Leave The Monster Alone

The dense canopy of mutated trees had not yet sprouted too big, still in their juvenile stages and it would be so easy to crush them right now. That was sure about future threat Mark had a chance to eliminate. All he had to do was to move there and make sure he had his powers fully charged.

But then the door opened and he forgot all about his thoughts from before. Alex exited the room, his eyes pinched together and his expression worried. He also looked lost in thoughts and Mark let him be. No need to add to the other's stress right now.

The human world was so different once you know the truth about it. The life inside there was going on in silence and amusement which Mark envied. He wanted to be in their palace as well, enjoying his life to the fullest but here he was, stuck inside his stupid plan to save it all.

"Mark, did you hear me? We asked you if this palace will be alright for making the base" The female commander, no, Melda asked. Her question revealed her stress about the whole situation and her eyes shifted to look at the other unfinished tasks she needed to get to.

Mark did not understand why she asked him of all people. She was the other with the external information on this issue, so was she not a better choice to make these decisions instead of him? Even if she had lost the connection with the command centre, her knowledge was better than his own.

"Let me see….. Is this place not too far away from necessities? Can we not use the same locations as before? They should still exist in this timeline as well" Mark suggested and he saw the other calculating the possibility inside her mind. He knew what her decision would be even before she made it.

"You are right. I shall send someone to clear those areas away and to take a field check as well. I'm sorry for all this unnecessary questioning" Mark shook off her worry but he was stressed as well. They were all stressed about this situation.

It had been a week since he had been back and everything was slowly going downhill. He had seen how everyone was disorganised and could not agree on anything. All anyone can do was fight each other again and again which made everything even more difficult to handle.

And then there was the fact that there was no leader amongst these people. Melda was doing her best but she, herself, seemed to be undecided at times. She needed a firm hand to guide her in her steps and there was no one to provide her with this.

She had looked at Mark again and again for this role to be taken over but he had decided against it. He did not want the responsibility for human lives to fall back on his shoulder. He would not survive the burden should it be placed on his shoulder. 

At last Luan's training was coming along rather nicely. The other's body likely remembered some of the training he had done before and it adapted rather quickly to these motions as he did them. Mark had not even needed to go there to know that Luna had caught up to everyone's skill level.

Yun and Alex had taken to looking for more information while Kuro had decided to follow Mark around again as well. She had wanted to find Rika and Alan as well but he had stopped her from leaving. It was better of those two did not get involved this time at all.

Well, Rika's involvement was a given so it only left Alan to be excluded. Had 'his' Alan been here, he would have silently thrown a fit to get his way but this was not his child. This was a past self of him that did not know these things. As such, it was better to leave him alone for now.

"We have the footage secured. Mark, if you will" Melda asked and Mark nodded. He raised his fist and his system shined in clear vision. The sensors picked it up and decided to scan it in hope of decoding it.

"We have a copy of the code now" Mark brought his hand back down, his work done for the day. He should not have waited this long to do this but it was finally done nonetheless. He checked his system for any kind of danged and nothing popped up.

He had not activated his system yet so that these formalities could be dealt with. When he went to sleep at night, it finally came - the message and he was back in the pst once again.

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Initiating story reboot: correcting story path

Progress: 5%

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Mark was back there. Back in the most terrifying moment of his life. The surroundings were hazy and everything looked as if it was being looked through a red filter.

The dogs were in front of him, still small and friendly. Still eating the food he gave them and he was terrified. He could see them turning into something more horrifying. Something that could tear him apart without any effort at all.

Mark was filled with fear.

Why was he here again? Surely this was a dream of his? There was no way he was back there while his brain had conjured this dream up. But why was it doing this to him?

Wasn't he passed this?

It was similar but not the same. No, it was not daytime but rather night. The details were not clear but he could feel himself not in control - neither of his actions nor his emotions. The world was too blurry, almost to the point of it being intentional.

His hands were petting the dogs and his lips were moving but everything was muffled in his eyes and his ears. It was only a matter of time now before the unforgettable happened.

It was such a relaxing picture but the red filter and the detached senses made everything much more solemn.

He was standing up now, leaving the place just like the day before and the feeling of dread just kept on piling up high inside his heart. It was overwhelming as the picture of the dogs turning into monsters just kept flashing in his eyes.

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Progress updated: initialising original plot progression

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The voice was the only warning before it happened again. Just like the day before the dogs were mutating. Mark wanted to move but the horrible realisation passed over him.

Whatever was trapping him here was making it impossible for Mark to move at all. Unlike the daytime, he could not move right now and it could only mean one thing - he would die right here and right now.

He would die here all alone without anyone in sight. No one would know he was even here and what would happen to all the people then?

He had things to accomplish. He needed to clear the air out with En, he had patients to see and so much more. He had a life to live but he would die here - in an unknown place.

He wanted to live.

There was a gasp behind him, a terrified tone in that voice. However, how could that be possible at all? There was no one around, there was supposed to be one around.

The dogs turned toward the voice behind him and it made him tense even more. Was there another life to be lost along with him? Liam had never mentioned it but he had also refused to say anything about it.

This time Mark's body decided to turn around by itself. It felt as if something was controlling his actions and he could not stop it from moving at all.

As soon as he saw the face, he knew who it was. Luna - the teen he had met, the apparent protagonist of this world and perhaps the only hope of this world. He had hoped for the other as well, ones that he could not carry himself but he knew the other would be able to.

But there was a huge difference this time than before and it was that Luna was aware of what it all meant. Not that it changed much for anyone. Mark knew what was coming and he also knew he had no easy way to change it all.

Rather, it was better to say that he could not change it at all without alerting the higher power, the very thing they all had been trying to avoid this long and Mark had to play along for now. This all would end soon and Mark would witness the world that emerged beyond these hardships. 

He only had so much to endure after all and he had already once gone through it. Luna would get through it as well soon enough and their story would have a happy end, whatever that meant for him.. He had to just hold on for a little longer.