Vasilisa the Brave - Chapter Eleven - Raivis

A question for a question.

It seemed like a fair-enough deal, Vasilisa supposed. But she would have been reluctant to give any strange person she met in the Zone any of her time, not when two out of three of them seemed to think her a threat.

They'd relocated deeper into the underpass, at the insistence of one of the mercenaries guarding the man in green. The scientist? She supposed that the zone did warrant some study. She couldn't recall if anything discovered in the Zone had made it to the public. Maybe it did and she picked it up via osmosis.

Or maybe everything she knew was a lie anyway.

She decided not to dwell on the thought as the scientist, Raivis, led them to a small camp tucked behind a few cars turned so that they were side-on to the road, blocking the overpass and hiding them from prying eyes.

The mercenaries didn't join them, but instead took up positions on either end of the overpass, spots where they could keep an eye on their scientist and on the roads to either side. Vasilisa didn't know much about mercenaries, but these two seemed professional, at least.

She wondered if that was training or if that kind of professionalism is what experience in the Zone looked like.

"So, questions, do you mind if I start us off?" Raivis asked. There was a small firepit in the nook he brought them too, as well as a pair of benches that looked like they were ripped from the back of a car. The firepit was more like the bottom half of a barrel, really, with some logs stuffed into it and some pieces of lumber.

"I don't mind," Crystal said. Alice nodded slightly next to her.

Vasilisa once again found herself feeling like something of a third party in all of this. She lacked the easy familiarity the two girls shared. They felt like... sisters? Vasilisa wasn't sure, but they were closer than just coworkers. Alice certainly felt like how an older sibling should feel, with the way she took charge and yet worried about things.

"Very well, then," Raivis said. "First question. Tea, or coffee?" He smiled, raising a small metal kettle that sloshed with water.

"Oh, tea!" Crystal said.

"Anything is fine, thank you," Alice replied.

"Um, tea as well," Vasilisa said a moment later, feeling as though she had to say something.

Raivis smiled and put the kettle on a small metal rack contraption atop the firepit, then he picked up a small striker and started to light the fire.

Vasilisa glanced up, worried that the low ceiling might be an issue with smoke. She discovered marks on the cement above where smoke had travelled already. They lead to a small vent above.

"Ah, don't worry, there are vents to allow water down from the road above," Raivis said as he followed her glance. "They serve well enough for smoke. Even disperse it a little. The vent is half-stuffed with leaves and the like, and it seems to work at keeping the smoke trail well dispersed. Otherwise my friends would be quite irate with me giving away our position so easily."

The fire took with minimal effort. When he moved some coals around, it revealed that there was a bed of them that were still reddish beneath a thin layer of ash.

"So, I guess it's our turn to ask a question?" Crystal asked.

"Of course, and I won't count that one," Raivis said as he cracked a grin.

Crystal laughed. "Ah, it's a good thing we're not dealing with the fae. I was never good at being that literal. Okay, how about this: can you tell us what your faction's all about? The greenies, right? Our friend mentioned you at some point, and I think we walked past your base too? It was this big factory thing, with water filtration stuff."

"Oh, you've been there?" he asked.

"We passed close," Crystal said.

"That's fair. The guards there are usually pretty observant of trouble. In any case, the Greenies, or the European Scientific Advisory Committee on Zone Research have been in the Zone since very close to the beginning of everything. The advisory committee was thrown together less than a month after the first storm, and it has only grown since."

He poked at the fire with a stick, then checked on the kettle, but the water wasn't quite steaming yet.

"As for what we do... well, there was a time where we advanced human knowledge by leaps and bounds. Now... now I'm not as certain. Some of us have fallen into the pattern of a game of factions and in-fighting. Others, a lot of others, have died. Our long-term experiments are barely kept alive at the moment, and I can't say that we're the best at recruiting outside of the Zone."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Oh, that sounds a bit rough," Crystal said.

Vasilisa supposed that a bit rough did describe things. She knew, in a vague way, that there were scientists in the Zone. It only made sense that something as huge and unexplained would have people trying to understand it. She didn't know too much more than that, however.

Raivis took a breath, seemingly thinking deeply about his next question. "Alright, my turn. Can you explain what exactly you meant by magic, earlier?"

Crystal shrugged. "Alice and I are magical girls. She's Magical Girl Rending Nightmare, and I'm Magical Girl Crystal Genocide. We're actually here looking for one of our best friends, Magical Girl Fractured Time. Have you seen her?"

Vasilisa looked at her. Those names were... intimidating.

"I'm afraid I haven't," he said. "Was that a question?"

"I think it was, even if you didn't have a nice answer, it was still an important question for us."

He nodded. "Can you explain what exactly a 'magical girl' is? I'd like to understand from someone directly involved."

Crystal's face lit up. "Oh, that's an easy one! A magical girl is someone who can use magic—like, actual magic. We can transform, fight monsters, and protect people. Each of us has different abilities and powers. For example," she flicked her wrist, creating a small, glowing butterfly that fluttered around Raivis's head. It faded soon enough, turning into small motes of light that then wisped away like embers. "I can make constructs out of light."

Alice added, "It's more than just powers, though. There's a whole culture around it. Responsibilities, expectations, and a certain... aesthetic."

Raivis nodded thoughtfully, absorbing the information. "Fascinating. And these abilities, they're not linked to the anomalies?"

Crystal shook her head. "Nope, completely different. We were magical girls before we ever came to the Zone."

Vasillisa started at that. She'd... suspected, a little, but to hear it straight out like that was surprising. Could it be true?

Alice leaned forward. "What can you tell us about the center of the Zone?"

Raivis glanced up. He worked his jaw a little, then tugged his glasses off and started to clean them with a cloth. "Ah, the heart of the mystery. You're not the first to ask, and I doubt you'll be the last. What do you want to know?"

"What's there?" Alice asked. "Why do people keep away?"

"That's two questions. Though I suppose that the second question is easy enough to answer. While there are greater rewards closer to the centre, the risk is exponentially higher. As for what's in the very centre. I have no idea. I don't know if anyone does. The closer you get to the middle of the zone, the more things break down. Physics is broken in small ways here." He gestured to the end of the overpass where an anomaly was still letting sparks fly across the air. "But it's localised and small and usually somewhat predictable. The anomalies grow larger and stronger the closer to the centre of the Zone you go."

Alice considered his words, eyes narrowing slightly. "So, no one really knows what's at the heart of it all?"

Raivis shook his head. "There are theories, of course. Some think it's the source of all anomalies, a kind of primordial anomaly. Others believe it's a gateway, or something even more esoteric. The few who have ventured too close haven't returned to tell us."

Crystal nodded thoughtfully. She hummed a note, then shrugged. "Alright, your turn again."

Raivis leaned back, his curiosity piqued. "You said you're looking for your friend, Magical Girl Fractured Time. What happened to her?"

Alice's gaze hardened. "We don't know exactly. We... did something, recently. All of us magical girls together. That ended up splitting us apart, and now Crystal and I are trying to regroup with the others." For some reason, she looked to the side, catching Vasilisa's eyes for just a moment before returning her attention to Raivis.

"She's strong and smart, but we're worried. That's why we're here."

"That's awfully kind of you," Raivis said. "Ah, speaking of... the water's boiling!"

***