September 2

Morix Law Offices

5:30 PM

Chrysalis Starr

"Pieter showed up the day Cotoli's mother died. Apparently, her intent had been to introduce us when we came to see her at the factory. I only heard about that after the fact from Pieter himself. He was a bit nervous around me at first, but when I introduced myself as Chrysalis, he relaxed and gladly explained who he was. Apparently, he had been given a picture of me and Cotoli with Ms. Morix from the last time we had seen her, but he wasn't sure if I was the one in the picture. It had been a while since I had seen her before that day at the factory, after all," I began to explain.

"We heard he looked after you when you were injured," Deirdre said with a frown.

"Yeah, he was. You see, I walked in after Cotoli's mother died. Occisor was still there and had to eliminate witnesses. They knocked me out, so I was on strict orders to rest in bed for a few days until I was feeling better. Pieter was insistent on staying with me until I was ready to be on my own again. He was instantly over protective." I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face. "He was the first one I told about my ideas for legal reform following the escape of Occisor. He was supportive the whole way... If he hadn't been there, we wouldn't be where we are today."

"You two were pretty close while he was still here. It was like you spoke in your own language," Yuri remarked.

"The trial today showed me why he was so protective. He had lost a younger sister before me, and he was scared of it happening again. I'm guessing Occisor's current interest in me isn't helping his worries. I bet he's freaked out, wherever he is now," I murmured with a shake of my head. "I had been hoping to here from Pieter himself why he left us behind all that time ago. The trial was certainly a shock to the system. He thought Occisor was after him again, so for the sake of us all, he disappeared."

"But you have tracked him. That means you can find him again. All it'll take is a trip to Germany and a bit of digging, right?" Lily asked optimistically.

"Maybe. I don't know specifically where he is. All I have is a general outline. I don't think that's going to help me much in finding him. I mean, I wish it was enough, but I doubt it will be... I get why he'd be so nervous, and now I understand his intentions in disappearing, but... I don't know. I just want him to come back. He probably thought he was sparing us grief, but in the end, all he did was cause it by ditching us," I muttered. "I can't help but be a bit mad at him for leaving. I thought we were enough to keep him close to here..."

"At the very least, we know he's alive. You would be able to channel him if he wasn't," Cotoli pointed out.

"That's true..." I said softly with a shake of my head. "You've always been the logical one. Sora's the optimist, you're the logical kid, and I'm the pessimist."

"We balance each other out well," Cotoli smiled, pulling me into a hug.

I leaned into his embrace. "Yeah... Pieter would have fit into the dynamic well if he had stuck around."

"Don't lose hope yet. You're going to find him one day. I'll make sure of it," Lily assured me.

"Thanks for that," I whispered, a smile appearing on my face. "Well... I guess that's about it. There isn't much for you to hear about Pieter at this point. I assume you've already heard the rest of the story."

"I suppose that's true," Yuri confirmed with a nod.

"We should probably head over to the hospital now. I've been keeping my cool up until this point, but I'm really worried about your head injury. Do you need anything to eat or drink before we go?" Cotoli asked, rising to his feet.

"Some water would be nice," I told him. I felt my stomach growl. Clearly the granola bar Neptune had given me hadn't been sufficient. "And I guess a few pieces of string cheese wouldn't hurt either."

Cotoli nodded and left the room to retrieve the water and cheese for me. I leaned back against the couch and shut my eyes, resisting the urge to fall asleep once again. I was relieved to be home. If I'm being honest, I didn't expect to escape that plane alive, but thanks to Neptune, I was back. Sure, I was exhausted, dizzy, and probably had a concussion, but I was home.

"Thanks for talking to us, Chrysalis," Deirdre said to break the silence. "I'm sorry we learned the truth before you were ready. I imagine that would be frustrating."

"In all honesty, I wasn't even planning on telling you guys. I thought it was too risky. I was going to wait a few years if I was even going to mention it. In case you haven't already noticed, those who get involved with me end up in trouble. It's a recipe for disaster. I didn't want to put you at risk. Of course, this case spat right in my face on that front." I shook my head and sighed. "If you've been loyal thus far though, I'm going to assume you're not going to go blabbing about me to anybody. Besides, I'm not somebody you want to mess with. I'm sure you've picked up on that by now, but it's good to keep it in mind."

"We'll be here for you if you ever want to talk in the future," Lily told me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

I was too tired to fight her, so I slumped against her. "Thanks," I murmured numbly. I could feel my sleepiness creeping up on me. It was trying to snatch me into the land of slumber. I wasn't going to object, but I at least wanted to get in the car first. I would probably have to answer questions once we got to the hospital about how I had gotten my head injury in the first place.

I was sure most of the city was aware of Occisor's bold moves. If I mentioned that I had been one of the hostages (which wasn't exactly a lie), they would probably leave it alone. The doctors would call it a subject of trauma and let me choose to ignore it. That was fine by me. While I wasn't quite ready to outwardly admit it, the experience had probably left some negative impact on my mental state. I hadn't been the most stable individual to begin with, and this kidnapping and hostage situation was only going to worsen that.

"I'm happy all of this is over," I heard Yuri say through my curtain of exhaustion. "I was terrified during that trial, if I'm being perfectly honest. I mean, what if Neptune messed up? People would have died. It's not the sort of pressure you want on your shoulders."

"We don't need to think about what could have happened though. Let's focus on what did happen. We were able to save the hostages from the clutches of Occisor. They're all happily at home now. We shouldn't have any issues with rebellious assassins in the foreseeable future. They're going to be in prison for a long time for what they've done. Ms. Murdayre mentioned quite a few of their crimes during the trial, but there are definitely more. I doubt they'll be getting out for a long time, if they even get out at all," Lily frowned.

"I have half a mind to intervene and give them the death sentence," I grumbled. "With my influence, I could do something like that. I've done it before with serial murderers and the like. They shouldn't be any difference."

"You've done that before?" Yuri asked in shock.

"I don't like to, but sometimes, the legal system is too easy on them. I'm not going to let people like that off with a slap on the wrist. People like to romanticize things. I try to stop that. I don't want them letting a murderer or criminal go free for looking good, being sexy, or having a future to look forward to. Judges need to be stricter on people in that way," I told them. "It's rare. You don't need to worry about me doing this when anybody inconveniences me even slightly. I'm not that type of girl."

"Remind me not to cross you," Lily sighed with a shake of her head. "I never thought I'd look at you and feel fear, but I guess today has changed that."

"You don't need to be scared of me. Really. So long as you aren't a serial killer or criminal convicted of a severe crime, you're fine. I don't care," I shrugged before pausing. "Okay, I care about you guys as people, but I don't care about what you do on a day-to-day basis... That came out wrong... God, you know what I mean."

The room was quiet for a moment after that, and I wondered if I had said something wrong. I had probably been speaking too bluntly about my powers. I didn't want to scare them off. People did things they didn't think through when they were scared. I hoped this didn't make them do something rash, like go off and tell somebody who I was. That wouldn't end well for any of us, least of all me.

"It's weird to think it's all really over," Yuri said instead to break the quiet. "I've been practically run by adrenaline for the past day, and now, I can finally take a deep breath. I swear, this has felt like the longest day of my life. I could really use a nice dinner out to enjoy this new sense of peace."

"Maybe we can do that after I get out of the hospital. I'm probably going to be there for at least a few hours while they look my head over. I wish I could snap and instantly heal whatever damage those guys did. They sure do know how to swing stuff hard," I muttered.

"You don't know what hit you?" Deirdre questioned.

"Nope. They got me from behind when I wasn't looking. I guess it was best for them that way since I wouldn't be able to fight back well if they were behind me. All I know is that whatever they hit me with knocked me out cold, and when I woke up, I was on that creepy plane... Who knew an abandoned airport could turn into the stuff of nightmares?" I sighed and opened my eyes, knowing I had a better chance of remaining conscious if I kept my eyes open. My chances probably weren't great, but it was something, right?

"It's like we're finally seeing quiet after a hurricane," Lily remarked with a small smile. "I mean, everything has been a whirlwind of assassins and spies since my first case here. It's been spaced out, sure, but it's still been a wild ride. Each of our cases involved either Occisor or Oracle, one feeding off corruption and the other trying to stop it. It's odd to think we won't have anything else like that in the future."

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm glad. I rather like being able to sleep at night, thank you very much," I told her. "It's hard to relax when you're concerned about people tracking you down with murderous intents, you know? I'm happy that I can finally relax... It took forever, but I think it was worth the wait. I'm feeling better already. Well, I think I'm feeling better. It's sort of hard to know if things are looking up when your vision is in a constant state of dizzying rotation."

"I worry about you, Chrysalis," Yuri said. "I hope Mr. Morix gets back soon so we can get your head looked at."

"The sooner we get that taken care of, the sooner we can celebrate an end to this mess," I pointed out. "My guess is that he couldn't help his worry and decided to throw something else together for me to eat on the way there. I haven't eaten anything but a granola bar since yesterday morning. I get why he would freak out."

"He's always been protective of you," Yuri commented.

"Yeah. He's so defensive that he makes Pieter look like a child in comparison, and that's saying quite a bit given how protective Pieter is. For crying out loud, the guy carries around a katana. That should tell you everything you need to do," I snorted.

"I forgot to ask this earlier, but what are you planning on doing now?" Deirdre suddenly asked.

"I don't really know. With Occisor gone, there isn't much I can do. I'm going to double my efforts on finding Pieter though. I know he's alive somewhere. If he wasn't, my channeling attempts would work. It's just a matter of tracking him down at this point," I answered. "I don't know how well it's going to work out, but I need to try. I can't just ditch him. That's not the kind of person I am. He did a lot for me while he was still here. I want to bring him back home to repay him."

"Pieter can't be channeled, huh?" Yuri murmured. "Didn't you say the same about Venus and Cassidy?"

"Yeah. Sora and I have been trying for ages. Nothing seems to reach them. I wish I knew why," I shrugged. "If I can get it to work, you'll be the first person I tell. I know you never got to say goodbye when they died..."

"Yeah... I wish I had an explanation as to why I can't see them," Yuri sighed. "I mean, you, Prosecutor Lin, and Lily are the best spirit mediums I know. Granted, you're the only ones I know, but that's beside the point. If you can't pull it off, I don't know anybody who can."

"Sorry if it's a bit of a letdown. I understand that would be pretty upsetting to hear," I frowned.

"It's okay. I'm sure I'll have my moment someday... Until then, I'll just have to take their place at your side," Yuri remarked.

This was enough to make me sit up. Unfortunately, I moved too quickly, sending a strike of red-hot pain rushing through my head. I winced at the ache. "What?" I asked, unable to force any other words out.

"If my sisters aren't able to help you out anymore, I'll have to do it," Yuri grinned. "It's a matter of succession, my dear Chrysalis. They can't help you, so I'll join in where they left off."

"I don't know if that's a good idea... It's dangerous. I don't want you getting in trouble the way they did," I told her with a deep frown.

"They seemed to believe in you, so I will too. I guess it's my duty to follow in their footsteps. They'd want me to help you out. Besides, I'm even more stubborn than you. There's no way you can make me back down from this. I'm going to do it whether you want me to or not," Yuri said firmly. "For the sake of my sisters, I'm going to help you."

Lily and Deirdre had been watching intently. I looked over at the two of them, praying they would offer me some way out of this. Lily shrugged with a glance of pity. Deirdre smiled loosely in my direction. I resisted the urge to let out a sarcastic remark about how helpful they were. Why weren't they siding with me? They knew how risky this was.

I sighed. "You already know the truth about me, so I can't stop you, but I want you to follow my instructions. You can't do anything dangerous without my instruction. It's important that you listen to me, okay?" I asked.

Yuri nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds good!" she chirped, clapping her hands together.

I don't know what possessed me to say what I did next, but regardless, the words still came tumbling out. "I don't know how you can be so casual with me," I admitted. "I thought you would hate me for being indirectly responsible for the deaths of your sisters. They died for getting tied up with me. Why would you want to associate with us?" There was a second unspoken question, wondering why she wanted to involve herself with me. Judging by the look in her eyes, she got the message even if I didn't say it.

Yuri shrugged before speaking again. "Well... I know you're not the one who asked for them to die. I don't really think you're responsible. I think it's because of Occisor that they died. You didn't send assassins to kill them. It wasn't your choice," she explained. "Plus, they seemed to believe in you. They wouldn't have gone so far if they didn't believe in your ideology for change. They would have left if they didn't have faith in you. I trust their judgement, and I trust you."

I didn't know how to stop the tears that sprung to my eyes after she finished speaking. I rubbed furiously at my face behind my glasses. "I... I don't know what to say..." I murmured.

"I get what you mean, Chrysalis. And you're welcome," Yuri smiled, reaching out to ruffle my hair. She was careful to avoid touching my head wound, which I was internally thankful for. I didn't need my head to pound more than it already was.

"I really am a mess. I swear, you get one case of blunt force trauma, and suddenly, everything goes downhill," I joked, making Yuri laugh.

"Who would have expected Oracle to be such a dork?" Yuri asked.

"For the record, I am not a dork. I am a nerd. Get your terminology right," I said firmly, making Yuri snort.

"With the serious conversation you were having a minute ago, I didn't expect you to snap so suddenly to joking around," Deirdre frowned.

"I guess you can call it a coping mechanism. I don't know," I shrugged. "I guess it just feels nice to relax after what's been going on in the past day. For the first time, I can take a deep breath. It's a huge relief, let me tell you."

"I'm glad you're feeling better than you were before," Lily smiled. "All we need now is for Mr. Morix to come back and take you to get your head looked at."

"I hope it doesn't take long. I know Anton will make a fuss," I sighed.

"Do you think he's going to want to see you?" Yuri questioned.

"Of course, he will. He worries about me a lot. It's his habit, I guess. We have a mutual relationship of worrying about each other," I answered. "I would be surprised if he didn't know about this yet. Polly will probably have told him why I haven't been around. He's probably running around in a panic like headless chicken by now, and if he isn't, he will be when he hears."

"Anton and Chrysalis sitting in a tree," Lily sang, nudging me with her elbow.

My face flushed red. "That's enough of that," I said suddenly. "I don't want to be having this conversation right now."

"Just tell the truth. You've been doing a lot of dumping of secrets today, so why not keep going?" Lily asked with a wide grin.

"No," I answered bluntly. "Even if I was drunk on all the alcohol in the world, I would not be drunk enough to have this conversation with you."

"Please don't drink anything."

We were cut off when Cotoli came walking back in the room. He had a sandwich on a paper plate, which he extended towards me. "Thanks," I told him, taking the plate with a loose smile. The heat in my face was starting to recede, which I was eternally grateful for.

"Let's get going. You can eat it in the car," Cotoli said. He helped me rise to my feet. "I don't think my car has enough room for all three of you, but you can drive over if you want. If you have other things to take care of, consider yourself dismissed for the day."

"Thanks for everything, Mr. Morix. You too, Chrysalis," Deirdre smiled.

"No problem," I answered coolly. "I'll see you later."

The three disappeared from view when Cotoli and I entered the elevator. I took a bite out of the sandwich, was apparently a grilled cheese, as I looked up at him. "I... I feel better now that I've told them," I admitted.

"I'm glad to hear it," Cotoli grinned. He pulled me in close and stroked my hair, avoiding my wound. "I hated seeing you so tense when they were present. I know it's hard to tell the truth sometimes, but it can be a good thing at the same time."

"That's true," I nodded. "I don't know how things are going to turn out, but for now, I think I'm okay where I am. It's not optimal, to have been forced to spill my secrets, but it's alright. It's something I never thought I'd say, but life can surprise you."

"Do you think you'll drag them into things in the future?" Cotoli asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. We'll have to see. Maybe I'll need them, maybe I won't. They're trustworthy, I see that much now, but it depends on the needs of the project. With Occisor gone, my workload is significantly lessened."

"But you still have one task on your plate, right?" Cotoli questioned.

My shoulders sagged as I took another bite of the grilled cheese. "Yeah... I need to find Pieter. I refuse to let him disappear without a fight. He'll come back to us one day. I know it. Even if he doesn't want to come back, I'll make him," I said firmly.

Cotoli handed me a water bottle, which I gladly drank from as he spoke. "It's not going to be easy, but if anyone can track him down, it's you. I'll help you if you want any assistance."

"Thanks," I smiled. "It means a lot that you've stuck by my side. You didn't have to stay with me for this long, and yet, you still did. Thanks, Cotoli."

"I'm just doing what any good brother would," he assured me. He pressed a kiss to my forehead as the elevator doors opened on the bottom floor.

We walked out to the lobby quietly. I glanced around, remembering the first time I had met Lily and Deirdre in this very lobby. Okay, technically it wasn't the first time I had met Lily, but it was the first time we were all together. Back then, I never would have anticipated things would turn out this way, but some part of me was relieved. The weight on my shoulders felt like it had been greatly lessened just by talking to Deirdre, Lily, and Yuri about all that had happened.

Cotoli helped me ease into the passenger side of the car. Once I was secured, he went to his seat and started up the car. The soft humming of the engine had a strange calming effect on me, and I couldn't tell if it was because I was probably concussed or not.

We began driving in silence. I glanced out the window and watched the scenery fly by. My thoughts began to drift, returning to everything that had happened. I didn't even bother trying to stop my brain. I figured it was a hopeless effort, so I might as well be tied up in my own peculiar nostalgia.

I hadn't been sure about adding new lawyers to the agency. I was afraid they would stick their noses where they didn't belong and learn the truth about me. It was hard to learn to trust people when it seemed like everybody and their mother wanted you dead. I thought these people would be similar in the way I couldn't get too close, but in the end, it had worked out well. I was happy Deirdre and Lily were around. They were doing a good job in starting to ease the heavy load Cotoli and I had on our shoulders as the leaders of a revolution.

Now, I knew they weren't going to leave us and turn away. It had taken a while for me to learn that, but I was happy I had. I wish the lesson hadn't come about through such dire circumstances, but there wasn't anything that could be done about it. I would just have to go where life took me.

With Occisor in prison, things were only going to get easier. The constant threat that came with their presence breathing down my neck was gone. I had more freedom. Granted, there were still people who weren't fond of me, and I could see why given how the media painted my sense of justice, but Occisor being taken out of the picture was a large step. It was the start in the right direction, which was enough for now.

I couldn't say how long it would be until we truly had peace where the legal system was concerned. We had caught a group of criminals that had been on the run for years, but there were still many victories to be taken. My job as Oracle wasn't yet finished. I had a lot to do, but I was determined I could do it. No other criminals would evade prison for as long as Occisor had as long as I had something to say about it. It hard been a mistake to let them get away two years ago to begin with, but it wasn't as great of a concern now.

I didn't know where things would be going from here. I was too focused on our victory over Occisor, the first significant triumph in months. It had been a train of disasters since the deaths of Venus and Cassidy. I had been sure things would only continue to get worse, but the universe had other plans in mind. I suppose that's another example of how life can surprise you.

Neptune had been feeding me that ideology ever since we began hanging out. I didn't know how she could be so relaxed talking about change, but she had always been a unique being. Before all of this, I had been concerned with how she had learned the truth, but I was going to let it go for a while. She had saved my life, and I owed it to her to leave her with her secrets for a little bit. I could investigate things deeper later.

I watched a few trees stretch out on the other side of the window. The task ahead was daunting, but I was going to stand up to it. With Ghastly, Polly, Cotoli, and Sora beside me, we were going to stand up against corruption. Lily and Deirdre were party of our group now too, which would only make things easier. Our company had grown, and I was glad for it, even if I had been terrified of this change two years ago.

More hands helping out would bring us closer to our end goal. We would be nearer than ever to achieving full salvation following years of corruption and falsities. I never would have expected this to happen, but it was alright. Neptune was right. Life had ways of surprising you. I had been panicking about people selling me out, and while that was still a concern, there were allies out there as well. It would be hard to find them, but it was still possible, and I was going to seek them out and recruit them to our cause in the future. I could start on it as soon as I got out of the hospital, whenever that was. I couldn't say when yet, but it was going to be the start of a new age.

In a way, what they had said before was right. We were going to reach a point of peace after this chaos plaguing us for so many years. It was a battle that had begun before I was even born, but we were going to finish it. The chaos was going to end one day, and it was going to be at our hands. We were determined to show the darkness who was boss, and soon enough, we would. It was just a matter of time.

The world is what you make it, so it was our job to go out there and make it ours no matter how daunting the task may have seemed.

I couldn't help but smile at the thought. As dark as our situation had been, we had broken through it, and we were going to make a hopeful future out of it. It was an uphill battle, but we could do it. After all, we had overcome impossible odds countless times already thanks to the influence of Deirdre and Lily.

Between the two of them and the other members of the project, it was closer than ever. With just a little pushing, we were going to reach our goal at long last. I was incredibly thankful for their influence in reaching the end of this mess. Without them, we wouldn't have caught Occisor, and now, with them, we were going to find peace and dispel darkness after years of bitter combat. We were going to reach what we had sought for so long.

After years of pursuit, we were finally going to see the quiet after the hurricane.

THE UNDERCOVER TURNABOUT

END

There's the last chapter of the main plot. Nice.

I'll be showing the epilogue, author's note, and character descriptions next week. I'll be showing off a surprise next week too. I hope you're looking forward to the final chapter of this book next week!

-Digital