I woke up next to a red ceiling…i was on the floor of language. I looked to my right with gebura once again holding me tightly…like she did all those years ago when we were kids. Once again was late for the reception.
"Slept with gebura again?" angela asked.
"Yep." i replied.
"Who'd have thought the red mist would be a hugger in her sleep." roland said with snark.
"Don't let her know you said that roland. You could be in half." angelica said. Angela rolled her eyes but grinned. She's clearly finding this amusing. She just won't admit it. So the next reception began. The screen showed an all too familiar index boy. He's in a room with a massive machine and an index woman named moirai. Who revealed an ugly truth to yan. That the prescripts he's been delivering have been the will of the city. All the people who's prescripts lead to their deaths because the city willed it to be. This horrible truth lead yan to having a mental breakdown. All the pain he caused by delivering those prescripts. It was the will of the city. Rationalizing everything as him being another puppet of the city. He discarded his humanity and distorted Into a white abomination whose limbs were attached by steel chains. And the next goal that the prescripts dictate. Going to the library.
"Color me speechless…so that's what the prescripts really are." roland said.
"You know…i actually got one of those prescripts once. It told me I would die seeking redemption. But I threw it to the ground and ignored it. Now knowing what i do now. Most likely the city wanted me to stop. Cause the path i would take would halt the entire machine that ran the city…the city is afraid of me…and i say good." i said with a grin. Me and angela greeted the distortion that was once yan. After the usual greeting and the creature being killed by my floor. We were experts at slaying distortions so of course we'd be the ones to take this dance. As angela chatted with roland and angelica i revived yan in his pre distortion state.
"Why did you revive me…a pawn of the city?" yan asked.
"Because you don't have to be. I would know the city has been against me for as long as i can remember. But I'm still alive. Because the city believes it can't be defied. That the corps can't be beaten. I've proven them wrong. Several times. The city and it's prescripts can be defied. The city dictated that if i didn't cease my quest for redemption. I would die. Well i'm still here aren't i?" I asked.
"...quite. I want to see that…with my own eyes. I'll fight alongside you for now." yan said. And with that yan is now another recruit for the library.
We needed a plan to lure in nikushimi. None of the books would be the bait we needed. However angela came up with a crazy idea. That the black overlord was me and so would have the same interests. The same admiration for the red mist. Of course booking gebura was out of the question. Her idea was to recreate kali and lure her in via a book of lobotomy corp…this was the one time I didn't greet the guest with angela. I didn't want her to see me. So i stayed on my floor and watched the interaction on the monitor. Before the reception began angela asked kali about the lab in exchange for info on how to extract cogito without putting me…or rather the me of the past in harm's way. Hearing kali talk about the lab like it was today…it brought good and painful memories. But what angela asked next surprised me.
"Tell me kali…when you think of jon? Do you feel as though you've forgotten something important?" angela asked.
"How did you?" kali asked in anger. Before taking a breath. "Yeah…and it's been bugging me like hell. I figured that he was someone i met walking through the streets. But then my heart begins to hurt. Like it's saying "no idiot! It was something much more important" but what is that something more important? Where did I meet him? Why do i feel such emotions towards him? Where have I met him? Why do i feel like…he's someone very important to me? And most of all…why am i venting all this to you?" kali asked.
"Because i'm the only one who knows about these thoughts." angela said looking right at the camera where i was watching from with a smile. And so kali stepped through the door and faced gebura…the red mist fighting herself. Knowing her. She probably wanted to test her strength to see if she still lives up to her peak. Or she didn't want binah to fight, reigniting my trauma of that day. Kali brought down most of gebura's assistants minus mattias and things got really ugly when kali activated her e.g.o…heh that brings back memories. Despite that mattias and gebura managed to prevail. Albeit being at death's door. After the battle. I went to talk with gebura.
"Hey…sorry that I refused to fight this time." i said.
"It's alright...this wasn't like our sparring matches. This was a fight to the death. And i know the scar that kali's death hasn't full healed yet. Plus i wanted see how i stack up to my prime…not very well. Only reason i won that was due to having an armageddon knight death squad leader as an assistant. Mattias is one tough son of a bitch." gebura said with a laugh.
"Yeah…it's funny huh. Our head's couldn't remember. But our hearts remembered. That we knew each other when we were kids." i said. Both me and gebura chuckled.
"Yeah…and it took me losing it and going on a rampage and you beating the crap out of me for both of us to remember." gebura said. Putting out her smoke. And then straddling on my lap and putting her hand on my cheek. "Jon…thank you…for holding me when i was crying and scared as a kid…for having my back when those i protected me…and thank you for never forgetting me." gebura said her face red. I embraced her in a hug.
"Losing you…it hurt. But seeing you again…made all the suffering i've endured at lobotomy corp worth it…and i promise. We'll finish carmen's project. Then we'll leave together and live." i said. Gebura blushed and smiled.
"Yeah…and i know what i want to do with my life…to stand by your side and protect you." gebura said.
"And i'll protect you two." i said as i connected my lips with hers. I felt her tongue get in my mouth and mine in hers. We pulled away for air. Gebura stood up and went to the door and locked it. As she walked towards me, she stripped her clothes off…i gulped.
3rd person pov.
Floor of general works.
Desmond and maya we're having a mom and dad talk with roland and angelica. Only to be interrupted by the sounds of louds screams of pleasure and the library shaking from the floor of language.
"Our boy becomes a man…" maya said proudly.
"Damn…sounds like mine and Roland's first night." angelica said.
"So. who was the dominate one?" desmond asked.
"Me." angelica said with a cat grin as roland buried his face into his hands with his face red.
Floor of history.
Alex was playing chess with malkuth only for the whole library to shake and cause their game to fall apart.
"Dammit…why now did they have to start knocking boots now!" malkuth yelled annoyed.
Floor of technological science.
Yesod was trying to do paperwork only for the stacks to fall over due to the shaking. Causing his eye to twitch.
"I'll pick these up." uriel said.
"Thank you uriel." yesod said. Honestly she's been a blessing to him.
Floor of literature.
Zack and hod we're really close from kissing. Only for the shaking of the library to pull them out of their trance and causing both to pull away from each other with their faces red.
Floor of art.
"Bet 500 dollars that gebura is limping the next day." varissa said.
"You're on." olga said.
"Give me 500 on gebura." netzach said. This was a sure win. Netzach knew how vicious gebura is. And olga has heard about the red mist. thinking there's no way that jon isn't the one limping
Floor of natural sciences.
Lisa was holding onto enoch's ears as tight as she could. Hansel and gretel rolled their eyes at this and got to back to work.
"A boy becomes a man today." oscar said sipping his tea.
"Indeed." salvador said.
"Considering how much this place is shaking…they're going hard." pameli said with a whistle.
Floor of social sciences.
"Told you it was gonna happen." chesed said sipping his coffee.
"It wasn't a matter of if." binah said sipping her tea. "Only when…" she said only to give her evil smirk to chesed. "Don't worry…i'll be gentle." binah said. Chesed didn't know it was possible to be scared and aroused at the same time. But here he was.
Floor of religion.
"Are you going to stop this?" hokma asked angela.
"Are you kidding me? Getting in between nothing there and censored would be less dangerous." angela said. And she really meant that.
The next day.
Jon pov
"Gebura won't be participating in any battles today…she needs some time to recover." i said.
"Heh. guess that means varissa is getting a grand today. So who's our next guest?" roland asked. The light screen showed us…iori. She was approached by nikushimi.
"Jon? Oh wait…you're his distortion self." iori quickly summerized.
"I'll get to the point iori join us or die." nikushimi said summoning his blade.
"Now that wouldn't be fair to the two boys and girls in that library now wouldn't it?" iori asked pointing to the library that was seeable from where they were.
"I see…you made your choice then….before i kill you. I might as well get the answer that jon seeks. As he is certainly watching us." nikushimi said as he looked right at us again. "Not only did you send roland and angelica with jon to the library. But you also had argalia go around and force people in to feed it's power. What exactly is your end game with all of this iori?" nikushimi asked.
"Just helping my dear grandson complete his mission and find help him find peace. That's it. Just helping him reach his goal faster." iori explained.
"Don't lie to me purple tear! We both know your end goal! You want to find your son. And your hoping that jon and angela's project will get you closer to your son. Maybe give you a window into the dimensions and show you which one he's hiding it so that you won't have to blindly hop dimensions in a blind quest." nikushimi said. Iori then giggled.
"Well…you've certainly been doing your homework..except this project was due a year ago. I already found my son…and i owe a handsome ice titan fox man for that little gift…" iori said with a smug smile.
"Kori…so that's what you've been doing since the fall of x-394. No wonder jon couldn't find him. He was probably enjoying a vacation with you and your long lost son…and also enjoying his reward…your body." nikushimi said before spitting a black substance on the ground.
"I assure you…kori was a foxy gentlemen. He won my heart before he got my body…and he was quite the animal in bed i must say." iori said with a laugh. I did not need to know that!
"Too bad you won't be seeing him again…" nikushimi said. He conjured a barrier so that she couldn't cut a dimensional rift to escape.
"Oh i will be…tata black overlord." iori said as she pulled out something from her pocket….an invitation to the library. She used it.
"Dammit! She got away!" tanya yelled.
"No matter…our goal is in sight." nikushimi said as he looked towards the library. "Soon the light of the library will be ours. And we'll reduce this city to ash with it's power. Ayin will see his project bastardized. And the head will face a monster they can't stop as their dark kingdom burns to ashes." nikushimi said. As he stared at where we were looking. "We are coming for the light." nikushimi said with sinister intent.
"So that's their goal. Steal the light like my hatred did. And use it to destroy the city. Giving both ayin and the head one massive middle finger." i said.
"Of course…i should have known that was it's goal…after all. It's a distortion born from your and my combined malice and hatred." angela said.
"And we're clearly ignoring the elephant in the room. We've been fighting along side an ice titan this whole time!?" roland yelled baffled.
"And that same ice titan is an item with granny iori!?" angelica yelled as baffled as her husband.
"Yeah…i tried to keep that on the down low. Considering that me and him are not human. The head would be after us in a heartbeat if they knew about this little fact about us…as a matter of fact when x-394 first fell. He was actually the first guy I tried to find. Hunting the distortions would have been a lot easier with his ice powers. But i couldn't find him…now I know why. He was with iori. Helping her find her son. And considering there now an item. Well safe to say he succeeded." i said.
"Well. can't say he doesn't have bad taste. She's still quite the looker for someone that's 52 years old." angelica admitted. We went to greet our new guest only to find kori already there making out with her. Angela looked at me with a raised eyebrow as i most certainly had a what the fuck face right now. Kori pulled away and looked at us.
"Let's just considering this another recruitment like are knight pals shall we?" kori asked with a threatening tone. Both me and angela relented.
"Fine…just don't shake the library like he and gebura did." angela said as she pointed at me with her thumb. I no doubt blushed from this comment. With that kori bridal carried iori to his room. While i went to take a shower and hit the sack early tonight…too much to process.