Day: 3721

Days Left: 1759

Lives Saved: 20

The rescue team travelled for as long as they could before one of their members became too exhausted which did not take too long considering both Calixte and Cori's health, and that Sumit had little to no rest after hauling the berserk amphibian and three misbehaving imps for so long. Despite the three's best efforts in hiding their discomfort, unfortunately their companions were too observant and forced the three of them to sit.

Along the journey, Elis had been doing his best to introduce a more friendly kind of relationship with the others considering that himself and his wife were still under a lot of suspicion. Kai and Calixte were the easiest to talk to and get along with, neither putting up any walls regarding Elis' background; Sumit was hesitant to begin with but eventually relaxed, and then Talon was naturally a quiet person and seemed to have something occupying their mind to have a full conversation currently.

Meanwhile Cori was completely silent, more so due to her personality than as a strategy, however she could not help but continue to glance over at Calixte, not knowing the best moment to approach him and bombard him with possible truths and questions about the memories she saw.

When the group finally stopped for the night to sleep, Cori made her move. She attempted to go over subtly but since she had been characterised as a recluse by everyone, the rest of the camp noticed when she did move somewhere. Elis watched on, knowing now what had happened with the silver rattle as Cori had filled him in, but kept a distance and tried to keep everyone else's attentions away as it would be a private conversation.

When it was clear that no one else would interrupt, Cori sat down beside Calixte who was resting against a tree, one hand toying with his amphibian mask and the other with the silver rattle.

"I..." Cori began but did not know how else to continue naturally. So instead she opted to skip any kind of pretence. "When I touched the rattle, I saw memories of a previous owner."

Calixte sat up, eyes wide. "You saw..."

"Queen Violette." Cori nodded. She stared down at the rattle, tempted to touch it again but was not certain that it would affect her again. She sat down beside Calixte. "Before I was imprisoned, I used the choker necklace... the one that she wore..."

Calixte's expressions soured. "Yes," he said quietly. "The one that restricted her magic."

"Yes, well, I used it in a blood magic ritual as a conduit and..."

Calixte blinked, confused. "I apologise, I am not very versed in magic."

"I used the necklace as a battery..." Cori said slowly.

Calixte winced, then nodded. "Yes, I... vaguely know what a battery is."

"A power source," Cori explained. "Since the necklace stores the magic that the user attempts to use, I was connected to her during the ritual, however the ritual did not go according to plan and I theorise that a part of the blood magic from the..." She considered her words, remembering that she was talking to a non-mage. "The item that is powering the curse that I was trying to break, the magic used attached to me because... because I share the same blood as the mage who cast it, my father..."

There was a pause.

"I am explaining this terribly," Cori almost laughed from her nerves.

"No, I am..." Calixte hesitated. "How does this relate to the rattle?"

"The rattle has an enchantment on it, something small, but it still uses blood magic."

"It does?"

"Queen Violette enchanted it so that anyone who heard its charm, would be soothed, only slightly, it is a small enchantment, but she used blood magic so that it would last even after her death, perhaps as an heirloom. And when I touched it, I saw some of her memories."

"Ah, because you already touched the necklace?"

Cori nodded. "Yes, and because we are blood related."

Calixte paused and then nodded. "Yes, you are a descendant of hers as queen, yes?"

Cori winced. "Yes, correct. But the necklace was not just connected to her, it was connected to my father since he died wearing it, and he was the one who cast the curse with blood magic. Since then, I have had dreams of his memories, but I also saw them when I touched the rattle."

"Oh, how interesting. Because King Casimir is a descendant of Violette's?"

"Well, King Casimir is a descendant, yes, but he was not my father."

"Oh, I apologise, I assumed incorrectly, I thought you had been previously queen... was he your uncle? Or... you are Alfreda's sister, yes? Or I suppose half-sister by blood?"

Cori paused, wondering how much Alfreda had divulged about her lineage if Calixte asked if they were half-siblings. "We are full sisters," Cori explained. "Our father was an imposter; he usurped the real King Casimir and took his place, pretending to be him. Though our father also happened to be a descendant of Queen Violette," Cori continued, and realised that she should have just started with this. "And yours."

Calixte was silent.

"Your son lived, I saw it in Violette's memories and in my father's, he did not drown."

Calixte swallowed. "Your father..."

"Was your grandson."

"But that's..."

"Your son, Jean..." as soon as she spoke the name, Calixte's eyes widened, the doubt he had vanishing instantly. "The protection ritual Violette went through, I have used it myself. It protects the child during birth and the first few days afterwards but prevents them from ever using magic. When King Osmond tried drowning the child, Jean could not die because of the protection spell. He lived. They sent him away to live somewhere outside of the palace in the countryside and he had a wife, Alfreda, and they had a son, Raoul, who had Violette's gifts."

"Alfreda?" Calixte's eyes watered.

"My sister was named after our grandmother." Cori swallowed. "Of course, the timing is off," Cori blurted out, opting to explain the reasoning and relay information as she was unskilled at handling emotions from others or herself. "I already had my theories on my father originally being a prisoner from The Eternal Abyss due to his behaviour and some of the things he said, so that would explain the large generation gap between time periods. And before, I did a ritual to find any relatives of my father's and I found two who were here in The Eternal Abyss, three if you are including Alfreda, but the one who is quarter-blood, quarter related must you, as his grandfather, and there is someone who is half-related somewhere here too, perhaps a half-sibling, or parent, or perhaps he has another child. I, of course, cannot say for certain which, I do not wish you to get your hopes up on it being... your son or his wife; I have not seen enough of the memories to tell if they passed or were sent down here, nor if they had more children, or my father had other children..." She hesitated, freezing as Calixte reached out and gently placed a hand on hers. He stared at her with teary eyes as if she was not a stranger but someone he had known his entire life and had been waiting for. 

"We are family?" his voice croaked.

Cori startled, unfamiliar with the concept of anyone being happy to be a part of the mess that was her family, though she assumed that Calixte was happy that he and Alfreda were family, as through the footage Cori had seen, the two were close.

"Um, yes... I suppose," Cori said slowly. "We are... blood related." She did not expect there to be any kind of familial bond to magically appear, and she hesitated to tell the man anything on Raoul, her father, and whether that ruin anything about the fact that his son had lived, and whether he had happy life considering that he was drafted into the war and his family did not receive word on whether he lived or died. Perhaps the reason was he had been imprisoned in The Eternal Abyss, but Cori did not want to give Calixte any hope of finally meeting him after going centuries believing that he had died.

"We're family!" Calixte cried, and pulled Cori into a hug.

Cori froze immediately, shocked and awkward as she was embraced by a man who had only just learned that he was her great-grandfather.

"We're family!" he repeated.

The rest of the camp, glanced over at the commotion, sharing confused looks until Elis quickly summarised it all and they all returned to their business, knowing that it was to be a private moment.

Calixte eventually pulled away and freed Cori from the sentimental hug and he apologised, sniffing. "We have to find your sister. We have to save her. I am sorry... she could be..." His words faltered on him.

"I am sorry too," Cori swallowed, struggling to keep her composure. She wondered how much Alfreda knew, how much she had told. Did she already know this man to be their blood relative or was it all coincidence for their connection? If she truly did not know, hopefully Cori would be able to tell her, and that it was not too late.

Day: 3723

After learning about his friends' current fate, Dex continued to survey the cameras, updating and refreshing for more information despite the lack of reach he had in other sectors of The Abyss. He took on more shifts than usual, whilst still balancing family life and spending time with Oscar, Calanthe, and Nia, not knowing if he should inform them of what was happening, especially Oscar who was not in the best state of mind right now.

Unfortunately, the increase in shift patterns was noticed, and Hendricks was there already in the surveillance room when Dex arrived.

"I thought Nicole was on shift today," said Dex, uneased by the man's appearance.

"She is," replied Hendricks, not looking at him and fixed on the computer screen.

"Ah, you're here to see her?" Dex put down his belongings, and sat down before a screen, flicking through notes on his tablet.

"No, I came here to see you." Hendricks finally looked at him. "How are you faring?"

"Good."

"Good."

There was a pause.

"I heard about what is happening to your friends," Hendricks finally said.

Dex let out a small sigh.

"I am sorry," said Hendricks. "It cannot be easy to watch them like this, unable to help."

"We can help."

"They are not in our sector, we cannot help," Hendricks said firmly but not unkindly.

"We can find out more about this Grim Fairy mask, how to stop it and help..." Dex trailed off, remembering only now.

"I did look into it," said Hendricks quietly.

"You did?" Dex breathed.

"There is nothing we do. Only magic can help her, but you cannot use magic in The Eternal Abyss. And she will die if she leaves."

Dex clenched his fists. "So, she could have been saved if you took that deal."

Hendricks looked at him. "Yes," he said simply.

"You're not going to help her."

"We can't help her."

"Part of your revenge?"

"Not planned." Hendricks sighed. "I would have preferred she remembered what she did and lived with it. But we cannot risk accepting the fake queen's terms. Letting Prince Elis leave is too risky if he reveals anything."

"And what about the others? The ones who are missing? Please, let me help them. I looked into it. If we send enough money we can ask other sectors if they have seen them. Lili and Alfreda are from our country. If we issue an order for release, maybe the others will hear it and know at least what sector they're in."

"I gave you this role because of your experience, your insight, not for you to be biased and just save your friends."

"They're in danger right now. I need to do something. I can't just watch on a screen, knowing that with a push of a button I can save them, that I can save any of these people."

"They are down there for a reason, Dex. They could have saved themselves by not being monsters in the real world. They could save themselves by not being monster in The Eternal Abyss. How many more times do I have to tell you?"

"They're aren't monsters! None of them are."

There was a pause.

Hendricks stared at Dex for a moment before reaching for a nearby tablet and scrolled through it. "I told you that there was nothing we can do," he said calmly. "I already looked into it the first time you asked, we cannot release any of your friends. Granted, yes, not all of them are monsters. Lili Adebayo who committed treason against the imposter queen has already been granted freedom of release but has yet to claim it, due to her wishes of staying with Corinna Warren, who you know cannot leave The Eternal Abyss until her sentence is up otherwise she dies.

"Calixte the amphibian was also granted freedom but has not taken it, and you said his crimes were treason too but three or four centuries ago. Their crimes, of course, feel quite insufficient for a punishment as The Eternal Abyss, let alone how long they have already been there for.

"And then we have your friend Klei, he has also finished his sentence, for his 'crimes' of treason; refusing to fight in a war and giving medical assistance to the opposition. Again, he has refused to be released yet, seeking to continue giving aid to those in need, even in The Eternal Abyss.

"As for your friend Salim, we managed to find him despite his lack of a brand. Since he has no agreed sentence, his records of his imprisonment unfindable, we did manage to offer him freedom, but also has denied, wanting to stay in The Eternal Abyss.

Hendricks tapped his tablet, looking back up at Dex. "None of them are monsters; they were thrown down there unjustly to be the true monsters and yet they wish to remain with them. Nothing we can do unless you fancy going down there and taking them by force?"

Dex swallowed.

"Your friend known as Harmony, she is definitely not someone we cannot afford to release even though her release has been far extended beyond normal.

"And now we move onto the rest. Ivette Espinosa, her sentence is finished and decided to stay again, but killed two people, two nineteen year olds who she thought she was stealing from her. She hid the bodies and denied ever seeing them when the police investigated."

Dex's throat went dry, imagining Ivette doing that, the sweet woman who looked after strangers and kept them fed.

"Cannot comment on the situation, she was an old woman, who knows what mental health issues she had, what the teenagers had did, maybe it was manslaughter, but she hid the evidence, hid the crime, instead of confessing." Hendricks paused. "Well, she is free to go when she pleases, the others however still need to finish their sentences-"

"You don't need to do this-"

"No? Come on, you said they weren't monsters-"

"I don't want to know-"

"Why? They're different people now? Without their memories-"

"I said I don't want to know-"

"Wendy Truman, in for cannibalism, you already knew that from seeing her brand, but how many people? Why?"

"Stop it-"

"She was struggling financially, her family, and her grandfather passed away. She and her siblings needed food-"

Dex shook his head, trying to calm himself down.

"And she made sure everyone was fed and purposefully poisoned her grandmother too, and then her parents, the ones responsible for giving them scraps. Didn't eat much herself though, but the rest of her siblings were too young to know and only Wendy was imprisoned."

Dex wanted to throw up. He had seen Wendy in her monster form, being uncontrollable, wanting to eat anything nearby and yet never satiated. How she would cry out in pain. Dex always thought it was just her monster form, but was it based off something real? A real feeling from Wendy's mind? No, he didn't want to think that. Wendy lost her memories, it was all the mask, created because some sick mind, some noble decided it would be fun to make her do it again, to eat people.

"Sumit Amar, killed five people, his own family by the way, at a dinner party, with his bare hands. He was still in such a rage, he blindly attacked the police arresting him and left one paralysed-"

The underground fighting ring, Dex immediately thought of, that Sumit attended. The first Sumit was so calm and tranquil, but the second, so easy to outburst. No, not again. They were not the same.

"Your friend known as Rin, actual name Shiori Matsumura, killed three people, strangers, all of them, no clear motive but at least she confessed and turned herself in-"

"Please stop," Dex hushed, his eyes watering.

"Jackson, killed nine people, drunk driving, crashed into a bus, some of them were children-"

"I said stop it-"

"Riley, killed six, mostly an accessory to several overdoses of her own friends-"

"I. Don't. Want. To. Know-"

"Kai Tam, killed-"

Dex grappled Hendricks by the collar. "I said enough!" His hand scrunched up the stiff material in a ball in his fist, pulling him closer.

Hendricks' face was stony, barely reacting to this act of aggression as if it had been predicted.

Dex swallowed, managing to mumble out, "I don't want to know," one final time, before releasing Hendricks gently, his head bowed in shame.

In this moment of pause, he found himself looking back on the screen of Sector 38, seeing the water nymphs that Klei was tending to. He didn't want to apologise, he knew what Hendricks was doing; Hendricks was hurting him on purpose.

"That life is gone, Dex," said Hendricks, placing a light hand on his shoulder. "You befriended who you needed to survive, for your boy. I'm sure compared to the other prisoners down there they seemed like angels. But you need to move on at some point. Help who you can and who deserves it. Even if you believe that they have redeemed themselves, we cannot afford to release them early." Hendricks placed the tablet on the table before Dex. "You can find out how long all of them have so that you know when you can meet them again." He tapped the tablet. "And also everything recorded about their past too."

Hendricks slowly left the room, leaving Dex alone with the blur of the screens and the tablet in front of him.

To open it felt like invading someone's privacy, to know his friends' past when they did not know it themselves. Could he check how long they had left on their sentence whilst evading the rest of the information? He had already heard enough about the others, but what about Kai? When can he see him again? He would have to read the dossier with everything else about Kai too.

To think that if he had sided with Duchess Sophia, Kai and the others would be standing by him now. But what about that state of the country? Of everyone else? Was Sophia really going to release her friends? What absurd price was she going to not bat her eyes at to do so, money that could have gone to the country, to the people, instead of freeing a murderer.

So the option was to just watch his friends suffer? That was all Dex could do.