[FRAG] Keep A Secret

Jubilee stared at himself in the mirror.

He looked better than last night, at least. Breathing slowly, he reached up to pull at the skin on his cheeks, the fur on his face. Sure, he looked worn, but he always had an air of exhaustion hanging around him. Maybe his hair could be a little neater. His body still ached, and the hole in his chest was still there, albeit smaller and less sensitive. His clothes? Normal.

Jubilee sighed, leaning on the sink. He couldn't stay in here forever, even though he desperately fantasized about it. Still. He ran a hand through his bangs. Chin up.

He exited the small side room. In the hallway still was Morning Star and Magnotris, the former seated on a chair, the latter leaning against a wall. Jubilee flicked his eyes between them, the duo staring back in a mixture of naive distrust. 

"You look a little better," Morning Star commented, although he'd yet to fully train the tremble out of his voice.

Jubilee let his eyelids fall. "It was that obvious?"

"Oh, I didn't mean-"

He waved it off. "It's fine. Let's go discuss your new duties."

Jubilee set off at a good pace down the hallway. It was familiar and old, worn and new at the same time. It was so, so familiar, after years of traversing the halls, and yet it still had an air of uncertainty about it. After a second, the newest Overseers tailed after him, telepathy singing between them. Jubilee didn't mind. Private conversations were private. 

"We have a lot to discuss," he began, and their telepathy promptly ended. "Assignments and whatnot. Clearing up any missed ends. I appreciate you two coming forward to accept your invitations, although... you certainly could've done it sooner, Magnotris."

"So you say," the other grumbled.

"Still, this isn't meant to be bashing on you. Thank you both for accepting. We'll need all the help we can get in the coming time."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Morning Star peeped.

Jubilee cast his glance back to them. "We have much to discuss."

Twisting down a few more hallways, he came to a stop in front of a small side lounge. Its door was unassuming and quiet, not making a peep as Jubilee opened it and made his way into the cozy room. It was small and warm, with a fireplace rumbling in a corner and several recliners scattered about. He settled in one facing the doorway, while the other two found seats across from him.

Nobody spoke for several long, aching seconds. The hole in his chest throbbed. 

"Thank you for coming," Jubilee spoke.

Morning Star peeped a "you're welcome!" while Magnotris grunted in response.

"I'm sorry that it had to come to what it did," he directed to Morning Star. "I'm sorry you felt like you had to resort to violence to prove a point to us. That's... it makes me ashamed to think about, that I let it get that bad. You don't have to accept my apology, but-"

"-I forgive you."

He nodded. "Alright, thank you." Jubilee paused before continuing in a quieter tone, "honestly, I didn't expect either of you to accept your invitations, but... here we are now. I used to have a big speech and celebration planned, but it feels in poor taste to go off on a tangent about what an honor this position is after... everything all three of us have been through."

Morning Star nodded.

"So I suppose we can start with talking about the issues you had, Morning Star."

He put his hands together, glancing to the floor. Jubilee watched him mull it over before perking back up. "W-well, mostly I was like - worried about, um, like, the illegal stuff. Like the underground trafficking COR members do, the magic selling stuff, intentional Corruption of other Frags - I thought you guys were ignoring all the issues or just, like, using them t-to get a kick out of it. Which sounds awful now that I'm saying it and I'm really sorry I don't mean to offend you and-"

Jubilee raised a hand, and Morning Star shut his jaw. "You're not offending me, trust me. I see where you're coming from, and I can see how our actions - and mine - have led you to think that. Unfortunately, I don't have much in the way to show you as proof that we aren't just twiddling our thumbs about it. What we're working on is very private, very calculated - setting up dominos, so to speak. That sounds like a cop-out answer, but it's the truth. I'm adverse to talking about it at length - not that I don't trust you two, but I simply don't want too many people knowing our exact plans."

Morning Star opened his mouth, but Magnotris cut him off with a snarled "So you are doing illegal shit."

"I thought that was obvious?" Jubilee shrugged.

Magnotris bolted upright, wings flaring slightly, "Are you kidding me?! How can you try to fix the Coalition when you're just as bad as its worst members?! This whole fucking group's rotten!"

Morning Star wringed his hands, glancing between the duo, grimacing slightly. Magnotris wasn't looking at him.

"Funny you should say that," Jubilee intoned. "I didn't take you for a hypocrite, Magnotris."

"Name ONE illegal thing I've done!" he shouted.

"Something like planting fake evidence at a crime scene to frame Opalescent?" Jubilee sat up a little straighter, landing an icy glare on Magnotris.

The entire room froze. Magnotris stared at him, open-mouthed, a slight blush on his face. Jubilee kept his stare level until finally letting a slightly-smug smile settle on his features.

"So you knew?" Magnotris asked, eyes a little too wide as he slumped back into his chair. "The entire time? All the things I did?"

Jubilee kept his hands poised in his lap, legs crossed as he relaxed again. "Of course. We aren't stupid, Magnotris. But evidence, trials, guilt, it needs time and effort to be proven. We've known most of the... 'big players' in the underground markets for a while. But blowing the whistle on one will make the others scurry into the woodwork harder."

"All this time and you still don't have enough proof to arrest them?" he growled.

"The aggression is unneeded, I assure you. And yes. Words and witnesses are not as believable as you think."

"You could've arrested everyone by now."

"Mmm, so you say. How do you expect me to do that?"

Magnotris gestured. "You're an Overseer. People will listen to you."

"Right, right. And, let's say I, an Overseer, walk into a room full of Fragments. I pluck a dozen or so from the room and accuse them of heinous crimes on the spot. During the trial, the only support I, the Overseer, has is a plethora of scared Fragments who testify against all the people I picked out. Although nobody's sure if I've merely intimidated the Fragments into testifying for me, they can't stop me as I brutally punish seemingly-random individuals." Jubilee steepled his fingers. "And in that moment, I have become a tyrant."

Magnotris shifted uncomfortably. "That's not the only way that could play out. And what sort of evidence are you looking for, anyways? Witnesses should be enough."

"Blackmail," Jubilee responded dully.

"I - what? Blackmail?"

"You're under the impression that we're working to stop the underground all together," Jubilee continued, staring at the duo over the rim of his glasses. "But do you know what that does? It'll make the next set of illegal trades, illegal deals go further into the shadows. Even if we whistleblow the current ringleaders of the underground, they'll eventually be replaced by more clever and more private individuals."

Morning Star looked up blearily, still nervously fiddling with his hands.

Jubilee leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees. "So the idea is to get our hand in the market instead. End the most cruel branches, but act as if we're ignorant to the rest. Blackmail the big players into obeying us and helping tone down the crimes. And we can keep a steady eye on any new croppings."

Neither of the other two spoke for a few minutes. Jubilee let his eyes flick between them, drinking in the quiet surprise they both shared. In all honesty, he'd been hoping they'd figured out the Overseers' plan from the get-go, but alas. 

"You were one of our first steps," Jubilee spoke after a second, nodding to Magnotris. "Hence we offered you an invitation. You're not the only person we've gotten onto our side, but forgive me if I'm not willing to spread names yet. This requires finesse."

"I... see." Magnotris lifted his head again. 

Jubilee tapped his fingers together. "I think there are a lot of misunderstandings about the position of Overseer in the Coalition, and I take partial blame for that. I should've taken more time to clarify... no use dwelling on it, though. What I've been trying to avoid all these years is tyranny. I've never thought it to be my job to push other Fragments into line."

"But," Morning Star piped up, sitting up straight, "then who else will?"

He let a sigh escape, arms falling into his lap. "And there's the issue. In an ideal world, everyone would be self-checking. I admit I've probably leaned on that ideal far too often. It's what I've been working towards, at least, this ideal of everyone regulating themselves. That's why I've been playing the long game with the entire illegal underground - trying to route it to be more self-regulating rather than having the Overseers come in and stomp all over it."

"And why can't they?" Magnotris grumbled out, arms crossed firmly. "What's so evil about that?"

"It's not evil, don't misunderstand me. But I can't let that become the perception of the Overseers as a whole. We aren't here to force Fragments into whatever boxes we think they belong to. We're here to ensure that the Coalition is working as well as it should, and that Timelines are safe. It's not our responsibility if a Fragment happens to remove a nonessential Gladar from a Timeline to have a partner."

Magnotris leaned forwards, hissing out, "I think you're being way too hands-off about this all. It's not about forcing Frags into the boxes you think they belong in, it's about ensuring that everyone's safe and protected, and a lot of the underground goes directly against that - magic addiction, trafficking, all that shit, it's all hurting people."

"Don't throw stones in glass houses, Magnotris, you dealt with the illegal side as much as we are right now. Sometimes, you have to avoid the moral route to get to the greater good. What's worth more effort, saving that singular kidnapped Gladar or preventing another faction from breaking off entirely from the COR, wasting our resources and our time? Should I personally have therapy with every single magic-addicted Frag?"

Magnotris gritted his teeth, "I'm not saying that. I'm saying it seems awfully shitty of you to be willing to let innocent people get hurt when the whole ideal of the Coalition was supposed to be that we protected everyone. And I know I haven't been the best example of that, but it's ridiculous that the Overseers - who are the face of the organization, like it or not - are saying that they're willing to rugsweep 'not bad' crimes. Where the fuck do you draw the line?"

"I draw the line at balancing out the pain and the happiness of the entire world," Jubilee replied, keeping his chin high, eyes focused on Magnotris, who stared back bitterly. "You cannot hope to please everyone. The best I and the other Overseers can do is protect the Timelines and as many of the people within as we can. Of course people slip through the cracks. I have set up as many safety nets as I can. If someone is determined to writhe their way out of the nets, they will."

Magnotris simply glared. 

Jubilee took a breath and continued, "The moral high ground is useless unless it's the path of least resistance to the positive end goal. Obviously I'm not advocating for the complete and utter destruction of all morals to reach a sacred end goal - that would be absurd and lead to even more issues, but persecuting every illegal movement that builds in the COR turns it into a cycle of constant pain. If we control it subtly, it'll result in less overall damage. It's worth it to let the minimal suffering happen and control the illegal movement instead of completely destroying it briefly, only to have it rear its head worse later."

"Why can't you find a way to stop it altogether?" Morning Star peeped.

Jubilee gestured. "Don't you think we've tried that? It doesn't matter how you try to snuff it out. There's something rotten in every single person. The only difference is how much you succumb to that rot. There will always be people decaying. Our job is to ensure that decay does not cause the destruction of Timelines. That is who we are, that is what the Coalition stands for."

"That's a bit cynical," Morning Star mumbled, letting his head fall slightly.

"Maybe it is. I'm not saying either of you have to agree with anything I'm saying. You can think of me as having a stick so far up my own ass that I can smell it and I wouldn't mind. It's good to have other Overseers with opposing opinions. And I'm only saying this all because I wanted to open up a dialogue between us, and because you would appreciate a high degree of honesty right now. You're no longer subservient to me, anyways. We're equals."

The two shared a quiet, small look. Jubilee leaned back in his chair, letting his brain slowly work through the entire dialogue they'd just had. Honestly, it wasn't the directions he'd thought he was going to take with the others. Not that the discussion had been bad, of course. Just... unexpected. Only briefly, his mind wandered - what were the duo before him thinking about? How were they mulling over the topics he'd brought up?

Being privy to someone else's mind had always been fascinating to Jubilee. Understanding, intimately, why other people felt the way they felt and did the things they did - he had always harbored a deep interest in learning such things. Being Overseer offered him plenty of times and places to apply said knowledge, although even now he couldn't quite glean much from the other two.

His eyes flicked over them, watching Morning Star glance to the floor. Meek, exhausted? Embarrassed? He simply didn't know these two well enough. And for that, he only had himself to blame. If the chess board was going to be played right, he needed them on his side. Magnotris shifted his balance in his seat.

After a few more seconds, Morning Star turned to Jubilee. "Well, okay, then. But I don't really know if I... I mean, I want to help people. That's why Pyatiugolnik picked me, he said I had empathy and more people needed that. So I'm going to d-do my best to help people, even if it goes against your... philosophy."

He quietly let his eyelids droop. So that was what Pyatiugolnik and Morning Star had talked about. Did they talk often? Were they friends? Or had that been prompted right before the Blessing? Jubilee knew he couldn't ask any of those questions anytime soon.

"Good," he calmly replied, offering a tired smile. "Maybe your safety nets will work better than mine. That's why there's multiple Overseers. Sometimes the solution is obvious to one person and obscured to another. Thank you for your understanding."

Morning Star nodded, smiling back. "R-right, yeah."

Magnotris stared at the far wall, arms still crossed over his chest.

"In fact, I'm glad you brought that up, Morning Star," Jubilee continued, uncrossing and crossing his legs. "I think your empathy is exactly what we need right now."

He perked up instantly, eyes widening, ears up, "Really?"

"Indeed. You're friends with Sundae, correct?"

"Uh - well, I wouldn't say friends? But we did, um, work together, s-so I think we're at least on good terms."

Jubilee slowly nodded, keeping his smile steady. "Well, I think that's good enough. I haven't floated this idea with the other Overseers yet, but...."

"But?" he leaned forwards.

"If it isn't too much trouble... I'd like you to try to bring the Haven and Coalition together again."

Jubilee braced himself for the drop. Morning Star stared for a second longer, eyes getting wider as the full realization crashed into him, hard. He leaned back in his chair just as Magnotris sprung to his feet, shouting, "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

"Please calm down, Magnotris."

"You are NOT sending Morning Star to the Haven to go be buddy-buddy with SUNDAE of all people!"

"I'm not, I didn't say I was doing that."

Magnotris pointed at the door bitterly, expression twisted in anger, "Sundae's a fucking terrorist! You can't have Morning Star go off and make peace with him!"

"He already has," Jubilee replied smoothly, "they worked together during the attack on the citadel. It would be in our best interests to have the Haven and Coalition at peace with one another - not reassimilated, but allies and unified in that we don't have to fear Sundae staging something against us while also dealing with Shards and other Timeline issues-"

"-Is that all you CARE about?! Stupid fucking Timelines?! There's real people out here getting hurt, real Fragments and real mortals and you just SIT HERE and talk about the TIMELINES!"

"Magnotris, please," Morning Star squeaked out, tugging on the other's sleeve. 

Magnotris rounded on him, although the anger had already left his system by the time his eyes settled on his partner. There was a second of silence, wherein Magnotris breathed heavily, staring, while Morning Star blinked softly. Jubilee watched, carefully, as Magnotris slid back into his seat.

"My outburst was uncalled for but my point remains," he continued through gritted teeth. 

"I'm sorry that I gave that impression," Jubilee spoke up. "No, that's not all I care about. I'm head of Rescue and Recover for a reason. But my personal ideals have to take a backseat to running the Coalition, which is geared towards taking care of Timelines."

"I thought you just said you like having Overseers with differing opinions."

Jubilee narrowed his eyes, "And are you just going to be a contrarian the entire time, or-"

"Please," Morning Star piped up again. "It's okay, Magnotris. I want to do this!"

"I-" he balked, "what?!"

There was a tiny smile on Morning Star's face, genuine and giddy, "Yeah! This is like - this is what I wanna do, what I'll be good at. Helping people and using m-my empathy to do that, like, showing Sundae that I can help mend that broken trust and stuff like that - does that make sense?"

Jubilee nodded, "It's why I'd like you on this job, in fact. I'll bring it up to the other Overseers tomorrow and see what they think."

"And I want to take it!"

Magnotris stared between the two before slowly unfolding his arms. He opened his mouth for a second, then thought better of it and shut it.

"Magnotris - you can continue doing whatever your presentation was about. Other than that, I don't think much changes for you - at least, yet. Which is normal, don't-"

"I know."

"Right, sorry." he cleared his throat. "I think that's all I wanted to discuss. Did either of you want to bring up anything?"

Once more the couple glanced to each other, Morning Star whispering something that Jubilee couldn't quite pick up on. After a second of thought, Magnotris shook his head.

"Alright. You're dismissed. Morning Star, I'll let you know more about the Haven task when I discuss it with the others. Other than that, you can stay in the Sanctum until we get your Timeline back from... Rendgen." he swallowed.

Jubilee remained in his seat as the others said their polite goodbyes and hurried out, then blitzed away in teleportation. He sat for a few seconds even longer after that, staring quietly into the fireplace, arms still linked over his knee, legs still crossed. There was quite a bit swimming in his head.

There was a knock at the door, and he looked up as Profound entered. The other leaned against the doorframe, glancing into the hall, "How did it go?"

"Better than I had any right to hope for. Magnotris was a bit more angry than I expected, but Morning Star seemed excited for the Haven plan." Jubilee adjusted the collar of his jacket.

Profound nodded. "Good news. How are you holding up?"

"As well as I can."

"Are you still injured?"

"It's still there, yes. It hurts less, obviously, and it'll need at least a few more days before I'm in top shape." Jubilee stood. "I pray I don't have to deal with any more fights in this state."

Profound headed to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving a comforting squeeze. The gesture was warm, even if his expression was blank, eyes searching Jubilee's features. "Leave that to me for now."

He nodded, pulling his jacket closer around himself. Neither spoke for several long seconds, the fireplace crackling away. 

"Sundae was at the ceremony," Profound said after a second.

"Of course."

Profound shifted his weight between his feet, avoiding Jubilee's eyes, "Do you think - I mean. Two people blessed by Pyatiugolnik. Do you think Rendgen would-?"

"He never blessed Virant," Jubilee toned, "I doubt he'd start blessing anyone else now. He's many things, but I don't think one-upping another Magnitude Fragment is in his nature."

Silence. Then: "Well, I suppose you know him best."

"Please, I don't claim to know that. Especially not him as he is now." Jubilee adjusted his collar again. "But I'd like to think I can accurately predict some of him."

Another long pause echoed. "I heard what you said to them, about people rotting."

"Mm?"

"Do you think Rendgen succumbed to that rot?"

Jubilee paused, glancing up to Profound. The other was still staring at the floor. He swallowed the lump in his throat and glanced, too, to the carpet. "I think this is his way of avoiding it, actually."

"I don't think that makes me feel better about," Profound gestured to the injury.

Jubilee shrugged. "It is what it is. Now, come on. I have to draft up how I'll bring up Plan Haven to the others, and I'd like someone to bounce ideas off of."