The Timeservers

Chapter 34

New York City, New York

The Ivory Tower

December 19, 227 P.F.E

0900 hours

Since she joined the Guardians Via had never truly felt like a ghost until this moment. Standing on the steps of her old school and returning to her old life made her feel like she was haunting the place. The white robes didn't help. They made her look the part of a true phantom. They itched against her skin, almost burning. They also made her skin look paler than usual, almost like the blood wasn't flowing to her hands. She was almost surprised when she grabbed onto the handle of the door and she was able to pull it open instead of her hand passing through the handle like air.
Via takes a deep breath and Kelly nods to her from his place behind her. He's dressed in the colors and more ornate uniform of the elite. His hair is neater than usual, with no strands hanging over his eyes to brush away, Via always found that element of him attractive. He's also standing taller and straighter than normal, like a soldier at attention.
"I'm nervous," Via confides.
"Everyone is on their first mission. That's why we gave you an easy one to start. You don't have to worry about your history or defences. All you have to do is be who you were before," Kellycomforts.
"And that's not hard?" Via scoffs.
"You have a point. We sometimes go home. We can still do that since we're up North so much and people connected the dots with us being of testing age and then suddenly going down South. It's weird being ourselves again. We aren't really ourselves when we're there. We have to pretend that we aren't as dangerous as we are. We have to pretend that we aren't changed by what goes on in this work." Kelly sighs. He takes a step forward, towering over Via so she has to look up at him. "You don't have to go through with this now. You can still go back for more training."
"I can do it." Via swallows. "I have to do this."
Kelly quirks a quick smile. "Had a suspicion you would choose to go through with it. Since you are, let me get the door, might as well look the part of an elite." Kelly lays a hand on the handle as Via takes hers away. Their hands brush briefly and she blushes and looks away.
She shouldn't have blushed. She didn't like Kelly in that way. He's a good friend, he makes her laugh and helps her when she asks for it, but she likes Leo. Leo is more mysterious and intriguing. Makes her want to pursue him and find out what he's hiding while Kelly shows exactly who he is and has been since she met him.
"If you're supposed to be an elite you shouldn't be standing so close. It's practically scandalous. The girls will talk... more." Via folds her arms and takes a step back.
"A little scandal can be good for a person."
Kelly swings the door open and Viasteps into the hall of her old school. It's like walking right into a memory.
"I expected this place to be different after I left, to change at least a little."
"Of everything in New America the Ivory Tower and the chancellors change the least." The voice comes in over the microphones in Via's and Kelly's ears and Kelly grimaces at it.
"That's not Sophia. Where's Sophia?"
"Ooh, not even asking me my name; rude," the voice taunts.
"Sophia had a meeting with the commissioners today. We got the next person in line for the job."
Via's stomach sinks. "Connor Barkley."
"Eva, welcome back to the haunt."
"Barkley," Kelly spits.
"Always a pleasure, Phoenix. So, meeting with the commissioners? That's funny. I heard that it was a hearing. See, I heard that you, your sister, and Mythos got in trouble with a few civilians yesterday. It was something about a public fight. Tsk, tsk. Save that for the circuses or the missions, pal. I hope you aren't suspended for too long. Or Worse; dishonorably discharged. If that happened they would have to fill the spectre analyst position and one of the less gifted Guardians might move into the vacated spectre position. What a tragedy that would be. When's your hearing, Kelly?"
"None of your business, Barkley. You analysts are all notorious snoops but none of us actually gave you permission to look into our personal lives."
"We all live at the Spire. We don't have personal lives," Barkley counters.
"Boys, can we focus? One of the students or professors might come out at any moment. They're worse than analysts. If they hear us talking to someone who isn't here it won't end well," Via cuts in.
"Now you're sounding like a chancellor," Kelly grins.
"Ugh, never again. Being called that makes me feel weird. Old maybe, but also like... I can't explain it."
"Boring. Or smarmy. Those are the only two types of chancellors. You're either a sociopath or the well-meaning lamb that doesn't realize you're herd has been replaced with a pack of wolves pretending to be sheep."
"Le-Mythos told me about this fairytale once, Red Riding Hood or something. Well, I feel like I should be wearing red from head to toe."
"Now that's scandalous."
"Not to kill the mood or anything, since you guys are just the cutest and I'm all for forbidden romance, but don't you have to get to class? There's only an hour and ten minutes left in this period after all," Barkley cuts in.
"Right. The class that the chancellor we're looking into teaches is down the hall. I feel bad spying on her though, she was always my favorite. She's actually a good person."
"Not by law. Aiding people in crossing the border, New or Historian is a criminal offence," Barkley points out.
"All Chancellor Belova has done is speak out on the news. We don't have evidence of her actually helping people," Kelly rebuttals.
"You're just saying that because she's your chancellor. You're also here for that evidence. Now get into that class. I'll be monitoring your progress on the cameras in the lecture hall but I'll be cutting off my connection to the microphones. You won't hear me and I'll hear you over the cameras. Cutting feed in three... two... one." There's a sudden click in both Kelly's and Via's ears as Barkley disconnects.
Via leads Kelly through the halls of the building. Each turn makes Via's stomach tie into tighter knots but she can't tell if it's nerves from the mission or from being back here. She'd never admit it to anyone, but she'd hardly survived the first time. She was good because of a promise to her parents and a promise to herself.
The promise to herself was that she would escape this place as soon as possible. She would be a chancellor and never have to come back here. They'd hound her to teach, but she'd graciously turn them down, giving some excuse that could hardly pass but would have to be accepted because she would be a chancellor. Instead, she's here, and to spy on the few people who made it almost bearable.
Via stops in front of the door to the lecture hall and Kelly reaches for the handle. Via stops him, grabbing hold of his arm. "I just need a minute. I never expected that I'd be coming back here when I left. I also need to remember who I was."
Kelly straightens. "Take as long as you need." He looks both ways and then leans in conspiratorially. Via can feel the warmth radiating from him. "On my first mission, there was an impaling incident involving me and a freaking spear."
Via blushes, looking both ways as the near swear echoes. "They let you go to Historian territory for your first mission?"
"Nope, a bootleg museum. The spear was exhibit and may or may not have been duller than reading every law of New America."
"I've done that, it's very dull."
"And my venture was very embarrassing. It's an awkward moment when you disturb anything in a museum. It's even worse when it's in front of a crazed Historian who somehow made it past the borders. He used Shakespearian curse words. Not like Shakespeare. He actually quoted Shakespeare to insult me. He also went on to describe similar characters to me, including Bottom, and he finished by reminding me of what happens to some of the more ignorant characters from those plays."
"What was the point of this story?"
"The point is that you could literally screw this up in any way and it would still look like you're a spymaster compared to a green me. Unless you outright tell everyone that you're now a spectre called Evanesce and the whole point of this mission."
Via stares at Kelly for a second and she bites her lip.
"That's all you want to say now, isn't it?"
"It's all I can think about."
"Then you're ready." Kelly places his hand on the door and turns back to grin at Via. "You're going to do great, Chancellor Moss."
Hearing the words coming from Kelly'smouth is like realizing you actually met a now close friend before you were close friends and you didn't like them. Via had been dreaming of being called Chancellor Moss for years. It was only on the night she was caught that she realized that dream wasn't hers, was never hers. It was so firmly hammered into her head that she had adopted it and clung to it with all she had, putting herself through abuse, torture, and forcing herself to keep smoldering even after she'd completely burned out. She hadn't realized that she wasn't even a person anymore, just one little idea that she didn't even know the full meaning of and refused to let go of because it was all she had. If she wasn't a chancellor she was an empty husk, and she'd rather be that than keep putting herself through everything when everyone who wanted it for her had betrayed her in one way or another.
She didn't owe anyone anything, except herself. She owed herself a life of her choice. She owed herself people who would actually love her for her and not for what she was supposed to be. She owed herself someone who would accept that she was broken and crushed, even if that someone was just her.
"Spectre Evanesce," Kelly corrects.
Via takes a deep breath. She had managed to choose who she actually is, right down to the name. Nothing from this life could hurt her. She'd go through with the mission and then go back to her room in the Spire. She'd do something that she wanted to do.