With Nova being possessed, and Garmr now at the forefront, how would his brief relationship with the Shadow Decree change?

[*******]

An ocean.

A deep, dark, ocean. A swirl of black, dark blue, purple, green, and orange. He was sinking…sinking…sinking. And yet, he could see vague figures, animals, creatures, swimming. Swimming upward. But where?

He couldn't move his face, nor his eyes. But he can see. He can see where they're all swimming. A vague surface of the ocean he's sinking in. A light, a beacon in the darkness.

Shouldn't…shouldn't he try to swim upward too?

Yet the water…if it can be called that, feels so peaceful. He could probably close his eyes and sleep here, if only for a little while.

"But…I have somewhere to go…something to do…"

"But you can rest, cancer."

"Huh…?"

The dark ocean became warm and a vibrant orange. A translucent wolf of the color surrounded him, as if sleeping.

"You're…you're Garmr."

"I am, cancer."

"Stop calling me that…" the name hurts. It otherized him so.

"Am I not wrong for which that you are? You, who came to our world of your lack of volition. You steal the body of the one I have chosen, like a cancer that hijacks a body and uses it to its own ends."

"Like I said, I didn't ask to be here!"

"No one has asked, cancer. I still intend to take back what is mine."

"Shut up! If you want me out of here, then help me go home!"

The spectral beast sighed. "Oh cancer. If it was that simple, I would have done it already."

"No! NO!" Nova stamped his paw on the metaphorical ground. "If there's a way here, then there's a way back!"

"We would be looking for a path that may not even exist. You are the first of your kind to cross the Oceans."

"Oceans…?"

It did not take long for Nova to pick up what Garmr meant by that. They are, after all, in an ocean of sorts.

"It is hard to stay upon the surface, even for those born in water. That is why we take those who can bear the change we bring to them." The beast's face loomed closer. "I would not have chosen you if you were from this world."

"Thanks for the encouragement…but I still gotta go home. I have a life to live there."

Garmr's chuckle shook the water around them. "What life? As I see it…all you did was run away."

"What's wrong with running away?"

"Only cowards run away, and you already know what you think of yourself."

". . ."

“Hmph. You will eventually relinquish control over this body in due time.”

“No…I will go back home. Just you watch.”

“If you say so, cancer. I, on the other hand, have people to meet.”

That was the conversation he and Garmr had while they were knocked out. When consciousness returned, Nova realized he still wasn’t in control and Garmr was still at the forefront of control. He could feel the cold plastic coverings of the wires and measuring instruments touching his skin again as he looked around to find himself contained in the same medical ward from before. However, he wasn’t alone. Uday, Fu Shi, and Kara are there as well; It is Kara though that is mostly in their face. Garmr looked down and scolded. He was cuffed, but he could tell they were keeping his powers from manifesting.

“That’s a heavy grade Wave cufflinks, you won't be using your powers anytime soon.” said Uday. “Trust me, we’ve used it on our more powerful shadow guards and they couldn’t use their powers no matter the divine wave output.”

Garmr growled, an actual wolven growl, but he otherwise didn’t respond to the information.
“My my my~,” Kara mused. “I thought your experiment would have been different, Fu Shi. By all means, you just want the same results as mine."

"The end result isn't through him," Fu Shi answered matter-of-factly. "However, he is the first step. His unique situation already proves that humans and Esper Entities can still exist as completely separate beings than us, who are successfully merged."

"My study already did that."

"Your study was an observation of a naturally occurring phenomenon of Espers conditioned with incomplete mergers. You may have done everything to make it happen, but mine was a controlled scenario. Meaning, we can make it happen without the excess use of abilities, or the flow of divine waves from Miracles."

"So you wanted me to come to the forefront," Garmr butted into the conversation. "I'll be sure to stay once I get rid of the cancer for good."

"Cancer?" Uday now became part of the conversation. "You say it like it's a name."

"By cancer, I mean Nova."

"He's not a cancer."

"Oh, but he is. A foreigner to this world."

"He is a person."

"Who is your test subject. I know the Shadow Decree. I've seen it."

"...Seen?" It is both Fu Shi and Kara that said the statement.

"Oh, I wouldn’t want to spoil it,” Garmr mused at Kara’s sour face in denial of an answer. “You’ll have to see it to believe it.”

Fu Shi sighed. “Besides this, my successful forced extraction of you from within Nova has helped me greatly. That means the device can work and bring out not only potential, but likely the opposite as well.”

“I thought the Shadow Decree’s motto was to bring a new kind of era. What are you doing, acting like the Union?”

“I like to think I haven’t changed,” Fu Shi had a worn warm smile. “After all, there’s a reason why I’m here.”

“He’s talking about Embla,” Kara almost sounded amused. “Though from how you named Freddy, it sounds like you know her as-”

“Ymir,” Garmr nodded. “I know. She was also there during Brewster becoming an Esper.”

“Ah, so no need for introductions then~”

“You,” Garmr referred to Fu Shi. “You mentioned you were going to give me something. I want it.”

“Right. Here.”

From his coat pockets, the dragon presented the chocolate milk and the beer that Nova had requested prior to the experiment. Garmr, however, took only the beer and chugged it down in one sitting.

“...Save it for later, I might drink it.” Garmr dismissed the chocolate milk.

“Interesting,” Fu Shi retracted. “It seems that some bit of Nova’s being is still present.”

“You could say that,” said Garmr. “It’s a bit of both. His tastes kind of made me like it…a little bit.”

“Very well,” Fu Shi nodded. “ Garmr, you’re allowed to roam free for the time being. I’ll be doing some observational studies for the time. Pretend I’m not even there.”

“I do mind, you know,” Garmr growled. “If I didn’t have these cuffs I’d shoot you in the face.”

Fu Shi didn’t respond to such a threat, instead, walked out of the room, along with Kara who had taken all the measurements and notes she needed. This left Uday, which Garmr sighed in a bit of realization.”

“Right…you’re my handler.”

“Yes…and I don’t want you calling Nova a cancer. ”

“I see no reason why I shouldn’t. You don’t get any benefit nor deficit from me doing so.”

“Well…”

Uday pulled out something, it looked like some kind of remote. She pressed something, and Garmr’s ears twitched as he heard something unlock. He looked down to find that the Wave cufflinks had been deactivated. Though Garmr saw his opportunity…Uday saw the outcome a mile away and reactivated it, getting a grumble out of the possessed dog.

“If you want the cuffs off, you have to respect the person you’re sharing your body with.”

“Fine…I’ll at least do that. Can you take the cuffs off of me now?”

“No. You just got them on, and I don’t see you really committing to that behavior yet.”

Garmr grit his teeth, his rage fuming on the matter. A faint beeping noise could be heard, but Uday seemed to ignore it.

“Come, let’s get you some fresh air after that experiment.”

Garmr ripped off any instruments of measurement that remained on him as he trudged out of the medical room. And though he simply wandered off, Uday waited until he was out of earshot before turning to look at the remote given to her. She was nervous.

The remote linked to the cuffs…alarmed her of the cuffs reaching their absorption limit.

She hopes nothing will come to that. Otherwise, Garmr would know he could escape. Though there is one thing that could stop this situation, even if it tampers with experiment results.

Uday could try and bring Nova back to the forefront.

[*******]

Lu Yi and Tevor had gone back to the detective agency building once the sphinx got the information he needed, and confirmed with him that he set up a bounty for Brewster.

“Wouldn’t that mean any bounty hunter could get the job?” Tevor suspected.

“Yeah…but there’s a little group of Espers that I know of that are really good at navigating maze-like areas.”

“I see, then that’s good,” Tevor rolled out the blueprints to reveal a grid-like map of some kind of underground system. “What we’re looking at here is a pre-Miracle blueprint of a nuclear shelter system. Though as you can see, it’s a maze…a big maze.”

“How big are we talking about?”

“From what the intel had told me, enough to go around one of the mountains of Utgard.”

“Right…that’s very simple then.”

“I wouldn’t pass that judgment too quickly.”

As it turns out, Tevor had multiple blueprints, each one with their own little variations.

“There are actually multiple underground nuclear shelter systems. It’s likely that we’d have to search through each one of them if we’re to find Nova. And given Utgard’s climate…it’s a matter of endurance. Getting through the snow once would be one thing…doing it multiple times is a whole other beast.”

Lu Yi went silent, realizing how vast the whole expedition would end up being. That and the climate. Sure, his bounty hunts have led him to many kinds of places, tracking down many people from all walks of life. Though it was safe to say that what he’s doing now was something a bit out of his element.

He felt tense, but he shook that tension away and steeled himself for what would come. “We’ll just have to grit our teeth and go through each one.”

“Right. I’ll be sure to come with you,” said Tevor. “I may not look like it, but I do have some skills that can help me in a fight.”

“Really? You're a detective, how are you gonna fight with your spyglass.”

“Well, you know how you can burn ants to a crisp with the sun’s light and a magnifying glass?”

The spyglass he always carried with him suddenly expanded to several times Tevor’s size. Suddenly, his paw glowed, and Lu Yi realized the kind of power Tevor has. Though there was also a bit more to it.

“Huh. You’re a Shimmer Esper?”

Everyone knew that Shimmer Espers were a bit of a cut above the rest. Such a notion that the cat was one gave Lu Yi a bit of an assurance that they’ll make it through.

“Combined with my skills as a detective, I’d say my power’s gotten quite potent.” Tevor said as his power faded. “So, when do we go?”

“As soon as the others come here.”

[*******]

Despite the ability to roam freely, Garmr still felt chained. He didn’t like that, he wanted his chains gone. But for now…he’ll have to play along, maybe even restrain himself too. Not only that, but he has his caretaker Uday who’s watching over him like some kind of mother goose, even now. She’ll likely intervene with anything he does.

He hated this control.

Still, it felt nice to have his paws on the move as he went here and there in the Shadow Decree base. Long hallways and sparse rooms are what greeted him with their dark gray uniformity. Though amidst one of those hallways, he found someone familiar.

“You…”

It was Freddy, who turned around and took a look at him through a peek out of his shades.

“Well well well, if it ain’t the goddamn dog that blew me through the wall,” the wolf sneered. “I still manhandled you first though, so I guess we’re even.”

“That was Nova you manhandled,” Garmr responded with equal smugness. “You barely had a taste of me and it sent you flying.”

“Oh yeah?!”

Garmr, having forgotten about his cufflinks, didn't manifest his weapon. This left him surprised and also vulnerable as Freddy picked him up by the neck. Garmr could only scramble and write in Freddy's grip as he's choked of his air.

"Ghhkkk!"

"Hahaha!" Freddy howled. "Are you serious? Maybe I should just beat you to your senses!"

Freddy raised his fist as Garmr braced for impact-

"Hey!"

Freddy looked to Uday, her face was serious.

Almost like a brat who was spoiled of his fun, the wolf dropped the dog. However, he did not do it gently as Garmr felt him being practically thrown to the floor due to his small size.

“Guh!”

“You’re lucky, you goddamn mutt.” Freddy sighed as he found himself having to leave.

“Garmr…”

The dog Esper could see that Uday was heading to him, looking over him. He hated it…

“I didn’t ask for your help!” he pushed Uday away to the best of his ability before picking himself back up.

“I’m your caretaker, Garmr,” she sighed. “Regardless if you ask, I have to make sure you’re alright.”

He growled…but otherwise tolerated the answer. They wandered around the base for a bit as Garmr looked at Espers training, fighting one another. If Uday was looking at him, he didn’t care. His face was riddled with a scowl, for the training session was rather pathetic in accordance to him.

“...This wouldn’t slide back then…”

“Back then?”

The dog groaned. “In my time, when I was as real as your patron was.”

“I…see…but mythology has many interpretations…” Uday pointed out.

Garmr answered with, “In some ways, all of them are true. But still, just like back then, the realms we inhabited were just as real as the gods.”

“What was your realm?”

“Hel.”

“Hell…?”

“No, Hel. H-e-l. But…there’s also someone I know named Hel. She resided in the underworld and took in every person who didn’t get to Valhalla.”

“Was she like you?”

“No…she wasn’t like me,” he sneered, though in a dull sort of nostalgic way. “When you know your destiny…you tend to care less about what you can do, but what you do with the time you have.”

“And that meant…”

“She was indifferent to the people she had to take into her realm,” Garmr smiled, if only a bit. “But she was kind to me, as kind as you could be in a place that was a pain to be in. Other than Nidhogg…life was alright...”

“Did she become part of an Esper?”

“Last time I checked, she was on the Surface…so she must be out there.”

“I see…” Uday’s face brightened a little at the information, but her brows soon furrowed. “What did you mean by destiny? And…Ocean?”

Garmr rolled his eyes. “It’s a long story, can we do something else?”

“Right, well, do you want to blow up some Miramon again?”

“With pleasure…”

[*******]

“They should be here…any minute now…”

Not wanting to simply stay out in the cold to wait for the bounty hunters to come alone, Lu Yi and Tevor had decided to wait in the nearby cafes, StarBear. Lu Yi chuckled to himself as he wondered what kind of weird brand naming he would have said when he found out about their universal discrepancies.

“What’s so funny?” asked Tevor with a brow raise.

“It’s nothing,” Lu Yi sighed as he looked at his phone. “They should be here about…now.”

Just outside the cafe, a rather rustic white minivan had parked. Lu Yi stood up while Tevor followed along after finishing his drink. As they stood before the minivan, three familiar figures had come out wearing thick sweaters for the cold.

“Yeesh, there’s no way I’d get used to this,” said Matthias as he tightened up his sweater once more.

“Don’t worry, we’ll do this as fast as possible,” said Dean. “After all, it’s just finding a drunk dog all over again.”

“Yeah but…this is directly dealing with the Shadow Decree,” Ico pointed out. “We’ve never done that yet. Can we really handle this?”

“If the price is right, then yes…”

Dean looked to Lu Yi and Tevor. It was Lu Yi who greeted them.

“It’s good to see you guys again,” Lu Yi turned to Matthias. “How’s the work, by the way?”

“Same old, same old,” Matthias said indifferently. “I saw the bounty description. You’re really paying that much to save his ass?”

“Yes, I am,” Lu Yi stood firm. “You know how it is…Brewster is infamous in many ways.”

“Look, I’m gonna be real with you…” Matthias put his big hand on Lu Yi’s smaller shoulder. “I have zero idea what you see in him. You’re his little chaperone, bailing him out of trouble and dealing with his bull day after day. He has to take the full brunt of his consequences at some point.”

“Yes, I agree, but…” Lu Yi couldn’t say the real reason as there are only a handful of people that know about Nova’s existence. Even then, it’s inevitable that the Shadow Decree now knows as well. “I see it sometimes. His capacity to be a good person.”

“Well…some people did mention he tried to help…emphasis on tried.” Ico muttered. “Like always, he ended up bringing more harm than good.”

“Yeah, because he was a drunken mess,” Matthias added. “I remember that.”

“And he’s trying to fix himself,” said Lu Yi. “You saw it, all of you did.”

“. . .”

“. . .”

“. . .”

The silence from all three gave Lu Yi the understanding that they knew what he was talking about. Back at the underground bunker where Nova had managed to save their behinds by creating a distraction despite his withdrawal.

“I see,” Dean nodded slowly. “I can at least understand why you’ve stuck with him for so long. You enjoy his company despite what it brings…but you see the good in him.”

“He’s a broken little mess, that’s for sure,” Lu Yi smiled just a little. “But he still needs someone to help him out until he has the strength to keep him from sinking back.”

At that moment, he was talking both about Nova and Brewster. And it is also in that moment that in a way…he could see that they’re almost like yin and yang, in a sense. One needs what the other has.

Matthias snorted, though he held no amusement. “Whatever man…it’s your money that you’re giving away.”

“Right…let’s get started.”