===Minfilia===

  I stared at the ceiling of the room I shared with my friends and that jackass. Painful memories come and go sometimes, and that day seared into mine with prejudice. I didn’t want to be a survivor. Just someone whose loved and loves.

  “I’m gonna make a couple calls. We’ll see about sorting the curse at some point.” Eloise casually said, leaving her phone dangling in her left hand by the assortment of phone charms she had. A few were...probably magical. “See you all tomorrow.” She walked out of the room with a sway and a step.

  I exhaled. Klein did as well. And then...I was bored. I went to my back pack and grabbed the magtech radio I had in there. Was a project I had going for a long while, and it’s a nice distraction to the noise of electronics around me.

  I began a simple incantation to activate a complex enchanted tool I had that I used on this. Then I began turning it on slowly as I tried to get anything on it. Radios went out of style a bit ago in terms of use. Turns out phones plus scrying magic makes for better communication than old shit like this.

  Not that it matters to me. I love and live for this shit. Old tech is amazing once you get through the basics. This radio was an old military radio from the three way war, I think Rocinotion make. Had the cornflower mark on it. I let the static noise wash over me as I began to check the lines that were avalible.

  “That brings back memories. I remember you finding that in my shop when I had it.” Klein chimed in. “When you found the busted thing, I think I saw your eyes light up like stars. Seems you got it working though.”

  “Yeah. About three years ago.” I shrugged. It was strange it started to work then, but I wasn’t going to argue. I just liked tinkering with the thing. I went through the channels to see if anything was on.

  Couple of encrypted channels, which is normal. I guess some mil guys are here or something. Huffing, I turned the radio off and opened the back end of the radio. There was a mini Mag-battery there. Plus a few enhancements I made from the scrap yard Dizzy’s parents lived near. If my parents saw me there, they’d flip.

  Not that’d I’d care. They wanted their precious son to go into the priest hood for Opledia instead of doing this. Planned out my whole life instead of letting me pick, and when I found I had a talent for this, that’s when they cast me out. Not the trans thing. Mom said I’d make a great nun when I did come out.

  Pfffft. I always thought it was strange I guess. Meh, not that it matters now. I’ll only talk to them if they fucking apologize for what they said to me. Becoming a heretic for touching magic beyond the creator. Look at me now, on my way to college! Hah.

  Hah. Well, I could adjust the flow here to see if the encrypted stuff could be decrypted. It wasn’t easy, but I could do it, since this thing is my goddamned baby. Adjusting the flow of magic in a way, then making sure it was connected to my flow.

  Personal devices can utilize the flow of the person behind them to power themselves. Cheaper than lithium batteries, but also does not work for people without magic like Dizzy. Mine apparently was really good into flowing into mag tech, but a lot of people began to move to Lithium batteries after some tech billionaire made non-mag tech car.

  I want to prove magtech has a use in the modern age now. Cheaper and better for the environment than Lithium batteries. Safer than using nuclear power for small scale stuff. Now adjust here and there and...done.

  I turn the radio on in time to hear Klein. “-filia, Hey! You went into a flow state there again. Hels, I know this stuff excites you, but I need to ask you to keep an eye on my daughter.” I nodded. I would do it without asking, but I like her ass so no harm. “I just need to use the restroom. I’ll be back with my Fiance.”

  “Cool, we get to meet her. Right? M here didn’t meet your fiance before us?” I was hesitant to ask, but I do wanna kinda know.

  “Not really. As said, secret. She wanted privacy in this matter, and she is a big name.” He coughed, then left.

  I shrugged as I turned on the radio again. I go to one of the lines and see if…

  “Report: Train has stopped unexpectedly. Passengers are safe and ripe for conversion, Tunisis.” Wait, shit. Shit! I noted down the frequency in the left corner.

  “Copy. My grandson and the covert convert are on the train. We need the other two members of that quartet that watched that accursed movie.” The shrill, fucking haunting voice of the man that...that hurt M so much. “We need to lock them and anyone else suffering from that corruptive delusion. Purity is paramount. Anyone else is COS. Hostages will keep the operation window open for longer. We might’ve bungled into a miracle with them going off.”

  “Copy. We also have reports that your son is on the train too. Do we…?” The other soldier said. I hastily grabbed a note pad to write down the shit they leaking. Not good.

  “The Lock is failing. I know it. Capture and bring him to me. And his wife.” Tunisis hacked a bit into his receiver, from what I can hear. “I know she’s at the center of it somehow.”

  “Copy. Any thoughts on the Annelians on the train? Records show there’s three on here.”

  “KOS. The less of those wretched, abandoned worms that are on this world, the better. They are those who abandoned the light of purity for the path of corruption. Folkvangr has no place for their lives.”

  I panicked internally. They’re here for me and Dizzy. But it seems a bit much for just us.

  “What about the artifact? We aren’t able to secure it because it seems to have moved from where the intel said it was.” Bingo. They were after an artifact. Wait what kind? Are we just a bonus to this fucker?

  “Track it. I doubt anyone else on the train has knowledge that it exists. It is important that it does not reach the archiepiscopal chapel in Loyiel.” Okay. I might need to pass it on to security, the notes.

  I switch the radio off and felt the sweat of stress streak on my brow. Not again. Not now. I will make sure no one else suffers. I get up from my seat and stash the radio into my pack. Will likely need it later for proof. Then I walk out of the door to see Eloise on the phone.

  She seemed heated. “What do you mean throw the artifact into the sea? We are in the middle of a forest right now! Don’t oh me, you should’ve read a map on the route from Kamelian to Loyiel. Forests and cliffs, not the Rust Sea.” She looked behind herself and waved at me before returning to her call. “Yes, yes, things are going pear shape.”

  “Hey, can you pass this security? I have to keep an eye on M and make sure she’s okay.” I said quietly, holding out the notepad. She grabbed the pad and looked it over. Then looked at it again.

  “Hey, kid, how’d you get this?” She looked at the note. Then she looked at the top left corner. “I see.” She pushed me back into the room with M, who started to blearily wake up. “Can you keep this on ears? They might be chattier than they’d like to be with listeners.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  ======

  The rest of the reports was quiet. Turns out M had a sudden nightmare, before popping back into dreamland. Eloise was sitting on Katarsis’ bed. She read a fashion magazine while she waited for more info I guess. I decided to entertain myself with a different project. Goggles. I wanted to try some and I thought they’d look cute, especially if you can get it right. Hels I’d love a dress to go with them.

  Speaking of Katarsis, he entered the room with a new, freshly minted bruised onyx eye, likely Dizzy punched him hard enough there. Strangely enough, the eye was indented, like a bit of illusion was fading around its edges. He glared at me then Eloise. “Can’t a sigma like me get some fuckin sleep?” Hels, I actually wonder if Dizzy could even fix him. Seems like a lost cause.

  Eloise tugged at an invisible string again, without looking up from her magazine. Which seemingly caused Katarsis to suddenly flip into the bed behind her, looking like a goofy puppet that was suddenly let go of his strings.

  “That’s it!” His head suddenly shifted into a dragon’s head...then Eloise, without missing a beat, wrapped the head in a lot of amethyst magic strings. She held the mouth close without looking up from her magazine. Then his head shifted back-

  Wait. For a moment, the head flickered to something...no...I began to seriously work on my goggles as the illusion reasserted itself as Katarsis huffed and laid down. “Damn. When I get stronger, you’ll be first.” His face was beet ruby as he looked at me and M. Didn’t matter, I needed to see what the hell that was.

  I didn’t know how to do it though. It was definitely an illusion spell that was asserting itself on reality to hide something, but what I don’t know. I wish I did, so fuck it. I need these goggles to pierce illusions right the fuck now. Why was Katarsis covered in an illusion like that?

  I began to adjust the parameters of the goggles to see through the illusion better. Or try to. I have no idea what kind of stuff the illusion does. Does it bend light in a way to make something look different? Does it lay a filter over something? Something else altogether? And how can I tell which one is which?

  A smile crept onto my face. I was excited. Really excited to try and crack this kind of code. This is why Magtech is so fun. It interfaces with actual magic like it itself was magic. Maybe it was. Actually, that might be why.

  I channeled what magic I had into a mini-magtech battery I made from scraps from the junk yard. I wanted this to work. Then I saw the mechanics of the mag battery. I was jittery. Excited. Almost ecstatic.

  This kind of SHIT is what I fucking live for. The rush of invention, the ability to make something new out of something old. The ability to just make for the sake of making. I took a screwdriver and began to tighten bolts around the mag battery. Down, then I grabbed the small knife and made incisions in the leather straps of the goggles. This should let the magic flow through them better, at the cost of durability. Then the knife goes down, and I pick up another tool. My hands began moving on their own as I get lost in the sauce of looking into what makes these goggles special. This will be so fun. What else can I see besides illusions? Oh, what if I could give it night vision? What about true-sight? Maybe I could give it enhancements to base vision. Then I could add more things like small lasers to cut precisely when I worked on other devices. If it bends light to hide, then I can adjust the lens with choice little adjustments to the curves of it to unbend the light. If it was laying something over, then a filter for filters would allow me to see underneath. And heck, the dragon spotter might allow me to-

  I heard finger snapping in front of me. Dizzy was back, clearly disturbed. “Hey, genius. We need to get out of here. They’re back.” Her face was contorted, and her breath labored. Her claws were covered in blood, and worst of all...her leg was broken badly. Something snapped the femur part. That’s...shit. No. She’s passing out.

  Eloise got up and forced Dizzy to sit. “Who did this? It’s barely 1700. Let me look at it, now.” Eloise lets loose a bunch of pearl strings. They wrapped around the broken leg.

  Dizzy mumbled something under her breath. I knew those syllables though. It’s the same as the voice I heard on the radio earlier. The same shrill laughter of the man who…

  ===Dizzy, earlier===

  Left. Right. Left. Down. I kept at the sandbag for a few rep. My arms were straining against the limits of my body. I realized I needed to sit down. I had started to involuntarily pant as the heat from exercise had gotten to me finally. I grab my water bottle from my tail belt and began to drink, letting the refresher wash the fatigue away.

  I spy Katarsis trying to nurse his right eye. I got it good in the bout, but still, it’s starting to look like an onyx eye. The bruising was spreading. He glared back at me, and I flipped the bird. Looking at him pisses me off to no end.

  Welp, time to stretch. A sun nap sounds really nice right now, honestly. I look for a bench near the windows and splay out over it. The heat of the sun washing over me was a nice way to let the stress go. Warm, like my moms…

  It took me a bit to wake up from the nap, as some dude bro was shaking me. I opened my eyes to look at him in the face. He was athletic, with pride pins on the collar of his tank top. “Hey, cait. Sorry to move ya from the sun nap, but you are blocking the seat.”

  “No prob.” I get up from my spot and stretch. Rest done, time for more reps on the sandbag...

  ...Is what I’d like to say if my ears didn’t hear screaming from near the arena. I waltz over there to see three Red Path members arguing with Katarsis about something. Then I notice another thing. I squint to see what the fuck is tripping me up.

  The bruising around his eye is...different than the skin around it. Almost indented in a way. His eye is half closed from the pain.

  I couldn’t tell what the hell that means. Magic is strange sometimes, and I wish I could understand it. But it’s whatever, I guess.

  Then Katarsis points at me, before walking off. The three men look at me, scowling. All of them are nomadic red path members. More fascist thugs.

  Instinct took over as I dodge out of the way of a wide haymaker. I grabbed his vulnerable arm with my legs and threw him to the ground with sheer force. I could hear the bones shattering in his arm. His fault for swinging at me.

  The other tried to kick me. I blocked, than ran my claws along his leg, drenching them in blood and causing him to recoil. The third held back a bit, trying to wait for his friend to recover. He seemed to be reaching for something.

  No chance. I slammed my fist into the second’s jaw, hearing it crack in two places, before sweeping his legs from under him. That’s when the third took his chance. He landed a blow to the back of my head, my vision blurring from the impact. I staggered a bit, before dodging the second attempt at a blow.

  I elbowed into the back of his neck. Shit, might’ve used too much force, as I hear the crunch of his neck under my elbow. The other two groaned as I staggered around trying to find a place to sit. I could barely hear the other voices out as I stumbled in the gym, especially through the ringing in my ears.

  Someone lead me to a seat, thankfully. I blinked a bit to clear the fog that took me from the blow. Still hard to see, but I saw the man that told me to get up. His voice was deeply concerned, and a little impressed. It also hurt like hell to hear. “Hey, hey. Shit, I approve of what you did, but that was nasty. He hit you with a fucking barbell goddamned.”

  My head throbs, probably confirming what he said. I looked over to where the three were to see the barbell with my blood on one of the ends. Oh. Oh, shit. Fuck. I winced in pain. How am I not knocked the fuck out?

  Then my blood ran cold. Someone else came to the three men. He was wearing the red leg band that Red Path members usually have. His stature was tall, composed, and ready. He looked vaguely like...no, he was too similar to M and K.

  There’s no fucking way that Tunisis was here. Not now, please not now. I heard horror stories from K about him. Every day was a new punishment, and when K eloped with Gregory back before their separation and M, that was the last time K was hoping to see Tunisis.

  Which makes it all the worse that he came back. Twice now he stalks his own son and granddaughter like a fucking hunter...my thoughts hurt. My vision blurs again as tinnitus rings out in my ears. I might be concussed. “Room 108. My friends are in- ow- in that room.” I blurted out. Needed to rest this off badly and the less time that he knows any one of us is here, the better.

  The man nods and helps me to my feet. My feet wobble from what is probably a concussion, even with the support. We made our way to the door.

  That’s when my blood spiked as I hear a familiar voice. Adrenaline filled my system as fear and flight took over. My vision cleared for a bit to see Tunisis standing over the men I brutalized when I turned my head. “A pity that such a wound is impossible to recover from. Mercy and purity be upon you.” He prayed for the men I hurt.

  “Giveth be unto us these men, and taketh away ye must. Purity demands sacrifice, and though it pains me to take the lives of my brothers, our path must be unshakable. Opledia, ferry these men into your halls, that they will live in blissful harmony with their wives. Opledia, I would beseech that the sacrifices of these men be not in vain. Opledia, may your harmony ever guide us away from the whore that took your kingdom.”

  Then...then...he shot his own men. All three of them with a 9mm, with a reverence as if he was giving them mercy. The panic of the room began to drown out the noise of it all. My own reserves were low.

  “Need to get out of here.” I whispered. Adrenaline is a hell of a drug, dulling the throbbing pain that coursed through my head. I began to limply move towards the car direction my room was in, I think. The crowd of people began to drown my vision and slow me down. Which lead me to being picked up like a kitten by cold, nearly dead hands.

  “Well, this would be a surprise if we didn’t get the manifest. The cat of the quartet is here. That means I only need one left of that quartet.” He held me by my scruff, even if that no longer makes me paralyzed. I tried to kick him in the abdomen, but…

  The crunch was loud. He hit harder on the counterattack. Pain shot through me from my leg. Agony had begun to take my entire being.

  So much pain. I felt the scruff be let go, the only other sensation I had. Blood spilled from my leg badly. Needed to limb to the room. Pain was taking my vision badly. I felt someone pick me up and take me with them. Maybe the guy? It’s all blurry. The headache reasserted itself. There was nothing but agony through my nerves.

  Min was in the zone when I got there, and I began to snap to wake her up. “Hey, genius. We need to get out of here. They’re back.” She needed to know. We need to be ready.

  Blood was rushing through me like mad. Everything hurt. I heard Min gasp, as I was pushed to the bed and had my newly broken leg wrapped in silken, very soft strands of pearl strings.

  Of course I’d pass out. At least I managed to mumble Tunisis.