Chapter 12: Allow Changes?
Today really wasn't my day.
While I am friends with Silver Wolf, her eccentricities have, admittedly, always been a bit difficult for me to tolerate. She's a bit like a cat in that regard, happily knocking over the only thing holding a glass jar upright for the amusement value of seeing it shatter. Just switch the household vandalism for petty crime sprees and cyberterrorism, and it's easy to see why she's earned her place on the galaxy's most wanted. While I trusted her deep down and she generally limited her mischief to affect people that weren't me, there was never a guarantee she wouldn't drag me into more than just breaking a few high scores on the galactic leaderboards. First it was hacking my phone to spy on my texts, and things gradually escalated until she made me the de facto leader of an entire planet largely unknown or ignored by the galaxy at large, before making me grovel at her feet in front of a hostile leader who despised both me and Silver Wolf enough to want us both dead. Granted, people have tried to kill me for far less; just about the only case where such an attack was attempted suicide by Galactic Baseballer was the Crew's battle with Aventurine with Acheron in tow.
And so, Silver Wolf has locked March and I in a room with the rest of the people I would like to see the least in Kivotos at this very moment, save for whatever shadowy heads of Kaiser Corporation and Saint Nephthys Group had their eyes on Abydos and potentially me as well. And after choking on the reality sandwich Silver Wolf served me on a rusty platter, she proceeded to follow it up by sitting around and doing nothing, presumably playing games on her shiny new tablet she got from who-knows-where. Awkward silence permutated the air for a full minute, apart from the sound of the tablet's touchscreen keyboard clacking away as Silver Wolf presumably converted the lives of digital pixels into points on the scoreboard.
Eventually, Yuuka and a second student walked into the room. The second student had long white hair that went nearly to her feet, with straight short bangs hovering just above her purple eyes. Besides her black tights that covered the entirety of her legs, her outfit was clad entirely in white with blue highlights: this included her low-heeled boots, pleated skirt under a blazer, and jacket with various strapped-on tech hanging off it. Judging from Yuuka's earlier comment, I presumed this was Noa.
Yuuka began, sighing as she spoke. "As if Millennium didn't have enough money problems, now we have to repair all the damage done to the school and your office is filled with broken drones. At least the two of you didn't kill each other. Anyway, Rio, why have you called us here?" Yuuka paused as she noticed the fabled Punk Lord sitting on a stool in the corner, blowing on some bubblegum. "Wait, what is she doing here?"
"Miss Hayase. Miss Ushio," Silver Wolf greeted the pair flatly. "I am the Punk Lord of Gematria, and I have called you here."
"Apparently, Sensei knows her as 'Silver Wolf', so perhaps that moniker is more appropriate," Rio interrupted, for the first time showing sympathy for my situation.
"Oh, so she's the famous Punk Lord that's caused Rio so much trouble? We have a bounty on her head. I assume she's come to surrender, and thus we're going to have a very uncomfortable discussion about her fate," Noa teased without skipping a beat, a self-assured and confident smile plastered on her face.
"We can add identity theft to that list, considering she sent that message out from your number, Rio," Yuuka happily chimed in.
"And I've hacked all your systems again, so you don't stand a chance of bringing me in. Maybe you should give Veritas some budget cuts after we're done, Miss Hayase. But that's not important!" Silver Wolf proceeded to point dramatically towards March and I. "Meet the two most famous girls in all of Kivotos: March 7th and Stelle-sensei. Both official members of the few and the proud Express Crew, also known as the Nameless."
Noa had begun writing into her notebook at a blazing fast speed. From my angle, I could see she was creating a transcript of everything said during the "meeting" while Yuuka couldn't hide her bafflement. "The Nameless? That ancient cult whose civilization went extinct? A lot of their technology was left behind as artifacts. We still haven't fully explored or excavated the ruins within Millennium yet." Yuuka regarded me with stars in her eyes, clearly wanting to get all the information about Kivotos' history that I didn't have out of me. "Sensei, do you have any idea how big of a discovery this is? You could singlehandedly-"
"They aren't extinct yet," Silver Wolf corrected, interrupting Yuuka's fangirling. "And that android over there? One of the Nameless' most prized creations."
Yuuka's expression instantly turned into that reminiscent of the look of betrayal Trash Cake gave me whenever I ate the packaging containing some food instead of giving it to them. "Stelle, how could you?!"
March, doing her best Rin impression, immediately went for the double facepalm, lashing out at Silver Wolf as she did so. "Your storytelling sucks! Stop being cryptic about things the audience already knows and get to the point!"
Silver Wolf seemed unfazed, her voice still carrying a hint of smugness as she dragged my name through the mud in the eyes of Yuuka. "Oh, don't worry, the current Express Crew and the Nameless Priests are not one of the same, and I can prove it. Why don't you go over there and touch Alice, Stelle?"
Everything about that request was clearly a trap, a trap so blatantly obvious that even March caught on. Himari seemed like she was going to interrupt, but March was quicker on the draw than her.
"Why are we even listening to this?!" March exploded in a form of raw anger that I had rarely seen. "We have nothing to do with that android! We're from space, how could we?!"
Rio wasn't convinced. "That's presumably where the remaining Nameless fled after their civilization collapsed. Where exactly are the Express Crew from?"
"The...space region! Of...space." March's less than convincing argument wasn't exactly helpful, and even more baffling was that she neglected to mention that, as followers of the Path of the Trailblaze, we don't really have a home until we choose to leave the Express Crew. There have been former Crew members who have left to start new lives in permanent residences; most notably Penacony's independence from the IPC was made possible by former Nameless, while another became the current head of the IPC's Marketing Development Department, betraying the ideals of the Trailblaze along the way. And besides, if former Nameless did end up founding a religious cult that was the basis of Kivotos' civilizations, the Express should have an event that significant in its data banks.
I shrugged. I knew Silver Wolf well enough that if she did set up a trap for me, it wouldn't do me any lasting harm. She did go out of her way to save Firefly's life after all, even if it was partly for her own benefit of keeping potentially the best bodyguard in the galaxy around. "If it'll win your trust, Rio, I'll touch...I'll interface with the android." March held out her hand to try and stop me, and Himari tried to body block me with her wheelchair, but it was too late, for I practically teleported over to the android. Not seeing any place I could mess around with, especially as its skin was remarkably human in appearance. I decided to go hold her right hand instead. Even the feeling of it was remarkably human, as it felt warm to the touch and had the same texture as real skin. The only thing that was slightly off was a massive shock that carried right through my body and straight into my brain, far beyond what even the mech suit Toki was piloting had prodded me with. I was instantly paralyzed, which was evident for all to see.
"Stelle!" Yuuka yelled in horror.
"Sensei!" Rio was genuinely shocked at what had just happened.
"Why you LITTLE-" March, finally reaching her breaking point, exploded into righteous fury, unfettered and raw.
As I quickly fell towards the floor with my consciousness rapidly fading out, I could make out some voices and see a scene unfolding as I did so. Karin and Asuna were holding March back around the waist, pleading at her to calm herself, but March quickly and effortlessly broke free. Himari had caught me in her lap and was gently cradling my head with her delicate hands. The last thing I saw before my vision faded to black was March lunging with both hands held out at Silver Wolf.
Somewhere in an overgrown mossy labyrinth of vines, Silver Wolf felt something soft brush against her cheeks. To others, it was pleasant, like the gentle swaying of trees in the breeze. But Silver Wolf was not like many others, and she much preferred the familiar comfort and solitude of a pitch-black room illuminated only by the lights and screen panels of computer hardware, though she was still more than willing to tolerate this feeling if it meant being able to see and experience exotic new thrills. With nary a source of light inside the caves of rubble, she relied on the low-vision mode of her goggles to see the faint outline of a silhouette in the distance, and what seemed to be a cloud of smoke emanating from its head. It was holding a flashlight, pointing in the opposite direction as it looked away from Silver Wolf.
"Who's there?" Silver Wolf demanded, having been exploring by herself without a friendly presence for a while now.
"It's just me, Punk Lord," a calm male voice replied. "We should avoid being separated again as we explore these ruins. I'm rather worried about the stability of the ceiling, so we should make this quick, lest we lose the fruits of our mutual research."
"I'm not a child, Black Suit. I can take care of myself. I didn't get this far in the game just by sitting on my butt and letting other people do all the lifting for me. I'm not like Beatrice or Basement Dweller," Silver Wolf replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"Yes, yes, you are a genius hacker, after all," Black Suit said with a chuckle, walking out further into the cave and the fog of darkness that seemed to swallow the two explorers whole. "Are you sure we can find the Priestess of the Nameless here? Your source of information doesn't seem very reliable."
Silver Wolf thought back to the pair of twins at Millennium she had bartered with to get the "quest information" to secure this particular "treasure", both members of Millennium's Game Development Department. They certainly didn't act the part, especially the one in the pink uniform who, if Silver Wolf didn't know any better, she would have thought was aiming to make a troll game rather than a legitimate product to be bought and sold. Regardless, the fact they happily parted ways with their information and quest to secure whatever vague treasure they had in mind in exchange for Silver Wolf helping to develop a revision patch for their game, Tales Chronicle Saga, which previously had the dishonorable distinction of winning "Worst Game of the Year" from a prominent annual awards ceremony. Even with her talents, the fact she and they only worked on it for a few days combined with the game being fundamentally flawed meant Silver Wolf was only able to elevate the product from "absolute stinker" to "average". The rapid jump in game quality, especially in terms of balancing as the tutorial no longer immediately killed you for following the prompts it laid out to you, should be enough to regenerate interest in the product and lead to it becoming a financial success, especially with the game's unique retro aesthetics when the rest of the market was pushing cutting edge graphics. As long as the GDD kept her involvement under wraps, Silver Wolf was certain it would at least be enough to convince Millennium's erstwhile treasurer to hold off on disbanding the club for a while longer.
"Don't underestimate gamers, Black Suit," Silver Wolf vaguely alluded. "The galaxy is full of possibilities."
"Well, I won't argue with that," Black Suit conceded. "But I'm starting to wonder if these 'Nameless Priests' are truly the same ones who birthed Kivotos' civilizations, considering how needlessly destructive their philosophy I find their philosophy. And call it a scientist's intuition, but you're still withholding information for my research from me, Punk Lord."
"What can I say, you're an amusing toy," Silver Wolf taunted, as she pulled up a holographic display and began to interface with it using her hands. "And I find the journey is more interesting than the reward, wouldn't you agree?" A map showed a crude representation of the underground maze they had been wandering for quite some time now, as well as several markers indicating various locations of interest. "Come here, Black Suit. Can you tell me where you've gone since we've last been separated?"
Black Suit followed her instructions, as he stood beside her. "Hmm. I've visited these particular locations." Black Suit pointed at various rooms labeled "UNEXPLORED" on the zoomed-out map. "There are remnants of ancient defense units, and I've secured samples and photos. Why don't you take a look?" A discolored spherical shell could be seen in the photo Black Suit showed to his colleague, with eight tendrils coming out of its sides. "I haven't had the pleasure of naming them yet. Perhaps you can do the honors, Punk Lord?"
Silver Wolf took a look at the unit, its center bearing what seemed to be visual sensors in a peculiar shape not unreminiscent of a controller's directional pad, which bore a resemblance to an enemy unit in an older MMORPG she experimented with shortly, now out of service and only playable through hacking rare physical copies. "Hmm...how about Guardians?"
"Nameless Guardians?" inquired Black Suit. "Well, I would have picked a different name, but it's not a bad one."
"Good, good. Now, how about these rooms here? What else have you found in those besides samples and derelict machines?" Silver Wolf pointed towards a series of rooms, also marked "UNEXPLORED", that formed a line.
"Well, there are a lot of shelves and furniture inside them, so I presume the Nameless Priests were once here."
Silver Wolf rolled her eyes. She began individually marking each remaining room on the map as "EXPLORED" while continuing the conversation. "Very funny, Black Suit. What did you really find?"
Black Suit pointed to the entryway to the final chamber in the line. "There's a gate blocking the only way inside. It seems remarkably high-tech compared to everything else we've found here. Perhaps it's still active and you could use your skills to gain entry?"
Silver Wolf, as usual being easily excited at the prospect of getting into some random restricted area, eagerly made her way over towards the gate with Black Suit in tow. As she examined it, she realized why it seemed out of place, as it was far larger and taller than anything else she had seen inside the ruins. If it were not for the fact the ruins themselves were inside a massive crater that seemed to be almost artificial in its shape and depth, this section of the ruins would have been far larger than the entire building complex itself.
"This is definitely high tech," Silver Wolf said, marveling at the structure's advanced construction. Internally, she noted the gate was rather similar to the physical firewalls present on Punklorde in construct and size. "But if you're willing to wait for a while, I think we can find the way inside. After all, you wouldn't have brought a fragile little girl like me into an active war zone for the sake of your research, would you?"
Black Suit, as always, seemed unphased, and was ready with a snappy comeback. "A fragile little girl that can wipe the floor with most professional soldiers under Kaiser's employ, and that I'd rather not leave alone in an active war zone for the sake of my research, no. And the longer we spend dawdling, the more risk we have of someone else finding this place. Underground Dweller may have his eyes on this as part of his 'grand strategy', whatever that may be."
Silver Wolf scoffed. "Until he stops being a noob and comes up with something beyond 'conquer the galaxy and get revenge on the IPC', I'll keep calling him Basement Dweller. It's a name that suits him."
Black Suit shrugged. "We can discuss our feelings about the rest of Gematria later and focus on the task at hand. I shall leave you be." He then stepped aside and marched towards a wall before facing it, seemingly lost in thought.
After a few minutes, Silver Wolf eventually managed to crack the gate's encryption and force it open, with it shaking and rumbling as what seemed to be runes carved in a dark blue glow lit up like the screen on a retro television set. The door swung open, revealing a large and imposing chamber lit up by sunlight that was beaming directly inside from the open ceiling. In the center was a singular chair with a terminal next to it, and in the chair what appeared to be a naked girl with long, dark hair that reached the floor and spread not too dissimilar of rivers which crossed into deserts. Silver Wolf noted there were some letter scrawled onto her skin: "AL-1S". It seemed to be a unit designation number.
"Fascinating..." Black Suit began, stepping into the room before Silver Wolf could even close her holographic display. He then tensed up as something made him stop in his tracks. "Punk Lord, come here. I'm detecting signs of activity from it. It looks like we're not alone down here," Black Suit announced, and Silver Wolf rushed over.
AL-1S suddenly got up, with her eyes glowing a bright pink as it announced something in a manner of speaking that appeared not to be its own. "Status update. Contact with unapproved subjects detected. Sentry mode activated. Executing defense protocol. Replaying pre-prepared voice file. Welcome, interlopers. I am AL-1S. You are nothing."
Before either could react, AL-1S quickly rushed up to Black Suit, grabbing him by the leg and swinging him around, repeatedly slamming him into the floor as the stone and dirt cracked beneath him. Having apparently picked out Black Suit as the bigger threat of the intruders, it ignored Silver Wolf as Black Suit's body was savagely beaten down from the repeated assaults, with parts of him seemingly fragmenting as if they were pieces of an asteroid, as more smoke formed around his areas of injury. During the savage beating, AL-1S began chanting a cadence of conquest.
"WITH HEARTS OF STEEL, WE MARCH AND KILL. DIVI:SION WILL BRING, A NAMELESS DAWN!"
This left Silver Wolf, who was seemingly uncaring about the safety of her companion, free to leisurely begin hacking into AL-1S while the combat took place in front of her view. Eventually, AL-1S, satisfied with its work, threw the limp and possibly dead body of Black Suit into a nearby wall, only for him to simply dust himself off and readjust his outfit.
"You are being freed from this mortal coil," AL-1S, or Key inhabiting AL-1S, began, interrupting its chant as it did so. "Please do not resist."
"I believe-" Black Suit could not finish his response in time, as AL-1S, tired of throwing around its victim akin to a chew toy, began using its fists to rapidly batter him instead at what seemed like an incredible rate of speed, faster than Silver Wolf's eyes cared to register; she was more interested in the bundle of code she was currently typing out. As she finished up loading her overload algorithm though, she noticed two peculiar things about AL-1S. First, it, or rather she, had the same core as an Intellitron. Second, it was being controlled by a program named Key. Considering Kivotos hasn't had much contact with the galaxy at large, such a thing shouldn't be possible. Yet, here it was, clear as day, and completely undeniable through her own handiwork; AL-1S indeed possessed an Intellitron core. Perhaps these Nameless Priests did have some connection to the Nameless after all, at least those who walked the Path of the Trailblaze before Stelle did. As Silver Wolf considered the possibilities, she decided she couldn't just simply disable AL-1S and let Black Suit recover and experiment on her. Beyond that outcome taking away an avenue of amusement, while Silver Wolf had little problem with collateral damage, she still found the idea of letting someone experiment on another unwilling person morally objectionable.
"Run overload?" the terminal text on her holographic display showed. Silver Wolf typed a singular "N" as the response.
"Punk Lord, now is not the time for dawdling-" Black Suit was launched towards the ceiling by an uppercut that could have shattered steel.
Silver Wolf rapidly began isolating Key from the rest of AL-1S' systems through heuristic analysis, as the android grabbed Black Suit before he hit the floor and began squeezing him in a bear hug. It eventually noticed her intrusion, dropping Black Suit and turning its attention towards the Punk Lord.
Key dropped its supposed pre-programmed chant as it showed unmistakable emotion for the first time in its encounter. "You will NOT interfere with the Princess' mission! Kivotos shall be cleansed for the Nameless to rule once again!" Controlling AL-1S' body, Key made a mad sprint for Silver Wolf, but by then, it was far too late.
"Allow Changes?" the display read.
"Hmph," Silver Wolf scoffed, taking the opportunity to taunt her opponent as was custom for a hardcore gamer like her. "At this speed? Too slow!" Hitting the "Y" key once, Silver Wolf watched as AL-1S seemed to ragdoll onto the floor, now sliding harmlessly on the floor and missing Silver Wolf by a wide margin, before a final message confirming the hacker's victory popped up on her display.
"KEY QUARANTINED."
Black Suit, significantly worse for wear, walked over to the center and began to lean on the chair. His breathing was laborious, and he seemed to choke on every word. "You could have done that sooner. It would have saved me some trouble." Silver Wolf, ignoring him, gently picked up and cradled AL-1S, before turning around and walking back towards the center of the room, causing Black Suit to question her. "What are you doing, Punk Lord?"
"Advancing our research," Silver Wolf responded, not bothering to turn around.
"It's hardly worth taking a souvenir back." Black Suit countered. "I thought we agreed I would be the one to recover its frame. Or are you planning to end it here?"
"We did," Silver Wolf agreed. "And don't worry. It wouldn't be amusing for me to finish you without a good reason to. But I believe you will also agree to a more fruitful avenue of research." She sat AL-1S back down on the chair, as was her original position. "This AL-1S isn't just a creation of the Nameless. It, or rather she, has the heart of a girl."
"You are saying...she is a singularity?" Silver Wolf wasn't sure how long Black Suit, and by extension, the rest of Gematria had been self-exiled to Kivotos, but it seemed to be long enough that none of them had even a surface-level understanding of the Intellitron species, if they had any knowledge of them at all. Either way, it made it easier for Silver Wolf to pull off one of the "tricks" that Kafka had taught her: say nothing that was untrue but instead could be interpreted as what Silver Wolf wanted Black Suit to think.
"That's for your research to decide, but she has the heart of a girl regardless. And I know how we can bring her back," Silver Wolf confidently stated, pulling a data cable from the terminal and plugging one end of it into AL-1S' temple. Noting that she and Black Suit were identified as "unapproved subjects", Silver Wolf eventually found her way into the database that controlled said approved subjects and added both herself and Black Suit to it. She noticed that the list also included a vast swath of current Millennium students: ranging from the current Seminar president Tsukatsuki Rio to those as seemingly insignificant as the members of the Game Development Department; Silver Wolf reached the conclusion that Key must have been planning on using AL-1S as a trojan horse to attack Millennium, and thus likely knew about the Eridu project that Rio was currently keeping under wraps by disguising it as part of the construction for a new commercial center within the Millennium district of Kivotos. Having her new playground razed so soon would certainly put a damper on Silver Wolf's enjoyment.
The Punk Lord, after wiping all recent traces of AL-1S' memory to try to prevent Key from resurfacing, sent a reboot command to AL-1S, before disconnecting her from the terminal. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and she registered Silver Wolf and Black Suit with the curiosity of a newborn. Silver Wolf was internally amused, as it was practically a repeat of her "first" encounter with Stelle, and began pondering whether to introduce Kivotos to the legend of the Galactic Baseballer.
"A-L-One-S?" Silver Wolf asked, waiting for the android girl to confirm her name.
"Negative. AL-1S is the name designated to this unit," AL-1S responded.
"What a stupid name." Silver Wolf quickly hooked her back up to the terminal, changing AL-1S' designated name and rebooting her one more time. Her eyes shut and opened again once more, and Silver Wolf restarted the line of conversation. "Alice?"
"Affirmative," the android, now named Alice, responded. "Alice is the name designated to this unit."
Black Suit was unconvinced, and likely would have stopped Silver Wolf from continuing further if it wasn't for his sorry physical state. "Punk Lord, why bother wasting your time giving a doll a name? It has not demonstrated any inkling of sentience, let alone this 'heart' you have asserted it possesses. It is an advanced combat android, nothing more."
"You? Being impatient? My my, Black Suit must be losing his touch. And besides, this little lady will help me...help US, make the most interesting of discoveries." Silver Wolf turned her head around to face her partner. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to take a closer look at our prize."
As both of them stared down the newly christened Alice's face, the android scanned the room and, despite her neutral expression and blank tone of voice, clearly regarded the both of them with curiosity. "Query: Who are you?"
Silver Wolf thought back to that encounter with Stelle aboard the HSS, before plagiarizing the same lines Kafka fed her friend during that event. She always wanted to be the one to say it, after all. "That's not important. Listen to me..." Silver Wolf paused, and noted she didn't have that other "trick" Kafka did. Granted, with Alice's memory wiped, that shouldn't be an issue, as she should be as impressionable as a child in their first year of school. "You don't know who you are. You don't know why you're here. You don't know who I am. None of that matters. All you need to know is I am leaving, and you'll be left all alone from here on out. From now on, you needn't think about your past nor doubt yourself."
Silver Wolf paused for a bit, realizing it wasn't like Alice could walk outside and make friends, or go on brand new adventures in the deserted and hostile plains of rubble that was the Millennium ruins. As it turns out, she couldn't just copy Kafka's homework after all. For one, Alice wasn't Stelle, who seemed to have a fetish for piles of junk. Considering the absurd amount of bullet casings Kivotos' students left in the wake of their petty spats, if Stelle was here she would probably find the place to be a nirvana of sorts. There was likely immense untapped amusement to be had should she bring Stelle here, after all, there was nothing wrong with being a backseat gamer every now and then. Still, there was one more way to give Alice those same adventures that Silver Wolf's friend had the pleasure of experiencing. The Punk Lord of Gematria took out a handheld gaming device, which was gifted to her by the Game Development Department as a token of appreciation for developing the revision patch for Tales Saga Chronicle, and the device had said revision edition of TSC installed onto it. Silver Wolf noted that a red screen with "Divi:Sion" had lit up on it, before quickly turning back off again. It was something Key mentioned in its song during the savage beating it gave Black Suit. Still, it probably couldn't hurt too much, now that Alice's memory had been wiped. And if nothing else, spreading the joy of games to someone else was something that never failed to give Silver Wolf the thrill she was constantly seeking. As Silver Wolf put it in Alice's hand, Alice's eyes focused on it.
"Through this, you will encounter all kinds of perils and hardships, but you will also have many wonderful experiences. You'll meet companions who will treat you like family and embark on surreal adventures with them." Silver Wolf then plugged the still conscious Alice back into the terminal, uploading data on both Eridu and the members of the GDD before unplugging her again. Eridu was a series of dynamically adjusting fortifications that could quickly turn the otherwise unassuming hub of capitalism into by far the most heavily defended fortress on the planet; everything from its information warfare capabilities to ground defense was bolstered by the embezzlement of funds that was almost worthy of the IPC itself, all controlled by a centralized power grid. It would have been child's play for Silver Wolf to just throw a virus from almost quite literally an entire galaxy away and fry its systems; in fact, she had already done so, but simply left it to lay dormant for the time being. When activated, it would permanently disrupt its functionality as well as leak information about the plan to other sitting members of Seminar. Of course, a taunting video message for Rio was recorded as well. However, Alice had no such capability. Infiltrating it would be a perfectly suitable final challenge for the android.
Silver Wolf took out a dongle, and on it was the activation key for the virus meant to destroy Eridu. "When you finish, you will be ready for one final challenge: Eridu. It is the final dungeon you must conquer, otherwise Eridu could destroy the world. Get into the central tower and plug this into its computers. Once you are done, seek out the Game Development Department members within Millennium. The world needs its hero, Alice. It is up to you to answer the call. When you make that choice, make sure it is one you won't regret."
Silver Wolf nudged Black Suit, and they proceeded to leave the chamber. Alice seemed to quickly gain some sort of personality, as when Silver Wolf looked back, she had been reaching her hand out to Silver Wolf in futility, before saying two words that almost shocked Silver Wolf to her core. "Wait...mother..."
The chamber gate automatically shut behind them as they left, and the explorers began conversing with one another.
"Mother..." Black Suit chuckled to himself. "Fascinating. I believe I owe an apology for doubting you. This is a most unexpected development."
Silver Wolf nearly lost her lunch when she witnessed the time Stelle had, in fact, called Kafka "mother" post-memory loss. She just chalked it up to the fact that some things can never be wiped away. She admitted internally it felt pretty good, even if she had no interest in holding that sort of title or responsibility. "Told you so. What will you do now, since we couldn't recover her?"
"You obfuscate the truth. You stopped me from recovering her," Black Suit rebuked. "I simply didn't see any benefit to giving you that good reason to finish me off here."
"Fair enough."
"As for your question, I shall continue my investigation and research into other matters. My original goal was simply to find and recover the ancient weapon of the Nameless, and I've partly accomplished it. If anything, Alice...as she is called now, will no doubt have quite a presence, especially once she accomplishes the goals you have given her. I shall simply observe for now," Black Suit said, dusting himself off. "I suppose you could say, this was a victory for Gematria."
Silver Wolf scoffed. "I think that's a little presumptuous. But hey, whatever makes you happy, Black Suit."
"I am only interested in the fruits of knowledge, Punk Lord. And I am content with the knowledge we both have benefitted from this excursion."
As the two stepped outside, they witnessed that the once clear, blue sky that hung above them was now an eerie, blood red.
"Oh dear," Black Suit flatly stated, which for him was the equivalent of soiling his pants in sheer panic. "I must go, Punk Lord. If we never meet again, I will say that it has been a pleasure working with you." He sprinted off into the distance as Silver Wolf was left alone, processing what was going on. Soon, a smirk formed on her face.
"Should have listened to me, Miss President..."
And now, armed with a stellar idea in tow, she began to quickly formulate a plan. Kivotos has room for another hero, after all.
"...You should know that rules are made to be broken."
My vision and consciousness returned to me after having yet another "dream" regarding Silver Wolf's past antics. I found myself still lying in Himari's lap, having apparently been moved back to Rio's office proper during the time I was lost in Silver Wolf's memories. I slowly got up, and Himari stopped cradling me as she began to speak.
"Ah, Sensei. We are glad to see you are well. Silver Wolf promised us you would be unharmed, but her word is rather untrustworthy, as we've already established."
I turned around and saw that March was standing tall with her arms held up high. She was strangling Silver Wolf with both hands with what seemed to be enough might to crush steel in her bare hands. Silver Wolf was turning red from asphyxiation as March grit her teeth and looked on with a face of unmitigated fury. March then set Silver Wolf down for a bit, who attempted to catch her breath, only for March to wrap her hands around Silver Wolf again and resume strangling Silver Wolf. Rio sat at her desk, working on something at her computer with an expression I could only describe as pure joy. It must have been sweet revenge for Rio to finally get back at the infamous Punk Lord and even learn her true name, even if she was doing do indirectly through someone she just physically attacked.
"H-Hey..." Silver Wolf wheezed, a seldom seen expression of sheer terror in her eyes. "I was just...proving Stelle's innocence, you know? No harm done."
"Silver Wolf," March coldly growled. "You've been nothing but a rampaging brat these past few days. It's time for someone to correct you."
"March...this is a joke, right? You can't possibly be this mad about a little-" Silver Wolf was cut off as she was lifted up, with March's arms fully extending outward.
"Oh, I AM this mad, Silver Wolf. Very, very mad." Silver Wolf was now seemingly dangling like a marionette. For Silver Wolf, March may as well have lifted her twenty meters off the ground. I turned back at Himari, questioning the events that had transpired when I dreamt of electric wolves.
"How long have I been out?" I asked.
"No less than thirty minutes," Himari replied. "C&C gave up trying to restrain your friend and have left to assist in cleanup and repair duties around the school. The Seminar members who were present have done the same." Toki was still unaccounted for, so it was probably reasonable to assume she had done the same as well. "March over there stopped strangling Silver Wolf long enough to allow her to separate this 'Key', as she called it, from Alice, and it...or she, has laid dormant since. I suspect Silver Wolf simply just transferred Key into her own possession. Then March continued strangling her after the deed was done."
I chuckled a bit at the revelation, and Rio did the same. March was a girl of many words, but even when angered, she usually just raised her voice or complained somewhat ineffectually. Even though I trust Silver Wolf and consider her a close friend, she often abused that trust by taking her pranks on me too far as she knew I would do little to retaliate, which is one of the reasons March has a somewhat more negative opinion of her than I do; though lately it hasn't stopped March from being on affable terms with Silver Wolf. March swerving right over that cliff and plummeting down straight into barely restrained, cold anger over those pranks was proof of our mutual bond, one that I cherish.
Rio finished her work before turning her attention to me, motioning for her to take a seat on the leather chair in front of her desk. I did so, and Himari wheeled up beside me, questioning Rio. "You're keeping me here, Rio? I thought you'd want me escorted out before you began."
"On the contrary, I wanted you to stay for the proceedings," Rio responded. "This will decide Millennium's future, and I wish to hear your input on it before I continue with my decisions."
"You? Taking feedback from others?" Himari was baffled. "Well, this is a surprise, but a welcome one to be sure."
A printer on Rio's desk spat out the document she had been working on, before she handed it over to me. "Sensei, I am deeply sorry about the attacks I've ordered on you without properly verifying your guilt." I read it over, and it was a notice that Rio was officially resigning as the president of Seminar. "Consider this my effort to take responsibility for my actions."
Himari was so outraged that she tried to stand up, before backing over onto her chair. She began her tirade with shouting so intense that even March had stopped strangling Silver Wolf to listen. "Taking responsibility? How is THIS taking responsibility? Why do you constantly run away from your problems without considering the consequences it would bring upon others?"
Rio was shocked. "Himari, I-"
Himari continued despite Rio's attempted interruption. "Do you have any idea what Toki sacrificed for you? I'm sure you are aware she let herself be held back a year due to non-attendance just to fulfill her duty to you both as your bodyguard and your confidant, yes? That girl may not show her emotions, but she's just as capable of feeling hurt as any other, she just has absolutely no ability when it comes to refusing you. Are you really going to abandon her, just for your own selfish feelings of guilt?"
"I-"
"The rest of Seminar still stood behind you and were willing to let you lead them, even after Eridu was destroyed and your corruption was internally exposed. They put their faith in you, even after you repeatedly failed them. Are you going to let them waste that faith? You don't deserve to be their leader, but they need you. And perhaps through actually taking responsibility by not running away, you can become worthy of being their, and by extension Millennium's leader, as well." Himari, having finished, had her head hung low, her breathing heavy. "Hand me your water, Rio."
March had left Silver Wolf slumped over by the wall and panting for air, as she was suddenly by Himari with Rio's water quicker than any of us had registered. "Here you go, Himari!"
Himari offered March no thanks, practically snatching the water from March and chugging it empty before tossing it to the floor, not even bothering with manners after putting on an air of elegance up until now. "You wish for my feedback, Rio? Hand Sensei that resignation paper and never speak of this manner again. You are Seminar's president. There is no one more suitable. You would cause more damage to Millennium than Alice ever did by resigning."
Rio, her eyes wide and her jaw hanging slightly open, was completely silent. She had likely never seen such a display of emotion from Himari, and I don't think anyone could have anticipated it. March's usually chipper disposition was nowhere to be found, and even Silver Wolf's smug grin was absent; and it wasn't just because she was still gasping for air. I dematerialized the resignation paper into my inventory, intending to throw it into SCHALE's industrial shredder once I had the opportunity, and began speaking as I did. "Rio, it's alright. People have tried to kill me for far less. There's been more than one time where someone tried to kill me just because I was taller than them."
My reassurance was rather ineffective, and Rio seemed to be weirded out, and March gave me a look that was a mixture of bafflement and disappointment. "That's not very reassuring, Sensei," Rio critiqued. "It sounds more like a threat."
"Oh, I see how it is," I replied, mocking her height much like I did Neru's. Rio was rather tall for a student, but I still had a few centimeters on her. I think the only person I've run into that was taller than me so far was Hasumi. Rio didn't seem to register this, however. "But in all seriousness, there are no hard feelings. And I think there are a few things I should explain to you."
"I see. I'm willing to listen, Sensei. Millennium owes you that much."
And so, I explained in general terms about my background, the distinction between the Express Crew and the Nameless Priests, Alice, and Silver Wolf's memories that I glimpsed while I was unconscious. I probably shouldn't have, but I also felt the need to explain that since Alice had the core of an Intellitron, then there was no guarantee that the Nameless Priests weren't connected to the Express Crew, as they may have been former members themselves. Just because Rio was remorseful of her actions doesn't mean she'll stop being paranoid, so I felt transparency was the best way to win her trust, regardless of how futile or self-sabotaging it may be. Rio didn't seem bothered by this revelation, instead opting to use it as justification for her previous decisions. "In that case, I will keep custody of this Alice, then. If we cannot destroy her, then we could at least contain and study her."
Silver Wolf finally seemed to catch her breath, and decided now was a good time to add her two credits. "I dunno about that. That 'Key' character might be a little ticked if you try and do anything with Alice."
Rio narrowed her eyes. "I thought you contained it."
Silver Wolf shrugged. "I did. But who knows. It is a supersmart computer virus. It could escape my custody one day."
Himari, apparently no longer wanting to deal with Silver Wolf's antics, decided to point blank accuse Silver Wolf of further treachery. "Your 'custody'? You insult us, Silver Wolf. Not very subtle about taking this program for yourself, are you?"
Silver Wolf laughed. "Do you have any proof of that?"
"Do you want me to strangle you again?" March rebuked. Silver Wolf shut her mouth after that.
Her interruption, at least, gave me enough time to formulate a plan to try to ensure Alice's wellbeing, on top of starting the favorable relations with Millennium that I came here to secure to begin with.
"I agree, keeping Alice within Millennium would be the best course of action," I stated. "And, if you're willing to, I'd like you to fulfill three requests for me. After that, I'll consider us even for all the attacks you've ordered on me."
Rio, although she was visibly less than enthusiastic about having to compromise, nodded her head.
"First, I'd like to establish myself as the Advisor for one of your clubs. Specifically, I'd like to join the Game Development Club."
"The GDD?" Himari was both amused and confused. "I'm not sure what value they could offer you, Sensei, beyond Alice having apparently infiltrated Millennium's campus to seek them out." She let out a smug, all-knowing smile as she continued. "Your real purpose is to establish Alice's safety, yes?"
I nodded and motioned for her to continue.
"The Super Phenomenon Task Force was started under the request of Rio, and through that same request I was transferred from the president of Veritas to the president of the SPTF. Its purpose was to investigate paranormal affairs, though really, it was mostly to lead a manhunt for your associate over there." Himari looked at Silver Wolf, who was now fiddling with her tablet once again.
"You're welcome, Stelle," Silver Wolf responded, not even bothering to look up. Maybe she was looking up a walkthrough on how to avoid being nearly choked to death by a girl named after a date on the calendar.
"And an light of recent events and your proposal, this creates a great opportunity for all parties involved," Himari continued. "Rio, I'd like to contain and study Alice. If Sensei and her associate's assessments of the android are accurate, then Alice can be rehabilitated as a student, and I'd like to formally induct her as a member of the SPTF once that occurs. Poor Eimi can't be the only member of the club besides myself for much longer, or she will get quite lonely."
Rio narrowed her eyes. "And you are planning to propose to Sensei that she become the SPTF's Advisor, yes? I cannot allow that without a caveat of my own. I will formally transfer Toki over to the SPTF, so that she may report to me on your progress. In exchange, I will use the ongoing campus repair efforts to assign the SPTF a formal club room; specifically, the empty one on the floor below this one. I'm sure you will find this quite agreeable."
Himari chuckled. "You know me very well, Rio. And, Sensei, the knowledge you've given us today will allow Millennium to make rapid progress in understanding concepts we previously did not, but that knowledge in the wrong hands could cause the destruction of Kivotos as we know it. With you as the SPTF's Advisor, not only would you be able to oversee and ensure Alice's safety, but you'd also be able to oversee our research and better control what information goes out to the public. What do you say, Sensei?"
Himari completely had me over the barrel; though the arrangement was mutually beneficial, I couldn't refuse because she held all the cards by being the one that will be around Alice the most as well as her implying she would release her findings as she pleased if I didn't accept. She certainly didn't hold that fancy Omni-whatever title for nothing. Himari has more than earned her new place alongside Rin, Hoshino, and Hifumi on my list of people not to piss off. "Sure, I'll be your Advisor."
Himari grinned, stroking her ego and lording her power over me in a way that could only be matched by Herta herself. "Excellent, we have a deal. Don't worry, Sensei. An extraordinary, beautiful genius like me would never lead you astray."
I continued. "Second, I'd like for SCHALE to take custody of Silver Wolf and deal with her as we see fit. I will personally guarantee the restitution will be...appropriate." Basically, I was just asking Rio to look the other way regarding Silver Wolf. There really wasn't much we could actually do, as Silver Wolf can and would just instantly warp out of any prison anyone tried to throw her in. Even Herta dealt with Silver Wolf simply by not engaging with her and getting all her game accounts banned, ensuring Silver Wolf would also be too busy getting said accounts back to engage with Herta, resulting in mutually assured boredom, and boredom was Silver Wolf's one weakness.
I was expecting Rio to be rather angry at this request, but to my surprise, she seemed more than happy to let me take Silver Wolf off her hands. "I see no issue with this. It is clear you are far more equipped to deal with Silver Wolf than Millennium currently is." She stared at Silver Wolf's neck, which still had March's hands imprinted on it in deep grooves, and let out a slight smile. "Though, it is clear you and her share a somewhat...complicated relationship." Rio looked at Himari as she finished that sentence.
"Now, what's that supposed to mean, Rio?" Himari questioned mockingly.
"You know very well what I mean, Himari," Rio replied.
Himari crossed her arms and put on an exaggerated fake pout. "Fine. Don't tell me."
"Finally, I'd like for this to be the start of a mutually beneficial and worthwhile relationship between not just SCHALE and Millennium, but you and me, Rio." I put my hand out for a handshake. "I look forward to working with you."
Rio got up and reached over, firmly accepting it. "Likewise. You can expect my complete cooperation, Sensei."
"Well then, I think we have a deal," Himari stated, clapping her hands together. "I believe you've spent more than enough time here, Sensei. May I suggest placing a Space Anchor within the soon-to-be SPTF club room? I doubt you'd wish to walk all the stairs down the Millennium Tower now that your helicopter transport has departed without you."
I nodded; perfectly aware Himari just wished to study the Space Anchor more than anything. Thinking about it, while we had a lot of Anchors in storage and could produce more relatively quickly, Kivotos having magnitudes more ground to cover compared to the other destinations I've been to meant it ate considerably into the Crew's budget, not to mention we'd probably want to save a stockpile for when we finally make planetfall on Amphoreus. Even more reason to make sure Hifumi got treatment usually reserved for royalty under my employ.
March stood Silver Wolf up, the latter complaining as she did so. "I can stand by myself, you know."
"Bad girls don't get to stand by themselves," March shot back, taking out a zip tie from her carrier vest before using it as makeshift handcuffs on Silver Wolf. "Hehe, now that's a pose that fits you! You have the right to remain fabulous!"
"Fabulous?" Silver Wolf rolled her eyes. "It's silent, March." Silver Wolf could easily break out of the ties, not to mention she couldn't even use the Space Anchor anyway and could naturally just use her own abilities to open a warp wherever she pleased. But her flair for the theatrical combined with probable short-term fear of being strangled by March again were likely making her decide to play along.
We left Rio's office and March perp-walked Silver Wolf around the campus, much to the bemusement and delight of the gossiping hens that were the Millennium students. Most of them stopped to take pictures, and a particularly energetic student with red hair in a double-bun styling had asked for my autograph, which I was more than happy to give. As we neared the new SPTF club room, I received a flurry of texts: mostly from Wakamo, and a single message from Kayoko.
-Displaying most recent conversation history-
Wakamo: Sensei, I see you have been busy. How has your health been?
Stelle: I could be better, really. My leg is still injured from that anti-tank round I took.
Wakamo: How disgraceful of those pests. I will punish them posthaste.
Stelle: No need, I've already taken care of it.
Wakamo: Ah, of course. You were more than a match for me, after all. I should not have doubted you, darling. Kaiser has dared to scheme against you, yes? They've been hunting me like a common animal ever since the day we met. To no avail, of course. I've have formulated a plan to remove them from our misery. I'll be waiting for you in your office. Please come as soon as you can.
Stelle: Hang on, Wakamo. How did you know about the fact I've been dealing with Kaiser?
Wakamo: I neglected to mention. My associate Silver Wolf is with me as well. See you shortly, Sensei.
-There are no more messages-
I put the phone down and stared at Silver Wolf, who replied with amusement. "What's the matter?"
"Don't tell me..."
"You've been pretty paranoid lately, Stelle. It probably has nothing to do with me." She chuckled to herself.
I decided to check on my one message from Kayoko.
Kayoko: Sensei, Wakamo and Shiroko are here to see you. Please come back to the office as soon as you can.
Oh, of course. Shiroko does have silver hair and wolf ears, after all. I guess I'm not the only one capable of giving themselves cringy titles.
Author's Note: 21,400 words. That's the approximate length of the last three chapters, which, in an insane decision worthy of Stelle herself, I had originally planned to be a singular chapter. I'll be getting quite busy again, so there may not be updates for a while after this. Hopefully, the past three chapters have been worth the wait.