Ika was drinking cup after cup of water cooler water at the Evergreen's base of operations. Despite having had plenty of water on the way there, her crying had made it difficult to keep all of that in. "O-oh my god, Vel, this stuff is great!" "Sweetie, it's just water..." Ika repositioned her posture to be more straight up, pointing a finger at Mako. "Hey, get back to me on that when you have water after crying your eyes out." "Fair enough. We should probably get moving though, right?" "Just two more cups!" Ika drank 5 more cups of water before continuing, taking the [[Walk]] down to the archival room. Velvet had a little explainer before they proceeded. "In here, is where we keep all our records. Rebelling against The Lady isn't easy, you know!" Ika was curious. "The Lady? Isn't that who-" Mako interrupted. "Yeah, she gave the pills to the mayor of the dwarf village." Velvet piped up. "Wait, she did? I thought that was just a myth?" Mako rolled her eyes. "The Evergreens have all the surveillance equipment to personally spy on every minute detail of a man, and thought the delivery of medicine was a myth? Ika, are you *sure* you used to work with these guys?" Ika tilted her head. "You already know the answer to that question. It's okay." "Right." Mako addressed Velvet. "Is that your guys' main mission or something?" Velvet nodded. "That's correct. Ever since she banned Cyborgs from the city, we've been bent on trying to reverse that by any means necessary." They slammed their fist into an open palm, furrowing their brow. "So, truthfully, if you two can help out, that would be wonderful. We got almost half the population of Cyborgs down here, we think, so you definitely have people backing you." Ika looked to the side. "Consider it a trade then. I help you guys with... that, you tell me everything you know about my past." She turned to her partner. "What about you?" "You guys have ice cream?" "14 flavors.", explained Velvet. Mako pumped her first, filled with joy. "You have me sold, sibling!" "It's appreciated, girls. Anyways, the archives are this way." Velvet pushed open a set of double doors, inviting the two into a paradise of... paperwork. "Wowza! That's a lot of file cabinets." "'Wowza', Maks?" "Hey, which one of us pointed our sword at someone we didn't know?" "You don't have to be rude about it..." Ika turned to address Velvet. "Do you know where the files would be?" Velvet cleared their throat. "Well, your- Era's- what's the best way to refer to it?" "You can just say they're my files, Vel." "R-right. Your files are probably somewhere in the back, since it's been a while." Velvet directed them through the various cabinets and office memorabilia. It was rows and rows of paperwork, pen and ink, and even strange typing mechanisms (Ika identified them as "typewriters" or "keyboards", they both sounded right to her) that people were working at. At the back of the wall was a cabinet with a placard hanging over it - the logo was a green tree icon on a black background. On the top was the word "EVERGREEN" in block lettering, and below that, "ENEMY FILES" in a larger font. "You think my files are in here, Vel?" "I *know* your files are in here." Ika shook her head. "I was an enemy to you guys?" Velvet was already scrolling through files. "Apparently? I don't know, I just got this job, er, seven days ago." "Congrats on the promo?", said a somewhat confused Mako. They found the file labelled "Era" but withheld it. "Look, before I give this to you, I just wanna let you know, you've done some pretty bad stuff. Since you seem to be... completely different, I'm willing to forgive you and treat this-", they waved the folder in their hand, "...like a different person. But, still, if you don't want to look at it now, I understand." Mako and Velvet both looked at Ika. Her hand was on her chin. She was in deep, deep thought. Couldn't pry her away from her train if you tried. On the one hand, yes, she had come all this way in search of answers. To deviate from that path *now* of all time, when she was so close, would be stupid. But, on the other hand, if she were to stop here, just go home... she'd be safe, wouldn't she? Live out an idealistic life with her wonderful partner and amazing friends, forget all this happened... like it was some kind of dream. "I wanna see the file." Velvet handed over the manila folder to Ika. She took a deep breath. Mako motioned for the trio to sit down at a nearby desk. They sat, as expected, and Mako held Ika's hand, rubbing her thumb on the back of it. Ika opened the envelope and began reading. ``` CASE FILE #3249 NAME: ERA CYCLONE CURRENT STATUS: UNKNOWN APPEARANCE: Young boy, around the age of schooling graduates. Green hair, slightly tattered grey fedora or hat. Black outfit, similar to martial artist's wear. Always carries a sword - sheath is similarly black, blade is white. Always looks emotionally pained. NOTED FOR: Head of Tactics on behalf of The Lady, leading several "projects" of unknown origin or purpose. Has personally eliminated (as of knowledge) 17 Cyborgs - all of them without families. Primary method of elimination - decapitation. PROJECT SPREAD THE LIGHT: According to witnesses, occasionally mutters about how they wish to "return to the light". Nothing else could be obtained due to the danger of subject. ``` Ika stopped reading, just looking down. Didn't even have the emotions left to cry. Mako muttered, "So many of our...", before putting a hand on Ika's shoulder. "Do you need a hug, sweetie?" No answer. Ika put the case file down. Took a deep breath. "Vel. I know I said I'm not Era anymore. I know I'm not him anymore. But, if there's anything I can do to help atone for what he's done, I'd love to do it." She stuck out a hand. "I'd like to join the Evergreens, if not for Era's sake, then my own." Velvet met Ika's hand - this time, it was not accompanied by a hand buzzer. They gave it a good shake. "Welcome to the team. Glad to have you."