228 - Demanding

Aiden caught his daughter’s arm before she could leave.

“You’re not going anywhere, missy, before you tell me what you’re about to do,” he said sternly, and Lexie raised an eyebrow.

She could simply teleport without her father’s permission, and seeing as how there were people around, he probably couldn’t follow her without revealing his powers.

Yet she hesitated.

He was clearly upset about this excursion because he was worried about her needlessly endangering herself. The human part of her understood that at least. She should put him at ease. “I'll be fine. I’m just going to solve the issue.”

“How?”

“Well, I need to figure out how widespread the fighting is first. Then I’m going to figure out where the generals are. Force them to sign a peace treaty for at least a few days, or I’m going to destroy all their very expensive mechs.”

Aiden opened his mouth.

Stella frowned. “Wait, you can do that? Take down all of them?”

Lexie nodded. “I think so. I could probably even do it at once, too.” If all the mechs were of the same type, then maybe Lexie could use one of her weaving cards to form a link between all their weapons, and she would destroy them in one go.

But to do that, she needed to travel over the entire expanse where the war was going on and figure out how many were in use and how many her cards could tolerate.

“No, you can’t do that,” Stella said. “Lexie, the entire country is at war. This is just one city, and the mana in the atmosphere is poisoned. Extremely so. Even if something like what you said was possible, that would take more mana than you have.”

Lexie and Aiden shared a look. Lexie thought she had enough mana to at least manage that, but she wasn’t quite sure. Plus, it was easier to use Eldritch mana here than in District 9, for some strange reason.

Even if it didn't work entirely, if the Generals could see what she could do, maybe the looming threat would be enough to get them to knock it off.

“That’s not how war works, Lexie,” Aiden said. “You can’t just disarm people and expect that to be the end. They probably have thousands more weapons in reserve. This is only one part of one conflict out of multiple."

“Burel is not a very rich country to sustain conflict for long,” Lexie mentioned. 

“Being rich and being a well-armed military are two different things,” Stella said. “The Sultan pays well for his military because he knows that is his power. The Hunts are being led by an unknown force who are seeking to own the Shatters and the surrounding cities, which would then gain independence from Burel.”

“Why doesn't the Sultan concede? The Shatters are basically already destroyed. Why not just give it away and let them have it?”

“Because that’s not how politics works,” Stella sighed. “The Sultan doesn’t want to look weak in front of his people, and he’s well within his rights to defend his legal ground. Not to mention that this mysterious figure leading the Hunts is unknown and may have extremely shady motives. We don’t know how he’s powering the Hunts with all these mechs and techs that are resistant to mana-posioning. We also don’t know what he wants, and however hard we try, we just can’t catch him. He’s always a step ahead of us.” Frustration ruffled her eyebrows. “We thought we had him in Cabel, but it turned out that was just a patsy.”

“Do you know anything about him?" Lexie asked. "How does he communicate with the Sultans to make his demands?”

“Through encrypted messages. And it’s non-traceable. We’ve already tried with our best system hackers.”

They hadn’t tried with Isaac, though. Lexie might have to check on the Undernet if anyone had heard it.

“Okay, well then we can do a similar thing." Lexie glanced at the ground, where it looked like conflict was on the verge of breaking out again, with both sides shouting at each other. "Or we can get one of them to take us to their leader."

“Lexie...”

“Stella,” Groundmage called and gestured for them to get on the ground. He also said something that Lexie couldn't understand, but it probably referred to the people standing around, glaring at each other.

The cease-fire from the confusion was wearing off. A bunch of them were ready to fight to the death with whatever daggers they’d hidden in their boots, but they seemed to also be keeping an eye on Lexie, with more than a little bit of fear and apprehension, like they thought she would attack if they moved. 

Stella nodded and began lowering to the ground. Lexie decided to follow with her aerial forcefield.

Once they landed, the Groundsmage guy started talking to them in frantic language, and Lexie held up her hand and said, “Excuse me. My system automatic translator isn’t working, and I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

He looked at her wth a glint in his eyes.

“I was saying,” he said in an accented voice that boomed like thunder. “It is very nice to meet you, daughter of the Archmage, especially after such a spectacular display. I am Thor Groundsmage, and I’m sure we will be very acquainted closely.”

“Are you related to Flora Groundsmage?” Lexie asked. 

“She’s my daughter. You know Flora?”

“She was my lab mate,” Lexie remembered the pretty girl and also recalled a few things Flora had said about her father, and how he expected to arrange a marriage for her when she turned fifteen.

Lexie was not sure how to feel about him now that he was standing in front of her. 

“Can we ask them for a truce for a few days?” Lexie asked Stella. “Tell them if they refuse, I’ll destroy every single one of their mechs. Maybe break a few kneecaps while I’m at it.”

Lexie had never broken knee caps before. That was Uncle Max’s thing, but she figured it wouldn't be too hard to learn.

“I didn’t know you had such powers," Groundsmage said.

“I learned a thing or two in the dungeons.”

“Amazing.” His eyes glittered like Vacek’s, and he immediately put his hand on his chest and another on Lexie’s shoulder. “I have six sons. Strong, strapping men. One of them should be about your age, and the other will be two years younger, but he is very willful and more of a man than–”

“Groundsmage,” Stella said with an exasperated voice. “This is not the time. Aiden also looks like he’s about to take your head off.”

“Fine. But you know it’s never too early to–”

Stella completely ignored him and started talking to the group of soldiers behind them, and then the enemy group across from them. Lexie didn’t know what she was saying, and rather than try to understand, she focused instead on an alternative plan if things went south. There was still fighting all around them, the sounds of bullets, echoing with screams and grenades being thrown.

The surrounding battle could reach them any moment now.

Lexie needed to get the lay of the land.

She used DECODE on the Earth itself, tuning it to figure out how widespread the fighting was and what the individuals were doing. At first, she could simply get impressions of the footsteps themselves, but Lexie wanted to push beyond.

She decided to try to use one of Ryn's air-weaving cards, combined with an aura card, to push her awareness further above ground. It worked with quite a bit of concentration, and while a lot of information flooded her mind, so much that it didn't make much sense anymore, she narrowed it down to only identify all the weapons in the atmosphere. It was still too much information. The screams and the shots got louder. It was painful, like she was splitting her consciousness, but Lexie didn't mind the pain.

She used the aura card to identify each gun and knife by glow.

Could she link to their guns from here?

Maybe. 

Her head pulsed when she touched the first gun. The DECODE-WEAVING combo also helped her find other similar guns in the surrounding area, and she continued to connect to them as well. Then she moved onto the knives. Though it was difficult, she focused on going one at a time, weaving them all together through the air.

Her consciousness expanded as she interacted with the weapons. She felt omnipresent. But she still couldn't watch it all at once, so once she'd touched the weapon and linked it, she let go of that image and moved to the next one.

She had one, then she had ten.

Then she had twenty, then she had thirty, then she had up to a hundred different mechs and weapons.

The card started to heat up, and she pushed until she had a hundred and fifty.

That seemed to be close to the limit. A hundred and fifty at once. She could work with that.

While maintaining the link, she opened her eyes, and her consciousness came back enough for her to see that both sides were yelling and arguing with Stella, and they were also straining against the earthen wall Groundsmage had used to separate them.

Groundsmage was cracking his neck also, readying himself for another skirmish.

Lexie looked to her father for translation, and he complied. “Burel's military is asking for their total surrender. The Hunts militia says that they’re willing to die rather than surrender and give up their leader. They want the Shatters for themselves. It is their homeland, and they want to use it to cultivate the magic of their Guardian."

"I don't get it. Their Guardian doesn't exist anymore."

Aiden was silent.

“Can Stella ask them if they are willing to call a truce for the week at least? In return, tell them I’ll negotiate a good deal for them with the Sultan when I meet him."

Stella gave Lexie a look, then shook her head.

It didn't seem like she was going to do it, but Lexie couldn't speak on her own. Well, she could, but she would need a translator to understand what they were saying back to her.  

Groundsmage suddenly tensed. “Stella. We’re going to be having company soon. I can feel feet on the ground getting closer.”

“How many?”

“About a hundred and a few mech-robots.”

“Jeez.” Stella sighed.

Lexie seized the opportunity. "Don’t worry about it. I'll take care of it."

Before her dad or anyone could stop her, Lexie launched herself into the air, high enough that she spotted the numerous white-uniformed people running toward the gorge.

Lexie raised her hand, activated the cards, and instantly disabled all their weapons.

She saw them look down in shock as the guns shattered in their hand. Not to mention, she also created balls of VOID to take care of the rolling robots.

Lexie left another giant ball above her.

Disarmed, the group screeched to a stop, staring up at her.

“I’m no hero,” she told them, projecting her voice with <Can I Have Your Attention>. “I’m not bound by the hero code. I’m only here to take my godmother home. If you get in my way, I will kill you.”

One of them, one brave man, stepped forward to launch a spear at Lexie, and Lexie sent a ball of void at his feet. 

It barely missed his toe as he jumped back, but the ground beneath him disappeared, and he yelled as he fell in.

It wasn't that deep. Lexie had the VOID disappear after it had eaten about twenty feet into the Earth.

She also created VOID FLAME TO encircle them and separate them into groups, and wove air-vices around them to make it hard to move.

She started to get a little tired after that, but she held it and kept disabling whatever weapons they managed to throw at her, even as her card heated up.

She didn't necessarily mind the fight. It was fun, albeit futile.

But she figured they would need a show of power to understand that she was a significant threat. 

That way, they would take her seriously. 

When they were finally out of things to throw at her, and they realized they couldn't beat her. The panic set in, and they started to look around, hoping more people would come. They did, but Lexie disabled them too, and separated them with their own ring of VOID FLAME.

Some despaired. Some fell to their knees to plead and cry out to their Guardian, Lexie assumed.

When she descended back into the ground, everyone scrambled back except for Stella, Aiden, and Groundmage. The three just looked at Lexie with their mouths wide open, and Stella and Thor stared at each other, then back at Lexie again.

“Tell the Hunts militia my offer,” Lexie said to Groundsmage. “Then Stella can call the Sultan and tell him I'll make him the same offer. If he doesn't take it, I’ll personally come there myself and make his life hell.”

“Lexie, you can’t–”

“I can and I will.” She cut Stella off. “Once we're done with the deal, we all go home. The cook made custard.”

***

Hidden, Vulcan watched the whole thing unravel with his own eyes.

He couldn't believe it.

Just one day, and he was watching Lexie Sparrowfoot destroy his well-laid plans. Plans that were years in the making.

She'd only been here a day.

He laughed, but not because it was funny. It was because he was slowly losing his mind.

His stress ball squeaked in his hand.

“What the hell is she?” he asked the Alchemist, who didn’t seem inclined to answer the question. He, too, was watching the screen intermittently as he worked, but there was a tiny smile at the corner of his mouth. Almost enchanted.

"I think," he said. "She will become my new tool.”

Vulcan cocked an eyebrow. "You really think you can handle her?"

"Of course. In a way, we're like family. I know how she works." He smiled that odd smile of his. "Of course, we just need to capture her first."

"We?" Vulcan asked, but the Alchemist just kept smiling.

***

Stella tried explaining the situation to the Sultan on a System Call. He didn’t seem to be understanding it, so his representative appeared in the clearing in hologram form, so he could view the destruction Lexie had wrought with his own eyes.

The representative was a short man with a long beard, which he stroked as he observed the area.

Some of the opposing militia had run, but the rest remained trapped by Lexie and Groundsmage.

“This is Talib, the Sultan’s representative,” Stella introduced. “This is Aiden Sparrowfoot and his daughter Lexie. Lexie has a malfunctioning translator at the moment, so if we could speak Common–"

“Is she a hero?” the representative asked sharply. 

“No, she’s not a hero. She was a hero student, but right now, she’s just a goddaughter.”

“Why is she here?”

"Er," She rubbed the back of her neck bashfully. "It’s a bit awkward to explain."

“Stella's supposed to be at my welcome back dinner,” Lexie explained. “Her children want her home also. She works too much, and it’s stressing her out and stressing her entire family out too.”

“Lexie–”

“It’s not fair!” Lexie barked, suddenly angry at this well-groomed man, who seemed so much better fed than the people fighting. “She’s a hero, but she’s a human being too. She’s supposed to have a life, not fighting your senseless wars.”

“Senseless?” The man sounded enraged. ”You think fighting for our heritage, fighting against the splintering of our country, the suffering of our citizens, is senseless?"

“She didn’t mean it," Stella said. "She’s simply a frustrated child.”

“Yes, but I’m also telling you that we need to go home," Lexie continued. "At least for a week of rest. Then you guys can continue your very sensible fighting."

"How dare you?" The man bristled, but Lexie cocked her head. He gave her a look that was meant to shut her up. Lexie wondered if she needed another flashy show of power.

The representative then turned to the still burning fire and the destroyed mechs.

“She really did all that?”

“Yes," Groundsmage said. "Destroyed weapons and everything within the blink of an eye. She can do even more. But she wants peace for now, and I think the militia is convinced. News of her arrival spread, and we've gotten word of their retreat. We think you should accept the terms too."

He stared at the militia. "They agreed to the terms?"

“They have no choice. She destroyed all their weapons, every single one in the blink of an eye. She was going to keep doing it until they stopped. They had to return and regroup."

"We must take this opportunity to uncover their hideouts and their leaders."

"They will only lead us into a trap. Again."

"Not if she's there," the Sultan's representative gestured to Lexie without looking at her. Lexie really didn't like him.

"I won't help you unless you give us the weeklong break," Lexie said.

He ground his teeth. "Who are you to make demands of the Sultan?

"I am Lexie."

"She's the reason the fighting stopped," Groundsmage said, his eyebrows furrowing. "And I agree with her. I, too, would like to return home to my wives and children."

"It's three against one," Lexie pointed out.

"How do you know the militia's retreat isn't feigned?"

"Because I told them what would happen if they tried to trick me."

"Also, we have our eyes still on the ground. They'll let us know if anything happens, and we'll be back here."

The representatives stared at them for a long time. He still looked like he wanted to argue against the retreat, but he didn't have a choice.

"I will take your request to the Sultan?" he said and disconnected the call.

"If only it were that easy to stop all the wars across the district," Stella murmured. 

“Why can't it be?” Lexie asked. 

Stella smiled at Lexie indulgently, even though Lexie was being very serious.

“It might not be that easy," Groundsmage rubbed his long, bushy beard. "But Lexie has certainly made things easier, and she might prove to be a big help to us yet."

Stella frowned. “I’m not going to ask my goddaughter to help me–”

“I’m sorry, Stella, but you do not strike me as a stupid woman. Not utilizing Lexie would be a stupid decision. Did you see what she did back there? It's like nothing I've ever seen before. It's the kind of magic they used to write legends about, the kind of magic the Champions would wield. If I didn’t know any better, I would think she was blessed by a Guardian. A few of the ones on the floor thought she was a Guardian herself."

“I’m not,” Lexie said. “But I am partially–”

“She simply picked up a few skills in the dungeon.” Aiden gave Lexie a warning look, clearly not wanting her to reveal that she was partially Edlritch.

Right. She forgot she was supposed to hide that. It didn't feel right hiding it, though. There was nothing wrong with being partially Eldritch. It was excellent.

"Right," Groundsmage said, thoughtfully. "I've never heard of anyone leaving a dungeon with skills like those, but I'm sure her prolonged stay affected her magic. Regardless, I know she's not a Guardian. But think of the optics. We could use that. The militia has a mysterious Guardian-sent figure on their side. Now we have ours. That's why the militia retreated. That's why they agreed to the terms of the truce. It's not just because she's powerful. It's because they think she might be divine."

Stella sighed tiredly. She didn't seem to want to even think about it, and neither did Aiden.

Lexie thought about it, though.

"What's in it for me?" she asked.

Groundsmage blinked at her.

"What will I get if I help you?" Lexie asked.

"What do you want? Jewels? Fame?"

"No." She looked around. "Maybe I want this land for myself."

Lexie was half-joking, but she fully expected the statement to scandalize the adults. Stella gasped, and Aiden shook his head in resignation.

Groundsmage, on the other hand, broke out into booming laughter. 

“Oh, you will meet my son,” he declared.

***

Thor and Tamsin were excited to have their mother home, and they were almost as excited to have Lexie home too.

They ran between them, not knowing who to greet first. Tamsin cried in Lexie's arms. Thor cried too, but he hid it in his mother's shoulder.

Stella explained how she came to a stunned Mane.

"Well, Lexie swooped in and saved the day with her killer new powers," she said. "She also almost started an international incident, but the important thing is that thanks to her, I get a week off."

And they had a fun dinner, where everyone was talking over each other. The kids asked Lexie about the dungeon, and Lexie started to tell them stories, but her father would often interject whenever she went into detail about how she killed things.

So she simply started giving the PG version.

Everyone, including the adults, listened to her stories raptly. By the end, Thor regarded Lexie with the same hero-worship Tamsin did, and Lexie had to promise she would teach him VOID FLAME, though she knew it would probably be difficult for him to get it.

Maybe she would make him a card.

When he grew up, that is. She could only imagine how destructive a skill like that would be in the temperamental hands of a little boy like Thor.

Their conversations ended up stretching into the night. Lexie had to text Tate to tell him that she couldn't make it to the dojo today, and she would have to do it tomorrow.

Tate sent her a thumbs-up in response.

When it got late, Tamsin crawled into Lexie's lap and started dozing off. Lexie didn't stop her. Tam reminded her of Little Fae.

Lexie missed her.

She wondered if there was a way to see her without going through the Ambassador. Maybe with their card.

After dinner, they went to hang out in the TV room. Lexie caught Mane staring at her, leaning back into his armchair with his wife lying on his chest. "So you got all these amazing new powers from the dungeon?"

"You can say that," Lexie said.

"You'll have to show me some of that tomorrow," Theo whispered.

"Uh, not happening. We don't have enough insurance for that."

Aiden laughed. The only person who wasn't saying much was Torin. He remained as reticent as ever.

"You two should sleep over," Stella said. "It's getting late."

"I don't think..."

"Please," Sella said, and she looked teary as she gazed at Aiden.

"I didn't get to enjoy her much during her last visit. I just want a few more hours."

Aiden looked at Lexie, who shrugged.

"I'll have to talk to Tate. He'll be home alone today."

"You can invite him too."

"I will, but I don't think he'll come. He's shy."

"And he hates your family," Lexie added, making Aiden give her one of those looks again.

Stella frowned. "What? Why?"

Lexie shrugged. But it was probably the wrong thing to say because it made the atmosphere kind of awkward.

Darn. She needed to work on improving her human sensitivities again.

That's exactly what she did when she retired to her room at the Firebringer estate that night.

Lexie told her father about her sleeping problems and he made her some muan tea.

She drank it before she turned on her soul card, breathing deeply, letting her human emotions wash over her again.

She didn't know if it was the soul card, the muan tea, or the combination of both that did it, but once she was done, she felt more capable of going to sleep. She wasn't sleepy necessarily, but when she went through the motions, lying in bed and closing her eyes, she could feel it coming on.

It still took her a long time and a lot of thinking, but eventually she slipped into the dream realm.

And spotted a familiar kitchen, right before a familiar black inky substance drowned everything in view.

She didn't turn around to know who was there. "Naem."