Blood splattered in all directions, and Dim-Dim could only feel his heart racing as Amma swung the scissors in her hand and then stabbed another scientist."Amma, stop," Dim-Dim said a moment later, when he finally managed to calm himself and transform back to his normal form.The girl didn't listen. Another person fell because of her actions, and Dim-Dim backed away from her in panic. "Stop! What the hell are you thinking!?"Amma glanced at him briefly. "Coward," she said, though with a sweet tone."You—are you stopping time?" Dim-Dim asked. He looked at Justin, that was frozen nearby, and then back at Amma."Yeah, why?" Amma replied, giving him a scrutinizing look. "Are you going to help me get rid of these damn people or not?" she asked."You're not like the Amaliah I knew," Dim-Dim said, and a flicker of hurt appeared in Amma's eyes."So which one do you prefer, this version of me, or the previous one?"Dim-Dim shook his head. "I don't prefer either of them.""My friends were righ

On the way home to Safe City, Dim-Dim felt awkward around Velicia. Incredibly awkward. Like... come on! They've been friends for five years! They have breakfast and dinner together every day. Velicia is like a sister to him. If Dim-Dim wants to watch the latest movie at the cinema, he always invites Velicia. If there's a discount on delicious food, Velicia will invite Dim-Dim to go there. If he sees a beautiful accessory in the mall that he thinks Velicia would love, he'll buy it without second thought and give it to Velicia. And when something happens at school, whether it's heart-wrenching or joyful, he saves the story to tell Velicia when they meet. If there's a torn piece of clothing, Velicia will help Dim-Dim sew it. Dim-Dim has also slept in Velicia's room if Velicia has just had a bad dream and doesn't want to sleep alone for the rest of the night.But now Dim-Dim doesn't know if she can be that close to Velicia again. Everything changed just because of one kiss.*****Upon arr

"Let's deal with that girl now," Justin said seriously."I'll handle her myself," Dim-Dim insisted. "Anyway, this is between me and her.""Yeah, but I don't think so," Justin said. "I'd rather be involved in your plan.""She'll be angry," Dim-Dim said. "She won't like being cornered."Justin sighed. "Okay," he said. "What's your plan?"After a moment of thought, Dim-Dim replied, "Hmm... I'll take her to a closed room—maybe my room—tie her to a chair, and ask her to stay away from my friends.""That will only make her angrier," Justin said. But then he laughed. "I'm sure negotiating with her won't be easy, but I trust you."So, with Justin's help, they brought Amma to Dim-Dim's room in the Venator apartment, tied her hands and feet to the chair, and removed all sharp objects from the room."Okay, now I'll go back to the hospital, and then you can talk to her," Justin said.And after he left Dim-Dim's room, time resumed around them.Amma blinked at Dim-Dim, slightly surprised, but even m

"I can't trust my hearing," Velicia said, looking at Dim-Dim with confusion. "Are you serious about your terrible idea?""What? I'm just suggesting my idea," Dim-Dim said. "I'm suggesting New York City because non-Safe City settlements are still bustling there and very easily accessible."Velicia shook her head, frustrated. "What I just heard was you intending to violate the Illicitor Code. And not just any code, but CODE NUMBER ONE! 'Do not lure monsters into a city full of innocents', remember?" Velicia's voice raised now. "They, the people of NYC, are innocent! Our actions would be like... murder. Maybe genocide! And you...""If we're careful, no one necessarily has to die, okay?" Dim-Dim tried to dismiss Velicia. But when he saw Miller considering his idea seriously, he felt guilty and turned to look at Velicia again. The girl was taking deep breaths, trying to gather patience."Listen, Vel! I think that is the right thing to do. That monster has already killed nearly 70% of the p

At eight in the morning, Dim-Dim and Justin set off for the Venator building. Outside Venator, seven vans were already waiting."Dim-Dim, come here," called Clarinassa, her face bright and enthusiastic. "Let Xavera measure your blood pressure."Dim-Dim sat in a chair in front of the blood pressure measuring machine and inserted his arm. He felt the machine compressing his arm."You both look excited," Dim-Dim said to Xavera and Clarinassa.They both laughed. "Caught us, huh?" Xavera asked, while Clarinassa looked around with a smile and then said, "Today's mission reminds me of the day we were introduced to Type A monsters for the first time."Dim-Dim recalled that day. "The mission in Forks," he said."Oh no," said Icaros, from above Dim-Dim. He had just arrived and sat down on the plastic bench next to Dim-Dim. "The one in Forks was Damian's team. Our team was in West Virginia at the time, not too far from there.""Yeah, then we were told by the system that Damian's team was ordered