cascade | kotlc

8. The Archive that Should Not Exist

 June was half-asleep when she heard, "Hey, Sophie, wake up. I think I found something."

She rolled off her bed, accidentally falling face-flat on the floor. She groaned and wiped her face, staggering over to the door that connected her room and Sophie's. She shook at the handle, her mind bleary, and she stumbled forward, barely managing to open the door, into Sophie's room.

"What happened?" she mumbled, clumsily walking to Sophie's bed and laying down. "Hope you don't mind, sister."

Sophie gasped and pulled her cover around her neck. "What are you doing here?" she whispered, turning toward her wall of windows.

"Fell on my face," June murmured. "Ow. Who is that?" she asked, referring to the shady silhouette on the edge of the bed.

"Hi, June," Dex said, in a lime green onesie. "I had to show you this." He held up a gadget that looked like a gutted obscurer. The sphere had been sliced in half, and all kinds of springy coiled wires stuck out of the cener. "I know it's ugly, but now it's a really powerful Evader."

June yawned, sensing for disturbances in the air. There was one in the corner. She subtly glanced towards it.

"And so what are you doing with that?" Sophie asked. "And how'd you fall on your face, June?"

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I'm tired. I'm sleeping on your bed now."

Sophie laughed. "Alright."

"It lets me break into the Council's archives and find records on Exilium," Dex explained. "I know the Black Swan told us to drop it, but I think it's worth looking into. If we could find the Boy Who Disappeared, we might be able to find the Neverseen. Plus, I knew I could sneak in without getting caught."

"Does that refer to the room or the archive?" June said, rolling over and rubbing her eyes. "Because you didn't manage to sneak into the room undetected."
"What?" he asked. "What do you mean?"
"Della, come out," June called, hoping she was correct in her assumption. If it was Biana, that would be slightly awkward.

Fortunately, her intuition was correct. Della blinked into sight near the curtains. "Don't tell me you thought I'd let you sneak into Sophie's room while she's sleeping and not see what you're up to."

June closed her eyes. "Oh, and here comes more people. Did you not lock her door after you came in, Dex?"

"I forgot," he admitted. "But what do you mean more peo- holy cow-"

"Good to know," Keefe said, striding into the room in a red furry onesie. "And don't think I was going to allow a Sophex meeting to happen. Hmm, maybe we should call it Deephie. Sophex sounds weird. Anyway, my point is, no secret meetings without me!"

"Thank god the Black Swan provided pajamas," June muttered.

"And me!" Fitz said, trailing behind in furry gray pj's.

"I'm here too!" Biana appeared in the corner wearing shaggy pink. "I followed my mom in when she followed Dex."

"Oh. Wow. I didn't actually realize you were there." June blinked. "Huh. Falling on my face must've really-"

"You fell on your face?" Fitz gasped, rushing over. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

She smiled. "Yes, I'm fine. Just tired. Dex here woke me up." She pointedly glared at him. "And Sophie, please no loud noises. My room is right next to yours. I don't really like getting woken up when I'm asleep -- trust me, you don't want to see what I look like."

"It's not what she looks like," Fitz amended. "It's what she does to you."

"Wow, it's really crowded in here," Sophie mumbled. "And really... furry."