The Least Common Denominator

V.III Hidden Variable

"STOP THEM!"

The Decimals shouted at us just as we reached the lowermost part of the stairway we've been descending. The tin cans were still a ways away, their armor hindering them from sprinting down the flight of stairs as fast as we could. So we still had some time before they got here. For now...

We have to find a way to open the large wooden doors in front of us.

"'Livia, can your sword pierce through?" Her weapon was unnaturally sharp for its make. Perhaps it can cut through?

Nodding, the brunette pointed her shortsword towards the door before applying a forward thrust towards the center-most portion of the doorway. The sword wedged itself in between the two wooden doors, but it seemed to have cut through the wood fairly well.

"I did it, sis!"

Olivia beamed at me like our lives weren't in imminent danger of being taken from us. How innocent must she be for that kind of smile?

With a small heave, the sword slid horizontally towards the left side of the doorway, the short-haired girl applying force to her weapon as it opened our escape plan.

*Thud!*

A piece of the massive wooden door fell with a thud as it detached itself from the rest of the whole, exposing the searing hot air of the Den Furnace. Already, I can feel parts of my skirt sticking to my leg as the heat made itself painfully known to us.

"This way."

I led us into the Furnace, practically unsure of what to do next. We found ourselves at the place where I had my second encounter with Arya; the vats of dirty water still present by the walls as we welcomed ourselves back inside this hellhole.

Wordlessly, I pulled Olivia even deeper back into the Furnace, the familiar scenery still fresh in my mind as I mentally made our way back to the place where we first set up shop. Hopefully, we could find some help here.

"Dirt Eater!" I heard a Decimal shout from behind us, possibly towards an unsuspecting Denominator. "Have you seen two assassins come in here?"

I quickly hid us behind another vat of molten metal. Oh dear, please don't be a snitch.

"Unfortunately not, sir." I heard the male Den speak. "Have you seen two assassins come this way?"

"Didn't see anything suspicious," another voice, a woman chimed in. "And we're just lowly Denominators anyway. Why do you care?"

I released a breath that I didn't know that I was holding as I heard my former colleagues cover for us. it's impossible that they didn't hear the massive thud coming from the wooden door that 'Livia just sliced, so I'm assuming that they either recognized us, or they simply hate the Decimals more than they care about themselves.

"Are you sure, Dirt Eater?!" the tin can questioned incredulously.

"Yes, we're sure," the man answered in a sarcastic tone. "Now go. You're disturbing our work."

I heard the tin can grumble before their heavy footsteps slowly disappeared back into the broken entrance. They were gone.

"Hey," the man called out. "You can come out now."

Beside me, Olivia looked at me for direction. "Are we safe?"

Instead of replying to her, I let my actions do the talking; coming out of the vat that we were hiding behind.

"You're... Crimson, right?" the built Denominator asked from atop a metal hill, scratching his chin.

"Yes. Yes, I am."

"I thought you were in service with one of the Prime?" another piped in, hammer in her hands as she looked at me confused. "And where's little Olivia?"

I glanced to my side towards Olivia. With a nod, she joined me by my side, her sword still at the ready.

"Blood.." The man probably noticed the stain on my skirt. "What happened?"

Great. What do I tell them? That I killed a member of the Prime Thirteen somehow? That's laughably-

"We killed Arya of the Bloodmoon." What.

*Clang!*

A resounding echo reverberated through my chest as the hammer that the woman was holding hit the metallic ground below. Beside her, the man looked at us with wary, his eyes judging us as if we were speaking a lie.

"We killed Arya of the Bloodmoon!" Beside me, Olivia repeated her statement as if it were fact. "We escaped from the Emperor's Decimals above, and now we're here."

I was taken aback by the sudden stares that added to the two in front of me, my sister's exclamation gathering a small crowd from the upper levels of the Furnace. Woah there, 'Livia. When did she get this much charisma?

"Is it true?" The woman slowly walked near us, modesty thrown to the wind as tears started to form in her eyes. "Is Arya dead?"

"Yes," I said as I fought to keep the bittersweet smile from forming on my face. "I killed her."

It might've been a cathartic experience, but she still murdered my father in cold blood; laughing maniacally as she did the deed. I didn't know why she offered herself to me, but I won't take a gift horse in the mouth.

I had killed one of my parents' killers.

"Oh! Thank you!" The woman burst into tears, crying as she hugged me with all of her strength. "Thank you!"

"Your... welcome?"

I didn't know what I did to garner this much affection, but I'll take it nonetheless. I returned her hug, rubbing her sweaty back covered in dirt and grime as she cried on my shoulders. Beside me, Olivia looked at me with the same look that she flashed me whenever I taught her something new; her smile as radiant as it was just over a year ago in this very place.

But this wasn't the time to feel happy and content. We're still hunted by the Decimals above.

"Where are the elders?" I asked the man that was in front of us.

"They're still at the same place," he responded, Thumbing towards the heart of the Furnace. "Whatever it was you did to kill the bitch, you can tell us later."

"Thank you."  

The built man flashed us a knowing smirk. "I know you have something in mind. If the rumors about you're true, then I just hope that we get an in on it, okay?"

I tried to keep the uncertainty from showing up in my face as I blankly nodded towards the man. I still didn't know what to do beyond trying to ride out the storm above and trying to escape again. But if there was one thing that can be expected here in the Furnace, it's that we Denominators always look out for each other. The elders, in particular, were awfully fond of who they considered newbies, such as ourselves.

"Crimson, was it?" The woman asked, tears still staining her cheeks as she finally let go of me. "I'll be forever in your debt."

"I still don't know why, but-"

To my surprise, the woman suddenly gave me a peck on my cheek.

"Whu- whu-"

"Name's Emerald," the woman smiled at me with the same kind of radiant energy of a typical energetic gal. "If you want something made, I'll do everything in my power to make it work."

"O-O-Okay..." I stuttered in true teenaged fashion. "Th-Thanks, Emerald.." The hormones, oh god. Stop ravaging my body!

I shakily looked towards Olivia to make sure that she was still behind me, noticing that she sported a small pout on her lips for but a brief second before shifting back to their usual pure smile. The brunette stood at the ready, waiting for my next move.

"Let's go, 'Livia."

And with that, we made our way towards where the elders were supposed to be. All the while, my mind whirred as to what in the world we were supposed to do to get out of this place. I glanced back down to my katana, noting its distinct lack of sharpness and lower-than-my-average quality. I was like this sword; so much potential, but languishing in mediocrity for so long that I took pride in it...

No, focus... We still needed to get to our shit together enough to survive. I just hope the elders would accommodate someone with as much heat on their heads as us two.

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