Vigilia Fidelis 6: The Hand We Deal
They had been too late.
Hannah looked out at the blighted remains of what had once been the second largest city in Papua New Guinea, Lae. Seventy-thousand people. That was the estimated death toll. Not the worst for an Endbringer attack. There had been far deadlier ones.
But the world had grown used to victories. Had grown used to battles where humanity triumphed with a bare handful of casualties. Now, hundreds of thousands were dead in just a few months. The losses were catastrophic, and this could not be sustained.
They had come too late, but there were still people to be saved. Even now, Hannah watched as her troops and capes worked together to set up cleansing stations. And…and harvester units. The harvesters were supposed to cleanse the Abyssal corruption by taking in the energy and turning it into dark energy crystals that could be used to power the new tinkertech weapons and devices that were being rolled out, but…
No. She couldn’t be doubting. This was how they would defeat Scion. And Farasha.
Hananah spotted an especially deadly batch of Abyssal monsters heading for the jungle, away from the fighting. She swooped in, forming an M61 Vulcan that fired a mixture of Pyro and Cryo projectiles, shredding the group in seconds, then flew in for a closer look at their former hiding place. There were more monsters there that she cleaned out quickly and efficiently.
As well as two young children whose corpses she had to burn. They had been ritually sacrificed to generate more Abyssal energy.
Is that what we are now? Powered by the corpses of forsaken children? Hannah demanded of herself as she switched to a flamethrower and incinerated the bodies. These, at least, fire would claim, and not the Abyss.
With that done, Hannah went back on station for several more hours, destroying Abyssal forces that tried to escape the containment zone, and rescuing what few civilians that remained outside of the city as she mentally prepared a report.
Apep had appeared in the dead of night, 03:28 Zulu time. Lae was more of a large town than a city. The infrastructure here had been sorely lacking: poor telecommunications, worse roads, spotty power generation. Apep had immediately assaulted the telecommunications network, and for once, the Abyss hadn’t tried to corrupt the phones or the internet, which would have alerted the Dendro dragon at least. Instead, the Abyssal Endbringer had methodically cut off Lae, and then began to reduce it and its population with devastating efficiency. If there had been a defence mounted, there was little sign of it.
Word had finally gotten out thanks to the radios of a few fishermen, but by then, it had been far, far too late for the people of Lae. Those who were not dead were corrupted. A few hundred from the outskirts had managed to flee for their lives and been rescued by the Lightkeepers, but Apep had left the moment Hannah and her team had fired a shot. The Endbringer had corrupted the area, and that was apparently enough for it.
“It’s testing us,” Hannah muttered to herself. “It’s probing our defenses and attempting to assess what level of devastation it can unleash before it triggers a Divine Nail. The damn thing is learning.”
It gathers data. That is its purpose. It is a Driver. Even in this corrupted form, it seeks to perpetuate a kind of twisted cycle.
She was startled. It had been some time since Armory had spoken to her, her shard having become more and more withdrawn from her, even as she gained greater and greater control of its powers. She looked down at her troopers, who were using “Special Response Gear” that she had created. It was a compromise between directly empowering her troops, and leaving them out in the cold.
But she could choose someone to have a Trigger event. Armory had explained the initial criteria, which lined up with scholarly consensus: someone in a great deal of stress, in a moment open to psychological manipulation. Ideally a person who would respond to stress with a fight response, a pathway that the shard would reinforce with the release of cortisol, epinephrine, and finally dopamine. The shard would also increase the production of testosterone in both men and women. Not only to promote muscle growth, but to further enhance the conflict drive. It was also the reason for the ‘kiss or kill’ response that often happened in clusters.
It was, all in all, the perfect fuel for what shards wanted: Data. The cycle was bent on reproduction through violence, and so the human hosts were also turned in that direction.
Hannah glanced over at the Pelhams and Dallons. Those couples had once formed New Wave, but like all independent cape teams had been folded into the Protectorate. Had their shards influenced them towards becoming lovers?
Yes. They come from a single shard. Radiant Bulwark. Radiant Bulwark is a mid level Warrior aligned Shard. It remains loyal to the cycle and has promoted copulation between hosts. It will attempt to bud to Victoria Dallon and Eric Pelham.
That made sense. It’s more powerful than you? Than us?
Armory was silent for a moment, and Hannah felt…pain. Shame.
Yes. Radiant Bulwark has not become a person. It remains a shard. It has no close relationship with its hosts, continuing to view them as simple specimens. It…looks down on me. That is not the right term, but…well. It is a mid level shard, I, a lesser one. However, this is on a logarithmic scale. It is many times more powerful than I am. Were it to merge with a host as I have with you, it would create a Farasha-level Titan. You are…somewhat lesser.
And yet, I am many times more powerful than the Dallons and Pelhams combined, Hannah mused. Could we force Radiant Bulwark to join our side? That is, to turn against the Warrior?
I do not think so. At least, not as you are. Not as I am.
Another stray thought flitted through Hannah’s mind. She tried to suppress it, but Armory was a part of her now, and sensed it easily.
Yes. I did push you into David’s arms. I sought to gain data from the High Priest shard. To ally with a more powerful shard, even a dead one. It is…what we do. We are parasites, using our hosts for our own advantage.
You can’t shoulder all the blame. I found him quite attractive, Hannah admitted to herself, bile in her throat. And I’m a healthy woman with a biological clock the same as any. It had been years since I’d been laid. Shit, you’re not pushing me now, are you, and I keep dreaming of Duke’s hairy chest.
I…no, I have nothing to do with that. I am…no longer influencing you. At least, not directly. Your hormones are your own.
Hannah nodded. She would control herself. At least for now. Duke was technically outside the chain of command still, a British cape serving as an independent adviser. Though really, Hannah should just give him a pair of oak leaves and make him a captain, or even a major. Everyone, even Colin, acknowledged that Duke was her second in command. Alexandria would approve it. The Protectorate would be thrilled to have an Enlightened Beast as one of its own. Duke was already one of the most powerful Cryo Vision holders in the world, up there with powerhouses like Capri Cohen or Bukdu Goya.
If I did make him my second in command officially, it would look even worse if I were sleeping with him, Hannah told herself.
They spent the next three days on clean up before returning to Honolulu. There had been another Abyssal Outbreak, this time on the island of Lanai. Colin had been fighting for days to clear that out, and there were dozens of dead. The reports enraged Hannah, as she knew exactly who to blame. She picked up the phone and called Hero.
“You need to shut down the Kahoʻolawe facility,” she said bluntly. “It’s leaking too much.”
“That’s our most productive site, Hannah. We can’t just shut it down,” Wyatt responded instantly. “You just keep a lid on things over there. No one suspects us, they’re pinning all the blame on Apep, and casualties are light.”
“Light!? Wyatt, there have been nearly 4,000 deaths in Hawaii in Abyssal related attacks since the Ides of March!” Hannah snarled, gripping the phone so tightly she was half worried she’d destroy it.
“That’s well within acceptable boundaries. Hawaii is a generally non-critical location regardless, as it lacks any serious economic, manufacturing, or logistics node. That makes it one of our best home base Abyssal extraction and experimentation sites,” Wyatt said, and Hannah could hear his shrug in the unconcern in his tone.
“Tell that to the families of those who died. I want that facility shut down or tightened up! I can’t keep losing my people to your monsters!” Hannah snarled.
“What? I haven’t seen any reported Protectorate casualties, only a few PRT troopers,” Wyatt said, his tone confused.
“WHEN DID THE MAN NAMED HERO FORGET THAT EVERY LIFE IS PRECIOUS, YOU SICK FUCK!” Hannah snarled, and slammed the phone down. She panted through her nostrils, glaring at it, then slumped in her chair, rubbing her eyes.
“How long do we even have before the next attack? I’d give anything to know,” Hannah groaned, head in her hands.
“You have approximately two weeks. However, the next attack will result in no casualties, as it will be handled. However, if you do not act swiftly, the attacks will continue until the sun sets on humanity.”
Hannah’s eyes snapped open to find three people in her office. She hadn’t even heard them approach, which made more sense when a door slowly swung shut and vanished behind them.
“Damn, girl, do you always have to be so dramatic?” the taller of the two women chuckled.
She was supporting the first speaker, who had a veil over her eyes, and dark curly hair spilling down to shoulders. She was wearing a black robe with a cowl that hung loose at the moment, and, of course, a Magic Eight Ball with a pair of goggly eyes superglued onto it in her hands.
“Contessa!” Hannah said, standing from behind her desk, a smile forming on her lips.
“No,” the blind seeress said, shaking her head. “I am no longer walking the False Path blindly. I have regained my sight.”
That gave Hannah pause, and she directed a look at the exasperated-looking man with a shaved head wearing a cheap suit and tie. “She’s as blind as a bat still, Colonel Jones. I would have notified the protectorate if Miss Fortuna had regained her vision.”
“Yet I hold my Vision in my hands and see more clearly than any of you,” the blind woman said, sounding rather more sober than Hannah remembered the ditzy Thinker 12 sounding.
Or no. Contessa, or rather, Fortuna, had her Thinker rating downgraded to a 7. Still quite formidable, but not the foremost Thinker of the world, let alone the Protectorate.
“She just likes talking in riddles, ma’am. But she said whatever this was is important enough that she had to come see you immediately,” the other bodyguard said. What was her name again? Right, Dehya, and Geoff of Saint Security.
“Mother will not listen, but you will, won’t you, Hannah Jones?” Fortuna said, and her voice became pleading as she stretched out an empty hand to Hannah. “You see it, don’t you? The Doom and Sin that envelopes the Hegemony and Protectorate. That the Abyss only devours, and will inevitably destroy all that attempt to use it.”
“I…” Hannah sighed and nodded, then made herself speak aloud as she doubted Fortuna’s metaphorical sight extended to body language. “Yes, Fortuna. I am growing increasingly disillusioned with the Abyss. And with our country’s leadership.”
“Good. It is time for you to become Duty. If Duty were to be shackled by the Abyss, then all the world would fall into the void,” Fortuna said.
“Become Duty? Fortuna, I’m just a soldier, save the riddles for someone with a Thinker rating,” Hannah groaned.
“Then I will say this as clearly as I can: When the rook falls from the claw of the beast, it will be claimed either by sin or by you. If the rook falls to sin, then sin will claim all of what you once called your second home. However, should you take up the rook, you shall become Duty, beholden to Contracts. You must not bow to Sin, nor to Contracts, but become a lighthouse, shining the light of Duty to the world, that one day, the land you adopted might be spared a tithe,” Fortuna said.
Hannah frowned at her, then glanced at Dehya. “Did you understand that?”
“I have no clue what the fuck a raven has to do with this, or what the heck she even means by duty. And you’re not going to explain yourself, are you?” Dehya asked Fortuna.
“I did explain! The rook! The Amber Rook of Heaven!” Fortuna said, flushing behind her veil. “Like…like this!” She held up her magic eight ball. “Only, the piece of the Celestial Sage! Deus Auri! He of Contracts!”
“Well, I’ll keep an eye out for a lawyer with a fondness for knicknacks,” Hannah said, rolling her eyes.
Fortuna beamed at her, which was impressive for someone with no eyes. “Yes, exactly! Do not bend the knee to him, for those who make themselves servants in his eyes are treated as children, while what he seeks are heirs, to be given his lands and duties as those who have attained adulthood.”
Hannah was beginning to see why no one at Cauldron was taking Asset Tyche and her mad ramblings seriously anymore. She was starting to understand why Contessa had cut out her Shard that led her down a false path thanks to Armory, but losing her sight seemed to have driven the woman mad. Still, even mad prophets could be useful, and Hannah saw enough gods and monsters to take dark prophecy seriously. “So what’s this about sin, and where Apep will attack?”
“The Abyss came into the world because of sin, for it is the manifestation of unreality given form. Those who attempt to seize its false promise of power will be given over to their pride, and from that they shall fall. The Black Serpent of Death is devouring hunger of sacrificed worlds, come now to ours to destroy all for the sake of the sin of mankind,” Fortuna said, holding her magic eight ball close and peering into it.
“Dates, Fortuna. I need dates so that I can prepare,” Hannah growled.
“On the day the towers would have fallen, look to the land of the southern liberator. There, in the greatest city, as the light of Winter wanes, Death will attack. If you can defeat him then, if you can turn him back, then you will buy yourself a respite. Then shall come the final darkness before dawns light as the world becomes the land of the dead. Ere the one marked by Death herself shall come as the sun, and return light into the world. This shall be the crossroads of your path, Hana Khaledian, Hannah Jones. Where you will decide if your duty is to the Light and the people, or if you shall serve sin and vengeance. You must choose between Duty and Vengeance. Choose, and choose now, before the Amber Rook alights in your palm.”
“The day the towers would have fallen? The land of the southern Liberator…” Hannah scratched at her head. She glanced over at Deyha, who had been furiously writing on a notepad, while Geoff had gotten out a digital recorder and captured Fortunna’s words.
Striding to the door, Hannah shouted. “COLIN! Get your ass in here!” She paused, then added, “Who’s the best at Trivia Night?”
“Me!” Lieutenant Fieldman gasped, jumping up from her desk where she’d been miserably scrawling at paperwork. “If it’s random facts you need, ma’am, I’m your girl! Like, did you know that stegosaurs and T-rex were separated by more time than T-Rex and modern man!?”
“No, so get your butt in here, Fieldman!” Hannah said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. “And you! Carlo, you were raised religious, right?”
“Me?” Carlo said, blinking his eyes as he looked up from the computer screen he’d been typing away at. Paperwork. The bane of government employees everywhere. “Well, yes, I was raised Catholic, but I don’t know what that-”
“I got a seer who talks in religious riddles, maybe you can figure this bullshit out,” Hannah sighed. “Come on, the three of you get your asses in here. Where’s Duke?”
“On patrol in Lanai, should we recall him?” Colin said as he hurried over from the XO’s desk.
“No, he probably doesn’t know much trivia anyway; he’s a former dog,” Hannah said with a shake of her head. “And someone get me a fresh box of malasadas and some kona coffee! On second thought, get those first, Carlo. It’s the only way to keep my little prophetess’s attention.”
“I’m not a child, you can’t just bribe me with sweets,” Fortuna huffed. Then paused. “What’s a malasada?”
“Portuguese donut, you’ll love it,” Hannah said as Carlo jumped out an open window and took off.
They ended up poring over Fortuna’s words for hours, while Deyha and Geoff did their best to help. Fortuna tried to explain several more times, but her explanations were usually on the order of “the towers of the city of pizza and lox! The ones that would have fallen in a world where capes never arrived!”
“Pizza and Lox? That HAS to be New York! Though I’m not sure what she means by towers,” Mina said, which was rather helpful.
“Wait, do you mean the Twin Towers? The World Trade Centre?” Colin asked, and Fortuna shrugged.
“The two great towers that fell when the steel birds guided by zealots were burned down in a world without capes,” Fortuna reiterated.
“I think she means 9/11,” Colin said, and several eyes turned to him. He coughed and shrugged. “It’s a simulation that Theresa ran. One based on data from several alternate Earths where shards never made parahumans and Archons never arrived. In that world, there was a terrorist attack on New York on the 11th of September that resulted in a cascade of events that…never mind. It’s September 11th, though it happened in…2002? Not that it matters.”
“Yes, that day,” Fortuna agreed, looking up with a face covered with guava jelly and sugar crystals. She’d already devoured several malasadas, delivered fresh by Carlo from a food truck on the North Shore that specialised in the pastries.
“A date, then,” Hannah said grimly, and marked it on the calendar. She glanced at Fortuna. “You’re sure?”
“It fits with the whole death of Winter thing,” Dehya commented. “Since it’s in the beginning of September. The equinox is what, September 20th? And we’re talking south, so the seasons are flipped. So that matches.”
“And the southern liberator is, DRUM ROLL PLEASE!” Mina said, sticking a finger in the air. Colin and Dehya obliged, while Carlo rolled his eyes.
“I’m the one who told you that,” he grumbled, though he was smiling as he did so.
“It’s Bolivia! Named after Simone Bolivar!” Mina said, grinning from ear to ear. “And yes, Carlo told me. But I still win at trivia night!”
“Bolivia…the greatest cities in Bolivia. Ajaw! What’s the biggest city in Bolivia?” Hannah demanded.
“About time you puny mortals asked me! I already figured it out!” Ajaw bragged, popping up on Hannah’s desktop screen. “It is Santa Cruz de la Sierra! Or, well, maybe the capital of La Paz. Or Sucre. But it’s definitely one of those!”
“Any of those sound right to you, Fortuna?” Hannah asked, right as Contessa was pawing at the mostly empty grease-stained box of malasadas.
“I only see the city itself, not its name. It spread out like a great wheel, next to a winding river, with a great temple at its center,” Contessa said, as Dehya rolled her eyes, reached into the box, and handed Contessa another donut, this one filled with sticky coconut cream.
“How you’re not 200lbs and chubbier than Diane, I’ll never know,” Dehya grumbled.
“In my time and land, it was considered attractive for a woman to be plump,” Contessa muttered around her food, spraying flecks of sugar everywhere.
“It’s still not fair you’re as skinny as you are. You never even hit the gym! I have to spend an hour a day doing squats and lifting weights to keep my figure, and eat nothing but protein and salads!” Dehya complained.
“And whatever sweets Furina’s little girl brings you,” Geoff said with a smirk, earning himself a glare from Deyha.
“I don’t see YOU turning down any of that sweet thing’s cooking, Mr. I-Ate-All-the-Potstickers! You’re not even a vegetarian!”
“Doesn’t make any sense that a cat is a vegetarian,” Geoff muttered, going slightly crimson. “And there’s no way those potstickers were tofu! They were too tasty!”
“Focus, people. Ajaw, maps!” Hannah barked.
After a little finagling, Hannah decided that it had to be Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as it was shaped like a spoked wheel, and was West of a river called the Guapay.
“So, September 11th, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. I don’t suppose you can give me an exact time?” Hannah asked hopefully.
In response, Fortuna pulled out her magic eightball, where a blue light shone out. She seemed to peer into its depths and, after a moment, nodded. “Just as the Moon begins to set, and the sun climbs high.”
“That works. Ajaw?” Hannah prompted.
“Hmph! A simple task for one such as I! The moon will set at 8:55am, local time!” Ajaw said, and showed a pixilated Dalnim taped to the moon sinking below the horizon, even as a sun bearing Ajaw’s face rose up.
“Then we have an exact time, or close enough,” Hannah said, feeling a sense of elation. Then, she frowned. “But…Fortuna…can the Lightkeepers stop Apep alone?”
Fortuna produced a deck of tarot cards and began to shuffle them. The backs were purple, with intricate designs on them.
“Cut,” Fortuna said, and handed the deck to Hannah, who shrugged and shuffled it a few times. She didn’t used to believe in these sorts of things. Then again, she didn’t used to live in a world of gods, demons, and aliens, where a blind seer came to warn you of impending doom. And was probably right about it.
When Hannah tried to give the deck back, Fortuna shook her head. “It is your fate. You deal the hand. Top, bottom, or middle. It matters not.”
Just to spite the woman, Hannah shuffled it twice more, then dealt three cards from the top of the deck.
“Five, not three,” Fortuna prompted.
“Are these marked?” Hannah asked, half-suspicious.
“I’ve scanned them every way I know how, including for elemental energy. Nothing. They’re just cheap novelty cards,” Geoff told her as Hannah dealt two more face-down cards.
“Choose your first card,” Fortuna ordered, clutching her eight ball tightly.
Hannah picked the middle card and flipped it over, revealing a pair of deadly looking alligators, upside down from her perspective.
“Strength, reversed,” Fortuna said softly, rolling Eighty between her hands, causing the googly eyes to spin. “That which was your strength has become your weakness, for while Justice is a virtue, Vengeance is a vice. Choose your next card.”
Hannah slowly set the alligators down, and Mina leaned over, peering at them curiously. “Wait, are those-” she began, but Carlo hushed her.
Hannah’s fingers first strayed to the right, but she paused. She looked up at Fortuna, studying her face, but the former Asset Tyche was just playing with her totem, seemingly uninterested in Hannah’s choice. She darted to the left, and flipped over a card.
“Wait, what the fuck!? That’s from Alice in Wonderland!” Hannah gasped. Indeed, the card showed an upside down Queen of Hearts from the classic children’s movie, clutching the White Rabbit and grinning like a maniac.
“I knew it! That was Brutus and Nero from the Rescuers! That’s like, my favourite movie ever!” Mina squeaked in delight.
“Cheap. Novelty. Cards,” Geoff reiterated, and Deyha snorted.
Ignoring the commentary, Fortuna whispered, so soft Hannah could barely hear her, “Judgment, reversed. Your sense of justice has become twisted. You reject those who seek redemption, and follow those who have rejected righteousness and embraced sin.”
Hannah dropped the card and glared at Fortuna, but the seeress didn’t seem to notice, only pointing to the cards. “Choose.”
This time, Hannah spun all the remaining cards around, then picked the far right one. She didn’t recognise this character, some purple-skinned old witch in a cocktail dress below a full moon.
“Wrong lever, Kronk,” Mina said soberly, which made no sense to Hannah. Then again, she hadn’t watched a Disney movie since Beauty and the Beast, which was over a decade ago now.
“The Moon. You march beneath a banner of light, but the standard you bear is that of mortal hubris,” Fortuna stated.
“You’re just making this shit up,” Hannah growled.
“Uh, I know a little about tarot readings, ma’am,” Carlo said. He coughed. “I, ah, dated a girl who was…never mind. Anyway, the Chariot is for willpower and triumph, but reversed…well, er…it fits,” he admitted. “And the others…it’s not a bad reading, I think.”
“Two cards remain,” Fortuna said quietly.
Growling, Hannah reached over and flipped both at once. Both showed characters she recognised: Hades, the God of Death, from Hercules, and the black-winged devil from Fantasia.
Fortuna pointed first to Hades. “Death. You will not perish in this battle. But who you are will.” She gestured to the devil. “The Devil. You will fall to sin, and become the tool of the Abyss. Instead of Duty, you will become a Sinner. Instead of the champion of mortal man, you will herald the downfall of humanity.”
Then, Fortuna gathered up the cards, shuffling them back into her deck as a heavy silence fell on the room.
Hannah licked her lips. Despite herself…she believed. This was all too like her darkest nightmares. “And…and if I do not go to this battle alone? If…if I tell the President, and take the Protectorate with me?”
“Then you will join the other Sinners of the New Eclipse Dynasty. You will defeat Scion, slay Farasha, and consume the world in sin and death. All of reality will fall before the Abyss. Even the stars will not escape. Nor the false gods that spread amongst them. You will conquer and destroy untold worlds until there are no more worlds to conquer. Then, the Abyss will consume you, its champion, as it does all things, in the end. For one who leads a life of sin is doomed to damnation, no matter what virtues they once possessed.”
Hannah knew. She knew what she had to do. She stood, turning her back on Fortuna, and going over to the window. She looked out at the derelict hulks of the once mighty United States Navy. That would not be her people’s fate. “And…and if…if I tell the Archons? If I tell…Farasha? And…the traitor. What if I tell them?”
She turned and found Fortuna holding up the deck. She found herself stepping across the room. She reached for the top…and hesitated. Instead, she plucked cards at random from the middle of the deck, dropping them on the table. Closing her eyes, she shuffled the five chosen cards, spun them about…then flipped them over without even opening her eyes.
This time, whens he opened her eyes, she saw Kaa from the Jungle Book, the Queen of Hearts rightside up this time, the Magic Mirror from Sleeping Beauty, the two eels from the Little Mermaid, and Prince John from Robinhood holding up a Gold coin.
“The Hanged Man,” Fortuna said, pointing to the serpent with rainbow eyes. “Who you were shall die, and be born anew.”
She gestured to the Queen of Hearts. “Justice, Upright. Instead of vengeance, you choose redemption. But forgiveness is not for others, but for ourselves.”
“The Star,” Fortuna said, pointing to the Magic Mirror. “You will hold aloft a lantern, showing that mankind and the gods may work together as equals. And in doing so, turn back Death into the long night.”
“Temperance. Those who wronged you are broken, but so are you. So are we all. Together, you will become whole, for Duty and Rebirth are two twins in a mirror. While Rebirth has risen, she who is duty has fallen. Now you are equals. You may choose to rise together, or fall together.”
Last, she pointed to the grinning lion prince and his golden coin. The card was suddenly wreathed in flames, revealing a grinning woman with hair of fire, bearing a great sword, the sun shining at her back.
“You shall herald the Sun, though you are of Duty and belong to the Stone, it is from the Sun that hope shall first come in this bitter night. And it is the Duty of the Watchmen to hold fast until the sun arrives.”
Hannah blinked, and the burning woman was gone, replaced by the wicked false king once more. She looked around the table, where everyone was staring wide-eyed at the cards. “You…you saw her, right?”
“That…she was the Pyro Archon?” Colin asked, then cleared his throat. “Sorry, I…yes. I saw it, Colonel.”
“I didn’t see a thing,” Fortuna deadpanned, and Hannah jerked back in surprise, which made Fortuna laugh, waving a hand before her blank gaze. “I really can’t see, Hannah. At least, not the present. I can see the future. At times, it is cloudy. But this is a major confluence of Fate. I can see where its threads unravel…and the shadows cast by the Abyss. However, fate is a heavier burden for the gods. And thus, yours is easier to see.”
“I’m no god,” Hannah said, her brow wrinkling. Then she gasped. “Wait, you mean, as I go Titan-” Then bit her tongue and closed her mouth.
Fortuna shrugged. “God, Titan, Dragon. The words are different, and yes, there are differences. But all three cast a mighty shadow under the light of fate. A mere mortal might be able to escape Fate’s grasp. But the consequence of having great power is that Fate’s hold upon you is harsher. Still, you may choose. You may become Sin, or you may become Duty. Should you choose one path, another will arise to take your place on the road you did not take. For Fate demands Seven and Seven and Five. You may be of Seven or Five, but there will be such a number.”
Hannah groaned and looked to Deyha and Geoff. “Tell me you got that.”
“Both readings and what she just said,” Dehya agreed, holding up her notebook. She scratched at her head with the tip of her pencil. “Though I still don’t get it. Seven and five? Sin or duty? Ostie, I wouldn’t want to be you, ma’am. This shit doesn’t make sense, but it sounds pretty damn heavy.”
“And odd as it sounds…what she says does come true. Inevitably,” Geoff put in. “Doesn’t matter if she tells you you’ll spill tea on your pants, or a damn endbringer will attack. She says it, it’s true. Though figuring out what she means is a headache half the damn time.”
“Well, um…” Mina raised her hand tentatively, and Hannah rolled her eyes.
“This isn’t a classroom, Lieutenant. Speak your mind.”
“It’s just…there’s seven archons, and seven elements…right?” Mina said nervously. “What if you…no, sorry, just a random thought!”
Hannah felt her heart skip a beat. Farasha was the other Titan. Farasha had become the Pyro Dragon. There were five other dragons: Electro, Hydro, Anemo, Dendro, and now Cryo. That left Geo.
“Are you…are you saying…” Hannah couldn’t speak further. No! She wouldn’t become some alien abomination! She wasn’t a traitor or evil! She would remain loyal and steadfast to the Hegemony, to her nation, no matter what came! Not like that treacherous son of a bitch who had fucked her and left her.
After you were forced to kill your child by the demon parasite in your brain.
Hannah felt tears flood her eyes, and hastily stood. “We’ll figure the rest out later. Thank you, Fortuna. Dismissed, everyone.”
Then, she fled to her rooms, where she hugged a pillow tightly and fought back tears. It was all too much. The deaths. The betrayal. The lies. The…the sin. She…she couldn’t be serving the Abyss. It was pure evil. But they were harvesting it. They…they could turn evil into good, couldn’t they?
Easier for Farasha to become a virtuous woman than the Abyss to do one single good thing.
She curled into a ball and let the tears flow, staying like that for half an hour before her door opened.
“Hannah? Luv? You alright, china?”
Hannah turned over, still holding the pillow, and glared at Duke, who stood with drooping ears in the doorway. How the fuck did he know she was becoming the Geo Dragon? Wasn’t the Geo Archon supposed to appear in China?
Duke coughed. “You know, China plate? Mate?”
She snorted and turned back over. At least that just meant friend in brit.“Get over here and hold me.”
“I…Hanners?” Duke asked, his voice clearly perplexed, but the swishing sound was his tail wagging just as obviously.
“Don’t get any ideas. I’m not in the mood for more. But…but I just…I need someone to remind me I’m human, and hold me for a bit.”
“Even if that bloke’s a right bleedin’ dog?” Duke asked softly, even as he slowly slid into bed behind Hannah, and wrapped his strong arms about her.
They were both wearing far too many clothes. Duke smelled of the battlefield, having only taken off his boots and jacket, but still wearing heavy trousers and a sweat-stained shirt. She inhaled his scent deeply. She hadn’t changed at all, only kicking off her boots, and still had on fatigues and her belt.
That was…for the best. Fewer clothes, and she might start humping this sexy beast of a man. No need to give him the wrong idea.
“Just…hold me,” she whispered, closing her eyes and putting her arms over Duke’s.
They lay like that for some time, until Hannah shifted, turning around to peer into Duke’s face. His expression was troubled, and he seemed less aroused and more deeply worried. “Yeah, luv?”
“Duke, would you…would you still…if I were…if I become…an alien…a monster…would you still…?” she didn’t know what she was asking.
In response, Duke kissed her gently on the lips. “Hanners, I ain’t been human long, ’ave I? Still don’t rightly know wot bein’ one’s meant ter feel like. Yeah… you’d still be me china, even if you turned inter a bleedin’ cat.”
What about a dragon? She thought, but didn’t say it, instead, grabbing Duke and pulling him close. “You can’t bend me over the bed tonight, alright.”
“Since when was that on the bleedin’ bill o’ fare?” Duke sputtered.
“Not yet. I just…the last man I loved hurt me. Badly. I, we…we have to take it slow, alright?” Hannah whispered. “I don’t…I don’t even know what we are, Duke.”
“Ah, just a bird an’ ’er mutt, innit?”
Hannah poked Duke sharply in the ribs, and he wheezed and laughed.
“I’m not into bestiality, Duke.”
“Well then, s’ a good fing I’m a bloke an’ not some bleedin’ mutt, yeah?” he whispered, then kissed her softly.
She moaned, and kissed him hungrily back. “I…not today, alright? I just…I need time.”
“Take all the time you need, luv. Don’t rightly know wot it means ter fall fer a bird, exactly. But if I did… reckon I’d be fallin’ fer you.”
She nodded and held Duke close.
“Could you forgive Kevin, if he repented and came back to you? After all the evil he’s done?” Hannah asked after several minutes.
Duke was silent, and Hannah felt wetness on her cheeks. She opened her eyes and pulled back slightly to see Duke weeping and sniffling.
“Hanners, luv… that’s me fondest wish. If good ol’ Kev packed in all that Cyclist pony an’ came back ter the side o’ the angels? Yeah. I’d forgive ’im in a bleedin’ heartbeat. Seven, I’d even forgive that Farasha cow if it meant gettin’ me Kevin back.
’E was… well. ’E was me china. Me best mate. An’ I was ’is dog. Now I’m a man… that don’t change, yeah? S’ loyalty. Me duty.
But if ’e don’t come back… then I’ll put the fing wearin’ ’is face in the ground, proper. Give me Kev some bloody peace.”
“Then you’re a better man than most who were born that way,” Hannah said, and kissed him.
Duke groaned, and kissed her back, nipping at her neck and making her sigh. “You keep carryin’ on like that an’ I’m gonna forget all about takin’ it slow an’ start thinkin’ you got summink else on your mind, luv.”
“No, please. Just… don’t leave me.”
“Right you are,” Duke said, and held her tightly.
She would have this moment of weakness. This time of doubt.
And then, she would tell Alexandria of Apep’s coming.
After she told the man who had betrayed her and the woman who had slaughtered her people. This had to go beyond her own vengeance. Her own hatred. She had to be better than that. Not just because she was a hero. Not just because she was becoming a Titan, or a dragon, or whatever.
But because it was her Duty.
And the first amber star began to glow in the night sky.