I’m pretty sure everyone is tired of these Wildcards. The idea of trading cards that let you and an entire academy of super-powered college students fight it out with weapons, magic, abilities, and anything you could and couldn’t come up with absolutely zero consequences sounds cool on paper, straight out of a niche manga.
But then you get to live it out for a few weeks and start seeing the cracks. Fights everywhere, people forming mobs and factions to gain even more power over each other, strong-arm cards, and farm power and influence like a poorly designed MMO. Worst of all are the augment monsters, whose only purpose is to instigate more battles, make a scene, and generally be a pain in the ass. Rumors say they’re working under someone or something, but nobody has a damn clue as to who, how, or why. So I can say in complete confidence that E.R.A. has turned into a straight-up hell.
If you have a bad hand, or your power sucks, or you’re not a capable fighter, or a combination of any of these, you’re screwed. And I think I got the worst of it, or at least one of the worst— the one thing people don’t compete for in here is who’s the biggest sucker, and if they did, most people would point at me as the grand champion :
Ridley Kad’ori.
I wouldn’t blame them.
Between getting kidnapped and forced to make cards using my replication ability for the kind of students that justify the ‘Rehabilitation’ in ‘Electi Rehabilitation Academy,’ and now, to being stuck in the guards’ barracks in a broom-closet-turned-bedroom for the foreseeable future (because even stepping a foot outside is a risk to my well being), I think it’s safe to say I’m the champion of suckers.
And I would wear that medal with pride if it meant people would
leave me alone.
But no.
It couldn’t be that easy; even being stuck here for what feels like months trying to turn blanks into functioning Wildcards isn’t utterly rock bottom. Despite all my attempts at getting them to work, they just didn’t. However, things could be worse even if I didn’t know they could be. ‘How?’ you must be wondering; I’m safe here. No one is dumb enough to go straight to the guards to get me, and the monsters target Electi, so they favor spawning near students, ergo, not here with the mostly non-Electi staff.
Sure, I might be developing cabin fever. That dumb witch poisoning my brain with illusions isn’t helping my mental psyche either, but physically, I’m ok.
That’s what I told myself to cope with everything until a knock on the window came one late evening. My room is pretty high up from the ground, so this could only mean one of two things: one, Gyssabel is about to test her new magic act at my expense, or two…
“Open the window, dweeb, it‘s me! Hurry up!” Kay said through the glass, feverishly knocking.
The student council president is the only good company I’ve been getting here. The first time she broke into my room was to have me make a card for her; the only reason anyone sought me out while this card stuff had been going on. But unlike everyone else, Kay asked. Nicely.
I’m sure that was the first time anyone said ‘please’ to me since I entered ERA. Kay seemed to have good intentions in trying to bring this entire saga to an end alongside her posse in the ‘Four Scaled Clover.’ So, despite initially turning her down since these cards gave me nothing but grief, all it took to fold me was a pretty face and a smidge of manners.
Since then, she’s been floating up here from time to time to hang out with me. I feel like Kay’s only been doing it because she feels bad for me. Still, at this point, I’d take pity over being here alone with the witch, who thankfully stays hidden most of the time while I have company.
I quickly tossed aside my sketchbook and pencil, making for the window to let her inside. The strong Montana mountain evening breeze flew into the room with Kay, throwing all of my sketches and failed attempts into the air. I heard the THUMP of something heavy hitting the floor behind me as I shut the window.
“What’s going on? Did something break—”
“Ah ah ah!”
Kay shushed me, covering my eyes before I could turn around, smudging the lenses of my glasses, and pressing herself against my back to keep me in place. No regard for personal space nor the grievances of glasses owners. At least I could be confident now that it was really Kay and not another Scottish hallucination.
“Don’t look! I brought a… surprise for you! And I need you to promise me you won’t freak out!”
“T-That’s the last thing you say to someone to make them not freak out,” I said, worry already crawling up my spine. I don’t like surprises. “Seriously, what—“
“Hey!” Kay, gently, shook my head, further smudging my glasses. “I’m not letting you go ‘till you promise!”
We stood in silence for a few moments. I took a deep breath.
Whatever this is won’t go away just because I refused to acknowledge it,
as much as I would love for that to be true.
I exhaled. “Okay. I won’t freak out.”
“Promise.”
“… I Promise.”
Satisfied, Kay gently turned me around to the room and slowly removed her hands from my eyes. After my vision was readjusted and a quick wipe of my sleeve on my glasses, I took in my ‘surprise.’
A metallic, humanoid figure coated in silver and glossy cobalt blue lay on the floor of my now slightly messy room. Its short ‘hair’ was slabs of steel spikes; its face was a cracked silver plate lacking any features other than a triangular slit with an LCD screen fitted inside, displaying an ominous red ring acting as its cyclopean eye that stared at me. Its chest was a sort of an angular futuristic engine larger than its head, adorned with a silver ornament proudly sticking on its chest; a sigil.
Skyber’s Sigil.
This was one of the monsters terrorizing ERA.
Right here, in the middle of my bedroom.
My one safe haven in this godforsaken academy.
“W-WHAT IN THE ACTUAL—” I cut myself off. A promise is a promise, and I keep my word. I settled for being reasonably upset. I swallowed and craned my neck to look Kay in the eye. “Kay. What in the actual fuck.”
“…Surprise! What, you don’t like it?” Kay said sadly, feigning disappointment that her giddy broad smile utterly betrayed.
“N-NO! I—” I inhaled sharply in a desperate attempt to keep composure. “…I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but how would you like it if someone dropped a Manifestation in your bedroom in the middle of the night??”
“It’s not just a Manifestation,” Said Kay, excitedly walking over to the robot and propping it up to make it seem like it was sitting. Now, both of them were looking at me. “It’s Metal Pearl!”
“Pearl, as in… your ex. You brought me a killer robot Metal Sonic knockoff Manifestation of your ex-girlfriend.” I couldn’t see how that made it any better for some reason, and my face must’ve said that because her sharp smile grew even wider.
“Awesome, right? It attacked me on my way back to my room—”
“And you brought it here??”
“— and while we were fighting,” she said, pretending to not hear me. “I must’ve knocked a few screws loose; I knocked it off its feet, and the next time it got up it went completely docile!”
That made no sense whatsoever. These things are ruthless. I didn’t fight any of these monsters, but I’ve heard enough of the guard’s chatter about a giant metal bull to know that these things were only here to kill. But sure enough, as I watched Kay help Metal Pearl up to its feet, it made no effort to attack. It just stood there, idly staring at Kay.
“…okay, and s-shouldn’t you have used that opportunity to finish it off?” I said cautiously, instantly regretting it as the robot now had its eye on me. I took a step back, bumping into my desk. Kay, however, had none of that.
“I didn’t think you had it in you to be this cruel, Ridley. For shame, for shame.” She shook her head disapprovingly. “Don’t be so heartless, Marie’s our friend now.”
“She literally attacked you— Marie?? ”
“Marie Pridmore. Y’know, M.P., it’d be kinda awkward to call her Metal Pearl all the time; she deserves to be her own person,” she said confidently, patting Marie on the back. “I believe in second chances, especially if it means I get to have a badass robot friend!” Kay smiled feverishly. I didn’t share the sentiment.
I slumped beside my desk, holding my face as I stared at the floor for any kind of stability. My one lifeline in this whole mess lost her goddamn mind and
adopted a Manifestation.
“I… I-I don’t even know where to start with this.” I muttered, tightening the grip on my face as I felt a migraine coming on. “…wait, what part of this is my surprise then?”
“Well…” Kay tilted her head, looking pleadingly at me.
I did not like where this was going.
“I can’t let anyone else find out about Marie. Especially not Brown or Skyber; they’ll murder my new friend! My roommates will freak out for sure, and the dorm building is generally not a safe space with all the card-wielders in one spot, so I can’t let her stay in my room…”
I suddenly realized what Kay was asking me to do.“W-Wait a second, there’s no way I’m keeping that thing—”
“Marie.”
“There’s no way I’m keeping Marie in my room!” I said, springing up to my feet as I could feel my autonomy slipping away by the minute. “What if somebody walks in on us? What if she attacks me in the middle of the night??”
“Oh come on, Ridley, you’re the only person I can trust!” Kay pleaded, suddenly dropping to her knees with her hands tightly clenched. “Marie can hide in that ugly closet of yours if anybody comes in,” and as if on command, Marie opened the closet doors and stepped inside. “if she tries anything, you could use those blank cards I got for you, right??”
I sighed, “Kay, I don—”
“PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE**
**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE**
**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE—**”
“A-Alright, alright!” I said, holding my hands up to stop her before she turned blue. “Just keep it down, will you? Don’t need anyone hearing you. I’ll, uh… Keep an eye on Marie for tonight.”
“YES! Thank you, Ridley!” Kay lunged at me with the ferocity of a puma, trapping me in a hug so tight that if my cheeks didn’t turn red from flush, they would have from my ribs being crushed to pieces. “I knew I could trust you~!”
Kay released me from her death grip and turned to open the window, the night breeze returning, and just before she jumped, she turned back and now looked to Marie, who must’ve come out of the closet while I was having my ribs crushed.
“Remember what I told you about friendship, Marie! Two-way street!”
Marie nodded to her. I had no idea what Kay was talking about, but she did. With that, Kay closed the window behind her. I could see the faint green glow of her gem as she slowly floated down and then disappeared into the night.
That left the robot and I alone in my bedroom.
The nerves freezing me in place slowly began to thaw but still echoed in my mind as I looked at Marie. Her digital eye snapped to meet my gaze,
and I quickly turned away.
“…wait, she never said how long I’ll be keeping you here, did she?”
Marie flatly nodded again.
I slapped my face hard. I got walked all over. Again. I sighed, moving my fingers to peek at Metal Pearl through my hand, who was still blankly staring at me.
“Uh… N-No offense,” I mumbled, feeling guilty for showing I wasn’t happy with her being here so directly. “S-So, uh… I guess you’ll be staying here for a while, um. D- Do you… need anything, or…?” I felt like an absolute buffoon, talking to a mute robot. To my surprise, Marie moved, which made me flinch. She walked over to my bedside and raised her hand, flourishing her needle-like fingers before sticking them in an outlet on the wall next to my phone charger.
“That c-checks out.”
I wish I had asked her to use a different outlet in the room so she wouldn’t hover over my head while I was sleeping. Still, I was more nervous to talk to Marie than I was afraid that she’d kill me in my sleep.
That, also, checks out.
Safe to say, I didn’t sleep too well that night.
I’m surprised I managed to fall asleep at all in the shadow of Marie looming overhead and staring blankly down at me with her big red eye. I guess being scared shitless is more tiring than I expected.
I could barely open my eyes when I woke up. My head sprang like one of those bobbleheads you see on car dashboards of people who consider themselves ‘wacky.’ As my consciousness returned, I realized the shaking was not in my imagination; my whole body was rocking back and forth. I jolted awake, thinking the obvious came true and that the murderous Manifestation was strangling me to death, only to find my windpipes not in the grasp of metallic fingers.
The shaking was from the carriage I was sitting in; my hands were on my lap, bound by rope. Across me sat a man with scraggly blonde hair and a five-o’clock shadow. Beside him was another man with dark hair, and beside me sat another prisoner dressed in a fine cloak and gagged by a thick piece of cloth with a scary look in his eyes. We were riding down a snowy mountain pass, and it was cold— treacherously cold.
“Hey, you,” said the blonde man across from me. “You’re finally awake.”
You have got to be kidding me.
“—You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there.”
GOD DAMNIT.
“Damn you Stormcloaks,” said the man sitting next to him, the thief. “Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn’t been looking for you, I could’ve stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell. You there,” he said, turning his ragged gaze toward me. I tried not to make my frown too obvious. ”You and me — we shouldn’t be here. It’s these Stormcloaks the Empire wants.”
I was no longer listening; I’d heard this spiel a dozen times before. And apparently, Gyssabel also has; this was one of her most impressive illusions yet. I looked around the carriage for anything unusual. With the detail the witch put in this light show, she must be somewhere nearby. Though, if I did find her, what would I do? My hands were bound.
Or, they seemed like they were. Gyssabel’s illusions seemed so real that the mind struggled to accept them as anything but. I struggled against my binding; if it were an illusion, my hands would go right through it, but I was shocked to feel something physical keeping my hands tied. The material didn’t feel like rope despite looking like it, it felt like fabric.
“Really??” I snapped. That crazy kid tied my hands!
“Seems to be,” the blonde man, Ralof, said as our carriage rode through a gate into a small town surrounded by a tall stone wall with watchtowers looming over us. “That’s General Tullius, the Military Governor. And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves. I bet they had something to do with this.” He had no idea how right he was. Or he did, since he was a figment of my imagination– agh, whatever.
The carriage stopped at the town center beside another one carrying more prisoners. A crowd began to form around us, surrounding us between them and the headsman, holding a giant steel axe that, even without eyes, was hungrily glaring at our necks. We were instructed to get off the carriage, and a mean-sounding Imperial general began listing off prisoners to step forward.
“Lokir of Roricksted,” said the general. The horse thief stepped forward. “No, I’m not a rebel; you can’t do this!” Lokir cried but didn’t wait for an answer before he made a run for the town gate we came in through.
“Halt!” yelled the general. “You’re not gonna kill me!” Lokir yelled back.
“Archers!”
A bowstring went off, and Lokir fell to the ground not a second later.
I started to get worried. Gyssabel was drawing this one out; what’s her aim here? Her illusions are usually not this complex nor this long. Gyssabel tries to scare the shit out of me or embarrass me, usually, sometimes both. But as the first rebel was called to the chopping block and the headsman’s axe cleaved through his neck like it was paper, I knew she had something else in mind. The crowd cheered as the Stormcloack’s head fell to a wooden basket, its lifeless eyes staring at me.
“Next, the nerd!”
I felt a chill go down my spine, overpowering my annoyance at the petty name-calling. I shuffled over to the chopping block, soaked dirty with blood. I felt a boot shoving me down to my knees, freezing blood painting my neck. I knew there would be no dragon saving me at the last moment.
“Last words, scum?” the headsman taunted, the tip of his axe glinting in the sunlight– sparking with electricity. I felt my heart harden. This was her aim; the kick initiated a fight, and now she was about to end it with a single attack. I could only wonder what I had done to make her so mad. As Gyssabel raised her axe up high, I recalled last night’s encounter with Kay and the surprise she left in my hands. In a moment of desperation, I yelled
“MARIE! HELP!”
“Hah, your imaginary squid girlfriend won’t help you now-”\
Nearby wooden closet doors burst open, and in the split second, before his axe found my neck, the headsman suddenly began to float, utter shock painted on his masked face. The illusion broke apart; Skyrim’s mountainous backdrop returned to my room’s faded walls, the carriage I and the other Stormcloaks who vanished to thin air were on turned back into my bed, and the headsman shrunk down into a cloaked, black-haired teenage girl, flailing in the air as Marie held her by the collar.
Gyssabel’s illusions only work on living things. Metal Pearl found Gyssabel effortlessly and plucked her like a rabbit out of a hat.
“What the bloody hell is this?!” Gyssabel screeched as she met the robot’s gaze. Marie plucked the sparking wand out of the witch’s hand and tossed it to the floor, and Gyssabel looked as terrified as I must’ve looked under the chopping block. How the turntables, I thought.
“I should be asking that,” I said, getting up from the floor and rubbing my neck. “You were a second away from beheading me!”
“Only head’s ye ever gonna get ye mangled feckin’ bampot!” she clawed the air for her wand in Marie’s metallic hand but was just shy of reaching it, which I imagine Marie was doing on purpose. “Consiprin’ with te’ enemy, eh?! As if breathin’ the same air I do and boke’n down on me ice cream wasn’t enough! Yer the scum of the earth, Kad’ori! Scum!”
Marie and I exchanged a look, and the next thing I knew, the witch was defenestrated out of my window like the winning throw in the Olympic Shot Put competition. She screamed like the crowd of said winning throw. I ran over to the window; when I looked outside, Gyssabel was gone, and the Terror-Wat Wildcard appeared in my hand.
“Oh, thank God,” I muttered, looking at my prize. I’ve won our battle; Gyssabel isn’t a pile of mangled bones from being thrown from a fourth-story window. She’d only be a pile of nerves looking for revenge, which brought to life a danger that was very much real.
She knows about Marie. And she’s petty enough to tattle to everyone who will make my life hell. I’d expect Charlie to barge in here with a counter-strike team any minute now, or even worse, the dragon. All the people Kay wanted me to keep Marie away from. I had to get out of there while I still could. As if I wasn’t already on thin ice; if they’d found me here with the robot, they’d surely have pegged me for a traitor. And unlike Lily, I don’t have a ‘get out of jail’ card; it’ll be over for me.
All I had to do was leave. They’d find Metal Pearl alone, deal with the Manifestation, and take Gyssabel’s word as another of her tall tales. It’ll be like nothing ever happened. I was convinced. That’s what I’ll do. I turned to the door but found myself stuck. Marie stood behind me, flicking Gyssabel’s wand curiously.
‘Two-way street!’ I remembered Kay’s voice. Marie saved my augmented life despite the risk of being found out. Whether it was because Kay had commanded her to keep me safe or because she considered me a friend, I couldn’t stomach betraying her. I couldn’t let Kay down either; I had to find another way.
I didn’t know what I was doing, but staying here would be a death sentence. Going outside would cause a commotion if people saw a robot walking around like it was nothing. Then, an idea came to me.
“Wear this,” I said, tossing my jacket at Marie as I hurried to the closet. “Keep the hood on, a-and don’t make eye contact with anyone, alright?”
I got Marie some of my spare clothes and picked out baggy pants so none of her plating would stick out. I got Marie a disguise, just as Kay had done for me last time I snuck out of my room. She looked like an out-of-style student in ERA, which is all of them. If anyone asks about the face, I could say it’s an Electi deformity.
I opened the window and gestured to Marie, “Let’s get outta here!”
She nodded, walking over to me and lifting the hoodie over her chest. I quickly looked down at the desk, embarrassed. I scolded myself for flustering over something like this. She ensured her engine didn’t burn a hole through my jacket while she flew me down; there wasn’t even anything to get flustered about underneath it. If this is all it takes to get me red in the face, I really have no hope in this world. Chastizing myself while staring at the empty desk reminded me of something, though. I took out the Terror-Wat card from my pocket and snagged the wand out of Marie’s hand, getting me a curious tilt of her head. I placed them on my desk before ripping a page from my sketchbook and whipping out a green marker to write ‘SORRY’ in big, bold letters. If I kept the wand, Gyssabel would chase me to the ends of the earth, and I don’t need that kind of attention right now. Hopefully my act of… how’d she call this, ‘pussy-ing out’ would get her off my case long enough for me to figure this mess out.
I hung onto Marie’s arm as she climbed out of the window, and just before she jumped, I could’ve heard the knob to my door turn. By the time whoever entered the room, we were long gone.
\
The Electi Rehabilitation Academy is undeniably large, boasting multiple academy buildings, half a dozen dorms, an entire shopping district, and a sports center; E.R.A. is practically a small town. Despite that, I never felt more cramped in my life.
A thousand voices were screaming at each other in my head as Marie and I walked down the road towards the main building, passing by a few students who didn’t pay us any mind— at least one thing went as planned today; nobody suspected her of being a Manifestation. I guessed nobody expected them to wear clothes. And not attack people, that too.
Marie nudged my shoulder as a girl with pink hair flew by us on her rollerskates without a second look. She couldn’t emote, but something in her blank face felt giddy about the plan working. That made me feel a lot better than I thought it would. I weighed my options. The first place people think of when they don’t want to be found out by anyone would be the abandoned building complex on the western edge of the academy, but that’s also where I was rescued from my kidnappers, and they’re still lurking out there. So no. The shopping district is too busy, all it takes is a keen-eyed shopper, and I’m screwed. Besides, the last time Metal Pearl attacked was in the shopping district, and my classmate who worked at the Cafe that time fought it, so I doubt she’d be thrilled to see Marie. Or me, for that matter. I’m pretty sure Artemis is still mad at me for the Orbeez thing.
So, eliminating the obviously bad options like any of the staff areas, the gymnasium, cafeteria, or just hiding in the forest like gnomes, I was left with the main campus building. At first, the library seemed like a good spot since nobody goes to the library these days, but that would be the first place anyone would check for me for that exact line of thinking. I needed to be more creative; where does nobody actually go to?
“So, you finally realized your place beneath me and decided to join the Art Club, Kad’ori?” said Ullah, president of the Art Department, her thick Russian accent as charming as I remembered it. She stood in the doorway to the studio with her arms crossed over her chest. Before the Wildcards broke loose, she’d been pestering me, to put it lightly, to join the Art Club when she found me drawing in the club room without actually joining.
“U-Uh, n,no, just um. Looking for a nice place for the two of us to draw,” I muttered. Something in her horrible gaze scared me out of my wits; how anyone willingly decided to be around her was beyond me. That’s part of why I stopped coming here. I kept a hand on Marie’s shoulder so she wouldn’t suddenly jump at Ullah, I could tell she was thinking about it.
Ullah sneered, not hiding an ounce of her disdain, her large nose wrinkled as she gritted her teeth. “Then you and your shiny friend can look elsevhere. We do not accept freeloaders who think they can barge anyvhere they want and use our equipment like it is their own.”
“W-what? I never touched your equipment, I just drew on my sketchbook! With my pencils!” I was shocked I didn’t just turn tail and run, let alone talk back to Ullah. I glanced back to Marie, reminding myself why I was here.
“The studio IS equipment, дура.”
“You are n-not being serious right now-”
“Enough of zis,” another voice joined. Naomi approached, looking somehow more tired than usual. The apron she wore had fresh paint smeared on it, and her wine glass had nothing but a few drops of the red liquid. She was mid-painting, and if she was not happy about being interrupted, she didn’t let it show. Ullah faced her just in time for Naomi to pinch her cheek. “You’re distracting ze studio vith your ceaseless bickering. Vhat did I tell you about scaring off potential members?”
\
Ullah escaped Naomi’s grip, rubbing her cheek as her anger boiled, but a silent glance from the frog girl kept her quiet. Ullah huffed, shuffling back inside.
“You better draw at your best, Kad’ori. I will not accept mediocrity in my studio.”
Naomi sighed, sticking her long tongue into the glass and sipping whatever was left of her wine. “Don’t vorry about her, mon gros. She’s been under some stress with ze card situation. More zhan usual.”\
“I can… see that.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Is it okay if my friend and I hang around for a while?”
Naomi smiled like I asked an obvious question. “But of course, vho am I to deny aspiring creators? But, you really should consider joining ze club, Ridley. Ve could use someone like you around here.”
“Like what, quiet?”
“Among other things,” Noami stifled a chuckle and walked into the studio, Marie and I followed. The art studio was as empty as I hoped it would be; as much as I disliked the art department president, her repulsiveness was part of why I came here. We settled into empty spots in the corner next to the window. Noami offered us some papers and drawing supplies, to Ullah’s chagrin.
I can’t remember the last time I sat down to draw, for the sake of drawing, that is, and not bashing my head against the wall trying and failing to create functioning Wildcards with the blanks Kay gave me. Everything’s been so hectic, obviously, but even before the cards, I’d been busy worrying too much about the Orbeez incident and then moving out of my horrible dorm… sitting in front of a blank page felt like a refreshing piece of normality, as much normality as I could get with Marie sitting next to me, holding a pencil in her metal claw fingers and staring at me intently as if waiting for orders.
“D…do you know how to draw?” I whispered but didn’t receive much in the way of an answer other than silence. Marie looked down to the page, then back at me. She seemed… confused? It was hard to tell. I can’t imagine Metal Pearl was made with any intention other than fighting to the death.
“You know, d-drawing. Uh, use the tip of the pencil you’re holding on the paper to make a picture of… hm, I don’t know. Whatever you want.”
I was relieved when Marie began to vigorously push pencil to paper. I turned to my blank canvas and sighed. I had no idea what I wanted to draw, let alone what I was going to do. What the hell was Kay thinking, lumping me with Marie? Not even a day passed, and I had already messed up; I couldn’t go back to my room with Marie, and if Kay couldn’t find anywhere else to hide this robot, what chance would I have? Sooner than later, someone will find her and deal with her how they’ve dealt with all the other manifestations.
I decided beating myself up wouldn’t get me anywhere and started sketching something on paper. I’ve been reading a lot more since I got locked down in the guards’ barracks, and my most recent fixation has been on Norse mythology. It was the type of escapism I needed, tales of heroism and debauchery that I lacked, featuring a bunch of idiots doing whatever they wanted because they were just that stupidly powerful. I was in the middle of drawing Thor’s beard when I noticed someone sat down beside me.
“Hey!” spoke a familiar voice. I felt my heart stop. Red glasses, blue hair, pronouns (she/her). Out of anyone who could’ve sat down next to me, the non-metal Pearl was vibrantly smiling at me. “Ridley, right? Gosh, I haven’t seen you in forever! How have you been? Did the ground eat you up or something?”
“Uhh…” I managed, sneaking a glance at Marie. Thankfully, she didn’t notice her biological counterpart or, hopefully, didn’t care. “Y, you know. Fine.” I lied.
“Oh,” Pearl’s cheerful demeanor faltered slightly, effortlessly reading me like an open book, “Is something bothering you? I’ve heard you got kidnapped. if you need any skulls to get cracked, I’ve been getting my fight on lately. I’ll help you out!” she said, raising her fist confidently. That earned her the weirded-out looks of a couple of club members sitting around us. I looked around us and nervously reached to lower her hands back down.
“N,no- no. I mean, yeah, I guess that is a problem, but it’s, uh.. It’s fine, really.” I assured her, in vain, because she clearly didn’t believe me. Pearl scooted her chair closer. “Well, what is it? I’m pretty confident in my ‘Helpful Samaritan’ shtick, lemme give you a hand!”
“I really don’t know—“ I must’ve involuntarily looked at Marie again because when I looked back at Pearl, her expression changed, and I was sure I was screwed.
“Wait a minute,” she said suspiciously as my heart began to fail. “Ahh… so you have that kind of trouble, huh~?”
“what.”
Pearl slung her arm over my shoulder with a smirk as slimy as her voice. “If it’s romance advice you need,” Pearl said to my utter dismay, “I can definitely help you out. I think I have more experience than anyone else in this academy.”
“I wouldn’t be bragging about that,” spoke a girl with brunette hair tied into a tall ponytail with a white bow sitting next to Pearl, glaring at her with narrow eyes and an unamused frown. I don’t think I ever saw her before, but I was glad she spoke up. “If it’s a private matter, you shouldn’t press him like that.”
“O-oh, uh..” that seemed to snap Pearl out of her episode, and she quickly backed off, her cheer squeaking in defeat. “I- I mean, I could help you if you want, of course, haha…”
I had no idea how I could even bring up what was troubling me, especially not to Pearl of all people, considering what is the source of my issues, but frankly, I was stomped. I had no idea what to do, and any council would be good enough for me.
“Well…” I interject, and suddenly, both girls seemed to snap to attention. I could feel my face heat up, and I had a valid excuse for it now, too.
“It’s about my crush,” I said, and the moment I did, I could’ve sworn their eyes had gotten bigger. “She’s… graduating tomorrow, and I didn’t get to tell her how I feel. I’m just w-worried that after she gets out of here, I’ll… I’ll never see her again. I’ll regret never telling her, but what good would it do if she felt the same? She could be half a world apart.”
If you’d twist it somewhat, this was the closest I could tell them about my predicament. Twist a lot, really wring the water out of it. But some parts of it were true: time was running out. By tomorrow, I have no doubt Marie would be found out, and I’d have failed no matter what I did.
The girls looked at me with such pitying eyes I almost started to feel like a starving puppy on the roadside. “Oh, Ridley…” Pearl said, her brows knotted with sheer emotion. I could bet that this was more than the kind of drama she was in for. “You should definitely tell her how you feel, first of all.”
“Absolutely.” the other girl nodded.
“And you’re right; this isn’t fair. She’s leaving so soon, and you won’t have much time together, so you have to make the most out of what you have left! You should be with her, confess somewhere nice!” Pearl said hopefully, looking at me with such a genuine smile I started to feel horrible for lying about having a crush.
“You should give her something,” said the other girl. “You’re an artist. Make her something from the heart so she can have something to remember you by. That way, even if you are far apart, you won’t feel completely separated. And one day, when you’ll see each other again, it’ll be all the sweeter.” She smiled, but it was sad—almost miserable—and the moment I noticed it, it was gone.
She suddenly stood from her chair, holding my shoulder tightly, her emerald eyes piercing me.
“You don’t have a lot of time left, Ridley. You have to go. Now.”
I was too nervous to ask how she knew my name, but I knew better than to question her. She sounded like someone who missed her mark, and I wasn’t about to miss mine. I grabbed my papers and dashed out of the classroom, Marie following me shortly after. I could hear the girls giggling to themselves as she left; robots are not good at being subtle.
\ \ \ \ \
“Wow, that was… that was beautiful,” said Pearl. The other girl was still standing, wistfully looking out the door where Ridley and the hooded girl left and at Ullah stomping after them, shutting the door violently and grunting something about ‘the rat didn’t even draw anything!’ The girl took a breath in and slumped back down to her chair.
“Ah… yeah, uh… guess I needed to let some baggage out,” she mumbled, leaning back. “Not like I’m going to get another chance anytime soon.”
Pearl furrowed her brows, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Do I… have I seen you around here before?” she asked.
Monika sighed.
“No.”
I ran out of the building.
The girls were right—they were absolutely right. No matter what I did, Marie was going to disappear one way or another. Even if, by some fluke, I managed to convince Officer Walker or Skyber not to kill Marie on the spot, she’s not real. Once the Machine is taken care of, she’ll be gone.
A part of me wished the lie I told was real. That I was running to confess to a girl and live my days out in E.R.A., hoping I could see her again. But looking at Marie jogging with me to keep up, knowing I’d made my second genuine friend in this place… maybe this was better. I knew what I needed to do, but I didn’t know how I could do it.
“Confess somewhere nice,” I echoed Pearl’s words. “Where the hell is somewhere nice…?”
The universe must’ve felt compelled to punish me for speaking aloud like I was in some narrative because I ran into a hard surface the moment I said that. I fell back on my ass by Marie’s feet. She clenched her fists, looking up to meet Bob’s hallowed gaze.
Which could only mean one thing.
“Heard ye were lookin’ for somewhere nice te’ be with yer sweet, riddle boy!” Clyde said, walking out of Bob’s shadow with his infamous shit-eating grin. Every ounce in my body yelled at me to command Marie to punt the shit out of that penguin into orbit, but I held myself back. I had more important things to do.
“Clyde, I don’t have time for this; what do you want?”
“Whadae I want? Ye wanae know what I want!?” Clyde’s smile got wider, and I prepared myself for the worst as he stepped closer…
…only to find myself in a tight hug. If Marie had a jaw, it would be on the floor, next to mine.
“I WAN YA TWO LOVEBIRDS TA BE HAPPY!” Clyde sobbed into my chest, to my utter astonishment.
“What the fuck.”
“Clyde’s a hopeless romantic,” said Lily, who I hadn’t seen until she put an elbow on my shoulder, patting Clyde’s back with her other hand as he wetted my pink sweater. “We’ve been tailing you since you threw Gyssabel out your window to beat the shit out of you, but since Clyde heard what you said in the art club, he was dead set on helping you,” she sighed, not even trying to sound disappointed they didn’t stick to their original plan.
I never thought I would be happy to see the three of them.
“Do you… know anywhere nice I could…?” I said, peeling Clyde off of me.
“Of course!” Clyde cawed, wiping his tearful eyes with his flipper. “Lake Bob! Perfect for the season, closest ye can get to a beach in North Montana!” He suddenly spat and turned to his two cronies. “Arright ye lugs! We’re takin’ this sack of shit to Lake Bob, and we ain’t letting nobody get in t’way o true love!” he sniffled, then turned back to me. “And just so we’re clear, ‘tis a one-time thing! Yer sweet weirdly metallic girlfriend’s movin’ out tomorrow mornin’, and then it’s back t’beating yer arse, got it?”
“…r,right.” I can’t say I was looking forward to that, but I’ll take what I can get. The stars are aligning in my favor for the first time. The five of us made for the forest outskirts east of campus until we reached the chainlink fence marking the boundaries of E.R.A. Bob stuck his massive foot into the earth, and a crystal twice my size erupted from the ground, lifting the pole of the fence just high enough for me and Marie to crawl under it. In hindsight, Marie could’ve flown us above the fence, but this has sentimental value.
\
“Alright chucklefuck,”
“Ridley.”
“-this crystal will hold for around three hours. Plenty a’ time for ya to do yer business and get back in.” Clyde said, nudging me with his elbow into my chest and wiggling his eyebrows, which he had. I suppressed a reaction.
“We’ll make sure anything getting close will get the idea they’re not welcome,” said Lily. “Violently.” she flashed a reassuring grin. Bob punched his fist into his hand, sending crystal shards flying everywhere. I’d be touched if they were literally anyone else.
I let Marie go through first, and I followed behind. After a short walk through a dense evergreen forest, the trees cleared out, and before us opened up a massive vista, an enormous lake spreading far into the horizon, surrounded by a pebble beach and forests snaking along its coast all the way through, hugged by the distant mountains. I was too stunned for words. I caught up with Marie, who stood by the water’s edge, looking over Lake Bob. The mountain breeze blew her hoodie off her head, and she looked at me. She had no mouth, but it felt like she was smiling.
“I thought about what Pearl and the other girl said,” I spoke, looking down at the crystal clear water. I could only see my reflection, alone at the lake’s edge. We’re at the limit of the Machine’s range, I figured. Marie looked at me, and I felt my knees getting weaker.
“It’s not fair.” I could hear my voice quivering, and my shoulders slumped. “Out of all the people in this academy, one of the few friends I make is a figment of augmented reality. I Didn’t even get to know you for more than twenty-four hours, and you’ve already done more for me than most people I know.” the words that came out of my mouth tore me apart. I was miserable.
Truly the crown champion of suckers.
Marie tugged at my sweater. I looked up at her with burning eyes and was met with a folded piece of paper in her open palm. I took it, opening it to find a pencil drawing of… me. It was abstract and messy, like a picture from the GameBoy Camera, but it was undeniably me. Something from the heart to remember her by.
“…it’s perfect. Thank you.” I said, sniffling, and gently placed the drawing in my pants pocket. My resolve was steeled; I could do it.
Marie won’t be able to exist for much longer, not as Metal Pearl, not as a Manifestation. I could fix that. At that moment, I knew she was what I was missing all this time. I pulled a blank Wildcard from my pocket, took a deep breath, and offered my hand to the robot. She pulled me into the warmest hug her cold metal frame could offer. We stood in each other’s embrace for hours, and by the time I let go, I stood alone by the water’s edge with a silver Wildcard in my hand.
I tied my jacket around my waist, turned to the academy, and started my trek back. As the fantastic lake view disappeared behind a veil of trees, the wind began blowing at my face. The grass under my feet turned to snow in the blink of an eye, and the academy’s chainlink fence miraculously turned to stone walls.
Gyssabel stood atop the wall, holding her headsman’s axe with a wild grin.
“Can’t trust nay cronies these days, ye want somethin’ done right, ya do it yerself!” she said, Terror Wat sparks running across the blade of her beheader. “I let ya have yer tearjerker ya pathetic excuse of a man! Now it’s time for payback, and there ain’t no robo-wife t’bail ya out, pick-me!”
“I don’t need one,” I called back, unable to hold back my grin as I clenched the Wildcard in my hand, crushing it in my fist. I didn’t expect to be able to see them so soon, but I couldn’t complain. A familiar red glow appeared before me.
“TYR, LET’S DO IT!”
“THAT’S STILL YER ROBO-WIFE YA BUFTY TUBE!”