Intern’s Log: We Return to My Lab—And I Find My Old Boss with a Plane Load of Equipment
Date: [The Next Step]
Intern ID: Reynolds, J. (Oh, so now they show up?)
We returned.
? The gharial had accepted us.
? The river had given us its blessing.
? **Reality had an anchor now. **
? We had a fighting chance against the Architects.
And yet—
As we landed, as we stepped back onto familiar ground,
I realized we were not alone.
Because my old lab was no longer empty.
Because standing in the middle of it, looking way too smug for my liking,
Was my old boss.
And he had brought a plane load of equipment.
Phase One: The Moment I Knew I Was in Trouble
"Oh, good. You’re back."
I froze.
Looked at Bandit.
Looked at Evelyn.
Looked at Fallen Star, who was entirely unfazed, because of course he was.
And then, finally, looked at my old boss.
"Dr. Langford."
"Reynolds," he said smoothly, folding his arms. "You’ve been busy."
"What are you doing here?"
"What do you think I’m doing here? Fixing your mess."
I dragged a hand down my face.
"I didn’t ask for backup."
"Oh, I know," Langford smirked. "But the people upstairs are very interested in what you’ve been up to. And since you’ve been ignoring every official attempt to contact you, I figured I’d bring the lab to you."
He gestured behind him.
To an entire plane’s worth of high-end research equipment being unloaded by teams of personnel.
To crates stamped with logos from organizations that absolutely did not get along.
To things I should not have had access to.
"What the hell is all this?" I asked.
Langford grinned.
"It’s everything you need to finish what you started."
Phase Two: The Government Is Now Involved, and I Hate It
? The U.S. Military was involved.
? The Russians were involved.
? The Vatican had sent something, and I didn’t even want to ask.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
? Somewhere in the mix, Japan had also contributed.
? **And worst of all? They all wanted something in return.
"You’re telling me that all of these people suddenly want to help?" I asked, deeply skeptical.
Langford chuckled.
"Not quite. They want you to win. Because if you don’t? None of them exist anymore."
And that was the truth of it.
The world had finally realized what was at stake.
And for the first time in history,
Every faction wanted the same thing.
For me to finish the job.
Phase Three: The Research Begins Again
? I had a lab again.
? I had equipment again.
? I had resources I never should have had.
? And for the first time, I wasn’t alone in the research.
"Alright, so what exactly do they expect me to do?" I asked.
Langford tilted his head.
"That depends. You’ve found the anchor, haven’t you?"
I hesitated.
"Yes."
"Then all that’s left is the hard part."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Which is?"
"Making sure it holds."
And that’s when I realized—
I had stepped into a war zone,
And now I was being asked to build the foundation of reality itself.
Phase Four: The Lab Becomes the New Frontline
? I began stabilizing the reality anchor.
? Goldie and the Good Boys stood guard—nothing got in without clearance.
? The Kitsune immediately started playing mind games with the government agents. (That was hilarious.)
? Bandit was banned from touching anything three hours in. (Also hilarious.)
? Evelyn took over coordinating security.
? Fallen Star… simply watched. Always watching.
And me?
I started working.
Because we had one shot at this.
One chance to create something that could keep the universe from unraveling.
One opportunity to make sure we were never erased.
And I wasn’t going to waste it.
Final Thoughts (The War Has Entered a New Phase)
? The world is backing us.
? The reality anchor is coming together.
? The government is involved now, for better or worse.
? The Uplifted are holding the line.
? The Architects are still out there—watching, waiting.
I don’t know how much time we have.
I don’t know when the next attack will come.
But I do know this—
We are no longer just reacting to the Architects.
Now, we are building something they cannot erase.
End Log.