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Zhu Yuan always liked to think she had it all together. Unflappable and resilient, standing tall through any storm.
And to a degree, that was true. She had been able to keep it together through the whirlwind that had been the Commander Bringer disaster, compartmentalizing all the emotions and betrayals, tucking them away in a little box in the back of her mind where she could deal with them later.
Well, it was later. And Zhu Yuan really didn’t want to deal with them yet.
Partly because the betrayal of Commander Justin Bringer was merely the second most hurtful betrayal in this entire affair.
Which was somewhat unfair of her, because she should have known better. Qingyi had been mildly astonished that she took the bet that Wise and Belle were proxies, and had said “Hmm, very well. Easy dennies for me.”
In truth, and in retrospect, all the evidence had been there. Zhu Yuan had simply refused to see it. How Phaethon’s bangboo looked exactly like the bangboo Wise and Belle used at their store. The exceptionally high utility charges at Random Play. All the evidence that her team had gathered looking for their unidentified benefactor, that Zhu Yuan had dismissed as mere coincidence because “the manager of Random Play was too upright and respectable to be someone working outside the law.”
She wondered how many of her own team had spent the last month chuckling behind her back about their boss, blinded by her affections.
Zhu Yuan knew she wasn’t a social person. Her love life (or more accurately, lack thereof) had been a source of amusement for colleagues, and a source of dismay for her family. She didn’t have time for that sort of bonding, she had said and had meant it.
Until a supposedly chance meeting with a cute, funny, and charming video store proprietor. While Belle was charming in her own way, Wise… made her feel things she hadn’t had words for. His deadpan sarcastic version of humor on more than one occasion had tested her composure while in uniform. His softness in the face of hurt people or even small animals was endearing.
But it had been his patience as he dealt with all her idiosyncrasies had been what broke her walls down. So many people had decided that it wasn’t worth getting to know her because of all those self-defensive walls she had constructed. Wise had been the first one to power through them.
The first one Zhu Yuan invited to meet her parents outside of Qingyi. The first one that she ever said to her mother, “I think… he might be special.”
And why… despite everything Commander Bringer had represented and inspired within her, his betrayal had taken a backseat to Wise’s.
And why Qingyi had insisted on driving back to NEPS Headquarters, since Zhu Yuan was apparently, “too distracted to be behind the wheel of a vehicle.”
Qingyi had also been right, because Zhu Yuan hadn’t noticed her deviation from the proper course until it was far too late.
“Wait,” she said in confusion, after a quick right turn led to a road off the beaten path, with pale brown flatland grasses greeting her outside the window rather than the homes and buildings of New Eridu, “Where are we? Where are you going, Qingyi?”
“Somewhere you need to go,” the android said, offering no further explanation despite Zhu Yuan’s insistent questioning.
Not that part of the answer eventually became clear on its own; as the long fence that surrounded the chasm created to stop Hollow Zero’s expansion appeared in front of the windshield, then another right turn that led to the Chasm Memorial.
Zhu Yuan at least finally understood the “where”. The “why”, however, continued to elude her.
Qingyi killed the engine, silently stepping out of the car and looking over the surroundings. Zhu Yuan reluctantly followed suit, demanding, “Now will you tell me why we’re here?”
The android did not, in fact, do that. “Go on up. I’ll wait here. Does me good to get some fresh air.”
Sometimes, Zhu Yuan wondered who was really in charge of her investigative team. Moments like this didn’t help.
Sensing that Qingyi was more than content to stand there however long she needed to, Zhu Yuan started the slight incline that eventually led to a trail and the stone that bore the names that perished in the fall of the Old Capitol.
A single female figure was standing in front of the stone, seemingly lost in meditation. Zhu Yuan wasn’t terribly surprised to see Miyabi there; this was a ritual that the H.A.N.D. specialist did almost weekly, or whenever something profound happened, and it seemed safe to guess that the events with Bringer would definitely be considered the latter.
Miyabi’s trance broke at Zhu Yuan’s arrival, her head lifting and tilting slightly in Zhu Yuan’s direction.
“Zhu Yuan, this is quite fortuitous,” Miyabi said, with a voice that to the uninitiated to the H.A.N.D. operative’s nuances would have seemed indifferent if not cold, but to someone who knew her identified as quite friendly.
“Is it?” Zhu Yuan replied.
“Indeed. We have a matter to discuss, and this saves me the time of locating you at PubSec.”
Zhu Yuan highly suspected this was not why Qingyi brought her here, but was willing to entertain her friend. “Do we? What matter is that?”
“I understand that you are beholden to protocol,” Miyabi said, “But I’d consider it a great favor, and would deeply appreciate as a result, if you didn’t arrest my proxy.”
Zhu Yuan didn’t even need a name to know who Miyabi was talking about, and it raised her dander just as much now as it did the first time Miyabi had said it as she was rushing back from being treated to aid Wise, leaving Zhu Yuan behind to do so. The PubSec officer hadn’t said anything then (again, compartmentalizing), but now?
“Your proxy?” Zhu Yuan repeated, not able to completely hide the snarl in her voice.
“Yes,” Miyabi answered. “I plan on recruiting him for additional forays into Hollow Zero. His skills and his experience would be vital for Section 6’s duties. I’d rather not have to handle all the bureaucratic nonsense of getting a pardon issued on those grounds, so I figured it would be simpler if I convinced you to not arrest him to begin with.”
Zhu Yuan blushed. Of course that was what Miyabi meant.
“I’m not going to arrest him!” Zhu Yuan protested. “Being a proxy just on its own is barely a misdemeanor, and there’s no evidence that he has committed any felonies to arrest him for, working as a proxy or otherwise!”
“Good. I just know how very ‘by the book’ you are and thought it would be prudent to try and talk you down.”
“Would you like me to rescind his traffic tickets while I’m at it?” Zhu Yuan snarked.
“Could you?”
Zhu Yuan wanted to scream. “He doesn’t have any,” she said, starting to explain her attempt at sarcasm before she decided it wasn’t worth the attempt. “It was… oh nevermind. I’m not going to arrest Wise, or Belle, or anyone at Random Play. Yes, I’m methodical, but I’m not a mindless drone that follows nothing but the letter of the law!”
That was especially true now, if only because she was starting to question the value of the law, when the law allows the sort of things that happened recently.
“At any rate, I suppose I should return. I won’t keep you any longer.”
Zhu Yuan blinked in confusion. “Keep me from what?”
Miyabi jabbed her left thumb over her shoulder. “Wise, and Belle, are just a bit further down. They are reminiscing as well. I figured that was why you were here.”
And the “why” of Qingyi’s actions revealed themselves. Of course.
Zhu Yuan offered a tired smile. “Right. Thank you, Miyabi.”
The H.A.N.D. operative slipped past, but only took three more steps before stopping and looking over her shoulder.
“For what it’s worth, Zhu Yuan?” Miyabi began.
“Yes?” The PubSec officer said tiredly.
“If your affection wasn’t so obvious, and Wise’s for you, I… might have considered pursuing him myself.”
Zhu Yuan couldn’t fight back the color that rose on her face. Her crush had been so readily apparent that even Miyabi could see it. How humiliating.
The two women offered a final parting, and Zhu Yuan followed Miyabi’s direction, off the trail path and onto the grass. About a hundred meters away, Wise and Belle came into focus, sitting on the grass, knees pulled up to their waists, and looking out towards Hollow Zero in silence, a red scarf tied into the links of the fence.
Belle saw Zhu Yuan approach first, quickly getting to her feet, Wise initially confused before seeing what Belle had. The younger sibling told him to sit still, then intercepted Zhu Yuan about ten meters before she reached Wise.
“He’s… all yours.” She said nervously. “You both need this. Take as long as you need; if I get bored, I can call someone to take me home.”
Zhu Yuan nodded appreciatively. “Thank you, Belle.”
But as Zhu Yuan took Belle’s place sitting next to Wise, mirroring his stance, outside of a momentary glance at each other, an uncomfortable silence settled between them, as both tried to figure out what they could, and should, say to each other.
But just before Zhu Yuan could finally gather the courage to even say “hello,” Wise started speaking, and did he have a ton to say.
He unloaded everything about his past; his childhood in the Old Capitol, Helios Academy, how they learned from Carole Arna, the disaster that led to the Old Capitol’s fall, how Carole had been snatched away by the same type of hand that had “refined” Commander Bringer, of their frantic escape from the expanding Hollow Zero, and eventually using Arna’s own discoveries to become Phaethon, trying to uncover the truth that the leaders of New Eridu would rather no one even questioned, much less learn.
He admitted that he didn’t have quite the same optimism as Belle, both in finding the truth, as well as Carole’s innocence, acknowledging that it was entirely possible that Carole could have lost control of her own experiments, rather than be an unfairly maligned victim.
At the end of that long exposition, Zhu Yuan sighed, and asked with dismay, “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
“Well… many reasons, honestly. First, I suppose I should admit that part of the reason I didn’t tell you was because I didn’t want to be arrested. If not by you… that information being known to anyone in PubSec could have gotten someone else on my tail.”
Zhu Yuan nodded glumly. Even if he had only told her, that sort of thing had a way of getting out. Perhaps a jealous coworker would start digging into the lives of those she was close to and would be able to piece together the evidence she had dismissed. “That’s… fair.”
“But I did mean it when I didn’t want it to reflect on you. If I was found out, I wanted you to have that deniability. You’ve become such a light for the people of New Eridu, winning over the people of Sixth Street that had lost almost all faith in the law and Public Security. I never want to see that lost because of me.”
Zhu Yuan scoffed. “Some light I proved to be.”
“Zhu Yuan?” Wise asked, concerned with the venom that appeared in her voice.
“A criminal of the highest order was operating right in front of me. A fiend that threatened the very public safety I swore to uphold, and he was the one giving me orders. And I did it, unfailingly and unquestioningly. If it wasn’t for you… he would have succeeded, and all my protocols and rules would have been worthless.”
Wise nervously put a hand on her shoulder, “Zhu… no. Don’t say that…”
“It’s true, isn’t it?” She retorted angrily, not fighting the tears that were forming on her cheeks. “I looked up to Commander Bringer. He… was my hero. I was… I was blind to who he was…”
“He saved your life as a child. Of course you were going to admire him. And he gave no indications whatsoever that he should even be under suspicion. We only learned because of Perlman. How could anyone had expected you to uncover that plot without help?”
Zhu Yuan couldn’t choke back a sob. “Had it all been a lie, even from the start? Had the people he saved always been pawns he could play to get his hands on the highest levers of power in the city? Or had he been twisted later on? Was it just Bringer? Could others in the upper echelon of PubSec be compromised? I… don’t know.”
Wise moved his hand around her shoulder, gently pulling her into him, and grateful that she didn’t resist his attempt at comfort. “You might not ever know that answer. Just like I might not ever know if Carole was genuinely innocent or if her experiments simply got out of control. I must acknowledge all those possibilities, as much as I hate them.”
“But you’re going to keep searching?”
“I have to.”
Zhu Yuan moved her hand until it settled on his thigh, causing Wise to stiffen and his face turn red. She smiled tiredly, and said, “Well, then so am I. If you’re not going to stop chasing the truth, how could I give up with a clear conscience?”
“You might… be… right…” Wise said, his voice dying off as he realized just how close Zhu Yuan’s face was to his.
The avid movie watcher in him started throwing up all sorts of flags. This was exactly the point where the hero of the film was supposed to take his love interest’s chin in his hand, tilt it up, then lean forward and…
… Sit there dumbly as his love interest firmly grabbed him by the cheeks and smashed her lips hungrily against his.
At least he reacted quickly enough, returning Zhu Yuan’s kiss with the same fervent need. To hell with the tropes, this was how they were doing it, all messy with tears and maybe a little snot mixed in, and Wise decided he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Zhu Yuan wasn’t exactly sure how long she performed that particular deep exploration of Wise’s mouth, but she immediately felt embarrassed after doing so, looking away bashfully as she wiped her face of tears and the taste of him on her lips. “Sorry. I… probably went a little overboard there.”
“Can’t say I didn’t enjoy it,” Wise tried to respond all cool, and probably failing. “You know, there… was one more reason I never told you I was Phaethon.”
“What’s that?”
“You gave me the opportunity to forget I was Phaethon. Even if for a moment, whenever we hung out, or walked around Lumina Square, or ate far too spicy hot pot, or watched those kind of videos...”
Zhu Yuan hadn’t thought her face could get any more red. She was wrong.
Wise finished, “For those moments, I wasn’t a proxy, much less a legendary one. I was just… Wise, manager of Random Play on Sixth Street, getting to spend time with the coolest girl in New Eridu.”
Zhu Yuan bumped her shoulder against his playfully. “You really need to reassess your definition of ‘cool,’ because I think yours is horribly skewed. And I’m afraid that using me as an escape into normalcy is going to have to change as well.”
She looked out past the fence, past The Chasm, as if she could peer inside Hollow Zero and towards Helios Academy. “You’re going to have to get used to me being right on your six… because I get the feeling my answers are going to be found in the same place as yours.”
Wise followed her eyes towards that damnable hollow, the silence that followed both reflecting their newly found comfort in each other, and the weight of the task ahead.
But if there was one thing the end of the Bringer Saga had shown, one thing that gave him the strength to continue, it’s that he and Belle no longer had to carry that weight alone.