59. Simple Solutions

The raw shock of Thea, of all people, ordering me to stay silent about my own obligate slavery short-circuits my thought processes. Figuratively speaking, of course. The crystalline components that pass for my circuits are fine, it’s just… what am I supposed to say? What am I supposed to do?

I want to ask why she did this to me, but I can’t. I want to berate her for it, but I can’t. My thoughts fire off over and over, trying to figure out how to engage with this situation only to be reminded every time that I can’t. I can’t talk about Thea being my master. I can’t. She’s taken that from me. I can’t I can’t I can’t I… I’m doomed, aren’t I? It’s all just going to keep happening forever, I’m just going to be used again and again and—

Stop. Calm down. It’s Thea we’re talking about here. My one consistent ray of light in the prison of steel Melpomene trapped me in. This is… bad. This is really bad. But if anyone has earned the benefit of the doubt, it’s Thea. I can feel how anxious she is, how upset and sad and frightened and guilty. There’s no part of this she’s looking forward to, not like Melpomene was. Whatever this is, it’s an act of desperation.

So… I know what I do need to ask.

“What do I need to know?”

It’s a simple question, but one that gives my new master the opportunity to show me how she wishes to be served. Whatever is going on right now, she’s upset, and it’s my job to fix that for her. Thea’s eyes widen a bit, and she takes her hands off my face, hesitating only for a moment before she starts to speak.

“…You’re free,” she tells me, her tail flicking with agitation behind her. “You’re a human soul operating entirely under your own free will. As long as that’s true, the Preservers won’t take you away.”

Ah. Okay. That… starts to explain things. See? It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay. This is a good thing, right?

“Where are we right now…?” I ask.

“The Fort Collins Earth Guardian Headquarters,” Thea answers. “So a Preserver could just pop out of nowhere at any time.”

“What happened?” I ask.

“Castalia nearly destroyed you. Mel told me she did destroy you. But then a few months later, Nana and I got into a fight with some of the Earth Guardians, and they mentioned you, and I asked Mel about it, and she… she just went ballistic. I’ve never seen her do anything like that in my life, and I just… I got scared. I grabbed everything I thought I could carry and ran away to turn myself in. I somehow managed to be allowed to fix you, and I was told I needed to free you, but… well. It. Took a very long time, because the system that keeps you bound is built directly into the part of you that houses your soul. And Uma’gabo started getting really impatient.”

Okay. Okay, this makes sense. She’s not betraying me. Of course she’s not betraying me. Hell, she betrayed Melpomene for me. She’s an angel. I never should have doubted her.

It sounds like she couldn’t figure out how to break my chains at all, but she must have figured out how to change who my chains consider to be their wielder, since she swapped that control to herself. And the reason we’re going to be forced to keep that a secret is because someone—presumably a Preserver—is looking for any excuse to do something nasty to me.

“I understand, Thea. Thank you,” I assure her. “Who is Uma’gabo?”

“Another Preserver,” Thea shrugs. “Uma’tama’s assistant, I guess? They’re nowhere near as… pleasant. Or as used to humans.”

Okay, that’s pretty much what I assumed, but confirmation is good. God, I still can’t believe how long it’s been. I look down at myself, getting some visual confirmation of what my proprioception systems have already noted. Most of my plating is missing and nowhere to be found, though there are some partly-rebuilt pieces of it here and there. So my internals are very exposed—transformation stone included, so I assume Thea just couldn’t remove that either—but otherwise my body seems almost completely repaired. I should be able to walk, so I go ahead and scoot to the edge of the worktable, letting my legs dangle off the side. I’m about to hop off when I sense three magical signatures appear all at once.

“We’ve got company,” I report. “Earth Guardians.”

“Oh, they’re back,” Thea says hesitantly. “Well, uh, they’re probably going to notice you, so… don’t attack anybody?”

Understood. I cannot attack anybody. Better than the orders I’m used to, I suppose. Still…

“I wasn’t planning on it,” I say flatly, “but thank you for the clear instructions.”

She flinches, and I internally wince. Shit. Of course that would upset her, why did I say that?

“Good job, both of you,” I hear Amaterasu say as the three Earth Guardians get closer. “Our coordination is getting better. Aurora, you are becoming much more skilled with flight.”

“Thank you!” Aurora says happily.

“Veritas, your control is improving,” Amaterasu continues.

“I wish my strength was improving,” Veritas complains.

“It is. Control is strength,” Amaterasu insists.

“You say that, but you’re not getting any stronger either,” Veritas grumbles under her breath. I can still hear it, of course, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Amaterasu can, too.

“H-hey, you’re both way stronger than me now!” Aurora butts in, probably to head off an argument. “I still can’t believe you managed to class up before I could, Veritas!”

Red mage. Red mage. I’m calling it, she’s a red mage now. That poor kid has some serious anger issues. Or… well, she had them the last time I saw her, which was just over eight months ago, an absolutely insane amount of time that charges my battery every time I think about it.

My power reserves have increased to 12%.

Right, speaking of: I really need more power. I do not feel safe in the middle of enemy territory on twelve fucking percent. I know my body has needed to use all the power it’s been gaining by putting my soul through the memory wiggler on self-repair, but seriously? It can’t even get me out of power-saving mode first?

Fun fucking way to spend eight months, by the way. Loved having my worst moments replayed on an amnesiac version of me to farm maximum emotional damage. You know, I’m starting to think the slave robot designed by insane revolutionaries for the express purpose of trying to inflict pain on their tormenters maybe kind of sucks, actually.

…Jury’s still out on whether it’s worse than my old body or not, though. It’s a close competition.

“What matters is that we defeated the monsters,” Amaterasu says. “The city remains safe for now. The rest will come with—”

She cuts herself off as she passes by the doorway to Thea’s workshop, though ‘doorway’ is a bit of a misnomer for something without a door. The way to the hallway is clear, so all three magical girls immediately stop to stare at the robot which has, apparently, been lying functionally dead on this table for the better part of a year… who is now sitting up. Oh, boy. This is going to be really awkward. But… hey. I don’t have any orders against speaking anymore. I give them a polite wave.

“Hey,” I greet them. “Sorry about everything before.”

“It talks!?” Veritas yelps, Amaterasu making several surprised Japanese noises at the same time. Aurora just opens her mouth in silent shock. All three of them are in their human forms, not their incarnate forms, though I do see Veritas’ hand creep toward her stone.

Also: I totally called it. Veritas’ stone is red now. I wish I could feel smug about that, but it’s mostly kind of sad, isn’t it?

“I can talk!” I confirm. “Hi. Thanks for keeping me safe for… eight months, apparently?”

“…I am going to go wake Castalia,” Amaterasu says, stiffly turning and continuing down the hall. “Aurora, call Uma’tama!”

“R-right!” Aurora stammers in assent, pulling out her cellphone and speed-dialing a number.

“Thea. Explain!” Veritas orders.

“W-well I did what I was told to do!” Thea insists. “I fixed her! She’s free now, so she’s not going to hurt anyone.”

“The robot doesn’t look fixed to me!” Veritas insists. “It looks like a creepy robo-skeleton!”

“My plating is just there to help protect me and better conduct my shielding capabilities,” I explain. “Well, and to make me look less gross, but I can run perfectly fine without it. Also, can you please not call me an ‘it?'”

“Uh… right,” Veritas says, relaxing only slightly. “Sorry. You’re really not evil now?”

“I was never evil on purpose,” I promise her. “I really am sorry about all the times we fought.”

“Uma’tama! Oh, thank goodness you picked up,” Aurora says into her phone. “The robot’s awake. Er… Luna, right?”

The last question is directed at me. I nod in affirmation.

“Not Muramasa?” Veritas asks.

“Absolutely not,” I answer immediately. “Please never call me that.”

“…Okay,” the girl agrees cautiously.

I certainly can’t blame her for her suspicion, but it still kind of hurts.

“We’re here!” a flying cat says, suddenly appearing in a puff of northward magic. “Oh our goodness gracious, you really are conscious. Castalia will be beside herself. Metaphorically! Because that is a metaphor that means ‘overcome with emotion.’ For some reason. Oh, right, hello! We are Uma’tama.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Thea,” I say, holding out my hand to offer a handshake.

“Oh! We appreciate the offer, but unfortunately our Earth forms aren’t designed to enjoy being scratched behind the ears,” Uma’tama sighs. “I can’t help but be jealous of real cats… er. Wait. We’re getting distracted. If we understand the situation correctly, you are a human named ‘Luna,’ correct? Or… were a human named Luna. Or were a human, but are still named Luna!”

“My name is Luna, and I was previously human, yes,” I say, tapping the crystal that Thalia’s transformation stone stuck itself to. “My soul is in here, apparently.”

“Most likely, yes!” they confirm, their voice chipper. “Goodness, goodness, goodness, this is quite a pickle. Metaphorically!”

I’m interrupted before I can respond by a second puff of happiness, from which another flying cat emerges.

“Tama!” the Preserver snaps. “Why did you not inform us that the artifact has regained consciousness?”

“I only just found out myself!” Uma’tama responds. “It would seem our Guardians are correct, and the human soul contained within the artifact is fully intact and aware.”

“We see,” the Preserver that is presumably Uma’gabo hums. “That is unfortunate.”

“No? It isn’t?” Uma’tama says, tilting their head. “It is bad when humans die, Gabo.”

“We know that,” Uma’gabo insists. “But is this not a form of death? The artifact is not alive, and it contains not a mote of a human’s physical form.”

“Irrelevant,” Uma’tama shrugs. “The soul was born from a human, has the memories of a human, and is even compatible with the technology we designed specifically for humans. We will accept no further argument on this matter.”

“Very well. This creates an obvious issue, however. A human cannot be in possession of an Antipathy artifact,” Uma’gabo says.

“Yes, we’ve been considering that, and—”

A third plume of joy cuts them off, but this one is unlike the prior two. It doesn’t herald the arrival of a Preserver, and it is far less restrained. From a room well down the hall, the familiar burst of happiness that accompanies Castalia entering her incarnate form radiates outwards, more powerful than ever before.

“Luna!” Castalia’s voice cries as she rockets into the room fast enough for the wind to nearly topple Aurora over. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her raise her voice like that before.

“Luna,” she says again, stopping directly in front of me. “Are… you Luna?”

God. So that wasn’t just another dream. She really has been watching over me all this time. If I could, I’m sure I would already be crying. She did it. She really did it.

She saved me.

“Yes,” I tell her. “It’s me. Thank you, Castalia. Thank you so much.”

She crashes into me, giving me the closest thing she can to a hug with her one stub arm.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I could have stopped all of this. I could have stopped Melpomene sooner.”

“The fact that you stopped her at all is enough,” I tell her. “Are you… really not mad at me at all?”

She pulls away.

“Were you doing any of those things by your own free will?” she asks.

“Well, no,” I confirm. “I never wanted to hurt any of you.”

“I know,” she says. “I could tell. So of course I forgive you. You are free now, right?”

Ah.

“Yeah,” I confirm.

“…You are free now, right?” she presses, because… well, of course she does. She’s an empath. She can feel my hesitance, my regret, my guilt… but she doesn’t necessarily know their source. I can still lie my way out of this, as much as I hate that I have to.

“I don’t have to obey a single word from Melpomene anymore,” I say. “It just… doesn’t quite feel real yet, I think. I’m still a little disoriented. Has it really been eight months…?”

“Yes,” Castalia confirms.

“Well damn,” I sigh. “You’re going to have to catch me up on a lot.”

“Yes,” Castalia agrees again.

This is… all just so overwhelming. I wasn’t expecting this. I was expecting fallout, I was expecting people to be angry about what I did, I was expecting justice. I wasn’t expecting to be shot forward so far into the future that everyone else has already figured out what happened to me and processed it all.

I haven’t even processed it all yet. I was… I was so ready to kill her.

“Right!” Uma’tama interrupts my thoughts, clapping their paws together to get everyone’s attention… though the soft little beans don’t really make any noise. “Now that everyone is here, we do need to discuss the elephant in the room. Metaphorically!”

“Uma, you don’t need to say ‘metaphorically’ every single time you use a phrase like that,” Thea sighs. “We can already tell you don’t mean it literally.”

“But what if there was an elephant in the room, and simply no one saw it?” Uma’tama asks.

“That’s… the whole point of that phrase is the idea that there’s no way you couldn’t see an elephant, so if people aren’t discussing it, it must be on purpose.”

“We would still rather not risk it…”

“Wait, wait, back up a second,” I say, interrupting their byplay. “What do you mean ‘everyone is here?’ Where’s Eliza? Did something happen to her?”

Silence. Oh, fuck. No. No, no, no. Please, no.

“She’s dead,” Veritas says bluntly.

No! Damn it!

“God,” I swear. “I’m so sorry, I… what happened?”

Some sick part of me hopes it was unrelated. That maybe she was killed months after everything, while I was still asleep.

“She chased after Melpomene into the Dark World, and she didn’t come back,” Amaterasu says.

“Wait, is that it?” I ask. “Did no one go after her?”

“We’re afraid we have no idea which fragment she ended up in,” Uma’tama says. “The rifts Melpomene opened were not like standard Dark World portals. So far as we can tell, they could have gone anywhere.”

“Okay, but surely you went searching for her anyway?” I say.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“I did,” Veritas says. “I searched every single portal we found until Uma’tama made me stop.”

“Veritas dear, the crystals growing on your body—”

“I don’t care about the stupid crystals!” Veritas snaps. “Even the evil robot thinks I’m right, we should be looking for her! We don’t even have a body to bury!”

“In that case, do we know for sure that she’s dead?” I ask. “Nanaya survived in the Dark World for months without food and water. Apparently, that’s how she got to America.”

“She’s dead,” Thea sighs, shaking her head. “Melpomene told me to my face that she did it. I know she’s a liar, but… I don’t think she was lying about this.”

Fuck. Well, there’s two hopes shattered. I got one of my only friends killed.

“Eliza… I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “Castalia, is Chloe alright? She must be devastated.”

Castalia goes stiff.

“I… haven’t checked,” she admits.

“What? Seriously?” I ask.

“No, I… with the state you were in… and I’ve been very busy…”

So Chloe lost three friends. All at the same time. Jesus Christ. Wait, actually…

“Is Chloe alive!?” I ask in a panic. “How many people got killed in our fight?”

“Thirteen,” Castalia answers. “Jenson Mccarthy, Sean Hart, Dylan Hughes, Rebecca Graham, Rosie Stewart, Eva Lewis, Eve Read, Leila Church, Aiden Robertson, Jess Burgess, Casey Gibson, Ashley Wallace, and Jude Thompson. Six also sustained permanent injury.”

“Fuck,” I say. I recognize a few of those names. No one I really knew, but I had class with them.

“It is not your fault,” Castalia says. “The evacuation effort was swift and largely effective. Most of them died from hostile magical overdose rather than direct attack, which would be a result of Melpomene’s incarnate transformation. The ones that did die from direct attack were killed in the fight between Melpomene and myself. By the time you began using particularly destructive methods, the survivors had escaped.”

“But the fight was at least partly because of me,” I insist. “If I had just tried harder, or… no. If I hadn’t avoided Melpomene every single time she started having an episode, or worse, goaded her on, maybe she wouldn’t have completely snapped. There were so many things I could have tried, but then it was just… way too late.”

“Luna, you were literally being mind-controlled!” Thea butts in. “I’ve worked on you enough to know how deep that control ran. There was nothing you could have done. I was the one who stuck my head in the sand about everything.”

“I did not wish to believe the truth either,” Castalia reassures her.

Amaterasu cuts off Thea’s response with a loud groan.