Spoiled Pudding

Al was whistling to himself as he strolled through a corridor in the almost empty arctic base of the Institute for Practical Science (IPS).

Turning left, he entered a room with three occupied beds. Cesar, wrapped in medical robes, lay motionless on one of the beds, but his voice carried a sense of urgency as he softly called out, "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry and bring it!" His words were followed by a muffled groan, as even speaking caused him waves of pain.

Al took a deep breath and approached Cesar, offering him a spoonful of banana pudding.

Jin was watching from another bed and with a gentle voice he spoke. "I understand that this is the only thing that brings you comfort in your condition, Cesar, but perhaps you should consider focusing on a breathing technique to expedite your healing,"

Jin himself had a bandaged abdomen, he had been stabbed by the Immortal Acolyte if not for Ellie and Ahria he would have died.

Ellie chimed in weakly. "He's right. We don't have someone here who possesses the healing abilities of the God leaves or the I.P.S's full medical staff"

She had a few bone fractures, but Cesar had endured the worst of it. His injuries were severe, with multiple broken bones and cuts all over his body.

Hearing everyone speak Cesar spat out the pudding, creating a messy puddle on the floor, prompting Al to clean it up. It seemed that was his response, ever since he had woken up after being unconscious for days, he had been pushing Al's patience.

"Why would you do that? No more banana pudding for you, mister," Al scolded, but Cesar responded by blowing a raspberry, staring very bitterly at Al.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Agnethe entered with a cast on her hand. Upon seeing Al mopping up the spilled banana pudding, Agnethe frowned. "Did he spit out his pudding again?" she asked.

Al remained silent and continued cleaning up the mess.

Ellie's etheric shell her mirror floating at her side took on her reflection creating a mirror clone of Ellie, and she approached Agnethe to whisper something in her ear.

Agnethe's face turned a sickly shade of green, as if she were on the verge of vomiting. The clone mirror of Ellie began giggling, Al noticed her reaction and spoke up loudly, "What? Did he soil himself again?"

Cesar's face flushed red, despite the pain he was enduring, and he blurted out, "Fuck you!" Al, seemingly exasperated, dropped the mop and retorted, "Well, if you don't want your pudding and you didn't soil yourself, then what the hell is your problem?"

Cesar began breathing heavily as he tried to ignore the agony coursing through his body, he managed to force out the words, "You fucker!!"

Al looked at him with confusion, his brow furrowed. "What the hell have I done to you that I haven't already taken a punch for, you jackass!?"

Jin and the rest of the group turned their gaze toward Al, unable to recall Cesar ever striking him.

Cesar struggled to utter two more words, his voice strained, " The blood."

"Blood" Al thought to himself, and the pieces began falling into place as he recalled his pact with Robert.

Cesar somehow overheard the conversation between Al and Robert, causing Al to breathe out a weary sigh.

Agnethe approached him and asked in a soft voice, "Al, what is he talking about? What blood?" Ellie's mirror clone also turned towards Al, and Jin, too, was curious about the meaning behind Cesar's words.

Al reached into his robe's pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills and he explained. "I went to Robert and Loh' some time ago, seeking their help with my sleep issues. Loh' suggested the problem wasn't the problem. Later, Robert approached me and offered to create a personalized drug to aid my sleep, on the condition that I donate some of my blood. And I agreed."

Ellie and Jin seemed somewhat perplexed. "Sure, Robert's experiments with our blood took a dark turn, resulting in the death of some lab mice. But there's no reason for Cesar to react this way." Jin reasoned.

'Yeah, remember Cesar, you're our phantom seed's captain." Ellie's clone spoke for her.

However, Cesar remained silent, his entire focus fixated on Al. Agnethe shook her head gently, exhaling in disbelief.

"This is why you couldn't summon Midnight-Abyss..." Agnethe interjected, the realization dawning upon her.

"That son of a bitch found a way to harness your blood and imbue his super soldiers with your indomitable will. It only triggered when you were in proximity to your own blood, which is why they started to heal. " Agnethe spoke illuminating Jin and Ellie who were equally shocked.

Cesar's actions following the battle suddenly began to make sense to them.

"Agnethe's hand, Jin, Me, and even Cesar—we wouldn't have suffered these injuries if you hadn't made that choice..." Ellie had connected the chain of events.

Jin chimed in, "That may be the case, but what Robert did is not acceptable. He used us as pawns, showing no regard for our lives. Just look at what happened to Emilia's Phantom Seed."

Ellie also agreed adding "I wouldn't be surprised if he intentionally sent us here, knowing the base would be attacked, just to observe the outcome of his experiments."

Al opened the bottle of medical pills that Robert had given him, emptying its contents into his hand. "I never anticipated something like this would happen. I'm sorry," Al confessed before crushing the pills underfoot.

Cesar interjected, his voice laced with frustration, "And...?"

Al looked at Cesar bewildered.

Ellie's clown and Jin turned to Al with concern. Agnethe, who was still standing close to him, asked, "Is there something else you're keeping from us?"

"Shut up, bitch!!" Cesar's response was abrupt and offensive, shocking everyone in the room. "Woah, Cesar, not cool!" The real Ellie shouted, wincing in pain from her injuries.

Cesar's face turned red with fury as he struggled to finish his sentence, causing some of his wounds to reopen. "You're... you're fucking him!" he finally managed to blurt out.

Agnethe, taken aback, defended herself, "You've lost your mind!"

Meanwhile, Al looked at Cesar, his bandages becoming stained with fresh blood. "Agnethe, stop. I don't know how, but he knows," Al said, a tone of regret in his voice.

Ellie's mirror clone suddenly transformed back into her floating mirror, returning to Ellie and making her invisible.

On the other hand, Jin wore a smile and gave Al two thumbs-up before realizing something, that turned his smile upside-down.

"Wait, so while we've been recovering, you two have been... playing house?" Jin exclaimed. Agnethe's face flushed with embarrassment, and she hastily fled from the room.

Al turned to face Jin, who awaited his response, and then looked at Cesar, who staring at the wall away from Al. His frown had softened from the earlier death glare.

"I messed up. I haven't been open and honest with the three of you. After everything we've been through, I shouldn't hide things that can undermine the team." Al admitted, his voice filled with remorse.

Ellie became visible again, giving Al a sympathetic look.

Cesar remained silent, choosing to avert his gaze from his friend as Al began replacing his bloodied bandages.

Apart from Jin making offhanded jokes about how Al had caused more damage to the team than the Immortal Acolyte, the room fell into a quiet lull.

Al eventually left the room and found Agnethe standing outside, patiently waiting for him. The two of them started walking together.

Agnethe asked Al in a cold tone, "How did Cesar find out? Did you tell him?"

Al swiftly replied, "No, but I'm glad he found out. I should have been honest with the three of them."

With the same icy tone, she asked him another question, "Do you regret it?"

Al stopped her, ensuring to be gentle with her injured hand, and made her meet his gaze. "Of course not! The only regret I have is not telling them sooner. As for what you and I..." Agnethe silenced him with a kiss.

Back in the medical room, Jin broke the heavy silence. "I'm really starting to question our collaboration with the I.S.P," he voiced his concerns.

Ellie looked at him with a worried expression and then shifted her gaze to Cesar, whose eyes gleamed with agreement.

Ellie's mirror transformed back into mirror clone of her and walked towards Cesar, he whispered something into her ear. The mirror clone then repeated his words louder, echoing Cesar's sentiment, "Jin, you're absolutely right. That man cannot be trusted."

The three of them began contemplating their next move. Ellie's mirror spoke up, summarizing their collective decision, "So the three of us agree—we won't return to the I.S.P's headquarters."

Jin and Cesar both nodded in agreement.

Jin, pondering what the best course of action was, added, "The world is in in ruins, traveling to the Mortal or Immortal Rings is too dangerous, especially with limited amount of Robert's Inhalers. Our power is limited to where our cultivation stands—the Physical Domain."

Suddenly, Ellie's mirror clone spoke up again, presenting an idea. "I think we should visit my mother. She only suggested I go to the Blood Leaf due to the resources they possess. If anyone can offer guidance, it would be her. I know she's still alive."

Cesar motioned for Ellie's clone to come closer, whispering something to her. She responded with excitement, shouting, "To California we go! But first, let's gather whatever we can and speak with Ariah."

"Wait what about Al, and Agnethe?" Jin asked. Ellie looked at Cesar who signaled with the edge of his fingers for her to get close. He whispered into her ear to avoid straining his body.

"I'm sure they won't mind hearing about our decision a little late." Ellies mirror clone repeated what Cesar said word for word.