The guns were the real reason he’d kept the gifts meant for specific people secret. His mom couldn’t technically stop him since he was bankrolling this whole thing, but she’d still find a way. It wasn’t as if the unenchanted handguns were that dangerous to Gadriel either since he was level 3. The bullets would still hurt, but Daniel would bet an accidental discharge wouldn’t break skin.

  Not that he was trying to find out. Daniel was as much a gun guy as he was a sword guy and had put his faith in Chris to do right by him. Potentially sketchy origins aside, it’d worked so far. The guy had given him a quick tutorial while they had been separating the gifts, and then a longer one when Daniel had too readily assured him he understood the demonstration.

  “Think of this as a more powerful crossbow,” Daniel explained, slowly loading the weapon. “Not that the golden crossbow was weaker than this, only that its damage dealing potential is denser. I’d say this would beat an unenchanted crossbow or bow on its own in the right hands.”

  “I see,” Gadriel replied with more frown in his voice than with the other gift, even if he tried to hide it. “It may be impertinent to ask, but why choose these for me? I have not made it a practice to use traditional ranged weapons.”

  In case someone kills your dog, Daniel thought, but very pointedly did not allow that to cross over to the general Telepathic Network. “You seem like the weapons master here out of everyone else. These are compact and easy to use. I was already getting you the sword, so I took a chance.”

  Being extraordinarily careful, as the weapon in his hand made him nervous, Daniel raised and pointed it toward the ground ten meters away. “These are kinda loud, just a heads up.”

  Daniel pulled the trigger, turning his face away in anticipation before nothing happened. Remembering the safety, he quickly flicked it off and finally discharged the weapon.

  The practiced instincts of seasoned monster hunters reacted as Evalyn looked ready to cover her sister and Masika moved to block with her bracer, while Emily just looked startled. Gadriel, however, had a curious look in his eye. “Sorry,” Daniel said, noting the reactions. “I did say it was loud.”

  “That projectile moved impressively fast,” Gadriel commented, seemingly unaware of the negative mood around him. “Small, yes, but… Its ammunition, is it precious?”

  “We’ve got a couple hundred rounds,” Daniel replied, unsure where this was going but staying hopeful. He opened one of the boxes in the now dwindling pile and brought it next to the case to demonstrate.

  “I see, then this may be a boon after all. These weapons are unenchanted, you say?”

  “Yes?”

  Gadriel nodded, satisfied. “If you all would indulge me, I would like to briefly test something. Daniel, if you would reload that weapon.”

  “It doesn’t need… what are you doing?” Daniel asked as Gadriel picked up the katana, unsheathed it in a far more fluid motion than he’d used the first time, and then walked to the open space Daniel had fired at moments before.

  “It is a rare occasion that one finds an opportunity to test themselves against an attack so quick and difficult to deflect.” Masika shouted some kind of objection Lograve didn’t bother to translate, as Evalyn’s ‘Are you serious’ likely covered her main points. “I assure you one attack from that weapon will not severely injure me, even should it land unguarded. Now, if you would Daniel, aim for my chest.”

  Despite the fact that he’d internally made that very same point, he was extremely hesitant to honor the Hero’s wish. For one, he was clearly intending to use the katana to do something ridiculous to block the bullet, and if the edge chipped or, even worse, it ruined the sword, he knew that would invite some kind of curse on him. If that wasn’t enough, Evalyn was looking at him and shaking her head.

  Maybe if she had Charm Person she could convince me, he thought internally, But this is way too cool. “You’re sure about this?” he still asked, if only to buy a smidgen of plausible deniability.

  “If there is no magic in that, as you claim, then I affirm my conviction.”

  “Alright.” It took more will than he’d thought it would take to move the point of the handgun over Gadriel’s chest. There were sights over the top that he used to make sure the aim was correct, and also to build the courage he needed to go through with this. The Hero’s eyes were locked on his finger the entire time, waiting for his signal.

  It took a few more seconds before he committed to it, feeling the weapon jump in his hands. It was over in only one. Gadriel stood still, having barely moved his sword, before he turned the blade in his hands and inspected the side.

  “Interesting,” he mused, completely unharmed. “You know, a shield and sword is recommended for most of my creed based on our power sets. I would say it is hardly bragging to claim my skill outshadows most of my level due to my path, and yet I have resisted changing my equipment for a more offensive style. The attacks of higher level monsters, and mortals, require an inordinate amount of focus and timing to successfully parry or deflect with a sword. My twin defenses against Heldren’s Fated Strike could be attributed as much to luck as anticipation. But if I could train with these weapons…” He shook himself out of self-reflection. “I take up too much time. Thank you again, Daniel. I would ask how you operate that strange crossbow but will reserve my curiosity for later.”

  “No problem.” Daniel gulped as he realized Evalyn was next, and he had just potentially pissed her off more. To be fair this had been Gadriel’s idea and her anger toward him was mostly misplaced, in his opinion, but… but he still felt like he wanted her to like him. Not even in a romantic way, but because of how much it hurt to see the difference between how she had looked at Octyrrum-Daniel, and the neutral grimace she wore now.

  “Uh, most of Lograve’s stuff he already, well, has,” Daniel continued. “Chris did say there was something extra Mom got for him, not sure what.” He readily retrieved the small box, holding it out in the open air to buy a few more minutes before he’d have to face Evalyn. It was taken from him without him sensing Lograve approach, very disconcertingly so, and opened to reveal several tubes of cream Daniel didn’t recognize the name of.

  “Well, this is curious. I didn’t know my game was good enough to attract this kind of attention in my current state.” Lograve turned a container in his hands, reading both the label and the smaller text Daniel couldn’t make out from where he was standing. At one point he paused, and Daniel could feel Lograve’s gaze on him as he asked, “Have you told your family anything of my appearance?”

  “Not really,” Daniel replied skeptically. “You’re not being serious right now, are you?”

  “When am I ever?” The box disappeared, an indication that it had been in Lograve’s possession long enough for his power to affect it. “Well, don’t wait on my account. I’m not sure exactly where you’re hiding those flowers, but I’m sure Evalyn will be flattered.”

  “I didn’t get her-“ Daniel sighed, and then forced himself to make eye contact with the Bard. “I know the, uh, other me was having trouble making you an enchanted instrument,” he began, jumping right into a speech he had been half-rehearsing for a few days. Evalyn didn’t give him the chance to finish.

  “When you were watching us at all times?” His face fell, but they were already here so he trudged through it.

  Daniel opened another case, beginning to feel like he was on a game show as the less professional assassin-looking latches clicked. Evalyn warily eyed the instrument that he exposed to her criticisms. “Remember the song you used for the dragon fight? This kind of instrument was used for the melody. There were drums too but I felt like this was more your style. You hold it like-“

  “I can guess.” Evalyn bent and picked up the firey red and black guitar, frowning as she fiddled with the small lever at the bottom Daniel had forgotten the name of then testing the strings. “It doesn’t sound the same.”

  “It normally needs amplification. That’s this box, here. You can still play without it, it’ll just sound different. Once we get the solar cells working, well, I can explain later. The important part is Daniel, the other me, can use this to help make a better one as soon as he gets a formulae that lets him. Even then he might be able to cheat with the ones he has and physically make something this shape, but it depends on how good he’s gotten with it since I last, well…”

  “Since the man you stranded and separated from his family watched his best friend die?”

  Daniel couldn’t look at her, or work up any kind of courage to refute her words. He felt the entire crux of her anger toward him was in that one sentence, as well as in the person standing beside Evalyn as she slung the guitar into the case. Emily still didn’t fully share her sister’s problems with him, though there was little sympathy in the teenager’s eyes either.

  Everyone else just let the moment pass, Gadriel perhaps keen to the existence of things he hadn’t been told. “There’s one more person,” Daniel choked out eventually. “One last gift.”

  “I fear you might have miscounted,” Lograve observed dourly. “You’ve given out all the gifts already.”

  “I didn’t want to leave this one in the sun. It’s not for anyone here. Hey, Chris?” Daniel spoke into a radio, already tuned to the correct frequency, while he stopped projecting his speech mentally. “Can you meet me over by the western road, where it cuts by those apple trees? Not that they’re actual apples, but, you know.”

  “Alright. You want the crate?” Chris clarified.

  “Yeah,” Daniel nodded. “You guys can come with me if you want, or not. Lograve and Gadriel should be there maybe, but I-“

  “Who is it for?” Evalyn asked, not liking the trepidation in his voice.

  “Tak.” Daniel watched as the light in Evalyn’s eyes grew dangerous.

  …

  The crate was vented. That was probably the first bad sign Evalyn saw, but she didn’t start physically blocking the path to Tak’s cage until it became obvious what Daniel had planned. Everyone who’d known the Totem Warrior was also giving Daniel a skeptical look, while Masika and Emily were mostly confused at why a cat would provoke the Bard so.

  “I am not letting you anywhere near him with that!” Evalyn shouted at him, her voice so loud that he had a hard time separating the mental translation from it. “What the Crest do you think you’ll accomplish?”

  Chris, who at this point had joined with the contentious feline, took a step back from the tableau. “Ma’am, please don’t do anything hasty, he’s a cute one.” He blinked and glanced toward Daniel a moment later. “They don’t understand me, do they?”

  “I do,” Lograve said from out of nowhere, in English. It actually wouldn’t matter for him so long as he kept a mental component too, and Daniel had mostly listened to that because it was how he was used to the Arcanist communicating. “Daniel, this is… I can see the idea behind it, but Tak isn’t. He’s not well. That power has been on him for over a month, and I still don’t know what exactly it is. Our best theory is that the other you is sustaining the effect through a strong mana tether. We need to go back to have any hope of breaking it.”

  “If it’s not him in there right now, what’s the harm in trying?” Daniel asked, more firmly than he had been earlier today. This was his biggest gamble, his moonshot. Gadriel’s arms were constantly in phantom pain, Evalyn’s perception was being screwed with, and Lograve couldn’t read or use his tablet without a convoluted setup, but Tak out of all of them had the worst of whatever was interacting with their powers. If he could ease that burden, even by a little? It wouldn’t make up for what he’d done, and there were things Evalyn detested that he wasn’t sorry for, but it would be a step towards fixing the gnawing suspicion that things might have gone better for them if he’d hit the bunker’s failsafe earlier.

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  I haven’t seen a cat up close before. The comment came out of nowhere and Daniel didn’t know why Lograve had mentally translated it, maybe on reflex, but he saw Emily kneel by the carrier and look through the mesh door. We didn’t have any in Eido. Pets were too much of a burden until the Spoke was finished, or at least, that’s what they said.

  The cat, or more accurately, tabby kitten was currently huddled in the back of the container. There were a fair few unfamiliar faces around, including one extremely foreign one in Masika. It’d also been moved around, and while Chris had done his best to keep his arm steady, there’s been some jostling.

  “Ah, that’s a shame young lady. They’re very friendly. Come on little guy.” Chris clicked his tongue and placed a treat by the door, and warily, the kitten padded closer. The scene devastated the building tension. Evalyn couldn’t hold back a smile as the door opened, the kitten still too cautious to come out, but warming up enough to its surroundings to rub Emily’s hand.

  “If it doesn’t work, you can keep him,” Daniel pointed out. “I’m not saying we do something insane like throw it in there, just bring the cage close so Tak can see it first. I’m not an idiot. Maybe this will calm him down some.”

  “That cage won’t hold him if he wants to get out. If that happens because you make him relive Hunter’s death, the Commander might decide to put him down,” Evalyn argued, protective passion still in her voice.

  “That’s why we have a Lograve and a Gadriel,” Daniel returned. “What else are you doing for him? If Hunter could see this he’d tear apart the cage himself, other me too.”

  “Don’t talk about them like you know them.”

  “I do!” Daniel shouted, startling the kitten. Guiltily, he kept talking at a controlled, yet rattling volume. “I saw and heard everything he did. Every time any one of you got hurt or, or died, I felt that despite not being there. I woke up to a message saying Hunter had died, and when I did the only thing I could to try and help it all went dark. I thought you all had died too until I found the smallest sign you’d survived, and the first thing I did was chase that lead until it brought me here.” One of his hands reflexively clenched, though it was from the heat in his words rather than any lie. “I’m not going to apologize for trying to get my dad back. You can’t stand there next to your sister and tell me there’s a limit to the lengths you would go for her. But I am sorry for how things ended. That I couldn’t be there when you needed me, even though I was there every other time. Will you at least let me try to fix that?”

  She stared at him for the longest time, her breaths coming faster as she increased the tempo of her active power, relatively slowing time. She looked between him, her sister, and the kitten that’d returned to sheltering in the depths of the cat carrier.

  “You know,” she eventually replied, shoulders dropping. “For a moment there, you sounded like him.”

  …

  It had been dug in one of the shallow natural depressions of the Thormundz plain, the higher attributes of the once-Blessed who’d worked on it allowing them to hastily finish the roughly deep hole when it became clear it was needed. The limiting factor had actually been clearing away the moved earth.

  While the Builders had their powers suppressed in this strange place, their life experience could still be leveraged into better craft than others could manage. The explosion that had destroyed the Temple of Unification had also destroyed or damaged homes, and while the population had been reduced by it as well, there had been many who’d traveled to Eido to see the final strike in the founding of a region. They’d been busy throwing up replacements, grousing at the hardships doing things ‘the normal way’ caused, while the Commander carefully monitored how much of the island’s resources were going to the projects. He had to consider both short term needs and maintaining long-term sustainability in case they remained stranded here.

  This place had also received attention from the invisible hands of the Builders, though that was more in line with what had been put together for the wayward sailors than natives. They’d done what they could to fortify the primarily wooden construction with the scant supplies of metal remaining in the stores of the Smiths, but the only thing truly keeping the beast caged was itself.

  Daniel found himself within a few meters of the latticework dug in over the pit. Half was covered by a tarp to create shade, proving that those who’d made it hadn’t been callous in their construction. They’d also been realists, though. He hadn’t tried to talk sense into Tak after hearing from Lograve what others had tried.

  The one thing they hadn’t had was cowering in the smaller cage in his hands. The kitten inside had reached the point where it was trying to convince itself it didn’t exist, for if it could do that, surely the predator it sensed would ignore it. Not a good day for cats all around, and this was the only one on the island. Daniel was hoping that would mean something.

  Chris was standing with the others a good distance away, his hand not quite distant from the sidearm on his hip. The others were a bit more mindful of the otherwise innocuous man after seeing another gunfire. Small unassuming items containing lethal power wasn’t a foreign concept to the Octyrrum, but the ones they were used to were always magical.

  If the guy currently filling the role of his bodyguard needed to draw his weapon then there’d be no coming back from what he was about to do. That was if the horror movie monster lurking in the darkness of what the setting sun cast into the pit didn’t manage to kill him first.

  He stood still for longer than the moment called for, doubting himself. It was a stupid idea when you looked at it in any way other than recklessly optimistic. At best, bringing a reminder of his grief might shock something humanity adjacent into Tak. At worst, yeah.

  “Tak?” Daniel spoke tentatively into that darkness, not moving forward. Below, something stirred. “I don’t know if you remember me or not. I’m Daniel.” Behind him, Evalyn crossed her arms, but this was no time to be pedantic. “I brought you… I brought you a friend.”

  Tak moved as fast as Gadriel had when the Hero had blocked the bullet, only it was pure fear he felt rather than awe. The transformed avianoid had talons that could completely gut him without reaching the palms of the twisted hands, and they were also ideal for climbing the sides of the pit.

  Dark eyes with reddened corneas stared out from beneath the lid of the cage, and he couldn’t find anything in them when he looked. That included hostility, but he wasn’t encouraged. It was just a blank, feral state of passivity that greeted him.

  “I’m bringing him closer, Tak. You need to be gentle.” He had no reason to believe the avianoid could understand him, for multiple reasons. Also, while the passive translation of Lograve’s telepathy should theoretically pass over to Tak, the last thing he wanted was to potentially provoke him with a mental voice. Rather, he was trying to inspire calm with his tone.

  The eyes of the avianoid took in Daniel, initially passing over what he carried quickly before darting to the side to inspect the other people present. There was no recognition there at any point. He’s been stuck like this for weeks. Is, is there anything left?

  Like Lograve said, they didn’t know how this power worked. Even after Daniel, other Daniel, had identified the name of the power in Tak’s list, the entry itself had been completely unidentified. It seemed similar to powers Druids used, maybe a combination of the concepts between that and Berserker’s rage, only that giant bug one had said it wasn’t familiar to him.

  They were completely in the dark, almost literally so, as the alien wildlife transposed onto Earth began to react to the night. Insects chirping, and one terrestrial bird calling in the distance, lonely. Tak’s eyes flitted in the direction of the call before returning to the crate Daniel put down out of talon’s reach from the cage. He almost thought about illuminating the inside with his phone since the kitten would be hard to see, but something told him Tak currently had excellent night vision.

  Tak’s head turned rapidly from Daniel to the crate, expectantly almost, and Daniel’s stomach fell as he had a thought. Does he think this is food? They would feed him like this.

  The kitten’s no good, very bad day skipped horrible and turned to traumatizing as Tak finally made out the small form hiding in the crate. He made a deep, confused chirp at first as his face pressed closer to the cage’s top, making Daniel step back as the tip of the beak poked through one of the holes. The head turned to the side slightly, and then jerked back with a short, shrieking exclamation.

  “Daniel, stop this!” Evalyn shouted with some agony in her voice.

  “Just give him time to-“ His words were cut off as Tak gripped the wooden bars with both fore-limbs and threw his head back. To call it an anguished howl wouldn’t do the sound justice, but it hinted at the real emotion Tak suddenly displayed. Daniel had his hands over his ears, afraid the echoing shriek would burst his ear drums. There was no way anyone on the island wouldn’t have heard it, and he saw Chris’ gun clear the holster out of the corner of his eye.

  The sound died and he quickly reached for the crate, intending to pick it up and run. As he jostled it the nearly scared to death kitten finally reacted, giving a terrified squeak. It was a sound you wouldn’t hear normally from a cat unless you did something like accidentally step on them, both intimating a cry for mercy and striking you with guilt.

  Tak’s head snapped back to the crate and froze, causing Daniel to also. Gadriel was moving toward him, sword unsheathed, but there was still a fair bit of distance as the group had wanted to give Daniel space for this attempt.

  Bloodshot eyes bore into the crate, a low warble escaped Tak’s beak. It was still mournful but reserved, and one of his hands was now reaching out toward the kitten.

  Wait, just wait, Daniel thought, not daring to speak. Tak repeated the strange cry, adjusting so that the arm fit through a closer hole but was still unable to reach, even with the wood bending against his strength.

  Daniel, you shouldn’t- Lograve began, but Gadriel cut him off.

  I can intervene from this distance before permanent harm is done. Proceed, but only if you feel it wise. Evalyn herself didn’t weigh in, too invested in watching what Tak was doing.

  Kneeling, Daniel slowly reached into the crate and scooped up the kitten. A fully grown one would have hissed and scratched at him, but this one was too small to resist and practically dug into his shirt when he brought it to his chest.

  “He’s a friend, Tak. Friend,” Daniel repeated, hesitating for just a moment before he held the cat out so Tak could barely touch it. It wasn’t a perfect reminder, the orange and white fur lacking in all Hunter’s had, to say nothing of the fact that the ringcat would have been mildly insulted at anyone trying to make a comparison. And yet, the similarities were there.

  The kitten squirmed in his grip as a deadly talon reached for it, the motion not escaping Tak. He tried to give what sounded like an encouraging chirp, but the kitten remained stalwartly sheltered in place. It would have probably run if it wasn’t so terrified.

  “It’s ok,” Daniel said, trying to soothe both beasts but having little luck. Tak chirped again, but the sound died prematurely as his eyes shifted from the cat to his hand. “Just give him a few minutes.” Daniel stroked the kitten’s head, but it wasn’t doing much. “I’m sure he’ll- Tak!”

  Wood snapped and Gadriel flashed to his side, shoving Daniel behind him before shifting to a two-handed stance on the katana. Only, it hadn’t been Tak breaking free that had caused the noise. The avianoid had lost his grip, hind legs giving out and part of the cage following suit as he’d grabbed onto it to try and arrest his fall.

  The kitten squeaked again, this time because Daniel had held onto it too tightly as he’d fallen. Honestly, he was starting to feel like a monster for dragging the poor thing into this.

  As he picked himself up and allowed the kitten to return to its sanctuary, he saw Evalyn run to join Gadriel by the side of the cage. She said something, Gadriel replying, but neither used the Telepathic Network so it was unintelligible to him. They sounded alarmed, but not to the point that they were about to kill someone.

  “Is he alright?” Daniel asked, joining them. The question was somewhat pointless, as what sunlight was left had gone, leaving the bottom of the pit shrouded in darkness.

  “I cannot say. My eyes have still to adjust.”

  “I, I’m sorry.” Daniel’s head fell. “I thought this would, I don’t know. He didn’t break out, you can tell them that if they complain about the damage.”

  Evalyn sighed, and used the telepathy as well so he could understand her. “Your heart was in the right place. I think I saw him in there, if only for a moment. If that means Tak has a chance of coming back from this, then it would have been worth it.” She glanced at the cat carrier and nodded at him. “It can stay with my sister for now, she’d like that. It might do her some good too.” She returned to staring down, waiting for her eyes to adjust or for Tak to give any sign he was ok. It had been a bad fall, but even landing at the worst angle on his head shouldn’t have done serious harm to him since the transformation power came with a ridiculous upgrade to his healing factor, at commensurate mana cost.

  “I thought you were just, well, a voyeur at first,” she commented when no response was immediately apparent. Daniel could kind of make out Tak at this point, but it was dark down there. “Not that kind but, as if your interest in us was shallow. Like we were characters in a story, rather than real people you were watching. Those moments you stole were the hardest of our lives.”

  “I didn’t know it would be like that,” Daniel repeated for what had to have been the tenth time. “All I had cared about was getting Dad back, and when I realized what had happened I just, I tried to make it work. It wasn’t as if I could change anything, not until the other Daniel found out how to get to me, but by then…”

  There was a moment of silence, Gadriel mostly ignoring the conversation out of respect while kneeling, peering at Tak. The kitten was ignored and glad for it.

  “You care. I get that now. You seemed so different from Daniel, you are different, but he would have done something like this too.” She laughed to herself softly. It was a beautiful sound. “For what good it did.”

  “Let me shine a light down there,” Daniel offered, pulling his phone from his pocket.

  “Ah, the original,” Gadriel noted. “I recall hearing once that your Focus was based on designs from elsewhere.”

  “They’re kind of different, but it’s not important now.” Daniel flicked on the flashlight and brought it over to the broken cage. “I just hope he’s- oh my god.”

  “Tak!?” Evalyn shouted down.

  “Stand clear!” Gadriel hacked at the cage, tearing away a larger section before jumping down.

  “I don’t believe it,” Lograve said, revealing he was almost next to Daniel. “Did you know this would happen?”

  Daniel just shook his head numbly in disbelief. The three watched as Gadriel checked Tak before giving an affirmative, slinging the unconscious body over his shoulder. Despite the distance, Daniel could tell for sure. Tak had reverted to his normal form.