Chapter 101 (Patreon)

He sat atop the building watching them mill about down below. He liked it up here, the angle was good, and it let him watch the things as they scurried about. He shifted a bit, resting his arm on his knee and frowning a little. This whole thing wasn’t going how he’d expected, but the walkthrough was perfect. It had to be. He designed it after all. That idiot Pandora had given him a blank check when he’d opened the box, she wanted him to bring humanity into a ‘bright’ and ‘prosperous’ future. His lips twisted, What a joke. Humanity has one destiny and I’m going to get them there, one way or another.

He spotted Sonya Chernovna walking out with several armed guards and her ever-present bodyguard, Handmaiden. It was a shame that Handmaiden was so devoted to Sonya, he would have loved to have her all to himself. He sighed and with a thought pulled up his guide. The progress bar was still low, he didn’t understand why. He had proven to Sonya that he had a Mythic-tier ability that was perfect for fighting Ishtar. He had passed the stupid interview, well, sort of. His smile widened as he glanced towards the other feature of his beloved power. Designed by himself, named by himself.

<Active Cheats: [Immunity] [Perfect Health]>

He snorted, Like a lie detector power would have any effect on me.

Still, I have to admit, she’s a challenging boss. I hate social mechanics. He thought darkly, But my grand ‘rise to power’ story arc is already planned. She’ll let me join up with ASTA, eventually. 

He paused and tilted his head. When did I start thinking of Chernovna as a person and not a thing? He tilted his head again and frowned, Odd. She isn’t that interesting. He glanced down at her again and watched as she shook hands with a few of the aspirants, taking extra care with a pair of them. One was the girl-thing Cassiopeia Hanks, she was pretty and coincidentally was related to one of his future targets for recruitment. Convenient. But the guide warned him not to bring her sister up near her for some reason. Stupid thing. He frowned and glanced at the other NPC.

Lilian Landrey, she had spirit and a good character personality so I was interested before her power manifested on the bus. He narrowed his eyes. Something’s not right with her powers, they’re… weird. Fragmented? No. Restrained? He rubbed his chin, Yeah that’s it. It’s like she’s running around with training weights on her ability. Why?

He glanced at his guide again, Can I just kill her and get her out of the way? She’s taking up Sonya’s focus.

<Murdering (NPC: Lilian Landrey) will result in increased suspicion on your person and has an extremely high chance of derailing the plot.>

Tch. Fine. Dumb thing, won’t even give me alternatives. This was supposed to be easy, damn that Ishtar bitch. He chewed his thumbnail. The worst part is nothing comes up when I try to do a search on her. It doesn’t make sense, does she not exist? That’s impossible, she tried to blow me up!

He got to his feet and the guide vanished, he made his way over to the door leading down into the common building and held his hand over the doorknob. Cheat, Unlock. He thought and the door clicked. He slipped inside and shut the door behind him. He took a breath and smelled the food cooked by the things and wrinkled his nose. He would make some for himself later. For now, he needed to plan how he was going to impress Sonya more. He couldn’t overdo it, he had to play this just right. He paused and a smile crept onto his face. Or, something incredible. That dungeon coming up might be an interesting twist. What if I…

–

Sonya twirled in place and set her hands on her hips, “Marta, do we have everything?” She asked.

Her stoic bodyguard nodded as the security team that Sonya had brought with her carried over a few more things out of earshot. “Yes ma’am, just waiting for the portal from Euclidia.”

Sonya let out a sigh and stretched her arms over her head, striking a bit of a pose, “Finally,” She whined, “I’ve been looking forward to this for a while now.”

Marta raised an eyebrow, “I couldn’t tell. Might it have something to do with a very remorseful but very annoying puppy that’s been following you around for the past few months?” Marta asked, tilting her head.

Sonya frowned and lowered her arms, “Weren’t you the one who suggested not bringing it up?”

Marta shrugged and looked away, “No idea what you’re talking about.”

Sonya narrowed her eyes, “Liar, you watched the duel, didn’t you?” She huffed and crossed her arms, “I am looking forward to seeing the city,” She clenched her jaw as she tried to say ‘that’s all’ and resisted the tell of her throat clenching through the attempted lie. Marta gave her a deadpan look and Sonya turned away on her heel, tilting her head up, “Just let me have this, please?”

She sensed Marta’s gentle smile behind her and knew that she was just trying to be supportive but Sonya had set her mind on the matter. Especially after that duel. Her heart sank a little. Even a little nick on the neck would have been enough to start moving in the right direction. Something. Some kind of follow through. She was so close. I was so happy for a moment there. She glanced at Marta, She must have seen, nosy little... Sonya thought bitterly before letting out a sharp breath and slapping herself on the cheeks with both hands. Nope! We’re going to Europe! Out of mind! Out of mind! Nope nope nope!

She turned back to Marta and shoved a hand in her pocket before reaching up to straighten her tie and pull the sunglasses out of her coat pocket. She flicked them open with a flourish and slid them on, grinning. “This is going to be a fun trip, mark my words, Marta!”

Marta gave her another heartwarming smile and walked over to give Sonya a one-armed hug, “Of course, you deserve it.”

Sonya pressed her lips together and looked away, shrinking a little in the embrace, “Marta, people are watching.” She said in the coyest shy-girl voice she could manage.

Marta pulled away and scowled, “You’re incorrigible,” Marta chided her.

Sonya grinned and opened her mouth for another witty retort when the ground trembled behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the smooth gray stone of Euclidia’s portal rising up from the ground. The archway rose up and up until it was a good eight feet tall. A moment later the space in the center of the arch bent and twisted, collapsing in on itself and flickering with images of a strange place beyond. The Backrooms. Finally it settled and she could smell the air of the Netherlands wash through before a dark public square came into view, seamlessly starting where the path at her feet ended in the archway. Hell, she could even see people walking by.

Sonya raised her eyebrows, Damn, mine aren’t this good. I got shown up by the original it seems. She smirked, Guess I need more practice.

Behind her, Marta nodded to the security team who went through first. All of them wore the insignia of the ASTA corporation rather than the Pandora Committee and carried anti-monster munitions in their ASTA brand firearms. They quickly spread out on the other side of the portal and started assessing their surroundings before Marta went in next. The guards and Marta carried the majority of the luggage before setting it down beside the portal. Sonya just had her suitcase. She gripped it before glancing back at the common building. Some of the aspirants were waving, she waved back at them. Next to them she spotted Amos and Colin who nodded at her. They’re going to have fun, she thought before her attention went to the dojo.

She stood there at the entrance, just watching, she didn’t wave but she did meet her eyes. Sonya took a deep breath and looked away, Seeing me off like that… idiot. She thought and turned back to the portal, raising her head high and stepping towards it.

“Onwards too…”

She stepped through.

“...Europe!”  She declared and the archway began to descend into the ground behind her. She took a deep inhalation of the fresh air of The Hague and glanced over at Marta who was giving her a dubious look, “The only way to travel, am I right?” She asked with a laugh and rolled her shoulders. She looked down at the portal as it finished descending into the ground and felt relief wash through her. It tingled and stung a little, a tension in her chest she had forgotten about unraveled and her shoulders went slack. She threw her head back and let out a noisy groan.

“Finally! Free at last!” She whined and threw her hands up into the air, “Hello Netherlands! Sonya Chernovna is here!”

Marta sighed, “Sonya, it's the middle of the night here.”

Sonya grinned at her and glanced around, “Yeah? But there are still people out!” She laughed and slipped past her, peering at some of the tourists and locals who were walking around. A few stopped to stare. “Ooh, she’s cute,” Sonya grinned lecherously and straightened her tie, flicking her sunglasses up and turning up the glow of her eyes just a little bit for aesthetics, “Marta, if you’ll excuse me I’ll be-”

“Nope!” Marta grunted and grabbed Sonya under the arms.

“Hey!” Sonya protested, kicking her feet.

“You’ve been here less than a minute and you’re already on the prowl,” Marta grumbled, “What am I going to do with you?”

“Let me go and stop being unfairly tall?” Sonya asked, glancing over her shoulder at Marta with an impish smile.

Marta returned the smile with a dark grin of her own, “Not going to happen.”

Sonya went deadweight and whined, “But why?” She pouted.

“Because the committee vehicle will be here in a few moments and I don’t want to let you out of my sight. Also, you have someone waiting for you over there and I doubt you want to look silly in front of her,” Marta said patiently and glanced in a direction Sonya hadn’t looked yet. Sonya turned her head slowly and followed her gaze. Her limp limbs went even more slack when she saw the pair standing near a flower display, the sea glittering in the moonlight behind them. Sonya nodded slowly and Marta let her down.

“Thanks,” Sonya said a little stiffly.

“Don’t be nervous,” Marta teased.

Sonya squinted at her and opened her mouth only for her throat to clench a little. She scowled at the woman who grinned at her. 

“Totally nervous,” Marta said and pat her back. “Go on.”

Sonya straightened herself up a bit more and gave Marta one more look before nodding and walking over. She felt some nerves in her gut as she did, pulling her hair back a bit and turning down the glow on her eyes to a less intimidating, ‘hey you wanna go somewhere more comfortable?’ glow. She crossed the distance and stopped in front of the pair. The middle aged woman to her right inclined her head.

“Miss Chernovna, it’s wonderful to see you,” Bernetta Lucci said pleasantly.

Sonya smiled at her, “Bernetta, how are things? Did you enjoy meeting our mutual friend in Vegas?” She asked.

“It was a very pleasant visit, I got to see the memorial garden as well, your people did a wonderful job,” Bernetta said.

Sonya smiled, “Good to hear,” Confirmation that the club is doing well with it’s expansion, anyway, I’d rather not think about that place if I have to. She thought before turning to the other person standing there. Pretty as a button wearing her slightly longer hair up in a bun and a stylish blouse and shirred pant combo. Mikayla was smiling at her with a glitter in her eyes with all the gentle warmth in the world. 

“It’s so beautiful here,” Mikayla said with a glowing smile, “Thank you for inviting us.”

Sonya couldn’t hold herself back anymore, “You look fabulous!” Sonya said delightedly, coming in for a chaste hug before pulling back and looking her over. “I’ve missed you, how’ve you been?” She asked.

Mikyala laughed, “I’m fine! Better than fine, I see you’re wearing my earrings,” She pointed out, tilting her head and squinting at the side of Sonya’s head.

“Oh you noticed?” Sonya said, “I might have been keeping an eye on your collection.”

Mikayla’s smile faltered a little and she tilted her head, her eyes holding concern in them, “How are you, Sonya, really?”

Sonya shrank a bit beneath that gaze but recovered, “I’m better, some things have been troubling but,” She reached up and rubbed her neck, “I’ve learned a lot about myself after we broke up,” She admitted, “A lot. I have a partner!” Sonya said enthusiastically, “I also realized that I have a bit of a problem with monogamy,” She added, scratching her nose, “Which she’s fine with. We, we’re doing good. We had that talk I should have had with-” She trailed off, and looked down, letting her hands fall away from Mikayla’s arms, “-with you.”

A pair of arms wrapped around her and gave her a big squeeze, “I’m so, so proud of you,” She said into Sonya’s shoulder before pulling back and looking at her with tears glittering in her eyes, “I’m relieved. Are you going to have a little fun while you’re here?”

Sonya rubbed her nose, “That’s the hope,” Sonya said with a wicked grin, “I might have almost gotten myself in trouble at the hero training camp.”

“Sonya!” Mikayla gasped.

Sonya laughed, “Easy! I’ve already gotten the third degree from Marta and Carla,” Sonya said with a wave of her hands, “I’m behaving!”

Mikayla gave her a dubious look before breaking into a smile, “Good. I’m glad,” She said before glancing past Sonya, “Looks like your ride is here.”

Sonya glanced over her shoulder and groaned, “A motorcade, really?” She whined as seven dark vehicles drove up to the square, drawing even more attention than the handful of armed guards, ASTA CEO, and the famous hero Handmaiden. People were starting to pull out phones and cameras, a few pointing in the direction of Mikayla and Bernetta. Sonya frowned and glanced at Marta who nodded. She turned back to Mikayla, “Want to go see the new Pandora Committee headquarters?” She asked.

Mikayla blinked, “Um… is that allowed?”

“I’ll smooth out the details when we get there,” Sonya chirped and grabbed her hand, “C’mon, let's get away from here!” She laughed and dragged a flabbergasted Mikayla towards the middle car of the motorcade. As she did she passed Marta and gave her a look, “Keep an eye out.”

I will not allow another Florence.