Standing in the canyon and looking at the chaos happening in front of the fortress, Academician came to the conclusion that this whole situation was a little bit more than a simple pickle. Even now, he saw how iternians vehicles were arriving by land because the reclaimers refused to let Eugenia anywhere near the fortress. His eyes spotted Artificer floating before Wyrm Lord, the sentient AI was busy talking with the abominable mutant. Seeing the potential hidden in the giant wyrm made his heart skip a beat, and he played with a vial in his hand to calm himself.
Wyrm Lord's beam had exited the solar system. The Organization's presence in space was weaker, but Academician's personal biosatellites transmitted him a video feed of this magnificent weapon of destruction. Before leaving the system, the brilliant ray of light had speared through an island-sized meteor, leaving only shattered remains behind. Without a doubt, all three major countries will declare Wyrm Lord to be an apocalypse class.
Iterna, Oathtakers, and the Reclamation Army had agreed on the Containment Act. According to it, all apocalypse classes, the abnormals with the power to wipe out all life on the planet, must be dealt with, preferably nonviolently. Eugenia and Outsider had limiters installed in their bodies, limiters that ensured that neither of them could wield their powers to their fullest. There were other precautions, of course, including old-fashioned mental imprints and biological inhibitors. Up to this point, the three countries had dealt with six apocalypse-class abnormals, once stopping the Organization from getting one of them. Wyrm Lord will be the seventh. No doubt that he will soon leave for Iterna to receive the proper operation on his body.
Academician chuckled. Ignorant fools. The Organization is also gathering data about the apocalypse classes. Wyrm Lord won’t be the seventh. He would be the eighth.
"We’ll better leave, sir," Red Valkyrie rose up from the people on the ground. She quickly wiped dust from her crimson hair. "Otherwise they might find us." She was dressed in gray regular power armor, with the helmet resting on her belt, just like Academician.
Academician did not deem it wise to answer her, playing with the vial filled with yellow fluid instead. In accordance with the late Green's wish, Academician had come to save the traders. When he cut the suits off their bodies, his entire body began to twitch and ache, the thoughts of how he could change both of them enthralled him almost to the point of ecstasy. He had to struggle with his natural curiosity, forcing himself to behave and only do the bare minimum to keep the people alive and ensure that none of them would endure any long-lasting damage to their bodies.
It turned out that there was some joy in moderation. Sure, it would’ve been so much funnier to add regeneration to both of them, but where is the test of skills in that? No, now both people, safe and sound but unfortunately still all too human, were laying in the shadow of a stone, covered from the sun by the rags. The drugs he injected them with will erase all memory of the passing day, ensuring that they will never recognize him.
Next to them was an unconscious wolfkin. Academician wasn’t sure why Red had decided to save this male from bleeding out, but this was her liberty, and thus he allowed it, advising his new right and left hand how to treat the mutant properly. It took a while, but during the battle, Academician released a small cloud of what an ordinary mind could call "organic files." In a sense, an unknowing person would be right, individually, these were just the regular pests. Together, they formed a hive mind of sorts and were capable of creating a protective bubble around him and any of his colleagues, shielding them from any attempts to be discovered via heat vision, radar waves, visual detection, or any smell detection. To outsiders’ eyes, there were no people in this canyon.
Academician wiped the sweat off his neck, cursing the heat. That’s it, once he gets back, he’ll modify his body to be immune to this temperature.
"Any sightings of King?" He asked with a slight sadness, looking down at the vial.
Academician felt bored. Everything went exactly as he planned, and this felt like a letdown. He had hoped to have another face-off against the halfbreed or maybe deal with King personally. But all he was met with right now was the setting sun and Red’s disapproval.
"None, sir. He appears to be dead."
"Annoying," Academician sighed, "Poor Nora. If she had only trusted in me…"
"You knew?" Red jumped on her feet, reaching him in a moment.
He could feel it in her brain. A sense of shock in her thoughts. A disgust at being picked by him, rather than by any other Elder. The woman believed him to be sadistic scum, unworthy of his position. But before, she served him out of a sense of loyalty. And now... Red was feeling betrayed.
"Of course I knew, Red," Academician juggle the vial a bit, "Foolish Tilden and that King or Grug, whoever he imagined himself to be... Their desires were so basic. I simply let the events unfold, using them to benefit our cause."
"Benefit?" Now there was pure rage in Red’s mind. Academician was proud of her, the woman spoke with an ice-cold voice, her face was calm as a morning breeze… And deep within, she examined him like a predator, looking for a sure way to end him all at once. Red believed him to be a danger for the Organization. "You let our operative, your ally to perish and…"
"Red," Academician lifted a finger, "I expect two things from the people under my command. Liberty and trust. I knew that our communications were compromised, hence I asked Nora to trust me. She refused and pursued her liberty. This is the consequence of her action," He closed his eyes for a moment, reading Red’s mind. The woman hesitated to strike, thinking that he was baiting her. "Yes, I am baiting you, Valkyrie. No, I am also grieving for the loss of my dear friend. Let this be a lesson for you. There are consequences for each action."
"I still don’t see any benefits, sir." Red’s hand moved to a gun on her belt.
Academician sighed again: "This is what I get for not asking for competence. You fail to see the obvious when it is right before your eyes!"
"You were asked about the benefits, Academician," He felt his heart racing at the sound of this cold voice. "Elaborate."
Red fell to one knee, bowing her head. Academician simply kept smirking, looking at the hovering steel pod in the air. The round pod, colored in gray, was open, revealing the elderly man. His hair turned gray due to his supposed old age. His lean build looked deceptively fragile, the man himself was dressed in a gray military uniform, his tanned face lit white by the light coming from numerous displays within the pod.
Jonathan Wach, the right hand of Secretary, looked at Academician with dispassionate and sharp black eyes. Try as he might, Academician could not read his or Secretary’s minds, and this filled him with pride. They both asked for the operation that would make them immune to any form of mind control, and he performed his duty to the letter.
"Saurolich!" Academician spread his arms in greeting, "How did you find us and what are…"
The man’s lips moved. No word left Wach's mouth, but Academician felt excruciating pain in his left side of his body when the bones in his left arm turned to dust. The pain lingered for a moment, his body had already started to regrow the missing part of his skeleton, and the muscles in his arm were sufficient to not allow the wound to embarrass him.
"After learning that you had taken the field, I calculated the most logical place where you could've been hiding," Wach looked around, sparing only a glance to register the wounded. "Worry not, your shield works as intended. Shortly before her demise, young Miss Green had contacted me and revealed information about your plan to get a glow crystal. I had half a thought that you have gone rogue, since the assembly was not informed about a potential crystal. "Based on your gloating right now, I have concluded that you were aware of Grug's betrayal for quite some time," Jonathan put his fingers together. "The benefits. Explain them."
"First, thanks to my genius, we compromised the relationships between the wolfkins with Tilden’s scheme, took out a warlord, and ensured that one of the sword saints ended up in the Torment, all indirectly. Second, by letting the traitor live, we took out at least two warlords, and I got the KM-File back. By investigating it further, I have deduced that no glow crystals could ever be in Fort Uglo. After King had contacted me, I became aware of the flaw in our communications." Academician moved the fingers of his damaged hand, enjoying the pleasant tingling of pain.
This was what separated him from the masses. Every sensation is important. Grief, happiness, smugness, rage, pain… Every ounce of them contributed to the wonderful tapestry that was life, enriching one's experience and preparing one for future challenges. Academician was never afraid of failing or being humiliated. Years ago, he held an edge in the Organization. Now, the roles were reversed, and Saurolich was above him. The urge and need to compete have already started driving Academician to make plans on how to reach new heights.
"Why leave Grug alive, then?" Saurolich kept looking at the elder.
"To bloody the reclaimers’ noses, to find out if Grug had any power. Worry not, Wach, the situation was always under control, this is why I am here. I'll admit that learning about Wyrm Lord is a possible apocalypse class was a pleasant surprise. And most importantly…" He felt a change in Red’s mind. The woman started letting go of her weapon, believing that all these sacrifices were not in vain. Red has started to believe that maybe she judged him too harshly. With a smile, Academician twisted the knife, "… I got the amusement by seeing the monsters fight to the death!"
Red’s hand grabbed the handle of her gun, her face became a stone mask to hide her disgust. But to him, her mind was an open book.
Red was enraged. Oh, the woman never liked Green, believing her to be too cruel. But there was a certain comradery among the agents, all of them expected to have their backs covered. And Red concluded that Academician had set Green up for failure. She’ll try to end him soon. Oh, what fun! She will reach a new level of potential in her desire to end him. And amuse him.
"I find the reasonings for your actions… acceptable," Jonathan’s eyes looked at Academician’s hand. "And this vial?"
"This?" Academician threw the vial into the empty socket of his armor, "Just something to give me an edge against Ravager, should she show up. It works by…"
He stopped, receiving a warning that a group of soldiers were moving to their locations. Academician had half a mind to reveal himself and kill them, then go after this alleged apocalypse and kill him as well. After all, he had a score to settle with the black wyrm. But alas, Secretary would not approve it.
Red let go of her tension and put on the helmet: "Sirs, we really ought to leave before the enemy finds us."
"Naturally, agent Red Valkyrie," Jonathan gave her an amiable nod. "We will depart before the mutants could hope to detect any of us. Academician. I have been told that there was some problem in the cloning vats and one of the portals got destroyed."
"Again?" Academician slammed his face, annoyed at this repeated stupidity. From time to time, some creatures got clever and tried to escape. Technically, this was no longer his responsibility, at least not directly. But he should have been alerted of this first! His own clones were in the facility! Whoever is in charge of the day’s shift better clean up the mess, or he will improve them, "I will look into it, Wach, thanks for the update. Give me a moment, and we’ll be off."
Academician pressed his palms together, unconcerned about the panic rising in Red's pretty little head or the disapproving look from Saurolich. He took a single breath and touched his shoulders at the same time, his left hand touching the right and his right hand touching the left. He moved his hands to his hips, creating a cross.
"Oh, God," Academician began to intone the prayer of the long-dead religion, continuing to perform the ritual and bowing at an interval of one bow between each verse. Green believed in this stupid superstition. Academician owed her at least this much. "Please accept the slave of yours into your chambers and judge her harshly but fairly…"
