Perennial

Chapter 21 -- Perennial

When I sneak out of the cafeteria during lunch, I make sure that Aether is too distracted by doodling on his napkin (this seems to be a habit of his, though he never lets me see what he's drawing) and Sueña is engrossed in a conversation with Azul before escaping. I don't need one of them to follow after me. I need some time to think, alone.

It's way too loud in the cafeteria. Far too loud to even hear yourself think, what with all the shouting and joking and gossiping and small talking (can't stand small talk). I need this alone time for the sake of my sanity (assuming I still have any left).

I don't go outside this time. I've decided to explore the hallways today.

The halls I end up wandering in are decked out in school pride memorabilia and project displays (weird, it's almost as if they're still trying to make this place look like a normal school). I read some of the posters. A few are a little interesting, like the ones about how to break into a high security facility, but other than that, it's all pretty ordinary and boring, just like the inside of that school Digit set fire to months ago.

"Shouldn't you be in the dining hall?"

I squeak in surprise and look around. I relax when I see it's only Megan.

She has her arms folded, a light smirk gracing her features. "Well?"

"... Probably?"

"Oh, really?" Megan strides towards me. "Just like you should probably have avoided going on my computer while I was out of the room?"

She's tall, but not as tall as Aether. Her chin is at my eye level. It's weird to think that they're siblings. (It's weird to think that Aether is the toddler in that picture on Megan's laptop.) They don't seem to resemble each other all that much in any way. Physically, that might be the work of the perception filter on him and the pink hair on her. Their personalities are very different as well. Megan is far more outgoing than her younger brother. (Maybe she gets it from Valor. Maybe Aether is more like their mother. Eclipse.)

I force an awkward smile. "Um... oops?"

"Yeah, 'oops'." Megan rolls her eyes. "What were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking about online gaming?" I suggest.

My unexpected comment throws Megan off for a second and she just stares at me, confused.

"Which is why you were in the DSHA database?"

I hesitate while I decide whether or not to admit anything. In the end, I say, "I think the real question is why did you cover for me if you don't know?"

"Because I like you, Perennial. I don't want you to get carted back to a facility like Midas," she takes a deep breath. "You don't strike me as a person whose spirit is easily broken, but if there is a place that could break you, I guarantee DSHA has it somewhere."

"How would you know?" I ask, mostly for the sake of being defiant.

"Because that's what they did to my mother."

I freeze. Just what does Megan know, and how much?

Apparently the surprise shows on my face, because Megan shoots me a wry, unhappy smile. But she mistakes my surprise at her knowing her mother's fate for surprise at the implication that Eclipse was super-human.

"My mother was super-human," she begins to explain. "That's part of the reason I wanted to work with supes for a living."

"And why your brother is in Icarus?"

"Yeah. He got powers. I didn't."

A lie. Megan doesn't know that I know about her ability negation.

"That's who I was looking up. Your mom. Eclipse."

Megan blinks in surprise.

I shrug. "I figured out you and Aether are siblings. It's not that hard to piece together once you notice the similarities. He mentioned Eclipse went missing around mid-August eight years ago. I wanted to know why, so... I looked her up."

"He was in on it, wasn't he." It's phrased like a question, but it comes out as more of a statement. Megan shakes her head, taking my silence as a confirmation. "He's always been such a rebel, but he's always so sneaky about it."

"Never got caught when he stole cookies from the cookie jar?" I ask.

"That's right, and then he made it look like it was me."

"I can relate," I mutter under my breath.

If Megan hears me and is curious about my offhanded implication of a family, she doesn't show it. Instead, she asks, "Why were you curious about why Eclipse went missing?"

I shrug. "I'm allowed to be curious, aren't I? Besides, I did it more for Aether than myself."

I'm not sure if that last statement is a lie or not, but I'm willing to roll with it.

"I see. What did you find?"

"She was born, she lived, she died." I hate how callous that sounds, but it's the truth.

Megan considers me for a moment. "How did she die?"

I don't have to answer her. I don't even want to think about the answer to that question.

But when I look into her sad, blue eyes and wonder if that's what Aether's real eyes look like, I know that I have to. "She died from a heart problem triggered by the tests and experiments DSHA put her through."

Megan's eyes soften, but she doesn't seem shocked or saddened by this. It's almost like she's already at peace with it.

"You knew that already, didn't you? Why haven't you told Aether?"

"It wasn't my call."

It takes me a moment to understand. "Valor knows, too?"

Again, Megan doesn't give me an answer. She looks down at the floor. "I think you should be getting back to the cafeteria. It's almost time for the bell to ring. Aether will be looking for you."

For once, I do as I'm told, but only because I don't know what else there is to say or do. Besides that, Megan is right.

My route back to the cafeteria passes by the headmaster's office. In retrospect, I probably should've taken a different hall, because as I pass on by, Valor pokes his head out of his office and calls me over.

He is one of the last people I want to see right now. Not only because of what he hasn't said to his son, but also because he has that look on his face that means someone is in trouble, and that someone is me.

Still, a few seconds later, I find myself in his office, situated across from him, staring at his desk like it might somehow sympathize with me.

He speaks first. "Give me one good reason why you aren't in the cafeteria right now."

"Because you stopped me on my way back?"

He gives me a flat look. It's an expression I've seen on Aether's face once or twice before, whenever I say something particularly obnoxious.

"Fine. I suppose I should ask you a different question. What is wrong with you?"

A lot of things. But perhaps he wants a specific answer...?

Thankfully, he continues speaking before I can say something stupid. "First, this mysterious inverse telepathy thing, and then Megan tells me you hacked into the DSHA database on her computer, and now you don't even wait twenty four hours before breaking the rules again, by wandering the halls without a hall pass."

"First off, that last accusation sounds really petty next to the other two, and second off, I thought Megan didn't tell anyone?"

"She didn't tell DSHA. She told me and I told her not to tell them." He pauses to take in my frown. "Now tell me, why would I do that?"

"If you don't know the answer to that question, what makes you think I would?"

Valor snorts. "Good answer, but not good enough. Try again. Here, I'll phrase it a little differently. Give me one good reason to not report you to DSHA."

I take a brief minute to consider what would happen if I continue to refuse to cooperate. Sueña and I have an escape plan in the works, but how quickly can DSHA respond to arrest me if Valor does snitch on me? In the end; I decide it's not worth the risk.

"Eclipse."

To his credit, Valor doesn't react very much outwardly, the only thing that gives away his surprise is the tightening in his jaw. (Are we sure Valor is Megan and Aether's dad? Because both of them are way more expressive than he is.)

I continue, "I was looking up Eclipse on Megan's computer. I wanted to know how she disappeared and why."

"Why? I'm guessing it wasn't just idle curiosity?"

"No. Aether told me about her. He mentioned she went missing mid-August eight years ago."

"Aether mentioned this?"

"Please don't be mad at him. We were swapping sob stories." I quickly explain. "At any rate, it just so happens that around the exact same time Eclipse went missing, so did one of the original Overlords. I thought it was an interesting coincidence, so I looked into it. That's all. I didn't inflict any damage. I didn't hurt anyone. You can tattle on me to DSHA if you want, but my conscience is clean."

Valor leans back, then huffs and shakes his head. "Jo would've loved you."

"Huh?" Of all the reactions I could have gotten, I wasn't expecting this one.

"Aether's mother. She would've loved you."

It's then that something happens that I've only ever experienced a few times in my short sixteen years of life. I'm rendered speechless. I haven't the faintest idea how to respond to that.

"She would have loved anyone who wasn't afraid to break the rules, explain why they did it, and then accept the consequences," Valor murmurs, chuckling to himself.

I blink, slowly coming out of my stupor. I'm having a hard time seeing any humor in this situation. "You know what happened to her. Why haven't you told Aether?"

His chuckling stops. As he stares at me, his face flashes through a series of emotions. It happens so fast, I can barely identify what any of them are. Confusion is the only easily recognizable one. I can guess at the thought that goes with that expression: 'How did she figure out I know?'

"He's not ready yet."

Oh. Well. Oops. (I certainly hope he's wrong, because I've already told him. Valor doesn't need to know that, though.)

"When will he be ready? When he's seventeen? Eighteen? Twenty-five? This is about his mother, Valor. Megan knows. He deserves to know, too."

Valor regards me in shock, but I'm not sure what I've said to earn it. Then it hits me.

Megan knows.

"How did you know about Megan?"

I don't answer him. He doesn't need to know. I don't have to show my hand just yet.

"You know what happened to Eclipse. Megan knows what happens to her, too. Aether doesn't, but I do. The only thing I don't know is how it's connected to Juggernaut's disappearance. Something tells me you might know about that, too, or am I not ready yet, either?"

Valor says nothing, his face scrunched up in scrutiny.

I continue, "Because you can either tell me yourself, or I will find out on my own. I should hope that by now you've figured out that I have ways of finding out whatever it is I want to know."

"The Overlord taught you to negotiate like this, didn't he?"

The Overlord. My pulse quickens.

It seems that Valor is starting to reveal some of his hand in an effort to take back control of this conversation.

"We used to have discussions similar to this one, back in the day. You were his apprentice, weren't you?"

I neither confirm nor deny.

"It makes sense, in a way. Why you were at that school. Your mysterious past. How when we found you, you were already combat trained. And now this, the way you sneak around stealing whatever information you want, and then negotiate your way into getting more after you've been summoned to my office."

In all fairness, I wasn't exactly summoned, more like kidnapped out of the hallway, but whatever.

"I'll tell you what you want to know." Valor sighs. "There was an incident eight years ago, involving DSHA and the Overlords. The entire thing was a setup. Too many people died that night, including Juggernaut, I think. And in the end, Eclipse vanished. I searched high and low for her, but we didn't discover where she was until it was too late."

"Is that all?" It sounds like he's leaving a lot out of the story.

"All that I trust you with knowing," he says. "You should be on your way back to class. Do you need help? Aether has told me about your conveniently inaccurate sense of direction."

"I'm afraid I don't understand your meaning." I tell him sweetly, standing up. Glad to be dismissed, I glide over to the door. "See you around?"

He grunts. "Just go."

I do.