"You. Frickin. Idiot!"
Darius couldn't help but smile as he pushed himself off the floor and tried to hug Ida again. She stepped back and ran straight to the blood-covered terminal she'd gone for previously, typing furiously on it - this time fully in control of her fine motor skills.
She quickly checked through the various parameters that would tell her how the ship was flying, then sighed in relief that they were all normal - or approaching normal. Finally, she seemed to notice the date and she slowly turned around.
"The hell?" she asked, looking from Darius to Joey, to Ned, Cleo, and finally the two newcomers.
"Ida?" Darius asked, walking up to her and reaching out. She slapped his hand away and walked up to the others. For some reason, she seemed to be ignoring him for now.
"Why is it still November 17th?" Ida asked, looking suspiciously at the humans in the group. "What exactly happened?"
Ned fell to his knees, barely holding back sobs as he tried to smile at her.
"We saved you..." he whispered.
Ida growled, then spun around to stare intently at Darius. He instinctively knew what she wanted.
"After your injury, I decided to crash the ship. You told me otherwise when you got up and tried to right its course, and then I requested that the others bring someone with a Miracle capable of healing you. They did so, and these are the two they brought. The woman there is the one who saved you."
Ida glared at him for a long moment, then finally spat out a reply.
"You're all grounded. Frickin grounded!" She walked over to Cleo and jabbed a finger as high on Cleo's torso as she could. "You especially! Bringing unauthorized personnel down here? What is wrong with your brains? That was rule #1! I should shoot you for that."
"Ida?" Cleo asked, trying to catch up to the situation. For once, she seemed to have no idea what was going on.
"I should just shoot all of you," Ida grumbled, continuing on her tirade. "Why the hell did I ever think it was a good idea to bring a bunch of children down here? Sure, I could have used them to further my own ends, but it would have been so much simpler to just shoot all of them on sight. And Darius? Why didn't I just shut that damn bot down the moment it developed any self-awareness?" She walked over to the console and ran a hand over it. "And of course, someone has to clean this mess up. Honestly. Darius!"
She spun and glared at him, pointing at the blood stains on the keyboard.
"On it, Ida," he replied, smiling. She was alive. That was all he needed. He left the room to get some cleaner, and Ida ushered everyone out after him.
"Let me make something very transparent to you, Miss Yang," Ida said as they left. "If you ever set foot in that room again, I will shoot your father, then each and every one of your friends, and finally you. Without authorization, no one sets foot in there."
"What is that room exactly?" the male medical person said, frowning.
"None of your damn business. Now, get those two out of here. Preferably into a holding cell so I can deal with them later." Ida speedwalked down the hallway, somehow not being much faster than any of the others.
"But - " Cleo started, only to be silenced by another glare from Ida.
"Do as I say."
Cleo glanced apologetically at the two people she'd brought down, then teleported them away.
"And you, Darius! Don't you think for a second that I'm done with you," Ida spat.
"I understand. The most important thing is to keep Arx Nubibus afloat and its people safe," Darius replied. "I apologize for letting my emotions get the better of me."
"So she really is Odin?" Joey asked, glancing nervously at Ida.
"Cat's out of the bag is it?" Ida asked, sending him a glare. "Whatever. Will you start actually treating me like an adult now?"
"You're not an adult," Cleo said carefully, almost like it was a question.
"Useless, all of them," Ida muttered, speeding up her pace.
"Ida, what's your Miracle?" Ned asked, hopping up to her.
Ida stopped and heaved a sigh.
"Isn't that the heart of it? You don't question any of your crazy powers, but an adult's mind in a child's body is too much for you?"
Ida turned, still glowering at them.
"I'm immortal."
Darius checked the information against all of his memories. All 105 years, 10 months and 18 days of them. He saw no reason to refute her claim. In fact, hadn't there been one time where she put him in charge of the autopilot forevermore and then tried to kill herself only to return a few days later and scream about it?
"I can verify that she is," Darius said. "I'm sorry, Ida. If I'd been better at deciphering my memory data, none of this would have happened." He stepped forward and knelt in front of her. "I will accept whatever punishment you see fit."
"What if I told you to delete yourself?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Your wish is my command," Darius replied.
"What? No!" Ned cried, running and hugging Darius.
"Relax, kid," Ida said coldly. "Instead, Darius, you are required to remain with me for the rest of time and act as my hands. That is why I made you after all."
"Understood. Your wish is my command," Darius said, joy blooming in his heart. Ida wanted him, even after what he'd done to her.
"Now that that's settled, carry me to the common room." Ida stepped forward, ready to hop on Darius' back. He obliged and they started walking again.
"Cleo, bring Courtney and Sawyer there too," Ida said. "I don't know what they're up to, but it's probably nothing productive."
"R-right," Cleo replied, looking anxiously at Ida. "Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot. I just won't promise to answer."
Cleo paused for a second, searching for words.
"Why can't I see your past? I should have known you were older, that you were Odin. But I've never been able to see you with my clairvoyance. You're a complete blind spot, both you and Darius."
"I don't have the answer to that," Ida replied. "Maybe you should ask whoever gave you that Gift about it."
"Ask them?" Cleo frowned in thought. "I've never seen them since they gave it to me, though."
"Really?" Ida asked, turning slightly and pondering the information. "I see Solitude every time I die, so maybe you just haven't found the condition for it yet."
"Who?" Ned asked.
"Solitude," Ida replied. "The one who gave me this damn curse. He's a piece of work."
The sour expression on her face said more than enough about her feelings on the matter.
"Is Solitude different from the one who gave us our Miracles?" Joey asked carefully.
"Solitude's green," Ida replied. "I think I remember you mentioning your Giver was purple?"
"Yeah," Cleo confirmed.
"Mine was red," Darius said. "Do you know who she was?"
"Hell if I know. Solitude loves being cryptic and if I'm honest we spend most of our time arguing pointlessly. At least I get to yell at him."
"Yell at him?" Ned asked. "Do you not like your Miracle?"
"Try living all by yourself for two centuries, kid. You'll get over immortality pretty quickly."
Darius continued walking as the others fell silent. Finally, Ned voiced one last question.
"How old are you, Ida?"
"Who knows? I lost track ages ago," she replied. "I was born in April of 2332. If you wanna do the math, go ahead."
Darius ran the calculation in his head quickly.
"Ida is 286 years old. 287 come next April. Which makes her older than Arx Nubibus itself, since it was launched in 2344."
They reached the door to the common room and he walked in, then let Ida down on the couch. Cleo, Joey, and Ned followed quietly, then sat around her, trying to process what they'd just learned.
"I'd rather not explain everything twice, so get the other two down here," Ida said, looking pointedly at Cleo.
Two portals opened over the free seats, each depositing one of the other two remaining members of the group.
"So how much do you want to know?" Ida asked, looking at them carefully. "Do you want to know just how rotten humans are? Or do you want to focus on the present and what we're going to do next?"
