Chapter 3—The Enclave

Fang had never imagined walking into the administrator's office. No matter how much she believed she'd one day graduate, she never thought that belief meant she'd be granted such a lofty honor. The administrator was as close to a ruler as the Enclave ever had, and while she had never heard the title spoken with the same gravitas as the Priest-King or Priestess Queen, it still felt like the room would only open to the most important people. Before the mission, she wouldn't have said that'd be her. On the other side of it, though, she wondered who could be more important than the Dark Empress herself.

A long elevator ride gave her a good look at the unit stretching out in front of her, each new level an indication of how much the administrator had to see. When they arrived on the final floor, it seemed the elevator closed up tighter. A camera flickered on and a voice slithered in.

"Who's there?" Came an older woman, edged with prepared doubt and disbelief. They had to get clearance just to ride to this floor, and yet that didn't seem to be enough to allow them in.

“It’s Fang. You should have received a message that we were coming up? We’re the graduates from the mission with Judge.”

Silence followed, and then the very noticeable grinding of heavy metal on the other side of the doors. The elevator came open at last and still a precaution awaited them—a hallway filled with pressure plates covering the walls and floors, shifting softly as if any movement might make the world fall away. The Graduates were allowed to reach the doors before that happened. The doors slid open and they found the woman, sitting at her desk with an honest look of distrust on her face. Wrinkles were coming in on brown skin. Brown hair was spotted here and there with gray. It told Fang a lot. It told her this woman had seen plenty of graduations and none of them meant a real thing in her eyes. Graduates were just people allowed to become soldiers, and soldiers were just people who could go out into the city and die.

“So, you’re back.” She said, almost as if she still didn’t believe her eyes. “And Judge?”

Fang shook her head. Maybe Slasher still had the memories of the man they knew, but that wasn’t Judge, not in the way the administrator meant. The woman cursed.

"Well, I can't fault him for doing his job."

“With respects, his loss seems to matter more to you than I thought.”

"Judge is a different case from any of the soldiers I've sent out there before, even the Graded. His loss is a major blow to the Enclave, and I can only hope you kids measure up." The woman looked over them, her hazel eyes narrowing in a way Fang couldn't read. "Only three of you…and the heavy hitters are gone." Assassin and Abigail. "What did we really get out of this?" The administrator asked, and the Graduates found some seats.

“A lot of information.” King answered.

“And a better fighting chance than we’ve ever had before.” Ace added.

Fang nodded to both of them. “Admin Justine, I would like to discuss the Enclave, and what we encountered in the city.”

Justine cackled. “Discuss the Enclave?” It almost seemed like she was genuinely amused. “Would you like to discuss how the people are going to lay their heads down tonight and not have to think about the monsters out there? Or maybe you want to figure out how this place manages to keep functioning with hell next door? Or maybe you want to learn something more mundane than that?” She cackled again.

“What I want to know is why the Enclave has enemies.”

That shut the woman up and made her expression sterner. “Enemies?”

Micaela raised her hand. “A pretty big enemy too. Castle Cerulean hates this place.”

“Castle Cerulean?” Justine shot a look at her.

“It’s like the Enclave, but out in the city. I mean, it’s nothing like this place really, other than that survivors gathered there.”

“And why does this Castle Cerulean consider us an enemy?”

“I don’t know,” Micaela shook her head. “But you guys aren’t just enemies, you’re the Intruders from the Outskirts. We—they—consider you guys to be more dangerous than the demons that pop up in the city.”

“Demons?” Justine barked. “What?”

Fang almost smiled but managed to keep her expression flat. “As I was saying, there is information we have to exchange.”

Justine sighed and pinched her forehead. “Start from the top, what did you encounter at the anomalous location?”

“New Dawn’s laboratory.”

“As in the providers of our equipment? We haven’t had contact with them in…”

“Seven years?”

“Just about.”

Micaela chimed in, “That’s because seven years ago, Castle Cerulean pretty much orchestrated an attack on them.”

“They didn’t survive.” Fang added.

Justine pinched her forehead harder. “Well…what was so important that I had break the emergency glass?”

“New Dawn had a trump card waiting for a battle against the main threat.”

"Main threat? Is Castle Cerulean that big a problem?"

Micaela laughed. “Wow! I wish.”

“The God Eternal.” Fang replied.

“The what?” Justine coughed the words.

Fang started from the top, explaining the nature of the God Eternal and why Grays stalked the city. Eventually, Micaela chimed in, explaining how demons would pop up and have to be hunted down. King explained that the demons were likely born from Grays coming in contact with Shining Hearts. Ace point out that shining hearts were hells growing stronger. The administrator listened intently for her part, keeping her questions to a minimum as the information hit her like an endless barrage. When they stopped, it took her a moment to realize it was over, and the doubt she had in them died in the onslaught.

“So…The God Eternal.” She said the words as if she believed them this time. “New York is basically just its prison to keep it from attacking the rest of the world?” That was fairly succinct.

“Yes.” Fang answered. Justine let out a long breath.

“And you all fought it…no, a part of it… and that did what? Slow it down.”

Ace spoke at that. “I think so. I was the only one who could see what the God Eternal was really like. It’s Fragments appear to test the world. The longer the fight goes on the more power it feeds to it, and if the fragment can survive, it’ll see its chance.”

“Son of a bitch!” Justine barked. “So the moment we start losing rounds, this thing is going to rip right through us.” The Graduates nodded, and she pulled a flask from under her desk. She filled up a mug and emptied it with a gulp, then filled it up again. Her eyes turned on Fang. “Congratulations. You’re the leader of this little outfit so you get to tell me what your plan is.”

“We need to recruit allies and prepare for the final battle.”

Justine cackled, and seemed to be happy she could do it again. “That’s all logical and dandy, but we’re dealing with a dead city here, where some of the few survivors want to go to war with us.” She gestured at Micaela, who waved her hands in surrender. “I don’t think we have real ally options out there.”

“We do.” Fang shook her head. “Because of the command, ‘Dark Orange: Revive,’ I used The God Eternal’s powers on the city. Anything that can respond to his light, will, and be revived. We just have to go out and meet them.”

“What exactly does ‘anything’ mean in this situation? It doesn’t sound like it’ll be all sunshine and rainbows, especially with demons running around already.”

“Anything…” Fang closed her eyes. “And we don’t need to worry as much about the demons.” Beyond the Enclave, in New York, the darkness stirred…

Justine didn't question that, but the words did make her think. She sat in silence for a long moment before meeting Fang's eyes intensely. She sipped whatever alcohol she put in her mug before speaking, at last, filling the room with the magnitude of her words.

“I have an idea why this Castle Cerulean decided we’re their enemy.” She said, sitting back in her chair. “If they need survivors to worship their god and make it stronger, then we’re shoving a boot deep into the ass of their plan with the scouts. Usually we only send them as far as about five miles into whatever configuration the city’s in, but then there’s the Graded.” Grades A, B, and C. “They’re the only ones considered strong enough to venture out further and make it back alive. I thought it was about surviving Gray hordes, but now it like they’ve been fighting demons.” She sipped.

“The higher the grade, the further they can go?” Fang asked.

Justine nodded. “But it’s not exactly the cheapest decision.” Something flashed through her eyes, something that was still classified, even despite the situation. “If the city is as bad as you’re saying it is, we need the Graded more now than ever. We might need them more as guards than scouts, and the scouts? I guess they’re just cannon fodder now.” She was thinking out loud, not talking.

“Not necessarily.” King replied still. “With what we’ve learned about Luminance, we can improve everyone’s training. We can give ourselves a fighting chance against the city.”

Ace added, “And with us, you can keep the Graded here. Our group is strong enough to face a powerful fragment. We’d just be held back by anyone else.”

“Not the whole group!” Micaela barked, cleared her throat, then started more calmly, “What I mean is that I’m better in a lab than out there, and King is right. I think Cerulean’s Luminance training will be better than what you currently have, I could fast track things with the right team and resources.”

Fang watched the administrator, wondering what was going through her mind.

“This business about light and darkness…” The woman looked at Fang. “Explain that again.”

Fang looked to King and Micaela. King looked at the woman.

“I thought about a way to simplify it. Light is energy with no data to make it something else. Our Luminance is our light with the data of our life. As long as our target can’t absorb it, it’s an effective weapon.” She looked at King as if to test the simplicity, but he could only nod.

“Then what is Umbra exactly? Other than just an extension of darkness?” Justine’s eyes remained on Fang.

For her part, she thought she might have an answer, but shook her head. “There were four people with no luminance in the Enclave. Me and Assassin, and two others. I plan to make contact with them after this meeting. I will give you a definitive answer after that.”

“Then I will ask you this once, and only once. Are you certain you’re the best fit for facing the God Eternal?”

Fang nodded without hesitation, without even a seed of doubt taking root. Even with the whole of the city now buzzing with new life, there wasn’t a life out there that could face the city without her.

Justine smiled, “Then you kids go home and get a good nights rest. Micaela, I’ll have a room prepared for you in Unit Five with them. Who scooped you all up when you got back?”

“Keke Darling.”

“She’ll do well. Fang, Ace, King, I have a mission for you three. Go out into the city and find us allies to kill the God Eternal.”

“When should we set out?”

“I’ll let you know when, but you can rest for now. It won’t be today or tomorrow.”

Micaela suddenly jumped, “Tomorrow!” The room looked at her. “Um…I think tomorrows a big deal. Cerulean was planning something big that was going to happen tomorrow. I don’t what it was, but it was going to be a game changer.”

"The city shifts tomorrow." Justine offered. "Did any of you find out why that is?" The room conferred with each other and then shook their heads. "Fantastic, another mystery." Justine took a long gulp. "Unless you have anything else to discuss, you're dismissed."

The Graduates wasted no time leaving the woman's office, taking the elevator down, and remaining silent until they stood on the corner outside. Ace glanced back up at the office and then turned to Fang.

“Was it right not telling her about me and you?”

Fang looked back as well. “I don’t know if right is the proper word, but I do think it was wise. I don’t distrust the adminstrator, but I don’t suspect she fully trusts us either. Maybe there’s a reason why, but we won’t find out until later.” She used a panel to summon a taxi, deciding what her next step would be.

Back in the office, the Administrator looked out on the unit, and the specks of the Graduates down below. She thought about their conversation and the questions she deliberately avoided. It made her smile, this Fang girl would make a perfect candidate to hold this position, and she might have given it up already if it wasn’t for Judge. He’d never approve of a kid taking this role while the world was still belly up. If there was the slightest chance that they could save it, she had to keep her head on the chopping block. She had to put it there now, and so she returned to her desk and pulled a locked box from under it. She placed her thumb on a button, felt it prick her and burn her, and licked it as she cursed under her breath. The box opened, revealing a shattered key with shifting pieces.

“All right, Judge… you played your part, so I might as well step up.” She said, and turned to the wall behind her…

[Chapter 3 ends…]