“What is this?” Fae asked, staring in horror at…
Herself.
The Sealed Vessel had her face, spoke with her voice. Even her glasses matched Fae’s, although she wore her hair slightly differently, in a braid that made it more easy to conceal beneath her hood.
“What’s going on here?” Fae asked, looking at the bubby display from which Wasuryu spoke.
“What do you think?” Wasuryu asked, his muffled, metallic voice as haughty as ever.
“Why… what kind of trick is this?” Fae asked. “I don’t have any long-lost twins. What’s going on here? Why make her look like me?”
“I did nothing of the sort, silly girl,” Wasuryu said. “Why do you think I thought she could be the True Vessel? Until I saw you, I never would have known the difference.”
Fae still didn’t know the difference. It was like looking into a mirror, aside from the hair and clothes.
“So who is she?” she asked, staring at the oddly silent Sealed Vessel. “Where did she come from? What’s her name?”
“As if I’d bother with names,” Wasuryu said with a laugh. “I don’t know your name either, True Vessel.”
“How’d you find her?” Fae asked. “If you had to have her bring me to you, how did you find her in the first place?”
“Why do you ask so many questions?” Wasuryu asked. “You won’t be you for much longer, after all. What’s the point in knowing anything?”
Fae’s stomach roiled as she remembered what the Dragon had in store for her.
“I want to know what I’m in for,” she said, trying her best not to reveal her thoughts, to calm herself in the face of the horrifying possibilities ahead. “If it’s my last day being me, I want to know why. I want to know as much as I can.” She placed her hands on her hips, casting a glare up at the bubbling display. “You can at least afford the truth.”
The Dragon laughed, and the liquid within the display window frothed. “Such a fire in you,” he said. “It’s a bit of a shame to extinguish it. So, what? You want to know about Sealed? You want to know about everything? I don’t have all day, girl.”
“You’ve been looking for me for ages, right?” Fae asked. “You have more than enough time to tell me everything.”
And hopefully it’ll take a really long time.
Because now that I know a little more…
She glanced at the Sealed Vessel, who stared back at her, expressionless.
I can’t just find an escape and duck out of here.
I’m not the only one who needs to be saved from this monster.
“Sealed was the first,” Wasuryu said. “I called out to her as best I could. And that scientist told me the Vessel would find her way to me on her own, too. He was partially right about that, I suppose. You would have ended up here on your own, too, in time. But why should I wait, when I have Sealed here to retrieve you? Even if it did take her all too long. I was beginning to think she really was worthless.”
Fae bit back a million harsh words for the Dragon. “What about the Broken Vessel?” she asked.
“Sealed tried to retrieve her, but she needn’t have bothered,” Wasuryu said. “Broken fell right into my hands. And she fought, oh she fought, and what a worthless fight it was. She hated me, strange as that is. And in the end, she was worthless! A false hope, nothing more. The attempt to make her my host left her broken and shattered. I could have killed her, but why bother? I threw her out and haven’t had to bother with her wailing since. It’s been wonderful for my temper, I tell you.”
“But who are they?” Fae asked. “Where did they come from? Why does she look like me? I don’t understand any of this.”
“As if you need to understand!” Wasuryu roared, the liquid in the display foaming, the tubes feeding into the large machine from which he spoke trembling. He continued in a soft voice. “You try my patience, girl. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this, how abhorrent it’s been to have two — two! — false hopes in a row. Now you’re here. Why should I wait any longer?”
“Who’s the scientist you keep talking about?” Fae asked. “Who made you all of this, and why? If you have a friend, why didn’t he come to retrieve me?”
“ ‘Friend’,” Wasuryu scoffed. “I would never go that far for him. Full of empty promises, creating things for his own gain while acting altruistic. And that vicious overseer of his was far worse. Smiles and smooth words, all trying to hide his black heart.”
“Vicious.” Why does that word seem so important? Like there’s a memory just out of reach…
“Jormungand made me this laboratory, and then left me here to figure the rest out for myself,” Wasuryu continued. “Though I suppose he served his purpose, and that’s enough.”
Jormungand?
Fae held onto that strange name. Whoever had made it possible for Wasuryu to turn innocent bystanders into broken hearts or sealed slaves… whoever it was that knew of the possibility of a Vessel for Wasuryu in the first place… he might be even more dangerous than the Dragon that currently threatened her.
“You say I don’t need to understand about the other Vessels,” Fae said.
“The failed Vessels,” Wasuryu corrected.
“But are you just saying that because you don’t understand, either?” Fae continued. “You’re not as knowledgeable as you pretend to be, is that it?”
“Don’t taunt me, girl,” Wasuryu said, though he laughed. “I know what is useful and valuable. Who these failed hosts are is meaningless rubbish, something I’m all too glad to throw away.”
Ah, I see.
You do know something. Or else why talk about throwing it away?
“But you knew from their appearance that they were like the Vessel you sought,” Fae said. “How did you know that much? Did Jormungand tell you that, too?”
“The metaphysical realms have their wonders,” Wasuryu said. “And in them are truths and things you’d never believe. My existence is beyond just this machine, what you can see. And in the world that you can’t see, I saw you. Saw your face, heard your voice, and knew — this is the girl, the host, the one I need!”
“Is she Human, or Enchanted?” Fae asked, looking at Sealed.
“Human,” Wasuryu said. “You can tell by the eyes. Don’t you know anything, girl? Anyone with Enchanted blood has eyes that gleam with at least a hint of magic, and many have completely different shapes and symbols within their eyes you’ll never see in those of a Human.”
Fae had never heard that before, but she could see that Sealed’s eyes were just like her own, without any hint of magical light or strange symbols or shapes.
So the Broken Vessel must be a Human, too.
Just like me.
But why?
That was the question that filled Fae’s heart and mind, that she couldn’t escape from.
Why in the world was there someone else — potentially two someone elses — who looked just like her, sounded just like her? Why didn’t Wasuryu know, why wasn’t there someone here who had the answer she needed?
And…
Why am I so desperate to save her?
Wasuryu had said Fae wouldn’t care about Sealed once she saw her face.
He probably thought I was as cold as him, or that I’d be so scared of a doppelganger or whatever she is that I’d want to get rid of her.
He’s disgusting.
I want to save her. But I can’t just run, even if I could get her to follow me. She follows his orders, and she has some piece of him within her. That’s probably the key.
But he said to remove the part of himself from her would kill her.
Is there any hope for her at all?
“Silent again,” Wasuryu said. “I can practically hear the gears in your mind turning, ever frantically. And for what? All you do is stall your fate, girl. Accept it and let’s move on from here. I tire of bantering with you.”
“And I tire of your attitude,” Fae said. “You’re so impatient. Is that any way to earn someone’s trust? This all would go easier for you if I trusted you, you know that? If you weren’t so arrogant and demeaning, maybe you’d already have the host you want so badly.”
“There’s that fire again,” Wasuryu said, and Fae was disgusted by the excitement in his voice. “Oh, I thought I wanted you to be timid and easy, but no, this is much more enjoyable. And you’re intelligent, too, making compelling arguments. A fascinating girl, indeed. And more proof that you’re the True Vessel.”
Oh, I so need to get out of here, and fast.
But…
I don’t know how.
How can I get him to let me go?
But I can’t just —
She looked at Sealed once again.
— leave her.
Sure, Fae. Make everything more complicated than it needs to be. That’s just fine. You’ll be lucky if you survive at all at this point. But sure, just try to save a complete stranger. The same stranger who brought you here, the same stranger who nearly killed Mercury…
But…
She’s just a victim in all of this. Just like I will be if I don’t figure a way out.
If I’m going to win against this Dragon, this monster, I can’t just save myself.
I have to save the ones he’s hurt, because he only hurt them because he thought they were me. It’s like it’s my fault that they suffered at all, that they still suffer even now.
I have to make this right.
“How does all of this work?” Fae asked. Spinning in a slow circle, she looked around at all of the strange machinery, the tubes, the liquid flowing through it all. “What’s that strange liquid? And how big is this place?”
“Curious, eh?” Wasuryu asked. “The laboratory isn’t as large as you might think — it’s all very contained. The liquid you see flowing through the tubes is a substance for transference, a marvelous formula that can bridge the gap between the physical and the metaphysical. As for how it all works, well, we’d be talking for weeks, and much as you may insist on the strengthening of my patience, that would be pushing it quite too far.”
“Substance for transference…” Fae murmured. “So then, you have to use that to go from your current state to inside a host body?”
“So very perceptive,” Wasuryu said. “Yes, it’s the method by which I would enter your body, the same I’ve used with the failed Vessels.”
“So I’d have to drink it or something?” Fae asked, trying not to betray her disgust.
“That’s only part of it,” Wasuryu said. “In truth, you must be completely submerged within it, and allow it to seep into you in totality.”
Fae’s stomach knotted up, and she viciously fought the urge to vomit, while also fighting not to look like she was about to throw up.
Not in a million years will I ever go through with that process. No way.
But then her gaze went to Sealed, and her heart tightened.
You had to endure that?
And all to end up as a mindless slave to this monster…
Fae took a deep breath.
What can I do?
Slowly, she let it out.
But now I know. He can’t just jump inside me. He has to somehow get me submerged in that glowing gunk. There’s a process to it.
That gives me more room to function. However he forced the other two into it, I don’t know, but I’ll just need to watch out.
“How do her powers work?” Fae asked, nodding to Sealed. “She has that weapon, and she could teleport here… is there a proper entrance and exit from here? Or are you totally off the grid?”
“You wouldn’t be trying to plan an escape, would you?” Wasuryu asked, laughing.
Fae laughed right back at him. “What would be the point? You’d just hunt me down and bring me back.” She spread her hands in a helpless gesture. “I don’t have anywhere to run. You’ve made that abundantly clear.”
“Perhaps you’re on your way to acceptance, then?” Wasuryu asked. “This laboratory is retrofitted from an existing Location. It has its entrance and exit, though of course I wouldn’t go and tell you any more than that.”
“Of course not.” Fae started walking away, doing her best to appear casual as she examined machinery, strolling slowly down a corridor. “So, her powers. Do they come from you, or did she have them to begin with?”
“Her powers are inconsequential, considering how little she’s accomplished with them,” Wasuryu said.
Fae scowled at his evasive answer. “So what’s the big plan? I don’t really get all of this. Why am I so special? What are you going to do once you have a physical body?”
“It’s obvious what I’m going to do,” Wasuryu said. “Take revenge on my siblings, my mother, that Silver Star Witch! They forced me into a purely metaphysical state, and they may try to do so again if they see that I’ve evaded their schemes. They must all die.”
You’ll kill your entire family just like that?
Fae hoped he couldn’t see her grimace.
“As for why you, I know not,” Wasuryu said. “It doesn’t matter to me. You’re the one. That’s all I need to know.”
“What do you do after you’ve taken your revenge?” Fae asked. Every now and then as she walked, she glanced back and saw that Sealed was following her at a distance.
So silent. Her eyes were so empty.
“And hang on, wait, how can you even take revenge through me?” Fae continued. “They’re a bunch of Dragons, right? And you’ll just be a Human girl.”
“My powers are in my soul, not my form,” Wasuryu said. “Isn’t it tantalizing? Your body will wield the power of a Dragon, the greatest of all Dragons.”
Oh yeah, so “tantalizing” I want to throw up.
“So what comes after they’re dead?” Fae asked.
“Then I am free!” Wasuryu roared with delight. “No one to oppose me, no one to confine me. The entire universe at my fingertips, to do whatever I wish, however I wish, whenever I wish. The perfect dream. And the only way to make up for these eons of being able to see but not truly be a part of the physical realm.”
Fae watched as glowing fluid made its way through a coiling tube, into a vat that hissed and foamed, before exiting through a tube at a much faster speed, zipping down the corridor towards Wasuryu’s main mechanism.
“And you’ll be fine stuck inside a teenage girl’s body?” Fae asked. “You don’t want to be a giant, majestic Dragon like the others?”
“Your body might be the perfect way to experience the physical realm,” Wasuryu said. “To be majestic is to be so large that so much is out of reach. With you, I can eat anything, touch anything, be a part of the universe, walk among the people and through the cities, smell the aromas, hear the songs, taste and feel and see! I can’t tell you how appealing your body is.”
And I can’t tell you how much you are not going to take over this body.
Fae rounded a corner, now totally out of sight of the main unit where Wasuryu spoke from. Sealed stayed within sight, but continued to maintain a distance. When Fae looked straight at her, nothing in Sealed’s expression or demeanor changed.
If you have a portion of Wasuryu inside you, can he see me through you? When you talked to me before, was that just him speaking through you?
He said there was nothing left of you, the real you, but is that really true?
Fae pulled out her stylus Talisman, twirling it between her fingers. “Who’s this ‘Silver Star Witch’ you keep mentioning?” she asked. “Is she a Dragon, too?”
“A Dragon?” Wasuryu asked, scoffing. “Of course not!”
“Then what’s your beef with her? Is she family? A family friend?”
“She’s the one closest to my mother,” Wasuryu said. “The one who makes the great decisions with her from that secret sanctuary. It was her influence that sealed my fate, more than any of my family — she was the one who swore that not only would there never be a fourth Sector of the Enchanted Dominion, but that I would never have a Sector to rule over, even if all my siblings should perish!”
“Why was she so opposed to you?” Fae asked.
Not only does she have “Silver Star” in the name, but he says she’s at some “sanctuary.”
That’s no coincidence. I need to know more. About her — is she really some villainous “Witch,” or just an enemy of Wasuryu? — and about where she’s from.
For the sake of Mercury, Neptune, and Jupiter. They’ve been seeking that place for so long. If Wasuryu knows where it is…
“I don’t know,” Wasuryu said. “But she poisoned my mother against me, and she in turn my siblings.”
“So really, you don’t need to hate your family,” Fae said. “Just this ‘Witch.’ Right?”
“They will all be purged!” Wasuryu roared. “They could have rejected the Witch’s lies, but they didn’t. They agreed, and so revealed themselves to be fools and villains with her.”
“Hey, what does this do?” Fae asked, pointing to a level next to a watery display window. As she did so, she focused her gaze on Sealed, watching her carefully.
Sealed’s eyes went to Fae’s stylus, and the lever she indicated with it. Only then did Wasuryu speak: “Reverses the flow of the transference formula. It helps keep things from becoming stale after too long. But I will never need it again.”
I’ve got to find something to use around here. There’s got to be a way to turn all of this machinery against him somehow.
She considered trying to create an explosion or a fire, something to just tear the whole place down while she made her escape.
But I’m not confident in my ability to destroy whatever all of this is made of. And destruction would make that transference fluid go all over the place, and I don’t like the idea of getting even one drop on me.
And Sealed might get caught in the chaos. Or he might force her to stay and die with him, if I really did manage to destroy this place.
So what can I do?
“What about this?” Fae asked. Once again she pointed at something out of view of the main display from which Wasuryu spoke, and once again she watched Sealed. Again, those empty eyes turned to what Fae indicated, almost robotically, before Wasuryu spoke.
“The reception capsule,” the Dragon said. “That’s where you enter to begin the process.”
Oh. Gross.
Fae quickly moved on from there to a different section, continuing to stay out of sight of Wasuryu’s main display area. Here she found a strange, coiling apparatus that reminded her of a vacuum’s detachable suction arm. “What about this?” she asked.
“You needn’t know about that,” Wasuryu said warily.
Ah. So now we’re getting to something.
“But soon I won’t know anything, right?” Fae asked, doing her best to remain casual. She walked on, away from the apparatus, as she spoke. “You can’t even give me a hint? Is it dangerous?”
“It can be,” Wasuryu said, chuckling. “Surely you’ve heard proverbs about curiosity.”
Yeah. Curiosity killed the cat.
But satisfaction brought it back.
So come on, then. Satisfy my curiosity. Give me something to work with.
“Why are there so many dials and levers all over the place?” Fae asked. “There’s so much to work with here, but you wouldn’t be able to operate any of it alone. It’s like it was designed with the expectation of a physical body, an assistant or something.”
“Oh, I can operate everything here,” Wasuryu said. Two dials turned of their own accord, and steam hissed from a vent.
So when I was back by the reception capsule, he could have just opened it up and sucked me in?
Maybe not, if he didn’t leap at the chance. But I feel like I dodged a bullet.
Turning right, then left, then right again, Fae was amazed at just how densely layered all the machinery was, and just how much space it all took up. She still hadn’t seen a single wall — only walls of machinery, so thickly fitted together that she couldn’t see any walls beyond in the dim light. The only hints she had of what this Location had once been were the floor — a nondescript grey stone — ceilings of the same color and texture, and caged yellow lights that flickered dimly.
It could be anything, anywhere. Some kind of warehouse or storage room? In that case, it might just be a single building’s interior, forgotten in the corner of some much larger Location. I have no idea where I am, and I don’t think I’ll find clues unless I can exit this laboratory. But once I’m out, Sealed will just chase me, and we’ll be right back where we started, only with a much angrier, far less patient Dragon.
But I don’t need to know where I am. I need to find solutions, not escapes.
She looked at Sealed, who continued to watch her with those empty eyes.
How do I save you? How do I fix what he did to you?
If there’s still some part of you inside…
How can I find out? How can I have any hope of —
Fae stopped.
Hope.
She reached into her bag and pulled out the candlestick bell.
“What is that?” Wasuryu asked, his voice more distant than ever, but still easy to hear.
“Just a test,” Fae said, turning to face Sealed. She lifted the bell, and Sealed’s eyes followed the movement.
Fae rang the bell once.
Its clear tone, beautiful and bright, rang out into the midst of the numerous sounds of machinery, of steam, of liquid, of all there was here, washing it all away for a long moment that echoed on, resonating throughout the laboratory.
Fae kept her gaze glued to Sealed’s eyes.
Slowly, as if scales were falling away, life filled those eyes. Sealed looked at Fae, and an expression of fear, of panic, of desperation broke out on her face.
“Please —!” she started, her voice more familiar than ever now that it wasn’t deprived of emotion. The panic, the terror, the despair that flooded into that single word broke Fae’s heart.
But she cut off after only one word, as if choked. Slowly, the life left her eyes, and they were empty once more. She stared at Fae without a hint of the person she’d so briefly revealed herself to be.
“What did you do?” Wasuryu asked. But there was a sort of lazy, bored quality to his voice.
Did he…?
Fae’s heart lifted, and she fought against a smile.
He didn’t notice.
When Sealed’s real self broke through, just for a moment…
He had no idea. He couldn’t see it or feel it.
But she’s there. The fragment of Wasuryu that’s trapped inside her didn’t force her real self out.
She’s still there!
Which means I can save her.
Fae put the bell back in her bag, glancing at the mystery apparatus that Wasuryu wouldn’t tell her about.
I still need to know more. I don’t have all the answers yet.
But I do have hope.
And hope will carry me to those answers.
She fixed Sealed with a determined stare.
There’s hope for you, don’t worry.
“Please —!”
I heard you loud and clear.
I will save you.