Chapter 7—Returning Heroes

Adam basked in the warmth of desperate prayers, eyes closed and body reclined upon a chaise. His skin felt warm, his blood seemed to buzz, and for the first time since he stepped upon this world again, he was nearly reminded of the embrace of Eden. This feeling was almost like biting into the golden fruit for the first time. He could not quite feel everything like that had done, could not envision heaven and his dominion over it, but he did feel the hearts of his people and their unwavering trust in his guidance. A bit more and he was sure the path to heaven would open to him. A bit more and he would be there with his father again, able to prove his destined place. Adam basked in the warmth of desperate prayers and his mind went there until he felt something ring out in the core of him.

He rose quickly and stomped over to a balcony where Gabriel landed to stand beside him.

"What is this feeling?" He turned his eyes up to the sky. He could hear…no feel a melody, piercing the veil, reaching out to him. It was the music of his father's presence, the way the air seemed to hum in reverence. This was heaven's call, heaven's instruction, this was one of his father's tests.

"The demons have a name for it." Gabriel looked up as well. "They call it Heaven's Night."

Adam laughed. In this forsaken prison where there could be no day, Heaven's Night was a testament to his father's power. Heaven's Night was a message from the king of kings, even in this darkest time, he still ruled.

"Father," A smile stretched across his face. "I understand. We shall be ready. We shall rise!" He lifted his hands toward the sky, and if he bid it so, pillars of light shot up throughout the city. His smile quickly turned to a sneer and he clutched the banister with disgust. He lay his eyes upon sacrilege, he was sure. He turned back to Gabriel, who gave him a dutiful nod.

"Some of those demons thought they were worthy of building Eden."

Adam looked back out. "And this is what I see? So many lights raised to answer my father's call, to pretend themselves worthy of his regard?" Gabriel nodded again, and the metal cracked under Adam's touch. "Who do I fault for this insult?"

"Many have taken your word and twisted it to their own end."

"I see." Adam laughed. "Then let us empty this city of them. We shall start a crusade, Gabriel. All that do not lower their head to my father shall be made examples for those who come after."

"Yes, Lord Adam." Gabriel took flight, sure to carry this message to other angels.

Adam did not return to his chaise after that, but watched the "night" come to an end, counting the many kingdoms he'd see fall…

In the Enclave…

The Graduates awoke to Micaela inviting them over for breakfast. Khalaf in his company with King laughed at the idea of this welcoming party and was still laughing when the three of them connected. It gave Ace the chance to think about the dream, and what it meant to receive it. Would he have another dream tonight? Would it progress like the last one, or would he find himself months into the future, facing the crown of the world? All he could say was that it felt important to learn, but with where he was so far, he couldn't guess what the lesson was. He decided not to share it with the others as they arrived at Micaela's place, waiting for more information they could hone like a sword.

If the doors weren't automatic, he might have said Micaela threw it open when they rang her bell. As fast as it could, it slid aside, and the sweet aroma of food hit them almost as hard as the way she seemed to glow. She smiled, had a bounce in her step, and didn't even seem to take notice of Khalaf's persistent chuckles. This Micaela was simply a beckon of joy, and that almost made the food sweeter as they dug in.

"Sorry I don't have like, eggs or something. I was feeling treats." She almost hummed.

Khalaf floated behind her, shaping glyphs into a mug he pretended to drink from. "Good night I take it."

"The best!"

"I guess that's the benefit of an exclusive with Ms. Darling."

Micaela grinned. "Jealous, aren't ya? Kinda hard to have exclusives without flesh and bone."

Khalaf touched his chest like he was wounded. "Oh Micaela, starting the day trying to kill me again?"

Micaela moved to nudge him and didn't let it bother her when her elbow passed through him. "I don't think you can ever kill a legend." She bounced her eyebrows, and they laughed together.

The Graduates, for their part, stopped eating, watching the interaction as if they walked into a trap.

"Wow! I can't believe you all are shocked."

"You can't?" Ace looked between her and Khalaf. "Are you sure you can't?"

"Pfft," She waved the look off. "I believe that more coming from King than you."

"I second what he said then." King's eyes filled with worry.

"I'm in too good a mood to fight with Khalaf."

"We're basically best friends." Khalaf nodded.

"Let's not get out of hand." Micaela nodded. The two laughed together again, and the Graduates slowly went back to eating.

"So you and Keke met then... How did that go?" Fang asked, and some of the mirth left to make room for the question. If this was ever just a casual breakfast, it wasn't anymore.

"You want to know if I found out anything interesting?"

"Anything that we might want to be cautious of."

Micaela sat down having actually gotten a cup of coffee herself. "I don't think so." She took a sip. "From what I heard, I kinda see why this place stayed around as long as Cerulean did, even without the need of a royal family. People needed something to have hope in, and people like Keke and Legend here were concrete and real. No need to hope for some super great prophecy, just share the stories about these guys."

Khalaf smiled. "I certainly remember those times. I was sharing some of those stories myself."

"And I think that's what today's interview is going to be about. They want new stories to tell. You guys aren't just graduates, you're a reason for them to hope for something better."

Ace felt something swell in his heart and shook his head. "I never thought of it like that." Especially not after immediately competing with Numbers.

Fang lowered her head in apology. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to turn your date into a reconnaissance mission."

Micaela shook her head, "All good. It tells me you didn't have any spies watching us in the shadows."

"Didn't want Fang to see any of the things you got up to."

Micaela guffawed. "If she did, I'd be the new legend." She and Khalaf laughed together again. King shuddered. "Wow, two reactions."

"It just feels..new…" He looked at them.

"Oh don't worry King. By the end of the day I'll be at your side again, making Micaela shiver in fear."

"And I'll remember that he's a creepy ghost with no chill." Micaela laughed. "Which reminds me, Keke wants to do the interview today. She plans to make sure there's a spot open on her show. Someone's getting pushed back, but bigger celebrities are in town."

"That's faster than I thought, but I was expecting it." Fang replied. "Though I don't know how Khalaf brought us here."

"It's cause he'll have to be chill for the duration of the interview."

"Please, Micaela, I've been a silent observer for years now."

"But you also like to chatter."

"Guilty." Khalaf smirked. Micaela rolled her eyes back to Fang.

"You guys are going to need a new look though. The down and dour Graduates is totally your vibe, but we need a reason for people to be happy seeing you."

The Graduates looked at their plain-looking clothes.

"Before you object, you're at home! You don't need to be ready for a big battle in three hours."

"What do you have in mind then?" Ace met her eyes.

"Well, after breakfast, I'm dressing you." Micaela said it so casually they didn't catch it for a moment.

"What?"

"I can't go out there and fight like you all…" She must have seen the doubt in Ace's eyes, cause she paused. "I won't go out there and fight like you all, but living in Cerulean let me develop my sense of fashion. I got perfect tastes in girls, to start. And…we can work something out for you and King."

"I'll help," Khalaf held up his hands to frame them. "Ace I'm thinking, techwear boy band. King gives me college freshman, but handsome."

Micaela laughed. "Doesn't that imply college freshmen aren't handsome."

Khalaf shrugged. "They're a bit schlubby in my opinion."

"Well, besides that. Colors are going to matter too. Ace, we're putting you in orange. King, you're going in blue, obviously. Fang though."

"With the light she's stolen from Cerulean and the big G, we could bring her together with orange and blue. Make her really look like she brings the team together."

"Yeah but I want to embody that whole, Empress Fang look too."

"How do you say, modern royalty?"

"Exactly."

Fang sighed. "I suppose this would be why you invited us here, rather than breakfast."

Micaela smirked. "I got a lot of work cut out for me, don't I?"

There were systems in place to make finding clothes easy, and Micaela took full advantage of them in the hours that stretched between breakfast and their interview. She and Khalaf worked better together than they did against the God Eternal, sorting through one dead-end ensemble after the other. Eventually, and with enough time to spare, they found the fit that served them best. A cab came around to take them to the set, and when it was time to take the stage, they delivered.

The looks manifested much like Khalaf suggested.

Ace came out in a slender orange jacket and baggy black pants. King emerged in a pale blue button-up, pulled out over navy slacks. And Fang, perhaps in that way they made her the leader came out in the most creative garb. A lacey shawl came over the shoulders of a thin black dress that blossomed out into a ruffle skirt. Bracelets shimmered on her arms, glittering with orange gemstones, and with the boys to either side of her, she looked more like a celebrity than a woman from the frontline. A camera focused on the three of them for a moment, but Keke clapped and got its attention back. Micaela took that chance to come up behind them, having stayed aside to not ruin the shot she envisioned, and joined them as they sat down on a couch.

"Welcome to Time with my Darling, you four." Keke gave them a smile, gesturing at the set. They had been briefed ahead of time that despite the presentation, this show was streamed, and on a tablet, on her desk, they saw a scrolling wall of compliments and propositions.

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"We're happy to be here, Keke." Micaela replied, saying more with her eyes than her words conveyed. Keke caught her meaning and smiled slyly.

"Chatters let me tell you about my first meeting with these four. I snatched them up right as they got back and Micaela here was just the biggest chatter bug."

"I'll admit, when a hottie gets me going I don't know how to stop." Micaela smiled slyly, and Keke chuckled.

"Our recent graduates though…maybe their mission left them a little morose."

Fang smiled softly, "I suppose it did. It was a very busy night out there and we were certainly still in mission mode."

"Oh! She talks, and with such a gentle voice. Are we sure such a sweetie is the leader?"

Ace nodded, "Fang doesn't have to raise her voice because we trust her judgment."

"Yeah," came King. "When she talks, we listen."

Keke sat back, and they saw something in that moment. As casual as this feeling might be, this was a lioness on the hunt. This whole stage was something of a trap, and the facade of it all was about to drop.

"Did you ever find yourself regretting her orders?" She pounced.

"I found myself regretting them." Fang caught the blow. "There were a few moments where I could only trust in my allies abilities against unknowns. I had to start thinking about what it meant for a mission to be successful."

"But how did that leave the rest of your squad?"

"It hurt," King lowered his eyes, but caught that toss before it touched the ground. "One thing we learn is that you don't know who you'll be teamed up with for your graduation mission, so you have to expect that it's someone your close to."

Ace shook his head, catching the serve. "Sometimes you don't realize you're close to them until it's too late…" He let the somberness speak the words and the chat became a wall of consolation.

Keke's claws retracted a little, the blood drawn serving its purpose. "It sounds like it's still kind of hell out in the city. You never get a short supply of lives lost out in New York." She smiled, wryly. "Some might say a lot hasn't changed since the world ended." Some of the chatters shared their appreciation of the joke. "But you three made it back…Did you have doubts?"

"Definitely." Fang nodded. "When those losses happened, there was one moment where it hit us all at once. They came too fast to process, and then…" She shook her head.

"It wasn't really something you could face after everything we saw. We knew New York was bad, but that bad?" Ace couldn't say it, but watching Assassin fall was when it dawned on him the most. "We owe a lot to Fang for getting us through it."

Fang smiled and shook her head again. "I couldn't have done it alone. Ace and King came through heavily as we moved toward the end of our mission. Even if I could have made it back alone, I don't think it would feel as successful without them."

"We owe it all to you." King patted her shoulder.

Keke feigned wiping a tear from her eye and Micaela wiped a real one away.

Keke smiled softly, "So, Fang, Ace, and King. Did you go out into the city knowing you'd choose those names, or did you come up with them after you graduated?"

"It was actually a bit before we reached our destination. Our Overseer wanted us to approach the mission believing we'd succeed."

"How'd they feel about the names?"

The Graduates laughed.

"I think he was surprised." King looked at the two of them.

"Definitely. There's no way he knew where we were going with them. It's not like any of us were on the same page." Ace laughed. "Like Fang! You have to hear her explain it."

Fang cleared her throat and genuinely seemed sheepish. "I wanted a name that said I'd bite back against the city. I thought about Knives. Wolf. But eventually settled on Fang…"

Keke laughed. "Was your name the most…creative of the group?"

The Graduates laughed again.

"It's a tie, isn't it?" Ace looked at Fang.

"I don't think it is," King shook his head. "I think there's a very clear winner."

Fang laughed again, "You'd think so, but I think you're forgetting about how your name was chosen."

King flushed. Micaela and Keke's eyes lit up.

"The details, please." Keke urged. The chatters did as well.

"My boyfriend…he wanted a name that worked well together. I'm King and he was my Knight."

The chat exploded into a torrent of gushing and emotes.

"Oh my god…" Micaela covered her mouth. Keke guffawed.

"First time you're hearing this too?"

"Yes! I did not know you were a romantic!" Micaela's eyes sparkled.

"How is that not the clear winner?" Keke grinned.

"Assassin." Ace smiled, and the others chuckled.

"Assassin won cause his name was like hers and Knights." King pointed at Fang.

Fang smiled softly. "He wanted to be my Assassin, but wanted a name that said how determined he was too."

"Chatters, I'm sorry. I didn't know how wholesome these graduates were going to be. Here I was expecting a bunch of duty first babies, but look at them all smiling and blushing. You all clearly lost a lot…but you're still you."

"One way or another." Fang nodded.

"Would you take on the city again?"

"Her name is Fang." Ace smirked. "And I'm the ace up her sleeve."

The chat exploded, shipping the two together.

"It's not like that." Fang smiled. "Ace is a great teammate, both of them are, and it'd be impossible to say we weren't friends."

"So ladies and gentlemen, Ace is single. Keep that in mind." Keke winked at the camera. "You all lost a lot out there, but you gained something interesting on top of it. Micaela. Micaela. Micaela."

"I guess you really like saying my name." Micaela crossed her legs and the chat flooded with comments shipping her with Keke.

"I guess I do." Keke grinned. "But we can save that for later…for now, Micaela…how did you happen upon our intrepid graduates?"

"It's more like they happened upon me. I wasn't prepared for who they'd be."

"She tried to shoot me." Ace said.

"In my defense…! You had just did something pretty scary." Ace put his hands up in surrender. "Keke I was terrified, let me tell you."

"I bet. I've seen Numbers train before. They're definitely monsters out in the field."

"Some more than others." Micaela looked at her group. "But despite being monsters they were clearly the good guys. I didn't know as much about New York as I thought I did, even living out there."

"We gotta talk about that actually. Most survivors wouldn't quite say they were living out there, but you, Micaela."

"I won't say it was a normal life. I mean, can any of us say life is normal anymore? But like, I wasn't scared for my life most days."

"So you wouldn't say the graduates rescued you?"

Micaela shook her head. "No, I'd definitely say they did. Especially that night. A lot of things were going on and if they weren't there to pull me out of it, I might not be here right now."

"Oh, are you saying they're your heroes?"

Micaela put on a false look of begrudging acceptance. "They aren't the first ones I would have grabbed at the store, but yes."

The room laughed and Keke leaned forward. "Next thing you knew, you were a hero too."

"Which is why I wouldn't have chosen them first! Can a girl just be a rescued damsel?"

King shook his head. "You weren't made to be a damsel, Micaela."

"You think that sounds like a compliment but it doesn't."

The room laughed again.

"Well, I definitely prefer heroes myself." Keke winked.

"On second thought then…"

Another round of laughter. The chat became a flood of laughter too. The mirth rolled on until Keke wiped a real tear away. The interview continued a little after that, toward matters of being back in the Enclave and what the Graduates were looking forward to, now that they weren't Numbers anymore. They were asked about their fondest memories beforehand, if things felt different afterward, and Keke seemed to become a soothing presence as they grew closer to winding down.

"Well, chatters, that's all the time we have for today. Fang Gang, it was a pleasure having you on."

"Fang gang…" Micaela murmured, incredulously.

"It was a pleasure being on." Fang nodded. "It feels like we haven't gotten a chance to laugh like this in a bit."

"Don't ever let those chances slip by, I say. We get a lot from moments like this."

The Graduates smiled at each other and were ready to leave with one last goodbye when a screen behind Keke clicked on.

"Apparently, we have a last minute guest." She looked up at it.

The Administrator appeared, ever the serious woman she seemed to be, not one bit affected by the energy of the show. It only seemed like the smallest concern when she spoke.

"Hello Keke. Hello, Graduates, and the viewers watching tonight. I don't mean to steal the spotlight, but since the moment seems opportune, I thought I might use your show to make an announcement." The look on Keke's face said she didn't know where this was going. The breath the Administrator took said otherwise about herself. "In a few days, I will be opening up the Grading Grounds to Graduates and Numbers alike. Any current Graduate and Number ranked higher than 400 will be allowed to be graded for future missions. For Numbers of course, receiving a grade will mean immediate graduation."

As easily as they entered the joyful feeling, the graduates slid out of it upon hearing those words. While live, they had received their latest mission, and their minds immediately prepared. The Administrator smiled as she bid farewell and hung up, and Keke gave them an uncertain look as the chat responded in shock.

"Well, while I'd love to continue this conversation, we really are out of time for the night…Let's say goodbye to the graduates one last time, chatters." Keke continued still, and they waved goodbye to the camera.

After a few more minutes, when the show was completely over, she found them backstage and didn't hide the worry on her face.

"I really knew nothing about that." She offered. Fang shook her head.

"It's not a matter of concern. We were prepared for what was coming next."

"A few days though? You all just got back."

"Judge used to call New York the city that never sleeps. Perhaps we're seeing the result of that now." King offered, and Keke offered them a sad but understanding smile.

"You four are going to accomplish something great, aren't you?"

Ace found himself smiling at that and nodded. "I don't think the city will give us a choice."

They departed shortly after that, even Micaela who had hoped to have another night with the host. Clearly, there was too much to prepare for after the administrator's announcement, and after tonight's rest, they had to prepare for work… At the front gate though, where a bus pulled in and a group of survivors flooded out, the leader of Grade B received the news and felt a shudder run through him. He looked at his tired allies and back to the soldier who told him.

"Call me a cab to the administrator's office. I have to get these survivors in order." He went to his squad. They were ready to break, but aware that their night wasn't over yet. "Get ready." He sighed. "She doesn't know what's happening out there right now…"

[Chapter 7 ends…]