The dim of the room hums as Penelope continues to solve the puzzle of this floor, or at least that should be happening. Yesterday, she got stuck. Apparently, she reached a point in the puzzle where it’s a game of chance. Which has led us to this point. Hopper and I, sitting in the corner of the room while Penelope agonizes over which option to pick.

  “Is it A or B? It has to be B… but what if it’s A? I know it’s not C, because D disproved the fundamental idea of C, but that hinges on A being correct. This all falls apart if B is actually correct…” Penelope whispers to herself.

  “Hopper, I think we’re going to be stuck here for another day,” I say while jokingly poking Hopper in the side.

  “Yeah…” Hopper says with less energy than usual.

  He's been like this for a couple of days now, or rather, he’s flip-flopping between being extremely serious and downright sad. At first, I thought it was just exhaustion from forcing him to volunteer at the local food bank, but I think it runs deeper than that.

  Letting out a long sigh, I let my head hit the wall. “Hopper, did I ever tell you the story of how me and my sister met?”

  Hopper gives me a confused look. “You have a sister? I didn’t know? What do you mean by met?”

  Ignoring the last question, I scratch my pointy ear. “Yeah, I’ve got a brother and a sister, but that’s not the point. When my sister met me, I was in… a bad place. I didn’t want to talk to anybody or do anything. I was… rotting away. My sister pulled me out of that and helped me open up. What I’m trying to say is… I know what it feels like when you don’t want to talk to anybody. So, when you’re ready to talk, I’ll be here,” I say, hiding a hint of embarrassment.

  Silence follows as I watch Penelope. Then the sound of a stifled chuckle. Looking over at Hopper, I see him trying not to laugh.

  “You asshole!”

  “No, it’s nothing like that, it's just that I’ve never seen you so… open. It feels like sometimes you're so closed off. Thank you, CJ. I really appreciate it,” he says with a hint of tears in his eyes.

  Hiding my embarrassment, I look away. “So, any chance you're willing to open up now?” I ask.

  Hopper lets out a long sigh as he wipes the tears away. “Lupin came to see me over the weekend,” he says with a less-than-jovial tone.

  “What did he want?” I ask as I look him over for any injuries.

  “Don’t worry, he didn’t hurt me. He just… wanted to talk, or rather, he did the talking. He basically told me that he wasn’t going to challenge me during the Class War,” he says as he fiddles with his thumbs.

  “And that’s a bad thing?”

  “No, it’s… it’s supposed to be a relief, but… I don’t know how to put it. It doesn’t feel like that. You know?”

  “Did he say why?” I ask.

  “He didn’t, but I could tell that he wasn’t doing it of his own free will. I… think Luna told him something. She was the only one who could get through to him after what happened. If only slightly.”

  “You said it doesn’t feel like relief, what does it feel like?” I ask, looking him in the eyes.

  “Well, it did feel like a relief for a second, but then it was embarrassment or maybe sadness? I’m not entirely sure.”

  “Can I ask you a question?” I say, remembering an old conversation.

  Hopper nods as he wades through his muddled thoughts.

  “You told me the three of you used to be friends. What exactly happened?”

  “...Lupin and I went on a hunt. The same type of hunt we had done hundreds of times, but this one was different. The local wildlife had grown restless, and we were attacked by a pack of wolves. You won’t believe it, but back then, I was arrogant, and Lupin was shy. So, when the pack came down on us, I told him to run. I said I would hold off the pack, and that he should go get help,” Hopper explains.

  “Then what happened?” I ask.

  “I managed to lead most of the pack far away, but one got past me. It got to Lupin and just about killed him. When I found him, he was as cold as the snow around him. After that, he was obsessed with getting stronger. He wasn’t that shy kid anymore. He disregarded everything and anything that was weaker than him. Which eventually included me,” Hopper says as he stares into empty space.

  “You think it’s your fault?”

  “I mean… It is, isn't it? If I had stood my ground and fought off the wolves instead of trying to lead them away, he would’ve been fine. If I hadn’t been such a coward, he’d still be my friend,” he says as he scratches his head. “That’s what it is. The relief and the embarrassment. I was scared to fight him, and I hate myself for being happy that I didn’t have to. Even if it was just for a second. I’m a coward, CJ. I always have been.”

  Nodding my head, I stand up. “Close your eyes.”

  “What?”

  “Just trust me. Close your eyes,” I say with a soft tone.

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  Hopper hesitates before closing his eyes. The moment he does, I sock him across the face. Hopper tumbles across the ground from the hit.

  “What in the hells was that for, CJ!?” Hopper yells.

  “Somebody was badmouthing my friend. I had to teach him a lesson,” I say as I shake the pain away from my hand.

  “What are you talking about?” he says as he rubs his face.

  “You’re no coward, Hopper. I’ve met cowards. Cowards don’t stand up to somebody who threatens to kick their brains in. Cowards don’t face off a pack of wolves so their friend can get away. Cowards don’t dive headfirst into combat against a Krone or Giant. If you're a coward, Hopper, then you're the bravest fucking coward I’ve ever met,” I say with a tinge of anger.

  “CJ…”

  “When a friend strays off into a dark path, what do you do? Do you let him or do you drag his ass kicking and screaming back?” I ask as I offer him my hand.

  Hopper hesitates for a second before giving me a steely gaze. “I don’t think I’m the right person…”

  “The ‘right person’ is whoever's willing to reach a hand out. It doesn’t matter who or why. The only thing that matters is that they do. So, Hopper, what are you going to do?”

  Hopper takes my hand and pulls himself off the ground. “I’m going to get my friend back,” he says with renewed vigor.

  “That’s the Hopper I know!” I say with a toothy smile.

  “Not to interrupt your bonding moment, but I finished the puzzle while you guys were talking,” Penelope says.

  Clearing my throat, I look around the room and see that it is, in fact, open. “Well, we should go down to the next floor. No point in waiting around here,” I say, hiding my embarrassment.

  “Uh huh. Do you think you will be able to focus after that heartfelt conversation?” Penelope mocks as we make our way down the stairs.

  “Shut it. It’s not like we haven’t had a heart-to-heart conversation either,” I say, trying to change the subject.

  “Well, you didn’t hit me in our conversation. Speaking of, are you okay, Hopper?” Penelope asks.

  “Yes, Princess. Although it does hurt. A lot. Couldn’t you have held back a little?” he asks.

  “Well, you were being stupid. I didn’t think the point would get across if I didn’t hit you with everything I got. Plus, you made me angry,” I say.

  “What was that?” Hopper asks as we enter the fourth floor.

  “Penelope, do you sense any enemies?” I ask, ignoring Hopper's question.

  “Nothing, but Hopper’s the one with good senses. Hopper, do you hear anything?” she asks.

  “Don’t think I’m going to forget that last little bit, CJ,” he says as he focuses on our surroundings, “Yeah, there’s something nearby. It’s not too big, but it… feels strong.”

  Looking in the direction that Hopper points at, I see the glow of two yellow eyes. This is a big room with a mostly empty layout, but with plenty of shadows. The creature creeps on the edges of those shadows with an almost predatory gleam in its eyes.

  “So, what is it?” I ask as I draw my sword.

  “From what little I can see, it looks insect-like. Be careful, insect types are usually venomous. Try not to get hit,” Penelope explains.

  “Just like the giant spider,” I say, remembering that walking nightmare.

  “Wait. I don’t think it’s alone,” Hopper says as his bunny ears twitch.

  Multiple sets of yellow eyes emerge from the darkness of shadow. What in the hells are those things? Oh, I’m going to dread this.

  “Penelope, can we get some light on the situation?” I ask as Hopper notches an arrow.

  “Already on it,” she says as she draws the edge of her greatsword across her forearm.

  In a flash, her greatsword alights, revealing the entirety of this shadowed room. Much to my horror, I come face-to-face with the sight of tens of giant black ants. The insects chitter in unison and charge straight for the light.

  The closest of the ants are shot back as Penelope appears before them, hitting them with her greatsword. Wasting no time, Hopper sends out a volley of arrows. The first few shots hit in between the joints of the exoskeleton and straight into the eye. Taking advantage of the chaos, I charge past the ants and stab into the discombobulated ones that Penelope sent flying, killing them.

  Waiting at the edges of the fight, I watch as the ants swarm Penelope. Bit by bit, the ants continue to cover her until even the light from her greatsword isn’t even visible. Then, in a flash of light, the ants around Penelope are vaporized.

  Frazzled Penelope looks down at the wounds on her body. “I… hate… ants!” she says as she stomps the head of a twitching one.

  Even after Penelope’s [Light Beam] cleared a good number of the ants, I can still see an almost ever-flowing conga line of them coming out of a crack in the wall.

  “Hopper, seal the hole!” I say as I take my sword and slash through another discombobulated ant.

  “The hole’s too big to seal with [Freeze]!” he yells back.

  Penelope bats another ant off her and into the wall. “Use the bodies of the ants to fill in the gaps!” she yells.

  “We need to clear the hole then. Penelope, fry those ants!” I order as I begin to grab a couple of ant corpses.

  “I was already on it, Charlatan!” she says as she disappears and reappears right next to the hole in the wall.

  She then sticks her hand into the hole and lets out a beam of white light. With the hole now cleared out, I [Throw] a couple of ant corpses into the hole. Dodging out of the way of the ants, Hopper slides next to the hole. Focusing on the hole, I watch as he creates a sheet of ice using the bodies to fill out the space.

  Stabbing through the last ant, I try to catch my breath. “Is it holding?”

  Hopper nods as he looks over the makeshift patch job. “Yeah, I used basically all my MP on that; It should hold,” he says between breaths.

  Penelope gives a worried look as she looks over the room. “The ants weren’t the intended challenge. It seems like the ants found this place by accident and killed whatever was supposed to be here,” she explains.

  “Well, that’s frightening,” I say as a blinding white light begins to fill our vision.

  Seems like time's up.