O Palácio Flutuante

Much to the disappointment of both Genesis and Mercury, Vriko did not take them up on the offer to partake in another round of playtime. Her vital signs were off the charts and a quick glance through her infrared setting told her that the woman’s body heat wasn’t matching with her blustered attempts to rebuff them. Still, neither of them were going to force or coerce her into anything, so instead Mercury took pity on the poor woman and offered her an out, pointing in the direction of the tome she’d been searching for. In the meantime, Mercury had sensed the arrival of the ship and the rest of their party quickly making their way up to the penthouse and elected to put both the homunculi in handcuffs, though that was really more for Blade and the bounty hunters than anything else. Mercury didn’t think Genesis would actually try to make a run for it, oddly enough. And even if he did, she was confident that she and Scourge would be more than capable of taking him down, and that was even before taking into account that they had a literal demon god counted among their party.

By the time they were all situated and Genesis was secure, the rest of the party finally arrived. Mercury gave them a warning to be careful where they stepped, and the group trickled into the room to find quite the comical – and risque – sight. Grubar glanced around and asked if there was a fight, to which Genesis happily replied that there had certainly been some pulverizing going around. Mercury returned his glance with a smirk. “I don’t recommend shining a blacklight anywhere, that’s for damn sure.” Ruzatz seemed more than happy with the sight of Genesis, as did Agatha, while Grubar was outright staring at Mercury. She grinned at the Scengar. “I missed you, too, Bruiser.”

Scourge approached and informed the Xocili that he’d been betting on her from the start for being the one to bag the Casino owner. He also suggested that the two of them should set an appointment to have sex later, not making any effort to hide his looking her over. “Well, unlike Themesycia, I didn’t make any promises to Vandrad that I wouldn’t sleep with you, so you name a time and place and I’m there.”

Mercury dismissed her clone, giving the Geneses a chance to say goodbye before introducing his actual handlers and then Blade – though from the look on Genesis’ face, it seemed Maker’s brother needed no introduction. He spoke to Blade first in a language that even Mercury didn’t know, though she assumed it was Blade’s native tongue. Whatever he’d said, apparently it had involved the use of Blade’s birth name, from which he was quickly corrected from using again.Mercury elected to bleed into the background at this point, happy to stand back and let Blade take the spotlight so she could observe and be attentive. Her dress had been torn apart in the chaos of them bumping uglies, so she went over to the pile of clothes that Genesis A had removed from himself, pulling on his pants and tightening the belt to make sure they stayed on, and then throwing his coat on without bothering to button it up.

From there, she simply lingered in the background, leaning against a spot on the nearest wall that hadn’t been busted to hell, smoking a cigarette. Genesis answered a few basic questions that he’d already explained to Mercury prior regarding the clone and the many uses he had for it. He also inquired as to if Blade was there to kill him, an endeavor that wouldn’t necessarily go as planned. Grubar demanded to know if that was a threat, to which Genesis assured him it was no threat, merely fact since his DNA had enhanced regeneration that made it impossible to kill him without destroying literally every last cell in his body. Mercury made a mental note to study the many samples she had taken of his genetic material that night, and continued to listen.

Blade assured him that they weren’t there to kill him, as that was not a solution to any of the problems at hand. Genesis hadn’t killed his people. He explained that he had been studying Genesis from afar for a while as best as he could, but his primary focus had been on Maker. And admittedly, he had been surprised to discover that Genesis had parted ways from him. After some prompting from the captive, Blade finally asked his primary question: Why did Maker send Genesis away? There was a brief pause before the homunculi chuckled and agreed that Blade likely deserved some answers, and to hear his life story. He’d never agreed with what Maker had done to Teras Prime anyway, nor with really anything else that Maker ever did.

He made himself comfortable, which in turn made Grubar uncomfortable, the Scengar asking if there was any way they could cover Genesis up. Ruzatz argued that doing so wouldn’t be much fun, and Agatha smirked and shook her head at her husband’s humor. But, ever the polite and compassionate one, she looked around until she spotted some towels or something suitable, placing one on each of the Geneses to give them both some modicum of decency. She gave him an apologetic smile as she did, not saying a word but doing her best to convey that she did feel bad for having to play a part in tricking him. From there, the rest of the party stood around in relative silence as Genesis went into the lengthy explanation of his origins and what he knew about Maker’s efforts to absorb all the known knowledge in the universe.

And it was through that very search that Genesis was created, meant to be a method of protecting himself from the enemies he made along the way. Genesis claimed that he had already evolved at least twice since his creation, and he did go on the jobs that Maker sent him on but did not ever kill anyone, finding it wrong to take someone else’s life. And in the meantime, he spent much of his time learning what knowledge he could from Knowhere, looking for answers in places that Maker had brushed off, with the ultimate conclusion being that life was fun. It wasn’t just a tool to achieve godhood. For Genesis, it was something meant to be achieved, and eventually their differences in perspective led Maker to attempt to kill his own creation and for Genesis to depart and pave his own path.

Mercury was deep in thought as she idly listened to the remainder of the conversation, until Blade finally asked about the preparations Maker had taken with the ritual he’d performed on Teras Prime. Her gaze flicked over to Genesis as he explained about the journey Maker went on after absorbing his planet, and the mysterious information he had acquired and subsequently kept out of Knowhere. But whatever he’d come into possession of, it had caused a shift in his experimentation. Blade withdrew the container with the mass that they had procured from Maker’s weapon, asking if it matched what Genesis had witnessed, and from the way it seemed to make the homunculus’ flesh crawl it was a dead ringer.

An eerie silence hung in the air, the tension thick enough to carve out with a spoon. It was Mercury who eventually spoke up. “Well, it’s going to take more than freaky experiments to stop me from killing him.” Mercury was rather calm and collected, but there was a darkness to the way she spoke. She blew a trail of smoke from her cigarette into the air. “I’m going to figure out exactly what he found, what he uses to make his little creations… and before I wipe out him and his knowledge of it from the universe, I’m going to do everything in my power to make him suffer at the hands of his own work.”

The hatred emanating from her was palpable, and only served to add to the intensity. Finally, she sighed and relaxed a bit, shaking her head. “All that knowledge and he still doesn’t understand the things he’s learned. I’ve never attempted to build a homunculus, but even [i]I[i] could have told him how that was going to go down. You can’t just sap the memories of a planet and its people to create life and expect it to be a killing machine. Yes, there is death in nature, but even the purpose of death is to renew life and give it meaning. An animal dies to feed another animal. Trees and plants are destroyed to protect sentient life with shelter and warmth. And in turn, sentient life perishes and returns to the soil, nourishing it. You were formed from the knowledge of Teras Prime, not just the planet itself, but its peaceful people – he could never have a perfect life form from that knowledge that would have simply gone along with needless killing.  All that intelligence and he’s still just a child.”

Taking a final puff of her cigarette, Mercury dropped it on the ground and put out the butt with her bare heel. She turned to look at the others, though her attention was mostly on Blade, Hosrius, and Grubar. “More than anything, we cannot allow him to learn that there are more of my people. The value of the knowledge that Xocil accumulated before the Nazru all but wiped us out is immeasurable. We are unique in the universe, and thee types of advancements he would make from studying us in earnest would advance the timeline of his work by decades, if not more. If he discovered there were more Xocili on Earthland besides me… I am sure he would turn his entire focus to capturing as many of us as possible.”

“What about your planet?” Agatha asked. “Now that the Nazru are gone, what’s to stop Maker from just heading to what’s left of Xocil and taking what he can from the planet itself?”

“The planet isn’t there anymore. Even the planet itself was an affront to the Nazru, and they would not tolerate its continued existence. They destroyed it completely. The only thing left of my peoples’ world is remnants of space dust glittering among the stars. It feels wrong to have a part of me that is almost grateful for that, but considering the circumstances…” Mercury shrugged.

Then, she turned to Grubar. “He’s telling the truth, by the way. About not killing anyone, and about freeing slaves. I downloaded a lot of information about it from the servers, and compared it to the files from before he took over the Palace. This business is not the crime syndicate it used to be, and that changed when Genesis took over. As far as I can calculate, digging his way out of the crime lifestyle was the whole reason he cut ties with the Dread Masters in the first place.” Her gaze flicked to Scourge, then to Genesis. “Am I correct?”

Presuming he confirmed that, Mercury continued on with her own line of questioning. “Well, if we’re going to take him out once and for all, we need to find a way to target his strengths. His power basis. What can you tell us about Knowhere itself? You call it a computer, but also refer to it as an artificial lifeform. Can you describe it to us? Or do you have any idea where he keeps it? If it can be destroyed, or at least rendered inaccessible to him, it would be a major blow to his assets.”

Mercury’s theory about why Maker’s attempt at creating Genesis to be an apex predator had failed apparently fell in line with similar questions that Genesis himself had wondered over the years. He claimed that Maker had merely used the knowledge to build the blueprints, but then utilized the same tools again to build his brain and whatever amounted as Genesis’ soul. And considering that the vast majority of Genesis was put together based off killing machine parts, it was his brain that undid everything Maker was trying to achieve. He was given the ability to comprehend his own abilities and the fallout of his actions, and he believed that Knowhere had played a pivotal part in making sure Genesis had not just free will but a conscious.

Which was part of the reason why he believed that Maker started placing restrictions on Knowhere, though he still let Genesis have access to the hub. He fully believed that, while the bodies of the people of Teras Prime were gone, that their minds and individualities still lived on inside of Knowhere, and that they were intent on correcting the wrongs that Maker had done to them. And that, in turn, was what fueled Maker’s quest for the strange power he’d acquired. And along the way, he was stealing knowledge from individuals unfortunate enough to be in his way. Mercury shook her head, anger vibrating briefly within her once more. In her heart, she knew that was what Maker had been doing with Vandrad’s people that he had managed to capture. How much information about Rhaegar and the Rhaegarians had he stolen? And what, of that knowledge, could he use against Vandrad and his family?

Questions she wouldn’t get answers to at the moment, so there was no point in voicing them out loud. Instead, she chose to change the subject, bringing up Genesis’ past claim to having been framed for many of the deeds that were listed in his bounty, informing Grubar and everyone else that it was the truth. In so doing, she revealed that Genesis also knew Scourge’s true identity and former affiliations, which Genesis in turn confirmed his predecessor had put together and documented.

Once that chat was over, Mercury asked a bit more about Knowhere, honing in on the computer as a potential place to strike to weaken Maker. Genesis told her that the artificial being’s existence was convoluted at best, describing it as a white mask like face fixed to a series of cables that ran into a foundation which held the whole thing together. It used to be stored directly on Maker’s ship, but when Scourge informed them that they had not seen any such device on the ship when they found it, Genesis could only assume Maker had moved it before then, likely to a hidden lab of some kind. One that Scourge had never been able to locate.

Scourge mentioned that Mercury’s clone would be the best lead, confirming for Genesis that the Xocili had the ability to track it. She nodded when the former Dread Master commented that Mercury knew where Maker currently was. “Maker is the reason that I am supposedly dead. He and the Dread Masters launched an attack on my fiance, his entire family, their rivals known as the Order of Souls, and myself. I managed to replace myself with a believable clone during my fight with the group they’d sent after me. I knew that Maker would give just about anything to get his hands on me or any of my technology, so I thought it would be advantageous to let them believe they had won.”

“Maker has been spending the last near year since my ‘death’ dissecting my clone and studying it. As far as I can determine, he is completely convinced that it’s actually me. At the moment, he is working on attempting to revive me, making some alterations to my genetic coding that my analyses tell me are meant to give him moderate control over me. It won’t work, of course, because my clone is completely under my own control… but soon I plan on letting him believe that he was successful, and I will spend some time interacting with him through my clone to see what I can learn.”

Genesis voiced that the clone wasn’t necessarily at Maker’s main base of operations, stating that Maker had learned to better cover his tracks after nearly being assassinated. When Grubar confirmed it was Hosrius that had nearly been successful, Genesis made sure the Jirian was given due respect for his efforts and confirmed that Horius was pretty much number one on Maker’s kill list. Then he returned the conversation to Knowhere, agreeing that it was wise to make sure Maker no longer had access to the database, but asking Mercury not to destroy it, for Blade’s sake. If his people were still self aware inside the computer, then it would be best to preserve it if at all possible and make sure Blade was the one who wound up in possession of it. Mercury nodded. “If I can locate Knowhere, I will do everything in my power to keep it from being destroyed.”

Right when everything seemed to be concluding in a nice, somewhat tightly wrapped bow, Blade approached Genesis with one last query that quickly shifted the mood of the room once more. Even Mercury frowned as Blade asked if Genesis would help them, the implication clearly meaning that he was looking for more help than just imparting information. And while Mercury agreed with all of Blade’s reasoning, and fully felt that it was the best possible outcome to have Genesis be a part of their hunt, it was not what had been agreed upon and worked out with Hosrius and Grubar. She watched in an almost apprehensive silence, her gaze flicking between Blade and the two bounty hunters. When Blade asked her to remove the cuffs from Genesis, she did not immediately move to do so. “Blade, that’s not…”

She was cut off by Grubar, who was understandably not thrilled with this sudden change in arrangement. While Mercury wished that Grubar would change his mind, she wasn’t about to argue with him to make it happen. They had made a deal, and it would be selfish and disrespectful of her to break it, especially given the way that he had risked his life to save her. She knew how important this was to him. He and Hosrius were practically slaves themselves, and she was going to fully support his choice to stick with the original plan.

Thankfully, and surprisingly, it was Hosrius that stepped forward. He insisted that the Scengar didn’t fully comprehend how much of a problem Maker was, understanding intimately why it was so important to collect the bounty on Genesis but also knowing that something about all this just didn’t sit right. Genesis had freely given a lot of information that could have otherwise bought his freedom from them, though Genesis insisted that Mercury had paid him plenty in advance. She Xocili shot him a cheeky smirk and then continued listening. The way Hosrius saw it, Genesis was important but Maker was an impending threat upon all life. And right now, his current sights were set on Earthland, which meant that not only was Mercury and her people in danger, so were all the other friends they had made here.

And interestingly, the one friend he emphasized the most was Saffron. Mercury frowned again in thought. She was aware, of course, that Saffron had met Hosrius and Grubar on her own by chance, and that Saffron was the one that had gotten the two involved in the rescue mission, knowing that it would be beneficial to have the help of alien bounty hunters. The Xocili knew that Saffron spent a lot of time with them, but she earnestly wasn’t aware that Vandrad’s pupil had become so close to the extraterrestrial pair, enough so that it was giving even Grubar pause on his convictions. And finally, much to Mercury’s pleasant shock, Grubar changed his mind and agreed, giving them three months to figure it out and come up with a plan, after which he was taking Genesis whether Maker had been dealt with or not.

Before Mercury released Genesis, she approached the Scengar. “Are you sure? Not that I’m not appreciative, but I know how much this means to you. We had a deal, and if you want to follow through with it I will honor it. After everything you’ve done for me and my people, I would never demand that you put yourself in a compromising spot with your handlers…”

Presuming he assured her that he was at peace with the change in plan, she would nod. “Thank you, Grubar,” Mercury told him, standing on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. As she moved to finally release the cuffs, he asked that Mercury put a tracker on Genesis that he could use as insurance, which everyone seemed to agree was more than fair. With the snap of her fingers, Mercury dismissed the cuffs and worked on materializing a tiny tracker that she could embed under Genesis’ flesh. In the meantime, Grubar had finally noticed Vriko, her introduction going about as well as it had with Genesis. When Grubar added to the comments about her legs, Mythal’s sister finally snapped, lifting up her skirt and giving everyone in the room a view of her underwear in hopes of getting them past their fascination.

It did not work the way she intended. Even as Genesis voiced that he wasn’t complaining, Mercury chimed in with, “Welp, definitely saving that one for the old spank bank.” As Vriko stormed out, with Dorian in tow, the Xocili installed the tracking device and gave copies of the radar to both Hosrius and Grubar, so they could both have a means of keeping an eye on him. When Genesis asked about what was to happen with him now, it was Blade that suggested the casino owner remain where he was in order to protect himself and not draw any attention. It seemed like the best plan, so Mercury merely nodded her approval.

The homunculus released the manual override for the doors so that his staff could move about again. “Oh, right!” Tapping into her wireless connection to his system, she took a moment to reverse all the work she’d done. “There, your system is restored back to normal as well.”

He approached her then, taking her hand and giving it a kiss, much to her obvious delight, relaying his hope that she wouldn’t wait too long to visit him again. He also hoped that Agatha and Ruzatz would return as well, maybe even all three of them at the same time to make it a party. Agatha grinned even as Ruzatz warned him about the kind of trouble he was inviting. Mercury merely indicated Scourge with a nod of her head. “Now now, don’t forget Scourge as well. He was also on the list of people prepared to seduce you today. If we’re gonna plan a party, the more the merrier I say.”

She grinned and conjured a cellular device, giving it to him. “Take care of yourself. Here’s a device you can use to safely contact any of us here. I’d apologize for your penthouse but you literally asked for it so…” With another smirk, she leaned forward and gave him a farewell kiss before turning to the others. “Well, I should probably get back home and let Vandrad know I wasn’t whisked away for good. He’s probably been punching his way through training bags all night. Let’s all call it a night, shall we? I think we’ve all earned a little rest. Especially me, I think I’m gonna slip into a coma for a day or two.”

---

A day or two later, everyone had once again gathered at Mythal and Serilda’s house, with the addition this time of Ruzatz and Agatha. Since the group would likely be debriefing with one another for a fair bit longer than they had been during the initial meeting, Serilda had opted to provide dinner for everyone that night. As such, the meeting this time would be held in the formal dining room where there was a table large enough to host the entire party, though the dinner itself was casual. The house staff had prepared the meal and set it out on the table, but left shortly thereafter, with everyone serving themselves from the portions that had been provided.

Everyone was well into their plates by the time the individuals that had taken part on the mission had finished regaling the others about the broader strokes of how the mission had gone, including running into both Dorian and Vriko. Mercury, of course, left out the details of the actual seduction of Genesis, but otherwise the rest of the night was covered, as well as the outcome of what information Genesis provided and the decision to leave him in place at the Palace for now. The news of Knowhere was troubling to say the least, and the frown on Serilda’s face told as much.

“It’s horrifying to think that all those poor people have been trapped in that state for so long, forced to assist Maker in his work… but I suppose it is a blessing that Genesis seems to believe they have maintained their individuality. Maybe there is a way to eventually reverse what he did to them..?”

Mercury cast a quick glance to Blade. “We’ve discussed that. Theoretically it should be possible. Anything that has been done can surely be undone with the right knowledge and practices. The problem at the moment is that Maker is the only one that would know how to undo it. Maybe with enough time to study his work we could figure it out someday, but… If it’s possible, it could take years, maybe even decades, to figure out how to reverse – even for my people.” Mercury was fully confident that she could understand any of the principles of work that Maker had constructed over the years, given enough time, but even with the brain of a computer it wasn’t something she could digest overnight.

Serilda nodded and turned to Patty. “I assume you never saw anything matching Knowhere’s description, either..?”

Mercury had, of course, noticed that Blade seemed quieter than usual. He wasn’t always the most peppy of individuals to begin with, but there was a sullenness about him that was abnormal. Nearly everyone recognized it, though most – including Mercury – assumed that it was just lingering emotion over the current issue regarding his brother. As such, she didn’t ask about it for the time being, focusing instead on relaying everything they’d found so far and bringing the two Rune Knights up to speed.

Serilda inquired with Patty about whether or not she had seen anything matching Knowhere description. The doctor denied seeing anything herself, but mentioned that she was certain there were a number of times that Maker had used it to solve scientific riddles that the two of them couldn’t solve on their own. She told them that there were times he would leave and then come back the next day, conveniently with all the answers. It was something she was always suspicious of but couldn’t explain, and this seemed as likely an answer as anything. Mercury rolled her eyes, clearly not impressed with Maker’s cheating, but otherwise said nothing and continued to eat.

It was then that Scourge decided to call out Blade in front of the group, remarking upon his silent demeanor and asking if he had something he needed to discuss. For a moment Blade attempted to insist that it didn’t have much to do with the situation at hand. Or at least, he didn’t think so. After some insistence on Scourge’s part, the alien finally relented. He told them that Genesis had contacted him not long after they had all left, relaying information that had only dredged back into his mind after having had some time to think about everything. The information he had relayed had to do with the history of Teras Prime and the dark source that Maker had found.

According to Genesis, he still could not think of any additional details that might help explain the dark matter itself. However, there were some other bits and pieces that Genesis had been able to attain while he’d had access to the artificial intelligence. It seemed that the people of Teras Prime were not always scholars and philosophers, and that there was a time long ago that they were controlled by their desires. There was rampant sex and breeding, which had put the planet’s resources in peril, subsequently causing wars and civil strife that ultimately wiped out a large portion of the population. It was the fear that history would someday repeat itself that forced his people to rise above their whims, looking for ways they could live their lives without fear of wasting the finite resources of their planet. As a result, they found peace along the way, forcing an evolution – so to speak – of being able to tame their more base natures.

But not all of his people had chosen the same path of evolution, as far as Genesis told him. Some wanted more than just a solution for the future, they wanted answers about the past to understand why they had become that way in the first place, wanting to return to it even. They formed an underground society that sounded very much like a cult, and found a way to reverse some of the evolution that they had previously achieved, and as a result became tales to scare children in the average societies. All in all, while certainly interesting, it didn’t seem to have any bearing on the matter at hand… at least, until Maker revealed the last bit of knowledge that he had gleaned.

It seemed some of the people of Teras Prime believed that they had been created by a goddess who had formed them from the soil and brought them to life. The goddess, or so the underground rebels believed, had traveled from another universe where her own people dwelt, and the only word that Genesis could recall was…

There was a visceral reaction of shock around the table. Even as Scourge jumped to his feet to question the information Genesis had relayed, Mercury was fully choking on the bite she had just taken. Serilda, her expression wide eyed and shaken, frantically used her magic to dislodge the mouthful from Mercury’s body. The Xocili was finally able to swallow down a little air, giving Serilda a raspy thanks before drinking a bit of beer to sooth her throat.

The noblewoman sighed and rubbed her temple wearily. “I don’t know what this means, but it can’t be good. I think we’re going to need to take him to meet Themmy. I don’t know how much she’ll be able to help, but surely someone in New Rhaegar can provide some insight.”

“Agreed,” Mercury was finally able to contribute, having gotten herself under control. “And it’s imperative we learn what we can. When Vandrad, Scourge and I attacked the Dread Masters and destroyed their primary base, and found all the Rhaegarians locked up in there, Cyrene informed us almost right away that many of their people had been taken away and never returned. I’m positive Maker was doing far more than running experiments on them; he was probably stealing their memories and knowledge, just like he did with his own people. I doubt there’s any way to confirm what he’s learned, but perhaps Cyrene and the others can point us in a direction toward anything that could be important. Maybe they can even tell us who it was that made Blade’s people. Either way, the du Wolffs need to be informed of the connection.”

Serilda nodded. “Do you want to set that up, or should we?”

“I’ll take care of it when I get home tonight. I’m sure Themmy will want to arrange a meeting right away. And it may be beneficial to bring Genesis along for this one. Maybe speaking with the Rhaegarians will jog a few more memories.” She turned to Blade. “Thank you for telling us. I’m sure Vandrad and his family are going to want answers just as much as you do. As far as Themmy and his immediately family are aware, they were the first and only Rhaegarians to come to this universe, and it was by accident. Or at least, that is my understanding. It’s possible that there is more that Themmy, Simon and Ever haven’t told us, but I doubt they would have withheld any information that they felt was critical.”

Once that was all settled, Serilda carried things along. “Well, it sounds like that’s near about everything related to Maker for the time being. Did you all happen to find anything else of value at the casino?”

“Oh! Yes, I did get copies of the databases, including lists of their membership card holders as well as Genesis’ employees.” Conjuring a datapad each for Mythal and Serilda – as well as anyone else that wanted to take a look through the files – she gave them access to the information. Serilda took hold of the tablet and started rifling idly through it while Mercury continued to speak. “Genesis claims that ever since he took over the Palace he put an abrupt stop to all immoral crimes that they were involved in and cut ties with many of its former allies, including the Dread Masters. If you’re asking why I’m making a distinction about ‘immoral’ crimes it’s because he spends a large chunk of his resources funding the disruption of slave rings, which is technically considered illegal in places that condone slavery.”

“This is… impressively organized, I have to admit,” Serilda said as she flicked through the evidence. “It looks like he’s smuggled a lot of slaves out of their nations. Mostly Desierto and Bellum, to no surprise. They appear to have all been set up with enough money and resources to help them start new lives in better places, though I suppose the only way to confirm that it’s true and not fabricated would be to send someone to look into a few of them.”[/color]

“I’m certain it’s true,” Agatha chimed in. “I may not be able to outright catch a lie in action, but my strength as an empath makes it very difficult to hide the truth of one’s intentions from me. Genesis was genuine with nearly everything he said, including his speech about all the work he’s done to clean up the syndicate.”

Serilda certainly wasn’t going to argue Agatha’s opinion, knowing that the Hand was a frighteningly impeccable judge of character. With a nod, she continued to look through the documents. “He must be really dedicated to this, then. He has several squads of employees whose entire jobs are supposedly to infiltrate other countries and liberate their slaves. There’s almost a military structure in place…” Her voice trailed off and she frowned slightly at the screen. Then, all of a sudden, recognition washed over her, her eyes flying open wide. “Oh my gods… Mythal, look.”

She showed him the screen. The file pulled up was the dossier for one of Genesis’ top squad leaders, a woman by the name of Dinah Davies. She had short brunette hair and was wearing a simple but high quality suit of armor. Her brown eyes were twinkling with just a bit of mischief, as was the playful smirk on her face. It had been so long since Serilda had seen her face that she’d practically forgotten about the woman after all these years.

But it was nearly impossible to forget the face of the woman that had once kissed her after she and Mythal had freed several dozen women from being shipped off as slaves.

It had been quite the revelation, though one that they couldn’t really unveil more of at that moment. After some brief discussion, the group resolved to have Blade and Genesis meet the du Wolffs and the rest of the Rhaegarians in order to see what they could piece together as a collective, with Patricia voicing her interest in taking part, not just to sate her curiosity as a scientist but also to help Blade. Blade admitted that he hadn’t really accepted everything fully just yet, still trying to process the truth and the fact that Maker had known about it all this time and used the knowledge for his own perverted aims. It truly was quite a mess, as Grubar said. Ruzatz at least seemed to think it exciting, marveling over the opportunity to help both groups learn more about their origins and their connection to one another, and remarking upon the last time that they had gotten mixed up in something this spicy.

“Please no,” Mercury said, her tone teasing but also genuine. “I’d rather not have a repeat of something like that, if it’s all the same to you. I’ve had my fill of fighting goddesses, whether directly or adjacent.” She wasn’t eager to relive an experience like fighting Faera, nor the humbling and horrifying spiritual awakening that had come from feeling the weight of power from the likes of Faera, Serilda, Ruzatz, and several of the others.

Thankfully, Serilda moved the subject along, giving Mercury the perfect opening to hand over the information she’d pulled from Genesis’ databases. It didn’t take long for Serilda to come across an individual in the files that was apparently familiar, and though it took Mythal a beat longer to recognize the individual, it was apparently someone he knew of as well. Mercury waited patiently as Scourge prompted them for an explanation. Mythal brought the file up on his own tablet and showed it to the rest of the room, revealing an attractive brunette garbed in armor. As the Director explained it, this Dinah woman was someone that Mythal and Serilda had saved from being sold into slavery on one of their first missions together years ago… and apparently, the woman had expressed her gratitude by giving Serilda what sounded to be a very passionate kiss.

Indeed, the Voidwalker was smirking a little sheepishly, her cheeks turning just the lightest shade of pink as she shook her head. “Thanks,” Serilda told Scourge dryly, though not without humor. This far past the incident she could greet the memory with amusement, but at the time she had been royally embarrassed and flustered.

Mercury was grinning wide. “Hey, she’s cute. I wouldn’t have been complaining.”

“I never said I complained about it,” the noblewoman murmured into her glass of wine.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

Scourge took that moment after all the laughter died down to present his own paperwork, in the literal form. He informed the two Rune Knights that Genesis had a storage room filled with additional documentation that was not available on the digital servers. Most of it was documentation from his predecessor, who had been collecting a stockpile of details and blackmail on his criminal allies. And since Genesis himself had cut ties with everyone nefarious, it seemed the homunculus did not mind giving Scourge access to more of it.

That would have been a blessing enough, but it seemed Scourge was aiming to overachieve. He withdrew a thicker folder, and told them that he had compiled as much information as he could while attempting to locate Maker and the Triad, and he had gotten his hands on as much evidence as he could muster over the Dread Master’s past history with the Magic Council. Serilda’s lips parted open ever so slightly in shock, the noblewoman’s equivalent of her jaw being on the floor. He admitted that it had not been easy, especially considering how much had likely been destroyed when they’d wiped out the primary base and how he couldn’t reach remaining members without putting himself at heavy risk. However, he had still managed to acquire evidence of many of the communications between the Dread Masters and several former members of the Council’s staff. He claimed it wasn’t much, but hopefully it would still be valuable.

Serilda accepted the file as Mythal handed it to her, doing her best not to be overly eager about flipping it open. She was fully silent as Mythal and Scourge exchanged a few words, her blue eyes glossing over the broader details of the first page or two. “Yeah, he is meeting with a contact that is helping him look into something. He was a bit vague about it, but I’m sure he’ll bring it up once he has more information. He knows I’ll just go out of my way to find out myself if he doesn’t tell me sooner or later anyway.” The Xocili smirked, earning a few chuckles from around the room.

Closing the file, Serilda set it carefully on top of the other folders next to Mythal. “Thank you, Scourge. I am sure putting this together wasn’t a simple task. I promise we will put it to good use.”[/color] It wasn’t really the time and place for the Rune Knights to dig too deeply into the files, but surely they would be pouring over all of it in the coming days.

At that point, the official meeting was more or less over, so the group continued to chat and socialize idly as they finished their meal until everyone was content to call it a night. As people were getting up and saying their goodbyes, Serilda gave Mythal a significant look. Presuming he indicated in some way that he was ready to move forward with the plan they had discussed, she shifted her gaze to the former Dread Master. “Scourge, before you leave, may we have a quick word with you?”

Serilda led the three of them out of the dining room, leaving Patricia and Mercury to see everyone else out, taking them down the hall to a room that appeared to serve as a large study of sorts. If Scourge was capable of sensing or identifying such things, he would notice that there were extra enchantments in place around this room on top of what the house itself already had, adding extra layers of strength against being eavesdropped upon by magical, technological, and mundane means. The Voidwalker shut the door gently behind them before taking up a spot leaning against the front of the nearby desk.

“Mythal and I would like to hire you to work for the Rune Knights.” The noblewoman came right out with the reason for the private meeting, laying the intent right out on the table. “You would not be listed in our official records, at least not under your true name. Your role would be as an independent intelligence agent, with a primary focus in black ops. You would answer directly to Mythal and myself. What we would expect of you is for you to continue your current research as you have been on anything pertaining to the Dread Masters, the Order of Souls, Maker, the Magic Council, and anything else you deem relevant to these matters. You would be authorized to use any means or force that is reasonably necessary. You will not have a uniform, a symbol of office, nor anything that could serve as evidence of your affiliation with the Rune Knights, and if you claim to work for us in any public capacity outside of those who have been authorized to know of your involvement, we will deny it.”

“In exchange, you will have limited, monitored access to Rune Knight funding and information. We will grant you access to material and magical resources as necessary, access to safe houses, and many other assets that I am sure you lost when you defected from the Dread Masters.” Serilda left it there for now, certain that he would likely have questions. This offer would likely be an unexpected shock for him, considering his history, but it would be obvious from the readiness with which she laid out the proposal that she and Mythal had discussed this with one another at some length before that night. Their perception and acceptance of Scourge was shaky at best, but there was no denying the value he had to offer, nor the fact that he was currently operating without the foundation of an organization whose goals mostly aligned with his. As far as the Rune Knight leaders were concerned, now was the time to sign him on as a tentative ally, while he was unattached to any other institution.