Arc 5 | Chapter 163: Nice to See You Again

⸂Emilia!⸃ Key yelped, sounding half-surprised, half-enthused to see her again, and Emilia relaxed. The local boy had always been an open book with his emotions, even if they were sometimes confusing—see: his fast changing feelings about V. If Key seemed happy to see her, he probably was.

“Key. Rin,” she replied, giving the pair a tentative smile as she slid her {Blood Needle} back into the holder across her upper thighs.

Rin’s eyes followed the movement, her expression as blankly inscrutable as ever. ⸂So, you are here,⸃ she noted, her eyes shifting to the pseudo-{Hidey Hole}. ⸂You have learned to use magic? Or is there another with you?⸃

“Uh… yeah, I did make that, but seriously! I suck at magic. Don’t trust me to be able to do that again. There are a few people with me, not here though— Well, the one asshole ran off, and I don’t actually know where he went, but he’s gone from my map and—” Emilia cut off as both of her former-allies tensed. “What? Wait, can you hear me now?” she asked, blinking at Key.

The local boy awkwardly rubbed the back of his head while Rin glowered at his back, a rare emotion that meant she must be really,

really

pissed at him.

⸂Yes,⸃ she said darkly. ⸂He snuck into a labyrinth to gain the ability to hear locals when he was supposed to be grounded.⸃

Emilia had never actually asked how old the Stringer siblings, Rin and Sk’lar were, but she had assumed the former three were in their early to mid-20s. The idea that Key was still being grounded was… amusing. In her own world, 20-year-olds might find themselves grounded, but that was because they were still technically under their parents or guardian’s care. From what she could tell, that wasn’t the case here. If anything, based on the vague details she knew about the normal age children were sent off for training in one profession or another, they actually seemed to be considered almost adults by the time they were in their mid-teens—a terrifying thought, were it to be applied to the teenagers of her own world.

“Did you just luck out?” she couldn’t help but ask. “Or did you go to the first one the Risen Guard go to? I heard it usually gives the ability to hear visitors as its gift.”

Key shifted nervously, his cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink as he told her he’d heard about the Risen Guard labyrinth from his sister. Behind him, Rin rolled her eyes, muttering about siblings and secrets.

Emilia didn’t think she should be saying such things, given she’d clearly known more about the Enclave than she should have, thanks to Harmony’s gossip. She was about to ask about that—about why they’d ditched Harmony and Sk’lar—when Rin turned the conversation back to her.

Specifically, back to her having a map.

⸂Did you gain system access?⸃ the Risen Guard trainee—or, perhaps former trainee—asked, her aethervoice a forced neutral that Emilia didn’t buy for a second.

So

that

was it.

“A friend in the Risen Guard gave me access to their system. I didn’t kill anyone with the method the Ingogia family devised. That’s what you’re really asking, right?” Emilia tried to keep her own tone neutral, but she didn’t think she’d done a practically good job of it. She wasn’t mad at Rin for not-quite asking, not really. Here she was, wandering around one of the few places where details of the sacrificial ritual were likely to be freely available, with system access. What else were they to assume?

“That you aren’t the sort of person who would sacrifice someone for a game and a prize,”

a part of her whispered. In the end, she hadn’t spent

that

long with the Stringers, but it kinda felt like they should have known her better than that. Hadn’t she come back for the two of them, when they’d been kidnapped in the labyrinth? Hadn’t she and V refused to fight Harmony and Sk’lar, even though they had clearly threatened them?

Even if she herself had briefly wondered if Rin had abandoned her, back in the Library Labyrinth, she had still cried over the world they believed existed, under the corruption of the Risen Guard. There was nothing she’d ever done that suggested she viewed the people of this world as disposable.

She blinked away, refusing to cry because people she’d thought were her friends, however fleeting that friendship had been, apparently thought her capable of something so terrible.

Her view of the stairwell wall was interrupted when a message request from Rin popped up across her vision. Vaguely, she wondered if Rin had always had the option to message her—her name had popped up for Honey, after all. It had probably popped up for Rin as well, but chances were the girl had been avoiding looking at her messages, word having inevitably spread about her betrayal of the Risen Guard and oh, shoot.

[

Emilia:

hey, so… two of the stringers showed up

]

[

Emilia:

key and the girl who is—or was?—a risen guard trainee

]

[

Boundary:

Why are you telling me?

]

[

Conrad:

Are those the two Honey said were missing?

]

[

Emilia:

yes

]

[

Emilia:

and because i don’t want you attacking them or anything

]

[

Boundary:

Why are they here?

]

[

Emilia:

…uh… I didn’t actually ask yet

]

[

Emilia:

mostly, we just said hi

]

[

Emilia:

and they not-quite accused me of using the ritual sacrifice to gain system access

]

[

Emilia:

i assured them i’m just friends with you and you gave me access!

]

Emilia waited a moment, staring at Rin’s message of ⸂

Sorry. I didn’t mean to accuse you of something so terrible.

⸃ Finally, a long moment—and a huge blast of magic below them that startled both Rin and Key—later, Boundary replied that he wouldn’t attack them, but he could make no promises for his other half, obviously.

Turning back to look at her former-allies, Emilia smiled. “I know.” A part of her wanted to say she understood, that she would have assumed the worst were their roles reversed, except she hadn’t. Yes, when the pair had shown up, she wasn’t sure whether they would be as allies or enemies—still wasn’t completely—but that was simply because they might not have the same goals. It had never occurred to her that they could be on different sides because their views and morals would be so far removed from her own.

If either of them said they agreed that Clarity’s hive mind army of broken vessels was a good thing, she would have thought herself dreaming.

“So…” she said instead, turning and beginning to make her way down the stairs—they’d already lingered there long enough—“what brings the two of you here?”

⸂You,⸃ Key replied easily, hurrying to catch up and walk beside her. ⸂We heard you were part of the disaster at the Ingogia estate. I didn’t— I mean—⸃ The boy dragged a frustrated hand through his hair, trying to find his words.

Emilia waited. It was a long walk to even the bottom of the next city level, and who knew how far they’d have to go before they ran into someone who might know if V and the kids had ended up back here. She rather hoped they hadn’t. Hopefully, they had all found each other and V was currently figuring out a place to put them. Stars above, even taking the kids to the Risen Guard would be safer than nearly anywhere else at the moment.

Still, she knew V felt bad about the homeless kids ending up here, and Astra was bound to come searching for her—not that she’d know where to look for her. Maybe she’d just stick with V? But then, Gale and Caro would potentially be alone and—

And Emilia had never really appreciated just how convenient the ability to message anyone, anytime, was. While none of them used it much these days, every member of their unit had ways of tracking each other down. Seven had disabled his, of course, and she’d mostly just hoped people would respect her want of privacy and time to heal—which aside from a visit, and effective kidnapping, by Helix the year she had accidentally ranked in the season’s top heroes—everyone had.

Not having the ability to reach the people she worried and cared for, even in an emergency, was frustrating. Out of all the things in this world that had sucked, that strange flavour of isolation was definitely her least favourite.

⸂I didn’t think you would want to be part of that. I asked around, and learned that Clarity was forcing people,⸃ Key continued, sounding extremely uncomfortable, although Emilia had no idea why until a moment later when Rin clarified that he’d had Sk’lar force information out of the people.

“So… not so much asking as demanding and torturing?” Emilia guessed. Hopefully, the people they’d

asked

had deserved whatever that creepy ass man had done to them. If they’d known enough about what Clarity and the Ingogia family were doing to know about the

forcing

part, however, she wasn’t going to feel too bad for them. “For me?”

⸂I was worried!⸃ Key said, and when Emilia looked over at him, he looked… intense. ⸂I brought you into this—⸃

⸂Technically, the fact that she joined this raid—visitation—is what got her into this,⸃ Rin retorted, Key shooting her an unimpressed glare.

⸂Sure, but if I hadn’t grabbed her, who knows what would have happened.⸃

“Probably… nothing?” Emilia thought back to the night they’d met. Chances were, she’d still have wandered into that cavern party, but what then? Boundary would have tracked her down. Maybe his alternate personality still would have been in control and killed her, maybe not. They’d have wandered around. She’d have continued sneaking off. Either she would have run into some other Enclave member—or worse, someone from Clarity—and things would have happened differently.

She wouldn’t have met V, Conrad, the kids. Maybe she never would have ended up here, dealing with Clarity.

Maybe, there wouldn’t be anyone here, trying to stop Ajarni and the hive mind.

Emilia smiled, thinking of that—about how if she and Key hadn’t literally run into one another, if he had let his sister or grandmother talk him out of helping her, Clarity may very well be about to turn their hive mind army against the city system, and no one would have any idea how bad it really was. “I suppose,” she laughed, after telling Key and Rin her theory on how Key was really the one responsible for their group trying to stop Clarity, using the opportunity to mention that Boundary and Conrad were also part of the group—Carne could go fuck himself—“in a way, if we manage to stop them, you’ll have saved the world.”

Rin looked unconvinced, muttering about how the universe would have guided someone else there, surely, while Key stared at her, wild eyed. He looked about ready to say something, the energy around him vibrating with words, when the building shook—another huge attack from the men fighting behind the wall next to them.

“I’m looking for some people,” she said, hastening her steps, lest the men blast a hole straight through the city level’s wall and fry them. “V and some kids who were travelling with me. Someone who was on that terrible mission to the Ingogia estate might know where they ended up. Name’s Fran. She wasn’t among the dead—not that we know of, anyways. I want to find them, but… but they aren’t the priority for us”—she motioned in the general direction of where Boundary and Conrad were fighting. “We know getting rid of Clarity is more important than all the lives in this building—in Clarity’s entire city system.”

⸂I agree.⸃ Rin’s response was so immediate, Emilia froze where she’d been about to step onto the city level’s landing—not that she was about to try opening the door and risk whatever was happening on the other side reaching them. ⸂My access to the Risen Guard system was suspended, after what happened the night we met. It was returned after word about the Enclave and Clarity cooperating got out. I have been receiving updates on their information regarding the group for a while. They need to be destroyed, regardless of the cost.⸃

Boundary had been giving the necessary details to various members of the Risen Guard while they walked and discussed the issue. It wasn’t just their decision that Clarity’s destruction was the priority, but the entire institution’s. Previously, Clarity had been something of a wildcard. The Risen Guard had known it existed, but knew little about it. If anything, what they knew about it implied its members didn’t agree with the Enclave’s overall, positive opinion of visitors and their blessings, and they’d largely ignored them in favour of seeking out whatever Enclave families they could.

Now? Knowing what they did about Clarity and its potential power? Yeah, the Risen Guard brass was panicking, especially since no one had any idea how many of the people within the Clarity City System were actually infected by the hive mind.

The fact that they had returned Rin’s system access to her was a bit surprising, but then again, maybe not, if the system worked anything like Censors. Emilia knew from experience locking soldiers who had behaved badly out of military intel, that there was an option in the controls to return access to specific people or everyone. They had returned access to everyone once, following Alliance Ridge. The damage and death had been too much, and they had needed everyone available to know and help out where needed—the deaths of so many of the Alliance’s most powerful soldiers had left too many holes in their defences. It had returned access to a few people who definitely shouldn’t have been given access again, but that was a price they were willing to pay for speed.

Perhaps this was like that: every former or suspended Risen Guard returned access, due to the severity of the situation.

That was good—Emilia just left it to Rin to forward what information Key needed along to him while they descended the stairs—but also bad: if she was right, who knew who else had been returned access when they really shouldn’t have been.

People like Carne.

People like the Clarity members, who had long since abandoned the Risen Guard.

People who could now use what information the Risen Guard was spreading to hurt them in return.