Chapter Text
I wish someone had told me that bus rides were boring. First two or so hours were by far the most entertaining as I scrambled to not get thrown out of my seat by Charon´s impressive drifting, but once I got used to being constantly shaken (not stirred) it lost its appeal. Another thing entirely was that Don Quixote had a memory of a goldfish and after about five minutes of peaceful silence she began to recount the stories of her mighty adventures to everyone unfortunate enough to still have a sense of hearing. The collective groaning that followed somehow gained musical qualities somewhere along the line, which was at least kind of notable.
Seeing no other option to save everyone from yet another long tale of vanquishing a vicious beast (something about a Killer Bunny. I half expected a holy hand-grenade to also make an appearance, however that didn´t happen), I decided to ask the most roadtrip-coded question to ever exist.
„So… what´s the current destination?“
„I was wondering about that as well.“ Gregor piped from the front of the bus. „Where we´re off to, Vergilius?“
I didn´t quite make out whose canto it could´ve been, yet. I supposed it wasn´t unlikely that I have joined the group just before their first official assignment. The possibility made me uneasy, as the mental image of Hermann formed in my brain. Then again, maybe there was a way to save Yuri if that was the case. Maybe, I could help everyone take the golden bough and bolt out of the L corp branch before Hermann even showed up.
My hopes were crushed under a heavy boot the very next moment.
„This time… we´re headed to K Corp´s Nest.“ Vergilius spoke, making it known that the second worst possibility was the reality I found myself in. I had barely any time to mentally digest the information before Heathcliff butted into the conversation.
„District 11, eh? Job´s taking me to all sorts of places I´d never have thought to visit.“ His chipper attitude juxtaposed against what was coming was… definitely something.
„´Tis home to another great individual! And you are certain to find a souvenir shop there! I´ve always yearned for a limited-edition figure set!“ Don excitedly wiggled in her seat.
The conversation then turned to food of all things. I turned my gaze out of the bus window instead of joining in, pretending to observe the run-down architecture in the orange-tinted light of a fading sun.
I definitely didn´t want to look at Sinclair, who was already trembling and breathing erratically. There was nothing I could do about his situation. In all likelihood, his hometown was already massacred and the stage set for his arrival. In my thoughts, I´ve almost forgotten that I wasn´t just a mere observer anymore.
„Alighiero, I´ve noticed a certain trend. Whenever our next destination is revealed, one of us has a visceral reaction to it. You also mentioned having some knowledge about the individual Sinners. It would probably be the best if you-“
„No.“ I flatly replied, not looking away from the window. Instead of the world beyond the glass, I stared at my reflection. I looked terrible. „Not yet. Please, Dante, let me first figure out how to walk in this world before you ask me to sprint.“
„Alright.“
Faust had just reappeared from the back of the bus. I didn´t know how she managed it, but she was holding a folded up uniform. It quickly dawned on me that my artistically ripped blue denim jeans and a short sleeved t-shirt with an image of a shrimp and text „It´s Shrimple“ probably wasn´t up to dress-code within the Company.
„Mephistopheles and its passengers will soon undergo an immigration process. Since you are now part of the company it is for the best you also look the part.“
„I figured that might be the case.“
Another thing nobody told me was that tying a tie is a 500 step process at the end of which you don´t have anything that even remotely resembles a proper tie. My only solace in that moment was that there was no one to see me struggle because I was in Dante´s room, as advised by Faust. With a sigh I dropped left the tie out altogether, depending on the coat to do all the heavy lifting when it came down to appearing professional. The most cringe-worthy of course was the ID card. Apparently, Faust was in charge of picking a photo for it.
From my phone.
There were only a handful of selfies and each was more embarrassing than the other. I didn´t want to even THINK about what she must´ve seen in the camera roll. I wasn´t entirely sure myself what kinds of things were on there.
As I folded up my old clothes, I felt something bumpy in the pocket and reached in. To anyone else a small river rock and handful of caramel candies would appear as barely anything, but to me, they were treasures of untold value. I stashed both into my coat pockets which I was happy to find were more spacious than the jeans pockets were.
Catching my reflection in the glass of a picture-frame once again, I could however not deny that I looked much cooler, tie or no tie. Smiling at myself, I thought, no, I believed that maybe I did have a hold on things. After all, I knew what was coming. I could plan ahead, which not even Faust was able to do.
There, I noticed it. Bright light, reflecting off of a glassy surface of an object that sat on Dante´s desk.
My. Fucking. Phone.
At first I reached for it, almost making a vow to not let it out of my sight ever again… but then, I realized another thing. The border check was likely to cover any sort of equipment, not just weapons in the traditional sense. For that reason, back of the bus was probably a much more secure place for it. I sighed, drawing my hand away from it.
„I´ll come back for you.“ I whispered to the device like it was my very own Han Solo in Carbonite. With that done, I walked out of the room. As expected, there was a puddle of vomit on the floor. I decided not to bring it up.
„You are not wearing the tie.“ Faust immediately commented after assessing my appearance.
„I wrestled it for good ten minutes and now it is wrinkled. Even if you tied it properly it would just look ridiculous at this point.“
„Don´t worry ´bout that, sweetie, neither me nor Ryoshu bother with those. And Fau, you don´t even wear a dress shirt, let alone the tie, so who are you to comment on what they are wearing, hmm?“
I suppose I didn´t expect the second or third tallest person on the bus to jump to my defense like that. Obvious that was the only reason for a silly little feeling that definitely, positively was not anything even comparable to a crush. Comradery, yes, it was definitely just comradery. I would not engage in hijinks of a romantic nature and I absolutely wasn´t about to swoon over someone just because they showed me the tiniest shred of kindness. What was I some fan-fiction protagonist?
I turned my head towards Ishmael who was discussing something with others. „A company as big as ours should get a free pass. Not to mention, breaking through using the method dear Ryoshu suggested will take ages. How badly must you underestimate a Nest actively governed by a Wing to say that?“
„Oh, I see, no one´s gonna take into account how much I´ll suffer for that CIDER, huh?“ Dante complained. I nudged their arm.
„You and me both. There´s also that option.“
Dante seemed to be taken aback as if they were flustered over not considering that angle up until the very moment. „Uhhh, yeah. That´s not good.“
„This is this, and that is that. Things could and will get much worse.“
Of course I wasn´t going to tell Dante that things would get worse very soon. Especially when absolutely no one was paying any attention to me OR Dante figuring out a pretty crucial point.
„Limbus Company has backing from shareholders of a wide array of fields.“ Vergilius spoke to the Sinners with the authority of a tired teacher who was explaining a group of five-year-olds to not pick their noses when he´s not looking.
„Oh, do you happen to know the shareholder of H Corp, then? They once personally visited our home because my younger sibling insisted upon having a red passport as a kid.“ Hong Lu butted in, just like one of the aforementioned hypothetical five-year-olds. At least he wasn´t picking his nose.
„No. I am but a humble Guide. I wouldn´t be in position to know such a thing. Besides, the question doesn´t otherwise seem like one that´s worth answering.“
„How harsh.“ Hong Lu hung his head, though he looked to be far from even remotely embarrassed.
„That leaves the route to the checkpoint as our concern. Thorough inspection at the border means that there is no shortage of people looking for an easy way in, including those who´d take the pass by force.“
„I can hear several interlopers surrounding the bus.“ Meursault interjected. Moment later there indeed was rapping against the bus door.
„Welp… off the bus we go I guess.“ Dante shrugged. „Not you, Alighiero, though.“
„Lucky me.“ I shrugged. As the Sinners stepped out I walked up to the window to watch the altercation from the safety of Mephistopheles.
„What are you doing?“ Vergilius asked. I couldn´t exactly give him a proper answer without any of the Sinners present, but I gave it a good old-fashioned student try.
„I have a hypothesis and I´d like to see if I´m accidentally right.“
I brushed away condensed water from the edge of one of the windows to get a clear view. As expected, the opponents were just Rats of the Backstreets. I didn´t fault them for being so pathetic, but there was a stark difference between desperate and pathetic and those who were so desperate they willingly walked to their death. This fight was no different, except I noticed what I´ve missed in the previous altercation due to being laser focused on holding my bleeding arm – the Rats had health bars and sanity gauges, just like in the game. I couldn´t make out anything further, but even that much was more than enough to put me on edge.
Just how much could I see if it was me commanding the Sinners?
My train of thought stopped dead in tracks as a disembodied head of a Rat slammed into the window and slid down, leaving a particularly nasty smudge of blood. Through the bloodied glass I locked eyes with Ryoshu. Standing there, covered in blood from head to toe, she looked like a proper demon. Wordlessly, I gave her a thumbs up.
„Remind me to never piss Ryoshu off. Just in case I forgot somewhere down the line.“
„Hmm.“ Vergilius nodded. I could only imagine what he must´ve thought I´ve said. I moved away from the dirty window. I was relieved to see that none of the Sinners were injured, just slightly covered in blood. Aside from Ryoshu, who looked like she just returned from a much more vicious version of La Tomatina.
Though most people met my little venture with complete ignorance, Faust´s piercing gaze let me know that she knew. Whether she knew that I knew was however still up for the debate.
The rest of the ride luckily went without any more delays. Charon was parking mumbling something to herself that I couldn´t quite make out because Don took my experimental observation of the group´s combat as typical biggest fan behavior – which naturally meant that I wanted to hear her rant about the individual strikes she made. If it wasn´t for Faust´s scrutinous gaze earlier, I might´ve actually listened to her.
„All right, off the bus. Time to get inspected.“ Vergilius commanded some fifteen minutes later. „Ah, and let me add this just in case some of you are feeling particularly inclined towards your usual antics: don´t go around causing a scene expecting things to go your way… because that will not be how things work in this particular place.“
From there we moved in almost a neat line, one after the other. The K Corp´s checkpoint was spacious and white, with all the architectural soundness of an airport and the inviting nature of a prison with the number of heavily armed guards. Though I knew why a Nest would have need to guard their territory so harshly, I could no shak off the feeling of unease. The same feeling appeared to be shared among the Sinners, too, with Dante being the owner of the ultimate poker face.
Sinclair was quietly sniffling behind me. I didn´t dare turn around to help Gregor and Rodya calm him down. Knowing what I knew, it would be a hollow and, in the end, useless action.
„How nice it is to see you so orderly standing in line and behave. Like a brood of chicks on an outing.“
„Ducklings.“ I muttered, mildly annoyed to be referred to as any sort of bird. When it came to Project Moon, anything that had wings or feathers was bound to be a problem. Me? I was so far from even distantly resembling a problem. I didn´t get in the way, I even put an effort to not disturb the existing timeline, which happened to be working quite nicely so far.
„Wait.. Why´re you...here?“ Ishmael stammered, evidently shocked that Vergilius stepped out of the bus.
„What made you follow us off the bus this time?“ Dante asked, adding to what would otherwise be pretty suspenseful event.
„Because this is a Nest, Dante.“ Vergilius relied matter-o-factly. „If someone were to cause trouble here, the responsibility would be bit too much for you to bear alone.“
The fact that Vergilius seemed genuinely crestfallen made me buy into the theory that he was missing his equivalent of iPad time. He did look like someone who could easily spend hours playing connect-3 type games on literally any kind of device, including a thermostat if conditions were so dire.
„The line´s moving quickly. It´ll be our turn in 10 minutes at most.“ Ishmael rambled in front of me. „Will all of us need to answer the immigration questions? They won´t be able to understand Dante or Alighiero, so what should we do about that?“
Maybe I´ve overstated my own unease. Compared to Ishmael I could´ve been mistaken for a monk under a vow of unconditional peace and calm or something.
„I was just about to get to that.“ Vergilius replied. „Listen up. The K Corp. Official will only ask very simple questions and your answers will too be concise. When asked about the nature of your stay, you will say: I´m here for business on behalf of Limbus Company, please refer to my work visa. Remember this exact phrasing, word for word. I´ll take care of the rest. All you need to prove is that you didn´t come here to cause trouble.“
Faust stepped in as well. „If memorization poses an issue for you, I suggest you keep your mouth shut and present your employee card instead.“
The information I was thankful for, but for someone as smart as Faust it was embarrassing that she seemingly ignored the fact than me and Dante had no choice but to shut up and present our employee cards. Still, it was the thought that counted.
„Keep calm and don´t cause trouble. The easiest tasks in the world.“ Dante ticked with sarcasm so potent I was positive even Vergilius could understand what they said.
Contrary to Dante´s worries, the check went by quite smoothly. One after the other, the Sinners, myself and Dante all passed without issues.
Then there was Don Quixote, whose singular functioning braincell took the leave the moment she was speaking to the K Corp official. Before I could open my mouth to alert Dante, I caught a glimpse of the scene myself.
„I have come here to liberate the weak and powerless!“ she proudly proclaimed.
Not far from her was a little child, reaching towards their parent in vain as the adult was being dragged away for an unknown offense. To say that it struck a familiar cord with me would be an understatement. I could never forget the pair of small hands sinking into watery depths as I could do nothing but watch.
I could feel my muscles tensing in the moment, as if my limbs were waiting for me to bolt to where Don stood and fist fight the fully decked-out military officer with an ability to insta-heal. If I was any less of a coward or if Don Quixote resigned herself to the cruelty of the system, there was no telling whether I would stop myself from doing just that.
„Release them at once. Can´t you see they are suffering?“ Don Quixote stubbornly continued in her crusade. „If you are unwilling to take action, then I shall do so myself.“
Almost immediately the official raised an alarm and bathed the area in a bright purple light as Don´t comically large lance made proportionally large hole in the barrier that separated the Backstreets immigration line from the one we were in. More armed forced poured in to neutralize the threat. By that point Don was already lying face down on the ground, taken out by a few sniper shots.
Things were indeed going about as smoothly as I remembered.
One thing I din´t actually expect was Vergilius pulling me back next to him. I turned to him in confusion, but he just shrugged.
„As a temporary hire, you legally bear no responsibility for this. That is all.“
Maybe he figure that the harm transference could apply to psychological harm of revivals as well. Maybe the laws really were that convoluted in the City. Or maybe he just wanted to be nice for once.
I doubted it was the last thing. I wasn´t Charon.
Though the K Corp. Security guards weren´t particularly strong, their healing abilities were surely annoying. Especially for Ryoshu who was getting pretty fed up with her opponents not bleeding for long enough after being slashed through. Even then, Dante and the Sinners seemed to manage. Of course, that was when Thor-lite decided to show up.
„MWAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!! In the height of chaos, I have arrived at last!!“
„Ah, there you are. K Corp´s superstar.“ Vergilius deadpanned in the most disinterested voice I´ve ever heard from him. Which wasn´t saying that much, but it sure was something to take into account.
„Greetings one and all! You are free to share stories of the heroic feats you are to witness here, but photographs and more will require permission from K corp!“ He was speaking into some sort of a recording device. I would probably be surprised by it if I didn´t see countless streamers and Youtubers doing the exact same thing. Well, maybe not exact. Last time I checked, murder was not allowed back home and it was likely to stay that way until the heat death of the universe – or until some maniac came along and decided that the Purge was a great idea to execute in real life.
All the same, I wanted to punch that spandex-clad mountain of audacity so, SO bad. It even seemed that Vergilius shared the same mindset, but neither of us could do anything without digging ourselves even deeper into trouble.
„Alas, I must attend magazine interview in half an hour, so I cannot overlinger. I pray you to understand.“
„Was wondering when you´d come.“ Vergilius sighed. „I heard you became a wagie serving a Wing, Siegfried.“
„Ahaha! Your tongue is as sharp as ever, dear fellow. And what is this little thing by your side? Have you assumed the role of a mentor while I wasn´t looking?“ He was looking at me and I was looking at him, trying my best not to glare.
„Don´t be ridiculous.“ Vergilius rolled his eyes. „They are a mere outside hire.“
„Ah, your friends over there must be the perpetrators of code purple, methinks.“
„Not exactly friends. I hope you understand that the two of us have nothing to do with this commotion.“
„In that case…“ Siegfried cracked his knuckles in preparation. His massive gloves crackled with electricity.
„Yup, I´m counting on you to give them a spicy lesson.“
I suddenly felt a splitting headache come over me. It only lasted for a brief moment, but that didn´t prevent it from being particularly potent. However, little migraine was nothing compared to what followed.
„OOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!“ Don Quixote´s scream could probably be heard outside of the building. As soon as she sprang to life and saw Siegfried, she assumed her full blown fangirl form.
„Don Quixote, what´s wrong?“ Dante asked, looking a little lost.
„TH- tha- tHe- th-tHA,… HE! THAT, THAT, THE MAN HIMSELF!!!!!!!!! She was pointing at Siegfried, absolutely buzzing with energy. Especially for someone who was dead just moments ago. Vergilius sighed at the view and whispered to Siegfried one last time.
„We´re in a hurry, so get this done in a minute if possible. And keep that clockhead out of this.“
„Hmm, a prosthetic, is it? Right then, make it 50 seconds!!!“ Siegfried grinned and quite literally threw himself into the fray.
One by one the Sinners fell down like bowling pins. The combat was so fast I could barely see Siegfried move around. Few lightning flashes later, everyone except for Dante was fried to crisp. I did not look forward to experiencing all that. Not in the slightest.
As Dante made their way towards us on the sidelines, Vergilius decided to speak again.
„About time they learned what happens if they kick up a ruckus in Nest, thinking they can get away with it.“ He was smiling. That shit-eating, grey-faced asshole was smiling as he looked upon the carnage before him. It was in that moment that I decided that I would never ever make his life any easier. No, I would pull as much bullshit as was humanly possible without dying and he would rue the day he made me his own personal hater.
„Dante, you may not remember it at the moment, but you, too used to be something of a bigwig… so to speak.“
„I-I was?“ Dante asked in disbelief, turning to me. I only shrugged and shook my head.
„I don´t know the specifics either.“
„However, your memory doesn´t wholly excuse your shortcomings as their manager. I´m sure you know what I mean.“
Long silence fell as Dante was lost in thought. „Taking back my head might not be for the best after all, Vergilius.“
„Ah, dear… I´ve got to tell them to put a microphone next time.“ Vergilius rubbed his forehead, probably trying his best to understand – and failing miserably. „I´ll take it you´ve gotten my point.“
„I wouldn´t worry about it too much, Dante. It´ll be a long time before you see your head again, and when you do, you won´t be the same person you are now anyway.“
„What´s that supposed to mean?“
„I don´t know myself. The source material is… kind of abstract.“ I really didn´t want to launch a discussion of the Divine Comedy. Especially not when Dante has barely even gotten into the loop of being stuck in Inferno. Another thing entirely was their identity, so carefully guarded by those who were in the know that theories ranged from plausible to completely unhinged.
In the uncertainty there was always the possibility that Dante was the Bus itself, Mephistopheles. Demon Manager from Hell definitely had a cool ring to it.
„Hurrah! 46.5 seconds! Another day, another heroic tale of justice written!!“
The alarm turned off as the corpses and blood littered the floor.
„Ah, it looks like the curtains have closed. Time to rewind, Dante.“ Vergilius commented. I, of course remained unacknowledged until I was leaning against the wall as the combined pain of 12 rewinds coursed through my body. The pain was of course gone as soon as the last of the Sinners raised to their feet, fully unharmed once more.
To say that I was perturbed about the lack of care among them would be an understatement.
„I´m sorry you had to go through… all that.“ Dante apologized. I couldn´t find any particularly nice words that wouldn´t turn into very loud swearing as soon as I opened my mouth, so I just nodded. I was too busy watching Vergilius slowly stewing next to Siegfried who was busy asking him all sorts of uncomfortable questions. Like, why he hasn´t showed up in the Avengers Annual Analysis of Actions Against Antagonists, also known as A.A.A.A.A.A. Which was coincidently the sound Vergilius was internally making.
„I don´t know what happened between these two but…. Vergilius is being a bit hostile here, right?“
„That´s an understatement. Looks like a corporate way of saying: I hate your guts and the only reason why I am not ripping them out of you right now is because mom is watching and would put me in time-out if I did anything like that.“
I reveled in how shocked by my explanation everyone was. Well, everyone aside from Ryoshu who found it slightly amusing.
„That is…“
„Not entirely inaccurate.“ Faust interjected. „Mr. Siegfried here could be described as a pro-Wing Fixer based on views he´s expressed. On the other hand, our guide Vergilius sought independence as a Fixer. He believed that a Fixer loses sight of their core principles the moment they become subordinate to an influential entity.“ Her explanation was clean and concise. At last, her pale blue eyes bore into me. „He is someone who is strict to those with power, after all.“
Against the obvious warning coming from Faust was placed the situation, once again involving none other than Don Quixote, who walked up to Siegfried, shaking with excitement.
„A fe-fa-fh-feh-af-afa-A FAN I am! I have collected figurines sculpted after you! Though I´ve yet to get my hands on limited editions…. I´ve set my heart on becoming a magnificent Fixer such as you!“
„AHA! An aspiring Fixer! I have little time to spare, but more than enough for an autograph!“
„I-Is that true? Then would you sign… an autograph… here… Ehehe.“
„Slow breaths, Don Quixote.“ Gregor muttered to her as she began hyperventilating, not so differently from Sinclair earlier, though the general vibe was completely turned on its head.
„Huzzah, that´s a job done well! Now then, until next we meet!! Hahahaha!!“ Siegfried leaped up with force I could only compare to a reverse Superhero landing. It was as annoyingly over-the-top as one could imagine.
In the end, the travel permit was acquired and Vergilius returned to the bus, as grumpy as ever.
„Ufu...wuhuhu...hehehaah.“ Don Quixote was as happy as could be, completely oblivious to the weight of the situation she triggered. I could only smile at her antics as she caressed some random sheet of paper with Siegfried´s autograph on it.
„I must be caught in a dream! Manager Esquire! Will you pinch my cheek just once?“
Dante was about to make a remark regarding that idea, but stopped as soon as we left the checkpoint. An armored van stopped before us. Of course, I was totally unphased by it.
„A newfound foe? Bold of them to challenge us here, right in front of a Nest´s checkpoint.“ Outis stepped in front of Dante, weapon at ready.
„This vehicle is from… LCC, the clearance department.“ Faust said just as quickly. As if on cue, the door of the van opened just as she finished her explanation.
„Ah, Jeez, what took you so long? We had to cycle three laps waiting for it to be over.“
Until the moment I saw Effie and Saude in flesh, it didn´t even cross my mind that they would be very much caught in the mess that was Nagel und Hammer. I was suddenly very uncomfortable with the idea of Effie dying.
„Oh, people from the Before Team, eh? Something about you looks different, I´ve gotta say.“ Gregor looked at them, trying to figure out what that something was. As if there was anything different besides their clothes.
„That was a disguise we had in order to infiltrate the casino. It was ultimately useless, though.“
„Still got that sharp tongue, huh?“ Gregor rolled his eyes as Dante… seemed quite shook up. I pitied them. They didn´t even do so much fumbling. Why were they even picked as the person to play the damn poker? They could´ve been the one crushed under a large metal cube. I supposed that the Before Team lacked intel on that, but it would be pretty crucial intel to know in any case.
„Pft…. Saude, you see that hand on the clock trembling? You´ll make them cry.“
„I was just being playful. In truth, I´ve come to the conclusion that even though all its oddities, LCB department has its own character.“
„Exactly. Wouldn´t have guessed you guys would drag another soul to your team, for example.“
I smiled uncomfortably as I was singled out by Effie. Besides the Sinners, nobody could understand me, so there wasn´t really any way for me to conveniently let them know just what kind of mess they were walking into. Not without letting everyone in on it and thus making myself permanently stuck on the bus and unable to do literally anything productive when I was sure that I could.
I needed to first and foremost prove that I was worth the effort to keep alive for who I was, not only because I was Dante´s walking Achiilles´ heel on top of their own general vulnerabilities.
„There was a set of unforeseeable circumstances. Anyway, weren´t the Before Team supposed to be on-site at this hour?“
„The others should be there already. We decided to wait for you because we had useful intel to share.“
„Well then, let´s hear it.“ I said, trying to push the conversation along in my own way. Effie blinked at me like I was speaking in tongues. Which I probably was, at least from his point of view.
„Whoa, what dialect is that? I don´t think I´ve heard anything like it.“
„Sufficiently explaining that part would take too long, so Faust will simply communicate in their stead: They, as much as Faust, would like to know the contents of this intelligence.“
Effie shrugged. „It´s about the target location. Another faction has occupied the place already. As a result, we´re putting in much more manpower than usual.“
„Yet another swarm of gadflies attracted by opportunity.“ Outis nodded knowingly. Little did she know that this swarm of gadflies would be particularly annyoing to deal with. But of course I wasn´t revealing that unless it was in the privacy of Mephistopheles without any possible ears snooping on us.
„Unfortunately, our opponents this time won´t be some crummy no-names like before. We took a peek at the immigration records and found out that N Corp. Dispatched a legion of employees a few weeks ago. Same destination as ours, too.“ Effie furrowed his brows as Saude overtook the explanation.
„Though this wasn´t an officialy disclosed activity, seeing that K Corp. Has let them pass means they might have made a deal under the table.“
„Which, if it´s true that N Corp. Has sent staff in advance, then the journey won´t be a smooth one.“
As if a journey to claiming a golden bough was ever a smooth one... Minute by minute I was more and more certain that the timeline was going to play out in the very same way as the one I was familiar with from the game. It bode well for me and helping Dante and the Sinners out with their troubles. The question of whether I could make impactful changes to the lives of those who were destined to die in that world, however remained.
It was a daring decision to start revealing any of my more safely guarded information. A gamble, with my freedom and agency at stake. Then again, how much of those was still in my hands?
„Judging from the fact that N Corp. hasn´t made this motion officially known, it could end as a simple conflict of interest.“ Faust thought out loud. „Furthermore, we can´t discount the possibility that it´s not the Golden Bough they are after.“ She looked towards me. I didn´t return her gaze that time. I could only hope that she understood that I would reveal critical information, just not out in the open where anyone could hear.
„Oh right, I heard some morons caused a scene at K Corp. checkpoint. Did you guys see who they were?“
I wanted to laugh for solid two minutes. I settled on biting my lip so I wouldn´t say anything. Even though they couldn´t understand me, interpretation was probably not something new to them.
„R-rumor travels with such haste. ´Twas as though…. Astride Rocinante.“ She hung her head, but I could see the faintest of smiles tugging on her lips even then. I was kind of disappointed that her embarrassment wasn´t as genuine as it initially seemed.
„A shame I missed it.“ Saude sighed. „That´s not the kind of spectacle you see every day. Really, who in their right mind would mes with a Wing at a border checkpoint unless they had lives to spare...“
Everyone was quietly playing the oblivious card, making it magnitudes more obvious what had happened. Even myself was not exempt from the equation however. Watching Saude come to the realization was funny.
„...please, don´t tell me….“ Saude facepalmed. It was worth every third second of the pain.
„Come on, we don´t have much time.“ Ishmael piped in. I agreed with her wholeheartedly. Though there wasn´t much to do about the speed of Mephistopheles, there was still the mountain of crazy cultists.
„Ah. Mr. Vergilius is nowhere to be seen again.“ Effie commented with annoyance.
„Oh him? He went back to the bus first.“ Gregor pointed in the vague direction of th location where Mephistopheles was parked.
„What a pity, I didn´t want to miss my chance to say hello…“ Saude added.
„We´ll leave impression on him next time, mark my words. I´m planning to ask him if we can join the team in your stead.“ Effie laughed.
„What? That´s what you wanted to ask him?“ Dante said, offended.
I snorted. Yeah. As if. I was already big enough of a liability. Then again, I suppose Saue and Effie had some combat capabilities so they wouldn´t be totally useless. Not that it was my place to decide.
„That wasn´t entirely a joke. See you at the site, then.“ Saude said at last, before shutting the door.
„If you can get there in one piece, anyway.“ One last jab came as courtesy of Effie´s head peeking out from the window as the van drove off.
After that, there was one final boss to face before we could drive to the target location.
Vergilius.
It was already a long, bizarre day and I was getting really fed-up with all the bullshit I´ve had to endure. If there was time for a controlled burn to take case of all the anger welling up inside me, it was when we got back on the bus.
Charon was pouting because we made her wait and Vergilius forgot to buy her candy. While he was busy being angry, I covertly slipped Charon a single caramel. It wasn´t much, but her eyes lit up with excitement. I winked at her just before melting back into the stream of people. Vergilius looked at me briefly, but didn´t say or do anything that would betray that he knew what I´ve done.
Score!
The Sinners have since moved to their respective seats, leaving but one empty – Don Quixote´s. She was currently anxiously standing in front of Vergilius who´s eyes burned with crimson flames.
„Let´s hear your excuse, Don Quixote.“
„I… could not turn a blind eye to the weak being-“
Before Don Quixote coul finish her sentence I leapt in front of her, knowing that Vergilius would take not second more after she finished her sentence. My calculations were only slightly off.
Vergilius´ hands were full with my coat and he was ready to throw me on the ground, just as he would with Don Quixote. It was obvious from his expression that it wasn´t the motion that surprised him but rather the context of the action. I used that brief confusion to present my point.
„Stop wasting time. We´re already running late.“ I glared right into his eyes, burning with anger.
„Have you gone totally mad, Alighiero?“ Heathcliff yelled, voicing the collective thoughts off the whole bus.
„I am perfectly sane, but it´s nice to know you worry, Heathcliff.“
„Running late, hmmm…“ Vergilius guessed. Happy with his answer, I nodded.
We seemed to have arrive at some sort of a mutual understanding because Charon unwrapped her caramel and was happily humming with the sweet in her mouth as she revved up the engine. It was pointless to pretend I wasn´t the source of the sweets.
With a grumpy, though not as angry hum, Vergilius returned to his seat without beating Don Quixote´s lights out from her head.
She opened her mouth, possibly to thank me. I tried to stop her, but it was then that both of us were knocked off our feet by Charon´s driving.
„Don, don´t give me your apologies. Mend your behavior.“
„But-“
„I know you´re capable of doing so. I am putting my faith in you to not disappoint me.“
Don Quixote nodded at me, visibly shaken, though it was up for debate whether that was just courtesy of Charon´s driving or her own reaction.
She then helped me back on my feet as we carefully made our way to the single vacant seat.
„I deserve the seat not, dear Alighieri. Please, accept this as my humble apolo-“
„No.“ I deadpanned. „You will sit in your spot.“ I grabbed hold of the steel pipe jutting from the floor and stretching towards the ceiling of the bus. I would not admit that I refused the seat only because it was next to Sinclair.
If the entire population of the bus saw me as crazy, it was for the best. Something told me trying to retain my sanity, too, was an exercise in futility.