Kauss and Depsy walked through the fire and flames. They had to re-enter the chaos since, according to Depsy, they needed to cross the destruction in order to get to Olten. They ran through fire and smoke for nearly twenty minutes. Bones cracked under their feet the more they ran and they had to stop repeatedly in order to breathe properly.

Kauss carried the bag with the energy capsules and his grandmamma’s ashes. With each leap and step, the bag jostled around, making him worried about the state the vase was in. Every time they stopped for a breather, he would open the bag to see if the vase was up to standard. Thankfully, no matter the beating, it stayed strong, with no cracks or holes forming inside.

Even though neither of them attacked the other during their run, they stayed vigilant of each other’s actions. They barely knew each other, so even though they had no intention of hurting one another, they still kept a lookout. Through fire and flames, they ran. Through ash and smoke, they trudged. Though doubt and deceit lingered, they kept their minds clear. They were both in peak condition, both physically and mentally, but that didn’t mean a single instant couldn’t break what they had set up.

They came across something interesting when they paused to take another breather. Depsy yelled to stop, and they both froze and began sitting down. The smoke always rises, so they had to get as low to the ground as possible in order to not suffocate themselves. Kauss was doing his normal duty of checking grandmamma’s vase when Depsy spoke up.

“This was where one of the explosions happened, you know.”

“Explosion?”

“Yeah. I was in a group ordered to drop a bomb down a Tetson hole. There were two others, and we were all tasked with the same thing. They said it would be safe but-” He waved his hand across the fire and debris scattered about the place.

“I get that feeling. Being lied to for someone else’s benefit is common down where I live.”

“Really?”

Kauss nodded, his gaze looking far off toward something unknown to Depsy. He couldn’t tell what exactly he was looking at, but he knew it was somewhere that he couldn’t see himself. Even after everything that’s happened, after all this time, he never had that far gone stare that people like Linux could do. There was a hint of jealousy in him, but at the same time, he was glad that he didn’t live through what they had to in order to get such a look.

“What was the first floor like?”

Kauss chuckled. “You know, Linux said he wants to know about the first floor, but he never grew the balls to ask that yet.”

“So is that a no?”

Kauss sighed and began drawing lines in the ash. “It’s something hard to explain. I hated that place forever, but I never wanted to leave. Like, imagine the worst day you’ve had, multiply it by a bajillion, then spread it throughout your entire life. Thats probably the best I can explain it.”

“But you never wanted to leave?”

“Yep. I wanted to stay down there forever. I always believed that there was far worse waiting for me up the tower.”

“So, how’s the second floor?”

“Well let me see, there’s a fire-breathing monster, everyone here wants me dead, and the place is on fucking fire.” He didn’t even dare hide the sarcasm. He wanted him to know how stupid that question was.

“Sorry.”

Kauss sighed. “Actually, it’s pretty similar.”

Silence fell on the both of them. The only thing keeping them from going deaf with silence was the roar of the fire. Depsy hadn’t felt this awkward since the time he asked the girl he was hitting on a date. It was in an open area, surrounded by people, and everyone within earshot was looking at them. He didn’t expect the refusal to be so brutal and so mean spirited. Calling him names, then running off crying like he was the one at fault. She just left him feeling embarrassed with a ton of people laughing at him.

During his internal monologue of the worst moment of his life, he saw something shine in the corner of his eye. He turned and saw a shiny piece of metal sticking out of the ash. The fire reflected off the surface, which was what attracted him to it. He moved the ash out of the way and exposed a button buried underneath the ash. He picked it up and examined it, turning it over in his hands.

The metal was hot, but not hot enough to be unbearable. There were hints of scratches and denting in the metal, but otherwise, it was perfectly fine. He called Kauss and showed him his findings. They both looked at each other, wondering if they should press it or not.

“Why not?” Kauss said. “It can’t be worst then this.”

Depsy nodded and went to press the button. Before he could, he felt metal touch the back of his skull, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks. At first he thought Kauss had betrayed him, but he was still beside him, unmoving from his position.

“Don’t you move a muscle.” It was a woman’s voice that talked to him. Her voice was filled with anger and her weapon pressed against his head even harder. “You okay Kauss?”

“Yeah Helona, so you can put the gun down now.”

“Why?”

“This guy’s not a problem.”

As soon as their conversation ended, he felt the metal leave. He took a deep breath since he’s been holding his breath since the moment he felt that weapon press up against him. He turned around and saw two people standing behind him. One of them was a woman with a gun in hand and the other was a shirtless man with the most impressive abs he’s ever seen.

“Why are you wearing my stuff?” Killian asked.

“Because mine burned off and I can’t be running around naked while there’s a wildfire going on.”

“And that’s why you shouldn’t just take off by yourself.” Helona scolded him, knocking him against his head. He was about to complain until she went in for a ferocious kiss that looked so sensual that it made Depsy blush.

“So what’s going on here?” Helona asked.

Depsy stood up, deciding their break was over now. “The name’s Depsy, and I’m not your enemy.” He held his hand out and waited for her to shake it. When she didn’t accept the gesture, he lowered it, embarrassed.

She stared at Kauss while pointing at Depsy. Kauss could tell she was getting upset with all of his antics lately. Pairing up with a random second floorer was just the nail in the coffin.

“Can you explain?”

Kauss sighed and recounted the events that occurred the moment he ran off on his own to the present. As he was explaining his heart away, Killian approached Depsy, both of them looking at the couple. Once they got tired of that, they looked at each other, both silent, not knowing what to say.

“So,” Killian began. “The names Killian.”

“Depsy.” He held his hand out, but like Helona, Killian refused to take it. “Aren’t y’all friendly with Linux? Don’t y’all shake hands.”

“I respect him, but I wouldn’t say we’re friendly with him. I barely knew him for a day.” As they talked, he looked at Depsy’s hand and spotted the button. “What’s that for?”

Depsy shrugged, raising the button, and stared at it for a moment longer. He wanted to press it, but he didn’t have a single clue what it would do. Now that he was thinking things through, pressing the button could very well set off another bomb. There were multiple risks that shined through just by taking the time to think, but the redness of the button was calling to him, begging him to press it. However, in just a few seconds, he shook his head, deciding it was better to not take the risk.

He was about to throw it back to the ground, but Killian snatched it from his hand before he could. Depsy watched in shock as he pressed the button with seemingly no intellectual thought other than press the shiny thing. Kauss and Helona ceased their arguing as everyone’s attention was drawn to something just a few feet away from them.

Ashes flew in the air as brown lightning tossed them around. Something underneath all that ash was rising, and that brown lightning could only mean one thing. Someone was trapped in a net of brown electricity, like how Kauss and the others were inside those brown lightning traps in Linux’s lab.

Everyone approached the source of the lightning, but stayed far enough away before they get zapped. As the electricity weakened, they got closer and closer toward the source, being showered by ash and soot along the way. Once they got close enough, they all stared wide-eyed at what they were seeing.

Inside of the brown trap, underneath all that ash, and burnt and injured to hell and back, was Linux. His skin was scarred red and black, his right arm broken in several places, and his eyes lost all their luster. His stomach failed to move along with his breathing, since there was no breathing to be had. He was, without a doubt, dead, in all the meaning of the word.

“Linux!” Depsy shouted out and dived toward the corpse.

He stuck his head against his heart, searching for any sign of rhythm. There was no thumping that could be heard or felt in his chest. However, he knew this wasn’t the end. Even though he was dead, there was a chance to revive him. He could live again, the only consequence being that he couldn’t die again. Now that the brown trap was out of the way, his body began producing red lightning naturally from the Gaxtex still on him.

Muscles began stitching back together, and his bones began mending. Even if it was an incredibly slow process, he should be alright in the end. Depsy heard footprints behind him, and he turned around, expecting the first floorers were worrying their minds off about him. However, their faces couldn’t be anything but the exact opposite. They stared down at his corpse, cold and thoughtless, as if his life was little less than a piece of clothing that was torn unexpectedly. It was like they saw his death as more of an annoyance than a tragedy. The only one having a semblance of emotion was Killian, who showed some hint of sadness.

“He gonna be alright?” Helona asked.

“Yeah.” Depsy answered. “I don’t know how long it’ll take, but his brain’ll waken sooner or later.”

As soon as he said that, he spotted the brief glimpse of Linux taking in a solid breath. He turned and grabbed onto Linux’s shoulders, keeping him down as he began a coughing fit so rough his entire body rocked from the power of it. Once that was over, his eyes fluttered open, taking the scenery of fire and ash around him.

“What happened?” Linux asked, breaking into another coughing fit. His voice was raspy and weak, like an elderly man on death’s door.

“I’m guessin you got caught in the Gone Red.”

Linux had trouble remembering what had happened the moment before he passed out. He remembered fighting some guards, and then blackness. Beyond that, his mind drew a blank as to what had actually happened. Once Depsy said the words, Gone Red, all those memories came floating back with little issue.

As soon as they dropped the Gone Red in the hole, he immediately sprung into action. He dug in his pocket for both a brown energy capsule and button. Once he grabbed them, the bomb went off and he had little time left. He opened the capsule and slammed it against his chest, activating the lightning inside. As the brown energy sparked to life, the bomb’s red lightning had already reached him. He was only exposed to it for about a few seconds, but he remembered it being some of the worst pain he had ever experienced. It was as if someone took his very soul and attacked it directly.

All he knew afterward was blackness. It didn’t last for very long, since just after he shut his eyes, he opened them again to find himself surrounded by fire and a second floor guard in front of him. He thought he had been caught until he saw Kauss, Helona, and Killian nearby as well.

“So, that’s the case.” He coughed even harder, blood sputtering out of his mouth. When the fit was over, he turned to Kauss. “Do you got the organ?”

Kauss looked behind him and Helona held up her hand with the organ in her grasp. He gave Linux a thumbs up and a reassuring nod.

“How are we going to get you back to Felxin like this?” Helona asked.

Linux smiled and rested his head against the ground. His mind was fuzzy and needles were prickling him all over. He had no clue what he looked like right now, but whatever happened was tearing at him. There were holes in his vision, tiny blots of fuzziness that splattered everywhere he looked. Despite being in such a condition, he could come up with the solution they needed easily.

“There’s something we can do to heal myself quick.” Linux explained. “It’ll take a few hours, but I’ll be fine afterword.”

“And that is?” Kauss egged him on.

“Shut up and I’ll get to it. You remember how I filled your Gaxtex with extra blue energy?” Kauss nodded. Now that his burns were clearing up and his arm was mending, he could feel the pleasure come back full force. It was at an irritating status as of the moment, but soon it’ll return to being unbearable. “We’ll just do the same thing, but use green energy.”

Depsy shook his head. “No. No. No fucking no. Yes, you’ll be fine afterword, but that hours of torture you’re talking about.”

“Listen, whoever you are. I can’t stay here much longer. You should know by now that if I stay here, I’ll die. I don’t know why you betrayed your people, but I’d appreciate it if you listen to me then.”

Depsy cursed and began the operation. He was right at the end of the day. If they didn’t hurry, then everything would fall apart within a matter of seconds. He listened to the people above him and it led to the world catching ablaze. If they were lying to him, that had to mean that Linux had his best interest at heart.

“Where’s the capsules?”

Kauss placed the bag next to him and he dug through them for green capsules. He dug a few out and turned back toward Linux’s mangled body. He was panting, on the last rings of life left. He needed to remove the Gaxtex in order to not screw everything up, but by doing that, he’d be risking Linux dying once more. If he dies a second time, there would be no bringing him back.

He lifted Linux’s arm and he scream and winced from the contact. Wave of indescribable pain rushed over him and crushed his very soul to dust. Depsy noted how rubbery and wirey his skin felt with all the burnt and bloody patches. He grabbed the Gaxtex under his arm and yanked it out, blood pouring out, then re-entering the wound. He turned it over, immediately found the opening, and began pouring green energy inside.

Meanwhile, Linux’s gasps and wheezes quieted, silencing to minor pants and raspy breaths. He had no clue what he was seeing anymore. His vision devolved into nothing but blurry figures and broken pieces. He couldn’t make out anything as his body slowly began shutting down again. He blinked once, his vision getting progressively worse. He blinked twice, an angel appeared. She was so beautiful, he wanted to just grab her by the cheeks and smooch her.

He blinked three times, and pain erupted all over his body. His entire body’s senses turned on maximum overdrive times ten and obliterated his brain, frying him alive. Depsy had inserted the Gaxtex back where it belonged and green and blue lightning electrified his body. He stood back as screams of desperation and agony filled the air, overpowering the roar of the fire. This wasn’t a fix all since the human brain is a rather weak organ of the body. This procedure was considered a last ditch effort for a reason among the guards. If the brain can’t hold up against all the body’s senses being turned up to the max, then it could potentially fry and shut down.

This was his second chance, and there was one shot to win and lose everything.