Chương 140: 53 - MORNING COFFEE

Ellie Brazer stared at herself in the mirror mounted on the bathroom wall. It was a simple thing that she decided to add. If they were going to make this place feel more homely, then they couldn't forget small touches like a mirror in the bathroom or candles to exemplify the scent of autumn. She often felt guilty for staying in a place that had these luxuries, but she was here on a mission. A mission to follow the Redeemers through to their mission as they attempt to make the world a better place.

Though she knew that for T'balt this wasn't just a brief stop. It couldn't be. Not anymore. Graceland was gonna have to be a place they called home for a while. Though her reflection showed her how tired she looked. A result of how strange she'd been feeling. She put a hand on her belly and asked God for forgiveness. When she emerged from the bathroom, Acelin was standing out there waiting like he was doing his best Vienna impression, posing stiff like a sentry.

"Took you long enough. You were in there for ages." She put a curious finger on her cheek, thinking out loud.

"I wonder if you're old enough to teach about lady things."

"Lady things?" She ultimately decided that it wasn't his time yet. She didn't want to put him off against girls his own age yet, and she figured there would be some time to educate him before his boyhood changes.

"Never mind. It's best you don't think about it."

"But I'm curious now."

"Curiosity killed the cat, ya know." He squished his face.

"I never liked cats. But don't they have 9 lives anyway? What's it matter if they lose one because they're curious?" She bent over and pinched his cheek like an old sharp-fingered auntie.

"You're the cat," she whispered. But she turned her head to cover the tear watering in her eye. A few more weeks had passed. By now they should've been about a week away from Corlander's assault according to his memory and some of Tyene's intel. That means they'd been in Graceland for about 2 months now. T'balt wondered if he was going to be able to break his record. He'd never gone past 2 months, whether that was to his own death or one of the other Redeemers.

It seemed like a possibility now that 4 out of 5 of them were accounted for. Together, what they had done with Graceland was something miraculous. They had high-end food markets, stores, furniture, gathering halls, clinics, police, fishermen, and anything else any of them had thought of. It was looking like their island city was just a normal place back in the real world. That wasn't even mentioning the slice-of-life touches each of them added.

There were several bars around town and a casino on the west side, courtesy of Monan. A bunch of weight-lifting gyms, courtesy of Cannon, despite his strength loot deleting any need for working out. Ellie had convinced a few people to build a Christian church. Acelin had an arcade, where he made friends with some of the other Gracelandian boys his age. Not all of them were needed for survival, but they were comfort foods. So they all could forget about the doom happening everywhere else.

T'balt noted that's when things were most peaceful. Back at the church, he remembered only being able to forget any anxiety when everyone was having fun, drinking, and being merry with each other. If they had things like that, then this place could be the paradise that he originally thought it was going to be. Tyene wasn't convinced about it, though. He was showing her to a seaside coffee shop with a giant bay window overlooking the blue, sparkling ocean.

The store owner knew how to grow their own coffee beans and where to swipe some pre-made ones. So the shop was a no-brainer. That smell of morning coffee inside a brisk open lounge was akin to the smell of Christmas morning when he first experienced it here. It even had a speaker that could play jazz while people talked. It was just them inside. The Redeemers were still revered, so most of the time when they entered a place, whoever was managing cleared out the place before they got there.

Though he couldn't truly say whether Vienna's overprotectiveness of Tyene had anything to do with that. He sat across from Tyene at the table at the window, dropping her coffee in front of her.

"French vanilla latte. At your service," he said.

"Thanks." There was a supreme lack of enthusiasm in that thanks.

"Isn't it great? This place is starting to feel more like a vacation than a survival camp. Pretty soon it'll be no different than it was back before Zero Day." Tyene could hear the pride in his voice as he spoke. But it only made her roll her eyes.

"What's up with you?' he asked.

"I feel like you've been acting different lately."

"You know why? It's because I'm the only one around here that's actually been trying to accomplish our real goal. Corlander…"

"I don't think you're disappearing in the night to go fight Corlander," he mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing." She rimmed the cup of coffee with her finger, feeling the hot steam moisten her skin.

"Are you even serious about facing him?"

"I am. I just…"

"Just what?"

"I'm not… eager to go on a murder spree."

"Murder spree? You mean like how Corlander will if we don't do anything about him?"

"No." A bell chimed, indicating someone had just entered the shop. It was Monan who walked in with a cheeseburger in one hand and a milkshake in the other. He planted himself at the table next to theirs, putting his feet up while he ate. At this point, he'd been around for so long that him walking into a room was no longer a cause for concern. At least not with T'balt. Tyene still seared him with her glances every now and then, but like with everything, Monan usually just laughed it off.

"We can deal with Corlander without sinking to his level," T'balt added.

"And how's that?" Tyene asked.

"It was actually Monan's idea." Tyene shot him one of those glances. Still chewing on his food, Monan elaborated, "Me and T had a conversation about it a while ago. See, he's a bit of a pussy. Not a fan of killing people if he doesn't have to. But you two are still young, always making problems way harder than they have to be. So I'll put it in a way you can understand. You're still in the mode of thinking like this is a video game. You get ready for a boss battle, and then some script tells the boss to appear.

And you spend all your time freaking out in preparation. Playing the game how it was intended. But you're Redeemers. We don't have to fight the boss. We have the unique ability to stop the boss from ever becoming one in the first place." If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"I'm not dumb," Tyene raised her voice.

"Don't you think I've tried that before? Of course, it'd be easier to kill him if he didn't have the Collector loot. But I don't know where he gets it. He's never told anyone, not even German." Monan cheekily grinned.

"That's why you should be nicer to me. I've been around the block a few times." He stretched his neck so they could get a glimpse of the five-digit number tattooed on his neck. She frowned at T'balt.

"You both had this conversation without me."

"He caught me in the middle of the night, and you were… busy." He sipped his own coffee, a salted-caramel cream cold brew.

"But it's good news, Tyene. I rarely beat the boss on the first try. So this life can be intel gathering, and we can do everything right next time." Her face flattened, deflated by the idea.

"So we're just gonna let him attack then?"

"Well, you two made fighting him sound like so much fun," Monan said, with a glint of excitement.

"I wanted to give it a try when he was at full strength. That was my one condition; then I'd show you where the OG collector is hiding only if I happened to lose. Which I kinda doubt I would." T'balt nodded.

"We'll lure him out into the open. Somewhere away from Graceland and let Monan have a go at him. If he wins, great. If he gets killed, then we just make sure Corlander never gets to the Collector in the first place." Although every bone in her body screamed at her that this idea was dumb, not for the idea itself but for the man who came up with it, she didn't have a logical thought that could counter. She just had to be a little more patient.

But it was like Monan was taunting her by giving her a need to rely on him, which never had and never would sit right with her. She reluctantly took a sip of her coffee, letting the hot, sweet aroma fill her senses.

"The coffee shop wasn't a bad idea, I guess."

"Right!?" T'balt grinned, way too proud of it like he invented the coffee himself. She put the coffee down, breathing out the heat like it was dragon's breath.

"Well… at least I don't have to go see German anymore," she said.

"Trying to convince him to turn on Corlander is always such a pain."

"You've done it before?" T'balt asked.

"A dozen times at least. But he's hardheaded and unreasonably devoted to that man. It usually takes a few weeks, and I don't have the patience for it." Monan chuckled, drawing her ire.

"Weren't you two engaged?" T'balt said.

"Don't you still want him on your side?" She leaned back in her chair, appearing more relaxed than even Monan.

"Been there, done that. There's not really much he can do for me anymore."

"But you gotta still feel something for him. I mean, the man's clearly in love with you. Even though he has strange ways of showing it."

"He only acts like that when I tell him I'm alive. Otherwise, he just moves on as he should."

"As he should?"

"I'm definitely not waiting on him. So he shouldn't wait on me."

"So why don't you tell him that?"

"Obviously, because I still need him to do shit for me." T'balt stayed silent, not wanting to point out the lack of morality in the statement, but knowingly manipulating people was just something that was what it was now. Tyene caught Monan's sideways glance as he finished his cookies-and-cream milkshake.

"It isn't like I feel nothing, so don't get all smug," she said.

"In fact, the problem is I feel too much… even if it isn't romantic."

"What do you mean?" T'balt asked.

"When I look at him, it reminds me of who I was before I became a Redeemer. It isn't the same with Vienna. She's always around, a part of me. I can forget. But there are certain people that whenever I'm around them, I can't help but remember the part of me that's human… it can really make the idea of being immortal a little unbearable." Tyene lowered her eyes, and for a second, T'balt wondered if she was falling victim to Uriel's curse.

He wanted to ask if she ever felt tired of being alive like he did, but it wasn't something he wanted to think about.

"Do you have anyone like that?" Tyene suddenly asked him. He was taken aback.

"Someone that reminds me I'm human?" He thought about it a moment.

"I guess that would be Ellie. She never lets me forget that I'm not a God. But it's something I always appreciated her for. Even though everyone knows it's not the case, she still does her best to treat me like I'm no different from her."

"No." Tyene denied.

"Can't be her. You didn't know her until after you became a Redeemer. It has to be someone who knew you before you became who you are now. Someone that knows the weak, pathetic version of you, that would see through your act of playing God, even if it's only by action and not by name. My guess is that it'd be whoever gave you that stupid ass choker." T'balt flinched, putting his hand on the choker like he was afraid she'd take it away.

"Oh yeah, the goth bird," Monan spoke up, with a chuckle in his voice.

"That was a special relationship you guys had, T?" He stayed quiet.

"That was the one you slept with, right?" Tyene asked him casually. They talked about it right in front of him like Chosa wasn't responsible for one of the worst moments of his entire life. To them, it was probably such a small thing, but in the grand scheme, it hadn't happened that long ago. Her name still ripped a hole through his chest whenever it was mentioned. But that's when he realized that's what the choker was for. A reminder of her. A reminder of him when he was still human.

"So what about you, Monan?" Tyene asked.

"Anyone still keeping you tethered to the mortal realm?" He scoffed.

"Not a single one. I'm free as a bird, baby. Not a prop to hold me down." In front of the coffee shop, Vienna stood sentry next to the door with an eagle's eye on anyone who even thought about entering. Her arms were crossed, and her eyes were squinted. She had grown so used to solitude over her years as Tyene's protection. So it severely bothered her when people chose to hang around her when she was on duty. Like that wrestler. Cannon Valkyr stood on the right side of the door, while she stood on the left.

One would've thought they were bouncers at a club. For a long time, he didn't say anything. Just standing there and nodding occasionally at nothing.

"You don't have to stand out here. I've got the protection of the building covered," she said, monotonously. He folded his arms.

"I've got a job too, ya know. You're Tyene's bodyguard, and I'm T'balt's. Truth be told, you've inspired me to take my job a little more seriously. Is it a problem, me standing out here with you?" Vienna plotted in her head the hundred different options she had to incapacitate the man with the weapons she had on her. It made her feel better. But she remembered that Tyene wanted her to be friendlier to people from now on. That meant it would've been rude to tell the man to screw off. So she just looked forward.

"As long as you're not loud."

"She doesn't like loud people, eh?" Cannon thought to himself.

"I suppose I can keep it toned down around her."

"It's a nice day out, isn't it?" he said. Vienna groaned. After a while of silent standing, the two began mirroring each other's body language, Cannon being the only one consciously doing it. He folded his arms when she did and stretched when she did. She noticed and decided to take it as a test of her patience. Before she could snap at him, someone showed up in front of the door. Cannon's eyes widened.

"What's wrong?" The Redeemers sat inside, having an oddly normal conversation. T'balt eventually joined in when it shifted away from Chosa and more about the world itself. It turned out to be pretty pleasant. Even though Monan was there. And for a while, things felt normal. Graceland was thriving. They had a plan for Corlander. Any problems T'balt had just felt like they were evaporating away. And then the door opened. Ellie came through it, with her mouth on her fingernails like a nervous schoolgirl.

Everyone looked up at her, waiting an awkward moment for her to speak.

"T'balt, can I talk with you?"

"What is it?" he asked.

"Alone…" He exchanged glances with the other two.

"I'm in the middle of something. It can't wait?" She stepped close enough to him to whisper.

"I'm late."

"For what?" She just stared at him, utterly perplexed. Monan stood with a pained expression.

"You fuckin idiot… the bird is trying to tell you that she might be pregnant." Everyone stood up then, and the world seemed to stop on its axis.

"You can't be serious?" Tyene stared daggers into Ellie, who tried to hide her face in embarrassment. Monan suddenly walked out the door, and Tyene fell into her seat, putting her hands on her head. T'balt watched them all, eager to crack a smile but hesitant because he seemed to be the only one in the room who was happy about the news. When Tyene saw his face, all she could say was, "Oh fuck."