Chapter 80: Not Yet Time
Julian sat rigid against the cold stone wall, fury and grief still boiling hot beneath his skin long after Xavier’s footsteps had faded down the corridor, the phantom sensation of that unwanted kiss still crawling under his skin no matter how hard he tried to scrub the memory of it away.
"system," he snapped, voice sharp and furious, "I need answers. right now."
[This unit is listening.]
"you’ve been dodging me for weeks," Julian said, standing now, pacing the small length of chain his loosened restraint allowed, back and forth across the cold stone floor. "’the time hasn’t come yet.’ ’this unit cannot elaborate further.’ you know what that sounds like? that sounds like useless. that sounds like exactly the kind of vague nonsense that gets people killed while I sit here waiting for you to finally decide I’m allowed to know something."
[Host’s frustration is noted.]
"noted," Julian repeated, disbelieving, voice cracking with the force of it. "NOTED. two people just died, system. two Sentinels walked into a trap I could have warned them about, if I’d had literally any way to get word out, and instead I’m sitting here getting kissed against my will by a monster who thinks that’s romantic, while you and your stupid fox keep vanishing to work on some secret project you won’t even explain." His voice broke fully now, raw with weeks of buried exhaustion finally spilling loose all at once, hands curling into fists at his sides. "you’re supposed to help me. that’s your entire function, isn’t it? and instead you disappear for weeks and come back with nothing but ’this unit cannot elaborate.’ you’re useless. you’re both useless, you and that stupid, cowardly fox, hiding from me while people I actually care about are out there dying—"
[Host.]
"don’t," Julian snapped. "don’t interrupt me. I’ve been patient. I’ve been so unbelievably patient, waiting for you to finally decide I’m ready for whatever mysterious plan you’ve been cooking up, and meanwhile actual people are dying because I don’t have anything real to work with. so either give me something I can actually use, or stop pretending you’re on my side at all, because right now this feels exactly like being abandoned all over again."
A long pause followed, heavier than usual, and when the System finally responded, something in its tone had shifted, careful and deliberate in a way Julian hadn’t heard from it before, none of its usual clipped, clinical distance.
[Host. This unit understands your frustration, and acknowledges it is justified. This unit has been developing a new ability specifically calibrated to host’s unique circumstances — power drawn from host’s previous world experience, fused with host’s current guiding capacity, resulting in a function unlike anything currently recorded in this world’s known ability classifications.]
Julian’s breath caught, fury momentarily overtaken by sharp, sudden attention despite himself. "what kind of function."
[This unit is not yet prepared to fully disclose its parameters. Development remains incomplete. Premature activation carries significant risk — to host’s body, host’s mind, and potentially to those around host if deployed before proper calibration is achieved.]
"how significant," Julian demanded, jaw tight.
[Catastrophic, in the worst case scenario. This unit will not risk host’s life on an unfinished process, regardless of how urgently host wishes to act.]
Julian’s jaw tightened further, frustration and cautious hope tangling together uneasily in his chest. "you’re telling me you’ve been building something powerful enough to actually change things," he said slowly, "and you won’t tell me when it’ll be ready."
[This unit does not yet know precisely when. Development depends on variables outside this unit’s direct control, including host’s own physical and mental recovery from previous strain — the displacement ability alone set that recovery back significantly. Rushing the process risks losing the ability entirely, or worse, losing host in the attempt.]
Julian let out a long, unsteady breath, some of the fury bleeding slowly into exhausted resignation, though a spark of something sharper still burned underneath it. "fine," he said finally, voice rough. "fine. but I need something now, system. not eventually. now. people are dying while I wait for you to finish whatever this is, and I can’t just keep sitting here pretending that’s acceptable."
[This unit understands. This unit will continue relaying any actionable intelligence host is able to gather in the meantime. This unit also recommends host continue the current strategy with Xavier and Ian, distasteful as it may be, since it remains host’s most reliable current source of information, however painful the method.]
Julian closed his eyes, exhaustion pressing down heavy despite the anger still simmering beneath it, the memory of Xavier’s mouth against his rising unwelcome again, sharp and nauseating. "extremely powerful," he repeated slowly, turning the words over, trying to hold onto the one useful thing he’d actually managed to extract from this conversation. "than anything in the world. that’s what you said."
[Correct.]
"and you still won’t tell me what it actually does."
[Not yet. This unit apologizes for the continued uncertainty. This unit promises, when the time comes, host will understand exactly why the wait was necessary.]
"you keep saying that," Julian muttered. "’when the time comes.’ you realize that phrase means absolutely nothing to me, right? it’s just a nicer way of saying ’not yet,’ over and over, indefinitely."
[This unit is aware of how it sounds. This unit assures host it is not indefinite. Progress continues. This unit estimates the remaining development window has narrowed considerably since this conversation began, in fact, given the clarity this exchange has provided regarding host’s current emotional and physical state.]
Julian blinked, some of his exhaustion giving way to confused, cautious curiosity. "wait — this conversation helped?"
[Host’s stability, resolve, and current threat assessment all factor into calibration. This unit has gathered useful data from host’s reaction just now. This unit apologizes that the method of gathering it was unpleasant.]
"you used me venting at you as data collection," Julian said flatly.
[This unit multitasks efficiently.]
Despite everything — the fury, the exhaustion, the raw, unhealed horror of Xavier’s kiss still sitting sour in his chest — something in Julian cracked slightly toward a tired, disbelieving huff that wasn’t quite a laugh but came close enough to surprise him.
"unbelievable," he muttered, sitting back down heavily against the wall.
[This unit will endeavor to communicate more clearly going forward,] the System said, tone softening again. [This unit is sorry for the pain the silence caused. That was not this unit’s intention, even if it was, regrettably, the result.]
Julian closed his eyes, letting his head fall back against the cold stone, exhaustion finally winning out over the last of his anger, though something fragile and stubborn had settled underneath it now, small and cautious but real. "just— don’t disappear on me again without warning," he said quietly. "even if you can’t tell me everything. just don’t vanish like that. I’ve had enough people vanish on me lately."
[This unit will not vanish without warning again. This unit promises that specifically, even if other details must remain withheld a while longer.]
Julian didn’t answer that right away, simply sitting with the quiet, uneasy comfort of at least having some fragment of an answer after weeks of nothing at all, turning the promise of something powerful over and over in his mind — extremely powerful, than anything in the world — wondering, with cautious, guarded hope, exactly how much longer he’d have to wait before it finally, actually mattered, and whether it would arrive in time to matter for the people who hadn’t been as lucky as he had been so far.