Broker

Chapter 153

Sonya found a set of stairs that led down from the platform she’d come in on. She winced as she stepped down and glanced down at her body, pulling the armor off for a moment to examine herself. The healing is going so slowly, she thought as she alighted on the lower platform that turned out to be some kind of landing. It was also way larger than it looked from above, deceptively so. She turned on the spot and glanced back where she’d come from. There was something mounted to the wall directly across from where the rainbow glass started. A metal ring that shimmered with the same multicolored hue.

She narrowed her eyes and walked up to it, running her fingers over the surface. She felt one of her instincts rise up in response, resonating, a thrumming rhythm vibrating through her fingertips and down into her chest. Non-Euclidian? She reached up and touched her heart before looking up at the ring, A portal? She turned back to the bridge that lay shattered just a few feet out from the edge of the landing. She followed its direction with her eyes all the way to the vast city miles and miles away. Her eyes focused and she zoomed in at the spot that it was reaching towards. There was another end to the bridge, it sparked and sizzled at the end where the city began.

Power source? She thought before walking over to the bridge itself and crouching down. She ran her fingers over the bridge, It’s not rainbow colored, it’s optic fibers. She thought, surprised. Millions upon millions of tiny threads of crystalline glass woven together to create a solid platform. The light shining through created the multicolored effect. A rainbow bridge, she let out a shaky breath and looked up at the city in the distance again. It couldn’t be… She moved forward a bit to the edge and found where the break began. She squinted at the cracked and torn edges of the fibers and watched in real time as they slowly grew before dimming and cracking off, falling into the abyss below.

That’s when she saw something else, something that made a hole form in her stomach. A root. No, a vine. She thought as she reached down to touch it. She wrapped her fingers around the plant that seemed to be wrapped around the underside of the bridge and snapped off a piece. It regrew immediately as she got to her feet and rubbed it between her fingers. Pale white. She thought and looked down at the bridge that was struggling to restore itself. Suppressed. She held out her hand and willed Visage of Titania to create a vine in her palm. She compared the two and swallowed. Impossible… was she real? Was she here? Did… did she do this? Why?

Sonya looked down at the vines growing over the broken piece of bridge and held out her hand. It’s my power now, she thought and concentrated. She felt the instincts of the ability rise up in response and she reached out through it towards the plants only to meet resistance. It felt as if she was reaching across centuries, across millenia, touching something that shouldn’t be touched. But if that’s a portal, I need to get it working. She thought as she grit her teeth and pushed only for the vines to push back with their own suppressive force. She let out a gasp and stepped back, sweat dripping down her temple and felt Visage retreat.

She panted, “What am I doing wrong?”

She held out both hands this time, fingers curled like claws as she pushed harder, her expression grim faced. Tension burned in her muscles as her eyes focused on the vines. This time Visage barely responded at all, only a flicker of its power rising up to greet her. She cursed and dropped her hands to her sides, letting out a groan of frustration. “Damn it! Work!” She snarled and turned around to pace, It’s a mythic power, they respond to mindset more so than other abilities. She thought and rubbed her chin, I had an easier time back in Pakistan, why? No, that was Ishtar. Damn it, what does she do differently?

She sighed and sat down on the ground, “I need to get back! Ishtar, wake up, please. I need advice.”

Silence. Utter silence. She pushed forward and planted her hands at the edge of the bridge. She could see the vines, she could feel them distantly. She knew at the depths of her soul that she could grab hold of them and wrench control of them. It was like they were the only thing standing between her and coming home. Just some tiny plants. She slammed her fist on the bridge, cracking some of the filaments. They wriggled before regenerating and she looked down at bloodied knuckles. She tried again, and again, and again, blood dripping from her nose as she threw all her focus into forcing the vines to obey. Please. Let me go home!

She let out an exhausted gasp, her heart pounding and she threw her head back and screamed out her frustration. “What am I doing wrong?” She repeated, “Ishtar, please!” She begged, her hands falling to her sides. “I need you. Please, just talk to me!” She croaked.

A sigh rang out in the back of her mind. You’re becoming too dependent on me.

She sat up wiping the blood from her nose, “Ishtar?”

You know what to do, you’re just unwilling to admit that it’s so simple, Ishtar said cooly. I told you, you’ve been coasting, Sonya.

She got to her feet and clenched her fists, “I’m doing the best I-”

No, you aren’t.

Her shoulders sank and she looked down at her feet. She felt that hollow spot in her gut grow larger, like a yawning chasm in her spirit. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes as she felt Augmented Reality activate of its own accord. She opened her eyes and looked up as she saw her own face take form across from her, a wisp of smoke that drifted back before standing a few feet away. Ishtar’s expression was stoic but relaxed, her arms crossed and her head tilted as she regarded Sonya with a thoughtful gaze.

“You’re doing better, I will concede that point,” She said and checked her nails, “You’ve internalized what we talked about in The Hague. It’s not enough, though, your mindset is still off and that’s why you’re struggling here.”

Sonya threw out her arms, “What mindset? Explain it to me!” She said, she was so tired of hearing these indirect responses from Ishtar.

Ishtar frowned, “Sonya, you know I can’t give you the answers,” She said sadly before glancing back at the bridge, “You need a Villain’s mindset. A real villain’s mindset. You’re missing something, that one internalized belief above all others,” She looked back at Sonya and fixed her with a stare, her eyes glowing with fiery intensity, “Until you can make that a part of who you are, we won’t ever get anywhere near becoming whole,” Ishtar said before letting out another sigh at the desperate look in Sonya’s eyes. 

“I just don’t understand what you mean,” Sonya said.

“You will,” Ishtar said with a small smile, “For now,” she pointed at the vines on the bridge, “Who was Titania?”

“Myth says she was the queen of the fae,” Sonya said frankly, “I researched her after I got the power I know all-”

“Clearly you don’t know anything about her,” Ishtar clipped back, “Do you honestly think a fae queen would frantically approach this? Tense muscles, desperate thoughts, forcing her power to work?” Ishtar barked out a laugh, “You were doing so well when it came to letting it all roll off of you. Do you have that little faith in those you left behind? Do you not think they can handle it?”

Sonya bit her lip, “But if Liberty-”

“Answer the question,” Ishtar said firmly.

Sonya let out a breath and slowly began to nod. “Chunhua is strong, powerful, she can keep Liberty at bay. Marta can help if she’s forced to, even if it means blowing our cover a bit,” Sonya said with a sigh, feeling tension leaving her muscles, “Amos can come up with a back-up plan, and I invested steelblood into Da-som to make his healing power more easy to use.”

Ishtar titled her head, “And?”

“The kids are ready,” Sonya said, looking up and returning her stare. She clenched her fists and felt her lips tremble a bit. “I’m proud of what they’ve grown into,” She squeezed her eyes together, “Even that bastard is there, he doesn’t want something bad happening to the camp, it would be disadvantageous for him. I hate it, but I can count on him to act as well if need be. Even if it’s just to make himself look good,” She said with bile on her lips.

“Those two Bluestar sent over, Crowley and Canis, they’re better than they know,” Sonya said, “Axel and Rouge are outstanding heroes,” She sighed again and felt a pressure in her lower back ease that she didn’t even know was there. “Carla knows what she’s doing too, they don’t need me even if they don’t realize it.”

Ishtar tilted her head and nodded, “Feel better?”

Sonya exhaled and threw her head back, “Yes,” She said as her fingers twitched at her side. She bounced a bit on the balls of her feet. “Much better,” Her eyes fluttered as she let the ease wash over her. There was nothing to worry about. Nothing she couldn’t overcome. Even if she had to turn the world on its head, she would do what she set out to. She just had to let the inconveniences wash over her and past her. She exhaled again and looked into her hud, pulling up some dance music. She smiled mischievously to herself as Ishtar gave her a grin.

“That’s the way,” Ishtar murmured as she began to vanish, “Have fun with it. Enjoy it. Revel in it like a Faerie.”

The music started to play in Sonya’s head, a jaunty beat that thrummed through her chest and into her limbs. She swayed a little on the spot and hummed, taking a step to the left, and then the right, and then she rose off the ground and spun in the air. She felt something bubble up inside of her chest that burst out in a tittering laugh like falling glass. She did a flip in the air, a loop, she spun and laughed and giggled as she felt those instincts roar back up into the back of her mind. Stronger and louder than ever before. Her lips parted as white light began to gleam on her bare skin, her hair became like filaments, blazing with a cascade of pale light. She threw her head back and let out a howl of delight and exaltation as a thrill went through her entire body.

She twirled, streamers forming on her arms and legs, her clothing vanishing in blue sparks only to be replaced by a flowing white gown. She let the instinct guide her, followed them, danced with them. She let the stressed and fears and worries wash away. She would pass through them or over them, around them, dancing with them and using them to her advantage. That’s how she worked, thats what she did. That was her modus operandi, she was the force that would intercede and break the storyline, turning it in whatever direction she wanted. Her lips parted and a song rose up from within her, words in a language she did not know but that felt so deeply bound to her heart. 

The words were sorrowful, filled with regret, even as she danced with lively abandon. She let the world pass her by as her mind drifted into the power. Her skin glowed as something metal rose up and formed over the upper half of her face. She spun again and held her hands high, floating over the bridge as she smiled down at the plants that had been suppressing it for aeons. 

“It’s time to rest, go back to where you came from,” She whispered, her voice a melody on the wind as her glowing hair danced about her serene face.

Petals exploded into the air around her that condensed into flowers. They drifted out and around her, glowing with that eerie pale white light. A bloom of illumination that spread out to fill the void that surrounded her, that cast out and reached towards the distant city. Below her, those vines that had held fast for time immemorial began to glow, life and power flooding into them. At first they began to squeeze down on the broken bridge, trying to strangle the last mote of life out of it. She chuckled and shook her head, “No no, go to sleep now,” She cooed, lowering her hands, “Come home.”

The vines writhed and then slowly, slowly, began to retract back down beneath the bridge. She felt them recede all the way back to a spot just beneath where she had been standing before. A single flower hanging upside-down that slowly began to dissolve into motes of light that drew up into the air and joined the other petals. More motes raced across the vast void from the city, tiny balls of light that arrived at her side like children eager to see their mother once more. She caught one over her hand and admired it as she drifted back down to the ground. She landed on heels made of glass that shimmered as the bridge trembled beneath her feet.

She smiled to herself and stepped towards the edge only for it to begin growing at a rapid pace, the suppression gone, the filaments grew and grew and grew. They raced out ahead of her as she walked, sauntering across the bridge towards the distant city. Her hair flowed behind her as she reached the middle point of the void and watched the two ends of the bridge collide with one another. In an instant a deep glorious rush of power flooded across it, flickers of light that raced down the innumerable paths as the entire bridge glowed with restored life and power. She looked up at the city in the distance and smiled at it, observing the gaunt figures that stood on its outer walls, waiting for invaders.

“I’ll be back, and then I’ll claim you for my own,” She giggled and waved at it, turning away as the light reached the landing. She strode back across the bridge as the ring against the wall flared to life, multicolored light radiating from its metal surface as a pool like a dungeon portal began to form within its bounds. It swirled and undulated as she drew closer, stopping before it and drawing her eyes across its rippling surface. Once again, her instincts guided her; “Take me where I need to go,” She said casually, her fingers brushing the metal ring. The rippling portal went still like a sheet of quiet water in an instant, responding to her words.

She stared through it and grinned, “Sounds like fun,” She chuckled and stepped on through.

–

Ishtar lingered there, the illusion pulling itself back together as she stared at Sonya’s back. She let out a breath and shook her head, “That was quite the sad little song, Sonya,” She said and looked back at the city, humming to herself. She walked towards the bridge and admired the pulsing mana that passed through it. “A villain’s mindset,” She chuckled and crossed her arms behind her back. “You’re so close, little sister,” She said with a sad smile. “I wonder what will happen when you figure it out. It’s so simple, you’ll be mad at me, will I disappear? I suppose I’m okay with that, as long as it makes you strong.” She laughed and let out a sigh.

Her body began to disappear as she strode towards the distant city, a song on her lips.

“From behind my mask of iron, for each wicked sin I atone. 

I gaze upon the world once more, from atop my lonely throne.”

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