Chapter 49: House of Cards
"It's Devola and Popola. It has to be them," the other Nier explained. He was swaying slightly, seemingly in shock. "I've known them my whole life… Why did I never wonder why neither of them aged?"
"Popola knew who I was," Weiss added. "She was the one who told us about Grimoire Noir and the Sealed Verses."
"Fuck!" Kainé yelled. "She told you about the Aerie too! This bitch turned everyone into monsters and she used us to clean up her fuck ups!"
"Was that intentional?" Nier wondered darkly. "They know what possession leads to. Did they send us to the Aerie hoping to get rid of us?"
"I don't know. I- I don't think I want to know," his Replicant whispered. "I trusted them. And they killed so many people…"
"Is this why you want us to go to the Lost Shrine?" Kainé asked. "So that no one ends as collateral damage?"
"Correct. And if I can get through the dimensional barrier with them none the wiser – then all the better," Weiss said.
The other Nier looked sick again, "Except Popola knows that we can get through. Because I told her."
"Not your fault this bitch turned out to be a traitor," Kainé growled.
"We've got to be careful," Nier said. "If you have all the Verses and they have Noir…"
"We can't let them activate him," Emil agreed.
"Not to mention, we still have no idea what either of them are truly capable of," Weiss said. "The risk is high but we have no other choice. We have to bring them down."
"Oh god… I let them look after Yonah so many times…" the other Nier whispered.
Nier flared his wings, "They had no qualms against holding my daughter hostage. They could do the same now."
"Like fuck!" Kainé snapped. "I'll fucking gut them!"
"My manor!" Emil said. "Sebastian can look after her. And I think the underground lab has a few defense systems left?"
"I can teleport her out and fly to the manor," Nier offered. "For that matter, I can teleport all of us out, so that no one can see us leaving."
"Please…"
"…Dad?" Yonah mumbled when Nier shook her awake. She froze, recognizing him. "Uh… Other dad?" she asked unsurely.
Nier was absolutely not in the right state of mind to deal with this issue on top of everything else.
"Hey, sorry to wake you up," he said. "But something came up. Would you mind spending some time at Emil's place?"
"Okay," Yonah nodded, searching for her shoes. "But why?"
"Something strange is going on," Nier explained. "And you will be safer there. Don't worry, it's just for a little while."
"Okay."
She followed Nier down the stairs where his agitated friends were waiting.
That seemed to shake his Replicant out of his stupor. "Yonah…" he whispered, drawing her into a hug and burying his face in her hair.
"Dad? What's going on?" she asked worriedly, hugging him back. "Is it something bad?"
"Yonah… Can you promise me something?"
She nodded, biting her lip.
"If you see Devola or Popola… Run. Run and hide and don't trust them under any circumstances."
"Are they bad?" Yonah whispered.
"…I don't know. I hope not. I really, really hope not."
Nier swayed on his feet, struggling to catch his breath. Teleporting so many people was more taxing than he liked. Hopefully, his energy would recharge before he needed to use magic again: he had a feeling that breaking through the dimensional barrier wouldn't be easy.
"We'll meet on the roof of the Lost Shrine," his Replicant said. His shock seemed to be fading, replaced by cold anger. "Go."
Nier nodded and gathered Yonah in his arms, taking flight. He flew close to the cliffs, his wings almost grazing the walls, and teleported into the manor as soon as possible. He couldn't allow anyone to see them.
Yonah shivered slightly, already affected by the cursed building, "Teleportation feels weird. I like flying better."
"Once we deal with this problem, I'll take you flying whenever you want," Nier said.
"Promise?"
"I promise."
Yonah threw her hands around him in a hug, though she still looked far from happy, "…Thanks, other dad."
How could she be so accepting? Nier ruffled her hair, "You are welcome, other daughter."
She giggled weakly, letting him go, "My first dad is still my real dad, but- um- I love you too. Please, be safe!"
"I will, I promise."
"And, maybe… don't hurt Devola and Popola?" she asked hesitantly. "I don't think they are bad. They were always so nice to me…"
Except it was all fake and they were soulless things who saw nothing wrong with killing Yonah and every other Replicant in existence.
"…We won't attack them first."
He couldn't lie to her but this was all he could promise.
Sebastian didn't need much convincing to look after Yonah, promising to hide in the underground lab and activate the remaining defense systems if anything happened. Nier was glad to hear it: he couldn't let another Yonah become a bargaining chip for the androids.
He quickly flew towards the Lost Shrine, landing on the roof where his friends were waiting, "Yonah is safe. Let's go."
They didn't waste any time, quickly entering the massive doors.
"Can you get us through?" the other Nier asked as they approached the dimensional barrier, sidestepping the rubble strewn across the hall.
Weiss floated closer to the barrier, "From what I can see, this lock requires a specific key to open: a magical artefact crafted in a very particular way. Without one to use as an example, I fear it would take far too long for me to construct one. However, there are plenty of weak points for me attack, so damaging the barrier enough to let us pass through will not take too long. Allow me to just-"
The sound of the doors opening made them all freeze.
Nier turned around and snarled at the newcomers, his wings flaring open, "Overseers!"
