Visitor

POV: DARREN

*DING*

New Quest! 

-Terror of the Duskborne [Expand for Details]

Darren expanded the prompt with a thought, his interest piqued. 

…

-An increase in FLUX energy has been detected.

-A breach will open in the vicinity in 4 hours, 59 minutes, 47 seconds.

-QUEST OBJECTIVE: Defend against the incursion and seal the breach.

-Do you accept? Y/N

Darren thought silently for a moment, looking around at the other occupants of the room. Kaycee sat cross-legged on the couch, and Aiden and Ava were absorbed with their new Knight's Beacons and Companion Bands. 

Darren had formed a party and invited Kaycee to join, then, once the twins had set up their devices, had invited them as well. Their interaction with EDS was more limited than that of the Knights, but knowing that they were connected to EDS at all brought Darren comfort. 

Darren minimized the prompt that only he saw, and realized Kaycee had gotten the same one. He focused on his HUD, seeing that everyone's health and stamina bars were full. He and Kaycee also had POWER bars, indicating how much of the ambient energy they currently had at their disposal.

Both his and Kaycee's bars were nearly empty, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. They could both activate ABSORB at any point to obtain the POWER they needed. 

The television screen across the room continued to flash images of death and destruction brought about by the arrival of the broken continent called Hiraeth as Darren turned to Kaycee. 

"What do you think? We've got to go, right?" he asked.

Kaycee nodded slowly. "Yeah, I don't see any other choice. Someone still has to protect our town."

"What are you guys talking about?" Ava asked, watching them quizzically.

Darren sighed, knowing his younger siblings wouldn't like what he was about to say.

"A new breach is opening up in a few hours," he explained, "Kaycee and I have to go deal with it."

"What does that mean? You can't leave us here!" Ava's voice grew louder, fear plain in her expression. 

Kaycee jumped up and crossed the room, drawing Ava into a hug. "It's okay, we won't leave you without protection. Don't forget you guys are strong now with the stat boosts from those new devices. Not only that, but you also have EDS now."

Ava started to protest, but seemingly got a grip on her fear and nodded, stepping back from Kaycee. "I guess so…" she began quietly, then smiled brightly. "I do feel stronger!" she said excitedly, jumping several feet up into the air and tapping the ceiling with her fist.

Aiden laughed, copying his twin sister's movement. "This is so awesome," he said when he landed.

Darren couldn't help but feel happy for them. "Thanks, EDS," he thought to the enigmatic entity.

"Do not thank me, Darren. I can do nothing apart from the will and power of the Great King."

Darren nodded sheepishly, understanding immediately what EDS meant. "This is still new to all of us," he said to the twins. "You're not alone, okay? Not only do you have EDS with you now, you have both been believers since you were old enough to understand who the Great King is. He protects His people." Darren's reassuring words seemed to have a calming effect on the atmosphere of the apartment. 

"That's true," Ava said, typically the more excitable of the twins. "The Word says He will never leave us nor forsake us." Her smile was infectious, and equally wide grins spread across the faces of everyone else in the room.

Darren reflected on that for a moment as the twins returned to toying with their new devices. He'd always been a believer, too, and had done his best to follow the will of the Great King, even after his parents had been killed. He told himself over and over that the Great King always works all things together for the good of those who love Him, and who He has called. There was no doubt, now, that Darren had been called, and as such he found himself with a strange peace inside that he was having trouble understanding. 

It was good, but slightly confusing. Darren thought he should be more worked up over everything that was happening in the world, but he just knew, somehow, that everything was going to be okay.

Just then Darren's phone buzzed. He pulled it from his pocket and saw that it was a number he didn't recognize, though it was local. He answered and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he said.

"Hi, is this Mr. Cadogan?" the voice asked politely.

"Yes, who's this?"

"This is Officer Hardy. I spoke with you and Ms. Ellis the other day after the incident downtown."

"Oh, yes. What can I do for you Officer?" Darren asked, looking at Kaycee and mouthing Officer Hardy, to let her know who it was.

"Is there somewhere we can meet? Some strange things have been happening lately and I'd really like to talk to you and Ms. Ellis as soon as possible, if possible at all," Hardy explained.

"Sure, but I'm not sure what we can do about all the strange things happening lately. It's kind of a global problem," Darren said quizzically.

Officer Hardy replied, "I'm not talking about all that. Something happened to me after meeting you guys… something I can't explain."

Darren furrowed his brow, looking at Kaycee still as he said, "Okay, when do you want to meet? We have somewhere to be in a little over four hours from now, but before or after that should be fine."

"As soon as possible," Hardy said anxiously. 

"Okay, you can come on over to my apartment," Darren said. "Do you still have the address from when I gave it to you the other night?"

Darren heard Officer Hardy shuffling something around, then say, "Yes, it's still on my notepad. I'll be over in ten minutes."

The line disconnected and Darren placed his phone back in his pocket. "Aiden, Ava, can you guys go to your room for just a little while? There's an officer coming over here to talk to us and I think he'd feel a little more comfortable with a couple less people in the room."

The twins grumbled, but then raced off to the other side of the apartment, arguing about video games. Darren chuckled as he watched them run off. 

The minutes passed quickly as Darren explained to Kaycee what Officer Hardy had told him. Soon, the doorbell sounded and Darren crossed the room to the front food to let Hardy in. 

The man was average height, and he had fair skin and dark brown hair, with a piercing gaze. He wore casual clothes, but he seemed to carry himself with a knowing confidence. Darren could have been mistaken, but he looked a bit more noticeably muscular than when they'd first met. 

Darren invited him in and gestured to the couch, "You're welcome to have a seat, Officer."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Hardy said, taking the seat. "Please, call me Asher. No need for formalities."

Darren nodded and glanced at Kaycee, feeling a bit awkward. "Okay, Asher, what can we do for you?"