Annabelle’s Bastion

Aria’s hand hurt.

“Alright, they’re gone. Annoyin’ humans.”

“What… what now?”

“That’s up to you, girlie. You’re killin’ them during the time I gave you an alibi, so unless you leave somethin’ behind that fucks us both, you’re fine to continue.”

“They’ll be watching me closely.”

“Suppose that’s true… but not anywhere close to my dorm, at least.”

When she had to do nothing but watch as that investigator rummaged through her and Annabelle’s things… she could barely resist cutting him apart. He had zero respect for their belongings, tossing anything he could without care.

It was intentional, too.

She cleaned it up as best she could once the investigator left for a private conversation with Gromak, but the wound was still fresh.

“What was his name?”

“The investigator?”

“Yes.”

“Halt… hart? Something like that—I forgot. Why?”

“I will kill him, too.”

Gromak snorted and fell into his chair, looking like he hadn’t sat all day. He reached beneath his table and pulled out Aria’s notebook and the phone.

“Will you stop me?” Aria asked.

“Nope.” He slid them both on the counter, then looked up at her. “Just don’t count on me for things like that. Do it on your own time.”

“Of course.”

Despite her feelings, it was a massive relief.

This was the power of fair trial—them being unable to touch her without having some kind of proper evidence. And if she messed up now… Gromak would get in trouble.

“So, what happened, girlie?”

“The phones had trackers, and Ashton Wells figured out what I was doing. He reported it.”

Gromak nodded. “I figured. They’ll probably keep these murders under wraps for a little, lest they make the students wary of a killer on the loose. Plus, they can try and get rid of you silently.” He sighed and leaned back. “Still, that means we’re gonna have to deal with more investigators. Nasty bunch.”

“What will they do?”

She didn’t put it past them to fabricate evidence. But if placed under scrutiny by Alisha or Gromak, she didn’t believe it would work.

“Most likely…” He trailed off, tugging on his beard as he contemplated. Eventually, he nodded to himself. “I believe they’ll try to build somethin’ of a case. They will—” he stopped, looking off toward the dorm door. “We got another visitor.”

Aria whipped around.

What kind of sensory ability did Gromak have? She felt nothing.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Student, probably.”

Aria breathed in relief. “It’s likely Cole Anderson—he helped me.”

“Oh?” Gromak exclaimed. He looked like he recognized the name and appeared a little surprised. “That boy won an amazin’ Apex Sigil from the tournament! That’s the ability he’s usin’ right now.”

“You can tell when an ability is being used?”

“Jealous?” Gromak joked, smirking at her.

“Yes.”

An ability that made surprise attacks completely useless? That was incredible.

“Heh.”

Seconds after, Aria heard a loud hum for just a moment before the dorm doors pushed open.

Cole walked in… and he looked completely normal. It was a fascinating ability; she thought it would have some kind of effect on his normal form when transitioning between them.

“That’s quite the power you got there, boy.”

“Thank you, sir!” Cole said. He approached the counter and nodded toward Aria, then saluted Gromak. “My name is Cole Anderson. I was part of the—”

“Yes, yes, I know all that. Lord, you’re more than even the other girlie.”

“Ah, right.” Cole cleared his throat. “I take it the situation…” He trailed off, looking at Aria for confirmation.

“Yes.”

Even if Gromak didn’t know, Cole couldn’t have made it more obvious.

“You’re not very good at hidin’ things,” Gromak said, bemused. He chuckled and shook his head. “Yes, I know girlie is on a murder spree.”

“Y-you’re okay with it? Sir.”

Gromak scoffed. “Boy, if you had any idea what’s really goin’ on in this place...” He shook his head.

“Why did you come here?” Aria asked.

For someone who didn’t want to be involved, he just made it incredibly easy for someone to find that link.

“Good question,” Gromak added. “You could be ruinin’ your life by doin’ this.”

“I…” Cole raised his head and turned toward Aria. Surprisingly, he seemed resolute in whatever decision he had made. “When you handed me the phone, I thought a lot about it. It may be presumptuous of me, but I feel like there is a deeper conspiracy on this island. One beyond targeting you, Aria.”

“Duh.” Gromak chuckled.

“Of course, there is,” Aria said.

“Oh… you could have just told me that to convince me to help.”

“Why?”

“Although I am currently just a student, I am as much part of Bastion as the teachers. I feel… I feel like it’s my duty.”

“How noble,” Gromak said. He simply leaned back in his seat and tugged on his beard more. His eyes never left Cole, appraising him.

“And?” Aria asked.

Did he misunderstand her intentions?

“I want to help.”

“You c—”

“Actually,” Gromak interrupted Aria. “I think this boy’s ability is too good to not use. Even for me, that’s quite the handy power to have… especially if he grows further.”

“How?”

“Thank you, sir!” Cole almost saluted, but he stopped himself. Instead, he returned his resolute gaze to Aria. “I didn’t make this decision lightly—I read through Theo Walsh’s phone.”

“What?”

“Oh? You have that? Hand it over!”

Cole complied, pulling the phone out of his pocket and handing it to Gromak.

“I told you to hide it, they’re—”

“Tracked, but that don’t matter anymore, girlie!” Gromak said. He switched the phone on and seemed surprised by what he saw. “This one didn’t get wiped? Hmm…”

That was true.

But it also meant Ashton had a bullet he could use whenever he wanted. If, at some point, he decided the punishment for having the phones was acceptable… he could thoroughly end her.

They needed to quickly go through these phones.

“What’s in it?” Aria asked.

“Readin’.”

Instead, she looked toward Cole.

“Most of his communication with Ashton Wells was only to coordinate phone call times.” He sighed and shook his head. “We can get plenty of dirt on Theo Walsh, but nothing that would matter for getting to Ashton. But still, this means that there are teachers—Bastion mages—working with students. Why? I find it hard to believe it’s just for you.”

There was her hope dashed.

He and Gromak might care for it, but all Aria wanted was to kill some of those responsible for what happened to Annabelle and return to Sorana.

She lightly sighed.

“Sorry,” Cole said.

Gromak placed the phone down, getting both of their attention. “Well… this Ashton boy is crafty, isn’t he?” He returned to tugging on his beard. “Hmm~ … you can use this to harm those close to him, but he and you both know that isn’t what you want.”

“Yes.”

“But I do want it…” Cole said. He cleared his throat. “If that’s acceptable for you two. Once this is done, I would like to report these phones.”

Gromak shook his head. “We gotta save these for the bigger fish. I don’t care for a buncha foolish students, boy.”

“O-oh.”

“I don’t care about these phones,” Aria said. “How can I get to Ashton Wells?”

That was the only thing that mattered.

“Why not go directly to him?” Cole asked. “Same thing as Theo—I can distract the dorm master for you to sneak in.”

“He’s more careful than that—he expects me.”

“Ah, I suppose that’s true.”

Cole lowered his head in silent contemplation.

“Everythin’ starts there, don’t it?” Gromak straightened his chair and tapped the phone on the table. He smirked at Aria. “Why not just be direct?”

“Direct— you…”

He wanted her to call him?

Gromak darkly chuckled, nodding.

“Would such an obvious thing work?” Cole asked. “Ashton Wells… he’s one of the most careful men I have ever met.”

“By tomorrow, the boy will know that you have my backin’,” Gromak explained. He lightly shook his head. “I can’t imagine how you’ll get to him.”

“I… don’t get it.”

Aria wasn’t sure, either.

Even if Ashton had the strength to fight her and was confident he could win, she didn’t see him ever accepting a meeting. If only it were that simple.

“I see it in your eyes, too, girlie.”

“Why would he agree to meet me knowing that I will only kill him?”

He’d also find out his plan failed. Unless the plan was to restrict her movement even further, which certainly succeeded. Regardless of Gromak’s alibi, she expected hawk-like eyes on her.

“Bah!” Gromak repeatedly tapped the phone. “You lack imagination! There is someone behind this Ashton boy who wants you dead, girlie! If they can just get you in private…”

“Would he show up, then?” Cole asked, understanding dawning on him.

If Ashton had ever called her out for a private meeting, Aria would likely have accepted. Surely, he knew that… but he hadn’t tried it before, so why would that change?

“Times are different, girlie.” Gromak picked up the phone and threw it toward her. Aria instinctively caught it. “They can’t afford to keep wastin’ time tryin’ to be rid of you. Call it a hunch of mine… just try it.”

If Gromak was so certain…

“Fine.”

Aria didn’t delay, powering on the phone and finding Ashton Wells saved. She paused for a moment, though, before pressing that icon.

Whatever conversation they had would decide whether her path became near impossible… or if she could move forward.

“Use what you’ve already discovered, girlie.”

Aria nodded.

“I will do it privately.”

“Sure.”

With that, she pressed the button and walked outside the dorm.       

The phone rang a few times.

Oddly, the more it did, the calmer Aria felt.

After seven rings, she heard a click.

“Aria, I assume.”

There it was, the pompous voice of Ashton Wells. She hadn’t heard it since the expedition, and it brought back unpleasant memories.

This was her ultimate target, the one who could somehow lead her to the man who could take her to Sorana.

“Yes,” she replied.

“I must admit I am surprised you still have the ability to call me. Did they not arrive to bring you in yet?”

“They have no such authority.”

“Agree to disagree, then. Regardless, what is it that you want with me? My death? I’m afraid it won’t be that easy.”

“I want…” She paused. Actually, she was curious about more than that. “I want to know what your plans were.”

“Oh? How civil. And which plan? I have quite a few, actually. You may be surprised to know that your existence is relatively low on my current priorities.”

That had to be a lie. He was offered lucrative rewards for whatever actions he could take to interfere with her.

She should learn from Annabelle how to speak to people.

“You intended to set up another ambush on me—it would have failed.”

“Yes… Yes, that is true. But you wouldn’t have gotten away with killing one, either. A simple solution, really. Even if it failed, I’d do it again… and again.”

It would require a twist to frame it like she didn’t need to kill one of them. But they could likely do just that.

“You’re attempting to kill me for a few Sigils?”

“Yes, I am. It really is that simple, Aria—I don’t care about you beyond that. But some people really, really do.”

She believed it, too - at least, in regards to her.

“What about Annabelle?”

Ashton paused. She could hear his breathing on the other end, seemingly unsure of how to respond.

After a few seconds, Ashton sighed. “Annabelle Frost, prized heiress to the Frost family. Loved by her peers and the general public… and adored by her parents. That really is a name I can’t be rid of, is it?”

He sounded bitter.

There it was.

Ashton Wells knew Annabelle from Earth, and their families were likely in some kind of competition.

“You’re jealous of—”

“Wrong,” he spat. “I have earned everything I have. What has she done for any of what she has? Do not presume to understand me, Aria.”

Suddenly, the man on the other end was just a pitiful creature.

Annabelle didn’t even remember who he was. But she’d save that information for another time, as it seemed she found his weakness.

“I don’t care about that.”

“Sure. Now, let’s get to the real reason you called me.”

“Meet with me.”

“How subtle. Do you really—”

“Have that man teleport us to the sealed dungeon you use.”

There was a brief pause.

“…I’m impressed. Your information is better than I thought. But, Aria, do you honestly—” his sound cut off.

Aria checked, but the phone was still connected. Muted?

Perfect.

Soon after, he returned with a light sigh. “Fine. I will text this phone a location for you to appear… Know this, Aria—you will die here.” Yet, he didn’t sound confident. “And no, you can’t sneak anybody in. You will be alone.”

“Acceptable.”

“Good, I hope you realize—”

Aria hung up.

She wasn’t sure what the next steps were.

Regardless, it was time to convene with Gromak for the final steps. He would have a plan so she wasn’t headed to her death.

Potentially, she could kill Ashton and move on before the sun rose.