+++++++++++++++++++++ chapter 20 : Many Teachers
"So…he was guillotined?" Aliosha asked, serving Purpose another dose.
"Yes. The book ends on the night before the execution, but it's universally accepted that he would die as he was sentenced to. Anything else would not make sense story-wise."
"Does not seem like good ending to me." The Russian man frowned, taking half his cup in one gulp. "Do not know why you would call this man hero."
"It does not follow the traditional hero's journey, but I like it a lot. And Muersault is a hero. An absurdist hero. The act of making peace with the absurdity of the world, not ignoring or avoiding it, facing it head on even when everything comes crashing down on you like it did with him, is heroic."
Aliosha flicked his gaze to the playing field, unconsciously making the sun shine brighter and warmer on the green grass. He gazed at the clouds and added more color and texture to them. Less like real clouds, more like Monet's brushstrokes in the Seine at Argenteuil. "Hmm...hard to say without reading book. You could give me copy?"
Purpose just extended his hand, a book that did not exist in reality a few seconds ago now presenting itself to the young man.
"Thank's, apparition!" A sly smile crossed his gruff countenance as he took the book and explored the pages. There was something really joyful about an adult happily flipping through a book with the same giddiness of a kid who just got a toy.
Purpose chuckled. "You could call me by my name, you know."
"No…I don't think I will," he said, smirking.
"You are just jealous I got to choose mine, Sleeeeper." The last word was dragged out with as much mirth as the simulacrum was capable of, knowing how Aliosha hated the name the international community chose for him.
###
"Hello, Ahmed." A cacophony of sounds that could be confused with a voice said from behind him.
That confused Ash Beast more than anything. For fifteen years he had not heard a single voice - a single sound—without the muffle flaring noise of the flowing inferno filtering it.
Making a 180 turn he was faced with... He had not words to describe it.
His inferno was parting around a person of blurry colors—colors other than orange, red and yellow—who strode unflinchingly through the sea of flames, their clothes unmarred and their impossible eyes fixed on Ash Beast.
It was hard to believe his eyes for a second, he refuses to acknowledge that the apparition could possibly exist. He vaguely remembers a time, long ago, (or was it?) When he had been plagued by hallucinations, shapes conjured by the fire that had mocked, enticed and lied to him.
Then the person stepped forward, moving even closer, the flames sliding off of him without burning him. Their hand raised and clasped Ash Beast's shoulder.
"I am sorry for what the [converter] did. It was not meant to make you suffer, if that makes it any better," the apparition said. They sounded ... kind? It sounded a bit like Malik did before Al Massi took a hold of him.
Ash Beast would have liked to respond, but even if the apparition could hear him through the flames, he had forgotten how to talk properly long ago.
"I think you deserve a rest" was the last thing he heard before the world went black.
###
"You are staring, Lost God," the Fairy Queen teased the invader.
Paige had seen the Queen tease others before (it seemed to be one of her favorite past-times), but there was something more contained in the way she talked to this weird man. It sounded more like an actual talk between two people than a crazy woman mocking someone she could obliterate at any minute... Who even was this guy?
"I am sorry your majesty, my fool eyes were just too uncostumed with excellence to not be bemused by you." the guy... flirted? It was hard to tell with his weird voice. He could be mocking or flirting or being serious in reverence and Paige would never know. One of the other inmates was murmuring an indecent joke, so it probally sounded like 'flirting' to the others too.
"Hmph. Flattery will take you nowhere, Lost God, especially one so obviously crafted by a fairy advisor." the Queen chastised, but with less of her typical menacing tone and more of an angry girl. "I will not allow you to study with my trawl, so If you have no other business here, leave this lands!" that sounded a bit more like the everyday Fairy Queen. Around her, the Ghosts shifted into different forms. One of them, Paige could just barely see, was a small boy.
"I shall leave if that is what you truly desire, but allow me to ask one small question first, your majesty..." the weird blurry man approached the queen, as if to whisper something Paige and the others were not able to hear.
The rest of the day passed away like a blur. Paige passed out around the beginning of the fight. She could scarcely remember some of the esoteric powers that were thrown out, but nothing that gave Dragon any clues of what happened.
A quarter of the prison's installations were quarantined from that day on, and the queen...She was told the queen had escaped.
###
"What in thousands of hells is this bastard doing?!" Narwhal yelled into ThreeEyedCrow's face.
Their resident Thinker remained as impassive as always looking up at his leader with the same dead-eyed gaze as he answered. "As I already described in my report, Samantha... The parahuman codenamed Purpose has visited, among other entities: the Cipher Cult in Oregon, Ash Beast while he was passing through the Kenyan border, El Familia de Los Milagres in Colombia, the Three Blasphemies while they passed by the river Euphredes, and—"
"To copy their power,"she yelled at her paraplegic subordinate. "Yes, I read your damn document, Brandon! But you forget to mention any theory at all on why he is doing it and what he intends to do with all this power! You have to give something to work with here Bran! We cannot just sit on our asses while this guy collects all A-Class treats in the fucking world! What's next?! Is he going to wake up Sleeper or have some tea with Nilbog?!"
"Actually..."
Narwhal's face fell from anger to exhausted disbelief. "Please tell me he is not going after S-Class threats."
ThreeEyedCrow looked at the window so as to avoid his leader's gaze. "He was reported to have talked with Sleeper five hours ago. Our Watchers did not report anything because at the time some stranger effect made them not think it was something worth reporting. We suspect he copied some form of Madame Irrelevance's aura of alone-"
"OK!" The horned woman cut him off, clapping her hands. "Anyone present ha any idea on what should be our next move?"
The room was silent. The Guild was no stranger to these awkward silences where no one had an idea on what to do. Not for the first time, Dragon decided to end the silensce. "I think we should contact Vista."
The entire room looked at her monitor with questioning looks. "Who ?" Masamune was the first to ask
"The Ward he was in contact with for a few months. Read the dan reports Toshiro!" blue lantern suplied.
"Please elaborate, Dragon." Narwhal allowed, cogs alredy moving in her brain.
"As we all know," ( or at least as she keeps telling them)" The best strategy to deal with unstable overpowered individuals i s de-escalation... I believe If we appeal to his emotional and rational sides simultanisely, and put some actual effort in negotiation, we can avoid an unnecessary disaster here. "
Her "Diplomatic Approach " generally was refused by the leadership. Mainly because it did not have a good track record of success, but maybe this time...
In the end of the reunion, her proposal was denied, as she expected it to be ( Taking a little girl and giving her a script to talk with a supposed murderer did not sound as good when you said it out loud ), but she kept her hopes up that , when she had the chance to talk to him, he would listen, as her analysis of him indicated he would.
Three days later, he invaded the Birdcage