Amelia was running out of things to say about Vienne that were even remotely subtle sounding.

Pretty soon she would be down to shouting a bunch of curse words and slurs with Vienne’s name mixed in for good effect. At that point, even B-3 would probably catch wise. She’d storm in here with her awesome jacket and weirdo balanced claymore and then Amelia would get a good, second scolding. There might even be penalties.

Amelia let out a sigh and then let her head roll back on her shoulders. She closed her eyes, wondering what else she could do. The appointed time had come and gone. It was now a few minutes after the agreed upon moment she would make her return to Aspiria.

“I guess, Vienne being a no show, is just business as usu--” Amelia’s eyes widened, realizing that she was in fact staring upward and there was someone peering down. Looking down and he looked pissed.

Amelia squinted after a moment and looked up at his name.

Resident.

Hmm. Weird that there was a Resident here. Resident named Vienne. Cool name. Kind of weird that there wasn’t a restriction on Resident’s with names that were absolutely spot on to-- Oh. Oh. Amelia noted that Vienne was a man now.. That was weird.

Oh.

Oh no, he’s hot.

Vienne was staring at her expectantly, and by the fire in her -- err, his -- eyes, Amelia guessed that she had better make her intro good. “I know we haven’t seen each other in a while but I found a great big evil race that is threatening Aspiria and I am really sorry, I don’t know how to get ahold of you. You look great! Really good. I like the change. Get a haircut? Turn into a man? Nice!”

“Why does your speech suggest we are familiar?” Vienne said, the barest hint of the fire dying in his eyes.

“Uh, we’ve been through a few things?” Amelia was on her feet and sort of holding her staff in front of her in the pretend thought that it would help her at all.

“Have we then,” Vienne looked around and then his eyes settled on the wall. He walked over and put his finger to the map on the glowing dot. The dot glowed brightly for a second and then began moving through the maze as Vienne traced it. “Gabriel speaks well of you, at least..”

Amelia frowned. “You really don’t remember me? Something must have happened when the Quester Race captured me and stuck me in this lovely place.”

“Quester Race?” Vienne was moving the dot with speed through the maze on the wall without any sort of uncertainty. Then he took his finger off the wall and left it blinking where he left it. “What are they?”

Amelia froze, and then slowly began to speak. “I don’t know what would be faster. Do I show you entries? Do I try to tell you about things we’ve done? Events that have transpired? Do we have time for that? You don’t even know who the Quester Race is, but Perfidelia seemed certain that the Quester’s feared gods. What am I supposed to say here?”

Vienne tilted his head, trying to keep up. “Gods? They only fear gods?”

“Yeah,” Amelia said miserably. “Sounds like we need to go the long route.”

Vienne stared at Amelia and then brusquely waved a hand. A red line appeared from Amelia and fed to Vienne. Amelia sighed and leaned back. How many times had Vienne scanned her now anyway? Seemed like a lot.

Vienne’s eyes narrowed and after a moment a sword that looked like it was still in the process of being made appeared in his hand. Amelia was about to protest when Vienne brandished it above their head but didn’t get the chance because the blade came down swiftly.

“Agh!” Amelia still tried to raise her arms and protect herself. “Aggh,” she said again since she was still alive.

“Agh?” Amelia wasn’t unhappy at being alive, but was surprised.

Vienne stood with the sword held down and was looking up as if he was studying something. “I see… Very clever.”

“What now?” Amelia squeaked.

“Oh, Amelia.” Vienne sighed slowly. “Pick yourself up. I have already dealt with the web of memory that was connected to you. I shall deal with the other strands whence we return to Aspiria.”

“Web of memory?” Amelia squeaked again, eyeing the sword.

Vienne rolled his eyes and dismissed the sword. “There was a bit of enchantment that was over you that absolutely baffles appraisal and space. Including time and memory. It was so innocuous that I could not even pick up evil intent. Though you were stranger, no longer.” Vienne squinted, “though that does lead us back to some of the more interesting things that I heard you saying when I arrived.”

“So you can take us back to Aspiria?” Amelia didn’t even bother to care about how mad Vienne was about her half-hearted and, frankly, low-tier trash talk.

Vienne began to nod with a soft smile, and then shook his head. “Well, no. I can return, but getting you out is trickier. This is a construct that only a god might break you out of safely.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Amelia stared blankly at Vienne and then smiled nervously. “Tada! You’re a god!”

Vienne nodded slowly, and then he shook his head. “Well, no,” he said again, earning a growing concerned expression of alarm on her face. “To you and the other Residents and Transients of Aspiria, calling me and the other children gods is correct, technically -- because you have no concept of the real thing. I can probably get myself out of here, though that seems to be increasingly difficult as the moments pass.”

“What?” Amelia said, really trying to keep her shit together now.

“What Vienne is trying to tell you is that he is, in the vernacular, considered a half-step god.” B-3 said helpfully.

Amelia jerked back and looked at B-3. The construct was standing in the corner of the room regarding them both with the same artificial expression of happiness.

Vienne was looking less and less enthused, and regarded B-3 with a growing look of dread. “What. Are. You?”

“This is B-3. They’re a construct that every person kidnapped here gets that metes out meaningless tasks to keep everyone busy until they die from it,” Amelia said crossly. B-3 had startled her, but it was just B-3.

“You are mistaken,” Vienne said slowly. “This thing is attached to the entire facility. It’s like a finger, or a toe, or… a tongue.” Vienne looked revolted at this thought.

“Indeed,” B-3 said brightly. “Escalation in progress. Recognizing the appearance of half-step god.” B-3 turned to Amelia with the same fake smile. “Update to situation in progress. You will no longer be allowed to leave the Research Lab. Surrendering is no longer available. Please finish the puzzle in the next thirteen minutes, or progress will be lost. 13 minutes until we transfer to the Experimental Wing.”

“What does that mean?” Amelia said, looking back and forth between B-3 and Vienne. “And who gives a crap about your puzzle at this point?”

Vienne’s look of alarm was growing and he was now looking around the room with increasing franticness. It was the expression of someone that didn’t like where they were and they were looking for the exit.

“Vienne? Vienne!? How do we get out of here?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know! Shut up! I’m trying to think. If Gabriel prayed loud enough I could use them as an anchor. Otherwise? If they weren’t the faithful? I would need some sort of huge emotional anchor from Aspiria. Since that isn’t happening, shut up!” Vienne summoned their sword and swung it at B-3 with a speed that no Transient could have ever matched.

“How does someone pray loud enough?” Amelia asked with growing horror.

B-3 easily dodged. “Please remain calm while we transition. We are moving to the floor where one-time experiments take place. This is an exciting event!”

“What do you mean you’re not a god?” Amelia decided that if in ten minutes they were going to happy-fun-time-one-time room she wanted to know why she’d gambled on calling a god and the god had said, sorry, not a god!

“Gods are…” Vienne frowned and his lips pursed. “Not us! We’re close, but we need the necessary push. How do you describe it, we have all the necessary material but not necessarily the experience or courage to proceed to the next step?”

“Name a god?” Amelia demanded suddenly.

“There is the Great Green Wolf and the White Wyrm, for starters. I don’t know many more than that. They’re off creating galaxies! Causing schisms! Devouring realities! The transition between half-step and god is not undertaken lightly. If one fails the step, one is obliterated!”

Great green wolf? White Wyrm?

“You only get one shot? You level up, and let me get this right, ‘or death’?”

“There are a lot of half-step gods of varying power,” Vienne said insistently.

“So, yes?” Amelia frowned. “Wait, is this why you’re all freaked out by Aidan?”

“The one in white?” Vienne was pressing the walls with his palms now. “The one with the title, ‘godslayer’? No Amelia, why would half-steps be afraid of certified godslayers?” Vienne hissed sarcastically.

Amelia started laughing. So many things made sense to her now. The unexplained animosity of nearly every ‘god’ they’d met. They all thought that Aidan could just wipe them out! Even if they weren’t sure how.

“Ten minutes until--” B-3 started to say.

“Shut it!” Amelia screamed

“Silence!” Vienne thundered.

Amelia stood quietly while Vienne frantically moved around the room. One minute, two minutes, three -- Amelia just watched. Finally, Amelia took a shaking breath and asked. “Can you try and transition to god or do you need more… whatever it is you need?”

Vienne paused, and then finally put his hands down. The impression Amelia got was that if they were going to die then he didn’t want Amelia to see him scrambling around in a panic. “I’m embarrassed to say that I am the furthest along on Aspiria, and I was only a heartbeat from making my attempt. My plan was to gather a little more essence and time, and then when I had enough, perhaps stay around for a millenia or too longer before my attempt.”

Amelia’s expression softened. “To watch over us?”

“Aspiria is such a treasure,” Vienne sighed. “There is no reason to leave when you’re all still so very interesting.”

They stood together for a moment, both of them smiling grimly when B-3 informed them of the remaining eight minutes they had left.

Vienne slowly straightened and he looked at Amelia carefully. “This is the point where I look at you and tell you we’re doomed.”

“What do I do then?” Amelia asked sadly.

“You tell me I’m wrong. Then you try and convince me. Then you give me a plan so outlandish that I would never try it, except I’ve nothing better left to do, but try.” Vienne replied glibly.

Amelia stared blankly at Vienne and then straightened. After she straightened she started to smile. Vienne watched as the smile stretched to something that started to look decidedly dastardly.

“Then what happens?” Amelia asked with a short laugh.

Vienne stared at her blankly, wondering if this was the part where the brilliant plan happened or if they both died giving in to madness.

Vienne decided to answer with a short shrug, “then, against all reason, the plan works.”

“I know what to do.” Amelia said carefully. “But, we’re going to need help.”