Rise Of The Worthy [LitRPG System Apocalypse]

Grim understanding hits me before anything can play out. Lizzie did something. But that shield wasn't her magic; if it was, there'd be residual stuff all over her. Someone else did that to her. So I can't even be sure if she was responsible for the mech getting apocalypse-touched. Nobody else will see it that way, though. Especially not Speak.

"Lizzie's down there," I say to Call.

He snaps his teeth shut. "Lizzie? Why? She was just supposed to do a routine check on the mech that brought us here. Which… wait… was that mech you just took the heart from the one that we were in?"

Lucidity fills his voice, completely scouring away all the panic that was there just a second ago. He hasn't realized it yet. It's only a matter of time. I need to be there when he does to make sure he doesn't do anything rash or stupid or both.

"I can't remember if it was. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say either this one or the one that exploded over the city were ours," I say as I take a step back towards Lament. He moves away to keep me beyond arms' length, but doesn't make any hasty moves. "Lament looks like he knows something. Is he on your side?"

"No. Not directly, at least, but I haven't seen anything that'd put her in the Preservation's good graces. All she wants is to protect people–even more than me," Call's voice brims with respect as he cracks his knuckles. "She's also blinded by loyalty to the people who trained and saved her. Only way we'll avoid fighting her is if she's too busy off saving someone else on the other side of the city."

That's too bad. It'd be nice having a few more people I can trust in the Preservation for when I press the big red button labeled 'war'. Right now, though, I need to make sure Lament doesn't say anything in front of Speak. Only one way I can really think of to do that.

I point a finger at… her. She's got one hell of a voice changer, that's for sure. "Call, send her a message saying you'll explain in person at the room you're in. I'll bring her back with me and we'll make the switch before she can get too suspicious."

"Good idea. On it now."

Call goes silent and I turn away before the gesture becomes too suspicious. I walk over to the edge of the catwalk, Lament's faceplate trailing after me with every step, until she twitches and pulls out her Class Card. That'll be Call's message, and it'll give me enough time to do one slightly stupid thing.

Speak hovers right next to a mech, pretending to study it for any damages. We both know she won't find any. But she has to keep up the charade while there are still speakers here tending to the wounded as they file out like ants in a line.

"Uh, Shelby? Do I have to tell you this is a terrible idea?" Call nervously asks.

I crack a smile, brain working overdrive with my connection to Pearl. "She's distracted right now. One good coin straight through the brain stem and she'll be dead before anyone can shove a potion down her throat. Any way at all that I can do this discreetly?"

"Yes. I'm not helping you with it. If you're as strong as I think you are, Speak will be a huge pothole–not insurmountable, but a major annoyance that could cause you some damage. Killing her here will make sure a fault line opens up between us and our goal."

Pearl and I frown as one. Maybe we've both subconsciously made an assumption here.

"But her name's Speak," Pearl says through my mouth. "If she isn't the first and most powerful speaker, why's she called that?"

"...Oh! I see. My bad, I didn't know you weren't aware of how speaker names work. Here, get close to her and I'll have her explain it to us."

I narrow my eyes. "No way in hell am I getting close to her unless it's to put a coin through her brain."

Call sighs through his nose. "Fine, then. Miss Speak!"

His voice comes out of the helmet on those last two words, prompting the very powerful woman to turn and look directly at me. There's nothing in her eyes or body language that'd suggest that she's even the least bit suspicious of me, but that only makes it even more terrifying. Because she's already found Lizzie to take the blame.

"You're Call, right?" she smiles pleasantly and floats away from the mech towards me. Her magic feels like maggots writhing against my awareness. "Thank you for dealing with that little heart problem we just had. Not everyone has the courage to stand up to radiation like that, even when their friend insists that they have it under control. Good for you for trusting Lament."

I bristle at the tone of her voice; pleasant, but demeaning. It's like she's talking down to a kid that doesn't know any better. Call awkwardly clears his throat, the saccharine falseness in her voice not lost on him either.

"Has there been any progress on finding a replacement Gasp?"

Speak raises an eyebrow and laughs. "Why, Call, are you tired of your name? I'm sorry, honey, but you don't get to pick your callsign. Whatever's open when you get your promotion is what you're stuck with, no matter how groan-inducing it might be. Isn't that right, Chortle?"

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An injured speaker groans from the other side of the hangar right before they're whisked away to be healed. Speak clicks her tongue and shakes her head without breaking eye contact with my visor.

"Poor Chortle, those injuries are going to cost him a pretty penny at the healers. It'll delay his other world time by a few months at least."

A vein in my neck pulses. "Ask what the hell she meant by that."

"Yes. Very much yes," Pearl echoes in my mind.

Call's voice clicks before he scoffs. "What, and give away our cover? We have people that can delay the cross-worlds timer. It's used as a punishment and reward, and we can't go to the other world while we're in the middle of an assignment. Don't you have something like that?"

"No."

"...Oh. my mistake, then," Call says, his voice a complex mix of emotions. Then it clicks, and he's right back to addressing Speak. "Thank you for taking the time to answer my question, miss. If you'll allow me one more…"

Speak waves Call on with one hand. "I'm in no hurry."

"Thank you. Do we know how the hell this happened?"

"If we did, we'd be doing something about it already. Is everyone else out?" she glances over my shoulder towards the door, eyes trailing over the only other person in the room; Lament. "Run along, please; Call will be right out after you when I'm done with him."

Lament clenches her fists, and for a moment, I fear my cover's blown. I summon a coin against my skin in case I have to make a quick and deadly exit. Slowly but surely she uncurls her fingers, nods, and turns to leave. Her footsteps ring heavy over the catwalk until they cut off completely when she disappears beyond the doors, but not before she takes one parting glance between me and Speak.

"Now we're alone. I'm only going to tell you this as a thank-you for all the work you've been putting in with the children. Too many of us ignore them completely when they are our future, even if our lives can be artificially lengthened," Speak says with the most seriousness I've heard come out of her mouth so far. "The mech you took today wasn't the source of the apocalypse, but it was the only victim. We're already searching for any clues, so expect someone to come around asking questions at some point in time. If you have anything you'd like to tell me beforehand… I'll make sure it's known you gave the information freely."

Call audibly bristles. I flex all my muscles to sell the noise. "You think I had something to do with this?"

Speak shrugs. "I honestly don't know. Maybe you do. Maybe you don't. The truth will come out eventually, and the punishment for lying will be much worse than the punishment for owning up to it. Perhaps one of your friends will give you up. Maybe they'll throw you under the bus for their own doings. I can't say how the rest of the week will go, but these things always end when the psychics get involved."

"You mean the psychics we made illegal?" Call mutters.

"Watch your tone," Speak tuts. "Bad children get punished. Bad adults get silenced. Now unless you want to end up like your friend writhing at the bottom of the hangar, I suggest you go back to your duties like nothing ever happened. We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise you."

Call snarls as I turn to leave. "I sincerely hope you find everyone that did this."

"Me too, honey."

When Call's voice clicks, I raise my hand and curl my fingers around my coin. "What about Lizzie? Will she screw everything over?"

"No. She didn't do this, and the Preservation will pluck that info from her brain, because it's all the psychics can do," Call says bitterly. "Our plan was to remove the reactors and send them somewhere else so the Preservation didn't have as easy a time moving around the world. Bringing the apocalypse into this… not to mention that we weren't even going to do it soon… I just…"

He trails off, but there's something that's making him hesitate. Lament pushes off the wall as I walk by the healers and a pile of groaning people, most of which seem like they'll make it through this. Even the one that got split into threes is still being protected by Speak's magic, but the healer holding the legs looks utterly mystified on where to start. I almost want to throw them a potion and say 'this'll do the trick'.

Instead I keep walking, Lament hot on my heels, until I'm completely free of the hangar and its surrounding fences and cameras. The air feels a little hotter than before. The ground rumbles under my feet as Lament cranes her neck skyward, then freezes. A soft whisper of confusion trails out of her mask as the 'flyover' scares the hell out of everyone who's already scared shitless thanks to the mechs being taken by the apocalypse.

"Where are the planes?" she asks. "There should be planes. C-Call?! Where are the planes?!"

She jogs to catch up as I up my pace. Call doesn't answer her, but he does make a few noises that sound like he's thinking very hard. He mutters 'Lizzie' at least a few times in the span of time it takes us to reach the building, ignore the clerk that ducks behind the desk to hide, and climb the stairs to my room. I hold out a hand for Lament to stop before she can reach for the door.

Call perks up at just the right time. "The refugee I took in earlier today is in there. Give me thirty seconds to explain to her what's going on, please."

Lament crosses her arms and looks from side to side, but motions for me to go ahead anyway. I give her a nod of thanks and gently pull the handle, exposing a mostly empty room to the hallway that's half-filled with steam and the sound of a running shower. I move to go in, but Lament grabs my shoulder before I can take a step.

"You said her, right?"

…Ah, shit. "Yes?"

"Then I'll go explain everything to her," Lament insists and pushes me to the side. Her magic sweeps over me just hard enough to make sure I can't push ahead of her, and she rushes ahead to close the bathroom door. "Hello? My name is Lament, and I'm here to talk with Call, the man who brought you here a few hours ago. Don't be scared, we're all friends here, we just need to… talk about some things."

She turns to me as I close the door behind us. "Isn't that right, Call?"

Call's voice clicks in my ear. But it comes out of the bathroom. "That's right, Lament."

Lament tilts her head to the side as I summon a single coin hidden in my palm. "Call? Why are you in the… bathroom…"