Chương 161: B3. 12.1 - Sisters Reunited Again

Amber Deen Leska (Ambriel) Amber Deen carried Kelsey in her arms, her right arm supporting Kelsey's back while her left cradled Kelsey's legs. She carefully balanced Kelsey, making sure that the shirts covering her body didn't fall off. She also had to mind Kelsey's horns so that they wouldn't snag on the walls or pipes they passed. (Still nothing from your Guardian Angel?) Erind, in her Pino body, asked Deen directly in her mind. Deen turned right and looked at the evolved form of Gabe.

About a third bigger than before, its body had become more bird-like in shape instead of a globe. Longer feathers covered its body, giving off a glow that only Deen could perceive. Its wings, twice as long now, flapped by its sides, even though it could float without doing so. The black holes for eyes seated above its hooked beak gazed at Deen, as if trying to tell her something. But Gabe hadn't sent anything her way, be it words or images.

Previously, when she had injected herself with a booster, she could see distorted images flashing in her mind of incoming danger. Not in front of her eyes, no. Rather, when she came upon a scene or setting, she'd recognize it because she already had a memory of it happening in the future. Deen hesitated before replying, (We're safe.) To be more accurate, only she was safe. Gabe remained silent when Kelsey attacked Everett because Deen would be unharmed.

If Erind, and Erind alone, would get hurt, Gabe wouldn't care. This was Deen's main concern. A useless ability that she couldn't use to save others! Can you please tell me if something bad will happen to Erind? Deen's pleas went unanswered by Gabe. Deen swore that she'd throw herself in front of Erind if there was danger, so Gabe should warn her about it. Continue with her plan to remain close to Erind. Gabe should include her best friend. She'd ignore any promptings to run and leave Erind behind.

Looking over her shoulder, Deen observed Erind's soulless body following her with shuffling footsteps. She carried Deen's flashlight, pointing it forward, to make her look less like a mindless zombie. So far, Everett hadn't found it odd that Erind wasn't uttering any words. He didn't suspect that everything was a lie. Pino and Everett walked in front of Deen. Everett insisted that Pino stayed in front so that she couldn't backstab them with her power that incapacitated Erind.

To Everett's credit, he made the effort to interrogate Pino about the situation, asking about Red Hood, the other Adumbrae, and the PCM's plan to make a Purple Bloom. The 4Bs hadn't planned for the specifics of Pino's backstory. Deen was surprised to find out that Erind had prepared some on her own, seeing that Pino didn't have any problems answering Everett's questions. No hesitation. No inconsistencies. And every word was said as if backed by experience.

If Deen didn't know the truth, she'd believe what Pino was saying. Did Erind write a script for this? Pino's story was couched in a way that seemed she was hiding something, making the rest of her tale appear truthful. Pino even added lines like, "I don't need to lie because you and your little group can't do anything about it", "Truth or falsehood, there is nothing you can do about it," and "You are dealing with matters far beyond your human understanding."

There was such a weight to her words that sold her disguise as an Adumbrae in control. Instead of being impressed, Deen was afraid. I still don't know much about my best friend. Deen was aware that while Erind was incredibly introverted, she was also good with words—she had proven that during brutal class recitations in law school. Introversion didn't equate to shyness. But Erind was also shy. Or was she?

Deen couldn't recall Erind fumbling her words during recitation, even during the instances she obviously didn't know the answer to the question. The whole class was looking at her make mistakes; Deen would get flustered in those situations. But Erind never wavered. Her voice didn't crack. And there were no long pauses, punctuated by 'ums', which was the go-to of law students to buy time to think. An 'expert at bullshitting,' as Professor Gallagher put it once. Bullshitting was required for lawyers.

Erind was surprisingly good at it—Deen wasn't praising her best friend but was concerned. This aspect of Erind's personality didn't coincide with the other parts, always timid and quiet, staying in the background except for the rare occasions she spoke up. Deen wouldn't have thought much of it before—people could be a mish-mash of personalities. But Deen now wondered if this was a sign of the Adumbrae forming in Erind's mind. It was common knowledge that Adumbrae took time to seed their target host.

Deen didn't believe that it was only at the 2Ms warehouse, when they were about to die, that the Adumbrae first made contact with Erind. The inconsistent personalities were a sign of it. Could this outgoing and talkative Erind be the Adumbrae manifesting itself? Deen eyed the cables that were Pino's hair, swinging left and right over her slender chrome back. Erind's seeding started before law school. What troubles did Erind suffer that led to it?

If they had met a couple of years prior, Deen might've stopped the seeding from happening. With a best friend by her side, Erind didn't need to entertain voices from other dimensions. Deen hated herself for not meeting Erind sooner—yes, that sounded crazy. But she couldn't do anything about what had already happened, bar developing time travel powers that even the most powerful Corebrings didn't have. However, Deen could do something now.

She should've stopped Erind from turning into Pino, or any use of her Adumbrae powers. It might not be morally right, but Deen didn't think Erind should risk her own humanity to help the Fletcher sisters. Erind and Deen should've kept the PCM matter to themselves. Erind didn't need to turn into Pino, neither did she have to be Blanchette to excavate this area. Deen was willing to dig through this tunnel. She'd buy drilling equipment if need be.

This plan for Pino to contact Dario and show how she could 'cure' Kelsey, setting up a future interaction to ask for an artificial Core from him, wasn't going to work. The Fletcher sisters were using Erind for their own agenda. Deen looked down at Kelsey with disdainful eyes. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. I should— Deen caught her thoughts, and immediately nipped it from her mind. Hopefully, it didn't reach Erind.

She didn't want her best friend to assume that she was a bad person. All Deen wanted was to protect her best friend—this was her self-appointed role, and she should never fail. It was a lesson hammered into her by her parents. (We're nearing the others.) Erind's voice popped in Deen's head, a reminder that she should constantly guard her thoughts. (Is there really no danger?) (It seems so,) was Deen's reply. (Just a bit concerning. There should be at least something. Anything that might go wrong.) (I'm worried by the silence, too.) Deen glanced at Gabe again. Her Guardian Angel wasn't broken, was it? Did Dario give her a defective booster, suspecting that she wasn't on his side? If so, Gabe would've warned her about that. (This probably means everything will go according to plan.) (That's not how things work around here.) Pino shared thoughts with Deen while continuing her conversation with Everett. (Dario should have a plan for when I'd find out about the betrayal. His entire plan couldn't be 'dig before Pino arrives'.) (I agree. But it might be that he'll decide not to push through with his contingency plan because of Kelsey's appearance. Or perhaps, you'll do a very good job of talking with him that he'll think of allying with you.) (That could be it. Guess we'll find out soon enough.)"Hear that?" Everett cupped his hand around his ear.

"The sound of digging—we've found our friends. I think I should go over there first. Explain everything. It'll be really confusing if we show up there with monster Kelsey."

"You'll go over there and plan your little—" Pino started to say.

"I'm staying as your hostage," Deen interjected. She met Everett's gaze, giving him a subtle nod to signal that Gabe told her it was safe.

"You have three hostages here. That should be fine, right?" Pino nodded.

"It is. Move quickly, Heater Boy."

"Ambriel, I'll be back before you can say 'couscous'." Everett ran down the tunnel. (Say it,) Erind said. (What?) (Couscous.) (Couscous?) Pino scanned the silent darkness in front of them. (Everett isn't here yet. He's a liar.) A surge of rage coursed through Deen's body. She had the urge to pull Erind's hair for not taking the situation seriously. As suddenly as her anger emerged, Deen pushed it down before Erind got a hint of it.

She couldn't avoid inheriting some of the traits of her parents, but she could hide them until they were forgotten. (Erind, we can joke later,) said Deen. (The most delicate part of our mission is about to start.) (I'm joking around to lighten the mood. Do you know that couscous is actually categorized as pasta? It looks more like rice or something, but—) (Focus!) Deen clenched her teeth. (Everett must be talking with them right now.) Inaudible shouting replaced the noises of concrete blocks being broken.

(Okay, okay… I'm focusing. This is really it.) Erind's thoughts had hints of excitement mixed with them. This couldn't be right. There was some worry coming from her. It grew to anxiety. Deen must've misunderstood Erind's earlier feelings. (You're doing awesome as Pino. Keep it up. Attention will be on Kelsey. I'll be beside your real body, so you don't have anything to worry about.) (Thank you, Deen,) Erind thought, with relief flooding through their connection.

"Kelsey! Kelsey!" Myra's shouting reached them. Hurried footsteps punctuated Myra's desperate calls for her sister. Myra came into view. Deen gently placed Kelsey on the floor. Then, she took the flashlight from Erind and shone it on Kelsey. Myra rushed over and knelt beside her sister. Dario, Everett, and Reo remained a few feet away, guardedly assessing Pino.

"Oh my god!" Myra hugged Kelsey.

"It's really you!" Her sobs sounded genuine and also unsettling. The tough Myra never showed this side of her before.

"Holy shit, is that Kelsey?" Reo half-shouted.

"No names," Dario sternly reminded him.

"Merge. Is that truly your sister?"

"I-I… Definitely looks like her," Myra said through the tears. Deen never expected Myra to be this good at acting. Myra gave it her all that even Deen began to feel pity.

"I need to talk to her to make sure. Are you Pino?" Myra asked.

"The one and only," Pino replied.

"Let me guess—you want me to awaken your sister? All in due time. We have plenty to discuss." She gestured to the tunnel.

"For starters, why have you—?"

"Already dug out the tunnel?" Dario strode forward, pulling down his mask to reveal his face. Was this a defiant act to show confidence? Pino already knew what he looked like, but nothing else about Dario, so this wasn't that consequential to Dario. And this was right after telling Reo not to use their real names. Dario was going to show why he was appointed by the Professor to lead the La Esperanza team.

"We started early," Dario continued.

"We didn't want to keep you waiting." Pino let out a robotic chuckle.

"Is that it? Or were you hoping to reach the PCM base before I arrived? Talking with Heater Boy over here—" she pointed at Everett "—it seems that you intended to betray me."

"You expected us to betray you," said Dario.

"Otherwise, you would've led us to the PCM base instead of telling Reo of its location. Well, here we are. We've opened the tunnel. It's time for you to reveal the truth of your plan. And the truth of the entirety of the situation, for that matter."

"What truth?" Pino asked. Dario replied, "That you're not with Red Hood." He's reversing the situation, Deen realized. Dario made Pino out to be the liar. It was happening exactly as Erind expected. Dario would now think he had the upper hand because he 'read' the situation correctly. Whether Pino denied the allegation or admitted it, Dario would be in control of the conversation.

"Well… You got it right," said Pino.

"Red Hood doesn't know about my little mission here. And I want to keep it that way for both of our sakes."

"I see…" Dario walked past Kelsey and Myra on the floor and stood half a foot away from Pino. He looked down on her.

"You are working behind Red Hood's back. Why?"

"Why would you want to know?"

"Because we may help each other." Deen hugged Erind's original body, the cold grip of realization enclosing her heart. Everything unfolded as Erind had predicted. Earlier, Deen was worried that Erind would stumble on her words while talking to Dario and expose their plot. But Erind assured her that so and so would happen. And it did. Dario was seemingly offering an alliance.

"I'm not going to work with an Adumbrae!" Everett exclaimed.

"Don't start shit, man," said Reo.

"I'm open to anything that's not going to get me killed." Everett turned to him.

"This isn't—""Can it, all of you!" Myra stood up.

"I'm here to save my sister. Pino, tell me what you want me to do."

"Nothing," answered Pino.

"We'll all go to the PCM base. I'll do my business, and you all do yours. I suppose we're all civilized enough not to fight there? After which, I'll awaken your sister."

"And also cure Croissant," Deen added.

"Croissant… Of course," said Pino.

"I'll set everything right. But be aware that your sister is not herself. She will attack you."

"I'll handle her," said Myra.

"Let's go to this stupid PCM base. We'll see what's inside."