I gave AEGIS a quick hug before we parted at the stairway, wishing her luck and making her promise to stay safe. She gave me a quirky glance and made me promise instead.

And then we were off, Karu and I heading down while AEGIS went up alone. When we emerged into a series of hallways, brightly lit and snaking around offices and briefing rooms, the feeling of deja vu became palpable. I knew I'd seen Karu and Cosette running and fighting in these hallways. I'd seen it, absolutely, without doubt.

"You seem as though you have seen a ghost, as it were," Karu said, watching me cagily.

"Yeah," I said looking right back at her. Maybe I had.

"Ever since we reached Soran, you have been...off. Are you certain that you are well? If you are not at your peak, you should not be here. Director Blackett is liable to be a formidable adversary."

"No, I'm fine," I said. I was, I really was, I wasn't just convincing myself of that. But I wouldn't be soon...none of us would. That was unsettled me. Was that Soran's play? Throw some spooky images in my head and psyche me out so I'd get myself killed?

No, that didn't fit. If he just wanted me dead, he could have done that.

The answer seemed obvious. Why give anyone knowledge except to educate them? Why warn someone if you weren't helping them avoid danger? Why arm us with foresight except to avoid mistakes. It seemed straightforward…

...if only it were coming from anyone other than Soran. I didn't know what his game was, apparently didn't even know all his powers, and had no idea his motivation. I'd thought it pretty straightforward and obvious that he'd just wanted to get into New Eden to make a buffet of the Exhumans in there...yet instead he was saving people?

"I must assume you are lying," Karu said, waving a hand in front of me. "You do not seem fine to me."

"I'm just trying to plan how not to get everyone killed," I said. "AEGIS is up there taking on Targa by herself."

"And Targa is just one administrator, not even a soldier with a combat record as far as I was able to determine, whereas the AI is highly competent, even against fully-armed soldiers."

"Yeah," I agreed. I knew that, but there were a lot of things I thought I knew right now and they were all conflicting. "Look, let's just not waste time."

"I am not the one standing, lost in thought."

"Right," I said, and ran forward. Karu fell in behind me, and when I felt like she was going to ask where I thought I was going, I just ran faster.

Cosette turned to face us as we ran up, right where I thought she'd be.

"Chariot? What the hell are you doing here? You were on personal leave?"

I started to answer but stopped myself. Cosette seemed to take the growing silence as trouble and grew visibly more tense and anxious as the seconds passed, and in response, so did Karu.

Just like in my vision. It was coming true. If I left the situation alone, Karu would shoot first and they'd fight and Karu would lose. I didn't remember the details, but I could never forget the outcome.

I threw up a hand sign for 'full stop' and seemingly by reflex, Karu dropped into a crouch and held her position behind a corner of the hallway.

"Cosette, sorry. This might be coming out of nowhere, but I have to ask, were you a Peregrine?"

"Excuse me?"

"An airborne. Like Karu was. Were you?"

"Well...yeah, actually. Why are you asking? And why now?"

That completely confirmed it for me. There was no other way I knew that but from the memories Moon had. So they were true, and they did show me things I couldn't know otherwise.

I reminded myself they might not be completely true, and while there was a lot of memories which suddenly needed even closer scrutiny, I didn't have time for any of that anymore. I had somewhere else to be, and urgently.

Moon might have been able to help the situation outside with Tem and Tower, and I might be able to fix things here with Karu, but AEGIS was still on her own, doomed to fail again unless I got to her in time. My heart painfully skipped a beat at the thought, and I wanted to leave right now and run screaming after her.

But my heart could only jump so far without bumping into the ball of burning hate in my chest. Blackett was still here, and still needed my attention. As much as I wanted to run and save AEGIS, I also wanted to protect Saga, avenge her, and extract revenge for the pain he'd put on her, and on me through her memories.

I realized I was standing there like an idiot while Cosette eyed me with increasing worry.

"You uh, okay there, buddy?" she asked.

"No," I admitted. "I'm not. I'm super overwhelmed by everything right now, and dealing with you is the last thing I want to do."

To my surprise, she laughed. "Welcome to my whole job, buddy. You think I ever roll out of the bed in the morning and think, 'oh boy, another day of picking up after Chariot?' You leave a hell of a mess for me sometimes, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't drive me crazy...but on the whole...you're an alright guy, even if you are kind of…" she glanced at Karu. "...a deviant."

"I'm actually with AEGIS right now--actually, that doesn't matter."

"Oh I think it matters," she said with a grin. "But...later, maybe. Right now, I can tell you're not holding together too well. Just tell me what I can do to help, that's my job."

I opened and closed my mouth without getting anything out a few times. Cosette waited patiently while Karu went about as ballistic as one could while sitting motionless. I gave her another firm full-stop gesture and she just shook her head at me like I was crazy.

Maybe I was.

"Cosette...you said you signed up to lead the P-Force because you thought the idea of working with Exhumans was cool. You're obviously pretty open-minded on us. What do you think of New Eden?"

"Is this...really what you want to ask?" she said. "If you want something, you can just say it, you know. Don't waste your time beating around the bush on my account, I actually prefer people being blunt and getting things done."

"I think I do want to ask this. Just answer...please."

She shook her head. "Okay, whatever. I think, honestly -- because that's the only way I roll -- that New Eden is kind of a dump. Like the literal kind, where you put garbage. It's not the place it was supposed to be."

"And what do you think of the XPCA's presence here?"

"Obnoxious. But that may be tainted by me having to run out here with Blackett for inspections and paperwork. Like I needed another desk job."

I sighed and gestured for Cosette to follow me a few feet further from the door. She followed with a puzzled expression. "What I'm going to tell you...I know I don't have the best record with you, but you know I wouldn't lie about something like this. You know I wouldn't do this if I had any other choice."

"You're definitely creeping me out, kid. If you're asking me out, I have no interest in joining the hunter and body-modder--"

"Cosette, damn it, I'm serious."

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She stopped and nodded, her brown eyes watching me closely.

"Saga, the Code-X, a friend of mine. She's here, under New Eden, and has been tortured in just...unspeakable, inhuman ways, for weeks on end. Left hanging there, crucified while they tore her flesh away from her until she was nothing left but a torso and head and arms, just...blood and…"

Cosette snapped in front of my face a few times. "Focus, Chariot."

"Right. Sorry." I let out a deep breath and refocused on what I was doing now. Pushed back that urge to kick in the door and rip Blackett apart with my own bare hands. "The XPCA here as a whole don't know about it. It was a project between Blackett and Targa only. And they did it so that they could force her to brainwash everyone in New Eden to be loyal to Blackett, force them into being his own personal Exhuman army. He wanted to make a newer, bigger P-Force, but with mental slaves."

Cosette's eyes were narrowed as she stared at me with an intensity that rivaled Karu's. She really had been a Peregrine, hadn't she? The way her eyes burned straight through to one's soul.

And like that...we just stood there. A minute dragged by while she just bored into me with her eyes. I didn't know whether to look into them or away, or why my hands suddenly felt so clumsy. I became acutely aware of how often I shifted weight on my feet, and wondered if she took that as a sign I was lying.

Finally she sighed at me. "I bet you don't have any proof, do you?"

"You think I'm smart enough to get dirt from under Blackett?"

"No...that was a stupid question. And now, let me take a guess, because you're here, and there's only one reason one someone as thick-headed and determined as you would be here right now. You're going to make an attempt on Blackett's life over this."

"Yes."

"That's straight-up treason, you know that? Premeditated, willful assault of a superior officer?"

"Yes, I know."

She studied me for another long moment. "But you're not backing down anyway, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

"And being an Exhuman, you could probably cut me up right where I stand. Before I could warn him or stop you or anything. Or is that why you asked if I was airborne? Judging my abilities before you went after me?"

"No...that was just something I'd heard and wanted to confirm out of curiosity," I said. It wasn't really a lie. "And...I wouldn't hurt you if I could avoid it. You're a good person."

To my surprise, she smiled at me, even as she grilled me over treason. "You're a good person too, Chariot, which is the only reason I'm not trying to shoot you in the face right now. Well, that and the shield. But if you were pretty much anyone else, I'd think you were off your rocker. But, unfortunately, I do know you."

She paused for a moment. "And more importantly maybe, I know Blackett too. He's smart, he's dedicated, he's fiercely loyal to the XPCA in theory...but in practice...he wanted those generals dead probably more than your friend Saga did. My honest thought when I saw what was going on up there was that he'd somehow orchestrated it. If I believe you, which I am not saying I do, but if I do...a lot of shit just makes a lot more sense. I've started my own little investigations in the past, but they always got shut down. Now I might know why."

"Oh, thank--"

She held up a hand. "Hang on. I still said I don't know if I believe you. And let's say I do...shouldn't he be arrested instead of you barging in there like...well, like an Exhuman?"

"It won't work though. He's made all the Exhumans loyal to him personally. If it came out publicly, they'd...they'd do a hundred times worse than what's going on up there, and all with the tacit approval of the Blackett supporters in the XPCA."

"Which is like, everyone," Cosette nodded.

"It'd be the world's worst Exhuman event, and half the XPCA wouldn't even want to stop it. The only way would be Blackett himself making them stand down."

"And I could see it now, accolades for exemplary service, and stopping the largest Exhuman event in history, special exemptions for proving himself indispensable...all for a situation he engineered." She held her head. "Not to mention how that reflects on New Eden and Exhuman rights. Damn, what a pickle."

"Yeah. And...he's just sick. I always knew he was a power-hungry scheming jerkass, but it wasn't until I saw what he was willing to do to Saga...what he'd do to a person to get what he wanted, that I realized...he's too dangerous. Like, what if the president starts obstructing the XPCA? Would Blackett have any problems...I don't know, flaying the president's daughter's alive in front of him until he gave in? I used to think, no, that's not how anyone would act...no human could be that cruel..."

Cosette lifted her floppy hat and scratched her head vigorously before delicately putting the cap back on. "I don't know, Chariot. You've given me so much...shit, just dropped on me. And not a lot of time to process it. I can't just let you walk in there and kill someone."

"You can, and you should."

"It's not my call."

"It is, though. You're here, and I'm doing this thing. Right here and right now. There's nobody else to make this call but you."

"And what if I say no? What if I scream right now and try to shoot you?"

"Then I'll be really mad at you."

"And that's it?"

"I mean...I don't want to hurt you. I'd probably try to shock you without killing you and go for Blackett before he can get away."

She shook her head but was still smiling. "You're such a fucking terrible soldier. I see why you kept telling Karu to hold. I bet she would have put a bullet in my face ten seconds into this conversation."

"That's because I'm really not a soldier, Cosette. I'm just a guy trying to do the right thing."

"I know. And like I said, that's the only reason I'm even listening to you."

She stopped and sat down on the floor, holding her head in her hands.

"You okay?"

"Killer headache all the sudden. Sorry."

"Oh," I said, not sure what to make of it. "Um."

"It's fine. It happens sometimes. Tell your friend Karu not to let it happen to her, or they'll take away her wings."

"Really? Uh, I will."

"It was a joke, dumbass. Ow, damn it. I just need a few."

I wavered for a moment but every second was precious here. "Look, I'm sorry to force this on you but...we're going ahead with Blackett. I just...don't have the time, I'm sorry."

"Chariot, wait," she said and grabbed my ankle. I took a deep breath and reminded myself she was a friend, she wasn't restraining me, we were all cool here. "Is this...is this really right?"

"It's the only way I know."

She looked me in the eyes again like she was looking for something. I wondered what it was that she spent so long doing it.

"What happens after?" she asked. She sounded scared since the first time I'd ever known her.

"The XPCA goes on. We keep getting better and getting rid of corrupt people like Blackett and Albion, and good people like you and me hopefully have a chance to reform things like how they should be."

"Is it really going to be okay?"

"I don't know. But I do know that if we don't change things, if Blackett stays in power, things won't be okay at all."

I was trying to be calm and patient for her sake but...AEGIS needed me. Now, if not sooner. I couldn't delay any longer.

She laughed suddenly. "As your CO, I should be the one looking after you. Or stopping you. What a mess I am. Ow," she winced. "Look just…" she took a deep breath with a face that said I can't believe I'm doing this. "Can you promise me, whatever happens, you'll stick with the XPCA and always, always keep doing what you think is best? Even if...even if it's more shit like this? Even if you wind up in heaps of trouble?"

"Yeah. I think I have to. I can't just let it alone now that I know how fragile and messy the whole organization is."

"Good," she said and smiled before wincing again. "As long as we have people like you...I think we'll be okay. Now...I'm gonna...go get a drink or something. When I get back, I'll check in on the director. I'll only be gone a couple of minutes."

"Okay. Thanks." I helped her up and watched her wander off hesitatingly and turned back to Karu.

"Time for your revenge?" she asked. "I am not often a proponent of such, but I dare say the Director has had a long time coming."

"Would...you be okay doing it? I have to go," I said, already stepping away.

"Are you jesting?"

"No, I really just need to go."

"Ashton, wait. The man in that room is Director Blackett, a craven and vile scourge who has turned the bastion of humanity to his personal plaything. A black wellspring of corruption who has harmed you personally. Even now, your Code-X friend trembles with imaginings of his doings, and your very sister lies with pained breaths because of his hand. To say nothing of the humiliations he has brought on all of us through the XPCA. And you wish to run?"

"No, I'm not running, I'm leaving. I trust you to do it. Avenge them for me. Make it hurt."

She looked at me oddly. "You are a singularly unique individual, Ashton."

I'd already left, my aching legs flying down the hallways as fast as I could take them.

The wait for the elevator was painfully long, but given the hangar above being like, six floors high, I didn't want to run seven plus flights of stairs into a fight. So instead I was stuck here hoping it would come soon, and not full of XPCA when it did.

And with my thoughts.

What Cosette had said reminded me eerily of what Blackett had said in my vision. He'd been lying, of course, and I felt stupid for believing him even in a vision, even for a second...but both of them had said that they needed me to stay in the XPCA, that I was important to shaping its future and continuing the fight against the corruption within it.

What it meant hearing that from two completely opposite sources, I didn't know. I was still astounded that Cosette had let me talk her into murdering her boss. She wasn't a stupid person, and said she'd tried her own investigations in the past. Maybe I'd lucked out and gotten one of the few people in the whole XPCA who also questioned him on my side.

The elevator opened, devoid of XPCA thankfully, and I got in and hit the ground level. The elevator smoothly rocketed in the air, briefly pinning me to the floor with its sudden acceleration. I staggered slightly on my shit legs but held firm, rising like a bullet to AEGIS' rescue.

She just had to hang in there. I was coming.