Chapter 48: Scene 42 – Dead Heart

"You can't say 'Calico Dearheart is dead' and expect us to go off your word alone." Dr. Bright folded his arms, the chitinous spines scraping to produce a cricket's chirp. "That sort of information is not something that you or I should know at this moment, nor is it something we can verify so simply."

Stargarden Sol was glad that the topic had shifted; not as much to see she was still being accused by someone. "Dr. Bright, do you remember long ago, when the System was still new to our planet? When we didn't have technology or science, nothing as advanced as the machines we use today. N'as would hand us scrolls, force us to play her divine games in person. Back when she was less of a 'system' and more of a 'mysterious crone handing out swords in ancient lakes?'"

"Before Carrow Cards and typesetting? I'm very familiar. We've lived most our lives in the dark, surrounded by superstition, and I did all I could to correct the course of history." Dr. Bright nervously rubbed his spines together. "We tried our best, Calico included. I didn't like her methods, but she attempted to do something about the System. I could never do that."

"I'm not really sure what we're talking about," Calico chirped in, unsure how to handle her name being dragged through the mud by creatures thousands of years older than her. "I do no 'methods'. I do nothing. Just got here."

"She was a part of our party, Bright. Back when that meant something. She did quests with our team," Sol provided context for Luna and Mercury, trying not to leave her subordinates out of the loop. Calico's eyes burned with interest as her backstory was revealed. "As the party leader, I had access to certain artifacts. Beta tests of features that N'as wanted to implement. Tools like this." Sol reached into her overalls, pulling out a bracelet. It was covered in shimmering pebbles, gems of different hues and sizes threaded by a ring of twine.

Dr. Bright adjusted his glasses, leaning in to tap the bracelet with a finger. "What is that peculiar artifact? A friendship bracelet?"

"A [Friendship Bracelet], that's exactly right. It's a bracelet that tracks the vitals of the Stargarden and our allies." Sol pulled the bracelet around her wrist. "If anyone in our party is sick or dying, the bracelet will glow."

"Useless artifact," Mercury muttered, her voice inducing tattoos across her stone skin to glow. "Noffin against yer possession, ah mean. But there's a status screen fer that. Ain't gotta waste an artifact attunement on tha' string a pebbles."

"That's true. N'as implemented the feature as a courtesy once we'd figured out long distance communication. But this bracelet is special to me." Sol toyed with the pebbles, fiddling with their surface. "It reminds me of a... simpler time. I'm not big on modern technology."

"Ah, I get what you mean," Dr. Bright connected the dots. "This is how you learned of Calico's death before anyone else. Calico's bead on the bracelet broke. That means she's dead in the System's eyes. That solves that conundrum; the System is all-knowing. Nothing can fool her."

Sol winced. She hoped she could fool N'as, even for a few brief moments. She didn't want the next broken pebble to be her own.

Calico blinked, confused as Nebulossom Luna, and unsuccessfully tried to look Dr. Bright in the eyes for confirmation. "I'm dead? I seem remarkably corporeal for a dead person. Is this the Firmament, or Sheol? Am I simply a ghost, living out a false memory?"

"This isn't the Neverlands. We're on Earth, and Earth lacks either. I'm surprised you knew those other names… more evidence to my first theory that you're a Neverlander. A creature from that imaginary space; they tend to come pre-programmed with all the concepts they need to operate. Concepts like Heaven and Hell." Dr. Bright cleared his throat. "Thank you, Stargarden Sol. You've been a big help and saved me weeks of lab work. Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?"

Sol hesitated. She was uncomfortable exposing so much of her sentimentality; her weaknesses should not be something someone of her stature circulates so readily. She couldn't tell them about the movement of Venus; what if they got mad at her? On the other hand, if she couldn't resolve this situation on her own, the Starkeepers would be furious with her.

Sol was lost in contemplation, oblivious to Nebulossom Luna waving her hand in front of her. "Earth to Sol? Like, wait… Would that be Gaia to Sol? You went all quiet and stuff when Mr. Bright asked a question."

"Doctor Bright." Dr. Bright corrected the young girl, pressing his talons against the empty space on his forehead. Sol was withholding something important, he could tell.

"I? Repeat the question? I was not paying attention." Sol tried to bottle up her anxiety, stashing it with all the other uncomfortable emotions she'd been dealing with this morning.

"Sol, listen to me. We won't get mad if you tell us why you're here. What brought on this sudden tour? Come down with a case of 'accusing old friends of being dead?'" Dr. Bright wasn't having it.

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"I want to talk about it. I do." Sol murmured. "But it's terrible. I don't know. I think everyone is going to be mad at me if I say it."

"I don't think the emotions of others are up to you to decide. People will feel whatever they feel, Sol. It doesn't matter if you withhold that information; withholding it can only make things worse." Dr. Bright leveled his starry gaze at an increasingly squirmy Sol. "Is it important enough for a team announcement? You can be honest with me."

"Maybe. It might be apocalyptic." Sol winced. "I don't want to feel this way. If I wasn't so anxious… Maybe looking around the tower will calm my nerves?"

"Right. Mayhap it will." Dr. Bright straightened up and smiled at his boss. "Mercury, stick with me. We'll meet with Jupiter and delegate our patrol contracts to other companies; we need all hands on deck."

"Argh. Worst part of bein' a magical gal, paperwork and phone calls," Mercury shuddered. "S'pose I can't blame you for making me do work since Venus got popped."

The mention of Venus and her demise caused Sol to flinch.

"Tweedledee and Tweedledum? Keep Sol company." Mercury waved dismissively and walked right out the door.

"Hey! I'm at least as smart as the Cheshire Cat!" Luna's tail stuck up and bristled as she pouted at Sol. "The Cheshire Cat is smart, right?"

"I'm not Alice, don't ask me. I haven't visited Wonderland since it first opened." Sol looked to the other cat in the room. "Calico Dearheart? Would it trouble you if I asked you to join us?"

"I don't know what I would do otherwise. Rot inside the science lab?" Calico's tail swept across the floor. "You seem to know who I was, or at least what I was based on. I am far more comfortable by your side."

"Thank you, Calico. Dr. Bright?" Sol tried to squeeze one last word in before continuing her tour.

"Yes, Stargarden?" The black cricket fluttered his thin wings.

"Keep this in house. The United Nations is already very nervous about Gaia." Sol bit her lower lip. "She's involved in this, and we don't want to destabilize things politically. The Nebulossom of Earth has only just been reinstated, and we've been on uneasy terms with SKIPH. They'll try to use this as a wedge issue to oust Gaia from her position. We cannot let humans control Earth."

"Right. A second exodus of sentient species would be disastrous for the system." Dr. Bright shuddered. "I'll refrain from telling others why we need the manpower."

"Get it done." Sol nodded. The humans could not control Earth again under her watch. The last time they took the Gauntlet was a disaster. The mortals would have to accept Gaia's rule, no matter if they liked it or not.

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