"I am very, very sorry about this whole thing," the doll in the yellow dress was saying. "Ivy was determined, focused and very hard working. We will all miss her greatly," she added. Mia peered around the corner. It was late and she should really be in bed. But Mia needed to learn more. So, she had decided to listen in on Ruby's discussion with Lu. At least Mia assumed that the doll with the yellow dress was Lu who had arrived a few minutes ago. So far all that she had done was ask about Ivy and express her sympathy.
"We will all miss her," Ruby whispered. "But the best thing we can do is keep fighting and working towards freedom. That is what Ivy would have wanted." Ruby was right. That was exactly what Ivy would have wanted. So why, why couldn't Mia help? Why couldn't she be a part of the fight? Ivy had always said that it was because she was too small to properly defend herself. But wasn't there some way that Mia could help that didn't involve fighting? Couldn't Mia play some role in the battle even if it was a small one?
After all, Ruby didn't fight much, and she was still working with the rebels. Whenever Mia had asked Ivy about the rebels, she had refused to answer Mia's questions. What purpose did Mia really serve? She had no use whatsoever. A wave of joy washed over her and silenced her thoughts. Right, she couldn't feel sad. Her powers wouldn't let her feel sad or mad. Everything was wonderful, and she needed to focus on how wonderful everything was. Mia couldn't let these dark thoughts distract her from listening in on the conversation. With a small sigh, Mia turned her attention back to Lu and Ruby.
"Blossom said that you had an important discovery to share with me. What is it?" Ruby was saying. Mia strained her ears.
"Yes. Well... two discoveries. I'm afraid I have come here to share some wonderful news and some terrible news," said Lu. Curiosity bubbled up inside of Mia, making it hard to hold still and stay calm.
"W-what do you mean? Do you think you can start with the good news?" asked Ruby. She laughed softly and Lu chuckled.
"Alright. It has to do with Ivy," answered Lu. Now Mia was really curious. "Remember how I told you about our cores and how if those shatter then the dolls die?"
"Yes, I remember."
"Well, if you lose all your health but your core isn't shattered then you lose consciousness, but you don't die. It takes a long time, but you could be repaired. If Ivy's head was broken off her core should be intact. So, there is a chance that she could be fixed and brought back to participate in the next round of games after someone wins this round," said Lu. Mia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. "Ivy isn't dead. But she will probably become a whole new person once she is fixed. Her memories will be wiped, and she will be given new stats a lot about her will change."
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Before she could stop herself, a cry of joy rose up from Mia. Instantly, she clapped her hands over her mouth. That had been really stupid. But the joy of finding out Ivy could be alive, combined with the joy from her powers had made Mia lose all of her self control. Ivy might still be alive. There was a small chance that Ivy could still be alive. Ivy had to be alive. It just didn't make sense for her to be dead. Mia needed Ivy to be alive. This knowledge had brought something back to Mia, something that she hadn't known she had lost. This gave her a reason to keep going. Lu and Ruby were staring at her. Ruby looked angry and Lu just looked confused.
"What are you doing here, Mia?" demanded Ruby. "You're supposed to be in bed!"
"I-I know... I'm sorry. But I hate being kept in the dark about everything! Please, let me listen, just this once!" Mia burst out.
"Oh, so you're Mia," said Lu softly. Lu was a strange looking doll. She was much taller than Ruby and had a strange look on her face. "Ivy talked about you all the time." Mia turned to Lu.
"Please, you have no idea how awful it is to know that things are happening, but you aren't told about them. I just want to listen. I promise I won't say a word!" Mia said.
"Ivy told you to listen to me!” said Ruby.
"I don't mind her listening. But she might not like what she is going to hear," said Lu. She knelt down next to Mia so that she was at eye level with the child. "Are you sure this is what you want?" she asked. Mia nodded. Surely, bad news had to be better than no news.
"Alright. You may listen. It's not like we have anything to hide anymore, anyway." Lu stood up and turned back to Ruby. What did she mean by that? "I learned about how our magic works. The magic that the overseers used on us flows through the glass that we're made of. It also flows through the city," explained Lu.
"I know. Robert told me about that. I thought you knew too."
"Yes, I did know. But I learned something else about how that magic works today." Pain seeped into Lu's calm voice. Her shoulders were slumping now. "It's a spyglass. When the overseers want to spy on us, they use the glass. It works like the mirrors from our games. All the glass in the city, including us becomes their eyes. They can watch us whenever they want. They know everything. That means that they've let the rebellion go on. That means that we never had any secrets. They just let us think that we did," Lu's voice had become a frightened little whisper. "If I were to guess, they're probably watching us right now."
Perhaps it was just the artificial happiness flowing through Mia, or maybe it was just the fact that Ivy was alive, but Lu's words didn't hurt or worry her. So, what if all their enemies were constantly spying on them? That didn't matter so long as Ivy was alive. When would Mia see her again.
"W-what?" Ruby gasped out.
"I'm sorry to tell you this," whispered Lu. "But I thought it would be best if you knew."
"What are they doing? Are they just toying with us? Is that all?" Ruby's voice was growing more and more panicked with each second.
"Ruby!" Mia burst out as Ruby sank down to her knees and buried her face in her hands. "Are you okay?"
"No, nothing is okay. Blossom was right. What is the point in trying?"