Two days have passed since Barry and his party had last left their base, the group encountered a few obstacles along the way which were presented by the moderators in the form of short elimination events against various different kinds of monsters. Those ranging from subterranean monsters to forest dwellers.

  Overall, the team was able to fight through the challenges thrown at them without much trouble to be worried about. Yet, it was as if the moderators were testing their capabilities at the moment to get a feel for their current strength. Everyone that was inside the carriage put in the effort to train while someone with Abe giving him directions to their destination.

  Kat had taken over Barry’s shift who went back inside, she guided Abe to where they needed to go. Puck joined them as well, he didn’t want to be cooped up inside the carriage the whole trip. The environment was changing as they went, it was slowly shifting to a sort of wetland biome with puddles of water appearing here and there.

  “It feels…icky where we are now.” Kat commented as she could feel her skin getting slightly sticky. “Are we, or have we entered a swamp biome just now?”

  Abe surveyed the area around, licked his ghostly finger and raised it in the air for a bit before answering her question. “Just about…we’ll be officially entering an icky, smelly, grotesque land that is…a swamp.” He was amused by Kat’s facial expression as he confirmed, which was a look of disgust. “Haha, you look sickened young lady. You’re not going to puke are you?”

  “U-Um, no.” Kat patted her face to calm herself down. “I-I can handle this. This is nothing…” A faint smell of what Kat could only describe as rotten eggs, her stomach felt queasy and covered her face. “I don’t like how this place smells…”

  Abe laughed upon witnessing her reaction. “You’ll get used to it as we go deeper into the trenches. But hey, it seems like Puck doesn’t mind how this place is.”

  The two turned to look at Puck who was snagging bugs in the air and on the carriage, eating them afterwards. “This place has free snacks for Puck. Puck no mind being here at all.” The little guy replied with a cheery attitude.

  ‘Well, at least Puck is dealing with the bugs in a way of his own. I’m glad he’s here with me.’ Kat reassured herself, appreciating the Kobold’s company in enduring the journey through the swamp.

  Further they ventured through the wetlands, the solid dirt path that they once travelled on had slowly changed into a spongy, wet texture on a route through overgrown trees, flora, crawling moss, icky green stuff. Abe commanded his horses to slow down their pace given the condition of things since their path was getting a bit narrow. Later on, Abe spotted something in the distance that made him squint his eyes and tap on Kat’s shoulder. “Say…you see what I’m seeing?” He stuck a finger at something to get Kat and Puck’s opinion.

  Down the path they were on, in the trees above, was what appeared to be a short bright green frog creature with black stripes that was looking down at them. It seemed to be humanoid given the way its limb and current form were. “What is that?” Puck asked, Kat and Puck's eyes were full of curiosity.

  Abe rubbed his chin, searching through his catalog of different beings he had met before. “Could be…ah!” He snapped his fingers upon recollection. “That there’s a slimy Tamafrog! Or, err, Tamatoad? Eh, it’s a tamafrog, I get the two mixed up.”

  “Tamafrog?” Kat repeated, the name sounded silly to her, but she accepted it. “Why do you think this tamafrog is spying on us? Are we invading its home by chance?”

  Abe was unsure if that was the case or not. “That I don’t know. These little guys are pretty docile though unless provoked. They can use nasty toxins if threatened. Yet at the same time, they tend to be with others whenever they leave their home…” And as he started thinking more about a reason why this tamafrog was checking them out, he couldn’t help but feel like something was off.

  “Maybe Puck should go talk to froggy.” Puck suggested, waving at the tamafrog from his seat. “Hey! Froggy! Puck wanna be friends with you!” Suddenly, the tamafrog looked away from the group and vanished from its spot. “No! Don’t go away froggy. Puck just wanted to be friends!” He then hopped off the carriage and started sprinting towards the tree that the tamafrog was on.

  “Puck! Wait!” Kat called out before following him. Abe remained on his carriage, but stuck close to them the best he could. Puck had reached the same tree he last saw the froggy on and began climbing it by clawing the sides of the overgrown tree. “Puck, stop.” Kat urged. “We don’t want to scare it away, maybe it’ll come back.”

  “Puck not scary, Puck’s kind and friendly.” The Kobold soon made it to the top thanks to his skillful expertise of climbing trees during his time back home. “Froggy! Don’t go away, me and my friends are nice!”

  He walked among the tree branches with ease and care in search for the tamafrog, but didn’t go too far to see the tamafrog once again peeking at him. “Hey, it’s okay. Puck not going to hurt you.” Puck started dawdling towards the tamafrog, but that only caused the being to vanish again. “Wha- What!? No, come back!”

  Kat and Abe followed the two for a bit, watching Puck struggle to get the tamafrog to halt and become friends. Suddenly, they would reach a large body of swamp water with no more ground surface ahead for them to traverse on.

  Puck had the tamafrog cornered now given that there was no longer a way for it to run away besides diving into the water. “Ha! Nowhere to run froggy, so please don’t- Huh?”

  He then heard the tamafrog croak for the first time while making vocal sounds that seemed like it was saying “Tama”. The frog then jabbed a sticky finger at a place off in the vast waters.

  Kat, Abe, and Puck observed what it was that this tamafrog was trying to tell them and understood what it was referring to. There in the distance were some bundled up tamafrogs standing on a patch of mossy green land out in the water with makeshift spears. Scary and seemingly afraid, these stranded tamafrogs were hesitant about stepping into the waters to return back where they came from.

  “I think this tamafrog wanted us to come here and help its friends.” Kat concluded. “There must be something lurking in the water that’s keeping them from moving.”

  At a glance, bubbles surfaced above the water for a moment before a creature emerged, splashing green water and algae everywhere as a giant mossy, sage scaled alligator attempted to lunge out at the stranded frogs. They back stepped due to fear, only to get startled again from another alligator that popped out, then another, and another. Kat, Abe, and Puck realized that they were surrounded by an entire pack of swamp monsters.

  “That must be frightening to be bullied by those snapping carnivores. Poor things can’t fight off those large beasts on their own, we’ve gotta lend them a hand don’t you think?” Abe asked the two, who nodded in return. “Alrighty, well first things, first. Let me try speaking some sense to these gators before we decide to get rough with them.”

  Kat and Puck were interested in how Abe was going to communicate with the gators. The Great Abe approached the edge of the water, cupping his hands together close to his mouth before producing an impressive bellowing noise that mimicked an alligator.

  And to their surprise, one of the alligators stuck its scaly head out and responded back to Abe in a similar tune, only this one was more aggressive. Abe tapped his head, trying to remember the right vocals to reply back in the language of gator, but then snapped his fingers and replied back. The gator then answered back to him in return, its aggression remaining the same then resumed bullying the tamafrogs.

  “Um…what did it say?” Kat questioned Abe, finding the interaction completely bizarre.

  “Well, It's telling us to mind our own business and walk away or things might get ugly for us if we interfere with their snack time.” Abe informed, he had hoped that they would let the tamafrogs off the hook, but that was probably wishful thinking. “So, since they’re obviously so dedicated to playing with their food, that gives us the option to shoo them off. Yeah?”

  Puck clapped his hands with excitement, he didn’t like the sight of the poor tamafrogs getting messed around. “Yeah! Puck will scare away big, bad monsters!” He then looked at the green tamafrog with a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Puck and friends will help you all.”

  The green tamafrog croaked back in affirmation, understanding Puck and feeling relieved. The Kobold then climbed down from the tree and rushed towards the water, only to halt and recognize that he probably shouldn’t try swimming in the gators domain. “Uh…Puck, don't think it’s a good idea to swim.”

  “Dusk!” Kat called out to her ghostly companion, it appeared in front of Kat, awaiting her request. She brought out her spiked shield and asked Dusk to possess it like usual and give Puck a ride on the flat side as a way to hover over the water. Puck sat on the shield and held on tight, enjoying the ride as Dusk lifted him up and towards the alligators to provide support for the tamafrogs.

  Kat wondered if they should have probably woken up the rest of the group in case they needed more help. “Do you think we need the others to handle this?” She asked for Abe’s opinion.

  “Mmmm, nah.” Abe waved a hand nonchalantly. “There’s no need to do that. With the firecracker, your voodoo magic, my greatness, we’ve got all we need to wrangle these gators to submission. Besides, I have some friends who have a bone to pick with alligators…”

  The Great Abe placed two fingers to his lips and whistled a melodic tune. Shortly after, white ghostly whirlwinds manifested behind them. From these whirlwinds, emerged five large spirit platybears. Abe and Kat were lifted on top of their heads, surprising Kat who wasn’t expecting this type of help, letting them ride as they approached the swamp water. “Onwards we go!” Abe rallied the group.

  Dusk kept Puck at a certain distance above the water while he spewed fire down below. The alligator monsters growled at the burning, painful sensation despite being in water, a couple of them launched themselves high up in an attempt to catch the cursed Kobold. “Whoa! Puck can’t fall down, go higher friendly ghost.” He asked, planning to retaliate with exploding fireballs instead with more distance.

  However, his fireballs would have lesser effect on the monsters since they would submerge just in time before getting hit directly. Puck’s fireballs also lacked the explosive capabilities they usually had, creating small splashes in the water due to being dowsed. “Ack! Puck’s fire no good with water, monsters keep hiding.”

  Abe and Kat arrived on time with reinforcements and engaged the enemies. The platybears and the alligators were locked in close combat, tussling it out. Abe had been keeping out of the party's fights mainly because he thought he'd get in the way of things due to being rusty, as well as not being much of a fighter himself. He also wasn't fond of having any of his spirit animals fighting for him, even if they would disappear for some time if they were defeated in combat. But this was one of those exceptions because he could sense his platybears dislike for alligators stealing their eggs.

  Kat remained stable on her mount while she cast beams of black magic at the alligators and restricted their movements with her binding chains. ‘These gators have really tough scales, but my magic still appears to be effective against them. Although, their temper and agility through water is not to be underestimated.’

  An alligator snuck up from behind Kat, planning to launch an ambush on her and her mount. It lunged out of the water with its jaws wide open to snatch her off, but Kat was prepared, her training with Ron paying off. Imagining what she wanted to produce and channeling her magic in her stretched out palms, she manifested a purple hex-barrier, shielding her from its attack despite it being cracked in the process. She couldn't help but feel a bit proud of herself. ‘I-I did it! Just like Calista demonstrated!’

  She continued to apply pressure on the alligators and utilizing her new defensive shields to protect both herself and Abe from the savage swamp monsters. Abe was on the back of his own platybear, firing spirit arrows at their enemies that embedded into them no matter how tough their hide was. “I’m still the sharpest ranger I ever was! You alligators got nothing on the Great Abe! Yah!” He was clearly having a moment of excitement to himself.

  The tamafrogs observed their new allies in awe, not expecting help from foreign folk outside their domain. A surge of courage and inspiration rose within them, causing the group to band together and join the three heroes in their fight against the savage swamp monsters. They hopped and mounted the other platybears, assisting them with their spears, stabbing at the alligators soft spots and previously wounded areas.

  But that wasn’t their only weapon that was used, they had coated the tip of their spears with their natural bodily toxins that caused nerve damage over time. The tamafrogs were even able to spit and emit bullets of toxic substance, some of it landing directly in the eyes of the beasts which caused them to act irregular and experience pain inside.

  Still remaining on his floating shield, supported by Dusk, Puck kept bombarding the alligators with fireballs whenever they were exposed out of the water. And when connected, the swamp monsters would roar in agony from the extreme scorches that resulted in burning their flesh, making them retreat back underwater to cool off.

  Eventually, with the combined effort of everyone there, the alligators would soon decide to turn tail and skedaddle out of the mess they got themselves into. “Yeah! Go away, big meanies! Leave Puck’s friends alone!” Puck yelled out with a fist raised high in the air.

  Puck was not the only one cheering for victory, as Abe took his hat off and whipped it around in excitement as he insulted the cowardice alligators in their language. “Haha! Damn right, get on out of here or else I’ll be wearing y’all as my new fit!”

  “W-We did it!” Kat was pleased with their teamwork, managing to successfully scare off the alligators before they could get a chance to gobble the poor tamafrogs. “Great work everyone.”

  All the tamafrogs happened to still be on the platybear spirits, gazing at their savors with grateful expressions. One of them spoke out loud with the word ‘Tama’ and some croaks mixed in.

  Abe was the only one who understood what it was saying, and he got the memo. “Oh you're very welcome, but how about we take this discussion someplace out of these hazardous waters. Come on everyone.” He replied, then proceeded to rally everyone to return to land.

  From there, Abe thanked his platybear spirits right before whisking them away back to their homes inside one of his personal spatial biomes. Everyone then gathered near Abe’s carriage and resumed asking the tamafrogs about how they happened to get stranded and bullied by those alligators. Kat and Puck were once again fascinated by how Abe was able to understand what the tamafrogs were saying.

  The first tamafrog that they encountered, reappeared from the trees with joy, relieved to see that his friends were safe and sound. “See, Puck and friends are nice. So are we friends now, froggy?” Puck asked with a smile, extending his hand out for friendship.

  Kat wasn’t sure if it would even be safe to touch the tamafrogs, given how she saw them utilize their slimy toxic substance as a weapon against the ferocious alligators. “Um, Puck? I’d be careful. They’re still poisonous-”

  The green tamafrog approached the Kobold, accepting his gesture by shaking his hand. ‘This can’t be good. I should get one of Sherry’s antidotes ready just in case.’ Kat thought, concerned for the chance of Puck getting unintentionally poisoned. But that would no longer be something to worry about when she noticed that nothing was happening.

  “It’s okay, Kat.” Puck said, still appearing fine and cheery as his usual self was. “Puck okay, froggy safe to shake hands with. He’s careful, just like Puck is with fire.” The tamafrog then walked over to Kat and extended a hand as well, wanting to express its gratitude to Kat as well.

  She was hesitant at first, but gave in to its gesture. The feeling was slimy and sticky, it was an incredibly weird experience for her but other than that, she felt completely fine. “You’re welcome, I’m glad we came at the perfect time to provide help.” The tamafrog croaked a happy tune in response, clearly pleased at their assistance.

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  “Hmm…I see, I see…” Abe was still chatting with the other tamafrogs about their story. He then turned and faced the other two to share what he found out. “So, it seems that our new friends have been out searching for a couple of their pals that have gone missing. That’s how a bunch of them got caught up by those bullies from earlier.”

  “Friends missing?” Puck was the first to offer his assistance upon hearing their predicament. “Puck and friends can help look for other froggies. It's no problem.”

  Although Kat wanted to help the tamafrogs out, she thought back about her group and their main quest of searching for the 4th prism. More specifically, she thought about Barry who she knew was indifferent about providing help to others if it meant deviating from their goal. “Uh, wait a minute, Puck. I think we should ask the others first before offering assistance. Don’t you think so, Abe?”

  Abe didn’t mind lending a hand to the tamafrogs, but he knew why Kat wanted to bring it up to the group and figured that Barry was the main reason. “Yup, let’s get the other’s opinions first. But I think we both know for a fact that one of them is going to want to turn these poor fellas down.”

  The three went ahead and got everyone inside the carriage outside to get their general vote of what they should do. Anna, Luna, and Ron didn’t mind at all with finding the tamafrogs friends as they travelled through the swamp. The coordinates of where the 4th prism would be was a few more days away, which wasn’t much of a concern for them since, especially since the moderators haven’t pinged the official location of the prism. But even still, though everyone else was willing to provide help, the one person they assumed would be against the idea said otherwise…

  “No.” Barry said in a clear and firm tone. He had his arms crossed in an intimidating manner, as he stared directly at the group of colorful tamafrogs. “We have a huge advantage already, why waste time searching for their friends when we can be searching for the prism.”

  Anna sighed, bothered by how Barry was acting. “Barry, I don’t think the moderators are going to announce the next prisms location so soon. Our allies have already secured two other prisms in a row, literally right after we got one of our own. We have time.”

  “Sure, you say that now. But the moderators can be unpredictable when announcing new stuff that’ll just get in our way. We need to remember the bigger picture which is preventing this damn catastrophe from happening.” As unfortunate as it was for the tamafrogs friends to go missing, it shouldn’t be their problem to handle. Saving them was good enough.

  “Gah! Barry! We know how important it is for all of us to complete the main quest, we get it. But can’t we at least have them tag along with us while travelling the rest of the way? Is that too much to ask?” Anna tried to make a compromise for the tamafrogs at the least.

  And while Barry thought about it, he looked at the tamafrogs and everyone else before landing his eyes on Puck who looked to be begging. “Please Barry, can’t froggies join us for a bit? Puck really wants to help new friends. Pleeeease.” The Kobold pleaded with his adorable eyes.

  Barry was not a sucker for things adorable compared to the rest of the group that were entranced by Puck’s current expression. But as per usual, whenever placed in a scenario where Barry should probably help others, an irritable and burning sensation rose within him. ‘Damn it, of course this annoying, unexplainable feeling would show up. I can’t move my lips to tell him no!’

  From everyone else’s perspective, they couldn’t help but see that Barry was struggling to say something. “Puck…I…I…” Barry kept trying to force the words out of his mouth to tell them all no, but inevitably gave up trying in the end. “FUCK! Alright, fine! Whatever!” He felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted and turned around, walking back to the carriage in an irritable mood.

  Puck was thrilled to hear Barry agree to helping the tamafrogs, the others found it humorous and assuring that Barry cracked under the pressure of Puck’s plead, believing that was what made Barry concur.

  A couple of moments later, just after Barry agreed, a side quest notification appeared to them all. This one being related to the tamafrogs current problems. It read the following:

  No one was expecting to receive a side quest by offering the tamafrogs help in searching for the rest of their pals. Regardless, this was at least considered an incentive to them all, even though the reward wasn’t clear exactly what it was. Barry, however, was encouraged to put in some effort into finding the lost tamafrogs due to there being a reward via the system.

  Abe leaned in and whispered to the rest of the group as Barry continued to walk back to the carriage. “I was going to let them join us regardless of what Barry decided anyways. But I’m glad Barry decided to allow them to come with us.” It was Abe’s carriage, and he figured that he had a final say in some decisions.

  And with their decision finally being made, everyone returned on the road again. The tamafrogs were overjoyed to receive help as they hopped on top of the carriage and croaked to a melodic tune. The entire party remained outside the carriage to be on the lookout for the tamafrogs, branching out away from the carriage but not too far to be out of sight as they moved.

  “Tama, tama, tama!” Luna called out with her clones in unison, she also found the word, ‘tama’, to be very catchy. “I wonder what made these frogs decide to use this silly word as their only vocabulary word. Is there a real meaning behind the word, or is it just made up?”

  Ron was nearby when she heard her question. “I wouldn’t think too hard about it. I’ve only briefly read about these tamafrogs in my pastime and apparently, from an urban legend, someone made it up for them and tricked them into thinking that it meant good fortune. They probably thought it would be funny.”

  “Oh it is. And with the way these little guys look and croak, it’s 10x funnier. At least from what I think.” Luna repeatedly started saying the word in her head multiple times.

  Anna and Barry were farther out compared to everyone else since they were more agile than the rest of the party, having no trouble traversing through the hindering environment, utilizing the trees. This was one of the few times they’ve been alone, Anna was curious about Barry’s background and undercover more about his dislike of helping those who he saw as small significance. Even though he would soon fold afterwards and lend a hand, no matter how much he hated it.

  “Hey, now that we’re alone. I’ve been wanting to know more about your reason for always choosing to reject other’s pleas for help, yet offer anyway after getting pissed off.” Anna asked in a genuinely curious tone. “You’ve mentioned it somewhat before back at Oswald and Sherry’s shop a bit. That you find it very distracting and in the way of completing your personal goals. I know one of them is completing the damn main quest we’re in.”

  Barry looked back at that time he ranted off to Ron, Kat, and Anna about his personal feelings towards aiding those who were in desperate need. He responded back, uninterested in how this subject was going to turn out. “Yeah, because the main quest is that important. We don’t survive if we don’t complete it. You’re right, I find it very obnoxious whenever I see or hear others who are weak, asking for help. And still, I give in and help. It’s irritating. I just want to focus on making it through all of this and get back at the gods.”

  ‘So he wants revenge on the gods. I’m sure a lot of us that were forced in this game of theirs has it out for them. But is there something specifically that the gods might have done to him? Or someone or something he had or knew?’ She thought, hoping to pry a bit deeper into his motives and moral compass. “Okay…care to share a bit more about yourself? I know I’m sounding like a nosy person, and I apologize, but if we’re going to stick together, I’d like to get to know more about the people I’m working with.”

  “Just quit.” Barry replied, he was sensing where this was going. “I’ve shown you what I’m capable of and how I operate. I helped find your little sister, isn’t that proof enough what I am to you? Or how about when I saved everyone during the tutorial back on Earth when everything was going to shit? I don’t think I need to explain who I am to the group, so please stop questioning me. I’m beating the gods at their own game, that’s all you NEED to know.”

  The way that Barry answered, could have been taken as negative. Part of the reason why was because Barry didn’t know who he was exactly himself, something that always bothered him everyday since he had awakened with practically no memory of his own past. And the memories that he would receive during unexpected times were related to someone that he knew wasn’t himself, but rather a swordsman that he borrowed his name from. The “True Barry”.

  His reply to her question got under her skin, she was doing her best to hold back insulting him. Anna took a deep breath to calm her nerves and resumed their conversation. “Barry…I’m not trying to interrogate you. And I most certainly am not trying to get on your bad side. I am very thankful for your help in finding my sister, so that does tell me that you care about others in a way despite your cold attitude. You’re a good guy with no ill intentions. I would know because of my passive ability to know if a person has bad motives or not…”

  Barry simmered down, he had somewhat forgotten that she had told him about her passive ability on their first encounter. “...that’s right. You did tell me that before when we first met…still. I’m confused, what else would you need to know about me if you know I’m as good as you say?”

  She started stringing together the right choices of words, but eventually sighed and just said what was on her mind. “Damn you’re so difficult to talk to.” This got Barry to roll his eyes, but continued to listen once she resumed. “Listen, Barry, I’m just trying to get to know you as a person from the point of view of a…” Anna couldn’t believe what she was going to say. “...friend.”

  “Huh?” Barry couldn’t help but feel so perplexed. He paused for a moment, halting their reconnaissance. “What the hell did you just say?”

  Anna didn’t believe what she said either, she felt embarrassed, not accepting what she just said at that moment. “H-Hey, I don’t mean it literally. I’m not thinking of you as a friend, so don’t misunderstand. I just…” She started smoothing down her hair as a way of stress relieving before resuming. “...feel like I should let you know that if you have any problems that you wanna talk about, me and everyone else are here for you. We’re a team. I don’t know if the way you act has always been normal before all this shit happened. But I’d like to think that something has caused you to be such a…bitter, serious person.”

  She started gripping the palms of her hands as another way of easing down, Anna glanced at Barry to see what his reaction was. Barry stood in place, his facial expression told her that he must have been fixated on something in his thoughts. ‘Did I…hit a mark or something?’

  Barry was processing what she had just told him, he was wondering if the others had been thinking the same as well. ‘So Anna is basically offering to lend an ear to listen to my personal problems…that problem being that I don’t know who I am. Have the others been thinking the same thing?’

  There was a moment longer of silence as the two remained still, Anna wanted to hear what Barry had to say to her offer, while Barry thought about if it was even okay to share his problems with her or anyone else. But that silence would soon end, as Barry was the first to speak in a calm manner. “No. I have nothing to say to you or anyone else. I’m fine, but thanks for asking. Now let’s keep searching.”

  This was not the response that Anna was expecting to hear after just seeing him think about something so deep in thought. She felt bothered, this didn’t seem like an honest reply. “Really now…just nothing, huh? You can’t fool me after staring a hole directly into the ground. Don’t lie to me.”

  Frustration rose inside Barry, he didn’t want to deal with this topic anymore. And the longer it continued, he knew he would eventually explode in anger. That was when Barry decided to say something honest about himself that he figured would end the discussion, but he did so in the calmest way he could. “Alright Anna, you clearly want me to open up to you and the rest of the group. I still don’t understand why telling the group anything about myself is going to provide much of any help in this mess we’re in but here goes. I’ll tell you one thing and that’s all. And that is what I think of the team from my perspective.”

  The serious expression on Barry’s face made Anna feel like she was encroaching on a touchy subject, this was likely the only thing that she was going to be able to get out of him. “Uh…okay. Go on.” She couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious to know what his opinion about the group was.

  Barry only took a few seconds to gather his thoughts so that he could express to her exactly how he viewed the party. “You said that we’re a team, correct? Well, the word team can have different meanings to different people. I don’t know if you truly meant it by viewing me as a friend, but honestly it doesn’t matter to me.”

  That last sentence struck Anna’s core, she felt a sudden shock from what was said. However, that would not be the last thing that Barry said. He continued speaking to her. “But don’t misunderstand, I value and appreciate the group for who they are. No I don’t see them as tools, I see them as reliable comrades with potential. Puck is the only person that I consider a friend from our team. But even so, everyone has been doing their part, never once have they let me down. And yes, it is like you said about me, just about the same as everyone has probably thought…I am a cold, blunt, foul-mouth, serious bastard that is solely focused on getting shit done. For anyone besides Puck to call ME a friend, I’d suggest they rethink. Just look at me as someone reliable and determined to do what is needed…not someone to get chummy with. I don’t need that.”

  Anna was taken aback by Barry’s confession, she already knew that Puck was someone that he trusted and saw as a friend. But as for everyone else…he basically only viewed them as comrades, associates, anything of that category…not…friends. She felt dumb inside, how she offered to be someone to hear any personal issues that he might have. “Comrades, associates…no more than that…so that’s how you see us as…” She mumbled.

  Barry sighed and decided to respond to what she just said. “Yeah. Aside from Puck, I’d like to keep it that way. Let’s just keep it professional from now on. And if you want, you can let the others know what I said. They probably won’t like it-”

  “No!” Anna was pissed, she knew that getting mad at him would only result in him pushing her away more, but she wasn’t able to bottle up how stupid she was feeling. “I’m not accepting EVERYTHING that you just said. Okay, sure, we’re comrades and that’s all we’ll ever be to you. Got it. Then tell me this. What will you do if given the choice between giving up the prisms to these villains or saving our lives? Hmm? Tell me!”

  Her sudden outburst threw him off, Barry started getting irritated himself. “I don’t need to answer that question. You’re really agitating me right now, I thought my response was enough to keep you quiet.”

  “Yeah, what a bullshit response that was. So tell me, what would you do in that scenario!” Anna was not going to let him get out of this one.

  Barry turned away, shaking his head in disbelief. “Fuck this. I give you an answer, and you’re still bothering me with more stupid questions. Just accept what I say at face value-”

  Anna teleported in front of Barry, catching him off guard and blocking his path. “I won’t! You’re making yourself very suspicious now by ignoring me. So answer the question! What would you do!”

  He could easily push her away and escape if he wanted to, but Barry knew that she would come around and keep pestering him for a response. “Give it up, Anna. I’m not-” Barry suddenly felt his heart burning up, it was another one of his unknown episodes resurfacing itself. His head started pounding with a headache, his vision blurring. ‘This is not the time right now. What the fuck am I going to see-’

  Past Anna, in view standing by some trees was the True Barry, he couldn’t see his face but his figure and the way he looked was all he needed to know that it was the swordsman he borrowed his name from. The True Barry remained still, like he was staring at Barry directly for some purpose. ‘Why are you here? You're not me, and I know for sure I’m not you. I’m simply borrowing your name because I don’t know who the hell I am. Besides…how do you even know Puck if he’s never met you?’

  While he was experiencing this sudden daydream, Anna noticed how odd he was looking no matter how much he tried to pretend nothing was wrong. ‘Why does he look ill at the moment?’ She decided to drop her question and check on him. “Hey, what’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”

  The True Barry did not budge one bit, he seemingly stared at Barry continuously as if he was staring directly into his soul. ‘What the hell do you want? Why do you keep appearing in my memories!?’

  Suddenly, in the midst of their personal chat, there was a loud snap that echoed throughout the swamp. Almost like a whole tree broke in half. Anna was entirely focused on Barry so much that her heightened senses were not able to pick up the disturbance any time sooner.

  ‘Damn it!’ She cursed in her head, she looked in the direction it came from and was a bit shocked to see what it was. Barry was still in a daze, looking back at the True Barry before being pulled behind some trees by Anna with concern. “Barry, are you okay? Listen, I’m sorry for pressuring you with questions, but if you hadn’t already noticed, there’s something big in the distance.”

  With the True Barry out of his sight, Barry’s headache and vision returned back to normal. He looked at Anna, who was looking off into the direction that the disturbance came from. Barry got himself together and peeked at what it was. ‘At least our chat ended-’

  Far off from where they were, stomping and splashing through the muddy waters was a giant monstrous sage green humanoid with a bulky body, aside from its potbelly, and long limbs. It had two canine teeth that stuck out of its lips like tusks, short black hairs that went down the back of its head to its mid-back, and creepy green eyes. It wielded a large cudgel in one hand, clobbering trees in its wake.

  “What is that?” Anna wondered, as did Barry, this was just another new species that they were clueless about in this world of fantasy. “It’s just one of them. We should hurry back and-”

  And just as she made a suggestion, another giant monstrosity appeared within view…followed by another. There were a group of these giants now in view, all stomping in the direction of their group. “Way to jinx it, Anna…” Barry sighed, he felt like they were about to get into another intense situation.