Mikhail looked at Siegfried/Hope sadly, then smiled faintly; he was not going to cry, even though his heart was breaking once again.

"I will miss you," was all he would say as he left. Then, responding to Sarah, Mikhail would then say:

"I'll use another shower to clean myself; I need to get changed as well. After that, I'll see the other kids; tell them everything is okay. Then, training." And with that, Mikhail went off to wash himself.

Timeskip

Having changed to another grey T-shirt and pants, Mikhail then went off to see the other children in their rooms. Once he drew near, he would say:

"Are you okay -"

"Mike! Mike!" he would be greeted with happy, exurbiant shouts, before being surrounded by other children who hugged him, patted his back, and began giving him quite a few 'thank you's'. It was clear that the other kids, though some might be frightened of him, would also be grateful to him for freeing them and humiliating their captors. The boy smiled at that.

Hope's personification might leave him one day, but what he embodied would stay.

@Letter Bee

The children would seem excited, the younger ones more than eager to grant their savior, a few of the oldest ones still sitting on their bunks. A young one, ten or twelve, would stand against the wall with a cap leaned slightly over his face.

One of the boys, a thirteen year old or so, would separate the young ones and give his hand for Mikhail to shake. "Hey there, I can't believe you've done all this- we're all really thankful."

The boy against the wall would scoff and pass by them, almost shoving and muttering something like 'speak for yourselves', under his breath, and storming quickly into the hall.

The lead boy would shake his head and turn back to Mikhail, "most of us are pretty grateful anyway. I almost got turned into one of those freak cultists, indoctrinated or whatever. Its pretty weird to see them around but- they're different. That knight dude says that they were brainwashed, and it wasn't their fault. I don't really get it- but I guess as long as those creepy doctors aren't around," he would shudder, "at least the cultists only showed up in the last few days." He would try to clear the thoughts, almost holding himself. Some of the other kids would look down before he would continue, "so we decided that with a bit of help- we could throw a party! Here's the first thing-" the kids would scramble a bit before bringing out a box and handing it to you, "it's a gift- from all of us! It's kinda all we could get," he would rub his nose and all the children would look at you expectantly.

Inside the small, white box, would be a large, clear, blue crystal, on a long string. It looks somewhat like one of the Cultists crystals, mounted in a small piece of the strange looking machine.

"It's a symbol." He would say with a more serious tone, "we found it near the Pit, and more in one of the stockrooms. We don't know what they did but this ones different, like the one the big guy with the twisted face had. We all touched it and it started to glow. Now it's got weird letters in it. We figured you could use it, or wear it, or put it on that sword you had." He would shrug, "you might need it." The children would look happily up at Mikhail, even the older ones on their bunks staring up at him, all save for the child who ran out.

"Thanks, I love it!" said Mikhail, greatly happy, although he was worried about the child who had ran out. He then took the crystal and put the string around his neck, causing it to glow mildly. Something that enhanced the powers of Hope, no doubt? Well, for when Siegfried was gone, it could be something to remember the days with him by. But, his eyes would then turn on weighter matters.

"So, that kid who ran off; I haven't seen him much before. What happened to him?" Hopefully, he isn't someone who wanted to become a cultist, or has been corrupted by them, or is somehow connected with the enemy. Mikhail felt guilty about suspecting one of his fellow former captives of such things, but he was in a war right now, and paranoia was sometimes reasonable.

Or, it could just be because I failed to save someone he wanted saved.

"Anyway," said Mikhail, "yeah! We can throw a party! I'd love that. However..." he then looked towards the hall, "you guys can make the preperations; I have something to do."

And with that, he ran after the unhappy kid - presumably having recieved an answer from the crowd about what was up with him.

@Ikthaias

@Letter Bee

"That's Fred," the lead child would say simply, "Robs brother. They went through a lot together and Fred... He hasn't been the same since he found out. None of us can really believe it- Rob and I made the escape plan with a few of us others help. He was strong, even stronger than some of the older kids- not in his arms, but, well you know what I mean. In his heart," he would look a little embarrassed by the corniness of it, but more sad over the loss of a friend. Mikhail was a second hand savior- a last minute underdog hope no one expected. It seems like Rob was the real leader of the kids. Even Sarah seemed to flinch inside when he was mentioned.

The kids had all been pretty happy he'd accepted the gift, all cheering after him and affirming that they'd try to get the party together around dinner.

Out in the halls would be the child who had left, perhaps still younger than Mikhails first guess, a blonde shaggy-haired kid in a green cap, and he would still be in the process of storming down the halls, the faint sound of sobbing and sniffling as Mikhail drew nearer.

"I see," Mikhail said before he ran off. "Now I remember." He felt a little ashamed of his earlier speculation, although his final guess turned out to be right. "Rob and I only spoke a few times, but he was always someone who can give hope to others; a really strong-hearted person." And now he's gone. A sadness and yearning filled Mikhail's heart, then.

As he neared Fred, Mikhail didn't know what to say. He didn't mean to replace Rob? Rob was a good person? He would forever be indebted to Rob? Or even, sigh...he loved Rob? Not that he would admit to that last sentence. Finally, he settled for:

"Fred?" Mikhail asked when he was in range. "I'm sorry. For not saving him."

@Ikthaias

Fred stopped as he heard Mikhails voice. He turned to the wall, his face held downward and shadowed by the cap. As soon as Mikhails words were out Fred looked up in a crying, screaming rage, "fuck you!" It was the first real curse word he had ever said, and he'd never think of a better use for it than this moment, "fuck you! You think sorry gonna bring him back?!" He would heath his tiny fist against Mikhails chest, this once innocent boy now a ball of unbridled rage ans sadness, "you think saying sorry good enough- you think you can throw a party when my brothers dead- fuck you!" He would almost fall, crying, and sob out, "you didn't even come to his funeral! You or that girl- we buried him. Buried him with the others-" he would be sobbing, nothing more than a puddle of a boy, "we put flowers on his grave. He has a cross. I buried my brother." He would push himself up and the rage would return, blinding and almost a deadly stare, "it should have been you," he would say quietly, backing away. He would start to stammer something before he would simply take off, clearly traumatized, and dissapear around the corner.

Mikhail would not give up; he would not be the Champion of Hope if he just gave up. He kept on following Fred, trying to form an answer to the sad boy's words.

"Fred..." Mikhail addressed him directly, once he was in range again, "please, I know you're sad and angry right now, that you're hurt inside. I know you're in pain, like nothing can ever make it all better, including me." As he approached closer, Mikhail continued:

"I owe Rob everything. We only talked a few times, but when we were in that dark place, he became the person I admired the most. His black hair, his green eyes, his smile, that helped me gain the hope I have right now, hope that was lacking when I first came here, fresh from the deaths of my parents."

"And so I can't let you keep getting hurt, because if I let you keep getting sad and angry, without me trying to help...that would spit on Rob's grave even more than anything I did already. And I don't want to do that." Because I loved Rob, in the way that I may love Sarah in the future. But should that happen, our hearts will still go on with Rob's memory.

"Please..." pleaded Mikhail. "Come with me, come to the party."

Fred wouldn't stop running, eventually barreling into a bathroom where he locked the door. Several sniffles and sobs could be heard across the length of Mikhails pleas, eventually quieted after you can assume he slumped against the door, "leave me alone," he would say, "please just leave me alone. I'll come out later. I promise," with that he would sit quietly behind the door.

From this hall lead many other pathways throughout the compound, some rooms for stock, others repurposed. There were guard quarters and altar rooms for the cultists. Excersice rooms, break rooms, torture and surgery rooms, a med bay, a large kitchen and mess hall, the large showers and bathrooms where Sarah might have left from, and a communications room. Siegfried mentioned some of the guards staying behind, their lives and memories almost completely gone, same as the cultists. Siegfried himself is around here somewhere.

Fred mentioned a grave site, as more than a few may have passed in these trials. Rob is buried there. There is also the loading dock where the escape was supposed to take place, and of course the pit with it's machine.

Rob's grave. Time to put one's money where one's mouth was, so goes the expression. Mikhail went looking for the grave site, and ended up asking one of the former guards for directions. Finally, he reached it, a plot of earth outside the compound that was, remarkably, overgrown with grass and even roses. And he can see it; a mound of earth with flowers and a cross, just as Fred described.

Tears came to his eyes, as he remembered how Rob had devised the escape plan, and how he had tried to lead the kids to safety, paying the ultimate price. Coming over to the grave, Mikhail cried for a few minutes, before it hit him.

Rob was a candidate for being a Champion as well, either of the power of Hope that Mikhail had now, or something like Courage. However, it was more obvious, less hidden, and that was why he died.

Tears faded, to be replaced with new dedication. Time to see how Fred was doing. Then, a fear overcame Mikhail; what if there were razors in that bathroom?! If that was the case, he may have allowed Rob's brother to be in danger, and that, that cannot be allowed.

@Ikthaias

@Letter Bee

Upon reaching the guards barracks, and passing the break rooms, it appears the guards are much as they were before- stoic, silent, sentinels, although a kind of almost fearful respect could be seen in their expressions, an awe that settled over them. There were perhaps ten or fifteen guards that stayed, compared to the twenty or more cultists, and only a few of the scientists. One, a thick man, barely in his twenties, would point the way- and even call you sir.

Robs grave would stand alone just outside, beside the mass grave for the children who had died during the expirements, and the few shoddy graves for those who had gone recently- anyone from child to priest who had last their mind or become to brave during the escape.

After a few moments of grief, Siegfried would be near you in ethereal form. He would appear not in a suit, or a corporeal body, but as a ghostly blue knight, his sword in his hands. He would reach out to touch your shoulder, nothing more than a tingling breeze or a warm wind spreading through you. He would sigh.

"Mikhail, you are never far from the truth. Your a quick learner, though innocence is now behind you the untamed feelings of childhood still sway to and fro on your heart strings," his voice was unreal, not quite static or breathy, but not solid enough to come from a true body, "Rob had courage. He would not have simply ran- his plan went so far as to destroy the machine and himself, as well as most of this compound, along with him. He was quite close to a solution to- if he had more time," Hope would sigh, and gesture, as if to say there never is, "but the Courage he displayed was so outright he was targeted. That's what it takes. The Courage to destroy all evils, even if it is only you who would stand against them, for no other reason that it is right. Certainly it took Bravery even, to say that none should come to harm as he did so, in the defence of all. He would sacrifice no one. But you Hoped. You hoped there would be a new day, a new light, and you took the leap- quite literally. Soon you will understand the meaning of Hope, for now- ah, you are worried over Fred. His hope is little, he is unharmed, but, with time he will be all right. You can't force someone to hope, another lesson to give you soon. You can only be his reason to. 'Be the light you wish to see in the world,' I believe a wise mortal once said. Come back inside now, I think you'll find Sarah and Fred near the bathrooms if you hurry," he would look concerned, "be gentle," he would say, and look up at the sky, "soon dark times fall upon us all." With this final word he would disappear.

Up in the sky you would notice- the moon hangs there. It may be only two in the afternoon, and it's full face shows blue through the sky. It seems larger than before.

Mikhail felt relief, knowing that Rob wasn't physically hurt. He then said:

"Rob's death...it had meaning. He did not die for nothing, because it made me what I was today. But I understand now that I am not him, that I cannot be him." He faced Siegfried.

"I am no longer in his shadow. He is Courage and I am Hope. Those two things will complement each other, even with one of their holders dead. And..." he prepared to make a promise, "should someone take the mantle of Courage that Rob should have had, I will test them - him or her - to see if they are worthy."

And, once Sieg had vanished, Mikhail would return back to the compound, hoping to see Sarah again. At the same time, though, he had to wonder:

How much did Rob find out? Also, will I really be strong enough to take on Dark Times?

@Ikthaias

@Letter Bee

Siegfried would have given you a solemn nod before he dissipated, leaving you to your vows and duties. Back inside the compound, you would wander a bit, and find Sarah in the room with the Pit. It is a deep, dark hole, a stone-laid circle with nearly smooth walls, traced in archaic markings that now glow a faint blue, down into the black depths.

The Machine sits across the room from ant entrances, a strange, almost haphazard conglomeration of different parts. Grayish metal, bulbous, with thick cords, and strange coloration throughout. It takes up nearly half that side of the large chamber, part of it extending up the wall, onto the ceiling, and over the pit. The moon gate would still be open those some few stories above you.

"The pit and the pendulum," you would hear Sarah muse to herself, leaning against the wall of the circular chamber, it doesn't seem like she's notice you yet. Her face is set gravely, as if she's deep in serious thought, her arms crossed under her chest.

Her fiery red hair is wavy, with s slight curl at some ends, and goes down a bit past her shoulders. It seems roughly brushed and parted down the middle. Her grayish green eyes are lost in thought, a brooding storm seems to broil slowly behind them. She is pale, but clean, with very faint freckles, and a sharp jaw. She looks a year or two older than you, and perhaps a bit taller.

She's dressed in a low-necked pale green t shirt, some gray pants, and what looks like a pair of guards dark brown work shoes. One of the guards taser batons, likely the one she first grabbed, sits collapsed and deactivated in a holster.

Mikhail walked over, not trying to hide himself, not wanting to surprise Sarah. Once he was in range, he spoke warmly:

"Hello. Anything the matter? You shouldn't be so close to the Pit." A stab of fear shot through him. Sarah - she may still be in the early stages of grief. Walking faster, Mikhail said, moving as close as he can to her without causing alarm:

"What happened here, it will affect us forever. But we can choose how we are affected by it. Sorry if it seems like I'm talking nonsense." He didn't know what was going on with Sarah, and that frightened the boy a little.

"We and the other kids are starting a party; perhaps you can come?" Now he was worried.

@Ikthaias

Sarah seemed a bit surprised when Mikhail came into view, woken from her reverie, she would almost nervously fix a bit of her hair. "No, I'm fine," she would give him a small smile, and shrug at his prosaic nonsense. "Yeah, of course ill come," she would give a little laugh, "it's not like I have anywhere else to be." She would be smiling and appear happy, her inner thoughts tucked away.

"When is it? Dinner? Do you think the same people run the mess hall-" some of the children had been confined to their cages for a very long time, only eating when given food. Others had a bit more freedom, although the exact distinction was unclear, they got food at the mess hall- same as guards and cultists. The handful of agents who had stayed behind more or less assumed the same roles at a more peaceful, normal, happy way, from doctor to running the chapel- the cultists altars, now redesigned to worship hope.

"Probably," said Mikhail, "and, as for the mess hall, I think so as well." He was still worried, but he was now saving that for another time. Gently taking her hand, the boy spoke:

"The other kids would want to see you again; let's see how preperations are doing." His voice was soft, tender. I don't want those green eyes to be sad, Mikhail thought.

"You were brave back then, you know that?" he would say as he tried to lead her to where the other kids were. "Brave and, if you don't mind me saying, beautiful."

@Ikthaias

Sarah would be a bit surprised as he took her hand, but she would seem to smile a little more genuinely. She wouldn't really know about anybody wanting to see her, sure she was an important part of the escape plan, but in reality the plan had failed.

"Thank you, I think I looked kinda poopy," she would laugh a little emberassedly, her free hand unconsciously going to rub over the faint archaic marks, surgically scarred into her skin. They seemed so light you'd have to be right next to her to see them, and after a moment she would continue speaking, "you were the bravest of us all- I don't think I would've had the same strength you did to jump in there," she would look behind the two of you towards the pit for a moment, the barest dour thought crossing her face, "I was just curious is why I cam back here. None of us know what's really going on- sure you and Siegfried do, and he even comes around and talks to some of us, but I guess it's just going to take some getting used to. The cultists don't even remember why they were here, and it's like we've all been thrown down the rabbit hole," she would make a face, not finding it pleasant to catch herself alluding to classic literature again, or even sure if it made sense, "I mean, I don't know- I just really hope it's all over soon." With her words the Crystal around your neck would emit a small glow and even the barest sound. Her eyes would meet it for a moment, locked in some measure of awe and bewilderment, before darting away.

Mikhail would smile as Sarah did, and butterflies swirled in his stomach. He would glimpse the faint scars, being right next to her, but won't remark on them.

"Brave?" the boy would then say. "There was someone else that was braver than me; he is dead now, and I visited his grave." Sarah could see that he meant Rob. He would then absorb the rest of what Sarah would say.

"What's going on, if you're willing to hear a summary, is that two worlds that musn't cross together are crossing together. The other world is one where the dreams and emotions of humanity are given form, like Hope and Anger. Hope wants to seperate the two worlds again, while people like Anger...want to fuse them altogether, which is a bad thing."

"As for the Cultists..." resentment made a brief return to Mikhail's voice, "better that they don't remember." His crystal then glowed, causing Sarah to be surprised.

"It's a gift, a gift from the other kids. Speaking of said other kids, we're here." They had arrived, if Sarah had been willing to let Mikhail lead her, at where the other children were.

"You know," Mikhail said to Sarah as he looked into her eyes. "I like you. A lot."

@Ikthaias