Chapter 5: The Wheel Turns
Despite their name the Untouched Lands were inhabited by people; however, the strict environmental laws placed enacted to maintain the forests of the land required its inhabitants to adapt their homes to coexist with the land. Other than that, people live peaceful lives away from the crime and corruption of the city.
Two men were mediating under the shade of a large oak tree. The first one, Sef, was concentrated on melee combat, but was also proficient mana usage due to the lessons Ness taught him. His primary fighting style centered around the use of his Yamatos. The second man, GreyPhantasm (referred to as Grey from now on), was almost completely dependent on mana in combat. While it was also a weakness, his abilities made him a formidable adversary. When he needed to use weapons, he whipped out his power Soul Eater.
The two of them had been sitting there for two hours and suddenly Sef stood up.
"What is it?" asked Grey.
"I've found him," replied Sef.
"The third point?"
"Yes, he recently just caused a disturbance in the flow of mana. He's in the Oberon sector, but I don't know how long he's going to be there."
"Then I guess we will have to leave immediately!"
Grey stood up and the two men leaped up into the air.
*****
In another region of the Untouched Lands stood a small hill with a door on its east side. This door led to Tai's underground home. Despite their external appearance, the homes in the Untouched Lands were pretty advanced. Tai's home had a fusion reactor that served as a power supply and a trash incinerator. Tai decorated his home several expensive items, but his most valuable treasure was his wife. The only problem was that they couldn't have a kid. They tried several times, but with no success.
"Maybe we should head back to city, Tai," suggested his wife. "I'm sure they can find out what exactly is wrong with us."
"Perhaps you're right, but we can discuss it later," he replied. "Right now, I need some fresh air."
Tai opened his door to find a little girl standing there. She was holding a small basket of flowers and looked at him with empty blue eyes.
"Well hello there," said Tai.
The girl said nothing, but handed him a datapad. Tai read the small note on the datapad:
Tai, it's been awhile since I've asked for a favor and I'm sorry to do this to you on such notice, but I don't have a choice.
You must protect this girl no matter what because she is the key to saving our dying star. If he dies, than the Void has won. Fortunately, they don't know she exists yet so there is still hope.
I know this is a lot to ask of you, but because of my connections keeping her with me would only put her in danger. Thanks in advance.
My regards,
-Ness
Tai stood their motionless for awhile. Then he let the girl inside and took her by the hand. "Hey, honey!" he shouted. "I have a surprise for you!"
*****
The few hours of daylight had passed for Oberon, and now it was time for yet another long night. On the roof of one of the many rundown buildings in Oberon Level 2 stood a figure covered in head to toe in what seemed to be a mix between combat armor and rags. His face was completely covered in rags, except for the red goggles on his eyes.
"How’s the search going?" asked a voice on the man's radio.
"Well, she's definitely invisible," he replied.
"It's time to give those goggles a test."
The man activated the goggles and everything became red, except for the rats and other stray animals that roamed the streets--they were white. However, one figure in particularly caught his eye--he figure of a woman running through one of the alleys.
"How are the thermal vision goggles working out?"
"Just fine, I've found the target!"
The man leaped off the roof and hit the ground running. Even though she was already a mile ahead of him, he caught up to her in under a minute. He hit her with the back of his arm from behind, sending her into the wall. He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up into the air.
"Do you have any idea what you have stolen?" he said angrily.
"Some pills that allow you to become invisible," she replied in a calm tone.
"Who hired you?"
"I work for no one. I'm just a girl looking out for number one."
The man tightened his grip around her neck. "Who hired you?!"
The woman started to panic. "A woman by the name of Lisa Redart!" she shouted. She screamed as she felt herself punctured with a sharp object.
"Don't worry, it's just a counter agent," said the man. "It will make you become visible again."
Her face become visible again and it was quite red. He thought it was because he had her bey the throat, but once her whole body became visible he saw why. She was completely nude. Under the rags that covered his face, he was turning red, too.
"So you figured you just pop a pill and go streaking, huh?" he asked. Without giving her a chance to reply, he knocked her out with a quick strike to the collar bone. He loaded her onto his shoulder and turned on his radio.
"This is Agent Panda reporting," he said. "I got her."
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