Broker

Sonya surfaced from her inner world with a new word bounding about in her head: ‘Proving’. Set had been decidedly vague on what it meant, and she wasn’t fool enough to push him on the topic. Instead, she took his lack of insight to be insight in and of itself. Knowing the word was guidance enough, and knowing too much might end up hurting her in the long term. She needed to be patient and, in the meantime, come up with new declarations to make to add to her arsenal. Variable forms of her post-Claimant power as an enticing idea.

Different outfits for the occasion, she thought with amusement as her eyes fluttered open.

She was greeted not by her empty stateroom on the Idol of Venus, but instead by two wagging tails - one literal and one quite metaphorical. A pair of rainbow eyes glimmered in her face on the left, while a pair of sky-blue eyes sparkled to her right. She cracked a grin. “Was I out that long?” she asked brightly as her daughter collided with her and pulled her into a big hug. Levi bounded around to her side, barking wildly as his wiry tail whipped about in agitation at Cassiopeia’s sudden ‘attack.’ Sonya barked out a laugh and squeezed the girl tight before letting go. “It’s good to see you too, hun!”

Cass sat up with a brilliant smile, pulling her golden hair back over her ear while Levi pushed past her to look Sonya over fervently.

He’s quite eager today… She squinted at her familiar. “Hey, since when do you bark?” she asked.

The hound blinked at her a few times before plopping his rear down on the bed and looking away with a dignified huff. He even raised his paw up and licked it, looking irritable as he brushed himself off. Are you a cat or a dog? she thought at it and, to her surprise, got a response.

I am Levi. And I will not bark anymore then, if you wish to make a fuss, a voice responded through their connection. It wasn’t inside her head like Erina; rather, it was sourceless and external. She glanced at Cass, who didn’t so much as blink, indicating it was something only she could hear. Then her eyes widened even more as the implication of the response sank in. She took in a sharp breath and took the brilliant doggo by the cheeks and ruffled his face. “Oh, you got a big meal in Shanghai, didn’t you? Good boy! You’re growing up so well! Do it again! Say something again, sweetie!”

Cass’ head whipped in her direction with a look of shock as Sonya crooned over the hound.

You are hurting my face, the hound complained. Its voice sounded like some dignified British barrister or something. Sonya snorted out a laugh. It was just how she imagined it would come out, which, in retrospect, was probably why it sounded that way.

“Oh, you sound so posh! I love it!” She laughed and stroked his head.

“Mom?” Cass pressed, and Sonya looked her way with a big smile. “Did you just say Levi talked to you?”

Sonya blinked. “Yeah, he’s my familiar. What’s the problem?”

“Monsters can talk?” Cass pressed.

“Of course they can,” Sonya said with a shrug, pulling Levi to her chest and rubbing his belly. He fought for a moment before giving up against her superior strength. “You were in the dire elf dungeon at the camp, remember?”

“Those were humanoid monsters,” Cass reiterated. “You just made it sound like he ate a whole bunch and got smarter.”

Sonya raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I see what you mean,” she said with a chuckle and looked down to nuzzle his face. “That’s exactly what I mean. Monsters become self-aware if they live long enough and eat well enough.” The room fell silent long enough that Sonya looked up at Cass, who stared at her aghast. “What?”

“That’s like… important information!” Cass blurted. “Why doesn’t anyone know this? You could feed it to Carla or something!”

Sonya pursed her lips and shrugged. “It hasn’t been relevant, sweetheart,” she said frankly and held up her hand to count with her fingers. “The Carter Radar, expansion of the Hero Programs, international reinforcement efforts, community awareness drills.” She shrugged. “No monsters live long enough to ever get to that point, except for familiars like Levi here and Bandit’s Inky. Why scare people?”

“Inky is self-aware?” Cass asked.

Sonya cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, he definitely is. Bandit’s just smart about how Inky shows off.”

Cass frowned. “But…”

Sonya let out a laugh. “Relax. The Committee knows that monsters can evolve into larger forms if they exist long enough on Earth. That's why monster patrols are prioritized.” She held up a finger. “That’s sensitive information that’s kept under wraps to also not cause a panic, by the way.” She wagged her finger before reaching out and tapping Cass’ nose. “So keep that quiet.”

Cass frowned. “...Why didn’t the monsters-”

“Why didn’t the monsters in Dharan change? Ask a different question,” Sonya said with a knowing smirk. “What food did they have while trapped in an exclusion zone?”

Cass stared at her and then let out a sigh, chuckling and shaking her head. “I get it. Sorry for freaking out there; that was kind of new information.”

Sonya pursed her lips. “It shouldn’t be. Your team has Alphonse,” Sonya said and slipped off the bed. Levi hopped off and followed after her, lingering at her feet protectively. “If he’s not self-aware yet, he will be soon,” she sing-songed and walked over to her wardrobe before sending out a signal through her technopathy. She pulled out a small collection of earrings and held them up to her ear, turning to Cass. “Which ones do you think I should wear for our party?”

Cass shook her head. “Mom, you’re just passing out ‘tokens’ to my friends. That’s hardly a party.”

“Oh, we’re getting catering,” Sonya said, patting her belly. “I’m making it a party.”

“Mom!”

Sonya snickered impishly as she felt Erina rise up within her subconscious. All done talking to Set? she asked.

Actually, I spoke a little bit with Pandora, Erina said. I had some personal questions for her.

Did you now? Sonya asked with amusement. What kind of personal questions?

Sonya felt Erina push out of her subconscious, and a Legionnaire body took shape. Soon, the grim-faced, short-haired Erina stood there with her muscular and scarred arms crossed. Sonya felt their telepathic connection diminish a little bit with the separation and pouted. “Boo,” she jeered. “No fair.”

“No reading my mind,” Erina said flatly before turning to Cass with a firm nod. “Cassiopeia.” Thıs content belongs to novel(ꜰ)ire.net

Cassiopeia stared at Sonya before turning to look sheepishly at Erina. She looked down at her hands, and Sonya realized the last time the girl had spoken with the ‘Ishtar’ persona, it had been a fairly intense conversation. She opened her mouth to speak and looked up. Sonya watched a small smile bloom on Erina’s face and turned away to give them a moment. “Her name is Erina. She’s your aunt, Cass,” Sonya said.

“Oh,” Cass said quietly.

“You did what you said you would do,” Erina said. “I’m pleased to see you kept your word.”

“...Thanks, Auntie.”

Sonya’s eyebrows shot up with glee, and she turned back despite initially planning to give them space. She couldn’t stop grinning when she met Erina’s eyes, who gave her a resigned frown. Sonya skipped over to her. “Auntie Erina, Auntie Erina, let’s go shopping!” she teased and was pulled into a headlock for her trouble. She gasped at the sudden grab from her sister, who squeezed her neck. Sonya patted her arm a few times. “U-uncle! Uncle! I’ll be go- ack!” She choked on her own words.

“There is no way you’d ever promise to behave yourself,” Erina growled as Sonya playfully struggled against her sister’s marble grip.

“You got me there!” Sonya half-choked, half-snickered. She turned to Levi and gave him a pitiable look. “Help Momma?” The hound sat down and huffed, and she got a vibe of exhaustion from him rather than a verbal response. Sonya’s arms fell as she just hung there in Erina’s grip. “Aw man.”

The sound of youthful laughter drew her and Erina’s attention, and she watched Cassiopia just collapse under her own mirth while still sitting on the bed. Sonya watched the girl that had fought, bled, been traumatized, struggled, and fought some more. She watched Liberty’s tormented little sister laugh like a young woman. Sonya’s smile softened, and she glanced up to meet Erina’s eyes. Erina let her go, and she stood up. “Makes it all worth it, huh?” she said quietly.

“Yes, it does,” her sister agreed.

A knock came to the door behind her, and she turned, brushing a bit of her messy hair out from her ‘wrestling’ match with her sister. “Come in!”

The door slid open, and the pretty, brown-haired head maid of her growing household stepped inside. Her dearest friend, Marta, offered a polite curtsy in her usual maid attire. “You called, Miss?” she asked with a demure smile and downturned face. Ever the roleplayer and cosplayer, she just couldn’t switch off the proper maid-butler act.

“I’d like to get all gussied up for the afternoon festivities,” Sonya said. “While we’re at it, let’s do something about this, hmm?” She thumbed in the direction of her sister. “My daughter as well.”

“Huh?” Erina and Cass both grunted simultaneously. She ignored them with a snicker.

Marta smirked to herself and inclined her head again, standing up straight with her hands at her lap. “Of course, Miss. I will summon the rest of the maid staff to assist,” she said and turned away. She paused at the door and glanced over her shoulder at Erina and then at Cass. “I do hope that the Miss’ honorable sister and the young miss of the house will be receptive to my assistance and keep complaints to a minimum.”

With that, she walked out, and the door shut behind her.

Sonya held her hand up to her mouth to stifle her laughter as she caught the look of very momentary dread on Erina’s face. “Finally see it, don’t you?” she asked.

Erina worked her mouth. “Was she always that frightening?”

“Yep,” Sonya said proudly and started going through her jewelry again. “Hoh, which one to pick! Maybe I should have Marta pick for me here too. I’m feeling indecisive today. Too many decisions the past couple of months,” she groaned and glanced down at Levi, who had returned to her feet. She raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re clingy. I might trip over you like this, love. Do you have any other-”

She was cut off as Levi’s body changed. He grew smaller as his flesh morphed rapidly into a semi-solid, scaly, white ooze that traveled up her leg and to her back. By the time he reached her shoulders, he had taken the form of a much smaller variation of the salamanders common in Dharan. Her familiar’s new reptilian form lounged on her shoulders, tail flicking thoughtfully as it stared at the sparkling assortment of jewelry set out on the wardrobe.

She pursed her lips in amusement and scratched his chin. “Travel-sized Levi. I love it,” she chirped as Erina went over to the bed to sit with Cass and speak quietly. Sonya glanced down at the jewelry again. “What do you think, Levi?”

Her familiar whipped his tail out to point at a pair of silver inverted crosses set with pink stones. This one.

Sonya raised an eyebrow. “Really? Why that one?”

I am fond of it. No other reason. The creature replied.

Sonya snorted and picked them up, slipping them into her ears and turning to look at the familiar. “What do you think?”

Acceptable, the familiar said and returned its tail to her shoulder, draping around her like a shawl. She smiled at the little guy. He’s growing up so well, she thought and pet him again. He’ll be ready to fight alongside me soon. I can’t wait until you get big, darling.

She turned away, and a chime rang in her head. Amos?

<”What can I do for you, dear?”> she asked.

<”Got some messages for you. Marta said you were out of meditation, so I figured I’d reach out,”> he said through their technopathic connection. He sounded like he was busy doing something else as he spoke. Probably working on those upgrades he was so eager to try out for the Idol of Venus, she thought. He’d been experimenting all over the world, even outside the world, to come up with new inventions. He wanted to implement several of them and had barely left the engine room since First Wind’s death.

<”Sure, what do you have for me?”> she asked.

<”Blackrazor wants to speak urgently. You should call him when you get a chance. He made it to France safely, by the way,”> Amos began. <”So does Da-som when you have a moment. He says Setsuna has something for you.”>

<”I’ll call him after I get off with you,”> she said and paused. Setsuna? A vision, probably. I need to make more time, sheesh.

<”Great. Next, I got a response from Erebus. He’s more than happy to meet and has invited you to his new palace. He insists that you dress for a gala-level occasion. He wouldn’t tell me what the occasion was for, claiming it was obvious,”> Amos said. <”That guy’s kind of a weirdo.”>

Sonya sighed and shook her head. <”He’s our infinite source of cash, though. Be nice.”>

<”Yeah, yeah,”> Amos grumbled. <”Speaking of which, we’re breaking ground on the grid for the Brokerage project at the hot zones we mapped out. No timetable yet. I’ll keep you updated.”>

<”Good to hear. Any other messages?”> she asked.

<”Yeah, one you might either hate or love.”>

She raised an eyebrow. <”Oh?”>

<”Lucien DuCast has invited you to France to participate in a summit discussing France’s future. The Pandora Committee is a topic on the invitation,”> he said with a yawn. <”It’s like the guy is asking you to kill him.”>

Sonya pursed her lips. Astaroth, she thought with disgust. One breath short of Otis as far as wickedness is concerned. Whatever he has planned, it will look good from the outside but be wretched at its core. I don’t intend to let him live long enough to put any policy he comes up with into practice. Still, it would be a good way to get close.

She frowned. Especially since Mimir has categorically failed to deal with him like I’d urged him to. I figured he would have tried to contact me after the Pandora Committee arrested that emerald woman, but he’s been quiet. I don’t like it.

<”I’ll attend if it doesn’t conflict with my meeting with Erebus,”> Sonya said and stroked Levi’s head, closing her jewelry box. <”Is that everything?”>

<”It doesn’t conflict. I’ll send the RSVP,”> Amos said. <”Yeah, that’s everything, boss.”>

She nodded and let out a breath. <”Thank you for keeping track of things for me, dear. I’ll call Beyol now.”>

<”You got it. I’m gonna get back to the fun stuff,”> he said and hung up.

She chuckled and dialed out mentally to Blackrazor’s phone. He didn’t wait even a full ring before he answered. <”Mistress?”>

<”Blackrazor, Amos said you needed-”>

He cut her off. <”I apologize, Mistress. It is urgent. Mikayla Summer is in serious condition. I would request a portal to send her to you as quickly as possible.”>

Sonya’s hand fell to her side. <”What?!”> she demanded and turned away. <”What happened? We were having her watched!”> she said hurriedly and began to form a portal in the room. Cass and Erina both looked up with a start as Sonya focused on the air with an open palm.

<”She was on a brief vacation when she was taken, ma’am. A Grecian company invited her to stay at their luxury hotel and come up with a style for an event. As per your orders, my people maintained distance from her tracking device until there was a sign of distress in order to flush out who took her,”> Blackrazor said. <”No attempts at ransom were made. At the three-day mark, my men entered reaction range. Then, her readings spiked, and they moved in, only to be held off by heavily armed defenders.”>

Sonya’s breath caught. That was the correct plan. Everything should have gone normally. Who the hell could hold off the Night Society, though? Her mind fell on only one possibility that made her blood run cold with fury. <”Mimir.”>

<”Yes, ma’am.”>

<”I’m opening the portal. Send her through. Do you have Mimir as well?”> she demanded.

<”No, ma’am. He escaped. We are searching for him now.”>

The portal opened over the bed, and that beautiful, delicate, dark-skinned girl drifted down onto the plush surface. Her skin was cracked like glass, light shining out of it. Her body was eerily still even as her chest rose and fell. Sonya stared in horror at it, her words dying in her throat before she finally spoke again. <”Find Mimir, Blackrazor. The plan has changed. I will personally exterminate Astaroth. Find Mimir. Scour the Vigilantes from the face of the Earth if you must, but leave him alive. I want to kill him myself.”>

There was only a brief pause before her assassin spoke. <”It will be done.”>