As it turned out, Belial could do something about that. Unfortunately, that something was slightly disturbing and involved me shoving my hand into what was left of Godrick’s mouth.

  A mule’s controller requires consent to transfer ownership to someone else, which should have been impossible with Godrick dead. Luckily—or, unluckily, depending on how you look at it—Belial was able to get that consent by extruding disgusting little wires from underneath my fingernails into the base of Godrick’s spine.

  When I asked if that might look odd, Belial explained that technically there weren’t any rules against ‘biohacking’, and that he’d seen a clip on the feed of another gladiator doing something similar. Apparently, most biohackers have cybernetics that allow them to send electrical impulses into their victim’s minds. Through those impulses, it was possible to ‘turn on’ specific parts of a brain long enough to control them, provided it was still intact. Just to be safe, he had me tell Lucia to close her eyes and instructed me to look away while he worked. That way, any viewers watching through Lucia or I wouldn’t know the exact method used to hack Godrick’s controller, they’d only know that we had.

  When he finished, I was the proud new owner of a medium sized mule.

  With Belial’s help, I commanded it to come to our location and was answered almost immediately by a distant whirring overhead. I craned my head, taking a nervous step back as a large hole opened in the canopy. Branches and leaves crackled and snapped, pushed aside by something unseen as it descended through the trees. Dust puffed up from six round points on the ground as the whirring died down.

  “You might want to de-cloak it.” Belial said, highlighting a button in my interface.

  I pressed it, gaping at the strange, six-legged orb standing before me. It resembled one of the smaller orbs that delivered prizes, only much larger.

  Waffle, who was about as large as one of its segmented feet, waddled into a defensive position between me and the construct. He issued several agitated huffs, which I assumed were meant to ward the contraption off. When they didn’t, he charged, his little body becoming a jiggling loaf of fury before whirling to slam butt-first into one of its metal legs.

  Lucia sounded like she might pass out from laughing as Waffle continued the assault, bounding back and forth to gather more momentum for each attack, none of which were having any effect. This went on for several minutes before I managed to scoop him up, my brow drawing together when he chortled in distress. I could barely keep hold of him, his stubby paws flapped wildly as he tried to wriggle free of my grip.

  With the help of his tentacles, he managed to push aside my fingers, sprinting towards the mule the instant he touched the ground.

  “Waffle!” I called after him, groaning in irritation as he dodged each attempt to pick him up.

  By the third time he’d slipped through my fingers, I’d given up, hoping he’d eventually tire out. I watched with growing concern as his panting and huffing turned frantic.

  Even Lucia seemed to realize something was wrong, no longer giggling as Waffle struggled to push himself upright, taking longer and longer to recover between each charge. After a few more, he’d slowed enough that I saw my chance to grab him. I leaned in, only to pull my hands back when his tentacles turned rigid. He gave a hoarse chuff to ward me off, legs trembling as he thudded weakly against another metal foot. With that, he finally collapsed, heaving a mournful squeak that made my own throat tighten as his tentacles went limp.

  “Wow.” Lucia said, sounding concerned as I cupped the wombat with both hands, “He really doesn’t like it.”

  Despite having given up, I could see how distraught he was. His breathing slowed as I held him against my chest, every exhale breaking with a thin, shaky whine.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, softly, cradling him under my chin while I examined the mule, searching for some clue for what had set him off.

  “Does he always act that way around constructs?”

  “No, this is the first one he’s—” My heart sank when I realized that wasn’t true. He’d seen constructs before, the day I found him…when they dissolved his mother.

  Squeezing him tightly, my eyes welled up as I brushed his blocky little head with my thumb. After rocking him for a moment I could feel his strength starting to return and he pushed away from me. “It’s not the same.” I whispered, pulling him back in and praying he wouldn’t decide to stab me with his spikes.

  Thinking it might calm him down, I set the mule to cloaked and watched its frame dissolve into the background. Somehow that seemed to upset Waffle even more. His paws kicked against my chest more forcefully as he craned his head back, scanning for where it might’ve gone. I considered smashing the mule into tiny pieces with my hammer, wondering if it would make him feel better.

  Lucia gave me a confused look, “Do you know why he hates it so much?”

  “I think so.” I frowned, hushing Waffle as he whined loudly, lamenting another failed attempt to scrabble free, “I think he thinks it’s what killed his mother…I might have to break it.”

  “Break it?!” she and Belial both said at the same time, causing me to blink. “That’s…crazy. Mules are really valuable.”

  “I don’t know what else to do, he’s never acted like this.”

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  She looked from Waffle to the still cloaked mule, making a questioning face, “A mule killed his mother?”

  “No,” I breathed, “the ones he saw were smaller…they sprayed pink foam.”

  “Cleaners.” she nodded, “that makes more sense. I might be able to help--if you’ll let me.”

  She reached a hand towards Waffle, sending a spike of panic through me and causing me to take a reflexive step back.

  “It won’t hurt him,” she reassured, looking dejected when I only shook my head.

  “Aine, we need the mule. I think you should let her try.”

  “I don’t want to trick him.”

  “Not a trick—I think I can explain that this construct is different if I send the right impressions.”

  She took another step towards me, meeting my eyes.

  I hesitated. “If you do anything to—”

  “I promise I won’t.”

  “If she tries to take control—”

  Belial responded before I could finish my question, “I’ll rip off her head.”

  I waited for Waffle to struggle again before nodding once. Thinking she’d need to touch him directly, I moved my hand away from his head, furrowing my brow when she placed her hand over mine instead.

  “This way you can see what I’m showing him.” She said, closing her eyes.

  Waffle continued to kick. I eyed my hammer, about to abandon this idea and smash the mule instead when I finally felt it. A notion, slowly taking shape inside my mind…like I’d been given the answer to a problem, without ever knowing what the problem had been. Lucia opened her eyes a moment later, and I realized Waffle had calmed. Two tiny black eyes gleamed up at me, followed by a soft chirp and the slight tilt of his head.

  “Did you do something to make him forget?” I was starting to feel upset as that would definitely qualify as tricking him.

  “No,” she said quickly, “I just showed him they were different. He should remember everything.”

  “Are you okay?” I held him up to my face with his front paws dangling limply over my thumbs. He seemed dazed--mesmerized by the sight of me, making me worry something had gone wrong. I swallowed, my voice breaking as I tried again, “Waff-le?”

  Afraid I might be holding him too tightly, I relaxed my hands, relief spilling out as a laugh when fuzzy appendages weaved between my fingers to pull them tight again. He didn’t want me to let him go. Reassured he at least remembered who I was, I turned towards the mule, uncloaking it and waiting for his reaction. Waffle studied it in silence before butting his chin against my sternum and rasping out a squeak. I snorted at what must’ve been his way of saying sorry, squeezing him until he let out a breathless peep, which was usually a sign he couldn’t breathe. Kneeling to set him back down, I was surprised when he tugged at my dress instead. I held the pocket open, smiling as he squished himself inside and choking up slightly when he insisted on holding my finger hostage. He curled his paws around it; tugging it inside his pocket the same way he had the day I’d found him.

  “Thank you.” I met Lucia’s eyes as I stood.

  She looked relieved, making me wonder if she too was worried something had gone wrong. “It’s no trouble.” she glanced at the wombat-bulge on the side of my dress, smiling, “I’m just glad I could help, I could tell it was hard for you to see him like that.”

  “Where did you learn how to do that?” I asked, seeing an opportunity to learn more about her. The question seemed to catch her off guard, and she fumbled her words slightly, surprising me as it didn’t seem all that strange to ask. Especially after what I’d just seen her do.

  “I--I was born this way.”

  “I meant the way you spoke to Waffle. Could you always talk to animals?”

  “Oh. Right.” she hung her head slightly, as if remembering something she didn’t want to, “No, not always. Animals were used in my training.”

  Something about the way she answered told me things didn’t end as well for those animals as they did for Waffle.

  “What were you training for? The tournament?” I asked, moving towards the pile of supplies and grabbing what I could one-handed. Seeing what I was doing, Lucia followed my lead, carrying an armful of looted gear towards the mule.

  “No.” she shook her head, “I’m sorry, it wouldn’t be safe if I told you.”

  “Safe for who?”

  “Both of us.” Her eyes flicked to the sky, implying people were watching.

  I understood the gesture even though we both knew if viewers were watching, it would be through our eyes.

  “Can you at least tell me why you’re here if it’s not to win the tournament?”

  “I’m—” She eyed the ground, a pained expression on her face, “looking for someone…someone really important to me.”

  That made me narrow my eyes. “Another gladiator?”

  “No.” Her eyes flicked upwards again, “I can’t say any more, I’m sorry.”

  I nodded, frowning. Her answers only muddied the water even more. Helping Waffle did make me feel better about her, but only slightly. For all I knew, it could’ve used her magic to set him off…just so she could swoop in and save the day.

  “I suspected the same thing, so I was paying attention to what she was doing,” Belial said.

  “And?”

  “Hmm?” Belial answered, distracted.

  “Did you learn anything?”

  “Oh. No, I just figured you’d want to know that I tried.”

  I sighed, drawing a look from Lucia, who was waiting on the opposite side of the construct, one of the breastplates she held partially obscuring her face.

  “Do you mind…uhm…opening the hatch?” Lucia asked, rocking on her heels.

  Her arms were starting to tremble under the load she was carrying.

  “One second, sorry.”

  Despite her obvious discomfort, she didn’t complain, still wearing an eager expression as I flipped through my HUD. I pulled up mule’s menu, frowning when I only recognized half of the words. Luckily, there were symbols next to each. I debated asking Belial for help, but since he’d already shown me what they all were, I was determined to find it myself…or at least I was, until I toggled something and the mule began to take off.

  Lucia stumbled backwards, visibly confused. “You don’t want any of this?”

  “Uh—no, sorry—yes, the controls are just—”

  The mule was now hovering a few feet off the ground, its legs whining loudly as they retracted, extended, then retracted again.

  “Do you need help?”

  “No. I just--” I panic flipped several more switches, relief washing over me when the hatch finally swung open. “I figured it would be easier to load like this.”

  Lucia gave me a quizzical look, tilting her head at the open hatch which was in no way easier for her to reach.

  “Okay…” she said, straining to lift the weight over her head. She’d managed to tip a few of the items she was carrying inside before losing her grip and dropping the rest, sighing loudly. “It’s not really any easier, do you think you can lower it?”

  “Oh, sure.” Swallowing, I pulled the menu back up. “Belial.”

  “Hmm?”

  “How do I lower it” I could feel a bead of sweat forming on my head.

  “The landing button is right—”

  “No, without landing it.” Landing it now would make it obvious I didn’t know what I was doing before.

  “O-kay…well in that case you’d have to set it to manual control here and then use the—”

  I pressed the buttons he highlighted before he could finish, cursing out loud when the mule flipped upside-down, dumping out the items Lucia had managed to pack.

  She looked away for a second, shaking her head before staring at the upside-down mule again, then turned her gaze to me. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she managed to speak.

  “I’m sorry, but…are you…playing a joke on me?”

  I hung my head and sighed.

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