Weird World TalkingThe broken stuff that looks like a machine sticks out of the ground, Kane, like broken teeth. It’s all twisted metal, nothing I know. But that burned spot… that’s Elias’s weapon for sure. A little bit of hope starts in the cold scared feeling I’ve had since… since Tony. He wouldn’t give up easy, that smart guy.Darren touches a vine that shines blue inside. It moves away from him and puffs out shiny dust that smells like metal and candy. Weird. Everything here is just… wrong. Like a bad painting that still moves.“Think this is okay?” Darren asks, sounding careful. He’s holding his energy gun tighter. Good. He’s learning.Okay? Nothing feels okay here, kid. The ground keeps shaking a little like it can’t decide if it’s hard or soft. And the light… the way it bends around those shiny rocks… it makes my eyes feel funny. Tony would have had lots of ideas about it by now.I try to look at the chip Darren found. It’s cracked, but there’s a little light insi

Trying to UnderstandThat thing jumped at us, Kane, super fast. But Darren… he shot it with his gun without even thinking. It flew back into the shiny rocks. He’s learning to fight now. I felt a little proud. Tony would have been surprised too.We ran. Away from that bad creature, away from the voice in our heads, away from feeling like something big and cold was watching us. We took Tony’s chip – a small piece of what’s going on in this bad world.Now, hiding under a big, glowing mushroom that makes green light, we look at what we found. The broken chip Darren found before is still dark. But Tony’s… this one feels different. A little warm. It still has some of his smartness in it.“Think you can get anything off this one?” I ask Darren quietly. The air here buzzes, making my teeth feel funny.Darren holds the chip carefully. “It’s… older. Different plug. But maybe… maybe I can fix something.” He looks at the weird, shiny plants, trying to find parts. He’s thinking like

Trying to Read What He LeftThat wasn't him, Kane. It looked like Tony, but the eyes… those cold blue eyes weren't his. It was the Nothingness, wearing his face. That voice… it was old and mean. We ran fast, Darren and I, as that fake Tony went back into the dark spinning light.Now, hiding in a small cave, with only the tool shining light, I feel how much I miss Tony again. It wasn't just him being gone. It was seeing that bad thing to use his face. That makes me angry. The Nothingness wants to play? Okay. We'll play too. And we'll win. For Tony.Darren sits next to me, looking tired and white. He saw it too, that fake Tony. The little bit of hope we had is gone. But now he looks stronger. He knows this is serious. It’s not just about staying alive now.“It… it looked like him,” Darren whispers, his voice still shaky. “But it wasn’t.”No, kid. It wasn’t. It was like a ghost wearing his skin. And we need to know why. Why Tony? Why did it look like him?I take out the b

Elias's IdeaMy hands shook as I watched Elias stare hard at the old computer. His face wasn't like he was trying to solve a really tough puzzle. He wasn't the same Elias I knew. He moved strangely, his eyes jumped around, and he talked in broken sentences that didn't make much sense. But sometimes, in all that mess, a little bit of the old smart Elias would shine through. He used to be our tech genius, the guy who could figure out anything."The… lines… they… shake… different," Elias mumbled, his fingers moving over the dusty screen. Strange letters and numbers went up the screen. Darren, his best friend, stood next to him. Darren looked hopeful but also worried. This new Elias was hard for him.I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. Trusting Elias now felt risky. The "new order" had messed him up and turned his smart brain into something… broken. But we needed his help. He was the only one who might know about the "keys" – the important things the enemy wanted, the

The Echo AnswersThe fight was all around us, a mess of glowing lights and desperate moves to stay safe. The Keepers of the Echoes moved smoothly, their bone and shiny rock weapons blocking the Seekers’ dark attacks. Darren fought hard next to me, his light sword moving fast. Even Elias, in the middle of it all, looked at the glowing rock, his hands reaching out like he wanted to touch something we couldn't see.I kept looking at Marcus. The fight in his glowing eyes, that quick moment when he seemed to know me… it bothered me. What had the "Void" done to him? Was there still a bit of the old Marcus inside? It hurt to think about it, but I couldn't stop."Kane, pay attention!" Darren's voice pulled me back. A Seeker jumped at me, its dark energy crackling. I blocked its attack, and my arm hurt from the force. They were too strong for us."The memory… we need to see the memory!" I shouted to the main Keeper, dodging another attack.The Keeper nodded, their eyes full of strong