Nova ran through the city, trying to find his way back to that fancy hotel as fog started to settle in the streets. "What's up with this fog?" Nova asked, only half concerned; he was mostly worried about getting to the hotel to get a good room.
Lost in thought, he bumped into a man; he was short and fat. Definitely not the best-looking guy in the city, Nova thought. "Sorry, sir, couldn't see you through the fog!" He apologized, trying to speed off again.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going!?" He grabbed Nova by his coat; the sudden action made him choke slightly.
A slight surge of rage bubbled up to his shoulders before stopping; he turned around, getting a better look at the man. His face was covered in scars from picking at pimples; his nose was a disgusting pinkish color, with the pores being filled with blackheads and grime, overall to Nova, this man was a repulsive creature.
"Again, I'm really sorry, sir, but I must be going," he said in an upbeat tone, trying to hide his disgust.
"Do you know who I am? I'm Andy fucking Summers, and you will show me respect!" He shoved Nova away from himself, much to Nova's delight.
"Who are you exactly?" He asked before Andy could walk off; the man whipped around, shouting, "I am the authority who protects you." Andy whipped out a card similar to Nova's. "I am a proud agent of Abide-Grymsnow!"
Nova shrugged him off, not caring anymore. "Alright, like I said, I'm sorry." Nova left before Andy could shout anymore.
Once he was out of the fog, Nova found himself in the underbelly. He looked around for the Stay Night Tower, which wasn't hard, since it could be spotted from anywhere in the underbelly. Nova parkoured onto a building and jumped from roof to roof, easily closing the distance. As he came closer to the hotel, it grew grander; the area surrounding it was smooth pavement instead of the uneven cobbles of the streets, and the neon sign turned night into day: Ohthere are definitely enough rooms. He perched on the edge like some hero out of a comic. Once he found a way down, he walked up to the hotel doors once again.
As Nova pushed open the doors, the scent of crazy colognes attacked his nostrils. "Gods, there must be a lot of rich people here." He made his way to the desk.
The receptionist looked at him and smiled. "What can I do for you?"
Nova took the smart card out of his pathetically empty wallet. "Here you go." Nova squinted at her name tag. "Cam. I'd like the finest room you got."
Cam looked at the card, confused. "What's your name?" she asked.
"Nova."
"Your ID tag?"
"S.15-02."
"Uh-huh, hold on." Cam walked to the back with his card. Two minutes later, she came out with another staff member and gave Nova back his card. Cam was put together in a deep purple blazer, matching pencil skirt, black leggings, and heels — sleek, hotel-standard polish. Her colleague cut a harder figure: tall, with a short, straight black bob, dressed down in a white shirt and black blazer over jeans and flats.
Cam gestured toward her colleague with an open palm. "This is Jane; she'll be escorting you."
Nova looked at Jane with a glint of discomfort in his eye. She glared back at him. "To the penthouse, kid." Nova averted his eyes, bashful at his own wicked thought. They walked to an elevator in the center of the lobby; it was a cylindrical glass elevator waiting for them to enter.
When they stepped in, Jane hit the buttons: 20-15-16, and held the L button until the doors closed. She cleared her throat and looked at Nova; the boy was staring out the elevator in awe of the sight. Nova stopped gawking when he couldn't see the lobby anymore and waited quietly, sensing Jane's annoyance. Once they got to floor P, Jane gestured him out and left him in an oval hallway with one door parallel to the lift. He stepped up to the door; he tried to open it to no avail. He jiggled the handle again, failing once more. He looked behind him for assistance, but no one was there, before he gave up.
Nova noticed a small black device above the handle, its icon showing a hand tapping a card against a set of curved lines. He pulled out his card and tapped it against the device. A click sounded, and he grabbed the doorknob, slowly opening the door to reveal the luxury penthouse. Nova looked around at the decor but was distracted by a couch. "It's not a bed, but it'll do!" Nova flopped on the couch and laughed promptly before passing out.
As he was sleeping, a voice called out to him from the darkness, "Nova, come home to me." A woman's face appeared, hovering above him, crying softly. He felt tears dropping onto his face.
Morning rays shot through the curtains when he woke up to loud banging on the door and what felt like rain. "It's raining?" He wiped his face dry. He looked around — fog crept in from beneath the door, and above him hung a small cluster of water droplets, gathered in the same spot where her tears had fallen in the dream. "Well, that explains the rain." He got up and peeked through the spy hole. "There's fog out there too?" Nova opened the door without thinking to investigate.
"RAH!" A man came in, barreling through the doorway, squishing Nova. Nova pushed the blob of the man off of himself and stood up, readying his guard. He stood up facing away, pulling his shirt down, then turned, revealing himself to be Andy.
"You! Why are you here?"
Nova looked at him, confused. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
"How did you get access to this place?" Andy asked, huffing.
"Umm... My sect card." Nova started looking for a weapon to use.
"I know my sect mates; you're not one of them." Andy began to circle him.
Nova kept eye contact, ready for him to do anything.
"Well, I don't know what to tell you cause I'm the new sect leader."
Andy got even more upset by Nova's comment. "Where's the junior, Indie, and everyone else? It can't only be you."
"Who are these people?"
"Fuck it, if you don't want to tell me, then beat the answers out of you." Andy charged at Nova with full force. Nova jumped over his head like they were playing leapfrog. Andy ran at him again, but Nova shoved him to the side, making Andy fall to the ground. "Look, dude, I don't wanna hurt you. We can just call Ogun and talk this out."
But Andy refused. He turned toward Nova and spat between his eyes. "Don't try to talk your way out of this."
While Nova tried to wipe off the spit, Andy tackled him to the floor and began pummeling his face. His rage was high, but his strength wasn't — each punch felt akin to a stiff pillow being thrown at Nova's face.
"Okay, that's enough!" Nova punched the man back on the cheek. Andy stumbled off him, crying slightly.
"You shouldn't be here," he sobbed, attempting to throw a punch. "I should be with my family." He tried to kick Nova, but on account of his weight, the kick fell short.
"You can't just come in here and take everything." Andy choked and gasped as the air caught in his throat. The sight was so pitiful that Nova didn't even have his hands up anymore.
"I'll kill you!" His words stammered with tears as he dropped to his knees.
"We can just talk, you know?"
Andy stopped crying for a moment, sniffling. "Where did they go?"
"Where did who go?"
"My team."
"I don't know."
He huffed again. "Why are you here?"
"I guess because I was in the area, but mostly because I was recruited by Ogun."
Andy's fist balled up. "I was gone for so long on this fucking wild goose chase."
Andy slammed his fist on the ground. "I know they didn't find me to be that likable, but they kept sending me out on these missions that took forever to complete!"
Andy began clenching his teeth. "They always had each other; I had no one."
His body trembled. "Even though they treated me like shit, I still loved them."
Andy stood up. "But they wanted me gone."
Andy walked across the room onto a balcony, staring at the cityscape. Nova didn't go with him; instead, he stood in the doorway.
"I wish they were here to see this with me. I want to stop leaving on other people's terms." Andy clenched the balcony rail; he seemed to calm down enough that Nova finally stepped out to stand quietly beside him.
"I was always weak, you know. Having a fog ability is lackluster, to say the least."
Nova looked out into the distance with Andy, giving him the space he needed. "You loved them, didn't you?"
"Yeah, deeply."
"Well, I think we could find them."
Andy sniffed. "You think so?" His voice broke.
Nova smiled softly. "I know we could if we work together."
Andy started crying again. "Don't look at me right now."
Nova kept focusing on the distance. "I got you, man."
Andy finally composed himself. "I think I know where to start."
As Nova turned toward him, Andy was already climbing over the rail. Nova lunged, fingers closing on nothing but air as fog billowed in around Andy, swallowing him whole before he fell — one last mercy, sparing Nova from the soon-to-be sight.
Shit, I can't see him!
Not even ten seconds later, Nova heard the screams of civilians from the street below.
Andy Summers had shortened the inevitable.
Nova ran out of the room, pressing the elevator call button over and over. By the time he made it down to the lobby, he saw twelve cloaked figures gathered around Andy's body, Chloe standing over it.
"Hey! Move!" Nova grabbed one of them by the shoulders and tried to shove them aside, but as soon as he touched them, they all turned to stare at him.
"Hello again, Nova." Chloe took off her hood as the others got back to investigating.
"Do you know what happened to Andy here?"
Nova gulped, seeing the body out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah, he, um, came to my room trying to fight me."
Nova looked down. "I tried calming him down, but I think he was overtaken by grief on account of the old sect members being gone."
Chloe put her hands on her hips. "That's Andy for you."
"What do you mean, that's Andy for you?" Nova raised his voice. "You could at least talk about the dead with more respect."
Chloe, exasperated, pinched the bridge of her nose. "Nova, I don't have time for this. Do you have anything else to tell me?"
Nova calmed himself. "Yeah, he kept going on about how he missed his family. What do you know about that?"
"Nothing," Chloe said with a bit of anger.
"Well, it doesn't seem like 'nothing.'" Nova forcefully pushed his finger into Chloe's chest, making her backstep a bit. "Why was he acting like this? I know you know."
Chloe slapped his hand away. "Worry about yourself, I got a job to do."
Chloe continued her investigation while Nova walked off to process the morning.