May I Enjoy My Life: Entry 7

Entry 11, Day 27

Our first day in Deer Germany seemed like it was going to be boring, but honestly, after the excitement, I was up for that. The most annoying part was that the children were not. It’s hard to blame them, little kids do not do well with being cooped up, and the apartment was rather crowded. Czerny did have a television, but all the programs were in Not-German, and that was not going to fly. I ended up giving the kids Texas’s tablet and putting on an anime for them to watch. It was all in Higashi with subtitles. Texas was either a purist, or they didn’t have many not-italian dubs. The flashy action was good enough, and Andrey at least could read well enough to understand it when we set it to Ursus. 

Still, after a few hours of watching TV, the kids were getting rambunctious and needed to move around a bit. Gavial did her calisthenics thing, and Czerny also spent some time teaching them to play a basic tune on the piano, but, well, he wasn’t really used to dealing with five-year-olds, and they both just ended up kinda cranky.

Even then it was all fairly tolerable. Kids being cranky is something you can deal with, and they were at least trying to behave. Hibiscus went out and came back with a couple of simple board games, which did help, and the kids didn’t do much more than whine and wrestle a bit. Which, with three boys, completely made sense. My brother and I were always wrestling when we were kids, even if Michael always did kick my ass, being three years my senior. 

“No movement to speak of,” Texas reported in after yet another patrol with Exusiai around. “But something’s wrong.”

“If there is no movement, why are you saying something is wrong?” Czerny said quietly, looking up from the newspaper he’d been reading. 

“Beat of the city is off,” Exusiai said with a shake of her head. “We’ve both been to Vyseheim before. There are too many police on the street, and there’s rumors about movement on the docks. I don’t like it, and neither does Texas.”

“The city’s air has been somewhat different of late, though my memories are colored by distance. Dr. Hibiscus?” Czerny said, tossing the newspaper down. 

She hesitated, then shook her head. “It seemed like things were getting back to normal, honestly, after the horrors of…that night. But the mood in the infected quarter has been bad. It’s been eight months, but so many died…”

“It’s not that. We’ve traveled here since the terroranschlag. Something is wrong. I got ants in my pants, and when I get that feeling…I move out. I think we need to split,” Exusiai said, and Texas nodded in agreement. 

Czerny steepled his fingers, and glanced at Hibiscus. “With the Catastrophe…it would not be wise to leave the city at the moment. Your craft…”

“The pilot says there’s been a problem,” Ch’en said, shaking her head. “They claim they found a minor break in the engine that needs fixing. It should only take a day, however…”

“That does it. We’re getting the fuck out. Hibiscus, transmit Code Alpha Major,” Gravial said. “Get the kids together. We got a safe house prepped?” 

“I, yes, but…Alpha Major? You’re certain?” Hibiscus said. 

“No,” Sussurro said, and Gavial looked at her. “Transmit Code Babel Has Fallen.”

“Babel!? But thats, that’s a code for the Landship itself being under threat! Something existential to Rhodes Island itself, that requires every operator to drop whatever they’re doing and come to render aid! Do we have authorization to send it!?” Hibiscus gasped. 

“Authorization code Oscar, Charlie, Hotel, Niner, One, Niner, Lima, India, Foxtrot,” Gavial affirmed. “Babel Has Fallen.”

“But, we’re not under threat yet, that…” Hibiscus swallowed. “I mean…yes, Doctor Gavial. I…I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I hope I’m just jumping at shadows, kid,” Gavial said, and she sounded exhausted. “But I've been playing this game too long to ignore the report of two top-class scouts who got a bad gut feeling. And the game we’re playing is too high stakes to take any risks. If we overreact…well. Maybe Amiya and the Doctor can talk the Twin Empresses down. But if we’re not…then we’re gonna need everybody.”

“There’s no guarantee the code will get through. Not with that Catastrophe in the way,” Ch’en said, folding her arms and narrowing her eyes. 

“Once that code squawks, every Rhodes Island comm in range will start squawking it,” Gavial said, standing. “It’ll be retransmitted until the situation is resolved. They’ll get the message, even if it takes a few days. Alright, people, let’s move.”

“First, we plan,” Ch’en said with a shake of her head. “This is too large a group for everyone to go together. We will need to split up. Otherwise, our movements will be too noticeable. Texas, are we being monitored?”

“Unclear,” Texas said with a shrug.

“They’ve tried, but I think they saw me watching the sky. A few too many drones have done flyovers,” Exusiai said with a shake of her head. “Should I start swatting them?”

“Not until they make the first hostile move,” Ch’en said. “Maps. I need maps.”

Czerny turned out to have a number of maps of the city, though Exusiai took one look at them, and promptly began annotating the maps with changes and details. 

“How many times have you been here?” Czerny asked, studying the corrections she was making. 

“Three. But I only need to visit a city once to learn all the ins and outs. You picked that up fast as a messenger, or you die,” Exusiai replied without looking up from her work. “A good map is the difference between getting the goods there on time and intact, and your body never being found.”

“She’s the best cartographer I know. Exusiai’s maps go for exorbitant sums on the grey market,” Texas said. 

“D’aww, and here you’re making me think ya like me, Texas!” Exusiai teased, but Texas just pulled out a cigarette.

“Please, no smoking in the house. It is bad for the instruments,” Czerny said. 

Texas grimaced, but just stuck the unlit cigarette in her mouth and chewed on it a bit. 

“We should get you some nicotine patches,” I told her. 

“Need something in my mouth,” Texas said. “Helps me think.”

“Right, looking at this, I think we have a workable plan,” Ch’en said with a nod. “Though I would like a diversionary group…”

“Can I help?” 

We turned to find Svetla standing there, looking nervous and wringing her hands. 

“It’s dangerous, Frau Svetla,” Czerny said, taking off his glasses and wiping them with a cloth. “I do not know what game is being played here, but…it would not be safe.”

Svelta turned to me. “You…you can cure oripathy, can’t you?” 

Czerny’s glasses slipped out of his hands and landed with a clink on the floor. Hibiscus went pale and gasped, “Ye’ābatochē nefisati t’ebik’unyi!”

“Hoden einer Hexe, that…that cannot be,” Czerny said in a strangled voice. 

I glanced at Sussurro, who sighed and nodded to me. I turned back to Svelta. “Yes. How’d you know?”

“Andrey. He says you cured him. He is a good boy. He would not lie. And…and I have been listening. I am not stupid,” Svelta said, giving a weary smile. “My husband, Grigoriy…he believed in the cause of the Infected. I…I believe in the same. If…if you can…I do not know much about Rhodes Island, only that they are the best hope.”

She took a weary, shuddering breath. “I will help. I am the wrong height, but from a distance, and with some heels…perhaps they would not notice.”

Actually, Svelta was pretty tall, about 5’8” or so. Sure, she was still shorter than me, but if anyone here could pass for me…

“You’ve been wearing that jacket and mask this entire time, Bones,” Exusiai mused, looking me up and down. “I think maybe she could pull it off…”

“My children, though…I will risk my life, but not Arseniy and Kirill, or Andrey’s,” Svelta said firmly. 

“Hopefully it doesn’t come to that,” Ch’en said. “But we’d have to make this believable. Who’s the best fighter here?”

“I am,” Texas said instantly. Gavial cocked an eyebrow at her, but Ch’en nodded. 

“You’re likely correct. No offense, Dr. Gavial. But I’ve seen Texas fight. I might have more raw arts power, and you more raw strength…but I don’t think either of us could take Cellinia Texas in a fight.”

“You’d both win a fair stand-up fight,” Texas said, spitting out her mangled cigarette. “I don’t fight fair.”

“Plus, this mission isn’t simply a contest of who the best fighter is, but who could get James out of the city safely,” Sussurro put in. “That’s Texas and Exusiai.”

“Wait, hold on. I don’t know that I’m alright with an innocent woman playing body double for me,” I said.

“Tough,” Texas said, and Exusiai visibly cringed next to her. 

“Bones…I get the wanting to play the hero here, I do,” Exusiai said gently. “But…you don’t get to be the hero until the end of this story. Right now, the best thing you can do is survive. And frankly, the odds of that go up if our opp force thinks you’re somewhere you’re not.”

“Hrmm,” Gavial looked distinctly uncomfortable, and her tail lashed side to side. “I don’t like this.”

“I am not liking any of this either,” Czerny said, finally replacing his glasses with trembling hands. He looked at me. “The truth. You can?”

I sighed. “Yeah. But the process is messy and probably has a limited amount of uses. So I probably can’t just cure you…”

“Me? Heaven forbid! No, I merely was thinking…” Czerny shook his head, his antlers swaying from side to side. “Yes. I fear that if this is known widely…the Twin Empresses would do something…drastic, to get their hands on you. Even the merest hint of a rumor…How did you ever escape from Ursus?”

“By the skin of our teeth. An Emperor’s Blade left us a parting gift that very nearly ruined the whole thing,” I said. 

“Sein großes Geweih! You-! Never mind. Yes. Well. Tell me, what do you need me to do? I am not some great fighter, but I have no small skill at arts,” Czerny said, forming his hands into fists. 

“We split,” Gavial said, pointing to the map. “We very obviously take Svelta, disguised as Bones here, to a safe house. Well, not too obviously. We make it look like we’re trying to be sneaky, take every precaution. But we assume we’re gonna be watched.”

“And at the same time, Exusiai and I take Bones out of the city, hidden somehow. Make it look like we’re running for help. We’re messengers, when we saw you squawk your SOS, they wouldn’t be surprised to see us go,” Texas said.

“Yeah, and we never had any real trouble in Leithanien. So they probably aren’t too aware of just how kick ass Texas is,” Exusiai said with a nod. 

“Or you,” Texas said. “Don’t sell yourself short, Exusiai. You’re the best damn Sankta marksman I’ve ever met.”

“You don’t know my big sis then,” Exusiai chuckled. 

“Course not, she’s only out in CN,” I muttered, which earned me a kick from Sussurro. “Sorry, sorry. Uh, one further condition?”

“What is it?” Ch’en demanded. 

I pointed at Sussurro. “She comes with me. Someone needs to be the brains of the outfit.”

Sussurro nodded. “I might not be the best field medic we have, but Dr. Gavial stands out a bit too much for a clandestine operation.”

“Stealth never was my strong point,” Gavial agreed. She rubbed her chin, then glanced at Texas. “Thoughts?”

“Good idea. Four is a small enough group to move quickly,” Texas said.

Ch’en looked around the table. “We are in agreement then?”

“Yes. We won’t share where we’re going, or how. Just know that it’ll be as secure as we can make it,” Texas said. 

After that, things happened fast. Several infected came to the house, and swapped clothes with Svelta and the three boys, their heights more or less a match. They didn’t know what was happening, only that Rhodes Island needed help. Or perhaps more specifically, that Hibiscus did. They all nodded to her respectfully, looking grave. 

Czerny stood, and made a short speech. “My friends, your participation in this task is to give hope to us all. Not just in this city, but across Terra. We go now to conduct the grandest orchestra! May our music bring harmony to this world. Geist und Gesang.”

“Geist und Gesang,” the brave infected echoed. Then, along with Hibiscus, Czerny and five disguised infected were left in the van for the Rhodes Island clinic. They were distraction number one. 

Number two consisted of Ch’en, Gavial, Svelta disguised as me, and the three kids. They all left via the back door and some alleyways to an unmarked van, which would take them to a safehouse hidden further in the infected quarter. 

Last was me, Sussurro, Texas, and Exusiai. We departed via the sewers. 

It was as disgusting as it sounds, though we didn’t have to wade through literal shit for very long. We came instead to a maintenance access hatch, and Exusiai led us into the very belly of the nomadic city. 

To my mild surprise, Texas and Exusiai both turned out to be expert hackers, using a series of faked ID cards and spoofed communication devices to get us into the Support Layer. 

“There’s three layers to cities,” Sussurro explained to me quietly as Texas worked on a stubborn door while Exusiai provided overwatch. We all still reeked of sewage, but there wasn’t anything to be done about it at the moment. “The top layer is where everyone lives. But plates are very complicated. The support layer is the middle tier. It’s where the vital systems like sewage treatment and water reclamation, along with important transportation hubs are located. Below that is the Power Deck, where the engines and treads are housed and maintained, but security on that layer is tight. We won’t be going that deep.”

Right before Texas popped the door, her comm, along with Exusiai’s and Sussurro, began to chirrup and buzz, flashing a red light. Texas and Exusiai quickly silenced theirs, but Sussurro held hers up so I could see, and let it play. 

Lament, Lament, Lament. Babel Has Fallen. Lament, Lament, Lament. Babel has Fallen. All Operators and personnel, return to the Island, for Babel Has Fallen. Lament, Lament, Lament. Babel has Fallen. All Operators and personnel, return to the Island, for Babel Has Fallen. 

“There’s a different code if the landship is actually destroyed,” Sussurro said quietly, shutting off the warning, though the device continued to silently repeat the warning with scrolling text.. “This is just an existential threat to Rhodes Island as an organization. It’s meant to be used if the Landship is under imminent hostile threat, or Rhodes Island as a whole comes under attack. To use it in this situation…it’s extreme, but I can’t think of a better option.”

“I trust you. I’m sure Kal’tsit and the Doctor do as well,” I said, quietly squeezing her hand. 

She nodded, but looked sick. “I hope so. Because if I’m wrong…” She swallowed. “It could be very bad.”

About ten minutes later, while we were walking along a subterranean maintenance shaft that adjoined the sewers, the comms devices buzzed again. 

EMERGENCY. ALL CITIZENS TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMES. A CURFEW IS NOW IN EFFECT. MARTIAL LAW HAS BEEN DECLARED. EMERGENCY. ALL CITIZENS TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMES. 

Texas turned to Sussurro and nodded. “You made the right call.”

“Per me aureola et arma” Exusiai muttered, scrolling through her device. “It’s the Horn Worshipers. They’re attacking the city, en masse.”

“Oh fuck,” I said, sweat breaking out. “Um, has one of the Empresses fallen asleep yet?”

Everyone paused, all eyes on me. 

“No, I do not believe so,” Sussurro said slowly. She licked her lips. “James…if you have some weird alien knowledge…now might be the time.”

“Do…do you all know who Arturia is?” I asked, feeling rather sick. I got a nod of the head from Sussurro and Texas, but Exusiai began swearing volubly. 

“The crazy Gallialo? And that’s saying something, because I’ve had run-ins with her brother. Yes, she's the musician that can play your emotions nearly as well as she can fiddle,” Exusiai said grimly. “She’s on the side of the Horn Worshipers?” 

“Not…exactly. But her and the Candle Knight were involved in battle in Leithanien, where the Echos, I guess the Horn Worshipers? Tried to revive the Witch King. Again. And they nearly succeeded. But…something’s wrong. That was supposed to happen in the capital, not the same city as Lingering Echos…” I shook my head. “Something’s wrong. And I think it’s probably me.”

“How do you know this?” Texas asked. 

I sighed and pulled out my phone, then opened up Arknights. I got the error message that it couldn’t connect, but hopefully my point was made. “I’m not from Terra, as I guess you’ve mostly figured out by now.” Exusiai’s eyes went wide, but she stayed quiet. “The planet I’m from, Earth, there’s a game, called Arknights. It tells the story of Rhodes Island, and the Operators attached to it. That’s were the, ah, ‘weird alien knowledge’ comes from. You’re all, well. All three of you are characters in the game. That’s…sort of how I know stuff about you.”

“I see,” Texas said, nodding as if this all made complete sense. Exusiai was looking at me with sheer horror, while Sussurro only looked mildly disturbed, her tail swishing back and forth in agitation. 

“The problem is…I sort of…didn’t read much of the lore,” I admitted. “I mostly just like playing the game. You’re, uh, you’re all pretty kickass in the game. Sorry, I know this doesn’t make any sense…”

“It’s an isekai,” Texas said with a nod. “Continue.”

Well, at least someone was taking this remarkably well. “Right, so, I have a vague idea of certain events that take place. Some of which, apparently, haven’t happened here yet. Unfortunately, all I really know is what I can suss out from having played the levels and watched a couple of videos, and, er, read a few memes. I know that after the events of Lingering Echos, what you call the terroranschlag-” 

“The Rhodes Island operational files refer to that event as ‘Operation Lingering Echos,’” Sussurro interrupted. “I reviewed them as we were coming here. What…what was the other one, the future event?”

“I’m going to absolutely butcher the pronunciation, but ‘Zwillingstürme im Herbst,’” I said. 

“Twin Towers in Autumn,” Exusiai muttered. She was actively shivering now. “Texas, you don’t think that means…”

Texas cocked her head to one side. “It means nothing to me.”

“The Witch King,” Exusiai whispered. “Bones mentioned the Witch King. The Twin Towers in Autumn…that could be the Horn of Origin. The Spire of Genesis. His…his domain, that was thrown down in the September Uprising in 1077. Texas…if the Witch King is coming back…Babel has Fallen isn’t the right call. The right call is…what’s worse than Babel Has Fallen? Like, the entire world is going to end? Because that’s what this is.”

“Hmm,” Texas’ tail lashed, and her eyes narrowed. “History isn’t my best subject. I’ll have to trust your judgement.”

“It…it should be impossible for the Witch King to return,” Sussurro said slowly. “But…if they’ve heard of a great healer…someone who can cure people of oripathy, and mend the most severe wounds, even re-knitting organs…the Horn Worshipers might just think…”

“They might just think I could revive the Witch King,” I said, cold washing over my body like a wave. “Oh. Fuck.”

“We have to get out. Change of plans, Texas. We have to get the hell out of here. Now,” Exusiai said firmly. “I can’t think of many things worse than the Witch King returning.”

“Uh…I hate to be the bearer of even worse news…but he did,” I said, and Exusiai groaned and clutched at her head, while even Texas was starting to look alarmed. “Only Viviana, the Lich King, the Twin Empresses, Arturia, and, er, the Pope working together managed to banish him again. Or at least, I think that’s what happened. Either way, he’s an actual boss you fight in the game, and it looked like he was back for realsies.” 

“How?” Texas demanded. “How was the Witch King revived?”

“The Song of Terra, I think? Arturia helped, somehow? I think she wanted to learn arts from the Witch King, but she switched sides?”

“That sounds like her,” Exusiai muttered. She had taken out her pistols and was spinning them back and forth through her fingers. It was really impressive, but also a bit concerning as those things were loaded. “We’ve never crossed paths, but I do know her brother and he’s a pain in my ass.”

“Either way…James can absolutely not fall into the hands of the Horn Worshipers,” Sussurro said. “Nor can the Witch King be revived.”

Texas took out a cigarette and started smoking, her eyes narrowed. She glanced at me, then at the increasingly frantic Exusiai, then at Sussurro. “We go to ground. As planned.”

“What!? Texas, we have to get out of here!” Exusiai protested. 

Texas continued to smoke, grimacing. “Rhodes Island is coming. I don’t think this is the work of the Twin Empresses. They’ll probably respond as well. For now, we keep Bones out of sight. We don’t know if what he can do could revive the Witch King. But if we move too much, it’s likely we’d have to fight the Horn Worshipers. Our goal is to avoid fighting. So, we go to ground.”

“The Twin Empresses have a reputation for ruthlessness. They’d probably try to keep James if they knew about him,” Sussurro said, eyeing me with concern. 

“A problem solved by staying out of sight. We wait for Rhodes Island,” Texas said firmly. She turned to Exusiai. “Lead the way.”

Visibly shaking herself, Exusiai saluted. “You got it, Texas. Come on, this way! We’re heading to a good spot to hide, so hopefully no one even looks at us and we keep safe.”

We wound through narrow maintenance tunnels and cramped pipes, ending up covered in various kinds of filth. At the end of it, we came to a basement of an old building, which surprisingly was stocked with a number of supplies. 

“We’re under a department store. I set up this hidey hole a while back. No one but me and Texas know it’s here,” Exusiai said, holding up a glowstick, which revealed a stack of ammo boxes. “Looks like no one’s been here since my last visit.”

“I can never find it,” Texas said with a shake of her head. “You’re the better navigator.”

“Hehe! Least I’m good for something! Right, strip out of those clothes, and use these decon wipes, then stuff ‘em in this bag. There was a lot of originium back there, plus, you know, the shit and stuff.”

I blushed at the thought of having to strip in front of three women, but Texas had already started pulling off her clothes, and Exusiai wasn’t shy either. I hastily turned my back and did the same, using the wipes to clean off whatever bits of skin had been exposed. I tried not to look, but, well, it was hard, especially since the room wasn’t even 10 feet by 10 feet, and we were practically standing on one another.

I had to remind myself that Texas was gay, and that Exusiai was my bodyguard now. They HAD been in my top 10 waifus, though I was sort of having to reevaluate that whole list, considering that, you know, I’d met them now. It felt a lot weirder to perv on a woman I actually knew versus an imaginary character. 

We changed into clean clothes, and Exusiai and Texas set about cleaning the rest of their gear, the four of us sitting on the ammo crates, which turned out to contain not only bullets but rations, medical supplies, and various other survival gear. 

Sussurro set about grooming her tail and ears, taking out her radio and turning it on. For a while, it just broadcast the Fall of Babel lament.

“Fucking odd thing to have as your code phrase,” I muttered. I glanced around at the others. “You…know what Babel was?”

Sussurro looked up at me, a frown on her lips. “James…that’s classified.”

“It was the precursor to Rhodes Island,” Exusiai said without looking up from her guns. “History was my favorite subject in school. I always wanted to travel to all those places we learned about. Now, I have, mostly. Babel being the origin of Rhodes Island isn’t common knowledge, but it is somewhat known. They were a group founded by the last Sarkez King, Theresis.”

Ooooh boy. I suppose it wasn’t common knowledge that Amiya had become the Sarkaz King. Or at least, I think she had. The memes indicate it. But maybe those aren’t the most reliable. 

“I know the code. Never questioned what it meant,” Texas said with a shrug. “Now, I wonder.”

“Is it really going to bring everyone running? I mean like…everyone?” I said. “Just how many operators are there affiliated with Rhodes Island?”

“The population on the landship at any given time is in the ballpark of ten thousand people, but that includes patients and non-combatants,” Sussurro said. 

I sucked in a breath. Ten thousand?! That’s the size of a small city. I mean, I knew that Rhodes Island was big, but that’s freaking huge! 

“That doesn’t count for people like Exusiai and Texas, who are provisionally contracted but stay in the field, or even our full time employees like Hibiscus that operate remote clinics. If those still exist after this,” Sussurro said with a heavy sigh. “We’re probably made them all evacuate. This is going to be such a mess…”

“Wise. Seems news of Bones’ ability has spread far and wide,” Texas said, one of her swords now in her lap as she carefully cleaned it with an oiled rag. 

“Yeah…I mean, I know I’m a blabber mouth, but it can’t be just me spouting off that’s caused this, right?” I said, scratching my head. 

“The famiglia,” Sussurro said with disgust. “It had to be that bum we turned loose. He must have run straight to them, and sold information for a bottle of mead. Then any survivors would have sold whatever information they could for a handful of credits. It’ll be all over the black market by now.”

“Should have tied off any loose ends,” Texas commented. 

“He was just an innocent man, Texas,” I protested. “You can’t just kill people who haven’t done anything wrong yet.”

She glanced at me. “I can.”

“I’ve killed a lot of people,” Exusiai said quietly, holding one of her reassembled guns in her palms. “Some of them deserved it. Others, probably not. But…I couldn’t kill someone in cold blood. Not if they weren’t an active threat. That’s the kind of thing…the kind of thing you lose your halo over.”

“I thought that was just if you pointed your gun at another Sankta,” I asked. 

Exusiai gave me a slight shake of her head. “There’s Thirteen Commandments. ‘Thou shalt not threaten the life of another Sankta’ is commandment two. But number ten is ‘Thou shalt not use thy gun to shed the blood of the innocent.’ There’s…wiggle room, on that one. Obviously, I can use my guns to kill people. But they have to threaten me, the life of another, or my property. You can get…liberal…with the interpretation of some of that. Especially the property part. But you get murder happy, and the Law WILL strip you of your gun.”

“That’s why you have me,” Texas said, holding up her sword in front of her and gazing at her reflection in the blade. “I will do what must be done.”

“Texas I…” I swallowed. I wanted to say, ‘I don’t want you to kill people for me.’ But, that was sort of the whole point of having her as a bodyguard. “I don’t want you to bear any burden that’s too heavy.”

“There is a saying in the Texas famiglia,” Texas said, still gazing at her sword. “Honor is heavier than a mountain. But death is lighter than a breeze.” 

“A rich joke,” Sussurro said, sounding bitter. “The famiglia have no honor.”

Texas lowered her sword, and for a moment, I thought she was going to explode into violence. Instead, she bowed her head to Sussurro. “Truth. Honor and blood. But it’s all lies. That is why I live for something else now. Something greater.”

She sheathed her sword. “The Texas famiglia dies with me. That will be the end of it.”

“What the fuck, Texas!?” Exusiai exploded, and we all glanced at her. She was standing, tears in her eyes, her fists clenched. “What would Sora say to that?!”

Texas blinked. “I-”

“You just poured your heart out to her! She loves you, Texas! I’ve known that for a long time, even if, even if I didn’t really want to think about it too hard! I love you too! Ti voglio bene! No, that’s not strong enough! Tu sei mia sorella! So don’t you see this as some stupid death quest! You are going to live, Texas, and then you and Sora can adopt a cute kid and live happily ever after!”

Exusiai stood there, nostrils flaring, halo glowing so brightly it was nearly blinding.

Slowly, Texas nodded. “I would take Sora’s name. That is what I meant.”

Exusiai blinked a few times, then blushed deeply. “La mia pistola e la mia aureola! Shit, I just made an ass of myself, didn’t I?”

“No,” Texas said. “You care. Don’t apologize for that.” She seemed to struggle with something, her jaw working, then she stood, and gingerly put her arms around Exusiai, who immediately latched onto her like a limpet. “I…am not good with words. Or feelings. But…you are my sister, also, Lemuel.”

“Thanks, Cellinia,” Exuisiai said, her voice somewhat muffled from her face being buried in Texas’ chest. “I’m scared.”

“Mmm,” Texas said, and gingerly rubbed Exusiai’s back. 

Exusiai looked up, a frown on her face. “This is the part where you say you’re scared as well.”

“I’m scared of many things. But not this. This I welcome. It is…what I was born for,” Texas said. 

“You’re a fucking weirdo, Texas.”

“Yes.”

I leaned close to Sussurro. “Touch of the ‘tism, you think?”

“Oh, thank goodness. Here, I thought it was just me,” Sussurro sighed. 

“Texas is not a tism!” Exusiai said, glaring at us. “Uh, whatever that is.”

“I was diagnosed at age five,” Texas said, completely ruining Exusiai’s efforts to defend her. “Mild case. Never bothered me.”

“Wait, I thought you didn’t have oripathy!?” Exusiai gasped. “But, age five!? Hold, on what-”

“Autism,” Texas said monosyllabically. 

“Huh?! But that’s for like, um, you know, invalids, and stuff,” Exusiai said, back to being a derp. 

“Autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, manifests in many variations,” I said, suddenly on firm ground I knew rather well. I steepled my fingers. “I would very much like to study how it differs amongst the Terran population vs. the Earth one. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for ten years and a decently sized cohort! Can you even imagine what we could learn about the brain?! Oh, oh, with multiple races, I bet neurological disorders manifest in different ways!”

Sussurro immediately brightened, nodding enthusiastically. “It does! And different races are more inclined to certain types of disorders. Like, for example, you almost never see a Sankta with autism, which we theorize is because of the Empathy they get from the law, though there are rare cases! On the other hand, more asocial races, like Anura, manifest it more frequently! Sankta are more likely to exhibit signs of Seasonal Affective Disorder, especially if they move from Laterano to where there are fewer Sankta!” 

“Huh. Guess Bones really is a doc,” Exusiai mused. Texas just went back to caring for her equipment, which after a moment, Exusiai did as well, taking out some music to listen to as Sussurro and I had a long and very interesting conversation about various neurological disorders and how they manifested in different races. Neurology wasn’t Sussurro’s speciality, but as a general practitioner she had a fairly decent grasp of things. 

I took more detailed notes in another document, but I figure I shouldn’t clutter up my journal with that sort of stuff. 

However, then the radio began to do more than just loop the Fall of Babel broadcast. 

“Watcher 1, here. We’ve been compromised!” Hibiscus’s frantic voice said, and we all stopped what we were doing to listen. “It’s the Echos! They’re attacking the safe house! Czerny is holding the line, but-” There was a bang and muffled shouting. “I’ve got to go!”

A few minutes later, Czerny reported, “Vee haff…cough, we have…repelled the attackers. We are evacuating-static wounded static. Geist und Gesang!”

I felt sick listening, unable to do anything. Sussurro had locked gazes with me, and her tail was drooping, ears lying flat on her head. She was still dyed brown, and it gave her a dejected air. 

Twenty minutes later, another report. “Ch’en here. We’ve been located. Engaging the enemy, then falling back to point delta.”

Texas had out her own tablet, and more reports were coming in from the city. There was fighting all over, not just in the infected quarter, but throughout the city. It seemed that the police and guards were fighting back against the Echos, but this was a wide scale uprising. 

Then, we got another message. Not from our own operators, but a desperate call.

“We've got so many wounded, we don’t have enough trained medics! There’s hot spots throughout the city, all our clinics and hospitals are overwhelmed! Calling all those with medical knowledge, we need help! There’s hundreds of wounded!”

I found myself standing up, Sussurro as well. Both of us exchanged looks: We were not just medics, but trained doctors. Granted, Sussurro was the only full doctor, but I had more than enough medical knowledge that in an emergency situation, they’d have me doing basic surgery and triage for wounded. I knew perfectly well how to suture a wound, or even perform simple procedures that would nevertheless be life saving. 

“Bones,” Texas said, her tone a warning. “We stay put.”

“I…I know he should, but…but I can help! You don’t need me,” Sussurro said, wringing her hands. 

“Give me those bear ears. I can go in disguise too. People are dying, Texas! And don’t you try to stop me either, Exusiai!” I said. 

Sussurro glanced at me, bit her lip, then nodded. “If we keep quiet…we could save a lot of lives. Especially with your incredible arts healing, though you’ll need to keep it quiet.”

“This is foolish. You’re not going,” Texas said, standing up and glaring at us.

“Texas…”

We all turned to Exusiai, who was fidgeting. “Texas…what’s the price of saving the world?”

“Whatever it takes,” Texas said. “The information Bones has is too valuable.”

“Yeah, I know, but…” Exusiai swallowed, and met my eyes. “You really want to help those people, don’t you?”

“I’m a doctor. That’s my job. You go where people need help.” I turned to Texas. “We don’t have to go to the battlefield. Just anywhere there’s wounded. This is a wide scale terrorist attack. How can we sit by while innocents suffer?”

Texas looked irritated, but she looked to Exusiai, who shrugged. “If we’re gonna die for someone…wouldn’t it be better to do it for someone worth dying for?”

“I…” Texas frowned, training off. She shook her head, and contemplated silently. At last, she said, “Sora would go help. And I wouldn’t be able to stop her.”

“Yes! Let’s go!” Exusiai said eagerly, jumping up. 

“Wait,” Texas said, holding up a hand. “Disguise first. We do this smart. No marks that identify you as from Rhodes Island. How’s your Siracusian, Bones?”

“Mama mia! I’ma Siracusian, oh yes! I-a talka witha my hands!” I said, gesturing wildy. 

Sussurro actually snorted and had to disguise a laugh, while Exusiai giggled. “Bones…that’s awful.”

“Maybe just don’t talk,” Texas told me, and I reluctantly nodded. 

She sighed, and pointed to a wall different than the door we’d come in. “That way. I’ll carve us an exit. It will take us into the rest of the basement.”

I don’t know if normal people can carve through drywall like it’s butter, but Texas can. She led the  way out into the rest of the basement, which was full of dust and boxes, along with some ancient equipment. She nodded, then led us to some stairs, where there was a locked door. This Exusiai opened by using what she called a “skeleton key.” That turned out to be a small explosive charge. 

“Can’t use that hidey hole again. Too bad,” she mused. I winced, so she patted me on the back. “Don’t sweat it, James. I wasn’t too sure about you at first. But, you seem like a decent guy. I always want to go help people too, even if it would cause me problems. Boss is always yelling at me about it. Says I waste time and stuff. Then he covers the medical expenses of the people I rescue. You can never tell with Boss.”

“He is Signore degli uccelli,” Texas said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Like Zaaro?” I guessed. “He, uh, already had that showdown with them and, um…Lappland, right?”

Texas jerked a nod, baring a fang at the mention of Lappland. Yikes. She hadn’t even done that when I mentioned being a complete idiot and leaving our perfectly safe hole to go treat random wounded. 

“Wait,” Sussurro said, and pulled out an arts wand. She pressed it into my hands. “Do you know how to use it?”

“No, not really,” I admitted. 

“Well, at least use it as a prop. Most people don’t understand arts healing. Most doctors can’t even use one. I couldn’t until I became an infected. So just act like you’re using the wand. It should fool most people,” Sussurro told me. “Don’t worry, I have a backup.”

With that, Sussurro nodded to Texas, who held up a hand. “Wait here. I’ll check it out.”

Texas vanished up the stairs, and the minutes crawled by as we sweated and held our breath. Then, Texas reappeared, nodding to us. “It’s safe, for now. Follow.”

We emerged out into hell. The air was thick with dust and smoke, and I could see fires burning in the distance. I half expected to hear gunfire, but of course, there was none of that, though there were blaring sirens and the occasional distant explosion.

Sussurro led the way, and within minutes, we arrived at a hotel that had been converted into a makeshift hospital. Sussurro and I were both wearing generic lab coats, and I had on my fake pair of Ursus ears. Someone ran up to us and started babbling in German. I didn’t understand a lick of it, but Sussurro said, “Wir sprechen kein Leithanisch. Wir sind Ärzte. Wir können helfen.”

Texas helpfully added, “Siracusian.”

“Ach! Um, Grazie per… aiuto. Heir, er ecco! Das…questa parte!”

We followed our goat horned guide to where they were triaging. There were several people providing first aid, but the best of them looked to be EMTs and best, and just those with basic first aid training in the majority. Sussurro and I had brought whatever medical supplies had been in the hideout, along with basic tools. I swallowed at seeing all the blood, but rolled up my sleeves, put on my gloves, and got to the bloody work. 

There had clearly been several explosions and many fires. Lots of shrapnel wounds, burns, and pressure trauma. A lot of it I treated with needle and thread, bandages, and a bit of ugly knife work. 

However…I also used that arts wand. I actually figured out how to use it rather quickly. You just channeled the arts into it, and it made the healing a lot easier. However, it was also extremely tiring. Like, a few minutes of arts use, and I felt like I had after did a mile swim. I had to save it for the most severe cases, and it was heart wrenching to see just how many of them there were. 

Even worse…I lost my first patient. It was an older woman, one of her horns broken off from severe trauma, the other curled goat horn. She had second and third degree burns, and her left was basically a ruined wreck with bones poking through. Her left leg was also badly burned, and I could see bone poking through, her foot a mangled mess. 

I swore when they brought her in, and nearly called for Sussurro, who was a much more experienced surgeon and doctor in general, but she was already dealing with an older man who had a serious gut wound, a large splinter that was requiring a lot of surgery and work with her arts wand. 

Swallowing despite my dry mouth, I forced myself to triage and work as fast as I could to save the patient. It was going to require a double amputation; the foot at the ankle at least, and the arm at the elbow. It was alright. I had trained for this. I could do it. I quickly checked the head trauma, but the skull wasn’t fractured, and it had already been bandaged. 

So I set to work with the bonesaw. I’d learned how to do an amputation, and even practiced on a  cadaver once or twice. But this was the first time doing it on a living person. We didn’t have any anesthesia, so it was just a couple of shots of morphine. The patient groaned, which was a good sign, and I applied a tourniquet. We started her on an IV of blood, I had a couple of assistants who if they hadn’t been good at getting blood into patients, were now, and I started. 

It was chillingly easy. I sawed away, cutting off the foot first, then the arm, clamping and using arts to heal it up. I might, could, have reconstructed the whole limb, but doing so would have overloaded my admittedly low stamina when it came to that, and there were literally dozens of patients waiting for treatment, and I couldn’t spare the energy. 

I actually successfully performed both operations and got her stabilized. I was just tending to the burns, when she started convulsing. I thought at first it was blood loss, but then I noticed something that made my heart drop.

She was bleeding and leaking cranial fluid from her broken off horn. There had evidently been more trauma there than I had first noticed. I swore and tried to think of what to do. There was obvious swelling, and I would need to lower the pressure in the skull, before-

With one final convusion, she coughed up blood, then flooped back, still. I quickly checked vitals, then started chest compressions as I tried to think of what to do. 

“Dr. McCoy! James!” 

I blinked, staring up stupidly at Sussurro, who was standing there with a face mask on. She stripped off her gloves, reaching out to gently take my hands off the patient. “She’s gone, James. She’s gone.”

“No, she can’t be, I… I performed the amputations, she…she was going to make it…” I stammered. 

“James. Go take a breather,” Sussurro told me firmly. 

“But, Lucia, I-”

“A breather. Just five minutes. You need a break. You’ve been at this for four hours.”

I didn’t point out that she’d been doing this as long as I had. I looked down at the dead woman, her glassy eyes staring back sightlessly. Then I nodded, and staggered outside. I made it a few steps into the alleyway when I leaned against the wall and spewed up everything. Sobs and dry heaves wracked my body, and I felt like I was going to pass out.

“Hey. It’s OK. You’re going to be alright.”

I blinked through the pain, and a smiling angel looked back at me. 

“But…but I let her die,” I gasped, and Exusiai had to grab me to keep me from keeling over right there. 

Gingerly, she helped me move away from my sick, then set me down on the ground. “You’re a pretty good person, aren’t ya, James?”

I shrugged, unable to say anything as Exusiai slumped down beside me. She dug out a canteen and handed it to me, and I took a swig, swished it around in my mouth, then spat to the side before sipping at it. 

“I’m glad, you know? The guy who can, well. A special package right you coulda been a real asshole, you know?” she commented. 

“I guess,” I mumbled, still feeling numb. I started to shiver, despite the warm evening. Shit, was I going into shock?

“Makes me feel better about this job. I’m glad I get to help save the world with a doc like you,” Exusiai commented, clearly trying to cheer me up.

“Haven’t saved it yet. I…I didn’t even know her name, Exusiai.”

“Call me Lemuel.”

“I…sure,” I said, blinking my eyes back into focus. “But, if I’d know more about her race’s biology, if I’d just noticed that head trauma earlier…maybe I could have saved her.”

“Maybe. I’m not a doctor, I don’t really know. But I’ve had a lot of packages, James. And I’ve lost some of them. Sometimes…sometimes if I’d been a little faster, or more vigilant…maybe they would have made it. But you can’t keep second guessing yourself. You have to keep moving forward. Don’t worry about the mistakes you’ve made. Not until later, when you're back home safe. Until then, you keep caring for the packages you’ve got,” Exusiai told me. 

There was pain in her eyes. Deep wounds that were covered up by a chipper attitude and a bright smile. 

“Those packages…they were people, weren’t they?” I asked quietly. 

She nodded, the smile turning maudlin. “Yeah. But like I said. You think about the ones you did save. Not the ones you didn’t. Speaking off…keep your head down.”

“Huh?” I blinked as Exusiai stood, then jumped up on top of a stack of boxes. She raised her guns, and I stupidly half stood to see what she was pointing them at. A dozen figures in dark robes, with masks bearing twisted symbols I half recognized. Echos. The followers of the Witch King.”

“Sorry, boys, clinic’s closed!” Exusiai said in all too chipper tones. “I suggest you go elsewhere.”

“We seek the Great Healer! You will give us to him, Sankta! Or we will-”

There was a loud bark, and bullets flew over the head of the cultists. 

“Clinics closed. Buzz-”

One of them raised an instrument and blew a note, and the boxes Exusiai had been standing on exploded. But she was already in the air, and her guns trained on the cultist. They roared, and death spat out. 

The cultists tried to fight back, sending back arts attacks, but Exusiai dodged and danced away, raining death down on them. The battle didn’t last long, only a few seconds for Exusiai to deal out a great deal of death. Then the cultists scattered, fleeing, and Exusiai ran them down, still firing. 

“Ad foveam, quam peperisti, filii veneficae Horned!” Exusiai screamed after them as they fled.

Then she switched languages, taking another in the back and shouting, “Ich habe eine besondere Einladung vom Tod! Du kommst zurück, wenn du MEINE Musik hören willst!”

Finally, she spoke in something II understood, shouting, “This clinic is under MY protection, Horned ones! You tell your boss the Angel of Death guards this place!”

The last couple of cultists still alive ran off. I hurried over to one who was down and struggling, ripping off their mask. It turned out to be a young woman with sheep's horns, who was coughing up blood. 

“Shit, shit, shit,” I growled, and quickling diagnosed the problem. She’d been shot in the right lung. I hastily used forceps to dig the bullet out, healed the bare minimum with arts, then bandaged her up.

“Warum heilst du mich? Bin ich…ich nicht dein Feind?” she coughed. 

“Shut up,” I growled. “I haven’t healed you completely. Terrorist asshole.”

She blinked at me. “You…Columbian?”

“Rim Billington, mother fucker,” I snarled, trying to give myself an Aussie accent and probably failing miserably. 

My patient groaned and lay back. Exusiai came over, inspected her, then zip tied her arms and legs and gagged her. “You’ll try to help anyone, won’t you?”

“Once they stop fighting, they’re not our enemies anymore. Just another patient,” I sighed. 

“Soft. You’ll need watching.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I looked up and found Texas hovering over me, two bloodied swords in her hands. 

“You got the rest of them, Texas?” Exusiai said grimly. 

“I let one get away. They’ll know not to come here,” Texas said, standing. “Messages don’t get delivered if you kill all the messengers.”

I stood, looking down at my bloodied hands. Then I made fists, and turned back to the clinic. 

“There’s more lives to save. Toss her somewhere safe,” I said wearily, then went back inside. 

That woman wasn’t the last patient I lost that night. I worked until dawn, when I was ready to drop. Texas eventually made Sussurro and I get some rack time. We were both so exhausted we passed out right away. Shit, I’m writing this two days later, on my new phone. 

But I guess the next Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day belongs in the next entry.

I just know that Greta Baumann is someone who will live in my memory forever. I found out later by askingaround that she'd been a grocery store clerk. Lived alone, but sang in a choir. I never got to hear her sing. Wish I had. 

I’m sorry, Greta. I couldn’t save you. I know I shouldn’t beat myself up over it. 

But I will anyway.