The Horizon City Hospital was an average hospital with white, red, and gold colors painting the walls, the equipment, and uniforms. Bustling doctors and nurses, and plenty of injured or sick patients could be found throughout the halls and rooms. Inside one of the rooms was Alice, sitting on her bed with a bored expression.
It had been two weeks since her 'fight' with the Technician, and ever since she had been recovering from her injuries. Even though she pretty much healed from all her injuries by now, her father and the doctors insisted on keeping her here for a few more days. She appreciated their concerns, but this almost felt more painful than what the Technician had done to her. She’d forgotten all about the burns from the lasers and just felt excruciating boredom.
Calvin was moved into the same hospital ward as her to finish his own recovery, and so they’d often talk to pass the time. But that got harder after he’d finished his recovery and was allowed to go back to the force, which made their time together way shorter, which also wasn’t fair since she’d recovered long before he did. She hung her head back against the bed, despair written on her face.
Alice wasn’t meant to stick around in one place for long, she needed to move around, swing into action, solve mysteries, and fight bad guys. Sure it was scary at times, but it was fun and it really felt like she was doing something useful, despite what Chase or her father might’ve said.
I wonder how Chase is doing? That was a question that has crossed her mind just about every day, especially since she hasn't seen him in what felt like forever. He never visited her, and she never saw him on the news, so she was just forced to sit and hope that her efforts to save him weren't for nothing. If only she came a bit more prepared, or was just smarter, or stronger, then maybe she would've been able to take the Technician instead of Chase needing to save her from him again.
A knock on the ground caught her attention as her heart skipped a beat at the sight of Chase, standing in the doorframe.
"Chase!" Alice jolted up.
"Hey," he said.
"You're alive!"
"Yes, how're you holding up?"
"Eh, I can't wait to get out of here."
He chuckled, which brightened Alice up even more. However, then, an awkward silence fell on the room as both of them didn't know what else to say.
"Thank you," Chase finally said.
"For what?" Alice said.
"I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for you."
"Heh, I–I wouldn't be sitting here if it weren't for you." Alice chuckled, but her face shortly fell.
"Are you sure you’re okay?"
Alice stayed silent in thought for a moment. The Technician was taken care of now and she pretty much completed her mission. She remembered her father’s words the last time he came to see her.
***
“How are you with your task?” Kingsmen said, standing at her bedside.
“...I guess pretty good, I’ve gotten a nice gauge of him.”
“What do you think, then?”
“Um…I think he’s good. He cares for the people in this city and will fight tooth and nail to protect them.”
“The Altarians?”
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“I made an arrangement with him and Xu. He’s promised to help Lion’s Grove.”
“Yes, I’ve heard. Do you believe he’ll keep his promise?”
“I do. But I’m not sure how big of a help he’ll be.”
“You’ll help him, of course.”
“I know…it’s just…” Alice trailed off.
“What does he think of you?”
“Me? I think he trusts me now, but…”
“But what?” Her father asked her with a tone that sounded like a father’s concern, but his face was still Kingsmen.
She hesitated to say, but with a gulp she did. “Are you sure it’s wise to keep this a secret?”
“Your task?” She nodded. Her dad sighed. “I’d prefer it if this task was a secret. If he knows of your ulterior motives, then we could easily lose all the progress made…However, it is true that the longer a lie is kept then the consequences could become even more severe. And Silverwing is not someone to be trifled with.”
“I guess, I can just make sure it doesn’t come out.”
“Alice, your respect for me is appreciated and honorable. You understand that following my requests, orders, and advice leads you to success. However, there will come a future when you must follow your own heart and mind. A secret never stays hidden forever, and my suggestion is to follow what you believe will be best. You’ve been around Chase the longest, so you will know him better than I do.”
With that, her father left her side and she was left wondering what to do and what to say.
***
“Alice?” Chase said again.
She looked up at him, and shockingly she felt like she could see through his mask, through the stoic helmet and see his scarred, but compassionate face. “Um…there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Okay.” Chase stood still, silently watching her, listening.
She took a deep breath. “Okay, the thing with my father and how he got me an apprenticeship with you to become a Guardian. That part isn’t…as clean as you think.” She watched for a reaction from Chase, but he didn’t change at all, which kind of made her even more nervous. “Don’t get me wrong! The Guardian Apprenticeship documents and everything is legit…but there’s more to it. My dad…wanted me to learn more about you…and potentially convince you to help his cause, along with info on the PD.” She looked away.
“What do you mean?”
“I–what I mean is…” She took another breath and looked down at her thumbs. “...What I mean is I had another mission. I would get close to you as your apprentice…to understand you better, to see if your viewpoints and ambitions are really as clean as they seem, and whether or not they align with his purposes. Your connections with the PD and even Zone Technologies would also allow me to get valuable information to report back to him with. Other than that, he’ll probably talk with his team about what to do with the info…”
“So…you wanted to use me?”
Alice shook her head fervently, “No! Well…kind of. Look, that was one part of my purpose for being your apprentice. But everything else I told you, my childhood, my reasons and passion to be a guardian…that was all true. I guess I accepted my dad’s mission because it’d get me closer to my dream too, but I’m sorry for lying to you…or at least keeping the truth away. I know this’ll probably divide us even more, and well there won’t be much point on continuing this apprenticeship…”
An agonizingly long silence passed between as Chase stood in thought and Alice twiddled her thumbs. “I had my suspicions,” he finally said.
“What?”
“When I first met you, I had a feeling there was more to you than you let on. Those weird feelings grew even more when I saw you and Kingsmen together and how you so insisted on becoming my apprentice. But, with the Technician being the biggest danger and the clear fact that you had nothing to do with him, I decided that I’d deal with you and Kingsmen after the Technician,” Chase sighed. “Then, I guess I slowly forgot all about my suspicions of you.”
“I’m sorry for leading you on like this…”
“No, you didn’t lead anything. But you have a good heart, I can see that. You risked your life several times for me and others. Your cause also isn’t a bad one, but I can’t promise I’d ever go out of my way to help your father.”
“Yeah, I kind of figured. He won’t be pleased, though.”
“Luckily, keeping the peace between Euronans and Altarians is within my job description. And I’m willing to continue being your mentor.”
“Really?!”
“But I’d prefer it if we can be honest with each other, which means no more secrets.”
“Right! No more secrets. I’ll be an open book.” Alice’s eyes sparkled with renewed glee.
“I also can’t promise that I’ll be a good mentor, but I have enough experience and skills to help you.”
She snickered, “Could have fooled me. You’ve been great, so far.” And she smiled even more when she thought she caught a glimpse of a smile through his visor.
“Good, then we can start immediately once you’re discharged.” Chase walked over to the door, before turning back. “Let’s hope you can keep up.”
Alice saluted, “Ai ai! Captain!”