Chapter 179
I couldnt fully comprehend what was happening. Id fixated so purely on this moment, on every possible, painstaking step I might have to take to get to this point that having it happen so quickly and easily felt strange.
And even though I thought Id considered every possibility, this wasnt one of them.
I was standing in the center of what was once a large gymnasium, the kind you see in wealthy private schools or anywhere with a serious athletic team. It was kitted out to the nines, complete with climbing walls, and folded up basketball hoops on either side. The center comprised a series of massive mats. Two groups of Users clad in full gear were recovering from some sort of strenuous exercise, possibly a mock battle.
Nick was walking through them, inspecting each person. His classic good looks hadnt suffered in his captivity. Neither had his physique. If anything, Nick appeared even more muscular than before.
Hes been leveling.
I didnt like that realization, or the many questions it incurred.
Mind control?
Somewhere in the distance, there was the echo of something massive and mechanical clicking into place. The lights took on a red tinge, and Nick swiped at the air. His brow furrowed. We have a situation. Everyone form up on me.
Not only is he out and about unguarded, but he also holds some portion of authority.
One of the two groups of Users in black athletic gear snapped to attention immediately, lining up behind Nick.
A blonde manjudging from body language, the leader of the other group called over to Nick. Whats with the alert?
Intruder in the silo. Nick said. Somewhere in this wing. We need to gear up and get moving.
Fuck. The woman at the bus stop screwed me. It wasnt supposed to happen this way. In her own words, shed teleported me directly to what I sought.
Nick.
And shed put me in an incredibly compromising position. Id bypassed whatever screening process Sunny intended and entered their facility directly. Even worse, I was out in the open with nowhere to hide. The only reason no one had seen me yet was a combination of my mask, stealth feat, and that I hadnt moved. If I tried to take cover behind something, theyd spot me immediately.
There! A voice said called from behind me. I knew, instinctively, it was directed at me.
Too late.
screamed.
I stepped to the side blindly, heeding the warning. A blade whistled through the air, carving the space Id previously occupied in half. It was impossibly long, with a slight curve. The woman wielding it cackled, spinning in place, lashing out artlessly. But the power behind her blows was nothing to sneeze at.
The attacker rotated her blade ninety degrees and swung it in a savage arc towards my neck. I let myself fall backwards, barely dodging it, all the while racking my brain on how to handle this. Killing anyone now was a bad look, even if it was in self-defense at no fault of my own. If I surrendered, there was a non-zero chance theyd take me captive, but entirely possible that my mask would come off in the process before Aaron or Sunny interceded.
Then there was the problem of Nick. Unlike everyone else present, Nick knew exactly how I fought. What weapons I used. It was an oversight I hadnt considered, because I didnt think I had to. Id assumed that if Nick figured it out, hed stay silent. But as much as I wanted to have faith in Nick, faith had never served me well.
I had to operate like he was with them until I received definitive confirmation otherwise.
What would Myrddin do?
What image did I want to present to the suits? Compassion and empathyhell, even humanitywouldnt help me here.
These people were hyenas. Any hint of softness would sharpen the knife at my back.
Myrddin was cold. He enjoyed hurting people, but was rational enough to understand that impulse could work against him. At this point in his life, he would have worked out exactly how far he could push the limit. What was acceptable, and what wasnt.
He was everything I tried not to be.
A living being seeks above all else to discharge its strength; Life itself is Will to Power. Azure quoted.
Unsurprisingly, my summon was fond of Nietzsche, alongside every other creative on the planet. But Azure had a point. Myrddin had done nothing wrong here and theyd attacked without warning. He wouldnt hold back, wouldnt flinch at his enemys pain. And if he was in a position where killing was off the table, hed make damn well sure that the lesson was etched in flesh.
There could be no understanding for mistakes. No tolerance for weakness.
The woman struck again, aiming for Myrddins head.
A living being seeks above all else to discharge its strength.
I casted on my glove and caught the blade between my fingers.
The womans mouth dropped open in an expression of pure surprise. I pivoted quickly and grabbed her jaw, dragging her down to the ground even as I felt the pressure of her teeth on my armored gauntlet. I pinned her head beneath my knee, cocked a fist and struck downward.
He rounded on the mage. And why the hell did the both of you decide to engage a potential threat with nothing but your wand and a track suit?
Hurk The mage said.
Do you mind? Nick asked me.
I loosened my grip slightly.
The mage lapsed into a coughing fit and struggled to speak. I wanted to distinguish myself.
So you rushed, and now youre about to distinguish yourself all over that bubble. Nick gave the mage a hard look.
The mage wilted.
Nick strained to smile. I appreciate your help, teaching these guys a lesson. A lot of them have some kind of experience, but they dont take the powers and abilities as seriously as they should. Sometimes, it takes a self-serving of humble pie to shake old habits loose.
I inclined my head slowly.
Nick rubbed his neck awkwardly. Thing is, the idiot in a tracksuit youre about to strangle was placed under my charge. And I take that seriously. His name is Keith. And he might be inexperienced, and an idiot, but Im responsible for him. The others will live. But if you strangle the life out of him, Im not sure I can let that go.
Keith suddenly tried to break my grip, and I responded by winding back an arm and slapping him across the face hard enough that my hand hurt.
When Nick tensed, I shrugged. He was asking for it.
This is your chance to reset. If you keep pushing, it wont go well for you. Nick warned.
How deep are you in?
What. Youre going to stop me? I challenged, trying to gauge his mental state. So far, he looked and sounded like the Nick I knew. Exactly like the Nick I knew.
Nick blinked. I mean, Ill try. Cant say how much good itll do. You put a respectable scrapper out of commission, then manhandled my best tank and mage, all without a weapon. You obviously know what youre doing. The problem comes when you get out of the gym.
Oh?
Oh-indeed, buttercup. Because all of us, Nick pointed to the surrounding group. Were the Z team around these parts. Assuming you clear the roomwhich is a big assumption, because these guys have put in a lot of work and Im proud of themout there? He indicated the door on the far side of the gym. You wont make it twenty feet.
A dark-skinned girl with gauges in her ears stepped forward beside Nick. Late teens, maybe older. She spoke with a thick middle eastern accent. There is a woman who can freeze you to stone with nothing more than a glance. A little girl capable of turning your insides to jelly. A man who can pulverize bone with a gentle touch.
And a unicorn to round out the lot? I sneered.
The woman frowned sternly. And as irritatingly modest as my friend here might be, hell offer far more resistance than you might expect. He is one of our best
Nick shouldered passed her. He was still maintaining the sheepish affect, but there was real irritation in his eyes. Thank you, Halima. One of these days were going to have a little talk about the importance of under-promising and over-delivering.
Halima didnt look like she got it, but she stepped back just the same.
They respect you. I realized, saying it aloud before I could stop myself.
And now that the pre-starting gun jitters are out, theyll stand down if I ask them to. Lets just start over from the beginning. Nick pointed a finger gun at me and grinned. So, tell me what you want, and well see if I can help you out.
So upfront and honest.
Nick wasnt being controlled. If I wasnt already sure, Azure confirmed it. He was under the geas and nothing else. Also, there was no tell, no obvious giveaway that he was doing any of this under duress. If it was simple blackmail, leveraging a random User core and claiming it was Jinnys, I doubted hed be able to maintain this facade under stress. If it was anyone else, Id have believed theyd succumbed to whatever temptation Aaron offered.
But Nick wasnt anyone else. Id watched him go through physical therapy so rigorous and draining it was essentially torture in the guise of recovery. Id watched him struggle as he readjusted to school life. Saw him lose a promising sports career and countless so-called friends.
You cant trust someone youve only seen at their best. Only after youve seen them endure hardships, can you glean an inkling of who they really are.
I was there the night Nick hit rock bottom. Saw the truth for myself.
It was why I hated him. Why I cherished him. Because no matter how many times he got knocked down, how many hardships he endured, Nick served as an eternal rebuttal to my core belief, that people were only as upright as their circumstances allowed.
Nick was earnest, and genuine, and good.
There had to be an angle he was working. It was just a question of finding it.
What the hell are you up to?
