I hate everyone.

[therealkaichan]

Chapter Nine

Spies.


Kael thought that all the spies were a little lovable.

He had the twins, and he knew there were at least three others (two of them were teachers). Of course the most effective ones were his favorites, and he wasn’t one to easily give preference to anyone.

The twins, of course, were also the most dangerous. And the most prone to eventually get into a problem that was much bigger than them...
And somehow, he had the feeling that one of the girls, if not both of them, would soon fly too close to the sun.

It would be a shame to watch such talented little minds burn.

But such was military life, wasn’t it? It was unfair and it sometimes ended far too quickly.



Aileen noticed something was missing.

It was something with brown-reddish hair, and who shared her face.

Something Alyssa shaped, yes.

And the practical class was just about to begin, and even she could tell doing her channeling exercises was pretty stupid when there was nobody to shape magic by her side.

She sighed.

“Hey Aileen.”
“Kana...”
“You look so worried that even I can tell.”
“Alyssa is not here yet.”
“Maybe she’s skipping class today?”
“She better not!”
“She never did that before, you shouldn’t be that angry at her.”
“But what if this is only the beginning of her starting to lose her way?”
“Really? Alyssa of all people?” Kana chuckled a little. Aileen was really strict with her elder sister when it came to it, wasn’t she?
“... I guess you have a point.” Aileen sighed.
“Maybe she’s not feeling okay?”
“Checking on her would be a good idea, wouldn’t it?”
“Doing that sounds good. Let me know if I can help you with anything, okay?”
“I will, don’t worry!”


Alyssa went trough the papers again.

This was familiar, of course. The method, the arrangement of the bodies, the marks left. Everything was. But as many who had been studying something for long enough, it was hard for her to distinguish which one of the thousands of cases she had read fitted the situation the most.

Probably it was because of the sheer number of bodies. She didn’t remember many experiments involving this many subjects, as most scientists who experimented directly on humans were really careful to keep their work as low profile as possible, or at least to work with as fewer subjects as they could, but she did remember a few that were similar even in low scale.

Her books and notes were all over their room when Aileen arrived.

“Sister, really!”
“Oh. You’re here early.”
“You skipped class of course I’m here early! I can’t do any of the practical classes without you.”
“I got sidetracked.”
“Sidetracked? Really. No, no, no. You’re just being really really creepy, as you always are when it comes to these things.”
“Maybe I am. But it’s really impressive... A large scale experiment like this hasn’t been done since war time.”
“So it was an experiment after all...?” Aileen sat by her sister, now curious as well.
“It does look that way. The circumstances were really specific, even up to the time of the day and alignment of the earth with the sun.”
“That’s a lot of work...”
“I’d say that they were hopeful of actually achieving results. And considering that the number of deaths is equal to the number of disappeared students, I’d say that it wasn’t any successful...”
“I’d say that they tried a lot of times, because it would be easier to kill off a lot of students when things were calm, than killing them little by little once everyone was alert.”
“That sounds logical enough.”
“It sounds a little horrible too... I checked the student’s files and there seemed to be no link between them all...”
“I’d say they tried with different types of subjects then. Maybe they didn’t have complete notes on the kind of subject used in the experiment.”
“It only gets more complicated the more I think about it.”
“At any rate, I still have a few notes to go trough, so don’t overthink too much. Go and take a rest, I’ll keep on checking these.”
“Okay! Let me know if you find anything or if I can help.”
“I will.”


As a fan of Gabriel Rhodes, Alyssa didn’t believe in coincidences. No, if things were happening like this, then everything was building up to this moment. The information she had found, the location of the priest, these experiments...

It was all taking somewhere, and that somewhere couldn’t be safe at all.

And yet, even knowing that, she kept on searching. Kept on digging... Maybe the answer would be there soon.



Hans wasn’t prone to making phone calls, but if the girl wanted the priest to know she was after him, he didn’t mind taking a moment to lend a hand. He was so kind sometimes, that it was hard to believe it.

“Hello?” Came the voice from the other side. Of course this wasn’t a number that often got calls, was it?
“Good afternoon, Darius. It’s Hans.”
“Good afternoon as well. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Actually it’s more like the other way around. Can you put Attis on the line?”
“Of course, please wait just a moment.” The Priest Attendant sounded worried, but he said nothing else. About five minutes of silence ensued before a new voice could be heard.
“Hans.”
“Good afternoon, Attis.”
“What do you want?” That straight bored tone was the thing Hans liked the most about talking to the High Priest, so he didn’t mind it at all.
“Today I spoke to one of my schoolmates. Alyssa Ivers. She seemed... Interested in you.”
“Interested how?”
“That interested.”
“I see.”
“I thought she’d like it if I let you know, so I did, out of the goodness of my heart.”
“Useful. That’s good to know.”
“You seem to have fans even in the military, mister High Priest.”
“It’s a little surprising, I must say. But I will be looking forward to hear more.”
“So will I. Have a good day.”
“You as well.”

After that there was only the sound of the line as Attis hung the phone up. Hans smiled. He could declare this one as a mission accomplished, right?

Now everyone was happy.



Aileen woke up to her sister’s excited screams. She rolled her eyes, fixed her hair, and came out of the room.
“So, you found it?”
“Found it? I’ve found the best thing ever! Come here!”
Aileen sighed and walked closer.
“Here I am...”
“Okay, listen. It turns out that experiments with similar results have been made lots of times in the past, in order to create the perfect mage. Of course there aren’t records of one of these experiments ever succeeding, but it is told that one time a scientist actually managed to make it work... However there is no proof or anything.”
“This closes perfectly with the theory that they are creating a army... Right?”
“It does. But guess what.”
“Tell me where Gabriel Rhodes fits into this.”
“Riiight here. It is said that he was the one that actually got a successful result.”
“That makes no sense... If he had been able to create a perfect mage, then why is he not famous all over the world? And where exactly is that mage?”
“Well, it’s just a rumor and you know how rumors are.”
“That is true, but anyway. It smells fishy.”
“Yes, it does. But it’s the best clue I have on finding a little more about the experiment. Maybe it can help us prevent another case like this.”
“It still sounds silly to me.”
“Well, it’s not up to me. I guess you should go and run this by the Acting Director. I’ll prepare my own report for the boss, and there we are.”
“It sounds good enough. I’ll go now then. I’m sure he won't mind me hurrying.”
“If anything, he’ll be relieved. I’ll see you later, okay?”
“All right!”

Aileen quickly left the room and Alyssa frowned, reaching for her papers. It was time to write, it seemed, and she had to be really careful with the encoding in this one. She could run no risks at all, she was pretty aware by now that this was probably much larger than she thought.


Kana was her friend, and Aileen couldn’t help but feel a little bad about lying to her, as she said today she had to deliver a letter to the Director’s office. Still what she didn’t know couldn’t hurt her, and she was probably saving her a bigger problem anyway, so ‘a little’ was just enough.

However, and quite unexpectedly for her, the Acting Director was very direct on his intentions for them from now on.
“Please, withdraw from the investigation.”
“But sir, I think we may be getting somewhere!” Aileen wasn’t usually one to refuse higher orders, but this wasn’t logical at all.
“You are. This is why I don’t want any of you involved. It’s my responsibility as your superior to keep you alive and safe.”
“I understand... Though I can’t answer if we happen to find anything else.”
“If you do, you would do well in not talking about it.”
“Yes, sir...”
“Please understand the gravity of the issue. For all that I know we could already have someone on our tracks.”
“I do, I do. Excuse me, sir.”

Aileen left the room perplexed. To have him have them withdraw so fast was really surprising. She had expected him to eventually take over, but not this fast, and definitely not with this little information. Then again, Aileen remembered reading that the Acting Director’s brother had died during a mission when taking over a scientific research laboratory, so it could be related to that.

She would probably be very reluctant herself if she were in his place.

As she walked on the way back to her room, somehow everything looked more suspicious, and everyone looked a little more evil. Was she just growing paranoid? She had just talked for a little with the Acting Director, and he hadn’t confirmed a thing...


She had barely opened the door of her room, when Alyssa came up to her, almost as if she had been waiting for a while.
“Aileen, we’re going to the church.”
“W-what?”
“We’re going to the church. I’m going to talk to that priest and settle this once for all.”
“The Acting Director said we had to withdraw, sister. Let’s leave this...”
“This is not as easy as withdrawing.”
“What do you mean?”
“This is not something we can just withdraw on. He knows how big this is.”
“All the more reason.” Aileen sighed.
“You say that, but you don’t really want to withdraw, do you?”
“I don’t... But I have a bad feeling.” Aileen finally admitted.
“So do I. But I think it will be much worse if we stay still.”
“Is it that bad...?”
“I’ll tell you on the way. Let’s move.”


Aileen had no idea of what excuse Alyssa made up to get permission for them to make a trip. She didn’t even want to know, to be sincere. She could be really creepy and really weird when she wanted to, and Aileen just wasn’t in the mental state to wonder about that.
Kana wished her good luck, and said she hoped their grandmother would get better soon, so at least she had a small idea of her excuse.

As they arrived to the bullet train, Aileen finally decided that it was time to talk. She dragged her sister to one of the cabins, and looked at her.
“So, it’s time for my explanation yet?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Good! So is this about trying to make mages or not?”
“I think it’s even worse... That wasn’t an experiment to make any of those people any class of perfect mage.”
“Then...?”
“Do you remember that theory, about people being some kind of energy circuits to cause change on the world?”
“The really crazy one, yes.”
“Well, it wasn't that crazy. Many important scientists believed in it, and it made complete sense in the context of their investigations.”
“But it also said that there was a thing such as ‘fate’ and that every person was stuck with that.”
“Yes. But that’s not important right now.”
“Then...?”
“The few that tried the experiment before, believed that it was possible to use an anomaly in the energy flow to be able to meet the ‘goddess’.”
“That was what they called the will of the world, right?”
“Yes. Now that’s an unproven theory if there is one. There is absolutely no proof of our world having any kind of will or conscience.”
“So they tried to prove it, didn’t they?”
“Yes, but most of the people who worked on that were never able to get any proof at all. At most they died, or their subjects died, stopping the anomaly. It was pointless and the investigation got scrapped eventually.”
“But that man still did it?”
“Yes. And many think that he was successful.”
“Then... It means he should be able to tell us if any of the fifty pairs used in the experiment did manage to open the way, that’s what you are thinking Alyssa?”
“Yes. It’s possible that this could be the answer.”
“And this is why we can’t let this chance pass... Because you have enough leverage on the man to get the information... But if this Director or any of his men were able to go trough to the goddess, they could be dangerous. I get it.”
“Yes, that’s pretty much it.”
“Then... Let’s do it. Let’s stop this before more people have to die uselessly.”
“Yes. That’s what we promised after all. To always do our best.”
“I’m ready.”



The girls arrived at the church in the mid afternoon. The Priest Attendant greeted them with a smile, and said he would arrange an audience with the High Priest. If he knew anything, he didn’t say a word, and even as he guided them to one of the offices deep within the temple, he only smiled a kind smile.

Alyssa of course went in first, almost charging. Because even if it was an important moment, and maybe the balance of the world depended on her, this was really important.
He was a little less impressive than she had imagined, but quite a bit more handsome. She had trouble imagining anyone ever forgetting his face, and of course that silver hair. She had read about the silver hair in her books, but it was prettier live.
She had to use some serious willpower to avoid jumping at him.

“Gabriel Rhodes.” She said. She knew it was him. She simply knew it.
“Alyssa Ivers, I take it.”
“Yes, that’s me. Hello. Nice to meet you.” And there she was, speaking in short sentences. Aileen sighed.
“Hello sir. I apologize for my sister’s behavior... I’m Aileen.”
“Fraternal twins, huh?”
"Yes." Alyssa was talking again, not even letting her sister answer. "But that's not the important part, sir."
“Then I’m quite eager to hear which is.” The High Priest looked up from his papers, quickly getting up and walking to the door. “Darius, I believe the students should be about to leave.”
“Yes, I’ll go supervise them...” For a moment both priests crossed looks. The tension was so much that Aileen thought it could be cut with a knife, and when it was getting even more weird, the younger priest smiled at them, and left without further word.
“I apologize. Now, tell me about it.”
“We’re looking for information.” Aileen intervened before her sister said anything, probably saving her from saying something really stupid. “We could say it’s a trade, if you’d like it that way.”
“Oh... So you are Kael’s favorite spies... I see now.”
“Are we famous or something?” Alyssa shrugged. “But we’re just investigating. No strange spy-things today.”
“I see. And what kind of investigation would that be?”
“It’s a long story... Regarding an experiment you tried at least once.”
“I’m listening.”


Alyssa spoke for about an hour. The Priest listened to her words, his expression never changing. The more she talked, the more uncomfortable Aileen grew. There was something really wrong with that man.
“And that is all we have.”
“Yes, the proof seems to point to that experiment.”
“Do you think it’s the same?” Alyssa was the only one talking by now, while Aileen had chosen to keep her distance a little awkwardly.
“I don’t think I can tell without seeing the place where the experiment was completed.”
“We could arrange a trip for you, sir. I don’t think the Acting Director would mind.”
“I don’t think he would either, but that is a road you may prefer to abstain from.”
“Is it a warning?”
“Yes. Remember that once you start walking a road, you can’t change until you find a different one. And it may be too late by then.”
“We understand.” Aileen walked a step forward. “We have chosen to walk this road, because not taking it could end up with much worse things.”
“Whoever is doing the little experiments could be planning more, is that it?”
“Yes. Or they could be successful already. And who knows what could happen then.”
“I see. Your little sister is a sensible one, Alyssa.”
“She is. That’s why she’s the best partner.” Alyssa smiled at that, and Aileen sighed. “So should we arrange the trip?”
“Yes, please.”

Aileen left to make the relevant phone calls, while Alyssa was left chatting with her life time hero. It wasn’t that bad so far.


The Priest Attendant walked all of them to the door of the temple. He smiled at the High Priest, and asked him to please behave during his trip. The Priest smiled, and promised he would do as little harm as possible. The younger man seemed a little worried, but said nothing.
Aileen and Alyssa could easily tell that many things had gone between those two, but neither said a word or even changed their expression. They were top notch spies, after all.

The trip back was as fast as the previous one. The High Priest was silent most of the trip, and the twins didn’t dare to interrupt whatever thoughts were going trough his head.


As they arrived, the Lieutenant General himself was waiting at the gates.
“I must admit that when I asked you to withdraw, I didn’t expect this.” He said.
“I’m sorry sir.” Aileen smiled a little. “But we did what we had to do.”
“This is a dangerous man to bring into a school.” Kael smiled. “Welcome, High Priest Attis.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant General.”
There was a silent moment of understanding between them.
“I expect that you will be doing what you have to do, and then leaving as soon as possible.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Then please, make yourself at home. Try not to open up any of my students.”
“I’ll try, though I cannot promise anything.”
“If it is fine with you, girls, I will show the visitor the way to his room. And please, this time do withdraw.”
“Yes, sir.”

They would try at least.


Alyssa entered the room first, and Aileen went in right after her. They were both tired, but satisfied.
“Aileen...?”
“Yes?”
“Let’s agree now... This was the last thing. Okay?”
“All right... We did a lot, right?”
“Yes. We did more than we thought we would. So let’s write our informs and play it low now.”
“Okay. It’s good to calm down and wait until the waters are more calm.”
“Yes. Now let’s sleep. I’m dying.”
“Good night, big sister.”
“Good night.”

They slept the whole night in peace. They had worked hard, and done the best they could, so there was nothing to regret, right? They had even brought over the only man that could help to solve this whole mystery. Maybe soon the answer to why the Director was playing war would be finally uncovered.

Aileen, who had been the most reluctant to go further into this, now could barely contain her excitement. They were a part of something big. They were actually helping, doing something for other people... Wasn’t that the reason why they had decided to do this after all? She really couldn't blame Alyssa for having been so eager.

That morning, Aileen woke up first, and ran to check the papers before they went back to the Acting Director. After that, she picked everything up, and to avoid any further temptation (either hers or her sister’s) she packed everything up, and left to return the documents.



Alyssa woke up a little later. It was rare to have her sister wake up first, she wasn’t exactly a morning person, but it wasn’t such a rare occurrence for her to suspect anything.

However, and no matter how much she thought it over, there was a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach and it wouldn’t leave. It could be paranoia, she didn't deny it, but it was best to be safe than sorry, right?

Alyssa got up quickly and got dressed. It was fine, right? The feeling would leave as soon as she found Aileen. She was probably doing something silly, as she usually was. Maybe running around one of her friends, or trying to get into some new gossip... And she would laugh, and think that she had been stupid, because there was nothing to worry about.

She asked around, as she usually did, but there was no clue. The only thing she found was that someone had seen her outside, bordering the closed-off zone where the killings had happened. Alyssa frowned at that, was Aileen looking for any clues? Hadn’t they agreed on laying low and not getting into any trouble for a while? The sinking feeling only got worse and worse.

As she ran down the stairs, the feeling threatened to push her down. The feeling threatened her more and more, and she knew it wasn't fine. It wasn’t right. They had promised after all. They didn’t break promises, ever.

Alyssa looked at the sealed area in the distance, and only saw the figure of a man. She could tell exactly who it was, and whatever strength she had lost because of the fear, was back now as she ran to the zone.

“Alyssa.” The High Priest was facing her, his hands behind his back, and his long, silver hair was loose. There was something off, but that wasn’t as surprising.
“They said... My sister came this way...?”
“Alyssa, tell me. Have you ever heard about the story of Icarus...?”
“Everyone has. Have you seen her?”
“Yes, I have. She was a little bird, who flew too close to the sun.”
“No. No, no... This is not right.”
“Or maybe she was just a fool.” The man stepped closer and closer to her. “But now, there is no point in thinking too much about this.”
“What do you mean?! If she’s hurt, if she...” Alyssa’s breath caught in her throat. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t.
“She’s not hurting anymore, that’s for certain.” A smile slowly crept to his features. It was a wide smile, the smile of a madman. Now seeing him closer, Alyssa could see the signs of a fight on his robes. It was wrong, so wrong.
“You...”
“Oh no don’t misunderstand, I didn’t do it.”
“Then... Then who! Where is she?!”
“She’s gone. You can feel it right? Right here.” One of the Priest’s hands moved forward, leaving a bloodied fingerprint over where the girl’s heart was.
“She can’t be gone... We promised.”
“You promised you would leave together. She said that as well.”
“Then...”
“But she’s still here.” His smile grew even wider, and his eyes were now bright, as if he had suddenly recovered the life he had taken away from him so long ago. “Let me show you.”

Alyssa couldn’t even move as she saw the Priest’s hand get closer. As he drew bloody symbols on her forehead. As he left the bloody fingers on her lips.

And as she took a breath, as she instinctively licked her dried, bloodied lips, it happened.

She saw everything.


Attis caught the girl in his arms. Yet another fool. Yet another stupid promise... And now, she had seen too much, and ‘too much’ hurt, and it was hard on the brain... He left her in the ground, careful not to hurt her, and walked away.

He wondered if she would wake up soon. If she would understand once she did, how her sister had honored the promise.

Time would tell.

However, time was running short.



----

Notes:

I don't know.

Bye.