Chapter 37: Perspective
The morning after the raid, all of Teras gathered outside their new home to see off Cupa and her new friends. The Turned who'd been forced to hide during the battle were escorted to the mansion overnight, and everyone was settling in nicely. A new chapter, a better life for the former mobs, was finally beginning.
And as Cupa made her way around the assembled Turned, saying goodbye to the people she'd known forever, the friends she'd grown up with, it clicked that she was really leaving. Her life had been nothing but hiding and living in fear of the Illagers, and of how the outside would react to the truth about Teras.
So why was she so sad it was over?
By the time she got to her parents, the last ones she wanted to say goodbye to, she almost couldn't see through the tears in her eyes, and when she tried to speak her voice was too shaky to get the words out. Dusk approached, and she clung to him in a hug like her life depended on it. She felt his arms around her in return, cold and clammy like always, but in that moment it was almost desperately comfortable.
"It's okay if you're scared," he whispered.
"I d-don't know why I'm… f-feeling this way…"
"Your dad and I have always dreamed you'd be able to leave this life behind one day, and find something better," said Rot, joining them and putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's what we want for ALL of us. And I know it's what you want, too. But as hard as life in these woods has been, it's what we've always known. Changing that isn't going to be easy."
"I had my worries when you told us you wanted to go with the humans," added Dusk. "But I could see the life in your eyes when you were talking about them. You got a taste of the outside, and it called for you. Are you still sure you want to go?"
Cupa pulled away a bit to meet his gaze. She had to wipe her tears on her cloak just to make out his expression. Dusk wasn't known for being overly expressive, not even to her or Rot, but right then he had the gentlest, most compassionate smile she'd ever seen.
"I do… I know I have to go…"
He nodded. "Then spread your wings, my dear daughter. And may the winds guide you well."
Rot ruffled her hair. "Even though I won't burn in it anymore, I haven't been able to be out there under the sun for long. Maybe once we've finished resettling Teras, I'll have the chance. Until then, take in some of the warmth for me, won't you?"
She let out a small hiccup of a laugh. "T-that was corny, Dad…"
Dusk rolled his eyes, and Rot put up both hands as if being accused. "Okay, okay, I might've gone too far. Still, getting out and seeing the world is just what you need. These new friends you've made seem perfect for you.
"Make sure you come back to us safely," Dusk said. "We want to hear about the time you've spent with them."
Cupa hugged both of her parents again, resolving to never forget a single part of the journey.
She regrouped with Celia and her companions shortly afterward. They'd taken some time that morning to freshen up in the mansion's washrooms and looked to be in much better shape than they had after the battle. Cupa had followed suit; living in a hole meant she was almost always covered in dirt, so getting to actually clean herself up made her feel readier to brave the outside world.
"I'm still surprised they had a tailor's workshop in there," Blake was saying while she approached. "Doesn't seem fitting for them."
"They may have been doing terrible things in the shadows, but they were smartly dressed. They had to have SOMEONE working on their clothes between raids," Melissa replied. "It's too bad they didn't want to use their talents for anything good."
Felix scratched his head. "Wouldn't be the first time I've thought that about an enemy…"
"Sorry I'm late," Cupa announced when she reached them. "Are we all set?"
She'd hoped she wouldn't be showing any uncertainty, but the four of them each gave her a sympathetic look which caught her a little off-guard.
"H-hey… I'm okay, I swear. Just… had to say goodbye to my dads, that's all."
"It's not easy leaving home," Blake said. "I know the feeling."
Celia offered her a smile. "Whatever it may be worth, we're glad to have you with us. Can you lead the way through the forest?"
She found herself grinning back. "Thanks… and, actually, I had a different idea. Since we don't need to worry about Illagers anymore, why don't we just walk on the treetops now? There are still plenty of mobs in the woods, and I don't think I'll be able to talk 'em all down from fighting."
The group agreed with her proposal, and after bidding farewell to the Turned one last time they built a stairway to the treetops. Cupa emerged into the sunlight, taking off her hood to feel the gentle breeze in her hair, and found herself appreciating it in a way she never had before. Under that vast blue sky, without the threat of Illagers seeing her, without the need to conceal her presence… she felt free.
"Are you okay?" asked Felix, standing a bit ahead of her on the leaf blocks.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just taking it all in… okay, we're heading north to the forest's edge, right? Follow me."
Her new life had begun.
Tara sat against the wall of her cell, as far away from the worn and dirty bed as she could. Her inventory was empty, and she hadn't been allowed to keep more than very simple clothing and the black cloak she'd brought from the Far Lands. A cold bowl of mushroom stew and a bottle of water were the only sustenance provided thus far, both of which she'd consumed so quickly as to feel pathetic. Commandant Red's torturous Nether march had given her the wonderful opportunity to relive her desperate, starved lifestyle from back in the wastes before she'd become a Usurper.
The prison sector she'd been brought to was, mercifully, not in the Nether but rather near the outskirts of Incursia. It was built almost entirely of obsidian, with iron bars and doors on each cell. No other prisoners were in the room than her. The solitude was some comfort, since she didn't feel like engaging with anyone else for however long she would be there. Crux had stopped by earlier to taunt her some more and delivered a warning about being 'put to work with the other filth,' but didn't say when that would happen or what it entailed.
Did she deserve any of this? Did she deserve to be punished for accidentally killing Marshal Orion, or for using two Genesis Cores at once even though she'd never been given more than a vague warning about doing so? Was the grueling trek through the Nether part of her comeuppance? If none of that was the case… why didn't she feel her imprisonment was unfair?
"I lost Crimson Squad trying to make up for Ray's failure. I should still be furious at him for it…"
Yet she wasn't. She'd dedicated herself to never showing weakness, and to projecting an unflappable persona so her enemies and allies alike would know nothing could faze her. But after the disaster of Luxmouth, that ambition steadily broke down. Now, at the absolute bottom of the Usurpation's hierarchy, she had no idea what to make of herself.
The prison door slammed open, and in stepped a Usurpation guard, shoving along an older villager in loose-fitting tan clothes and a farmer's hat.
"We figured you could use a friend!" the guard said. He brought the prisoner to the cell opposite hers and all opened the door with a redstone torch, then all but threw him inside. After removing the torch, the cell was locked again. "Even traitors deserve some company, don't they? Heh…"
With that, the guard left and slammed the door behind him. Tara hadn't moved from where she sat, but she could see the villager squint at her through the bars of their cells.
"You're one of them… why are you locked up?" he asked. She didn't have the strength to say anything, and he scowled at her. "What happened, you didn't meet your quota for beatings today? Maybe you didn't kill quite enough of us, or they were hoping you'd steal more of our crops? Is that it, invader?!"
"I… didn't do anything…" she whispered, her voice hoarse and dry.
"Don't give me that! You've done nothing but destroy our homes for months now! Our city's in ruins, and our people are starving! We're forced to work for you, and mine for you, and even then it's never enough to stop a few of us from getting beaten! My neighbors… they were so hungry, and so weak, but… but they had to go mining for you anyway, and when those cave spiders attacked… when they…"
The villager's voice broke a little, and he slammed a fist against the bars of his cell.
"WE'RE the ones who didn't do anything, damn it! We're worth more than being slaves to you monsters!"
Monsters.
Monsters.
Monster.
"W-wait, please! Don't leave me here! I… I can still help you!"
"Forget it, brat! You've slowed us down too much already! You don't even have the guts to kill a few scavengers, but you think you can HELP us?"
She was sobbing. Why were they going to abandon her? She'd hesitated during the raid on the haven, and one of the wanderers had gotten away, but was that really too far for them?
"I'm strong enough, I promise! Take me with you! I don't want to die…!"
"We can't afford to look after a useless little girl who's too scared to fight. Get lost, and be thankful we're not just going to kill you ourselves! You're not worth the durability on our weapons."
She choked, struggling not to break down altogether. "What… what do I have to do to prove-"
"Shut UP!" the bandit leader roared. "You lost the chance to prove yourself two raids ago. Only monsters can make it out here, and all I see in you is prey, to be snatched up by undead or a lurker."
"I'm strong, I'm strong, I'm strong…"
"You're pathetic is what you are. You want to survive? BECOME a monster. But do it on your own, because I'm not wasting any more time dragging your hide around!"
They'd left her to die.
"The people at the top don't care about any lives other than their own…"
The thought had crossed her mind on several occasions already. This time, however, it felt different. Maybe it was due to all that had happened since Luxmouth, or maybe it was from listening to the bereaved villager, but a truly sickening feeling had seeped into her.
'Do you even care about the losses, or are you just upset because the deaths made you look bad?'
She hated the wastes. She hated the bandits. She hated the Inlands and the Genesis Cores, tantalizing prizes which the Far Landers died in droves to obtain.
'Perhaps I don't know much about you, Dame Tara of the Usurpation Army. But I know a thing or two about being a good leader.'
She hated the Usurpation. She hated the Commandants and the Marshals and the Overseers, who dispatched willing recruits to do their bidding without regard for whether they would be safe.
'And you, conditioning your troops to worship you despite such callous disregard for their lives, are anything but. I hope the aloof, unexpressive demeanor you've worked so hard to build makes you proud at least- you monster.'
Tears rolled down her face. Above all, she hated herself.
Because Celia Lumis was right about her.
Esme was hardly a stickler for aesthetics, but even she had to admit Incursia's design was physically uncomfortable to look at. What she'd seen of the city was anything but uniform, with clashing varieties of stone and wood blocks used together as if decided on a whim. One building might be made of cobblestone and sandstone, another might sport oak and spruce planks gathered by teams of scouts who were returning from beyond the badlands. The inconsistency no doubt stemmed from a universal attitude in the wastes, where if something was practical it didn't matter if it looked nice. Incursia was practical, and the mismatched blocks came together to make the many ramparts and walls around each sector of the fortress city stronger than they appeared. Yet in spite of that, the design ingenuity wasn't resonating with Esme as much as it should have.
Her thoughts turned to Felix Silverhand's journal, still tucked away in her inventory. She'd stolen a few looks at it whenever she had the chance on their way back with Red, and every time she found herself appreciating his eye for detail even more. His redstone knowledge, while modest, showed real potential based on the diagrams he'd drawn, and if given the chance she wanted to experiment with some of them. Where his style really flourished was in architecture, however: even the simplest sketches of buildings and public decorations like fountains or gardens were leagues more appealing than anything she'd seen the Usurpation put out.
"No… don't think that way… what would Fornax say if she knew?"
At least the Genesis Core Research Branch's headquarters were more consistent than the rest of the city, if no less ugly. Their recent excavations into the Nether must have yielded a surplus of materials, because the GCRB compound was best described as a shell of Nether bricks, lined on the inside with birch wood planks in narrow hallways between the many boxy rooms. Staging, the area she was waiting in, was one such room, and it didn't sport much more than a map of the Great Badlands on a table, and a few dim redstone lamps in the corners to provide some light. There wasn't even a window to the outside.
Behind her, the wooden door creaked open. She was a little surprised to see Ray stumble in, with a dazed sort of look on his face and a half-empty water bottle clutched in one hand. Neither of them were dressed in anything more than simple clothing and their Far Lands cloaks, but he looked particularly disheveled. "Good morning," he muttered. "Is this Staging?"
"A-are you okay?"
He rubbed his eyes. "I feel… well, I've been worse. What happened?"
"You just passed out after Tara… after we left Marshal Crux's post. I had to drag you the rest of the way, until I found help to bring you to one of the dormitories."
Ray cringed. "I guess my body couldn't make it the last stretch after all. I'm sorry for the trouble."
"Don't mention it… I'm surprised I even had it in me; I could barely stand by then."
"You're both full of surprises!"
They spun around to face the door, where Overseer Fornax stood with a grin. She too wore no armor, but unlike them she also lacked a cloak. Instead, she was wearing a deep green coat with a folded collar, and a tag reading 'GCRB – OVS FORNAX' attached to the front. It was so different to normal Usurpation garb that Esme's attention was completely thrown off, and she didn't actually realize Fornax had continued speaking until she loudly cleared her throat a second later.
"I was saying, it's so nice to have my lambs back. I volunteered you for Marshal Orion's joint expedition because I knew you wouldn't let me down." Her smile, wide though it was, suddenly appeared insincere. "And you didn't! Even if you returned with half of the agents I'd dispatched."
Esme didn't know what to say. Fornax, it seemed, didn't care. She glanced at Ray, and pursed her lips. "Something bothering you? You're staring into space."
She could see the conflict in Ray's eyes, though over what she couldn't quite determine. It looked like he was stewing over more than just the loss of Lime Squad.
"I… I have no excuse. It was my fault we had so many casualties."
"The important part is you succeeded. We now have both Bonemeal Cores at our disposal, and rationing is a thing of the past. In fact, I have a few golden carrots waiting for me in my quarters, and I've got you two to thank for it."
Had it always been this hard to tell what she was really thinking? Esme had joined Fornax- or rather, been taken in by her roaming band- three years ago, yet all of a sudden it was as if she didn't recognize her boss at all.
"Dame Esme briefly reported everything that happened in Tenebyss to me last night," Fornax continued, "but if you can add anything, I'd love to hear how well you did."
Ray looked at the floor. "There's not much more I can say. We were together almost the whole time."
"How nice of my flock to stay together. And under the scrutiny of Commandant Red, no less! What did he think of my plan to ally with the Ender Forge?"
In a flash, her piercing gaze was on Esme, who barely fought the urge to shrink back. "H-he… um, I'm not sure he was very enthusiastic about it, Overseer. And the Ender Forge made us go to quite a bit of trouble before we found them."
"The caves and the monsters, I know. But we are working together now, and that'll give us a step up on the rest of the Inlanders. In fact, more of their spies should be arriving later on today, and who knows what kind of intelligence they'll bring us?"
"We're glad we could do our part, Overseer," Ray said. "What happens now?"
"You've been through a lot recently, so I'd say you've earned some time in lower-stakes assignments. Dame Esme, you and Jade Squad will be working in the research and development facility on a new project Pyxis and I have underway. I'm sure your agents are looking forward to seeing you again. And Ray, I'll have you on security duty at the outskirts of Incursia for now."
Working with familiar faces, and getting the chance to be away from combat at last. That did sound nice to Esme, but she also noticed how uncertain Ray looked about his own assignment. Still, neither of them were going to voice a disagreement to Fornax.
"That'll start tomorrow! You've got the rest of the day off in the meantime, so use it wisely. Dismissed!"
Then, with barely another glance to either of them, she turned on her heel and walked out of the room.
"Well… it's good to see her again," Ray sighed. "I think I'll use my free time to go back to sleep."
"Okay. Just… take it easy. You've earned it."
He muttered a quiet 'thank you' before shuffling out as well. Esme was left alone again, wondering if it would be best for her to make like Ray and go back to bed. She'd only gotten a few hours of sleep after delivering her initial report to Fornax, and she was frankly still exhausted.
Yet there was another question on her mind, one that seemed to have come from nowhere- or had it been there for a long time now, and she'd just suppressed it like she had her growing respect for the late Felix Silverhand's work? She didn't know, and that only made her more uncomfortable.
"Have we really been doing the right thing?"
Reaching the edge of the Dark Acres was much faster when traveling by the treetops. It wasn't long after noon by the time the party built their way down to the plains below, and whatever monsters may have lurked in the forest's shadows below never caused them any trouble. Celia and Blake might have been more appreciative of the time saved, so they could reach the Scorched Sands faster, but personally Felix was just glad to not have to fight for a bit. It gave him more time to think. But he wasn't reflecting on their recent battles or the odd new friend they'd made, who was looking absolutely everywhere as they began to make their way across the grassland, taking in the new sights.
No, all Felix could think about were the Genesis Cores in their possession, and the mysterious assailants they'd acquired several of them from in the mansion. Everyone had shared their experiences while the group was split up during the raid, and the story of the odd, artificial humans from the top floor left the group with nothing but questions. Melissa and Celia in particular seemed troubled by the battle; the old disappearing man they'd encountered under Tenebyss sounded more than a little similar to the strange foes.
Felix, however, had a concern of his own from their story. He mulled over the information they'd gathered throughout the day's travel, and once the group had made camp as the sun began to set he spoke up. He'd taken a spare notebook and quill from the mansion, and written down a list of their Cores.
"I have a theory about the Genesis Cores," he began. "La- Celia, could you please lay them all out on the ground?"
The two of them had just finished building a wall around their campsite as usual. Celia gave him a smile, appreciating his effort to forego the formality, and did as requested. She rolled the Cores out in the grass, careful not to leave any two sitting too close together. Felix also used the stolen extractor to remove his and Celia's Cores for the moment, adding them to the collection.
In total, they had a staggering eleven Genesis Cores, visually impossible to distinguish aside from color. The trackers did a better job of identifying them, or at least the Illagers' tracker did- none of them were able to decipher the Usurpation's written language on theirs. Felix read down the list he'd written, taking stock.
"We've got six purple Cores: Diamond, Lightning, Ground, Grass, Fire, and an unidentified one from the mansion. We also have five yellow ones: the other Fire Core, Stone, and three which we haven't been able to identify."
"One of the yellow ones turned into a guy who could teleport," Blake said. "Some kind of Ender Pearl Core, maybe?"
Celia perked up where she sat, beside the campfire. "That's what I368 corresponds to in Bedrock Index, Ender Pearls! Since we obtained two with that tag according to the Illagers' tracker, we must have both Warp Cores."
Blake shrugged. "Sounds like a better name than what I had."
"Why would they name Genesis Cores after Ender Pearls?" asked Melissa. "They look similar, but they're not that alike otherwise."
"It's likely they were just assigning tags based on what the Cores do," Felix replied, pointing at one of the yellow ones. "If the Bedrock Index code for TNT applies to one of these, I'd assume it's actually a Genesis Core that causes explosions. And if the tags are more suggestions than literal identifiers, whatever the 'human' one really does might not be obvious if any of us tries to use it."
"Not sure I want to find out at all, personally," said Blake. "But where are you going with all this?"
Felix held up the Illagers' tracker. "The tags aren't just to determine the types, though. All of the yellow Cores are listed as 'N,' and the purple ones are 'H.' Genesis Cores let us exert control over nature, and there's only one meaning for those two letters which makes sense in that context."
Celia seemed to pick up on his meaning first. "Herobrine, and Notch… what could this mean? Did the Illagers know something we don't about the Genesis Cores?"
"They were using them to make… fake humans, or whatever they were, in those vats. What if Illagers created the Cores in the first place?" Blake asked.
Felix scratched his head. "It's possible. Did you say the things you fought were all identical?"
"We only saw three of them, but two looked the same," answered Melissa. "They both had blue clothes, and a middling complexion."
"Eyes as blue as lapis, too," Cupa added. "I got a good look when that first one was trying to strangle me."
Felix tensed up at the description. He hadn't been there to see the battle, but he could already picture the assailant in his mind. "Back in Tenebyss! The person who killed Varris, he looked exactly like that!"
"The same guy who you said killed you too?" asked Blake, looking very focused all of a sudden.
"Wait, he did what?"
Cupa's question wasn't answered before Celia spoke up again. "And that man we fought in the caves, with the lightning… he was much older than the foe you described, but he had blue eyes as well. Could he have been one of those things?"
A picture was beginning to come together in Felix's mind. "The Usurpation's leader said the man I saw was Herobrine… but then he called himself Steve instead."
"There are no records of what the Creators or the Legendary Heroes really looked like," said Celia. "But if the violet Genesis Cores formed people who resembled Herobrine, could the yellow one have made a facsimile of Notch by that logic?"
"I think one of the Ender Forge guys mentioned Illagers in the mines. Does that mean there could've been another branch of them under Tenebyss, making more of those things?" Blake asked. "That would explain the people you all ran into down there."
Felix was actually a little relieved. "Of course… that couldn't have really been Steve, it must've been one of their experiments. Still, if the Illagers are trying to make living weapons, it must mean the Genesis Cores have even more potential than we thought."
Cupa had pulled her hood down over her face. "I have. No idea. What anyone is saying!"
"You'll get used to it," Melissa said, patting her on the shoulder.
"I'm not sure I want to!" she groaned.
"Why don't we just call it a night?" Celia suggested. "Before our heads burst…"
In spite of their brainstorming, frustration at the lack of real answers was setting in. They could only speculate, and that was getting them nowhere, so her proposal was met with unanimous agreement. Felix carefully scooped the Genesis Cores back into the shulker box with a stone shovel he'd crafted before leaving Teras, not wanting to touch any of them and experience the still-unexplained visions they gave at the moment. He was glad to finally be rid of the Diamond Core, at least. Keeping it bound reminded him too much of what had happened when he found it.
But another thought forced itself into his head. The man who'd attacked him, whoever or whatever he was, looked just like the artificial humans in the mansion had. That must have meant he had a Genesis Core too, one which somehow allowed Felix to return after death with a touch. Whether such an effect was permanent, or only applied on that one occasion, he wasn't sure, but the existence of such a Genesis Core raised an enormous question in his mind.
How long could a person live if it was bound to them?
Note from the author:
I know I'm one chapter late on this, but welcome back! This is the second-to-last part of Book Two. I'm hoping I'll be able to finish writing up Parts Six and Seven by the end of the year.
Thanks for your patience; I hope the rest of Book Two will have been worth the wait!