Chapter 59: Chapter 55: A Rose by Any Other Species…

Lia stepped through the portal with Rose, an extra bit of energy leaving her as she paid for Rose’s entry.

“Sorry to call you in on such short notice.” Connie said. “But we need to talk about Ira.”

“I figured as much.” Rose replied. “Please, go ahead.”

“I’m going to be frank with you.” Connie said. “Ira’s just too much of a problem to let slide. Were it any other time period, we would let him slide, but between you, him, the disappearance of Amelia, and the upcoming Lord of Monsters, there are too many things going on right now.”

“So…you’re going to help us?” Lia asked hopefully.

Connie smiled. “A little. Look, the item you want for is way out of your budget. But, given the circumstances, I’m willing to give you a discount. Let’s say…you keep working your hardest, and I’ll take all the Blood Money you earn before your showdown. Sound like a deal?”

“What if we earn more than it would cost?” Lia asked. “Seems like we could be cheated out of quite a bit.”

“You won’t.” Connie said flatly. “But, tell you what, I’ll sweeten the deal and let you have your pick of as many items worth five hundred or less Blood Money as you require, provided they have immediate benefits in taking down Ira. And, if by some miracle you do make more Blood Money than that would cost, you can keep the extra.”

“I…suppose I don’t have any reason to disagree, then.” Lia said. “Um…how is Amelia, since you mentioned her earlier?”

“We’ve been working on her in our spare time.” Connie said. “She’s stable, and our optimistic estimates put her as being healed within three months. Worst-case scenario, it takes a year. She won’t be a Hero anymore, but she should still remain more powerful than even the average soldier, and will be much more well-adjusted to boot.”

“That’s good to hear.” Lia said, relief filling her. She hadn’t ever doubted that the gods would be able to fix Amelia, but it was nice to know that it was going to be sooner rather than later.

“Since we’re asking…” Rose said slowly, “I was wondering if you know what happened to the soul of my ex-wife. I thought maybe she might, you know, be…” She trailed off, glancing at Lia, blushed, then turned to look back at Connie.

“No, sorry.” Connie said. “I actually did look into that, and unfortunately, she’s not Lia, nor is she any other member of the swarm. Or…perhaps that’s fortunate. I…look, how much do you remember of the afterlife?”

“Not much.” Rose admitted.

“You two didn’t exactly part on good terms.” Connie said. “And it wasn’t you, it was her. In my opinion, she was being way more entitled than she had any right to be, and after a long time of not getting exactly what she wanted at all times, she left after you told her to temper her expectations. Her soul is…”

Connie paused, frowning. “That’s interesting.” She said. “I was pretty sure her soul was alive and on the planet, at least from my cursory inspection, but now it’s registering as being up here, in the afterlife. She must have died again, but if that was the case, I should be able to get a clearer read on the soul. Yes, her memories were wiped and almost nothing remains of her old personality, but there are always the tiniest hints if you know what you’re looking for. I’ll have to…”

She trailed off, looked over at Rose and Lia, then shook her head as if to clear it. “Sorry. I got distracted and nearly forgot you were here. I’ll look into this a bit more, and I’m sure Jerry would be very interested in my findings, so he’ll probably intervene personally. He always likes these weird edge cases. Anyway, that’s all I had to say, why don’t you two head on back? You don’t exactly have all day.”

“Right.” Rose said. “Thank you, Connie.”

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“I owed you one, so don’t mention it.” Connie said offhandedly. “If you want any future services like this, though, it’s gonna cost you. And by you, I mean Lia. Sorry, you don’t exactly have anything I want.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Rose replied. “Um…how do we leave?”

Lia grabbed her hand and towed her towards an exit portal. “This way.” They exited back into the dorms, and Rose gave Lia a quick hug before separating from her.

“Go get something to eat while I gather everyone.” She instructed. “Fair warning, most of them have evolved, so they’re going to look different than how you remember them.”

“What about you?” Lia asked. “Are you close?”

“Ready to evolve, actually.” Rose admitted. “I didn’t want to do so because leaving the swarm without either of us conscious didn’t seem advisable.”

“Then you go and evolve as soon as you grab everyone.” Lia instructed. “I’m sure we can handle things without you for…however long you’ll be evolving.”

“Analysis pins it as around a day, two at max. You were out for just over two, and I think your current evolution is a little stronger than what I’m about to evolve into.” Rose said. “But, before I evolve, I’ll write up some instructions for keeping up with the current regimen, just in case. There might be some edge cases where people finish their current task or something. Plus, I think it might be nice to have a reference.”

“Just slip it under my door when you’re done, then.” Lia said.

“Will do.” Rose replied. She leaned in and gave Lia a quick kiss on the forehead. “Love you, I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

Lia grabbed Rose, pulled her in for a kiss on the lips, let the kiss linger for a few moments, then let Rose go. “Love you too, see you then.”

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Rose sat down on her bed, then opened up the evolution menu, looking over her options one last time before evolving.

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