Welcome to Gaia! ::

Two minutes. Two minutes of worry and listening to whatever it was Nyx would unleash on the other side of the door. Two minutes to gather as much of the precious legal materials as she could possibly carry. That meant there was little time for doubt or indecision. Pasiphae had to smile wryly as she stepped over the mess her friend had made came to a halt in front of one of the boxes. When she had first started out as a Senshi, she would never have been able to do this.

Her fingers hovered over the materials, touching nothing at first only because she was overwhelmed by the treasure trove before her. Knowing that whatever she didn’t take would likely be destroyed made her selections all the more important. A complete copy of the U.S. Constitution was the first to fall into her bag, followed soon after by a slim paperback of the Bill of Rights. Destiny City’s diagram of local government, a child-friendly book explaining the legislative process, a PAR Guide… she lost track of it all as her hand flew in and out of the various boxes. Soon her bag became too heavy to drag behind her; she followed Nyx’s example and plunked her load into a box that seemed to be filled with some general governmental reference material.

How much time was left? A minute, maybe 45 seconds? The Shame Senshi slid the box into the crook of one arm as her other hand continued to grab important looking documents. Then she saw it. Volume Eight of the Constitutional Convention of 78. The missing volume. She had all of the others of the 16 volume set… and now she had this one. Pure transcription of politicians revising the Constitution, showing how the old system had been in place. It included witnesses and their testimony, discussions of constituents… and described the matters on which these people would be able to vote. It had all been worth it, if only for this.

With that book safely in tow, she glanced back at the door. It couldn’t be that much longer now… but she would wait, just a little longer. Then she would go after Nyx.

Pasiphae tried to block out any stray thoughts as to what was happening behind that door, but past experience painted a vermilion watercolor that she could not escape. Her gloved fingers trembled as she touched the wood once more, but she still refrained from opening it. The box resting upon her shoulder was beginning to dig into the exposed flesh, but she didn’t make a sound. Only when the last second counted down did she swing the door open, viscerally confronted once more with the blood that she had never been able to ignore. Yet, even she knew that it was for the best. The blood was not her friend’s, and these that had sought their lives were certainly no innocents.

As Nyx sped past to retrieve her fallen materials, Pasiphae tried to think of the best way out now that the other Senshi had created a path. Her eyes zipped towards the obvious door, but the approaching energy signatures made that one the least practical options. The windows were big enough for their boxes to slide out, even bursting to the seams as they were. Emergency exit, which would set off an alarm… but also create additional confusion when the sprinkler system came on. Assuming the alarm was even still active.

All of these brought her to the one conclusion she had not wanted to reach. Splitting up. It was the most logical plan, especially since none of the exit strategies she saw would accommodate two bodies. She still hated it. Anything could happen once they separated. The surge of energy might chase one or the other. One might be able to escape and not the other. Being part of team was the one aspect of Order in which Pasiphae had always believed, and anything that went against it felt… wrong.

She took a breath and called over, “I’ll take the emergency exit, you the back window? Meet at Cillian’s Bar in an hour?”

Making future plans would insure Harper was safe. Harper would never let her down.

Epilogue

Penelope glanced at her phone for easily the twentieth or thirtieth time before she placed it back down on the bar. The first “drink” had been her customary ginger ale, but as each minute ticked by she began to crave something stronger. She almost never drank alcohol as much from the fear of it as much as the taste, but a greater fear threaded its way through her stomach in a way the ginger could not cure.

The alarm had been active, the sprinkler systems washing blood across the floor and damaging whatever materials they were forced to leave behind. Evading the Chaos forces had proven possible, though difficult, more a matter of luck than of any of her accumulated skill. It had taken her three quarters of the promised hour to arrive at Cillian’s. She had come breathless but full of apologies for Harper, who would no doubt be there and well into her drink, but….

Harper wasn’t there. Harper still wasn’t there.

There was still time before the hour was up, but only a few minutes. What if she had gotten worried and gone back? What if she was hurt? What if she… no, no, even if Penelope could think of the darkest possibilities, she couldn’t put that one into words. If she did, it would become too real, the avatar of her fears breathed into existence. Let it be amorphous, undefined darkness, the shadow that followed her teal-haired friend’s lead. If it were anything else, then--

“Can I get you something else?”

It was an innocent question, but nerves made her head shoot up as though the bartender had been shouting. Her head spun as she tried to think of an answer, knowing she had to say something, anything, even if only a refusal. Adrenaline long faded left only fatigue in its wake, and worry clouded her mind. She heard herself asking from habit than actual thought, “Do you have pear cider?”

The bartender shook his head, clearly apologetic as he offered, “I’m afraid not, but we do have some apple cider. The one on tap is our house specialty, really sweet, not too much bite. Or I could recommend something else?”

No, of course not. Why would they have something as unusual as pear cider in a place like this? Her cheeks flushed, but she mumbled, “No, that’ll do fine. I’d like two apple ciders, please. I’m… I’m expecting a friend.”

If Penelope had been the type to chew on her fingernails or bite her lip, both would be bleeding. As it was, she simply kept glancing at her phone over and over more compulsively than a teenager bored in class. Time was moving slow… so, so slow. And then it happened. She was late. Harper was late. Penelope’s stomach flipped in ways that no amount of apple cider could cure.

The voice in her ear might have made her jump if she hadn’t been hoping so hard to hear it. She spun around on her stool and took in the sight, her garnet gaze moving across features before immediately noticing bandages. She opened her mouth but closed it again almost immediately. She didn’t trust herself to speak, not yet. She steeled herself with a sip of her drink before answering, “Apple cider. All they had.”

She slid the coaster towards Harper before raising her own glass for a toast, with the warmest smile she possessed on her face. From a distance, no one would be able to see the tears glistening in her eyes. “To best friends.”