Far, far to the northwest, Aerendyl sighed, relaxing and leaning back on the couch in his apartment, eyes wandering between the TV, the window overlooking the lake, and the woman curled up with her head in his lap, cat ears twitching. Her hair was cyan, and small fangs dug into her bottom lip, denting it.
Things were simple, and he relaxed, raising his mug to his lips, sipping coffee that had gone almost completely cold by now… and then, he heard a knock at the door, and shivered, sitting forward. Gently removing his lover's head and setting it down on the couch, he walked to the door, opening it- no need to check who was there; Aerendyl was unkillable after all.
"You," He spoke flatly, raising an eyebrow; The Giant stood there.
"May I come in?"
"My girlfriend is sleeping." The angel fired back, unimpressed.
"You have an office, don't you? I will be quiet."
"Fine, but if you try anything, I'll kill you," Aerendyl shrugged, turning and allowing the Giant in, shutting and locking the door behind him. "This way."
"It's a nice place. A pretty girl, too," The giant chuckled almost silently as he followed Aerendyl through the spacious living room, admiring the view of the lake, before stepping into an office with a glass desk, bookshelves, and more windows than probably needed. Where Aerendyl slid into a comfortable leather swivel chair, The Giant lowered himself slowly into a squashy leather chair, sliding it back to make room for his legs.
"What do you want, Giant?" Aerendyl narrowed his blue eyes, crossing his arms.
"You're looking well," The dark-haired cultist spoke comfortably, confidently. "Freshly shaved, with a couple of new scars; you've saved the day. That's how you feel, isn't it?"
"From you," Aerendyl stated flatly as ever with a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Fine, I'll get to the point; tomorrow, when you meet with the press, you will tell them that my involvement was accidental. That in punishing Abasaba for misusing my funds, they released the virus to spite me and try to take me down with them. I will not be viewed as completely innocent, nor completely guilty. The wanted label will be removed from my head."
"Interesting theory, but tell me why I ought to take orders from a genocidal cultist?" Aerendyl asked pleasantly, as though offering coffee, kicking his feet up on the desk.
"Because I can help you too," The Giant smiled. "Contracted Arms and my people clash; we want to research something forbidden and on paper, you must stand against us. Perhaps you also disagree with the idea of our communal sharing, and dislike us personally; it is a fundamentally different philosophy. We hold up that surface-level tension well, do we not? A few of us die, a few of you die…"
"What, then?"
"I'll make a statement live and to my people," The Giant explained, smiling genuinely now, eyes crinkling. "There will be a truce; in light of recent events, Elevated shall keep their goal of discovering effective immortality away from the public eye- you can say you stopped it for good. I can say that you're on our side. Everyone wins."
"Hmnh…" Aerendyl thought for a moment, eyes narrowing slightly. "I don't like the way you think. Or, maybe I like it, and that's the past I don't like."
"Yes?"
"We're both just men trying to do right by our people any way we can," Aerendyl shrugged. "My goals are for my people. Yours are for the future of yours. Neither of us selfish, neither of us selfless."
"Then, do we have a deal?" The Giant's smile softened, his eyes knowing. From the hallway, somebody listened in horror.
-
Aurum, Queen of Mir, resident Hellhound- she went by many titles, but here and now, she was just a woman smiling into the cameras.
"It brings me great relief," She spoke, "-to see that my name has been cleared. There are those who thought that I personally instigated the attacks on our nation to instigate a war on Starria- and I make my stances well-known. I hate their xenophobia, their crusades, their judgment and their narrow minds but I do not wish to kill them, and even less so my own people. Humans can change, after all; or we would not exist," She added with a smile.
"Going forward, I can only reiterate that I offer my sincerest apologies to Starria for the blame that has been cast their way, and recommit ourselves to proper investigation, rather than claims without proper basis. Starria; please, forgive us, and accept a gift of funding to rebuild what you've lost and then some, as well as a heavy discount on any crops you may need imported for the next year. We have both lost people; and there is no use comparing who lost more, for we are one world."
"Brilliant," The young man behind her whispered as she walked off stage, and Aurum smirked, tail wagging, retreating from the cameras and throwing her arms around him gently.
"What were you before? A page?"
"Yes ma'am, something like that," He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist, and Aurum, still smirking, started to walk forward, shoving through a doorway and ignoring the stares and the gasps behind her. "Let's give em something else to report about for a while," She added, shoving her office door shut and leaving the audience chamber behind.
-
Haru sat quietly, eyelids heavy, sipping a mug of warm coffee; Fox had passed out with her head on the badger girl's shoulder. For a little while, Haru actually thought that something more was coming; both she and Fox had been so tense and stressed… and still, that feeling was there, Haru had to fight the urge to slam Fox down and grind against her face- but, blushing, she forced herself to focus on the news. Ica and Lif sat on a couch over there, Lottie was on Haru's other side curled up with her legs under her butt… still no Cecil, or Aurelia. Eileen sat on a third couch to their right, alone, staring at the TV. On it, a reporter talked enthusiastically.
"Abasaba has been shut down for good, and their leadership has been indicted; all are currently being held on bonds set to double their net worth. The company will never produce weapons or gear again, and there are talks of putting them to death for what they've done. The story is as follows," He chuckled, then paused. "Or perhaps I'll let Aerendyl, director of Ravenwood's Contacted Arms, make a statement. He's been following the situation closely and aiding in the investigation. Aerendyl?"
The camera cut, and Aerendyl, sitting in a comfortable-looking chair, smiled.
"Thanks Rob. You're right- I've been helping with the investigation, just like that genius hacker from Mir. It is true, Starria did not instigate this attack; it is also untrue that The Giant instigated it." When he said that, Haru's heart dropped, lips parting in a small o. What?
"You see, The Giant was funding Abasaba to try and research a way to protect the soul via technology; think of uploading yourself into a computer and having a digital existence after your body dies, or maybe being implanted into an android, or a homunculus. Those sorts of deals- highly illegal magic, and yes, The Giant must speak for his crimes. However, Abasaba was misusing his funding, and researching fungal and viral weapons to sell on the black market; while The Giant's funding created this catastrophe, his intent did not. Abasaba carries the sole blame for the murder of countless innocents; their greed, their bloodlust, their psychosis."
"Thanks, Aerendyl," Rob the reporter was back. "That was truly enlightening. "Will The Giant be put to death, like the other officials?"
"That remains to be seen," Aerendyl stated flatly. "As a trusted confidant of Aurum, Queen of Mir, I've been given authorization to oversee his sentencing myself. That's all I've got- till next time!"
"Alright!" Rob cheered, laughing. "Sounds good, thanks Aerendyl! In other news; a new dragon has been spotted in Mir; is it an effect of mass hysteria, or is this dragon real, and hiding?!"
The T.V. blinked off; Charlotte had clicked the remote, eyes suddenly glassy.
"What the fuck does he mean; The Giant didn't mean for this to happen?"
"Is it… possible that he didn't?" Haru narrowed her eyes, trying to think, but everything felt foggy from that night. "He killed Alexei, and then, what…?"
"He left the lab open when he could have closed it," Eileen spoke immediately. "A man like that does not make mistakes. This was a test; he tried to capture me in the chaos after all. This suited his goals. This was intentional. Aerendyl is a liar."
"Why, though? I thought he was one of the good guys," Haru muttered, wrinkling her nose, unsure why her eyes felt wet, rubbing Fox's head between the ears.
"Welcome to politics," Charlotte sighed, shaking her head. "Same old story. Nobody's a good guy- not when it goes against their own interests. Same old Aerendyl."
"You've never really seemed to like him," Haru noted aloud, shrugging. "Even back then, if I recall, you weren't impressed."
"Correct," Charlotte agreed, eyes dull. "I dated the guy for a while, to be honest."
"Damn, thought you were gay," Haru snorted, covering her mouth.
"Close, and I prefer women because of him. He's neglectful," She explained. "The type to see a burning city and grab the first person he can find before flying away and feeling like he saved the day. He's narrow minded. He'd go weeks without talking to me, being near me…" Lottie shook her head, swallowing. "Now he dates another Cheshire Cat. Went to Underland to find one, as if he could just replace me. Guess I was just a fetish to him," She added, voice souring, and Haru felt something in her gut twist sideways.
"I… don't think you're a fetish," Haru mumbled. "If it helps."
"Haru I swear to Gods, I'm gonna pin you down and make you-" She cut herself off as the door open, and in walked Cecil with Aurelia. Everyone stared, eyes dull; not quite surprised, but not quite having expected it either.
"Haru," Aurelia began. "I…" Immediately, Lif and Ica went to stand, but she raised a hand, then both; pleading, surrendering. "Please. I want you all to hear this."
"We've been through a lot, Aurelia," Haru sighed, glancing away. "Where the hell have you been? We've been through hell, and I don't have the energy for pretty words or empty apologies, I'm sorry. You tried to stop me saving a life, and you beat the shit out of me when I argued. We saved him by the way; he's sleeping in one of the dorms right now. Fuck you." She wasn't angry, per se; but she'd leaned forward, stirring Fox, teeth grit, heart hammering, as if a fight had to come now.
"Yeah." Aurelia nodded, jaw tightening. "I did. I hit you. Challenged you for challenging me. I let my ego get in the way of being a good leader, I hurt you, I hurt us all and I gave you a reason not to trust me. It's not because you're from another world. Not because you're a bleeding heart civilian. It's because I was so focused on protecting the people I cared for, I forgot the ones I didn't. I was a bitch and a bad leader. Period. No excuses, and no empty apologies; I was wrong, in ever way." Aurelia nodded, walking up to Haru… and sitting on the coffee table in front of her. "Forgiveness doesn't come from words though, it comes from change. I want two things."
"Yeah?" Haru stared, unimpressed. "What are those?"
"One, I want you to take this," She stated, reaching behind her. From her jacket, she drew a knife sheathed in something glimmering faintly orange and black. Careful, she held it out; Haru took the blade, noting with surprise that the thing felt almost completely weightless. Gripping the leather-wrapped handle, noting the small topaz pommel, she yanked the blade free; it, too, was formed of that swirling orange and black material.
"What is this?" She whispered, confused, knowing that a simple knife could not be the answer.
"A tool against me in every sense of the term, in case I ever end up doing something like that again," Aurelia sighed, staring. "It's a Fairy-Steel dagger, and highly illegal. You have to forge the steel while bleeding a pixie or fairy into it; they're two rare types of demon that aren't really seen anymore, and both have innate properties that revolve around sapping the strength and magic from others."
"Yeah?" Haru listened, waiting for the point.
"If I attack you, this weapon will depower me for hours; I'll be no stronger than a human while I recover. Or you can turn it over to the queen; I signed it myself. Have me stripped of my title for illegal blood-based experiments; just like my parents," She added, eyes sparkling, voice plummeting to a whisper. "I want you to see that I realized," She whispered, pressing ahead, nose wrinkling, lip trembling. "I've become a terrible person. N-Not what my dad would have wanted. So p-please, let me prove that I can be better," She whispered, chest heaving, struggling not to cry. For a long moment, Haru stared, conflicted; all of them did.
"What was the other thing you wanted?"
"Co-leaders," Aurelia whispered. "Us. It's selfish, but please. Me, the experience. You, the fresh set of eyes that doesn't think the world is doomed anyway. Keep me in check, and I'll check you if you're delusional. It's not a title to make you feel better, I swear- I can understand that I need to be kept in check. Who better… than the hero from another world?"
For a long moment, there was silence save for the sound of Cecil slipping away into a hall, hurrying off. Haru stared at Aurelia's mismatched eyes, her own green orbs slowly softening.
-
Far to the Northeast, near the peak of the continent, a gray-haired man smiled, drawing a slow breath and walking up the steps onto a raised podium. When he was before the microphone, he wasted no time.
"PEOPLE. OF. STARRIA!!!" Cheers, screams, ruckus; real or forced, he didn't care. "You may be wondering what I have to say about the events in Mir, of late!! They have apologized! They have offered funding, import discounts; DO WE ACCEPT THEIR APOLOGIES?!"
"NO!!!" The crowd screamed, and the King smiled, closing his eyes for a moment; his people had learned well.
"THAT'S RIGHT!!" He roared, opening his eyes and laughing. "Why would we forgive the apologies of MURDERERS?! You saw what they did- and for what? Abasaba did this for PROFIT!!!!" Angry roaring erupted from the crowd, once again, and he grinned all the wider, waiting for the noise to settle.
"No- we will take the fight to the rest of the world, and to Mir!! They stand no chance against the unity of humans; they are too full of infighting and back-stabbing one another; they shall be erased from this continent, and Starria will become the greatest military power in the world!!" The crowd around him erupted, now; pure, unadulterated jeer; there were, of course, non-believers, but the King reveled anyway; he had the masses. That was enough.
Hours later, he sat down on one of the plush sofas in his seventh lounge, smiling across the table at his visitor; a young woman with sable hair and gray eyes, as simple and unremarkable as they come. Perfect for the job.
"King of Starria," She spoke with a trace of amusement in her tone. "Employing somebody like me, of all people- how very fascinating."
"I can assure you, you will be compensated better than myself after a year's work," the King promised, eyes slowly going dull. "Infect them all. They were present and survived both outbreaks; they're becoming known as heroes in the world. Anybody who joins Contracted Arms knows of Wolfpack's existence. I am no fool, to believe we can take on a world of magic without employing a few underhanded tricks. Do what you do best."