<h4>Chapter 24: Carefully-nned Encounter</h4>


    He saw himself working in The Santa María''s hangar, moving weapon crates and repairingpromised locks. His favorite task, however, was maintaining the Custos. To do this, n climbed up adder and walked across a service ramp to reach their heads and check their systems. His favorite was a red one with green eyes, which he nicknamed Captain Ketchup.


    "How are you doing today, Captain?" n would ask each morning, greeting it with a wave. The stationary, 60-foot-tall metal statue always remained silent. "Your day to save the universe wille, I know it! In the meantime, let me make sure everything''s in order, okay?"


    This routine continued for a week until the eighth day when n noticed that Captain Ketchup''s eyes were glowing.


    "Get back, n!"manded an Isabe-controlled drone, as the red Custos freed itself and stepped forward.


    "Captain?" n muttered, as the shadow of a giant foot loomed over him. Thest thing he saw before a service robot pulled him back was another blue Custos shielding him.


    "A remnant survived, n. The hangar is no longer safe until I take care of it. Return to your room now!"


    Even after the automatic reinforced doors closed, he could still hear a constant, metallic banging.


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    He opened his eyes to a familiar ceiling. <i>I''m here, safe and sound at the Shooting Stars'' Headquarters.</i>


    Eager to start the day, he jumped out of bed, ignoring the sunless morning outside. <i>Today is the day, Ashley,</i> he thought, frowning at the gray clouds.


    He dressed quickly, donning his new favorite red jacket and ck baggy pants, and exhaled in front of the mirror.


    "Astrid, do you have a minute? We need to talk... Hmm, no... Not like that," he practiced, turning serious. "Babe, there''s something you should know... Wait, babe? Are you serious? So cringe." He cleared his throat. "Astrid, listen to me, I need to tell you something really important... The s-s-safety of... Dammit." He pursed his lips. <i>Ashley, I know we should keep this a secret, but...</i> "She''s the only one I can trust..."


    Finding new resolution in his reflection, he nodded and walked toward the door. Before leaving, Amelia''s ck artificial beetle, left inst night''s clothes, silentlynded on his red jacket.


    <i>Astrid will understand. I know it,</i> he thought on his way to the cafeteria. <i>Once she agrees to help me, I wonder if she''d let Ashley train in that private dungeon too. After picking her up first, of course.</i>


    He nced outside at the swimming pool and training grounds, imagining his new life. <i>We could get used to this ce. And... Is it my imagination, or is this ce really, really quiet?</i>


    The cafeteria was empty, except for NPCs who greeted him. No one was in the Trophy Room or the Library.


    <i>I don''t even want to peek at the PVP arena.</i> He shivered, recalling only a fraction of what had transpired there, as sounds of people, particrly Astrid''s powerful voice, reached him from afar.


    <i>"Keep in mind that now that we''re at the bottom of the ranking charts, we may never climb back!"</i> Her voice echoed through the hall, as n peered inside arge room. Astrid stood atop a podium, dressed in navy-blue formal military attire, her hair tied in an updo. "So if any of you still have doubts in your heart, don''t hesitate! If you''re not satisfied with how things have turned out, you have my blessing to leave! I won''t chase you, I won''t punish you, just go and nevere back!"


    She maintained a firm posture as arge group left. "Let''s go," n heard one of them say, "this guild is done for."


    Astrid quickly saluted them. "Thank you for your hard work! Without you, Shooting Stars would have never reached the top!"


    n hid behind a tiger monument, counting. <i>Close to thirty people are leaving...</i>


    When the building''s doors shut, Astrid continued: "To all of you that stayed, are you sure about this decision?!" she asked in a deeper voice. "Whoever stays with me will have to work twice, no, three times harder than before now that we have been reduced to less than half of our people! Would you follow me to the depths of hell if I asked?!"


    <i>"Yes, ma''am!"</i>


    "Are you still Shooting Stars?!"


    <i>"Proudly, ma''am!"</i>


    "Do you still thirst for the glory of reaching the top?!"


    <i>"Until we reach the end of the universe, ma''am!"</i>


    "Then I have something to tell all of you!" She met eyes with each of them, showing her tenacity until tears started running down her cheeks. "Thanks for staying with me, you idiots!"


    <i>Is she crying?!</i>


    n returned to his spying spot, watching Tamara and some women from the crowd form a wall around Astrid, shielding her from view.


    n then watched a male guilder stomp his way toward Oscar, the big guy who had brought him to Londorus alongside Marissa Lamme.


    "If you hadn''t listened to Marco''s orders and brought Ghost here, we could have avoided all this!" the guilder shouted, grabbing Oscar by the cor.


    "You''re a fool if you really believe that," Oscar replied calmly.


    n stepped back, returning to the safety of the monument''s shadow, but he could not remain there.


    He exited the building, found the main entrance, and ran toward Londorus'' streets.


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    <i>(He exited HQ,) </i>Amelia Lamme said through Party Chat, sipping a Pi?a Cda. <i>(It''s all yours.)</i>


    <i>(This was faster than I thought!)</i> Karen Svensson replied, giggling. <i>(A lucky star is finally shining my way. I can feel it!)</i>


    <i>(Yeah, yeah. Go before you lose it. He''s in...)</i> Amelia expanded the system window that disyed her spy beetle''s video feed, and the most remarkablendmark she recognized was a giant soft drink ad. <i>(Lancesmith Bridge...)</i>


    <i>(Understood. Wish me luck!)</i>


    "Nah, I don''t think I will..." Amelia muttered to herself, cutting off themunication.


    "Excuse me, miss?" the NPC behind the bar asked, smiling. Seeing his green eyes made her look away.


    "Wasn''t talking to you. Give me another one of these," she said, raising her cup, but the NPC stepped back.


    "I''m sorry, miss, but the bar is currently closed."


    <i>Oh, so it''s time...</i>


    "Okay, everyone, it''s time to go!" Kathleen Maher announced, as Death Bringers and ex-Shooting Stars alike followed her outside.


    "Our Guild Master is moving the bar," the NPC exined to Amelia. "We must leave. Come this way, please."


    "There''s a backdoor through the kitchen, right?" Amelia said, finishing her drink. "I''ll use that."


    "Understood," the NPC replied, walking away.


    <i>After helping myself to another drink...</i>


    Amelia jumped over the bar, grabbed two bottles of wine, and stashed them in her inventory. <i>Thanks, Kat.</i> She then strolled toward the exit, ignoring the constant system messages urging her to leave.


    Outside, while waiting for her ck-Winged Tiger to spawn, she admired the gray sky. <i>I remember seeing the same weather when Marissa and I left Carce.</i>


    "You weren''t here when that happened," she told her summoned tiger, which purred as she caressed it. "Between you and me, Marissa cried a lot. Don''t tell her that or she''ll get mad at me."


    She mounted the tiger and took flight, pausing only to watch the building shrink in size. Within a minute, The Drinking Banshee was the size of a dollhouse, which her ex-guild partner took from his new boss'' hands.


    <i>This is thest thing I''ve done for you,</i> Amelia thought, exhaling. <i>Have fun in your new guild... ''Lord''.</i>