"So you're telling me your grandma reached out from the grave just to slip those in your purse?" Her booming laugh bounced off the pristine, minimalist walls of the boutique. "What was she, the Freaky Seer of the family?"
Nephis looked left and right, alarmed that someone might have heard Effie.
"Effie, keep your voice down!" she hissed toward Effie, who was in the next row looking through the racks of clothes.
After Nephis had escaped from the vehicle to get away from Effie's teasing, it had taken a while for the blush to go away. Not wanting to waste more time since they had to go to the premiere of the movie, Nephis had gotten back on the PTV and faced Effie along with her jokes until they had finally gotten to the boutique they were currently in.
"Relax, Neph. There's no one around to hear your scandalous secrets," Effie said, gesturing broadly with one hand.
Nephis looked around, realizing Effie was right. This wasn't a normal shop; it was one of the most exclusive boutiques in NQSC. The experience had been jarring from the start. Upon entering, the attendants hadn't even asked for their names. They had simply approached with a silent, glowing device that scanned their skin tones and proportions with clinical precision, then ushered them into this private, vaulted suite.
They hadn't been alone for more than a minute before a dozen attendants streamed in like a silent army. They wheeled in silver metal racks that shimmered under the recessed lighting, each one draped in fabrics Nephis didn't even have a name for. Then, without a single word of sales talk or a greeting, they vanished, leaving the two warriors alone with a fortune's worth of clothing.
"So like, answer the question: was your grandma the freaky seer, or did you have it all planned and are just playing coy?" Effie asked, giving her a mischievous smile, but Nephis could hear a hint of seriousness in her voice.
The conversation had started in the PTV—or more accurately, Nephis had tried to start a conversation while Effie bombarded her with jokes and smart remarks that made her contemplate crashing the PTV off a bridge. It was only after Effie made an especially crude joke about how Sunny would probably split her in half with his length that Nephis had the chance to actually start to somewhat explain the situation. She could tell that Effie was still shaken by what she had seen and was shielding herself with jokes. Though, now that she thought about it, Nephis wondered if it would have been better to not explain anything.
"My grandma was not a seer, and she was much less the 'freakiest.'" The words came out indignantly, and Nephis raised her head as if she were trying to get away from a bad smell at the mention of her grandmother being the "freaky seer."
That's what Effie had been calling Nephis's grandmother since she told her where the condoms had come from. At first, Effie didn't believe her, but after she told her the story of the box of condoms and the carrot, the huntress had not stopped making fun of not only Nephis but also her grandmother.
Good thing she hasn't asked about where I got the idea to cut Sunny's hair.
"So, following that logic, you got the hair-cutting idea from your mother, right?"
DAMNATION! HOW DOES SHE KNOW!
The silence stretched. The boutique, which had felt like a sanctuary of luxury, suddenly felt like a trap. Nephis felt Effie's gaze boring into her like a physical weight. She took a deep breath, trying to emulate Sunny's effortless, silver-tongued way of lying. I can do this.
"No," she said.
She failed. Effie let out a wheeze, her hands clutching the rims of her wheelchair to keep from falling out of it. The words had come out easily; it was just that everything else had failed her. Nephis's eyes refused to meet Effie's, her voice had that tone that indicated not even she believed her own words, and the red tide of her blush surged back, claiming every inch of skin from her collarbone to her ears.
"Oh, gods!" Effie gasped, pointing a shaky finger at Nephis. "Your whole family—they're all freaks! Every last one of you!"
The huntress leaned back, howling with a delighted, unholy laughter that echoed through the high-end boutique. Nephis didn't even try to defend herself this time. She simply grabbed a handful of silver metal racks and tried to pull them around her, physically hiding between the designer clothes until the world went away.
_____________________________
"Dear, remember to bring your jacket; it will probably be cold," Rain heard her mother say before she closed the door. It wasn't really cold, but not wanting her mother to pester her about it for the whole ride, Rain took the jacket off the coat hanger near the door and draped it over her arm. Closing the front door behind her, Rain walked toward the PTV and got in.
"Dad, I still can't believe you got tickets for the premiere." Rain put on her seat belt with a small, shy smile. Her father looked at her through the rearview mirror and smiled.
"Your father is pretty cool, isn't he, Raini?" Rain only rolled her eyes, but her smile never faded.
"Now, now kids, this is a big event; remember to stay near and not wander off." Her mother's voice was stern, but Rain knew that she didn't have any malice. "Yes, Mom!" The voice of her brother, who sat next to her, and her own said in unison.
The ride from the house to the cinema didn't take long—one of the perks of having a house in a good part of the city is that everything is always near. Finding a parking spot, the family got out and started walking toward the building. Along the way, they had the chance to see the red carpet and even some of the actors.
"Oh, hey look, Rain. Isn't that Lady Changing Star, and next to her, Lady Raised by Wolves?" Rain looked to where her father was pointing, and indeed, they had a clear view of the two figures. She had expected to see the actors but was surprised when she saw that they were the real thing.
"Oh, Dad, can we meet them, please? Oh, please!" Her brother started to plead, jumping up and down. Her father shook his head. "Sorry, I don't think it's the best idea to go right now. Maybe after the movie. What do you say?" Her brother calmed down and started nodding vigorously. "Okay, okay."
Rain heard the interaction but didn't pay much attention. She was still looking at the two women, a frown on her face. Is she? Is she looking at me? At first, Rain had thought that Changing Star was looking in her general direction, maybe posing for a camera, but now she wasn't so sure. The white-haired woman had been looking around as if not accustomed to all the flashing lights. Eventually, her head had moved to the only spot where there were no cameras, which was where Rain and her family were standing. Rain thought that maybe Changing Star had wanted the cameras to grab her profile. But after minutes of them staring at each other, Rain wasn't so sure anymore.
"Rain, is something wrong?" Her father's voice brought Rain out of her head, and she saw that they had moved, leaving her somewhat behind. Shaking off the weird sensation of being watched, Rain speed-walked to join her family.
"No, nothing wrong, Dad!" she said with a smile, grabbing her father's outstretched hand.
______________________________________
"Open files for N.E.W.F.," Jet ordered her communicator. She had finally gotten a break from running missions for the government and was currently at her desk with not much to do. With time on her hands, she had decided to look up information on the fall of North America. Of course, she knew what the government told everyone: that a Category 5 Gate opened and there was nothing that could be done. Now that she was a government worker of some rank, Jet thought that she might be able to learn something more. She was right.
Looking through the file, she learned that the Immortal Flame Clan had been on the front lines of fighting against the disaster. Of course, this was not exactly private information; it was public knowledge that after the death of Broken Sword and the current state of Smile of Heaven, the clan had fallen off. But the documents went a little further, going into detail about other people like the cohort of which Broken Sword had been the leader. The information on the cohort wasn't new, either. Like the reason for the fall of the Immortal Flame Clan, the fact that Ki Song and Anvil of Valor were in America at the time was also public knowledge. What caught Jet's attention was the implication.
"[…Smile of Heaven's body was recovered and placed in a care facility. The reports indicate the total casualties of the Immortal Flame Clan. After the fall of North America, intelligence was gathered that Broken Sword—who had survived the 'America Disaster' (as it shall be known from now on)—died or disappeared in unknown circumstances. A body was never found.
Further intelligence indicates that the only notable casualties were suffered by the Immortal Flame Clan. The intelligence gathered by agents of N.E.W.F. notes that it is not known why Broken Sword was not near Smile of Heaven during the fight against the flood of the Category 5 Gate. Footage from the body cams of N.E.W.F. could not be recovered, but voice recordings from the communications between the agents and command indicate that Smile of Heaven was in the presence of Ki Song and Anvil of Valor when her body stopped responding. It is also reported that they suffered no major wounds while fighting alongside Smile of Heaven.
Command is issuing an investigation into the circumstances, considering possible foul play by Anvil of Valor and Ki Song."]
"Betrayal?"
Jet was surprised to find that there was an investigation into the possibility that the Immortal Flame Clan might have been betrayed. Wanting to get more information, Jet asked the communicator to retrieve the subsequent report, but the file that came up could only be accessed by higher ranks.
"This makes no sense." Her mind tried to think of a reason why she was able to access this file but not the other one. Deciding not to dwell on it for much longer, Jet asked for information about another thing that had intrigued her.
[This file requires an ID key. Please insert your ID key to proceed.]
Jet looked at the communicator confusedly for a second. It was normal for files to need access codes, but from what the report stated, Jet had thought that N.E.W.F. was just an information-gathering team. If the file was under lock and key, that meant she was wrong.
Inputting her government agent ID, Jet was met with a sight that almost made her fall off her seat.
[Nightmare Eradication World Front] [N.E.W.F.]
[Status:]
Team Alpha: Missions: 1,200 | Status: Deceased
Team Howler: Missions: 3,001 | Status: Deceased/MIA
Team Venom: Missions: 500 | Status: Deceased/MIA
[Pages open: 1/7,000] [1] [Next Page ->]
[Created in Year 0 AS, this collaboration of teams has completed missions under ************* and was created under ********* with the help of the governments of ********, *********, and *******. Their main targets consisted of *******************, Nightmare Creatures, and *********.
***************************************************************************
]
Jet continued to pass page after page, but nothing could be read.
What is this? she thought. And what do you mean there were other targets apart from Nightmare Creatures?
"Reading about N.E.W.F., huh?"
Jet jumped out of her seat and nearly broke her desk with her knee. Turning around, she saw Lish, her boss. The woman had managed to catch her off guard even with Jet's Awakened senses. Not knowing what to do, Jet closed the window on her communicator, putting the information out of view.
"Relax, Jet. If you have clearance, you can read the files. After all, it's not like there's much that can be learned either way." Lish sat sideways on the desk, not caring that she might look unprofessional.
"So, if I have clearance, why are the documents redacted?" At the question, Lish only shook her head.
"I don't know. Even I don't have the clearance to read the undisclosed seven thousand pages. But I do know a few things I've picked up here and there, if you really want to know."
Jet sat down and nodded her head; it was rare that Lish was this willing to talk about things that had no direct correlation with work. Jet thought about it and noticed that Lish had been acting differently since the woman got married a couple of months ago. She had become nicer. Jet didn't know if marriage could really do that to a person, since she had never been married herself.
Frowning a little, Jet thought about the last intimate relationship she had. I haven't been touched in a while. It indeed had been a long time; Jet could remember that it was around the time her reputation as the Soul Reaper started to spread in Awakened circles that people just stopped approaching her. Maybe I should go to one of those adult entertainment centers and fix that.
"So, would you like to know, or—" Lish's voice brought Jet out of her thoughts.
Clearing her throat, Jet said, "Yes, please."
"Well, like most things that had to do with military prowess, this team was created by the American government in the first years of the Nightmare Spell. Since—for reasons that are not known to me—they were the first country to recover from the initial shock of having their citizens fall asleep and Nightmare Creatures come out of them, they were also the first country to assimilate Awakened into their army.
Like the name says, they were the front against the Nightmare Gates around the world. Not much is known about their missions, since they were what at the time were called 'Black Ops' teams. What I do know is what the teams' specialties were. Team Alpha dealt with aquatic environments where Nightmare Gates opened. Team Howler dealt with high and low-temperature environments, like deserts or places where below zero was the average. Team Venom dealt with jungle-like environments—places where diseases and lots of insects could be found easily. Apart from that, the files state that there were other targets. I personally don't know what those could have been, but I can guess that they were political figures."
Jet sat up in her chair, a frown on her face. "You're saying that N.E.W.F. was tasked with killing people? But not only that—political figures? What would be the benefit of that?"
Lish looked into the air, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Jet, let me ask you a question: how likely is it for countries that were on the verge of blowing each other up to start working together overnight?" The question hung in the air, and Jet could see where Lish was leading.
"Not very likely."
Lish nodded. "Isn't it very suspicious that after the Nightmare Spell started infecting people, the leaders of uncooperating nations just randomly started dying? And isn't it so convenient that the Nightmare Spell was blamed for those sudden deaths? But you know the strangest thing yet, Jet: no Nightmare Gate opened—or at least, there was no report of Nightmare Gates opening upon the deaths of these political figures."
Jet could only lean back and put her hand over her mouth, pondering Lish's words. So that's how they did it. That's how they managed to create the Government and spread its influence to the remaining countries. If you don't join, you die.
"That's all I know. Don't take the ramblings of this old woman too seriously." Jet looked at her and raised an eyebrow; looking at Lish, she could tell that the woman was probably in her mid-forties. Old, my ass.
"Changing to a happier topic, I have a gift for you." Reaching toward the inner pocket of her jacket, Lish pulled out a yellow envelope. Taking it into her hands, Jet opened it up and saw that there were two tickets. Jet looked up, her expression somewhat confused.
"It's a thank you for all the work you do around here. I know I've been overworking you for a while now. Well, if I'm being honest, I've been overworking you since you started working under me." Lish gave Jet an apologetic smile.
"This is a thank-you present. They are tickets for that new movie that is coming out today. If I remember correctly, you knew that kid who was left behind. I didn't know if you would like to go on your own, so I bought two. I thought you might have a lover that not even our intelligence department knows of." A slight smile appeared on her boss's face. Jet didn't blush, but she did squirm a little in her seat, remembering her earlier thought.
"Thanks, boss. I won't let them go to waste."
"Also, take two days off, eh? Consider this also part of the gift. Don't worry; I'll put it down as paid vacation. Well, I'll get going. I have a husband, you know; I have duties to fulfill as a wife." A shy smile appeared on Lish's face, and a slight blush took over her cheeks. Jet gave her a nod, and Lish walked out of the office, wishing Jet a good night.
Jet looked at the two tickets in her hand. I'll have to postpone that visit, or maybe I'll just invite one of the workers. Who knows? After the movie, I might be in the mood to do something.