(Quintiles 22, 59 / 11:49PM)

  (Gwen) Our pn wasn’t a success but at least nobody died.

  (Benn) That’s every encounter with them.

  (Luke) I just wish that our pns succeed…

  (Gwen) Hey, be careful of what you wish for…

  In the building that everybody called home, the dark angels sat near a firepit in the open night sky. As the burning wood released embers into the night, the dark angels could only watch as the smoke rose to the Lagefor night sky.

  The dark angels as well as some otherthe behind-the-scenes soldiers were sitting side by side, enjoying the peace and tranquility that they were rewarded with.

  (Gwen) I’m surprised that you and Fred were able to make such a cool bullet. Tranquilizer darts? That’s honestly pretty scary.

  (Luke) It was Fred’s idea, his way to limit the amount of lethal casualties.

  (Fred) I mean, it was a cakewalk to create so it wasn’t all that to be crazy for.

  Fred put a cold beverage to his lips, his mouth opening slightly as he gulped down the entire bottle of beer in his hand. Swiping away a bit of beer on his lip, Fred then turned towards where Luke was, hiccuping as tried to stand straight.

  (Fred) You know, I’ve never seen you drink beer, Luke? All of us have tried or at least drank a bottle or two but not you?

  (Luke) I tried it once, but I spat it out immediately. I’m not good with alcohol in general.

  (Gwen) Did this happen when you were a kid? Maybe you had tequi or vodka.

  (Luke) It was just a normal beer.

  Everyone then started to ugh, looking at Luke as they did their styles of ughing. There was one ugh in particur that caused all the boys to turn their attention to.

  (Luna) snorts and giggles … oh man … snorts and giggles … that’s too funny … snorts and giggles.

  As Luna put her right hand to her mouth, geekishly snorting as she giggled, it caused Luke to turn red as he looked away. Noticing that Luke was nervous, Luna put on a devilish smile as she stared at him.

  (Luna) What? Not going to look at me? You know I’m not that angry now. compared to many years back.

  With a beer bottle in her right hand, she made her way towards Luke, still devilishly smiling at him. Towering over him, her eyes sharpened as Luke still avoided eye contact, his face looking right as she kept her gaze on him.

  (Luna) Oi, look at me.

  Her eyes changed from a stare to a gre, her face reddening from the alcohol she intaked. Hope, who kept watching Luke avoiding eye contact with Luna, stood up from her seat.

  With her hands shaking, Hope made her way towards where Luke was, her eyes unwavering as she put herself in between him and Luna. Stretching her arms sideways, she continued to give out death gres at Luna, which caused her to sharpen her eyes at Hope.

  (Luna) Oi, I’m talking with Luke. Move.

  Hope didn’t falter, as her soulless eyes continued to stare into Luna. Showing no signs of backing down, Luna walked towards Hope and towered over her, with her fists slightly shaking.

  (Luna) I said move!

  (Hope) Leave him alone.

  (Luna) Don’t care, move you bitch!

  (Hope) Whore.

  (Luna) Say that again!

  (Gwen) sighs … There are other guys in the world you know?

  Putting herself in between Hope and Luna, Gwen looked at both of them, her eyes looking at the two rivals gring at each other. Hope sat back down slowly, eyeing Luke as she csped her hands together. Luna meanwhile was face to face with Gwen, her eyes unwavering as her fists started to shake more violently.

  (Luna’s thoughts) Why does everybody butt in my way?

  Eyeing Gwen with a vein bulging out of her, Luna continued to control her anger from coming out, wanting to move her fists into Gwen’s face yet she didn’t. Gwen, who watched Luna gre at her with a goofy face, put her hands on her hips, tilting her head.

  (Gwen) Just get another beer to smooth you out. Come to think of it, this is your third bottle of beer as of right now huh?

  (Luna) And?

  (Gwen) Last time you got drunk, you tried to fight everybody except Luke. Remember what caused you to sh out at everybody?

  (Luna) Shut up!

  (Luna’s thoughts) Why were my emotions loose during that whole incident…

  (Jack) Just say that you liked him, man, are you insecure that he’ll reject you—

  (Luna) Stop using your stupid telepathy blessing!

  Looking towards Jack, she sent death gres towards Jack who went slightly pale as Luna looked in his direction. Now ignoring Gwen, she made her way towards Jack, her eyes purely focused on him. Jack, who was still sitting in his seat, was about to surrender until.

  Luna vanished.

  (Jack’s thoughts) Aww shit! She used her teleportation blessing.

  Luna then managed to teleport behind Jack, grabbing his arms and pulling them hard enough as if his arms were about to break. Feeling his muscles being stretched, Jack used his fingers to gently touch Luna’s arm, but Luna still kept pulling.

  (Jack) Wait, Luna! You’re going to dislocate my arms!

  (Luna) Shut up! This is payback for that stupid song you sang six years ago—

  (Luke) Luna! Do you want this?

  Standing up, Luke got out from his pocket a strawberry gzed donut, cherry filling leaking out of the holes that it was put into. Raising his arm high, Luna eyed the donut, her mouth slightly open as she licked her lips.

  (Luna) You can’t win me over with food!

  (Luke) If you want I could eat it—

  Instead of sprinting, Luna used her blessing to teleport near Luke’s location. From the back, Luke turned rapidly as he saw her snatching the donut out of his hand, her mouth slightly drooling. Putting the donut into her mouth, Luna’s body and fists start to mellow out as the donut does its work.

  Seeing the entire incident unfold, the behind-the-scenes guys continued to drink beer with teriyaki chicken. With warm smiles and ughs filling them inside, the men’s mouths were coated with the stench of alcohol, and their cheeks remained flustered.

  (Gary) Why is Luke so lucky? Having the attention of two girls…

  (Diego) For a time, Fred had some attention, remember Gemma?

  (Gary) Yeah, she was pretty … a shame that she sacrificed herself.

  (Fred) Yeah … I still miss her.

  (Stan) And never forget Ryan’s death too, we lost two good people for what? To get stronger? The four of us didn’t even get our blessings, so what was the point?

  As the old group of friends had beers in their hands, they all looked down as they remembered the fond memories of the 13 of them, talking and being themselves by the campfire.

  (Fred) Those were good times huh?

  (Gary) We were kids … of course, we didn’t think too much of it. Honestly, looking back, training wasn’t that bad at all. Yeah, they put us in really good shape, but nothing can top The Array in terms of cruelty.

  Gary put his hand on his left eye, his face looking into his right hand that carried his beer. Seeing that his palm was healed and recovered from all that intense training, only to be put into data management for the government, he looked up to see the main group.

  (Gary) I think that’s just part of growing up. The older we get, the more we reflect on the things we take for granted.

  Having a tear run down his right eye, Gary swiped it fast as he didn’t want anybody to notice it. Looking up towards Luke who was with the main group, Gary’s face made a small smile as he recalled a past rivalry that he and Luke had.

  (Gary’s thoughts) If you told a 14-year-old me that I’d be working just fine with Luke, I wouldn’t believe it for the world.

  As Fred looked towards Gary looking at Luke, he turned his head upward to see the cloudy sky starting to break free. Noticing a light coming from above, Fred squinted his eyes, standing up as he pced his feet on his chair.

  The more the light shone, Fred looked down to see everybody still having a good time.

  (Fred) Hey, you guys look up! Everyone look up!

  Fred stood up and yelled at his friends and even the main group, getting everyone's attention as their eyes focused on Fred. Pointing his finger towards the sky, Fred’s body began to squirm like a little kid.

  (Fred) The clouds are finally breaking free!

  Seeing that the clouds were slowly dissipating under the night sky, the night showcased the biggest reward that Terra could receive. Seeing the sky fully lit up, the gentle rays of one of Terra’s moons shone on the city of Lagefor.

  (Luke’s thoughts) A single super full moon…

  As everyone looked at the super full moon, their eyes sparkled because their eyes started to reflect the rge moon shining down on them.

  (Stan) How long has it been since we saw a single full moon?

  (Diego) That’s once every decade, I guess we lucked out huh?

  (Luna) The moon…

  With a simple stroke, it was just the 11 of them, all wishing, all hoping, and all dreaming that these days will never end…

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Quintiles 23, 59 / 2:50AM)

  (Maverick’s thoughts) Guess I’ll have to build up my militia again. This time, filled with soldiers that won’t choose to fuck each other.

  A young man walked with his right hand still clutching to the right side of his stomach. Looking back at the city filled with shimmering lights, Maverick’s eyes remained focused on the high-rising buildings that were trying to reach the heights that Cstine had.

  (Maverick’s thoughts) The changing of times huh… how I despise change…

  Focusing his attention on his walk, he tiredly walked up the hill he was walking on, his legs barely reaching keeping him up straight as they were exhausted from the running and sprinting from the previous few hours.

  Reaching the top, he noticed a rge abandoned factory on top of the hill. Seeing the factory from up close, Maverick looked into the wide open door of the factory, the single full moon shining the inside of the building so that Maverick could see in front of him more.

  (Maverick’s thoughts) Well, I guess I’ll rest in this factory for a bit.

  Walking into the old factory, Maverick inhaled a year’s worth of dust, coughing and gagging as the amount of lethal dust continued to clog his sense of breathing. Slowly breathing in and out, he tried to hit his chest with his fist a couple of times for his lungs to work more, but even then it wouldn’t do.

  (Maverick’s thoughts) It’s … pants … unusually dusty. How can … pants … someone work in these conditions?

  The more he walked towards the center of the moonily lit factory, his breathing returned to its normal state. Looking back, he noticed that the entire building of the factory had a fog of dust, except for the center where he was.

  Not only that, but the roof of the building had a huge hole, the moon lighting Maverick as he looked up towards the rare sight.

  (Maverick’s thoughts) I guess I’ll just leave it be, I’m too tired to deal with the dust and the soreness of my legs. Also, the moon’s light puts me to sleep much faster than any other moon cycle.

  Putting his bottom to the floor, he y on the rusted ground as he continued to look up at the single supermoon, his eyes slowly closing as his body continued to rest on its own.

  Feeling the cool summer Kepputhan air bristling against his hair and face, Maverick spread his arms and legs open as he had a little smile dawning upon his face.

  (Maverick’s thoughts) Reminds me of the good old days…

  (???) You know that floor is dirty right?

  Fluttering his eyes to open up, he instantly stood up, his breathing irregur as he gnced around the factory. Not knowing where that voice was, Maverick brought out from his jacket his handgun, pointing it to anywhere that the voice would come from.

  His face was drenched with sweat as the cold breeze hit his face, Maverick continued to pant as his finger was already on the trigger.

  (Maverick) Where and who are you?! Whoever is in here, please come out now!

  (???) No, no, no, the question in hand is why are you here? You came in here and decided to y down on the rusty and dirty floor of an abandoned factory? You’re going to have to shower or bathe after that.

  Maverick heard the voice coming from in front of him, which made him point his gun in that specific direction. As he had his right hand on his gun, he used his left hand to extend it for a little hand signal.

  (Maverick) Just come out now! I won’t shoot you, but I want to know who you are?!

  (???) Hehe … You don’t want to know who I am. I mean, it would be too complicated to expin things to you right now…

  A silhouette in the factory can be seen as Maverick focuses his eyes on the tall figure. He didn’t seem that young, with the man’s voice appearing to be in his early to mid-50s. Maverick took a couple of steps back as his right hand that wielded his handgun started to shake violently.

  (Maverick) Show yourself! Or else I’ll—

  (???) Do what, shoot me? Believe me, you’ll never hit me with that.

  A voice spoke to him from the back.

  Turning his whole body back, Maverick took many steps back as he adjusted his aim again, his breathing more irregur than before. Wielding his gun, his eyes took in the whole view of the man face to face.

  The man had circur-shaped gsses, followed by hazel eyes and many wrinkles. His nose was sharp, followed by his eyes being small and snted and his ears were normal-sized. The man had a couple of scars on his cheeks, followed by his height and weight being normal.

  He wore a white robe, his hands encased into the other hand's sleeves, followed by wearing white sparkly boots that didn’t match his attire.

  The man had light green hair.

  (???) You seem rather tense. I take it this is your first time seeing someone different than you yeah?

  (Maverick) What do you want?!

  (???) Come on, you’re supposed to be crazier than this, you’re making me feel like I’m the bad guy.

  The light green-haired old man slowly walked towards Maverick. Despite Maverick being taller than him, the man had an aura far more malicious than what Maverick had ever dealt with.

  As sweat continued to drip down from Maverick, the man extended his hand towards Maverick, the old man’s hand smooth and clean.

  (???) Enough beating the bush, I’m giving you two options. You could work and serve under me without any questions asked, or you could decline. I prefer you if you don’t decline, otherwise…

  The light green-haired man sharpened his calm face as he looked directly into Maverick’s eyes.

  (???) Well, it's your choice … Maverick Keegan.

  Maverick started to hyperventite as if he was seeing death with his very eyes.

  Falling on his bottom, he put his hands onto the rusty floor, his face ghostly pale as he lost the strength to move his legs. The old man, however, continued to look down on him, tilting his head and putting his hand onto his cheek, his hand already in fist form.

  (Maverick’s thoughts) H-H-H-H-H-H-H-How… How … How does he know my name?

  (???) If you do decide to serve me, you might have to end your pytime with your older sister, but I mean, this is a choice between life and death, I’m sure you’ll put up with it.

  (Maverick) P-Pytime?

  (???) Well, everything in life has drawbacks. Say, for instance, if you choose work, say goodbye to most of your entertainment. If you choose family, say goodbye to your free time. The same applies if you serve me.

  Maverick continued to breathe irregurly, his face already soaked with cold sweat. Thinking more about his previous py times, Maverick slowly looked up towards the old man, his eyes filled with fear.

  (???) Nobody wants to die, son, so just serve under—

  Maverick used all his strength to point his handgun toward the old man, his face extremely pale as the sweat couldn’t stop strolling down his forehead, his hand shaking violently as he couldn’t aim right. Standing up slowly, his eyes had soft tears coming down his cheeks.

  The old man didn’t take it too kindly as Maverick started to showcase a hint of rebellion.

  (???) You really wanna do this huh?

  (Maverick) I don’t care if you know me … b-b-but if you won’t let me have my fun, then I’ll … I’ll fight for it even if it’s the st thing—

  The old man suddenly had his body close to Maverick.

  (???) Really bad choice kid. As a leader, I thought you would’ve been a lot smarter, despite having good Eyehawk.

  Maverick felt something light within his stomach. As his breathing started to drastically slow down, he turned his head back to see what—

  An arm was wedged in between Maverick’s stomach.

  Slowly pulling his arm out of Maverick’s body, the old man saw the chunks of guts and blood that stuck to him, his face contorted with disgust as he pinned his nostrils together.

  (???) Crap, my robe is soiled. Jason or Pedro, anyone of you, can you bring me a towel, and maybe an extra robe while you’re at it?

  Maverick immediately fell onto the rusty floor, a pool of blood already reaching his neck and face as he couldn’t move any limb from its pce. His body burned yet it started to freeze, his arms and legs losing control altogether. As fecal matter started to escape from the gaping hole, combined with the abhorrent smell of gestational fluids, the old man took many steps back.

  Using the st of his eyes, he noticed a tall-haired man walking near the old man.

  He couldn’t feel any pain.

  (???) Also check up on Ryan, Gemma, and … what’s his name … Cameron as well.

  (Jason) Are we doing this now?

  (???) I would say do it next week, we’ve barely reached Lagefor.

  (Maverick’s thoughts) G-Gwen…

  His life fshing before his eyes, he recalled the many times he pyed with his older sister, the many years when he could escape the cruel reality he calls hell. The st memory that pyed in the void of death, he noticed a familiar figure that he never wanted to look back upon.

  (Maverick’s thoughts) I don’t want to be touched…

  (???) Make sure you get Mia and Kenichi as well too, also Sydney for our trump card, because under this single moon, we're about to…

  As Maverick took his st breath, he heard one st line that came out of the old man’s mouth.

  (???) Start this Genesis.

  END OF ACT 1