"What do you mean, you won't tell me?"

[I won't tell you. Same reason as last time.]

After our usual round of idle chat, Saga was stonewalling me again. She was where she always was nowadays, lazing around the tree, while I sat next to her, doing what I always was nowadays, arguing with someone.

"But you can confirm that something's up with everyone?"

[I mean, I can't, but the fact that you're here and I'm denying something sort of implicitly confirms it.]

"So there is something."

[(I literally just said that.) Yeah, no, since the last time you asked, the thing went away. There's no more thing anymore, you can go.]

"Stop being a smartass and tell me."

[For the third time, no means no, Athan. You're getting pretty rapey.]

"Not funny, Saga."

[Yeah okay. Point being, this may shock you (if you're really stupid) but I know a lot more than I let on. Like, pretty much whatever I want to know, between all of your friends. And I could be telling you all that, all the time if I wanted to, but in general, I really, really don't.]

"Why not? That'd make my life a heck of a lot more convenient."

[Aside from how much of a pain in the ass it would be, keeping you constantly up-to-date on every stupid nuance in your friends' minds, the fact is that knowing too much is usually a bad thing.]

"How can that be a bad thing? I'm like, skating on the very thinnest of ice with AEGIS, and Karu's not far behind. Lia's been all kinds of angry and preachy at me, and I just want to know why."

[If you want to know why, you should just listen to what they're saying, dumbass.]

"They're not telling me anything, though."

[Yeah, and you should take the damn hint. What they're not telling you is also something they're telling you. Maybe the reason they're pissed at you is because there's something they don't want you to know, and you're being a major bitch about it.] She paused and then added, [well, that and you fucked Karu.]

"I know that, damn it."

[Then why are you even here, Athan? Why are you bumming around trying to go behind their backs and trying to get me to spill the beans on something they obviously don't want you knowing?]

"Because what's so wrong with knowing everything? I feel like, whatever's wrong, all we need to do is talk about it, get it out in the open, and I can help."

[You can't fix everything, Athan, and you certainly can't fix everything with words.]

"We won't know if nobody lets me try."

[And you won't know if it'll work without your meddling if you never let them try.]

"There's no universe where keeping everything secret is better than having things in the clear."

[Know what, Athan? I'm going to give you a freebie here. I'll give you the tiniest, slightest hint, that I probably shouldn't.]

"What is it?"

[You're wrong. They're right. What they want depends on you not knowing about it, and if you knew, it'd be ruined. So stop prying.]

"That's not a hint. That's not even useful."

[That really depends on how dense you are, so I guess you're right. You don't seem to be able to get it based on hints and clues, so now I'm just telling you straight-up what to do.]

"And I still respectfully disagree."

[Sigh. You're impossible. Horrible. Frustrating.]

"But I'm just trying to help."

[You use that defense like it means something. If you just listened more, you'd realize people don't always want your help. Trying to help just means your intentions are good, but if you're willfully ignoring people to keep trying to help, you lose that moral high ground.]

"I was just trying to help when I refused to listen to you and got you out."

[And I love and appreciate you for doing it. But as I said before, getting pretty rapey when you think you can just impose your will on everyone because you're clearly right and they're clearly wrong.]

"And I told you already, that isn't funny."

[Not even trying to be funny. I can call it dictatorial if you'd like. But however you call it, you always just assume that if your opinion and someone else's clash, you're right. Not a very lovable personality quirk.]

"So what am I supposed to do? Sit here and do nothing while everyone's freaking out?"

[Yeah, actually. You need to learn at some point that sometimes doing nothing is the best thing you can do. I know it's also one of the hardest things to do, but sometimes you have to.]

"I don't know that I can do that."

[Look, I know this isn't up your alley, because you don't want me mucking around in your head, but I have an idea that might make this easier for you.]

"Gonna zombify me so it's easy for me to do nothing?"

[Wouldn't ever. But what I can do is give you a compel that will kick in after this is all over, and you'll understand everything everyone talked about. Then...whatever you choose, however things unfold, at least you'll be able to understand where they were all coming from. I can't help you make these choices, but I can help you get some closure afterwards, hopefully.]

"You make this sound like someone's going to die."

[Isn't that a probability, given what you're all facing pretty soon?]

"Is that what this is about? I thought everyone was all in arms about me and Karu and AEGIS."

[I mean, that's not helping, and if you're not careful stepping around that, you'll tear everyone apart before you ever get the chance to save everyone, or not. But assuming you do not continue to be a colossal dick, I think you'll be fine if you can somehow manage to do nothing. Which is why I'm offering this bribe, so hopefully you'll be more chill, so hopefully, you'll be able to sit back and do nothing for a while. Or, practice your powers, or whatever those girls said.]

I thought about it. "I really do want to know," I said.

[I'm aware.] She gave me a little wink. [That's why it's a bribe. Works better when it's a thing the bribe-ee wants.]

"And--"

[And I'll be nice to your brain. Come on, haven't you known me long enough by now to trust me on that one?]

"More like, if you wanted to be mean to my brain, you'd do it without asking first."

[Also true. Hey, act in the next five seconds, and I'll sneak you a pic of what I look like naked, too.]

I glared at her for at least five seconds.

[Boo, your loss.]

"I will take your bribe though. If nothing else, it'll help me next time I have this kind of thing."

[One can hope you don't have this kind of thing often. Alright, lay down, I'm gonna muck around in your head for a while. Try not to think too hard, as usual.]

I laid down next to her and felt the very whispers of a touch tracing my mind, like when someone is not actually touching your skin but you can feel their presence anyway. I glanced over, and her eyes were closed, seemingly asleep, as she worked.

Maybe it was just the fact she was somehow the least crazy person in my life right now, but I found myself thinking she was -- for all her weirdness, how upside-down she turned situations, and how very alien her immortal life perspective was -- still very cute.

Which was weird, because I'd always seen Sino girls as, y'know, the enemy. It was a face you'd see on a propaganda poster, or in the background of a news holo, not on the face of a friend. But once you got past that shock, and her narrow, almond-shaped eyes, she had skin so pale it made her eyes, lips, eyebrows seem to pop out. She was so slight that her cheekbones stood out, giving her jawline strong angles to adhere to, even as her skin looked so round and soft.

She opened her eyes and smiled at me.

Ah, shit. What was I thinking.

[You don't have to stop. (Giggity.)]

"Sorry. Just...trying to follow your orders not to think about things and wound up thinking about what was right in front of me."

[Not like I mind. I'm actually kind of flattered, nobody's ever liked how I've looked before. Always just 'crush the Exhuman, rawr!' kind of stuff. Also, I've never really seen myself that clearly before, you really have an eye for detail.]

"I'm like, the world's worst mirror, basically?"

[Well, in that you don't stop worrying or ever shut up, sure. But there's nice things about you too.] She shuffled towards me, still on her back until our shoulders were pressed against each other. I frowned, she was like ice.

"Aren't you cold out here?" I asked. The sun had left us only a while ago, but it hadn't been warm today to start with.

[Maybe, but I mean, what's going to happen? I can't get sick, I can't die of hypothermia or anything, and even if I did, I'd come back. I don't have to worry about shivering and freezing and wasting calories. I'll just be cold.]

"Isn't that uncomfortable?"

She laughed a little, a little quiet and reserved laugh, which conflicted with how loud and imposing she tended to be in her mind. [I've been in a jail for a hundred years. A little uncomfortable is basically paradise to me.]

"Well, I don't like you being uncomfortable," I said. "Let me grab you a blanket or something," and leaned forward to get up.

"Nope," she said, her words barely more than a whisper, even though she was right there, and gently tugged me back down. [You need to stay, I'm not done on your brain yet.]

I frowned. I hated people suffering because of me, even if it was just a little cold. She was already doing me a favor with her advice and this bribe, and now she was stuck out here in the cold until we finished.

[Oh please, 'suffering' is so the drama. It's a little cold, and I can't be hurt by it. I'll survive.]

I began to unzip my jacket, but she stopped me with a gentle touch, hands like needles of frost. "Just until we're finished here, you can have it," I said.

[Dumbass, you're the one who can get sick from the cold. You need it.]

"I don't need it, it's just a little cold. I'll survive."

[Look, if you're going to insist on being a dumbass…] She moved my arm so it was out to my side, and then rested her head on it, spooning my side and pressing her body against me. She was cold all over, I don't know how she wasn't miserable. [Oh, you are nice and warm.]

I wrapped my arm around her back and held her tight to me. "No silly business or anything, or leaking out your bodily sensations, okay? This is a platonic warmth-sharing."

[Shì, shì.]

"What?"

[Yes, that's fine. Now shush and let me work (and enjoy this).]

I did as she said and tried to let my mind go thoughtless, closing my eyes and replacing the violet curtain of post-dusk with blackness. It was hard to just think of nothing, especially when she rested her arm on my chest, feeling so light like it was hardly there, or feeling the soft rise and fall of her breathing against my side, or her leg resting on mine.

Made all the more treacherous by the fact any random thoughts I might have, she'd know immediately. So I had to not just not have any thoughts, but had to actively keep a leash on my thoughts to keep them from drifting.

So basically impossible.

I heard her laugh next to me again, and sighed, smiling, defeated by her cuteness and the situation. She'd just have to cope with me thinking about the XPCA or something while she worked.

I don't know how long it was but something kicked me awake.

"Not a smart move, bro," I heard Lia's voice say. I couldn't see her, could only see three lights blinding me, and Saga still wrapped around my side.

"Oh, let him sleep," Saga said.

"Sleep? With you? Is there anyone he isn't sleeping with?" AEGIS said from behind Lia. It was weird to hear her talking and stuff outside her lair.

"What's going on?" I muttered, not awake and very disoriented. It was black out, Saga was exactly where she'd been before I fell asleep, I guess. Three people were standing there with lights clipped to their chests. Lia...AEGIS...presumably Karu?

[They came looking for you. I told them you were here, they showed up and...from the sounds of it, are pretty unhappy with me.]

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

[Why would I? You were asleep, it's night time, that's what you people do at night, isn't it?]

"We don't have time for this," Lia said, pulling me by the arm. "Let's go."

"No, let him stay," AEGIS said. "She can have him. Karu can have him. I don't give a shit anymore. Fuck you, Athan." She turned around, her light shining towards the distant trees as she spun to stomp off. I saw the last of the figures move and grab her by the wrist.

"Karu, you fucking let me go right now," AEGIS' voice said, sounding at once broken and harder than diamond.

"AEGIS, where are you going?" Karu asked, her voice steady but quiet.

"Away. Away from here. Anywhere. Anywhere where he fucking isn't!" I saw Karu's light flash over her for a moment, and glimpsed her face.

She was bawling, tearlessly, her face a mask of agony. Instead of a pinned-up sheet, she was finally wearing real clothes, what looked like a tracksuit like she'd made me, but yellow and white.

"AEGIS, wait, it's not what it looks like," I said, completing the cliche. "I was just confused--"

"So you slept with the fucking Exhuman who killed my mother?"

"--so I asked Saga for help. Nothing happened! Right, Saga?"

[Oh, I wouldn't say nothing happened.]

"ASDFGHKL. FUCK'S SAKE, SAGA, NOT THE TIME."

"Athan, I really could not care less right now what you and she are or aren't. I just can't live like this." AEGIS tried to walk away but Karu held strong onto her arm.

"You cannot leave," Karu said in barely more than a whisper.

"The fuck I can't. Let me go! Let me go you murder bitch!" She thrashed and pulled but Karu stood resolute. "The fuck is your problem? What, do you want me to watch next time? Fuck you! Fuck all of you!"

"AEGIS, you are the backbone of our combat strength. If you leave, Ashton will surely die."

She froze. "Well maybe he deserves to die," she said.

[It's a little ironic that without her emotions, she wants you dead, and with her emotions, she also wants you dead. I wonder how you're still alive.]

"You do not mean that. You are justifiably mad at Ashton, and also Saga and myself as well, I am certain. But this pain is rooted in something other than hate. Though I may detest you in many ways, I cannot allow you to suffer the same pain I have. I cannot allow you to stand idly by while those you love are killed in front of you."

She let AEGIS' hand drop.

"Such is the evil in this world that I set out to devote my life to fighting, the pain of losing one's everything to an unstoppable force. If you walk away now, you will have lost everyone you love twice."

"Just shut up, Karu. Just let me have this. Let me hold this hate a little longer," AEGIS said, visibly quaking.

"I am sorry, but I cannot. If anyone should leave, it should be me."

Karu's silhouette sprung branches like a tree, and then the ends of each lit up with blue plasma, and the engines of her jetpack flared.

"Oh no you don't," AEGIS screamed, and jumped onto Karu's back, the spindly arms flailing and withdrawing to avoid damage. Both of them tumbled to the ground in a rolling heap limbs and profanities flying.

"Infernal machine, get off of me! I do this for you, ungrateful wretch!"

"What do you think this is, a drive through? You show up, sleep with my man, dump the feds on our doorstep and then fly off into the night? Over my damn corpse!"

"Do not--do NOT pull my hair, manic wench!"

I stepped forward but didn't know what to do. Elbows and fists were flying, and I wasn't sure who was giving or taking better. It was just dark and two forms rolled around in the flashing lights. I looked at Lia, who looked captivated, but in no way interested in intervening, and then to Saga, who shrugged and smiled, now sitting up to watch personally.

I couldn't believe it. Were we in elementary school watching a lunchtime brawl?

I stepped in and grabbed someone hard and metallic, Karu's armor. I gave her a solid yank, pulling her off AEGIS.

"Do not even think to interfere," she growled, and elbowed me hard in the ribs, sending me sprawling, before AEGIS swept her feet and knocked her back down into the fight.

Lia looked at me with the same concern, and Saga's grin and shrug grew larger. I rolled on the ground, gasping and wheezing, and wondering if I cracked a rib. Fuck, Karu was strong.

But I'd also had it with these two idiots and their fight. Through their stupid hurt feelings back and forth, everyone here had been at each other's throats for days now, and I'd had enough. I closed my eyes and reached out with my powers, combing the earth under all of us with tendrils of electricity. In some places, I had to force the electricity to flow, in others, the it moved freely, metallic rocks or damp ground or other conductors. I found the very largest, very purest metallic hunk of rock I could in my range and began winding.

I worked in silence and intense concentration while the two girls bit and scratched and screamed, catlike, in the strobing flashes of their lights. Finally I was ready.

"Girls, I need you to stop now," I said, interrupting a very unsavory comment about Karu's mother's occupation.

"Oh, go fuck yourself," AEGIS grunted.

"Not interested, Ashton." Karu made a noise as AEGIS' knee connected with her chestplate. "This ingrateful AI rejects...my compassion. She is simply impossible!"

"At least I'm not flying around stealing men!"

"ENOUGH!" I shouted, and charged the current I'd spent minutes winding. The effect was immediate and caught even me off-guard.

The electromagnet I'd built under the surface was about the size of my arm, and I'd had plenty of length to make a few hundred coils around it. In my ignorance, I'd dumped a ton of power into it to make a statement. A statement was certainly made.