Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was late.

Late enough to be early in the morning. The time on the digital alarm clock that sat on the desk said 3:17 AM, a time when the PC was supposed to be silent. Alan had probably turned off the lights outside the desktop, because it was dark.

The little nightlight that Red liked to keep plugged in cast a soft glow around the room, flickering every so often. The only sounds were Orange's peaceful snoring from his floor bed and the rustling of sheets as Yellow tossed and turned in his sleep. There was the occasional inaudible mumbling from Red as he talked in his sleep and the periodical snork-snork from Blue.

The sound of a phone ringing pierced the silence. Orange jolted awake, eyes wide.

“DON'T DELETE ME PLEASE –” he shrieked, panting, then stopped. “Oh…a dream – Green, is that your phone?!”

Green opened his eyes. Sure enough, the soft vibrating was coming from under his pillow. He yawned, pulling it out. “Yep, it's mine.”

“Green, how many times do we have to tell you to keep that thing on silent?” Yellow muttered, sitting up.

“Who would call you at a time like this?” Blue asked from the top bunk that he and Yellow shared.

“Not sure.” Green swiped to answer, holding the phone up to his ear. “Hullo?”

Static…

“What's goin’ on?” Red mumbled sleepily from the top bunk that he shared with Green.

“Green's on the phone with someone who's crazy enough to call people this early,” Blue said, throwing a pillow down at Green.

Green dodged it, still listening. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

“...Help!..”

The voice was barely audible, but Green recognized it immediately. He sat up straighter when he heard the distress.

“Purple, what's going on? Are you good?

Everyone in the bedroom went silent, looking at Green with a silent question in their eyes.

Purple’s voice was mixed with loud static. Green strained his ears to listen.

“...Hurry, please!...

“I'm afraid it's gonna be too late by the time you arrive!

“They're taking over!”

Green was on his feet now. “Purple, wait, slow down! Please tell me where you are so we can come see what's going on!”

“They've taken King…”

“What?! They have him? Where did they go with him!?”

Now Orange was standing, and so was Yellow. Blue and Red sat on their top bunks, listening to the broken conversation between Green and Purple.

“Not…sure…”

More static.

“I think they might be –”

“GREEN–!”

Then the line went dead.

Green stared at the screen, his eyes wide with fear. Moving quickly, he texted Purple, his hands shaking.

[Purple! Hey, Purple! Are you okay? Did u mean to call me?? And is King ok??]

No answer.

If Green knew his friend well enough, he would know that she normally answered her phone right away.

“Green…is everything okay?” Blue asked with concern.

“I…I don't know,” the latter replied shakily. “She said something about ‘them taking over’...oh great, now I'm panicking…”

“Calm down. We're gonna figure this out.” Yellow stood and turned on his laptop. “Maybe we can track down Purple’s phone on a satellite or something.” He cracked his knuckles and set to work.

“Is that even possible, Yell?” Blue asked from the bed.

“No, but I’ve always wanted to try.” Eyes glued to the screen, Yellow's fingers danced over the keyboard. “With a few tracking signals, I will be able to track Purple’s phone down, and I’ll be able to find her location with a satellite…therefore, I can easily determine where Purple made that call.”

Green and Orange traded glances. They resisted the urge to roll their eyes at each other.

Yellow clicked a few more keys. “Annnnd, there.” He leaned back.

Red hopped out of bed, nearly landing on top of Orange. He walked over and stood near Yellow's desk. “Look, there. That little red dot. Is that it?”

Yellow was silent as he stared blankly at the computer screen. “Oh, it’s…getting signals from beyond the Outernet boundaries,” he said quietly. “Which can only mean… er, let me see.”

He typed a few more lines of code, before finally straightening his glasses, and rubbing the back of his neck. “Oh, shoot, that’s not good.”

”What’s not good?” Green demanded. “Yell?”

“Ah…nothing, but the interference signals…they’re coming from outside the Outernet boundaries,” he stammered. “That’s, uhm.” He sniffed awkwardly. “The…Dark Web.”

Silence.

Blue sat up straight. “The Dark Web??” he shrieked, breaking the horrified silence that had filled the room.

Yellow gulped. “That's what this says, unless it's some kinda joke.”

“Why in the PC would Purple go there??” Orange asked. “She should know it’s dangerous.”

”Purple wouldn’t go in there if she was joking!” Red argued. “She’d never put herself in that type of situation.” He stopped. “Would she?”

“Oh, hush.” Green smacked Red’s arm nervously. “She wouldn’t. You know she wouldn’t.”

Red just gave him a doubtful glare.

“Don’t you think we should probably just go check, just to make sure she’s okay?” Orange asked. “I mean, if she’s fine, we can just come back home. I’m sure we’ll find out this is a big misunderstanding and we can all go back to bed.” He grinned cheekily.

“But then, if she is in the Dark Web like her signal said,” Blue countered slowly, “what then?”

Orange inhaled. “…I don’t know,” he confessed.

A wave of uncomfortable silence washed over them. Fingers steepled under his chin, Yellow watched the small dot on his computer screen blink on, off, on, and off.

“Ugh.” Rolling his eyes, Green grabbed the sword and fishing rod that was leaning against the door and jogged out to the desktop. Trading glances, the others hopped up and followed him.

“Green! What are you doing??” Orange cried.

“I'm gonna rescue Purple!” Green called back.

“Rescue her— Green, you don’t even know if she’s in any real danger.” Orange crossed his arms. “Get back here. Let’s formulate a plan or something.”

Green ignored him and continued to strap on his holster. “You guys can stay here if you’d like. But I’m gonna go see if Purple’s okay.”

“Do you know what you're doing?!” Yellow shouted. “This is the Dark Web. The most dangerous place on the Internet!”

“Exactly. How do we find it?” Green demanded.

Orange froze. “Uh—” He squeaked out. All their attention was diverted to him.

“Orange?”

“Nothing,” Orange stammered. “It’s just that, uh, I think I might know someone who can help us.”

_____

He sat behind the fallen rubble of the building, panting. His arm throbbed with pain. His heart was pounding heavily in his chest. The vision in his left eye was blurred by a steady trickle of blood coming from a cut on his forehead. He sat there, alone, trembling in his little hollow of safety, however safe it was.

He glanced around groggily.

The city was deathly silent.

It was only him — only him and the remaining bodies of people who’d been brutally killed by the creatures who’d emerged from the shadows.

The attack was all too sudden. He didn’t even have time to think. All he could do was simply sit and watch in fear as the beasts clambered into the city, ripping people away from their loved ones.

All he could do was sit and stare as his friend, his brother, was snatched away.

He didn’t know what to do.

But he knew he had to do something.

Slowly, painfully, he stood to his feet, stumbling clumsily. He walked – or, rather, limped – away from the rubble. He glanced around, his heart aching at the sight of the destruction.

His head pounded painfully, and he winced. The heat surged through him, and he felt his hands light up. The fire burned the wound in his arm, but he ignored the pain.

Wordlessly, he was lifted into the sky, flames sputtering under his palms as he searched for survivors.

_____

“What…what happened here?”

Blue's voice cut through the eerie silence, sending shivers down Green's spine. He regained his posture.

“I knew something bad happened,” he muttered, fighting the anxiety to keep his cool.

The city looked awful.

The gang silently gazed out at the ruin — cars that had been overturned, streetlights that had been toppled over, windows that had been shattered, roads that had been crumbled.

“Where is everyone?” Red asked. “Like…where’s all the people? There’d at least be bodies, right?”

His question wasn’t answered, along with the thousands of other questions that were whirling in Green’s head. He breathed deeply, trying to think.
“We should start looking for Purple. I mean, survivors,” he said, clearing his throat. “Watch your six.”

They moved forward, careful not to trip over the rubble. Yellow visibly winced when he saw a demolished computer on the ground. Blue gazed longingly at an abandoned bakery.

Red curiously peeked inside an overturned street corn dog cart to see what was inside.

Scuttle-scuttle…

The cart shuffled. Red gasped lightly, backing away from it, hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Er…guys…?” Red’s voice was tight and quiet. He stared into the dark…

Two crimson eyes gleamed right back.

“Guys!” Red shrieked, stumbling back as a huge, hideous-looking beast crawled out from under the cart. He was knocked onto the floor with a grunt.

The monster was terrifying – red, soulless eyes staring down at them from a small head, huge wicked-sharp teeth, and four spider-like legs for limbs. It reeked of a foul stench, almost immediately giving a headache.

Acting out of instinct, the gang drew their weapons – Orange, a bright green sword; Green, his fishing rod and katana; Blue, his bow, arrows, and a few potion bottles; Yellow, his loyal command block staff.

“Stay away from him!”

Blue was the first one to act, wasting no time at shooting an arrow, its tip dipped in potion of weakness, at the beast. The arrow found its mark, piercing into the monster's flesh at the side. The monster shrieked, its loud cry echoing through the silent city. As it was preoccupied, Blue moved to help Red from the ground.

Green was the next to move, using his fishing rod to swing himself onto the monster's back. Furiously, the beast stumbled forward, bashing its head into a wall but quickly recovering to focus on its prey.

“Green! Get down!” Orange yelled, swinging his sword aimlessly at the monster’s legs.

“Yellow, watch out!” Blue shrieked.

They now saw that the monster not only had four spider-like limbs, but a long, ugly tail. The beast spun around, whipping its tail like a bat, and before Yellow or Blue or anyone else could think, swept Yellow off of the ground, tail wrapped around his ankle. Yellow cried out as he was lifted into the air, dangling upside down. The beast stared at Yellow with scarlet eyes, whipping out its tongue as it opened its fang-lined mouth…

“Don’t you dare!” Blue shrieked, loading his bow.

“You big bully!” Red yelled, furious, turning even redder.

Yellow covered his face, ready to meet his end.

The ground reverberated when a loud explosion rang out. Sparks rained down, bouncing off the floor. A fireball whizzed down into the beast’s back, making it shriek with pain. Green jumped off, stumbling onto the ground just before another fireball hit him.

Another stick figurelanded with a heavy thud in front of Orange, his hands heated up with fire.

“Chosen???!!” Orange shrieked, his eyes wide with a mix of confusion, bewilderment, and plain fear as he gaped at his brother.

“Stay behind me!” Chosen yelled, lighting another fireball. He aimed and threw the hot ball of fire, striking the monster on its side. The creature stumbled, its grip on Yellow loosening.

“Blue, give me an arrow!” Chosen said, and Blue did as he was told. He lit the arrowhead on fire, instructing Blue to shoot at the beast's head.

“But what if I hit Yellow?!” Blue cried, uncertainly drawing the bowstring back.

“JUST SHOOT!” Chosen yelled.

Caught off guard, Blue released, hands trembling. The arrow whizzed through the air, leaving smoke in its wake, and found its mark — right on the tail where the creature held Yellow.

SKKRRREEEEEEEE!

The monster let out an unearthly sound, writhing with pain, releasing its grip on Yellow, who tumbled to the ground, landing with a thud.

Chosen lit another fireball. “Back off,” he said with a warning tone. “Back off!”

The monster stared, creaking noises escaping its throat. It stepped nearer, twitching, and it let out a screech.

“No,” Chosen said firmly. “You’re done. Go away.”

Skreeeee!

With a battle scream, the hideous beast lashed out once again, very nearly cutting Chosen with its teeth. Out of instinct, Chosen lit his hands, spewing out flames into its ugly mouth. The monster, burning pain searing through its body, stumbled back, falling to the ground with a sickening thud. It let out a defeated groan, finally going still.

It was silent in the city again, save the labored breathing from Chosen.

As Orange stared in bewilderment, the black hollowhead dropped to his knees, staring at his scarred hands. He traded silent glances with his friends.

Out of concern, Blue stepped closer, placing a hand on Chosen’s shoulder. “Chosen? Are you okay?”

“Um…I’m fine.” He stood painfully to his feet. “That took a lot of my energy, that’s all.”

“Where’d you get that cut?” Red asked, coming closer. “I didn’t see that monster cut you.”

Chosen glanced down at his arm. An ugly gash had found its way onto his skin. He just shrugged, then took Orange’s arm. “What are you kids doing out here?” His voice was hoarse.

“Our friend needs help,” Orange replied. “And this…this is probably why.” He glanced around.

Chosen nodded. “I know where those beasts came from.” He scanned the wide-eyed, fearful faces of the younger sticks. “…It isn’t pretty.”

“Where did they come from exactly?” Yellow asked.

Chosen bit his lip before grimly replying, “The Dark Web. … They came from the Dark Web.”

Chapter Text

3:15 AM.

“Yo Cho, is there any more pizza left?”

Dark’s voice cut into Chosen’s thoughts. Interrupted from his book, Chosen looked up, eyeing him. “Why do you want pizza? This early in the morning? Go and get some sleep.”

“You and I both know I can’t sleep.” Dark rolled his eyes. “I’m hungry. Lemme have a little snack before the sun comes out.”

Chosen shook his head, exasperated. He’d had enough of Dark’s shenanigans for one day. “Fine. But save some for me.”

He continued to quietly read his book, listening to the sound of Dark’s awful singing has he made his way into the kitchen of their apartment. He heard the sound of the fridge opening, then closing. The microwave beeped.

“Are you heating up a slice for me, Dark?” Chosen asked.

“Shut up. Heat up your own slice.”

Chosen pouted before closing his book and making his way into the kitchen.

However, the explosion stopped him from going any further.

It was all completely unexpected — at first, he thought Dark had thrown a fireball to heat up his pizza faster. But no — the source of this was much, much, much bigger.

Chosen was thrown onto the ground when it happened. A massive figure loomed above him, having dropped from the ceiling and into his living room. He couldn’t identify what it was, but he could definitely tell that it wasn’t where it was supposed to be.

A shrill cry interrupted his thoughts. Head pounding suddenly, Chosen covered his ears, wincing from the horrible sound.

“Chosen! Move!”

Dark had left his post at the microwave to see what was happening. He was trapped on the other side of the room, blocked by the unidentifiable creature who’d invaded them.

Chosen, discombobulated, just crawled under a table and hid there, completely unsure of what was going on. He motioned for Dark to follow, but by the time he’d reached his hiding place, he discovered the creature (whatever it was) had wrapped up the hollowhead, strangling the struggling figure of Dark.

“S-stay back!” Dark cried.

“Dark! No—!”

The table was smashed over Chosen. He shielded himself, wincing when a splinter of wood scraped his skin painfully. Rolling away from the rubble, Chosen stood.

The beast and Dark were gone, completely out of sight. Chosen peered up into the hole in the ceiling, and took off, chasing whatever that thing was outside.

But when he got outside, he was met with complete and utter destruction and chaos.

The people of Stick City were running from the awful creatures to no avail. They were swept away, screaming and fighting, into the outskirts of the city, being taken to who knows where.

And all Chosen could do was watch helplessly.

_____

Chosen shuddered when the memory replayed in his head.

He’d tried to stop the viruses from taking everyone — but he was too late. There was no stopping them. They were weak to his fire, but they were too fast for Chosen to throw a flame at them. He hadn’t been able to save anyone.

Finally gathering his courage, Chosen explained hoarsely to the young stick figures:

“I don’t know why they suddenly got out from the Dark Web, but I do know that they’re extremely dangerous. This should not be taken lightly. If they destroyed an entire city, they could very well destroy you, too.”

Four of them nodded in agreement; Green just stared into space, his eyes wide with fear. Chosen didn’t know what thoughts were brewing in that kid’s head, but they probably weren’t the best ones.

“The first thing we should not do is panic,” Chosen said, trying to keep his own voice calm.

“That rule’s been broken several times,” Orange murmured. His friends agreed.

“Look,” Chosen said with a sigh, “we can’t really do anything unless we formulate a plan of some sort of…plan.”

“We need to rescue Purple!” Green cried. “And everyone else for that matter.”

Chosen rubbed his tired temples. They were prodding him too much. He didn’t know how to deal with teenagers like these guys but he most definitely knew how to make a plan.

“I need you guys to stay calm. And follow me,” Chosen instructed. “My apartment is safer than out here. Those viruses could very well come back for seconds if we don’t get moving.”

_____

Crouching behind some broken rubble, her ribs hurting from running too fast and breathing too hard, she hid.

She didn’t know what else to do.

Hiding seemed like the best and safest option.

Her mind swirled with panic. Just when she thought she was beginning to calm down, her heart started beating faster and faster from the anxiety.

They took him they took him they took him they took him—

She held her head in her hands, trying to breathe, at least breathe. She whimpered, thinking of how much he’d struggled to keep her safe, screaming at her to stay hidden, before being swept up and taken away. She survived, but that didn’t seem like it mattered.

This wasn’t the first time she’d experienced someone precious to her being taken away. But this felt different. Like a piece of her own heart was being taken away, slipping away from her fingers, lost in the shadows. She hugged her knees close to her chest, sobbing bitterly.

You failed… you failed.

The voices in her head were too loud. She couldn’t just ignore them. The sound of her own pathetic sobbing was enough to drown them out, at least.

There were other voices, too. Somewhere in the distance. Not in her head.

And they sounded familiar…
She stood weakly to her feet, her knees quivering, to look over the rubble she was hiding behind. She saw a group of six sticks.

Green was among them!

And Orange and Red and Yellow and Blue! She didn't recognize the person, a black hollowhead, in the front, but she'd recognize her friends anywhere.

They’d gotten her call.

Gathering her strength, she climbed on top of the rubble and shouted their names.

“Green! Orange! Hey! I’m up here!”

They all stopped. They turned their attention to the voice who’d broken into their conversation, their eyes widening.

Green (of course, why wouldn’t it be him) was the first to move, pushing the others aside to rush to Purple. “Purple! Thank Alan you're alive!” he cried.

Without thinking, she leapt down from the rubble, flinging her arms around Green’s neck and sobbing bitterly into his shoulder. She’d never been so relieved and so panicked at the same time. She didn’t know what else to do other than cry her eyes out into Green’s jacket.

The others joined into the hug, surrounding Purple with warmth. Eventually, her sobs died down, and she took a deep, shuddering breath.

“Are you okay?” Green sounded tight and panicked. “Are you hurt?” His eyes darted to a cut on her arm. “How did you call us? We traced your signal to the Dark Web…how did you…? Did you escape?”

“P-pay phone,” she said quietly, wiping her tears. “I used the pay phone.” She let out another sob. “Th-they took King away, I d-don’t know what to do, I—!” She gasped for breath, shoulders shaking.

“Hey, hey, hey. Shh.” Green pulled her in again. “We’re gonna find him, okay? We’re gonna find him.”

Purple could only nod weakly. She felt Red reach for her hand and give it a gentle squeeze.

“Er, guys, I hate to break up this sentimental moment,” the black hollow head cut in. “But we gotta run.”

Purple looked up with confusion. She pushed away from Green, cocking her head at him. “You’re…the guy on the posters. The Chosen One.”

Chosen bit back a snide remark. Orange stepped in. “He’s my brother,” he said.

“Oh? His…you’re…” Purple looked incredibly confused.

“It’s complicated,” both Orange and Chosen murmured.

_____

“Here we are.”

Chosen opened a heavy metal door, motioning for the others to follow him inside. The hall was dark and empty, so Chosen ignited his hand as a makeshift torch while Green pulled out his phone to turn on the flashlight. The small light on top of Yellow’s flickered on, lighting the way.

“Follow me,” Chosen said. “And stay quiet.”

The group trekked forward cautiously. Purple stepped in a puddle of something, making her let out a small yelp. Green caught her from falling with a grunt. Everyone froze. The sound echoed eerily throughout the empty hall. Purple pressed a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening.

“Uh… sorry,” she gasped.

“SSSHHHH!” everyone hissed, listening to the silence so deafening it was painful.

When nothing happened, Chosen’s shoulders relaxed. He motioned for the others to follow him once more, his heavy footsteps echoing through the corridors.

And then it happened.

Skreeeeeee!

The unearthly scream pierced the eerie silence, and Chosen’s head whipped to the right, where a creature was emerging from the shadows in another empty hall.

A stray virus.

“Run.” At first, Chosen’s voice was quiet and low. Then, his paced quickened and he shouted over his shoulder, “RUN!”

They ran.

The creature ran too, bounding after them, but thankfully due to its size, it wasn’t able to run very fast in the low ceiling.

Chosen skidded to a stop at the stairs. C’mon, up here!” he yelled urgently. “I’ll distract it while you guys run! My apartment is 217!”

“Go-go-go, hurry!” Orange cried. He let the others go before him, tripping up the stairs right behind Red.

Chosen lit a fireball, hurtling it at the creature. It exploded in mid air, the beast letting out a scream. Chosen turned on his heel and ran up the stairs, following the others with speed and urgency. He thought about flying, but decided to save his energy for later.

Once he finally made it to the top of the stairs, he discovered that everyone else was anxiously waiting for him.

“Why are you just standing there??!” he shrieked. “FRICKIN’ RUN!”

They ran, tripping down the hall towards room 217. Chosen burst the door open, motioning urgently for the others to follow. Purple lingered behind to make sure the creature wasn't following them.

“Purple! Come on!” Green shouted, grabbing her arm.

They then discovered that the beast could climb stairs. Apparently it was more agile than they'd anticipated. And it was running to its target.

Purple.

“PURPLE! RUN!” Green screamed as the creature bounded nearer and nearer.

They ran as fast as they could towards Chosen’s room, tripping inside the doorway. Purple fell forward on her face, her ankle caught by something. The virus hissed with satisfaction.

The creature had its tail wrapped around her ankle!

“GREEN!” she screamed, falling to her knees. She reached for Green’s outstretched hand, desperately trying to pull out of this horrid trap.

“Purple!” Green shrieked. “C’mon, pull! GUYS, HELP!!”

Yellow took a hold of Green’s waist, and Blue helped Yellow. Chosen lit a fireball again.

The creature stepped closer, one of its wicked claws piercing into Purple’s leg to immobilize its prey, triggering a scream from Purple’s lips. Blood immediately smeared all over her leg, and her hand went limp in Green’s.

Chosen threw the fireball at the creature’s head, causing it to shriek. Its tail unwrapped from Purple’s ankle, allowing Green, Yellow and Blue to pull her to safety. The creature, head on fire, fell back into the wall, and it rolled around, struggling to put the fire out before eventually going still.

“Go! Inside.” Chosen directed them all to step inside his apartment, Purple using Green and Yellow as crutches, her face pale and leg bleeding.

Closing the door, Chosen made his way inside the room. They’d set Purple on his ugly couch, her leg still bleeding immensely.

“Keep pressure on it!” Blue was saying. He was pulling a few things out of his satchel — a bandage and a bottle of what appeared to be a potion of healing. “Purple, I need you to look at me.”

Green obeyed by pressing his hands over the area where Purple’s leg had been impaled, wincing when Purple groaned from the agony. Blood stained his hands, but he didn’t care.

“No, don’t look at it,” Blue ordered. He finally dripped some healing potion into Purple’s mouth, and eventually, she stopped struggling against Green’s hold. Once she was calmed down a bit, Blue moved to bandage the wound. Red helped by taking Purple’s hand and giving it another squeeze.

Orange watched from across the room, feeling sick to his stomach, feeling beads of sweat trickle down his neck. The panic and tension in the room was overwhelming, and the sight of blood didn’t make it any better.

This was a dream. Soon he’d wake up and find himself in his own bed, surrounded by his friends and eating some of Blue’s pancakes. But no — this was very real. The thought alone was nauseating.

He nearly jumped out of shock when he felt Chosen lay a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey. Calm down. It’s just me.” Chosen looked at Orange straight in the eye. “Are you okay?”

“F-fine as I’ll ever be,” Orange stammered. “I didn’t exactly expect … this … to happen tonight.”

Chosen sighed. “I know.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. Though it seemed like hours of agony had passed, it was only 4:15. He tried to form a plan in his head, but his thoughts were muddled, preventing him from thinking straight. Finally, he went into his bedroom to find something they’d probably need.

Across the room, Purple’s breathing had steadied again and she had relaxed on the couch. Red’s hand was still clutched around hers, and Blue was finishing wrapping the wound with bandages from his satchel. He’d dressed the cut on her leg and now she was fine, but Blue didn’t want to risk the cut opening again. Yellow sat beside Blue, tinkering with his staff. Green paced anxiously around the room.

“We need a plan,” he said. “Purple’s foster dad is probably being held hostage. We need to rescue him.”

“Which is why I have this,” Chosen spoke up, walking in the room with a large piece of paper. Clearing the table, he spread it out and waved his hand at it. “A map to the Dark Web.”

Everyone leaned in to look. The map was intricately designed and illustrated, displaying each crack and crevice of the endless halls and corridors of the Dark Web.

“Where in the World Wide Web did you obtain something like this…?” Yellow breathed. Chosen couldn’t find the strength to reply, so he just shrugged.

Red gulped. “That sounds scary,” he said. “Isn’t it kinda, y’know, dangerous?”

Chosen’s only answer was a single nod.

After gazing at the map for some time, Chosen clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “All right, that’s enough of that. Everyone, get ready,” he said, standing to his feet. “We leave in an hour.”