Chapter 3
Found Family
Many of the rooms in The Master's tower had not been used for so long that it was hard to understand what they were once for. One such room could easily be confused for a hallway, if only the other hallways in the tower were like it. This room was nearly forty feet in height, and spanned half the width of the tower. The ceiling was rounded and dome-like, with curved stained-glass murals across it between the support arches. The exterior wall was lined with grooved pillars with yet more stained glass between them, but the wall across from it was rather plain. The great oddity of the ceiling was that, though it seemed like this sort of architecture would imply this was the top of the building, there were several more floors above it and the glass murals remained permanently darkened.
The Angels had wondered many times why this room was so peculiar. Their best guess was that perhaps at one point this was the top of the tower, and perhaps this was a throne room. Perhaps the building had expanded, and the room had been chopped up and renovated. Perhaps.
The origin of the room aside, the Angels had found that it made for a very convenient location for them to meet up casually. There were eight of them now and each one had found a room of their own somewhere in the floors The Master had designated as their domain. These personal spaces were usually small, like a bedroom, and not well-suited for the large group that they were becoming. The Peculiar Hall, as they called it, was where any of them would go if and when they felt like being a little social. Given that nobody but Angels were allowed on these floors, and the Angels were allowed nowhere else, The Peculiar Hall nearly always had someone there.
On this particular day, there were five of them inside the hall. Balthazar, Farah, Tomislava, and Hadrianus were all floating around a table that seemed much more like it belonged out in the forest than a tower such as this; being made of split logs which were held together by rusted metal straps. Oddities such as this only served to make The Peculiar Hall ever more curious, for things like this were generally found only in this room.
The fifth Angel inside the room was Juangshi, who was not at the table and instead draped lazily over the top of a crooked stone statue of something that appeared to be some form of cat with a bat's face. The statue was tall enough that the light from the windows did not directly reach as high as the head, which kept her generally obscured and out of mind of the conversing Angels below.
Tomislava was speaking. "So Balthazar, Farah, which of you two has the highest success rate for these conversions? I gotta know what I need to beat, afterall."
Farah and Balthazar glanced at each other, and Farah spoke up. "To be honest, I don't think either of us have kept track of that."
"What?" Tomislava said with a gasp. "I can't imagine not trying to know how well I'm doing at something."
"It's… sort of the other way around," Balthazar said sadly. "We've failed a lot more than we've succeeded. The Master and I together have lost… dozens at least."
Farah shook her head. "I tried to make sure I could remember them all, at first. I'd ask their names and repeat them to myself each time. But there've been so many that I couldn't keep up… just the bitter sting of it."
Tomislava's wings fluttered softly as she thought. "I didn't realize the conversion rate was so low. Just how many people has The Master brought here?"
"I don't think anyone knows except The Master himself," Balthazar said. "He made Areshmin all on his own, too, so even if all of us knew exactly how many we'd tried and added them together there still would be no way to know for sure."
Hadrianus spoke up. "Areshmin is a curious fellow, I've only seen him twice. I expected he might be something of a recluse who simply had no interest in socializing, but both times we met he was quite cordial."
"He can't leave his room much anymore," explained Balthazar. "I try to go see him when I can, but he desperately needs the magic energies in his room to keep his light from fading."
"Aren't we Angels because our light was supposed to be strong?" asked Tomislava. "How did he become an Angel if his heart is so frail?"
Balthazar and Farah scoffed indignantly, with Farah taking the opportunity to clear the issue. "Hearts like ours are only so strong after the conversion because we've had the benefit of another Angel to reinforce our Light. The Master says each successive generation's been getting progressively stronger because of it, Angels with a stronger light help the next Angel's heart become stronger still. Areshmin didn't have that luxury - The Master converted him on his own, and Areshmin's work helping to create Balthazar exposed him to quite a bit of darkness."
Hadrianus raised a scraggly hand to the lower portion of his hood where his mouth should be. "Indeed, I remember The Master saying that Areshmin was the first Angel."
A voice spoke out from the shadows. "The first Angel to survive, anyways."
The four at the table all turned their heads upward towards the head of the odd bat-cat statue, seeing Juangshi's glowing eyes peering upside-down through the shadows in which she basked.
"What are going on about, Juangshi?" Farah demanded.
"Just setting the record straight is all. He's not the first Angel to be created, he's the first Angel to survive," Juangshi informed them lazily.
Farah crossed her arms. "And where did you get that idea?"
Juangshi's body slid limply from the top of the statue, spinning around her mostly-stationary head as she turned upright. "Areshmin told me," she said, floating up into a sitting position on the statue's snout.
"Really?" Balthazar asked curiously. "I've talked to him many times about this sort of thing and he's never mentioned others before him."
"I just have different kinds of conversations than you all do," Juangshi said slyly.
"You have different conversations than I find tasteful, anyways," Farah retorted.
Hadrianus spoke up. "What did Areshmin say about the others? Anything of interest?"
Farah turned towards him. "Seriously? You guys want to know about this?"
"Yeah, I do!" Tomislava said eagerly, and Balthazar reluctantly nodded.
"We deal with enough death and loss already. I'm out of here," Farah said, floating away.
The remaining Angels watched her go, and as soon as she left the room, Juangshi spoke up in a lower tone. "Areshmin says that The Master made five others before him. We don't know how, but The Master was able to shield the light in their hearts juuuust enough to get them to convert into an Angel of Darkness."
Balthazar crossed his arms. "So they actually made it through the process, and then died after that?"
"That's what Areshmin tells me," Juangshi said bluntly.
"I didn't know a Heartless could die," Tomislava said, pausing for a moment. "Then again, I don't know much about Heartless in general."
"Did Areshmin inform you what they died of?" Hadrianus inquired.
"Yeah. The Master," Juangshi told them.
Balthazar nodded. "When a conversion is unsuccessful it does often create a pure Heartless in the shape of an Angel, except without the preserved light and will of the heart used to create it. I've seen The Master destroy many of these. It's not easy to watch, but I understand why it must be done."
"Yeah, but these Angels weren't like that at first," Juangshi said quietly. "Areshmin says they were like him, they had a light in their heart and retained their will even as an Angel of Darkness. They were just as successful as any of us."
"I can't imagine The Master just destroying one of us like that," Balthazar said thoughtfully.
"Do you know what makes Areshmin so interesting?" Juangshi asked as she began to float down towards the others.
Hadrianus chuckled. "A lot of things, I'd wager."
"He knows what's coming to him," Juangshi said in a foreboding tone. "The Angels that came before him all had their light slowly erode away and their hearts got overtaken by darkness, just like what's happening to him. When that happens… there's nothing left of our wills in our Heartless bodies. The Master has to destroy them then, just like he does when the conversion fails altogether."
The other three looked at each other nervously, and Juangshi continued. "What makes Areshmin so interesting is that he knows this is his fate. He knows that the magic in that room only delays the inevitable. He knows that The Master he respects so much is going to be the end of him when he inevitably loses himself. But you know what? He doesn't care. He keeps going. He keeps trying. He keeps helping in any way he can."
Juangshi turned to Tomislava, floating in close towards her and speaking in a near-whisper. "Areshmin is the strongest Angel of us all. There's nothing frail about him."
Tomislava's eyes were wide and she backed up quietly, remembering only now what she'd said moments before.
Hadrianus burst out clapping. "Very well told, Juangshi! Quite evocative! I must say, you've instilled quite a respect for Areshmin in me."
Juangshi cackled, floating back up to the top of her statue. "Hah! Well, I have my strong points. I'm not allowed to help convert Angels, so I convince them instead."
Tomislava spoke up uneasily. "So… will that happen to all of us eventually? Will our darkness win out in the end?"
The bob of Juangshi's glowing eyes in the dark indicated a shrug. "Don't know. We'll find out, I guess."
Hadrianus murmured to himself. "Hrmmm. I do admit I had not yet thought to consider what our life cycle is expected to be like. Still, any time we get to continue living in this world as these Angels of Darkness is more time than I'd have had otherwise."
Balthazar nodded. "Right. That alone makes it worthwhile to me. I don't know what The Master's plans for us are, but he doesn't seem like he's giving up on Areshmin. Perhaps he has an idea of some way to keep that from happening and just needs time to figure it out."
Tomislava shivered, the feathers of her wings rustling like leaves. "I hope so."
Just then another Angel came floating into the room in a frenzy, spinning wildly as his wings clipped the doorway. "Someone help me find a place to hide from her!" pleaded Perere.
"Hide from who?" Hadrianus asked with concern.
"Bee just won't leave me alone and it's driving me bah-serk!" Perere exclaimed, grabbing the sides of his head and bobbing around.
"Hey, come up here with me," Juangshi said quickly.
Perere looked around the room, confused, until he spotted Juangshi's glowing eyes up in the shadows. "Ooh, spooky! It's perfect!" he said, floating up beside her quickly.
"Alright Perere, turn towards the wall so nobody below can see your eyes. Don't try to sneak a peek, not even a little bit," Juangshi instructed with an amused tone.
"Silly kid, how much threat does a bee pose to an Angel of Darkness?" Tomislava said with amusement.
Balthazar turned to her. "Er, not a bee. Perere's not great with certain-"
At this point another Angel, Bi`nh, poked her head into the room. "Oh, uh, hello. You haven't by chance seen Perere come by here have you? I've been looking for him."
"Oh!" Tomislava exclaimed in the dawn of understanding. "Uh! Nope!"
Bi`nh's eyes narrowed subtly. "That doesn't sound like the truth," she said sternly.
Juangshi floated down from the dark heights. "Well, if you'd like to stay here and look around while we talk, you're welcome to."
Hadrianus motioned towards the table. "Indeed, we've been having quite an interesting conversation about what our futures may hold now. It's a touch foreboding, actually, but fascinating nonetheless."
Bi`nh's wings fluttered in a quick, subtle burst. "Now I see why Farah was so grouchy. I'll pass, thanks."
"Eh, suit yourself," Juangshi said. "I think it's important."
"I think we have enough to worry about as is," said Bi`nh. She bowed softly. "Tomislava, Hadrianus, I apologize that our meetings are so brief. We'll have to find a way to make some quality time soon -" she glanced over at Juangshi "-with less gruesome topics of conversation."
That said, she quickly turned and went back down the hall, looking around.
"Well, that is certainly fortuitous for young Perere," Hadrianus mused.
Juangshi turned to the statue, and called up quietly."Hey! You can come back down now!"
There was a quickly feathery scuffle, and Perere's glowing eyes came into view as he clumsily descended down to the others. "Phew! We sure tricked her."
Juangshi chuckled. "Spooky ghosts need to be good at tricks."
"Yeah!" Perere said with a joyous flap.
Balthazar turned towards him directly. "What's she chasing you for this time, anyways?"
"Well, I don't know. She's always trying to chase me and talk to me and ask me stuff about my old World, you know?" Perere said with exasperation.
Balthazar sighed. "I guess she's still dealing with her own troubles."
"Troubles?" Tomislava asked curiously.
"She has a kid down in Daybreak Town that she can't see, and it's been driving her batty," Juangshi said simply.
Hadrianus feigned a cough, as Angels of Darkness have no lungs with which to cough genuinely, and spoke. "That is indeed quite a trauma to work through."
"Well, I wish she would leave me out of it," Perere complained.
"Hey guys, is Perere in there?" a voice spoke from the hall.
Perere yiped and flew back up into the shadows of the statue, hiding away just as Farah entered.
"Hey Farah, what's going on?" Balthazar asked.
"Bi`nh's looking for Perere and asked me for help," Farah told them as she glanced around the room.
"Yes, we heard about that. I understand her grief, but it does seem like poor Perere's being used as something of a substitute for her," Hadrianus said.
"What?" Farah looked at him, blinking in confusion. "Hold on, what's this about?"
Balthazar glanced up towards the statue. "Nevermind that, Farah, what's Bi`nh need Perere for?"
"Well, someone locked her door, drew ghosts all over her windows, and then left a few of said windows open," Farah explained, repeating with extra emphasis, "Someone."
The group turned and looked up to the statue, where Perere's eyes sheepishly peeked over the top.
Balthazar sighed. "Perere, if you want Bi`nh to leave you alone, why would you do something like that?"
"Tryin' to make her know to stay away from us spooky ghosts. She leaves Hon-shee alone all the time," Perere told them.
Juangshi laughed heartily. "Well, it was a good try. But you don't need to mess up her room, Perere. If you want her to leave you alone, just come hang out with me."
Perere came down from the top of the statue. "Alright. I'll stay here with you."
"Oh no you won't," Farah said firmly. "Somebody's got to help clean up the mess you made."
"Ugh," Perere said.
Tomislava chuckled. "Looks like you gotta make sure nobody knows it's you when you do that sort of thing, Perere."
"Yeah, I guess so. I gotta be a sneaky AND spooky ghost now," he said.
"You know, for as strange as we all are, there's something rather homely about all this, isn't there?" remarked Hadrianus.
Balthazar thought about this for a second as Farah led Perere out of the room. "You know, Hadrianus, I think there is."
The Master stood still, quietly reviewing the readings on the display in his hands. The conversion lab had quite a few occupied pods, each one's machinery humming gently and glowing softly with magic. There was a subtle tension to the room, as there always was when it harbored patients, but it was a rather quiet day.
A few Angels were present as well. Bi`nh had taken it upon herself to make sure the room was cleaned regularly, though always excused herself during days or times where conversions were actually going to be taking place. The room had never been particularly dirty as well as any of the Angels could remember, but Bi`nh made sure that it shone.
Balthazar and Farah gently hovered near the middle of the room on standby, in the event that The Master found one of the patients had taken a critical turn. The Master had become more picky and methodical with which Angels he kept around for conversion attempts, and with Tomislava and Hadrianus he was giving them much more time to acclimate than Balthazar or Farah had been afforded.
They watched as The Master lowered his device with a disappointed shake of his head. He stepped over to the pod, looking at the inhabitant through the glass for a moment before attaching a red tag to a rail near the top of the pod with a sigh.
"What is that red tag for?" Farah whispered to Balthazar.
"I haven't asked, but I've been seeing them the last several weeks on every pod we've tried to convert. I think he's marking them somehow," Balthazar said quietly.
"I wonder if he'll need our help today afterall," Farah said, straightening a little bit.
Balthazar shrugged. "It's possible. I've seen some pods have a tag on them for several days before we tried to convert them."
"I'm kind of annoyed that I haven't noticed them before today," Farah said.
"Well, things have been hectic lately, and you and I are generally more focused on the occupants than the instruments," Balthazar told her.
Farah nodded, floating gently as she thought. She meandered over beside The Master, who'd picked up and was reviewing the next pod's device.
"Excuse me, sir," she said respectfully.
The Master kept his gaze fixed to the device, but raised a hand momentarily in a small waving gesture. "What can I do for you, Farah?"
"Balthazar and I are curious about these red tags. What do they mean?" she asked bluntly.
The Master lowered the device and turned his shrouded visage towards her. "Those red tags, huh? They just make it easy to know which pods are critical at a glance."
"And by critical, do you mean pods which contain people who are certainly going to be passing away, or just those who are at an uncertain crossroads in their recovery?" she pried.
"Well you're just full of questions now, aren't you?" The Master said with a chuckle. "It was your first guess. I've gotten pretty familiar with the readings that show up when someone's out of luck entirely. When I see those, I mark the pod with a red tag so I can identify them easily and wait for their readings to go critical."
Farah thought for a moment, and in the silence The Master picked up the device and began reviewing it again. It was a short-lived focus, as Farah spoke up again soon after. "You said before that the conversions are run when the occupant has reached a point where they would immediately die without the magic inside the pod. Is that the time you place the Red Tag?"
The Master sighed, hanging the device back onto the side of the pod. "Yes, Farah. It's usually just a day or two after that point where even the pod can't sustain them. I didn't expect a red tag to inspire such curiosity!" he said in exasperation.
Balthazar had quietly joined them and had been listening quietly. "What are you thinking about, Farah?"
Farah folded her arms. "Well, it's just that the light in their hearts right now is so much stronger than it usually is when we actually try the conversion process. You must notice it too, Balthazar?"
He closed his eyes. "Yes, it is," he agreed, opening his eyes once more and raising a hand to the bottom of his hood. "And now that I think about it, the state of the Stations of Awakening tends to match the strength of their light, too."
"That's what I've been thinking about too," Farah said with an excited flap of her wings. "I've seen Stations of Awakening in various states. Most of them are already starting to crumble or crack, and have a lot of darkness already chipping away at them. I wonder if we're waiting too long to try the conversions."
The Master raised a hand to his chin. "Interesting. So you think the physical health of the patient might be playing some additional role in the success rate?"
"It's possible," Farah mused. "If you can tell for sure this early that they're going to need our help, it might be worth giving it a try and see if it helps them survive."
The Master raised a hand and pointed a finger at Farah. "I like your thinking, Farah. We should have one of the new Angels join you for an attempt to get some experience. Got a preference?"
"I have a better rapport with Tomislava at the moment, and I know she's been eager to try for herself. I thi-"
There was a banging sound from the other end of the room, and the three of them looked over to see what it was. There was nobody to be seen, and nothing they could see was out of place.
Balthazar groaned. "Ah, Bi`nh was in here cleaning. You know how she hates this sort of discussion, she probably left in a hurry."
The Master surveyed the room cautiously, but did not move. "Yeah, you know, that's possible. How about you go see if you can find her, Balthazar, and make sure she's alright. Farah can go look for Tomislava and we'll put her hypothesis to the test."
"Best of luck, Farah, Master," Balthazar said with a bow.
Farah returned the bow. "Thank you, Balthazar."
"I'll be preparing things here, Farah," The Master told her.
Balthazar left the room and floated down the hall, wondering where Bi`nh may have gone. She was practically never in The Peculiar Hall, so he decided to check her room first. He wound his way through the odd layout of the tower, stopping only to ride up a floor on a large, gear-like elevator. It spun around underneath him as it moved, but as he was only floating above it he did not spin with it.
Once it stopped, he disembarked from the gear and made his way to Bi`nh's room and knocked gently on the door. "Bi`nh, are you in there?"
There was no reply, but he could feel her heart inside. He knocked again. "Bi`nh, we just want to make sure you're alright."
There was a gently scuffling sound, and Bi`nh opened the door part-way, peering through the small gap. "You can let The Master know not to worry about me. I'm sorry I left abruptly, you three were having an important discussion that I didn't want to intrude on," she said coldly, as if it was something she'd been practicing.
Balthazar backed away from the door a little bit. "It's not just The Master who's worried about you, Bi`nh. We've all missed you and have been concerned. You're the only one other than Areshmin who never comes to The Peculiar Hall."
Bi`nh's eyes narrowed. "Well, I don't mean to concern you or anyone else. There's plenty of you there, anyway, so I'm not sure why you would miss me."
There was a flick of despair in Bi`nh's heart that did not escape Balthazar's notice, and he floated back closer towards the door slowly. "You don't have to be alone all the time, Bi`nh. I know that you don't like all of our conversations, but I'm sure even Juangshi would make sure to avoid them if it meant you could come connect and spend time with us."
Bi`nh opened the door a little more and poked her head out of the room, looking both ways down the hallway. "Come in for a minute, Balthazar."
He did so, and she closed the door behind him. They turned to face each other, and Bi`nh's wings drooped and her shoulders sagged. "I want to, Balthazar. I see you all connecting together and becoming so close and I want to be a part of that. But every time I think about it, I…"
"Your son?" Balthazar asked gently.
"I just can't get him out of my mind, Balthazar. The last time I saw him he was screaming for me not to die. I don't know how he's doing, I don't know if he has any friends or anybody that cares about him. I'm so alone here and haunted by those memories and worries, and every time I wonder if I can move on and join in this new found-family you're all becoming I'm overcome with this incredible guilt. It's becoming a darkness that's eating at me and I don't know what to do about it," she choked out, staring at the window.
Balthazar wasn't sure what to say, but after a moment bobbed over and did his best to give her a hug. "I'm so sorry, Bi`nh. I wish there was something we could do. Maybe The Master—"
"No, not The Master," Bi`nh cut him off. "He's too busy with all his projects. He's already turned me into one of… these things. I know he's looking forward to bigger and newer things, and in the rare moment he could spare time for us, how can I try to take that attention when others like Areshmin need his help so much more desperately?"
Balthazar backed up slowly, with his gaze at the ground in thought. "I understand what you mean. The Master's been saying that he's going to be even busier soon, and we've all been concerned about Areshmin." He looked back up at Bi`nh. "But this is very important too. I'll see if I can think of some way to help you, Bi`nh, but in the meantime could you please at least try to open up and let a couple of us help you?"
Bi`nh nodded. "I'll try. It helps a lot to talk to you, Balthazar, and I already get along well with Farah. For as good as she is with those ghastly conversions, she is very good about not talking about them outside of that room."
Balthazar nodded. "I'll explain what's going on to her. I'm sure she'll be happy to come by and visit you in person."
"Thank you, Balthazar. One other thing, if you don't mind?" she said quietly.
"What's that, Bi`nh?"
"Please don't tell Perere. I already have a hard enough time getting him to leave me alone and it's starting to get frustrating," she said with a sigh.
"Wait, Perere's bothering you?" Balthazar asked incredulously.
"I feel bad about it because he's just a child, and it's probably just as hard for him to lose his family as it was for me to lose mine, but it's just too hard for me to deal with him right now," Bi`nh explained with a tone of embarrassment.
Balthazar felt his head spin. "Uh, sure thing Bi`nh. Farah and I will keep that between us, okay? I don't think you need to worry about Perere much, though. I think he's doing fine."
"That's a relief," Bi`nh said.
Balthazar opened the door and turned back towards her. "I'll see you later, Bi`nh. Stay strong, ok? We'll figure something out."
"Thank you, Balthazar," she said with a bow.
Balthazar closed the door and floated away, muttering to himself in confusion as he tried to make sense of the incomprehensible dynamic between Bi`nh and Perere.