[Snippet] The Masks We Wear (Honkai: Star Rail): Chapter 12 (Patreon)

It would have been easy to mention Penacony, as that was the next destination of the Astral Express. In fact, that would have been their destination had they not been diverted by the Stellaron Hunters to come to the Luofu in the first place.

Mentioning this, it wouldn’t have had the same effect. Knowing they were going to Penacony wouldn’t have proved anything.

The family was inviting dozens of different factions across the universe to attend Penacony for the special gathering. It would have been fairly easy to make a guess that the Astral Express—the Nameless—would also be participating and have gotten their own invitation.

Maybe she would be taken with a bit of contempt or seriousness, who knows.

But Allen, instead, decided to say something that couldn’t be denied, something that would most certainly take her off guard and prove his point. Granted, rather than saying it out loud, the symbol was more than enough for her to understand, especially after he just said he knew about the script.

Kafka looked at the symbol on the table; her expression had shifted just ever so slightly for the briefest of moments before returning to normal.

“Mr. Fool, is that supposed to mean something?” She put on a lazy smile as if it didn’t mean anything.

“Who knows?” Allen shrugged. “Maybe it does mean something. If you don’t think it means anything, then maybe I’ll go open my big mouth and talk with some people about it. Of course, it’s not me that’s betting the universe on a coin flip and making every preparation they can.”

Her smile twitched slightly. "...you made your point, Mr. Fool.”

She couldn’t keep playing dumb because the threat was very real. The board they set up was very, very delicate. If a single stray hand tried to reach over and move a piece or disrupt their moves, then everything could fall apart.

Knowing he won, he wasn’t going to rub it in. “How’s my little sister doing?”

The change of gears caught her slightly off guard. “Little Sister?”

“Our little family of Elation.” He held his hands out. “From one Emanator of Elation to another, isn’t it appropriate to call her my little sister?”

Kafka looked slightly amused by this. “Not many people know about her status.”

Allen knew that she already deduced his identity at this point. In fact, he could guess that there was also someone listening on right at this moment feeding her intelligence into her ear. “Well, I wouldn’t do a very good job of being dark and mysterious if I didn’t know that. Would I, Silver Wolf?”

The Stellaron Hunter paused before pursing her lips and setting her phone on the table.

“Hey, who’s your little sister!?” The voice of Silver Wolf came from the other end of the phone. “If anything, I was here before you!”

“Let’s decide who's taller.”

“Did you call me short!? That’s it; I’m finding all your accounts and draining them!” She shouted angrily from the phone.

“Good luck with that; I have no accounts!” Allen countered.

“Hmph!”

“Children.” Kafka said in a stern, almost motherly tone.

“Don’t you dare try to do anything to Kafka, you hear me? I’ll delete your clothes from here and have you walk around naked.” Silver Wolf threatened from her end. While it was partly a joke, it also established a genuine threat.

If she was able to ‘delete his clothes’ as it were, it would be just as easy for her to do other things if he tried anything funny.

“Mr. Fool. You’ve made your point. What do you want?” Kafka went straight to the point because, logically, he wouldn’t have come to her and made a point like this if he didn’t want anything.

Or maybe he would, as a masked fool; they’re not known for doing things logically.

“Hmm, I thought I was going to have to dox a few more people and/or secrets to get to this point; it’s nice when dealing with smart people.” Allen replied. “Would Elio take offense or be happy if I sent a gift of some cat toys his way?”

Silver Wolf snorted from her end. “He took away my hand the last time I threw a cat toy in front of him.”

Kafka’s expression didn’t change as they played their little games. She was very clearly used to dealing with difficult people.

There was the question, why didn’t she verify? Why didn’t she probe? Why didn’t she test whether he really knew what he was talking about?

The answer was rather simple.

Sometimes, when something is spoken out loud, it’s no longer a secret.

The reason Allen didn’t say the names of certain things associated with the Symbol is because once spoken, they would be known. If they were known, then the ending changes.

There were many players in the universe that would find out secrets even if they were spoken once without taking precautions.

“Go ahead and call Elio; put him on the speaker.” Allen waved his hand.

“Yeah, right, like I would—"

“Do it," Kafka interrupted her.

Silver Wolf went silent for a moment, likely grumbling from her end. “Fine, I’m patching him over.”

It only took a second before another voice arrived on the other end.

“Hello, the Crowned Clown, was it?” A deeper, male voice sounded over.

“Wow, you have a deep voice for a cat.”

"...I suppose I should take that as a compliment?”

“How do you write with paws?”

There was a sigh from his end. “I use my hands.”

Allen hummed. “I’m curious, is there anything about me in your script?”

“What’s the point in asking a question you very clearly already know?” He retorted.

“It strokes my ego and makes me feel impressed," Allen said honestly.

“The Emanator of Elation ascended on a small, unimportant planet. Upon his ascension, a second laugh echoed out throughout the universe. There have been no small number of organizations that have been seeking out the source. The rumors say that a secret was told, one that threatened the stability of the universe and had the potential to destroy it. Yet, as if never existing, no one could find his traces, nor could they trace his background. As if before that very moment, he never existed.”

It was about what Allen expected.

“I heard someone ask a question once. If the ending was already predetermined, if you know that everything you’re doing is pointless, would you still continue as you are?” Allen asked. “Slave of Destiny, pawn of Finality. You already know the End, yet you’re fighting against it. What makes you rebel against the final outcome?”

“I apologize, but if you’re expecting a profound answer from me, you will be disappointed.” Elio replied. “For you, for us, for those who will see the End, perhaps there’s no point. But for those who don’t experience destruction early and can live out their lives, the ending has a much different meaning.”

“We march on to that predetermined ending, with only a sliver of hope to overturn it. But even if we fail, then, aren't the steps we took to reach that point worth acknowledging? Even if the final curtain call leaves the audience feeling disappointing in the conclusion, they will still know that the story was a beautiful one.”

Allen was silent as he spoke.

“I feel like your answer was tailored for my sensibilities, but I like your answer all the same.” Allen sighed.

“A screenwriter has to tailor their script for their target audience.” Elio replied. “I have never claimed to be anything other than some poor fool who disliked the original script.”

“If it’s any consolation, I like your script very much.”

“As a writer, that’s the best compliment I can receive.” Elio responded goodnaturedly. “Does this mean you don’t intend on interfering with it?”

Allen didn’t immediately confirm or deny, choosing his words carefully. “We all have our difficulties. Just as you wouldn’t hesitate to interfere with someone else''s performance on stage, I’m also the same.”

“Those who take the stage have to be prepared to be dismissed if the play doesn’t receive favorability from the audience.” 

Allen’s lips curled up because, to his surprise, he found Elio someone very agreeable and almost like a kindred spirit.

They walked different paths that have intersected and could potentially lead to becoming enemies, yet he couldn’t help but acknowledge the similarities between them.

Allen knew that Elio was being particular with his speech to resonate with Allen, but he didn’t mind.

“Elation is the hardest to predict and can cause the most damage to the script I’ve written, but…don’t assume that means I’m at your mercy.” A subtle warning in his words. Even if he was being accommodating, he wanted to make it clear that this wasn't a hostage situation.

He was willing to take a step back, even submit to some demands, if it came to that. But Elio also wanted him to know that he’s doing this because it’s the simplest way to settle matters, not because he’s being forced against his will.

“Alright, I’ll be forward then. First, I want Five Stellarons.” Allen went right to the main point.

“Your goal is Stellarons?” It was Silver Wolf who spoke. “What do you want those things for?”

“I have my own goals, and I need a bunch.” Allen said casually.

“That’s not suspicious at all.” She said dryly.

“I know that you all, as a group, have more than five altogether. It shouldn’t be a problem to hand over five to me," Allen stated.

“You’re not wrong.” Elio replied. “What are your other demands?”

“I may need Silver Wolf’s help in the future, so a promise for that.”

“No way!”

“And I do mean full help.” Allen emphasized, not so subtly, indicating that he would need her status as an Emanator. “But don’t worry, I can take responsibility if it comes to that and make sure she can control herself during our little cooperation.”

Elio just hummed from his end.

“Last, and easiest. I need an account with a billion credits in it.”

“Seriously? You’re shaking us down for credits?" Silver Wolf said incredulously.

“To be fair, that’s just something I thought up on the spot because I need to pay someone for something in a bit and I don’t really care about money all that much and don’t carry much on me.” Allen explained.

It wasn’t part of his original goals, but it was something he would need to take care of after the Luofu, and it was something that would require a lot of money.

A billion credits may not be enough to buy the thing he wanted, in all honesty, but he had another trump card to persuade the other person if needed.

Since he was here, he figured he may as well get that out of the way. Silver Wolf was notoriously good at hacking into accounts of the IPC and stealing credits. It was much easier to do this than go and get the credits he needed by himself.

“It’s simple enough.” Allen held his arms open. “And I’ll promise not to change the trajectory of your script.”

There was a misconception with people when they thought of masked fools. Many thought that Masked Fools never kept their word; that was wrong. In fact, if you could coax a promise out of a Masked Fool, it was almost certain they would keep it. 

The issue was blinding trusting a masked fool without such a thing.

Ironically, or perhaps it was humorous, Masked Fools were the most 'trustworthy' faction in the entire universe. 

The biggest hurdle was just them getting to agree to it or make the promise in the first place. But once you secured that, you could almost be certain they would uphold their word.

It was because it was part of the game.

If you couldn’t 'lose,' if you were never 'forced,' or if there was never any 'agreement,' then the fun would eventually dry up. What elation was there to have when there weren’t lines in the sand that you could dance over?

Masked Fools kept their word, because it was fun. Because it subverted expectations, because it made the universe more interesting. If you could get a masked fool to concede and make a promise, wasn’t that just another part of the fun?

You got me this time, but next time you better be prepared, or something along those lines. There were many, many ways to interpret it, to find the fun and value.

In fact, Masked Fools would look down on their brethren who didn’t play the game this way. If you were so scared or pitiful that you couldn’t even take a loss or wouldn’t even allow yourself the chance to lose, did you deserve your mask?

It was contradictory.

Masked Fools loved Rules because Rules made the game more fun. Yet in the same breath, they would do their best to break the rules at every turn.

Chaos was only fun when there were things to disrupt. 

Allen patiently waited as Elio seemed to consider it.

A polite blackmail, as it were. Or perhaps it could be considered a bribe. Paying off someone like an Emanator of Elation for a promise not to disrupt the script wasn’t a bad deal for the Slave of Destiny.

“You said you wouldn’t alter the trajectory of the script. Did you think I wouldn’t notice your phrasing?” Elio asked.

“Doesn’t the end of each scene matter more than the inbetween?” Allen tilted his head. “If you achieve the reaction from the audience that you want, then why does it matter if someone throws a pie at someone else abruptly during the performance?”

“As a screenwriter, I take offense to people making improvisations without my input.”

"But aren't those improvisations sometimes the most beloved memories for the audience?” Allen countered. “You don’t need to think too hard about it. I have no intentions of actively interfering with your scripts; however, I can’t say that I won’t be doing things where your script is taking place. Therefore, my promise is that I won’t alter the trajectory of the script rather than the individual lines.”

“Is that something you can truly promise?” He questioned.

“It’s something I can be mindful of. Isn’t that better than nothing?” Allen responded. “And I’ll add something. You sent the Astral Express here to the Luofu because you wanted the Luofu to support the Astral Express in the future. I’ll toss my hat into the ring and say that I’ll respond to a call from the Astral Express for help as well.”

The promise of action from an Emanator was not a light consideration.

It more or less offset the second condition. 

A promise of help from Silver Wolf was perhaps worth the trade of a promise of help from another Emanator at a later date.

“Shall I offer you a word of advice?” Elio suddenly spoke.

“I wouldn’t reject a word of advice from the Slave of Destiny.”

“Your objective, whatever it is, won’t stay hidden forever.” Elio told him very plainly. “Your existence will not remain obscured. Eventually, we all have to walk onto the stage and under the spotlight.”

"...you seem to think you know what my plans are.”

“Maybe, or maybe not.” Elio said casually. “But I’ve seen a lot of scenes across the universe. I've become fairly good at being able to predict how a play will start and how it will end. Do you know what the most common theme is?”

“Enlighten me.”

“Desperation.”

“.....”

Elio continued. “And those who are most desperate usually fall into one of two categories. Those who are willing to sacrifice themselves for their goal. Or… those willing to sacrifice everyone else.”

For the first time in this little talk of theirs, Allen felt that his confidence had begun to waver. It was a reminder that despite even his own knowledge that let him act with near impunity in most scenarios, there were people in the universe that were not to be trifled with.

What unsettled him the most was that he couldn’t refute it.

“And which do you think I am?” Allen asked.

“You would be surprised at how often those two positions swap in the end.” 

Outwardly, there wasn’t much of a reaction. But beneath the layers of Masks, Allen’s expression had drastically changed.

"...Then I thank you for your advice.”

There was nothing more on that topic from him. Elio didn’t bother to try and poke at him, nor did he bother to test or evaluate him anymore. “We don’t simply have a billion credits on hand. It will take a few days. Leave your number with Silver Wolf and she’ll give you the information on a new account soon.”

“That’s fine.” He wasn’t in a hurry.

“We can’t part with Five Stellarons. At most, we can give you four.”

“Deal.” Allen didn’t bother to argue. Even if he needed as many as possible, he wasn’t going to push and potentially lose such a good deal already.

“I hope our paths don’t cross in the future, for I fear that it would not be good for either of us. However, I can say that it was an interesting conversation. I hope that whatever your goal is, you find peace with it.”

With that, Elio disconnected.

Allen hoped so too.

@***@

A/N

Allen gets what he wants but is reminded that he isn’t playing a single player game.