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NEW CONTINENT; JUNE 17th, 2051
— four years after The Mayor's defeat —
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— Léon —
Léon closed his worn book and rested it on the dusty counter of an empty tech repair center. A mix of jazz and 2020's psychedelia filled the silence, almost hiding the soft whirring of the air purifiers and the clinking from the faulty neon sign outside. Azziz and Lucca's spicy love story always cheered Léon up, no matter how shitty things were—and things have been really shitty since he was released from prison and realized he was all alone in New Continent.
He rested a hand on the book. Granted, the story was a bit unrealistic with its divine interventions, Lucca's soul-crushing power, and Azziz's happiness. After all, what kind of weirdo could be happy with a super-powerful monster for a boyfriend? Léon scoffed. Still, the book managed to put a smile on his lips...and besides, the sex scenes were great.
"Sorry for the wait," someone said. The person crossed a string curtain and placed a small plastipaper bag on the counter.
"Thanks. Did you manage to crack it?"
"Yep. This permir chip was more secure than the National Bank of NC, but nothing we couldn't take care of." The attendant had a nice, welcoming smile of clay-colored lips cracked by a scar on the lower right. They carried a mug of just-brewed mocha and wore an old brown t-shirt with a java framework logo. "I had to ask my boss for help. She's very impressed with whoever encrypted it." They placed an elbow on the counter. "Tell whoever it was that they have a job here if they want it."
"I will." Léon fished for his wallet. "How much do I owe you?"
"Ninety creds. But, uh." The attendant peeked over their shoulder toward the string curtains, then leaned in to whisper, "Can you keep a secret?"
"A...secret?" Léon's breath got stuck in his throat. All this drama and suffering started with a secret. It started when a Superhero decided to ask a Supervillain for a job—and Léon wasn't sure he was ready for another misadventure like that.
"Don't make that face, dude; I'm not gonna hit on you." The attendant chuckled. "This is just...the happiest my boss has been the whole month. I foresee one full week of chilled work hours thanks to you." They leaned in ever closer. The attendant smelled like coffee and after-shave cologne. "So I'm throwing you a nice discount, all right? It's fifty creds for you, my man." They leaned back and winked, giving Léon a wide smile of pointy canines. "And give me a call if you ever find anything like that permir chip again. Here." They gave Léon a small plasmetallic business card that read, M. Rabbit, they/him. Master in all tech and more.
So this was the secret? Léon scoffed, rubbed his face, and let out a small laugh. What was he thinking, huh? That a random hottie on a tech repair center would somehow put him en route towards the end of the world or something?
Please.
Get a grip, Léon.
"Thank you, Rabbit." Léon smiled. His finances weren't exactly thriving, so his wallet appreciated Rabbit's gesture. Léon took the card.
A barefoot woman in her early thirties battered through the curtains. She grunted something and jumped over the counter with impressive agility, then crossed the small room as her salt-and-pepper hair bounced at her back. She looked unusual with all the gleaming silver jewelry on her neck, wrists, and ankles.
"Gio? There's a customer here. Is...there a problem?" Rabbit frowned, and the smile disappeared from their lips. He let out a forced laugh and placed their hands on their waist. "Can I do something for you so you can...you know. Continue your work? Back there?"
The woman growled at Rabbit and reached above a big aquarium to turn an old plasma television on. "My problem is that this old piece of garbage doesn't have a connection to the blasted Maryanne network—and I want to watch it now." She gave it a few smacks. The woman furrowed her eyebrows and scoffed as the ancient TV lit up on Channel Two. The news anchor from NC News talked about the electoral race again. "Come here, Mocha," said the woman. "See if you can sync it to this C-band." She tossed them a crumpled piece of paper. "Now!"
Rabbit glanced at Léon and shrugged as if apologizing. "Give me just a moment, all right?" They walked around the counter and the three-and-a-half steps that led them to the TV. Rabbit looked at the frequency jotted down on the reusable paper. "Trying to catch the Old Continent newscast again, eh?"
Léon sighed and propped his chin on the palm of his hand while Rabbit climbed up the aquarium rack. This was going to be a long wait, but, to be honest, being here with them was better than staying at home by himself.
"Sociologist and political scientist Morena Godói explains the current scenario in NC and how the situation in OC is impacting the trading between the two continents."
"Those ignorant roaches," Gio said. "They're still hiding the sickness in New Continent. We gotta hope the Old one will talk about it."
Rabbit scoffed. "NC doesn't have any interest in the old lands, boss."
"Yeah, well. Bring the satellite dish," Gio ordered.
Léon drummed his fingers on the counter and dragged a chair for himself. He took his now-unlocked permir chip and studied it against the light, the bluish néon filtering through the plastic.
This small piece of tech was the only thing Amma had left behind after she moved back to that damned city in the middle of nowhere. It was hidden or forgotten among old papers and pieces of clothing, and it was his only chance of finally understanding what had happened to his family.
"Be quick, Mocha!" Gio shouted.
Léon took the little thing and pulled his datapad from his backpack. It took less than a moment to turn the old thing on, plug the permir chip in, and start perusing the files inside it. A notification popped on the screen. To his horror, his mother had just transferred him enough creds to cover all of this month's bills.
"For Goddess' sake, Amma," he whispered. "I told you I didn't want it."
He slipped a hand into his pocket and met the cold edge of an amethyst. Truth be told, he didn't know what he wanted. His family, yes. Money, perhaps. His friends, for sure. His boyfriend...maybe.
The word stuck to his tongue like the bitterest vinegar.
Boyfriend. Yeah, sure. Roberto had disappeared four years ago and never even tried to contact him. Léon took the amethyst out and gazed at it. It was a triangular cut with wavy marks all around it, something so unique and beautiful, that Léon thought it was special. But was it, really?
He hovered the amethyst over a trash bin nearby. After four years of silence and nothing but a pretty gift to show for their relationship, maybe it was time to move on. Léon had no idea of where Rob was, and maybe it was better this way. Maybe he deserved to start fresh like Phillip and Rio had done.
Behind him, the old TV hissed to life. Woven in the noise, a deep voice said,
"...The allegations. Detective Taiguara from the fourth district...—med that Connie Travone... will remain arrested for the... in illegal mining activities around the area."
"You did it, Mocha!" Gio cackled. "Can you improve the signal?"
"I'll try."
Léon stared at his shaking, balled hand above the trash bin.
Let it go, Léon.
It was close to seven, and the sun was weak outside, casting striped shadows all around him. With a strangled grunt, he shoved the amethyst back into his pocket.
"Is it working?" Rabbit said.
"Nope," Gio answered. "Let me try something."
As the TV continued to spill the news, Léon turned his attention to his permir chip. He tried to ignore the weight of the amethyst in his pocket and scrolled through emails, documents, and photos, but nothing seemed important enough to justify the level of protection it had. Why would Amma save all this trash in such an expensive permir chip?
An icon caught his attention. Amma's email—and there was an account logged in, but Léon didn't recognize it.
"What the hell," he mumbled.
Léon skimmed some of the messages. Most dated back to 2048 and 2049 just before Kaliandra and Pipo returned to Old Continent. He's not feeling well, his mother had written. He had never manifested his powers, so I thought he was traceless, but things changed. He gets worse every day, and I don't know what else I can do. Can your sister help?
Something cold swirled in his stomach. His mother was talking about his little brother. Léon tried to swallow past the knot forming in his throat. So this was the reason why they had moved back to OC? Pipo's powers manifesting for the first time? His mother had never mentioned this to him.
Amma had lied.
Something stung in Léon's heart. His breathing shallowed, and his fingers tightened around the datapad.
"Shit," he mumbled. Almost on their own, his eyes went back to the email thread.
The more he read, the more certain he was: Kaliandra Hamman Dickens had exchanged messages with Roberto while Léon was in prison. He scoffed, anger boiling deep within him. Of course Rob would be in touch with everyone but Léon; what else could he expect from Roberto Tapir, that little traitor? His email address was different, and he signed as someone else, but Léon was sure it was Rob. His word choice and his grammar were proof. Kaliandra had been in touch with Rob this whole time! And what was worse, she had lied to him. She had run away with Pipo, and she had abandoned him here, all alone!
A growl climbed up Léon's throat, and he tightened his grip on the datapad, his hands shaking. The thin screen cracked underneath his fingers, but it wasn't enough. His anger gave shape to a pair of claws it existed only in his mind, in his undimension, the deepest part of himself.
The store window burst.
A shower of glass, screams, and Rabbit scrambling to him.
"What the fuck was that?" he asked. Rabbit looked around, then furrowed their eyebrows. "Those fuckers, I'm gonna skewer them!"
Rabbit ran outside—to the the empty street in front of the tech center—while Gio approached.
"Are you okay?" she asked Léon.
One e-mail still stared back at Léon:
Hello, Kali...
Thank you for trusting me...I'm sending you a cryptographic info zip...follow the instructions inside it; You'll know what my password is...The man you'll meet...is a new friend who can bring you and Pipo to Old Continent in safety...He might help you find the medical treatment Pipo needs...You're safe with him.
R. Taiguara.
Léon shook his head, lips pursing in anger or sadness or whatever bitter feeling that was. He refused to accept this. He refused to stay away from his family when they needed him most. Amma was traceless, yes, but Léon wasn't.—he could help Pipo with his powers, no matter what those powers were.
Rabbit came back. "This...is so weird. I couldn't find anyone."
He jumped from his seat, shards of glass falling from his hair and shoulders, then cracking under his feet.
A dull thud at his back caught their attention.
"Boss!" Rabbit cried, rushing to her side. "Gio, you okay?"
Gio was on the floor, her widened eyes glued to the screen. "This can't be," she mumbled.
Léon faced the old TV, and something cold swirled in his stomach, then spread a shiver over his arms.
The newscast showed amateur images of a darkened forest. "The mysterious sickness spreading in the area of Western OC-seven already killed around three thousand square kilometers of the druidic forest, and specialists estimate a loss of almost 13% of the fauna in the region..."
With half-opened lips, Léon stepped away from the counter and closer to the TV.
"...Cidade Santa's Deputy, Marlo Soares, encourages people to prepare for the closure of borders between New and Old Continent but says the situation is not a reason for panic."
"That's bullshit," Rabbit snarled.
Léon frowned. "I haven't heard anything about emergency supplies."
"That's cause there aren't any," Gio mumbled in a tiny voice. "NC is just abandoning us...them again."
"With less than two days until the total closure of Cidade Santa and the thunderstorm approaching from Ercília shore, Old Continentians see themselves once again cut from the mainland."
Two days? Léon widened his eyes. His thoughts raced. It would take way more than that to get a permit. If he left NC right now, he couldn't come back.
He bit hard on his lower lip. Léon didn't have a choice...but he did have a contact.
"Rabbit? How much for you to crack an info zip for me? I need to go to OC. Today."
***
Hello, everyone! Thank you sooo much for giving this book a chance ♥ If you like this chapter, please don't forget to vote! :D
This chapter was more to give you a general feeling of what happened in the previous book, how things changed, and how Rob's grammar is! hahaushauehaush
Next chapter we'll meet a new character (Modraniht), but we'll soon see some old ones too. Which characters are you hoping to see in this book? ♥
kisses :*
Ligia