Slowly, I walked carefully from the clinic, paranoid because my body was giving me lots of those `pain' signals, which meant I should be extra cautious not to hurt anything further. There was a bandage over my right eye now, and several bandages over my chest and groin... but those ones were hidden under the shorts and tunic I wore now instead. A male tunic, this time.
Mirya helped me along, smiling softly down to me, but Vox looked a little concerned. ``I don't think we should have done this much at once... but I suppose the testicles and eye couldn't wait once they had them generated... The breasts though...''
Mirya smiled and shook her head, however. ``They're not that much more, and I think this is important for his sexual identity...'' Really, I didn't know how to feel about that. A part of it felt... wrong. But at this point, I was just doing all this for the original me. I could feel him inside of me now. This was his body, not mine. Even if that wasn't... fair. I suppose he felt this wasn't fair either, though.
Unfortunately, the appointment with the mind mage was shorter today. He was hoping to get some sort of scanner thingy in that could get around the blocks, but had to put in a request specifically for it from the Academy in Kaldar, which was apparently notoriously slow and a lot of `red tape'. I didn't know why they'd use red tape for anything involving the request. Packaging for it, maybe? But it hadn't gotten here yet. It was for using True Alchemy to do really, really detailed scans, I think he explained?
At least Vox and Mirya were really gentle with me, walking along holding one of my paws each. Mirya had really stepped up and even started cooking for me. Meals that were `gentle' on an upset stomach, between bouts of suppressants. At least I got another blood test done at the clinic too, and they'd seen huge drops in the Moondust in my system, as well as a healthy drop in female hormones. Now I'd start rapidly making male hormones again too, with all those gland thingies replaced in my abdomen.
Still, I felt sorta bad for imposing on them like this. They were doing all of this for me pretty much for free. Yeah, I was going to work for them eventually but... They were going way out of their way for me, it felt like. Mirya herself seemed delighted to, though.
Vox perked when we were about halfway back. ``Ah, right, weekend. Gimme a second...'' My ears lifted, and I curiously watched as he crossed the street for a moment instead, two of our four guards following, and moved to what looked like a big newsstand in the center of the walk divider. It was basically a circular booth with a roof, and two attendants in it. Oh, right, newspapers were a thing. It... didn't really seem like the rest of the world mattered all that much, though. Not with my memories gone.
Mirya giggled, giving my paw a squeeze. ``He likes staying current on events. Maybe you should try giving it a read too? It might jog your memory of things...'' Huh. I'd not thought of that.
My eye widened a little bit, then drifted to the left of watching Vox buy a paper. That black and charcoal gray Vulkus female... The one who'd complimented my white coat then vanished. She was in civilian clothes now and sitting at the cafe across the street, reading a paper herself. I... I exhaled and shook my head. No, she probably lives here. Maybe she's just a fast walker? She probably had just made it out of the hallway before I turned around.
She didn't seem to be paying us any attention anyway, so I sighed and looked back to Vox instead. He'd slid some coins to the attendant, and was now smiling, on his way back, now with a paper tucked under his arm. ``Sorry about that. Wanted a paper...'' My eye traced over it under his coat arm, it feeling oddly interesting to me. Eh...
I smiled then shook my head. ``It's fine. So far, the suppressants are still working...''
He coughed at that, then nodded. ``Right! We should get you back before there are... issues.'' Ah, yeah, that... right in the street... that would be bad.
We headed for the tram again after that, though I spared one more glance towards the Vulkus female. But she was still right there, reading and sipping at her chocolate shake. Mmm, actually that sounded really good. ``Hmm... Does the bar have chocolate shakes...?'' Vox perked at that, then grinned...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ah, it was the simple pleasures... I sipped gently on the shake while resting in the hospital bed. Vox had apparently picked up a few more things while I was getting the procedures done, too. A nice selection of books to read, plus a PEC. They came out about four or five years ago and are all the rage now, being an entertainment center that handles video and game cartridges, with all the enchantment `programing' in the center, which apparently left a lot more space in the cartridges for actual stuff? I didn't really understand it, but games before this all used to be one dedicated unit, all-in-one. And kinda small and uncomplicated, apparently.
I sipped more of the shake while the headset calibrated for me, having to take extra adjustments for now, apparently, due to me only having one eye available. It... left me a little antsy, being unable to see out of my right side, but I knew this was for the better. Apparently, the biotics that they'd gotten for me, while looking pretty, were actually kind of low grade and garbage anyway.
I'd just picked up one of the books while waiting, going to give `romance' genre a try, when the door to the medical ward opened again. My ears perked and eye snapped up, then widened as I saw Remi walk in. Walk... and at something of a limp, too! My eye snapped down to her leg immediately, and saw two thin streaks of blood sliding down it. Ah!
For a second, she snapped her attention to me as if startled, then flushed slightly, as if she didn't expect me to be here. ``Aw, shit! Forgot ya was in `ere, X! Uh... this isn't...''
I'd already sat up and carefully got out of bed, though. ``Remi! You're hurt! What happened?!''
She huffed, quickly shutting the door behind her before shooting me a pout. ``It's nothin', like Ah said! Just got too ballsy an' misjudged ah jump, `s all! Just... Go back an' rest, X!'' A jump?
I frowned as she limped across the room, leaving little drops of blood along the floor. That was... She made it to the cabinet though, and I felt a pang of concern go through me. It felt distant, but urgent. It was... I moved over to where she was regardless, as she pulled some bandages out of the cabinet. Her ears shot up, and she gave another little jump as she turned to look at me again, but then widened her eyes instead as I moved her to the stool with a careful nudge and shift.
``Eh?! X! Ah said it's...'' She trailed off, then sighed as I lifted her skirt up and saw the gash along her inner thigh. She'd already put a cloth against it, but it... there was a lot of blood. I felt queasy for a second, but that distant sensation drifted back into place.
I moved fast, taking more things out of the cabinet. A blue fluid, a green larger fluid container, a roll of compression bandages, scissors and tape... The fluid was... All the mixtures were so familiar feeling. I moved without thinking really, and she just watched me, looking surprised. A second later, my magic was activating, and I had a scanner attached to her leg. Multiple lacerations. Clean cut but fragmented into lines. Glass. A shard was still in her.
``You jumped through a window, didn't you...?'' Her eyes widened at that, and she flushed pink, looking shocked towards me, even as I grabbed several of the fluids, then a syringe as well.
She blinked once, then frowned. ``How... How'd ya know...? Uh, are ya sure ya know what yer...'' She winced, apparently trusting me enough to let me stick her leg with a needle, then she shivered and sagged, relaxing after I got the numbing stuff put into her. How did... I know how much to use? ``Oh fuck... that feels better...''
After that, she just... watched me, widening her eyes as I worked a pair of grips into her, and withdrew a sizable glass shard, before tossing it into the sink behind her. Cleaning... washing with the green stuff and seeing it spark and flash in my vision. Energize it with magic. Sterilized the wound. Compression bandage single wrap. Not too tight but kept the pressure on it, after I used magic and a targeted regenerative to reestablish most of her blood flow and major blood vessels...
It was just streaming through my mind. Soon her leg was washed, and she had a bandage on her thigh, looking as nice as the clinic had gotten my own. I relaxed at that, feeling those... thoughts settle again. That had... That had come from inside me. Was that... the other me? The original me? He was the one used to this magic. Was he... a medical mage? He'd... desperately wanted to help Remi, so he couldn't be a bad person.
I looked back up at her at that, and she was flushed, staring at me in surprise. ``Ah... didn't even... Ah knew somethin' was in there still but... How did ya know how ta... do all that?! It's... professional even...''
I felt a little heat in my own cheeks at the praise, but slowly nodded. ``I... think it's what I used to be. A medical mage. It... was like a little voice in my head was instructing me and really wanted to help you. Well, I mean, I wanted to help you too but...''
The Illan's expression softened a little there, and she relaxed again. Had she been expecting something else? ``Heh. Ah... Thank ya. How much do Ah owe ya, then?'' A little smirk played at her muzzle, but I quickly shook my head.
``Nothing! Just... Be careful? You're nice, and I don't want you getting hurt.'' Her muzzle scrunched at that, and she hesitated, but the door opened again a second later. Both of us perked and turned as a concerned looking Vox came in.
``X, do you know where the blood... oh, Remi! Wait, you're hurt!'' His eyes widened as he spotted Remi's bandage, and she flushed again, this time quickly tucking her skirt back down. Oh, right, I suppose she didn't want to flash anyone her panties either.
``It's nothin'! X... already fixed me all up. Anesthetics, cleanin', extraction, bandages... Whole works!'' She... she was just distracting him away from the injury!
I huffed, flushing again as Vox turned to me instead, looking surprised. Ugh. Instead, I turned and washed my paws in the sink, making sure to pick the glass shard up again after. It probably wouldn't go down the drain very good. I doubted Remi had any diseases or anything but this was probably still a biohazard or something. The voice had left though so...
``You... know medicine, X?''
I exhaled, then gave a shrug, tossing the glass shard in the garbage instead. ``Um, I guess? I think it's what I used to do. It felt like there was someone inside of me telling me what to do. He really wanted to help Remi heal, and seemed... really confident in what he was doing, medically... so I listened.''
Remi slowly frowned at that, looking a bit concerned instead. ``So... ya think there's... `another you' inside ya? Who ya were before, basically?'' I nodded, then hesitated, swallowing uneasily.
``I don't... think it's the first time I've felt him. But before he always felt... angry. Hurt and hostile. He... really hated Ignaus and Atir...'' Though... given what I was slowly coming to realize, maybe he was right? He probably knew a lot that I didn't. And... if he used to be a boy, and they did all this to his body...
Vox sighed at that, then slowly nodded. ``I... honestly can't blame him if he did, even without guessing that those two are probably responsible for a lot of personal suffering he went through. He... might very well be injured. Maybe, repressed or something inside of you? I hope by next week, the mind mage can get that device...'' He hesitated at that, then gestured me back to the bed instead. Right...
Remi followed me, surprisingly, then just hopped up next to me on the mattress, while Vox sat down slowly in the chair again off to the side. ``It was a long time ago that I used to do a lot of business for the Agency. I knew the original head of it. He established it as a means to try to get legal slaves down into... the lower levels of Nulidia. Hopefully cheaply, and to try to... dissuade the demand for the illegal slaves a bit. Of course, it was a rough time of it. I thought it was an amazing idea and pushed all the business and donations I could their way...'' Oh. If there were easy, cheap legal slaves, there'd be less need to get them illegally, then?
He sighed however, then slowly shook his head. ``But it's hard to get legal slaves that are cheaper than illegal. I mean, as long as there's overhead that the justice system puts on them, it's always going to add costs. Hoops you have to jump through to get them registered. Fees and registration costs. It all adds up. I know... the people in Koramir, Keldonia, and Larid are just attempting to soak up some of the expenses of running the system but... All it's doing is passing the costs off elsewhere. Creating a market for getting around the system, even more than it would normally. Regardless, the Agency couldn't support itself financially, even with my and a few other donor's aids.''
Remi snorted at that. ``Cute, but also didn't help that Ignaus fuckin' sold out tha old boss, sinkin' several business accounts inta debt sinkholes... Shitty little fake banks that are just glorified loan grinders... That was tha last straw, an' he was forced ta sell it ta Ignaus. Who's `dissolved' all tha legal slave procurement divisions, in favor o' special procurement an' custom orders... Wouldn't surprise me if he was workin' on figurin' out tryin' ta Ego Death slaves, too... Fuckin' asshole...'' She gestured to me with that last bit, and I shivered. Right...
I frowned. ``Isn't... that really, really illegal, though...?'' It sounded... really bad.
Vox nodded rapidly to that. ``Definitely. If word got out that he was even trying that... The council that rules Nulidia itself probably wouldn't look the other way anymore. They might support it on the down low, but if public attention was drawn to it, they'd probably get rid of Ignaus themselves, rather than risk Koramir or Keldonia getting involved. Ignaus would be served up to one of the two nations on a silver platter, with bows attached.'' Yikes... A sort of every-person-for-themselves approach... I guess some things were considered too dangerous, even by Nulidia's standards.
I slowly nodded to that, understanding at least. ``So... you didn't deal with them anymore after the change in leadership, I take it?'' Wait, had I known that already...?
Vox didn't think anything of it and nodded. ``Yeah. You were... the first time I'd dealt with them in years. And really, I only went through them at Xora's request. She thought at least getting out there and doing something visible in the undercity would be good for our business, and had assured me they still did legal acquisitions, despite Remi saying otherwise. I... should have listened to Remi.'' He sighed at that and slowly shook his head, but Remi smirked.
``Of course. Always listen ta me! Though... Ah guess it worked out, sorta. It's shitty, but X is cool ta know, right?'' She looked over at me at that, and gave my paw a rub. Vox just shrugged, though.
``Part of me just wonders if he would have been kidnapped regardless, or if I led to it, though. It-``
Remi shook her head, though. ``If it was just ah matter o' gettin' ya tha slave, it would'a been easy, no? What ya requested was cake. But... they put X through all o' what they did anyway. They didn't have ta do that. If anything, it was ah huge risk, doin' experimental shit ta ah slave yer gonna sell, an' risk exposin' yerself an' what yer doin'. Ah'm gonna guess they actually already had X, an' saw fillin' yer contract as ah way ta conveniently get rid o' him fast. Ah think something's up there...'' Fast? Vox frowned too, and Remi hesitated before sighing and nodding.
``Ah looked inta it all. Started, anyway. There are over four hundred slave procurement organizations in Nulidia, though. Trackin' ah specific slave goin' through tha process is... It ain't gonna be fuckin' easy, that's fer sure. Ah was just tryin' ta find out if tha Agency actually did tha pickup o' X, o' if they outsourced it, so ta speak. Needle, meet haystack. But Ah did at least manage ta snag tha localized manifest fer tha Agency an' that time period, and ah bit o' news...'' Why... did Nulidia even need that many slave organizations?!
Remi pulled a sheet of paper out of her pocket and passed it to Vox, who unfolded it and started looking it over as she continued. ``Pieced out tha timin' involved o' around when X was captured, as far as we can tell. Grabbed two moons worth o' logs fer that period. Only two Inaga intake. Should narrow it down pretty good, given one's flagged with tha error sign...'' Error sign?
``You mean this little triangular yellow mark you have circled?'' Vox pointed to it, and Remi grinned and nodded.
``Yup! Female Inaga intake. Only error. Gonna guess it wasn't ah female Inaga like they wanted...'' Oh! Ooooh. Was that why they feminized me?
I voiced just that, and Remi shrugged. ``Could be, but Ah doubt it. More likely, was ta make ya not easily identifiable...'' They... wanted to disguise me?
``What's the red x mark, and red circle for two of the other slaves that day...?'' Remi winced at that, then sighed. Uh oh.
``Tha circle is missin'. Tha x mark means died in transit. Tha date lines up perfect with tha train accident on tha bridge...'' Uh... train accident?
I gave a sudden jolt, as a flash shot through me. Screaming. Open air, and a panicked Illan wrapped in a blanket. Sparks and metal falling around me! Vox touched my shoulder, and my eye focused back on him with a little shiver. What was...? Whoa... ``You okay, X? You got pale there...''
I swallowed. ``I... remembered a train. Only... we fell out of it. There was... an Illan falling with me. She... lived.'' It was... getting passed to me. He was... showing me. Cooperating now?
Vox perked, then looked down at the sheet again before slapping his knee. ``Hah! Yes, there was an Illan with a successful delivery mark! This is you, X! Uh... whoa. That means... you were dropped off the train over ten moons ago. They had you for a while.''
Slowly, I nodded. ``He's... cooperating. He remembered the train. I think... he wants the information too...''
Remi perked at that, looking me over curiously before nodding. ``This... is really weird, but Ah... believe ya. One o' tha slaves didn't survive the accident, then. An' tha Agency is coverin' tha connection with tha event because tha authorities were all over it like crazy! That was durin' that huge lockdown...''
Vox sighed, then nodded. ``That... makes the most sense, yeah. That means... doing all that to X was just a convenient way to run their sick experiments, and erase the evidence at the same time. Tch... I wish there was a way to get back at them for this... But why would they risk us getting this information at all?''
Remi shook her head there. ``They were in ah hurry, is why. Ya remember what Ah am, right?'' Vox widened his eyes and looked to her with that. Huh?
She sighed, looking pensive for a second before glancing to me instead. ``Ah'm ah Bloodstalker. One of only nineteen tha program ever created, an' tha last it did. Me goin' rogue on them blew tha lid off tha project an' exposed `em ta tha Koramir government. Kormir tore `em apart... but... long story bein', someone decided ta see if they could use some pretty questionable methods ta make someone... better than ah Shadowstalker. Experimental trainin', Inaga sensory an' body augmentations, conditionin' an' crazy stupid trainin' regimes... tha works.'' Yikes! I frowned, but she held a paw up, stopping me from interrupting.
``It was ah while ago now. Most o' tha Bloodstalker girls, an' we were all girls, yes, went ta work fer Koramir instead, an' tha Shadowstalkers. Tha public elite ranger group. But we're still tha official spooks ah lot o' Nulidia's scared of. Sorta legendary, even. Well, rumor has it, dozens o' slave procurement facilities started gettin' hit up by Bloodstalkers. Quiet, like. Investigatin' an' searchin' fer somethin'. As in, national-effort level o' searchin'. Still are, with new rumors every day about investigations. Ah'm guessin' tha Agency wanted ta ditch tha slaves involved with tha train incident before they got hit up, themselves...''
Vox frowned at that, but nodded. ``If they knew they were getting close to getting a `visit' somehow... yeah. I could see them wanting to ditch hot merchandise. Any clue what they're looking for?''
Remi shook her head there. ``Slave, guessin'. No other reason ta hit up all those spots. If ah had ta guess further, missin' person suspected ta have ended up in Nulidia. We get ah lot o' those, after all.'' Vox frown deepened, and Remi smirked. ``Yeah. Educated guess says, it's tha missin' person that caused tha triple lockdown. They lost tha Grandmaster Alchemist himself. An'... just based off their reactions this time, Ah somehow doubt he just up an' went on vacation, this time...''
Vox snorted at that, and I tilted my head. ``Vacation...?'' He nodded to me.
``Yeah. The last Grandmaster was... a tad eccentric. Would disappear for years at a time without telling anyone. I mean, it got to the point where it was just sort of... Nobody even paid attention to it happening. Oh, just another vacation... A lot of people laughed and said that too when the new one disappeared, this time. Though uh, I'm going to guess that wasn't the case, yeah.'' Huh. Sounded like a weird guy indeed. Though there was this profound sense of... annoyance suddenly, that I felt, and I wasn't entirely sure where.
Remi glanced over at me after, then snickered. ``No more memories given? Insights? Would be... actually really horrible if ya knew somethin' about his disappearance.'' Slowly, I shook my head, however. My inner self was silent again now. Completely silent, which was a bit weird.
Chuckling at that, Vox passed the paper back to her. ``X was the only Inaga dropped off. Unless he is the Grandmaster, which would be the biggest twist of fate I'd ever seen, he wasn't on the train. Know any super advanced alchemy that nobody else is supposed to know, X?'' He glanced my way at that with a smirk, and my muzzle scrunched before I shook my head again. The Grandmaster Alchemist?
``I don't think I even know basic alchemy...'' I exhaled at that, and Vox nodded and patted my shoulder again.
``We'll get your memories back, X. Don't worry. Now though... I think I can put out some feelers for who might have dropped you off. That train was coming from Talgrand, and I do have my contacts still...'' Oh?
Remi exhaled and nodded. ``Don't matter who picked ya up. If we can find out who dropped ya at the train instead, we can trace where yer from, at least...'' Oh, and maybe my family or friends! I nodded rapidly to that and smiled to her, but she was already smirking towards Vox instead. ``An' see?! We're figurin' it out just fine on our own! Don't need ta ring up mah sister an' get her hocus-pocus divine scryin' bullshit...'' Sister?
I tilted my head to Remi, but Vox rolled his eyes instead. ``Mari. The only one who knows Remi's even alive still, and keeps in contact with her. She's also a fertility priestess of the Earth Mother, and mind mage therapy specialist, in Kaldar. Really good at scrying, though, oddly. She's helped us a few times in the past...'' Oooooh. Remi snorted though and rolled her eyes again.
``When she's not bitchin' fer me ta come home again, or whinin' that Ah should give boys another chance an' go out an' get mahself bred or somethin'. Tch.'' Uh... well I mean, fertility priestess. Dedicated, I guess?
I snickered, then shrugged. ``At least you have a sister. Family.''
She grinned though, then nudged my knee with her lower paw. ``And ya got us instead. Relax, X. Though ya should get some rest. An'... thanks fer helpin' with tha leg. Let's do ah bit o' gamin' later, ta celebrate?'' She gave a hopeful smile my way, but I perked and nodded rapidly to her. Plus, she could show me how to use it! Hers shifted to a grin, and she returned the nod, her tail swaying happily now. This was going to be fun!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
So, they really were looking for me still. Nulidia was larger than I could have ever imagined, and by what Remi said about all of the slave procurement companies... All they had to go on was that I'd been picked up that day. They didn't know who picked me up after the train. It... They were still looking for me. And if that Bloodstalker or Shadowstalker Vulkus at the cafe this afternoon meant what I thought, they might be suspecting `X' now, and getting closer. But... could I trust the normal guard force to extract me safely without the Cult's attention? I could only assume they were looking for me still, too. Nulidia had hidden me from both sides.
I needed more information. Remi, Vox, and Mirya all seemed... shady but at least good natured. I... didn't really want to ask what happened to Remi's first mate who betrayed her, but... I couldn't exactly speak much there, given what I did to Atir. That... I still wasn't sorry for. But... this was an opportunity that I had to take. X didn't get the hint about the paper, which meant I'd need to do it myself. He... or she... passed out, stomach full of chocolate shake, and Vox and Mirya were making out in the hot tub. Remi was perimeter scouting. That left Vox's study open again.
I stepped out of the wrinkle and right next to the same filing cabinet as before. My senses had already picked up the secret locking mechanism added, and alarm trap wired to all of the drawers. I didn't have the key, but the Open True Alchemy command was very, very versatile. With a click, I slid the drawers open again and started looking through the second one down.
Contacts, rapidly filling out my knowledge of people of importance in Nulida. I figured the Cult had to have a presence here in the city, but it was hard trying to guess who would be involved. They'd had a symbol, but obviously kept it well hidden. Of course, Realmsguard probably had a presence too, and were just as secretive. But I had to protect myself. I couldn't trust anyone else to do it for me, that was for sure.
I absorbed every file in there and sighed. There was a lot of useful contacts, but weeding out any suspicious ones based only on Vox's notes would be hit or miss. I closed the drawer and frowned, trying to think of where I should really be aiming next. The twins had migrated their entire stash into the sewage system now, which ran the full length of the city. There were some minor drug dealers and pushers down there, but nothing stood a match against those two. I'd managed to get them to acquire a small but armored and lockable wagon to stash all the Demonic goods in, and they'd gone the full length of the town now. By tonight, they'd be pretty close to right underneath the Black Keld Gambling Hall and Inn. They knew I was here, but understood that I couldn't exactly meet them yet. Their intelligence had been skyrocketing ever since I started tutoring them as well. Given their memories, and some of the extremely disturbing stuff I'd seen in them...
They were artificially aged up, I knew that much. There was something in Nulidia's tower. A device looking remarkably like a stone sarcophagus. Atir had given them to the council for the aging experiment, in return for a lot of favors and the connections required to join up with Ignaus. His own pups. They gave the pups back, aged more than a decade artificially. They couldn't have been more than four at the time. Now they were older, at least physically, than I was. It... disgusted me that he could do that to his own kids.
No, I'd protect them too, now. A lot of the Demonic gear would be... very useful if I had to try to escape Nulidia without outside help. Between the weapons they'd grabbed and their own physical capacity, I didn't think much could get in our way. Which I might need before all this is over with.
Options, Exes. Focus! I could see if I could contact that Vulkus female somehow. But that was risky. I could also see if Remi could help, given she states she's a Bloodstalker too. But also risky. I wasn't sure how much I trusted her yet. Though X seemed more and more fond of her, which meant I might have to make a choice there, sooner or later.
The fact that I'd... split myself was... equally disconcerting. Thanks to the Soulthorn and failed Ego Death, I'd somehow found myself as two separate people. Just based on experiences and memories, more than likely. X was basically me, just without the benefit of my knowledge and experiences. For better or worse. What would happen to him or her if I recovered? Would we just seamlessly merge back together again? Did I... want that to happen? Just based on her gender dysphoria over trying to give me my original body back, I was starting to wonder. That was the big question. What about my soul? Did we share a soul or were we two different ones now? Heh, actually, combined together, we'd be lucky if we made up a single whole of a soul at this point. But the now friendly entity was working on that...
Instead, I'd go for more generic information. It was both riskier and less risky at the same time, as I flicked myself to the side through another wrinkle, and back into the hallway outside of the medical ward. The main room of the gambling hall was as noisy as usual, with music blaring and cheers and talking all around, as I walked up to the balcony and looked over it. The floor was alive with movement, and my True Alchemy sensors went crazy tracking everyone's information. I kept the enchantment up, but left my Keyhole sealed, so my glowing eye didn't give myself away. Instead, I slipped as casually as I could over to the side of the private lounge, giving a smile and nod to the bouncer there, who nodded back, recognizing me.
As Vox's guest, I had perks, and was able to nab the newspaper off the side table where he'd left it, carrying it back to one of the open lounge tables to unroll for my own use. The odds of this having useful information were slim, but at least it was current. Pity X hadn't been able to just get this for me earlier. They didn't trust me though, and I didn't really blame them. Angry, huh? I huffed at that, then looked over the front page.
Larid news. The seventh moon of peacekeeping efforts was seeing things slowly stabilizing in the capital? Well, Calien must be feeling a bit less stressed by now. At least over the riots. Me missing probably didn't help her much though. We totally weren't going to make the timetable at this point on fixing the essence patches for this year. Heh.
It didn't take me long to skim the whole article and stash it in memory for processing. I was learning to abuse my memory more and more it felt like. The second page had two smaller stories. Trade slowing between the nations as they did a complete overhaul of the train passage between Keldonia and Koramir. Serious security flaws were being patched. Lots of complaints about the lost trade though, and destabilizing things in an already uncertain time, with... me... still missing. Right. Things were still breaking down. The second article didn't seem related at all other than being dire though, with more and more Garkin showing drastic essence instabilities. Yikes. They'd busted a lab a ways south of here that were outright experimenting on Garkin and said instabilities. Of course, someone was trying to profit from it. I slowly shook my head at that. Something was definitely... wrong with Aion. It was sick.
Downsides, there were so many hits against my scanner that I'd lost focus on paying attention to specific hits themselves, at least until the `Remi' one got within a few meters along the balcony. Unfortunately, at that range, she'd definitely already seen me, and I mentally cursed, looking up and towards her.
She was in her civilian gear, clearly having completed her rounds already. Of course, I doubted she didn't have at least one weapon on her. She grinned as she hopped up slowly, giving me a nod. ``Ya didn't stay nappin' for long! Interested in the paper?'' She gave a nod towards it, though I also noticed she was bouncing a little slow.
She paused at that, then glanced about before lifting her skirt up a little, showing off the bandage that X had put on her earlier. ``Takin' it easy. Things are quiet though, so no worries... Plus, ya did ah real good job on it!'' She was... Fuck, there was no way I could just pass this off because X wouldn't remember it at all, if questioned!
She slid into the booth though, and up next to me before glancing at the page I was reading. Tch. I gave a little exhale to calm myself, then smiled and nodded to her, pushing words into the display like I'd felt X do all the time. Of course, X had picked it up lightning fast from me instead, and how I pushed `words' into the Keyhole...
``I'm glad you're doing better, Remi. The compression bandage isn't too tight, is it?''
She perked, then shook her head to that. ``Nope! Though Ah didn't realize that might be ah problem. What'cha interested about in tha paper?'' Tch. I made a mental note to try to... minimize my medical knowledge. A slightly uneasy shift, and I moved to the right a bit, trying to get some more distance in the guise of giving her more of a view of the paper at the same time, gesturing to it.
``Just... trying to jog my memory of anything I can by reading about things outside of Nulidia. Like the poor Garkin...'' Remi slowly nodded, reading the display for a long moment before looking back to the paper. Just... make an excuse and leave for bed again. If I get out without anything being too interesting seeming, maybe she won't talk to X about it later or-
Remi slid over again, right next to me once more as she looked the paper over. I swallowed. Was she... intentionally doing this or...? She gave a little smile as she turned the page, showing economic data and market fluctuations. ``Never really did like tha papers. Always full o' dire news an' borin' shit. Figured ya'd want ta destress ah bit instead. Maybe game ah bit?'' Ugh, she was persistent.
She looked up over her shoulder to me though, eyes lidding a little, and I frowned. ``Hang out with little ol' me, maybe? We could play together...?'' Something about her suddenly felt distinctly... Like she was flirting with me, and I tensed. After... everything that happened leading up to almost dying, I... I felt very, very distinctly unsexy now, and tensed.
She smirked, and I swallowed uneasily. Fuck. ``No reactions o' arousal despite havin' Moondust in ya still an' quite tha easy fluster before... No sign o' sickness from tha medicine... Yer awfully tense too there...'' Her blade touched against my stomach under my tunic, even as she smiled sweetly. ``...whomever ya are. Where's X?''
I really should have anticipated that I'd probably not be able to fool Remi. I exhaled at that, expression softening. Well, all or nothing. A stasis field was already over myself, and she didn't have a hope of puncturing that with a blade. ``Right here...'' I sent into the display. Her eyes narrowed a little, and her blade pressed foreward, at least until it hit against the stasis field and halted entirely. Probably felt like she'd pressed it up against a brick wall.
Her eyes widened, but I'd already hit her with a stasis too. She froze, and I saw her arm flare with antimagic vita for a split second before... nothing. That was a neat trick. If I'd been using magic to hold her, that would have been really unfortunate. She tensed, arm struggling against my hold as her eyes widened further. I simply... slid away from her again, then sighed. This was... She flared again, trying to cancel whatever `magical' effect I was doing, using about three different techniques before she started to look a little panicked.
I sighed again, then just let her go instead. She snapped her arm back and away from me, eyes narrowing as she held the blade under her paw, staring intently at me now. I clicked the front button on my neck choker, turning it off instead. I knew it had a recording feature... ``I'm still X... Sort of.'' My voice sounded way too high still, and cracked once, having not been used in almost a year.
Remi's eyes widened at that, and I coughed, trying to clear my throat before looking up at her again. I could see the gears blazing behind her eyes, as she slowly lowered the blade again. ``Yer the one inside him then? Ya can take over...?'' I wasn't so sure X had decided on being a `he'...
``While she's sleeping, yes. She's still napping after the milkshake, and I... was hoping to find out some information on things outside of Nulidia.'' I decided being completely honest was probably the best bet for this situation.
She searched my expression before slowly nodding. ``Ah... see that. That means... Yer tha one that got inta Vox's files...''
I nodded again. ``And his comm system. And Ignaus' comm system, for that matter. I needed to know if I could... trust him. I'm a bit short on that these days...''
Remi's expression softened at that, and she gave a sigh. ``Guess Ah'm relieved it was just you, then. Ya can trust Voxet, if ya believe me on tha matter. He likes ya, foolish as his judgement is sometimes. Who... are ya, really? How... did ya even get inta those files?!''
This was either going uphill or down. I couldn't tell at the moment. Instead, I nodded to her and lifted my shirt up. She lifted her eyebrow at the same time, at least until I unsealed the Keyhole and flared it with mana, causing it to light up blue and bath her in the light. Her eyes shot to full size in an instant. I figured she'd recognize it.
``Fuck! Fuuuuck! Ya really are tha Grandmaster Alchemist?! Shit!'' She hissed after, and I sealed the Key again, lowering the tunic once more. Tch. Even moving my arms about didn't `hurt', per say. Whatever pain signal interrupt that X was suffering from was affecting me too. Great.
Her eyes searched my expression after that, still looking shocked, but I sighed and shook my head. ``I'm... taking a risk now. If you promise not to tell anyone, I'll stay here and keep laying low. If you do tell anyone, nothing will stop me from leaving, and nobody is going to like the results. I was kidnapped by an extremely secretive Cult, and... I don't know who I can trust.''
I analyzed her the best I could, in slow motion. Every little tell she had. Either she was a staggeringly brilliant actress, or I had legitimately thrown her off guard. She was flustered now, and clearly uncertain of exactly how to approach this. She knew I wasn't lying about being the Grandmaster. She'd felt True Alchemy herself now.
She gave a shaky exhale finally, after a deep breath. ``Cult...?'' Right.
``Cult of the Shattering. They kidnapped me in Talgrand. Something fucked up though and I got swapped with Vox's order, with the other Inaga being taken by the cult as a distraction. But they didn't get to pick me up in time before I was tossed into Nulidia instead. It was... an unpleasant experience.'' My right paw clenched at that, but I forced it to behave. She saw though, then slowly frowned.
``Everything... X has said... It's all... She... was speakin' tha truth then...?''
I swallowed before nodding. ``I can't stay awake for very long at a time. X... doesn't know who I am. Or who she is. She's not even sure what gender she is, though I suspect she wants to be female. I don't... know what to do about her or if she's a separate person now or... I just don't know. Atir was experimenting with Demon artifacts and tried to erase my Ego. It was his `experiment'. X exists because of that... I... fell inside of myself to protect myself and survive...''
I knew where the exit was, and had mapped the sewer exit too. It would be pretty easy to get to the twins if this went south. Remi continued watching me though, eyes softening even more. ``It's... This is so fucked up. Yer really? Fuck... This... Ah'm sorry. Fer everything ya went through...'' Her muzzle scrunched, and she shook her head afterwards. ``If yer layin' low here ta try ta avoid tha Cult... no, Ah understand fully. Ah... Ah'm not gonna say anything.'' My eye widened a bit at that. Really?
``Fer real. Ya... Fuck. Ya really are still X. Just... hurt. Hurt really badly, an' ah lot more world-weary. Tougher, `cause ya were tha one ta take all tha hits... Ah get it now. That's... why ya split... Tch.'' She sank a little before sighing again. Was she...? I'd never seen her this flustered.
``Remi... I'm sorry to drop all this on you at once. I... can't stay for much longer though. X is only napping, and I'm... far too injured inside to stay out.''
She rapidly shook her head, though. ``No, this is just... beyond me. Ah don't... It's gonna take me ah bit ta wrap mah head around it. Can... Can we talk tha next time X sleeps?'' That much I could nod to, sliding out of the booth again.
``If you'd like. I... know you like X. And have zero reason to trust me...'' I honestly hadn't implied anything by it, but Remi's eyes widened a little, and she flushed pink suddenly.
She coughed though and looked away from me with a huff. ``Ah don't... Nothin' against ya at all... Exes. Yer basically X anyway. Just different memories. Same person. Yer both scared o' bein' tha other person though. Guess... that says somethin' about ya...'' Huh? I frowned, and she chuckled. ``First thing yer worried about once ya get ah split in memory goin' is tha sanctity o' life an' if tha other `you' deserves ta live or not. Both `o ya! Hah! But no... Ah... do wanna talk more. Maybe... Ah can help ya. Ah won't tell anyone else, don't worry. Ya have mah promise...''
She actually held her paw up at that. I gave a sigh, then nod, reaching out and taking her paw, and giving her a shake. She watched my expression before getting a little smile and nodding again, then shooing me back inside the medical ward. Well, this was... going to become a lot more interesting. Now Remi had met both of us...
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