Rising Shards

09 felt foggy. She could tell she was lying down somewhere. Somewhere uncomfortable. She could hear the sound of paper pages turning. She opened her eyes. It was a dark room, with a window that only let a dim light through it, as if something outside was blocking the view. She also wasn’t alone.

“Ovie…?”

Ovie Chirhart sat across her, looking different than the last time she had seen her. Her hair was grown out and messy, and now instead of being entirely dyed pink it was mostly black, with pink streaks within it. She kept turning pages of a worn book.

09 sat up. She was surprised to see she wasn’t bound by anything. Just left on an uncomfortable bed.

“Hello?”

Ovie turned another page and groaned.

“It’s all just…drawings and descriptions of plants found on this stupid island,” Ovie muttered to herself. “What is it you wanted me to see in this?”

“Helloooo,” 09 said. “If you’re busy reading, can I just go? I’d like to figure out where you kidnapped me to and how to get back.”

“It’s even harder to read with you talking,” Ovie said. “I was hoping you’d stay out longer with that spell…”

Ovie leaned back in the chair she was sitting in. 09 tried to think if there was anything in the room she could search through one of her databases that could help her figure out where she was or how she got here. She wasn’t getting any warnings from her receptors, so her body wasn’t in any imminent danger from whatever Ovie had done to bring her there.

“What is that book?” 09 asked.

Ovie thought for a moment. Her nose twitched. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to tell you. Jeans gave it to me. It’s from someone who lives here. Someone apparently very important. A hero hailed by the villagers as…their hero. I suppose. It’s their journal.”

“Reading through someone else’s journal is pretty scummy,” 09 said. “Did they teach you to do that at Wildfire Hearts?”

“No.” Ovie said. “Jeans told me to look through it, because there’s apparently something important, but it’s been a waste of time so far. Or I'm just probably missing whatever it is she wants me to see.”

“Jeans…where is she?” 09 asked. This Jeans must have some kind of authority over Ovie and the situation they were in, likely also a Wildfire Hearts student if they were in the void. I was told Wilfire Hearts students sometimes strike during void trips. Maybe they did something before we could go to our next location from the field?

“I don’t know,” Ovie said bitterly. “She’s outside somewhere, finishing preparations on her big project.”

“Without you?”

Ovie stood up and winced. 09 braced for a harsher reaction, but Ovie sat back down.

“I’m…still part of this.” Ovie said. “We needed you to get here, and to...something about clybrid Cani being good wayfinders to specific void nodes or something. But now that we’re here, I’m supposed to…I don’t know. Make sure you don’t mess this up.”

“But you didn’t tie me up,” 09 said. “Are you that confident in your time stop power to not even tie me up? That didn’t work so great last time.”

“They took away my time stop power,” Ovie said quietly. She went back to paging through the book. “But my new power would stop you in your tracks anyways.”

“And what power is that?”

Ovie glared at her but didn’t say anything.

Alright, Miss Chirhart doesn’t want to play nice with that one. She’s definitely agitated about something though, and I don’t think it’s just me.

“Is Jeans the person you said Zeta tried to steal from you?”

Ovie turned another page but remained stone faced.

“I heard some of it last time, as I was resisting your time stop,” 09 said. “I don’t know Zeta very well, but she doesn’t seem to be the…seducing type."

Ovie continued reading. Or at least, pretending like she was reading to tune out 09.

"I was thinking about it, and shouldn’t you be blaming Jeans then instead of Zeta? If Jeans is who you were dating, isn’t she the one who cheated and not Zeta?”

“Jeans is who I am dating,” Ovie said. “And she told me everything. It’s Manure’s fault.”

“Jeans probably would try to blame everyone but herself if she cheated on you.”

“You…” Ovie’s voice quivered. “Need to stop talking. Or I won’t be as merciful this time.”

“This time?” 09 asked. “Because if I remember last time right, I kinda beat you almost immediately.”

“Not that…” Ovie said with gritted teeth. “When you were frozen. The Exile had their blade to your throat. I made them stop.”

“Oh,” 09 said softly. “Why?”

Ovie looked at 09 for a long time, then went back to reading.

For a long time, it was quiet again. 09 debated leaving, but she was less concerned about her own safety at this point. Ovie seemed like she was going through more than she would have guessed of the girl when 09 had slammed her head into the sand to stop her from hurting Zeta. It was strange, but the Ovie she saw before her, the girl with unkempt hair that couldn’t seem to sit still, seemed sadder and lonelier than the prim and proper short haired girl that had so confidently attacked on the beach.

As 09 had that thought, Ovie seemed to reach the page Jeans had told her to, as her brow contorted, and she held the book closer.

“No…” Ovie said. “That’s not…possible…”

“What is it?” 09 asked.

Ovie got up threw her chair across the room. 09 waited as Ovie caught her breath and composed herself. She picked up the chair and sat down again and went back to reading.

“So. Do you wanna tell me what you just read that’s got you so heated, or—”

Ovie rose again, drawing her bloodsaber.

“Shut the hell up,” Ovie said, acid dripping from her sword’s veins, searing into the wooden floor. She didn’t point it towards 09, but the intent was there. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave right now, and—"

Leave? 09 thought. That tells me she doesn’t want to hurt me. Which I guess I could’ve gotten from the whole thing about the Exile, I suppose.

Being a clybrid Cani, 09 had some benefits over a more organically born being, mainly being able to search people’s public history on the fly through biotechnical implants. But she wasn’t as good at reading emotions. That said, she could still tell the pacing girl in front of her had a conflicted heart.

“Here.” Ovie said suddenly, holding a canister out to 09. “Just. Just go.”

“Your minivan in a can,” 09 said, thinking of the familiar “BWOMP” sound the device made when it unfurled. “Why do you want me to leave so badly?”

“I just…” Ovie said.

“Ovie?” Another voice said. Despite not being able to remember ever hearing it before, 09 knew the voice. The two whirled to see a girl in a denim jacket walk in through the only door in the room. Ovie dropped the canister, and it rolled away from her.

“Jeans…” Ovie said.

“Your bloodsaber’s out,” Jeans said. “Did you find what I wanted you to find in the journal?”

09 could feel the energy crackling in the room even if she couldn’t see it. Jeans didn’t even look her way, her eyes fixated on Ovie to see her reaction.

“…yes.” Ovie said.

“How did it make you feel?” Jeans asked.

Ovie sneered. “Furious.”

“Good. Use that for what we’re about to do.” Jeans said.

Ovie looked towards the ground, gripping her bloodsaber tighter. Jeans smiled.

“Ovie…” Jeans said cheerily. “Maybe you should have let the Exile do what they wanted. We’re done with her, you know.”

“No.” Ovie said. “It’s not…”

“Well, even if I don’t understand,” Jeans said, not letting Ovie finish her thought. “And personally think it’s a really bad move, I respect your decision.” Jeans said. “If the Exile found out how hypocritical you’d be, they probably wouldn’t be very happy.”

“I know,” Ovie said. “But…”

“It’s your choice,” Jeans said. “I’m not judging you at all.”

09 couldn’t follow what they were talking about very well, but for some reason the situation didn’t make her feel too tense personally. If anything, she was a fly on the wall listening to what Ovie and Jeans were talking about. Jeans didn’t seem to think much of 09 to the point she seemed to be less and less aware she was even in the room the longer the conversation went. 09 saw the minivan in a can had rolled to her feet, and she picked it up.

“Come on.” Jeans said. “It’s ready.”

“It’s…it’s time?” Ovie asked.

Jeans nodded.

“I’ll leave her to you, then,” Jeans said. “But don’t take too long with whatever you do, because I want you here for this.”

She turned around towards the doorway and gestured for Ovie to follow. Ovie took a deep breath and put her bloodsaber away. Before she followed Jeans out of the room, she looked down to see 09 had picked up the minivan in a can, then locked eyes with her.

Ovie left before 09 could say anything else.