31.7:《?》 are they sanctioned to sanction?

_{a/n: post first, bold and color text later}

「page i」

°

「

I picked up the rock,

and brought it down,

not for it but for me.

」

°

“Is… something going on, Gil?”

Gilbert Wolff put his suit jacket over his wife’s shoulders before leading her to the door. His parents were already waiting in the limousine at the gates of their mansion with their suitcases and Greta’s suitcase in its trunk.

Gilbert made to pull open the door but Greta stopped him with a gentle hand around the wrist.

“Gilbert, tell me,” Greta pressed. “Something is happening. What is it? I can help you.”

“Help me come back to my senses?” Gilbert asked.

Greta’s brows met. “With more than that.” She hesitated for a moment before pressing a palm against his chest. “You could have sent me and your mother away to the Small Services District because of our ‘VNW’, but you didn’t.” She paused. “I know you’re in there, Gilbert.”

Gilbert put his index and thumb to her chin before lifting it so he could admire her eyes. “Greta, I am your Gil. Just like how a seed sprouts a flower that produces more seeds that sprouts more flowers. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t Gilbert Wolff.”

He paused, glancing up at the grandfather clock above the door. He sensed it. It was almost time. He dropped his hand from her chin and ushered her through the door where their driver Mr. Roth stood waiting.

“Now, go and have a good time.”

Greta whipped around. “Auf wiedersehen, Gil.”

Gilbert smiled at her and shut the door. “Auf nimmerwiedersehen, Greta.”

* * *

Gilbert returned to his large office and began straightening the bookcases and tidying the floors. He made several calls to a handful of other policy makers and re-ran the numbers in his books right after. Once he felt he’d settled all of his affairs, he reclined at his desk, removed all of his rings from his fingers, and set them neatly on the wooden surface. The only exception he made to this pattern was the diamond ring on his second finger which he stored carefully in his cabinet drawers. Once that was in order,  he started the pendulum cradle on his desk. Every so often the clicks of the metal balls would synchronize with the ticks of the clock above his office door. 

It was around half past ten that those doors slowly creaked open and a woman in a pink raincoat stepped in. 

“Y’left yer doors unlocked, Mr. Wolff,” the woman said.

“I doubt there are any doors that would keep you out, Miss Caertas,” Gilbert replied, “though I reckon you’d be surprised by the number of doors that would be able to keep you in.”

“Y’know me then.” Flannery closed the door behind her. “And you’ve been expectin’ me since yer the only one here.” 

Liquid from her raincoat dribbled onto the floor. 

“You think you’re Flannery Caertas,” Gilbert replied, “Saint Candidate of Libra, Saint of the Scales.”

“I don’t ‘think’, I know,” Flannery returned. “Operatin’ on thinkin’ instead of knowin’ is not in my modus operandi.”

Gilbert smiled and continued, “You also think you’re the Knowledge Bearer of Libra, indexing old historical laws, decrees, mistrials, trials of all sorts of cultures in your ‘records’.”

Flannery paused, her expression betraying nothing, although Gilbert presumed she was hiding a look of shock. 

“So yer a root then,” Flannery proposed. 

“Nico put up a fight, didn’t he?” Gilbert answered without answering. “I bet you were surprised.”

“I was surprised,” Flannery admitted, “about how lovin’ly made he was. Olivier Chance too. The struggle to live from something unalive. 

“And that’s where your delusion truly begins, Miss Caertas.” Gilbert fixed his tie as he rose to a challenging stand. “We’re living, breathing things just like you. In fact, I  could even argue that we’re more alive than all of you are.”

---

Atienna had felt nothing. Not when they’d stumbled across Nico’s body. Not when they’d seen that corpse hanging from the ceiling with that proclamation hanging around its neck: NO MORE GARDENS. Not when they’d found Trystan dragging Olive’s body through the dark hall leaving behind a trail of red. 

Even now as Atienna sat in this white lobby that smelled like the absence of smell, she felt nothing. They had arrived at the hospital here in the Small Services District an hour or two after the ambulance had arrived at the mall. Atienna wondered how advanced their medicine was compared to the medicine of Signum. If Ndoto truly was a garden, if it was some construct lovingly crafted by a gardener, then that gardener must have some advanced knowledge in the field. That was, unless, the concept of and laws of medicine here was completely novel.

The peacekeepers, the Capricornians, the Twin Cities residents, the lone Ariesian and Cancerian, and the Geminian captain were going back and forth just a few steps away. What they most likely perceived as whispers were actually irate shouts. 

“You’re talkin’ about shakin’ hands with a damned saint candidate wearin’ the face of a half-crazed dictator and lookin’ to shake hands with another half-crazed raincoat-obsessed lady you think is a saint candidate.”

“Look. I understand how it looks and sounds and, of course, how you feel. We’re not taking our dealings with Capricorn lightly—”

“Y’know what. I actually don’t give a damn about Capricorn. I just can’t wrap my head around how all of y’decided that you want to partner with a damned lunatic. I’ve partnered with a lot of dirty people in my line of work, but I have never ever worked with someone who’s hurt one of my own. Look at what she did to Nico!” A wild jab. “Look at what she did to your prince brat!”

“How sure are you that’s ‘Nico Fabrizzio’. How sure are you that’s the Ariesian Prince. Capricorn gave the impression that the people we’ve met and interacted with are—”

“And you believe him?” A snort. “Of course you would. You lot followed that bastard straight into the Week of Blindness—”

“Watch your tongue!”

“I’m with Mr. Foxman on this one. Who gave you the right to say whose life matters?”

“Oh, Knight, so you’d prefer the scenario where you’ve let your prince end up like that?”

“Alright now, gentlemen, messieurs, there’s no need to step into politics here.”

Commotion from down the corridor overpowered their conversation. There Werner was being manhandled by several men in scrubs. Cadence and Ludwig were trying to placate him with little success.

“Let me see them!” Werner demanded, swinging his fist. “Let me see them!”

“Werner, please calm down,” Cadence urged. “You’re making things worse.”

“But Caddy—Ollie and Liebling!”

“Are in good hands,” Cadence insisted. “Elizabeta’s part of the medical team—they’ll be fine.”  

Atienna looked away from them and towards the others. She wondered why any of them were even here. The others had picked up their argument.

“—aybe Nico had a bullseye put on him ‘cause he knew too much about that murder case. Does that make your saint candidate friend trustworthy, huh? Putin’ out the guy that was on her tail—”

“How do we know if the person responsible for all this—this raincoat killer—is even the saint candidate you’re seeking—this ‘Flannery’?”

“It’s a bit haphazard to fall on the idea that Nico was targeted because of his involvement with the case, don’t you think? Just as haphazard to fall on the idea that the person who attacked him wasn’t Flannery…” Atienna asked more to herself than anyone else. “Purposefully going after Nico doesn’t coincide with what we’ve concluded about the Raincoat Killer’s motivations and ideal victims. While we know from the news and witness accounts that the attacker was wearing a raincoat, you could argue that we don’t know which Raincoat Killer was there—the original or the copycat—and say that the one who’s motivations and goals we aren’t aware of it did the attack. However… we all saw the sign hanging from that corpse. ‘No more gardens’. If Capricorn has that goal because this place is disrupting the syzygy, it wouldn’t be so farfetched to assume that Flannery shares the same goal—assuming the Flannery here is the one we know. We have evidence supporting that Flannery was present at the mall from the rosters we have as well…” She paused. “I wonder, with all of this information, if the reason Flannery targeted Nico is because she believed him to be a ‘root.’ I wonder… if one of us has been unwittingly made into a ‘root’ just like how certain people were turned into ‘towers’ during the Week of Blindness. Flannery’s approach to dealing with roots is vastly different from her approach to Scorpio’s towers… It’s a bit strange, isn’t it?”

Gabrielle Law regarded her for a moment before providing a peacekeeper response— “That’s an interesting perspective. I see you’ve been putting a lot of thought into this situation.”

“Perhaps a little too much. Apologies for the rambling.” Atienna offered a disarming shy downcasting glance before excusing herself to the restroom. 

Despite having six stalls, the bathroom Atienna wandered into was thankfully empty. She ran the faucet on hot and held her hands underneath it. It burned but only just so. Upon looking up into the mirror, she was met with a bunch of bright posters pasted on the wall and her own foggy reflection. What had Proteus and Francis said about reflections? Holding up mirrors and blurriness…

Atienna felt something tickle her throat.

She covered her mouth and coughed. Flower petals fell into the sink.

Capricorn had described it as a rot. However, Atienna was certain that rot had taken hold of her long before she’d arrived at Ndoto. It had been there encroaching steadily before she had shaken hands with Scorpio. Its presence had become a familiarity long before Yulia and Kovich bled out in the Twin Cities. Before Usian stood before the Great Tree, it had already been keeping her company—and perhaps Usian had sensed this too. It would be easy for others to attribute the decay to the moment her mother’s head had cracked against the ground all those years ago, but Atienna knew—though she tried to avert her eyes from it; no, she had simply never been interested in it—that the rot had already become a familiar friend by that time. She couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment it began, but the moment she first noticed it…?

Atienna suddenly recalled the trip Usian had taken her class on to the outskirts of Virgo. The boar trapped in that noose—she remembered each ragged breath it took, each stomp of its hooves as it struggled, the saliva dribbling down its mouth, and the flies and vultures that buzzed around in anticipation.

Struggle or die. Trapped in the box that only opened from the outside. 

The bathroom door opened behind her.  Shion’s reflection appeared in the mirror.

“Are you doing okay, Atienna?” 

Atienna turned. “How about you? I’m sure you have a lot on your plate right now. You… must be worried sick about Olive.”

“Olive…” Shion paused, looking away. “He’ll be okay…” Her brows met for a moment but she smiled through it. “Olive will be okay.” 

There was a lull of silence filled only by the sound of the running sink but Atienna chose not to speak.

“I’m here if you need to talk,” Shion tried. “You’re not alone, Atienna.”

“You’ve always been so kind to me Shion,” Atienna replied. “Why?”

Shion appeared thrown off by the question.

“Is it because you’re a guidance officer? Because we shared the same VNW delusion back then? Or is it because of something else…?” Atienna asked. “I feel a bit guilty for not returning your kindness….” So I’d rather you not offer it anymore, she continued in thought. Besides—

Accepting kindness without offering it back was self-serving, yes, but was it not the same case for giving without receiving?

Shion’s brows furrowed more. “Atienna… I… I’ll always be here for you.”

“You’re a very kind person,” Atienna repeated. And a person who could was only able to offer reassurances. “I think Werner and Cadence would really appreciate it if you spoke to them right now. They’re hurting the most. I’m fine.”

She turned off the faucet, ending the conversation.

* * *

Sefu was waiting for Atienna out in the hall when she emerged from the bathroom. She supposed she must have spent more time there than she’d thought reading the posters since the group she’d come with was now conversing near the exit. Cadence and Werner were both sitting close to one another at one of the waiting benches. They were holding each other’s hand. Jericho stood in front of them like a pillar. 

“You’re right, J-man,” Werner was mumbling. “I should go back to shop-ome so I can leave out food for Kaiser. So he can find his way home…” He looked to Cadence. “You promise you’ll call me if anything happens?”

Cadence nodded.

“Okay, but I’ll be back soon,” Werner insisted.

“Maria’s working very hard to find out what happened,” Jericho was saying, hand on Werner’s shoulder, “so we just need to wait. She’s never failed.” 

The scene was perfect—

 A rambunctious former gang member returning to his old ways after a tragic event involving a loved one. A diva-like star who had just made amends with an old friend only to have that friend ripped away and yet having a sense of maturity to comfort instead of being comforted. An activist using his experience as an elder brother to hold back emotional tides. Emotions heightening and then balancing out.

It was almost too perfect.

Allegedly, those three, Olive, Maria, Shion, and ‘Atienna’ were brought together because of their shared VNW experience. If they had not had that experience, most likely their paths would have never crossed. Perhaps they would have even looked upon one another with disdain. 

Atienna supposed she could say the same to the versions of the other five that she knew. Being forced to come together. Accepting one another.  Using one another…

Atienna turned to walk in the opposite direction. An exit down the hall. She had been putting off something for a while now—averting her eyes again, so to speak—but now it needed to be addressed. There was no point in dragging her feet anymore.  No reason to hesitate due to the desire to on the moral high ground which was thinly-veiled as empathy—

“Atienna!”

Atienna paused and turned towards a door to her left. In the threshold there leading to a waiting room stood her brother. 

“Bachiru…”

He was in front of her in an instant, squeezing her arms. “Don’t tell me—you were there? At the mall building? Kamaria—have you seen Kamaria? I have been looking everywhere for her—”

“Kamaria’s fine. I sent her back home,” Atienna eased him. “You were there too? For another demonstration with ELPIS…” She hadn’t seen his name on any of the rosters—but he had been there. If Flannery truly was the Raincoat Killer and had stumbled across Bachiru and deemed him a root then—

“You said you were going to go to work,” Bachiru continued, eyes wide. He ran a hand over his head. “To investigate something before you left the house.” He let out a slow sigh. “Strange things have been happening since we have been at the gates.” He locked eyes with Sefu. “It is a warning. It has to be. We are almost—”

“Bachiru, that was not me,” Atienna interjected.

“…What?”

“The person you saw was not me.” She grabbed Bachiru by the arm.  Her words seemed to spill out before she could stop them. “Listen, Bachiru, that was not me. You cannot trust her. You cannot follow what she says.”

Sefu nodded fiercely. “She is right.”

Bachiru stared at him before his gaze darkened.

“If it is me, I will give you a code. It will be the first thing I say to you,” Atienna continued. She paused, mind numb but thinking nonetheless— “‘Nakupenda.’” Her ears rang.

“Atienna…” Bachiru did a double-take. “Are you feeling okay?”

Atienna caught herself, recomposed herself. She placed a hand on his arm.  “Take me to the guidance council, Bachiru. I need to speak with them.”

“What? They are not people you want me talking with. You will only come out of it frustrated and empty-handed—”

“Bachiru, just take me.”

Bachiru regarded her for a moment before he nodded.

Atienna hadn’t been able to finish the imagined scenario in her head—the scenario of Bachiru beneath Libra’s blade. She didn’t want to, and she wasn’t sure if it was because she wanted to avoid those feelings or if it was because she wanted to avoid not feeling anything at all.

If she felt something and this was not truly Bachiru, then—

If she felt nothing and this was truly Bachiru, then—

Was she really Atienna?

* * *

Atienna had not been expecting to be granted such easy entry to the guidance hall in the Baobab Tree District. Gabrielle had made it sound like an arduous task. Atienna supposed she could attribute the ease of her entry to the role she had here as policy maker; however, Gabrielle had been a guidance officer and they both had been marked as VNW infectees. Both professions held some level of prestige here—here in this equal, prestige-less place—so Atienna wondered what it was that granted her this immediate access. Perhaps policy makers simply held that much more power here—in this place that alleged little power dynamics—or perhaps…

Bachiru grumbled, slightly breathless, “All they will do is talk.” 

He was leading Atienna and Sefu up a long series of stairs that spiraled up the center of the building behind the marble reception desk that had been manned by a sleepy receptionist. There was a large window that stretched the entire wall behind the staircase. It was more like a picture frame than anything else—being able to capture the grandeur of that great white tree all within its glass panes.

Soon they were in front of a large set of doors that were identical to the doors of the gathering hall in Virgo. Bachiru stopped in front of them and took in a deep breath as if mentally preparing himself—

Atienna brushed past him and threw open the doors. 

There on the marble floor stood a commotion she was oh-so unfortunately familiar with. The adult children of chieftains arguing back and forth beneath a skylight window. Some were dressed familiarly—in the clothes and ornaments of their lands and tribes. Others donned wear more in line with Ndotoan fashion—flared pants, patterned shirts, and so on. Now that Atienna thought on it, some Ndotoan fashion seemed to take quite a bit from Virgoan fashion. At least, the patterns did. 

Safiyah was among them—though it looked as if she was in the middle of storming off as she was heading right towards the doors, towards Atienna when the doors had flown open. Now, she stopped short, hand moving to mouth. 

“Atienna! Bachiru!” She tensed. “Sefu…”

No one else seemed to notice them. 

Something began to tickle in Atienna’s throat. She covered her mouth in anticipation to catch petals in her palm but instead caught a chuckle that grew. Atienna laughed. She laughed hard. So hard that tears formed in the corner of her eyes and her stomach began to hurt. When her laughter subsided, the room was quiet.

Atienna recollected herself.

“I apologize—but it’s a bit funny seeing something so ironically familiar and unfamiliar at once, don’t you think?”

Safiyah stared at her for a moment before exchanging a look with Bachiru beside her.

One of the gathered stepped forward. A young woman wearing a beaded, tiered dress and a coil necklace. “I am glad you finally accepted our invitation, Atienna—” 

“Invitation?” Atienna inquired. “I don’t recall ever receiving any.”

The woman paused, exchanging a look with Bachiru.

Ayanda, wasn’t it? Atienna vaguely recalled seeing her from time-to-time in the pseudo chieftain meetings. Atienna believed Ayanda also had stopped by once personally with a bouquet of flowers after she had been poisoned by Usian. Like Atienna, she had a tendency to take a step back and observe the ongoings of the pseudo tribal debates from afar—so, Atienna was surprised to see her here. 

Usian…

“Atienna, it’s good to see you.” Ayanda looked to Bachiru. “And you, Bachiru.” She studied Sefu for a moment. “Bachiru, you know what I have to ask you.” Her gaze flicked to Atienna. “I am… curious about your change in heart, Atienna—”

“If we were back in the council,” a man dressed in a striped suit interjected, “Sefu would be—”

“What council, Azizi?” Atienna interrupted.

Aziz stumbled. “The… tribal council…” 

“Ah, I see… so you’re not playing along with it, are you?”

Or perhaps—if this was all real—they all had VNW, thought they were residents of Virgo, and were just going along with their roles in Ndoto—no. Atienna decided that such a possibility and all possibilities like that did not matter to her anymore. 

“Playing along with what?”

The doors behind them slowly shut.

Atienna took in a breath, deciding on how she should approach this situation. She had come in with multiple approaches depending on how her initial meeting with these fellow chieftain family members went. She supposed, however, that the approach did not matter if the result was the same. 

“Whoever it is that you all have been interacting with is not me,” Atienna informed them calmly. She watched as they exchanged looks. “Ah, how to explain… For example, perhaps there are times where you’ve spoken to one another and thought ‘Ah, that was unusual of them.’ I’m sure then that you must have encountered the same doppelganger that’s occasionally taken my face.”

“Doppelganger…” Ayanda drew slowly. “What do you mean by that?”

“There are beings out there that are capable of using vitae in ways that are far beyond our imagination,” Atienna explained, “but I wonder…. if you’re all already aware of this.” She gestured around them. “Since you’re all here…”

“This doppelganger—”

“Is an extremely ‘adept Transmutationist’,” Atienna finished.

She looked around the room. There was Chibuiki of the Nku tribe in the corner. He had been one of the handful that had roped into Usian’s political ploy back when this had all begun. Beside him was Bilal of the Zobo tribe. She had always been injecting herself into conversations and debates she was never a part of. It had been amusing back then. The way most of them had all acted now reminded Atienna of how they had acted before she’d left Virgo. In other words, like how she had feared for herself, they had not changed. 

Hah.

“His name is Gemini,” Atienna continued. “I conjecture from a conversation I overheard that he’s quite protective of Ndoto. This Raincoat Killer—rather, the person who’s copying the original Raincoat Killer, this person whom I assume you’re all debating about—on the other hand would prefer it if Ndoto and its surrounding gardens are… done away with. This is why they’re targeting people they believe to be ‘roots’. These roots apparently are what hold this place together so if they are cut away, then…”

Ah. Ironically, the Raincoated Copycat’s—Flannery’s, allegedly—actions and motivations were quite in-line with the motivations and actions of the ELPIS of Signum.

Ha ha.

“Gardens…?” Ayanda exchanged looks with those around her. “Roots?”

Whispering began. 

“So you don’t know about it…” Atienna drew slowly. “And yet you took up the helm of ‘guidance council’ regardless…”

Atienna wondered which was worse: taking action without knowing all the details or waiting, waiting, waiting until all the details were known.

“Since you all know so little—”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Azizi interjected.

Bachiru tensed and shared a look with Safiyah. “Atienna…”

“—and I’m offering you all this information and asking all your unasked questions,” Atienna continued, “it would be appropriate for you to answer my questions in kind, don’t you think?”

Azizi stepped forward as if the protest but Ayanda placated him with a raised hand. “We still have many more unasked questions, but I think it’s only fair to answer yours… so we may be on the same page.” She glanced over her shoulder. “And understand what our situation is with you and this… doppelganger.”

“Thank you, Ayanda.” Atienna offered her a pleasant and fake smile. “From my perspective, I’ve only arrived here a few weeks ago. My diagnosis is VNW, but I am very certain of my reality now. My first question is actually about that topic—arrivals. When you arrived here, was Ndoto empty?”

They all exchanged looks.

Ayanda nodded. “There were buildings here just as there are now, but there were no people—”

“When did that change?”

“Shortly you arrived with your group,” Azizi answered this time. “Or the ‘doppelganger’ arrived with those others.”

Others…?

“Wait, no, you’ll confuse her if you say it like that,” Bilal interjected. “It was not just us here. It was our families, our people. One moment we were in our homes and the next we were here. It was chaos in the beginning. We thought it was an attack of some kind from one of the neighboring countries.”

“You say your people,” Atienna continued, “but that would not be everyone, would it? Nia arrived here just recently and I arrived shortly before that.” 

“Yes, that’s right…” Safiyah answered this time, regarding Atienna quietly. 

“Our chieftains came together and maintained the peace,” Ayada provided. “My mother told me that she had made some sort of discovery about this place with the other chieftains and they needed to hold council for some time. They delegated us as de facto leaders in the meanwhile.”

Hm. They were leaving something out. Whether this was intentional or not was still up to debate.

“After you…” Azizi paused. “Your ‘doppelganger’—this Gemini—arrived with the others in that group, this place suddenly became populated with people who acted as if they’ve always been here. Then even our people started to act as if they’ve always been here. Our chieftains—our parents—returned not soon after and they too…”

“So they are all technical Ndotoans but you are all true Virgoans,” Atienna murmured to herself.

“Why we are unaffected, we do not know,” Azizi responded. “But our people are still here. We have a duty to them. They look to us for guidance.” He paused, exchanging a look with someone behind him. “As a nation, before we came here, we had declared absolute neutrality in that ridiculous political war they’re calling ‘a war of justice’.” He gestured around him. “This place has offered us just that.” He paused for a moment. “I believe it a gift from our great Virgoan Tree. It is our place of refuge. A true isolation where we cannot be brought into another country’s war. It is the isolation we all initially desired—but a kinder one. All who wander into Ndoto are welcome.” 

Bachiru sighed and gestured to them. “Do you see this ridiculousness? They wish to stay in this place they know nothing about, in this place that changes the minds of everyone but us. If that’s not corrupt then I don’t know what is.” He whipped to Safiyah. “And yet you still attend these meetings.”

“What I do in my spare time is not your concern,” Safiyah snapped back. “When I come here, I have a chance at influencing the decisions here. It is better than isolating yourself and engaging in those ridiculous rebellious activities of yours.”

Some people murmured in agreement although Chibuki looked as if he disagreed which Atienna expected.

“Ah… from what I gather, most of you wish to keep Ndoto the way it is…” Atienna chuckled despite herself. “You wish to stay in and keep this little garden of yours. You think you’re all… gardeners… You think that the people here are your flowers, your fruits, your plants to care for…” She quieted for a moment. “I wonder if you’ve considered… the fact that in order for a garden to grow, seeds must be planted by someone.”

Azizi clicked his tongue. Clearly, he was getting irritated. “Please do not speak in condescending  metaphors, Atienna. I understand that if what you say is true, you’ve found yourself in an alarming and confusing predicament but that does not mean we cannot speak to one another with respect.”

Respect? Ah, didn’t that need to be earned? 

“I apologize if I’ve come off as rude,” Atienna lied. “But I mean it like this: an adept Transmutationist may be serving as some sort of protector for this place, but by extension… would it not make sense to consider an adept Conjuror being responsible for Ndoto’s existence as a whole?”

Bachiru looked back at her.

“I am wondering if you’ve ever considered Ndoto a conjured construct populated by conjured people,” Atienna drew slowly. “From my understanding of conjuring, conjured items are mere copies of real items. Fabrications—”

“What? This place is real,” Azizi interjected. “The people we govern are as real as we are.” He pointed a finger at the ground. “They look to us for instruction and guidance and we give them what they need—”

“Why?”

Bachiru and Safiyah turned to look at her.

“Have any of you been outside of Ndoto?”

No one answered.

Atienna let out a breath.“You’re all very sure of yourselves here, aren’t you?”

“Not all of us,” Ayanda replied, locking eyes with her. “But we make do with what we have. It is better than sitting idle.” She clasped her hands together. “I think we are all tense because of the mention of this doppelganger individual. I think it would be best if we discussed more about this—”

“No,” Atienna said, “I’d rather not.”

“What?” Azizi frowned.

“I’m not particularly interested in the doppelganger,” Atienna admitted. “I think his motivations are quite curious, but Gemini seems to be intent on maintaining Ndoto’s status quo—on keeping Ndoto the way it is. Since that goal isn’t in line with mine, I’m not interested in discussing that.”

Ah, this was rather ironic of her to be saying. Not wishing to maintain the status quo when maintaining the status quo had always been stowed away in some deep hidden part of her.

Perhaps she truly wasn’t Atienna Imamu, after all.

Then again, her intention was to return to the previous status quo, so maybe she’d always been Atienna all along.

“What are you saying?” 

“What is your goal?” Ayanda asked.

“To look for the roots that are holding Ndoto together,” Atienna responded calmly. “Is it not unfair to those who wish to leave Ndoto to be unable to do so? Is it not unfair to them to become either replaced or incorporated into Ndoto against their will?” In all honesty, Atienna cared little for the fairness of the situation. “I know there are some here who share my sentiments, so please feel free to reach out to me.”

* * *

“Huh? What’s a chaplain?”

Atienna now stood in the hall just outside of Nico’s patient room. Sefu was at her side as usual. He had not once complained of coming to visit the hospital in the past week even though she was quite aware of how he felt about the food they served guests here. The room behind them was occupied by Werner, his mother, Viktoria, Ludwig, Cadence, the Foxman brothers, a handful of Nico’s co-workers, and—of course—a bed-ridden, unmoving Nico. Beeps from the monitor beside his bed indicated he was alive but Atienna wasn’t so sure. When her mother had been in that state, she’d been more dead than alive.

“A chaplain is usually a Monadic priest,” Ludwig explained, “who gives… emotional and spiritual guidance to soldiers on the field and their families. Capricorn didn’t see much use for them, but I knew several Leonian and Cancerian infantrymen who had military chaplains in their units.”

“So… Like a guidance officer then? Like Nico!” A pause. “Hey, Liebling, are any of your guidance officer friends chaplains? Oh, Bill and Allegra are here from your precinct office, by the way!”

There was no answer. A rather nostalgic lack of sound.

“I made Kaiser’s favorite treats last night, Liebling, and I put them outside. I know, I know. ‘Kaiser needs to be on a diet’, but J-man said that it was a good idea to leave out his favorite food. I also put some of our clothes out too to help him find his way home. I haven’t seen him yet, so I was thinking of putting out even more treats…”

There was some more silence.

“I… think we should head back home soon, honey”—Werner’s mother— “it’s getting rather late. I’ll put on a stove of tomato soup for you and we can set out more of your clothes for Kaiser.”

“But… I feel bad about leaving Nico here all alone,” Werner mumbled, “and I still need to spend time with Olive… I was thinking of sleeping here tonight?”

“Are you sure? You can visit Olive tomorrow, honey,” his mother continued, “and the nurses and doctors will keep a close eye on Nico. You’ve already asked Otto to watch over the bakery for three days in a row now. I think you should give him a break—”

“If he wants to stay here,” Ludwig interjected, “then let him. Stop telling him what to do. He can think for himself.”

There was a pause.

“I’m… not telling him what to do,” Werner’s mother drew slowly. “I’m just worried about your health like this, Werner. And, Ludwig, I really do appreciate how good of a friend you are to Werner—”

“Stop the act.”

“I’m sorry…?”

“The innocent, concerned mother act. Stop it,” Ludwig answered. Something clattered loudly on the ground—probably a chair. “Viktoria and I both know that all you care about is about how Werner and this situation is making you look. Because that’s all you care about. How you look. How better you seem compared to everyone else.”

“Ludwig…” Viktoria muttered. “This isn’t the best time for this…”

Oh dear. What Atienna imagined would eventually happen was finally coming to fruition. 

“I… don’t know where this is coming from,” Werner’s mother drew slowly, “but I can tell that you’re coming from a good place. I don’t know what you’ve gone through to make you so distrustful, but I assure you that I only have Werner’s best interests at heart—”

“His best interest at heart?” Ludwig laughed wryly before switching to his native tongue. “Like how you had my best interest at heart when you wanted me to serve in the infantry instead of working in the capital? How about when you told me to praise the Kaiser for sending me out to the front during that radio broadcast after I lost my legs? How about when you pressured Viktoria to marry that violent bastard just because his family was of—as you put it ‘good-standing’? And the way you made Werner destroy that conductor he worked so hard on because it was ‘useless’—he was only ten! Do you know how much that meant to him?” He took a breath. “The way you spoke to me after I… after what happened… You told me…” Ludwig took a breath. “You said that you were ‘proud’ of me, that I was so ‘precious’ to you… even though I was ‘useless now’.” He took a deep breath. “You said it was for us, but it was all for you. And look at you sitting here now—acting like you haven’t done a single wrong thing in your entire life, like the reason I turned out like this—that we all turned out the way we are—not because of you but because… that was just the way we were born. Useless. Imperfect. But you loved and watched over us anyway. Because you were such a good mother.”

“Hey…” Werner’s voice. “What are you talking about? You’re scaring me, Ludwig… and you’re not being very nice…”

“Every single day when we were children, we worked so hard to earn your love and affection and approval  like it was common coin. And you just loved holding it over our heads, didn’t you? It made you feel strong.”

“I don’t know what’s going on here”—Cadence now— “but this is not the time nor place to be discussing this. You need to leave. Nico—”

“Cadence, let them work it out.” Allen.

“But you probably can’t even think that you’re wrong, can you?” Ludwig continued. “No, you’re so wrapped up inside your own head and your own ego and your own problems that you can’t see outside of yourself, can you? It’s never occurred to you that you’re a terrible person and an even worse mother.” The next sentence came out as a whisper— “Just because you feel insufficient because you have some complex about being the illegitimate daughter of some shoe peddler doesn’t mean you can—”

Crack! 

“Werner!”

Thud!

Atienna peered into the room. Ludwig was on the ground cradling his cheek. Viktoria was beside him, helping him up to a stand. Werner’s mother was pressed against the back wall. Werner stood in-between Ludwig and his mother. His fist was still raised, and he was barely being held back by Cadence.

“What’s your damage? Don’t talk to my mom like that!” Werner seethed. “Who do you think you are?”

The two held each other’s gazes for a long time.

Ludwig’s gaze fell to the ground a moment after. “After everything she’s done, after everything she’s put us through… why is she your family here?” He jabbed a finger in his mother’s direction but looked away. “I understand why our father isn’t—he didn’t even want to come here—but…  why aren’t we?”

Cadence whispered something into Werner’s ear causing Werner to slowly lower his fist. 

“I think,” Werner muttered, “you should leave.”

How sad. 

Atienna pulled away as Viktoria and Ludwig slowly exited the room. Viktoria glanced at her as they passed but said nothing. Atienna watched them proceed down the hall. The two siblings brushed shoulders with a new group that was heading in the opposite direction—towards Atienna, towards Nico’s room. It was Kafke, Nil Abero, Fritz von Spiel, and Heinrich. Behind the latter two were their fathers: Heimler and Martin. The two seemed to be in deep conversation and shared expression of surprise upon registering Atienna and Sefu.

Atienna wondered if she should greet them and how much they were aware of regarding the mall incident—

“What the hell do you two think you’re doing?”

Atienna looked down the opposite direction towards the shout. General Vogel and Hauptmann Weingartner. The two men met Kafke’s group half-way down the hall and eyed Kafke cautiously before turning their attention to Martin and Heimler.

“We’re here to support Cadence and Werner,” Kafke replied. “What the fuck is your problem?”

Vogel tensed slightly. “We don’t have any issue with you, Kafke. However…” He eyed Heimler. “Heimler, it is clear to me that you’ve abandoned your duties. You are no different than a desserter.”

Heimler’s son frowned and pushed Vogel back. “What’s the problem here?”

Vogel ignored him and addressed Martin. “Von Spiel, you best not be following in Heimler’s footsteps. You didn’t come to our designating meeting area last week and you have not–“

Fritz frowned, glanced back at his father. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s nothing, Fritz. You forget I am a general as well, Vogel. I am not under your jurisdiction and I’m given the authority to operate under my own personal assignments if I see fit.”

“You mean if it benefits Capricorn.”

“I never said what I’ve been doing didn’t. I suggest we hold a more private debriefing to go over what we’ve discovered on each of our ends.”

“I concur.” A pause. “And need I remind you, Martin, that I have held this title far longer than you have.”

Ah, more arguing it seemed.

Atienna watched them continue on with mild interest. Their argument followed a pattern she’d become with since coming here—those who quietly accepted Ndoto and those who vehemently rejected it.

Who was selfish here? The ones who accepted what Ndoto had to offer or those who rejected it regardless of what that meant for others?

Atienna looked away from them and towards the rooms at the opposite end of the hall.

Olive’s room. It was down there. She could see the door from here. The Wtoreks had visited that room earlier along with Trystan and Marta and Olive’s school friends, his friends from the mall, and Cadence, Werner, Jericho, Maria, Shion and even Gabrielle and Alice and—of course—his family. They cared much for him, it seemed.

A potentially conjured place occupied by conjured people harboring conjured feelings…

Atienna had yet to step foot into Olive’s room. She likened her reluctance to that one analogy Jericho had brought up before about a cat in a box. To look in or not. 

* * *

“Are you certain you do not wish to visit his room?” Sefu was asking as they walked along the side of the facility building. “You looked as if you wanted to go in. If you wanted some time alone, I would have cleared that room for you and stood outside.”

“Did I look like I wanted to go in?” Atienna murmured back with a sly smile. “You must be dutifully watching me quite closely to making those observations, Sefu.”

“That is in my resume, Atienna,” Sefu replied. “To be watchful.”

Atienna glanced at the small flowers and full trees  blooming in the plot to her left. It looked rather unkempt with overgrowth that spilled onto the sidewalk and vines that climbed up the side of the building wall. She wondered if the groundskeeper would be annoyed if she took a pair of shears and tidied it all up. She wondered if she should even wonder about the feelings of a groundskeeper who was a potentially conjured being. 

“Atienna… I know I have not proven myself reliable in recent events,” Sefu continued, “but… if you need someone to talk to, Atienna, I—”

“What are you doing?!”

“Please get away from the window!”

Atienna looked up at the shouts as did Sefu. Up past the trees and vines crawling along the wall, there was  commotion at one of the open windows on the fourth floor. The patient floor. A silhouette was outlined there. The only distinguishable feature about them was the white of their hospital gown.

Atienna felt her heart begin to beat just a bit faster.

Someone from the room shouted in alarm, “Wait—”

But the silhouette lurched forward, stepped out—leapt out—the window, and plummeted downwards. Sefu swore just as the figure hit the tree-line sending a rain of leaves and branches down on them with cracks and snaps. The flower petals went out in a flurry a moment after as the figure crashed ungracefully into them. 

Multiple silhouettes illuminated the window the figure had leapt from, but Atienna was not interested in them. Instead, she found her gaze and then her legs, feet, footsteps drawn towards the unmoving figure in the flowerbed.

“Are they dead?” Sefu whispered from behind her. 

Atienna’s heart hammered so loud she could barely hear him.

The figure in the flowerbed rose slowly, brushing off the brambles tangled in their dark locks of hair and dusting off the petals that clung to their tanned skin. They craned their neck and sent up a glare of annoyance at the ones who crowded the window above.

Atienna already knew what color the figure’s hazel green eyes were,  what the curves of their round cheeks looked like, and how furrowed their dark brows were before they even fully turned towards her. She had already seen him many times before in Ndoto—both when he’d been full of life and when he’d pale and nearly lifeless—but this moment felt different.

Olive straightened, gaze sweeping from her hair, to her clothes, and then finally to her face. He was silent for a moment as if waiting for something. Then, he asked—“Atienna…?” 

---

“Why do they call you one of the Great Devourers?” the gardener asked over a cup of tea. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you devour anything like Alpha and Theta.”

“There are a bunch of ways to devour something,” the man replied. “I’ll just keep you guessing on that front.” He moved to pour more into her pristine cup. “Shouldn’t we talk about what’s happening in Ndoto instead? I’m worried about the Ndotoans—”

“Why?” the gardener asked.

“We’ve lost many of the immigrants and Nico Fabrizzio and Olive too,” the man answered. “The way they went…”

“They didn’t go with regrets if that’s what you’re concerned about,” the gardener assured him. “I had to rush things along unfortunately—and it was… rather awkward—but those two did reach ‘closure’ in the end. I made sure of it. The other immigrants, on the other hand… they were just saplings. I hadn’t yet gotten them to full bloom yet…” The gardener sighed. “Fortunately, I can always try again.”

“So you’re still going to tend to Ndoto…?”

A chuckle. “Are you concerned, Gemini?”

“I thought you might’ve been swayed by what Franceta said…”

“Franceta?”

“Francis. Theta. Vega. Together Franceta.” A snort. “Get it?”

The gardener chuckled. “Very clever of you, Gemini.”

“Thank you very much. Anyways, if you are going to keep up with Ndoto… don’t you think we should pay more attention to the others? Capricorn and Libra, I mean.”

The gardener set the cup down onto its platter. “Capricorn doesn’t realize that he’s been here so long that he too has taken root in my garden. Libra doesn’t realize that laws of the world in these gardens are different from the ones in Signum.  A demigod-like figure in a land occupied by other demigod-like figures is no demigod at all. Even so, I do understand your concerns, so I’ve shuffled around the root quite a bit.”

The man quieted and poured the gardener more tea. 

“Lavi and Csilla are also of no concern, don’t you think? They may be saint candidates but they also have desires separate from that—just like you, Gemini.”

“I prefer to think that I’m not like other girls,” the man responded. After a pause, he asked, “And what about Sagittarius?”

The gardener took a sip and hummed. “A curious wild card, wouldn’t you say?”

---