Hemalurgic Headshot

Lee looked the newcomer up and down. Nate, huh, he thought. He couldn’t tell if Nate’s stammer was simply awkwardness or out of terror. The “please-don’t-kill-any-innocents-right-now” suggested the later. “We’ve told you we’re not Canadian,” Nathan said, attempting to center the conversation again. “I’m not sure what more you want.” Beside him, Jade knocked her forehead on the tabletop. Liam could empathize. He glanced around at the assembled group once more then sighed. “Well, if we’re being frank, I don’t entirely know what I want.” A thought crossed his mind. “Actually, there might be one thing. If you happen to possess some indispensable skills and have your evening free, I could use your assistance.” Liam nodded at Nate. “You too, since you’re here.” It was a bit too late now to get anything more out of the couple, so it was time to be blunt. Euphemistically.

Part 1 of the HH/Winter/Twi collab. HH is in black, Winter is in purple, and Twi is in blue. “Big want,” Kokichi said. Big want… what? Liam didn’t have time to ponder the phrase before Kokichi dashed off to pastry paradise, or more specifically, Destination Doughnuts. How… appropriate, Liam thought. Their burst of speed didn’t end up trampling anyone. The only thing it did damage was the door, which they basically completely blew off its hinges with their enthusiastic kick. “MAPLES, HOLY F--” The word which was totally not going to be a swear, Mister Moral Prissypants, was interrupted by the unnecessarily loud clang of the door against the ground. Maples, Jade had learned, did not usually refer to the delicious syrup. And in this case, she was pretty sure it didn’t refer to the long rectangular donut topped with glaze made from the aforementioned syrup. But she didn’t have time to be pleased at being mistaken for a vanilla. Or a maple. Or whatever people everywhere called people who didn’t have Epic powers, because whoever had broken the door off its hinges was either an Epic or literally the most colorful maple she’d seen. An Epic. Another Epic. In the donut shop. Only the fact she was next in line for the chocolate-covered creme-filled donuts in the display case kept her from grabbing Nathan’s hand and making a run for it. Liam barged through the--well, the door wasn’t there anymore--entrance. “Kokichi!” He yelled. He opened his mouth to scold them for literally destroying property but stopped when he noticed that they had the attention of the entire establishment. Several customers were hiding under their tables, and those in line seemed like they weren’t sure whether to bolt or turn invisible. Instead, Liam shifted his grip on his shotgun. “My apologies for your door,” he said to the cowering clerk. He leaned close to Kokichi. “What are you doing,” he whispered. “Uh, getting donuts?” They looked from Lee to the people, who seemed a little skittish. Their entrance had been a little bit surprising, they supposed. Still, there wasn’t any real good reason not to have a super cool dramatic entrance when they could. “You do have bucks, right?” They could pull their own bucks out of nowhere, but like, that was probably bad for the economy? Or something like that. Wait, did they even have bucks here? What even was money. Why did some peeps ask them for it and others just give them free stuff? The world is a confusing place. Jade allowed herself to relax a little, but not much. That Epic, the one with the admittedly amazing hair--Kokichi, apparently--was just there for donuts. Only donuts. Of course, Jade knew firsthand how a simple diversion like that could turn into something far more involved, and that was assuming nothing happened to remind Kokichi that things didn’t always go their way. But a quick glance toward the display case told her there were plenty of donuts to go around, and a good number of each kind. The chances of things getting ugly weren’t quite slim, but they weren’t as great as they could be. The clerk finally tore his gaze from Kokichi, as though suddenly remembering he could busy himself with something aside from cowering. Look busy, act helpful. That was the way to keep Epics as close to happy as you could, and the clerk remembered that just in time to hand the woman in front of Jade her box and take her money. The woman hurried out the yawning doorway, head ducked as she passed Kokichi and their bearded companion. Jade’s turn. She’d gotten an order from Nathan, but hadn’t thought to write it down and only remembered the way he’d looked at everything, the way he’d discretely counted the money they’d earned working odd jobs along the way. He wouldn’t protest if they got one of everything, and yet…. “Uh--chocolate. And, um, apple.” He’d ordered apple something. Something with apple in it. “Apple fritters, or apple topping?” Jade managed to look away from Kokichi just in time to escape notice--or so she hoped. Calamity, those earrings were cool. “Y-yes.” “And what kind of chocolate--” “I said yes.” The tension in the shop lessened as the clerk resumed his duties. The next person in line was getting her order. Liam checked his pockets. “Bucks? Do you mean money?” He asked Kokichi. They gave a thumbs up. “I can pay for you if you need it.” That was all the answer they needed. Liam sighed as the nervous patrons moved aside to let Kokichi get in line, right behind the woman getting her order. This is certainly awkward, he thought as he scanned the shop again. If Kokichi’s cutscene has taken them here, there had to be something of importance, somewhere. Kokichi scanned the list of flavors. They couldn’t read some of the words thanks to their very in depth education which tots wasn’t the result of a patchwork of lessons from different peeps and the few years of actual school they’d attended, pre-shenaniganry nonsense. A few had been crossed out or written over a few times. Kokichi could probably find/make the stuff for those ones, but that’d be kinda weird. There were plenty of available flavors, images of which floated in their eyes. The background maples went back to whatever they were doing, though the noises were a lot more subdued. The only peeps who weren’t all blurry and vague-like were the person who worked at the counter and the couple in front of them. So many options. They could go for which one looked the prettiest, but then they’d have to eat it and tots destroy that pretty. They seated back and forth, donuts appearing around their head where stars of confusion post-boinking would usually go. Kokichi leaned to the side and forward, poking their head towards the woman in front of them who looked like a maple. There was something up with her, so maybe there was a reason they were here, beyond just donuts. (Not that “just sugary stuff” wasn’t a great reason to do literally anything.) “What did you get?” Were her shoes different colors? Probs she lost one and found another, in a different shade, to replace it. That was logical. Didn’t account for why they focused on it as if it was some sort of clue. “Totally random definitely maple-ific stranger who is probably completely irrelevant in every way?” If they weren’t relevant before, they would be now, cuz fate or Calamity or whatnot liked to mess with them. “Um. Chocolate. And apple.” Kokichi was sizing her up, though for what, Jade had no idea. Hopefully not a fight. She wasn’t sure what a fight with an Epic who could make donuts swirl around their head would look like, but she was fine not knowing. Perfectly happy in her ignorance. “I mean, not together, ‘cause that’d be kinda weird, but--well, they’re in the same box, but they’re not on the same donut so they’re kinda together and kinda not, so I guess you could eat them together but that would be even weirder and they might not go, so…” She didn’t hear Nathan’s footsteps over the noise of the shop, but she felt him beside her even before he spoke. “Did you, uh, get the donuts?” “On their way,” the clerk said. Jade didn’t look to see how many donuts were in the box. She knew she’d ordered too many, if only because putting that many donuts in a box took time. Nathan didn’t ask who Kokichi was, but a quick glance showed her a more veiled version of an expression she’d seen back in Nevada when a rattlesnake had crossed their path. Fear wrapped in exaggerated calm. But with a rattlesnake, she could simply port them to a safer area. She didn’t yet know what to do with Kokichi. “Nice to meet you,” Nathan said, though he didn’t extend a hand. “I’m Nathan.” “Jade,” she said, catching Kokichi’s glance toward her shoes. Maybe she could change them quickly, make them the same color--but Kokichi had seen them both and there was no way to know if they would dismiss what they’d seen as a trick of the light or put two and two together. Probably best to keep Kokichi and math as far away from each other as possible. The newcomer, Nathan, gave Kokichi an appraising look. He seemed to Liam the type of person who sought out weaknesses in his opponents before he struck. He wasn’t sure what Nathan would find in Kokichi, but his companion was clearly nervous. Liam stepped up to the pair and extended a hand to Nathan. “Liam. A pleasure,” he said. “And I’m Kokichi.” An awkward moment passed. They were pretty sure this was the encounter that was gonna have some shenaniganry results and might end up heavily influencing the outcome of their murder quest, but for now, they just sort of stood there. “So… now what?” “Got your doughnuts, ma’am.” Jade nearly snatched the box from the clerk’s hands, barely ducking Nathan and Liam’s clasped hands as she did. “Donuts!” she said. “Donuts are next.” Nathan caught the clerk’s slightly panicked look a moment before she did, dug the money out of his pocket and handed it over. We don’t need change, change is for losers, just don’t worry about the change, she wanted to say, but she didn’t know how much more money they’d need and leaving the change behind wasn’t a great idea. She traded a glance with Nathan, but the glance didn’t decide anything. There was simply no way to tell if it would be safer to stay or safer to leave or safer to run off and hide in the bathroom until Kokichi got bored. But there was one option. One option that was nearly always safe, assuming you weren’t dealing with a Steelheart or a Nighthound. “You guys want some donuts?” Donuts? Liam blinked, his train of thought broken. He had been too absorbed in deciphering every word anyone said. There had to be something here… sparks, it hadn’t even been a whole day with Kokichi and he was already thinking like this. This couple could very easily be innocent, completely ordinary, yet here he was, analyzing them as if they were hiding secrets. “That’s very kind of you. Should we sit down?” Liam gestured to an empty booth. He couldn’t shake the feeling that these two people were important, but at least he could be cordial.

I incredibly enjoyed playing this game. Being Tearim was an interesting experience, because at first, my wincons didn't quite make sense. But once the ball started rolling, and I joined the Sons, things got much more fun. Starting a Desolation is hard work. And if it weren't for you meddling Kholins, I would have gotten away with it too! Congratulations to the survivors, and a big thanks to @Orlok Tsubodai, @little wilson, and @Elbereth for GMing! This was a very complex game that turned out very well, and like I said before, it was a lot of fun.

Before he knew it, Liam was driving down a road lined by small shops. Though the road itself wasn’t in the best shape and the shrubbery lining it had overgrown, most of the shops were in good condition. A window was bashed in here and there, but often the window had been covered with wood or cardboard, and Liam saw customers in a few of them. There was an air of life on this road, a resilience of community that had survived Calamity. The van slowed down, and Liam moved over to the curb. He noticed a few side glances and even an open stare as he did so, but many more averted their eyes. Simultaneously he noticed the telltale signs of concealed weapons on a few of the pedestrians. Calamity had still left its mark, and the red war-fitted Volkswagen wasn’t exactly inconspicuous. “One hundred and twenty-somethingth street,” Kokichi mumbled, squinting through the window. Liam relaxed inwardly. Seeing Kokichi back on their feet lifted a weight that had been resting on his shoulders. “Wanna poke around or keep moving?” They asked. Liam glanced around at the street and nodded. “I was thinking the same thing,” he replied as he grabbed his jacket and shotgun. “Let’s go see why we’re here.” Liam elected to move the van to an alley before they went snooping around. Though he doubted that many of the citizens would do much, Liam would prefer not to attract the attention of any local Epics. Once on the sidewalk, he turned to Kokichi and gestured to the row of stores. “So, where to first?”

“It’s been ten years,” Kokichi said. Liam focused on the road. Was Kokichi really that old? It was hard to tell sometimes… “If I was gonna get better, I’d have done it by now.” Right turn, navigate around potholes. “It might’ve been different if I’d killed him—Agor—myself. Closure, y’know?” They nearly choked while saying the name. “But he’s dead. Gone from everywhere except my head.” There was a shuffling noise, and Liam assumed Kokichi had turned around or laid down. Agor… the man from the flashback. Good riddance, Liam thought. He rubbed the steering wheel distractedly. If only he could do something for Kokichi, but sparks, he wasn’t a therapist. It took someone much more qualified than him to deal with crippling self-doubt, night terrors, sudden panic… He shook his head. “Hey, do you mind if I…” he asked while reaching over to the dash. If Kokichi had said something, Liam couldn’t hear it, so he turned on the stereo. There must be lights burning brighter, somewhere Got to birds flying higher in a sky more blue If I can dream of a better land Where all my brothers walk hand in hand! Tell me why (why), oh why (why), oh why can’t my dream come true! Oh why There must be peace and understanding, sometime Strong winds of promise that blow away the doubt and fear If I can dream of a warmer sun Where hope keeps shining on everyone Tell me why (why), oh why (why), oh why won’t that sun appear (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwqbuus8QPU)

Thankfully, whatever the blast from before had been hadn’t damaged the van. In fact, it looked fine. Liam set the shotgun in its compartment and sighed. This was going to be one of those missions, he thought. Once one had spent some time with the Circle of the Shield, they started to regard missions as part of one of two categories: these and those. “These” missions were simple: get in, kill or capture the target, get out. Sometimes, these missions were solo but on occasion the Circle provided backup. Fortunately, more than half fell into this category. Then there are those missions. Diaphrax was one of those missions. Liam doubted anyone had gone home that day with a clear conscience. They—no, that would be better left unsaid. Those missions ended with therapy, sometimes months. Liam recalled one soldier who had accompanied Hawk on the Flipside mission. In short, the mission was a failure, and the soldier, no older than twenty-five, was one of the few survivors. In reality, Liam was only a few years older than him, but he felt so much older. The soldier—Jansen, his name was—would sit in his dorm for hours. Liam tried to avoid interacting with him. It brought up memories of other missions. He supposed that this was the obvious consequence of entering an unknown city with several significant Epics and expecting it to go fine. Kokichi muttered something, breaking Liam from his thoughts. “So, I guess this is when you start hating me,” they said. Liam was quiet. “Or thinking I’m pathetic, or whatever. Can’t really tell the difference.” “No,” Liam said, after a moment. He twisted in his seat to look at them. “I don’t hate you. And you aren’t pathetic either.” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “I’ve met some great people, some very close friends, who have so many scars it’s hard to look at. But sparks, they aren’t pathetic. I can’t do some of the things they’ve done. Pain is human. It reminds us we’re alive.” Liam realized he was clenching his fists and relaxed them. “I’ve been told you only fail if you don’t get up. So get up.” Out of things to say, Liam turned around and started the van, trying to suppress the emotion in his face. Sparks, I’m talking like an old person. Sparks.

Kokichi continued to shiver, perhaps unknowingly. The breeze scattered bits of trash across the road, as solemn as tumbleweeds in the desert. Liam struggled for the right words to say, but none came. Thus he stood silently. “No—” Kokichi choked, looking up. As their hair parted, Liam saw their eyes—truly—for the first time, and he couldn’t hold back a gasp. Each was a watery pit of anguish, a whirlpool filled with every emotion, but happiness was drowning. In that moment, Liam believed that the eyes are the windows to the soul, but Kokichi’s soul… “Please, no—” …terrified him. It was unfathomable, paradoxical. And it was coming out— Liam staggered back, into a stone wall. The street was gone; in its place was a cramped dungeon. Kokichi was gone as well; in their place was a destitute child, quivering shirtless on the disgusting floor marked with dead cockroaches and putrid bloodstains. Its back was lacerated and painfully clear in the light of the ceiling lamp. Liam gagged, but it wasn’t unfamiliar. He had simply tried his best to forget. “No!” The child screamed hoarsely, now Kokichi, then Kokichi. “No!” Diaphrax screeched, as the armored soldiers struggled to pick the scrawny child up. The apartment was dark and decrepit, with peeling wallpaper and moldy carpet. Diaphrax clawed at the wool scarf around his neck, but it was fastly secured: his weakness. “No, no—stop, stop!” Kokichi shrieked, pleading, begging, defeated. Liam remembered a rat, half eaten. It was the only edible thing in the apartment. The door had been locked; he had battered it down. Diaphrax: Sonic hallucinations, catastrophic sonic booms. Creates avatars of sonic energy. Weakness: knitted fabrics. Another enters the room, and it seems to darken because of it. No taller than Liam, perhaps shorter, but muscled, and fearsome calloused hands seemingly stained with blood. One held a wicked knife. Liam watched the face and its cruel sneer. This was a bully if Liam had ever seen one. Even his voice was dripping with malice and arrogance: “_______” And then the beating began. Liam kept his eyes open for a moment, heard the shrieks, but turned away. It was too much. The screams echoed in the small stone cell. They echoed in his head. Oh sparks, make it stop! Suddenly it was gone, the quiet Edmonton street returned. Kokichi collapsed to the ground, quivering, covered in a cold sweat. “Please,” they whimpered. Liam focused on a rooftop in the distance to keep from staring. How could I help? Even fathom empathy? Sparks, sparks, sparks… Slowly, Liam looked down at Kokichi, still lying on the ground. Carefully, Liam scooped them up and carried them to the van. They were lighter than he expected. Gently, he set Kokichi on the couch on the back. As he walked around to the driver’s seat, he gazed up at the sky. If that man, the demon, was still out there somewhere, Liam swore he would send him so far down even Satan wouldn’t save him.

Liam spun around at the boom, just in time to see the van engulfed in a cloud of dust. The van! He started but stopped himself. It was likely another illusion, just like everything else. Hopefully. “If that wasn’t you, who was it?” Kokichi called out. The message Epic, Liam realized. The slontze wouldn’t leave them alone. His grip tightened on shotgun as he glanced around. The sparking Epic had to be near. As far as he knew, illusion Epics worked by sight. Kokichi laughed, throwing their head back in a cackle edged with malice. Liam tensed, the sound bringing the face unbidden to his thoughts. They continued to laugh, in response to another message no doubt. Liam continued to scan the buildings lining the street, searching the windows for a silhouette, anything to not look at Kokichi. Kokichi giggled. “Why should I be afraid by someone who isn’t even here?” There was tension in their voice, and Liam couldn’t help but look back. He saw another illusory paper, hanging in front of them. Liam leaned closer to see what it said. “Cuz if you were here, you'd have run crying for your mommy at the sight of that face against yah,” Kokichi continued. An apprehensive glance noticed that their face hadn’t begun to distort yet. Yet. “You'd never have tried to threaten me again. So, since you're clearly not smart enough to get the subtext, I guess I'll have to spell it out for you.” “If you so much as look at me ever again, well, let's just say, it won't be pretty. Course, I won't kill you, not even if yah beg for it.” Liam mentally shuddered at the vehemence in Kokichi’s words. It almost seemed like they were shaking from the rage leaking out through their mouth, their words. “Just break your bones, again and again and again and again, cut your skin open to scar you as mine, shock yah, twist everything you love and burn it till it's unrecognizable, make it so you can't ever escape cuz there's no where to escape to, and when all the dust's settled, you'll be so shattered, so twisted, you'll never be able to pull yourself back together again.” There was a dreadful silence. “Get. Out.” The paper slowly pivoted towards Liam. In response, he fired the shotgun into it, as a warning. The paper dissolved, exploding into billions of particles that were swept away on the breeze, leaving only Liam, Kokichi, and the van in the street—silent, expectant, and harrowed. Slowly, Liam walked over to Kokichi and cautiously placed a hand on their shoulder. “It’s okay now,” he said. Kokichi shivered. He scanned the houses again, seeing nothing. “It’s best we get going.”

Liam shuffled around in the darkness, his boots scuffing against the asphalt of the street. His steps were small and deliberate as he worked out where he was. The van had stopped in the middle of the road, it seemed. “Marco,” Kokichi called out. Liam paused, and a slight smile slid onto his face. “Polo,” he called back. This was more like what he knew of Kokichi. Humor. Not—no, ignore that. Focus on the now and what needs to be done. He repeated this to himself as he continued walking down the street.

Arachnerd nodded, facing a bit to Riley’s left but close enough, “Coffee. Yes.” Riley turned and headed towards the coffeehouse. He made it a few feet before the crutch caught in a crack in the pavement and he stumbled. Startled, he reflexively reverted to normal vision, and was more startled when he realized he could see. Rising to his feet and sheepishly glancing around, Riley continued. Kokichi’s voice responded from the darkness, still to Liam’s right. “Here. That darkness wasn’t me, FYI.” Good to know, Liam thought. That answered one of his questions. They continued, “Directly, anyway. That Epic probably panicked at seeing that. I… might’ve overreacted. Just a little bit.” The understatement hung in the air, making what wasn’t said painfully obvious. That was an image Liam wouldn’t be able to shake from his head. A moment of silence passed between them as Liam felt along the dashboard. After fiddling around for a bit, he had collected his shotgun, jacket, and van keys. “Hey,” Liam spoke, the silence between them getting too awkward. “This darkness isn’t going to get any brighter if we stay here. The Epic probably had some sort of proximity effect to the paper, so by my reasoning, the darkness will disperse the further we get from the van.” At least he hoped it would. Being perpetually blind wasn’t beneficial to their mission. “The van has a tracker, so we’ll be able to come back for it when the illusion wears off.” He felt around for the door handle and stepped out. He hoped Kokichi was doing the same.

“Coffee?” Arachnerd asked. Then she paused and glanced around confused. Likely a symptom of fatigue. “What day is it?” Riley started to respond but realized he didn’t know what day it was either. Tuesday? Suddenly, his eyes stopped working. Or, at least they seemed to be. He blinked several times, but still only saw pitch darkness. He focused, and the world reappeared in false color infrared. The sun seemed to still be shining, and the asphalt radiated heat, which crossed off the remote possibility of the sun going out. Of course, Riley rationalized, with Epics around, it was possible, right? Using his heat vision, he glanced around. The glowing figure of Arachnerd glanced around warily. “What’s that?” She yawned. She was too tired to care about the sudden blackness. “Well, seems like the light’s gone out,” Riley replied. He glanced around again. He had poor depth perception when his heat vision was activated and didn’t really want to walk all the way to the café, but Arachnerd would be much more useful if she had a caffeine boost. Sparks. This was all so irritating. He sighed. “If you aren’t too blind to follow, I’m going to find you coffee.”

The floating paper rotated towards Liam as more script appeared on its surface. I— Before Liam could read any more, Kokichi snatched the illusory paper from his face and read it. He opened his mouth to object but froze when he saw Kokichi’s rapidly darkening expression. And that wasn’t the only thing darkening. The color of the world dulled, shadows growing longer and bolder. Distant objects became murky and even the sun seemed to dim. Only Calamity remained bright, eerily glowing crimson. Kokichi glared at the illusion in their hands, only an inch away from actually glaring daggers. Their eyes took on a malevolent gleam, and their teeth were pointed and canine. When they spoke, there was no usual pip or joking in their voice. “That’s cute. How you think to threaten me.” The words were saturated with threat and hung in the air like a venomous spider. “As I said, we are on our way to kill Karabiner. If you care for your life, you won’t interfere.” Nothing was said. Liam didn’t dare move an inch. Even the van’s motor seemed to quiet in fear. Then the eerie darkness and ambient dread retreated as quickly as it came as all of the malice and danger in Kokichi’s face disappeared. “’Kay?” they asked, as if what just happened had never occurred. The paper disintegrated in response. And everything went black. For a startled moment, Liam found his voice again. “HOLD ON!” He shouted as he slammed on the brakes, sending the van screeching to a halt. He blinked, then blinked again, but he still couldn’t see anything. Not even the lights on the dashboard. “Kokichi?” Liam called. His voice felt muffled by the darkness. After what seemed like an eternity—but Riley had managed to dissociate through part of it—the two of them reached a shopping center. The vacant lot was littered with rubbish, and most of the stores were defaced. Riley glanced around. To his luck, a half-broken shop sign declared: “A VIL Co fee ou s .” A coffeehouse, no doubt. Good thing too; he was exhausted, and Arachnerd looked like she might pass out any minute. “Hey, look!” Riley exclaimed, pointing towards the café. “Coffee!” Arachnerd perked up immediately.

Wow, this looks intriguing.

“That would be great, actually,” Arachnerd droned. If she hadn’t been speaking in the same semi-bored voice the whole time, Riley would have wondered if something was wrong. Thankfully, it seemed in line with everything else, and Riley offered silent praises for not botching his impromptu pickup. “Lead the way, uh… Riley,” Arachnerd said, gesturing down the road. Sparks, Riley thought. He had no idea where they were. There’d have to be a coffeeshop somewhere, though. He put on a smile and strode down the street, newly-decorated crutch supporting him. Frostburn. Kelvin. Ganunga—what? Riley nearly stumbled. What was that? He could have sworn he heard something. Frostburn… it was a good name idea. He mentally added that one to the long list of other Epic name ideas. None of them had stuck so far, though. Maybe Kelvin? He shifted the broom under his arm and set course for nowhere in particular, secretly hoping that Arachnerd would be too fatigued to make smalltalk. Suddenly, a piece of paper manifested above the console, suspended in the air between them. Liam glanced at it. It was marked by a single word: Hello. Before he could do anything about it, Kokichi snatched it from its place and began to turn it around, examining it. “Yo, whoever’s doing that,” they dictated as they wrote on the paper with an extravagant gold pen, “we were about to go tots murder this guy who prob had it coming. Whatcha want?” After stopping to consider it for a moment, Kokichi signed their name and tweaked the message a bit. Liam opened his mouth to speak but closed it. He probably wouldn’t have described his current activity as “about to go tots murder this guy,” even if he “prob had it coming.” Still, it didn’t make much difference anyways. Kokichi had gotten the essence of the mission in a nutshell. The van continued to speed down the road as more writing began to materialize below Kokichi’s flourishing signature.

“Sure!!” Kokichi replied, hopping in the back. “What’s your fav to nom on?” Liam took a moment to decipher that. Favorite food. He rubbed his beard. “I think there’s some shawarma in there, last I checked. At least I’m pretty sure I put it in beside the—” He was cut off as Kokichi plopped a shawarma into his gesturing hand. “Oh,” Liam said, pausing before taking a bite as he turned back towards the map. Since Kokichi could get them pretty close to wherever Karabiner was lurking, Liam reflected on he knew about the Epic. Karabiner runs a black market called ‘the Fence.’ It’s mobile, to some extent at least, but stays within the vicinity of Edmonton. He can copy the powers of an Epic and attach them to an object, making it ‘Linked.’ Liam thought about the trilby and red ball that they had snatched from the research facility. He wondered what would happen if Karabiner got ahold of Kokichi’s powers. What would that look like? Liam set the half-eaten shawarma down and backed out the van. It was time to get this done with. Shotgun ready, van fully operational, and if things got hairy, he had his “surprise” in the back for emergencies. He turned to Kokichi, who had gotten something for themselves to eat. “It’s go-time.”

Liam watched Megan run towards her sister, still locked in battle, for a few moments before Kokichi spoke. “So, wanna go kill Karabiner now?” He glanced over at them, who had followed him to the tree. Kokichi was right; they had technically accomplished their task of reuniting the twins, so they could return to their main mission. He glanced back at the duel going on. He’d rather not have to face two Epics at once. “Yeah, sounds good,” he told them. Checking their surroundings again, he ran back to the alley with the van. There were a few soldiers who were watching the fight but had wisely decided to keep their distance. Megan would be enough of a distraction to provide cover for the two of them. Once back at the van, he set the shotgun back in its compartment and pulled up the map of Edmonton. Kokichi’s jump had thrown off the van’s position tracking, so Liam had no idea where they were. As he scanned the road patterns for a clue of their position, his stomach growled. He hadn’t eaten since the night before, and what time was it, past noon? “Hey Kokichi, there’s a minifridge behind the sofa. It’s the black box, not the red one. It’s got food in it. Could you grab me something from there?”

“Oh, there she is,” Kokichi said offhandedly, gesturing to the two Epics in the middle of the fray. One wore a dark trench coat that rippled around him and had ruffled dirty blonde hair. The other, flying a few feet away from the first, had flowing blond hair and, when she shifted, bore an eerie resemblance to Megan. “Allison,” Megan whispered, Liam just only catching the first syllable as she sprinted towards the dueling Epics. Liam almost dropped his gun. Sparks. Her sister is an EPIC?! Gripping the gun tighter, he glanced around. Though the fighting had drifted away from the highway and the little checkpoint complex in the background, the epicenter was still too far from the bulk of the neighborhoods. Sparks, no clear cover aside from a row of scraggly, untamed trees lining the road. Once, they had been decorative landscaping, but it seemed like there was no longer an administration to bother with that. Still, he bolted for the small cover they provided.

“Yeah, spider powers,” Arachnerd said, then launched into a whole spiel. As she spoke, a small cluster of spiders gathered at her feet, crawling out from their nests to heed her call. They marched around at her feet. “I can see through their eyes, feel through their bodies, hear through their leg-hairs.” A visually impressive spider-eye image appeared over her face, as if she had become a spider too. She is definitely stable enough to pull all of these dramatic twists, Riley thought. “Oh, and fibrous structures I’m holding turn black,” Arachnerd concluded. Riley hadn’t even registered some of what she had said, but he played it cool. He spread his hands and smiled. “Alright, I’ll fess up. So, I manipulate heat energy, like I said before. Most ambient energy is heat anyways, and I can draw it from anything. Even if under normal circumstances whatever it is wouldn’t yield heat, I can still take it. Theoretically, I can create absolute zero, though I’ve never tried it.” He slowly bent over and grabbed the broom, tracing elaborate designs over the handle and burning them in with his finger. He masked the pain in his leg as he did so. He passed the broom from hand to hand lazily, as if he had all the time in the world. “Normally, I’d go my merry way and you yours. However, since you seem lost and more than a little tired, I’m willing to offer some assistance. Coffee?” He said. Mentally, he cursed. Spark that silver tongue of yours, Riley, he thought. Now I’ve let my words get ahead of me. Offering to go find coffee for this random Epic girl you just met, with a sparked-up leg to boot? Revoking that pat on the back. It’s going to be so totally awesome. Kokichi’s words echoed in Liam’s head as they drove towards downtown Edmonton. Kokichi was lounging in the passenger seat, and Megan was on the sofa in the back. Once Kokichi had it set in their mind that Megan was coming with them, there wasn’t much Liam could have done to sway them. Do not acquire any more sidekicks without my permission, Margaret had said. To Calamity with that, apparently. He supposed she just wouldn’t hear about Megan anytime soon. He felt like the protagonist in one of those RPGs he used to play pre-Calamity. Constantly taking on side quests. Megan’s sister was yet another side quest. He sighed, but the music playing in the background drowned it out. He took a left towards the main road, blinked, and wasn’t quite where he was before. Kokichi again, he thought. Slowly, he was acclimating to the Epic’s reality warping. However, knowing them, wherever they were now was somewhere near they needed to be. Wherever that was. Trusting his instincts, Liam continued driving forward, passing mostly abandoned houses with splashes of life here and there. He scanned the skyline and pressed the brake reflexively when he saw wisps of smoke ahead. Just a few blocks down, mingled among obviously new structures—perhaps constructed by one of the reigning Epics—was a rising plume of smoke. It was thinning out, mingling with the partly cloudy sky, but it was smoke nevertheless. He pulled the van into a narrow driveway between two abandoned houses. Liam glanced back at his two passengers. “Alright, there’s something up ahead. I’ve come to realize that when it’s ‘something,’ it’s 80% hostile. Especially when there’s smoke involved.” As he spoke, he pulled his shotgun out of his compartment and began emptying the chamber. He took out a dark box-shaped device and attached it to the underside of the firearm just behind the middle of the barrel. He pointed to the glove compartment in front of Kokichi. “There is a box of shotgun rounds in the back. It’s the navy blue one.” Kokichi found it and handed him the box, which he opened and began to load the shotgun with. These were special rounds that, when paired with the device he had attached to the gun, ionized when fired, causing the bullet and the air around it to bond with the wound. It was particularly nasty, and Liam only used them when confronting Epics, specifically ones that were susceptible to guns. Wounds from these didn’t heal easily, if at all. “Megan, I have a feeling that your sister is involved with the ‘thing’ going on up ahead. I’m leaving your safety up to you, because if worst comes to worst, it isn’t likely that I can save you from an Epic. Not right now, at least. Kokichi, are you ready?” Liam turned to them as he reached over and activated the Parallax cloak.

“Arachnerd,” the young woman replied. An Epic, Riley thought. “I’m… just trying to find some coffee, honestly.” Riley realized that she did seem like she was in need of a caffeine boost. She paused for a moment, thinking. “How, exactly, did you do that stuff to those police officers, Riley?” What?! Riley couldn’t keep the shock from showing on his face. How… how did she know that? She was an Epic, but if she had been spying on him, all the way in Sherwood Park, it raised some frightening questions. Who else was watching him? He never was truly safe, even when the feds hadn’t found him. The implications… he didn’t want to think about it. Arachnerd was still talking. “I mean, do you conserve thermal radiation, or just shoot ice and fire from your hands? If you conserve, can you pull it from anything, or just living tissues? Does it go through you, or just move from target to target?” Riley stared at her for a moment. Really living up to the “nerd” in Arachnerd, there. Should he tell her? However, if he didn’t, how long would it take her to figure it out? “I conserve,” he began. “That’s simple enough. But…” He trailed off, plotting. “If you want specifics, you’ll need to tell me a bit about your powers, which I assume are spider related.” Sparks, he was smooth. He could pat himself on the back for that later.

“Stop the car,” Kokichi said, and before Liam could respond, the van moved of its own volition. With an abrupt swerve, it pulled over to the side of the road in a dramatic cloud of dust that billowed up around the vehicle, mostly obscuring it. Liam turned to Kokichi, but they had already hopped out. Liam sighed. There wasn’t much he could do about this now, so he climbed out as well. He only caught the end of their conversation. “M-M-Mega—I mean, Melanie. I’m just. Um… just trying to get to the city.” That’s when Liam noticed the girl standing in front of Kokichi, dirty and weary. Melanie? The name echoed in his head, bringing back painful memories a decade old. He caught himself staring, and promptly looked away. Her hair was too blond to be Melanie, and she was too young as well. It’s not Melanie. His own name broke him from his reverie. “—and that guy is Liam,” Kokichi was saying, “We’re besties. Want to be my bestie too?” As before, little floating cues hovered around Kokichi as they spoke, but Liam didn’t pay attention to them. His focus was on the newcomer. Though dirty and worn, there was something in her eyes. He couldn’t quite place his finger on it, but there was an… aura? Around this girl. There were things that she wasn’t letting on. Liam took the opportunity step forward. “Hold on a moment, Kokichi. I’d like to know more about you… Melanie, if you are going to be joining us. Something more than your name and destination.”

With the broom as a crutch and a cane, Riley made slow progress. Soon, he came to the perimeter fence of the refinery, which he melted through. It was only chain link, and rather weak. It slowed him down, however. Trudging through the suburbs of Olympia Polaris was like a daze. Ever since Calamity, since the feds, the Albertan Government had shut down Sherwood Park, he had never set foot outside. Oh, how he had craved to, and now it had finally happened. It didn’t make it feel any more real. The land was flat, and everywhere he looked were neat residences and streetside retailers, like his home town. Unlike Sherwood Park though, these houses were sparsely populated. Most sat desolate and unkept, with weedy yards and dilapidated roofs. The scars of looters marked many, even the ones that bore hints of residents. Few vehicles roamed the streets, but now and then a heavily-tinted van would rush by. He walked for about an hour, crossing streets and cutting through yards. He had no destination. His armpit was sore from the blunt broom end, and his feet and legs were aching. Beads of sweat shone on his forehead. Weary, he settled down on the curb and laid the broom beside him. Sparks, Riley thought. All alone in my “land of promise” and with a sparking bloody leg! He pounded a fist on his knee and winced from the pain. Sparking leg. He glanced around the vacant—no, not quite vacant street. There was a woman across the way, her back turned. She had quite an interesting clothing style: starkly white and black outfit, hair tied in a bun, the whole of it reminded Riley of the “geeky” girls in school. The ones who took that bookworm aesthetic and ran with it. Maybe he would have noticed something off about her if he had noticed the nearly imperceptible shifting of the blinds on the house the woman was in front of, the anxious eyes glancing through the crack, disappearing just as quickly as they appeared. Maybe if he had noticed that she was unusually alone on this street, out where she might fall prey to more unsavory types. If he had noticed the confident way she stood, maybe he would have been warier. But Riley didn’t notice any of those things. Suddenly, she spun around, so rapidly her wide round glasses nearly slipped off her nose. “Sparks!” She exclaimed, causing Riley to start. She seemed more startled than angry that he was there. Struggling to regain her composure, she took a step closer. “Who are you and why are you right sparking there?!” Riley was taken aback by the outburst, leaving both of them a bit flustered. Instinctively, he reached forward and placed his palm on the dark asphalt, drawing the heat from it. He hesitated in that bent position for a second, then pushed up, acting as if he was just trying to stand. The heat pulsing in him, the pain in his leg made his eyes slightly wild. He cracked a smile as he regarded the woman—or young woman, after seeing her face—and spoke. “Call me Riley, if you like. I’m here because I just walked a long sparking way and decided to take a rest. Why are you here? And don’t be rude, introduce yourself.”

After the call ended, Kokichi cried out, “I am not your sidekick! I am your friend!” Liam turned around in his seat to see a comically exaggerated arrow protruding from their heart and a fat tear roll down their face. “Your friend’s major league rude.” Liam ran his hand through his hair. “Calm down! She didn’t know anything about you other than what I told her. She made an assumption, albeit an incorrect one. You are my friend.” He sorted through the information Margaret had just given him. John Delough. Wallflower. Hermes. Another mystery man he had to find. “Now we have another job to do, great,” he muttered. Since Delough had disappeared a few years ago, it was no wonder why the Circle’s intel on Edmonton was mostly outdated. Why hadn’t they invested more resources in the city? Distracted by his thoughts, Liam rapped his fingers on the steering wheel. There were a few ways they could go about finding Karabiner, the end goal. One, find Delough. Easier said than done. Hopefully, he is still alive and willing to work with them. Two, go straight to Karabiner himself. Liam had an inkling of how to do that, and it involved a few business transactions. Margaret had said that he was authorized to use Circle funds. “Either way, the first thing to do is to start driving around,” Liam said, breaking the silence. He fiddled with the audio for a moment and the familiar Elvis came through the speakers. We’re caught in a trap I can’t walk out I can’t because I love you too much, baby As the guitar played, Liam put the van into drive and maneuvered out to the main refinery road. Why can’t you see What you’re doing to me When you don’t believe a word I say? We can’t go on together With suspicious minds (with suspicious minds) And we can’t build our dreams On suspicious minds

Liam activated the com from the dash and waited as the signal transferred. Margaret had wired all of the Circle’s coms to work on a specific frequency that made it very difficult to intercept and allowed for long-distance communication in the absence of repeaters. After a moment, Bear picked up. “Hey Moose.” “Hey Bear,” Liam replied. “Checking in from Edmonton. Safe and sound.” “Good to know you got out of that scrape easily. How did you manage that?” Liam hesitated and glanced back at Kokichi. Before he could say anything, there was a shuffling noise from the com, and Bear’s voice chimed in, “Hold on, Moose, Aunt M wants a word with you.” There was a bit more shuffling and a matronly voice came through the com, stern and sophisticated. “Agent Moose,” Margaret said. “Dr. Wilkins,” Liam replied. “I received a message Premier Notley concerning a sequence of events at one of her research facilities. A robbery, if I recall correctly. Now, I find the description of the vehicle very interesting—I’ll quote it for you, ‘a red Volkswagen van, with some sort of Epic-derived cloaking system.’” “Margaret, I can explain—” “No need. I’m not upset. In fact, I think it’s a good reminder for Anne that I’m still around. She offered to collaborate on a mission as well, which I’m considering, but I’m sure that she’d find a way to twist it to her favor.” “May I ask how you know Notley?” “Anne and I have some history together,” Margaret said. Her tone discouraged pressing the topic further. “How is your current objective coming?” “It’s been a slow start,” Liam admitted. He pictured Margaret’s displeased face, staring at him all the way from Headquarters. “Information on Karabiner’s whereabouts is vague at best.” “I expected. It seems that Bear didn’t debrief you with all of the intel we had on the subject.” A distant “Sorry!” was heard. Margaret continued. “Half of the reason that you are in Edmonton is to establish intel on the city. The Circle used to have an informant in the area until a few years ago, when he suddenly ceased communications. During his service to us, he went be the codename “Hermes.” His associates referred to him as “Wallflower,” but his real name is John Delough. The nature of his disappearance is unknown, though it’s entirely possible he was found by Doubletake’s minions or died in an incident. There is a possibility that Delough is alive, and if anything, mentioning his name might gain you favor among those close to him. He alternated from a location on Jasper and 107 Street and a place near 93 and 104. “If he is alive, or someone who is willing to work with you is, they might be your best bet on pinpointing the location of Karabiner. Tread carefully when navigating through the city center, and I authorize you to distribute your allocated funds to accomplish your means.” Liam nodded. “Okay. However, there is something that you might want to be aware of…” There was a pause on the other side. “What might that be, Moose?” Margaret asked. Liam glanced back at Kokichi again. “I picked up an… assistant. Don’t worry, they’re on board and have already helped the mission in a crucial way. Agent—” “Awesomesauce!” Kokichi interjected from the back. “You can’t be Agent Awesomesauce!” Liam called back. “You what?” Margaret burst in, just short of shouting. “And ‘they?’ How many people have you let in on this?” “They’re nonbinary,” Liam replied. “Ah. I respect that. This individual has been listening in on our conversation?” Margaret asked, slightly more subdued. “Fine. I’ll be Agent Honeybadger, cuz we’ve got the animal thing going on,” Kokichi decided. Margaret took that as an answer. “Well, Agent Honeybadger, I welcome you as an unofficial member of the Circle of the Shield for the time being. Moose, do not acquire any more sidekicks without my permission.” “Yes ma’am,” Liam replied, and Margaret terminated the connection.

By the way, Sazedezas, Riley is pretty close to Arachnerd's territory. Want to stage a meetup?

Please no. Though Nighthound would definitely qualify as S9 in my book. Another reason why Liam is trying to eliminate Karabiner.