No More Riddles - Part 3

“WHERE WERE YOU?!!!” The angry cop shouted the moment she saw her partner loitering around in a wet dress. But by her side, the taller female was instead trying her best to not start laughing right away.

“Wha… What happened with… Pth! What happened with your clothes, Anna?”

“Those are indeed unusual considering your usual image.”

“Shaddup ya both! I ain’t commentin’ on the clothes though… I can give a better explanation on all else if ya gals wanna hear me.”

“I’m all ears,” Karim answered while still looking very displeased. “But you better not try to hide things now that all this happened…”

“It’s hard to take you seriously with this outfit, but I can make do for now.” Colette also answered, changing to a more serious one as she did so. “That is, as long as you mention why you never told me about Ben.”

“But of course, I will…” The redhead answered in a carefree manner as she found some corner to sit in and then smirked at the other members of her group. “And I bet both our spirit friends will also be willin’ to share their own secrets since they’re so keen on mine, ay? I’d love to hear the angel tellin’ us all ‘bout humans and spirits as he sees it, but that’s fer later… So, who’ll start talkin’?”

For some, this situation was somewhat of an unexpected development. They didn’t seem to expect Anna to be straightforward or even willing to answer anything from what she could see, but that was irrelevant now. How she saw the situation, she had no reason to withhold most information and it would be good if she could assure her team’s usefulness and loyalty.

Or in other words, she needed a plan B and some support if taking her damned brother was to ever happen. Even taking him by surprise and in a somewhat tired state still forced the inquisitor to go for a suicide attack. It was easy to imagine what would happen if he had allies around...

The good part was that they both could play this game. Anna didn't like it and was feeling it was another weakness of her mind, but she somewhat felt this would work better. Also, if she didn't use herself as bait here, getting information from her less indocrinated allies would be hard.

Still, her question came unanswered for a good while.

Karim was looking around as if not sure of what she should do, Col didn’t have much to say, and that wingless angel was only half paying attention. Only the smiling kitsune seemed decided enough to step forward and start talking.

“Can I ask how much you figured out already, Anna? I plan to say everything in exchange for being properly recognized by you, but it’s fun to see how far you went alone.”

“I’ll be honest with ya, I got very little by mahself. Only managed to click things together after being tipped, y’know?” The girl sitting on the steel floor spoke as she remembered her talk with the white room. “It’d be fair to say I’ve got divine providence ‘ere and that’s why I know some things I shouldn’t... But yer lotta more elusive than I thought, so that’s that.”

“That’s true, but it isn’t something I’m proud of… In fact, I even hate having to play like this... I assure you this would never be my method if I had another option.”

“Anythin’ else and I’d shot ya fer real, ay? Won’t be riskin’ a random fix knowin’ what I’m ‘ere fer and how I roll, so ya’d’ve to die before gettin’ enough trust, ‘aight?”

“Pretty much so.”

“Then I know that yer able to somehow distort time while also bein’ lotta better at predictin’ things than ya speak ‘bout. I’ve no idea what’re the conditions though…”

“What the fuck are you two…? Huh?!” Colette tried to join the conversation but was soon shut by two small hands. Their owner was a little too interested in the conversation to have it stop, even if she couldn’t fully logic what she was hearing.

“Well then, so can I go through the technical details and ignore my personal experiences? Explaining everything would take too long and, in case you ever fell for me as I have to you, it would feel like if I cheated.”

“I just cared about what happened, not about what could’ve. Don’t lose mah’ time with yer what ifs.”

“It’s simple then… Kitsunes have few offspring and never went well with other groups, so existing as we are shouldn’t be possible. And this is where our biggest secret enters: a spell that can turn the time back.” Her abridged explanation started as if to only give weight to Anna’s deductions. “It only works for a single person and she has to be a very powerful oracle, but it’s still time travel to some degree. And the whole trick is to ‘save’ a moment in time with the spell and keep trying until the world is on a good track. They even say this spell came as providence from the Circle of Rebirth itself as a last resort against the end of the world, so…”

“What stupid brute-force method is this?!” Karim broke her silence as she couldn’t hold herself back anymore. “Are you saying that the best plan god could manage was to keep betting on random tries until something went through?”

“That’s a way to put it, yes. But since I somewhat copied the thing by myself and started to use it whoever I wished, I don’t think the history is right about this one... Unless even this much is already something that happened after many loops and all is actually on track now... Wow! I never thought like this. It’s kind of terrible, isn’t it?”

“Huh? Doesn’t it mean that we already won then?” Colette was the one to ask now as her brain burned to think through the situation. “I mean, if giving the thing to Minako was the best call, then we're on victory’s path already…”

“Or we stuck in a lost cause.”

Three pairs turned to Annabeth as she commented on the situation, with only Michael keeping his focus far away for some reason. What she was saying wasn’t wrong, but thinking about this idea wasn’t good too. Especially because, since the kitsunes could only go to the last time the spell was cast, it meant that Minako was pushing their limits further and further each time.

“I knew you would get the idea!” The fox exclaimed even under the heavy mood that was forming around her. “This spell is very powerful but also very hard to use, which is already bad enough without the fact that only oracles can even try it. I’m likely the only one that can still use the thing nowadays… And the best I can manage is going back a month, so I try to use it whenever we seem to be winning.”

“Meaning we can very well be in a doomed future already, or we may be in one all but two people in the whole world die. It’d be troublesome, but it’d be good enough as a 'save the world' fer some… Yeah, it fits with what I was thinkin’ ‘bout ya.”

“Excellent! Can I get the juicy bits about you now?”

“Not yet. I’ve gotta hear something else first...” The redhead cut through the fox before she could be pressed further, and as unexpectedly as it was, Minako retreated. There wasn’t an ounce of doubt Annabeth would talk soon, and the kitsune could feel it.

Explaining herself was a given right now, but it didn’t seem that her words would have much effect. Even if she was sure they were on the outrageous side, to say the least, the three other people in the area were too stuck in their own thoughts. A reasonable reaction when they got a bombshell like this, but they would have to deal with it later.

They were on a timer at the end of the day, so waiting wasn’t an option. She had to be sure of her situation and start moving to set all the pieces in place before the time was up.

Even if it meant bringing up something traumatic and ending any ounce of favor the inquisitor could have with her biggest ally in this area.

“It’s yer turn, Shorty… Time to tell us ‘bout yer parents.”