Broker

Erina sat on the bed, her arms crossed, and watched her sister pace back and forth. Sonya was furious but subdued. She’d watched self-control snap into place like a heavy lock after a few moments of incandescent fury. Erina agreed with Sonya’s right to be angry. Not at any one party, of course, but the situation was unfortunate. While Nietz had initially come off as a bit troublesome and swayed slightly on his heroic path, he had rebounded well. A true young paragon that reminded Sonya of-

“Stop,” Sonya grunted, turning to stare at her. “I don’t even have to be connected with you to know what you’re thinking. It’s not-” she choked and growled, starting to pace again.

“It’s not like what?” Erina asked pointedly, feigning ignorance.

Sonya rounded on her and held up a finger, face flush with embarrassment and a mix of outrage. She swore, running her fingers through her hair. “Firestorm - Nick - is dead. Erina. Dead and gone,” she stopped her pacing. “I already made the mistake of trying to recreate him once with Lillian. She’s a blunt girl with a lot of courage but…”

“The boy’s a hero.”

She spun back to her again. “He’s Majordomo!” she barked. “I watched him snap Chunhua with his bare hands! Like a twig he was carrying!” her voice was hoarse with emotion. “Otis just… laughed about it.”

“Perhaps you should get Chunhua’s opinion on the matter,” Erina said calmly, holding her gaze. Sonya, let it go for now. You’re bound to the deal, there’s nothing you can do. Wait and see what the boy does, she thought, fixing her with that stare.

Sonya scoffed. “Chunhua’s still in La La Land wrangling old ghosts or something, I don’t fucking know,” she waved a dismissive hand only to slump her shoulders and slip back onto her chair. “I wish she was here. She’d know what to do.”

“Even if it was something you didn’t agree with?” Erina pressed.

Sonya sighed. “I can’t just skip an upgrade for Broker, sis, I need it. Otis…”

“We know Mimir knows the main clue to his weakness. Otis is still growing, he hasn’t fully realized himself yet. You’re still way ahead of the game right now,” Erina said consolingly. “Patience. Speak with Erebus and find out what’s going on with him. Track down Mimir and eliminate Astaroth. Once the board is largely clear, reassess. Perhaps you won’t even need what you can get from killing the boy.”

Sonya crossed her arms and leaned forward, staring at the ground. “I wanted to kill Locke. Just to punish him for taking Chunhua from me last time around. I didn’t get to watch him die in the past timeline,” she croaked. “I took it out on Otis in the end.”

“I know,” Erina said flatly. “You didn’t kill her though. You endured Titania, temptation won’t bend you. Your villainy, your evil, it has purpose. You don’t flail about like a fish. Breathe. Your emotions are understandable but…”

Sonya exhaled. “Yes, I know.” She leaned back and sighed, staring up at the ceiling, a small finger twirling a lock of silver hair. Erina watched her sister’s lip twitch up with a small amount of mischief and felt relief. Sonya, for her part, lazily glanced towards the door. “It’s safe to come in, Marta.”

The door opened and Marta strode inside with a few of the other maids moving in behind her. They brought a pair of mugs with them on trays laden with snacks. Erina narrowed her eyes at the offering and just jerked her chin towards the bed next to her. The maid set it down politely before retreating to Marta’s side. Sonya, on the other hand, took her tray gratefully and spoke in low tones for a moment.

“Sonya,” Marta said smoothly, her hands at her waist and her smile frighteningly pleasant. “Please don’t flirt with my maids.”

The maid hurried back over to Marta’s side, and Sonya huffed, raising the sugar with coffee added to it to her lips. “Booo.” she jeered.

“Hmph,” Marta shook her head. “You never learn.”

“Nope,” Sonya said with a shrug, “I am, and will always be, me.”

Marta’s expression went deadpan. “I am both relieved and morose about that, Miss.”

“Good,” Sonya snickered and sipped her drink again, setting it down and rubbing the bridge of her nose. “There’s nothing that can be done about the Nietz situation right now, and I’m not animal enough to lash out at his friends. So far he’s sticking to his agreement with me and hasn’t committed any villainous acts since the deal, so my hands are tied.”

“Good news in my opinion,” Marta said flatly.

Sonya shot her a look but didn’t rise to it. She popped a cake bite into her mouth and chewed slowly. “Blackrazor’s still scoping things out in France and getting us set up. I have an invitation from Astaroth too, so there’s an opportunity to see the twisted bastard face to face.” She turned to glance up at Marta. “How’d things go with Erebus?”

Marta shook her head with an exhausted expression. “He expects you tomorrow, Miss,” she said with a sigh. “Apparently he wants to prepare a ‘proper’ reception for his best of friends. It sounds like he’s going to hold a gala for you or something.”

Sonya raised an eyebrow and chuckled, shaking her head. “Okay… interesting reaction. I just wanted a brief meeting.”

“I don’t think he is going to comply, Miss, I apologize,” Marta said with a bow.

Erina sat forward and waved a dismissive hand. “Let the man have his party. He’s our bank. The least we can do is allow him moments to feel grand,” she said and leaned back on the bed, arms crossed tight, a brief flicker of savage interest glimmering in her illusory eyes. “Though I would much rather see the true shape of his ability. We merely got our ethereal wings out of Grandeur of Bahamut.”

Sonya pointed at her, nodding as she chewed another cake ball. “Mmh! Mm!” she swallowed quickly and chugged down some of her disgustingly sweet coffee. Erina’s nose wrinkled, but she controlled herself. Sonya coughed once and nodded. “Yeah! I haven’t had a good look either. Also, Levi would probably like to see where he came from; I did get him from Erebus.” She glanced around. “...Where is my little white familiar?”

–

The seagull vanished into a burst of feathers and a noisy squawk.

Levi stood nearby, rainbow mist boiling from his maw as organic matter was converted into sustenance for his body. His maw snapped shut, and his multicolored eyes flicked towards the simulated beach set at the heart of the deck. The tongue on this body is… efficient. More tests. He hopped off the railing and trotted along the deck, eyes flitting about and examining his surroundings. With his consciousness so intact, it was a different experience than the vapid wandering he had experienced before.

He was small in this shape, not as large or as intimidating as a lurker, but it was… compact. Easy for getting around. He hopped onto the pole of an umbrella and peered out from it, a pale-white lump on the narrow stem. Several of the humans that his partner adored were… bathing? That didn’t seem quite right. They had been in the water long enough to be cleansed. His eyes narrowed as he leaned forward to examine the water and their behavior, racking his brain for a word to apply to it from his connection to his partner.

Fun.

He pulled his head back as if he had been burned. What a strange concept. No, not strange. I have experienced fun before. Yes, the snapping of bones just the right way when a hound was crushed beneath a powerful paw strike. That feeling. Or the flight of those wretches in that big city when they realized he was hunting them. Yes, that was fun. He liked the feeling called ‘fun’. But how did they elicit that feeling from water without cracking a ribcage or consuming monster essence? They were just splashing. He narrowed his eyes again. Was it the splashing?

“Oh my god! It’s Levi!”

His eyes went wide. Surprise! Spotted? That voice is so close! Snuck up on me!

A pair of hands wrapped around his reptilian body, and he whipped his head towards the source. A girl with dark hair and brassy eyes grinned at him holding him up. “Hey, Glint! Look!” she called towards the water. “It’s Levi! I heard about him from Snow!”

Human, release me this instant.

“Aww! He looks grumpy!” the girl laughed, pulling him in and squeezing him for some reason. It was crushing and hot and the variety of textures was appalling.

Please continue doing this.

“Hey, Hammond!” she shouted over his head. She was very loud. It hurt his ears. Perhaps it was time to flee. The squeeze was losing its appeal quickly. Not that it was appealing, of course. That was insane. She pulled him away, and he stared at her with wide eyes, daring her to subject him to such injustices again. “Look! Don’t you have familiars too?”

Familiars? Monsters. Sustenance.

He whipped his head towards the direction she was looking and saw… a lurker? No. A human. A human shaped lurker? No, that wasn’t right. He squinted at the giant bald human who walked over, rubbing his neck. “U-uh… Armory? I-I think you’re upsetting him…”

The lurker is observant, unlike the squeezing female.

She pulled him back into a squeeze. “I am not! He’s adorable! So tiny!”

Levi looked back at the lurker human with wide eyes. Help, he begged. The lurker reached forward to try to provide assistance. Clearly he was more in tune with the moods of monsters than this noisy, squeezing human. Then the noisy human stepped back, then again. “No! I’m not done hugging him!” Levi sensed mana, his tail flipped, and then there was a rapid acceleration. He tried to see, but his vision was quite obscured.

“Armory! No powers on deck!” Another voice called out.

“Look at her go! Ha ha ha! Wooo! Go! Go!”

“Sis? What the hell are you doing, you drongo?!”

A splash of water whipped past Levi, a shift of movement and he could see. A figure that looked vaguely human made entirely out of water was reaching for him. Sustenance or rescue? Rescue. He reached out and realized that the salamander form had a weakness. Small arms. Another burst of speed and then a sudden stop. Levi’s head was spinning. “Locke! Take the little guy, don’t let Hammond have him!”

“M-me?” Came another female shriek followed by a momentary respite of oxygen and light. Then another squeeze. New textures, though. This may continue for now. “Armory, I don’t have a movement powaaaaaah!” A louder shriek.

“Gotcha.” Male, deeper than the lurker human.

“Nietz, don’t just go picking me up like that!” A slapping sound followed by a laugh and movement once again. Too much movement.

Levi helplessly went through what forms he could take in his head but nothing was smaller than the salamander. No escape. Another whip of water heralded more shrieks and laughter as Levi felt himself go airborne. With some effort he extricated himself from the soft material containing his head and looked down. They were high up, falling with the speed of a lurker strike. There were many eyes looking up at him and the duo carrying him.

Tap.

The male landed without a sound as several shots of water blasted past. “Nice try Hammond!”

“N-nietz! Put the poor thing down!” the lurker-man’s voice shouted back. “He’s clearly stressed!”

A pause. Levi looked down at the ground, then slowly turned his head up to look into two faces. Male and female looked down at him with a flicker of concern in their eyes. Levi looked back at them, going through the mayhem up until now and… coiled his tail around the female’s arm. Please resume. This is fun.

The blue-eyed flying male cracked a grin that would make a hound shrink back. “Looks like he’s having a blast! Keep away, let’s fuckin’ go!”

“Nietz!” The lurker-boy shouted.

More shots of water and they were moving again; the female shrieked and laughed. Levi held on for dear life. The movement was getting faster. “He’s catching up, Nietz!” She shouted, and there was a sudden surge downward. “NIETZ, DON’T YOU DARE!”

“Kong! Catch!”

Airborne once again, still pressed in that pleasant texture. “NIETZ! YOU ARE DEAD!”

A sudden stop. Levi felt his head spinning as he extricated himself again, trying to look around. He saw the blue sky and the chin of another human male. He looked down and saw cloudstuff beneath him. The male was riding the cloud. Levi turned to the female and saw her reddened face and scowl. “...Kong, if you throw me, I will lock you down for a week,” she said very quietly.

Levi saw the male’s throat bob.

Ah, a hierarchy has been established.

The water blasts kept coming. A few more shouts from down below and the sound of a loud bag followed by the fwhipping sound of fabric and rope. Levi stared wide-eyed at the net that hurtled past them. The female gasped. “Armory! What the hell! No cannons on deck!”

“It’s a ship! Why not?” The first female he’d met shouted back.

“Gonna have to pick up speed,” the cloud-rider boy said. Googlᴇ search NovєlFіre.net

“Oh no,” the scary female said.

Levi turned completely around, watching the world pass by so quickly the wind made his eyes water a little. His tail wrapped tighter around her wrist. It was so wild, energetic, chaotic - it was fun. It was so much fun. Then a shape leaped up into their path. A third female, with a rod in her hand and glowing eyes. The boy carrying them gulped again. “Dragoon? You’re on team catch?”

She snapped her head up and reared back with the rod in her hand.

The boy tensed. “You said ‘don’t throw you’ for that threat, right?’

Levi’s eyes went wide. I don’t like his tone.

“Kong…” the scary girl growled.

“Sorry!”

They fell.

“KONG! DROPPING IS WORSE! TWO WEEKS!” she shrieked as they collided with the water a few heartbeats later.

Levi’s world, for a moment, was nothing but movement and water. Sloshing, confusion, and then the light of air. He whipped his head to get the excess fluid off and looked around. The humans were back in the water again, splashing, laughing. He floated there, a bit of water splashing onto his face. Ah, splashing is fun.

–

An hour later, Levi stumbled towards the door to his partner’s room, and it opened for him, the Marta-female looking down with a small smile on her face. “You look tired, Levi,” she said patiently as he trotted in and flopped down on the ground. He flicked his eyes up towards a pair of glowing pink eyes that met his own. His partner smiled, and he wagged his tail.

Fun.