“State your name, Guild and city affiliations, and business in Peakpoint.”

The lead Guardian took one final step forward towards Val as he addressed her. His tone was neutral and professional, but the tension in his stance made it clear that he was ready to react to any offensive actions. Val’s eyes flicked to the pair of Guardians behind him, licking her lips nervously as the sunlight glinted off the two rifles pointed in her direction. Her exosuit could certainly stop a few bullets, but she didn’t feel all that eager to test its durability any more than she already had today.

Fighting back the urge to immediately answer, Val took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She took the spark of her idea and started adding details to it, feeling the cover story come together in her mind. She wove threads of truth into the lie to give her something concrete to fall back on during the questioning. By the time she took her third deep breath, Val felt confident she had a solid enough foundation to her cover story.

Val opened her mouth to respond to the Guardian, but the words died on her tongue. She snapped her jaw shut, lips twisting into a frown. The cover story was good, but it wasn’t a good fit for her. At least not the version of her that she was today.

Val was proud of the person she had become over the past few years. She’d become self-sufficient and pragmatic, making the best plans she could and then relying on her quick mind when everything inevitably fell apart. Not unlike the situation she found herself in now, in fact.

But that pragmatism required her to be candid about the limits of her own abilities in order to minimize her risk. Those well-honed instincts screamed at her now, pointing out all the flaws and holes in her alibi. Logically, Val knew that confidence would go a long way in smoothing over any inconsistencies in her story. But she struggled to suppress the ever-present doubting voice in the back of her mind that kept telling her, This will never work. It’s too risky, better to just give up.

The lead Guardian said something else, but his words fell on deaf ears as Val’s mind whirled. She was vaguely aware of the other two Guardians spreading out even further, slowly moving around to flank her and cut off any possibility of escape. Frustration welled up inside Val as she grappled with her own weakness and inaction. Her emotions morphed quickly into anger as she turned her attention outwards, glaring at the Guardians that stood between her and a well-deserved rest.

I’m too tired for this shit. Why won’t you just let me in?

The initial spark of anger flared into a bonfire of rage, and Val found herself struggling to rein her feelings in.

Blindly lashing out won’t help my case at all… but maybe there is a way to use this anger to my advantage after all.

The final pieces of the puzzle clicked in place. Her cover story would work, but it required a different version of Val. Not the hard-working User she was now, but the entitled daughter of an elite family. A version of herself that had been shattered by the death of her parents four years ago, but one that would have felt indignant wrath at being stopped by those she thought were beneath her.

Val started to draw on her memories to adopt the necessary persona, but she was surprised when Kriven’s smug face also appeared in her mind. She latched on the recent interaction with a member of the Peakpoint elite, imitating his mannerisms. She felt her back straighten as she remembered his uptight posture, while her mouth twisted into a scowl as she remembered his pompous and haughty attitude.

She reached up and lifted her helmet off her head as her exosuit unsealed with a hiss. Ignoring the Guardian’s response to her sudden movements, she cradled the helmet under her right arm while running her left hand through her dark hair. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the lead Guardian frown as she continued to ignore him. Just as he opened his mouth to address her again, she met his gaze.

“I think the better question is who you are, if you think you can stop my entry into the city?” Val snapped at the man, cutting him off. Her heart raced but she kept her facial expression steady as she stared hard at the man.

“I’m the Guardian in charge of the current watch,” he answered through gritted teeth. “Part of my task is to identify the unknown User that brought an army of wildlife to our city, and determine whether you pose any further threat. To help me with that determination, please state your name, Guild and city affiliation, and purpose in coming to Peakpoint.”

“Oh, just a nameless Guardian? I expected a little more... I know Mylar is busy, but surely he could have made some time to see my successful return.” Val broke eye contact, nonchalantly examining the gauntlet of her exosuit. “Speaking of the army of wildlife, shouldn’t you and the Scouts be keeping the surroundings safe? I was told the trip to Rune and back would be easy, but it’s been absolute chaos.”

The man’s face darkened with anger as Val continued to disrespect the Guardian. His fist clenched tightly for a moment before he visibly forced himself to relax. Taking their cues from their patrol leader, the pair of Guardians also lowered their rifles slightly. “Does that mean you are a Peakpoint resident, Miss… ?”

“Of course I am! Do you not recognize me? Oh, for Gaia’s sake… I’m Valriya Peakcour. You may have heard of my family. We do run the Messenger Guild, after all.”

Internally Val let out a sigh of relief. In order to make her alibi more effective, it was imperative that she control the interaction. Upsetting the man had been a risk since he would have been well within his rights to simply disallow her access to the city when she refused to play by his script. But now, she had successfully changed the dynamic from “interrogating a dangerous User” to a less dangerous and more common situation the Guardians often faced: dealing with a bratty, entitled young elite.

“I see. Of course we are familiar with Zyra Peakcour, the current Messenger Guildmaster. However, I wasn’t aware of any other prominent Messengers of the Peakcour family.”

“Well, I’m glad you’ve heard of my aunt, at least.”

“Your aunt? But that would make you…” He trailed off as recognition flared in his eyes. “Oh! I didn’t realize that you were–”

“It’s fine!” Val cut him off sharply. The sheer vehemence in her tone caught her off-guard; apparently, it shocked the Guardian as well as he took an instinctive step back. Objectively, deflecting his attention to her mother was much better than having him be suspicious of her, but Val did not appreciate the turn the conversation was taking at all.

This is part of why I tried to distance myself from the Messengers in the first place.

Val’s mother Alestranda had made quite the impression with both her meteoric rise and controversial fall, and it was impossible not to be reminded of her when anyone associated Val with the Messengers. It didn’t help that Zyra had taken over as Guildmaster after Alestranda, keeping the Peakcour name in the spotlight. Even years later, a short exchange was all it took to bring the incident back up. For Val, that also meant dredging up memories of the worst moments in her life all over again.

“I doubt my detailed personal history is particularly relevant to this charade. I hope you are satisfied with establishing my identity. I may not be in your records because I only recently became a User, and I’m returning from Rune on Council business.”

The man’s brow furrowed as Val suddenly shifted the direction of the conversation again, this time flooding him with information. For a moment, it seemed like he would just let her through, but then his gaze hardened again.

“Unfortunately, verifying your identity was only the first step. Several other aspects of your arrival need further explanation before I’m convinced you do not pose a threat to the city.”

“Do you treat all promising young Users like this?” Val asked scornfully.

“No, Miss Peakcour. Just those that arrive alone unexpectedly. Also, your exosuit… does not seem to be standard-issue. Care to explain any of these circumstances?”

“I told you already, I’m on Council business. I’d love to give you the answers you are looking for, but it’s Messenger policy to only release important information or data to authorized parties. Let me double-check… Yes, unfortunately, I still don’t see ‘random Guardians on patrol’ on that list.”

Val turned up the sarcasm in an attempt to control the conversation again, but it seemed her tricks were no longer working. The Guardians still suspected something was off, and another obvious distraction would be just as damning as coming clean. A drop of sweat rolled down the back of Val’s neck as the rifles slowly rose back up to retake aim at her.

“Well, it’s Guardian policy to not allow anyone to pass into the city freely who does not cooperate with our investigation. Operational procedure in this situation is clear: you are authorized to provide as much information as necessary to satisfy us. If something sensitive comes up, we’ll be brought before the Council and sworn to secrecy.”

Val struggled to keep her expression neutral. I’m losing them. She opened her mouth to desperately try something else, but another voice cut through the tense silence.

“That’s quite enough, Patrolmaster Firth.”

Val and the lead Guardian – presumably Firth, she thought – both turned in surprise to look at the source of the quiet yet firm interruption. Val’s surprise only ramped up when she saw Zyra step up to the group. She suppressed the familiar tinge of pain in her chest upon seeing her aunt, the strong familial resemblance reminding Val of her mother. Based on the look on Firth’s face as he looked between her and Zyra, no doubt he saw the clear similarities between them now as well.

“Guildmaster Peakcour,” said Firth, donning his mask of professionalism once more. “How… convenient to run into you now.”

“Convenience has nothing to do with it, Patrolmaster. I was expecting Valriya’s return this afternoon and came to see what the situation was after hearing about the engagement.”

A shiver ran down Val’s spine hearing her aunt speak down to the Guardian. Zyra had always been quiet and unassuming, and it had surprised many when she took over the mantle of Guildmaster. But there was a steel in her tone and a hardness lurking in her face that made it clear to everyone present that Zyra was not to be underestimated or disrespected.

“I caught enough of the conversation to roughly understand the situation, I believe,” Zyra continued. “My presence should hopefully speed this along.”

“Indeed,” Firth grumbled. He shot Val another suspicious look, but with a member of the Council taking control of the situation, his hands were tied. “Welcome back to Peakpoint, Miss Peakcour. I urge you to follow proper channels next time. And be careful out there in the wilderness, even just going to Rune. We won’t always be there to support you.”

Val nearly sagged with relief, but drew herself up instead. After all, she still had a persona to maintain. “Thank you for your advice, Patrolmaster, but I can look after myself. Perhaps this can be a learning experience for you as well, on how to handle important Users on Council business.”

Firth’s eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched, but he simply gave her a curt nod and turned on his heel. No doubt cursing her under his breath, but that suited Val just fine. With one swift hand motion through the air, the pair of Guardians fell in step behind him as they all headed back to the defensive line. By this point, the rest of the Guardians had disappeared back into the ruined outskirts of the city, leaving Val standing next to Zyra on the empty field.

Val dropped her snobby elite persona but immediately felt another mask take its place as her face settled into a guarded expression. If anything, spending time with Zyra was even more stressful than the Guardians. Val had specifically avoided her aunt since their falling out after Alestranda’s death.

If I was aware of the tension between you and Zyra, I would have chosen another Guildmaster to reach out to. My apologies.

Val raised one eyebrow slightly. This was your doing?

Yes. Once it was clear what your alibi was going to be with the Messengers, it seemed like the logical choice.

No, it’s fine. You did well, Noir, thank you. Plus, I’m a big girl. I can talk to estranged family members if that’s what it takes to get back into the city.

Despite her cavalier tone with Noir, Val kept her mouth shut as she gazed over at Zyra. Thankfully, the older woman seemed happy enough to let the silence linger, although she looked Val over with a critical eye. Satisfied with her appraisal, she nodded once and started walking back towards the city. Val hesitated but followed behind a few seconds later, feeling the tension roil in her gut.

Out of the pan, into the fire.