Amelia removed the visor and sat up, stretching a few times as she looked around the dimly lit bedroom she shared with Aidan. The central air unit hummed to life, gently filling the void with a silent pitched noise as if greeting her return to consciousness. Amelia stood up and began stretching, lifting her shoulders and arms above her head, grimacing slightly at the familiar stiffness. The movement caused her to notice the floor mirror that was attached to the wall and the sight of her reflection in the low lighting was enough to make her smile.

A very quick look around revealed what she already knew. For whatever reason, she was alone in the bedroom. There was no Aidan sitting next to her bed waiting for an explanation. None of her friends were standing vigil or anything crazy like that. There wasn’t even a note. Honestly, Amelia was a little miffed. If any one of them had been kidnapped during the middle of the AA Finals she might have thought to leave a note.

“Ah! Crap!” Amelia covered her face in her hands. She had logged out without checking her chat channels or game news. There had been the Raven robot thing, and then after she had left the floor she had been assaulted by the really annoying B3 pushing her to either log out, return to her cell, or continue advancing. Here she was thinking about how inconsiderate everyone had been when she hadn’t even bothered to check in on them. She had been too eager to log out and escape the fictional confines of her weirdo prison dungeon.

Amelia sighed and stared mournfully at her reflection. “Why can’t you think things through better? Why can’t you just be cooler? Like, 20% cooler?”

Her reflection scowled back at her, and then stuck it’s tongue out.

Another quick look around revealed she was still alone.

Amelia immediately posed in front of the mirror, sticking out one finger toward her reflection and whispering harshly, “halt knave!”

***************

When Amelia finally braved the danger of well-lit rooms, she found that Aidan, Forsythe, and Raven were sitting around in the living room eating bowls of something that looked suspiciously like cereal. Elisha was zoned out on the couch with the rather unflattering unconscious expression that the neura dive helmet could produce.

Cereal though? That couldn’t be right though, could it?

Would Forsythe ever allow such a sinful transgression as uncooked instant food in the house? Was this some sort of bizarro realm? Maybe, she thought wonderingly, he had raised the wheat and oats himself and was trying cereal from scratch? Probably milked a goat or something too.

Her train of thought derailed and she didn’t immediately make her presence known as she hung out in the hall entryway when she heard what they were talking about.

“...you were taking way longer than an hour!” Raven said between bites. She still seemed pleased with her prosthetic, using it to hold the bowl while she shook the spoon at him.

“I was killing Tenebrim,” Aidan snorted. “The whole time I’m returning to the stadium I hear this low-key whining from both of you being killed and at the Cathedral. I head over to the Cathedral, and sure enough there are about a thousand rebels just pitching tents in front of the place. It seemed prudent to have a conversation with you two before doing anything. But no. You both logged.”

“Raven was sulking because Khiafin killed her,” Forsythe offered.

“I was not!” Raven pouted. Then her eyes flashed to Aidan in a coy sort of way. “Guess who I killed…”

“Who?” Aidan paused, looking up for the first time with a guarded look.

“Fanciful,” Raven sniffed once, slipping the spoon into her bowl so she could lift that hand and make a show of examining her nails.

“The Fanciful that I wanted to kill?” Aidan blinked in surprise as a smile threatened to appear on his face.

“The very same!” Raven laughed. “She basically had no chance. It wasn’t even close. I just walked up and one shot her while she begged for mercy.”

“I remember it differently,” Forsythe shook his head.

“How could you remember it? You were getting hugged by Khiafin?” Raven sneered.

“You did too,” Forsythe countered.

“Ugh,” she returned with a disgusted look like she just remembered that herself.

“Wait, if you killed the person I want to kill, do I have to kill you?” Aidan narrowed his eyes as he thought it through. “Is my grudge transitive? If I wanted to murder Fanciful for reasons, but you killed Fanciful, do you take on the honor of being the object of my ire?”

“She was always an object of ire.” Forsythe said helpfully, about Raven. Aidan looked startled and then contemplative. Both men began nodding slowly.

“You can’t take me.” Raven didn’t look alarmed or even upset by the conversation. There was even a certain sort of glee in her voice at the prospect. “Bring it on, I’m not afraid of you!”

Aidan turned his full attention toward her and smiled slightly.

“S-stop it!” Raven immediately wilted.

“Is War coming?” Forsythe broke the short silence.

“To America?” Raven asked. When he nodded she shrugged slightly, looking suddenly a little nervous. “No, not this time. But uh, next time we should all hang out… together… in the same place.”

“Are you hiding War from us?” Aidan began to smile slowly, sensing weakness.

“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Amelia chose this time to re-insert herself into the conversation. Three figures rose from their seated positions and made short exclamations of relief.

“She lives!” Aidan smiled, seeming to visibly relax.

“I’m glad you’re up Amelia, I’m getting bullied!” Raven huffed but moved in for a sneaky hug nonetheless.

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

“Are you hungry?” Forsythe had started to offer her his bowl but seemed to realize that it was empty, and even if it hadn’t been that would probably have not been the best choice.

“Yes, I live. Hi Raven, I heard you just inherited some sort of long grudge from Aidan, suffer well. Uh, no thank you Forsythe…” Visions of Forsythe milking a goat threw Amelia’s hunger to the curb.

“What happened?” Aidan finally demanded after they’d settled with her.

“In a minute,” Amelia turned away from him before she could fully get his glower and looked at Raven. “Okay, spill. What is going on with you and War? Is he treating you okay?”

Raven’s eyes went wide. She started to fidget. She had all the tell-tale markers of a Raven that was about to flee. Amelia grabbed her hands. Warmth in one palm and a cool sort of smoothness in the other.

Amelia tilted her head, studying the look of panic on Raven’s face. It was a bit out of character. This silence. Amelia’s eyes narrowed slightly and she repeated. “Spill.”

“Okay, uh, there’s no easy way to say this. I really like War. I’m in love! Hahaha.” Raven’s eyes darted nervously from side to side, startling everyone in the room. She said there was no easy way to say it, but the words had slipped easily from her lips.

Amelia’s narrowed eyes didn’t relax, she just started grinning instead. “Did you two rob a bank?”

“What?” Raven blinked rapidly, the question seeming to derail her slightly. “No?”

“Kill someone?”

“Amelia!”

“Are you on the run from the mob?”

“Are there mobs in Australia?” Aidan interjected, turning toward Forsythe.

“How would I know?” Forsythe blinked slowly.

“No, War is really g-great. Really a great g-girl…” Raven shouted out. Then she seemed to deflate in her seat, slumping forward slightly. She looked down while everyone took a moment to blink.

Amelia very gently squeezed her hand to get her attention. “Okay?”

Aidan stood up and walked over, slowing somewhat when Raven looked up and gave him a terrified look. He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder and then leaned down to hug her before stage-whispering in her ear, “I am so surprised. I never in a million years would have guessed. Stop flirting with Amelia. You’re competition now and I -will- beat you up.”

Raven choked out a laugh and released Amelia to hug him back.

Then Raven looked at Forsythe. Forsythe for his part was pushing his spoon around in his cereal bowl as if he were trying to get the last bit of milk. When he looked up he found all three of them staring at him.

“What?” Forsythe asked curiously.

“Nothing? You’ve got nothing? I’ve been worried about this forever. Worried that you’d look at me differently or… be mad.” Raven shrugged, and Amelia had to admit she really did look kind of haggard. Like a weight had been crushing down on her for a long time.

“Why were you worried?” Forsythe tilted his head, an uncomprehending look on his face. Suddenly his expression brightened somewhat. “I see. You think you get a party. Do you get a party for that?” Forsythe looked at Aidan searchingly for help but found none. He returned his attention to Raven and shrugged. There was absolutely no strange look on his face. She might as well have told him something trivial. “I will cater. Don’t worry. Free. No open bar.”

Raven, for once in her life, seemed at a total loss for words.

“A big party,” Forsythe nodded. “Congratulations.”

Raven remained mute as he walked over and began collecting bowls to take into the kitchen and feed to the dishwashing array. Then she slowly turned to Aidan and Amelia, a helpless grin plastering itself on her face.

“I think Forsythe might be kind of… stupid?” She ventured slowly.

Amelia snickered even as Raven’s helpless smile started to dissolve. Raven was going to cry because, well, sometimes Raven cried. Amelia pulled the smaller woman into an embrace after setting the bowls back down and laughed softly.

“Says the person who was worried that her best friend would love her any less…”

“Wait!” Aidan exclaimed, startling both of them.

Two pairs of eyes stared at him, waiting for him to say whatever it was that was so important he had to ruin this moment.

“Does that mean War is a woman?” Aidan blinked rapidly.

“No Aidan, I’m a man,” Raven said sarcastically.

“Really? But in the game they’re so…” Aidan came up short at this.

“No, not really, you moron!” Raven shouted, sadness evaporating into an explosion of shrill fury.

“Web of lies,” Aidan muttered. “War is very tall. Congratulations.”

Amelia pulled Raven back into her hug before she could finish deciding whether or not punching Aidan was a good idea. Amelia kept hugging her, because in her heart of hearts, she knew that punching Aidan was always a good idea and it was just a matter of time before Raven came to it on her own.

******************

“Halt knave!” Raven shouted. She was standing in the center of the room, very much alive and excited. Coming out to them about War seemed to have left her rejuvenated.

“The place you’re being… uhh… held, is a separate space from the place the portal goes to?” Aidan asked thoughtfully. “The guy at the portal made it sound like you would just be held on that world.”

“I got nothing,” Amelia admitted. “Ursula really did just carry me the whole way. I didn’t get to ask a lot of questions.”

“Ursula,” Raven snickered. “Appropriate. Get it. Because the whole time he was carrying you, you were floundering?”

“Die.” Forsythe said without feeling.

Amelia gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. A moment later a calculating look appeared in her eye. “What I want to know, Raven, is why you didn’t immediately rebel? I would think that Empress Raven sounds pretty good?”

“I wanted to,” Raven admitted with no hesitation.

“You’d all be doing me a favor,” Amelia smiled.

“That’s what I said!” Raven’s jaw dropped and she looked at Forsythe in a hateful way.

“Stop looking at me like that. You don’t ever rebel against Amelia without her permission.” Forsythe replied stoically. “Or she summons dragons or gods on you.”

“Or me.” Aidan added.

“Or that,” Forsythe agreed.

“Did you just call me a that?”

“Did I what?”

“You just said--”

“Point taken,” Raven interrupted. “She would just reflect my strongest sword swipe back at me. Or something equally horrifying.”

“Or just summon your demon killer robot to fight you,” Amelia offered.

“My what?” Raven was the first one to find her voice in the sudden silence.

“Raven, I have a very serious question. If I could summon your evil twin, what would you name her?”

Raven blinked several times and then looked off to the side, her eyes distant as she seriously considered the question. She moved to the couch and sat down, her look thoughtful and introspective. Her gaze returned to Amelia. “Why evil? Why a robot? I thought I was an only child. I have so many questions.”

“It’s an emotionless killer robot archetype,” Amelia explained.

“Just… tell me the whole story,” Raven shook her head.

************

“Wow! That’s awesome! You chose me first?” Raven laughed, turning her laughing countenance to Forsythe. “Are you jealous?”

“Yes,” Forsythe deadpanned.

“Okay Amelia, so, you have to name it… uhhh…”

Amelia began to regret asking Raven. Her friend’s eyes were getting manic and excited. Amelia wouldn’t have the heart to say no the woman if she shouted out that Amelia should name it Raven Two or Deus Ex Raven or something equally ridiculous. Which is why, probably, she was pleasantly surprised when none of those horrible realities came to be.

“Epsilon!”

“Eh?” Aidan didn’t even hide his surprise.

“Really?” Amelia at least tried.

“Wow.” Forsythe looked floored. For Forsythe.

“Yeah, she’s Epsilon from now on. It’s a math thing. You can get Elisha to explain it to you if you want, I’m far too busy being cool. Heh. Nerds.” Raven stood back up and walked over to the chair where Elisha was still quietly diving. She reached out to press her cheek with her finger, making a little squish noise as she did so.

“Stop that,” Forsythe said.