POV: Sayaka
Threats imply negotiation. If the assassin doesn’t want to have a conversation, the threat is pointless.
Sayaka was open to negotiation with Kai, so she threatened. Sayaka had seen many horrible things in her life, and this most recent drama didn’t make her top 100. Especially since the idea of Runa as a victim was dense.
Sayaka wasn't convinced the switch was accidental. The Drakes had different-colored shirts. Sayaka had a shield, the other didn’t. Baggage and Mio had been standing by the right doors. The Runas were having fun in the middle of the room. And neither one said, ‘Wrong Runa.’ Sure.
Kai grabbing her wrist was kind of cool though. And if he had just hit Baggage for any reason other than reflex it would have been refreshing. She was still wearing the Chthonic dress too, which made it extra good. However, he wasn't any more in control than a rabid dog. Watching monsters fight each other was more entertaining.
As he was now, he couldn’t be allowed near children, even young adult ones. Not his fault, but it was his responsibility.
Baggage was still down in the snow.
Sayaka poked Baggage with her foot. “Don’t lie in the snow. You’ll ruin your demon cult dress.”
Baggage looked up, yep Kai had gotten her good on the jaw.
Baggage said, “Runa is-”
“In the wrong universe, yeah I figured it out when you started to tell him.” Sayaka interrupted.
“Is Runa alright?” Baggage hadn’t moved from the snow.
“I’m not telling you anything until you get up.”
Baggage stood and walked to the air sled without being told. Excellent.
“Will you really keep him from his kids?” Baggage asked.
“I already have. He needs to convince me to change my mind or find another way home. Runa might be able to do it. If he can get back to the castle in time there will probably be people who can send him back. It’s easy, right?”
Baggage explained, “Not easy, just easier than pulling him here. Unless someone locks him down here, he could eventually snap back on his own. And he killed guards, the castle might not help him.”
The snow crunched under their feet as they walked back to the air sled. Wind brushed the tops of pine trees and Baggage shivered. She should have brought something warmer.
“He’s blaming other people than me for bringing him here now. I think that’s progress.” Baggage said.
Sayaka was blunt, “Baggage, better not turn into a monologue where you condemn yourself for being struck; I’m not in the mood to listen to it.”
Baggage smiled wryly, “So you have days when you are in the mood?”
“Plenty.”
Oh, yes. Young Miss, you have no idea.
Baggage was silent until they got to the air sled. “Did you ever have times when you found out everyone is much different from what you expected?”
“Not since becoming an assassin. Go inside, it's warmer. I’ll heal you.”
“Thanks, it’s hard when I have to do it in a mirror.”
When Runa arrived, she glared at both of them and waited a moment.
“I’m in the wrong universe.”
“We know,” said Sayaka.
“I’m sorry,” said Baggage.
“That’s all I get?”
“It’s identical to yours except for the parts Drake influenced,” said Baggage.
“Everyone hates you anyway, so who cares?” said Sayaka.
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“You girls were my friends.”
“Maybe we can be too. I liked the other Runa,” offered Baggage.
“The wrong me has hallucinations and makes bad decisions,” said Sayaka.
Runa frowned then suddenly started coughing and grabbing at her neck.
When she finished, Sayaka said, “Runa, take over healing Baggage.”
“I suppose. Why?”, agreed Runa.
“Because you were making out in the tower most of the time. You need to think about something else. I'm destroying any dress or skirt I see that’s shorter than two cubits.”
“What?!”
Baggage said, “It’s too much. All her clothes are either too small or have the laces all the way down the side. And before you ask, she’s taller than me, so mine won’t work.”
“She could probably wear that Chthonic Elf dress,” said Sayaka attempting to bring sanity to the world.
Baggage was quiet and looked at the floor.
Sayaka said slowly, “Baggage. Don’t you dare tell me that when you saw your other self wearing something similar, you decided that you liked the clothes made by people willing to enslave you.” Sayaka said in clipped tones.
Baggage’s face turned bright red.
Sayaka said, Ladies. I’ll be up top. Stop trying to play games with the hero. Wear respectable clothes. Act properly. I know dozens of homicidal maniacs who can behave better.”
She took a small heater and went up to the roof of the coach. She cleared her mind and rested as best as she was able.
She waited. He was probably out there fueled by self-hatred and rage, there was no reason to worry.
- - -
The sun dipped low on the horizon. Baggage thumped on the roof and she poked her head up. “Hey, Sayaka? Does this air sled have camouflage when it’s stopped like our old one?”
“Yeah.”
“Is it really good?”
Dammit. Elf magic. It’d be awesome. Drake was probably lost.
“Can’t you just find his soul?” asked Sayaka.
“Do you have a slab of obsidian? Because otherwise it’ll be slow.”
Sayaka stood up on the roof of the air sled’s coach. The sky was mostly clear now, but there were clouds drawing near. Of course.
“Is Runa going to be a pain about this?” asked Sayaka.
“Not since it started getting dark.”
“Get to work on finding him. I can track, so we’ll combine methods.”
“OK.” Baggage touched Sayaka’s forehead. “That’s to make sure your protection from the tower’s confusion lasts. Runa said she’ll stay at the air sled and make bright lights so we can find it. We’ll have to count on the tower to keep monsters else away.”
“Fine. Let’s go.”
Baggage was wearing her pants and tunic instead of elf clothes. That was good to see. She was also wearing the hero’s coat. He hadn’t bothered with it. They had only been walking a short distance in the daytime to the tower.
“You told him two hours, right?” asked Baggage.
“Yeah,” said Sayaka as the sunset began.
“You were thinking of elf hours, I bet. It's winter. Your daytime hours are shorter and he’s not used to magic. He probably went too far for too long and couldn’t get back.”
Sayaka swore. She wasn’t used to working in groups, not an excuse, just a weak spot. She grabbed the small magical heater.
Fortunately, the big stompy man made a lot of tracks. Baggage was able to point them in a general direction. Between the two of them, they found Drake sitting under a tree, freezing.
“Go”, said Baggage.
“Are you sure?” asked Sayaka as she handed over the heater. She could jog back to the air sled. Her odds were better than Baggage’s.
“Yeah,” said Baggage.
“Nothing has changed, Baggage. He’s the same guy.”
“I know,” she said.
Sayaka shrugged and jogged back to Runa and the air sled. This was on Baggage now. As long as he could control himself, Sayaka wouldn’t stand in the way.
Everyone had problems. Sayaka wasn’t going to care about anything that didn’t fit into a Sayaka-sized piece of Tenka.
Probably.
- - -
POV: Baggage
She set the heater near Drake and kept at least a meter away. She squatted down to look at him. He was freezing and miserable. He might have thought he was going to die and that was a real possibility until she came along.
He had been up front and honest. He told them he wasn’t ready to be around people. He meant it. On Earth, Drake had gone into the woods to be alone for a week and a half. Having people nearby probably felt to him like walls closing in.
Tenka had been summoning heroes for roughly two thousand years. It was the first place where a citadel had appeared and they had outlasted the rest of the world when the other citadels arrived. The hero system wasn’t perfect, but it did well.
To put it simply: Drake could not be the first hero with circumstances. The hero needed a buffer between himself and everyone else. That was supposed to be her job. In a way, she was to protect him from social threats. Right here and right now, that social threat would be herself.
The heater gave a soft magic light, a dark ochre.
“Can you stand?” she asked quietly.
His face was a rictus of many emotions. Joy was not one of them. He didn’t say anything. He sat up and moved his hands to the heater. His body was shaking and his teeth were chattering.
“Put this on,” she threw his coat to him like a blanket. He wore it like one. Drake probably couldn’t move well. His shoulder had to be killing him.
She couldn’t help more. Baggage didn’t want to get too close for her own reasons, and he had to overcome a few obstacles. Not for her sake, but his own.
“Drake, the way to Ethan and Lily is to come with me. Can you do that?”
He nodded his head slowly.
“Do you need more time?”
He nodded his head a little faster.
When Drake arrived in Tenka, the first thing Sayaka noticed was that he didn’t want to hurt girls. Today he was, without question, a violent, brutal man. Seven years ago, he was a good one. That transition from peaceful to violent must have occurred between those times.
She wasn’t going to like exploring the damage done.
Her chest tightened. A lump formed in her throat.
“Drake,” she said slowly. “Tell me about jail.”
“I hate it,” he said, eyes closing from pain. “I hate it. I hate it. I hate it…”
He would be ready to go after he had said what he needed to say. At least for now.
