Note: this was written by two, post by post, so the technical POV switches between characters every few sentences.

---

Agent 01 figured Leander must only this day be allowed his own room, as the only clue to her that it belonged to him were a few pieces of carriable personal effects. Even the insignificant crew members the Siren's Song group left unattended had their own chambers with styled furniture and decor. She was poking around under his bed, lifting the covers, and snooping in his drawers when she heard someone approaching at last; 01 moved herself behind the door, as silent as she had ever been trained to be, and listened harder. Only one pair of footsteps - ones that were almost as quiet as hers, in a cadence she recognized from years of familiarity.

She was not here to scare him, nor harm him, but she figured she would try for it anyway. He should know to keep on his toes. When he approached his bed after a likely hard and weary day, she would lose an arrow to him - never intending to hit of course. It would land in the wall and pass harmlessly by his head. If she wanted to hit him, she would have, and he wouldn't hear her laughing as she fired it. If it was a real shot, he would hear her laughing as he bled out.

The weakness of his flesh was calling to him.

If one had asked Leander, he perhaps would have blamed the call of the book of vile darkness. He would have blamed the necromantic blood that now coursed through his bones, or the possession that had sapped his strength earlier in the week.

In reality, it was simply that he was tired. Tired from the running, from the worrying, from the moral and ethical choices placed in front of him that he felt ill equipped for. He wasn't built for decisions. Tired of being ignored, and watching his premonations come to fruition.

Perhaps this was how Iamoris felt. There's a pang in his heart, at the thought he and Mirari won't be traveling there together anymore.

It's a pang followed by a much more real pang, the thunk of an arrow. In an instant, a glacial blade has formed in Leander's hand as his eyes dart around rapidly. He finds her instantly, hand reaching out towards her position. A plan is already forming in his hand, but he doesn't cast anything quite yet. StiII, it bubbles in his hand as a pIan, dark necrotic energy.

"What do you want." His voice spits out, rough and venomous.

The shrill laughter cuts short as he responds with real venom. Nothing between them was fun anymore - she wasn't sure why she tried, her own heart only half in it. It was all plans, machinations, and results these days, even for Zeta. That was coming of age, she supposed. That was having responsibilities. Maybe that's why Leander was so boring from the start.

She lowers her bow, but doesn't tuck it away. Not with him readying a spell, even if she knew his heart wasn't behind it. ”I heard a rumor about you. I need..." she stopped herself from saying help. It wasn't quite help - this was more of a shortcut to get the sniveling mage off her back sooner rather than later. "I need to see something of yours. Borrow it, maybe, or just take a little peek..."

Despite his voice, there’s a crack in it he can’t stop. Exhaustion. Yet, 00 had never been known to hesitate. He had a cockroach-like sense of survival, acting on a desperate instinct to always stay alive. It was built into his veins - but here, the spell doesn’t go off. He doesn’t just hesitate. He stops.

…Was she distracting him? Was this a trick? He needed to know where 02 was, to ensure they weren’t taking him. How had she found them? ”Maybe you should go visit your son, first.”

They weren’t going to be able to get much done without discussing that first.

"I will be having a discussion with my son shortly, I'll have you know." Her mood was quite suddenly even lower than it had been — Mirari's threats rang in her ears again — and she frowned deeply. Luckily for her, she was adorned with her rope-braided mask, and 00 couldn't see the momentary weakness.

She recovered, "I cannot believe you took him to Midhold. Zeta knows never to go to Midhold. Now I need to find some place to put him because —" frustration made her pause, something stuck in her throat, "Your group's presence there likely makes even the Underhold an unsafe place for him to be. A decade without anything going wrong, and then he meets you. Really." 01 scoffed.

Leander's words come easier, not afflicted with the same awkwardness and strange cadence he always speaks with. "He snuck with us. I try to talk to him, but someone in this room has taught him not to respect me or listen to anything I said, so I'd say its somewhat of an uphill fucking battle."

"That person is you, by the way. You're the one who broke protocol - this is why we don't go out on proper missions without another changeling, and not until eighteen." Leander doesn't even seem upset about the fact she has a secret child. He sounds incredibly miffed she broke protocol with him.

It actually, genuinely, almost made her laugh. It was enough of an ice-breaker for her to pull the mask back, settling it on top of her hair so she could look narrowly down her nose at him. "See, this is why you're like this. You think SO SMALL."

01 strode over to, and sat, on the Siren Song-provided desk chair that came with a personal room. She looked at ease — but her bow was still in hand. "It was hardly a mission. He was supposed to hand you some items and leave — could've even done it as a bug instead of a goblin. Left it out for you to find. Anything. But he knew he was better than that." She shrugged a bit, "Unfortunately he didn't quite stick the landing, but I'm sure he would have, had it been only those idiots."

Slowly, Leander lets his hand fall. The ice blade melts from his hand, but he slowly reaches for a platter nearby. Movements slow, not sudden - but it's clear he'll have a shield if she tries to shoot. His nose scrunches up at her insult, partly because he doesn't know what she means by it.

Even if she was right, what did it have to do with now? >:(

"... He disobeyed orders. Expanded the scope of the mission." It's more of a confirmation to himself than a question, letting out a sigh. ".... That... makes far more sense."

"...."

"You are most likely correct." He admits. "He chose a high value target that he knew I had personal ire for, which made it difficult for my concerns to be taken with weight. If not for me, none would have questioned him. They are... blind, at the worse moments. And insightful when it's incredibly inconvenient."

There was a small urge within her to defend Zeta, or perhaps herself and her teaching style, but she left him to talk to himself instead. Whatever mistakes the boy made were between them to correct.

"Yes, yes — we’re all caught up now on young Zeta now, aren’t we? Now… There is another issue. Tangentially related.” She thought for a moment how to put it. She didn’t exactly make a mistake, killing the tiefling. It was within the mission, and it protected 01’s own interests… but her choices now proved a challenge to her overarching goals. "Were you… aware that the one known as Ducat had an infernal contract? I’ve surmised it must have been something discussed while Mirari was previously in our custody…" She was cringing about something, but she wouldn’t say what.

Slowly, Leander squints. So that's why she was here. She was information mining.

"... I'm sure you're aware that I'm not going to give you that information for free." That wasn't how the changelings worked.

His eyes narrow. "I'll tell you, but I want to know what the Order is going to do with Mirari Arossa."

"That is not information I need you to confirm, Zero. We already know it. We have experts for that kind of thing." She was still holding something back — she was not sure how fond 00 was of Ducat. Maybe not so much, since he was willing to hear her speak, even knowing she turned the poor creature into a pincushion.

"You know I don’t know what they want with him, either. He’s largely useless and annoying. Maybe they want to make him a magical battery. I have no idea.” For some reason, she was offering that freely. Maybe she hadn’t slept. "Regardless, they want them both. They want to know where Ducat stashed an asset, but they won’t cooperate with Speak with Dead, and we… we can’t revive them. I had them go through three diamonds. It was… nothing."

"And yet you're here for a reason. You wouldn't ask me a question you wouldn't want to know my answer to. You're more efficient than that." It's a compliment, but it sounds like an insult the way the word comes through gritted teeth.

"It's Leander."

That gives him pause. His face is mostly neutral and emotionless, but 01's keen eyes can see his lips spread into a thin line.

"...."

"Did you try resurrection? Or just revivify? Was it that mousy cleric from Eldershore? You know she's shit. She almost botched 04's resurrection last time."

"Trust me, it is not that. That cleric will never be heard from again," she said this without a care for the situation, that of the cleric or even almost 04’s, "Do not doubt me Leander that I would have tried anything else before asking your assistance."

She leaned forward, finally setting her bow against the desk behind her, folding both hands together as her forearms landed against her knees. "I heard a rumor you know of some very advanced necromancies." Her eyes were completely black, but the subtle change in the shine suggested she looked Leander up and down then, "and I do not need you to confirm that either. Let me look at your notes. It’s… for your friends."

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. A life lived, a drowning, people who cared about them more than anything. And the idiot threw it away for a poorly planned 15 minute reveal. Perhaps Ducat deserved this, for their foolishness.

With her bow lowered, he slowly lowers his shield. He's not foolish to put it down, and he seems to calm somewhat with her saying his name.

He squints ever further. "... And... where ever did you hear such a rumor, such as that?"

Agent 01 exhaled slowly, calming herself — she didn’t feel she could be here long, and Leander had to question everything. She needed those notes. Every second she was away from Mirari was a second he might be giving up on her, telling the next changeling everything. "Does it matter? Goblins. You’ve been seen with a ghost and you look like a corpse. I know you have something and I need to see what it is."

"Gods, I don’t care if you’re canoodling with devils and necromancers now, but it seems you’ve somehow become useful despite it. I’m not going to take it from you. But the clerical methods of resurrection might not be viable. What do you know about devil contracts?"

Fucking goblins. Of course. 03 had her freakout in the market, and he knew it would come back someday.

"... " His brow furrows as he looks down, trying to consider what he remembered. He had come across the possibility when trying to think of how to bring 03 back, but decided going to hell wasn't worth it. "... I could... provided with time... reach back into my contacts and research."

"...."

"You can't see my notes. They won't mean anything to you. It took me years to decipher and understand necromancies, there's a basis of knowledge you need to even start. You can't bring Ducat back the same way I brought back 03."

What she knew, and would not provide now for his benefit, was that such freakout had not reached the Blue Order at large, necessarily… she didn’t report everything that happened in the Underhold. But that was her business.

"Knowing about them might help, but not be totally necessary. We need what is fastest." Her eyes widened slightly at the mention of 03. Leander revived her? She filed it away for later. "Why wouldn’t it work? Surely you have something that forces a soul to come back. I’ll just have you read it to me if it is encoded."

"... It took me a long time to get the resources and magicks to bring her back, but when she came back, she was....."

"..." His eyes darken, devoid of light. "... Wrong."

"... She came back as a spirit, and she's tied to me. I have to surmise that isn't what you want for Ducat." He lets out a soft huff. "... Why do you want them to be brought back anyway? I surmise you killed them so they wouldn't hold Zeta against you. I expect Mirari to die from a poisoning soon.

She felt a bit better with this piece of information — who cared if Ducat came back wrong? It was better than the Hells. Probably. ”It’s not me who wants them anyway, it’s Mirari. I bet he’d love having Ducat haunt him forever. It’s all he’ll fucking talk about — Ducat.” Pause. ”Well, and his mother, I suppose. But he blames me for Ducat’s death, you see,” heavens knew why, Ducat started the fight between them, ”and he wants me to pay. Personally. He doesn’t even seem to care if Zeta is hurt in the crossfire.”

She leaned back and crossed her arms, and a leg, looking away from him. ”So see, I need this information for Mirari, so he can raise up his foolhardy paramour. Whatever information they have is beyond my concerns at the moment.”

Leander doesn't respond at first. He stares at 01 for a long moment, connecting dots rapidly. Why she was here. Why he hadn't heard any commotion. He hadn't felt 02 shift.

"...."

"... Ah." His head tilts up, giving a nod. "... I see. You want to give Mirari something so he doesn't give up Zeta." He looks away, his hand coming to his chin. Though he didn't trust 01, he had a vested interest in trying to keep Zeta safe. The only way to do that was for the order to never find out about him.

"... I don't know what he expected. I told them all of this would happen. He's foolish. He's a fool." It isn't said with malice, but more so a fact of the world. "He's emotional, and he resents the ocean for its storms. His true ire should lay with Ducat, who cared more about their petty and ill planned ideals than they did their life."

These were the things he could only say to 01. The only one who knew how awful he was, and he didn't have to pretend for. There was no need to be better in her presence, to strive for morality or personhood.

".... Is that what he asked you for? He told you that he wouldn't give up Zeta if you found a way to ressurect Ducat?"

01 nodded along with him — she agreed with every point he brought up. They were raised under the same morals, after all. The emotions between all those on the Siren Song were turbulent, foolish, and caused them to fail. They threw well-laid plans aside for each other and let dangerous enemies go unchecked. Well… most of the time. If only they had this time.

”… Yes.” Her voice was small for a moment. She hated being manipulated by someone like this. Especially one so beneath her. ”So get me everything you know about devils and I’ll take care of it. I may even tell you the best time to come rescue your friends.” No use pretending it wasn’t coming. ”Once Ducat is safely within their body.”

And there it was. Leander perks up at the offer, catching his bottom lip in his teeth. If they had 01 on the inside... it would make everything so much easier. "... Okay. I'll begin to look into it. We'll most likely need to void the contract to get them back. Something tells me it isn't about willingness.... we'll have to bargain something to the deity who holds it, most likely."

"..."

".... Why... Why do you... stay in the order anyhow? I had always thought you were dedicated to the rules and systems... but Zeta is a clear deviation from that. I mean... you obviously desire more than just being the best if you found someone to............. procreate. With," He gestures to her with a wide circle of his hand. "... You."

"... And it's clear Zeta.... loves you. That he wasn't just made to be the ultimate lifeform. I don't think you'd be trying to do all of this if you didn't love him as well."

She listened, despite him mostly saying things she knew, nodding along with a slight dip of the chin… then he started trying to understand her. Disgusting. Her face scrunched up as he continued to awkwardly fumble over the concept of children.

”Resources.” She answered deadpan. ”Maybe I just don’t want to lose all my time and effort. Raising a secret child between two people is not so simple, you know.”

Then she snorted. ”Finding someone to fuck is not the hard part.”

Leander purses his lips, not quite buying her story. All of this for resources. But she was inscrutiable, and he was tired, tired, tired.

He's so close to seeing past her. How she truly feels about her child, how possessive she was. But the word fuck makes him blink, grimacing at the thought of 01 having sex. "Ew. Stop."

"Why choose to have a secret child in the first place? You want a family. You'll never have a true family, as long as you're in the Order. You know that, don't you? Even if Zeta completes some grand act that impresses the handlers, his existence is a sign of your rebellion. That they've lost control of you."

While she had been avoiding his gaze for most of this part of the conversation, she snapped her gaze back to him and stared with her black, black, soulless eyes. Could he back off already?

”Maybe I shall tell you. If you get me this information. Do you need me to leave and come back, or is this something we can do now?” She was getting impatient, and snappy.

He meets her gaze with an almost childish frown. He lets out a puff of hair, blowing a piece of hair off his face. "We need to discuss terms. You know I don't lie well. There's also the matter of Zeta. Are you taking him?"

Maybe he could find Ducat's contract... but he was wary to let 01 in the room. She could still be searching for the waveheart. "And are you coming for 02?"

”I… need to talk to his mother about that.” It didn’t seem the prospect was one she was looking forward to, but it was anyone’s guess what she was most apprehensive of. 01 pondered the question for a moment. ”You wish to be rid of him?”

”We will be, but not yet. You should invest in a spell of nondetection for yourselves. I’ve already done too much to get that for you, but I can cast the spell from the scroll if none of you can.” She sighed. There was really so little to be done for this doomed group of people, but they didn’t even know it. ”You should keep moving. Every day if you are able. Protect your teleportation circle from detection when you use it, so we don’t see the codes through scrying. Because we will be coming, and I can only delay preparation so long.”

She leaned in. ”And if we move before you get me what Mirari wants… it may be too late for everything.”

Leander lets out a sigh, giving a nod to 01. He doesn't seem phased by any of these, perhaps it was something he was already considering. "I'll try, but they have poor leadership. It's what led to this in the first place. I'll try and get them to listen to me, but we're both aware of my skills and weaknesses." It wasn't hard for Leander to lead and position the changelings, because they believed in each other's abilities. They were led by logic and the mission, rather than petty emotion. It was what made them such an efficient, brutal team. "I warned them of having the full force of the Order after us. They seemed to believe that they were 'already experiencing the worst of it.'" He mutters.

"Idiots..."

"I'll get us all Nondetection items." Amulets of nondetection from the Red Wizards of Thay, if they were able. "... What is the current timeline? How much time do we have, feasibly? Taking into account the worst and best case scenario for us."

A part of him... missed this. This was easy. It was comfortable, talking about missions and logistics. It was free from emotion, objective, and most of all, it would get the job done.

”The worst case, a few days. We’re trained against torture, and 02 is more brainwashed into the Cause than any of us, I’m sure.” Another hint from her about her leanings, perhaps. Or she was leading Leander around. ”But you have longer than your dear friend Ducat. We’ll only be pushed to move if we think you’ll kill him… or otherwise compromise him, I suppose.”

”What are you planning with him, anyway? We are not going to trade. You would probably be safer freeing him.”

"That he is. You and 06, I could handle. If I found out 02 was gallavanting around, I might finally have to accept I slipped into insanity." He was close. But not quite there yet. His nose scrunches at dear friend Ducat. "Not my friend." He says firmly. Perhaps he was being bitter unfairly, jealous of everything Ducat had and was so quick to throw away. Leander might not have known about the contract, but Ducat did. How quick they were to let it all fall.

"We aren't going to torture him. I'm going to keep him safe." He opens his mouth before clamping it shut. The truth was... he missed 02. He missed 05. He missed the changelings, in all of their predictable horribleness. Despite his reach for a new life, they were all he had ever known. And maybe, just maybe, he could convince 02 over to their side.

".... I'm not telling you." Leander's tone is more than a deadpan, here. It holds a near... poutiness, as he folds his arms. "You're just going to make fun of me."

"... Hey." He attempts a subject change. "Have you noticed any strange comings and goings regarding 06? I didn't see her at the warehouse. She's one of the few who could have caught up to us."

She rolled her eyes at him. If all of them were traitors, she wouldn’t be surprised. If Leander could shake off his shackles, anyone could. They were fools to think they could ever own her.

”Don’t care. I assume you like one of them? Neither will return to you without the other, I can assure you.” She’d never seen anyone lose their mind at the sight of another in pain like that… never seen the degree of fury Mirari displayed. Not even from herself.

Luckily, she didn’t need to think about it long, as Leander made himself pathetic. She smiled again, a sideways and lopsided smirk. Need she say anything? His presence made fun of itself.

She thought about his question, seemingly for the first time. ”06 has a lot of identities to keep up appearances with. She gets leniency that way. I’m sure she gave the excuse to a handler, but not to me.” Agent 01 got up off of Leander’s chair, sliding her bow onto its place on her back. ”You’re boring me. If we are getting information, let’s get it. Otherwise, I’ll be back soon to see what you have for me. Don’t disappoint.”

She was angling toward the door.

Leander lets out a soft wheeze that implies he knows shes right, and doesn't like it. Maybe he should just let Mirari die. It's a callous thought that comes before he can reflect on it, furrowing his brow before he shook the thought away. No. Mirari Arossa may have been a fool, he may have been foolish and led by emotion... but he was his friend. He trusted Leander. He trusted Leander with the Waveheart. He wasn't going to get let be forgotten.

"... Oh. So you don't know what 06 has been doing." Seems she didn't know everything. He stands, still eyeing her warily. "... Fine. We go to Ducat's room, quietly. We'll see if we can find the contract, and you'll leave. Nothing more."

He begins to walk after her, hesitating. "...." "... I don't." He says sharply, as if forcing the words out. "I don't... want to... to be rid of Zeta. The rest do, but I.... he..."

"... I like having him around. He's not particularly pleasant, hes overcritical, and has an ego that could float Norfair into the sky. But I like.... learning, about him. Teaching him, it reminds me of..." A flash of memory. 01 and 00 teaching younger siblings in tandem, everything from stealth to defending off two attackers at once.

".... I just want him to be safe. And not so... like... us." He wanted Zeta to be free.

As she turned back toward him, she slipped her mask down, ready to tip-toe her way to Ducat’s room. Was 02 nearby? She should listen for him — he was her favorite — but Leander was giving her a lot of room to maneuver. Sometimes it paid to be generous to your benefactors. Including ignoring the comment about their youngest companion.

Face re-covered, she looked over her shoulder at him. ”Of course he isn’t like us, Leander.” he could probably hear a smile in her voice, but the rest of the expression was hidden. ”He’s something better.” Her back stiffened. ”Maybe you can take him to a safe place. After I speak with him.”

Her tail hovered over the ground, pointing towards the door again, gesturing. ”After you. No backstab, I promise.” Her voice was saccharine, knowing she likely made him more nervous bringing it up. ”You know this place and where the people are. We should not be seen together.”

"Fuck off." Leander says with no malice. "I may have lost a lot of things to become this, but I didn't lose my head. I'd have to be born yesterday to let you walk behind me." He gestures in front of him. "You found my room. You can find Ducat's." This was his chance to see if she was looking for the Waveheart.

Though she said nothing, she was clearly irked. After how nice she had been to him! He’d already missed her in his room and she could have killed him then. Her entire head and shoulders rolled with the force of her eye-rolling as she completely turned, moving out the door after listening for anyone else.

Of course, she already knew where it was. It was closer to the entrance - filled with plants. Well, dead ones, now. She’d wondered for only moment if anyone would ever tend them again before she had pressed on to the next one. Like her insects — if Mirari made good on his promises, would they all die in jars? And…

With only three long strides to Ducat’s room, they were there. 01 paused at the door to make sure there were no mourners inside, then proceeded. She figured a contract like that would be important to someone, so she started with coat pockets, expertly leafing through for what could passably be called a contract…

Leander follows after, eyes sweeping the area. He has still somewhat tense around her, knowing she relied on having her prey let their guard down. He still makes an effort to looks for the letter, but seems to be watching 01 much more from the corner of his eye. His eyes scan the room, squinting as wispy cold mist begins to collesque around his eyes. It's a small amount, the same knife that made its way into her ribs.

He blinks as the mist fades away, looking up as she finds the contract. "... Find it?" He whispers.

Coming out from under Ducat’s bed with a lightly smoked fold of papers, she huffed, sitting down on the ground. She was staring at him. ”The fuck are you doing?” The fingers of her free hand were twitching.

"Just read it." He urges quietly, walking over to her. "Before someone comes. And make sure it isn't some overindulgent love letter. There's been a lot of those going around lately."

”Keep your distance.” Don’t be smoky and come so close to her. She turned her body facing him as she crouched, reading it quickly. ”I am no Infernal expert, but this does not look so promising.”

Her tail lashed, once. ”I should have aimed at Arossa…”

Leander frowns. "What is it you think I'm exactly going to do to you? Hey- don't just - read it outloud!"

Physically, with a hand, she shushes him. ”Don’t call any attention! I’m not reading this out loud. It could summon a devil or something.” She retrieves her hand and tosses him the three pages. ”Read it yourself.”

Leander snatches the papers out of the air, giving her a glare as she goes to look at them. It only takes him a few moments to take in all the information, and only a few more seconds to understand how fucked they are. "... Ugh..."

"... Powerful soul... technically good... We have perhaps... 24 hours before their soul is put into something called a Shriver. Maybe an extra day, if they invoke a trial....."

01 puts a hand to her chin to think this over, hunching over her crossed legs as she thought this through. ”That tiefling is so fucked. Ugh.”

”So… clerical means of resurrection do not work, since the soul is owned… Your magic is apparently useless too… Going to Phlegethos to retrieve them is out of the question…”

Her body was tense, frustrated. ”Right. How do best I tell Mirari Arossa I did all I could, but his idiot paramour got themself killed, permanently? You know him better than I. He gets over things, right?”

"...."

We're going to need a lawyer."

An audible growl of exasperation escaped her for a moment. ”You do that, if you must. There is no way I can justify doing that, nor spending that expense. Not after the diamonds. They would rather torture the information out of Arossa first, and I cannot allow it.”

01 stands up, brushing herself off lightly. ”I’ll have to employ my own methods.

"An infernal lawyer." He says as if its obvious. "They don't take money, they most likely take souls."

Leander's gaze narrows. "... You cannot kill Mirari, 01. You must know that."

She snapped again, ”Willing souls. Did you even read the document? These creatures operate on strict guidelines.” She crossed her arms. ”Much like our guidelines which say, ‘do not kill Mirari Arossa,’ for whatever reason it is. Yes, I know.”

”I will have to… get something that allows us to bend the laws of fate and reality. Instead.”

"Our guidelines also keep us from having personal relationships and offspring too, don't they."

He snaps back. He blinks slowly. "... That's easier and more reasonable than what I said??"

In reply, she repeated what he said, only higher-pitched and mumbled through her lips to where it was unintelligible. ”Shut up. I am incredibly talented and powerful, and know many secrets and important people with grand hordes of treasure.”

She stood tall. ”Do not worry about this part. Or do, I don’t care. Just keep your renegades out of my way until I send you a signal to come rescue your companions. Make sure your group is ready for that… because the point when you all step inside our walls again, I will stop showing you mercy.”

Leander squints, resisting the urge to tackle 01 to the ground. "01, didn't you hear the address? Reality and fate are already bending because of the creature out there. I think we've had enough world altering events this past week."

He needed to pivot, to appeal to her. At least try something to buy time. "What about the deviI itself? The contract holder? If anyone could convince it to reconsider or take pause, it would be you. You've always been the most persuasive of any of us."

"It would be a bandaid, but it would buy us time. You aren't going to let Mirari Arossa, of all people, have you come to such drastic measures so fast, are you?" They knew how much she thought of herself, especially above the party.

At the very least, she hadn't left yet. "Perhaps — but demons are natural, you know. It's just odd they're all coming out at once like this..."

01 tilted her head toward him, seeming drawn in by something. "Hmm... if it were any regular devil, Leander, I would give you that. But I would rather deal with lowly demons and dragons than a Lord of Hell..." She considered him a bit longer. "Would you be more calm if you knew what I was planning? I do suppose we're... something of a team... on this one."

Leander is a terribIy open book, the way his head snaps away the instant the demons are mentioned. The strangeness of their origin.

"Yes." He answers instantly. "Yes, yes it wouId make it better if I knew how you planned to bend fate and Iuck."

"Right then." She sat down — on Ducat's bed. "On a day of my choosing, I will alert your team via the sending stones to get into position around the building your friends are being kept in. You will then wait for me to give you the signal that I have provided a distraction... and once more, at that point, we are again enemies."

Throat clear. "While you are waiting in position, I will be freeing Mirari — who I will have graciously allowed to rest and recover his magic — and we will be going on a small heist. I would prefer a team one or two larger, but this is the best way to avoid detection." The changeling leans in slightly, conspiratorially. Her hands are spread and moving as she lays out the scene to him."The Blue Order has grand plans for the world. Reality-shaking ones grander than what has already come to pass... but we both know there are always confounding variables to the best laid plan. We have something of a back-up prepared in case there are hiccups."

"I know there to be a ring in our possession that can grant the use of the Wish spell — only once." She pinches her fingers together as if holding a ring. "It is a dangerous object to use when you try to change reality in ways unknown, but when using it to cast powerful, documented magicks, it is quite stable. I believe if we use it to Resurrect your not-friend Ducat, but pack it with a bit more force, and take the soul back, that should be enough to fix this from my end."

Leander listens to 01's plan with a thoguthful, neutral expression. It doesn't betray the bubbling fury that begins to broil in his stomach, his throat. A ring of wishes, used all on Ducat Bucket.

Ducat Bucket, who had their life chosen over the lives of a hundred people. Ducat Bucket, who was chosen over their own mother. Ducat Bucket, who was well aware of where their soul would be going. Ducat Bucket, who had so many people who loved them, cared for them, and treated it like it was nothing. Ducat Bucket, who had so much, and cared for none of it.

The worse part of it all was that their plan didn't even work. Perhaps, if they had died for some sort of cause, Leander would be able to swallow the bloom of bitterness in his throat. But all they had managed to do was bolster their enemy, get themselves killed, and get an ally captured in the process. Selfish.

Leander knew there was many things in this world he did not deserve. In this moment, he knew Ducat Bucket did not deserve a revivify diamond. They did not deserve three revivify diamonds, and they certainly didn't deserve a wish spell.

"... We're going about this the wrong way." He says after a long moment. He knew 01 sniped at his faults, but she had always known him to be a superiorly competant tactician. "I mean, let us consider. You wish to bring Ducat back in order to sate Mirari and keep him from speaking on Zeta, but you killed Ducat for a reason, did you not?"

"Of course, the idea would be that you could use Mirari as leverage against Ducat when you revived them - but that's assuming competance and logic. That plan? I warned Ducat Bucket of not only its uselessness, but that they would be killed if they went through with it. They ignored my warning, and thusly, were killed. They spent a total of 20 minutes on it."

His gaze settles on her. "Mirari Arossa begged them not to go through with it, stating he'd go down with them if they continued - and they still did it. Obviously, Mirari Arossa is not a reliable source of leverage. Not to mention, it would be quite obvious to them that you killed them. When you did so, Mirari Arossa cared nothing but to kill you, to take something from you. Who is to say Ducat won't want to do the same?"

"The group is erratic and unpredictable - We might waste a precious, highly valuable resource, only to be left in the same postion. Worse, even, if both Mirari and Ducat have ability to reveal Zeta's existence."

Agent 01 cared and knew little of Ducat Bucket, especially in the few weeks since their listening device had been burned up. Their recent behavior had surprised her entirely — it did not comport with the image she'd had. The tiefling had always been a quiet voice of reason behind the boisterous voices guiding the party, often the one to clean up the mess when they were passed over. Three diamonds to revive them was perhaps a third of the diamonds Ducat had spent on their companions who had fallen in battle.

In return to his attention, she too listened patiently to Leander's reframing of the situation. He was good at plans, loathe she was to say so, much less think it. It was her job to do his now, in the Order. Not that she was poor at it — she was excellent, really — but it drew her attention from her own, private machinations. A leader had so much more responsibilities and it was much more noticeable if they fell to the wayside.

"I don't plan to be in the room if Ducat is brought back, but I do see your point." Why did she want this awful party hale and whole? Right now, it seemed the Siren Song group at their best was the best chance for her son... if she smoothed it over. It was a gamble that could cost her a lot. But why didn't Leander want to help Mirari and Ducat get back to each other? From her perspective, he gave up everything she ever wanted to be with this group of miscreants. She pondered.

She smiled. "Oh, Leander... you had me going there a minute. I'm impressed you even fooled me, but I get it now. It's easier to get them to trust you when you're 'baring your soul' as your true self. They think they have all the leverage on you... and then you can use it to take the Waveheart, and those two girls."

Her shoulders shook lightly with a giggle she was suppressing. "Maybe you could let me in on it? Zeta would be a useful angle... 'Oh, please let me hide out with you... they found out about my secret family and they will kill all of us..." 01 put a hand to her forehead and fell back onto Ducat's bedcover. "But it is still important I speak with Ducat in some way. If I cannot placate Arossa any other way, I may need the Waveheart to soothe the wound of my rebellions. Unless.... you know where they hid it?"

Leander stares at 01 blankly as she concocts her theory. The truth of was… she wasn’t wrong. It certainly wasn’t his intention, but it could be an outcome if he ever decided to turn. It would be a lie to say he hadn’t considered it.

But everytime he thought of it… something drew him back in.

Still, he rubs his chin. ”…. It’s an angle.” He admits about Zeta. It wasn’t one he could play for long, but if 01 spent enough time with them… maybe someone with more charisma could convince her there was more she could do.

He sidesteps the mention of the waveheart. ”Did Arossa not believe you when you tried to deceive him? He famously believes what he wants to believe. Why don’t you tell him that we were able to put a stall on the soul? Stall him.”

After he had been so forthcoming, she was a bit frustrated that he was, for some reason, returning to a more drip-fed speed of information to her. "He knows about the Gentle Repose, and unfortunately, about the failed Revivifies." She grumbled. "I thought if he knew it was out of my hands, he would let go of his fathomless grudge. But he wishes to believe there is something still I can do... and technically he is not wrong."

01 looks at him, closely, for her next bit. "The way I see it, I have two options, Leander. I can retrieve Ducat and release the two of them. This is twofold - my secret is safe, and this group has a dedicated healer. I hope you don't think they can all survive without someone to bandage them. I need you all able to... transport Zeta, without complications."

"Or, I get the Waveheart, and either Zeta's existence is water under the bridge, or it allows us to shut Mirari up in a mirror where no one cares what he has to say. But right now, they want answers from him." She was exasperated. "So tell me where Ducat left the Waveheart, or let your miscreants in on this. I'm not seeing another option. What on earth would stalling him do?"

Leander's fingers twitch against his arm, lips spread in a thin line. ".... Oh, you're so right 01. Let me just go grab the Waveheart right now." He says sarcastically - a microchange in his tone that perhaps only she could pick up.

"It would buy time for Zeta, lying to him. But..." He clutches his sleeve. "... We need to find some way to ensure that the two won't reveal Zeta. Ducat Bucket was irrational before this, and may be even more irrational after their time in hell. Do you... feel taking him far enough away is enough? Is there any other evidence of his existence that they could confirm, besides the boy himself?"

He surely knew something about the Waveheart's location, but she knew that short of torturing him, 01 would not be getting that information from him now. Handing it to her — that would be weeks of working him, if she had to resort to that. But he would trust her best if she didn't seem so interested in it, so she scoffed quietly underneath her mask and let him let it go.

"Then the option I have instead is the first. Lying might give us time, but time to do what exactly? Once he figures out I lied, I doubt there will be any more time from him." She wished she had a ball to bounce back against the roof of this wooden room — then was glad she did not have one, imagining how many people would attract to the sound. "If you have some way to make them both become sane, I'll hear it. They're weak in the heart, aren't they? They'll care about him for being a youngling more than their ire for me. Once they're distracted by each other again, at least."

To his last question, 01 considered not answer him at all. But... if she was going to, to the chagrin of all her former selves, trust Leander with Zeta's safety, she should brief him her knowledge. She said, venomously, "Only what they'd have to wretch from my lips," then continues more stately, "There is his mother, but the way to her is likewise only through me. If they don't have him, they don't know of him."

Leander hated this. Leander hated this. But the more he thought about it, reflected on his devilish studies… there was nothing to be done. If they wanted Zeta to be safe, they needed to follow Miraris demands.

What a waste.

His brow slowly furrows. ”…. Perhaps. I’m not sure I believe in their bond enough anyone. I knew Arossa was fickle…. And Bucket is even more. We’re putting hope in something with something that has little evidence to back it up, which makes me…”

He trails off. Wasn’t that what enamored him with Mirari? His senseless, baseless leaps of faith? They were illogical, irrational, they made no sense. It made no sense to give Leander the Waveheart, their past enemy, surrounded by his allies. When his belief was waning.

But Mirari, against all odds, had trusted him. It was why he couldn’t let it all go to waste. Why he needed to prove the leap to be steady, instead of a plummet into death. He’d caused enough of those.

”…. Leap of faith I suppose.”

”… okay. I do have… concerns. One of us going outside our designated roles, sure…. Do you truly think our handlers are unaware of all our indiscretions?”

Leander’s doubt in their bond almost made Agent 01 laugh. Yes, she didn’t believe in bonds that strong and, rightly if this situation was anything to go by, knew they were a weakness. But the obsession those two clearly had for each other was astounding. ”I would not worry about that. I got through more to Arossa just threatening to hurt Ducat more than I did stabbing him with a hot end. And Ducat… I will simply say they confirmed it to us.”

She grimaced, ”Unless you are saying that this is the problem and they may irrationally seek revenge upon me specifically, even after I move the heavens and earth for them. In that case, I…”

01 falters. She never trusted 00, not genuinely, and certainly never would now that he had abandoned her them to party with these fools. Still, she was in a tough spot. Perhaps he had strings remaining to pull on. ”…I’d hope you could warn me before they reveal such things to our handlers. I would figure myself out from there.”

To the last, she was confident again. ”If they know anything as of now, they might have spoken up. I check myself for bugged items when I do these things. But I have always done my job well, and this is decidedly the opposite. However… whatever it is that 06 has been doing for months, they haven’t killed her over it.”

Leander mumbles beneath his breath. ”Wasn’t strong enough to not get themselves killed for a foolhardy failed mission.”

If that love, then maybe he would truly know what love was. He only knew that if Trisphar, even in all his cruelties, had begged Leander not to do something that would hurt him, he would listen.

He thinks of it for a moment. ”….they’re prone to vengeful moments…. But from what I’ve seen, they’re emotional and in the moment. I haven’t seen them take time to form plans. That works out poorly for us, if one of them decides to reveal Zeta in an emotional moment.”

”…. I care about these people, but I would not let that happen.” He learned his lesson from Ducat. He should’ve stopped the spell. ”… Zeta, unlike any of us, is innocent. He didn’t ask to be a part of this.” As if any one of them did. ”…. He has so much potential. I wouldn’t let that be ruined by one emotional moment. He’s f…”

Family. What did the word even mean, to them? To wretched creatures made, like them?

”I would warn you.” He says firmly.

Another pause.

”…. Something is…. Wrong here.” He says slowly. ”…. There’s something we don’t know… I feel it in my gut.”

”Because love isn’t strong, Leander. It’s weak and often irrational. It makes them exist outside a state of care for their own wellbeing or emotions to preserve the thing itself to the detriment of your life, goals, ambitions…” she rattled off, her tone taking on one of disgust underneath her wicker mask.

She appreciated him confirming he would warn her, and seemed infatuated with Zeta - good. But she wouldn’t reward him for it. Then it seems I am most in danger when we’re in proximity, and my presence causes such emotions. No matter. They should be lucky if they see me again. And if you fail… I cast Silence.”

And she would not be merciful a second time. Ducat, hell or not - dead. Mirari, on the protected list or not - if he were to start on Zeta, he was dead. All of them. It would be the end for her either way and she would not be forgiving.

”Of course you feel paranoid, Leader dearest, you’re on the losing side, being led by a teenage girl. Your days are far more numbered than mine.”

Leander stares at 01 for a long silent moment, taking in her words. Love isn't strong. In a way, he couldn't disagree with her. Love hadn't been enough between Mirari and Ducat, whatever that was. It hadn't been enough for Trisphar and him, split and fractured.

...

But this was different. At least, the love he was thinking of was different.

"... Maybe... that isn't... such a bad thing. I mean... it's not like we aren't expectated and used to preserve the goals of the Order above all else... If it were up to them, we wouldn't have our own goals, lives, ambitions." He waves his hand. "And yes, you have your own goals, you play your own game... I understand that. But... at least in some way... if we choose to love... we choose to exist outside ourselves. And it makes us irrational... but to be irrational is to be more of a..."

"...." His hands cling together, watching his cold dead flesh run over the coolness of his healthy hand.

"... A... person. Rather than a tool. I mean... surely thats the hope for Zeta. That he'll be more than a tool for the Order, or you wouldn't have had him. You wouldn't be trying so hard to keep him a secret... trading immensely powerful magics for his mere safety." Finally, his gaze cuts up to meet her wicker mask. "... I'd say thats immensely irrational. Especially for one who wants to be the best. You're risking your skin for something that won't even make you better, give you more power, more prestige. "

His nose scrunches for a moment. Despite his rambling words on the importance of being illogical, he couldn't disagree. She was right. They were on a side that for all intents and purposes, didn't have a chance.

"... " Slowly, he stands. His gaze drops back to the floor thoughtfully.

"... You're right." He admits with a small shrug. ".... every logical way you look at it... I'm on the losing side. Less resources. Less research, messy interpersonal realationship dynamics, inexperience and reckless action. These people have every reason to lose."

".... But... I think I'll keep pouring everything I have.... into the side that would allow your son to exist. That without the Order's massive deluge of resources, found an artifact that even a Blue Drake desires. Something that even now, against a teenage girl and her band of emotionally inept adults, you don't have."

Finally, he looks to her again. "... And clearly, you have some sort of belief in them. In Mirari Arossa, at least. I know you don't bet on losing dogs, 01."

Situations such as these were why she always wore her mask among familiar company — he couldn't see her face's reactivity to his read of her. It was easy to stiffen her shoulders and tilt her head in disinterest, but what had to be concealed was how her eyes grew glossy as Leander talked about Zeta. 01 was the best, always had been, and came to a point she wanted her own legacy to that effect. If the boy became the ultimate life form, when he achieved every height of greatness, it was because of her. In the Order, when Trisphar ascended, everyone would know it was because of her.

It wasn't like that anymore. In honesty, she was confused. She didn't have a face for what she was anymore. But she trusted her instincts and how they told her to act; and when they shifted to place Zeta above herself, she listened to them. 01 had made a mistake — and it was Leander's fault, again, as always. If she'd known he had been there, she would not have sent Zeta. But now her secret was out, and she knew there was only so much time for her left on this world.

01 would die in darkness and no one would ever know.

She was willing to do this. So that Zeta could... do... something. The confusion of it all made her throat close. She was silent his entire screed, despite wanting to interrupt him and make him stop, but she couldn't bring it out of herself until the end. She pushed through the grit in her throat with anger — the easiest mask — and made an annoyed sound to Leander. "Ugh, I get it, you're a poet now."

It wasn't safe her now — being on this ship. They'd talked for a long time in the room of the dead tiefling she had slain. "You play to this side, and I to mine... and whoever wins... there will be a place for him to live. It's all that..."

01 picked up her things, her bow, and left the contract scattered on the bed. "That's my mission right now."

He doesn't need to see her face to see through to her. To finish her sentence. "It's all that matters now." He nods in agreement.

The thought had crossed his thought so many times, returning to Trisphar. The get out of jail free card in his bag. But a thought always sat quietly at the back of his mind. Where would that leave Zeta?

He doesn't say another word as he stands, far too saavy to let her wander unsupervised. Still, his lips quirk into almost a smile. He knew there was no way she meant it in any sort of complimentry capacity... but it was all Leander had ever wanted.

To go from a soldier to a poet.