ᴇᴍʙᴇʀꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ᴅʏɪɴɢ ꜱᴋʏ | ᴛᴇɴᴢᴀɪ & ᴄᴀʀᴘᴇ ᴅɪᴇᴍ

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞​ While Ophelia wholeheartedly threw herself into battle with the statues, she had been oblivious to Shiro's countdown, and pretty much everything around her. It was all she could do to fight off the waves of enemies that came at them, her fighting style most suited for one-on-one battles rather than multiple enemies at once. She could clear the field of enemies if she only used her magic, but given its explosive nature, she could not guarantee that Shiro wouldn't be caught in the splash zone. Small-scale spells were all she could afford to do, using her uninjured hand to parry and block attack with her rapier while her other channeled her magic, chipping off parts of the statues. It didn't help that they were made out of stone that was known for resisting magic, either. "Wha--!" Of course, that was interrupted the moment Shiro grabbed her and forcefully pushed her to the ground. She was about to protest when she heard the whirling of something from outside the walls, a familiar silhouette right outside the painted windows overlooking the throne room. The gunfire was deafening, her hands immediately going to her ears to protect them from the myriad bullets that decimated the room and a good portion of the statues still standing. She instinctively closed her eyes too, the flash of bullets firing even more blinding than the sun itself. She wasn't sure if her ears still worked when she heard a thunderous roar come from within meters of her, a familiar sound that she'd only heard once or twice in her life. It came from exactly where she thought it would come from, her eyes darting up to the figure of the man who had exiled her as a villain to their kingdom, and her own father, standing regally as he shot the blast of pure magic energy at the ship. "MEDINA...!" She screeched in horror, standing up in half a second as the ship wobbled. Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest for an instant as she wasn't sure whether or not the ship would crash, only to breathe a sigh of relief when the pilot made the strategic decision to retreat, a soft muttering of gratitude escaping from between her lips when she did. If she'd been hot-headed like Neon, she feared she'd be stubborn enough to try and destroy the barrier her father's statue had erected to protect them from the bullet hell. "Looks like it'll just be us for now." Ophelia looked back to Shiro, Medina's support fire giving them a moment's breather to catch up and fill their lungs with oxygen. The enemy was wary to proceed for at least a few moments, unsure if another ship would come to replace the one that had just wreaked havoc upon them. "Yeah... it's fine. We can do this." She muttered, gripping her rapier tightly. She had to believe they would get through this. That she could keep Shiro safe, at least. That she wouldn't fuck this up, at the very least. "Stay behind me. Once the opportunity arises, take your father out. Other than that bitch on the throne and her pet bodyguard, he's our biggest issue." "Shiro, please don't be reckless. It's fine, I'll..." "Heh. Praying already? Is it that bad?" As if sensing the peril they were in, Neon's voice cut through the air like a blade. Ophelia's eyes went wide, immediately whipping around to see her with her own two eyes. Beside her was the witch she'd become so fond of as well. "The broken floor should keep them back for now but... I don't know how many spells I have left to cast." "Neon! Gust! Oh heavens above, I'm so glad you two are safe...!" Or rather, alive. Safety was not exactly how she would describe their current situation. Still, she could not help the smile on her lips as she ran for them, only to sense a growing surge of magic that she'd almost completely forgotten. "The crown! That's what's controlling them!" "How very perceptive of you. Too bad it's going to be your last realization!" A powerful sonic blast hit the floor between Ophelia and the others, sending the princess in the opposite direction and effectively separating the squad from her. Ophelia's body flew several meters before crashing against a pillar, the force of the impact sending the already crumbling marble crashing down onto the floor. She got up, coughing up dust and blood, just in time to see yet another barrier rising from the ground. Except this time, it was rising around her. Her eyes landed on a pair of statues. One of them was his father, and the other was... "... Ughhhh..." ... her mother. They alone had survived the hellfire that Medina had put on them, before even more statues came crashing through the door. It seemed that their showdown was fated after all. Pushing back against the discomfort in the back of her mind, Ophelia straightened up and raised her rapier, her eyes resolute. "... So in the end, you would put me in the grave again, father? King Aurelius, of the Lamprosian Kingdom. And... Lucina Lampros, heroine of the Battle of Ulz." She smiled bitterly, barely parrying the female statue's jab as she moved with comparable speed as her own. No, even as a statue, Ophelia's mother was still faster than her. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ​ "Careful, asshole. These blades don't look like they go for cheap. One wrong move and they'll shatter... Just like you." "Heh, I wouldn't know." Arashi nonchalantly let go of the blade she bent, paying her back for destroying it with a boot to her gut in order to put some distance between them and reassess his approach. Three-on-one was hardly fair, after all. "I take my blades from my fallen foes. Spoils go to the victor, after all. Besides, if they were so precious, they wouldn't have lost to me, huh? I'll just take yours as payback for that one. I'll take pleasure prying it from cold, dead hands!" The hilt of his main blade opened up, revealing five chambers within it. The swordsman stuck his hand into his pocket, pulling out five shotgun shells and swiftly filling the empty chambers with one each. He pulled the trigger on his katana, letting an explosion from the bottom of the hilt propel him forward with speed beyond the sound barrier, his blade clashing against Neon's and pushing them both back. "Hey, tell me...!" With a laugh, the swordsman pulled the trigger again, this time staying on his feet as he instead allowed the explosive speed to propel his blade alone. "Do you trust each other with your lives? Cuz' I can't get enough of the faces people make when they lose their loved ones! It's the whole reason I do this kind of shit! I can't wait to see what kind of face your friends will make when I take your head...!" "Haa... this is the kind of help I get." While Arashi focused on his fellow warrior, the crowned woman finally got up from the throne. But just as her feet touched the floor, she was gone, only a shadow left behind. The next instant, she was in front of Shiro, brandishing her own knife to clash with the angel's. "By the way, I resent being called a bitch. You better take that back, or I'll take my time cutting off your fingers one by one." With her other hand, she released another sonic boom to push the gunslinger away. "My name is Serena Lampros, 354th Princess of the fallen Kingdom of Lampros. The kingdom your friend destroyed." She stood up straight, her form dignified despite the title holding no prestige. "... Or did she not tell you, of the thousands of lives she took? Of how she decimated our planet out of some petty revenge being exiled? After she was the one to consort with a being beyond comprehension? Or maybe she did, and you just didn't care. It would make sense for the ones that took my family from me." Serena scoffed, channeling a spell with the power that her crown granted her. The rubble that had gathered around them rose from the ground, merging together into stone drills, which she sent flying at Shiro and August with the flick of her wrist. "... No matter. I shall be the one to kill you all. Even if the Lamprosian Kingdom is no more, this is my providence! I will not let this castle fall to you outsiders!" ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: Skin-Deep Comedy | (Mili) ver. eili ↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺​ "Would you accept me if I asked for forgiveness?" Pushing back her mother, Ophelia pulled out her gun and got off a shot on her father as he was channeling a spell, effectively cutting him off. If there was one thing Ophelia had always had over her father, it was the speed with which she could cast spells. "I know you wouldn't. And I'm sure you know... I wouldn't either. Because... I never once regretted taking that deal. I did what I had to." She spoke to an expressionless statue, her smile bitter and wistful as she was besieged by her mother's wordless barrage of jabs. It took all that was herself to parry them and push her back in time to avoid a lightning blast from her father. If it was just one of them, Ophelia could easily overpower them, but together... Together, they had always been unbeatable. At least, that was what the stories always said. Unfortunately, Ophelia had never been able to see them fight together until today. Lucina, the lightning fencer, fast enough to stab her foes a hundred times before King Aurelius was done charging up his spell. King Aurelius had been caught up in an ambush that fateful day. When the fort city of Ulz was besieged by three-thousand soldiers, he had taken the fastest horse to reach his wife, Queen Lucina, who was stationed there. It was supposed to be an easy defense job, so the queen had been left with only a small force of two-hundred soldiers. The battle raged on for seven days and nights, but by the end of it, it was said that the queen alone had slain half the enemy's forces on her own before dying on her feet. In his rage, the king had decimated the city that had been occupied by the remaining soldiers, leaving nothing but a crater in the wake of his grief. "I never was quite the daughter you wished for, was I? I never wanted the crown, after all. Even so, there were only two times I saw you shed tears." Even if they could not answer her, she knew that the part of them that was stuck in the statues could hear her. There was a half-second's hesitation in her father's statue at those words, enough for Ophelia to blast him back with a shot of frigid ice that covered him completely. It gave her enough time to parry her mother, and then follow up with an empowered jab to her shoulder. The stone crackled, but didn't break off. "Once... when Mother was buried. You shed a single tear for her. What more could you offer her, when you were The Invincible King Aurelius? That crown... it was heavier than its own weight, was it not?" Her mother was not so easily shaken, her soul hardened from the moment she was born. Or perhaps, she was resolute to give her own daughter the best fight she could. The lightning jabs only got quicker, leaving Ophelia in the dust as she was left defenseless to allow some of them through, puncturing through her armor and bleeding through various holes. The pain only steadied her, however, and she returned with power what she could not compare in speed. All it took was one powerful stab to break off her shoulder, her arm falling to the ground and shattering. "... And the second, when you pushed me down that chasm. I still remember tears that were not my own touching my skin. To this da, I still dream of falling endlessly. The dreadful pain of hitting the floor. But... I don't blame you for any of it." The ice that encased her father crackled as he forced himself to move, channeling magic to heat himself up. But it was too late. As Lucina crouched down to grab her rapier from the ground with her remaining arm, she looked up to find herself staring down the barrel of Ophelia's gun. It happened in an instant; a powerful blast of black lightning completely enveloped the fierce warrior's body, and when the darkness dissipated, she was gone. Though the statues could not speak, Ophelia swore she could hear a guttural scream of anguish, following by a giant ball of fire headed her way. The princess followed with her own, the ensuing explosion causing the barrier to shatter and an aftershock to shake the throne room. "... After all, we both did what we had to do. I only regret that we were fated to oppose one another. Rest now, Father." And when the smoke cleared, she stood still, while King Aurelius' statue laid shattered on the floor. A lump caught on her throat as she bit back a sob and the tears that pricked at the corners of her eyes. There was no time for grief. In the time that it had taken her to defeat both of her parents, it seemed things had started to look dire on the other side of the barrier. Serena had been throwing spell after spell with the power of the royal crown, giving no quarter to the already exhausted party. It was a miracle they were still alive at this point. Meanwhile, Neon and Arashi seemed to be evenly matched. And while the constant stream of statues had slowed due to Serena focusing her magic on fighting, there were still at least a dozen more statues to take care of. Ophelia hadn't run out of steam just yet, though. She pointed her gun at her fellow princess and shot a beam of fire in her direction, throwing her off as she was getting ready to cast a powerful spell, apparently fed up with Shiro and August's persistence. "You..." Clearly not expecting their fight to be interrupted so soon, Serena stared at the rubble Ophelia had left behind. In her eyes, she had just callously destroyed the remnants of her own family. "... you truly do not care about your own blood, do you? Family holds no meaning to you." "I've... found a new family. But that doesn't mean I intend to disregard the past. Lay down the crown, Serena. We don't have to kill each other." She reached out her arm, stepping forward to offer it to Serena in a peace offering. "NO!" Instead, she was answered with a fire blast that sent her barreling through the rubble, her body flying and crashing limply against the floor that cracked under the force of her landing. "You don't GET to ask for peace after what you did! When my family had to leave this planet and drift through space for thousands of years! After we were enslaved, and broke free! It was YOU who caused it all! And after finally becoming free... my family was taken from me! You don't know any of my pain!" The crown responded to her emotions, blasting off rays of fire and lightning in every direction. She turned to the others, pointing her finger at them. "NONE of you do! You don't understand a fraction of what I've lost! You don't know how I, how MY people toiled away, all for freedom from people like you! People who would take my loved ones away from me!" "But I'll make you suffer all the same!"​

​

 

[Tenzai]

ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ʟᴏᴏᴋ ᴛᴏ ᴡɪɴᴅᴡᴀʀᴅ | ꜱʟᴇᴇᴘ ᴛᴏᴋᴇɴ ↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺ I've got eyelids heavy enough to break diamonds You pray for sound and I pray for silence Damn right faithless, I can't deny You'll find me with half a mind to get violent Oh, it isn't over 'til I say it's over And oh, my little angel sitting on my shoulder So give me the edge of a blade and a time and a place And I'll leave them cold and pushing up boulders​ "How very perceptive of you. Too bad it's going to be your last realization!" A sudden blast of a powerful spell had split the team apart. With the magical wards August had placed on her outfit, she was the only one save for Neon who was able to sustain the force while the others were sent flying towards the walls and pillars. "Ophelia!" Her words were not reaching her friend, still disoriented from the explosion. With Shiro recovering and Neon dealing with Arashi himself, she was forced to act in defense of her family. Regardless of how traumatic combat could be, they needed her. Channeling her magic, she began to upcast her spells to the highest level she could, unafraid of the consequences that would inevitably come with doing so. If her friends were to die, what would be the point in holding back? "You're gonna pay for that!" Instead of responding with a massive elemental flurry that would rattle the entire castle itself, a runic circle had surrounded the other girls, filling them with renewed vigor, enhanced strength, and courage. August cast heroic intervention, a divine spell capable of buffing allies with the same ferocity that the heroes would often fight with when accomplishing feats across the galaxy. As a statue attempted to surprise the witch from the side by swinging its blade into her flank, the witch's reactions were made quick, affording her the chance to respond with a swing of a fist of her own, shattering the statue's head and sending it to the floor. Given the potency of her spell, she was aware of her strength, but likewise, she was aware of its limits. They had a certain amount of time where they could fight at their best before the spell would exact its toll on her body. Realizing just what August had cast, Neon crumpled the sword that Arashi had left behind, only to feel herself being sent to the floor with a mighty kick. "Heh, I wouldn't know." Even with the buff, it didn't stop the pain from his attacks from hurting, sending her reeling as he reloaded his blade to take advantage of her opening. "I take my blades from my fallen foes. Spoils go to the victor, after all. Besides, if they were so precious, they wouldn't have lost to me, huh? I'll just take yours as payback for that one. I'll take pleasure prying it from cold, dead hands!" "Hey, tell me...!" Once he dashed faster than sound however, Neon got up quickly to meet his steel, rising to the occasion due to the added buff enhancing her speed. Her life would not be taken away so easily. "Do you trust each other with your lives? Cuz' I can't get enough of the faces people make when they lose their loved ones! It's the whole reason I do this kind of shit! I can't wait to see what kind of face your friends will make when I take your head...!" "Is that your way of flirting with me, you smug fuck?" The vampire taunted, quite excited now that her blood was running hot. Unlike the opponents she fought before serving as a perfect warmup, this one was worthy of taking pride in defeating. He was someone that fought her like an equal, not as a mutt. "Of course, I do. These people are mine. Their lives are mine to protect. So fuck off and die already!" Throwing his weapon back, she kicked towards his block, creating some distance in between the two before withdrawing her pistol to fire several shots at the swordsman. Dumping its battery into her enemy, while he deflected, she aimed her blade towards his neck, wielding the jet on its hilt to deny him a chance to breathe. "I can't wait to do the galaxy a favor and shut you up. You're almost as bad as your little prideful bitch of a princess, dog." While their blades were clutched in melee, stuck against each other's, Neon noticed her sister in battle drawing her weapon towards him. With swift footwork, she adjusted their bodies for her to get an open shot, just for her round to graze her enemy's cheek right before drawing her knife to parry the incoming blow. The windows of opportunity were small and rare. These enemies were capable, straying from the ranks of most rebels they had faced so far. "By the way, I resent being called a bitch. You better take that back, or I'll take my time cutting off your fingers one by one." The catgirl refused. "Make me." The sudden blast at point blank had spilled all the oxygen she once had in her body, flinging her to the ground. If not for the fact that she had been buffed beforehand, Shiro was sure that she would've ended up another casualty, similar to their leader before. "My name is Serena Lampros, 354th Princess of the fallen Kingdom of Lampros. The kingdom your friend destroyed." Holding her bruised stomach as she got up again, the angel squinted at Serena's accusation. "... Or did she not tell you, of the thousands of lives she took? Of how she decimated our planet out of some petty revenge being exiled? After she was the one to consort with a being beyond comprehension? Or maybe she did, and you just didn't care. It would make sense for the ones that took my family from me." "... It takes more than one life to bring a kingdom worth its weight down, let alone a planet." The angel stood resilient in her faith, uncaring of the past drama or history her family may have had. All that mattered to her now was the future and the people they would become. "How about you blame yourself for some of its ruination. Its only right as a ruler of a broken kingdom to claim responsibility." Speaking both as a noble and as someone who had seen the rise and fall of other empires before, the eternal being wasn't afraid of sharing what she thought given her experience over her long lifetime. "... No matter. I shall be the one to kill you all. Even if the Lamprosian Kingdom is no more, this is my providence! I will not let this castle fall to you outsiders!" "Shiro! Get behind my shield!" Rushing to her side once she found the drills being prepared as ammo to be embedded in her friend, she cast a barrier that took the brunt of the attack. However, with the statues joining in the barrage, there was only so much she could do after casting a spell that strong. With enough pressure, it shattered, sending her and Shiro flying back, leaving the two on their final legs. Trembling, they persisted. Their friends were still in the thick of the action, still alive and fighting for their right to survive. Upon hearing the sounds of pods breaking through the castle roof nearby, they knew that they would be saved, as long as the survived long enough for reinforcements to arrive. They just needed time. Though before anyone else could respond to what was to happen, a mighty quake had shook the castle to its foundations. A massive fireball was thrown within the throne room, only to have met its match from their princess companion, dispersing smoke after the sound of a shot that put an end to her mother. With the smoke slowly dispersing and the eyes of the two duelists glancing over in the midst of their strikes in between, her friends were met with the sight of the sad victor that came after the end of it all: Of the magician that was forced to kill her parents last semblance of existence. Another shot rang through the room, this time, towards Serena herself, preventing her from finishing off Ophelia's comrades. "You... you truly do not care about your own blood, do you? Family holds no meaning to you." They needed her just like she needed them. "I've... found a new family. But that doesn't mean I intend to disregard the past. Lay down the crown, Serena. We don't have to kill each other." And they weren't given a moment to doubt. As Ophelia offered an olive branch to the current reigning princess of her dynasty, the sudden harshness in her response caused the other girls in the room to keep up their guard. She was just like the other princess they unfortunately had attracted the ire of for so long, though instead of changing when she had the chance, this one was too deep in her own legacy to see her opportunity to live a good life fade. She was going to die over her ego. "NONE of you do! You don't understand a fraction of what I've lost! You don't know how I, how MY people toiled away, all for freedom from people like you! People who would take my loved ones away from me!" "But I'll make you suffer all the same!" Am I walking with gods or merely stumbling forth? Until there's fire at the gates, until I fall to the floor You know I live by the feather and die by the sword And I will sunder the earth, only to burn the rewards Even in this garden of gardens, I am the god of the gaps I am the demon of Sodom, I am the blood of an angel The fate of the fallen, nobody knows where I came from Even I have forgotten​ While she gave her emotional spiel, the witch took this opportunity to save her wounded angel and pulled her out of the room to cast her healing magic, watching what had happened from the doorway. Despite what they could say about her and what she did to their family, down to her core, she understood the pain that welled within the princess' heart. "Shiro, stay still. You're not looking too hot, but I think I could save you." The blast to her gut had caused blood to trickle down her lips. Shiro's internal wounds were great, but they weren't fatal. With time, rest, and a bit of magic, she was bound to heal, though it seemed that Serana had yet to let them go. Just by being in eye sight, they were in range of her erratic spells, forced to take cover behind furniture to avoid getting struck by lightning and fire. Neon on the other hand had seen Arashi pull away from the conflict the moment his princess was a danger to him. Using the same opportunity to pull back, as the magic hit the statues that marched nearby, reducing all that existed close to her to dust, she returned back to Ophelia's side, content that her other sisters were hidden in safety from the caster that had nothing left to lose. "Miss me? Don't worry, it'll take more than some handsome asshole with a gun sword to do me in." Sweat dripped from her brow while wounds decorated her exterior. Though thanks to the plasteel mesh she had incorporated inside of her skin, none of the attacks were deep enough to be concerned about. She was physically near-impervious to slash damage, however it wouldn't mean the same should she get hit by lightning again. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. With every footstep came a shaking of the ground. Behind the two girls that hid outside the room, they heard the sound of boots from a mecha knight approaching their position. "You called?" As they turned to the source of the sound, in front of them stood a human donning a suit that made him stand up to ten feet tall. His massive blade in one hand and his heavy caliber gun in the other was a source of relief, especially given all they endured on the way here and doubly so with their desperate fight within the throne room. "I'm grateful I managed to come in time. Don't worry." Heavy footsteps had followed him, of other knights that acted in concert with their leader. "You'll be safe now. Promise." "Treat them well." Waving over their medic to the wounded's side, for the rest of them that were meant to act as a hammer to all that acted as a barrier to peace, he called them to attention. "As for the rest of you, lets show these rebels what our galaxy is capable of. Charge!" Raising his weapon, he commanded a charge against the enemies of the empire, causing a massive rush of machinery to take the throne room by storm. Immediately, a blur of jets and steel had entered the room through walls as well as the door, striking at the statues that remained. These large knights used their momentum to catch magic casters by surprise, swinging at those who got within range of their melee weapons while blasting with enchanted cannons at all else. Their reinforced carapaces adapt to the situation at hand, regardless of element. Similar to the knights of old, these ones were walking tanks. "Speak of the devil. Took you all long enough." Neon stood in between Ophelia and their enemy, acting as a shield. If she broke, she could be repaired with a visit to the engineer. If Ophelia got hit on the other hand, the process to recovery would most likely be a more complicated one. "You're not the only front we've been deployed to, but that doesn't make you any less important." Given the fact that they were deployed here, it meant that most likely, the other teams deployed here were also calling in for reinforcements as well. With their enemy now surrounded and their numbers cut down to few, the knights had turned their attention to the pinnacle of magic in the room: The crown itself. "Surrender the crown and drop your weapons. I promise you will be judged fairly!" The vampire samurai was quick to understand that their words wouldn't dismantle Serena's stubbornness. Instead, it would act like a catalyst for something more audacious and potentially calamitic. Noticing the sudden rise in power in the room, the knights had reinforced their shields, digging their heels into the ground to prevent themselves from being knocked back. Neon on the other hand had taken Ophelia and shielded her with her body. Casting whatever reserves of energy she had left to protect the two, she encased themselves in an energy bubble, strengthened to the best of her abilities. "Hey, Lia." With arms wrapped around her princess, the knight whispered through the ensuing chaos that would befall her. Choosing to protect her instead of keeping herself safe, she had faith that the princess would carry the others through the rest of combat in her place. "Make sure to win for me. Okay?" With a smile befitting that of a warrior that risked death, Serena's attack had irradiated through the room, causing a bright light to overtake all who could see, summoning a force of wind that broke apart the very throne Serena once sat upon. After a couple minutes of it did it finally come to an end, and only then, did her knight finally fall atop Ophelia's shoulder, succumbing to her wounds. Smoke came out of her back as her body had overheated. The clothes of her back were burned off, revealing a metallic undercoat underneath her flesh that was damaged. Lights flickered for a moment before coming to a stop as her internal components turned off. Though before Serena could attack Ophelia directly, a shield had blocked her next attack. "Save your tears for later. Your companion isn't dead yet." The knight's eyes were similar to Neon's herself. The man she spoke to was an android. "But we need to hurry and get that crown off that mage's head. Don't hold back." Will you halt this eclipse in me? Will you halt this eclipse in me? Will you halt this eclipse in me? Will you halt this eclipse in me? Will you halt this eclipse in me? Will you halt this eclipse in me?​

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞​ "Miss me? Don't worry, it'll take more than some handsome asshole with a gun sword to do me in." "As much as I hate to say it, yeah, I did miss you. I'm going to make you pay dearly for making me worry once this is over. So you have to stay alive until then." Ophelia groaned, so far unharmed by the powerful yet unfocused volley of magic that razed the throne room to rubble and dust. Whether it was preordained, purposeful or simply luck, all the elemental magic bolts that Serena's rampage threw out were simply not hitting her. Maybe the crown recognized her as one of the rightful heirs and, without express intent from its wielder, would not strike her down. After all, the sorcerer princess was doing little more than throw a tantrum at this point. And yet, despite knowing that, Ophelia could not fault her. After all, she had thrown her own tantrums constantly growing up, screaming to the heavens that she did not want to inherit the crown and instead had always wanted to go beyond the stars that speckled the skies above them. Her magical talent had been known from a young age because of that, her own outbursts having destroyed entire rooms. She would've liked to say that she had eventually grown out of them, but her dream of voyaging through the vastness of the sky above had never quite been extinguished. Not even after eons of imprisonment. If there was one thing her patron had wanted, it was that. Her burning, all-consuming passion for something she could never have. Not until she met them. ​ It was ironic, really; while Ophelia longed for the stars, to be unrestrained by anything and everything, Serena was the opposite. She could hear the jadedness in her voice as she spoke of her, of her people's, struggles in space. How, as drifters, they had toiled. Enslaved for however long, only to break out of said enslavement. And now she had lost them, though it was unclear if she meant forever... or that she had simply been separated by them. It was why she wanted to try dialogue first - so that she could know if there was anything that could be done. Perhaps, if these heroes were truly worth all they were talked up to be... "Speak of the devil. Took you all long enough." Ophelia broke out of her thoughts at the sound of Neon's voice, and then at the heavy, metallic steps that rang through the air, the walls broken through like they were made out of glass. Yet another strange sight in this world she had been left behind by. Giant-like juggernauts, piloted by humans, approached them as reinforcements. This time, it seemed, it was their turn to get the upper hand in terms of numbers. After all, Serena's rampage had blindly destroyed dozens of her own statues, leaving her with only a limited number of statues to work with. Furthermore, the swordsman that had struck from the shadows was nowhere to be seen, having apparently retreated the moment it seemed like he was going to be caught in the crossfire. The sight of the metallic juggernauts did little to deter Serena, who gritted her teeth at them. "Surrender the crown and drop your weapons. I promise you will be judged fairly!" "SILENCE!!! I will not be cowed by your demands! I will surrender nothing to you!" ​ Ophelia sighed; did they really think that would work? Or were they simply trying to make her angrier? Who would ever believe the words of the enemy at this stage? Besides, even if Serena had been reasonable enough to listen to their words, the crown... ... It exploded in response to her rage. Glowing an ominous red, it seemed like the younger princess had quickly learned how to better channel its power within moments of using it. To learn how to use an artifact with power of that magnitude within moments... she had to have a better grasp on magic than Ophelia ever did. At the very least, she was more of a natural than her. She didn't know if any of her successors had similar talent, but only the first king, Olvara Lampros, had shown attunement to their divine origin like Ophelia had. And Serena was even more talented still. At least, that was the feeling she got as the spell she channeled drew power not only from the crown, but from the remnants of mana that the crumbled statues still held onto. Ophelia prepared to lift a protective barrier inspired by the one Idra had trapped her in during their battle, but Neon had her beat there. "Neon? What are you--?!" There was no time to react. The attack came at them faster than the princess expected. A blast of pure magic enveloped the room from a single point, spreading out to destroy everything in front of Serena. The ground, the very planet, shuddered at the power that was released. The kind of power only a god could possibly harness. Ophelia closed her eyes, knowing that they could not survive. If this was the last moment they would spend together, then she was at least happy it would be spent with Neon next to her. The blast seemed to last for an eternity, but had in reality only lasted for a few seconds. And when her eyes opened, she saw not the empty void she'd expected, but instead... "Hey, Lia." "Neon?! Neon, gods, we're alive, we're--" Her relief lived in her eyes only for a moment before she saw the smoke coming out of her. Already, she could recognize the telltale signs of the swordswoman overdoing it. Her smile faltered, leaving only an expression of horror as Neon continued speaking. "Make sure to win for me. Okay?" "Gods, stop talking, Neon! You're... you're hurt...! No! Please...!" Once again, she faltered in her arms, except this time it wasn't out of exhaustion but a grievous wound she'd suffered. Ophelia held her in her arms, shaking her as if she could wake her up. "No, please... if you... if you die, then all of this was for nothing...!" She fell to her knees, feeling them buckle under the reality that she might not be able to fulfill her promise to the four girls who had taken a chance on her. "Save your tears for later. Your companion isn't dead yet." ... "But we need to hurry and get that crown off that mage's head. Don't hold back." "Oh, don't worry. You won't be long without her. I'll make sure to send you all to Oblivion in due time." ​ "With this crown's power... yes, I can feel it! I can feel myself stepping into the realm of the divine! With it, I'll become a goddess... just like we have all wished for. Then, I can finally take revenge on all who made us suffer!" Serena's eyes were hollow ambers, brought to delirium by the crown. It wasn't just your average flavor of power-drunkness, however. There was something deeper, something more sinister yet. "Shut up! All of you... just shut up...!" ​ The ground rumbled, a dark fog rising from the floor, as if summoned by the princess' own scream. Her red eyes shone a deep red as she stared down at her unconscious knight's body. She put her ear to her chest, carrying not for the burns she suffered through in order to listen for her heartbeat. Then, she laid her down gently on the floor. "I am royalty! I will not be told when to or when not to shed my tears!" Her tears flowed freely for her friend, resolute not to repeat her own father's mistakes by hiding her own feelings behind a mask of stoicism. But she stood tall despite her tears, rapier in hand. She sucked in sharply, her body shuddering for a moment before she steadied herself. "Take her. I will be the one to finish this. On my own terms." The dark fog covering her eyes shot up, covering the princess completely. When Serena shot a blast of wind at it, Ophelia was gone. And before she could react, the sword-wielding princess' rapier was at her throat. A barrier enacted itself autonomously to protect her from the deadly attack, but she still stumbled back, taken aback by the sudden strike. "Hah, you think you can scare me with that--" "Shut up and fight." ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: Victim | FUZI × Mili ↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺​ Serena's barrier could not protect her from the kick to the stomach, empowered by the eldritch influence of Ophelia's patron and her own magic. She was sent flying through the marble throne, the seat crumbling and kicking up a cloud of dust. "So finally, you use your wretched magic! But how dare you taint our divine heritage with it...!" The crown-bearer, clearly enraged, emerged from that same cloud, brandishing her own knife with the intent to kill. And while she did well to hide her killing intent until the very last moment, when the knife was at Ophelia's side, the latter still managed to parry. The path was predictable, so much so that she didn't even need to see before to know it was coming. "That's right. I'll use every tool at my disposal if it means protecting those I love. I'll sign my soul away to the devil if that's what it takes. But what about you?" Another thrust of the knife was met with another parry, then an elbow to the nose. Serena cried out, disoriented for a moment before she retaliated with a point-blank lightning blast. Ophelia tried to protect from it, but the attack caught her by surprise. Even in her maddened state, Serena could still hide her intentions, something no other opponent of hers had been capable of up until now. Every person, when attacking, had intent behind their attack. One could call it killing intent, or malice, or whatever else they wanted, but it was something that Ophelia had mentally trained herself to sense at all times. Serena's was practically non-existent up until the moment she attacked. And for most people, that would be too late. The princess was a natural assassin, hiding everything behind a calm, cold, collected facade. But even she could not hide the wild fluctuations of magic that her crown irradiated. While the electricity paralyzed and disoriented her enough to lose sight of the rebel princess, she was still able to track the divine magic as Serena's knife cut through the air and tried to stab her in the back. Ophelia only had the chance to twist her body enough that the knife nicked her on the side instead of stabbing right through her heart. "Tch! I'll put my life on the line if it means protecting my people! It's exactly what I'm doing right now. And with this crown, I'll--" "You don't even have control over yourself because of that wretched crown! Don't you understand?! When King Olvara forged that crown with his own blood... he instilled it with his own desire! The desire for godhood! And every ruler after him... they instilled their own desires too, along with their own power." This had been an open secret among the Lamprosian royal family; everyone knew, but none dared to speak it. Ophelia had seen it firsthand - the madness in her father's eyes as he took on the crown, a single-minded desire to become a god in order to bring back his wife. "It will corrupt you! Just like it corrupted every other ruler before you. It will strip away every other wish until you can only think of seeking more power. Let it go! There are other ways to protect your people--" "Shut up! You're the last person that should be speaking of corruption!" ​ "This crown, this kingdom, THIS PLANET are all my birthright! I'll take them all back! I won't let anyone take from me ever again!" "Serena...!" But there was no more space for talking; Serena kicked the floor beneath her, jumping into the shadows and disappearing once more. This time, the magic's fluctuations were harder to follow - she was learning to wield the crown better by the moment. But it was still the one in control, all the accumulated malice and resentment pouring out with a small, rapid fireball that came out instantly, hitting the floor and causing a gigantic explosion in the room. Black tendrils sprouted up from the ground to protect Ophelia from the flames before crumbling into ashes. She coughed out, smoke filling her lungs. For a moment, she felt dizzy and lost her balance. It was all Serena needed. A moment of vulnerability. A second's hesitation. From the smoke she emerged as Ophelia raised her arm to protect herself from inhaling more smoke. It created a blind spot that she didn't hesitate to exploit. "Die, Princess of Ruin!" And she drove her knife into Ophelia's chest, intent on killing the princess while she still hesitated. It was the difference between them; one had clearly been softened by the thousands of years she had lived, while the other had lived all of her life in strife. It was clear who would emerge victorious. "Hahaha...! Hahahaha! Finally... Finally!" Her voice broke down into crazed laughter as she twisted the blade and then withdrew it, blood spurting out from the wound. "Rejoice, for the Princess of Ruin is dead by my hand! I--" "I got you." ​ "...?!" Unfamiliar with the princess' uncanny resilience and regenerating abilities, Serena had began to gloat her victory, assured that without the power of the ruinous figure, the others would fall with time. Instead, a pair of hands grabbed at the crown sitting atop her head. Blood trickled from Ophelia's lips, her pale countenance similar to that of a ghost's as she smiled grimly. "This is going to hurt." "A lot." ​ With that simple warning, Serena felt the crown being pulled from her head. It had, however, began to merge with her skin. Needles dug into her skull, ensuring the crown could not be removed without removing the head itself. If Ophelia hadn't been there, then that would've been the case, at least. Instead, Ophelia utilized a trick she had already shown to work; she channeled her own magic onto the crown. A fierce feedback loop commenced as the crown siphoned Serena's own magical force from her body to fuel itself, then met with Ophelia's own corrupted magic. "Ahhhh...!!! Arghhh....!!!" This process was far from gentle on Serena, whose body had already been at a limit when it came to channeling magic through her own mortal body. She fell to her knees, grabbing Ophelia's hands in a desperate attempt to pry them off. But it was in vain; the latter's grip was like a vice, unmoving even as Serena dug her nails into the backs of her hands and drew blood. She scratched and scratched, but no matter how much blood stained her palms, the older princess would not let go. On the other hand, the coursing magic threatened to tear her body asunder. She felt herself reaching the first steps towards divinity only to be dragged down by an unknowable force. For an instant, she could feel the eldritch influence in Ophelia cross into her, and she gazed upon the endless abyss. And then the crown gave out. ​ Instead of a massive explosion that was sure to destroy both of them, the crown simply... crumbled into dust. Perhaps anticlimactically, the princesses' showdown ended not with a powerful clash of magic, but instead with a silent yet loud fizzle as the crown ceased to exist. And without the crown's influence pushing her into madness, Serena fell to her knees. She was both exhausted and lost. Blood dripped from where her thorny crown had rooted itself into. She had seen herself become a goddess and at the same time, lose herself because of all the foreign thoughts that intruded into her mind. She had become someone else. She had lost sight of... the reason she had began to fight for. "Serena." And as her sight began to falter, a voice cut through the darkness. "I-I... I can't fall here. I need... to find... them..." "Serena, let me help you. I was given a second chance. I could never repay it to the people that gave it to me. But maybe... maybe I can give someone else the same hope I was given. Serena--" Broken in body but not in spirit, the princess grabbed her knife from the floor and stabbed Ophelia in the stomach. "How can you say something like that... when you're the reason they... they're gone...?!" Ophelia coughed out blood, falling to her own knees. But despite the other princess' malice, Ophelia's eyes did not falter. She smiled at her again, wrapping both of her arms around Serena's head. "Serena, you saw it, didn't you? Our kingdom was doomed to fall regardless of my actions. That crown... it would've spelled the demise of our planet one way or the other. It's gone now. Let's start over... together." "But I..." She wavered. She had seen it. It was not the princess from the tower that had driven their people off the planet, but rather the ambition of one king who thought he could become a god. A profane ritual had been enacted, using the kingdom's subjects as sacrifice in order to expedite the crown's power growth. Many heroes attempted to stop him, but only barely managed to do so. The damage that he had caused on the planet rendered it uninhabitable and the next generation of the royal family, of which the king's son had been part of the ones to stop the ritual, were forced to leave the planet. The only thing keeping the planet from being destroyed was Ophelia's patron. With its power, it had managed to stop the planet's collapse, and eventually it returned to its natural state. Animals thrived again, as did plants. The knife in Ophelia's stomach fell to the ground. Finally, Serena had lost the fight in her. She stared down at the blood on her hands, lips quivering. What had she done? How many people had she killed? Out of revenge? Out of some misguided idea that it would lead back to her family? It hit her like a tidal wave. "I-I... I surrender..." Her voice was but a whisper, no more energy in her left to fight. Tears streamed down her cheeks, washing away the blood that had spilled onto her face. "I will accept all punishment given to me..." "That's good, because..." Hsssss. The sound of an inhale broke the two out of their conversation. Over them stood Arashi, who had seemingly disappeared up until this very moment. In one hand was a cigarette. In the other, his blade, poised to separate Serena's head from her body. "... we don't suffer traitors. Die knowing you accomplished nothing, Little Princess." And the sword slashed downward, cutting the very space in its path. But Ophelia had sensed him. Unlike Serena who could suppress her killing intent, Arashi's was telegraphed. She twisted her body in such a way that she protected Serena from the deadly attack, instead having the katana slice through her armor and cut a deep wound into her back. "No...! Why...?!" Ophelia's body could not handle three mortal wounds at once, even with her patron's power healing her body, and those were the last words she heard before she began to lose consciousness. "Tch. A meddler till the end. If she hadn't poisoned your head, you could've easily become one of our great generals. Oh well. I won't miss next time." The swordsman, although bloodthirsty, knew when to cut his losses. And when hunking pieces of metal came at him, intending to tear him apart... Well, that was as good a signal as any to leave. "Pull back! Serena has fallen! We're retreating! I repeat; all forces retreat!" He put his fingers to an earpiece before swiftly jumping through and over the mecha knights, whistling through them like an uncatchable gust. His expression betrayed his dissatisfaction at having to admit defeat, but he wasn't about to fight to the death. He was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving everyone in the dust as a passing spacecraft whizzed on by, taking him and leaving in blinding speed. "Ophelia... Ophelia...! Please... wake up...!" But Serena had already forgotten about her second-in-command, instead holding Ophelia's unconscious body in her arms, her regal robes stained in her blood as she tried to shake her awake. There was just too much blood loss, however. "Please... you need to help her...!" She turned to the mecha knights - to anyone who could help, tears staining her cheeks and blood turning her arms and hands completely red. "I'll take any punishment, but please... save her! I don't want another life on my hands!"​

​

 

[Tenzai]

"Shut up! All of you... just shut up...! I am royalty! I will not be told when to or when not to shed my tears!" Those that held their allegiance to the knights grew quiet, aware that their choice of words were not the most respectful of the women they were in the presence of. Given what they had to cut through to get here, what they had to fight against to preserve the lives of those who fought for peace, it had only felt to them in the moment what was said was right. In truth, they needed her just as much as her team needed reinforcements. These men weren't so indebted to their egos to not realize that fact. "Take her. I will be the one to finish this. On my own terms." "Got it. Bring the vampire to safety. The human and the angel too. Secure the other neighboring rooms so we won't be disturbed. I'll fight alongside the princess." With the dark fog overtaking the ground beneath their feat, their captain turned around, ordering them to handle all else. What they needed now was not numbers; What they needed instead was space. The captain was aware of Ophelia's magical potential due to his experience refining his perception of what he saw before him. The scattered statues they had seen before entering the room, the state of the princess, as well the ruination they had seen on the way here in the first place, all of it had hinted at capable spellcasters being a part of the squad that requested for reinforcements. Flashes of consciousness had overtaken Neon as she was forcefully separated from the fighting in order to get her some help. Unaware of the terrible wound that her princess was soon to face in her absence, as she closed her eyes for the final time, the last she felt were tears. Human tears. Out of the team that was deployed, August was the least wounded of the bunch, her injuries scaling to fractured bone and bruises over the deep gashes and internal bleeding that her companions faced. "Oh gods! Neon!" Clutching to the mecha knight that began to take her to a room deemed safe for extraction, August tried to get any information. "Ophelia! Where's Ophelia?!" "Finishing the mission. If our captain had promised himself to her, the least we could be sure of is that, he won't let her die. Not if he could help it. Have faith in your friends. They wouldn't have been placed here if they weren't enough." Gulping, August looked to the hallway behind him, thinking about whether it would be better for her to return to join Ophelia in the fighting. However, something held her back; A darkness that tugged at her from her shadow. In her head, the spellcaster was aware why there weren't often many that would be stationed with a powerful mage. If she were to get involved, it was likely that Ophelia would have to hold herself back, potentially even getting more hurt than she would've if she could go all out in the first place. Clutching her hands, she gave a quick prayer for a safe return. To whichever god would listen, both of light and dark, she would offer her plea. "Please grant my friends grace. I... I don't want to lose anyone anymore." Meanwhile, in the room, try as he might, the mecha knight captain was unable to scan for where the other swordsman's whereabouts were. His stealth went well beyond simple magic or skill alone. Something must've been blocking both his technology as well as his own perception and unfortunately, it was this stealth that served as a decisive edge right after Ophelia had offered the other princess a second chance. "No...! Why...?!" "Tch. A meddler till the end. If she hadn't poisoned your head, you could've easily become one of our great generals. Oh well. I won't miss next time." Her body dropped to the floor, her blood spilling onto the tiles of her family's throne room. Immediately engaging his thrusters to charge at the fiend once he made his presence known, as his agility had turned his body into a blur, his enemy used that momentum against him, dodging by jumping at a speed that his eyes could not track. "Pull back! Serena has fallen! We're retreating! I repeat; all forces retreat!" The mecha knight cursed as he escaped. It would be the last time he would ever let him escape again. "Ophelia... Ophelia...! Please... wake up...!" No amount of shaking would stir the princess from her syncope. Her slumber was unable to be disturbed. "Please... you need to help her...!" Approaching her side, the mecha knight hilted his massive weapon to his hip before gingerly picking up her body. What he saw wasn't good. She didn't have much life left, regardless of whatever unholy boon created the darkness that sealed her wounds. "I'll take any punishment, but please... save her! I don't want another life on my hands!" "Then don't get in the way. The last thing I want is to lose any more lives than what's needed." War had a cost. Each location, each stronghold to be taken from an enemy would exact its toll on the victor. The knight himself had joined to protect those he could, but at the same time, he wasn't ignorant of the life he would lead knowing that every face could be there one day and gone the next. "Follow me. If you're cooperative, she'll have the best chance at living." After designating their location as a secured extraction point, he called upon the closest ship to pick up both their wounded and their prisoner. Within seconds, a familiar band of colors over a hover ship had made itself known as it shined a spotlight within the room. Magic had dented its wing, but it was from enough to stop it from being an air and space-worthy vessel. As it turned around and opened its landing bay for the others to enter, Medina greeted them with a stern look over her face once she had a glimpse of Ophelia's condition. "Hurry up! If we get her back to the citadel now, we should be able to save her!" ──────・୨ ✦✦✦✦✦ ୧・──────​ "So you're the girl that the others have been raving about." In the middle between life and death, Ophelia had caught herself in the middle of a grassy field. In front of her was a table with a set of teacups atop, each filled with an amber solution that the girl in front of her was comfortable with partaking in. "Princess Lamprosia. The 33rd herself, or would you prefer me calling you by your first name, Ophelia?" Patting the chair in front of her, she pulled it back to offer the sorceress a place to sit. Interestingly, there was a third chair as though she was expecting additional company. "You must be curious as to why I know so much about you. There's nothing wrong with it of course. After all, I'm sure that this is your first time here." In her speech, there was no malice, no jealousy, nor manipulation. She simply spoke as she was, as though they were friends. "I should thank you for all you've done for my girls. They appreciate you much more than I could ever have imagined." The echoes of her magician's prayer had bounced through this realm from time to time, spurning on the idea that this was no dream, but rather something interconnected with the real world. "Oh, where are my manners? Here I am thanking you and you've yet to know my name. Its a pleasure to meet you, Ophelia. My name is..." "Elaine." Lifting herself up, she took the sides of the skirt on her dress and lifted them up to curtsy, properly bowing in respect to the princess that had done some much for the people she loved. "The previous leader of these girls before my unfortunate departure." Slowly sitting back down, she took another sip of her tea before filling it up back to the brim, letting the new liquid mix in with the old to make her drink lukewarm. "Hmm? Oh dear, don't worry, you're not dead. I'm simply meeting you say... In between worlds. Why wait until you pass away to finally get a chance to greet you and your partner in person?" She turned towards the empty seat before turning back towards her. The odd look had made her amused. "Ah. So that's the face that August and Neon are attracted to." She chuckled, hiding her lips as she smiled warmly. "Apologies. I couldn't help but watch after you all. I get nervous sometimes thinking about how everyone would cope with my loss, but it seems that... Not all hope is lost, and I have you and August to thank for it. If not for your efforts, I doubt that the others would still be so close together." Elaine thought about the issue that she had with Idra and the polarizing sides that were forged within her team as a result. The fact that it was able to settle itself had been a source of relief for the wandering spirit. "Now, I'm sure you have a few questions of course. Anything about the team or myself, I'll be glad to answer." Taking a look at the clock on her table, she was aware that their time would soon be up. "You might wish to make it quick though. The others are doing their best to wake you up, so I doubt we'd have more than enough time for three or so questions." Placing her elbows on the table, Elaine smiled, resting her hands on the bottom of her open palms as she leaned in close. "So make them count, yes?" ──────・୨ ✦✦✦✦✦ ୧・──────​ "Just know that I gotta hand that I can lend ya~ And it don't matter when, know I'll protect ya~" ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ɢʀᴇᴀᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴏɴᴇ | ᴇʀɪᴄᴅᴏᴀ, ᴠᴀʟᴏʀᴀɴᴛ, ᴅᴇɴɴɪꜱ ᴍᴀʀᴄᴜꜱ ↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺​ Heartbeats beeped through the monitor of the intensive care unit back in the citadel. While the others were under anesthesia, being treated in separate rooms, Ophelia was instead encased in a pod filled with a healing substance from head to toe; Its mana reconstructing her from the inside while another limb was being created to replace that which was too damaged for her to recover from. On the hallway leading to it, a white blur had sped through the hallways over a skateboard. Donning a white lab coat wrapped around her waist, the doctor assigned to her had used her affinity with her skateboard to make good on the time she had in between operations, going from one room on one side of the station to the other. With her digital tablet acting as a clipboard, she scrolled over to her final patient of the evening: A princess named Ophelia, someone who was present at the assault that got mortally wounded as a result of her team's deployment and success. Her jaw shifted left and right, her teeth chewing on gum. "You can call on me, I'm here whenever. You know two greater than one but five is better." Quietly singing to the tunes of the music that played in her implant in her ear, with a few pushes on her board while other doctors had made their way for her, the woman finally stopped at the front of the door, only to open and reveal three others inside: Namely, the captain, his escorted prisoner with a nullifying collar bound to her neck, and the witch. With Medina forced to deal with the injuries of others given how grave some people's conditions were after the resolution of their mission, it was up to August to be there for her when she would eventually wake up. "Morn." Kicking up her skateboard, she scratched her chin as she looked over the princess embedded within the glass case full of the healing solution. "She's recovering well enough. Death won't take her, I'm sure. But she'll be waking up tired. Very tired." Spitting her gum into the nearby trash can, the woman turned towards the other two girls in the room. "As for your other friends, each of them just needs a bit of work. A little surgery to take out the debris and all, but they'll be fine. Your Neon on the other hand might take the most time out of everyone else. The components that make up her body aren't exactly easy to come by." The witch gripped her thigh highs, her fingers curling in pain at the feeling taht she wasn't enough. "Though I don't think you should blame yourself for anything that these others went through." "I'm sure if you would've known, you would do things differently." Placing her gloves on, she pulled the tubes from one empty bag to replace it with another full bag, feeding the solution inside the case with fresh nutrients. Unbeknownst to the princess inside, the gel that she was encased in was alive, requiring constant upkeep in order to preserve the body of the woman inside of it. "Thank you for the meal, Cea!" A voice had come from another end of a speaker. "Anytime. Don't overwork yourself, yeah? The worst of it's already over." After a few minutes of inspecting her for any changes, Panacea had left the others behind. "... I know I should be mad, but Ophelia... Ophelia deserves to wake up to a smile." August voiced quietly, looking up at Serena. "Especially if she went so far and beyond to try and save you, Serena. I don't think she'd appreciate if any of us took her kindness for granted."

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞ "So you're the girl that the others have been raving about." ​ When Ophelia opened her eyes, she had expected to find herself back in the black, infinite void that she had grown so accustomed to. It was the price she had to pay to protect everyone, after all, and a cheap one if it meant they would all return alive. At least, she had done the best that she could. If the other rebels would've rallied against them in one last hail mary, maybe they could've taken them out. But why would anyone risk such a large force to take out a pitiful party of four half-dead girls, barring pettiness? Ophelia was happy to pass away like that, knowing she'd come back one precious memory lighter. Instead, her eyes fell upon an unfamiliar garden. She looked around for a few seconds before landing on the source of the voice that stirred her from her state between life and death. She could swear she had seen her face somewhere before - perhaps in the pictures August and the others had shown her. Though they seemed to avoid talking about her, Ophelia could tell she was someone precious to them. "Princess Lamprosia. The 33rd herself, or would you prefer me calling you by your first name, Ophelia?" "I personally destroyed the throne and crown. I have no claim to it. Besides, there is another who is more fitting for that title. And I never did like being a princess anyway. Please, call me Ophelia. Drifter of the stars." She sighed, taking the seat that was offered to her with a cursty of her own. Despite saying as much, she still had the decorum of royalty that had been stamped into her, never daring to betray her own dignity, especially when meeting a new person. "You must be curious as to why I know so much about you. There's nothing wrong with it of course. After all, I'm sure that this is your first time here." "Many people seem to know who I am, despite not being noteworthy. I'm hardly surprised at this point..." Though she didn't mean for it to sound like it, there was a hint of bitterness at her notoriety. So many people seemed to know her, all while she knew nothing about them. This was just another one in the list of strangers that knew quite a bit more about her than she did about them. It was sort of like sitting down to play a game of social chess with her opponent having already set up their board. A bit annoying, but far from the worst thing she could handle. Besides, this woman was at least amicable enough to not use her knowledge against her. "I should thank you for all you've done for my girls. They appreciate you much more than I could ever have imagined." "I've only done for them a fraction of what they have done for me. They freed me. Gave me a second chance at life. On the other hand, I couldn't protect them. I should be apologizing instead." "Oh, where are my manners? Here I am thanking you and you've yet to know my name. Its a pleasure to meet you, Ophelia. My name is... Elaine." Ophelia's gaze softened; knowing already did not make the revelation any less impactful for her. The one they had lost before even meeting her. She still remember the rawness of their emotions, fueled by the loss of their comrade in order to get to her. Maybe, in a way, Ophelia blamed herself for her death - they had been on the planet looking for her, after all. If they hadn't been on a mission to retrieve that powerful artefact, then would Elaine have died? Possibly. But definitely later than she did when they went looking for her. In a way, she was indirectly responsible for her death. But she knew such thoughts were only her own - that if she were to voice an apology, it would be met with denial. It was only her that blamed herself for everything. She had lead a guilt-ridden life until now. As far as she was aware, she'd yet to do enough good in this world to offset the pain she had caused. "The pleasure is mine. You already know my name, but let me introduce myself still. I am Ophelia. Once, a princess of a doomed kingdom. Now, a simple girl out of time and place. A window into a different era. A painting of the errors we are all destined to repeat." She smiled hollowly and bitterly at Elaine as she took the cup of tea in front of her. Next to her, between her and Elaine, It emerged, having sat itself, or herself, on the empty seat. She sipped the tea casually as well, as if her presence was not somehow unwelcome here. But Ophelia regarded her patron with annoyance more than malice or outright hostility. She shrugged, not bothering to interject into the conversation. "Ah. So that's the face that August and Neon are attracted to." Ophelia choked on her drink, the slightest flush of red coloring the tips of her ears. "Khm--!" "Apologies. I couldn't help but watch after you all--" "Please tell me you didn't watch that." The princess interjected, losing her cool for the first time. Having August and Neon see her like that was embarrassing enough - she didn't need a third party to have witnessed that. "I get nervous sometimes thinking about how everyone would cope with my loss, but it seems that... Not all hope is lost, and I have you and August to thank for it. If not for your efforts, I doubt that the others would still be so close together." "They're strong. So much stronger than you give them credit for. Even without me, I'm sure they could've pulled through. They would've found a way. August... August just needs more self-esteem. She's capable of much more than she knows. Me, on the other hand..." "I'm just a failure of a princess." ​ "Groomed from an early age to be a queen, yet I failed my subjects before I even took up the crown. Hell, I didn't even want it. I knew it would change me, just like it had everyone else. I wanted to run away. And I did. The first chance I got, I took it. The pact was just an excuse... I would've run away regardless." She shook her head. What good was rehashing the past now? To a dead woman, of all people. Although maybe she was the best person to dump it all on. She'd literally take it to the grave. She was already in the grave, morbidly enough. "Now, I'm sure you have a few questions of course. Anything about the team or myself, I'll be glad to answer. You might wish to make it quick though. The others are doing their best to wake you up, so I doubt we'd have more than enough time for three or so questions." "Ach, so stingy. Three questions is all you can spare after I almost died?" Upon the revelation that she could only take three answers with her before she was brought back, Ophelia let the facade of royalty fall in favor of her more sarcastic self, her nose scrunching up slightly with annoyance. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "So make them count, yes?" "No need to tell me twice. Then..." She frowned, deep in thought before she opened her mouth, intent on fully using this opportunity to her advantage. "How do I make Shiro crack?" The first question, simple and to the point, was a lot less heavy than one might expect. Her expression was serious for such a silly question. She further elaborated upon sensing Elaine's disbelief. "Medina's strange and oddly into girl-on-girl stuff and fairytales. August is an adorable mess. Neon is an idiot. But Shiro... I still can't figure her out. I want to get to know her better, but it's as if she's built up a wall around herself. I want to find a chink in her armor. I want to see her smile." She had seen everyone else's smile. She couldn't remember a time she had seen Shiro smile. Not yet. She wanted to be closer to her, just as she was to the others. "How do I get Neon to be less of an idiot? She keeps running forward, keeps making me worry about her. I told her she was my knight, and she used that to run straight forward. But a good knight stands by her lady. I feel like she's too eager to prove that she's worthy of being by my side. Of being everyone's sword. I want her to know that... she's more than enough already." Despite her antagonistic relationship with Neon, even if it was more of a cat-and-dog kind of relationship, Ophelia did worry about her. "How can I best help Medina and August? Medina's so put together already, but... I can tell the smallest thing could make her crack. Like how diamonds are hard, but brittle. August, on the other hand..." Once again, she worried about them. "She's so strong, but so filled with self-doubt. I want to be there for her. I want her to know she's doing a good job. When I wake up, I want to know what to say so she doesn't start blaming herself for all of this." "And one last question, because I don't like being told what to do." ​ Ophelia raised her finger, as if she could stop time itself from taking her back to the realm of the living. Her patron set down her teacup, looking at the princess as she looked to Elaine in defiance. "If you had a single regret you could get rid of, what would it be? A word unspoken, a memory recalled. If you could say one last thing to them, Elaine, what would it be?" ​ Everyone died with regrets. The living, however, continued to carry them until the day they died. ​ Besides the collar on her neck, Serena had insisted they cuff her wrists as well. After all, even if she couldn't use her magic, she was still a deadly assassin, armed or unarmed. She had learned how to use her body to its fullest extent, honing it along with her magic to lead her people to freedom. She had turned herself into a living weapon and could twist her limbs in ways that were unnatural to fit into places that no living being should ever go into. She had no intention of harming anyone anymore, but it was simply a precaution she wanted in case the echoes of the crown took her over. After all, she had worn that thing long enough that she could no longer trust her own mind from the voices of the previous monarchs. Although she had the chance to wash off the blood from her body and hands, the latter were still blood-red whenever she looked down at them. She was afraid she'd never get the stain out of them, even if in reality her hands, small and pale, were completely clean. It was her mind that was fragmented, jerked around like a toy for others to play with. Serena's eyes were downcast, staring down at the floor as they sat there, watching over Ophelia in the tank. She barely acknowledged the doctor as she first came in, her eyes red and irritated from crying and exhaustion. She hadn't slept a wink yet. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She had started to fall asleep despite herself a few times, her head bobbing back and forth as the exhaustion stole her from the world of the conscious. But every time she closed her eyes for longer than a few minutes, her mind would flash with the sight of every person she had killed. Every horrified expression, every bloody scream. She had done it all for them, she told herself back then. She didn't mind killing if it meant protecting her subjects. But at one point, killing had stopped being about protection and began being about vengeance. About marking her path with carnage. Wrath had taken her over, formless and directionless, much like her outburst at the castle. Those blasts had been a manifestation of her rawest emotions. She didn't fight to protect anyone. She had no one to protect; they had all been taken from her. Or perhaps, she had been taken from them. And Serena could do nothing but rage against the world that had continuously taken from her. If they were going to take from her, then it was only fair that she took from them too. "I'm sure if you would've known, you would do things differently." Serena looked up from the floor and to the witch, wondering what kind of expression she was wearing. She didn't dare to meet her gaze with her own though. Her body was cold with shame, as if she had been out in the rain and was soaked in it. Her hands shifted, causing the chains to grind against each other. "... I know I should be mad, but Ophelia... Ophelia deserves to wake up to a smile." "... And yet, you're not smiling." Serena pointed out. Although it could be taken as her mocking the witch, it was a simple observation. "And how could you? All of your friends... they're hurt. Because of me. You should be mad at me. I'm the only one to blame for this. I... I wish my life was enough to pay back for the pain I've caused, but... I have people I want to go back to..." Her voice shook with emotion, her hands gripping themselves as she thought about the punishment she would go through. If they were going to execute her after questioning her for all the information she had, then she couldn't stop them, but she still wanted to live. If not for herself, then for the sake of finding her subjects. "Especially if she went so far and beyond to try and save you, Serena. I don't think she'd appreciate if any of us took her kindness for granted." "She could've killed me several times over. I-I don't understand why she didn't. After I hurt... the girl with the guns, and the swordswoman. And then... I stabbed her not once but twice. Arashi should've taken my head." She shook her head. What good was wishing for death now, after all that had happened? August was right; to say more would be to spit on Ophelia's efforts to save her. Not just from Arashi, or the wrath of her comrades, but from the crown and even herself. "... Uhm." Perhaps continuing to talk about it would only make the emotions resurface. It was clear the witch was offering her grace. The fact that she wasn't dead already was enough proof that there was at least hope for something else. "I just... realized I don't know your name. Or the names of your other team members. The girl with the gun... what's her name?" Serena didn't know why, but the white-haired, cat-eared angel was the first to come to mind. The way she handled her guns was... impressive. Even the way she clashed with her in the throne room. If it hadn't been for the crown, she wasn't sure she could've come on top in that exchange. "And the pink-haired swordswoman," Serena blushed, catching herself lingering on the memories for a moment too long. "The one I-I... I'm sorry. The doctor said her components were... hard to come by, right? I... I know a few places where the rebels would store away things they looted. It's possible that... they could have something useful." "Oh, and your pilot! She's... she's much better than any pilot I've seen in the rebel army. Coming right into the fray to provide support fire for Ophelia and the, uh... the gunslinger." Unlike Ophelia, Serena was awkward with her words. She didn't hold the same air of dignity that the princess of old did. After all, centuries of slavery meant that there was no place for decorum. Serena spoke nervously and awkwardly, fiddling with her own fingers. "... And then there's you. You... I don't think I saw you cast a single offensive spell." Instead, she seemed to have focused on supporting her teammates through empowering and healing spells. "Do you... not know any? Or... could it be that you refuse to use them? I don't blame you if you do. Offensive spells... they leave their targets in horrible conditions. A fireball completely singing a person's skin off. An ice spell turning someone into a sculpture, only to break apart into pieces. U-Ugh, sorry, I'm terrible at making conversation."

 

[Tenzai]

ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ᴍᴇᴇᴛɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴀꜱꜱɪɴɢ | ʜᴏʏᴏ
↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺​

"Ach, so stingy. Three questions is all you can spare after I almost died?" "Thank the people working quickly on you for their speed." The magician chuckled, finding her vigorous spirit rather refreshing. It had been a long while since someone had offered her so much energy in the world that lay between life and death. "And relax, I doubt that this will be the last chance we'll meet. So make them count, yes?" "No need to tell me twice. Then..." She took a moment to observe her tea party's guest, inscribing her appearance to memory. Summoning a pen and pencil to her table, she sketched her face until she came up with a question to ask. "How do I make Shiro crack?" 'Oh?' The bringing up of their resident catgirl crew member had pleasantly surprised Elaine. "Medina's strange and oddly into girl-on-girl stuff and fairytales. August is an adorable mess. Neon is an idiot. But Shiro... I still can't figure her out. I want to get to know her better, but it's as if she's built up a wall around herself. I want to find a chink in her armor. I want to see her smile." Out of everything Ophelia could've asked, to bring up her smile as something she valued enough to make the target of one of her limited three questions, she smiled, putting down her pencil, before leaning in and onto her hands as a rest for her chin. "Shiro is a shy one, isn't she? She usually keeps to herself, even with me around." Her face turned towards the field, her eyes scouting the horizon as she reminisced over her memories in private with her angelic friend. "Last I recall, she's happy when she's content, and she's content when others are fine." There was a line of logic that was needed to understand her better. "It might not be obvious in her lips, but her eyes are her window to her heart. Search there for her smile. And try making others happy if you wish to see her "crack."" She chuckled. "Less you prefer the alternative. Giving her a dose of what Neon takes. She's usually a bit more open with her emotions if... Well, if she's high or buzzed." "How do I get Neon to be less of an idiot? She keeps running forward, keeps making me worry about her. I told her she was my knight, and she used that to run straight forward. But a good knight stands by her lady. I feel like she's too eager to prove that she's worthy of being by my side. Of being everyone's sword. I want her to know that... she's more than enough already." "That's a question that you and I have yet to find a full answer for. Neon is a girl motivated by conviction and promises. We mean a lot more to her than we realize." She thought of the last moments before she died, of what Elain saw the lengths that Neon was willing to go to keep her safe. If not for the fact taht she had to blast her back with a spell, most likely, Neon would've stuck around to die with her instead of leaving her behind. "So loyal to those who earned her heart. I think, what worked with us was taking a look at ourselves. I spoke with her in private to calm her down, though instead of convincing her, we settled on a compromise. In her words, ahem. "Stop getting stuck in shit." I think that's the way to go. To keep yourself safe so she wouldn't be in the space to make mistakes in the first place." "How can I best help Medina and August? Medina's so put together already, but... I can tell the smallest thing could make her crack. Like how diamonds are hard, but brittle. August, on the other hand... She's so strong, but so filled with self-doubt. I want to be there for her. I want her to know she's doing a good job. When I wake up, I want to know what to say so she doesn't start blaming herself for all of this." "That's not something you could do on your own. August and Medina took the rest of us to help heal." The first time she had August join her team, she was a shadow of who she was now. A hermit in her room, she refused to do much more than the bare minimum to keep herself safe. No matter how much she could reason otherwise at first, Elaine couldn't help but understand her fear of forming new connections after losing so much. "Be you and give them time. I'm sorry I couldn't offer much more advice than that. Time heals all wounds, but it doesn't make them fade away once made into scars." The world shook as a bubble formed within her vision that rippled her perception of this world. Something was clawing its way in. "Ah, it seems like its almost time for our time together to end-" Though, before she was able to speak anymore, instead of being offered a goodbye, Ophelia had interrupted her, unwilling to leave on any terms but her own. "And one last question, because I don't like being told what to do." Elaine raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? What is it?" "If you had a single regret you could get rid of, what would it be? A word unspoken, a memory recalled. If you could say one last thing to them, Elaine, what would it be?" How quaint. "You act as though I lived with regrets, my dear." In the life she had led with her girls, she had acted in a way most befitting of her heart. True to herself and to others, she had made herself a polarizing figure, loved by some, and hated by others. "Don't you concern yourself with the regrets of the wandering souls. My time directly intervening is over. Your time is now." Slipping off a ring that her team had given her, she placed it in Ophelia's hand as the world behind her opened up a rift where she could hear the sounds of others speaking: A familiar voice, one that sounded like August. "If I had one last thing to say, something that I wish to request of you, it would be that you, Ophelia, would live your life on your own free will. With no regrets. With no hooks keeping you bound to your past." "Lia, can you hear me?" Smiling, as the rift began to pull her out from this reality, the magician had waved her hand goodbye. "Oh, and perhaps one other final thing." "Tell them that I'm proud of them. And tell yourself that I'm proud of you." ​ "She could've killed me several times over. I-I don't understand why she didn't. After I hurt... the girl with the guns, and the swordswoman. And then... I stabbed her not once but twice. Arashi should've taken my head." The fact that Ophelia was punished over her show of kindness had made this fact especially hard to take. She was aware that this mission was never something of her own choosing, but rather something she was assigned to. To have to protect them, her friends, had felt like an insult, even if Ophelia never took it as such. She deserved better than the witch who was too incapable of casting offensive based spells herself. 'She should've never been there for us in the first place.' "... Uhm." As if she couldn't hold back her genuine feelings over her own inadequacies, once she noticed Serena's pause, she turned, not even realizing that tears were spilling from her cheeks. "I just... realized I don't know your name. Or the names of your other team members. The girl with the gun... what's her name?" "My name's August. I'm Ophelia's friend and teammate." She herself wasn't befitting of the title companion. She had yet to earn that right after losing it. Turning towards Ophelia, she felt guilt. She should've been in that tube instead, not her. "Shiro is the angel-cat with the gun. She's... She's alive. Just unconscious." "And the pink-haired swordswoman; The one I-I... I'm sorry. The doctor said her components were... hard to come by, right? I... I know a few places where the rebels would store away things they looted. It's possible that... they could have something useful." August sighed, shaking off the heavy feeling for now. Her brooding over her own failures wasn't something she'd imagine Ophelia wishing her to do, especially while she recovered. "No, you're fine. Her name is Neon. I'm sure that the others would appreciate your help and all but... Her parts are custom made for her. Spares are owned by her previous company. The same that gave her that body in the first place." Her old mercenary organization wasn't for their kindness but rather for their bravery and brutality. Loyal to credits, they were a boon to whoever was able to hire them, but only for that moment. "We'll most likely have to make a deal with them again. A one-sided one at that. I'm sure that our heroes here would help out where they can, but the people she used to work for, the void shades, well... They're not the easiest people to speak to." Neon was a different woman when she first joined, but with time and constant compassion from her leader and her team, she had grown rather soft and particular to the people she could call her own. Her family and her past friends on the other hand were not offered the same life. Given their history with other factions that worked with them in the past, the vampires that made up her coven were all jaded mercenaries seeking their security through selfishness and greed. Noticing that her tone was changing, she quickly shook her head to get that feeling away from her mind. Right now, the focus was on Ophelia and the woman she saved from an unworthy death. Since Neon's life was to be preserved, she could wait. Her recovery wouldn't speed up if she worried more about it. "Apologies. You've yet to know even our names and here I am complaining about our problems." Finding her a guest regardless of their previous circumstances turning their hostilities towards one another, August's kindness had made the knight beside Serena raise an eyebrow. It took strength to forgive, especially to one who had led to so much damage dealt to her team. "Oh, and your pilot! She's... she's much better than any pilot I've seen in the rebel army. Coming right into the fray to provide support fire for Ophelia and the, uh... the gunslinger." "Medina? She's quite something isn't she? Number one pilot out of her year in the draft and out of every team, out of every station, she chose us." August scratched the back of her head, flattered and unable to come up with any more response. "For an undead, she's really good at machines! Driving or piloting or maintaining or repairing, heck. Even fixing up people. She just... She's really good to us." "... And then there's you. You... I don't think I saw you cast a single offensive spell. Do you... not know any? Or... could it be that you refuse to use them? I don't blame you if you do. Offensive spells... they leave their targets in horrible conditions. A fireball completely singing a person's skin off. An ice spell turning someone into a sculpture, only to break apart into pieces. U-Ugh, sorry, I'm terrible at making conversation." "I just don't find hurting people worth it. It was never one of my strong suits." The witch looked away, unable to stare at the rather talented magician in her eyes. August understood she was capable of dismantling a living being in a hundred different ways but she could never. She was often the butt of her sisters' jokes, her lack of desire to wield certain spell schools as someone born with the affinity to have made others feel like she was a waste of a prodigy, someone undeserving of a seat at one of the most prestigious magical academies in all the galaxy. "Not that I can't. Its just... I see myself in others and I learned magic to help. Not to harm. I've never found the draw for it." As a soldier, she had her uses, but there were times where she understood that her hesitance to wield offensive based magic would lead to her team working harder as a result. She didn't have the grit of Neon or the stoicism of Shiro to aid her. She didn't have the bravery of Elaine or the technological distancing of Medina to staunch the gruesomeness of combat as well. She was arguably, the most ordinary of all the girls, someone who at times felt left out; A waste of space as her sisters' had called her. "I'd... Really like it if we could move on from this topic. Please." Clearly uncomfortable about thinking over her own limitations, as she was about to excuse herself out of the room, a sudden stumbling and shifting had taken place within the gelatinous mass that held her friend. An alarm had begun to play, a blue one warning the doctors nearby that a patient was soon to wake up. "Ophelia?" Within moments, the growing sound of a skateboard outside had led to the doctor finally entering in, casting her tablet to the side as she opened up the capsule. "Can you please make some room for the girl?" Cea asked the slime politely, eventually leading to the slime girl spilling out of the capsule before donning a medical jacket of her own to cover up her gelatinous form. Underneath it was the bed of cushions meant to house Ophelia to keep her comfortable throughout her slumber. "Lia! Can you hear me?" Upon seeing her shift and her eyelids stirring, the witch hugged the body of her soon-to-be awake friend, just for her to be the first thing she saw and felt when she woke up. Her heartbeat thumped rapidly, excited to find that she was able to be saved in time. Given all she had seen the woman encounter and all she heard about her wounds, she felt as though her time in the other realm would have been extended to well beyond a week's worth of time. But alas, the staff that overlooked her had spared no expense. If the hero who ran the station had his eyes focused on this operation, he was sure to provide everyone with services befitting that status, doing nothing less than giving his best to ensure their health and wellbeing. "I missed you. I missed you Ophelia!" Crying into her arms, as the woman opened her eyes, she saw Serena, the knight, and a doctor sharing a room with her and August. "Good morning, sleepyhead. Or well, good evening." Cea smiled. "You recover faster than you think. Maybe sometime by the end of today, we can get you out of here with crutches. Maybe a little bit of physical therapy for your new arm too." Pointing over at her non-dominant arm, it appeared that the scars that once bled over it were gone, replaced instead with artificial skin. "Saved as much of you as we can, but given the scale of the damage, from spells and from weapons. We... Couldn't save everything... But we did our best." Noticing the witch gripping her tightly, the doctor sighed, finding contentment in knowing that her work had led to another reunion. "If you wish, I can leave you all be. We don't have to talk more about the medical work until later and I'm sure that you all have a lot to catch up on." The knight followed up with waving her out the room before sitting quietly in the corner to give them all the peace and space to talk. Tears ran down her shirt as August refused to let her go. "I thought you were going to die. I... I was scared." Her voice trembled, being the only one that spoke in the room. Where other soldiers may have feigned bravery, August shattered the moment she had a chance to speak to her again. "I was scared that I wasn't enough. That I should've... That I should've not hold back." Scared of hurting others with her magic like she did by accident before, he fingers shook as they clutched on her medical robes. "I didn't wanna lose you. I didn't wanna lose you like we did Laine." The witch sobbed, uncaring about how disgusting she may have looked to anyone else. Snot spilled from her nose as she held on tight to the princess as though, if she let go, Ophelia would disappear. Only when she felt the hands of her princess did her sobbing quiet down. Only when she felt the hug and embrace of her friend did her breathing slow. "... I'm sorry. I really tried hard to greet you with a smile like I always do." Rubbing her eyes with her gloved arms, she slowly pulled away before looking up at her. "But without you... Without Shiro or Neon there... Without Medina because she's so busy... It... It was hard to be strong... Its really hard to be strong alone..." Upon feeling like the distance was too much, immediately, she clung to her once again, resting her chin on Ophelia's shoulder. "... Sorry for being selfish. Here I am saying I and I over and over again while you're the one in the bed. Ahem." She coughed, trying to return herself to normal. "W-welcome back, Ophelia." Smiling and not realizing her face was a mess, she sat as close to her side as she could. "Would you mind if I stay here by your side for a while. At least, until you're free to go? I promise I won't be annoying... Or at least, I'll try my best to!"

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞ "You act as though I lived with regrets, my dear." ​ "Even gods regret, Elaine. It is regret that shapes us the most. Regret of leaving a loved one too soon. Regret for not saying the right things at the right time... We all regret. To deny it is to deny your humanity. But, well..." Ophelia sighed with a shake of her head, setting down her cup of tea. It had grown cold in the time they'd had their discussion. If they were even drinking tea at all. "I won't push. Perhaps you still don't realize it. But why would you not pass on, if you hadn't any regrets? Why would you watch over them still, if you didn't feel like you could've done more? Who am I to question the dead? Heh..." She shook her head again. It was just in her nature to be contrarian. To push deeper and find what made others tick. To make them be more honest with themselves. Because she couldn't be honest with herself, she instead projected that onto others. She made them question themselves, when she didn't have the courage to question herself. She looked down at the ring in her hand, turning it around as she examined it. Then she heard what she thought was an echo. A sound. A voice too garbled to make out fully. But she could recognize it. "If I had one last thing to say, something that I wish to request of you, it would be that you, Ophelia, would live your life on your own free will. With no regrets. With no hooks keeping you bound to your past." "A couple thousand years too late for that, Elaine." She smiled at her, closing her fist around the ring. "But don't worry, it is my regrets that make me who I am. My wish... is to be strong enough that there may not be another me. Another girl, stuck up in a tower. Stuck in a gilded cage. What your girls did for me... I want to do for others. So I have to keep these regrets, close to my heart, where they hurt the most. To keep me moving. The day I can finally let go of those regrets... Well, maybe that's the day I can finally let go of this contract." She gazed over to her one-eyed patron, who simply sipped the tea silently, no comments to be made. "Lia, can you hear me?" Ophelia closed her eyes. It seemed like her time in the Inbetween was close to its end. "Tell them that I'm proud of them. And tell yourself that I'm proud of you." "... Liar." ​ 'If you didn't hold any regrets, why would you say something like that?' ​ "I missed you. I missed you Ophelia!" "Owwww..." Her first words once she was awake were not meant to be complaints, but the princess didn't realize how much almost-dying hurt. And her body, although healed to the point that she could open her eyes, was still severely sore. She could feel pretty much every nerve ending on her body, and it was not pleasant. Still, being in the arms of her very first friend in this era was well worth the pain, so instead of wincing or moving to push her off, Ophelia lifted her arms to gently hold August in them, just like the witch held her. "How long have I been out?" She wondered softly, given August's outburst. It sounded like she'd been out for weeks, maybe even months. But then again, the witch did have a thing for being a bit of a crybaby. She couldn't fault her for feeling so strongly. Especially after everything they had gone through. "Good morning, sleepyhead. Or well, good evening." "Evening, uhm..." She couldn't help but quirk a brow at the unfamiliar woman, hoping her confusion was not mistaken for being unwelcome in their reunion. She was just curious as to her name, that was all. Still, she listened intently to the doctor. "You recover faster than you think. Maybe sometime by the end of today, we can get you out of here with crutches. Maybe a little bit of physical therapy for your new arm too." Ophelia looked down at her arm as the doctor pointed it out. She tried to stretch the fingers out, but found that she barely had any feeling in the arm at all. It was as if she'd slept on it for a really long time. Except there was no prickling feeling, like ants biting all over her arm. Still, she took it at face value. It seemed even her patron had limits to how much it could fix of her body. Even with the accelerated healing, if she lost this body, then... there was a chance she'd be back there. And this time, there would be no escape. But for now, none of that mattered. "If you wish, I can leave you all be. We don't have to talk more about the medical work until later and I'm sure that you all have a lot to catch up on." "Thank you, doctor. For helping me. For letting me... be with Gust again." With that quiet voicing of her gratitude, the princess watched the woman go before turning her full attention back to her companion. "I thought you were going to die. I... I was scared." "So little faith in little old me..." Ophelia chuckled softly, though even laughing hurt. She pat August on the back, then rubbed her, trying to soothe the crying girl. "I was the one who told you to keep true to your ideals, wasn't I? If you don't want to fight, then I'll fight hard enough for the both of us. This just means I wasn't strong enough this time. Next time, I'll... I'll be stronger so you don't have to be scared." She made a promise not only to her, but to herself. In order to never be separated from August, she needed to be stronger. She needed to... "I didn't wanna lose you. I didn't wanna lose you like we did Laine." "Funny you should... mention that..." Ophelia tightened the grip in her hand, feeling the outline of the ring Elaine had given her still in her hand. She didn't know how it was possible to cross something over worlds like that, but it confirmed that their conversation really had happened. That she had met their former companion. But right now wasn't the time. Right now, August needed to get it all out of her chest. Everything she'd kept in. She couldn't imagine what it was like to be all alone, not knowing whether or not she would see any of them again. She must've been so lonely, so worried. "W-welcome back, Ophelia." The princess smiled, weakly lifting her arm up to push August's chin up so their faces would meet. "I'm home, August." And slowly, she lifted her head to meet August's lips with her own, pressing a gentle, chaste kiss on her lips. She hummed into it, only letting it linger for a moment, given the audience they had. Her cheeks were rosy, her eyes shining, slightly watery as she herself held back her tears. She was so happy to be back with her. "Would you mind if I stay here by your side for a while. At least, until you're free to go? I promise I won't be annoying... Or at least, I'll try my best to!" "Of course. Maybe we could get started on filling up that tome Neon gave me together? I haven't had the chance to get to learning some spells, so I was thinking maybe, when we had time... you could help me." She offered shyly, leaning back on her pillow to rest. She was, as the doctor had said, very tired. So tired it was a little difficult to stay conscious. But there was one other thing that required her attention. "..." "...?" For some reason, Serena, who had been quietly watching this whole time, had her whole face red like a tomato. Was it too hot for her here? Or maybe... it was only then that she remembered that there were more people than just her and August in the room. The kiss! She had seen the kiss, and was now blushing from secondhand embarrassment! It was a far cry from the rampaging woman she had fought, but somehow... it was more fitting of her. She sighed, gently tapping August on the cheek as she rested her head on the pillow under her. "I don't mean to ruin the moment, but seeing as Serena is here and not, well, somewhere else, it's fair to assume it hasn't been decided what to do with her?" She knew that August probably didn't have the highest opinion of the modern princess, but there had been a reason why Ophelia had fought her into submission, rather than killing her outright. If she wanted to kill her, it would've been a lot easier. It would've been a simple matter of overloading the crown with magic and having it blow up in her head, along with her brains. Instead, Ophelia had gone down the path of forgiveness. And she knew that the others might not agree with her. After all, the pain she had caused them all was still fresh on all of their minds. There were likely dozens if not hundreds of people who wanted her head. She lifted her eyes to the knight, who was clearly working as her warden. "Before her fate is decided, I would like to have my say in the matter. I heard that winning the tournament... would grant me a favor from the heroes. I don't require treasure or glory. Instead, I would like to use my favor to... forgive her. I'm not asking for her to be pardoned completely. Simply for her to be given the chance to reform. She was manipulated." Ophelia had seen it in the few moments where they both held the crown. The memories of all the monarchs, of all the ones who had held the crown in the hands, had thrust themselves into their minds. So Ophelia knew how the rebels had turned her over to their side. It was, however, not her story to tell, but rather Serena's. "W-Wait, b-but I...! I need to pay for what I've done...!" "And you will. By doing good. You can't undo the wrong you've done, but maybe good deeds can outweight your sins. Anyway, I'm just telling you now, in case I... fall unconscious and can't make my own case." "After all, I'm really sleepy.... haaaauuu..." ​ Ophelia yawned as if to accentuate her exhaustion, slowly closing her eyes. "... Gust, would you mind lending me your lap to sleep on? Pillow is far too soft for my liking..."

 

[Tenzai]

"Of course. Maybe we could get started on filling up that tome Neon gave me together? I haven't had the chance to get to learning some spells, so I was thinking maybe, when we had time... you could help me." "I'd like that, Lia. I would be happy to be your mentor. Maybe I could teach you a few things in the meantime while everyone else recovers. We could even fill your spell book up with new memories too!" The warmth of her kiss had still lingered on August's lips, causing her to blush as she turned to lean on Ophelia's shoulder. She had felt selfish for wanting to be so close despite her just waking up, but her heart desired no more distance for any longer. August had been alone for the last week, forced to live in her own mind. Only then, when things had paused and they were met with silence did she notice the eyes of the two princesses watching each other. The knight and his prisoner had watched them in their private moment. "I don't mean to ruin the moment, but seeing as Serena is here and not, well, somewhere else, it's fair to assume it hasn't been decided what to do with her?" She hid her face in her hands in embarrassment, unaware of how to act now that their forgiven enemy had seen her reduce herself to such a mess. "There have been talks over what was to become of her. Some in leadership wanted to make an example of her. Others believed she would serve as a boon to the cause. Sen has yet to give his full decision... My thoughts? He's going to seek the wisdom of the other heroes as to what to do best." Usually, when it came to the affairs of captured enemies, it was easy to know what would be the consequences of their actions. However in this case, where Ophelia's forgiveness was made known to those in charge by her witch companion, it made things complicated. "Before her fate is decided, I would like to have my say in the matter. I heard that winning the tournament... would grant me a favor from the heroes. I don't require treasure or glory. Instead, I would like to use my favor to... forgive her. I'm not asking for her to be pardoned completely. Simply for her to be given the chance to reform. She was manipulated." "I suppose, I could offer your words to the next in line. I'm no more than a knight captain, after all. My opinion, given your feats, namely with the mission and with the arena, I have little doubt that those with the power to influence Sen's decision would listen, let alone Sen himself." The hero was far from the highest rank when it came to authority within the imperial military. However, in this station, his word was the end all be all. This was his castle, the place where he was able to implement his empress' orders in his own way. This team on the other hand, was one of his favorites, a team that he kept his eye on closely. "W-Wait, b-but I...! I need to pay for what I've done...!" "And you will. By doing good. You can't undo the wrong you've done, but maybe good deeds can outweight your sins. Anyway, I'm just telling you now, in case I... fall unconscious and can't make my own case. After all, I'm really sleepy.... haaaauuu..."​ "W-woah. Lia." Feeling her head rest on her lap instead of the pillow, she sighed with a smile. "... Gust, would you mind lending me your lap to sleep on? Pillow is far too soft for my liking..." The witch had shot her a playful pout, finding it hard not to see her exaggerated emotions as something cute. "So you think my lap's not soft?" She crossed her arms. "Hey- Don't you act asleep already!" It was easy to return to the banter born of comfort, especially after an adventure as harrowing as the last. With nothing in the way of their recovery and peace but time and patience, seeing her joke around like this was enough for her heart to find some level of ease. "Oh... Fine... You win. Rest all you like. I'll be here for you when you wake up." The knight escorted Serena out of the room soon after Ophelia had fell asleep. Given the fact that others would often peek in at the new hostage, he felt that it was about time for them to relocate for now, at the least, until the final verdict could be delivered to Serena. "I'm rather surprised, you know? That she would choose forgiveness over revenge." He recalled the woman he saw in the arena, where she nearly chose to act merciless against Idra on the big screen only to offer her a lesson at the final second of their match. "Heard from the others that she was someone rather cold to the girls you see beside her when she first arrived. Then again, perhaps that's a good sign." "If she was able to find a home here, maybe you can too."​ The knight captain was rather neutral about the events that occurred between them before taking her aboard the space citadel. Seeing the night and day difference between her and the Serena that was losing control before, it seemed that the princess' hypothesis was correct. "She set an example for the others that followed. If you really are different, if you really wish to atone for what you did to these women, to some of the people here that are missing their comrades, then I suppose the best thing you could do is prove it with your life; Not with your death." He understood the burden of self-punishment. While it was relieving in the moment, it didn't do anything to take away the problem. Hurting oneself didn't bring others back. "... I believe that if she could forgive you, then so could the rest of us." Placing his hand on her shoulder, he didn't care about the odd looks that others nearby had given him over being kind to his prisoner. "She must see something in you that you can't see yourself." On his hands and arms were tattoos befitting a different past, one that wasn't as kind as this present was to him. Scar tissue of chains and cuffs were present over his body, right above where lashes were obvious and deep. "But don't let the words of a stranger try and sway you. It seems like you have your mind set on atonement already." Supportive, he walked with pride beside her, uncaring about the opinions that others would create. However, before they rounded the corner, as if he could sense something coming her way, he shielded her from a slap of a hand. "You..." Another princess had made her presence known. "You dare bring your face around here after wounding the people that have chosen to FORGIVE you?!?" Idra seemed rather pissed off at the outcome that came from their mission. While she was proud of her girls coming back alive, she held a different feeling about Serena coming back with them too. "You should be imprisoned, if not better in the ground. At least your remains would find use!" Attempting to slap her again, the knight captain held her arm, refusing to let the proud princess wound her prisoner. "Idra. Enough. She seeks atonement." Giving her a chance to speak, he reiterated his beliefs in her. "Atonement? She could atone by being where she belongs!" Grumbling at the captain's faith in her, she stood back. "I don't care what you say. Anyone could say nice things. That doesn't mean anything about what you'll do. Don't you dare think about hurting them again, or I swear I'll make your time here a living hell. I'll make sure you'll wish you were dead!" As she stomped off, the knight sighed. "And she didn't have the proper decency to be quiet while in the ICU. Shame." He clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "Well, you did say you were interested in the others, right? Shiro should be recovering nearby too. If you're interested, I wouldn't mind taking you to her." Pointing over towards the door where he remembered visiting before meeting up with Serena to take her to Ophelia, he gestured her over. "I'd say, the first step to atonement is apologizing. Nothing would take back what you did, but taking responsibility for it, like what you were going to do with Ophelia, would be a good way to start." "Coming in." Knocking on the door a couple times before opening it for Serena, she was offered a glimpse towards the girl she had fought against a week prior. Bandages had covered her head and her stomach. An IV drip had kept her hydrated. Whatever inside had glowed with divinity, as though her body would not accept anything less pure. "Good evening." Shiro spoke, turning towards the two as though they were expected. "What is it that you're looking for?" The knight, finding her eyes gravitating towards Serena simply sought the comfort of a chair within the room, remaining quiet for them to speak as they wished with no interruption. Turning to Serena knowingly, Shiro tilted her head, giving her a rather neutral expression that was hard to read. "I'm sure that if you're meeting with me, there must be something you're interested in."

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞ "So you think my lap's not soft?" ​ 'Oh, Gust, it's not about being the softest pillow in the world...' Ophelia sighed contentedly as she closed her eyes, making her best impression of a sleeping beauty to avoid having to answer the young witch's question. 'It's about being the most comfortable.' Of course, she might not be satisfied with that answer, so Ophelia kept it to herself, her smile lazy and shallow as she laid her head on August's thighs. "Oh... Fine... You win. Rest all you like. I'll be here for you when you wake up." "I know you will..." ​ ​ "I'm rather surprised, you know? That she would choose forgiveness over revenge." Serena shifted slightly - he was preaching to the choir here. That she would grant her mercy in their battle, when she would've had them all killed, was something the assassin princess could hardly fathom. Perhaps it was the kind of thinking that came from living thousands of years. Temperance over indulgence in the face of overwhelming emotions. By comparison, Serena had only lived through twenty-five winters, having constantly lived in grueling environments where it was life or death for her. She'd never had the luxury of granting mercy to an enemy, lest they came back for revenge. "If she was able to find a home here, maybe you can too." "Must be nice... having a home." Serena muttered bitterly, her eyes narrowing at the notion. Though she'd stayed in places for extended periods of time, she'd never had a place she could call home. Not one where she could just rest her head and lay easy. A place where she could lay to sleep without a knife in her hand. Speaking of which, she was starting to feel awfully uncomfortable without it now that she was walking about in the open. It was not her intention to use it to harm, or break out; gods knew she probably wouldn't get very far even if she managed to steal a ship. But it was simply... second nature to her to always be armed. "She must see something in you that you can't see yourself." "Perhaps that patron of hers gives her oracle-like abilities." Serena offered with a bitter chuckle. Whatever it was that Ophelia had seen in her, she couldn't fathom. Even now, her eyes flittered to her restraints, picturing the way she could dislocate her fingers to break out of her handcuffs that she herself had asked to be put in. Then she would use her bare hands to snap her guard's neck and retrieve the key to her collar from him to stage her escape. She had to shake her head constantly to break out of what was basically a never-ending mantra to her. Survive, be free, kill who you must. It had kept her and her subjects alive at the cost of many lives, and though she knew they were grateful, she also knew that her people feared her. It was only natural when they knew she could simply turn on a switch and kill all unnecessary emotions in order to achieve what needed to be done. She feared she may never fit into a place like this, where people could live peacefully. That she would forever be destined to constantly sharpen her blade, knowing that she would never know true peace for as long as she drew breath. "You..." Any talk of atonement was interrupted by the appearance of an outsider. A face she had never seen came at her in the way she expected most people to approach her - with hostility. Somehow, this made her feel a little better; perhaps it was a wish for punishment, to know a fraction of the pain that she'd inflicted. While her body had been trained to be resistant to a myriad of poisons in order to protect herself from assassination attempts, the venom that people spewed from their mouths was very different. "You dare bring your face around here after wounding the people that have chosen to FORGIVE you?!?" "It was not by choice..." Serena quietly retorted, unable to meet the eyes of the woman who came at her as if she was on a war path. However much she wanted to take the punishment, however, she couldn't really stand by and let her talk as if Serena had been the one to choose to be here. "You should be imprisoned, if not better in the ground. At least your remains would find use!" She shrunk under the barrage of insults she hurled at her, a mirror to her own thoughts. However, being spoken out loud, she couldn't help but feel... offended, somehow. It was not that she didn't agree with her, but rather that her words went contrary to Ophelia's wishes, who had risked life and limb just to have her here, intact. If it wasn't for that, she would've happily agreed with her. "I don't care what you say. Anyone could say nice things. That doesn't mean anything about what you'll do. Don't you dare think about hurting them again, or I swear I'll make your time here a living hell. I'll make sure you'll wish you were dead!" "You..." Slowly, she worked up the courage to look up and meet the blond woman's glare with her own, muted gaze. Tired amber hues gazed up at her, not intimidated by her threats. "... I don't know your face. Of the people that were there, fighting against me... you were not one of them. Where were you? Why weren't you there to protect them? If you're going to hurl threats like that... then maybe you should've been there prevent what happened. Like that swordswoman... Neon. She used her own body as a shield. She's in a coma because of it. Meanwhile you... you're standing here, while she's not." She didn't mean for her words to come out as hurtful or goading, but simply as an observation of the facts. There had been many people that were there to prevent lives from being lost, yet this Idra wasn't one of them. She wondered why. And then, she wondered if she simply cursed her own powerlessness by projecting it onto Serena. As quickly as she spoke those words, she regretted them, watching Idra's retreating back with a sense of... pity, almost. "Well, you did say you were interested in the others, right? Shiro should be recovering nearby too. If you're interested, I wouldn't mind taking you to her." ​ "Eh?! R-Right now? W-Wait...!"​ Suddenly, she was wracked with a fresh new emotion; panic. Not the kind of life-or-death panic that came from being caught red-handed after killing a guard or losing a child while traversing through a dark, dangerous forest, but something else entirely. She became all too aware of her tired, sullen complexion, the corners of her eyes red and irritated from crying so much and the rings under her eyes from being unable to sleep longer than a few minutes at a time. Her hair too was simply disheveled beyond what she normally kept it at, although she had never been one to keep her hair a certain way regardless. She hadn't had much of a chance to wash ever since they left the castle either, although she only smelled slightly of sweat and dust, thankfully. "A-At least provided with a hair brush first! I-I have to look... presentable! Yes! How else will she know my apology is sincere if I don't make a good first impression...?!" Realizing the irony of her words only after saying them, Serena's shoulders slumped forward in resignation. "N-Never mind, that ship's already sailed..." 'Why am I getting so nervous, anyway? After what that blond woman said... I feel like I can handle any insults hurled my way. But this is different...' Her heart thumped like crazy against her chest, her stomach fluttered and sank at the thought of seeing her again. Her face was aching, hot and tense as she found herself frowning hard. She had to actively loosen her facial muscles to keep herself from exerting herself. Resigning herself to looking bad, she followed the night as he guided her to the room where Shiro was resting, at first simply lingering at the door, as if there was a barrier that forbid her from entering. But when it became apparent that she wasn't weaseling her way out of this, she walked in, one long stride as she awkwardly shuffled inside. She fidgeted, simply staring at the floor at first. "What is it that you're looking for?" The sound of her calm, cool voice made her jolt, as if someone had just pressed an ice cube to her back. Her eyes shifted here and there, refusing to look at the divine catgirl at first. But what else was she going to do? Just stand there awkwardly in silence? She had done that a whole lot with August already. Really, they had nothing to talk about. Honestly, they couldn't be more different if they tried. At least with Shiro, she could feel a sense of... kindred spirits. The way she calmly handled her weapons was reminiscent of how Serena used her knives, with a sort of martial discipline that was like nothing she'd ever seen in another person. "I'm sure that if you're meeting with me, there must be something you're interested in." "U-Uh, uhm... Did it hurt...?" Her mouth moved before her brain had a chance to catch up, the one eye that wasn't hidden under her hair glancing up to meet Shiro's calm gaze, none of the ferocity from the earlier woman present in her eyes. "... w-when you fell from Heaven...?" 'Oh death take me, please.' Why was that the first thing that came to mind? A lousy flirt like that? Seriously? If she wasn't blushing before, Serena was definitely burning up now. She reached up, tugging at her dark locks to hide her face under them. "N-No...! That's wrong! I-I'm sorry, that was very inappropriate and stupid. What I meant to say was, uhm..." She inched closer, bringing her hands down to her waist, the chains clinking together as she stood by the bed. "I'm sorry." ​ Swallowing her pride wasn't easy when it was all she had left of herself. But if she was going to start anew now that she was broken, she had the chance to pick up the pieces that she wanted, and the ones she needed. Everything else, every piece of her that only served to chain her down to the worst parts of her, she would throw away. Although her heart and mind were broken, maybe she could find new pieces to replace the ones she lost. "I know that a simple sorry could never fix what I did. I could spend the rest of my life atoning for what I did, and it still wouldn't be enough for all the pain I caused you, your team, and all of your comrades that died in that battle. But... Ophelia didn't kill me, and I want to believe it was so that I could do something with my life. I understand if you'd rather me be dead. I don't blame you, but... I still have things I need to do. People I need to find. People I need to help. And that includes you, August and Neon too. Everyone else in this station, too." She paused, letting the words hang in the air for a moment, allowing them to settle before she let herself continue. She looked down at Shiro, down at the IV drip sticking out of her arm. "Ophelia's awake," she added after a few moments of silence, scratching her cheek as she tried to find a way to segue into the next topic. "She and August looked like they needed an, uhm, a moment alone. And, well, there aren't a lot of places that would welcome me, really. I don't even think I should be walking around like this. B-But as long as I'm not being told to go into a cell, I'd like to spend my time getting to know... you." She whispered, letting it be vague whether she meant Shiro specifically or her team. Although given the circumstances, there was only really one option. She had no idea where the pilot was, and the swordswoman was still unconscious. And her conscience would not let her step into where she was, knowing it was her fault she had yet to wake up. "So if it's okay... would it be alright if I stayed with you? At the very least... until they send for me to decide what they'll do with me. O-Ophelia asked... actually, pretty much demanded I was pardoned. Something about winning a tournament." Once again, she was rambling. "I can leave though, if you'd rather rest quietly. I'm not really... the best at making conversation." She grabbed a chair, pulling it up beside Shiro's bed. As she sat, her eyes lit up with something akin to excitement, her blush turning a dusty pink as she parted her lips again. "O-Oh! I was curious about the guns you were using! None of the guns the rebels had ever so much as put a dent in my barriers, but yours could penetrated my crown-empowered barriers. Th-They were amazing. I was wondering... if you made them yourself. I've seen a lot of guns in my time, and I think I'd recognize the manufacturer of such powerful arms."

 

[Tenzai]

"U-Uh, uhm... Did it hurt...? ... w-when you fell from Heaven...?" A crack of a very subtle grin had slipped through the mask she wore. Out of everything that he foresight had told her in advance of the many different likely outcomes she could've chosen for herself, none of it had ever prepared her for a greeting like that. "That comfortable with me to flirt already?" Her chin shook as she covered her lips, stifling a chuckle behind her hand. "Or is that I don't look that flattering right now?" Pulling her hand away from her face, she returned back to the quiet peace of a woman that hid her thoughts from the world, though her eyes had shown a glimpse of familiarity, as though her words had served as a good icebreaker. The knight by her side on the other hand had to hold himself from facepalming at their first interaction beyond attempting to kill each other. "N-No...! That's wrong! I-I'm sorry, that was very inappropriate and stupid. What I meant to say was, uhm..." "Hmm?" Raising her eyebrow at Serena's attempt to recover, as she made her way over to her bedside, noticing the knight's hesitation, Shiro raised her hand, halting any need for assistance. Whatever fight she saw in her back in the throne room was absent. In its place was a new, pleasant feeling, one that Shiro had yet to understand its origin. "I'm sorry." But before anything could happen, before any growth or mending could occur between the two women, an apology was in order. Regardless of her motivations then, she still had hurt the people that the catgirl had called her family, and she was one of the many deserving of her repentance. "I know that a simple sorry could never fix what I did. I could spend the rest of my life atoning for what I did, and it still wouldn't be enough for all the pain I caused you, your team, and all of your comrades that died in that battle. But... Ophelia didn't kill me, and I want to believe it was so that I could do something with my life. I understand if you'd rather me be dead. I don't blame you, but... I still have things I need to do. People I need to find. People I need to help. And that includes you, August and Neon too. Everyone else in this station, too." Refusing to let the silence hang over them, instead, Shiro responded swiftly. "You're forgiven. You were an enemy once, but you aren't anymore and I don't think that you'll be again if you're apologizing." Placing a hand over the prisoner's head, offering her peace and mercy where Serena had expected vitriol, Shiro was quick to let bygones be bygones, especially if they were the result of them being on two different sides of the war. "I doubt the galaxy had asked you to turn specifically against us. Most likely, what you've done was follow your orders, or at least, the orders of your heart like I did mine." She couldn't blame her. The war was something she had never chosen for herself to begin with. They were simply people that were on opposing sides by sheer circumstance, people forced against one another over the ambitions of those well beyond their station in the first place. "Besides, grudges are not good for the soul. Its better to spend our time and energy on the actual threats, don't you think?" Out of every other girl she could've gone to, Shiro had felt the most understanding. Regardless of Serena being the source of her gravest wound, she did not share the same pain as August and Neon did. Her emotions and her self control weren't something so easily swayed, especially if no one had died as a result. "The galaxy's full of them... And we have bigger problems to worry about than our past." She smiled at her, only for her to cough for a moment as her insides trembled. Despite her own strength, she had yet to fully recover from her wounds. The stitches around her stomach had hinted at surgery being needed to repair the damage that Serena's spell had inflicted. "But that isn't all that you're here for, is it?" "Ophelia's awake. She and August looked like they needed an, uhm, a moment alone. And, well, there aren't a lot of places that would welcome me, really. I don't even think I should be walking around like this. B-But as long as I'm not being told to go into a cell, I'd like to spend my time getting to know... you. So if it's okay... would it be alright if I stayed with you? At the very least... until they send for me to decide what they'll do with me. O-Ophelia asked... actually, pretty much demanded I was pardoned. Something about winning a tournament. I can leave though, if you'd rather rest quietly. I'm not really... the best at making conversation." Tilting his head, the knight captain looked to Shiro for an answer. Given the fact that she had been stripped of all weapons and denied access to her magic through magic nullifying binds, he didn't feel Serena to be much of a threat. Though at the end of the day, it was Shiro's decision. "Ah. That's good news... and I wouldn't mind the company." Nodding, the captain stood up. "Then I'll leave you both to it. Sen had nothing assigned to her for today anyways. I believe they're still deciding on a verdict so I'll be on call with them. If you have need of me, I'll be standing right outside." Leaving the two girls to their own devices, as he closed the door behind himself, the princess could hear his mutterings. What Ophelia had asked for was being reflected in his words, keeping true to his promise to the other princess. "O-Oh! I was curious about the guns you were using! None of the guns the rebels had ever so much as put a dent in my barriers, but yours could penetrated my crown-empowered barriers. Th-They were amazing. I was wondering... if you made them yourself. I've seen a lot of guns in my time, and I think I'd recognize the manufacturer of such powerful arms." The angel was amused at her curiosity. What she wielded was, to some extent, something that Heaven wished never to have existed in the first place. "Magic nullification. The best rounds and weaponry that could be used against magic casters, like Ophelia and yourself." Given the magical arms war that existed between non-magical species and those capable of wielding the powers of the arcane, the manufacturing of weapons such as Shiro's were merely a product of the ever rising need to keep up the balance of power between the two combat ideologies. "I was issued it a long time ago when I was assigned to a special operations unit working alongside Heaven's military, one specifically tied to combatting magical terrorists." She mused, looking over to the pistol that was on her hip. "I suppose, its not much different from what I do now, isn't it?" "Kept it ever since. Not one day goes by where it doesn't demand its tribute in grease and polishing though. Terrible thing is quite selfish about its maintenance." Speaking to her own gear as though it were alive, it seemed that, when in private, the angel was a lot more personable than she might've appeared on the surface. "But as you can see, when it chooses to work with me, its a rather useful partner in battle." Turning towards her with confidence in her foresight, she disabled the weapon before handing it to her to inspect for herself. It was light to the touch with a comfortable grip that treated her hands well. Scars on its surface hinted at its experience in combat. Like her rifle, it made itself clear that it wasn't just for show. It had fought many casters before Serena and she wouldn't be the last that would meet the other end of its barrel. "What about you?" Turning the questioning back towards her, Shiro leaned over with her elbow rested on the rail of her medical bed. With her chin seated comfortably on the palm of her hand, she leaned in close, observing her with her glowing eyes. "I'm quite interested in your story. Its not often you find such a capable spellcaster in the hands of the enemy, let alone one that could command statues like you did there." In truth, she held a whole host of questions in regards to the woman's past. Given what she knew about the newest acquisition of their team, Ophelia, it only felt right for her to prod at her backstory. "Do tell me about yourself. I want to know what gives you strength. What motivates the fuel behind your spells." "Everyone here, both ally and enemy, has a motivation. What matters to me is not what it fuels us to do, but rather what it is. That's what makes us different." Her ears flickered as she offered her an ear to listen. While most people wouldn't choose to listen on to the driveling of a prisoner, Shiro was quite different. She had grown used to hunting down interesting people, and as a result, never questioned the worth of a person based on allegiance alone, but rather through the content of their character when placed under scrutiny. "Even within my own team, we have our differences. But that doesn't make it any less important, so don't think I'll belittle you over what others would call meaningless. If you're willing to fight us that hard over it, it must be really meaningful to you." Her hand drifted towards her wound, aware of how capable her foe once was. Seeking to humanize her enemy, to remember her name, Shiro wished to learn about her story and make it a memory, like she did with the many who passed before her. "I told you what I know already. From the looks of it..." Peeking through the window of the hospital room, the knight captain had given his thoughts on the interaction between the prisoner and the woman inside. "I don't think she's unreasonable or hard to work with. She's been compliant ever since being captured. My thoughts? Ophelia's request for atonement is feasible. Maybe not with most other teams, but with this one, I think its possible..." Taking a pause to listen to the words of his higher ups, he crossed his arms. "... Well, as long as they accept her that is." To the knight captain, while Shiro and August would be the most agreeable out of the girls, it was a different story when it came to Neon. She was the one who was most devastated by Serena's spells alongside Ophelia, and unlike the princess, the two had no common lineage to hedge their similarities on. Convincing her would be a challenge of its own. "I'll keep watch over her for now and update you on any changes if necessary."

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Serena ✬ ❝ So what if we can race against the wheels of death? If we are always running, we can't behold the sceneries Hoping that through my finder You'll find another answer The well inside my heart is overflowed with love ❞​ "Magic nullification. The best rounds and weaponry that could be used against magic casters, like Ophelia and yourself." "Oh." Serena nodded along with Shiro's explanation, listening with clear intent and interest. Although she had tried guns herself, she had found herself to be hopelessly inept in using them. She much favored knives, when she could feel the impact of the strike, and her target writhing as she twisted it. "I was issued it a long time ago when I was assigned to a special operations unit working alongside Heaven's military, one specifically tied to combatting magical terrorists." "I see! So it's much like my knife! It was crafted from the fang of brass dragon, and has been passed down for generations. It is said to be the first weapon the our first king had forged for him." Serena smiled, recounting one of the many tales she'd heard growing up. She didn't know how true the stories were, and how embellished they were, but the knife itself had been quite the trusty weapon indeed and had carried her through dozens of battles since she broke free from her chains. "I suppose, its not much different from what I do now, isn't it?" "O-Oh. I suppose not..." Although she was sure Shiro did not mean it that way, it sounded to Serena as though she had referred to her as a terrorist. Which would not be entirely inaccurate. In fact, there mightn ot really be a better way to describe what Serena was, given all that she had done. Still, her eyes looked down for a moment, her expression downcast. She shook her head vigorously. What was she thinking? That just because she'd apologized, she had changed? No, she needed to look forward if she really wanted to make a difference. A good difference this time. And maybe one day, she could stand by someone like Shiro without feeling shame. "It sounds like Heaven has quite the amazing armory, if it is anything to go by. I can understand why you would be so proud of it." With a sheepish smile, Serena let out a soft chuckle from behind her hand. She thought it would be hard to talk to Shiro given her taciturn nature, but it was clear she was passionate about her guns. It was admirable, really. And if it was up to Serena, she'd happily listen to her talk about them all day long, as far as her voice would carry her. And when her voice was hoarse from talking so much, she'd just sit there in silence. That was the kind of feeling she got when she sat next to the divine markswoman. "What about you?" But when it came to herself, the princess' smile faltered slightly. It was natural that she would be curious about her, especially after Serena had asked her about herself. It was only fair that Serena divulged about herself as well. But if there was something she loathed, it was talking about the past. Amber hues that had lit up by merely being in the presence of the catwoman seemed to dim ever so slightly as she looked down from Shiro's face, which she had been so fixated on as she spoke. "I'm quite interested in your story. Its not often you find such a capable spellcaster in the hands of the enemy, let alone one that could command statues like you did there." "Oh, the crown was doing most of the heavy lifting there. I have some talent in magic, but the statues themselves had all but one thought in common; protect the crown. I could hear all of them. I could... see all of their memories. My mind could barely handle it." In the moment, she had been drunk on the power the crown had offered, promising to give her eternal life in the form of godhood. And if it wasn't for their team's opposition, she may have been consumed by it, much like the king that had brought the downfall of the planet upon them all those thousands of years back. "Do tell me about yourself. I want to know what gives you strength. What motivates the fuel behind your spells." "..." Serena's expression turned sour for a moment, the line of questioning stabbing at her like thorns that tangled her entire body. If it was anyone other than Shiro, she might've become standoffish and refused to speak further, but something about Shiro's serious, sincere expression stopped her. She didn't mean to hurt with her words. She didn't know the pain that talking about her past brought on. She couldn't. She was simply trying to know her. And that was why Serena could talk. Because she was someone that truly sought to understand for the simple sake of it. So many people sought to understand only to use the information for their own gain. "Even within my own team, we have our differences. But that doesn't make it any less important, so don't think I'll belittle you over what others would call meaningless. If you're willing to fight us that hard over it, it must be really meaningful to you." "A royal serves their subjects first and foremost. Not the other way around. The planet this station is orbiting... It was meant to be destroyed thousands of years ago. I don't know why it remains, but I believe it has something to do with the being Ophelia draws power from. But the reason it was going to be destroyed, the reason it could not sustain life when we were forced to leave it... It was because of a fool of a king that thought he could become a god if he simply used his subjects as sacrifices." The words came out of her mouth, recited like they were the tales of childhood that she had been told when she was going to sleep. She could still remember her grandmother, wrinkly and frail, sitting over a campfire, cradling her and telling her the story of the foolish king who had doomed their kingdom. "We wandered the stars for hundreds of years, always looking, but never finding another home. Then, we were taken by pirates. We lost so many... and the ones who lived were sold off to a faraway planet. We were their slaves for a thousand years. We thought the Lamprosian Kingdom would be extinguished, stripped of its pride. That the last of us would die as slaves." "... But I broke the chains that bound us. I... I dirtied my hands. Even now, my hands are dyed red. I can never wash off the blood." ​ Her hands trembled as she looked down at them, the chains clinking together as she recalled her first kill. How she'd grown so sick she vomited. The second was as hard. Then the third. By the time they were free, she had lost count. But worst of all, she had found herself numb to it. As she wielded her knife and magic against the ones that pursued them, she remembered that her hands no longer shook. "We took the first ship we could find. It was a rickety old piece of shit, but it was space-worthy." Serena chuckled dryly. "B-But I couldn't protect them. It wasn't our captors. It was someone else. I-I don't even know who they were. But they killed half of our battle-worthy men and women. The other half, they injured so they couldn't fight back. They took the children and killed the elderly. I barely escaped with my life in an escape pod. Everyone... everyone risked their lives just so I could escape. And then, after wandering space for who knows how long, I was found by the rebels. They promised to help me take back what was stolen from me." She balled her hands up into fists, shaking with powerlessness. "I took their offer. I didn't even think twice. They were probably the ones that took them in the first place. Now that I've turned my back on them, they... they might just kill them. I-I don't know what to do." Tears welled up in her eyes, but she forced them back. She was done crying. She couldn't pity herself. Not when all she had done was harm others. She wiped the tears with her arms, sniffling as she forced herself to settle down. "I have to see them again, Shiro. I have to. If I lose them, if they're gone... Th-Then I have no reason to live anymore. That's why... I want to keep on living. Even though I hurt all of you. Even though I will continue to hurt others... There's people waiting for me. I want to see their faces again, Shiro. I need to. If I don't... then what was all this for...?"

 

[Tenzai]

"A royal serves their subjects first and foremost. Not the other way around. The planet this station is orbiting... It was meant to be destroyed thousands of years ago. I don't know why it remains, but I believe it has something to do with the being Ophelia draws power from. But the reason it was going to be destroyed, the reason it could not sustain life when we were forced to leave it... It was because of a fool of a king that thought he could become a god if he simply used his subjects as sacrifices." A noble that held a pride in her people sat beside Shiro, announcing her loyalties not to the crown first, but to those that have dedicated themselves to her and her lineage. Coming from a dying realm, it seemed as though the legend of what preserved the very home world itself that they were seeking to reclaim back from its rebel owners held weight, made manifest through their newest friend's powers. Like a fairytale itself, a mad king had sought power through selfish abuse of authority; Another tale of a mortal seeking the strength of a god. To the angel, she had seen and heard this happen far too often. Every attempt at godhood was shared like rumor alongside the other angels in Heaven. While many attempts were made, very few would ever attain even the status of demigodhood, let alone that of actual divinity from their humble origins. Though out of all she had heard within her somewhat long life, she had never heard of the story of what happened here. Remaining quiet, she continued to listen on, paying respect to her story. "We wandered the stars for hundreds of years, always looking, but never finding another home. Then, we were taken by pirates. We lost so many... and the ones who lived were sold off to a faraway planet. We were their slaves for a thousand years. We thought the Lamprosian Kingdom would be extinguished, stripped of its pride. That the last of us would die as slaves... But I broke the chains that bound us. I... I dirtied my hands. Even now, my hands are dyed red. I can never wash off the blood." "We took the first ship we could find. It was a rickety old piece of shit, but it was space-worthy." It had made sense then why she was so resistant to the offers of surrender from the imperial fleet. Given the fact that their people's first encounter with the greater galaxy as a whole was with pirates and slavers over those that may have had more grace in mind, her people's minds must have been rife with xenophobia over generations of servitude. If not for Serena, it would likely be that their culture would've died forgotten in captivity as well. Shiro's eyes recognized the trauma present in her shaking hands. Perhaps in another life, she would've been an ordinary girl, but this one had forced tough decisions on her, especially when she acted as a leader of her people. Spilling blood never got easier, the truth was that people had just gotten used to it. In her eyes, as a response, instead of disgust or fear, there was a sense of understanding. She needed to do as she must in order to keep herself and the people she valued safe. To her, the girls on this team must have been seen similarly to the pirates that once subdued her home-world. "B-But I couldn't protect them. It wasn't our captors. It was someone else. I-I don't even know who they were. But they killed half of our battle-worthy men and women. The other half, they injured so they couldn't fight back. They took the children and killed the elderly. I barely escaped with my life in an escape pod. Everyone... everyone risked their lives just so I could escape. And then, after wandering space for who knows how long, I was found by the rebels. They promised to help me take back what was stolen from me." Her lips were stoic in response, though her ears were much more responsive. The angels were meant to protect the innocent from sins such as this, to be the first to arrive when it came to all worlds within their domain. However, it seemed like this one slipped from their grasp; These people, this world, was in too remote a location for most of the major realms within the empire to take notice of the atrocities committed to her people. It was no wonder why the rebels were able to get to them first. "I took their offer. I didn't even think twice. They were probably the ones that took them in the first place. Now that I've turned my back on them, they... they might just kill them. I-I don't know what to do. I have to see them again, Shiro. I have to. If I lose them, if they're gone... Th-Then I have no reason to live anymore. That's why... I want to keep on living. Even though I hurt all of you. Even though I will continue to hurt others... There's people waiting for me. I want to see their faces again, Shiro. I need to. If I don't... then what was all this for...?" "...I'm sure that if these pirates are still around, then it would serve the system well if they were eradicated. Empire or not, they're still criminals that took advantage of a people that could do nothing against them. Live for them. As long as you live, they'll have a chance..." Outside, the mumbling had come to an end, as if the knight captain that overheard their conversation had come up with an opportunity. If there were still captives aboard the pirate fleet, then perhaps there would be people that could help assist them with their fallen numbers. Even if they couldn't serve as active military staff, extra hands to make up the support teams aboard the citadel would be enough to do a world of good. Besides, there was a need of good people to take over the world once the world was free of its rebel hands. To return it back to people that were willing to work together with the heroes would be a boon of its own. "I'm sorry about all you and your people have gone through. Really... August and I had joined up with Sen to put an end to these things from happening to anyone else." Placing a hand over her cheeks to wipe the tears off, Shiro offered her sympathy and a desire to work together with her. After hearing of what happened to her, of her people over a thousand years, she felt like she and her team were in a position to do something right, to change the direction of what fate had intended for her. "... I'm certain that Sen could spin up an excuse to engage the pirates in the meantime if you have intel on who they are, but for now. I think you deserve your rest as much as we do and-." A notification had appeared over her eyes displaying a window that described an alternative option to Serena's atonement. It seemed as though the sudden opportunity had given those who were on the other end of the knight captain's call enough weight to offer a right to forgiveness, as per the "champion of the arena's" request. "... Actually..." Once he heard the catgirl's tone shift, the knight captain moved aside from the window with a smile to give the girls some genuine privacy and room to talk. "It looks like the opportunity to see their faces again is probable. We've been offered a request to take you within the ranks of our team." With a small smile, she took some tissues and offered it to Serena to use instead of her arms. "And I've accepted it."​ "I have no doubt that August and Ophelia would agree the same. Though, that does mean there are two that are up in air. Namely Neon and Medina. We need everyone onboard with taking you in for you to join us. Convince them and perhaps, we could begin walking this road to your people's salvation together." Extending her hand in the hopes that Serena would take it, she made her declaration known. She was not only willing to forgive Serena, but she was willing to work together with her as well to bring about some good to the station and to her home world's origin people. "I think it wouldn't be too hard to do so if you could help us with gathering the parts needed to fix Neon up, and besides..." "I'm sure you're more than pretty enough for Medina to welcome aboard."​ [One New Message from: Argenti Command] /// URGENT: Team Acquisition Request Do you wish to recruit your prisoner, Serena Lampros, as a form of carrying out her sentencing? [|] 'If Ophelia could believe in her, then so could I.' With hair messy as a result of her taking a small nap beside her princess, August rubbed her eyes and stretched at the sight of the urgent message. These types of messages didn't go out often, but when they did, they were disturbing enough in their announcement to wake any staff member with implants up. Upon confirming her decision, she turned over to Ophelia, only to find her shifted from her spot. "Heh. Enjoy watching me sleep? That was the best sleep I had in days." August couldn't help but be smug at the feeling of her attention. After being starved for it from the last week by anyone she cared about, it had made Ophelia's presence by her side especially delightful. The comment was enough to get her to blush, though that feeling of enthrallment had stood aside when another need had made itself known: Hunger. Her stomach growled fervently, attempting to remind August that she needed to eat. She's been neglecting her desire for food ever since she had discovered the true conditions of the girls she had spent so much time around, and as a result, had bags over her eyes and an exhausted look to match. "Huh? Oh me? Don't worry about me-" Grumble. "... Okay, maybe I might be a little hungry." Flicking her eyes through several windows of get well presents, she eventually found Medina's contact info. "I could get Medina to come by with some food after her shift. I'm sure she missed you lots too." Quickly sending her a message, before even a minute had passed, the doctor had showed up with booze and pizza to celebrate another awakening. She had done the same with Shiro and August when their divine catgirl had awoken from her surgery, what more was it to celebrate again for the other girls in her team too? "GUST! YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD ME SOONER!?!" Running over once she put the pizza and wine aside, she tackled Ophelia in her bed, pulling the two of them into a hug, uncaring about any snide comments or protests about her strength. "I missed you! Gahh. These shifts suck, but they've been getting easier. After today, I should have some free days lined up sooo...." Pulling back, she gave the two a knowing look. "I wouldn't mind celebrating with the four of us before getting back into some mission work again! I know that with Neon like that, we won't be seeing her for a bit, but that doesn't mean we can't hang out together with her too!" A loving grin had exuded her overall warmth towards August and Ophelia as her tails wagged behind her. "My thoughts? We should go to a pool and-" [One New Message from: Argenti Command] /// URGENT: Team Acquisition Request Do you wish to recruit your prisoner, Serena Lampros, as a form of carrying out her sentencing? [|] Her eyes flickered before her face soured. "Why?" The very reason why they were in the hospital, recovering in the first place, was asking for her a spot in their team? "... Let's just ignore that for now." She looked away, only for August to realize what she meant just by facial expression alone. "Oh... Its about Serena, isn't it?" "... I don't... I don't understand, Lia." Despite her pretty face, the ghostly doctor couldn't take her mind away from the fact that she was the reason the three of them were in the hospital in the first place, let alone that she was the reason why Neon was in such a grave position. "I don't understand why you'd forgive someone who had hurt Neon like that."

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Serena ✬ ❝ So what if we can race against the wheels of death? If we are always running, we can't behold the sceneries Hoping that through my finder You'll find another answer The well inside my heart is overflowed with love ❞​ "...I'm sure that if these pirates are still around, then it would serve the system well if they were eradicated. Empire or not, they're still criminals that took advantage of a people that could do nothing against them. Live for them. As long as you live, they'll have a chance..." "I certainly hope so. If Letitia is still alive, then there's hope, but... I don't know." Serena gripped at her own skirt tightly, her lips trembling as she remembered the lavender hues of her knight as she shoved her into the escape pod, telling her to live the same way that Shiro did. She had lived. Even after everything was taken away from her, Serena continued to live for the hope that she would once again meet them. Hoping against hope itself that her knight would find a way to keep them all alive until she found them and broke them free. "I'm sorry about all you and your people have gone through. Really... August and I had joined up with Sen to put an end to these things from happening to anyone else." She shook her head vigorously, crystalline tears flying out from her eyes. "Please don't apologize! It's not your fault. And after everything I did to you, I... I..." Her hands moved before she could think twice about it, taking Shiro's between them and weakly squeezing it under her lithe fingers. Despite all the atrocities she'd committed, Serena's hands were delicate and soft and smaller than they might seem when she was wielding a knife. "Please... please don't apologize. I don't deserve it. I should've been the one to protect them. I was weak... I still am." She was on the verge of tears. So far, she'd barely held it together, but for Shiro to apologize to her of all people... it threatened to break her completely. She choked out a sob, holding her head low in shame, not wanting Shiro to see her when she was so weak and vulnerable. "... Actually..." She sniffled, slowly composing herself in the moments that passed between them. She didn't even register the message that had popped up in Shiro's interface, or the shift in her mood until she spoke up. She looked up, lips slightly parted as she turned to Shiro with curiosity. Her next words were something she never would've thought she'd hear. "It looks like the opportunity to see their faces again is probable. We've been offered a request to take you within the ranks of our team." "Huh...?" The words didn't register at first, her hands moving to take the tissues reflexively. She cleaned her tears and snot from her face, staring blankly at Shiro as she failed to process what she'd just said, the very idea so outrageous she thought she'd hallucinated it. "And I've accepted it." "W-What?!" ​ "W-Wait, that's far too hasty...!" She was still wrapping her head around the fact that Ophelia had used a rather heavy favor to have her pardoned, and now she was being drafted into their team? Serena didn't know how the Empire worked, but wasn't that way too big of a leap to make? And for Shiro to accept without a second thought...! "I have no doubt that August and Ophelia would agree the same. Though, that does mean there are two that are up in air. Namely Neon and Medina. We need everyone onboard with taking you in for you to join us. Convince them and perhaps, we could begin walking this road to your people's salvation together." "I can hardly convince myself I'm worth it! How am I supposed to convince them?!" The task was far too daunting for her to even imagine. Ophelia had granted her mercy for some unknown reason, and August seemed like the kind of person to choose forgiveness over vengeance. It was easy to imagine them accepting. Shiro must've seen something in her that she herself couldn't, for her to accept so readily. But the other two? She barely knew anything about them. And she had been the one to put Neon in a coma to begin with. "I'm sure you're more than pretty enough for Medina to welcome aboard." "Uuuuuhhhh... D-Don't just say stuff like that like it's nothing." ​ The assassin princess held her cheeks, feeling them heat up when Shiro paid her a compliment as naturally as she breathed. "... A-Am I pretty enough for you, though?"​

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■​

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞ "Heh. Enjoy watching me sleep? That was the best sleep I had in days." "Mhmmm. The way you drool is just so cute." ​ Ophelia had been awoken not by the message, but by August's shifting. She took note of the message, but all she could do was groan internally. Just where did the bridge between pardoning Serena and recruiting her into the team lie? She knew exactly where; Sen. That godsdamned hero had yet again dropped a bomb on her lap. She could already visualize his stupid face as he made the suggestion, assuring the higher-ups that Ophelia and the others would find a way to make it work. Not even giving a thought to the kind of messy conversation he'd just opened her up to. Just thinking about it was enough to give Ophelia a headache. "... Okay, maybe I might be a little hungry." "You always are." She set down her phone, leaving the message to lay there for the moment. Although she already knew her own answer, she wasn't quite ready to make the decision just yet. It would be messy, but she was sure Medina and Neon could come around. And if Neon was stubborn about it, well... All Ophelia had to do was bat her lashes at her. ... Okay, maybe it wouldn't be that easy, but she was sure they could find a common ground. "I could get Medina to come by with some food after her shift. I'm sure she missed you lots too." "I'm sure she's exhausted with all the work she's been doing. Maybe we should hold off on--" "GUST! YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD ME SOONER!?!" '... Am I even cleared for drinking alcohol yet?' She should've been surprised, but Ophelia was somehow more surprised by the amount of food and booze the dog girl had brought out than by the fact that she had practically burst through the door not even moments after August had sent the message. Somehow, it was totally in tune with what she knew about her. She could almost certainly swear she had all of it ready for when the princess woke up. "I missed you! Gahh. These shifts suck, but they've been getting easier. After today, I should have some free days lined up sooo...." "Owwwwwww-owwwwwchhhh... Dinaaaaa..." If August's hug had made her sore body hurt, she could swear she could hear her bones creak with how tightly Medina was hugging her. But there was no stopping a doggirl once she was set on showing her affection, it seemed, so Ophelia resigned herself. "My thoughts? We should go to a pool and-" Ophelia sat up, giving August a knowing look as Medina's energy shifted completely. "Why?" ​ Ophelia's lips tightened at the simple yet piercing question, her hand rubbing her sore, still unresponsive arm as a soothing mechanism. Words lingered on her tongue, wanting to come out, but being unable to. Such a simple question, yet so loaded that she felt as if a bag of bricks had been dropped onto her. All she could do was look at Medina silently. "... Let's just ignore that for now." "Let's not. Let's talk about it." ​ "Oh... Its about Serena, isn't it?" "... I don't... I don't understand, Lia." Ophelia closed her eyes, unmoving. She couldn't quite understand it herself. She was angry. She was mad, even, at Serena for hurting Neon. But after what she'd seen, she couldn't just let her be. "I don't understand why you'd forgive someone who had hurt Neon like that." "When did I say I'd forgiven her? Forgiveness is earned, Medina. Serena hasn't yet earned my forgiveness. For hurting Shiro, for putting Neon in a coma. Don't mistake my mercy for forgiveness. They're two different things." She sighed, shaking her head. She felt she had to make the distinction. Her emotions were still as raw. While August, Shiro and Medina had a whole week to process things and come to term with things, it had been but a moment in Ophelia's mind. As far as she was concerned, the battle had only ended a few hours ago. "Do you resent me for Elaine's death? After all, if you hadn't been assigned to retrieve me from the tower, she'd be here instead of me, wouldn't she? As far as I'm aware, it's my fault she died. But you still took me in. You accepted me despite my coldness. Despite my harsh words, August and Neon still..." She swallowed, slowly loosening the fist she'd been holding closed all this time. In her palm laid the ring that Elaine had given her. She didn't know what significance it held, but it had to be important if their old comrade had passed through realms to give it to her. "... Would you rather not her be here instead? Your bond, I'm sure it ran much deeper than the bond we have now. And yet, you accept me all the same. You've never even asked about my past, about the lives I ruined. Why is Serena any different? Do you carry a clean conscience, Medina? Does August? Does Shiro?" "Does Neon?" ​ "You can't live through life without causing at least some pain to others. To live is to hurt others. That is the simple truth of life. But we live regardless. We try to do better. We try to avoid getting hurt and hurting others as much as possible. And sometimes we fail. I'm not going to ask you to forgive her. I can't bring myself to forgive her just yet. I can't begin to forgive before I even know if Neon can still wake up." She took the ring in her hand and August's hand in the other, setting it down in her palm. She didn't know what to do with it, but she was sure August would know. "... I simply want to extend the same warmth that you all gave me to someone else. If I have to choose between vengeance and forgiveness... then I would rather leave this world a warmer place. What I saw in Serena... It's something only she has the right to tell you all. I'm sure she has already gone to Shiro to try and make amends." She let out a deep breath, gazing up to Medina. She reached out with her good hand and put it on top of Medina's head, ruffling her hair slightly. "... And if I can be a little selfish here..." Her solemn expression gave way to a wistful smile. "Despite being separated by hundreds of generations, I can't help but think of Serena as the little sister I never had. If I represented the guiding light of my kingdom, then she represents a little twinkling star, an ember that refuses to die out even after our world was ruined. She represents hope for so many people, even if she doesn't realize it. I can't let it be extinguished. I'll personally hold that flame in my palms even if I am burnt again and again." She let out a soft chuckle. "All I ask is that you give her the same chance you gave me, Medina." ​ "Besides, I'm sure she has so many more fairytales to tell you than I do. Don't you want to hear all the romantic tales that have been passed down throughout the generations?"

 

[Tenzai]

"Do you resent me for Elaine's death? After all, if you hadn't been assigned to retrieve me from the tower, she'd be here instead of me, wouldn't she? As far as I'm aware, it's my fault she died. But you still took me in. You accepted me despite my coldness. Despite my harsh words, August and Neon still... Would you rather not her be here instead? Your bond, I'm sure it ran much deeper than the bond we have now. And yet, you accept me all the same. You've never even asked about my past, about the lives I ruined. Why is Serena any different? Do you carry a clean conscience, Medina? Does August? Does Shiro? Does Neon?" 'You weren't the one who landed the killing blow.'​ Medina grew quiet upon hearing Elaine be brought up again so soon. While she understood that the mission had cost them her life, at the same time, going in there was a choice that they had made. If not for Ophelia, then something else would've taken her. It was simply an understood fact that there was no guarantee that they would come back. But for Neon, it was different. Unlike Ophelia who had never harmed any of them to the point where they risked death, Serena didn't offer the same mercies. To pit them in the same crew was to simply deny the facts; Serena harmed people she loved. "... I simply want to extend the same warmth that you all gave me to someone else. If I have to choose between vengeance and forgiveness... then I would rather leave this world a warmer place. What I saw in Serena... It's something only she has the right to tell you all. I'm sure she has already gone to Shiro to try and make amends." Sensing a further shift in her opinion, August attempted to comfort Medina to no avail. While it appeared that Medina was receptive to the princess' words, they didn't seem to be the right ones to convince her heart to change. Her bangs hid her eyes as she leaned her head towards Lia, masking how she truly felt about the choice she had to make. "... And if I can be a little selfish here... Despite being separated by hundreds of generations, I can't help but think of Serena as the little sister I never had. If I represented the guiding light of my kingdom, then she represents a little twinkling star, an ember that refuses to die out even after our world was ruined. She represents hope for so many people, even if she doesn't realize it. I can't let it be extinguished. I'll personally hold that flame in my palms even if I am burnt again and again. All I ask is that you give her the same chance you gave me, Medina. Besides, I'm sure she has so many more fairytales to tell you than I do. Don't you want to hear all the romantic tales that have been passed down throughout the generations?" "... The same chance? If that's what you want. Fine." Medina clenched her teeth, burying her contempt for the mage for now. While she was willing to accept her, to trust her and to treat her as one of them was a different story entirely. She had yet to earn that right, doing little to earn her emotional pardon from the girl that saw the rest of the women here as family. "Dina..." August looked empathetic. Regardless of her understanding of Ophelia's point of view, she knew that it was tough for Medina regardless, especially knowing that her loyalty to her own was what bound her when times got toughest. "... Just make sure she doesn't ever do that again. Please... I don't want our kindness to be a mistake." A flickering notification had caught her attention, immediately demanding her to arrive at someone's emergency call. "... It looks like someone else needs me right now. Make sure Gust eats, okay? She's been starving herself since coming back here in the first place." Excusing herself, she hopped off of Lia's bed, making good on her offer of overtime again. She lacked the words and emotional experience to navigate the storms she felt in her heart to seek their company, at least for now. "Don't worry about her too much, Lia. I think Dina needs some time to herself." Placing a hand on Ophelia's shoulder, she offered her support. "She might not look like it, but I don't think she's over Elaine's death. I've seen the empty bottles in her room. She's been drinking." Speaking in hushed tones, August hoped that she could keep the vulnerable emotional troubles of her friend secret. Even if she was an undead, that didn't mean that she was immune to the effects of alcohol. It just meant that she needed to drink more to get the same feeling compared to everyone else. "Maybe... We all deserve some time off soon. With Neon if we could help it. We all deserve a vacation. Some time away from all this fighting and danger would be nice." Thinking about what steps they were to take next, she scratched her chin at the possible ideas. There was Serena's offer for a location that held a stash of many parts, some of them that could be useful for Neon to act as a replacement from what her old crew had forced upon her, reducing their reliance on the void shades. However, on the other end was making another deal with her previous mercenary corp, accepting a debt in order to repair their beloved samurai. "With Neon out and Dina and Shiro out of it, I think it just leaves it up to us to decide what to do next. With what we know so far, we have two choices:" "Either we take a chance on Serena or we make a deal with the void shades."​ August shivered at the thought of working with her past affiliation. From all she recalled seeing of the few times she caught a representative of them and Elaine speaking over a table, she remembered the threats they made to her and her team should they fail to uphold their side of the deal. It always made her wonder why Neon would have chosen to work for them in the first place, though given their reputation of giving vampires opportunity regardless of their background, she assumed Neon had a past that she had yet to be ready to share. "To be honest, I really don't know which is a better idea. For all I know, Serena could be leading us into a rebel trap without her knowledge. At least, I hope it would be unintentional." Trying to cast a magical ball in her fingers, instead of seeing the gleaming light she was so accustomed to casting, it seemed as though there was little more than a flicker. "But at least we have a chance of it ending well there. Knowing who Neon worked with in the past, I know without a doubt that we would be on the losing end of a deal if we asked the void shades for a favor." Their team was stuck between a rock and a hard place given the extent of the damage done to Neon. She was the most durable girl on their team, though at the same time, she was also the hardest to fix if broken. Healing spells, surgery, and magical chemistry would've done wonders for everyone else, but for her, they required special expertise when it came to biomechanical repair as well as unique parts shaped specifically to her specifications. "Oh Neon, if you only treated yourself as valuable as you did us." August sighed, leaning on Ophelia's arm as she wrapped her arms around her elbow to pull her close. "I'm sure Dina would be ready to help us for either. It is Neon we're talking about. Shiro on the other hand, she won't be in the best shape given what Serena had uh... Done to her insides." Unbeknownst to the princess, save for the fact that she saw her angel counterpart being blasted at her stomach, while she appeared in one piece from the outside, whatever damage happened within her was still a mystery. "But even then, I don't think being wounded would stop her from wanting to help out too... Hmm... What do you think we should do?" "Oh? Neon has come back wounded? Hmm..." A suited woman sat in her office, crossing her legs over her desk as she thought up a solution to make the most of the samurai's sudden affliction. In her hands was a data tablet revealing a medical diagnosis of Neon's condition. "I suppose we have what she needs in stock, but she needs to learn a lesson. She can't be easily replaced." Looking into her desk, she found spare parts to be used should Neon stumble across the same, gravely wounded fate again. Given the fact that she had run through half the spare stock already, it appeared that Neon had yet to learn her lesson of avoiding dangerous situations. "Miss Lavender. What do you recommend we do?" Her subordinate stood at the ready, awaiting orders after delivering his report to her sister's condition. "We bide her time for now. Even if she could find other parts, the medical report you gave me is enough to tell me that not everything could be found. Her people will come back. Maybe this time, they'll teach her a lesson too. Mistakes aren't free, nor are they cheap to fix. If we give her what she needs for free, she'll never learn." Flashing her fangs as she delivered a disappointed gasp, she turned towards a picture frame featuring the two smiling and posing as they stood beside each other when they used to serve in the same unit. "Neon, you fucking idiot."

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞ "... Just make sure she doesn't ever do that again. Please... I don't want our kindness to be a mistake." ​ "It is never a mistake to be kind, Dina. It's the ones who would stomp over that kindness that make a mistake. And believe me, I'll be the first to make her pay if she tramples over that kindness." Although she was sympathetic towards Serena, it didn't mean that she would forgive her for any more harm she would do moving forward. Still, given that their discussion seemedto have ended, Ophelia had nothing left to say to Medina, who quickly excused herself the moment she was given an out. Ophelia couldn't blame her; whatever celebration they could've had was promptly soured by the mention of Serena. But what kind of celebration could it really be if they had that looming over their heads? The princess didn't regret talking about it - she only regretted that she could not find a way to make Medina feel more at ease with her decision. "Don't worry about her too much, Lia. I think Dina needs some time to herself." "It's okay." She rubbed her temple, feeling the tension slowly release from her body. If this was how Medina reacted, then she better be ready for when Neon woke up. Because knowing her, there'd be hell when she saw Serena not only alive, but amongst their ranks. Of course it all came down to her decision whether the princess truly joined them, and if she refused there was no telling what they would do with Serena, but that was a bridge they would cross when they reached it. "She might not look like it, but I don't think she's over Elaine's death. I've seen the empty bottles in her room. She's been drinking." "I don't think she's seeing reality, Gust. What good would imprisoning or executing Serena do? It won't make Shiro heal faster and it certainly won't get us what we need to get Neon to wake up. It's just..." She shook her head; there was no point in trying to make sense of it. Medina's emotions were still raw. Out of all of them, she was likely the one to have seen the consequences of Serena's actions the most. Not just with Shiro or Neon, but indirectly through her actions as a rebel commander. Surely, there were many people who would have her head on a pike. "With Neon out and Dina and Shiro out of it, I think it just leaves it up to us to decide what to do next. With what we know so far, we have two choices: Either we take a chance on Serena or we make a deal with the void shades." Ophelia sighed deeply. There were many reasons why she had never wanted to be a ruler. And while the crown had certainly been an ominous prospect that made her shy away from it, it was also the weight of making decisions on the fly that made her all the more anxious. She didn't envy anyone in a position of authority and responsibility, making hard decisions as they went. She certainly would question them and even challenge them as an outsider looking in, but when it was her on the chopping block? Well, she better pray her choices made a difference. Neither option was all that appetizing. While she didn't believe Serena would lead them to an ambush, there certainly was the risk of running into rebels. On the other hand, all that she heard about these void shades made her want to avoid them as much as possible. They reminded her of certain mercenary groups her father would employ, the kind that would do as they were told and do it efficiently, but would fetch a high price for a job well done. It sounded like these particular mercenaries were not looking for money, however. It would only be so much easier if they did. If the castle's treasury remained untouched, it was possible they could just buy the pieces off of them, but nothing was that simple. "I'm sure Dina would be ready to help us for either. It is Neon we're talking about. Shiro on the other hand, she won't be in the best shape given what Serena had uh... Done to her insides." "Shiro's absolutely not coming along. She still needs to rest." That much, at least, Ophelia could say with confidence. It didn't matter if all she was going to do was provide support fire - she was not risking herself while she was still recovering. "We're already taking a chance on Serena. Let her be the one to lead us where we need to go. I'm sure she'll even volunteer herself. Whatever trap the rebels will spring, they'll spring on her. And then we can go in, if it turns dicey in there. We can think of her as an... intern. Let her show for herself the value she holds. If she succeeds, it'll make it that much harder for Neon to reject her." Her decision was made; it was up to August to make the final executive decision. If she truly thought going with the void shades was the better option, then fine, but she had given her own thoughts on the matter. "Even Neon isn't stubborn enough to ignore the fact that Serena would risk her own life for hers, surely." Or maybe she was. Neon was pretty stubborn, after all. She sighed, laying back down on the bed, an arm resting over her own face as she stared up at the white ceiling above, much like the white light that came when death came to collect her, only to be snatched up by her patron at the last second. Each time, she wondered if this would truly be the last time she would feel the life drain from her body. And each time, she was taken back to that black, dark void that her patron called a home. The place where she had met Elaine had been much more peaceful and welcoming. "... I met her." After a bit of silence, Ophelia spoke up again, pushing herself up by the shoulder to meet August's gaze. "Elaine, I mean. It was only for a brief moment, right before I woke up. It might have been longer, maybe time moves differently there. Maybe it was because I was barely hanging in the inbetween of life and death, but I met her, I talked to her. She's been looking over you all. She handed me that ring. And she told me to tell you all..." "That she's proud of you." ​ "I should've told Medina. She deserves to hear it too. All of you do. The funniest thing though... is that she told me she holds no regrets." Ophelia shook her head, letting out a dry chuckle as she put her hand over her eye. "But then why would she still be lingering, watching over you all? I'm sure she wants to be with you all still. If I knew of a way, I'd let her take my place in a heartbeat. I'm sure she'd do a better job of comforting you all. I... I've been alone for far too long. I barely know how to talk to other people anymore." She looked up at August, shrugging her shoulders. "Not that I ever was good at it. It's just that I've forgotten what it's like to have other people around me. People hanging on my every word. In a way, solitude suited me better. It was safer, easier. Now, I don't know what to do with so many people depending on me." "I never felt so much weight on my shoulders, even when I was still a princess."​

​

 

[Tenzai]

"We're already taking a chance on Serena. Let her be the one to lead us where we need to go. I'm sure she'll even volunteer herself. Whatever trap the rebels will spring, they'll spring on her. And then we can go in, if it turns dicey in there. We can think of her as an... intern. Let her show for herself the value she holds. If she succeeds, it'll make it that much harder for Neon to reject her." An intern. August was not one so naive in her innocence to believe that she was guiltless after all she did, but at the same time, it sickened her to imagine another's life, especially one that was soon to be their ally's, would be likened to a sacrificial pawn. But alas, given the nature of her situation, it made sense. She needed something like this to happen, some place to test her newfound loyalties in order for others like Medina and Neon to begin to trust her. "For her sake, and for Neon, I hope that whatever happens, she comes out on top." The look of concern was displayed on her face. Even in the midst of her team's recovery did the prospect of the mission come up already. "Even Neon isn't stubborn enough to ignore the fact that Serena would risk her own life for hers, surely." Ophelia's mind appeared busy. All that occurred over the course of the past few weeks must have been a lot for her to take in, especially after living through what could've been called centuries of stagnation and loneliness. Gust couldn't blame her. After all, they did just come out from doing a mission in her home. "I think you're right. This would be the best for all of us," Her hand shook as she peeked down towards it, still finding the same scars of strong spells present over her gloves. If not for what Umbra had crafted for her, she would've been in a much worse position. "To have Serena help us. Even if we can't make use of everything we find there, it would leave a lot less for the void shades to use against us." Resting back down at Ophelia's side, she looked towards the ceiling towards the artificial light as though they were in a field looking at stars. Soon they would find a moment to be ordinary again, the witch believed. While the other girls may have fought for some sort of greater ambition beyond peace, August simply did her best to preserve the quiet moments they would have together in between missions; To make memories similar to those the made in the haunted house was her greater motivation. "... I met her." "...Hmm? Met who?" August tilted her head, turning herself over to her side to glance at Ophelia. Upon making eye contact, August blushed, seeing Ophelia up close. "Elaine, I mean. It was only for a brief moment, right before I woke up. It might have been longer, maybe time moves differently there. Maybe it was because I was barely hanging in the inbetween of life and death, but I met her, I talked to her. She's been looking over you all. She handed me that ring. And she told me to tell you all..." "That she's proud of you."​ August grew quiet, stunned at the revelation. Given the fact that she was so focused on ensuring that the others were okay, she didn't stop to realize the ring on Lia's finger. Her ring. Her words rang true. Her eyes spoke the truth. Her voice hid no lie. "Proud...? But... I..." Tears had welled in her eyes. She had originally thought that Elaine had died regretting her decision in choosing her over anyone else, given the fact that she felt guilt over her lack of ability in battle. Taking a deep breath, she stopped herself from breaking down, wiping her tears simply being content that, at the least, her spirit held no ill will towards her. "... Thanks for telling me, Lia. I... I hope she was as kind in death as she was in life." "I should've told Medina. She deserves to hear it too. All of you do. The funniest thing though... is that she told me she holds no regrets." "That's very much her to say that." The witch couldn't help but smile, feeling a massive weight drop from her chest. "Sometimes I wonder what goes on in her mind. She was always a thinker, the one who drafted all the plans before missions and all. Sometimes, I feel like she's honest, and another part of me wonders just what she's hiding underneath her smile." She scratched her chin, curious as to why she would tell Lia out of all people that. "But then why would she still be lingering, watching over you all? I'm sure she wants to be with you all still. If I knew of a way, I'd let her take my place in a heartbeat." "... Don't say that, Lia. We all understood the risks of being in this line of work." She shook her head at the thought of replacement. While they missed her, they also understood that, if not for this mission, then it would've been another mission that would be the cause of her disappearance. "I'm sure she'd do a better job of comforting you all. I... I've been alone for far too long. I barely know how to talk to other people anymore. Not that I ever was good at it. It's just that I've forgotten what it's like to have other people around me. People hanging on my every word. In a way, solitude suited me better. It was safer, easier. Now, I don't know what to do with so many people depending on me." "Actually... I believe otherwise. I think you're doing quite a good job at comforting us, especially for a lonely princess that's been locked in a tower." Clutching her hand, she leaned on Ophelia's shoulder, refusing to let her go. "I'm sure she's still with us in her own way, doing her best from her end to make things right." Lifting Ophelia's hand, she eyed the ring again. "Given the fact that she gave you that ring, it looks like she entrusted you with this team too." "I never felt so much weight on my shoulders, even when I was still a princess." "Then let us carry some of that burden. You're not alone anymore, Lia. You have us now." With her other hand, she reached towards her chin, only to lean in and give her a kiss on the lips. "And unfortunately for whoever locked you up in that tower in the first place, we're not going to let you go that easily. Not after all you've done for us already." Slowly turning herself around, she mounted the top of Ophelia's lap, leaning into her arms. "So take responsibility for us, okay? And we'll take responsibility for you. After all, you're one of us. Someone irreplaceable, no matter how much you might think otherwise." Kissing her again, he pushed her down on the bed, only to lean her head into her princess' bust out of comfort. "Please don't treat yourself any worse than you're worth. You're no monster. You've never been a monster to us." To the witch, despite her magic itself being of an origin to an unknown, monstrous patron, the soul itself that commanded this force to her will was something else entirely. She had been a friend ever since getting to know her in the first place, even putting herself at risk to keep her safe regardless of her limitations. If she was anything to August, she felt nothing short of a heroine. "I won't let you. At least, not while I'm around." Slowly lifting herself up, she took a slice of the pizza that Medina had left behind before portioning some for the princess to take indulgence in as well. "Dina probably thinks the same of you too. She wouldn't have thought of a get well present like this otherwise, and out of all us, I think she's the most aware of what a monster looks like." August took another bite, splitting the pizza slice in half with her mouth as she finally sated the demands of her stomach. "And even then, she welcomed you in. Shiro and Neon too. Say what you like about yourself, but it was you who fought for us in the arena. It was you who fought alongside us during that mission. That already makes you better than most others, I'd say." Wiping her lips with a tissue, as she split a plate for Ophelia, she turned towards her. Given the fact that she had yet to be used to her new arm, she doubted that she was in any position to feed herself well. Seeing this as an opportunity, lifted the pizza in front of her lips. "Sayy ahhhh...." Waiting for a moment, she giggled at how cute her counterpart looked while she sat on her lap, ready to feed her as though they were more than friends in the first place. "What do you think? Personally I like the vegetables with my meat and the fruit adds a nice touch of sweetness." Letting her chew at first, she held the plate close before offering her another bite. "Maybe once we're done with fixing up Neon and getting Serena into our group, we could celebrate with everyone over the same pizza again. I'm sure the others would appreciate it! We could even treat it as Serena's welcome party like we did with you and the buffet!"

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞ "Given the fact that she gave you that ring, it looks like she entrusted you with this team too." ​ 'Please.' If it was meant to soothe her, August's words somehow had the opposite effect. She could barely even bother to do her royal duties when she was still a princess, and now she was expected to take responsibility for the team? It was daunting. She would not shy away from it, but she couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the thought of it. Suddenly, the ring felt a lot heavier than it seemed. "Then let us carry some of that burden. You're not alone anymore, Lia. You have us now." "Mmhh." Her eyes fluttered closed gently, melting slightly into the kiss. She was being unfair. How was she supposed to say no when she put so much of her faith in her? When all of them did? How could they have so much faith in her when they barely knew her? She'd been asleep longer than she'd known them, yet August treated her the same way she would treat any of them. "And unfortunately for whoever locked you up in that tower in the first place, we're not going to let you go that easily. Not after all you've done for us already." Ophelia felt a familiar squirming in the back of her skull, something worming around in there as it was mentioned, summoned from its passive observation. It didn't like being challenged, but it would not act. Not yet. For now, these insects seemed to be providing quite the entertainment. Enough that it would forgive this perceived slight. For now. "So take responsibility for us, okay? And we'll take responsibility for you. After all, you're one of us. Someone irreplaceable, no matter how much you might think otherwise." "You're quite unfair, you know." She pouted, offering little else other than a glance to the side. She couldn't accept it so easily, but she also couldn't turn August down when she was so sincere. "Please don't treat yourself any worse than you're worth. You're no monster. You've never been a monster to us." 'You don't know me like they did.' Words failed to leave her lips, knowing they would fall on deaf ears. Even if she did, what difference would it make? August had already made her decision. She had already accepted Ophelia, all without knowing her sins. She looked down at the pizza, steaming hot still. Watching August feed on it only made her realize just how hungry she was herself. Her stomach growled lowly, as if demanding food. While her body had been healed back to full health, there was a need for protein to further heal her aching, sore muscles and bones. But she was happy to see August feed herself after she had apparently gone on to starve herself for a week. It was a miracle she wasn't more gaunt and exhausted, though it wasn't as if she looked in her best shape. Even now, though, she looked as beautiful as ever. She always looked so cute when she was eating. "And even then, she welcomed you in. Shiro and Neon too. Say what you like about yourself, but it was you who fought for us in the arena. It was you who fought alongside us during that mission. That already makes you better than most others, I'd say." "I already said I did it for myself. Out of a whim..." She insisted, calling back to her excuse back then, though it felt weak when she was so easily swayed by August's gaze. And given how she'd used her favor, it surely rang hollow when she said it. But she would cling onto it until she couldn't do it any longer. "Sayy ahhhh...." "August, please. I am not a child--" She began to turn her head away, but one look at August's happy face was enough to give her pause. Ophelia narrowed her eyes, pursing her lips in discontent for a moment before she begrudgingly opened her mouth. "A-Ahhhh..." And as the hot cheese made its way inside, she chomped down, taking half of the slice of pizza into her mouth and chewing. The savory flavor profile of the cheese and meat mixed with the sweet and sour of the fruits, offering an interesting and quite pleasant experience. She chewed quietly, still begrudging the fact that she was fed. Although, given how she could barely move her arm, there was nothing she could do about it. She supposed this was the fate of the wounded. To be fussed over. "What do you think? Personally I like the vegetables with my meat and the fruit adds a nice touch of sweetness." "I am still astounded by your people's decision to put fruit over cheese. Who even thought of such a thing?" She muttered as she swallowed, making an inscrutable face. It was far from the worst meal she'd had, but she had never been a fussy eater to begin with. She could eat anything after having endured the sorry excuse for food that her patron gave her to keep her body from decaying, and that was horrible. There were no words to describe how terrible it tasted. Someone feeding on that for thousands of years would surely lose their mind. It was a wonder how she didn't, but then again, she wasn't exactly all there when it came to being completely sane. "Maybe once we're done with fixing up Neon and getting Serena into our group, we could celebrate with everyone over the same pizza again. I'm sure the others would appreciate it! We could even treat it as Serena's welcome party like we did with you and the buffet!" "That would be nice. Just tell Neon to keep the strong stuff to herself this time unless she wants to be zapped again. And believe me, Serena does not hold back on her zaps." She hummed with a quiet sort of contentment. While she had a feeling that Neon might've learned her lesson this time, she didn't put it above her to try and do something with yet another princess if she got drunk enough. "... August?" Chewing on another bite of her pizza slice, Ophelia had a moment to think to herself. All of this... this moment, the moments they'd had together... They were precious. She would hold them close in her heart for as long as she lived. Maybe one day, they would all grow old and leave her behind. Maybe they would all die, while she returned to the tower to be imprisoned again. In the end, she would be chained for as long as her patron had that leash upon her neck. "Someday... I'd like to be free." ​ "Not just from my deal with my patron. I will take full advantage of the power it gives me and full responsibility for all the consequences as well. But... I've never liked being chained down." She stared up at the ceiling before looking down to August. Her hand cupped the witch's cheek, her thumb pushing a stray lock from her face. Every time she looked at her face, Ophelia felt herself melting all over again. "I mean... truly free. If possible, I want to see far beyond this scenery. I want to be able to go where I want, when I want, without having to look behind me. I've had so much time to look at the past. I can remember each day perfectly. One day... I'd like to be able to forget, if even for a moment. I want to be just an ordinary girl, flying through the stars. Unchained, unrestrained." She sighed. "So there might be a day when our paths diverge. I don't know that I could bear to stay here forever. Even after we've achieved peace for your empire... I can't swear fealty to it. I want to go my own way, do my own thing." "That's why I'd like to cherish the present. So that when it's time to look towards the future, I can do so with a smile on my face."​

​

 

[Tenzai]

ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ꜰᴀɴᴛᴀꜱʏ | ᴋʜᴀɪ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍꜱ ↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺​ "... August? Someday... I'd like to be free." Ophelia's happy ending lay unbound to any allegiance or obligation. It didn't take long for the witch to understand what that meant. Upon realization, that gleeful reverie she felt had come to an end once her sobering reality hit: Ophelia would not be here forever. "Not just from my deal with my patron. I will take full advantage of the power it gives me and full responsibility for all the consequences as well. But... I've never liked being chained down." August did not offer any complaint, but rather a smile. As much as it hurt for her to know, she was happy that Ophelia was being honest with her. What she felt inside was a happy sadness, of knowing that in spite of the future they were to lead ahead, they still had many memories to make until then, and at the least she was lucky enough to have a chance to meet her in the first place. "I mean... truly free. If possible, I want to see far beyond this scenery. I want to be able to go where I want, when I want, without having to look behind me. I've had so much time to look at the past. I can remember each day perfectly. One day... I'd like to be able to forget, if even for a moment. I want to be just an ordinary girl, flying through the stars. Unchained, unrestrained." Leaning into where Ophelia had cupped her cheek, she hovered her hand over the princess' knuckles, warming her cool fingers with her warmth. It was just as her fortune foretold. That their happiness would lead through departure; In which, for her to experience love, she had to understand freedom. If this was the hand she was to be dealt, so be it. If this family was not meant to be forever either, she would understand. The only benefit she would ever take this exchange for was the happiness of all that stood with her, starting with the princess they "rescued" from the tower. "So there might be a day when our paths diverge. I don't know that I could bear to stay here forever. Even after we've achieved peace for your empire... I can't swear fealty to it. I want to go my own way, do my own thing. That's why I'd like to cherish the present. So that when it's time to look towards the future, I can do so with a smile on my face." "I... Understand." But as much as her soul could accept it, her heart would be pained in doing so. "I don't want you to be forced to stay anywhere for any longer than you have to, even if well... Even if its here with me." She smiled, tearing up as she looked up towards the princess, refusing to leave where her hands had reached out, extended to her. "All I want is for you to be happy. And uh..." Realizing she was losing her words, she took a moment to try and recall them only to sigh and choose what felt the most right. "You better visit me too." She pouted, letting Ophelia's hands clean the tears off her cheeks. "If all I have with you is just the remainder of the war, so be it. I'll make sure to make the most of it." After all she experienced so far with her, she realized just how meaningful her freedom was. She had spent an eternity in that tower, to be bound again to the whims of others, no matter how noble, would simply be painting over her trauma with a shade of gold. It was never August's intention to bind her to her, even if it was out of love. Though in that line of thinking, a realization had occurred to her. What if, instead of binding Ophelia to her, it went the other way around? What if she simply followed her? It would preserve her freedom without sacrificing her autonomy? To test the waters, August let her heart prod at Ophelia's, careful not to make a misstep. "Hey, Ophelia... After this war is all said and done, would you mind if I follow you around the galaxy too? I wouldn't have anything more to do for a while and well- ... The sound of exploring the stars with you is quite nice. Any star you choose of course!" Instead of offering her binds or promises, the witch offered a future of her choosing. She wished to see Ophelia's happy ending through, just like she wished to see everyone else's. But where she believed that she wouldn't be able to really be there for the other girls as closely as she did now, given Shiro's desire to return to Heaven to complete her contract as a guardian angel and Medina's dream to teach medicine at a top university, when it came to Ophelia and Neon on the other hand, it felt different. "I heard of some paradise worlds that I always wanted to go to. Oh! And the great library! All the stories we could explore together- ... It would make for a wonderful date place." She giggled, her tone shifting. August knew that her time in the military wouldn't be forever, she was simply here out of a point of need and a desire to protect the other girls she loved. Once they were out of the line of combat and once peace was achieved, her role within the ranks would be over. She would be done with war. "The other floating castles would be nice. Maybe a visit to some other human worlds would be welcome- Oh! And to introduce you to my master! I'd really like to do that one day! I-if you want to, that is!" Realizing that she was rambling again, she blushed. She needed to be patient with her heart, not pour it out all on the table if Ophelia didn't wish to be her willing vessel for all her dreams and heart's desires. "...If... If you want me to be there with you. I don't want to take your choice away from you." She sighed once again. Given how much she loved Ophelia's company, she often got too far ahead of herself. "I don't want to force you to be with me. Erm..." Slowly taking a deep breath, she looked back at Ophelia, refusing to let her eyes stray away as she confessed. "But I love you. I just wanted to make that known. I love you and I love hanging out with you... And I hope that my future includes you in it somehow..."

"Tea?" Pouring herself a cup while offering another to her guest, Shiro moved with grace, but slower than usual as she was recovering from her injuries. "If you're curious about how I feel towards the way you look, Serena. I say you're easy on the eyes." Shiro held no hesitance in the way she spoke. She lacked the flustered nature of her witch companion or the embarrassed emotions of a Neon that had yet to lose her sobriety. "And I find your ability, your competence, your peculiar speech, and your blush all adding onto it." She didn't need to actively look at her in order for her to know her guest's reaction. While her foresight may have been annoying at times, at the same time, it also served its purpose in conversation. "If only we met under other more amenable circumstances, perhaps we would've been friends by now, if not something more." Muttering to herself, she sat in a chair across from Serena, preferring to be seen with dignity rather than laying her bed the entire time. Her wounds were serious, but they weren't enough to keep her bedridden. "I take it from your reaction that you find me rather interesting as well. Do tell, I'm curious." Spotting a notification that her doctor was due to arrive at her room, her eyes squinted for a moment before notifying the visitor that she was awake. "What else do you find about me that caught your eye? I doubt that my weapons were the only thing you're interested in, especially given the fact that you've already cast my pistol aside." Noting her disarmed weapon resting on the counter beside Serena, the angel offered her conversational opponent an opening. This was her invitation to interview the angel on anything she found interesting about her, whether that be her divinity, her looks, or even just about her. "I'd offer a bit more flexibility for conversation if not for someone coming soon. So, if there's anything you preferred to speak to me in private over, now's your time, especially given the fact that you're not currently under observation." Looking over her shoulder, she noted that the knight captain that scheduled to watch over her seemed to be missing for the moment. As if Serena had been cleared to attend to Shiro for now, he had ensured her privacy for the moment while he was in conversation with his superiors over the state of the war and their newest acquisitions. "So, speak away and don't be shy. I'd rather you share with me the thoughts in your mind rather than having me guess what's in your head."

 

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞ ​ "I don't want you to be forced to stay anywhere for any longer than you have to, even if well... Even if its here with me." "August... that's not what I..." Gods, she'd done it again, hadn't she? Speaking her mind without filter always lead to others misunderstanding. She had never meant for her words to be interpreted as her not wanting to be by August's side. She had simply assumed that the witch would stay. After all, who wouldn't want to live in the peace that they'd helped create? Ophelia was the strange one, already thinking of moving on once the dust had cleared. Hells, she wasn't even sure she'd be able to roam the stars freely with the bug in her skull always watching. Even if she did, she would never grow old. It might even cause suffering deliberately to entertain itself. "If all I have with you is just the remainder of the war, so be it. I'll make sure to make the most of it." "August, I..." Why did it feel as if they were saying goodbye already? She didn't want this. She didn't want a bittersweet goodbye. She didn't want to mar their memories with the knowledge that they would one day be separated. She didn't want to be the reason why August cried. If she was going to be just another source of sorrow for her, then why was she even here? All she had accomplished so far was to make the poor witch suffer angst after angst. Already it seemed as if she was losing another precious companion after being separated from Elaine. "Hey, Ophelia... After this war is all said and done, would you mind if I follow you around the galaxy too? I wouldn't have anything more to do for a while and well- ... The sound of exploring the stars with you is quite nice. Any star you choose of course!" "Huh? I thought you... I..." Ophelia looked down, pensive for a moment. Considering. If she was the one that was offering, why would she say no? It seemed she had misunderstood August after all. This didn't have to be goodbye. While she couldn't assume what the others had in mind for the future after all the fighting was done, she could at least find comfort in knowing that she wouldn't have to part ways from August. "... Nothing would make me happier. Plus... you know a lot more about this galaxy than I do." Ophelia giggled, already feeling giddy at the thought of exploring the universe together. But she couldn't help but wonder about Neon, too. She was her knight, after all. And while she had no throne, no crown to her name, she had still named her, her knight. And Lamprosian royals only ever gave that honor to one person. There would be no one like Neon for the rest of Ophelia's life. "I heard of some paradise worlds that I always wanted to go to. Oh! And the great library! All the stories we could explore together- ... It would make for a wonderful date place." Now that the thought had invaded her mind, August seemed even more excited at the prospect than Ophelia was. The princess was grounded, never quite one to fall into optimism over cynicism or simple pragmatism. But her excitement was contagious, and Ophelia couldn't help the smile curling her lips. "The other floating castles would be nice. Maybe a visit to some other human worlds would be welcome- Oh! And to introduce you to my master! I'd really like to do that one day! I-if you want to, that is!" "You're definitely making those ones up." Ophelia chuckled with a playful hint of skepticism. "We'll have all the time in the world to chart our path. Let us make plans for the future, and live in the present." "I don't want to force you to be with me. Erm..." "I--" She was about to protest the very notion that Ophelia could be forced to be with her. If she had ever thought that August's company was unpleasant, she wouldn't be afraid to let her know. But what she said next made her freeze. She wasn't ready to receive August's feelings so candidly. That word hung in her mind for what felt like years, Ophelia's red eyes widening, her lips parting as she tried to speak, but her words failed her. "But I love you. I just wanted to make that known. I love you and I love hanging out with you... And I hope that my future includes you in it somehow..." "... August, you feel so strongly, so quickly. I envy you. There is another confession you should know. I said it on our first night together, but you were too drunk to hear it. But I..." "A piece of me is missing." ​ "And I think I know what it is. The piece of me that allows me to love. I... I want to love you. I really do. But I'm broken. I'm missing so many pieces, I don't even know where they went. But... but I want to love you back. I'd like to find what I lost... so that I can return your feelings. Fully, without compromise. If you can bear with me until then, then I..." "I would like to spend what future I have with you."​

​

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Serena ✬ ❝ So what if we can race against the wheels of death? If we are always running, we can't behold the sceneries Hoping that through my finder You'll find another answer The well inside my heart is overflowed with love ❞​ "Tea?" "O-Oh, yes. Tea would be nice." Serena scrambled, her hands shaking as she watched and considered stopping Shiro. She was still recovering, so she shouldn't be going out of her way to be nice to her. She was, in reality, intruding upon her precious resting time. But Shiro didn't seem to think of it like that. "If you're curious about how I feel towards the way you look, Serena. I say you're easy on the eyes." "Uuuuuu, you didn't actually need to answer that..." Serena held her heated cheeks, suppressing a small smile that threatened to creep upon her features. She didn't feel it was right for her to feel happy, but she couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement knowing that Shiro didn't dislike her. Maybe even thought she was attractive. Though she wouldn't get her hopes up. "If only we met under other more amenable circumstances, perhaps we would've been friends by now, if not something more." "It's not nice to get my hopes up like that..." She muttered, taking her cup and quietly sipping on it. For all she knew, Shiro was either just being nice or teasing her. But she couldn't help but hang on each and every word of hers. This new feeling that was blossoming in her chest... she wanted to lean into it. To let it flow free and guide her future. "What else do you find about me that caught your eye? I doubt that my weapons were the only thing you're interested in, especially given the fact that you've already cast my pistol aside." "That's not quite it. Your weapons are fascinating. I only have passing knowledge of firearms, but I can tell they are of amazing quality. It takes that kind of craftsmanship to overpower Lamprosian magic. But I'm..." She hesitated, wondering if it was the right thing to offer context to her apprehension around firearms. "... I'm not comfortable holding them. When I first broke free from the people that enslaved me, I took a guard's gun. I-I shot immediately. I hit him in the head and his brain exploded. I-I still have nightmares about it. I... my hands can't stop shaking when I hold one in my hands." She shook her head, trying her best to dispel the memory from her mind. "Y-Your conviction. Your self-assuredness. The way you handled yourself, despite the overwhelming odds. All of it... once my mind had been cleared, I found myself mesmerized by the thought of you. I wanted to know more. I want to know what it is that drives you. I want to know... how you can fight with such confidence." She spoke candidly, offering no shame as she spoke her mind. The stutters that had peppered her speech as she stumbled over her words slowly disappeared. She held her hands on her lap, twiddling her thumbs as she tilted her head downward, but maintained eye contact with Shiro. "I've learned that actions speak louder than words. I want to know you better, Shiro. I want to undetstand what it is that drives you. Why an angel like you would come down to our realm and involve themselves with our affairs. I want to... I want to know the kind of person that you are. If possible... I'd like to see it while standing by your side."

 

[Tenzai]

"That's not quite it. Your weapons are fascinating. I only have passing knowledge of firearms, but I can tell they are of amazing quality. It takes that kind of craftsmanship to overpower Lamprosian magic. But I'm..." Her hesitation was quick to be noted; Her sudden missing flustered expressions had meant that there was something much more to this than mere disinterest alone. "... I'm not comfortable holding them. When I first broke free from the people that enslaved me, I took a guard's gun. I-I shot immediately. I hit him in the head and his brain exploded. I-I still have nightmares about it. I... my hands can't stop shaking when I hold one in my hands." Shiro couldn't help but feel empathetic to the young girl's feelings over it. While it might have been far from her first kill, at the same time, there was something rather cold yet intimate about directly being the cause of another's death through the pull of a trigger. At first, the angelic warrior had wondered whether this line of work was truly for her, after all, it was her job to dispose of other living beings with souls of their own. However, her conscience had adapted to the harshness of their reality since then; That to protect was to kill; That when a weapon was drawn and live, there was no use in holding deeply onto humanity if it led to hesitation. "Y-Your conviction. Your self-assuredness. The way you handled yourself, despite the overwhelming odds. All of it... once my mind had been cleared, I found myself mesmerized by the thought of you. I wanted to know more. I want to know what it is that drives you. I want to know... how you can fight with such confidence." Looking down towards her own hands, the catgirl didn't find any hesitation to every pull of the trigger in her past. Her digits were still, covered in scratches and knicks that erupted from the battlefield. The mental importance of her role as Heaven's edge had surpassed nearly every other second thought she had about whether what she did was right. In truth, it made it easier for her to simply exist as a cog in the machine, though by doing so, she had also made herself useful when it came to protecting her sisters in battle. Her courage was what enabled August to be so effective on the battlefield. By doing what she could not in eliminating threats, she was able to preserve and protect the very humanity of the girl that had lost so much to this war in the first place. "I've learned that actions speak louder than words. I want to know you better, Shiro. I want to understand what it is that drives you. Why an angel like you would come down to our realm and involve themselves with our affairs. I want to... I want to know the kind of person that you are. If possible... I'd like to see it while standing by your side." "There is a cost to being someone like me. Someone remorseless. I don't believe I'm an angel you should idealize. Otherwise, you'll only give yourself room for disappointment." A flash of other scenes had spilled through her head of the many different battlefields she encountered against many other species. Marching through the various sectors, she had dueled a countless many for what felt like an eternity, putting down rebellions and sealing the fates of slavers, pirates, and corrupted nobles alike. "Conviction. Confidence. I find them all to be the same when under the lens of being observed as a soldier, but what drives me are people like you. People like August, Neon, Medina, and Ophelia. You all are what fuels my action. You all are what guide my fight." She poured another glass of tea into her cup, careful observing Serena's reactions as she lifted her cup to take a sip. Even in injury, each movement was refined, made to be perfect to all onlookers for the sake of upholding the standards of a realm deemed perfect by people who didn't know any better. Letting the air sit for a brief moment, it felt as though the very timing itself of her words were all coordinated. Shiro and Neon were opposites when it came to how they functioned. Where Neon adapted to conditions at will, Shiro held her strength in foresight and strategy. Everything to the angel was a move on a chessboard, even a conversation as ordinary as this one. "Those feelings that you experience; Of your cute little flirts and the happiness that the other girls in my family experience, I want to protect that. If someone were to wish to strip the galaxy of that blessing, its my divine right to ensure that they no longer serve as an obstacle to that pure joy and contentedness." Slowly lifting herself up, she wandered over to the weapon by Serena's side, her hand holding tightly to what held her IV drip to preserve her balance while avoiding the tubes connected to her from falling off. "Its a rather simple motivation, I know. But its mine and mine alone, and I refuse to let anyone else take that away from me." Elaine. The face of the only girl she failed to protect had flashed through her mind. No matter what she could do, no matter the number of potential opportunities and outcomes she could explore, there was none where her own strength would've been able to take her back alive. Their leader had moved with a purpose beyond Shiro, leading to her refusing some of Shiro's attempts at an altered fate over an outcome that "she had yet to see." The mere thought of it had struck Shiro with guilt, a solemn bitterness she had yet to understand. "..." She grew quiet, her brow stricken with a momentary second of genuine grief before she took her pistol by her side. "Perhaps, I'm no better than everyone else. Its just my weaknesses are different..." In truth, she didn't feel like a true angel, given the fact that she was a hybrid between one and a predatory beast species. "I'm not a full angel, you know? This tail? These ears? They're signs that I'm bound to the same rules as everyone else here. Maybe I'm just better at hiding my fear. Maybe I'm just better at feigning composure, who knows? But I suppose, that's a mystery for you to find out, because to that end, I don't think I could offer you an answer that is fully correct." Taking a deep breath, she recomposed herself, realizing just how open she was making her feelings merely at the thought of her failure with their team's leader. Shiro didn't want to appear as someone that Serena couldn't trust, especially if they were soon to be bound together and doubly so if the fate of Neon was dependent on her success. "Though, don't think that should stop you from at least trying to figure me out too. We'll have some time to get to know each other more soon, I'm sure." Grinning at the caster, she slipped herself back into her confident face once more, readying herself for the end of their conversation. "And don't be afraid of it either. I promise, I won't bite." The door slipped open right as she winked. Behind it stood several large knights, all being led by a captain with a simple letter in hand addressed to Serena. "For you. The people here wished to offer you an invitation for atonement. Within this letter is a contract, its deadline set for the end of today's cycle." Leaving it in the caster's hand, he beat his chest in salute to someone that was offered a place by their side, acting in place of how Ophelia was welcomed in by the hero, Sen, himself. "By accepting its terms, you will be assigned to this team to serve by their side." The knight captain smiled upon seeing Shiro's rather content looking face. "And it seems like you're in good company too."

A dark room had overtaken the two girls since their conversation. Their idle embrace caused the lights to turn off due to the lack of activity. Tracing circles over Ophelia's shoulder, August simply was content with her presence. She had confessed, and instead of being thrown away or being seen as lesser than as a result of her inexperience as a witch, she had found a place by her side. "We'll find that part of you again somehow. I'll try my best to help you, but until then, Lia. Until then, I don't mind doing all the loving for the two of us for as long as you'll keep accepting me as I am." She chuckled quietly, her chest rising against her princess' own. "Or... Well... The loving for the three of us, but I'm sure that Neon would carry her own weight too!" While the two girls rested side by side, unbeknownst to Ophelia, August had been concentrating on a healing spell the entire time, both to speed up Ophelia's recovery while taking away her pain and making it August's own. Her body twitched at certain points, though that didn't stop her, even at any potential protest to try to get her to stop straining herself for more than she had to. It was difficult watching one of the people she cared about most being too hurt to heal with spells alone; Though at least through this, she felt like some of the guilt that would ordinarily come with helplessness could be alleviated. Through Ophelia, she was able to forgive herself. "So... If its okay for me to ask... Can you tell me the truth? About who you are? I don't think anything could stop me from loving you, so please. Please be honest. You could trust me."