Two new chess pieces are added to the board.
A doctor, intelligent and logical, corrupted by unholy desire.
An experiment, secluded and bitter, consumed by religious zeal.
These radicalized wild cards are harbingers of even greater destruction for t...
"Now talk!" Gustav ordered, slamming his palms on the table. "Who is that girl, and where did she come from?"
"You better tell us," Zill added, pounding a fist into his hand. "We don't take kindly to secrets about our friends."
"Don't feel pressured into telling us," Kayla Christling-Martinez (another Worthy and Zill's wife) added, playing "good cop" and shooting Zill a look before turning back to the interrogatees. "But it'd be really helpful if you did."
Cameron leaned against the wall in the back corner of the room, her eyes narrowed at the subjects of her Worthy's interrogation.
Chairman Abidan Derschwitz and Chairwoman Renee Adams-Derschwitz of Xirxine Northwest glanced at each other. Then the chairwoman exhaled and leaned forward, clasping her hands together. "Okay. It's true. We knew about Subject V-one-eleven," she confessed. "Or 'Veronika', as they call her. Shifter—that is, Dr. Woods—informed us that she was performing another synchroengineering experiment with two other Xirxine scientists that would run synchronous with Project ADSen."
"However, we were also informed that Project OLSen—'Opal Lawson Synchroengineering'—was a failure," the chairman put in. "Woods told us the project was slated to be terminated at the same time as Addison." He chuckled, adding, "Obviously, that was not the case."
"Can you tell us why she might've had those claws? And those teeth?" Zill pressed. "I mean, Addison didn't have anything like that."
"He had his eye," the chairwoman responded bluntly.
Zill frowned.
"Wait—so you're saying... those features are part of her Primordial side?" Kayla asked, surprise. "Like Vision's eye?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying," the chairwoman confirmed. "All genes passed down from a Shifter are naturally dominant. That's why both Veronika and Addison possess Dr. Woods's albinism, skin tone, and Primordial heritage."
"So, theoretically," Gustav said slowly, "if she came in contact with another Old One... they could recreate the Opening."
"And bring the Old Ones to this world," the chairman finished for him, nodding. "Yes."
"Then it's a good thing there aren't any Old Ones around to do it," Zill grumbled, crossing his arms.
The chairwoman winced. "Well... actually..."
Cameron moved away from the wall, suddenly alert.
The chairwoman hesitated and then sighed. "While you all were dealing with the assassin, our security cameras showed the Faithful infiltrating the detention block," she informed the Protectors. "They were being led by Gale Traylor—but her eyes were blue."
"Meaning Cthylla's in charge again," Cameron guessed in a low voice, moving over to Gustav's other side.
"That is correct," the chairwoman replied wearily. "Although how or why, we don't know."
"I thought Addison disintegrated her when he reversed the Convergence," Kayla protested. "How can she be back?"
"Like I said, we don't know," the chairwoman responded. "We can only assume she had some sort of contingency plan in place in case of her defeat."
"Xirxine Northeast has been alerted and are planning a reassessment of Anikova Anosova to make sure there are no 'contingencies' in her, either," the chairman added. "The last thing we need is a Worthy controlled by an Old One—again."
"This is too much," Cameron said abruptly, pacing behind the Worthy. "We can't handle all of this on our own. We need more help."
"The XXM is doing everything they can to—" the chairwoman began to say.
"No!" Cameron interrupted harshly, glaring at her and drawing surprised looks from the other Protectors. "That's not enough! We need the Worthy—all of them!"
"D'kala and Kia have responsibilities, and Addison is still AWOL," the chairman protested. "We can't just stick a hand in their cookie jars and pull them out!"
"Especially when we don't know where one of the jars is," the chairwoman muttered under her breath in agreement.
"I'll try to reach Kia and DK," Zill told Cameron. "I doubt they'll be able to stay away when they hear how much trouble we're in."
"I'll keep pushing the search request I sent to International," Gustav added. "They're bound to break soon."
"You know why they're pushing back, Gustav," the chairman warned. "Addison might still be unstable."
"I don't care, and neither does Gus," Cameron snapped, pointing a finger at the chairman. "Unstable or not, this Protector Force is incomplete without him."
The chairman held up his hands in surrender. "Fine. Call them in. We're just saying... there could be some roadblocks."
"I. Don't. Care," Cameron repeated, even more forcefully this time. She spun around and headed toward the door, with the Worthy doing the same behind her. "This is our home," she growled. "The threats against it are growing too big for our liking. So if there's a solution, we'll stop at nothing to find it." She paused at the door and glanced over her shoulder, adding, "And if there are roadblocks... we will break them down."
The chairpersons glanced at each other anxiously as the Protectors exited the room.
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Members of the Saved sang a Gregorian chant while Veronika knelt on both knees before the altar, her head bowed. Leeson stepped down from the upraised stage, his gloved hands carrying a white-and-dark-cyan strip of cloth folded many times over. White crosses were emblazoned on the cloth, which seemed to radiate some kind of ethereal energy.
"You are worthy, dear sister," Leeson declared softly as he stood before Veronika. "Worthy to bear the Stole of Adina... worthy to inflict upon Sinners the suffering they have earned from their wicked deeds."
Veronika shivered as Leeson draped the stole around her neck, letting it unfold itself, its ends trailing across the floor. Neither pain nor mental torture resulted from its touch, confirming that Veronika was indeed worthy of bearing it according to the doctrine of its creator.
"Now rise, chosen one," Leeson commanded, prompting Veronika to slowly rise to her feet. "Rise, and bring judgement upon this unholy haven! Rise, Crusader of the SAVED!"
Veronika's face split in a disgusting grin, her eyes filled with the wild light of fanaticism and her teeth stained with the blood of the Purged.
