Gisela’s resolve sinks into me like a single, sharpened tooth. There’s something that really bothers me about it–what bites with one tooth, after all–but she’s not giving any hints with her body language. I carefully shift my gaze to Dora, expecting to see a little reluctance as a foil to Gisela’s confidence, but all I see is a second, quieter tooth.

“If you’re saying this, can I assume you’ve got plans to keep the company alive?” Ursula asks with stone-faced professionalism. “I can’t imagine you two abandoning something you worked so hard to build up just to go chasing whims. It’s not just irresponsible… it’s idiotic.”

Dora nods a little in agreement. “We have a group of trusted people. All of them are trained to run the company if need be, so as long as one of us stays behind, we won’t lose anything.”

That kind of sounds like how the resort works. Except I have absolutely no idea how to run a place like that. Now that I think of it… does that mean Ursula and March have that knowledge? Am I expected to learn? Or does Noland somehow do everything on his own?

“How can you be sure they won’t betray you?”

I whip around at the vitriolic tone of Ursula’s question. Gisela and Dora both drop their facades for a second in stunned silence, but they recover much quicker than I do. Not quick enough to give a snappy comeback, though–or even quick enough to get a word in before Ursula starts speaking again.

“People betray each other. Trust only amounts to so much.” She leans forward, her eyes cold and hardened from experience. “If one person decides they gain something by betraying your organization, then everything can come crumbling down around you in an afternoon. Even if you play it safe, and don’t give anyone else the power to make impactful decisions, a true betrayal doesn’t need that. Not when the people they’d betray you to have massive city-leveling mechs.”

Dora doesn’t have an answer to that. She just audibly swallows and looks down at the table. Gisela, however, balls her fists and presses them into the table. Frustration beads off her shaking body like a tangible thing, and from how she doesn’t turn to look at anyone but us, I can tell Ursula’s question hit a little too close to home.

“We know the risks.” She states calmly, even though she looks nothing but. “Our entire lives were built up by taking obscene risks that luckily happened to pay out. There’s no difference between back then when we were just lab rats and now.”

“You’ve got too much to lose.”

Everyone, including the bodyguards, all snap to me like I magnetically drew their attention. Cold understanding washes over me, but it isn’t from me. It’s coming from Pearl. I close my eyes and focus on that sensation–the sensation of having far too much to lose to even take a single risk. She smiles at me, full of regret and memories, and gently grabs her arm with one hand. Because she doesn’t have a good solution. Just the one she latched onto that led to her current situation.

“No matter what you choose to do, something’s going to go wrong. That’s just how life works.” I say as I open my eyes to everyone’s stares. “You can take the safest way, or the most dangerous way. But honestly, you don’t know which one’s which. You don’t know who’s going to open which door, which actions they’re going to take, or even if everything you fought for is already compromised.”

Illumisia’s explanation on Fate flashes into my mind. I lace my fingers together, put on my most empathetic expression, and make a decision based on knowing next to nothing at all. It might send the Garza twins to early deaths. It could turn them into tyrannical despots. Hell, it could turn them into an offshoot of the resort that helps us get rid of the Preservation altogether.

But that starts with sending them to get Classes. “Someone once explained to me that the world is on a fated path; the chain of events that are currently set in motion by everyone’s actions. Sometimes I can see flashes of orange that let me know if something has the potential to shift that fated path. I don’t know if ignoring them keeps me on the path, or if ignoring it is what shifts fate, but they’re… junctions…”

I trail off slowly as both of the twins’ eyes take on a very slight orange flicker like reflected firelight. My words catch in my throat as I carefully move only my eyes to get a look at the rest of the room, and my heart skips a beat at what I see.

Every pair of eyes–no matter if they’re behind sunglasses or not–has the exact same flicker of orange. Meaning my choice here will somehow affect everyone here. Maybe even every single person Garza industrial employs. Then I glance over at Ursula. Her eyes flicker orange.

…Shit. Why did it only start when I opened my mouth? Shouldn’t everyone have been orange since the start? What about my short-ass speech convinced the twins enough that they seriously started considering something they hadn’t from the beginning?

My hand slowly closes around a summoned coin. I flick it at the underside of the table, and in an act that grips my heart with an icy fist, activate Twist Fate. Words coat my mouth as the world flickers into monochrome, and my mind races as I try to assign different angles to heads and tails. But this time… just in case Twist Fate is the reason Fleur got messed up… I need to put a slightly different spin on it.

“Heads I tell them to go, tails I tell them to forget about it.”

Twist Fate.

Heads or Tails.

Best or Worst.

It’s never as clean as black or white.

Call it.

“Best for everyone.”

A loud noise, like a record scratch amplified to be as loud as a jet engine, shrieks through my mind like a runaway freight train. I barely stifle a scream and cover my ears with both hands, only to feel wet, sticky warmth on my palms. Pulling them away reveals blood mixed with the stuff Pearl put into my body to revive me.

Best for everyone is unattainable.

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One person’s success directly conflicts with another’s.

Identify a clear group or individual to be the target of this skill.

I swallow hard. Alright, so all I have to do is narrow down my choice. That’s not so bad.

“Best for the resort.”

The coin slams to the ground, and I hurry to wipe the blood from my ears as everything returns to normal. Gisela’s eyes go wide when I’m not quick enough, and for some reason, it makes her eyes Fate glow even brighter.

“Shelby, what happened?” She asks with what sounds like genuine concern. “You were in the middle of talking, and then you… what happened?”

Ursula leans in and wraps an arm around my body. “Don’t worry about it–she’s got a skill that does this to her sometimes. She’ll tell me all about it in the debrief later, won’t you Shelby?”

Alright, so no being subtle now. “Yeah, of course. I won’t do that for another week.” I laugh, putting extra emphasis on the word ‘week’ to try and help Ursula make the connection. “Don’t worry, I’m perfectly fine. I’m made of sterner stuff, so this won't faze me.”

I manage a glance at the coin under the table. It came up heads.

“That’s a relief.” Gisela sighs. “But… you’re right, both of you. We know this is dangerous, and we know we can’t predict what’s going to happen. We’ve had countless meetings discussing how the company will run while we’re on the other world, but none of them end the way we really want them to.”

I place my foot on the coin and send it back to my inventory as Gisela rewords her last sentiment in a hundred different ways. They really must have been working on this for a long time, which means they’ve been denying themselves what they really want to do for just as long. Even if this is the wrong choice, it feels like the choice they want to make. All they need is one person to tell them they’re allowed to make it.

“Take the class coins. Go to the other world, and use the experiences you have there to make this company even better at… whatever you do here… than it already is.” I say with a confident, friendly smile. “You haven’t done anything to make the system hate you, so all you have to worry about are problems that come from Earth. Watch each others’ backs and you’ll be fine.”

The orange Fate flickers in the twins’ eyes. As it fades away, resolve takes its place. Why they place so much value in my decision I don’t know, but if I can make the best decision for all of us, I can go to sleep knowing I did some good.

“So… the event. How do you want to do it? And we need some details before we really commit to it.” Ursula breaks the silence and shoves the conversation forward. “If we need to provide security strong enough to stop assassination attempts, just the two of us won’t be enough. But if all you need is a pair of bodyguards, I want an explanation for why it should be us.”

I nod in agreement. “Is it a party, some kind of red carpet event, or a campaign kind of thing?”

“The best description of it is a combination party and campaign. It isn’t open to the public, and it won’t be filmed, but members of the Preservation, HuSt, and many smaller groups will be present.” Gisela drums her painted fingernails against the table in thought. “Am I forgetting anything, Dora? I feel like I’m forgetting something.”

“Um… the government representatives, I think.”

Gisela nods vigorously. “Yes, them. I can’t say who, but there are going to be diplomats and representatives as well.”

…Not sure if it's just me, but that sounds like one hell of a get together. If HuSt wasn’t included in the list, then maybe I could have convinced myself that the main point of the get-together wasn’t squarely rooted in the other world. But with that guest list, I’m betting this little party is way more important than Gisela’s letting on.

“So what’s on the agenda?” I ask.

“The usual. Campaigning, fighting over resources and intel, and trying to regulate Class Coins on a global scale. You two signed NDAs, right? I’m not just imagining that?”

Ursula shakes her head. “Nope, and we never will. But you also know we have no skin in the selling information game, so your secrets are safe-ish with us.”

“As long as we don’t do anything to threaten you?”

“Not quite.” Ursula leans in with a crooked smile and rests her chin on her hands. “Remember that we’re here to make sure the world doesn’t go completely pro-Class fascist or anti-Class fascist. Don’t go pushing either rhetoric and you’ll never find yourselves staring down the barrel of utter annihilation.”

Dora gulps. “She… you don’t really mean that, do you?”

Gisela, on the other hand, almost seems emboldened by Ursula’s threat. “The world needs people like you to stop people like us from going too far. Make sure you codify some things into laws before the Preservation decides they get a monopoly on giving out Class Coins, though. It’s happening way faster than you think.”

“We’re aware of that.” Ursula says curtly. “And you wouldn’t be the first organization we surgically removed from the running. Now–give us a detailed agenda for the party or we leave.”

“That was always the plan if it went this way.” Gisela snaps her fingers, and one of her bodyguards places a folder in her hand. “This contains details on all the organizations, people, and classes that will be present. Things shouldn’t get violent, but they have before. If you’re going to guard us, we need to know that you’re powerful enough to keep us from dying, not just get revenge after we die.”

Dora nods vigorously in agreement. “I don’t want to die.”

Ursula leans forward and snatches the folder from Gisela. Her lips curl up in annoyance, and she glances at me for a second, but she goes right back to sitting and watching Ursula flip through the folder a second later. It really feels like Gisela wants something from me. Or… wait, what if she thinks I actually did have a motive for saving her? It kind of makes sense, honestly.

“Hrm. This is annoying.” Ursula muses. “You both want to go, but you’re never going to be there at the same time. Which means we’re going to have to do a hand-off at some point, and after the hand-off, someone’s going to have to watch the vehicle. No, not just that; someone’s going to have to watch you come in at a later time.”

“Is that going to be a problem?” Gisela asks.

Ursula snorts and hands me the folder. “Of course it is. There’s two of us. You want constant protection not just at the party, but for the travel to and from the party. Wouldn’t be a problem if you wanted to go at the same damn time, but if you’re staggering it, we can’t do it with two people.”

I’m inclined to agree with Ursula. Two bodyguards is barely enough protection either of them from someone who actually wants to kill them, and one just leaves way too much room for danger. Even if we got Noland in on it, we’d still be one person short, since March is crossing over before the deadline.

“Our own people can protect us on the way there and back.” Gisela insists. “All you need to do is protect us at the party.”

Ursula shakes her head. “No way. We’re leaving at least one person with you at all times. I’ll deal with the handoffs, and I’ll ride there and back every time. Shelby, you and Noland will work the party. He’s better with that high society stuff than I am, anyway.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“Hell if I know.” Ursula chuckles humorlessly. “But if the Preservation and HuSt are going, we can’t afford not to have Noland there.”

“What? Why?”

“Simple; they might know the rest of us, but they’re goddamn terrified of him.”