I went to a diner with Julia and Keran today, because we were all getting fucking bored with that cramped friggin hideout we've been staying in. Keran was initially hesitant, but Julia convinced her that they'd all be safe because I'm a fucking badass and no one's gonna fuck with me.

"So, what's your deal?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Keran asked.

"Why's Sal serious about your safety?" I asked. "Do those Emissary punks have beef with you too?"

"Well, no," she said. "I don't know anything about them. Or their boss."

"So why's he so damn protective of you?" I asked.

"Sal's pretty protective of all his employees," Julia said.

"Oh, please," I said. "There's gotta be more to it than that."

"It's complicated," Keran replied.

"Does it have something to do with your super powers?" I asked.

Julia almost choked on a bite of her eggs while Keran awkwardly glanced out the window.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

"Justin says you can sprout strings from your fingers," I said.

She stared down at her plate nervously.

"He noticed those...?" she asked.

"Not the most impressive power I've seen," I said. "But I bet you've got more tricks up your sleeve, right?"

"I'm... uh... not supposed to use them," she said. "Not around other people, anyway."

"You let Justin catch  glimpse of them," I said.

"I didn't think Sal would send some rando to wake me up!" she said defensively. "And I was tired! I just figured he wouldn't remember or not notice..."

"No such luck," I said. "So what else can you do?"

"Sal says I need to keep my gifts secret," she said. "He says I'm special. My powers are rarer than rare."

"And now I wish I was eating steak," I said, glaring angrily at my scrambled eggs, which I pushed over to Julia. "Finish these for me! I'm mad at them..."

"Okay..." Julia said.

"Come on," I said to Keran. "Show me something."

"I shouldn't," she insisted.

"No one's looking at us right now," Julia said. "It'll be fine."

After a minute of hesitation, Keran stuck a butter knife into her glass of orange juice and took a deep breath. I felt the air around us grow a bit colder as her glass fogged up and her juice solidified into a chuck of ice. She twisted the knife a bit and pulled the frozen orange juice out of the glass.

"Ta-da," she said timidly. "Instant popsicle."

"It's still not steak," I said, making sure to sound as disappointed as possible.

"Sorry," Keran said.

"Ciel's just kidding," Julia said. "That's pretty neat."

"So Sal doesn't want you using your powers, huh?" I asked.

"He says they're dangerous," she replied.

"So why not learn to use them?" I asked. "You might even be able to fight with them if you train enough."

"I don't know," she said. "I think Sal would get pretty mad at me."

"Fuck Sal," I said. "He's in another dimension, what the fuck is he gonna do about it?"

"She's got a point," Julia said. "Ciel and I could help you train."

"It'll be fun," I said. "I doubt you'll even need Sal's protection when we get done with you."

"I guess...," Keran muttered. "Maybe... it couldn't hurt..."

"There you go!" I said. "Now let's ditch this place and go find somewhere that serves steak."

So we paid our tab and made our way out of the diner. On our way out, I noticed this guy sitting in a booth a ways away from us, eating a strawberry sundae. Now, normally, this wouldn't be so odd. Except he had a sheathed longsword leaning on the bench beside him. Who the fuck brings a sword into a diner, and why did no one bother to do anything about it. He caught me staring at him, and he gave me this cocky little wink. I glared at him for a few seconds before leaving. Fucking weirdo...

New Scythe

Took a while, but I managed to purchase a brand new scythe, as well as a whetstone to sharpen it with. As I got to that, we all began discussing where to go from here.

"We should keep moving," Rachel said. "If we stay in one place too long, we're gonna be found."

"Rachel has a point," I said. "Hiding out isn't gonna get us anywhere."

"Call me Algeria," she insisted.

"No," I replied.

"So where do we move to?" Terrence asked.

"We still have to find the Hooded Guy," I said.

"Who?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, he's this guy," I said. "In a hood. I promised his sister I'd find him."

"Does he have a name?" Rachel asked.

"Probably," I said. "Never told me. Never asked."

"So where do we find him?" she asked.

"No clue," I said. "Any ideas, Sal?"

"Honestly, he's more likely to find us," Sal said.

"How so?" Rachel asked.

"He has very good eyesight," Sal said.

Rachel turned back to me.

"So how come you'll use Valon's nickname and not mine?" she asked.

"Because, unlike you, Sal has my respect," I told her.

I set down my whetstone and examined the outer edge of the new scythe.

"Perfect," I said.

I stood up and gave it a few practice swings. The blade made a satisfying whooshing noise as it cut through the air.

"Can't wait to test this aby out on the next idiot who tries to fuck with us," I said. "God, I hope it's Henry..."

"That didn't take you very long," Rachel said.

"You think this this is the first scythe I've sharpened?" I asked.

I stood the scythe up on its pole, and gave it a spin. It spun for a moment before falling over, pointing off in a random direction.

"Alright," I said. "Let's go that way."

"Is that how you make all of your choices?" Rachel asked.

"Meh," I replied. "Let's res up a few more minutes, then get a move on.

Reunion

Terrence here.

Um, Algeria and I got into some trouble. Some Oathbreakers and Slender Proxies ganged up on us. To busy licking my wounds to go into details, but we ended up killing a couple before being backed into a corner by the rest of them.

Then Sal Deus Ex Machina'd the crap out of the situation by teleporting in and decapitating two of them with his sword.

Then Justin showed up with his damaged scythe and the two of them made short work of the others.

Afterwards, Sal and Algeria made eye contact.

"Rachel," Sal said.

"Valon," Algeria replied.

"Wait, you two know each other?" I asked.

"Let's just say the SMSC has caused me some... issues in the past," Sal replied.

So, uh, yeah. We're with Justin and Sal now. That's nice. I think Algeria might be worried that I'll betray her, now I have more teammate. But that won' happen. We could use all the teammates we can get. Or trust, at least. And I don't think Algeria will be gunning any of us down any time soon.

So yeah. More allies. Whoo-hoo!

Waking Up

So, had an interesting dream concerning Daniel. We were in this vast, open space, with a stone floor and dark skies. He was sitting down, panting. I approached him.

"Haven't seen you in a while," I said. "How you doing?"

"You probably shouldn't have come here," he said.

"Where?" I asked. "The dream world?"

"The Board," he replied. "It's uh... This place is all wrong."

"How so?" I asked.

"You know how I turn to stone when the sun comes up the waking world, right?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, I remember tha," I asked. "Why is that important?"

"That's basically my version of sleeping," he said. "Helps me relax, recharge, all that good shit. I don't know if you've noticed, but the Board has no sun."

"Oh," I said.

He's right. There's no sun on the Board. The sky seems to darken occasionally, which I've taken to associating with night time, but that's about it.

"Yeah," he said. "Haven't been stone in a while. A little stressed out."

"Sorry, man," I said. "I didn't realize this would affect you."

"It's alright," he said. "Better than, you know, getting gunned down by proxies and all. But maybe find a way out of this place soonish?"

"No promises," I said. "But I'll try."

"One other messed up thing about the Board though," he said, gesturing above him. "Look up."

I have no fucking clue how I missed it, but there were massive bubbles floating in the air above us. LOTS of them. I couldn't even count them all. A few of them seemed to be playing videos of stuff that I couldn't quite make out.

"What are these," I asked.

"These," Daniel said. "Are the subconscious minds of everyone else on the Board. The players, the Cards, and even..."

He gestured to one bubble, high above us, hat, unlike all the others, was shrouded in darkness.

"...The Game Master himself," Daniel finished. "Somehow, being here has put me in contact with all of them."

"Holy shit," I gasped.

"I'm only used to being in touch with one person at a time," he said. "All this... well, it's overwhelming to say the least..."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I had no idea..."

"Oh, I haven't even gotten to the icing on the cake yet," Daniel said. "Some of these other players are fucking insane. And that's not a comfortable thing to be linked up to."

He raised a hand, and one of the bubbles floated over to him. It was showing images of some messed up, gory shit, and up close, I could see a darkness surrounding it as well, though not nearly as intense as the Game Master's bubble.

"This guys particularly brutal," Daniel said. "You've met him before. Just... not in this universe."

"Quick question," I asked. "Why are some of these showing images and shit?"

"Those are the one's that are sleeping," he said. "Dreaming."

"So who is this nutcase, anyway?" I asked. "And in what universe's have I met him?"

Daniel snapped his finger, and we were suddenly in what appeared to be the below deck area of a ship. A man was kneeling on the ground, heavily wounded. He had long, greasy black hair, and dark clothing. Standing over him, holding a machete, was another man, dressed in a bloodstained hoody, with a white, plastic mask covering his face.

"The Faceless Bastard," I muttered.

"You know him?" Daniel asked.

"Doubt there's a servant alive who hasn't at least heard his name in passing," I said. "Pretty sure he's commented on my blog before..."

I continued watching the scene. The Faceless Bastard raised his machete, about to deal the killing blow, when another version of me showed up and tripped him with his scythe. The Faceless Bastard got back up and turned to the other me angrily. Before the rest of the fight could play out, the scene ended, and we were back on the stone ground.

"Sorry," Daniel said. "Playing those alternate universe flashbacks can be a bit... draining..."

"So, the Faceless Bastard is here, in this tournament?" I asked.

"You'd know that if you read other people's blogs," Daniel said. "But yes. Sergei Korchaviv is one of the opponent's you may come across in this game."

"Well," I said. "Better be prepared for that shit."

Daniel chuckled.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"It's a little amusing," Daniel said. "In that universe I just showed you, the two of you actually end up becoming friends."

Our conversation ended there. Sal shook me awake, saying we were close to Terrence and that we should get moving. So I decided to type all this out real quick.

The 8 Of Clubs

So as soon as I finished reading Terrence's post, I asked Sal about the shop he mentioned. Sal grabbed my shoulder and teleported us right outside.

"Holy fuck!" I said, stumbling over in shock. "I still don't understand how you do that."

"You don't need to understand," Sal said.

"We just came straight here," I pointed out. "Usually when people teleport, they pass through another domain or something. At least briefly."

"Not me," Sal said.

"That doesn't make a whole lot of sense," I pointed out.

"My teleportation wasn't designed to work," he said. "It was designed to be efficient."

"Could you use it to get us back to the real world?" I asked.

"No," he said. "I'm limited to whatever world I'm in at the time."

"Oh," I said. "Well, I guess we'd better get to finding where Terrence is. Guess I'll go inside and ask."

"I'll wait out here," Sal said. "Don't do anything stupid."

I went in. There were a couple people inside getting supplies or whatever. The masked guy Terrence mentioned was behind the counter, reading some kind of dirty magazine. He had long black hair, and was wearing a red jacket. I went up to him to ask about Terrence.

"Hey," I said. "I'm looking for someone."

"I can't help you," the man replied.

"He's a friend of mine," I said.

"Too bad," the man said. "Can't give away locations."

"Come on, man," I said. "He's in trouble and I wanna help him."

"Rules are rules, Justin," the man said. Not sure how he knew my name, but whatever.

"Whatever," I said. "I'll find him my fucking self."

"Watch your language," he said.

I turned away, planning to ask the other people there. I paused on my way over to them as I realized something. I looked back at the guy in the mask.

The red coat. The greasy black hair. I had seen this guy before.

I strained for a minute, trying to remember. I looked at his mask. The club symbol and the number 8.

And then I remembered. The night I met with Henry and Derek. At Sal's. Table number 8, in the club seat. This guy had been sleeping there.

"I know you," I said.

"Hm?" he asked.

"The night I met with those proxies at Sal's," I said. "You were there. You were listening."

Realizations began piling up one by one.

"You're the one who followed us," I said. "You watched our fight with Oceana. You..."

I felt a sudden wave of anger wash over me.

"You're the one who marked Terrence and the Hooded Guy for this tournament!" I snapped.

The man sighed, and set down his magazine.

"It was you, wasn't it!" I demanded. "Answer me, you fucking bastard!"

"Please," he said, speaking slowly. "Watch. Your. Language."

"Fuck you!" I shouted. "Tell me where Terrence is, asshole!"

The man stood up. Something suddenly felt very wrong about him. When he spoke, his voice was much more assertive and threatening.

"He said, watch you LANGUAGE!"

With that last word, he raised a hand and shot a ball of fucking fire at me. I swung my scythe in an effort to defend myself. I was sort of successful. I burnt my coat, and part of my scythe's blade got melted, but other that that, unharmed.

Sal suddenly appeared right next to me and grabbed me by the arm. He and the masked man looked at each other for a second before Sal teleported us elsewhere.

"I thought I told you not to do anything stupid," he said.

"Have we met?" I asked sarcastically.

I stood up, examining the damage done to my scythe.

"He's the reason Terrence is here," I said. "That mother fucking-"

"Calm down, Justin," Sal demanded. "Let's just start looking."

So yeah. That fucking happened. "I'll need to find another shop somewhere so that I can get a new scythe. I've killed a few people here, so I should be able to get something with the points I have left.

I'm still in the area, so Terrence, if you're reading this, let's keep an eye out for each other.

Agent

Terrence here.

I spoke to "Algeria" earlier about that crazy ice bullet of hers.

"Just what is that thing?" I asked. "Some kind of magic?"

"I told you," she said. "It's a last resort, and I don't want to get into it."

"Oh, come on," I said. "We're teammates, aren't we?"

"Temporary teammates," she said. "I don't have to tell you anything."

I sighed. I decided it was probably time to stop playing stupid.

"Whatever," I said. "Still, it's pretty crazy to think  the SMSC has the budget to make hat kind of ammunition..."

Next thing I knew, she had her gun out and pointed at my head.

"How did you-?" she started to asked.

"Oh, please," I said. "You're not named after a country. The name you gave me is short for Algeria Touchshriek. Honestly, not Bowie's best work."

Explanation time. There's an anti-Fear organization called the SMSC. All the agents use the titles of David Bowie songs as aliases.

"So, you know who I am," she said. "Good for you."

"And I assume you've got me all figured out too, right?" I asked.

"You're acting awfully calm, Timberwolf," she said.

"That's because I know you won't shoot me," I said.

"What makes you think that?" she asked.

I raised a cheap glass jar full of water into the air. Floating in the water was a stoppered vial filled with a powdered substance.

"Because if you do, I'll drop this," I said.

"What's in there?" She demanded.

"Oh, in the vial?" I said. "That would be rubidium. And that's some pretty low quality glass. Easily breakable."

I smirked at her expression.

"You do know what water does to rubidium, right?" I asked.

"You're bluffing," she said.

"Am I?" I asked.

She slowly lowered her gun.

"That's better," I said. "So, now that we know each other a bit better, shall we get moving?"

"You think I'm still gonna side with you?" she asked.

"You've known I was a Timberwolf since we met," I said. "I'm not asking you to trust me, but it would be mutually beneficial if we stuck together.

"Fine," she said, holstering her gun. "I'll stick around. For now."

"Good," I said. "By the way, I was bluffing.

I casually threw the jar some distance away. It shattered, and a couple seconds later, the chemical reaction occurred, and the powder exploded in a small puff of white smoke.

"There wasn't enough rubidium in there to do any real damage," I said. "Might've had to dig some glass shards out of your shins, but that'd been the worst of it."

"I see," she said. "That being said, you just wasted a potential smoke bomb/shin destroyer."

"Eh," I replied. "That only cost me like, 25 points to throw together. Not a huge loss."

We started walking again after that.

"So," she asked after a while. "Does your family know about it?"

"Know about what?" I asked. "My sick chemistry skills?"

"You know what I'm talking about," she said.

"Why do you care?" I asked. "They don't, if you must ask."

"I see," she said. "So you never felt the need to tell mommy and daddy McCleary that you're a cold, ruthless murderer?"

"There is no 'daddy McCleary'," I told her. "It's my mother's name."

"Why'd you take her name instead of your father's?" Algeria asked.

"I don't have a father," I replied.

"If that's your idea of a Freudian excuse, it's a pretty poor one," she said. "Not to mention cliché as hell."

"Whatever," I said. "Does your family know you're wasting your life fighting a losing battle against literal gods that you can't hope to kill?"

"Get fucked," she replied.

So that was the end of that conversation. By the way, we came across a shop recently. It was ran by a guy with a club mask and the number 8 on it. We're still in that general area, so if Sal knows it, then get here fast, Justin.