Book 3: Chapter 33 - God’s Most Trustworthy Flower

Everyone knows the best lies have a kernel of truth.
This is one of the most basic tricks of deception.

But it’s not the most important factor at play.

More than basing it on the truth, a liar needs to understand the person they are deceiving.

What do they care about?
What details will they latch onto?

What specifics will they always remember, long after the liar has forgotten?
—Vernon Vale, Interview

The nest was as silent as Angelo wanted, and Violet was bored. The proper procedures for raiding a nest involved a lot of huddling up against each other, watching every direction at once, and communicating exclusively with physical touch. Unless they made contact, of course, at which point Angelo would start shouting. This was about as fast and clean as scraping an old sticker off thin plastic. Violet’s team was taking point, since she knew the route, but Angelo would slow her down anytime she tried to pick up the pace.

It was excruciating. She knew for a fact they wouldn’t be attacked, yet she had to inch through the school like a nervous insect. And she had to do it in complete silence. She didn’t love silence, as a rule. She was a girl who couldn’t help but find words for every lull in conversation. Even if they lacked any merit but the noise. It just made her uncomfortable. Like everyone in the room could start poking through her private thoughts if she didn’t distract them. 

She couldn’t exactly blame Angelo, though. She could promise they were safe until she was blue in the face. But the team had been in a fight for their lives. They were scared, and they were jumpy. And if they got into a fight inside the nest, it would probably attract every hedron who lived there. Considering it was a yellow nest, the math probably worked out to everyone being dead if that happened. She wasn’t very good at math, but the equation wasn’t complicated. Especially from the perspective of her teammates, who lacked some key pieces of information.

Ultimately, she’d been careless, and this was the price she had to pay. That was fine. Kiera was alright. And at least it made timing the next part of her plan easy. Not that it was particularly hard, of course. The teams were separated to avoid overcrowding the halls. She’d have more than enough opportunity at the same choke point she’d had to squeeze through before. Only a couple of people could travel through that at once, and it wouldn’t take too much work to ensure teams were separated as she wanted them.

It just took five times longer to reach it than when she’d been alone. 

But they finally arrived, and Violet held her right hand up in a fist. In front of them, crystal had grown so thick on both sides of the hall that only a crevice remained to pass through. She’d warned everyone about this spot before they actually entered the nest, so she was able to simply point to give her next orders. With one finger, she directed Kiera through the crack first, and Masaki directly after. The idea was to have an Explorer and a Kitsune on the other side first, so illusion could protect the isolated party members until the rest could join them. And Masaki could recognize any signs of new danger since Violet had left. Lisa went through next, leaving her homunculi with the remaining students as she joined the first to pass through. After that went Aubrey, for her Danger Sense, and Guy for his defensive capabilities. This left Violet with Terry, Angelo, and two mindless constructs. That was perfect.

Violet sent the mental command. 

This was a trick she’d learned in her first nest, and it had been a boon. There was nothing like a collapse in a nest to offer her a little privacy with her target. There was some risk involved, of course. But at her category? It wasn’t significant. She’d checked the crystal around her with Fatal Flaws, and she knew what would break. Everyone on the other side of the crack would be safe. And Violet expected the imminent fall into the basement. Separated from all of the highest perception students, and with Kiera’s illusions surrounding them, Violet could even use Quiet Ivy to direct her fall. Terry had traded his perception away, and Angelo’s wasn’t particularly impressive in the first place.

She just needed the hedron she’d chosen to act. 

“Danger!” Aubrey screamed, and everything began to shake a moment later. Violet made a mental note of that. Aubrey’s Danger Sense was growing in strength. The banshee had announced the problem before the hedron’s talent had even activated. That had the potential to be problematic in the future, but it was an issue for another day. 

Aubrey had been too late.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Craaack

The danger presented itself to everyone when a long, violent wound crawled across the floor. Terry froze. He and Angelo were separated by the scar on the ground. The first sound had been the hedron in the basement. The second had been its talent traveling through the building. After the initial crack came the faint rumble, then the angry quaking, and the nest started to shatter. The crack sounded weary as it spread, and a gap opened up. Darkness revealed itself through the new opening, and a chasm threatened Violet and both the students with her. New fractures began to appear all around them, and their footing lost all stability. Even Violet stumbled as the ground began to shift and turn to dust, just a little at a time.

Yellow crystal was shattering and following everywhere after only a few seconds. Violet heard some commotion from the rest of the team, but she knew they’d be safe. Angelo burst into the air and rushed to Terry’s side, picking him up in a single smooth movement. Violet idly noted that the boy’s wings didn’t actually move much despite the flight. That looked strange. A moment later, his hand was grabbing the back of her shirt to pull her from the ground as well. An easy enough feat, with the strength of an orange lancer. But not one Violet was interested in allowing. She was surprised Angelo reacted in time, which was irritating. But she’d accounted for the possibility.

Shadow crawled up the walls of crystal and clung to the crumbling floor. It was nearly invisible in the poorly lit nest, and it would be even better disguised by the crystal debris around them. Violet gripped all three of them and pulled them down, fighting Angelo's flight with nearly no effort. She could only use so many vines, lest one of the other two actually see them. They would feel them, obviously. But so long as they didn’t see the source, that was fine. And she didn’t need many. She was stronger than these children. 

Ivy crept into the darkness below and gripped the floor. Angelo fought to fly them from the danger. Violet dragged them down. “Terry, I need strength!” Angelo screamed. 

“All my strength for all of your... fuck! What don’t you need to get out of here?” Terry shouted. 

Angelo quivered in the air. His grip seemed to be struggling. Violet pulled harder, and the entire trio jolted in the air, losing a few feet of elevation all at once. Angelo choked on his response the first time he tried it, and the second sounded more like crying than shouting—although both words might’ve applied. “Just give it to me! I need it now!” he begged.

“It doesn’t work like that!” Terry shouted back. “It has to be a trade!” 

“I need—” Angelo started, but Violet yanked them down again. The seraphim caught the edge of the widening chasm with his wings as they were pulled down. He used both his flight talent and all of his strength to hold them up, but it wouldn’t be enough. 

“Just trade anything, Christ!” Violet ordered. Even as she did, she wrapped a vine around the boy’s left wing to force it free from the crystal. 

“Something fucking has us, please!” Angelo pleaded. Violet strained and pulled with more of her willpower. She couldn’t use all of it, or she couldn’t direct the fall. But she was still strong. She also gripped a loose chunk of crystal from the ceiling, pulling it down onto them with a sudden, harsh tug. Angelo covered their heads with his free wing, but the boulder crashed into it and violently jostled all three students.

“De–Dexterity!” Terry offered, but it was too late. Violet pulled the other wing free, and Angelo had to catch the ground with one hand. The same which had been holding the reaper. She figured that might’ve happened, and she easily caught him by the waist. And even as she wrapped her arms around him, she offered a burst of strength to her vines.

"Don't drop me!” she cried. “Please! It has me, too!” 

It was all but over. She’d have these two isolated in a matter of seconds. 

Then there was a shout, and a flash of orange crystal, and Violet’s control slipped. Something bit into Angelo’s wing right where the ivy gripped it, breaking a chunk of it off. She cursed internally. Her talent now held only a piece of orange crystal, and the rest of Angelo’s wing moved. The last thing she saw was the crystal boulder falling past it. Someone had fucked everything up.

Aubrey watched the campfire and bit her lip as she waited for dinner. She just couldn't get out of her own head. Even while safe, camped outside the nest. Maybe especially because they were safe now. It almost seemed easier to think while they were exploring that death trap. But here? In the open air? She was overthinking again. It didn't help that everyone else was so quiet as well. For better or for worse, she'd grown used to her team's irreverence. It was comforting, even if all she ever had to offer was worse puns than Guy, somehow.

But Terry and Angelo could barely speak after what had happened. And Angelo was responsible for healing the injured, which was awkward with his silence. Lisa and Masaki were shaken, too. Which made sense. Three of their friends had almost died. Whatever monster had tried to drag them down was something out of a horror movie. And the lingering fear of it had strangled any chance at levity. Even Guy and Kiera couldn't salvage the mood. 

Aubrey didn't understand what had happened. Violet had cleared the route to the heart. She'd entered the nest and returned with barely more than a few bruises to show for it. Everything was going well, and Aubrey thought they might actually make it out of a yellow nest alive.

She sensed danger, but it had been a low, ambient hum. One she'd felt almost constantly since enlisting in the lancers. The feeling of approaching a hibernating bear, but knowing it had no interest in a meal. It was a bit worse, since she was in a yellow nest. But honestly, it was far better than she’d expected. Especially since this was apparently a human nest.

Then they started creeping through the school, and she was hit with anxiety like an avalanche. The threat of the nest went from mild to cataclysmic in the span of a single breath. Silence turned to an earthquake, and the world started crashing down around her. She'd barely responded in time. Guy had barely responded in time, actually. Something she hadn't expected. 

As soon as she sensed the danger, she tried to warn everyone. But only Guy reacted immediately. Even faster than Aubrey. The banshee knew there was danger, but somehow Guy knew it would be behind them. If he hadn't forced himself back into that crevice to save Violet, three members of the team would be dead. But he had. And he'd pulled Angelo free just before the group was taken by something... horrifying. Something that set Aubrey's senses off like heat from a bonfire.

Violet would be surprised when she woke up. It was plain as day she'd stopped trusting Guy in the last nest, and Aubrey could piece together why. But he'd more than redeemed himself here. It was a shame Violet had been knocked unconscious right as Guy had his shining moment of bravery.

Fortunate that the impending danger evaporated at the same moment.

That thought stuck in Aubrey’s mind, and she had to rebuke herself for it.

It was obvious what had happened. The hedron below had lost its grip, then fled when the number of opponents increased. It was a coincidence that Violet had been knocked out at the same time. That kind of thing happened in the field. Aubrey was just so fucking bitter. She couldn't let her initial impression of Violet go. Even after every selfless thing the scout had done. Aubrey was alive because of Violet. And the girl didn't hate Aubrey for the lives she'd taken.

The team leader made a few thoughtless remarks about it, yes. And she brought it up when she lost her temper. But she felt even worse about that than Aubrey whenever it happened. The kindness that followed was always sweeter than the mistake before it. 

And Aubrey couldn't exactly complain about it. She rubbed her hands together over the heat. She'd killed Stephanie with her reckless fear. She'd left Violet and Daniel alone in the nest. She was stupid, and dangerous, and of course Violet couldn't pretend none of that had ever happened. Of course she mentioned it, or treated Aubrey a little differently. That was earned. Whereas the following kindness was not. Violet was a good person. And Aubrey needed to stop projecting onto her.

Aubrey was the fuckup, and Violet wasn't her ex. The distrust was unkind. 

Even if her Scream, as an orange, had done less damage to a yellow hedron. It obviously had different attributes than Stephanie. A much higher constitution and endurance. That was easily explained.

Even if Violet behaved like her attributes were higher than they said. She was simply skilled.

Even if Violet's words almost always had a bite to them. Even if she left wounds with every compliment and looked down on everyone. Even if she seemed to prefer a scythe to her natural glaive, and her talents didn't seem to match her calling. Even if her only friend from home seemed to be afraid of her for some reason.

Even if Koral thought Violet was hiding something.

Even if Aubrey's sense for danger never truly stopped unless Violet was asleep.

Even if. Even if. Even if.

Aubrey was so goddamn fucking selfish and judgemental. She fucking hated herself. She hated that she was a murderer. She loathed that she found every reason to judge one of her kindest friends. She despised the way she invented reasons to vilify Violet.

Koral was supposed to be an actual, diagnosed narcissist. That was a fact. Aubrey’s girlfriend had a genuine personality disorder. Yet Koral managed her own thoughts, jealousies, and projections far better than Aubrey could. Koral thought before speaking. She was slow and careful. Her girlfriend recognized her own weaknesses before she pinned them on someone else. Koral had an excuse to do what Aubrey was determined to do. But Aubrey was the one who couldn't scrub the ideas from her mind. 

She knew she just wanted it to be true. She wanted Violet to be dangerous so she could feel innocent again. 

She was pathetic.

“Violet is all healed up,” Angelo finally said. “And Kiera has your MRE ready.” The boy had a tremor to his voice, and he almost flinched as Aubrey looked up at him. Not because she was dangerous, but he'd already been a nervous kid. That experience had dialed his fear to eleven and robbed him of the ability to properly aim it. She didn't think he'd be going back into the nest. He was going to heal everyone, then convince them to report a mission failure back in Prism.

Aubrey, on the other hand? She felt more safe than she had all day. She was so much more at ease when Violet was asleep. It was stupid. And it was leaving everyone else with a greater burden. Angelo had been hurt and afraid, and he'd dragged Violet to safety while Aubrey sulked. Guy had actually saved their friend when Aubrey had been the one to notice the danger. But not the one to act, of course.

Now Kiera was making food, and Aubrey was wasting her time with an internal argument. Betraying her friend in her own mind. “Thanks,” Aubrey said. “Is she alright?” 

“A little banged up,” Angelo said. “But she's good as new. Not a scratch on her. Physically, at least. I owe her an apology when she wakes up. I... well. I messed up in there.”

He looked down in shame, and Aubrey bit her lip. What he said wasn't right. And she couldn't put her finger on why. But she recognized the flavor of the doubt. She was trying to find a reason to justify it. Her disappointment that Violet was unharmed. God, she hated herself. “How is Guy?” she asked. 

“Oh, he's alright. A couple of scrapes, but his wounds weren't high priority. Much better than after the last fight. I'll heal him up while he rests,” Angelo replied. She could tell he was grateful. That she didn't press for what his mistake was. She of all people didn't have the right to, though.

“He'll appreciate that,” she said. She was going to let the conversation drop there, but a thought occurred to her. “Oh, I’m sure he mentioned it last time, but don't heal his scars. He, uh... well, I don't understand it. He says they won't heal. But I think he wants them there.”

Angelo froze, his hands halfway to the fire. “Oh. Oh, shit, he did say something about that, didn’t he? And then Violet didn’t want to be healed before, either... That... never even occurred to me. Please tell me Violet’s not the same way, is she? I guess that would explain why she even had those scars, but...” He trailed off. Aubrey’s heart sank at the guilt on his face, and she couldn't understand why.

“What do you mean?” she pushed.

“You know. The crazy scars that looked like a tree? They were old, which was weird, but none of my business. It didn't occur to me she kept them on purpose,” he answered, worry creeping into his voice. “She did, didn't she? Shit. She totally had them on purpose. Why else would she have them at all? After all those times she was sent to the infirmary. She’d have needed to put in a specific request to have them excluded from healing. Fuck, I’m so thoughtless. Shit.”

“...No,” Aubrey denied. “No, the lightning scars wouldn't heal. Because of the talent that caused them. She didn’t want them, they just didn’t heal. Talents can’t heal them.” Violet had said as much. She’d been explicit about it. She didn’t exactly hide the scars, considering her typical choice of civilian clothes. But she didn’t want them, either. Why would she?

Angelo looked confused. “What?” he asked. “That does happen sometimes, but—”

“They won't heal,” Aubrey insisted. “She wouldn’t have them if they could be healed.” They were a reminder of Aubrey's failure. Of the worst day of the banshee’s life. They were the story of how Aubrey almost got everyone killed. The story of the woman she murdered. And the permanent mark it left on an innocent girl. Violet would have had them healed, if it were an option. She definitely would have.

“I already healed them,” Angelo confessed. “I'm sorry. I didn't know.”