Two figures sat at a picnic table in a park.
One of them was a man with unruly hair and a mischievous tilt to his smile. By his side was a mousy-haired young woman with an unassuming face.
They were Luster and Kim.
They relaxed on the bench, enjoying each other's company as well as the cool evening breeze as they waited for their companions, who seemed to be running late for their annual meeting.
The scenery around them looked like it came straight out of a fairy tale picture book. Lush trees and greenery filled their view, colorful flowers dotting the gently swaying emerald grass. Not far away, the crystal clear waters of the Lake of Bones glistened under the setting sun.
There was the sound of footsteps on the grass behind the couple.
Luster turned around to face the newcomers. One was a tall, gallant young man and the other was a young woman in researcher garbs, dark hair gathered into a tight bun and dark circles under her intelligent but tired eyes.
"There you are! Oh wow, you look like a zom—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Kim's hand firmly covered his mouth.
"Hey! It's good to see you guys." She greeted the Master and the researcher with a smile, as though nothing happened.
Beth smiled back at her. "Hey Kim, Luster. Are we late?"
Quentin put a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry if we are. Beth here got a little too into her work. It took me a while to get her out of there."
Luster broke out of Kim's grasp and grinned at the Master.
"Did her subordinates thank you profusely for saving them?"
"Nope. They were too exhausted to even thank me," Quentin laughed.
Beth pursed her lips at the men.
"You make it sound like I'm some tyrant. I just want to be sure everything is running perfectly and that requires constant vigilance."
They all laughed.
"Well, anyway. Don't just stand there." Luster beckoned them, gesturing to the opposite bench.
The other couple complied and slid into their seats. Kim summoned her Shadow Clan standard-issued storage Memory and withdrew some cups and snacks while Luster summoned his Black Canteen and began to pour whiskey for everyone.
"So! How's everyone doing these days?"
Luster grinned at them as he poured a generous amount for his wife.
"I went to Abyssal Fire yesterday for Fireshing's famous pastries. But there's this new barista who makes exotic cocktails named after Nightmare Creatures and I just had to try it out so I ordered one called the Corrupted Grave Root and damn! It was out of this world!"
He illustrated his point with wild gesticulations, even nearly spilling the contents of his canteen at one point.
"I don't know what that guy put in there, maybe a bunch of colorful concoctions like his barista fit, but the flavors exploded in my mouth all at once and left a cool after-feeling. You guys really need to try it, I tell you. That barista's only going to be there till tomorrow. After that, no more Nightmare Creatures Cocktails, so… better hurry up before it's too late!"
The other three took a moment to process his words, eyebrows raised in curiosity.
Luster continued to prepare the drinks, remembering to pour the fifth one, as usual. When everyone received their whiskey, they downed the first shot together.
The fifth cup remained untouched, as it always did.
"That does sound interesting…" Quentin said after swallowing his drink, turning to Beth, "Do you want to check it out later?"
"Why not?" Beth shrugged. "I'm curious what kind of Nightmare Creatures they turned into cocktails."
She took another sip of whiskey, then she sighed deeply.
"As for me… Things are really hectic like usual. There's still the Rivergate Hydro project, the expansion of electrical technology to the rest of the Dream Realm… There just isn't enough time or manpower for all of them."
Kim touched the other woman's hand with a soft smile.
"There's no need to rush, Beth. You'll figure it out."
Quentin nodded. "Remember — one step at a time."
"I guess so. Thanks, guys." She looked at Kim. "How are your recruitment activities?"
The mousy-haired woman tapped her chin in thought.
"My boss is very picky about who should be recruited, so I haven't had much work to do lately. A lot of potential targets are either lacking in the fields we're most interested in, or they are intent on a much more glamorous career like the Fire Keepers."
Not that they ever failed to recruit a target before, since every name on the Clan's list was thoroughly checked by the boss and Lady Song of the Fallen. It wasn't just their Aspects and Attributes, but also their backgrounds, upbringing, personalities and their inclinations.
Of course, Kim didn't tell her that.
While Quentin did inform her of their work, the researcher seemed disinclined to get too involved with their world in the shadows. She only knew the basics like their general purpose and the location of their safe house in Bastion in case of emergencies.
"What about you, Quentin?" Kim asked.
The Master contemplated for a moment.
"There isn't much, to be honest. I mostly spend my days helping Beth with the physical aspect of her projects… There was one guy who nearly got trapped inside a massive block of stone that I was mending not long ago."
He paused, then quickly added, "…But thankfully no one got hurt."
Beth rubbed her forehead.
"You're lucky someone noticed before it was too late. What if you finished building and then saw fingers sticking out of the wall?"
Luster snapped his fingers at her.
"He could bring that block to a museum or something and have it be displayed in a glass box!"
"Luster!" Kim slapped his arm, but there was a small smile on her unassuming face.
They continued to talk about various things, but eventually the conversation faded to silence. The whiskey was beginning to settle in their stomachs, giving them a warm fuzzy feeling.
The four survivors of the Antarctic Center absentmindedly fiddled with their cups.
Their minds wandered to the past, to the memories of people they loved and who were no longer with them.
To all the horrors they had experienced and survived in that hellish place that seemed so distant now but still haunted them in the quiet moments of their lives.
The Terror of LO49, the obliterated ruins of Erebus Field, the struggle to escort a convoy of thirty-five-thousand civilian refugees and shipwrecked sailors along the coastal highway, the swarms of abominations they had to fight and barely managed to escape from…
And of course, the relief when they finally reached Falcon Scott, the last standing human citadel in the Antarctic Center… as well as everything that came after.
Kim let out a long sigh, and said in a quiet voice, "I miss them."
"We all do, Kimmy. We all miss them. So, so much."
Luster reached around her shoulders and hugged her to him, whether to comfort her or himself, he didn't know. It didn't matter which it was, anyway.
Beth looked at the slowly darkening sky, gaze far-off and distant.
"It feels like it was just yesterday I was eating lunch with the Professor in the dormitory building. The old man was talking about some fictional monster back in the Dark Times and I had no idea what he was talking about the whole time…"
She gave a short laugh that sounded more like choking.
There were tears rolling down her face, but she didn't seem to notice at all. No one pointed it out to her, either.
Those final days were still vivid in all their minds, as though it had happened just the day before.
All of it.
Up until the moment they were shoved onto that pier.
Until they were forced to board that last ship and leave their comrades behind.
Forced to watch their companions' smiles from behind the fence, even as they knew death was all that awaited.
And then there was the pain of waiting.
Waiting for news on what happened, to know what kind of end those people in Falcon Scott met.
Was it painful?
Was it quick?
Was it slow and torturous?
"At least the creature that killed them is dead now. Winter Beast is no more."
Everyone looked at the gallant Master.
Quentin's face was grim and dark, but there was something fierce in his eyes, too.
"Their deaths… those twenty million citizens, the Awakened and mundane soldiers, Professor Obel, Samara, Belle, Dorn… They've all been avenged."
He raised his cup and said solemnly:
"To them, and all the other brave soldiers who stayed behind."
The others followed suit.
"To them."
They tipped their heads back and gulped down their whiskey.
Luster blew out his cheeks as he set his empty cup on the table.
"In the end, the only people who survived were Saint Jet and Captain Sunless… Wait — Captain Sunless?"
There was a period of silence.
"…Huh?" Kim's expression mirrored the confusion of the other two clan members.
Sunless. The name of their boss, the Lord of Shadows, the Dark Lord of the Dark Castle, the founder of the Shadow Clan.
Beth, who was not privy to that knowledge, furrowed her brows.
"Sunless, as in Master Sunless of the Brilliant Emporium? The same one that became Changing Star's lover and then disappeared after the Domain War? And…"
The researcher tilted her head, her frown deepening.
Sunless was also the name of the cohort's Captain, back in Antarctica.
Her eyes widened as realization hit her. A chill ran down her spine.
"Wait, Sunny…?" She whispered.
But the others did not hear her.
They were lost in their thoughts, trying to figure out the implications of what they just learned — or remembered.
Luster suddenly jumped to his feet, his mouth slack, eyes wide with shock.
"No way… How…"
But his shock quickly turned to elation.
"He's… He's alive…!"
He grabbed Kim by her shoulders and shook her. His face was a mixture of relief, happiness, grief, and happiness again. His eyes were wet with tears, droplets of water sliding down his cheeks, but he didn't care.
"Captain is alive! He's been alive this whole time! Can you imagine? Haha! He's alive… He's really…"
He broke off, his voice dissolving into incoherent sobs.
It was too much.
Too much for him to take.
For any of them.
Kim brought a shaking hand up to her husband's face, a trembling smile curling her lips.
"Yes… Yes, he's alive. He's alive, Luster."
Beth bit her lip, watching them. She didn't know how they knew for sure, but she knew that they were certain. She could feel the streams of tears tracking lines along her own face.
A pair of strong arms wrapped around her from the side — Quentin.
"He… He really is alive, isn't he?"
Her breath was ragged with emotion, her voice broken yet full of hope.
Quentin hugged her tighter, nodding against her hair.
"How…? How do you know?"
"Secret organization, remember? He's our boss."
He barely managed a chuckle against the lump in his throat.
"…But we didn't know until just now, either. He must've done something crazy again… You know him."
At that moment, Luster abruptly halted his crying, his face turning uncharacteristically alert.
"We need to find him." He declared, already moving to leave, pulling Kim along.
Kim stumbled after him, one hand wiping her own tears and the other holding onto her husband.
"The… the Mayor, Aiko! She's at the branch office. She — she'll know where Captain is."
And then they were off, a mere cloud of dust in the distance.
"Let's go too," Quentin addressed Beth.
He lifted her into his arms and sped off, chasing after Luster and Kim.
- - -
Aiko was in the ice-cream-shop-turned-safe-house, the Shadow Clan's Bastion branch office, tabulating the profits from Sunny's work at Abyssal Fire.
Her eyes swirled with avarice and zeal.
'I knew it was a good idea to dress him up and make him serve drinks!'
She puffed out her chest smugly. A grin seemed permanently plastered across her face as she looked at the numbers on her clipboard.
'Money! So much money!'
Before she could celebrate further, though, there was a crash outside in the main area of the shop. A moment later two people suddenly burst into the storage room, cheeks red and chests heaving.
Aiko shot them a withering look.
"What? What's wrong with you two?"
Kim took a moment to catch her breath, then said, "Sorry, just —"
"The Captain! Where's the Captain?" Luster asked, breathless.
The petite businesswoman, also known as the Shadow Fairy amongst the clan members, frowned, watching them with confusion.
"The Captain? Captain who?"
Before they could answer, another person rushed into the room. It was Quentin, with Beth in tow. All his gallant poise seemed to have disappeared, replaced with urgency, but he managed to wrestle back some composure before addressing Aiko.
"It's Boss. He's the Captain," he said in between breaths. "Captain Sunless."
Aiko blinked.
"Oh, you mean Sunny? He's at Abyssal Fire…"
The survivors of the Antarctic Center did not even let her finish before they were rushing out of the safe house again, arms and legs tangling together as they scrambled into the street toward the coffee shop and bakery.
"Ah! Wait for me!"
In his haste, Quentin even forgot to bring Beth along with him, leaving her to find her way by herself.
Aiko watched them go with an impassive face.
'…Who hired those idiots?'
More importantly, how dare they disturb her money-counting process!?