Hydra Heart

II

II: I Keep The Heat Like Quilava

Florence "The Proctor" Creswell asked first for Vesta's help. A pair of fresh eyes should help, he figured. She came down the stairs, confused, as if she was remembering that Florence existed. "Alright, Protractor," she said in greeting, "you need something?"

"I'd like you to just humor me for a minute," he replied. He led her into his private office, where he had been keeping his map and working on his theories in between his librarian work. He showed her the marked image.

"Is this abstract art?" She asked.

He spoke again with his convincing solemn voice. "No. This is a chart of all the Kit users who have died, and whose Kits have not been retrieved."

Vesta studied it for a time, and Florence appreciated the sincerity of her effort and focus. After a moment, she asked, "So, do you plan to retrieve the Kits if they exist?"

"Yes."

"Well, they have either been pulled somewhere or pushed out. I think it might be the doing of another Kit."

Florence considered her comment. "It seems I'm running out of explanations that don't involve some force with which I'm unfamiliar. The chance of a Kit of such power coming into being without me knowing is very slim."

"Do Proctors like you always know what Kits do before you administer them? Did you know what Backlash does?"

"Well, Not exactly." Florence paused, thinking of a way to describe it. "The Kits state their intentions, and sometimes more, but it can anywhere from as vague as a prophecy to a bulleted list on what abilities a Kit does and does not have."

"What did Backlash tell you?" She seemed wary.

Florence made the decision to hold his tongue.

--

Well, that was a bust, Florence thought. He summoned Shay instead, though it required some pushing to get her out of her room. In truth, Florence missed Tenra as well, but he knew he had to do something to cheer up Shay.

He stood on a platform in his dark hooded robe as the girl entered. He mustered his deepest, apathetic, serious voice and proclaimed, "Welcome."

Shay's eyes darted left and right, like she was deciding what she was supposed to do. She hesitantly went for a bow. "Sup," she replied.

Continuing his gambit, he decreed, "I have beckoned you hither for a discreet and high purpose. I request that you-" He tried to step down from his podium, but slipped on it, intertwining the destiny of his face with that of the ground. The red string of fate drew the two closer, and then Florence ate shit. Upon impact, the candy he had stored in his robe came flooding out of the sleeves, turning him into a hooded pinata.

Shay burst out laughing, and Florence had to quickly hide his satisfaction that the plan had been successful. He helped himself up and insisted to her, "You will never speak of this."

He regained his composure and got back in character, taking Shay to the room where he had taken Vesta. He wanted yet another pair of fresh eyes. The girl saw the map and immediately knew what it was.

"These are deaths of Kit users. Why did you draw them up?"

"These are the deaths wherein the Kits have gone missing."

"Gone missing? Like, they didn't come back?"

"Yes, that is what going missing means."

Shay bit her lip and stared at the board for some more time. Her fingers traced the areas marked in red. "That's not what I would have expected," she commented. "You'd think if this were the doing of someone, they would have some kind of allegiance, but Kits from all kinds of places are disappearing. Except..." She pointed her finger at a couple of places. "If this... mechanism... is only working in this limited area, then... Do you have a map of all the Kit users who died, total?"

"No, but I have all the data."

"Fork it over."

They began mapping it out. In green, all the Kits that had disappeared, and in red marks, all the Kits that had been recovered. Shay began to outline the areas of vanishing; Florence took the other marker and marked the zones where items had been found. After a minute of sketching and estimating, they had themselves some surprisingly distinct zones.

"Thank you, Shay Solis." He bowed to her. "You are dismissed."

"Okay, dude." She exited. "See you on the flip."

That left Florence with his problem. Now, he had a new idea of where to be, and he was going to pursue it.