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[Lord of the Mysteries] For the Ones We Left Behind 9/15 (5811 words)
Title: For the Ones We Left Behind 9/15
Fandom: Lord of the Mysteries
Character/Pairing(s): Audrey Hall, Leonard Mitchell, Melissa Moretti, Benson Moretti, Klein Moretti, Xio Derecha, Fors Wall
Rating: PG-13
Warning: none?
Summary: MI9 catches Benson Moretti, and end up with more than they expect.
Audrey Hall was calm. She was collected, she was serene, she was tranquil.
But no, she was anything but that!
She was smiling outwardly and very still as she sat with Fors and Xio who were explaining little things to Melissa and Benson, but inwardly…
It wasn’t that she meant to look too deeply into things! It really was just the natural progression of her pathway; Audrey was very good at finding details that didn’t fit in, or details that corresponded with other things!
The name had been a little too familiar to her before, but that hadn’t been the catalyst. It was Mr. Benson’s gentle smile! It was Miss Melissa’s piercing stare! It was the way Mr. Star was more invested in protecting the Moretti siblings than Audrey herself had been in protecting Melissa.
I’m sorry, Mr. World! Audrey lamented in her heart. I didn’t mean to pry!
It was Mr. Star’s connection to the supposedly deceased Moretti brother, Klein, and how Klein was a Seer and the charm which even at a distance gave off the oddly familiar cool feeling of fog, and how Mr. World is Mr. Fool’s Blessed—
Audrey Hall once, as a low sequencer, identified a shapeshifter based on the mid-notes of his cologne.
She really had deliberately ignored a lot of things! Thinking about it, Audrey thought that she must have cued herself to ignore these things deliberately. She didn’t dare react when Fors theorised that the charm might have a connection to an evil god.
She tried hard to focus on the good things— on how Mr. World was certainly a very good actor! Of course she understood that his original name might not have been Gehrman Sparrow, the same way the cold demeanour might not be his natural appearance, but she could almost see how Klein must have looked and acted when she was faced with his siblings.
In the calm and still moments when she was the only one interacting with Mr. World, he looked just as gentle and calm as his brother. In moments with others while he was analysing an idea, he looked as focused and fierce as his sister. They have the exact same glare! Even if Audrey had cued herself to forget and not pay any attention or dig into Mr. World’s past, she still had eyes.
Then she remembered Dwayne Dantes’s strange reaction to Melissa, and she felt her heart go out to the Moretti siblings.
Could Audrey leave her family to protect them the same way Mr. World must have? He must have felt so alone. He once told her that his family was gone, and there was no chance of seeing them again.
Audrey’s brow furrowed unconsciously.
The way Mr. World phrased it, he felt like a person out of time, with his family permanently gone. But that wasn’t the case with Benson and Melissa, was it? From this situation, he hadn’t cut them off permanently yet, and they still carried his trinket and memories with them.
With the way Melissa flinched and frowned when Klein was mentioned, her expression twisting into something ugly for moments before smoothing itself out, she felt deeply about her brother. Benson too had a lost expression when he asked for any information he could get on Klein, and Audrey could see the way the siblings clung to one another in fear of losing each other.
They would welcome Mr. World back, she just knew it! If Mr. World left to keep them out of danger… Well, didn’t this incident now mean that there’s no point in staying away anymore? He could come back home.
“—Miss Audrey? Isn’t that correct?”
Audrey’s blank smile stiffened as she blinked out of her thoughts.
“I’m sorry,” she said to Benson genially, “I didn’t catch the question.”
Mr. Moretti was such a kind and caring soul, and she could see where Mr. World got his caring attitude and protective tendencies from.
“I asked if you would be alright,” Benson repeated. “Your family must know by now that you were involved with MI9. Even if you insist things will be alright for myself and Melissa, there may be unforeseen consequences for you. Your family must be very worried about you.”
Audrey glanced over at Fors and Xio, who shrugged at her look.
Of course. Xio already explained that she was an investigator, and used to take long missions out even in the middle of the night. Fors, on the other hand, had little contact with her family and was up and sometimes out at odd hours of the day, so they didn’t have people who would worry if they went missing for just one day. Luckily for them, they were each other’s person to worry, and since they were both here…
“My mother will worry,” Audrey admitted quietly. So would her brother, and her father. Unlike the others, Audrey had a set schedule she followed, and in that manner her family always knew where she was even if she went out with only Susie for company. “But it will be alright.”
While running, she cast a psychological cue over the entire vicinity— to forget that she was there, to forget what they saw regarding her and the others. She didn’t think it would work on MI9, since they were made up of low-to-mid sequence Beyonders (along with the two demigods), but the guards of the Hall family were all ordinary people, and she knew the limits of what she could do.
So long as no one spread information about her, when she got home again she could—
She could…
Audrey’s smile widened at Benson’s concern.
She was a Manipulator, as much as she didn’t like the implications of that title. These actions would help her digest her potion, and prepare her for actions she may have to take in the future.
Yet Audrey Hall couldn’t stand the thought of using her abilities to change the minds and memories of her family.
She just hoped that with the guards forgetting, the Hall family wouldn’t believe MI9 when they went to ask about her.
What kind of person was she to worry so hard about manipulating her own family because of some secrets she had, when she couldn’t bear the thought of manipulating them even to potentially save thousands of people from starvation?
The war was going on for so long that they were running out of rations in the reserve at the Bursary, and to this day she hadn’t been able to convince any of the noble families to give up the extra in their storage.
Every day she saw people come begging for food not just for themselves but for loved ones and children, while the meals served to her three times a day was extravagant to the point of decadence. The Hall family not only had enough food, but they had enough for choice.
“My mother would worry,” she admitted quietly. “My father and brother might be too busy with their work to notice for a while longer.”
No, that wasn’t true. They already noticed, and that’s why the guards were sent after her. But Benson Moretti didn’t have to worry about her.
More than her own situation, Audrey had to ensure that Mr. World’s family was going to be okay! Like her own family, they were just ordinary civilians, but unlike her family, they didn’t have a squadron of guards looking out for them, or a lineage that would forgive almost anything.
Benson’s eyes softened, revealing the slightest of age lines that made him look more gentlemanly.
“I may not understand much about parents,” he admitted, “but as an older brother, I know I would worry immensely about a missing younger sister. Perhaps you should go home, Miss Audrey. I appreciate everything you’re doing, but you don’t have to go as far as to worry your family for us.”
But she did! Because Audrey Hall wasn’t merely Audrey Hall; she was also Miss Justice of the Tarot Club, and Mr. World was her friend. Her very good friend, who took care of all the other members of the Tarot Club when they needed help.
How could she tell Benson that the brother he thought was gone was actually her good friend, and that she owed it to him to look after his family when it didn’t come at too high a cost to her?
Whatever problems she incurred already happened, and staying out now wouldn’t make it any better.
(If anything, Audrey didn’t want to think about the problems she made for herself. Not yet.)
“Are you very close with Melissa, Mr. Benson?” She asked politely, and then volunteered, “I like to think I’m close with my brothers, but they’re both very busy people.”
Benson’s expression softened further, and he looked up to where Melissa was examining the kitchen, chatting quietly with Xio while Fors sat and examined her book at the table, taking notes on what she could do with what pages.
“She’s all I have in this world,” he said. “I like to think I’m close with her. I always wished I could have made more time for her, but now I see that what matters is ensuring we have more time in the future.”
She shouldn’t ask, she shouldn’t ask, she shouldn’t ask—
“And your brother? Were the two of you close?”
Benson huffed out a quiet laugh. “As close as I am with Melissa. I suppose I never liked picking favourites, so I tried to spend as much time with both of them as possible. It wasn’t enough, though. I suppose it’s never enough.”
Benson was quiet a moment before he continued, “But now I wonder if we were really as close as I thought. Why didn’t he tell us about— any of this? Being a Seer?”
Audrey followed his line of sight toward the kitchen, and gave a thoughtful hum.
“I reckon,” she said, “it’s the same reason my family doesn’t know about me.”
She looked over at Benson, and smiled.
“It’s my way of keeping them as safe as I can.”
—
Leonard walked with Crestet Cesimir toward the private meeting rooms for the Red Gloves, where a majority of people were sitting in open-door offices attempting to catch up on piles of paperwork. He glimpsed Cindy in her office, face down on a pile of papers pretending she was dead.
“Until Archbishop Anthony is free, I am to catch you up on what you’ve missed.” The deacon said, leading the way toward his own office. Leonard eyed the small room he called his own as they passed by, twitching at the piles of new paperwork that had been piled on the filing cabinets near the door.
He missed Tingen and the lack of missions, where he could take weeks before he had to turn in his reports.
(He missed Tingen and the people there, and how they all got to know each other over tea and coffee and games of cards, and the slow, syrupy warm atmosphere that felt like a neverending summer’s day.)
Deacon Cesimir pushed the thick wooden door to his spacious office and ushered Leonard through, closing the door behind them with an ominous click before making his way to the chair behind the table, sighing in relief as he settled into his seat.
Leonard, on the other hand, found just one other chair in the large office that wasn’t covered with files and forgotten winter accessories.
“Luckily,” Cesimir said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his messy desk. “The meeting was more a formality than anything else. There was no urgent news that had to be spread that very hour. Our church will soon be undergoing some changes, and we will be expanding to send more missionaries to the Southern Continent.”
“Expanding?” Leonard repeated, surprised. With the way the war in Loen was going, there was a chance that if Feysac won, the Evernight Church would be chased out and its worshippers forced to convert to another god.
If that were the case, they would lose a stronghold on the Northern Continent, and while it would make sense to expand elsewhere, the Southern Continent was mainly dominated by its faith in Death.
“That’s correct. Whether the war goes well or not, the Goddess has sent an oracle to start looking into the Death Cults. It has not been said whether they are our allies or enemies, but we are currently to be more aware of them.”
The high-ranking deacon shuffled through some papers, frowning as he continued to find more unfinished work.
“Sir,” Leonard hesitated, but then pressed on, “didn’t you say that there are members of MI9 still waiting for answers?”
“They can wait a little longer,” Cesimir dismissed. He straightened a pile of papers and looked up. “The Evernight Church is not at their beck and call, and they can stand to be reminded of that.”
“Of course.” Leonard relaxed more. It was good to know that the deacon seemed more irritated with MI9 than he was at Leonard’s involvement. It meant he wasn’t in that much trouble.
“Furthermore,” Crestet Cesimir continued, “there was more information for the higher ups. Some we know, some that are classified above us. For higher ranking deacons, there was information shared with us to be on the lookout for someone.”
“Who?” Leonard imagined another traitor like Ince Zangwill, and he frowned.
“A Blessed of the Goddess,” Cesimir said, dashing Leonard’s idea. “We weren’t given a name— at least, neither of us have high enough clearance to get a name. But it is someone we are meant to help if we’re able, as the Goddess has many other things to worry about.”
“Praise the Goddess,” Leonard said as he perked up, signing the four points of the moon on his chest. Cesimir echoed his words and actions.
A Blessed of the Evernight Goddess! The only Blessed Leonard knew about was Klein, who was a Blessed of The Fool, and allowed the use of Mr. Fool’s Kingdom of Heaven. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what advantages a Blessed of the Goddess would have!
“How are we to be on the lookout if we don’t know who it is, though?” Leonard asked.
“That’s not for us to question.” Cesimir said. “This information given to those sequence six and above merely to prepare us in the event such an occurrence comes up. If we are meant to know more, then we will be told.”
That made sense. It made sense that the Nighthawks would be recalled for this meeting— an expansion of the Church and news of a Blessed!
“That being said, we may soon be sent to the Southern Continent for more missions. There will be permanent positions opening up there. How proficient are you at travelling in the Spirit Realm?”
“Not… so much, yet,” Leonard admitted weakly. He had a spirit to help him travel short distances so far, but it was still a skill he was learning, and it hadn’t been that long since he was promoted to a Spirit Warlock.
“You still have time to learn,” the older man conceded. “Nothing is yet set before the war is over.”
He shuffled the papers, pushed them away, and interlaced his fingers atop his desk, a professional smile slipping into place.
“Now,” the Goddess’s Sword said, “tell me about what happened at MI9.”
—
Fors wasn’t at all surprised when she heard the revelation about a meeting up above the grey fog.
“The best solution is to rest when you can,” Xio told the Moretti siblings, who were both surprised by the three women’s insistence that they take a quick nap. “You should also rest while we’re safe.”
It was one thing to tell them about the world of Beyonders since they were involved if only on the periphery due to their brother, but another thing entirely to reveal the existence of the Tarot Club or that they were in contact with a god not recognised by the orthodox churches.
Per request, Fors excused herself to the bathroom to sacrifice Leymano’s Travels to Mr. Fool’s kingdom in a smooth and practised ritual. This wouldn’t be the first time she did this to get the help of Mr. World, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
For a brief, sacrilegious moment, Fors wondered what Mr. Fool would think of the spells in that book, and what “He” would add if “He” ever offered.
Then Fors dispelled the thought immediately and almost prayed for forgiveness for her lapse of judgement— it was merely an intrusive thought! There was no way Leymano’s Travels could handle a spell at the ability of a god! Just receiving an ability from the Sea God, one of Mr. Fool’s disguises, was already too much!
(She didn’t dare think of how much she really wanted to know.)
It was nearly another half hour before the trio were resting in the seats of the living room, much to the disbelief of the Moretti siblings.
Above the grey fog, Fors was surprised to find that the scenery wasn’t what she expected at all: they hadn’t been summoned into the imposing space surrounded by gigantic pillars, but rather what looked like a small and cosy room with a table just big enough for them to sit around, and bookshelves and drawers in the vicinity. Leymano’s Travels lay on the table, flipped to a page that was previously blank earlier tonight, and now filled.
Mr. World was already there, expression blank as his dark eyes watched their movements when they arrived. There was no fog obscuring his features, nor theirs.
That’s what it was, Fors thought in recognition. Melissa stares like that, too!
Fors shuddered, thinking that she didn’t want to get on Melissa Moretti’s bad side if she had the same type of stare at Gehrman Sparrow. Who knows how a young woman like her would react in life or death situations?
There were no lamps or candles there, yet the room was lit with a glow that allowed her to see the minutest details. While Xio reacted with similar surprise, Miss Audrey seemed to take the change of setting in stride as if she experienced it before. Her expression also changed subtly, shifting from the sweet and innocent Miss Audrey Hall into a more mature and reliable senior member of the Tarot Club.
Miss Justice lifted her skirt in a curtsy, “Good evening, Mr. World.”
“Good evening, Miss Justice. Miss Magician, Miss Judgement.” That was as far as courtesy went, for Mr. World to nod his head in acknowledgement of them. He waited for them to take a seat at the smaller table before saying, “Shall we get started, then?”
—
“Is Mr. Star going to join us?” Miss Justice asked.
Klein shook his head. “He will if he can.”
Despite his ability to track the Tarot Club members and look down upon them if needed, Klein was reluctant to cast his gaze inside the Evernight Church. While he had done so before while planning to sneak into Chanis Gate, and he knew that the Goddess did not care too much about his spying, he still felt a sense of respect toward her and avoided involving the Nighthawks whenever he could.
Leonard was stuck in a meeting with the deacons of the Church of Evernight, and Klein merely glanced a bit to confirm he was fine before turning his gaze away. He already sent a message that Gehrman Sparrow was meeting with those involved tonight, and for Leonard to pray when he was in a private space with some time on his hands.
Until then, it would be only the three ladies involved.
“MI9 will come after the Sealed Artefact they lost, if nothing else,” Klein started the conversation, making no indication of where the Sealed Artefact actually was. “With the information they gained, the search for you and their accusations of Miss Justice being a cultist will likely start as early as morning.”
“My family won’t believe them,” Miss Audrey said with a shake of her head, “but I’m afraid that Miss Judgement will bear the burden if something isn’t done soon.”
“Your family won’t—?” Miss Magician started before cutting herself off.
“You don’t have to worry about my end,” Miss Justice said confidently. “I have it taken care of.”
Klein nodded in approval. He assumed as much, after the incident with Hvin Rambis, where Audrey acted perfectly enough to both deceive him and then later take him down. He discounted his own involvement in that situation, understanding that it was truly Miss Justice’s victory during that fight.
He didn’t have the time to worry about them individually when this problem encompassed them as a whole, and also managed to pull Benson and Melissa in as well.
Well. He accidentally managed to pull Benon and Melissa in as well.
“This means,” Klein continued, and then summoned a map of Backlund onto the table between them, “that we’ll have to take care of this problem tonight.”
“Kill MI9?” Miss Magician said, horrified. Miss Judgement tensed at those words.
What goes on in her head? Klein wondered, but shook his head negatively at her suggestion. “No. We can’t afford to make MI9 more of an enemy. They’re necessary for the war.”
“But they won’t hesitate to kill us.” Miss Justice observed.
“Yes and no. We’re special targets to them, they will try to take us alive unless we prove too much a threat. If we kill any MI9 members, we may be that threat. So we defeat them without killing them, if possible.”
“The more we fight them and win, the more of a threat we’ll be anyway,” Miss Judgement spoke up. “Our problem is that they know about us and they’re willing to hunt us down!”
Klein looked over at Audrey, who understood from a glance.
“Then it’s my job to prevent them from learning more,” Miss Justice declared, a hand to her chest. She straightened in her seat as all eyes turned to her. “Isn’t that right, Mr. World?”
Klein nodded.
“Can’t… Mr. Fool do something to stop them from knowing?” Miss Magician’s voice was small and hesitant.
“No.” Klein’s voice was terse in alignment with Gehrman’s character. “This is our mess, and currently…”
He didn’t quite know how to excuse not having divine intervention. It would be convenient for the Tarot Club to have an actual god back them up as they imagined, but there was very little Klein could actually do from where he was in the Forsaken Land, and also as The Fool.
He supposed he could ask Will for help resetting the situation, but that was too much for a situation that the Snake of Fate had no investment in.
But it’s a good backup plan, he thought grimly.
“This is a war of gods,” Klein ended up saying. “Until the war is over, the gods are too busy to be involved with small details right now.”
The expressions on their faces also turned grim.
“I can make them forget,” Miss Justice said quietly. “But it won’t be easy for higher sequence Beyonders. It would have to be one by one, and the moment I’m noticed they will be on guard against mental attacks.”
“They may start on guard against you,” Klein warned. “They already know you’re a demigod, and they will start the fight by depriving you of your abilities to remove you as a threat.”
“Then what do we do?” Miss Judgement asked, the straightforward atmosphere making her sharp.
Klein gestured to the map, which raised itself up from the table into something more three dimensional, to create a more thorough map of Backlund before the war started.
“We set out a trap.” He said. “Tonight.”
—
Hibbert Hall was not one to take things lightly, nor was he one to back down from any situation that involved his family.
He was the eldest son of Earl Hall, and he intended on upholding the same standards that his father did, and that included protecting the rest of his family, even from MI9.
MI9, who had the audacity of knocking on their door and demanding information about his younger sister.
“Tell them I’ll be there to meet them personally,” Hibbert snapped as a servant helped him put on an evening coat. He only managed to distract his mother with news of a night blooming flower that blossomed only one week a year, and insisted that their father take her to go view it under the moonlight while they could, between the spring rain showers.
He had until they were back to find Audrey and calm his mother’s peace of mind.
They didn’t need to know about MI9 unless the agency turned out to be more trouble than they were worth.
“Where is that blasted man,” Hibbert muttered darkly as he adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves. He wasn’t going to meet with agents of MI9 like an absolute heathen, and planned on making full use of his name and title as armour before he even stepped into the room.
Yet the man who informed Hibbert about Audrey earlier had all but disappeared, and the other guards didn’t know his whereabouts at all.
One would think that with such important information (that he swore was true), the man would take the chance to confirm his words with MI9. Wasn’t it—
Hibbert was stopped in his tracks as he almost tripped on Audrey’s dog in the hallway, causing his retinue to freeze as well.
That blasted animal!
It had been years since he tripped over Audrey’s dog, since it was trained early on to stay out of his way, but every once in a while, he almost felt like the dog purposefully distracted him or made him late.
These last few months with Audrey in particular, the dog would weave between his legs and bark when he went to check up on his sister.
“Get out of the way,” he snapped at the dog, and then felt embarrassed for doing something as silly as speaking to an animal. His sister did so all the time, but she was a young girl and allowed such frivolities. Hibbert turned to his usual servant and ordered, “Take this creature and confine it in Audrey’s chambers before it sheds all over the guests.”
Being fashionably late to meet with MI9 was enforcing his status as someone higher and more important than them, but there was a certain point where it bordered on being rude, and Hibbert was not one to cross that point.
He swore that dog came out of nowhere at times! Shouldn’t it make more noise when skulking around the house? He had never seen a sneakier animal, and as Hibbert watched his servant wrestle with the dog’s collar, his eyes met the animal’s dark gaze.
And then Hibbert stumbled over his own feet for a moment, his mind blank.
Audrey’s dog was gone, and his servant looked dazed.
What was he—?
Right. MI9.
He straightened his collar once more and then strode towards the wing guests were led to, pushing through the extravagantly carved mahogany doors to make the dramatic entrance necessary.
“Now,” he snapped, before the two agents could get a word in, “what slander do you have against the Hall family this time?”
Within minutes, he found himself more furious than he had been in weeks.
How was he to believe them about Audrey being a Beyonder powerful enough to be a demigod? His sweet little sister who bragged to the entire family when she learned how to faint on command the first time, as if she hadn’t just been swooning and keeping her eyes shut until others admitted that she did a good job?
“Think twice before attempting to spread this defamation,” Hibbert sneered at them, fingers tapping impatiently on his cane. “Is MI9 attempting to start a war with the Hall family? With the nobles of the Kingdom, perhaps?”
“Sir,” an older woman with hair tied back in a severe bun and a black blazer top with modest skirt, attempted to placate him, “we need no disrespect, but we’re here under orders to find out more about Audrey Hall—”
“That is the younger Lady Hall to you,” he snapped. “I will not discuss my younger sister with you, nor will I allow MI9 to spread uncouth rumours about her! Find another scapegoat for your inadequacies, but we will not cooperate in your quest to defame this family. If MI9 was truly attacked this night, perhaps it’s best for you to look for the real culprits rather than accuse Audrey of being a criminal!”
“Then, sir,” the woman continued, unphased by his vitriol. “Can we speak to Miss Audrey? Where was she earlier tonight?”
“You may not,” Hibbert insisted. “My sister has been home all night and feeling ill after being caught out in the air raid. This entire household is her alibi!”
—
Do not get overly emotional about this. Do not get overly emotional about this.
Klein repeated the phrase again and again in his mind as Audrey made the suggestion on how they would lead MI9 where they wanted them.
“We shouldn’t involve civilians,” Gehrman Sparrow said once, and Miss Justice gave him a long and sympathetic look that he didn’t respond to.
The greatest issue was that none of them were renown strategists. Klein knew the basics, as he was sure the others might as well, but his greatest reliance when it came to fights had always been to create so much distraction and chaos that he could get away with what he wanted.
One day, he imagined, it might not work out for him anymore. This may actually be that day.
Miss Judgement shook her head in disagreement.
“They know too much about myself and Miss Justice,” she said. “That will make them overly cautious if any of us attempt to be bait. Even F— Miss Magician would be suspicious in their eyes.”
“I can play bait,” Klein interjected. “If necessary, it will be easy to change my appearance.”
“You don’t have the time to play bait,” Miss Justice reminded him gently. “You told us the limit of your historical projections— that means you can’t be here until the fight starts.”
Normally she wouldn’t attempt to suggest any changes to Gehrman’s plans, but this time around she gave him a look that said she knew more than she was going to say.
Klein’s mind was running over scenarios and different people he could call for help from. When it came to MI9 and those of the Arbiter pathway in general, they were very good at identifying Beyonders. He believed he might be able to fool them with the right combination of abilities and Sealed Artefacts, but he wasn’t so sure anyone else would be able to.
Could he call upon non-Beyonders for help with this?
It was too risky, and they didn’t have the time.
With this plan, they were already involving more people than he cared to, if only in the periphery.
They could involve Emlyn, but with this amount of time, they would be hard-pressed to get him caught up to speed, and then ask if he could bring any allies as well. They were already pressed for time with Klein asking Xio to set the stage, and he knew she would be tired before the confrontation even happened.
“Fine,” Klein conceded, hoping the word hadn’t been too rough to show his displeasure. Instead, he turned his attention to Miss Judgement. “Where do you want to set the fight?”
Miss Judgement studied the three dimensional map that had been placed before them with sharp blue eyes, a finger tapping her lips before she reached out and pointed to a location: South Backlund.
“Here,” she said. “I know this area well. There’s a plaza here, and there shouldn’t be anyone else around. The neighbourhood was hit hard by an air raid five weeks ago, and due to the weather, no one’s had the time to rebuild yet. Everyone there has been temporarily rezoned, so we won’t have to worry about a fight getting out of hand.
“The problem won’t be where we set this: it’ll be the fact that they can counter just about everything we have— they know my abilities, and they can guess Miss Audrey’s as well. They’ll also be able to prepare against us. I can only guess MI9 has a file on Gehrman Sparrow too, and will know the ways to counter him.”
“They do,” Klein said regretfully, eyes on the area Miss Judgement indicated. His lips quirked up sardonically as he added, “I have studied Admiral Amyrius before. I can assess his actions accurately enough, and can give you information on not only his abilities but the abilities of those around him.”
“Can you?” Miss Judgement asked, entirely calm.
Klein nodded, not wanting to elaborate on how he spent days studying Amyrius’s every movement for a mission to impersonate him. Meeting him later as Dwayne Dantes only helped reinforce his profile of the Admiral’s character and what decisions he would take.
He said to Miss Justice: “I can tell you everything about him and his companions, including sequence and abilities. Can you predict his movements from that?”
Miss Magician and Miss Judgement looked shocked, but Miss Justice nodded in acceptance, her hands folded atop her lap. “With enough information on his motives and personality, yes.”
“Even if we can predict their actions, we’ll be hard-pressed to win,” Miss Judgement warned with a frown. “I— we just don’t have the firepower to take down demigods of MI9. No offence to you, Mr. World, but…”
“No,” Klein disagreed, “the two of you will be vital. As a projection, my abilities will be greatly reduced, and you’ll be necessary for tricking them. Give them a false sense of security about an easy win.”
“We don’t have the numbers or firepower to win,” Miss Magician mused. “We can’t lose but we also can’t permanently harm MI9, while they can bring all the power they want against us. How…?”
“It would be easier if we were facing one powerful enemy,” Miss Judgement said. “But with an unknown number and them knowing too much about us—”
“That’s where you come in,” Klein told her. “You have to control the environment.”
Miss Judgement stared down at the map with a hard glare, and nodded.
“This won’t be a frontal battle,” Miss Justice spoke up. “We’re not going there to defeat them. We’re just going to slide around them.”
Fool them, Klein thought darkly. In line with his style of fighting, this would have to be a grand showing.
Miss Justice looked down at the map with a strange light in her eyes, and said, “We’ll have to manipulate them.”
Previous || Next
Fandom: Lord of the Mysteries
Character/Pairing(s): Audrey Hall, Leonard Mitchell, Melissa Moretti, Benson Moretti, Klein Moretti, Xio Derecha, Fors Wall
Rating: PG-13
Warning: none?
Summary: MI9 catches Benson Moretti, and end up with more than they expect.
Audrey Hall was calm. She was collected, she was serene, she was tranquil.
But no, she was anything but that!
She was smiling outwardly and very still as she sat with Fors and Xio who were explaining little things to Melissa and Benson, but inwardly…
It wasn’t that she meant to look too deeply into things! It really was just the natural progression of her pathway; Audrey was very good at finding details that didn’t fit in, or details that corresponded with other things!
The name had been a little too familiar to her before, but that hadn’t been the catalyst. It was Mr. Benson’s gentle smile! It was Miss Melissa’s piercing stare! It was the way Mr. Star was more invested in protecting the Moretti siblings than Audrey herself had been in protecting Melissa.
I’m sorry, Mr. World! Audrey lamented in her heart. I didn’t mean to pry!
It was Mr. Star’s connection to the supposedly deceased Moretti brother, Klein, and how Klein was a Seer and the charm which even at a distance gave off the oddly familiar cool feeling of fog, and how Mr. World is Mr. Fool’s Blessed—
Audrey Hall once, as a low sequencer, identified a shapeshifter based on the mid-notes of his cologne.
She really had deliberately ignored a lot of things! Thinking about it, Audrey thought that she must have cued herself to ignore these things deliberately. She didn’t dare react when Fors theorised that the charm might have a connection to an evil god.
She tried hard to focus on the good things— on how Mr. World was certainly a very good actor! Of course she understood that his original name might not have been Gehrman Sparrow, the same way the cold demeanour might not be his natural appearance, but she could almost see how Klein must have looked and acted when she was faced with his siblings.
In the calm and still moments when she was the only one interacting with Mr. World, he looked just as gentle and calm as his brother. In moments with others while he was analysing an idea, he looked as focused and fierce as his sister. They have the exact same glare! Even if Audrey had cued herself to forget and not pay any attention or dig into Mr. World’s past, she still had eyes.
Then she remembered Dwayne Dantes’s strange reaction to Melissa, and she felt her heart go out to the Moretti siblings.
Could Audrey leave her family to protect them the same way Mr. World must have? He must have felt so alone. He once told her that his family was gone, and there was no chance of seeing them again.
Audrey’s brow furrowed unconsciously.
The way Mr. World phrased it, he felt like a person out of time, with his family permanently gone. But that wasn’t the case with Benson and Melissa, was it? From this situation, he hadn’t cut them off permanently yet, and they still carried his trinket and memories with them.
With the way Melissa flinched and frowned when Klein was mentioned, her expression twisting into something ugly for moments before smoothing itself out, she felt deeply about her brother. Benson too had a lost expression when he asked for any information he could get on Klein, and Audrey could see the way the siblings clung to one another in fear of losing each other.
They would welcome Mr. World back, she just knew it! If Mr. World left to keep them out of danger… Well, didn’t this incident now mean that there’s no point in staying away anymore? He could come back home.
“—Miss Audrey? Isn’t that correct?”
Audrey’s blank smile stiffened as she blinked out of her thoughts.
“I’m sorry,” she said to Benson genially, “I didn’t catch the question.”
Mr. Moretti was such a kind and caring soul, and she could see where Mr. World got his caring attitude and protective tendencies from.
“I asked if you would be alright,” Benson repeated. “Your family must know by now that you were involved with MI9. Even if you insist things will be alright for myself and Melissa, there may be unforeseen consequences for you. Your family must be very worried about you.”
Audrey glanced over at Fors and Xio, who shrugged at her look.
Of course. Xio already explained that she was an investigator, and used to take long missions out even in the middle of the night. Fors, on the other hand, had little contact with her family and was up and sometimes out at odd hours of the day, so they didn’t have people who would worry if they went missing for just one day. Luckily for them, they were each other’s person to worry, and since they were both here…
“My mother will worry,” Audrey admitted quietly. So would her brother, and her father. Unlike the others, Audrey had a set schedule she followed, and in that manner her family always knew where she was even if she went out with only Susie for company. “But it will be alright.”
While running, she cast a psychological cue over the entire vicinity— to forget that she was there, to forget what they saw regarding her and the others. She didn’t think it would work on MI9, since they were made up of low-to-mid sequence Beyonders (along with the two demigods), but the guards of the Hall family were all ordinary people, and she knew the limits of what she could do.
So long as no one spread information about her, when she got home again she could—
She could…
Audrey’s smile widened at Benson’s concern.
She was a Manipulator, as much as she didn’t like the implications of that title. These actions would help her digest her potion, and prepare her for actions she may have to take in the future.
Yet Audrey Hall couldn’t stand the thought of using her abilities to change the minds and memories of her family.
She just hoped that with the guards forgetting, the Hall family wouldn’t believe MI9 when they went to ask about her.
What kind of person was she to worry so hard about manipulating her own family because of some secrets she had, when she couldn’t bear the thought of manipulating them even to potentially save thousands of people from starvation?
The war was going on for so long that they were running out of rations in the reserve at the Bursary, and to this day she hadn’t been able to convince any of the noble families to give up the extra in their storage.
Every day she saw people come begging for food not just for themselves but for loved ones and children, while the meals served to her three times a day was extravagant to the point of decadence. The Hall family not only had enough food, but they had enough for choice.
“My mother would worry,” she admitted quietly. “My father and brother might be too busy with their work to notice for a while longer.”
No, that wasn’t true. They already noticed, and that’s why the guards were sent after her. But Benson Moretti didn’t have to worry about her.
More than her own situation, Audrey had to ensure that Mr. World’s family was going to be okay! Like her own family, they were just ordinary civilians, but unlike her family, they didn’t have a squadron of guards looking out for them, or a lineage that would forgive almost anything.
Benson’s eyes softened, revealing the slightest of age lines that made him look more gentlemanly.
“I may not understand much about parents,” he admitted, “but as an older brother, I know I would worry immensely about a missing younger sister. Perhaps you should go home, Miss Audrey. I appreciate everything you’re doing, but you don’t have to go as far as to worry your family for us.”
But she did! Because Audrey Hall wasn’t merely Audrey Hall; she was also Miss Justice of the Tarot Club, and Mr. World was her friend. Her very good friend, who took care of all the other members of the Tarot Club when they needed help.
How could she tell Benson that the brother he thought was gone was actually her good friend, and that she owed it to him to look after his family when it didn’t come at too high a cost to her?
Whatever problems she incurred already happened, and staying out now wouldn’t make it any better.
(If anything, Audrey didn’t want to think about the problems she made for herself. Not yet.)
“Are you very close with Melissa, Mr. Benson?” She asked politely, and then volunteered, “I like to think I’m close with my brothers, but they’re both very busy people.”
Benson’s expression softened further, and he looked up to where Melissa was examining the kitchen, chatting quietly with Xio while Fors sat and examined her book at the table, taking notes on what she could do with what pages.
“She’s all I have in this world,” he said. “I like to think I’m close with her. I always wished I could have made more time for her, but now I see that what matters is ensuring we have more time in the future.”
She shouldn’t ask, she shouldn’t ask, she shouldn’t ask—
“And your brother? Were the two of you close?”
Benson huffed out a quiet laugh. “As close as I am with Melissa. I suppose I never liked picking favourites, so I tried to spend as much time with both of them as possible. It wasn’t enough, though. I suppose it’s never enough.”
Benson was quiet a moment before he continued, “But now I wonder if we were really as close as I thought. Why didn’t he tell us about— any of this? Being a Seer?”
Audrey followed his line of sight toward the kitchen, and gave a thoughtful hum.
“I reckon,” she said, “it’s the same reason my family doesn’t know about me.”
She looked over at Benson, and smiled.
“It’s my way of keeping them as safe as I can.”
—
Leonard walked with Crestet Cesimir toward the private meeting rooms for the Red Gloves, where a majority of people were sitting in open-door offices attempting to catch up on piles of paperwork. He glimpsed Cindy in her office, face down on a pile of papers pretending she was dead.
“Until Archbishop Anthony is free, I am to catch you up on what you’ve missed.” The deacon said, leading the way toward his own office. Leonard eyed the small room he called his own as they passed by, twitching at the piles of new paperwork that had been piled on the filing cabinets near the door.
He missed Tingen and the lack of missions, where he could take weeks before he had to turn in his reports.
(He missed Tingen and the people there, and how they all got to know each other over tea and coffee and games of cards, and the slow, syrupy warm atmosphere that felt like a neverending summer’s day.)
Deacon Cesimir pushed the thick wooden door to his spacious office and ushered Leonard through, closing the door behind them with an ominous click before making his way to the chair behind the table, sighing in relief as he settled into his seat.
Leonard, on the other hand, found just one other chair in the large office that wasn’t covered with files and forgotten winter accessories.
“Luckily,” Cesimir said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his messy desk. “The meeting was more a formality than anything else. There was no urgent news that had to be spread that very hour. Our church will soon be undergoing some changes, and we will be expanding to send more missionaries to the Southern Continent.”
“Expanding?” Leonard repeated, surprised. With the way the war in Loen was going, there was a chance that if Feysac won, the Evernight Church would be chased out and its worshippers forced to convert to another god.
If that were the case, they would lose a stronghold on the Northern Continent, and while it would make sense to expand elsewhere, the Southern Continent was mainly dominated by its faith in Death.
“That’s correct. Whether the war goes well or not, the Goddess has sent an oracle to start looking into the Death Cults. It has not been said whether they are our allies or enemies, but we are currently to be more aware of them.”
The high-ranking deacon shuffled through some papers, frowning as he continued to find more unfinished work.
“Sir,” Leonard hesitated, but then pressed on, “didn’t you say that there are members of MI9 still waiting for answers?”
“They can wait a little longer,” Cesimir dismissed. He straightened a pile of papers and looked up. “The Evernight Church is not at their beck and call, and they can stand to be reminded of that.”
“Of course.” Leonard relaxed more. It was good to know that the deacon seemed more irritated with MI9 than he was at Leonard’s involvement. It meant he wasn’t in that much trouble.
“Furthermore,” Crestet Cesimir continued, “there was more information for the higher ups. Some we know, some that are classified above us. For higher ranking deacons, there was information shared with us to be on the lookout for someone.”
“Who?” Leonard imagined another traitor like Ince Zangwill, and he frowned.
“A Blessed of the Goddess,” Cesimir said, dashing Leonard’s idea. “We weren’t given a name— at least, neither of us have high enough clearance to get a name. But it is someone we are meant to help if we’re able, as the Goddess has many other things to worry about.”
“Praise the Goddess,” Leonard said as he perked up, signing the four points of the moon on his chest. Cesimir echoed his words and actions.
A Blessed of the Evernight Goddess! The only Blessed Leonard knew about was Klein, who was a Blessed of The Fool, and allowed the use of Mr. Fool’s Kingdom of Heaven. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what advantages a Blessed of the Goddess would have!
“How are we to be on the lookout if we don’t know who it is, though?” Leonard asked.
“That’s not for us to question.” Cesimir said. “This information given to those sequence six and above merely to prepare us in the event such an occurrence comes up. If we are meant to know more, then we will be told.”
That made sense. It made sense that the Nighthawks would be recalled for this meeting— an expansion of the Church and news of a Blessed!
“That being said, we may soon be sent to the Southern Continent for more missions. There will be permanent positions opening up there. How proficient are you at travelling in the Spirit Realm?”
“Not… so much, yet,” Leonard admitted weakly. He had a spirit to help him travel short distances so far, but it was still a skill he was learning, and it hadn’t been that long since he was promoted to a Spirit Warlock.
“You still have time to learn,” the older man conceded. “Nothing is yet set before the war is over.”
He shuffled the papers, pushed them away, and interlaced his fingers atop his desk, a professional smile slipping into place.
“Now,” the Goddess’s Sword said, “tell me about what happened at MI9.”
—
Fors wasn’t at all surprised when she heard the revelation about a meeting up above the grey fog.
“The best solution is to rest when you can,” Xio told the Moretti siblings, who were both surprised by the three women’s insistence that they take a quick nap. “You should also rest while we’re safe.”
It was one thing to tell them about the world of Beyonders since they were involved if only on the periphery due to their brother, but another thing entirely to reveal the existence of the Tarot Club or that they were in contact with a god not recognised by the orthodox churches.
Per request, Fors excused herself to the bathroom to sacrifice Leymano’s Travels to Mr. Fool’s kingdom in a smooth and practised ritual. This wouldn’t be the first time she did this to get the help of Mr. World, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
For a brief, sacrilegious moment, Fors wondered what Mr. Fool would think of the spells in that book, and what “He” would add if “He” ever offered.
Then Fors dispelled the thought immediately and almost prayed for forgiveness for her lapse of judgement— it was merely an intrusive thought! There was no way Leymano’s Travels could handle a spell at the ability of a god! Just receiving an ability from the Sea God, one of Mr. Fool’s disguises, was already too much!
(She didn’t dare think of how much she really wanted to know.)
It was nearly another half hour before the trio were resting in the seats of the living room, much to the disbelief of the Moretti siblings.
Above the grey fog, Fors was surprised to find that the scenery wasn’t what she expected at all: they hadn’t been summoned into the imposing space surrounded by gigantic pillars, but rather what looked like a small and cosy room with a table just big enough for them to sit around, and bookshelves and drawers in the vicinity. Leymano’s Travels lay on the table, flipped to a page that was previously blank earlier tonight, and now filled.
Mr. World was already there, expression blank as his dark eyes watched their movements when they arrived. There was no fog obscuring his features, nor theirs.
That’s what it was, Fors thought in recognition. Melissa stares like that, too!
Fors shuddered, thinking that she didn’t want to get on Melissa Moretti’s bad side if she had the same type of stare at Gehrman Sparrow. Who knows how a young woman like her would react in life or death situations?
There were no lamps or candles there, yet the room was lit with a glow that allowed her to see the minutest details. While Xio reacted with similar surprise, Miss Audrey seemed to take the change of setting in stride as if she experienced it before. Her expression also changed subtly, shifting from the sweet and innocent Miss Audrey Hall into a more mature and reliable senior member of the Tarot Club.
Miss Justice lifted her skirt in a curtsy, “Good evening, Mr. World.”
“Good evening, Miss Justice. Miss Magician, Miss Judgement.” That was as far as courtesy went, for Mr. World to nod his head in acknowledgement of them. He waited for them to take a seat at the smaller table before saying, “Shall we get started, then?”
—
“Is Mr. Star going to join us?” Miss Justice asked.
Klein shook his head. “He will if he can.”
Despite his ability to track the Tarot Club members and look down upon them if needed, Klein was reluctant to cast his gaze inside the Evernight Church. While he had done so before while planning to sneak into Chanis Gate, and he knew that the Goddess did not care too much about his spying, he still felt a sense of respect toward her and avoided involving the Nighthawks whenever he could.
Leonard was stuck in a meeting with the deacons of the Church of Evernight, and Klein merely glanced a bit to confirm he was fine before turning his gaze away. He already sent a message that Gehrman Sparrow was meeting with those involved tonight, and for Leonard to pray when he was in a private space with some time on his hands.
Until then, it would be only the three ladies involved.
“MI9 will come after the Sealed Artefact they lost, if nothing else,” Klein started the conversation, making no indication of where the Sealed Artefact actually was. “With the information they gained, the search for you and their accusations of Miss Justice being a cultist will likely start as early as morning.”
“My family won’t believe them,” Miss Audrey said with a shake of her head, “but I’m afraid that Miss Judgement will bear the burden if something isn’t done soon.”
“Your family won’t—?” Miss Magician started before cutting herself off.
“You don’t have to worry about my end,” Miss Justice said confidently. “I have it taken care of.”
Klein nodded in approval. He assumed as much, after the incident with Hvin Rambis, where Audrey acted perfectly enough to both deceive him and then later take him down. He discounted his own involvement in that situation, understanding that it was truly Miss Justice’s victory during that fight.
He didn’t have the time to worry about them individually when this problem encompassed them as a whole, and also managed to pull Benson and Melissa in as well.
Well. He accidentally managed to pull Benon and Melissa in as well.
“This means,” Klein continued, and then summoned a map of Backlund onto the table between them, “that we’ll have to take care of this problem tonight.”
“Kill MI9?” Miss Magician said, horrified. Miss Judgement tensed at those words.
What goes on in her head? Klein wondered, but shook his head negatively at her suggestion. “No. We can’t afford to make MI9 more of an enemy. They’re necessary for the war.”
“But they won’t hesitate to kill us.” Miss Justice observed.
“Yes and no. We’re special targets to them, they will try to take us alive unless we prove too much a threat. If we kill any MI9 members, we may be that threat. So we defeat them without killing them, if possible.”
“The more we fight them and win, the more of a threat we’ll be anyway,” Miss Judgement spoke up. “Our problem is that they know about us and they’re willing to hunt us down!”
Klein looked over at Audrey, who understood from a glance.
“Then it’s my job to prevent them from learning more,” Miss Justice declared, a hand to her chest. She straightened in her seat as all eyes turned to her. “Isn’t that right, Mr. World?”
Klein nodded.
“Can’t… Mr. Fool do something to stop them from knowing?” Miss Magician’s voice was small and hesitant.
“No.” Klein’s voice was terse in alignment with Gehrman’s character. “This is our mess, and currently…”
He didn’t quite know how to excuse not having divine intervention. It would be convenient for the Tarot Club to have an actual god back them up as they imagined, but there was very little Klein could actually do from where he was in the Forsaken Land, and also as The Fool.
He supposed he could ask Will for help resetting the situation, but that was too much for a situation that the Snake of Fate had no investment in.
But it’s a good backup plan, he thought grimly.
“This is a war of gods,” Klein ended up saying. “Until the war is over, the gods are too busy to be involved with small details right now.”
The expressions on their faces also turned grim.
“I can make them forget,” Miss Justice said quietly. “But it won’t be easy for higher sequence Beyonders. It would have to be one by one, and the moment I’m noticed they will be on guard against mental attacks.”
“They may start on guard against you,” Klein warned. “They already know you’re a demigod, and they will start the fight by depriving you of your abilities to remove you as a threat.”
“Then what do we do?” Miss Judgement asked, the straightforward atmosphere making her sharp.
Klein gestured to the map, which raised itself up from the table into something more three dimensional, to create a more thorough map of Backlund before the war started.
“We set out a trap.” He said. “Tonight.”
—
Hibbert Hall was not one to take things lightly, nor was he one to back down from any situation that involved his family.
He was the eldest son of Earl Hall, and he intended on upholding the same standards that his father did, and that included protecting the rest of his family, even from MI9.
MI9, who had the audacity of knocking on their door and demanding information about his younger sister.
“Tell them I’ll be there to meet them personally,” Hibbert snapped as a servant helped him put on an evening coat. He only managed to distract his mother with news of a night blooming flower that blossomed only one week a year, and insisted that their father take her to go view it under the moonlight while they could, between the spring rain showers.
He had until they were back to find Audrey and calm his mother’s peace of mind.
They didn’t need to know about MI9 unless the agency turned out to be more trouble than they were worth.
“Where is that blasted man,” Hibbert muttered darkly as he adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves. He wasn’t going to meet with agents of MI9 like an absolute heathen, and planned on making full use of his name and title as armour before he even stepped into the room.
Yet the man who informed Hibbert about Audrey earlier had all but disappeared, and the other guards didn’t know his whereabouts at all.
One would think that with such important information (that he swore was true), the man would take the chance to confirm his words with MI9. Wasn’t it—
Hibbert was stopped in his tracks as he almost tripped on Audrey’s dog in the hallway, causing his retinue to freeze as well.
That blasted animal!
It had been years since he tripped over Audrey’s dog, since it was trained early on to stay out of his way, but every once in a while, he almost felt like the dog purposefully distracted him or made him late.
These last few months with Audrey in particular, the dog would weave between his legs and bark when he went to check up on his sister.
“Get out of the way,” he snapped at the dog, and then felt embarrassed for doing something as silly as speaking to an animal. His sister did so all the time, but she was a young girl and allowed such frivolities. Hibbert turned to his usual servant and ordered, “Take this creature and confine it in Audrey’s chambers before it sheds all over the guests.”
Being fashionably late to meet with MI9 was enforcing his status as someone higher and more important than them, but there was a certain point where it bordered on being rude, and Hibbert was not one to cross that point.
He swore that dog came out of nowhere at times! Shouldn’t it make more noise when skulking around the house? He had never seen a sneakier animal, and as Hibbert watched his servant wrestle with the dog’s collar, his eyes met the animal’s dark gaze.
And then Hibbert stumbled over his own feet for a moment, his mind blank.
Audrey’s dog was gone, and his servant looked dazed.
What was he—?
Right. MI9.
He straightened his collar once more and then strode towards the wing guests were led to, pushing through the extravagantly carved mahogany doors to make the dramatic entrance necessary.
“Now,” he snapped, before the two agents could get a word in, “what slander do you have against the Hall family this time?”
Within minutes, he found himself more furious than he had been in weeks.
How was he to believe them about Audrey being a Beyonder powerful enough to be a demigod? His sweet little sister who bragged to the entire family when she learned how to faint on command the first time, as if she hadn’t just been swooning and keeping her eyes shut until others admitted that she did a good job?
“Think twice before attempting to spread this defamation,” Hibbert sneered at them, fingers tapping impatiently on his cane. “Is MI9 attempting to start a war with the Hall family? With the nobles of the Kingdom, perhaps?”
“Sir,” an older woman with hair tied back in a severe bun and a black blazer top with modest skirt, attempted to placate him, “we need no disrespect, but we’re here under orders to find out more about Audrey Hall—”
“That is the younger Lady Hall to you,” he snapped. “I will not discuss my younger sister with you, nor will I allow MI9 to spread uncouth rumours about her! Find another scapegoat for your inadequacies, but we will not cooperate in your quest to defame this family. If MI9 was truly attacked this night, perhaps it’s best for you to look for the real culprits rather than accuse Audrey of being a criminal!”
“Then, sir,” the woman continued, unphased by his vitriol. “Can we speak to Miss Audrey? Where was she earlier tonight?”
“You may not,” Hibbert insisted. “My sister has been home all night and feeling ill after being caught out in the air raid. This entire household is her alibi!”
—
Do not get overly emotional about this. Do not get overly emotional about this.
Klein repeated the phrase again and again in his mind as Audrey made the suggestion on how they would lead MI9 where they wanted them.
“We shouldn’t involve civilians,” Gehrman Sparrow said once, and Miss Justice gave him a long and sympathetic look that he didn’t respond to.
The greatest issue was that none of them were renown strategists. Klein knew the basics, as he was sure the others might as well, but his greatest reliance when it came to fights had always been to create so much distraction and chaos that he could get away with what he wanted.
One day, he imagined, it might not work out for him anymore. This may actually be that day.
Miss Judgement shook her head in disagreement.
“They know too much about myself and Miss Justice,” she said. “That will make them overly cautious if any of us attempt to be bait. Even F— Miss Magician would be suspicious in their eyes.”
“I can play bait,” Klein interjected. “If necessary, it will be easy to change my appearance.”
“You don’t have the time to play bait,” Miss Justice reminded him gently. “You told us the limit of your historical projections— that means you can’t be here until the fight starts.”
Normally she wouldn’t attempt to suggest any changes to Gehrman’s plans, but this time around she gave him a look that said she knew more than she was going to say.
Klein’s mind was running over scenarios and different people he could call for help from. When it came to MI9 and those of the Arbiter pathway in general, they were very good at identifying Beyonders. He believed he might be able to fool them with the right combination of abilities and Sealed Artefacts, but he wasn’t so sure anyone else would be able to.
Could he call upon non-Beyonders for help with this?
It was too risky, and they didn’t have the time.
With this plan, they were already involving more people than he cared to, if only in the periphery.
They could involve Emlyn, but with this amount of time, they would be hard-pressed to get him caught up to speed, and then ask if he could bring any allies as well. They were already pressed for time with Klein asking Xio to set the stage, and he knew she would be tired before the confrontation even happened.
“Fine,” Klein conceded, hoping the word hadn’t been too rough to show his displeasure. Instead, he turned his attention to Miss Judgement. “Where do you want to set the fight?”
Miss Judgement studied the three dimensional map that had been placed before them with sharp blue eyes, a finger tapping her lips before she reached out and pointed to a location: South Backlund.
“Here,” she said. “I know this area well. There’s a plaza here, and there shouldn’t be anyone else around. The neighbourhood was hit hard by an air raid five weeks ago, and due to the weather, no one’s had the time to rebuild yet. Everyone there has been temporarily rezoned, so we won’t have to worry about a fight getting out of hand.
“The problem won’t be where we set this: it’ll be the fact that they can counter just about everything we have— they know my abilities, and they can guess Miss Audrey’s as well. They’ll also be able to prepare against us. I can only guess MI9 has a file on Gehrman Sparrow too, and will know the ways to counter him.”
“They do,” Klein said regretfully, eyes on the area Miss Judgement indicated. His lips quirked up sardonically as he added, “I have studied Admiral Amyrius before. I can assess his actions accurately enough, and can give you information on not only his abilities but the abilities of those around him.”
“Can you?” Miss Judgement asked, entirely calm.
Klein nodded, not wanting to elaborate on how he spent days studying Amyrius’s every movement for a mission to impersonate him. Meeting him later as Dwayne Dantes only helped reinforce his profile of the Admiral’s character and what decisions he would take.
He said to Miss Justice: “I can tell you everything about him and his companions, including sequence and abilities. Can you predict his movements from that?”
Miss Magician and Miss Judgement looked shocked, but Miss Justice nodded in acceptance, her hands folded atop her lap. “With enough information on his motives and personality, yes.”
“Even if we can predict their actions, we’ll be hard-pressed to win,” Miss Judgement warned with a frown. “I— we just don’t have the firepower to take down demigods of MI9. No offence to you, Mr. World, but…”
“No,” Klein disagreed, “the two of you will be vital. As a projection, my abilities will be greatly reduced, and you’ll be necessary for tricking them. Give them a false sense of security about an easy win.”
“We don’t have the numbers or firepower to win,” Miss Magician mused. “We can’t lose but we also can’t permanently harm MI9, while they can bring all the power they want against us. How…?”
“It would be easier if we were facing one powerful enemy,” Miss Judgement said. “But with an unknown number and them knowing too much about us—”
“That’s where you come in,” Klein told her. “You have to control the environment.”
Miss Judgement stared down at the map with a hard glare, and nodded.
“This won’t be a frontal battle,” Miss Justice spoke up. “We’re not going there to defeat them. We’re just going to slide around them.”
Fool them, Klein thought darkly. In line with his style of fighting, this would have to be a grand showing.
Miss Justice looked down at the map with a strange light in her eyes, and said, “We’ll have to manipulate them.”