Azure: Gunner

Chapter 6-15

“Well shit, ain’t that a right fucking mess?”

“No Kerner, it’s not a mess. It’s fucking clean as a whistle. So clean that I’m here, begging for help, ‘cause I ain’t got shit.”

“Well my loyal listeners, you heard my man DV! I’m sure someone out there heard, saw, or fucking smelled something! All you gotta do is send word to us here at K-RAD LA, and we’ll get your tips straight to DV on the D-L!”

- DJ Demophon Kerner with guest DV, on K-RAD LA, May 4th, System Year 453

“Azure, I’ll admit the fights today didn’t turn out as I expected. Your team did well, as did you individually. However, there’s been a complication which we need to discuss.”

“Sure, boss, hit me,” I replied with a grin, still riding high on my victory. I was definitely not drunk though. I’d never been drunk.

Thompson gave me a hard look, then sighed. She went to a cabinet against the wall, opened it, and pulled out a small metal vial and handed it to me.

“We can’t have this discussion with you in this state. Drink this.”

I looked at the vial in my hand with distaste. “But I don’t even like the taste of beer,” I complained to her, outraged at the injustice. “If I drink this, I’ll have to start over afterwards!”

I gave her my best stubborn look, only to see it returned tenfold. When I felt her mana starting to press into me, I realized she was dead serious. I unscrewed the cap and drank the potion. It tasted horrible, like something better used to clean floors, but immediately took effect and sobered me up completely. She nodded in satisfaction as my expression grew serious.

“Better,” she said. “Now, the reason Yuri wasn’t out there is that he’s still in the infirmary.”

My eyes widened with surprise, but she held up a hand to stop me and continued talking.

“Ironically, and unfortunately, Yuri is dealing with his own significant corruption after your fight.”

At that, my jaw actually dropped open and I sat there, stunned.

“But how –“

“It’s not your fault,” Thompson told me, “at least not directly. Yuri used a powerful shield enchantment against you, one designed to stop physical impacts. It was strong enough to completely protect him from your bullets even at point-blank range. The item was burned out in the fight, but I believe it was a high Tier 2 enchantment overloaded onto a high Tier 0 substrate.”

“What –“

“There are many things that can go wrong when you attempt to use items far beyond your Level,” she cut me off again. “To avoid the restrictions on using mana-crystal powered items, whoever enchanted Yuri’s shield used a technique that involves grinding a mana crystal to dust and dissolving it into a solution.

“Effectively, this makes a short-lived magical paint or ink which can be used to create runes that will power themselves for a very brief period of time. Technically, it’s not considered a mana crystal anymore since it can no longer be recharged, so he was officially within the rules.

“However, this technique comes with significant downsides, the most relevant of which is that it leaks, as you would say, a shit-ton of mana. I have no doubt Yuri believed you incapable of serious magical attacks and expected that he would come through the fight completely uninjured, thanks to the shielding effect.

“In that case, he likely would have been fine. When you cast the firewall, however, he suffered severe burns over much of the front of his body, which opened pathways for the foreign mana to invade his body.

“Thankfully, Elaine” – that must be the name of the other Healer, I realized – “recognized the possibility and had Yuri taken to the infirmary before he was healed. There was nothing that could be done to reverse the corruption of course, but it preserved his privacy. We’ve been keeping him asleep for the time being, to ensure his body is fully stable, but when he awakes he is in for a shock.”

“And he’s going to blame me,” I said, bitterly. The sweet taste of victory had turned to ash while Thompson spoke. The Head Instructor simply nodded.

“Most likely. While I can’t say for sure, I believe there is a high probability he will withdraw from the Academy once he sees the extent of the transformation.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“That… doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me,” I said slowly, although from the way Thompson spoke it was obvious she thought it was.

“Azure, if he leaves, it will be with a grudge, likely focused on you but undoubtedly blowing back on the Guild as a whole. The only good news, I’m afraid, is that it’s now a matter of honor and not because he’s discovered you know about the dagger.”

“What does that mean and why is it good news?” I still had very little clue what politics was all about. I needed Thompson – or Arlo or Tara – to spell things out for me.

“Because it makes it much less likely that his father will have you and your team quietly killed. Many of LA’s wealthiest families have developed a peculiar sense of honor over the last fifty or so years. They fancy themselves ‘nobles’, and ancient pre-System ‘noble traditions’ are all the rage among them. In order to ‘save face’, Yuri will have to deal with you personally.

“To be clear, this is still a poor outcome for you – and for the Guild. But at least for you, it’s better than the one where his father pays a Tier 3 or 4 Assassin to wipe you all out in your sleep.”

With that ominous statement, Thompson sat back and crossed her arms. I buried my head in my hands and rubbed at my temples, feeling a headache coming on.

Wasted fucking hells, I didn’t even start this shit with Yuri! Why the fuck is he making my life so complicated? Things would be going pretty great here if it wasn’t for him…

It was too much for me to process right then. Part of me wanted to assert myself, to take charge, but mostly I was just… lost.

“So what do I do?” I asked in a tone that was definitely not a whine.

“First, you’ll have to tell your team the key points – of course, the dagger must remain strictly secret – but the rest of it now concerns them as well for as long as they associate with you. They need to be aware of the risks, particularly if Yuri does withdraw from the Academy. If he stays, well, at least we can keep an eye on him.

“Either way, you’re unlikely to be at risk here. Probably not on your first, supervised, missions after graduation. Eventually though, you’ll be on your own like any other Delver team.”

“So you think he’s going to try and track me down and kill me?!” I asked, still finding it a bit difficult to believe. “He’s the one that chose to use a dangerous item! He must have known what could happen to him!”

“Azure, we’re talking about someone who snuck into your bedroom and attacked you because he thought his supposed fiancee was leaving him for you. Do you really want to count on him understanding his own role in this situation?”

I sat back in the chair, flushing. Shit, she sounds so fucking reasonable when she talks like that. Hazel never – oh dead fucking gods, the kids!

I quickly explained to Thompson about my adopted siblings back in Sunland, the words spilling out of my mouth in a panic. She had to tell me to slow down, but it wasn’t a terribly long explanation. I waited, heart racing, while she thought for several long moments.

“Do you believe that this… Sister Mercy would willingly give up the children? Moreover, would they willingly leave Sunland, if they had a better option?”

“Uhh,” I forced myself to think for a moment, trying to put aside my surprise at the question and focus on the answer.

“I don’t think Hazel would put up a fight, but I could be wrong. But, why do you ask?”

“I must accept some portion of the responsibility for this outcome, distasteful as it is. Had it not been for the dagger and my resulting desire to keep Yuri under observation, I would have expelled him from the school after his attack on you. In that case, the duel would never have happened and most likely he would have moved on.

“There is a small orphanage in LA that is run by former Delvers. Delvers, as a whole, are less likely than average to have children. Of course some still do, and sadly many leave them behind with limited support when they fall. I propose to send a team to Sunland to pick up your adopted siblings and place them in this orphanage.”

“But won’t that just bring them closer to Yuri’s family?” I objected.

“Physically, yes. Politically, it should make them much safer. That orphanage is full of the children of dead Delvers, Azure. How do you think the Guild would react if they were endangered for any reason, or their classmates spirited away and killed?”

“Oh,” I said softly, imagining Mason’s reaction. I didn’t know if the Black Razor loved kids, specifically, but I was sure many Delvers would not take it well, to say the least.

“Is this place… nice?” I asked, hopefully, garnering a rare smile from Thompson in response.

“I would imagine it compares quite favorably with their current living conditions,” she said drily, and I nodded.

“What do I need to do?” I asked, determined to see this through. A better life for the kids, away from Sunland, in Lost Angels itself! At least maybe some good can come out of this shitstorm!

“Wait,” the Head Instructor replied coolly. “We need to see if Yuri chooses to stay or leave first.”

“No,” I said immediately, momentarily surprising myself at my firm, instinctive reaction. “He could stay here and still send someone after them! I heard those bodyguards of his are still in Backhorn. I doubt anyone in Sunland could stop them if they went after the kids!”

“He would hardly send someone so distinctive, but your point is valid nonetheless,” Thompson replied, and I felt immense relief. She opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a pen and paper and set them in front of me.

“Write them a letter, explaining the situation as much as you think they can understand. Write a second one, for Hazel, with more detail. If Yuri withdraws, I will send a trusted instructor, probably JJ, along with him to ‘make sure he reaches his family safe and sound’. JJ can carry the letters to HQ and I’ll include my own with instructions to have a team go to Sunland and retrieve them. If Yuri chooses to stay, I’ll send them with next week’s Courier instead.

“Get to work. I’ll have Wilson send your team back to their celebrations and you can join them when you’re finished.”