120 - Visitors

News of the multiple dungeon attacks flooded the NET within a few hours, as System access was restored just a few seconds after they killed the last troll. Lexie found it suspicious, thought that it meant someone was watching, and someone had orchestrated this whole mess, but she didn’t know anyone powerful enough to make a dungeon spawn in a certain city. Neither did Aiden when she asked him about it.

He also didn’t know how that last dungeon had seemed to be moving away from her, but he said he would find out the next time he met Naem. 

Lexie finally checked in on Dewie and made sure he was good. He was. Xena had given him the orb to take him back to the school, where he’d told everyone he could find that there was a dungeon attack in Hartville. No one took him seriously until he’d forced his way into Headmaster Journeyman’s office and made him listen to the whole story of how his best friend, named Lexie, could sense dungeons because she was a weird genius, and she sensed a dungeon in Hartville.

After much talking and convincing, Journeyman tried to contact people at the stadium, and discovered that the system was down. He alerted the Hero Association, who came in to save the day. 

Well, what was left of it anyway? The death toll was about twenty people, and Lexie didn’t know if it was wrong of her to feel relief, but she did. It could have been so, so much more, and twenty people meant that some of the bodies she’d seen strewn about had only been injured. It still made her sick to know people had died, but...yeah, it could have been worse.

The PHORBs from the stadium had caught some of the action. That only added to Lexie’s suspicion that this had been orchestrated, because the PHORBs would not whizz around recording everything on their own. The footage leaked over the next couple of days, and most of it showed Torin taking on two trolls at once. There was no video of the rest of the fighters, like Boris and Top Dog, who had both gotten injured fighting the other troll. Conrad had had a few minutes of screen time, and so had Lexie, surprisingly, when she shielded Conrad from Torin’s fire. 

Also, the man she’d saved talked about it a lot to the press lady, and thanks in part to that, Lexie’s name flooded the forums a lot in the coming days.  

Cara told Lexie that she was the talk of the circuit and the NET in general. 

People remembered her as the girl who’d fought Diana. They remembered her as the daughter of the Archmage and Jane Phoenix. They remembered her as the girl who interrupted the TD versus Torin Firebringer match, screaming about a dungeon. They remembered her as one of the people who’d kept her cool and helped people in the chaos.

Questions about her flooded forums, with everyone wanting to know how she’d known about the dungeon before it spawned. 

There were theories that she had powers that could somehow detect dungeons and that she’d been lying about her class, but was secretly a powerful archmage prodigy. There were also theories that she knew because her dad had been the one to place the dungeons there in an attempt to recover his reputation as a [Hero]. It was especially suspicious because he was also spotted at the disaster site, when he’d been placed on the Arcadian campus just seconds earlier. They assumed he’d used a teleportation orb to get there so fast to save the day and win the public back on his side. 

Of course, some people thought Aiden had simply gone to save his daughter.

Others thought it was all an elaborate scheme by a villainous family to win public opinion.

Lexie expected they would get a visit from the Association soon, but Aiden told her he would take care of it. He didn’t seem bothered, which led Lexie to believe that he’d planned a contingency for this exact thing.

In the meantime, the agency was pretty busy for the next few days as a lot of things happened all at once. There was a call for statements from the Hero Association to explain what just happened, how dungeons appeared in Hartville, and how there were no [heroes] stationed around there for patrols, especially given the scale of the event happening. The high death toll (twenty dead was considered very high for Earth 9, considering system healing was a thing) meant that a lot of people needed answers and [Heroes] were harassed for them, at interviews, in the comment section, and even just walking on the street. On the second day after the incident, a reporter shoved a PHORB into Hartvillian [hero] Mayman’s face, and asked him what he thought. He tried to answer the questions politely at first, but frustration made him snap. 

"What did you expect us to do?” he snarled. “We’re overworked and exhausted. Sent up and down, dealing with everyone else's problems instead of our own. And then when blunder, like humans do, we're fucking villified. We get punished for every little bullshit mistake we make and get sent off to a backwater planet to do 'ambassadorial work' which is really just slave abor, leaving very few of us to cover the rest up for it. We barely have time to wipe our ass. How are we meant to be three places at once to save the day, when we’re stretched thin as is?”

Rather than a backlash, his frank comments garnered him a lot of sympathy. The tides began to turn as people started learnign just what the [Heroes] had been going through in the past few weeks. They saw it as inhumane. The public then turned their vitriol and their blame on the man they viewed as behind it all. Dominik Vacek.

During the next few days, Mayman's statement went viral, especially with a few other [Heroes] speaking up in support. The pressure on Dominic Vacek increased, and he was called to answer for the disaster. There was also an exposé claiming to have documents that showed his abuse of power and his secret dealings with the Fae that put [Heroes] in danger. It was all alarming stuff, but it was all happening too quickly to be organic.

Aiden thought so too.

“This was probably a ploy to get Vacek out,” he said as they took the train home one day. “But it might have farther-reaching consequences than they realize.”

“Is what they’re saying true?” Lexie wondered.

“Yes and no. It's complicated to explain.”

“So Vacek isn’t a bad guy?”

“Yes and no.” He smiled. “Remember the thing I told you about not using human morality for Eldritch?” 

Lexie nodded.

“It would be wise to assign that to Vacek, too.”

“He’s not human?”

“No, he is. Genetically, at least. Mentally…debatable. He’s one of those rare triple S-rankers I told you about.”

Lexie’s eyes widened. “Woah.”

“Yeah. Wielding that much power…it changes you.”

Lexie bit her lip as understanding dawned. 

“You think some of the Hero association staged the whole dungeon thing just to get him out?”

“No. At least not alone. They don’t have that kind of knowledge of dungeons in order to use them as weapons.”

“But they might be working with someone who does.”

He nodded, but he didn’t explain who. 

Meanwhile, on the fifth day after the fiasco, Silas Creevy finally spoke out.  He spoke about how much corruption he’d uncovered in the Hero Association and how [Heroes] were harshly punished for making simple mistakes that anyone could make in times of crisis. 

“For simple mistakes,” he said. “People were torn apart from their families, and sent off the planet to serve aliens while people here suffer. They’re treated like sub-human slaves, and are forced to comply by our [Hero] code. Lightlarks are sold out to the Fae each day. We can’t stand by and watch it happen anymore."

There were a lot of comments in support of Silas, with some very prominent [Heroes] in the association backing him.  The xenophobic sentiment against the Fae also showed in the comments, and fringe groups called for humans to stop sending heroes to the Fae planets.

These were all small pockets of people, of course. The general public still believed they needed to wait for the investigation to conclude before they passed judgment. But there was a sizable mob also calling for Vacek's blood.

So far, he’d said nothing. 

***

The visit Lexie was waiting for finally happened at the end of the week, but it wasn’t as expected.

A doorbell rang after dinner, and Lexie announced, "I'll get it."

She expected it to be Emma, or Max finally back from his dungeon escapade, although Max wasn’t really one for ringing the doorbell and would just walk in. Lexie hopped to open the door but instantly wished she hadn't.

She found Monty at the doorstep looking apprehensive. 

“You,” Lexie said, in as unfriendly a tone as she could imagine.

Monty managed a smile. “Me. May I come in?”

Lexie glanced at her father, who nodded as he loaded the dishwasher. She stepped back, and Monty strolled into the home, glancing around. 

“Quaint,” he said as he rubbed his sweaty palms on his pants. Lexie could tell she was nervous to be here, even though he pretended he wasn’t. He kept his eyes on Aiden too. Lexie just had to make sure that he didn’t touch either her or her father. She knew how to resist his hold though now so even if he did, she would push him out. 

Monty gave her a wry smile like he knew what she was thinking. He gestured to the couch.“May I sit?”

“Please,” Aiden said, walking in from the kitchen and wiping his hands. He nodded for Lexie, and she went right over to her dad to sit beside him, across from Monty. 

Awkward silence reigned, during which both sides eyed each other.

“Let me just cut to the chase,” Monty said first. “You…I know you can still use magic. I don’t know how.” His eyes flickered down to the band around his neck. “But I know you can.”

Aiden didn't deny it. He shrugged. “Do you plan on turning me in?”

“I could. I probably should. You know if I turn you in, it’s straight to Viejo, right? You won’t be getting out for a long time.” 

“That’s not what happened to the Alchemist,” Aiden mentioned. “And he’s done much worse than I have.”

“He’s also far more useful.” There was a pointedness in his tone that made Aiden raise an eyebrow as he laced his fingers over his knee. 

“So. Name your price.”

Monty eyed him steadily. “I’m sure you’ve been paying attention to the news and probably heard of what’s been going on with the association and Vacek.”

Aiden said nothing. 

Monty sighed and continued, “It’s a setup. This whole thing is set up by someone impersonating Silas Creevy. Vacek thinks it might be Silas behind this and the dungeon fiasco, but he can’t accuse him without evidence, and his hands are pretty much tied to her as the hero boards are turning on him. And the Fae…”

“Won’t get involved even if he’s their favorite chess piece, right?”

“Right. They don’t want to be seen openly interfering in human matters. Plus, there’s more to this whole mess than what you can possibly imagine.”

“What are you asking me here?”  

“I’m asking you to be on our side. Vacek and I and the few allies he has left. I’m asking you to use your skills and your contacts to figure out what Silas is doing, how he’s doing it, and help us put a stop to it.”

Aiden considered it for a second, then nodded. “In return?”

Monty exhaled. “In return, we get you a different Tilling band. One that allows you to use magic sometimes, like the Alchemist does.”

“No deal. What I want in return is that you don’t touch this band, and my daughter remains protected by the full force of the association.”

“We can’t work with those terms.”

Aiden laughed. 

“You don’t understand,” he said. “I do not even remotely care about who wins this war between Vacek and the rest of the association. The Association has had issues for years, and he’s ignored some of them while fixing others, just as his predecessor did. And it will go on and on like that, until someone decides to tear the whole thing down and rebuild it from the ground up. I’m not a [Hero] anymore, so that’s not my cross to bear. All I care about right now, is protecting my daughter. You are not going to stop me from doing that. Even if you put another collar on me, I will break out of it. I'll do it as many times as I need to.”

Monty pursed his lips. “We could simply kill you.”

“You could,” Aiden said, and the threat lingered in the air. Lexie glanced between the two of them. Hold on now, what was happening? She thought they were about to make a deal, and now they’re talking about murder. The atmosphere throbbed with their animosity for each other.

Monty broke it first by sighing. 

“Fine. We won't touch your Tilling bands. You have to keep the fact that you can use magic a secret. We've already gotten rid of videos of you using magic at the scene of the crime.

“There was footage?” Lexie asked. 

“A few. I had them deleted when I got there, so they wouldn’t cause even worse panic. We already have enough to deal with. So, do we have  a deal, Archmage?”

"My daughter,” Aiden said. 

Monty's eyes flickered to Lexie. "For your daughter, I have a second proposition. She needs to join the Hero Academy.”

Aiden was already shaking his head when Monty held up his hand. “Just…hear me out, please. It’s for her protection, too. There’s a lot of speculation about her. It’s been building up for some time now, and it’s not something that’s going to be easy to bury. While some people view her positively, a lot of people assume she’s been groomed into villainy and that she had something to do with the dungeon attack."

“I didn’t,” Lexie said indignantly. 

"I know. But people are looking for a culprit, and she makes as good a mark as Vacek does. That puts her in danger. You can’t watch over her twenty-four seven, Sparrowfoot.”

Aiden’s lips pressed together. He said nothing. 

“She’s the daughter of a villain,” Monty continued. “Trust me, I know what that’s like. It means people not believing her and automatically suspect her at every turn. It means constantly having to defend yourself when you’ve done nothing wrong.  It means having a target on your back for no reason.” He swallowed, and a hauntedness appeared in his gaze that made Lexie see him differently. She suddenly recalled that he’d grown up with a convicted villain as a father, just as she had. Except by all accounts, his father had actually been a real bad guy. She imagined that felt extra horrible.

Lexie was faced with something she never thought she would feel for Monty Ward. Pity. 

“That must have been hard for you,” she murmured, and he finally looked her way.

“It’s going to be hard for you, too. I’m not saying you should make a decision now. But it's just...you seem to have a lot of unknown powers, and I think it would do well if people see that you're…” He struggled to find the word.

“Leashed?" Lexie suggested.

“Connected to the heroes,” he said, but smiled as he said it. “It would also help in case your father was ever retried for a reduced sentence.”

“That’s possible?"

“Anything’s possible.”

“I don’t want you to do it just for me,” Aiden warned while glaring at Monty. "That's probably not a plausible thing right now, so I don't want you to put your hope in that at all."

“Of course,” Lexie said, but now she couldn’t get the idea of her father being completely free out of her head. “I’ll think about it.”  

***

A few thousand miles away, a thing called Ael entered a seedy bar. It was mostly empty, except for the creatures skittering in corners and whatever germs hide behind the grime and mold on the walls. A mist filled the air, a stale smell accompanying it.

A child sat at the bar, drinking a beer with a morose expression. A bartender was wiping down glasses and pretending not to see him.

“I can never get used to the sight,” Ael said as he approached. “A twelve-year-old boy drinking alcohol.”

Tate shot him a sour look and went back to drinking. 

“I thought you would be happy,” Ael teased. “The week went according to plan.”

"It wasn't my plan to release those dungeons near the stadium."

“No, but this helps you out, doesn’t it?”

Tate gave him a look like he was crazy. “How? Instead of people talking about my win, they’re instead talking about the dungeons all over the city.”

Ael barely resisted the urge to roll its eyes. “Anyone ever tell you, you think about yourself too much?”

He gave a bitter smile and kept drinking. 

“You got the Dobberman's gang out of your hair. Dobberman died in that square, right?”

"I guess so." Tate had seen the troll coming and had disappeared with his orb before the creature got close.

Dobberman, who had been distracted by asking his gang to beat Tate up until he cried blood, wasn't so lucky.

Tate didn’t look any happier about his enemy's death. Ael didn’t blame him. It was a lot for a child to deal with, having that much blood on his hands. But that was the thing he liked most about Tate, because no matter what, he still got the job done, even if he hated everything about what he was doing. He was rarely ever stopped by guilt or other silly emotions. Ael had never seen such raw, dogged ambition in a human in a long time, such hunger, such greed. And he respected it. It was why he’d chosen to be his guide in this game they were playing. 

While Tate's standing in their eyes had skyrocketed, he still had an uphill climb. And most of that struggle was thanks to Lexie Sparrowfoot. Tate had worked so hard for many weeks to get where he is, and just one act from her had made his hard work seem like nothing.

“It was you who decided to save her in the first place.” Ael reminded. “After her death, her soul was destined for nothingness or wherever souls go, and you begged me to save her, to give her another chance at life, to get her into the chosen soul program. Even though I warned you of the harm that might cause you.”

“And I screwed myself over in the process, yes I know you love to remind me."

“I'm just saying I warned you. You still insisted, and you created the thing that is destined to destroy you.” Ael tutted. “Classic. In any case, do you me to try to get rid of her again?”

“No. I never wanted you to do it in the first place, and if you touch her, I swear I’ll...”

"You'll what? Kill me?"

As Tate glared at him, Ael laughed.

"Relax,” he grinned. "I’m not going to do anything. It probably wouldn't work anyway."

Tate didn’t look like he trusted him, and he was right not to. Ael wasn’t known for keeping his word. Although he hadn’t gone to kill the girl. He’d just introduced her to someone who could. 

But Vulcan had had some issue with finishing the job, so that was it.  Ael had never tried again.

"You should want her dead though," Ael continued. "She's protected by Chosen rules, though she's not Chosen herself. Get's all the benefits with none of the setbacks. Her life isn't on the line like yours is. How fair is that?"

He still didn't answer, turning back to his glass.

“You’re lucky she doesn’t remember you from the first time she woke up,” Ael said.

"I know," Tate said. But he knew she might remember him any day now. Even if she didn't, she would hate him anyway. 

She probably hated him right now.

The same way he hated himself sometimes. 

But it didn’t matter. None of it mattered. He had to win, even against all the odds. It was the only way for him to survive and thrive. He could not lose.

He needed to rule the world. 

***

A day later, Lexie glared down at Tate’s number, trying to figure out whether or not to call him. 

Though Lexie hadn’t been back to the dojo, she’d checked in with each of them regularly and discovered that Tate had left the group and wasn’t responding to anyone’s texts. Everyone was mad at him and Boris was especially pissed, but he was also worried. So was Lexie. She wanted to text to make sure he was okay, but she was also mad and didn't want to give him the attention he so clearly wanted.

As she wavered with indecision, she heard the door ring and her father call from below her, "Lexie! Come down for a second, please."

"Coming." She bounced out of bed and jogged out, wondering who was here now. Monty again?

But as she descended the stairs and got the first hint of red hair, she stopped. Her mouth fell open, a breath passing.

Standing across from her was a woman whose face filled her with warmth, whose smile felt like a hug, and whose expression tugged at a memory long forgotten.

"Hello, Little Lexie," Stella said, smiling. "It's so nice to see you again."