Mission type: Retrieval Part 3

In Zalthorion's point of view

I was studying a tablet displaying the latest rift activity when a knock echoed through my office.

"Come in," I said without looking up.

Dr. Wagner, my most trusted agent and one of the oldest in my service, stepped inside, holding another tablet in his hand. His expression was serious.

"Sir, I've issued an announcement to ramp up Jaeger and Titan production," he reported. "The scientists have been authorized to integrate experimental weaponry into the test units, and pilot training has also been accelerated."

"Good," I said with a nod. "You may leave."

But Wagner remained standing. His hesitation was unlike him.

"You have a question," I stated. "What is it?"

"Sir…" He shifted slightly before continuing. "Why did you assign Nyxia a mission just two days after he arrived in Evolto City? Even newcomers typically wait months before receiving their first task if they receive one at all."

I set my tablet down, folding my hands in front of me. "In all my years of existence, from the birth of my universe to my ascension as a singularity, never has there been a host capable of containing more than 0.1% of the energy from the birth of the multiverse." I met Wagner's gaze. "Until now."

"So what?" Wagner pressed. "You want him to be some kind of chosen one?"

I shook my head. "No. A chosen one is nothing more than a symbol something to mark the beginning of a new age, a means to inspire hope. And while hope is valuable, it is also fleeting. Relying on a single individual, believing it is their destiny to vanquish the great evil, is dangerous. The world cannot afford to hinge its survival on one person alone."

Wagner's brow furrowed, but he listened.

"I sent Nyxia on this mission because he needs real experience," I continued. "Simulations are useful, but they cannot replace reality. The reason I sent him to Riverdale specifically is to prepare him for the unexpected because the multiverse is shifting."

I slid my tablet across the desk toward Wagner. "Look at this."

He picked it up, eyes scanning the data. Rift activity had surged across the city, the numbers escalating at an alarming rate.

"This isn't just random," I said. "Rogue Consumers are appearing more frequently, and in the same multiverse no less. This isn't a coincidence it's a pattern."

Wagner exhaled sharply. "You think he is behind this?"

"I know he is." My voice was firm. "Forty million years of complete silence, and the moment Nyxia arrives, activity spikes across the board? He knows about Nyxia, and if Nyxia falls into his hands, the multiverse everything we have fought for will bend to his will which is why I also need you to put The Solaris Protocol on standby."

Wagner was silent for a moment before nodding. "Understood. I'll put the Solaris Protocol on standby."

"Good," I said. "We need to be ready for whatever comes next." I say staring into the setting sun.

Back to Nyxia perspective

Why the hell am I in the same classroom as them?

This universe is constantly shifting, yet somehow, I ended up here right in the middle of things. And wasn't Archie supposed to be in juvenile detention?

Before I could dwell on it further, the bell rang, pulling me from my thoughts. I left the classroom, weaving through the students filling the hallway. As I passed by rows of lockers, I caught glimpses of papers and symbols Gargoyles and Gryphons.

G&G…

Back at the Department of Mediocrity, the warden had mentioned a cult centered around it. If there was any lead on the MDFG, this was my best bet.

With that in mind, I made my way to the famous lounge the one where the protagonists always gathered to discuss whatever convoluted mystery or melodrama was unfolding.

I slipped into the corner, content to observe from the background. The less attention on me, the better. But, of course, sweet old Betty Cooper had to invite me over.

I was about to decline when I heard them bring up G&G. That changed things.

I took the offer, settling in as Veronica eyed me curiously.

"Jake Magnio?" she repeated. "That last name sounds French, but you don't look French."

"My mom's American, but my dad was half-French," I replied smoothly.

Her eyes flicked to my wrist. "Nice watch. I must say… is that a Daytona?"

I glanced at it. "Yeah. It belonged to my father before he passed away."

Before I could gauge their reactions, I heard Jughead's voice, that ever-present narrator in this universe, laced with sarcasm:

"Of course the classic excuse. 'It belonged to my father.' A convenient way to dodge the real question: why does this random new student have an expensive luxury watch? But the mysteries didn't stop there. As we talked, Jake Magnio if that was even his real name seemed unusually interested in one thing: G&G."

As he narrated, I kept my expression neutral, acting as if I wasn't fully aware of him peeling apart every word, every glance, every move I made.

This was going to be trickier than I thought.

After a few grueling hours of school, I finally left the building, slipping past the last of the students lingering in the halls. As soon as I got to my car, I wasted no time starting it up and driving off.

Pop's seemed like a good place to grab some food and gather my thoughts. I'd made it through the day without raising too much suspicion well, aside from Jughead's incessant internal monologue.

Pulling into the parking lot, I let out a sigh. Maybe I could actually relax for a moment.

Then I walked inside.

And oh my fucking shit.

How the hell are they already here?

I left before them. In a car. How in the hell did they beat me here?

They were already seated in their usual booth, as if they'd been there for hours.

This universe was bullshit.

I forced myself to keep walking, not giving the Protagonists a second glance. My mind was already on what was ahead, the investigation, the real reason I was here. But like a magnet, my eyes pulled toward them against my better judgment.

It was a mistake.

They were looking right at me. Betty, Archie, Veronica... all of them seemed to pause, glancing at each other, and then, of course, they whispered. Nothing subtle about it—just straight-up gossip about the "new guy." Of course, my entire existence had become fodder for their conversation in mere seconds.

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I knew better. That wasn't going to get me anywhere.

I kept my cool, walked past them, and took my seat. After ordering my usual, I tried to zone out and focus on the noise in the background. The clattering of dishes, low conversations, and the distant hum of the jukebox.

Once I was finished eating, I headed out as quickly as I could, doing my best to ignore the increasingly suspicious feeling that was gnawing at me. These kids were always a few steps ahead, and that wasn't something I was used to. As I drove back to my place, I couldn't shake the sensation that I was missing something crucial.

The night fell quickly.

I barely even noticed the hours slip by as I lay in bed, my mind still racing through the events of the day. When the clock struck midnight, I knew it was time. I had to dig deeper.

I fired up my car, drove through the quiet streets, and made my way to Archie's house. It was dark, too quiet for comfort, but that was the perfect cover.

Reaching into my bag, I pulled out my listening device, a small piece of tech designed to pick up and isolate voices from a distance. I activated it, tuning in to the sounds inside the house. The static flickered, and then I caught it.

The voices of the parents, low and hushed, carried through the walls.

"They're playing it again," Fred Andrews said, his voice tight with worry.

"I told you we should've been more careful," Hermione Lodge chimed in. "We swore we'd never let them get caught up in it again."

Alice Cooper's voice came next, sharp and angry. "It doesn't matter. They're already involved. We need to stop this now before it gets worse."

There was a brief silence before Tom Keller spoke up. "But the kids don't even know what they're really dealing with. How do we stop something that's already in motion?"

"We protect them from it, like we should've before," Alice insisted. "We stop them from playing Gargoyles and Gryphons."

I froze for a moment, the words echoing in my mind. They already talked about this.

This was episode five. Didn't the parents talk about G&G on episode four, when everything started to spiral.

Something was off.

I quickly deactivated the device, heart pounding in my chest. The timeline was shifting. The parents were reacting to something too early, too quickly.

I didn't know what was causing this shift in the universe, but it was clear something or someone was pushing the plot forward.

And I was going to figure out why.

I drove with no direction in mind, my grip on the steering wheel tightening as I tried to shake off the paranoia creeping into my thoughts. The way the parents had reacted like they were guarding some deep, dangerous secret didn't sit right with me.

I only realized where I'd ended up when the neon glow of Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe flickered into view. Instinct had led me here, but the moment I pulled into the parking lot, a fresh wave of confusion washed over me.

There they were.

Sitting at their usual booth, fully immersed in their game of Gargoyles and Gryphons.

But that wasn't right.

They were supposed to play in the bunker.

That was how it happened in the show. That was how it was supposed to happen. Not here, in the middle of a well-lit diner where anyone could walk in and see them.

I parked my car in the shadows, keeping my distance as I observed them through the window. They were deep in the game, laughing and whispering conspiratorially, oblivious to the fact that reality itself seemed to be shifting around them.

My mind raced. Was this just another inconsistency in this universe's broken logic, or was something actively changing the timeline? If so, why?

I needed answers.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of the car, keeping my movements slow and deliberate as I approached the entrance. I couldn't afford to draw attention to myself not when I still had the lingering sensation of being watched.

The moment I stepped inside, the warmth of the diner contrasted sharply with the cold uncertainty knotting in my stomach. I moved to the counter, ordering something just to have an excuse to stay.

As I waited, I kept my gaze locked on them from the corner of my eye.

They were deep in their game, but the way they whispered, the tension in their expressions it wasn't just casual fun. This was something else. Something bigger.

Jughead was the Dungeon Master, naturally. His voice carried over the low hum of the diner, weaving a story that felt a little too… real.

Something about a King.

A Gargoyle King.

I exhaled slowly, my fingers tapping against the counter.

This timeline was breaking apart, and I was the only one who seemed to notice.

I sat down at the counter, my fingers tightening around the tracker as I pulled it out. The dim glow of the screen illuminated a map of Riverdale, a blinking red dot marking the general area of the MDFG.

Fox Forest.

And the Sisters of Quiet Mercy.

The signal flickered between the two locations, as if whatever I was tracking wasn't staying still. That didn't make things easier. Both places were already steeped in secrecy and urban legends, and if Gargoyles & Gryphons had anything to do with this, I wasn't dealing with just a game anymore.

I stole another glance at the booth where the protagonists sat, still wrapped up in their session. Their expressions were intense far more than they should've been for a tabletop RPG.

Was the game leading them somewhere?

Or were they already under its influence?

I exhaled slowly. Either way, I couldn't sit here all night. If the MDFG was lurking between Fox Forest and the Sisters' compound, then that was where I needed to be.

Tucking the tracker away, I finished my drink, left some cash on the counter, and stood up.

This was going to be a long night.

I stepped out of Pop's, the cool night air hitting my face as I made my way to my car. Sliding into the driver's seat, I pulled out the tracker again, watching as the red dot flickered closer toward Fox Forest.

It was the more accessible option The Sisters of Quiet Mercy had too many barriers, both physical and institutional. If I wanted to get any real leads without alerting the wrong people, Fox Forest was my best bet.

Starting the engine, I pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, the neon glow of Pop's fading in my rearview mirror. The streets were quiet, the usual eerie stillness of Riverdale settling in. Every turn I took, every shadow that flickered in my headlights, reminded me that this town played by its own rules.

As I neared the forest's edge, the trees loomed taller, the road narrowing into a barely visible path. I slowed down, the tracker pulsing faster whatever I was looking for, I was getting close.

I pulled over and killed the engine. The silence was deafening.

Fox Forest was ahead.

And the answers were somewhere inside.

I stepped out of the car, shutting the door quietly behind me. The trees stretched high above, their skeletal branches twisting together to form a canopy that swallowed most of the moonlight. A cold wind rustled through the leaves, sending a chill down my spine.

I checked the tracker again. The signal was pulsing faster now, locked onto something deep within the forest.

I moved forward, my steps careful as I navigated the uneven ground. Every so often, I glanced over my shoulder. It wasn't paranoia it was just common sense in a place like this.

The deeper I went, the more unnatural everything felt. The air was thick, almost suffocating, and the sounds of the town had completely faded. No distant cars, no hum of electricity just the wind and the occasional snap of a twig under my boots.

Then, a noise.

Low voices.

I immediately ducked behind a tree, slowing my breathing as I listened.

"—must remain hidden," one voice said, gruff and commanding.

"The King demands more," another whispered. "The game must continue."

G&G.

I edged closer, peering through a gap in the branches. A group of figures stood in a clearing, half-lit by the glow of lanterns. Their faces were obscured by hoods, and in the center of their circle was a makeshift altar.

Carvings of gargoyles and gryphons lined the trees around them, the symbols eerily similar to the ones I'd seen in the hallways at school.

I watched as one of them held up a vial filled with a thick, dark liquid. The others murmured in response, kneeling before the altar.

A ritual.

This wasn't just some kids playing a game this was something much deeper, something far more dangerous.

And the MDFG was tied to it.

I pulled out my phone, snapping a quick picture, but the moment the camera clicked, one of the figures snapped their head toward me, their body language shifting from passive to alert. The murmuring stopped. The atmosphere turned cold, as if the very air around us was holding its breath.

Then, my suit reacted.

A ripple of energy coursed through the fabric, and within seconds, my body faded into the environment. The advanced camouflage activated on its own, blending me seamlessly with the trees and shadows.

I held my breath, remaining perfectly still as the figure stepped forward, scanning the area. Their eyes darted over my position, lingering for a moment before moving on.

"Did you hear that?" one of them asked.

"Probably just the wind," another responded. "Or an animal."

I stayed silent, barely daring to blink. My heart pounded against my ribs, but my training kept me composed.

The leader turned back to the group. "We should move. The King's orders were clear we can't be seen."

They extinguished the lanterns one by one, plunging the clearing into darkness. Then, like shadows themselves, they melted into the forest, vanishing into the night.

I remained still, waiting until the last trace of their presence faded before exhaling softly.

The suit had saved me this time.

But now I knew for sure this wasn't just some game.

The MDFG was tied to something bigger. Something hidden.

And I was going to find out what.

I approached the site of the ritual cautiously, my eyes scanning the surroundings for any lingering threats. The night was still, almost unnaturally so, as if the very air had settled in uneasy silence after the group's departure.

Then, I saw it.

A tree if I could even call it that. It stood at the center of the clearing, yet something about it was wrong. Parts of its trunk appeared perfectly intact, its bark smooth and untouched, as if untouched by time. But the rest…

The other sections looked distorted, caught in a state of perpetual unraveling and reconstruction. Jagged fractures ran through the wood, shifting and reforming before my eyes, like a glitch in reality itself. Some branches stretched unnaturally long before abruptly snapping back to their original positions, only to elongate again seconds later. It was as if the tree was caught between two different states of existence trying to be one thing but failing to let go of another.

I took a slow, cautious step closer, my suit dampening any sound I made. The air around the tree felt heavier, charged with an unseen force. My tracker pulsed faintly in my palm, the signal locked directly onto this spot.

No doubt about it.

This was caused by the MDFG.

I reached for one of my instruments, a small handheld scanner designed to analyze anomalies, and held it up. As soon as I activated it, the screen flickered erratically before stabilizing. Readings flooded in unstable energy fluctuations, spatial distortion, temporal inconsistencies.

This wasn't just an aftereffect of whatever ritual had taken place here.

This was active.

Still happening.

Still spreading.

And if I didn't stop it, there was no telling how far it would go.

What I didn't know, was that the universe had decided to add its own level of tension, something even more complicated than I could have anticipated. As I was studying the site, trying to make sense of what was happening, I suddenly felt a presence one that made my stomach drop.

I turned slowly, barely catching the glimpse of movement between the trees. And there they were.

Betty. Jughead. Archie. Veronica.

They had followed me.

I froze for a second, the weight of the situation crashing down on me. They saw me here. They had seen me at the ritual site.

I knew exactly what they would think. The cult. MDFG. All of it.

They weren't just worried about me anymore they were worried about themselves. I could feel their eyes on me, the confusion, the suspicion creeping up on them. I could have explained. I should've explained. But in that moment, something inside me told me it was too late.

I could've said it wasn't what they thought. I could've tried to reason with them, tell them that they were just as much in danger as I was. That whatever the hell this was, it wasn't me.

But I didn't.

Instead, I turned my back and walked away. I knew they were still watching, still standing in the shadows, probably thinking they had caught me in something sinister. It didn't matter. I had to keep going. I had no choice. If I lingered, if I stayed and tried to explain, I'd just get pulled into their mess. They didn't need to know the full truth yet. And I sure as hell wasn't about to let them drag me back into whatever dangerous path they were on.

I kept walking, leaving them behind. It wasn't out of malice. It wasn't to hurt them. But I couldn't afford to play hero right now.

I could hear Jughead's voice in my head, his monologue. He always had something to say, something to question, some tangled thread of thought that always seemed to connect the dots when no one else could. He could've figured it out. But right now? Right now, he didn't understand. None of them did.

And in the silence, as I vanished into the darkness of the woods, I could almost hear him, his voice cutting through the still night, full of doubt, the usual weight of his endless questions hanging in the air:

"Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I missed something. But I can't help but feel like there's something off about all this... about him... Maybe we're all just looking for a truth we don't really want to find."

It wasn't my truth, not yet. But they would find theirs, in time. Just not today. Not at the ritual site. Not with the dangers lurking beneath the surface.

I kept walking, because sometimes the only way to survive was to keep moving.