“What? How do I save her then!? TELL ME!!” Elliot asked desperately.

[To save her, please Bestow strength to her first.]

“BESTOW! GIVE ME A POTION AND BESTOW ALL AVAILABLE STRENGTH TO HER!” Elliot immediately shouted.

[Acknowledged.]

[2.9 strength Bestowed to Jessica Musk.]

A vial of red liquid appeared in Elliot’s hands and he immediately raised Jessica’s pale face and poured the contents of the vial into her bloodied mouth.

“Drink this potion, Jess. Yes, that’s good. That’s good.” Elliot gently coaxed her to drink the potion.

Thankfully, Jessica still had her final shred of consciousness and was able to somewhat listen to her beloved brother’s words.

The miraculous potion slowly made its effects felt in Jessica’s body.

BA DUMP. BA DUMP.

Jessica’s strength-enhanced heart began to pound with great vigor as the potion knitted her ruptured flesh together with visible speed.

Plonk.

The knife was pushed out by Jessica’s regenerating flesh.

Jessica opened her eyes and took a long shuddering breath, and then slowly breathed out.

The memory of the great surge of pain as she stabbed herself, and the fearsome feeling of slowly slipping into death’s embrace lingered in her mind, causing her to shudder slightly in trepidation.

“What’s happening, brother?” Jessica asked Elliot after a few moments. She stared at his half-relieved half-anguished face and couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of pain in her heart at what she had tried to do. She knew her death would have been extremely painful to Elliot.

Jessica hugged her brother back with all her strength.

After a few long seconds of relief, Jessica’s strength finally made itself felt on Elliot’s body.

“Oof!” Elliot winced lightly.

“Sorry! Did I press on your injury or something?” Jessica asked Elliot as she loosened her hug a little bit.

“Nono’| You’re much stronger now than before. I had to’| Bestow some strength to you using some lucky points the system gave me after accidentally creating a new skill while I was attacking that’| monster just now.” Elliot said.

Jessica nodded in rough understanding.

After getting her fill of hugging Elliot, Jessica released him. She glanced around, and realized that Jennifer was missing.

“He’|He really took Jennifer.” Jessica said as she felt her heart breaking slightly.

She had never been separated from Jennifer ever since they were born, not even for a few hours. Not having Jennifer around at that moment was a momentous and painful thing for her.

Still, she was alive. And they had a chance to reunite in the future. At that moment after being so abruptly and forcefully separated from Jennifer, that was all that mattered to Jessica.

“Jen is still alive. We’ll save her and everything will be fine.” She repeated those words over and over to herself.

“We’ll get her back.” Elliot said softly while clutching the square token which Rak’Tharos had tossed him very tightly. “I promise you,Jessica. We’ll get her back! I’ll make sure of that.”

Jessica looked at her brother’s face which was full of cold determination and felt slightly better. Elliot was always dependable.

“I believe you brother. We’ll definitely get her back!” Jessica nodded and held Elliot’s hand.

For a few moments, brother and sister merely sat there quietly, nursing their broken hearts and sharpening their intent to grow stronger.

And to save their sister at all costs.

The next few days would see an unprecedented horror unleashed upon the world by the aliens.

But deep in Elliot’s heart, he swore that he would unleash his own horror upon the aliens and their beasts.historical

Any thoughts of holing up in Winter’s lair and waiting out the insane first week were gone from his mind.

“I will kill each and every alien beast I encounter. And then hunt the rest down until their bloods become like rivers upon this land.” Elliot vowed.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

“NOO!!!!!!!!!!!!” Game Master De Silva shrieked in frustration and nearly tore out what little remained of his hair on his head. “WHY?”

“Why did he let him go?! He could have easily killed him right there and then!! He didn’t even kill any of his beasts! Not even that damned monkey!” Game Master De Silva screamed uncontrollably.

“AIDE! Send down MORE legendary beasts! Redirect ALL the legendary beasts in California to his location NOW!” Game Master De Silva roared.

However, only silence greeted him.

“AIDE! WHERE ARE-” Game Master De Silva stopped halfway as he stared at his upside-down headless body in confusion.

“Huh? Isn’t that my body? Why’|” And then everything turned dark.

Behind him, Game Master Gerald Justice turned off his energy saber and returned it on his hip holster. (A/N: Bring on the starwars GIFs lol)

“Drop five Class A and one Class SS resource boxes on his position now.” He rasped in a soft voice.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” His aide bowed in acknowledgement.

“I am not an Emperor here. In this place, I am a Game Master.” He corrected his aide.

“As you wish, Game Master.” His aide replied.

Game Master Gerald Justice nodded and studied Elliot’s angry face for a few seconds longer as if putting him into his memory.

“Consider the resource boxes my compensation for an unfair beginning. And a reward for living through it.” Game Master Gerald Justice murmured.

“How long till the scheduled beginning?” He asked his aide.

“Four minutes and twenty seconds, Game Master.”

“Good. Launch the remaining spaceships on time. Make sure you replenish the five legendary beasts we lost to Elliot Musk. We couldn’t have California enjoying any more advantages than it already has right now.” He ordered.

“Almost an entire tribe of Kaijins dead already. But that’s a direct result of his own foreknowledge and power. I cannot interfere.” Game Master Gerald Justice murmured to himself. “Just as I cannot interfere how Himari Suzuki is somehow preparing herself so perfectly. And how Hailey Longman is “gathering” all the other strong players in her area.”

“The second iteration is always a battle of the elites.” A beautiful woman who had been standing really quietly behind him suddenly said.

“Yes. But no other games were ever as skewed as this particular one. And our Adamantium Sponsor’s boon is not even in play yet. I fear the audience will not be entertained by such a game.” Game Master Gerald Justice replied.

“You may be an excellent Game Master, Gerald Justice, but you totally suck at reading what the audiences really want. Just do your thing and keep the Games fair. I will make our decisions with regard to the interferences for the sake of the ratings.” Game Master Seraphin Burns said.

“And the first interference I want is to upgrade the SS Resource Box you just issued to SSS.. And make sure the SSS Power Up is suitable for a 12 year old girl.”