Nova sat on a bench away from the Stay Night Tower, but close enough to see the gruesome scene.
"Who were you?" Nova asked. "I know what you were, but who were you, Andy Summers?"
Nova flipped open his phone. 11/23/2021. "This week has been crazy, too crazy."
Nova planted his face in his hands, trying to gather his thoughts. "I'm too exposed here; what if there's more of them?" He dragged his hands down his face. "I need to find Oblivi."
He got up from the bench and walked back over to Chloe. One of her clones turned to look at him while the rest laid a white tarp over Andy and carried his body away from the hotel.
"What do you want?" she asked, arms crossed.
"Your contact." Nova handed her his phone, but she pushed it away. "You're not my type."
Nova got flustered. "Not for that," he said, pushing his hand back toward her. "I need to be able to call you in case something happens or I don't know what to do again."
But Chloe balked. "I was here in an instant; why would you need my number?!"
Nova took a deep breath. "Please, Chloe."
Chloe rolled her eyes and snatched his phone, typing her name and number in a flash. "There, now leave me alone."
"Not yet. I need some questions answered."
"What do you need to know?"
"What happened to the generation before my team?"
"Classified."
"Where did they live?"
"Also classified."
"Do you know where I could find Oblivi?"
"School, maybe the dorms."
"And that's where?"
Chloe smirked as she pointed down. "You know, it's a massive campus."
"Come on."
She pointed southwest. "That's the way to the dorms. Why are you asking me?"
Nova gave her a flat smile. "Worry about yourself; I got a job to do."
He left her there and made his way back to the rooftops of the residential area.
Nova peered down as he leaped from roof to roof. "I need a faster way to get around, but at least these buildings are spaced so closely."
Once Nova reached the dorms, he was shocked by the number of complexes he would have to search. "Well, let's get this over with." He started knocking door to door, and the students gave him strange looks. Not long after, just as he was about to knock on yet another door, Oblivi showed up, to his surprise.
"Hey, I've been looking for you," he said, walking over to her.
"I know. I was called here to investigate a strange guy going around disturbing the peace."
"Well, I wouldn't call it 'disturbing the peace,' but to each their own," Nova quipped.
Oblivi facepalmed. "Come on, it's too early for this." She took his collar and led him out of the dorm area, heading toward the tailor's shop. As they walked, Nova asked, "Hey."
"Hmm?" Oblivi muttered.
"Did you know a guy named Andy?"
Oblivi looked up in thought. "Uh, yeah, I think he was around... sometimes? Why do you ask?"
"He, uh, stopped by earlier. He loved— loves you guys." Nova couldn't bring himself to tell her.
Oblivi eyed him. "Umm, alright." She rolled her eyes and smiled. "I don't know why you're telling me this."
Nova controlled himself, biting his tongue.
Soon after, they made it to the tailor's, entering with the familiar ringing of the bell above the door.
"Welcome in!" Vale hollered from the back, running up to the front as quickly as she could, avoiding the dresses with grace.
"Hey!" Oblivi beamed.
"Hello again," Nova said, looking past Vale to find the old man.
Vale waved them to the back.
"Well, show them what we've been working on," D'noy called from the workshop.
They followed Oblivi, who practically skipped ahead. In the workshop, their eyes landed on two premium-quality cloaks.
The old man sat down, shaking slightly. Vale walked up holding cases. She gave Oblivi a garment bag signed with the name V. Lapp, and Nova one signed D. Lapp.
"What does the D stand for?" Nova asked.
"D'noy. It's a sign of our work, showing we take responsibility for our creations, good or bad." Vale pointed to the dressing room. "Enough, time is being wasted standing around; try them on!"
"You first." He let Oblivi go in first while they waited.
Nova asked the question that had been nagging at him. "I didn't ask for a cloak yet; why would you make it? Actually, more importantly, how did you do this so fast?" He held the garment bag up. "You know, if I don't like it, I won't wear it."
D'noy chuckled. "I know you'll wear it."
"How would you possibly know?" Nova wondered aloud, perplexed by his demeanor.
D'noy smiled. "Your eyes, boy. I can see who you are. A person's soul is the blueprint to their life; no matter which lifetime your soul lives through, your choices will remain constant."
Nova realized the old man's manick ability was some type of foresight, activated by reading the soul through his eyes.
Moments later, Oblivi stepped out in a sky-blue, hoodless cape jacket, her mouth slightly hidden by the neck tab. It stopped just short of her navel. "It feels so soft on the inside," she said, patting the jacket.
"The inside is made from cotton while the outside is fleece," Vale explained. "With this piece, I attempted to mimic your manick ability with breathable materials."
She hugged herself slightly. "Well, it does feel that way."
D'noy joined the conversation. "Now, Nova, on with you."
Nova went into the dressing room and came out a short while later, a black hood masking his entire face, clothed in a cloak that draped to his feet and wrapped around his body.
Nova began to speak. "This feels—"
"It feels right, I know," D'noy interrupted. "I made your cloak specifically tailored to you and you alone."
What does that mean? he thought.
"It means I tailored augments within the threads. Go look in a mirror right now, you'll see."
Nova followed his instructions and returned to the dressing room, looking into the mirror hanging from the wall. My face! In the mirror was a featureless mass of darkness. He slammed the door open in a panic.
"WHERE'S MY FACE?!" Nova yelled.
D'noy laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair. "Just take the hood off, kid."
Nova promptly took his hood off and checked the mirror again, his face returning to its umber color and prominent features.
"Is it back?" he said, touching his face again. Once he calmed down, he came back out. Oblivi and Vale appeared concerned while D'noy waited for his chance to speak again. "As I was saying, I'm able to augment your cloaks given the time and materials. This augmentation is one I made myself, so I threw it in for free."
"So what do you guys think of our work?" Vale asked.
Oblivi and Nova both agreed. "They're perfect."
"Great," Vale said. "Let me just see your sect cards, and I'll charge it to the sect account."
Oblivi and Nova handed over their sect cards, and once the transaction cleared, they left.
Outside, Nova stopped Oblivi. "Hey, in there Vale said 'mimic your manick ability.' I thought yours was some kinda erasure blast?"
Oblivi ignored Nova and looked away. "It is."
"Umm, no, I'm pretty sure it's not. How does this—" Nova grabbed part of her jacket. "—indicate an erasure ability?"
She stepped back, still avoiding his eyes. "Just don't worry about it."
Then Nova had an idea. "As your leader, you don't think I should know my members' strengths and weaknesses? What if we get into a fight and I don't know how to strategize?"
Oblivi glanced around and pulled Nova behind the shop. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, so don't go blabbing. Got it?"
"Yeah, alright," Nova agreed.
"My manick ability is to soften, but our scientists have discovered that some people get enhanced abilities instead of having more capacity for joules."
"Meaning?"
"If my ability is to soften a concept down to 1% at best, what would happen if I could overcome that limitation?"
"You could reach into the negatives."
"Exactly." Oblivi lowered her gaze to her arm. "But without my band, I can only soften things."
"That makes sense." Nova looked at her arm as well. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be; I was just lucky to be used as an experiment," she said. "I'm going home, but just so you don't have to go jumping around the city for me, I'll give you my contact."
Nova gave her his phone, and she put her contact in.
"Thanks. Once I have a mission for us, I'll be sure to call."
"Looking forward to it."