To Show the Options [Lorelei POV]

Her inability to foresee this filled the oracle with great shame.

Lorelei had scried as she always did before any big moves. While she had foreseen their separation into various planes, she had failed to identify the subtler signs for what they were. Now the temporary separation into different vehicles had come to a catastrophic point.

Only about half of the harem was back now. It had only been an hour since John had notified them of his state and many of the haremettes were still in their individual clusters all over the country. The only reason why so many already were back was that Lee had managed to teleport them back. A fortuitous power to have in their arsenal, just like the Harem Comms, which allowed them to always stay in communication.

No ambush had been sprung at the isolated parts of the harem. That was surprising and yet not. In the wake of the blessed Gamer being stuck far away with six others of the harem, it stood to reason that whatever enemy was responsible for it would take advantage of it. When Lorelei tried to foresee why this wasn’t the case, she only saw a shattered future, more fractured than even the regular attempts to scry into the unknown.

Something or someone was reacting to her attempts at scrying and was doing so with a matching aptitude. Their mutual efforts to see what came next made it impossible for each other to get a clear reading.

The number of forces in the world that Lorelei knew about that were capable of this were phenomenally limited. There were the other Divided Gates, of course, and the Lorylim, whose foul influence had to always be considered. Beyond them, the Apothecaries likely could have mustered this kind of power if they had meant to. Similarly, the Abyss Auction may have been capable of gathering enough independents the world over to create the current situation. Lastly, there were the unknown, the Latebloomers of the Generation of Monsters that had not yet revealed themselves.

Certain was only that Lorelei had a duty and that she fell short of it.

“Is there really nothing you can glean?” Momo asked.

Lorelei focused her second sight. Her blind eyes pulsed behind the metal ring around her head. The stretches of her consciousness rubbed against the crawling maggot’s nest of the ruptured thread. Nausea and aches within her skull combined with the growing pressure of her eyes feeling too large for their sockets.

Still, she held onto the hand of the Creator Puppet. The golem was cold, its metal skin bereft of natural warmth or an animating soul. There was a dimmed ember of John’s magic still in it, a prismatic spark that was always on the verge of extinction. Whoever was suppressing his reach was doing so with a might that surpassed theirs. It was a miracle the Harem Comms still worked – perhaps because it was so different? The Creator Puppet was, for all intents and purposes, a highly advanced version of Possession.

When the headache got too strong, Lorelei finally loosened her grip and pulled away from the unforeseeable future. “Nothing,” she muttered, vocal cords weakened by the attempt. “It continues to meet my efforts unflinchingly. Yet, I will attempt it again.”

Lorelei gathered her breath and then took hold of the motionless Creator Puppet once more.

The door to the apartment opened. While Lorelei was deep inside a meditative state, she was aware enough to see Lee enter with much of the remaining harem. Only Aclysia, Beatrice and Claire were missing now, from the flights, and Lu Zhi remained incapable of joining them. Lydia, however, had. The queen sipped on a cup of tea with a darkened gaze.

“This situation is unacceptable!” Nathalia declared upon entering.

“Yes, thank you,” Momo responded with a sarcastic drawl. “We agree, no need to say it.”

“I believe it does need to be said – what upstart dares challenge our supremacy? Do we have any leads?”

“None, which is a lead in and of itself,” Scarlett responded. “I’ve found traces of data manipulation in the flight bookings. This was a crime of opportunity not exactly pre-meditated. In other words, whoever did this was capable enough to put this whole operation together in the week we used to plan this trip.”

“That narrows it down, but not by much,” Delicia said. Any sign of brattiness was gone from the alchemist’s voice. No one spoke with anything else but complete sincerity. “Any technological wonder you can put together, Hailey?”

“Been sketchin’ things up in my brain, but nothing I know will work,” the enigma engineer responded. “I believe I could build something that could operate as a mini-Lorelei, but nothing that could exceed her.”

“Can’t you, like, fuck with the dampening?” Eliana asked.

“No,” answered Nia, as swift as ever. She elaborated after three seconds of thinking, “The effect is too powerful to be messed with so far out. I could Fade even if I succeed and I deem that unlikely. Restarting the receiver will not return the signal.”

“So are we doing nothing?!” Ehtra asked scornfully. “Can we do nothing?!”

“I refuse to believe that,” Metra growled.

“Your belief in or against our current affair does not change its issues,” Lydia answered them. “To flail about wildly will not aid us in any fashion.”

“Know peace,” Nightingale weighed in, before any of the heated moods in the room could boil over. “We are all sharing in the pain of our incompetence. We must not bicker.”

A prolonged moment of silence filled the room, ending when Lee stood up. “Alright, I’ll go grab the last three real quick.”

It was fortunate that Lee had been in Los Angeles shortly after John. As every flight they had booked went there eventually, she could always bounce back and forth between the Protected Space she had left there and the Protected Space on top of the Hudson Barrier.

“I have his last known coordinates from the server protocols,” Scarlett reminded all of them. “If nothing else, we can take the yacht out there. We’ll be reasonably close at that point.”

“Maybe Lorelei can take it from there?” Nahoa asked hopefully. The poor woman sounded so tired. Her soul could not take the centre of her new world being ripped away so soon after rising from a horrid depression.

The seer inhaled sharply and backed away from the current attempt to divine the future. After seven deep breaths, she was ready to dive back in. Momo took hold of her shoulders. Too weak to resist, Lorelei was moved to the Couch, where she sat with her sisters in love. “You’ve done all you can from here,” the fairy insisted.

“Maybe…” Lorelei muttered. She was not convinced of it. For now, however, she would recuperate her strength.

They sat together in tense silence, waiting for Lee to return. It took fifteen minutes until she did with the last three haremettes that could be in attendance. Altogether on the couch were: Aclysia, Nathalia, Eliana, Momo, Lydia, Nia, Metra, Scarlett, Beatrice, Lorelei, Lee, Nightingale, Delicia, Claire, Hailey, Ehtra and Nahoa. 17 of the most powerful women in the world, almost as helpless as a mundane person would have been in this situation.

Almost.

“With no other leads, it is obvious that we must proceed with the yacht,” Aclysia stated. With John and Rave out of the room, she was the next highest in the internal hierarchy of the harem. “We shall board it this instant. Every minute we spend here is a minute we could reunite with Master earlier.”

“Hear, hear,” Claire readily agreed.

“Disagreement,” Beatrice stated, causing the head and vampire maid to stare at their passive counterpart with venom in their eyes. “Statement: your analysis is clouded. I request my analysis to be double-checked by Momo, Scarlett and Lydia, as the most savvy among the harem. All of us moving out on the ship would carry intense negative consequences, correct?”

“It would be political suicide,” Lydia answered. “It will not take long for people to suspect that something is up. John always makes public appearances, even when he is on vacation with his true body.”

“That aside, to move all of us together would leave this place open to attacks, something that is more likely now than ever,” Momo threw in.

“They got John by luck. They must have had something in mind for it,” Scarlett agreed. “We’d be fucking idiots to-“

“He is our John!” Aclysia interrupted. “Everything else is secondary!”

Lydia audibly put the teacup down. “Your concerns are heard and shared, Aclysia, but we both know that he would not appreciate such a single-minded focus on finding him, especially when he is not in imminent danger.”

Aclysia gritted her teeth audibly. With a cold gaze, she settled on the Couch and effectively ceded the authority she had to Lydia, who quickly rose to her feet. “Moving the full might of the harem would be unwise. However, an attempt to find him must be made. I recommend that Aclysia, Beatrice, Metra, Ehtra, Nathalia, Lee and Lorelei partake in this mission. Does this find agreement?”

“Only seven of us?” Claire pressed out.

“I believe fully that this combat **** will be enough to sweep away whatever is in your path,” Lydia responded with military harshness. She was not treating this as an emotional exercise. Emotions were stirring behind the iron mantle of her soul, worry and love intertwined, yet failed to drill through her discipline. “I believe our most likely culprit to be found in the Lorylim. They have plenty of motivation and would also be among those most able to do so. If this is the case, we must be prepared. If they are ever going to strike, it will be now. Therefore, the remaining 10 of you will stay right here and monitor the situation. I will return to Europe and alert forces that can be trusted to be subtle. I wish to be prepared for the worst.”

“Doesn’t sound like a terrible idea,” Lee said.

“Low as the chances are, Hailey, Delicia and I can use the Thorne HQ resources to research a potential way to locate him,” Scarlett said. “My private assets are open for this.”

Hailey nodded deeply.

Lorelei was deep in thought, something the others did not yet notice.

“My choice for who leaves is partly dedicated to who I believe will be best in a defensive situation,” Lydia elaborated on her choices. “Nathalia, while you are our most reliably powerful member, Eliana and Nightingale are better at defending a populated area. Claire will be needed so the local spy network can prevent any internal uprisings. Nia, similarly, will swiftly spot any traitorous fluctuations in the local magic. Nahoa is much better at defending a point than taking one. In addition to all of you, there are the Guild Hall defences. Personally, I believe that even further defences would be optimal…”

“I have prototype robot fighters that can fight at a level 30 standard. I will deploy them if need be,” Scarlett stated.

“Rel, do you agree with this plan?” Lydia asked. The seer did not answer. “Lorelei?”

“Oh… my apologies,” she snapped out of her trance, “I am… contemplating another option that is open to us.” She straightened up. “If I may, it is my sincere and saddening belief that I will not be able to locate the blessed Gamer even if we approach.”

“You cut through Mengele’s precautions,” Lydia said.

“This is true, but it was not my work alone.” Lorelei looked at her hands for a while, before shifting the focus of her second sight across the table to Aclysia and Claire. Despite her head remaining in the same position, everyone else in the room could sense the change. With mild confusion, they glanced between seer and maids. “I believe we should enlist her.”

Aclysia pressed her lips together, then let out a long sigh. “An unfortunate way to reveal the matter, yet… I affirm the decision. Claire?”

“Affirmative,” the vampire maid responded swiftly.

“May we be included in this mystery conversation?” Lydia’s own strained state of mind showed for a brief glimpse in that impatient question.

Aclysia rose to her feet again to become the centre of attention once more. “As you are all aware, John is the justified target of much female attention. Many women do not have the wisdom to know what is socially appropriate and of them only one ever was considered acceptable to be presented to John.”

“You did not…” Lydia was already voicing what Lorelei had always known would be voiced.

“This individual was exceptionally good at masking her own aura, sneaking past the automatic defences of the Guild Hall and making her way into the Palace. Claire nevertheless caught her, after which we vetted her for suitability. We reckoned that she was worthy to be presented to Master. We greatly moderated her access to the Palace and assured she would be presentable.”

“But she had access to the Guild Hall?” Nathalia growled. “You let a stalker roam our domain?” The dragoness’ gaze scanned over the harem. “Who was in on this?”

Lorelei raised her hand, which was still met with a degree of surprise despite her broaching the subject. “I was called upon to assure that she did not harbour any ill-intent towards John. While I do not condone the methods used, I can vouch for the individual being worthy of attention and pure in intent.”

That the other maids, one after another, raised their hands was a small surprise. Metra, especially, stared when her fellow Metracana gave a sign of hand. More than that, everyone stared at the fairy when she raised hers.

“I was also involved.”

“Momo?!” Lydia’s shock was palpable. “You aided them in this?”

“I decided to make the best out of the situation.” The supportive maid raised a hand before more of the outrage could sweep over the room. “Let me explain. This woman’s circumstances are special. Her Innate Ability is similar to Lorelei’s, in that she also sees and perceives the auras of people. It is much finer in that regard than Lorelei’s, despite their level difference. When we visited Springfield, she was exposed to John’s aura at the time and it essentially broke her brain. She’s in an multi-hour orgasmic state just from being within a several kilometre radius around him.”

“That explains her actions, but not yours!” Nathalia declared.

“We saw in her a kindred soul, capable of truly loving Master like he should be loved!” Claire responded.

“Lorelei and I saw in her someone that needed help and there was no good way around this. I wasn’t invited into the plot, by the by, I found out independently and **** my will on that project to try and balance out her brain. John can and perhaps should reject her. I saw it as my moral obligation to get her into a physical and mental state where she could take that.” Momo scratched the back of her head. “I know and understand that you’re angry about it. We can have a long talk about it once all of this is resolved.”

“I got told about it a few weeks back, as did Siena and Undine,” Eliana weighed in.

“I was aware and chose not to voice it,” Nightingale confessed.

“It was a secret?” Nia asked, genuinely perplexed. “Oh.”

Various emotions danced around the harem, from support to indifference to betrayal, all of them understandable as far as Lorelei was concerned. Lydia shoved her own feelings on the matter back beneath the iron mantle. “So, this stalker’s Innate Ability will be able to find John?”

“I firmly believe so.”

“What’s her name?”

“Layla Viorica.”