Chapter 5

His form disappeared into the void. Falling through he landed unceremoniously on a grass hill overlooking a City. He noticed that next to him was the gift bag of the two biscuits, no doubt they were crushed now. He gently picked it up wishing he hadn't done this so recklessly.

"oh you came with me...." she said like it was an afterthought.

Like he was an afterthought. He probably was to her.

He sat up abruptly "where the Hell am I?"

"This is the place I am brought to when I am not in your world. Or in the place I belong." the girl answered simply.

"No way I'm staying in this alternate dimension or whatever! I apologize for bothering you! Take me back!" He fumed.

She looked at him oddly before deciding, "I cannot control where or when I will return. The odds are you will likely be attacked should you successfully return,"

Vince stopped and remembered the other Virus attacking his surprise kidnapper. And that the police would be expecting enemies only. He didn't want to die because of a misunderstanding. What if they assumed he was an enemy Virus and killed him?

"...fine then. if we're stuck together at least tell me your name," Vince sulked.

"... Andromeda. Andromeda Nyx"

"I'm Vince Crying."

"...." Vince started at Andromeda.

"...." Andromeda stared at Vince.

At that moment the tense atmosphere, the feeling of deja vu dissipated because --

A stomach growling.

It was Andromeda's.

"Here." Vince held out the bag of biscuits he had to her.

"..!?" Andromeda's expression morphed to surprise.

"Take it. I won't offer it again," he said holding out the bag to her while looking in the opposite direction. She grabbed the bag, reached in without hesitation and placed a piece of broken biscuit in her mouth.

"I wasn't planning on sharing them, but you can have them" he remarked.

Andromeda glared at him. He had his back to her and thus remained unfazed.

'This place.... the layout reminds me of a fantasy town from a kid's book.' he thought ignoring Andromeda as she ate.

"Before you were looking for something or someone, right?" he asked.

Andromeda looked at him coldly as if wondering whether or not she should answer.

"that person... I remember someone... and I know that they are important to me," she voiced still eating. "I'm going to find them again, so I can figure out why," she decided.

"I'll help you look for whoever it is you're trying to find. If only to make them repay me for endangering my life and causing such frustration and distress to someone as powerful as you," Vince remarked casually, as if that reasoning made sense.

"Are you two going to talk or become interesting by killing each other?" a girl's voice asked.

"Killing each other?! why would we do that?" Vince asked, and shuddered at the thought because it undoubtedly would be more like Andromeda killing him. Except that 'killing' was an understatement.

She'd end his life and everything within 500 feet at **minimum**.

The girl stepped forward from behind some trees. Her hair was blonde but the ends were dyed dark red, the intense color contrasting with her pale skin.

Vince hesitated, already wary of her.

Her eyes were red like her hair and her expression teemed with amusement; as though she were the type to smile often. She carried a large mallet and was leaning on it like it was a cane.

Her clothes were yellow and orange with pieces of armor mixed in.

"were you spying on us?" Vince asked.

Andromeda looked as though she could care less, contradicting Vince's surprise.

"I figured you were participants in the killing game and that I should size up my competition," she said as if that reasoning made perfect sense.

"A killing game?" He blurted.

"I see you aren't part of the Killing game hosted by the Byibyi Rita then," she sounded very disappointed.

However Vince grinned. "That's it! we can go into the town down there and look for clues about your mystery person and you get to kill people just like you want! win-win!"

Andromeda stared at him as if what he just said did not compute.

"What do we need to do to get in on this?" he asked the girl.

"we? I haven't said yes yet " Andromeda commented.

The other girl, likely also a Virus (?) tutted as if scolding a child.

"You can't just get in, you need a special invitation,"

Vince flinched "uh--invitation?"

"mmhmm" she nodded her yellow to red curls shaking with her head.

"One of these" she held up hers proudly. It was a thick almost entirely decorative card with a set of numbers, a location perhaps. It probably also had her name on it, though he wasn't given the chance to read it seeing as she waved the card around; flaunting it before them.

Vince blanched. No doubt there was a limited number of **those** that had gone around.

Andromeda studied the girl, she didn't see anything remotely remarkable warranting her getting a special invitation for anything.

"a special invitation, then" she said calmly.

"Alright have fun with your killing game," Vince responded obviously disappointed they would have to start from scratch and comb the town with very little information. It was going to be an exhausting search and find game they were playing.

But it was too late to back out now.

"Do whatever you think is best --" he started.

But apparently Andromeda heard those words and acted upon the solution she came to herself.

Within a few seconds she'd summoned her weapon -- that big ass sword that wiped out what he estimated to be a third of the abandoned factory before. Behind her was a dark colored scabbard.

"eh? An- Andromeda?" he blinked. Abruptly and rudely he was shoved out of the way.

The other girl also looked surprised.

"I think you're a little bit confused --" she started.

He fell over about the same time as Andromeda sliced, cutting through the girl like she was paper. Watching the girl fall backward seemed to play out in slow motion. An object fell out of her chest. It had a crystal like shape and was a deep purple in color.

Almost matching Andromeda's hair.

"Don't you think that was a bit much?" he asked standing. Andromeda held the invitation in her other hand. He stared at it "Well I guess if it solves the problem..."

"But we should at least give her a proper burial." He concluded.

Andromeda stared at the space the girl was.

"She- she vanished!" Vince exclaimed when he looked too. The crystal remained however.

"Do we still have to bury her?" Andromeda asked calmly.

"....." he decided not to answer.

"it's too bad I didn't learn her name..." he remarked instead.

"I don't have any way to mark her grave." he lamented.

He picked up the crystal about to dig a shallow hole and bury it but much to his horror it began to vanish into his body.

"WhAAAAAA?! WHA-- WHAT IS THIS?!"

"Silence! if you stop and think for just a --" Andromeda blurted.

"The thing that came out of that girl is going inside me!" he interrupted waving his arm as though that would make the crystal come out.

"Surely you know a way to -" he stopped seeing her expression and silence.

Andromeda didn't say anything at all, clearly this was beyond her.

He gulped nervously and stared at his hand, the crystal was almost completely gone now.

He didn't seem any different he thought as the last of the crystal completely vanished, presumably somewhere inside him now.

"Since you wanted to go to the Killing game so badly perhaps someone there can have it removed if it bothers you so much" Andromeda mused finally.

he paused "Maybe,"

"or Maybe it isn't so simple as I wish," he muttered.