"You want to know about the City?" ever expressionless, Eugene drawled, tilting his head.
Shielder nodded.
"Roland-san doesn't really talk about it and after everything I've heard… I'm curious."
Eugene leveled the girl with a quick look.
Innocent. Pure.
He was like that once. When he was still a feather. When he still had a family to support him and a place to return to. Librarian wanted to believe, at least, that he once was like her. Even if the inherent insight he had gained after dying was telling him that he never was.
…Sometimes, we want to imagine ourselves as someone we are not…
"Umm, are you alright?" she asked, as he zoned out.
He did that again.
"Do you want to read books about it?"
Mash's face scrunched up.
A 'no', then.
"My information is pretty old, but City doesn't change. Where should I begin?" he asked.
"Social structure," Mash fixed her glasses, eyes behind them flaring with inquisitive, child-like curiosity.
And so, he started.
*****
"City's technologies, huh," Destiny raised her head, drumming on her chin, thinking of the things to say. "Honestly - don't think we have anything. It's either on Yesod's floor or on Tiphereth's."
"For shame," Da Vinci thinned her lips.
"Not to say we have nothing at all," Destiny smiled, and turned around, "Follow me."
They walked out of the lounge, their stride quick and purposeful.
Da Vinci walked just behind her guide, a spring in her step and a mad scientist in her brain.
They went in the same direction the group previously traveled to the burning room, but took a turn Da Vinci didn't previously notice.
At the end of that corridor stood a lone door with a very dusty looking plaque on it.
"Credenza," Da Vinci mouthed in silent wonder.
Without much piety, Destiny swung open the door, pressing the switch for the light to turn on.
It was… the most ordinary library with the most unordinary books. The room was wide and the ceiling tall. A lot of space, however, with nothing to seat on. The lighting here was warm and soft, but slightly dimmed. The Racks were structured very… deliberately, Leonardo would say.
First, one solitary rack, then another, then they split into two, then four.
Until only one remains.
As Da Vinci ventured through the racks of moderately dusty shelves, she read the signs above them:
'Urban Myth, Urban Legend, Urban Plague, Urban Nightmare, Star of the City…'
They stopped before the Star of the City. But with just a peek, she could see the sign above the last section.
'Impurity.'
The floor creaked slightly as Destiny jumped in the air, snatching the book from the highest shelf.
"Before you ask," the silver headed woman said, "These are all categorized by the time the Library got their hands on them. And it's threat level at the time."
She then walked to another shelf. For a second, the inventor noticed the name on its spine: 'W Corp. cleanup crew. Perhaps, that's why she missed the look of cruel, anticipative amusement on Destiny's face. They then took some more books, from very different stages of Library's existence, and returned to the lounge.
"You weren't the one to shy away from the books, so here. The most important parts have already been bookmarked," she didn't get to end that sentence, before Da Vinci grabbed the first book and got to reading.
'Ah, the innocence,' she thought in her head. 'Can't wait till she gets to Love Town.'
Having worked with one of the worst abnormalities out there - Nothing There and Censored - Destiny developed a bit of a… mischievous (read sadistic) streak.
Her pranks might be cruel, but they never cross over to work or her personal relations.
The only reason why Roland even kept her around. And, you know, being overall the only one with a decent head on her shoulders.
*****
"That git of a boss left out some very important details, when he talked about the Seed of Light," Dakota huffed, digging deeper into the comfortable leather armchair,"For one, he didn't mention the fallout."
Ritsuka perked up.
"Did he ever mention Distortions?"
Master shook her head.
"Figures, the ever secretive snake that guy is. Can't just dump everything all at once…" Dakota lamented at the extra workload she had to get through. "Distortions are what happens when someone fails to fully manifest their E.G.O. It's kinda like walking on a wire - one step out of line, and you fall into despair. Your psyche can't handle the emotional strain and you go koo-koo."
Ritsuka's face dimmed at the information, but she said nothing, opting to let the librarian talk.
"I'm oversimplifying things here. Frankly, I never really got my hands on any of the books on the subject. Thing is, Roland was a victim of one such Distortion."
An almost audible click exhoed in Master's head.
"The Pianist," Ritsuka whispered weakly.
"So he told you?" Dakota's brows raised.
"More like I've found out… Continue, please," Master took in some air, and asked her to continue.
"Well, then you must know that he lost his wife to it. And you know Boss, he is a man with a short fuse. You have exactly one guess to figure out what he did next…"
"He sought revenge," Ritsuka answered with finality.
"A smart cookie you are," the woman smirked,"I don't really know the details of what he did. Know only that he walked around the entire City, killing whomever he suspected to have information. From what I gathered - it was a slaughter fest and a half."
"...you are speaking of it rather lightly."
"Oh, please, it's just another occurrence in the City. Everyone is out for each other's blood. Most just haven't found their reason to do so actively."
*****
"In Lobotomy Corporation, Angela was the one put in charge of the facility. It's hard to say exactly the depth of her experience. Because the loops were… numerous."
Medea nudged him by lowering her head a bit, asking for more concrete information.
"Perhaps a million loops? Perhaps less. Not by much, though. The truth is, she would've been able to answer that question were you to ask - she remembers each and every one of them."
"And what can you tell me of your time in the facility? Roland said she was an overseer. What did that entail?"
"Ah, Boss simplified it quite a bit, actually. The Seed of Light was a 'scenario' by completing which the loops would stop, the seed would sprout and both the Sephirah and us would be... taken off the stage."
"She was a plaything in someone else's play. Along with you," Medea stated, not asked.
Wasn't that a familiar conundrum to her.
"Yes. And she was paying the price for it. Unloved by her own creator, sentenced to an eternity of repetitions, cursed to see everything and remember things with perfect clarity," the sympathetic notes in his voice were vivid.
Medea didn't notice how her own existence resonated with Angela's plight.
"And what came next?"
"One cycle was broken - another began. She decided to get some recompense. Snached the Light, built the Library."
And from the staff behind the scenes, she turned into an actor. Different, but not at all better than her maker.
"...There are more things I'd like to ask, but I have a bit of a different question."
"Sure."
"What of you? Employees? Librarians?" These people, at least to Medea, seemed like the victims of not one, but two ploys. And she doubted they came to gain anything from it.
"Ah, well," the man scratched his head sheepishly, "Angela kinda did a lot for us. Not in Lobotomy Corporation…" he trailed off, "But in the Library. When she was no longer bound by the scenario. The removal from stage meant our death, and well... We kinda died on the final day as is. So she revived us. And then made our deaths in the Library painless. Our living conditions better. Yes, we fought and died, but… It was better than just being a Rat."
Medea nodded. but then caught onto a tiny detail.
"How do you know so much of Angela's situation? I'd figure she would try to keep it to herself."
Medea would, at least.
"Because she once gathered everyone and asked for our forgiveness. Explained the situation. And asked for our cooperation."
And that… Medea could admit, to at least herself, that she could never have done something like that. To trust people in a similar situation. To lay yourself bare. She knew her own flaws. Exposing them was a whole other matter.
"And I, for the love of me…" suddenly, a sudden mirage - a heart of vivid pink, for just a fraction of a second unfolded behind him, "Couldn't refuse such an earnest request."
*****
"At the top of the City - stands the Head…"
Mash listened intently, soaking in knowledge.
"Wings - corporations with technology that defies reality… usually at a price."
In her head, she could vividly see the City. The oppressive yoke of the unknown. The Wings and their abhorrent methods.
"Fixers and their offices…"
How everyone scrapes to live by.
"Syndicates, Five fingers…"
How crime runs rampant amidst the uncertainty of existence.
"Nests and Backstreets…"
How people are all segregated and barriers are built between them.
"Stars of the City…"
How people need to commit horrible acts to become their freest.
"What do you think?" Eugene asked, when his lecture finished. Then noted, "You look sad."
Yes, she was sad.
Mash wanted to believe that the world she and her senpai will restore will be better. She felt relieved that the world Roman told her about was the furthest thing from the City. It didn't stop her from feeling that distress, though.
Because this too, was a part of humanity. A part she herself had. But her memories brought her to all those great people she had the pleasure of working with. Great heroes of legends, all with their woes and faults. Each - ready to put their lives for tomorrow to come.
She remembered her senpai. How she was determined to pave the way for humanity.
Despite what the people of the City could do to each other… Shielder remained sympathetic.
She resolved that this too, was a part of humanity Mash was going to save.
"...I'm sure that beneath all of that, there are hidden earnest and sincere people."
Eugene observed in stunned silence. And then…
"Ha-ha," a soft, incredulous laugh escaped him.
This girl was something else.
*****
With stillness, Destiny watched how Da Vinci's hand reached that one book.
Honestly, the shock factor was never going to cease to amuse her.
It all started out tame. Destiny had read this book a few times (Dakota said that it was a few times too many). The librarian, however, was kinda captivated with the story of both Tommy and Mary, as unhealthy as that was. She grew used to the gore and grotesque body horror - she worked with Nothing There and Censored, after all - so reading it here and there wasn't much of a problem for her.
By this time, Da Vinci's mood did some truly athletic twists and turns. From excited - like Kurokumo clan's tattoos, to revulsion from the Carnival, to utterly gobsmacked from the cruelty of the R Corp. 's hatchery.
And the two final nails in the coffin of her (potentially) good mood - the book of Tommerry and W Crop. Clean Up Crew.
So, the trickster watched with bated breath, how the inventor skimmed through the pages and her eyes grew heavier, more serious.
Until, when she got to the nastiest part, she just shut the book, her very being exuding the amount of bloodlust, Destiny did not believe she could see in a scholarly type like her.
"This is insulting…" Da Vinci hissed out, her word laced with so much raw emotion, it almost naturally drew the attention of everyone in the room,"To use science, such incredible technology, for the means such as this. For no other purpose than to profit."
The air around the inventor started to get charged with almost palpable anger.
Ritsuka's eyes were naturally drawn, and what she had seen… Really, the chills down her spine and her honed instincts were unironically telling her to run.
"This is an affront to both me and science. To the very purpose of furthering and exploring the depth a human mind can reach. This is a travesty."
With that tone of voice, Master would have expected the inventor to nuke the City to kingdom come. And finding a way to get there… would only be a matter of time.
Da Vinci was a Genius with a capital G. And honestly, neither Ritsuka or Mash had seen her angry. But now she was pissed. And Ritsuka felt that it was about time she stepped in.
"Da Vinci, hey, calm down, please?" Master skipped to the Caster, her hands raised in a placating gesture.
Leonardo sent her a burning look but took hold of her emotions.
"My apologies. I couldn't withstand the mockery," the Chaldea's lead technician lamented and waved Ritsuka to return.
Master observed her for another second, but returned to Dakota.
As for Destiny? She perfectly mimicked a small amount of concern and worry, very successfully hiding the schadenfreude she had just experienced.
Her time using Mimicry didn't go without consequence, it seems.
Da Vinci, meanwhile, sat down, calmed herself down, and asked Destiny a different question.
"Can you tell me more details about Abnormalities?"
Destiny smiled. This time earnestly. She had her fun, it was nice.
Now it's time to do her job properly.
*****
"Where were we?" Dakota asked as Ritsuka settled in a chair.
"You were talking about Roland's realizations."
"Right. That. Can you imagine Boss in a dress?"
"...Where is that coming from?"
"Just humor me," Dakota gave her a lopsided grin.
Ritsuka pondered for a second and closed her eyes - imagining. Roland in a dress…
Slender, but somewhat bulky hands, a long dress - white would fit best. Some accessories here, maybe even a flower crown and…
She couldn't hold it. Her laughter, lively and clear, echoed through the room.
Everyone looked at her for a second, but then returned to their own dialogue. Then, her eyes fluttered open to the picture of Roland, in that white dress she envisioned, with a crown atop his head. She laughed harder. Her sides were starting to hurt.
"A real killer aye?" Dakota asked, deviously, "The man was on a hunt to burn each and every one of these. But the affable lads from Chesed's floor had always been the social sort. Kept some hidden. Afterwards, these spread through the Library real fast."
"Can I, Ha-ha, get a copy?" Ritsuka smiled conspiratorially, which was mirrored back.
"Sure."
The picture traded hands and disappeared in Ritsuka's inner pocket.
"So, how is this related to these Realization thingies?"
"Was just getting to that. Basically, when someone exhibits strong emotions, they can start resonating with the Library and show a part of the person's memory. This will also, for whatever reason, make them fuse with the Abnormalities they are most compatible with emotionally and mentally."
"And Roland went through such a process?"
"Him and Angela both. Four times in Roland's case. Needless to say, it wasn't… pretty."
Ritsuka asked to elaborate with her chin.
"Well, imagine facing off your worst moments of life, or the questionable decisions or, really - anything. I was never told the mechanism behind the showing of memories. And frankly, I'd like to never experience something like that ever again. It was us who did the subduing, after all.
"And besides that - I won't tell you what Roland's memories were - he can do that himself, if you ask. What I can tell you though, those realizations lifted some weight off his chest. The only reason why he didn't kill Angela when he could."
They stayed in silence like that for a minute. Ritsuka was diligently trying to organize everything in her head. Dakota, internally lamenting that she wasn't being paid enough for this shit (not that she even was).
And that she really needed some tequila.
"How did they come to that? I get that Roland was seeking vengeance and Angela - compensation, but like… I've only heard Roland speak good things about Angela."
"Quite easy, really. Angela decided to stick to her course - wanting to be compensated, which would mean suffering for many. Roland couldn't stand that. So, despite knowing how Angela felt, he committed to his revenge too - and killed his friend - Olivier. From there was no turning back…
"Except, the perfect book was ready."
"The perfect book?"
"Oh, yeah, he didn't mention that. Basically, all of Light culminated into it. With that thing, Angela was fully human, and us, Librarians,would've got our freedom from that hell as well. But as I say, Roland had already committed to everything. So… he fought the Library. The entire thing. Climbed up from the bottom all the way to Hokma. Where the old geezer got Boss' ass beat."
"Wow…" Ritsuka exclaimed thoughtfully. She couldn't imagine the scale of it, but it sounded impressive.
"The only thing left for Angela to do, would've been to snap his neck. And she said no. Decided to return all of the guests back into flesh. Leaving herself vulnerable in the process… Roland returned the favor. The end."
You could see clearly how tired of talking Dakota was by that point, and how she quickly rounded that part up.
Ritsuka stayed silent for another moment.
"Thanks, for telling me all of that," and thanked her with a smile.
"Ha, don't mention it," Dakota let out a bark of laughter, and smiled in return.
Just in time, too.
*SNAP*
Roland appeared near the table and wearily inspected the room. After finding everyone and everything in one piece, he breathed out and smiled.
"Alright, people. It's currently lunch - so let's have one."
*SNAP*
A delicious looking assortment of dishes appeared on the table - all wonderfully made and decorated to the best of Roland's ability.
"Made all of this myself," he gave them a proud (maybe arrogant) smile, "Bet it's better than Archer's."
The collective mass of people slowly trickled to the table, eyeing the treats with no small amount of interest.
The librarians exchanged glances.
"I'm calling dibs on those crabs…" Dakota chirped, hands stretched to get the food.
"Those are lobsters!" exclaimed Destiny and too, started to tug on the lobster.
"Same. fucking. difference!"
The emotional damage from that statement was too great for Destiny to handle and she let go.
"HA!" victoriously, Dakota cried out.
Roland facepalmed.
Everyone else grinned.
It was a very lively lunch.
*****
A few hours later.
Da Vinci strolled through the white halls - her previously dour mood now smoothed a bit by a very delicious meal.
Without knocking, she barged into Doctor's - acting director's - room.
The man was buried underneath the piles of paper. Almost literally, as he was fending off the pile that was just about to fall on him.
"Da Vinci!" he exclaimed, and that momentary lapse in attention was all the demonic beast of eternal damnation needed to fall and get scattered on the floor.
For a very long second, Roman looked at it, with an almost tearful expression.
And then sighed, starting to pick up the documents one by one.
"So," he started, "I guess you didn't die inside of that Library."
He stopped for a second, and gave her an earnest smile.
"That's good."
"Sure is," Inventor agreed, "The tour, other than some things was simply amazing. So many new ideas, so much material to go through…"
Her face turned dreamy, but then soured.
"If it wasn't the utter disappointment of the City's technologies - it would've been very enjoyable."
"Was it nothing like Roland mentioned?"
"No," she shook her head, "It was everything and more. But it was all meaningless. Created for no other reason than to profit."
"Well," Roman decided to play the devil's advocate, "People need to eat something too…"
"Let me rephrase that. The City's technology is a mockery because it inherently lacks any intention to push humanity forward. To help it achieve something. Instead - it's soulless. And it feeds on the people that use it," she went quiet, but then added, in a whisper, "Sometimes literally."
A shiver went down Roman's spine and he decided to switch the topic, lest it takes a turn for the worst.
"And… anything else?"
"Well, for one, we now have this," a heavy tome dropped on the table.
Roman didn't even see her carry it.
"This is a book on all of the Abnormalities that Roland's crew ever encountered."
"That's good, great even," Romani's expression grew animated as he opened the book.
A hum of agreement was his answer.
"Besides that, we got some exciting materials for reference."
"Which is?"
"Roland's Reality Marble has people living there at all times."
That gave Roman a stop.
"I know, intriguing.
And… Actually, there is something I'd like to check. Do we have logs on Roland's minimum required mana consumption from before the Singularity?"
"Give me a moment," Romani grumbled and dug out the controls for the holomonitor.
A few clicks later, the Mana consumption was on full display.
"And what of now?"
"Data from today, actually. I lowered the mana output. He needed that to regenerate faster, but it didn't seem to work. I backed it back up after you left, but… here. Here's what we had… after?"
Roman looked at the graph dumbfounded.
"It became lower?"
"Seems so…" Da Vinci noted, lazily.
Roman looked at her.
"How come?"
"From what Roland told me - he has a way to turn books of a servant (I'll tell you later) into a different kind of energy. Though it's strange - I expected a slightly bigger increase."
She drummed her finger on the desk, other stacks of paper shaking with the rhythm.
"Hm, he did say that mana doesn't translate well into Light. That would explain why he didn't heal all too well - his body is made of it…" she muttered.
"Yeah, well, that's interesting and all, but I'm more concerned with a potentially self-sufficient servant walking this halls. What if he incarnates or something?"
"Oh, that," Roland's potential threat escaped her mind completely, "Don't worry about it. Whatever agenda he has - it doesn't concern Chaldea or our mission. He was pretty earnest and exposed more of his hand than I could've anticipated. He and Rituska seem to share a very special kind of bond as well, so, I don't expect him to turncoat."
Romani leveled her with an intense gaze, but relented.
"I'll trust your judgment."
"As you should," she nodded, a self-assured smile radiating smug energy.
Roman deadpanned, and the dialogue went to another topic.
The two spent the next couple of hours sorting both the papers and their thoughts out.
*****
*FLOP*
Ritsuka dropped on the bed.
Master felt a bit bloated from all the things she ate at the Library. Not that she regretted that. She would admit readily that Roland knew his sea food well.
*SIGH*
But that was her brain's poor attempt at diverting her attention from the important things. Like making her mind up regarding the whole trip.
She had all the puzzle pieces in her hands now. Well, at least she thought she had most of them.
Yet, the picture refused to form in her head.
She knew Roland's past. Just before he came to the Library. When he was in the Library.
What was she missing…
Oh.
Oooooh!
She rose up from the bed, and started to scratch her head violently.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid."
She really was. All the puzzle pieces? Yeah, sure. She didn't have the most important one - that's why she couldn't figure him out completely.
What had happened after the Library? She could feel it - the answer - near. Something scratching at the back of her head. A memory, a premonition.
But her mind stubbornly refused to cooperate and get through the emotional turmoil and sudden influx of information. Because of that, she couldn't really make her head work.
...maybe she just needed to unwind a bit?
She flopped back on the bed.
"God damn it."
She breathed out a lungful of air, some irritation mixed in.
"I'll get to the bottom of this," she swore under her breath.
And her reason for that?
Well, it's not wrong to try and understand a friend, is it?