The Tarot Game

"Pull the damn brake!"

"I'm trying, I promise I really am!"

Grasping the lever of the aircraft, Sebastian yanked his body backward. Even as he attempted to leverage his weight on the control center, the plane continued to maneuver outside of his control.

If it wasn't for Barron's strength, they would've long since crashed into the Nexus. Frankly, Sebastian wasn't sure if he could afford the cost of that.

'But how the stars did this even happen?'

He racked his brain to try and recollect the events that's happened before this point. Pushing away the anxiety infecting his thinking.

Of course, the 'Bad Spin' was to blame. At first he thought it simply meant he'd be given an unfortunate stroke of luck, or step in a puddle — little did he know the damned thing was trying to take his life!

As soon as he and Barron left the hangar, about half of the Specter's turbines spontaneously combusted. Of course, it was likely neglected for who knows how long, but there was no way it was a coincidence it happened now, was there?

Pulling the Specter's lever backward and shifting his weight to the side, Sebastian swiftly maneuvered over the Nexus, carefully crossing into the Upper District and narrowly avoiding a collision.

Admittedly, there was nothing more he wanted to do than look at the district. Considering it was basically a myth where he was from, just being able to be within its presence was a privilege many weren't given.

Nevertheless, he had other matters to focus on. And by the looks of it, Barron wasn't very keen on allowing any sightseeing.

'Damn it all to hell!'

Amidst his thoughts, another one of the Specter's turbines exploded, taking the right wing with it. Instantly, he could feel his control over the aircraft lessen, before finally he lost any and all command.

The plane was plummeting. Fast.

No amount of weight he put against the lever, nor any buttons he pressed managed to delay the inevitable crash. 

The ground was approaching quicker than he could adjust to the disrupted balance of the ship. Causing him to break into a cold sweat.

Barron on the other hand simply narrowed his eyes, as if bracing for impact.

'Don't just accept it, idiot!'

Of course, as much as he wanted to he simply couldn't deny the fact they were at a loss.

Sure, he could spin the wheel again, but that kind of thinking was exactly what led them to this point. What if he got a bad spin again and the whole thing imploded?

Even if he got a Neutral one, there was no guarantee it'd protect Barron either.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. Maybe, just maybe if he was lucky enough, he'd be able to capitalize on the slim possibility of surviving a plane crash. 

'What was it again? 50% or so? I like those odds!'

Releasing the lever, Sebastian allowed himself to succumb to the loss. He wouldn't die, he still had Liz to take care of after all, surely he'd be fine. Wouldn't he?

Both Sebastian and Barron seemed encompassed in what could've been their final thoughts as the ship began to plummet into the surface of the Upper District. A collision would be soon to come.

Or at least, it should've been.

Without warning, the aircraft came to a sudden halt mere inches away from the ground. The immediate change in momentum was so spontaneous it tossed both Barron and Sebastian to the back of the cockpit.

"What…the hell?"

Slowly rising to his feet, Sebastian looked through the window of the plane in an attempt to gain some clarity as to what happened.

What he saw outside left him absolutely stunned.

The ground latched itself onto the Specter, like tendrils clinging onto the massive object. What should've been solid rock was turned into an almost liquid-like material.

Standing at the forefront of it all, directly below the plane, was a young woman. Her frizzy orange hair blocked her eyes, yet somehow her presence continued to give off an almost domineering pressure.

Her lab coat flowed loosely in the air as a toothy grin spread across her face.

"I found you, Wheel!"

***

"Elizabeth, we need you on aisle 13!"

"We need someone to clean this mess up! Where's Elizabeth?"

"Damn it! Someone tell Elizabeth to come reorganize these shelves!"

Shuffling through the seemingly endless aisles of the shop, Elizabeth forced herself along as she completed the thousands of tasks forced on her shoulders.

With an exhausted sigh, she muttered to herself.

"I really don't get paid enough…"

Shaking her head, she grabbed a mop and began wiping up a puddle of bile. It took more than a little effort to spew the contents of her own stomach, but she persevered.

Putting the mop away, she threw her hat to the ground and took a seat at a nearby bench.

How long had she been working here for? Two, maybe three months? And yet she still was barely able to get by on rent, let alone food.

Sebastian's situation was no different, really. Even if he wanted to say he'd become a Specter pilot and make more than he had been before — it remained apparent that was just idle dreaming. A possibility, but not a guarantee.

How long was she going to remain a wage slave? How long would she be forced to shoulder these tasks for such menial pay?

'As long as it takes, I guess.'

It's not like she had any other option. She could complain about corruption or overwork as much as she wanted, no one would listen to some nameless Lower District beggar.

They didn't care when their parents were gone, and they certainly wouldn't care now.

Reminding herself of her parents caused her to shudder. Gripping the sides of her shoulders to keep herself from breaking down. Nevertheless, her shivering belied her false contentment.

"Why did you leave, Dad?"

She didn't think her or Sebastian were terrible kids, and when they got jobs they should've been able to lessen the load on their father's expenses. So why? For what reason did he feel the need to walk out on them?

He hadn't even said goodbye. One morning he was there, the next he was simply gone.

Letting out a stifled weep, she failed to notice the girl walking up to her. 

A cup of water was spilled onto her scalp, the ice immediately causing her shivering to worsen. Her tears drowned by the liquid soaking her.

"Ah~ My bad! Must've tripped."

Laughing, a blonde-haired girl around Elizabeth's age dropped the cup onto the ground. Grabbing her hair, the woman pulled Elizabeth closer to herself.

"You know, maybe if you kept to yourself in that ditch you call a home, you wouldn't have gotten in my way? So really, this is your fault, no?"

Elizabeth kicked and screamed, but they were already at the far back of the store. Since it was closing soon, anyone who could've heard — or cared — was long gone.

The girl's quiet cackle grew a little louder.

"Hey, that means you should compensate me, right? You did make me spill my precious drink after all!"

"Shut up! I don't owe you anything—"

Before Elizabeth had the chance to retaliate, she was swiftly slapped by the girl, who threw her to the ground immediately after.

"I'm actually shocked you talked back, did you think you were allowed to speak or something?"

Not allowing her a chance to reply, the girl thrusted her leg deep into Elizabeth's gut. Causing her malnourished frame to bash against the wall behind her.

Elizabeth was already low on energy, but this had drained her of whatever was left. Not only that, but the girl had zero intention of stopping anytime soon.

Liz wasn't even sure of why this girl in particular targeted her. She hadn't spoken to her, looked at her, or even so much as knew her name, Yet, for no conceivable reason she just began picking on her one day.

'I can't take this…why me? What did I do?'

She spat out a mouthful of saliva as the girl brought her foot upon Elizabeth's face. Sending a sharp pain through the malnourished girl's body. Though, the victim in question was too drained of energy at this point to retaliate.

"I just can't stand seeing someone like you around me. You bring down all our reputations just by being here."

With that, the girl turned away, leaving Elizabeth to wallow in her agony.

'Why? Why? Why does she just get to walk off like nothing happened? Why do I have to be the one who's targeted? Aren't we all from the Lower District?'

She wasn't wrong, everyone in this store was from the Lower District. An Upper wouldn't be caught dead in a run-down trash heap like this.

Even so, the distinction between classes wasn't as simple as 'Lower and Upper'. The Lower District had its own 'nobles', the best of the worst. And the Upper had those even more wealthy than the average citizen.

Of course, Elizabeth was neither of these. In fact, she was second from the absolute bottom. With the only thing that could only worsen her status being if she ever lost her home.

'It's this whole damn system! Heroes, that damned wall, it's all bull!'

Struggling to even cry, Elizabeth curled up. Her body was shaking solemnly.

It was times like these…that she really missed her mother.

Peeking through her arms, Elizabeth noticed something absurd. To the point she'd originally have believed it to be because of her injuries. But no way was that the case…

After all, she was a fanatic on these types of things. Heroes weren't prone to share information on how their abilities awakened, but that didn't mean information never leaked.

More specifically, she recognized this phenomena in particular.

[ Are you satisfied? ]

***

Sitting on his knees, Sebastian passionately bowed to the two in front of him. Both the scientist who so graciously rescued them, who he learned was named 'Vulcan'. As well as the veteran he nearly killed, Barron.

"I'm so, so sorry! I don't know what happened, really!"

By now, multiple people were already crowded around the scene snapping photos of Sebastian's embarrassing display. The plane was still suspended mid-air, held tightly by the now-solidified rock tendrils.

"Is that Vulcan?!"

"You mean that legendary Scientist Hero? That's her? What's she doing all the way out here!?"

"I hope she'll give me an autograph!"

Barron sighed, throwing a sharp glare at the crowd.

"Get up, kid. You're embarrassing yourself."

Vulcan nodded. Ignoring the onslaught of praise being thrown in her direction.

"Indeed. Besides, this hunk of junk was bound to explode sooner or later. I can't believe you keep such garbage in that hangar!"

Vulcan returned Barron's stare right back at him, forcing him to flinch and turn away.

"Ah, about that. Once you started focusing on Bio-Metal Production and whatnot, the higher-ups demanded the hangar be turned into a makeshift storage unit. They're focusing the Specters intended for space travel back on Mars for the big expedition."

Vulcan massaged her temples and resisted the urge to slap Barron across the face. It wasn't his fault those pompous bastards had their way with her precious treasures, nonetheless she wanted to take her anger out on something.

"Whatever. You, c'mere."

She pointed toward Sebastian and gestured to a spot nearby.

"Uh, me? I mean sure but isn't this a bad place to—"

Interrupting his sentence, Vulcan snapped her fingers.

Instantly, the space she'd pointed to began to reform. White rock grew and transfigured itself, shaping into a relatively modest hut-like structure.

"Let's go."

Nervously nodding his head, Sebastian followed Vulcan into the strange structure. Soon afterward, the inside was filled with furniture constructed of the same material.

A couch, a table, even a TV had formed themselves from the ground. Albeit the last object was purely for aesthetics.

"Phew! I thought I was going to have to keep that act up forever!"

Sliding onto the rock couch, Vulcan threw her feet onto the table and leaned back.

"Sit, sit! I got a lot to talk to you about, Wheel!"

Sebastian raised a brow. Why was Vulcan acting so friendly? It's not like they knew one another.

Then again, he was pretty much the same way.

But why was she calling him 'Wheel'?

Sitting down directly beside her, Sebastian looked ahead and listened to what she had to say. Careful to avoid looking at her at all.

"You don't have to be so nervous, I don't bite."

Vulcan grinned. Sebastian however, only seemed more nervous.

"No, sorry. I just prefer not to look people in the eyes if I don't know them."

Vulcan tilted her head, but shrugged regardless.

"Your choice. That's not what I'm here to talk about anyways. You awakened recently, didn't you?"

Sebastian suddenly flinched, something deep within him told him to object. But his common sense told him that probably wasn't his best option here.

"Y-yes…"

"I knew it! So it is you, Wheel! Thank goodness, after your last incarnation died I was scared there wouldn't have been another one!"

Narrowing his eyes, Sebastian spoke a little louder.

"How did you know? I didn't even know who you were until you told me, so it can't be an aspect of awakening."

Vulcan's devious grin widened further.

"I know everything that goes on under the stars. I'm sure plenty of other Heroes know too, most of us have some way of telling. But that doesn't matter! I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

Again, Sebastian couldn't help but be confused with her cryptic wording. 

"Uh, can I know why?"

"Of course!"

Vulcan suddenly leapt to her feet. In an almost cartoonish display of bravado, she thrust her arms outward. Now, her grin was no different from a full-blown smile, reaching the furthest points they possibly could.

"It's because you're going to die today!"