Vi took out a key hidden under a potted plant and entered the house, the other three following quickly behind her. “Morgan!”
The bunny woman was sitting on her bed, sobbing. Her purple robes were dirty, with a faint smell of smoke and fire, and flecks of ash lay on her witch hat. On the table beside her was her scepter, its green orb still pulsing with heat and green light. Vi leaned over and put her arms around her.
When Morgan tried to speak, she could barely get the words out. “It’s my c-c-cousin. He’s d-dead!” The moment she finished talking, a fresh wave of tears came forth.
Vi settled next to Morgan and gave her tissues. Enrique sat down beside them and removed his hat. They were all silent for several minutes. Alicia looked on blankly and Sven folded his arms but said nothing, a serious expression on his face.
She finally calmed down enough to talk again. She croaked, “I didn’t even know. I should have picked up first thing when my mom called. I was all the way in Larush to help evacuate the borders. Stars, how could I be so stupid?” She struck the bed with her fists and clenched them tightly. “I should have been there! Maybe I could have—could have done something.”
Morgan, tearful, looked up into Vi’s eyes. “How did it happen? Do you know? Can you tell me, please?”
Vi’s eyes were pained. She held her close. “Morgan, sweetie, it won’t do you good to dwell on this. Don’t blame yourself. You should take some time off. I can help with whatever you need.”
The witch gripped the fox woman’s shoulders. “Tell me. I can’t—I don’t think I can live with myself if I don’t even know how it went.”
Enrique glanced at Vi. She was remorseful. He felt the same way, even if he didn’t necessarily know Morgan as well.
“It was a gang. The Dire Wolves.” Vi gently put her tails around the bunny woman.
Morgan put her hands down. They formed fists and shook. “I’ll kill them. I’ll find and kill every single one of them.”
“I’m with you on that,” Enrique agreed. He folded his arms and leaned against a wall tacked with posters and half-scribbled notes.
Alicia had wandered off towards the kitchen. She wasn’t sure what everyone was doing in this house. She was surprised to see Sven enter as well. The man grabbed some packaged snacks and water bottles from a cabinet, and then drifted back to Morgan’s room like a ghost. Alicia followed, enticed by the items. He wordlessly handed Alicia a bag of shrimp chips and put the rest of the food on a nearby table.
Vi glanced over and nodded her thanks. She fetched a water bottle with a tail and gave it to Morgan. “I know you’re upset. Revenge is never the answer.”
“I don’t c-care. I’ll kill them. No one hurts my family and gets away with it. Maybe I didn’t get along with my mom and dad, but they’re still my family. My cousins didn’t d-do anything wrong. My mom would bring them to our house every summer. We’d play board games. Jamie was twelve. Now he’s g-g-gone.”
Vi pulled Morgan closer and nestled the witch’s head against her chest. She cradled the bunny woman, wrapping tails around her body like a blanket. “You have every right to be angry. I’m just worried about your well-being and stopping all the attacks. I don’t want more of us to suffer.”
Morgan dabbed her eyes and stared with bleary confusion.
Vi patted her on the head as she explained a little further. “The Unplaced or so-called ‘lesser kingdoms’ are many lands each filled with desperate people. Even if you killed every member of a gang, who’s to say a new one won’t replace them? I would imagine anyone connected to the Dire Wolves would oppose the kingdom even more and retaliate. I’d rather we cut off the roots of the problem. What’s more, if you go that route, how will you be any different from them?”
The bunny woman took a sip of water and made a noise between a sniffle and a hiccup. She shook her head.
Enrique voiced Morgan’s thoughts for her. He was of the same mind. “They would deserve it.”
Vi turned her attention to him. “Is that what you think? They’re nothing but a group of faceless thugs? This world isn’t as black and white as you imagine. There’s shades in between. People don’t usually do such things for the sake of being bad.”
He furrowed his eyebrows. “Didn’t you kill a lot of them yourself?”
Vi averted her eyes and focused on the wall behind him. She couldn’t help but wonder how the child she used to be would have seen the grown-up version of herself. Frightened, probably. Maybe repulsed.
“I’m not against eliminating immediate threats to the Kingdom. You might not believe me, but I mean it when I say I absolutely despise killing. I don’t like seeing anyone suffer. Not even enemies. I’d rather everyone have a second chance and learn to live with each other.”
Enrique shook his head vigorously as he watched Morgan shake with emotion. “No. No f***ing way. Not after what they’ve done.”
Vi focused back on Morgan. “Let’s not talk about this right now. Get some rest, Morgan. I’ll take you to your family.”
The bunny woman responded by closing her eyes. She looked worn out.
Enrique straightened, serious. “What do we do now? We need to defeat that gang.”
Sven spoke up. “I don’t really know what’s going on, but if what she says is true, I want to help too. It’s simply wrong to kill a child.”
Vi leaned back. “How will you do that? It’s too dangerous.”
Enrique insisted. “I can get stronger. I have to.”
Vi scanned Enrique, Sven, and Alicia. Her eyes settled on Enrique. “There’s always the generic academy arc, but going through it isn’t enough.”
“Huh? What’s that?” He blinked.
A hint of a smile played on her lips. “Don’t you know? The generic academy arc, where you train with classmates and teachers, fight evil, gain abilities, win a tournament, and learn the power of friend—”
“Whoa. No. No, we’re not doing that.” The boy held out his hands. He cringed. “That’s like these old books my brother used to read. Blech.”
Sven was slightly amused. “That does sound boring.”
Vi fell quiet and stared at the wall. “I’d stop you if I could, but it’s your life. Your choice. I don’t intend to get involved anymore. The king doesn’t allow me to.”
Enrique inspected Vi. She had stopped smiling and was strangely apathetic, her normally bright eyes dull. “Did he say that in your meeting with him?”
“Yes. The king and queen are unhappy with my interference. The escort earlier didn’t end well. They forbid me from being involved in any more operations. I can’t talk to any fighters and I doubt Their Majesties want any of my advice at the moment.” She paused and took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. “I’m much weaker than I used to be. More than that, I feel I’m simply not capable of handling these problems by myself. You saw how much others distrust me.”
She turned her attention back to the trio. “Do you even know what you’re asking to do? In some ways, the kingdom and these gangs are at war. War starts and ends in the hearts and minds of all sides involved. Like I said, the problems the kingdom is facing is much harder than taking the simple route of swinging a sword. If you hurt the gang and they hurt you back, that can go on for years and all you end up with is more deaths. At some point, you need to go to your enemy and compromise.”
She glanced down at Morgan. The witch had fallen asleep, which Vi supposed was good in that she couldn’t overhear the conversation. The poor thing would react badly.
Vi took out the silver box with the small green and white vials. “Do you know how gang members are able to make money?”
Enrique pointed, and Vi confirmed it. “These drugs are being illegally smuggled across borders. We Anima haven’t been affected much because our communities tend to be very close and we educate ourselves about these, but it’s not so in the nearby lands. Especially the High Race and Stone Lords who decided to stay in their homelands after losing the war.”
Enrique peered at the vials. “So they take drugs. Why? What do these do?”
Vi picked up a vial so the others could look at the green liquid sitting inside. Bubbles drifted to the surface. “Drifters and other substances are terribly addictive. These drugs have magic boosting effects in mild doses, but alter your mental state if the amount taken is too high. What would you do if you were part of a defeated nation, but chose not to leave it? Without natural resources, without strong communities, and in more poverty than before, many of the remnant are looking for escape from daily life.”
She activated her powers and described what she saw to them. That wasn’t really necessary, but she also used the opportunity to check out some future scenes if the three did follow through. “If enough drugs get into the kingdom in the future, there’s going to be a slow decay. Citizens stop taking care of themselves. They become sick. Starving, poor, unable to make ends meet. There’s thousands of daily possibilities. An elderly man roaming lost in pain, a family becoming homeless and torn apart, a young student becoming violent. These kinds of problems, and cutting short the long-term threat of the gangs, are what you’re signing up for.”
Sven and Alicia fell silent. Enrique scratched his head, feeling a huge weight settling in on him. “These are…kind of hard. Stopping the drugs seems even harder than fighting the gang members. That could take years. Is it even doable?”
Vi made no answer to that. “That’s the sacrifice it takes to save lives. This isn’t something you can fix in a single battle, or five, or ten. You’d have to begin to change cultures, fix economies, and repair feelings of distrust. You have to give even enemies a chance for friendship and redemption, understand their reasons and point of view, and solve real threats like drug abuse which could take years. Why even try?”
Sven finally commented, “You’re asking us what’s our motivation? It does seem like a big ask from our ends.”
Vi stroked Morgan’s hair absentmindedly. “It is. The Anima Kingdom is not your problem, first of all. I understand if you feel it’s too overwhelming. You could even walk away and ignore everything I said. I want to make clear that I’m completely against Enrique getting himself hurt, but I respect whatever decision he or any of you make. You need to find your own motivations. Getting stronger may be necessary, but I doubt it’s a good goal in itself.”
At this Vi looked at her partner.
The fox woman paused. “You’re running out of time, by the way. The king has a strict death penalty imposed on criminals like the gangs. I don’t agree with it, but King Malgus is more harsh than he used to be, and as I said the king and queen aren’t in a mood to listen to me. Then there’s Morgan.” She glanced down at the witch. “Her thoughts right now. I don’t think I need to explain that, do I? Indiscriminate killing usually doesn’t give room for negotiations.”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Sven was thoughtful. “I don’t think I can spend that much time, but I still want to help. It sounds like something worth doing.”
Enrique grit his teeth and seemed to be struggling with himself, as if frustrated. “Hey, Vi. Can you tell me if I’ll ever be strong enough? Can you look into the future and see if I destroy that stupid leader?”
The fox woman looked him in the eye. “I once knew someone. He lost a friend important to him, which made him care so much about strength he lost sight of himself. He gained the powers of a demon and became the world’s most powerful assassin. I don’t think it was worth it. Enrique, will you become a fire that helps others, or a flame that consumes everything?”
Why the h*** didn’t you just answer my question? Is it because you think I’ll lose again? Enrique jutted his chin and glared defiantly at Vi. “Fine, then. I’ll keep that in mind, but I only want to get stronger. That’s my motivation right now, and that’s enough for me. Okay? I’ll keep feeling like s*** if I don’t. I’m going.”
Vi’s expression softened. “I know. If you need strength to feel less bad, then I support that.”
Alicia interjected. “I don’t want to go. What’s in it for me?”
Vi placed Morgan on the bed and walked over, typing something on a phone. She leaned down to the cat girl’s ear and murmured a single word, so quiet none of the others could hear her. “Freedom.”
Alicia’s eyes widened. She shot the fox woman a searing look, as if to ask, “What are you talking about?”
Vi showed her her phone. There was text on the screen. “Work with me, and I’ll bring you back to safety. Permanently. From the real source of all this.”
Louder, Vi declared, “Tuna! Lots of tuna! See all these pictures?”
Alicia’s eye twitched. “F*** you. Fine.” Enrique noted the cat girl appeared quite grumpy, like she wasn’t having a choice in the matter. It might have been his imagination, but she also seemed disturbed.
Vi picked up Morgan, checking the witch was still sleeping. “If you’re going after the Dire Wolves, you can’t do it in an ordinary way. If you join the adventurers and Guilds, there won’t be an end to this violent cycle. We’ve already seen our opponents resolve to fight to the death.”
“Then what do we do?” Sven asked. Alicia munched a snack beside him. She’d already gone through three bags during their conversation.
Vi paused. There was an 80% chance of a less typical progression if she worded her statement a certain way. It could benefit everyone involved, though. She looked at the cat girl and chose her next words slowly and carefully. “You need to be able to gain their cooperation from the inside. See how they think, how they operate, who’s supporting them, and what’s driving them towards their goals. You need to be able to shadow them for days at a time.”
Alicia thought for a moment. “Oh. I got it.”
Enrique scrunched his face at the cat girl. “What?”
“Let’s start a gang.”
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“A gang? Are you crazy?” Enrique stared at Alicia in disbelief. The boy rubbed his head. “I can think of at least ten different ways that can go wrong.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Alicia glanced at the others, reading their reactions. Of them all, only Enrique appeared very surprised, though Sven did quirk an eyebrow.
She guessed she needed to explain her reasoning. “It’s a good cover. We won’t be on the side of adventurers so they won’t suspect us. If we can live like a gang then we could stay around Dire Wolves territory and learn about them. If we tried to join them directly then I don’t think it could work. I already tried to run from them.”
Sven thought a bit. “You encountered them before? We could pretend you’re part of us as a new group. I’ve done some undercover operations before, but not exactly like this. I'm not against it if we get results.”
Enrique turned to Vi, shifting slightly and tugging his hat. “I don’t know. This feels kinda…illegal? Criminal? And it’s really dangerous. I’ve sort of done this before. It’s not exactly fun.”
Vi’s reply didn’t exactly put him at ease. “It is completely illegal, and it gives you options. You won’t be associated with guilds or the kingdom, but you can threaten other gangs and take control of drugs, members, and supplies. Gangs sometimes fight each other and merge so you could have an excuse to incorporate the others. As a rival gang, you can operate on a moral gray area.”
“And—you’re okay with this?” He eyed her with disbelief.
“Of course not. But let me put it to you this way.” She thought for a moment. “There’s a chain of command going on. The gang, their leader, whoever gives them weapons, and the one who supplies their information.
“Think about all the attacks happening. Monsters are driven from their natural territories while criminals rise to power. Meanwhile there’s division in the kingdom. It all serves to spread our defenses thin and weaken the kingdom.”
“That’s awfully convenient if I’m a bad guy,” Enrique agreed.
“It’s too coordinated and sudden to be a coincidence. There’s someone else pulling the strings behind this. You need to go up the tree one by one. With a gang, you have a higher future success rate than some other approaches. Maybe 45% as of now. That’s all I’m saying. Do this right, or don’t do it at all. Find the one responsible at the top, and end him.”
The four set off, Vi carrying her sleeping friend. Apparently her tails were quite comfy because the witch was slumbering even as they were moving.
“Hang on.” Enrique frowned. “What if we end up fighting adventurers?”
Vi put a tail on his shoulder. “Try to avoid that as much as possible. Focus on one small goal first.”
One small goal? Enrique spent some time in silence, thinking, shooting a glance at Alicia. “Oh. Hey, Alicia. Remember that message you got on your phone? The one you guessed was from the gang?”
She nodded and pulled out the phone. There was a green text bubble. One week from today. 22:30, Anima time. Kaven, south side, by the toy shop. Give us the item. Come or else.
“I don’t know how they found my number,” Alicia confessed. This wasn’t true, because she had sent her number to one of Master’s contacts earlier. The assassin hadn’t really seen the contact in person, but Master had been blunt that this one was very secretive and careful to hide his or her traces, only providing a throwaway phone number. She still needed to deliver the alliance draft agreement she found to Master, and Master was wary of sending it through the Kingdom’s online channels.
Enrique turned his face to Vi and explained his idea. “I don’t know how your power works, but we’ve got a time and place. Can you use your Eye and tell us what the gang’s doing in a week’s time? Maybe we can trace the steps they’re taking backwards and intercept them in the next couple days before Alicia ever has to meet them.”
Sven was politely interested upon hearing this.
Vi hesitated. “It’s perfectly doable. I do have a limit to my powers, though.” Her eyes glowed.
A stream of scenes flashed in her mind. She found an early one.
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72%. After midnight. City of Kaven.
Gang members stood in the darkness near a closed shop. Their black armor and clothes underneath was dirty, scratched and torn in places. Many had bloodied bandages around their bodies. Their hair was disheveled and their faces were dark and brooding in the shadows. The leader, Yecna, surveyed a pile of green and white bottles. He had a green vial in his hand, tapping his boot impatiently. After a moment, he walked over to a shadowy spot.
“Took you long enough.” He could barely keep the venom out of his voice.
A silhouette stood with its back turned, its shadow visible in the dim orange lights of the closed shop. “It’s not my fault you lost, Yecna.” The overly high-pitched, tinny voice spoke his name with a mocking accent. “Shall we proceed with the exchange?”
…
Yecna spat out his next words. “I want answers. The item you sent wasn’t enough.”
“Don’t blame me. I’m a distributor. We can arrange for something stronger next time. How about that?”
Yecna took a menacing step forwards, his face smoldering with rage and desperation. He tightened a fist. The muscles on his biceps bulged. “You don’t understand. My crew is counting on you for our livelihoods. If you’re going to talk us down, I can remove you.”
The silhouette remained with its back facing away.
“Eh heh heh heh. I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I wonder, are your men in any condition to fight? Who knows what I could do?”
The man gradually relaxed his grip. The expression on his face remained, but was further disfigured by loathing and a hint of fear.
The leader lowered the vial to the figure.
“Good, good. That’s a sizable pile of drugs. The more the merrier. I’ll see if I can have some amulets crafted.” The mysterious figure turned. Its shadow held out a hand, grasping the vial, and had a malevolent smile on its face.
It was much smaller than its initial shadow suggested.
It was a brown stuffed teddy bear.
Scene end.
Vi blinked a couple times. Well, she had seen weirder things in her life.
Four hours before. Five hours before. Six hours.
Vi traced another scene before that, following in reverse the stuffed animal’s near future to a location she recognized. An open field in front of some classrooms.
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Vi glanced at the others. “Tonight the gang plans to capture a large amount of drugs. To find them, you need to track down and steal a certain item in the Anima Academy. I’m not sure how to explain this, but it’s a stuffed animal. A teddy bear. There’s most likely a student carrying it.”
Enrique raised his eyebrows. “A what-now? Why?”
“The teddy bear is important to finding Yecna,” Vi explained evasively.
This was true but she already had a tracking spell from her previous attack on the leader. The problem was, it wasn’t good for Alicia to know about that. Vi intended to also track down the suspected assassin from the escort mission, which she hadn’t been able to get a good lock on with the tent’s distance and De’Vorah interfering. She would have to find a way to tell Enrique later in private.
“Um…okay.”
Vi did her best to give him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. It’ll make sense later. Are you sure you want to continue? I’ve already lost a partner and—” She broke off and stared into the distance, as if recalling a memory. “Ah.”
Abruptly, she sat down and closed her eyes, pulling Morgan to her and rocking her back and forth. Her voice became very soft. “I don’t want to…I don’t want to see that again. Don’t want to continue. Don’t want you to go. Please don’t do this to me. Don’t my feelings matter too?”
Enrique froze. Alicia was confused.
Sven blinked for a couple moments, then folded his arms. “I see,” he said in a quiet tone.
“Vi, what’s happening?” Enrique was alarmed. “Are you okay?”
Sven shook his head. “I’ve seen something like this before. One of my old teammates, after serving overseas. It happens when you experience some horrible events.”
Vi clutched Morgan to her like she was a stuffed animal, eyes open but staring ahead into empty space. “Morgan, I need help. I need to talk to you.”
The sleeping witch made a small noise. Vi finally managed to tear herself away and look down at Morgan. Her eyes seemed to regain focus. “Okay. Okay. I need to help Morgan. I’m—I’m fine.” She stood up.
There was a moment of awkward silence. “Sorry about that,” she told the rest of them, with a small, apologetic smile.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Enrique peered at Vi with worry in his brown eyes.
“No! I’m not! You’re going to get hurt very soon. Maybe even die. It might be today. It might be a week, five years, or ten years from now. But what can I do?” She smiled, sad. “You need to go through that to grow. And right now, that’s more important.”
She started walking at a fast pace and the rest struggled to keep up.
“If we’re starting a gang, we need a name,” Enrique told them. “How about the Blue Dra—”
“Black Cats,” Alicia cut in, as if this was the most natural thing in the world.
“Okay.” Vi was happy at this choice.
“Works with me,” Sven said with a shrug.
Enrique was exasperated. “Well—fine. Whatever.”
The newly named Black Cats and Vi kept walking in silence. Enrique glanced around at the team.
“Let’s figure out the details later,” Vi advised the rest. “We shouldn’t talk too much in the open.”