Exploring the Gateway

John woke up that day to an unfamiliar alarm and an even more unfamiliar place. It took him a moment to recall the events of the previous night, but there was no time to dwell on them. He rushed out of the bed and collected his clothes which had been strewn about the room. Equipping them through his inventory as Alice began waking up. Still in a rush, he kissed her lightly on the lips and whispered a soft goodbye as she awoke, going to exit the room before she responded.

“Morning…” She whispered, not entirely awake yet. John barely heard her as he was already at the door, and didn’t wait any longer. He exited the room and went down the stairs with quick steps. There was no time to waste, as he had no idea when he was expected in the first Plane. 

Life, on the other hand, had a different notion of how events would occur. Alice’s mother, Hanna Wright, soon interrupted him as he was heading for the door. She had spotted him as he rushed by the kitchen and stepped out to meet him, her body standing in the way of his mad dash. 

His interactions with her had always been positive, but he had not seen her even once in the last three years. When looking at her, it was obvious where Alice had inherited her beauty from. She had the same green eyes and long brown hair, and her face, which was similarly beautiful in appearance, was barely marred by age. Their build was also almost identical, though obviously more impacted by the hardship of her life. Loose skin and visible bones showed a much more gaunt and lank appearance than her daughter’s thin but healthy body.

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you here again…” she started, though a smile crossed her face, “if it had to be anybody, I suppose at least it was you,” she continued, a sigh of relief was heard as well, “I see you’re hurrying off somewhere, but there’s one thing you need to hear. Her father isn’t here anymore, but that doesn’t mean that if you hurt her again there won’t be consequences. Is that understood John?” she shot him a look that could best be described as murderous in intent. Genuinely scared, he nodded quickly, “good, I’ll let you go now. We’ll see you at dinner?” the look returned, it was a demand and not a question.

“I’ll try my best,” was all John could muster before going through the door.

The first thing he did once went outside was text his parents that he was ok. Yesterday, he had told them he would need to go back a day early due to a test he apparently hadn’t passed, but that he would be in touch this time. Afterwards, he stood there for a while, not knowing what to do next. His answer came without his involvement when he was pulled into an alley for the second time since he got his powers..

“Hey Ember!” his tone was genuinely friendly. She was still one of the only people John knew from the council, and the only one he trusted further than he could throw her.

“Hey,” she said that and nothing more, but her face showed what was behind the mask. It passed between confusion at his friendliness and a slight smile seconds later. Regardless, she was intent on not standing around there for too long, “alright, now we can get to what I’m here for. I need to show you the other gate in the warehouse and give you a key for it. It’ll lead us to HQ. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. There is a gate like that, I promise,” she said as if anticipating his surprise at the existence of that gate. She paused for a moment before continuing, “and, I’m sorry about the last time we met...” that was clearly all she wanted to say on the subject, as she began moving once again towards the industrial district. She signaled him to follow her, and this time he did without hesitation.

---

An hour or so later, they had reached the warehouse which John now knew wasn’t really abandoned. Once they entered, John was handed a black keycard that he immediately put into his inventory. Unlike Ember’s card, it looked to have a picture of him on it. It looked like it was taken recently, so for a while he wondered how they were able to get. That was until his attention was drawn back to Ember as she headed further into the warehouse. She walked up to a completely normal wall. John was confused, looking for something around them to tell him why. With a wave of her black keycard, she revealed it to him. Another door opened, and this time it was hidden inside the wall, making it clear it was of some importance. 

“It’s in here,” she said, disappearing past the door, and John soon followed her through it.

On the other side, he found himself in a smaller space that mostly contained another gate. It was just the same as the others, being carved of white marble and purple liquid connecting both sides of the arch. Now that he knew what to look for, he also noticed runes on it. To his surprise, they were markedly different from the ones he had seen in the first plane. Curious, he looked at them for a minute before Ember tapped his shoulder and stepped through the gate. He did the same not long afterwards. As the purple liquid touched him the world around him shattered, just as it had done every time before. 

With the world reforming around him, he found himself once again in the industrial section of the Council’s HQ. Once he got his bearings Ember led him down a few unknown corridors that arrived at a completely different section of the huge complex. It was built in the same Victorian style as what he had seen before, but was clearly made for a different purpose. Conference rooms and offices were spread all around, and eventually they entered a small classroom. In it were a collection of rather colorful characters.

The room was dominated by the rows of bench-like desks stretching out to the sides of the room from the middle. Being of the same Victorian style, they were made out of carved wood with various strange decorations. In the first row sat two of the five people in the room. A friendly looking woman and a sharply dressed man. She had lightly tanned skin, eyes as blue as the sky and hair that was only a little darker. On her face were tattoos, birds under her eyes and a diamond on her forehead. Her hair was short, but had an elegant styling to it which complemented her face’s more round features. She wore a dark blue shirt that furrowed at the sleeves into threads that almost resembled feathers. That shirt barely hid the tattoos of birds on her shoulders and the white straps of her bra, as one side of it was half pulled down. On her hips she wore a fabric belt that hung like a tail over her white jean shorts. In an almost familiar manner, she was looking out the window, unaware of John’s entrance. 

The man, however, was quite the opposite. His hair and eyes were black, his skin pale, and his clothes were quite a bit more fancy, though obviously less practical. A Victorian suit was neatly stretched over his slender physique giving him, along with his stature, an air about him that was somewhere between arrogant and royal. His face’s sharp features and jaw lent him a general seriousness, but his expression was more fitting of mischievousness. Not only that, but he was looking directly at John with a grin on his face. One of obvious and malicious intent.

Behind them sat another woman in the middle row. She had black hair and fancy clothes as well, though her’s was long and tied in a ponytail. A dress of black and red that stopped right before the knee covered her body, and was followed by entirely black stockings. Her palms were covered by smooth, black fingerless gloves that were clearly made out of some kind of silk. It made John wonder whether they were meant to hide something or only compliment her aesthetic. All of her getup was decorated quite strangely. With a cross was etched into the breast of her dress, and a skull placed on a belt of sorts on her hips. Various other crosses hung from her clothes and body. One on the choker on her neck, another around her wrist, and one hanging from her dress. That was strange, but not particularly noteworthy. More interesting was how she looked, almost distant. Her gaze was entirely on John, but he was sure she was just staring past him. More than that, her eyes were as red as blood, and out of the two sides of her head appeared small red horns. Both framed her attractive, though more cute, face. 

In the last row sat yet another woman. One with short neon pink hair and a sullen expression. The expression did nothing to distract from her quite attractive features, which appeared vaguely Asian. She wore a casual outfit as well, but one obviously colored more outrageously. It was made up of a black tank top and simple shorts that were of an insanely bright blue color. Which was the same color as shown in her eyes. John was sure he could see a blue star in the middle, surrounded by a pink circle and a blue halo, and they were complemented by mascara and eye shadow of the same colors. Floating around her head was another blue halo. It was almost entirely translucent but it was still obviously there, and as she moved her head towards the door, it moved with her.

Having waited for a minute or so, Ember instructed John to sit down. He chose to sit in the right part of the front row, away from the black haired man in the middle and the blue haired woman to the left. At the front of the room stood another familiar face, Graham Black. As Ember left the room, the gruff looking man began speaking.

“You’re all here for the same reason, so I’m not going to waste any time explaining things. I’ll be your instructor for the martial arts part of this course, you’ll meet your other instructors later. Now, follow me,” when he finished, he exited the room with hasty steps. The group soon followed behind him. 

Not wanting to miss this opportunity when they were all there, John hurried to talk to the others. So he  approached the two nearest to him first. Deciding to leave his thoughts about Graham being his teacher for another time.

“Hey, I’m John,” he said to the well dressed young man that was now walking in his direction.

“And I’m not here to exchange pleasantries,” he responded, his tone caustic. He didn’t even stop to face John.

“Don’t mind him, he’s just a fucking dick. Nice to meet you, I’m Yennifer. Though most people call me Yan,” the blue haired woman said, in a significantly lighter tone, though something about it was still distant. She reached out with her hand, and John happily took it. Her shake was firm but somehow also light as well, “guess we’ll be spending some time together… So I’ll see you there,” she said, continuing on and leaving him standing in the classroom. The woman with black hair then passed him by, though far more cautiously.

“I’m Ch-Charlotte… Charlotte R-Reid,” she was clearly nervous, and had a small stutter. Her hands were kept to herself, and with a slight nod she went off in the same direction as the others. It made sense her strange behaviour matched her looks, and John was sure he had spotted slight fangs in her mouth as she spoke.

Unlike her previously sullen expression, the woman who had sat in the last row was excited as she approached John as well.

“Hey! I’m Susan Hollmey. Though I prefer Bass,” that surprised John, as he remembered another Hollmey, with a similar nickname. 

“Are you related to Melody?” he asked before he could think further on it. She gave him an utterly surprised look before finally responding. 

“Yeah, I am. How do you know her, though?” the expression on her face changed from surprise to a mixture of curiosity and fear. 

“I go to the same school,” John quickly lied, there was nothing to be gained by revealing his powers, yet.

“Huh, ok,” she shrugged, “anyways, yeah, I am. Nice to meet you, I guess. If you know her, I’m sure you’re an ok guy,” Bass paused for a bit, “so, you coming?” she asked as she moved to the door. The rest had already disappeared into the corridor.

“Yeah,” John soon followed her and tried striking up a conversation. He wanted to get to know her, both because of her connection to Melody and her being a fellow student. Observe

 wasn’t an option for that either. Since after all, the last two times he had used it sneakily, it had failed or revealed his hand too early, “so, I’m kinda lost. They haven’t told me too much yet. Do you have any idea why we’re here?” he wondered aloud, and she responded with a strange look.

"We're here for our final course as trainees. Still don't know why you're here," she shrugged. Her tone wasn't accusatory, but definitely confused.

“I might have some information then,” he suddenly went quiet, not sure of how and whether to continue. Nonetheless after a bit of walking, he eventually did, “I’m the new explorer, I think. Obviously, I don’t know exactly why they sent me here, but maybe that’ll give you some idea of it?”

“You’re joking, right?” she was obviously flabbergasted, but when John didn’t respond, she continued, “wait… You’re serious? Welp, guess my boss is even fucking younger than I am,” she laughed half bitterly. 

“What do you mean?” now John was once again confused. 

“They sent you here to finish your final training and recruit us, dumbass,” her tone was so vague that John couldn’t tell if she was serious.

“Honestly, I’m not really sure whether you’re joking or not. I’m kind of new to this whole Abyss thing. And ever since I came here, I’ve barely been told anything,” he replied, not taking her words harshly. 

“And a late bloomer too. For Gaia’s sake, where do they get you people…” this time, she was obviously laughing about it. Whether at him or with him, John was less sure, “anyways, guess it’s my job to do the introductions then,” she shook her head in an annoyed fashion, “everyone you just met are the ones who made it through training. A lot of weak people try coming here to escape the rest of the Abyss. They all think it’s some grand new idea no one’s tried before, only to find a hundred more of them are already here. The ones who make it through are those of us who have any actual talent. And I guess if you’re an explorer, you must have some too, even if you’re fucking hillarious,” she chuckled again, “anyways, we’ll get to know each other later. Need to get there before they start without us,” Bass started almost sprinting after the others, as they had already disappeared from their sight behind a set of large doors, and John followed behind her. About a minute later, they passed through the same doors as well. 

Behind them, John found a large courtyard of sorts. It reminded him of his own school’s gym, as various objects that were obviously training implements were placed around or stuffed into the sides of the courtyard. Graham Black was standing in the middle of it. He was trying to instruct Charlotte and Yan with the help of the black haired young man. Shouting something about how to disarm an opponent. John and Bass joined them, and a few minutes later they split into three groups. Apparently, even if this was their final course, they had only barely started basic martial arts training now. That seemed somewhat strange to John, but he didn’t have any time to think about it. He was paired up with Bass, who was a natural at this kind of activity. Unlike her, even with his boosted stats, he was still the scrawny nerd, and he only started to grasp how to disarm her much later. John was quite enthusiastic about learning that, despite his lack of success. It was clear how useful such an ability could be.

They continued practicing a few other basics of the martial art that Graham was teaching until almost two hours later. It was an interesting combination of a few martial arts that focused much more on the ability to apply damage through magic after disarming or disabling the opponent. Eventually, Graham announced that they were done for now and instructed them all to return to the classroom for their exploration lesson.

That’s when John realized this wasn’t any different from his old school.