Sabbatical – Chapter 213: Wake Up Call (And a New Cover!)

GamingWolf

Ryan giggled to himself as he heaved the chunk of metal aside. It was a far easier task than it had any right to be, considering that it was almost as big as his car and easily as thick as he was.

Cutting through it had taken a while, but that was to be expected from a vault. That strength would also come in handy for the next step of the plan, once they needed to carry bags worth of money, gold, or whatever else they might find.

"You need help?" Valorie asked, tapping a finger against the metal. "Looks heavy."

"I think I'm good," Ryan said with another giggle. He gave the piece of wall a final push, causing it to fall over, then looked into the room they could now access. There were several shelves filled with boxes labelled in some kind of code that made little sense to him, as well as a set of doors that likely led to the room they had come here for.

"Suit yourself," his partner in crime replied, waving for the third and final member of their impromptu group to step forward. "We need your skills, Hector."

"Everyone does," the small man replied as he fidgeted with the small pendant he always wore. "Let's get to it then, shall we? Money won't make itself."

Ryan shook as Hector passed him, only waiting for a moment before he began to follow him. He had a hunch that whatever Class Hector had gotten had messed with their mind. There was no way that someone would be like this under normal circumstances. The man was weird, in terms of looks as well as personality, in a way that felt as though whatever had decided to change Earth was to blame.

"Sure won't," Valorie agreed, a big smile on her face. "I just hope your source gave you good info."

"I am certain of that," Hector replied, already pulling various tools from his seemingly endless pockets and placing them around the room. "What I am more concerned about is if this counts as harming an un-awakened."

"How?" Ryan asked. "We are taking shit from people who have more than enough of it. No normal person has something in the vaults of First International. I bet they are insured to hell and back, so whatever we take will bring no harm to them." He scoffed. "Even if they weren't, the people that use this place are so rich, they probably wouldn't even notice losing a few million."

"Perhaps," the small man replied before all the various boxes that had filled the shelves shimmered and vanished, leaving behind only the items they had contained. "But my source has also told me about a few awakened who tried a more… direct approach to robbing. Those all ended up vanishing for a few days. Most came back, but they were all a little shaken."

Ryan remained quiet at that. Just two days ago, he had followed his loathsome boss home, and had remained hidden for a good while as he contemplated setting his house on fire. He had wanted to, and the idea itself had felt oh so good, but in the end he hadn't done it. The warning the 'System' had given him was a little more convincing than he cared to admit.

"So what you are saying is that something messes with their mind if they break the rule?" Valorie asked, already stuffing whatever looked valuable in one of the many bags they had brought. "Seems kinda fucked up."

"But giving people superpowers isn't?” Ryan asked as a few arcs of electricity danced across his hands. "I got strength and elements, you got at least enhanced strength, senses, and reflexes." He approached one of the shelves, picking up a small, old chest. "And I have no idea where to begin with whatever Hector’s power might be."

"Magic," the man replied. He moved to one of the doors, pulling yet more things from his pockets that he placed on and next to the metal that separated them from the next room. "I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually."

Ryan only gave a huff in reply, looking at the box for a moment longer before he grabbed one of the bags himself and began stuffing anything he thought looked valuable inside.

///

"And why can I not wear my dress again?" Aperio asked, tugging at the the rather flimsy fabric covering her chest as she looked at herself in a mirror. "If your goal is to cover yourself, this does such a bad job at it I might as well go naked."

It had been a couple days — Probably — but they hadn't done much of note, as Caethya was still insisting on their taking a vacation. She had talked with Maria during that time, the girl excitedly telling her how the last remaining Vinmaier had disappeared; apparently abducted. The news had brought a smile to Aperio's face, one that was quickly removed when she had noticed a few mortals using their newfound powers to threaten people. Luckily, randomly teleporting them somewhere near to where they just were took care of things in most cases.

The mortals were usually confused for a moment but quickly figured out — and accepted — that something was watching, and would prevent them from being dumb. Of course, some simply tried to abuse their powers again, but showing them just the slightest bit of how she perceived reality shut them up real good. Adam was right that it would work well. Should probably figure out a way to thank him.

"And you would have no problem with that?" Eleanor asked, her gaze shifting between the All-Mother and Caethya. "Besides, nudity at the beach is forbidden so you have to wear something, and your dress will stand out more than this. Especially if you want to go swimming."

"I like how I look and have no issue if others see me for what I am," Aperio replied as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, displacing another unruly mortal.

The All-Mother shifted slightly before she threw a light punch at nothing, the motion accompanied by the sound of fabric tearing. She let out a sigh as a touch of her magic prevented the buttons that had secured her top from flying around. "If I have to wear this, I will have to make some alterations of my own. Imagine if I actually had to breathe!" She shook her head. "Everything you mortals sell is too small."

"You aren't exactly the norm," Caethya said with a smile. The woman had had much more luck finding something to wear and had eventually settled on a black and silver one piece swimsuit that matched her hair frighteningly well. "But I am sure if you just magic something into existence it'll be fine. Plus, you can give it whatever design you want!"

"I guess," Aperio replied, letting some of her magic flow into the fabric to repair and strengthen it. "Then I could also make it a bit more compatible with my wings…"

Her feathered appendages were currently hidden as a shopping trip for swimwear in 'full costume' was apparently not going to be as believable. Don't they know I would use my wings to swim? Of course, Aperio knew that they did not know that and that it wasn't exactly normal, but she would still cling to any excuse that would let her keep her wings on display.

Another touch of her magic added a few silver feathers to the otherwise dark fabric and the All-Mother turned slightly in the mirror — ignoring the web of cracks on it — to actually see her work with her own eyes. Perceiving reality through her aura was fine, and generally much more detailed, but actually looking at something always felt a little more right.

She nodded to herself as she stretched and twisted herself into various poses, making sure her adjustments to the garment were sufficient. A moment later, her wings spread as far as they could in the small room behind her. She draped them over her shoulders, using them as a cape before a slight giggle from Caethya caused her to look down at her love.

"Yes?" she asked, her feathered limbs vanishing once again. "What is so funny?"

"I just find it adorable when you go and make stuff," Caethya replied with a bright smile on her face. "Couldn't tell you why."

"The seven foot amazon Elf is adorable, sure," Elanor mumbled, earning herself a very light tap from one of Aperio's wings that materialised just for the occasion.

While the All-Mother had thought of the motion to be weak enough, it still sent the mortal tumbling the floor. A deserved punishment in Aperio's eyes, but perhaps still a little too much.

"What?" the mortal mage asked, standing up again and rubbing her behind. "Your faux punch cracked the mirror."

"It did not," Aperio replied, the object in question fixing itself in an instant. "That would be ridiculous. Light punches aimed at nothing do not break things."

The All-Mother narrowed her eyes as her senses moved in closer on three mortals robbing a vault. They had done something to disable all the fancy technology the Humans loved and then proceeded to simply rip out a part of the wall — an approach she could appreciate.

"More idiots?" Caethya asked as she picked up a few more pieces of swimwear Eleanor had brought for them to try on.

"Perhaps," Aperio replied, tilting her head ever-so-slightly to the side. "Though I am still not sure if I should count this as abuse of their power."

"Count what?" Eleanor asked.

"Robbing an ancient-looking vault."

The mage hesitated for a brief moment before she shook her head. "I'd say it's an abuse. They wouldn't have gotten in there without their powers, right?"

"Probably not," the All-Mother replied. "One of them also followed a colleague home. He probably wanted to do something to him, but he thought better of it."

"So he turned from murder to robbery?" Caethya asked, vanishing into one of the booths. "That is better, but not by a lot. Well, I guess it depends on who they rob."

"I am not particularly concerned with the who and more with the fact that I gave them a single rule and I am not sure if what they are doing breaks it."

"Why not go and ask them how they feel about it?" Eleanor asked, giggling to herself.

"Maybe I should," Aperio replied.

A thought caused the bikini she wore to appear neatly folded in her hands and her usual dress on her. She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment before her armour, too, appeared. Nodding to herself she handed her swimwear to Eleanor.

"It will only be a moment."

///

"Someone is coming," Valorie suddenly announced, looking around the room. "I can feel it."

Ryan lowered the bag and let his eyes wander around the room. Not being able to see anything wrong, he sat it down and walked toward the hole he had made in the wall. Before he could reach it, however, an exceedingly tall woman ducked through it. Whatever the System had taken from Hector — and anyone else — in terms of height and build had seemingly ended up with her, but the longer he looked at her, the more Ryan felt like something was wrong.

She did not seem at all concerned that they outnumbered her or that Valorie had already drawn her gun. Instead, she simply eyed every one of them for a moment, tilting her head from side to side on occasion.

"What do you want?" Valorie asked, readjusting her grip on her gun.

"Making sure you heed the warning I gave," the woman replied, her voice somehow not only audible to his ears but also like a thought in his own mind. The accent she had was also not something Ryan could place, melodic in a way that did not sound quite right for anything spoken. "But I am not quite sure how this qualifies."

Before the meaning of the words could fully take hold in Ryan's mind, Valorie squeezed the trigger and a shot rang out. He closed his eyes on reflex, not wanting to see someone die. It had already been proven that even though the System had given you more strength, it did not necessarily make you immune to bullets.

More shots rang out before they were silenced by a gust of wind and a loud crack. When Ryan opened his eyes again, Valorie's hand was now bent at an unnatural angle, and her gun was on the floor. His eyes, however, were drawn to the mystery woman, who had grown two large feathered wings which obscured a large part of the room from view.

"I guess that solves that specific conundrum," the woman said and waved one of her hands. A moment later, Valorie simply vanished, the gun that remained on the floor the only sign that she had ever been there. "Now then," she continued, her eyes briefly lingering on both Hector and Ryan. "Do you also wish to try and injure me? While you will not succeed, you are welcome to try."

Ryan looked at the woman for a moment longer, raising his hands slowly as she shifted her weight from one leg to another and the floor cracked under her bare feet. "I'm good. No need to erase me."

"Erase?" She tilted her head. "Your crimes are not harsh enough to warrant that. I merely teleported your friend into the nearby woods and showed her a glimpse of what I am. She will find her way back in a couple of days.

"In any case," she continued, a wave of her hand causing Hector and Ryan to lock up. "Seeing what is stored here, I feel like your actions violate the rule I set forth. Off you go."

Before Ryan could even begin to think of a reply, reality shifted in front of his eyes. The vault was seamlessly replaced by a forest before that, too, faded from his mind as what he could only describe as a vision of himself clawed forcefully into the spotlight of his attention. It made no sense to him, especially since it wasn't really 'seeing' to begin with. 

More than anything, he felt a presence in the darkness his eyes could not pierce. It writhed, massive and formless, stretching out in all directions with no perceivable end to the form. It was an endless nothing that stared at him, one that saw his very essence without needing anything as mundane as eyesight to do so.

GamingWolf

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