Jun dispatched Scalovera just as quickly as I had Harvester, and Persephonia sent the two recruits away with a wave of her hand and a stern word. She ushered Jun and I back into her quarters before quietly closing the glass doors behind us and letting out a short, barking laugh.

“The two of them won’t say a single word about what happened today to any of the other recruits. They’ve been beaten down by years of weakness.” She said, and I realized just how humorless her laugh had been. “In exchange for my silence regarding Sebastian, I want you two to aid those two in gaining both strength and confidence.”

I sighed and glanced out the clear glass. It wasn’t worth the risk of taking off my armor, so I didn’t. “I’m guessing that Jun and those two were the target of a lot of bullying during training?”

“Bullying might not be the right word.” Jun muttered, seemingly unsatisfied with her fight with Scalovera. “I was mostly teased and ignored, which made team training exercises pretty much impossible. Matria Persephonia forced me to go through them alone, and I thought she was being an asshole at the time, but I’m pretty sure that’s the only reason I survived long enough to meet you, Seb.”

“Good that you see the logic now.” Persephonia chuckled. “And for your information, the other two were not badly treated in the slightest. They came into groups that accepted them for their unique talents, and now have no reason to push themselves as their fellow recruits will continue carrying their share of the burden as long as their core functions prove useful.”

They’d been accepted solely for their cores? I leaned forward in interest, feeling my own whirlpool spinning lazily in my chest at the possibilities. “What kind of cores do they have?”

Persephonia’s grin was wide as her helmet blinked out. “If you want that information, Sebastian, I’m afraid that it is classified to anyone outside of our regiment. If you agree to aid their development, however, I could be convinced to grant you a copy of that information.”

I groaned, but Jun groaned louder. She wanted this even less than I did for some reason.

“We don’t have time for this, Matria.” Jun insisted. “Seb’s people could be in serious trouble, and every minute we aren’t trying to help them is one that another species could jump in and take over.”

“That will not happen. We have no clue as to where these ‘humans’ have made their homes, nor how strong their Embodiments’ chosen are. If we are being cautious, then we can safely assume all the other species are at least mirroring our restraint.” Persephonia assured Jun, but not me. “I will ensure that you and Sebastian are taken care of for the months you remain with us, up until you return to the Floodforest and deal with the higher hazard areas. That includes all the amenities and facilities present in Walkalong, along with access to the materials needed to upgrade and modify your armor and weapons.”

Jun still didn’t seem convinced. “We can’t risk–”

“Recruit. Remember where you are right now.” Persephonia gently said. “We have absolutely no idea where Sebastian’s people are. Neither do you. We have scouts and cartographers working at all hours of the day to try and find these new people. You do not. If anyone will find them, it will be us or one of the other dominant species. And the moment we know where they are, I promise I will personally escort you and Sebastian to the humans.”

“I…I…” Jun began, then sighed and shook her head. “This isn’t my decision to make. Seb? What do you think?”

The two women looked at me expectantly, and my nonchalant agreement suddenly felt too little. I was still taking all of this far too lightly, and thinking of my memories of my previous life didn’t bring up the fire I needed. Something was suppressing them, probably to keep me sane, but I also didn’t feel overwhelmed like I should have if I didn’t have them. I just felt… empty.

{Can you see if something’s been done to my memories?} I asked The End, yet another thing that I should have been completely terrified of, but I was treating as if it were nothing. {I don’t feel much from them at all. Not from my old life or my old old life.}

//I WILL LOOK INTO IT, BUT KNOW THAT IT MAY TAKE TIME.

//THE SUMMIT BEGINS SOON, AND MY ATTENTION WILL BE CONSUMED BY IT.

What summit could The End be going to? I shook my head and sent a quick thanks to the error messages, then returned to the issue at hand. If I couldn’t think through it emotionally, I’d have to go through it logically.

If I accepted Persephonia’s offer I’d have a safe place to hide out while I rebuilt my strength. I’d have to train two seemingly useless people, and I’d be pretty much pledging my allegiance to the first non-human species I met for a few months at best, and a few years at worst. Humanity had survived decades on their own the last time around, and unless a murderous species got their hands on us, my people would pull through on their own. Plus getting unlimited resources and a training ground as powerful as the one outside the door was tempting.

So what would rejecting the offer do for me? Jun seemed like she would follow me for some reason, which might not be the best for her in the eyes of her own people, but having someone along for the ride was nice. I’d have the freedom to try and find any of the hazards or landmarks I remembered, but there was a chance humanity hadn’t been put in the same place as before. There was also the risk that everyone who’d been chosen by an Embodiment retained their own memories, which could lead humanity into a war they had absolutely no chance at winning. One that I might be able to prevent, but one that I could also die pointlessly in.

I shook my head and weighed both options for another few minutes, then sighed as I came to my decision. One option almost guaranteed survival for Jun and I. And I wasn’t going to risk either of our lives on a gamble.

“We’ll stay.” I decided, reaching out my armored hand for Persephonia to shake. “Unlimited access to your resources and facilities. You won’t hide anything from either of us. And you’ll keep us and my secret safe, even if it means deceiving your superiors. Do we have a deal?”

Persephonia nodded, then grasped my hand but didn’t shake. “We have a deal. You two are now my protected seedlings, and I will ensure the register is updated as such.”

Jun gasped at the mention of ‘protected seedlings’, which made me think I was missing something important. But she didn’t say anything else, and her face didn’t contort in fear, so it seemed to be something good.

“I’ll go make the changes right away.” Persephonia decreed, standing as her helmet covered her face once more. “Meet me in the training ground at nightfall. I wish to see your true strengths, and to begin our relationship with trust.”

When the front doors opened and shut in a heartbeat, Jun squealed in delight and lunged over the table to grab me by the shoulders. “Protected seedlings! Can you believe it?!”

“I can, because I don’t know what that is.” I pointed out, trying unsuccessfully to pry Jun’s fingers from my shoulder as she leaned in further for a crushing hug. “Armor. Please. Hurting me.” I choked.

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Jun chuckled, dismissing her armor and continuing to hug me. “I never thought anyone would choose me for something so important–especially not Matria Persephonia–but thanks to you, I get to be someone! And not just because one of my relatives from way back had sex with a god.”

I’d almost forgotten about that part of Jun’s history, but it seemed like she knew as much about it as I did. And from the frown that split her elation, it seemed to be a sore point too.

“So what’s it mean being a ‘protected seedling’?” I asked, patting Jun on the back in what I thought was the last dregs of our hug. But she didn’t let go. “Is it anything like an apprenticeship?”

“Not quite, but also kind of? Yeah, kind of.” Jun said with a nod, her forehead knocking against my chest plate as she did. “Can you take the armor off? It’s a little uncomfortable hugging you with it on.”

So the hug wasn’t close to finished yet. I sighed and dropped the armor, my full-body covering underneath protecting me from any prying eyes that might stare through the glass doors. The helmet, though, stayed on.

“Thanks. So when someone takes on a ‘seedling’, it’s basically them saying that they’re going to make sure that person reaches their highest potential. Like if an apprentice only got the go ahead to leave and start their own business once they were just as good at their craft as their master.” Jun explained into my chin, squeezing me tighter and tighter as she grew more excited with her explanation. “A protected seedling is one step higher than that, where the gardener is saying that anyone who tries to hurt the seedling is making a personal conflict with them.”

So it was like an apprenticeship, but a little more permanent. That seemed counterproductive to my goals, since I highly doubted Persephonia would let Jun and I go at the drop of a pin. But when I went to bring it up, the utter joy on Jun’s face made the words catch in my throat. In my old life, it had taken me years to get any friends who trusted me like this. And most of my friends had yet to become the people I knew them as.

They'd aged from sour grapes to fine wine without my interference. And unless Garrett did something unbelievably stupid, I would eventually see them again. Hell, maybe he could even help them through the tough times that made them who they were. Which left only my family to worry about, and I knew they stayed together for at least a handful of years. Plenty of time to get my claws into the world again.

I squeezed Jun as tight as she’d been squeezing me and stared at a point out in the distance. This world had hobbled so many of my friends, my family, and my enemies alike. It was dangerous. It was wonderful. But what it wasn’t was untamed. People ruled this place. And no matter who the ruler was, there was one common thread between all of them. They wanted to keep their power.

Humans represented a change in that hierarchy. We could be royalty, slaves, or citizens depending on who found us and how strong we were at that point. I thought back to Dee’s ramblings about the watchers, to all the people who’d died doing pointless shit, and to everyone who’d survived longer than the Embodiment’s chosen.

If anyone could have seen my eyes at that point, they wouldn’t have ever worked with me again. Because I finally had something to grip, and it wouldn’t spell anything but disaster for anyone who stood in my way. The chosen didn’t deserve the advantage they’d been given. Dee deserved it. Vim deserved it. Ali deserved it. And Poe definitely deserved it.

I couldn’t let the people who’d died pointlessly determine humanity’s future. Couldn’t let them make deals with the other species. They weren’t good enough. I wasn’t good enough yet. But I would be.