“Almost ready,” Angel said casually. “Just did a few inconclusive tests on Alison. Didn’t learn nearly as much as I was hoping to. I just need to fix my arm and then we can get around to figuring out just what Soul was doing.”

Tilly gave Angel a confused glance, but Vanessa put a hand on the other girl’s shoulder and nodded in agreement. “Tilly and I will help him, mom. It shouldn’t take long, so don’t worry. With the three of us, we’ll have his arm back up in a functional state before today is over.”

Dalliah’s lips pursed and she inclined her head. “Understandable, but ensure we’re ready to press on before the day is over. Soul could be adjusting his plans as we speak.”

“Will do,” Vanessa said, blinking furiously. She raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sun. “By the way, you said you’d get me some tinkering tools to get started with, remember? I focused on Hunting in school and kind of fell behind, so I wanted to get back into it.”

“Oh, right,” Dalliah said. “I’ve been distracted with more important things. I’ll arrange for the guard captain to bring you something.”

Vanessa gave Dalliah a tight nod, then turned and headed for the tents behind them. Angel and the others hurried after her, Dalliah’s cold stare burning into their backs.

When they reached the tents, Vanessa pushed the flaps of a large one open and stepped inside, her expression wavering. Artifacts and half-assembled guard armor were arranged along the walls in metal boxes, organized precisely.

A metal folding table laden with tinkering tools sat at the back end of the bench with several unused chairs before it. Vanessa waited before they’d all entered the tent before her expression wavered and she let out a strangled, whimpering noise.

“Angel–”

“Yeah,” Angel said, his voice grim and tone low. “You suspect it as well, then?”

“Suspect what?” Tilly hissed.

“That wasn’t my mother,” Vanessa said. “I never asked her for tinkering tools. I haven’t cared about that since I got to college.”

“This is why the other Magistrates weren’t trying to stop the Reawakening,” Angel said, dragging a box of parts over to the table and throwing himself into a chair. He picked up a scribe and used Liquid Metal to command his arm open, revealing all the damaged parts that he’d locked into position. “They’re dead. Most of them, at least. Soul’s had puppets in place, probably for the vast majority of the Magistrates if not all of them.”

“Then… my mom?” Vanessa asked, holding back tears.

Angel’s face softened. “I’m sorry. I don’t know. But that wasn’t her.”

Vanessa’s eyes darted around the tent. For a moment, it looked like she was about to lose control. Then she squeezed her eyes shut and took several slow breaths, drawing each one through her throat like she were trying to squeeze the air.

When she opened her eyes again, most of the panic had receded. It was still there, but buried deep beneath the surface.

“Hunter technique,” Angel grunted, shifting a gear back into its proper location and repairing the runes on it. “You learned well.”

“You and Silver were great teachers, even if you’re horrible people to get compassion from,” Vanessa said, shaking her head. “I – no. I can’t think about this now. We need to get out of here.”

“Working on it,” Angel replied. “I can’t fight in my current situation. I need to fix my arm, and then we need to find Lilian.”

Tilly rushed over to Angel, her features set in stone. “I can help. Don’t say I can’t. I might not be as good as you, but–”

“Good,” Angel said, cutting her off. “I need it. Start on the grappling mechanism, it’s likely completely ruined. I’ll reconnect any faults in the metal, but the runes need to be patched. Alison, if you’re confident enough, you can help too. Time is of the essence, and it’ll occupy your mind.”

Alison gave him a jerky nod and rushed over. The three tinkerers poured over Angel’s arm, each claiming a scribe of their own and grabbing parts from the artifacts surrounding them as needed to repair his arm.

The work was slow and tedious, but with Liquid Metal and three pairs of hands working, it went far faster than it should have. Vanessa continuously checked the tent flap and paced around the tent, trying not to distract them.

Eventually, after around an hour had passed, she silently slipped out. The other three were too engrossed to notice her disappearance. The sun continued overhead, and Angel’s arm continued to work its way back toward functionality.

Angel focused his attention on a patch of runes near his inner forearm while the girls worked on the rest of his arm. He moved quickly – perhaps too quickly for comfort – removing and completely modifying the runes there.

None of them sat back until much later in the day, when the sun had already started to dip below the horizon. Angel made the final touches to the runes on the side of the tubular relic in his palm, then closed all the latches and experimentally flexed his arm.

He went through every motion he could, testing every joint and finger before giving the girls a nod. “Good. It’s working again.”

“Now what?” Tilly hissed. “We run?”

“Not yet,” Angel replied. “There are two more things we need. Alison, can you make me some canisters? I’m going to need even more firepower than normal. Just try to keep the magic limited enough so that they don’t explode before I do anything.”

“I’ll try,” Alison said, nodding. She rooted around the workshop floor, grabbing several unfilled canisters from a labeled crate, and then got to work. Meanwhile, Angel pulled Blue out from his bag, setting it down on the table.

“Blue?” Tilly asked. “Poor thing looks completely smashed. Are you sure it’s still functional?”

“It has good workmanship,” Angel replied, carefully prying one of the protective layers away from the spherical artifact. It tore off with a pop, causing both Alison and Tilly to wince.

“Not anymore,” Tilly muttered. “You ruined it.”

She paused, then shuddered. “Sorry. I’m just–”

“It’s fine. The only thing that matters is this,” Angel said, tapping Blue’s core. He peeled the remaining layers of the artifact back, then turned his arm over, where a newly created rune circle sat.

“You’re going to insert Blue into your arm?” Alison realized. “Is that wise? I know you’re experienced, but that’s got to be really complex runework.”

“Oh, it is. And no, it isn’t wise. I’m only about fifty percent sure this will even turn on without blowing me up, but I need Blue’s knowledge and the ability to speak with my Star Fragment. We don’t have time to repair blue, so I’m doing a bit of a patch up job.”

Spikes emerged from his fingertips and he carefully cut away the remainder of Blue’s shell, baring the inner Magitech. It took him some more time to go around the artifact’s core, patching as much damage as he could, before adding in the extra runes to link it to his arm.

Once he’d finished, Angel used Liquid metal to form a small compartment within the rune circle. He placed Blue’s remains into it, then drew the connecting runes to seal the circuit. His arm let out a low pitched hum and purple energy crackled across it, as if stretching after a long night’s rest.

Angel ran through the motions with his arm again. Everything seemed to function – for now, at least. He nodded, then turned around.

“Where’s Vanessa?”

Tilly went pale. “Did Dalliah come in when we weren’t looking? Did she get–”

“She would have made noise,” Alison interrupted. “She left on her own. Maybe she’s getting stuff ready or something.”

“Shit,” Angel muttered, rising to his feet. Alison handed him the newly made canisters and he slotted six of them into his arm before going for his pack. He opened it, grimacing as he spotted the gaping hole in its side.

He grabbed several iron spikes and thrust them through the bag, bending them back on themselves until the hole was roughly stitched shut. Then he placed the canisters in and slung it back over his shoulder.

“We need to find her. Lilian and Silver too, but they can take care of themselves. Remember, don’t let anything slip. We cannot let this fake Dalliah realize we know what’s going on. I don’t know if she’s Soul or just his puppet, nor do I know how many others in this camp are under his control.”

“How do you do it?” Tilly asked.

“Do what?” Angel glanced back at her.

“The whole… not caring thing. Like nothing really phases you, and even when it does, you just keep plugging along. Don’t you get scared? What if we mess up?”

“Soul ground all of that out from me,” Angel said, stopping with his hand on the flaps of the tent. “I only have two things left. To ensure that Old World Magic returns to this world, and to make sure he never hurts someone I care about again. Nothing else matters. It’s all just meaningless distractions.”