Path to the Apocalypse

Andrew studied the core of the machine he'd killed earlier, frowning slightly. It was such a weird little thing. Its aura was condensed, like a crystal, but it actually had a core. His aura extended to examine the core as his frown deepened. Was this thing alive? Andrew paused, activating his Human ability. If the core was alive… Andrew clicked his tongue as the core failed to show up. It must not have an ability. Andrew then grabbed the core's core with his aura, dragging it out. Without the machine, the thing was pretty much useless anyway. Might as well see what he could get out of it, right?

However, as he pulled the core in, it did something weird. It immediately latched onto his Lizard core and copied it! Additionally, it actually seemed to steal aura from the Lizard core, its aura strengthening while the Lizard's weakened. "Hey!" Andrew protested in a panic, attempting to stop it. He wasn't about to let some weird core make his weaker! Instinctually, he grabbed the aura, yanking it out of the new core and stuffing it back into the Lizard core. Unfortunately, he ended up taking out all the aura, and the new core immediately winked out, disappearing.

Andrew blinked. "Huh… that was weird." He muttered. He turned his attention back to his cores. He'd been practicing manipulating his aura, but he'd never tried to move it like that before. Not between cores. He examined the cores hesitantly, before grabbing the aura in his Lizard core again and carefully shifting it towards his Monkey core, slowly feeding it into it. His eyes widened as he felt the range of his emotion sense grow. "Ho-ly shit!" He exclaimed, jumping to his feet. This was huge! This was really, really huge!

*Andrew? What happened? Why are you freaking out?* Cathryn sent through their connection as she noticed his excitement, a little bit of grouchiness seeping through. She'd been trying to go to sleep when he'd suddenly erupted.

*Pay attention to your emotion sense, particularly the edge of the range.* Andrew sent back as he began moving aura back and forth between the Lizard and Monkey cores, causing the range to grow and shrink rapidly.

Cathryn's eyes widened. *How are you doing that?!?* She asked incredulously.

*Aura manipulation!* Andrew exclaimed. *You know how the strength of an aura determines the strength of an ability?*

*Yeah?* Cathryn sent back hesitantly, wondering what he was getting at.

*Well, apparently, I can move my aura between my cores, strengthening one and weakening the other! So, I can make sure the abilities I need at any given moment are as strong as possible!* Andrew explained excitedly.

Cathryn frowned. *That's great, but weren't you already complaining about your opponents being too weak?* She asked skeptically. *Wouldn't that just make things worse for you?*

Andrew paused. *Uh… shit, you're right.* He frowned, before perking up. *It'll help me fight stronger people in the Arena!*

Cathryn scowled. *You're still waiting to make sure it doesn't affect us in school.*

Andrew rolled his eyes. *I know. But school is easy and the Arena shouldn't take too much time. At least, as long as I just do the Rankings, not the Tournaments. Just pop in for a quick fight or two over the weekend or something. That should be fine, right?*

Cathryn hesitated. *I guess…*

*How about we head over this weekend to try it out?* Andrew suggested. *School isn't going to ramp up for a few more weeks anyway, so even if it does take more time than we thought, it won't really hurt us.*

Cathryn sighed. *Fine. But if this messes up my GPA, I will make you pay!*

*

Over the next few days, they all began to settle into the flow of the school year. Li Jing was having fun meeting new people and making friends. She even joined the swim team, which Andrew thought was kind of cheating, but she was having fun, so he was happy for her. As for Cathryn, she was already firmly entrenched in the student council, which Andrew was convinced gave her more stress than enjoyment, but she insisted on doing it anyway, so he wasn't going to push her. Which just left Andrew himself…

"You have to join a club!" Cathryn insisted.

"I really don't think I do." Andrew retorted. "What would I even do?"

"You could join a sports team." Li Jing offered.

"What would be the point?" Andrew replied. "I pretty much just choose whether I win or lose based on how much of my aura I let out. There's no competition!"

"So how about you do something mental? Like the chess club!" Cathryn countered.

"Yes, because a bunch of skittish nerds are going to feel so comfortable just hanging out with the class psycho." Andrew grumbled.

"Andrew, you can't think like that." Li Jing chastised him softly. "You should at least give them a chance. Maybe they'll surprise you."

Andrew grimaced. "What if they don't give me a chance? They all see me as this monster who would just as soon kill them as look at them."

"So show them you're different!" Cathryn retorted. "You always avoid people, hiding because you're scared of how they're going to look at you, but if you actually tried, they'd be able to see how great you really are!"

"I'm not scared-" Andrew began defensively.

"Andrew, I'm literally in your head." Cathryn stopped him with a look. "I know how much you hate being rejected, but you can't avoid people just because you're scared of being hurt! Just try the chess club, alright?"

"I'm not scared-" Andrew began again, getting frustrated.

"Then why not join the chess club?" Li Jing interjected with a grin.

"Because- ugh, fine! I'll join the damn chess club!" Andrew threw up his hands in exasperation.

"Great! Let's get you signed up now!" Cathryn jumped up excitedly, grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the club sign-ups.

"W-wait, now?!?" Andrew asked nervously. "Can't we wait til next week or something?"

"Nope! We're doing it now!" Cathryn shook her head, continuing to pull him along.

"But shouldn't we focus on school for this first week?" Andrew protested.

Cathryn snorted. "Seriously?"

Andrew grimaced, but he was already grasping at straws. He had to hang around after school anyway because of the girls' clubs, so he really had no excuse. He just did not want to deal with people acting all weird around him. He wasn't scared! Cathryn just ignored him and got him signed up for the chess club. Even worse, the club's first meeting was that evening! Andrew didn't even have time to get ready before Cathryn was dragging him towards the room and shoving him through the door, drawing the attention of everyone in the room!

*Introduce yourself!* Cathryn prodded him mentally, elbowing him slightly.

"H-hey, I'm Andrew…" Andrew introduced himself, giving them all a small wave. A range of emotions emanated from the kids in the room. Some, those who obviously knew Andrew's reputation, looked at him nervously, clearly wondering what he was doing here. Others just seemed to be curious or even slightly amused by how awkward he was.

*Give them time.* Cathryn comforted him. *They aren't rejecting you, they just don't know you yet.* She assured him, before stepping out and heading to her own club.

"Hey Andrew!" An upbeat girl, one of the ones who seemed to be amused by his greeting, stepped forward. "I'm Cecilia. Have you ever played chess before?"

Andrew nodded. "My parents taught me."

"Oh cool! Do you want to play a quick game?" She asked.

"I guess." Andrew shrugged.

Cecilia led him to a table, setting out a chess map and a clock. "Have you ever played with a clock before?" She asked.

"No, but I know the concept." Andrew replied, taking a seat across from her and beginning to set up his side of the board. Cecilia started the game with a classic king's pawn opening, which Andrew mirrored for a bit, until she tried to lure him into a trap, forcing him to shake things up. Cecilia frowned as Andrew forced her into a trade which ended with her down a pawn, getting a serious expression on her face as she stared at the board. Unfortunately for her, Andrew had been taught by his parents, who'd both been playing the game for centuries now, so every trick she came up with was quickly countered or subverted. It didn't take long before she had to tip her king over.

"Wow." Cecilia muttered, pushing back from the table. "You're good!"

Andrew flushed slightly at her sincerity. "Uh, thanks… My parents have been playing for a while, so they taught me a few tricks."

"They must be pretty good, huh?" Cecilia responded.

"They're… experienced." Andrew replied hesitantly. "They've seen a lot, so they know a lot. Which, I guess, is its own form of being good…"

Cecilia gave him a weird look, before shaking her head. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the others. Maybe see if Robert is free to play! He's the best in the club, but I think you could give him a run for his money."

Cecilia showed him around, introducing him to the other members of the club, which included a surprising amount of girls. Andrew had been of the opinion that chess was something for nerdy guys, but apparently it was for nerdy girls too. Not that there were a lot of them, but there wasn't a lot of anyone. The club was pretty small, just fourteen people including Andrew and Cecilia, and five of them were girls, again including Cecilia.

"Now we need four more girls to even things out." A guy named Tim grumbled as he shook Andrew's hand. "Do you think you could convince your girlfriend to join too?"

Andrew gave him a weird look. "She has student council."

Tim clicked his tongue. "Damn." He frowned, as if considering a problem. "If we get one more guy, the ratio will be two to one… acceptable." He muttered. "Maybe I could rope in Calvin."

"Is there something… up with him?" Andrew leaned closer to Cecilia to ask in a whisper.

"We think he has OCD." Cecilia whispered back. "He's a good guy though, don't worry."

Andrew blinked at that, a weird feeling welling up inside him. Almost like he was jealous of Tim. Like- like he wanted to be the one people said 'don't worry, he's a good guy' about. "I bet he is." Andrew muttered, giving Tim a significant look. He wasn't about to dismiss someone just for being a little weird.

Cecilia continued to introduce him around, getting to the people who had been almost avoiding him up until now. "Oh, Andrew, this is Robert!" Cecilia announced, literally grabbing the guy before he could run away.

"H-Hey." Robert greeted Andrew nervously, his eyes shifting as he looked for a way to leave.

Andrew grimaced at him. "Dude, I'm just here to play chess. I'm not going to hurt you."

Robert froze while Cecilia looked at him weirdly. "Why would you hurt him?" She asked with a frown.

"I wouldn't." Andrew grumbled bitterly as Robert's nervousness spiked, feeding off his growing irritation.

Cecilia looked between Andrew and Robert, her frown deepening. "Okay, what's going on here? Do you two know each other?"

"We don't know each other." Andrew replied, crossing his arms as he stared at Robert. "Which rumor did you hear? That I'm from some sort of mob family? I'm being trained as a child assassin? I'm a Vampire?" Andrew frowned. "Why is it always Vampire? I like garlic and I'm always outside! It makes no sense!"

Robert blinked at him. "Uh, no… I- uh… do- do you not remember me?"

Andrew paused. "No?"

Robert flushed. "I- we used to- I was one of- the three of us-" He stammered, struggling to get the words out, before pausing and taking a deep breath. "I was friends with Eric."

Andrew's eyes widened as he finally put the pieces together, matching Robert's name and face to one of the two guys who were always with Eric, helping him bully Andrew and Benjamin. "Oh."

Robert's flush deepened. "Yeah…"

Andrew frowned. "I thought you moved."

"N-no, my parents just homeschooled me until high school…" Robert explained.

"Ah, that makes sense." Andrew nodded. "So… you aren't scared of me?"

"Oh, no, I'm definitely scared of you." Robert replied, shaking his head. "You're jacked and have more than enough reason to be mad at me! You could probably kick my ass with both hands tied behind your back! Why we ever thought it was a good idea to pick on you is beyond me." He shuddered.

"Dude, I'm not going to hold something you did five years ago against you." Andrew assured him.

Robert eyed him hesitantly. "Are you sure? We were awful to you. I'd understand if you wanted some pay back."

Andrew snorted. "I think what happened to Eric is worse than anything you guys did to me. If anything, I should be apologizing to you."

Robert grimaced. "That- you couldn't have known what would happen, and you've probably suffered more than any of us because of it. I know for a fact Jimmy is the source of at least a few of the rumors going around about you."

Andrew frowned at that, before shaking his head. "That's a different issue. If Jimmy is still being an asshole, then yeah, I'm going to be angry at him, but you're obviously different now, so why would I hate you for a person you no longer even are?"

Robert smiled slightly at that. "I- thank you." He paused. "I still have to apologize for the person I was… I'm sorry." He apologized seriously.

"It's- it's fine, man. I'm sorry for what happened too." Andrew apologized as well, holding out his hand. Robert grabbed it and they shook hands firmly.

"Wow… you guys sound like you have history." Cecilia commented in a slightly stunned tone. She turned to Robert. "If I'm hearing this right… you used to be his bully?!?"

Robert flushed. "I- I wasn't a good kid when I was younger. I didn't see how much what I did hurt people… I just thought it was funny."

"Wow… I can't even imagine that. You're so sweet now!" Cecilia shook her head in disbelief.

Andrew smiled as Robert's flush deepened. It was actually somewhat nice to see his old bully actually being better. Proof that people could change. His expression fell as he realized Eric never got the chance. Who knew how he could have ended up if Andrew hadn't stolen any chance he'd ever have to be better. "So, do you want to play a game?" Robert turned to ask him nervously, shaking him out of his funk.

Andrew smiled again. "Sure."

*

After chess club, Andrew met back up with Li Jing and Cathryn, the three of them heading to the Outside to hunt. They still had a quota to fill for Supply and Demand, so they needed to spend at least a few hours hunting every day. "So Robert is a chess geek now? And he's better than you?" Cathryn asked incredulously.

"Well, barely. He won two out of three, and they were all close. But still, super weird, isn't it?" Andrew shook his head in disbelief. "The way people can change sometimes… it's kinda impressive."

Cathryn sighed sadly, her thoughts turning to her father. "It makes it that much more depressing when they don't."

Andrew hesitated. "Yeah…" He agreed, his mind wandering towards Eric again.

Li Jing nodded as well as she thought about her parents. "Sucks."

Andrew snorted. "That does about sum it up, doesn't it? The people you actually want to change seem to do everything they can not to, while people you barely even notice seem to change like that." He snapped his fingers with an irritated expression.

"Yeah, some people just need to be dragged kicking and screaming into everything." Cathryn rolled her eyes, elbowing Andrew.

Andrew flushed as he followed her train of thought. "I just don't see why I should put all this effort into making nice with a bunch of people who are just going to die on me." He mumbled under his breath, knowing it was a weak excuse, and getting weaker.

Li Jing hooked her arm through his, patting it lightly. "There, there. You'll get there eventually."