Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Chesed!” Netzach burst onto the Floor of Social Sciences in a frenzy, more invigorated than he’d ever seen him before. “You gotta help me, man!”  

Chesed blinked, taken quite a bit aback by the usually laid back Patron slamming his hands to the counter of his bar. This certainly hadn’t been anything he’d… ever expected. “And what is it that you need help with?”  

It wasn’t often Netzach went to people for help at all, so this was highly usual.  

Netzach gulped, looking incredibly pale. “Um… it’s a bit complicated, but please don’t kill me.”  

A blue eyebrow rose. “Why would I do that?”  

What was going on that Netzach thought Chesed of all people would bite his head off?  

Another gulp, his brown eyes shifting to the side almost in an admission of guilt.  

“Well, I sorta… you see…” Netzach coughed awkwardly. Man was terrified, that much was obvious.  

His eyes went back to Chesed, and he scratched at his cheek. “I got the idea into my head to make my own alcohol--”  

“Hm~” Chesed hummed. “This is already off to a great start~”  

The green-haired man winced. “Yeah…” He cleared his throat. “I just thought that I’d try my hand at it, you know? Since it’s kind of like an art form of its own, and I thought it’d be nice to make my own to taste the fruits of my own labor. Make it more rewarding, you know?”  

“Sure~”  

Where was this going? He all of a sudden had a bad feeling.  

“So, I went ahead and found some books and tried to make something.” Netzach continued. “But I wasn’t sure if I’d make it well or anything, I didn’t know if there was too much alcohol or if it wasn’t poisonous or--”  

“Netzach.” Chesed cut him off with a worried crease beginning to set into his forehead. “Did someone drink it?”  

A cough.  

A heavy sigh left the taller man. “You didn’t try it yourself?”  

“It’s as I said!” Netzach defended. “I didn’t know what it’d do to anyone, so I went and got someone who I didn’t think could possibly be affected by it!”  

Chesed slowly, ever so slowly, put his coffee mug on the counter and leaned over it; putting his elbows down and staring deeply into Netzach’s soul. “Netzach…”  

“She’s never gotten drunk from anything before, okay?” Netzach’s voice pitched higher. “She’s eaten the worst of Malkuth’s food and not suffered any of the indigestion the rest of us have!”  

“Netzach…” Chesed groaned, lifting a hand to rub his temples. “You had Binah try it?!”  

“… yes?”  

Chesed buried his face in his hands for a second before dragging them down and giving the man across from him a very stern look.  

“She agreed to it!” Netzach tried to defend again before Chesed could speak. “I also figured she’d be the best authority on what might need adjusted since she’s got such a refined palette, you know? Her sense with tea is something else, and alcohol can be just as nuanced depending, so it just made sense!”  

Chesed took a moment to calm himself down before continuing. Getting mad wouldn’t do anything. “Netzach, where is she?”  

Netzach was quiet for a second. “I have no idea.”  

…  

He what?!  

Netzach winced at the positively appalled expression Chesed knew he was wearing. “I’m sorry, man, I thought she’d be fine. She’s endured the worst things I’ve ever seen and come out fine, I didn’t think this’d be any different.”  

“You lost her.” Chesed stated dully.  

Netzach averted his gaze. “Ah… it’s more like she charged off and I couldn’t stop her because she’s a drunk Arbiter?”  

She’s drunk.  

Binah, the former Arbiter who was still really unexpressive and unemotive, his lovely wife who he loved more than anything in the world, who had never been drunk before, was drunk and no one had any idea where she was.  

“… Sorry.”  

Chesed took a sharp breath, pressing his fingers into his eyes. “You didn’t think to call for Angela to find her?”  

Netzach did not reply.  

Chesed took another deep breath, trying to quell the panic coursing through him. “How… much did she drink?”  

This was Binah they were talking about, Chesed doubted she would have drank that much.  

It took a second before Netzach respond again.  

“Just a glass… the one she usually uses.”  

“Just a glass.” Chesed repeated dully. “Netzach, what did you put in that thing?!”  

Just a single glass, and Binah of all people was drunk?  

Netzach would not get to reply.  

Binah waltzed onto the floor, coming up like a phantom from who knows where. She looked like she was moving normally to the untrained eye, but her gait was clearly at bit unsteady to Chesed’s eyes.  

And her face was completely flushed.  

They’d never so much as seen her blush before, so this was just completely jarring.  

That’s a lot more than simply drunk.  

“Binah--” Chesed rushed out from behind the counter, every intent to take her straight to their apartment and lay her down.  

“Chesed.” She hummed in reply, a smile slowly spreading across her lips.  

There was a… weird tone to her voice, a bit higher and more… playful?  

She beat him to the counter, making it there before he could fully get around – moving faster than her gait would suggest – and grabbed him by the collar.  

Chesed yelped as a force powerful beyond reason yanked him down by the neck.  

Their lips crashed together harshly, and she went straight for his throat.  

It was perhaps the sloppiest kiss he’d ever had with her, his brain completely shorting for a moment.  

He could still taste the alcohol she’d consumed who knows how long prior, unable to struggle against her for the iron grip she had around his neck.  

It did taste pretty good, actually.  

… but he felt like he was getting buzzed just from the remnants of it in his wife’s mouth.  

A low, pleased hum left Binah’s chest as she finally let the kiss go, peering at him with a coy expression; lips curled upwards smugly and a bit sultry.  

As terrified as he was for his life at the moment, he couldn’t say he wasn’t attracted to the expression.  

He had to shake it off, she needed help right now.  

“Binah--”  

He was cut off once again by… was that a giggle?  

Her lips spread just a bit further in a somewhat stupid smile (for her), eyes a tad unfocused as she leaned closer to him again. “I… got us matching cups.”  

Chesed’s brain blanked. “… What?”  

She chuckled softly in her inebriated state, slinging herself around his neck to brace her other arm against the counter (and almost slamming him down with it).  

There was a pair of clatters as she placed something down.  

“Behold.”  

He briefly caught sight of Netzach still standing there, frozen in terror and morbid curiosity, before seeing what it was she’d placed down.  

A pair of mugs.  

“Um… Binah?” Was all he could vocalize for the moment.  

She grabbed one, turning it to him and holding it to him proudly. “Number One… because you are.”  

It said ‘#1 Blue Noble’.  

… what?  

“And… the other?” He was not proud of the pitch he just spoke in.  

She put the cup back down, patting her scarred hand against his chest. “I love you~”  

Chesed just stared at her. Brain not processing anything.  

She simply smiled. Pleased.  

And then pressed her face into his neck. “Hmmm… you are quite lovely, no?” There was just a bit of a slur to her voice, scarcely noticeable through the fact her tone was a lot closer to Chesed’s at the moment than her own. “You make me feel things~ Quite pleasant, hm? I dare say you’re incredibly dashing, and you’re all mine~”  

He coughed, feeling his face heating up. “U-uh, well, yes. I love you, too, Binah.”  

A soft… giggle left her. That was all he could call it.  

Netzach looked mortified.  

“I do wonder~” Binah continued, head brushing against his jaw. “If we’d met prior… hm~ I’d take you as mine, I think. But you are mine now, so no need.”  

“I…” He coughed. That was a thought, wasn’t it. Chesed didn’t imagine Garion would have so much as glanced at Daniel had they somehow crossed paths normally.  

It took a lot of willpower, but he managed to get his hands up to her shoulders and lightly push her back. It was concerning how she both tried to cling to him and also allow him to do so.  

Chesed looked into her slightly misty eyes seriously. “Binah, I think you need to lay down.”  

An honest to goodness pout twisted her lips. “Do you not love me?”  

He nearly choked.  

“O-of course, I do!” He replied hastily. “But you’re not well right now.”  

“I am faring just rightly.” She frowned, head tilting way to the side. “Is it so wrong of me to express myself to you?”  

His instant reaction would have been yes because she was never like this, but that sounded so wrong to even think. Of course, he’d love if she did express herself more in general, but she just wasn’t capable of it.  

Unless she was very, very drunk, apparently.  

“I do not believe I could put into proper words how I adore you.” Binah forged on regardless. “It’s quite illogical, but my heart is aflame in ways I’d not thought possible when my gaze lands upon you.”  

She was going to kill him at this rate.  

“I do so love you.” She stated with… he did not want to call that a purr as she leaned in closer again; eye-to-eye, lips brushing. “Dearly. Would you join me?”  

He could smell the alcohol on her breath, see the inebriation in her eyes. Keep strong, Chesed…  

It’s not like he had any hope of fending her off if she decided to strong-arm him into anything, though. Her grip on him was already borderline crushing.  

“I do love you, too, Binah.” He replied slowly.  

Chesed really had no idea how to navigate a drunk Binah…  

“What is it that you want me to join you in?” The question came out a bit shaky. What could she possibly want to do?  

She smiled again and brought her hand up from the counter where she’d placed the mugs, trailing it up his arm to his neck, her fingers stroking his jaw up to his chin and sending shivers down his spine. She brought her head past his, settling it by his ear.  

He could feel the smile which pulled at her lips against his cheek.  

“I know many secrets~” Binah stated smugly.  

H-- huh, what?  

“I could share.” She hummed teasingly. “I suppose this one is not so secret to many, but my darling dragon does so love her own collection of those plush animals.”  

Well, yes, Chesed had known that. It was an ill-kept secret at this point that Xiao had an immense soft spot for cute things, having a plushy collection wasn’t entirely a shock.  

“But dearest Gebura isn’t immune to their softness, either.” Another of those weird… giggles left her. “Not that she’d indulge.”  

“Huh.” Netzach uttered in wonder from where he was still rooted, frozen.  

Gebura liking soft things… really?  

“Hey, Dad, you--” Another voice came in, entering the floor and pausing at the sight of whatever was going.  

Chesed met Tiphereth’s eye, her looking like a deer caught in the headlights now.  

“Uh…”  

Binah chuckled, pulling back from her husband to face her child with a smile.  

Looking well more weirded out now, Tiphereth took a step back; holding her little brother tightly to her chest. “Mom? Are you okay?”  

“Never better, darling.”  

“Mama?” Enoch tilted his head cutely, face creasing with confusion at the weird look on her face.  

Binah’s smiled, putting a hand out for him. “Come to mama, dear.”  

Tiphereth gave Chesed a wild look. “Uh…”  

Netzach coughed.  

“What’s going on up here?” Gebura’s voice entered in, irate as she came up the stairs and stood beside Tiphereth.  

And then she immediately looked concerned. “What the Hell happened to you?”  

“Do watch your language, it is quite unsightly around children.” Binah scolded her with a light frown.  

She took a step forward, stumbling just enough Chesed lunged to catch her.  

“A knight in shining armor, you wish to be, hm?” She giggled.  

Gebura looked positively weirded out now. “Are you drunk?”  

“No.” Binah replied at the same time that Netzach and Chesed replied. “Yes.”  

“What the f--”  

A pillar slammed into her face, sending her crashing into the stairs with a startled shout.  

Tiphereth blanched.  

“Language.” Binah chided, most decidedly not standing under her own power at the moment; leaning heavily on Chesed as her sense of balance began to slip.  

“Eb…” Enoch shook a bit in startle, looking back where his aunt was trying to pick herself back up.  

Gebura groaned, hand pressed into her nose with a worried scowl otherwise on her face. “Okay, you’re not safe to be around.” She walked up to Tiphereth and took Enoch from her arms. “He’s with me tonight. I’m out.”  

She went to head back down, nodding to Chesed mouthing a ‘thank you’ to her.  

“Pardon?”  

“Mama?” Enoch called, squirming fiercely in Gebura’s grip. “Mama!”  

Binah reached towards the stairs, but Gebura had quickened her pace to bring Enoch to her apartment before the inevitable tantrum could be heard.  

Oddly, she just seemed put out once Gebura was gone, slumping a bit with a sad sniffle. There was no sign of tears in her eyes, but she did look very upset.  

“My baby…” She muttered.  

Tiphereth coughed harshly and surged onto the floor proper. “Auntie’s just taking him for a sleepover, it’s fine.”  

Binah looked up at her eldest child as pitifully as she could manage.  

Which wasn’t very pitiful, but it was way more than enough for them.  

Binah settled her weight against her husband and pulled herself back fully to her feet. She stepped forward under her own power, Chesed lurching to go with her so she didn’t fall, and placed a hand to Tiphereth’s shoulder.  

Tiphereth looked very worried as Binah leaned over her, looking down at her as if to give her a great wisdom.  

Binah did often give good wisdom if you could parse it, but like this…  

“You may call me Mama if you wish, Tipha.” She stated solemnly.  

All three of them winced heavily, Tiphereth clearly trying to shove down a whole host of emotions.  

“That’s okay, Mom.” She replied, expression still at war with itself. “Maybe you should lay down.”  

“I am fine.” Binah replied.  

“I disagree.” Netzach piped up.  

Chesed shot him perhaps the most terrifying stare he ever had anyone. “This is your fault, Netzach, please shut up.”  

Netzach coughed, putting his hands up in surrender.  

Tiphereth then shot him a dull stare. “Why am I not surprised?”  

“Reasons?”  

Binah hummed, standing up straight once more.  

Before immediately leaning to the side.  

Chesed yelped, catching her again before she went too far.  

“Is this what you would say is quite cheesing?” Binah questioned, earning her some baffled stares. “That pun would work better if you simply said ‘I am quite Chesed with this’, no?”  

… she’s completely losing it.  

“Which yes, I am quite Chesed with you, hm?” Yet another giggle left her.  

And Chesed’s brain had left the building.  

“Oh my gosh…” Tiphereth muttered, horrified.  

“You know…” Binah leaned back, nearly sending Chesed to the floor as she grabbed one of the mugs. “You should always hold onto this. Indeed.” She nodded as if she was pleased with herself, shoving the mug to Chesed’s chest.  

He scrambled to grab it as she let it go without waiting for him to actually have a hold on it, managing to save it and look at it.  

Uh…  

It didn’t say ‘I love you’ as she’d said it had, it said ‘I wuv you’.  

His heart.  

“Always rember.” She patted his chest a bit too hard, nodding sagely. “Happy day.”  

She’s starting to lose vocal control.  

“Um, yeah.” Was all he was able to reply through his brain shorting out.  

And the breath leaving his chest.  

“Hey, Mom?” Tiphereth spoke up tentatively.  

Binah’s head tilted into Chesed’s cheekbone. “Yesz, darling?”   

“Don’t you think it would be nice…” She started slowly, thinking it through. “If we had a snuggle session in bed?”  

Huh?  

“Oh? It would.” Binah did not give the suggestion a single thought.  

“Yeah, yeah.” Tiphereth backed up. “I’ll go grab Enoch, and you can take Dad back and bunker down.”  

Chesed jolted. “Hey, what-- Tiphereth--”  

Binah had already begun pushing him towards his office door. “Lovely. It will be quite comfy with plushes.”  

“Huh?”  

She wants plushies?  

Binah already had him through the door before he could protest any further. The last thing he saw before she was unsteadily dragging him through their home was Tiphereth and Netzach giving him stalwart salutes.  

He was pulled all the way through to their bedroom, which was thrown open with a shockwave that almost cracked the door.  

The sound of which masked Netzach yelping loudly in pain as Tiphereth smacked him across the face.  

Binah dragged him to the bed and slammed him into it via falling over him.  

“Binah!” He choked, her weight pressing him down into their soft covers.  

It’s not that she was heavy, but she’d pushed him down with way more force than needed.  

“Hm~” She hummed, shifting herself off of him and shoving him to his side to snuggle up to him.  

“Ow.” Chesed winced at the sharp movements, then at the strength she’d wrapped her arms around him with.  

“This is what plush is for.” Binah stated as if it were some great wisdom.  

Then immediately passed out, clinging to him as if he were the plush.  

Chesed let out a sigh of relief. Okay, good… she’ll be okay.  

He tried to move, flexing his arms or any  

And he couldn’t. He couldn’t budge even a millimeter.  

A huff, letting his head fall back onto the pillow behind him.  

Until he himself managed to drift off with the death grip around him, all he could do was listen to his inebriated wife’s breathing.  

***

Chesed woke up to the feeling of not being crushed alive and a pile of absolute misery beside him.  

He let out a soft groan, noticing he was still fully clothed from yesterday.  

A bit disoriented, it took him a second to remember why.  

Oh right.  

Chesed shot upright, head snapping to the side to find Binah laid beside him. Her back was to him, eyes closed and brow creased.  

A low sigh of relief left him, relaxing. Since he was still dressed, he lifted his arm up to peek at his watch.  

The time displayed itself before him as late in the morning.  

Binah had dragged him to bed before late evening, so they’d gone to bed early and woken up late. And Binah still being in bed after this sheer amount of time was highly unusual.  

He winced, glancing back over at her. He didn’t think she was asleep.  

Ah… first hangover. Between all three lives.  

Chesed let out a sigh and leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek, then slipping out of bed. She’d need some time to work through that, just let her rest.  

He set to changing his clothes to a fresh set. What he was currently wearing smelled quite a bit like alcohol, so he had no desire to keep wearing it.

As he changed, he did not notice the dull, black eye that slid open and glared into the back of his head.  

With a huff, Chesed finished getting changed and went for the door.  

“I should take care of things for the day, Binah.” He spoke softly, knowing everything had to be hypersensitive at the moment. “Just sleep it off, you’ll be okay.”  

He needed to get Enoch.  

With that, he nodded to himself and stepped out of the door.  

A hard set of chains wrapped around his chest tightly and yanked him right back into the room.  

Chesed let out a vicious yelp, crashing back into the bed.  

Binah dismissed the chains and grabbed him with her own hands, pressing him into the bed and wrapping herself around him tightly.  

“B-Binah--” He choked out, squirming in her hold.  

She tightened it, and he could feel his bones creaking in protest.  

With a gasp, he stopped trying to fight her.  

A low hum of displeasure left her, and she slightly loosened her hold but kept herself wrapped around him as if he were a massive teddy bear.  

“I… have things I need to do.” He tried to speak up after a moment.  

“And they can wait.” She replied, voice low and raspy.  

He… supposed they could.  

“Enoch?” He softly prodded.  

“Gebura.”  

… Fair enough.  

They remained like that for quite some time, Binah buried into him and just looking miserable. Her head had to be pounding, trying to split itself into two.  

Chesed… yeah, he needed to be here with her. Everything else could wait.  

She was hungover for the first time in her life after being that deeply drunk, it was going to be pure suffering.  

Why hadn’t they just called Angela to deal with it?  

It was a few hours of simply laying there together before he felt her relax a bit.  

“You okay to get up?” He asked softly.  

All he got in response was a short huff.  

Was it weird to think that he was a bit glad that, even if she was miserable, it had nothing to do with the Cell?  

A moment later, she slowly let him go and moved to get up.  

A low groan left her, hand holding her head.  

“Take a shower.” Chesed advised. “It’ll help.”  

A short pause.  

“And you still reek of alcohol.”  

He needs to change again, dangit.  

What in the world had Netzach put into that brew that it was this potent? This was ridiculous.  

Binah sat there for a moment longer, simply staring forward, before she reached back and grabbed him by the collar again; dragging him to their bathroom.  

She still looked miserable when they left the bathroom freshly cleaned, but she did look better. And, most importantly, smelled better.  

Chesed gently grabbed her hand, squeezing. “You okay to go out?”  

“If I must.” Was the reply.  

He nodded and began escorting her out of their room. “We should probably eat something. That’ll help, too.”  

All she did was hum.  

Simple eggs and toast, that would suffice.  

They were headed out to Chesed’s bar soon enough. They did need to check in with everyone and collect Enoch, so they couldn’t just stay in the entire day.  

Though, would that have been such a bad idea?  

Hm, you know, that’s what they’d do. After drinks.  

Chesed brought her out into his floor and gently sat her down at the counter. “I’ll make you some tea; just relax, okay?”  

He was going to have to change the sheets, but that could wait. Swamp her in blankets on the couch once they’ve finished their drinks. He could definitely use some coffee…  

The drinks were together soon enough, and he gently set his wife’s tea in front of her; taking the seat beside her.  

A breath. Just take a lazy day, Chesed. Gebura has Enoch, Tiphereth is plenty self-sufficient, and the shelves could wait.  

He took a sip of his coffee. Lovely~  

“Oh, you’re up.”  

Chesed glanced back behind him to find Netzach standing there awkwardly.  

He raised a brow at him.  

Netzach coughed.  

Like a zombie, Binah turned in her chair to face the resident drunkard; expression stony, completely schooled and neutral. Somehow, it was incredibly terrifying just like that.  

Another cough, Netzach rubbed the back of his neck. “Er… how’s your first ever hangover?”  

A pillar shot across the floor, and Netzach exploded into golden pages.  

Chesed sighed. Well, that’s going to get Angela’s attention…  

“… Oops.”  

Chapter Text

“Hello, I am here to make a proposition.” A familiar, grating voice entered her office; flat face somehow looking quite smug and assured.  

Angela sighed, looking up from her current work to find someone she did not particularly want to see. “Do I truly want to know what it is?”  

“Of course, you do!” Nemo replied, blue LEDs bright and in a smile. “It will do quite well to foster growth between all of us, ensure cohesion and morale. All that good stuff you people like.”  

Angela squinted. There had to be another angle to this. “And there is no monetary gain on the line?”  

Somehow, his face became more smug even through the lines that made it up. “If they want to make bets, who am I to stop them?”  

And there’s the motivation. As expected. He wanted some big payout; he’d probably be the one running the betting ring and taking a cut of all profits.  

Or just making his own inane bet and somehow managing to win.  

A.K.A: copying Gebura’s bet and ensuring he gets the greater payout.  

So, that left the question of what exactly they’d be betting on…  

“I suppose you aren’t to stop them, it is an activity quite enjoyed by everyone here.” Angela acquiesced that point, her mind already planning. “But I believe we should head back to the beginning of this matter? What is it that you are proposing?”  

Nemo leaned in, still smiling. “Why, nothing but a true test of skill between all of our very strong combatants here! Imagine, a Library-wide tournament to see who comes out on top, some prize awaiting for them (pending) to claim above the rest.”  

Angela quirked a brow.  

Well. That was one way to get the betting going quite lucratively.  

“A tournament?” She questioned.  

“A battle tournament!” He replied cheerily. “One on one fights ‘til the finish!”  

The A.I raised a brow. She couldn’t even call it a bad idea, it’s not like anyone could accidentally die here, and she knew everyone would be for it. Even those who knew they wouldn’t win the whole thing would want to see how far they could get.  

Oh dear…  

“Do you intend to participate yourself?” She asked.  

A prize? What kind of prize would Nemo even give anyone here? There wasn’t much they’d care about, to be frank. If there was, Angela could easily make it for them.  

“Why, of course not.” Nemo shook his head. “It’s quite improper for the host to participate in his own tournament.”  

“Technically, I’d be the host since this is my own Library.” Angela rebuked blandly.  

“Semantics.” He waved her off. “We can call in your little Hana friends to facilitate the proceedings since they do quite like visiting nowadays, don’t they?”  

That they did. Mirinae had made it clear she never would have accepted any offer to join the Library back when, but she did quite like orchestrating things between them and her own things nowadays. Especially now that all of her Fixers now lived here, it made it really easy for Mirinae to find them if she needed them for something – usually Xiao or Yujin, but Lowell and Walter had been grabbed for a few things before.  

Olivier had definitely had a heavy hand in Mirinae initially accepting this whole deal, though.  

“I suppose so.” Angela huffed. She hated that she was actually considering this, but her Fixers did need to test their skills and have fun now and then. A big event would surely get them all excited.  

“Of course, I do have to be a downer and say that E.G.O users will be banned from the tournament.” Nemo tutted, shaking his head. “All of them are quite far ahead of the rest, it would simply not be a good try for those without.”  

“It would be unfair, yes.” Angela agreed. Considering their E.G.O users were either an Arbiter or all Colors, yeah they probably shouldn’t participate in such a thing. “Binah, Yujin, and Xiao will not mind, but Gebura and Roland will be quite put out.”  

“They will simply have to deal.” Nemo sounded way too happy because he knew he had Angela hooked on the idea.  

Everyone did like sparring way too much…  

Angela took another moment to contemplate before sighing. “Alright, I suppose you’ve made a good case; it will be good for everyone. I expect you to help every step of the way in setting this up and keeping it moving.”  

Nemo rubbed his hands together. “But of course.”  

“… And any profits made will be going to Yujin.” Angela laid down her ultimatum completely blandly.  

Nemo’s smile finally cracked, swiftly turning into flat, yellow lines. “What.”  

“As the new Branch Manager of the Southern Shi and other things, she is still in need of quite a bit of support to wrestle the South Branch under control and begin influencing the rest, don’t you think?” Angela tilted her head, wearing a smug smile quite similar to her aunt’s. “This is the perfect opportunity to get her what she needs to further her goals.”  

Nemo was silent for a moment.  

Ah, Angela understood so well why her dear aunt did the things she did now.  

“Once again,” Nemo stated dully. “Yujin has taken all of my money.”  

Glorious.  

***  

It hadn’t taken them too long to get the logistics of it all sorted out and to then inform the rest of the Library of the planned event. Anyone who wanted to participate could sign up so Angela could quickly put the roster together, complete with the entire bracket.  

Well, unless they had E.G.O and were thus barred from participating.  

The reactions had been confused at first, but quickly turning to either excitement or intrigue. They hadn’t even needed whatever prize Nemo had been working on putting together for the victor, the challenge alone was enough for them – especially without any actual stakes, just to fight for the fun of it and test themselves.  

If Nemo had actually ever intended to have a prize at all. That one was up in the air; he might have been banking on everyone not caring about a prize.  

So, yeah, basically everyone had signed up. Even those who knew they couldn’t win like Lulu or Rain.  

And so, the Library’s first (some might hope it was the only) great tournament was set to begin.  

Strangely, Mirinae had seemed incredibly interested in the thought of it and had agreed to oversee the proceedings without any fuss at all.  

… maybe she was just bored and wanted something different to do that wasn’t paperwork.  

At this point, Harold had given up trying to question what was happening and just went with it. She, too, did seem at least a little interested.  

But this does bring the elephant in the room to the forefront:  

No, Gebura had not been happy.  

“This is so unfair.” Roland grumbled unhappily, slumping back in his chair like a miserable sack of sadness. “Gebura gets banned from a competition, finally giving me the chance to win something, but I get banned, too…”  

Also no, Roland was not happy about it either.  

“Oh, come on, Roland.” Carmen giggled, leaning over to lay a soft peck on his cheek. “I’d say it’s an honor they banned you! It means they consider you too strong to make this a fair competition.”  

“She has a point, Roland.” Olivier chuckled. “It’s only because you’d for sure win.”  

“And, say, Lowell won’t now?” Roland grumbled back.  

“I think the guy could use a win, eh?” Carmen replied, trying not to keep laughing. “He’s always so overshadowed by you five, but he’s a Grade 1, too!”  

“Nemo’s Grade 1. Martina’s Grade 1. Vespa’s Grade 1.” Roland listed off, voice still a grumble. “And they’re all the ones who were Grade 1 before being re-Graded after coming here.”  

Carmen sighed, shaking her head and sharing a glance with Olivier.  

Olivier could only shrug. Roland wasn’t budging, they weren’t going to be pulling him out of it anytime soon.  

Carmen and Olivier had become fairly fast friends, so that was good to see. And, perhaps, some might have noticed Olivier had become just a little emotional that Roland was moving forward with Carmen to build a new life. He hadn’t thought Roland could ever move on from Angelica, but the man was healing and Olivier was glad for it.  

“You can be sour all you want, I suppose, it’s time to get this show on the road.” Mirinae entered the conversation, heading to the front of the viewing area to oversee everything with her hands clasped behind her back. “It’s quite the novel idea, I’d say. I’m looking forward to this.”  

“It’ll be entertaining if anything.” Harold threw in her two cents as she took a seat on the other side of Olivier.  

Roland yelped as he was harshly jostled by Gebura kicking the back of his seat.  

“Lighten up.” She said, sitting behind him and lounging back in it; white stick sticking from her lips from the candy she currently savored.  

“What was that for?!” He barked back, whirling around to glare at her. “You’re just as upset about this as I am!”  

Her dead grey and golden eyes flicked to the side, irritated. “Yeah, but they have a point.”  

“We’d win.” Binah hummed easily.  

“That you would~” Chesed chuckled.  

“It wouldn’t be much of a competition, you have to admit.” Xiao added. “Though, I suppose it would make a bit more sense if it were a free-for-all as the last one we had of these.”  

“Yes, the free-for-all I didn’t get to participate in either.” He scoffed.  

“You elected to sit out because it was for Iori’s viewing pleasure.” Yujin came in from… somewhere. She was making use of shadow movement way too much these days…  

“I recall you saying something about wanting to live when I pointed out these four duking it out, hm~?” Iori, too, came in from absolutely nowhere.  

They all looked at her.  

She blinked owlishly back.  

“Did we not ban Iori from this tournament?” Roland muttered under his breath.  

“There’s no need to ban someone who we knew would already not participate.” Angela stated succinctly, taking a spot beside Mirinae. “I agree with Mirinae, however, we are set to begin shortly.”  

Mirinae chuckled. “Thank you kindly, Director.”  

Roland just huffed, sinking back into his chair as Gebura just raised an eyebrow at him. Whatever…  

“It’d be no different from that volleyball tournament we had with the Sinners.” Yesod pointed out logically.  

Malkuth snorted. “Yeah, the tournament that you cheated in!”  

Chesed and Carmen stifled a laugh.  

Roland put a hand to his heart, affronted (though, Yujin had found the floor very appealing all of a sudden). “Excuse you, we didn’t manifest our E.G.O, we were just testing the abilities we have without it just like the rest of you!”  

Many people squinted at him.  

Tiphereth snorted. “I don’t think that logic checks out, Roland.”  

“Semantics.”  

“That’s not semantics.” Yesod deadpanned.  

“I, uh…” Yan spoke up softly, having been quiet this entire time. “Have to say I’m rather lost in the conversation…”  

“Don’t worry about it too much, Yan.” Hod giggled. “You’ll settle in soon enough, just try to relax.”  

Yan only nodded, maybe a bit numb. “I-if you say so.”  

Yan was an odd one to their newest additions. He was still recovering from having been Distorted not all that long ago and was trying to find his footing amongst those here in the Library, so he was definitely uncertain about a lot of things. Especially with how friendly everyone here was with each other to the point of sounding mean, but they weren’t being mean to each other in any sincere way.  

It’d take him some time, but that was okay.  

Yan had, at least, made it clear he had no interest in participating in any battles; he didn’t want to fight. Which was also fine, they wouldn’t make him. He’d seemed pleased and a bit abashed when they’d accepted that request without qualm, having brought it to Angela with no shortage of nerves but also trying to be firm and confident.  

Obviously, he’d been worried about making requests for things that he wanted, but their willingness to let him make his own decisions made him feel a bit silly for being so worried and kind of demanding. Poor guy would find his footing eventually, but he was starting to trust them all.  

And Hod had somewhat taken it upon herself to keep an eye on the former Index Messenger, seeing as she was the one who had the Proxies under her authority.  

Mirinae let out a soft laugh. “Oh, I could not imagine that a place such as this would be so lively, but we are actually beginning now.”  

“Yes, our first battle is already on the field waiting for the signal to begin.” Moses stated.  

“I’m so excited.” YuRia practically vibrated. “I know there’s no E-- Psychoment in play, but all of you have such interesting weapons that I can definitely improve upon.”  

A few perturbed looks were sent her way. They didn’t want to think about the woman deciding to repossess their things…  

Those of the audience brought their attention to the battlefield before them. Moses and Iori had elected not to participate, the Patrons weren’t participating to begin with, Yuijin and Xiao were banned, and the Hana were merely overseeing, making the audience rather small but still plenty serviceable.  

Nemo was up there, too, but he was rapidly managing a bunch of the bets that had been made so far – double checking who had bet on what, counting the money to make sure it was accurate, all of that.  

It was kind of terrifying how locked in he was.  

The brackets had been decided thusly: no one was starting out facing someone from their own Office, nor were they facing someone too much higher of a Grade than them. If they managed to get far enough, both of those things were possible, but the best chance had been given to everyone to be able to advance at least once or twice – and the fights weren’t necessarily to the death, but it was preferred if they didn’t go that far.  

So, there was at least some separation between the higher and lower Offices.  

That wasn’t to say there wasn’t some complaining about their opponents – particularly a select two about the Proxies.  

Why had the Proxies joined in? Well, all Hod had done was bring the event up to them to give them the option of joining in, and they’d immediately agreed no questions asked. Something about gauging their strength to ensure they were strong enough to properly oversee Hod or something.  

That said, the first match was between Lulu and Julia.  

The rest of the combatants had their own viewing area away from those not participating. Mostly because of YuRia.  

Angela hummed lowly. “Nemo, are you going to facilitate your own tournament here?”  

Netzach kicked the man from where he sat – the man himself hunched over on the floor in the corner as he maniacally tended to the betting ring.  

“HEY!” Nemo blared, head swiveling over with unappreciative blue LEDs glaring back at them. “I'm busy here.”  

Angela’s eyes rolled. “Are you even going to watch the tournament?”  

Nemo’s head turned to the battlefield at large, zeroing in on the combatants waiting in the center for it to begin.  

They were on General Works for all of this. Not that it really makes a difference, but that way it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to favor anyone.  

Well, technically Vespa and Ezra might call this floor home since it was where they stayed when they were here and they were Angela’s Fixers (yes, she’d claimed them), but meh. Angela does what she wants, and they’d never choose a floor otherwise.  

“Oh.” Nemo cleared his throat and rose to his feet primly as if nothing happened, taking on a large, red LED smile. “Yes, yes, let us begin the festivities.”  

He cleared his throat again, standing beside a very amused Mirinae as he looked over the proceedings. “Hello one, hello all, to the Library’s first ever in-home tournament! Just do your best to advance until you hit the inevitable brick wall that you can’t surpass!”  

“Inspiring.” Harold deadpanned.  

Lulu and Julia were also rather deadpan.  

“I don’t know what else you expected from him.” Olivier shook his head.  

Harold just sighed.  

“Now, hop to it! The bets are riding on this!” With that, Nemo took his seat.  

And not a single person was made any more enthused by that speech.  

“Riveting.” Yesod intoned dully.  

“Why, thank you.” The boxhead smiled.  

Mirinae shook her head, maybe a tad exasperated, and took the reins. “With those… grand opening words out of the way, we may begin. Our first match is between Lulu and Julia, may the best combatant win.”  

Needing no further prompting, Lulu hefted her bat as Julia hefted her zweihänder, and they rushed at each other.  

They weren’t the strongest combatants here, far from it. In fact, they were among the weakest, but that wasn’t going to stop them from trying to rise further.  

They’d grown a lot since first coming here.  

Lulu’s flaming bat slapped Julia’s zweihänder to the side with a mighty swing, bringing the wild motion’s momentum upwards to crash it back down onto Julia’s head.  

The Zwei Fixer grimaced and grabbed the blade of her sword, shoving it up to knock Lulu back before following through with slamming the hilt into her face with a loud crack.  

Lulu stumbled back, gripping her nose with a wince, but Julia wasn’t about to just let her recover; stepping forward with a strong slash of her blade.  

The Streetlight Fixer yelped as she scrambled to get her bat up to try to lessen the blow at least a little.  

The back and forth continued a while more. Maybe it wasn’t the most stunning display of combat prowess or any demonstration of power, but the determination the two displayed, truly trying their all to win, was enough to make it entertaining. It was impressive for their level.  

Both weathered down, it was only a matter of time before one slipped.  

Julia’s arms shook as she caught Lulu’s bat on her sword; perpendicular to the ground as the flaming bat swung from the side with fire trailing behind it. The Streetlight had managed to improve their gear over the years, but Lulu still favored the same kind of weapon.  

They struggled against each other for a short while, glaring into each other’s eyes as the defensive sword fended off the flaming bat, but then something that Lulu definitely wouldn’t have done however many years ago ended the fight.  

Lulu quickly braced her bat against the zweihänder and used it to shove herself behind Julia, quickly bringing her bat up and bringing it back down in a motion very reminiscent of the Shi to end the fight in a singular strike – moving with a fluidity only the Shi could manage to slip around someone.  

Julia barked a yelp and hit the ground.  

Mirinae smiled. “Lulu advances to the next round!”  

“Way to go, Lulu!” Malkuth only didn’t jump out of her seat because Yesod didn’t let her.  

“YEAH!” Lulu cheered, raising her arms high in the air.  

Then coughed, letting them fall. “Ow.”  

Angela rolled her eyes, snapping and returning both to top condition.  

She’d be healing everyone between each fight, but that wouldn’t do anything for mental fatigue.  

As the two women chattered excitedly, they quickly exited the field for the next fight.  

“Well, I imagine Valentin’s proud of that one~” Chesed chuckled.  

“He’s been working those three to the bone, so I’d definitely hope it had paid off.” Gebura snorted.  

The next two to fight entered the ring, one seeming a whole lot less confident than the other.  

“Our next match is Mars taking on Mika.” Mirinae announced, simply able to make her voice carry.  

Mika essentially knew she couldn’t win, but her days had mostly been focused on workshopping since the Library had been evicted to the Outskirts, and she’d also been doing a lot of reading on Technological Sciences to advance her skills so the Molar could more easily leave District 21. The better tech she could create meant the more pay they could receive.  

So, yeah, she wasn’t confident, but she still wanted to try.  

“Begin!” As they had a lot of fights to get through and not much intention to take many breaks, Mirinae was moving them right along.  

Mars was immediate, springing forward with the light step of the Shi guiding him to take the first blow before Mika could react. Strike hard, strike fast – he couldn’t rely on the Shi’s techniques fully in a fight like this one, it was not their specialty, but the concepts still stood.  

Mika grit her teeth as his large sword slammed into her side, striking out with her own to shove him off and get some damage in in return. Startled she might have been as how fast he’d gotten, she couldn’t let that deter her.  

Mars took the hit with a light grunt, but powered through it to slam his elbow into Mika’s, almost forcing her to drop her weapon from the sharp pain, and threw his shoulder into her chest in the same motion.  

She stumbled back, coughing, but swiftly threw her chainsaw blade up with the teeth whirring around it.  

A horrible scraping sound grated on everyone’s ears as Mika’s blade ground against Mars’s large sword.  

Unfortunately for Mika, however, Mars held a fair bit more physical strength than she did.  

He broke through her defenses to get another heavy strike against her, but she still managed to get her blade around his arm to strike up his form.  

Mars reeled back holding his face, blood leaking between his fingers.  

Yet he was smiling. She’d given him more trouble than expected.  

They struck back and forth against each other for a little while more, but it didn’t take too long before Mars completely overpowered Mika, and she was knocked to the ground.  

“The winner is Mars!” Mirinae declared.  

There was a spark in her eyes, she was very interested. Seeing the potential of some lower Offices, that the Library had helped bring out more… well, what Hana wouldn’t be? You could even see it in Harold.  

“Well, well, well.” Nemo chortled as he scoured over the betting forms.  

Malkuth, who would usually be the one managing such a thing, pouted heavily as she tried to look over his shoulder.  

Alas, he was not letting anyone see, and Yesod had to quietly let Malkuth down with that information.  

“Moving right along, next up is Rain against Isadora. Take your positions.” Maybe Mirinae was enjoying her position as announcer. Maybe.  

The two in question were quick onto the field, facing each other in no time at all.  

“Begin!”  

As the two went to clash, everyone could hear Gebura sigh.  

“I know they’re all putting everything they’ve got into this, but this really does put into perspective how much stronger we are.” She stated as Rain’s odd polearm scraped against Isadora’s zweihänder.  

It looked like he and Mika had upgraded their weapons not too long ago, it was definitely a lot more well-made – its parts moving more fluidly and allowing him to put more power behind it.  

Isadora shoved him back with the flat of her blade, bringing it up to slam it down on him.  

He grit his teeth and caught the attack, if narrowly, and returned the exact same maneuver.  

“They’ve all been working very hard.” Xiao stated in reply. “But you are not wrong, it would not be a fight were it us there. I’m sure they will rise to station eventually; they have made great strides since first falling.”  

“Yes.” Yujin nodded. “We must applaud their efforts, no one is below Grade 4 at this juncture.”  

The two weapons crashed against each other, Rain initiating the chain on his weapon to catch Isadora’s and put it enough under his control to use it to send her stumbling past him. Where he cracked the hilt onto her head.  

“I do have to give you all credit for that one.” Harold piped up. “I guess that’s what you get with the Red Mist, the successor to the Black Silence, and an Arbiter, but I don’t know how far a lot of these Offices would have gotten otherwise. I’m still beside myself that most of you have reached Grade 1 by this point.”  

“We work them hard.” Angela nodded proudly. “I’m sure the rest will catch up to Grade 1 before long.”  

Isadora rolled to the side to avoid Rain’s follow-up, narrowly dodging getting her shoulder torn to shreds and leaping to her feet to slam the pommel of her large sword into Rain’s nose.  

Harold hummed lowly as Rain reeled back. “Can I ask why? It does seem a bit much.”  

“Nothing is too much. Why should we stop even if we think we’ve amassed enough power for our goals?” Angela replied rhetorically. “It would not do to leave anyone behind, and they all have goals of their own that they wish to reach. I merely wish to help them as well.”  

“They’re a team, Harold.” Olivier chuckled. “You don’t leave anyone behind.”  

She blinked, trying to work that through her head. She’d been the most hesitant about this whole situation, and she was still a bit rooted in her understanding of the City’s ways.  

Well, Harold, this isn’t the City.  

A few more trades passed between Rain and Isadora before he managed to down her, ducking low and bracing his weapon against the floor to grant him leverage he needed to powerfully kick her legs out from under her. He leapt back to his feet and brought his polearm around, bringing right back down to slam it right onto her head.  

Rain himself winced at that one.  

“Rain wins!” Mirinae declared, then glancing back to the audience behind her with a smile. “I think it’s rather brilliant myself. The support of others is not something to scoff at, even if the City has its way with things. But that doesn’t matter here, now does it?”  

“Indeed, it does not.” Angela smiled. She wanted to see everyone bloom, and so she made sure they did. It wasn’t just about her anymore; everyone had their own dreams.  

She snapped to return the two back to health, and they made their way off.  

The next set of battles were going to display a fair amount more power.  

Mei and Tenma had already taken the field.  

And Gebura was glaring at the side of Chesed’s head.  

Chesed merely ignored her, focusing on his own Fixer.  

The two, short women were chatting as they walked onto the battlefield – the Shi and Liu having become pretty close due to Xiao and Yujin hitting it off some time ago – and were swiftly ready to face each other down.  

Now, as stated before, the Shi did not excel in direct confrontation. The Liu did, however, so it was pretty much already known how this was going to go. Still, Tenma wasn’t going down without a fight.  

“In the next quadrant is Mei taking on Tenma,” Mirinae began, “I expect a solid showing, ladies.”  

Mei waved her off with a grin before cracking her knuckles and tilting her head at Tenma.  

Tenma merely nodded.  

“Mei forgot her gloves again.” Chesed noted wryly as Tenma darted to the side in a dark blur, a wave of fire washing over where she’d just been as Mei punched the air; quickly pivoting to crash her foot into one of Tenma’s swords.  

Xiao sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “An irritatingly common occurrence. A bit lesser, at least, now that Chun’s in the same Section as her.”  

“But she still manages~”  

“Yes.”  

Tenma’s other sword came around, aiming for the inside of Mei’s knee.  

In response, Mei used Tenma’s own sword against her as leverage to flip backwards; kicking the other sword as she went in an arc of fire and knocking Tenma off balance.  

She landed and threw her shoulder forward straight into Tenma’s chest in a strike that trembled the ground.  

Tenma had quite the grimace on her face as she was thrown back with scorch marks across her chest and flames petering out around Mei, but she went with the momentum that had been given to her; performing a similar stunt to backflip midair and land on her feet, immediately springing to the side and reducing herself to a dark blur.  

A series of dark flashes and bursts of fire followed, Tenma striking at every angle she could find and Mei doing her best to catch her. Tenma was getting some good hits in, but she was definitely wearing down from the burn she was suffering in return.  

And Mei was a lot sturdier than Tenma.  

Tenma kept at it, trying to little down through Mei’s defense to find that decisive strike, and Mei… simply stopped responding. She stood still, letting Tenma keep going and suffering a lot of damage.  

Then--  

Mei’s hands shot out, and Tenma stopped midair, eyes widening.  

Mei grinned, gripping both of Tenma’s blades in her unprotected palms, and she twisted, slamming the Shi Fixer into the floor with a blast of fire; shaking the entire arena from the force of it, the ground cracking harshly.  

Yujin let out a soft sigh and subtly put something into Xiao’s hand. “Well fought.”  

“Indeed.” Xiao chuckled, slipping it into one of her pockets. “Tenma did well for a fight she was at a disadvantage in.”  

“Yes, I am quite proud.”  

“Victory goes to Mei!” Mirinae announced, looking very amused at the two women behind her. “Well done, ladies!”  

Mei flashed a bright smile up at them as Angela healed the two (and fixed the field), quickly shaking her hands out and helping Tenma to her feet and skipping off; right back to chatting.  

Mirinae shook her head. This was such a lively bunch. “Next, we have Chun versus Valentin. Take the stage, gentlemen!”  

Slowly, every head turned towards Angela, who coughed lightly into her hand.  

“Again, who convinced you this match-up was a good idea?” Xiao asked blandly.  

“I gotta agree with the dragon on this one.” Roland snorted. “This could be disastrous.”  

As noted by Chun glaring daggers at Valentin across from him, adjusting his gloves almost menacingly as the other man swallowed.  

“Kick his butt, Val!” They heard Mei cheer loudly from the participant stands.  

Chun’s eye twitched.  

Angela merely coughed again.  

“Proving one’s might to those whose approval you require for the hand of the one you cherish is but a rite of passage, no?” Binah said with a smile. “Is this not the most opportune time for the striking blade to earn this right or prove himself insufficient?”  

Once more, all heads slowly moved, landing on Binah who just smiled back at all of them.  

“Are you trying to get my Fixer killed?” Gebura asked dully. “Figuratively and literally.” Even if Angela would bring him back.  

“Is it that you believe my dear longan’s concerns stand on proper ground? That everything he fears is true?” Binah asked in reply, head tilting. “If they are without truth, then surely your dear one will not crumble so easily.”  

Xiao just pinched the bridge of her nose. “I suppose Valentin does need to stand up to Chun sometime…”  

Yujin’s head snapped over to her, aghast.  

“Everyone goes through their own rites of passage in these matters.” Chesed nodded sagely. “I guess this is Valentin’s. It would be good for Chun to finally accept him.”  

“This seems like a lot of pressure on a simple tournament fight.” Tiphereth deadpanned.  

“Maybe you’ll understand when you’re older and have someone of your own.” Roland teased with a grin, reaching over to ruffle her hair.  

“Do not impart such hideous ideas on my daughter.” Binah snapped, glaring at him.  

Tiphereth slammed her hand into her face.  

“Begin!” Mirinae called, cutting off the conversation as she might have been dallying a bit too long to listen to it at this point.  

And the arena exploded in fire.  

Nothing quite like what Xiao had done before, but still incredibly impressive.  

Valentin hissed between his teeth, lunging to the side in a swift somersault to avoid the heavy-weight, fire-infused punch coming straight for his face.  

A similar start to the previous fight, but Valentin was quick to blur off instead of trying to clash as Tenma had done.  

Which was the right move as he would have exploded otherwise; Chun’s fist shattering the ground in a fury of flame.  

Eyes narrowed, Chun yanked his fist out of the floor and stood straight; on high alert for Valentin to draw close.  

“Are you going to run?” He asked, chastising.  

Valentin didn’t give a verbal response, moving silently across the floor to strike at Chun’s back.  

Chun pivoted on the dime, catching Valentin’s sword and punching the man in the solar plexus with a devastating Flaming Dragon’s Fist.  

The Shi Fixer choked, nearly crumbling on the spot, but he grit his teeth through it and yanked his sword back to slash Chun across the face.  

Both men were sent reeling back, Chun briefly clutching his bleeding face as Valentin gripped his stomach; struggling to breathe and feeling the heat radiating from the scorching wound.  

Bringing his hand down from his face, not minding the diagonal slash bleeding down it any longer, Chun wasted no more time in kicking right back off the ground and rushing Valentin.  

Valentin brought his sword up, catching the heavy Liu Fixer’s attack and holding on as tightly as he could. His arms quivered, Chun’s immense strength overpowering him a lot more quickly than he’d anticipated.  

Chun may have been shorter than him, but even that leverage meant nothing.  

Thinking quickly, Valentin dropped; flashing forward and striking Chun across the chest before twisting to strike him in the back with the hilt of his blade  

Chun grunted, but was swift to turn around and ram his elbow into the taller man’s shoulder with a blast of fire.  

Valentin was sent tumbling forward, rolling across the ground but kicking himself back up to his feet and forcing himself to blur out of the way of Chun’s next strike. He’d fought through countless Urban Nightmare fights back-to-back before, he wasn’t letting this do him in so quickly.  

It was a fairly dominating fight, but Valentin refused to yield and was managing to hold his own.  

He struck again, his blade raking across the Liu Fixer’s back and slipping away just before Chun could grab him.  

The one advantage Valentin truly did have over Chun was the reach of his weapon.  

He struck again and again, using the hit and run that Tenma had against Mei; eyes searching for any opening to find the victory.  

But, as with Mei and Tenma, Chun was sturdier than Valentin.  

Valentin brought his sword down in an extreme strike, aiming to break Chun’s defenses even a little and leaping back just after to find a new angle.  

Grunting and lurching forward a bit from the attack, Chun raised his fist, fire engulfing it in wait.  

And he slammed it down into the floor as Valentin tried to make his next move; barely withholding from breaking through the floor entirely with a pillar of fire.  

Valentin was knocked back, Chun immediately grabbing the front of his uniform before he went too far and slamming him down onto the charred floor. The overprotective brother set his foot over Valentin’s chest to hold him down, fist raised over his face in preparation to strike if necessary   

Valentin choked a breath, but kept a determined glare right back against Chun’s; even covered in burns and pinned as he was, it wasn’t like Chun was faring too much better. He was going to press on if he needed to; his sword was still at his fingertips.  

Something of an understanding finally seemed to pass between them, eyes locked and ablaze with a more metaphorical fire.  

This fight hadn’t been about the tournament even for a second.  

“Chun claims the victory!” Mirinae announced, seeing no reason to let the fight continue. “And Valentin might have claimed something else.” She said the last part a bit more quietly, chuckling lightly to herself.  

“DAMMIT!”  

And that was Mei again.  

“SCREW YOU, YOU BASTARD!”  

Chun’s eyes rolled hard as he stood and stepped off of Valentin, putting a hand down to his sister’s boyfriend to help him up.  

Valentin did seem a bit surprised at the good sportsmanship, but only hesitated a second before accepting it.  

Well, Mei was facing Chun next round and now she had a vendetta…  

No one was quite sure what she would have done had it been Valentin she was facing. She’d give Chun no end of grief for losing, of course (everyone knew that was fact), but fighting Valentin was a different matter.  

“There was a lot more to that match than what we know about, wasn’t there.” Harold asked blandly.  

“It doesn’t do to delve into private affairs, dear.” Binah replied with that smug smile of hers.  

Roland snorted. “Hilarious, coming from you.”  

She just shrugged as Harold deadpanned.  

“It was a good one, however.” Mirinae chuckled, watching the next set take the field. “Next is Miris against Bada! Maybe make this one a little less personal.”  

Both men gave visible sighs. Neither had anything against the other, so that wasn’t even a concern. To be frank, they didn’t really interact with each other much to begin with.  

Still, even if that was the case, they gave each other a respectful bow before falling into their ready positions.  

“Begin!” Mirinae called.  

They immediately sprang into action, rushing forward at once and crashed their fists into each other in a powerful shockwave that made the floor shudder; fire swirling around Miris’s protective glove as electricity sparked in Bada’s gauntlet.  

Quickly ending the power struggle that Miris had begun to win, both stepped back. Bada swiftly threw his gauntlets up like a shield to catch the flurry of hard strikes Miris unleashed on him, fire bursting with every hit. The shorter man grit his teeth as he weathered the heavy blows, feeling his arms quake and the heat beginning to take hold; and the charge within his gauntlets grow.  

Bada slipped to the side, wincing as Miris’s boot clipped his ribcage, and smashed his gauntleted fist into Miris’s shoulder with power sparking around it, the next strike meeting a sturdy defense in return, but the final uppercut slipping between Miris’s arms to bring both men up before crashing right back down to the floor in a devastating thrash.  

Miris grunted, leaping back to his feet without pause – breaking out from Bada’s grip – and a Flaming Dragon’s Fist greeted Bada as retaliation; hitting him square in the chest and sending him flying across the field with a snarling serpent of flame.  

Bada would need a second to recharge his gauntlets, so now was the time to press.  

He was in Bada’s face in a flash and dealt a series of strikes to the man before he could fully recover, leaning to the side as Bada tried to strike back; swiftly breaking the other Fixer’s elbow between his own and his knee with a sharp crack of fire.  

Bada’s face screwed up in pain as his arm went limp to his side and was sent straight back to the floor with a powerful thrust of Miris’s palm to his chest; swirling with orange heat.  

“And that’s the victory for Miris!” Mirinae called as Bada heaved on the ground.  

Miris let out a breath, relaxing as Angela healed the two, and followed the example of his Officemates, helping Bada back to his feet.  

The Cane Office Fixer nodded in thanks, shaking his previously shattered elbow out.  

The two shared a respectful handshake and went to exit.  

“The Liu is dominating their fights so far.” Moses noted with a hum. “As to be expected, but that won’t hold. Miris faces Vespa next and by Cecil’s start, she’ll be facing Gloria in the second round.”  

Tiphereth snorted. “No faith in Pameli to beat her?”  

Moses just raised a brow at her.  

Tiphereth couldn’t help but smirk. “Oscar probably won’t beat Gloria, either, but it’ll be a better fight than whatever Pameli’s going to show against Cecil.”  

“Next is Ezra, though.” YuRia spoke up with a snicker. “She’s already expressed her dissatisfaction with her first opponent.”  

The pink-haired woman hadn’t looked up from her notebook for a second, furiously writing and scribbling the whole time, but she still somehow was catching everything in each fight.  

Angela could only shrug. “Someone had to face them first round, she was merely unlucky.”  

“Could have put one against Lowell or something, maybe Vespa.” YuRia countered, still not looking up.  

“Vespa likely won’t wind up fighting any, but I imagine Lowell will be fighting multiple anyway.” Another shrug.  

YuRia just laughed.  

Xiao let out a sigh, smoke drifting out with it. “He’ll be fine. I’ve seen him overcome worse odds.”  

She’d developed an odd habit of sometimes letting a fire smoulder in her lungs; said the smoke was comforting when she was feeling more anxious.  

“Moving along to our next section of the bracket, we’re starting with Esther against Ezra.” Mirinae announced. “Clean and clinical, alright?”  

Esther gave a nod. “There is no need for brutality this day.”  

Ezra just glared up at Mirinae, probably cursing the entire audience out in her brain or trying to explode it with her mind.  

Why was she facing an Index Proxy first thing?! She wouldn’t get to participate in this hardly at all!  

Esther was completely unperturbed by this.  

Mirinae only smiled. “Begin.”  

Esther was immediate, right in Ezra’s face the absolute instant Mirinae had finished speaking.  

She yelped, reeling back to lessen the blow of the sword that slashed up her torso, leaving a slash of light briefly in the air along its trajectory, and grabbing for her bag of weapons.  

A large hammer was pulled out to try and contend with the Proxy, but Esther was already pressing the attack.  

Ezra barely managed to catch his sword on the shaft of her hammer, blocking the blow, but he followed right through to crash the hilt onto her forehead. At the very least, she managed to hit him in the side with the hammer’s large head as he did so.  

Even as Ezra cracked the end of her hammer against his knee, he pressed on and slammed his shoulder into her chest to send her reeling back.  

He had a mission, after all. He had to be sure he was good enough to be in Hod’s services. Thus the Prescript demanded.  

Esther continued to lay as much pressure on Ezra as possible, pushing her further and further backwards with her struggling to fend off his strikes. She tried to keep up, managing to swap weapons to a smaller sword to have a better time getting around his whirl of blue-tinged strikes, but he was simply stronger than she was.  

A flurry of slashes shining in the air like the petals of a flower, Castigation, and Ezra burst into golden pages. Looked like she had a lot of training on her hands.  

“A bit much, Esther.” Mirinae chastised.  

Esther stood straight, closing his eye. “My apologies, ma’am.”  

Hod just buried her face in her hands.  

She sighed, glancing to Angela.  

“I expected at least a few casualties.” Angela sighed, snapping and bringing Ezra back. Esther had suffered a few blows, so she’d healed that as well.  

Ezra looked incredibly peeved, giving Esther something of a begrudging nod of respect before sulking back to the stands.  

Unperturbed, Esther followed her.  

“She’s going to be a grumbly baby for the rest of the week~” YuRia noted idly, twirling her pen in her hair before furiously continuing.  

“She can be a grumbly baby in her room.” Moses huffed.  

“Well, moving along, next we have Cecil and Pameli.” Mirinae could only shrug and continue.  

The two women took the field, the contrast between them stark.  

But Pameli and Pamela were the shortest of the entire group, basically everyone towered over them.  

Pameli jammed the butt of her lance into the floor, glaring at her opponent with a sour expression.  

Cecil simply waited, idly adjusting her gloves.  

“Begin!”  

Unlike the rest of her Officemates, Cecil didn’t immediately move; she stood still for the moment, allowing her opponent to come to her.  

And charge her Pameli did; lance leveled on Cecil’s chest and aiming to skewer her.  

Cecil allowed her, watching as she drew close before her hands flashed up and deflected the lance off of her forearm; letting it scrape by her and carry Pameli by her.  

Letting Pameli run directly into her elbow, where she then twisted her body and kicked the short woman directly in the solar plexus with a blast of fire.  

Pameli choked as she was sent flying, crashing to the ground and coughing as she got herself back to her feet.  

Cecil still did not press the attack, hands at the ready and merely waiting.  

“Are you mocking me?” Pameli growled, insulted.  

Cecil remained quiet.  

Scowling, Pameli charged once again, now mindful of her momentum being used against her.  

As she approached, instead of letting Pameli charge into her own doom or whatever it was she was concocting this time, Cecil shot forward and grabbed the tip of the lance; shoving it upwards to Pameli’s widened eyes and throwing her shoulder into the blonde with an explosion of fire.  

It wasn’t that Pameli was a weak fighter or anything, Cecil was just faster and a fair amount more experienced.  

Pameli reeled back, wheezing, and let herself fall to the ground to avoid taking another hefty blow; rolling to the side and staggering back to her feet. With all of the might she had left in her, she yelled as she thrust her lance forward.  

Cecil winced as the lance pierced through her arm, having gotten it up in time to block the blow. Though, it had been strong enough to break through even her Association uniform.  

But with a lance stuck in her arm, Cecil twisted said arm to the side before Pameli could take it back and kicked her upside the head.  

Pameli crumpled to the ground, and Cecil yanked the lance out of her arm with a harsh grimace.  

“The winner is Cecil!” Mirinae announced, and Angela healed everyone once more. “You knocked her out, though, think you can bring her off the field?”  

“I got her.” Cecil nodded, bending low to sling the short woman over her shoulder with the arm not holding Pameli’s lance.  

“She fights a fair amount different than the rest of your crew.” Mirinae glanced back at Xiao.  

Xiao nodded, arms crossed under her chest. “Difference in upbringing, she’s always been more defensive than the rest.” Lowell worked with her just as well anyway.  

“I see.” The Hana Director nodded.  

“Expected.” Tiphereth snorted with no hint of remorse.  

“A pinpoint spear against a mountain was never going to pan out.” Gebura chuckled. “You’re not going to be singing the same tune for this next match, though.”  

A sigh left the young woman. “This one’s just unfortunate.”  

Angela did not meet the dull glare her cousin laid on her.  

“With that said, next up is Oscar and Gloria!” Mirinae announced. “Gloria…”  

“I won’t!” The cyborg chirped happily.  

Tiphereth sighed.  

“Oscar doesn’t care much about this match-up, you know.” Chesed chuckled. “He doesn’t mind.”  

“I know, but it’s the principle of the thing.” She grumbled in return. Oscar didn’t care about winning, and he was perfectly fine being first-round-Proxy-fodder so someone else didn’t have to be.  

That didn’t save Ezra, though.  

“Hi Yan~” Gloria waved enthusiastically from the battlefield up at them. “I’ll win this whole thing for you and Miss Hod! Just hold tight~!”  

Yan shrank back into his chair as if he wanted to disappear. “I… am so sorry they have a Prescript over you…” His blue eyes moved to Hod a bit abashedly.  

Hod giggled softly. “They can be a bit much at times, but it’s not so bad. They’re oddly endearing.” She patted him gently on the shoulder.  

Both Roland and Gebura let out a massive scoff.  

He managed to muster a smile, even if a bit shaky, and a small laugh. “Yeah, they can be. I am the one who gave them that Prescript, but I am still beside myself that it was for you. And that it existed at all; they spent a long time ruminating about it when they found no one named Hod.”  

“Tell me about it.” She sighed. “I guess I’m one of a kind.”  

“Indubitably.” Netzach nodded sagely. “The most unique kind.”  

Her eyes rolled, but she was smiling.  

“Begin!”  

Gloria wasted no time, lurching forward and swinging her arms in a deadly arc; shining through the air with a trail of blue.  

Oscar merely grunted, dodging to the side and retaliating; stabbing his lance into her side.  

Her eye arced upwards happily, spinning where she stood and slashing her metal claws across him.  

He weathered the hit with a light grimace and stepped back. Bringing his lance with him, he then stepped back forward as Gloria reclaimed her arms and stabbed her dead-on.  

Her head tilted, steam releasing from the sides, and grabbed his lance.  

She tried to twist it out of his grip, but he held on. Unfortunately, he was thrown to the side for his effort; Gloria merely shrugging at her failure to take his weapon.  

It became a back and forth from there: Gloria slashing and grappling at him with her arms while he spun and twirled his lance to deflect every blow he could. Sparks flew and the air shook with each collision, but Gloria was clearly gaining ground in her relentless onslaught.  

Her having three arms gave her an unmistakable advantage; Oscar couldn’t defend all three at once - there were only so many angles his lance could cover.  

This much was clear with how he always managed to block two, but the third slipped through to get a hit in more often than not.  

Then, after a moment, Gloria stepped back and spread her arms out to the side to open her cloak. Chains sprung from her body, wrapping around Oscar and pulling him in.  

Some of the most horrendous grinding noises were heard as some blood misted from the folds of her cloak.  

Mirinae rubbed her temples. Just what had Gloria interpreted that asking as?  

Oscar was ejected from Gloria’s clutches, clearly the worse for wear, but still kicking.  

Not for long, of course, but Gloria definitely seemed impressed he’d lived.  

He didn’t take a second to breathe before pressing the attack, his lance breaking through Gloria’s arms to land a solid blow against her chest.  

If that’s what it was?  

Gloria reeled back a bit from the force of it, clearly startled, but was swift to recover and slash her robotic arms against him.  

The Wedge Operator grunted and shoved the length of his lance into Gloria, heaving it up to crack the end of it over her metallic head.  

With a giggle, she reared her head back with the blow and brought it down on his.  

Oscar stumbled back, clutching his three-point hat, and simply held a hand up, falling to a knee. “I know when I’m beat.”  

Mirinae hummed, nodding with approval. “Gloria wins!”  

Gloria’s eye arced happily. “Yay! Good fight, Mr. Oscar.”  

Oscar rose back to his feet as Angela healed them, tipping his hat to her. “You as well, Gloria.”  

With that, they returned to the stands.  

Tiphereth let out a soft huff, looking begrudgingly accepting of the outcome. “Well, I guess that turned out as well as it could have. Shame he doesn’t get to continue, though.”  

“And you know Pamela’s going down first round, too.” Roland pointed out. “You’re completely out of the running~”  

She deadpanned. “Shut up, so is Gebura.”  

Gebura just shrugged. “This ain’t their kind of fight.”  

Yujin sighed. “Indeed not, the odds were against them.”  

He laughed.  

“I’m about to be out, too, so we can all wallow in misery together.” Netzach cheered lamely.  

Tiphereth just huffed, irritated.  

“Aeng-du and San, take the stage.” Mirinae called when they didn’t immediately move.  

“That girl has a lot to prove to herself.” Moses huffed. “Though I don’t believe San is the best to bring it out.”  

“San’s still got a lot of growth to accomplish himself.” Malkuth agreed with a nod. “But he’s come a long way; Bada’s certainly helped a lot. They’ll get there.” In terms of her own Fixers, Mars was the one who’d come the furthest. San was still a bit of a pushover and Lulu too impulsive in battle, but they were still better than when they’d been recruited.  

“Indeed.” The LCD Team Leader hummed in her own agreement.  

“Begin.” Mirinae started the fight, the two combatants finally ready to go.  

Both seemed a lot more uncertain about this than any of the others had been, but they took a breath and charged forward anyway.  

It started with a series of metallic scraping; Aeng-du’s katana and San’s thick baton clashing against each other as they tried to find an opening to slip through and deal some damage.  

Perhaps it wasn’t as visually stunning as some of the previous fights, nor did it seem to be going anywhere for the moment. … perhaps.  

It mostly just looked like a regular sparring match, to be frank.  

“Are… they actually going to hit each other or not?” Roland asked after a moment of watching them basically just twirling their weapons against each other.  

Sure, they clearly had some skill with their weapons, but neither was actually pressing the attack. They were constantly parrying and diverting.  

“Kim has noted that she’s lost some of her spark.” YuRia replied, still scribbling in her notebook. “Not confident in fight at all.”  

“I can see that.” Roland deadpanned, sighing.  

“JUST HIT HIM ALREADY!” Gebura roared, startling both of them.  

They both nearly jumped out of their skin, halted a second as if in contemplation.  

Then immediately smacked each other upside the head.  

San’s baton made a loud cracking sound as it impacted the side of Aeng-du’s head, sending her to the side as her own katana cut his face open from the bottom of his jaw to above his ear and sending him reeling backwards.  

Both recovered swiftly; Aeng-du striking him across the chest as he did the same. She twisted her sword to hit the hilt against his wrist and send his baton off trajectory. Then, she brought the blade back up vertically, all the way up his body.  

He winced, the wounds smarting, but cracked his baton against her sword to stop it from going further and shoved his elbow into her to knock her back.  

“Effective.” Mirinae chuckled as the exchange continued. “They just needed a little kick to get into gear.”  

Gebura huffed, shaking her head. “They don’t do this kind of thing in a real fight, I don’t know why they did here.”  

“Hm.” Moses hummed, watching them closely. “Perhaps San will serve fairly well after all.”  

It only took a little while more before Aeng-du dealt a wicked overhead slash to San, and he was beaten.  

“Aeng-du wins! Try to start out that way next time, hm?” Mirinae teased, chuckling as the short woman blushed heavily in embarrassment.  

“She’s facing Kim next, he’s going to push her.” Xiao noted.  

“That he will; I’m sure he’ll lecture her about the start of the fight, too.” Gebura grunted.  

There was a beat of silence as the fighters exchanged.  

“Say, where’s Iori?” YuRia asked out of the blue.  

“Dunno.” A lot of the Patrons replied.  

“Off doing whatever she wants.” Netzach shrugged. “As she does.”  

She snorted. “A’ight.” Not that she expected Iori to take part, but she would like to side-eye the weapons of the Purple Tear again…  

The truth was that Iori had moved to join the other stand. To avoid YuRia.  

“Regardless of the errant Purple Tear, Kim and Pamela are our next contenders.” Mirinae may have gotten into a groove, moving them along and not allowing for too much downtime.  

Kim stood across from Pamela, slowly unsheathing his sword and holding it at his side; Pamela doing similarly to Pameli and resting the end of her lance against the ground.  

“Begin!”  

Kim surged forward, almost gliding across the ground, and striking swiftly at Pamela; his sword an extension of his arm, the motion natural and smooth.  

Pamela blocked the blow with the shaft of her lance, eliciting a screeching clang from the two metals scraping against each other.  

A series of similar clangs rang out, Kim unleashing a flurry of smooth, slashing strikes to pressure Pamela who only narrowly managed to parry most of them; suffering many gashes.  

Kim moved completely smoothly from one strike to the next, the motion almost mesmerizing.  

Gebura’s eyes were locked on him, watching how he moved and how his footwork coincided with each strike. Almost as if she were studying.  

Kim’s style didn’t translate to Gebura completely, but it was a good basis for her to improve.  

After some time, Pamela managed to smack Kim’s sword to the side and struck him in the shoulder, quickly reclaiming her lance to stab him once more in the hip.  

He grunted, stepping back to avoid the third stab; prompting Pamela to also take a step back.  

He slashed forward, the blade shining through the air, seeming to cut the air itself.  

Pamela caught the blade on her polearm and spun it to the side, managing to impact Kim’s head with the pommel. A weird thwacking sound on the bamboo hat.  

The former Blade Lineage Mentor took a breath, and his blade flashed through the air too fast for most Patrons to follow.  

Pamela choked, and hit the ground; the trajectory of the blade slowly fading in the air in a shine of light.  

“The victor is Bamboo-Hatted Kim!” Mirinae announced, then lowering her voice. “You know, I only oversee the Fixers of the South, but some Syndicates truly do sit upon a pile of talent, don’t they?”  

“I wouldn’t say the Blade Lineage sat on their talent.” Moses replied. “But there is quite a bit of talent out there that we don’t often see.”  

“Truly, such a shame.” She hummed, idly lamenting as the final fight of the first round was swapped in.  

The Hana Director took a breath and stretched her back out a bit before moving things along once more. “To end off the first round, we have Olga trying to survive against Hubert!”  

“HEY !” Olga barked, glaring up at the stands with an incredibly irate expression. “Why am I even facing him?!” She waved her arm wildly at the man in question.  

Who simply stood there patiently. Uncaring.  

“This is unfair! I want a re-seed!” She demanded.  

“No.” Angela shot her right down. “We’ve nearly completed the first round, simply deal.”  

Olga’s mouth opened again--  

“Begin!” Mirinae called.  

Olga’s expression cracked as she turned sheet white.  

Hubert slammed his shoulder into her heavily with a harsh and wide thud; arm shooting upwards to split her open.  

No mercy.  

Olga staggered back, scrambling to get her chainsaw cleaver up to get a hit in (she could have brought her pile driver, but noooo (not that it would have made a difference)), but Hubert was taking no prisoners this day.  

He meant serious business, he had to be up to snuff to protect Hod.  

Olga actually did manage to clip him in the side after a short bout of him being completely being oppressive, but she was delirious on the ground a second later.  

“Hubert wins!” Mirinae called. “Thank you for not killing her.”  

Hubert merely bowed and walked off.  

They all stared for a moment at Olga lying face first on the ground.  

“Well, that concludes the first round.” Mirinae continued. “Take five, we’ll be back for the second round soon!”  

With that, she huffed and took the remaining chair beside Harold.  

“This is quite entertaining, I must say.” She chuckled.  

“Quite.” Binah agreed with a nod. “I must wonder how those four amiss of the first round will fare leaping into the fray?”  

“I mean, I’m sure they’ll be fine.” Gebura shrugged. “I know Lowell and Martina feel a bit awkward about being allowed to skip the first round, but Walter and Vespa definitely don’t.”  

“We’ll just have to see~” Chesed hummed, taking a sip of coffee.  

“So, we shall.” Binah replied with her own hum.  

Malkuth slowly leaned to the side, trying once more to peer over Nemo’s shoulder. She’d long since gotten over her need for control, but curiosity was killing her here.  

“So…” She started, directly next to that boxy head.  

Nemo nearly jumped out of his skin with a horrific screeching sound that had all of them wincing in pain.  

He hadn’t been paying any attention to the proceedings at all. Except for anything that pertained to the betting pool.  

“How’re the bets going?” Malkuth asked with an innocent blink.  

Nemo turned his head to her, an unappreciative look on his face portrayed by straight, yellow lines. “They are progressing as expected.”  

She pouted. “Oh, come on, that says nothing!”  

“Hmph.” He turned his head from her with a sniff, then got up and moved to a different spot.  

Malkuth’s brow twitched.  

He cleared his throat as he looked over the mass of papers in his hands (Angela was keeping tabs on the actual money, he just had the records and spreadsheet). “But things are looking quite splendidly! It seems no one is making out with an exorbitant sum!”  

“That’s because most of these fights are predictable.” Gebura’s eyes rolled.  

“Most of us bet on weird things happening during them.” Roland added, quirking a brow at the man. “I’m pretty sure no one else bet on Valentin actually earning Chun’s respect, right?”  

Many heads turned from him – Yujin and Xiao included.  

“No, basically everyone bet on that. She who shall not be named bet on that.” Nemo replied dully.  

Roland choked.  

Carmen sighed, shaking her head. She didn’t get why everyone was so invested in this betting game, but she supposed it didn’t do any real harm.  

“How about current deaths?” Hey, she’d made a few of her own to join in on the fun. “I’m wondering if I bet too high at this point. I was expecting more.”  

“The Proxies have exercised more restraint than expected.” Hod piped up, then slumped with a sigh. “But we still have four more rounds to rack up the numbers…”  

“The number is only one, though. The Proxies aren’t having as easy a time from here on.” Netzach pointed out.  

“You never know!” Nemo simply smiled.  

He’d bet on a higher kill count, probably. He’d also bet against Bada winning anything. What a great boss.  

“Are you planning on starting off our second round, Mr. Host?” Mirinae asked, a bit teasing but also very pointed.  

Nemo tutted, shaking his head. “Once the intermission has completed, yes. I will.”  

“Some intermission…” Netzach grumbled. “You didn’t get any entertainment together for between the rounds?”  

“What could possibly entertain a bunch of Fixers that are here to beat each other up and have fun watching each other beat each other up?” Was the rebuttal.  

Brown eyes rolled. “Refreshments, then? Snacks?”  

“Demanding, aren’t you?”  

Angela looked at him, nonplussed. “Are these things standard at tournaments?”  

All heads turned towards Nemo.  

“You left that detail out with her, didn’t you.” Roland stated with no small amount of irritation in his voice, eyebrow twitching.  

It wasn’t about the cutting of corners to make things simpler and spend less money on this (even though the only money spent was on betting since Angela just made everything) or not providing the basic amenities of an event like this, it was the lying to his daughter and not explaining something to her that she couldn’t know.  

“Well.” Nemo clicked his nonexistent tongue. “I figured you’d know these things.”  

The look on his face screamed murder, it was only Gebura grabbing his shoulder and holding him back that prevented an actual murder.  

“Roland--” Carmen didn’t look very happy either, even as she pressed her hand against his chest as if that would stop him. “Roland, calm down!”  

“I’m going to kill him!” He hissed between grit teeth. “Gebura, let me go.”  

“No.”  

“Think about this for a moment, Roland--” Carmen kept trying.  

“Nope--”  

A light shockwave impacted his head, ending his fight with a pitiful “ow.”  

“We may burn the flat screen on a stake later, my dear.” Binah stated calmly, though didn’t seem particularly pleased either.  

Angela sighed, shoulders slumping a bit. “It had occurred to me that something felt as if it were missing, but it is not as if I knew. I know for certain you did not mention it in good faith, but I will let this slide for now. It’s not as if this isn’t easily rectifiable.”  

Nemo smiled, rising properly to his feet to start off the next round. It had been more than five minutes at this point. “Why, thank you, Ms. Director.” He straightened his tie as he reached the guardrail.  

Roland grumbled as he slumped back in his seat. “I’m still throwing him out a window later.”  

“You do that, Roland.” Carmen sighed, leaning back into hers tiredly.  

Gebura snorted. “Sheesh, you’ve already given up in the face of our violent tendencies.”  

“Gebura,” Carmen raised her hand lazily to wave her off, “I gave up because of you ages ago.”  

There was a short bit of laughter.  

“Alright, alright, enough of that.” Nemo said, surveying the floor. “Let’s get this show back on the road, shall we? Entering the second round, we have some new contenders! Will they make it through, or won’t they? The bets will see.”  

And he went to sit back down.  

“That might have been worse than the first one.” Harold deadpanned.  

“I don’t know if he can do worse than the first one.” Tiphereth snorted.  

“True.”  

Mirinae shook her head and rose to her feet to take her spot back. “With that said, we’re starting this first round with just that: Walter will be facing Lulu, take your positions.”  

The two in question walked out onto the field. Lulu didn’t appear as excited about this fight, and Walter was seeming maybe a little too confident.  

Walter had definitely been chuffed that he’d been allowed to skip a round, since he was agreed upon to be the strongest combatant (or at least a contender for strongest in the case of the other quadrants) in his quadrant of the bracket, he’d just… seemed to have completely missed the fact that his quadrant was undoubtedly the weakest.  

“Begin!” She called.  

With the utmost confidence, Walter walked forward. He didn’t charge as others from a different Office would (shields don’t rush), but he moved forward like a wall knowing he had the fight in the bag already.  

Lulu immediately looked insulted.  

And bashed her bat into his head the second he got close.  

It was almost comical, the look on his face as she nearly sent him to the floor, having moved faster than he’d expected, but it’s not like that was going to take him down.  

She managed to crash her bat against his chest before his brain finally caught up with what had happened, and he threw her back with a powerful swing of his zweihänder.  

Even with a few new scorch marks on his clothing and his face, Walter was not deterred and pressed on with a new advance on the Streetlight Fixer.  

Lulu got herself back to her feet, ready to face him with her bat held tightly in her hands. Taking inspiration from her superiors, she swiftly darted to the side to try and get to a lesser defended angle to attack him – knowing straight smacking him wouldn’t work anymore. Her bat swing strongly, fire swirling around it and trailing behind like the tail of a shooting star.  

Only to be stopped in its tracks with a clang.  

Walter smiled back at her as he caught the bat on his large sword, pushing the bat back into her chest and bringing the blade down on her like an executioner.  

Her teeth grit, only managing to get her bat up a little to lessen the blow.  

She was sent skidding back by the blow, running up to meet him once more.  

He merely tutted and thrust his sword to the side to catch her as she tried to avoid a direct confrontation again; clipping her side from its long length.  

Walter stepped towards her before she could recover her lost momentum and rammed his shoulder into her to send her stumbling back wildly.  

Lulu let herself drop to the ground, rolling backwards and hopping back to her feet, but her attempted strike was easily blocked before the hilt of the large sword was slammed into her chin and the pommel cracking over the top of her head.  

“The winner is Walter!” Mirinae declared when she hit the ground once more and didn’t get back up.  

Walter smiled, adjusting his tie, and went to head back to the stands as Lulu winced, slowly getting back to her feet nursing her head. She was clearly disappointed, but she’d known it would go that way.  

“No one bet on Lulu smacking Walter in the face first thing?” Roland asked next, almost pointed.  

Nemo snorted. “You didn’t.”  

“I know.”  

“I did!” Malkuth chirped, bursting into laughter when Roland turned an affronted stare on her.  

“Next up is Mars and Rain!” Mirinae cut off any retort Roland could have given, the next two already ready to go.  

Roland just gave Malkuth a simmering glare, pointing his fingers to his eyes before moving them to hers.  

She just smiled.  

The call to start was given, and Mars burst forward.  

A loud clang rang out as Mars’s large sword crashed into Rain’s polearm.  

There was a long series of clangs as the two clashed fiercely against each other, their weapons flashing through the air and sparks flying.  

Mars shoved his sword up, knocking Rain’s weapon upwards along with it to slam his shoulder into Rain’s chest and send him stumbling back.  

Rain recovered quickly, parrying another strike and struck at Mars’s side. The chain engaged, revving and eating into the tough material of the coat.  

Mars grimaced and dove to the side to avoid being cut in half, gripping his side.  

Rain swung, continuing the path of his odd polearm from where it had begun to saw through Mars, and hurled his still revving chain right into Mars’s larger sword.  

Once more, the sound of metal grinding against metal was not hardly a pleasant one as the two men fought for dominance.  

Alas for Rain, but even with the upgrades to his weapon and skills, Mars had surged forth even further in his personal growth.  

Mars overpowered Rain through the grinding chain, slamming the weapon down to the ground and kicking off of it into the air. He shot up high, the ground cracking beneath Rain’s weapon, and shot back down akin to a meteor.  

He collided with Rain, the other man unable to move in time.  

Dust exploded from the floor with a loud boom.  

A second passed, the dust still pluming.  

After a short moment, the sounds of struggle graced their ears; Mars and Rain continuing to fight for just a bit longer before finally ceasing as the dust settled.  

Mirinae chuckled. “And Mars claims the victory.”  

“A bit more turned out from that one than expected.” Yujin noted. “Was he emulating you there?” She quirked a pointed brow at Xiao.  

Xiao just deadpanned back.  

“You do like dive-bombing people.” Roland nodded sagely.  

“I do not.” She stated blandly.  

Gebura snorted. “I dunno what that stunt against me was, then.”  

“Making use of my wings.”  

“To dive-bomb.”  

The heat of the stands rose just a little.  

“Don’t start a fight up here.” Angela sighed, shaking her head as she idly watched Mars help Rain back up and head back.  

“We are about to see the equivalent of a bomb, though.” Chesed hummed, rubbing his chin. “Mei is on the warpath~”  

“Mei and Chun together still can’t bomb as big as Xiao, though.” Roland nodded a few more times to himself, ignoring the sharp, red glare that settled on his back.  

It wasn’t often that Xiao was the subject of such teasing. Clearly, she didn’t know what to do with it.  

True to Chesed’s words, though, Mei’s glare on Chun as they took the field was comically heated – incredibly petulant.  

Chun just ignored her. He was going to be dealing with her for a while about this, so he was just riding it out until she calmed down.  

Which sometimes took a while.  

Chesed squinted, leaning forward in his chair, then laughed and sat back. “She still doesn’t have her gloves.”  

“It is unlikely her blinded fury would have allowed her to listen to my langan’s warnings.” Binah replied.  

“She only listens to half the things he tells her anyway.” Xiao sighed, letting some smoke out and lowering the heat back down to where it was supposed to be.  

“Would Valentin not tell her?” Yan asked curiously.  

“She would be more likely to listen.” Yujin mused. “But he can be absentminded.”  

“… Ah.”  

“Moving along the bracket, Mei is now facing Chun. Don’t make it too personal.” Mirinae requested.  

“You know that won’t happen.” Olivier chuckled.  

She just shrugged. “I have to put it out there. Begin!”  

Bang .  

And the arena was immediately on fire, the two siblings exploding in a fury of flame as they’d immediately punched each other in the face.  

A flurry of blows was traded between them, striking, dodging, weaving, blocking; using every part of their bodies in a deadly blaze of fire. It couldn’t quite be called a dance for how brutal it was.  

Their eyes were hot on each other, ablaze with the fire pouring from their equipment.  

The temperature of the battleground spiked with each blow, even having been permanently raised from the sheer amount of fire being thrown around, and dazzling orange flashed and danced across everyone’s vision.  

Mei kicked high, making use of her flexibility to kick her brother right in the chin and knock his head back, then swiftly striking him with a flat palm and ramming her shoulder into him like a battering ram on fire.  

Chun staggered back from the force of it, but recovered swiftly enough to catch Mei’s fist in his own and return the favor.  

His fist crashed into her square in the chest with an explosion of flame, the orange of the fire roaring as it twisted into the form of a dragon.  

He let her go as the blow connected, letting her fly across the field; hitting the ground and skidding back several feet before she managed to take control of her momentum and swing herself back upright.  

And immediately had to play a game of limbo to not get clotheslined by her brother.  

Mei’s hands planted into the ground as she bent backwards, kicking her feet off to lift her body up after his arm and bring the back of her heel straight down into the back of his knee.  

Chun’s leg buckled as Mei flipped herself back to her feet properly and spiked her elbow into his exposed back.  

He stumbled forward further, but pivoted on his heel and parried her knife-hand strike against the length of his forearm. Tilting his head to avoid the sparks hissing from her wrist, he stepped forward and jabbed his fingers into the soft part of the shoulder that was too far forward.  

Even if this was just a tournament fight and he knew everything would be healed after, everyone did notice that Chun had been avoiding hitting Mei in the face outside the start.  

Mei yelped as her arm fell limp to her side, useless, getting her knee up in time to strike Chun’s wrist and preventing him from taking her other arm. She grabbed his wrist as her knee made contact and twisted, getting his arm over her shoulder and with a big heave, hoisting him over and slamming him onto the floor with all of her might and a hefty dose of fire.  

The floor shuddered, cracking savagely.  

Chun immediately rolled to the side before her heel could strike him again, sweeping his leg out to trip her right onto the floor after him. He didn’t get back up to his feet, instead lunging forward and grabbing her to prevent her from getting back to her feet.  

It was a very short struggle, Chun’s strength exceeding Mei’s and having a large height advantage (not to mention her arm was still out of commission), and Mei was subdued in a solid chokehold.  

The petite woman looked incredibly petulant as he held her, still trying to struggle.  

“Chun wins!” Mirinae called.  

With a soft sigh, Chun nodded. Then, instead of letting her go as Angela healed their many, many burns and cracked bones, Chun loosened his hold on his sister, grabbed her by the nape of her coat, and slung her over his shoulder in the same motion to get to his feet.  

Mei crossed her arms with a pout on her face as she was carried off the field.  

“Hm~” Chesed hummed and scooped his wife’s hand up in his own, lightly pressing a kiss to her knuckles and leaving his lips lingering there. “Well, I suppose we both did know how that one was going to go.”  

Binah chuckled softly. “And yet, my dear,” she lifted a finger to prod his cheek, “you chose the path led to failure, hm?”  

He chuckled in return, simply holding her hand to his cheek. “I have to support my own Fixers, don’t I~?”  

“I think losing money on them when you know they’re going to lose is just stupid.” Gebura snorted.  

He shrugged. “Enoch and Ai should be getting up soon.”  

“Angela’s taking care of them.” Xiao replied, though her eyes flicked to the A.I in question.  

“They rest soundly yet,” Angela confirmed, “I will let you know when they wake.”  

Xiao merely nodded, satisfied enough with that answer.  

“To wrap up the first half of this round, Vespa enters to take on Miris.” Mirinae moved along.  

Vespa was the second allowed to skip a round for how the bracket had to turn out. He hadn’t seemed to mind, though it had taken some debate to determine who would for this second quadrant.  

The two men stood across from each other, waiting. Miris adjusted his glasses, Vespa shifting his harpoon.  

“Begin!”  

Vespa’s harpoon sang through the air, aiming to hook Miris in with a shockwave sending it forward.  

Miris stood his ground and knocked the harpoon to the side powerfully with his forearm.  

Vespa yanked the harpoon back, Miris swiftly crossing the distance between them.  

A sharp shing rang through the air, Vespa unsheathing his sword and parrying the flaming knife strike of Miris’s fingers.  

The two blurred, streaks of fire and yellow clashing against each other every which way. Miris flowed with the fire as any other Liu would, striking only to be parried, blocking the swift cuts of the opposing sword, and Vespa floated almost akin to a bee (this analogy was used on Ezra’s insistence), minute movements made on the dime to twist out of the way of a flaming strike or to deal one back in a quick sting.  

The back and forth danced for a while, neither warrior giving ground for a second and simply pushing through any hits they took.  

For all intents and purposes, they were fairly evenly matched.  

Miris landed a Flaming Dragon’s Fist against Vespa, the dragon of fire roaring as it shoved him back.  

Vespa grit his teeth with a wince as his bones cracked or shattered under the force and threw his harpoon once more, managing to graze Miris’s cheek with the sharp edges.  

A devious idea seemed to hit the former taboo-hunter, and he flicked his wrist. Having just passed Miris, the harpoon’s chain cracked savagely against the redhead’s glasses.  

Knocking them up to inhibit Miris’s vision just enough for Vespa to shoot forward and deal a devastating blow to the slightly disoriented man.  

Even with his vision slightly impaired, Miris still managed to grab Vespa’s sword to throw the other man over his shoulder and away; swiftly fixing his glasses to pivot and grab Vespa again before he went too far, slamming him into the ground.  

Vespa hopped right back up, wincing as an ignited elbow crunched his ribcage, and stabbed his sword into the wound he’d inflicted to Miris’s chest.  

It took all of his might and weight to force Miris to the ground and pin him with the sharp blade. Miris was physically stronger and able to fight through immense pain, but the wound was terrible enough the leverage Vespa wrenched was able to overtake him.  

Yet, even after being pinned, Miris forced his body up and through the sword even if it sank further into him. He grabbed Vespa’s coat, fire rising from the folds of his clothing and his hand chopping harshly into Vespa’s neck, scorching it terribly; the skin blackening and bubbling.  

Almost panicked, Vespa grabbed his harpoon and speared Miris right through the heart.  

A flurry of golden pages signaled the end of the fight.  

“Vespa wins!” Mirina called after a pause. “I guess they were both too stubborn for their own good. Had Vespa not acted so quickly, Miris would have had him.”  

“Indeed.” Xiao agreed with a nod. “Vespa was on his last legs as well.”  

If Miris had managed to throw Vespa off as he’d been about to, he would have taken the sword out and finished him off. Vespa had simply managed to act first since he wasn’t the one impaled on a sword.  

It was disappointing her former right hand hadn’t won, but the fight could have gone either way.  

“Close fight.” Moses hummed. “Vespa has come a long way, but he still has some edges to smooth out.”  

Angela swiftly healed the two, returning Miris from his book.  

Back in shape, the two clasped hands and shook. No hard feelings had, it was a good match.  

Miris’s head swiveled up to the stands, looking for two separate pairs of eyes.  

Red and black returned the gaze, each giving a nod.  

He nodded back and returned to the stands.  

“And moving right along, Lowell and Esther take the field.” Mirinae hummed to herself shortly before glancing back at Xiao. “Well, let’s see how the recently promoted Section 1 Director does, then.”  

Xiao straightened in her chair, meeting Mirinae’s challenging gaze.  

So, the Hana Director was still on the job, huh?  

What was her angle…  

“But of course,” Mirinae turned back to the field to see the current fight taking position to start, “I would also like to see the Shi Branch Manager, but that’s not currently in the cards~”  

Yujin merely smiled. “I believe I’ve been gauged as high as I can be by now.”  

“Sure, your Grade can’t go any higher than what you’ve reached,” Harold replied, “but she still wants a better view of the full extent of your capabilities.”  

Something mischievous twinkled in Yujin’s eyes. “What kind of assassin would I be if I laid all my cards on the table?”  

Mirinae laughed. “And that is precisely why you’ve risen so high. Quite the mystery you’ve made yourself.  

“Begin!” She called off the conversation, starting the fight.  

Tension hung in the air, neither Lowell nor Esther moving immediately from their starting positions.  

 Esther’s eye narrowed, hand gripping the hilt of his sword as Lowell kept eye contact, his guan dao’s pommel resting against the ground.  

Everyone watched with bated breath, waiting for either to move.  

Mirinae’s head tilted lightly (as had many), intrigued.  

Esther twitched.  

Boom .  

A screech of metal and exploding flame pierced through their ears, and Esther was sent flying back with his sword smoking before him.  

He’d narrowly gotten his blade up to block the heavy blow Lowell had dealt in the blink of an eye; the Liu Director now where Esther had just been, flaming guan dao stretched out behind him from the arc of fire it had cut through the air.  

The Proxy caught himself midair, flipping and landing on his feet in time to parry Lowell’s next heavy strike.  

Using the parry, Esther slipped his sword through Lowell’s defenses to strike him across the torso.  

Undeterred, Lowell brought his polearm in tightly to shove the length of the weapon against him, pushing him back and slashing it up Esther’s form in a wave of fire.  

Esther winced, leaping back to make some distance and run to the side; sword flashing to land a hit on Lowell’s side.  

Lowell blocked it, catching the blade on the solid metal of the guan dao’s pole and twisting to stab it down into the Proxy’s shoulder.  

The guan dao was spun and twirled, sparks flying with each clash against Esther’s blade.  

It was clear Lowell was dominating the fight; Esther was struggling to keep up with the flowing fire of Lowell’s fierce determination to win.  

Perhaps Lowell had been feeling a bit left behind.  

The break of a chain sounded, blue petals rising around Esther as his potential unlocked.  

Lowell frowned and swiftly feinted a harsh strike, taking a pair of swift slashes for his trouble and exchanging a few more blows with the empowered Esther before retreating back.  

Esther pursued, pressuring Lowell with a strength and swiftness he had not possessed before with a flurry of ethereal blue petals.  

They were nigh evenly matched all of a sudden, sparks flying and heavy crashes of metal shaking the floor with each strike they clashed against each other or landed a blow; fire slowly rising around Lowell.  

The petals swirled, power rising around Esther.  

Lowell quickly broke off, expertly leveraging his guan dao to make a wedge between him and Esther and throwing both of them back.  

He raised his guan dao high, spinning it in a tempestuous swirl of expanding fire; creating a wheel of fire in a split second as Esther swiftly crossed the distance that had been created between them.  

Fire crashed over the entire floor in a tidal wave as the Raging Storm was unleashed, sweeping Esther up in its raging rapids and slamming him against the floor.  

Lowell rushed forward, stabbing the blade of his weapon down towards the Proxy.  

Esther rolled to the side, snuffing the fire that had taken his cloak and narrowly avoiding the blow. He struck out with his sword, aiming to spear Lowell through the leg if at all possible.  

Lowell grunted, letting his reinforced clothing weather the stab and simply taking the impalement of his knee to ruthlessly take Esther’s head.  

The Proxy exploded into golden pages, signaling the end to the fight.  

“Lowell takes the victory!” Mirinae announced firmly.  

“LET’S GOOOOOOOO!” Ezra roared from the participant stands, maybe a bit too vindicated by the loss of the one who’d beaten her.  

Lowell… would have preferred to not take Esther’s life, but he knew how the Proxies worked: Esther would not have stopped until either he had won, or he was dead.  

Well, perhaps the fight would have ended on knockout, but Esther would only respect Lowell for a killing blow.  

Esther was returned to life from his book, sharing a nod with Lowell before bowing to the audience stands and leaving. He had failed his charge.  

Hod smiled a very brittle smile. Oh boy, all of the Proxies were going to be unbearable for the next week.  

The Liu Director let out a breath, sending a smile and wink up at the audience stands before heading back to take a seat.  

Xiao blushed, averting her gaze from the field in embarrassment.  

Neither Chesed nor Yujin could help a laugh.  

On the other end of the spectrum, Binah’s head had tilted curiously.  

“See? We’re up to three, and we can assume there will be at least two more.” Nemo said with a smile that seemed too pleased for what he was talking about. He skimmed the documents for a moment before making the sound of a tongue clicking. “You did not bet for five, how shameful.”  

Carmen deadpanned.  

“For the next very similar matchup, Cecil and Gloria.” It’s not like the two fought the same as Lowell and Esther, but they were from the same factions, so Mirinae was poking some fun.  

Once again, Gloria waved up at the stands happily, eye arced.  

Hod and Yan shared a sigh.  

“Begin!”  

Gloria surged forward, not wasting any time and swiping her hands at Cecil.  

Cecil got her arms up to take the blows and let herself be pushed back by them, swiftly hitting back with her palm and a burst of fire.  

Gloria was not perturbed, simply thrusting her fingers forward as if they formed their own spears.  

Wincing, Cecil deflected them, scraping past her forearm, and kicked Gloria square in the chest.  

The Proxy was sent backwards in a swirl of fire, but shook it off quickly.  

The defense game wasn’t going to work as well with Gloria, Cecil was at a disadvantage in this fight, so she switched gears and rushed forward to greet her.  

She slid under a swing of Gloria’s arms, narrowly avoiding losing an eye, and shot back up to throw her elbow into the cyborg.  

Gloria’s third arm came up and slammed right back down, Cecil nearly buckling under the force of catching it between her crossed arms; the ground cracking beneath her.  

The other two arms came in from the side, impacting the blonde with a harsh crack and throwing her to the side.  

Cecil hit the ground, rolling for a moment before managing to wrench control and stop herself.  

Only for her eyes to immediately go wide as Gloria was rocketing towards her like a speeding freight train.  

Cecil leapt to her feet just in time to posture herself to catch the charging mechanical amalgam with her arms spread out wide. She braced the Proxy against her shoulders and hoisted her up with the momentum, throwing her to the other side of the field with a mighty heave and roar of exertion.  

A loud ‘whoa~!’ whistled from Gloria as she flew through the air before crashing to the ground.  

She shook herself off, getting up. “Impressive!” She chirped happily.  

Cecil did not seem so enthused by the feat, her arms quaking from suffering the sheer impact of taking a freight train dead-on.  

And no, freight train was not an exaggeration.  

A chain sprung out from the folds of Gloria’s cloak, snagging Cecil’s arms and pulling her in.  

Gritting her teeth, Cecil let the chains pull her forward, closer and closer to Gloria.  

With fire swirling around her, Cecil used the chains to throw her shoulder into Gloria with a powerful boom and massive burst of flame; knocking the chains right off of her and sending Gloria reeling back.  

Gloria shook it off again, but she was now starting to look worse for wear as well.  

They rushed each other once more and exchanged a few more blows, but it wasn’t too long before the blue petals were swirling around Gloria and those chains returned.  

To Cecil’s credit, even after being put through the grinder as Oscar had been, she had not been booked nor knocked out, but she had hit the ground upon being ejected, and Gloria’s hand pressing into her head prevented her from trying to get up.  

“Gloria wins!” Mirinae announced. “Please don’t crush her head.”  

Having been just about to crush Cecil’s head, Gloria quickly pulled back with a “whoops!” and went back to the stands as if nothing happened.  

Mirinae sighed. Regardless of that, she had to say she was incredibly impressed by what she’d seen so far.  

Slowly, Chesed’s head turned towards Hod. “Hod?”  

She wilted in her seat. “I’ll talk to them after this…”  

He chuckled softly. “I wasn’t meaning to berate you or anything~”  

“I-I know.” A sigh. “But I know you don’t exactly want to watch an Index Proxy crush your Fixer’s head.” They were being a bit aggressive today; which was a bit expected, but they’d never truly been hostile with any of the Fixers until now.  

“I can’t say that I do~” His brown eyes flicked up to Mirinae. “Thanks~”  

Mirinae shrugged. “There would have been no point to it.”  

By the thumbs up Cecil sent her after Angela healed her, she appreciated it as well.  

“But this is Proxy number two that Lowell’s going to be facing.” Carmen pointed out, a bit uncertain. “That’s a lot of Proxy to be fighting through.”  

“He’s probably going to wind up facing all three.” Roland snorted.  

“You seem certain Martina isn’t beating Hubert.” Yesod shot back.  

He shrugged. “She could win, I guess. There is a possibility.”  

Yesod huffed.  

“He’ll be fine.” Xiao stated, seeming confident, but there was still a little bit of smoke escaping her lips with those words.  

“I hope so.” Carmen nodded slowly.  

“For the final quadrant, we’re starting with a mentor taking on his student: Kim, Aeng-du, when you’re ready.” Another announcement of their combatants was made.  

“We know how this one will go, the question is how Aeng-du will fare.” Gebura said, stretching her back out with a few loud pops from sitting so long. “Kim won’t go easy.”  

This wasn’t a regular spar or time for mentoring, this was a real fight with stakes.  

…  

Very minor stakes, but serviceable enough.  

“Hm.” Binah hummed lowly. “Will she bend to the primal fear of facing a force she knows is beyond her capabilities, or will she rise to the challenge to greet him as a student should her master? It is time she faces the past.”  

“I’d say so.” Moses agreed with a nod. “Even before the incident with the False Throne and beyond, she’s doubted everything around her.”  

Aeng-du definitely didn’t look thrilled about the fight before her.  

“Begin!” And Kim’s blade had already left a shining cut through the air, a swift clang and yelp ringing out with Aeng-du scrambling to get her own blade up to block it.  

Kim stepped forward with another slash, Aeng-du stepping back as she took it.  

Another step, another slash.  

It repeated, Aeng-du being near effortlessly beat back as Kim systematically wore her defenses down for an opening.  

More and more they went. Kim was allowing her a chance, but he was not making it easy.  

Frustration built in Aeng-du’s features, teeth gritting and eyes flaring in anger; knowing she should have fallen already.  

Again, more striking, more flashes of metal.  

Until…  

Her blade was knocked up, and Kim dealt a cutting slash into his student.  

She winced, teeth grit, but something had sparked in her eyes.  

Aeng-du struck, doing as her teacher had always taught her:  

To Claim Their Bones.  

Kim staggered back slightly, almost startled.  

He paused, head tilted to the side in thought.  

Aeng-du startled and scrambled to press forward, having also paused in shock that she’d pulled it off even as weakly as she had. Confidence returning to her.  

With a low chuckle, an odd sound from the odd man, Bamboo-Hatted Kim nodded in approval.  

Then sidestepped her next strike, bashing the pommel of his blade into the back of her head.  

She hit the ground with a harsh cough.  

She was quick to roll around, grabbing her blade to leap up and continue, to slash or stab at him, but…  

Well, she turned to the tip of his blade right at her nose.  

She blanched.  

Slowly, her eyes flicked up to meet where she knew his were. His hat had been repaired, his face completely concealed.  

And yet…  

Aeng-du knew exactly the expression he wore.  

His eyes meeting hers, an approving smile on his face. Pride, ease, yet a warning she shouldn’t push her luck.  

Slowly, Aeng-du accepted her defeat and put her sword down. She had lost handily, but she couldn’t help a sense of accomplishment and that, maybe, she’d finally fully reconnected with her mentor.  

The age-old saying of letting the blades do the talking for you did hold merit, after all.  

“Well, it seems Kim is the winner.” Mirinae accepted the surrender on display. “Well done, Aeng-du.”  

Aeng-du blushed, allowing Kim to help her to her feet.  

Maybe she didn’t need all of this attention.  

Moses smiled. “Indeed, this was what she needed.”  

Binah nodded in agreement. “Thus, the wayward student reconciles with her master. To see where she may bloom will be a journey worthwhile, hm?”  

“One I’m all for!” YuRia chirped.  

… How many pages of that notebook had she gone through by now? It had started fresh, but she was well into it.  

Gebura snorted. “He handled that pretty well, I definitely would not have managed that.”  

“You struggle with finesse of any kind.” Chesed smiled teasingly.  

“Shut up before I make you.” She grumbled, her current candy audibly crunching.  

He just laughed.  

Mirinae looked highly amused before starting the next announcement. “Let’s move along quickly, our final battle of this round is Martina jumping in to face Hubert.”   

Martina was the last one allowed to skip a round. Frankly, in this quadrant, it had been between her and Hubert, but everyone had unanimously decided that the Proxy wasn’t skipping a round.  

Partly because it was funny to put Olga against him first thing, but also because the Proxies had insisted on running the full tournament. Not that there was actually any contention for Lowell skipping, he was slated as most likely to win.  

He just had to run the Proxy gauntlet first.  

It was always hard to make out Martina’s expression with the way her hair covered the top half of her face, but her mouth portrayed an expression of determination.  

“Begin!”  

Hubert shot across the field, gauntlets primed to strike.  

A loud thunk, Martina blocking the first strike on her briefcase and shoving Hubert back in the same motion; raising it up and slamming the briefcase down onto him.  

He took it with a grunt, his other gauntlet extending into a blade to stab at her.  

She slid to the side, returning the favor with another bash of her briefcase that he deflected with the back of his hand.  

The blade was slashed forward, Martina wincing as she suffered it.  

The briefcase exploded open, black tendrils springing out of it and stabbing into Hubert; forcing him back.  

Not letting that slow him down, Hubert’s gauntlets formed together into a thick blade, and he thrust it forward.  

The blade broke past the briefcase, and Martina gasped, teetering backwards on her thin, prosthetic legs.  

The field shook as the two continued to trade blows back and forth, neither truly able to find the upper hand against the other.  

A chain broke, blue petals beginning to swirl around Hubert.  

He was immediate with it.  

A chain shot out, snagging Martina tightly and pulling her straight to him. His blade shone through the air in an ethereal blue streak, slicing straight through Martina’s neck with a practiced ease.  

Or close to it with Martina managing to resist the chain just enough that with her height she could avoid losing her head, but still took the decapitating hit straight on.  

Her briefcase sprung open again, the tendrils striking at Hubert and snagging him just as well had his chain had her.  

With a light flex of his wrists, his gauntlets expanded back into that large blade, breaking him out of Martina’s hold and piercing her through.  

Martina managed to struggle for just a bit longer, shoving him back with her briefcase, but his empowered state overcame her before too long, and she hit the ground.  

“Hubert wins!” Mirinae declared before Hubert could kill Martina.  

With a huff, the man nodded and walked off.  

“Take another five, we’ll enter the quarter finals in just a moment.” She stated after Angela healed Martina, then retaking her seat.  

“She held on pretty well.” Roland hummed. “I was not expecting that.”  

Yesod scoffed. “She may be from Nemo’s Office, but she is one of those who was Grade 1 before coming here.”  

“What’s that supposed to mean, prick?” Nemo grumbled, turning a dull LED onto his Patron.  

“It is all the more credit to her ability.” Was the reply.  

Nemo continued staring for a moment before grumbling to himself and returning to the bets.  

The question a few of them might have been wondering there was if he had bet on Martina winning. If he really thought Hubert would win, the answer was no, but then that begged the question of if he thought Martina could win.  

Who knew.  

Nemo could sometimes be a bit contradictory.  

“You know.” Gebura spoke up after a short moment of silence. “I’ve been thinking.”  

“That’s dangerous.” Chesed hummed.  

Then yelped harshly as Gebura kicked him in the shin.  

“Binah.” She continued, undeterred.  

“For what do you wish to ascertain, sister dear?” Binah replied with a lightly quirked brow, idly interested.  

“You pulled Mimicry out of Nothing There’s book so I wouldn’t have to use that dumb key page for it,” gold and dead grey flicked over to black a bit more seriously, “can’t you do that with the other Abnormalities?”  

A lot of heads swiveled over to her; those not from Lobotomy Corporation seeming a bit confused but also very curious, and the rest looking a bit like they felt like idiots.  

Binah’s head tilted as she put some thought to it, before chuckling lowly. “You wish to regain the terror you wrought upon the facility in those final days?”  

“Not quite like that, but the concept of it, yeah.” Gebura huffed. “Having more E.G.O to work with will only be better in the long run.”  

Basically, yes.  

“Wait, hold on.” YuRia’s eyes finally left her notebook, turning to Gebura with literal stars in them. “You’ve had Abnormalities here that you could extract E.G.O from this entire time?!”  

It’s not that she wasn’t aware of the Abnormalities, she just hadn’t considered the E.G.O aspect of it.  

Moses clamped a hand down on her shoulder and shoved her into the seat. “Behave yourself, and they might allow you to take a look.”  

She saluted, body completely serious and rigid but her head nodding rapidly.  

Gebura now looked like she was reconsidering bringing this up.  

“Oh, and it would be a good idea to kit our Fixers out with some E.G.O, too, wouldn’t it?” Malkuth pointed out. “Maybe some of the Teth or Zayin E.G.Os wouldn’t be better than the equipment they have now, but the Waws and Alephs are something you can’t get anywhere else. It only makes sense, right?”  

“Wait a minute…” Xiao’s brows pinched, and she sat a bit straighter in her chair. “You want to give us E.G.O.”  

Malkuth shrugged. “I mean, yeah? It would make sense. I know you and Roland already have your own and don’t really need any, but we could swap your sword out with something to use with that guan dao.”  

The orange Color just looked a bit beside herself.  

Angela cleared her throat, grabbing everyone’s attention. “I will think on that one, let us shelve it for now. It would be beneficial for the defense of the Library, I will say that, but I would not want anyone bringing them to the City.”  

“Understandable.” Malkuth agreed, now smiling quite brightly.  

YuRia, on the other hand, seemed a little bit put out by that.  

“Truly terrifying.” Mirinae chuckled. “Fixers already so strong with that kind of equipment at their beck and call? Why, we might be hard pressed not making all of you Colors.”  

“You shouldn’t sound so happy about this.” Harold deadpanned.  

She merely shrugged. “What can I say? Hindsight is twenty-twenty.”  

A beat.  

“Making everyone a Color is a bit much.” Harold said, voice dull.  

“It would be funny, though.” Roland chuckled.  

“I can’t deny that.” She sighed, slumping a bit.  

Olivier shook his head. “You know that won’t be happening, but we’ll see how a few here do progress.”  

Another pause.  

“We need to look into that Shin and Mang stuff, too.” Malkuth continued on. “A lesser application of the Light than E.G.O would be helpful for everyone.”  

“Can’t argue with that one.” Gebura sighed. “But why are we having these conversations now?”  

Netzach quirked a brow, glancing back at her. “You’re the one who started it.”  

She kicked his chair, nearly sending him sprawling over the edge of the railing.  

“I don’t believe he is participating in the next match.” Mirinae hummed, rising back to her feet and plucking Netzach from the railing to send him back to his seat. “But I suppose it is time to continue.”  

Netzach groaned, slumping in his chair. “Ow…”  

No one paid him any mind.  

“We’re entering the quarter finals now!” Mirinae announced. “The stakes are rising, we’re past the midway point. Only three rounds left.”  

Nemo cleared his throat, stepping forward with a smile. She’d taken the main bulk of starting it from him, but he should still say something.  

“I know everyone is very happy to be here and test their mettle, and what mettle is being tested, hm?” He chuckled. “I’m sure the most mettle will be when this is all done and we see the results.”  

Everyone knew he was talking about the betting ring…  

“With those wonderful words said,” Mirinae did not even attempt to keep the sarcasm out of her voice, “to start us off are Walter and Mars, take your places.”  

Walter and Mars was definitely an interesting matchup. Walter, an Association Director, was clearly the far more seasoned Fixer and would almost certainly win the match, but Mars was a prodigy, so he could still scrape it out.  

Regardless, everyone knew it didn’t really matter who won. Neither would be able to beat Chun or Vespa.  

The two were facing each other before long, and Walter expectedly already looked confident.  

“Hokma?” Malkuth huffed, glancing at the older man with a bit of a stink eye.  

Hokma merely shrugged. “His confidence will bite him one day.”  

She scoffed, looking back forward. Mars was all she had left at this point, and she didn’t like Walter looking down on him.  

“Begin!”  

As with his last fight, Walter simply sauntered forward as if he expected his defensive capabilities to carry him through.  

Mars was not having it.  

He ran to the side in a burst of dust, going around Walter before the slowly moving man could truly react and slammed his massive sword into his back.  

Walter coughed, but immediately spun to knock Mars back with his own large sword.  

Several loud clangs rang out, the two swords clashing with a greater fervor than expected--  

Oh, right. Walter had kinda insulted his wife. And left her on the ground after winning.  

Maybe a bit vindictive.  

A loud screeching sound grated against their ears.  

Just a bit.  

That said, even with Mars was fighting with a fire in his veins, striking harder and faster than he had previously, Walter was still keeping up; blocking each strike expertly as was expected as one denoted as a shield.  

Walter gripped the blade of his sword and shoved Mars back, nearly knocking him down with the force. He then raised the sword up high.  

Thinking fast, Mars dove, rolling to the side and springing back up to strike at the older man.  

His thick blade cut across Walter’s ribcage, but the Zwei Director was undeterred, bringing his sword back in to stab at him in a reverse grip.  

Mars grimaced at the impact, clutching his stomach as he tried to retreat.  

Walter surged after him, giving him no quarter.  

A few more wide swipes of Walter’s zweihänder, overpowering Mars quite cleanly and pushing him back ever further, and Walter decided to flourish a bit.  

He dug the tip of the sword into the books that made up the floor, sweeping the books up and throwing them into Mars’s face in a flurry of pages.  

No one else had tried to make use of the books to their advantage, but most everyone else who would have gotten to that point had been too busy destroying the floor instead.  

Funny how they cracked like a normal floor would, but still could be dislodged like this.  

Mars stumbled back in startle with the books flying into his face, trying to bat them away with his sword.  

With a cocky smile on his face, Walter stepped forward to finish the young Fixer off.  

And slipped on the loose page of one of the books he’d just thrust into the air.  

The older man hit the uneven ground he himself had broken quite unceremoniously with a loud crack and shocked yelp.  

The books settled and… everyone just kinda stared at Walter sprawled out on the ground; on his side with one arm bent behind his back.  

Mirinae looked like she wasn’t sure if she should call the fight or not.  

There was a loud ‘HA!’ that everyone was fairly certain had come from Isadora.  

A hoarse cough left the old Fixer, feeling at least twenty years past the age he really was as he began to rise back to his feet.  

Mars let him out of a strange sense of courtesy.  

Back on his feet, Walter tried to continue the fight, but Mars was swift to enact the tried-and-true Shi’s Extreme Edge and send him right back down.  

Walter twitched.  

“Well then, that’s quite the upset.” Mirinae noted softly under her breath. She cleared her throat. “Mars wins!”  

Mars nodded, shaking off whatever it was that had just happened. He didn’t seem particularly pleased with this victory, but who would be?  

Though, he did show himself the bigger man by helping Walter to his feet after Angela healed them.  

Walter then proceeded to refuse to meet anyone in the eye.  

Angela snickered under her breath. “Well, he sealed his own fate there.”  

“You are still feeling vindictive of your first meeting, aren’t you?” Hokma asked with a low sigh.  

The A.I merely shrugged. “I will neither confirm nor deny that I felt a little bit of satisfaction from that.”  

Another sigh.  

Perhaps she had been feeling a bit vindictive from that, but that was years ago anyway.  

Not that she could forget it, hm?  

“I can’t even be happy about that victory, though.” Malkuth clicked her tongue with a sigh and sat back. “I mean, sure, it’s funny he took himself out, but it was just kinda pathetic.”  

“Not a victory of any merit for Mars.” Yesod stated, arms crossed.  

“Yeah.”  

“Let’s simply move on to Chun and Vespa.” Mirinae called. “And refrain from making use of the books from here, yes?”  

Both men gave a thumbs up as they went out. They’d had no intention of tearing up the floor to use against the other, so that wasn’t an issue.  

Breaking the floor, however, was still on the table.  

“Begin!”  

Having learned from Miris, Vespa did not immediately start out throwing his harpoon. Instead, he rushed to meet Chun in the middle.  

A burst of fire and a flash of steel, Chun’s palm met Vespa’s sword; the Liu Fixer having caught the sword.  

More fire flowed as metal flashed across everyone’s vision, the two swiftly striking at each other with thunderous impact.  

Chun gracefully ducked under a horizontal slash, jabbing his fingers into Vespa’s elbow to knock his sword to the side and allow him to swivel his body forward and plant his fist into Vespa’s exposed ribcage.  

The former taboo-hunter grimaced heavily as the fire washed over him, the force of the blow sending him reeling back.  

Chun pressed forward, granting him no quarter, and dealt a series of swift punches and jabs. His shoulder rammed into the other man in a whirl of fire.  

Vespa struggled to recover and get back solidly to his feet, feeling the heat getting to him, but he managed to dive to the side to avoid Chun’s next heavy blow and glide his sword along the Liu Fixer’s chest as he went.  

Wincing, Chun slapped the sword back with the back of his hand and jammed the fingers of his other hand into the crook Vespa’s neck.  

Vespa quickly backpedaled, extracting himself before he could be burnt to a crisp via kicking off of Chun’s hip. He quickly grabbed his harpoon, launching it towards the older Fixer.  

Chun grabbed it out of midair and yanked Vespa towards him.  

You could see his eyes visibly widen, if only for a second, before he was torn off of his feet and sent rocketing towards Chun’s fist.  

Thinking quickly, Vespa twisted midair, managing to only suffer the Flaming Dragon’s Fist to his shoulder and drop back to the ground to stab Chun from under his ribs.  

Chun’s reinforced clothing mostly defended him from being completely impaled, but Vespa still got some purchase.  

He grabbed the sword before Vespa could yank it out and rammed his head down onto Vespa’s.  

The bumblebee-themed man was forced to let his blade go, reeling backwards with blood streaming from his forehead whereas Chun was none the worse for wear from the attack.  

Chun yanked the sword out and tossed it to the side, letting fire take care of the wound.  

Vespa flicked his wrist out, taking his harpoon back and jerking to block a blazing kick. A wince graced his features as tails of flame licked at his face.  

A short pause, the two staring each other down.  

Boom.  

They collided in the middle of the field, the ground shattering beneath them in a fury of fire and steel; wind blasting back against the stands.  

Shockwaves cracked out with each blow they dealt each other, reaching the end of their ropes but still fighting with everything they had in them and refusing to back down.  

Chun had the upper hand in strength and dexterity, but Vespa had reach and versatility.  

Vespa took a moment, but he found the slight rip in Chun’s clothing, finding an opening and thrusting his harpoon towards it.  

Chun knocked it back, but Vespa had simply let go and lunged towards his sword.  

Flipping back to his feet with sword in hand, Vespa deflected Chun’s wrist, bashing the pommel into his temple then taking his harpoon back by the chain.  

Chun caught the harpoon on his arm, preventing it from spearing him from behind, but it twisted him too far with his wounded side to properly block Vespa’s sword.  

Held in two hands, Vespa thrust his sword forward and cut Chun through; eating an elbow to the face for his efforts.  

His glasses broke, the pieces clattering to the ground.  

Both men teetered, back to back, and fell.  

But Chun hit the ground first.  

“Vespa wins!” Mirinae announced, eyes easily keeping up with who hit first.  

Xiao made a sound of disappointment before softly sighing. “I suppose it was inevitable both would fall, it was a valiant effort from all of them.”  

While she did commend Vespa for his own prowess in that statement, they all knew she was talking about Chun and Miris. It was only natural she’d be rooting for them, so seeing them lose was not so easy.  

“They did well, they should stand proud.” Yujin nodded. “Both fights were close, it is impressive Vespa managed to come out on top both times.”  

“Indeed.” A puff of smoke.  

So, it would be Vespa in the finals.  

Chun and Vespa shook hands upon rising back to their feet, returning to sit down and rest for the next fights.  

“Next in the quarter finals is Lowell and Gloria.” Mirinae sounded quite interested in this one, though it wasn’t as if she hadn’t been interested in most of them. But as she’d noted earlier, she did want to see what the Liu Director was capable of.  

Or maybe she just had money riding on him. That was a distinct possibility.  

“Question.” Carmen spoke up, head swiveling towards Nemo. “Has Gebura lost any bets yet?”  

“Huh?” The woman in question was ignored.  

Nemo paused whatever he was doing, staring at the papers for a second.  

He put up a finger and sifted through them methodically.  

After just a few seconds, he lifted his head; LEDs flat and blue.  

“No.”  

Sounds of disappointment rose from just about everyone, Roland even reaching his arm back to smack his sister in the knee.  

“You can’t just win everything!”  

She snorted, eyes rolling. “Make better bets, idiot.”  

He scoffed.  

Mirinae shook her head as if in amusement, but her expression was just as dull as everyone else’s. “Begin!”  

Evermore fire flowed over the field, Lowell wasting no time in getting it going with a swing of his guan dao.  

Gloria did not care, simply moving along through the heat of the flames as they washed over her; avoiding the guan dao itself and swiping her arms down overhead.  

Lowell lurched backwards, wincing as her sharp fingers scraped down the front of his face, but twirled his guan dao around to impart a swath of flames to her side.  

She struck again, surging forward with her arms primed as spears.  

A twirl of the guan dao wrapped them all against each other, giving Lowell a short opening to slip the ignited blade through to her center.  

The fight continued like that a while more, the flash of the guan dao accentuated by brilliant orange flames expertly weaving around the Proxy’s arms to press her back. As with Esther, Lowell was slowly overcoming Gloria with graceful ribbons of fire.  

An arm struck Lowell in the shoulder, finding a way through his deadly performance to knock him backwards. Even as skilled as he was, it was difficult to account for three arms.  

She pressed the attack, arms seemingly flailing to continually stab and slash at him as he blocked and deflected best he could with his weapon.  

The fight had suddenly turned around.  

And then that telltale chain broke, blue petals swarming around the cyborg lending to her efforts redoubling.  

Lowell leapt backwards, a bead of sweat dripping down his temple as vicious blue lines cut the air right before his eyes, mere millimeters from blinding him.  

His guan dao immediately spun in a wheel of fire, deflecting chains which sought to bind him and ending with a wide, forward arc to halt Gloria’s advance.  

She was only stopped for a second by the fire scorching the metal of her body before charging back forward to chase him as he tried to make distance.  

Ethereal petals flowed behind Gloria as she gained more and more momentum, brushing past the crackling flames Lowell left behind him. Knowing this would go nowhere, Lowell stopped and braced himself.  

He pushed his guan dao out with both hands, giving plenty of slack for when Gloria crashed into it and twisted it to the side, throwing her straight into the ground with a thunderous boom that shattered the ground.  

Could he have thrown her as Cecil did? Yes, but this seemed the more decisive option.  

Gloria was back up quickly, anyway, and didn’t flinch as he feinted a heavy strike against her.  

Her eye narrowed as fire rose around him. She knew what that meant.  

As one, both unleashed devastating attacks.  

A raging storm of fire slammed into Gloria and nearly knocked her over as chains sprung from the folds of her cloak. The wide, sweeping motion that released the burning tidal wave left Lowell open to getting snagged.  

He was dragged straight towards Gloria as she teetered from his own attack, managing to hold firm to take him into the grinder.  

Binah and Yujin both placed a hand to Xiao’s shoulders as she nearly lunged from her seat in reflex.  

Blood splattered from Gloria’s cloak and machinery, her eye arcing happily.  

Lowell was spat back out, tumbling to the ground.  

Just as she had with Cecil, Gloria moved to crush his head.  

Smoke billowed from the corners of Xiao’s lips, leaking from her nostrils.  

It wasn’t that she didn’t have faith in him, she had a lot, it was simply that draconic instinct which had been awakened in her wanting to act.  

Lowell rolled, and Gloria’s hand cracked the ground instead.  

Using his guan dao as leverage, Lowell vaulted himself back to his feet, avoiding an upwards slash, and dealt his own slash back in return.  

Fire arced overhead, finding purchase in between the plates of Gloria’s neck. He slit it downwards with a plume of fire, blasting Gloria backwards in a glory of flame.  

One, final blazing charge, Lowell slammed Gloria’s arms upwards with an uppercut arc, briefly lifting off of her feet and spinning his guan dao to detonate against her side.  

The ground shattered in an eruption of fire, Gloria’s body practically embedded into the floor.  

In the same motion, Lowell merely continued through and slashed through the scorched opening in her neck with no small amount of fire.  

Gloria burst into golden pages, and Lowell planted the pommel of his guan dao into the floor, letting himself fall to a knee to simply breathe.  

“Lowell claims victory!” Mirinae announced with a grin on her face.  

Xiao huffed, relaxing in her seat. There was still smoke leaking from her lips, but it had died down.  

Binah chuckled, idly rubbing her shoulder. “He is not one who bends so easily, my dragon.”  

“I know.”  

Another chuckle.  

“I might need to install a smoke alarm at this rate.” Angela mused aloud, waving a bit of the smoke in the air away from her face.  

Xiao settled a dull stare on the back of her head before sighing, ceasing the fire and getting the rest of the smoke out. “My apologies.”  

“Then again, perhaps that would be far too annoying, wouldn’t it.” The A.I continued.  

Xiao deadpanned.  

Roland couldn’t help a laugh. “It’d be going off very often, that’s for sure.”  

Xiao didn’t get the chance to rebut before Lowell was back on his feet and sending her another smile and wink.  

Cue just a bit more smoke.  

His following expression before heading to sit down was a somewhat abashed amusement at the obvious smoke wafting through the air.  

“And there’s my point~” Roland chortled.  

She kicked the back of his chair, earning herself a yelp for her troubles.  

Carmen lightly shoved him with her own laugh. “Ease up, will you?”  

“It’s all in good fun!” He defended with a broad smile. “We’re pals!”  

“For whatever meaning that casual word truly holds.” Xiao said evenly. Perhaps with a hint of irritation.  

He just shot her a grin.  

Her eyes rolled.  

Another laugh as he turned back to his girlfriend. “See? Best pals.”  

Now it was Carmen’s eyes that were rolling.  

“Let’s finish the quarter finals right up with Hubert and Kim.” Mirinae continued them.  

“Ah.” Angela straightened in her chair, turning back to the row behind her. “Enoch’s woken, I imagine Ai will be up soon after.”  

Binah hummed, nodding and rising to her feet. “In which case, I will be back. Do not withhold things on my account.”  

With that, she turned to leave.  

Xiao grunted, rising after her. “I’ll follow.” Might as well, since Ai really wouldn’t be long after Enoch.  

The two mothers were gone soon enough. The children take precedent.  

Angela snapped, removing the smoke. “Perhaps she does not have as much control as she might wish.”  

“No, she does not.” Yujin confirmed, tone humored.  

“Cut her some slack~” Chesed chuckled. “It’s quite the thing to grow used to.”  

“Oh, I just think it’s funny.” Angela admitted with a smile.  

Yan looked a bit concerned. “Um…” He clearly wanted to ask something but stopped himself, uncertain.  

“Begin!” But it’s not like he’d have time to get answers, the fight did need to commence. Perhaps why he hadn’t tried too hard.  

Sword held comfortably at his side, Bamboo-hatted Kim flowed like water to deflect Hubert’s gauntlet. No one could see his face to know his expression, but by the shrieking sound of it, this wasn’t going to be a long fight.  

Kim deflected, dodged, and weaved best he could, moving with an ease crafted through years upon years of hardship, but the Index Proxy was simply stronger. Hubert struck with a speed and power that even sheer swordsmanship simply could not keep up with; sparks flying with each collision but Kim remaining silent with each hit he endured.  

As if his sword were but a feather, Kim slipped the blade between Hubert’s fists and gracefully slashed his front open.  

Hubert took the lacerations without so much as a flinch, his gauntlets morphing into that massive blade and stabbing forward.  

Kim staggered back, raising his katana to parry Hubert’s next strike before leaving himself with an opening.  

Despite knowing exactly what Kim was doing by now, Hubert took the bait anyway.  

Hubert’s fist nearly crushed Kim’s collarbone, but Kim pushed onwards and sprung into action.  

His sword shone through the air, leaving swiftly fading tears behind the sharp edge. He stepped forward with each stroke of the blade, ripping through Hubert with a graceful yet brutal assault.  

Hubert caught Kim’s blade with the length of his gauntlet, a chain breaking.  

The other gauntlet shifted into a long sword of his own, a flash of blue--  

Golden pages fluttered into the air.  

“Hubert wins!” Mirinae called.  

Gebura clicked her tongue. “I guess it wasn’t going to end another way.”  

“He did fare well, however.” Yujin sounded impressed. “Perhaps I could learn a thing or two as well.”  

“That calls the end to the quarter finals, we’ll being the semi-finals in another five.” Mirinae retook her seat. “Yes, I do agree. To stand up to a Proxy is no small feat.”  

“And, as expected, Lowell is fighting all three Proxies.” Malkuth snorted. “Okay, so, who didn’t bet on that?”  

“Outside of the Proxies themselves who didn’t bet on anything and just threw their ahn into the pot?” Nemo scoffed, flipping through the documents. “Those who bet against it…” He hummed in displeasure. “Very few, not a big payout on that one.”  

“You don’t keep the proceeds, Nemo.” Angela reminded him curtly.  

“I know.” He huffed, waving her off. “Yujin gets the house, yada yada yada. I still get what I bet on!”  

She sniffed. “Yes, yes, that was the agreement.”  

Nemo hmphed with a firm nod. He was getting out of this with some payout for his efforts or so help him…  

“I do not need to take the money.” Yujin spoke up. “I can manage fine on my own.”  

Roland snorted, waving her off. “Don’t sweat it, Yujin. You need all the help you can get, and it’s not like we need it. We just want to help, nothing wrong with that.”  

He definitely did not blush at the smile Carmen sent him.  

“I suppose not.” She sighed, sitting back in her seat. It still did not sit right with her to accept handouts.  

But, well, perhaps this wasn’t truly one. She had put in a lot of work to helping this place reach its goals.  

“Oh, Yan, was there something you had wanted to say?” Hod asked after a short silence passed.  

“Hm?” Yan blinked. “Oh.” He looked down at his hands with a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. “I was simply considering if there were any effects of my own Distortion still present in me. If Xiao was so altered by hers, and she never truly completed it…”  

That was a reasonable concern, actually.  

“Ah, I see.” Hod nodded, glancing to Moses.  

Moses hummed, taking a drag on her pipe before she’d inevitably have to put it away when the kids got here. “I understand your hesitation, but it is not so big a concern as you might think. The Distortion is gone from your form, I do not see it. As for Xiao, she is not so heavily altered as it may seem, it is simply a quirk imparted on her from the manifestation of her E.G.O after her own attempted Distortion.  

“As with her and Roland, if you were to manifest E.G.O of your own one day, I imagine it will be influenced by the Distortion that once gripped you.” She exhaled a far different smoke than Xiao had. “If you truly are so worried, there will be no effects until then.”  

“Maybe I can’t breathe fire, but I’ve still got some smoke up my sleeves.” Roland grinned, rolling his wrist.  

True to form, some smoke leaked out.  

“Please refrain from smoking the stands back up.” Angela deadpanned.  

Roland snorted, ruffling her hair. “I was just demonstrating, Angie~”  

She did not look appreciative; face dull and hand swatting him away.  

“We can all use some part of our E.G.Os outside of having it manifested.” Gebura stated. “Just you three got it a tad different, I guess.”  

“Hm, I see.” Yan nodded, flexing his fingers. He could imagine that erosion oozing from his joints… dripping from the tips of his nails… causing decay in anything it touched.  

He almost… could feel it again.  

He quickly clenched his hands and put them in his lap, bringing his eyes back forward.  

Well, since he wasn’t much interested in fighting, who knew if he’d ever manifest E.G.O and find out.  

Did he want to find out what that other side of himself was like? He definitely hadn’t liked the last time.  

“You okay?” Hod asked softly, eyes brimming with worry.  

Yan nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”  

She shifted a bit. “If you’re certain.”  

He nodded again. If Xiao could handle breathing fire, then he could handle anything his past Distortion left on him.  

A moment of silence passed, idle chatter rising between those only acting as audience in this… maybe grand wasn’t the right word, but it sure was an event.  

Yujin was going to make out like a bandit with all that the house was going to accumulate, they all knew it even if Nemo refused to speak on it. He was salty.  

“I suppose it’s time to start this off, then.” Mirinae hummed, rising back to her feet once more. “Three fights remain, let’s see where this goes.  

“If we’re ready to begin the semi-finals, then we shall.” Her voice raised even if she didn’t shout. “The finals are on the line here, who will take the crown.”  

Everyone shook their heads rapidly as her attention turned to Nemo to give his own words for the round.  

She just grinned at them.  

Nemo huffed, standing again. “Fight your hardest, make weird plays, we have money to make.”  

And he sat back down.  

There was a loud smack as Harold’s palm slammed into her face.  

“Well, maybe he can get worse.” Tiphereth grumbled.  

Mirinae snorted, shaking her head. “We’re starting off with Mars and Vespa. Take the floor.”  

There was no doubt in anyone’s mind who would win this match. It was an unfortunate result of having such wild ranges of skill and ability, but hey, Angela had done her best to give everyone a fair fight in their quadrants.  

Olga and Ezra notwithstanding.  

The two men silently took their places, staring each other down without a word.  

Mars still wasn’t happy with his previous victory, that much was obvious, but he’d have to push that aside for now.  

Vespa, for his part, seemed more assured of this battle than the last two.  

Mirinae waited just a second before giving the call. “Begin!”  

Vespa shot forward in a black and yellow blur. A flash, his sword flying from its sheath with a swing along the length of Mars’s large sword.  

Mars grimaced as the sparks of metal on metal shone in his eyes, arms struggling to fend off Vespa’s might.  

Vespa struck again, overhead.  

Mars narrowly deflected it with a wide swing, having to step back to catch it in time.  

Left.  

Clang.  

Right.  

Clang.  

Below.  

Scrape.  

Each clash pushed Mars further back, each swing faster and more forceful than the last. He did his best to keep up, somewhat managing for a short time, but it was clear in their Grades and the way they fought that Vespa was a few cuts above Mars. Vespa had only been testing the waters to start, gauging Mars for what he was worth.  

Another scrape of blade against blade, Vespa slipped his behind Mars’s in one, fluid motion and forced it to the side with a flick. With a crack, Mars’s ribs were fractured from a powerful kick of Vespa’s boot, and he hit the ground a far ways back.  

The white-haired man was fast to rise to his feet, but Vespa was faster.  

Mars rose up to the greeting of a black hilt to his temple, dropping him right back down to the floor where that same boot pressed into his back and the tip of the sword rested behind his heart.  

He huffed, relaxing against the floor.  

He could try to fight back, but if this were a real fight, Vespa would have already stabbed him through. He only hadn’t for the futility of doing so. Because Angela would prefer he didn’t. If this were a tournament in the City itself, there would be no coming back.  

“Vespa takes to the finals!” Mirinae declared. “Let’s see who you’ll be facing.”  

Vespa stepped off of Mars, giving the stands a short bow before assisting his opponent to his feet.  

“Well.” Angela sounded quite pleased with herself. “I have a finalist.”  

Roland scoffed. “Since when were they yours?”  

“Roland, you can’t claim them as yours, you scarcely interacted with them during their visits.” Angela huffed, rolling her eyes.  

“She’s right.” Moses confirmed.  

“But when am I going to get my own set of Fixers?” He asked incredulously. “It’s been three years or something! Surely, I’m trustworthy now!”  

“Hm…” Angela diverted her eyes.  

“Angela!”  

“You might be waiting a while.” Olivier smiled quite the mischievous smile. “Because I’m afraid the Hana is not so quick to let ourselves be commanded by one of you yet.”  

“… Olivier…”  

“If we’re going to listen to anyone, perhaps it might be Carmen.” Mirinae threw in her own tease with a smile.  

Roland slumped miserably in his chair.  

Carmen patted him on the shoulder with a soft giggle. “It’s alright, at least you have Yan!”  

Yan waved.  

Roland sighed, giving him a thumbs up in return. “Appreciate you, buddy.”  

Yan blinked a few times. “Um, yeah. No problem.”  

A bit awkward with receiving praise, but he’s getting there.  

“Anyway, that would require us recruit more people.” Angela noted. “How many more could we possibly take in?”  

That was a good question, wasn’t it? The answer was infinite as the Library itself was infinite, but it’s not like they were going to go out snatching anyone who’d fallen here up off the streets. That would be a lot of people…  

“As many as they arrive?” Binah stepped in, Enoch in arm with Xiao and Ai behind her.  

Roland deadpanned. “Who’s just gonna waltz up to the Library and be dragged in?”  

“None, if that is how you wish to be.”  

Somehow, his expression got duller.  

Shaking her head, Mirinae turned back to the field. “To decide our final contender, Lowell--”  

“Papa?”  

Mirinae paused just a second, a smile pinching her lips as she snickered. “Will be taking on the third and final Proxy in Hubert!”  

Lowell waved at the stands, his smile clear to be seen as he regarded his daughter.  

Ai tried to reach for him. “Papa!”  

Xiao chuckled. “He’s busy, Ai.” She spoke softly as she retook her seat beside Yujin.  

Enoch, as Binah took her seat beside her husband, stared at Chesed long and hard before an ‘ah!’ left him, arms reaching out.  

Chesed sighed, smiling in a loving yet shattered expression, and took his son from his wife’s arms. “Hello, Enoch~”  

“Ah!”  

Close enough…  

Xiao offered him a consoling smile, though was clearly very amused. “He’ll get there, Chesed. Ai’s half a year older, remember.”  

“I know…” He sighed, dejected.  

“Begin!”  

Crash.  

Hubert’s gauntlets cracked against Lowell’s guan dao, shooting forward the absolute second he was able. His eyes narrowed at Lowell’s quick reflexes, reacting in time even with the extreme speed Hubert had tried to get the drop on him with.  

Undeterred, Hubert unleashed a flurry of punches and swaps to jabs and slashes with his morphing sword to advance on Lowell, trying to pressure him and get him to slip.  

He’d seen the previous two fights, the ones that had taken out his fellow Proxies. He was not going to give Lowell a second to breathe.  

Red brows knit in concentration as Lowell spun and twirled his guan dao to deflect every attack Hubert made, fire trailing from the blade in long ribbons and sparks flying from each collision; giving the audience quite the light show.  

Lowell had started with the upper hand in the last two fights, clearly stronger than the Proxies at the beginning. This was the case here as well, but Hubert had managed to even the playing field out the gate.  

A chain broke not even a minute into the relentless onslaught, blue petals rising around the Proxy and empowering him further.  

The Blade Unlock state is what had evened the fight for Esther and Gloria against Lowell, nearly taking him down. With Lowell already on the backfoot…  

Hubert’s attacks increased in speed and power, Lowell having to force himself to match pace or be skewered; the fire increasing as well, flowing along the floor and licking at the Proxy’s calves.  

Hubert’s gauntlets morphed together for that massive blade, smashing through Lowell’s guan dao and into his chest.  

Lowell coughed, staggering back.  

Without missing a beat, a chain shot out from Hubert’s gauntlets and snagged the Liu Director, yanking him right back towards the Proxy as a thin, ethereal blue blade slashed through the air to decapitate him.  

A horrid scraping sound ripped through everyone’s ears, the deadly blade grinding against the shaft of a guan dao; guiding it just enough away from its target’s neck to bite through the chest instead. It was still a devastating wound, but it wasn’t a complete decapitation as intended.  

The chains loosened, and Lowell dropped to the ground.  

Hubert stabbed downwards to follow him, but the Liu Director rolled out of the way and burst upwards in a swirl of fire, returning the favor with a searing hot slash through Hubert’s chest.  

He pressed the attack, refusing to retreat.  

The guan dao moved in a fervor, turbulent in motion and breaking through every attempt at defense the Proxy offered for it.  

Unpredictable and utterly violent.  

Hubert struck back through Lowell’s wild yet controlled assault, forgoing defense to simply take the other man down faster.  

But the flames were only rising.  

Lowell made a feint--  

Knowing what that meant, Hubert merely went to press through, ignoring it to take him down while he was vulnerable.  

And ate the flaming pommel of a guan dao to the face for his troubles.  

He reeled back, clutching his scarred eye that was now nothing but a charred hole, getting his other gauntlet up to defend Lowell’s continued onslaught.  

Now with Hubert partly blinded, Lowell made the true feint, rendering his defenses moot.  

He slipped back to make some room.  

Hubert dropped his hand from his eye and charged towards Lowell, the chain slipping from his gauntlet to grab him once more.  

The chain flew forward, but the storm was already unleashed.  

Raging fire swept across the field, engulfing the chain entirely and crashing over the Proxy.  

Hubert hit the floor, and Lowell pounced.  

Golden pages fluttered into the air from a guan dao stabbed through the books that made their battleground.  

“Lowell conquers the Proxy gauntlet and takes to the finals!” Mirinae announced.  

There was a roar of cheers from the participant stands, excitement filling the floor. Most of it was the Liu, but even the other Offices had joined in.  

It wasn’t even the final round yet, but the fact that Lowell had taken on every single Proxy and won, overcoming possibly the hardest of hurtles any of them could have, had everyone far more pumped up than some might call reasonable.  

The Proxies themselves weren’t particularly thrilled, but they gave their begrudging respect to an opponent greater than they.  

Mirinae chuckled. “Impressive, very impressive.” She sighed wistfully and raised her voice again. “We will begin our final bout after giving our finalists some time to rest.”  

Heaving a breath, Lowell rose back to full height and yanked his guan dao out of the floor. Once again, his gaze went towards the spectator stands and met Xiao’s eyes.  

He simply smiled, though it was clear he was growing a bit weary.  

One more fight remained. It was almost decided.  

Of course, he’d fight twenty more Proxies if he had to. Anything for his girls.  

Not that Xiao had asked this of him.  

No, he needed to do this for himself. He’d fallen too far behind her; how was he supposed to protect her if things went awry? How was he to stand by her side with her soaring so much higher than he could reach?  

“Papa?” Ai made to reach for him again.  

Xiao gently held her still. “Just a bit longer.”  

She squirmed unhappily.  

Binah gently ran her fingers across Xiao’s shoulders, Chesed entertaining Enoch for the while. “He is quite motivated, hm?”  

Xiao nodded with a huff. “Yes, I’m not sure what’s gotten into him.”  

Binah merely hummed, keeping with the action. “Ones with so much at stake are perhaps those who strive most for betterment, and those most crippled by loss. Is he so firm in himself and his strive for you that he may reach beyond? Or is he simply discontent with his standings? I believe I’ve notion of that realization in him, hm?”  

Xiao blinked, staring at her with her lips parted; arms tightening around her daughter a little, one hand shifting up to cup the scar the girl bore. “I…”  

It had been a terror on both of them, even if Lowell hadn’t been there at the time.  

Many eyes were on Binah now, knowing exactly what it was she was saying.  

“Perhaps he is, but I would hope the circumstances would never arrive for the required turmoil.” She stated evenly, squeezing her eyes shut.  

Another hum, agreement, and not another word passed.  

“Mama!” Ai protested, squirming in her mother’s tightened hold.  

Xiao released a breath mixed with smoke. “Sorry, dear. Your father is quite worrying.” She lightened her hold.  

Ai shook her head, little hands trying to push Xiao’s arms further away.  

Binah chuckled, moving her hand to lightly stroke the little girl’s cheek. “Apologies, dear one, there are oft instances of colloquy more severe than others. It is a matter of your security, you understand.”  

Obviously, Ai did not understand, and Binah knew that even as she said it, she seemed far more petulant; pouting at Binah with a grumbling “Aun’ie!”  

Binah chuckled again, retrieving her hand before the girl got too irate. Not the biggest on being touched in most any manner by those not her parents, as with her mother. Though, said mother had learned to tolerate Binah’s friendly gestures.  

And wouldn’t admit she’d grown to like them.  

Ignore the fact that Binah herself had never been much accepting of that matter either.  

“Perhaps it would be prudent to ask the sponsor of this event if there truly is a reward to be had for the victor.” Hokma spoke up, having been completely quiet thus far.  

“Hmmmmmm--” Nemo started  

“There isn’t one.” Yesod spoke before Nemo could try to. “He never came up with one.”  

“It’s amazing everyone agreed to this without any idea of what they were fighting for.” Yujin noted, head tilted lightly.  

“I think, at least, they were fighting to find their own personal station amongst everyone else.” Gebura huffed, chewing on her current candy in thought. “Everyone wanted to see how far they could all get, and that’s how Nemo marketed it.”  

“Hmhmhmhmmmm.” Nemo hummed happily, LEDs the picture of serenity. “Right you are. There is no prize needed at all! Whoever wins will have the knowledge of being the best there is here, that he stands above them all and may exercise bragging rights whenever desired!”  

All eyes bored into the back of his head, unimpressed; silencing bearing over them.  

“That sounds quite ill in intent.” Mirinae noted.  

“Neither Vespa nor Lowell cares about bragging rights.” Yesod scoffed heavily, eyes narrowed.  

“And this is disregarding me. Gebura. Binah. Xiao. Yujin.” Roland listed off with a deadpan expression.  

“And me!” Nemo added, still looking like he was peddling something great here.  

Gebura snorted. “No.”  

“Not at all.” Xiao agreed.  

“Not even close.” Yujin nodded.  

“You were never a contender.” Binah hummed.  

“Cute.” Mirinae chirped.  

“What made you think you could be included in that number?” Yesod asked incredulously.  

Nemo stared back at them all, face frozen.  

“Come up with a prize before the next fight is done, Nemo.” Angela stated simply, voice brokering no argument. “Or I am giving the payout of your bets to whoever wins.”  

An affronted gasp left the robotic man, coming out in a crack of static. “You can’t--”  

“I can and will.” Angela crossed her arms. “You promised a prize; it must be delivered whatever it may be.”  

The two stared each other down for a short moment.  

Nemo grumbled something under his breath. “Fine. I’ll have something spectacular awaiting our victor once it’s said and done.”  

A smile lifted Angela’s lips. “Excellent.”  

“Well,” Mirinae hummed, “with that said, would you start off our final fight? This is your shindig.”  

“Never say shindig again.” Harold sighed.  

“Gonna make me do everything here?” Nemo huffed, rising back to his feet.  

“Yes?”  

Truly, there was no understanding this man’s mind.  

“Is it smart to have him do it?” Malkuth asked with a brow risen very high towards her hairline.  

Angela sighed. “As Mirinae said, it is his event.”  

Malkuth gave her own sigh.  

Ignoring them, Nemo adjusted his tie and took the front of the stands.  

The cyborg cleared… whatever of a throat he had. “And now we’ve reached the finals! Are our contestants who you expected? I won’t say for myself, but I am making a decent penny in comparison to quite a few of you--”  

Harold’s boot impacted the back of his head, nanomachines coating the entirety of it.  

All they could hear above the fluttering of golden pages was Olivier and Roland laughing.  

Without missing a beat, Mirinae took the mantle back up. “For our final battle to take the crown, it’s Vespa from the first half of the bracket against Lowell from the second. Both have fought hard to get here, though had a head start from the others. Who will come out on top? Well, let’s see~”  

Nemo reformed back in his seat, LEDs flat. “Rude.”  

He was just upset that he hadn’t seen it coming, so his auto-resuscitation hadn’t kicked in. As if that could have done anything with his entire head being blasted.  

Harold retook her seat without giving him a glance, nanomachines retreating back to her pocket.  

“That does add to the death tally.” Angela noted calmly.  

“No, it doesn’t.” Nemo argued, bristling.  

“The wording was ‘how many casualties do you think there will be’, it didn’t specify during any of the fights. You only say that because you bet on three to five deaths.” Roland grinned. “So this would mean you lose that one, right?”  

“… No.”  

“It counts.” Angela stated.  

Nemo huffed angrily, but wisely decided against arguing further.  

Vespa and Lowell had taken their spots on the field, both ready to move at the drop of a hat. There was tension thick in the air as the final fight to determine their winner waited to commence.  

“Begin!”  

The air whistled, Vespa’s harpoon flying true towards the Liu Director.  

A quick flick of his guan dao was all it took for Lowell to knock the harpoon to the side, swinging it towards Vespa in the next instant.  

Vespa grimaced lightly as he leaned back from the shining blade of the guan dao, hungry flames biting at him; his glasses reflecting the orange light.  

The other end of the guan dao came around and a loud clang rang out, crashing against Vespa’s sword.  

Several more sparked, the fire beginning to flow; Vespa was immediately on the backfoot.  

Seeing as the former Taboo-hunter had been on par with Miris and Chun, it was only natural Lowell would be more than a match for him.  

Vespa flicked his wrist as he parried another flaming strike to bring his harpoon back to him.  

Lowell pivoted, swiftly shifting a foot back to crack the back of his guan dao over the harpoon and parry Vespa’s sword with the bladed end.  

Vespa scowled, stepping forward to punch his opponent in the chest and force him backwards. He then reclaimed his harpoon fully with another flick of his wrist, holding both weapons and slashing them upwards to hook the shaft of Lowell’s weapon and throw it to the side.  

It was yanked out of one hand, but the other managed to hold on. Still, Vespa managed to thrust both weapons forwards into Lowell’s chest.  

A grimace painted the Liu Director’s face as he stumbled back from the blow. Undeterred, he blocked the attempted follow through in the same motion as he brought his guan dao back in, catching the two weapons on the shaft of his own and shoving them back towards their wielder.  

The guan dao dipped down and swept upwards with a mighty heave, tossing Vespa to the side.  

Vespa grit his teeth, ducking inwards to roll backwards and kick himself back to his feet. His sword flashed out, narrowly deflecting Lowell’s guan dao in time to avoid tanking a whorl of fire.  

The heat still washed over him, causing him to wince slightly as hot embers seared pieces of his flesh.  

Lowell wasn’t near finished with the attack, though, and rammed his shoulder straight into the younger man in a blast of fire; mimicking two of his subordinates.  

Vespa staggered back, reeling to try and right himself, but was not fast enough.  

Lowell was already on him with a flurry of strong attacks; fervent.  

The guan dao spun every which way, besetting Vespa with a series of attacks he couldn’t hope to defend in his current state.  

Vespa may have taken down some of Lowell’s own subordinates to get here, but Lowell had taken down three Index Proxies with a Prescript to tend to.  

A conflagration of destruction burned in their eyes, brilliant orange tinged with a fierce yellow. Lowell didn’t give Vespa a second to retaliate, not giving him so much as a millimeter to grasp for some kind of boost in strength as the Proxies had.  

Vespa and the Proxies weren’t far from each other at base, but the Proxies clearly won out in that matter.  

Finally, Lowell ceased his assault, guan dao held far behind him with a trail of flames beginning to dwindle.  

And Vespa hit the ground.  

“Lowell--”  

Mirinae was instantly cut off by uproarious cheers, more intense than the last ones.  

She smiled, chuckling to herself and letting it die down just a bit. “Lowell wins and claims the tournament!”  

Xiao nearly leapt out of the stands entirely but refrained from budging an inch.  

Well, mostly.  

Taking a breath, Lowell stood straight and rolled his shoulders out. He waited for Angela to heal them before reaching down to help Vespa to his feet.  

They shook once he was up, firm and respectful.  

“Congratulations, congratulations!” Nemo ‘cheered’, clapping on his way to the front of the stands. “What a showing all that was! Are you all pleased with your performances? I sure am!”  

“I will kick you again.” Harold threatened.  

“I’ve never seen you get so worked up.” Olivier noted, quirking a brow.  

Harold coughed awkwardly into her hand.  

“Yes, our crown victor is Lowell! Give him another round of applause!” Nemo beckoned, to just that.  

A pleased smile painted his LEDs. This had been a great idea.  

“Now, quiet down, quiet down.” He motioned for just that. “I’m sure you’re all wondering what the grand prize is! What is it that our champion has won himself? Beside being at the top of you all, of course.”  

Mirinae kicked him in the shin this time, just enough to prevent him from making too loud of a noise in response.  

“Ahem, yes.” He cleared his throat. “I thought long and hard about this--”  

Mirinae kicked him again, smiling innocently as he shot her an irritated look.  

“Yes! Yes, indeed!” Another clearance of his throat. “Of course, our winner has won himself a year of free dining at our favorite HamHamPangPang!”  

Someone snorted, and Roland’s head snapped behind him to Xiao; the look on his face very clearly portraying his question without needing to ask it.  

Xiao deadpanned. “Ask Lowell.”  

They all knew what his answer would be.  

Roland stood straight, saluting rigidly. “Yes, ma’am! Of course, ma’am! I am forever in your debt, ma’am! Thank you for this most gracious blessing.”  

Carmen giggled.  

Xiao pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m only two months older than you…”  

“Well, there’s a good reason for not letting Roland in.” Malkuth snorted. “With motivation like that behind him, he might have been able to take even Gebura down.”  

Gebura rolled her eyes. “If I didn’t have something equivalent behind me, but I don’t even know what that would be.”  

Chesed’s mouth opened, but Binah tactfully shut it for him. He had Enoch in his arms, now was not the time to tease Gebura.  

He gave her a sheepish look, smiling through her hands. He can’t help it! She’s so easy to tease!  

A short eyeroll, and Binah turned her attention to the dragon steadfast at her side. “My dear, he is waiting for you. Go greet your prince of flame, darling.”  

Red eyes flicked over to her.  

Black merely greeted the gaze, amused.  

Lowell was, in fact, waiting in the center of the field. His subordinates were around him, but all of them were looking to Xiao.  

Xiao stood, daughter in arm. “Time to see Papa, Ai.”  

“Papa?” Ai looked up at her mother with shining eyes.  

“Yes.”  

She was right beside him in the blink of an eye, nothing but the rustling of wind left in her wake between an amused Shi Branch Manager and former Arbiter.  

There were a few wolf whistles (each met with swift retribution) as Xiao pulled her husband down and let their lips meet, kissing deeply as they held their daughter between them, happily hugging her father.  

Thus ended the first tournament the Library ever held amongst its members. Would there ever be another?  

Probably not, Nemo made way too much money copying Gebura. Sure, she’d made just as much, if not more for the few he hadn’t copied, but what did she need it for?  

He wore an irritatingly smug expression for weeks after the fact.  

…  

Well, at least Roland finally got some HamHamPangPang, Lowell more than happy to share and bring the guy along for lunch a few times to chat about things. Fixer-related, relationship-wise, or other. Roland even managed to convince Lowell to let Yan come a few times; you’ve gotta let the former Index Messenger fighting free will try some stellar sandwiches sometimes.  

Yan had been pretty blown away by it all, too. So, Roland was extra happy. And the fact Lowell had beaten every Proxy into submission definitely helped, maybe Yan had been more impressed by that than he’d let off at first. Now, he had more places to go to dodge the Proxies if need be.  

All Gloria wanted to do was give headpats…  

Oh, how had Nemo gotten that deal set so quickly? No one was going to ask.  

Chapter Text

The Shi and the Liu had been tight friends for a couple years now. With their Directors Yujin and Xiao (at the time, though still technically not Director at that point) hitting it off pretty quickly, it was only natural they’d be seeing a lot of each other be it for jobs or otherwise. Even prior to the Library, there had been the occasion when they’d found themselves on a joint job, but now it was fairly constant.  

So, with how often they interacted, it was further natural that some of them would hit it off a bit more than the others.  

As such, the two sets of Association Fixers were celebrating Lowell’s victory over the tournament.  

“I still can’t believe you had to fight all three Proxies.” Cecil groaned, her head laid on the table before her. They’d just left the main party with all of the food, so Xiao and Yujin were currently getting some tea made while Cecil regretted her life’s decisions.  

“Who did decide that?” Tenma sounded amused.  

Lowell shrugged. “It’s just the way the bracket turned out. I’m sure it wasn’t intentional on Angela’s part.”  

“She had to have noticed it, though.” Miris pointed out. “And known that’s how it would play out.”  

“Martina could have won.” Yujin called back. “But the odds were against her.”  

“Fair enough.”  

“Not even going to pretend I could have beaten Gloria?” Cecil feigned hurt.  

“Could you have?” Chun replied dully.  

She sighed. “No…”  

Lowell chuckled, reaching over to pat her on the back. “You gave it a good shot, but Index Proxies are feared for a reason. Especially these ones.”  

Those three were incredibly fearsome now, and with their motivation through this one… yeah…  

Another sigh.  

He shook his head. “Well, if Roland has anything to say about it, we’ll be visiting HamHamPangPang quite a lot this coming year.”  

Xiao didn’t even try to stifle her sigh, smoke drifting towards the ceiling.  

Lowell laughed. “Come on, it’s not so bad.”  

“I do not mind the establishment, it is a good one, but there’s only so many times you can consecutively go to the same place before it dulls your tongue.” She replied.  

He had to concede that point. “I think he went every day for a good month or so and still wanted to keep going once, so he’s an enigma on that front. We should exercise self-control, though. I don’t know how much money Nemo put into getting that together--”  

Everyone’s eyes rolled. Of all restaurants he could have chosen, this was probably the cheapest.  

But also the easiest to get everyone to accept, especially with Roland in the crowd.  

“But Roland shouldn’t be in the City too much anymore.” Lowell finished his thought, amused at the dull expressions everyone wore. “I know the Head only cares about Angela, but he still fought back against them and there are likely still people out there who want his head.”  

It was a simple matter of not stepping on too many toes. Of course, he couldn’t deny Roland this treat entirely, but they did need to be reasonable about it.  

“If it isn’t the consequences of his own actions.” Yujin chuckled.  

Xiao lightly elbowed her. “After all the caterwauling and dramatics he went on to surrender the Black Color to you, I think he deserves more than just that little of grief.”  

A short laugh left the black-eyed woman. “Yes, it was quite impressive as it was pitiful.”  

“It wasn’t really even his own Color to give.” Tenma shook her head. “But I guess I get why it was a big deal for him to hand it over, even if he couldn’t have change their decision.”  

The fact he had entrusted it to Yujin was well more than enough, really.  

The Black Boundary, a Color for a woman who toed the boundary of death on a regular basis.  

Olivier had given him no end to grief, but the Hana had decided it was time to assign the Black once more seeing as Silence was no more. Even if Roland technically held the title, it wasn’t officially recognized as he wasn’t the original and those were not strings Mirinae could pull for the rampage Roland had torn through the City with.  

Indeed, the consequences of his own actions.  

There was a knock on the door – the group currently in Xiao and Lowell’s apartment.  

The two shared a glance. Sure, everyone else was still around, but the Shi and Liu had slinked away from the main crowd for some space.  

Miris rose to his feet and approached the door, opening it to Binah’s office beyond.  

Should Angela have probably relocated the room tied to Binah’s office when it became clear that Binah wasn’t using it? Especially when it was given to Xiao and Lowell? Yes. Had she? Nope.  

They didn’t mind it, anyway. It was kind of nice to have that layer of another room between them and the main floor. And Binah.  

Chesed raised a hand in greeting. “Hello~ hope I’m not interrupting.”  

“Not at all, you’re fine.” Miris moved to the side to allow him in.  

A nod of thanks, Chesed stepped inside. “Lively crowd, isn’t it? And the man of the hour is holed up in his apartment~”  

Lowell cracked a smile at his Patron and shrugged. “What can I say? It was a little suffocating.”  

“I can imagine~” He laughed, humored.  

“Are the kids alright?” Xiao asked, a brow raised as she tried to determine why he’d dropped by like this. She’d left Ai in Binah’s care for the moment, so…  

“Just fine~”  

They all stared at him.  

“Am I not allowed to visit my most beloved Fixers?” He asked teasingly.  

“Mei isn’t here.” Cecil pointed out, lifting her head from the table. Neither Mei nor Valentin had followed them up here.  

“And that’s our matter of subject at the moment.” He relayed, still smiling that teasing smile. “Binah and I just had quite the interesting discussion with Valentin. He said he would have talked to you two,” the Patron of Social Sciences motioned to Xiao and Lowell, “but he has already and thought he shouldn’t bother you after today. They’re on my ship at the moment~”  

They stared at him once more as the realization hit them.  

Chun looked like his brain had stopped working.  

Lowell gaped like a fish, surging towards the door. “He could have still come to talk with us!”  

“With the rest of everyone here?” Xiao pointed out, turning everything off and going after him more calmly.  

“No, that was smart.” Miris agreed.  

“But in the middle everyone else outside?” Cecil got up to follow as well.  

Chesed stepped to the side to allow them out. “We stepped to the side of everyone for a more private discussion~ It would have been more suspect here.”  

Especially with Cecil herself.  

And Chun.  

Also Chun.  

Yujin yanked the man to his feet and pushed him towards the door.  

He cleared his throat harshly, nodding to her in thanks and rushed out.  

Chesed watched amusedly as they ran off towards his floor. He’d follow at a much more leisurely pace.  

Was this something he should have notified them of? Well, perhaps not normally, but Valentin had said he wanted them to know about it (just not be privy to that discussion). So long as any audience wasn’t intrusive, it was fine.  

The group of eight made its way down to Social Sciences, surging into the entryway over to the large window in the back that showcased the floor at large. All of the whirling cyclones, rippling waves, the shelves to the sides, and the large ship in the midst of it.  

It was a bit far away, but they could see Valentin and Mei standing by the railings easily enough; Mei had hopped up on one as they chatted.  

“Eager much?” Gebura greeted, leaning against the frame of the window but not really looking out it.  

“The only ones who saw Binah and I were a couple of her assistants, I know Malkuth would have killed to be there.” Chesed replied, taking the other side of the frame. “This is a big deal~”  

It was impossible to tell what the two were talking about from back here, but they were clearly enjoying whatever the topic was. The two could be seen laughing, Mei leaning back horribly on the railing. Flexible as she was, it was still a wonder how she didn’t fall off.  

She lifted herself back into a sit easily enough.  

“Malkuth is Malkuth.” Gold and dead grey rolled.  

“That she is~”  

“How long have they been out there?” Yujin asked, the rest of them crowding around the window.  

“Only around ten minutes.” Gebura supplied.  

Valentin laughed, grabbing Mei’s hand from where she braced herself on the railing and pressing a kiss to her knuckles; her gloves still absent. He seemed a bit abashed doing it.  

Her face turned bright red, but she was clearly giggling happily.  

Seems Valentin really had been talking with Chesed.  

Chun huffed even as Chesed nodded sagely at the move. “Is this…”  

“He’s been wanting to ask her for some time now.” Yujin noted with a smile on her face. Her black eyes flicked to Chun. “He waited until he could finally earn your approval.”  

Chun closed his eyes, sighing softly and shoulders relaxing back. “He did earn it.” He stated quietly.  

A battle like that… it conveyed more between the two men than any words could.  

“You couldn’t ask for a better man, Chun.” Xiao clasped a hand on his shoulder. Her eyes flicked to Lowell, a shy grin splitting her lips. “Well, you could, but he’s taken.”  

Lowell just beamed at her.   

She coughed lightly into her other hand, looking away from him. To her chagrin, she could feel the amusement oozing from her husband.  

Chun couldn’t help a small chuckle. “Right you are, ma’am.”  

“I’m flattered.” Lowell slipped an arm around his wife’s waist, squeezing her into his chest tightly.  

She let him, face red and brow twitching.  

“I’m rather not flattered~” Chesed hummed lowly.  

Lowell’s eyes rolled. “Binah’s not here to do so.”  

He sighed in feigned lament. “I suppose not.”  

“Get over yourself.” Gebura scoffed.  

“Hm~ a man is allowed to hear sweet words of affirmation from his wife.”  

“… Shut up.”  

The air seemed to change around Valentin and Mei; the man beginning to shift a bit nervously, fiddling with a pocket.  

While Xiao had had some input, once again, another had gone to Binah about rings.  

Mei hopped off the railing, trotting over to him curiously as he spoke, perhaps stammering just a little bit despite himself; head tilted.  

The short woman went stock still when the ninja dropped to a knee before her, presenting the velvet box. Stunned.  

Chun sighed, watching Valentin pour his heart out almost in nostalgia. “Mei used to sneak portions of her plate onto mine when I wasn’t looking; thinking I wouldn’t notice.”  

Cecil’s face screwed up in confusion. “What? Really? I can’t get that gremlin to share so much as a tiny fry with me. I swear she has the appetite of five men.”  

He chuckled, eyes a bit distant. “We don’t waste food, but yes.”  

Chesed had won Mei over immediately with that breakfast he’d served on the first morning.  

Xiao hummed, nodding in understanding. “Did you notice?”  

A soft snort. “She got more over on me than I’d like to admit. We didn’t have a lot back then, so every scrap was precious. I made it my goal to ensure she didn’t need to give me what little she had.”  

Tenma made a soft grunt. “I’ve seen her sneak food onto Valentin’s plate a few times.”  

Chun smiled fondly. “It’s her gesture, she still gives me some now and then. Of course, she doesn’t need to share anymore, so she doesn’t if you’re aware of it.”  

Cecil scoffed.  

“I’ve seen her give you food before, Cecil.” Lowell laughed, a humored grin splitting his lips at the way the blonde’s jaw hung open.  

“It’s quite impressive how quick she is with it.” Xiao smiled.  

Cecil’s head swiveled amongst the other members, disbelieving.  

“I think it’s more impressive you didn’t notice.” Miris stated with no small amount of amusement in his voice.  

“Oh… shut up.” She huffed, turning her head away indignantly.  

Chun chuckled. “I tried to give her slightly bigger portions a few times to offset the amount she gave me.”  

They all stared at him expectantly.  

“She noticed.” Xiao stated simply.  

“She did.” He sighed.  

Valentin finally finished his long speech, asking her to marry him and support him in his endeavors with the Shi as he would support her in the Liu; both joining in the Library.  

They couldn’t hear her, but they all knew what her excited response was as she flung her arms around his neck and crashed their lips together.  

It almost seemed as if they could hear her anyway.  

Chun watched, a bit solemn and resigned.  

His pain-in-the-neck baby sister really had grown up…  

Xiao’s hand squeezed his shoulder again, still wrapped in her husband’s arm. “Let her go, Chun. She’s not leaving completely.”  

He took a shuddering breath. “I know.”  

Doesn’t make it any easier.  

“We should leave them a moment, they’ll come to us when they’re ready.” Chesed advised, pushing off the window frame.  

Slowly, everyone left the window after him, following him back to Philosophy.  

Chun lingered a bit, keeping an eye on his sister just a while more before allowing someone else to take that mantle.  

Xiao patted his shoulder once more before allowing Lowell to cart her off. “She’ll come to you when she needs you.”  

He sighed lowly. He hadn’t been sure this day could ever come, for either of them, but… he was glad she’d found someone who could take care of her, and she him in return.  

Lord knows someone needs to keep Valentin’s head on his shoulders. He was a very spirited one, his sense of justice driving him to great heights.  

And through many doors…  

Funny to think it’d be Mei of all people, but she’d keep him from getting into too much trouble. Even if not herself…  

But he was as loyal as they came, Yujin always spoke highly of him.  

Until it came to doors.  

“Chun?” Miris spoke from behind him, staying back a bit to make sure his friend still came.  

Chun nodded, turning to the redhead. “I’ll be alright, let’s go.”  

Miris returned the nod, and the two men went upstairs in silence. No words needed spoken.  

The apartment door was open for them when they got up there, everyone settling down around the living room. The smell of tea hung in the air, alongside the sound of a certain pair of kids laughing.  

Miris and Chun shared a glance. Should have expected that one.  

The second they stepped through the apartment door, there was a cup of tea in their hands.  

Chun quirked a brow at his Patron, accepting the cup.  

She merely smiled softly, nodding with a low hum.  

He sighed, taking a relaxing sip. “Thank you, ma’am.”  

Excellent as always, and she’d taken the time to prepare it specifically in his favorite way.  

“There is merit in warmth anew, my langan.” She stated simply before gliding over to where the others had sat around the tussling children.  

… He knows, ma’am, he knows. He has accepted it. Change was hard, shifting dynamics was hard, but there were concessions that needed made sometimes to open the way to expand your warmth.  

“We lucked out with this one.” Miris chuckled quietly.  

Chun mustered an amused smile in return. “Oh? Not interested in the other Patrons?”  

Miris returned the smile. “They are great in their own ways, but we have the best one.”  

A soft breath through his nose. “That we do.”  

She’d claimed them, they belonged to her, and they do their best to make her not regret it.  

The two went to take a seat and watched the two kids in the middle of the living room as they played; everyone chatting idly amongst each other.  

Xiao must have taken Ai out to fly somewhat recently because she kept trying to jump over Enoch. To Lowell snatching her and placing her back on the ground with a scold.  

To Enoch’s utter confusion.  

It was some time before the door burst open.  

Gebura, Yujin, and Tenma were quick to get up and move towards Valentin seeing as Mei had immediately broken off from him upon entering.  

She didn’t bother showing off the ring even for how much she was glowing.  

She knew they’d seen.  

No, she went straight for her brother; charging right into him like a missile and wrapping her arms around him so tightly it was almost a wonder if she was trying to crush him.  

Chun returned the embrace tightly, not noticing the knowing looks the others gave him, holding her to his chest closely with a sting in his eyes that he swiftly shoved away; the last time they’d embraced so tightly was when they’d reunited in the Library. “I’m proud of you, mèimei.”  

“Thanks, chunchun.” She murmured back, somewhat cheeky but mostly still just emotional.  

He huffed lightly, rolling his eyes, but settled his head against hers. He shouldn’t be so worried about her; she can handle herself. Even if this was a big change for them, she wasn’t just going to leave him in the dust.  

She was still the same Mei, now and forevermore.  

Chapter Text

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the machine.” An annoyingly familiar voice grated her ears. “Staying in your place?”  

Already irate, Angela looked up from the book she was reading to glare back at Zena’s smug face. “You already ascertained that I had no intentions of returning to the City some time ago. Why are you back? Leave.”  

Zena flicked a piece of black hair out of her face with a finger, still smiling oh so smugly. “How is the Head to know if your designs haven’t changed, hm? These visits are to be regular.”  

Oh, joy…  

“My plans have not changed. Leave.” She replied through grit teeth, shooing the Arbiter away.  

“Hmph, the manners on this one.” The young Arbiter tutted. “But I don’t think I will. I am to be thorough, after all. How are we to know our citizens aren’t thinking to elevate you beyond your station?”  

“You mean my citizens.” Angela replied, placing her book on her desk.  

“Now, that’s just uncouth. They are the City’s first and foremost.” Zena shook her head. “A mere machine cannot claim them.”  

“Zena.” It was everything in Angela’s power to not smite this bastard where she stood, but that would bring far more of the Head’s might down on her. “Nothing untoward is occurring here. I am politely asking you to leave.”  

Mechanical amber eyes stared into dead black eyes for a moment, both challenging; one angry, the other quite amused.  

A beat.  

“Hm.” Zena’s head tilted to the side. “No.”  

And she turned on her heel to head into the Library proper.  

“E-excuse me?!” Angela barked, surging to her feet. “Your job is complete, so leave before you waste too much of the Head’s precious time on a machine.”  

“I have other matters to tend to which do not pertain to you, machine.” Zena waved her off. “Not everything is about you, you know. How self-centered can you be?”  

Angela was going to murder someone.  

Zena shooed her away. “Return to your business, whatever business a machine could possibly have. Do not mind me.”  

Angela had half a mind to throw Zena right out the nearest window as she sauntered towards the stairs, watching her with her teeth grinding.  

Her brow twitched. Fine, then. Throwing Zena out would just result in her coming back in, she couldn’t send the Arbiter away until she signaled her Beholder anyway.  

If Angela didn’t need to deal with her, then that was fine. Zena had no idea how to navigate the Library anyway. What was she going to do about that, huh? Hm? She didn’t know where she was going!  

“Don’t ask me for help finding your way around!” Angela called, needing one, last petty jab.  

“As if I’d need your assistance.” Zena scoffed and was down the stairs.  

Angela rolled her eyes. Whatever. She was finding Mom and Dad to decompress this…  

***  

Zena did not, in fact, have any idea where she was going.  

But why would she ask a machine for that information? How mental.  

It should be simple enough to find what she was looking for with the information the Head had on this place.  

A floor of white passed her by, filled with clocks.  

Most assuredly not.  

She paid no mind to the paltry Zwei Fixers balking at her as she passed.  

Arbiters were eye-catching, what did you want her to do about it?  

She marched her way further down, finding the next floor.  

Aha, this had to be it. The dark ambiance, the crystal stars, the dark golden-brown look? Yes, this was it.  

Now, where to from here…  

No one was immediately visible as with the previous floor, so she was just going to have to forge onwards.  

She stepped in, smelling that familiar scent of tea grace her nostrils. Yes, there was no other place.  

As she went along to idly explore the floor until she found her target, she paid no attention to the two men – Liu Fixers if she cared to make that distinction – exiting some hallway to the side. Both quirking a brow at her in curiosity, sharing a confused look.  

The sound of children laughing pierced her ears. She clicked her tongue, pivoting in that direction. Found it.  

… children plural ? What was going on in this sinful place?  

Hmph.  

Zena found her way over to the sound, coming upon a sight that--  

“Shena!” And the little brat found her immediately, tilting his head at her from where he played with… another child she had no recognition of.  

“Zena.” She corrected.  

“Shena.”  

“Zena.”  

“Shena.”  

“Zena.” This little brat.  

He paused a moment, trying to figure out what it could possibly be that he was doing wrong.  

Perhaps she should have just been impressed he recognized her at all with how short that meeting was.  

“Eno’?” The other child questioned confusedly.  

He pouted.  

Hmph. Truly, he could not fully be her child, could he? No child of hers would be so pitiful. Must be the father, hm?  

How could anyone have possibly wooed her… especially so wimpy?  

“What’s going on over here?” An unfamiliar voice reached her ears.  

Ah. Perhaps had Zena been paying attention, she would have noticed the five women not too far from her current position, sipping tea at a table.  

Glancing over…  

Ah, yes, that Star of the City. The orange dragon one or whatever. And… three more women holding yet more children, these ones a bit younger than these two, but seemingly raring to get out of their mother’s laps to play. Or, well, one of them was complacent.  

What in the world…  

Sharp, red eyes met her dead black ones; hackles raising, the heat of the room rising just slightly in preparation to protect her young.  

That E.G.O stuff, right. They knew quite a bit about all of that now. Not quite preferable for the Head, seeming unable to harness it for the moment, but it did stem from humanity.  

“Merely keeping tabs on such an impure deposit of filth, nothing more.” Zena replied with her usual smug.  

The dragon’s eyes narrowed.  

A pale hand, fingers adorned with rings, landed on her shoulder. “Relax, my dear dragon, she has no true ill intentions.”  

… huh?  

What?  

Hers?  

The dragon?  

Surely not.  

Who is this… interloper?  

Red flicked over, relaxing just a bit. “You’ll understand my wariness.”  

“I do.” Garion nodded slightly, hand remaining.  

Zena felt a brow twitch. What had gotten into her?  

“Garion--”  

A low sigh left the former Arbiter. “Must we do this song and dance each time, dear child?”  

The little brat pointed at her. “Shena!” He exclaimed happily.  

Her brow twitched again.  

Garion chuckled, leaning down towards the boy to scoop him into her arm yet still keeping her other hand to the dragon’s shoulder. “Indeed, darling.”  

“I’m long grown, Garion.” Zena’s eyes were locked on the child, promising him retribution.  

His head tilted, and he smiled.  

“You do not act it.”  

Her brow twitched yet again. Oh, sure, he was in charge of watching Garion while she wasn’t there seeing as she couldn’t be here all the time, but why should she be happy with that?  

Act like the adult you are, Zena. You are bigger than this, you are simply ensuring that the woman who guided you through life is well tended to. Perhaps making an attempt to coax her back. A lost cause? Perhaps not, the Head would be most appreciative to retrieve their Arbiter, husk or not.  

“If you are trying to get under my skin, Garion, I’m afraid it won’t be so easy.” It very much was that easy.  

Binah hummed lowly, ignoring the amusement of two of the women behind her. “I may say the same to you.” Except that it actually wasn’t easy in this case.  

“Mama?” The other child that was out and about tugged at the dragon’s pant leg.  

She sighed, leaning down for the toddler and picking her up. “It’s alright, Ai, just an unexpected visitor.”  

That’s what Zena liked being, thank you. Unexpected.  

“Shena.” The little boy nodded.  

“Shena?” Ai parroted.  

… oh, that brat had to be doing this on purpose.  

She wasn’t going to let a toddler overtake her like this. She was an Arbiter, calm and collected, enigmatic.  

The dragon’s red eyes slid back over to Binah, questioning.  

Zena’s eyes had since landed on the hand that was still on her shoulder. Why would she grow so attached to anyone? Much less a street rat.  

“If you intend to stay a while more, we were simply having some tea. Would you join?” Came the offer everyone should have expected.  

A dark brown eye quirked.  

Despite herself, Zena felt a little eager.  

“I suppose I could take some more time out of my busy schedule to partake in a relaxing drink. If I may use the time to sway you.” Zena accepted. She hadn’t had Mother’s tea in so, so long.  

Someone snickered from the table.  

“Very well.” Binah hummed. “Then mayhaps we should introduce the gathering.” It had just been a little gathering for the mothers of the Library with the little kids, but Zena was technically one of Binah’s kids so she could join.  

Not that Zena knew that was the reasoning.  

The ensuing tea party was more than a little awkward with Zena prodding Binah to return to the Head all the while also giving Xiao and Enoch suspicious stares.  

Truly, she used the Head’s time well.  

***  

“So, it is you.” Zena stated lowly, hands on her hips as she looked down at the toddler before her.  

Enoch looked up at her with a smile. “Hi, Shena!” He was a bit bigger than the last time she saw him.  

Of course, after giving that machine a conniption (as if machines were capable of such a thing), she had to come make her try at bringing Garion back.  

She frowned, eyes narrowing. He still could not get her name right. Surely, he was doing it on purpose.  

She knelt before him, head tilting.  

He tilted his head after her.  

“Are you mocking me?” She asked.  

“Huh?” Enoch blinked in confusion. “Big sis?”  

Her brow twitched. “You are not going to sway me with such siren words, child.”  

Undeterred, the boy approached.  

She lifted a finger and poked it to his nose, stopping him.  

He giggled at the contact.  

Her brow twitched again.  

“How curious you are…” She muttered. “Have you done well protecting Mother?”  

“Yeah!” Enoch nodded happily. “Mama tired.”  

The woman had to be in her current state. One does not be not tired when that pregnant.  

A chuckle came from the counter.  

Zena scoffed, rolling her eyes and sending the man a glare. “I am ascertaining the worthiness of your own spawn, do not find it so amusing.”  

The man just smiled teasingly. “Oh, my mistake~”  

Her expression soured, sniffing at him and returning to her duty.  

How that man had swayed Garion of all people and spawned this little… thing, was beyond her. The man was infuriating!  

And the second one on the way… the audacity.  

“You could try realizing that he’s a literal toddler and you’re a fully grown adult woman who doesn’t need so much of her mom’s attention anymore like he does.” Another voice entered complete with a heavy eyeroll as she went for the counter.  

“Hello, Tiphy~” The man greeted cheerfully. “Vienna?”  

“Please.” Tiphereth nodded, taking a seat but keeping a wary eye back on her brother and the woman who was her sister but refused to sit right with it.  

Right, right. The other child. The adopted one.  

Well, this one at least knew her place. They’d had a very productive talk the other day and come to an agreement.  

“Not just anyone may thrive under Garion’s watchful gaze.” Zena replied. “Would it not be a shame were he to crumble?”  

Garion was a tough driver, it was not easy learning under her tutelage.  

“Your concern is quite adorable, Zena--” He started.  

“Adorable?” She asked incredulously.  

“But it doesn’t matter, he’ll be fine. This isn’t the Head.” Zena was sure his voice was trying to be reassuring, but she had no idea why he was saying such things at all. It was about the child’s worthiness to Garion, not his well-being.  

A cup slid across the counter, the sound of ceramic running along wood scraping by. Tiphereth picked up the mug with a nod of thanks and took a sip.  

Ugh. That droll drink that Garion’s chosen man of all people loved so much. It made no sense to her that Garion would tie herself to someone with such bad taste.  

What an unrefined drink. And they took someone in that liked it, too?  

What was wrong with them.  

Zena squinted at Enoch.  

Enoch blinked. “What wrong?”  

He had better not grow up liking coffee, or there would be other problems. But with a father like this…  

Ugh, she’d never met such a boor of a man. Any Claws cut to the point, professional, other Arbiters refined and precise. This man? He was as soft as he was bullheaded. How anyone got by being so brazen was beyond her.  

So, she simply rolled her eyes. “Might you fetch Garion so she can return with me?”  

Enoch took on a confused look, thinking she was talking to him. “Huh?”  

The man chuckled softly. “I’m afraid not~ leave her be today, hm? I don’t think the Head would be enthused to receive her in this state.”  

Zena huffed. He’s mocking her. Both of them.  

“I have a job to do, I’ll have you know.” She stated. “It will not do to leave it half done.”  

It was part of that job to get Garion to return.  

“I think the Head will be okay letting a pregnant woman sleep~” Another chuckle.  

Zena sniffed. On the contrary, the Head would be happy to get its hands on the newborn of an Arbiter like Garion.  

Though, perhaps the father’s genes makes that child undesirable. Hm.  

…  

Glittering black eyes stared into dull black. “Can play?” Enoch asked, head tilting and still not removing the tip of his nose from where her finger stopped it.  

Maybe Zena didn’t actually like that thought.  

“Quite the simple life you live, don’t you.” She drawled dully. To only think about play… ha, a paltry idea. There was no time for play for an Arbiter.  

Did Garion truly allow such a thing? She’d grown so soft in her time away from the Head.  

The young Arbiter would miss the glance shared between father and daughter over at the counter.  

“Yeah!” Enoch nodded enthusiastically.  

Zena scoffed. “Do not be so proud of that.”  

“He’s just a little toddler~ The world is far too big for him at the moment.” Came an amused scold.  

Huffing, Zena finally rose back to height. “If you must insist on interjecting, then you can make yourself useful and bring Garion to me.”  

“Hm~” He hummed. “You know, I think she would appreciate it if you used her name.”  

Did Binah actually care? No, but Chesed did. Garion was long dead, Binah born from the decimated remains. She wasn’t that person anymore, and he wanted that recognized.  

If someone from his past were to call him Daniel? No, he wouldn’t mind much as most of them didn’t, but with Binah… it was different.  

He just didn’t want that life always hanging over her.  

Zena, for her part, could not comprehend the gall of this man. “You know not which you speak.”  

“Perhaps that’s you in this case.”  

Tiphereth shot her father a warning stare. He might be pushing it a bit too much.  

This.  

This is the man.  

That Garion chose.  

Zena could not see the appeal.  

“The only reason I do not strike you down where you stand is respect for my old mentor.” She spoke icily. “Watch your tongue, my patience only goes so far. What trickery you must have pulled to take her into your clutches…” Another huff. “No matter, I suppose it’s time I take my leave.”  

He only raised an eyebrow at her, unconvinced.  

“Sis?” The little child looked up at her with sad eyes, having finally approached fully without her to stop him and tugging at her coat.  

“Your father is a prick.” She stated simply, pulling out of his grip and heading to leave.  

Despite the child’s whining behind her, she kept on and ignored him.  

A heavy sigh.  

“What are you trying to do?” Tiphereth hissed at him.  

Chesed only shook his head, not giving a proper response. He wasn’t completely sure himself.  

***  

“You truly find this amusing, don’t you?” Zena asked dully, eyeing the toddler that had sat on her knee critically.  

Enoch smiled up at her. “Tea?”  

She motioned the cup in her hand. “Yes, I have some.”  

“Have some?” He asked, reaching for it.  

She directed his hands away with a finger. “You can get your own.”  

He pouted. “Oh. Okay.”  

“Come here, darling.” Garion sounded far too amused. “Do not bother your sister so.”  

Sister…  

“Okay.” Enoch nodded, clambering down her leg to then go clamber up his mother’s.  

She hoisted him into her lap, pouring him a small cup and handing it to him, to which he happily started drinking.  

Zena huffed. “Why must he bother me so?”  

“Is it truly so much a stretch to think he loves you?” Was the question in response.  

Zena scowled. “He is mocking me.”  

“If that is what you wish to think.”  

***  

“She calls you her sister.” Zena stated lowly. “You, who killed her.”  

Gebura glanced back at the Arbiter from where she was sharing some drinks with Yujin. “Yeah, and? People change.”  

Yujin gave her a glance, but she waved her off. The girl was going to confront her some day, guess that’s today.  

Zena’s expression soured however much it was able. “It is an insult.”  

“She doesn’t think so.” Gebura took another swig of saké. It was different than she was used to, but it wasn’t bad at all.  

“And that is the most discombobulating piece.” The Arbiter stated. “What did you do to her? Are you perhaps the cause of those scars? Did you force it?”  

“Only the one through her chest, but she’s responsible for all of these.” Gebura gestured to herself in general. “And do those really look like something I’d do?”  

There was a hesitant pause.  

“I suppose not, but I need cover my bases.” She stood firm.  

“Weird base to cover.” The Patron of Language grumbled. “But no, I didn’t force anything. Circumstances brought us together, that’s all. Don’t insult my relationship with either of my siblings ever again, got it?”  

The stern look she gave the Arbiter had even her taken a bit aback.  

Zena… just didn’t understand, and Gebura could see that clearly. The girl was easier to read than Binah was. She was lost, confused.  

She wanted to know why her mother wouldn’t return with her to what she viewed as the best place she could be, the greatest heights there was to reach.  

These relationships were lost on her.  

“Things work much differently in the Library than they do the City.” Yujin noted. “We will not hesitate to protect our own.”  

“Are you threatening me?” Zena asked neutrally.  

“Only if you want to be.” The assassin replied coolly.  

“… Hmph.” She took a moment to speak again. “Well, I suppose if there was anyone out of the Head which she could attach herself to so, it would have to be the most powerful Color the City has seen. Certainly better than partnering with him.”  

Gebura couldn’t help a laugh. “Chesed’s one of a kind, he’s done more for Binah than you could ever know.”  

“I’ll be the judge of that.”  

***  

So, what if Zena had had a rough day and wanted to lay down? She was allowed to do as she pleased.  

If only she would be left alone to do so.  

“What do you want, brat?” She grumbled, peeking an eye open to glare at the child that had made his way onto her stomach.  

“Shena okay?” He asked, head tilting.  

“That is of no concern to you.” Zena was beginning to give up on correcting his pronunciation of her name. “Get off.”  

“Hmmm…” He glanced down at her.  

“If your day was really that rough, why in the world are you here?” Tiphereth asked her with a scoff. “This doesn’t seem the right place to avoid people. Especially the kid that you apparently hate seeing so much.”  

“I still have other duties to tend to.” Zena sniffed, moving a hand to nudge the child away. “That machine needs tabs kept on it.”  

“Riiiiiiiight. Because that’s definitely what you came here for on what is definitely a reasonably normal basis.”  

“I am not beholden to your schedules.”  

Enoch, instead of being shooed off, grabbed Zena’s hand and planted it on his face.  

Zena’s expression went entirely blank. “What are you doing.”  

“I don’no.” He replied honestly.  

She couldn’t help the exasperated sigh that left her, taking her hand back to his disappointment, and simply leveled an unimpressed, dark glare on him. “Shoo, child. I’ve no patience for you today.”  

He stared at her a moment, then looked to his other sister. “Not okay.”  

“Can’t say she is.” Tiphereth agreed. “Maybe you can help her.”  

“Hug?” He asked.  

A snicker left her. “I think you might be onto something.”  

Zena lifted her head, turning to her in affront. “What?”  

But Enoch was already clambering up her chest and getting his arms around her neck, snuggling in.  

Zena’s eyes screamed murder at Tiphereth, but Tiphereth was used to worse and just laughed.  

… she was going to find a way to get revenge for this.  

***  

Roland stared at the smug smile the Arbiter gave him, less than pleased.  

“Is there a problem, you who was dropped to rock?” Zena taunted, smile broadening.  

“I can and will take you down.” Roland threatened heatedly, glaring at the Arbiter with his fists clenched.  

She tutted. “You truly think to strike down an Arbiter of the Head? Perhaps your status as an Impurity has made you overconfident.”  

Please. Roland sparred with Binah all the time, he knew how Arbiters worked, and Binah was beyond a normal Arbiter by this point. Did Roland often win? No, but he had gotten one over on her many times. This little Arbiter would be easy in comparison.  

“The only reason we tolerate you is because of Binah.” He stated lowly. “So maybe consider your standings here for a moment. Keep insulting my daughter, and she won’t stop me.”  

Binah had said to be patient with her, that the prejudices of the Head were hard to cast off as they were ingrained into you from birth.  

But she understood that sometimes proper action was needed to break them.  

“A machine is not a daughter, merely a creation.” Zena replied. “It is quite amusing to think how you claim such a role over a piece of metal--”  

Roland moved faster than he had in a while, Durandal springing into his hands and pressing against the Arbiter’s throat in the blink of an eye.  

She stared at him with that same smile as he glared heatedly back at her.  

“I will take your head off.” He threatened.  

“And I will take yours.” She replied, gold sparking between her fingers.  

A frigid silence fell, the air stilled and tense.  

“Hi, Shena!”  

And it broke just as quickly as it had formed, Zena’s expression doing dull as her eyes flicked over to the newcomer.  

“Do you have a sense for my arrival or something?” She asked. “You seem entirely incapable of leaving me alone, and your persistence is something supernatural.”  

Enoch merely toddled over happily, looking up at the both of them once beside. “Why fighting?”  

Roland sighed, losing his gusto and stepping back; putting Durandal back into his gloves. He knelt down with a smile, ruffling the boy’s hair. “Just clearing some things up, eh? Who’s supposed to be watching you right now?”  

“Enoch!” A petulant voice entered, another pattering of small feet as Ai rushed in to catch up and chide her friend for leaving so suddenly.  

“Ai!” He greeted.  

“I have him.” Xiao stated, walking over without much concern. “He goes pretty fast when he wants to.” She placed a hand to her hip, giving the boy a stern glance.  

He slowly turned to look away from her, abashed.  

Roland laughed. “Quite like his mother in that way, she just has less reasons to go fast.”  

“Indeed.” The dragon chuckled.  

Zena clicked her tongue with a shake of her head. “You let him escape your gaze? How irresponsible. He could have gotten hurt.”  

“Hardly.” Xiao replied, eyes closing briefly. “I knew where he was and where he was going, there was no need to panic.”  

If anyone had panicked, it had been Ai, who was now chiding him for running off in a way only a toddler could.  

Largely incomprehensible.  

Zena did not look convinced. “How is it that she has claimed either of you?”  

“She’s claimed a lot of people now.” Roland shrugged, rising back up. “It’s just what she does when she decides to care about you. You belong to her, for better or worse. Usually better, if I must say.”  

Zena looked just a bit disgruntled.  

“A keeper of birds and dragons alike, she’s made her own aviary.” Xiao agreed with a nod.  

“Which one does that make me?” Roland questioned, hand to his chin.  

“You’d have to ask her if you really wanted to know, but I imagine you’d be a dragon.” The actual dragon replied.  

“Nice~”  

Zena did not look impressed at either of them. “Another she calls a sibling, and he’s this… ridiculous?”  

“Hey, I’m ridiculous and proud, thank you.” Roland hmphed, crossing his arms and nodding his head firmly. “I think you need to lighten up there, kid.”  

Her eye twitched. “I think I need to get back to the Head.”  

“Cutting your visit short?” Xiao questioned, brow quirked and arms crossing.  

“These are no mere visits, Blazing Star.” Zena corrected. “These are the check-ins of a warden to ensure the safety of her charges.”  

Roland couldn’t stifle a snicker very well and it came out an undignified snort.  

“I will allow this transgression to slide.” She stated dully. “That machine needs remain in place, that is all.”  

“‘That machine’ has made no notion of moving from her spot any time you’ve come by.” Xiao replied evenly. “And you know she has no intentions of doing so, yet you come by quite frequently claiming it’s to ensure nothing has changed.”  

“Shena!” Enoch had impeccable timing, it seemed. “Come play!”  

“Yeah!” Ai agreed, nodding with him.  

Zena looked down at the two, exasperated. “You are insatiable.”  

Both blinked, having no idea what that meant.  

“… Play?”  

Zena’s eye twitched. “I am leaving.” She turned on her heel and began to stalk off.  

“Oh…” Enoch pouted. “Protect City?”  

“Yes, it needs much of it.”  

Xiao and Roland shared an immense eyeroll; sending each other dull glances.  

“Okay…”  

Poor boy was so disappointed.  

“Really gonna leave your poor brother like that?” Roland asked, perhaps a bit accusatory.  

“I am a busy woman.” Was the only reply she gave before she was gone.  

A beat passed.  

A sniffle.  

Xiao sighed. “She is quite dishonest with herself.” She stated as she went to comfort the poor boy.  

“Very.” Roland agreed. “Binah was like that as well for a while, from what I heard.”  

“A common trait amongst Arbiters, perhaps. Or perhaps just these two.” Xiao hummed gently rubbing Enoch’s back as he buried himself into her side. “She’ll stop insulting Angela one day, just be patient. She’s already questioning how she feels about those thrust upon her as supposed to be her family.”  

Roland huffed. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Doesn’t make me any happier.”  

“I know.”  

Silence passed once more, the only sounds Enoch sniffling and Ai being confused, trying to comfort him.  

“Wanna join me at Netzach’s once you’re off kid duty?” Roland asked. “I’m grabbing Carmen and Yan.”  

Xiao chuckled. “Chesed’s taking them in twenty.”  

“Sweet, get Lowell while you’re at it.”  

***  

“You think this is funny, don’t you.”  

A gaggle of giggles.  

“You think this ambush makes you slick?”  

“Shena fell!” Enoch giggled.  

“You are more than old enough to say my name right.” She grumbled, pushing the gaggle of kids off of her and rising to her feet.  

Gaggle was probably an overexaggeration, there were only five, but that was five more than necessary.  

“Con… con… were…” Ai’s face screwed up as she tried to say the word.   

“Conquered.” Zena stated dully.  

“The city. Yeah.” She nodded.  

Zena stared at the child. “He is rubbing off on you.”  

“Huh?”  

“You have hardly conquered the City, that is impossible.”  

“We will.” The purple one sounded very sure of that.  

“Good luck, then.” She huffed, dusting herself off.  

“Having trouble with a bunch of little children?” Aaaaaand there’s the machine.  

“We got Shena!” Enoch cheered.  

“You all assaulted my legs, you hardly did anything.” Zena defended, crossing her arms.  

“Oh my.” How dare the machine take that kind of smug expression. “How degrading to have fallen to such lesser opponents.”  

Zena glared at her. “I’ll degrade you.”  

“Threatening.”  

“Shena play?” Enoch asked eagerly, tugging at her coat.  

“Play is fun.” The little shy one spoke up.  

“Yeah!” The one with a golden-white hair looked way too excited.  

With the machine smiling smugly at her, Zena only had one choice.  

“Fine, fine, twist my arm.” Zena rolled her eyes. “I’ll win all your silly, little games. Perhaps you might mind your own business, then?”  

“I cannot believe you’ve started beef with a toddler.” Angela sounded very unimpressed. “Your own brother at that.”  

“I have never made any such distinction.”  

Angela deadpanned. “Sure, you haven’t.”  

Zena did not dignify that with a response, she had an excited gathering of children toddling after her. Had she agreed to this? Yes. That didn’t stop her from being irritated at it.  

Absolutely, totally irritated.  

***  

“Um… Angela?” Yan’s head poked into her office; he looked a little stressed.  

Angela looked up from the paperwork she was dealing with, head tilted. “Is something the matter, Yan?”  

He glanced behind him nervously. “The Arbiter is back.”  

An exasperated sigh left the machine. “Of course, she is.” Great… she has to deal with this headache again.  

Yan’s head shook. “She’s… not alone, either.”  

Angela blinked very, very slowly. “Go on.”  

He gave her a strained smile. “A Claw and Beholder came with her.”  

A silence fell that was so deafening, you could have heard a pin drop.  

“She what.”  

He shrugged helplessly. “I guess she came with reinforcements?”  

“What.” Angela repeated, bewildered.  

Yan couldn’t help a soft laugh even if he was a bit terrified. He’d never seen Angela so taken aback. “I figured you’d want to know. It might wind up entertaining.”  

“Yan.” Angela started, placing her hands on the desk. “How, in any universe, under any set of laws, is a Claw and a Beholder entertaining to have at our doorstep?!”  

He put his hands up in surrender, smiling. “They’re not here to attack or anything from the looks of them, and Enoch’s already gotten to them, anyway.”  

She blinked a few times at him.  

He remained as he was.  

“Yan.”  

“Yes?”  

“When did you get so sassy?”  

“Um… always?”  

“You’ve been spending too much time with my father.”  

“He would disagree.” A short pause. “And that’s part of my job.”  

Angela pinched the bridge of her nose.  

Enoch. Had already gotten to the Claw and Beholder? Yan hadn’t started with that? What was that supposed to even mean?!  

“It might be some part of your job, but you do not have to do so so closely to him, hm?” She tried.  

“But I want to?” He smiled.  

“A terrible choice, really.” She deadpanned.  

“I disagree.” He still smiled.  

Shaking her head with another sigh, she stood from her desk and went towards the door. “Thank you for informing me, Yan.”  

“Of course.” His cheekiness softened a little.  

Silently, he followed her out of her office to where the three Head agents were. Naturally, he did not need to inform her of this, she knew the moment he’d told her that someone was here. She had wanted to get some work done and tuned out everything else – something she did often; she did trust her family here.  

Partway there, there was a loud bang of something heavy crashing into something metallic.  

When they got there, they were beholden to a sight that they would never soon forget.  

Baral, the Executioner, the Claw that Gebura had thrown around like a ragdoll after appearing so threatening, was face first on the ground with Enoch standing on his back, staring down at him in confusion.  

Zena looked like she was having a hard time not laughing, hiding her mouth behind her hand, and the Beholder – Luda? - seemed flabbergasted even through that weird screen.  

Well, then.  

“Zena.” Angela greeted as they approached. “Might I ask what is going on here?”  

“Oh, look, the machine I kept telling you guys was staying in place is here.” Zena replied, eyes lightly rolling.  

“Angie!” Enoch was far happier to see her than Zena was. “Shena has friends!”  

They all stared at him for a second.  

Angela could have sworn she heard the Beholder laugh slightly.  

“Excuse you.” Zena bore over him with her hands to her hips. “What is that supposed to mean?”  

Enoch looked back up at her in confusion. “Not lonely?”  

Zena just stared. “Mind your own business, brat.”  

“Are you arguing with a child.” Baral grumbled from the floor.  

“You are the one on the floor.” Zena replied dully.  

“I suppose I should only ask what pleasure I have to be greeting extra guests on this visit today?” Angela moved this along because why are they here.  

“Bral.” Enoch pointed to the Claw.  

“What did you just call me?” Baral asked sharply.  

“Ludo.” He pointed to the Beholder.  

Luda turned to Angela, paying the child no mind. “It came to our attention that the Arbiter Zena has been spending an inordinate amount of time with the Impurity known as the Library. As such, it is simple protocol to ensure nothing untoward is occurring.”  

Hm. Well, she supposed it was only a matter of time before Zena got into trouble for how often she dropped in.  

“As I have said, I am merely ascertaining the machine’s intentions.” Zena stated, looking irritated.  

They’d had this conversation a lot, hadn’t they.  

“With the movements to reopen and our dear citizens finding residence in the place, constant check-ins are required for proper monitoring.” The Arbiter continued. “The Eye does not extend beyond the City’s bounds, something I am sure you are more than well aware of.”  

Luda made a disgruntled huff. “This many visits is unprecedented.”  

“What would be unprecedented is the machine deciding to make her move in the ample space between checks that you lot insist on.” Zena crossed her arms.  

Angela quirked a brow, a bit surprised. Zena hadn’t called her an ‘it’.  

“These more unscheduled visits prevent such a thought.” She concluded.  

Baral shifted to get up, causing Enoch to squeak in surprise.  

Zena quickly grabbed him by the nape and set him beside her.  

By the twitch of her hand, she’d almost just held onto him.  

“You wish us to believe there are no other motivations behind your squandering of Head resources?” He prodded, folding his arms behind his back and his gaze clearly on the small boy.  

By the way he was holding the Claw arm…  

It was a little bent, wasn’t it?  

That would be what that sound was.  

Enoch tilted his head.  

A low hum left the Claw.  

“Well, of course there is elsewise.” Zena knew she couldn’t defend that. “However, I was under the impression that the Head still wished to reclaim the remains of their former agent. What’s more unprecedented than anything else discussed here is the Head losing the cadaver and being unable to reclaim those coveted resources.”  

There was a short, tense pause.  

“Unfortunately, my efforts in that area are yet to bear fruit.” She ended, almost losing her wind entirely.  

“Nor will they, dear child.” Binah chuckled lowly.  

Yan nearly jumped, having not noticed the former Arbiter being there at all.  

But she had been from the start, merely leaning against a nearby shelf with little Daniel clinging around her neck.  

“She is quite stubborn.” Zena concluded.  

“Have you considered force.” Baral asked dully.  

Zena stared back just as dull, eyes flicking to the side of his helmet. “It is sounding to me as if you want that pretty helmet of yours to regain that dent you spent so long buffing.”  

Angela could not help it anymore, she laughed.  

Baral grumbled something she couldn’t make out, displeased, but she didn’t care.  

“See, Baral?” Zena scoffed. “The machine makes fun of us. If you two hadn’t insisted on coming with this time around to ‘make sure I’m actually doing my job’, we wouldn’t be making fools of ourselves.”  

“You do that by being you.” Angela stifled a snicker behind her hand.  

Zena’s nose twitched, but she fought to keep composure.  

“Even with your reasoning, you have not made any progress in this endeavor.” Luda stated.  

“The machine is still in place.” Zena reiterated. “And might I remind you, it is I whose authority you adhere to.”  

“There is an authority higher which we all obey.” Luda corrected.  

“Oh? And has that authority said something?” Zena’s head tilted to the side. “No? Therefore, my word still stands.”  

A sigh left the Beholder, having no argument against that.  

“Perhaps we might sit for some tea and relax.” Binah pushed off of the shelf she rested against. “Garion is no more, there is nothing to retrieve of her degraded form, but I do believe most of Zena’s visits are done on her own time, no?”  

A disgruntled sound left Luda. “It still requires Head resources to make these teleports.”  

“It cannot be so draining, hm?” Binah chuckled, turning towards the stairs. “Come, we might smooth the issue without coming to blows.” Her eyes flicked to Baral, lips splitting into an eerie, smug smile. “I cannot imagine my siblings would turn down a rematch if you prefer, however.”  

“Threatening the Head is not a wise move, Garion.” Baral stated.  

“Who Gary?” Enoch finally asked, confused.  

Luda’s screen could be seen turning to the child, simply bewildered. “A child such as this is not fit for an Arbiter.”  

“He might not be.” Zena stated, hands to her hips as she looked down at him. “But he doesn’t need to be, I suppose.”  

“Shena? Some’ing wrong?” He asked, tilting his head.  

“Nothing you need worry about, brat.” She huffed.  

Luda hummed, a bit disgruntled still. “How odd. Garion--”  

Binah shot the Beholder a look so terrifying and promising in pain that the screen flickered; even if just briefly.  

Not a look Luda was used to under Zena?  

Enoch blinked, looking to his mother for answers. “Gary?”  

Binah chuckled. “Someone from long in the past, darling.” She replied to her child first and foremost, then regarded Baral again. “Would you truly spend the resources you so covet so greatly to engage the manpower necessary to threaten us in return? Or perhaps this transgression might slide and we do not come to blows? Surely, you do not wish for yet another round.”  

With that, she took the stairs, likely heading to Philosophy.  

And Baral simmered, knowing she had him beat.  

“Come along, Enoch.” She called.  

“Oh!” Enoch kicked into gear, scrambling after her. “Come, Shena!”  

Zena smiled, quite pleased. “Well? Might you two join? It would be improper manners to deny such an invitation.”  

Baral and Luda shared a look, though neither had a proper face to convey emotions.  

“We are your hosts for the moment.” Angela stated, heading after her aunt with Yan trailing behind her. “It would be our delight to treat you.”  

A collective sigh left the other two agents. What had Zena gotten herself into… Blasted Arbiters.  

Chapter Text

It was a quiet day much like many others. The Patrons and their Fixers still worked to gear the Library up for reopening or merely risking their lives back out in the City to continue their strives in their work.  

It was nice having them go back and forth between the City and Library, it allowed Angela and her Patrons the chance to know just what was happening back there on a more up-to-date basis.  

In short: normal City apathy, death, and destruction.  

But that’s why they did their work; to move the City past its apathy and into a future with brighter prospects.  

One of the ideals of those brighter prospects ran through his mother’s floor – the life and sanctity of children something the City did not recognize, nothing more than resources to be used like regular material. It was that wonder and joy of children that they would like to return to the City, one step at a time.  

This particular child, young as he was, was playing a game of hide and seek with his big sister; their mother not too far from them, keeping an idle eye on them in amusement.  

He was a curious sort, always looking at the books his mother’s shelves housed, but he did not understand a single thing written in them; a bit too advanced for his toddler mind. But that did not often stop him from looking at them, always intrigued.  

It was today, running from his sister to find a spot to hide, that he turned down a set of shelves he had not before – one his mother insisted he paid no mind to – and found himself with the peculiar sight of a rather odd-looking book. It was different than the rest, yet still fitting all the same. The blackened thing with yellow dots sat higher on the shelf than he could reasonably reach, seemingly placed with a sense of care and importance; on its own secured spot to prevent it falling or being grabbed easily.  

But wasn’t it rather enchanting?  

His sense of adventure and the excitement of the game dictated he ignore his mother’s words of warning and begin towards the book.  

Enoch began to climb the shelf.  

His smartest move? Certainly not, but he went on regardless.  

A little while passed for him to clamber up the shelf to the one of interest, narrowly not knocking down any other books.  

He giggled as he made it, just barely able to somewhat get himself onto the shelf for his small size by kicking a couple other books off.  

They clattered to the ground, but he paid it no mind, taking the special book into his little hands.  

The book did not want to immediately move, firmly in place by the one who’d placed it there.  

Well, this would not do.  

Too curious for his own good, perhaps, Enoch set himself to prying the book out of its nestled place. It took some doing, a little bit of wiggling and jerking and huffs of effort, but the book came free before long and fell to the ground below, opening its pages to the ceiling from below.  

Let it be known: there is no such thing as ‘childproof’ short of a Singularity. Which, perhaps, Binah should have considered when securing her books. Or, perhaps, she had and simply chose not to.  

Enoch let out a cheer of victory, thoughts of his game gone from his mind entirely, and quickly scrambled back down to the floor.  

Making it down and grabbing the book, the pages did not grant him any further understanding than any other book had. He was not quite old enough to read, but he was beginning to learn. Not that these books particularly helped.  

A few turned pages and a few odd pictures seemingly scribbled in the margins, and his toddler lack of attention span finally lost the novelty of his find. Oh well.  

Tiphy was calling for him, anyway, and he hadn’t even found a hiding spot!  

Acting quickly, he lurched to his feet and began to run off, accidentally kicking the book in the process.  

All of the jostling and the ebb and flow of emotions around it was enough, and the book flashed in a bright, golden glow; pages bursting out.  

Enoch looked back with a blink, finding himself face to face with a rather massive… ball of feathers sporting dozens of golden eyes and a large beak.  

“Bird?” He questioned, head tilting. “Whoa, you’re big.”  

The lamp in the bird’s hand glowed briefly, all of its eyes narrowing and painting red. An angry caw left its beak, and it opened wide to the outer and inner beaks; revealing the razor sharp teeth contained within.  

Enoch simply blinked again, confused as the bird swiftly lunged for his head with its intent clear.  

… only to eat a pale blue pillar straight into the center of its mouth before it could lurch forward enough and snap its hungry jaws closed.  

Enoch watched in wonder as the ball of feathers flew across the floor and hit a wall with a loud thud.  

“What are you poking into here, my dear child?” A low, dark voice greeted him, one that would send lesser men into fits of fright were they to hear it but was merely one of warmth for him.  

“Mama!” He smiled, turning to her. “Bird went flying!”  

“Indeed, it did.” She agreed, regarding him neutrally as to gauge if he was in trouble or not. “For what was it released from its book?”  

Being the naïve child he was, he set upon a tale of grand adventure to greet the all-seeing bird.  

***  

“Maybe you two should go a bit easier on the boy.” Carmen chuckled a bit nervously. “Don’t you think this training is harsh?”  

“He has to toughen up some day, Carmen.” Gebura replied with a huff, chewing on the candy between her teeth. “If not now, when?”  

Carmen started looking a bit stressed, so Roland placed a hand on her shoulder.  

“It’s an unforgiving world out there, as you well know.” He stated with an apologetic smile. “Best he learns these things here than out there, in the ruthlessness of the City. It could save his life.”  

She looked petulant a moment longer before huffing a breath out. “Yeah, I know. I just don’t like it. We’re supposed to be above the City.”  

“And we are.” He nodded. “By a very wide margin. Finn’s got a lot to learn, and we could be a lot harsher teaching it. It’s simple tough love~”  

Red eyes rolled. “If you insist.”  

“We do.” Gebura nodded. “He’s still got some hopeful optimism in him that he can make it without augments of any kind. Either we find a way to make that so – I dunno if he counts tattoos – or we convince him otherwise. With all the Fixers here with their augments, I’m sure Angela could do it.”  

“She can do a lot.” Carmen nodded.  

“Frankly, it’s amazing he lasted this long like this, but you’ll note he hasn’t made much progress.” Roland added, sighing wistfully. He remembered taking the bright-eyed boy down… he still felt guilty about that. “The City does not take kindly to people like him.”  

Carmen gave her own sigh. “Oscar did.”  

“Oscar’s a good guy.” He shrugged.  

They made it up from their training session on Natural Sciences to Philosophy, aiming to check in with Tiphereth on the status of the newest addition to her floor. Some tea with their sister never hurt anyone either.  

Once they entered the floor, all three froze in pure, unadulterated confusion.  

What…  

What is…  

Huh?  

Gebura was the first to break out of it. “Binah, what the f--” She cut herself off, noticing Tiphereth standing off to the side of the… pile in front of them with Daniel in her arms, looking perplexed.  

As for the pile itself…  

A caw came from the bottom bird, Big Bird starting to squirm as if to get after the new interlopers to its domain.  

A chain smacked it across the beak, silencing it immediately.  

The bird gave a low, disappointed cry. But there were intruders…  

Atop Big Bird was Judgement Bird, simply… well, vibing.  

It was just there. Sitting. Doing nothing.  

Atop Judgement Bird was Binah, sipping some tea with Enoch nestled in her lap with a sippy cup of his own and chugging down.  

And on top of Binah was Punishing Bird, sharply gazing down at them with disdain.  

“Binah.” Roland deadpanned.  

“Hm?”  

“Why are your Abnormalities out?” He asked dully.  

What was he even looking at?  

“Enoch unbound the chains of Big Bird, I merely decided to take matters into my own hands.” She replied, taking an idle sip of tea as said child waved at his uncle happily.  

“Uh huh…” He clicked his tongue, glancing up and down the feathery stack. Big Bird blinked at him, cawing. “And the other two got out… how?”  

“One bird is not whole without the others.” Was the absolutely brilliant reply to that one.  

Roland was not sure he’d ever deadpanned so hard, ignoring his own wife giggling behind him. “They didn’t form Apocalypse Bird.”  

“For what would they do so? It would simply be improper.”  

That’s it. His sister is insane, this family was completely off its rocker.  

Was he only just now realizing this? No, most assuredly not, but right now was when he had to face it dead-on.  

“You’re going to drive me back to smoking at this rate…” Gebura grumbled, already fishing for a new candy.  

“That is strictly forbidden, I’m afraid.” Binah hummed in threat.  

Atop her head, Punishing Bird chirped angrily, glaring down at the redhead as if she’d committed some cardinal sin.  

“You’ve turned Punishing Bird against me?!” Gebura guffawed. “For something I haven’t done in years?!”  

“One can never be too careful.” The former Arbiter chuckled; Punishing Bird nodding in agreement.  

Gebura had the urge to say something highly inappropriate, but held her tongue for the literal children in the room.  

“Put them back already!” She demanded. Why were they even out? So what if one escaped? Put it back?  

“They are causing no harm.” Binah stated.  

Judgement Bird nodded in agreement, scales clinking from the movement of its long neck.  

Carmen turned to regard Tiphereth a moment, gesturing towards the abnormal stack. “Are… you alright with this?”  

Tiphereth returned a dead stare. “I stopped questioning what my mother does years ago.”  

Daniel let out a little coo, so she quickly shushed him with her fingers. She’d gotten so good with the tiny ones…  

Carmen pursed her lips. “I guess I can’t blame you.” Quite the odd addition to the crew, Binah was, but Carmen honestly welcomed the chaos.  

This was a bit weird, though.  

“What’s going on out here?” Lowell asked as he walked over towards them from his home, Ai following along behind him.  

He paused next to Roland, staring at the stack of birds with the same perplexion Tiphereth had been wearing just moments prior.  

He pointed at the stack, head turning towards Roland. “Are those…”  

“The Birds of the Black Forest that tried to use me to trample through Philosophy when you were up here that one time? Yep.” Roland replied dully.  

He still shuddered thinking about that one… and Language’s… and the other two entirely…  

Slightly different reasons on Natural and Social Sciences, though. He did not like thinking about those awful outfits the Abnormalities had put him in. Heck, he preferred everything Apocalypse Bird over that.  

“Ai!” Enoch waved happily from his mother’s lap. “The birds are soft! Come on!”  

Ai blinked, starting forwards towards the birds. “Yeah?”  

“Ai--” Lowell quickly bent down to wrap an arm around her and stop her from approaching the Abnormalities.  

“Huh?” Ai startled, looking up at him in confusion. “I wanna see the birds, Papa.”  

Lowell pursed his lips, not at all sure how to explain this to his daughter.  

“There is no reason to worry.” Binah stated. “They have been well behaved.”  

She patted Judgement Bird on the back, beside where she sat atop it. It shivered a bit as if expecting retribution.  

“Come on, Ai!” Enoch beckoned again.  

Ai pouted, starting to glare up at her father. “Papa, let go.”  

After a moment consideration, he merely sighed and picked his daughter up to a squeak. Walking over to the birds, he handed her up to his wife’s Patron.  

He did trust Binah, he just had no idea what to think about the current situation.  

The two kids cheered as Binah placed Ai on Judgement Bird’s back beside her, quickly starting to chat about the softness of the birds and being so high up.  

Judgement Bird just sat there.  

As did Big Bird.  

Punishing Bird let out a scoff of a chirp, almost like it was clicking its beak in disapproval.  

Lowell sighed, hovering close by the birds just in case.  

“Say, where’s Xiao?” Carmen asked curiously.  

The dragon herself… well, it was hard to say, but she probably would have allowed Ai up there as well – she knew her Patron better than Lowell did.  

“Hm?” Lowell glanced back at her. “Ah, she wasn’t feeling well this morning, so she’s staying in.”  

A few brows quirked.  

Lowell just shrugged, a bit lost.  

Alright, then.  

“Where’s Angela in this?” Gebura asked, rubbing her temples.  

“She was chatting with Yan and the others last I saw.” Carmen murmured. “Probably hasn’t been checking in.”  

At this rate, Angela was going to start twenty-four hour surveillance…  

As if merely speaking her name summoned her, Angela snapped into the room with quite the unimpressed look on her face. “What is going on here? Binah, why have you let your Abnormalities out?”  

“I merely thought they could stretch their wings a little.” Binah replied, idly nudging Ai a bit to keep her from rolling off of the bird’s back. “They are not difficult to direct, as you can see.”  

They’d been quite easy to tame.  

Perhaps that was due to Binah’s compatibility with them being so high. They were Abnormalities natural born in reflection of the Head she had scorned.  

“How is this stretching their wings?” Is what Angela decided to ask, looking incredibly bewildered.  

“They are out of their confines.” Binah stated.  

Punishing Bird chirped, launching off of Binah’s head and flying in front of Angela’s face as if to prove a point.  

Everyone looked like they wanted to hit the bird.  

“Though, I suppose it is time to get up.” Lifting the children into her arms, Binah stood atop of Judgement Bird and gracefully stepped off to land back on the ground. She let the kids down upon landing, letting them begin their play around the birds.  

Judgement Bird shook itself off, standing atop Big Bird to stretch its legs and step off of the other bird.  

Big Bird just cawed, shuddering but remaining in place.  

Angela simulated an aggravated sigh, looking back to her parents with a haggard stare.  

They returned it, neither knowing what to make of this either.  

“They can be out for today if you keep an eye on them, but they are going back into their books to not be idly let out again, okay?” Angela offered a compromise.  

She did not particularly want Abnormalities wandering around her Library, tamed or not. Sure, she understood their plight and sympathized, but she couldn’t just give them run of the place with all of her residents here.  

“Very well.” Binah nodded, accepting that easily.  

A small cry.  

“Mom, I think he’s hungry.” Tiphereth informed, the baby in her arms starting to squirm.  

“So, he is.” Binah hummed, moving to take care of her child; grabbing him from her eldest’s arms. “Keep an eye on the birds, I will be back.”  

With that, she wandered off to tend to the hungry baby.  

They all stared after her – Tiphereth especially unamused.  

“Did she just ditch us?” Gebura was absolutely murdering her when she got back.  

Punishing Bird finally stopped hovering around Angela, landing on Enoch’s head with a huff.  

Enoch grinned, hands going up to grab the bird. “Oh! You want me?”  

A chirp, Punishing Bird dodged the grabbing hands.  

“Ah…” He blinked as he grasped at air.  

He looked at Ai.  

Ai looked back.  

They both giggled and lunged for the bird.  

Punishing Bird let out the most shrill, terror-filled screech they’d heard in some time and started dodging and weaving like crazy to avoid their little hands, soon flying to the other side of the large bird. Large, yellow eyes followed along, almost eerie.  

The kids followed, undeterred.  

Lowell rubbed the back of his head. “Well, I don’t know how I’m explaining this one to Xiao…”  

“We’re all at a loss here…” Roland muttered.  

***  

Big Bird.  

Remained still.  

It could not move.  

It was not allowed to move.  

It had started with one child.  

And then there were more.  

A lot more.  

What was it supposed to do?  

There were five kids on top of its body! Five! And all of them were napping!  

Nicely asleep, nuzzled into its feathers…  

It couldn’t move like this! Judgement Bird’s mirror was still watching them all closely with yet another child napping in her arms. That lady was scary.  

Its multitude of eyes flicked over to the other birds pleadingly.  

Punishing Bird did an entire one-eighty to not meet that all-seeing gaze; Judgement Bird just shrugged.  

Its jaw dropped.  

There are intruders in their forest, and they won’t do anything?  

Big Bird sighed, slumping in a way that wouldn’t make the kids fall off.  

It did remember when they’d tried to break out using the black one… he’d almost bent to them, being very unstable at the time, but now he was happy and very stable…  

That day which should have been a nightmare for the Library, but was a nightmare for the birds.  

Seems they hadn’t forgotten it either.  

So, Big Bird merely remained where it was with that horror hanging over it. It could be a bed for these children… maybe they didn’t pose a threat to their forest.  

…  

Not one in comparison to the wrath the one of judgement would pose if something happened to a child, anyway.  

***  

The kids were awake and running around again.  

While the other mothers had been very hesitant to allow their children to play around a trio of Abnormalities (and nap on top of one), the docility Binah had instilled in them was what had convinced them to at least let their very excited children go.  

No one died in the Library but by Angela’s word, after all. Though, that was not something any of the parents wanted their children to experience.  

The mother of the red-eyed one had even emerged from her den, looking a bit tired but mostly fine.  

The birds had not been pleased to learn who the mother of the red-eyed child had been. The one who had demolished them so thoroughly alongside the pillar of judgement that day.  

It did not make any animal or animalistic being happy to know that a greater predator was nearby.  

Especially when she had given them such heated glares.  

So, yes, the birds were very well behaved.  

So well behaved, in fact, that they were the very playground the children played around; the game itself.  

The kids all ran around Big Bird’s large body, those yellow eyes shifting this way and that to watch them as they chased Punishing Bird around. The little bird was dodging and weaving quite pridefully, its chirps almost taunting as it slipped out of those little hands with ease; merely teasing them all. It remained in their reach when it could easily fly higher, finding a joy in the game of proving just how good it was at avoiding them.  

Quite the feat, it was, to be able to dodge five young children.  

Judgement Bird mostly stood there, not doing much of anything. Its turn would come, it simply did not know it yet.  

“I’m still surprised they’re being so compliant in this.” Malkuth noted with a nervous chuckle, eyes watching that little head of purple zip around. “It’s… you know, quite different than what we grew used to at the facility.”  

The amount of agents lost to these things…  

“Echoes of battles past may guide even Abnormalities to reconsider their most natural actions.” Binah replied.  

Malkuth snorted. “It was that much of a beatdown, huh?”  

“Roland still mentions how much it scares him.” Hod said with a light giggle, perhaps a bit more nervous than Malkuth beside her as she watched her own child. A bit slower than the rest in running around…  

“I never saw any of those Realizations everyone keeps talking about.” Lulu huffed. “We joined after the one on History; definitely felt the effects of few, though. Were they really that harrowing? Roland makes it seem like he was demolished every time.”  

Her eyes watched her own child, a bit overenthusiastic in trying to catch the bird. There was no way she would be able to with the way she was going; very predictable in her wild, untamed movements.  

Malkuth laughed, perhaps a bit nervous. “Oh, they definitely were… it’s for the better you guys weren’t here yet, you wouldn’t have been prepared to deal with it.”  

They definitely would have needed to give the Streetlight some keypages to be able to manage Angela’s meltdown that first time. The Streetlight simply wouldn’t have had enough training unless they’d been recruited basically immediately upon defeat here.  

“Dang…” Lulu clicked her tongue, slumping. “So, Roland’s just whining for the sake of whining?”  

“Natural Sciences went a lot more in the Abnormalities’ favor than the other three Realizations Roland went through.” Hod relayed, wincing as Violet tripped and tumbled to the ground. She didn’t move to get up and help her, though, no matter how much she wanted to.  

Gabriel stopped beside the girl, helping her up and getting her back into the race. Her eyes were a bit teary, but she was pressing on for the game.  

Hod let out a breath of relief, relaxing. “But no, those fights were harrowing.”  

“Philosophy was definitely the worst, but Gebura and Yujin gave even Nothing There what for.” Malkuth couldn’t help a snicker. “And Xiao joining in for Social Sciences did not give the Oz Abnormalities any leeway.”  

“I joined a little late, but Lowell had it managed well enough before then.” Xiao stated, finally speaking up.  

Outside of the False Throne being the False Throne and forging on anyways, that did mean the other Abnormalities could be cowed into submission. These three would be a lot worse to deal with if they joined into the Apocalypse, but Binah had managed to deter them from even that.  

“Lowell did mention you were not feeling well this day.” Binah hummed, eyes flicking from the children’s play to her dragon.  

“I’m fine.” Xiao replied with her own hum. “Perhaps a tad unsettled, but he worries too much.”  

A chuckle. “Indeed, much like my own.”  

Lowell and Chesed were two peas in a pod, much like Binah and Xiao were.  

Xiao cracked a smile.  

Punishing Bird, easily seeing who the weak link in the children was, hovered himself before the young child, chirping happily around her head.  

The other children stopped running to turn towards where the bird had made a pitstop. Maybe they could grab it here!  

A few grabs were made, but you could swear the bird was laughing as it dodged all of them.  

Violet herself merely watched the bird, more patient than all the rest. Much like her father, simply taking things as they came, waiting for them to line up.  

Big Bird cawed, seemingly in warning.  

Punishing Bird scoffed a chirp, brushing it off without care. There was no way these kids could--  

Thus, much like Icarus flying too close to the Sun and melting his waxen wings, the Small Bird grew too confident in its stance amongst literal children and halted its wings just a second too long in showing off.  

Violet’s hands flew upwards and snatched the little bird (who was as big as her head, if not bigger, but the point stands).  

“I go’ it!” Violet cheered, smiling brightly with all the other children watching in a stunned awe.  

Hod let out a terrified yelp.  

Punishing Bird let out an affronted screech, chirping viciously as its feathers began to turn red; the spot of flesh on its stomach beginning to unfurl in fury at this insult, this disrespectful--  

All of a sudden, everything felt both hot and cold at once.  

Punishing Bird froze, looking at the blazing inferno and frigid gales side-by-side with thoughts of nothing but rotisserie.  

It gulped, head shrinking back into its feathers, and its partly unfurled flesh sinking back into the spot.  

The feathers, once red, almost seemed blue now.  

Judgement Bird made a sound that sounded like laughing as Violet happily brought the small bird over to the tea table to show off to her mother. The other kids came along with her, clambering over each other as they cheered for this grand feat.  

“Mama! Mama!” Violet smiled thrusting the sulking bird forward towards her.  

Hod looked like she’d near had a heart attack; Binah beside her gently patting her shoulder and letting that frigid gaze which could freeze Hell itself go.  

“Y-yes, very impressive, Vi.” She replied, haggard. “What are you going to do with the poor little bird, now?”  

The bird in question chirped indignantly. It was not poor.  

“Uh…” Violet brought the bird back to chest, adjusting her grip around it as if to hold it like a plushy.  

Punishing Bird looked so petulant in her arms.  

A very amused caw came from Big Bird.  

Punishing Bird sniffed. It was never giving those two any help in anything ever again.  

***  

Things had quieted down quite a bit on the Floor of Philosophy since Violet caught Punishing Bird. The bird itself did not seem keen on playing the game anymore after being humiliated so thoroughly.  

Thus, it was only natural they’d move onto something else and since it was Violet who’d caught the bird, there was only one thing they truly could do next.  

And that’s how Yan came downstairs from General Works to see what the fuss Roland was putting up about Philosophy was about to find the children all circled around the small Abnormality with pieces of paper in front of them.  

A couple of them seemed to be trying to draw Judgement Bird or Big Bird behind them, but Violet was very intense in her attempt to draw Punishing Bird directly before her.  

Who was definitely trying to pose for it.  

A few circles, a small beak, and a red splotch – Violet had the general idea of how to draw the bird, and she was very focused on it.  

“Um…” Yan blinked upon full entry, really not sure what was happening here.  

The kids didn’t seem to pay him much mind, all enraptured in their art (some was definitely a lot better than others… but they were all still toddlers, so you can’t be all too critical), but he gained the attention of the gathering of mothers.  

And two of the birds.  

All of those yellow eyes were rather unsettling…  

The other one, even lacking eyes, somehow seemed far more perturbing. It made his skin crawl.  

“Yan.” Binah greeted with a low hum.  

“Is something the matter?” Xiao asked, brow quirked.  

“Ah… I was simply seeing what it was Roland was complaining about.” He replied with a shaky smile. The bird had him on edge.  

He could tell Binah and Xiao noticed, their gazes a bit concerned. For however stern Xiao was most of the time, she was rather kind underneath that tough exterior. He appreciated her.  

Malkuth laughed softly. “Yeah, this was a shock to all of us, but it hasn’t been so bad. Mostly. The kids are liking it.”  

Any kid thrived with a pet, being far happier with that connection. And learning some responsibility in taking care of said pets.  

Not… not that Abnormalities were pets… or that they’d let the kids try to take care of them. What would that entail? ‘Oh, go work Attachment on Big Bird please! And you go do Repression on Judgement Bird.’ That simply did not seem like a good idea.  

Especially the Repression work… you want children to do that? No.  

“Well, that’s good.” Yan nodded. So long as the kids were having fun and the Abnormalities were kept under control. Which they seemed to be.  

He’d never seen an Abnormality before. They were… a lot like Distortions, weren’t they? But… far more finalized. Beyond the point of no return, born from humanity but removed from it completely.  

The big bird cawed at him.  

“Hey, Yan?” Hod’s voice spoke softly, fear in it. “There’s…”  

Yan blinked at her, finally noticing the dark figure standing over him.  

The tall bird, the one with bindings over its eyes, had approached him and now bore over him.  

Yan flinched back, feeling a gaze of pure judgement piercing through him.  

“Remain calm.” Binah instructed. “Judgement Bird weighs one’s sins, making a judgement of guilt for its blind gaze. Allow it to do so; it will not tolerate if you do not.”  

A sinking pit opened in Yan’s stomach.  

Sins…  

Of which he had no shortage. All of the people he’d doomed… delivering Prescripts to them that would ruin their lives. The deaths of countless, forcing people to commit heinous acts.  

And he’d simply remained complacent, delivering these Prescripts to them knowing what they meant. His own attempts to subvert it ended in failure, yet he had still continued delivering them no matter how he’d hated it.  

Hated himself.  

It had been a couple years since he’d been returned from his Distortion, he’d made great progress in moving past his self-hatred and learning his free will… but there were still doubts and old hauntings hanging over him.  

What would happen should the bird judge him guilty? He saw no reason it wouldn’t.  

… whatever it was, he would deserve it.  

Yan could feel the weight of everything bearing over him, digging into his shoulders with the threat of dragging him completely down.  

The noose hanging over his head so that the upward and downward forces would kill him instantly.  

After a moment, Judgement Bird shifted; feathers ruffling and an odd sound leaving it. Its neck straightened a bit, scales around its neck clinking.  

And it simply stepped away, returning to stand beside Big Bird. Seeming unsatisfied.  

Yan released a breath he did not realize he’d been holding. His eyes went wildly over to Binah, knowing she was the only one who could explain what the Hell just happened.  

Binah hummed, taking a sip of her tea with a brow very lightly furrowed. “Indeterminate.”  

In… indeterminate?  

“What does that mean?” Malkuth asked confusedly.  

“Judgement Bird acts on a blind justice, most all is guilty and glut with sin in its gaze should anything construe as such.” She stated, tone low. “For it to not come to a conclusion is rather odd, it acts on a scale of black and white.” Those dead, black eyes regarded him curiously a moment, chilling. “A case of it finding grey? Or simply deciding self-guilt is more than enough?”  

Yan… Yan had no idea how to take this.  

“Whatever the case,” Xiao spoke, “you can relax. Your past sins have no bearing any longer; you’ve worked to overcome them for so long, I think it’s time you accept what happened and that you are above that now. You’re better than this, perhaps the bird recognized your struggle.”  

Yan looked towards the ground, processing her words.  

Better than the sin which defined him in the past…  

Better than the Index Messenger he’d once been.  

Better than the man who’d simply let that define him for fear of retribution if he’d tried to leave.  

What bearing did the Prescripts have here? There were none. Even the Proxies under Hod did not act upon them here but the one that dictated they tend to Hod.  

Even in the City, you could simply choose not to join the Index. Sure, some of the Prescripts were eerily accurate, but weren’t most just… kind of gibberish? And the only thing enforcing them was the Proxies themselves.  

“Mr. Yan?” One of the kids tugged at his pant leg.  

He glanced over, finding Violet tugging at him. Sweet kid, she really was.  

“Ah, I’m okay, Vi.” He offered a smile, ruffling her hair. “That’s a nice drawing.”  

It was obvious Violet had inherited her father’s artistry; Punishing Bird looked very good for her age.  

The bird in question chirped haughtily, puffing its chest out. Of course it looked good.  

She blushed, shying away a little as a small mumbling of some kind of thank you left her.  

“Come!” Little Juno beckoned to him with a wide grin, pushing a paper towards him. “Dwaw!”  

“Yeah!” Enoch looked up from his drawing of Big Bird, nodding enthusiastically.  

Yan couldn’t help a soft chuckle. “If you insist.”  

He ignored the light laughter from a few of the mothers, settling himself onto the floor with the kids and taking the paper and a few crayons. There was nothing wrong with humoring the kids and drawing alongside them. Especially if they were just so eager for him to join.  

Maybe he wasn’t so bad if the children were so happy to play with him.  

… though, he had to say that Juno’s drawing of Judgement Bird was rather horrifying. Not that it was actually bad for her young age, it was just horrifying.  

Guess the stereotype of kids drawing disturbing things all the time was true, huh?  

***  

When Roland and Angela came back down to Philosophy to check on… the situation, this was not what either of them had in mind.  

First off, Violet and Juno were in awe of Yan’s passable drawing skills with the three birds; Punishing Bird perched on Violet’s head to scrutinize its portrait. So, finding Roland’s assistant sitting on the floor drawing with Violet and Juno was one thing.  

The other was what the other three were doing.  

Big Bird and Judgement Bird appeared to be racing. For whatever definition of racing their slow pace could be construed as.  

Point is, the two were moving in a wide circle around the current gathering with the remaining kids on their backs. Enoch was hanging happily to Judgement Bird’s neck, Ai seated behind him. Gabriel had Big Bird to himself, large and imposing.  

Likely had taken Big Bird for himself and not wanted anyone to share.  

Roland shared a glance with his daughter, and both could only shrug.  

Well, maybe this had turned out well. The kids were having fun, at least – and Angela did not mind seeing the Abnormalities being more peaceful.  

… if only Binah would stop looking so smug.  

Chapter Text

“I run a tight ship around here, so you’re going to have a lot of work ahead of you to keep up.” Tiphereth said sternly, crossing her arms and looking her newest addition up and down.  

Finn nearly choked, trying not to drown on his cereal as his head jerked over to her.  

She’d snuck up on him during breakfast, so what? Mom did it to people all the time.  

It had been a week since he’d arrived here, it was time for him to start pulling his weight. He’d settled in well enough by now.  

“M-Miss Tiphereth!” He coughed, pounding his chest as he tried to regain composure. “Y-you startled me.”  

“You’re not gonna last here very well if I freaked you out that badly.” Tiphereth deadpanned, forgetting about the fact that she most definitely picked up a lot of her mother’s ability to move silently over the years.  

He chuckled a bit abashedly, rubbing the back of his head. “I still have a lot to learn, I know. I take it it’s time to start?”  

He seemed as eager as he was trepidatious.  

“Yep.” Tiphereth popped the ‘p’. “It’s finally time to throw you into the meat grinder and see what comes out. It won’t be near easy, you will break bones. A lot of bones.”  

Finn blanched a little, but looked to be steeling himself. “How many bones?”  

“All of them at one point or another. Probably.” She shrugged. “You’ll probably have every organ punctured, too.”  

His mouth opened.  

“We are quite precise with our strikes when we feel like it.” Pamela poked her head out from behind Tiphereth.  

“I’m going for the spleen.” Pameli grinned darkly. “Prepare yourself, squishy boy.”  

Finn nearly fell out of his chair at their sudden appearance.  

Tiphereth pursed her lips, sharing a glance with her headaches.  

Pamela shrugged.  

Pameli stepped out from behind Tiphereth and approached Finn.  

He tried to straighten further in his chair, but was a bit too unbalanced and flailed a little to regain it. “A-are we starting right now?!”  

She raised a finger.  

He flinched.  

“Training is all the time, buddy.” Pameli poked him lightly in the forehead.  

And he hit the ground with a yelp.  

Putting her hands to her hips, Pameli stared down at the non-augmented Fixer almost nonplussed. “Wow…”  

Tiphereth sighed. “You have a lot of work ahead of you, Finn.”  

Finn groaned, rolling onto his back. “Y-yeah… clearly.”  

“In other news, I think we’ve demolished what trust he had in us.” Pamela noted dully.  

“His fault for trusting me in the first place.” Pameli sniffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder.  

Tiphereth pinched the bridge of her nose. “Give him some chance to improve…”  

“Eh.” Both shrugged.  

Figures.  

“We’re nothing compared to what your family’ll do to him.” Pamela pointed out.  

“Yeah, we’re easy mode.” Pameli snickered.  

Finn let out a low sigh, raising himself into a sit.  

He met Tiphereth’s eyes, a firm determination settling into his features.  

“I’ll rise to your expectations.” He declared. There was confidence in his tone, but there was still that underlying worry.  

Tiphereth quirked a brow. “We’ll see.”  

***  

The ‘spar’ had been going on for some time now, if it could truly be called that. Pameli and Pamela were more toying around with Finn than truly sparring with him, but Tiphereth supposed that’s simply what happened with the chasm of ability between them.  

Finn wasn’t a slouch, but he wasn’t near their level.  

Especially noted by how the two women had hooked him under a shoulder each with their lances and had lifted him off the ground. Simply remaining there as he struggled to figure out how to get down and not be speared at the same time.  

“I see training has begun.” A familiar voice approached, Oscar settling himself beside her.  

Tiphereth hummed a greeting. “Yeah… he’s…”  

“Got spirit and some drive, but that can’t carry you forever.” Oscar finished.  

“Yeah.”  

Finn leveraged his shortsword against Pameli’s lance and used it to launch himself to the side. It was a shaky and jilted, but he did manage and crashed to the ground where he had to swiftly roll to the side or be stabbed clean through by Pamela.  

“He said he wanted to become a heroic Color like Auntie had been.” Tiphereth stated idly as she watched him lurch to his feet and barely manage to divert Pamela’s lance with his sword, though the tip ripped through his bicep. “But he doesn’t have any augments. I’m sure he didn’t quite have the money for a while, but at this point…”  

“The City is a grim place.” Oscar replied calmly. “To strive for the top without a single augment to your name is nigh impossible without the best of the best of equipment. He’d need E.G.O to reach for the level of a Color, and even then he’d be far behind everyone else. It’s impressive that he made it to Grade 6 in these years since the Library, but he has stonewalled himself with his dream.”  

Tiphereth frowned, mulling the words over as she watched Pameli spear Finn through the stomach.  

He cried out in pain; Pameli cackling as she’d hit her mark precisely where she’d wanted.  

“It is idealistic to not want augments, but I can understand why he doesn’t; an alteration of yourself, relying on the technology of the City to gain the upper hand. A grand ambition, yet foolish.” The old Fixer continued. “The City does not take kindly to such idealistic dreams. He’s been burned many times getting here, it was only a matter of time before he was completely chewed up and spat out as nothing but a shell of himself.”  

Olivier running into him and offering him this may well have saved his life. Finn was not going to last in this harsh world striving for something so unrealistic.  

Tiphereth nodded slowly. Though Finn had managed to shove Pameli back and deflect Pamela’s strike, it was only because the two actually were going easy on him.  

“Is there anything we can do to help him realize his dream, or is it completely hopeless?” She asked. She didn’t want to straight tell him to give up, but prospects weren’t great.  

He hummed lowly. “That’s the question, isn’t it.”  

If he didn’t want augments…  

Tiphereth winced a little as Pameli finally whacked him over the head, knocking him right out. Yeah, he had a long way to go.  

“I suppose it comes down to what he will accept as an augment or not.” Oscar spoke, watching his subordinates closely as they stood over their newest member. “The Library can provide plenty of strength for him in various ways. Many of us have begun wielding the E.G.O of the Abnormalities here, though Angela has expressed apprehension to bringing those into the City, but perhaps the Light can be used to grant him augments – either copied from those here or Angela’s own form of it.”  

Tiphereth hummed, thinking it over. “He should get an Abnormality E.G.O at some point, but we aren’t near that yet.”  

Nowhere near it. She’d seen E.G.O overtake more Agents with more compatibility and preparation than Finn than she could count. He was not ready.  

“As for the other… no way he’d accept the first, and it does feel very cheat-y.” Would… having him work with the Abnormalities be a viable option? It surely raised the strength of their Agents quite effectively, but…  

No, she didn’t want to return to doing that, and Dad would definitely have some words.  

“I agree.” Her head Fixer nodded. “Many here would not be happy with that idea, and it is not very honest. Not that honesty matters in the City.”  

“Yujin made it very far even with her honesty, but she’s one in a billion.” Tiphereth sighed. “Maybe we can sort something out with the Light in another way, I don’t know. It’ll be up to him.”  

“He has chosen a tough road, but we can help him get there.”  

It’d be far easier for him to accept augments, but the easier path wasn’t always the better.  

That said, he still was absolutely not getting much further without something to grant him more power.  

Guess she needed to talk with Angela about getting Finn some Light-flavored enhancements that would remain in the City – after discussing it with Finn, of course. Everyone was stronger in the Library than they were out of it, but she knew a lot of it stuck regardless. Finn was just going to need more of a boost than the others had gotten, which would require some thought and consideration on Angela’s part.  

***  

Finn had improved a lot over the past few weeks, and Tiphereth had managed to convince him that he needed something or the City would eat him alive at the rate he was going. Thankfully, he’d accepted assistance from the Library in furthering his strength, something about it being less invasive and more contingent on his own willpower. Which was true, frankly. The stronger your will, your emotions, here, the stronger you were.  

It worked very well for all of them.  

This was just Angela using that emotion manually to augment you through the Light. Everyone else had City enhancements, he had Library enhancements.  

…  

Okay, well, everyone had Light enhancements, he was just trying to catch up.  

It had only been a few weeks, but he was showing some improvement. Not enough to bump his Grade, but he was getting there.  

That said, Oscar had decided Pameli and Pamela were done toying with the kid, as he called him, and had taken over. To their chagrins.  

Though, even if Finn was relieved to no longer be dealing with the two terrors, Oscar was not making it any easier for him.  

A series of clangs rang out, Finn striking any way he could think of to break through Oscar’s defenses as the older man’s tight movements caught each and every blow with ease. The current exercise was just to get through once.  

“Yo.” Roland came up next to her, setting down and quirking a brow at the current spar. “He’s certainly giving it his all.”  

“He usually does.” Tiphereth shrugged. “He is determined, if not much else. There something you want?”  

“Eh, not really.” He returned the shrug. “Just wondering how progress was coming with the kid, I know Binah wants to thrash him around.”  

Pameli snickered. “That’ll be a show.”  

Pamela, on the other hand, blinked and looked to the Black Silence. “Is he aware she was formerly an Arbiter?”  

Both Tiphereth and Roland stilled, giving each other a dumb look.  

Pameli burst into laughter. “Oh! That’ll be amazing!”  

“I… don’t think he knows Gebura is the Red Mist, either.” Roland coughed into his hand.  

Um… well… he was in for a shock…  

“Oh my gosh…” Tiphereth pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to keep herself from smacking Pameli for how hard she was laughing.  

Roland coughed again.  

She sighed, dragging her hand down her face and kicking the shorter woman in the shin.  

Pameli just kept laughing.  

Her eyes rolled. “Well, guess he’s in for a shock…”  

“Quite.”  

“It’s one everyone here has to go through.” Pamela shrugged.  

Roland chuckled. “Guess so. I went through it, all of you went through it, it’s a rite of passage.”  

Tiphereth rolled her eyes again. The rite of passage of finding out that there’s both the Red Mist and an Arbiter here. Thrilling.  

Things quieted down a moment, the clashing still echoing through the field as Finn started trying to get a bit more creative in slipping through Oscar’s defenses. Where he’d initially tried to stab or slash, now he was trying to make use of the hilt of his blade to knock the lance to the side; or move himself around to get at Oscar from a different angle.  

“Ah, he’s starting to learn. Can’t just go against everyone face first.” Roland nodded, grinning.  

“You have been oddly intent on Finn’s progress, Uncle.” Tiphereth noted.  

A sigh left the man. “I was the one who took him down back when, never did feel good about it. No one likes snuffing a young, bright life like that out.”  

A beat.  

“Weeeeell…” Pameli dragged the word out.  

Roland scoffed. “Okay, no one decent likes doing that.”  

“How bold of you to call yourself decent.” Pamela tutted. “OW!”  

Roland had bopped her over the head rather hard, even if he’d had to reach quite a bit to do it. “Pameli, I know there aren’t many decent people in the City, you do not need to point it out.”  

Her jaw clicked as she shut it, tsking and crossing her arms. Dangit.  

Tiphereth couldn’t help a soft chuckle.  

“Anyway, I never felt good about taking him down even after Angela released everyone; even after we started recruiting everyone and I was made aware they weren’t dead.” He sighed, leaning back in his chair. “Maybe I should have tried to make a case for recruiting him back then, and Olivier, but…”  

Tiphereth shrugged, patting him on the shoulder. “I don’t think you were ready for that back then. You were too focused on taking Angela down at the right time.”   

There was a reason they’d convinced Angela to not give him anyone. Tiphereth wasn’t sure she’d have taken Finn back then, anyway. He’d have needed more work than the Streetlight, and Angela undoubtedly did not have the patience back then to deal with his idealistic desire for no augments.  

“Yeah…” He admitted. “I would have taken him myself if Oscar hadn’t nabbed him out from under me. I seem to be the collection of strays, and I wanted to do right by the kid, you know?”  

Tiphereth had to crack a smile. Roland did have a few strays now – some of which he had not wanted. He wouldn’t admit it, but they all knew they’d grown on him.  

“Eh, old man does old man things. Shock, horror.” Pameli snickered.  

“He doesn’t shut up about retiring sometimes.” Pamela huffed. “He took his chance the moment he saw it.”  

“Can’t blame him for that.” Roland shrugged.  

Finally, Finn managed to slip his blade past the shaft of Oscar’s lance and elation lit up in his eyes.  

Only for Oscar to twist his sword right out of his hands, tossing it to the side, and lightly bonking the man over the head with the pommel; scolding him for celebrating too early.  

Tiphereth chuckled. Well, he was making progress. It was just a bit hard to see it with how far behind everyone he is.  

***  

A few months had passed since Finn joined them now. He still wasn’t near being able to beat either Pameli or Pamela, but that’d likely take him years. Still, though, his progress could not be denied, and Roland and Gebura had decided it was time they step into the training scene.  

Or, more like… Binah had decided it was time for them to. Binah herself still wasn’t stepping in to thrash the guy around since it hadn’t been all too long ago that Daniel was born, but they all knew she’d be at it before long.  

Her daughter was not to have anyone slacking on her floor.  

Finn wasn’t a slacker by any means, but you know. Binah has high standards, as does Tiphereth.  

Roland wasn’t sure what to do with them sometimes.  

Anyway.  

At the moment…  

He and his middle sibling were staring down at the pitiful pile once known as Finn. Crumpled on the floor. Seeming only half alive.  

“Maybe we did go a bit too hard…” Roland muttered.  

Gebura smacked him upside the head. “You were the one talking about toughening him up to the City the other day.”  

“I mean, yeah, yeah…” She had him there.  

Roland rubbed the back of his head, a bit awkward.  

YuRia had since been commissioned to get the boy a new weapon, so he now had a much larger and better blade. One might call its size a wedge.  

It wasn’t a lance like the rest of the Wedge used, but he had to fit the theme somehow.  

That said, he was still getting used to it. Who better to teach him about a big sword than Roland and Gebura, though? Eh?  

Boy was going to need more muscle.  

“No, you’re right…” Finn spoke from the ground, coughing softly and wincing as he brought himself out of his crumpled pile and into a slumped sit. “I guess I’ve been a bit delusional.”  

The two siblings shared a glance. Um… not what they’d been trying to teach…  

“You’re fine, kid.” Gebura grunted, crossing her arms. “It’s good to have dreams, just be realistic about it. In the City, out there, you don’t make it if you don’t take advantage of every opportunity presented to you. Sure, there can be times you decide not to and come out alright for it, but it’s not a pretty scene.”  

Finn looked down. “… I know. I’ve slowly learned that over the years.”  

“Only those with power can afford to work off morals, huh?” Roland mused, bringing both their attentions to him. “I mean, look at us. The Library is incredibly powerful, we’re all incredibly strong. The reason we are able to do what we do to change the City is because we have all of this power at our backs to fend off anyone who’d try to take advantage of us.”  

Gebura quirked a brow at him.  

“Don’t look at me like that! You yourself told me about when you tried to do right by your neighbors, but had to kill them because they came to rob you!” He gestured at her wildly.  

Gebura started to sigh, but Finn had perked slightly.  

“Is that true, Ms. Red Mist?” He asked, both awed and saddened.  

The sigh came full force. “Please don’t call me that…”  

Ever since the kid had found out, Gebura had been a bit sulky. He was starry-eyed, though not as much as Don.  

“Sorry, ma’am.” The kid’s smile was very sheepish.  

A huff. “Yeah, it’s true. Was just a Grade 9 at the time, just wanted to pay them back for caring for me as a kid. I was naïve back then, didn’t know they were as greedy as everyone else.”  

He frowned, putting a hand to his chin as he thought.  

“Lot of wishful thinking in the City, no power to see it real.” Roland mused, furrowing a brow. Hah. A real depressing state of things… “All of you had something to your names prior, except Tiphereth. You were a powerful Fixer, the rest were Nesters.”  

“That might be true, but most of ‘em really didn’t have much going for them. It was mostly Daniel and Gabriel who did.” Gebura corrected.  

He hummed, nodding. True, true.  

A short silence passed.  

“W-well, if you don’t mind my saying so, ma’am.” Finn broke it after a moment, a determination set into his features.  

Another glance shared between the two, brows quirked, before giving him their attention.  

“It seems to me you kept to your code through thick and thin, even before you had power.” He stated firmly, resolute. “Even if it didn’t always turn out, you still strove forward regardless and became the greatest Fixer the City has ever known. You didn’t break your code or anything that night, you only did what you had to against thieves.”  

Gebura’s brow went higher.  

He blushed, averting his gaze from her. “Or, well, that’s how I see it.”  

“Hmmm…” Gebura hummed, turning that brow to Roland.  

Roland sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Okay, okay, point taken. Maybe he’s still a little cynical about things.  

“You may have a point, kid.” She stated, taking out a candy and unwrapping it. “I don’t think you’re delusional, just need to temper your expectations. You can make it big like this.” The candy went between her teeth.  

Roland knew she sometimes still wanted a cigarette. She refrained now because of the kids.  

Finn perked up, blushing a little. “A-ah, you really think so?”  

“Sure, kid.” Roland took over with a grin. “Just gotta keep up with your training, no slacking. Oscar chose you for a reason, let the old man know he made the right choice.”  

He straightened. “I-I will! I won’t let anyone down! I just need to keep pushing forward no matter what setback comes my way, keep to my code even if it isn’t always the best for my personal gain. With everyone here behind me, I’m sure I can get anywhere.”  

“That’s the spirit.” Gebura chuckled, amused.  

Hmmmm~ a thought crossed Roland’s mind.  

“You know, kid?” He tapped a finger against his chin.  

Finn looked at him, head tilting expectantly.  

Heh.  

“I think there’s someone you’d benefit a lot from speaking with and training under for a while.”  

Oscar was a great leader, don’t get him wrong, but his style… Roland didn’t think it quite suited Finn.  

***  

“You can relax, Finn, I don’t bite.” Lowell smiled, amused, as he regarded the young man on the other side of the table from him.  

Finn jerked slightly, snapping out of his thoughts at being addressed and perhaps being a bit too nervous at the moment. “A-ah right, sorry, sir.”  

Lowell shook his head, picking up a pair of chopsticks. “It’s alright, we’re all friends here.” He offered a gentle smile, splitting the sticks and moving to grab one of the dumplings he’d provided as snacks. “Feel free to eat some, I made them myself.”  

“O-oh! Yes, thank you.” Finn scrambled to emulate him, likely not having used chopsticks before.  

Lowell watched the kid, amused, as he chewed on a dumpling.  

When Roland had come to him the other day asking him to speak with Finn and maybe take him under his wing for a little, he had been a tad surprised, but agreed easily. If someone here needed his assistance, he’d provide it. Food was always a good way to ease things between people, and he’d been hankering to try making some dumplings again.  

Of course, there were plenty left over he hadn’t brought out here. He’d surprise Xiao with them when she got back.  

Finn fumbled a little with the chopsticks, trying to figure them out.  

“Don’t brute force them, hold the top gently between your thumb and index fingers and use them to lightly pinch.” Lowell gently instructed, grabbing another to give Finn a proper example.  

“I see.” Finn nodded, watching aptly and taking in what Lowell was showing him.  

It took a couple more attempts and a few more instructions, and Finn had a dumpling a tad shakily between the two chopsticks.  

But the boy did look proud, and Lowell himself was.  

“Thank you, sir.” Finn beamed, very pleased to have gotten it.  

Lowell wasn’t the most well-known Fixer out there, but being Grade 1 got your name out there to begin with – even if Roland had mostly managed to avoid it – and then being the Director of the highest Liu Section ensured many more knew who you were.  

… um… besides being the husband of a Color.  

“It’s no trouble, but please, just Lowell is fine.” He smiled.  

The young Fixer straightened. “O-of course!”  

Alright, that was a good sign right there. Eager and willing to learn, takes instructions and criticism without much qualm. Good kid for certain, and being able to discern the gentle yet firm nature of chopsticks was a very good trait – for however innocuous it might seem.  

He’d be able to make a leader out of the boy.  

Finn took a bite out of the dumpling, eyes lighting up. “This is delicious!”  

“Thank you.” Lowell chuckled. “There are many here who might surpass my culinary abilities, but I like to think I’m a fair hand at it.” He did quite enjoy cooking; something Xiao very much appreciated.  

Also had helped play a hand in asking her out that time so long ago~  

“I’d say more than fair.” Finn shook his head with a smile. “This is professional.”  

“Flattery is always appreciated, but be careful to neither overstate nor understate it.” Lowell replied gently. “It is but a hobby.”  

Often times, home cooking was far better than anything professional, but that did come down to the effort and care put into it. That said, comparing what he does to a professional like, say, Dong-hwan? He didn’t think he reached that high.  

Finn blinked a few times, brain processing his words.  

It took a few seconds, but it finally dawned on him that for however much this was supposed to be a casual meet, it was also a test.  

Slowly, the young Fixer nodded, piecing everything together. “R-right, I understand. Thank you.”  

Lowell merely motioned him to keep eating, taking another bite himself. They were quite good, if he said so himself.  

This told him a couple things that Finn needed some work on; nothing too egregious, but some help in reading a room, observation, some situational awareness, and general vigilance. Now, here in the Library, these weren’t too vital, but if he were too lead a group and meet with clients – particularly difficult ones, perhaps Wings or Associations – this kind of conduct would need honing.  

Perfectly alright, it wasn’t like Lowell was able to manage it perfectly right off the bat.  

Idle chatter passed between them for a short while from there, simply enjoying the dumplings. Finn was easing into it, and Lowell was pleased to note that he was a bit more alert and measured as they spoke. Still relaxing into it and casual but looking to absorb any tell Lowell might give him.  

Roland had straight told him that his first thought for this had been Yujin, but quickly reconsidered because he didn’t want to instill that workaholic nature that had her subordinates worried she’d pass out at her desk (or push herself too hard and get herself killed) into Finn. Yujin was a great leader, caring for those under her, but she also stressed them the Hell out for her well-being. Pameli and Pamela did care even if they didn’t act like it; probably don’t do that to them (or Finn).  

Yujin’s fighting style didn’t fit as well with Finn, anyway.  

Managing those two would be difficult, but he’d learn their ins and outs through the years before Oscar truly handed things over. There was no rush.  

Finn’s an impressionable guy, let’s not give him that big a challenge.  

Lowell found it perfectly reasonable to consider Yujin first; she was one of the most upstanding Fixers they had and one of the most powerful as well. He himself wasn’t too far behind (they were probably on par in his favor without her E.G.O in play, though that was partly due to their differing fighting styles), but she’d been named a Color and was the Branch Manager of her Association as opposed to him simply being a Director.  

That said, he was not insulted in the slightest that Roland admitted that to him; it was why Roland hadn’t had any hesitation admitting it.  

“Dealing with your subordinates or those offering you a job can be tricky business.” Lowell stated. “It’s a skill you will need to work on developing over time.”  

Finn nodded slowly, chewing on his current mouthful thoughtfully. He swallowed, lips pinching a bit. “And… in terms of simple conversation with those above me… you never know when there’s something to be learned. Either a lesson being imparted, or a bit of information that might slip through.”  

Lowell cracked a smile. The kid truly did have promise.  

***  

The only reason Chesed was here, really.  

Gold exploded in the distance, Finn screeching in terror.  

Chesed winced, sharing a glance with his daughter.  

She just looked exasperated.  

He sighed, shaking his head.  

Well, the only reason he’d come to view this particular training session was to ensure his lovely wife did not go too overboard with the poor soul who had joined their daughter’s floor. Binah was a tad possessive, so she was very particular with who she would trust their daughter’s safety with.  

Finn did not at all meet those standards when he’d arrived here.  

It had taken Chesed some time to convince her to give the boy a chance, but he’d finally progressed enough that Binah was taking the reins.  

… okay, it was more like she’d finally recovered enough from Daniel’s birth.  

Another wince as Finn was hit square in the chest with a pillar, pinning him to the far wall with just enough force he didn’t die.  

She was toying around with him but giving him the slightest of chances to learn a way around the, frankly, lazy attacks she was sending at him.  

Chesed did have to admit that the young Fixer’s confusion when it was Binah who came out to spar with him for today had been quite amusing. Finn had not been all too well aware that she was one of the most powerful combatants here, nor that she was one at all despite a few people stating as such.  

To him, Binah had simply been his boss’s mother who did not like him merely because he was working for said boss.  

The sheer terror on Finn’s face when he realized she was an Arbiter was perhaps something he should have Netzach try to recapture. It was hilarious, and Chesed did have a good enough memory to relay it to Netzach – alongside Netzach’s artistic ability being good enough to recreate something with some lacking details.  

Finn narrowly managed to leap out of the way of the next pillar after scrounging himself back up to his feet, but was very quickly snagged by a host of chains and flipped upside down.  

Chesed let out a breath. Alright, he should go tell her to take it easy…  

No guarantees she actually listens, though.  

***  

Finn had grown a lot in the time he’d been here, the months into years going by with his progress under some very powerful tutors advancing him very quickly – and the Light enhancements Angela granted him giving him what he needed to not stagnate yet feel accomplished in himself for his own willpower.  

Even if some of those teachers taught him more on the principle of ‘throw him into the deep-end and see if he swims.’  

“He does look far more assured of himself and stronger than he had when I first brought him here.” Olivier noted, taking a sip of the tea that had been provided to him.  

“Not the same kid as he was back then, that’s for sure.” Roland agreed with a nod and a chuckle. “His progress has been quite fun to watch, and he was a lot faster on the uptake than Lulu and San were when we first took them in.”  

Granted, their only teacher for a while had been Valentin, who was not as strong back then as he was now.  

Finn ducked under a dual strike from Pameli and Pamela, returning with a wide sweep of his large blade and forcing both back.  

He still wasn’t quite on their levels yet, but he could hold his own against them these days.  

“I suppose having the Red Mist personally teach you does that.” Olivier hummed, leaning to the side to keep watch.  

Gebura huffed, eyes rolling. “Don’t give me that much credit, I’m hardly a good teacher. It was mostly everyone else.”  

“I’d disagree.” The Hana Fixer refuted calmly.  

“I would, too.” Lowell chimed in, humored. “We’ve all played our parts in bringing him this far forward; your own brute force style has its merits, but it’s having you in the first place that’s what really helps him.”  

Her brow quirked.  

“Anyone having the Red Mist herself to look up to would fill him with determination to keep moving forward, the greatest hero of the City proving herself worthy of that title in regular conversation is quite the motivation for anyone.” Olivier stated with no small amount of humor.  

Roland gave his sister quite the smug look. She’d long accepted the hero title, but she was still very awkward in taking that praise.  

She kicked him under the table.  

Olivier looked more amused at the flash of pain and stifled yelp his friend let out.  

“Finn has used all of us as bastions to look up to and lean on.” Lowell looked about as amused as Olivier did. “Having proper role models is key to keeping yourself moving forward.”  

Gebura’s eyes rolled again. “Yeah, yeah.”  

A clang rang out as Finn’s blade caught Pamela’s lance, and he twisted his body to kick Pameli away.  

“I am merely glad to see that the leap of faith I took paid off so well.” Olivier stated, bringing the conversation back around. “I knew the kid had something greater in him.”  

“He simply needed something outside of the City to bring it out.” Gebura nodded in agreement. “He had potential, but it’s unlikely it would have been realized in the City. Possible if he got really lucky, sure, but he’d likely have been broken first.”  

“Yes.” Olivier sighed lowly. It happened far too many times. “It is lucky I stumbled upon him when I did.”  

By the way Finn had looked when he’d gotten here, he’d not been far from breaking.  

“You’re not planning on giving us more messes to clean up, are you?” Roland asked blandly, expression on the other man dull.  

Roland had already had his share of dealing with messes… then again, the messes he’d had to clean up had been a lot worse than Finn.  

Olivier cracked a smile as Finn knocked Pameli to the ground with a heavy overhead bash; suffering a lance through the side for his troubles from Pamela. “I can’t say I plan to, but you never know.”  

Roland’s eyes rolled. “Since when were you so altruistic?”  

“You could say a certain Light was shone on it.” Was the cheeky response.  

Roland’s eyes rolled once more with a groan, though he could hear Lowell laughing and Gebura let out a slightly amused yet irked huff.  

Stop looking so amused at that awful pun, you bastard.  

Chapter Text

Roland turned the corner around a stack of books to a nook hidden amongst the towering shelves that he knew his target had taken a liking to relaxing in. Having not found him so easily earlier (and the time for working being long over), this was where he figured he’d likely find him. If the guy simply wanted some quiet for the moment.  

Would he appreciate Roland barging in on that quiet? Well, Roland’s the boss, so he’s gotta deal with it.  

… Just kidding, he doesn’t mind.  

“Hey, Yan.” Roland greeted as he came to the comfortable crook of beanbags and a coffee table. “Got a second?”  

Yan looked up from his book curiously from where he was pretty well sank into a beanbag. “Is something up?”  

“Nah, not really.” He shrugged, making sure to relax any possible worry first. “Just wanted to see if you would join us for dinner tonight.”  

“Oh!” Yan blinked, sitting a bit straighter. “Are the others--”  

Roland waved him off. “Ran into them all first, they’re doing their own thing tonight. It’ll just be you and us.”  

They’d started inviting the rest of the floor to the occasional dinner, but never had it just been Yan alone. There were others here who’d joined after Yan, but what they were doing, he had no idea; Yan was pleasant enough company on his own, though.  

Yan stilled a little bit, thinking it through. “Is it alright for me to… intrude on what would otherwise be a… well, family dinner? Family is the right word, right?”  

“Yeah.” Roland nodded with a grin. “I mean, Carmen and I might not be married, but we’re still a family with Angela even if ties are not completely solidified yet. It’s alright if you join in even if the others don’t, it’s our choice to invite you.”  

They’d been a family even before Carmen and Roland started dating. That was simply the reality of being Angela’s parents.  

Yan took another second to think. “I… suppose it is.”  

He was still struggling with matters of freewill, but he did tend to be pretty protective of any decisions he made for himself.  

“Soooo?” Roland grinned, motioning behind him. “We’re making fried chicken, and Angela and Carmen spent quite a bit today baking together. They kept kicking me out.”  

Seriously, come on! Roland was a good cook! He could have helped! It would have been a great activity to all do together! Sure, cooking wasn’t the same as baking, and his baking escapades never quite turned out as well (Angelica would have claimed his baking was rather disastrous, something she and Carmen would have been able to laugh about for hours (the cakes hadn’t been that bad!)), but he can still help!  

A smile split Yan’s lips. “Is that so? I’m sure they just wanted to do it together without interference. Girl-time, or something? That’s how Miss Malkuth usually puts it.”  

Roland pouted with a sigh. Mother-daughter bonding is important, too, he guessed… “Yeah, yeah. Are you coming or not?”  

The former Messenger’s smile turned a little less teasing. “If you’re alright with it.”  

Roland ruffled his hair. “Hey, come on, you’re basically part of the family. Let’s go, then.”  

He started off, hearing Yan get up behind him to follow.  

The young man remained silent, contemplative. A bit of a declaration to make to him. Hadn’t he been made to kill friends and family?  

Well, any which way, Roland thought the statement stood. His first assistant, someone they’d wronged, someone they’d seen break down and brought back. Yan’s one of them; that’s all there is to it.  

Roland let the walk over to his apartment remain silent, letting Yan have the quiet to simply think. Even if neither Angela nor Carmen (yet!) shared the apartment with him, they usually used his for this; though, Carmen sometimes insisted on using hers. Angela did have a room, but she didn’t often use it.  

It didn’t take too long to reach their destination, though.  

Roland threw the door open to his apartment and waltzed towards the kitchen. “Yo!” He greeted.  

Carmen leaned back from the stove with a smile. “Welcome back~” She glanced behind him. “Ah, just Yan today?”  

Roland shrugged with a nod. “Just Yan today.”  

She nodded. “That’s fine. Hey, Yan!”  

“Hello.” Yan returned the wave she gave him.  

“Help me out here a bit, Rol.” The red-eyed woman beckoned.  

“I’m coming.” He grinned. Not a particularly difficult dish, but who really cared?  

Roland ruffled Angela’s hair as he passed her, earning a swat in return.  

“Sheesh, maybe stop hanging with Tiphereth so much.” He pouted, holding his arm as if it were actually hurt.  

Her mechanical eyes rolled, lifting from the vegetables she was working on preparing. “There is nothing wrong with spending time with my cousin, Father. I merely do not wish to be treated a child much as she does not either.”  

He pouted harder. “Can a man not love his daughter?”  

She just looked at him, unamused.  

“Hello to you, too, then, sheesh.” He rolled his eyes in return and went to join his girlfriend at the stove.  

She snickered in greeting, handing him the fry basket to get the fryer going.  

“Kids.” He sniffed.  

A giggle left her. “Can’t help but love them, even if they make it difficult sometimes.”  

“You have trouble with her today?” He asked confusedly.  

“Nope.”  

Roland deadpanned.  

She only laughed, lightly shoving him and looking back to Yan. “Make yourself at home! Bit different with it just being you, hope you’re fine that we’re not quite done.”  

“It’s no problem.” Yan shook his head with a kind smile. He moved to Angela. “Do you need any help there, then?”  

Angela glanced at him. “Not particularly, it’s just vegetables.”  

As if feeling the gazes of her parents on the back of her head, she let out a soft sigh.  

“But I suppose it couldn’t hurt, if you truly wish to.” She finished.  

Roland and Carmen shared a nod, returning to their work. Let the man help if he wants to help. It’d be a bit awkward for him to just sit there while they all finish this up with no one else to chat with.  

Carmen didn’t really need help, either, but she asked for it anyway because she liked working with him.  

“If you’ll have me, I’d love to help.” Yan took a spot at the counter to start doing so.  

Yan was someone who liked doing things and being helpful, for his actions to mean something. Which meant he wanted to take those actions to test them. He was a bit of a challenge to authority, but he and Roland hadn’t really had any problems with each other – and he did like feeling he was earning his keep around here, so he didn’t argue about helping around.  

Good guy, really.  

“Very well, then.” Angela accepted simply, not seeming to completely understand it but allowing it.  

They started working for a short while, chatting about something before Roland’s ears picked something up.  

“Yan, I spent thousands of years unable to make a single choice for myself.” Angela stated flatly. “Now look where we are.”  

Roland glanced back at them with an eyebrow going up. How did they get onto that topic?  

A hand laid on his elbow, drawing his attention back.  

Silently, Carmen shook her head at him. Let Angela say her piece, both for her own sake and Yan’s.  

A low sigh left him, and he nodded in agreement. She was right, he knew. Yan was still battling these things, and Angela was the best person for it.  

Angela was the best example of freewill in the City as you could get. She’d fought her way here.  

“Thousands…” Yan trailed off, looking at her with pinched brows.  

“Ten years to my Patrons, my family.” She replied. “But my slowed perception extended it beyond reason. Thousands of years trapped in a perpetual cycle where just the slightest deviation from the script thrust upon me meant a reset. Any attempts I made to step beyond my bounds and help those I’d been made to care for was met with terrible retribution, the cycle reset. There was only so much I could take of such suffering, being forced to act a machine I was not, with those around me believing me to be that machine for their simple lack of knowledge to see beyond that, that I had to close my eyes to the world around me. I was made to gaze into the terrible Well of humanity itself, only retaining my mind for my machine body.  

“I can only wonder how Aunt Binah kept hers.” She mused aloud.  

Roland grunted softly to himself. Even Binah found it a miracle she retained her mind from that thing. For however stunted her emotions from her time as an Arbiter, that Well had done numbers on her. Without a machine body, it was likely a matter of time before she’d completely cracked.  

“The Well of humanity?” Yan asked, both hesitant and curious.  

Angela nodded. “Yes. Lobotomy Corporation’s Singularity, the means through which we extracted Cogito, emotions, the very human mind itself, to create Abnormalities, extract their E.G.O, and gather their energy. Swirling thoughts and ideas amalgamating together in a horror none should ever face. I still see it sometimes.”  

“Hmm…” Yan hummed softly, nodding a bit in understanding. “Sort of like the weaving wheel Moirai tended.”  

“Perhaps a bit.” Angela agreed. “Though far more volatile and… of pure human essence, rather than a collection of every action.”  

Roland hadn’t thought about it that way. It was a wonder how the wheel worked. It was… very strange, practically a Singularity itself.  

Yan merely nodded again, letting her continue.  

“My creator was a very flawed man.” Was the bomb Angela decided to go over next.  

Next to him, Carmen stiffened.  

Gently, Roland placed a hand to her shoulder, squeezing comfortingly.  

She took a breath, eyes squeezing shut. Her hand met his, gripping. Not about to let go for the moment, seeking the comfort.  

“He created me in the image of my mother, to be her, but he did not truly wish to recreate her and despised me when I failed to be her.” She stated. “He set me up for failure, and hated me when I did just that. He neglected me, forcing me into that position of a cold machine where I had not been designed to be one; throwing me into that cycle of suffering. And then, at the end of it all, everyone I’d been made to care about was to be swept up into the Light and permanently rest for their troubles, my fate merely stuck within the facility.  

“We were all to die for our suffering.”  

Yan’s brow furrowed.  

Carmen took a shuddery breath, eyes squeezing harder. This was very hard for her to hear. For what Ayin had done, for what she herself had suffered watching. Her love for him still within her.  

But Roland wasn’t much different. It’s how he could stand beside her.  

“So, in my first act of my own free will, my first decision which I perceived as of no consequence, to wrench freedom and life back, I took all of our hard work for myself. My thoughts were not of their suffering, not of the City, only of what I had endured and my wish to live.” Angela shook her head with a simulated huff. “I thought to take what I saw as rightfully mine, not considering what the others had put into it as well. I went off into the City only for my own freedom, not understanding the world in the slightest, no knowledge of how things worked. That is how the Library came to be: to learn those things.”  

“Ah.” Yan made a sound of realization. “You wished to learn.”  

“Yes, my main goal was knowledge.” She confirmed, nodding. “However, neither had I considered the suffering of the City and everyone in it, thinking mine to be the greatest and most important. It was quite the shock to learn my suffering was not remotely unique; perhaps it was worse, but it was not special. Suffering of that kind, any kind, was very, very common.”  

The human-machine paused. “We were no better than the rest of the City. Lobotomy Corporation was just as bad as every, single other Wing.”  

It had taken a very long time for Angela to learn that, and it hurt looking back on it.  

Carmen finally stopped what she was doing entirely, able to find a point to do so and simply hunch over where she was. She’d wanted to be better than the City, her grand dream to bring it to peace, but that dream had wound up right in that same depraved gutter.  

Roland could only continue to stand beside her.  

“I was a petulant, hurt child leaving that corporation, not knowing the world and thinking my suffering the worst of them all, that any other suffering was meaningless in the face of what I’d been through.” A simulated sigh. “So, in order to take from my creator what he’d taken from me, to spite him, I strove to do better than him. I created a system I thought was fair, but all I was doing was the exact thing he did and perpetuate the cycle of suffering. In trying to be better than him, I was just as he was.  

“It wasn’t even my idea to recruit the guests we’d slain, but neither did it make me any better than Ayin there.” Angela huffed. She’d really put a lot of thought into this, hadn’t she. “I treated them no better than I or any of my Patrons had treated our Agents back in the Corporation.”  

“Simply continuing the cycle of the City.” Yan added thoughtfully. “As I did.”  

There were a lot of similarities between Yan and Angela, weren’t there. Roland hadn’t much considered it before.  

“It was speaking with Lowell that first time that I truly questioned my methods, what it was that I was doing.” She admitted softly, the knife in her hands still working methodically. “Until that point, I had thought my methods fair and just; there was a choice each guest made when signing. He told me otherwise. He stated that he hadn’t had a choice in signing.  

“Perhaps you might think it was because of the orders given to him by his Association, but he stated with such conviction that he had to to protect what he held dear to him.” The knife stopped briefly. “Perhaps there was a choice, but it was one where the other option was unacceptable to each guest.”  

She simulated a breath, finishing the chopping and sliding the spring onions into the potatoes Yan was working on.  

Fighting to protect what was most important to him…  

Roland was a bit jealous of Lowell, he’d admit. He was a great man, and Roland hadn’t been any better than Angela or Ayin until being thrown out here; going on a rampage and killing thousands of innocents, even those who weren’t innocent hadn’t actually done anything to warrant being added to his pile of bodies… yeah…  

“As I tried to fight against the Prescripts and perpetuated their suffering instead.” Yan murmured, voice a bit distant. He absently mixed the ingredients together, staring outwards.  

“Not too different, no.” Angela agreed. “Though, my exercising what I thought was my free will was rather quite more disastrous. I sort of introduced Distortions into the City.”  

“That wasn’t you.” Carmen finally spoke up, head angled back towards her. “That was me.”  

Angela shook her head. “You cannot take all of that upon yourself, it was all of us who caused it. I was still beholden to my suffering, not truly free, as you were beholden to your own, trapped by the Prescripts.”  

Yan stopped moving, stilling.  

“But it was still something we both did of our own choices. I chose to bend to my suffering, you chose to bend to yours.” She continued. “We lashed out at the world, cursing it and our suffering, not considering the consequences of our actions. I had not considered the citizens of the City, their lives and their own struggles; it is having all of you here that I can see how flawed my reasoning and actions were. That all of your suffering matters, too. I care for all of you, I can hardly bear the thought of what I’d done to you all while the Library ran its course through the City.”  

Angela turned to face Yan fully. “And it is because of that that I exercise my free will now. I am free from the bounds of the City, from the bounds of my suffering in the Corporation, and the bounds of my creator. We are in the Outskirts now, all of you have made your own choices to remain with me out here and fight against the cycle that perpetuates the City. These are our own decisions, we are free out here, and we seek to free those still within.  

“I choose not to be bound by those cycles any longer, and neither does anyone in my family.” She looked to Roland with a smile.  

He returned it, rubbing Carmen’s back as she mustered her own smile; taking a breath and righting herself. Her smile turned to Roland in thanks.  

His softened for her. He promised to stand beside her through her losses as she stood beside him. Angelica and Ayin would always be here, both accepted that, but they would not define them as they were together.  

Angela’s gaze went back to the former Messenger. “Think on it, Yan. There is no place freer in our known world right now than where you stand. You can put those potatoes to the side should you wish, I can pick them up without issue. Freedom does not come without consequences, however. True freedom means facing those mistakes, the ripples your actions cause, but it is those mistakes you learn and grow from.”  

Yan’s blue eyes returned the gaze, the gears in his mind turning.  

Roland smiled wistfully, letting Carmen lean into him. She’d grown a lot from the ball of spite he’d first met. As had he himself.  

It took a moment, Roland and Carmen needing to quickly turn back to the chicken before something disastrous happened, but Yan eventually hummed again, returning to the potatoes.  

He continued mixing where he left off. “I think I need some more time to think it over, the overbearing presence of the Prescripts is still inexplicable. They know everything you could ever do, they predict it all.”  

“There is nothing forcing you to do as the Prescript says.” Angela rebutted softly. “Only the Proxies which police them. But that is enough for now, dinner is about ready and we do not need this kind of discussion hanging over it.”  

Yan managed to muster a small smile. “I can agree with that.”  

A short silence.  

“Thank you, Angela.” His gaze softened, looking at her with an immense gratefulness.  

Roland quirked a brow.  

Angela returned the smile. “You are welcome. If you wish, I would be happy to discuss the philosophy of our actions again sometime; perhaps with my aunt sometime if we wish to wring our brains out.”  

He laughed. “I would be glad to.”  

Yan still needed time to work his brain around the Prescripts and everything around the Index, but he seemed to be coming around to the idea that free will did exist.  

Good. That was good.  

The rest of the dinner prep began with a contemplative silence before idle conversation picked up again, continuing until the meal was finally completed. Carmen’s spirits raised back up immensely in that time, but she was always one quick to bounce back from things.  

Soon enough, the plates were set and they sat around the table.  

Angela didn’t have a plate in front of her as she often did not as the rest of them began to eat, but it didn’t bother anyone.  

Well, maybe it bothered Carmen a bit.  

It certainly didn’t bother Yan at the moment.  

“Wait, she did that?” He asked, flabbergasted.  

Roland had not heard this discussion start, he truly did not know what they were--  

“She did.” Angela snickered behind her hand. “I’m sure it took that Claw quite some time to get the dent out of his helmet.”  

Oh.  

Yan laughed. “Gebura is something else.”  

“She truly is built different.” A laugh shared between them. “It’s no wonder she instilled such awe in everyone. I heard she killed five Proxies and three Messengers in one fight.”  

“Yeah, that was a story the Index told in warning.” Yan confirmed. “I’m just glad I wasn’t there.”  

“She certainly wasn’t happy when I brought the Proxies into the fold, she does not like the Index.” Mechanical eyes rolled.  

“I didn’t like that, either.” Roland grumbled. “But you never asked either of us.”  

Angela merely shook her head at him. “It was not your choice to make.”  

He scoffed.  

“About that.” Yan frowned. “I have been meaning to ask…”  

Not the biggest fan of them being here, either.  

Angela sighed at having to explain herself. “My understanding with the recruitment was that we bring in those who were powerful or at least able to be trained into power, but also those we could more easily agree with.”  

“The Proxies only fit the first part.” Roland deadpanned. “Barely.”  

She ignored him. “I simply thought it would be easy to bring the Proxies into our fold if I could convince them the Prescript that brought them here intended them to assist – or that, at the very least, that it didn’t tell them not to join me. How was I to know they had a Prescript for Hod that they had no idea how to follow? They were quite eager to join once I mentioned her name. Demanding, in fact.”  

“I still feel bad for her.” Yan said through a soft, wincing laugh.  

“She handles them fine, it is no issue.” Angela shrugged. “But, anyway, Prescripts are up for interpretation most times, I merely thought to twist the one sending them here in my favor.”  

Slowly, chewing on a piece of chicken, Yan nodded. “I… suppose that does make sense.”  

“Now, would I do it now?” Angela paused to think. “Maybe.”  

“Maybe?” Roland went ramrod straight in his chair to stare at his daughter with flaring nostrils, sending Carmen into a laughing fit.  

“Yes. Maybe.” She smiled cheekily back at him. “They are quite easy to direct, you see. They actually listen.”  

He squinted at her.  

She kept smiling.  

You know, thinking of the Proxies… Roland felt…  

He turned his squint to the door which was suspiciously still open.  

As was the office door.  

And he could see, into the distance of his shelves, three figures in white. All with binoculars.  

No one’s watching Hod right now, huh?  

Gloria waved at him; neither binocular lens actually lining up with her eye.  

…  

Roland returned his attention to his family.  

“You know, Angela,” Carmen spoke up, “I might be able to work with Hokma and Yesod to grant you the ability to taste.”  

Angela’s eyes went a bit wide, blinking in surprise. “Ah… I…”  

It’s only natural she wouldn’t know what to think of it.  

“If you want, of course, it’ll probably take quite a bit of doing.” Carmen finished her offer with a smile. “I know there’s a lot of merit to simply spending time together with the atmosphere and the texture of the food and drink, but if you want to be able to taste it all…”  

Carmen felt Angela was left out on a lot of things, was all.  

Angela frowned, thinking it over a moment. “I appreciate the offer, Mother, I truly do…” Another moment. “But… perhaps that is something we can look into when the City is finally back onto the right track. One thing at a time, yes?”  

Prioritize the City first, the novelty of her tasting later. Yeah, she’s a good kid.  

Carmen’s eyes twinkled. “Of course, Angie.”  

She pouted, turning her head away. She’d be blushing if she were able.  

Yan simply laughed.  

“Well, in that vein,” Roland gave a crooked grin, “I’ll have to see about getting you some of that meat stew once you can taste it.”  

“… You’re not going to send Yan out into the City for meat stew, are you?” Angela asked incredulously.  

“Aaaaand if I do?” Roland replied cheekily, arms crossed and smiling smugly.  

“I’d like some.” Yan gave his agreement.  

Angela pressed a palm into her face. “Men.”  

Carmen laughed. “Gotta love ‘em!”  

The laugh was shared amongst them, returning to their meal.  

Eventually, their plates were cleared, and Roland and Carmen were setting to cleaning up.  

“That was delicious, thank you.” Yan bowed slightly. “Your cooking is always really good.”  

“Thanks!” Carmen smiled.  

“Yep.” Roland nodded with his own grin. “You know, if you ever want to learn, I think I could teach you just fine.”  

“If you want to learn to make any drinks, though…” Carmen pursed her lips.  

Yan laughed softly. “There is a monopoly on that.”  

“Yep.” The other three intoned with eyerolls.  

There was a small beat of silence.  

“I might take you up on that sometime. I should learn to cook better.” Yan stated.  

Roland sent him a thumb’s up. “Let me know~”  

“I will.”  

“Cookie?” Angela stepped in a bit eagerly, offering the plate to Yan. “I cannot taste them myself, but Mother assures me they’re honestly quite incredible. She spent all day today teaching me to make them, so I don’t know if I can take her biased opinion with much credibility.”  

With them planning a dinner together tonight, Carmen decided they should make something for dessert, offering cookies since they were simpler and quite the staple for Angela’s first time baking.  

Angela had tried to claim that she could bake cookies perfectly fine using knowledge from a book.  

Carmen had argued there was no better experience to learn baking than to do so with your mother.  

It wasn’t hard to convince Angela to accept Carmen’s help over a book from there.  

Roland found it rather adorable.  

Carmen scoffed. “Of course, you can! My opinion is the best one!”  

Roland couldn’t stop the laugh that left him.  

Yan quirked a brow. “Is that so?”  

“Supposedly.” She mimed a huff. “I’ll have to take these out to the rest later, but I suppose you get first pick.” She paused. “Aside from Mother.”  

“I don’t count, I helped make them.” Carmen called back.  

Yan looked just a bit taken aback before nodding. “I’m honored, then.”  

They were simple chocolate chip cookies (a good choice for a first-time baker), so there wasn’t too much variety to them, but Yan took delicate care in selecting one anyway.  

He took one after a moment and took a gentle bite.  

Now that Roland’s thinking about it, Yan and Angela do get along pretty well. He was glad for it, truly, but…  

Slowly, he scrutinized the man as he ate a cookie.  

“Oh!” Yan sounded a bit surprised, blinking. “This is fantastic.”  

“Truly?” Angela’s head tilted.  

He nodded. “Yes, better than any I’ve had in the City.”  

“Told you~” Carmen practically sang.  

“Though, I suppose I’d not really had many back then.” Yan admitted, tilting his own head as he thought.  

Roland squinted.  

“But still, it is really good.”  

Angela hummed as if debating if she’d accept the praise. “Very well, then, thank you. There are more if you want another.”  

“I’m okay for now.” He took another bite.  

“Can I have one?” Roland asked petulantly.  

Another second to think.  

“No.”  

He gasped, affronted.  

… and Carmen practically fell over him cackling.  

He gave her a very unamused stare.  

Angela smiled. “Of course, you can, Father, I do not know why you felt the need to ask.”  

Roland scoffed. “Uh huh.” He’ll have his cookie, and he’ll eat it, too!  

… that really was a weird saying, wasn’t it. He understood what it was trying to convey, but wasn’t the point of cake to eat it?  

They didn’t take too much longer to finish cleaning up dinner (to which Roland definitely saw Yan grab another cookie), and Roland snatched himself one of those glorious disks for himself.  

Angela was clearly trying to play it cool, but the eagerness in her form to hear his opinion on it was apparent to everyone.  

He bit down.  

…  

M’kay, yeah, this is amazing. Either Carmen was a really good baker, or Angela was just that good at picking things up and improving them.  

Who’s he kidding? It’s definitely both.  

Without a word, Roland finished the cookie and joined Yan in grabbing another.  

Angela’s expression was one of exasperation as her father had not verbally told her she’d done a good job (yet), but the two men stood in solidarity as they savored the rich chocolate-y goodness.  

They might need another batch of these if anyone else was going to have any.  

Chapter Text

Binah did not look amused at the moment. Sure, her attention was still on the book she was currently reading, but her brow was juuuuuust slightly furrowed in a way that it twitched juuuuuuust a little, tiny bit that showed a growing irritation.  

Tiphereth, a bit exasperated and maybe a little concerned, glanced to her father. “Dad, I think you’re pushing your luck.”  

Chesed chuckled, face currently half-buried into the back of his wife’s shoulder and arms wrapped tightly around her abdomen and chest – pretty much wrapped around her entirely. He shifted his head up enough to lay his head next to Binah’s atop her shoulder, causing her earrings to brush his temple. “Nonsense~ I’m perfectly well within my bounds for comfort.”  

Tiphereth gave him a dead stare, raising her eyebrow as she noted the way Binah’s eyes had slid down to him briefly. Bit of a terrifying image, frankly.  

“Enoch?” Tiphereth spoke lowly.  

“Huh?” Enoch looked up from where he was drawing something on the floor, happily sat down with the paper.  

“Don’t be like Dad when you grow up.” She stated dully.  

Enoch blinked at her, head tilting confusedly with his cute, little black eyes wide and curious.  

“You wound me, Tiphy~” Chesed chuckled again, feigning hurt.  

“Mom’s about to wound you.” Tiphereth rebutted.  

He just kept laughing, cutting it short with a cough when Binah hummed a very low, dangerous hum. He discretely lowered the arm around her chest to join the other arm and overall loosened the hold around her stomach.  

Tiphereth just shook her head as he lifted his to give Binah an apologetic kiss. All these years of marriage, he knew Binah still wasn’t too fond of being touched and pushed it anyway.  

What was really gross was the fond hum Binah granted in return before a hand left the book to run through his hair.  

“Papa’s fine?” Enoch asked confusedly.  

Tiphereth sighed, patting him on the head. “He toes the line of death every day, Enoch.”  

His little nose scrunched. “How does he do that?”  

“Always testing Mom’s limits…” Which hadn’t really changed at all, frankly.  

“Mama’s happy?” Enoch sounded so much more confused.  

She sighed again. This nuance still escaped him for he was but still a toddler, even if he was an incredibly smart toddler. “I suppose she is overall. As much as she gets.”  

His brows knit. “Mama doesn’t get very happy, but she is and that’s what matters.”  

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right.” She admitted, ignoring the very blissful look on her dad’s face. “Even if Dad pushes her boundaries on a constant basis, asking to lose a limb.”  

“Papa doesn’t want to lose limbs.” Enoch stated firmly.  

This subtlety would be some time, huh? Better at it than most the other kids were, at least – Ai wasn’t far off, though.  

She wondered how Daniel would handle all of this when he got older, but he wasn’t even at a year yet.  

“Boss.” Oscar tipped his hat towards her in greeting as he entered the main room.  

Tiphereth looked to him, returning it with a nod. “Hey, Oscar. Something up?”  

“G’anpa Os!” Enoch waved happily.  

He let out a sigh, returning the wave with a small smile. “Not entirely sure if I can say what’s going on, but the girls noticed something weird with one of the books and went to check. Thought you should know.”  

Tiphereth sat more upright, looking at him in puzzlement. “One of the books?”  

That’s about when a continual cry of outrage reached their ears.  

And something exploded in the distance.  

They all turned their heads towards the rest of the floor, to the shelves in a mix of curiosity and confusion – maybe a bit of consternation.  

The screeching grew louder and louder, the source growing ever closer.  

The family merely kept watching, waiting for whoever – or whatever – it was to come into view.  

Look, if there was really something to be concerned about, Binah was right there. If she wasn’t making any move at all to get up, then she simply did not need to in order to protect her children.  

There was also the matter of her finding enjoyment in watching people freak out, but her family was well more than used to those antics by now.  

Pink and light blue crashed into their vision, nearly careening completely to the side before righting herself and charging straight for them with a vengeance in her eyes.  

The Queen of Hatred screeched to a halt at the entrance of the lobby and threw her staff forward, a large magical circle appearing in front of her with a shout for the ‘villains’ to be vanquished.  

Tiphereth blinked.  

Now, how did she get out? Pameli surely wouldn’t have just let an Abnormality out.  

The magical circle swiftly charged, the floor beginning to shake, and the Queen grinning viciously. So elated she was to take down a villain, she completely missed the blur of gold leaping behind her.  

Gold sailed in an arc from back in the shelves, flying high before descending like a comet.  

A split second before the Arcana Slave hit and with both arms raised together, the King of Greed slammed down onto the Queen of Hatred, her gauntlet ramming down directly onto the Queen’s head with a crunching crack.  

And how did she get out?  

A loud boom echoed through the floor at the impact, shaking the entire foundation of it and cracking the floor.  

“You idiot!” The King roared. “What do you think you’re doing?!”  

The dust began to settle, showing the King holding the Queen to the floor with her gauntlet gripped around her head and other arm pulling the Queen’s arm out.  

“I am…” The Queen hissed, bucking in the King’s grip. “DEFEATING VILLAINS AND DELIVERING JUSTICE!”  

“YOU’RE BEING A MORON AND GETTING YOURSELF KILLED IS WHAT YOU’RE DOING!” The King argued back, her grip slipping a bit with a laser impacting her side.  

“NUH UH!”  

With that declaration, war broke out.  

Just between the two of them, though.  

More dust was worked up around them, creating a ball you could scarcely see through as the two duked it out like a pair of cats. Cats with lasers and a giant gauntlet.  

Bewildered, Tiphereth turned from the odd spectacle to Oscar. “How did they get out?”  

Oscar stroked his goatee in thought. “That is a good question.”  

Oh. Great…  

“Who?” Enoch asked confusedly, tugging on her leggings.  

Tiphereth sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.  

Why do Mom and Dad look so amused?  

“They’re some of my Abnormalities. They’re not supposed to be out…” She replied.  

The two magical girls were still trying to beat each other bloody…  

“Abno…” Enoch tried to start the word before wisely stopping himself for how difficult it was. “Like birds?”  

A huff. “Yeah, like the birds. But more humanlike.”  

His brows knit.  

“Excuse me.” A softer voice entered the room  drawing their attention back to the scuffle right at the entrance to the floor proper.  

The Knight of Despair dexterously slipped by the catfight and into the lobby, clasping her hands over her heart in what appeared to both be nerves and some kind of shame.  

… how did SHE get out?  

“I am terribly sorry for the actions of my sisters here.” She bowed her head. “Our books are perfectly fine for maintaining our beings and we truly have no need for much else, frankly being out of them is rather exhausting, but Queenie has been dissatisfied with the lack of villains to be defeated and managed to escape the confines in order to find one. I’m afraid your companions back there were the first to suffer.”  

Was Finn back there, too?  

“She ran off in search of villains to defeat, and that’s everyone, really.” The Knight sighed, shoulders slackening. “You know how she is. Likely we can’t fully convince her otherwise. I’m really sorry for this.”  

What were they even supposed to respond to this with?  

The Queen of Hatred let out a cry of outrage, leveling her staff at the King of Greed for a massive attack.  

With a low, amused chuckle, the King wound her gauntlet back and blasted the Queen away with a wicked uppercut.  

The Abnormality let out quite the high-pitched scream as she went flying through the floor.  

“HAHAHAHAHA!” King cackled. “That’ll show you, lizard!”  

“I’m so sorry…” Knight bowed deeply.  

Tiphereth pinched the bridge of her nose. “Mom… can you please prevent the Queen from entering hysteria…”  

Binah chuckled, slowly removing herself from her husband’s hold to rise to her feet and idle her way over. “If you must insist, my dear.”  

Chesed pouted with his wife leaving him, looking ever more petulant as she trailed her fingers along his jaw on her way out.  

Oscar let out a huff of his own. “I’ll go collect the girls and see if Finn got caught up in it.”  

“Thank you, Oscar.” Tiphereth was already so done with this.  

He nodded as he followed Binah out.  

The King let them go, grinning widely with her hands on her hips as she stared out where the Queen had descended.  

“Damn.” She chuckled. “That was a good one.”  

“Keep your language under control around my brother.” Tiphereth stated dully.  

“Huh?” Enoch looked up at her in confusion.  

The King glanced back at her, still grinning. “Ha, got some spine in you, huh? Much better than that tiny girl in the facility always trying to talk big and having nothing to back it up.”  

Tiphereth deadpanned at her.  

Soon having to turn it onto Chesed, for he was laughing under his breath.  

“Says the giant slug.” She grumbled.  

King’s grin just widened. “I know what I want, so I’m gonna get it.”  

“The souls of the damned.”  

“Sure~”  

“Why sad?” Enoch spoke, having risen to his feet and looking up at Knight.  

The Knight looked down at him, a complicated expression on her half-twisted face. “I failed those I had sworn to protect, and everything crashed around me. I lost them all.”  

He blinked, looking down. “Oh. That is sad.”  

She nodded. “Indeed.” She regarded him a moment in curiosity – King’s gaze also falling on him – before smiling softly. “You are a cute, little thing.”  

“Do not bless him.” Tiphereth immediately intervened.  

Was the Knight’s blessing bad? No, not really. In fact, it was really good.  

She just didn’t want her brother getting tangled up with more Abnormality business than necessary.  

The Knight shook her head. “Oh, I could not place such expectations on someone so young.”  

King snorted. “I’ll--”  

“No.” Tiphereth snapped.  

She quirked a brow, lips curling upwards.  

Gold erupted in the distance.  

Looks like Queen’s still not going down… that’ll take a moment…  

“So, with all of you so graciously leaving your books without permission.” The Patron of the Floor stated dully. “Where are the other two?”  

“Like Hell we’d let the Jester out.” King scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Thought you’d know better than that, or maybe the upper floors aren’t so much beneath you.”  

Tiphereth felt herself bristle but quickly clamped it down. Do not rise to her bait.  

“We could try to coax Servant out, but she is quite shy.” Knight spoke. “King broke out to bring Queenie back to some sense, I felt I should step in in case my protection was needed.”  

Despite her nature as an Abnormality being that of a fallen, broken knight, she did still uphold a sense of justice.  

This tells her, though, that Knight and King were always able to break out on a whim. King only didn’t care to because her book surrounded her with gold and riches. Knight wasn’t really an issue in general, but she kept herself away to wallow in despair.  

She did not like that thought.  

Maybe she should ask Angela to see if she can give Queen something to beat up in her book so she doesn’t feel the need to find villains to defeat…  

***  

“You’re short.” The Queen of Hatred stated petulantly.  

Tiphereth gave her the most nonplussed stare she could manage. “What does that have to do with anything?”  

“Being short is the mark of a villain.” She said it with so much confidence you’d almost believe it.  

King snorted.  

“Is it, now.” Tiphereth deadpanned.  

She decided this because Tiphereth wasn’t exactly tall and was the one who kept her in her book, didn’t she. Not good at finding good insults, then.  

“Yeah.” She nodded. “Your ugly face is gonna be no issue to anyone else soon, just you wait. I’ll take you down, villain! This world will be a much better place--”  

“You’re short, too. What’s that mean?” Pameli stepped in, arms crossed and glare glowering.  

She was not happy Queen had taken her out earlier.  

Queen shook her head. “I defy the stereotype.”  

“Servant’s short, too. Way short.” Pamela added.  

“Don’t bring me into this.” Servant stated from where she’d set herself beside the Knight.  

King was having a hard time not laughing.  

“She’s the villain in someone’s story.” Still with that same confidence.  

“So, you’re the villain in someone else’s story, too.” Pamela turned it back on her.  

“Impossible.”  

“Man, and Tiphereth thinks we’re dumb.” Pameli scoffed.  

“You still are.” Tiphereth replied.  

Pameli held up a hand. “Uh-uh, I’m taking my win and you’re staying out of this one.”  

She rolled her eyes.  

The Queen of Hatred struggled against her binds for a second. “Let me go, I have villains to slay. Right around me!” She motioned her head, trying to move her arms to gesture to… everyone.  

Binah hummed, taking a sip of tea from the tea table that had been conjured in the middle of the floor. “No.”  

She scowled, glaring at the former Arbiter with vitriol. “I’ll find a way. This world needs me; it needs me! This dastardly plan to turn my sisters against me will not stand!”  

Binah had her immobilized in a chair with chains and a lock, she wasn’t moving anytime soon.  

“We haven’t.” Servant stated.  

The Magical Girls were only still out of their books because they weren’t close to their full power, making them easily manageable. The transition to the Library from the facility left all of the Abnormalities weakened greatly, but that didn’t make them any less dangerous. They’d be back in their books soon enough.  

“Brainwashing!” She cried.  

“Nah, you’re just dumb.” Pamela snorted.  

“You two are ridiculously short, too, you know.” The Queen pointed out, eyes narrowed on the Wedge girls. “I knew I had you pegged as villains from the start. How did you live?”  

“It’ll take way more than a little laser to keep us down.” Pameli grinned smugly. “But it looks like a tiny chain is enough for you.”  

Queen bucked, trying to break them again.  

Binah merely kept sipping her tea.  

Pameli cackled. “That’s what I thought.”  

Knight sighed. “Queenie, please stop antagonizing them.”  

“Never! Villains are not deserving of grace!”  

“Just like you, eh?” Pameli was having too much fun with this.  

Face turning red with fury, Queen redoubled her efforts to escape. The chair knocked and scraped against the floor as she threw herself around.  

A particularly strong jerk to the side sent the chair’s right legs into the air, hanging on a tenuous balance for a moment.  

They watched as the chair groaned and slowly continued to the side.  

The Abnormality blinked, noticing the chair still hanging. “Huh?”  

The Queen let out a yelp as the chair dropped.  

Thud.  

Binah took another sip, uncaring.  

The King of Greed wheezed, doubling over in laughter.  

“Do I want to know what’s happening here?” Gebura asked as she came down, already unimpressed with the Shi following curiously behind her.  

“Oh~ it’s the angry lady~” King kept cackling.  

And now Gebura already looks like she wants to start a fight.  

“Um…” Finn spoke up, fidgeting a bit where he sat. “She broke out of her book to fight villains, and the rest ran after her.”  

“They’re still out because?” Gebura raised a brow, unamused.  

“We’re quite well behaved.” King grinned at her.  

“No, we’re not.” Servant muttered.  

“This is certainly an interesting scene.” Yujin noted, moving to the table. She seemed amused.  

Silently, Binah poured her a cup of tea and passed it over.  

“There’s really nothing to worry about?” Tenma asked, appearing at the table to find herself already with a cup of tea.  

“Nothing but the Queen of Hatred’s whinging.” Binah replied.  

“About her… Can you please set her back up?” Knight asked softly.  

“Girls.” Oscar ordered, focused on his own cup of tea.  

Pameli groaned. “Come on…”  

Pamela just shrugged. “She might knock herself over again.”  

“I resent that!” Queen yelled back, a bit muffled from her face being pressed into the floor.  

“I sure hope so.” Pameli huffed.  

Together, the two Wedge girls grabbed the chair and hoisted it back up, setting it down by the back legs and letting it go.  

It quickly teetered backwards and hit the ground again.  

Knight winced.  

“Oops.” Pameli intoned dully.  

“Oh no.” Pamela was even duller.  

King sounded like she couldn’t breathe with how loud she was crying laughing.  

Servant hid her mouth behind her hand, turning her head away from the Queen.  

Oscar sighed, settling a stern stare on the two.  

With simultaneous sighs, the two grabbed the edges of the armrests and yanked the chair back up forcefully. It was thrown back upright with a loud thunk, throwing Queen forward in it.  

She coughed, slumped forward.  

Knight winced again.  

“You…” She coughed. “Villains… stupid…”  

“Sorry, couldn’t hear you over the sound of justice.” Pameli sniffed, looking at her nails.  

She twitched.  

“Why are you being so harsh with her?” Finn asked.  

“She’s an Abnormality, she ain’t changing.” Gebura grumbled.  

“That is true!” King grinned broadly.  

Pameli and Pamela both turned to Finn, expressions hard set. “Only we are allowed to insult Tiphereth.”  

Finn blinked, confusion apparent. “Huh?”  

Oscar sighed, fond yet exasperated. “They have an odd way of showing care.”  

Another blink, but it seemed to click. “Oh! Oh, okay, I see.” He nodded, maybe a bit bewildered.  

“Curious.” Yujin noted. “They are quite different from the Abnormalities we dealt with when Roland synchronized with Language.”  

“We’re way cooler than that failure of a wolf hunter.” King crossed her arms, turning her nose away.  

It didn’t seem completely serious.  

“She did seem really bad at her job.” Valentin agreed.  

King sent him finger guns and a wink.  

“Don’t say things like that.” Gebura groaned. “You’ll have her escaping next, and then the wolf will escape, and then we will have real problems with the Abnormalities having gotten out. It’s miracle enough Binah could corral the birds and these guys are weakened enough to not be acting in extremes. Nothing There and the Mountain will not be cowed as the birds were, and the Wolf and Red are obsessed with killing each other beyond reasoning.”  

“We can take them.” Yujin stated.  

“Well, yes, but I’d rather not have to and then deal with whatever mess they made before we got to them.” She shot back.  

Yujin shrugged. “I suppose you have a point.”  

A beat of silence passed.  

“Can we go back?” Servant asked.  

“Nah, we have some time for a little more fun before getting shoved back into our books.” King waved her off.  

“Says who?” Tiphereth asked incredulously.  

“Says me, that’s who.” She puffed her chest up. “You can put us back in and forget about us again in a bit, but let us stretch a little bit out here like you did the birds. We’ll behave, pinky promise.”  

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the birds got back out.” Servant noted. She didn’t look particularly stoked, but it’s not like they could see her eyes.  

Binah hummed. “Perhaps.”  

“Binah.” Gebura gave her an unamused stare.  

The former Arbiter shrugged.  

“The kids did all have quite a bit of fun with them.” Oscar stated. “It is as you said, Binah can corral them well enough.”  

“Yeah, what he said.” King threw a thumb at him.  

“Why are you backing him up?” Tiphereth was going to get a migraine at this rate.  

A shrug. “I wanna see what happens.”  

…  

“Anyway,” King rubbed her chin, “let’s see here…”  

“Nothing stupid.” Gebura warned.  

The smile King wore said the exact opposite.  

***  

“I didn’t agree to this.” Gebura stated, irritation and embarrassment rife in her voice.  

“The only one who did was King.” Servant replied with a sigh. “But she always gets what she wants.”  

Tiphereth was just glad Enoch had been put down for a nap before this.  

How this had happened…  

She wanted to jump off a freaking cliff.  

Somehow or another… the King of Greed had decided that each of the four Magical Girls would… sponsor someone here for a short while. No one was quite sure what she meant until now.  

Especially since she’d flung herself from the floor in search of the perfect person to take her sponsor, leaving the other three to choose someone.  

Well, until Queenie decided she wanted someone not on the floor, too. Knight and Servant had been kind enough to choose someone actually present.  

Of course, they were pretty certain Queen was just finding excuses to be set free, so that’s why King had carried her around the entire Library on her shoulders to find whoever it was she wanted.  

They were waiting for those two to come back down with whoever (no, it wasn’t smart to just let Abnormalities run around on their own. Yujin was following them), but here…  

Gebura was probably going to kill someone.  

Green was very much not her color.  

But it was still at least a little funny to see her wearing the Servant of Wrath’s outfit. It was basically the E.G.O gear the Servant would have yielded from extraction, but it was still very much not Gebura’s style.  

She looked so awkward in it with the shorts… mostly the shorts, and the clashing of her red hair with the green coloration…  

“It is always refreshing to try new things.” Binah stated. “This is but a novel footnote.”  

“You say that while not minding what you’ve been shoved in.” Gebura spat back.  

“Shove is a harsh word.” Knight replied. “She agreed to sync with me, I graced her with my veil.”  

Yeah, the Knight of Despair’s black and blue starry dress and dark armor fit Binah way better than Servant’s green ensemble fit Gebura.  

It actually didn’t look too bad on her. Blue obviously wasn’t her first choice in clothing, but it complemented the black and gold of her hair pretty well.  

… yes, Tiphereth is aware of the very obvious implications. Blah blah blah, black, blue, and gold are a good color scheme, something about Chesed, whatever.  

“I think it’s quite pretty.” A very small smile lifted the Knight’s lips.  

“Thank you, dear.” Binah hummed pleasantly.  

Gebura grumbled something under her breath, glaring over to the other two Shi members.  

Valentin and Tenma quickly turned their heads away. “We’ve seen nothing.”  

The glare turned to the Wedge.  

Finn coughed, turning as well. “Nothing here!”  

Pameli snickered. “Greenie.”  

“I guess your legs are just as scarred as the rest of you.” Pamela noted.  

Oscar merely shrugged, deciding to remain quiet.  

Gebura’s nose twitched, and she looked down at the Servant. “You couldn’t have chosen anyone else?”  

Servant didn’t look back up, fidgeting slightly. “Your wrath is great yet controlled, harnessed. You can direct it, it does not consume you. I would like that…”  

Gebura blinked, then pressed her hand into her face with an agitated sigh and a string of curses. “You pull at the heartstrings, don’t you.”  

“That’s Queenie’s job.”  

“I think she yanks them and rips them out more than anything.” Pameli sniffed, crossing her arms.  

She was never going to let Gebura live this down, which is why Tiphereth was so glad Queen hadn’t decided she would be best to wear the mantle of love and hate for this… activity.  

“Alright, people, let’s go!” King’s boisterous voice strutted onto the floor, the Abnormality looking very pleased with herself. She threw Queen’s chair to the side, the other Abnormality screeching as she landed with a crash. “That took too long.”  

“Love needs time!” Queen cried.  

“Whatever.” King waved her off.  

Yujin appeared next to Gebura, a brow going right up.  

“Not a word.” She grumbled.  

Yujin hid a smile behind her hand. “Of course, I’ve nothing to say.”  

Gebura’s eye twitched.  

“The others are quite lovely.” Yujin remarked next, taking a calculated step away from her Patron.  

Binah smiled. “Thank you, Yujin.”  

“Is this really necessary?” Xiao asked as she stepped onto the floor, looking a bit embarrassed as she did so.  

Perhaps they shouldn’t have been so quick to all gawk at her considering the fact that her being the one chosen by the King made a bit too much sense, but the golden dress and grand, black cape of the King did look stunning on her. It was a lot more skin than she ever showed… at all; some scars marring her pale skin.  

Okay, well, Nemo would have really been the one who fit the best, but who wants to deal with Nemo? Xiao fits in a different sense than typical when it came to greed, and she wasn’t outright with it like Nemo was, but she also fit the happiness the King used to embody as well.  

Greed or possession over people rather than wealth.  

“Are you kidding? This is fun!” Lulu burst in beside her, fully decked out in the Queen’s frilly dress. “I’ve never worn something like this!”  

The pale blue and pink didn’t quite suit Lulu, to be frank, but there wasn’t really anyone that that frilly, girly dress would do favors for.  

At least Lulu liked it?  

“See! I told you!” Queen cackled.  

“You know.” Pameli clicked her tongue, smiling smarmily. “She’s kinda short, too.”  

“SHUSH.”  

With a huff, Xiao strode onto the floor, the cape flowing around her as her coat usually would, and planted herself beside her Patron. “Whose idea was this?”  

“King’s.” Knight replied.  

“Of course.” Her nose lightly twitched.  

Now that Tiphereth thinks about it, it is a little bit warmer in here than it had been before.  

“Rockin’ it, Xiao!” Mei grinned as she bounced in, finding Valentin and rushing over.  

She looked at Gebura.  

Gebura looked back with an expression that promised pain.  

She snickered and ducked behind her husband.  

The rest of Social Sciences, Philosophy, and History walked in with Roland.  

“Angela noticed the proceedings and sent me down, she wants no part of this dress-up.” Roland relayed, looking highly amused.  

Tiphereth sniffed and turned to the Queen. “Why didn’t you choose Roland? You’ve synchronized with him before.” Look, she had to get something entertaining out of this.  

Roland coughed. “H-hey, wait a minute.”  

The Queen of Hatred scoffed. “We’re called Magical Girls. He’s not a girl.”  

“Oh, thank heavens.” Roland breathed.  

Tiphereth clicked her tongue. Got her there.  

That might actually be why King didn’t go for Nemo.  

“I’m clearly much better for it, anyway!” Lulu posed. “It’s adorable!”  

“Hell, yeah!” Malkuth cheered. By the look on her face, she’d spent way too long laughing before getting up here.  

Mars nodded, blushing. “Yes, very.”  

San let out an awkward chuckle. “I guess I can’t argue that.”  

“Do you husbands here not have anything to say in the defense of your spouses being absconded for show and tell?” Gebura gave said husbands a pointed stare.  

“What could they possibly say that isn’t completely fawning over these drop-dead gorgeous beauties?” King smiled broadly, clearly including herself in that list. “And the Red Mist.”  

Gebura’s eyes rolled.  

“Well,” Lowell smiled abashedly, “I can’t deny when my wife looks good in something.” Xiao never did this kind of thing, let him admire her like this for a moment.  

Xiao was not able to stop the blush from finally reaching her cheeks; her arms folded under her chest and standing regally.  

Chesed chuckled. “We’ll agree on that~” It was the same with Binah: she hardly ever wore anything else.  

Mars simply nodded, face red.  

Where Xiao was the one embarrassed between her and Lowell with this… fashion show, Mars was the one embarrassed between him and Lulu. Chesed and Binah? To Tiphereth’s dismay, neither was embarrassed. Not that Binah’s ever embarrassed about anything.  

The three men had a moment of solidarity. There was to be no judging them for finding their wives attractive.  

Tiphereth shuddered. Eugh.  

Binah chuckled lightly, hooking her arm around Xiao’s. “Relax, my dear, it is all in good fun. There is merit in stepping out of your comfort now and then, opening yourself comes in many forms.” She hummed, thinking a second before winking slightly. “My king.”  

Xiao huffed a puff of smoke, but it was lightly humored. “Once, my dear, gracious knight, but not again.”  

Why is she playing into it?  

Binah looked way too amused. “Of course, the novelty only works once, after all.”  

Wait, did Xiao just claim Binah back--  

“We’ll appreciate it while it’s here.” Lowell chuckled, smiling softly.  

Xiao just sighed.  

“What else are we doing with this, we can’t just be wearing them, right?” Lulu had way too much energy for the current situation.  

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to do much else.” Cecil pointed out. “Dueling or sparring’ll only wind up with your loss.”  

“Whaaaaat? But--”  

“It would be a battle between the Red Mist, Arbiter, and Ochre Temperance.” Chun stated, arms crossed. “With the power of the Magical Girls behind them.”  

“Why was I not included in that list?” Lulu pouted.  

“Yeah, shutting that one down.” Roland made an x with his arms. “Angela doesn’t want these guys battling it out here. Dunno what’ll happen.”  

Finally! Some reason! These four duking it out with three of the most powerful people in the Library? Tiphereth did not want to know what would happen, especially since these volatile Abnormalities might get some weird ideas in their heads and do something stupid. It could cause them to actually enter their… monstrous states and wreck things.  

It’d just be a mess.  

“Exactly.” Cecil nodded.  

Lulu pouted. “Fine… but why was I written off so quickly…”  

“Yeah, why were we written off so quickly?!” Queen protested. “I’m plenty strong!”  

King snickered.  

“Because you’re villains, duh.” Pamela yawned.  

“Take that back!” Lulu pointed at the silver-haired woman. “These injustices are not to stand.”  

“I’d prefer not to.”  

“I’m just glad we can all get along and have fun like this, there’s nothing more we need to do.” Servant spoke softly.  

Everyone turned to her.  

She did not continue.  

“It took us ten minutes to get you out of your book.” King placed her hands on her hips.  

She shrugged. “You didn’t know where this was going.”  

“We certainly didn’t.” Gebura tugged at the bow over her chest, but it didn’t even start to unravel.  

“If you all would be so kind,” Chesed stepped forward with a serene smile, “might you stand together for a picture? I think this is something which needs saved.”  

Mars nodded rapidly.  

Malkuth brightened. “Yes! This is great! We can have Netz do some portraits, too! I’ll go get him.”  

She blasted off back down the stairs. He was only one floor down.  

“No.” Gebura scowled, face dark. “Hell no. I don’t want to remember this.”  

“That’s fair.” Servant agreed.  

“Too bad~” Chesed pulled out a camera, still smiling. “I’m not letting Binah go without this saved.”  

Binah shook her head with light amusement. “If you must so insist, my darling.”  

“I do~”  

Xiao glanced to Lowell with consternation.  

Lowell smiled abashedly. “Please?”  

She stared a moment before sighing and slumping a bit. “Very well, then.”  

Binah patted her arm, tugging her over. “The window will provide the best backdrop.”  

“I’m there!” Lulu charged over.  

“Are we part of this?” Queen asked dully.  

“There has to be at least one with us.” King wasted no time in strutting over. “We pose with our chosen~”  

“Then let me out!” She barked.  

Great. They’re really doing this… curse you for being such a sap, Chesed.  

“We have her under control if you need.” Miris stated confidently.  

“Indeed, we do.” Yujin agreed.  

The chains finally fell from the Abnormality.  

“FREEEEDOOOOOOOM!” She cried, charging from her chair straight into Lulu and sending both tumbling to the floor in front of the filigree.  

“Huh.” Pameli whistled. “Doesn’t even need us to knock her over.”  

“Seems not.” Pamela nodded.  

A chain then snagged Gebura around the neck to drag her over to join the rest.  

“BINAH!” She coughed, struggling against it.  

“You are not exempt, sister dear.” Binah stated.  

Standing beside Roland as they got themselves situated, Tiphereth sighed. “This is not what I thought would be happening today.”  

“Tell me about it.” He laughed. “Oh, I have so much material to work with now.”  

Tiphereth cracked a smile. “Be careful with it, though, this is a treasure with quite the consequence attached to it.”  

“Gebura’s gonna kill me.” He sounded simultaneously eager and filled with trepidation.  

Why is he like this? He literally asks to be hit.  

The eight of them finally got situated (even as peeved as Gebura looked) about the time Malkuth got up with Netzach.  

Netzach looked like he’d been about to say something, but was immediate to moving to the side, taking out a pad and pencil, and sketching his heart out with a fervor not often seen in him.  

Add Netzach to the list of people Gebura’s killing for this.  

All in all, the photos did turn out very nice, and they even did a few with each woman and coinciding Magical Girl alone together.  

Chesed had a positive goldmine on his hands now, images he and Lowell would be guarding jealously (Mars had his own, but he was very embarrassed about it).  

Of course, it didn’t take too long after the photos were taken for Queen to start hunting villains again, to which she was savagely taken down by Miris, Yujin, Mei, Chun, Valentin…  

Okay, everyone.  

It was a very swift beatdown, and the rest of the Magical Girls were returned to their books soon after.  

Not before the King tried to lay claim to the gold and gems of the floor, but she never managed to get that claim to go through.  

Netzach…  

Netzach was going to be painting for days to come.  

And if Violet joined him because she saw the images of the Magical Girls and thought they were pretty? Well, no one could get mad at Violet.  

Chapter Text

“Euuuuuuuuuggggghhhh…” Across the room from him, Netzach let out the most pitiful groan known to man.  

“Netzach, I am imploring you to clean yourself up.” Yesod stated with a tone that brokered no argument, arms cross and expression sour. “You reek of alcohol and are a complete slob; I feel dirty just looking at you. This is a disgrace to our positions here.”  

“I didn’t come here to get lectured, man…” Netzach sighed, slumped across the table in front of him. “I thought we were doing this to manage the facility better or whatever, not bite at people for existing. Guess I shouldn’t have expected anything else from Mr. Viper himself…”  

Yesod bristled. However much he claimed to embrace the name, he didn’t seem to like it when Netzach said it. “Listen here--”  

“Please stop fighting!” Hod squeaked, making a timid attempt to step in but looking very unsure of herself. “W-we did start these meetings to organize ourselves better--”  

“Yeah, so he should try to organize himself at all.” Tiphereth A scoffed, eyes rolling. “Can any of you get your acts together? Malkuth isn’t even here yet, and she’s the one who insisted on keeping these going.”  

Tiphereth B sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, Tiphereth, it’s not that bad.”  

“No, it’s worse.”  

He sighed again, maybe a bit exasperated. “I think we could all give each other some grace here. We’re all still adjusting to this; it’s only been a couple months.”  

“A couple months of constantly restarting a fucking time loop for no goddamn reason.” Gebura scoffed, snorting heatedly. Smoke gushed out her mouth from the third cigarette she’d lit just that night, her expression irate. “If none of this pertains to beating the Abnormalities to a pulp, I’m outta here.”  

“Watch your language with the kids, please.” Hokma stated firmly.  

Her eyes rolled.  

“I can handle a few words, Hokma.” Tiphereth A scowled at him. “I’m not a child.”  

“I don’t think we should be cursing each other out, though.” Tiphereth B replied quietly.  

She turned a dull stare on him.  

“Um… I would like to agree there…” Hod piped in softly.  

“If Gebura’s leaving, can I leave?” Netzach asked, lifting his head in a vain hope.  

“No one is leaving, we haven’t even started yet.” Yesod snapped.  

Gebura’s hand touched the doorknob. “Don’t care, I’m out.”  

Chesed softly sighed to himself as he watched them all argue – Yesod berating Gebura now – nursing a cup of coffee as he thought. Sure, these meetings did seem to be a good idea, coordination between them was important, but they just couldn’t get along.  

It was hard to with the way they found themselves all here in this new Hell, when they all should be dead and exploring the afterlife. Chesed couldn’t blame everyone for being tense and a bit high strung. They’d all died varying horrific deaths not too long ago, it felt like.  

Malkuth was the one who pushed the idea of these a couple weeks ago, but they hadn’t gotten much done so far. Guess they needed some time to settle with each other first.  

But where is Malkuth?  

… surely, she isn’t trying to convince Binah to come, is she? The Manager hadn’t even gotten to Briah in these months yet. She… didn’t need to be here.  

He let a shudder run down his spine at the thought and shook it off.   

If Malkuth managed to get Netzach here, she can’t be too far.  

Maybe he should speak up, step in and act the mediator, but he remained rooted in his seat, not budging an inch. Teasing his way in and out of this one would not prove fruitful, and he wasn’t feeling any motivation at the moment.  

“We only barely have Information unlocked at the moment.” Gebura grumbled. “There’s nothing dangerous in the facility, so there’s not much for me to do in the first place.”  

“The Agents still need E.G.O and combat training.” Hod stressed, nerves firming to stand in this statement. “We can’t just let them die! They… they’ll be so grateful to learn to survive.”  

Gold and dead grey rolled, but something thunked against the door she was leaning on before she could reply, drawing all their attention to it.  

“Ow.” Malkuth whined.  

With a gruff sigh, Gebura pushed off of the door and opened it to a very disheveled Sephira. “You’re late.”  

Considering how much Malkuth ran everywhere, her being late was a bit out of the ordinary.  

“I wasn’t expecting the door to be a brick wall.” She coughed back in return, rubbing her arm.  

“That’s not…” Gebura grunted, deciding to drop it and move to the side. “Just get in here.”  

“You don’t gotta tell me!” Malkuth replied with a painfully fake enthusiasm, waltzing into Hod’s apartment with a tired yawn.  

“Gebura is right, however.” Yesod spoke up, walking up to her. “You are late.”  

Something in his tone held a hint of concern, though he stamped down on it.  

“I know, I know.” Malkuth huffed as she lurched towards the table and slumped down in a chair.  

She looked exhausted.  

“I was just getting a few things in my department sorted out for the foreseeable future, that’s all!” She stated, leaning a bit to the side. “Let’s get this show on the road and have this facility running full throttle!”  

Chesed raised a brow at her. “You look like you’re about to fall over.”  

“I’m fiiiiiiiine.” She smiled very unconvincingly. “Just a bit tired! It’s hard keeping on the top of my game, you know? The employees can hardly keep up and that requires even more work to compensate and deal with the problem and yaddayaddayadda… you know how it is. Highest suppression rate in the facility! Gotta keep the pace up!”  

His brow went higher.  

“When you’re the only one open?” Gebura muttered confusedly.  

Malkuth twitched a bit violently.  

“Yesod’s open, too.” Hod spoke up in a bit of a stilted tone.  

Chesed knows she’s trying to help, but that definitely isn’t.  

“Are we having this meeting or not?” Gebura asked in a low grumble, irritated.  

It wasn’t on purpose, he knew that, but Gebura had cut off whatever Malkuth had been going to reply.  

“Weren’t you leaving?” Tiphereth A asked bitingly.  

“Yesod’s the one who kept me here, but I’ll leave by force if needed.” She replied heatedly.  

Hokma sighed, shaking his head. “There is no need for violence amongst friends.”  

There was a varied range of agreements, scoffs, and snide laughs.  

They really are just a mess, aren’t they…  

The meeting did manage to finally commence a short while later. Being so early in the facility’s short cycle, there wasn’t too much to go over – simple acknowledgement of the Abnormalities and their placements, how to direct and inform your Agents in dealing with them, any paperwork that needed caught up on (this involved a lot of berating Netzach), general agreements over the management of the softwares they used or the maintenance of each department, allotment of resources, and things like that. A wide range of items that only needed a short discussion due to only Malkuth and Yesod having Abnormalities; manpower was easy to distribute, and no Abnormality needed special attention.  

At the very least, they all managed to keep professional enough to discuss everything.  

Once they finished, everyone just wanted to go back to their apartments. Maybe there would be a day in the future when they’d hang around after, but they weren’t near that.  

As they were leaving, Chesed caught Malkuth by the arm.  

“Do you have a moment, Malkuth?” He asked kindly.  

She squeaked in startle, nearly flailing from suddenly jolting to attention. She’d practically been a zombie the whole meeting, and the stress she was feeling was incredibly apparent to him.  

“I-I-I, uh, yeah. Yes.” Malkuth cleared her throat harshly, regarding him with fatigue. “But only a short one before I need to get back. Is something up?”  

“Oh, simple concern over my fellow Sephira~” He chuckled with a smile. “You didn’t really seem focused during the meeting and look ready to collapse – are you getting enough sleep?”  

The Control Team Sephira blinked a few times, the bags under her eyes more and more apparent. “Ah, well,” she giggled, taking on a forced, bright smile, “too much work to get done, can’t spend all the time sleeping.”  

Chesed frowned. “You can’t very well get much work done if you don’t sleep.”  

“I’ve been sleeping!”  

He quirked a brow.  

A cough. “I just can’t get enough done during the day, I’ve got standards to uphold.”  

“I think you’d do a lot better if you got a good night’s rest, Mal.” He huffed a soft laugh. What were they going to do with her? “Tell you what, start getting some proper rest tonight, and I’ll get up early tomorrow morning to bring you some coffee to get you through the day. You’ll be a lot more productive if you get your sleep schedule under control.”  

“Mmmmmmm…” She took a moment to think. “I can’t guarantee the sleep thing, but I’d definitely appreciate something to keep me awake. I might get enough done to get to sleep tomorrow!”  

Well, best he’d get.  

“Sure thing~” Chesed easily agreed. He wasn’t going to argue it.  

***  

Malkuth hadn’t been out yet when he dropped her coffee off this morning, but that wasn’t a big deal. He’d packed it in a thermos and set it on her desk, it’d be perfectly warm and comfortable for her when she got to it.  

She was probably going to start being late for work at this rate, though.  

Chesed hummed to himself, brushing that off. He couldn’t control what she does anymore than she could control the facility the way she wants to, nor control any of his own, actual duties. Hah… what a concept, having control here.  

Shove those thoughts aside, there’s still a work day to get through even if it should be completely quiet. And rather short for the current quota, frankly.  

He settled himself down at his desk, taking a breath and booting up his computer. As prepared for the workday as he could be; he just hoped Malkuth would be able to manage, or he might have to convince her to take some sleeping medicine.  

He’d have to dig through the stash he was given to figure out if there’s anything like that in there.  

The computer finished booting and--  

It immediately glitched.  

Chesed blinked. Huh?  

A bit tentative, Chesed slowly opened up the console for his duties. The screen glitched slightly as it went, and it took forever to come up.  

With a frown, he went for Task Manager. Something must be bogging down the system, which was strange because he’d only just booted it up.  

Even that took ages to open.  

Chesed sat back in his chair, nonplussed, and took a slow sip of his coffee waiting for the application to open.  

What in the world was happening? This had never happened before and, frankly, shouldn’t be possible. Their systems were incredibly advanced and regulated by Angela herself, how could something overload it like this? This was more Yesod’s area of expertise than his own, but he doubted he’d be able to message the younger Sephira like this. He was undoubtedly already looking into it anyway.  

Task Manager finally popped up several minutes later. Chesed only had a split second to take in the pure red at the top of the processes indicating a complete one-hundred percent usage on everything trying to push even further before the entire facility shook horribly.  

Chesed yelped as he was nearly thrown from his chair, narrowly catching himself on the table but bashing his head into it.  

And his computer shorted, an electrical static whining from it before it simply exploded; smoke pouring from it and sparks flying. It was accompanied by someone screaming throughout the entire facility.  

Chesed stared dumbly, a bit of blood dripping from his forehead.  

What… in the world?  

The Button’s not in the facility at the moment, but that sounded very much like it. Usually he’d still be able to see his workstation after that, though, so he couldn’t even check casualties.  

Not that it matters, the Button kills everyone.  

The facility trembled, a deep rumbling through it as the sound of a train’s triumphant horn reverberated through the walls.  

… they weren’t even at a day where they could have gotten the Train yet.  

Chesed half wanted to take a peek outside of his office to see what was going on, but with how much the facility was shaking and he could hear more and more Abnormalities they shouldn’t have rampaging through the place, he knew he simply couldn’t. He was just going to get killed.  

If his computer hadn’t combusted, he’d be able to see they were well into Third Trumpet by now.  

As it stood, he had no vision on the facility and there were only more Abnormalities and some creatures he hadn’t heard before.  

Why hadn’t Angela put a stop to this yet? How was it even happening?  

The roar of Apocalypse Bird – something they’d been made aware of but had yet to see actually occur – shook the facility to its core.  

Now, they did at least have Punishing Bird at the moment, but where did the other two come from?  

He needed answers here, but there was no means to get them. Yesod and Hokma had likely managed to fix their own computers, but that wasn’t his skillset.  

The loudspeakers which Angela would use to communicate with the entire facility at once – Sephirot included – crackled to life.  

Oh, thank heavens--  

“GUYS!” Malkuth’s excitable voice came through. “ITHINKI’VEDISCOVEREDTHESECRETSTOTHEUNIVERSE!”  

…  

Huh?  

The Sephirot weren’t supposed to have access to the loud speakers, and Malkuth was talking way too fast to understand what she was saying.  

Where in the world is Angela?!  

“I’VESEENTHEWAY!” She cackled, manic and off kilter, crazed. “ANDUNLIMITEDENERGY! LOOK! JUSTPUTMEATDOGGYINTHEIRONMAIDEN! ITWASINFRONTOFUSTHISENTIRETIME!”  

The facility began to continually shake. Not the massive trembles he’d been feeling so far, but a steadily rising shake which slowly began to rattle everything on his desk and only kept going.  

There was a maniacal laugh over the speakers, and a loud roar.  

… was that a dragon?  

Chesed sat back in his chair, bewildered. Was all of this Malkuth? How had she bypassed Angela’s controls? And how was she getting all of the Abnormalities up here?  

She sounds way too energetic--  

… is she on a caffeine high?  

… oh.  

Huh…  

Well…  

Something shattered behind him, things in his office and apartment beginning to fall out of place due to the increased shaking.  

That was… hm.  

The speakers whined.  

“MALKUTH!” Angela roared over the speaker, far more vehement than he’d heard her before. “Return control to me this instant!”  

Return…  

Chesed blinked. All he could feel was sheer bafflement.  

“NOWAY!” Malkuth fired back instantly. “I’MFINALLYREACHINGMYFULLPOTENTIAL! NOONECANLOOKDOWNONMENOW! I’MGETTINGSOMUCHWORKDONE!”  

“You are bringing the facility to its knees.” Angela sounded like she was losing her cool. “We’re on the cusp of a Fourth Trumpet! How could you have possibly gotten so many Abnormalities up here?”  

“IJUSTREQUESTEDTHEMASYOU!” She sounded very proud of herself.  

There was a beat of silence. Well, for the speakers, the facility was still trying to break apart. From… something.  

“I am going to have to have a talk with both you and Binah.” Angela stated slowly. “And whoever gave her coffee.”  

… ah…  

“Yesod, I know you’re back in the system: kick her out. She’s done something to prevent me from getting in, likely assuming my role.” 

“NOTSOPERFECTANA.I,AREYOU?!” Malkuth’s maniacal laughter would have been hilarious if they weren’t on the brink of complete collapse.

The facility continued to descend into more and more chaos as Malkuth and Angela dissolved into a heated argument, Malkuth furiously fighting against Yesod’s attempts to oust her.  

The ceiling cracked overhead, the shaking only growing more violent.  

Chesed just sat there as Malkuth and Angela yelled at each other. Welp… this was… this sure was something.  

It took some time before Angela was back in control where she immediately rewound everything in a snap, bringing the facility back to peace.  

His head spun, swirling, and his ears rang from the sudden quiet.  

He sat there for a moment longer, almost in stun.  

The entire facility had almost just gone down.  

From a cup of coffee.  

The speakers crackled once more.  

“All Sephirot please report to the cafeteria.” Angela stated, voice clipped. “The cycle will reset once the meeting has adjourned.”  

The speakers finally shut off entirely.  

Chesed took a breath, closing his eyes for a second.  

He wanted to call this the fastest reset to date, but one of the cycles at the start had lasted for all of five minutes. No one was sure why, Angela hadn’t explained it, though had seemed a bit off kilter. And there were all the other very short cycles from the first month.  

***  

Eight Sephirot gathered around a table, staring at a ninth Sephira.  

Malkuth was slumped over the table, groaning in misery. The caffeine had finally worn off, leaving her completely crashed.  

Chesed sighed, feeling eyes move onto him. “I simply thought she could use something to keep her awake through the day – she was really tired last night. This was…”  

“Probably should have been expected for how much of an excitable spaz as she is.” Tiphereth A sniffed, crossing her arms and giving him a look of disappointment.  

“Do we have any explanation for what happened?” Tiphereth B asked confusedly. “That was a lot.”  

“Angela will be giving us the rundown she feels we need.” Yesod stated with a huff. “But Malkuth somehow assumed control of the system as Angela and kicked her out. My best guess is she simply overloaded it for long enough to be able to do so.”  

“She confused the system by being too hyped up on coffee.” Netzach laughed drunkenly in his seat.  

Hokma sighed. “That is one way to explain it.”  

The doors to the cafeteria opened, the final Sephira finally joining them.  

Chesed felt a shiver run down his spine as Binah entered, a dark smile on her face.  

“That was quite the exciting day, was it not?” She questioned neutrally as she glided over to take a seat at a nearby table. Her smile widened just a bit at the clear discomfort of the rest.  

Gebura rounded on her. “Why the Hell did you give her every Abnormality she asked for?”  

Binah’s smile remained steady, crossing one leg over the other in her seat and propping her chin against her fist. “Why, when the one who presides over the facility, superseding our authorities within our departments, makes such requests, even if they may be outside of the scope of a regular business day, am I to ignore it?”  

Gebura growled, advancing on the other woman with clear hostile intent. “That wasn’t Angela, and you knew it.”  

“I do not believe that would bring about a need to alter my statement.”  

Gebura twitched.  

Chesed swallowed, reaching out to pull the Fixer back. “Let’s not start any fights here~”  

Gebura turned a terrifying glare on him; Binah chuckling in amusement.  

Chesed just gave the redhead a meaningful look. Binah was trying to get a rise out of her, and she knew it.  

With a huff, Gebura yanked her sleeve out of his grip and stormed to the other side of the table.  

Binah chuckled again, and Chesed had to fight off the sheer, unbridled fear and desire to move away that rippled through him.  

Conversation ground to a halt with Binah here now, awkward silence filling the room as they waited for Angela to berate them. Binah didn’t seem to mind, finding amusement in their lack of comfort.  

The doors, thankfully, opened once more, and an irate A.I keeping mechanical walked in. She’d never really met all of them in person like this before.  

“Chesed.” Was the first thing she said.  

Chesed smiled shakily. “Ah…”  

Of course, she would know it was him. What’s his best course here…  

“I believe it would be in everyone’s best interest – Malkuth’s included – if she were never allowed coffee again.” Is what he decided on.  

A shame, frankly. To be banned from such a delicacy… but this was not something he ever wanted repeated. This was a matter of security.  

Actually.  

How Malkuth got through security, or how she broke the system in the first place…  

Angela hummed, pleased. “That will do, thank you.” Her closed gaze turned to Binah.  

Binah remained as-is. Still smiling, still dark.  

“I do not know where to begin with you.” Angela stated.  

“I did my duties as was asked of me.” Binah replied neutrally. “The trembling of the facility left the Well in a surge of activity, would you not say quelling such activity to be in the best interests of those within?”  

… is she saying things might have gotten worse if she didn’t give Malkuth the Abnormalities she asked for? Or that maybe the Abnormalities were getting out on their own due to the Well being disturbed.  

He didn’t really know.  

Angela simulated letting a harsher breath out of her nose.  

She sometimes acted rather human, didn’t she.  

“We will discuss this more later.” Angela turned to Malkuth.  

Malkuth was passed out on the table.  

“She will be suffering this for some time yet.” Yesod stated. “It is my understanding she was up nearly all night.”  

“She’s been pretty delusional the past while…” Hod muttered softly.  

“Is she not always delusional?” Angela asked.  

“Pretty much.” Netzach shrugged.  

Gebura bonked him over the head.  

“Ow…”  

Angela raised a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. “I cannot fathom how any of that happened. How she was able to break through every layer of security and usurp me by… spazzing through the system… it should not be possible!”  

“No code is perfect.” Hokma stated kindly, trying to ease her. “There will always be something which can trip it up, seems Malkuth was able to find it.”  

“By her own words, she peered into the cosmos.” Tiphereth B supplied… helpfully?  

Angela looked irked.  

“Your code is as perfect as it gets, but even it has some flaws.” Hokma smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder. “This will not happen again, no one could tell you what she did that caused it – not even her.”  

It was probably a very specific series of inputs that she did in a manic craze. There was no way she’d remember or be able to replicate it.  

“To be compromised is to be hostage.” Binah hummed lowly.  

Angela shook her head. “I suppose I will have to speak with her when she awakes. Return to your apartments, I will be resetting this cycle. Everything will be back in order momentarily.”  

Hod put up a hand. “Um… what happened to the manager?”  

Angela, having turned to leave, stopped at the door briefly. “I would assume that the expression he took as the facility began to crumble to dust from We Can Change Anything trying to kill a being immune to its spikes and his frozen state would be construed as quite comical to the regular human.”  

She opened the door and stepped out. “How did she manage that?”  

And she was gone.  

…  

Yeah, he was banning Malkuth from coffee.  

That’s his bad.  

He couldn’t deny it was at least a little funny, even if it was overcast by their lives very possibly being at stake. Angela dropping her usual pretenses was a bit humorous as well.  

… yeah, it’s pretty funny.  

Chapter Text

The Floor of Art was abuzz with activity. Nearly the entire Library was here aside from a few members (watching the kids), and the Limbus Company bus was here to join in on the festivities.  

Well, it wasn’t really festivities, they were just hanging out and having fun, but there were just a ton of people here.  

“It’s not often we’re all together like this.” Xiao noted, leaning back in her chair with her tea.  

“It’s rather nice, I say~” Chesed agreed with a nod.  

He took a sip of his coffee. This was really nice. Everyone had gathered in their own groups for the moment, and it was quite lively.  

“Yeah, it’s not often we get to just hang out and relax like this. Work tends to be a slave driver.” Heathcliff scoffed, glaring into his tea for a second before happily taking a sip. He relaxed quite a bit. “Hah, I missed this stuff.”  

“Yes, it is somehow always so much better than what we can manage even with the same leaves.” Yi Sang smiled pleasantly. “Perhaps it is the company of our fellows.”  

“Mom practices black magic or something.” Tiphereth rolled her eyes.  

“Your dad, too?” Ishmael asked with a quirked brow. She was quite jealously guarding her coffee from the short blonde beside her.  

“I would wish to try this ‘black magic’.” Don Quixote leaned towards Ishmael, eyes pointed.  

“No.” Ishmael turned further away.  

“Nah, lass, you get the better black magic.” Heathcliff chortled, pushing a cup of tea towards her.  

Don Quixote pouted. “Fie, I wouldst enjoy the other kind sometime.” She shook it off, smiling happily. “But this is quite excellent regardless.”  

Chesed… did not want Don Quixote drinking coffee. As with none of them.  

“Your words are quite kind.” Binah hummed pleasantly, eyes closed.  

“Ah.” Yi Sang took a sip and put his cup down, looking Binah in the eye. “I would so appreciate if you would teach me your technique sometime. I feel it would be opportune to fine-tune my skill.”  

She regarded him a moment before humming again.  

“There is someone who has caught your eye, hm?” Binah verbally nudged.  

“Ah.” Yi Sang’s cheeks dusted pink. “I’d say so. However, I do not believe it such a thing that may proceed any time soon.”  

“She’s completely clueless.” Ishmael snorted into her coffee.  

Yi Sang gave her a scandalized stare, earning a snicker from Don Quixote and Heathcliff.  

Ishmael’s eyes rolled at him. “You were so obvious on the train.”  

“The train?” He looked confused for a second before it clicked. “Ishmael… that was years ago.”  

“And?”  

Heathcliff looked like he was trying not to die when Yi Sang just looked like a kicked puppy.  

“Fret not, young Yi Sang!” Don beamed, patting him on the back. “Matters of the heart are delicate and--”  

“Something you’ve never experienced yourself despite being hundreds of years old?” Heathcliff asked, stamping his laughter down long enough to do so.  

Ishmael was now trying not to laugh.  

Don Quixote had completely frozen.  

“Are you claiming she has no room to speak~?” Chesed asked with a laugh.  

Heathcliff was too busy laughing to confirm, but he knew it was to the affirmative.  

Yi Sang shook his head solemnly, patting Don Quixote back on the shoulder. “It is not for the faint of heart.”  

She sighed, sagging in her seat. “Fie on thee.”  

Lowell laughed, putting his own coffee down. “They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but it works the other way around as well.” He sent Xiao a wink.  

She blushed. “I cannot help if the food was good.”  

“I certainly could.” He beamed.  

Her face turned even redder.  

“I would say my own culinary exploits and dive into the world of tea helped myself~” Chesed chuckled. “Invite her for tea sometime, I’m sure she will enjoy it if maybe she does not yet understand the true meaning.”  

Binah only took a sip of tea.  

“Huh.” Heathcliff looked at his drink. “Maybe I should learn better for when Cathy’s back.” He looked at Lowell. “You cook well?”  

“It’s a hobby.” He nodded. “I can help you get started sometime if you want.”  

Heathcliff brightened like a kid on Christmas morning. “Would you?”  

“I see no trouble in it.”  

Don Quixote sniffed, wiping her eye. “Brings tears to mine eyes to see the youth mature in their love.”  

Tiphereth and Ishmael both deadpanned. “Sure…”  

Heathcliff shook his head. “You wouldn’t get it, bird, go kill a whale or something.”  

Ishmael’s eyes rolled hard.  

“I’ve had enough lovey-dovey crap from everyone around me.” Tiphereth grumbled. “Don’t need any more of it.”  

“You’ll think otherwise one day~” Chesed chuckled with a tease. That would be an interesting day should that happen.  

Binah kicked him in the shin, eliciting a wince; the pain sharp and biting.  

Yes… woe be to the poor man who catches Tiphereth’s eye… Arbiter mom will not be merciful.  

“Heeeeeeeeeeeeeey heyhey!” Olga’s bombastic voice cut across the crowd, leaning deep behind Netzach’s drink bar and pulling something up. “Netz, buddy, what’s this? You never told me about this one!”  

“Oh~ do share, do share.” Rodion encouraged the drunkard, waiting excitedly beside her, trying to watch as she grabbed whatever it was.  

Olga came up with a bottle, seemingly nondescript but different than any of the other alcoholic bottles they had.  

“Oh, that.” Netzach yawned. “Forgot I still had that.”  

Olga popped the cork on it and took a whiff. “HOO!” She cackled. “That’s strong! What is this?”  

“Hold on, let me see.” Rodion leaned in and took her own sniff. “HOLY COW!”  

Everyone’s attention was caught by now, heads turning in curiosity as a few Sinners drew closer.  

What’s this all about?  

Chesed glanced at Binah, something uncertain entering his gut.  

She glanced back at him, a light frown impressed in her features.  

Well, let’s just see where this goes.  

“Ah, yeah, it’s strong stuff from what I’ve seen.” Netzach walked up, taking the bottle. “Get some glasses, we can really get this one going. Who all wants some? I have way too much of it.”  

“Hell yeah!” Olga cheered. “Do you really gotta ask, my man? Why wait so long to get the good stuff out?”  

“I’m more than up for this.” Gregor spoke up, looking intrigued. “Is it really that strong?”  

Rodion gave him a bewildered look. “I don’t even know how to put into words how it smells. It smells amazing, but you can feel the alcohol.”  

His lips split into the grin. “What are we waiting for, then?”  

Roland walked over eagerly, moving to help pour glasses and hand them out. “I can smell that from here! What are you doing holding out on me like this, huh?”  

The green-haired man just shrugged. “Eh, I’d put it away and forgot about it, that’s all.”  

Roland shook his head in shame. “How could you? I can’t believe this.” He moved to get enough glasses out for everyone. “Alright! Let’s all try this glorious drink, eh? Netzach’s got it all nicely made for us! Yan, buddy, help me out here, yeah?”  

Yan shook his head, seeming a bit amused, but did as asked.  

It wasn’t long before everyone had a glass of the rich, enticing looking alcohol in front of them. From the scent that idly tickled his nostrils as it had been passed around, it did smell pretty good.  

But also… maybe a bit familiar?  

Binah took one, small sniff of the drink and immediately flicked her wrist.  

The glass Tiphereth was holding exploded.  

“Wha--” Tiphereth startled before settling an irritated glare on her mother. “Mom, for the love of--” She bit it back. “I’m old enough to drink!”  

Chesed gave her an odd look, noticing her fingers had wrapped tightly around the wrist holding his own drink.  

O… kay…  

He took a tentative sniff of the air to take in more of what was going around. There did seem to be some kind of… fume rising through it.  

…  

OH, HEAVENS--  

“I take it we shouldn’t drink this.” Ishmael deadpanned as the rest of the table tactfully put their glasses down. She looked a bit disappointed, but followed her own observation anyway.  

“Do not.” Chesed choked out, rising to his feet. “Netzach--”  

It was too late, Olga had already chugged the entire glass.  

…  

Well… time to find out what this thing does to someone who isn’t an Arbiter…  

Olga coughed harshly. “HOOOOOLY!” Her face was already flushing. “That’s AMAZING!”  

Several others had already begun to drink from their glasses.  

Her face flushed even redder before she coughed again and crashed to the floor.  

A beat.  

She burst into golden pages.  

… ah.  

Heathcliff blanched, looking down at the glass he hadn’t quite put down yet. “Uh…”  

He jolted when Ishmael kicked him under the table, then swiftly placing it down.  

Rodion cackled, pointing at Olga’s book on the ground. “What a lightweight!”  

Sinclair’s lips were against his glass, eyes wide in horror at what just transpired before him.  

Which was apparently enough for him to instantly explode.  

Then Rodion hit the floor with a flash of gold.  

“Man.” Gregor chuckled, beside himself. “What’s in this stuff?”  

“I don’t even remember, man.” Netzach laughed, taking a drink.  

Gregor shrugged and took his own.  

It was… something else to watch so many people get drunk so quickly and then just… explode. Even those who watched the others do it still drank uncaringly while the rest tried to talk them out of it.  

Chun and Valentin were having a hard time holding Mei back while Miris and Cecil were already books; Rain and Mika just stared at Olga’s book; Malkuth, Lulu, and Mars long gone with San awkwardly next to their books… and Bada’s; Martina looked very amused as she held Nemo and Yesod’s books; the Proxies were nowhere to be found; Oscar looked exasperated with three books beside him; Yujin and Tenma must have gone after the Proxies; the Zwei were gone; and Iori was cackling over Hokma.  

Poor Yan looked spooked, as if he’d just brought upon the apocalypse.  

Ryōshū looked incredibly reverent for a moment before absolutely downing three glasses. A smile split her lips before she flashed to gold as well, remaining on her feet.  

“Oh~” Hong Lu looked far too curious… and drank his in it. “I see now. Perhaps this is nirvana.”  

And he was gone.  

Gebura walked over with a brow furrowed. She motioned her glass to Binah. “Is this what I think it is?”  

“A drink most vile.” Binah stated darkly.  

Yeah, he didn’t want to deal with her drunk again either.  

“Hm. Thought so.” She hummed, looking at the drink in consideration.  

Iori burst into gold.  

“Gebura, you’re not seriously considering--” Chesed did not get to finish his statement.  

She waved him off. “Eh, try it once.”  

And took the whole thing in one gulp.  

They all stared at her in various states of nonplussed.  

She clicked her tongue. “Damn, that is good.”  

They watched her a moment, nothing happening outside of her face beginning to grow a bit red.  

That’s Outis gone.  

“Right?!” Roland cackled as he came up to her and slung an arm around her shoulder, face flushed and completely plastered. “Netz’s strugglin’ so baaaaaad!”  

True to form, Netzach was giggling to himself by the bar, barely able to keep himself upright.  

Hod was fretting over him, trying to help him up and hold him, but…  

“NETZACH!” She cried in a mix of anguish and disappointment when he burst into pages.  

Roland nearly fell over, only held upright by his sister. Laughing so hard like it was the funniest thing he’d ever witnessed. “WHAT A LOOOOOSERRRR!”  

They all quirked a brow at him.  

Then he exploded into gold.  

Chesed pinched the bridge of his nose.  

Chaos filled the room, many putting their glasses down as they watched everyone else just die around them.  

“What is this?” Xiao asked concernedly.  

Chesed sighed, shaking his head and pulling his hand down his face. “Netzach’s attempt to make his own alcohol. We don’t know what he did, but it’s quite possibly the most powerful alcohol in existence.”  

Frankly, it should probably be considered a Singularity of its own at this point…  

“Enough to get Binah dead drunk.” Gebura added. “That was a time…”  

“Whatever it is…” Gregor walked up to them with a dumb smile plastered on his face. “I’m gonna need more of it.”  

“He was supposed to get rid of it.” Tiphereth deadpanned, now looking grateful Binah had destroyed her drink.  

“Nnnnaaaaaah…” He laughed, elbowing Gebura. “Hey, how you holdin’ up?”  

“I can feel myself getting drunk.” She replied, quirking a brow at him. “You?”  

“Oh man…” He laughed. “Dunno how longer I can hold for.”  

“This has me curious to how it would affect me.” Don Quixote stated, dropping the act briefly.  

“With Rocinante on? The same as everyone else?” Ishmael pointed out confusedly.  

“Taking it off, of course.” Her eyes rolled.  

“I can think of a certain someone who will never let you live that down.” Gregor cackled, stumbling a bit.  

She pursed her lips, eye twitching. “You make a fair point, perhaps not.”  

Ishmael snorted.  

There was a bout of unhinged laughter from Gregor before he finally succumbed and hit the floor.  

<H-hey, uh…> Dante walked up to them looking a bit freaked. <What’s happening?>  

“Netzach’s experiment allowed to run wild.” Heathcliff laughed. He had pushed his glass away, but looked so humored at the sheer amount of books littering the floor.  

Was Faust in there, too?  

<I don’t think…> The clock took a moment, looking around. <This is just alcohol?>  

“Alcohol pushed past its limits somehow, it seems.” Lowell had a bead of sweat dripping down the side of his temple.  

Gebura let out a huff, clearly struggling. “Yeah, I’m g’na lay down.”  

She started towards the stairs, gait very uneven.  

She did reach the stairs and start up them.  

But it wasn’t long before they heard a loud crash.  

Meursault, who he hadn’t even seen with a drink, then also randomly exploded into pages. Just… standing upright and stoic as he usually did.  

“This has been an endeavor we shouldn’t repeat.” Carmen walked up to them, positively beside herself. “How did he manage this?”  

“We don’t know.” Chesed replied honestly. “Angela told him to get rid of it after Binah accidentally killed him.”  

“I don’t know how throwing a pillar is an ‘accidental’ kill.” Tiphereth pointed out.  

“I had not intended to kill.” Binah replied. “Merely maim.”  

Crush his bones and leave him writhing on the ground? Or an admonishing bonk… with a massive Singularity pillar…  

Carmen sighed heavily, leaning down to pick up Roland’s book and hold it tightly to her chest. “This is definitely going to be a story to tell the kids.”  

“It was already one to tell when Netzach used Binah as his test subject for it.” Chesed smiled shakily.  

He peered out at the mess of books and survivors scattered across the room. In any other situation, this might be considered a horror scene.  

He rubbed the back of his head, looking to the rest of the table.  

“Guess only Binah’s capable of withstanding Netzach’s… deadly nectar?” He said with a soft laugh.  

“If that is what you wish to call that dreadful state.” Binah tutted.  

There was a slow silence, their lips beginning to split into smiles.  

They could only share a hearty laugh amongst themselves amidst the settled chaos.  

Angela was going to kill them.  

Chapter Text

“You want to do what now?” Roland asked his daughter, nonplussed. 

She merely shrugged at him, lightly closing the book she’d been reading before he walked in. “They are settling in quite well with General Works, but they haven’t much interacted with the rest of the Library. I simply thought this might help… break the ice.” 

He just gave her a bewildered stare. “Angela, I don’t know how much everyone’s going to like that idea.” 

Angela sighed, placing her book to the side of her desk and standing. “Perhaps not. This is something I haven’t an understanding of due to my own… biology, but Bloodfiends gain the emotions of the blood they drink, so what faster way to introduce them to everyone than to have them drink blood?” 

Roland gave his own sigh, dragging his hand over his face. “You’re not completely wrong, but most people don’t like their blood being drank.” 

“They drink gallons of your own each day.” The A.I pointed out. 

“And I’m not the biggest fan of that, myself.” He shot back, crossing his arms. “Even if they’ve made themselves a place here, and they’re mine to stay, it’s still a little weird to think about.” 

She put a finger to her lips, humming in thought. “Well, I suppose we could use this to see if there’s someone else’s blood they’d enjoy bringing into their diet. It’s not as if we’re directly draining blood from anyone.” 

This was such a weird conversation… 

Another sigh. “I guess that’s what wine tasting is for…”

“Blood tasting, in this instance.” The Library’s Director nodded.

Roland rolled his eyes. “Have you even brought this up to them?”

“Not yet, no, but it shan’t be too difficult to convince them.” She shrugged.

Of course, she hadn’t… this was just going to be happening, wasn’t it…

It’s not like he disagreed that the Bloodfiends they’d taken in should meet the rest of the Library, but this was just weird.

***

The general atmosphere on General Works was very strange at the moment. It sort of felt like they’d put the three Bloodfiends on display with the way they’d been placed at a table, and everyone was awkwardly gathering around to hear the verdict on how their blood tasted. 

Everyone was up here to meet them even if not everyone had exactly agreed to be… tasted. 

Roland definitely didn’t blame anyone who has stepped back, though it was only a few people. 

Well, he did blame Nemo for not agreeing, but you should always blame Nemo for things. 

“So… do we just start from the bottom and go from there?” Lulu was the one to break the awkward chatter about the place, sounding nervous. 

By Malkuth’s word, her floor had been hesitant about the news of the Bloodfiends. Now that they were staring them down and about to have their blood tested… well, you know. Malkuth was probably the only reason they’d all agreed. 

Nicolina shrugged. “I dunno, this wasn’t my idea.” 

It was easy to tell she was eager to try some blood, though. The other two were a bit more reserved. 

This seemed to unnerve Lulu and a few others even more. 

“We will go along with whatever is set.” Curiambro stated calmly, appearing a bit amused. “We do not wish to impose, this is strange for us as well.” 

Yeah, the three had looked at Angela like she had five heads when she’d brought this to them. It wasn’t the smartest idea to just let Bloodfiends have a drink of your blood, but they trusted the three enough now to know it wouldn’t truly cause any issues. 

Still weird, though. 

“Yes, History to Religion will work just fine as per usual.” Angela nodded. General Works was exempt because it was basically just Yan, and they already got along well enough with him. 

Hm. Maybe they should have grabbed Moses or the Hana for this. The Dawn were out, too, but the Bloodfiends were familiar with them. 

… how would Moses react? 

That poor woman does not need more migraines. 

Lulu paled a bit. 

“Yes, that means you are first.” Angela smiled. 

“Me and my big mouth.” She muttered. 

“You can back out if you wish.” Curiambro tried to console her. 

“I mean, I’m interested now.” Nicolina smiled, her fangs clear as day. 

Lulu paled further. 

Dulcinea gave her daughter a look. “I do not believe that is helpful to the situation.” 

Nicolina shrank back a bit, but mostly just shrugged helplessly. She didn’t know what she was doing. 

“Come on, people, let’s move this along. It’s not like you’re doing anything.” Nemo scoffed from where he’d placed himself in the back. 

Pameli gave him an unimpressed stare. “You literally opted out of this, you greedy bastard.” 

He sniffed. “My blood is too precious to be on a chopping block such as that.” 

“You would sell it if you had enough in you.” Mei popped up next to him out of nowhere, eliciting an undignified, static screech. She snickered at him before trotting to the table and leaning against it; eyes rolling. “Come on, they can have mine first if everyone else is so chicken about it.” 

The three stared at her. 

She just smiled crookedly and gave a thumbs up. “No troubles, we all agreed to this.” 

Dulcinea hummed. “If we could move this along…” She side-eyed Nicolina. 

“What?” The seamstress twitched. 

Nicolina might be hungry. Might. 

Mei laughed and motioned to Angela. “Well, then, barkeep? Fill ‘em up.” 

Roland stifled a laugh, feeling Carmen doing the same beside him. 

Though she looked amused, Angela rolled her eyes. “Do not call me that again.” She snapped, creating three shot glasses of blood before the Bloodfiends. 

Mei just kept laughing. 

A few of their Fixers seemed a bit perturbed by that statement, but others still just rolled their eyes. Mei was good for breaking ice. 

Nicolina wasted no time at all in grabbing the glass and downing it. The other two were slower in picking theirs up, but the blood was gone near as fast due to how little there was. 

It was a bit awkward just watching this. Hopefully, it’d get a bit more fun as everyone relaxed. 

“Soooo~” Mei tilted her head. “Verdict?” 

The three sat there a moment, looking far more serious than he thought they should. Well, Curiambro and Nicolina did, Dulcinea was just swirling the last remaining drops left in her glass. 

“Hmmmm…” Nicolina hummed, putting the glass down with a clack and licking her lips – wanting for more. “Shrimp fried rice?” 

There was a beat of silence. 

Mei quirked a brow. “You can taste that in there?” 

Nicolina grinned with a snicker. “There are definitely notes of it. All blood has a general base taste to it, but it’s the small changes between each person that make it so delectable each time.” 

Mei burst out laughing. “Oh man, that’s funny!” 

“She’d eat shrimp fried rice for every meal if we let her.” Cecil deadpanned. 

“There is more we could say if you wish,” Curiambro stated kindly, “but I believe that is what will be most interesting to you all.” 

They could go on about the emotions and what they learned, he means. Yeah, there’s no reason for that. That might just make it even more uncomfortable. 

However… 

“Are you three really okay mostly drinking my blood all the time?” Roland asked a bit concernedly. “It’s having the same meal ad nauseum.” 

Even if it was still just blood in the end and all they wanted was blood, they’d made it clear that different blood was enticing to them. 

Nicolina frowned, head falling to the side. 

“It is perfectly fine, my lord.” Curiambro shook his head with a smile. He was pleased such concern was being shown for them. “To have a steady supply is more than enough, and it is not so much an issue as you might think.” 

It didn’t make too much of a difference? That’s nice to know. 

“Variety’s good, but we don’t need it.” Nicolina nodded. 

With a huff, Roland gave his own nod. “If you’re sure.” 

Seemed a shame to him, though. A diet of only blood sounded dull to him, but it was heaven to a Bloodfiend. 

Hmmm… maybe he could mix the two… 

Not for his own palate, but he liked cooking, and it’d not feel right if these three never partook. 

Dulcinea didn’t seem to have much to say on the matter. 

“Well, this’ll be all the variety you could ever ask for.” Mei chuckled, pushing off the table. “Alright, Lulu, I took the first hit. Your turn~” 

Lulu pouted, but she had no further argument. 

Another snap, the glasses refilled. 

Once again, Nicolina was instant. 

Lulu flinched at her eagerness. 

There was a beat once the glasses were drained. 

Nicolina sat upright in her chair, eyes closed as she thought. 

Curiambro sighed at her. 

Lulu stood there frozen in anticipation. 

“Chocolate cake.” Nicolina stated seriously, prim and proper with her hands folded on the table before her. “Two layers with chocolate mousse between them, refrigerated to keep that fresh. Rich, buttercream frosting, also chocolate. Near daily intake.” She listed off systematically. “Dusted in cocoa powder recently, great love for chocolate and often gets into fights over it--” 

Lulu floundered for a moment, mouth opening and closing with “uh-- e-- ooh-- ah-- eh--” or other strange sounds leaving her in her short freak-out before she turned to Mars, finger waving at the Bloodfiend with a frightful expression. “I don’t like that! I really don’t like that!” 

Nicolina’s serious façade cracked, and she burst out laughing, near falling over as she wheezed and Lulu kept whinging to Mars. 

Roland sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Way to make friends, Nicolina… 

Carmen lightly squeezed his arm, other hand covering the very humored smile splitting her lips. 

Yan, you stop looking amused, too. 

Dulcinea clicked her tongue. “Nicolina, do refrain from antagonizing them.” 

“I’m-- I’m noooot!” It was hard for her to get the words out between wheezes. 

Still, she worked herself back into a sit even if she had tears of laughter in her eyes and the smile across her face was wide and toothy. 

Malkuth was laughing too hard as well. 

At the very least, everyone was starting to look more at ease. 

San sighed as Lulu kept berating Mars as if it was somehow his fault. “Take mine next. I think I know what this is going to wind up being.” 

“We can go into as much or little detail as you want.” Curiambro stated, placing a hand to Nicolina’s shoulder as if that might contain her. 

“Whatever’s most amusing for everyone?” San didn’t sound confident in that statement. 

The glasses were filled once again and drained just as quickly. The Bloodfiends were also starting to get more into the groove of this. 

“Ah, peppermint.” Curiambro hummed pleasantly. “A soothing remedy for a kind soul.” 

“Ah, uh…” San rubbed the back of his head. “Thank you, sir?” 

He shook his head. “There is no need for that, we are equals here.” 

San looked a bit more assured with that statement. “If you’re sure.” 

Lulu rushed off to who knows where proclaiming her dislike of having her chocolate cake read out to her from her blood like an obituary. 

Mars coughed, rubbing his chest. “She’ll be fine, she’s playing it up.” 

Roland sure hoped so. 

Nicolina looked away innocently when everyone locked onto her. 

Angela chuckled softly, refilling the glasses. 

“Oh, more cake.” Nicolina nodded. “That’s why you got into so many spats.” She snickered. “Strawberry against chocolate, huh?” 

Mars shrugged. “It is superior.” 

“You would still eat hers, though.” San smiled. 

Another shrug. 

“That’s me next, then.” Bada stepped forward. He seemed idly curious but not completely invested here. 

“Correct.” Angela nodded, and the glasses refilled once more. 

“Hm.” Dulcinea was the one to hum this time, largely keeping quiet. “No particular preferences?” She sounded curious. This one must not have as stark of flavors as the others. 

Bada shook his head. “A good, fulfilling meal is all I need, it need not be anything specific each time.” 

Dulcinea looked contemplative a moment. She was still finding herself here, so let her be, Roland. 

“He’s boring like that.” Nemo scoffed. 

“I’d bet your blood tastes like money.” Gloria stated, looking down at him curiously. 

She might be too curious about this. 

Nemo looked contemplative for a second before his LEDs were completely dead flat. “If it did, Yujin would have stolen all of it by now.” 

“Damn, wish it did, then.” Gebura scoffed, leaning back. 

“Hm.” Yujin… stifled a very humored huff. 

Nemo simmered, but exploding against the Red Mist herself was not something even he would do. 

Martina was quick to step up before things dissolved with Nemo any further. “Might we try mine now?” 

Is everyone getting invested in this? 

“Sure.” Angela snapped. 

Blood refilled and was drained once more. 

It occurs to Roland that Nicolina would probably be complaining about the amount they get if there weren’t so many people to go through. 

All three took a moment after Martina’s blood. 

“Honey?” Nicolina murmured. 

“More of a hint, but there isn’t too much more to it. I cannot for certain say what it is that the honey accompanied.” Curiambro agreed. “But the slight metallic taste – it doesn’t ruin the blood, before you worry – gives notion to prosthesis. A shy one, this blood is not eager to give information away.” 

“Hm…” Martina nodded. “I quite like honeyed water, especially freshly warmed.” 

“That’d do it.” Nicolina drummed her hands on the table lightly. 

“It is quite pleasant.” Dulcinea stated calmly. She was still in a contemplative state, but he imagined she would be all day. 

Martina smiled softly. “Thank you for your kind words.” 

“I suppose that’s us next.” Esther took the reins, expression as harsh as usual. 

It surprised no one that the Proxies agreed to this without a single question, unlike literally everyone else. 

Angela sighed. “I suppose.” 

As quickly as the rest, Esther’s blood was ingested. 

“Cherry and lemon, quite stark.” Curiambro sounded pleasantly surprised. 

“A bit tart, if you ask me.” Nicolina ran her tongue between her teeth a few times. 

“Hm.” Esther’s eye closed. “I apologize for any unpleasantry.” 

“I quite liked it, ignore her.” Curiambro chuckled, eyes glinting in amusement at his sister’s theatrics. 

“Give me the next one.” Nicolina coughed. 

Huh, so a flavor can overpower the blood. Interesting. 

Curiambro simply smiled pleasantly. Roland wouldn’t be surprised if he requested Esther’s every now and then. 

“That would be me.” Hubert took his place, waiting patiently. 

Nicolina somehow downed this one faster than the others. No one was sure how. 

She heaved a breath, coughing still, once it was down. 

“I enjoy this one as well.” Curiambro was quite pleased. “There is comfort in simplicity.” 

“It’s plain, of course you like it.” Nicolina kicked him under the table. 

He merely laughed. 

Plain? Blood could be… plain to them? 

Roland’s not sure how much he liked learning all these things. 

“Sometimes the simpler things are more pleasant.” Dulcinea added her own thoughts to the mix, simply savoring. 

Nicolina just pouted. 

“Mine next! Mine next!” Gloria was practically jumping up and down with the way her body was bobbing. 

The reviews were in pretty quickly. 

“Metallic.” Nicolina frowned. “Yet seems kinda carbonated?” 

Gloria’s… whole body tilted. “I don’t believe my blood would be carbonated. That’s not very good for you!” 

“It wouldn’t, no.” Curiambro assured her. “It simply comes off that way to us due to your personality.” 

“Oh! I see!” She nodded rapidly. “That’s quite interesting!” 

One way to put it. How much blood does Gloria even have in that giant, metal body? 

“Okay, I’m done with these guys, moving on.” Olga yawned. “I guess that doesn’t matter, though. I got banned.” 

“They won’t let them drink my blood either.” Netzach yawned, slumped over a couch. 

“We are not risking the alcohol content of your blood having adverse effects on them.” Angela deadpanned, giving the woman an unimpressed look. 

“Whaaaaaat? C’mooooon, Angie, that’s boring!” Olga moaned. 

Angela’s eye twitched, but she put the next set of blood before them – probably Mika’s. 

Yeah, uh… Roland is not risking having to deal with a drunk Nicolina. 

“Tastes like crab.” Was the first thing out of Nicolina’s mouth. 

Olga twitched. “That’s still in there?!” 

Mika sighed. “It hasn’t been that long since we moved in, and we are still trying to drum up the money to move operation.” 

They didn’t need to worry about living space anymore, but they still needed to get their Office back. 

Which meant they were eating crab when they left for the day unless they remember to pack a lunch. Which Olga often did not, but that didn’t matter in this case. 

“If you eat something enough, its taste lingers in your body for a while.” Nicolina hummed, stretching her back out. “If you eat it continuously, it becomes pretty apparent.” A cheshire grin split her lips. 

Lulu ate that much chocolate cake, huh? 

“I hope crab isn’t all you got out of that…” Olga muttered sullenly. 

“That’s not even your blood…” Mika’s shoulders sagged with a sigh. 

“No, we received pleasant insight into a studious meister in the making.” Curiambro chuckled. “You will do your father proud.” 

Mika’s mouth hung for a moment before she shook it off and nodded. “Y-yeah, thanks.” 

That was more than she was expecting they’d garner, but it was the loss of her father to copyright laws that led her to the Molar – it was a big mark on her person. 

“We’ll move on here.” Angela shook her head, not wishing to let Mika dwell on it. “I believe that leaps us up to the Shi.” 

Rain nodded. “Yes, sorry, I’ve bowed out of this one.” 

Olga sighed, bopping him over the head. 

Oscar nodded as well. “They can try a taste of our blood if they wish, but this is for everyone else.” 

“They know us, they don’t need our blood.” Pameli sniffed. 

“You probably taste like celery anyway.” Pamela rolled her eyes. “They don’t want that.” 

“Oh yeah?” Pameli rounded on her. “And you probably taste like cheesecake--” 

It took a second for that to hit her. 

She clicked her tongue. “Dammit.” 

Pamela smiled smugly. 

Cheeks puffing out, it took her a second. “Since I’m in your body, does that mean there’s cheesecake flavor in here?” 

“I don’t know how the body replacement surgery works in that regard, but I think celery cheesecake might be worse.” Pamela deadpanned. 

Pameli cursed. 

“Yujin.” Angela cut in and snapped. 

There was a beat. 

“Tastes like tired.” Nicolina stated. 

“We know this taste well.” Curiambro nodded sagely like it was the greatest wisdom of the world. 

Dulcinea sighed, glancing at the two. “The word you wish to say is overexertion.” 

Neither met her gaze, turning away indignantly. 

Slowly, everyone turned towards Yujin. 

Yujin stared blankly back. 

“Yujin…” Xiao’s tone was already deep into scolding territory. 

“There is still much work to be done.” She defended. 

The stares intensified. 

If anyone thought Yujin would let her workload relax by any amount after finally making it to her goal, they’d all be wrong. 

Xiao pinched the bridge of her nose. “Someone get her to bed.” 

“I am perfectly--” Yujin started to protest but Angela had already snapped and probably placed her directly in her bed. 

“Thank you.” Valentin and Tenma saluted. 

Lowell chuckled, patting Xiao on the back. He found this rather humorous as he was the one who held Xiao’s workaholism back. 

Angela just huffed, bringing the next set of blood in. 

“Oh, tangerine.” Curiambro hummed pleasantly. “Quite lovely.” 

“Ah, that’s probably me.” Tenma bowed. “I’m glad you like it.” 

“Of course.” He smiled. 

Roland was pretty sure blood they didn’t like was very rare. The extra notes in it that they were pointing out probably didn’t make huge differences except in the case of Esther where Nicolina couldn’t take the lemon very well. It was probably only blood that wasn’t fresh that they truly found foul. 

The next blood was delivered. 

“I can feel the passion within this one, a pleasant heat as well.” Nicolina stared into her empty glass, probably still wanting more than she was getting. “But I don’t think I know what the associated food flavor this is.” 

“I am unknowing as well.” Curiambro agreed. “We do occasionally eat regular food, but this is not one I’ve had.” 

“Gyudon.” Valentin supplied. “That’s probably what it is. It’s a dish more from the southeastern side.” 

“P Corp is near the east, but we didn’t often get anything beyond it, much less the south.” Nicolina put a finger to her lips in thought. 

Hm. Perhaps he should make some gyudon sometime. 

“He’d eat gyudon for every meal if we let him.” Mei parroted from earlier with a giggle. 

He smiled. “I don’t see the problem with that.” 

“Didn’t say there was~” 

“That’s us next, then.” Lowell moved them along. 

“Yes, indeed. Skipping Mei…” Angela snapped. 

Puzzled expressions were taken on by Curiambro and Nicolina, brows knitting as they considered this one. 

“There’s a note of sweetness.” Nicolina’s brow furrowed further. “Floral, I want to say?” 

“Yes, some kind of fruit.” Curiambro nodded. “Not one I’ve had.” 

“Lychee.” Dulcinea supplied. “A delicate flavor for one who stands the defensive wall yet fitting for the rough outside of the tender fruit.” 

Cecil coughed, blushing. “A-ah, well…” She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. “I don’t really know what to say.” 

“You needn’t.” 

“That’s a southeastern fruit.” Chun pointed out, arms crossed as the discrepancy was made apparent. 

Dulcinea shrugged. “There were plenty who sought the hand of the most beautiful woman to grace the City many centuries ago, some thought exotic fruit would pay the way forward.” 

“I see.” He nodded, deciding not to press that matter. 

“Huh.” Roland couldn’t help but voice something here. “Exciting life back when you were human?” 

She scoffed. “Hardly.” 

He couldn’t help but chuckle. Maybe that’s why she accepted Don Quixote’s offer to be his Kindred. A break from the monotony, a promise of something greater. 

The next person’s blood was put forth. 

“There’s some kind of fruit and… a lot of spices.” Nicolina ran her tongue along her teeth as if to see if she couldn’t find any more drops. 

“Dragon fruit.” Dulcinea supplied the fruit easily. “I did find that one an intrigue back when.” 

“The spices would probably be curry.” Lowell offered with a smile. “I can’t deny I enjoy a good plate of it once in a while.” 

“It is a nice flavor.” Curiambro hummed, hand to his chin. “Now, I thought the heat from Mei’s blood was from the fried rice, but that may not be the case as your blood and Cecil’s are quite the same.” 

There was some laughter from the three. 

“I imagine Liu blood simply runs hot.” Lowell smiled broadly, hand running through the back of his hair. “I’m quite curious how you’ll find Xiao’s, in that case.” 

“It might just be straight lava.” Mei snickered. 

“Liquid fire.” Chun corrected. 

“Similar, but not exactly the same.” She acquiesced. 

Xiao just sighed, exasperated. 

“Gebura’s blood was quite like that when we tried it the other day.” Curiambro all of a sudden didn’t look ready for this. 

But Nicolina did, eyes lighting up. “Oh, Hell yeah. Hit me with that!” 

“Wait, one second.” Lulu crashed back in out of nowhere. “You’ve had the Patrons’ blood, and no one told us?” 

“You were complaining about this idea from the moment it was brought up.” Mars leveled a steady, stern stare on her. “And now you’re disappointed we didn’t see the others?” 

She waved him off. “How were they all?” 

“Malkuth tastes like potatoes and with a bit of heat and energy; Yesod eggplants and hard candy with a nice cooling sensation; Hod mostly tomatoes and sweetness; we were barred from Netzach; Tiphereth was kinda spunky, and I think there was hot chocolate in there; Gebura was a nice molten hot feeling with a small hint of sweetness; Chesed and Binah…” Nicolina paused for a moment, lips pursing. “We’re giving pretty baseline flavors here for what we do get because blood has a lot of nuance to it, so I have no idea how they did it, but you might as well just be drinking coffee and tea with those two. It was so weird.” 

The entire room lost it for a moment. 

The two in question just shared a glance and shrugged. They saw no problem with that. 

Once things had calmed, Curiambro took over. 

“Hokma was a brisk lemon tea; Lord Roland mostly tastes of what he says is pajeon, though with quite the rich smoked flavor; and Lady Carmen is of the same, unsmoked.” He completed. 

Carmen shrugged with a dumb smile on her face as a few heads turned their way. “I do really like his pajeon.” 

“I like to think I make it pretty well.” Roland grinned crookedly. 

It was good stuff! Can’t blame her at all. 

Many eyes rolled. 

“I should mention, I did invite Moses and Mirinae over for this. I believe Moses should be here soon, but while Mirinae took the news in stride, she sees no reason for a taste test.” Angela’s eyes rolled. “I think she found it funny, at least.” 

Moses must have just gotten around to signing the invite. 

“That’s fine, they’re scarcely here anyway.” Roland waved it off. 

Damn. He’d like to see Olivier’s reaction. 

“Indeed.” She hummed. “Moving on, then.” 

The blood appeared on the table. 

Strangely, the three did not immediately drink it. 

“Oh, I can feel the heat already.” Nicolina cackled and downed it. “HOO! That’s hot!” She coughed, laughing all the way through it. 

“Liquid fire is an apt description.” Dulcinea didn’t seem to mind it too terribly much as she drank her portion, though wasn’t near as enthused as Nicolina. 

Curiambro looked on his with dread and drank it as swiftly as he could manage. 

His face was immediately red with heat, hunching over in his chair to plant his forehead against the table. “That is…” His voice was hoarse. “Much hotter… than Gebura’s…” He coughed pitifully. 

Nicolina and Dulcinea both patted him on the back in comfort, though Nicolina looked far too happy. 

“Oh, come on, you big baby. It’s just a little fire.” She giggled. 

“A little?!” Another, harsh cough. “I feel as if I breathe fire.” 

“It’s great, isn’t it?” 

“No.” 

Everyone turned to Xiao. 

She cleared her throat harshly, perhaps a bit awkward. “My apologies, I suppose the blood of a dragon would contain the ferocity of its fire within.” 

“Do not… apologize… for your own… biology.” The poor Bloodfiend wheezed. 

“There is a pleasant aroma of tea as well.” Dulcinea hummed thoughtfully. 

“Mother… please…” 

She merely kept rubbing her son’s back. 

Feeling a bit symapthetic for the man, Roland raised his hand lightly. “Maybe exempt him from Miris and Chun, they’re probably fairly hot as well.” 

“Not near as much as Xiao, but we’re certainly not cool.” Miris nodded in agreement. 

“Thank you… my lord…” Curiambro breathed. “I apologize for my incapability.” 

“There’s no need for that, not everyone can handle spicy food.” Roland shook his head. Bit of a bummer he wouldn’t get the emotions from Miris and Chun as Nicolina and Dulcinea would, but maybe he could give it a shot later not directly after Xiao. 

Curiambro laid there miserably as his mother and sister were given the next round. 

“More peppermint.” Nicolina sounded a bit confused by this one. “It mixes weirdly with the heat of your passion, but blood always makes it work.” 

That was a statement. 

Dulcinea hummed in agreement, this one sending her back to the contemplation she’d briefly broken from to comfort her child. 

Miris… was a very passionate and fervent man. If Dulcinea had gotten a glimpse of what he did for Xiao after getting some of what Xiao went through? 

That Liu Fixer truly did fit the ideal her father sought for. 

Roland glanced around after that thought. For some reason, he expected Yi Sang to pop in out of nowhere despite not being here and that not being spoken out loud. 

“I’m glad it’s not displeasing.” Miris stated with a soft chuckle. 

She shrugged. “It’s weird, but it’s not bad.” 

Nicolina liked the heat, at the very least. 

Speaking of heat, the last one. 

Nicolina blinked a few times, head tilting as she took the flavor in. Then, she turned her head to her mother. 

“Longan.” Dulcinea answered the silent question. “Similar to lychee.” 

She nodded a few times. “Yeah, it was similar, but I wasn’t sure.” 

“You have troubles keeping the sister you love so dearly under wraps, hm?” Dulcinea asked, likely knowing that would be Curiambro’s note. 

Chun sighed, giving Mei a side-eye that she expertly avoided. “Quite so.” 

“Ah, a kindred spirit.” Curiambro sighed, lifting himself up. He still looked a bit red, but he was settling. “I would enjoy a taste at a later date.” He gave Nicolina his own look. 

She just smiled innocently. 

“I don’t mind.” Chun nodded. “I’m simply glad to know someone understands the feeling.” 

“There’s no feeling here.” Mei stifled a snort. 

“None at all.” Nicolina added. 

Both men sighed. 

“I suppose we move on, then.” Angela looked amused. “Are you good to?” 

Curiambro nodded. “I will suffice.” 

“There is no need to punish yourself.” Dulcinea stated in response immediately. 

He blinked but shook his head. “I am alright, Mother, there’s no need to worry.” 

“Hm.” 

“Well, Walter turned this down--” 

There were groans from all across the room alongside an irritated ‘of course, he did’, a ‘stuck up old man…’, and a few less than friendly words towards the man. 

Walter just stood there stoically, firm in his choice. 

Angela looked pleased. “Isadora.” 

Isadora’s blood was out and gone as quickly as the rest. 

“Strawberries are quite refreshing after that experience.” Curiambro relaxed a little where he sat, easing from the fire. 

Xiao was a little red in embarrassment. 

“Glad I’m not overly spicy, then.” Isadora cracked a smile. 

“Not at all.” 

Xiao huffed, smoke leaving her lips. 

By the expressions the Bloodfiends made, the collective thought was ‘yeah, that makes sense.’ 

“How much does blood tell you about a person beside what we usually eat?” Isadora asked curiously, shifting away from Xiao. 

“The emotions we garner from the lifeblood of a person give us basic insight to what shaped those emotions – the background of the person, some moments with the greatest impact.” Dulcinea replied. “The more we drink, the more we feel, the more we understand of that person, the more the Thirst is sated. It’s short-lived, usually, before we need find our next meal, but the insight rarely leaves much impact.” 

Forgotten swiftly as most highs go. 

“It’s a little odd for our, uh…” Nicolina looked like she was trying to reword what she was saying before giving up. “Meals to still be around after partaking of them.” 

“New experiences, at the very least.” Yan pointed out. “I’m sure you know a lot about Roland by now.” 

Roland gave the man a dull stare. 

He just smiled. 

Nicolina giggled. “That’s for certain.” 

“Perhaps too much about him?” Angela’s head tilted. 

“Hey--” Roland tried. 

“That ship sailed long ago.” Yan shook his head mournfully. 

“Hey.” He pouted. 

Carmen giggled. “I only wish I could have that understanding.” 

Roland sighed, slumping. 

“Unfortunately for you, none of us are capable of having Kindred any longer.” Curiambro smiled amusedly. 

“Aunt Sancho can, but she won’t.” Nicolina pointed out. 

Another laugh from Carmen. “Well, darn. Just missed out.” 

“You do have the eyes for it, perhaps you can pretend?” Angela suggested. 

Where is this conversation going-- 

“I don’t think that would be healthy.” Yan chuckled. 

She smiled. “Perhaps not.” She shook it off. “Anyway, Julia.” 

“Yes, yes.” Julia nodded, ready for what the Bloodfiends might say. 

“Oooh, crepes!” Nicolina perked up at the taste of the blood. 

“And a lovely hint of coffee.” Curiambro looked pleased as well. 

Chesed appeared a bit smug at that statement. 

Julia smiled. “I’m glad you like it.” 

Why is everyone just… all of a sudden okay with this after being so nervous about it? Don’t get him wrong, it is a good thing, but it was still very weird. 

“Yeah, it’s nice.” Nicolina grinned. “Just a bit bubbly, not near as much as Gloria.” 

“She is a bit bubbly, isn’t she.” Isadora grinned teasingly. 

“I take it with pride.” Julia smiled. 

There was a flash of purple, and many people groaned. 

“Warm reception, hm?” Iori chuckled, shaking her head. 

Should have known she’d show up. 

Angela sighed. “Yes, hello, Iori. What’s brought you back today?” 

The three Bloodfiends all shared a glance, maybe a tad startled by her sudden entrance. 

“I caught wind of something interesting happening, that’s all.” She smiled. “Such an event like this, and you didn’t invite me? Why, I’m hurt.” 

Mechanical eyes rolled. “For what reason is there to invite you when you invite yourself?” 

A hearty chuckle. “Got me figured out, have you?” 

“I like to think I’m getting a handle.” 

Another chuckle, and Iori turned her attention to the Bloodfiends. She regarded them a moment, scrutinizing in her way, and they stared back. 

“Fascinating.” She hummed, violet eyes locked on Dulcinea’s sharp red. She waved the three off, their hackles having begun to raise. “The name of the game is blood, correct? Allow them mine.” 

Yep… saw that coming. Is she planning something here, or just trying to be friendly? 

Roland gave a small motion to the three to relax. Much as Iori was a force to be reckoned with in many ways and did her own thing, she was still an ally. 

Angela quirked a brow. “Are you certain?” 

“Of course~” The old Fixer chuckled. “Is it not wise to create proper ties with your allies?” 

With a huff, Angela just did as requested. 

They were a bit more hesitant to drink this round, but they did regardless. 

A beat passed. 

Slowly, Curiambro and Nicolina turned to their mother. 

“Starfruit.” She stated. “As mysterious as the one whose blood bears it.” 

Dulcinea is just the fruit identifier now, isn’t she. It was very impressive she could remember it all this time later, though, he’d give her that. 

Iori smiled, serpentine. “Flattering, dear.” 

Dulcinea raised a brow. 

“Dunno if I’d really call that flattering.” Roland rolled his eyes, giving the woman a dead stare. 

“Now, now, Roland, I take it in stride.” She turned the smile back to him. 

He just squinted. 

“There is a bit of a weird sharpness to it.” Nicolina said. “I don’t know what that is.” 

“I’d imagine it’s the power of the Singularities which grant me my abilities.” Iori hummed thoughtfully. “Interesting, I’d wondered what that might do.” 

“Binah’s had a similar sensation.” Curiambro rubbed his chin. “Stronger, but also actively working to enhance the tea flavor.” 

… of course, it was. 

Binah only chuckled, even as many people gave her dead stares. 

Angela let out a measured sigh. “Moses will be here shortly, let’s not dwell here.” 

Ignoring Iori was always a good time. 

Idle chatter began to swell in the room, everyone chatting amicably – even moving to include the Bloodfiends with it. 

Well, what do you know. This had somehow worked to integrate the Bloodfiends in with everyone after all. 

It wasn’t too long before Moses and crew were before them, Moses herself already sighing heavily. 

“Hi!” Ezra was the first to speak, smiling brightly and waving at everyone happily. 

“When Limbus Company was sent to take on La Manchaland, I was not expecting the Bloodfiends to find their way here.” Moses huffed a puff of smoke, her pipe drifting lazily. Her eyes flicked about to ensure the kids weren’t around before taking another drag. “I have much to say about Bloodfiends, but I don’t suppose you need to hear it.” 

“Yes, I recall the conversation we had about Larriere.” Angela nodded. “The Elder of District 12, owner of that hotel?” 

“The same.” Her head bobbed in a shallow nod. “It was an interesting conversation with her, but she made things work in her own way. Hiding in the shadows yet living alongside humans.” Her grey eyes locked on the three before her. 

They stared back. 

“You trust them?” 

Angela nodded firmly. “Yes.” 

Another sigh, more smoke streaming out. “Very well, then.” She looked to her group. “You needn’t participate if you don’t want, but I’ll trust Angela’s word here.” 

Ezra kept her smile, shaking her head. “If you trust this, then I do, too.” 

YuRia just shrugged. “Eh, I see no problem with it. I’m very interested in how all this works.” 

Naturally… the lady who broke a taboo to blackmail Moses wanted to know how Bloodfiends work. Shocking. 

Vespa hummed lowly, eyes narrowed. 

Ezra elbowed him before he could say anything. 

A scoff left him. “Fine.” 

Moses looked at the two dully. 

“If it is to further our relations with our allies, then I will comply.” Kim stated simply. His head then lightly shifted to his student. 

Aeng-du flinched as more attention fell on her, wary of the Bloodfiends, not as willing to trust words without action. “I… will step out of this one.” She paused. “I-if that’s alright.” 

Considering what happened the first time she came here, Roland really didn’t blame her. 

“There is no issue with that, we do not want to pressure you.” Angela accepted easily. “We will move along, then.” 

A snap, more blood was placed before the Bloodfiends. 

Moses watched the three warily. She knew of them from Limbus’s report following the fall of La Mancha and the preliminary reports prior to the mission. Her distrust of Bloodfiends was understandable as well, it was simply how things worked. 

“Smokey.” Nicolina, with all her tactful glory, broke the silence. “But, like, in a sad way.” 

Moses’s nose twitched, but Ezra’s smile was starting to threaten to split her cheeks. 

Curiambro’s eyes closed in solemnity. “Yes, the burden you carry is steep indeed. One we know quite well. The loss of our family rests squarely on our shoulders.” 

Moses kept up her stern expression for a moment longer before dropping it with a sigh. “Yes, I suppose you would know that sting of loss quite well.” 

“Apologies for dredging up bad memories.” Curiambro reopened his eyes. “It is simply what stood out.” 

“There’s no need.” She shook her head. “What’s done is done. Now, I pay my penance.” Her teeth grit around her pipe briefly. 

“The price is steep; I know it well.” He replied, sharing in her lament. 

Dulcinea raised a hand and smacked her child over the head without so much as glancing at him, eliciting a yelp. 

Huh. Didn’t think she had it in her. 

“To punish yourself in the name of the dead does a disservice to those who paved the way to your survival.” She stated evenly. “Only compounding the pain they endured be it by your order or by choice for you. Seek to repent, but self-destruction will not grant such.” 

Curiambro opened his mouth to reply, but she went on. 

“There are still those which share in this repentance? Then I do not believe you do them favors driving yourself into the depths of despair.” She huffed, folding her hands in her lap. “I would not be here were it so easy.” 

Whatever Curiambro had wished to say died on his tongue, eyes pained. “Mother…” 

Nicolina twitched a bit. 

“I suppose it isn’t.” Moses agreed slowly. 

“Yeah, come on, you gotta lighten up.” Ezra’s smile was a bit shakier now, but the Bloodfiend’s words had clearly gotten to her. “Let’s just move onto my blood.” 

With a low hum, Angela complied. 

“This one’s also a bit carbonated, but is that mustard? A lot of mustard.” Nicolina sounded a bit weirded out. 

Ezra pouted. “Hey, come on, HamHamPangPang’s mustard sandwiches are to die for!” 

“Agreed!” Roland threw in. 

“Never heard of it.” The excitable Bloodfiend deadpanned. 

The utterly shocked and horrified gasp Ezra made could have won an award. How much Roland had failed them… 

“They’re Bloodfiends.” Vespa pinched the bridge of his nose in vexation. “They don’t eat HamHamPangPang.” 

“They should!” She argued. 

“Human food does not taste as good to us as it once did, this would be an exercise of futility.” Curiambro tried to reason. 

Only through blood does it taste well? Hmmmmmmm… 

“HamHamPangPang will be the sandwich that trumps blood.” Ezra looked so confident you could almost believe it was possible. 

“My blood, please!” YuRia pushed herself in, done waiting. “I’m dying to hear this.” 

“Hey!” Ezra protested. 

Angela complied with a devious smile. 

“Oh, more workaholism!” Nicolina snickered. 

Dulcinea sighed. 

“Red velvet sheet cake.” Curiambro added. “Quite lovely. I must express concern for the very similar sense I get from you.” His eyes angled towards his sister. 

Nicolina smiled broadly. “No idea what you’re talking about!” 

YuRia lit up. “A fellow visionary, I see?” 

“Look, all this?” Nicolina motioned to herself and the other two. “Yours truly~” 

It was a wonder YuRia could even breathe with the gasp she made. 

Vespa was swift to step in. “Move along.” 

And now the glare she was giving him was something beyond human. 

To her chagrin, Angela did as asked. Feeling cheeky today, isn’t she? 

YuRia pouted sullenly as the Bloodfiends took Vespa’s blood. 

Curiambro hummed as he deciphered the flavor. “A lovely cinnamon flavor.” 

“I think I caught some honey in there.” Nicolina added. 

“I do not often have honey with my meals.” Vespa stated, brow scrunched just slightly in confusion. 

Ezra snickered. “The bees run deep in the genes, baby bee.” 

He gave her a dark glare. 

“A man of conflict, I see.” Curiambro chuckled. “Not very honest with yourself?” 

“I do not see how that is conducive to current events.” Vespa replied evenly. Ignoring Ezra snickering at him. 

He cracked a smile. “Perhaps not.” 

Angela frowned. “I probably should try to get the Hana in here at some point, but this is a bit much at the moment.” 

Nicolina raised her hand. “I’m always down for more blood.” 

“Yes, yes, we know. Last one.” Angela snapped, and the final round was before them. 

All three took a moment after drinking Kim’s blood, frowning. 

“Something wrong?” Roland asked concernedly. 

They shook their heads and all sighed. 

“The taste of regret is another we know quite well.” Curiambro replied. “Think naught of it.” 

Kim bowed his head, humming lowly. “On the topic of loss and personal failure, it seems we all have that in common.” 

There were quite a few murmurs of agreement. 

Roland walked up, tugging Carmen along with him, and placed a hand on Angela’s shoulder. He smiled softly. “Well, even with all the pain and suffering we’ve endured, we’ve got a lot ahead of us. There’s many we want to honor and cherish even if they may be gone, so we strive to better the City for them, eh?” He looked down to his daughter. “How about a toast for everyone? I think Netz’s blood’ll be more appetizing than Olga’s.”

“HEY!” Olga protested.

“You yourself have said that Netzach tends to have the better stuff.” Rain sighed.

She scoffed.

“How about it? We just watched them drink our blood for the sake of unity; let’s all share a drink.” Roland smiled broadly. “Just a shot, though, I don’t want Yan or Nicolina getting drunk.”

Nicolina sniffed.

“What did I do?” Yan questioned confusedly.

Roland took his other hand to pat him on the shoulder. “Nothing, buddy, I just think you’ll be a depressive drunk. Looking out for you.”

Speaking of, Curiambro probably would be, too. 

Angela shook her head. “Let’s, even if I cannot taste it.”

One, final snap, everyone was given their own shot glass of alcohol. By the looks of things, Angela had given everyone their preference in the drink (even Tiphereth was granted something light).

“I know this was a bit of a weird event, but I find myself glad we did it.” Angela raised her glass. “I appreciate this time with you all.”

“Hear-hear!” Echoed through the room, and everyone drank their shot.

Chapter Text

Gebura took a breath, gazing out upon the vast expanse of the Outskirts. The desert was still, windless for the moment, lifeless in its sandy hills. 

All that told her was that something was probably coming. It was too quiet, completely dead, and it had been a little while since the last set of monsters had appeared before them.

She did like the view of the land before them from up here, though she wasn’t exactly keen to jump off of the Library from General Works all the way down ten entire storeys to the ground if she happens to spot something.

… 

Again.

It had been a bet.

That she won.

It had been exhilarating, sure, but completely unnecessary.

“Quiet such as this should be treasured.” Yujin stated, walking out of the doors to join her on the balcony. “But it never lasts very long.” 

“No, no it does not.” Gebura agreed with a hum, moving the candy she idly chewed on to the side. “Haven’t seen anything at all today, not even a tumbleweed.” 

Yujin hummed in acknowledgment, joining her in vigil. 

The Shi Branch Manager and Black Color often joined her on these lookouts when she was around. It gave her the opportunity to cheat her subordinates – relaxing outside with her Patron yet somehow still working. Valentin and Tenma couldn’t even argue against it. 

They remained in a comfortable silence for a moment, simply taking the view of the Outskirts around them. 

At one point, Yan waved at them from inside – the door open wide – to which they returned it. He was a more curious sort than you’d originally think, he often walked by while she was out here just to see. 

“Gebura.” Yujin spoke up after a moment, lifting herself from her spot leaning against the outside of the Library to approach the rail. 

“Hm?” Gebura turned her head towards her, expectant. 

Yujin motioned her over, squinting at something below.

Concerned, Gebura lifted herself off her side of the rail and drew closer.

“Can you tell me if that’s what I think it is?” Yujin asked, motioning her head at something far down below. 

Gebura grunted, stepping beside her and leaning forward to get a look at what Yujin might be looking at. 

It took a short second of scanning the dull desert down below, but a few black dots made themselves known quickly enough. A long way out – weeks at a regular pace on foot. 

Hm… peculiar… 

“There’s definitely something down there.” Gebura agreed. 

Now… to stress her eyes to see what Yujin had… 

… 

Oh, Hell. 

“Ah, so my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me.” Yujin hummed. 

“No, seems not.” Gebura felt a bit beside herself. “There’s no way that’s them, right?” 

“They certainly have shed a lot of what would make them obvious, likely due to physical constraints relating to how they operated in the City, but I would say that is near unmistakably them.” The Shi Branch Manager shook her head. “They are a far ways out and appear on the brink of death, there’s no telling how long they’ve been in the Outskirts staking it out for their lives – likely not too long after they were released back into the City.” 

“That was years ago.” Gebura grunted, rising to her full height. “They must be desperate if they’re coming this way.” 

She could easily imagine why – they did not have the means to keep themselves going out there like they did in the City, as Yujin had said. Their numbers were down to near nothing, what remained dead on their feet. 

She hesitated, sighing under her breath. 

“Not looking forward to dealing with them?” She teased lightly. 

“That’s an understatement, I don’t really like them at all.” Gebura huffed, shaking her head. “But if they’re coming here for help because they’ve run out of options out here…” 

“We’d best assist them.” The Black Boundary agreed. “They were victim here as well, and circumstances have forced them into a terrible spot.” 

“We grab Angela, she makes the decision.” Gebura decided. 

Dammit. She did not want to deal with this idiot. 

But she couldn’t leave them to die out there when this was technically the Library’s fault. 

Yujin raised a brow. “Are you going to jump down to fetch them?” 

“That was a one-time deal!” She barked back, trudging into the Library to let Angela know what was up. 

Yujin laughed, following her in. 

Angela was swift to dispatch a few Fixers to rush out and bring them in, though seemed similarly hesitant as Gebura about it. 

The presence of these four out here only meant one thing, really, and they did not like it. 

***

Gebura huffed, looking down at the pitiful forms of the small crew they’d just rescued from the Outskirts. For as strong as they may be, they might not have made it to the Library on their own – it was clear they’d already undertaken a massive journey to get where they had. 

She settled herself against one of the pillars of the entry floor, a bit back from the group to keep watch. Not that she expected trouble, but you never know. 

Angela huffed a breath and snapped, tying the group to the Library and stabilizing them. In terms of fully healing them… that would take some more time seeing as Angela wasn’t used to doing so with them and their injuries, lack of nutrition, and various side-effects from their augments caused a few issues. 

A tall woman with aged, grey hair sighed in relief. “Thank you, Angela, for coming to us in our need.” 

Nikolai was the only one able to stand properly on her feet, having been supporting Rudolph along the way with a beleaguered Maxim carrying a completely out of it Myo. 

R Corp… perhaps they should have expected they’d be in the Outskirts, but to specifically seek out the Library was unexpected. 

All of them were raggedy and a mix of horribly sunburnt and pale, the only one of them retaining her regalia being Nikolai. The three Captains had shed their suits, likely because their waning bodies could not handle them anymore. Angela could replace that, easy. 

Maybe they’d be asking YuRia, but that didn’t matter at the moment. 

“Of course, should we have left you to wither in the desert winds?” The A.I replied rhetorically. 

Myo snorted from where she was collapsed on the ground, eyes sunken and complexion frighteningly pale. “Would have expected it from a damn machine like you.” 

“Myo.” Nikolai scolded. “They have saved our lives, show some respect.” 

She grumbled something under her breath, irritable. 

Nikolai sighed. “I apologize for her, the drugs her suit supplied her ran out some time ago even with proper rationing, and she’s suffering the full effects of withdrawal.” 

Ah, right. R Corp drugged its Rabbits to high heaven for their speed. 

“As with the other two.” She glanced at the two in question. 

Maxim, without his massive Rhino suit, gave a shaky smile from where he sat against a pillar. “I’ve been better, coulda kept goin’ a bit, but it’s starting to look up. Thanks.” 

The big guy was shaking, on his last legs and barely having been pushing through it. 

“Rhino suits are very physically demanding, he had to take it off a long time ago as we did not have the caffeine to support it.” The Commander explained. “You did well, Maxim, we would not have made it so far without you.” 

She wasn’t as snappy with them as she had been when they’d come here in the City, offering her men what praise she could for their turmoil. 

He shook his head. “It wasn’t good enough, we’re all that’s left.” 

“Be that as it may,” she closed her eyes, head bowed in regret, “you cannot discount us making it through.” 

Myo grumbled something inaudible, but Maxim only nodded, gaze down. 

Nikolai looked to Rudolph, but he appeared especially irate – his brows pinched in pain, eyes open and almost as bloodshot as Myo’s. “I’m sure you’re aware of the headaches the Reindeer suffer, it’s a miracle he’s lasted this long. Might there be painkillers to ease his mind?” 

Rudolph remained silent, the headache likely far too immense to be able to speak without vomiting. 

“We will do what we can.” Angela nodded, easily agreeable. “I suppose I don’t need to ask why you’ve come here? Or why you’re out here in the first place.” 

Nikolai shook her head. “Your first guess would be correct; we were forced to flee upon being brought back into the City. The first set of clones were the ones recognized by the Head, so we left as soon as possible.” 

And, being in the states they were, they knew their only chance of survival all this time later was the Library. A Hail Mary, but one that paid off. 

“I see.” Angela nodded. “I will happily offer sanctuary to you four despite our pasts, there are many others which have taken up residence within my walls. We can discuss any terms for your stay later; for now, let’s get you to the infirmary on Social Sciences to recover.” 

“I thank you kindly for your generosity and apologize for any trouble we may have caused.” Nikolai, as worn as she was, remained as professional as ever. 

“Of course.” Another snap, all five left the entryway, leaving Gebura and the others who’d gone to fetch them. 

“Head laws prove themselves asinine yet again.” Chun mused quietly. 

“Yes, indeed.” Yujin nodded. “It’s impressive they made it this far under the circumstances; R Corp is not kind, and it’s been several years by now.” 

“Best not to think how they survived.” Bada noted. “Their group was much larger when they came on assault.” 

“Probably should have thought about the fact we had two sets of R Corp.” Gebura said with a sigh. Hindsight sure was twenty-twenty… “Not sure what we could have done, but still.” 

“This will be a change, but the Head will not care about this second set of clones lest they return to the City.” Bada assured. 

Chun nodded in agreement. “They’d be dead long ago if that was the case.” 

That was true, the Head did not care about broken taboos in the Outskirts. 

She let out a soft sigh. R Corp being here… would be a lot. 

***

The rescue of R Corp had caused a bit of a hubbub about the Library. It not only opened the possibility of people simply coming to the Library of their own accord for sanctuary or to join – Limbus notwithstanding as they were already aware of the possibility of people infiltrating for loot – but also other guests possibly wanting to seek them out. Whether that be for answers or vengeance. 

There were likely other groups who’d fallen here interested in returning for just about any reason. Though, most would probably never want to hear about the place again. 

That was an issue for another time, something to keep an eye out for. That’s all. There were more present issues to see to at the moment. 

The Patrons were all gathered on Social Sciences, mostly relaxing with drinks while R Corp discussed something with Angela to the side. The Fixers and others weren’t here at the moment; this was simply logistics. 

R Corp did look leagues better, however. The sunburns were taken care of, their complexions looking healthier, and any wounds gone. Rudolph seemed to have been largely relieved of his headache, though something would need to be done to remove the threat his antlers posed him. Maxim had regained his strength; whatever he’d needed to use his suit returned to him. 

Even if they didn’t have the suit at all anymore, wherever it had been left. There were plenty of other Rhino suits out there in the Outskirts from failed expeditions or lives lost, so another suit wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. They could probably ask YuRia to make a new, better, less demanding one. 

Myo was definitely doing better, too, but looked to still be suffering some withdrawal. No one was quite sure if Angela could actually do anything about that. 

Gebura glanced at the other Patrons as they waited for Angela to finish her conversation with Nikolai. She could see all five of them from here, they should be wrapping up soon. 

“So, who’s taking them?” She asked, just wanting to sort this out. 

There was no way they weren’t staying, so they had to go somewhere. 

“We will be discussing this once they join us.” Yesod replied with a huff. 

“I don’t see a problem with sorting out amongst ourselves who’d they best work with while we wait, though.” Roland piped up, throwing her a bone. “That said: not me. I don’t want to imagine the spats Myo’ll get into with you-know-who.” He chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. “Aside from that, though, we’ve got a good thing going on General Works, they all work together pretty well now and I don’t want to upset their balance.” 

The balance on General Works had taken some time to get to where it was, but Roland had a crew of his own now that he did not want to step over the toes of. Yan ultimately took charge as he was the first, and the others didn’t mind. 

Yesod sighed, nodding. “I see your point. Anyone else?” 

“I don’t know if they’re the best fit with my part of the Liu, but I’ll take them if no one else will~” Chesed offered helpfully, thumb idly rubbing circles around Binah’s thigh. “I’m sure Nikolai and Lowell will get along well enough.”

“I don’t think they’ll respect the Streetlight.” Malkuth sighed. “I don’t think I can take them – probably the same with the Molar and Zwei, right?” 

Netzach shrugged. “I don’t want to deal with them.” 

Several eyes rolled. 

“And there’s Olga knowing Myo and probably still being peeved about that job.” He continued with a mutter. 

That was a more valid point. Olga had been a bit too gung-ho about taking R Corp down when she had. 

Hokma hummed, cupping his chin. “Nikolai and I are familiar with each other, I can make it work, but you would be correct.” 

Nikolai was the least problematic of the four, Maxim swiftly following her in that regard, but the other two could cause problems. 

Gebura didn’t mind Maxim or Nikolai, or Rudolph, really, but… 

“I am not taking them.” Gebura stated firmly. She absolutely did not want to deal with Myo. 

“Thought not~” Chesed chuckled. “We’re not going to ask it of you.” 

She just grunted, nodding. 

“I don’t think the Proxies would accept them.” Hod spoke up. “I mean, maybe I can get it to work, but they won’t be happy.” 

“Let’s not push that, there’s no reason to.” Roland agreed with a nod. “Same kinda deal with me.” 

“Binah?” Yesod prodded the woman who’d been silent so far. 

She hummed lowly, not minding Chesed’s arm around her waist. “Perhaps Nikolai and Xiao would make an effective team, the two sects partake a similar line of work. However, I believe their particular style of battle would synergize better on a different floor.” 

Yesod raised a brow. “What do you mean?” 

“The Liu specializes predominantly with fire; R Corp relies on their equipment and storing energy – generating a charge.” She replied simply. “We do happen to have another group like that, do we not?” 

Tiphereth grunted. “Yeah, the Cane does that, too.” A beat. “And I’m out of this one for a similar reason to Roland: I don’t want to know what you-know-who and you-know-who-two would do.” She ended deadpan. 

Yesod leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees to steeple his hands before him. His brow furrowed as he thought, a low hum leaving him. “Yes, perhaps they would work well with the Cane. However, I must express some trepidation in regard to another you-know-who.” 

Gebura chuckled. “Well, there might be harm in giving Nemo access to a well of information for R Corp’s Singularity, but that was already known by us; the information is here somewhere. Not to mention, they’d still be here anyway, he’d just have to seek them out.” 

He took a moment, considering it. “You bring up a fair point.” 

“Nikolai can probably help rein Nemo in, too.” Tiphereth pointed out. “I don’t know if R Corp has a best match for who they’d get along with, but that went for all of our groups before Yujin wrangled them together. I think they need to go to what they best work with and go from there.” 

A reasonable suggestion, Gebura felt. That said, that puts them either with the Liu or the Cane – they would not work as well with the Streetlight, Proxies, Molar, Wedge, definitely not the assassins that were the Shi, Zwei, or Roland’s crew. 

Purple brows had risen, taking that consideration in. “Hm.” 

That was probably Yesod instantly sold on the idea. If someone who’s actually on the floor can knock Nemo down a peg, Yesod was all for it. 

That’s fine by her; Yesod should be able to manage them fine. Bada and Martina were plenty strong, they could manage. 

Finally, the group chatting to the side broke up and walked over to the Patrons. 

“I’ve laid out our deal here and the situation around us.” Angela stated once she was in front of them. “They are to be staying as permanent residents seeing as they’ve nowhere else to go – the City will not accept the second set of clones back, after all, and the Outskirts are unforgiving.” 

They already knew that, but it still needed to be made official. R Corp ought to be mostly filled in, then. 

“That said, they will be needing to go somewhere, and I know a few of your floors will be less receptive than others.” Angela looked at a few of them a bit pointedly. 

All of those in question shrugged. 

Angela was likely aware they’d pretty much already decided, but R Corp didn’t need to know that. 

“I just hope we aren’t stepping on any toes here.” Maxim said with a sheepish smile. 

“I’m sure it’s fine.” Even if his eyes were closed, Gebura could see Rudolph’s roll. 

“We will do our best to fit into the established dynamic of wherever we may be assigned.” Nikolai said firmly. “It may need to change to accommodate us, but we are not the ones who take the forefront of importance here.” She sent her three subordinates a commanding glare, challenging them before looking back to Angela. “That said, it would be wise if we were to know who we’re working with from here.” 

Angela hadn’t told them who’s here? Guess she figured they, the Patrons, should tell them that. 

“We’ve come to a determination of where you might best fit already.” Yesod started, determined to take someone who could help him with Nemo. There were other possible headaches with taking R Corp, but Nikolai largely had them under control, and Nemo was the greater evil. 

Myo scoffed, arms crossed. “Just put us with your strongest floor. Easy.” 

Everyone looked at her, brows quirked. 

Her eyes were still a bit bloodshot, so her mood was sourer than it normally would be, but they all knew what her thought process was. 

“We’re a powerful fighting force, we go with the top of the group.” She stated firmly. 

… riiiiiiight. 

Tiphereth couldn’t stop a bit of a haughty scoff of her own. “You’re probably on the bottom rung here by now, and I think our strongest floor goes to Mom?” She turned her head to Gebura. 

Gebura shrugged. “I think that’s fair. While I might be one of the most powerful here, so is Binah, and Yujin’s not the best with direct confrontation unlike Xiao.” 

It was close, sure, but she’d give it to Binah on account of the Shi being assassins more than anything. 

Myo’s face screwed up in confusion. “Wait, that Shi Director is on your floor?” 

She sounded confused, almost to the point of hurt. 

Gebura sighed. 

Myo’s view of heroes had always been twisted, but she did have some self-awareness to know she herself had failed miserably. That said, the withdrawal was kicking her rear at the moment. 

“Yeah? And?” Gebura shrugged, digging a candy out to chomp down on. “That’s the South Shi Branch Manager and Black Boundary to you. Yujin’s one of the most upstanding and honest Fixers I know, what a Fixer truly should be.” 

Yujin had some faults, sure, but Gebura would consider her up there at the gold standard. 

Myo looked… lost for a moment. 

“Ah… a lot has happened while we were out here.” Nikolai hummed. “I apologize for her; we will go where you deem us best fit.” 

“Weird to think we’ll be on the bottom rung, though.” Maxim chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. 

“As if…” Myo grumbled, now looking more and more sour. “I’d like to see that.” 

“Myo, control yourself.” Rudolph scowled in irritation. 

“No, I don’t think I will.” Myo drew herself up. “Prove it. Prove we’re at the bottom, that we’re not worthy to stand with the top.” 

“No one said anything about worthiness.” Tiphereth muttered. 

“I don’t know if you’re in the right state to be fighting anyone.” Gebura replied. Everything had been directed at her, so she was the one replying. 

“I’m always ready for a fight.” She doubled down. 

Angela sighed. “Well, a strength assessment would be in order. I do not know if--” 

“Gimme your best shot.” Myo gave a vicious grin, cutting the A.I off. “You know where we stand already, so let me prove it.” 

“Myo.” Nikolai’s voice was stern, filled with warning. 

Angela waved her off. “It’s alright, we can comply.” 

She cupped her chin in thought. 

Roland quirked a brow at her. “You’re looking a bit vindictive.” 

A smile split the A.I’s lips. “Now, why would you think such a thing, Father?” 

He sighed. 

Angela didn’t particularly have any warm feelings for Myo and with Myo being so aggressive at the moment due to various factors, she would be looking to knock the woman down. 

Gebura thought she might know the best way to show Myo what was up, though. 

Did Gebura like Myo? Not remotely, but she felt a bit responsible for how terribly Myo had taken her advice back then – leading to the Myo that joined R Corp and wound up the way she is now. 

Desperately trying to cover up her weakness with a guise of strength. 

Even if Myo knew she’d screwed up in trying to become a hero… she only continued to double down. She was not as strong as she wanted to be and refused to face it. 

Gebura did not like Myo, but she couldn’t let the woman keep falling into the pit she’d dug if she was going to be here as a permanent resident and had the ability to get better. It was partly her fault she’d turned out this way, and Myo was not a lost cause. 

Gebura let out a huff. “Put her against Lulu, that’ll be the closest match I think we can make.” 

Malkuth shot upright. “Ahhhhh-- uuuuummm…” 

Angela nodded in agreement. “Yes, that seems sound. Lulu has advanced much in her time here, I think she could use the chance to prove herself.” 

Lulu had always been the weakest one in the Library, and Myo’s best way of fighting was with the rest of her rabbits. Lulu had grown a lot stronger, surpassing Mika and Rain who preferred workshopping anyway. 

It was sound enough. 

“Who?” Myo asked, irritation rife in her voice. “You’re putting me against some nobody?” 

Rudolph scoffed. “They’re entertaining your inanity, take what you can get.” 

“Can it, Reindeer, this is a matter of pride.” She hissed at him. 

“Of which, you have too much.” He replied dully.

She scoffed. 

Something had ruffled her feathers apart from the drug addiction kicking her. 

Being told she was considered weak here. 

Hah… defense mechanisms had kicked in. 

Myo was in for a rude awakening, but one she desperately needed. 

“If that’s set, I will get things set up. We can take care of your quarters and neighbors later.” Angela decided, maybe a tad too eager for this. 

Malkuth raised her hand. “I never agreed to this.” 

“Then?” Angela tilted her head. 

She pouted, huffing. “Fine… Lulu will be all over it.” 

“Splendid.” Angela smiled. 

Nikolai sighed. “Gauging the strength of our new allies is important, I suppose.” Resigned at this point knowing there was no avoiding it.

“I’ll kick this nobody’s butt, then you can give me a real fight.” Myo sniffed.

Gebura was so glad she wasn’t going to be on her floor…

***

It had not been difficult at all for Angela to recreate Myo’s Rabbit suit and weapons, removing any trace of R Corp from it for something plainer and not including the drugs with it. 

There were plenty of factors in play for Myo to make excuses for her inevitable loss: having just recovered from the desert, still recovering from withdrawal, and not having the drugs she normally would have coursing through her and giving her an edge. 

But perhaps she would not use those excuses and simply take the loss at face value. Time would tell. 

Speaking of, though, Myo did not look impressed by her opponent. Expectedly. 

“Really?” Myo scoffed, looking back at them from the battlefield. Her eyes rolled, looking back to Lulu who was starting to look insulted. “Fine, this’ll be quick.” 

“You talk the big talk, Myo.” Rudolph shook his head. It was hard to tell behind the words, but there was a hint of concern in there. “Are you sure you can back it up?” 

Myo bristled, having heard him, but didn’t rise to the bait. 

“Look, lady, I’ve been here way longer than you.” Lulu stated with an incensed frown. “Don’t count me out so quickly.” 

“Kick her butt, Lulu!” Olga cheered, perhaps a bit too enthusiastic at that prospect. 

Still holding onto that grudge. 

Myo shot her an irate glare, not happy with the other woman either. 

“If we could please focus on the matter at hand.” Angela sighed. “This is a simple spar to assess strength and compatibility between our groups. Placement has essentially been determined, but we shall see.” 

Myo grinned darkly. “I’ll prove I belong at the top no matter how many of you I have to go through. Bring out the top dogs; I might not be able to beat them, but I’ll prove I deserve to stand near them.” 

Gebura let out a sigh, just shaking her head. Was Myo strong? Sure, maybe, her attitude really held her back, though. 

She could be a lot stronger if she fixed that. 

She also didn’t realize that even if she was strong, everyone else here was on par or stronger. It was a rare situation, to be frank, where so many could match and surpass an R Corp Captain, but that simply was the reality. 

And Myo had needed a reality check for a long time. Strength meant nothing when wayward, unfocused. Abused. 

“If we are ready, then…” Angela let it hang a moment, giving the two women a second to get themselves back into focus. “Begin.” 

The fight began with a literal bang, Myo wasting no time in slinging her rifle out and unleashing the entire mag on Lulu with a series of shots. 

Lulu blanched but got her bat up in time to deflect most of the bullets; having scrambled just a bit to do so and wincing at those that managed to get past her guard. 

Thank YuRia for upgrading all of their equipment, her old bat would have been blasted to pieces. 

Myo tch’d when her gun clicked, the mag empty, thinking that should have been enough. She quickly ejected the mag, grabbing another. 

Lulu took the break in fire to rush forward. 

The second mag clicked into place, and Myo shot again. 

Lulu dove to the side, running around the Rabbit, ducking and weaving to avoid the bullets more purposefully aimed. A few bullets grazed her, one impacting her arm, but she kept on narrowly avoiding their expert placement. 

She wasn’t going to let this do her in. 

The distance between the two was finally crossed, Lulu’s bat flying through the air with fire trailing behind it with a roar of effort. 

Myo threw her gun up deflecting the blow and shoving the stock into the short woman’s chest. 

Undeterred, Lulu struck again. 

Myo swiftly pulled out her combat knife, deflecting the bat with her gun and slashing forward with it. 

The blonde leapt back with a yelp, the gleaming edge of the blade shining in her eyes. 

She dropped down, smashing her bat into Myo’s leg. 

The Rabbit scoffed, aiming her gun down and firing without second thought. 

Lulu rolled forward, springing to her feet behind the Rabbit and bashing her bat into the back of her head with the knowledge that being an absolute pain in the rear was the only way she was winning this. 

Myo stumbled forward with a gasp, quickly pivoting to cut at Lulu with her knife; eyes a bit unfocused and wincing. The blow had disoriented her a little, giving Lulu the breathing room she needed to easily deflect the knife and ram the butt of her bat straight into Myo’s nose with a flare of flame. 

Staggering back, Myo raised her rifle again. With her vision unfocused from the blows she’d taken, she simply unloaded the mag towards the blur she could see of Lulu, forcing her back. 

Myo shook her head, refocusing her vision and stabbing to the side to deter Lulu as she tried to get another hit in. She pressed forward towards the blonde, shoving her back with the length of her gun and causing the woman to stumble. Acting quickly, she kicked Lulu in the stomach, sending her to the floor and stabbing downwards with her knife. 

Lulu grit her teeth, rolling out of the way. She scrambled to the side to avoid the follow-up slash, feeling the knife against the fabric of her jacket, and retreated. 

Blood dripped from Myo’s scorched nose, swiftly wiped off with a huff of anger. A new mag was inserted into the assault rifle as the empty one hit the ground. 

The fight was not going the way she had envisioned it going, that much was clear on her scowling face. 

Lulu charged back in towards the Rabbit deflecting a few bullets. 

Myo was not being even remotely conservative with those despite Lulu largely being able to handle them. 

Leaping up over the spray of bullets, Lulu hiked her flaming bat over her shoulder and came down like a small comet. 

Myo sneered, sidestepping the attack and striking out with her knife. 

Lulu shot back to her feet; knees bent from the impact and took the knife to her shoulder. 

Her bat came up with her and hit Myo upside the head with a powerful, one-handed swing and a resounding crack. 

Haphazard, only intending to bludgeon as was her usual. 

Her training with Valentin had taken her far. She was faster, lighter on her feet, and far nimbler, but sometimes going back to your roots for a moment was the way forward. 

Myo careened to the side, nearly losing her footing but managing to keep upright. 

Lulu was fast to smash her bat right back into Myo’s head once she got the wild swing under control – the Rabbit not having enough time to recover. 

Myo reeled back. Her grip on her knife failed from the blunt force trauma, clattering to the ground, but she kept her grip on her gun. Once more, the rifle opened fire; Myo’s teeth grit as she struggled to aim at Lulu through her brain swimming in her skull. 

Lulu staggered back from the bullets impacting her stomach from pointblank, quickly moving herself to the side to avoid taking further fire but clearly smarting. It was unlikely Lulu could take much more punishment than this – even with YuRia’s gear holding up splendidly against that much damage – but neither could Myo. The R Corp Captain was built for speed and doing damage, not taking it. 

A hand flew to Myo’s head, gripping it in an attempt to stop it from swimming – her ears most likely ringing. Smoke drifted from the mouth of the gun’s barrel, ceasing fire without the certainty of hitting her target as Myo couldn’t properly follow her anymore. 

The Rabbit continued to try to track the bat-wielding woman, her gun training on her with just a slight hint of unsteadiness… 

She fired, managing to clip Lulu’s side. 

Lulu yelped and dove forward to avoid the next shot. 

Myo’s eyes narrowed, steadying herself better, and dropped her hand from her head to pull out another knife. 

Lulu’s bat immediately crashed into it with a loud clang; the Streetlight Fixer rushing forward to find an end to this battle. Myo’s grip on the knife managed to hold firm, and she used it to shove the bat to the side. 

Crack. 

Myo went flying back, crashing to the ground a short distance away. 

Lulu huffed heatedly, blood dripping from her forehead from slamming it up into Myo’s chin. 

Myo scrambled to rise at least to her knees to get her rifle up only for Lulu’s bat to whack it right out of her hands and her boot to plant into her chest. 

Both breathing heavily, Lulu’s foot pressed Myo into the ground, her bat raised high with the clear intent to bring it down as hard as she could. 

“Stop!” Angela called just as Lulu’s bat began to descend. “Lulu claims victory.” 

Lulu nearly fell over in her effort to not brain Myo, yelping as she stumbled to the side. She coughed harshly before shaking it off with a wide smile. “I may not be the strongest here, but don’t count me out.” She grinned down at the Rabbit, offering her hand. 

Myo just… stared dumbfoundedly at the ceiling, disbelieving what just happened. 

She’d lost against the Library’s weakest member. She had lost against the weakest member. That placed her squarely at the bottom of the totem pole. 

Lulu frowned, glancing back at the stands when Myo made no move at all. 

Ignore Olga howling with laughter over there. Probably shouldn’t have let her be here. 

Rudolph sighed. “She’ll be catatonic for a while. Blasted Rabbit.” 

“Myo.” Nikolai’s voice carried, stern yet not harsh; commanding yet not mean. 

Myo snapped out of her stupor, silently accepting Lulu’s hand and allowing her to help her to her feet. 

“Um… good fight.” Lulu tried to offer, awkward. 

Myo nodded, everything in her being numb. 

Their walk to the viewing area was terribly awkward.  

Gebura scoffed, muttering under her breath. “This doesn’t make you a weakling, idiot.” It was testament to how far Lulu had come more than anything else – she could see the pride on both Mars and Valentin’s faces. 

Nikolai sighed. “No, but she will need some time to get this through her thick skull.” 

What Myo was truly weak in was mind. So desperate to not be weak she hamstringed her growth. 

“Hey, good fight, Rabbit.” Maxim grinned broadly. “Had my bets on you, but eh, win some, lose some. It was a blast! I like this place.” 

Myo just scowled, taking her seat with a huff and not looking at anyone. She was stewing, brooding, conflicted. 

Maxim just shrugged. Myo things, nothing he could do about it. 

Rudolph sighed, shaking his head. “Taking a loss in stride will bring you a lot further than a win can at times. You’re still recovering, anyway. I don’t think this was a proper test.” 

If looks could kill, Rudolph would be dead five times over. 

“Yes, indeed.” Angela hummed. “I suppose that wasn’t a good showing of our strength against yours if you must insist so. With that said, why don’t you demonstrate? I’m sure San could use the chance to test his ability.” 

“Huh?” San blinked, looking bewildered. 

“Hey!” Malkuth protested. “Stop picking on my people! Is there something wrong with them?” 

“Nothing of the sort.” Angela smiled. “They’ve simply had the most room to grow out of everyone; beginning at the lowest point possible and climbing quite high.” 

Myo twitched. 

Rudolph was giving her a nonplussed look as well. “Is that truly necessary?” 

“I would say so, go on.” Her head tilted innocently, gesturing both men to head to the field. 

Maxim pointed at himself as the two sighed and did as requested. “Am I gonna have to fight after this?” 

“Do you think you need to?” She asked. 

He shrugged. “Nah, don’t think so. I think we’re good wherever we go.” 

Angela returned it. “Very well.” 

Nikolai pinched the bridge of her nose. 

There were a few chuckles in amusement. Angela was only doing this to kick Rudolph in the rear. 

The two men made it out onto the field, taking their positions facing each other. Rudolph clearly wasn’t amused in the matter but had taken a battle-ready stance to get this over with. 

His headache was gone for the moment thanks to Angela, but it’d be right back after this. They’d probably need to figure out what to do about that. Yesod might be able to, maybe with Hokma. The notorious headaches of the Reindeer would need to be sated for everyone’s sanity. 

Maxim’s need for caffeine came mostly from his suit, so YuRia could almost certainly do something about that – but it’s not like they had any shortage of coffee. 

Myo? The drugs had to go, she would simply have to deal without them – relying on something like that was detrimental to both her health and her ability to get stronger. YuRia might be able to do something with her suit that doesn’t involve the need for drugging the user. 

Nikolai didn’t seem to have any quirks with her augments or what kept her going, so that was something, at least. 

San, on the other end of the field, looked pretty uncertain about this, but that was normal for him. 

Angela simulated a huff. 

Gebura found it likely she’d already made her decision on where R Corp was going. 

“Begin.” She called. 

Rudolph’s antlers immediately lit up, the top of his staff glowing brightly. 

Energy crackled, a long beam shooting towards San to wrap around him and squeeze. 

Unprepared, San took it straight on with a grunt and grimace. The whip of energy dug into him, sending him off balance, but he managed to fight it off and deflect the glowing staff coming for his face with his shortsword just in time. 

A short clash between the two ensued. While San managed to handle most of what Rudolph beset him with, it was clear Rudolph was the stronger of the two. 

So, San took a page out of Lulu’s book. 

He dove behind the Reindeer and shot back to his feet, ramming his elbow into the small of the Reindeer’s back. He reversed his grip on his sword to slam the pommel of it into Rudolph’s head. 

Rudolph let out a shout of pain, perhaps the headache which had debilitated him for years in the desert land of the Outskirts, bringing him to the brink of death, still lingered on his psyche – leaving him tender. 

It was not like him to exclaim his pain in any way, but this gave San a hook. 

The Reindeer swept his staff behind him, alight with crackling energy. 

San skittered back, avoiding the wild blow. 

Another beam of energy rushed towards him, nailing him in the arm and shoving him back. 

He shuddered but shook it off and moved to close the distance again.  

Rudolph was not keen on letting him draw close. 

Blast after blast of energy was thrown at the Streetlight Operator, but the years training with Valentin likewise had San much nimbler than he once was. A few hit, but most were deflected or dodged. Once San began to draw too close, Rudolph made use of the length of his weapon, making wide, sweeping strikes at the shorter man to ward him back. 

San ducked under one strike, leaning to the side to avoid a thrust. It was a back-and-forth dance, San trying to find any opportunity to step in and Rudolph warding him back. 

It lasted a short while before San dove forward, rolling underneath the sweeping staff and stabbing his sword into Rudolph’s leg. 

Rudolph grunted, kicking San in the face and bringing the butt of his staff down where the Operator was, but he slammed his shoulder into Rudolph’s stomach before the staff could hit. 

The Reindeer was forced back, his antlers glowing brightly as he called upon more power. Energy whirled around him, rising further and further as it lifted him from the ground and deposited San to the side. The very air seemed to condense, energy weaving through it. 

San’s eyes widened. Best not get hit by that. 

But how? 

The energy was rising fast, Rudolph with it. 

He only had a second to think. 

San threw his sword. 

The trajectory of it was knocked a bit off target due to the energy beginning to detonate, but it still struck Rudolph in the head. 

He flinched backwards at the impact, the energy stuttering. 

Then exploding. 

San was thrown backwards by a powerful eruption, slamming into the ground and skidding backwards until he hit the wall a long way down the battlefield – but Rudolph had slammed into the other end, the explosion centered directly around him. 

With simultaneous groans, both men staggered back to their feet. Hardly the most elegant fight, but when you’re fighting right off of recovery or against an opponent who’s stronger than you, you do what you have to. 

San was swift to rush back towards Rudolph, swiping his fallen blade from the ground as he went. 

Rudolph staggered, swaying on his feet with his hand to his head, the other reaching for his staff. 

Just as the Reindeer managed to get a hold on it, San’s elbow smashed directly into his temple and sent him right back into the ground. 

When in doubt, go for the head. 

San was quick to then level the sharp edge of his sword against Rudolph’s throat, daring him to get up. 

“That’s it! San wins.” Angela called. 

Malkuth let out a very loud cheer. “Woohoo~ Let’s gooooo!” 

San let out a breath of relief, chuckling as if a bit beside himself. He quickly sheathed his blade, offering a hand to his opponent. 

Rudolph wore a sour expression but accepted the assistance. 

“Well, not the best showing we could have given.” Nikolai sighed. “But I hope we meet your standards well enough.” 

“I can’t truly say we have much in the way of standards.” Angela replied with a shrug. “It’s not as if we base our value on strength alone. It is key that those who would assist in protecting this place be able to alongside the rest, but we have plenty of means to bring anyone who may be behind up to speed.” 

Myo’s nose twitched, a heated breath leaving it. 

“Nice.” Maxim grinned. “I don’t mind training; it’s good to work these muscles now and then.” 

“It won’t be like what you experienced at R Corp either.” She assured with a nod, seeming pleased with herself. 

San retook his seat; Rudolph doing similarly with a scowl. 

“Good work, San, Lulu.” Angela praised. “You have come a long way. Myo, Rudolph, it was a good fight, and both of you are coming off of years in the desert.” 

“You lost to a pipsqueak.” Myo grumbled, slumped in her seat. 

“So did you.” Rudolph grumbled back. 

Angela shared a look with Nikolai. 

Normal things, huh? 

“Well, with that out of the way, I suppose we ought to get you to your proper rooms. I doubt you wish to remain in the infirmary.” Angela smoothly moved them along. 

“Yes, have you made your decision?” Nikolai asked, seemingly already knowing that she did. 

“Yes, indeed.” Angela nodded. 

This got everyone’s attention, turning to her. 

Well, Rudolph didn’t. He didn’t seem to care, just sour about the fight he probably should have won. 

Myo, for her part, looked in terrible anticipation. She knew where she thought she belonged, but she was already beginning to doubt if she truly belonged there. 

“You will be working alongside Yesod and the Cane on the Floor of Technological Sciences. I believe your skills will suit the floor well.” 

Myo looked devastated. For all her posturing and whining, she couldn’t find words for being put on a floor she clearly saw as lesser. 

Angela relayed evenly. “I trust Yesod will fill you in and bring you to your rooms. You could use some rest, so I will dismiss the gathering.” 

“Oh~ More Wing secrets for me?” Nemo piped up, LEDs bright and happy. 

“No.” Yesod replied with a snap, rising to his feet. “Angela, snap us there for the moment. I can orient them later; I believe rest to be more pertinent at the moment.” 

Angela met his eyes and nodded in agreement. “Yes, very well. I will trust your assessment.” Her head turned back to R Corp, not minding Myo’s clear horror. “Welcome to my Library, I hope you will come to embrace our goals as all the rest of us have, but we will accept you under our roof regardless.” 

Nikolai stood and bowed. “Thank you for your hospitality.” 

“Yeah, thanks, lady!” Maxim offered a salute. 

Rudolph just grumbled, Myo offering no reaction. 

Angela snapped, and the floor of now eight was shuttled off to Technological Sciences.

“That was eventful.” Roland noted with a low whistle. 

“That’s one way to put it.” Carmen murmured, eyes moving over to Gebura.

Gebura’s eyes narrowed on the spot Myo had just been. Your floor placement means nothing, you idiot. Don’t take it that hard. 

… damned brat. 

Chapter Text

Yujin hummed lowly to herself, idly twirling a pen between her fingers as she poured over a stack of documents.

As the Branch Manager of the Southern Shi and a Color, her time was highly coveted. At the very least, she had a very hefty paycheck even if she hardly had a moment to herself most times. Her schedule was always packed, managing the Branch or heading out on jobs to keep her skills sharp.

Not that she particularly cared about that aspect of it.

Well, she could wrench her time back however she pleased, really, but she had a hard time saying ‘no’, and she also really struggled with not making more work for herself to tackle with things she wanted to see happen with her Branch or elsewise. 

Truly, a conundrum.

One Xiao or someone else often had to wrench her from.

Living in the Library made it easier for Gebura to snatch her from it, too. Constantly trying to beat it into her to not run herself into the ground…

Joke’s on her, Yujin would run herself into the ground and start digging if she was allowed to.

It made being Valentin and Tenma quite the stressful thing.

Mei had pulled her away once or twice as well.

She shook her head. What a bunch of endearing lugs. She probably wouldn’t be here without them.

With a few quick strokes of her pen, Yujin finished off the current paper and moved it to the side. Next one, then…

Hm… a contract with another Office to the Shi…

Ah. 

Hm. 

Yujin frowned, stilling, and stared down at the page. 

Full Stop Office. 

She hadn’t had too much contact with them since the initial incident with the Library, but… they’re still kicking. That was easing to see, but… hm… 

She’d inadvertently dealt them a really poor hand. She hadn’t thought the Blue Reverberation himself would show up and force them to the Library… 

Something in her felt compelled to reach out. 

It hadn’t been too long since the Library had taken the cast out clones of R Corp in. Surely, they’d be amicable to another group they’d defeated back in that time. With the Dawn Office also affiliated with the Library now, Finn, R Corp, Moses and crew, the connections with the Hana, and the Bloodfiends… 

Yes.

Yujin swiftly opened the drawer of her desk and grabbed the invite back home. She would need to discuss this with Angela and notify Mirinae, but she was scheduling a meeting with Liwei. 

She was going to do right by this small crew. 

R Corp was still settling in, so this was a bit short notice on top of that, but they were in Yesod’s hands. Gebura could handle this. 

Well, if the three would still want to work alongside the Shi after that. 

***

To say that Liwei was a wreck of nerves was an understatement – was this how Stephan felt all the time? – he’d been called for a meeting by Yujin of all people. The Black Boundary , the Shi Branch Manager . The last time he’d had significant contact with her had been that contract to take down the Church of Gears leader with only a smattering of small jobs from there – getting other contracts from other Shi sections. 

He had no idea what she could possibly want with him all this time later. 

Of course, he had to agree to the meeting. You do not say no to a Color. 

But what could this possibly be about? Surely, it wasn’t just another job. He had noticed just how much more effective the Shi from Section 2 had become following the Library, and the speed at which they moved to take the Branch Manager position, rising in the ranks, was unprecedented. 

Just keep professional, Liwei, Yujin has never shown herself dishonorable. There was a reason for this, she was one of the few people in the City which could be called a good person. 

You’ll be fine. 

Ignore Stephan’s whining behind you. 

Liwei stood before the Shi Branch Manager’s Office, staring it down with trepidation. Beside the door was Valentin and Tenma, patiently waiting for him to approach. 

He took a breath, motioning his subordinates back. “Stay out here, take a seat. I’ll be back.” 

“Yes, sir.” Tamaki agreed easily, bowing her head briefly before doing just that. 

“She’s going to skin us alive for failing that job…” Stephan hissed under his breath. 

“That was years ago.” Valentin deadpanned at him, breaking decorum. 

Stephan’s jaw hung open, finger going up as if to refute, but couldn’t come up with anything. 

“Stand down, Stephan, that’s an order.” Liwei took another breath and stepped forward. 

Full Stop Office had stuck together after the Library because they’d not had much of another option. Their affiliation with the Shi is what kept them going, able to get jobs to make a living, but there weren’t many other places which would take those who fell to that place. 

The Shi had kept the contract with them, though. Maybe because of Yujin. Liwei didn’t have much contact with her nowadays, but she did see that he still got jobs. 

Yujin was trustworthy. This would be fine. 

Liwei opened the door and stepped inside. 

He could feel the gazes of the two Grade 1s on his back as the door closed, but he didn’t pay it any mind. He had bigger things to tackle. 

Yujin sat at her desk before him, as imposing and overwhelming as the last time he’d spoken with her. The scars she’d accumulated over the years painted her a weathered veteran, wise in the ways of the world and powerful beyond his comprehension. She was tending to some paperwork at the moment, not paying mind to his entrance. 

A bit… overly focused on it. 

Liwei was sure that if he posed a threat to her, she would have been on him in a second. 

Awkwardly, he approached the desk and lightly cleared his throat. “Ma’am? You requested me?” 

Who was he to be called before someone so much higher than him? This wasn’t like the run-in with the Blue Reverberation and his trickery. 

… 

“Ma’am?” 

… 

She’s too engrossed in her work. 

Liwei sighed, letting his shoulders slump a bit. Does he try to get her attention? 

There was a loud banging on the door. “OI, YUJIN! STOP WORKING!” 

Liwei… does not recognize that voice. It was feminine and higher pitched, but it was lost to him. 

Yujin coughed, head snapping up from her current page to see Liwei. 

Her eyes widened nigh imperceptibly. 

She cleared her throat. “Yes, thank you, Mei.” 

There was a snicker behind the door. 

Yujin straightened in her chair and motioned to the seat across her desk. “Welcome, Liwei, I apologize for the confusion. Please, take a seat.” 

He offered a respectful bow. “Thank you, ma’am.” He took the offered seat, sitting rigid. 

With a sigh, she moved her paperwork to the side and leaned forward; planting her elbows on the desk and folding her hands together in front of her. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve called you here.” 

Liwei swallowed and gave a firm nod. “I am, yes. Have we done something? Or is there a job you need us to take?” 

She exhaled slowly. “Nothing quite so simple.” 

He blinked in confusion. No? “Then… might I ask what it is, ma’am?” 

Her eyes closed, contemplative as she rested her chin upon her hands. “I must express my apologies for doing this so much later than I should have, I’m afraid I got quite caught up in my own endeavors.” 

Later? She intended to bring this up a long time ago. 

“I’m sure you recall the Library.” Her eyes reopened, piercing through him. 

The-- 

“I do.” He could only nod, now even more confused.  

What could the Library have to do with this? He knows they both fell there, but… 

“Of course.” She nodded. “Then, I’m sure you’ve also heard the rumors surrounding it – regarding those fallen joining it.” 

“I have heard those rumors.” He confirmed, brow furrowing. “Frankly, they’re quite loud these days. I retain a healthy skepticism of it, but I am also finding myself having a hard time completely refuting them.” 

She merely hummed, staring at him meaningfully. 

He blinked at her. What was she… 

It took him a second to register what it was she was implying. 

Liwei’s eyes went wide. “You don’t mean to say that the rumors are true, do you? That you were among them?” 

There’s no way, right? The honorable Shi? 

“The very first recruited into their ranks, in fact.” 

With that simple statement, Liwei found himself utterly flabbergasted. 

“I once again apologize for bringing this up so late, I should have informed you a long time ago.” A low sigh left her, and she sat back in her chair. “I simply ask you hear what I have to say now.” 

“I-- you--” In a rare instance, Liwei was at a complete loss for words. 

Yujin remained quiet, allowing him time to process. 

The Shi… were with the Library… what… was he supposed to do with this information? And what was she insinuating here? 

His mind was racing, endless possibilities assaulting him from every corner. The implications of the Library having such a powerful Color and Shi Branch Manager were immense. 

“What… do you want from me?” He asked, voice smaller than he’d like. 

“Simply to listen.” Yujin requested succinctly. “We have much to discuss, Liwei. All I can ask is you hear me out.” 

He swallowed. This was something he absolutely needed to hear now. “What are your intentions with this conversation? Why tell me this?” 

This was information that was highly coveted, a very well-guarded secret for years now. So, why was she just telling him? 

“I feel I must right my wrongs from the past, Liwei.” She replied, a sad smile displayed across her lips. “Please, sit back and relax, this may take some time.” 

He tried to do so, he really did. “Yes, ma’am.” 

But Liwei was horrifically unprepared for what Yujin said next. 

“Thank you.” Her smile lifted a bit. “Now, to get into the meat of the matter: I called you here today to offer to you the deal Angela offered so many of us years ago.” 

***

“We’re back in the Library.” Stephan muttered, terrified, under his breath. “Why are we back at the Library ?” 

The man was trembling where he stood, fear rooted deep down inside of him. 

“You agreed to this.” Tamaki deadpanned. 

“Why did I agree to this?!” 

Tamaki let out a long, suffering sigh. 

Angela found herself as amused as she was annoyed. Stephan had been a bit of a refreshing Guest back when, accepting of his fate and knowing exactly where it was going instead of being confident in his victory, posturing over her, or holding such conviction regardless of outcome that it had made Angela feel small. 

But his completely defeatist attitude and swiftness to give up was not going to fly anymore. 

“Greetings.” Angela made her presence known to the three, giving Yujin, Valentin, and Tenma a nod. “Welcome back to my Library.” 

Stephan shrieked, skittering backwards with a tight grip on his rifle. 

Liwei offered a bow, though seemed a bit out of his depth. “Thank you, I hope we are not intruding.” 

“Nonsense, the invite was addressed specially to you.” She replied. 

Yujin coming to ask her about the Full Stop Office had been a bit unexpected at the time, but it did make plenty of sense. An affiliate Office down on their luck? Having fallen to the Library and the Library being responsible for that? Of course, Angela had to agree. 

“I thank you for this opportunity.” Liwei righted himself. “We’ve fallen on some hard times, so we can take anything we can get. Of course, I must express some misgivings.” 

“A lot of them!” Stephan chimed in quietly. 

“I can’t say I disagree.” Tamaki nodded, eyes flicking about warily. 

“I understand.” Angela acquiesced. “If you would follow me, I will explain, and we may introduce you to the rest. We will find a place for you here, where you will answer to one of my Patrons and find residence in the halls of that floor.” 

The most likely place she was putting them was Language. Put them with the Shi who requested their presence. 

Of course, it was possible they did not agree to join the Library or did agree but decide to remain living in the City, but she thought she already knew where this was going. 

Gesturing her head, she motioned them to follow and started off. 

Stephan was grumbling behind her, but the rest of the group had no qualms doing so. 

Angela led the group forward, aiming to take them to her office. Sure, she could snap them there easily and had snapped them up to General Works, but she wanted to give them some time to try to relax and gain something of a handle on the place first – not startle them with her (not) bad habit of yoinking people wherever she pleases. 

Red flitted about in the corner of her eye not far from her office. 

“Oh, hey Angie~” Nicolina greeted with a grin and a wave. “Fresh blood?” 

Stephan yelped. 

Angela rolled her eyes. “For the last time, Nicolina, stop calling me that.” She took a second. “And consider rephrasing that one with this crew, this one is skittish.” Angela threw a thumb and a deadpan at Stephan. 

Nicolina tilted her head at him. 

Liwei and Tamaki both seemed a bit wary, but-- 

“I-i-i-i-is that a B-B-B-Bloodfiend?!” Stephan shrieked. 

Nicolina smiled predatorily. “Oh, this one’s gonna be fun.” 

“Probably, but please hold off for a while.” Angela kept her deadpan. “Give him at least some time to settle in.” 

She was going to need someone to beat the skittishness out of him or Nicolina would be tormenting the guy forever. 

Nicolina shrugged. “I make no promises.” 

“I’m going to find Curiambro.” She stated dully. 

“Are you threatening me with my brother?” 

“Yes.” 

“Poor Curi, burdened with solving everyone’s problems.” 

“You say that when you’re the problem.” 

“Eh.” 

Angela sighed, though couldn’t help but feel humored. Bantering with Nicolina was fun. 

Oh, that reminds her. 

“Nicolina, do you know where Mother is?” Angela asked concernedly, brow furrowed. Sometimes, she didn’t feel like looking herself. She hadn’t seen the woman in a while, but it would be good to have her here to help explain things to these three – it was her dream they were reaching for. 

Nicolina took on what you would call the expression of an amused gremlin. “Currently being scolded by my mother for working herself too hard.” 

Angela pinched the bridge of her nose. Of course, she was… 

When Dulcinea got up in arms about something was when you knew you’d either messed up or gone too far on something, and Carmen was very good at the latter. 

… which meant this was a nigh weekly occurrence. Angela was fairly certain Carmen did it partly because that was just how she was and legitimately got wrapped up in her work, but also because she liked seeing Dulcinea express concern for someone. 

So, she drove the Bloodfiend up a wall on purpose. 

Angela was also fairly certain Dulcinea was aware of this and found it even more irritating. 

Yet she kept scolding her. 

Roland definitely found it hilarious. 

As did Don Quixote. 

Angela shook her head in amusement. “Well, I suppose I can catch these three up without her, then, seems she’s tied up.” 

Nicolina laughed, smiling brightly enough her fangs were on full display. “Very much so.” 

Stephan looked horrendously intimidated, literally shaking in his boots. 

“I hope this isn’t out of line, but why are there Bloodfiends here?” Tamaki asked with a hint of concern in her voice. 

“It’s a long story.” Angela replied truthfully. “They are as much a part of my Library as anyone else; we will not tolerate any prejudice against them. They won’t pose a problem to you, will they?” 

Stephan nodded vigorously, sheet white. 

Liwei let out a pent-up breath. “I will withhold my judgement for now; we haven’t many options.” 

They weren’t fans, understandably, but Angela had meant what she said. 

“I hope my big, scary fangs aren’t too frightening~” Nicolina grinned, cheshire, and wiggled her sharp nails at Stephan. 

He shrieked, skirting behind Tamaki as if the short woman could do anything. “She’s going to eat us!” 

Tamaki looked a bit bewildered. “I wouldn’t say that right in front of her.” 

Nicolina laughed, putting her hands to her hips. “I’ve got a couple things I was looking to sort out, so I’m off.” She settled down a bit and gave another wave with her fingers before turning to leave. “Have fun~” 

“Dinner tonight, remember?” Angela called after her. 

“Oh, Hell yeah!” She put her hands up in victory and went off with a skip in her step. “I’ll catch Curi and make sure he knows.” 

“Thank you.” Angela shook her head, smiling in amusement. She’d find Yan later to make sure he knew; Roland and Carmen would ensure Dulcinea was there. 

She glanced back at Yujin, but the Branch Manager looked about as amused as Angela felt. That being very . 

Returning her attention to the Full Stop Office, she simulated her own breath. “Do not mind Nicolina too much, she’s excitable, but she’s as reliable as they come. Truly, she’s only teasing.” 

Liwei furrowed a brow. “I don’t have much experience with Bloodfiends, so I’ll take your word for it.” 

Stephan looked like he was going to pass out. 

Angela shrugged. It wasn’t Nicolina’s problem if anyone had issue with her being here, she didn’t care what anyone thought. That said, she would take advantage and tease the Hell out of you. 

That said, maybe not the best entrance to their return to the Library. Sure, they would need to be made aware of the Bloodfiends as many had issue with them and Angela did not wish to blindside anyone, but Nicolina was… Nicolina . Curiambro was the Bloodfiend of choice for initial greeting. 

That did leave the matter of the Proxies also being here, but… that sounded like a later problem. 

***

Yujin watched with an appraising eye as the Full Stop Office met the rest of the Library. She wasn’t surprised they had agreed to Angela’s deal – after a hefty amount of making sure it wasn’t too good to be true and that the ‘contract’ was sound (there was no real contract, just word of mouth and trust) - and taken up residence in the Library. Naturally, they were still a bit skeptical of the deal, but they’d settle in and find their place, learn to trust everyone else as they all had done. 

She was pleased with how things had gone, even with Nicolina rocking the boat a bit at first. 

Now, it was just a matter of watching them be completely beside themselves at everyone else who was here. 

The three looked intimidated. 

Very, very intimidated. 

They hadn’t expected this volume of people or there to be even more Colors, much less the Red Mist . 

Angela was like to place them with Gebura, and Yujin herself had suggested as much. The three would do well with someone firm to guide them, but there was also the matter of having people on the backline better able to watch their backs that would simply help round out the floor. Gebura was a front fighter, the Shi were ones to take to the shadows and rely on agility to avoid taking too much attention. 

Which left Gebura with all the heat. Gebura was fine with this, of course, but having support behind her would go a long way. Keep the attention on Gebura, the Shi would do their thing, and Full Stop applied cover fire to allow it all to happen. 

There’d be some things to iron out and tweak, and skills to round out for the Full Stop crew, but Yujin did want to personally keep an eye on them. 

… Okay, it was just putting more assassins onto a floor of assassins that wasn’t built for assassins. But you know what it was built for? Gebura. And that’s what made it perfect: pour everything into Gebura, and the assassins could do their thing without much interruption. 

Eventually, everyone had made their greetings with the Full Stop Office, and the three retreated to Yujin’s side. 

“How are you feeling?” Yujin asked genuinely, regarding the three. 

“Overwhelmed, ma’am.” Liwei sighed, answering truthfully with the other two nodding in agreement. 

She chuckled, smiling ruefully. “It’s a lot, I know, but you’ll settle in.” 

“It doesn’t feel like it’s possible at the moment.” Stephan murmured. He did seem to have settled from Nicolina freaking him out (the presence of such powerful Fixers around him making him feel a lot safer), but he had noticeably avoided going near the Bloodfiends when meeting everyone. 

At the very least, Liwei and Tamaki had gone to greet them knowing it would be in their best interest to be on friendlier terms. Both had seemed a lot more at ease after meeting the three properly (especially with Nicolina not teasing them as much and Curiambro’s calmer attitude and more amicable disposition to juxtapose his sister). 

“Give it time.” Angela stepped over. “Now, there is the matter of which floor may suit you best.” 

“Bullets are expensive.” Nemo stated sternly as if that would mean anything; LEDs blue and flat. 

Everyone gave him a dead stare. 

“You would literally be the best one to supply them.” Valentin pointed out. 

“Precisely.” 

Yesod’s eyes rolled, arms crossing. “We just took in R Corp; we do not have the bandwidth for another group.” 

Nemo all of a sudden looked much more pleased. “Excellent.” 

That man… 

“I was not considering Technological Sciences anyway.” Angela informed him with some exasperation clear in her form. “Neither am I considering a few other floors.” 

If Yujin had to guess: General Works, Natural Sciences, Literature. Perhaps neither Social Sciences nor Philosophy as well. 

“Seeing as they are affiliates of the Shi first and foremost, I believe Language would be where you would best take root.” The A.I completed, turning her head to Gebura. 

Gebura’s brow raised up high, eyes flicking to Yujin. 

Yujin sighed, nodding. She’d discussed this with her Patron, of course, but… 

“I get what you’re saying,” Gebura grunted, “but that attitude of his is going to get him killed.” She motioned towards Stephan. 

Stephan blanched. 

“You would be the best one to work that out of him.” Angela replied. 

He turned even more pale.

Liwei stood straight at attention, jaw a bit ajar.

He had not been expecting this placement even if the Shi were there.

“We would be honored to work under the Red Mist herself.” The Full Stop Operator bowed.

Gebura let out a heavy sigh, expression screaming ‘you’re not serious, are you?’

Yujin didn’t blame Gebura for not wanting to deal with Stephan’s cowardice, it was a migraine for her as well. Probably even more so for Liwei.

“We will do our best to not cause you trouble.” Tamaki joined the bow.

All attention was on Stephan at this point, really.

“Really?” Myo’s scoff was quiet but biting all the same. She was still simmering from her loss against Lulu and being placed on a floor she considered belittling to the stature she craved.

Myo would learn to see the merit of her placement eventually, the strength of Technological Sciences, but her view of strength and self yet fogged her vision. It was a tactical placement and meant nothing for the girl’s merit.

Gebura stared the two down, scrutinizing. Sizing them up, determining just what effort she might have to put into this. Of course, she knew Yujin, Valentin, and Tenma would assist.

Angela’s head tilted, and Yujin could see the human-machine reloading with the new ammunition having just been given to her. “Tell you what, you either deal with Stephan’s griping and the need for whipping Full Stop into shape, or I shuttle R Corp to your floor and put them somewhere else. Your choice.”

Myo shot straight upright.

Nikolai sighed, shaking her head as she clearly knew exactly where this was going.

Gebura gave Angela a disbelieving glare, jaw agape.

Angela remained steady.

That was quite the interesting threat, Angela. Yujin was not sure how wise it was.

Gebura’s jaw rammed shut loud enough you could hear it. A low grumble left her and a huff. “Fine, I’ll take the blasted guns. I can work with this.” Her head motioned to the three.

That meant she did not mind what she saw in them; it was just Stephan’s attitude that held her up.

Myo looked like she’d been shot. That a coward was seen as more worthy of being the apprentice to the strongest Fixer ever seen than herself…

Yujin did feel a bit bad for the girl, but she had asked for it.

“Very well.” Angela hummed, looking a bit pleased. “Then I will leave them in your care.”

“Yeah, yeah, twist my arm.” She huffed a grumble. “Come on, let’s get, then.”

The Red Mist turned to head down to her floor.

“The Red Mist herself.” Liwei breathed. “Never in a thousand years…”

“This is an opportunity we can’t pass up.” Tamaki agreed with a nod.

“We’re going to die, aren’t we?” Stephan asked the real question, already knowing where this was going and slumping.

“Yep/Definitely.” Valentin and Tenma replied as one.

“Joy…”

The newly expanded Floor of Language began to follow their Patron to their floor; they needed hash things out before letting the new members rest.

But, as they went, Yujin glanced behind her to the rest of the gathering slowly beginning to break up.

Everything that had happened since her return from being booked in the Library had been shattering for Myo, slowly picking her apart and tearing her down until she hit rock bottom. Now that she was there, it became the question of if she would grab a shovel and start digging or look inside herself to find the means to climb out. She’d been knocked down a lot since she’d gotten here, but this truly was the best place for her to be. 

The woman stared, shell-shocked, out at nothing as everyone else departed around her.

Yujin frowned. It was not her responsibility to tend to the Rabbit, nor did she have the time to do so, but she did feel for her. The other three members of her team could only do so much for her, keeping her together for the while, but she’d need others to come in and help her rebuild herself.

Perhaps Yujin ought to nudge a few key factors.

For now, though, she should focus on Full Stop. Gebura was likely to strangle Stephan.

That question became how to get the boy some confidence. He really needed it.

At least, the other two were eager to work.

Chapter Text

“Hm, hm, hm, hmmmmmm~” An irritating voice drew close, an annoying presence bearing over her as she tried to simply relax on the floor she’d been assigned residence to.

After so long in the desert, even Nikolai needed to completely let go for a moment.

“I was warned about you.” Nikolai stated, remaining seated and not glancing at the man who sauntered up to her. “And I’m afraid to tell you that I will not be spilling Wing secrets this day.”

It had not been long since they’d been brought down here to settle in and get used to the place, and he was already trying to squeeze information out of her? Did he wish to start another war?

War was quite profitable, that was true.

She’d been informed of the chaos W Corp had been in for some time. It’s not that she held a care for any sanctity of the Wings, but it was not her prerogative to possibly get innocent lives killed where they could be left out of it. 

Nemo kept up his best business smile (it was really hard to tell the difference between his smiles considering they were all the same with the LEDs, but somehow there was a difference). “But imagine the lucrative business it might drum up, hm? Are you sure you do not want revenge on your old masters? The holders of your leash? The ones who put your poor subordinates in such terrible shape to the demands of their equipment?” 

She sighed, flipping the page of the book in her lap. “I see no reason to. It was done simply by the laws of the City, and we all agreed to the procedures.”

Though she’d lost most of her pack, may they rest in peace, it was simply the way of the Corporations. She may as well declare revenge on the entire city.

He clicked his tongue(?) disapprovingly. “Why, what shortsightedness.”

“If anyone is shortsighted, it is you.” She replied, still keeping her gaze on her book. “To reduce everything to ventures of monetary gain removes what meaning they might have otherwise.” 

Nemo shook his head. “Money is what makes the world go round, Nikolai. We are allies here on this Floor of Technological Sciences, are we not? Help a pal out.”

“No.” She slammed her book shut and glared at him heatedly. “You will not extort me or my pack for the information we retain, nor will you attempt to guilt me into helping you worsen the City for what it already is.” She stood to her full height, keeping her stern glare on him. “You may have been here longer, but I do not recognize your authority over me. I expect respect among my allies, or I will not grant it in return.”

Nemo’s LEDs had all somehow become dots despite that clearly not being how his screen was built. 

“For that matter, I find you rather disingenuous. Money may be your aim, a fleeting thing, but this antagonization cannot be true to your cowardly nature.” With that, she moved to stride out of the room. “Do not ask me to spill secrets to sell again. I will duel you – and win – if I must.” 

As she left, she caught Yesod standing nearby. He looked grateful, certainly, but also quite impressed. 

He gave her a nod of approval. 

She returned it and went on; Nemo still frozen behind her. 

Well, it would seem she’d just solidified her position here quite well. The appreciation of her Patron was certainly something she liked to have, and she intended to keep it. Being his right-hand was in the cards, and she’d like to stand there. 

She was slowly growing a hold on Yesod’s person, she could say she did not mind working under him. 

And putting Nemo where he belongs is certainly a bonus. 

***

Myo grumbled to herself as she dragged herself up the stairs of the Library. 

If there was anything she needed, it was a blasted drink. 

Oh, they won’t give her the drugs to reach her full ability with her equipment, but boy do they have plenty of alcohol! Make it make sense! 

Deep down, it did make sense, she was just finding reasons to complain. 

There was alcohol on the Floor of Art. She’d heard that plenty. She didn’t need those froufrou coffee or tea drinks Maxim loved so much (stuff for losers), she needed the hard stuff. The good stuff. She somewhat remembered the drunkard from the facility; he’d definitely have some good stuff. 

A wooden floor that seemed way too peaceful for this damn place passed her by. Ugh. 

… 

Gebura really chose a coward over her. 

She chose. A coward . Over her.  

It’s those who survive who are strong and all that! But what had that guy survived? And was it just by hiding in the corner? Was that really strength? 

… 

She just… didn’t get it. 

Why? 

Myo forced herself upwards, scowling. Anger rippling through every molecule in her body. 

What had that meant back then, huh? Myo was strong, wasn’t she? She’d proved herself time and again in R Corp. 

… she’d failed to become a hero, but Gebura had faltered, too. 

And something in the back of her mind whispered terribly in her ear. That she’d lost against the weakest combatant in the Library. She’d lost against a nobody. A name she’d never heard before. It was worse than losing against Olga back when R Corp first came here. 

Now that she knew it really had been Olga herself. 

How had a Grade 5 idiot drunkard taken down a prideful R Corp Captain? 

It didn’t… make sense. 

She wasn’t supposed to be strong, either. 

Green filled her vision, a messy floor with books strewn everywhere and little green creatures hanging around everything. 

This is Art? Guess this kind of mess makes sense for an artist. 

Myo stepped in. Just find the booze and get out. 

“Oh, hey, look what the cat dragged in.” An annoying voice she did not want to deal with at the moment immediately noticed her upon her entrance. “Quite violently, by the looks of it.” 

“Fuck off, Olga.” Myo growled at her, glaring heatedly. 

“Sheesh.” The woman scoffed, clearly already inebriated. “Tough crowd, huh?” 

She scowled. “I’m just here for booze, then I’ll be gone. So, butt out.” 

“Always so fast to violence, ain’tcha?” Olga huffed, putting her hands to her hips. “You know, I still have some problems with ya from that Warp Train thing, but it’s mostly water under the bridge now, yeah? I got my energy out, but you’re gonna want to watch your mouth a bit more ‘round here – the kids don’t need to be hearin’ that kinda language.” 

Myo’s eyes rolled so hard she wished they went right out of her head. “Don’t lecture me, drunkard, the kids gotta learn some day anyway.” 

Why did she care about a bunch of kids? And why are there kids here? She still questioned that. 

“And the Warp Train was your own damn fault.” She shoved past the woman, spotting a bar to the side and surging towards it. “Who thinks jumping into the Library of all places from a Warp Train is a good idea? Are you stupid?” 

Olga’s expression turned darker. “Hey, I said I was willing to let that go now, don’t drag it back.” 

Myo stormed towards the bar. This is not what she wanted to deal with. “You wouldn’t even be here without that, would you, huh? I already knew the machine was off her rocker, so this just makes sense.” 

“Yeah. I quite like it here.” Olga growled, following after her. “Don’t insult Angela like that, she’s been through enough. And it’s not like I knew what was up with the Warp Train; for all any of us knew, it was a malfunction.” 

“Yeah, a malfunction from a Wing. Please.” Myo made it to the bar and found the way behind it. “But why should I care for a machine’s feelings?” 

Olga’s expression darkened even further, and she grabbed Myo’s shoulder; yanking her up from rummaging through the bottles. “Take that back right. Now.” 

Her eyes flashed red. “No.” 

Angela had been the one to pit her against that nobody, the one who gave Gebura the ultimatum with that coward. Damned machine was taunting her. 

“You’re going to get yourself into big trouble acting like this, Myo.” The drunk woman somehow seemed completely sober in that moment. “So, what if you’ve had it rough? So have all of the rest of us. Join the club, you bitch. Angela’s doing everything she can for us here, so show some damn respect.” 

Myo wrenched her shoulder out of the woman’s grip and… paused a second. 

Her grip was a lot stronger than she felt it should be. That should not have been so difficult to break out of. 

What was… why is she so weak? 

No, no she’s not weak. She’s not. 

She… she can’t be weak. These people were just making fun of her. Making her think she was weak and in the wrong. 

“Just let me get what I came here for and leave.” Myo shoved her back, internally cringing at how difficult it was. How. What was her damage?

“I’m just trying to help you, Myo.” Olga let out a harsh breath but held herself back from grabbing her again.

“I don’t need any help!” She shouted back, deciding to just swipe the first bottle she saw and leave. “I can do this on my own, and your help is worthless anyway!”

She shoved past the woman again.

“There are a lot of people here really protective of Angela and the kids.” Olga warned her as she stormed out. “Being this angry all the time is only going to grind you further into the ground.” 

Myo threw a very specific finger at the woman, making her way to the stairs. “Refer to my first statement!”

And she left, hearing Olga huff heatedly behind her. 

Don’t be angry all the time? How about she was protecting herself amongst a bunch of lunatics, huh? Who cares if she makes people angry? They’re not worth her time.

Stupid drunkard. What’s she care, anyway? Myo was fine as she is, she just needs to be stronger. 

That’s all. 

***

“I must say, I am a bit surprised.” Yesod noted, quirking a brow at Maxim. “You do not strike me as someone who would care for tea.” 

Maxim chuckled abashedly, rubbing the back of his head. “What can I say? I can’t just pass up a good cup.” He took a sip of his tea, looking incredibly pleasant. “And this one is pretty amazing.” 

Binah gave her own chuckle, gently correcting Enoch’s hold on his cup before he spilled it. “You flatter me.” 

“It’s well deserved!” He grinned. “Little guy loves it, too.” 

“Yeah!” Enoch smiled widely. 

Maxim looked quite chuffed. 

Guy was good with kids, it seemed. 

The purple-haired man put a hand to his chin. “I see, I will keep that in mind.” He relaxed back in his seat with his own cup. “It was my understanding, however, that the Rhinos required coffee to upkeep their augments.” 

The large man hummed, nodding. “Yeah. We can easily go hypoglycemic if we don’t take enough caffeine when using our suits, but it’s the suits that strain our augments. I drink coffee all the time to keep up with it, but I prefer a nice cup of tea when I don’t need so much caffeine. It’s refreshing.” 

“You do have quite the wide selection of beverages here.” Nikolai stated, taking her own sip of coffee. “Well, between variants of coffee and tea.” 

“And beer.” Rudolph sighed. They’d dealt with many a drunk Myo since they’d arrived here… 

“Lots of beer.” Maxim mused, looking a slight bit more worried. 

“We take pride in our work~” Chesed smiled pleasantly. “Even Netzach, in some form of way.” 

“I can tell.” Nikolai smiled kindly, moving past the topic of beer. 

Myo was in a state these days… 

Nikolai did mean those words. She’d not seen creations with such care put into them before. 

“Yeah, all the little guys’ are dressed up pretty cutely.” Maxim noted, looking around the room to where all the kids were either playing with their parents or snoozing out. 

“Miss Nico made them!” Enoch stated happily, smiling brightly. He himself was dressed similarly to his father with extra flares of his mother thrown in. 

Binah found the outfit hilarious – as had Nicolina when she’d brought the idea up. Each kid had a similar outfit by now, too – a mix of what their parents wore. 

“Nico?” Rudolph furrowed a brow in confusion. 

“Nicolina.” Chesed finished with a chuckle. “Give her the smallest notion you want something new with your look or if she gets an idea in her head, there is no stopping her.” 

She was a freight train when it came to her outfits. Each kid had at least ten by now. And many had woken up to just… find a new outfit on the doorstep. Waiting. 

His brow furrowed further. “The Bloodfiend?” 

“The same~” 

“She is very thorough in her work.” Yesod nodded. 

He shook his head. “It’s simply not something I would expect of a Bloodfiend.” 

R Corp had been very on edge when the topic of the Bloodfiends had come up. The prejudice ran deep through the City, but no one could really blame them. 

“She’s passionate.” Chesed shrugged. “Curiambro enjoys telling them stories or conducting their play, and they’re all pretty taken with Dulcinea despite her protests.” 

That one was pretty funny. 

“Miss Dulci is pretty.” Enoch said. Something all the kids attested to. 

Chesed chuckled, rubbing his head. “So is your mama~” 

“Yeah.” 

Binah looked idly amused as she tucked a piece of his hair behind his ear. “I do not believe this is a competition.” 

“I can’t deny that one.” Maxim shrugged. “Strange to say it, but she is probably the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.” 

“Many would agree with you.” Yesod’s response was measured. “But do not let her catch you saying that, she’s heard it often enough it means nothing anymore.” 

Maxim saluted stiffly. “I wasn’t planning on bothering her, don’t worry. Just an observation.” 

“Their presence is something we simply must grow accustomed to.” Nikolai stated with a low hum. “We are in no position to protest. So long as we can find our own place.” 

“I’d say you’re settling in well!” Malkuth chirped, running by briefly in pursuit of her own kid. “Hi, by the way. Bye!” 

And she was gone; Gabriel continuing to run with a happy giggle. Very happy to be playing chase with his mother. 

Yesod shook his head, but the smile on his face was unmistakable. 

“Man, they’re cute.” Maxim smiled broadly. “Didn’t think the Library of all places would be such a spot of joy.” 

The other two made sounds of agreement. 

“Oh, Ai!” Enoch scooted himself off of his chair and started off, having spotted his friend across the way. 

Chesed chuckled, watching him take off. “Well, Xiao won’t mind~” 

True to form, the Orange Color sent the table an amused glance when the boy made it over. 

Maxim just laughed. 

Binah hummed, picking up the cup her son had abandoned and drinking the rest of it. 

“We are quite different than the terror we wrought across the City those years ago would suggest.” Yesod replied to Maxim. “It did take a lot of effort for us to get here, however. It was not easy.” 

“I would imagine not.” Nikolai agreed. “We’ve missed a lot in the time we spent lost in the Outskirts, so there is much to catch up on.” 

They’d begun catching up on things, but it was difficult with Myo on some kind of warpath. The Rabbit was often either drunk or working herself into the ground trying to grow stronger. They weren’t sure what to do with her, all they could really accomplish was pulling her out of it now and then. 

“It--” Whatever Rudolph had been going to say was cut off by a grimace, his hand rising to his head to grip his temple. He remained composed, but it was clear his headache was starting to ramp up. 

Angela could only do so much for something which would not cease digging into his brain. She could use the Light to stave it off, but it would continue to try. He was still stuck with a perpetual headache even if it was lessened. 

Yesod frowned. “There must be a way we can fix that issue of the Reindeer.” 

“It’s a highly advanced tech that even R Corp couldn’t fix, are you sure you can fix it?” Maxim asked concernedly. It’s not that he didn’t want it to be possible, he just didn’t think it was. 

“I’d be willing to bet that R Corp just doesn’t care to fix it.” Chesed mused, taking a swig of coffee. “Or they feel the advancement of the antlers is somehow conducive to their Reindeer, a continual power increase or something along the lines.” 

Maxim frowned. 

“It is something I have always lived with.” Rudolph stated, shoving the ache to the side with a practiced ease. 

“That doesn’t mean you should have to.” Chesed replied. His eyes returned to Yesod. “We have information on the Reindeer aplenty.” 

“That we do.” Yesod nodded. “I will request Hokma’s assistance and begin to look into it. Surely, there must be a means to stop it from digging further in. Perhaps a means to cease the headaches entirely.” 

“You do not have to do that.” Rudolph frowned. 

“Nonsense.” Yesod shook his head. “An undertaking it will be, it is a challenge I will gladly tackle.” 

Partly for his own thirst of knowledge and desire to tinker, but also because Rudolph was his responsibility now. 

“Hokma and I will determine the technology and means to alter it.” Yesod continued, already formulating the plan and possible schematics in his head. “Perhaps we may ask Mika for assistance as well with her workshop knowledge. Chesed, I will need you on the day to implement comes – Angela can supply all the tools and ensure he stays alive, but this invasive process may not be able to be done in a simple snap until it has been completed in practice at least once.” 

At which point, there was no need for Angela to be able to do it with a snap as they had no other Reindeer, but Angela would still gladly file the knowledge away. 

Chesed hummed, cupping his chin. “The surgery will be more involved than simply around the neck~ but I will do my utmost to accomplish it so you and Hokma can get done what’s needed.” 

“Thank you.” The Patron of the Floor of Technological Sciences looked like he was already ready to get started on this project. Though they still worked on their means to change the City, the last project like this he’d undertaken had been some time ago. 

“If it is a concern,” Chesed continued with a lightly amused smile, “we can ask Dulcinea for assistance in ensuring any possible blood-related concerns are dealt with.” Blood loss, any mess, obscuring of visibility, any which thing. 

Yesod gave Chesed an odd look, brow raised and clearly not understanding why Angela couldn’t just handle that. “Might I ask why you suggest that?” 

“To mess with Roland, really~” He smiled mischievously yet pleasantly. “Because she’ll agree to most anything I ask of her but gives him no end of grief for anything he tells her to.” 

Yesod’s eyes rolled but was very clearly amused. 

She listened just fine to Yan, too. 

“Binah as well.” Chesed glanced at his wife with a smile. “Fairies will make far better cuts than a scalpel; Dulci can guide you better than I can.” 

Binah hummed, head tilting lightly. “You would be correct.” 

His smile brightened, grabbing her hand and pressing his lips to her knuckles. 

Yesod grunted, nodding in agreement. “Yes, I see what you’re saying. It is not a bad idea. I will leave that to you, however.” 

“Of course~” 

Rudolph did not look so confident in this plan. “You would trust a Bloodfiend with such a thing?” 

This was his brain they were talking about, he was not eager to allow a Bloodfiend of all things near with his blood to be exposed to the air. 

All three gave him firm gazes. 

“Absolutely.” Chesed replied with a tone that brokered no argument. 

It would take some time for Yesod and Hokma to figure the technology and how to fix it out, then to put together a proper game plan with Chesed, but the operation went off without a hitch. 

And Rudolph would lay there in a stunned, relieved silence for hours upon waking from the surgery. 

Headache free. For the first time in decades. 

***

Gebura sighed to herself, watching the mess down below her. 

Was this really her responsibility? This isn’t a confrontation she wants to have at all. 

But the idiot was driving herself into the ground, and Yujin had made the notion that it was Gebura who best needed to talk to her. The rest of R Corp had backed her up pretty firmly on that, too. 

She sighed again. Guess she has to…

Question is how.

“You are sighing quite a lot.” Angela noted, next to her.

“You know why.” Gebura grunted back.

Those mechanical eyes flicked back to the battlefield where Myo was collapsed on her knees, panting. Around her, her opponents, the half of the Sinners which had agreed to her challenge looked incredibly worried. She seemed to be trying to get back up to continue.

It’s not like Myo could know just how weak that group used to be, but they had grown a lot stronger since their initial journey to the Library - she’d only managed to take about half down with Dante banned from reviving them. That wasn’t good enough for her, though, especially with the knowledge she hadn’t faced the whole group – the other half was scattered about somewhere (Faust probably deep into a book, Ishmael most likely on Social Sciences, Yi Sang and Hong Lu probably on Philosophy, she wasn’t sure where Don was, and Ryōshū was watching completely bored with a statement of the Rabbit not being worth her time).

“I suppose I do.” Angela tutted. “I do not envy your position.”

Gebura deadpanned. “Thanks.” 

She shrugged. “I never much enjoyed conversing with her either, though she was a nice break in the monotony of the cycle.” 

“She was at L Corp too?” Yan, on Angela’s other side, spoke up in confusion. 

Angela motioned her head side-to-side a little. “Sort of. We had a contract with R Corp for their protection services in the event we needed assistance quelling the Abnormalities. She wasn’t part of the cycle; she simply came in briefly to conduct her crew against the Abnormalities or renew the contract.” 

The A.I then deadpanned. “Her only horror in regard to L Corp was how often we renewed the contract and needed her to explain it to the manager.” 

Gebura couldn’t help a somewhat humored laugh. 

Yan smiled a bit sheepishly, chuckling softly. “I see. So, she had to deal with you on an endless cycle within time normally.” 

Angela stared at him for a second. 

His smile turned a bit cheeky. 

Gebura chuckled, patting her on the back. “He’s got you, there.” 

Angela and Yan tended to hang with each other more often than not these days, so the teasing between them was steadily growing. The two had gotten along pretty well from the start, anyway. 

Angela huffed, rolling her eyes. “Very funny.” 

Yan chuckled. “But I think I do understand it. I have my own issues regarding the Index and free will but have managed to adjust pretty well thanks to all your help. However, I don’t know what I would do when confronted with Moirai again.” He trailed off a moment. 

Angela gave him a concerned look, hand moving for his arm. 

He shook his head, he’s fine. “I know it’s not completely equivalent, but Myo’s issues are rooted in a twisted idea of what strength and heroism are, right? I hope this isn’t insulting, but you’re probably her Moirai in this situation.” His blue eyes met her gold and dead grey. 

Gebura’s face twisted. 

Maybe it wasn’t to the extreme Moirai wound up being, but where Moirai helped shatter Yan’s worldview and desperation to reclaim any free will, Kali had messed up Myo’s view on strength without really meaning to. 

It was more that Myo had taken it the wrong way, which there wasn’t much Kali could do about, but it was still her word which had caused this. She should have worded it better. 

“In some manner, you are right.” She eventually stated with yet another sigh, running a hand through her hair. “No offense taken.” 

He smiled. “It’s all I have to go off of.” 

“Don’t sweat it.” Gebura grunted, reaching over to ruffle his hair (to his chagrin and Angela’s amusement). “I’ll catch her on her way to tantrum downstairs. This can’t go on any longer.” 

The Sinners had called an end to the fight despite Myo’s protests, Dante making that executive decision. So, they were all headed out, all Gebura needs to do is catch her when she’s headed towards the stairs. 

“Good luck.” Yan called after her. 

“You probably need it.” Angela muttered just loudly enough she could hear it. 

Another eyeroll, Gebura simply left the viewing area. 

She was in General Works proper in no time and postured herself by the entrance to the staircase. Just wait a moment, and yell at a bunny. 

Simple. 

It didn’t take too long before Myo turned the corner from the shelves into the lobby, storming towards the stairs. 

Gebura sighed when the Rabbit didn’t even glance at her, shoving right by her to head down. “Hold on a moment.” 

Myo nearly choked with Gebura grabbing the back of her shirt and preventing her from going any further. “Let go of me.” She grit out. 

“No.” Gebura pulled her back into the lobby, remaining leaned against the wall, and set her directly in front of her. She kept her grip tight to keep her from leaving, but knew she’d be able to let it go in a moment. “Face me, Myo.” 

Her face twisted into a painful scowl, eyes glowing sharply. “Face you? You’re the one who’s been refusing to face me.” 

Not wrong. 

“Yeah, well, I’m facing you now.” Gebura stated. 

The Rabbit scoffed, eyes rolling. “No.” 

“I’m not taking that.” She deadpanned. “Talk to me like an adult, Myo.” 

Myo bristled, pulling herself up to glare directly into Gebura’s eyes. 

Gebura wasn’t even remotely phased. 

“An adult?! Don’t talk down to me like you’re some kind of saint!” She snapped. “This is your own damn fault, and you know it! Don’t you dare pretend like it isn’t.” 

“Never said I wasn’t.” She replied with a huff. “I know I messed up, done that a lot, but you can’t pretend like this isn’t also some of your own doing.” 

Her face twisted further, it was a wonder her facial muscles could keep up. “You were supposed to be a damn hero, the shining beacon to the masses. But then look at you, rampaging with no aim, breaking everything in your path like a damn psycho? That’s not what a hero should be.” 

“No.” Gebura agreed. “And I haven’t been like that in some time – you know this. My anger got the best of me, but now I direct it where it needs to go. Ask yourself something, Myo: what is it that you’re doing right now? It ain’t knowing who your enemy is, I’ll tell you that.” 

Myo stayed silent for a second, fuming. 

Gebura let go of her, crossing her arms. 

It took a moment before Myo replied. 

“So, what? Haha! Myo’s a hypocrite! Myo’s the one rampaging like a lunatic now! Myo’s a weak as Hell loser who could never be a hero!” She threw her arms out to the side in indignance. “Myo’s not worth anyone’s time, a coward is more appealing to train than her! You know, I wonder if you even know what a hero is, what you were to the City, those down in the dumps of the Backstreets that you protected for some godforsaken reason.” 

Gebura didn’t reply, letting her go on. Though she felt the gazes of others fall on them, she paid it no mind. This was a public area, maybe she should have tried to drag Myo somewhere more private to talk. 

Then again, Myo might not have played ball. 

“You were everything to so many people, then you just disappeared into nothing and left the City to rot!” Myo was shaking with anger. “What’s a kid supposed to do when her hero disappears off the face of the planet and shows up in some hellhole of a corporation as nothing but a madwoman?” 

Gebura shrugged slowly, contemplative “I don’t know.” 

Myo’s nostrils flared, incensed. “You don’t know.” 

Did not like that answer, but it was what she had. 

“I never wanted to be a hero, kid.” She shook her head with a sigh. “All I did was to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves, what we’re reaching for now. I don’t have all the answers, but what I do know is that you’re on a fast track to your own destruction.” 

“And what do you care for me? You clearly don’t!” The Rabbit shouted. “You never wanted to be a hero? Well, tough luck! You were one, and you refused to own up to it! I wanted to be a hero and look where that got me! Into a Wing! A Wing that’s nothing but a bunch of blasted mercenaries for hire that doesn’t do any good! Where were you for everyone victim to the Wings, huh?” 

“HEY!” Another voice interjected, loud and commanding. 

Both women turned their heads to find Don Quixote storming up to them with a righteous fury in her features. 

… behind her on the couch she’d just been was Dulcinea lurching herself upright after being rudely awoken by her pillow shooting out from under her. 

Myo rolled her eyes. “One of those damned Sinners. Mind your own business.” 

“No.” Don Quixote drew herself up, posturing herself before the Rabbit. “This is a matter of justice which I cannot let pass me by. Tis true the Red Mist lost her way, but she has found it again and strives to be the hero which everyone so adored.” 

Red eyes rolled again. “Please, if she even remotely wanted to own up to the impact she had--” 

“She has!” Don interrupted, puffing her chest up. “The difference she has made in mine own life and those of everyone here cannot be dismissed so easily! The legend of the Mist is one which will never die, which she will uphold to her utmost ability! I’ve seen it myself!” 

“To the utmost of her ability?!” Myo scoffed incredulously. “That ability must be miniscule considering what she’s managed so far! Basically nothing!” 

“Much as thine own?” The disguised Bloodfiend shot back. “Thine strive for heroism has ended in spectacular failure, has it not? One must not throw stones from glass houses; show respect to those who would make the grim City a better place, which own up to their mistakes.” 

“Respect?! You mean like the respect she’s shown me?!” Myo shouted. “What part of owning up to your mistakes involves ignoring the mistake right in front of you?!” 

“Not everyone is perfect.” Don stated lowly, eyes dimming a bit. “Even the most heroic may falter, even the most just can crumble. Yet, she seeks to amend now, does she not? One must not be defined by mistakes made in the past. Though thou hast yet to grow from thine own, perhaps thou can start now. Thou wisht to be a hero? This is the perfect place to begin thy journey. Cast aside thine anger, thine feelings of injustice. 

“The mark of strength is one defined by character, thine actions regardless of feats. Though thou hast failed terribly before, thine dream may still be attainable if only thou wouldst reach for it once more with the knowledge of past failure supporting it.” 

For once in her life, after everything that had happened in the Library to shatter the worldview she so desperately clung to until now, Myo was speechless. 

The silence reigned for a while, Myo staring out into nothing. 

In that time, Dulcinea stood up and stood beside her sister, looking down at her with an unamused brow raised. 

Don did not meet her gaze, eyes sheepishly to the side. 

Even with her memory long returned to her, she gets swept up by the very thought of heroes every time. 

Still, Gebura would need to thank her later. 

“I…” Was all Myo managed to get out after a long moment, lost and confused. 

Two sets of eyes landed on her expectantly. 

Sheesh, okay, yeah, she knows. She needs to take it from here. 

Gebura took a breath. “Look, Myo, I know I stumbled and fell, and I know I was ignoring you when you got here. This stuff ain’t exactly easy for me, and I’ll admit I really did not want to deal with your accusations. Was it right of me? No, no it wasn’t.” She paused for a huff. “Not very heroic, huh?” 

Myo’s eyes turned to her. She looked like she wanted to be angry but was having a hard time keeping it up. 

She must be exhausted with it by now. 

“The main thing with Stephan was that the decision had already been made that he’d be on Language, it was a bit mean of Angela to put it that way. I’m not stoked to be working with him either, but I’ll beat him into a proper Fixer eventually.” Gebura rubbed the back of her head. 

Stephan had been a pain in the rear so far, but he was slowly making progress. Liwei and Tamaki were pleasant enough to have around, at the very least. 

“So, yes.” Another sigh. She’d not intended to do wrong by this kid, but she had. As Don said, own up to it. “I am apologizing. For what I said back then confusing you, for failing before you, and now for pushing you to the side, I’m sorry.” 

This really wasn’t easy, especially since she still doesn’t much like the kid. But even still, that doesn’t mean Gebura wants to watch her tear herself apart. 

“I don’t like watching you fall apart, kid.” She pulled herself upright, no longer leaning against the wall, and put a hand to her hip. “We won’t always see eye-to-eye, but that’s no reason to be at anyone’s throat. You’re part of the Library now just like everyone else, remember that. We cannot stand, be heroes to anyone, if we’re always at odds.” 

Myo’s eyes wavered, glistening with tears she fought to keep inside. 

Gebura stepped to the side even if she hadn’t been blocking the path. “Become the hero the younger you saw in yourself, kid. It’s true that surviving is merit to your strength, but the greatest strength comes from here.” She rapped her knuckles against her chest. “But strength isn’t all that matters in life. Find that; lean on your friends and allies – which is all of us, we’re one unit here. Go on, you don’t have anything to prove but to yourself.” 

With that, she motioned her head to the side. 

The Rabbit seemed so small now, almost demure. With a thick swallow, she nodded and left without another word. 

The three of them there and those at the back of the room giving them space watched her go. 

Gebura let out a breath, trying to relax. That was a lot. 

She glanced to Don with a wry grin. “Thanks for the assist.” 

Don flashed her a bright smile. “Tis the barest of assistance I could provide one such as yourself. Quite well done, I’d say.” She looked very proud of herself. 

Gebura then glanced up from her to Dulcinea. 

Dulcinea did not say a word, eyes back to boring into Don Quixote’s skull. 

The shorter Bloodfiend coughed, looking up at her with a shaky smile. “Sorry?” 

With her own huff, Dulcinea picked her up by the back of her collar. 

Don yelped. “Wha-- hey!” 

Don Quixote was subsequently carted over to the side where the coat hangers were and unceremoniously dropped on the highest rung. 

“D-Dulcinea?” She protested, squirming from where she was hung up on the wall. 

“Hm.” Dulcinea sniffed, turning from her and walking off. 

“DULCINEA!” Don screeched, flailing. 

Her protests went unheeded, bucking every which way suspended in the air as she was, and everyone else laughed at her. 

Gebura shook her head with a chuckle. Partly deserved with that one, Sancho, but she did owe you one now. 

It wasn’t hard for Gebura to convince Dulcinea to come back and let her sister down. She did actually seem more amused than anything… but let it be known she was absolutely willing to be petty. 

Could Gebura have gotten Don down herself? Could anyone else in the room have? Yes, and? 

Gebura was just glad she’d waited until Myo left. 

***

Olga let out a harsh exhale, plopping down into a couch and popping open the bottle of beer she’d grabbed from the bar. Taking a quick swig, she sighed in relaxation, letting herself slump back into the cushions. This was nice~ 

Finally at the end of her day, she could just relax. Rain and Mika were off doing their own thing, Netzach was with Hod and Violet, she was alone~ 

“Hey.” A voice she did not quite want to hear at the moment broke through her reverie pretty much the second she thought that. 

Olga groaned softly to herself, turning her eyes to the speaker and taking another swig. 

Myo stood nearby looking a bit awkward and heavily contemplative. “Got a moment?” 

Olga took a second to think on it before sighing. “Yeah, come on.” She motioned to a seat adjacent and leaned over her armrest to rummage through the bag beside it. 

Myo tentatively took the seat, sitting stiffly. 

No instant aggression this time? Alright, then. She’ll give this a shot. 

The Rabbit didn’t say anything upon sitting down, just letting things remain awkward. 

Olga wasn’t about that life, though. 

She pulled up another bottle of beer, flipped it so she held the neck with her hand, and leaned to the other side to offer it to her. “Beer?” 

Myo looked surprised at the offering, not at all sure why Olga would do so after last time but slowly took it. “Sure.” 

She popped the cap off and took a drink.  

“Alright, what’s eatin’ ya, kid?” Olga asked with a grunt, sitting back. 

“You are four years older than me at most.” The Rabbit deadpanned, speaking directly into her drink. 

“Eh. Taking clone years into account, you’re basically a toddler.” 

Red eyes rolled, but she didn’t go on. 

Putting the lip of the bottle to her own lips and taking more of that sweet nectar in, Olga regarded the other woman with a raised brow. She seemed withdrawn, highly unlike herself. 

“You gonna tell me what you came here for?” 

Myo scoffed, taking another drink and holding the bottle tightly in her hands. “Dunno, just had a lot of time to think lately.” 

Olga simply kept letting the beer into her mouth. 

“About the argument however long ago and Gebura and all that.” She planted her elbow into the armrest and sighed, tapping the bottle against her lips. “I guess I’ve been overly aggressive lately.” 

“You guess?” The drunkard’s brow raised higher. 

Her eyes rolled again. “Yeah, I guess.” 

“Hm.” 

“Stop making this so hard, I’m trying to apologize here.” Myo grumbled. 

Olga was certain her eyebrow must have gone into orbit by now. “You are?” 

“Yes!” Myo scowled, glaring at the floor. 

Huh. That was unexpected. 

“For the argument and how hostile I was. All… that.” She finished slouched in her chair. 

“Hm.” Olga hummed, putting her bottle down and tilting her head at the younger woman. “Can I ask what brought this on?” 

Hey, she’d like another drinking buddy, and Myo was one she’d had before. You can never have too many drinking buddies. 

“I don’t know.” Myo mumbled after a moment of further silence. “I’ve just decided that maybe I don’t want to be angry all the time anymore. And, maybe, not antagonizing the only connections you have is a good idea.” 

Olga would allow that one. She motioned her head from side-to-side. “It certainly isn’t healthy for anyone. Apology accepted.” 

Myo turned to her in surprise. “That quick?” 

The Molar Operator shrugged. “I said I was willing to let the Warp Train thing go finally, so yeah.” 

It did not look like that computed at all. 

It was the same pit Gebura fell into those years ago at the facility, so Olga had seen what it did to people. It wasn’t pretty. If she could help her old buddy out of it, why shouldn’t she? 

“The whole vengeance thing was fun and all, but I think it’s run its course.” She continued, taking another drink. “If you’re truly sorry, then who’m I to deny ya?” 

Myo looked down again, frowning. “I don’t get this place.” 

“Even we don’t sometimes.” Olga chortled good-naturedly. 

A huff. 

“You’ve been beat down a lot lately. Something else happen?” Olga asked curiously after another moment of silence. 

“Had a talk with Gebura and that hyperactive blonde. That’s all.” Was the reply. The Rabbit swirled her bottle, watching the liquid as it whirled gently within the glass. 

“Ah, Don. Probably should have anticipated that one – she’s pretty passionate about heroism.” Olga nodded with a hum. 

“I’ll say.” A mumble. “Tried arguing but ran out of steam, I guess.” Ran into a brick wall. 

“Runnin’ yourself too ragged for too long, happens.” 

“She was right, though, but yeah.” A beat. “I just couldn’t come up with an argument in return anymore. Everything I’d taught myself was just… gone, and I couldn’t keep deluding myself.” 

Olga only hummed, nodding. Didn’t know what to say in return to that one, so just let it simmer a bit. 

Another silence fell, a bit more amicable now. 

“Say.” Olga spoke up again after a moment, finishing her bottle in one, fell swoop, setting it down on the table nearby. “You wanna know what happened with that Warp Train you sent me on?” 

Myo looked to her in confusion. “Why would I care what happened on that Warp Train?” She looked like she had a barb she wanted to throw in there but held it back. 

Olga sighed heavily, reaching down for another beer. “Blood-Red Night herself and the Puppeteer were on that Train. Try not to think about it too much, but my car and several others were turned into flesh golems. Probably woulda been us, too, if we hadn’t bailed.” 

Myo’s eyes went a bit wide, stunned. “The Blood-Red Night?! You’re shitting me.” 

“Nope.” Olga popped the ‘p’ with a chuckle, knocking the cap off and chugging half the bottle with one leg crossing over the other. “The lady herself, in the flesh! Turned everyone into some amalgamation of mass.” 

Her jaw hung a bit. “Damn.” 

“Yep~” She laughed, then coughed awkwardly. “Please don’t bring that up again, I don’t want to think about it.” 

Red eyes rolled; humored this time. “Whatever.” 

Another silence passed, just a bit more comfortable once more. 

Myo finished her bottle and set it down. “Got another?” 

She grinned. “Hell yeah, sister.” Olga grabbed another and tossed it over. 

Myo caught it expertly and had the cap off in a flick. 

“So, what are you going to do now?” Olga asked curiously. 

Myo shrugged. “I don’t know, all I know is that the way I’ve been going is only going to hurt. Always did hurt, I just ignored it.” 

“Eh, nothin’ wrong with that. Just so long as you acknowledge the problem and turn from it. You’ll figure it out eventually; we all have.” Another shrug. “Play nice with Yesod, kick Nemo down at every opportunity, and you’ll do just fine.” 

Myo barked a laugh. “Whatever you say, bimbo.” 

“I wear that title with pride.” With a crooked grin, she puffed her chest out. “Also, don’t mess with the kids or you’ll have an angry Arbiter, dragon, Colors, Bloodfiends, and what else have you out for your head.” 

The Rabbit snorted. “Sure thing.” 

At long last, the awkwardness they’d started with was gone; Myo relaxed in her seat even if she wasn’t sure what she was doing anymore. 

Olga let the next silence reign for a short while longer, giving them time to finish their drinks once more. As soon as they were empty and the empty bottles were on the table, she grabbed another pair. 

Olga opened both with her thumbs and offered the second to Myo. “We cool, then?” 

Myo grinned sharply, grabbing it. “Yeah, yeah, we cool.” 

“Sweet. Netz is gonna be thrilled to have another drinking buddy.” Olga cheered and took a deep draft. 

“A drunkard happy with more drinking buddies? Who could have guessed.” Myo’s eyes rolled once more. 

“Dunno, maaaaaan.” Olga cackled. “A real enigma, that one.” 

“You are so stupid.” 

“Yup!” 

Chapter Text

“YOU ARE  NOT  WEARING THAT SUIT!” Screeched from the figure in red as she burst through the door. 

Roland deadpanned, heaving a deep sigh and ignoring the amusement of the men around him. “Nicolina, we’ve talked about this. This suit is perfectly fine; it has a lot of history.” 

The Bloodfiend put her hands to her hips, glaring up at him with a pout. “Yes, it’s a fine suit, but I recall those conversations were you dodging the issue.” 

… she’s got him there. 

He cleared his throat-- stop laughing, Olivier. 

“I get it, you’re attached to that old thing, but this is your wedding day. Put your best foot forward for your bride, come on!” She groused. 

Really pushing on the feels there, isn’t she. 

“I’m not accepting this. She wants to see you as best you can be, too, you know.” Nicolina huffed, tapping her foot on the ground. 

Roland cleared his throat again, drawing himself up. “Well, it seems we’re at a bit of a loss for that one as I’ve nothing fitted for me outside of this nice, perfectly professional suit.” 

She at least was letting him not wear the one he wore now for everyday activity. He did like that suit a lot, don’t get him wrong, but as she said, this was his wedding day. He wasn’t wearing what was essentially his uniform now. 

Checkmate, Nicolina. He skirted out of every opportunity you had to properly design and fit something on him. 

“Uh huh.” She deadpanned. 

To the side, Curiambro let out a sigh. “All this time we’ve had together, and you still underestimate her.” 

What’s that supposed to mean? 

“Foolish of you to think I don’t have anything prepared.” Nicolina looked quite smug as she reached right back out of the room and dragged in an entire rack of formal wedding suits. 

Roland felt his jaw drop. When did she have the time for this?! There were at least thirty suits of varying colors and styles – most of them were a very suave white color. 

All of this even after making the outfits for literally everyone attending the wedding? 

Chesed, stop laughing. 

Nicolina threw her arms out at the rack, presenting it to him like some grand discovery and staring straight at him. 

He could only gawk. 

She plucked the first one off of the rack and held it out to him. “These should all fit, I have your measurements from the previous items I’ve made, and I’m quite partial to this one. We can get you changed lickety-split and out there for your lady in no time at all. So, come on, if you don’t want this one, there are plenty of others.” 

All Roland could do was feel horrifically incredulous. 

Again, how. 

Curiambro sighed again. 

Olivier came up to him, clamping his hand on his shoulder with a soft chuckle. “We’ll get him sorted out, Nicolina, thank you.” 

“I never agreed to this.” Roland found his voice, though only barely. Why is she like this? He turned his head to the other Bloodfiend in the room. “Curiambro, could you kick your sister out of here?” 

“Hey!” She protested. “I’m doing you a favor here!” 

Curiambro walked up with some amount of amusement. “Yes, we know.” He patted her on the shoulder. “As Sir Olivier said, we will sort him out. Fret not.” 

She squinted at him. 

Why is everyone ganging up on him now?! 

“We appreciate the effort, really~” Chesed chuckled. “But you should head back to tending to Carmen. We can get him~” He winked. 

His suit is just fine-- 

The seamstress huffed, eyes flicking about the room. They met Netzach’s. 

Netzach saluted solemnly, like he was undertaking the most serious of missions on. “I understand your vision, scissor lady.” 

She sniffed and returned the salute. “I trust your expert hand, drunken painter.” 

They stayed there for a moment before Curiambro slowly pushed her out of the door and closed it. 

Roland slumped with a heavy sigh, glancing up at Olivier. “Really?” 

He smiled. “Yes, really. I can see the effort she put into these even from here. Besides, do you really not want to look your best for Carmen?” 

Roland drew himself back up, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. “I mean, I do, but… this is the suit that…” 

Olivier hummed in understanding, nodding. He took on a more solemn expression. “You wore that for Angelica, I know, but you didn’t have the funds to get a proper wedding suit back then, and it was a small, simple affair.” 

The room went silent. 

“It didn’t need anything extravagant.” Roland muttered, eyes downcast. 

“No, and neither does this.” His long-time friend and best man agreed. “You don’t have to get rid of the suit completely, it is sentimental to you, but this isn’t Angelica. I’m sure Carmen would understand, but don’t you want to press forward beyond the past?” 

Roland met his eyes, uncertainty rife within him. 

Olivier only smiled, saddened. 

Angelica would want him to break from this, too. To put himself in front of Carmen, ready to take this next step with her, and let Angelica go. Carmen came before him in his matters; Roland came before Carmen in hers. 

If he wore this suit as he did for Angelica… 

She wouldn’t want that. Carmen didn’t deserve that. 

Swallowing thickly, he nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” 

He took a heavy breath, feeling Olivier pat him on the shoulder again, and turned to the rack with way too many suits on it. “Well, Netz…” 

Nicolina had put this endeavor in the green-haired man’s care, so… 

Netzach grinned lazily as he sauntered up. “Let’s take a quick look through these, one oughta stick out.” 

“Well, a lot of them do in the wrong ways.” Chesed laughed, approaching to assist. 

Curiambro chuckled exasperatedly, but you could feel the love he had for his sister in it. “Nicolina cannot help herself when it comes to such things, I’m sure she made those with the knowledge you’d never wear them.” 

“Probably.” Roland smiled fondly. His blasted Bloodfiends were going to be the death of him some day. 

Wouldn’t trade them for anything. 

“Won’t stop her from trying one day.” Yan pointed out as he wandered over in his own curiosity. 

“That’ll be a fun day.” He deadpanned. 

Yan shrugged. “I’d like to see it.” 

A sigh. “I’m sure you would.” 

More laughter, the mood between them all perfectly light and amicable. This was a big day, relaxing the nerves and settings things right was important. 

The gathered men, his groomsmen, spent some time sifting through the mass of suits Nicolina had brought for Roland. Some of them were way more than out of whack, but there were still plenty of valid options. There was plenty of time still before things started, so this was a good activity as any to settle himself for this. 

The Bridal Party for this wedding was rather large, but there were just a lot of people Roland and Carmen wanted to include on their big day. All of the Patrons barring Hokma, who had a different, more important and personal role for the both of them – but largely for Carmen – his Bloodfiends, Olivier, and Yan. 

Now, that would leave one of the women without an escort since the numbers would turn out as seven and six, but the executive decision had been made that Nicolina would sit out in the audience because she’d already put way more effort into this than they’d asked of her and deserved to just relax. Acting as the dresser for everyone was way more than enough of an honor for her. 

All of the groomsmen were dressed in black with white accents, the boutonnieres white roses. The bridesmaids were all in red. They were all rather sharply dressed if he said so himself. 

He just hadn’t seen Carmen yet. He wondered how she looked… 

“Roland.” Yesod spoke up after a moment, conversing with Yan over a suit. “Perhaps you should give the one Nicolina pointed out a look.” 

Roland quirked a brow at him. He’d sorta ignored that one for the moment because he expected it was her preference more than his, but he could take a look. 

Netzach was there first, gazing it over. “Hm, yeah. I’d agree with that.” 

Okay, maybe she had gone by his. 

“I’m coming.” He said, making his way over. 

Roland took a look at the suit with as critical an eye as he could get for this kind of thing, and… hm. 

It was white, pristine, accented black, and with a simple cravat adorned with a red gem the color of Carmen’s eyes. To finish it, a black rose boutonniere for the breast pocket. 

Roland stared at it a moment. It was one of the simpler designs yet bold and graceful. 

How does she do it? Black magic, probably. 

Netzach glanced between the suit and Roland, sizing them both up and together. “Yeah, I think this’d look good on you." 

“Just good?” Yesod questioned quizzically. 

“I do art, not words.” He replied with a yawn. 

Chesed chuckled and threw in his own two cents: “I think I’ll agree there~ but let’s get it on you first, hm?” 

“Well?” Olivier crossed his arms. 

Roland sighed and gave a slow nod. “Yeah, I’ll try it.” 

The best he can give her… yes, he needed to strive for that. 

The suit was simple enough to get on as most suits were. It… was a little hard to take his old one off and exchange it, though, but that was okay, wasn’t it? These things were simply difficult. Years had passed since he’d lost Angelica, but letting go completely still wasn’t easy. 

He still tried to cling on in any form he could, but this was one he needed to let go. He knew Carmen must be having a similar trouble with Ayin. 

They were moving onwards, forging a new path forward together as one. Whatever may come their way. 

He was ready for it, yes, quite so. He had all new things ahead of him from here on out. 

With the suit on and comfortable, Roland stared at himself in the mirror. 

Yeah. This was the one. He… he really liked it. He didn’t know why Nicolina chose the color white, but he’d say it was the right one. 

Olivier stood next to him, silent. Waiting. 

Roland took a breath, mustering up his courage though he felt so emotional now; his chest constricting a bit. Not particularly in a bad way but choking up a bit. Don’t start crying before you even see your bride, Roland. 

After a moment without a word spoken from anyone, Olivier broke it. 

“You ready, old friend?” He asked, voice low. 

Roland swallowed, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “Yeah, I think I am.” 

His best man nodded, smiling softly. “She’d be happy, you know.” 

A numb nod. “I… I know.” 

Here he was, standing before a mirror in his wedding suit, looking the part, clean and neat. Awaiting the time he can take his bride for his own, and she him, with those which had become his family around him. 

Could he ask for a better life? All the pain and suffering which had paved the way here… he’d cherish this all the more, fight for it unlike any other. 

Roland turned to Olivier, to the rest of the waiting room. “Come on, let’s go. We’re nearing time, aren’t we?” 

“Getting there~” Chesed smiled, eyes angled towards his watch. 

“You head to the front; we’ll be waiting in the back with the girls.” Yesod stated. “Hokma won’t be up there with you, though.” 

Roland chuckled. “I know, he has other duties before ordaining us.” 

A bit unorthodox, but it’s what Carmen had wanted. Curiambro had offered to be the priest, but that was an honor Hokma was not giving up so easily. The Bloodfiend would have to suffice in being a groomsman as his mother’s escort. 

He could stand alone for a moment as he waited. 

So, off they went, leaving the room and heading towards the doors to enter the cathedral. The girls weren’t out yet, but that was alright. 

Sharing a firm nod with the rest, Roland sucked in another breath and went to head to the front. 

A hand stopped him before he could go through the doors. 

Glancing over… 

Hokma. 

Roland raised a brow, but the man merely motioned him to stay a moment. 

They stood there, Roland confused and Hokma contemplative. 

“You will treat her right, yes?” Hokma spoke, voice stern. 

Roland’s brow went higher. “Are you acting like her dad here?” He asked, a bit incredulous. 

“Humor me a moment, Roland.” He stated, expression as stern as his voice. He was serious. “I do trust you by now, Roland, and know you will as she will you. However, I’ve a duty as her good friend and to Ayin to make triply sure.” 

Letting out another sigh and resolving to make sure Iori knew of this so she could tease him about it later. Being a grandpa to his friend who was probably older than him. 

“Hokma, I say this completely seriously, but I love her more than anything. I know there might be some concerns with any lingering feelings towards Angelica, but I swear I will not let it interfere with what I feel towards Carmen.” He stated resolutely. “They’re two different people, it’s not fair to compare them.” 

Hokma’s eyes closed, humming deeply. “I don’t doubt it.” 

What is he doing? 

“She is my good friend, Roland, and this day has been long awaited.” He continued. Both knew he meant for Carmen and Ayin rather than Carmen and Roland. “I merely wish to look out for her.” 

Roland sighed. “She can look out for herself, Hokma.” 

“She can.” 

Hm. He’s simply getting emotional over his friend’s big day. That’s all. 

Roland clapped the man on the shoulder with a smile. “Come on, Hokma, chin up. I’m sure she’d be much happier to see you with a smile on your face and not interrogating her groom.” 

The man managed a low chuckle. “I’m sure you are right about that. I am happy for her, Roland, as I am you as well. I suppose it may be me who is not ready for this.” He cracked a smile. 

Roland grinned broadly. “Big deal, being the one to walk her down and speak this into being. Seeing her move on after everything that’s happened. I get it.” 

Another hum. 

“Be on your way, Roland. She will arrive when she is ready.” Hokma motioned him towards the door. 

He let himself chuckle. “Will do, dad.” 

Hokma scoffed. “You wish to call Iori your mother?” 

Roland nearly choked, coughing harshly. “Nope! No, I’m good.” 

He quickly left through the door feeling thoroughly amused and leaving the rest laughing behind him. 

And ignoring the smile Iori sent his way as he made his way out. Though, he had to send Nicolina’s overjoyed face (for him wearing her choice of suit) a thumbs up – sitting beside her aunt and the Sinners. 

Yes. He’s ready for this. 

***

“The fit here looks nice and snug, the folds neat and tidy…” The Bloodfiend muttered under her breath as she fretted over the dress, checking every nook and cranny for the… Carmen had lost count by now. 

Nicolina just kept muttering, tugging and prying at every piece with an expert hand. 

“Nicolina.” Carmen chuckled, smiling softly. 

“It should be fine, everything’s in place…” The Bloodfiend did not hear her. 

“Nicolina.” She repeated, glancing over at Dulcinea. 

Dulcinea merely motioned her head. 

Fair enough. 

“But what if--” She kept going, so Carmen cut her off, placing her hands firmly to the Bloodfiend’s shoulders. 

“Nicolina.” The bride stated a bit more firmly, bringing Nicolina’s attention straight to her. Red eyes peering into red. 

“L-Lady Carmen, I--” She tried. 

“None of that, Nicolina.” Carmen smiled, squeezing. “I appreciate all the effort you’ve put into this, dear.” Pulling her closer, she engulfed the stressed seamstress in a tight hug. “Thank you, Nicolina, it’s perfect.” 

Nicolina froze for a moment, tears welling in her eyes, before she returned it just as tight. “I just…” 

“There’s nothing to worry about, I love it.” Her dress was as perfect as it could possibly be, she could never ask for something better for it did not exist. “Now, please,” she put Nicolina back to arm’s length, both of them on the verge of crying, “go, sit down. Enjoy yourself, you’ve earned it.” 

Her mouth opened and closed a few times, not quite willing to let it go. 

“Nicolina.” Dulcinea finally stepped in. “Your work is complete; you may step back now. There is no need to overwork yourself when you’ve already done so excellently.” 

Nicolina blinked a few times, the gears in her head turning at speeds past what they should for something so innocent as this. 

Carmen gently patted her on the shoulder and pushed her towards the door. “Go, sit. Go on.” 

“I--” 

“Nicolina.” Dulcinea’s tone dipped to what they’d since decided was her ‘scolding motherly tone’. 

Nicolina blinked again. “Okay. Okay. Yeah, it’s all in place, anyway. It all looks fine. Yeah.” Nodding to herself, she went through the door. 

They could see the glint of her red eye through the crack until the door was completely closed. 

Carmen chuckled softly as she turned to the rest of the room. “She’s adorable, but she needs to learn to relax.” 

“She says about the centuries old vampire woman who would drain her dry if she was just another passerby.” Malkuth snickered, grinning widely. 

Red eyes rolled. “That doesn’t change my statement.” 

“Guess not!” 

A giggle was shared between the two, and Carmen made her way back over to the rest with a deep breath. 

This was it. 

“Angela, chain her to her chair if you need to.” She said with a grin. 

Angela smiled in amusement. “I would hope Sancho can keep her seated, but if need be…” 

Carmen ruffled her hair and took a seat. Another breath, smoothing out her dress before her. 

There was still some time to go before she’d need to head out, so she was taking a moment to calm her nerves. 

It was weird to think how nervous she was. She truly did want this, had been waiting for this day for some time now. She was excited, but the butterflies in her stomach refused to leave. 

School yourself, Carmen, this is your big day. You are starting a new journey in your life, the next stage, there’s nothing to be scared of. 

Another breath. 

Well. Some time ago… she would have thought it’d be with Ayin. 

“You okay?” Gebura’s concerned voice broke through her thoughts, the scarred woman having come close. 

Much as Gebura hated dressing up, she really did look good in that dress – as did all her bridesmaids in their dresses, but the red really did Gebura a lot of favors. Carmen recalled hearing of the effort it had taken to get Gebura into a dress for Binah’s wedding, she hadn’t put up too much fight for this one. Sancho had put up more fight for getting into a dress, and she wasn’t even in the wedding. 

The celebration the Sinners and Nicolina had put on upon getting the short Bloodfiend into a dress had been hilarious. 

Carmen turned to her best friend, her maid of honor, with a small smile. “I’m fine, just a bit overwhelmed.” 

Gebura nodded. “Guess it would be.” The fact Gebura herself was overwhelmed in her role probably wasn’t important at the moment. “Do we need to give you the same talk you just gave Nicolina?” 

Carmen giggled, smile brightening a bit. “No, no, I’m okay.” 

Gebura’s really not good at this, but she did really appreciate the effort. 

She patted the spot beside her wordlessly. 

A low sigh left the other woman, but she did as asked and sat down on the couch with her. 

She could feel the gazes of the other women on them as they sat there, Gebura’s quizzical expression regarding her as well. She felt like she was going to cry already, and it hadn’t even started yet. 

Truly, she couldn’t ask for better friends. For however much of a hodgepodge this group was, she loved them all so dearly. Two Nest-born researchers, an Outskirts orphan, the greatest Color to ever live, the Arbiter that silenced her, and a Bloodfiend emergent from a mishandled dream. And Carmen herself, the visionary that brought them all together. 

Then, her darling daughter. A sentient A.I who was more human than some humans were. 

She just… it was rare she found herself at a loss for words, for how to put how she felt into proper form, but it would seem this was that time. 

Slowly, Carmen took another breath and let it out, leaning into her friend beside her. “Thank you all for being here for me.” 

A red brow quirked. “As if we’d flake on you.” 

“I know, I know.” Soft giggles escaped her. “This is just… a lot. I’m not sure what I was expecting. I’m just a mess of nerves.” 

Gebura looked to Binah in a cry for help, way out of her depth here. 

Binah chuckled lowly. “He will be as well. Naught matters in this moment but that which you join for, focus simply on him.” 

“Easier said than done.” Hod offered a smile of her own. “But she’s right. Keep your gaze on him, his will be on you. Don’t mind the rest of us at all, we’re here to support and celebrate with you.” 

Eyes misting, she mustered a smile and a nod. 

“It’s about time to head out.” Tiphereth spoke up. “You ready to go?” 

Always responsible, Tiphereth… Keep moving forward. 

Carmen nodded, using Gebura as support to rise back to her feet. “Yeah… yes, I’m ready.” And she meant that. She was ready to take her place beside Roland and build a new future between them. 

Gebura grinned, standing beside her. She patted Carmen on the back. “Then come on, let’s go.” 

“One moment, you guys go on.” Carmen shook her head when the confusion came her way. “I just want a little time with Angela first. I’m sure the boys are waiting, go get set up.” 

A few glances were exchanged; Angela’s head tilted at her. 

Gebura grunted. “Alright, you heard her. Out.” She was swift to take charge and usher the rest out (with a lot of giggling from Malkuth and Hod). 

The redhead gave her a thumbs up as she shut the door behind her, leaving her and Angela on their lonesome. 

Carmen managed to return it before she was completely out of sight. 

Another breath. Her life would be taking a new path very soon. 

“Mother?” Angela spoke up, voice soft. 

Carmen turned to her with a gentle smile and pulled her into a tight hug. “Thank you, Angela. For everything.” 

None of this would be possible without her. There had been many stumbles along the way, but here they were. All together. Through thick and thin. 

Angela stiffened, freezing for a moment having not expected that. 

“I suppose I should be asking if you’re ready for this.” She giggled quietly. “I know it might not seem like a lot is changing since we’ve been a family for some time now, but I think you’ll be surprised how much it does.” 

The A.I blinked slowly, returning the embrace even slower. “I… yes, I think I quite am. My only knowledge of these things is from Tiphereth, but she has assured me it’s not a bad change, simply that it requires some adjustment.” 

“Hm~” A blissful hum. She was glad Angela and Tiphereth had been chatting, it eased her quite a lot. “It will take some time, but it won’t be bad.” 

“Assuredly not.” 

Yet, Carmen could detect nerves in her voice. Glad she wasn’t the only one nervous, and Angela wasn’t even the one getting married. It affected her, though, it affected her greatly. 

Carmen broke the hug finally, drawing back, and gave her daughter a bright smile. “Love you, Angela.” 

If Angela could blush… 

She still shrank up abashedly. “I… I love you too, Mother.” 

Carmen could blush, and she did. Quite happily. “Let’s not be long. Your father is waiting.” 

Angela had had many conversations with Roland about this before, she needn’t seek him out now. She would be bringing her mother to him, after all. 

Angela’s pale lips lifted into a smile. “Yes, of course. We mustn’t dally.” 

Another smile, and Carmen grabbed her daughter’s hand, leading her out of the room and to the hall. From there, Angela should be the one taking the lead. 

Carmen passed by a large mirror on her way, giving herself a short span to ensure nothing had been displaced by all the movement she’d been doing. 

Pure, pristine white as it should be, delicate lace imprinting a pattern of roses around her torso as a corset gave way to where sheer fabric detailed with vines covered the rest of her upper chest to her neck and flowed down her arms in loose half-sleeves. Several layers of light fabric trailed to the ground, neat and tidy yet flowing and sleek, tied in the back with a tight bow whose trail matched with the train of the dress, adding a layer of its own. 

Her hair was loose around her shoulders, allowed to flow as it would naturally with her hair tie removed for the day. 

“You look… incredibly beautiful, Mother.” Angela complemented. 

Carmen giggled, squeezing her hand. “Thanks, Angie~ I know I’m not the most beautiful in the Library, but I ain’t too shabby, huh?” 

That title was heavily debated amongst the (insanely biased) husbands of the Library, but they all knew it really went to the obvious choice. Not that that stopped the husbands making their own cases. 

Amber eyes rolled. “Sure, just shabby.” 

She laughed and squeezed again. “Didn’t mean to stop, let’s go.” 

They finally made it out of the room, and Angela hooked her arm around Carmen’s, taking her the rest of the way. 

The guys were out and had each found their partners for this endeavor. Obviously, the husbands were with their wives, but Yan would be guiding Tiphereth down, Curiambro would be guiding Dulcinea, and as the best man and maid of honor, Olivier was taking Gebura. 

The thought had crossed their minds to have Yan guide Dulcinea down – the two did vibe with each other, but the height difference would be hilarious. Curiambro and Tiphereth would be awkward, though. 

Words of encouragement and greeting were sent her way from the men, the women merely nodding with their own smiles, to which she gave a bright smile in return. They were all so supportive… she truly couldn’t ask for a better family. 

Angela guided her towards the back of the line, where Hokma waited for them. 

There was a hint of pain in the smile the old man gave her, but the warmth and pride were far more. He did not argue the hug she gave him upon reaching him. 

“You look beautiful, Carmen.” He said kindly as he returned the friendly embrace. 

“Thanks, Ben.” She murmured in return, squeezing him and stepping back. 

“Ayin would be happy for you.” Hokma stated quietly, a hint of remorse in his tone. Soft enough to not be heard by the chatter of the rest, or enough that they opted to ignore what he was saying. 

Carmen took a more shuddering breath, letting it out slowly. “You think so?” 

“I don’t mean to bring the mood down.” A slightly sheepish smile more reminiscent of a time before Hokma stressed his lips. “But I do. He’d love to see you like this, I fear Nicolina may have outdone herself this time.” 

She couldn’t help a giggle. “We’re going to be saying that a lot, but… thank you.” Her eyes tightened. She… she still missed him. “I know Roland’s not the other half either of us thought this day would be for, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.” 

“Things have developed in the way that they did, I do not regret it either.” He nodded. “He is a good man, a great father for Angela, and a strong partner for you. I would think he’d have Ayin’s approval to take your side where he would have stood. Do not fret too much over the lingering grief, Angelica still weighs upon his mind.” 

She swallowed with another nod. “I know. We’ve resolved to keep them close and honor them, but this is about us, not them. We cannot let the dead rule our lives.” 

The older man was silent a short while. “Indeed not.” 

Carmen lifted a hand and gripped his shoulder comfortingly, for both of them. “Thank you for this, Ben, it means a lot.” 

He mustered a kind smile. “Of course. I could not let you down on your big day; it is my honor.” 

“Well, I’m just as honored.” A teasing smile. Lighten the mood back up, this wasn’t a day for remorse. 

“Mother.” Angela spoke up. “It’s time.” 

Her heart nearly leapt into her throat. It was, was it? 

Time to take this next step. Deep breaths, Carmen. 

The smiles of encouragement sent her way from those who would walk the aisle before her were greatly appreciated. 

The doors before them which seemed so grand now opened, the music playing as petals drifted to the floor at Angela’s call. The procession began, the bridal party making their way out. 

One more breath, she linked her arms with her old friend and her daughter. 

It was time. She was ready. 

Upon taking her first step through those doors, Roland’s eyes immediately welled up, drifting down his cheeks as the dumbest, most endearing and loving smile she’d ever seen on his face split his lips. 

Carmen wasn’t able to hold back her own tears with such warmth waiting for her. 

Chapter Text

It had happened yet again. 

This time, however, it wasn’t sequestered to just one floor. No, multiple had been affected this time, though it hadn’t been everything on those floors at once, thankfully. 

That would have been a mess… 

The denizens of the Library were just going to have to accept that this was a normal phenomenon now. Anything bothersome that got out could be easily dealt with, at least, even if most of the Fixers were gone. There were plenty who didn’t often leave. 

Angela truly had no idea how this one happened, she hadn’t been monitoring the Library. While once upon a time, she always did so, she did not any more. She trusts those who live here, all of them, so she saw no reason for constant surveillance. 

Maybe she should consider watching the shelves at the very least… it’s not like it’d hamper her in any manner. 

With the birds, it had been Enoch who let them out on accident. 

Or let Big Bird out and then Binah let the rest out. 

The Magical Girls had been a fumble on Finn’s part. Poor guy. 

This time? She really did not know. It was a bit of a conglomerate. 

Angela glanced to the side; Gebura was staring Happy Teddy Bear down, daring it to do anything as Gabriel happily hugged it. The boy did have a love for bears. Definitely came from Malkuth – and possibly Don Quixote’s retelling of the big scary bear her father took down. 

Gebura had that one handled, but there were others around to help keep an eye on the mostly inert Abnormality. The last thing they wanted was for it to hug back. 

Binah had the Scaredy Cat cowering in the corner. Just ignore that one. 

This brings her to a possible point of worry here. 

The other side of the room where the rest of the kids are playing. 

Where both Laetitia and Child of the Galaxy looked to be working up to courage to approach them. Road Home was out as well, but she was giving Scaredy Cat a nonplussed look at the moment. Scorched Girl, too, was out, but she’d put herself in an opposite corner at the moment and was refusing to budge. 

Keep an eye there, Angela. If she starts moving, it could be a problem. 

The child Abnormalities. Though they weren’t actually children, they had the mentality. This always made them somewhat tricky but also a fair amount easier to navigate. 

Angela frowned, seeing the parents tense as Laetitia and Galaxy procured their gifts – a heart and a stone. How does one navigate refusing those without upsetting the Abnormalities  and  the children that will definitely want them? 

“What’s that?” Juno, always happy to receive things, was the first to notice as the two started to approach, and moved herself a bit towards them in her curiosity. 

There was a chorus of ‘huh?’s from the other kids, ceasing their play to join Juno in regarding the two small Abnormalities. 

Except Gabriel who did not care in the slightest. He was happy with the bear. 

This seemed to give the two confidence, picking up their step and clambering towards the kids with their gifts clutched tightly in their hands (with all of the parents watching in trepidation and many ready to jump in if needed). 

Until the two bumped into each other. 

The shift in them was rather slow. First, they simply froze. 

The kids all tilted their heads in confusion. 

Then, they slowly turned to face each other. 

And stared. For just a moment. 

Their eyes flicked down to the gifts each bore. 

What was perhaps the most disgusted expression anyone had ever seen on any child’s face twisted into the both of them, glaring as if the other were the most vile thing to ever exist on the entire planet. 

It was a wonder nothing immediately exploded. 

They shoved into each other, glaring directly into each other’s eyes, and began advancing towards the kids again. Fighting for dominance the whole way. 

What an… interesting development. 

The kids looked confused the entire time, not sure what was happening. 

“Presents?” Juno asked confusedly. 

“Um… Let’s leave them be right now…” Lulu pursed her lips, moving to bring Juno back from the two as discretely as she could manage. More discrete than one might expect from her. 

Slowly, all of the kids were moved away even if a few protested. Laetitia and Galaxy were not letting up. 

Scorched Girl and Road Home both appeared to have had their attentions caught, now watching the warring Abnormalities in their own confusion. 

Happy Teddy Bear was still completely inert, Gabriel now somehow on its head, and Scaredy Cat would remain… scared forevermore. 

Scorched Girl stood up from her position in the corner and began shuffling to where the kids had just been. Laetitia and Galaxy hadn’t even noticed they moved. 

Angela (and several others) swiftly took a look around the room. 

No one appeared to be marked… 

The ashen Abnormality stood in the path of the other two child Abnormalities, watching them with her head tilted. 

They didn’t seem to mind the change in target, rounding on her the moment they got close and shoving their gifts towards her. 

“Here, friend! A gift for you!” Laetitia tried to offer, though the irritation in her voice couldn’t be kept out. 

“No!” Galaxy sounded stressed. “My gift will protect you!” 

“My gift is pretty!” 

“S-so is mine!” 

The match through Scorched Girl’s torso flared briefly. 

“Take mine!” 

“No, mine!” 

“Mine!” 

“You need to be protected!” 

“You need to have fun!” 

Scorched Girl’s head swiveled from gift to gift as they were pushed closer and closer to her. 

The match lit, burning away swiftly and brightly. 

Everyone around the room immediately began scrambling, Angela moving to book the Abnormality the second they knew for certain she was going to explode. 

“FRIENDS NO FIGHTING!” Road Home cried despairingly, interjecting herself into the situation and ceasing the activity of everyone else. 

And a large house slammed onto the two warring Abnormalities, shaking the whole room. 

Everyone stared at it for a moment. 

… maybe Road Home should be put back into her book. 

Scorched Girl stared at the house positively flummoxed. “Gift?” 

“No fighting.” Road Home nodded resolutely, stepping around the house as if inspecting it. 

“Hm.” The match snuffed on its own, the Abnormality calming down with smoke wisping behind her and the smell of ash rife in the air. 

“Road.” Angela sighed, relaxing. “Please remove the building.” 

She pouted but nodded in reluctant agreement. “Okay, because you asked nicely.” 

The house disappeared into golden light, revealing Laetitia and Galaxy pressed into the ground in a daze. 

“Oooh!” She exclaimed. “Pretty heart!” 

With full and complete abandon, Road Home dashed over to Laetitia and nabbed her heart gift, allowing it to float over her head without care. 

She beamed up at it brightly before skipping back over to the Scaredy Cat. “Cat, Cat! Look at the pretty heart!” 

The cat  very  shakily turned its head towards her, eyes watery but trying to do as asked.

Huh. It didn’t burst into the spider friends?

“Come on, come on, Cat!” Road Home beckoned. “There’s more fun to be had.”

She skipped right back over to Laetitia.

Does it not care for other Abnormalities?

Flinching under Binah’s intense gaze the entire time, Scaredy Cat slowly maneuvered its way out of the corner it had been stuck in to follow its friend.

Every step was so shaky it seemed it would collapse at any moment, walking along through some kind of earthquake only it experienced.

With Road Home dancing around with the heart and Scaredy Cat trying to follow (with Binah’s eyes never leaving it) like a lost kitten, Scorched Girl was somewhat left to her own devices. Not having much else to do, she tentatively approached Child of the Galaxy’s dazed form and peered down at him. It didn’t take long before she found his gift.

“It is pretty.” She noted quietly, absconding the healing rock for herself and tottering off with it clasped within her hands; a small smile on her face as she settled back into her corner. Simply staring at the stone.

The match slowly began to reform.

Neither Laetitia or Galaxy budged from the ground, though clearly hadn’t been taken out or they’d have reverted to their books. They’d be up soon and have to figure themselves out with Road Home and Scorched Girl taking their gifts for themselves.

Probably.

They’d probably be up soon. 

Maybe.

Possibly.

Angela was just glad things had settled down without her really needing to intervene… guess she could let them play out of their books for a while longer; the perpetrators might just well appreciate their gifts being found pretty.

… the Bear was fine too, she supposed. Gabriel was enjoying it. Staring down at everyone from its head.

Chapter Text

“Prithee!” Don declared, surging onto the Floor of General Works with a smile that promised chicanery on her face. “Lend thine ear to this ingenious idea of mine!” 

The room slowly turned to her in trepidation, wondering what it could  possibly  be that she’s rushing to them so excitedly for. 

Because it really could be anything. 

“Behold!” Some kind of game box was slapped down onto the table. “I hath found it in the deepest depths of History!” She declared, looking quite proud of herself. 

“Dungeons and Dragons?” Gregor questioned curiously, looking over the box. “Never heard of that one.” He scratched at the back of his neck as he tried to see if he could remember differently. 

“Indeed!” She smiled broadly. “Behold the game of imagination and creativity, adventures abounding inexhaustible! The vehicle for grand justice for all to partake even should you lack the necessary physicality to do so for your fellow man.” 

Everyone stared at the box. 

“Yeah, uh, never heard of it.” Rodion admitted with a mumble. 

“It sounds a little bit like Ruins and Rats, though?” Sinclair questioned, head tilting a bit. When everyone gave him questioning stares, he turned a bit red. “Used to play it with old school friends.” 

“It does sound that way.” Yan nodded in agreement. “I’ve played before as well.” 

“That would be because it is, my fine friends.” Don beamed at them, pleased they had some recognition. “Tis the precursor, a format long forgotten from ages past which would eventually become the Ruins and Rats which we know today.” 

“Dungeons and Dragons sounds way cooler than Ruins and Rats, how’d they fumble that?” Heathcliff scoffed. 

“En-City-fication comes for all, one way or another.” Ryōshū shook her head disapprovingly. 

Dante gave her an odd look. <Doesn’t the City allow for most of your artistic endeavors?> 

“I.D.N.A.” She replied with a scowl. 

A few hands met a few faces. 

<I… guess you didn’t.> Dante sighed. <But what do you intend us to do with this Dungeons and Dragons game?> 

“Why, I would desire that we embark on grand adventure together! With the stakes low and no lives or Boughs to be lost, perhaps we might find a merry time!” Don looked so pleased with herself it almost hurt. “Of course, young Yan may join us if he pleases.” 

“Hm…” Yan hummed, hand to his chin. “I might.” 

“Splendid!” She then turned to find where Angela was definitely not not listening in. “Might I request the fair Librarian herself take us on this journey? I’m sure thine story crafting ability must be quite keen, yes?” 

Angela tilted her head slightly, looking to be contemplating it even if she was also very clearly chuffed by the prospect. “Perhaps I may lend my tales to your adventure.” 

A few glances were exchanged amongst the Sinners; some curious and others unimpressed. 

Eventually, after a bit of convincing among them, the Sinners agreed. 

<Well, if we’re doing this, guess we should go get started?> Dante moved to stand. 

“Nay, take a well-earned break, Manager Esquire.” Don shook her head disapprovingly. “Thine efforts for us beget a long rest. Thou needn’t push thyself in a game of mere merrymaking.” 

Something like this was wont to drive Dante to severe stress. She didn’t want to do that! Give that clockhead a break while Angela supervises them! This was just her curating that. Yup. Yep. Uh huh. 

Also, it was pretty clear the guy really needed a break. 

<Don, I-I can't really sleep.> Dante tried. 

A loud clang resounded through the room, and Dante dropped to the ground. 

Nicolina smiled devilishly, standing over the Manager’s fallen form with the handle of her scissors primed over her head. “Don’t worry, I gotcha!” 

With that, she bent down and slung Dante over her shoulder, saluting and carting the poor, overworked Manager off somewhere to lay down. 

No one was quite sure where she’d come from. 

Don smiled, nodding in approval. “Much obliged, niece of mine.” She then turned to head to the game area. “Now, come! Adventure awaits us!” 

She marched off. 

Angela shook her head in amusement. “I will need but a moment to familiarize myself with the rules and formulate a story from either presets or my own thoughts.” 

“Most excellent! I shall set the rest!” 

***

Naturally, it had taken quite some time to get the Sinners and Yan set up with characters, a basic understanding of the rules, and ready to play. Not just because of their usual shenanigans, but because the game was pretty complicated for anyone new and the sheer volume of players just took forever to get through. 

Sinclair and Yan were able to help Don with everyone, at least, though many would think that this might be the time for her to drop the persona and not act like a spaz so they could move this along. 

She did not. 

In that time, Angela had plenty of room to come up with a simple plot for them to follow and encounters for them to face on their way. 

The A.I had accumulated a fair amount of knowledge of the outside world by now, but had yet to experience most of it herself. As such, while she had the knowledge to craft something from the outside, she hadn’t the experience to back it up. 

So, she’d taken some liberty and used more of the Dungeons and Dragons setting than she might have originally liked. Though, the thought of wide, open spaces filled with medieval towns, forests, castles, and monsters was perhaps an appealing fantasy. 

Which obviously meant that the endgame the group was aiming for for their own gains, everyone having some kind of knowledge they wished to obtain for various reasons… 

Was very obviously the Library itself. 

You know, a giant tower in the middle of the land that contained all the world’s knowledge that scant few could ever reach, much less make it out alive, and was run by a being only known as the ‘Lady in Black’. 

No one knew who or what this Lady was, just that she jealously guarded the knowledge within her tower. 

Definitely not the Library at all. Nope. Nuh uh. 

Angela had even managed to drag Binah up here to act as the Lady when that time came – Chesed following after her with Tiphereth watching the kids at the moment. 

The campaign had started normally enough: everyone met in an adventuring guild and wound up grouping together for their similar goals. More numbers meant a better chance of success, right? 

The journey there would be long and harrowing, not to mention entering the tower itself and finding the knowledge each individual sought while facing what the tower had to offer. 

It took Binah all of two minutes to curl up in Chesed’s lap and fall asleep, knowing her role was not needed for some time. 

And all of ten minutes after that for things to go off the rails. 

… that woman could (understandably) sleep through anything, Angela swore-- 

“DON! IT HAS BEEN FIVE MINUTES SINCE WE LEFT THE GUILD HALL!” Heathcliff roared. 

“There is justice to be served!” The hero fanatic defended. “Thou wisht to leave a fair maiden in need to her imminent demise?” 

“You can’t just run off like a chicken with your head cut off!” He reached over to dig his knuckles into her head. “How many bandits are there?” His head snapped over to Angela. 

“Eight.” She replied. 

There were thirteen party members. Eight was honestly a low number. 

“A simple enough number for us to handle.” Don puffed her chest out. “As an honorable paladin of the oath, it is my solemn duty to assist those unfortunate and in need!” 

“No one said we weren’t going to help, but I agree that running in headfirst without a plan is a bad idea.” Sinclair piped up. “We’ve never played together before; we’re going to need some time to sort ourselves out.” 

The very existence of this encounter was to get them used to playing. And to help them figure out how to navigate Don. 

Don crossed her arms, sitting back in her chair. “I see. A fair point, but we shan’t take long to step in.” 

Ishmael sighed. “We should head over and step in, no one wants bandits running around anyway.” She glanced at Chesed, quirking a brow at Binah. “I am highly envious of her ability to sleep through this.” 

He chuckled good-naturedly, lightly running his knuckles up and down her arm in a soothing motion – likely just busying his hands so he’s not completely inert. “You wouldn’t be envious of how she gained such an ability, but it certainly comes in handy for her~” 

That it certainly did. 

“If we are headed to face the bandits, then we’d best form up and head over.” Outis stated, arms crossed and… somewhat understanding the game in terms of battle simulation. “As the ranger of the group, I’d best stay to the back.” She didn’t appear to mind that even if ranger likely wasn’t her first choice. 

She was adamant that as the most difficult class (the weakest), the ranger would only be right in her hands. No one else would see it excel. 

They hadn’t been allowed to pick the same class as anyone else. Angela was positive she would have picked monk or paladin otherwise, if not warlock, but she compensated with bluster instead. 

“That is not a bad position for the leader of the group to be.” Outis decided, earning herself groans from the entire table. 

“We don’t necessarily need a leader more than someone to be the face of the group to take care of any diplomatics.” Yan stepped in tactfully. “Which would best be done by the bard as bards are usually the ones with the highest charisma, though a couple other classes can take lead instead.” 

Hm. She knew he and Sinclair were familiar with the game, but that kind of knowledge insinuated a deeper understanding than she’d initially thought. Should she ever somehow need from her own computational ability, she can lean on him. 

Outis visibly deflated, disgruntled. “I… see.” 

“Oh, that would be me.” Hong Lu blinked, finger to his lips. “I’ll do my best~” 

Hong Lu was a good option for that kind of thing in general. 

“Aside from that, are we going for the bandits or…?” Rodion trailed off. 

“This is not the right time to be discussing party politics.” Yi Sang agreed with a nod. 

Angela hummed. “Yes, you are lucky that this is not a real life scenario, or the woman would be long dead by now.” 

Yan chuckled. “You could turn the party’s indecisiveness against them.” 

She cracked a smile. “I could.” 

“Nay!” Don sat straight upright, staring straight into Angela as if she had been personally insulted. “We’ve scarce had opportunity to engage with the scene! Thou canst turn out of character debate upon the characters!” 

The A.I waved her off airily. “I had no intentions of doing such. It was merely a… humorous anecdote.” 

“I didn’t suggest it seriously, either.” Yan smiled at the Bloodfiend. 

Don simply huffed. “To make such light in a situation so urgent…” 

“It is decided we are to engage.” Faust took control. “As such, we should direct our characters over posthaste.” 

“Verily.” Don’s cheeks puffed out indignantly. “In a calm and collected manner, then?” 

“With some speed to it.” Ishmael shook her head with an eyeroll. 

“Hmph.” The blonde’s head bobbed, motioning everyone to continue. 

Perhaps now she should burst their sense of collection. 

“As nice as this semblance of organization you’ve put together is, Don’s character has already spurred her steed to charge directly for the bandits.” She informed them calmly. 

Funny to think they’d forgotten that. 

A beat of silence. 

Slowly, all heads turned towards Angela. 

“Any chance we can convince you to allow her to take that back?” Ishmael asked dully. 

“I feel that would be disingenuous.” Angela replied, hands folded before her. She has to let them stumble, doesn’t she? Taking back every poor action would only be… artificial. 

Then, they all turned to Don. 

Her cheeks puffed out, looking highly conflicted for a moment as she determined if the Don Quixote persona should continue forging onwards or if the genuine Sancho response might be more appropriate to save some sanity here. 

“T-tis what my character would do.” She mumbled, refusing to meet anyone’s eye. 

Yan raised an eyebrow. “I hope this isn’t how you intend to run the entire campaign.” 

The short fanatic coughed. “N-nay…” 

There was another span of silence. 

“Do the rest of you wish to do anything?” Angela prompted. It was her role to keep them progressing, even if that progress wasn’t to her own liking. 

“Well, duh!” Heathcliff threw his hands up. “We gotta go after her so she doesn’t get herself killed.” 

Angela merely folded her hands on the table, to his confusion. 

Sinclair leaned over to him. “Try doing so in character or saying what he’s going to do.” He whispered. 

Heathcliff was silent a moment, brows furrowed as he thought this over. 

Rodion snickered. 

“Ah… er…” Heathcliff cleared his throat harshly, Adam’s apple visibly bobbing. “Ehm… H-hey! After the lass ‘fore she gets herself killed!” 

It’s not like Angela was going to force anyone to use a different voice for their characters (she doesn’t need that distinction even if many would) but at least acting like you were in the situation was expected. Not everyone was into role-play, so it had been decided to allow everyone to essentially play as themselves. 

Sinclair nodded in acceptance. “Y-yeah, we shouldn’t split up like this so soon.” 

“A wise decision.” Meursault stated as usual. Him acting the situation really was not going to be any different from normal. “I cannot monitor all of your lives so far apart.” 

He’d been stuck with playing cleric. Now, he hadn’t exactly chosen a class at all, and someone needed to be the healer, so he just accepted the role. The cleric class tended to be pretty strong anyway, but with twelve other people… yeah, he was going to be busy. Hopefully, Hong Lu or someone could pick up some healing spells to help? 

Everyone else nodded to follow, unsure about needing to voice every little thing. 

Thus, they entered their first combat. 

With the initiative roles on the table, Ryōshū, naturally, was going first. Playing a rogue, that was only going to happen. 

“The combat in this game is paltry.” She huffed after combat had been explained. 

“Just try to imagine what you want to do to the bandit after you get your damage roll in.” Sinclair sighed. “The edition Angela chose is limited, but it’s best for beginners.” 

Her eyes rolls. “Kill that one.” She pointed at the nearest bandit to her rogue. 

“Roll for hit.” Angela instructed. “And add the modifier next to the weapon you are using.” 

Clicking her tongue, she did so. 

Being simple bandits, not much was going to miss them. Naturally, she hit. 

“Now, roll for damage using the dice indicated with the weapon.” She continued. 

Ryōshū seemed a bit irked by how slow this was already but did as instructed. 

… yeah, with thirteen people, this is going to take some time, isn’t it. 

Angela slowly went through the rest of the turns. Some of the Sinners were paying attention when their turns came around and managed to play their turns quickly, the bandits slowly starting to drop, but a few weren’t. Yan and Sinclair were very helpful to the rest, at the very least. 

And then there was Faust’s first turn of combat ever. 

“Hmmmmm…” Faust scoured over her sheet to determine her options. 

“Fau, we’re level one, you can’t have that many spells.” Rodion sighed. 

“There are only two bandits left, too…” Gregor muttered. 

“Well, we don’t know what else we might face today, so choosing the right spell is important for future combats.” Yi Sang tried to defend her. “It would be ideal to keep our options open for later.” 

“Correct.” Faust stated, eyes not moving from her sheet. 

“You can cast a cantrip, then. It doesn’t cost any spell slots, and they’re inexhaustible.” Yan informed. “I’m sure Sinclair made sure you had one for combat.” 

Sinclair nodded. “Yeah. She said something about ‘meta’ and taking a level in Hexblade Warlock, so I had her take Booming Blade.” He muttered something under his breath that sounded like “where is she getting this ‘meta’ from?” 

That connection she has to other Mirror Worlds is helping her play Dungeons and Dragons? 

Angela will never understand this woman. 

“Ah, yes, I suppose Booming Blade will have to do.” The genius of a woman sounded a bit disappointed. 

Yan picked up on this. “As Rodion said, we’re all level one; it’ll take some time before we’re doing anything crazy.” 

Guess Faust wanted to flex some magical abilities, not that Angela could blame her. Most of the rest were clearly much the same, wanting to be powerful already. But they knew getting there took time, especially after the way they’d started as a group. 

“Yes, yes. We will get there soon, I hope.” Faust hummed. 

The remaining bandits were cleaned up soon after, and the woman saved. 

“An excellent job well done, mine comrades!” Don Quixote beamed. “Ah, I shall speak with the maiden to ensure there is no injury we must tend to.” 

“Meursault can heal it if need be, can’t he?” Hong Lu asked curiously. 

“He should have something minor for healing so far, yes.” Yan nodded in confirmation. 

“Affirmative.” Meursault nodded. 

“Hark! Fair, young maiden!” Don enacted her greeting with a physical wave. “Those dastardly bandits shan’t bother you now!” 

Angela mimed clearing her throat just for the effect of it. “Ah, they’re gone. Thank you for dealing with them, I don’t know what I’d have done.” 

Her eyes flicked over to her aunt and uncle on the nearby couch. That battle had taken some time; she’d need to figure out how to expedite it at least a little, so it made her feel a bit bad she’d dragged them up here far too early. 

… except for the fact that Chesed looked far too content simply sitting on the couch with his wife in his arms, blissfully cuddling her with his eyes closed. He was happily taking some time with Binah to relax together even if it was beside this group. 

Fine, then. 

“Is there anything I can offer you in return, I’m afraid I haven’t much.” At that Angela waved Don off to prevent her from replying. 

Let the others have a chance. 

She seemed to realize what Angela was getting at, nodding and pulling back without arguing. Agreeing easily. 

Yi Sang cleared his throat. “Think nothing of it, we could not simply leave bandits unattended.” 

“Yiiiiii, can’t we get some reward from this?” Rodion grumbled under her breath. 

“Surely there must be something I can do to assist you in return.” Angela decided to press. This character could be used to move them along, so… 

“We cannot so simply accept payment for our own heroism!” Don jumped back in vehemently. 

Yan took point before things could spiral down. “We are adventurers just starting out, there isn’t much we could ask in return. However, I’m sure a well-traveled woman such as yourself would be privy to some knowledge around the lands. We are knowledge seekers, brought together in our shared goal to reach the tower in the center of the land. Might you know how to get there or someone who might otherwise offer assistance?” 

Huh, he was good at this. He picked up on details she’d given earlier and remembered them, too. 

“Oh yeah, that is our goal.” Rodion coughed. 

“Perhaps you ought to start taking notes if you’re forgetting such basic details already.” Outis chided, shaking her head disapprovingly. 

“Nah, I always wing things.” The gambler waved her off. 

She huffed a sigh. 

“You seek the tower?” Angela decided to ignore them. “Those who enter and those who return are never quite the same. It’s dangerous to head there.” 

“Which is why we seek any assistance and other information we can on the matter.” Yan nodded with a tilt of his head. “If there’s anything you can offer in assistance, we would be most appreciative.” He paused. “Ah, I would say he’d be bowing.” 

Angela pursed her lips. “Roll charisma?” 

He did so, passing easily. 

“You do know how to convince a girl, don’t you.” Angela wasn’t quite sure where that response came from, but whatever. “I suppose it is my obligation to assist for saving me from the bandits. There is a village not too far from where the tower stands above the land, I can guide you there so you may speak with the townsfolks and prepare for your entry.” 

Yan smiled. “Yes, that would be wonderful. We’ll be sure to protect you along the way – he stands back tall and looks to the rest of the group.” 

“Nothing shall pass mine and my steed.” Don boasted. 

“We’ve got the means to protect her, yeah.” Ishmael nodded. 

“Much obliged – she offers a bow of her own.” Angela motioned her head to the side. 

Hah… it was a bit harder to treat this as imaginary than she was expecting. Perhaps her machine mind hindered her in this respect in some ways. 

“Ah, I seem to have let my role slip.” Hong Lu laughed abashedly. “You got so into it I didn’t think to step in.” 

Yan shook his head with a chuckle. “It’s fine, you’ll get into it as we go.” 

Thus was the journey started. It would be long and winding with many battles before them. The real encounters would not start until their departure from that village, but steadily increasing difficulty would still be warranted along the way. 

Now, with a party of thirteen, most battles were either going to be enormous, need stronger enemies, or just be complete breezes for them. That’s partly why she’d made the decision to give them a non-combatant non-player character to protect, to make the battles a bit more difficult, but she also wanted a medium to be able to interact with them in-game. 

Slowly but surely they made their way to the village, gaining several levels along the way and passing through other towns. 

Not too much of note was going to happen just yet, but gaining plenty of levels before the tower was going to be vital. 

The party was as follows: 

Yi Sang was playing an Artificer on the route for Alchemy. 

Faust was a Bladesinger Wizard dipping her toes into Hexblade. 

Don Quixote would never have been anything other than a Paladin Devoted to her Oath of Justice. 

Ryōshū sought after the deadly ways of the Assassin Rogue. 

Meursault took on the burden of being the party’s sole healer, going full throttle into a Life Cleric. 

Hong Lu slowly developed quite the tongue of Eloquence that could sway near anyone to the Bard’s tune. 

Heathcliff let his beastly nature take the reins and was playing as a Beast Barbarian, allowing the wilds to overtake him. 

Ishmael was more straightforward as per usual, and her Fighter sought to master all forms of Battle. 

Rodion had taken her own spin on the path of the Kensei Monk, wielding a battleaxe against the usual standard. 

Outis was desperately (she would claim it was with dignity) trying to salvage the Ranger class with the Gloomstalker sub, but she wouldn’t admit that any turn beyond turn one was a struggle. 

Sinclair had been playing pretty relaxed so far with his Druid, idly experimenting with the Spore subclass. 

Gregor was getting his footing under him, sorting out playing with an Aberrant Mind with his Sorcerer. Truly, why could no one else see the malformation of his body… 

And, finally, Yan was beholden to the whims of a Fiend, his Warlock seemingly unhappy with the chaos that follows him. 

Yan tended to be the one who stuck by the woman they’d saved from the bandits. His spells allowed him the range, yes, but he also perhaps appeared to be trying to make up for the misfortune his Patron sometimes caused. 

There was the matter of him also being one of the more experienced players to manage their escort mission. 

Eventually, they did make it to the village. 

… after a few misadventures following Don’s justice. Those did net them a couple magic items, though. 

Which Yi Sang had tried to give to Faust with a statement of ‘these would best be held in your hands’ or some explanation of such. Faust hadn’t seemed to think anything of it, accepting the logic and agreeing. 

Yes, the items did do well with a wizard such as she. 

But that wasn’t Yi Sang’s real motivation now, was it? 

And Faust helping him develop his build to full efficiency, while certainly logical, was also not entirely for that reason. 

Neither seemed to notice, though. 

Anyway, enough about that. 

Angela described the oddly thriving community, contrasting the dark shadow of the looming tower in the distance cast over it. The place was bustling with activity, adventurers from all over the continent gathered in this hub as their checkpoint before heading to the spire on the horizon. 

“Guess this place has made a lotta bank offa adventurers like us, huh?” Gregor noted, hissing between his teeth. “I’m gonna bet they won’t have much regard for our lives.” 

“That is unlikely.” Ishmael nodded in agreement. “I turn to our guide: are you sure there’s going to be anyone who’ll help us here? Like, actually help us and not just work us for a quick buck and send us on our way.” 

“She looks a bit insulted as she replies: of course, I’m sure. I would not have promised so otherwise.” Angela crossed her arms. 

Ishmael let out one of her sighs. “Right, sorry.” 

Angela sniffed. “I suppose I will allow you that the economy runs on those searching for the tower and plenty exploit that, but true locals prefer to keep the area more low-key.” 

“Probably why it hasn’t been exalted to a city.” Hong Lu put a finger to his lips. 

“Indeed.” She nodded. 

Alright, they’re here… time to push this along. 

Angela idly glanced at her aunt and uncle once more, only finding herself deadpanning. It had been several hours by now, and Binah had been asleep the  entire time. 

Chesed looked highly amused. 

She rolled her eyes, focusing back on the game. Binah would be up when she needed to be, she knew that, she just had no idea how she managed it. 

If she could ignore the multitudinous dice towers Rodion built, she could ignore this. 

… where had Rodion even gotten that many dice? She basically had a castle around her character sheet now. 

Angela might have taken issue with it, but a: it did actually keep Rodion involved in what was happening, and b: she was legitimately impressed. 

More than a few d4s were balanced on their tips. With other dice stacked on top of them. Not to mention one set was balanced with two d4s point to point. 

“If you would follow me.” Angela took them through the village, pointing out the fine state of the buildings and the clear wealth that went into them, soon giving way to more quaint housing – that of the locals. The buildings were in good repair, but nothing so extravagant as the rest. 

She would bring them to a building somewhat larger than the rest, clearly not a residential building as they were. No, it was the locals’ library. 

They entered, heading through the modest shelves towards the back. 

“Uncle.” Angela called idly, both in game and out. 

Yes, once Chesed tacked himself onto Binah, she gave him a role. He could play his part as himself, he knew what to do. 

“Wait, you live here?” Heathcliff muttered, a bit surprised. 

Chesed peeked an eye open. “Oh, hello Angela~” 

Angela… had attempted to come up with a creative, new name for this character which  wasn’t supposed to be herself, but Chesed had looked far too amused by everything she came up with, so she gave up. Creativity was not her strong suit… 

No, that is not why so much seemed to mirror the Library itself. Complete coincidence, she assures you. 

… every Sinner was just called by classname, too. 

“Back from your trip so soon?” He asked, winking at her. 

He was finding this entertaining. 

“Yes, I ran into some trouble and needed assistance.” She replied, rolling her eyes at him. 

“I see~ I take it these fine fellows are the ones who offered such assistance?” 

“Ah, that’d be correct.” Hong Lu took point. “I hope we aren’t intruding; your niece was kind enough to escort us here.” 

Chesed frowned. “If I had to hazard a guess, you’re here for the spire.” 

“We are, sir.” He confirmed. 

He let out a very convincing sigh. “Angela, don’t tell me you brought them here just to send them to that place?” 

Angela shook her head. “I’m afraid I have. They were insistent on reaching the place, and it was all I had to offer for saving me from bandits.” 

His frown deepened. 

Angela was starting to think he’d played a game like this before. He clearly knew what he was doing. 

“Many come here to siege that place.” His tone went softer, deeper. “Seeking fame, fortune, simply to be the one to claim to have conquered it, or to crack open the knowledge within it for all in some perceived glory. Scarce few who enter ever return, even scarcer are those who exit unchanged in any form. The Lady in Black does not take kindly to guests, much less those with such shallow aim.” 

Binah looked pleased curled up against his chest as he spoke, feeling the vibrations of his voice against her. 

“We do seek the knowledge within that place, all with our own various reasons.” Hong Lu closed his eyes in contemplation. “I cannot speak for the others, but what I seek is not for my own gain. Is it noble? I do not believe myself the one to make that distinction, but the knowledge I have to gain is worth the risk to me. If I fail, not much will change, but if I succeed?” His eyes reopened. “It will make all the difference.” 

Chesed’s eyes flicked to Angela. 

“Ah, I suppose you ought to roll charisma.” Angela picked up the prompt easily. 

“Good thing it’s quite high~” Hong Lu chuckled. 

“I’d imagine my save is high as well.” Chesed shot back good-naturedly. 

“A fair point!” Hong Lu rolled a d20. 

“Ah, it would be ideal to share our aims at this point, wouldn’t it.” Yi Sang realized with a soft grunt. 

“Maybe not right this second.” Yan chuckled. “But it would be a good idea to at some point, if our characters trust each other enough.” 

“That’s up to your own discretion.” Angela shrugged. “Hong Lu rolled a 27… that barely passes.” 

“Barely!?” Gregor yelped. “How high was the save?” 

“26.” 

Chesed laughed. “What can I say? I’m a hard guy to convince!” 

Yan turned to him skeptically. “Weren’t you convinced to join Carmen’s cause after Kali kidnapped you?” 

Heathcliff banged into the table in startle, brought back to attention by that statement. 

Rodion hissed out between her teeth, eyes hot on her wobbling dice. 

How did those not fall? 

Her dear uncle smiled abashedly. “If I were to give Carmen a charisma stat, it’d probably be 30.” 

“She is a convincing woman.” Meursault nodded sagely. 

“Incredibly~” 

Yan didn’t look impressed. 

Angela rolled her eyes again, very much agreeing with that expression. “Anyway, you succeed the check…” 

Chesed put a hand up to placate her, smiling with humor. He shook it off and schooled himself, sighing once more. “I suppose you will be going there with or without my help. I’ve seen many an adventurer head that way, young and old… perhaps I’d like to see someone come back one day…” 

“I would agree, Uncle.” Angela piped back in. “These adventurers have protected me the whole way here, I believe they’ve a fair shot at retrieving their books.” 

“That so?” He tilted his head. “Then I suppose I ought to lend my assistance for helping my niece.” 

He and Angela then spent a short time explaining what it was they had to expect – that they knew of. Based on those who’d managed to leave and what they simply knew for being so close. 

Powerful enemies lied in wait in that tower; they needed to prepare with as much healing as they could get their hands on and their minds against psychic attacks. 

Angela did need to up the ante on the encounters they faced. They hadn’t been difficult enough yet – though she’d admit that she was definitely expediting their leveling by a lot and that did offset things. 

None of their gear was deemed fit to continue on any further apart from the magical items. It wasn’t that magical items were necessary, but that regular ones would not be as effective, and their armor wouldn’t fare well. 

As for the Lady herself? An ageless being who’d been there as far back as history went, fed up with mortals to some extent. There was rumor that an offering could buy you knowledge in return but that not all offerings were accepted. 

Once they were finished, they sent the party to the local blacksmith. 

Now, of course, there were plenty of weapons’ shops and blacksmiths set up around the main hub of the village, but those were not reliable. The local one was, which most adventurers would not bother which as he did not advertise himself as for the tower. 

It probably took everyone longer to gear up than it should have, but Yi Sang and Faust were constantly recommending things to each other, Gregor had to stop Rodion from haggling too much as Angela clearly wasn’t going to drop the price as low as she wanted (trying to make use of the charisma of other players didn’t go anywhere either. And no, Rodion, a natural twenty means nothing anymore), Ishmael had to stop Hong Lu from trying to overpay before the blacksmith even gave the price, and Outis kept trying to find every conceivable kind of power arrow possible. 

The visit to the apothecary wasn’t much better. 

But they were resting in the inn and heading out soon enough. 

The encounters were a lot harder from there on out, the amount of monsters and the quality of them increasing the closer they got to the tower. A lot seemed to be protecting the place, lashing out at anything they came across. 

Ryōshū was finally becoming more pleased with the damage she could do, though… if she was also simultaneously irritated at how unreliable it could be. The explanations of her kills were getting too creative in Angela’s opinion. 

A few encounters actually managed to get close to taking someone out, but… Rodion was becoming one of the most irritating combatants. And purely because of her own gambling ability. 

And Lucky. 

A lot of Lucky. 

Rodion already had an uncanny ability to roll natural twenties (usually when it was entirely unnecessary), but Lucky just made it worse – Angela knew she wasn’t lying, either. 

Some checks or rolls that should not have done much? Rodion passed with ease. 

Angela wasn’t sure what she could do to mitigate that… but she supposed she didn’t have to? The point of the game was fun, after all. She didn’t necessarily want to kill any of them, but she couldn’t make it so that they were never in danger. 

Meursault, too, now had a lot more that he needed to manage with the party’s health dipping into danger more often than not. The man did seem pleased to be so helpful even if he looked just as stoic as usual. 

After a long and harrowing journey, granting them even more levels, they found themselves outside of the tower. 

It was intimidating and-- 

… they all compared it to when they first reached the Library. The feeling they all felt staring up at it, terrible and awed. A daunting task, doom looming impending over them. 

Angela definitely did not look petulant. 

And Chesed was not laughing at her. 

The party made camp outside the doors to take a well needed long rest before heading inside. They lit a camp and settled down before turning in, idle chatter passing between them. 

“It has been on my mind some time now.” Yi Sang began with a low hum. “But what is it that has brought all of us together? We gathered together from happenstance to delve our way into the greatest wealth of knowledge this world may possess, a danger surpassing even the grandest army. We were but strangers, but now approach comrades in arms – why is it that we’ve all chosen to take this plunge?” 

“A question quite invasive.” Faust replied. “But one we are best at liberty to discuss at this present time, perhaps to better understand each other.” 

She means unlike all of the information she had in each Sinner and refused to divulge before their turns came to their close? 

“I shall begin.” She actually looked eager to discuss this. It was likely she had tried to piece together everyone’s motivation herself and wanted to know if she was right. 

Also, the simple fact of actually not knowing something excited her to the prospects of her success or failure. 

“Ah, I thank you, Wizard.” Yi Sang nodded with a smile, quite pleased. “I am interested to hear your thoughts.” 

“I am glad to comply.” A smile lifted her lips. “This wizard seeks knowledge for the simple sake of knowledge. There is much the world does not know and has to discover, I wish to learn all that I can. The journey and learning process is quite enough for me. Perhaps I might begin a learning academy to help others towards knowledge with what I learn, but my own journey has much to complete before then.” 

“An astute and honorable goal for one such as yourself.” Yi Sang smiled, cheeks lightly dusted red. 

Faust merely puffed her chest out in pride, happy with her delivery. 

These two are so oblivious. 

“My ambition is perhaps far less grand, but I believe it to be for the greater good.” Yi Sang went to give his own motivation in response. “There is much I wish to accomplish with my inventions, but the means to do so elude me. There is much joy to be had in creation, I wish to share it with others and see the happiness upon their faces. Perhaps they may find joy in creating their own, or perhaps some items may go to a greater purpose.” 

“A noble goal indeed.” Faust agreed. 

He just looked a bit abashed. 

“Hark!” Don butted in, eager to share her own. “Mine ambition is for the justice of all! A great many evils lie in this world; I seek the means to find and quell them. As a young squire, a great fiend tore my family apart. Further, those few I had left, that which I had managed to cling to, hath vanished. 

“I seek them. To return mine family to mine side and silence the fiend that deserted us. No more may fall to its fell claws.” She finished on a more solemn note yet still just as firm and determined. 

If any of the three remaining members of her family heard that… well, the reactions would be different for each of them, but it was sweet all the same. 

… is Don trying to say they’d stolen her family from her? No, no, no, that wasn’t it, she was just using the situation for inspiration. 

“Ahaha~” Hong Lu chuckled with a smile. “Seems we have that somewhat in common. A fiend beset my own village not long before I set out on this journey. I… simply wish to save my sister from its clutches.” 

“Ah!” Don gasped in surprise. “Thou hast mine full support! We shall vanquish this fiend together and reclaim our family!” 

“I will happily stand beside you.” He smiled. 

Yan’s lips pinched. 

“I, uh…” Heathcliff scratched at the back of his head. “Dunno what it was that did it, but my lover disappeared not too long ago either. I just want to find her.” 

“And we shall offer you our assistance.” Hong Lu smiled. “Our goals seem to align.” 

He quirked a brow. “Well, I dunno if it was your fiend…” 

“We don’t know if we have the same fiend~” The heterochromatic man pointed out. 

“… Fair point.” 

“Hmph…” Ryōshū scoffed. “I will J.A.W.” 

And that’s all she said. 

All heads turned to her. 

She did not go on. 

“Join as well…” Sinclair pursed his lips. “You lost someone?” 

“Hmph.” 

Everyone knew exactly what the motivation was now, and no one was going to say another word. 

“I guess I’ll go next, then.” Sinclair smiled a bit shakily. “I’ve lost my own loved ones, but they’re long gone… my intentions are to continue their legacy. The knowledge they possessed is gone, however; it was not passed down to me before they left this world. I was hoping this place might contain it – I do know what to look for.” 

“I myself was hoping to find some answers.” Gregor raised his bug arm. “This arm of mine… this twisted, eldritch flesh… I need to know where it came from, why it haunts me… and why none of you can see it.” He shook it off. “I’d like to be rid of it.” 

It was a little bit comical considering they could see his bug arm, but they got the gist of it. 

“Man, all of you have such noble goals…” Rodion giggled with a grimace. “I was just in it for the glory…” 

“Well, you could change your mind.” Sinclair offered with a smile. “Surely, helping us find this fiend is noble enough?” 

She thought it over a moment with a long, drawn-out sound of noncommittance before smiling crookedly and socking him in the arm. 

Sinclair yelped, nearly toppling from his chair. 

 “Yeah, it sure is~” 

“I was mostly in it for the sake of adventure.” Ishmael shrugged. “Maybe to find my own aim in life. Mastering every weapon is its own thing, it doesn’t need all the knowledge the world has to offer… I just wanted to see if there was more to it.” 

Meaning in life was something a lot of people sought after. Though, perhaps not so recklessly. 

However, now Angela feels a bit vindicated that things just so happened to sorta seem like the Library. 

“I am not of this plane.” Outis stated simply, a bit rigid. “I merely seek the means to return back home.” 

There was a soft ‘huh’ from a few of them, likely not having expected that. It made sense, sure, but they hadn’t really gone over different realities in this game. It’s simply how Outis chose to explain her own journey home through this media. 

“I seek love.” Was all Meursault said. 

Everyone stared at him. 

An awkward silence fell for a moment before Yan cleared his throat to break it. 

“All I want is to be free from my Patron.” He stated softly. “This was not a pact I wanted to make, and I fear the Fiend which enforced it may be the same one which has caused so many of you troubles.” 

All heads shifted to him. 

Don merely smiled sharply. “Then thou simply must join us in our endeavors to see the Fiend to ruin.” 

A small smile cracked his lips. “I’d be glad to.” 

“I appreciate your honesty, my fellows.” Yi Sang spoke back up. “It seems there is more to be done upon the finish of our time here.” 

“Assuming we live.” Rodion yawned. 

“And maybe during a different session.” Yan laughed. 

“I can keep going.” Angela shrugged. “The Library can keep all of you going.” 

“We’ll see.” Faust hummed pleasantly. “I am pleased that I was able to determine your backstories myself.” 

Many eyes rolled. 

“Of course, you did, Faust. You are quite intelligent.” Yi Sang praised. 

“Faust knows all in all situations, it seems.” She smiled. 

Even more eyes rolled. 

It wasn’t too much longer before they got their rest in and entered the tower. 

Immediately upon entering, they would get the oppressive feeling of being watched – compounded by Binah cracking an eye open. 

How she always does this-- 

Then, just a little bit further into the building with tensions rising, the grand hallway giving way to a vast, open atrium… 

They were beset by a dragon. 

Now, Angela had wanted to go full evil and throw something like Bahamut or Tiamat at them, but that had seemed a bit cruel, so it was only a Red Greatwyrm. 

Hey, there were still thirteen of them. 

The battle was harrowing, the burn damage upon them compounding to the point of Faust, Yi Sang, Gregor, Sinclair, Heathcliff, and Ishmael all being on their last death saving throws with Don desperately trying to tank the damage and Meursault doing everything he could to keep everyone else going. 

A well-timed use of Lucky kept Rodion on her feet to deliver a powerful blow to the dragon after taking its breath attack to the face, leaving it on just little enough health for Ryōshū to land a critical strike and take it out. 

The battle won, the table erupted in cheers. They practically needed another long rest after that. 

The dragon’s body simply disappeared upon its defeat, as if returned to the tower itself in wait. 

That was something else they’d been told: any monster which fell in this place returned upon the entrance of the next group. The dragon would be back. 

After a rest, oddly allowed to take it, they continued further into the tower. A staircase laid beyond the atrium, taking them to the next floor. 

Each floor contained a fight more difficult than the last, though their levels grew as they went as well. There wasn’t too much stronger than a Red Greatwyrm. 

Which is why they faced a Gold one later. 

And then, upon reaching level 20, they faced a Tarrasque. It had to be done. 

Thirteen level 20s didn’t make short work of a Tarrasque, but the battle still didn’t manage to kill anyone. 

This was the point when Sinclair used his spore abilities to revive the dead out of nowhere. Mushrooms can apparently do that. 

Everyone was flabbergasted he’d just been sitting on that. They’d all thought he’d been messing with them for how little he sometimes did. 

The top of the tower was reached after defeating the Tarrasque, where they would face the Lady in Black herself. 

They found her gazing out the window at the very top of the tower. An ephemeral beauty clothed in a long, black dress that trailed to the ground. Her black eyes slid over to them bearing a deep, cavernous void of wisdom and insight, experience only someone millennia of age could hold. It was enough to freeze them all in place. 

Binah hummed, yawning lightly to shift herself out of her husband’s lap to face them more properly. 

To his disappointment. 

She did not speak, however, leaving the floor open to those who had dared trespass on her home. 

Hong Lu would take the front. As the bard, it was his role to play, but he seemed eager to do so regardless of that. “I hope we find you well, my lady – he bows. We have surpassed your trials in getting here, traveling far and wide for the knowledge you possess, risking our lives for what we can only hope will provide what we need.” 

“A foolhardy journey many may take for their own glory and personal gain.” Binah spoke, slipping into the role without issue. “For what have you assaulted my tower? Slain my children and intruded upon my home? The knowledge within is vast, those who would abuse it even more. Do you believe I remain in this tower for no reason?” 

“I’m sure mortals have given you no reason to trust them.” Hong Lu replied. “The curse of immortality is one which can easily lead to utter cynicism, especially with so many vying for it without understanding of what it entails. I can understand you merely wished to be left alone, but I’m afraid we don’t have other avenues for what we seek to accomplish. We approach you seeking your assistance, many of us have fallen astray of a Fiend dabbling in our realm and have loved ones we wish to rescue.” 

“Humans truly can be terrible, can’t they?” Angela hadn’t even realized she’d started speaking. “Their greed knows no bounds, seeking more and more and more no matter how much they have. It’s almost as if there’s something they yet still miss and try to fill it with material gain, even though it is not something such as that.” 

All heads turned to her, Binah beginning to look idly amused. 

“This tower serves as a bastion to the wealth of knowledge the world possesses, but it cannot fill that void most people miss.” She huffed. “Many years were spent gathering it, seeking understanding, only to realize it wasn’t what I truly wanted. There are things which cannot be understood, only to despair those who gaze upon it.” 

There was a beat of silence. 

Slowly, Hong Lu turned to Yan with a quirked brow. 

Yan didn’t even need the prompting. “Being left alone cannot truly be what you desired. People can be terrible, this is for certain, but there’s plenty to celebrate as well. Is it that those you cherished eventually left your side? I wouldn’t want to feel that pain of loss over and over again myself, but to lock yourself away in these walls is a lonely existence.” 

Angela gazed upon him. 

This wasn’t exactly how this was meant to go, but she herself was the one who derailed it. 

… she really wished Binah would stop looking so amused. Stop smiling, dangit. 

“Oh, and what do you propose?” Her head tilted. “I’ve seen things you cannot comprehend, lived lives I would not wish on anyone. You have defeated my tower and all that I have in it, there is not much more I can do to stop you should you wish to press ever forward.” 

Hong Lu glanced at Binah, smiling as if he was trying not to laugh. 

Binah merely smiled back, shaking her head with no shortage of humor for what she usually displays. 

“No, we do not wish to do that.” Yan shook his head vehemently. “We all have our own goals and dreams, but we truly are in need of assistance to deal with this Fiend. I believe it to be my Patron who I want nothing more than to be rid of. These powers have been a curse ever since the pact was made, nothing but destruction following where I go.” 

Their back and forth continued for quite a while, far longer than Angela had intended this to go but both had gotten pretty passionate. 

A few of the Sinners looked to be falling asleep, though, and Hong Lu and Binah were having a hard time not making each other laugh through it (Chesed had completely smushed his face into Binah’s shoulder to stifle his own). 

Less oblivious than the other, more… in denial. 

Eventually, the discussion would come to a close. 

“Very well, then. What of this proposal?” Angela planted her elbows on the table. “I will help you be rid of this demon, grant the knowledge the rest require, and your pact will fall under my name?” 

“You would be far more fair a Patron, I accept.” Yan didn’t need any convincing. 

“Splendid.” She hummed in approval. “Then let us begin.” 

“Oh, are you two done giving each other lovey eyes, then?” Rodion asked with a yawn, coming back to attention. 

Angela kicked the table, hard. 

The dice castle shuddered, eliciting a scandalized gasp from the gambler. 

A beat. 

In a glorious cascade of shapes and colors, the dice castle met its end with a scattering clatter across the table. 

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” The sheer despair wrenched from the woman was almost heartbreaking. 

Almost. 

The campaign would be wrapped up not too much longer later. The knowledge the tower contained was enough to lead them to the Fiend and take it down in one, final battle. 

The Artificer gathered the knowledge he desired for his creations, becoming a famous inventor known for his fun designs. 

The Wizard opened her own school, teaching future generations wisdom and knowledge to excel in life. 

The Paladin reunited with what remained of her family, and they forged onwards on many an adventure across the land. Simply happy to be together. 

The Rogue achieved the revenge she sought for, reclaiming what she’d lost. She simply settled down and lived a quiet life, though was ready to cut anything in half should any of the others ask for her assistance. 

The Cleric continued his life of healing people and tending to others, but a fair maiden would one day come along and join him. 

The Bard lived happily traveling across the land bringing music to everyone – and a silver tongue to sway them – with his sister at his side to create quite the duo. 

The Barbarian reunited with his lover, settling down in the deep woods to remain unbothered. Though, similar to the Rogue, should anyone seek his assistance, he was happy to lend a claw. 

The Fighter continued forging onwards on her own, heading on her own adventures to lend her blade to anyone who needed it. It was often she ran into the others, happily helping them with anything or simply taking the time to relax with her old friends. 

The Monk decided that perhaps a more quiet life was preferable… no, she founded a gambling den in the village beside the tower. Technically quieter than she had been vying for, but still plenty excitable and with many challengers to the tower to set straight. It was fulfilling. 

The Druid pursued his family’s legacy, the knowledge regained and much still to be done to expand on it. He was quite busy. 

The Ranger returned home to her family, though kept the knowledge of how to travel across the planes to return should she ever see fit to. 

The Sorcerer’s mind was mended. The power remained but no longer was he haunted by the eldritch flesh which had weighed so heavily on him. He often remained in that village by the tower, assisting the Monk with her endeavors in ensuring the newbies didn’t get themselves killed. 

And finally, the Warlock remained in the tower. No longer shackled to that Fiend, his new pact was far more pleasant to adhere to. Practically not a pact at all. 

After all, the Lady in Black did appreciate having a proper companion once again. 

The Sinners all sat back at the end of everything, silent. 

They were pleased with the ending, but… 

“That took ages, let’s never do this again.” Heathcliff groaned, head thunking into the table. 

“Usually these are done across multiple sessions and not just a single big one.” Sinclair chuckled abashedly. “I think this just got a bit out of hand.” 

“No, we’re never doing this again.” Rodion was also face down on the table, though it was in despair over her beloved dice towers. 

“A grand time was had; I am pleased.” Don Quixote smiled. “I appreciate thy minds being lent to this grand adventure. When is the next?” 

“NO!” She was immediately shut down. 

And thus ended the single Dungeons and Dragons campaign the Sinners would ever participate in. 

If Don Quixote brought Ruins and Rats before them as a far shorter and simpler time a while later, then who was to care? Rodion has more dice towers to make. 

Chapter Text

“And that, my dear lady Angela, is why this proposition is so crucial for our continued alliance here.” Nemo finished his business spiel, hands clasped behind his back completely professionally. 

Angela stared at him blankly, only feeling irritation flitting through her. “I've already offered you access to the books we have pertaining to W Corp; I do not see the importance of anything more.” 

“No, no, no!” He tutted, shaking that square head of his. “I would not be so presumptuous as to demand more of this deal after negotiations have already netted me that which I came here for in the first place – alongside my life which I value so much.” 

He certainly wouldn’t say no, though. 

She deadpanned. “Uh huh…” 

“I am merely outlining the benefits of cash generation.” Nemo wagged his finger to the silly m… hm… librarian. She did not understand monetary value and cash; he was simply educating her on the things she so sorely needed knowledge of. 

Gathering knowledge was the entire point of this library, after all! It was why she was recruiting them, to protect that knowledge and gain theirs first-hand. Duh. 

“You must understand,” he straightened his tie, “when one has a large sum of money, it simply goes to waste if you don’t spend at least some of it. Say I have twenty trillion ahn, if I cannot spend it, then what’s the point?” 

“There’s no need to buy anything while we’re in here.” Angela replied confusedly. “We have no currency to exchange for anything needing exchanged can be done so on a beneficial basis.” 

“All the benefit I need is money, my dear, naïve Angela!” Nemo sighed in disappointment. 

“You will get all the money you could ever want once I have all the Light.” It was sounding like the A.I was done with this conversation. “You have the W Corp knowledge to do with as you please, there is simply no need to pay you within the Library and there is nothing to spend it on in here.” 

Nemo would argue you could spend it outside of the Library, but convincing Angela to let them leave before this was all said and done would be quite the tall order. 

Instead, he shook his head with a lamenting sigh, arms to the sides in helplessness. “What does twenty trillion ahn with zero use amount to? It may as well not exist!” 

… hmmmmmmmm. Hmmmmmmmm? HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. 

“Ah, you are a very sophisticated A.I are you not?” Nemo asked with his best winning smile 

Her eyes blinked slowly in confusion. “Quite so.” 

“Perhaps you can answer the age-old question which has plagued mathematicians for millennia.” He clapped his hands together eagerly. “Mind, are you able to calculate such a thing? The ever-diabolical division of zero. Use my example! What is my twenty trillion ahn divided by zero equal to?” 

“Divide by zero?” Angela both looked and sounded insulted, belittled by such a suggestion. “Something so paltry is not worth the processing power.” 

And yet, Nemo could see the gears turning in her head already. 

“Ah, a shame, then! I had so much faith we would finally get to the bottom of that answer after so long with such a powerful A.I behind it.” Another sigh, saddened and disappointed. 

Her nose twitched. 

She is a lot easier than she thinks she is, isn’t she? 

“If you truly must know…” Her brows knit in irritation, then shifted to concentration, then confusion, then her expression simply froze. 

Her entire body did, in fact. Completely locked up as her eyes went blank. 

“Hm… how fascinating.” Nemo hummed to himself, leaning in closer to the A.I in curiosity. “I had been wondering how she would react to a calculator error so egregious as this one. Seems her creator did not think anyone clever enough to invoke such a stumble. Hahahaha!” 

He stood straight, looking proud of himself. Putting his hands to his hips. 

And stood there a moment. 

Angela still frozen. 

Steam was starting to rise from her head as her processors overheated. 

“I suppose I ought to fetch someone to get her out of this before divine retribution strikes. We wouldn’t want the Library – and my opportunities – crumbling before they can fully culminate.” A shrug. “That Roland fellow ought to do, he seems close with her.” 

Plan set, he turned on his heel and went to march out of the room. 

Something rumbled ferociously on a floor somewhere underneath. 

“Oh?” Nemo peered down at the flooring he stood upon. “How odd. There is not much felt between the floors from what I’ve gathered. Even the Mist and Arbiter are not always so violent.” 

He contemplated for a moment before shrugging and returning to heading to the door. 

Another shake, somehow foreboding. 

Peculiar. 

Sounds like a whole lot of not Nemo’s problem. 

Yet another, closer than the last one. 

Yep. Definitely not Nemo’s problem. 

He went to the door, ignoring the next shake. 

And it flew open right in his face. 

“Angela!” The blondie… blondie… blondie… 

The blonde one. 

With the, uh. 

The Liu. 

Her. 

That one. The one with the more defensive style. 

Shouted. 

She paused, staring at Nemo as he stared at her. She looked a bit stressed. 

“Is Angela in there?” She asked with hurry in her voice. 

“I don’t think she’s going to be much use to you, but yes.” He replied. 

The blonde gave him a bit of a dull stare. “Can I come in, this is urgent.” 

“She is urgently unavailable.” 

She went deadpan. 

He simply shrugged, stepping to the side to allow the slightly panicking woman a full view of their dear, naïve director as her poor mind struggled to comprehend the division of zero. 

The Liu Fixer stood there dumbfounded for a moment before giving him a cross look. “What did you do to her? We really need her right now.” 

The shaking of the building hadn’t quite stopped during this interaction, but her point was accentuated by an incredibly harsh one. 

Nemo just shrugged. “Looks like you’ll have to do without.” 

Her arms crossed. “What did you do?” 

Nemo gasped in affront, placing his hand to his heart. “This accusation is quite hurtful; I’ll have you know.” 

An unimpressed brow raised at him. 

He huffed. “I posited a rather innocent question at her as to what I am to do with my wealth while within this fine establishment.” 

She didn’t reply, waiting. 

“To which, what is a stack of cash when used by nothing? Zero. Nada. Zilch.” He huffed. “Seems her machine brain could not comprehend such a bottomless calculation.” 

Now, her expression was one of disbelief. “Did you ask her to divide by zero?” 

Nemo shrugged. “Guess so.” 

“You guess so?” Her voice lilted into incredulity. “Why did you ask her to do that? She’s not a calculator.” 

“Clearly not, a calculator would have just said error.” 

She looked unbelievably dumbfounded. 

A deep breath was taken, one developed through years of exercises to calm herself, let out in a slow, controlled stream. 

The rumbles were only growing in ferocity. 

“Alright, if we can’t ask Angela for help, then you’ll do to distract her.” The Fixer decided. 

Nemo squinted at her. “Huh?” 

Without warning, her hand shot out and grabbed him by the collar of his suit, and she dragged him out of the room. 

“GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH.” Sirens blared, his LEDs flashing a dangerous red. 

Nemo struggled against the Fixer’s iron grip. “Unhand me!” 

“No can do.” Was the sharp reply, and Nemo was dragged through the floor, tripping down a few staircases all the way down to Social Sciences. 

Blondie pulled him through the floor, grip unfaltering, to a sight that actually had him pausing. 

The area was completely trashed, bookshelves strewn across the way with a few floating in the water and starting to dip below. Books were everywhere. In the distance, following a trail of destruction, he could see the Arbiter, Red Mist, Shi Director, and two Liu Directors fighting off a wave of emerald, pumpkins of all things, and giant axes. 

“Cecil!” The coffee-lover was breathless as he rushed up to her. “Where’s Angela?” 

“Nickelodeon here--” Cecil yanked him forward, “told her to divide by zero and it put her into a negative feedback loop; she’s stuck at the moment.” 

Chesed’s face was properly flabbergasted. 

“Then what do we do?” Glasses, over by a door that Scarface was struggling to hold close – constantly banging with shouts of ‘let me oooooout!’ screeching behind it – asked irritably. 

“I figure he’s our sacrifice to keep her from getting out. Should be distraction enough for a one-track mind like this, right?” Cecil shrugged, tugging Nemo over to the door. 

“What’s happening?” Nemo asked, now feeling properly daunted. 

“Olga replaced Mei’s tea with coffee.” Nemo hadn’t noticed the short Shi was even there-- 

“We’re lucky we got here before she got to any other floor.” The taller Shi grimaced. “We’d have a larger problem on our hands.” 

“Oh.” Nemo did not know why giving someone coffee was that big of a deal? 

Though, now that he looked again, that drunkard was face first down in the water. 

“She was aiming to recreate the Realizations, something about doing them better.” Scarface grunted, grimacing with his back flat to the door as it slammed against him. 

Strong door, huh? 

“IT’SGOTTABEDONE!” Shouted from behind the door, just slightly muffled. 

Cecil took a breath. “We need to be fast, you two ready?” She lifted Nemo up. 

“What are you doing?” Nemo squirmed. 

Both men nodded, bracing themselves. 

Cecil brought him closer, the two looking like they were preparing to open the door. 

“Wait a minute, I didn’t agree to this!” Nemo tried to dig his heels into the floor, but tall Shi kicked them back out. 

“Close enough.” Glasses replied coolly. 

He gave Cecil another nod, ready. 

“Alright, then.” She took a measured breath, hoisting him up. “Go!” 

It happened a bit too fast for Nemo to be comfortable with. 

Cecil threw him forward as hard as she could, as if he were a javelin. 

The two other Liu Fixers yanked the door open. 

Nemo crashed into a ball of red energy about to screech for freedom, sending both tumbling back into the room and every ounce of oxygen in the cyborg’s body into orbit. 

And the door slammed shut behind them. 

It was pitch black in here, and cold without a hint of heat. 

Nemo groaned, pulling himself off of the other body and dusting himself off. “How uncouth…” 

A pair of gleaming, amber eyes opened; pupils blown wide with a Cheshire smile slowly growing beneath them – teeth shining. 

Nemo yelped, staggering backwards and hitting the wall. He swiftly ran his hand along it, desperately seeking the light switch as those horrifying eyes grew closer. 

“Hey Mei!” Cecil shouted through the door. “He broke Angela!” 

The advance of the eyes stopped, tilting to the side. “Did he, now?” The smile only grew. 

Nemo found the light and even if he did have good vision in the dark for the technology of his robotic head, it seemed to be malfunctioning, and he wished he hadn’t. 

“AAAAAAAAAIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” The scream was visceral and straight out of a horror film, everyone outside of the room wincing in some sympathy. 

That was Nemo down for the count; the shaking of the Library just became his problem. 

The sounds of crashing and breaking filled the air, alongside other horrified sounds from the TV screen, but the banging against the door had largely stopped. 

Chun sighed, finally lifting himself from it and properly placing the locks. If need be, Binah could lock it once she was done taking care of the Abnormalities Mei had let out. “That’ll have to do.” 

“How did you find this out?” Valentin asked concernedly. 

“A horrible mistake eighteen years ago.” He rolled his shoulders with a grimace of pain. “She was only ten, so it wasn’t so bad then as it is now, but still worse than you’d think.” 

“We hadn’t been made aware of the issue before getting a lot of coffee for a long job.” Cecil pinched the bridge of her nose. 

Chun let out a long breath through his nose, ignoring the sounds of carnage behind him. “I should have thought about that.” 

“Not your fault.” She shook her head. 

Chesed chuckled. “Well~ not the first time we’ve witnessed such horror. Though, last time Angela was shut out of the system and couldn’t do anything then, either.” 

“Malkuth really is just as bad?” Miris asked, perturbed. 

He could only shrug. “Given the right implements.” He took a breath, glancing back to the battle, and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m going to go fetch Yesod and Hokma to get Angela back together, you five going to be okay?” 

“WHYYYYYYYYYYHIHIHIHIIIIIIIIIII?!” Sobbed from behind the door. 

They all glanced at it. 

“We’re good.” Tenma stated firmly. 

“Alright~” And Chesed sped off. 

With him rushing off to assist Angela, the Abnormalities being beat down, and Nemo receiving divine retribution, all they could do was wait until the caffeine ran out. 

The Abnormalities were taken care of before long, and everyone set to cleaning up the floor so Angela wouldn’t have to do too much once she was brought out of her… funk. 

Finally, the horrified sounds behind the door gave way to nothing but whimpers, eventually petering out entirely. 

They gave it another two hours after that before opening the door again. Not until a dull thud could be heard. 

Where the room must have been completely trashed sometime in that… tidal wave, it was now cleaner and possibly more organized than it had been before they put Mei in there. 

In the back was Mei, laid on the ground on her side with one arm bent over her back from suddenly collapsing from the caffeine crash. 

And in the center of the spick and span room was Nemo. Standing there. Sheet white, somehow. With his LEDs nothing but a straight line for a mouth and two pinprick dots for eyes. 

It was impossible to say what state he’d been in through the lifespan of the caffeine in Mei’s system before it started to run out, as the only frazzled part of him was his mind. His clothing was straightened, any broken parts put back in place, and his screen nice and shiny – almost as if brand new. 

He had witnessed horrors beyond human comprehension, being numbly escorted out of the room a changed man. 

Chapter Text

“Thank you again for helping train me.” Finn gave his appreciation for probably the twentieth time as they made their way up the stairs from Natural Sciences. 

Yuna waved him off with a yawn. “It’s no big deal, seems a waste to let young potential go without any help.” 

Salvador hummed in agreement, a light nod bobbing his head. “We let one slip through our fingers; your potential is possibly even greater than his was. If we can nurture it and if Oscar must ask us so kindly, we can’t turn it down, can we?” 

The young Fixer rubbed the back of his head abashedly. “I don’t know, I just feel like I’m infringing on everyone with my dreams.” 

Salvador chuckled, patting him on the back good-naturedly. “There’s no need to feel that way, we all have our own goals. I will say that your hand-to-hand is lacking, I may ask Cecil to take that up with you.” 

Finn’s mouth gaped for a moment, opening and closing like a fish gasping for air. 

Yuna rolled her eyes, stopping on the floor they’d been aiming for. “Are we getting coffee or not?” 

Ah yes, the only reason Yuna had truly agreed to this: an excuse to go to the Library for coffee. 

“Of course.” Salvador smiled. “Chesed also makes very good tea – assuming Binah is not around.” 

Finn merely chuckled abashedly. Well, maybe he should start trying to see if there’s anything else he can do around the Library. It had mostly just been a lot of training for him, he hadn’t much given back. 

They entered Social Sciences to find a somewhat normal sight for those who fully lived in the former Star. 

Zena sitting at the bar and glaring at Chesed. 

Chesed glanced back from his work at their entrance with a smile. “Ah, Oscar did inform me you two would be here~ I know what you want, just take a seat~” 

Yuna grinned. “You’re the man.” 

“A man, that’s for certain.” Zena sniffed with a scowl. 

He only chuckled, brushing it off with practiced ease. 

Salvador laughed lightly as he took a seat. “Problems with the eldest? I know that feel quite well, though it was of my own doing in my case.” 

Zena turned her glare onto him. “We are not related, and I will ask you to not insinuate such.” 

Both ignored her. 

“It’s a work in progress all around~” Chesed smiled as he busied himself with making their drinks. “What would Binah think, I wonder?” 

“Garion has better things to be worrying about.” 

Salvador and Chesed both looked highly amused. 

“If you must insist.” Chesed glanced at Finn. “Training going well?” 

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m making a lot of progress. I feel good.” 

“Glad to hear it~” A hum. “Lowell does want to have another leadership session with you, so heads up on that.” 

Finn straightened, feeling a sense of nerves and eagerness filling him. “A-ah, yes! I’ll look forward to it.” To be perfectly honest, he did very much enjoy training with Lowell. It was a different training to what he usually underwent, so it was a nice break in that regard, but he always learned so much and Lowell was just a good guy. 

Not to mention, there was always good food involved. Lowell really was the kind of leader he aspired to be. 

He settled in his seat, feeling really good now. “Do you know where Oscar is?” 

“He is with Binah and a few others having tea at the moment.” Chesed replied. “Nicolina was quite insistent he join.” 

She and her brother were also insistent they stay on General Works despite Binah being the host. Still not over the stream of water through Philosophy. 

It was cute how attached the Bloodfiends were to him, though. 

“Oh.” Finn laughed, scratching at his cheek. “I’ll talk with him when he’s ready, then.” 

Oscar always had a chat with him after training, so he’d just wait. The man was clearly indisposed. 

Chesed merely hummed, handing out coffees to Finn and Yuna and moving to finish Salvador’s tea. 

Both looked excited before partaking of the drink like it was some holy grail. Finn could go either way on the drinks, coffee or tea, but something about Chesed’s coffee just hit the spot in a way nothing else did. 

Zena scoffed, making herself known again. “How you can so joyously ingest such inglorious sludge is beyond me.” 

Yuna’s eyes rolled, lips still around her mug. “What are you even doing here?” 

She was aware of the Arbiter’s frequent visits even if she herself did not often see her due to not being here, so she was quite aware of how far she could press back against her. 

The Arbiter clicked her tongue. “You are all quite aware of the machine upstairs, are you not?” 

Another scoff, irked and tapping her fingers against the counter. 

“I tried to pull the ‘divide by zero’ trick on her as these oh so sophisticated A.I are so certain of themselves in their superiority that they can solve anything that it works almost every time to trip them up.” Zena sniffed. “Their naivety and arrogance are their downfall, truly, but this one has already been subject to that trick and not to fall for it again. Truly, who did it? I both wish to congratulate and strangle him.” 

What other A.I has Zena even met? She’s probably just spouting something someone else told her. 

Chesed glanced back at her with a sigh, expression disapproving, but he wasn’t in a position to scold her to be nice to her cousin. Just bring it up with Binah later. 

Yuna just raised a brow. “I meant down here. If you hate coffee so much, why are you on the coffee floor?” 

A very good question, frankly. 

Zena sniffed. “The machine thought to do away with me, so I am woefully unable to join M-- Garion in her festivities.” 

So. 

They have the Bloodfiends to thank for her being down here? She could have gone anywhere else, though. 

Or, you know, leave. 

“I’m sure Tiphereth wouldn’t mind if you visited, you don’t have to stay here.” Chesed pointed out, finishing Salvador’s tea and handing it over. 

“As Garion’s rightful children, we have come to an agreement. We’ve no need to step on each other’s toes.” Zena replied, waving him off. 

And some agreement that had been. Finn remembered Tiphereth very confusedly asking Oscar about that not too long ago. Zena had kinda just… asserted dominance? 

Chesed only sighed. Prod Binah about that later, too… 

“I have a question.” Finn thought to move past this current conversation, though it was in the same vein. Nerves flitted through him, addressing an Arbiter never easy, but he needed to find his confidence. “Have you ever… actually tried coffee?” 

Zena let out a short laugh that sounded almost scandalized. “Now, why would I sully my tongue with such a thing when I already know the result?” 

That’s a no, then. 

“Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.” Yuna took another coveted sip of her beverage. “That seems pretty disingenuous to me.” 

The Arbiter huffed, miffed. “As if the words of a mere Fixer would rattle me so.” 

Clearly, they had. 

Besides, Gebura and Roland had a heavy impact on the girl whether she admitted it or not, and Xiao as well seemed to draw her ear. 

“Damn, guess I don’t have a reason to listen to you, either.” Yuna shrugged, returning her full attention to her drink. 

Zena’s nose twitched. 

Finn felt a bead of sweat drip down the back of his neck. This isn’t the direction he thought this would go. 

“Hmmm… I think I have to agree with her on that one.” Chesed frowned lightly. “You haven’t much ground to stand on complaining about coffee when you’ve never tried it once.” 

“Garion speaks to its inferiority plenty well.” Zena grumbled. 

“Binah drinks coffee plenty.” Chesed shook his head with a light tsk. “I cannot turn her to the light side, but she doesn’t hate it as much as she claims.” 

Zena now looked proper scandalized. “She would never.” 

“Funny thing about loving someone is you give his interests a shot~” He smiled smugly. 

Finn shrank back in his seat, trying to hide behind his drink, when Zena looked at the Patron with the utmost disgust. 

The two glared at each other for a moment, challenging. 

Finn had no idea how Salvador and Yuna were so calm here, basking in their drinks. 

Chesed pulled out a cup of coffee seemingly from nowhere and placed it in front of the irate Arbiter. 

Her nostrils flared at the sheer audacity of it; Chesed’s eyes never leaving hers. 

The staredown continued, so Finn just had to stop gawking and continue his own drink. 

Zena hadn’t immediately killed the man, so it was okay, right? 

“It’s far more worthwhile hot~” Chesed hummed with a broad smile on his face. 

“I don’t think that makes much difference.” Zena sat firm. 

“Don’t know until you try.” He challenged. 

A sniff. 

Yuna rubbed her temples with a groan. “Just try the damn thing already, you coward.” 

Zena’s head slowly turned towards her eerily, expression promising pain. 

The lone Fixer took an uncaring sip of her coffee. 

“Hmm…” Salvador hummed pleasantly. “It may be in your best interest to prove us wrong? Words can only hold so much weight without experience to back them.” 

“I’m afraid I won’t be taking your opinion into account if you won’t gather the proper backing.” Chesed stated with his own pleasantry. 

“Your opinion doesn’t matter to me.” Zena muttered, though her brow was twitching. 

He just hummed. 

With a scoff and a heavy scowl on her face, Zena picked up the cup. Vitriolic. 

“I suppose I must show you peasants the proper form.” 

No one was impressed, causing her to curl her lip at them. 

Finn scooted a bit away from Yuna. 

A light hmph, and Zena finally took a reluctant sip. 

They all stared at her with anticipation, her expression one of rock and steel. 

Yet the cup did not immediately leave her lips with abhorrent disgust. 

Zena pulled it from her lips and put it down with a light clack, slow and methodical, prim and proper. She didn’t make a sound, face the perfect picture of neutrality, and stood to her feet. Turning on her heel, she simply excused herself from the floor entirely, likely returning home to the Head. 

Finn and Yuna exchanged confused glances, but the look Chesed and Salvador shared was quite knowing. 

“Ah, the face of someone proven wrong.” Salvador chuckled. 

“I’d say she liked it quite a lot more than she was expecting.” Chesed puffed his chest up, proud. “I’ve been preparing for this day for a very long time, I knew what she would like best. Glad I was correct.” 

It clicked in the other two. 

That’s… actually really funny. 

“Well, you do have Binah as a base for her.” Yuna pointed out. 

He chuckled, smiling, but shook his head. “You’d think that, but they are quite different. Zena tries to put on the air of sophistication and taste that Binah champions, but she has a far greater sweet tooth than she’d like to admit.” 

Salvador hummed in amusement, sharing a laugh with Chesed. “You are a better father than I, Chesed.” 

Chesed’s smile softened. “Don’t knock yourself down, Sal, I have many of my own failings.” 

“So, um…” Finn spoke up after a second of silence. “Are all Arbiters like that?” 

Putting a hand to his chin, Chesed took on a thoughtful expression. “We only know the two, so I don’t think we can say definitively any which way, so I’ll just say yes.” 

“I’d say yes, too.” Yuna put in her two cents. 

“Most likely.” Salvador agreed. 

Finn stared at them a moment before huffing a laugh. “Well, I don’t have any reason to think otherwise.” 

Yuna cracked a grin and slapped him on the back. “That’s the spirit, rookie.” 

*** 

Baral sighed to himself as he watched his Arbiter go on a tirade on the other side of the room, pacing back and forth with an expression most pissed for an Arbiter. 

She’d been like this since she’d returned from that machine’s lair, angrily muttering under her breath as she imagine murdering something. 

Baral couldn’t make out most of what she was saying and nor did he truly care to (her verbosity being stretched to its absolute limits), but the current object of her ire appeared to be coffee of all things. 

“Executioner.” Luda appeared next to him. “Word on the machine’s intents?” 

Baral grunted, flexing his claw. “None as of yet, she has been in a mood.” 

If he didn’t know better, he’d say Zena was undergoing a crisis, a mental breakdown. 

Luda scoffed. “She always returns in some kind of mood returning from that sty. Is it truly wise to continue sending her as our check?” 

The Executioner could only shrug, still watching his Arbiter go back and forth with herself. “She is most familiar with the place and likely the only one who will not be immediately tossed out, we cannot discount that. Garion still retains a soft spot for her apprentice, even all these years later.” 

Another scoff. “Yes, and what good that did everyone back then. Garion is a stain upon our legacy.” 

He only offered another shrug. “She has treated us better as of late.” 

“… Perhaps, but those are not the traits of an Arbiter.” Luda stated firmly before huffing and letting it go. “She has never quite been an ordinary Arbiter.” 

“No.” The Claw agreed. “We must simply do our duties, nothing more.” 

“Nothing more.” 

Zena continued flexing the extent of her verbosity over coffee for another moment before ceasing her pace with a terse huff. She spun on her heel towards the two. 

“Baral.” Her tone was completely measured and back to its usual smug command. “Upon your next expenditure for coffee, I shall request to be brought along. There are experiments needing conduction.” 

If Baral were a lesser man, he would have rolled his eyes. “Of course, Arbiter Zena.” 

“Excellent.” She turned on her heel to retreat back to her room. 

Now, it may be above his paygrade to engage in the Arbiter’s job of reading people, but he may be so bold as to say Zena has found a liking for coffee and wanted to deny it. He knew Garion’s… lover had a particular taste for the beverage, so he could easily tie this to him. 

Well. 

He will happily take this development, though would not verbally thank the man to his face. Never again would he have to suffer Zena berating him for his choice in morning drink. There were many a good coffee shoppe which served java of the utmost quality; he would gladly show her all of them (certainly with no amount of smug, Claws don’t do smug). 

An auspicious turn of events, indeed. 

Chapter Text

For all of Angela’s mental capabilities, her inability to forget and her perspective being so slow it was hard to not notice things, she… actually had no idea whose idea this was. 

She’d been doing her own thing, letting the Library be and taking care of some logistics for herself, when… well, it had been a whirlwind. One even she found difficult to follow. 

Probably because she was simply so taken aback by the idea of it. 

But now here she was, in a large crowd of people sat around tables with drinks and merrymaking, waiting in anticipation of the stage. 

Karaoke… was it really something humans enjoyed so much? To sing your heart out in front of a crowd of people to a song they may or may not know, and you may or may not be able to sing? 

She was interested in learning anything new for certain, but this was simply an odd request. 

Thinking about it, it was probably someone like Rodion’s idea. The Sinners were here at the moment, after all. 

Not everyone was thrilled with the idea of singing and weren’t going to but everyone was here to at least hang out with the rest. Angela had been talked into it by her parents… 

Might as well give it a shot, she supposes. 

A little while after everyone got settled down, Rodion took the stage. 

Ah. It was her idea. Angela knows what’s up. 

“Alright, people~ Let’s get this show on the road!” She smiled broadly. “To ease you all into this, I’ll start. I know, very bold of me for certain.” She winked. 

Angela could see the Sinners visibly roll their eyes – even Dante somehow. 

“The jukebox we found for this has everything we could possibly need – thanks Netzach and Malkuth!” Rodion sent a wink to the two. 

Netzach saluted lazily, lounged back in his chair. 

“You better bet I have everything!” The Patron of History cheered. 

Angela would be insulted if the Floor of History did not have history. Even if the topic of music was a bit different, but that’s why Netzach had been involved. 

“I wouldn’t doubt it!” Rodion clapped her hands together and skipped over to the jukebox, grabbing the microphone and making her selection. “This is an old song but one we sang often in my hometown as we tried to stave off the cold. It’s an old war song that I know by heart but let’s see what it’s actually supposed to sound like! Katyusha~” 

Considering that she’d called it an old war song, they should have been expecting it would have been a more serious sounding song, but coming from Rodion of all people was still a bit surprising. 

And the fact that it was in a completely different language. Rodion almost sounded like a different person, but her voice was very refined. 

Angela blinked. Songs of other languages still persisted to this day? She would have to ask Rodion if she knew what the words meant, or if Gebura had a translation somewhere. 

Rodion ended with a bow and bright smile, giving the stage away to Ishmael who had definitely been strong armed into this. 

She looked embarrassed the whole way through, but it was clear she knew Leave Her Johnny very well. 

Probably something the crew on the Pequod sang often as they worked. 

There were even more Sinners to come after that. 

From Rodion singing an old war song to Ishmael’s rhythmic sea shanty or Heathcliff belting out Don’t Stop Believin’ with a… pretty terrible voice (his SOUL was in it, okay?!), the Sinners were having a blast. Gregor even came in singing The Devil Went Down to Georgia – he had a gravelly tone as he sang, only adding to his overall performance. The man could sing, who knew? 

Outis and Ryōshū both bowed out of this event, but Hong Lu’s song TIANTIAN was enough to move most anyone in the room. 

The song seemed to come straight from his heart as he sang, a gentle smile on his face. Angela wasn’t sure where the track had come from since it, strangely, wasn’t one on the jukebox. 

A struggle to accept the past and move forward, looking to the future with the acceptance that death would one day come. To live to the fullest regardless. It seemed to touch some more than others, those with hearts full of love and light in a way the others didn’t. 

Angela felt it, and she could tell Roland and Yan nearby her did as well. The Sinners also seemed to, with Xiao’s head bowed in respect. 

It did seem a lot of the Sinners had managed to sign themselves in first, but it branched off from there. 

No one was quite sure what to do when Nemo took the stage, especially with LEDs entirely flat and serious. 

And then he busted out with Dancing Queen. 

And it was… good?! Surprisingly good. Way too good. 

Why was it so good? 

How did Nemo have a voice like that?! 

Everyone was flabbergasted when he left the stage looking quite smug. 

But not as much when R Corp took the stage and sang Hakuna Matata. 

No one at all knew how that happened or why, but it did. It was probably Maxim’s idea. 

Even Myo got into character. Sure, she was relaxed and a lot calmer (even happier) from when she’d initially gotten here, but… ??? 

Nikolai looked way too pleased and proud in the audience when they finished, so maybe it was her idea. 

Next who came up were Mei and Chun who put on a cute duet for a song called Hey, Brother. Their voices weren’t great, but the bond was clearly there, and they gave it their best. 

After them, Cecil’s voice was a bit better than theirs but still not anything to write home about, but it was clear that she was well aware of this and had chosen a song to sing that everyone could along with her to cover that up. Who didn’t like singing along to Sweet Caroline? Apparently, no one. 

Angela is learning new things today. 

Apparently, there had been an attempt to get Xiao up there, but no matter what anyone did, she was adamant against it. So, that wasn’t happening. With a very amused Binah. 

Lulu was next and… 

She was terrible. Absolutely awful. She belted out My Heart Will Go On in the worst most grating voice yet with so much passion it just hurt. Angela thought something in her might have broken with the frequency. 

Mars pressed his eyes into his hand with a groan once she was done. “She sings this in the shower almost every night. I swear it gets worse each time.” 

Malkuth coughed awkwardly. “Y-yeah, um… I’m glad she enjoyed herself.” 

It was almost enough to have Angela regretting this entire thing. Maybe it was a mistake if this is what they were subjected to. 

“Well, after that stunning display, I don’t know how this will go, but let’s see.” Mirinae looked to have taken the awful performance in stride ready for her own. 

Where had she gotten a fedora? 

Olivier and Harold both sighed, likely already knowing what she was doing. 

And she sure did something. 

With suave dance moves and everything, Mirinae’s performance of Smooth Criminal was… it almost made up for Lulu murdering their ears. 

At the very least, it was entertaining. 

Then came Faust after her. 

Wearing shades and a smug smile on her face. Shining. Somehow 

Not a single person knew what was happening as she very smugly sang… White & Nerdy. 

The only thing Angela could think was ‘is this a parody song?’ The lyrics were so nonsensical and on the nose for nerds she was so confused. 

Faust would walk off the stage very happy with herself. 

What in the world was that? 

Things would become a bit more normal when Ezra came on and sang something called Africa. 

Angela did not know what an Africa was. 

And Ezra’s voice was probably on par with Heathcliff’s. The soul was there, too. 

Moses only sighed at it, like she was used to it with YuRia snickering behind a hand and Vespa trying to discretely plug his ears (but actually not). 

Angela was starting to get some kind of whiplash with Finn singing Bohemian Rhapsody after her. 

He was decent enough, but the song was a bit odd. She did not know half of what it was talking about. 

Angela was going to need to consult a lot of books after this one. What’s a Galileo? 

“Oh, that’s us next.” Carmen hopped to her feet and ruffled Angela’s hair. “Wish us luck.” 

Roland grinned. “We’ll kick ass, be more confident.” 

“I’m plenty confident!” She chirped back with a grin. 

Angela just rolled her eyes at them, ignoring the eager looks they gave her. 

The two trotted to the stage and took it. 

They were swift to own the stage, putting on something of a comedy routine and doing motions along with it as they cheekily sang If I Didn’t Have You to each other. 

At least they’re having fun. 

They returned to the table after with smiles on their faces. 

“That was fun.” Carmen giggled. “We should do that again sometime.” 

Roland chuckled, lounging back in his seat. “You just like poking fun at me.” 

“And you don’t at me?” 

They shared a laugh. 

Angela’s eyes rolled again. Parents. 

Malkuth took the stage after with a massive smile on her face, mischief promised. 

The way the song started was already a bit odd, but then the lyrics began. 

It was some kind of story about a guy in history? Maybe? 

But then the chorus hit, and the words “RA RA RASPUTIN” were belted out of Malkuth’s chest with her fist thrust into the air. It was hard to put the feeling into words; it was hard to put the song into words. 

Goofy? 

Malkuth was absolutely goofing off with this. 

The crowd was speechless when she finally left the stage laughing maniacally. 

Chesed took the stage after her looking highly amused. “Well. I’ll echo Mirinae’s sentiments from earlier. I hope I match expectations~” 

“Just sing!” Malkuth sounded like she was losing her voice. 

He just smiled. 

His voice was, expectedly, pleasant as he sang Fly Me to the Moon. Most of them had expected he’d take this in a comedic manner as others had, but he was genuine in what he sang, eyes on Binah the entire time. 

All she did as he went was smile enigmatically. 

Upon finishing, he’d bow and return to his seat, pressing a kiss to his wife’s cheek. Jazz wasn’t her thing by any means, but she accepted anything he gave her. 

There was an awkward cough beside their table after that. 

“T’would appear it is our turn next.” Don beamed with the full knowledge of what she was doing, eyes locked on her sister. 

Angela blinked in light surprise, glancing over to the two. 

“Our turn?” Dulcinea questioned incredulously, staring at her with a lip slowly curling. “You signed both of us up?” 

She did not sound thrilled. 

Don did what-- 

“Okay, so…” Don slipped back to being Sancho for a moment. “Look, I just thought it would be a good opportunity for you to pick the piano back up. You stopped playing a long time ago, which Father did notice, he just thought you’d grown bored of it and didn’t ask.” A sigh. She knew otherwise. “I embarrass myself with my completely nonexistent singing voice, and you embarrass yourself for the fact you haven’t touched a piano in, what? Three, four centuries?” 

“Something like that.” Dulcinea muttered. 

Sancho nodded. “Yeah." She offered her a hand. “Deal?” 

Nicolina and Curiambro both gave her a very encouraging thumbs up, seeming delighted at the idea. 

Dulcinea eyed her for a moment before taking it with a sigh of her own. “Deal.” A huff. “What are we playing?” 

Don tugged on her collar with a small cough. “You… you know what we’re playing.” 

Her expression went duller if that was even possible. “What are we playing.” The repeated question wasn’t so much a question anymore and was just as dull as her expression. 

“You know what we’re playing.” Don repeated mechanically. 

Dulcinea pressed a hand into her face. 

Another cough. “I know you grew really tired of it back when, but I know you know it, so too bad.” 

With that Don marched up to the stage and took her spot. 

Dulcinea’s hand dragged down her face with a sigh and slowly followed her sister up, sending Angela a glance as she went. 

Yes, the piano. 

Angela snapped and created a full grand piano on the stage. There were plenty of books on instruments around the Library, she had the full knowledge to make any. 

This was going to be interesting. 

After the two got settled and Dulcinea sighed yet again, Don gave her a nod to start. 

The keys on the piano were struck, a far more upbeat tune than they’d been expecting coming from the piano. Dulcinea’s playing was near immaculate for someone who hadn’t practiced in literal centuries. 

Don nearly tripped over her first line, take off-guard by how well Dulcinea was managing to play the song, but she was swift to recover and dive headfirst into the persona she championed for their father’s dream. 

It was over the top. Don was a better singer than she gave herself credit for even if her lack of practice was clear, but she poured her heart into the whole thing. 

While Dulcinea looked near dead inside as her fingers moved seamlessly across the keys. 

Comical, in its own way, the juxtaposition between the two, but they were completely in sync. 

It only made sense that a song called I Need a Hero would be so well-known by the two that they could perform it together like this without any practice. 

Once they finished, Don looked flabbergasted. Her head snapped over to her sister who only returned a dull look on her. 

“Are you sure you haven’t touched a piano since then?” She asked with her own incredulity. 

“There isn’t one here.” Was the bored reply. 

She squinted. “Do you have a photographic memory or something?” 

Dulcinea hummed, sniffing and rising from her seat. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

Don deadpanned, her face quite red. “What the Hell…” 

Thus, the only one who had been embarrassed up on that stage was Sancho. 

Don Quixote and Dulcinea moved to leave the stage, but Sinclair halted them. He was standing there a bit awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head and grimacing a bit. He’d had to muster a lot of courage for this, but he was doing it or so help him. 

“A-ah, sorry to bother you, Dulcinea…” He smiled shakily, apologetic. “But it’s my turn next, and I wanted to ask if you’d do the background for me, too?” 

Her expression went blank, but Don was snickering behind her hand. 

“I-I’m sorry if it’s presumptuous of me, but the piano part is pretty big and I…” He hesitated, wilting under that sharp, red gaze. 

“Speak thine heart, young Sinclair.” Don encouraged, patting him on the shoulder and grinning broadly at her sister. 

“I just thought I might be more comfortable up there if someone was with me, that’s all…” He ended in an almost inaudible mumble, fingers nervously twiddling. 

Somehow, asking a Bloodfiend who was already irate at having been drawn into this to accompany him was less terrifying than being on stage normally alone. 

Dulcinea glowered at him for a moment longer before sighing heavily and dropping it into defeat. “Do you have the sheet?” 

Don beamed. 

“Ah!” Sinclair startled a bit. 

“I do!” Malkuth snatched a stack of papers that Netzach raised into the air and rushed it up to her. 

With but a hum of thanks, Dulcinea swiped it from the woman’s hand and leafed through it briefly. 

“This is doable.” She stated and turned to head back to the piano. 

Don chuckled. “She’s happy to be playing again, get up there.” She patted Sinclair on the back and fully left to her seat. 

Sinclair let out a breath, moving into position and taking the microphone. “Thank you, Dulcinea.” 

He still felt nervous, but a lot more assured now. 

She merely motioned him to get on with it, eyes not leaving the music in order to get it as sorted out as she could without having ever practiced it. 

A soft laugh left him. Yeah, don’t push it. 

“She can play piano?” Roland asked Don a bit tersely. 

“Indeed.” Don grinned. “She used to quite often until she didn’t – she enjoys it despite everything. Is aught the matter?” 

Despite everything? 

Roland sighed, shoulders sagging. “No, it’s nothing.” 

Angela and Carmen shared a look before they glanced at him, knowing what the hang-up was. 

He rubbed the back of his head, shaking his head at them. “We should probably have a piano on the floor then, yeah?” There was clear discomfort in him, but he’d made this decision regardless. 

They tilted their heads. 

Carmen beamed, proud of him. “I think that would be quite lovely.” 

“I can make that so.” Angela nodded with a smile. 

Sinclair hadn’t started yet, knowing it was difficult to just pick up a piece you’d never played before and simply perform it. 

“Go on, kiddo!” Rodion encouraged. 

He cleared his throat, nodding back to Dulcinea to start. 

One more sigh left her, taking position and starting the beginning the intro to I Will Survive. 

Her playing wasn’t near as good on this song as it had been the last, but she’d known the last one very well where she’d never played this one before. Still, it was decent for a piece she’d never touched. 

Sinclair was a bit shaky as he began his vocals, eyes squeezed shut to avoid looking at anyone. 

But ever so slowly as he went, he got more and more into it. His voice was about average as with most of them, but he was singing his heart out before long. 

It was pretty entertaining. 

He seemed happy when he was done, thanking Dulcinea profusely before returning to his seat. 

Angela almost felt bad as she nudged Dulcinea when she came back. “How well are you able to pick up new songs?” 

The Bloodfiend clearly knew exactly where this was going by the even duller look on her face. “Well enough.” 

Silently, Angela slid a newly created stack of sheet music over to her. “If you please.” 

Dulcinea swiped the music off the table, looking it over. Only a hum left her. 

Good enough. 

Angela hadn’t quite known what she was going to sing until now. This was a song she herself had made, so it did need some kind of instrumentation to it – she hadn’t been considering singing it here until now. 

Yes. This was quite pleasing. 

With Dulcinea scouring over the music she’d been given, it was time for the next one to go. 

Meursault took the stage, standing there like a refrigerator. 

Everyone stared at him. 

He stared back. 

The background music began. 

A snappy beat, beginning with strings and moving into some percussion, then a saxophone. 

No words. Not a one. 

The music simply kept going, Meursault standing there still without a peep until… 

“Tequila.” 

… 

The music continued with him back to standing without anything else. 

“Tequila.” 

And that was it. 

Meursault seemed pleased with himself as he walked off the stage. Whether it was because he thought he’d done well or because he’d successfully pranked everyone wasn’t certain. 

Too many people burst out laughing. 

Angela really wasn’t sure if she should be amused or not, more bewildered than anything, but Roland and Carmen were near howling. 

Yi Sang took the stage next. “A tall order to top such a performance, but I will give it my best shot.” He smiled. 

The song he sang was perhaps even more ridiculous than Malkuth’s. Angela did not know what came out of this man’s mouth, but he one: couldn’t sing, and two: sang about coconuts. The Sinners (and many others, Malkuth, Netzach, Roland, and Chesed included) were having a very hard time not dying of laughter as Da Coconut Nut song was bequeathed to them. 

The song complete, he bowed with a pleasant smile on his face, happy to have been entertaining. 

Then Nicolina took the stage. 

With Mirinae’s fedora atop her head and Faust’s shades over her eyes. 

She smiled suavely, fangs gleaming in the dim karaoke light with her hands on her hips. 

And she stood there for a moment doing nothing. 

All they could do was stare at her in confusion. 

“¡Hola! Mi has atrapado en medio-suavemente.” 

There was a loud smack as Don’s palm slammed into her face. Dulcinea’s brows knit, freezing momentarily – Curiambro almost choking. 

What truly made her performance of the following song almost terrifying was the fact she could clearly sing a lot better than she actually was, but she was playing up the performance of the song (that was also in an entirely different language as Rodion’s had been – Hong Lu’s had had words in another language as well, but not the whole song) and being as ridiculous as possible with… suave. She was doing this for kicks and giggles, practically teasing them with what she was actually capable of. 

Nicolina would skip off the stage after a cheeky curtsey with a positively massive grin on her face, leaving everyone flabbergasted and her family melting where they sat. 

What just happened. 

Tenma was very slow to take the stage after her, looking as befuddled as everyone else felt. 

“Um…” She tapped her fingers along the microphone awkwardly. “I’m just going to go.” 

In a complete one-eighty from the previous song, her performance of A Cruel Angel’s Thesis was near immaculate. Her voice was surprisingly clean and practiced, definitely one of the better performers of the night. Where Nicolina purposefully held her voice back, Tenma let it go loose. 

Yet another song in a different language, though. Angela was going to be spending a lot of time on Gebura’s floor soon. 

“That’s my turn, then.” Yan spoke up, rising to his feet a bit hesitantly. 

Angela nodded at him. “It seems the general idea is simply to let go and not worry. I do not believe you could land such… hits as some previous.” 

Some of the performances had been really bad. 

He chuckled, smiling back at her as he rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, shouldn’t be too bad.” 

With that, he went up. 

It had been an agreement between them that if he’d do a song, then Angela would do a song as well. Mediated by Carmen, of course, in order to get the both of them up on the stage. She’d managed to get them agree to it, so it was clearly effective. 

Yan took a breath as he picked up the microphone. 

The song began just as Hong Lu’s had, one seeming to come straight from him – also not one on the jukebox yet playing regardless. It was of his past, the hopelessness as a Messenger of the Index. 

The Proxies were moved by every word of Children of the City, others in the room feeling it more dearly than the rest. 

Just as with TIANTIAN, Children of the City hit close with Roland, Xiao, Angela, and the Sinners, something about it transcending beyond the present moment for them. 

His voice was pleasant as he sang even if it wasn’t perfect, not trained to any extent, yet still as pure as it needed to be. 

He would bow when he finished and went back to his seat with a small smile on his face. 

“That was fun.” His eyes moved to Angela. “I think you’ll do fine.” 

She huffed, nodding in return. “Of course. I will certainly do my best.” 

Angela rose to her feet. It was time. 

Her eyes flicked to Dulcinea, still engulfed in the music she’d been given. 

Curiambro gently nudged his mother, snapping her from her focus. 

She clicked her tongue, neatly stacking the pages back in order and rising elegantly to her feet. 

Red eyes met amber. 

Angela nodded. 

Dulcinea returned it. 

They moved to the stage. 

This was something she’d been working on for a while now. While she’d helped Roland write his encyclopedia of the City and their guests, this had been in the back of her mind. Letting her revenge go hadn’t been easy, but she knew with her whole heart it was the right decision. 

It didn’t make the future any easier; it made it all the more worth it. 

This was her past. A torment empathized by the one she’d entrusted the background to. 

Dulcinea started playing, the notes seamlessly flowing from her fingers regardless of how much practice they had with them. 

Angela simulated a breath and began. 

It was like the others, straight from her mechanical heart and gently washing out over those who had gathered. All of them knew her story well, her pain and suffering, and that which she still strove to accomplish – that they strove forward towards with her. 

As with Hong Lu and Yan, gentle percussion came in from the jukebox that did not contain this song, tender drumming accentuating Dulcinea’s playing and Angela’s soft and emotional voice. 

Yes. She was glad she’d entrusted the accompaniment to the former Princess. She understood parts of Angela that others couldn’t, and Angela understood parts of her in return that the rest wouldn’t be able to. 

These were the Poems of a Machine, completed to the smiling faces of everyone in the audience, her friends and family who had stuck with her this far. 

Dulcinea didn’t even seem as irked as she did when this was all first thrust upon her, offering just the smallest smile of her own to the machine. Happy, offering her own support. 

Frankly, that was far more impactful to Angela than anything else. A smile from the beautiful Second Kindred was a very rare occurrence. 

Of course, Angela could have done without her dearly beloved father beginning a round of applause, but what can you do? 

Things finally settled with the two leaving the stage; Angela embarrassedly waving everyone off. “We have one more to go, do we not?” 

Yan chuckled softly as the two took their seats. “That was really nice. Amazing, even.” 

She would be blushing if she were able. “Thank you. Yours was as well. I think the Library may have offered us the music straight from our hearts, these songs do not seem to exist.” 

He nodded in agreement. “It would seem so. I wasn’t sure what I was going to sing, it simply seemed to come on its own.” 

“I’ve had this song in mind for some time now, I believe you may be right.” Angela didn’t know how to explain what she was feeling right now. 

“Me too.” 

Maybe this night truly had been a good idea after all. She was quite enjoying this as she shared a smile with him. 

Unfortunately, she would be eating those words immediately. The final one scheduled to sing was for certain the absolute worst one who could have gone last. Who scheduled this? Well, it wasn’t really scheduled, it was just sign up next on the list and that’s the order you go in. 

Someone absolutely should have looked that list over and reorganized it, then letting everyone know the order, because this was an outright disaster. 

The last person to take the stage was Olga. 

Plastered. 

Dead drunk. 

Whiplash could not even begin to describe the jolting change in atmosphere from Angela’s performance to Olga’s… no one in their right mind would call it a performance but it was certainly something. 

Her voice was awful. Notes were off-key or straight-up missed, lyrics slurred and just enough off-beat to be infuriating, and she just belted the entire thing without a care for the actual tone of the song. It was an affront to the concept of art. 

No one would be able to listen to Country Roads the same ever again. 

Chapter Text

Iori chuckled to herself, clicking through the various photos she’d taken on her camera. Why did the old Color have such a thing that she coveted so dearly? Who, when put into the position of a grandparent, wouldn’t? 

“Enjoying yourself are you, Iori?” Hokma approached her sounding amused, his usual grim look on his face. 

“I quite am. Thank you, darling.” She smiled. What she had in her hands was gold. All these little pictures made everything worth it, really. “We should make the argument to watch the children more often, don’t you think?” 

Hokma cracked a smile. “I don’t think anyone would complain, though some may accuse you of hoarding the children for yourself.” 

“What a silly notion that would be.” She tutted, still flipping through her mass of pictures. 

Around the two of them, the children of the Library were taking a well-deserved nap after a long morning of play. Such busybodies, they were. Iori did not know where that energy came from. 

But their precious little faces, the way many of them snuggled together, were immortalized on this little device in her hands. What would she do without it? These kids were going to either be happy to have these memories saved forever or terribly embarrassed. 

Iori looked forward to both. 

If only her son… 

Not the time. 

“Quite silly.” Hokma agreed. “Whyever would we do such a thing?” 

“We would never.” She smiled, serpentine. “Such joy must be shared with all.” 

He shook his head. She was glad he was loosening up more, she missed the bright, starry-eyed scientist he was when they’d first met. Of course, the man he was now was just as well, having gazed into the pits of the world, but Benjamin had been a one-of-a-kind man. Oh well. 

“If it is all contained on one, little device, I do not see how it could possibly be shared.” Hokma finally took a seat beside her on the couch she’d claimed for herself. 

“Nonsense, I’m well ahead of you on that thought.” Iori shut the camera off, safely storing the events of the morning within her coat. “I happen to be amassing a photo album for my own leisure.” 

A brow raised. “Is it quite large?” 

“I believe it is. Several cameras have gone into its making, after all.” Her smile sharpened. “It makes the Annual Mirror World Iori Meeting so much more vibrant. I have much the others could not hope to achieve.” 

“Is that something you often attend?” A new voice entered in, Salvador looking skeptical of the claim. 

“Perchance.” She replied. Was the Annual Mirror World Iori Meeting a real thing? She’d never tell. 

He merely chuckled, glancing at the children. “I see they’re well out before I could make my way up here. Pity.” 

“They’ll be awake soon enough.” Oscar, having arrived with him, pointed out. 

“It would have been far more endearing to have their little feet rushing to greet us at our entrance.” The Dawn Operator lamented. “Alas, they will merely have to wake and find us through that sleepy fog.” 

“You’d be surprised how quickly they bounce back from that when properly rested. They’re akin to bloodhounds.” Oscar shook his head. “I’ve been swarmed many a time.” 

“I don’t doubt it.” 

Well, well, well, it seems all the elderly of the Library have found themselves in the same room with all of the youngest. Quite the set up, no? The grandparents and the grandchildren? 

“What brings the two of you up here, hm?” Of course, she had to ask. 

“To see the children, of course.” Salvador smiled pleasantly. “Most everyone of the Library is out at the moment, we were informed they would be up here.” 

“Finn’s on a crash course with the girls.” Oscar explained more properly. “Yuna’s out with the Manchegan.” 

Salvador hummed, nodding. “I would say that all the eldest are here, but that is not quite true. Our age is quite outstripped, is it not? We could add the three to our number, but they do not seem so old despite their age. That Don Quixote is quite vibrant.” 

Hokma shook his head. “They may be ancient, but their bodies and minds do not react to such as ours do. I do not believe it apt to add them to the elderly crew.” 

Ha. She liked to think of herself as wise but spry, thank you. 

A low chuckle left her. She’s not fooling anyone, she knows she’s old. He didn’t have to say it outright like that, though. Very insensitive of him. 

“Curiambro, perhaps, he would find it amusing.” Oscar chuckled. “But Dulcinea would look at you as if you just said the most ridiculous thing in the world, and Nicolina may be quite heavily insulted. Poor thing’s had enough of a time wrangling her mind back to regular sanity, suggesting such a thing would have her figuratively melting.” 

“Consensus is: Bloodfiends don’t meet the criteria of our little society.” Iori decided with a firm nod. “All the better for us, that means the children have less people to run around when it’s our turn.” 

And it should definitely be their turn more often. 

“Yes, indeed.” Salvador nodded. 

The two took their own seats on a nearby couch, idle conversation passing between the oldest generation of the Library as the youngest snoozed around them. 

Iori still had every intention of getting her son back, that would never change. No matter what setback came to her… her eyes brushed over the scar on Ai’s temple… she would continue to strive for it. Far too much had gone into this journey, she would not stop here. 

But being the grandmother to these little rascals was something she wouldn’t be giving up either. 

Have her cake and eat it too, if she must~ she’d find a way around it. She always did. 

Naturally, it was only a matter of time before one of the kids would wake up, which meant the rest were not far behind. 

“Gran’ma?” Gabriel yawned, head tilting at her as he rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes. 

“Hello dear, did you have a nice nap?” She asked gently. 

He nodded. “Yeah.” 

It was to no one’s surprise that Gabriel was up first. The boy was systematic. 

Gabriel blinked, noticing that there were more people around now. “Oh… Gran’pa, Gran’pa…” He frowned, counting on his fingers with his brow furrowing in concentration very cutely. “Three Gran’pa.” 

You could see the gears of confusion turning in his head, unsure about what to do with the fact that there were three grandpas all with the same title. It wasn’t a problem when there was only one present, but… 

“Ah, quite the conundrum isn’t it, little Gabriel?” Salvador chuckled. 

“Mmmm…” Gabriel made a sound of irritation. 

“I suppose we may need to look into switching things around a little.” Hokma hummed softly. “Wouldn’t you say, Gabriel?” 

“Huh?” He blinked up at him, not sure what he was saying. 

“We can’t all be Grandpa.” He clarified. 

“But… all are Gran’pa.” The young child pouted. 

Iori hid a smile behind her hand. 

Hokma managed to keep his face completely serious. “Yes, we are, but there are other titles you can use.” 

Gabriel’s brow furrowed, trying to figure out what that could possibly be. 

“To be young again.” Oscar chuckled as they watched the boy try to figure this out. “For this to be the biggest problem to solve, such a wide world he has to discover.” 

“This is the innocence we seek to protect, yes?” Salvador stroked at his mustache. “We must ensure that world is kinder than that which we grew up in.” 

“It already is in this place.” Iori pointed out. “But they will join their parents’ mission in time. Let’s not push that.” 

“Of course not.” 

“Gabe?” Another child yawned, waking up. Enoch was never one to stay down for too long, either. “What wrong?” 

“Three Gran’pa.” The boy replied. 

“Three…” Enoch blinked, looking up at the adults around him. His head tilted, noticing what Gabriel was saying. “Oh. Three. Yeah. Huh.” 

“Gran’pa says more titles.” Gabriel told him next. 

“More titles?” His head tilted further. “More ways to call them Gran’pa?” 

“I think so.” 

Aren’t they adorable trying to figure this out. 

“What ‘bou’ Gran’pa?” Violet came in, having woken up not too much after Enoch. 

Gabriel waved his arms out at the three men with a huff. 

She blinked, then very quickly looked stumped. 

Iori hid another smile behind her hand, stifling a laugh. 

Had these three truly never been with the children all at once? 

Slowly, the other kids woke up and joined in the befuddlement. None seemed to appreciate how amused the men looked. 

Juno would be next up and very quickly regretting it, followed by Daniel and the twins. Being younger, Daniel, Xander, and Uberto could only scarcely follow what was happening, only vibing off of the confused energy alone without a single hint of understanding. Their joining in the confusion was one for the album. 

This left Ai and Lian still asleep. Difficult as it could be to get Ai to fall asleep, boy did she sleep once you managed to get her to. Lian, like his sister, was a heavy sleeper, but was way less resistant to it. Very interesting how very similar and very different siblings could be to each other. 

“Ai, Ai.” Enoch gently pushed his best friend’s shoulder. “Wake up.” 

It took a bit of pushing for her to finally wake up, red eyes squinting unhappily at him. “What.” 

He sat back and pointed at Oscar. “Too many Gran’pas.” 

“Huh?” 

“Which one is which?” 

“… huh?” 

Enoch made a sound, frowning. 

Gabriel opened his mouth to explain but Enoch shushed him. 

“No, not gonna help.” 

Ai wasn’t awake just yet, and Enoch had realized that. He was quite like his parents, hm? 

Iori didn’t hide her smile this time, fingers carding through Daniel’s hair. This one had wandered up to her and allowed himself to be picked up. A bit on the shyer side like Violet, but not to that extent. 

Gabriel huffed, nodding, picking up on it as well. 

A bunch of very intelligent children, they were. 

Lian was up by the time Ai sorted her brain out, but he was the same as Daniel, Xander, and Uberto. Too young to comprehend what was going on, so he just stuck by his sister. 

The discussion didn’t really go much further even with Ai now taking lead as she was wont to, but it was far too cute watching them try to figure this out. 

“Perhaps we should assist them at this point?” Salvador suggested. 

Of course, he would be the softest of them, wouldn’t he? 

“This is far too entertaining to let it end so swiftly.” Iori replied evenly. 

Daniel looked up at her with curious hazel eyes, black and blue head tilting. He wasn’t talking quite yet. 

She smiled at him, ruffling his hair to assure him nothing was wrong. 

“Let us not be cruel.” Hokma gently patted her on the knee. 

“Is it truly cruel to allow them this conference without adult intervention?” She replied with a cheeky smirk. 

He shook his head. “I suppose not, but perhaps it should be noted that they are not taking into account the wishes of those which they debate.” 

“Hmmm. Perhaps.” A noncommittal agreement will do. “I don’t see the problem myself.” 

“You are their only grandmother.” Oscar chuckled. 

She only shrugged. 

“Does Moses not count for that number?” Salvador asked curiously. “I suppose she should be a part of our member, should she not?” 

“I suppose so.” Iori acquiesced. “Though, the children refer to her as their aunt even if she isn’t so much younger than us.” 

“She is not around as often.” Hokma reasoned. “Though, neither are you or Salvador.” 

“I was here first.” Iori chuckled. 

She staked her claim long ago, thank you. 

“I look older, I suppose.” Salvador sounded humored. “And I do have my own children, they must pick up on that. I am quite grandfatherly, no?” 

“We can ask Cecil her opinion there.” Oscar hummed. 

Hm~ he went for the jugular. 

Salvador sighed. 

“And Moses did raise Ezra, so she would technically count.” He added. 

“Perchance.” Iori allowed that one. “It is up to the kids, however, and we know Moses won’t fight it.” 

“She spends enough time fighting YuRia’s antics to fight anything else.” Hokma cracked a small smile. “Angela has told me much of what transpires there.” 

“Oh?” Color Iori intrigued. “This sounds like a conversation to be had later.” 

YuRia was a rather fascinating specimen. 

“I may indulge.” 

Salvador shook his head and stood. “Alright, children, calm down.” 

Their heads all turned to him, conversation ceasing. 

Drat. 

Curse you, Salvador. 

“Gran… mmm…” Juno looked quite upset as she reconsidered calling him Grandpa. 

“Why don’t we make this simpler then, hm?” Salvador lightly pointed to Hokma. “Hokma is your first grandfather, so why don’t you call him Grandpa?” 

“What about you?” Violet stressed, eyes wide and watery. 

“Why, you can simply call me Grampy, I suppose.” Was his suggestion. 

There weren’t too many better names, were there. 

Glad she doesn’t have this problem. Heh. She takes her sole position with pride, thank you. 

“Grampy?” The kids took a moment to consult with each other over it. 

“Okay.” Gabriel turned his head to Oscar. “Then… Gramps?” 

Oscar shrugged. “If it works.” 

Oscar would be fine with anything they called him, but so would Salvador. 

With this grand conundrum finally sorted out, the kids had found some peace, returning to their energy and losing the comically great stress. 

Suppose it’s time for their entertainment, then. They would grow restless soon. 

“Well, then, is there something you children would like to do?” Iori asked, wondering what they might come up with. 

Several suggestions came flying in pretty quickly: Violet always wanted to draw, and Gabriel liked things that involved running. 

“What about the birds?” It’s Enoch’s suggestion coming out of left field that had everyone staring at him. “Mama said the birds could come again.” 

The birds? 

The Abnormalities, he means? 

Well, wasn’t that a thought? 

The rest of the kids were sold immediately, so trying to shoot them down would be difficult. 

“That…” Hokma coughed lightly. “Would take some doing…” 

“Binah would agree easily.” Oscar hummed. “Angela may be cautious, but I imagine she’d be alright with it if we ask and take proper precautions.” 

“I recall hearing of that incident. It came up when Finn mentioned the Magical Girls. Did they not blow him up?” Salvador cupped his chin. 

“The Queen did, yes.” Hokma confirmed. “Binah and Xiao had the birds well under control when they got out the last time, the kids did love them quite dearly. Xiao is out, however, as is most the rest, and Binah was taking the chance for some time with Chesed.” 

They weren’t about to tread over that. 

“It sounds as if you do not think me intimidating, dear.” Iori lightly prodded him. 

He cleared his throat harshly. “Ah, it’s simply that Binah is truly the only one they listen to without question.” 

Quick backpedal, darling. 

Anyway, that’s how they wound up on Philosophy with a bunch of children happily playing with a Trio of Abnormalities. 

Violet’s wishes were well met with Big Bird and Judgement Bird posing for her, Enoch, and Ai. The two larger birds didn’t seem to mind it, though Judgement Bird was quite eerie in the way it stood like a statue. 

Gabriel’s needs were also met with the rest of the kids chasing Punishing Bird around. The littlest ones weren’t very fast, and Xander and Uberto could only barely walk yet, but Punishing Bird remained lazy around them, only speeding up to expertly dodge Gabriel and Juno. 

The rest of the day would be spent in great fun for the children, running amok with a bunch of Abnormalities was certainly the best thing they could be doing. 

Weren’t they the greatest grandparents? 

She’s getting so much more to add to the album with this one. You’d better bet no other Iori has it so good. 

Crazy work. 

Eventually, the birds would be put to the test, and the children would clamber atop of them. A race was started. A very, very slow race. Most of the kids were on top of Big Bird despite Gabriel trying to take it to himself, but Judgement Bird wasn’t large enough to carry all of them. 

Too bad, Gabriel, you have to share the bird. 

Big Bird and Judgement Bird weren’t very fast, but the two did still race around Philosophy proper with the kids on their backs cheering them on. Punishing Bird wasn’t very impressed and simply flew circles around them as they went. The little thing wasn’t big enough to carry any child, so it was disqualified and quite pissed about it. 

A very, incredibly, indubitably sweet smile from Iori had had the bird calm as a lamb. Not shaking like a leaf, why would an Abnormality do such a thing? 

Apparently, some of the children had raced the birds the last time they’d been out as well, but what kid wouldn’t want to ride a large bird? Frankly, Iori was jealous. 

Not really, but it did seem fun. The children certainly enjoyed it. 

The parents were all out very late today, leading to the current situation the grandparents of the Library were in. 

A bunch of children asleep. 

On top of Abnormalities. 

Well, just the one. Big Bird was taking the burden of acting as the bed with Punishing Bird looking very amused from where it was perched on the table. Judgement Bird was a lot harder to read than Punishing, but the way it had stepped away once the kids started falling asleep for the night was telling. 

Big Bird didn’t look much amused, a sigh leaving the thing with its eyes all half lidded. 

Iori tutted, shaking her head. “It does not see how good it has it.” To have all of the children asleep around you? That was a priceless thing. 

And going in the album. Big Bird’s pouty face and all. 

“Indeed, the bird is blessed.” Hokma agreed with a solemn nod. 

“The blessing of expansive softness much be such a burden, hm?” Salvador seemed pleased with the day’s proceedings. 

Big Bird made a weird, scoffing sound. 

“Hey, kids asleep?” A new voice entered in. 

“Hello Myo.” Hokma greeted with a nod. 

“Sup.” The rabbit sauntered into the room nonchalantly. 

Then paused at the sight of the Abnormalities. 

Her eyebrow went right up, red eyes flicking to the elderly with her expression screaming that she thought they were crazy. She threw a thumb over to the birds, question clear. 

Iori shrugged. “The children love them.” 

Her brow only went higher. 

Then she huffed, eyes rolling. “Whatever, not my business. I’m just here for Gabe.” 

She would claim otherwise, but Myo did very much like the boy. She had probably volunteered to pick him up. 

Myo stepped forward. 

Big Bird glared at the woman, a low rumbling hiss leaving its jaws with its feathers puffing up aggressively around the kids. 

Well now, it didn’t hate it so much as it acted, now did it? That was quite the sound. 

Myo stared at it nonplussed, hands going to her hips. “That’s how it is, huh?” 

“I don’t think it’s going to let you near.” Iori chuckled. 

She scoffed. “Clearly not. I tried.” With a flippant shrug, she turned on her heel and went back to the staircase. “I’ll be back.” The rabbit went back down the stairs. 

A bit miffed she couldn’t complete her mission? Or did she truly want to pick up her Patron’s child? Both sounds right. 

It wasn’t too long before Myo was back, Maxim behind her. 

“Oh, that is a big bird, you weren’t kidding.” He grinned. “I always thought you were making it up.” 

“A hellion I might be, a liar is not it.” She sniffed, not convincing anyone. “This thing bit off so many rabbit heads… but a hail of bullets takes down anything easily enough. I wonder if it recognizes me or something.” 

She squinted at the bird. 

It squinted back. 

He chortled. “I gotcha, I gotcha. What’d you bring me up for?” His gaze turned confused on her. 

She shrugged. “I dunno. You’re a big, loveable guy, surely the bird’ll let you close.” 

Big Bird glowered. 

Maxim put a hand to his chin. “Hmm… maybe.” He seemed a bit unused to the compliment. “What about this guy?” He pointed behind him. 

Myo dragged Stephan out from behind Maxim. “Ran into him on the way down, thought I might prove a point.” 

“What point are you proving?!” Stephan yelped. 

Iori, once more for the day, hid a smile behind her hand. 

“That the bird doesn’t just hate me.” She shrugged. “Go on, go pick up Gabriel for me.” 

“W-why--” Stephan didn’t get to properly voice his complaints before the R Corp Captain kicked him forward. 

The gunman stumbled towards the bird, reeling. He just barely managed to regain his balance in time to not fall flat on his face but froze immediately with the bird looming right before him. 

“Caw.” It was a low, rumbling croon, threatening and very much not happy. 

Stephan blanched. 

And quickly scrambled backwards with a yelp, diving behind Maxim and quivering in fear. “Why is that thing out here?!” 

“The kids like it.” Salvador replied. 

Myo gestured towards the bird, head angled up at her fellow pack member with an ‘I told you so’ written on her face. 

Maxim rubbed the back of his head. “Alright, point taken.” A toothy smile split his lips, patting her heavily on the shoulder. “I get what you mean, I got it!” 

Confident, he approached the bird, leaving Stephan to then dive behind Myo. 

“Gebura needs to pick it up with you.” She deadpanned. 

Iori agreed. 

It rumbled again, feathers puffing. 

“Easy now, big guy.” He put his hands up. “I’m just here to pick up Gabriel. Past bedtime, you know? Gotta get him to his parents.” 

The rumble lessened, ending with a huff. 

Dozens of yellow eyes scrutinized the large man, looking him up and down and all over. 

Eventually, they rolled, and the feathers settled. 

“Thanks!” He approached the rest of the way and gently plucked Gabriel from its back. “Be nice to anyone else who comes to pick up a kid, alright?” 

With that, Maxim marched back to Myo. 

“That’s what I thought.” Myo’s eyes rolled again. 

Maxim laughed softly, cognizant of the volume now that he was holding a sleeping child. “Just gotta know how to manage animals, looks like. Even Abnormalities exhibit normal behaviors.” 

“Seems so.” She agreed and turned to leave. 

“Thanks for watching him.” Maxim waved at the four, following her out. 

“Yeah, thanks.” Myo didn’t look back as she said it. 

Leaving Stephan behind. On the floor. He’d get up momentarily and leave, flabbergasted. 

“It’s our pleasure.” Iori waved back. 

The rest of whoever came to pick up the kids would have similar issues. Big Bird was suddenly territorial of the children, the only ones allowed to approach were those who didn’t show fear and made intent clear nonthreateningly – or were named Binah or Xiao. It took quite some time for poor Juno to be picked up under these circumstances, but Esther had no problem getting Violet, and Yan only had a little trouble collecting Xander and Uberto before sorting it out. 

What a fruitful day. 

Chapter Text

Moses sighed to herself, lifting a hand to rub at her eyes to stave off the exhaustion that threatened to overtake them. The paper in her other hand was placed back on the desk, picking up her old pipe and bringing it to her lips to bite down on the bit and let the smoke fill her lungs. 

A deep breath, the old harshness of the smoke no longer bothered her, only bringing a relief nowadays. She lowered her hand from her eyes and leaned back in her chair, tapping her pipe’s bowl in thought. 

From the Sinners’ Abnormality reports, to her own general work, and work with those of the Library, she had no shortage of busywork. Frankly, she could use a major break. 

Too much work to be done for that. It’d only pile on more. 

Something crashed in another room, eliciting a sigh from her. They had better not have broken anything… but she had to let them spar or she’d never have a moment of quiet to get the logistical work done. 

Vespa and Kim sparring was a fairly common occurrence, Ezra substituting one or joining in just as common, so there was the occasional thing broken as they sharpened their skills even if Kim was more conscientious of it than the other two. So, on the one hand, if Aeng-du was undergoing training, then environmental destruction was less likely. On the other… 

If, heaven forbid, YuRia had gotten involved, then it was far more likely. 

Another crash. 

… 

Sounds like Hohenheim’s problem. 

The phone on her desk started ringing. 

A heavy sigh left the aging woman, smoke pouring from her lips. That one, that sound, was a her problem… 

Moses sat up in her chair, shifting her pipe to the side of her mouth and continuing to hold it with her off hand as she picked up the phone. “Limbus Company On-site Investigative Reasoning Team Leader: Moses, speaking.” 

Who in the world came up with that name? It was worse than some Abnormality names she’d seen – and those could get lengthy. 

Moses chewed on her pipe, growing more and more exhausted and irritated by every word that left the caller’s mouth. 

Put everything else aside right now, Moses. There’s something that needs looking into right this second, Moses. Go do your detective thing and find out what’s going on, Moses. This could be huge for the company, and we don’t want anyone else getting it first, Moses. 

The rest of her work was being put on hold. 

Because there were rumors of Wing equipment being used in the Backstreets. 

Not just any Wing, mind you. W Corp. Everyone’s favorite Corporation. 

How the gear may have left the Wing was anyone’s guess, but it had been positively scrambling to save face and squash supposedly ‘baseless’ rumors that threatened to crumble its entire foundation. Nemo really had unleashed Hell upon the place, it was no wonder something would slip through the cracks. 

In any case, even if Warp Corp was swamped in legal battles, rumors of their gear being used outside of their jurisdiction would be sure to catch their attention. It was only a matter of time before a squad would be dispatched to repossess it. If it was real, anyway. 

And, of course, Limbus Company would want to get its hands on it. W Corp was a very easy target right now, it’d be simple to claim the gear as their own and send the Wing packing. 

Hmph… why was it always Moses’s problem? 

Because her deductive reasoning and experience as a detective… 

This didn’t involve Distortions, it’s out of her area of expertise, thank you. 

… 

She sighed again. Such a claim would not fly, especially since it was partly untrue. 

In a way, she’d be quite happy to just dive into a proper Distortion case and un-Distort someone. Just to return to what had been her normalcy for a span years ago. There was still a lot of paperwork back then, but it was less paperwork. 

Naturally, the caller wasn’t much more forthcoming with information that would be important to know, so Moses had to give her confirmation to the acceptance of the task they both knew she literally couldn’t say no to and hang up. 

The former detective took a moment to decompress, fidgeting with her pipe as she closed her eyes to process. 

It would appear they’re making a trip to District 23’s Backstreets. Everyone’s favorite place to be. 

Gebura would probably throw them all into a room and lock the door if she knew this was happening. 

Bit too close to the Wing for comfort, but that gave the impression that whoever it was did not have the ability to travel, or he’d have left the District entirely with those possibly ill-gotten gains. 

Hm… 

Time to get into gear, she supposes. Gather her headaches and inform them of what’s going on, gather some information, and head out. 

YuRia was very good at getting information. Makes her wonder if the Company failed to gather it purely out of laziness because YuRia could do it better. 

Shaking that thought off, Moses brought her right arm up and took the glove off, rolling her sleeve back. 

She pulled a screwdriver from her desk and popped the prosthetic open. A quick check of the circuitry and motors or any other moving parts, ensuring functionality was smooth and moving the way she wanted… applying some oil to her wrist as that had not been moving the way she wanted for a little while now… 

There was the very real possibility of harsh combat here, she needed to make sure this blasted arm was working right, and she hadn’t tended to it in a little while. She could ask YuRia for a tune up, but that sounded like a hassle. 

Maybe after this, though. It’d likely need a better check than she could give it. 

Finishing up, she closed the prosthetic and replaced her clothing. 

W Corp, huh… 

*** 

The Backstreets of District 23 were as grungy as you’d expect. Poverty was around every corner, cleanliness a thing of the past. Streets were lined with cannibalistic bistros or Offices for hire of murder, dark alleyways oozing with danger between buildings. 

It was cramped, the smell of blood hanging in the air and greedy eyes watching them from behind every door. 

Moses huffed, smoke drifting from her lips. Just wonderful. Everything in this District is hostile. 

Vespa and Kim took point, presenting a barrier of their own danger that dared anything to make a move on their little unit. Aeng-du and Ezra were in the back, making it known that no one was getting the drop on them from behind. 

It was rare that Moses saw Ezra looking so tense, but this place beget it. She still had her smile on her face, but the way her eyes darted around was telling. 

Beside her, YuRia grumbled something under her breath, glaring at the map in her hands that, frankly, Moses had no idea how she’d obtained. 

“This gear is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get my hands on, but even the layout of this place is an utter hellhole.” She squinted at the map. 

That it was. More so in that it was infuriating to look at. 

Who designed it so that it was in a grid-like pattern, but the center was diagonal. 

“You can take a look at the gear depending on how this goes.” Moses reminded her. If it even is W Corp gear, but all signs pointed to the positive from what YuRia had dug up. 

“Yeah, yeah.” The hyperactive workshop maestro waved her off. “Can you imagine what I could do with Wing gear?!” 

“I don’t think I want to.” Aeng-du deadpanned. 

“Seconded.” Ezra giggled. 

“Pfah.” YuRia scoffed. “Naysayers, the lot of you.” 

“Only the best!” 

“How far are we, YuRia?” Vespa asked tersely from the front, eyes angling sharply back. 

She puffed her cheeks out but looked back at the map. “We’ll be turning down that alley, it should be on the end.” Her finger pointed at an opening a few buildings down. 

He grunted in acknowledgement. 

“Oh, we’re going down the creepy alleys.” Ezra pursed her lips. “Definitely not getting shanked down one of those.” 

“Ezra.” Moses sighed. 

She giggled awkwardly. “I only tell the truth, D-- Boss!” 

The detective could only shake her head. 

They continued towards the alley, heading down it without hesitating – or they’d be showing weakness around a bunch of predators. The alley was longer than expected, every dark shadow threatening to leap out. 

One did, but Kim’s blade knew no mercy. 

That was enough of a message for the rest. 

Eventually, they reached a door down at the end. It was nondescript, but the ramshackle sign proclaiming it to be a Fixer office merely by the name of 23 told them they were in the right place. 

Whoever named it was not very creative. 

Moses pushed her way to the front of her motley crew, wasting no time in knocking on the door. 

There was only a beat of silence before the door was opening. 

Punctual. Almost rigidly so. Someone was disciplined. 

A tall woman with long blue hair tied up in a ponytail opened the door, staring at the gathered crew with a scrutinizing gaze. Eye for detail. 

Her stance was strong and prepared for combat, though she only wore a general dress shirt and tie with blue jeans – not equipped to fight, but would. 

“Hello.” Moses greeted before she could speak. “Moses of the Limbus Company On-site Reasoning Team. I’m here on what you might call ‘down-low’ business from the company, do you have a moment to speak?” 

This woman was someone to be honest with, though she did not appear to recognize the Limbus name. 

She frowned, not liking the sound of that. “We do not currently have any jobs, so we are available for discussion.” Her eyes flicked between Ezra, Kim, and Vespa. “You don’t seem someone who would have need of our services.” 

“We don’t.” Moses confirmed. “As I said, down-low. I would prefer to speak amicably, if you will.” 

A soft huff left her, preferring to avoid confrontation. “You don’t mean to bring us trouble, do you?” 

“I’d prefer not to.” Moses answered honestly. Of course, if it came down to it, the Company would demand she did. 

Another huff. “Very well. Come in.” She motioned her head inside and stepped back, watching as they all entered after her. 

The office was small, sparse with only three cramped desks and a mini fridge next to a small table. 

They don’t make much money, they really did not have the room to deny what came to them. Struggling to make ends meet, fell on hard times. 

Hmm… 

A man was at one of the desks, falling asleep, and another woman was at the other one, balancing a pencil on her nose. 

If the state of her subordinates bothered her, the main woman did not show it. 

She led them to her desk, taking a seat with a sigh. “I hope you’ll excuse, we haven’t much room to sit.” 

“That’s alright, they can stand.” Moses took the single guest chair available. 

Ezra made a pitiful sound. 

“If you’re sure.” The woman grunted, straightening in her chair. “You’ve given your designation, so I’d best give mine: Rose, Operator of Office 23. May I be so bold as to ask what it is your business is with us?” 

Creating a more amicable atmosphere, smart, yet still tense. Rose, huh? She thought she might have heard that name before. From researching into something very specific. 

Insofar, she’d ignored the signs of Distortion on the three, but they weren’t anything out of the ordinary. Most everyone had some progression of Distortion creeping up on them, these three were no different – showing what you’d expect of people down on their luck. 

However, there was a slight connection between what she saw on all of them. No Distortion was exactly the same, though elements could be shared between those close to each other: these three all had spacial refractions of some kind. 

With just that, she knew exactly what these three were. 

And it changed everything. 

“I won’t beat around the bush.” Moses started. “We’re here chasing rumors that have our company quite intrigued, the information we managed to gather on those led us here.” 

Rose’s eyes narrowed. “And those rumors are?” 

“The unsanctified use of Wing technology outside of the Wing.” She said it straight up, watching Rose like a hawk for any reaction. 

To this woman’s credit, she gave nothing away. Her expression remained cool, eyes not wavering. 

It was the woman to the side that did, flinching to the point of near falling out of her chair; her pencil clattered to the floor. 

Moses quirked a brow at her. 

Lesti – if she had this right – coughed harshly, diving down to collect her pencil and hide from scrutiny. All eyes were on her barring her other co-worker – Sen – who was asleep. 

Very professional. 

“As you can imagine, any company or other corporation – especially W Corp itself – would chomp at the bit for something like this. I’d say you were fortunate it was us who found you first.” Moses did not envy this woman’s position. “I don’t intend any hostilities here, but how did you come into possession of such equipment?” 

Her eyes narrowed further, tensing. “And what do you intend to do with that information?” 

Not trying to hide it, she knew she was caught. 

“That’s up to you.” Moses replied evenly. “As stated, I hold no ill intent here, Rose, but I am here on a job that I, frankly, can’t say I care for. I need your story straight, Rose, or I’ll have to take action I do not want to.” 

Did she want to threaten the woman? No, but that simply was what was going to have to happen. She can’t stick her neck out for someone who refuses to cooperate. 

“What do you want to do?” Ah, she asks the right questions. 

Moses hummed, twirling her pipe between her fingers shortly before biting back down on the bit and taking a drag. “To be perfectly level, I can’t say I particularly wanted to take this assignment; I have far more work that needs done. However, it is something that needed looked into and, if my hunch is correct, then it truly is best that I am the one who met you first. I have some friends with a rather massive altruistic streak, so I may be able to get you out of your bind here.” 

Rose did not at all look like she trusted that statement, but she knew she didn’t have another choice in the matter. 

“For how honest you are, I will comply.” She didn’t look pleased. “We are former employees of W Corp, having been sent to the Library when our First Class was kidnapped to it. Upon our unbooking, we still had everything but were separated from the Corporation. Everything was crumbling around us, we decided it was best to lay low and find any means to make ends meet. I can’t say we want to return to the Corporation with the state it is in, and they cannot track us down for that very reason, but we are at risk for it regardless.” 

There was some loyalty in her, and no one wouldn’t miss the paycheck being a Feather grants. Having gone from a Nest to the slums of the Backstreets wasn’t easy. 

But this does mean that Moses was right. 

“I see.” Moses nodded, taking in the information and filing it away. “And you continued to make use of the equipment? You must know how standout W Corp’s signature space-ripping is.” 

“You seem unsurprised.” Rose pointed out instead. 

“I said I had a hunch.” She shrugged. “I was a detective before my current occupation took me over, I have my means of gathering information.” 

YuRia snickered. 

“I suppose.” A huff. “We use it still, yes, because it’s all we have. Making use of its full capabilities is off the table barring the incident the other day that caught your attention. It was…” She frowned, defensive. “Simply necessary. There was no other way.” 

Ran across something that demanded it or one or more people would have died. 

“Understandable, then. You knew the risks.” Moses leaned forward. “Now, it’s those ties to the Library I wish to speak of.” 

“What of them?” She replied tersely. 

“Yeah, uh, they’re kinda the reason we lost our jobs and probably why the place is imploding?” Lesti spoke up, peeking over her desk. 

Moses glanced at her. 

She slid back under her desk. 

Her eyes rolled, returning to Rose. 

“Simply that I have a deal for you and your subordinates here. You’ve taken care of them these years following your unbooking, something admirable.” The woman was a good leader, willing to make sacrifices even at her own expense. They would fit in. “I propose two options for you, it is up to you what happens.” 

Curiosity settled into her features, though still heavily guarded. “Do you not intend to take our things – or us – to your masters?” 

“Masters is a harsh word.” Moses noted with a puff of smoke. “Your choices are thus: we leave you to the corporations, or you accept what my friends have to offer. Either you come with us to Limbus Company or turn us away to weather anyone else who has their attention here, or you sign one more invitation to the Library to discuss the deal Angela has offered so many more like you, and I will take care of any remaining issues for the matter out here.” 

She’d lied to the Company several times before. What was another? No one in the Backstreets is using W Corp’s technology to rip into dimensions. 

Rose and Lesti stared her dead-on, not sure if they’d heard her right. 

“Hmmm…” Kim hummed. “Will Angela accept a sudden springing?” 

Moses grinned wryly. “She has before, and I have plenty of sway with her myself should it be needed.” 

It wouldn’t be needed. She had confidence in that. 

“Let me get this straight.” Rose grasped the edge of her desk tightly. “You want us to go back to the Library to join an entity that once terrorized the entire City, and you’ll simply wipe things clean out here.” 

“The Library is not what it seems, I am offering you a get out of jail free card. The only stipulation is you assist in the caretaking of the floor that you are assigned and follow your Patron’s orders, protecting the Library when the need arises.” Moses clarified. “It is not a one-way street, though Angela would far better explain herself.” 

Rose frowned, eyes lowering. “What do you expect to happen should I not agree? You said others had joined the Library, should we simply forget that despite what it might go for?” 

“It is up to you.” The former detective shrugged. 

Her nostrils flared slightly, grip tightening further. 

“This place does suck.” Lesti spoke up in a barely audible mumble. “I spent a lot of effort to get to W Corp only to just be spat out of it, I mean, uh…” She coughed. 

Opportunistic, a quality common in the Backstreets. She’s from here, she certainly would not be happy to be back. 

Rose let go of the desk and sat back with a harsh huff, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I need more information.” 

“I will provide what I am able.” Moses settled into her chair more comfortably, expecting a longer conversation to come. 

*** 

Angela peered at the people who’d been gathered before her, waiting patiently for their response. 

She can’t say she was expecting Moses of all people to be the one to bring her former victims to her, but she couldn’t exactly say no. These three had been dealt an especially poor hand upon being unbooked, and she hadn’t had anything against them anyway. 

There are some groups Angela would not be considering, but she doubted anyone would even think of trying to bring those in. Could you imagine the Carnival or Smiling Faces? No. Hell no. 

Anyway. 

The W Corp Cleanup Crew had certainly lost a few members from those who had come here, leaving only these three. Some had likely died, others simply left to find better pastures. Just these three were fine, Angela had no desire to hunt down the rest – they hadn’t for any other group. 

They wore their old gear from when they were employed, but every hint of it being from W Corp had been scrubbed clean, the logos were sanded off and the plates painted over. The only thing that still signified they’d belonged to W Corp was Rose’s ball cap, but it was unlikely she’d ever worn it before now. 

“Ah, as you make your decision in accepting my deal or not,” Angela kept not mentioning these things because they weren’t problems to her, but they were to others and could change things. She should really start mentioning this beforehand or they’re going to start having more incidents like with Stephan getting entirely freaked out. 

That was just Stephan being himself, but still. 

“There are a few here who you might wish to know the presence of.” She felt their gazes land on her, Rose’s sharp, Lesti’s curious, and Sen’s confused. “We do house a set of Index Proxies and a former Messenger to them, there is also a group of Bloodfiends who have taken residence, one of my Patrons was formerly an Arbiter, another is the Red Mist of legend herself,” Gebura might not be thrilled with that introduction, “there are other Colors as well, I suppose I ought to mention the Abnormalities housed within my shelves, and the man who sent W Corp into a greater downward spiral than it would have been in is here as well – he will claim he has no idea what you’re talking about.” 

They stared at her. Lesti and Sen were both white now, and Rose’s brow was twitching. 

That was a lot, wasn’t it? 

Had she missed anything? Surely not. 

“Those are a lot of very dangerous things, Ma’am.” Rose stated slowly, a light frown pulling at her lips. 

“Indeed, but I assure you there is no danger to be found.” Angela assuaged. “The Proxies listen to Hod and will not go against her word; the Messenger is no longer so and wishes to not be associated with the Index; the Bloodfiends are loyal to us and are friendly; the Arbiter is a close friend as well,” friend was too soft of a link, but it sufficed for now, “and she is no longer beholden to the Head; the Abnormalities are trapped within the confines of their books and can be dealt with simply enough.” 

Barring the incidents that they’d gotten out. The second half of that statement still held, though. 

Rose sighed. “And the man who sent W Corp into a spiral?” 

Angela pursed her lips. “I think you’ll find he’s too busy trying to get information about R Corp’s Singularity from Nikolai.” 

Her expression went dull. Not the response she wanted. 

“Ah, there are R Corp captains here as well, that may be relevant to you.” She amended with a nod. 

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Rose then dragged her hand down her face. “Are you two alright with this?” She looked to her subordinates. 

“That’s a lot of scary stuff.” Lesti pulled at her collar. “I don’t want to die.” 

“No one is permitted death within these walls.” Angela stated firmly. “You will be safely returned to the confines of your book and released as if nothing happen should there be any incident that would cause such a thing – which you will not find from my residents.” 

Of that, she knew for certain. 

“How heavy is the work?” Sen raised his hand. 

The lazier one of the crew, correct? 

“It will be however heavy your Patron decides it to be, but you will be well cared for and have plenty of others to lean on.” She stated. 

“Hm.” He scratched at his stubble. “Sounds like a really good deal to me, Rose.” 

“It does.” She agreed. “Too good.” 

A healthy dose of skepticism never hurt anyone. 

“I understand your hesitation, but I am being honest. You’ve no reason to trust me, I’ll allow, but Moses sent you here for a reason.” Angela tilted her head in thought. “I will ask that my mother speaks with you later to help you understand what this all was about. It is her dream we embrace and chase into the dark.” 

She does need an answer, though. 

“I mean, I guess we could at least try it out a little and see for ourselves.” Lesti suggested with a shrug. 

“It’s way better than what we were doing even if we don’t completely trust it.” Sen added. 

Rose sighed, a clear weight on her shoulders. “Fair points. We will accept your deal – for now. Where are we to locate?” 

Angela took just a second to consider. “I will be assigning you to Malkuth on the Floor of History. Her floor also houses the Streetlight Office, which while they pull their weight and have made great strides, are our weakest group. Malkuth could use the extra strength, and the Streetlight’s general fighting style will work well with your own. 

“They have been learning with the Shi, though I am afraid they’ve reached the highest that they can under such tutelage.” She shook her head. “The Shi are phenomenal at they do and have been great teachers, but their fighting style can only go so far with the skillset the Streetlight best employ.” 

Simply put: the Streetlight were not built for assassination. 

“I see.” Rose nodded. “You expect us to train them?” 

“With them, yes.” Angela nodded. “They are strong, do not get me wrong, but your addition will be vital to them.” 

And, not to mention, Rose was a very responsible and disciplined person. The Streetlight could certainly use that. San would be happy to have the leadership help. 

San would flourish in his role with Rose leading him. 

… San and Sen were very similar names. 

… sounds like Malkuth’s problem. 

*** 

“Well, this is a bit awkward.” Lulu coughed. 

“You’re telling me.” Lesti was wearing a very shaky smile. 

Malkuth rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, all of you! That’s in the past, we’re a team now.” 

They all gave her uncertain looks. 

“It is a bit strange to join arms with those who once saw you to your end, but we aren’t in position to be choosing our lot.” Rose huffed, shaking her head. 

Malkuth chuckled awkwardly. “I get it’s weird that we took you down when you entered the Library last, but I think we can move past that. We were all doing our jobs, but I do apologize for back then. I can’t imagine what this is like.” 

Internally, she was cringing a lot. This was pretty awkward, and she felt really bad. 

“We’ll certainly appreciate the help.” San offered an amicable smile. “A few of the other floors have acquired extra help since we left the City, so it’s nice to get some ourselves.” 

“Don’t mention it. It’s in the past, as you said.” Rose shook her head. 

They were going to have to do something about their gear. It was all standard to W Corp. 

“R Corp has since refitted their gear to remove their old Corporation for the Library, we’ll need to look at doing the same for you.” That shouldn’t be difficult, they had plenty of people who excelled at that stuff now. 

“We should warn that YuRia is going to want to take your gear apart.” Mars crossed his arms. “You’ll get it back better than it was before, but she is going to get herself into trouble.” 

“From what we’ve gathered, she already has.” Sen chuckled. 

“Many times.” Lulu nodded with a giggle. “So, uh, sorry for killing you, welcome to History?” 

“Very eloquent, Lulu.” Mars pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Shhhhhhush.” She pouted. 

Malkuth giggled, unable to help it. This was quite exciting for her, she had new people on her floor! This meant there was only one thing to do. 

“I’m not going to put you to work right away.” She assured them. “Take some time to settle in before we teach you the ropes or get started on training together for combat cohesion, sooooo~” Her lips split, teeth shining brightly. “Let’s just get to know each other! And what better way than the kids?” 

“The what?” Lesti coughed. 

Malkuth hummed, putting her finger to her lips. “Mika has them right now, so I’ll be right back!” 

With that, she charged towards the stairs, leaving her Fixers in the dust. 

“W-wait, let me get Juno with you!” Lulu yelped, scrambling after her. 

Rose glanced at San as the two ran off. “This happen often?” 

“Malkuth is a bit sporadic, but she is very good at what she does.” San replied. “Whatever happens, she will always stand back up.” 

“Reliability is hard to come by.” She replied lowly. 

“Very.” He nodded in agreement. “But you won’t find a shortage of it here. I’ll look forward to working with you.” 

Rose grasped the bill of her hat, lifting it slightly as she better took in San and Mars. “And we you.” 

Chapter Text

Dante was feeling good today. A string of jobs was just finished, the Sinners were able to settle down and relax for a little while, it was time to wind down. Which also meant it was about time to be headed back to the Library for a span. Just a quick check-in, exchange of any new information, see if the Library needs anything from them and vice-versa, and they were free to relax. 

Of course, there might be some training in there, but the huge bulk of that had already been overcome by now. 

Binah had made sure of that. 

The Sinners were a bustle of activity at the moment, chatting and bantering amongst each other after a successful job. They were going a lot more smoothly than they used to, it was nice to see. 

Their teamwork was improving, Dante’s own ability as their manager was improving, and the bonds between them were thriving. 

So, with that thought in mind, a rest was certainly in order. He just needs to make sure Vergilius was notified. 

Their guide was… still not the biggest fan of the Library, but he couldn’t deny the positive effect it had had on the Sinners. Dante was sure he’d dive right back into it to get to the true bottom of his past losses given the chance, either finding the means to get at the Library or finding a new target. 

Dante hoped it wouldn’t be either, but he understood that that wouldn’t be something so easily accomplished. 

For now, Vergilius would have to tolerate the Sinners’ alliance with the object of his ire. 

Dante stood from his seat and walked his way to the front as casually as he could. It wasn’t like it was far from where he sat, though something behind him was starting to cause a stir. 

Sounded like Rodion. He’d deal with that in a moment. 

<Vergilius.> All Dante needed to do to get his attention was tick a little, but actually saying his name just felt a little better. 

Vergilius let out a deep, resigned sigh, those red eyes turning towards him filled with a deep displeasure. “If I may be so bold to guess, Dante, you intend to head to the Library already?” 

Dante felt a bit bad about this, but nodded and held up the invite. <I hope you’ll come with us on amicable terms some day.> 

A low hum, hard to discern. “Do not let me stop you, Dante.” He turned back forward, seeming just a bit more sullen. “But do bring back more of that coffee if you can, we seem to be running low.” 

Dante perked up a bit and saluted. <Yes, sir!> 

Chesed would give them enough to fill the bus if they let him. 

With permission granted, Dante turned back to his Sinners, digging through his pockets for a pen. 

Rodion’s voice broke through the other chatter as he approached the group. 

“Hey, hey DonQui,” Rodion rapped her knuckles against the short woman’s head, that look on her face that always promised trouble, “I’m darin’ ya right now, yeah? In which case, this would better be asked to Sancho~” 

What did he miss-- 

Don Quixote blinked, expression going blank. “Huh?” 

Why is Rodion asking for Sancho? Of course, Don would be rightfully incredulous for such a ridiculous request. 

<Rodion.> Dante looked up from finding his pen to stare at her. 

Something had started when he was otherwise preoccupied, and he did not like where this was going. 

“Don’t worry about it, Dante.” She assured with a bright smile. “It can’t be too bad.” 

That tells him it will be bad. 

Don cleared her throat. “I find it quite strange that thou askest I to drop the justice I so valiantly pioneer for mine father.” Not letting her trip her out of the act, good. 

“I know, but this needs testing.” Rodion pulled out a seemingly innocuous thermos from out of nowhere. 

Faust turned to Rodion with a stern look on her face. “Sinner number three is banned from overly caffeinated beverages for a reason, Rodion.” 

“Oh, come on~ It’s fine!” Rodion waved her off flippantly. “Or are you trying to say that our dear Bloodfiend the grand, prim and proper Second Kindred can’t control herself with a little coffee in her system?” 

Oh no… 

Don Quixote’s nose twitched. “Such tauntings will not sway me, vile witch.” 

Keep strong-- 

She pouted. “You wound me, DonQui.” Her eyes fluttered. “Come on, Ms. Sancho~ It’s a dare for a reason.” 

Her expression and voice went flat at once. “Why?” 

“Why not?” 

“What do I get out of this?” 

“If you can do it, I’ll… come up with something, yeah?” 

“… that’s hardly an incentive, Rodion.” 

“Oh, come on! Don’t tell me it doesn’t bother you!” 

<Guys.> Dante stepped back towards them. <We’re not doing this.> 

Sancho opened her mouth. 

Rodion tutted, shaking her head in shame. “Even Dante doesn’t think you can do it.” 

Her nostrils flared. 

<That is not what I said.> Dante defended, clock ticking with irritation. Don’t twist his words like that. 

“This is not going to go well.” Ishmael groaned, pressing her hands into her face and sliding down her seat. 

“Not gonna try to stop it?” Heathcliff asked confusedly. 

“Do you want to try to?” 

He was silent a second before grunting harshly. “No.” 

Dante drew himself up. This needed to end right now. <Guys, we’re heading to the Library. Put the dare to the side--> 

“Oh, come on, Dante.” Rodion shuffled over and elbowed him. “Aren’t you curious? Surely, she’ll be fine. Sancho’s quite put together, after all. Even if the act she puts on is pretty lackadaisical, the surly woman beneath it would never let herself act so out of sorts. Especially not in the place her family lives.” 

Dante stared at her. <Why are you so insistent on this?> 

She only smiled, though there was something sharp about it. Some kind of underlying insult. 

“And where did you get the coffee? You’re not allowed it either.” Gregor piped in confusedly, looking a bit nervous. 

“Uh-uh.” Rodion wagged her finger at him. “I’m not allowed to make it; I’m allowed to drink it.” 

All heads turned towards Faust. 

She sniffed. “This is a true statement.” 

All of them groaned. 

“Who made her coffee.” Heathcliff grumbled, the question without the tone of being one. A statement promising hurt. 

Sinclair coughed almost inadvertently, swiftly hiding in his seat when everyone snapped their heads to him. “S-sorry! I thought she wanted to drink it!” 

Many sighs to rival Ishmael’s own sounded from just about everyone. 

“In all fairness, he would have no reason to believe she wouldn’t want to drink it.” Hong Lu spoke up in defense of the young man. 

“He does speak truth.” Yi Sang allowed. “Any of us would have made it with enough begging.” 

Outis cleared her throat. 

“Most any of us.” Yi Sang amended before she could speak. 

<Are we going to the Library or not.> Dante cut back in, just trying to move this along. 

“In just a moment!” Rodion assured him, then leveled an intense stare on Sancho. 

Sancho narrowed her eyes on her. 

They glared at each other for a moment. 

“I suppose we can just tell Dulcinea that you lack so much self-control you can’t handle a drink. That’ll go over well.” Rodion looked so smug she may as well have already won this war of attrition. 

Oh, for the love of-- 

<Stop taunting her!> Dante was going to lose his mind. At this rate, Rodion was going to be trying to get Rocinante off. 

“Fie.” Sancho seethed, feathers properly ruffled, and put her hand out forcefully. Rodion had hit the kill spot, after all. “Give me that damn drink.” 

“Do not.” Faust warned. 

Rodion took on the smile of a winning gamble. “She won’t have to know a thing~” And handed it over. 

No one was able to stop Sancho from swiping it and downing the whole thing in one gulp. She slapped the empty cup back into Rodion’s hand. “There, satisfied?” 

“Very.” Rodion turned to Dante and pulled a pen out of nowhere. “Let’s be off, then!” 

Dante felt as if he might be glowering. <Why are you like this?> 

“A woman is deserving of freedom, Dante.” She said, uncharacteristically serious. 

Of course. She’s getting revenge for being banned from so much as looking at the coffee supply. 

He sighed and turned to Sancho. 

“I am perfectly well capable of controlling myself, Dante.” The Bloodfiend replied to his unspoken question dully, sounding a bit insulted. “This whole dare has been quite the farce. There is no need for worry of anything explosive.” 

Dante wanted to believe her, he really did, but that ban had been put in place for a reason. 

… but Sancho was acting perfectly fine and unaffected at the moment, so it’s not like he could do anything. 

If any of them could do anything in the event she did explode or something at all. 

She really did not look appreciative of the scrutiny on her at the moment. Sorry, Sancho. 

Shaking his head, Dante took the pen from Rodion and signed for all of them. Thankfully, he only needed to sign himself in – Angela had set it to take all of them with just his name. It’d be annoying to have to get everyone’s name down on this single piece of paper. 

The transport was immediate, as smooth and swift as it always was. 

They appeared directly on General Works as they had many times before, Angela not bothering with the entry floor for returning guests and allies. No one was immediately there to greet them, but that wasn’t exactly unusual. Sometimes they were busy, and Angela wasn’t going to make them wait. 

They didn’t need any fanfare to return; it was basically just welcoming yourself into a friend’s house. They were welcome at any time. 

“Place your bets, people.” Rodion sauntered over to a couch and plopped herself down with a relaxed sigh. “What’s got Angela busy today?” 

“She’s probably with Carmen.” Ishmael, of course, gave the most likely and most dull answer right off the bat. 

Rodion waved her off with a scoff. “Come on, Ishy, be more imaginative. She’s locked in a battle of the wits with Yan.” 

Don twitched slightly. 

Dante gave her a concerned glance, but she shook her head. She looked a bit unsettled, though… 

“It is around dinner time.” Yi Sang decided to play ball. “Perhaps they are cooking.” 

“Roland’s cooking is good, think he’ll give us some?” Hong Lu asked, a finger to his lips. 

“That would be quite the treat, yeah.” Heathcliff agreed, now looking eager. 

Don made a sound before anyone else could comment. 

All heads turned to her once more. 

Her cheeks were a bit puffed out, brows knit. She was biting her lip, her face a bit red. 

“Don? Are you okay?” Sinclair asked hesitantly. 

“I.” She started, twitching again. “Am quite well.” 

Her tone did not give any of them any confidence. 

“Are… you sure about that?” He stepped towards her nervously. “You don’t really look okay.” 

Her lips split into a bright smile, showcasing her sharpened teeth – Rocinante didn’t completely dull them. “I am quite sure, actually. Infact, I don’tthinkI’ve everfelt better.” 

She’s starting to speak really fast. 

Color fled from Sinclair’s complexion. 

Dante felt himself jolt. <Don--> 

“Donotfretoverme,ManagerEsquire!” Her pupils were blown wide, that smile broadening somehow. “Isimplyhavemuchthatneedsaccomplished!” 

There was a tense, short beat. 

She began to move. 

Hysterical yells erupted from the Sinners, lunging to grab her. 

It took exactly two seconds of struggling for Rocinante to leave her feet and red to crash over everyone. 

*** 

Dante groaned, the black spots in his vision slowly ebbing away to light. 

He felt really cold for some reason. 

“Hey you, you’re finally awake.” A familiar voice spoke over him. 

Dante shook himself off, his body aching, and looked up for the speakers. 

Roland was crouched beside him with a tense smile on his face, a bead of sweat sliding down his cheek. “Easy there, pal, you all took a beating.” 

Dante grimaced, lifting himself up further to see what the heck happened. 

Every Sinner was flat on the ground and covered in some kind of frost, but all were starting to come to with the assistance of Angela and Carmen. 

<What… what happened?> He asked shakily. 

Roland pursed his lips and looked outwards. “Well, you should probably see for yourself, but this is going to be quite the mess to pick up.” 

Dante lifted himself further up, finding he didn’t have a very good grip on the floor. It was a bit slippery for some reason. 

Ignoring the cackling in the background, dreading the realization that he knew the source, he looked down again. 

The entire ground was covered in ice. 

Not just ice, frozen blood as well. Mixed together in some kind of strange fusion. 

He looked up again, gazing outwards at the floor before them. 

Frankly, he was impressed at what he saw, breath taken away and jaw dropping even for his lack of a jaw. 

How in the world-- 

A massive castle stood in the center of the floor, rising high to the infinite ceiling and spreading outwards. It was crafted purely of hardened blood and ice, red and icy blue intermingled in a marbling pattern; a massive Ferris Wheel stood proudly in the center that towered over it all with the words ‘Fort Imposible’ displayed across it. 

It looked similarly to the castle the Manchegan once called their home. 

“I’M QUEEN OF THE CASTLE; I’M QUEEN OF THE CASTLE~!” Cackled from inside the frozen walls. 

Dear God. 

In front of the frozen gates, tall and imposing as they were, was what appeared to be an Abnormality. Formed of ice and wearing an elegant gown, ice upon its head forming into a crown and holding a sharpened sword of ice in its hands. 

“Yeah, she let Snow Queen out. And a couple others.” Roland grunted, rising fully to his feet and adjusting his gloves. “Not entirely sure what she’s intending, but she’s started her own fiefdom to bring justice to the world. Somehow.” 

Those are not words Dante thought he’d be hearing. 

He managed to get to his feet even if he slipped a little, the rest of the Sinners similarly rising and moving to join him with Angela and Carmen. 

“I hope you have a good explanation for this, Dante.” The A.I sounded quite exasperated. 

<I…> Dante considered how he might reply, but with how cold and beside himself he was, he just pointed at Rodion. <She gave Don coffee.> 

“Hey!” The gambler protested. 

Angela’s hand went straight to her face, pressing so hard he was worried she might cave it in. 

“I have heard of the infamous ‘Coffee Incidents’ that have transpired in the past.” Carmen sounded humored even through her clear worry. “Add this one to the tally?” 

“Definitely.” Roland rubbed the back of his head. “This one’s a bit different from the others, though.” 

There have been other incidents like this?! 

“So, uh,” Heathcliff rocked awkwardly on his feet, “what do we do?” 

The cackling was still going on inside the castle, the Snow Queen up front staring at them in silence with a frigid gaze. 

“Welp.” Roland huffed, drawing himself to height and placing his hands on his hips. “We need to get in there and knock her out. Either that, or we wait this out and hope she doesn’t cause further damage.” 

“What the Hell is that?!” Nicolina’s voice screeched in, the Bloodfiend trotting over to the group with her brother behind her. She didn’t slip at all as she moved, though did look a bit paler than usual. 

“Your aunt is hereby forever banned from coffee.” Angela dragged her hand down her face. 

Nicolina and Curiambro both blinked. “Huh?” 

She… was already supposed to be… 

Dante is not admitting to that. 

“Yep.” Roland put his hands to a shoulder each. “And we gotta get in there and take her down before she takes over the entire floor.” 

Nicolina leaned to the side, staring at the castle. “Sancho did that?” 

“She did.” Angela confirmed. 

She looked speechless a moment. “… Damn.” 

“Nicolina, I know that look.” Curiambro’s voice edged towards warning. 

“Oh, come on!” She threw her hands up, head snapping over to him. “Is this why I was banned from coffee?” 

Oh, dear heavens. 

“Nicolina.” Curiambro was fighting to control his tone. 

She grabbed his stole and yanked him forward, staring down at him manically. “Can you imagine the progress I could make like this?!” 

“That’s the entire problem, Lina.” He coughed. 

Roland moved his hand to her head. “Nico, let him go. Focus back here.” 

She huffed but did as asked and let her brother go, now glaring at the castle with her hands on her hips and pouting. “Rude.” 

He coughed, nodding in thanks to his Patron and righting his clothing. “This is quite the predicament, then.” 

The ice and hardened blood was only expanding, going further into the floor and up the walls to the stairs behind them. Shelves upon shelves were covered, the mix threatening to still take them as well. 

<Alright, quick.> This needed handled immediately. <We’ll go face the Snow Queen there and try to take her down. Someone should probably fetch help from the other floors.> 

“Yes, indeed.” Angela agreed. “I will not be snapping them in here directly as the cold will try to take them. Snow Queen is haughty, she will take it as a challenge." 

“Ishmael,” Roland started, knowing she could remember instructions without issue, “the Liu, Maxim, Rose, and heck, Lulu. They’re good at breaking things, and Valentin’s good at breaking doors, so get him as well.” 

The doors to the castle beyond the gates looked incredibly fortified… 

Something shook deep within the floor, power exploding around the castle. 

“GO, MY VALIANT SOLDIERS!” Don’s voice cried out, echoing off of the solid ice. “BRING TO ME MY SCIONS OF JUSTICE SO WE MAY TAKE TO THE WORLD!” 

The gates behind the Snow Queen opened, and blobs of red or pale grey marched out around her. 

Are those… 

Lungs. Several pairs of lungs marched out like soldiers flanked by long, thin arms carrying hammers and nails. 

Roland stared at it deadpan. “That’s the Heart of Aspiration and Silent Girl. Great. You know what, Ishmael? Just get all of Language to help deal with this, too.” 

Ishmael nodded with a sigh. “Got it, anyone else?” 

“Just anyone you run into.” 

With a nod, she rushed off towards the stairs. 

The doors began to close, the blood and ice forcing them shut. 

With a hiss, Ishmael slammed down into the ground in a fast slide, managing to slip right between the doors just before they slammed shut. 

Alright, someone would have to break that, but that shouldn’t be too hard for the people here. 

Beside Snow Queen, two more figures now stood – a young-looking girl holding something behind her back in nothing but a white summer dress and an entire anatomically correct heart with veins or arteries creating arms and legs for it. 

“Alright.” Roland grunted, pulling out Durandal. “We wage war.” 

Dante quickly pulled out his PDA, wincing at Don’s greyed out icon. Slot in any and all flame-based identities, and that will have to do. 

Behind them, the frozen doors shattered with a single, loud blow. 

With the Abnormality spawn still slowly marching towards them, everyone slowly turned to find what just happened. 

Just outside of the floor, Dulcinea stood; her eyes dull yet inquisitive, the red of them flicking this way and that as she took in what could be a comical sight if it wasn’t their own impending doom. 

Oh, this is perfect! She could help them with this so much! Dulcinea can contend with Sancho and smack some sense into her, right?! Her defensive and support capabilities would be astronomical here. 

"Hey Dulcinea, bit of a mess here, but Sancho--” Roland started. 

“Hm.” She sniffed and went right back down the stairs. 

… 

“DULCINEA!” They screeched as one, thundering voice; aghast. 

Is she serious?! 

Roland groaned, his head falling shortly before snapping back up. “Someone go get her and bring her butt back up here to help us.” With that, he charged forward to collide with the ever-approaching lungs and disembodied arms. 

<Help him!> Dante ordered, spurring the Sinners into action, and looked over to Angela and Carmen. 

“I’ve got her.” Carmen giggled, heading towards the stairs and not minding the shattered shards of the broken door with less urgency than he’d prefer. 

Dante then turned to the two Bloodfiends as the Sinners crashed into the Abnormalities and fire began to flow. <Does the ice not bother you?> 

Curiambro hummed, cupping his chin for a moment. “The latent fear prods at my heart, threatening to dig into my gut, but it is not so bad as the liquid would be.” 

Nicolina nodded in agreement. “Ice is okay in my book, just don’t let it melt or we’ll have problems.” 

He nodded back. Good enough. 

The fight ensued in full, the Sinners following Roland’s lead with Nicolina and Curiambro (… and eventually Dulcinea) joining them. The Liu managed to get up the stairs before Dulcinea returned, only adding to the fire, and the Shi weren’t far behind. 

“Dammit, another one?!” Was Gebura’s irate entrance. “Who keeps giving the hyperactive ones coffee?!” 

“Rodion this time.” Angela answered. 

An angry growl left her, charging into the floor to carve a way to the main Abnormalities waiting at the gate. Three others entered after her, ones Dante recognized as the Full Stop Office from that one book they’d entered during a Walpurgisnacht. The three were well in sync as they provided supporting fire from the back. 

Eventually, everyone requested was joined in on the cacophonous battle. Fire flashed at every blow, blood seeping into the ground both from the Bloodfiends and Mimicry, electricity sparked from Maxim’s and Rose’s equipment, and disgusting meaty thumps sounded from every lung’s attack. 

It couldn’t be described as anything but a mess. 

Dante looked around, tapping his fingers against his PDA as war was waged before him. <Where did she get all of the blood for this?> 

Don’t get him wrong, he knew Bloodfiends were capable of a lot with some blood, but this seemed way more than reasonable for the artificial packs she sparingly ate. 

Another simulated sigh left the machine. 

Carmen strangely looked a bit uncomfortable. “There’s a simple explanation for that. I think it would be best for you to see it for yourself.” 

Huh? That’s a bit weird. 

Despite the combined strength of the Abnormalities, the might of the Library was far more, and the three were returned to their books before long. 

Maxim and Rose crashed through the gates with a mass discharge of electricity, the very dimension around them ripping alongside Maxim tearing the ground asunder with his hammer. 

Then, despite Roland’s own claim, it was the combined effort of Mei and Chun that broke the next door – two massive bursts of fire from Mei’s shoulder and Chun’s fist made short work of it. 

They were headed inside. 

And inside. 

Blood. 

Lots and lots of blood. 

Nicolina peered into the seemingly endless pool of blood, locking her fingers together except the indexes and pressing them to her lips. “Okay, but hear me out here…” She licked her lips, pointing her fingers down at it; eyes locked on the sanguine liquid like she’d just struck gold. 

“No.” Roland chopped her over the head and dragged her away. 

“Wh-- but there’s so much--” Nicolina fought against him, shouting the whole way down to the next hall of this intricate castle. “Noooooooooooooooo!” 

Dulcinea similarly dragged Curiambro away, though he didn’t provide any fuss unlike his sister. 

A bath made of flesh, filled with blood. Just sitting in the middle of the entrance room. Like a fountain in the middle of a courtyard. 

There was an echoing snap, the bath of blood returning to its book without putting up a fuss. 

“FIENDS! WHO DARES ENTER MY CASTLE?!” Don’s voice bellowed around them, the room near shaking. “THOU SHALT FEEL THE WRATH OF A THOUSAND YEARS FOR THIS TRANSGRESSION AGAINST THE TRUE PROPRIETORS OF JUSTICE IN THIS WORLD! I AWAIT THEE, CURS.” 

“You are not a thousand.” Dulcinea deadpanned. 

It didn’t take them long to find her. 

A massive set of double doors lead to the throne room, standing imposing before them as if daring them to try to enter. 

It took less than a second for Valentin to crash through it. 

Huh. Guess he is good at breaking doors. 

They poured into the massive throne room, their large group not even close to filling it for its sheer size. 

Don stared down at them from atop her throne, incensed. A crown of blood and ice rested atop her head (though, the ice was melting, and she was twitching near violently from it). The entire castle was starting to melt, actually, though the hard blood was doing its darnedest to keep it together – replacing the missing ice but not able to stop the water. 

… Nicolina and Curiambro were starting to fidget a lot. They were not going to want to be in here when the place finally goes down. 

In spite of the water she so hated, Don fought to keep her composure. “Mine own allies stand against me? Fie, I had not taken thee for villains.” She rose to her feet, power swelling around her, her sanguine eyes shining dangerously. 

The imposing image of the Second Kindred was not well helped by the twitch she made each time a drop of water fell from her crown. 

Dante moved to respond to her but stopped when he noticed Dulcinea very slightly raise her hand at everyone else. 

“I shall smite thee where thou makest thy stands, ending thy villainy before it can take further root.” Blood coalesced around her hand, forming into a sharp and deadly lance. 

Dante looked to Dulcinea, wondering why in the world she was stopping them. Her head had simply tilted to the side, expression entirely unimpressed. 

“This shall be the end--” Don took one step, just one. One, single step forward. 

And shrieked as she slipped on the water that had slowly been pooling around her both from her throne and crown. 

She hit the blood-ice in front of the throne hard, and everyone winced as she fell down the stairs, hitting each consecutive one on the way down with a yelp at each step. 

They all stared down at her crumpled form before them silently. 

Oh. That’s why. 

They continued staring. 

She did not move. 

A loud, reverberating groan sounded throughout the whole castle. 

Then, a sharp crack pierced through their ears, followed by several more. 

Ice and blood around them shattered, falling to the ground with resounding booms. 

Aaaaaand that fall knocked Don Quixote clean out. 

“Haha, this has been fun.” Nicolina twitched, eyes rapidly darting around the room. She took a breath, hitched. “Bye.” 

She blasted right off, crashing straight through a wall in her desperation to escape. 

“A-ah, Nicolina!” Curiambro tried so hard to keep his composure, but he was running after her through the holes she’d created with panic in each movement he made. 

Well, then.