Blood Queen Reborn

The plan to convince Vorden that Fex didn’t have an ability to explain why he couldn’t copy it, and then change Fex’s watch number to 2 to explain him using strings on the expedition, was a bit of a complicated one. It would require Fex to go to Logan and change his watch number, but Erin could see that it had already changed, making her wonder what happened.

"And what about it?"

"Well, remember that suggestion I said about going back home? You can use the teleporter there to do so."

Erin was understanding what Fex was getting at. There was no telling when the military was going to do something to her as a result of ’not having an ability’ so to hear that there was an emergency way to get out of the military base was helpful information.

"The weird thing is... I don’t know how he has that," Fex said.

Erin raised an eyebrow, "He’s a rich person, he likely had excavated it somewhere."

"No, I don’t think it would be..." Fex began, but then waved his hands, "Actually, we’ll talk more about this later."

While Erin and Fex were talking as the teams were getting called up, Quinn was standing next to Vorden, waiting for their turn.

There was something on his mind regarding Peter, namely that he was off on his own group and knows about the secret regarding Layla, Erin and Fex. There was a worry that Peter might tell the others about vampires. It wasn’t that Quinn thought that he would blabber his mouth off, he did seem to understand the importance of keeping it a secret, but he was very often a target for bullying.

"Hey, what’s up Quinn?" Vorden casually greeted.

Quinn didn’t immediately respond, which made Vorden a little upset. He was trying to get closer to him as it seemed to be the only thing that got the little one active again, but he did also think Quinn seemed like a nice person regardless of what the little one thought.

"I promise not to get embarrassed," he joked.

"It’s not embarrassing!" Quinn quickly said, "I’m just thinking about something."

"About what?" Vorden raised an eyebrow, "Come on, I’m all ears."

Quinn sighed, "I wouldn’t be able to tell you anyways."

Vorden frowned. He knew he was a new person to the group, but he didn’t really like the fact that they were clearly hiding stuff from him. It could spell trouble later.

"Don’t give me that crap," Raten scoffed, "You’re hiding us from them. You’re no better."

Inwardly, Vorden leaned back on the mental chair, "Raten, you are awful at talking to people."

"Yeah, says Mr weak-balls at everything else," Raten retorted, "It was one time, and now I’m resigned to backseat advising. You never let me have the chair!"

He didn’t really have the energy to argue back against Raten, so he ignored him.

Back in the outside world, Vorden said "You helped me out the other day, how about I help you in return? It’s only fair."

Quinn didn’t know what to make of Vorden. He was certainly strange, and perhaps a little clingy, but it didn’t seem like he came from a place of malice.

He faced the portal, "It’s about a friend I have. He’s in another team right now under a different homeroom teacher."

"Oh I see, you’re worried about his well being," Vorden guessed.

"I suppose that’s true," Quinn replied, "Anyways they’re calling our names."

The group walked through the portal with their hands on their shoulders. Erin was in front with Vorden in the back. Due to the fact that it was an orange portal, it was very important that they held on tight, although, Fex’s grip was a little looser than the others.

After enduring the distorted space, and warping of light, they found themselves in a bright green area. They needed to take a moment to recover from the dizzying feeling that came with portals, especially Vorden, who it was his first time going through one.

Once they recuperated, they saw they were surrounded by trees. Lots of them, and giant too. There was green everywhere, grasses, bushes, leaves, moss, vines, and more. Lastly, there was an intense humidity in the air. Fitting for a jungle.

"Please step aside and allow the other students to arrive!" A loud voice yelled from a younger looking military member. He pointed to his side, indicating for the others to follow.

They all looked down and saw they were within a circled area just like it had been on Caladi. Erin’s team did as asked, and stepped off. It wasn’t just them that were told to leave, but there were other military soldiers doing the same at the circles around them.

"It’s a lot better organized than our last trip," Layla commented.

"They probably learned from last time," Quinn replied, still recalling the events of the dalki attack.

It was quite sunny in the jungle, and Erin initially thought it would’ve been a good idea to wear her new armor to ensure she wouldn’t get affected by the sun, and while it worked, it was so humid that she was regretting it. A full body suit was the worst thing to wear in this weather. It wasn’t just her as pretty much everyone in the team were sweating buckets.... Except for Layla, she was only mildly warm.

It was likely just the kind of subclass she was, being an undead ghoul, that made it so she wasn’t as bothered by the sun. It was also why she was in charge of carrying her gear.

"Hey, look at the shelters!" Layla said, pointing above.

There were many houses and a few shops built onto the tall trees of the planet. Between the buildings were wooden bridges that had children running across them. Looking above, Layla saw the cutest little girl with curly hair woven into braids wave at her, and she waved back, smiling.

Quinn watched in shock, surprised that there were so many children on such a dangerous planet. To Erin, it reminded her of her childhood.

"This is one of the cheapest places for people to live in. This is a tier 5 city, so it doesn’t have any walls to protect the citizens, and they’re open to attacks," Layla explained, "Because this planet is still in the middle of exploration, their focus isn’t so much on the shelter themselves."

"The citizens aren’t required to pay taxes on an orange portal planet, so those who can’t afford to live on earth and can’t even make a living on a green portal planet end up here. Of course, red portal planets are just too dangerous in the first place, and only the strongest of factions are able to survive there."

Quinn clenched his fists, "But what about the war? Every adult was drafted to join them, and in return for their service, their kids should’ve been granted at least a place to live back on earth. That’s how it was with me."

"What kind of parallel universe are you living in?" Erin raised an eyebrow, "My family used to work for one of the big four, and not even I lived on earth."

He took a step back in shock. Initially, Quinn was a little peeved about her comment towards him, but it made him realize just how strange his own situation was. When he got the news that his parents died long ago, a military official had came to him and explained that they would take care of him until he turned 16. They told him that it was a result of his parents partaking in the war. Then they showed him a box with the vampire book inside, and claimed that it was the only thing his parents left for him.

’Just how did they even get the book in the first place?’ Quinn wondered, then realized there was a person he could ask.

{Quinn} System, do you know how my parents obtained the vampire book?