The entire first level was waiting for me. It's not usual to see all of them in one place, especially without the other levels, but they apparently decided that secrecy had room for them and only them.

The Bastard stepped forward from the group to me, and I stepped forward to him. "Inheritor Howard, do you accept the challenge of the Second Test?", he asked formally.

"Yes." Sarcasm came to mind, but unfortunately, this wasn't the right place for it. I'll use plenty of it later..

"Then let it be so. Inheritor, your second test begins in.." The Bastard rolled up his white sleeve and checked his watch. "thirty minutes and nineteen seconds. Do you have any questions?"

Well, there's always the little matter of.. "Yes. Where the fuck is Point X?" If I hadn't asked, he would have never told. This guy's not called the Bastard for nothing.

"Point X is approximately 320 kilometers away from here at a bearing of 173 degrees, 11 minutes."

"How big is it?" I'm not going to nitpick the idea of a 'point' having area.

"Point X is a circle one meter in diameter."

"What?? Okay, is it in a prominent, easy-to-find place?"

"Yes." Whew. It would not be unlike the Illuminati to just draw a chalk circle in the middle of nowhere and call that Point X.

"Very well then.", I replied. Being the Inheritor of the Illuminati means that I have real-time satellite maps of everywhere, and I re-entered the plane to check the place out. I looked for guiding landmarks before I checked the place itself out. 320 km away, 173 degrees, 11 minutes, looking for obvious spots.. ah, here we go. It looked like a green hill, but I knew it wasn't.

Damn. That was too easy. "So, if anyone has any suggestions as for what we do for thirty minutes...", I said.

"We look at the direct route's satellite maps, check valleys, rivers, everything.", Sarah suggested. Good idea.

"All right then." For about twenty minutes, Sarah did the work of checking things out- most of our route was heavily forested, a few roads, a few human settlements, and a shitload of water. We'll need to get a boat. Shit, that's what I should have done- called down a super lightweight canoe that can hold three, be divided into three pieces, and be folded up. Why the hell didn't I think of that before, when I still had time? Why didn't Sarah? Bah, I know why. She's just too stressed out, just like Billy, just like me. Whether we make it or don't- and it hurts my mind to seriously consider the prospect of not making it- this is going to be hell. It's not like I don't have endurance, it's not like I don't have determination, but this isn't flat land and we'll need to keep secrecy, yet manage to go thirty miles a day. On dry land, that will be relatively easy- in water, we might be able to go faster, but secrecy will be an absolute fucking nightmare.

Wait. Nightmares.

"Oh shit. I just realized something.", I said aloud.

"What?", Sarah responded instantly.

"Billy screams at night." The meaning of Billy and Sarah's expressions were clear: Oh, shit.

"Oh, the fuck.", Sarah muttered. I could tell she was angry at herself. But that's not right; I am the Illuminatus here. It's my job to know. How the fucking HELL could I have forgotten- how the fucking HELL could I have not been prepared?

"Billy, I already know there's nothing you can consciously do to stop it. But I don't know of anything in the forest that can gag you during the night without you choking on it. If you scream too loud, you know as well as I do what happens.", I said, through gritted, frustrated teeth.

"Looks like I'll have to control my own dreams.. or something.", Billy mumbled.

"Uh huh." Right. I doubt he can. Hopefully, if he sleeps face-downwards and in the sleeping bag, it'll be muffled.

"Sarah, what are our odds on surviving this?", I said, pleasantly.

"Hmm.. if everything goes right, if we manage to do everything perfectly, a hundred percent. This test was designed to be passed, not failed.", she replied. Naturally, Murphy's Law precludes perfection, but she has a point. She can't know when we'll screw up in the future, but if I do it myself or allow them to do it, that'll become the meaning of odds. Oh hell. Of course she's right. I'm the Inheritor, soon to be the Dominator. There are no odds to my operations, no percentage of survival or success as there are for Enforcer or normal teams. The tactical, strategical, and logistical rules all get thrown out the window when dealing with me. I do what I want; I do what I can. The First Level of the Illuminati contains my inherited power base, my main creator, and my inherited adversaries. Collectively, they would not create a test that I cannot defeat. Therefore it is up to me to do it right, everything else be damned.

"You're being optimistic.", Billy muttered.

"If you scream, it'll be one in a thousand or something similar even if we don't sleep near populated areas.", Sarah said with bite in her voice.

"I must not scream. I must not scream.", Billy repeated to himself, panicky. He just might not. If his subconscious is behind the screaming, self-preservation might kick in and he just might shut the fuck up- or at least scream a little less loud.

"Inheritor! Bring your servants and come to me.", the Bastard said in an incredibly obnoxious commanding voice, and I was highly tempted to put him out of my misery right then. He was standing exactly where he was before- did he not move that whole time?- the same officious, stalwart countenance on his ugly face. Use your power to acquire a clue, asshole. "Enforcers, check their backpacks for violations of the rules.", he said. Yes, he definitely needs to buy a clue. Sarah held out her backpack, looking at it carefully, and Billy and I both got the hint immediately- we looked carefully and made sure the Bastard's Enforcers didn't take anything out that they didn't put back in. They finished in less than thirty seconds.

"Very well, Inheritor Howard. First Level Gates has something to say to you." The Bastard moved away and the geeky-looking man stooped close to me. He's probably the only First Level who exposes himself to the normal world- why, I have no idea. "Don't get your ass kicked.", he said to me in a quiet voice. Um, I think I'll take that advice. "If you don't get in there...", he said, motioning his head in the direction of Herbert. I can only imagine exactly what will happen, but I know it's going to involve assholes and a power grab.

And then the waiting began- five minutes of it. I went over the directions in my head, thinking, when Billy shouted something urgent.

"HOLY SHIT HOWARD WE CAN'T LET THEM SEE US AFTER THE TEST STARTS!!"

Gah! Oh shit! "Yaaaaaak!!" We headed for the bushes immediately, running like fuck away from the destination (couldn't be closer than the starting point when it started..), getting out of view as fast as our engineered legs would take us. The Illuminati laughed- fuck them, they're not going to be laughing at me in a week- as we zipped into the trees and the brush and hid, covering ourselves in dirt and mud, the camouflage gear making us invisible to normal eyes. Yuck. I'm going to have to get used to this.

"That was close.", I muttered. Being a bullet dodger means that I'm rather used to 'close', though.

"Yeah, really.", Billy replied in a low, quiet voice, a voice we'd all be speaking in for this test. "That would have sucked mondo."

"Well, now comes the boring part. We need to move pretty quick. If you two really, really start to hurt, tell me. Sarah, you're the navigator for this test. Both of you, don't ever get more than about seven meters away from me. Let's go." I commanded because I knew how, but I didn't feel comfortable here, not in the least. I felt incredibly inexperienced- why wouldn't I be, who the hell'd train the Dominator in this shit?- and incredibly unsure, a rare thing for me. Fortunately, I have Sarah as well as Billy, making things easier as usual. The adrenalin I was feeling didn't last.

Traveling through the forest was easy, reminiscent of the engineered paradise I live at. There was very little underbrush and few things to get in our way. And, although we were wearing full gear anyway, there was no heavy sunlight. It was shady, humanity-free, and relaxing. Or it would have been if I was allowed to relax. Trying to focus, I kept going through the dirt, hacking away twice at some light undergrowth instead of walking around it. And then my legs started to hurt.

I'm not used to pain. Not in the least, not really. I wasn't used to hunger until the last test, either, but this is different. Just a constant dull annoyance that said, in its persistent monotone, 'Hey, Howard, you might want to stop walking now. Just a thought. Hey, stop walking.', on and on, ad infinitum. Why the fuck did they have to include this in their test? Long distances are for flying, not walking- my jet could do this whole thing in a few minutes! It's a shame the laws of physics are so limiting with regards to genetic engineering. I'd love to, say, sprint at half the speed of sound, instead of about a twentieth of it, and be able to keep sprinting for an hour or so. That would be nice.

Instead, I'm here doing this, wishing I was somewhere else. There are things to see here- a tree covered in ants, birds in the upper canopy, a very carefully camouflaged snake. I would love to have pretended I wanted to be out here, but that fantasy vanished as soon as it formed. I'm slated to become the Dominator of the world- I should not be doing things I don't want to do! I realized what a normal would say about me: I'm a spoiled rich boy not used to hardships. I would then swiftly crush said normal's throat and break his spine. How you can 'spoil' a normal by giving them exactly what they want makes little sense to me, anyway.

And I'm damn glad they let me use Illuminated gear out here. Having to wear normal clothing, leaving my skin vulnerable to insects and irritants, would make this even less tolerable. As it was, the feet of the soles, their soles looking like normal hikers' footprints, went squish in the mud, a constant plod, in a tropical version of Napoleon's retreat from Russia. (No, the Illuminati didn't control that goatfucker, although we did influence members of his court and could have killed him if we wanted.)

We're being spied on, that I'm sure of, but no normals were looking at us.. or were visible at all, for that matter. Here's an idea for cleaning the slums of idiots- just take them out here. Having no future where they are, some of them might even want to come, and the ones with self-preservation instincts will live. Put it on camera and it'll be an excellent lesson in human behavior.

I wanted to talk, to break the constant plod and relative silence, but that would just take more energy. Billy and Sarah, I'm sure, have some choice words of their own for this nonsense, probably wishing I would have left them at home. Forget it, you two- if I have to endure it, I'm sure as hell bringing you. Misery loves company, after all, and there was more than enough misery to go around. We were walking considerably faster than two miles an hour, probably more than twice that, over rocks and logs and through squishy mud, and my legs really started to bug me after about 45 minutes. "Howard, I think it's time to rest.", Billy said after an hour or so.

"My entire lower body agrees with you.", I agreed. A mosquito was desperately trying to get through my face shield and I smashed it and wiped the guts off. "But we're going to have to get used to more than that.", I said, although I sat down anyway. Billy laid down on his stomach, not caring about the dirt. As we sat I started to worry about secrecy and being found, the worst possible thing that was likely to happen.

"Yeah..", muttered Sarah, leaning against a tree. "I just kinda wish they had trained me for this, too. Long-distance concealment wasn't part of the regimen."

"Are we still going the right way?", Billy asked. Shit, if we're not..

Sarah's answer was confident. "Yes. After we got in the forest, we went in the right direction, and we did go pretty much straight. Besides, if it's in a prominent place, we should be able to find it."

"Think anyone saw us?", I asked, paranoid, and realized how stupid it was to ask that after I did.

"Not out here. Even the bravest tourists aren't going out this far and I don't see any natives.", Sarah answered. I keep subconsciously thinking of normals as wanting to spy, as knowing what's going on and wanting to find out. The truth, of course, is pretty close to the opposite.

"Yeah, would be some tour, nothing but forest and fear.", Billy muttered. "Hope we're going fast enough..."

"That was about.. oh, three, three and a half miles an hour.", Sarah said. Damn, I'd thought we were going faster. "The thing is, we'll have to keep going at that speed, and find food, and cross those fucking rivers to boot.. and you know the rest."

"Well, I'm not hungry.. yet.", I said, shrugging. "Let's keep going." Somebody had to say it. I got up, Billy pulled himself off his stomach, and we did. Five minutes after we started walking, it started to rain. A drizzle at first, then harder and harder until we were in a torrent. That's why they call it a rainforest.

"At least the rain will keep us cool...", I muttered. The mud became slushier from it, though, and we fought to make good time. I am never, ever doing this again, and almost certainly won't have to. But in a way, that's the wrong attitude. I'm going to own this planet- why is it such a problem if I have to walk across large sections of it? I'm the Inheritor, and this is part of my inheritance. The Levels had set down rules that I have to follow during it, but that's just to make sure it's not too easy. As my gaming experience and physical abilities show, I have absolutely no problem with accelerated difficulty. Bring it right the fuck on. I heard Billy giggling at something and didn't ask what it was. He has his own thoughts to keep him going, too. We took a drink from a fresh puddle a bit after that, and a bit after that, urinated in thick yellow streams.

It continued to rain for a couple of hours. We clambered over and walked around large obstacles, using our machetes when needed, the blades easily passing through everything we used them on. It was actually somewhat difficult to see each other, our forms obfuscated by the pouring rain and darkness- and we're close to each other. So much for having to worry about normals seeing us. Sarah probably feels at home in the shadows like this. A few times, we heard rustling and crouched down to avoid being seen- but we didn't see any humans, and if we can't see normals here, they definitely can't see us. Probably an animal. Frustration, annoyance, monotony, fear, boredom.. yeah, I think I'm getting rather sick of this, I realized, sighing. A few times we were on hills and got a great view, or at least it would have been if not for the constant death march. Wasn't there some book about people being forced to walk until they died? Yes, that's right, they couldn't stop at all or the Enforcers (wait, it didn't actually say Enforcers, it couldn't have..) killed them. But they were on even pavement and not in a land of sticky mud and obstacles. I sighed some more. I can't wait until this goes from 'something I'm doing now' to 'a long-past memory'.

Okay, fuck this, my lungs and heart are just hurting too much, and I need food. "All right, let's stop again.", I said, and sat down in the mud, not caring about the water. My servants sat very close to me, and I was glad. Although I knew it wasn't, companionship just felt vital out here. "Shit, I bet I could scream as loud as possible and no one would hear me.", I angrily, loudly muttered.

"Don't.", Sarah immediately replied. "Murphy's Law."

"I know, I know." I wasn't actually going to do it. "I'm starting to get hungry, too."

"Yeah, so am I.", Billy said.

"Shit..", Sarah muttered. "Yeah, me too, but it's almost impossible to see anything out here!" The concealment of darkness and rain works both ways.

"At least we've got plenty to drink...", I said flippantly. "Anyway, this rain isn't going to end any time soon."

"So what are you saying we should do? Look for food in this?", Sarah asked, as if it was a bad decision. Well, in a way it was, but it's something we have to do.

"Well... dammit, it might be like this all day. So.. well, we can't even really see anything, but if you see anything, make sure I know." I was in luck- Sarah spotted something that moment.

"How about that.", she said, pointing in the trees. I wasn't sure what she pointed at... wait, that's a monkey! Hey, it's not like we haven't eaten primates before.

"Got Rocks?", I asked. I thought Sarah would give me one, but instead she answered by picking one up and tossing it at the monkey full force. Her aim was perfect, and the beast crashed to the ground. We instantly ran to it and popped our face shields, ripping it to pieces and taking big bites out of it, like predators at a kill. The problem was that it wasn't very big, and there were three of us- and if I'm to have them at the end of this, my servants need to eat as much as I do.

"Damn..", Billy said. "Wasn't expecting it to be that easy."

"Neither was I..." But opportunism is an Illuminated trait. "hey.. Sarah, check up the tree the monkey was in for fruit." She jumped from branch to branch like the ninja she is, climbing with her usual agility, going almost out of sight as she made it all the way up. There was a crash of branches- she jumped to another tree! I wondered why she did that until I saw her climbing down with mangoes in her arms. We gobbled them in less than a minute.

Nice. Very nice. And very lucky. For a moment this all felt nice, relaxing, refreshing. I savored the feeling while it lasted, feeling myself digest. Phew. It took effort to make myself continue, but I had to- I'm the one in charge, after all.

We kept going. There was a river, but it had a log for a bridge which we easily crossed. Later, there was a small cliff, which we slid down harmlessly. Sarah paid constant attention to her navigational instruments, and looked around, matching the places we were at to how they looked from the air. Billy complained about his legs, but we had to keep going anyway. Besides, he knows as well as I do that mine feel the exact same way: a constant, aggravating agony. The pouring rain finally eased up.

We heard a scurrying to our left- shit, what was that?- and then there was nothing. Of course. It was a fucking scurrying. "We're getting paranoid...", I muttered, getting closer to my servants. "That was a small animal." Let it be known that you damn Levels have got your Dominator so paranoid that he's wincing at rodents. Damn, this is embarrassing. But I suppose that's part of the point- to remind themselves that, even with thorough genetic engineering, the Dominator's still fairly close to human, and can suffer as humans do. Good, assholes. So can you.

I didn't want to think about the consequences of not being paranoid enough, though. I didn't want to think about walking, either. Frankly I didn't want to think at all, just to go into a trance, let my servants do the decision-making (I'm no better than they are at it out here..) and wake up at the beginning of the third test, whatever the fuck that is. But that wasn't an option. Not just because three minds are still better than two, but because I couldn't turn off my brain, after all.

I heard Billy pick up the pace from a bit behind me. He has the right idea. I did the same, and Sarah followed suit. If they had given me a test that was beyond my abilities, I would definitely want to mope about it. But it's not. This is well within my power to achieve, and as many legitimate complaints as I have about it, it still needs to be done.

We continued for hours. Although we eventually lost our determined strides, returning to the slow death-march plod, we were covering ground and making good time. Good- if for whatever reason we have to slow down, we'll have a buffer against it. The rain started up a few times, and thunder cracked overhead. A couple more times, we reacted to something as if it were human, but it turned out to be an animal- the second time, Sarah whacked its face with a thrown rock, and chased the small ungulate. She managed to get in a machete hit, it stumbled, and then it was ours. I had no idea what species it was, and I didn't care. It was a yummy species, let's put it that way. We ripped the dirty skin off before we chowed down on the stringy meat, before continuing on. The sun started to set in a half hour. That's that- there's no way in hell we can get anywhere with insufficient light and tired bodies.

"Ugh.. after this shit I'm not going outside for at least a week.", I said, as we sat down closely again. "I'm going to stay home, take all my clothes off, and just re-the-fucking-lax for a solid week. No, make that more like a month." If I'm lucky, that is.

"Howard, you mind if I join you on that one?", Billy replied. Why would he even need to ask..?

"If you live, I wouldn't have it any other way. Ah hell, what am I saying, I'm not going to let you die."

"Yeah, we can't, but you won't because we're not easily replaceable.", he said. Easily? Not replaceable at all! The jet, if destroyed, could be built again, if a meteor hit the mansion I'd just command its reconstruction. To lose Billy and Sarah? I mean, sure, I could have the DNA formed into new organisms, but it wouldn't be anywhere near the same, even in a century..

"Yup. I refuse to lose anything permanent because of these damn tests.", I said, smiling. "We're done for the day. It's getting dark and I'm tired as shit." I looked around for a good spot to park the sleeping bag.

"Yeah.. yeah, I guess we can afford it.", Sarah said. "First light we gotta move though. We might lose time on the rivers. And I'd hate to think of what the third test is."

"We'll find out soon enough, or we'll die.", I said. Suicide would be better than that prison.

"Not die, Howard.", Sarah replied, her eyebrow raised.

"Yes, die, Sarah. They come and I'll whack my own head off, might tell you two to, too.", I said with grim determination.

"Bull shit.", she replied evenly. "There is no way. You'd die fighting but you would not cut off your own head." She was.. right. Die fighting it is, then, if it comes to that.

"Howard, you wouldn't.", Billy said. "But don't think about that. Death and that cell are about the same anyway."

"Yeah.. I don't want to think about it, either." There's no sense in worrying about crap like the consequences of failure. On a mission, focus on success. "Let's get some sleep." I found an elevated spot of ground that the rain wouldn't accumulate in, and Sarah unfurled the sleeping bag and put it there. We climbed in, still wearing the suits, with me in the middle, laying on my stomach. My hand brushed up against Sarah as she climbed in- hey, that felt pretty good. I ran my right hand up and down her body, feeling her muscles and her breasts, then moving my hand down to gently touch the region between her legs.

Even through this suit's gloves and the fabric of her suit, it felt wonderful. "Remind me to take your clothes off too, Sarah.", I said, thinking of what I could do with her.

"Howard, are you actually ready yet?", she asked. Hmm.. no, no I'm not. And I'm not in any rush. When I really want to have sex with her, I'll know it.

"Not yet. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself.. heh heh.", I said, my imagination still going.

"Go ahead. Just make sure you get to sleep quick.. wouldn't want to see your endurance flagging out there."

"You say that for selfish reasons too, don't you.", I replied. She has an interest in my success, and I'm curious as to just what it is.

"Oh fuck yes, Howard. Horny, annoying, and as much of a bastard as you are, it can always get worse, and it will if you croak. Besides, I'd rather have a 10 year old do it to me than some 300-pound 40 year old." Billy cracked up laughing at that. "And you will be woken up early tomorrow." I don't like anyone saying 'You will' to me, but unfortunately, she's right- I have to be. She turned her back to me, and I ran my hand along her thigh as she did.

"Ugh, woken early, I hate that shit. But if she didn't.. damnit. I'm not sure why, but I feel strangely good right now." It wasn't just because I was touching Sarah, either.

"Yeah, so do I.. hey wait, which kind of 'good' are you talking about?", he asked. What other kind could I possibly mean? Oh, there is that other definition, too.

"The pleasurable kind. To me, not other people.", I replied.

"Oh yeah, then same. I'm going to hate tonight though.. get woken up early in the middle of a tropical forest, and I'm actually sweating a bit right now. Also can't take this suit off.." Out here? In this mess, running the risk of getting bitten or stung by some insect or, worse, snake? Our only other protection is the sleeping bag, so hell no. These are designed to be worn for long periods, anyway.

"It could be worse, we could be wearing normal clothes.", I said.

"Boy Scouts from Hell, here we come..", he said, and I snickered. World Domination Merit Badge, anyone? "Only Boy Scouts don't have to worry about having nightmares and giving away their position..."

"Billy, remember, if you get a nightmare, I'm right here.", I reassured him.

"Yeah, that's the thing..."

"Oh, I know I'm in most of them in some form or another. But if you can't get any anchor to reality, just remember that I'm not them."

"I'll.. I'll try, Howard." I put my arms around them before immediately falling asleep.