Several days later, Aelfric once again kneeled on the moon within ALTR before Artemis. He explained the arrival of the detective, Griff. He conveyed some other information, then retold of the conversation between Reina and Griff.

“If the detective’s theory is true, this adds great creditably to Siegfried being the killer,” Aelfric said.

“He is,” Artemis said.

Aelfric looked up in surprise. “My Lady?”

“I asked him directly. He confirmed it without hesitation.”

“That is. What happened after? What do you plan to do?”

“Nothing.”

“But—!” Aelfric stopped himself. No, I mustn’t question Lady Artemis’ judgment. It’s not my place. He felt Artemis’ gaze. “Nevermind.”

“Were you not concerned with the additional risk your actions carried? This Griff sounds like he is no ordinary detective. What of Celeste’s watchful eye?”

“Celeste appeared rather distracted. It’s true Reina has implemented further external security, to my knowledge. However, internal remains little to none. To this end, if I’m correct in my understanding, they trust their residents. Furthermore, I’m not aware of any outsiders ever visiting Reina’s room prior. I calculated the risk to be well worth what information I may obtain.”

“I see. Well done. My apologies for even questioning your situational awareness.”

“Please, think nothing of it, my Lady. Your concern is sincerely appreciated.”

“It seems your ‘intuition’ of remaining at Vyxora has already born fruit. After being far upstaged by a young girl they’re not even aware of, I subconsciously had written off law enforcement entirely as even a minor obstacle. Siegfried spoke with the utmost confidence of his methods, which matches the detective’s story. We now know of at least one capable mind on the force to which Reina holds in high regard. A peculiar development.” A brief silence passed. “Patience remains our course. Knowing you, Belle is already looking into the detective?”

“Yes.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes. The Vyxora are once again tasked with security tonight at another duel. It sounds like with more to come. According to Belle, the council is keeping a tight lid on the killings.”

“Hm. Even with two Immortals and two Legionaries as part of ‘Compromise’? They must be doing everything in their power to avoid the discord created from the prior stoppage.”

“That is Belle and I’s conclusion as well. Ms. Reina’s, too.”

“Reina?”

“I’ve documented several discussions she has had with Dante. I’m unsure if they are worthy of your time, however.”

“Continue.”

“Understood.” Aelfric went over various notes he had made, albeit much of them were related to Dante and Reina’s discussions on ALTR. “I only caught a little of it, but it sounds as though The Legion is attempting to challenge Vyxora again.”

“Much of that was unnecessary.” Artemis sighed.

“Apologies, my Lady.” Aelfric gave an apologetic head bow.

“You shall remain as you have. Dismissed.”

“Wait. I was unsure if I should share this, as I worried about its significance. However, I feel compelled to tell you of something Reina said.” Aelfric looked to Artemis as if asking for permission, to which she gave a subtle nod. He explained he’d overheard a conversation between Dante and Reina.

On another typical night in Reina’s basement room, Dante and Reina-cat faced their flashing screens. After a time, Dante slid back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. He glanced at the nauseating flashes of Reina’s speed-reading.

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. Usually don’t like being nosy IRL but it’s bugging me,” Dante said.

“What is it?” Reina asked while continuing unabated.

“You were originally after ‘Aegis Slayer’ for Yuna, right? Made no sense to me early on, but especially after she went toe-to-toe with ‘em, I got it. Part of its probably because you’re obsessed with each other. But the other part is you wanted to kind of rein her in, yeah? Otherwise, she might’ve been literally prowling the streets for them.”

“I…yes.”

“Right, so. It randomly occurred to me. I can’t remember the last time Yuna even brought up the ‘Clayshi’ herself. Basically since your, uh, body fixing thing. She might’ve even forgotten? Or at least had until the new security gigs you’re assigned. Anyway, I’m rambling, skipping some. Point I’m trying to get at is, why do you still seem to care so much? And you’re obsessed with the ‘Sculptor’ weirdo too, now.” Reina’s screens had stopped. A brief silence set in. “Hmm. Feel like I need a stronger word than weirdo.”

“I’ve asked myself this a lot, to be honest.” Reina turned to Dante. “It was all about Yuna at first. But somewhere along the way, I just became obsessed, like you said. The mystery. There’s something I have a hard time putting into words. Trust me, I’ve been trying to. You know my theory about them wanting chaos. I still think that’s true. But there’s something beyond that. I’ve thought about it, and thought about it some more; so much my brain feels like its melting sometimes. Whatever their end goal is, I don’t think it’s related to power or greed.”

“Huh, really? Those tend to be the reasons for most human behavior. What makes you think that? Gotta admit I’m curious now.”

“I…” Reina paused in hesitation. “don’t have any evidence. I mean, I do have reason to believe it’s not those things. After the almost periodical assassinations, then the abrupt last two, they went dark. Meanwhile, the ‘Sculptor’ must be pursuing them, after what Uncle Griff told us. I don’t really like to think about what’s going through that monster’s mind, though. But my feeling is… there’s some profound reason behind it all. Something I can’t even imagine, right now, with my current knowledge.” She apprehensively observed Dante, who had a somewhat blank expression. “Sorry, my thoughts are a mess, I rambled.”

“Ehm, I was the one who asked.” Dante shrugged. “I think I followed. Kinda. Maybe you’ve always had a thing for mysteries and just weren’t scratching that itch?” Reina’s ears perked up inquisitively. “You know, though, perhaps you could scratch that itch via—.”

“ALTR?”

Dante chuckled. “Yeah, was I that obvious?”

“You’re incorrigible.” Reina giggled.

Back upon the moon within ALTR, Artemis stood in silence.

“That Reina is something,” Artemis thought.

“Wish I could talk with her,” Xandr said.

“I’m sure you would.”

“That was my impression of you, once upon a time.”

Artemis made a slight groan, then remembered Aelfric still kneeled in front of her. “Thank you, Aelfric, dismissed.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Always, Lady Artemis.” Aelfric stood, bowed, then disappeared. Artemis remained in silence.

A few days later, in Reina’s basement room, Griff sat across from Reina-cat. He fiddled with a cigarette between his fingers.

“So, where’re the others? Yuna? Leon? That one kid?” Griff asked.

“Dante. He’s in ALTR. Yuna and Papa are training,” Reina said.

“Training? This isn’t more important?”

“They aren’t really that invested. And Yuna’s overflowing with excess energy for an upcoming duel.”

“Huh, no kidding? Thought ol’ Leon kinda had immunity from those? Though, you did say Yuna was about to duel not long ago, didn’t you?”

“Yes.” Reina quickly explained the first duel against the Praetor and how The Legion had challenged them again, to which Yuna happily accepted. “I’m actually a little worried for Papa. She seemed a little less herself lately, but now she’s bouncing off the walls.

“Heh, I see. Don’t worry, your old man has a hidden sense of pride. He’s kept himself in close-ish condition to his heyday, unlike me.” Griff patted his slight belly. “What’s with that Dante guy, then? Wondered if he might be your boyfriend or somethin’ at first. On second thought, someone mighty impressive will have to show up to get past your family.”

Reina laughed. “No way, no. It’s, uhm, kinda hard to explain.”

“Yikes, good thing he ain’t here. If I heard a girl laugh like that at the prospect of bein’ lovers, my heart’d drop right out my chest.”

“What? Oh. No, don’t misunderstand. I did laugh at the idea, but that’s because Dante is only interested in ALTR. Trust me, I guarantee he would’ve laughed too at the prospect. And I’ve no interest in such pursuits at this time, either.”

“I see you’re still unpredictable.” Griff chuckled. “Never could guess what topics you’d be timid about. Definitely thought love would be one.”

“Really?” Reina-cat’s head turned angled slightly, which Griff noticed.

“Speakin’ of. Why am I still talking to a cat instead of a pretty girl?”

“It’s, uhm, complicated. Don’t worry about it.”

“C’mon now, I promised I wouldn’t inquire about how, but Yuna dang near talked my ear off about ya. I was looking forward to this, despite the unsavory reason for our meetin’.”

“Yuna’s exaggerating. If you really want to see me, you can brave Mama-infested waters.”

“Damnit.” Griff shook his head. Is it worth getting decked again to see her?

“That’s enough small talk. Can we get to it? Time isn’t plentiful.”

“Alright, settle down. Yeah, ‘spose.” Griff reached down to his feet and patted a bag. “I see those annoying old twins haven’t changed; made me wait until their stupid crap was over. Explain to me the point of these again?”

“They’re encrypted omni-directional cameras. They’ll only record and can’t be viewed live. Maybe it’s overkill, but after you told me of Argonix and the others, this was my idea. Especially Argonix, their security must’ve been breached.”

“Nah, you’ve the right of it. As expected, the brass only gave me a few others since I couldn’t tell them any more than saying it’s just a hunch. And the relevant precinct told me to fuck off.”

“Why?”

“Eh, some bad blood.”

“I don’t wanna know, do I?”

“You do not.”

Reina sighed. “Was it true what Mama said told me long ago? You left Lyrsium because you’d burnt so many bridges?”

“You could say that.” Griff chuckled. “Anyway. I still warned them they should take any absences seriously. And I’ve got Tau doing a head count for the late councilman’s office personnel.”

“I could still—.”

“Nope. Not happening. And don’t you dare think about sending your bird snooping, either. I only agreed to accept your help if you swore to be as removed from the board as far as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I’m man enough to admit I wouldn’t even be doing this had it not been for you. Even if this doesn’t end in some crazy capture sequence, it’s bar none the closest I’ve ever had even a chance of sniffing the bastard. Plus, your backup idea,” Griff gave the bag a light kick. “has me riding high this won’t end in complete failure. Of course, anything recorded might not be admissible, but I can worry about that later.”

“Only I can view the footage,” Reina said.

Griff laughed. “I can hear you pouting. Good to know you still have a bit of immaturity.” He stood and tussled Reina-cat’s head. “I’ve no intention of cutting you out of the loop, even without that threat just now. Trust me. I don’t need all the Vyx women hating my guts. I’ll set these up just like you want.” He picked up the bag and turned to leave.

“Be careful, Uncle Griff.”

“Always am.” Griff left while lighting a cigarette.

A few nights later, Griff sat alongside Reina-cat in her basement room at Vyxora. Her screen showed camera footage of a municipal building from several angles.

“Hope these caught something else,” Griff lamented. “I’m sure they recorded the scout who offed themselves, but that amounted to nothing. I’m guessin’ you already at least know they still followed through?”

“Yes, but only that it happened,” Reina said.

“Yeah.” Griff shook his head. “I didn’t risk telling them ‘I told you’, not that it’d make me feel any better anyway. The brass will keep this one under wraps as long as they possibly can. Prepare yourself for the irony. It was found in the morning, the next day. Being an old precinct, there’s an abandoned set of old school jail cells beneath it. Lyrsium’s also lousy with old tunnels, so that’s my guess how they got there. Not sure I want to know how they transported the ‘sculpture’, though. Cheap and lazy as the government usually is, part of the area had been re-purposed for HVAC. Long story short, a poor janitor investigating a smell stumbles upon a set of double doors they’d never seen before. ‘Behind closed doors’ was hastily painted onto them. Before you ask, yes, they really installed a set of doors for their sculpture. Ah! Wait, there.” Griff pointed to the recording.

It was night on the recording. Griff pointed out a shadowed figure peering out from a corner of the building. They wore dark, loose-fitting garments, obscuring themselves from head to toe. They glanced around over and over until finally moving alongside the building.

“I can see why you said ‘scout’,” Reina said.

“Yeah. Obviously, we didn’t realize it at the time. You should see us encircling soon. Buncha idiots.”

Soon, the various camera angles showed several individuals, including Griff and Tau, closing toward the cloaked figure. They had continued to scout the area.

“I’m guessing security cameras show—?”

“Nothing. Yup. Not even us. The classic looping trick. Of course, how they’re able to do that is a whole other discussion.”

“For such an extended period too…” Reina said. Even if they’re extremely skilled, isn’t this too much? Could they have some kind of backdoor?

“Here it comes.” Griff sighed. Tau burst out from his location at a full sprint toward the figure. The figure turned, then a mere second later, fell to the ground. “Tau’s still blaming himself, as if he could’ve done something different. I been wondering too, of course. But this confirms it really happened as quick as I thought it did. Almost the second they notice Tau, they killed themselves. Multiple teeth capsules. Not only did the poison ravage the woman’s body, it fried all her tech. She was more metal than flesh, to boot.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Couldn’t even tell it was a woman until the autopsy, to give you an idea. And yep, she resulted in a complete dead end. Technically, we don’t even have any proof she’s relevant to our killer. We thought she mighta been said killer until another sculpture appeared.”

“But based on her actions, and assuming she is, she was scouting the location. Could the Sculptor actually be multiple people? Or maybe she was just working for them? Such heavy body modification is still rare, too. Even though A-day slowed cybernetics adoption, they’re gaining popularity. But to that extent? Can you trace any of the parts? To think they’d be so cautious as to scout even with the compromised security…?” Reina rambled off several more questions.

“Hold on. Calm down, would ya? Thought you’d be a bit more thrown off by it. I wondered if I should even have you go through them,” Griff said in an apprehensive tone. Reina-cat glared up at him, surprising him.

“I’m not a child, Griff,” Reina chastised.

“But you’re a cat.” A tense silence set in as Reina-cat gave no reaction. “Alright. Pretty lame joke. And poorly timed.” Griff made an apologetic gesture. He then motioned as if to light a cigarette, including putting one between his lips, only to not actually do it. “Guess I’m still waffling on including you. Hearing that voice saying things that come out of my mouth, it’s damn weird. Doesn’t help that you are a cat.”

“I’m sorry, too, for lashing out.” Reina-cat returned to scanning the footage.

“That was ‘lashing out’ for you?” Griff chuckled. “Glad you got Leon’s temperament. Were it Celeste or Yuna’s, might’ve gotten my face scratched off for such a lame joke.”

“It was lame,” Reina teased. “Anyway. I’ve seen much worst, Griff. Not to devalue life, but it’s relatively nothing.”

“Def got the chops to be a detective, not that I’d recommend ever becoming one. Just kinda hard to reconcile the voice that used to say ‘Uncle Griffy’, you know?”

“Continue where you left off with the Sculpture found. ‘Behind closed doors’, right? Maybe they were planning to place it in a conference room?”

Ignored. I get the message, Griff thought. “Yep, you’ve got the same guess as me. And behind those doors, the twisted display was labeled ‘Power Corrupts’. Sadly, we were too late in the accounting for everyone. Personal aides to the councilman and chief, respectively, were the sculpture. I’ma skip the gory details for now.”

“Hmm.” A short time passed. Then, several dozen of the camera recordings appeared in a wall-covering layout. At the center, the recording paused at the scout, right before they turned.

“Whatcha doin’?” Griff asked.

Reina gave no response. The scout recording then played in ultra slow-motion, almost to the point of frame-by-frame. The recordings paused at mid-fall of the scout. Then, a frozen recording of an inert delivery van overtook all others. Frame-by-frame, its lights came on.

“Griff, look. This van.”

“Huh? What about it? See those everywhere. You spot something I missed entirely?”

“It’s only a guess. If we assume there are multiple people behind the Sculptor, and considering their extreme caution, I get this. Think about it. Even with the security all compromised, there was still an extremely suspicious person skulking about, who then committed suicide; seemingly just because they were seen? They didn’t try to run or anything. And almost as they’re about to hit the ground, a delivery van comes to life? That can’t be coincidence if we assume all that, right?”

“Well, goddamn. You might really have something.”