Griff, Val, and Yuna slumped into chairs around Reina’s dimly lit basement room. They exhibited immense exhaustion in their countenances and behavior. Dante furiously typed away at his usual spot, with well over a dozen energy drink cans surrounding his terminal. Reina-cat faced the others but appeared inert. Soft, almost inaudible breathing sounds came from it.

  “What time is it?” Yuna asked. “Hell, what day is it? It’s only been a few days, right?”

  “I…think?” Val said. “It’s a blur.”

  “Ahh-ah, at least it’s cool here.” Yuna glistened even in the low light.

  “This place’s gonna fall to ruin, at this rate,” Griff said while grimacing as he slowly stretched and massaged himself.

  “How the fuck are the five of us struggling to handle Mom’s day?” Yuna asked.

  “Six,” Val said. “Don’t forget poor Lawrence. He’s passed out on his keyboard last I saw.” She exhaled as she shook her head. “I’ve worked with Celeste the most out of all of us, but had no clue how much she’s been doing all this time.”

  “Crazy-ass woman has most of the residents depending on her for everything but wiping their own asses,” Griff said.

  “I had one of Val’s grunts handle that one, actually.” Yuna chuckled. “Shoulda saw his face.”

  “Kid, would you fucking stop for a second?” Griff groaned. “Why’s your typing so god damned loud?”

  “Huh? What?” Dante turned around and shot up. He spoke rapidly. “Oh, ‘sup all. When’d you get here?” He turned back around, grabbed a can, and knocked several empty ones over in the process. Then turned again, taking a swig.

  Val leaned to see all the cans. “Dante, don’t you think you’ve downed way too much of that stuff?”

  “Hmm, Ya think?” Dante moved toward Reina-cat. “Reina usually reins me in. Heheh.” He poked Reina-cat, then leaned in with his ear cupped. “Ah, she’s sleeping. Told her I’d bring her some, if she wanted.” He finished the can.

  “Keep that shit away from her, dude. She’s the last person who should use anything to fend off sleep,” Yuna said.

  “Definitely,” Val said. “Celeste would kill you. And, Dante, your face is twitching…”

  Dante felt around his face. “Huh, so it is.” He shrugged. “Welll, what can ya do?”

  “Stop drinking more.”

  “Oh, right.” Dante had started checking cans, then stopped. He turned to Val, then turned back again to his computer. “Better get back at it, or Yuna’ll get mad.”

  “‘Yuna’?”

  “Yeahhh. I knew after I said it the other day that’d she’d punish me. But, she said as long as I helped a lot today, she’d forgive and forget.”

  “Ha.” Griff chuckled. “The psycho crack at the table?”

  “Yyuuupp. Pretttyy dumb of me, honestly. Sometimes accidentally say stuff out loud that I’m thinkin’.”

  “Fair enough, but kid, stop.” Dante typed away, undeterred.

  “So that’s how you got him to help,” Val whispered to Yuna.

  “Had to, he was bein’ a lazy prick,” Yuna said drowsily, fighting off sleep.

  “Hey! I’m serious!” Griff yelled. The shout stirred the others, including Reina-cat.

  “I’ll try to type quieter, christ,” Dante snapped.

  “Not that, ya fucker. Look at me.” Dante turned to Griff, who had mustered a serious demeanor against his exhaustion. “Stop doing anything. I don’t know what’s in that garbage, but it’s easy enough to recognize a fellow addict. You need to calm yourself down or the crash is gonna kick your ass like you wouldn’t believe.”

  “Ehhhhh.”

  “Yuna.” Val prodded Yuna.

  “Listen to the old grumpy bastard, he knows about crashing,” Yuna said snarkily.

  “Never gonna hear the end of that one, but yeah, I do,” Griff said.

  “Finnee.”

  “Dante,” Val said. “You probably don’t even realize you’ve been speaking fast while also slurring and extending words, do you? Just try to slow down. Your breathing. Your thoughts. Okay? Trust me.”

  “Oohhh, damnn, I am?” Dante felt his chest.

  “Back to Mom,” Yuna said. “What’re we gonna do?”

  “I didn’t want to admit it,” Val said. “Because it’s fuckin’ shameful how blind I’ve been to Celeste, who’s done so much for me. But like Griff said, at this rate…”

  “I don’t get what’s changed,” Dante said, unknowingly. “Leon’s in the same state as before. She didn’t go all depressed-mode before.” A brief silence ensued.

  “Been thinkin’ the same, but didn’t wanna say it,” Yuna said.

  Oops, I musta said that out loud. Shit, I really do need to calm down, Dante thought, while holding a palm to his pounding chest.

  “I can probably answer that,” Griff said. “Celeste has a pretty intense love. That may not sound surprising, but believe it or not, she keeps herself in check more than you’d think. It’s what made me fall in—.…” He trailed off for a moment, then shook his head. Don’t need that kinda distraction. Others are too tired to pick up on that almost slip. “I’d bet she was able to avoid how she is now because of Reina and Yuna. This time the old lion prevented his own imminent death for a moment, givin’ Celeste false hope he’d be wakin’. Before that, it was only a waiting game. Especially with the amount of times she’s seen Leon recover from crazy shit in the past. I’ve seen her like this only twice in the past. Once, I won’t get into, but the other was when Reina’s body turned on her.” They all sat in silence for a time.

  You’re pathetic. Disgusting, Val thought. Just say it. You know you can’t survive without this place. Do it. Do it! “Any clue how long it might take for Celeste to… recover?” She asked in an abnormally meek tone. It only went unnoticed because of the other’s exhaustion.

  “Hmm. ‘Fraid not. If memory serves, she was in that state until a significant change.”

  “But what could possibly change? We can’t do something about Leon’s coma!” Val’s uncharacteristic desperation again went unnoticed. “She’s barely eaten in days. Will hunger get to her?”

  “Ahh. Wouldn’t bet on it, for several reasons.” Griff rubbed his neck briefly until soreness overwrote his desire to. His fingers lingered on the port in his neck. “But, you know… Hey, kid, you still with us?”

  Dante gave no response. He had slumped into his chair with his eyes closed. Some drool trickled from his mouth. Moments later, Val had crossed the room to him, even as she grimaced in pain. After a few jostles and her saying his name, he awoke.

  “Huh? What?” Dante blinked at Val.

  “Griff’s asking you something. Please listen,” Val said. “Griff.” Val tapped him on the shoulder.

  “Yeah,” Griff said. “So, kid, you know a lot about that ALTR junk. You ever hear of it bein’ used on coma patients?”

  The next morning, Yuna carried Reina on her back into the basement elevator. A cane swung from Reina’s hand. Several hours earlier, she had been devoting her energy to merely staying awake as she listened to the others. After some brief discussion of ALTR, they’d brought up the Nezins, to which Reina chimed in that she would convince them.

  “Hey,” Yuna said. “I’d like to think your hearts beating that fast for me, but, you okay?”

  Reina’s breathing had become labored. “Just, um, put me down, please.”

  Yuna did as requested. However, she noticed Reina’s heart beat even faster and her breathing quicken further. Reina stared at the elevator doors as the cane came to bear her weight. Yuna glanced at her trembling body, then immediately pressed a button on the elevator panel, stopping their descent. A split second later, she held up Reina with one hand while caressing her cheek with the other. She tried to meet Reina’s darting gaze.

  “Hey, you’re having one, aren’t you? A panic attack? Look at me. Everything’s going to be okay. Focus on breathing.”

  Reina’s state worsened briefly as started sweating. However, her breathing stabilized as Yuna spoke in short sentences, reassuring her. Once the attack had subsided, Reina removed Yuna’s hand as she spoke in surprise.

  “I’m better now, thank you. I feel like you really helped it pass quickly… how’d you do that?”

  Yuna grinned. “Heh-heh. I studied up, just in case. How to help someone through one of those. Impressed, ain’tcha?”

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  “Honestly? Very.”

  “Can’t help but worry you’ve had at least one more without telling anyone, though.”

  “Mmm.” Reina averted her gaze.

  “Figures. That aside, what caused this one? We’re not surrounded by people. If you can, you’re supposed to bring the person somewhere else, so I stopped the elevator without much thought, but—?”

  Reina blinked deeply. “Your instinct was right.” She glanced at the closed elevator doors.

  “I know I might not be able to help, knowing you, but I can at least listen.” She repositioned herself for Reina to climb onto her back. “Hop on.”

  “No, I’m sweaty.”

  “So?”

  “Don’t be weird.” Reina moved to the wall, leaning heavily against it. “I can stand just fine, and it’s embarrassing talking right into your ear, anyway.”

  “Ehhh?” Yuna stood and faced her. “I like it.”

  “I’ll talk, okay? Doubt you’d let me out otherwise, anyway.”

  “Mmm. I feel all tingly when you read my mind.”

  Reina couldn’t resist giggling at Yuna’s peculiar expression. “What is with that face?”

  Yuna returned to normal with a smile. “You laughed. Mission accomplished.”

  “Jeez.” Reina shook her head. “Sometimes you’re clueless, then other times you know just what to do or say.” She visibly relaxed.

  “Bit of a backhanded compliment, but I’ll take it. Go on.” So glad that worked. I’ve never seen her so tense. Of course, that’s only possible recently, but still. I’m sensing this is much more than social anxiety like the first time.

  After a brief time, Reina had collected her thoughts. She breathed in and out deeply.

  “There’s a few things that probably led to the panic attack, to tell you the truth. I’ve known something about the Nezins for a long time that I’m about to exploit. It’s cruel what I’m about to do. But I’m afraid.”

  “Afraid? Of what? I know we’re not pulling Mom’s weight, but even if this doesn’t work out, we can probably hold on. We’re talking about Mom here. Sure, we’ve never seen her like this, but—.”

  “That is part of it. We had no idea just how much Mama’s been doing for Vyxora all this time. And we’d get better at handling her stuff, but what if something else outside us happens today? Tomorrow? It’s taking so much out of all of us already.”

  “Hmm. That’s…”

  “I feel like we could weather that, as rough as it could become. But what I’m really afraid of…” Reina trembled and grew paler by the second. Yuna immediately closed in to embrace her.

  “Hey, hey, what the hell’s goin’ on in that head of yours? C’mon.”

  Yuna rubbed Reina’s back. She didn’t resist and laid her head sideways against Yuna’s chest.

  “I’ve been thinking, and thinking, and thinking about it, Yuna. I realized something. The first time I ever really knew, felt fear was when you disappeared to fight Siegfried. I was afraid for Papa’s safety, but at the same time, deep down, with you and Mama beside me, I just knew we’d save him. And all the years prior, I had all three of you. I never felt the kind of fear I do now. With both Mama and Papa…”

  “C’mon now, they ain’t dead, and I’m right here. But, uh, I hate to say it. I’m not getting what you’re saying. I’m sorry for being dumb. Can you spell it out for me?”

  Reina shook her head. “It’s my fault. I’m rambling because this hurts a pride I didn’t realize I had. Akane. That’s what…who I’m afraid of.” A few moments passed before Reina let out a soft giggle. “I can tell you restrained yourself just now from blurting out something. Thanks. And for the record, I wasn’t shivering out of fear, it was my sweat cooling. You’re as warm as ever.”

  So fuckin’ cute! Yuna thought. Never thought of her having a prideful side. But keep your trap shut for now, Yuna. Good job.

  Reina exhaled. “It’s hard not to feel like the other night was a complete victory for us. Not to diminish Tyr’s losses and injury, but a previously unknown enemy was encountered and defeated. You only had relatively minor injuries, Papa was saved, their cyber attacks amounted to nothing, Priscilla didn’t betray us, and Tyr demonstrated incredible loyalty despite so little time having passed. Yet, the more I dwell on it…it feels like so much luck just happened to go our way. Fenrir and Aelfric’s timely interventions, Priscilla playing both sides, plus Loki’s arrogance. Without even one of those…”

  “‘Past what ifs are a foolish exercise for those weak of heart and lack the conviction to see their will made reality.’”

  “Lord Robin,” Reina and Yuna said in unison.

  Reina giggled. “I know, you’re right. And good impression. Beyond those what if’s though, is still the fact Akane orchestrated it all.”

  “‘Future what ifs, on the other hand, are the domain of the wise. For they shall see fruition of their desires against all odds.’”

  Reina pushed off Yuna, looking at her with a mixture of surprise and even a hint of excitement. “Yes, exactly! You get it. I even feel bad now that I thought you wouldn’t understand me.”

  Yuna gave a nervous chuckle. “Heh, don’t give me too much credit. I watched that episode a few times. Probably my favorite.” The pair went back and forth in discussion for a minute until Reina stopped them.

  “Still, I feel more at ease sharing the rest. I’m worried about Vyxora without Mama. Worried about her own health with how she is right now. I want to see Papa too, of course. But more than any of that, I want Papa’s experience. My gut, instincts, something, I’m not sure - is telling me we need it.” Reina had a grim, remorseful expression.

  “Hold on. My hamster must be at full tilt.” Yuna gestured, then brought two fingers to her temple.

  “Your what?”

  “You feel like you’re putting ‘work’ above ‘family’ and feel guilty about it. Plus, whatever you’re about to say to the twins. But guess what? Pops would be proud. If there’s one thing he’s never shut up about all these years, it’s the importance of experience.”

  Suddenly, the elevator descended quickly, catching them both off guard. They grabbed onto the walls. Once at the bottom, a crowbar peaked out from the doors. However, a moment later, the doors opened by themselves. Sophia stumbled a few steps in, holding the crowbar.

  “Told ya that would only be needed if the release didn’t work, fool,” Elias said.

  “Ah, shaddup,” Sophia said. She looked ready to say more until Yuna and Reina entered her sight. “Well, well. So someone was stuck in here. You okay, girls?”

  Elias clicked his tongue a few times as he appeared from the edge of the elevator. “How long you been in here, ladies? Been telling old Soph this thing needed a round of maintenance forever.”

  “Nothing was stoppin’ you from doing it, old ass.”

  “I freely admit you’re better where grease is involved.”

  Sophia gave him the middle finger dismissively. “As rare as it is to see Reina in the flesh, you must be here to see Celeste and Leon? Last I checked, same sorry states.”

  “Have some decorum.” Elias clicked his tongue again. “Alas, I must confirm nothing of note has occurred.”

  “Good morning, Elias. Sophia,” Reina said softly. “I’m here to see you two. I need to talk to you.”

  “Well then. A face-to-face level of importance? Consider me fully intrigued,” Sophia said.

  “Tea?” Elias asked while walking away.

  “Yes, please,” Reina said.

  Sophia glanced at Reina, who indicated she would follow on her own with the cane. Sophia followed Elias. Reina came closer to Yuna, who rubbed her temples with a pained expression. Reina gestured for her to lower head, to which she did. Reina leaned in, as if to whisper, but instead kissed Yuna’s cheek.

  “Thank you, truly.” Reina moved to exit the elevator. Yuna quickly moved to walk alongside her, matching her pace.

  “Reward was a nice bonus. Felt like I was on your level for once. Just don’t expect any more. This headache means my hamster’s at death’s door.” Reina giggled.

  Some time later, in a peculiar kitchen-esque alcove of the workshop, the four of them sat in strange chairs around the room. The chairs had abnormal curvatures, padding and were made of unclear materials. Despite all the peculiarities, Reina and Yuna, after apprehensively sitting, were surprised by their comfort. Elias and Sophia noticeably kept their attention affixed on one sister each, only occasionally glancing at the other while Reina talked. She explained the idea their group had formulated of possibly utilizing ALTR for Leon. The Nezins became sufficiently intrigued at the proposal, no longer observing the sisters so intensely. Reina recognized their obvious interest. She took a deep breath.

  “I’m sorry for what I’m about to say,” Reina said. “I want… no, need you two to work together every waking second to try to make this happen. I know you never skip your daily competitions, but I also know—,” She took a breath. “—they’re a lie. You’ve been using them as an excuse. At least as long as you started living here. The truth is, you just want to be with each other every day. The amount means nothing. You purposefully keep it close, losing without acknowledging it. You also get to use it as an excuse to ignore people and the world at large. There might even be something else I’m not aware of. What I’m asking is cruel and selfish. Because even if you help with Papa, I want you to involve yourselves in our war after. You’ve no idea how close we came to losing everything the other night. I need Mama, Papa, and both of you to help ensure Vyxora’s survival.”

  They all sat in silence, but only for a few moments as Sophia started interacting with her IRIS. Reina and Yuna exchanged apprehensive glances. Yuna tried to reassure Reina with her gaze. Several minutes passed.

  “You find it, yet?” Elias asked.

  “Don’t you dare start bitchin’. It’s been over a decade,” Sophia said. A few more minutes passed until a guttural sound emanated from her.

  “Haha!” Elias let out a boisterous laugh. “So it was a Tuesday, after all! Suck it, Soph!” He shouted much louder than his normal tone. The sheer shock on Reina’s and Yuna’s faces conveyed the extreme abnormality of his behavior.

  “I got the side bet, at least. She suspects something else,” Sophia said in a surprisingly calming voice, more like how Elias typically spoke. “You only get half, miserable prick. Rest goes to the next.”

  “God damnit. Well, half is still more than none, loser.”

  “You forget the sisters? Look at their faces to see how repulsive you are.”

  Elias laughed while slapping his knee as he interacted with his IRIS. Sophia stared at Reina until catching her attention.

  “You deserve an explanation, our darling Reina. You’ve never seen my ass of a brother be this type of ass, have you? You see, we made a bet a long time ago.”

  “A ‘bet’? For what?” Reina asked.

  “What day you would confront us.”

  “Not that we ever thought it’d take this long,” Elias said, returned to his normal behavior.

  “Completely forgot about it.” Sophia smiled a little.

  “As did I, admittedly.”

  “Oh? So the vaunted ‘Memory Empire’ of Elias failed before my little ol’ vault?”

  “Only by seconds, I assure you.”

  “Yeah, whatever. Make sure to tell that to yourself to get to sleep tonight.”

  “Always the sore loser,” Elias said. Sophia grunted. “You’re surely agitating the poor girl. I’ll take over. Ahem. My dear Reina, we were betting when you would reveal our duplicity. We’ve never said it aloud to one another for it’s…”

  “Embarrassing,” Sophia said.

  “Nature. Yes. However, you asked more than a few pointed questions in our earlier days here. As surprising as it was to be found out by a little girl, we assumed any day you’d speak up. And then, you didn’t.”

  “And then we forgot, but it’s why you’re our third favorite person in the entire world.” The twins made relevant gestures as they spoke.

  “Ourselves.”

  “Each other.”

  “Reina.”

  “And…” Sophia and Elias glanced at Yuna. “Not really anyone else comes close.”

  “Yeah?” Yuna gestured her middle finger. “I don’t like you pain in the asses, either.”

  “Anyway, we’re pretty inept when it comes to gauging emotional states, but even I can recognize your anguish.”

  “Indeed,” Elias said. “You needn’t fret, however, dear girl. We’d prefer you not go around enlightening everyone of our charade, but I can declare without reservation, we hold no ill will.”

  “Yup.” They observed Reina’s tense face relax to some degree. “Now, we happened to have been debating doing something about Celeste.”

  “As troublesome as that woman is, we are not so ignorant as to deny her vital role in our home continuing to exist. In truth, it’s hard to believe the woman in there is the same. She’s seemingly not slept for days, or even eaten.”

  “So we’ll gladly dedicate our all to your proposal.”

  “You’ll work together?” Reina asked.

  “Yes, no competition this time.”

  “We swear,” Elias said.

  “Thank you so much,” Reina said as she relaxed.

  “Now, for what comes after, that’ll require more discussion later.”

  “I understand. But what was the other reason for your ‘charade’?”

  Sophia chuckled. “We failed, brother.”

  “Indeed,” Elias said with a soft chuckle. “Let that be a testament to how hard we’ve had to work to hide it all these years. Here she is, pulling at the slightest thread.”

  “Long story short, keeping ourselves busy competing against one another kept our minds away from indulging in our vice. We’re both degenerate gamblers.” Sophia sighed.

  “Woefully, as even that is an understatement of our affliction.” Elias shook his head.

  “Oh. Wow,” Reina said.