps being more so a man of action than bureaucracy. Even so, he was quickly swarmed by coming and going Nexus-Forcers who wished to inform him of something or ask his orders on another. He certainly looked busy and Shadow wondered if he really had time to supervise the new recruits personally.

In time, everyone was sorted out though and when it became apparent that the people who weren’t escorted away were waiting for him, Strongheart managed to shake off his subordinates to address the crowd once again.

“Very good. Training will begin immediately. But first, we need to determine your level of physical skill to assign you the appropriate program. You will be tested both on terms of general physical condition and also technique with any martial art or sport you might be familiar with. I will be overseeing you all in order to be able to evaluate you along with your testers. With that being said, please follow us to the camp’s training area”.

The training area was in fact just next to them, as had probably been planned, and assorted with various types of physical training equipment as well as weapons and spaces where demonstrations, matches and general practice could take place. One by one, in small groups, they were asked to try different pieces of equipment or attempt other exercises. When Shadow’s turn came, he did not do very well at all, not particularly being a person of physical activity. In fact, he did feel like he was getting some side glances from people, as if they were judging him for trying to join the Nexus Force when he’d done no preparation for it –or so it appeared to him. It wasn’t like they understood his history, though.

When the time came for the second part of the examination, Shadow did a little better, but not by much. Given that it consisted of a mock fight using wooden swords, he was able to apply his intelligence and some prior experience with the sword to his tactics, but it was still nothing to impress anyone and he hardly lasted the duel, even though he knew his evaluator was going easy on him. Overall, Shadow thought he probably had one of the lowest performances among the new recruits. Of course, it wasn’t so much that his pride was wounded by that fact; he understood his own skills and was not deterred by the fact he wasn’t good at everything. However, he could tell now that this would very much delay him in doing anything productive with his time in the Nexus Force. So he thought, but there was actually a very specific objective he had in mind that he longed to be allowed to seek.

But reality was not always so kind. In the end, Shadow was sorted in the class of absolute beginners, along with some ten other people, among whom he also found Jethro. Surprising as it was to him that the man had not been of the ones to leave, a greater surprise came when Beck Strongheart presented himself before them again –with another salute, to which people were quicker to respond– and announced he would be the one training them.

“What?” someone voiced everyone’s confusion, which had mixed in both fear and awe in the presence of someone so great when they were perhaps the least important people there.

“All of you are still in quite your first steps towards becoming a fighter, which is why I am here to ensure that you make it all the way through. The training might be hard –and I ensure you it will seem hellish to you at first–, but understand that it is all done to make sure you are strong enough for the war that’s going on. It is the only way that you may have a fighting chance”.

Shadow was not very happy about the prospects of training described as such, but he took solace in the fact it probably meant it would last a shorter amount of time. Even that, however, was not enough for him. So, when Strongheart asked if they had any questions, Shadow quickly raised his hand, unsure how else to draw attention to himself.

“What is it?” Strongheart enquired.

“Sir, if any of us have people that were lost during the attack yesterday and wish to help look for them, would we be allowed to join the search?”

“Negative”, Strongheart replied quickly and then added, “You are not ready for that kind of challenge”.

“Even if we have other skills than physical ones?”

“Many people think that just because they’re aiming for a position behind the frontlines, in a lab or an office or wherever, they don’t need this kind of training. However, as long as I am here to train the new recruits, they are going to undergo it regardless. No matter where one works, I believe it is vital to have the ability to defend oneself should the need arise. We live in dangerous times and no apparent security should be taken for granted. Anything else?”

The last sentence was given with a sense of finality, meaning that the Commander did not intend to discuss this any longer, so Shadow went quiet, as another question or two were asked, swiftly answered by Strongheart.

“Now, give me ten laps around the training area”, the man told them finally, after they were done.

The Commander had not been exaggerating when he described the training as hellish. He worked them to death, with intense exercises, one quickly following after another with only short breaks in between, to the point of their muscles trembling. On and on they continued, way beyond the point Shadow believed possible for himself and every time he thought that they would be done for the day, Strongheart proved him wrong. They trained for a couple of hours, then stopped for a while, then picked it up again and so on until the day was finally done and they were all exhausted, all the muscles of their body complaining about the abuse they’d received that day. At least one thing could be said, though: the food was good as Strongheart made sure they ate properly to compensate for this much exercise. When they got breaks to eat, even the depressed Shadow ravenously consumed his portion.

One thing became absolutely clear to Shadow, however, as he made preparations to sleep –slowly, with no energy, wishing he could just lie down where he stood. He was not good at this at all. Strongheart was lenient with the people who didn’t quite complete his exercises as long as they went as far as they could and kept at it when the next exercise came up. However, he was sure that the Commander would not deem anyone ready until they could at least perfectly complete everything that he threw at them. And Shadow was very far from that as it were. How long would he stay there, unable to do anything about his friends?

“Hey there, how did the first day go?” a voice came from above as Shadow lay on the ground in front of the tent where he was to sleep, his body in full ache.

“Horrible”, Shadow said simply.

“I can imagine. I once trained under him, too. But don’t worry, it gets better with time”.

“I don’t have time, though. My friends are out there facing life and death scenarios as we speak. They could be dead already. And I’m stuck here”.

“It’s not that bad, you know. The Nexus Force has this thing called the Safety Net Grid. It’s not the most pleasant of things and it’s not as strong, out there in the smaller chunks, but it basically allows one to be brought back to a safe location when they are in mortal danger. As long as they’ve been shown how to use Imagination, it should probably be able to work on them at least once. And if that is to happen, we’d know instantly and bring them here. The fact that we haven’t heard of them yet, in most likelihood means they’ve managed to stay away from danger so far”.

“Wait, there’s such a thing? And you only tell me now?” Shadow shot up from his lying position in surprise.

“It slipped my mind that you might not know”.

“How does this work? It seems way too powerful. I thought the Nexus Force has had a lot of casualties over time”.

“Well, we didn’t have it always and it’s not an absolute measure either. It only works as far as the reach of our planted stations and it’s not a healthy process to repeat, but at least it’s something”.

“That gives me all the more reason to be out there looking for them. If it’s more likely that they’re alive, then they really need someone finding them. Despite what you say, you seem uncertain the Grid would work on them in all situations. If it requires the unlocking of Imagination, too, then perhaps having run out of it means the process could fail. They might be alive still, but that doesn’t mean there’s no danger at all. So, we need to find them”.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. What is it that you could really do about this the professionals aren’t doing already?”

“More than I am doing here, that’s for sure. I just wish Strongheart wasn’t that stubborn”.

“Don’t you think that’s a little unfair on him?”

“I think he does genuinely care for us. But his perspective might be limited. It’s not all about physical combat”.

“I think you need to realise, Shadow, Strongheart joined the Nexus Force in a time when things were a lot worse. Yesterday was nothing compared to the death and destruction that was wrought by the Maelstrom back in the first days. There was no guarantee anyone or anywhere was safe. I think it’s natural that a man who’s seen all this would go so far in order to make sure everyone can protect themselves, even if it looks like things are more stable these days”.

Shadow had to bitterly accept that in silence, as he admitted to himself he hadn’t thought of that. He remembered of events from his own town when the Maelstrom’s arrival had still been fresh. His town had been in terror then for a long time. He had never been directly exposed to it himself, though and had grown accustomed to the relative peace that had followed. He could not imagine, though, what it was to like to be in the middle of the fight at such a time.

“Quantum! There you are”, a voice suddenly said and someone else’s footsteps approached. “I’ve been hoping to bump into you since yesterday, but things have been crazy”.

Quantum turned to look at the newcomer and he waved in greeting and Shadow followed his gaze. It was a man dressed in attire with blue accents, specifically armour reminiscent to that of a knight’s, though there were elements of it that a legitimate knight would most likely not wear –like the glowing of Imagination that decorated parts of it. The shine of the armour, had however been dulled by dirt and also blood, both normal-looking and the more purplish-blackish variety that came out of a stromling.

“Ah, Platinum! Yeah, I’ve been busy. I see you were in the front lines again”.

“Almost entirely since Venture Explorer happened. We’ve been pushing harder than usual to drive the Maelstrom away from here and areas where rockets might have landed. But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about”.

“Oh?”

“Yes, about yesterday. You stood Lemon and I up. Now, I understand why you didn’t show up, considering everything that happened, but you could have let us know. Now, the spiderlings found our hiding spot and I don’t think we can use it any more”.

“Oh shoot! It completely slipped my mind. Sorry, I was so caught up with everything that was going on that I forgot”.

“That’s… understandable. But you need to hear this, so it doesn’t happen again. Remember, we’re a team and should act like one”.

“I know, I know. It was just this once. Whatever happened to Lemon, though? I haven’t seen him at all”.

“He was called back to Nexus Tower for some task, I think”.

“I see”.

Up to this point, Shadow followed the conversation without saying anything and was mostly ignored in turn. But at last, once the man known as Platinum had said what he’d wanted to say, his attention finally turned to Shadow.

“And who would this be?” he asked.

“That’s Strange Odd Shadow. One of the Venture Explorer passengers. Shadow, this is Platinum Diamond Tiger, my friend and teammate”.

“He just joined and he already has a nickname?”

“That’s how he introduced himself to me”.

“I’d heard about this trend before from a relative who also joined, so I chose it ahead of time”.

“You know, these are supposed to be code names used for missions and such”.

“And yet you use yours daily as well”.

“Touché. In any case, pleased to meet you”, Platinum put out his hand for Shadow to take it. He shook it and satisfied, Platinum asked, “What were you talking about before I got here then?”

“Shadow has friends who are currently unaccounted for and he wants to be allowed to join the search, even though he’s not had his training yet”.

“Mmm. That’s quite the predicament. I understand how you feel. And yet I’m not sure it’s so impossible, even when it comes to ol’ Commander Beck. Have you had any experience with stromlings before?”

“I fought half-infected minifigures back in my home world”.

“And how did that go?”

“Honestly, my teammates did most of the ‘heavy-lifting’, but I made it out alive and well and we achieved our objective”.

“Any skills you have that would give you the edge?”

“I’m good when it comes to making things. I’ve got a relevant degree, too. I’m not bad with Imagination either: I was able to use it even before joining the Nexus Force”.

“Hmm… It’d be difficult. Strongheart doesn’t trust the intellectual types very much. But we could perhaps make a case. Quantum and I could try to talk to Strongheart and see what happens”.

“You’d really do this?” Shadow asked in surprise.

“Why are you dragging me into this?” Quantum complained.

“Would you not wish to support your friend?”

“I personally agree with Strongheart that it’s too dangerous for him”.

“Strongheart wouldn’t just accept it anyway. He’d want Shadow to prove himself first. If Shadow managed to convince the Commander what reason would you have to object?”

“Either way, it doesn’t sound reasonable. Strongheart wouldn’t agree to it”.

“You never know till you try”.

“Really, I can’t thank you enough”, Shadow was grateful for that little bit of hope that Platinum planted in him again.

However, the next day when they were summoned for their second day of training and Strongheart approached Shadow, his intentions did not appear positive.

“You’re Strange Odd Shadow?” he asked.

“That’s me”.

“I had a talk with Platinum and Quantum. Let me be clear: you are not ready for what you’re seeking”.

“But-”

“No buts. Is it so disagreeable to you that you follow the rules like everyone else? You should understand that if you wish to help in this situation, the best you can do is work your hardest here to make sure the rest of us can focus on our respective jobs to find the lost ones as quick as possible. If you were to do anything else, you would merely be a hindrance. Dedicate yourself to this and you can meet your friends again as a proper soldier”.

“How long will that even take though?”

“As long as it needs”.

Then, Strongheart addressed everyone, ending the conversation. At first, he had everyone do warm-up and several exercises for the full body. Halfway through that, he left for some errand, but he returned right about when everyone was exhausted and at the end of the workout they’d been instructed to perform. He as well as some more Forcers brought with them a wagon filled with what appeared to be armour. Strongheart called them to attention.

“During your service in the Nexus Force, you will all have to move wearing armour, fight wearing armour and often even sleep with it. As such, you need to learn to lift its weight. From here on out, you will at all times except when training wear the armour that is given to you. Do not resent it and take care of it please. It can make the difference between life and death. So, wear it proudly”, he emphasised the last sentence by taking a blue helmet and shoving it on the head of one of the recruits that was in front of him. “Now then, please come forth and select something that fits you”.

There was no great variety in the equipment offered to them, and nothing as special as what he’d seen more senior Nexus-Forcers wear, but there were sets of different sizes and thickness to account for different body types and heights. Included were a breastplate, knee and elbow pads, a helmet and a shield.

Once that was over and the time it required was not little, Shadow noticed that under the piles of armour, a number of shortswords had also been brought. Strongheart spoke again just as he saw that.

“If the time comes when you will need to defend yourselves, you will also need a weapon. Some of you have already been given one, but not all. If so, please come and take one now. Be forewarned, however, that these are not to be used frivolously. They are meant to be used against the Maelstrom only and if you make light of them, there will be severe punishment”.

Several of Shadow’s comrades received a sword then. Following that, Strongheart dismissed them and sent them to eat. Throughout that day, training was less intense. Shadow thought that maybe that this was part of Strongheart’s program to avoid exhaustion. Still it didn’t quite relieve him. Less exercise now meant more would be required later. And that would mean it would take even longer for him to finish the training.

However, he had no time to actually do something about it. It turned out less workout did not mean they were any less busy. Strongheart or other superiors would frequently give them errands to do, mostly simple stuff like carrying resources from one place in the camp to another or relaying messages. Even so, simply moving about the camp like busy bees while wearing the heavy armour that the Commander had given them was tiring in itself. That was probably part of Strongheart’s design as well.

When the day was over, they were hardly any less tired than the previous one. And yet Shadow felt he had not achieved much towards his goal throughout it. Even though he was tired. Even though his muscles ached. He got down on the ground, in a more discreet place behind his tent, and started doing push-ups. It was painful work and going through with it without the push of Strongheart was a lot harder. It tested his dedication, but after all he had said and done he’d be a fool and a hypocrite if he wasn’t dedicated on something so simple. That’s what he told himself in order to be able to continue, even after his body complained so much that he thought it must not be healthy. But he had to keep on, keep on for as long as he could.

But eventually, he was interrupted before he could complete that plan. Two people approaches, their footsteps most noticeable in the relative silence of the pretend-night when at least half the camp was asleep. Shadow turned to look dizzily and he was able to make out a soldier that was probably one of the night guards and also… Strongheart.

“There such a thing as overworking, you know”, he said.

Shadow gazed up at him with an intensity in his eyes that might have been for no little part because of the stress the exercise was putting on him.

“I am a weak person. And untrained, a lot more than the others, even the beginners. If I wish to catch up, I need to work double as hard as the others. If I wish to find them in time, I can’t afford to slack off”.

Strongheart leaned down on Shadow’s level, who didn’t quite have the strength to stand up just yet, “Are you so desperate to find them that you would even hurt yourself to do so?”

“They’re all I have. Without them, I’m basically nothing. I’d risk everything for them”.

“I’ve seen many people like you, people who were desperate, people who were too confident in themselves, meet their fate because of their recklessness. Are you still willing to risk everything, even if you know that?”

“I’ve taken risks before and came out alive. I wasn’t alone then, but the whole reason I’m doing this in the first place is so that I may find those that would support me”.

“You are not the only one who has lost people in this ordeal. Don’t you think it’s insensitive to them to be acting like this?”

“They’re free to try as much as I to look for them. The choice is up to them. But they’re not taking it. I don’t wish to be limited myself because of their own decisions”.

“You have a comeback for everything, don’t you?” Strongheart sighed, almost in resignation. “Fine… It doesn’t look like I can stop you anyway. I will give you a chance like Platinum wants. But it’s just a chance”.

Shadow couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. Had the stubborn Strongheart actually changed his mind? It did not occur to him in that moment that maybe it was because he was just as stubborn. He silently waited to listen to more to confirm it wasn’t a misunderstanding.

“You’ll have to prove yourself to me. I won’t send anyone to their death in vain. I have three conditions for you. First, you need to get the Sentinel badge of approval from me. To do that, you’ll train for three more days. You haven’t even gone through the basics, yet. After that, I’ll give you a chance to show me that you have a fighting chance. If you fail, you’re going to keep working like everyone else”.

“What are the other conditions?” Shadow asked, thinking that this was too good to be true.

“Second, you need to get the seal of approval from the other three factions. As a trainer, I merely represent the Sentinels. In order to fully become a member of the Nexus Force and be able to officially join missions, you’ll have to be tested by the other factions also. And finally, you need to continue your physical training even after you’re gone. Even if I agree to give you a head start, my opinion’s not changed. You still need to get stronger. And I’ll make sure to check if you’re really progressing in that regard, so never slack off. Show me that same determination as just now”.

“That… Sir, thank you very much. You don’t know how much it means to me”.

“Let me assure you, young man, I understand better than you think. Now, why don’t you get up and go get some rest. You won’t be able to pass my test if you’re sleep-deprived”, Strongheart stood up and offered a hand to pick Shadow up as well. That night, Shadow slept more peacefully, perhaps not so much out of a lack of worry, but out of determination to make the most of his rest.

The next few days, Strongheart trained them in not just muscle training, but also techniques with martial arts and weapons. It was all very simple, but at least more oriented towards their actual purpose. Shadow wondered if Strongheart might have accelerated their schedule for his sake, but he did not ask. In fact, he didn’t interact with the Commander much at all for fear he might revoke his decision. Strongheart in his part did not show any more hints of sentimentalism after that night and was just as professional as ever. So, Shadow merely tried to do his best, reinvigorated after their talk, in order to show the man that he could really do it.

With that, three more days passed. And while Shadow’s worries continued to siege his mind just as much as in the beginning, the fact that he now had a far clearer goal ahead of him gave him a much more positive outlook. In that time, the amount of passengers or crew members of the Venture Explorer were very few, from what Shadow heard, and most of them were ones that were caught by the Safety Net Grid. It appeared the searching the surrounding planet chunks thoroughly was a very slow process, as they were many in number and scattered all over. Shadow’s friends were once again not amongst the found, but he now at least had this line of thought to console him after his talk with Quantum: his friends were indeed more capable than him and therefore it truly could be that their missing still was because they’d managed to avoid danger well enough that the Safety Net could not have activated.

When Quantum and Platinum discovered that Strongheart had agreed to test him like that after all, they were both surprised, though Platinum was more positive about it. He gave Shadow encouraging words and also tried to show him some moves that might prove useful to him in the test, but with all three of them being busy, there wasn’t enough time to properly explain them.

During that discussion, Shadow was also able to ask what the factions that Strongheart had mentioned were. Quantum had explained then that the Nexus Force consisted of four contingents: the Sentinels, who were the ones focusing on the fighting aspect of the Force; the Assembly, that consisted of builders and creative thinkers; the Venture League, the Nexus Force’s more daring faction, interested in exploration and adventuring; and finally Paradox, a faction dedicated to studying the Maelstrom and when possible turning its power against itself.

And thus after the fifth day was over, without being able to wait much more, Shadow was brought before Strongheart once again, but this time alone. Shadow anxiously awaited to see what trial he would have to go through, worried it would be too difficult. He couldn’t afford to fail now.

“The time for your test has come now”, he said. “What you need to do is simple. You will enter a simulation of the Avant Gardens Survival and your goal is to last at least one minute. Based on your performance, I will be evaluating you and seeing if you’re ready”.

Shadow had heard of Avant Gardens Survival in his six short days in the Encampment. It was supposed to be a particularly dangerous area of the world named after the challenge associated with it. Due to a Maelstrom field that affected it, Maelstrom beings appeared there frequently and in large numbers and people were dispatched there only if prepared to utilise the Safety Net Grid. The simulation would probably be something looking like it without the actual mortal danger, though Shadow wasn’t sure how it worked.

He was led in an indoors part of the encampment, in front of something that looked like some kind of large advanced computer that was also attached to a machine powered by a small green crystal, possibly of imaginite nature. There were other people there already, some of them having electrodes attached to their head and being unconscious.

The process was roughly explained to him, as far as he needed in order to participate in it. He’d have to drink an Imagination-based liquid in order to stimulate his brain appropriately and harmonise him with the machine. They would connect the electrodes in order to send the information of the Survival to his brain. Thus through the combination, once he was asleep, the sensations produced by it appeared real to him. At the same time, the actions he took inside the simulation were carried back to the machine, so the testers could roughly monitor his performance. The simulation would end if he was killed in it or if he himself ended it by asking so.

As explained, the electrodes were attached to his head and he was given a somewhat bluish drink, which he gulped down quickly fearing the taste. As soon as he had done so, he immediately felt sleepy. Consciousness dimmed all around him and then all of a sudden, he awoke in the middle of a green meadow.

There were hills closing in on the narrow pass and behind him in the distance he thought he could recognise landscape that he’d seen whilst in the encampment, from the other side. In front of him, however, an increasingly dense purple mist lay heavily in the air, with the horizon barely visible behind it far away, taking on a purple hue itself. This definitely looked like a dangerous place.

*Even so, it can’t be so hard to survive for a minute*, he thought.

He’d barely had time to survey the location when a stromling truly emerged out of the mist. Shadow had expected it, but the scary and revolting sight did not get better, even in a simulation. He felt his insides getting tense. The understanding that this was all fake did not prevent his body reacting as if there was real danger and he could hardly tell the difference in his consciousness as well.

It was faster than the stromlings he had met before. It approached him with an aggressive mania in its eyes, but Shadow swung his hammer at it and it was flung away. Two days ago, they had reinforced their weapons with Imagination in order to have a greater effect against Maelstrom beings. Whether it was because he understood that information even though he’d never actually seen it in action or the machine did, he didn’t know, but the simulation responded appropriately and unlike the stromlings he’d fought previously when travelling to the encampment, it was hurt enough to be stunned for a few moments.

He did not have long before he heard more steps behind him. Another Stromling had come down the steep cliff of the hills and was charging against him. He hit it, too, before it could get its deadly arms on him, but a third one arrived quickly after the second one. Shadow swung his hammer again, but the two previous ones returned, along with a new one. More and more stromlings appeared, increasingly fast, as he drove them away. He wasn’t sure if he had grown stronger, but he thought the techniques Strongheart had shown them were paying off now, with his strikes not missing and being more efficient than he’d have expected. Even so, however, everything was happening so fast and so many stromlings had already gathered that he could not keep them at bay for long. He realised now that the one minute requirement was a lot harder than he had thought.

The major problem was that he couldn’t deal the finishing strike. He had hit certain stromlings two or three times already and although the wounds made them look all the more sickening –almost enough to make him hesitate from attacking any more–, the stromlings were still just as energetic, rather holding an even eviller gleam in their eyes. As such, his attacks could only serve to delay the stromlings’ rampage on him and more and more of them accumulated over time. If he wished to last at all, he had to find a way to deal with that problem.

So, when seven stromlings charged him at the same time from all directions, Shadow summoned forth several bricks from his backpack. He had not wanted to rely on that so quickly, preferring to show Strongheart that he could actually give a proper fight before having to use other tricks, but losing now would be all the worse. The bricks flew together and formed several walls that pushed the enemies back to the cliff faces whereupon the rest of them constructed, building small containment areas for the stromlings. That was still not a definitive solution, but it gave him a lot more time.

A stromling he’d missed struck him then from the rear, but he was lucky enough that its sword-arm did not get through his breastplate. It did, however, leave a long and deep scratch on the armour. As Shadow turned around, the stromling attacked again, but he managed to block it with his shield. He tried to hit back, but the creature went on a rage and latched onto his shield. Despite the breaking of bones that the recognisable snapping sound revealed, it did not let go and it violently pulled and screeched. Hardly as strong as it, Shadow was not able to struggle and the shield was snatched from his left hand and then tossed aside. Shadow attacked again, but the stromling was now so caught up in its rage that it did not waver; it was merely pushed back a little, so that he avoided its next flurry of strikes. Another two maelstromlings were approaching now, so Shadow decided to run instead.

He was not the best runner and the stromlings were a lot faster than him, but that could be used as their disadvantage. Shadow would keep changing direction and the Stromlings’ momentum wouldn’t allow them to follow easily. Despite having just gotten rid of a big number of them –though they were not quiet inside their makeshift cells–, they quickly grew into a small crowd again. For the time being, however, they did not seem to have mind enough to consider surrounding him.

How much time had passed at this point? Had it been a minute yet? Half a minute? Ten seconds? He wasn’t sure. His sense of time had been completely warped. He hoped it had been enough for he wasn’t sure how much longer he could do this. He did not want to do it much longer anyway, for as an experience it was pretty horrifying, even if it was fake.

The stromlings were getting close now, including ones that had escaped their containment and Shadow was beginning to feel the ache on his legs. Two stromlings appeared down the cliff then right in the area where he was headed in that moment. That was bad. If he tried to turn around now, the stromlings might just catch him. Once again then, he had to use his Imagination and built a wall right behind him. The confusion of the stromling crashing into it gave him enough time to change directions.

But then something else happened. He felt something hitting him on the back and he fell down face first. Groaning, he inspected his back and found that a large hole had been blasted on the breastplate, and the armour was very close to falling apart. He looked behind him and saw in the distance what looked like a mech. He’d seen them from afar when aboard the drop-ship and heard tales of them, but never actually met one so close; that is to say, close enough to be in its gun’s range.

As soon as he’d located it, his view was blocked by the approaching mob of stromlings. Having both melee and ranged attackers to deal with, Shadow had to resort in a completely defensive manoeuvre and shield himself with brick walls on all sides. The sound of the rampaging stromlings screaming and banging from outside was terrifying. The sound of something else hitting the wall was also heard and after turning on a flashlight, Shadow noticed a part of the wall had grown scorched. There really was not much he could do to stop the destructive onslaught of Maelstrom creatures.

It was quite possible that a minute had passed by now. Theoretically, Shadow could let the stromlings break through and end the simulation then. However, he suspected that his defencelessly letting the horde take him without being able to do anything wasn’t what Strongheart wanted to see. If he gave up now, it was like declaring himself he wasn’t cut out for this. There had to be an alternative to waiting it out in the darkness until his defences were brought down.

The next part took a lot of his concentration, because controlling objects beyond just construction was not easy at all, but he had to try. Just as another mech blast hit the same spot as before opening a hole to the outside, Shadow took away the Imagination he had infused in the walls and the broke apart. However, he then directed their components differently right after. The bricks flew away from him in all four directions, pushing away the stromlings with them and forming into walls once again. One of them had specifically been sent towards the mech, smashing onto it in order to push it to the ground.

In the few seconds that this gave him, Shadow was able to slip through the ranks of the confused stromlings. The mech was still around and would get up soon probably, but he had bought himself some time. So he thought, but then something purple flashed before him and he felt the impact of another blast on his chest this time, blasting his armour to pieces. He fell down. He tried to get up, but he was quickly surrounded by several stromlings. He managed to drive one away with his hammer despite his disadvantageous position, but many more were left. Something glowed in the distance and the last thing Shadow saw before the simulation ended was another mech standing between two large boulders and the new shot it had sent towards him.

Then, he woke up before Commander Strongheart again. He shivered at the remembrance of the very real pain he’d felt when the blast had hit him. This had definitely been a very realistic simulation in every respect.

Remembering where he was however and why, he looked at Strongheart seeking to find out how well he had done. The man had a grim expression on his face that Shadow thought did not bode well. Perhaps, the Commander was critical of how he had spent most of the time avoiding the stromling and in a defensive position rather than striking back. He realised in that moment he had done very little of the latter and was worried.

“So, did I do it?” he asked finally.

“You did last long enough. One minute and twenty-three seconds in fact. What did you think of the whole thing?”

“It was honestly pretty scary, but I have to admit the technology for this is pretty amazing”.

Shadow thought he might have seen a grin under the man’s moustache in response to the last statement, but then it was gone as soon as it (presumably) happened, “If you go out there, you might have to encounter situations like this in real life again. Are you still willing to do it and not afraid?”

“Yes. I’ll get through somehow, if I have to”.

“I feared so”, Strongheart was not very pleased. “Then, tell me one more thing. Do you not feel drained at all?”

“Drained? Why would I be?”

“Drawing on your Imagination, doesn’t use up the same amount as in reality, but the simulation is designed so that you still spend some every time you do so. And you used it a lot throughout the fight. Are you not tired?”

“Hmm. I suppose I might have been a little tired if it was in reality, but the simulation did not feel very draining at all”.

Shadow couldn’t read Strongheart’s expression at all following that, so he simply awaited his answer, “Very well then. You really are weak still in terms of physical ability and you would not be able to make it in a real fight alone. However, you won’t be sent anywhere alone and you’ve shown some unusual skills that would allow you to do well as part of a team. However, bear in mind, I still believe that’s not enough in the large scheme of things, as you will need to be able to destroy the creatures of Maelstrom yourself as well”.

“So though it is done with much hesitation and I expect a lot more growth from you before I deem you fully ready, Strange Odd Shadow… I grant you the Sentinel badge of approval”. . .

Bewαre of the shαdows becαuse I might be there.