Razor arrived within the same day.

Now, I realize he was likely already there to see Remorse.

"He's a big fat liar," little you cries with a giggle. You hide your face when I frown.

You're right, Rayne. I know that now.

Razor came into my lab escorted by a Tritan, who soon vanished, leaving us alone the moment the Pain Curator drew me into a hug.

Physical interaction and the smell of vanilla—I confessed, "I have missed you."

"You smell awful," Razor said with a chuckle. A warm sound which I cherished. He looked me over as he asked, "Do they ever let you take a break?"

I shook my head against his shoulder, saying, "There is no rest for the wicked."

Razor gripped my arms and separated us so he could look into my eyes while saying, "You are the least wicked person I have ever met. These are theoretical weapons. I doubt they will ever see a battlefield. No, you will fight your brother another way." He gave my shoulder a good pat. "Now. I have a task for you, and I think you will enjoy it."

Two hours later, I had a map of the Pantheon and the promise of an adventure. A welcome distraction from the soul-destroying activity of weapon-smithing. Also, somehow Razor had negotiated a bath for me.

When I returned to my lab, finding Iuo, Seps, Kombuchi, X, and Lucas there startled me. Including the addition of a new face.

A dark-haired Dwarf in his mechsuit held out his closed, armored fist, saying, "I am 2Lip, and I want you to pilot my newest experiment."

I bopped my fist on top of his and grinned at the legendary inventor. "Why me?

2Lip disapprovingly glared at the rest of our team through heavy brows. "Because the others fear a fiery demise."

"It would be my pleasure."

Each Primary sanctum housed a conduit into the Pantheon, and one sanctum was left unguarded.

"I'd always suspected Tumu was a Primary," I admitted while standing in his abandoned apartments.

Iuo eyed the massive machine hidden in the central space. It was covered and, therefore, all the more enticing. The Lamian Prince said, "Tumu was famously against most of Enki's designs, and I believe he would approve of our activity today."

Curious, I asked, "Where is Tumu, and does he still live here?"

X was wiggling into his suit as he said, "He went on an annual retreat to Yu with his lover, the Chef."

The Chef?

I frowned. Tumu flirted with me constantly, and I never knew he was taken. Feeling guilty, I asked, "Has anyone ever met this person?"

The seven-man crew exchanged glances before shaking their heads in unison.

Lamassau glared a hole through Tumu's head, while the drunken Primary beamed goofily at me.

Iuo reiterated, "All that matters is Tumu would approve."

Seps' faceted eyes flashed with excitement, and his voice buzzed with it from his needle nose. "F8 approves."

"I wish R were here," X admitted.

Kombuchi stared into the Pantheon through the conduit, saying, "Today, we will make history."

At 2Lip's nod, Lucas whipped the cover off the machine. Aircrafts weren't common in the Vast Collective, presumably suppressed by Enki's propaganda machine, according to Iuo. This specimen of genius we'd carried through Enki weighed very little. Pil titanium was the lightest alloy in the Twelve Worlds, and the shiniest. It reflected our adoring faces like a glossy mirror.

"Beautiful," I gasped, fogging the exterior.

2Lip said, "I wish I knew what to call it."

Lucas nudged me until I blurted, "May I?"

The Dwarf nodded, while Iuo chuckled with anticipation.

They all felt it. This was momentous.

"Mercury Turbo."

"Oh, I give up," Korac muttered before blurting, "Ow."

Sagan finished swatting him and gave me a nod to continue.

X hid a snicker behind a cough.

Kombuchi slapped my back, saying, "Well-named. Do you think you can pilot this gorgeous machine?"

"Oh, yes. Do you think you can hang on?" I beamed at him, so happy to see my friends and share in this occasion with them.

Iuo assured, "You get us there and leave the rest to us."

The cockpit fit me and no one else.

Lucy said, "Yito took me on one of those once. It was an itty bitty plane, and I was squished into the floorboard."

Yito gave a little wave while Matt grinned at his girl.

I shook my head and gestured for Tumu to continue reading.

The rest of the crew gripped the seamless aircraft with magnetic suits, with strips of Pil platinum woven into the boots and gloves. All of which were prototypes. 2Lip's entire mechsuit was made of the alloy and meshed to Mercury Turbo's underside. I flew us through the conduit in Tumu's sanctum and into the Pantheon.

There, I let loose.

Propulsion carried us across the white archives, and I followed Razor's map to the destination. Only in flight did I question how the Pain Curator knew the whereabouts of the tomes he desired, but never mind.

I was flying through Enki with my friends strapped to a plane.

"I'll bet you were grinning," Tameka said with love in her voice.

Pax raced one of his toy cars in the air like a plane. "This was daddy."

I shared, "In hindsight, I can see it was an exercise devised by Remorse and Razor to boost my morale. To let off some steam."

Iuo toasted his wine glass. "Which we did."

"All of it," Lucas added.

Tumu said, "May I please keep reading so I can see what your non-naked ass stole from the grounds this time, you precocious pirate?"

Stolen story; please report.

Korac barked out a laugh. "P.P."

I waved for Tumu to continue, but I won't deny it. That got a smile out of me.

The Overseers were a problem.

One approached from the North, flying low.

On an earpiece, Iuo said, "We need to get topside. Now."

Muffled metal thumps sounded all around me as they crawled into position. Seps waved to me through the nacre glass between us, and I grinned at him. Flying higher than the Overseer, it raced under us, and we watched it go by with bated breath.

2Lip assured me the reflective surface would confuse the security bots similar to how my stripping naked had confused them in the past. But even though he sounded confident at the time, I could still see his fingers were crossed inside his mechsuit.

It made me chuckle.

I knew even if the Overseer spied us, I could easily maneuver my friends to safety. This was an adventure I desperately needed, and I relished every second.

Indeed, we were safe as the machine continued zipping away from us, and we continued northward. The further we went, the lighter the stacks became. And dusty. Until we came across a grove of decayed shelves and their crumbling volumes.

This was it.

I lowered the hovering ship, and they closed access to the platinum on their suits, disengaging from the magnetic hull. Even though the platinum strips were finely woven, it was still the most dense metal in the galaxy. They moved slowly in their pursuit.

Lucas asked, "What was the number again..." He paused and clicked his tongue in frustration. "—Must I call you Prince on a heist?"

I thought about a codename for only a second before I knew. I blurted out—

"Wingmaster!" the Shadow all called out in unison. Even Pax.

Kombuchi snorted. "Are you serious?"

"I have heard worse," Seps assured.

"Where have you actually heard worse?" X asked with a whispering chuckle.

I grinned. Truly. My heart felt light, and my nacre was warm in my chest. I recited the numbers over my earpiece and kept beaming. Nothing could ruin this good mood—

A rumbling sounded. Near... too near. I warned, "Overseer! Find cover!"

They hid inside the stacks, except for 2Lip. He couldn't fit with his mechsuit, so he scurried under Mercury Turbo. I held her steady while the Overseer trundled above.

That was close.

My heart pounded a little with the excitement. After checking the visuals, I said, "All clear."

"I owe Razor a favor or I would not risk a tenure on Gait for this," Iuo confessed.

They returned to work, pilfering through delicate archives the size of their bodies. It was Seps who called, "Found one."

Lucas asked, "Pray tell. What mysteries do these valuable records hold?"

2Lip muttered, "It's best not to anger Razor with your curiosity."

"It's best not to anger Razor with anything," X whispered.

I was dying to know myself.

Kombuchi confessed, "I am not fond of him."

Iuo sided with 2Lip. "They call him the Pain Curator for a reason. Take a few extra with us for our troubles—"

Rumbling sounded nearby.

Before I could warn them over the earpieces, Seps pointed to an Overseer only a meter from us. "Take shelter! They found us!"

Not on my watch.

As they went for the stacks with poor 2Lip out in the cold, I whipped Mercury Turbo into the Overseer's sights and activated frost matte mode. Cooling jets breathed on the reflective surface to hide the polish.

Now the Overseer was my problem. I said, "Get the tomes while I see to our nosy friend! Be ready for my signal."

The Overseer opened its cubical front and revealed a red horizontal light inside. It grew brighter as I stared into it.

Right.

I whipped out of the way as the Overseer fired a red blast across my matte bow. The shockwave from the blast jolted Mercury Turbo into the nearest stack.

And the next.

And the next.

"Dominoes!"

That's right, Rayne.

"Fuck!" Seps shouted into the earpiece.

X whisper-shouted, "For the love of Elden, I am stuck under the stack!"

2Lip ordered, "Wingmaster, engage the weapon's system. The amorphous blob on the right. Stick your hand in it."

With a squelch, I did as I was told—

Mercury Turbo's polished titanium exterior transitioned into a matte black killing machine. Barrels raised from the nose, releasing a steady stream of laser light. I felt a trigger inside the blob.

I was ever so tempted.

Four-year-old you smirks and fires a tiny finger gun at me.

Opening fire in an ethereal library lightened the load I was carrying. My entire world became searing destruction aimed at the offensive Overseer in the sky. The beams of bright light took out the top shelves on the decrepit stacks sheltering my friends. Smoke ruined the purified air, and I knew it wasn't safe here.

"Turbo and I will fly higher. Free X and be ready when I fly back through."

Antagonized by my counter-attack, the Overseer narrowed its infrared targeting beams on the matte black surface of the aircraft. Perhaps more excited than I should be, I laughed as it pursued.

Low through the stacks.

Cut right at the next junction—

It followed.

Straight up.

I heard it trundle clumsily as I went for a dizzying loop.

Over the earpieces, Iuo asked, "Is the mad scientist cackle really necessary?"

In my study, Tameka said, "I'm pretty fond of it."

Pax gave her a high five.

"Wingmaster, we await your return. Have you lost your new friend?" There was more than a hint of amusement in Lucas' voice.

The Overseer kept tight, but refused to fire at me among the stacks.

I gripped the helm, saying, "Coming in low. In five."

Four.

"Three."

Two.

I deactivated the weapons system, replacing the matte black with polish titanium once again before banking on the main aisle where my team waited. All the while, I counted down my one hundred and twenty-six second advantage. They stood at the base of the stacks, lower than I should hover, given the debris falling from the earlier decimation. Pil platinum shone from the threads of their suits.

With one last maneuver up my sleeve, I flipped Mercury Turbo upside-down and picked up my team on the spiraling arc while calling—

"I got you!" The entire study shouted in unison.

Then I zipped off the major thoroughfare and headed straight for the conduit into Tumu's sanctum without a backward glance. The poor aircraft was smoking from how hard I'd pushed it. Which may or may not have contributed to the Overseer firing at us once more.

Kombuchi's magnetized boots thunked as he walked across Mercury Turbo to my cockpit. He gave me a thumbs-up as he instructed, "Get me over it."

X whispered-shouted, "Are you insane?"

2Lip offered, "Use the boosters."

I tapped the boosters and spun in an arc, facing the Overseer. Propulsion on full, we rocketed straight at it. All the while, the target beam lasered in on my forehead.

Iuo's voice was tight as he warned, "Get ready, Kombuchi!"

"This will be glorious," Lucas promised.

Six meters from it, and I activated the lateral boosters, sending us up and over it. A glorious belch of bright green acid poured from the underside of Mercury Turbo.

The Overseer and everything below it melted with a searing stench.

"We cheered so loud. Even as we crashed and skated into Tumu's sanctum with the spectacular aircraft ablaze." I grinned at Iuo and Lucas.

"Twas a good day," Iuo admitted with a reminiscent sigh.

Lucas chuffed. "Speak for yourselves. I lost my eyebrows. I had to shade them on for the next two months to keep above suspicion."

Tameka peered at me with admiration in her eyes, asking, "Did you get into trouble?"

Korac said, "Yeah? Nox and I learned of your naked adventure in the Pantheon, but why had no one heard of this?"

I said one word. "Tumu."

The old Primary sat forward, elbows on his knees to explain, "I hid their little escapade in the stacks and warned our imperial majesty to stay out of trouble the next day or risk being my roommate for the rest of his tenure in Enki."

With a laugh while running a hand through my hair, I finished, "So, naturally, I moved in right away."

Lamassau did a double-take. "Come again?"

No one wanted in the middle of that.

Little you beams at me, saying, "Can you blame them?"

I changed the subject.

"Foremother?" I called to peel Silence's attention from the Tritan lover drama. "I could've used a nanite shield like yours during the action."

The grin on her face lost some of its wattage as she offered a non-committal nod.

Silence is concealing the truth about the shield she created when she, Lucas, Smith, and Tameka were escaping the destruction of Enki. I want her to feel safe and to know she can trust us with anything. Including exactly how the shield was formed.

"We can trust her. I have faith in Silence."

Your kindness knows no bounds.

From where twelve-year-old you sleeps on the couch, you say, "I get it from you."

Let's hope you still feel that way after the next entry.