Mystery Pilgrim

Ultra assumed that since the Hourmen were unable to locate their target, they would have moved on and continued their search elsewhere, allowing for an uninterrupted return to the Gemini Club.

When they arrived, the interior looked like a tornado had run through it, furniture half torn to shreds, walls covered with an array of liquids, and broken glass permeating on the glossy floor. Fuschia, Waylon, and all the patrons had seemed to have made their exit safely, with no bodies anywhere around the club.

Strangely, the Hourmen’s hollow corpses were also gone, not a single one visible around the room. The entire place had been left like a ghost town, the only living presence being the four individuals who had just walked through the front door.

Well, five actually, if you counted the one sitting at the bar.

“Took you all long enough,” Grimebank remarked, his bandaged head buried behind a newspaper.

“You’re still here? I thought you would’ve left with everyone else,” Umbra replied, stunned a little less than the others at his presence.

“I hadn’t finished my drink. Besides, ‘the target had left the building,’ as they say. I was sure those bucketheads would keep it pushing and wouldn’t look back.”

“What do you want, Grimebank?” Ultra asked, stepping up in front of the group.

“You don’t look so happy to see me, Ultra. Has it really been that long?”

Ultra’s expression remained unimpressed. He didn’t trust many people, but after all the recent events, the number had gone down even more dramatically.

“I’m sure you’ve heard about what happened to Lain and Surazal?” He asked as a test more than an actual question.

Grimebank put down the paper covering his face, and folded it up before placing it on the bar counter behind him. His cross legged demeanour made him look as laid back as ever.

“Yes, regrettably I have. These things travel through the grapevine quickly, as you know. But if you’re asking if I had anything to do with it, no, I did not. I held nothing but respect for both of them, and I do not appreciate the insinuation. But I get it, times like this, you never really know which way’s up.”

Grimebank stood from the stool, and gave an exaggerated stretch with his arms. Staring at the group, he tapped two bandaged fingers against his temple.

“However, I’ve been doing some thinking about the whole thing. And I have an idea for who might be partially responsible.”

“You have to tell us! Anything you know!” Umbra blurted out.

Grimebank pointed his finger towards the group, twirling a figure eight pattern in the air. Slowing down the motion, his point settled directly at the boy standing in the center.

“Me?!” Lucius yelled. “What are you talking about?!”

“Grimebank, that’s enough,” Ultra sternly said, unconsciously moving his body to stand in front of Lucius. “After everything Lucius has been through, I will not stand here and allow you to insult him with senseless accusations.”

“Oh I’m not saying the boy did it, not at all. But besides Lain and Surazal, he was the only one there at the Angiporium. The only one that walked away unscathed. There must be a reason for that.”

“It was all Iscarius, we know who he works for now. You know exactly what happened there,” Ultra replied, getting more defensive with every word.

“No, Ultra, I don’t know that. And you don’t know that either. All we have is the boy’s word, and words alone don’t mean much in this city. But I am sure, however the puzzle pieces fit together, that Lucius is the key at the center of it all. Eyes have been upon him ever since he arrived in Pareidolia, watching over his every move.”

The bandaged figure’s own eyes were still covered by the mirrored lenses, giving the others the feeling that they were speaking to their own reflections.

“Look, I didn’t come here to cause turmoil, I came to warn you. Down this path, only despair will follow, so if you’re going to tread it, tread carefully.”

Grimebank ashed his two lit cigarettes and strolled past the group, headed for the front door. Before stepping out onto the street, he stopped and tilted his head to the side without fully looking back.

“I’ll reach out if I hear anything at all. Until then, be wary. Especially you, Lucius. This city takes more than it gives, I know that more than anyone.”

With that, he stepped out and disappeared down the barren road.

“What was that all about,” Caesar asked perplexed, once the tension calmed down a bit.

“Nothing, just nothing. Come, let’s continue,” Ultra coldly replied, his mind preoccupied with processing everything Grimebank had said.

He’s right though. Lucius has to be connected to all of this, somehow. He shows up and suddenly the world folds in on itself. I believe he can be trusted, but we need to be careful, he thought, leading the group towards the back door.

Stepping into the hall, the four made their way back up to the main office. It had been left completely unravished, unlike the club floor below. After Lucius had escaped through the tunnel, Ultra had followed his sister out the rear exit, but everything in the room was just as he’d left it.

Ultra stood over to a pile of paintings left resting against the wall on Umbra’s side of the room.

“If you wouldn’t mind,” he gestured down, as Umbra positioned herself next to him.

Her figure began to glow with an apricot resonance, guiding the paintings into formation on the floor so that they laid flat next to each other in a group. Once they were all centered, the barriers between the frames disappeared, and the whole pile lit up as one, its surface glowing with the same orange colour.

“Woah,” Caesar said, his turn to be impressed.

“Pretty sweet, right. Looks even cooler on the other side.”

“Hold on, where’s that gonna lead to?” Lucius asked, more hesitant than the others about entering random gateways.

“It will take you to the Sanctum, a bunker that can only be accessed by Umbra’s resonance. It is entirely secure, and it will be where we prepare for the heist,” Ultra replied, moving aside and turning to Lucius.

“However, Lucius, before we go, I have a request. I’d like to go with you to the Angiporium.”

“What really? You wanna go there now?” Lucius’s voice croaked.

“I need to see it. Before any of this continues, I need to know for sure.”

“Oh…okay, sure,” Lucius meekly agreed, his nerves rising at the thought of stepping back into that painful place.

“Caesar, go down to the Sanctum and Umbra will follow after closing the entrance. Lucius and I will meet you both back here once we return.”

“Be careful,” Umbra said, showing an unusual expression of worry.

“We will. Now both of you go, we’ll take the tunnel directly.”

Umbra and Caesar both nodded understandingly, and Caesar dropped into the portal, holding his nose like he was jumping off a diving board into a pool.

Once he was through, Umbra began closing the edges of the frame and jumped in before the orange fully dispersed, giving a farewell wave as her full figure descended out of sight. The painting’s illumination unravelled, and their appearances returned to normal.

Ultra gestured to Lucius to follow him back over to the saferoom, and began to set the location of the grandfather tunnel dropoff with his teal resonance.

“This will bring us right to the alley entrance. Apologies again, for any upsetting feelings.”

Lucius wasn’t sure if he was talking about the ride or asking him to return to the Angiporium. Either way, he stepped inside the clock and waited for Ultra to prepare it.

Once fully charged, the door shut on the two of them and the elevator began the descent. Both of them now, together on their way back to the place Lucius wanted to avoid most.