[D Rank Surveyor Alex, Gatekeeper, Realmwalker]

[Ascension Level: 8]

[Role: Porter (Role Skills: None]

[Role Level: 3]

[Experience: 2520/4500]

[Attributes: Strength -> 8, Speed -> 10, Life -> 6, Devotion -> 0, Control -> 0]

[Current Skills: Combat Balance(34), Motion Trance(24), Combined Arms–Axe/Shield(36),

Holy–Storm(36)]

[Permanent Skills: Battle Maneuvers(11)]

[Current Titles: Empress of War (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Combined Arms, Weapon Mastery, and Battle Maneuvers by five.),

Aggression (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Weapon Mastery, Combined Arms, and Combat Balance Skills by five.),

Fated Hero (Increases Skill grade of Dodging, Anticipate, Battle Maneuvers, and Inspect by five),

Eternal Motion (Increases Skill grade of Recovery, Running, Marathoning, and Motion Trance by five.),

Tireless (Increases Skill grade of Recovery Skills by three.),

True Sentinel (Increases Skill grade of Deflect, Dodging, Blocking, Resist, Zeal, and Combat Balance by five.),

Still Flow (Increases Skill grade of Meditation, Focus, Recovery, Arcane, Sense, and Motion Trance by five.),

Elite (Increases Skill grade of Combat Balance, Battle Maneuvers, Battle Mastery, and Battle Dance by five.),

Lethality (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Weapon Mastery, and Combined Arms Skills by five.),

Consecrated (Increases Skill grade of Holy by five.),

War Prowess (Increases Skill grade of Battle Maneuvers, Rush Assault, and Heavy Assault by five.),

War Momentum (Increases Skill grade of Combat Balance, Riposte, and Battle Dance by five.),

Blitz Master (Increases Skill grade of Combined Arms, Lunge, and Charge by five),

Methodical (Increases Skill grade of Battle Maneuvers, Anticipate, and Combined Arms by four.)],

Fast (Increases Skill grade of Motion Trance, Evasion, and Charge Assault by one.)]

Once again, she was facing a similar situation. At the very least, she had hope that she'd be able to get her Skills closer to maximum. It was growing increasingly difficult the higher they went, to the point that she almost had more hope that Battle Maneuvers would hit its limit before Combined Arms or Combat Balance did.

[Please select your intent]

[Exploration]

[Vengeance]

[Patrol]

[War]

[Salvage]

Despite how much she'd grown to hate it, she chose Explore.

[Your intent is to Explore]

[Quest Issued! Explore one of the following Areas: Grain Silos, Doctor's Office, Thicket Lake.]

[Quest Issued! Explore one of the following Areas: Charging Station, Water Tower, Bunker.]

[Hidden Quest Issued!]

[Hidden Quest Issued!]

[Hidden Quest Issued!]

She sighed at the Quests being offered. At the very least, they knew more about where all the locations were, but it was getting harder and harder to find them all without Shifters tracking them down. They'd found the Charging Station the last time, and it had been way out to the west. Getting back without fighting every possible patrol had been—

The last option suddenly stuck out to her, and Alex paused. At the very least, maybe it would be fun to explore this time after all. If the others had Grain Silos as well, it might even make for a short mission.

With that possible hope, she stepped forward into the light…

"So here we are again."

The fatal mood in Sam's voice nearly made Alex roll her eyes. They were waiting on the side of the road across from the Silos, watching the Grue patrol the place. At the very least, it was a good sign that there weren't any Shifters waiting over or under it. There hadn't been one at the Greenhouse either; Clara and Joanna had both needed to stop by that place first. Only she and Sam needed the Silos, but all four of them had the Bunker on their list.

Clara spoke up from where she was checking her crossbow. "You're going to have to tell me how you know about this Bunker place, Alex. You never mentioned it to me before."

Alex gave her a look. "It didn't seem relevant with everything else going on. I just ran across it when I was acting as the decoy last time."

Joanna shrugged. "Should we start off that way, then? Clara and I can head east. You and Sam can follow. Maybe we can even ambush them as we go."

Sam eyed her. "You know, we're supposed to be using our handles, Professor."

Clara raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty much done with whatever Royal Purple is telling us to do. Dryad was an awful name, anyway."

Alex spoke up before the argument could worsen. "Yeah, you guys head east. Sam and I will catch up." She grinned. "Make sure you are moving, though. I don't think the Grue are going to give up easily."

Joanna nodded, and both she and Clara moved off through the fields. Alex watched them go and then turned back to watch the Silos. They needed to give the less sprinting-inclined members of the team a bit of a head start before they set off the mess ahead of them.

Sam was quiet for a while, and there was only the sound of grain rustling around them in the breeze. Then he sighed. "So there's no way we can fight them head on, right?"

She shook her head. "No. If Jester was that strong… I don't think we'll be able to take on the entire team, even if we fight them together. Especially with Rabbit there. She's probably in a whole other world."

"There's no way they aren't involved, though." Sam grimaced. "Going to make it hard to stop this."

Alex nudged him. "We'll figure out a way. We always have before."

He nodded, and they lapsed back into silence again. She let it stay for a while longer, just enjoying the peace despite the unnatural clouds overhead and the abominations ahead of her.

Then she grinned. "Ready for another run?" Sam grumbled something, but stood up beside her. They started off together. A little exercise was always a good thing.

One moderate jog, and a brief fight later, they approached the bend in the road that led to the bunker. It turned out that although the Grue were more than happy to chase after a single D rank, they were much less excited about fighting four of them, all set up and waiting in ambush. Once they had lost about half their number, they'd retreated to protect the Camps in the Silos, leaving Alex and her team free to finish their last main objective.

"What kind of place is this, anyway?" True to form, Sam had noticed the cameras immediately. He was still peering into the woods as if expecting to catch sign of some other security feature that Alex had missed.

Alex shrugged. "Good question."

He gave her an exasperated look. "Deep thoughts from Valkyrie." Joanna snorted and then tried to make it look like she was coughing.

She gave him a false glare. "I'm more worried about whether we have to get into the thing in order to finish the Quest. It didn't look welcoming."

"Bunkers normally aren't." Joanna smiled at her. There was a hint of eagerness in her eyes. "Do you think anyone has actually been inside it before? Maybe there's some kind of hidden Outpost or something."

Sam grunted. "Or maybe there's a dozen Anchor Points just waiting to flood the fields with Grue. Either way, it would be good to have a hint."

Clara paused, her voice cautious. "Well, I can give you one." When they looked at her, she pointed to the woods. "There's a Shifter prowling around in there. On the other side of the trees, I think."

Alex tensed, her fingers clenching on her weapons. "Flying or underground?"

"Neither. It's one of the ones with a scorpion tail." Clara lowered her hand and raised her crossbow. "It stopped patrolling. I think that means it might have—"

An all-too-familiar howl rose into the clouded sky, answered by many more distant versions. Alex dropped into a crouch as she heard the thing coming, crashing through the forest on its way towards her. She saw the others preparing as well; they'd already talked over their possible strategies versus each kind of Shifter they'd seen. To be honest, the tail-and-armor variety was their least favorite, but it couldn't be helped.

In moments, she saw the massive form of the Shifter shoulder aside another small tree and pause. Orange text flared.

[Hidden Quest Discovered! Destroy 1 Shifter.]

She heard the telltale choking and gurgling sound and gathered the Storm around her. When the stream of poison shot through the trees, the wind shunted it aside, scattering it into the fields on either side. The grey toxins immediately made their presence known; the already neglected plants began to wilt and wither. Even the trees between them and the Shifter started to crumble and die as well.

Clara stepped forward, her crossbow at the ready. She fired a single shot, and the Shifter's stream of death abruptly cut off short. It lashed at the trees around it while pawing at its snout, and Alex grinned. As Clara reloaded, Alex darted forward, hoping to catch it before it could claw away the clinging vines.

To her shock, Sam actually beat her to it. He had somehow crept forward while the rest of them were waiting on the road. Now he was already sprinting through the shadows of the woods, his spear ready to strike. The Shifter paused long enough to strike at him with its tail, but he dodged to the side and put his spear through the hide just behind the stinger.

The Shifter jerked and snarled at him, but Sam was already running in closer. He started to stab at the gaps in its armor, puncturing the smokey hide repeatedly. When the Shifter tried to turn its massive jaws towards him, he flung out an almost casual hand, drawing a sudden yowl of pain from it as he shredded a piece of its mind.

It was still staggering when Alex hit it a moment later. She hacked at its neck, dodged a swipe of a paw, and then ducked low to swipe at its legs. Each strike dug deep into its hide, but she could already see some of its wounds closing. The Shifter backpedaled, but ice sprouted from its footsteps; massive spikes of frozen water imprisoned its feet as Joanna ran in closer, restraining it further.

The Shifter struck at the Adept, but Alex leapt back and deflected the stinger with her shield. She caught the tail with her axe before it could withdraw, causing another wound. Another yowl of pain came from the Shifter, and she grinned as she saw another crossbow bolt catch it square in the eye. More plants sprouted, blinding it still further in a fury of growth.

As the creature struggled, Alex darted in again. This time she aimed for its throat, trying to catch it in a vital spot. The Shifter bent to try to snap at her, but Sam came flying past her and stabbed it in the jaw. His spear dug in deep, and he yanked it away like a fish on a hook. It lurched back and forth, trying to free itself.

It took another four strikes, but she finally cut whatever acted as the thing's jugular. It had nearly freed itself at that point, but as purple smoke-blood poured from the latest wound, its struggles weakened. Alex kept hacking at it, cutting deeper and deeper with each stroke, until finally it simply collapsed. She backed away as it started to burn.

[Battle Maneuvers increases to 24!]

[Combat Balance increases to 36!]

[Combined Arms—Axe/Shield increases to 38!]

[Holy—Storm increases to 37!]

[Hidden Quest Completed!]

Alex grinned and turned to look at the others. They were panting, but happy. Sam was actually smiling as he watched the Grue vanish. "That… actually went well, right? A lot better than… last time."

Joanna nodded. "We were… right about… the ice." She looked at Clara. "Your Thornshot… scares me."

The Acolyte preened a little. "It should. All should fear the wrath of Nature!"

Alex snorted, and they turned to head along the path the Shifter had left behind. It was strewn with dead trees, but it was as good as any path into the place.

The walk was curiously peaceful, given the combat just before it. Of course, the complete lack of wildlife still made it unlike anything she would have expected in the real world, but it was still nice to not expect any Grue to leap out after her.

They found the hole that the Shifter had left in the fence. The creature had completely flattened it in its haste; bits of it were still sparking and crackling with energy. Alex glanced at the others and shrugged. "I don't think it would kill us, but…"

"Don't touch the sparky bits. Got it." Sam nodded, and they forged ahead, picking their way carefully across the wreckage and into the area beyond.

The land around the Bunker seemed somehow more well-maintained than the rest of the world around it. There were weeds, true, but they were less out of control than the countryside they had traveled through. Parts of it even looked like they had been mowed relatively recently, though Alex wouldn't have sworn by it.

They walked in closer to the massive door that covered the front of the facility. It was even more intimidating up close, made of steel and concrete. Alex walked right up to it and put a hand on it. Short of a tank shot, she didn't know how they were expected to—

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

[Main Quest Completed!]

Alex blinked, feeling almost disappointed. A part of her wanted to see the inside of the place, Quest or no Quest. She glanced back at the others. "Did you just complete the Quest?"

The others nodded, though Joanna was looking at the door with the same kind of interest that Alex felt. She stepped closer. "Do you think we could still get in?"

Sam coughed. "That might not be the best idea. Remember? Anchor Points?"

Clara spoke up. "He's right, you know. We already have enough on our plates."

Alex looked at the Acolyte. "Do you see any Grue inside?"

"Well, no, but that could just be because they are deeper in, or the walls are thick enough that—"

A dark feeling of… something swept across the Bunker, like a wind that didn't touch a single leaf or branch. The world around them seemed to pause, as if it had drawn in a sudden, startled breath. All of them stopped in their tracks, their eyes growing wide.

Then, far above their heads, there was a crackle of thunder. Purple lightning spiderwebbed across the sky, and what followed after it was a low, reverberating groan, as if the world itself was protesting. It rippled through the clouds overhead… and then ended.

Alex stared up at the clouds as the world sat in silence for a few more precious heartbeats. Then the howls started, and she shook herself back awake. "We need to get back to the portal, now."

The others started moving before she'd even finished speaking. Joanna was the first to ask. "What was that? Was it an Earth Anchor Point? Did they turn one on here?"

"No." Alex shook her head. "That's just what happens when a higher level Surveyor enters a C rank portal. Mom used to talk about it, called it the Grue Lord's welcome."

Clara flinched. "But your Mom was a B rank. The only way someone like that would come through…"

"Is if Rabbit and her team entered early." Alex's mind was already flashing through the warnings her mother had given her. The first danger, of course, were the usual patrols. They would be out in larger numbers, with more dangerous amounts of Grue as the Camps and Outposts reacted to the larger threat.

It would be worse than that soon, though. When a higher-level Surveyor arrived, they… attracted things. Those things didn't always immediately go for the B ranks, of course, the same way a Shifter wouldn't ignore an isolated D rank. If Rabbit had brought the attention of some of them, a party of lowly D ranks would probably look extremely appetizing… and they were at least thirty minutes from the portal.

It was going to be a bad day after all.

Nearly forty minutes later, Alex and her friends staggered down the road towards the portal.

Every single one of them had taken wounds, to the point where even Clara's healing was starting to run low. It was surprising they'd even made it that far, given what they'd seen on the journey. Entire armies of Knights combed the fields, whole packs of Brutes and Killers roamed around, searching for signs of intruders. Mages accompanied both types of patrols, clustered in little circles of magical hate.

Worse than that, the Shifters' solitary tendencies had vanished. They'd hidden a few times as groups of five or six of the massive Grue had gone sprinting by, headed towards the portal. They'd heard the sounds of battle, and knew that the C ranks and their B rank leader had to be up ahead.

Sure enough, Rabbit and her group were waiting at the portal. They lounged about as if they hadn't a care in the world, while the burning bodies of nearly a dozen Shifters and who-knew-how-many more Grue lay strewn in the fields nearby. None of them looked particularly bothered by the war-torn terrain. In fact, Jester seemed to be acting out some kind of story for Snickers and Mushroom, both of whom were laughing.

Rabbit watched Alex and her team come, her cold gaze revealing a hint of satisfaction. She smiled. "So. You survived."

Alex felt her temper flare as she limped towards the B rank. "Yeah. We did. Why are you here?"

Jester answered, his face a picture of offended innocence. "Oh come now, does it matter to you if we wait here or on the other side of the portal? It's not really that—"

Clara stepped forward, her exhaustion clear. "You could have gotten us killed!"

"Perhaps we just thought you were tougher than you actually are." Rabbit smiled, an unpleasant sight. "After all, you've been acting quite a bit more experienced than you should. Haven't you?"

Alex stared at her, trying to wrestle down her anger. Now was not the time to fight a B rank and her team of C ranks. They were tired, wounded, and nearly out of magic. Better to pick their fights another time. "We'll discuss this later. Come on, guys."

She started for the portal, but Rabbit moved to block her. Jester and the others immediately gathered behind her, their weapons ready. "No. I'd like to settle things now."

Sam and the others fell in behind Alex. A glance told her they were just as alert as Rabbit's people, but the contrast couldn't have been worse. This was not a fight they could win. "Let us through, Rabbit. Whatever Grue are on your level are going to be here soon. We need to leave."

Rabbit shook her head. "First, I'd like an apology. For the accusations you've made and the way you've been treating my team. Then we'll let you go."

Her cold eyes bored into Alex's, the well-hidden, malicious glee now obvious. "Well, little gopher?"

Alex stared back at the woman, remembering her suspicions about her involvement in her mother's injury. She remembered the way she'd enabled Jester's cruelty, and the way she'd treated Abbott. A burning sense of rage congealed in her heart, flaring a little with each sting of pain from her injuries. Her fingers tightened on her weapons.

Then she relaxed. Slowly, she loosened her grip. She smiled. "All right, Rabbit. I'm sorry."

The beginnings of a smile formed on Rabbit's lips, but they faded as Alex continued. "I'm sorry you feel like your rank gives you the right to abuse other Surveyors, because it only shows how scared you are. I'm sorry that you think I am challenging you just by being here, because I really couldn't care less about your games. And I'm sorry you're too stupid to remember that there's an entire PAD on the other side of the portal that are going to notice if one of us suddenly gets killed in here, and ask you some very hard questions. Especially when some idiot decided to lay off half the Surveyors in the company—not that you had anything to do with it. Right Rabbit?"

The B rank's eyes glittered with hatred now, and Alex could see her hands clenched on the bow she carried. Jester and the others shifted behind her, clearly still ready to fight, but now far less certain of their position. Alex glanced at them and then looked back at Rabbit. She stepped forward, getting as close to the woman as she dared. When she spoke, it was in a low voice that hopefully didn't carry far.

"Mostly, though, I'm sorry that when the Crimson Blade was around, she didn't manage to find you then—because then you wouldn't be my problem, would you, Naylor?"

Rabbit turned to face her with a snarl, but Alex was already moving past her. She walked between the B rank and Jester, heading for the portal. The eyes of Rabbit's team drilled into her back as she moved; the footsteps of her own teammates squelched in the mud.

Just before she reached the vortex, Alex turned and stepped aside so that the others could walk through. Sam hesitated—he'd been right behind her—but she motioned him through. Joanna went next, followed by Clara. Then Alex turned to go.

"Gopher."

Alex stopped. She turned to see what Rabbit wanted.

The last thing she saw before the darkness took her was the B rank's gauntleted fist.

Flashes of light flared in the distance, but Alex couldn't make out what they were illuminating.

She floated in a dark void, surrounded by… something. Something she couldn't see, but she felt was there. It was all around her. The flashes in the distance were lightning, crackling between things she couldn't understand. Where was she? What was—

One of the flashes drew closer, and her heart froze. There were things moving in the dark. They were serpentine, yet enormous, curling around each other in a sinuous dance. Another crackle revealed more of them. She wanted to run, but she couldn't move. There was nothing to move through, just more darkness. Another crackle, and she saw rigid, mechanical tentacles the size of skyscrapers wrapping around one another in the dark, folding one another in a slithering embrace.

Fear took hold of her, and she started trying to fight. There had to be a way out, a way to escape these things. She was trapped, and they were all around her. The whole sky was full of them, it was made of them, it was—

Alex came awake, her heart still pounding in panic. She saw Rob leaning over her, the medic trying to force her back into the medical cot. "Valkyrie. You're safe. You made it back."

She was breathing hard, the air burning in her lungs. The fluorescent lighting overhead stung her eyes when she looked at it, but every time she closed her eyes, those flashes of horror appeared behind her eyelids. Every glimpse drove her to panic a little more.

A hand locked around her wrist, and she looked over to find Joanna there, her dark eyes worried. Clara sat beside her, her friend's eyes focused on her. "Alex. It's okay."

Alex paused, still locked into the fight to free herself. She looked between both of them, fighting the urge to blink. "They… I…"

Clara leaned forward, putting her hand in Alex's. "It'll fade. It's not permanent. Just… hold on."

Despite herself, Alex blinked. The flash of horror that twisted through her sparked an ember of anger. It would fade, would it? Retreating somewhere so that it could lurk? Her eyes narrowed, even as she wrapped her hand around Clara's.

Then she sucked in a breath and squeezed her eyes shut. Her fist tightened around her friend's hand as that alien sky burst into life behind her eyelids. She gritted her teeth and fought that sight, refusing to open her eyes even as the back of her mind gibbered and frothed. Alex held tight, stubbornly facing that sight until it grew cloudy and indistinct. It was as if the vision retreated into a fog of memory and pain.

When she finally opened her eyes, she was gasping. She'd very nearly sweat through her uniform; salt stung at her eyes and drops ran down her face. Clara was still holding her hand, though she had started healing for some reason. Alex looked down at her hand and abruptly unlatched her fingers from Clara's hand. The poor Acolyte must have been feeling the bones grind together. "S-sorry."

"Don't be." Clara shook her head, though she retrieved her hand and massaged it a little. "I still remember what it was like. I understand."

Alex blinked—and inwardly celebrated the fact that there was no sign of that horrific vision waiting for her—and tried to focus. "What do you mean? You saw…"

Clara nodded sharply, looking around. Rob was no longer present, but she still lowered her voice. "Yeah, I did."

Alex looked at Joanna, who shook her head. "No. I haven't seen it. Apparently, it only happens when a Surveyor goes through the portal unconscious."

Looking back at Clara, Alex frowned. "But when…" Her eyes widened. "When the Killer shot you."

The Acolyte nodded, her face drawn and pale. "Yeah. That was when." She shuddered and then seemed to force a smile. "Not the best day, in a lot of ways."

Joanna spoke up. "I only know because I was right there when she woke up the first time. If she'd been any less out of it…"

Clara's smile grew a little more sincere. "We decided to keep it close. At first, I thought it was just a bad dream of some kind, but…"

She paused, and Alex's eyes narrowed. "What?"

For a moment, Clara and Joanna shared a look. Joanna spoke first, her voice curiously cautious. "The next time you go through the portal, you're going to get your Mission Report. It'll show up like normal. Your status screen will come up after that."

Clara spoke next. "The top of it is going to look a little different, though. Instead of just your name, there's going to be another label. It doesn't do anything, and it seems like it is just for decoration, but…" She shrugged. "It throws people off. They think their Screen is glitching. Most apparently stop going through after that."

"Like Kim." Alex remembered what the Emerald Bay Surveyors had said. Clara nodded, and Alex continued in a cautious voice. "So it's just the one label? Nothing else?"

The Acolyte nodded. "It'll say Dreamseer. I've talked to a few different Surveyors who've gone through it, and that's been pretty consistent. Even Kim said the same thing."

Alex frowned. "How many are there?"

Joanna exchanged another look with Clara, and then shrugged. "Not many, honestly. Most unconscious Surveyors either don't go back through, or don't survive to talk about anything." She studied Alex for a moment. "You don't seem all that worried about the Screen."

The implied question made Alex wince. "I… might have run across something similar. A couple of times, actually."

They stared at her, expressions incredulous. Clara spoke first. "What do you mean?"

She tried to sound nonchalant. "I might have a couple of other labels on my name already. In the status screen, I mean." They were both still staring at her. "I don't know when the first one showed up. I guess it just didn't seem to stand out to me. Gatekeeper?"

Neither of them showed any reaction, and Alex sighed. "The second one showed up after I ran between portals, though, back at the Red Blades compound. It's called Realmwalker. Neither seems to do anything, and it wasn't nearly as obvious as this one."

Joanna's eyes narrowed in thought. "I see. I guess I can't blame you for spreading it around." She glanced at Clara. "It does suggest that something odd is going on with the Screen, however. I wonder what it means."

Alex winced. "Well, I don't think I can recommend getting the Dreamseer one. That's for sure."

The Adept snorted, and Clara nodded. "I wonder… you were the one who broke the Anchor Point at Golden Swallow. Could it have been that?"

Scrubbing at her face, Alex shrugged. "Maybe. Weren't we all involved then, though?"

"You delivered the killing blow. The Screen seems to care a lot about that." Clara smiled. "Not that I recommend we experiment with that, either. Seems a little risky."

Alex nodded. "I'll agree to that." She looked around. "Where's Sam? Does he know?"

Joanna shook her head. "No—and at the moment he's on the phone with a certain someone's parents, persuading them that an in-person visit would be a very bad idea."

She grimaced. "I should thank him for that."

"You should." Joanna leaned back. "I think, at the very least, we need to try and avoid Rabbit and her team from now on. You've managed to get on their bad side enough that they might not be as restrained next time."

Alex leaned back in her cot and sighed. "You're probably right." She gave her friend a weak smile. "We should have named you Thinker. Would have fit better."

"Why? Because I'm the only one of us that does it?" Joanna sounded exasperated, but her lips did twitch like she was fighting a grin. "Seriously, your talent at angering high leveled Surveyors is hard to plan around, Alex. It's kind of inconvenient."

Despite herself, Alex chuckled at the Adept's pretended outrage. "I'll try to be a bit more accommodating in the future." She eyed Clara. "Maybe we should change up your name, too. Would Seer be too on the nose?"

Clara laughed. "At least it'd be better than Dryad or Artemis or whatever. I think you're stuck with Valkyrie, though. Unless you think Flygirl would work better?"

Alex made a face, and both of them started laughing. Rob stuck his head into the room a moment later, adjusting his glasses. "Surveyor Morrison?"

She looked at him. "What is it?"

"You have a visitor." He didn't seem to notice that she tensed up and looked to the others. "I'm sorry, but Mr. Warner has requested some privacy. If you could wait in the hallway?"

Her friends looked at each other, and then at her. Alex made a calming gesture and tried to look relaxed. "It'll be fine. I'll yell if I need you."

They nodded and followed Rob out of the room. A moment later, Mitch Warner stepped into the room, careful to close the door behind him.

He seemed to be a little more frazzled than normal. His normally impeccable suit was wrinkled, and his face was flush, as if he'd gotten himself worked up recently. At the same time, he seemed determined to maintain his professionally cheerful demeanor. "Valkyrie. How are you doing?"

Alex looked back at him, wondering what kind of a threat he was going to pose. A direct one, like Wells, or an indirect one, like Liliana had been? "I've been better."

The smile on his face slipped slightly. "Yes. So I understand." He sighed and walked over to a nearby chair. "I've already had a report from Rabbit and her team."

She felt a flicker of anger. "My report isn't necessary?"

Warner leaned back slightly, as if alarmed by the heat in her words. "I've already spoken to your teammates as well, but… reports from Surveyors who arrive unconscious are often considered unreliable." He paused, and Alex slowly nodded her head. "Still, it's clear that something happened during the Survey was not appropriate. Rabbit and her team claim that you provoked her."

Alex opened her mouth, but Warner raised his hand to stop her. "Before you say anything, I need to remind you we've just had a… restructuring here. Rabbit is one of the two B rank Surveyors at the company, and her team is the most skilled among the five Exploitation teams left here. I can't afford to risk losing them on the word of a D rank, no matter how valuable they might end up being in the future."

She settled back into the cot, glaring at him. "So am I next on the chopping block? Like Abbott?"

He paused. His expression shifted to one of caution. "Layoff decisions are made on a number of different factors, Ms. Morrison. As much as your own position was questioned here, I can't exactly afford to lose you either—especially considering these incidents with our new clients. Until that is resolved, you're going to remain here at Royal Purple Contracting."

Alex blinked. She studied him for a long moment, even as he looked back at her with a neutral expression. "So I'm not being fired, and they aren't being disciplined."

"Correct." Warner shook his head. "In the absence of other proof, I'm going to have to assume that you did, in fact, provoke Ms. Naylor into a confrontation. For that reason, I'm going to change your on-call duties. You'll be going in alongside Ms. Jimenez' team again for the foreseeable future—I believe you know her as Laser—and I'll be adjusting your schedules so that your team does not cross paths with Rabbit or her team."

He paused. "I'll also be placing you on a brief suspension. It won't actually affect your schedule, since the medical staff has every intention of keeping you here until Monday, but you won't be allowed to train with the others until that is lifted. Do you understand?"

Alex nodded slowly. A punishment in name only was probably the best she could hope for, especially considering the situation. At least she wouldn't have to worry about Rabbit trying to kill her during a bad Survey, and Laser was the other B rank in the company, so they'd have plenty of backup for the next horde. "I do."

"Good." He patted the bed beside her. "Now, heal up. We need you hard at work to help resolve these issues for our clients, and I'm sure this is just a momentary stop in your journey as a Surveyor." Warner put on an incredibly unconvincing smile that didn't match the look of his eyes at all. "Just keep trucking along, and you'll do fine."

She frowned before she could catch herself. Did he really think she needed the encouragement? "Thank you."

He nodded, a flash of exasperation crossing his expression in a heartbeat. Then he turned and headed out the door, leaving her to stare after him and wonder what game he was playing at. Would Laser end up being just as dangerous as Rabbit was? She shook her head and closed her eyes, enjoying the fact that the only thing that appeared was an idle daydream of her hanging Warner out a window to demand answers. It was about what she could hope for.

"Knock knock. Are you decent?"

Alex grinned from where she lay on the cot. "As much as I ever am. Come on in, Sam."

He poked his head in and grinned at her. The other Surveyor seemed a little worn out, and a bit of anxiety flickered in his eyes, but it was still a relief to see him. At least, she assumed it meant that Muriel wouldn't be showing up anytime soon.

As Sam closed the door behind him and took a seat, Alex tried to lever herself up into a sitting position. The healing that Clara had given her and the work that Rob had done had taken care of most of her injuries, but there was still the occasional ache that slipped through. Mostly, she just felt drained, as if that vision had sapped her ability to rest easily. She shook off a brief wave of fatigue and looked over at him. "Any news?"

Sam smiled. "Well, your parents are worried, and asked me to have you call them. When you can." He handed over her phone, which she accepted with a grimace. There was a shadow of humor in his dark eyes. "They'd be here already, of course, but I managed to convince them you were fine. Even if we did have to drag you up here this time."

Alex winced. "Thanks." She set the phone aside. "Anything else I should know about?"

"Aside from the fact that your mother is apparently making a list?" Sam hesitated. "There's one thing."

He glanced at the doorway and leaned forward. His voice was quiet. "Apparently, somebody's minions have been busy. They flew out to a new spot this morning."

Her eyes widened. "They did? Any idea where?"

Sam nodded. "I did look into the place, and there was only one portal around there, in case we wanted to visit ourselves." He paused again, as if deciding whether to continue. "It's one we've heard of before. The Goldiron Foundation has a D rank portal there."

Alex's breath caught for a moment. "Isn't that where…"

"Audrey and Alessa are both there, yeah." Sam's smile definitely didn't reach his eyes. "It's probably a pretty good time to catch up with them, isn't it?"

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