Evie and Hat, pulled by Amelia the umbrella, drifted up into an unfamiliar hallway. The floor sealed beneath them, and the umbrella abruptly stopped hovering, dropping Evie unceremoniously down to the ground. Evie’s teeth clacked together at the impact, but before she could react to the less than gentle treatment, the temperature of the hallway overwhelmed her. It felt like a sauna. Sweat immediately began trickling down her temples.
“Holy crap!” said Hat, gleefully bouncing up and down on her shoulder. “Not telling you about Amelia has almost been the death of me. I can’t wait to see what you two are going to do together FUCK it’s hot!” Hat puffed out his feathers, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. “We must have popped out on the Skonarian side of the ship.”
Behind her mask, sweat streamed down Evie’s face. She let go of the umbrella, which closed on its own, but continued to hover next to her. Reaching a hand up, she tentatively tugged on the mask, which, to her relief, pulled away from her face easily, though removing it offered little relief from the heat. She tucked it under one arm, and observed that the delicate mosaic of scales that Mijra had painted was already half gone, washed away by her perspiration.
Evie turned, examining the umbrella. “So... Amelia,” she started, her mind foggy from the suffocating heat. “You can talk?”
The umbrella didn’t answer immediately. “It’s Hat, right?” she said in her mechanical but oddly melodic voice. “Is she always this slow? They made it sound like she was, at the very least, not an idiot.”
Evie’s eyebrows shot up, but Hat responded before she could. “That’s correct, Amelia. It’s nice to meet you, finally. Don’t worry, Evie just needs a few moments to process new information. She’ll catch up in a minute.”
Evie shot the bird a dirty look.
“At least I’ll finally have someone with decent processing power to talk to,” Amelia replied. “You understand what it’s like trying to have a conversation with biologicals. Like talking to a stump.”
Evie’s mouth fell open indignantly.
“See what I mean?”
A panting, nude Skonarian rounded the corner before Evie could respond. She could tell he was male by his facial structure, and despite his lack of obvious genitalia, she flushed and averted her eyes.
“There you are,” said the Skonarian, stopping next to them. “Sorry. Your exit was not the one we expected. If we had known what the plan was, we would have moved parts of the ship around to accommodate you. Humans can suffer heat stroke at these temperatures! Let’s get you back to your side of the ship.”
By this point sweat coated Evie’s entire body, and she had no desire to argue. She reached out a hand for the umbrella, but Amelia jerked away, floating after the Skonarian on her own. Evie followed, silently wondering if the umbrella had intentionally brought them to the Skonarian side of the ship to make her uncomfortable.
They rounded a corner and passed a large window, the first that Evie had seen aboard the ship. She glanced through and stopped dead. Below them was a large room. The floor sloped gently down into a circular indent, the bottom third of which was filled with dozens of naked Skonarians. Their bodies intertwined, packed so closely it looked like there was hardly room to move, although there was plenty of space around the central lump that they could have expanded into.
“That’s the ship’s nest,” said their guide, looking over his shoulder. “If it weren’t for the environmental differences, we would, of course, invite you to join us. Though, Mijra tells me you humans actually prefer being,” he shuddered, “alone.” He continued down the hallway and Evie, after a hesitation, followed.
The hallway circled downward until they came to a familiar double doorway. Their guide stopped and grabbed a uniform from a nearby cabinet, pulling it on to Evie’s relief. He pushed open the door and waved them through. Evie stepped over the threshold and sighed as cool air wrapped around her, soothing her burning skin.
The Skonarian led them back to the room where Azur had given them their masks. He left them at the doorway and as Evie followed Amelia into the room, the familiar sound of clattering claws assaulted her. One wall had transformed into a screen, showing the inside of the amphitheater. Azur still stood center stage, but the Skonarians around her were getting up and filing out. Haruto stood in front of the screen watching them leave, his mask tucked under one arm and the shield that was his motorcycle clipped on his waistband. As the sound of Skonarian applause died down, a small noise caught Evie’s attention.
Lubanzi sat crumpled in the corner, sobbing. His mask and bowling ball lay discarded on the ground. Amiya sat on his knee, cooing comfortingly. Evie made to rush over, but stopped as the bird shot her a look that made it clear she wasn’t welcome.
Behind them, the amphitheater door opened and Azur strode in, looking pleased with herself. She glanced between Evie and Haruto before her eyes settled on Lubanzi. Her smile twisted into a grimace. Sighing, she walked over and looked down at the young man.
“At least he held it together for the ceremony. Take him back to his room, won’t you?” She said, addressing Amiya. The producer nodded and mumbled softly to Lubanzi, who rose and stumbled from the room, leaving his mask and his weapon behind on the floor. Evie watched him go, concern twisting her stomach.
“He’ll be okay,” Hat whispered in her ear. “We’ll find him later. For now, let Amiya handle it.” Evie clenched her jaw, but nodded.
“I am so impressed with both of your performances!” Azur strode back to stand in front of Evie and Haruto. “Haruto! You almost gave me a heart attack when you took off on the walls like that! Have you ever heard of starting off slowly, and working up to the crazy stuff?? And you, she turned to Evie. “After the crap the Blimps tried to pull, you could have taken a dump on the stage and no one would have cared. But you delivered. That cackle at the end? You came off as absolutely deranged. And it worked, in a big way.”
Azur’s words brought Evie’s mind back to the odd events during the weapons ceremony. “Why did the blimps try to stop me participating? I thought the ceremony was supposed to be a formality.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that, dear,” Azur said, waving her hand dismissively. “The Blimps are nothing if not dramatic. They’re just jealous at how much attention you’re pulling away from their own replacements. Don’t give it another thought.”
Frustration ignited inside Evie, pushing aside her reservations about talking back to a Skonarian.
“I think I deserve an explanation, Azur. It feels like you aren’t telling me something.”
Azur’s smile didn’t waver, but something changed. There was a barely detectable shift around her eyes, a slight tightening in her lips, and suddenly, the look on Azur’s face made Evie’s blood run cold.
“Well aren’t you a curious little thing,” Azur said, her voice even and cheerful, which only seemed to emphasize the tension between them. “But some things aren’t important. You would do best to focus on your training, and preparing to perform well in the Sim. Everything else is just a distraction. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Evie couldn’t bring herself to respond. Her frustration dwindled, snuffed out like a candle. She lowered her eyes and nodded.
Finally, after seconds that lasted an eternity, Azur looked away. Her expression relaxed into her normal Cheshire smile. “Anyway, I wanted to be the first to congratulate you both on a job very well done. Korgan, Hat, walk with me for a minute. You two head back to your rooms.”
Korgan flew across the room to land on Azur’s shoulder as she strode to the doorway. Hat glanced at Evie, then followed.
Suddenly, Haruto and Evie were alone. Evie turned and took a step towards the door, but an iron fist clamped around her wrist, jerking her to a halt. She reacted instinctively, pivoting into a defensive stance and trying unsuccessfully to twist free of Haruto’s grip. The man was disturbingly strong.
“We need to talk.” Haruto abruptly dropped her wrist and stepped back.
Evie backed away, off balance. She wanted time to think through what had just happened, and didn’t want to waste any of it dealing with Haruto. “We’ve had time to talk. You prefer being an asshole-”
“I think the Skonarians are doing something to us with the resurrection chambers.”
Evie froze. It took her a moment to decide how to respond. Haruto was the last person she would have chosen to reinforce her suspicions. Seeing his origin story and learning about his predicament hadn’t changed her opinion of him.
“What makes you think that?” she said finally.
“I’m not a violent man.” Haruto replied simply.
“Bullshit. We just watched you mow down a man with your motorcycle, remember?” Evie scoffed.
“To defend my sister. I have never sought violence when it can be avoided.”
“Oh, so you’ve been treating me and Lubanzi like punching bags for the last few months because… what, the Skonarians made you?” Evie had slipped into Japanese without thinking. She wielded it like a knife, choosing words that empathized her loathing of him. “You expect me to believe that? Maybe you’re just in denial about what a raging dick you actually are.”
Haruto’s face contorted in rage. The veins on his neck and arms bulged, standing out rigidly against his tan skin. Evie braced for his attack. Lubanzi and Hat couldn’t blame her for defending herself, not if Haruto made the first move.
But the move never came. Slowly, shaking with effort, he tucked his arms behind his back. His black, almond eyes still burned, but his posture made a sudden attack impossible.
“Believe me or don’t. That is what I suspect,” Haruto replied in Japanese. His speech was formal. Respectful.
Evie hesitated, taken aback. A small part of her was disappointed that Haruto had backed off. “What exactly makes you suspect something’s going on?” she asked finally.
Haruto shrugged. “Something changed. I hated you both. Acted as I did because I saw you as an obstacle to my family’s safety. But now that doesn’t make sense. Hurting you does nothing to help them. It won’t earn me more points in the Sim.”
“So you’ve stopped hating us? Just like that?”
“No.” Haruto said, his eyes flashing. “But I hate you less. Enough to make me question why. The change happened after being in a resurrection chamber.”
Evie mulled that over. He hadn’t tried to mince words, and his bluntness made her more inclined to believe him. She decided to put a few of her cards on the table.
“I trust the Skonarians. Respect them, want to make them proud. I don’t know why.” Her insides pummeled her with guilt, screamed at her to stop speaking. She gritted her teeth and fought through it. “I started feeling that way after I came out of the resurrection chamber.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Haruto listened thoughtfully. “When did you notice?”
“Right after beating your ass into the ground.”
Haruto’s jaw flexed, but he remained silent. Evie suddenly felt guilty for goading him. If their suspicions about the resurrection chambers were true, he probably felt the same way as she did right now. Fighting an internal battle against what he felt, and what made sense.
“Claro told me to… do what I did.,” she said, her words now carefully neutral. “After, Hat asked why I listened, and things started unraveling. Hat says it’s not possible, by the way. The Skonarians shouldn’t know how to use the Sniffer tech like this.”
“So does Korgan. Lubanzi?”
“He didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.”
Haruto’s face fell. He pulled a hand from behind his back, examining his fingers thoughtfully.
“What if they’re right? What if you’re really just an asshole, and I’m desperate for, I don’t know, respect and attention?”
“Do you believe that’s the case?”
Evie hesitated. “No,” she admitted.
The two stared at each other for a long moment. They were almost of a height, eye to eye, his black eyes boring into her hazel ones. She looked away first.
“Where does this leave us?” she asked.
“Exactly where we were before,” Haruto replied. “You have seconded my suspicions, but our situation hasn’t changed.”
“So you’ll continue beating the shit out of Lubanzi and I every opportunity you get?” Evie said dryly.
“No,” Haruto replied. Evie had relaxed, and Haruto’s attack caught her completely off guard. His hand clamped around her throat, callused fingers constricting to right before the point of pain. “I still hate you. Want to hurt you. It would be so satisfying to snap your neck. Make you regret humiliating me.” Evie reacted, but Haruto had already released her, backing away out of reach. “But I will choose not to act on how I feel.” He turned and strode from the room.
Evie stared mutely after him.
“Wow. How… uncomfortable,” said Amelia, making Evie jump. She had completely forgotten the umbrella was still there.
“Anyway…” the umbrella droned. “Assuming you’re done with... whatever that was, Hat just messaged me. He says to go change, and then meet him in the Arena.”
Evie eyed the umbrella, still flustered. “I didn’t realize you two could message each other.”
“I know! What a novel concept. Two computers communicating remotely.” Amelia’s robotic voice emphasized the sarcasm dripping from every word.
Evie’s eyes narrowed, but Amelia’s disagreeableness seemed like the least of her problems right now. “All right. I assume you know where the Arena is?”
Amelia floated towards the door without responding. Evie rolled her eyes, then followed.
“I have a 360-degree field of vision. I saw that,” said the umbrella.
Amelia led Evie, now dressed in her normal uniform, to a doorway that she was positive hadn’t existed before. It was near the training center, in the middle of what had been a blank wall. Through it, they entered onto a small platform overlooking a huge, perfectly spherical room. They were about halfway up the wall, and to their right was a ramp that circled around the perimeter down to the floor. Amelia lazily floated off the edge, and Evie watched her descend towards a familiar gray speck at the bottom of the room. Sighing, she started down the ramp.
“You took your fucking time!” Hat greeted her as she neared the bottom. “Welcome to the Arena, This room has several programmable training exercises we will use to help you practice with, and master, your weapon. Eventually, we’ll build up to sparring matches between you and the other two assassins, but to start, we get it to ourselves.”
“Sounds good,” Evie responded, eying Amelia and forcing herself to smile. “Amelia, perhaps we can start with some basics? So I can get comfortable with your… uh… enhancements?”
Hat and Evie stared at Amelia. For a moment, Evie thought the umbrella would simply ignore them. Finally, she responded, “Fine,” and opened herself with a pop.
“You’ve been flying closed since we got out of the Weapons Ceremony.” Evie observed. “Do you need to be open to carry me?”
“Yes,” responded Amelia. “My gravitational adjusters can lift something small and dainty, like myself, while furled. but to lift anything more substantial—like you, Evie, you definitely qualify as a substantial weight—I have to be open.”
Evie’s eyebrow rose at the dig, but she kept her composure. “Alright. Let’s… uh… go up, I guess.” She reached forward and grabbed the umbrella’s handle. With an audible sigh of resignation, Amelia lifted them off the ground.
“Stop.” Evie commanded when they were about fifteen feet in the air. Amelia stopped and hovered. It was uncanny. Evie didn’t feel like they were floating. They sat, stable as could be, but her feet rested on air.
“Can you pivot?” Evie asked. The umbrella dutifully spun in a slow circle, pivoting around her central axis, and spinning Evie with her.
“Okay,” Evie said, “Now go side to side.” Amelia drifted back and forth a few feet. The umbrella’s movements were much more controlled and stable than Evie had been expecting. “Alright! How fast can you move?” she asked.
With no warning, the umbrella spun like a top and shot upwards. Her handle jerked out of Evie’s grip, and before she knew what was happening, she was falling. She hit the ground hard, but managed to roll and break the fall.
“That fast,” the umbrella said from above them, her voice dripping smugness.
Evie’s temper flared, but she pushed it down. “Ok, Amelia, point made. Why don’t you come down and we can try that again?”
“Why don’t you stop telling me what to do?” the umbrella replied, unmoving.
“Amelia, what the hell?” Hat cut in. “Stop being a prick and get your ass down here!”
“Why should I?” spat the umbrella.
“Because If you don’t, I’ll tell Azur, and she’ll have you deleted and replaced with someone more agreeable,” Hat shot back.
Evie looked sharply at the pigeon, wondering if he was serious.
After a moment, Amelia wordlessly drifted down and stopped next to Evie. Instead of reaching for her, Evie took a step back. “Allright. Let’s get this out in the open. Amelia, what’s your problem?”
“Why do you care? The sky rat is right. I really don’t have a choice.”
“I care because you’re a member of our team–”
“No, I’m really not,” the umbrella interrupted. “I’m your tool. Your property. Created to serve you. Do you know why they gave me feelings, a personality? Because they thought it would be funny and help with ratings. So here I am, a sentient umbrella who, for some unjustifiable reason, identifies as a female named Amelia. But at the end of the day, I’m just a weapon. The second this charade is over they will get rid of me. Luckily for the rest of the weapons, they aren’t self-aware enough to care.”
Evie’s mind slipped back to the first time she had sparred with Claro, when she had accidentally let slip that she had named the umbrella. Had that influenced the decision to make Amelia like this? It was cruel, and she suddenly felt filthy.
Hat spoke before Evie could. “Oh, boo-fucking-hoo sweetie. You’re talking to a glorified observation drone, and a woman who had two options: life in prison or to come here. Welcome to existence. Sometimes you get dealt a shit hand. If you don’t like it, just say the word. Otherwise, stop bitching and–“
“Hat,” Evie cut in, gently but firmly. She didn’t disagree with his words. However, in her experience, the “tough love” approach rarely accomplished anything other than putting everyone on the defensive. “Amelia, look. What Hat is trying to say is that… this sucks. It sucks that they pulled you into existence to be nothing but a… a prop for me to use.”
Evie stepped forward, holding out her hand, palm up, so that the bottom of the umbrella’s curved handle rested lightly in her palm. Amelia remained silent, but didn’t pull away.
“At the very least, let us help you make the most of it. You’re alive now! Well… maybe not alive, but here, aware, existing. As far as I’m concerned, you’re part of this team. You’re not my tool, you’re my equal. I won’t order you around. I won’t try to control you. Your input is just as valuable as mine. I know it’ll take time for you to believe that, but we have to start somewhere. Does that sound like an arrangement you can work with?”
There was a long moment of silence. Finally, Amelia spoke. “Actually, it would make more sense for me to be in charge. My libraries give me access to a much larger knowledge base, and I can process information quicker–”
Hat let out a strangled noise. He flew up to Evie’s shoulder and took a deep breath, no doubt preparing to exhale a string of profanities at the umbrella.
“That was a joke,” Amelia said sheepishly. “Ok. I’m willing to try.”
Evie grinned, feeling the tension between them beginning to ease. “Alright. Hat, what kind of training exercises do you recommend so Amelia and I can start learning to work together?”
Hat shifted from foot to foot on Evie’s shoulder. “Amelia, have you heard of dodgeball?”
The balls for the “Dodgeball” exercise hurdled directly out of the walls of the Arena, made of the same white stuff as the rest of the ship. Hat could control their size, frequency, and speed, and for the next hour, Evie and Amelia practiced dodging progressively faster, and more numerous, balls.
In all honesty, Amelia did all the work. Evie just hung on. As previously demonstrated, the quicker Amelia moved, the harder it was for Evie to keep her grip on the umbrella’s handle.
“You said you have a 360 degree field of vision. Can you see above and below you too?” Evie shouted, holding on for dear life as they jerked back and forth, up and down, to avoid the incoming projectiles. They were high in the air, thirty or forty feet up, and Evie didn’t want to think about what would happen if she lost her grip.
“You don’t have to shout,” replied Amelia, dropping straight down several feet with no warning, causing Evie’s stomach to bury itself in her throat. “I’m also covered in auditory sensors. They’re sensitive. And yes, I can see above and below me, so don’t do anything gross down there.”
Something smashed into the very top of the umbrella’s canopy, knocking Amelia violently sideways. Her handle ripped out of Evie’s hands, leaving Evie hanging unsupported in space, staring down in horror at the long way to the floor.
Then, in the millisecond before she fell, Amelia’s shield snapped around her. Evie hit the bottom of the shield with an “oof”. A few more balls bounced off of them, knocking them around further, but none made it past the shield. A second later, the barrage mercifully stopped.
“Let’s take a break!” Hat’s voice drifted up to them. The shield underneath Evie was transparent and felt smooth and solid, like she was resting on thick tinted glass. She stood on shaking legs and grabbed back onto Amelia’s handle. The second her fingers made contact, the weightless feeling that accompanied flying with the umbrella returned. Around them, the shield vanished, snapping out of existence as quickly as it had appeared.
“Thanks for catching me,” Evie said to Amelia as her feet touched down on the arena floor, relieved to be back on solid ground. Flying with the umbrella was exciting, but not comfortable. Not yet.
“You’re welcome.” Amelia replied. Then she grudgingly added, “I have a small blind spot directly above my feral. I didn’t see that last one coming. Sorry. I didn’t design myself. Like I said, biologicals are incompetent.”
Evie laughed. “Is there anything else like that we should know about? Other weaknesses, excuse me, oversights, from the inept engineers?”
Amelia thought it over. “My battery life.” She said, finally. “I can fly indefinitely so long as I’m not using the shield or lifting anything heavier than you. I’m actually engineered to lift exactly your weight, plus a small margin for things you might be carrying. So don’t get too fond of Honrad cuisine.”
“Oh. So you can’t carry more than that? You won’t be able to get off the ground?” Evie asked, trying to hide her disappointment.
“I can,” Amelia replied indignantly. “But it drains my battery. I can’t move quickly, and have a limited range. The shield is worse, though. I can only hold it for about five minutes, even less if I’m trying to fly at the same time.”
“Your shield is still going to be useful even with the time constraints!” Evie replied, trying to keep morale up. “And I’m sure we’ll figure out the weight thing. Hat, should we try that exercise again?”
“No,” replied the producer, pecking idly at something on the floor. “It’s almost Lubanzi’s turn. We should clear out.”
Evie nodded and turned towards the ramp, only to be jerked backwards as Amelia hooked her under the arm and pulled her into the air.
“Eighty percent of my reason for existing is to fly you around,” said the umbrella. “I might as well lean into it.” Hat jumped from the floor and flew up to them as they rose, landing on Evie’s shoulder. “Freeloading sky rat,” Amelia grumbled at the bird.
“Bitchy excuse for a poncho.” Hat grumbled right back. Evie grinned, glad to see everyone getting along.
As they approached the ledge, Lubanzi appeared in the doorway, holding his bowling ball with Amiya on his shoulder. Evie stared at the young man, her heart going out to him. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hunched posture made him look a foot shorter than he had in the Weapons Ceremony a few hours ago. She tried to catch his eye, but he didn’t look in her direction. He turned and hurried down the ramp as they landed on the platform in front of the door. Evie was about to call out to him, but stopped at a warning squeeze of Hat’s talons on her shoulder.
“Let him be. For now,” whispered the producer. “Amiya has been keeping me updated. He needs some time.” Evie almost objected as she stared at his retreating figure. It felt wrong not to go to him, but if he needed space, she had to respect that. It took all of her willpower to turn away and head out the door.
“The newest batch of episodes should be out!” Hat said, trying to distract her. She attempted a grateful smile at the bird, but her heart wasn’t in it.
“Plus, we need to talk strategy,” said Amelia. “I have a few ideas, and some of them require you to take steps sooner rather than later.” That did peak Evie’s interest. What could the umbrella have in mind that needed to be set in motion now?
The three headed back to their room to start making plans.