Are you really going to spend New Year’s Eve alone? In your room? The fuck? A message came from Nadya.
Yep! Just this once, but it is okay! The gym is all mine, and there is food aplenty! Ratcatcher replied.
Gosh, you are such a shut-in! I am grabbing your tail in three days; we’re going to go skydiving, and that’s final!
I am afraid of heights. The trainee admitted. It was one thing not to be afraid of vast open spaces, and it was quite another to plummet from high altitude to the ground.
Sucks to be you, sweet tooth, cause Wedge and the others will be there too, and you ain’t missing it, even if I have to drag you into the plane!
She smiled at this comment and lay on her bed in the Academy, enjoying the silence and finishing a bucket of chocolate ice cream, munching the sweet cone with her fangs. Alone, yes. But alongside with something tasty!
After months of grueling training and unexpected encounters, the New Year was here! Two full weeks of holidays left the Academy almost completely empty, safe for the guards, the Headmaster, a few instructors, a skeleton technician, medical crews, and a few trainees who had nowhere else to be. Everyone else had left to rest and recuperate.
Tonight, she will have her own fun. The staff had already left the cafeteria, but its automatic systems were giving away free food tonight! Ice creams! Pizzas! Beef! Soda! And movies to watch—so many movies! Horror, comedy, action... Ah, she won’t sleep tonight, no sirree!
She sent an air kiss to her mancatcher, a weapon she had made for herself under Augustus’ tutelage. It was made of a long stick with twin blades that formed a crescent at the end. Just like the mandibles of a deadly spider, they would close around an opponent’s body, either severing it in two or, when used in a safe mode, holding an enemy in place. At the base of the blade was a small launcher that could either fire an electrical discharge or release a drug of her choosing. All in all, she was proud of what she had created.
Next to it, on a wall, hung two bracelets, gray in color; their surfaces reflected no light. Now, these were not entirely of her making. She had come up with a design after consulting with the engineers. The idea was simple: a series of darts could be stored in these seemingly innocuous tools, and with a flick of her wrist, these darts could be unleashed on an opponent. But the design she had created allowed the darts to fly at the speed of a crossbow bolt. Augustus called her over and explained that such a weapon would be useless in the field unless she was willing to fire at close range.
And it was her idea! Ratcatcher had originally planned to engage the enemy head-on, lull them into a false sense of security, and then shoot the bastard. Augustus shook his head and challenged her to a sparring match. Even though the instructor was holding back and using one arm, the man deflected her every shot with ease, causing Ratcatcher to rethink the use of her weapons.
Augustus sort of cheered her on, saying that poison wasn’t inherently useless in the field. Together, they redesigned the bracelets using Damocles alloys, one of the most durable alloys made in Iterna. In addition to it, the propulsion system of her hidden launcher was reworked, giving her darts a speed of eight hundred meters per second. They’ve also created a set of armor-piercing darts to give Ratcatcher something to work with if a foe was wearing a combat plate. Utility, Augustus explained, was crucial in a solo mission.
Two sets of darts now stood in the secured case in their room, to the left and right of the bracelets. One case contained darts coated with a sleeping drug, and the other contained those with lethal concoctions. They worked quite simply by causing the airways to collapse in on themselves, making it impossible to breathe even an ounce of air. At the same time, the heart suffered a stroke. Whoever survived it wouldn’t be able to fight on. Though if a Normie got a normal arrow in the eye, that person would die just as well. Not that she’d ever be careless enough to forget that.
The rest of her room was decorated with posters of the Elites and photos of her family. Ratcatcher smiled and took the largest photo depicting her in the park on Dad’s shoulders, Liam on her shoulders, and Mom looking at them with worry and doubt in her eyes. They did collapse, caught her laughing children before they could fall to the grass.
She briefly glanced around the room and tapped on the desk seven times, each time with a different interval. Lines appeared on the smooth surface, and a hidden case opened in the center of the desk, revealing the teenager’s treasure. Her diary and geodes, all securely fastened and still shiny. Good. There’s no way Elina will ruin her stones again. Ratcatcher was about to write something in the diary when an urgent grumbling demanded her full attention and she closed the secret compartment.
I want a pizza! Ratcatcher decided. Free food is great! Might as well gain some weight. To turn into muscles later, of course.
Passing a poster of the Elites, she sauntered out of her room to get some fresh snacks. Just as she closed her door, a shadow passed over her, causing Ratcatcher to bounce off the door and lean against the wall. Something or someone had landed to her left, turned towards her in a whirlwind of black and white, and came towards her in a blur. She kicked with her leg, mostly out of instinct, and Carlos’ palm curbed the impact, closing around her shoe.
“See, I told you it would be way funnier than knocking on the door!” Carlos said, and Ratcatcher felt arms slip under her armpits, lifting the teenager into the air. “The look on her face is priceless.”
The Barjoni looked beautiful. He was dressed in a black business suit, the collars of his white shirt adorned with twin golden snakes. Similar snakes ran down his black sleeves, forming open mouths around his wrists, almost as if they were reading to swallow his hands whole. Carlos winced and began correcting his tie.
“She almost broke your damn nose, moron!” Elina’s voice said.
“He kind of deserved it for being a creep,” another familiar voice said.
“No doubt, but it would’ve ruined everything!”
“Ladies, ladies,” Carlos chuckled and bowed. “I am touched by your concern for my wellbeing, but it is unfounded. When I put my mind to it, none of you can hope to even touch me, let alone harm me.”
“Ah, so you act like an idiot all the time to make it fairer for us,” Elina said.
“Hey, don’t hate me for being perfect and trying to level the playing field,” the boy argued.
What are they doing here? Ratcatcher wondered, looking around. Her entire group was here, all of them dressed in elegant gowns and strict suits. Elina had told her about a big party, but no one had invited her, so Ratcatcher decided not to bother the others. A few pranks the group made at her expense taught her to keep her distance.
“Do I need an adult?” Ratcatcher forced a quick joke, wondering if they were going to throw her face down in the snow or something.
“We are the adults,” Elina laughed. “Listen, we got off on the wrong foot, I admit, but we are a team, and the Headmaster is right. Laughing at the power armor accident, teasing you about your looks, joking about stupid problems, locking you in the toilet, spicing your food... We treated you like an outsider and hurt you one too many times. And for that, I offer our apologies...”
“Eh, it’s okay. What’s the harm in a little fun?” She tried to shrug and stopped at the serious faces around her.
“There is harm, Ratcatcher,” Vasily began to explain patiently. “You know about the tragedy that happened in the past, right? It did not come out of the blue; people were hurling insults and showing disgust for Abnormals for some time before they were whipped into action. Explorators are supposed to be the face of Iterna. We should have been better.”
“No more misbehavior.” Elina grinned. “And as our first show of amends, we are not going to let you stay and skulk all alone on New Year’s Eve.”
“I wasn’t planning on skulking!” She argued vehemently. She had plans! Call her parents, get a bucket or two of chocolate ice cream, some pizza, watch movies, and have fun. All by herself. Hm. When she thought of it, it did sound like she was skulking… But she is not! Ratcatcher is a very outgoing person! She just... doesn’t have any friends besides Nadya yet. But she is working on it... By sitting in her room after training and texting all the time.
Huh. Maybe Nadya is right, and I do need to go out more often.
“She is phasing out again,” Carlos chuckled, snapping his fingers before her face. “Planet to Eliza; please respond.”
“Okay…” She slowly started talking, trying to comprehend her… abduction? “What’s the big idea?”
“Well, we planned to do as proper ladies do and drag you off to a mall and do some shopping…”
“I don’t have credits!” Ratcatcher cut off Elina in a panic. “How about you just lock me in a toilet or something, like before, but…”
“Eliza, honey, you are one of us.” The other trainee rolled her eyes. And as a team, we have each other’s backs. Yes, we let you down before, and that was all our fault. Mine, mostly. The pranks we played on you were disgusting, and you should have reported us,” she sighed. “There’s really no excuse for our behavior, truly, not after we fought together. Sorry… I just went in at the deep end and somehow dragged the team down with me. Anyway, me and the others have admitted everything to Augustus, and while he ponders the appropriate punishment, we can all bond properly this time. No more one-sided pranks…”
“What do you call this, then?! My heart nearly jumped out!”
“…An ambush. And Carlos being an idiot again.”
“Hey!” the teen cried out.
“Why, hey, you too, Carlos. See, you know words; try using them next time!” Elina nodded to him and continued. “…No more name-calling, and no more talking about your looks… Well, except for just one more time. We can’t have you walking in rags, you know. On New Year’s Eve, no less.”
“A woman should be gorgeous everywhere, all the time.” Carlos nodded eagerly. “As my dearest uncle always says, all women are goddesses and must be treated as such.”
Rags! First they ambushed me, then they caught me to apologize, and now they are criticizing the way I dress? This is the worst apology in the history of apologies! The trainee looked over at herself, wondering what in the world Elina was talking about. Ratcatcher was wearing long, stylish black linen pants, with just a few patches where her muscles cracked the fabric. Her walnut-colored shoes had a scratch here and there, but that’s because she liked running. A blue tank top and an open sleeveless purple shirt completed the outfit.
A perfectly normal set of clothes, all bought at a discount at a local thrift store! Much better than the blue dress Elina wore. Look at the way it shimmers in the light and occasionally flashes a golden dragon emblem. Fancy, yes! Impractical, super yes! And her high heels! You can’t fight in them! What’s so great about all that, and the jewelry, and the tiara?
“But some of us,” Elina said, shooting a glance at Carlos and the other boys, “were very vocally opposed to this premiere time-spending.”
“I’d rather die than carry your packages again, Linny!” the student replied unabashedly. “Speaking of pointless money spending, my family is throwing a party. And we’re heading straight there.”
“Ah, yes, to spend time with the pompous and rich Barjoni family and hear about the greatness of their lineage,” Elina sighed. “Carlos, we want to cheer up our friend, not smite her down with boredom.”
“Then you’ll be happy to know that Barjoni’s gymnasium is second to none in Iterna.” Ratcatcher could have sworn she saw Elina’s ears twitch as Carlos continued to explain. “It’s a high-tech complex, several stories high, fully capable of manipulating gravity and changing the air to simulate some of the most extreme conditions. And the younger generation of our family will have a recreation hall fully suited to their needs and the needs of their friends, meaning you.” The young man flashed a smile. “Drinks, snacks, singers, attractions… You name it, we have it.”
“Oh, Carlos, you really know how to make a girl blush,” Elina murmured. “Heard that, Eliza? We are going to owning the boys all night at volleyball and soccer!”
“And I look forward to having a dance or two,” Vasily said. “What about you, Ratcatcher?”
“I’m more into food and drink, but sure.” Ratcatcher nodded eagerly, wrapping her tail around her waist. “Let me just call Mom and Dad…”
“Don’t bother; they’ll be there with your brother,” Elina said, carrying Ratcatcher forward. “Also, and forgive me, but I have taken care to prepare a suitable dress for you. Hopefully, you will like soft dark, but if not, we have crimson and…”
“Wait! What about them being there?!” Ratcatcher’s scream attracted a few security guards in the hallway, but she didn’t care.
Even now, Mom still has trouble buying groceries because of the stares people give her. Some were outright afraid of her; others tried to give her a wide berth, thinking she was an animal. Dad had similar problems at work. He never admitted it, but Ratcatcher saw how hard it was for him when his manager treated him like a child and had to explain the simplest things over and over again, even though Dad already knew or did the same job before just fine. Johatan took this condescension on the chin, telling his daughter not to be angry. In his view, it was best to err on the side of caution, and as he explained, when Malformed come to work one day, they will need all the help and advice they can get.
And her brother too! She gulped, panicking at the thought of them being exposed to the highest society, who would treat them like curiosities while gossiping and laughing behind their backs.
“Is everything all right, trainee?” A blue-clad guard approached.
“I am being kidnapped, sorta, but that’s okay.” Ratcatcher smiled and waved her paw to show that all was well. “Wait...” she tapped the ground, causing Elina and the others to put her down. “Wait, wait, wait a second, I need to think…”
She looked around the halls. It sucks being alone, isn’t it? Most of the trainees were with their families or at parties, having fun, dancing, and singing. Others were out on the town, having their own fun in bars or public places. But there were also people like her. Loners who had trouble fitting in, or who were too shy to ask to join a fun. Or people from the newly joined territories, or young souls burned by the loss of a loved one who built a wall around themselves. They stayed in their rooms or worked at their hobbies, year after year, alone.
And it wasn’t right.
“What’s there to think about?” Vasily put his hands behind his head. “C’mon, the night’s going to be great. Are you really going to spend it all alone?”
“Of course not!” Ratcatcher’s tail slapped against a wall. “Sorry, sir, too excited,” she said to the guard. “The guards! That’s it!”
“What about us?” The security officer asked.
“Not about you specifically, sir! I mean, if I am getting dragged away, how about we invite the rest of the trainees too?” She looked at Carlos. “I know it’s kind of out of the blue, but there are…”
“The more, the merrier!” Carlos snapped his fingers. “What’s the point of being a spoiled scion if you don’t spoil something? Let’s kidnap… I mean, take those guys along for a ride, too!” He quickly corrected himself at a glance from the guard.
They asked the guard, and the man pointed them to the teens. To save time, the group split up. Carlos instructed most of the trainees to gather the ‘normal ones’, as he called the students sitting in the cafeteria or tinkering with power armors in the hangars. Elina sent a few students to talk to those dozing in their rooms. It took some persuasion, but even the most distant students finally agreed to join in, too bored to spend another night doing nothing. And Vasily, Ratcatcher, Carlos, and Elina went to collect the most troublesome bunch. The former troublemakers, the ones who had made a deal with the government to shorten their time in juvenile detention. They came about to Rowen’s room. The door opened at a touch, and the group saw an unusual picture.
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The troublemakers were having a party of their own, along with several other students. The thick smell of cheap cigarettes came from Rowen’s room. Teenagers sat in a circle, surrounded by layers of food and drink. Half-eaten pieces of pizza, crushed cake, and chocolate littered the floor. The normal lighting was taken off the ceiling and put on a wall. A disco ball now replaced it, spinning quickly and filling the room with rainbow lights, complementing the music beats coming from a boom box at Rowen’s desk.
Ratcatcher felt a little nauseous at the sight of the boy’s room. There were certain limits to how trainees could decorate or change their dorm rooms, and on New Year’s they were even allowed to smoke. Or rather, no one bothered to stop them that night. Instructors were understanding and expected some professionalism in return.
But Rowen pushed to the limits of what was allowed, painting one wall toxic green, reminding her of the sludge pools back at Scrapyard. The opposite wall was painted pink, with metal unicorn heads placed over it like war trophies. One wall remained relatively normal, its gray color barely visible under all the photos of the Akebia group. The last wall was painted black, and two thick shelves with handcrafted toys and tools hid it from view. A photo of Rowen with an older man who looked like him was placed on the edge of his study desk, facing the bed. Where other parts of the room bore slight traces of dust, this photo was free of all dirt.
“Feast your eyes and weep,” Olaf said. The vat-born was sitting cross-legged on the floor, playing cards with Rowen, Yura, and six other trainees. Flashing a brilliant smile, he laid the cards on the floor. “Strip.”
“Ha! Suck on these ones, soft skin.” Yura bleated and showed her cards, making Olaf cringe.
“You have told me you never played cards!” the teen complained, taking off his sweater.
“And you believed me?” The rectangular eyes blinked. “Misdirection is im… im…” the girl bleated, took a few breaths, and continued in her normal voice. “Important to win a battle. I don’t need your clothes, you buffoons,” she bleated to the others. “Give me your lunches! And pass me more of that; what’s the name? Soda! Give me all of it!”
“What the hell is going on?” Vasily asked, entering the room. “Are you trainees or pigs? What is all this shit? Olaf, why on earth are you still at the Academy?”
“Yura and I are going to start helping a construction company as of tomorrow.” Olaf waved his hand. “If you are not playing, piss off, Vas. I’ll see the horned one naked before the night is out.”
“You’ll go broke trying,” Yura snorted, gulping down a bottle of soda. Ratcatcher stepped forward and tried to stop the girl after seeing that the Malformed had also swallowed the bottle and was chewing on the glass, but Elina put a hand on her shoulder and silently told her that everything was fine. Yura surveyed the mess in the room and shrugged. “Eh, we’ll clean it up in a few minutes after I win.”
Ratcatcher sized them up. Olaf was dressed in a warm sweater with a blue shirt underneath, pants, socks, a belt, and boots. Yura, on the other hand, wore only her bodysuit and a silver brooch around her neck in the shape of a flying eagle, marking her as a member of the fencing club. No matter how she looked at the situation, Olaf’s position was much more secure.
“Glad to see that you two have found common ground,” Elina said. Yura saluted her with the locked bone sword, grinning from ear to ear. “Listen, people, we have that party going on…”
“Can’t go,” Olaf announced after hearing the explanation. “Akebia is counting on me to help, and Dad will come by later.”
“And Rowen, Alexei, Natasha, and I can’t go either,” Yura said.
“But why?” Ratcatcher asked.
“We’re on probation,” Rowen pointed out at two terminals standing at his desk. “If we want to leave the Academy’s grounds for more than thirty minutes, we must have either the PO or the Headmaster accompany us. Fail to do it, and it is back to the juvie with us.”
“Yeah, not looking toward it,” the other trainee said, ringing his bottle of soda with Yura’s. “I quite like my power; thank you very much.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Yura said.
“It was a figure of speech, Yur. You’ll get used to it.”
“What did you even do to deserve such treatment?” Carlos asked.
“Stealing,” a female trainee answered. “On an industrial scale.”
“Broke into the government database and tried to reroute medical equipment to sell later,” the male student said. “Hindsight twenty-twenty, I know. Artificer was on my ass in minutes.”
“Ate people,” Yura bleated. “Plus a Malformed and all that. But mostly cannibalism. I’m staying, no matter what. The instructor is counting on me!”
“And I did something far worse.” Rowen scratched his head.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell,” Ratcatcher said before Carlos could run his mouth.
“We saved each other’s lives; you might as well know the whole story,” Rowen said. “I nearly beat my dad to death.” His hand twitched.
“Why?!” The room exploded with questions.
“Ah, living the dream I see,” Carlos said, earning himself the looks of everyone but Yura. “I meant to say, did he attack you or something?”
“What? Goodness, no!” Rowen stood and paced back and forth, ruffling his hair. “My old man’s saint! I am… I was the problem! Our nation was about to join Iterna, but back then we were still a wild country, and I got mixed up in bad company. Robbery, thieving, contraband—this kind of stuff. And our Hound Master put me and the other kids on a blood rush—a sort of drug that messes up with your… pleasure centers; let’s keep it at that.” He bit his lip and closed his eyes, scratching the side of his neck with a finger. Ratcatcher thought that the boy had stopped his explanation when Rowen suddenly continued.
“It started out so easy. Pick up a thing, get a pill. With my power, it was easy to take people’s money or keys from a shopkeeper. But this poison... It eroded me. My mind started to slip and my hands started to shake. I wanted to stop taking it, but nothing could give me pleasure, and after days without a kick, I always crawled back to the Hound Master, begging for more. I even began to lie to myself, telling myself that as soon as I made enough money to supply myself with drugs, I would make up for everything I had stolen and everything would go back to normal. Fool.” He slapped his hands. “My Da worked as a constable and ended up running into me when I was on a job. I… don’t remember much, but I think he tried to talk to me instead of pulling out a gun. When I came clear after a dose, I saw him lying on the ground, his face bloody and his legs broken. Juvie followed, and an Elite helped me there.”
“Eugenia?” Ratcatcher asked.
“No, Lightbringer, actually!” Rowen smiled. “The man hated every second of being in there, treating me and the rest of the inmates like scum of the earth. But he gave us a chance to redeem ourselves and helped with the initial paperwork to get us into the Academy. Da helped me through the worst of it, never giving up on me and never bringing up the past. So here I am. Unsure why Dad is still bothering with a bastard like me, but I refuse to let him down ever again.”
“It’s because he loves you, idiot,” Ratcatcher said with relief. “Family is family, and we all make mistakes. But do you want to come?”
“Wouldn’t mind; I love a good party,” Rowen said. “But! I will never break the terms of my parole.”
“Who said anything about breaking? Wait here, everyone; I need a couple of minutes.” Ratcatcher laughed and left the room.
She raced to the third floor, hoping that Torosian was not in a sour mood. The Headmaster became picky in recent days, arguing against sending a few non-human-looking trainees to the celebration in the capital, saying that they were not trophies to be paraded around. Ratcatcher had no strong opinion on the matter. On the one hand, their families get free vacations and meet the Queen and the President! And on the other side, the government was using the kids to promote diversity. And even if it was for a good deed, using children was wrong.
“…I grabbed that flea-ridden bitch by the nape, locked eyes with her, and told her: Call me a male one more time, and I’ll beat your fucking fangs down your throat. You’ve got to be more assertive with these girls and boys, Tori. They value strength above all. Treat them with respect, but don’t let them walk all over you…” She heard the familiar voice through the half-open door and raised her hand to knock.
“Come in, Eliza,” Torosian said from the other side. She wondered if he saw her through the cameras when the man continued guessing her thoughts. “Your scent and footsteps, trainee. You always walk with the same rhythm.”
Did he just call me smelly? She sniffed under an armpit but sensed nothing but cheap perfume. She washes every day, damn it! And there were soft carpets in the hallway; how on earth could Torosian have heard her? The Headmaster is playing a trick on me. There’s no way he could’ve deduced that it was me like that.
Headmaster Torosian was in his office, sitting not at the head but at the side of his desk, busy pouring tea into glasses. His wounds had healed, and a new, stronger bio-implant replaced the missing knee. Despite it, the Headmaster took a liking to walking around with a cane and always carried a portable cane on his belt, right next to a holster. He was wearing his usual black uniform, trimmed with silver at the collar after a recent promotion.
His guest turned and waved to Ratcatcher, before dropping six sugar cubes in his green tea. Captain Osero of the Reclaimers was here. Fresh scars charted his face, leaving the upper lip sliced enough to let his golden tooth shine. He was dressed in comfortable black cargo pants, a heavy green sweater, and black boots. Augments and implants pushed the fabric of his clothes, creating the rather horrifying image that Osero’s body was covered in oversized boils. His legs were two uneven columns, and wires could be seen running under his sweater, pumping blood and energy.
“Headmaster Torosian, Captain Osero, happy New Year to you both.” She bowed to them. “Captain, how are your wounds?”
“All healed up. Happy New Year, trainee.” Osero saluted her with a glass. “Want to join us? We have a few stories to share.”
“I would rather not let my students hear the profanity erupting out of your mouth, Captain,” Torosian said icily.
“Gee, Tori, you are hurting my blood pump!” Osero grabbed his chest in feigned horror.
“It is unexpected to see you here, sir,” Ratcatcher said to Osero. “Are we going to have another training session in the Reclamation Army’s territory by chance?”
“Bzzzz, wrong, Eliza!” Osero laughed. “The Iternian government had invited the Ashbringer Pack to the honorable ceremony, and the warlord had graciously and willingly…”
“Allegedly,” Torosian interjected.
“…accepted the invitation. Yours truly was relieved of his duties for a time and put to work as an emissary, smoothing over the rough edges between the Wolfkins…” Osero slammed his heavy fist, partially covered in steel alloys, against the desk, and the top of his knuckles opened briefly to reveal a barrel beneath. Ratcatcher guessed that this was the captain’s way of keeping the troops in line. “…and Iternians. In a show of utter stupidity, this fart of a brother has been given the task of serving as an Iternian envoy. If you ask me, the idea is retarded…”
“You and me both, Captain,” Torosian said in a dry voice, drinking his tea.
“Will you shut your trap already, Tori?” Osero asked. “As I was saying. Someone at the embassy sniffed out that I and Tori are brothers and decided it would be a good show of unity…” The man’s bombastic laughter echoed off the wall, and even Torosian smiled thinly, raising a glass to his lips. “To spread the word that old wounds heal, and all by showing the two brothers reunited. Eliza, if you ever get into a position of authority, be smarter and leave the old guys alone, ‘kay? The future is yours and youngsters to shape; we just want to live our lives.”
“The captain showed up in Iterna to irk and mentor me in the ways of the Wolf Tribe,” Torosian sighed. “Eliza, why have you come?”
“Sir…”
“Just Torosian for tonight.”
“Headmaster, I need you to accompany us to Barjonis’ mansion,” she explained to him about the problem with the probationary apprentices.
“I can’t do it, Eliza.” Torosian frowned at the sight of Osero putting a cube after a cube of sugar into his glass. “The Mayor will be there. Press too. I show up, and the next day everyone will be talking about how the Academy is cozying up to the Family.”
“I’ll cut you a deal!” Ratcatcher fired up before he could wave her away. “Do me this one courtesy, and I’ll tell you all about what I am doing with my credits.”
“Tempting.” Torosian tapped the rim of his cup. “But I already figured it all out after observing the interactions between you and the rest of your group at the last training. Trainee Elina destroyed your things, and you paid to have them repaired. I even have the proof on my terminal from the last training. Do not worry, Eliza, it will never happen again.”
“What? No!” This time it was Ratcatcher who laughed out loud. “It was just an argument about a stupid lamp, and we had settled it already. If Elina and I had any beef, why would I go partying with her tonight?”
Torosian’s piercing eyes examined her from head to toe. She could almost feel him noticing every twitch of her tail, checking her features for any sign of forgery, examining her voice. The Headmaster had already formed a theory in his head, but her laughter, a real laughter, had left a crack in it. And now it has widened.
“Reasonable,” he sighed. “I agree. This damned mystery has bothered me long enough.”
“Sir.” Ratcatcher frowned. “About the way you got the proof. Do we have cameras installed in our rooms?”
“I bet it’s something stupid, saving to buy a dress or something. Like that time when we were saving tokens to buy a new knife to replace the one we lost in the quicksand.” Osero finished his tea and stood up. “I am joining in. But you shall call them tonight. Got it, Tori?”
“Maybe.” Torosian stood up too and walked to the wardrobe, turning his back at his brother.
“Sir, are you ignoring my question?” Ratcatcher asked.
“Look at this! Big, scary Tori is afraid of calling his old parents! Afraid of being scolded? Worried that their arms will reach all the way over here for a good, old-fashioned spanking….”
A patch of darkness rose from the floor and wrapped itself around Osero’s mouth. The captain grabbed the darkness with both hands and began to tear it away. It came off like glue, all sticky, leaving pieces of itself on his skin. Two of Osero’s fingers came apart, revealing a series of small mechanical saws and blades, and the captain hacked into the darkness, freeing himself. The cloth on his shoulder bulged and exploded, revealing a folded cannon raising upward from the man’s shoulder.
Ratcatcher did the wise thing and walked away, ignoring the sound of a fist slamming into the wall as Torosian dodged the punch without looking. They were brothers, right? Let them settle their differences in their own way. She returned to Rowen’s room, hearing chanting from the second floor. The place was getting crowded; more trainees had arrived and were now busy rooting for either Olaf or Yura, who were sitting across from each other, playing cards. Yura’s brooch and Olaf’s sweater and socks were on the floor.
“Cry your eyes out, bonehead!” Olaf laughed, throwing cards, and Yura shrugged.
“Don’t do anything stupid!” Ratcatcher yelled as Yura started to unzip her bodysuit.
“Hey, I was just kidding...” Olaf started to say. And he shut up, opening and closing his mouth like a fish on land.
Yura wore clothes beneath her bodysuit. Pants, a t-shirt and an orange shirt, all a little torn from the sharp bone growths on her body. The Malformed grinned in Olaf’s face and tossed the suit to the rest of the clothes on the floor.
“But… how, why, what, who even wears clothes under a bodysuit?” Olaf finally roared.
“Always discombobulate your opponent,” Yura said. “When you challenged us to a card battle, I ran a theoretical situation in my head and came up with a strategy to see you in the dust. The lack of betting material should make a hothead like you go all out, allowing me to make up for our difference in experience. How could it not? You only needed to win twice, so of course you went all out. It made you prone to making mistakes. However, I have never experienced that it would be so easy to predict an oaf like you. Almost disappointing.”
“Yura, this is no way to talk to your friends,” Elina said. “You don’t want to insult or be rude to your teammate.”
“Insult?” The Malformed blinked. “But… Isn’t this how you banter? Sorry, Olaf, I watched a couple of movies and Akebia…”
“Ignore her; everything is fine. Yura, games are supposed to be fun!” Olaf grabbed his head.
“And competitive,” the Malformed replied unabashedly.
“Competitive? You want competitive?” The vat-born cracked his neck, and a halo of energy flashed into existence around his head. “I’ll show you competitive. Get ready, bonehead, because this time it will be for real”
“Will be? You dared to go easy on me, whitey?” Yura’s eyes narrowed, and a snort accompanied her each word. “Then how about you and I face each other in an arena, little man?”
“I thought you never asked, cow woman. Challenge accepted.” Spheres of light appeared behind Olaf’s body, coalescing into outstretched wings and heating the room to the point where the chocolate bars began to melt rapidly.
“I do not have any cow parts in my body!”
“A moment!” Ratcatcher stopped the two and announced Torosian’s decision. “Everybody pack up, we are having fun tonight!” She let the cheers die and asked Yura. “Are you sure you don’t want to go?” The Malformed nodded. “And Jumail?”
“He is meeting with his herd. Well, trying to. You know how we are.” Yura stood on all fours and opened her mouth. A dry black tongue fell out, slapping the floor with a dull ‘thumb’. It slithered across the floor, wrapping itself around the scattered food.
“How bad are they? If that’s okay to ask,” Elina said.
“Eh, it’s no secret.” Yura’s tongue moved back, dragging bottles and wrappers with it. Before anyone could stop her, the teenager had swallowed the whole mess. Her cheeks inflated like balloons, and the mighty chompers came down, crushing both food and trash in her mouth. Yura swallowed and continued, ignoring the horrified faces. “See, they’re still learning the Iternian language, so... they probably would’ve wrangled your head off if they met you in an alley.”
“Ah, a normal family, then.” Carlos nodded.
“The fuck, man? Where did you grow up?” Rowen asked.
“You’ll see in an hour.”
The trainees left the building, leaving Olaf, Yura, and a few other students behind. They stepped outside and were greeted by several cars belonging to the Barjoni family. The doors opened, and the trainees were greeted with snacks and drinks to pass the time on their way to the mansion. Along with the others, Ratcatcher took a seat in a large limousine and drank down her worries with bottles of soda. The clothes Elina and the others had bought for her fit perfectly, even if they were far less practical than the ones she was used to. With a soft whoosh, the gravity engines switched on and the limousines lifted into the air, revealing the night city for everyone.
Dragons danced in the streets and the sky of Morningstar. The holographic images of these proud creatures came from numerous drones flying over the city. Magnificent and regal forms were everywhere, some long like worms with only four limbs, others more classical with six limbs. They spewed phantom flames and covered the streets with colorful sheets, much to the amazement and delight of the children. Ratcatcher waved one such creature as it flew lazily past the cars, and the dragon blinked back with an eye larger than she was.
The orbital elevators, the three great pillars of Iterna, were lit like candles, their projectors emitting vibrant colors that added to the holiday spirit. Operated by Artificer’s mind, the drones shifted, creating cascading waterfalls of sparks and booms that amazed tourists and locals alike. Soon after, the President made an announcement, thanking each citizen for their efforts to improve the country.
And the convoy soon reached the Barjoni mansion. Ratcatcher had seen it a few times on the news, but this was the first time she had seen it in person. It wasn’t a single building. Hidden behind white walls, the mansion sat atop a hill, with four roads leading to it, one for each gate. As the cars descended on a road, they ended up driving between a forest made of crimson trees, with their tops forming a white crown as the cars reached the second level. Created through the use of biotechnology, these trees stood tall, unafraid of any cold; their leaves never fell of their own accord. Flowers of all kinds formed a living carpet beneath the trees.
Ratcatcher spotted an actual tiger, but Carlos explained to her that this wasn’t a living beast. Only birds, deer, and similar creatures were native to this forest. Tigers, bears, giant lizards, snakes—all of them were robots, serving both as a source of amusement for guests and as guards for the mansion. To prove his point, Carlos threw a bottle out of the window, and the tiger’s eyes shone purple, releasing twin beams that vaporized the bottle. Leaving the trainees with their mouths open, the robot sat down, wrapped its tail around its legs, and started licking its paw like a house cat.