Over the River and Through the Woods (Adventures!AU Book 2)

Chapter 14: Existential Crisis

New chapter time! Been about a month so I figured I should upload again! The end is a bit rough but hey, I can always patch it later!

Been busy in the month since the last chapter, including a complete revision of Off to a Great Start! You can find it on my profile, go check it out! :D

Also been making polls, but I'll add that at the end so you can get into the story!

As for this chapter itself, enjoy some talk on Realm Walkers and a rather conflicted Hunter!
Then some crack head energy from me who's been watching way too many vines lately.

Enjoy!

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It just wasn't adding up.

So many inconsistencies.

Too many.

What was with her?

Hunter stared after Shadow as they walked down the trail. Tech and Wrecker both seemed to be having a silent war with each other over who got Shadow's full attention, the smaller clone trying to pry planetary and species related information from her while the demolition expert questioned her on different weapons or fighting techniques she liked best. The Alphian woman was doing her best to treat each soldier equally, though she did appear partial to Wrecker.

She looked so... happy. At ease with Hunter's team, as if talking with them was the most natural thing in the world to her despite Wrecker and Tech being vastly different in conversation. Her enthusiasm was almost infectious, even from this distance. Hunter found himself smiling under his helmet at the sound of her laugh, only to force it away and refocus on his current conundrum.

Something about the way she told that story...

She knew it well. Too well almost.

Then there was her character comment about that Alphian. Hornet was his name?

He's a far more complicated character than people will ever give him credit for .

Character. Why use character ? Why not person ?

She had to be a Realm Walker. She had to.

Hunter always doubted their existence since the moment he heard tales of them. To be able to willfully travel between realities? Come and go as they pleased? That was just ridiculous. Impossible!

Yet Shadow just... maybe they did exist.

She knew 99. Why else would she know 99 unless she was from another reality?

Of course that would mean they themselves were a book, show, or holo... which would definitely be grounds for a mild to moderate existential crisis.

But Shadow knew things she should logically not . She knew about the squad in fairly good detail, which was quite unusual for a Nat-Born. Especially one so far in the Outer Rim. No one had ever recorded them either, or at least in a way that the footage would be accessible to civvies. But she knew of Plan 82: Shockwave. There was no way she could know that unless she was a Realm Walker.

It was so odd .

Maybe I'm paranoid ? Thinking too hard? I need another opinion.

As Tech and Wrecker jokeyed for Shadow's attention, Hunter lagged back and fell into step beside Crosshair. After instructing the sniper to switch to a private frequency, Hunter said, "Something isn't right with Shadow."