A youngish man, tall and wide-shouldered, but just as dirty as the rest of them, broke away from the large number of humans approaching from all directions.

  Integrated Fyfy. Level 3.

  Fyfy reached forward with both hands, palms facing up, as if to show he carried no weapon. When he spoke, it was the same garbled mess as Oioi.

  "What are up with these people's names?" Penny whispered. "It's like they're pets."

  Luke looked to his left, where Nymh stood. She'd brought out a chainmail armor to cover her bare midriff. "You don't happen to have another one of those translation devices, do you?"

  "No," she said with a grimace.

  Mateo stepped away from their protective ring and toward Fyfy, taking the other man's hands into his own. The two of them shared a look, a nod, and then a smile. Following their exchange, Fyfy pulled Mateo away, pointing to one of the tunnels.

  "My friends, I believe they will show us the way out!" Mateo said, allowing himself to be dragged away.

  "Or they will lure us into an ambush so the ants can eat us," Hannah said, shaking her head, but she followed.

  Luke and the others did as well. With the route blocked and time running out, they didn't have much of a choice. Walking surrounded by the Integrated made for a difficult return trip out of the cave, but when they emerged not far from where they'd entered about an hour later, they all breathed a sigh of relief. The sun was still up, and natural light was a welcome surprise.

  Leaving the cave, Mateo urged the Integrated to follow. To Luke's surprise, they did. After some coaxing, they dared step into the sunlight. Hands up to shield their eyes from the light, the hundred-odd group of humans moved in a tight clump, clinging to each other as they made their way across the dunes.

  "What're we going to do with them?" Milla asked.

  Nymh looked over her shoulder at the other group. "I have let our contact at the DIA know we're coming. They'll set something up."

  "They don't even know the language," Hannah said.

  Mateo smiled at her. "They will learn, hermanita."

  Hannah raised an eyebrow at him.

  "Hermana?" he asked.

  She nodded.

  "Immigrants who don't know the language?" Penny said. "I'm sure they'll be welcomed with open arms."

  Nymh grunted. "I'll make sure they are treated right. You have my word."

  When they made it back to the portal with plenty of time to spare, despite the slow pace of the other Integrated, they were surprised to find a person waiting for them.

  "Martin?" Luke asked.

  Martin wore a well-fitted dark blue suit, a white dress shirt, dark sunglasses, and the radio-device-thingy he'd worn when Luke first met him back when he woke up on that couch after healing Alan. Rather than the fun and carefree Martin he'd met before taking down Relian, he now looked serious, almost official.

  "Luke," Martin said with a nod. "I'm here to take these Integrated off your hands."

  "No, you're not," Nymh said.

  He glanced at her. "ISG has better facilities and accommodations to deal with Integrated from another world. The DIA agrees with that assessment. I'm sure your superiors are messaging you as we speak."

  Nymh stood there a moment, a faraway look on her face, before grimacing and shaking her head. "I don't like this, but my superior confirms that ISG is to handle the refugees from here."

  Martin gave her a pleasant smile. "You don't have to like it. Step aside and let my people handle this."

  Luke widened his stance a little. "You're not putting them in jail, are you?"

  "Of course not," Martin scoffed. "They will be treated as guests, not prisoners. This is a chance to learn more about another system."

  "They don't speak our language," Milla said.

  Martin nodded. "I know. ISG has several translation devices."

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The clumped-up Integrated shot some looks Martin's way, but most of them stared wide-eyed at the large portal, like they'd never seen one before in their lives. Strange, since they were Integrated. Wouldn't that mean they, too, entered dungeons? Perhaps it had been a long while since the cataclysm they spoke of, when they left the surface. As far as he knew, no portals appeared underground. There were still a whole lot of unknowns regarding how all the pieces fit together. Martin was right about one thing: Earth could learn a lot from these people.

  "Don't know how a private company managed this, but they're all yours," Nymh said, walking up to and then past Martin. "Come on, Milla and Luna, let's go check on the others and then head in for the debriefing."

  "Guild," Martin corrected her. "Not a private company."

  Nymh ignored him. Milla and Luna followed, waving goodbye to the group and the refugees.

  "I'm going too," Hannah said, and disappeared into her own shadow.

  Penny grabbed Mateo's hand. "Let's get you out of here and back to your family before some freak accident happens."

  Mateo shot Luke a look that said he was about to have a long conversation with his wife about his future as a dungeon delver. With that, they were gone, leaving Luke alone with Martin.

  "I heard you're going to New York," Martin said after a moment of hesitation. There was some apprehension on his face, like he was swimming through dangerous waters.

  "Yeah," Luke confirmed.

  New people emerged from the portal, people from ISG. They carried water, food, and blankets.

  As they walked past, Martin followed. He put a hand on Luke's shoulder and whispered four words before continuing past. "Be careful. They listen."

  A chill ran down Luke's spine, and he wanted to ask Martin's meaning, but he was already swallowed up by the crowd of refugees and the growing number of Integrated from the guild. With no unsuspicious way to get a moment alone with just the two of them, Luke exited the portal to another storm of sound. This time, it wasn't just the roar of a random crowd, but one of protest.

  People were pissed off, to say the least. Cops and military stood with their backs to the portal while men and women of all shapes, sizes, and ages hurled insults against them from behind a low metal fence erected to keep them out. This time, Integrated stood on both sides of the simmering conflict, with some recognizable faces on the side of the cops and military personnel. People from ISG.

  Nothing about this passed the smell test.

  Luke: "Alan. Why are members of ISG guarding the portal and keeping people out?"

  Integrated Alan Schmidt is not able to receive messages at this time.

  Luke stopped dead in his tracks, having put the worst of the crowd behind him. He shook his head in bemusement. "The bastard put an out-of-office message on his messaging gem. How the hell did he even manage that?"

  Information proved simple enough to come by. Several headlines, both local and national, shed some light on the recent developments.

  ILLINOIS INTEGRATED REBUFFED - PORTALS OUT OF REACH.

  MILITARY CALLED IN TO KEEP INTEGRATED AWAY.

  FOUR WOUNDED TRYING TO STORM PORTAL IN CHICAGO.

  NO WORD FROM GOVERNOR IN RECENT SHAKEUP OF DUNGEON ACCESS.

  PHOENIX PHALANX SENDS OUT PRESS RELEASE - "F*CK THEM."

  LOCAL INTEGRATED SLAMS DECISION TO REGULATE PORTALS.

  GUILD LENDS AID TO MILITARY IN POLICING DUNGEONS.

  The many articles on the topic painted a clear enough picture. Rather than restrict access to the orb, like they'd attempted at the start, the government was now trying something else. By keeping Integrated out of dungeons, they would get to pick and choose who grew stronger. If that decision was allowed to stand, shit would hit the fan sooner rather than later. With how few people the DIA could muster, there was just no way for them to keep up with demand. Dungeon breaks would be a common occurrence.

  It dawned on him then. Why, ISG was helping them police the new restrictions. Dungeon access for the guild. Of course, that was why. Either that, or a buttload of cash. Probably both, if Luke knew Alan at all, and at this point, he was pretty sure he did.

  The local Integrated groups on social media were boiling over with anger and disappointment. This whole thing would turn into an ugly mess before long.

  Milla: "Hey, little brother. What the hell is going on?"

  Luke: "Seems like your DIA and the rest of the government are trying for some kind of power-play."

  Milla: "Not my DIA. Quit five minutes ago."

  Luke: "Good decision, I'd say."

  Milla: "Yeah. Nymh wasn't happy, but I don't owe her or them anything."

  Milla: "But Luke, your guild. ISG is getting a lot of hate for its hand in this. You should leave, too. Let's make our own thing. A guild or something?"

  Luke: "Leaving isn't an option for me. At least not right now."

  Milla: "Why not?"

  Luke: "Well, there's Dot."

  Milla: "She won't care if you leave the guild, Luke. If she did, she'd be an asshole, and you shouldn't date assholes."

  Milla: "Is there some other reason?"

  Luke: "Kind of, but I can't talk about it."

  Milla: "Well, alright. Just be careful. Let me know if you hear about any guilds or groups looking for healers. Being unemployed isn't great."

  Milla: "Also, could you check out my lungs again before you leave town?"

  Luke: "Of course. Why didn't you ask me before leaving?"

  Milla: "Kind of slipped my mind. You know, with the exploding ant and a bunch of refugees."

  Luke: "Fair enough. Remind me when I'm your pack mule on Saturday."

  Milla: "Will do!"

  It was getting late. A bone-deep weariness settled in him. Not from physical tiredness, but from being boxed in. Milla was right. He needed to leave the guild. Doing so would be easy enough. Just a few thoughts through his interface and he'd be free, but the ramifications of doing so would be far-reaching. Alan wouldn't just let him go. The blackmail was one thing, but Luke was sure the bastard had more aces up his sleeve.

  Luke needed to talk this through with someone. The first person who came to mind was Dot. Perhaps she hadn't fallen asleep yet and would be up for at least a brief chat.

  Luke: "Dot?"

  Integrated Dot is not able to receive messages at this time.