Becoming Monsters: In The Mirror 2, Chapter 59

This is still a story of the Becoming Monsters universe by Ai Loves, setting used with permission. All canonical and mechanical errors are my own. The yarrb is the exceedingly cute creation of FelisRandomis, used with permission.

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Chapter 59: Another Boomerang

The delay ended up lasting about 15 minutes. Long enough for me to make sure Whitney was done right. Short enough that I could get the coffee started with plenty of time to spare. Which was good, because the caffeine would definitely be needed to smooth things during the conversation. Turned out to be a good hunch. My recount of the story made something happen at the breakfast table that was unheard-of a mere twelve hours prior. Something made by Gloria got cold.

Lucy was grabbing her mug with a grip that would have shattered it in the hands of one of our front liners. “So let me get this straight. You told me when you shattered your Inner Mirror to save us, you broke something deep and fundamental within yourself and have been stuck on progress since.”

“Yes.” I took a slow sip of my own coffee. Made it strong, too, it seemed like today was going to need it.

“You’ve been on quests through your memory and philosophy while talking to a manifestation of your inner psyche every night since then.”

“I think that’s what he is, not sure. Call it another yes.”

Her hand came up to the bridge of her nose. “Then yesterday, after fighting a Japanese ninja strike team and witnessing an entirely separate battle so far beyond our comprehension that we have no idea HOW it even occurred, you had an argument with the same manifestation then finished the quest, leveling up TWICE in the process… which is supposed to be impossible… and learning a new ability that you’ve never heard of before and which does not seem to have an effect if selected.”

“That about covers it. On the more normal side, I got two Attribute Points I plan to put into Endurance and a more standard benefit at 13.”

There wasn’t one sigh at the table. There were eight. Even Nibbles got in on this one, having finished his bacon slices. Lucy looked up at the ceiling. “Three questions, and let’s start with the easy one. Why two points in Endurance? That would put you at… what, 30?”

“Exactly 30. There are a few reasons, but notably it’s the only stat that isn’t being progressed by Concubal Acquisition. I don’t know why that is, but since I can boost the others more easily I’ll focus Endurance.”

“That makes sense. Now for question two, any idea what Refract is or does?”

I shook my head. “I don’t. It’s not active or selectable, like I said, so that means it’s either a passive or some kind of thing that changes how my other things work. The symbolism seems to suggest that it is meant to integrate or support the power network, but it doesn’t narrow things down. At all.”

“That’s encouraging, huh?” Her tone indicated it most certainly was not. “And last up, what was the more normal benefit you picked up at 13?”

I looked down at the table. “I now have a Discard in reserve. Mirrors normally get one every level and I hadn’t been since this whole adventure started.” I raised my head, eyes on the people who didn’t know what that meant, which meant everyone there but Lucy. “A Discard is normally the only way a Mirror can change out abilities. When I use one, it drops one of my Acquisitions to clear a slot for another. I have no intention of using it, but if any of you ever want to leave? I can make it happen, now. Once.”

The table was silent as everyone there contemplated the weight of what I had just said. I knew the answer, of course. Every one of them had made it perfectly clear. Even Paige, who had not been present when I swore my oath to the others. None of them wanted to leave this team. Even so, just knowing the possibility was there was both liberating and terrifying. The moment of existential dread couldn’t last forever, though. Nobody objected to my plans, so I allocated my extra Endurance. When the Change struck, the ultramarathon world record holder turned out to have 20 Endurance. I now had ten more than that. If it came down to another street chase, I wouldn’t be collapsing at the end of it unless it went twice as long as the last one.

Time was short. The explanations had, as predicted, chewed through our buffer time this morning. The realization of this led to Paige and Amber volunteering to do dishes as the rest of us scrambled to get dressed for work. We didn’t even bother walking today. Whitney and I leapt off our balcony carrying Sarah and Lucy, respectively, while Emily followed in sparrow form. As we soared, I got a brief chance to reflect on it. The last time we did this, we were getting ready to face a truly titanic demonic incursion. Before that, I’d never have dreamed of flying so far, fearing the drain on my Hunger. Today, we landed cleanly on the sidewalk almost exactly fifteen seconds walk away from the staff door and got in with time to spare.

And then we got to find out what all the time away meant. Lots of work piled up. The five of us dove in with a will, attacking every task in front of us with determination and vigor. I’m not going to lie, I probably pushed the two points of Endurance I’d racked up that morning to their limit. Flip side, I’m more than 75% sure the shift manager sent me after the worst jobs in the building. Not only was I good for them, but he knew I was WAY behind on my hours and couldn’t exactly tell him no.

Three or four of these calls later, though, my manager called me into his office. Ethan Smith was fairly unremarkable, a Human of moderate build and unassuming looks. “Jeremiah, glad you could make it so quickly. This shouldn’t take long.”

“Good to hear it, sir.” I meant it, too. There was still a lot piled up in front of me, and that didn’t even count my extracurriculars this evening.

“The first thing I need you to understand is what exactly counts as working hours. Specifically, yesterday’s newsworthy events,” he spoke of the events at the zoo, not the ones at Harvardtown, “do not count. Repelling gates is understood to be a big part of why you’re here, and demons, but not people. That is the opposite of what we do here.”

“Yes, sir. I’ve told more than one person on my team the same thing.” I thought for a moment. “And I wasn’t going to try to bill for the dock watch happening tonight, since it isn’t Hospital business.”

“Dock watch… you know what, just don’t tell me. Please. Just also know that as an employee of Central Cascadia Hospital, you are bound by certain rules. Among those is that you cannot bring significant embarrassment to the institution.”

I couldn’t help my expression getting a bit stony at that. “Sir, I got hired mostly because my team does exactly that.”

“You have the eyes of a significant portion of the Internet on you, Jeremiah. Stunts like you pulled yesterday in public places reflect on us. Whether we find the actions honorable is not entirely relevant. This is your warning.” Ethan didn’t look particularly pleased to be saying that. “Look, you’re probably the best technician in the team, or will be once you finish learning the systems, but I can’t depend on you to be there on any given day. I know physio and pediatrics are saying the same thing.”

I wanted to snark about the Enchanters being used to the irregular hours from Sarah and Curse Annex being fine with Emily, but mindful of other warnings I’d gotten about twelve hours prior I bit my tongue. It wouldn’t help, and keeping up with these hours was the only thing letting the family stay in our current home. We could pretty easily swap to more traditional Delving in a different location… but not if we wanted to be able to ensure the streets stayed clear. All I could say, after all of that, was “yes, sir.”

It was frustrating, to say the least. It was the same thing that had cost me most of my Guild three years before, as the Delvers moved on to more lucrative things. Pursuits worth the fact that they were risking their lives. We were trying to live, and to do good, and we couldn’t just do it. I had already directed the Twins to start putting two percent of all we gained towards a standard End Of Delving account, traditionally used to either facilitate retirements, buy out equipment, or pay for funerals. We couldn’t afford a large-enough home in the area we needed to patrol on crowdfunding from viral videos, especially once our daughter arrived.

Even if I’d just managed to co-star in yet another one of those, thanks to the aforementioned fight at the zoo.

The rest of the work day was thankfully uneventful, so I had enough time to get my own mixed emotions under control. I think the boss suspected something when I volunteered to fix an issue with the wiring on the roof, but given that I was one of only two team members with wings he didn’t say anything about it. While I was up there, I could let myself feel for once. I could let the bile out through my Aura without the fear of it infecting bystanders. It flowed out of me, washing over the uncaring brick and stone and shingle. My burdens lightened as I let those fall out of me, leaving them there. I could breathe that little bit easier than before. Every little bit I got back, every incremental lessening of the pain I’d felt, still had the paradoxical effect of letting me know exactly how much further I had to go.

“Jay! I didn’t expect you to be…” Sarah’s voice cut off as she hit the edge of my Aura’s reach, somewhat further than it used to be. “Oh, you’re doing the Incubus equivalent to screaming into a pillow, aren’t you?”

“You know, that’s probably a better way to put it than what I’d been thinking. Anyway, had to reconnect a couple of antennas up here, what brings you to the roof?” I got myself back under some restraint, quelling the maelstrom my Aura could be.

“Refreshing one of the water resistance layers.” She walked over to a seemingly-random spot, sat down, and started pulling out some hospital-issued implements and components. “Anyway, since we got distracted yesterday and this morning, I did want to tell you that the new armor for Whitney and Paige is going to be ready before tonight’s mission. Probably while Lucy is getting tonight’s treatment.”

“Excellent work, Sarah!” She preened a bit under my praise. “You’re really smashing those projects. If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were three smaller Enchanters in a trench coat.”

“I’ve… I guess I’ve just been inspired recently, Jay. Hitting my Greater Masterwork means that I’m in the elites as far as my Class goes, and your help is what let me do it. You all keep giving me creative problems to solve, so I keep making creative solutions.”

“And they keep working, mind you, which is something most can’t claim.” My side of the roof’s work was done, one (gentle) tug on the cable I’d just reattached showed that it was secure.

With a few small flashes of blue light, Sarah’s own ritual finished. She stood, looked at her watch, then looked around. “Time to be direct, since you told me I could. Mind leaving me a clone up here? Nobody else is coming up any time soon, and I’m horny enough that the ritual took twice as long as it should have.”

I happily obliged, and it should be noted that she was so far on edge that she came twice by the time I got to the elevator and back to the first floor. I joined her before getting back to my cubicle. I’d long since learned my lesson about coding during sex, after all.

When we eventually got home, everyone was a bit on edge. It was time for Lucy to get yet another of her treatments, and this one promised to be a doozy. If this one worked like the others before it, Lucy would shortly proceed to her fifth effective month of pregnancy, and the changes from the fourth would be dramatic. Well, almost everyone was on edge. Sarah, being Sarah, asked us to do it in the bedroom so that she could try to lock in the chainmail enhancements while we did so.

Emily, Whitney and I knew how things ran by now. We gathered the Battery and attachments, made sure everyone filled it as far as they dared, and got my wife set up. At my insistence, she was laying down on our bed for it. She didn’t much like that I was insisting on it, but her resistance evaporated as soon as I touched her belly and asked her to be safe for the baby. It felt like a cheat code. One I resolved to use sparingly, only at great need. Like now. Lucy did her best to keep a straight face while she was being pumped absolutely full of energy from the Battery, but she was sweating by the end of it. Her hands were on her belly, eyes closed, eyebrows maybe a millimeter furrowed. Oh, and her emotions gave away the game, but reading those directly was unnecessary cheating at this point.

Whitney and Emily left the room to go offer to help with dinner, leaving me with my wife. “Okay, love, now that the medical people are NOT in the room?”

She took a moment to compose herself before responding. “It hurt more than yesterday, but I can still take it. One or two more and I might have to break it up into smaller doses. This one feels weird, though. Like… I’m still changing. My body recognizes that it was supposed to do some things last month and is kicking it into gear.” She looked up at me with a smirk. “I’ve seen pictures in the pamphlets they gave me of pregnant Succubi. I don’t think you’re going to mind all that much.”

I’d seen the same pictures. Adjectives ranging from “voluminous” to “ludicrous” could be easily applied to every one of them, and those were the relatively tame ones meant for medical education.

Her tummy rumbled loudly, her hands moved directly from her womb to her belly. “I hope Gloria is making something big, because the way I’m feeling I’m going to steal her plate.”

My phone pinged at me. Xela was the sender. “Go on out there and get started, love. This one’s work for tonight.”

Lucy frowned. “We still have that thing at the docks, don’t we? I might not be too much help.”

I glanced at the message. “Looks like you might not have to. Xela’s serious about this Union becoming a thing, and it looks like so are a few others. Stormbreakers are sending two, Quiverbow is putting three of her apprentices in the field, and one each from Pantheon, Luna, and Wild Hunt.”

“Did you just say LUNA?” Lucy was, in a word, flabbergasted. “And they just volunteered? Love, if I didn’t know you as well as I did I would think you were lying.”

“If I didn’t know Xela was honest, I’d think HE was. We can plan over dinner.”

Dinner, as it turned out, was some kind of dip Gloria was experimenting with. All I know for sure was that chicken was involved, one tasted like there was ranch, and all three disappeared like someone waved a magic wand about two minutes after we started. We looked like a pack of particularly demonic piranhas attacking it. It made it simple enough to explain the rough plan for the evening.

“Alright, let me know if you hear anything wrong with the plan. We are going to the dock, which is expected to receive a shipment of milk from the Leni Lenape dairy farms to upload to a boat headed for Japan. Whitney, Paige, winged strikers with good night vision are ideal here, you’re both on roving guard. Amber, do you have a rifle in your kit?”

Amber nodded. “Technically a modded carbine, but yes.”

I decided to not ask for more detail. I did NOT want to know. “Alright. You and Gloria on overwatch, Nibbles and I on the ground. I’ve already messaged the Twins, they’ll be operating their drones as scouts and rapid reinforcements from the water.”

Lucy’s eyebrows furrowed. “You seem to be missing a few names, there.”

“Lucy, you need rest and will be staying back. Same with you, Emily, we have reinforcements from both Wild Hunt and Pantheon so both healing and scouting are covered. You’ve had a few eventful days, so you’re back at home to recover. And don’t tell me you’re fine, I know your Mana is under half. Sarah, you are also going to stay with them. No offense, but you aren’t made for all-nighters. I’m also not calling in a teenager or someone who’s supposed to be resting, so that leaves off Nathan and Stephen. Any objections?”

There were objections, for reference, but since they didn’t rise over the level of “but I’m not THAT sleepy,” I could safely turn them down. As soon as we were finished, the five of us who would be heading out started to get ready. Including a couple of new additions from Sarah.

“Okay, Whitney, here’s your chainmail bikini set. Paige, here’s yours.” Sarah’s tone was breathlessly excited despite the fact that she wouldn’t be coming with us. “They’re sized to your present measurements, but thanks to the enchantments they have enough give to flex ten or fifteen percent. Should feel like a sports bra and panties, and wearable under your clothing.”

I had to regretfully interject. “Remember that we’re not going to be alone out there, so I do recommend clothing over it. Gauntlets and greaves can show, people will be expecting it and suspicious if they don’t see them, but being out there in bikinis might distract our allies.”

Paige looked me square in the eyes and added, “or you.”

“Or me, sure, you can test that later but not during a live mission.” My full gear was already on, since my chainmail was more typical and not a bikini. That gave me about 30 minutes to take care of one more task I might be asked about. Actually writing down the Union Ethos. Riveting, I know, but it was important. I had to be able to tell the people who were joining me the general guidelines for how I wanted them to behave. It was something I’d given a lot of thought to, but if it wasn’t in black and white that didn’t matter. I took my laptop over to the bedroom I shared with Lucy, booted it back up, and got typing.

“1) A Delver must always, when able, act to defend those not able to protect themselves, whether from monsters or disaster.”

Although I didn’t want to send people on suicide missions, this was the essence of what Delving was for. Protection. Every monster we killed was one that no longer threatened others. We had extraordinary capabilities. If we weren’t using them to help people, what was the point of the Status at all?

“2) Those who wish to join the profession of the Dungeons are to be aided, supplied, and trained. Those who wish to leave it are to be supported in their choice.”

Another huge one. There is no such thing as a person who knows what they’re getting into when they become a Delver, or even people who decide that they want to go into the support staff. It wasn’t for everyone, either. I thought about what some of the other Major Guilds had been doing. We had to ensure that people could utilize their abilities in combat situations, integrate them smoothly to prevent injury and death, know the stakes they’re getting into, prevent burnout, and let someone who couldn’t do it anymore go so that our teams stayed in the best form they could.

“3) Hoarding gold, materials, or knowledge can only hurt the self and the community. Use them, save for set goals, or ensure those who need them can have them.”

There were a lot of things wrong in broader society that were caused by hoarders, whether partially or in primary. Especially in this era of danger and discovery, denying others the use of resources you weren’t going to utilize would just get people killed. Knowledge of monsters, Races, or Classes could mean lives saved, lost, or ruined beyond repair.

“4) Know your role and why you have it. People are not monsters, and using your gifts to attack people outside of dueling or defense makes you no better than a monster.”

My mind was definitely on the soldiers from a few days prior for this, along with more typical training to be a Striker or Tank. Or, for that matter, being dedicated enough to be a Guild Leader. The thing is, all of it required a certain mindset. I could not have people with that mindset unleashing themselves upon the innocent. Even a moderately-leveled Delver would be an absolute horror to someone whose only experience with a Gate was running from one.

“5) To break faith with your fellow Delver is to break faith with the entire community. One’s promise is one’s bond, and one’s home is one’s sanctuary.”

Sue me, I’m tired of being attacked at home and at my job. Two abductions, a full home invasion, and someone invading me in my actual dreams had led to one too many scars. We needed to be able to sleep at night, secure in the knowledge that we would be able to open our eyes again the next morning.

“6) Pay unto the dead what is due them. Respect their body and their honors, convey their story and possessions to their next of kin.”

Probably the only one I wasn’t going to get any pushback on. It didn’t matter if the one who died was a community pillar, a Delver on their first run, or an invader. All are equal after being reaped by Death’s scythe. Honors to them and their next of kin were the bare minimum of decency that should be expected.

“7) Maintain the commons, which all depend on. Update the archives and maps, share discoveries, repair structures, and never forget the small tasks.”

It always was the little things that would make or break you in this life. Something as simple as mending a tent or the strap of a backpack could make all the difference, much less making sure a change you noted in the Labyrinth was updated in the home records or posting a niche healing ability for others to be able to find. You know, like me publicizing my own Cursebreaker, which led to being called to the Hospital one fateful day a month and a half ago.

“8) To each the fair value of their service or wares, whether in coin or exchange. Exposure and reputation are not payment.”

Another fairly obvious one, but it was coming from a place of deep and pure rage at a grinding system of exploitation. If I could cut that off, it would mean that crafters, mercenaries, home support, and services could continue to do what they did. It would mean that new Delvers could get themselves equipped and supplied the way they should be.

“9) In times of plenty, progress so that all benefit. In times of struggle, share so that all survive. Nobody is strong alone.”

I really wanted to emphasize that mutual support was more than just avoiding harm. It was active. It also gave me an excuse to put my own phrase into it.

“10) Never look down upon a Race, Class, Guild, Role, Office, or lack thereof. Every person can change the world.”

Was I a bit biased by the fact that a measurable percentage of the struggles we’d been through were because I was an Incubus and my wife was a Succubus? Probably. Was it still crucially important to NEVER reject anyone for any of the above? Absolutely. Anything at all was possible in the Status, and I’d witnessed at least four impossible things in the last three days. The intentional division between the Major and Minor Guilds was another detail, so was the impossible position many of the Crafters were in.

My watch pinged at me. It was about time to get out the door. It was time to get more than half of the family out to search for a fight that may or may not come, and be ready for it if it did. I looked over the ten guidelines I had written. They weren’t perfect, and I wasn’t exactly perfect about keeping them, but they were a start. I saved, sent it to the Twins for distribution, printed the page, and called the others to head to the docks.