The Girl from Another World
A man and a young woman, dressed in an expensive white tuxedo jacket with black pants and a bright red night ball gown respectively, walked arm in arm straight into the entrance of a luxurious Art Deco-styled building.
"You need to pick up the pace and improve your posture, honey." The gentleman, wearing a mask of a white dove and speaking in a low voice, urged his companion.
"Ugh! Easy for you to say. You aren't wearing these awful heels." The annoyed woman, wearing a golden phoenix mask, discreetly gripped with force the arm of her companion.
"Ow! Just do your best to blend with rest, as we practiced." As both arrived at the access of an elevator, the man confidently showed an invitation to the four elegant guards wearing black suits.
"Enjoy the bal masqué!" One of the guards led the couple into the high-speed elevator, which took them to the building's last 'floor', a rotating luxury restaurant with two levels available for its guests.
"Damn, this is too snobby for me." Said the young woman, looking with disgust at the crowd wearing masks and elegant clothes.
Located in Bright Island, the 312-meter tall Lumini Tower had 60 floors above ground level, plus a 19-meter radius, rotating restaurant and bar at the top. Usually serving as a nightclub for the social elites of the region, tonight it hosted a special masquerade party in celebration of a big local firm closing an important contract. The landmark was well-renowned for its refined restaurant, which took 2 hours to complete a full rotation, allowing its customers to get a 360-degree view of Bright Island and even look at Cloud City floating on the horizon. However, the place had lately been gaining attention across the region for another reason.
"Are you sure you will find our... Future business partner in this place?" The woman asked with incredulity, continuing to analyze the restaurant, as her partner guided her to the stairs of the restaurant's second level.
"Let's find our table first, before talking about businesses." The couple was guided to their reserved table, next to the panoramic window in the upper level of the restaurant, by a waitress with long blonde hair tied into a ponytail, wearing a wine-colored vest, black pants, and a platinum cat mask. Searching for a specific individual, both carefully glanced over the second floor's railing, down into the dancing area and tables at the first level.
"I think you are putting too much faith into your profiles." The phoenix-masked woman said skeptical, secretly taking off her shoes under the table.
"It must be her. We will present our deal, once she shows up." The gentleman answered, scolding the woman for taking off her heels by gently tapping her feet with his expensive leather shoes under the table.
"You better be right, considering all the trouble we are going through." The woman ignored her partner's secret request. "I seriously prefer my dust-sneakers over this crap. We better skip the dance farce."
"Hang on for me. It won't take long. I made some last-minute modifications to facilitate our meeting and test her skills." The man said, without taking his look off the elevators' doors at the center of the restaurant.
"You changed the plan! How so?" The woman glanced at her partner with concern, who ignored her question.
As if to provide her with a quick answer, two elevators' doors opened. 5 tough-looking mobsters dressed in onyx-colored suits and wearing coral-colored vulture masks, walked menacingly into the party.
"Bianchi, you fucker! You better stop ignoring us, or else, we will crash this party and your place!" The leader of the wild bunch shouted, interrupting the frog-masked musicians and making everyone in the restaurant look in their direction.
Curiously enough, no one in the room panicked, except for the phoenix-masked young woman, who kicked her partner's shoe and pointed to him with her head to talk under the tablecloth.
"Do not tell me you had a hand in this!" The woman preemptively complained to her partner with a low, but angry voice.
"In my defense, I anonymously warned the owner of my move." The dove 'gentleman' responded, making light of the situation and fun of her concern.
"Ed, what the fuck!? This is going too far. If things go wrong, I will clean your mess-" Just as the young woman clenched her left fist so hard its knuckles cracked, a relaxed and vibrant voice came out from the restaurant's speakers. It belonged to the manager and owner of the restaurant, Bianchi.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Pardon the interruption, but I would like to request for a moment your attention." Bianchi, dressed in a white suit jacket, matching pants, and a black cat mask, spoke loudly, confidently, and merrily. "While our security deals with some rude guests tonight, for your safety we will guide you upstairs.
Several waitresses and waiters, in the same dress code as the one that seated the couple moments earlier, guided the party attendees to the stairs that led to the second level.
"Not to worry. Your only and biggest concern shall be if you will get a good viewing angle for the upcoming spectacle." Bianchi smiled, as he turned off the microphone in his hand and gave it to one of the waitresses. He walked toward the vulture gang.
"Stop being so cocky. Pay us full the protection fees already, Bianchi!" The leader of the bunch said as the other 4 started pulling out their weapons.
Two of them had dust-powered beam swords, one a pair of electric dust-powered gloves, and the last one nunchaku that used wind-dust to increase the speed of its attacks.
"I told your boss plenty of times that we will continue paying you, but not the full amount you demand." For a moment, Bianchi dropped his happy entrepreneur façade and gave a confident authoritative look to the mob gang. "It's excessive, especially when we already have plenty of protection, better than your service will ever provide."
As the owner talked with the party crashers, an elegant waitress came from the opposite side of the restaurant, holding a tray with an expensive steak dish. She was wearing a black vest, matching pants, ribbon, a white shirt, and a cat mask. Her medium-length black hair was mostly loose, outside of a single small braid that went from ear to ear. Her 'green' eyes had a condescending look, which she directed to the vulture bunch, as she smirked with extreme arrogance.
The couple, watching from their table at the second level, paid close attention to her body movements.
"She looks..." Ed spoke slowly, watching over the railing with extreme curiosity.
"Way shorter in person." The disappointed woman finished his phrase with a low voice.
"I was going to say confident... But that too, I suppose." A bit embarrassed for admitting that they were prejudging someone by her looks, he continued analyzing the elegant waitress's movements.
She walked in the direction of Bianchi and the blonde waitress, who had attended them earlier.
•
As I approached Bianchi and the 'vultures', Debbie took from me the tray with the steak that I was carrying.
I could have jumped down from the second level after delivering the dish to its respective client, but I didn't want to give the impression that I was in a hurry or that this matter was urgent to the party attendees. I mean, it was an urgent matter, but Bianchi and I always preferred to maintain a firm, elegant, and calm posture, under predicaments like this one.
"Go get them, girl!" Debbie smiled in my direction. She raised a fist, before parting with my tray. It was thanks to her that I got this well-paid job, so I quickly returned the smile and nodded to her, before focusing again on the mobsters ahead.
"Sorry, Beryl." Bianchi said with a low and gentle voice, no longer paying attention to the vultures while bowing with care.
He clearly wanted to give me a 'saikeirei' bow, although due to not wanting for the situation to seem so bad in front of everyone, ended up giving me just a 'keirei' one.
Learning Zenith's etiquette and bow customs made me realize that The Rabbit giving me a 'dogeza' apology, before our fight one year ago, was an insane and unnecessary action considering the circumstances back then.
"Seems I will require your extra assistance tonight." Bianchi said, before walking away.
That's what the bonus is for, right?
I playfully smiled at Bianchi for him to rest in assurance.
Despite all the trouble and risk that came with my bouncer-in-disguise job, I was deep down thankful that Bianchi took me under his wing without asking questions about my past. I appreciated that Debbie, he, and several other employees here treated me nicely, despite my physical disability.
"Is the bitch from the videos." One of the mobsters said with disdain after he recognized who I... Well, Beryl was.
Oh, we have a Beryl fan here.
My 'performances' as her, while getting rid of troublesome clients and mobsters asking for protection fees, apparently had gone viral across Zenith's interweb. For better or worse, Beryl (aka The Star of the Night) had become famous, to the point people asked for reservations in this restaurant, only in hopes of getting to see her in action.
Why did Bianchi have us wear cat masks for this bal masqué? If today's fight goes viral, I will be linked to cats from now on in this world too. As if the Curious Cat incident wasn't enough.
I put my hands on my hips, sighing deeply and rolling my eyes at my bad luck, further irritating the mobsters.
It had been only three months since I started working as a bouncer and waitress for Bianchi's, and I already was in the sight of the local mob gang, The Vulture Family. In fact, out of the current five vultures, I had taken care of three in previous altercations. Their leader was among the new faces though.
Because of my assistance and performances, Bianchi began to refuse to pay their unfair and astronomical 'extra' protection fees, and now they were storming more often the place. However, these situations usually ended up in me kicking them out of the place or delivering them to the lazy and corrupt authorities of Bright Island.
As long as they didn't count on machine guns or explosives, I could take them down without relying on my semblance and blowing my cover. Still, I was surprised that these five had enough guts to interrupt a party with these many social elites. Everyone was aware that some of tonight's guests were rich enough to hire bodyguards or escorts in disguise of their own. Something was off.
"Hey, what am I paying you for? Play something nice for her to dance." Walking toward the frog musicians, Bianchi happily complained to them.
The band began playing some upbeat jazz piece, as I snapped my right-hand's fingers and tapped the floor with my left foot, following the tempo of the music.
"Boss, let me handle her. I owe her a purple eye and broken fingers." The bulky one with the electric knuckles spoke with resentment.
Hey, it's... I don't remember your name. Not like I care.
I put my finger on my cheek and did an exaggerated 'struggling to remember' face, making the fist-guy lose his composure and launch himself toward me. Doing lame imitations of box moves, he made a poor battle stance before closing distance and throwing a desperate combination of jabs, crosses, and hooks. Compared to the average Huntsman in Remnant, his punching speed wasn't bad, but due to our height difference and my better reflexes, all it took me to dodge his punches were small slips. At least Yang had the decency of throwing one or two uppercuts and kicks when she fought me. No point in using aura to activate those electric gloves, if you never land a hit.
As he continued missing, the interval between his punches increased. To compensate for his poor reflexes and forcefully raise his punching speed, he began to sacrifice his leg stability and centered weight, increasing the rotation of his hips. I added steps back to my slips, in the direction of the restaurant's panoramic windows to confuse even more his legs. Once we got close enough to a window and he moved his lead foot forward to launch a big cross, I quickly slipped away and went for his pivot rear foot, making him lose balance. His attack momentum and weight backfired on him, getting his face slammed against the edge of a frame between two window panels. Along the loud impact, surprised gasps and laughs from the staff and guests filled the place.
A shame those are reinforced windows. No defenestrations tonight.
"Fucking bitch!" As the knuckle guy was recovering from the hit, the leader screamed and began to take out something from his jacket.
As much as I hate it, at least call me kitty or something cat-related. Not even wearing a dog mask.
Predicting that he was going to shoot at me with a gun, I loosened my right slip-on shoe and kicked it faster than a bullet. It hit his hand hard enough to not only make him lose some aura but even send his gun flying toward the tables in the back.
"Boss! You will pay for that!" While the leader was busy holding his hand and looking for his gun, his three subordinates went after me.
I quickly took off my other shoe and jumped into a party buffet table to dodge in time a slice from one of the beam sword wielders. Following this, the other two vultures placed themselves on each side of the table. Reading the trajectory of their attacks I started to 'dance', dodging not just the nunchaku and sword slices, but also doing my best to avoid stepping on the set dishes and silverware. The staff and attendees clapping and cheering for me irritated one of the sword-wielders enough to jump on the table, in a furious attempt to hit me.
Hey, take off your shoes first! Now we must wash this!
I quickly jumped down to the now unguarded side of the table and gracefully took off its tablecloth, making the sword wielder on the top lose his balance and fall on the nunchaku guy. Of course, to avoid a mess that reduced my pay, I did not drop or move a single inch the table's silverware and dishes.
"Wait, how did yo- AAAAH, damn it, bitch!" The remaining sword fighter ran at me, while I used the tablecloth to wrap the 'knuckle vulture', who was about to recover and rejoin the fight. Running away from the sword wielder, I reached a pillar.
Thinking that he got me cornered, the guy attempted to hit me with a diagonal slice, but I ran vertically on the pillar to perform a wall flip. With his sword missing me, I connected a strong kick to the shoulder of his sword-wielding arm to make him drop his weapon. After I landed, he went for the weapon on the floor, just for me to connect a second kick to his face as he was crouching. His aura broke, while he grabbed his face in pain.
The knuckle guy was about to reach me, when I used my foot to hit the beam sword's hilt, landing the weapon on my hand, and turning it on in time to slash at his body, breaking his aura and knocking him out.
Next was the nunchaku guy. As soon as he noticed me running toward him and jumping to land with a vertical slice, he extended his weapon to use the reinforced chain to stop my attack. Or at least that's what he was planning. Just when my sword slash was about to hit his chains, I quickly turned off its beam to quickly re-ignite and land my attack directly on his face. His aura broke down and he passed out after this.
I have more problems than you can shake a stick at.
Not losing time, the sword vulture that had fallen off the table came after me to force a bind with our swords, but I quickly made him spin with me. As he was about to try going for another attack, a couple of bullets landed on his back, breaking his aura. Before losing consciousness, he turned around to see his boss holding the gun that shot him.
"Boss, why?" He passed out with an incredulous look on his face.
"It's your fault for letting her use you as a shield, idiot." The 'leader' insulted his subordinate with a dismissing attitude.
I really had it good with Roman. You guys are trash compared to him.
After the last sword vulture fell, the leader began shooting fast with his semi-automatic gun, only for me to stop his bullets with the beam sword I was holding. After firing 15 bullets, I heard the click of his empty magazine.
"Hey, lock your sword now!" The leader shouted at the former sword wielder that I had kicked next to the pillar.
He was still conscious and holding a remote control in his hand. Pressing a button, the beam sword I had in my hands stopped working. I was unable to turn it on.
Easy mode is over. Fine, I was aiming for a flashier ending anyway.
As the leader was charging his gun, I saw the conscious sword wielder searching for something in his jacket.
A powder gun? If you want a weapon so badly, then you can have this one back.
Not taking any chances, I threw at his face the hilt of the sword that he had turned off with enough force to knock him out. The leader, who had finished loading his gun, was the only one left.
"It's over!" The fifth vulture excitedly shouted, aiming at me.
Luckily, my left slip-on shoe was close to my feet, so that I could kick it and hurt his hand to buy some time. Having learned a bit from his previous mistake, he was gripping the gun with enough force to not drop it this time around, but it was too late. I ran toward him and used the napkin in my pocket, which I never got to deliver to the 'steak' guest, to grab his wrist and disarm him. Taking advantage of my napkin still being wrapped around his wrist, I turned my back to the vulture and threw him over my shoulder against the floor. Noticing that he was still conscious, I proceeded to punch his face as hard as I could to finally knock him out cold, in time to end the fight as the musicians finished playing their jazz piece.
And that's a wrap-up.
As I was walking towards the center of the dancing hall, and about to politely bow to the attendees looking from the second level, a chime came from an elevator door nearby. A sixth vulture, carrying a machine gun, stepped out from it. Seeing his pals knocked out all over the place, he got closer to the center and aimed at me.
"Hey, kitty! Say goodbye to your 9 lives!" The sixth mobster cockily said, putting his finger on the trigger.
Shit, I'm dying to witty trash talk. Show is over!
"ORYAAAAAAAH!" A battle cry sounded across the entire restaurant. Something fell on top of the last vulture. Something red, with blue feathers, and a beak.
"Here's the encore, crazy asshole!" The female 'phoenix', who jumped off the second level, shouted and punched hard the mobster multiple times, till his aura broke and he was knocked out cold.
Thankfully, these birds don't flock together...Today's party mood is getting to me.
The restaurant was filled with applause from attendees and employees alike.
•
"Beryl, I owe you big time for your work today. Thank you!" A relieved Bianchi gave me the appropriate saikeirei that he couldn't do earlier.
After everything calmed down and the authorities apprehended the vultures, he took me to the management office next to the kitchen, so that he could talk with me in private.
What about the guards at the entrance?
I made a sign with my hand to point down in the direction of the floor, making my curiosity visible on my face. He understood me quickly.
"The boys are going to be fine. Just one of them received gun wounds, but he's already stable at the hospital. Unfortunately, out of the ten vultures that stormed the place, they could only stop four of them." Bianchi, regretting how the situation turned out, avoided looking at my face while stating this.
Ten? Today of all nights? And with machine guns!? Have they lost their minds!?
I opened both of my hands to raise my ten fingers with a surprised face and then made a posture as if holding a big machine gun.
"The anonymous tip told us to take extra precautions tonight, but I wasn't expecting that they would take things this far." Bianchi sat on his chair behind an elegant wood desk. "I am afraid that they received some strong incentive or support for today's attack. I am lost as to why things turned out this way."
Damn! Maybe this is to blame on me. Hope The Zodiac hasn't figured out that I'm hiding here.
"By the way, Debbie told me that the couple she is attending wants to see you. One of them happens to be the goril- phoenix lady that saved you." Recovering his cheerful and confident entrepreneur façade, Bianchi encouraged me to see them. "You can take the rest of the day off. You earned it."
I did my best to exit Bianchi's office, as naturally as possible, not raising suspicions among the cops that were about to continue interrogating my current boss for details. He had stood up for us so that the authorities would center only on questioning him to spare from more trouble the guests, most of the staff, and me.
I will head straight to the restaurant's second level. Need to confirm something.
After walking by guests applauding and staff bowing to me, I made it to the mystery couple's table. A dandy 'dove' man and a muscle phoenix lady were waiting for me.
"Oh, the heroine of the night has arrived. Thanks for giving us some of your time. We feel very honored. Right, honey?" The dove man complimented me and forced a reply out of his partner, with a teasing tone.
"Ugh! I'm not good at this." The woman didn't even try to hide her tomboyish attitude, rudely placing her right elbow on the table, and using her arm as a support for her disgusted and exhausted-looking face. Despite silently eyeing me, her annoyance was directed at her partner and the ambient itself.
Both were analyzing me and to be fair, I was doing the same while looking at them.
Among both, the young woman was easily the eye-catching one. She was wearing a shiny red dress that didn't fit well with her physique. Not to be rude or say that she was ugly or undeserving of praise, but the opposite. She was a very gorgeous strong-looking athlete. From her body silhouette and visible fair skin sections, it was easy to tell that she had a toned body all over the place. Her bare back, thighs, and arms gave me the impression that she was a bodybuilder or a well-trained bodyguard. This woman gave me Yang and Elm vibes. Slightly taller and more toned than the former, but not as much as the latter.
The dove man's escort perhaps, rather than his romantic couple?
Under her phoenix mask, I saw her sky-blue eyes. Her punkish hair had this weird but pleasing-to-look-at, fiery gradient effect. While most of it was of a cerulean blue color, the tips of the long hair strands at each side of her face, and of her spiky and messy big bun, were of a turquoise color. I realized that it was her blue hair which I had confused for feathers, back when she saved me from the machine gun mobster.
It's almost as if she uses dust to make her hair look nicer, but I must be wrong.
Just like the dust regulations placed in Remnant, after the Vanille Manor tragedy (fine, that one 'maybe' was partially my fault), people in Zenith were also forbidden from using dust as make-up or shampoo ingredients, for the sake of avoiding accidents and explosions.
Going back to the woman, she didn't know (and clearly didn't care for) the formal silverware etiquette, since all the hard work Debbie had put into arranging everything correctly was wasted on her. I deduced that she had been using the dinner fork for everything, including as a substitute for knives, since the rest of the silverware on her side of the table was still clean. Underneath the tablecloth, I managed to catch that she was barefoot, probably because she wasn't used to wearing heels. I couldn't avoid smiling. Her face turned red the instant she realized that I had discovered her secret.
"Got a problem!? Stop staring at me." She, nervously and annoyed, complained to me.
My actual problem was the dove man. In the eyes of people who lack good perception or intuition, he was the perfect gentleman. He always maintained a straight posture and his suit was super neat. The guy had been using correctly all the available silverware and had good taste when it came to alcoholic drinks offered by our place. But that was exactly what troubled me. The dandy man blended so well with this social elite environment; it begged the question of why he had an interest in me. It was clear that he was the one who called for me, considering that his partner kept trying to ignore me or avoid talking.
The man's small and well-formed goatee connected elegantly to his small mustache, while his long and wavy, dark brown hair was entirely loose. His skin had a slight tan, likely formed over several years.
Someone from a desertic area? Or a sailor?
He kept looking at me with a penetrating gaze from his amber eyes. Our eyes met for a second.
Shit, this guy is up to something! I can tell that he has an ulterior motive. He's studying me. Is he connected to The Zodiac?
I was familiar with his type. Like Ozpin and my father, I could tell that he was one of those highly esteemed social elites who kept a dark secret from everyone, manipulating those around him for his benefit.
"My apologies." The dove man courteously said, taking his eyes off me and drinking the glass of wine in front of him.
"I wasn't planning for my ten partners to go to such lengths." He calmly said after being done with his drink.
IT WAS YOU!? I WILL REPORT YOU-
Oh, no!
I did my best to keep my emotions in check and not let myself fall into his game. Otherwise, he could figure out my real identity.
Right now, I am Beryl. Not Neopolitan.
"Ed, what the fuck are you doing now!?" The man's eyes briefly widened in surprise, as his partner accidentally made him lose some advantage by calling him by a personal nickname in front of me.
Now I got you!
Seems the young woman wasn't aware of what he had planned, so that cost him her trust and cooperation. She looked close to him, so 'Ed' was probably not how he was supposed to be called in the open.
"The truth is that I wanted to test your skills, before making you an offer." The man cleaned his mouth with a napkin, not looking at me while speaking. "To see if my theory was correct."
Test me!? Has he figured me out, then?
"Yeah, but the idiot over here incentivized a bit too much the wrong people." The phoenix woman crossed her arms and kicked him with her bare foot under the table. "I don't wanna know how much of our funds he wasted on them."
"Honey." Ed placed tenderly his right hand over one of her arms. She frowned and chose instead to look in the direction of the window.
"I admit that my plan was precipitated, but we wanted to see how you would perform in a fight, to judge accurately our next move." Ed said apologetically to me, caressing his partner's right arm.
"It's you, isn't it?" The woman said with a low voice, still looking at the window. "Those moves, reflexes, and clever tactics. You are no amateur."
I don't know what you are talking about, you must be confusing me with someone else.
"You probably have a semblance yet forbid yourself from using it. That's why I jumped into the fight." She kept talking with a whispering voice. "You were gonna blow your cover, if you defended yourself from that machine gun's rain of bullets."
"Another lockdown would not have been good for anyone here." Ed complemented her partner's reply.
This is bad. I don't even know who these people are, and they already got me figured out.
As I desperately tried to conceal my internal thoughts and emotional turmoil, Ed kept talking.
"We want you to be our new business partner. To help us against our competition, which I believe also happens to be yours." Ed turned his full body toward me, skillfully taking out a hidden business card from his sleeve.
"You know something very valuable about our competition and I believe that you are the key that we need to take them down." I stepped back as he tried to deliver me his business card. "What do you say, N?"
Like hell I would trust you! You likely are planning on delivering me to The Zodiac yourself!
I hit his hand to make him drop the card. Then, I turned around to jump off the second level and head straight to the nearest elevator. The phoenix woman and everyone else in the room, except for Ed, looked at me in surprise as I ran out of the place.
•
"You know, if you are thinking about hiring her, at least you should bother learning some sign language." Debbie said with disapproval to Ed, placing down the new bottle of champagne that he had ordered. "That's if you truly care about making her your next business partner and not just a tool for your convenience."
"I wanted to invite her a glass of this champagne, to celebrate our deal." Ed said, smiling with irony at how everything had gone wrong.
"She is a tea person." Debbie once more took a jab at him.
"Ed, you idiot!" The phoenix said with scorn, as she jumped from the restaurant's second level once more to give chase to Neo.
•
Shit, my life as Beryl is over now! Another cover down the drain. It's just a matter of time before they make it to Bright Island or Bianchi's.
I grabbed my head in desperation, cowering in the express elevator as it went down.
I was really enjoying this place, but not even here I was allowed to be happy. I will have to restart from zero again. I'm sorry, Bianchi, Debbie, and everyone else.
While I was fighting my urge to cry and avoid an emotional breakdown that would disrupt my disguise, the elevator chime indicated to me that it had arrived at ground level. Before it was too late, I needed to return quickly to my crappy apartment, back at the slums in Copper Suburb, on the other side of the bay that surrounded Bright Island.
Once I make it to the dark alley next to the construction site, I will transform into Liz.
I stepped outside of the elevator and headed to Lumini Tower's exit so that I could reach the construction site located west of the building. But while trying to walk out discreetly out of the place, to not alarm the cops still present, another elevator chime sounded behind me. Ignoring it, I made it outside, walking along the street till I finally reached the alley's entrance.
Great. Nobody is around. Bye, Beryl. Hello, Li-
Just when I was about to activate Overactive Imagination to change my disguise, I heard someone's footsteps.
Ah, damn. Better turn invisible. I don't want to lose two covers in the same day.
Using my semblance to merge into the darkness, I saw the phoenix girl enter the alley.
"Crap, I lost her!" The young woman in the red dress said frustrated, walking down the alleyway. "Ed scared off that poor girl."
I held my breath and kept myself invisible while waiting for her to exit the alley.
"Fuck, if it was her, then we screwed up!" The woman was about to begin crying. "This may have been our only and last chance to recruit her."
Approaching the end of the alley, she took off her mask and looked back into the direction she came from, and therefore, the one where I was hiding. She began to wipe her small tears with her right hand.
She looks younger than I pictured her. Early twenties?
"I hope that she at least manages to keep herself alive. If The Zodiac does something also to her, I will..." As she was beginning to get angry, it caught my attention that her blue hair started to burn, illuminating a bit the dark alley.
It's so pretty.
She sat on the floor and hugged her knees, trying and failing, to calm herself down. It seemed that she didn't want anyone else to look at the unnatural state of her hair.
"Aw, I cannot turn it off. I am a mess." She shed more tears.
I couldn't help but laugh a bit at her pathetic state, especially when I realized that she was still barefoot.
"What's that?" The phoenix lady asked, turning her head to find the source of the mysterious sound. "A hiccup?"
Being unable to resist the laughter, I turned myself visible. The pink shards of my aura illuminated for a moment the alley, along with the phoenix's pretty hair. Keeping my Beryl disguise, but dropping my cat mask, I grabbed my stomach.
"YOU! WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT!?"
I pointed my right index finger at her.
"You tricked me!" The young woman with clenched fists rose to her... Bare feet. Her hair began to burn more intensely, illuminating more the alley.
No, believe me! You did this to yourself! Look at your hair!
"Don't make fun of my Elemental Semblance!" After replying furiously with a face stained by tears, her hair started to resemble more a big blue flame. Even her eyes were glowing with a shiny blue color.
Managing to calm down my laughter, I took out the napkin that I had used earlier to disarm the gun vulture and started wiping off her tears.
"Hey, what are you doing!?" She asked embarrassed, trying to take off my hand from her face. "Just... AGH! I can do it myself, okay!? Give me the damn napkin!"
•
"Again. You can rest assured that we aren't with them." The phoenix girl said to me with indignation, as we were walking in Bright Island's Principal Park. The same one in which I met Debbie months ago after I saved her from a jealous ex and his delinquent pals.
After she managed to 'turn off' her hair and we walked together out of the alleyway, I decided to start a 'conversation' with her and pulled out my holodial (this world's phones or scrolls).
Fortunately, the dominant language of the Zenithean region I was currently living in, resembled a lot the one spoken by Ever Afterans and people from Remnant, so it had taken me a few hours to memorize their alphabet (very similar to ours) and a couple of weeks to learn basic and everyday phrases. Holodials with autocorrect functions were a lifesaver.
I managed to learn a lot of stuff about Zenith and its languages, by accessing the interweb and watching videos of whatever looked useful to me. It's not like I had an option if I wanted to blend in and adapt to this world. Whenever I wasn't working, exercising, escaping from the authorities, or secretly training with my semblance, I was reading and watching any educational material I could land my hands on.
Of course, I had stolen my first holodial, on the very same day I landed in Zenith, but in my defense, I had it bad at Ryuutairiku (Dragon Continent). No scroll, food, roof, or money, and to make matters worse, the language in that continent was way too different from Remnant's. They didn't even have an actual alphabet over there, but rather thousands of complicated symbols that meant different words each. As of now, I had given up trying to live in places with languages too complicated to learn in a few months.
Since then, I prioritized learning the Zenithean language that resembled Remnant's the most so that I could eventually get and rely on my translation device, like the one the bunny girl wore on her ear, during our fight. Unfortunately, the 'Linguas' (translation devices) available on the market for the public did not include Ever Afteran or Remnant's language, among its preset options and recorded languages. Apparently, that was an exclusive and secret language only available on The Zodiac's Linguas, worn by those that invaded the Ever After.
How did you figure out who I was? (´ ･_･`)
I typed quickly in my holodial. My finished text was instantly displayed at the phoenix lady, through a holographic screen for her to read with ease, as we walked. A simple, yet very convenient feature that always spared me lots of trouble (Remnant needs to step up its game).
"To be honest, that was totally Ed. He's the one that narrowed down the list of potential candidates that could be you in disguise." Scratching her head while struggling to remember, she continued to answer me with uncertainty. "Think he did it by collecting data and intel about previous incidents involving you, plus information available on mass media. Such as your height, gender, skills, age range, and other things. After that, it was trial and error, till we met you."
He's good at profiling. What a fearsome individual.
I knew that limiting my fake identities to short young women was going to backfire one day, but the issue is that it's way too tiresome and troublesome for me to walk as a man or hide in a big disguise. Sure, disguising and walking as a tall man for some minutes is manageable, but for several consecutive hours per day? And while working?
That's why I preferred to rely on covers like Mint and Beryl. Damn, it's been a while since I used Mint. Not to brag, but I looked so fine as her during the Vytal Festival. Maybe one day I will rely on you again, Mint.
What about this Ed guy? What's wrong with him and what does he want from me?
(｡･д･)o
"Ah, him? He's kind of..." She paused a bit her walk, looking deep in thought. "Sorry, but for the sake of his and my safety, I'm limited in what I can tell you about us. I cannot go around disclosing our personal information to people that haven't joined us."
You got to be kidding me. Is that how you want to manipulate me into joining you?
I raised my eyebrow in annoyance, displaying to her my text.
"I know what it sounds like, but I can tell you this." She grabbed gently my shoulders and looked straight into my face. "We are not your enemies. We are on the same side. What we want is to expose and get rid of the organization that is looking to capture you."
Prove it. ᗜ˰ᗜ
I break momentarily away from her grasp to express my skepticism.
"Well, if we wanted to capture you, this park would be already under a lockdown, right?" She and I turned around to look at our surroundings and confirm the lack of any danger.
Fair point. But how do I know that you will simply not betray nor dispose of me, the moment I reveal to you what I know about them?
"Ugh, I rather die than leave one of my comrades behind! And believe us, we got our reasons to hate those guys as much as you. If not more." She started to get angry, not at me though, as her hair shined again.
Your hair is burning. (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
"Oh, crap." She calmed herself, desperately scrubbing her hair with both hands to get rid of some small flames. Fortunately for her, the few other people at the park were too far to notice this. "Sorry."
Mind if I ask what's an elemental semblance?
(づ •. •)
I typed, despite not expecting her to answer me.
"Right, I slipped up." She sighed with shame.
We made it to an open and deserted area with a fountain, bathed in the light from the public lamps and the deformed, mined moon in the sky. She sat at the edge of the fountain, toying with her legs, deep in thought.
"Something happened to me, back when I was a kid. Something I rather not talk about." She said with sadness, while her eyes focused on the ground. "Because of that traumatic experience, I awakened a semblance that can produce and control fire, without relying on dust."
Is that even possible? I thought only Maidens or those with magic- No. That was back in Remnant. The Blacksmith told me that people with abnormal semblances existed in this world. She must be among them.
"Please, don't go around thinking that I am a freak." She said mortified, looking at me with embarrassment.
…
Why would I ever think that about someone else? If anything, it's usually the other way around.
I bent a bit forward my body, placing my hands on my back, and replied to her request with a tender smile.
•
"Take our business card, I beg you!" The phoenix girl holding with both hands a card, which I assumed was identical to the one I rejected back at Bianchi's, bowed while imploring me to take it. Another weird Zenithean custom. "Or scan its code, at the very least."
We were about to exit the park and go separate ways when she became more desperate to win me over to her side.
That thing better not send me to a malicious site. I bought with hard-earned money my current holo- Whoa, that card!
…
"Um, something wrong? You are sweating." Worried for me, the phoenix girl moved her hand in front of my face, to get a reaction out of me.
My father used to have the same taste in business cards.
∑(O_O;)
"Oh, that's great!" She quickly replied with relief.
He hated me. (˵•̀⤙•́˵)૭
"Never mind." She tensed after reading too late my follow-up message.
Rejecting the card but scanning its code with my holodial's camera, it sent me an interweb link for me to click. It was the address of a warehouse located on the industrial side of Bright Island. Thanks to the interweb mapping platform it opened, it was easy to figure out how to get there.
Supposedly, with the help of technological objects in space called satellites, Zenith built a complex global communication system that put Remnant's Cross Continental Transmit System (CCTS) to shame. Relying on renewable energy or fuels that don't require dust, Zenith was able to launch many satellites around its orbit at different altitudes, so even if one were to malfunction or be destroyed, the entire system would not go offline. The Extended Net, Zhang (張).
Must admit that they are clever for coming up with a system that doesn't rely only on 4 towers. Even team RWBY, Cinder, and I would have trouble crashing all those satellites down. Not like I want to, anymore.
For now.
Through images and data provided by Zhang's satellites, the mapping platform on my holodial could show me pictures taken from space of the address in the business card.
Looks like a shady location. You want to get rid of me in that place, away from everyone else?
(•᷄- •᷅ ;)
I typed to her, faking a nervous face and raising my arm into an exaggerated defense position.
"Of course, not! How can you suggest such a sick idea!? It's just our..." Approaching me slowly to talk into my ear, she spoke with a very low voice. "Temporal hideout. Our point of contact."
She has a nice voice.
"If you want to join our cause, a contact will be there for the next few days."
Getting nostalgic here. I miss when Roman and I used to organize the White Fang's secret reunions.
Back in Vale, I oversaw the scouting, securing the hideout, stealing equipment for the recruits, and most importantly, the catering. While the charismatic speeches were Roman's responsibility, for obvious reasons... Come to think of it, he barely did anything when it came to organizing White Fang meetings. Even Banesaw, of all people, bothered to help me hang White Fang banners in tall places.
"Beryl, do you hear me?" A voice interrupted my train of thought.
Who is Beryl- Oh, right!
Are you by any chance terrorists or something? (˵¯͒ བ¯͒˵)
I typed, making fun of her.
"...I suppose... You can say that." The phoenix lady awkwardly replied, scratching the back of her head and closing her eyes in shame.
I WAS JOKING!
In panic, I typed again, turning my head around to make sure no one was spying on us. Thankfully, the only persons in the park were too far away to hear (or read) our conversation.
YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO CONVINCE OR BRAINWASH ME INTO JOINING YOUR CAUSE! NOT SCARE ME AWAY!
w(´ﾟДﾟ｀)w
"In a sense, we are though. Our mutual enemies are the ones in control of Zenith. The current status quo and forms of government." She replied near my ear again.
Does this mean you hurt innocent people or non-combatants?
( ・о・)
I sat on a bench, near a park exit, typing my next message. Not because of fatigue, but due to being unable to properly handle the surprise.
"Absolutely no! That's one of our rules." She shook her head and crossed her arms in a panic. Sitting down next to me, she continued answering with a quiet voice. "It's just that in the eyes of the Vertex Group and many puppet governments, we are terrorists. The bad guys. Not a radical revolutionary faction."
How do you explain tonight's incident at Bianchi's?
"Okay, Ed may have screwed up there. We shouldn't have tested you that way and in a place with that many people. I will give later Ed a piece of my mind... And fists." She angrily said, cracking her knuckles. "Trust me, we don't usually pull off crazy stunts like the one today."
Then, you operate under a moral code. If you aren't lying, I suppose that makes you better than the White Fang, Cinder... And me.
I focused on some trees in the distance.
And better than The Zodiac.
"So, will you consider joining us?" Timidly playing with her hand, which she placed in the space between us, she asked.
It's getting late and I still got sooo many questions. (っ,-)
After being done with my reply, I pressed down my hand over hers, so that she stopped goofing around with it.
"Is that a maybe?" Not understanding what I had decided, she anxiously continued asking me more questions. "A will think about it?"
Whatever helps you sleep better.
Before standing up and walking out of the park I remembered something. I hesitated a bit but proceeded anyway to type some final messages to her.
Whether I join your group or not... Thank you. ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶
The phoenix girl stared back at me, confused. Not knowing how to answer. I shyly looked away from her and continued typing.
Not for the terrible recruitment pitch, but for helping me back at Bianchi's. As much as it pains me to admit it, you were right. You saved my cover.
"Ah, you are welcome. I just wanted to help you, Sis. Not have it weigh on my mind that someone innocent got hurt, because of our reckless stunt." She gladly responded.
I'm far from being innocent. Wait... Sis?
If you don't mind, can you tell me your name?
(／≧ω＼)
Unable to deal with my curiosity, I dared to ask the question that had been bothering me the most ever since she jumped down on that mobster.
"Nowadays, I go by Phoebe. All those close to me call me that. You are free to do the same." Keeping a casual posture, she happily answered. "Hope one day I can call you openly by your name."
Right, almost forgot also that.
Trying not to falter after hearing her response, I stood up, took a few steps, and turned back to face Phoebe. It was time to give this young woman what I owed her hours ago.
We surely had a lovely night, Miss Phoebe. You can call me Neopolitan. Nice to meet you.
I bowed politely, smiling and extending back one of my arms. After all, a mobster aiming at me with a machine gun was no excuse to forget my professional etiquette.
•
After exiting the park and parting ways with Phoebe, I entered the nearest deserted alleyway with no cameras to transform into Liz. My secondary and "break in case of emergency" cover.
Liz was a short, blue-eyed, young brunette with pigtails, dressed in an oversized white winter jacket, a yellow skirt, black stockings, and wearing brown leather boots. In case something went wrong for Beryl, Liz was always available to lend her a hand.
Usually, I changed into Liz to avoid mobsters and other unpleasant people picking a fight with Beryl, whenever I wasn't working at Bianchi's. But today's incident had me more worried than usual. If Ed was able to make a somewhat accurate profile to find me, then The Zodiac, bounty hunters, and other authorities could also be close to discovering Beryl's real identity.
This world is more difficult to deal with than Remnant. Need to step up my game and be more careful. I may also have to start considering the idea of saying goodbye to my life as Beryl and at Bianchi's.
After being done with my transformation, I headed to Shine Crossing, the busiest pedestrian scramble and biggest commercial intersection in Bright Island. Despite being close to midnight, plenty of people were still walking around and several 24/7 businesses were operating. Not wanting to call more attention to myself, I crossed the streets, heading directly to the train station that took me out of the island and into Copper Suburb.
As I was standing on the central pedestrian plaza and about to walk across the last street to reach the entrance of the station, the crossing's hundreds of 3D and digital billboards stopped flashing their shiny and spectacular advertisements. Every traffic light turned red so that pedestrians and hovering vehicles alike were forced to stare at what was coming.
It was 11:00 pm. Time for the hourly public service announcement.
"Good night, citizens of Bright Island. Cathie Led, bringing you the latest and most up-to-date public announcement." A black-haired news anchorwoman, wearing an elegant red blouse, started speaking with a formal, yet cordial tone.
Please, stop already.
As much as I wanted to forcefully cross the street, around 10 people were still in front of me, plus a passenger bus had stopped over the pedestrian crossing, due to the announcement's timing. It would have looked bad for me to shove my way out of that situation and make it to the train station.
"At Brightcom, we care for your safety, which is why you must remember to be on the lookout for any suspicious persons or activities near you."
Stop!
I turned my head to confirm that all the billboards hanging over Shine Crossing were displaying the same announcement.
"Some months ago, the bioterrorist Neopolitan was spotted at Brick City. While a lockdown was placed, unfortunately, the authorities were unable to arrest the subject in question."
The announcement started displaying pictures and footage of my face, taken during the invasion of the Ever After. Not being able to handle the imagery that was about to come, I directed my view to the ground.
"Neopolitan is an extremely dangerous individual, wanted across all continents, for unleashing a viral agent that tragically caused the death of over 10,000 persons at Sally Island one year ago."
I have seen this part before. They are right now flashing images of hundreds of corpses, laying on the ground as they are being covered with blankets, by soldiers wearing hazmat and NBC suits. Images from a place I have never been to.
Bullshit! I didn't do that! Stop blaming me for it!
"This crap again!? Just catch that monster already!" An annoyed and desperate pedestrian near me complained loudly.
"What an awful person. Killing all those people." An old woman next to me replied with worry and fear.
Idiots, they are lying to you! Don't believe them!
"That criminal must be hanged or executed already, for the sake of everyone." A grumpy old guy, in front of me, annoyingly demanded.
I have committed several crimes, sure, but not such a horrible one. Especially in this world! I'm innocent for once.
"As of today, Vertex Group and multiple international security agencies have decided that the bounty for capturing her alive shall be raised to 1 trillion Krownas. Any information that leads to the capture of this bioterrorist shall be also heavily rewarded."
"I could make or buy my nation with that." An ambitious young man, next to my right, started daydreaming.
Like hell you will do, stupid!
"Remember to take necessary precautions and inform nearby authorities of anything that could be useful in the apprehension of Neopolitan. Doing so may save the lives of thousands of Zenitheans and avoid another catastrophe. This is Cathie Led, wishing you to resume your activities in peace. Good night."
It was a good night, alright. Till you ruined it, bitch!
I clenched my fists and crunched my teeth, doing my best to not lose my composure and hold back my tears, only to get hit by people standing behind me.
"Start moving, fool! The signals are green!" An angry pedestrian shoved me aside, as I was unable to walk across the street. Several others did the same, till I lost my balance and fell near the edge of the pedestrian plaza. I had to use my right arm to avoid landing in a more painful position.
The billboards, traffic lights, vehicles, and everyone else were back to their routine.
"Hey, dumbasses! Manners, please! No need to push my friend around!" As I turned around to look up, a gentleman dressed in white and wearing a black hat, offered me his hand to stand up.
"Are you okay, Neo?"
I barely managed to hold back my tears.
Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Roman.