CHAPTER XLVII

Ice Castle

Ivory slowly opened her eyes as the world came back into focus. She was in a daze, but she could clearly make out the soft bed she was lying in.

Where am I? she thought, looking around.

There was humming coming from somewhere. And then, the door opened. She looked over at Klein, who was in as much shock as she was.

"I-Ivory?" he said, rubbing his eyes, which changed color. "Is that really you?"

"Klein?" she said, blinking before taking quick glances around her. She was in her bedroom, back at the Schnee Manor. How in the world am I here?

"I, uh, when did you return? I don't recall you arriving, unless I missed you when you—"

"I snuck in late last night," she said. That wasn't a complete lie. There were simply some facts missing, such as Lilly and Lilith's magical power, which was the likeliest culprit in having zapped her across Mantle and Atlas through the Labyrinth all the way back to her room.

"Wait, how were you able to get past all the patrols?" Klein said. "The curfews are strictly enforced."

"Like I said, I snuck in."

He chuckled. "Well, I suppose I do deserve that sarcasm for underestimating your abilities." His eyes returned to their light brown color. "Shall we keep your presence a secret for a while longer?"

"Yes, please. I'm...not sure yet who I can trust."

"I hope I am on that list of those you can."

"You are."

He smiled. "We've all missed you, you know."

She watched as he shut the door behind him. She got out of bed, looking at herself in the mirror. She was in her old Atlas uniform, completely different from the grimy garb she and her elder cousin had pilfered and used as disguises. She was lucid enough by now to know that she hadn't changed clothes. The last thing in her memory was watching as Lilly and Lilith began to resonate, during which a bright, white glow overtook her entire world. And now, here she was, in her bedroom and in completely different clothing, and as clean as if she had just taken a shower.

This wasn't the first time Lilly's magic had affected her physical, real-world appearance. Back when she had encountered Lilith for the first time ever, when that Wraith had nearly beaten her to death, Lilly had also used her magic to heal her wounds, which also returned her blonde-dyed hair to its natural snow-white color.

She ruminated on the incredibly random effects of Lilly's magic, especially when she was backed into a corner or otherwise found herself desperate in some way. If it wasn't flinging herself and her party across the planet to another continent, it was altering their clothing and hygiene and reverting hair color back to normal. She wondered what else she could be capable of if she found herself with full control over her magic.

Ivory looked around for her weapon. Elfenbein was in its aluminum case, sitting in a Dust cabinet along with a number of other accessories. Even this must have been a result of Lilly's magic.

She reached into the cabinet, retrieving her weapon and a number of Dust cartridges for the revolving cylinder and donning all of the equipment. Given the state of her country, she couldn't be too careful even in her own home.

Her first order of business was to ascertain her family's condition. She pulled out her scroll. Her device was connected to the mansion's private network, but something wasn't quite right. There were some new icons she didn't recognize. She tried to navigate to a web page, but her scroll wasn't being authenticated by the network. It was too late before she realized she was probably being tracked, though she turned off her scroll nonetheless.

I should've thought about the fact that I'm in a police state.

She headed out of her room, looking left and right before stepping out into the hallway. She walked as confidently as always. It wasn't difficult to look like she belonged here; she did, after all. Still, she couldn't erase the fact that she had been away for a year and her presence caught the attention of more than one maid and manservant. She walked straight into her Uncle Whitley's private study and he jumped at her sudden entry.

"I-Ivory?" he said, unable to believe his own eyes.

"Hello, Uncle Whitley," she said, marching to his desk.

"What are you doing here? I mean, when did you get back? No one told me you—"

"No time to explain. Long story short, Lilly's magic sent me to my bedroom."

"Huh?"

"Uncle Whitley, I need you to fill me in on what the hell is going on in our country. Why does it seem like the SS have taken complete control over the entire Atlas military?"

"SS? Oh, you mean the Schwarze Sonne." He paused in thought. "Right. You've been away for the past year."

"Yes. I would like to get updated as quickly as possible."

He looked past her at the door.

"No need to worry about any spying," she said before holding out a hand to show him a control glyph. Other glyphs appeared throughout the room, one freezing the door lock, others scattered throughout the room. "I've projected glyphs all around the likeliest places for there to be bugs. I use this glyph to control them all."

Whitley leaned back in his armchair. "I rarely get to see this side of you," he began, "so I often forget that you're trained specifically for this type of warfare. Still, to be able to use our family's Semblance the way you do, it's unheard of."

"Uncle Whitley."

"Yes, sorry, enough with the niceties." He leaned forward against his desk. "You remember the curfews enacted just before you left the country, don't you?"

"I do."

"It wasn't long after that. Both the National Assembly and the National Council passed the Enabling Act, moving all legislative power to the military, which operates under General Holland's command. But two guesses as to who's the real power behind the throne."

"Colonel Franz Gottfried."

"Yes. As you've probably already put together, the entire country is now run by the Atlas Military, which is led by the Schwarze Sonne. It's no longer a specialist corps."

"It's the whole government."

He nodded.

"And the red armband is your public display of allegiance to the Party."

He reached into his desk and pulled out his own armband, a piece of cloth blood red in color with a white circle. Within that circle was a black sun with twelve rays.

"It's real eye-catching, isn't it?" he said.

"This wasn't the Schwarze Sonne emblem before," Ivory said.

"Yeah. It used to be gold on a white banner. I guess they made a stylistic change to match the state of the entire country."

"And what, no one spoke out about what was going on?"

"Of course they did. But those people were silenced very quickly. They were a convenient source of labor for our Dust mines."

She stared her uncle in the eye.

"I have no power in the Schnee Dust Company anymore, Ivory. I'm nothing more than a figurehead. The military controls everything."

"And you turn a blind eye."

"You'll understand one day. If ever you find yourself with your own family to protect."

A lump formed in her throat.

"They're safe, if that's what you were going to ask."

The communicator on his desk beeped.

"Yes, Mildred?" he said.

"I simply wanted to inform you that the children are home, young master," her voice sounded.

"Wonderful. I'll be down to meet them." He hung up. "Will you come join us? Or are you in hiding? I'm assuming the latter since you didn't even show up on our security cameras on your way into the manor."

"Hiding around will probably make all of you a target," she said. "I'll go downstairs with you. Do you regularly get SS visitors?"

"We're the Schnee Family. Of course we get visits from them on a daily basis."

She watched as he put on the red armband.

"Is that really necessary?" Ivory said.

"In this climate? Absolutely."

She deactivated all of her glyphs, giving him the signal to speak normally.

"Ivory? Is that you?" he said as the introduction to their charade.

"It is," Ivory replied. "I'm sorry I came by so unannounced. Given the circumstances, I'm afraid there wasn't really any other option."

"Well, how about some of that coffee you enjoy so often?"

"Perhaps later. I'm a bit tired and would like to rest."

"It's good to see you back home. Your cousins have just returned from a field trip. Would you like to greet them with me?"

"I suppose that would be all right before I rest. I haven't seen them in about a year now."

They continued their small talk on the way down to the foyer, where Finn, Bianca, and Gwen were just arriving with Mildred, one of their maids, and Edward, their driver. Another familiar face entered behind the group, shutting the door behind the snowstorm.

"Thank goodness for such a warm household," he said before freezing as he spotted Ivory with Whitley. "C-Captain?"

"Good evening, Yorath," she said, withholding her own surprise, particularly at his black uniform, tall cap, and red armband. "I see you've been promoted."

"Oh," he chuckled as he removed his cap. "It's nothing, really."

"I don't recognize the rank insignia."

He glanced at his own collar. "Right, of course. It's been a year since you've been home. My rank is Hauptsturmführer, the equivalent of Captain in the regular army."

"So, you're captain now."

He smiled. "You jest. You're still my captain, ma'am."

"I don't hold a rank, and from the looks of it, my old team was dissolved after you graduated and I abdicated my command. I am no more than Ivory Schnee now."

"Ivory!" Finn and Bianca yelled at the same time as they ran to their elder cousin, giving her a hug as she knelt to the ground to receive them.

"Finn, Bianca," she greeted them. "I trust you've been doing well."

"We have!" Finn said, holding out two hands and projecting a pair of glyphs. "Bianca and I have been training, too!"

"Yup!" Bianca said, projecting her own glyphs.

"Good," Ivory said. "They're quite solid and stable. You'll have to show me what you can do with them later on." She noted their outfits. "What's with the uniforms?"

"Ah," Yorath said, stepping toward them. "Finn and Bianca are both proud initiates of our very own Atlas Jugend."

She looked at him without a word before turning to the kids, who were reaching into their pockets to don armbands of their own. Theirs were modified with a white bar running through the center of the band.

"Will you join Jugend, too, Ivory?" Gwen said, approaching the group.

Ivory turned to the youngest, who was in normal clothing. "No, I think I'm too old to join," she said.

"On the contrary," Yorath said, "you're just about to turn eighteen in a few weeks, aren't you?"

"Jugend members are aged all the way up to nineteen!" Finn said with enthusiasm that sent shivers up and down Ivory's spine.

"We'll see what happens," the eldest said before turning back to Yorath, who was greeting her Uncle Whitley.

"Für immer Atlas," Yorath said, holding up a hand.

"Atlas für immer," Whitley replied flatly. "Yorath Schtolteheim, thank you for looking after my children."

"They are the future of Atlas, after all."

"As are you, young man. You're doing Atlas proud."

"You have kind words, Mister Schnee. Thank you." He turned to Ivory. "I didn't know you were back in the country."

"Your intelligence networks are probably not as competent as you'd like them to be," she said.

He looked down at the ground. "Ivory, it's clear to me you're not happy with how things have changed in our country—"

"I don't care so much about the country as I do about my family. Uncle Whitley said they just came from a field trip. Was it to an indoctrination camp?"

"Children!" Klein said as he and Mildred gathered up the youngsters. "It's time for your music lessons for the day!"

"Thank you, Klein, Mildred," Whitley said.

"Für immer Atlas," Yorath said to the group.

"Atlas für immer!" Finn and Bianca replied energetically while Mildred and Klein were more subdued in their response.

"Okay," Whitley said before turning back to Ivory and Yorath. "Why don't we take this conversation elsewh—"

"It was, wasn't it?" Ivory continued.

Yorath turned to her, his demeanor colder than before. "Listen, Ivory, I'll tolerate your behavior because you were once my team leader and someone I looked up to. But things are different around here now. You don't hold a rank in the Schwarze Sonne and if you talk that way to other officers, you might just end up in one of the Dust mines."

She held her tongue. She couldn't afford to lose her cool now, not when she wasn't even sure where she was situated, although things were pretty clear to her even with as little as she had been told.

"Captain, hmm?" she said.

"I'm sorry?" Yorath said.

"You've risen to O-3 in just a year. That's talent."

He warmed up somewhat. "I'm afraid it has more to do with my family's connections than my own innate talent."

"You're too modest, Yorath."

"Too honest as well, I'm afraid."

"Coffee, anyone?" Whitley offered.

Ivory's conversation with her uncle and Yorath told her everything she needed to know about the state of her country. Martial law was the order of the day. All aspects of life were now fully controlled by the Atlas Military, which was split into two major branches, the regular army and the Schwarze Sonne, which served as specialists, intelligence, and secret police. The Atlas Jugend was their youth outreach program, drafting young boys and girls as initiates, to be separated into standard military or Schwarze Sonne later in age depending on aptitude.

But unlike the widespread dissent Ivory expected from her conversation with her uncle earlier, this new order was, in fact, largely favored by the population. Jingoism ran rampant throughout the country. Even the most common of civilians could be counted on to report their neighbors to the Schwarze Sonne for even the tiniest of perceived infractions.

Her earlier disdain for her Uncle Whitley sloughed away. She had to trust that he didn't wear that godforsaken armband because he believed in all of the bullshit, that he donned a façade to keep his children safe. Still, she found it difficult to trust in anyone right now, especially after seeing two of her younger cousins enthusiastically wearing their Atlas Jugend armbands.

Even now, Ivory continued to watch silently as Yorath and Whitley interacted. Everything about her old teammate pointed to him being a complete believer in the new order, while her uncle was much less readable.

"What about the rest of our team?" Ivory said, interrupting their conversation.

Yorath looked at the ground for a moment before turning back to his old team captain. "Viktor and Renata are both enemies of the state," he said flatly, though she could sense some strain behind his voice.

She stared blankly at a wall. It was no surprise that Renata would outright reject the new order. Renata was one to march at the beat of her own drum, if not for the partnership and respect she had for the younger Ivory. Viktor's rebellion, however, was a pleasant surprise, though bittersweet. She was happy that two of her teammates rejected this new Atlas, but at the same time she lamented the fact that they were now considered traitors, even though they were once fiercely loyal.

Although, perhaps it wasn't so much Atlas they had been loyal to, but a certain team captain who had saved their lives more than once in their early years as Atlas Academy students.

"Listen, Ivory," Yorath began with a sigh. "I hate to have to do this to you."

"I already expected you to assign someone to escort me everywhere I go," she said.

He stared at her for a moment. "I'm not sure why I forgot this about you. You always were the best among us. Not just our team, but the entire school. You were the quickest to assess a situation and come up with more ways to deal with those situations than even some senior officers in the military. Honestly, had you stayed the past year, I have no doubt you'd already be OIC of your own battalion. Obersturmbannführer Ivory Schnee of Blizzard Battalion, I'd imagine."

"You flatter me, Yorath."

"It's not mere flattery. Like I said, your aptitude for asymmetric warfare is unchallenged. Given the fact that you would have access to the full might of the Atlas Military, there is no doubt you'd be the perfect counterinsurgent agent that our country has to offer."

He was right, of course. Those words were not flattery, but fact. Ivory had been able to anticipate all of Colonel Gottfried's moves during the Mistral campaign because she, too, had been training for such warfare. She wondered if there was a parallel reality in which another version of her donned that same black uniform and red armband. That very well could have been this exact reality she now inhabited, had it not been for Lilly's influence.

"So," Yorath continued, "how was it out there?"

"If you're hoping for some kind of intelligence on Atlas's enemies," Ivory began, "I'm afraid I have nothing to offer."

"That's...not what I was trying to do."

"I apologize. I wasn't attempting to be sarcastic. But as I said, I don't really have anything to offer. I've spent the last year in another world."

His eyes seemed to come alive. "The Labyrinth?"

She managed not to show any self-disappointment at her carelessness. It was too late to take back what she had said, but perhaps she could profit from her mistake. She examined him for a moment, deciding to risk it. There was plenty of intel she stood to gain from this exchange. The only choice this moment was to commit.

"What do you know about that world?" she asked him.

"Well, our knowledge of it is quite limited," he began, "but we have managed to send men through gateways and bring them back unharmed."

"I see."

"What about you?"

She needed to be careful about what she would say next. The key was revealing enough without jeopardizing everything.

"Lilly and I have been going around rescuing lost souls from the Labyrinth," she said with the usual confidence and straightforwardness, but if anyone could see through her mask, it would be one of her three teammates.

"Rescuing? Lost souls?"

"Yes. You must have become privy to all of the mental health issues worldwide at some point, haven't you?"

"Well, yes, but you say that you and your cousin have been entering that world to rescue those people?"

She nodded.

"I wonder if it's the same principle."

"What's the same principle?"

"Oh, sorry, I was thinking aloud. Our Daedalus Project has advanced to the point that we hardly have to do anything like saving individuals from the Labyrinth. We've engineered a way to heal them en masse and even prevent those pitfalls from forming at all."

Ivory fought to contain her astonishment. All this time, she and the others had been going through that other world, fighting tooth and nail and putting their lives on the line in order to pull tiny groups of people from their personal hells, but Atlas has been able to outright prevent Fourth Layer Labyrinth formation?

"I shouldn't really be saying this to someone who holds no rank in the Schwarze Sonne," Yorath began, "but only a fool would doubt your loyalty to this country. We've controlled it, Ivory."

"Controlled it?" she said.

He nodded. "We've tamed the Labyrinth. It can no longer be a threat to us."

Her eyes opened wide, but not for the reason Yorath assumed. Her concern was the fact that Atlas was so far along in their Thaumatological progress, surpassing the Labyrinth Task Forces of Mistral, Vacuo, and Vale combined. They were barely able to utilize Lilly's ability to summon runes and etch them into gemstones to be used by their teams. Atlas, on the other hand, held command over that other world entirely.

It was clear to her that those attacks on both Mistral and Menagerie were entirely possible. If they were able to control the state of reality on the other side, it would be a trivial matter to march an entire army through the Labyrinth to another part of the world.

"It's not perfect, of course," Yorath said.

"Huh?"

"Our control over the Labyrinth, I mean. There are still a lot of things about that world of magic that are outside of the ability of mere humans to control, but we've managed to work around that unpredictability, using the more constant factors to our advantage. But I've already said too much."

She turned to Whitley, who had been watching silently.

"You must be wondering why I speak of this so freely around your uncle," Yorath said.

"It's obvious he wasn't hearing anything new," she said.

"It actually scares me how sharp you are," Whitley said. "Yorath was right. You'd make the perfect Schwarze Sonne officer."

There was a tinge of antipathy to his words. Was this a clandestine attempt to let her know he was on her side? She couldn't be too careful. It was entirely possible that the SS soldier Yorath would leave with her was nothing more than a decoy to bring her guard down around the true spy.

"Ivory," Yorath said, facing her. "It was good seeing you again. I hope you do come around. The country has become a bit harsher toward dissent, but I think you of all people have the ability to see the merit in what we've done. It is imperative that we present a united front toward those who would seek to bring us down."

"Uncle Whitley did mention that you and my cousins are the future of Atlas," Ivory said. "If he has confidence in you, then who am I to question?"

He smiled. "I don't mind your skepticism at all. That trait of yours was just one of the many things about you that made you the best possible captain of the best possible team Atlas Academy had ever seen. You never jump to conclusions, moving forward only with the most meticulously considered course of action. It is for that reason I believe you will come around as well. After all, it is not just myself or Finn or Bianca who are the future of Atlas." He donned his cap. "You are also the future of this country. Für immer Atlas!"

"Atlas für immer," Whitley responded with monotone.

"Atlas für immer," Ivory joined in, fighting the deep pit that rapidly formed in her stomach.

Yorath smiled before leaving. Ivory stared at the closed door for a while, saying nothing, thinking nothing. That was wrong. She was thinking about plenty of things, but there was so much to process that she was in a state of near-collapse. She needed to be strong, though. Her younger cousins needed protecting.

"Are you okay?" Whitley said to her.

She turned to him. His expression was still unreadable. She may have taken him by surprise in a number of ways, but she couldn't deny that she, too, was dumbfounded by her uncle's inscrutability.

"I only have one question," she said.

"What's that?"

"Tell me you aren't encouraging your children's behavior."

He didn't answer for a few moments. "I do what I need to do in order to keep them safe," he said with perfect poker face.