Aiko found herself back at her desk at school, her head still swimming from her magically induced concussion.
The entire room was wrapped in a hazy blur. She could make out desks and people, but if she tried to focus on any detail in particular she felt her headache worsen, until she was eventually forced to look away.
As she sat there watching faceless figures drift in and out of the room. Elara walked her way up to her, her face lit up with her usual smile and cheery demeanor.
Except⦠it wasn't Elara? She didn't remember Elara ever tying her hair up in twintails. And Elara was a blonde, this girl was a brunette.
Her dream self greeted the girl with familiarity, and then a second person walked up and dream Aiko exchanged greetings with her too. She tried to focus on their faces to see if it was someone she knew, but like the rest of the room the girl remained a hazy blur.
Their words too were lost to her. Faint mumblings that were heard but never interpreted, but her dream self seemed fully capable of carrying the conversation by themselves.
Until a strand of hair fell in front of her face, her dream self casually brushed it away and continued talking, but Aiko remained transfixed with what she just saw.
That strand of hair was hazelnut brown, Aiko's hair was and had always been black.
And then it clicked. This was someone else's memory.
And Aiko immediately snapped awake.
-
If Aiko had a nickel for every time she woke up suddenly in a different spot to where she remembered collapsing in she'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice in one day.
She stared in moderate confusion at the swirling violet sky above her. Taking a moment to breathe in the scent of ozone and decay, a smell that felt a lot less nauseating than she remembered it being, before trying to sit up and figure out where she was now.
A gentle hand on her shoulder prevented her from sitting up.
"Elara?"
"Hey." Elara replied sheepishly, all the usual chirp missing from her voice, "Take it easy, don't try to move yet."
Aiko obeyed, letting her head rest against a bed of cool moss that had been lined on top of the ground of the Verge.
Elara's face hovered over hers, her violet eyes glowing softly in the gloom. She looked worried, an expression Aiko had rarely seen her friend make. "How are you feeling? Any lasting aches? Sense of nausea?"
"My head still feels kinda sore, and my tongue feels really weird." She rolled her tongue in her mouth to try to get a better grasp of what that weird feeling was. "Oh. I have two tongues now, weird. Guess that will take some getting used to."
Elara smiled at her softly, suppressing a chuckle. "You're still a little loopy, you need to rest for now. We can talk after you get back on your feet." Elara leaned back and removed her hand from Aiko's shoulder. "Close your eyes and try to get some sleep, I'll fetch some food so you canâ¦"
A hand grabbing onto her wrist stopped her from stepping away. "Wait. Elara. Grumblesâ¦" she whispered, a pang of grief cutting through her headache. "I think Grumbles is dead. I'm sorry. He came to Earth with me and I think the Luminaries took him down."
Elara gently adjusted a crystalline device wrapped around Aiko's forehead. A wave of cold numbness spread through the area, dulling the sharpest edge of the pain. "That was Crushy, actually," she corrected softly. "Grumbles is fine, he's actually standing over there. But⦠yeah. Crushy didn't make it. Crimson Blaze and her shiny friends saw to that." A flicker of anger, cold and sharp, crossed Elara's face.
"Are you angry at me?"
"No! Of course not. Crushy was just a familiar, plus if anyone is to blame it would be Crimson Blaze and her cronies, not you."
"Oh good." Aiko replied with a smile, enjoying the cool wave seeping through her forehead as she settled down.
But Elara continued to watch her tentatively, eventually finding the courage to speak up. "I thought you would be the one mad at me."
"For what?"
"For dragging you into this." Elara fiddled with her fingers, her claws making a clicking sound as they tapped against the carapace on her hands. "After what you said at the clearing I thought you would want nothing to do with me."
"I changed my mind, Elara. I went back. I touched the gem."
Elara's violet eyes widened slightly, the glow intensifying for a moment. A smile touched her lips, genuine but restrained. "I know," she breathed. "I went back to check on it and found it missing. And since my familiars were just standing around I assumed you were the one that took it."
They stayed like that in comfortable silence, Aiko fighting to keep her eyes open, Elara content to simply watch over her, the only sound the soft hum of the Verge and Aiko's slowing breaths.
"I'm sorry," Aiko mumbled, her voice thick with impending sleep. "For what I said... about you not being the real Elara." She shifted slightly, wincing at the movement but pressing on. "People change. I guess... you just changed more dramatically than most these past few years."
Elara gave a soft, breathy chuckle, the sound barely disturbing the quiet. "Yeah," she whispered, her violet eyes warm in the gloom. "A lot happened these past couple of years. Probably a little overwhelming to take in all at once."
"It was," Aiko admitted, her eyelids fluttering. "But I never should have said those things." With effort, she turned her head on the mossy bed, her gaze finding Elara's luminous eyes directly. The sincerity was raw in her weary voice. "Because... I was still so incredibly happy to see you again."
"Aiko, I..." Elara started, her voice catching with emotion.
But Aiko's eyes had already drifted shut, her breathing deepening into the steady rhythm of sleep. The words hung unfinished in the air between them.
Elara watched her for a moment longer, then reached out, her clawed hand surprisingly gentle as she brushed a strand of hair from Aiko's forehead. Smiling softly as she watched her friend rest. Seemingly content to simply keep vigil in the shifting shadows of the Verge as Aiko healed in peace.
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-
Located near the center of the city was the headquarters of the Boston branch of Luminaries. A bulky, short building nestled between a sea of skyscrapers, it also stood out for also being the only one with a garden around it.
Inside, brightly lit corridors branched off into identical, but spacious quarters, each being large enough for a bed, a desk, and a personal bathroom. Decorated with whatever knick knacks and items brought in by the Luminary that lived in them.
For some Luminaries, like Crimson Blaze who maintained a tiny apartment across town, these rooms were merely staging areas. For others, like Aqua Intance who'd aged out of the foster system the day she was Chosen, it was the only home she had. Headquarters housed a disproportionate number of orphans, teenagers plucked from instability and offered purpose, power, and a permanent address, frozen forever at the age when their magic supposedly burned brightest.
Crimson Blaze moved through the quiet hallway, her boots silent on the polished floor due to some strange Celestial technology. The adrenaline crash after the confrontation with Calamity had left a hollow ache, replaced now by a gnawing frustration and the weight of leadership. She needed her team focused, grounded, having already asked Xylos, Boston's Celestial overseer, for a debriefing of today's events. All she had left to do was round up her team.
First stop: Aegis.
She knocked on the heavy door labelled '6-A'. It slid open to reveal Aegis, not in his gear, but in simple grey fatigues, meticulously polishing a bracer. His room was unnervingly neat, everything squared away.
"Team debrief in the common room in ten, Aegis," Crimson announced.
Aegis paused his polishing, his expression serious. "Crimson Blaze, while 'Aegis' serves adequately as a tactical designation in the heat of combat, in formal or casual contexts such as this, I would request you utilize my full, registered Luminary designation." His voice was deep, measured, and definitely not an act to make him sound older.
Crimson suppressed a sigh. "Of course. My apologies. Ten minutes, Valiant Protector of the Eastern Gate, Bulwark Against the Unseen Tides, Emerald Guardian⦠Aegis." She managed to rattle off the ridiculously long, self-important title without stumbling, though her tone held a hint of dry exasperation.
Aegis gave a sharp, satisfied nod and a crisp salute. "Acknowledged, Crimson Blaze. I shall proceed directly." He placed the bracer carefully on its stand and strode past her, heading down the hall with rigid posture.
Next: Aqua Intance's room, '6-B'. Crimson knocked. No answer. Peeking inside, she saw the usual chaos: clothes strewn about, posters of cute anime girls plastering the walls, an open bag of chips spilling onto the floor. The room was empty. Crimson wasn't surprised. Aqua had long ago jury-rigged her game console to connect to the massive holoscreen in their team's common room. Managing to interface her playstation with Celestial technology, a feat that still left Xylos baffled to this day.
Crimson shook her head, a faint, reluctant smile touching her lips. If she poured half that ingenuity into mastering her magic instead of speedrunning games, she'd be a force to be reckoned with. The thought was followed by a familiar pang of frustration. Aqua's potential was immense, her commitment⦠situational.
Finally, Gearloose's room, '6-C'. The door was slightly ajar. Crimson peered in to find Gearloose hunched over her desk, surrounded by a buffet of screws, circuit boards, and what looked like the disembowelled innards of a toaster fused with a plasma coil. Her tongue was poked out in concentration, grease smudged on her cheek.
Crimson knocked softly on the open door. "Gearloose? Debrief in five."
Gearloose jumped, fumbling a tiny screwdriver. Pawing at it with enhanced reflexes yet still managed to let it roll away and clatter onto the floor. "Whoa! Crimson! Yeah, yeah, debrief. Right." She scrambled up, hastily trying to shove components into drawers. "Just, uh, optimizing some field gear. Reactive shielding modulator. I think." She gave a weak grin.
"That looks like a toaster?" Crimson asked, eyebrow arched.
"It used to be a toaster." Gearloose defended, grabbing her jacket. "But once I get it working it'll be producing something far more impressive than toasted waffles." She fell into step beside Crimson as they headed towards the common room.
The silence between them stretched, thick with the unspoken events of the day. Crimson felt Gearloose's sideways glances. Finally, the younger girl blurted out, "Are you mad at me?"
Crimson kept her eyes forward. "No, Gearloose. Why would I be?"
"Because⦠you know." Gearloose scuffed her boot on the floor. "The shot. At the end. When I zapped the Rift-Touched." She hurried on, "I know you told me to be careful with my staff, but I promise that my aim is a lot better now. I haven't had a friendly fire incident in weeks!"
Crimson stopped walking. She turned to face Gearloose. The memory flashed: the Rift-Touched's terrified, marble-white face, her frantic digging in the rubble, the raw plea in her violet eyes.
It clashed violently with everything she'd known about Rift-Touched. All previous encounters had been with deranged shells who barely had a shred of humanity left. Vicious monsters no different from the beasts that spewed from the Verge.
Yet, this one seemed different. Seemed able to speak complete sentences. Able to show empathy for others. Had she been playing them? Was it all an act? And if it wasn't an act, was there a chance they could've ended it without violence? Crimson didn't know.
"I'm not angry at you, Gearloose," Crimson said, her voice quieter than intended. "You saw a hostile Rift-Touched near your team leader, and you neutralized it. That's⦠your job." She echoed, remembering that the Rift-Touched had told her something similar. Though doubt still lingered in Gearloose's eyes. "I'm frustrated. With the whole situation. With how it went down. Withâ¦" She trailed off, unwilling to voice her confusion about the enemy who might not have needed to be an enemy. "With myself, mostly. Come on. Xylos is waiting."
Gearloose nodded, still looking unconvinced, but clearly deciding not to push things further. "Okay. If you say so."
They entered the team common room. True to form, Aqua Intance was sprawled on a beanbag, controller in hand, headset firmly on her head, utterly engrossed in a brightly colored first person shooter displayed on the massive holoscreen usually reserved for mission schematics and threat assessments. Aegis sat ramrod straight on a nearby couch, watching the screen with polite incomprehension.
"Why is no one on the objective, you scrubs!" Aqua yelled at the screen, jerking the controller violently. "Shut your trap and put a trap on that chokepoint. Or I'll crawl through the screen and shove it right up yourâ¦"
Xylos chose that moment to manifest. One second the space above the low central table was empty; the next, the shifting, mercurial form of the Celestial coalesced, its pinprick white-light eyes taking in the scene.
"Apologies for the interruption, Aqua Intance," Xylos chimed-hummed directly into their minds. "Do your online endeavors require completion before we commence the requested debriefing?"
Aqua flopped back in the beanbag, tossing the controller aside with a dramatic sigh. "Nah. My teammates are all morons anyway. None of which deserve the win." She gestured dismissively at the screen. "Debrief away, oh shiny one."
Xylos's form rippled, light refracting. "Appreciated. All personnel present. Initiating post-mission analysis." The screen shifted, displaying crisp, official-looking text summaries and minimalistic schematics of the intersection. "Operational report: Positive outcome metrics confirmed. Alpha-class Rift-spawn neutralized. Civilian casualties: zero. Structural damage: below projected parameters for entity threat level. No missing persons reported. Statistically, a highly-successful engagement."
"However," Xylos continued, its multi-tonal voice gaining a subtle, sharper edge, "Given how all of you responded to that last statement, something else happened didn't it? Would someone like to elaborate what I am missing here?"
Crimson took a steadying breath. "We came across a named Rift-Touched. The one known as Calamity."
The effect was instantaneous. Xylos's shifting form froze mid-ripple. The pinprick eyes dimmed, then flared intensely bright. The ambient hum of the room's systems seemed to drop in pitch. Aegis stiffened further. Aqua stopped fidgeting. Gearloose held her breath.
After a beat that stretched too long, Xylos's form resumed its subtle flow, though the light in its eyes seemed harder, colder. "Apologies. I conducted a temporary termination of other processes so that you may have my full attention. You are certain the entity self-designated 'Calamity' was present?"
"Positive," Crimson stated, forcing her voice level despite the memory of that suffocating, world-ending pressure. "Gray skin, blood-red wings, a halo of thorns, multiple arms. The energy she gave off was like drowning in pure Verge corruption. The experience matched the accounts of her I had read before."
"Calamity," Xylos echoed, the name sounding like a curse in its chiming voice. "Her presence has not been noted for three solar cycles. Her manifestation within this specific urban locus constitutes a severe threat." The Celestial's form pulsed with agitated light. "Did she state the reason behind her reappearance?"
"No," Crimson replied. "She did issue a direct threat: stand down or she would level the city. We complied." She didn't mention her own knees giving way, the breathless terror.
"But that threat was only in response to us taking down the other Rift-Touched," Aegis chimed in. "I don't think she really intended to follow through with it."
"Whether or not she would have followed through with her threat compliance was the optimal choice," Xylos stated, its tone regaining its usual detached certainty, though the underlying tension remained. "Direct confrontation with Calamity exceeds this unit's designated threat capacity by several orders of magnitude. Your assessment and actions are to be commended."
Crimson's frustration boiled over. "Commended? We came face to face with a walking extinction event and all we could do was let her walk away! What's she doing in Boston? What's her objective?"
"Speculation yields minimal tactical advantage," Xylos deflected. "Calamity's re-emergence necessitates strategic reallocation of available assets at the command level. Luminaries who are able to contend with Calamity will be alerted and brought in for intervention should she remanifest. Your unit's primary directive remains unchanged: monitor, contain local threats, avoid direct escalation with Calamity."
Aqua piped up, leaning forward. "What about the other one? The marble-skinned glowy girl? If she pops up again without the big bad wing-lady? Do we⦠you know⦠zap her? Contain her?"
Xylos's form shifted, considering. "The secondary Rift-Touched was subdued by this unit prior to Calamity's appearance. Suggesting that they are within this unit's threat capacity. However, their connection with Calamity presents complications. Standard lethal force protocols are to be suspended for this specific entity, I will inform the other active Luminaries of this incident. If you encounter them again, please try to remain on damage control and contact me. I will arrange for veteran Luminaries to handle them."
Xylos glanced over briefly at the four Luminaries, its gaze ultimately resting onâ¦
"Crimson, you look like you have something you wish to add."
"Not really."
"I see. Then that concludes this debriefing. I am grateful that you informed me of Calamity's reappearance. I will take actions to assure the worst case scenario does not unfold, but I am also thankful that none of you were hurt," Xylos announced, its form already beginning to blur at the edges, light refracting more intensely. "Stand down for recuperation and personal maintenance. Do not dwell on the Calamity variable. Focus on what you can do."
With a final pulse of light, Xylos vanished.
The common room felt suddenly larger, quieter. The weight of Calamity's name lingered. Aqua grabbed her controller again, but didn't turn the screen back on, instead putting the controller away in a cupboard under the big screen. Gearloose stared at her hands. Aegis remained immobile, his gaze fixed on the now-empty space where Xylos had been.
"Right," Crimson said, breaking the silence, her voice sounding too loud as it echoed against the walls. "You heard Xylos. Get some rest. Don't⦠don't worry." The words tasted like ash. How could they not worry? "Like Xylos said, they will take action to prevent the worst from happening. Try to get some rest and I will see you all tomorrow."