There was one day left, by his calculation. This did not move the Spider much in one direction or another—he was not known for becoming overly emotional, not even in the most dire of circumstances. The ability to think logically and objectively under any mount of strain was vital for people in his line of work, and he had cultivated it from an early age, leaving behind the tender sentimentality of his mother and acquiring a demeanor that was actually much closer to the one his father used, if a little more… flexible. He was not Zero, he did not resent the lack of demonstrativeness in his sire. Instead, he’d learned from watching the man with his mother to read even the subtlest cues the way she could, and how to close those cues off, as he could to everyone else. Both were vital lessons, and the number of times they had saved someone’s life was perhaps greater than anyone but Alden would ever know. He was not, after all, in the business of giving away his secrets.
Presently, he was sprawled sideways in an armchair, in the library. Aryan and Helen, its usual occupants, seemed to be elsewhere at the moment, and given the fact that it was the weekend, he was alone, a book held loosely on one hand, his other draped carelessly over the arm of the chair that was currently supporting his back. He appeared for all the world to be paying studious attention to it, and that he was otherwise was perhaps only apparent when he lowered the object slightly, his eyes sliding sideways and coming to rest on a fixed point to his left. It looked to be nothing but empty air, but Alden did not do his seeing with his eyes.
“Emrys,” he said, closing the book with a muted, but decisive snap. “Dare I inquire into what brings you to the library on a Saturday?” He raised an eyebrow, the arch of it lending his face a slightly catlike quality—there was the same sense of subtle knowing about Alden.
Emrys blinked lazily, a toothpick sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Solaris was trotting next to him, her two-toned eyes regarding the second-born of the Kuragari family. The Spider...it was a bit ironic, really. Alden, himself, and Aryan were perhaps the most formidable three people when it came to information on the face of this planet, and they each had their own specialization. Alden, of course, was the one who used every trick of espionage in the book, Aryan was the one who did everything on paper, dancing around on puppet strings of lies and half-truths and blackmail. And Emrys...well. He prefered to let his fists do that work. An Alistair, von Nacht, and Kuragari, one from each family.
God help whoever got in their way.
Emrys took his time answering. It wasn't like either of them were doing anything overly important. He held up the book in his hand, one on the effects of memory loss, and memory wiping. He switched the toothpick to the other side of his mouth.
"Yuki's going to need a lot of help when we get her back tomorrow. You and Helen may be the best suited for that, but that doesn't mean I can't try to be useful, either."
He sat in the chair across from Alden, throwing his legs over the armrest. The library frowned disapprovingly of such harsh treatment of the furniture, but he ignored her. Solaris laid down in front of the chair, Emrys absentmindedly petting her head for a second. "There's been a lot of damage to her mind, Vi. You really think we can get her back?"
Alden read the title with some mild interest, but in the end, breathed a heavy exhale and tossed the book he still held so that it landed with a slight thunk on the nearest table. Sinking further into his armchair, he crossed his legs at the knees, one foot braced on the arm of the chair and the other running perpendicular over it, and folded his arms over his chest. If there was a place for honesty about this, it wasn’t with his brother or Balthasar, it was here. Emrys was attached to the woman—they all were. But he also understood more of the realities their younger (and occasionally older) counterparts had been protected from.
“Should be possible, but nothing’s a guarantee. You know that,” he said after a few moments’ deliberation. “The serum was designed to be a total mind-wipe, but there are those among us who can attest that nothing ever really gets there. I’m sure that book says the same.” He shrugged, which was a bit of an odd-looking gesture with his lanky frame positioned the way it was. Nevertheless, it conveyed what it needed to. “I’ve done memory reconstructions before. Giving her everything back is possible, and I’ll do it. But the rest is entirely up to her.”
Emrys sighed heavily. He'd been expecting as much, really. It didn't make it any easier to hear, though. Really, all they could do was hope that Yuki would be strong enough to handle whatever came after regaining her memories. It wouldn't be easy, but...with Zero, he had faith that she could. Besides that, Yuki was strong, she always had been.
Emrys's eyebrows perked up a bit, remembering something. He laced his fingers behind his head before turning to look at Alden. "Oh, before I forget. It looks like we'll all be seperated for this upcoming fight with Yuki tomorrow. Supposedly the Council's got a hit out for, get this, Aunt Nikki. Seems they got word she's on campus. If you see her and Bal before I do, let them know."
Not that he was overly worried, or anything. They all knew as well as he did that when it came down to defending herself, Aunt Nikki may be the best prepared for that, she'd spent most of her life as an assassin herself, so defending against them was like child's play to her.
Alden blinked. That was interesting—it must have been recent news, or he’d have come across it himself, most likely. He had his best people on personal tracking jobs for any and all information related to each individual member of his family. They intercepted the things that went out, and kept tabs on what his enemies knew about the ones he cared about. Occasionally, he even disseminated false information, though he was careful to make sure it could not be traced to his agents. This was a new thread in the web, and he wove it in with the rest of his knowledge.
“An exchange, then. I was going to tell the twins first, but you might as well do that instead. The Pantheon is apparently more interested in killing Alarica, because they’re sending someone for her. One of mine called it in this morning. It’s definitely Rica, too—not Keir.” That actually troubled him a bit. There was exactly one reason he could see that made such a choice logical, and there should be no way the Pantheon was aware of it. Unless… his lips pursed. It was possible they’d guessed, but he would have thought they’d want to let it lay for a while longer for making the move, for maximum damage. Someone was getting a tad impatient—or they’d selected her randomly. That was unlikely, though. Not with the Pantheon.
“The alliance is definitely fracturing, though. These two targets in concert will reduce the impact of each—if they were smart, they would have picked one to coincide with the sortie by Yuki and sent in a few heavy hitters rather than the mass of low-levels they’re going to use.” He shook his head. They were starting to genetically modify the Level E’s now—it was devastating on a battlefield against hunters, but barely counted as a blip on a pureblood’s radar. Or a particularly-powerful dhampir like any of the Alistairs. At least they weren’t subject to simple compulsion anymore; that had been one of the first things the Pantheon scientists figured out how to remove… though they still fell under the control of Uncle Jasper, as the reports had it. He could only assume that meant the same would be true of Balthasar.
Emrys's jaw clenched slightly. It was not uncommon for assassins to come after his family, however...they had always been more interested in kidnapping his sister, not killing her. Still, with the amount of resources being spent all at once, he wasn't overly worried. He'd be with his sister, anyway. He sighed through his nose.
"Looks like we'll all be split up for this once again. So long as you or Hel are where ever Yuki is, though, I'm not overly worried about it. She's the one who has priority. Anyone going after Aunt Nikki is just stupid, or they have a death wish."
Or they're just a pawn on a much larger board. Was the thought that flickered through his head, but he didn't say it. He turned his gaze to the ceiling, musing softly before speaking again.
"Looks like tomorrow is going to be a busy day."
Presently, he was sprawled sideways in an armchair, in the library. Aryan and Helen, its usual occupants, seemed to be elsewhere at the moment, and given the fact that it was the weekend, he was alone, a book held loosely on one hand, his other draped carelessly over the arm of the chair that was currently supporting his back. He appeared for all the world to be paying studious attention to it, and that he was otherwise was perhaps only apparent when he lowered the object slightly, his eyes sliding sideways and coming to rest on a fixed point to his left. It looked to be nothing but empty air, but Alden did not do his seeing with his eyes.
“Emrys,” he said, closing the book with a muted, but decisive snap. “Dare I inquire into what brings you to the library on a Saturday?” He raised an eyebrow, the arch of it lending his face a slightly catlike quality—there was the same sense of subtle knowing about Alden.
Emrys blinked lazily, a toothpick sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Solaris was trotting next to him, her two-toned eyes regarding the second-born of the Kuragari family. The Spider...it was a bit ironic, really. Alden, himself, and Aryan were perhaps the most formidable three people when it came to information on the face of this planet, and they each had their own specialization. Alden, of course, was the one who used every trick of espionage in the book, Aryan was the one who did everything on paper, dancing around on puppet strings of lies and half-truths and blackmail. And Emrys...well. He prefered to let his fists do that work. An Alistair, von Nacht, and Kuragari, one from each family.
God help whoever got in their way.
Emrys took his time answering. It wasn't like either of them were doing anything overly important. He held up the book in his hand, one on the effects of memory loss, and memory wiping. He switched the toothpick to the other side of his mouth.
"Yuki's going to need a lot of help when we get her back tomorrow. You and Helen may be the best suited for that, but that doesn't mean I can't try to be useful, either."
He sat in the chair across from Alden, throwing his legs over the armrest. The library frowned disapprovingly of such harsh treatment of the furniture, but he ignored her. Solaris laid down in front of the chair, Emrys absentmindedly petting her head for a second. "There's been a lot of damage to her mind, Vi. You really think we can get her back?"
Alden read the title with some mild interest, but in the end, breathed a heavy exhale and tossed the book he still held so that it landed with a slight thunk on the nearest table. Sinking further into his armchair, he crossed his legs at the knees, one foot braced on the arm of the chair and the other running perpendicular over it, and folded his arms over his chest. If there was a place for honesty about this, it wasn’t with his brother or Balthasar, it was here. Emrys was attached to the woman—they all were. But he also understood more of the realities their younger (and occasionally older) counterparts had been protected from.
“Should be possible, but nothing’s a guarantee. You know that,” he said after a few moments’ deliberation. “The serum was designed to be a total mind-wipe, but there are those among us who can attest that nothing ever really gets there. I’m sure that book says the same.” He shrugged, which was a bit of an odd-looking gesture with his lanky frame positioned the way it was. Nevertheless, it conveyed what it needed to. “I’ve done memory reconstructions before. Giving her everything back is possible, and I’ll do it. But the rest is entirely up to her.”
Emrys sighed heavily. He'd been expecting as much, really. It didn't make it any easier to hear, though. Really, all they could do was hope that Yuki would be strong enough to handle whatever came after regaining her memories. It wouldn't be easy, but...with Zero, he had faith that she could. Besides that, Yuki was strong, she always had been.
Emrys's eyebrows perked up a bit, remembering something. He laced his fingers behind his head before turning to look at Alden. "Oh, before I forget. It looks like we'll all be seperated for this upcoming fight with Yuki tomorrow. Supposedly the Council's got a hit out for, get this, Aunt Nikki. Seems they got word she's on campus. If you see her and Bal before I do, let them know."
Not that he was overly worried, or anything. They all knew as well as he did that when it came down to defending herself, Aunt Nikki may be the best prepared for that, she'd spent most of her life as an assassin herself, so defending against them was like child's play to her.
Alden blinked. That was interesting—it must have been recent news, or he’d have come across it himself, most likely. He had his best people on personal tracking jobs for any and all information related to each individual member of his family. They intercepted the things that went out, and kept tabs on what his enemies knew about the ones he cared about. Occasionally, he even disseminated false information, though he was careful to make sure it could not be traced to his agents. This was a new thread in the web, and he wove it in with the rest of his knowledge.
“An exchange, then. I was going to tell the twins first, but you might as well do that instead. The Pantheon is apparently more interested in killing Alarica, because they’re sending someone for her. One of mine called it in this morning. It’s definitely Rica, too—not Keir.” That actually troubled him a bit. There was exactly one reason he could see that made such a choice logical, and there should be no way the Pantheon was aware of it. Unless… his lips pursed. It was possible they’d guessed, but he would have thought they’d want to let it lay for a while longer for making the move, for maximum damage. Someone was getting a tad impatient—or they’d selected her randomly. That was unlikely, though. Not with the Pantheon.
“The alliance is definitely fracturing, though. These two targets in concert will reduce the impact of each—if they were smart, they would have picked one to coincide with the sortie by Yuki and sent in a few heavy hitters rather than the mass of low-levels they’re going to use.” He shook his head. They were starting to genetically modify the Level E’s now—it was devastating on a battlefield against hunters, but barely counted as a blip on a pureblood’s radar. Or a particularly-powerful dhampir like any of the Alistairs. At least they weren’t subject to simple compulsion anymore; that had been one of the first things the Pantheon scientists figured out how to remove… though they still fell under the control of Uncle Jasper, as the reports had it. He could only assume that meant the same would be true of Balthasar.
Emrys's jaw clenched slightly. It was not uncommon for assassins to come after his family, however...they had always been more interested in kidnapping his sister, not killing her. Still, with the amount of resources being spent all at once, he wasn't overly worried. He'd be with his sister, anyway. He sighed through his nose.
"Looks like we'll all be split up for this once again. So long as you or Hel are where ever Yuki is, though, I'm not overly worried about it. She's the one who has priority. Anyone going after Aunt Nikki is just stupid, or they have a death wish."
Or they're just a pawn on a much larger board. Was the thought that flickered through his head, but he didn't say it. He turned his gaze to the ceiling, musing softly before speaking again.
"Looks like tomorrow is going to be a busy day."