Timo was furious. How dare this bronze tier reject the Maverick''s assessment in his own regards. Acting like he is high and mighty, more than those who work so hard to be a Maverick. Timo did not like to be shown up by anyone, especially not anyone who was a couple of tiers lower than him. Timo discussed with Charles the possibility that Ob would fail the assessment. Charles said it was doubtful that he would fail.


    Timo thought long and hard about what to do next; this was unprecedented. To have someone who is clearly a mark to pass, back out. Timo, a self-proclaimed genius, devised an equally unorthodox reward for such a behavior. He would grant the Maverick Keystone to Ob for his completion of the first two portions of the assessment in such a quick and efficient manner. He would not allow Ob to participate in the honoring ceremony for those who complete the assessment. The keystone would allow him to unlock that third and final powerset; it would allow him to be an official Maverick.


    Timo thought this would be the best of both worlds. It would not allow a low level to show up in the assessment; it also would show how skilled Ob was, painting a target on his back, "perfect," Timo said out loud, "let the others see a person get a keystone item but not attend the assessment. They''ll ask questions, look into this bronze tier a little deeper, and give him all the attention I bet he is trying to avoid." Timo laughed to himself; he loved his life. He loved all the power that he held, and now he gets to get the best over people who think they got one over them.


    <hr>


    Maeva was leaving the Inn after the proposal to join their party. It was something she had not expected, and she was more surprised her initial reaction was not no. Almost on the spot, she said yes. Something about this lot was attractive to her. It was as if they were a big family; she imagined they had been a party for years, a small group of friends who went out and did daring dos together. It was clear to her Abigail was the leader. However, Abigail didn''t dictate she led. She asked their opinions; she trusted her party members and wanted to hear what everyone had to say before making a decision.


    This was different from what Maeva was used to. It was nothing like she had expected. She found that cool; there was a level of respect that she had never felt before. "Come on, Mae," She said to herself, "you don''t like being on yer own. Just a tough girl facade. I am tired of wearing the mask and bein treated terribly by other parties. Would joining this party be so bad?" She shrugged as she went back to her bed to get some rest; maybe sleeping would help clear her head.


    As she laid her head down to rest, she felt a presence in the room. "Oi, what are yew doin'' here?"


    "Why do you hesitate to join?" the voice spoke out in the shadows. "You clearly need them; they clearly need you."


    "Now, why do you say they as if you aren''t part of the party? Come out of hiding so I can see yew." As she said, a dragon, the size of a big wild cat with shimmering black scales, walked out of the shadows to confront Maeva.


    "I am a part of the party by proxy, yes, but I am no member." Eclipse said.


    "Are you here to convince me to join? Did Ob send you here?" she asked.


    "I am here to do just that; no, he did not. I knew how helpful you''d be when I first met you when Ob did. When they met, I was resting in my soul home, but I could sense your presence from within. You were bold, you were feisty, and you stood strong."


    "Thank you," she paused, "I hesitate because a team has burned me before. I don''t want that to happen again; gotta look out for me and only me." She paused again and began to deflate, "at least, that is how I am now; I didn''t use to be like that. I used to be stronger and loyal, and I loved being a part of something. I no longer feel that. Maybe I miss it. Can yew make a promise for me, love?"


    "What is it?"


    "Can you promise that you won''t turn on Ob?"


    "Why would I-"


    "Don''t argue with me, don''t rationalize, that man loves the hell outta yew. I can see that from a mile away. He''s a delicate flower, no? If he loses you, the balance in his scales will fall and fall hard. So, in order for me to join the party, you have to promise me that you will not turn on him.


    Eclipse sat for several moments without saying a word. Ob loved her? She never thought of turning on him; that thought was repulsive. The question itself gave her some anger. She didn''t think to turn her back, and she never wanted to. She hadn''t even considered that Ob and her had that familial love. It was natural; it was real. She took a deep breath and nodded.


    Maeva jumped up with excitement, "great! I would say I''ll pack my things, but there is nothing to pack. I''ll follow you then, love."


    "I will return to my soul home; I cannot be walking around outside by myself now, can I?" Eclipse said with a light sarcastic tone.


    "Nah, I suppose not; I''ll see you soon then, by the way.. Before yew go, what''s yer name?"


    Eclipse paused, recognizing she hadn''t introduced herself. Her mother and Ob would be ashamed of her. "I am Eclipse. a pleasure to be introduced." With that, Maeva was alone in her room, preparing to pack her things and head back to the Inn.


    <hr>


    Helvuna brought in some food personally, as she did with some of her favorite guests. She was pleasantly surprised to see Ob sitting at the bar surrounding the central tree. "Oh, Ob, you have returned, welcome back." Her face flushed pale, then turned a bit red, "I- uh, I don''t have enough food for three. I apologize," she gave a respectful bow.


    Ob chuckled, "No worries, Helvuna. I wasn''t supposed to be back for a few days, yet here I am." He gave her a warm smile; it was good to see her. He hadn''t realized how much he missed how she smelt, which was like a delicious bakery selling different pastries. They held eye contact for a few seconds, then she left just as quickly as she came.


    "Well, that was adorable," Vincent teased Ob.


    "Shut it," Ob responded mockingly.


    "Why are you back?" Abigail said, ignoring the boys, "Why did you leave the assessment early? Did you fail?"


    "Fair question," he said, adjusting to look at the two of them, "no, I didn''t fail; that was too easy. I met someone or something; I''m really not sure. The conversation we had really got me questioning some things."


    "What did you meet?" She asked.


    "I met a mystic, a nice dude. Oh and I met another god."


    "What?!" Abigail said.


    Vincent laughed, "you are a strange guy, Ob," he said, chuckling.


    "That also got me questioning things: why do all these powerful beings appear to have a chat? But even more so the mystic talked about what it takes to be a truly mystic being. That got me questioning the Federation systems and powersets. So I decided that I needed to figure things out before accepting the prize of joining the Maverick Federation."Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    "What makes you so sure you would have passed?" Abigail said skeptically, "what makes you think that it will be just as easy as you say?" Her tone was starting to sound annoyed.


    "You can be annoyed all you like, Abigail," Ob said flatly, effectively diminishing her annoyance; before she could apologize, he continued, "I''m not interested in an apology either. If you are going to be annoyed and start acting rudely I will be done explaining myself. I''m not here to prove my logic is sound in your eyes. I''m not here to prove that I make the right decisions all the time. I''m not here to prove anything to you." Now it was Ob''s turn to be annoyed. Abigail''s face began to drop in shame and sadness. Ob took a deep breath, calmed himself, and walked out of the room, nearly bumping into Maeva.


    "Oi, watch out there love; where are you off to?" She said, watching an annoyed Ob storm off. He ignored her and had left them sitting there. "What happened?"


    "Ob and Abigail have a habit of getting on each other''s nerves. They are like brother and sister," Vincent began to speak up. "They both are great and powerful leaders, insanely attractive, and they are smart. They say things in just the right tone that would piss the other person off. Then one of them storms off for a bit, and they''ll come back, and we will finish the conversation."


    "So this happens often, then?"


    "Often enough, I''m going to go take a nap. Welcome to the party," Vincent winked and headed into his room. Abigail was left there sitting with her head in her hands. She said nothing, so Maeva said, "lemme go talk to him, yeah?" and turned to follow Ob.


    "Oi, Ob," she said as she saw the tall, dark man walking away like an angsty teenager. He paused to turn around and waited for her.


    "Yes, Maeva?" He asked calmly.


    "I get it yeah? You''re big and strong with a chip on your shoulder. Get pissed when someone tries to question your logic or decisions." she stated, "People like Abigail are people who won''t ever understand logic like you, not at first. They get insulted when things they struggled with are easy for some other folks, ya know what I''m saying?"


    "Yeah, I gettchu," he said, walking over to a railing to sit on, "I don''t know why it bothers me so much," sitting next to her, he shoved her arm lightly.


    "Because you are desperate to show her you are worthy of that badass dragon you have as a companion, or of your power. Vincent, he accepts it because he is as calm as they come. Eclipse is well aware of who you are deep down. Now, Abigail, she''s someone who doesn''t quite see it yet; she''s still trying to see her own, ya know?" He nodded, and she continued, "But ye can''t just run off when she pisses you off; ye get me, love? Sit there and just let her question you, and you answer her questions."


    "Yeah that I understand,"


    "I don''t think you do, love. We would be in that room celebrating my joining your party if you did! Listening to the story of why the hell you are back from this assessment so early. But instead we are out here on this lovely, very romantic evening." She said, giving him a smirk and a wink. Maeva did think Ob was attractive, but he was not her type; he was too human. "A romantic evening that you should be spending time with our lovely host, who has the hots for you." she gave him a friendly shoulder nudge, "Look, I can''t tell yew what to do. All I can offer you this. I am on yer side, Ob. You and I both have chips on our shoulders, both have a thing against royalty, and both damn stubborn. Can ye trust me love?"


    Ob stared into her eyes. She was right; he had a chip on his shoulder since entering into this world. He has been facing asshole after asshole, constantly needing to prove himself. He needed to let that go and be better; he needed to be better for his party. They may not be perfect, but they were his imperfections, and he loved it. "Eclipse was right about you." he turned and hugged her, "Thanks, Maeva, I owe you one. I trust you."


    For the first time, she showed that she was a little shy; she wasn''t used to being treated so kindly, so she hugged Ob back. Resting in his large muscular chest, hearing his heartbeat. She took a deep breath; she could get used to this, this feeling of being accepted and loved, "good, cause she is awesome. I am choosing to trust ye too."


    The pair began to make their way back to their lodging through the town square. When a small bird appeared and dropped an item in Ob''s hand.


    Item: Maverick Badge


    Keystone Item


    Legendary


    The badge symbolizes that you are now a member of the Maverick Federation. This item unlocks the final power in the federation power slot. Would you like to use? Yes/no?


    "I thought you said you left early?" Maeva said, looking at the badge in Ob''s hands.


    "I did…" Ob''s voice trailed off as he answered. "We should rush back now." The two of them start racing towards the Inn.


    They rushed into the Inn to find Vincent and Abigail chatting next to the tree. They look up, Abigail looks to speak, but Ob speaks first, "I need to tell you about why I left." he said, pulling out the Maverick''s Badge.


    "Oh, this will be a lot of fun," Vincent said as he reached for a snack. "Go on friend."


    "Scourge, the mystic, discussed how to become a mystic; you have to sacrifice something in the pursuit of power. This got me thinking: what if these keystones are like what mystics do? Maybe not for guardians or explorers because that is something they choose to do. To be a Maverick is a choice, yes, but it''s also a right. You have to earn it. You are sacrificing the other two federations to gain this powerset, which could give you skills of either federation.


    I wasn''t sure if that was what I wanted to do yet. I finished the first two portions of the assessment in a day and a half. One portion took so long because I was talking to the being in charge of the island, and we had to wait for it to turn night. The first one took me about an hour after he said go. Anyways, I am wondering if it will be possible to let being a Celestine give me power and skill if I use the mystic keystone items we have purchased?"


    Abigail sat and listened thoughtfully before responding, "I have never heard of being able to use a keystone item without a powerset. I don''t doubt that you could. Honestly, Ob, I am not sure. There is very little written about Celestines. You are the first one my family has ever interacted with, and you have only interacted with me."


    "Would you want something besides the Maverick federation? You could join the explorers or the guardians?" Vincent stated, "I just thought that the Maverick would best fit your potential…"


    "You''re right, Vincent. It does. I''m not denying the power that passing the assessment has, I am questioning the validity of the federation itself."


    "That is all well and good to question, but that still does not answer the question of why you left." Abigail stated.


    Ob took a deep breath, "In the cave," He began, looking at the group. His eyes were different; rather than the intense confidence that they usually show, they were watery and showed uncertainty. Vincent was taken aback; he had never seen Ob like this, and he wasn''t even sure Ob was capable of that. Abigail looked on expressionlessly; she had never expected this out of him. Something must have rocked him deep for him to speak with passion but look uncertain. "After talking to Scourge, I thought about my old home. I thought about how there were very few people who believed in me. I thought about how I was repeatedly told that I was not enough, but the few people who told me I was,  I wouldn''t believe them. I have had three insanely powerful beings tell me about my potential. I have had y''all believe in my potential and who I was as a person. But there I was in that cave, doubting everything.


    I decided then and there that my old world had to be in the past. It was time to move forward. Time to be that person that others see me as. In that decision, I decided that this assessment was rubbing me the wrong way; I am trusting my gut. Then, as Maeva and I were talking,  I got this." He gestured to the badge he had sat down, "I should not have received this; I failed."


    "You should not have gotten that." Abigail repeated, staring at the badge.


    "Hold on, what do ye mean another world?" Maeva asked in confusion, "yew can''t just skip over that with ease, love."


    "Right, I am a dimension skipper, no idea how I got here but I have been here for about 7 weeks." Ob responded.


    "Well, I am definitely going to need to hear more of that later," she responded with a small smile.


    "You should not have gotten that," Abigail said again, eyes still firmly stuck on the badge, "Ob, whatever you do, do not use that badge." This caused everyone''s eyes to shift to Abigail in shock. "For all we know it could be a fake, it could be a trap, whatever it is, something about that is not good news."


    "I agree." Ob said, "I''m going to try something, and this is definitely crazy… I''ll be right back."