Nix Terra

The Vaults - 6

One Month Later...

"Lavender did you get a letter back from the United Mage Republic?" Finnikin asked.

"No, I just feel like sitting outside in the cold by my mailbox for fun..." Lavender looked up at Finnikin bitterly and sighed. "Sorry, yeah. I'm still waiting. It's terrible. This information is time sensitive, Corey said the D.C.s were planning on infiltrating our ranks and planting bombs in the major cities. If the Republic doesn't take my letter seriously... Who knows what could happen?" Lavender rubbed her face, thinking about the map that Corey had drawn out just under a month ago. A map of the Below, every city was included. And within each of the largest cities, there was a network of bombs. The elaborate plan was set to go off in a week. If the UMR didn't send her letter today, Lavender was determined to march down to Bellum herself and make the director see the truth.

"They would never do that." FInnikin said.

"If they think I'm just some crazy conspiracy theorist they will. They wouldn't even listen to my phone call."

"Corey is reliable, though. We've learned that over the past few weeks. He told us everything he knew."

Lavender shook her head, "I don't know. I really hope that even if they don't write me back, they'll take the warning seriously."

A figure approached from around the corner and Lavender shot upright. "The mail." She looked at Finnikin with apprehension. The mailman took his time getting down the street, and when he finally came to deliver Lavender's mail, she was practically jumping with excitement. "Anything from the UMR?"

"Actually, yes." The mailman handed over a letter with the official United Mage Republic Seal.

"Oh my God." Lavender took a deep breath and began trying to open the letter. She soon realized that doing so would be impossible with mittens, so she let herself inside.

Finnikin closed the door behind them and took off his gloves, "Here, I can."

Lavender was already ripping off her mittens though, She looked around for a knife to cut the seal, and ended up just picking up her scythe to crack it open.

Finnikin flinched at the extreme overkill, but then released a small laugh. "Lavender the letter isn't going anywhere."

"I know I just- I need to know what they have to say." She took the letter out of the envelope and unfolded the paper. Her eyes scanned the page and her excited expression grew more intense. She looked up from the paper for a moment at Finnikin, who appeared to be waiting patiently for the verdict. "They listened! Oh, thank God. They said they are well aware of the dangers of the D.C.s... But, oh." Lavender's face fell. "They said that my source is unreliable. We spent weeks with him, Corey is perfectly reliable."

"I'm sorry, Lavender... Is that all that they had to say?"

Lavender shook her head and kept reading, then made a small screeching sound, "I can't believe this. They're reprimanding me because I went against protocol by visiting the surface and conversing with someone who I believed to be an Agent of D.C. instead of arresting them or calling in for backup."

"Oh." Finnikin frowned, "But you tried to call and you did mail them, they just took forever to respond."

"I know." Lavender rubbed her face and sighed, "We need to go to the communications hub so I can call my superior. Maybe, he'll listen to me this time."

"That sounds like a good idea, Lavender, let's go." Finnikin put his gloves back on and pulled his hood up to go outside.

As they walked across town toward the communications building, Lavender and Finnikin passed the small police station, which seemed much busier than usual. There was a UMR vehicle parked outside and several soldiers guarding the doors. Real soldiers like the kind Lavender wanted to be someday.

Lavender looked to Finnikin in question, who responded, "Don't ask me, you're the public defense officer. Why do you think they're here?"

"Not sure," Lavender said, her foggy breath tendriled up into the cavernous ceiling. "Let's check it out."

Lavender led the way up the steps, only to be stopped by one of the soldiers, "No civilians allowed inside the stations at the moment, miss."

"I'm a soldier." Lavender responded, "I have clearance." She had no such thing, but she flashed her badge anyways.

The soldier laughed, "Well you're awfully green now aren't you. I still cannot grant you access."

A second soldier standing in front of the other door responded, "She's not a civilian, and it would be beneficial to have a local look into the situation. A local who can handle themselves with dangerous criminals."

The first soldier nodded, "Alright, you may enter."

Lavender thanked them, looking back at Finnikin. He mouthed something that was probably along the lines of "I'll wait here."

Lavender nodded and pushed the door open. Inside was quite the sight. Corey Gesly, the man she'd sworn to protect, was in a cell, kicking and screaming.

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