POV: Sully.

  “Hey guys! Welcome back!” I shouted. With as much enthusiasm as I could reasonably muster.

  “(Sully) you! You (Sully)ing piece of dog(Sully)!” Prudence howled. Her every breath filled with bloodlust.

  “I’m gonna (Sully) you up!”

  “PR!” Olga shouted. Grabbing one of her hands and dragging her friend backwards. “Shut the (Sully) up! You’re gonna get us (Sully)ing killed! Or worse, enslaved!”

  Kaito lunged then. Placing himself between us and stretching out his hands as far as they would go.

  “Nobody is enslaving anyone! This is all a misunderstanding! This is all getting out of control! Nobody is guilty of anything! Because that was not Sully! Right!? We all saw the System pop up! We all saw the message jumping up! We all knew what we were getting into! We should just go our separate ways right now! Let’s each of us go to the bar or hunting or wherever and let. IT. GO!”

  He did a commendable job of keeping his voice level and calm.

  Though a quick look revealed that his knees were shaking so badly that they appeared to be vibrating.

  That was fine.

  This was only the first few minutes of the first day, after all.

  Forgiveness would take time.

  Apologies would not be enough this early on. They would all be calmer with time.

  I knew damn well this wouldn’t be enough to assuage the… um… somewhat justified grievances of those coming along from the System event.

  I knew there would be a lot of backlash.

  Some name-calling here and there.

  That was fine.

  I was mature enough to take a few verbal lashings here and there, since I did sort of deserve them.

  That, and all the future events I’d seen from my cobweb told me this was the best course of action.

  Being humble and apologetic, despite this really being the System’s fault and not mine, would see Henry talking back to me as usual in about a month. With my parents talking back to me right away.

  Actually explaining how it wasn’t my fault and that I was planning a bloody brutal vengeance on the System Admin would result in my parents taking a few more months to themselves before coming around, with Henry and Luigi cutting all ties for the next year.

  Therefore, humble and sorry Sully it was.

  “Of course, Kaito.” I spoke again. “And I cannot even begin to tell you how sorry I am about all of this. I take full responsibility and will do my best to tone down the gnome violence in the future so that this doesn’t happen again. Even if the System decided to do this again.”

  He snapped his face back to me.

  “Really?”

  ‘Of course not. I’ll just wait until we’re out of the Tutorial or on an Excursion.’

  “Of course, Kaito.” I lied. “As much as I hate the gnomes, I would never put my hatred of them over the safety and well-being of all my friends.”

  I paused to force my face into emoting.

  Doing my best to portray genuine human emotions of regret and sadness.

  “I’m sorry this happened to you. I wish I could have done more.”

  “More?” Kaito questioned. “What do you mean, more? Did you do anything?”

  “Yes I did.” I answered, still making my voice as remorseful as possible. “I sent my Avatar there with you and I made my Avatar boost anyone it saw and I then had my Avatar pull people towards Randall so that they could make him blow himself up. He took the entire city with him, and freed you all early.”

  Kaito looked stunned. But then, his legs slowed their vibrating.

  “I see. Thank you. I… I guess it could have been worse.”

  I approached him. Releasing just enough of my presence to calm them all down without them realizing they were under its effects.

  “Kaito, we’re friends. I couldn’t have sat here idly while you suffered. I would have done anything to protect you all.”

  Which was true enough, in a way.

  There was very little I wouldn’t do to stop humans or other persons from suffering.

  I placed one of my hands on his shoulders then.

  “Kaito. Guys. I know you suffered a lot and I know I can’t make it up to you. But I just want you to know that I would never knowingly do this to you. I want you to know you matter to me. I want you to know I care.”

  Even Prudence’s features softened.

  “And it is because I care that I’m willing to change. Give me a chance and you’ll see me rescuing people from all kinds of worlds again. Helping you all again. All without asking for anything in return. All without going overboard with the gnomes.”

  There was a brief silence in the Warehouse afterwards.

  “You promise?” Prudence asked warily.

  “I promise I will no longer torture gnomes before killing them or use them for any kind of experimentation within the Tutorial.”

  I swore. Fully intending to keep my word.

  After all, the System Admin wouldn’t be able to pull this kind of stunt outside the Tutorial.

  Prudence relaxed. So did Olga and Kaito.

  “Whew. Thanks man. That, that could have gotten ugly.” Kaito answered.

  “Oh come now.” I began again. Forcing a smile on my otherwise still face. “What are friends for? This is the least I could do for you all. And I know you’d do the same for me if our roles were reversed.”

  Kaito nodded right away.

  Olga nodded more slowly.

  Prudence didn’t nod at all.

  ‘It’s fine.’ I thought to myself. ‘This is already wonderful progress for a few minutes. I know she’ll come around.’

  I knew she would, because I had foreseen it. If she and the others were using their heads instead of their hearts, they would have seen through that fact as well.

  ‘Wait, does that make me a bad person? The fact that I’m saying the things I know will placate them?’

  ‘No.’ I decided.

  ‘I really am sorry. That isn’t a white lie I’m telling them. I wouldn’t have wished what they went through on anyone who wasn’t a gnome. I really am trying to make things better and to keep this from happening again and it is true that I intend to do everything in my power to make up for it. I did make a promise and I fully intend to keep it. By the letter of the promise, if not by the spirit.’

  Prudence furrowed her brows. As if trying to discern truth from lies.

  Then she huffed after realizing what a futile endeavor that was and went over to the bar with Olga in tow.

  “They’ll come around.” Kaito assured me.

  ‘I know.’ I thought. But I knew saying that would have put him off.

  So, instead, I said something about hope again and let him join his team.

  While I joined my own.

  “Okay. So, I already know your answers but I’m gonna ask anyways. How’s everybody doing?”

  “Great.” Boris answered. “I got to see my sister again. We had a fantastic few days together around the new community. I helped to build a few houses and outhouses. Temporary things until we can get proper drainage and electricity. And I did a bit of monster hunting after the fact. We had a fantastic community meal, the day before my departure. I saw a lot of faces I had given up for dead. A lot of people who grew back fingers or limbs or eyes. There was much rejoicing.”

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  “That sounds wonderful.” I said. Getting a warm, fuzzy feeling in my belly as I listened to him. “I love hearing that something good came out of this whole ordeal.”

  I then turned to Charlie.

  “How was your trip back home?”

  “It was fine.” He said brusquely.

  Now, I knew that those words barely scratched the surface.

  What he actually meant was:

  “I killed Mr. Whitmer and all the goons he had with him at the time. I then took my time dismantling his entire operation from top to bottom, doing away with all the street enforcers he had, all the pushers he had, all the guys he had making different kinds of poison. All the guys he had brewing counterfeit alcohol. All the guys he had hassling businesses for protection. All the guys he had smuggling things in and out of docks…”

  And on and on and on the list went.

  Charlie had done so much killing on his week off that he’d make the Drake somewhat impressed with his level of abject brutality.

  Well, not really, since he killed them quickly, but still….

  I had all kind of people coming by and skittering away as if I were the boogieman for something I had no control over and here was Charlie acting out his most monstrous urges without a care in the world and no one to stop him.

  That didn’t seem very fair to me.

  “Did you get everything done?” I asked him instead. Already knowing the answer, but wanting him to think about it so that the gears in his head started turning.

  “No.” He said. Matter of fact. “I… the week ended too soon. Way too soon. There was so much more stuff I wanted to do, but couldn’t.”

  He shut his mouth again, so it was up to me to fill in the gaps.

  What he actually meant was:

  “There were still the crooked officers of the guard walking about. Sure, I spooked them, but that won’t stop them for long, I think. And towards the end, new gangs were either forming or moving in from out of town to take the late Whitmer’s place. Whitmer Junior also skipped town the second he got word of the old man’s death, so I wasn’t able to get him either. I started working on the new gangs. Leaving obvious trails to show they had died violently, but that didn’t stop any of the other ones. Not when I made it plain that this would keep happening. Not when I made it obvious that the bullets they’d fired hadn’t hurt me. No one caught a glimpse of me, but the newspapers started going on about a monster from the sea that was terrorizing innocent people. As if anyone of them had been innocent. They put a bounty for my death, both through the newspapers and from underground sources. The guards were completely against me, even those who weren’t on the payroll of the new gangs and now things are worse than ever and I don’t know how it all went wrong. New gangers and stabbing and killing innocent people and each other on the streets trying to carve up old Whitmer’s empire for themselves and I don’t know what I could have done better. I don’t know how to fix it.”

  Yet Charlie didn’t say any of that. Instead, he remained in a foul mood as I talked to Dusty and Slab. Asking them how their experiences with the fake Sully had been.

  Thankfully, it appeared that Prudence and co had been outliers and most everyone had known to take the easy way out. Including Grandpa.

  So that was nice.

  I was talking to him about mom and dad when Charlie came up to me again.

  “Hey.” He began. Struggling with his own words. “You… uh… you know what I’m trying to say, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Okay, then what do you think I should…”

  “I think you should start by saying the words out loud.” I interrupted. “Part of the reason why you’re having so much trouble is that you’re running away from how things turned out. You’re afraid that saying them out loud will somehow make them more true and more real. You know that doesn’t make sense, but you can’t stop how you feel. I’ll tell you what you want to know and I’ll help you move on and feel better. But you have to say them out loud for me to start. Otherwise, this isn’t going to go anywhere.”

  Charlie glared up at me. His muscles tensing and his jaw clenching in a way that told anyone watching that violence was immanent.

  Grandpa Gus even went so far as to reach for a weapon that wasn’t there. Acting on old instincts. I stopped him with a palm on his shoulder and continued to stare into Charlie’s eyes.

  “You know I’m right.” I told him. “I’m not doing this to make fun of you or to judge you or make you hurt. You know damn well that isn’t how I do things. You also know that if I wanted to hurt you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. On top of all that, you know I can see the future. Even if everything else I said was a lie, you know I can see where this goes. Better to get it off your chest now.”

  He almost snarled. Not backing down in the slightest.

  “And where does this go then?”

  “To the grave.” I told him bluntly. “Not yours, but those of others. You went and killed so many that you lost track of time. You didn’t even visit your little siblings at the orphanage, nor did you visit the sisters that raised you. You thought it would all be worth it in the end and now you know that it wasn’t. Not in the slightest. You were raised with the faith of… Saturn, was it? You were taught that violence led to nowhere and that those who gave in to their rage would be consumed by it. Turning into monsters in the guise of humans. You always thought this was nonsense at some level, but you did your best because you wanted to be good for the sisters that raised you. You wanted to be the exception. You wanted to get out and live a decent life with a decent job and a decent wife and a decent house. You wanted to be better than the older kids that all turned to drugs and booze and to the gang life under Mr. Whitmer. Then you saw what Mr. Whitmer would do if you turned against him and you decided to kill him. To excise the cancer. Only, it didn’t end with Mr. Whitmer.”

  I paused to force my face into a visage of sadness.

  He seemed to appreciate that, at least.

  He had the sense to look ashamed.

  “Yeah.” He agreed. “I killed him. Him and all the others. There were three gangs that rose up from the spot they left open and I killed all of them as well. Then a new bloke came in from out of town and started burning down shops that Mr. Whitmer used as fronts. I think he figured someone in his organization had done the deed and he wanted to smoke the up and coming boss out so that he could be the boss. I killed him too and all the people he brought with him. They….”

  He paused to bite his lip. His life-filled eyes suddenly looking ashamed.

  “There were a lot of them. Almost a hundred. All with guns and clubs and all kinds of weapons. They didn’t stand a chance. I was so much stronger than all of them put together that it wasn’t even funny and when it was done I thought it was over. But it wasn’t.”

  “It will never end with Mr. Whitmer. Or any other stooge or crook or killer that takes his place. There will always, always be a new criminal ready to take on the old one’s position. Despite knowing the risks.” I told him bluntly.

  “The where does it end?” He asked me. Now looking desperate. “What do I have to do to stop these guys from popping up? Do I have to…” He bit his lips again, but I could take his meaning.

  “You don’t have to do anything.” I spoke, a little more gently this time. “I won’t lie to you and say that I knew where this was bound to go, but I could hazard a guess even before getting to see the future.”

  “It’s a tale as old as time.” Grandpa interrupted from beside me. “Nature abhors a vacuum. In an environment without predators, new kinds of killer will emerge given enough time. That’s true for leaders, churches, merchants and criminals too. What’s more, the kind of people that turn to organized, heavy crime are usually a self-selecting sort. You don’t start that lifestyle unless you have the kind of personality and upbringing that makes you pre-disposed to violence and living on the edge. And you don’t get to be the boss unless you’re smart and ruthless enough to instill loyalty and fear in all your underlings. That’s part of what makes dealing with organized crime so hard, compared to regular street crime.”

  “Quite so, quite so.” Mr. Park added. “My juniors have jailed more scammers and pickpockets and muggers and petty thieves than I care to count, but those kinds of people aren’t truly a priority. You will run into some and you will jail the few you can build a case for. That is that. One can’t really solve those issues, but one can mitigate them. I never once saw a pickpocket or a common thief operating in the nicer, fenced-off neighbourhoods. I only saw them around the middle-class apartment buildings and the subsidized housing units for poor folk. Part of that was because the rich often bought out private security and those guys didn’t mess around, but there was a factor of poverty and desperation to it all. Reduce the desperation, and you reduced crime to a level where the layman will not notice or perhaps not even encounter in their lives.”

  “Organizations or tightly-knit communities are harder to penetrate though.” Grandpa continued. “Those people, the human-traffickers and the drug peddlers and the misery merchants, all have an avenue to profit that is separate from societal support. You can remove as many ills and as much poverty as you like, but this will not affect the upper levels of crime. For then, it is as close to a legitimate business as one can come to in the shadows. And make no mistake, they rake in profits that would make small, legitimate enterprises blush.”

  “Some make profits that would make large enterprises blush.” Mr. Park corrected.

  “Indeed.” Grandpa agreed. “For those kinds of people, it isn’t a matter of desperation. This is simply their life and their trade. When you, as a society, are asking them to leave the rest of you alone, you are asking someone who makes millions in the upper management of an enterprise to make an average worker’s salary for the rest of their lives. It simply will not happen. No matter how much blood they have to spill.”

  “I’ve never seen a peddler make that much.” Charlie countered. “Only enough to fuel their habit.”

  Grandpa and Mr. Park both laughed.

  “That’s because you’ve never seen the real players. Or you have and haven’t internalized their reasoning. For this, Mr. Whitmer you did away with, crime wasn’t a necessity. It was a corner of the market that hadn’t been exploited. In that way, he and those who followed him are all like entrepreneurs, looking to take a slice of the pie. That is how you need to approach these cases. You can’t intimidate them by killing others, because death is a given threat in their line of work.”

  Grandpa stated.

  “They will simply assume you were a new competitor and, since they don’t know you, assume you can be dealt with easily and they will believe that Mr. Whitmer simply let a local problem grow out of control. Keep killing the new gang members and they won’t assume you’re some paragon of justice. They’ll assume you’re a hardened group of killers that is very bad at capitalizing on the local enterprises.” Mr. Park followed up.

  “They will simply keep sending more and more me at you, expecting your funding to run out, or for you to run out of soldiers through attrition. Even if they could somehow be convinced that you are, indeed, a supernatural killer determined on destroying their way of life, they will simply move their operations so that they themselves act from the safety of other cities and bunkers. That way, you’re always killing the little people. Those who have to be involved in order to fuel their habit. No one will care about them, because no one has cared about them until now. You can keep killing them until the end of the world and the bosses will simply recruit more. Trusting that all you’re doing is attracting more and more attention from the guards, who they will be bribing all the time to focus all their attention on you.”

  Charlie looked more and more upset the more they spoke.

  “What’s your solution then?”

  Both older men looked at each other for a second.

  I searched their thoughts and felt a level of disgust that was nearly unbearable.

  ‘Holy (Gnome)ing (Gnome) grandpa! We’re going to be talking about this later!’

  ‘If you want.’ Grandpa [Messaged] back. ‘But I will point out that I did far more good than your friend here, with far fewer casualties.’

  “Never you mind that.” Mr. Park went on. “The best solution, in my eyes at least, is the one that Sully came to.”

  “Mind-control everyone so that they don’t do crime?”

  “I didn’t mind-control anyone!” I protested sharply. “Everyone back home still has free will!”

  “Of course they do.” Charlie said sarcastically. “But I’m not sure I want to go that way in order to deal with my problem.”

  “Well then.” Grandpa cut him off. “Looks to me you’ll have more killing to do then.”

  He turned to Mr. Park, who sighed hopelessly.

  “A lot more killing to do.”