Book 3: Chapter 10 - For the Record

The amount of work we put into recreating the old world is a chain around our necks.
How much clarity is fed to copying relics of the past?
How much manpower is wasted recreating the pleasures of a dead world?

We live in a new society now.
We have the opportunity to create new art. New inventions. An entire new culture.

Yet we scurry around like insects looking for crumbs of a bygone era.
It’s pathetic.
—Cyan Asher, Attributed

Violet still wasn’t sure if she was being paranoid. She was aware that, if she were, she'd likely believe she wasn’t. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t question it, either. Unfortunately, she still hadn’t found concrete evidence one way or another.  

She'd gone into the city three times in the past two weeks and had only reached her planned target once. On the other two trips, she'd seen a similar lurker waiting near her target. A woman wearing sunglasses on a cloudy day. A man playing a game of solitaire but ignoring obvious moves. Both literally stood between her and her goals. It was possible that both were a coincidence, just like it was possible the stranger in the unseasonal jacket was a coincidence. 

But Violet didn’t intend to be arrested. So she wouldn’t dismiss one oddity, much less three. 

For the time being, she needed to operate under the assumption that someone had figured out the connection between her targets. Or at least, part of the connection. It was always possible they were responding on their own, of course. Violet doubted all of them would recognize the connection themselves, but some might. And those would likely protect themselves and their family. Hell, a few of them had probably been warned. Violet was careful to primarily kill those who were unrelated to her plan, but it wouldn’t be strange if a pattern had been noticed anyway. Violet didn’t think that was likely, but it wasn’t impossible.

The answer was the same either way. She was serious when she was talking to Chase, even if she was a bit sparse with the details. She needed to stop holding back, and to start using her talent to bypass these obstacles. 

The primary problem was that she didn’t know who’d sent these people to watch her targets. If she operated as if anyone had sent them at all, at least. The lie she’d tell a police officer would be different than the lie she’d tell a member of the Inverted Prism Society, or the Asher family. And if she guessed incorrectly, she could very well get herself caught. The consequences would likely vary, depending on which group they were affiliated with. But they would be severe regardless.

She had to do something about the issue.

Thankfully, she still had several names on her list who lived in the orange district. They weren’t the highest priority, but that wasn’t what mattered. What mattered was that an orange would be easier to trick than a yellow or green. They might know the least for the same reason, but she could likely figure out who they were working with, if nothing else. And that was the only information she needed. 

Sentinels or not, she wasn’t interested in playing their game. She wanted them to play hers. Either she was imagining a threat, or she was going to crush one. Either way, she was done entertaining this roadblock to her goals.

She just needed a little more... hands-on help.

“Come on, Vi, this is serious! You said you’d help me pick!” Kiera complained. Violet had been staring at the same record for several minutes, and nothing about it indicated it would make a good gift for Guy. Something about the quiet of the old shop had encouraged contemplation. Perhaps the dust settled on the falsely aged records that lined the walls. There was no way this many original records had survived for so long. But people who still shopped for such things wanted them to feel vintage. The honest lie of the shop had sent Violet on a mental spiral for some reason. 

“Nothing related to Guy is serious, Kiera. Nothing ever. And I think he prefers it that way,” Violet quipped back. Kiera narrowed her eyes at the reaper, and Violet rubbed the back of her neck guiltily. She had promised to help Kiera out, and she really shouldn’t have let her mind wander like that. Kiera’s crush on Guy was senseless, as far as Violet was concerned. And Violet’s worries were slightly more significant. 

But Violet wanted to be a good friend. That meant taking this seriously, even if it was stupid. And, ideally, not making it obvious she thought Kiera was being stupid. It was the least she could do, since Kiera went out of her way for Violet so often. Especially if she was going to ask the fox to come with her on her next... outing.

“Come on, Vi. I owe Guy almost as much as I owe you, and I went all out for your seventeenth. It’s his turn now,” Kiera insisted.

Violet nodded and held one hand up in a sign of surrender. “You’re right, sorry,” she agreed. “I’m thinking, really, I just don’t know him as well as I know you. For how amiable he is, it’s kind of hard to learn anything real about him.”

“Oh, he’s not so mysterious as all that. He’s just an absolute dipshit with a ton of repressed trauma. Basically just one of the girls,” Kiera dismissed. 

“Good point,” Violet agreed. “What are the top ten gifts for traumatized children?”

“I don’t know. This is why I asked Aubrey to come, but she’s on another date with Koral,” Kiera complained.

“Maybe that’s the answer. Maybe you should get him a girlfriend with pink hair and twintails,” Violet suggested.

“I’m slightly skeptical of the ‘get men to date me by finding them a different girlfriend’ tactic, if I’m being honest, Vi,” Kiera deadpanned.

“Even with Guy?” Violet asked. “Kiera, that man is the most poly creature I’ve ever seen in my life, and that includes fictional characters.”

“He’s literally single.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Shit.”

“You see my point.”

Kiera rolled her eyes, then returned to the discount record bins. “I’ll worry about what that means for me later. The point is, I’m not setting him up with a slightly more straight Koral clone for his birthday, no,” she said.

“You’ll have to dye your hair, then,” Violet responded with a shrug.

“I like my hair, and I’m not bleaching it. I’m also not rich enough to keep up with the growout. Besides, it didn’t even seem like he thought Koral was that hot? What kind of suggestion is this, anyway?” Kiera complained.

“I don’t know, I just saw that it worked for one of my friends and thought I’d run an experiment. For science. Hot girl science,” Violet explained.

“I’m about to run a fucking experiment,” Kiera grumbled. “Come on. I can’t get him a record player without any records. What do you think he would like?”

Violet paused at the question. She honestly had no idea. Kiera had said the boy liked music, especially in this incredibly archaic format, but hadn’t been able to name anything specific. Not even a genre. Kiera was often one of the most confident people Violet knew, but when it came to her past or her crush, the fox was more like a mouse. 

Violet ran her hands across dusty records arranged in cardboard bins, flipping through each for just long enough to see a title. “I honestly don’t know, or I wouldn’t have been stalling, sorry,” she apologized. “But honestly, in his case, I think trying to find the perfect album might be a mistake.”

Kiera paused, the soundtrack to a movie Violet had never heard of still in her hands. “I know he’s kind of all over the place, but he does appreciate when thought goes into shit,” she tried.

“No, I’m not saying to just give him whatever you come across. I’m saying he’ll appreciate a wide variety of unrelated bullshit that caters to him in different ways. Maybe try and slide a message in there. You know. Buy him Bare Naked Ladies, ‘cause he’s enthusiastic about those. But also Kiss, Nirvana, and Hatsune Miku. You know. Communicate what’s actually on offer, if you catch my drift,” Violet suggested. “Also, I think maybe he referenced Nirvana once, and that's the closest I have to a hint about what he likes. Assuming the garbage he chooses at karaoke isn't a real indicator.”

“That’s stupid. Great idea. Although I’m not sure if I’m ready for that exact combination. Actually, I only understand the first three together. Why Miku?” Kiera asked.

Violet shrugged. “I’m still stuck on the twintails theory, truth be told,” she admitted.

Kiera chuckled at that, then waved the comment off as she pulled a Cake album free. “For his birthday, I guess,” she suggested.

“That's the spirit!” Violet encouraged. “I wonder if there is a Bare Naked Gentleman band. He'd like them, too, probably.”

“We will not be implying anything naked on this particular birthday, thanks,” Kiera insisted. “Help me find other bands or album titles that work, please. Ideally, ones that don't suck. The bit aside, I'd like to get him good music.”

Violet held her right hand over her heart and her left in the air. “I, Violet Asher, swear on my life that if any of these records suck, I will tell Guy that I was the one who picked them,” she promised.

“Aww, you would let people think you have shit taste in music? For me?” Kiera asked.

“Always,” Violet confirmed.

“God, that's such a hot thing to do. Thanks, Vi, you're a fucking hero.” Kiera said. “Who needs Aubrey or her fancy girlfriend, anyway?”

“Not us!” Violet exclaimed. “Except when we're fighting for our lives with apocalypse crystal monsters! Then we kind of need her!”

“But not her fancy girlfriend,” Kiera clarified.

Violet continued thumping through albums as they joked, glad she'd come up with a decent idea for Kiera. “Hey, we don't know that! Maybe Koral is a frightening and powerful lancer,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, sorry. Just feeling a bit bitchy today. It's been impossible to get Aubrey to give us the time of day lately,” Kiera responded.

Violet shrugged, even as she presented a record for Kiera's consideration. Kiera shook her head and wrinkled her nose, so Violet returned the album as she responded. “I look forward to you making plenty of time for me after you finally grow the balls to ask Guy out,” she challenged.

“That's different,” Kiera quipped.

“Why? Because Guy is a little prettier than Koral?” Violet asked.

“Yes, exactly. Also, it's okay when I do it,” Kiera explained.

“Oh, right, I always forget that,” Violet agreed with a sagely nod.

“I get your point, though. I'll try to be nice to Koral even though Aubrey likes her more than us,” Kiera acquiesced. “Unless you use your evil eye of finding evil and... find out she's evil. Sorry, I only know three words, apparently. You get the point.”

“You don't think that's crossing a boundary? I can't use it on everyone. So it would feel a bit nosy to use it on my friends’ partners, you know?” Violet asked.

“Oh, I don't think you actually should,” Kiera quickly clarified. “I was just saying words. It's an awful habit, honestly.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Sorry, I've had my mind on darker topics all day. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have taken references to my ‘evil eye of finding evil’ seriously, “ Violet replied with a sigh.

“Nah, that one's on me. Even the serious shit I talk about sounds stupid when I say it. It's one of the ways I know I'm destined to marry Guy. You can't be blamed when you can't tell the difference,” Kiera apologized.

“Well, obviously. I can't be blamed for anything ever. You know that,” Violet said. “I'm too delicate and innocent.”

“Obviously,” Kiera deadpanned. “Alright, then. You've mostly solved my problem. My turn. What's got you so distracted? Men or evil men?”

“I don't understand the difference,” Violet sighed.

“Men are useless and pathetic, and evil men are only useless,” Kiera elaborated.

Violet snorted at that, but ultimately decided to answer the question her friend was actually asking. “Evil men, unfortunately. Lord willing it will be romance one of these days, but not yet,” she answered.

“Well, the bad news is I don't have a lot of advice on that variety. The good news is I wouldn't have had good advice on the other kind, either,” Kiera replied.

Violet tilted her head, her long sidetail nearly brushing the ground with the gesture. “How is that good news?” she questioned.

Kiera paused, then shrugged. “Guess it's not. So I only have bad news for you, sorry about that,” she admitted. “Still. Happy to help if there is anything you think I can do.”

Violet checked her necklace to make sure it was active. She needed to be certain the next part of the conversation wasn't overheard. In the orange district, it was overkill, if anything. Even so, she was glad she had it when she next spoke. 

“Actually, you know what? Yes. I think there is something you can do.”