Forgre

Chapter 1: 

– Sophia Hess –

Sophia Hess—better known in Brockton Bay's shadows as Shadow Stalker—was doing a little unauthorized patrolling. Officially, the PRT had her on a tight leash lately, but Sophia wasn't one to let rules slow her down. Besides, what they didn't know couldn't hurt them.

In shadow form, she flickered effortlessly from rooftop to rooftop, savoring the rush of freedom she always felt when no one was breathing down her neck. She paused for a second to scan the street below, eyes narrowing behind her mask. Her gaze landed on someone oddly familiar walking alone down the sidewalk.

"Who the hell is that?" she muttered quietly, trying to place him.

Sophia tilted her head slightly, observing the guy more closely. She recognized him vaguely—probably one of her classmates at Winslow. Math class, maybe? Yeah, that sounded about right. He was one of those quiet, boring guys who sat in the back and kept to himself. Definitely no predator, but not really prey either. Just one of those forgettable background extras in the daily grind. Simon or Steve or something. His name probably started with an "S," though she couldn't swear by it.

Sophia watched him a little longer. He was surprisingly good-looking for someone who barely made a ripple at school—tall, athletic build, blond hair, striking blue eyes. A decent guy, too, at least by Winslow standards. She hadn't seen him hanging around with those Nazi fuckheads from Empire Eighty-Eight, which put him a notch above most of the school in her book.

"Not bad," Sophia murmured appreciatively. But still, not someone who warranted her attention right now. 

There had to be something more exciting happening elsewhere.

Just as she was about to move on, something flickered at the corner of her vision. From the alley she'd passed moments ago, a shadow emerged—gang colors visible even in the dim lighting, red and green that screamed ABB. The ganger silently crept up behind her classmate, gripping a baseball bat tightly, clearly ready to swing.

Sophia tensed, anger surging through her veins. "Cowardly piece of shit," she hissed. Normally, she didn't go out of her way for people too weak or too stupid to defend themselves, but something about this gutless sneak attack rubbed her entirely the wrong way.

Before she could react further, the bat swung down with a sickening crack against her classmate's head. He collapsed instantly onto the pavement, blood starting to seep onto the concrete beneath him.

"Heh! Take that, dumb fucker," the gang member gloated, nudging the unconscious body with his foot. "Now where's your wallet at?"

Sophia let out a frustrated growl. She shifted instantly into shadow form, dropping down from the rooftop in silent fury and reforming just behind the attacker.

"Hey, fucktard," she snapped.

The gang member whirled around, eyes wide in shock. "Wha—?"

His question was cut short as Sophia's fist slammed directly into his throat. He staggered back, choking desperately, hands grasping at his neck.

"What's wrong? Can't breathe, asshole?" she mocked. Before he could recover, Sophia planted her boot firmly into his face, sending him sprawling backwards. His skull hit the pavement with a satisfying thud, and he lay there unmoving.

She glanced down disdainfully, fingers brushing the crossbow at her hip. She'd love nothing more than to put a bolt through this asshole's skull—just to teach him and his ABB pals a real lesson. But, as always, rules got in the way. The last thing she needed was Armsmaster giving her another lecture about excessive force…

Sophia turned her attention reluctantly to her fallen classmate, frowning at the blood pooling beneath his head.

"Fuck. This is the last thing I needed tonight," she complained loudly to no one in particular. She knelt beside him, briefly examining the wound. Head injuries were nasty business—he needed medical attention fast, or things could get real ugly, real quick. Even if he was just another forgettable nobody, letting him bleed out on the sidewalk felt wrong somehow. How else would she ever find out whether this guy was a fellow predator or not? 

"Damn it, S-guy," she muttered sarcastically. "You owe me one."

She pulled out her phone, quickly dialing the PRT emergency control number.

"Shadow Stalker reporting," she said impatiently, cutting straight through the operator's usual bullshit. "Got an injured civilian—Winslow student, head wound, looks serious. I'm at Eighteenth and Market Street, alley next to Carson's Hardware. There's an unconscious ABB thug here too, ready for pickup."

"Shadow Stalker, you're not scheduled for patrol tonight," the operator replied skeptically. "Mind explaining what you're doing out there?"

"Fuck's sake, can't a girl practice with her powers?" she snapped, annoyed by the question. "I was just testing my shadow form maneuvers—nothing serious. Happened across this shitshow by chance. Believe me or don't, I really don't give a shit. Just send some fucking backup and medical right now."

"Understood," came the wary reply. "Units are inbound. Remain on scene."

Sophia sighed dramatically, hanging up without bothering to reply. She looked down at the unconscious classmate, suddenly feeling awkwardly protective. She checked his pulse just to be safe—it was steady enough for now.

"Hey, blondie," she muttered dryly, nudging his shoulder lightly. "You're fucking lucky I was around tonight, you know? Do me a favor and don't fucking die before help gets here." Sophia stood back up, folding her arms impatiently. It was going to be a long night of paperwork and stupid questions from the PRT, all because some moron got himself blindsided by an ABB lowlife. "Goddamn it," she sighed again, glancing around restlessly. Still, looking down at him once more, she felt an odd sense of satisfaction. 

– Silas –

I woke up feeling like absolute shit.

Bright lights stung my eyes, making me groan and shut them again. My head felt heavy and foggy, a dull ache pounding steadily behind my temples. Something felt seriously off. I tried to concentrate, but it was like sorting through two sets of completely different memories.

In one, I was just Silas—just started university, moved out, maybe? Funny thing was, I couldn't exactly remember the name of the university or when I'd moved. The details were fuzzy, just beyond reach, like a dream I'd forgotten on waking.

In the other, clearer memories, I was Silas Thorn, a senior at Winslow High, living alone in Brockton Bay after finally emancipating myself from a family full of assholes. Brockton Bay…why did that name ring bells in my other memory too? 

This whole thing made no damn sense.

"Shit," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes and trying to get my head on straight. "What the hell happened?"

Just as I started to regain my bearings, the hospital room door swung open suddenly. I blinked through the brightness and found myself staring at two girls—two striking, familiar faces wearing brightly colored costumes.

Wait, costumes? Oh shit, are these actual superheroes?

"Is he your last patient for today, Amy?" the blonde one asked, giving me a curious glance. "Seriously, I'm wiped. I wanna go home."

Amy? Did she just say Amy? My sluggish brain kicked into gear slowly, putting the pieces together. These two weren't just regular visitors; I was staring directly at Panacea and Glory Girl—two actual, honest-to-god capes.

Panacea sighed softly and nodded, brushing a stray lock of brown hair behind her ear. "Yes, Vicky, he's my last patient. Relax, I'll make this quick."

I stared at them in disbelief. "Holy shit," I blurted, my filter obviously still offline. "Are you two who I think you are?"

Glory Girl laughed out loud, clearly amused. "In the flesh! Damn, Amy, we've got ourselves a fanboy."

Panacea shot her sister a tired look before approaching my bedside. She leaned closer, her warm brown eyes focused professionally on mine. "Do I have your permission to heal you?"

I swallowed awkwardly. Panacea was…pretty. Way prettier in person than in the grainy PHO pictures. Before I could think twice, my mouth took over again. "Wow," I said, staring at her. "You're actually really cute in person."

Panacea froze instantly, eyes widening in shock as her face turned bright pink. Behind her, Glory Girl nearly doubled over laughing, clutching her stomach and gasping dramatically.

"Oh my god! Amy, your face!" Glory Girl cackled. "I officially like this guy!" Still giggling, she winked at me playfully. "Hi there, handsome. I'm Vicky. What's your name?"

"Uh, Silas," I replied sheepishly, my brain still fuzzy and sluggish. "I think. Pretty sure I've got a serious head injury or something."

Panacea exhaled sharply, rolling her eyes at her sister before gently resting her hand on my forearm. Her fingers were soft and cool against my skin. "Yes," she confirmed calmly, professionalism taking over again. "I can feel the skull fracture and internal bleeding. Just hold still, this shouldn't take long."

The moment she touched me, relief washed through my head, easing the throbbing pressure that'd been plaguing me since I woke up. 

It still felt foggy as hell, though. Like something was seriously wrong here but I still couldn't figure out what. 

"There," Panacea said, quietly pulling back. Her voice steadied now, despite her flushed cheeks. "I fixed your skull fracture and internal bleeding. But you've still got a concussion. I can't heal brains . You're going to feel confused and disoriented for a couple days, but it'll clear up eventually."

"Thanks, Panacea," I said gratefully, giving her a tired smile. "Or do you prefer Amy?"

Glory Girl immediately stepped forward, grinning wickedly as she leaned toward me. "You can call her whatever you want, handsome—just make sure you buy her dinner first. She's single, you know!"

Amy turned even redder, shooting Glory Girl an icy glare. "Vicky, seriously? Shut the hell up."

I couldn't help chuckling at the sisters' exchange. Shaking my head gently, careful not to trigger more pain, I asked, "Wait, so…what exactly happened? Why am I even here?"

Panacea folded her arms, her embarrassment gradually replaced by calm professionalism again. "Apparently, you got jumped downtown. Shadow Stalker brought you into the ER last night after you got clubbed from behind by some psycho ABB gang member."

"Shadow Stalker?" I echoed, genuinely surprised. I knew that name, vaguely—she was a member of the Wards, wasn't she? "Holy shit. You mean I've met three beautiful superheroes today? That's gotta be some kind of record." I shook my head, chuckling softly at my own dumb luck. "Too bad I was unconscious when I met one of them."

Glory Girl snorted softly, folding her arms with a teasing grin. "Wait, wait, hold up—how do you know Shadow Stalker is beautiful? She's always wearing those edgy clothes and hiding behind her mask."

"Any girl who saves my life is automatically beautiful in my book," I said honestly. 

"Damn, Amy," Glory Girl joked, elbowing her sister playfully. "This guy's trouble. If he went to Arcadia, we'd have real problems."

Amy sighed dramatically, clearly exhausted by her sister's antics. "Vicky, stop embarrassing me. Can we go now?"

Before Amy could respond, a loud boom echoed up from somewhere below us, rattling the windows and making me jolt upright. My heart raced, and suddenly the fuzzy feeling in my head was replaced by adrenaline.

"Jesus!" I exclaimed. "What the hell was that?"

Glory Girl spun around sharply, her expression immediately darkening. "Shit," she muttered, rushing to the window. She glanced down, then cursed loudly. "Fuck—it's the goddamn Poppers!"

I stared at her blankly, feeling completely lost. "Who the hell are the Poppers?"

Amy groaned, her voice dripping with disdain. "They're a bunch of idiots who broke away from the Merchants to form their own shitty gang. Instead of street drugs, they focus exclusively on prescription meds. You know, pill-poppers. They call themselves 'The Poppers' because they're not exactly creative."

I shook my head slowly, incredulous. "Are you serious? They're raiding the hospital?"

"Idiots," Glory Girl said again, looking pissed. "They fucked around, and now they're about to find out." Without another word, she bolted for the door. Halfway out, she turned back sharply, pointing sternly at her sister. "Amy, stay here. Stay safe—I'm serious!"

Amy bristled at that, clearly irritated, but before she could protest, Glory Girl was already gone, her footsteps rapidly fading down the hallway.

A tense, awkward silence fell over the room, punctuated only by the faint sound of yelling downstairs. I glanced sideways at Amy, who was glaring at the now-empty doorway, cheeks flushed in annoyance.

"I'm guessing you're tired of her doing that?" I asked carefully, trying to lighten the mood.

Amy sighed heavily, folding her arms and sitting down in the chair next to my bed. "You have no idea. She always treats me like I'm made of glass."

Another brief silence lingered, uncomfortable enough that I decided to speak up again. "Look–er, Amy —I'm sorry about earlier. If I embarrassed you in front of your sister, I didn't mean to…" 

Her expression softened slightly, and she gave me a faint, amused smile. "Don't worry about it. Seriously, it's fine."

The way she said it made me feel a little better, but I couldn't quite let it go. The fog in my head made it easy to just blurt things out, so I rolled with it. "Actually, I meant what I said earlier. Concussion or not, you really are cute. Beautiful, even."

Amy's eyes widened in surprise, and she sputtered, clearly caught off guard. "Wow," she managed, cheeks flushing again as she eyed me warily. "You're a bold one, aren't you?"

I chuckled sheepishly, rubbing my neck. "Honestly? Not usually. I think I'm normally a lot shyer than this. I blame the concussion for turning off my filter."

Amy snorted softly, shaking her head with a little smile. "Trust me, Vicky and I have seen and heard plenty of weird shit over the years—especially from people I've healed. You're not even close to the worst."

"Good to know," I said, relaxing a little more. I watched her for a moment, appreciating how genuine her smile seemed beneath all the stress. "Still, I figured I should at least let you know."

She looked down briefly, her lips twitching up again. "You're surprisingly sweet for someone who just got his skull cracked open."

I laughed again, the tension easing a bit further. "I'm pretty sure that's the concussion talking, too."

Before she could reply, another series of loud shouts and gunshots erupted from downstairs, shattering the calm we'd briefly built up. My pulse quickened again, worry creeping back in. "Shit," I muttered nervously. "Is everyone downstairs going to be okay?"

Amy nodded, though her expression turned serious again. "The hospital staff know the drill—they're trained to take cover whenever gangs show up acting crazy like this. As long as everyone stays down and doesn't panic, they should be fine."

I hesitated for a second, glancing toward the door. "And Glory Girl?"

Amy rolled her eyes, though this time there was clear pride in her voice. "She'll be fine. Trust me—she lives for this kind of thing. If anything, those idiots downstairs are the ones who should be worried."

I exhaled slowly, relaxing a little more at her confidence. "Alright, if you're sure."

Amy smiled reassuringly. "Believe me, I'm sure."

Despite the chaos downstairs, there was something calming about Amy's presence, something steady that cut through the fog still lingering in my head. She clearly knew what she was talking about, and that made me feel better.

"I just wish I wasn't stuck here uselessly," I admitted quietly, feeling restless. "I hate feeling like dead weight."

Amy raised an eyebrow at me, amused. "You were literally just healed from internal bleeding and a cracked skull. You're allowed to be useless for a little while. Plus you don't have any powers…" she trailed off.

"Fair enough," I admitted reluctantly. "But if things go sideways and someone bursts in here—"

Amy smirked, cutting me off playfully. "You'll protect me? Is that where this is going?"

I laughed, shrugging helplessly. "I mean, I'll do something. Not sure what exactly, but I'll definitely throw something at them, at least."

Amy laughed again, louder this time, genuinely amused. "Well, now I feel safer already."

We fell silent again, this time more comfortable than before. I glanced at her, noting how much softer her expression had become since we started talking.

"You know," she began hesitantly, looking slightly away, "you're different than most people I heal."

I raised an eyebrow curiously. "Oh? How so?"

Amy shrugged lightly, blushing faintly again. "Usually, people either freak out or treat me like I'm some untouchable saint. You just…talk to me. Like a normal person."

I smiled warmly at her. "Isn't that what you are?"

She gave me a long, appreciative look, clearly touched by that simple statement. "Thanks..."

"I'm Silas, by the way," I said awkwardly, realizing I might've skipped properly introducing myself earlier.

Amy chuckled quietly, giving me a playful look. "Yeah, I know. You told me your name already."

I blinked in confusion, embarrassment creeping up my neck. "Oh shit. Uh, is it bad that I honestly don't remember doing that?"

"Not really," Amy said with an easy shrug. "Forgetfulness is pretty standard with concussions."

"Well, that's reassuring," I joked dryly. "Guess I'm hitting all the concussion clichés tonight."

She smirked, clearly amused. But before she could reply, her smile instantly faded. Shouting and heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway, rapidly approaching our floor. My stomach tightened, and Amy's expression shifted from amusement to genuine worry. Without thinking, she moved closer to my bedside, clearly tense. "That doesn't sound good," she whispered nervously.

The door suddenly crashed open, startling us both. Two men stormed into the room, both of them looking completely fucked up. Their eyes were wild, pupils blown wide from whatever pills they'd swallowed, and they looked jittery and twitchy—exactly the type of idiots I'd imagined from Amy's earlier description.

"There she is!" one of them crowed triumphantly, grinning in a way that made my skin crawl. "Grab her. We'll trade her to Glory Hole downstairs for our guys."

Amy glared sharply at him, clearly more angry than afraid in that moment. "Don't fucking call my sister that, asshole."

But her bravado vanished when the second guy whipped out a grimy-looking pistol, pointing it directly at her chest. "Shut up, Panacea," he growled threateningly.

Amy froze, eyes wide. Her breathing grew shallow as the other guy turned toward me, leveling a hateful glare in my direction. "And you," he snapped aggressively, "you didn't see shit, got it? Keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you."

My heart pounded wildly in my chest. All I could think about was the casual promise I'd jokingly made to Amy just minutes ago, how I'd said I'd do something if trouble came crashing through the door. It had seemed harmless, almost funny at the time—but suddenly, it felt like a promise I absolutely had to keep.

[Heh… This one has some guts, even if he's a bit foolish. I look forward to seeing what you can do with my gift…]

I flinched, startled as a strange, woman's voice echoed inside my head. But I didn't have time to question it, the situation was rapidly spiraling out of control. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself up from the bed, ignoring how the room swayed dangerously around me.

"Sit the fuck back down, kid, or I'm gonna cap your ass!" the guy with the gun barked, glaring furiously at me.

"Silas, don't!" Amy warned urgently, eyes wide with panic. "Stay down!"

"No," I said firmly, surprising myself with how steady my voice sounded. "Panacea isn't going anywhere with you fuckers."

The thug holding the gun sneered, clearly unimpressed. He raised the pistol threateningly, finger tightening on the trigger—

[...Heroic system initializing.]

[...Heroic system installed.]

[Commencing Tutorial Quest in ten seconds. One person may accompany the host on this Quest. Please specify that person now.]

"What the fuck?" I muttered, stunned, staring in disbelief at the floating screen of glowing text suddenly hovering in front of me. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who could see it—both of the drugged-out assholes stared at it too, their jaws dropping open in confusion and fear.

"What the fuck is that!?" shouted the thug with the pistol, his eyes widening with sudden panic. "Shit! This kid's a fucking cape! Shoot his ass, Paul!"

My pulse thundered in my ears, adrenaline surging. The glowing message demanded I choose someone quickly, and the only logical choice was standing right beside me.

"Um...Panacea?" I stammered out shakily, more question than statement.

[Panacea, Amy Dallon, has been selected as the Host's chosen partner for the tutorial quest.]

"Silas?" Amy whispered, stepping instinctively toward me, clearly just as confused as everyone else.

The gun fired, an ear-splitting bang echoing through the small hospital room. Amy screamed my name—but before the bullets could find their mark, before pain or death could claim either of us, the entire room flashed brilliant white.

Chapter 2:

– Alexandria –

Alexandria—Rebecca, as her "friends" called her—sat in her office, staring at the secure terminal screen as she connected to the encrypted video conference. Moments later, the familiar faces of Eidolon, Legend, and Contessa appeared in separate panels.

"We've got a serious issue," Alexandria began immediately, wasting no time on pleasantries. "I just received a priority message from the PRT Director in Brockton Bay. Panacea has gone missing from the hospital."

Eidolon immediately frowned deeply, leaning forward with an intense look of concern. "Shit," he muttered, clearly frustrated. "She's literally the best healer we have. We can't afford to lose her—especially not with an Endbringer attack coming up."

Legend's expression darkened as well. "Do we have any idea what happened to her yet?" he asked calmly, though Alexandria could see the worry beneath his composed exterior.

Alexandria shook her head slightly. "No, not yet. The situation is still developing. Immediately after this call, I'm conferencing with Brockton Bay PRT command and the members of New Wave. But first, I wanted to loop you all in and get your initial thoughts."

There was a brief pause as all eyes slowly shifted toward Contessa—the most powerful thinker alive. Annoyingly, Contessa seemed entirely oblivious, munching absentmindedly on a glazed donut while scrolling casually through something off-screen.

Alexandria cleared her throat sharply, her irritation growing. "Contessa?"

Contessa glanced up, entirely unbothered. She raised an eyebrow, finishing off her donut deliberately before sipping slowly and dramatically from a large coffee cup. Alexandria's jaw clenched tighter with every passing second.

Finally, Contessa placed her cup down and sighed. "Sorry," she said casually, clearly unrepentant. "I've been awake for over twenty-four hours straight, managing multiple Paths across multiple Earths simultaneously. So many things to keep track of—people to kill, people to save—honestly, it's exhausting. Remind me, what's the question again?"

Alexandria rubbed at her temples, exasperated. "Panacea," she said sharply. "We're talking about Panacea. She's missing."

The woman known worldwide as the cape community's most feared bogeyman tilted her head slightly, utterly unimpressed. "Oh, her. She'll be fine," Contessa said dismissively. "She'll reappear within a day or two, along with the cape who took her."

Alexandria was about to ask for clarification when Contessa abruptly froze mid-sentence, her eyes going wide with shock. Her jaw practically dropped, the casual demeanor instantly replaced by astonishment. "Wow," she muttered quietly to herself, clearly stunned by something she'd just perceived through her power.

"What's 'wow'?" Legend asked, concern evident in his voice.

Contessa slowly smiled, genuine excitement overtaking her previous disinterest. "Our odds of victory and of surviving the final battle just shot up astronomically…"

Eidolon leaned closer, suddenly alert. "Define 'astronomically,'" he demanded sharply. "Last I checked, we were hovering around thirteen percent for a total victory."

Alexandria grimaced slightly at the blunt reminder. She hated hearing how pitiful their odds were against Scion—trillions of lives and countless alternate Earths riding on a goddamn roll of the dice. And a bad roll at that…

Contessa's grin widened further, nearly triumphant. "We just jumped to a forty-seven and a half percent chance of total victory."

"What?" Alexandria blurted in shock, momentarily forgetting herself. Beside her on-screen, Legend and Eidolon looked equally stunned, both men staring slack-jawed at the casual revelation. 

Eidolon recovered first, narrowing his eyes in disbelief. "That's impossible," he insisted harshly. "How the hell could our odds suddenly quadruple?"

Contessa's grin refused to fade. "Because whoever this new cape is—or whatever he is, if he's not a traditional trigger—he just became the single most important cape on this planet." Her tone carried a note of genuine excitement Alexandria rarely heard from the enigmatic woman.

Eidolon visibly bristled at that statement, scowling bitterly. Alexandria suppressed a weary sigh, David always hated losing his spot as the most important person in the room. 

Still, Alexandria pushed those internal frustrations aside, refocusing on the mission at hand. She had questions—questions that demanded immediate answers. Whoever this cape was, whatever he'd done to vanish with Panacea in tow, Alexandria knew she needed to find him, now. He might be the key they desperately needed!

"We'll discuss this later, Contessa," Alexandria said curtly, already reaching for the control panel. "I'm conferencing with Brockton Bay and New Wave right now. Keep me updated if anything else changes."

Contessa gave a relaxed salute, clearly enjoying the chaos she'd caused. "Will do, boss."

Alexandria disconnected the call sharply, leaning back in her chair with a heavy exhale. Forty-seven percent—still not great, but significantly better than before. Now all she needed to do was track down this mysterious new cape, convince Panacea's family not to panic, and figure out what the hell just happened in Brockton Bay.

Just another fucking day at the office of the secretly most powerful woman on the planet…

…

With a quiet sigh, Alexandria removed her iconic helmet, placing it carefully on the corner of her desk. She tapped a small switch built discreetly into the side of her monitor, triggering a subtle holographic overlay. Instantly, her appearance shifted slightly—enough to transform her from Alexandria, the invincible cape, into Rebecca Costa-Brown, respected Director of the PRT.

She straightened her posture and initiated the next encrypted video call, watching as the large monitor before her divided into two distinct panels. The left side revealed Director Emily Piggot, looking as exhausted and grim as always, alongside Armsmaster, stoic and composed in full armor. On the right panel, a few members of New Wave appeared—Brandish, Lady Photon, and Glory Girl, whose anxious energy practically radiated through the screen.

"Good evening, Director," Armsmaster spoke first, nodding politely. "Thank you for responding so quickly."

"My sister's missing!" Glory Girl burst out immediately, unable to contain herself. Both Brandish and Lady Photon turned sharply toward her at once, hissing softly to shush her. Glory Girl sank back, looking embarrassed. "Sorry," she mumbled sheepishly.

Rebecca waved off the interruption, offering a reassuring but professional smile. "No need to apologize, Glory Girl. Actually, since you're our primary witness, I'd prefer hearing the details directly from you."

Emily Piggot nodded sharply. "Agreed. I'd also like to hear exactly what happened."

Glory Girl straightened up again, clearly relieved. She took a deep breath and began to recount her story. "Well, I'd gone to Brockton General like usual to pick up Amy after her shift. She only had one patient left to heal—a guy named Silas. Cute guy, pretty funny too. Amy healed him mostly. I think he had a fractured skull or something. Anyway, she couldn't fix his concussion because, y'know, Amy doesn't heal brains." Glory Girl paused briefly, a playful smirk tugging at her lips. "We might've spent a bit too long flirting with him, honestly—"

Rebecca rolled her eyes subtly, quickly cutting her off. "Focus, Glory Girl."

The young heroine blushed, glancing at Brandish, who was shooting her a warning look. "Right, sorry," she continued. "Anyway, suddenly we heard a huge commotion downstairs. Turns out it was a newer gang called the Poppers. They're drug addicts who specialize in prescription pills instead of street stuff. They raided the hospital to steal medications, I guess."

"I engaged immediately," Glory Girl said proudly, puffing out her chest slightly. "I took down all of them in the lobby, no civilians or staff were hurt."

Lady Photon gave her niece an approving smile. "Good job, Vicky."

Brandish sighed quietly, muttering under her breath, "At least we don't have to worry about collateral damages this time."

Glory Girl pouted at her mother briefly before continuing. "Anyway, right after that, I heard gunshots coming from upstairs—from Amy's floor. I flew straight up, breaking through a couple windows to get there faster—"

"Dammit, Vicky," Brandish interrupted, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.

Glory Girl winced apologetically. "Sorry, Mom. Anyway, by the time I got back upstairs, Amy and Silas were both gone. There were just two gang members in the room. I, uh, interrogated them."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow slightly. "Interrogated?"

"I beat them up," Glory Girl admitted sheepishly. "But I got them to talk! They said Silas had somehow triggered with powers—maybe a teleportation ability or something—and disappeared with Amy right before the Poppers were about to shoot them."

Armsmaster visibly stiffened in shock. "They intended to shoot Panacea? Don't they realize killing the world's best healer would turn every cape on Earth against them?"

Lady Photon shook her head coldly. "Drug addicts in this city aren't exactly known for making smart decisions."

Rebecca turned to Piggot, her expression thoughtful. "Emily, Armsmaster—do we have any additional information on this 'Silas'?"

"He's really handsome," Glory Girl piped up again helpfully. "And funny."

Brandish sighed wearily. "Yes, dear, you've already mentioned that."

"Oh, right," Glory Girl murmured, sinking into her chair slightly.

"One moment," Armsmaster said, quickly typing into a side terminal. After a brief pause, he nodded slightly and began reading from the file on-screen. "Silas Thorn, eighteen years old. Currently a senior at Winslow High. Lives alone after being legally emancipated at sixteen. His file mentions a history of family troubles, but no criminal record or even minor disciplinary issues. Decent grades, quiet student, no notable incidents until now." Armsmaster paused, clearly thinking. "Given the circumstances, it seems likely this was a classic trigger event—he awoke a teleportation or mover-type power under extreme duress. My guess is that wherever he teleported himself and Panacea, they're currently safe. Probably."

Rebecca nodded, deciding to carefully reveal a bit more. "For what it's worth, one of our most reliable Thinkers has already confirmed that Panacea should resurface unharmed within a day or two."

Glory Girl's expression quickly shifted to indignation. "Are you kidding me? Amy gets to have some crazy adventure with a hot new cape while I'm stuck going to school? So unfair…" 

Lady Photon shook her head softly, while Brandish looked like she was actively resisting the urge to scold her daughter again.

Piggot ignored Glory Girl's outburst entirely, focusing sharply on Rebecca. "Director, given the importance of Panacea and the trigger of this Silas Thorn, how do you want to handle this?"

Forty-seven and a half percent….

The number echoed firmly in Rebecca's mind as she carefully considered her next words. "I want Silas Thorn recruited into the Wards immediately, no matter what." A few years ago, they raised the maximum age for joining the Wards to twenty. It was a good decision in hindsight that had lowered heroic deaths by quite a large margin. It turned out that 18-year-olds were stupid as hell, and making them full members of the protectorate was never a good idea. 

Emily Piggot raised an eyebrow slightly. "Are we certain he'd accept a position in the Wards…?"

Rebecca didn't hesitate to continue. "I don't care. I want you to make it happen." 

Piggot nodded slowly, but still looked a bit annoyed. "Very well. As soon as Panacea and Silas surface, I'll send Armsmaster personally to extend the offer..."

Rebecca nodded in approval. "Good. Keep me updated." 

Finding Silas Thorn and securing his cooperation was now one of the highest priorities for the PRT. She disconnected the call with a sigh, leaning back heavily into her chair. Recruiting an unknown, newly triggered teenager into the Wards was never easy—but if Contessa's prediction was correct, Silas Thorn was now essential to their survival. Rebecca knew better than anyone what was at stake.

She would not let this opportunity slip away.

– Panacea –

"Ugh...Fuck me," Panacea muttered bitterly under her breath.

She slowly pushed herself up from the ground, brushing dirt off her palms. 

Dirt? She paused, confused, staring down at the rough earth beneath her fingertips. Why the hell was there dirt instead of hospital tiles?

She looked around, her confusion rapidly turning into shock. She was standing in the middle of a dense forest, surrounded by thick trees and underbrush that stretched endlessly in all directions.

"What the fuck happened?" Amy said aloud, desperately trying to piece things together. Her memory was fuzzy, but fragments quickly rushed back: Silas in the hospital bed, two gun-wielding assholes from the Poppers gang breaking into the room, a strange glowing screen floating in midair, and then—

"Oh shit," she whispered, eyes widening as realization struck. "Did Silas trigger right in front of me?"

It made sense. She remembered him standing up despite his injuries, stubbornly telling the thugs he wasn't letting them take her. Then the flash of brilliant white light. Now, suddenly, she was in a goddamn forest. 

Definitely some kind of teleportation power.

Amy scanned the area, worry gripping her chest until she spotted Silas lying unconscious a few feet away. She groaned softly, both relieved he was still alive and annoyed that he was completely out cold when she desperately needed answers.

"Of course you're unconscious," she muttered sarcastically, kneeling beside him to check for injuries. She placed a gentle hand on his chest, letting her powers flow into him to assess the damage. Amy grimaced when she realized Silas's concussion had worsened significantly. If left untreated, he wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

Oddly, though, something felt off. 

She frowned, reaching deeper, searching for the familiar corona pollentia—the source of power she'd sensed in every cape she'd healed before. Strangely, there was nothing. Either Silas's power was different from anything she'd encountered, or his corona was somehow invisible to her power.

"Great," Amy sighed, glancing around nervously at the looming trees. She hated breaking her own rules, especially her strict policy about not healing brains. But they were stranded in the middle of fucking nowhere. If Silas really was a Mover, he might be their only chance of getting home alive. Before she starved to death, because she had never been a girl scout and there was no way in hell she was going to survive in the middle of the woods on her own.

"Fuck it," she finally decided, pressing her palm more firmly against Silas's forehead. "I'll just pretend this never happened." Just like all the times she healed the criminals that her sister Vicky almost beat to death.

It took her only seconds to repair the damage to Silas's brain, reversing the concussion completely. She withdrew her hand quickly, feeling uncomfortable at having crossed her personal line, even if nobody else ever found out.

Amy took a deep breath, shaking off the guilt, and was just about to wake Silas when the sound of movement suddenly reached her ears. She froze instantly, heart hammering in her chest. Something large—no, multiple large somethings—were approaching quickly through the trees.

"Oh fuck," she whispered, her voice tight with anxiety. "What now?"

Within moments, a group of riders emerged from the trees, mounted on massive horses. They were large, rough-looking men clad entirely in red and grey armor, each one armed with a sword. Their hostile eyes immediately settled on Amy and Silas, suspicion and hostility clear in their stares.

Amy stood defensively, heart pounding as one of the riders urged his horse closer, looking down at her with obvious disdain.

"Trying to cross the border illegally, are you?" the armored man barked roughly, drawing his sword with a metallic scrape and pointing it directly at her. "You're under arrest, girl."

Amy stared at him incredulously, momentarily too stunned to respond. Arrested? Border? What the hell was this guy talking about?

She glanced back down at Silas, still frustratingly unconscious, and grumbled quietly under her breath, her frustration boiling over.

"Fuck."

– Silas –

I felt like I was gently rocking from side to side, my body swaying with a slow, rhythmic movement. Strangely enough, my head felt a lot clearer. The fog from earlier was completely gone. Instead, vivid memories rushed back into my mind—far more detailed than before—filling in gaps I hadn't even realized were there.

Wait...what the fuck was going on?

Two entirely different sets of memories collided sharply in my brain, both equally clear. It almost felt like I'd died and reincarnated into some alternate version of myself—or merged with him, somehow. One part of me clearly remembered a life as Silas Thorn, senior at Winslow High in the absolute shithole city known as Brockton Bay. A city that, until today, I'd firmly believed was pure fiction. Apparently, that wasn't the case anymore, because I had eighteen fucking years' worth of memories from living there.

Then there was the other set, fuzzier but persistent—memories of going to university, of reading web novels and fanfiction, even memories of playing video games and shit-posting online. I was fairly certain those memories belonged to the 'original' me, but it was damn hard to tell anymore.

Either way, I was Silas Thorn now, and Brockton Bay was apparently very real. Except there were a few inconsistencies with the original Worm story I'd once read. Amy and Vicky, for instance—they definitely weren't teenagers here. They both looked older—maybe eighteen, nineteen? And if I was honest, way hotter than I'd expected.

Slowly, my senses returned to normal, and reality finally sank in as I cautiously opened my eyes. Holy shit—I was actually in Worm. And somehow I'd triggered with powers. Not bad for an average day, right?

Unfortunately, that feeling of excitement didn't last long.

My eyes adjusted to my surroundings, and I immediately realized something was very, very wrong. I was sitting in a slow-moving wooden cart, wrists tightly bound with rope. Around me were several strangers in rough-looking clothes, also tied up, looking just as miserable and confused as I felt.

Sitting directly across from me was Panacea— Amy —also tied and looking absolutely fucking furious. Next to her sat a large, muscular guy wearing battered blue armor, a look of grim resignation on his face.

"What the fuck…?" I mumbled under my breath, testing the ropes binding my wrists. Yup, securely tied. "Amy? You okay?"

She shot me a glare sharp enough to cut glass. "Do I fucking look okay to you, Silas?"

Fair enough.

A soft groan beside me drew my attention. A strikingly beautiful woman with long, tangled blonde hair was slowly coming to consciousness, tied just like the rest of us. She wore dirty, ragged clothing that barely covered her impressive figure, and she clutched her head painfully as she woke up.

Just as I was about to say something reassuring—or maybe just ask her where the hell we were—the man in blue armor across from us sighed heavily, looking at me with weary eyes.

"Hey, you two," he said, voice deep and tired. "You're finally awake."

I blinked slowly, a sinking feeling gripping my chest as he continued.

"You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush. Same as us—and that thief over there."

My brain momentarily froze at those iconic words.

No fucking way.

Hadn't I literally just been in Worm, stuck in Brockton Bay with a goddamn concussion a second ago? How the hell had I ended up in fucking Skyrim?

Before I could panic—or maybe laugh hysterically—a glowing blue screen popped into existence directly in front of my face, causing everyone around me to gasp and mutter nervously.

[Tutorial Quest Initiated: You and your partner must survive the tutorial and slay a dragon! Rewards will be distributed based on performance and heroic deeds accomplished.]

"Oh, shit," I muttered quietly to myself, feeling my heart drop into my stomach. Apparently I hadn't dreamed up the fact that I had awoken some kind of System as well… 

Chapter 3:

– Silas –

"What kind of magic is that?!" one of the prisoners shouted, staring at the glowing screen floating directly in front of me.

My eyes widened in shock when I realized everyone else could see the damn thing, too. Clearly, none of these guys had any clue what a system or a quest was, but it had definitely caught their attention.

"What in Oblivion…?" 

"Shut up back there!" barked a voice from the front of the cart. I turned my head to see an Imperial soldier riding beside us, sword at his hip and eyes narrowed in suspicion. Next to him sat another guard, who was clearly assigned to keep watch on us prisoners—especially on a gagged man I immediately recognized as Ulfric Stormcloak.

The second guard's gaze snapped toward me, locking onto the floating screen, and his face instantly twisted in fear. "Sorcery!" he screamed, rising unsteadily from his seat. The cart rocked violently beneath him as he drew his blade, pointing it directly at my face. "You're not escaping, Stormcloak dog!"

Oh shit—this escalated fast.

He raised his sword to strike, and I instinctively leaned away, but before I could even attempt to defend myself, Amy lunged forward. Her bound hands clamped around the bare skin of the soldier's exposed forearm. He jerked violently, eyes rolling back in his head, mouth open in a silent scream as Amy's power rushed through him.

"Dumbass," Amy spat bitterly, letting go as his body went limp. He collapsed forward, already unconscious.

The man in blue armor didn't hesitate—he surged forward, shoulder-checking the unconscious soldier off the cart. The man's limp body hit the ground with a sickening crunch, his sword clattering loose onto the wooden boards beside us. Blue-armor grabbed the fallen blade instantly, his movements sharp and decisive.

"Oh fuck," I muttered nervously, realizing we were seriously doing this. Apparently, we were making our great escape before we even got to Helgen. Probably for the best, honestly. This wasn't a goddamn game anymore—it was real life, and I was painfully aware I wasn't some chosen Dragonborn hero. Judging by the blonde beauty still trying to shake off her disorientation beside me, that role probably belonged to her.

I shook myself free of the initial shock and quickly scooted closer to Ulfric Stormcloak, grabbing hold of the gag tied around his mouth. I yanked it loose as fast as I could.

He coughed a bit and then grinned at me. "Thank you, young Nords!" he said to us.

I blinked at him, startled. Nords? Seriously? I mean, I guess I kind of looked like one with my blonde hair, and Amy would fit in as well with her red hair. 

Before I could correct him, Ulfric turned to glare fiercely at the small contingent of Imperial soldiers now staring at him with pure terror from horseback beside our cart.

"FUS ROH DAH!" Ulfric roared at the top of his lungs.

An invisible wave of raw force exploded from his mouth, shaking the entire cart and nearly knocking us over. Amy let out a startled curse, gripping the wooden boards for dear life, as the Imperial soldiers and their horses were violently thrown into the surrounding forest. Bodies slammed into trees with horrific, bone-cracking impacts.

"Oh god," I whispered, nausea rising in my throat. Did I just help Ulfric Stormcloak straight-up murder a bunch of people?

My thoughts shattered as a loud scream came from the front of the cart. The carriage driver had just been impaled from behind by a sword, his body falling off to land lifelessly on the ground.

Blue-armor hurriedly climbed toward me, extending the bloody sword he'd stolen. "Hold out your hands, young man!"

I hesitated, staring uneasily at the blade covered in fresh blood. My heart was hammering in my chest.

He seemed to sense my anxiety. "Relax, lad," he reassured me firmly. "I'm not going to hurt you—I'm cutting you free. Hurry!"

I took a shaky breath and held my bound wrists toward him, and he carefully sliced through the ropes. Relief surged through me as the restraints fell away. He quickly moved to Amy, doing the same for her and then for the others, including the blonde woman who was finally recovering her senses.

"Thanks," Amy muttered grudgingly, rubbing at her wrists before immediately whirling around to glare at me, eyes blazing with fury. "Silas, what the fuck is going on?! Did we seriously just help some psycho Viking villain cape commit murder?"

I winced, glancing nervously at Ulfric—who thankfully didn't seem offended. If anything, he looked amused. "You've got quite the mouth on you, lass," Ulfric said, giving Amy an amused look.

Amy scoffed, clearly unimpressed, and turned sharply back to me, her glare still firmly in place. "Silas, I'm serious. Start talking."

I held up my hands defensively, already feeling a headache building. "Look, Amy, I'll explain everything—I swear—but right now, we really shouldn't stick around here. Trust me, things are about to get really fucking bad."

The guy in blue armor—Ralof, I finally remembered—nodded slowly as he wiped the blood off his stolen blade. He turned toward Ulfric, clearly anxious. "My Jarl, what should we do next? Should we still head for Helgen and try to free our captured comrades?"

"I'll tell you what I'm doing," the skinny, terrified horse thief suddenly shouted, cutting everyone off. "I'm getting the fuck out of here and going straight back to Rorikstead where it's safe!" Without waiting for anyone to respond, he leaped off the cart and bolted into the forest. In seconds, he vanished entirely among the trees.

There was a brief silence as we watched him go, before Ralof shrugged dismissively. "Coward."

A few of the other stormcloak prisoners moved around quickly, looting the corpses of the imperials of their weapons.

Ulfric turned back to me, fixing me with an intense stare that made me uncomfortable. "Why exactly do you think things will get worse? And what in Talos's name was that strange blue magic you were using earlier?"

Amy immediately folded her arms and narrowed her eyes, obviously expecting an explanation as well. Fuck me—this wasn't exactly the time or place for total honesty. I might trust Amy enough to come clean later, but definitely not in front of these guys. Not when they'd just casually slaughtered soldiers without blinking.

I swallowed hard and quickly scrambled for a believable lie. "It's, uh...divination magic," I lied as convincingly as I could manage. "It warns me about upcoming danger. And right now, it's telling me that Helgen is going to be destroyed by a dragon."

There was a stunned silence. Amy raised a skeptical eyebrow, clearly not buying it completely. The Nords around us, though, reacted far more dramatically.

Ralof looked genuinely horrified. "Impossible. Dragons haven't been seen in thousands of years!"

Ulfric's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Are you lying to us, lad? Dragons returning—surely you jest."

I sighed deeply, shaking my head. "Look, it's insane. Believe me, I know how crazy it sounds. But that's just the kind of day we're all having right now, isn't it?"

Ulfric stared into my eyes for a long, intense moment. Then, unexpectedly, he chuckled—a low, resigned sound. "Yes," he admitted, sounding tired but amused. "I suppose it is that kind of day..."

He turned to Ralof decisively. "We still go to Helgen. If a dragon truly comes, we might not be able to slay the beast, but we can at least rescue our brothers and sisters from execution. We owe them that."

Ralof nodded firmly, gripping his sword with renewed determination. "Agreed."

Ulfric then turned to face the rest of us, eyes serious. "We could use your help, friends. Will you join us?"

The beautiful blonde Nord woman beside me—likely the Dragonborn herself—finally spoke up. "I didn't expect any of this when I returned to Skyrim, but yes—I'll help however I can."

Ralof smiled warmly at her, clearly pleased. "That's the spirit, sister."

Everyone's eyes shifted toward Amy and me, expectantly waiting for our answer. Shit.

I exhaled nervously, glancing down at my trembling hands. "Look, I've never actually been in a real fight before…" I hesitated. I knew this wasn't a video game. If I fucked up here, I'd end up dead, or worse—I'd get Amy killed. But… I had been granted a SYSTEM. The HERO system. Could I just really stand around and let people die? I knew I wouldn't be able to save everyone in Helgen obviously, but we could at least save some. "But," I continued slowly, feeling oddly determined, "I'll try my best. I'll help however I can."

Amy sighed dramatically beside me, throwing her hands up in exaggerated frustration. "Fuck it. Fine. Let's go rescue some people from an actual dragon. Why the fuck not!?" she snarked. "And if we die horribly, I'm haunting your ass forever—and I swear to god, Silas, I'm siccing my sister on you!" She paused briefly, suddenly nervous. "Wait, it's not Lung, right? Like, you didn't teleport us back home near Lung somehow?"

I laughed softly despite myself, shaking my head reassuringly. "No, Amy. Definitely not Lung."

It was worse… So much worse. I didn't have the heart to tell her.

"Oh, thank fuck," she muttered, visibly relieved.

Ralof and Ulfric exchanged confused looks. "Lung?" Ralof asked cautiously, frowning deeply. "Is that another dragon?"

I quickly waved him off. "Don't worry about it. Just…someone nasty from back home."

Ulfric stared at us strangely, then shrugged. "Very well. We should move swiftly. Whatever the truth of your 'vision,' Helgen still holds our captured brothers and sisters. Follow me!"

Ralof and Ulfric immediately broke into a run through the trees, leading us toward Helgen. Amy gave me one last accusing glare as we started moving, clearly promising a serious conversation later. Great, something else to look forward to.

The blonde woman suddenly matched pace with me, shooting me a curious glance. "Your name is Silas, right?"

I nodded, feeling awkwardly self-conscious. "Yeah. And you?"

"I'm Hildra," she said, smiling faintly. "Seems like we'll be sticking together for a while."

I swallowed nervously. If my suspicions were right, Hildra was about to have a far more dangerous life than even she expected. "Yeah, seems that way."

Ralof called back to us sharply. "Keep up, you three! Helgen's not far, but Imperial reinforcements could be here any minute when they realize our transport didn't arrive!"

We pushed ourselves harder, sprinting through the dense forest toward Helgen, where—if my memories were correct—a fucking dragon was about to attack and turn the entire place into an inferno. And here I was, running straight toward it, because apparently, I'd lost my goddamn mind.

I briefly glanced back at Amy, who was glaring at me the whole way. "I swear I'll explain," I shouted breathlessly. "Just don't kill me yet!"

She snorted loudly, managing a faint smirk despite her obvious irritation. "No promises, asshole."

…

Unlike in the game, Helgen wasn't just a small handful of buildings tossed together. This place was significantly larger—maybe close to a hundred houses and businesses clustered tightly in the middle of a forest clearing. Unfortunately for everyone here, every single one of those buildings was built from timber. Wood that would burn very easily when a certain legendary, world-ending dragon started roasting everything in sight.

Ulfric quickly turned to Ralof and his other soldiers, keeping his voice low but authoritative. "We don't have many warriors, but that might actually work in our favor. The Imperials foolishly split up the prisoner transports—something I'm sure they're deeply regretting right now, seeing as our cart hasn't arrived yet."

Ralof nodded sharply, clearly eager to follow whatever plan Ulfric had in mind. "Your orders, my Jarl?"

Ulfric gestured toward the village. "I'll lead our men to quietly infiltrate the village, freeing as many of our captured brothers and sisters as possible. After that, we'll kill as many Imperials as we can manage and spread the word for the villagers to flee immediately."

Then he turned to Amy, Hildra, and me. "Your task will be simpler but I fear may fall on deaf ears. Never-the-less you should still try. Move through Helgen quietly, staying out of sight of the Imperials. Warn as many villagers as you can to escape immediately. Understood?"

Amy frowned. "How exactly are we supposed to convince them to leave their homes? I doubt they'll believe us if we just say, 'hey, a dragon's about to barbeque you all.' Who's going to believe that kind of bullshit? I barely believe that kind of bullshit…" she huffed.

Ulfric grimaced slightly, clearly agreeing with her. "Fair point, lass. Just tell them an army of goblins has been spotted heading toward Helgen instead. That's been known to happen once in awhile, and they can be a real nuisance."

At the mention of "goblins," Amy's eyes widened dramatically, and she sucked in a sharp breath. She immediately grabbed my shoulder and shook me, panic obvious in her voice. "Holy fuck, Silas! You didn't teleport us near Nilbog's territory, did you!?"

I quickly shook my head, gently grabbing her wrists to steady her. "Amy, relax. We're nowhere near Earth Bet anymore."

Her expression shifted from panic to confusion. "Wait, is this Earth Aleph?"

"No," I said carefully. "We're somewhere…much further away than that, I imagine."

Hildra glanced at us both with curiosity, clearly overhearing our strange conversation. "The two of you speak as though you hail from some strange and distant land."

I chuckled softly, shaking my head at the absurdity of it all. "You don't even know the half of it."

Honestly, I barely understood it myself. I had a lifetime's worth of memories crammed into my skull from two separate existences. Hell, technically I was now Silas Thorn from Earth Bet, even if my original self was from somewhere else entirely. It was still incredibly fucking weird to think about.

Hildra gave me a playful smirk, eyes sparkling with interest. "Well, handsome, perhaps later you could tell me all about this fascinating homeland of yours."

Amy immediately rolled her eyes and gave me an exasperated look. "Jesus Christ, Silas, do you seriously need to flirt with every pretty girl you meet?" She asked, almost sounding a little bit jealous as her eyes darted between myself and the possible dragonborn. 

I held my hands up defensively. "Whoa, calm down—I wasn't even flirting!"

Hildra glanced back, giving Amy a mischievous smile. "Don't be jealous, beautiful maiden. I'd be more than happy to get to know you better as well. After all, your quick thinking and decisive actions back on the cart saved all our lives." She topped that comment off with a playful wink directed right at Amy, whose cheeks instantly turned bright red. 

Amy sputtered in surprise, glancing away nervously. "She wants to get to know me better...?" she muttered softly to herself.

I smirked slightly at her reaction. Apparently, the Dragonborn had some serious charisma—enough to throw even the snarky Panacea off her game…

…

…Convincing these people was not nearly as easy as I thought it would be. It turned out the Nord mentality was exactly as stubborn as it was portrayed in the game—maybe even worse, honestly. After several failed attempts, we eventually gathered a crowd of about twenty villagers, and all of them were staring at us with varying degrees of skepticism and annoyance.

I had just finished warning them about the supposed "goblin army" heading towards Helgen, but instead of panicking, they seemed utterly unimpressed. If anything, they looked irritated that we were wasting their time.

One large, grizzled Nord stepped forward with his arms crossed over his chest. He gave me a dismissive sneer. "Goblins? You dragged us away from our work to warn us about goblins? Do we look like frightened children to you, lad?"

Several others grumbled in agreement, muttering insults about outsiders and weaklings.

I glanced at Amy nervously. "Shit. This isn't working."

She gave me a flat stare. "You think?"

I turned pleadingly toward Hildra, hoping maybe another Nord would have better luck convincing her own people. "Help us out here?"

Hildra sighed in irritation, clearly losing patience. She stepped forward boldly, glaring fiercely at the gathered villagers. "Alright, fine! We lied about the goblins, you stubborn fools! It's not goblins—it's a giant fucking dragon that's about to burn your entire village to the ground and kill every last one of you. You all need to get out, right now!"

A stunned silence fell over the crowd for about two seconds before the villagers burst into laughter. They shook their heads, openly mocking us.

"I knew they were lying!" shouted a woman near the back.

Another man pointed accusingly. "They're probably Stormcloak spies trying to distract us!"

"Yeah, I bet they've got friends breaking the rebels out right now!" another yelled angrily.

I winced, feeling a bead of sweat drip down the back of my neck. I wouldn't exactly call Ulfric and Ralof my friends, but the villagers weren't exactly wrong about the rebel breakout. Paranoid bastards had accidentally guessed the truth perfectly.

One older man raised his voice above the crowd. "Someone call the guards! Have these three idiots arrested before they cause more trouble!"

Amy threw her hands up, clearly exasperated. "I am not getting fucking tied up again, Silas! We tried. We failed. These idiots are obviously too stupid to survive anyway."

I grimaced, hesitating. Could I really just give up and let these people die? Before I could make a decision, an earsplitting roar tore through the air above us, causing everyone—including myself—to freeze in fear.

"Rooooooooaaaaaaarrrrrr!"

The noise was deafening, vibrating through my bones and making the very air around us ripple violently. I'd never heard anything like it in either of my lives. 

It was painfully obvious what was coming next.

"The dragon's here," Hildra said grimly. "We're out of time." Before I could even react, she grabbed me roughly by the collar of my shirt, pulling me back toward the outskirts of the crowd. With her other hand, she grabbed Amy by the arm, yanking her along as well.

"We need to get clear, now," Hildra urged urgently, dragging us both away. "We're too close to the village center—we'll die here if we stay."

A wave of scorching heat suddenly engulfed the buildings behind us. Terrified screams filled the air, followed by deafening explosions as the first structures ignited into blazing infernos. Alduin had arrived, and the village was being rapidly reduced to burning rubble around us.

Panic surged through me. 

The damn tutorial had truly begun, and all we could hope for now was to somehow survive!

"We need shelter!" Hildra shouted desperately. "Now!"

"The prison!" I yelled suddenly, memories flooding back to me clearly. "Head toward the prison—there are underground cave tunnels there that'll lead us safely out of Helgen."

Amy shot me a startled look even as she stumbled to keep up. "How the fuck do you know that!?" she demanded breathlessly. "And shit—I really need to stop cutting gym class!"

She suddenly let out an adorably startled yelp as Hildra effortlessly wrapped one strong arm around her waist and hefted her bodily over her shoulder, running full speed toward the prison. Amy looked embarrassed as hell, face bright red as she was carried like a sack of potatoes.

Unfortunately for me, Helgen's layout was nothing like what I'd remembered from the game. Every street looked unfamiliar and chaotic in the smoke-filled panic. Luckily, Hildra had apparently been to Helgen years earlier, and I gladly followed her lead through the winding, debris-strewn paths.

"There!" Hildra shouted, pointing ahead at a stone building that looked vaguely familiar. "That's the prison!"

We were almost there when I heard crying nearby. A pair of twin children, a young boy and a girl, around 4 years old were standing in the street crying loudly for their parents. I didn't even hesitate as I quickly scooped the both of them up. I was thankful Silas Thorn worked out occasionally and they didnt slow me down much as I followed after Hildra and Amy.

At least I was able to save two people…

Outside the heavy wooden door stood Ralof, waving frantically at us. He looked absolutely terrified, face pale beneath the soot coating his cheeks.

"There you are!" Ralof yelled urgently. "Get inside, quickly, before the dragon turns his sights on this place next!"

We sprinted toward him, barely pausing as he pulled the heavy door open. "Move your asses!" he screamed. "Inside—now!"

We didn't need to be told twice. Hildra shoved Amy through the doorway first, practically tossing her inside before running in after her. I ran in last, barely clearing the threshold with the screaming kids as a wave of intense heat blasted through the doorway behind us, nearly singing my back as Alduin flew overhead, raining hellfire upon the street we'd just left behind.

Ralof slammed the door shut, bolting it securely. For a moment, all of us simply stood there in the dim interior of the prison, gasping for breath and staring at each other in wide-eyed shock.

Amy was bent over, hands on her knees, trying to regain her breath. "This...this isn't fucking real," she gasped weakly. "We seriously just escaped a dragon attack. A real fucking dragon."

Hildra chuckled dryly, her expression equally stunned. "This wasn't quite the adventure I was expecting as soon as I returned to my homeland..."

Ralof glanced at the two crying children I was holding, his face immediately softening into a sympathetic frown. "Are these two all you managed to save?" he asked quietly, his voice tinged with regret.

I sighed heavily, adjusting my grip as the kids squirmed in my arms. "Yeah, unfortunately. By the time we got people to listen, it was already too late—the dragon was already on us."

Ralof nodded solemnly, clearly understanding our frustration. "Aye, lad. Your magic prediction rang true, though we didn't fare much better. General Tullius was furious when he discovered Ulfric had escaped. The bastard started executing prisoners on the spot rather than risk losing them. We freed a handful, but not nearly enough. I just hope Ulfric made it out safely by another route…"

Before he could say more, another roar shook the building, rattling the heavy wooden door behind us. Dust trickled from the stone ceiling, reminding us that Alduin was still busy annihilating Helgen.

"We need to hurry before the dragon turns its attention to this prison," Hildra urged sharply, and we all nodded in agreement.

She gently lowered Amy back onto her feet, and Amy immediately flushed bright red, her expression an adorable mixture of embarrassment and annoyance. 

I couldn't help but smirk a little. If Amy was anything like her canon counterpart, beautiful blonde women—like Vicky, or Hildra—were exactly her type. Then again, she'd blushed pretty fiercely when I'd flirted with her back at the hospital, too. Maybe this alternate version of her liked both but was still too tsundere to admit it?

My thoughts snapped back to reality when the children suddenly burst into tears again, struggling wildly in my grip.

"I want Mama!" the little girl screamed, kicking and clawing at me. The boy joined in immediately, shrieking and squirming in panic.

"Hey, calm down," I pleaded, wincing as tiny fists and nails scratched at my face and neck. "I'm trying to help you. It's dangerous out there!"

"No!" the boy cried. "You're a bad man! Put us down!"

"Let us go back!" the girl wailed desperately.

I gritted my teeth, completely at a loss. How the hell was I supposed to convince two terrified toddlers to trust a stranger carrying them away from their home?

"We don't have time for this," Amy snapped impatiently. She reached out and touched both kids on the arm, her power instantly causing them to slump unconscious in my arms. Their small bodies went limp, and the crying abruptly stopped.

I shot Amy an uneasy look. "That was a bit harsh."

She folded her arms defensively, looking irritated and uncomfortable at the same time. "Look, we didn't exactly have a choice. It's not like they'd listen. We have enough problems right now without two kids screaming their heads off and drawing attention."

Nearby, Hildra quickly began searching through a large wooden chest in the corner of the room. Her eyes lit up with satisfaction when she opened it. "Oh, thank the gods!" she said happily, immediately pulling her ragged clothes up over her head and off her body without hesitation, completely exposing herself in all her naked glory. Wow, she had a killer body... 

Those legs and her chest… And I probably shouldn't be staring so blatantly. I felt my face immediately heat up and forced myself to look away, though my eyes lingered a second longer than they probably should have.

"W-what are you doing?!" Amy sputtered, blushing an even brighter red as she awkwardly turned her back.

Hildra glanced back at us with a casual shrug, completely unconcerned by our embarrassment. "There's decent clothing and armor in here. Who knows what's lurking down in the caves beneath this place? It's better to be prepared." She began quickly pulling on clothes and within seconds she'd dressed in some sturdy leather armor, looking every bit the warrior. She then drew out a sharp steel sword from the chest and strapped it firmly to her waist, looking completely at ease.

Hildra turned to me curiously. "Silas, can you use any magic like Amy? That trick you did earlier might come in handy again if nothing else."

Amy and I exchanged a quick glance. By now Amy seemed to finally realize we weren't on Earth Bet anymore, and while her cheeks were still glowing red, I could see she was rapidly adjusting to the situation. Still, neither of us wanted to correct Hildra's assumption that Amy was using magic, and we definitely didn't want to explain our actual abilities. Not yet.

"Sorry," I told Hildra honestly. "No magic for me, I'm afraid. I can only use my… divination … a few times a day."

Hildra nodded thoughtfully, grabbing a small dagger from the chest and handing it to me. "Take this then, just in case."

I stared down at the dagger awkwardly. Both of my arms were already occupied, straining under the weight of the two unconscious children I was determined not to abandon. My muscles were already burning, but leaving these kids behind wasn't an option for me. "Thanks," I said uncertainly, awkwardly tucking the dagger into my belt. "I doubt I'll be able to use it very effectively while carrying the kids, though."

She gave me an approving nod. "We'll manage."

Ralof quickly geared up as well, grabbing some weapons from nearby and keeping a wary eye on the ceiling as another roar echoed above us. "Time to move, friends. Ralof opened the heavy wooden door leading to the next room, and we immediately found ourselves face-to-face with two Imperial soldiers. 

Both men stared at us in shock for a split second before their instincts kicked in.

"Die, Stormcloak scum!" one of them shouted, drawing his sword immediately.

"Oh, seriously? Now is really not the fucking time!" Amy complained loudly, glaring at the Imperials.

Her words fell on deaf ears. Ralof surged forward, swinging a heavy mace he'd grabbed earlier, while Hildra swiftly drew her sword, lunging straight toward the second soldier. Their weapons clashed violently, echoing loudly in the stone corridor.

Ralof smashed his mace brutally over one soldier's helmet, the force of the impact sending him crumpling to the ground. At almost the same moment, Hildra drove her sword cleanly into the second soldier's gut, his eyes widening in shock and agony as blood spilled down his front.

Just as Hildra moved to finish him off, Amy shouted urgently, "Wait! Don't kill them!"

Hildra paused mid-swing, blade inches from the man's neck, clearly startled by Amy's intervention. She hesitated, glancing back at Amy with confusion written plainly on her face. "Why not?"

Amy quickly pushed past us and knelt beside the two wounded men. "Just trust me, alright?"

She placed one hand on the first soldier—the one Ralof had struck in the head—then reached her other hand toward the soldier Hildra had stabbed. I watched closely as her power instantly healed their injuries. The man who'd been stabbed gasped deeply, clutching his gut in disbelief as his wound closed rapidly beneath Amy's hand.

Amy shot him a firm glare. "I don't heal brains, so you'll have to watch out for your buddy. He's probably got a nasty concussion."

The Imperial soldier stared at Amy in disbelief, grimacing as he slowly sat up. "Why did you save me, mage?"

Amy scowled at him, planting her hands definitely on her hips. "Because I'm a goddamn hero, asshole! You idiots shouldn't even be killing each other in the first place! I don't know what the fuck is going on between your stupid factions, but right now there's a fucking dragon outside burning hundreds of innocent people alive!" Her voice shook with anger, and a few frustrated tears formed in her eyes. "Get your shit together, seriously."

There was a tense, awkward silence as Amy's furious words sank in.

Surprisingly, it was Hildra who broke the silence first. She lowered her sword slowly, looking genuinely remorseful. "Apologies," she murmured quietly to the Imperial soldier she'd nearly killed. "In the chaos, I acted rashly."

Ralof simply snorted dismissively, clearly feeling zero remorse. He crossed his arms and glared down at the Imperials. "Fine then, Imperial dogs. For now, let's agree to a truce. Can you manage that much?"

The Imperial soldier pushed himself slowly to his feet, clearly still shaken by the near-death experience. After a tense moment, he reluctantly nodded. "I can accept that—for now."

His eyes suddenly landed on the two unconscious children still cradled awkwardly in my arms, and his expression immediately shifted from suspicion to shock.

"Wait," he said sharply, moving a bit closer. "Are those Tina and Lucas? The twins?"

I looked down at the sleeping kids, surprised they'd been recognized. "I don't know their names," I admitted honestly. "I grabbed them off the street when the dragon attacked. They were crying for their parents."

The soldier's expression softened, his eyes darkening with sadness. "I knew their parents...as did my friend here." He motioned toward his comrade, who was still swaying slightly, clearly dazed from his concussion despite Amy's healing.

He took a cautious step toward me, extending his hands slowly and non-threateningly. "I can carry them. They're familiar with me—my sister lives next door to their family. They know me. They'll be calmer when they wake."

I hesitated, feeling instinctively protective of the children. Normally, I wouldn't even consider handing two unconscious kids over to some random stranger—especially a soldier I'd just watched nearly kill us—but my arms were seriously burning from exhaustion, and realistically, I didn't have a better option. Besides, Amy had saved his life. That had to count for something.

"Alright," I finally agreed, carefully passing the sleeping twins to the Imperial soldier. "But you two need to follow after us into the tunnels quickly, before the dragon destroys the rest of this building."

The Imperial soldier nodded solemnly, gently cradling the children in his arms. "We'll be right behind you. Just give us a minute or two to catch our breath."

Amy and I quickly followed behind Ralof and Hildra as we descended deeper into the dungeon tunnels. My arms still burned from carrying the kids earlier, but the pain gradually faded. I nervously rested a hand on the dagger strapped to my waist, suddenly remembering what the hell actually lived down here. Oh shit—weren't there giant, man-eating spiders and at least one angry bear lurking somewhere ahead?

Amy nudged me sharply with her elbow, interrupting my anxious thoughts. She leaned closer and whispered urgently, "Alright, Silas, we're alone enough now. I've waited way too fucking long—what the hell is actually going on? Seriously."

I hesitated briefly, glancing around to make sure Hildra and Ralof weren't listening. I quickly waved my hand in front of her, desperately hoping the system would respond again. To my relief, it did, and the glowing blue message from earlier reappeared right in front of us:

[Tutorial Quest Initiated: You and your partner must survive the tutorial and slay a dragon! Rewards will be distributed based on performance and heroic deeds accomplished.]

Amy stared at the message floating inches from her face, her eyes rapidly scanning over it. Her face paled dramatically, and she turned to me, looking incredulous. "A tutorial? 'Survive and kill a dragon'? Are you fucking serious, Silas?" she hissed. "What kind of crazy, bullshit sentient-power did you trigger with?!"

Ah—right. Amy still thought my system was some bizarre parahuman trigger. Honestly, I couldn't really blame her, canon Worm had some incredibly weird powers, so it wasn't exactly impossible. Maybe passing the system off as some kind of insane Thinker/Trump power would be believable enough…at least for now.

Amy shook her head vigorously, her eyes wide with panic. "Silas, there's no fucking way we can kill that dragon! You saw that thing—it was massive! That bastard looked scarier than Lung fully ramped up!"

I leaned closer, keeping my voice down. "Relax, Amy. We don't actually have to kill that dragon—just a dragon."

She stared at me, her expression shifting from shock to angry confusion. "Wait—you're saying there's more than one!?"

"Oh yeah," I confirmed grimly. "There's a lot more. But thankfully, the next dragon we run into should be way, way weaker than that monster outside."

At least…I really fucking hoped it would be. This world clearly wasn't exactly the Skyrim I remembered from the game, and I had no idea how accurate my assumptions would actually turn out to be.

Amy scowled at me suspiciously. "How the hell do you know all of this stuff anyway, Silas? Are you hiding something from me?"

I sighed awkwardly, scratching at the back of my neck. "It's just, uh…random power bullshit? Weird Thinker intuitions, I guess. Sorry, Amy."

She narrowed her eyes dangerously, clearly unimpressed by my flimsy excuse. "I seriously hate you right now," she muttered, pouting furiously.

I smirked slightly, unable to resist teasing her a little. "Aw, come on—I really don't want a cute girl to hate me."

Amy's face instantly flushed bright red again, and she shoved my shoulder roughly, glaring at me in embarrassment. "Urgh! And now you're flirting with me again! Do you even know how to stop?"

I chuckled weakly. "Sorry, I think this might just be my default when I'm stressed."

Amy rolled her eyes dramatically, but I noticed the corner of her lips twitch slightly upward despite herself. "Whatever," she sighed irritably. After a brief pause, her voice softened just a little. "Fine. If you can't explain the weird-ass powers you've apparently developed, can you at least tell me something useful about this crazy fantasy world we're stuck in? You clearly know way more than you're saying."

"Uh..." I hesitated, suddenly remembering our more immediate problems waiting just ahead in the darkness. "Are you by any chance afraid of spiders?"

Amy blinked at me slowly, her eyes narrowing with suspicion and mounting dread. "What the fuck kind of question is that, Silas?"

"Oh, you know," I said sheepishly. "It's just…you might find out why I asked in about two minutes."

Amy's jaw clenched, and she turned sharply toward Ralof and Hildra, who were now waiting for us impatiently further down the tunnel.

"If we survive this bullshit, I am going to fucking kill you," Amy muttered darkly.

I swallowed hard, gripping the dagger tightly. "Fair enough."

…

…In the game, the giant spiders in the Helgen caves were honestly kind of pathetic. Sure, they spat venom and bit your character every few seconds, but their poison barely hurt at all, and their attacks were weak.

Yeah, that was complete bullshit.

Hildra was lying on the cave floor, twitching uncontrollably, foam bubbling from her mouth as her eyes rolled back into her head. One of those massive fucking spiders had managed to bite deep into her leg before she and Ralof finally took it down. I'd even managed to help—a little—by awkwardly hacking off one of its creepy, hairy legs with my dagger.

But now Hildra was convulsing violently, her skin turning pale. Shit. Was this world's actual Dragonborn seriously about to die in the goddamn tutorial dungeon?

"Amy!" I shouted desperately, dropping down beside Hildra's shaking body. "Do your thing, quick!"

Amy rushed forward, kneeling next to Hildra and pressing both her hands against the woman's injured leg. Her face twisted in concentration, and I watched, fascinated and slightly nauseated, as the sickly green poison literally poured out of the bite wound, splattering onto the stone floor and sizzling quietly.

After a tense few seconds, Hildra suddenly gasped sharply, her eyes snapping open as Amy finished healing the wound. She sat up slowly, breathing heavily, looking around in confusion before focusing on Amy's flushed, irritated face.

"You're welcome," Amy said pointedly, clearly annoyed we'd nearly lost our strongest fighter this early.

Ralof stared at Amy with open admiration, shaking his head in wonder. "Magic truly is amazing," he breathed. "I've only witnessed it a handful of times in my life, but you're by far the best healing mage I've ever seen."

Amy visibly straightened up, clearly enjoying the praise. "Damn right I am," she replied smugly, crossing her arms with a satisfied grin.

Hildra smiled at Amy gratefully, leaning in unexpectedly to kiss her right on the cheek. "My hero," she purred teasingly.

Amy's eyes widened dramatically, and her entire face flushed bright red as she sputtered incoherently, clearly flustered by the sudden affection. She quickly looked away, unable to form any sort of comeback, and nervously rubbed at her cheek as though trying to wipe away the blush itself.

I laughed softly, holding my hand out to help Hildra get back onto her feet. "Come on, Hildra. Please try not to break our healer's brain before we've even finished the damn tutorial."

Hildra chuckled as she accepted my hand, pulling herself upright and giving me an exaggerated sigh. "Fine," she relented, though the mischievous glint in her eyes remained. "I was only teasing. Besides, now isn't exactly the best moment for flirting. I'll save that for when we're not trapped in a cave filled with giant, evil spiders." She shuddered visibly at the thought.

With everyone back on their feet, we continued carefully through the cave system. The tunnels felt darker, colder, and far more oppressive than I'd expected, making it nearly impossible to avoid stepping into occasional streams of freezing water that soaked right through my shoes and chilled me to the bone.

Another weird thing was that the torture chamber from the game seemed to be completely missing, which honestly made me nervous. 

What else had changed in this version of Skyrim?

We were approaching what I thought was probably the end of the tunnels when something lying near the cavern wall caught my attention.

"Hey—hold on a second," I said, slowing my pace and squinting into the shadows. "Is that a body?"

Amy groaned dramatically, giving me a flat stare. "Oh god, you're seriously stopping to loot corpses now?"

I ignored her comment, quickly moving toward the dead figure. It was a skeleton covered in ancient, rotted black robes, sprawled out on the cold stone. Right in front of its skeletal fingers was a leather-bound book, glowing softly with an unmistakable bluish light.

Wait a second—was that a goddamn spell tome?

I immediately crouched and picked it up, feeling a strange, tingling warmth radiating from its pages. Amy rolled her eyes again, muttering something about grave-robbing, but I ignored her, too fascinated to care. With excitement building inside me, I flipped open the tome to the first page.

A blinding white glow instantly enveloped the book, illuminating the entire cavern for a few intense seconds. Everyone behind me gasped sharply, clearly startled. Then my system interface abruptly appeared, floating clearly in front of me once again:

[Downloading Destruction Spell: Sparks…]

[Successfully Downloaded and Installed!]

The tome in my hands literally crumbled into dust and slipped through my fingers, scattering onto the cavern floor, as a completely new sensation surged through my body. It was strange—like knowledge and power simultaneously settling comfortably into place within my very being.

I stared at my hands, feeling energy thrumming gently beneath my skin. Without thinking, I raised my right palm, aiming directly toward one of the nearby stone walls. I knew I was probably grinning like a complete idiot, but honestly, who wouldn't? With barely a conscious thought, a vivid, crackling arc of blue-white lightning burst from my fingertips, slamming violently into the stone and illuminating the cave in a bright flash.

Holy shit. I could shoot actual fucking lightning now!