"Hey, Mister?" There was a tug at my side as Sara spoke.
We reached the end of the road, a checkpoint of sorts. One that was used to turn away many unlucky individuals wishing to bear witness to the blazing sun that hides behind the walls that protect us.
It was not as if we were imprisoned within the confines of the Inner or Core sections of the Middle Layer. With a valid ID, one could easily traverse the numerous checkpoints that barred entry to the Outer Ring. The checkpoints served as the first line of defense against those who wished harm upon the city's inhabitants.
Need I say against the cult?
"I see that strange woman over there." Sara pointed her finger at Lilas.
There was a sad look on her face as she stared off at the ground. She rubbed her sleeve, or rather what was under it. As Sara and I got closer, she flinched. She put her arm away and flashed Sara a loving smile as she ran up to her, taking her into her arms.
"W-why!?" Sara struggled to breathe as Lilas held onto her tightly.
"…" I watched as Lilas spun around with Sara happily, blind to the distress of the young girl.
I reflected on the words Sister Claire gave me regarding Lilas: "She gets restless without Father Muller present, and she becomes borderline irresponsible."
She's good at hiding it around others; maybe I should avoid leaving her alone for extended periods.
Lilas looked back at me and put Sara down. Before Sara had the chance to escape, Lilas wrapped her arms around her chest.
"Hmmm…" Sara pouted as she looked at me for help.
I offered her only a smile and a thumbs-up. The hope in her eyes was shattered, and she looked down at the ground.
"…"
I could feel Lilas's gaze on me.
We made our way into a slow-moving line toward the checkpoint. Two guards came into view. An older, scruffy type holding a pistol in his hands. He watched from higher up, scanning the people in line. The other guard looked younger; from the sound of his voice, he was cheerful, maybe overly cheerful. He joked with the people passing through, all the while carrying a steam rifle.
Odd…why was the guard manning the inspections holding a mid-range weapon while the guard on lookout was holding only a pistol?
Our turn came, and the second I approached the younger-looking guard, a cold barrel rested on the center of my forehead.
"Hold it!" Of course…why would a guard not hold a barrel of his gun to my head? Am I really that suspicious—wait, he looks familiar.
"Hehe!" He flashed me a smile. I grabbed the end of the barrel and pointed it aside. "Do ya remember me, drunken fixer?"
"Yeah—wait, drunken fixer?" Where did that nickname come from?
The guard spun his rifle around like a seasoned soldier and winked at me. "I thought maybe if I did that, I'd pull your blacked-out memories to the surface."
That was the second time he called me drunk…
Trying my best to ignore his comments, I looked at the weapon he was holding. "Why the non-lethal upgrade…or downgrade?"
The friendly guard shrugged his shoulders. "Don't ask, don't tell. Simple rules to live by, you know."
Right…as much as the topic at hand interested me, I wasn't getting an answer from him.
The guard stuck out his hand as if expecting something. He nodded toward the girls, Sara in particular.
"Only her?" I asked, reaching into my pocket.
"We know a priest or priestess when we see one. Dunno why that big fella who was with you that night presented a church symbol to us when anyone could recognize him." The guard then leaned forward as I handed him Sara's ID. "You know, it might not be illegal to have children working for fixers, but shouldn't you draw the line somewhere? Look at the gun on her back; that thing looks like it could blow up entire buildings."
"It's non-lethal," I said as the guard read over the ID.
Sara. Lilas. Me. Back to Sara. "Huh…HUH!?"
"Shut the hell up and look at their IDs, dumbass!" The guard posted above shouted.
"Y-yes, sir!" The friendlier guard handed me the ID back. "That little girl is a priestess in training? Her? That little bundle of cuteness?"
"Is there a problem with that?" Lilas said, stepping up to the guard who was too shocked to keep his weapon steady.
"N-no, ma'am!" The guard retreated next to me and spoke in a hushed tone, "How are you buddies with these people? How can I get like you? Having all of these connections and still having the time to roam the streets drunk?"
"Seriously, where is this drunk fixer shit coming from?" I gave up and asked what's been bothering me.
"Hey!" the second guard said in a stern voice, "you've confirmed their IDs, now let them through. We ain't got all day to spend with that drunk sack."
"Y-yes, sir." The friendlier guard stepped to the side.
I guess I won't be getting that answer anytime soon.
We passed him and into an open area filled with water, parted by a single stretch of metal illuminated with floor lights.
The air was colder than it was in the inner sections of the Layer. Above us, the water freely flowed down from small openings that leaked a white light that glistened off the water's surface. To the unwise, this light would have been brushed off as part of the layer's lighting system. But those were small holes that led to the outside, where the midday sun trickled through.
With each step we took closer to the elevator platform, a gradual humming of metal gears filled my ears. Below us, the hissing of steam traveled out and below the false lake, fueling countless systems hidden away in this room.
This place was no simple passageway to the outside; it served as a stronghold. Against what? That I did not have an answer for.
Lilas leaned closer as we met up with more and more people waiting to step onto the elevator platform. Her blue hair shook gently with each step she took. "Hey," she said in a hushed tone, her arms still wrapped around Sara's little body. "What's the story about you being a drunken fixer?"
"I wish I knew that myself."
We stepped onto the elevator platform. Toward the back was an open spot with hardly any people. I led Lilas and Sara there. The moment we stopped, an echoing handbell chime rang out. The gates to the platform closed.
The gears that controlled the elevator roared to life, shaking the platform a bit. Sara broke free from Lilas's hold and dashed to me, burying her head into my chest.
"Not fair…" Lilas said as she turned away, pouting.
"Relax, this is normal," I said in a soothing voice. She looked up, her eyes tearing up a little. Then a white light reflected off her pupils.
Sara covered her eyes for a moment with her arm as the hatch above the elevator slowly opened with a screeching sound.
"Woah…" Her amazement spilled out of her mouth as her jaw hung low.
Many others around us shared the same sentiment as the crowd of people got louder as the hatch fully opened, and we reached the top.
Compared to nighttime, it was much easier to view the towering buildings made with a mix of concrete and metal reinforcement. It differed greatly from the solid metal buildings that made up the entire Core and Inner Ring. Here, the residents wore their personalities proudly. Art and neon lights decorated the buildings.
The oldest section of the Middle Layer, the Core, is scarcely populated. Its inhabitants had long since moved outwards or upwards. Due to the nature of the Outer Ring having access to the blue sky and starry night, many flocked to live here.
Who wouldn't? Fresh air, no annoying steam leaks, no risk of being burned by simply crossing a corner.
There was nothing to lose by moving out here, but in this city of endless steam, there were only so many resources to go around. Unlike the Core and the Inner Ring, the Outer Ring was not built upon itself. Buildings stood on their own: towering skyscrapers, or attempts to mimic Old World architecture.
Of course, steam was still present in the lives of those in the Outer Ring, but it was just more hidden. It powered all the neon lights and hidden gears that controlled several moving parts of the section. Many call it the magic ring due to how efficient the design was.
"Hey!" A sharp finger dug into my cheek. A cute-looking face was up close—a single streak of white hair in a sea of blue swaying over a single blue eye.
Wait! I stepped back. Did I just call Lilas cute?
"What's with that reaction?" Lilas asked, leaning forward.
She pointed to a woman off in the distance shopping at a street stall. She wore a strange outfit that hid her body well—a little too well. Wasn't it too hot out here to wear something so heavy?
"Isn't she one of those brainwashed victims?"
Sara stiffened at the question as she looked around. I did the same, just in case. That woman didn't seem to have anyone following her. But could she really be one of the victims?
The Outer Ring might have been a cult-less sanctuary, but even I found having a member walking around like that was risky. Was this Ritair fellow cocky or something? Was yesterday's event not something that bothered him in the slightest?
The woman took a rather large bag from the man running the stall and looked around warily.
"…"
"…"
This was fishy. Lilas looked to share the same thought as me as she looked around once more.
"But…" I muttered. "A lead is better than nothing."
The woman disappeared into an alley that, if memory served correctly, led to a forking branch just wide enough for a small steam vehicle to drive into and pick up trash from residents' back doors.
"Mother Lilas," I said. I handed her my Gearsaw that I've been holding for a while now. "How far can you launch me?"
There was a smile that crept onto her face the second I asked that question, one that sent a chill down my spine. Her expression darkened; a devilish glint looked down at me, and without even answering me, she snapped her fingers.
A blue light snaked across the ground, pulling up a large metal sheet. It shot towards me as if shot out of a cannon.
It was too fast for me to dodge. The moment it slammed into my body, it latched onto my pistol at my hip. A blue light danced across my body, and I found myself yeeted into the air faster than I could blink.
I looked down to see a creepy look in Lilas's eye as she grew smaller and smaller. I flew high above a few buildings and into a pile of trash in the back of an alley.
"WHOA!" a woman's voice called out as the sound of boats slamming onto pavement came closer and closer to me.
I opened my eyes to find myself upside down, looking into the woman from earlier, into her green, emotionless eyes.
"A-are you hurt, sir?"