“Sorry for the wait,” Abigail said as she stepped back into the office. “It took a while to get a hold of Molly and Babylon, but the Master Alchemist insisted that he double-check the feasibility of transporting Hope’s Memorial.”

  “And what did he say?” I asked.

  The Director gave me a smile. “That you’re a genius, Will. It’ll work!” She went over and enveloped both me and Sarah in a tight hug. “He’s just making final adjustments to ensure the transfer’s safe and that there’s enough room for Sarah to manifest. It shouldn’t be more than a few hours, but Molly will let us know when it’s ready.”

  I chuckled. “Great! And what about the rest of the staff?”

  There ,her smile dimmed. “They…” Abigail sighed and shook her head. “A small percentage of the staff agreed to go with us, maybe 10 in total, but the vast majority have family and friends here. They can’t just leave everything in the hopes of a better future, it wouldn’t be fair for them.”

  I nodded slowly. “I see…”

  Sarah tried her best to remain neutral at the news, but it was impossible to hide her grief. I don’t blame her; the staff here have been a constant part of her life. It just wouldn’t be Hope’s Memorial without all of the staff and patients inhabiting it; hell, I was even weirded out when the place was half-empty on the eve of the Director’s leave, so I can’t imagine what it would be like for Sarah.

  Abigail noticed the issue and gave the girl another hug. “Don’t worry, most of the staff agreed to come back the second we get things fixed, and I gave them a big severance bonus to get through the next few months trouble-free. We’ll be back here before you know it, Sarah, and in the meantime, we’ll have some of Babylon’s people looking after you. Think of it as a vacation, some time to unwind and enjoy yourself.”

  Sarah smiled weakly. “Of course, Director. It’ll be… nice.”

  None of us believed that for a second, but it wasn’t as if there was anything that we could do about it. This was the best we could do in a shitty situation.

  “Yeah,” Abigail continued, trying her best not to look uncomfortable, “I heard Babylon’s place has some great amenities. With the new income we have from the sale of the cookie recipe, we’ll get you that well-needed renovation and fix up those rough spots. Remember that wall we still need to patch up after Alice's last tantrum?

  Sarah chuckled. "I don't think I can ever forget that. Half of the east wing was blown to pieces. My sides still ache sometimes."

  "And speaking of aches, we’ll book a spa day with Molly, it’ll be great!”

  Sarah’s smile grew a little more genuine. “I look forward to that, Director… and thank you.”

  “It’s a plan then!” The Director said, “Anyway, why don’t you take the next few hours and get ready for the move? I still need to sign off on a few documents, and I know Dr. Walter will need to get back to his other tasks.”

  “Good idea,” I added, “I’ll come visit in a few days, once you’re all settled in.”

  “And um,” Abigail whispered. “Can we keep things quiet for the kids? Alice has just started to recover, and Toby only knows Hope’s Memorial. I fear-”

  "Wouldn't dream of it," I said.

  “I’ll think of something to tell them, Director,” Sarah interrupted. “Don’t worry, I won’t allow this situation to affect them.”

  “Thank you.”

  “But can we keep it a secret for long?” I asked, “They’re smart kids.”

  Abigail sighed. “No, we can’t. Still, I think it’s best if we inform them of the situation slowly. Knowing those two, I’m almost positive that they’ll try to help out in any way that they can, and I can already imagine the headache that’ll cause.”

  I pictured a pair of over-eager gods-to-be going on some harebrained adventure trying to stop Central and shivered at the thought. I knew that while Toby was someone who would listen to common sense and reason, Alice did seem like she had a mischievous streak going on. I could totally see the two doing something dumb and getting into a lot of trouble.

  “I’ll tell Molly to keep an extra close eye on those two,” The Director added quickly. “They’ll be safe and out of trouble under her care… probably.”

  “Yeah…” I muttered, “Anyway, let’s worry about all of that some other day, yeah? There’s still a lot to do while we’re still here.”

  Sarah bowed low and nodded. “That is a good idea, Doctor. I’ll see everyone in a few days, in that case. It’s a change, but… I guess it won’t be so bad. I’ll do my best to keep the children busy until we meet again.”

  “Until next time, then,” I said with a wave.

  * * *

  I felt more fatigued than I thought after getting back to the Main Stage. The adrenaline from the prior fight and dread from hearing Abigail’s news had finally worn off, and the after-effects of being in a prolonged fight were threatening to lay me low. Still, it wasn’t the time to relax and nap quite yet. I had a slew of things to do after being away from the guild for close to two weeks.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “So yeah, that’s about everything that happened,” I said, finishing my condensed summary of the events to the rest of the guild, “I’ll have to make a repeat trip back for some administrative things in a day or two, but that’s not going to be dangerous, and I won’t be gone for long.”

  The Regressor nodded slowly, processing the information. “I see. Thank you." He turned to regard my two friends. "And thank you two, Vadeem, Noel, for helping as well.”

  “It was a breeze!” the redhead smirked. “Except that last part; we gotta do something about Walter’s idea of what fun is. His head’s not on right when he plans stuff.”

  “Ugh,” Vadeem muttered, “And it’s only getting worse! Next time we’re going to all be conscripted to do a dance routine at this rate!"

  We all winced at the thought of Vadeem “dancing” again.

  "I say we plan more normal guild activities so that Walter knows what's appropriate and what isn't.” The big man frowned. “What? Why the long faces? Does no one want to go for another fishing trip or something?”

  “No, it’s not that,” I said slowly, "I think it's the dance thing."

  "Uh, what about it? It's just a joke, I don't think you'll actually make us do that."

  Everyone shuddered again.

  “And this is why I wish we had a phone!” Noel chimed in. “You should have seen the dance you performed!”

  Yoona blushed. “Or maybe it’s best to leave that memory behind.”

  “Agreed,” I mumbled.

  “What the hell are you guys talking about?”

  Claire, having been quietly listening in the background until this moment, spoke up. “Ah, um, I should apologize for that. I made you dance when I tried my ability on you, and…”

  “And it was fucking hilarious!” Noel finished.

  Claire looked lost and uncomfortable with the exchange. She was still an outsider at the moment, so seeing the, uh, interesting guild dynamics was probably a little overwhelming for the poor woman.

  “You will get used to them, Claire,” Marcus, who was equally quiet until this point, said. “Don’t be too discouraged by their abilities or the rumors that you’ve heard about the Abyss; just act the way that you wish.”

  “But…”

  “It’s true,” I decided to say, scooching a bit closer to the two in the back. “We have an, er, interesting group of people who make up the core of this guild. There’s a lot of stress and public scrutiny we have to face on a daily basis when we’re outside these walls, so this is really the only time we have to destress and act like the idiots that we are. So really, just act the way that you want. If we can tolerate Noel and Vadeem, I think we won’t be overly mad about anything that you do.”

  “You are a part of this group now, Claire,” the father added, “and we would not function well as the rulers of Pandora if one of our executives does not speak her mind. We will be relying on you going forward, so please, if for no other reason than because your brother is under our care, relax and show your true self.”

  Claire nodded, although I could see that she was still hesitant. Still, a little nudging from Noe’s Emotional Redux ability should fix that real quick, because as loath as I was to agree with Marcus, what he said was true. Claire was invaluable to our operations going forth, and the faster she speaks her mind, the better it would be for everyone here.

  “- I swear, Noel, I do not look like that!”

  “Nuh, uh, you were totally like that! Just ask my bestie or little bro, it was like-”

  “Alright, everyone,” the Regressor said, raising his voice, “That is enough bickering for the moment. Let’s finish this meeting and get things wrapped up. There’s still a lot of things that need to be done before the next Trial.”

  “Boo!”

  “Sit down, Noel!” Vadeem grumbled, all but forcing the woman back on her seat. “Please, continue, Jae-Hyun.”

  “Thank you. There haven’t been a lot of changes since your departure, other than the fact that our public opinion has plummeted to as low as it will go. Thanks to Walter’s efforts, no one has acted out since then, but tensions are still brewing. I’ll need Walter to continue his operations. Walter, this is your area of expertise. Can you please inform the guild about things on your end?”

  I nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. “Well, I did get a chance to get a quick glance at the current situation, and uh, it’s bad. With the floating castle hanging above people’s heads, the newcomers are getting real anxious, and that anxiety’s bound to turn into violence or worse.”

  “What could be worse than violence?” Yoona asked.

  “Unproductivity,” I said, shaking my head. “People are too afraid to step outside their residences. The production staff are not working, regular Aspirants are not spending gold to upgrade their equipment, and they’re not even grinding for levels right now. With the next Trial being what it is, this is something that can’t continue.”

  “So what should we do?” Claire said.

  I smiled. It seems that she’s starting to actively participate in the guild discussions, if only just the formal parts of it. That was good. “We have to do something about that unease. My little resistance force has expanded quite a bit since I left, and it’s about time I made my first show of force to appease the crowd. If they have something to fight for, then that will motivate the general masses to at least do the bare minimum to survive, and for that, I’ll need your help, Claire.”

  “Me?”

  I nodded. “I plan to make an attack on the guild - not on anything that is actually important, mind you - and for that to work, I need a few Aspirants who will absolutely obey my commands to the tee. I can’t afford to make any mistakes here, not if I want to keep the damages to the Abyss guild superficial.”

  “Hence why I’m needed,” Claire nodded. “If it’s only a few, I can do that no problem.”

  “So what do you have in store?” Yoona asked.

  “As per your brother’s instructions,” I winked. “I can’t tell you that. But don’t worry, this should even benefit us.” I turned to Noel. “Say, you still have that list of expendable Aspirants?”

  Noel took a folder out of her inventory and handed it to me. “You know it! The ones crossed out, I’ve already taken care of, but the rest should be accurate. Some of them have joined your little resistance cell; those ones are in red. The rest should be good to use. Go wild!”

  “Thank you,” I smiled and wrote something down on a piece of paper. “And Vadeem, I’ll also need you and your men to get this location cleaned up. I’ll be using it as the stage.”

  He took the piece of paper and read what was inside. “Uh, okay. Anything else?”

  “Just make it look like it’d be some place that the Abyss guild is secretly using. I don’t know, leave out some fake files and stuff around. Things like that.”

  “Sounds reasonable, for once,” he said with a nod. “I’ll have it done by the end of the day.”

  “Make sure no one sees you go,” I added, “Take Noel with you, she’s better at being sneaky.”

  “I’m so good that I can keep even Vadeem’s massive butt hidden!”

  “Good, and I’ll keep everyone else updated as needed.” I turned to the newcomer. “But Claire, if you would please come with me for the next part?”

  “Sure thing!”

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