The mechanical gate jerked and groaned as two men in suits reached under it, forcing it open faster than it could move. One rolled underneath, stepping beside Grandpa with a weapon drawn. He put himself directly in Kyle's path, though he didn't quite point the gun at her.
"N-no, stop..." Grandpa took a single deep, rasping breath. He reached up, settling one hand on the man's shoulder and pulling himself to full height. "Don't... don't hurt my grandchildren." His eyes were wide, bloodshot. "God in heaven, I didn't think I would ever..."
He stumbled forward, wobbling towards Kyle, before wrapping one arm around her neck. Tears streamed down his face, something so shocking that even Kyle was staring now. The man who would drag someone kicking and screaming to be the test-subject of a likely fatal experiment was crying? "I never thought it would end. Sweet child... what did you do?"
There was at least one disadvantage of being so much larger—she couldn’t easily turn her head to see Grandpa's expression. But she could hear him well enough, she could guess. Either I just broke his brain, or this worked.
She eyed the guards nervously, but Grandpa hadn't sent them away. The gate was fully open now, and all four stood around or beside him, eyeing the three ponies with a mixture of fear and general suspicion. But they'd lowered their weapons, so that was something.
"I felt like there was... magic affecting you," Kyle said. "It felt that way before, but I didn't know what I was looking for. I've been practicing, trying to learn how my powers work." I wasn't sure if it would work, or there were side effects. Please don't let your brain be completely scrambled.
"You three, back outside the gate. Mr. Bruni, wait in here and run for me if anyone approaches. Don't wait to see who it is.
"We should speak in the new section, where there aren't any sensors watching. For your privacy, of course." He turned, returning to his normal, confident stride. Granted, his steps were considerably weaker than before, occasionally stumbling and catching his breath on the cane. None of his people followed, though a few watched him fearfully. You're not sure if this is a good idea. You don't trust us. But we weren't the ones who enchanted him.
While they walked, Kyle searched for any signs of magic she'd missed, but found nothing. Her grandfather wasn't under the pressure of any more magic, or if he was it was too subtle for her inexperienced senses.
Fay stopped struggling, and now watched curiously from her back, occasionally peeking forward and at Edgar. She couldn't know that his employees were the ones responsible for most of her torment. Though maybe that had never meant him.
Kyle shut the door with a snap, so the cameras would show her doing it.
"I'm as curious as Grandpa is about what you just did, sis. What was that, exactly?"
"Spell on his mind," she whispered. The crystal was thick, so as long as they kept their voices down, that should be enough to keep their conversation from leaking out. "It's been there since the first time we spoke. I don't know what it was."
"Akiko," Grandpa whispered, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "I've dealt with dangerous people before, some of them not much better than animals. I was wrong to think I could control her." He nodded towards Kyle. "Ever since I found her, everything I've done..." He shuddered. "You lifted a curse, grandchild. But the one who put it on me is the same one who has been visiting you. Not just that—controlling everything about this."
He gestured vaguely around with his cane, though he couldn't keep it up for long. "Who do you think thought the best place to keep you was a bomb shelter? Being remote made sense, but not a prison. For my own family..." He shook his head.
Kara and Kyle shared a look. Kyle needed no words to read those raised eyebrows and slight twitch towards Grandpa. She wanted to know if Kyle believed him.
She nodded slightly. While she hadn't been able to sense enough about the spell to feel its effects, it had seemed dark. Even touching it had been uncomfortable. She'd practically been compelled to remove it.
"What do we do about her?" Kara asked. "She's not going to be less of a threat because Kyle could get rid of a curse. As soon as she figures out what happened..."
"She'll restore it, stronger than ever," Grandpa agreed. "I'll be enslaved to her will all over again, forced to allow her to put my family in danger so she can harvest the alien for herself." He glanced briefly at Fay, but barely seemed to see her. He wasn't afraid of her, anyway. "Her abilities are strange, but... not unlimited. I don't believe her attack works at a distance. But she is here—at the foothill facility. As soon as I defy her instructions, she will know."
Yet he didn't run. Kyle almost told him about Monday, and everything she'd been studying. About the magic she'd been practicing that might be enough to get them out of the bunker safely.
He might be taken over again. Then Akiko would know everything we can do.
So Kyle didn't volunteer any of that. Didn't warn him that Monday might be coming to save them. "I don't know if I'm strong enough to fight her," she said. "The counterspell was easy because there was no one here to fight me. I'm guessing she has years of practice, maybe decades."
Grandpa nodded again. "She does. She's the reason I'm so healthy—I'm more useful to her this way, with a machine already built and maintained. She would rather use it than steal another for herself. But she didn't count on my family."
Grandpa began to pace, expression thoughtful. From the fury on his face, this wasn't the first time he'd considered this. How long has she been controlling you? Still, she couldn't let herself believe that Edgar was a good person. He'd just run up against someone worse.
We don't have to approve of everything he's done to work together.
"We have only two choices. Upon consideration, only one." Edgar settled back against the edge of the desk, leaning thoughtfully. "If I flee now, there is a great chance the pilot has not been subverted. I will have to go somewhere that she cannot find. Flee, and stay away. Slavery is too harsh a price for agelessness."
But then he turned, eyes settling on Kara and Kyle by the door. "Except if I did, it would leave the two of you vulnerable. My helicopter is far too small to bring you. In fact, we have... nothing here capable of transporting you. I'm certain she planned it that way.
"But do you believe we could fool her, Kyle? What you've done... how visible would it be? Could I continue to act the part? When I'm done with our visit, I was to speak with her. I can't avoid that meeting without instantly alerting her to what happened."
"I don't know, Grandpa." Kyle felt something squirming, and managed to catch Fay before she fell to the ground. Apparently she'd recovered enough of her bravery that she wasn't fleeing from Grandpa in terror. She watched him nervously, retreating to the side of the room with all her toys.
Kyle let her go—with Grandpa in the room with them and guards actively watching for anyone to arrive, it wasn't like they had anything to fear. No one would snatch Fay away now. "I'm just figuring this out for myself. I don't know how it works for an expert like Akiko. Maybe you should fly away from here. But..."
She hesitated for another second, then said it anyway. "Look, I can't tell you how I know this, because... you know why."
Grandpa nodded once. From his face, it looked like Kyle could say anything she wanted and have him believe it. She had just saved him from mind-control.
"Physical distance might not matter. Spells can target people far away, if you have something of theirs. A piece of their body, or a... strong emotional connection. Like the two of us, we're family, so... I think that helped remove the spell on you. If Akiko has been using you for a long time, then getting further away won't help. She could hit you with a spell a thousand miles away, and there wouldn't be any way to stop it."
"Unless I had you nearby," Edgar said. "I have other safehouses... Pity the two of you are so... huge." He gestured with his cane, frustrated. "I'll have to arrange a transport-helicopter to bring us to safety. But I'll have to do it quietly enough that Akiko doesn't hear about it. That will mean leaving again to decide. It will mean another conversation with her."
"I'm surprised you don't want us to march in with you and those armed guards," Kara said. "And... what is it you guys do, 'whack her'?"
Grandpa chuckled. "Only cowards hide their murders behind euphemisms. But no, I can't. I will not bring my grandchildren into danger like that. I have tried to remove the threat before... when the pressure she put on me was less supernatural in nature. She was prepared for it. I have no doubt she will be prepared for it now."
He paced back to the door, voice cold and dangerous. "Please don't think I'm willing to tolerate such threats. There will be reprisal for what Akiko has done to me. But the only vice more widespread than cowardice is idiocy. I have proven myself its possessor in great enough measure already. Revenge will wait until the ones I love are not in danger, and until I know my solution will be effective."
Something buzzed, and he glanced briefly down at his jacket. He slipped out a slim cellphone a second later, of a model that Kyle had never seen before. Something too exclusive for the general public. "Yes? I'll be right there."
He hung up, tucking it away again. "That was her. She's always worried when I spend too long around the two of you. I never understood why. None of my soldiers have suffered as a result, at least not to my knowledge."
"You said Mom and Dad were in quarantine!" Kara snapped. "They should've been here ages ago! I guess I'm... kinda glad they're not, given everything you just said."
"A lie," Grandpa said. "Not the only one I've told, I'm afraid. But at least this one accomplished something of value. The fewer of you are here, the less Akiko has to hold over our heads. But I need to go. I will not return when I'm done speaking with her—but I will begin making arrangements. You should try to act no differently than before. She reviews the video of your behavior often. But be ready to flee. I will find a time, and get the two of you out."
"Three," Kyle said, nodding towards Fay. "I'm not leaving her behind, no matter what."
Grandpa looked like he might argue, but ultimately just went for the door. "If I fail... I am sorry. I hope you'll forgive whatever else she makes me do."
He walked away, leaving the two of them alone with Fay and a growing sense of dread.