"Aurelia, what the hell is wrong with you," Cecil whispered, finding the succu-pixie staggering along through the woods, sweating, mumbling deliriously. Weak, she collapsed into his side and, panting, muttered on shaky breaths.
"Steel… to… make it right, mhm…"
"What are you on about- steel to make what right-"
"Haru… Musashi… can't be that person, I won't," Aurelia whined, as if she might throw up or burst into tears, or maybe both at the same time. Cecil frowned, pulling her arm around his shoulders and starting to walk with her.
"Come on, let's get you back. Are you wounded, or what?"
"Bled like a pig, more like," Aurelia mumbled, staggering along. "Need… Need sugar. Coffee. Rest."
"I can get you all three of those things- come on, but you'd better explain everything once you've had some rest."
-
Just as she'd thought, Haru looked around the main floor of the building and found nought but a generic office building without even a desktop left on. It didn't make sense- NO guards? At all
"Let's get looking, I don't trust this," She beckoned, Ica stepped forward first, starting to nose around, as he did, with Lif patrolling at his shoulder, rifle held at the ready.
"You're kind of hot when you do leader shit," Charlotte commented offhandedly, and Fox frowned, leaning into Haru's side just a bit- the snow-and-ash-haired girl laughed, shrugging, and stepped away from Fox- taking her hand as she wandered off, starting to explore. A director's office, pc off- she powered it on… locked. Of course. "What might the password be…"
"That's my job," Ica smiled, pushing past her and sliding into the fancy leather chair. "Did you touch the keyboard?" He added, pulling out a small flashlight and starting to shine it over the keys.
"Nah. Didn't," Haru shook her head, clearing her throat. "What are you gonna, magically find his fingerprints in most recent order or something?"
"No, that's some made-up crap. I was making sure the keyboard didn't have a wire or a hair on it," Ica muttered and set to work, plugging something into the desktop tower. "Give me a bit to try and work my magic, go away, go go go."
"Alright, alright," Haru rolled her eyes, stepping away and out of the little office; Financial Manager, the door read. "So, Fox, what do we do, just wait…?"
"Or I could drag you off to some shadowy corner," She purred playfully, tail starting to wag, and Haru snorted, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah? Are you a fox or a dog, jeez~"
"Oh fuck you," Fox snorted, wiggling, leaning deeper into Haru's side as the badger girl leaned back against a wall, her own tail twitching idly as Lif walked up.
"Hello! How are you feeling Haru? Fox?"
"Well, thanks," Haru looked up at the gentle giant, relaxed. "Though I still wonder if we aren't going to find some underground death maze. We can agree this is too easy, ri-"
"I'm fine too, thanks!" Fox huffed, glaring up at Haru.
"Right, sorry, sorry," Haru laughed, gently rubbing the top of Fox's head, nodding. "Anyway, we can all agree that this is too easy, right?"
"No doubt," Lif agreed, nodding, rifle held casually at his chest. "When we get down- things will surely become more difficult. There are no cameras on- nothing at all. It is a trap for amateurs; maybe they keep, a few thousand dollars in a box somewhere, and let the petty thief think they have discovered everything, leave. Look like an easy target… no. Is too easy- you are correct," Lif affirmed again, stepping back as a loud cling rang through the plaza. There was a sound, then a great grating noise, like two rough slabs of concrete scraping together. In the center of the office's main floor, three guardrails protruded from the ground, rising like three sides of a square. Then… silence.
Boom, came a sound from deep underground, and the floor began to change inside those guardrails, sinking down, forming a staircase underground. Haru walked around, dropping Fox's hand and staring down; the staircase led to a simple metal door, maybe a hundred feet down at the bottom of the stairs, not far at all.
"Go on, you can say it," Ica snarked, smirking as he poked his head out of the supposed finance manager's office and walked over, preening. "I know- I'm the best, the coolest, the most amazing-"
"You're a twink, being good at computers is like a default trait for you," Charlotte sighed, gently shoving the side of Ica's head, laughing- and Ica, in spite of himself, seemed unable to stop a small laugh from spilling out.
"Yeah yeah, screw you too…"
"So, we going?" Haru swallowed and started down the steps, hating the feeling of standing there doing nothing a bit too much to sit still; anxiety pricked at her chest, though. Supposedly, Alex was down here… and what else would they find? Images swam behind her eyes for a moment, vision blurring; the zombie-like creatures in the woods around the church. The masked jester and his fancy tailcoats. Aurelia shoving her down, screaming at her. Klled in action, they'd wanted to say. That wasn't right, though. It wasn't right. It wasn't right it wasn't right it wasn't right-
"Haru?" Fox poked her cheek, and Haru shook her head, focusing.
"Ugh, sorry- I'm just, worried."
"Are you really okay?" Lif asked, gently clapping a hand onto her head and rubbing. Haru shuddered, tail involuntarily starting to wag, as he rubbed, nodding her head. "We should not continue on if you are unwell- we do not want our friend to die."
"I'll be okay. Let's just find Alex, and hell, maybe we can find some evidence that'll help us stop the war from going through between Mir and Starria. It'd be nice, wouldn't it? We'd really be heroes then."
"Remember; being a hero doesn't have to be glamorous," Charlotte winked, pushing ahead and down the stairs, taking the lead. "Saving Alex would be a heroic and beautiful thing… or whatever. I don't know. I'll leave the speeches to you, that felt wrong."
"D'awww," Fox muttered sarcastically, smirking. "Charlotte? Being positive? No WAY."
"Way," Charlotte rolled her eyes and continued on, and Haru, laughing, head in the game again, continued down, stretching briefly.
"Alright, let's focus up," Haru stated cautiously and tested the metal door; unlocked. Readying herself, she nodded to Charlotte and shoved through, sweeping left to right; just a hallway lined with simple metal doors. "Huh…" The entire hall was the same; evenly spaced metal doors without any distinguishing features.
"Weird…" Fox muttered, walking in behind her. "Are they unlocked?"
"They are- at least this one is," Haru answered quietly as she tested the handle of one, yanking it open and pushing inside, sweeping the room beyond. What she found herself in, though, was not a strange death maze or a room full of test tubes- but, an apartment. She swept forward silently with Fox and Lottie on her heels… nothing. A simple foyer with a washer and drier… a living room, bedroom, bathroom.
"Even the closets are empty, it's like they evacuated," Eileen stated flatly, confusion tugging at her brow as she yanked a metal grate out of the air vent and closed her eyes, perhaps using magic to scan the insides. "All the vents head down, none go up as far as I can reach."
"Jeez," Haru muttered, momentarily distracted. "From weather magic to tracing vents; what's the limit on your magic?"
"That's the reason elves are so powerful," Eileen shrugged, staring. "Elves aren't bound by what the soul thinks we deserve. We have magic, as simple as that. Anyway… all roads lead down, and I don't think there's anybody alive on this floor… judging by this apartment, we won't find bodies," Eileen added, retreating toward the door, her blonde hair gleaming in the warm, yellow ceiling lights. "I know which apartment has the staircase down, come."
Indeed, Eileen led them to the end of a hall and tried the door of the last apartment on the right; locked. She laid her hand on the lock though, and click, it disengaged, and she was able to tug the door inward, leading them into another apartment. Ica and Lif took the rear, but Haru slowed down anyway, looking around- something here was just slightly off, compared to the others. It was… too perfect. No dust anywhere; the sheets of the bedroom were perfectly arranged without wrinkles, and as she passed into the kitchen, she noticed that, too, had no signs of use.
It was Eileen tugging a closet open with a loud squeak that grabbed her attention, and Haru looked up to see a staircase descending, again.
"You good?" Fox asked, angling her head, and Haru looked down quietly, nodding.
"Of course. Why?"
"You seem… different."
"Haru," Charlotte spoke with a smirk, "-is learning what it is to be a soldier who needs to watch her back. How adorable; nothing to worry about, Fox."
"What do you mean," Haru asked, quiet, angling her head.
"Well," Charlotte crossed her arms, smirking, as Eileen started down the staircase ahead of them. "When we deployed to the woods at the border you were looking around like a scared recruit and telling yourself, 'Haru, you got this, don't need magic to fire a gun', or whatever. Now look at you; quiet, noticing when something is wrong, watching. It'd be a lot harder to trick you, now, I think- you're learning fast, little survivor."
"Save the praise," Haru replied with a smirk, walking forward and pushing down the staircase, while Fox hurried to stay at her side.
"I feel like I'm falling to the wayside, I'm taking you for a date after this mission," Fox huffed, headbutting Haru's shoulder before focusing and readying her rifle, again.
"Sounds fine," Haru agreed, nodding.
"Just fine?"
"I meant lovely, don't worry. I'll be all yours for a day once we're out of here- just because Charlotte flirts with me and you're less playful, more earnest, doesn't mean I can't like you or something."
"Do you, like me?" Fox asked, a small giggle bubbling off her tongue.
"Mhm, I do," Haru stated finally- and though she hadn't thought about it much, the sentiment was certainly true, in her mind; Fox belonged to her. Huh. When did I decide that? Am I just being horny-? Ugh. Thoughts for later. Focus.
The staircase opened up into a sort of plaza, with a few hallways branching in either direction and clear signage to instruct- maybe staff- on where to go. Medical, shopping, offices… it was like a small underground city made for who-knows how many families. If there were only as many as the hallway upstairs, that'd be maybe thirty families… but who could be sure?
"It's a pleasure to see you again!" A familiar voice drawled, and everybody readied their weapons, except for Haru. Striding forward, out of the hallway labelled medical, was the masked jester; red tailcoats and all. "Haru, I see your politeness hasn't changed. I do so love that about you. Would you kindly ask your friends to lower their weapons?"
"Please do," Haru agreed, and around her, the others reluctantly lowered their weapons, though none except for Haru and Charlotte relaxed. Haru, for her part, stepped forward- Fox grabbed her arm, but the badger girl gently shook it off, swallowing as she approached the man, the god, the potential threat.
"You're here, that means we're in the right place. Were you sent here to kill us? Stop us?"
"Yes," The god answered simply.
"Then, why haven't you attacked?"
"Because…" The god… he was so still, Haru realized; He's hesitating. Something is giving him pause. Do I interrogate? Gods- stop thinking and just do what feels natural.
"What's wrong? What's on your mind?"
"Haru…" Fox cut in, and trailed off.
"Come on," Haru pressed on and reached out, putting a hand on the God's shoulder. "What's wrong? If you're going to kill us- we can't repeat it. If you're not going to kill us, then maybe sharing the reason would help you come to terms with it?"
"You are important to somebody I know, Haru," The god admitted, crossing his arms slowly. "His mark is emblazoned on your soul. To kill your friends would be to harm you. For the sake of achieving my death at last, I would say to hell with my friend and strike you all down, but…"
"Hold on- who's mark is emblazoned on my soul?" Haru angled her head, narrowing her eyes. "What?"
"You don't know?" The masked fool angled his head as if to mimic her. "Let me ask you this, then; how many times have you died?"
"None-"
"Wrong," Lif cut in cautiously. "I killed the badger during training. Healers brought her back, she was dead for only a few moments."
"That is enough," The masked man nodded, sighing. "So he did not make himself known to you. Interesting- he typically prefers a more direct approach. Well, it is not my place to tell you which god has taken a liking to you, Haru. There is more to the reason I hesitate to follow orders, though."
"If you don't mind; what can you tell us?" She countered, stepping forward as he stepped away, as if not wanting to let him go. Much to her surprise, the god turned around and grabbed her throat, suddenly, lifting her into the air, squeezing.
"STOP-" Haru grit out; not to the god. She'd heard the rustling of her allies rushing forward, wincing now, legs instinctively kicking… but she ordered them to stop, and the God laughed. His soft gloves dug in, and red tinged the edges of Haru's vision but she held fast, teeth grit, trying not to choke as those firm fingers squeezed the soft flesh of her neck.
"Look at you…"
"If you're going to kill me, I can't stop you!" Haru snapped, forcing the words out, struggling to draw air, glancing around. All tiled walls and hallways leading into the distance as if she were in a metro hub and a laboratory's love child. Nothing to use or grab onto anyway.
"Does it never occur to you that you should be afraid, talking to a god who's killed millions as if you've always known each other?" The god, still squeezing her throat and holding her high in the air… he didn't sound angry so much as curious.
"If you're going to kill me, I can't stop you," Haru blinked, gritting the words out as best and as clearly as she could. "There's a saying where I'm from- I think? Lonely… at the top. Isn't it nice… for somebody to actually, talk to you?"
There was silence for a moment, and then the god set her down. Haru raised her arm, hearing that same telltale motion behind her, and her allies held still as the badger girl rubbed her throat, wincing.
"You think nobody talks to me?"
"I think you're a psychotic freak and it's not your fault," Haru spoke breathlessly, panting. "I think you're tired, deranged by your own age and you want rest. I think… nobody talks to you unless they want something in return."
"Do you… want me to kill you?"
"Y'know I'm getting tired of the military idea that respecting somebody means shutting up and letting them do as they please already," Haru mumbled, sighing, then straightened "I'm talking to you like this BECAUSE I respect you and I know what you can do to us. What is respect, if not honesty and clear communication at any cost? To bow my head, let you do what you want- that's fear, not respect, and I'm not going to let any dumb army control my mind- that's not who I am."
"Well spoken…" The god whispered, as if lost for words. "The truth is that the families who live here are all dead; turned into the same abominations you fought in the forest. I am to unleash them on you as a test, and then kill you myself, ending your investigation. I could, you know- yes even you, Charlotte, Underland General gone rogue, and hero of the underworld. I could transform you, remove your skin; things that won't kill you but leave you immobilized and screaming for an eternity."
"I know you can, but the question is; What are you going to do?" Haru asked, leaning forward a bit. "The truth is you've got every ability and power you could need to kill us- but I don't think the desire is there. Why?"
"Because…" The god paused, contemplating. "First it was the forest, then they'll help me to die. Then, make sure nobody at the tower saw the Giant coming, and they'll help me die. Then, kill the residents here, and contain them, they'll help me die… now I kill you, and I'm spared? The fools shut off their own camera systems, so nothing that happens here can ever be recovered… so I can speak freely. I don't believe they're going to help me anymore. I think that I have been manipulated, tricked, and used- and it makes me wonder… do I have to be a god of pain, as they call me?"
"What do you mean?" Haru's voice was gentle, and she slowly laid a hand on the god's chest, stepping forward, looking up at him. "You can always choose your actions. Maybe you kill me now, maybe you don't. The important thing is that you chose."
"Why aren't you afraid?"
"I am, but I am also very stubborn," Haru fired back, glaring up at him through the mask; naught but shadowy pits, where his eyes ought to be.
"They call that bravery, you know," The god whispered, a smirk in his voice. "Not the absence of fear, but the willpower to push through it."
"It's not willpower," Haru whispered back, swallowing and stepping closer still, her chest brushing his. "It's who I am. I won't stand down because if I do, how many might die that I could have saved? I'm the reason Alex wasn't written off as KIA, and I'm starting to think that I'm the one with a good head on my shoulders. Is that stupid? Egotistical?"
"They say power comes to those willing to take it, not those with the right connections; true power, anyway," The god chuckled and stepped back. "Follow me, all of you. I'll take you to the people behind all of this."
He strode off, and Haru glanced back at her allies, now, as they caught up to her.
"What the hell was the whispering about?" Fox asked, eyes wide, grabbing Haru's arm. "Are you okay?"
"I think," Haru answered, swallowing. "-that people can change, if they want to. This god is growing tired of hurting people. I won't pretend that he hasn't hurt a lot of people- maybe he should be forced to answer for those crimes- but who knows what turned him into this? Come on, he said he'd take us to the people behind this."
"What will we do when we get there?" Ica whispered. "Arrest them? Seize their files and stuff?"
"I mean, yeah?" Haru agreed. "That'll tell us where Alex is, and maybe even give us enough information to stop this war before it fully sets into motion."
"Good thinking," Lif muttered, his voice warm but cautious.
"Well, glad that's settled," The god smiled, producing a cane from what seemed like thin air and tapping it against the floor. "I like the way you think, Haru- it's something I forgot a long time ago, that people can change. It's like a fog has been lifted from my mind; a moment of clarity in which I realized I don't have to blindly do as I'm told in the name of dying."
"Proud of you," Haru shrugged, stepping forward, and as a group, they began to walk.
The underground area was complex- more-so than Haru would originally have guessed. The hallway labeled simply as medical bay opened up into a spacious lobby, complete with flatscreen televisions, rows upon rows of chairs, magazines, a receptionist's desk… it was like a proper hospital. The god of pain-
"What can I call you? Instead of just; god of pain," Haru asked, angling her head as whoever he was kicked open a door labeled 'staff only', and started down a concrete hallway; well maintained but much more eerie than the hospital lobby they'd just left.
"Alexei," The god replied warmly, pushing open another metal door and passing a series of what seemed to be windowed offices. The room broadened out, and Alexei led them on, through a wide-open office space full of cubicles, but without windows. Haru and co. followed without questioning.; there was an uneasy silence in the air, but Haru felt somehow relaxed as they were eventually led down another staircase… here, though, Alexei stopped at a heavy steel door, swallowing. When he spoke, his voice had been lowered to a whisper.
"Whoever is waiting for me to return with your heads is on the other side of this door. Nothing to worry about, though; you've got me to keep you safe. When we get your friend out safely, maybe I could come back with you, to that mountain range?"
"Absolutely. A god on our side? Cool, but a friend given a new beginning?" Haru whispered back, gently clutching his arm and peering soulfully up at Alexei. "Let's do this, and show you that the god of pain can direct that magic somewhere for the greater good."
"Thank you, Haru," The man smiled, and reached up, slowly gripping his mask… and dropping it to the floor with a clatter. He was handsome; messy, dark hair falling over his forehead- bright, beautiful blue eyes, and a nasty burn scar over the bottom left of his face, marring his mouth as he smiled.
Haru didn't twitch.
"Let's get these assholes beaten unconscious and back to the base for questioning."
"Let's do this," Fox grinned wolfishly.
"I am ready to whoop asses," Lif agreed, starting to sound more relaxed, chuckling… and Alexei opened the door.