Extravagant was a grotesque understatement; the wall molding had gold plating. Sonya’s eye twitched as she walked past another marble statue in the hallway. She liked nice things, but this was a bit much. Fortunately for her, even ultra-upscale hotels like this had a vending machine. It was in the employee lounge, but that was beside the point. She really didn’t want to have to call room service to satisfy her cravings. She grumbled and tossed her head back. Not needing to sleep is great ‘n all on paper, but man, I’ve got nothing to do right now until Amos is ready.

She sighed and popped another potato chip into her mouth, chewing lazily in her pajamas. She rounded the corner and stopped, staring down the hall towards the door to her suite. A single figure stood in front of it. Two ASTA security guards lay on the ground. Her lips thinned, and she pushed her senses out to listen to their breathing. Qilin turned to face her, and Sonya met her eyes. “Qilin, what are you doing?”

Qilin’s eyes were wide and frenetic, her lips twitching as her hands opened and closed in tight fists. She looked towards the door again and then back at Sonya. “P-protecting you.”

Sonya tilted her chin up. “From what?”

“Unnecessary influences,” Qilin breathed and reached for the door.

CARLA.

In the next instant, Sonya and Qilin were flying through a portal that opened up on top of the hotel. Sonya’s hand around the woman’s throat. She slammed her into the concrete roof and snarled. “If you lay a finger on her, I will flay the skin from your bones one centimeter at a time, you psychotic little-”

Qilin’s eyes were as wide as her smile. She tilted her head and blushed. “T-touching.”

Sonya’s lips curled in revulsion. Her fist came next. Qilin's hand snapped up and caught it, and the ground cracked beneath her. Sonya strained, pushing down against the Herald’s hand with all of her might. Still so goddamn strong! Horns grew from the Herald’s head, black hair spread around Qilin, and her eyes filled with mirth and turned to slits. Sonya considered, right then and there, invoking duality and putting an end to the creature. How the hell did a twisted thing like you cause the deaths of so many of us? Why did you survive the flash when good kids like Kong and Nietz didn’t? It’s not fucking fair!

Sonya clenched her teeth and pulled away, standing up and panting. 

Qilin got to her feet and brushed herself off, her face returning to normal. Her expression fell back into neutrality as Sonya turned away, catching her breath. “Mint is just an obstacle for your ascent,” Qilin said. “Just get rid of her. The Pandora Committee overcomplicates things.”

Sonya closed her eyes and took a breath. “Yep, it sure does.”

“T-then let me-”

Sonya rolled her jaw left and right. This woman wasn’t going to stop, was she? Not until she was properly cowed. Not until she was put so far into her place would there be no crawling out. Sonya let her thoughts drift, options and strategies bounding around in her head as the creature called Qilin stepped closer. Sonya could hear her heartbeat. Could smell her excitement. It made her sick. It made her want to…

Ah.

“Qilin. Do you want to know why I am doing all of this? Why I took you in? Why I’m hunting First Wind? The big secret?” Sonya asked as a smile spread across her face. She canted her head back and looked the woman in the eyes, waggling her eyebrows. “Ishtar’s origin story?”

Qilin’s eyes widened even more, and she cupped her face. “Oh, I couldn’t-” She looked away, stepping backwards. “B-but maybe a little?”

Sonya’s lip twitched, and she strode towards the woman. “You sure? It’s a doozy. More exciting than anything I’ve done so far. It really is.” She leaned in close and put a finger under her chin. “Beg me for it.”

“Please-”

Sonya’s expression turned monstrous, rage and violence boiling out as she bared her teeth, pulled Amethyst Sorceress out of her warehouse, and, with the help of her cybernetic brain, compartmentalized all of her memories of the past timeline into a packet. She blasted it into the woman’s brain and stepped back as she collapsed. Qilin grabbed at her head, gasping, seizing, trembling, and flailing on the ground as she heaved for each breath.

“What do you think, huh?” Sonya demanded. “I don’t have the ability to make the process easy anymore, so that must hurt like a bitch! Does it hurt Qilin?” She stepped on the woman’s stomach and pressed down. “HOW DOES IT FEEL TO KNOW?”

“S-to-ooh-pp!”

“NOPE!” Sonya snarled and leaned down. She looked the woman in her eyes as recognition took form. Her pupils shrank, her eyes trembling as Sonya sneered at her. “You don’t get mercy, you little shit.”

“Y-you’re going to k-kill me?” Qilin gasped.

“Finally getting it?” Sonya demanded.

Qilin pulled herself free with a roll and staggered to her feet. She turned away and was about to run when Sonya snapped her fingers. “Where do you think you’re going?” Sonya asked. “You can’t leave my side, remember? You can’t leave me alone. We have a deal, don’t we?”

Qilin was rooted to the spot as Sonya walked up behind her and rested her chin on the woman’s shoulder from behind. She wrapped her arms around her waist and sighed. “You can’t run. You can’t lie to me. You can’t tell anyone either. That wouldn’t be protecting me, would it?” She purred. “All you can do is ride it out until it’s done. We agreed to one month, Qilin.”

The Herald trembled in her arms.

“What’s wrong, Qilin? You seemed like you wanted me to hold you for so long, and now look at you. You can’t even smile? You’re so mean, Qilin,” Sonya complained as the woman slowly turned her head towards her. Sonya met her eyes and let the glow intensify. “I know what you’re thinking, Qilin. You aren’t that person, right? You haven’t done those things. Okay, you’re right.”

She nodded and released her, holding her hands out wide in a welcoming gesture. “Say it, then. Say you wouldn’t have joined him. Say that right this moment you aren’t thinking about how exciting it would be to help end the world.”

Qilin lowered her head and didn’t look back at her.

“Well?” Sonya demanded. “I’m waiting!”

Qilin trembled again.

“SAY IT! SAY IT TO MY FACE! Say you wouldn’t use your luck to make sure Feng Hyunh’s people arrived at the safehouse at the perfect time. Say you wouldn’t cause the chain of events that led to the fall of the United Kingdom. Say you wouldn’t pull a victory out of your ass in the Congo. Say it, Qilin! Say you wouldn’t join him! Say it right now, and I’ll show you mercy!” Sonya accused, pointing a finger at her before clenching her hand into a fist. “Say you wouldn’t personally murder Medved's family and make him watch, you sick monster.”

Qilin dropped to her knees, and Sonya walked up to stand next to her. “Your maximum lifespan is the end of this month, Song Xi.

The more useful you are, the longer that lasts. If you think I can’t kill you, if you think there’s a way out of this, then perhaps Qilins aren’t as smart as we all thought.”

She turned away and opened a portal. “Rest up. You have a fight tomorrow.”

–

Sonya stepped through the portal and into the bedroom. She paused near the foot of the bed and looked towards Carla’s sleeping form. The things I would do to protect you, she thought and let out a breath. She smiled and sat down in the armchair near the window. A door opened, and she turned to see Marta poke her head in. Sonya waved a hand and smiled at her. Marta nodded and retreated.

Heh, that was fun, Sonya thought with amusement and crossed her legs. I was planning on doing the “you’re gonna die” speech after dealing with First Wind, but this works. She won’t disobey now.

She pulled up her HUD and dialed out.

”Hello, Sister,” Ishtar’s voice came through.

”Hey you, how are things going over there?” she asked.

”Amos is about ready. The footage of First Wind at the oil rig is prepared and will be released as an anonymous report to the right news agencies.” Ishtar said patiently. ”Any last-minute adjustments?”

”Yes, I want a leak to a few news agencies before everything goes down. Make it sound like it's coming from an ASTA insider,” Sonya said. ”There's one reporter in particular I want to show up. I’m certain he’s already in Shanghai. This should lure him out.”

”Easily done,” Ishtar said. ”And the rest?”

”Stick with the plan we modified after they forced me to change the event schedule. Kingshark, Charon, and Kera know what to do,” Sonya said thoughtfully, twirling her hair between her fingers and glancing out the window. She narrowed her eyes and smiled to herself as clouds began to thicken over the city. Pretty sure the forecast was clear skies tomorrow. Looks like he’s getting ready too. ”It’s going to be mayhem in Shanghai, but I should be able to deter the worst of the damage. Is the recording ready?”

”It took me a few takes to get it just right,” Ishtar admitted.

”You’re the best, sis,” Sonya said and took a deep breath. ”Any news?”

”Yes, actually. Amos finished a new toy for you, and…”

A few minutes later, Sonya was on her feet, pacing back and forth and rubbing her chin. ”A vintage game store? He doesn’t put much stock in mundane things. They’re expensive, so that does fit his modus operandi a bit, but…” She glanced out the window again. ”That thing he did back during the Liberty War? It looked like he was fiddling with a menu, right?”

”Yes. I suspect he has taken pains to hide the true nature of his ability behind more lies and carefully constructed illusions. I would even go as far as to theorize that his ability isn’t truly grounded in a literary concept like we suspected,” Ishtar said. ”His reactions to our jabs were merely the result of his own ego.”

Sonya scoffed. ”Lies upon lies. That sounds like him. A video game, huh? How does that explain the rest, though?”

”No idea, but it does explain a few things. I will re-watch the footage with this theory in mind and-”

”Not now,” Sonya cut her sister off. ”I need you.”

Ishtar paused, and Sonya heard a faint chuckle on the other side. ”I will always be there. Just call me, and I will come.”

”Then it's about that time, my dear reflection,” Sonya said with a gentle smile. ”Ishtar rides again tomorrow, and the world will quake at our passing.”

”So be it.”

–

The glass bottle shattered against the wall as the terrible shriek of another bottle being carved open filled the room. He downed it all and slumped back on the couch, staring at the wall as his powers continued to work. He barely had to think about it anymore when he was creating a storm. Of all of the downsides his ability had, build-up had to be the most annoying one. Raw skill made it a little bit faster, but in the end it was a difference of minutes out of hours for a really big storm. Localized depressions were one thing, but something to blanket a city? That took patience.

He smashed the bottle in his hand and levitated the shards. They snapped out and peppered the poster on the wall. Chernovna’s smug image was ripped to pieces.

You bitch! You thought I wouldn’t hear about it?

He scoffed and grabbed another bottle. “That ungrateful brat. I train him, and this is how he repays me? By giving away MY fucking token!” He was on his feet. “THAT FUCKIN’ DERRO THINKS HE HAS A CHOICE?”

He stumbled and chugged down another bottle, tossing it over his shoulder and glaring out the window. He staggered over to it and rested his face against the glass, staring up at the growing clouds. He willed them to churn, to grow heavier, to resist bottoming out and raining an endless flood upon the city. Not yet, not yet. Not until I get what I want. He grinned. One night and I’m ready to wipe a city this big off the face of the Earth. Only take a quickie week, maybe two, and I could kill a small country.

He rapped his forehead against the glass before stepping away. He let the air around him churn and gather up all evidence of his presence as his phone rang. His nose wrinkled, and he dropped everything, picking it up and looking at the name. He answered it.

“Qilin.”

“Luca, I-”

“What?” he demanded before cracking a grin. “One last fuck before I become a god?”

She hesitated and coughed before hanging up the phone. He scowled at the device and tossed it back on the couch. “Well, fuck you too,” he slurred and got back to work. “You’ll regret that tomorrow. I promise.” 

–

Jay squinted up at the sky and frowned. The weather in this region was always a little weird, but this was turning out to be a bit much. The forecast had said sunny, but he was staring up at the darkest and heaviest clouds he’d ever seen since his time in Louisiana. He shuddered at the memory of that particular hurricane and pursed his lips when his phone rang. He answered it quickly. “Yo, Jay here.”

“We got a big leak for you. An ASTA insider sold us some information,” Nate said.

Jay raised his eyebrows and let out a sigh of relief. “Finally, a fucking break. Did you see that footage I sent you? That woman is a-”

“Yeah, I saw it, man. She got you good,” Nate laughed. “This should help even things out. It’s gonna be pretty embarrassing that the time and location of the handoff for the tokens got out.”

Jay felt a thrill run up his spine. “A-are you serious?” he laughed. “Where? When?”

“There’s a shop half a block away from the expo center. You got about an hour. Chernovna is probably already there,” Nate said. “I paid a hell of a lot of money for this information, so you better make it.”

Jay whipped his head around, taking in every detail of his surroundings. He quickly checked his phone as an address popped up in his texts from Nate. He found the location and looked back up, lines spreading out from where he stood. One at a time they flickered out of existence before a single arrow stretched out in front of him. “Don’t you worry. I’ve got her this time.”

He hung up and started to run as the storm churned overhead.