“We should just destroy it. Right?”

The Lance was sitting unassumingly on Alyssa’s coffee table, and the pair sat side by side on the sofa, keeping an eye on it as if it had a personal grudge against them. They didn’t trust it.

It was an inanimate object, it harbored them no ill will.

“Obviously.”

Neither moved from the couch.

“Does seem like a waste, though.”

“The Registry took the boy that made it into custody.”

“What’s that got to do with us?”

“He was a little screwy. Maybe he builds a new one for them.”

“That would be unfortunate for you, but no downside for me, personally.”

“Don’t you want to find out what is in InCorp’s vault?”

“If we use this to open it, we’re just giving Freeman whatever is in there. Anyway, you said it was powered by Indicia, so how do you intend to fire it?”

“Good point.”

Jensen glanced up from the Lance at the four foot tall rabbit standing on the far side of the table, arms crossed, looking like a cartoon character.

“I’ve been complaining since you stole the thing that you should just take it apart.” Sev tapped his large rabbit foot on the ground, winked at Alyssa, and then turned his frown back to Jensen.

“Why did he just wink at me?” Alyssa asked.

“Don’t ask me. He knows what’s going on in my head, not the other way around.” Jensen said.

“Exactly, I know what you’re thinking. Now, it’s time we all threw this thing away and got out of town for a while until everything blows over.” Sev said. “And I winked at you because you’re pretty, I’m pretty…” He trailed off.

“I thought Indicia were all gay.” Alyssa said after his implication dawned on her.

“No, we’re all male. There’s a difference.” Sev said.

“Getting a little off topic here.” Jensen said with an awkward cough.

“Freeman wanted you to steal this weapon, right?” Alyssa asked. “How did he know about it?”

“Vassals have eyes everywhere. He must’ve had someone in Cliffridge who knew about it. Maybe Shel? He was registered, but we do have allies in the Registry. Hell, maybe he paid the kid to make it in the first place.” Jensen said.

“What is Freeman going to say when he knows you’re sitting on the Lance? Jensen, he helped InCorp kidnap you and held onto your totem for safekeeping, and that was when you were loyal to him. If he finds out you’re not working with him anymore?” Sev asked.

“I don’t think it’ll take long for Freeman to learn that the Lance is missing, and if you’re missing, too, he will probably put two and two together.” Alyssa said.

“Sev’s right. Let’s just take the thing apart.” Jensen stood up.

He was blinded as the flash grenade exploded, fell back onto the couch, and couldn’t hear anything besides a high pitched ringing.

One second. Two. Three. Four. Five seconds.

As his vision began to return to him, he could see the shards of glass on the floor, the curtains blowing in the wind. Someone was exiting the window, it had been blown inward, with the Lance under arm. Jensen tried to stand to give chase, but he was dizzy, and he fell sideways, catching himself with his arms on the floor. He thought he heard a muffled gunshot as the ringing started to subside, turned to see Alyssa firing blindly out the window.

Rising up, he held his hand out to tell her to stop shooting. She wouldn’t be able to hit anything while they were disoriented from the flash. By the time they would be able to give chase, it would be too late to find the thief.

They stared at each other as their senses returned to normal.

“We should have just destroyed it. Right?”

“Obviously.”

Isaac woke up with his arm hanging out of the bed, hand on the floor. The blankets were bundled around Miria like a cocoon, leaving Isaac naked and cold in the chilly conditioned air of the apartment. He tugged at the blankets, but Miria had them in an iron grip. Stretching, yawning, he slid his feet to the floor and scratched the back of his head.

The night before had been a first for Isaac, but he was surprised that he didn’t find it much different from his experiences with Indicia. Both had been a good time.

A great time.

Huh.

With a sudden desire to cook Miria breakfast, Isaac rose into the warm sun cascading through the window. It took him a moment to locate his underwear, which had been flung aside quite passionately the night before. Making breakfast took longer, since Isaac had rarely cooked in his life, had no idea what he was doing, and no idea where any of Miria’s cooking tools were, nor how many of them worked.

When Miria woke, she took a seat at her two chair dining table and watched him work. Isaac imagined it was entertaining, watching him struggle so much to cook eggs and bacon.

“I’ve got to get to work eventually, Isaac.” Miria said after watching for some time.

“That’s fine. I have to go pack up my things at the house.” Isaac said as he plated the burnt bacon and overdone eggs.

“Have you decided if you’re going to move out of Bastion, yet?” Miria asked as she poked at the eggs with a fork.

Isaac twirled his fork in the eggs, tried to pick up some bacon, but it shattered into crisp shards. “Probably.”

“I know we’ve only been official for a few days, but we’ve been friends for just about a year.” Miria said. “I’ve got nothing holding me down here.”

“You want to move with me?” Isaac asked, glancing up from his plate.

“Not with you, no. Maybe to the same place as you. They need doctors wherever you go. Maybe not right away. But I thought it was worth thinking about.” Miria said.

“Worth thinking about. Yeah.” Isaac smiled and ate his breakfast. He didn’t even notice how bad it tasted.

“My car, is it ready?” President Shaw asked without looking at Parker, who had just entered the office.

“Yes, sir, whenever you are.” Parker said.

“Let me just say that I find your inability to prevent the Vassal’s plans to be unacceptable. I will be reevaluating your position when I return.” Shaw was busy drafting a document on his computer. Smoke wafted up from the cigarette on his desk.

Parker responded, flustered. “Sir, I can guarantee your safety and the safety of Nova. You certainly don’t need to go into hiding.”

“Enough, we’ve discussed this. The past year has shown me that you like to over speak of your abilities. Nova will be safe, I’m sure of this. But I would prefer a vacation.” Shaw finished typing and returned to his cigarette.

“A vacation. Yes, sir.” Parker nodded obediently.

Shaw stood. “I haven’t gotten out of this rotten city in ages. It will be nice to get away for a while. No one else knows where we’re going?”

“Yes, sir.” Parker said.

“Good. I don’t want to leave things in Harland’s hands while I’m gone. Too much of a bleeding heart, that one. You will be in charge, but you will call me and ask me before you make any decisions.” Shaw put out the cigarette in the ashtray on his desk, and then dropped the husk on the floor.

“Of course, President Shaw. Everything will be as usual, you’ll just be giving orders from off site. I understand.” Parker said.

“If you don’t,” Shaw walked over and looked Parker in the eyes, which made the security chief shudder, “I’ll show you Nova, personally.”

Parker nodded and, as Shaw exited the office, he scurried over to clean the dead cigarette off of the floor.

“It was really fucking weird.”

Riley had looked better. He was in the hospital at the Registry, and he now knew how Isaac felt, having spent so much time under the watchful eyes of the Registry medical staff. Several days had passed since Cliffridge, and the doctors had been in and out constantly, poking and prodding him. Finally, there was a moment of peace, and Canaan came calling.

“Fucking weird is our job, Riley.” Canaan said, sitting down next to Riley’s bed.

“I know. But this was different weird. I’ve never run into a Thrall like this one. It...ate us.” Riley said.

“How did you get out?” Canaan asked, straight to the point.

“This kid, Renton, he invented a weapon. Called it the Lance.” Riley’s eyes widened as he thought about the machine draining Rain’s life out of him. For a second, he felt like it was still tugging at his insides. “It’s powered by Indicia. Shoots a damn powerful laser, but it kills the user’s Indicia.”

“It is not good that technology like that exists.” Canaan said, nodding to Chase who stood on the far side of the bed.

“We’ve got Renton in custody. He isn’t talking, but we’ve got Collars that can get inside his head. He won’t be able to keep any secrets from us. We’ve also got the Collar who was resident in Cliffridge. Shel. He ain’t doing so well, though.” Chase said.

“I don’t know what happened after I got stabbed. I passed out.” Riley wiggled his toes, shifting the blanket.

“We’ll find out from Renton. We need to know where that weapon went.” Canaan said.

“How powerful was it?” Chase asked.

“It was bad.” Riley said.

“Not to mention the possibility of weapons that kill Indicia. If that were turned into an offensive capability, instead of auxiliary, it could be devastating.” Canaan said.

“It took a long time to charge up.” Riley said. “But Renton is a smart kid. He might be able to speed it up.”

“What should we do?” Chase asked, looking at both Riley and Canaan. “Should we just wipe him out?”

“He’s too smart. That would be a waste. For now, we’ll try to win him over to our side. If he is too resistant to that, we’ll have to consider alternatives.” Canaan said.

“Where’s Isaac?” Riley asked, changing the subject abruptly. “He hasn’t come to see me yet.”

“After you left for Cliffridge, Isaac retired. We offered him the chance to put his totem in a Lockbox; after what Tyloki did to Dominic, something had to be done. I haven’t seen him since then.” Canaan said.

“He quit?” Riley took a deep breath. He didn’t say what he felt, but he knew that Chase and Canaan could see it on his face. “Oh.”

Canaan and Chase continued the conversation, but Riley was distracted.

He quit?

[I don’t think it’s that much of a surprise. Tyloki was not nice to him.]

No, but I thought Isaac was a survivor. He just went and quit.

[He really wanted to talk to you before you left. That must have been what he wanted to talk about.]

Why didn’t you tell me?

[You said you didn’t want to see him.]

That’s different.

[You truly didn’t want to see him. Trust me, I would know.]

I want to see him now.

[I know. We’ll go visit him when you’re better.]

“Make sure you take your time getting better.” Canaan said, patting the side of the bed. “If I’d known what I was sending you into at Cliffridge, this wouldn’t have happened. We’re lucky you’ll be able to walk again, and that’s my fault. I don’t normally act with as little information as I had.”

“That’s my job. To gather information. It might not have been one of the disappearances we’ve been looking into, but it was worth it. There are people that would’ve been dead if I hadn’t been there. If Darius hadn’t…” Riley swallowed. “A Thrall killed him. That’s what happens to Collars.”

“Hopefully not before they save a life or two.” Canaan said.

“We’ll stop the Thralls. I don’t know how yet, but we will.” Chase said.

“And then everyone that’s died fighting them, it’ll mean something.” Riley nodded emphatically.

Riley had rarely talked motivations with Canaan and Chase. Since the day they met, their desires were mostly unspoken, though that didn’t mean they were unknown. Riley followed Canaan because it was a chance to save lives.

Every Collar carried, deep inside, the desire and the hope that someday the Thralls would be gone for good.

The shadows were fuller than ever in the dark room, cloaking Freeman in the darkness like a shroud. Lights glimmered from the computer bank in the corner, but otherwise, the old man kept the room full dark. He took a deep breath, eyes fixed on the table before him, on which sat the entire plan.

It had been in the works for years, and it felt surreal that it was finally coming to fruition. Having just received the final piece, the Lance, Freeman was walking through the plan in his head, ensuring there were no holes. He could think of only one or two possible hitches, but they would have to be dealt with when they came up.

Annoyingly, Freeman had been required to send someone to retrieve the Lance from Jensen, but the old man had only sent Jensen to get the Lance in the first place as a test of his loyalty. As soon as he didn’t bring it back, Freeman knew he had to cut him off and take the Lance himself.

The darkness was a comfort, as if Anje had his arms wrapped around the old man protectively. Yellow eyes blinked in the shadows beside Freeman.

Freeman was an old man, indeed. Collars liked to remark that one would never see old Collars around, because they died young. There was a reason that Freeman had not died young. He was smart, careful. And then there was Anje. Freeman had met Anje so long ago, it felt like another lifetime. The world had been different then, it was before the Thrall Campaign, before everything went to Hell. Everyone liked to pretend that things were better now, but they weren’t the same as they had been, not yet.

Freeman intended to fix that.

He was going to put the world back the way it was, before the Brink. Before Bastion. Before the walls surrounded the city, when Bastion had a different name.

The old man had it all figured out, and he finally had all the pieces he needed to pull it off. Freeman was going to do more than save the world. He was going to bring it back to prosperity.

There was just one thing he needed, first. One small change that needed to be made to the Lance. Then everything would be ready.

Then everything would change.

“I didn’t know I owned so much crap.” Isaac said as he put the last of his clothes in a box.

For the most part, his clothes from before wouldn’t fit anymore. He was larger than he used to be, after training at the Registry. He paused as he saw the armor hanging at the back of the closet, the retracted staff leaning on the wall.

“I did. All you did since Dad died was collect crap.” Sera sniped as she walked past the door to his room.

“I was trying to fill a gap!” He called after her, but she was gone down the hallway.

Wouldn’t mind just lighting some of this stuff on fire.

There was no response.

Of course there wasn’t. I’m the only one in here.

Picking up the armor, Isaac held it in the air and looked it over. There was no wearing it anymore. It was destroyed. That was okay, Isaac didn’t want to wear it. It was part of the past, and he was moving on. Moving away. Moving out of the city where so many bad things had happened. Moving into a new city, a new life. When Edgar died, Isaac was content to sit alone in the darkness. What he hadn’t realized was that he wasn’t alone, there were other people in the darkness with him. Sera, but more than just Sera.

It was meeting Tyloki that caused Isaac to start clawing his way out of the dark, and out into...something else. Something new. But even though he was leaving with Sera and his family, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was leaving other people in the darkness. People that would think they were alone there, as he had. People that wouldn’t know how to find their way out.

“Not the only gap you filled.” Sera said as she passed back by his door.

Isaac growled, shoving his tattered armor into the box. “Come here and say that to my face!” He shouted with a smile, but Sera was already back at her room.

His mother walked by and smiled at him warmly before returning to her own packing.

It was a good thing that they were leaving. Together, as a family.

Isaac couldn’t be happier.

When the doorbell rang, he grabbed the retracted staff instinctually, extended it to its full length before he even processed what the sound had been. He took a deep breath and shortened the staff.

“I’ll get it!” His mother said, and she passed his bedroom on her way to the front door. “It’s for you, Isaac.”

Wondering if Miria had come to visit him, though realizing it was unlikely as she had to work, brought a flutter to his chest. He swung out the door into the hallway, and saw that it wasn’t Miria in the threshold. Isaac wasn’t sure how he felt, seeing Alkaid in the doorway. The cat was wearing his usual yellow hoodie, too large and covering down to his knees. It was good to see Alkaid, the cat had once caused the same sort of butterflies in his stomach that Isaac now felt for Miria, but in truth, Isaac wanted to move on without seeing his old friends anymore.

The friends he was leaving in the darkness.

“Thanks, Mom.” Isaac said as he walked towards Alkaid with a quivering smile.

“Isaac.” The cat said smoothly, standing just outside the doorway.

“Hi.” Isaac said.

“How are you?” Alkaid asked.

“I’m good.” Isaac said, and then after a moment of silence, “Do you want to come in?”

“You don’t want me to come in. So let’s talk outside, if you don’t mind.” Alkaid said, and he welcomed Isaac out the door as if he was inviting him in.

Isaac joined Alkaid on the street outside, hands in his pockets, trying to look casual. He didn’t feel casual.

“I heard you were leaving Bastion. Good for you.” Alkaid said.

“Thanks. I...want to start over. Again.” Isaac said, looking at everything but the cat.

“Never too late to start over. Though I do think that if one is going to start over, they should close the book on the previous chapter.” Alkaid said.

“Close the book?” Isaac asked, glancing sideways at the cat.

“Oh, yes.” Alkaid was grinning broadly. “Otherwise you’ll be writing two books at once. You might get confused about which one you’re trying to work on. So I think it’s best to dot your i’s, cross your t’s, and close the book definitively. If you’re going to leave, that is.”

“You’re not going to ask me to come back?” Isaac asked, only half understanding the metaphor.

“No, I’m not. I want what is best for you, Isaac. I’ve never once said that you have to be a fighter to be happy. I just want you to be…” Alkaid stopped and waited.

Isaac glanced at the cat again, found him staring expectantly. He turned his gaze and fixed it on the cat’s eyes.

“I just want you to be happy, Isaac. Tyloki wasn’t a good fit for you. I understand why you’re leaving. I’m not in your head the way Tyloki was, the way I could be, but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand people. You could try again with a different Indicia, but that doesn’t always work so well. I think going now is the right thing, I really do.” Alkaid said.

Isaac blushed, embarrassed by the cat’s speech, by what he felt looking into Alkaid’s eyes. “I figured everyone would tell me to come back.”

“We could all see that Tyloki wasn’t right for you. I don’t think anyone is really surprised by what happened. I’ve been to see him. He knows what he did to Dominic was wrong, but he thought you were dying. He thought he was dying. So he lost himself in his flames one last time. You pulled through, and I don’t think he knew quite what to do after that.” Alkaid said.

Isaac crossed his arms. “You came to say goodbye, then?”

“I came to ask you something. As your friend.” Alkaid said. “I want you to come say goodbye to your other friends. Riley is back from his trip outside the city, but he almost didn’t make it. He’s in the hospital.” Alkaid said.

Gritting his teeth, Isaac looked away from Alkaid again. “I can’t go see him. He didn’t want to see me before he left.”

“You’re friends. The least you can do is go say goodbye before you go. Isaac, you don’t see many old Collars around for a reason. You might never see him or Archer again. You should go say what needs to be said before you go.” Alkaid said. “Pretend you’re going to visit Miria. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble getting into medical.”

“I’ll think about it.” Isaac said. “Thanks for coming to see me.”

“I don’t think this is the last time you’ll see me, Isaac.” Alkaid said with a smirk.

“Goodbye, Alkaid.” Isaac said, turning around.

He stopped when he felt Alkaid’s paw on his shoulder. The cat wrapped his arms around Isaac’s sides, and rested his head on Isaac’s shoulder. “In another world, maybe.”

“Huh?” Isaac asked, but he remained still, enjoying the cat’s warmth.

“Maybe.” Alkaid repeated, and he pulled away.

By the time Isaac looked behind him, the cat was gone.

“You need to tell the Director or someone what is going on.” Jensen was agitated, looking around spastically.

“You haven’t told me what is going on yet.” Rufus took a drink, leaned back in his chair.

The pair were at the usual cafe where they would meet to exchange information. It wasn’t far from Jensen’s apartment, where he intended to go hide until the Lance situation blew over.

“Freeman, the leader of a radical group of Vassals, has acquired a weapon known as the Lance, and he intends to launch a siege on InCorp in order to use the Lance to open an unbreakable vault hidden in the basement. I don’t know what is down there, but the Lance is what got us out of the Thrall in Cliffridge, ask…what was his name, Riley, ask him. So if Freeman needs the Lance to get into the vault, it isn’t good. I did what I could to stop him, but he took the Lance anyway. I’m out. But the Registry needs to do something.” Jensen rambled.

“Now that you need us, the Registry is okay?” Rufus asked smugly.

“Stop it. The fact that we exchange information is proof of at least the smallest alliance. We’re not at war. The Vassals exist to fill an oversight in the Registry’s system. I’m appealing to you for help in a situation that has gotten out of control.” Jensen said.

Rufus took another drink. “I can take this information to Canaan. That’s the best I can give you. But there is something I want in return.”

“What is it?” Jensen asked.

“My family is moving out of Bastion. Where they’re going, there isn’t as strong Registry presence. I’m willing to bet there are plenty of Vassals there, though. I want you to get in touch with them, make sure my family is safe.” Rufus said.

“Sure, no problem. Just make sure you guys do something about Freeman.” Jensen put a memory card on the table. “This is everything I can tell you. Freeman’s house, a map. Get in and get the Lance. Or find out where he has it. You need to do something.”

Rufus picked up the memory card. “Okay.”

“If you get the Lance, destroy it.” Jensen said.

“That’s not my call to make.” Rufus said.

“Whoever has the Lance needs to make that call. I made a mistake when I didn’t destroy it. It’s bad, it needs to go. No matter what.” Jensen said.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Rufus said. He pocketed the memory card.

Upon leaving, Jensen planned on going to his apartment to hide, but he found this new conscience thing to be bugging him. Making him feel anxious about sitting around.

[There is something else you could do.]

I know, you don’t have to remind me.

[At least Alyssa is doing her part, too.]

Jensen groaned, and he got to work. Being a good guy was so much less fun than being neutral.

Isaac stopped as he stepped into the doorway to Riley’s room. It was unusual, being on the other side of the equation. He was used to being the one in the hospital bed, hooked up to machines and being watched by doctors. It was part of the reason he was getting out of Bastion. No more accelerated healing without Tyloki, after all.

He stumbled forward as Archer bumped into him from behind, forcing him into the room. Archer walked in calmly behind him and sat on the far side of Riley’s bed.

“The old band, back together. Minus one.” Riley said with a smile.

“I never liked him, anyway.” Archer said.

“No sympathy there, he kidnapped my sister and tried to kill me. Almost did.” Isaac said, and then he smirked, sitting across from Archer.

“Bullshit.” Archer said, and Isaac and Riley both turned to him with raised eyebrows. “Dominic couldn’t have killed any of us, no matter how hard he tried. Too weak.”

Isaac and Riley laughed in unison, and Archer reached inside the jacket of his uniform and pulled out a chrome flask. After taking a drink from it, he held it out to the other two.

Riley took it, pretended to drink, and then passed it Isaac. Isaac took a long swig.

“So you’re leaving.” Riley said.

“Yeah. Got a nice place. Not in the Brink, if that’s what you’re thinking. Growing city on the coast a little ways west.” Isaac said.

“At least you’re not moving to Acadia.” Riley said.

“What’s wrong with Acadia?” Isaac asked.

“Fanatics.” Riley said, taking another pretend drink from the flask before passing it back to Archer.

“We had some good times.” Isaac said. “You guys pulled me out of a dark place.”

“Us and Tyloki.” Archer said.

“Yeah, you guys and that asshole.” Isaac agreed.

“Guess it’s over now, though.” Riley said.

“We’ll find new members, and the group will keep going until we’re both dead.” Archer said.

“Won’t be anytime soon. I intend to live a long life. I got stabbed in the spine and I can still walk.” Riley did a fist pump.

“I was really more a tourist here, I think.” Isaac said. “But thanks for having me while it lasted.”

“You weren’t a tourist.” Archer said. “You were a brother.”

Isaac smiled sheepishly.

“Any idea what you’re going to be doing in your new life?” Riley asked.

“Not yet. I don’t have to do anything, I mean, for money. But that just means I need to figure out what I really want to do with my life. I just realized that I want to live my life, so I’m still a bit short on what I want to do with it.” Isaac said.

“Fair enough.” Archer said. “Don’t lose our LINKs. If you need anything, you give us a call.”

“Ditto.” Riley said. “We don’t forget our friends.”

Isaac would keep their LINKs, but he knew this would be the last time they were together, drinking in good spirits. If he did call them, it would be in an emergency. So this was their last hurrah. This was the last page in the book, as Alkaid would say.

“What about Miria?” Riley asked.

“She might move with me, actually.” Isaac scratched the back of his head.

“Oh, really?” Riley grinned. “It’s getting pretty serious, then?”

“I don’t know. I guess.” Isaac shrugged. “It’s good. It’s great.”

“Don’t be coy. You’ll be a better father than you had.” Archer said.

“Who said anything about having kids?” Isaac said with a laugh.

“If it doesn’t happen on purpose, it’ll happen on accident.” Riley said. “You two seem like the type. You’re a good pair.”

“You two are getting way ahead of yourselves!” Isaac said.

“Whatever you end up doing,” Archer stood up, “you’ll probably be better at that than you were at fighting, when you started. Anyway, I’ve got a class to teach. Can’t stay.”

Archer held out his hand, and Isaac gave it a firm shake. That was all they needed, and Archer left the room. Riley and Isaac sat in silence for a moment. Then they spoke at the same time.

“Isaac.” Riley said.

“Riley.” Isaac said.

“You go first.” They tried to say at the same time, and they both shut up at the same time.

“Why don’t you drink?” Isaac asked.

“Oh, that? Me and alcohol don’t get along too well. I don’t like to be a drag on everyone else, and I like to prove to myself that I’m in control, so I don’t mind holding a drink. I just don’t drink it.” Riley explained.

“I wish Edgar could have done that. He couldn’t walk past alcohol without getting drunk.” Isaac said.

“Some people just don’t need help being assholes.” Riley said knowingly.

“You were going to say something.” Isaac said.

“I wanted to say something before you go.” Riley said. “I almost died. You’ve almost died a few times. So I wanted to tell you, before you go, because as much bravado as I might have, I’ll probably die sooner than later.”

“Okay, go ahead.” Isaac said.

“I…” Riley said, and he took a deep breath. He looked at the wall, not at Isaac. “I…”

“You…” Isaac said.

“I know what you did with Rain, the other day.” Riley said with a wink and a smirk.

“He told you? It...I...it wasn’t…” Isaac stammered. Of course Rain told Riley. “It wasn’t…”

“It’s okay. We do that sort of thing. He enjoyed himself, you enjoyed yourself. No reason to think about it any harder than that.” Riley said. “I just wanted to see you blush one more time before you go.”

Isaac was blushing, indeed. “Don’t tell Miria, please.”

“No, but I might tell Sera.” Riley said.

“Even worse!” Isaac said.

The two talked for a while more, and Isaac only wanted to smother Riley with his pillow once or twice. It was like they were friends, and they would be for a while to come. It wasn’t as if Isaac was moving away within the week. It wasn’t as if Riley was keeping his feelings secret from Isaac. It was fun, and fun was something that Isaac sorely needed.

“We’re almost there, sir.” Parker said to Shaw, who was sitting in the back seat. He glanced at the old man in the rearview mirror.

Their trip had taken the outside the walls of Bastion and along dirt roads leading far away from the city. No one besides Parker and Shaw knew where this house was, and it was nestled on the edge of the Brink, hidden in a thick forest that most wouldn’t venture into without a good reason.

The house itself was equipped with the latest automated defense systems, and so Parker was sure that Shaw would be safe during his stay.

As no one else knew where Shaw was located, it would protect him from the Vassals that might target him to damage InCorp.

“I always forget how annoyingly long the drive out here is. I would have preferred to take a VTOL.” Shaw complained.

“This was more discreet, sir.” Parker assured him, pulling the car up to the side of the mansion.

It was an impressively sized house, built to specifications that no one used anymore, far more rooms than one person could ever possibly use. The perfect place to get away from Bastion for a vacation.

“Of course. No one knows where I am.” Shaw said as he waited for Parker to open the door.

Parker got out of the vehicle and circled to Shaw’s door, which he opened and waited for the old man to get out.

“Yes, sir.” Parker assured him.

“Allow me to remind you once more. You will be in constant contact with me, and any decisions made in my absence will be made by me. If I return and find that you moved my ashtray without asking me, there will be problems. Is that understood?” Shaw said, not looking at Parker as he stepped out of the car.

“Understood, sir.” Parker said.

Not looking at Parker would prove to be a mistake on Shaw’s part.

“That is all, then. You may be on your way.” Shaw said, walking towards the front door of the house. He didn’t need luggage, the place had been fully furnished and equipped since it was built, and Parker could bring him any more deliveries he might need, groceries and the like.

“One more thing, sir.” Parker said.

“What?” Shaw asked, annoyed that he had to stop.

If Shaw had looked at Parker, he may have noticed the intent in the security chief’s eyes. He may have noticed the gun that Parker had pulled out of its holster. He wouldn’t have been as surprised by the rap rap rap as the gun was fired at him. But he was surprised as he fell forward, onto his face.

Parker walked over to Shaw’s body, which was shuddering on the ground. The old man couldn’t even speak. Before firing the last shot, Parker withdrew a cigarette butt from his pocket and dropped it on Shaw’s back.

No one else knew where Shaw was, besides Parker. And Parker was in charge until Shaw returned. Given what Parker knew what was to come to pass in the next few days, it wouldn’t be difficult to seize complete control over InCorp. The reason that Parker had been unable to locate the Vassal mole inside InCorp was because it was him. That didn’t mean he had loyalties to the Vassals, of course.

They had served their purpose. Upon their siege on his building, they expected him to turn off the building’s automated defenses and stand down the security personnel, as he had done for them during their trial run. These were not things he intended to do. His deal with the Vassals was through, and he had his own plan for how things would progress now. He got back in the car and left Shaw alone in the woods, in the Brink, with nothing and no one, dead and meaningless.

Few knew of the storm that was to come. Rufus reported what Jensen had told him to Canaan. Jensen himself knew, as did Alyssa. Parker and Freeman knew, they’d worked together on the beginning of their plans, though neither knew the full extent of the other’s plan. It was finally time for the events to come to pass that had begun months ago, shortly after Isaac had first met Tyloki.

Everything had been moving forward toward an inevitable end, and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. Inevitable only because no one that knew anything knew enough to prevent it. Ignorant of any of this, Isaac sat on the couch in Miria’s apartment. They watched a movie together, and didn’t think about Collars or Vassals or Thralls. It wasn’t his life anymore.

He was happy, and he was glad that he had gone to say goodbye to Riley and Archer. Alkaid had been right, it felt nice to close that book once and for all.

It was finally here, the future he thought would never come. The life that Edgar had convinced him was impossible. The world wasn’t dark or bad, it just was. It was however you looked at it. However you believed it to be.

“I’m going to go get some tea.” Miria said, pausing the movie. “Want any?”

“No thanks.” Isaac said, and he smiled as he watched Miria disappear into the kitchen.

Isaac was wrong. The world wasn’t what he believed it to be. At the beginning, he believed it to be dark and wearisome, but that was wrong. It wasn’t all bad. Now he believed in good, and happiness. But that was also wrong, because the world was both, good and bad, light and dark. And in being happy, Isaac tried to pretend that the darkness was behind him. That it had nothing left to do with him.

He was wrong.

“I think I’m going to use the new set you got--” Miria said, and she stopped mid-sentence. Porcelain shattered.

Isaac was on his feet in seconds. Over the couch. Around the corner into the kitchen. He didn’t understand what he saw. The kitchen was empty.

Miria was gone.

Shards of the porcelain pottery that Isaac had bought Miria littered the ground, but there was no sign of Miria.

Upon closer inspection, Isaac could see a strange sight, a sort of swirling black powder in the air around the broken cup. It was almost funnel shaped, like a small black tornado. It spun and spun, unaffected by the breeze caused by the air conditioning. Isaac stared at the scene with a slack jaw.

Miria was gone.

The thought filled his head, it was all he could think.

Where did she go?

There was no response. Of course there wasn’t. He was the only one in there.

“Miria?” He asked, and there was no answer.

All there was, a broken cup and a swirling black cloud.

The darkness wasn’t done with Isaac yet.