Similar to Mako, the rest of Mako’s friends weren’t just sitting idly by but were instead training respectively to become stronger and improve their strengths.

To do so Bill and Iris had a different plan than Mako who was spending all his time utilizing the resources that the military school provided to become as strong as possible.

The strategy that Bill and Iris decided to utilize was one that wasn’t theirs to begin with but rather was instructed to them by Commander Sable.

*****************

{Day before departure to military school}

Bill was just existing inside his room still trying to cope with the tremendous loss he had suffered.

Some would say that Bill was being overly dramatic and sensitive about losing Iris after all they hadn’t even been together for so long, but it is important to remember that for Bill’s entire life, he had rarely ever felt the emotions of being loved and wanted.

With his father being very strict and disciplined and his mother passing away when he was still a boy, his soul was completely deprived of the feeling of being loved.

It was mostly because of this that led Bill to walk down the path he did as he entered high school.

Thanks to Mako accepting him as his friend, he had gained some semblance of hope; however, his heart was still blackened with the guilt of everything he had done.

That was until he met Iris and Erin during the recruitment test.

He could still remember how he felt after he took that massive hit from the King Terra Beetle in the cave that roasted his chest to a crisp, thinking that he was going to die without having accomplished anything; however, when he opened his eyes again and found a gorgeous figure staring down at him, Bill thought he was staring at an angel.

In reality, it was Iris who had just joined Mako’s group along with her friend and had used her healing ability to help him and Leon recover quickly.

Ever since that moment, Bill had started to develop feelings for Iris. After they had formed their 5 man group, for the first time in his life, Bill felt like he belonged somewhere.

For the first time, he was surrounded by genuine friends who all cared for each other and relied on each other and it was a feeling that Bill could get drunk on.

As they continued on with their adventures, Bill finally began to heal his blackened heart as the guilt of his past started to fade away, and that was only amplified when once again Iris saved him from the clutches of death, this time by risking her own life in order to do so.

When he awoke for the second time and found out that he was still not dead, all thanks to one person, the feelings that were building inside his heart began to grow exponentially.

He wanted to confess to her the moment he got the chance and during their time training in the military base for their first mission, he finally found an opportunity to be alone with her and confess his feelings.

This was an entirely new experience for him. Never in his life had he anticipated feeling such intense nerves and fear over a simple love confession.

But when Iris smiled and accepted his confession, his happiness knew no bounds. It was as if a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and he felt a surge of joy and relief that he had never experienced before.

Her acceptance filled him with an incredible sense of joy, making every moment of anxiety worthwhile. In that instant, he understood that love was worth every risk and fear, and his heart swelled with a newfound appreciation for the connection they shared.

From that moment onward, every moment he spent with Iris was the greatest time of his life even though it ended up being quite short.

Having to see the only person that finally brought him joy in his life, struggle and cry out in pain as her life was slowly and painfully sucked from her body was too much for Bill to handle.

Even after giving Victor Voss everything that he deserved, he still felt empty. He could feel a brand new power coursing within him that was unleashed in that intense moment where all of his negative emotions completely overwhelmed him; however, he could also feel the intense anger that was ingrained into that power.

After they had recovered back at the military base and put on room arrest, Bill did nothing but stay in his room all day. He didn’t train, he didn’t talk, he didn’t eat for days at a time.

All he could think about was the intense anger that was continuously bubbling inside of him and the extreme sadness of losing Iris.

Commander Sable did visit him a few times during his arrest, being the only person to converse with him during that time and even those conversations were mostly one-sided as Bill became quiet.

The commander did his best to cheer up Bill and help him get past this massive hurdle but the results were rather unimpressive.

Bill had no intention of ever activating that power again, that power that was oozing out hatred that he could barely contain within his body. He felt that if he ever activated that power again, he would get lost in anger and do something that would only add to his guilt and regret.

With that mindset, Bill laid on his bed for the last time as he prepared for departure to the military base in the morning.

However, in the middle of the night, Bill was awakened by an innocent knock on the door quickly followed by the door sliding open, shining the hallway light inside Bill’s dark unlit

room.

“Cadet Bill, Commander Sable requests you to come see him in his office. It is an urgent matter and can not be delayed.” A private announced as he took a single step inside the room.

“Aren’t I on room arrest? I can’t leave the confines of my room except for eating or training, remember?” Bill said in a depressed monotone voice while still lying on his bed.

“The commander has removed your arrest as of right now and wishes to speak to you immediately,” The private replied.

Bill turned on his side to look at the private with a hint of annoyance as he didn’t want to talk

to anyone.

“Tell him, I will see him in the morning before leaving for military school. Now let me sleep,” Bill said before turning his back to the private once again.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. The commander was very clear with his orders. He believes that you will have some interest in this meeting as it concerns the prisoner that you caught during your first mission.” The private said.

Bill instantly jolted up from his bed after hearing those words. He jumped from his bed and grabbed a loose T-shirt which he quickly wore before approaching the private.

“Lead the way,” Bill said with a look of anger and determination.

A small grin appeared on the private’s face as he exited the room and quickly began leading Bill to Commander Sable’s office.

*****************

Minutes later, Bill arrived at the door to the commander’s office and the private gestured him

to go in alone.

Bill pushed the door open and found the commander sitting on his desk with Erin already present in the room.

“Bill… Thank you for coming…” The commander said with a warm smile as he invited him

inside.

“What happened to him? Is he dead?” Bill asked as he closed the door behind him, getting straight to the point but still talking in a respectful manner towards the commander. “Calm down, son… Have a seat I will explain everything now,” The commander gestured Bill

to a seat beside Erin.

As he obeyed the commander’s request and took a seat, he noticed that Erin was quite stiff and lost in her own thoughts. Her eyes were a bit swelled and reddened which showed that she

had been crying.

She was already present by the time he had arrived and didn’t know what conversation had taken place between the commander and her for her to be in that state; however, he didn’t really care and just wanted to find out why the commander had called him in such urgency and how did it relate to Victor Voss.

“Nathan and Leon were already in my office earlier and they already know the scope. I wanted to talk to the three of you separately because I have some additional things to say, but unfortunately, it seems that Mako is knocked out cold in his room and won’t be able to join us,” The commander stated.

Bill hadn’t seen Mako for 2 months and was a bit concerned when he heard this as after all, he was his best friend, but the commander cleared up the misconception before continuing. “Don’t worry, he is absolutely fine. He has just been overworking himself too much, using every single second of his time outside curfew to train and get stronger,” The commander said as several clips of Mako’s intense training appeared in front of them. Seeing the footage, Bill felt a bit guilty seeing as Mako was pushing his limits and continuing to improve while all he had been doing was sulking in his room.

Once again, he was reminded of the many differences he had between him and Mako.

‘He has already experienced this kind of loss,’ Bill thought as he remembered Mako on the first day of high school after he had just recently lost his grandmother. ‘Man, I was quite the jerk to him,’

‘For him to continue moving forward after failing as our leader shows the depth of his character and the strength of his heart,’ Bill said to himself, a bit inspired as he continued to watch clips of Mako’s training.

“Now for the reason I have called you two here…” The commander began to explain after closing all the holographic screens.