Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The Floor of Literature is an endless expanse of moving diagonal bookshelves, stairwells and towers of crates containing what seems to be lightbulbs, and thousands of lights dangle from the ceilings. The moving bookshelves make the illusion of the floor being alive, almost, as if veins running along the floor to pump blood through a lifeless library, whilst the towers of crates seem like the bones of the library, crooked as they are, working to keep the entire floor firm and supported. Meanwhile, the dangling lights work hard to cover the entire floor in a warm, gentle light, as if seeking to embrace everyone upon the floor in its gentle splendor.

Chapter Text

The Floor of General Works.

A floor comprised of towers upon towers of books in the distance, forebodingly so. Even just one of these towers of books put the likes of the totality of two skyscrapers to shame; A tower of knowledge, infinite and vast, ascending from the void and reaching beyond the heavens, or whatever was in their place. 

Yet even more concerningly was the walls behind those towers; Certainly, it looked like regular walls of bookshelves; Until one realizes that these bookshelves are larger than the towers by far. And far taller.... Infact, if one were to simply use their brain, one would realize that a singular book from those impossibly large shelves would be more than enough to cover the entirety of a manor of considerable size, possibly twice over.

Underfoot, as well as the totality of where the Assistant Librarians operated, was a highway running across all of General Works, made of impossibly sturdy books... As was everything else.

And, currently, on this floor....

"SHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT-" One Assistant Librarian said, ducking for cover behind a pile of books.

Moments after, lances of ice and Atelier Logic Bullets blast out towards them, taking chunks out of the tops of their cover. 

Enter Mable. A short woman with brown, straight hair going down to her nape, and porcelain skin. One of Mable's arms seemed entirely metallic, somewhat rustic and rusty seeming. A real steampunk, nuts and bolts aesthetic, but a keen eye would note that her prosthetic arm holds that appearance because it simply has so many compacted parts that it required that appearance in order to house all of it. Mable's eyes, both orange and visibly panicked, had one of the eyes a much more vibrant, unnatural shade of orange, with a black Sclera and Iris. The other eye had a more dulled, natural shade of orange, with a white sclera and, also, a black iris. She was wearing Green Stem, namely the sort that would be extracted at L.Corp. Unlike Ray from Literature who moved from History, Mable simply bore Green Stem on General Works because she didn't find any reason to move down to History..

Asides from the workload. Speaking of, Mable peeks over her covers...

And finds three different rampaging abnormalities.

The Heart of Aspiration, Snow Queen, and Pinocchio. 

Now, one typically would expect Angela to simply send the most competent fighters, which she suggested. However, a certain man in black said that they 'Totally got this,' so now they're in this situation.

Mable groans, looking over to Roland...

Who was dead as of the current moment. Booked, abandoned on the floor.

"I hate this workload..." Mable grumbled under her breath, before rushing from behind her cover towards another bit of cover, her blurring form narrowly avoiding another Atelier Logic shot from the Pinocchio who was still imitating the Patron of General Works. 

Under this next batch of cover, she worriedly eyes another Assistant Librarian...

"PLEASE tell me you brought your book, Miho."

Miho dejectedly raises up both hands to show her lack of book. "It was taken from me from a Pinocchio-01."

Miho was a lady with ivory-toned skin and blonde hair. Her eyes were a faded, light sky blue, and her attire was one of an Assistant Librarian of General Works. A fairly recognizable outfit, one which I'm sure everyone knows well. She was lacking her 'signature trait' of sorts, that being a black leatherbound book with a golden shine coming from the pages.

Regardless, Mable clicked her tongue and looked around. "Where's Venus and Hedric?! Please don't tell me Venus got snagged by her Pinnochio..." Mable was clearly distraught and trying her best to keep herself as coherent as possible, though it was certainly a noticeable struggle to do so.  Vines began to sprout from around her prosthetic arm and form into a spear, as she prepared herself to fight back against the Abnormalities alone if they couldn't regroup in time.

Miho, with her brows furrowed and expression focused, pointed towards another spot of cover. "Hedric's having doubts and Venus is singlehandedly fighting off Silent Girl right now." Miho's eyes don't dawdle however, as they scan the area, before pointing towards a Pinocchio carrying a black leatherbound book. "And my book is right over there. I think you know what's going to happen from here." Miho's voice was calculating, certain, as if she already planned out the next 4 scenes in advance and were rapidly working to plan out the fifth. 

Mable nods, and soon the spear of vines fades back into her E.G.O suit, before she darts forth, piercing the air with her very body to dive behind the cover Hedric was reportedly huddled behind. Rounding the corner, she looks down, knowing the man she'll soon see...

A man with sheet white, pale skin, as if under Cognition Filter, with a W.Corp branded hat and chestplate on, black in nature, with that ever-iconic W.Corp Logo. That being a line facing to the right, piercing through another line that was going up and down in a zigzag motion. A pair of dark blue pants and black kneeguards also adorn the man, whose gauntlets grip. These gauntlets, also being black because W.Corp, had a gauge, no, rather, a meter on their sides, sparking and filled with energy. The man's greaves also shift; These greaves being suited with that meter of energy.

The man had red hair and purple eyes, and was shuddering somewhat, taking deep breaths... Though not out of panic, moreso... Nervousness? The man was muttering to himself as well.

"It's gonna be fine, I can do this, I've got this... Just like any other day, yeah? okay, okay, breathe in and outttt... In... and out..." Hedric kept mumbling while looking at his knees, taking reassuring breaths...

Mable's eyes soften as she moves, gently sitting next to Hedric and patting his back.

Hedric, startling, flinches and looks to Mable in shock.

Mable gives a warm and reassuring smile back. "Hey, you know how this goes, right?" Mable's tone is somewhat playful, as if expecting it to be obvious. 

Hedric blinks a couple of times, before shuddering somewhat and looking away. "I-I..." Stammers came out, as he attempted to find the words...

Which elicited a fond huff from Mable as she shook her head, patting Hedric on the back again. "Come on, Heddy, I know it's always hard, but you said it best yourself, right? This' just another situation where you're hesitant to take the plunge... But that doesn't mean you don't want to." Mable's hand, which had placed itself firmly on Hedric's back, gently caresses Hedric's spine with her thumb to ground him. "Rather, you want to more than anyone, don'tcha?" 
Mable's voice was soft, tender, familiar. A gentle, featherlight kiss upon the familiar man's senses, a touch by the light that floods one's senses and leaves them truly seeing through unclouded lenses the innately human desire to aid another, even without reason. 

And it's through this voice that Hedric has come to recognize so familiarly that he finally untenses... And nods, a smile upon his face. "Right," He says, his gauntlets not so much as sparking as they did overcharge themselves, the meters beginning to seep out energy as a would-be-overload began to simply settle into his gauntlets... As the man stood up, and looked within himself, shutting his eyes and breathing in deeply.

He feels it calling out to him, again...

He feels the call...

Of

EGO.

For what purpose do I always stand despite this burning sensation in my gut...?

I know why. I always know why, that's the thing. It's just hard for me. Hard for me to shake off the sensation, hard for me to push through this shameful wretch in my gut.

I know this. I've done this time and time again... But in the end, the conclusion is the same. I want to be loved, yet because I alone want to be, and for no other reason. I don't need another's validation, I don't need to satiate a lacking need...

No, I just want to be adored. Because I like the sensation, because I relish the wanton indulgence, and because I allow myself to dig deeper into this pit...

I am a miserable, horrible thing, and yet despite that I'll stand. Despite that, I'll stand as tall as I ever have...

...And I'll plummet whilst standing.

Plummet into the deepest depths I know, because they can't bring their heads up to look at me no matter how brilliantly I shine.

So even if this shameful doubt sinks deeper and deeper still, even if I'm at risk of drowning in it, I'll continue to dive headfirst. Even deeper than before, yet I'll still shine, because...

"If I could sink so low that everyone who can’t bring their heads up would look at me with those fond eyes…"

...then I think I'd be happy to be me.

...And Hedric re-opens his eyes.

His E.G.O was not anything flashy. It was a black cape on the outside and a red cape on the inside, yet shadows danced underfoot and rose out of their confines, pushing against the bounds of what once was and what never will be. Infact, the shadows were sent into a spiral of worship and reverence, like a cheering, roaring crowd of adoration that followed underfoot, pushing him up so he did not sink... And his cape, whilst it was perhaps only hiding his back, and no other shows of E.G.O were apparent, was that so wrong? Must E.G.O hide oneself if the nature of the E.G.O is being, despite all of the shame of the world, willing to show oneself?

Effloresced E.G.O :: Abyssal Pining.

One of five EGOists of the Library, Hedric began to stride out of his spot of cover towards the Abnormalities.

He could feel their gazes, burrowing into him, thinking thoughts that were likely stained by their nature.

Involuntarily, Hedric could imagine them all, thoughts that they would think towards him, thoughts of mocking, disinterest, and everything vile... But Hedric stood despite that. The shadows underfeet only danced more violently, as if cheering the underdog of the show...

Hedric raises his hands, gauntlets charged with energy.

Mable rushes to his side, and points Green Stem forwards. "That's more like it." Mable smiles, voice still warm, before it sharpens and becomes more intense. "Now, let's show these idiots how it's done, yeah?!"

Hedric puts on a shaky but happy smile and he nods. "Let's..."

Scene 1

Hedric makes the first move, rushing towards Pinocchio, who fires Atelier Logic bullets at him in a flurry of pistol shots, before Pinocchio switches to the Atleier Logic shotgun and fires it without a care for range. Unlike Roland who simply knew the shots would connect due to their sheer velocity anyway, the Abnormality simply mimicked what it knew.

Hedric swung their cape forth in response, and the shadows awoke, forming into jagged spears that formed into a wall infront of him. The Atelier Logic bullets which would normally shatter anything found themselves entirely stopped by the wall of shadows, before Hedric raised a gauntlet and punched into the wall. A Ripple emitted from his gauntlets and shattered the shadows forth into the Abnormality made of wood, getting jagged shards of darkness imbedded, before Hedric turned around and snapped his fingers. The shards of shadow suddenly morphed and sharpened all around the Abnormality, then surged into Pinocchio without any room to react, moving at the speed of quite-literal light, as what was Shadow but another extension of light? What mass was there to have physics apply to? 

However, as flashy as the blow was, the Pinocchio was still standing, rather they hardly looked winded, as they instead drew Crystal Logic, swinging forth at Hedric.

"-Lying is pretty bad, you kn... Wait, uh, can I say that again-" Hedric turns back around, and suddenly in his hands were Crystal Atelier, as he steps back before swinging his arms down, a black flash in the shape of an X emitting as Hedric was on the other side of Pinnochio, before Hedric adeptly swiveled on his heel and, swinging his arms upwards this time, appeared back infront of Pinocchio with another X-shaped flash of blades overlaying Pinocchio. "-Lying is a ffhhol-"

Hedric ignores the fact he bit his tongue, the flush on his face being irrelevant to combat as he turns back around, 

Before noticing the Snow Queen raising her spear. Disengaging from the Pinocchio he was engaging with, Hedric rushes forwards with a ripple from the shadows underneath him, launching him forwards as his greaves begin to rapidly spark.

The Snow Queen slams the spear down onto the ground, emitting a large wave of frost, but Hedric swings their leg and forms a large rift in space, causing the surging frost to be absorbed into the tear in space. Soon after, another tear in space opens underneath the already injured Pinocchio, and surges into them, encasing them in ice.

Hedric, still in the air, uses the leg they didn't swing to land onto the ground before swiveling and jumping, back facing the Snow Queen before they swing their gauntlet-covered hand around, turning their entire body in order to gain momentum for a massive RIPPLE in space itself to emit from the punch that landed, knocking the Snow Queen prone onto the ground as Hedric was sent flying backwards from the force of his own blow.

Hedric huffs, the shadows around him rising as he adjusts his gauntlets to cycle energy and recharge somewhat, glancing to Mable.

Mable, meanwhile...

The Heart of Aspiration was covered in roots and vines, as Mable deftly spun her spear to deflect the swinging veins and the lungs that backed up the massive heart. After parrying the flurry of organs and veins, Mable stabs Green Stem into the ground, causing vines to rise up and pierce into the lungs, making them disappear in a flurry of pages. Soon after, Mable noted the Snow Queen lying prone on the ground, so she takes a step backwards, gripping Green Stem in her prosthetic hand and raising it over her head.

"Like a certain someone would say...."

And with a loud click and hiss from her prosthetic arm, she suddenly tosses Green Stem,

And the air ripples thrice as she does, waves of air contorting from the sheer force Mable emitted as she hurled the spear through the Heart of Aspiration, downing it instantly, before it nailed the Snow Queen in the chest, and burst out into dozens of vines entrapping the Snow Queen within...

"That's that... And this' this. Khhhehehe." The smuggest little smile formed on Mable's face as she glanced down at her prosthetic. Several parts were severely out of place from the exertion, but that's what it was designed to do. All of those compacted parts, rigged to burst out in one massive blow, even if it meant Mable would be a fair bit weaker for a time...

"-Hedric!" Mable shouted, before pointing towards the only moving Abnormalities that were around, the Pinocchio-01 minions.

"Before the other two get out, get Miho her book!" Mable calls, worriedly glancing at the Snow Queen beginning to freeze and wilt the vines around her, and the main Pinocchio's ice being slowly cracked as if about to burst open.

Hedric nods, and breathes in and out.

First, he raises his gauntlets and forms a Dimensional Rift, also charging his gauntlets as he does. He then leaps into the rift, exiting next to one of the Pinocchio minions, before leaping over them and forming yet another Dimensional Rift, using his momentum to fly into that one as soon as it was formed.

This repeats, as a black blur flies around the Pinocchio minions several dozen times over, forming more and more and more dimensional rifts as he goes, before suddenly the shadows under the set of minions reaches up to snag the Abnormality Offshoots by their spindly wooden legs, tying them to the floor as Hedric emerges from one last rift, extremely high overhead.

Hedric raises his gauntlet, then soars downwards at top speeds, blurring, afterimages trailing, as he then slams down into the ground with a fist and Ripples Space.

An offshoot of Rip Space,

Creasing a massive wave of blue spatial distortion that emits from the point of impact, washing over everything around him and threatening to crush the surrounding abnormalities outright, yet the Pinocchios remain in place, forced to bear the full brunt up close due to the shadows tying their legs. 

Hedric then, only a mere second later, raises his other gauntlet. Having only used one gauntlet's energy for that massive ripple. The shadows pull the many Pinocchios closer to Hedric, which makes the many wooden abnormality offshoots raise their stake-like arms in preparation to attack,

Only to be met with Hedric performing a spin, using an ever familiar Rip Space with his other gauntlet, except this time in a circular motion, ripping into the space of the many Pinocchios. In a flash that warped color and space, Hedric tore an arm off of each Pinocchio due to them having raised their arms earlier. Hedric then swiftly dives for the book that one of them dropped, a black leatherbound, before bolting into one of the many Dimensional Rifts that he had formed and leaving the many Pinocchios trying to stab into the many rifts around them, trying to find the right one that Hedric would come out of.

But Hedric came out of none of them, having formed an entirely new one and dropping next to Miho with a tired huff.

"I'm going to need a second to catch my breath, but..."

Hedric smiles at Miho.

"Shouldn't be a problem for you, will it?"

Miho only smiles, taking her book back from Hedric and opening it, the pages fluttering to a golden glow.

"Hardly."

Miho emerges out of cover, and points a finger forth.

At this time, Snow Queen had cut loose from the vines that bound her, and the main Pinocchio had burst free from the ice with a swing of Wheels Industry...

Mable's prosthetic arm had set itself right with some tinkering as well, as they now readied for

Scene 2

Hedric stayed back for this one, still needing to catch a breath, refocus his inner light, and recharge his gauntlets.

The shadows binding the Pinnochio offshoots faded due to proximity and Hedric's need to conserve energy, leaving Miho and Mable to clean up the mess.

Which, they began... 

With Miho tossing up a set of six pages into the air, which seemed to stop mid-air and then form something out of the golden glow.

Miho pointed a finger forwards...

"Fire."

As from the golden pages came many different firearms. The Thumb's bayonetted rifle and a certain pistol, Full Stop's triad of a pistol, sniper rifle and a regular rifle, and lastly a certain orange and black rifle courtesy of R.Corp.

You see, whilst The Library did not keep the books of their guests, nor did they keep the key pages,

They did keep some odd pages here and there, especially due to the scattered nature of the release. And considering the sheer size of the Library, they had at least one copy of every card they could compile into a book.

That very book is the one that Miho wields...

And so it is not much of a surprise when the sextet of guns begins to lay down the fire, shots flying rapidly for a few seconds and covering the entire floor in gun barrel flashes, battering the remaining Abnormalities with a hailstorm of bullets.

Whilst the Abnormalities were distracted, Mable formed another Green Stem spear and stabbed it into the ground...

And Mable breathed in.

"If I am to bear this malice, let us bear it towards them, who prevent us from blossoming even a singular leaf of life...."

She shut her eyes and focused as the Abnormalities were battered by bullets, until a resonating choir of out-of-ammo guns resounded.

"If I must be the tainted apple that will make them all wilt.... Let us quench this loneliness. We know we are a blessing for someone else; Let us be a blessing for them..."

Vines, withered and dry, began to dance around Mable's feet.

"And let us bring those who dare to try and spread the loneliness like vines a sleep they will never wake from."

Vines burst from the floor around the Abnormalities, stabbing into them and binding them, as Mable sweat somewhat, bearing this power from her own will and none else's.

Even as Life crumbled, she refused to let her own malice die...

Yet she refused to let that malice run wild as well. This malice would be tempered, the vines, as withered as they were, would always grow towards water so long as she willed them to.

And one day, even this bitter apple may find herself no longer abandoned as she was.

"-Miho!" Mable called,

And in the next instant there was fire and flame.

Miho spun the Guandao that had manifested... And there was a raging storm.

Harm, Love, like Yin and Yang, flooded the area in swings and swaths of flame. Blazing into the vines, withered as they were, and blazing them in a glorious flame of life...

For a time, Miho was fire...

Yet no fire could melt the frozen palace.

Miho lets out a noise of irritation, seeing Snow Queen at the forefront, having shielded Pinocchio from all harm.

Mable grits her teeth, yanking Green Stem out of the ground... "Ghh... She always was the most annoying one..."

Snow Queen raised her spear,

For Kai had not yet met Gerda, and spring had not yet come...

However, as the Snow Queen thrust their spear downwards, it did not find the ground.

Scene 3

"Do you believe what you see?"

A new voice, one that sent Mable and Miho to sigh in relief, dropping to the floor.

"Of course you do. You are meant to, and know nothing but what you should be."

"However, is that truly how you must be? Do you truly believe what you see, what you know?"

"These questions... Are not ones I enjoy, yet ones that I know better than anyone else."

"So if I must define what you see..."

An orange magical circle was under the Snow Queen's spear, preventing it from stabbing into the ground.

As there was a woman dressed in a long-sleeved, dark violet dress whose edge resembles an ink cap. Moonlight from Il Pianto della Luna. The woman grasped a set of black pages with blue letterings in her right arm, her somewhat messy red hair breaking into a ponytail. She bore a red bonnet with a pink rose and a yellow bell draping off to the side. On her chest is a purple heart that was once paired with a yellow one, a fragment of a fragment from far, far away.

The woman's red hair was draped over her right eye, her left eye being visibly red with a black sclera, and on her left cheek was a crooked musical note....

As she raised her left arm and snapped her fingers.

And orange portals and contracts begin to form in the air, as a skeletal black tail whips against the ground.

Pluto, the re-distorted Pluto, was yet booked in the Library during the expulsion of the light, aft all.

So there would be a wielder of Yesterday's Promise...

And so the Abnormalities were slammed into with contract after contract forcibly signed in their ink.

"Then I shall define what you see as falsehood and watch you despair at this eclipsed moon."

The Pinocchios attempted to raise their borrowed movesets and learn the magics, but the contracts that were forced upon them read; 'One must fight with their own strength, and when they do they will be rewarded.'

In breaking the contract, the Pinocchios began to fall apart as if rapidly decaying. The more they 'Learned' the more they decayed, until all that was left were severed strings and decayed wood, which soon burst into pages upon the ground.

The Snow Queen, in rage, shot forth splinters of ice towards the woman, who merely formed a circle of orange magic, a barrier, to block...

And soon the Queen of Snow fell to her knees, for the contract of Might had decreed; 'One will be given the strength to overcome anything so long as they put forth all of their efforts into a singular strike.'

Wrought low, the Queen's palace would melt. Though if not because of Spring, it would be because there was no winter nor spring to begin with; As what was real in the presence of a promised truth yesterday that was broken today?

With a flick of a wrist...

A barrage of magical hands pierce into the vulnerable Queen and shatter her into pages.

Curtain Call for the reception of General Works Abnormalities

...The Woman who bore Pluto's Keypage sighed.

"It's never... pleasant, to engage in a reception, is it..."

Mable steps over, patting the red-haired woman on the back with a big grin.

"Stellar work as always, Venus!"

The red-haired woman, Venus, looked to Mable with an appreciative smile, before the joke registered... And Venus couldn't help but happily laugh.

There was then a loud sound of fingers snapping...

And lo and behold,

There was the Director herself, with crossed arms and furrowed brows.

Angela lets out an irritated sigh, surveying the situation. "I would presume that Roland put you all in unnecessary trouble again?" The synthetic voice of the Director asked, clearly irritated.

Venus nods, Mable gives a thumbs up, Hedric peeks over the cover of books he was behind shyly, and Miho bows in apology, stating "I am truly sorry for not handling this sooner, Miss Director."

Angela shakes her head. "There is no need to apologize, you all performed your jobs..."

The Director paused, eyes unfocused for a fraction of a fraction, her perception of time allowing her to switch her perception and thought process on a dime, far swifter than any human would.

The Director of the library, Angela, then softened her expression and regarded the assistants. "No, rather, you all did more work than you had to considering the Library's current state, and I thank you all for that." The synthetic voice of the director became as warm as it could towards her gathering of Assistant Librarians. Indeed, this was a mess, and indeed, Roland could have directed things far more efficiently, yet the Assistants were there when the others slipped, always reliable helping hands ready to be used wherever needed and often fit any role required, many of whom sympathized and adored her. To Angela, it would be a lie to state that the Assistants were anything less than invaluable. . . 

Though, the Director did not state that aloud, merely leaving it at a brief thanks for the moment.

"I will be having a discussion with Roland later about his management of the abnormalities. For now," Angela raised her two fingers, snapping them..."

"-GUAH?!"

And a startled cry emitted from the unbooked Patron of General Works,

Roland.

"Roland." Angela's brows furrow into a glare towards Roland.

"Eheheh... Hey, Angela." Roland says with a nervous smile, as he rubs the back of his neck somewhat.

"We will be talking about this later." Angela forewarns.

"Aw, cmon, can't a guy catch a break...?" Roland playfully complained.

"No, you cannot." Angela says with a bit of a playful smile of her own.

Roland sputters somewhat, looking betrayed, though Angela recognizes it as yet another human exaggeration of expression and act of playfulness. 

"Apologize to your assistants first, if you will." Angela states, before turning away and beginning to step away for the moment, leaving them all to interact amongst eachother.

Roland sighs, shaking his head somewhat and standing on his own two feet, looking around...

He had a funny feeling.

As Roland surveyed the area, he saw Mable interacting with Hedric, hyping the man up somewhat. He saw Miho beginning to follow after Angela, and he saw Venus approaching him.

'Yeah, seems about right,' Roland thinks.

With a sigh, he looks towards the approaching redhead with a slight smirk...

With : Roland and Venus

Venus walks up to Roland with a sound reminiscent of an exasperated sigh, though it was a mere mockery or shadow of it, as there was a subtle yet noticeable fondness in the heaving sigh that Venus emitted. She, one arm still hugging a set of contracts close to her stomach, raised her other hand up to unhesitatingly reach up and put a hand on Roland's head, before mercilessly rubbing it back and forth. "Honestly..."

Roland in response could only playfully laugh, being forced to lean down somewhat by the relentless 'assault' that Venus inflicted upon his head, as he raised one arm into the air as if to haphazardly 'guard' himself. "Hahahaha, what can I say?" Roland slinked away from Venus' 'onslaught' before he stood back upright with a cheeky grin, moving one of his hands onto his hip. "I'm-"

Venus, not letting Roland get away with it again, crossed her now-free arm under her occupied arm's shoulder to 'cross her arms' as well as she could, as she raised a brow somewhat. "-Took on the extra work so we wouldn't bother any of the other librarians you've come to know and appreciate for who they are?"

Roland flinched and stuttered, almost physically stumbling over himself as he looked at Venus as if he was shot with an Atelier Logic bullet in the gut.

Venus sighs, rolling her eye tossing her contracts away and scattering them into the nonexistent winds of the Library, before she reached up and clasped Roland's cheeks with both hands. Her singular red eye softly yet sternly looked into Roland's. "Roland, with all due respect, you ought to practice Chesed's teachings more often, okay? Have faith in us more. You aren't in the cycle, and you have the eye to see that, yes?"

Roland opens his mouth-

"And," Venus gently scolds, narrowing her one eye, "You have the right idea to want to protect the others, but do realize that just because you have the expectation that you need to do unseen and unappreciated work, that it won't happen like that. I'll know. We'll know. Okay?"

Roland can only sigh, slumping in defeat as he nods somewhat.

Venus' narrowed eye softens as she pulls away, a smile forming on her face. "Honestly, what would you do without me to give you constant reminders?"

Roland huffs, looking away as if unamused. "Oh, I don't know, get scolded a whole bunch more I'd bet...?"

Venus softly giggles, shutting her eye. "Ah, yes, I suppose that would be the most likely outcome to occur."

Roland snorts, looking back to Venus and pursing his lips in playful amusement. "Yes, yes," Roland waves a hand in the air, "I'd be dead in the water without Today's Promise, as usual..."

Venus, a faint flush of embarrassment forming, pouting a tad as she rolls her eye. "So we're resorting to nicknames now, hm? Quite fitting for a Grade 9 Fixer."

Roland laughs somewhat, arching his back upwards as he does. "Ha! I guess you got me there, Miss Venus~"

Venus, unhesitatingly, forms a magical hand and flicks Roland's forehead with it without moving either of her actual hands. "Just Venus, or shall I tell Angela to call you 'Sir Roland' for a while?"

Roland shudders. "Sorry, Venus, I'll stop there." Roland says in the most pathetic voice he could muster.

Venus, seeing through the act, simply lets out a satisfied hum and upturns her head somewhat...

"Well, just remember that I recognize you, okay?" Venus leans inwards and moves her hands behind her back, as she doesn't so much as ask for clarification as she shows the depths of her genuine care through showing her willingness to approach and engage, to keep extending that olive branch time and time again. And with a voice that seemed to almost silently be emitting a melody nobody can hear, yet everyone can listen to... "I mean it, like I always do. No matter how many times you despair at the moon, I'll repeat this performance as many times as I need to ensure you know you're loved, Roland."

With that, Venus turns, forming magic hands of orange to grasp the contracts she had scattered, before she begins to walk away...

...Roland can only sigh in exasperation and fondness.

"I'll never get used to you."

With : Mable and Hedric

Back when Angela showed up..

Hedric tensed up somewhat seeing the Director, thinking that his entire floor was in trouble for this massive mess.

Mable, glancing over towards the sheepish man, could only smile somewhat.

A light, carefree skip, and Mable was by Hedric's side, patting him on the back. "That was awesome as always, Heddy!" Mable cheered somewhat with a large grin. "Gave those abnormalities a proper shakedown for their ahn, that's for sure!"

"Huhwhat- O-Oh! Yeah, uh-" Stuttering due to the sudden snap out of his thoughts, Hedric glances around nervously, his eyes darting to the individual books on the floor. Yet a bubbling joy rises in his mind from the praise, one that also brews shame for how 'simple' and 'easy' he was. Yet the deeper he sank, the more others adored... So was it that bad that he was ashamed? Rather, he should be proud of this shame.

With a puffed out chest, arms flying upwards as if to grasp or break the sky, and a twinkle in his eye, Hedric nodded and cheered with a smile, "Yeah- YEAH! I did great! I took them on!!" 

Mable could only laugh happily, before grinning and pumping a fist up into the sky as well. "YEAH! Heheh..."

...A loud and mood-souring sigh emitted from Mable's chest, as she then looks around to the mess of books.

"We're gonna have to fix this ain't we."

Hedric looks around and swallows.

"...Y-Yeah, we are, aren't we..."

Mable huffs and rolls her shoulders, flexing her prosthetic arm and leg... "You go and get the holes in the floor and I get to working on the toppled piles?"

A swift nod from Hedric as the shadows awoke with his beckoning, his E.G.O remaining for a moment as they rushed towards the tears and punctures in the floor.

Mable stretches before bolting over towards the piles of knocked over books, being next to Hedric one moment and over by the books the next, before she begins to rapidly sort the books. Her prosthetic eye functions faster than most could fathom, so every book title is memorized in an instant and then associated with a pile, which Mable's augmented speed swiftly puts back together.

Meanwhile, Hedric's shadows race to collect the scraps of debris and mold them back together as swiftly as possible, whilst the man himself focuses on maintaining his E.G.O's activated state by sorting through his thoughts.

There was always more work to do on General Works, and despite the fact they had essentially limitless time, they never had enough time to complete all of it.

With : Angela and Miho

Angela had been striding away whilst internally checking up on all of the others floors. The Library was her E.G.O after all, so she was aware of everything ongoing within.

Every errant tremor or disturbance of wind, every twitch of muscle from the beings within and every flicker of light that would otherwise go unnoticed.

The choice of awareness was a voluntary one, an effort that the Director only made when there was not much else to do in the space around her. For even as the perception of time for the A.I was 100x slower than most, the sheer vastness of The Library was enough to make even her processors need a bit of time to acknowledge everything and decide on what the next move should be.

The liveliness from the Assistants... It made Angela think that perhaps she could appreciate her slowed perception and perfect memory if it let her experience this place for the rest of her days...

A thought that was only interrupted by the sound of footsteps.

A swift swivel on Angela's robotic heels and a light nod was made. "Miho."

Miho seemed to smile softly towards Angela and lightly nod towards her. "Angela."

A smile found itself creeping onto the Library Director's face, as Angela regarded the one who had treated her as a person from the very first day they'd met. 

"I won't waste too much of your busy day," Miho's smile grew a magnitude, as if attempting to embrace the robotic Director of the Library with a mere expression alone, "But I just wanted to wish you a nice day, and I hope your day so far hasn't been too stressful. I forever and always appreciate how much work you put into maintaining this place."

Angela lets out a lightly amused exhale. "But of course I would. It is my E.G.O, is it not? Why would I not maintain it?"

Miho lightly laughs, noticing Angela's intent. "You know what I mean, Miss Director..." The unaugmented human eyes of Miho meet the robotic and synthetic eyes of Angela. Neither are devoid of warmth and fondness, and were one to take a snapshot of simply the gazes, one would be unable to tell which was the machine and which was the human. 

Angela nods. "I do. You may rest easy, I've had a lovely day thus far." 

Miho's shoulders unknowingly relax at this, as she nods. "I'm glad, really." And earnesty was found in plentitudes, as was fondness.

Angela's smile grew slightly. "I'd best be off to ensure Technological Sciences does not cause another incident, but I truly do appreciate your time."

A light chill runs through the air that makes the only human in the interaction shudder from anticipation.

"I'm glad to be appreciated, but please do go make sure those two troublemakers aren't doing anything." An urgency and insistence rooted itself in Miho's words.

Angela nods, understanding the concern. So, without further complication, The Director raised her fingers and snapped them, disappearing in an instant.

A breath that was unknowingly held ever gently released itself from Miho's lungs.

There was a moment of serene, peaceful silence...

Before Mable was heard hollering. "-Can EITHER of you two help me out over here?!"

Miho huffs and rolls her eyes, turning to walk towards Mable. "-I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Thus was General Works.

A group of individuals who would have by no right gotten associated with one another or even survived The City as they were, yet found peace and prowess within The Library that they would not trade for even a spot on the top of the Head. Some of the more vain individuals would only see them for their might and coordination with one another, yet it is through a survival of the most unlikely that those connections were even forged in the first place.

As such, this quintet of odd survivalists, under Angela's watchful eyes, find themselves looking forward to yet another day of living in the shadows of everyone's minds...

Yet doing the most to push them to happiness despite this.

Aft all, if Shadow exists, then Light must exist to create it.

For now, though...

What page shall we turn to next?