New Mission

The next day felt a little easier. I was released from the medical center, and got my room back. There was a shower connected to our quarters, which I decided to use. As the water washed over me, I could see a scar on my stomach. Just looking at it made me feel sick. I finished washing up before stepping out of the shower, grabbing a towel and drying off.

Feeling my fur poof up from the static, I let out a small sigh. I still felt very sore. After being cut open and impaled, my body was still in pain. Which made sense. I put on some pants as I opened the bathroom door, my towel around my shoulders. Kang was waiting for me. He was wearing a thin black shirt and long pants, sitting in his typical folded arms pose.

“You look like a hairball,” he commented. I sighed, sitting in one of the chairs at the main table, trying to smooth my fur down.

“Yeah, I know,” I replied. Kang pulled something from his pocket, walking over to me. He gently stopped my efforts to fix my messy fur.

“Here… this stuff will help,” he explained, putting some kind of gel on his hands. As he applied it to my back, I let out a hiss from the cold.

“Can’t believe you’ve never used this before… it’s not like it’s pricey or anything,” Kang muttered. I let out a small huff in response as Kang continued.

“We have another mission coming up, but it’s a little different. This one only requires two people,” Kang explained. I looked down at the table.

“And… I’m assuming I was chosen?” I asked quietly. Kang stopped for a moment.

“Not… technically. You were recommended by The Director. If you aren’t feeling up to it, I can always take over,” Kang replied.

“If it’s The Director–” I began but Kang scoffed.

“I don’t care what she says. She can kiss my–” before he could finish his crude comment, one of the doors opened. Azarin’s room. He stepped out, nearly stumbling. When he saw us though, he gave a small chuckle. His lab coat he always wore looked a little disheveled, and he had sweat rolling down the side of his face.

“Yuka… remember what I said about staring,” Azarin commented playfully. I quickly looked away, my ears folding back in embarrassment. I thought back to what Kang had said before Azarin entered. I could see anger in his eyes, and could hear irritation in his voice. Isn’t The Director his boss, though? Did something happen between them?

“Azarin. Have you heard about the next mission?” Kang asked. Azarin nodded.

“Of course. Investigating Puritan activity, correct? I assume… you won’t be taking this one?” Azarin commented. I could see Kang wince. I remembered the rage in his eyes when we’d observed the Puritan house on the way to the Lich. I didn’t quite understand what was going on, but one thing was for certain.

“He won’t be. I’ll be going, with Kti,” I replied shortly. Kang blinked in surprise as Azarin looked at me in disbelief.

“With… Kti? Are you certain?” Azarin asked. I nodded. I felt Kang applying the gel again. When he finished, he let out a small sigh.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, Yuka, but if you want to bring Kti, I’ll allow it. I want you to promise me that you’re ready for this though,” Kang stated, gently turning my chair so I was facing him. I gazed into his eyes, and I could see concern. I gave a smile, trying my best to mimic Chiaki’s optimism.

“Of course! Whatever they’re planning, I’ll find out,” I replied in the most confident tone I could muster. I didn’t know what Kang’s relationship with the Puritans was, but I could tell he had a history with them. Whatever pain is there, I don’t want him to have to relive it.

~~~~

Two hours later, I realized that this mission wouldn’t be that simple, and that my choice in a partner was not a good one. There were case files and documents stacked in front of me that I had to read, appearances I had to memorize, and rules that I had to remember too. 

It felt like school, but somehow worse, since Kti made it very hard to focus. Each time I pulled out a file on someone, he’d point to their picture and ask if he could blow them up, or send them to Mars. Each. And every. Time.

I eventually reached a file on banned magic as Kti was folding one of the documents into… something. It looked like a headless figure. Why is he like this? I looked back at the banned magic file. The last one in the stack… of my first read through. 

I still had to reread case files to make sure I had physical attributes memorized. I guess I can treat this as my break, since it doesn’t really relate to the mission as much. And I’m kind of curious about this.

As I opened the file, I could see a huge red CLASSIFIED stamp on the first page. With how little it related to the other files I was given, I was beginning to wonder if this had ended up in my stack on accident. As I began to read, I found that there wasn’t much that was banned. 

The two main ones were time manipulation and soul manipulation. Neither one had been executed successfully, but both had caused disasters from how unstable the spells were.

“I wonder… are they scared of the damage, or what a perfect time spell could achieve? If someone could go change the past… nobody would ever know. Likewise, if someone could manipulate your soul, you’d never know either,” I muttered softly.

“If time magic was real, then there wouldn’t be monsters!” Kti exclaimed. I blinked in surprise, looking over at him. He was looking back at me, holding a headless figure made from the documents.

“What do you mean?” I asked, setting the file down.

“If someone could go back in time, don’t you think they’d prevent The Second Coming? I mean, that’s what I’d do! I’d blow it up!” Kti said gleefully. I looked back at the file. But… what would the consequences of that be? Is such a thing even possible? These questions continued to bother me as I kept reading.