I had never felt quite so out-of-place before.

Sure, there were loads of times when I was an outsider -- whether XPCA or Exhuman, being an outsider was basically my hat. But this had been something else.

Despite being around so many, I'd never really participated in the evacs. The P-Force was a strike team, we were the ones holding the line so that the evacuation could go on behind us, and finishing the fight so people could return to their homes. And while I'd never argue that I had the better end of that deal, seeing everyone fleeing now did make me glad I'd never had to deal with it in the past.

It had been surreal to watch them go. I was like a ghost, walking through the streets of San Francisco, almost invisible except to draw irritated glances, as though it was me, personally, who'd taken up haunting their living room and forcing them out.

For the most part, I'd call the evacuees professional. They hardly spoke, just worked at packing their things and nervously sitting through traffic as they shipped out. As much of a threat and disruption as this was, I knew each of them had the specter of Atlanta, Birmingham, and now Memphis foremost in their minds.

We'd passed through them, like ghosts, travelling on-foot until we reached the shrine where all of us now stood, waited, and reflected, the little pagoda packed with the four of us. I was leaning on a rail, thinking of all the people who went past, taking glances at the others; Saga, cross-legged with her back against a beam, apparently in meditation. AEGIS, with her hands clasped and her head bowed in silent prayer. Karu, steely, alert, but silent, just like the dozen weapons hanging off of her.

I bet this was a new record for how many weapons had been in this pagoda at once. Or in this park, or on this block. It wasn't a good record to break, and I considered that, in likelihood, wherever the four of us went, we were smashing similar titles. That sucked. It hurt to think about, made me remember the amount of ruin we'd afflicted on Tokyo, and just what a herald of destruction we really were.

A gentle hand shook me from my thoughts, and I looked up to find AEGIS touching my cheek gently, her yellow eyes shining with concern.

"Y'okay?" she asked in a whisper.

I nodded. "Just thinking."

"Given the state of things, I doubt any in the world are truly 'okay' at the moment," Karu said. "To think, the whole of the United States forced to shut down and flee their lives."

"Well that's why we're doing this," AEGIS continued in a soft voice, as though afraid of breaking the fragile peace in this park. "These people need saving. Even if they do evac, and even if Justice doesn't go after them, they'll never be able to return to their lives until someone does something about him."

"And that someone is us," I said, turning away from her and back towards the shrine.

It was a simple, understated thing. Just a piece of wood, almost mistakable for part of the Pagoda, were it attached, with a placard at its base written in Japanese, Hindi, and somewhat broken English, which announced that this was a place where wishes came true.

I hadn't made my wish yet. It seemed sort of stupid, and sort of...I don't know. Not selfish, not desperate...because we certainly were desperate at the moment. But more kinda...hypocritical, I guess?

Fundamentally, God had not asked too much of us, his creations. We got ten commandments which boiled down to: Worship him, and don't be a dick to fellow man. And I'd violated both, plenty. The one about thou shalt not kill, in particular, I seemed to have trouble toeing.

Which, y'know, I'd sort of accepted was just who and what I was at this point. People had forced me into it. I always wanted to talk, always wanted to resolve things peacefully where I could. And time and again, people fucking hadn't let me, had forced my hand, had honed me into this killer...and then tested their creation by throwing their lives at me.

It was bizarre, awful, hypocritical, I knew. And while I lost a lot of sleep over it at first, it was just life now, and whether I was okay with it or not, didn't really matter. The world needed an unfeeling, murdering, me, it seemed like, so here I was to do it.

But bringing God into it was a whole other matter. People had forced my hand into breaking His law, and it was people who suffered the consequences for that. But that didn't mean I was ready to face him and start asking for favors. I was going to hell, without a doubt, but the least I could do was accept it and at least be sorry, instead of praying for Him to fix all our broken shit.

Because. After all, if divine intervention was a thing, then why had I become this monster in the first place? I had to not believe in it, or else my entire existence was a lie.

"So is this like a birthday wish?" AEGIS asked, in a whisper too cheery to be compatible with this city or with my mind. "If you tell what you wished for, does it not come true?"

"Has a birthday wish ever come true, by merit of not speaking it?" Karu asked.

"Wouldn't know," AEGIS shrugged with a grin. "Only ever had one birthday so far, and we kinda skipped it."

I blinked at her. "We did? Oh god, I'm sorry, when was it?"

She giggled. "I dunno, I'd celebrate when I escaped the box and entered my own body for the first time. That's kinda what being born is, if you think about it. But that's also kinda pushing it, since...there hasn't been a single AEGIS iteration yet which has...made it a full year."

"Ouch," I frowned at her.

"Well. Yeah." She paused and then put her smile back on. "Well, no reason to dwell on that. We're all familiar with my history. So tell me what you wished for, Athan?"

"Oh. Uh. You first?"

I was surprised as she suddenly closed in on my face, and then I felt the indescribable warmth and softness of her lips on mine. In the corner of my eye, I could see Karu going through as many emotions as I was...although hers were a lot more irritated than mine. Mine were mostly half-aborted thoughts, sensations which shorted out in my currently-being-kissed head, half-ideas like warm, soft, slippery.

AEGIS pulled away just before Karu moved to separate us.

"The...the nerve!" Karu hissed.

AEGIS just giggled again "Well, what do you know, the wishes do come true." She touched her lips gently. "Although, I wouldn't have minded wearing a white dress and doing that right after someone says you may now kiss the bride."

"At a time such as this?" Karu seemed absolutely flabbergasted. "This is what you wish for?"

"Sure do. I figure, we've got this Justice situation in the bag," she winked. "Mighty as he is, there hasn't been anything yet that can stop all of us. So I may as well spend my wishes on what's still undecided."

"As much as I appreciate your optimism -- what?" I asked. "Seriously, what the hell? He's systematically destroying America, intentionally. We've lost thousands of men and billions of credits. To say nothing of the civilian damage--"

"As though I don't know that?" she agreed. "And I suppose you're right, we might die horribly."

"Then what the hell?"

She shrugged. "Well, then use your wish on it Athan. Karu, what'd you wish for? 'At a time such as this'?"

Karu blanched. "Erm." She suddenly coughed and flustered. "That is to say…" She kept looking at me, as though I'd be able to explain it for her. I just shook my head.

"Oh. My. God," AEGIS exclaimed. "Did you wish for the same thing I did?"

"No!"

"You totally did. And then you criticized me for it! Oh my god."

"I did no such thing," Karu announced, going red. "I was...I wished...I wished for this global crisis to be resolved, of course. To do any less would be irresponsible."

"Karu, you're not the only one with optics good enough to monitor vitals. You're lying."

"Fine!" she shouted, flushing. "Your logic was the same as mine. That if he spent his wish as we assumed, then my own would be free for personal use." She frowned. "Not that these wishes matter in the least. It is all superstition and hookum."

"And yet, you still made the wish," AEGIS continued, grinning.

"Well," Karu crossed her arms, her visor flaring. "It is no surprise to any present that Ashton and I have a thing, as it were. So observing that I might wish for such is really neither surprise, nor damnation. Besides, he seems to have made up his mind in predilection for you. My wish was merely distilled optimism. As all wishes are."

She paused for a long moment and then added. "And I would note, I would not desire ill on either of you to have it fulfilled."

AEGIS cocked her head and made a thoughtful noise. And then resumed her smile, before gingerly advancing on Karu with a hug.

"You're pretty okay," she said. "For a crazy bitch."

Karu seemed paralyzed as she accepted the hug without recourse. "Erm. And...you make an acceptable...facsimile of a decent human being.".

They held it for a few ungainly seconds, and then AEGIS let go and tried to back off, only to continue being held.

"Um, Karu?"

Karu cleared her throat slightly, flushing again.

"Um...Karu?"

"Yes. Erm. Say." She shot me half a glance and then whispered to AEGIS but loud enough for me to hear. "What is your opinion on an open relationship?"

AEGIS froze, and then laughed loudly, startling Karu off of her at last. She just watched in alarm as AEGIS kept laughing, covering her mouth and very nearly doubling over.

"I did not think my question quite so deserving of this level of mockery…"

AEGIS tried to speak, but really, really couldn't. It took her several tries and several deep breaths before she could explain that, she wasn't laughing at Karu. Though what she was laughing at, exactly, she couldn't get out.

So Karu and I lingered there like an awkward fart until AEGIS resumed herself.

"Ha...sorry...seriously...sorry," she said, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. "My god. I'm sorry. I didn't see that one coming."

"It is...no matter," Karu said, jaw clenched stoically beneath a crimson flush. "It was a foolish question."

"No. It's fine. We're just so messed up, the lot of us." She shook her head. "Uh, I mean, a lot of that comes down to what Athan thinks. I'm um...I mean I can't say I'm too keen on it but...if it's just you...I don't know. Can I think about it?"

"Certainly," Karu said, looking shocked. "I must say, I expected harsh rejection and nothing but."

"Guys, can we...not?" I injected myself into the conversation.

"Oh? You don't want a hot threesome?" AEGIS asked.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

And it was kind of at that moment that I really understood what was going on here. More than AEGIS struggling between her wants and her jealousy and her...well...perversion, probably. Or Karu's long-simmering desire. Or the prospect of a threesome, which, yeah, I wasn't about to let that thought into my head, or I'd never be able to focus again, which was why I wanted the conversation derailed right now.

But it was about not leaving things unresolved, wasn't it? AEGIS had always been very discreet in the displays of affection she'd given, and yet suddenly come onto me, in front of Saga and Karu. Karu had overtly been wishing for some kind of thing with me, and then more, admitted to it with me standing right there.

They were afraid. They were smiling and hugging and making proclamations about how the future would be, our places in it, and how many threesomes there would be, but the reason why was because nobody was sure what future there would be. The world was being destroyed as we spoke, and what would exist after, and who would make it through...none of us knew. And nobody wanted to be the one who died, but left everything unresolved.

At least, that's what I surmised. Maybe that was obvious and I was just slow. Maybe I was just reaching, for any possible explanation for why threesome plans were being forged right in front of me.

Whether it was true or not, it wrenched my heart, and I found myself, as AEGIS had, gingerly stepping forward and embracing the two in a hug, one in each arm, one on each side.

"Love you, Athan," AEGIS whispered to me.

"I love both of you," I said. "And we'll get through this."

"Make not promises you cannot keep. Especially to a maiden's heart," Karu warned.

But she made no move to pull away. We just lingered for long moments, until the hug just seemed to expire and we drifted apart, both closer and further away. I felt colder in their absence, but warmer from it being.

Something odd struck me, and I looked around, hit with sudden concern. There she was, sitting there, unperturbed. Saga, sitting cross-legged at the edge of the pagoda, eyes shut, hands in her lap, apparently completely at peace. Or dead.

"Dude, what's up with Saga?" I asked. "I just realized we've been talking about serious shit, romantic shit, threesomes, and hugging, and she hasn't said a peep."

"That IS bizarre," Karu agreed. "Mayhap she has fallen asleep?"

"You seriously have got to stop saying 'mayhap'," I told her as I kneeled in front of Saga, waving my hand with no reaction. "Dude, Saga. Hello?"

I gave her a little shake with no change. And then a zap.

"Ow!" she shouted, looking around. "Oh. Hey. Sorry."

"What's up, Saga?"

"It is said that on the eve of a great battle, some warriors would enter a trance to visualize the entire scene which would play out before them," Karu explained. "Mayhap...erm...perchance, Saga is paying the future conflict the focus it is due?"

"Pfft, yeah, screw that," Saga laughed. "No, there's just...something interesting here. I think."

"You think?" I asked. "How can something be here you think?"

"Dunno. It's weird. I'm honestly not sure it even exists, I'm just...like...y'know when you walk into a hobby shop, and you're all alone, because why would anyone ever be in a hobby shop when you can just buy online? Except you get that hint of rank sweat right when you walk in the door, and it's so fresh you're kinda certain someone's in there?"

"What the fuck?" AEGIS succinctly summarized.

"Yeah. It's like that. It's like there's traces of something, except mental traces. Gah, it's so hard to explain to you single-brained folks."

"But there's a thing?" I asked.

She nodded. "'A thing' is almost exactly how I'd describe it."

'Like...a good thing? A bad thing?"

"A thing."

"And you can sense it? Can you talk to it?"

"That's what I've been doing. So far the answer is a resounding and startling 'no'. Startling because, hey," she batted her eyes at me. "Can you imagine not wanting to talk to this?"

Karu sighed. "Be that as it may -- which it is not -- can you give a more concrete definition of this thing? It would not do to introduce yet more trouble to our situation."

Saga scratched her chin as she gave it some thought. "Not really. It's not human. The closest mind I could compare it to...and this is mostly just by lack of good comparatives...would be our god, in Oasis."

The three of us sputtered in unison. "What!?"

"Well. At the same time, nothing like that. Like I said, I haven't even successfully been able to make contact. It's elusive, and it's definitely not human. Definitely doesn't even think like a human, barely even counts as a mind, really. It's super interesting! It's like exchanging smoke signals with an alien."

"Yes, because that's a metaphor, and definitely a relatable experience we've all had," AEGIS intoned.

"Whatever. Get your head out of your ass. My point is, unlike you chucklefucks, I don't much care so long as it's interesting shit. And this shit is interesting, so hells yeah, Imma poke it and see what comes out."

"Your level of social responsibility and personal accountability continue to whelm," Karu drawled. "Perhaps we should spend the remainder of our wait on base. It is fairly hot out here, besides."

"Nah, you guys go on ahead," Saga said.

"I'd rather not. No offense, but if you get distracted, we'll be super late."

She giggled softly. Her little tinkling laugh was so much better suited for this place than either of the others'. "Not what I meant. As in, go to China without me. You'll be fine."

I stared at her, feeling the conversation had suddenly veered off a cliff I hadn't seen coming. "What?"

"You'll be fine. Just go like, chat with Rio and tell her to stop attacking eastern European countries and make out with her a little or something. That'd work on me."

"You do realize, Dragon's going to be there. And without you threatening their god, they kind of have no reason to listen to us? We really need you as a trump card there."

"Mayhap…" Karu cringed. "...perhaps you should just make out with Saga on the spot to convince her to come along?"

"Good idea!" Saga said, puckering up.

I stared at her, wondering if this was really happening. "AEGIS is this really happening?" I asked.

"Not if you don't want it to," she cracked her knuckles.

"Well, moment's gone," Saga said. "See you when you get back."

"Wait, no, you're not seriously serious. Come on," I argued. "We need you."

"And I don't wanna."

"Saga, please. The world's going to shit, Justice is out there, you know what he's capable of."

"I do. And don't think that I'm all just screwing around here. I do have a lot of faith in you." She reached out and gave my cheek a little squeeze. "I know you'll be fine handling the whole Oasis thing without me."

"But why? This is just stupid, we're adding so much more risk by leaving you. Just come with us and you can...you can play with the weird thought-things when we get back."

"Sorry, Athan. I'm not letting this thing slip away. It's wispy, fragmented -- I dunno if I'd ever find it again, and I've got a whole eternity to suffer any regrets I find. My mind's made up. And you should know, there's no beating my mind," she grinned.

"Seriously. I'm asking as your friend."

"How about as more than a friend?" she asked, batting her eyes again. She licked her lips and pushed back strands of her hair, her pale round ears materializing like a full moon from behind clouds.

I swallowed hard, kneeling opposite her, shooting cagey glances at AEGIS, who just shrugged maybe more violently and desperately than normal. But she didn't stop us as we leaned forward, until I could feel her breath on me.

"Athan," she said, her voice a whisper of a silky purr. "There's something you should know."

"What?" I asked.

"If you kiss me."

"Yeah?"

"I'm still not going."

I shoved her face backwards and she tumbled to the ground giggling. "Should've told you after the kiss, I guess," she said.

"I can't believe you're not. I just...I don't get it."

"You don't have to get it. Just listen to me. We'll all see how it goes. Besides, it's more fun this way!"

"More fun, risking horrifying death, for no good reason?"

"Wait, you guys die? Oh shit, I forgot about that. Not really my thing you see--"

"Seriously," I said, getting to my feet and pulling her to hers. But she still wriggled out of my grasp when I started to turn to leave. "Seriously? This isn't some game or joke? You're really, really not coming?"

"You've asked like ten times. I'm not. Come back for me, 'k?"

I shook my head at her. "I...I don't...this is so…"

"We might die," AEGIS cut in. "Athan might. Very easily. There's no reason for Dragon to hold back if you're not there. Is this how you want the last time you see him to be? You talked about regrets; do you want to live the rest of your life, the rest of eternity, thinking you could have easily saved him but didn't?"

"Low blow," Saga grinned. "But you forget one very important thing."

"Which is?"

"Told 'ya already. I believe in this little doofus. He'll be fine. Doubly-so with you two ladybugs on his flank. Keep 'em safe for me."

Karu beeped and checked her wrist holo. "The VTOL will be finished fueling soon. We must be off. Shall we simply take her by force?"

"You'd get mindfucked into oblivion, if that's what you want," Saga grinned. "Miss your leash, pet?"

Karu flushed and shrunk back, but AEGIS stepped forward. "Can't mindfuck me, Saga."

But I held her back with a hand on her shoulder. "Let's leave her, guys," I said, not even agreeing with my own words. "If she wants to stay...she's her own person, not just a mind-fucking tool. We should respect that."

"I take umbrage with the suggestion that I should respect Saga," Karu sighed, still red. I wasn't sure what was up with the leash, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"You're sure about this?" I asked.

"Positive. Good luck, have fun. Don't die," Saga said. "And I'll see you after."

"Except that there's no way this is worth the risk," AEGIS pouted, pushing up her glasses. "It's just insanity, for no possible benefit. We're splitting up our forces, and we're sending the half least-suited for the situation into it. If anything, Saga should go to Oasis by herself while we resolve problems stateside." She shook her head. "This is just dumb. I'll drag her to the VTOL and the two of us will go, if mind-fucking is the issue."

"AEGIS, it's fine," I said.

"It's not! Athan, I know you love dying, but for god's sake, that doesn't mean you choose the stupidest possible way to do so. After everything we've dealt with about Dragon, we finally found his one weak spot, and it's her," she jabbed a finger at Saga. "Her and that damn tree. So no, we're not going to face off with him without our trump card."

"You can't make her, though," I said.

"I can. I can drag her across the world if I have to. She can't stop me--"

"Yeah, and then what? You can't force her to talk to their god. You can't force her to use her powers for what you want. Just because you're scared...we're scared, doesn't mean we turn into Blackett and start using Exhumans, right? There's still a line."

She shook her head. "Until you die, and as a result, how many millions?"

"You guys are looking at this all backwards," Saga explained, with the air that we understood nothing. Which just did wonders for AEGIS' mood. "Look, the fact is, there's a pretty incredibly amazingly powerful entity out there in the glasslands and you want to use its powers for your own. You want to hijack Oasis and turn them against your enemies, and that's awesome. Using and controlling people, basically the book I wrote. Well, am writing. Will someday write. Will someday force some poor author bastard to ghost-write."

"Saga," AEGIS pleaded.

"Right. Anyway. That would be good and great, and like I said, I think you lot have a decent chance of making it work."

"But we'd have a hundred-percent chance--"

"You know the only thing better than having some ancient, unknowable alien entity using its crazy powers to work for you?" Saga continued, with obvious relish.

"Having a hundred-percent chance of it working?" AEGIS intoned.

"Having two ancient, unknowable alien entities. So you guys go off, do a good job, and get Oasis on our side. And while you do, I'll have at this thing. See what it can do. See if it can even be reasoned with."

"See if it can be awakened and destroy the city under which it sleeps, you mean," Karu said. "Awakening another Justice-class threat at this juncture would spell doom for us all. Meddle not in powers greater than you."

Saga shrugged. "At least if that happens, Justice doesn't get to destroy the city. And then we might get a real-life kaiju battle. So I'm game."

"This is bullshit," AEGIS said. "Saga, you can't even control the god of Oasis. If this thing is anything like it, if you wake it up, we'll just have another cosmic entity trucking around on its own agenda. And looking at what Oasis is up to right now, that is not what we need. Leave it alone, come with us--"

"AEGIS, enough," I barked.

"But--"

"She knows, okay? She's not stupid. Nobody here is stupid. We all get it, we all just have...different priorities. Different goals." I shot Saga a significant look. "Much as I wish we didn't. Are you absolutely sure you're really not coming?"

She shook her head.

"Okay. Well. That sucks, and we all think so. But I can't make you. So...we'll do our best, and you do your best. And hopefully, both of our tasks will turn up alright. If not…I guess..."

"When we reach hell, we will know where we spread ourselves too thin," Karu said.

"Yeah. That," I agreed. "Then I guess this is goodbye for now, Saga. Good luck."

"Don't need it," she grinned. "But good luck to you guys at least."

"We shall be late if we delay any further," Karu said. "We shall need to make haste."

"Alright, we're out then," I said, shaking off my legs, my exoframe whirring. AEGIS stretched briefly as her engines flared, and Karu jumped into a hover.

"Wait," Saga said. I turned, hoping she'd changed her mind, but found her just seated again. "Before you go, Athan, did you finish your wish?"

"No. But there's no time--"

"Do it," she said, with a serious nod. "It's more important than you know."