Wu

Breathe in, breathe out. Keep yourself centered and focus on the flow of the serum in your body. That's right. Life is the currency of this world and like any currency it has to be wisely spent. Just because you can afford to do something doesn't mean that you should actually go ahead and do it. Keeping my eyes closed I savor the sensation of the night breeze brushing my face, a pleasant contrast to the stifling heat of the orphanage's interior. If only the breeze would also block out the annoying warbling that molests my ears.

" - you hear me Toby?" the Matron blares from somewhere below me.

"I've already completed my homework Ma'am." I answer politely in a level voice. The nature of my host obliges me to put up with these sorts of nuisances. I had briefly considered teaching the Matron a lesson in humility, but that would be a waste of serum. Not all battles need to be fought, especially when you have bigger fish to fry.

Fried fish. I should really go get some the next time I'm in town.

"And get down from the roof. Its not safe." the Matron nags without relent. I keep my eyes closed and my expression as serene as possible, making sure the Matron can't catch a single inkling of my thoughts.

"I like the breeze." I say, "I'll be back inside before bedtime."

"Alright, fine." the Matron sighs as she gives up and goes back inside, "Just be careful."

"I will. Thanks, Ma'am." I reply. And there we go, problem solved. No need to use force when goodwill can break an impasse just as easily. Ever since I've deployed into this host, I've conducted myself as a 'good boy' while in the orphanage. Having a reputation for not causing trouble means the staff are more inclined to let me have my way.

I hear the click of the orphanage's main door shut and return to my private thoughts. Matters had escalated beyond what I was expecting. Don's final transmission to the safehouse made that much clear. The Directorate had planned for the Saint to be eliminated, giving Lisa a clear path to ascension. And by all measure, Don should have succeeded in his mission. There is nothing in this world strong enough to stand against us.

Or so I had thought.

Could it be Blue Ocean that did Don in? Or something else? There were too many unknowns. I needed clarification.

Breathe in, breathe out. The heat in my veins begins to rise and a low itch begins spreading all over my body. Marshalling my willpower, I begin forcing the serum into my eyes and begin to slowly open them.

Dominating the Citadel's cityscape is the Cathedral itself, with the orphanage falling under its titanic shadow despite being several neighborhoods away. I focus my eyes on the Cathedral's central spire and reach out, the serum forming the needed connections through the invisible ether. My invisible web prods the structure, digging within it. Too insubstantial to accomplish anything actually physical, the web nevertheless allows me to sense the presence of anyone currently inside the building.

Priestess.

Another priestess.

Servitor.

A pair of priestesses engaged in sexual intercourse with each other.

Accountant working on the Cathedral's books.

A sudden wave of fatigue hits me, causing my body to abruptly lurch forward. I'm using up too much serum far too quickly. The Matron was correct, I need to be more careful. If I didn't catch myself in time, I would have tumbled off the orphanage's roof. Sweat begins to soak my clothes as I return to my task.

Servitor being disciplined.

And finally, I find the person I had been looking for. Severing most of the mental connections, I feel an almost physical weight being lifted from my shoulders. I then focus all my attention on the final contact with laser like intensity.

"Sarkar." I whisper.

How do you do this?

"Control of Foundation Four allows us to do many things." I sigh, the strain of maintaining the connection beginning to build again, "You should know this."

Obviously. But how do you actually do it? Which world setting do you change? Granting yourself telepathy would be far too costly in serum.

"Subtitles." I laugh lightly despite the fatigue.

What?

"Everything you say is turned into subtitles that I can read." I explain, "It's the same on your end as well, except your mind automatically absorbs the subtitles of what I say without you realizing it."

Making it sound as if we are actually conversing?

"Not sound." I gently reprimand, "Its more of a visual thing. It just moves too quick for your sight to pick up consciously."

Hold on.

There's a moment of silence as Sarkar seems to be doing something on his end of the conversation.

I see. Once I slow my perception down I can read the subtitles as well. Its right at the bottom of my vision. Well, its a clever workaround, I'll grant you that. Let the world do most of the heavy lifting. Why bother with the dead drops then?

"Can you initiate the connection by yourself?" I snort, a little more harshly than I intended.

Uh, no.

"Neither could Don. It sounds simple in theory, but performing this stunt requires fine control of world settings." I respond, "I need to calibrate my host's mental wavelength to exactly match whomever I am conversing with."

And I suppose we are having this conversation because of Don? Or would you rather refer to him as Max?

"Doesn't matter." I shrug, "Something went wrong in Rais Land. I think Don did not make it, or at the very least his host is out of commission."

You don't say. Things are going crazy at the Cathedral, Wu. I've gotten word that the Saint has been found.

"Things at the Cathedral seem pretty relaxed from where I'm sitting." I joke, recalling what the spire's inhabitants are getting up to right now.

Going crazy for the actually important people in the Cathedral. People like me.

"Which means?" I ask.

Meaning I don't know how long I can maintain the story of the bogus Saint. The rest of the chorus is already starting to suspect -

"Are you panicking?" I query as calmly as possible, hoping to settle Sarkar's mood down.

No. Of course not. But if the real Saint has been discovered, it would throw all our manipulations into the light, not just the bogus Saint story.

"Are you talking about the status of the beast folk?" I answer, "I wouldn't worry, too many people have vested interests in keeping the beasts at the bottom."

None of that will matter once the real Saint ascends. Stop being so cavalier. This is a real problem.

"And the real Saint will ascend." I reassure, "Our real Saint. Now that Don has probably failed, you need to rush the Chorus to hold the selection as soon as possible."

Don. I met him before you know? He didn't know who I was naturally.

"And?" I reply, wondering where this is going.

I wasn't impressed.

"Don is reliable." I shoot back, "That's the most important thing."

He's a thug. Don, or rather Max, belongs in a prison. A person of such low human quality -

"Low human quality." I chuckle involuntarily at Sarkar's pompous way of speaking.

Max is the exact sort of person you would hire to cause trouble. He has no grace or subtlety. The only thing good about him is that he follows orders.

"Isn't that a big point in Don's favor?" I smile to myself.

Dogs can follow orders.

"Fair enough." I stifle a laugh, careful not to let anyone in the orphanage hear it, "But Don's job has been to cause trouble in this world, isn't it?"

And the moment he is assigned to an actually important task, he messes up.

"The unexpected can always happen." I frown, "Now is not the time to spread blame at any rate."

So what now?

"I need to know what the Chorus is planning next." I say.

Plan? What plan? Everyone is in a tizzy about the discovery of the Saint. The only plan is to bring her back.

"Spread the word to the searchers deployed in the Concrete Desert." I order, "Tell them a possible false Saint has been found in Rais Land."

The rest of the Chorus won't agree to this. The searchers might get too ... enthusiastic.

"Force the issue. Use your Operative powers if you have to." I respond, "You speak with the authority of a Divine, both in law and in fact."

The Divines are guaranteed to intervene if I take things this far.

"We have no choice in the matter." I furrow my brow at the possible complications, "Matters are reaching their climax. Anyway, each of us has equal standing with the Divines, as long as we control Foundation Four."

Which is what matters at the end of the day, I suppose.

"Precisely so." I affirm, "And as I said, bring forward the trials for the new Saint."

I can't do that. Not when a possible Saint has already be found and yet to be taken back to the Cathedral.

"Force -" I insist.

No. There's a limit of what I can do, Wu. Even if I use my powers, my credibility would be destroyed. I am just one voice out of Seven.

"The Leader already knows the truth." I retort, "The Leader has always known."

That's different. The Leader cannot afford to move openly against us. Her own secret makes it impossible.

"Alright. I'll think of something." I reluctantly agree, "Something to give you the required justification. Just be ready to move at short notice."

It better be a really good justification though.

"It'll be the best justification." I mutter, blinking sweat from my eyes, "That's all I have to ask today. I'll be in touch."

One more thing.

"Yes?" I say sharply, taken aback by the interruption.

Regina's Chorister is up in arms about her sister being in danger. The girl was part of the team sent by the Leader to Rais Land.

"Serves both of them right." I smirk, "If they want to play this game, they should also be ready to lose their stake."

That's not the point. The Divines might have been trying to pre-empt us by sending their own representatives.

"We always understood this day would come, especially as the clock ticks down." I agree, "Our course remains the same though."

As you say. Earth prevails, Wu.

And with that I terminate the connection between myself and Sarkar.

Lying back on the orphanage's roof, I reflect our options. I can't count on Don anymore, not even to report back to Earth. I'll need to take some time off to visit the village we attacked to use its transmission station so that an update can be filed. But that problem's small potatoes to how daring Blue Ocean has become and the possibility of the Divines getting more active.

No point worrying though. I'll deal with whatever problems crop up in due course. Earth will prevail.

No matter what.

End of Arc 2