Golden: The Collection

Chapter VII: ..Bleed into the Present

Zomburbia, mid February

It'd been three weeks since Astrophelle first became a Top Zombie. Even though he spent time cooped up in his study, taking notes on Space, he enjoyed it. Or at least, that's what he told himself.

He spent time with Zephyr in the early mornings (much to his reluctance). Sometimes patrolling, sometimes training, sometimes discussing meaningless nothings. And yet still, Zephyr hadn't told Astrophelle what he was continuously alluding to.

One of his favorite places in Headquarters had to be the Crazy Targets Range. It wasn't in the Lab, but below it. It wasn't the same as the area used for testing out enchantments. As a matter of fact, everyone could access the Crazy Targets Range. It was for agility and accuracy training.

He'd already gotten an S-Rank in the target range, but it was still nice to spend time there.

Astrophelle decided to devote himself to those two aspects. Even though he would spend most time on the battlefield at a distance due to how his umbrella's damage worked, it was important to be able to move quickly. He didn't have to practice much with accuracy. It came naturally to him. Still, he liked to touch up on it every now and then.

As an astronomer, he was slowly uncovering things about Space. He recently discovered it was a gateway realm; a realm there for the sole purpose of getting to other realms. Questions arose with that, but Astrophelle decided he would dig deeper first.

When he wasn't studying space, training or anything, he was delving into the many books in his study. There was a ton about Gembearers, Gemstones, and history that piqued his interest.

He was told he would be having his first meeting with Zomboss next week. Astrophelle still wondered what he did up there in his office all day, but he would remember what Zephyr said, and kept quiet about it.

He had to keep quiet about things like that. It was just protocol.

Wasn't it?

Astrophelle wondered why they couldn't ask questions like that.

But that way of thinking was dangerous. He didn't want to be seen as a threat. The other Top Zombies already disliked him for hanging around Zephyr.

For some reason, Zephyr had left a bad impression on his teammates. Astrophelle had an inkling as to why, but it was only confirmed when they approached him the other day.

Well, it was really more like captured.

Astrophelle was on his break, so he decided to head to the Crazy Targets Range.

Let's see if I can beat my score today, he thought to himself as he neared the entrance. Traveling through the underground tunnels always made him feel like he was doing something he wasn't supposed to.

In the lobby, there was a Cora-Touched gnome made out of cardboard or something. It spoke, kept track of the time, and scores.

Astrophelle swung his umbrella over his shoulder. "WELCOME TO CRAZY TARGETS!" The Target Gnome said. "This place is great! You can practice your aim by shooting gnome targets! BUT PLEASE DON'T SHOOT ME, OKAY? I just work the desk.."

The gnome always repeated what it said, no matter how many times Astrophelle visited.

"You can press the button to start!"

"Thank you," Astrophelle said, even though he knew it didn't matter. He crossed the room to hit the red button, opening the large door, and the session began.

Ding! Ding! Every time he destroyed a cardboard gnome, it made that sound. When he finished, he had a good feeling about it. It felt faster than all those other times.