They don’t even go.

“Ya mom worried me there, John.” Rave said as they walked to the bus station. She was clinging hardly to his left arm, to an almost physically uncomfortable degree in fact. Usually she was so confident and sassy that John forgot that Rave was about as friendless as he was, just for different reasons. “Tell me about it. Well, everything should work out.” He said with confidence. “If I raise my Int and Wis some more grades should be a run in the park.”

The pressure on his arm lessened slightly and Rave smiled up to him. He returned the smile. Rave suddenly stopped, due to them being interlocked he had to stop as well. John threw his girlfriend a questioning glance. “Say, wanna skip school today?” Rave asked. “Ehm, Jane, you heard my mom’s ultimatum, right?” “Ja, but ya also need to take care of Baldy’s stuff and get some more levels. What is more important, getting slightly better grades or being safe?”

John had the slight inkling that under her words also swung another thing. After receiving such a shock earlier maybe she just wanted to spend time together? Honestly, he thought about it as well. One day wouldn’t hurt, right?

‘Okay, what the fuck, Gaia? You know how conflicted I am over this right? Have you seen the amount of zeros you put after that EXP gain? And the last time you gave me one enchanted item it was worth a shitload of money and super powerful. If I accept would you trigger the literal apocalypse over me taking a quest?’ John starred at the window as the thoughts raced through his mind. He had made his choice regarding Rave’s suggestion already but this quest was really weird. In the end he chose to decline, having a fall-out with the almighty planet soul could result in a nuclear fall-out from all he knew.

John wasn’t sure whether declining that over Quest had put Gaia in a good mood but the rewards of this quest were insane. Both granted him an instant level, one gave him the money he needed to pay Travolta this week, the other granted him a weapon of some kind and both granted him an Epic Material. “Alright!” He said and clicked the button.

“I hope you didn’t just accept a quest to hang out with me.” Rave said in a slightly dangerous tone. “Nah, I declined that one.” John explained with a carefree smile, “Got another one to kill stuff.” “Uh, that sounds fun!” She exclaimed, her expression shifting into one similar to his own. “Let’s go to the arcade first though, I want to change clothes.” John looked down on himself. “Yeah, fighting in uniform actually isn’t that great…I don’t have spare clothes there though and I can hardly go back home.” “You can ask Jimmie for some stuff.” Rave decided and started guiding him away from the bus station.

They were about the same height so that could work out but. “You think he has stuff there?” John asked. “Of course, he lives there.” That took him by surprise. “Really? I thought it was just Travolta.” “Nope, Ah, well, ya wouldn’t know the story. Jimmie just accidentally stumbled into an Illusion Barrier one day when Baldy was beating up some weak punks. Because people that can do that usually have some sort of talent regarding Barriers, Baldy got him into the Fateweavers. That was like four years ago, the two of them kinda clicked and Jimmie moved in after he found better work in the Abyss then he could have ever had in the real world.”

Come to think of it there had been something like ‘stumbled into the Abyss by accident’ in Jimmie’s description back when he first met the guy. “So, he lives upstairs or?” “Nah, that’s mostly Baldy’s turf with the exception of the bathroom and a small room where we all leave some stuff, like my clothes or that book I gave ya.” “Where does he live then?” John kept probing. Was there another entrance at the backside or something? He always just walked straight into the main entrance and stayed on the first floor, never for long either.

“There is a small shed at the back that leads into the cellar.” Rave confirmed his suspicion. “It’s not all that much, just his workshop and a corner where he keeps his stuff.” “That sounds…okay?” John wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it. It didn’t help that he knew very little about Jimmie even though he had seen him almost daily for two weeks now. Really, all he knew was what that first Observe told him, and he hadn’t even maxed it then, that he was building a robot, that he was some kind of I.D. specialist and that he worked at the hospital right now.

What would actually build in an Abyss hospital though? Was it to cure wounds that couldn’t possibly be treated at a normal hospital? “Hey, Jane.” “Mhm?” She asked, they had crossed a lot of distance in blissful silence. “Is there like a giant hospital ring in the Abyss or something.” “Mhm, no hospital isn’t really correct but the third great non-combat organization is the Apothecary.” “Huh, so they don’t treat people’s wounds?”

Rave looked like she just remembered something, “OH GOSH, right! John I completely forgot.” She suddenly pinched his side. “Your power is bullshit!” Despite getting pinched by her semi-regularly this time was pretty painful and he had no time to ask what was going on before she continued. “You remember after our first fight with the Spectre?” “You mean when you first fucked me? Hard to forget.” “Yes, that, I completely forget over that night but I was hurt after we left your Barrier!” “And that is weird why?” John wondered, “I mean that Spectre sucked the life from you, we got lucky that he wasn’t the eating type.” “Not what I mean, look John normally if you leave an Illusion Barrier you don’t carry wounds with you.”

John looked at her like she had lost her mind. “What are you even on about?” He asked. “Urgh, why isn’t there a handbook for the Abyss that ya can use that stupid ability of yours on.” Rave stepped away from his arm and messaged her temples. “To put it easy: Normally if you leave a Protected Space you get healed, at least on the surface. Just like Gaia makes sure that nobody notices that you suddenly appear from nowhere she makes sure that there isn’t a sudden bloody mess somewhere.” “So, Gaia just heals you instantly?” John was dumbfounded, “No, she restores you mostly to the state in which you entered the barrier. She won’t fix some modifications you made to yourself or replenish your blood but at least she makes it so that you aren’t cause some inexplicable ruckus. That is why your Gamer stuff is bullshit.”

Well that made sense to a degree…No wait. “Are you sure that it’s not because you loosing energy falls under the same category as blood loss?” “Uhm….”

“Okay, Gaia just confirmed it.” John clicked away the window. “But that’s interesting. It sounds a lot like my Gamer’s Body, just not all the time.” “Great that ya find it interesting.” Rave attached herself back on his arm. “But I feel really stupid right now.” “Well, my Int is more than double of yours.” He boasted and was rewarded with another pinch to the side, “Am I not a lucky girl that I got such a smart boyfriend.” She giggled and kissed him on the cheek. “Out of us I am the lucky one.” John insisted, “On that we can agree.” Rave teased as they entered the alleyway that lead into the Protected Space where Collide resided.