Author note: this chapter might be a bit weird. I had intended for it to follow Uni and Louise through the entire day, but it was not working and remade it four times before deciding to jump back to the village. That part I had no issues with, so I hope the swap doesn't seem odd.
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As the early morning sun shone over the eastern mountain and kissed the cliffs of Albion, a pair of light, green and black, bobbed across the sky and disappeared into the forest at the edge of a port town, unnoticed by the complete lack of active guards at the docks themselves.
"That, was too much!" Uni declared as she transformed back as soon as her feet touched the ground, falling to her hands and knees in utter exhaustion.
Green sister said nothing as she landed on the ground just a meter or so away, but as soon as she transformed back she too fell to her knees. "Okay, I . . . . may have misjudged the distance by a bit. I'm sorry."
"Its fine, not like you knew the exact distance," Uni said with a shake of her head. "That town, could we get food and some rest there?"
"Um, I don't know," Louise admitted as she leaned backwards and sat down on the grass, finding it slightly wet from nigh time dew. "There didn't look like a lot of lights were on."
"So we wait until the sun rises a bit then, yeah?" Uni asked as the sun peaked over the western mountain a bit more and began shining up the cliff face and into the tree's.
"Um, not what I meant. A port would have lights on in case any ships were coming," Louise said before letting out an annoyed sigh. "The civil war here might be a lot worse than I figured it could be."
"A civil war huh? I still don't get it. Like, that would be like one of us declaring war on our sisters, right?" Uni asked.
"Um, more like our oracles, or the people who run some businesses I guess," Louise said as she climbed to her feet. "From what it sounded like, some of the Nobility here on Albion had enough of how the regent was running things and are fighting for control of the country. And because a lot of nobility have their own personal military forces, their probably fighting across the whole island."
"What about the regular people?" Uni asked as he also got up to her feet, shielding her eyes from the morning light a bit as she did.
"I don't know. They might be leaving the regular citizens out of it, or some of the nobility or the royalty might be conscripting the men to fight for them. We'll have to see."
"Ugh, great," Uni said as she stretched her arms a bit. "Do you think our maps will be able to locate that person we're looking for?"
"It should," Louise said before glancing away and muttering something under her breath.
"Pardon?"
"Uh, well,, if it doesn't, we might need to take a more direct approach," Louise admitted before shaking her head. "Let's head into the city. Once we're around people we can see if we hear anything, or see if our maps respond," Louise said as she, and then Uni, began heading through the trees toward the city.
"There has got to be a better way to do this," Uni grumbled as they walked." Can't we like, find a registry of names or something? Find some kind of documentation and see if anyone here if from Tarbes?"
"No one keeps track of that kind of thing here in Halkeginia," Louise said with a sigh, agreeing that it would make things simple if registries were indeed a thing. "Some families keep track of their relatives, and nobles would keep track of such a thing , but the common peoples don't. Most people don't even have family names like most people in Gameindustri."
"Great," Uni said in annoyance as they walked and could see the tree's ahead of them parting. "Hopefully this city or town or whatever it is has what we need."
Barely a minute later, Uni wanted to eat her own words and make them disaster from having been said. The city was clearly not in good shape. Windows were smashed, doors were hanging ajar, food, filth and even a number of bodies were lying in the streets, and the smell of death lingered in the air.
"This, what is this?" Uni asked in horror as the pair walked down the streets.
"The effects of the civil war probably," Louise said as she looked side to side, seeing that many of the buildings appeared abandoned. "The reigning king is probably losing, or has already long since lost this war. Otherwise I doubt such destruction would be allowed."
"But, what happened to the-" Uni began to say until movement caught her eye. "Never mind. We have guests."
Louise just sighed as she noticed them as well. Almost a dozen men, all wearing uniform that were rather ragged, coming out of soe buildings and alleyways with weapons at the ready.
"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting to see such lovely ladies around here so early in the morning," one of the men, who seemed slightly less ragged than the others, said as he stood proudly among his men and looked past the two girls toward the docks. "I didn't see a ship pull in, so where have you ladies been hiding out? If you tell us and come along and serve us, we'll treat you better than you have been and get you a good meal out of it."
"Seriously?" Uni said in utter disgust. "That is the first thing these guys say?"
"Doesn't make things seem good, huh?" Louise asked with a sigh. She then looked at the man, who she assumed was a captain of some sort. "Are you with the crown, or the rebels?"
"We're with the crown of course!" the captain said with a light chuckle as he pulled a pistol off his belt and held it in his hand. "It's not safe here, so we'll need you to come with us so you can tell is where those rebels are hiding, understand?"
Louise and Uni both looked at the men and instantly noticed that many of them seemed to be having trouble containing themselves. Licking their lips or grinning like wild animals.
"It is clear you are not with the crown, but are rebels yourselves. I would back off if I were you," Louise said as she crossed her arms.
"Oh, is that so?" the captain asked as he then pointed his pistol at Louise, specifically at her head. "Fine, I'll stop being nice. You two ladies are coming with us to help us out at our base, or I'm going to blow your brains out and then make your dark haired friend start serving us here and now!"
"I'm not listening to this," Uni said out loud as she summoned her rifle into her hands, causing many of the rebel soldiers eyes to go wide, before firing it at the captain and removing him from the equation with a single shot.
"What the, some kind of magic rifle!" one of the rebels exclaimed a most of them stepped back in surprise and fear.
"there's just two of them and only one is armed, quit being pathetic!" another of the rougher looking men said as he drew a sword and advanced toward the two girls.
Receiving a sudden spear thrust into the chest from Louise before then falling to the side, her thrust having pierced his heart.
"Founder, their mages!"
"Kill them quickly!"
"Let's end this and then get to looking," Louise said with a sigh as she used her spear to parry a sword swing from one of the soldiers before swinging the blade across his neck. "the sooner we find that person the sooner we can leave."
"That's fine!" Uni replied as she dodged a sword and slammed the butt of her rifle into the soldier, knocking him out and to the ground. "I'd be fine with going along with what you said earlier honestly."
"What?" Louise asked for clarification as she swung her spear into a rebels jaw and knocked him aside.
"Leaving and ignoring these quests," Uni said.
"Ah," Louise simple muttered as she struck another soldier and looked to see more coming out of some buildings. "More of them. They must be based here for some reason."
"What, but that doesn't make sense, this place is in ruins!" Uni said as she flipped a switch on her rifle and turned it to full auto before firing in a wide and inaccurate, but devastating, arc.
"Let's worry about that later and-" Louise began to say until she was interrupted by a chain of rifle fire, and watched a number of the soldiers around them fall to the ground in either horrendous pain, or utterly dead. "uh. . ."
"That wasn't me," Uni said as she glanced around and then pointed down the street toward a line of tree's at the cities edge." There!"
Another volley of fire poured from the tree's, hitting the soldiers attacking them, and being far enough from them it was clear they were being avoided by the shots.
"Let's head to them," Louise said as she spun her spear low against the concrete, sending up a cascade of sparks toward the soldiers and making them flinch. "You go first!"
"Fine," Uni replied as she broke into run, stopping every few meters to turn and fire a couple times, giving Louise a chance to follow.
Reaching the tree line they broke past a line of what looked to be soldiers who then began firing rifles at the other soldiers.
As well as a half dozen who then aimed pistols at them.
"Drop those weapons ladies," one of them said seriously. "you clearly are not with Reconquista, but your clothing looks as strange as you do."
"Well that's rather rude," Uni commented, earning a soldier pressing a rifle lightly against her back.
"the captain said drop the weapon!"
"Calm down," the now ranked captain said to his soldier as he looked at Louise and Uni. "it's not safe here, but I don't know anything about you. Drop the weapons and then we will go somewhere safe and you can explain yourselves to the commander. Understand?"
"The commander of what?" Louise asked as she heard another volley of rifle fire and planted hr spear Into the ground. "who are you and why should we trust you?"
"We just saved you from those Reconquista bastards," the captain said, clearly a bit insulted.
"you simplified the fight, that is all. Now answer my other question."
The captain seemed taken aback for a moment before relenting. "I am captain Jason Swan of the Albion armies third regiment."
"And who are you bring us too," Louise pressed, making a number of the soldiers look at her strange.
"My commander, the commander of those still loyal to Albion."
Louise stared at the captain for a solid minute before letting out a sisgh and letting go of her spear, causing it to simply disappear, much to the surrounding soldiers surprise and shock. " Fine, let's go speak to your leader."
The captain smiled looking quite pleased with himself as he took a step back and slightly bowed. "Thank you. Our base is a bit away, so please do you best to keep up and stay quiet. "We're moving out, rear squad lose those bastards then meet back at base!"
All of the soldiers gave whispered words of understanding as the group began to move, a couple soldiers keeping their weapons out and staying behind Louise and Uni, motioning them to get moving with the group. One even continued to point his rifle at Uni until she dismissed her rifle as well.
"I don't like this," Uni said in a whisper, but not so quiet that the soldiers could not hear her.
"I don't either, but this could be the fastest way to finish that quest," Louise replied in a similar tone before smirking at Uni. "Besides, if they try anything disagreeable, we can just leave and head back to the village. This quest be damned."
"Hey, stop being so loud, do you want us to be found!" one of the soldiers hissed as he bumped the butt of his rifle into a tree.
"you are the ones being loud," Uni said with a shake of her head. "How far is this base anyway?"
"About a half day from here," a soldier behind them answered simply, causing both girls to let out groans of annoyance.
"I hope Nepgear and them are doing fine."
"So do I Uni, so do I,"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I, I don't think I can do this," Rei said uncertainly.
"It's not that bad," Nepgear replied.
"But, but, this is more food than I've ever had at once!" Rei exclaimed in confusion as she sat at a moderate sized table in the back of the inn just off the kitchen. Across from her sat Nepgear well as Fleur and her husband, and covering the table was an assortment of cut vegetables, breads, cheese, some dried meats, and a large bowl of soup.
"Wouldn't you have had meals like this when you ran your country?" Nepgear asked Rei as she spooned some soup into a bowl in front of her and dipped some dried meat in it. It certainly was not food from Gameindustri, but it was still rather good considering what it was.
"Um, it's not so simple to explain, but no, not so much of it," Rei said as he looked at the food, as if terrified to take any and put it on her plate.
"Here, let me help you," Fleur suddenly aid as she reached over with a ladle and poured some soup into Rei's bowl before then placing an assortment of the bread and meat on the plate.
"What, no, I can't, I, I haven't done anything to deserve this!" Rei tried to argue.
"You do not need to have done anything to be given a meal," Fleur said simply. " besides, Lady Nepgear mentioned that you said you had not been fed when captured by those Elves. So you need to eat to keep up your strength!"
"uh, I . . . really don't need to eat to keep up my strength," Rei admitted with a downcast expression that was on the edge of utter despair. "No matter what I do, I won't die from hunger or lack of rest, and my powers don't ever diminish. I just feel hungry, weak, worthless, pathetic-"
"Now enough of that!" Fleur declared, much to Rei's surprise. "You will not say such hurtful things about yourself at the table, it is bad manners."
Rei looked at Fleur before simply nodding and slumping her head down meekly as she picked up some meat and began eating it without a word. Nepgear was almost about to speak up, but stopped when she saw that Rei had a small bit of a smile on the very edge of her lips.
As their lunch moved ford Nepgear noted that Rei was both very slow in eating, and seemed to be savouring every bite as if it would be her last.
"You don't need to do that. You can just eat you know," _ said with a gruff chuckle.
"I . . . don't know when I'll eat next," Rei said without looking at him. "This might be my last, just like always."
"Goodness that is depressing. You are an immortal goddess are you not?" Flier asked, receiving an ever so slight nod from Rei "Then I do not understand why you are being so negative about everything. No one can kill you, so why dwell on bad things when you can just with the good that comes later?"
Nepgear opened her mouth to agree but stopped when she noticed that Rei's expression was now even dimmer. Clearly Fleur's words had not helped matters, but what could she say? She knew Rei was from their own dimension and knew of the other dimensions and was a past Goddess, but aside from that she knew very little and Rei had been almost perfectly quiet all morning until she had invited her for lunch. How was she supposed to help her when she was so utterly down on herself, without knowing what was wrong and being on her own?
Nepgear blinked as the realization suddenly dawned on her. She wasn't alone, and she knew the best potential person to talk to Rei and maybe help her out of her slump!
"Um, Fluer, may I make a request?"
"there's no need to request anything you know Lady Nepgear," Fluer answered with a smile. "What do you need?"
"I'd like the kitchen to be empty except for me and Rei later. I want to call Histoire about a few thing, including how the way back is going," Nepgear asked as she looked at the terminal that sat in the back corner of the kitchen.
"Of course, we can vacate the kitchen this afternoon," Fleur said with a smile. "with everyone preparing to go to our ancestors lands everyone is packing more food than eating it, so were getting less people these last couple nights."
"Some folks still need to do that, uh, input thing?" _ asked Fleur for confirmation that he got it right, and upon her nodding simply nodded as well. "They'll be able to do that tonight, right?"
"Yes, I just need to talk to Histoire for a bit, that's all," Nepgear said as she smiled at Rei, clearly confusing her in doing so before giggling a bit. "Here, have you had any cheese yet?"
"Um, n- no," Rei said s she gingerly took a few pieced off of Nepgears held out plate. "th- thank you."
"You're welcome!" Nepgear said with a smile as a thought came to her mind. "Um, Fleur, is not feeding that traveling that Louise thinks is a noble a good idea?"
"I told her we only are serving dinners to those staying due to the wars effect on people. As her response was minimal I assume she has no issue with it," Fleur said with a shrug. "Besides, if she needs something she'll ring the bell at the front."
As if she jinxed it, it was at that moment that the bell was rung. Not once or twice though, but incessantly, as if the one ringing it had no patience whatsoever.
"ugh, of course. Excuse me for a moment," Fleur said as she got up from the table and left the kitchen.
"So uh, Rei? would you like to see the village a bit?" Nepgear suddenly asked, causing Rei to flinch.
"Uh, aren't you worried. . . I'll run away and escape?"
"You aren't a prisoner," Nepgear said seriously as she looked at Rei. "We wanted to help you as it was clear you were hurting with what the elves did to you so. . . oh, I know! Why don't I introduce you to the other people we saved at that forest?"
"What? but I , I was, I could have, they would-"
"They were in danger too, you'll have that in common!" Nepgear said as she stood up, only to suddenly flinch herself as a loud smack and a yell came from out the front of the inn.
Nepgear moved fast, so fast that _ could not even react as she headed to the front. Rei had stood up when she head the noise, but her feet froze to the floor for half a second before she followed _ out of the kitchen.
What was found outside at the front desk was fluer leaning backwards from the counter a nd in front of her were two ladies, quiet well-endowed and wearing garb that marked them as nobles. One had pink hair that flowed like water who had a sorry expression on her face, while the other was blonde with similar hair, and looked angry as he hand was on the counter and looked like it was turning slightly red.
Had she slammed her palm onto the counter of all things?
"You!" the blonde said as she looked at Nepgear, and then turned her gaze to Fleur, making no effort to hide that she was angry. "You lied!"
"I did not lie," Fleur said as she held her place, though Rei could tell from behind she was terrified. "I told you there was no guest staying in our inn by her description. She is a personal guest, and not paying to stay here."
"That does not matter! You lied to a noble who is looking for someone and-"
"Eleonore, yelling wont make anything better," the pink haired lady sad as she looked to Nepgear and smiled "We did not meet personally, but we saw what you did at the capitol miss. We are looking to speak with the blonde one of your companions. May we?"
"Um, She is not here," Npgear said simply.
Rei didn't like it. Something about the situation felt odd, strange. The blonde haired woman looked like rage personified, and she couldn't imagine her wanting to speak to anyone for good reasons. The pink haired woman however felt like a kindred soul. She held herself well, but Rei could tell that she was in pain if not constantly then almost all the time. Her smile was one built from her own suffering, from bad things happening to her, but instead of giving up he kept moving forward and helping others.
It was something Rei herself had never been able to do, even if she could recognize it. There was never anyone in her life to be close to, never anyone to talk to, just her own thought and failures to haunt her. yet this woman look like an inverse of her to her.
It made her feel strange.
"You are lying!" Eleonore declared as she glowered at Nepgear.
"No, she had some business to deal with and is gone for a bit," Nepgear said, doing her best to not be more specific.
Something that was clearly hard for her.
Rei inwardly wondered why she was trying so hard to avoid telling these people anything, but then she noticed a cloaked person sitting in the corner of the tavern floor. Very clearly listening in, but trying to look like they were not.
Right, she had heard her mentions something about that person. A local mage or something.
Rei felt a headache coming on as the blonde was yelling, Fleur and Nepgear talking back to her without yelling while trying to calm her down. It wasn't working. She was demanding answers and they were not giving them.
"I . . . . I'm going for a walk," Rei said quietly as she walked around the counter, pest the tables and out into the village itself. She walked down the street, took a turn between a couple houses and went to the edge of the nearby forest, walked up to the nearest tree.
And sat down in a slump on the grass.
Why? Why was Nepgear caring about her wellbeing? Why were these people? Why did they want her to come back to Gameindustri with them and what did they think they could get out of it? She wasn't a success, she was a failure, a goddess that failed her country, watched it fall apart around her and then put the finishing blow on it herself. Even then she didn't die though. Without a country, without shares she should have died, but she didn't, couldn't, it was like existence itself was out out make her suffer.
"Excuse me, may I sit here?"
Rei looked up to see the pink haired woman standing a meter or so away from her with a soft expression on her face.
"Um, I . . Uh, okay?" Rei said, more in a question in and of itself than an answer.
"Thank you," the woman said as she knelt down cross from Rei and placed her staff down beside her. "My name is Cattleya Yvette La Baume Le Blanc de La Fontaine; may I know your name?"
Rei felt her body go cold. That name was ridiculous, but she asked her name? Why, she was a nobody, why would she want know her name of all things?" " I, why?"
"Hmm? Because it is only polite, yes?"
Rei looked at Cattleya in surprise, unsure how she even felt about such words. "R-rei. Rei Ryghts."
"That is a nice name," Cattleya said with a smile, before it suddenly faltered ever so slightly. " I apologize for my sister. She can be very headstrong and dos not take rejection of any form very well."
"Um, i. . .don't think I need to be apologized too," Rei said nervously. "Why was she wanting to see that one anyway?"
"Well, we think she could be our missing sister,"
"Um, they are not from around here," Rei stated.
"I know that," Cattleya said with a smile. "may I tell you a bit about it and myself?" she then suddenly asked, her expression looking hopeful.
"Um, why me?"
"Well, I can tell we are a bit alike I guess," Cattleya admitted "may i?
Rei only nodded.
"Thank you. Now to begin. . . .Our family the Valliere family is very powerful and connected to the royal family in a few ways. Our sister was playmates with the countries princess when younger, and our mother is one of the strongest mages and knights on the continent. But, things are not always nice or happy. Our mother and father always worry about the family image and so pushed us hard. Eleonore is a bit to direct and had her marriage called off, but is a powerful mage and scholar herself. I, have always had a weak body. I'm sick with something that no healer can remove or heal, and our sister Louise could never cast magic regardless of how hard she tried. She was bullied, made fun of, and belittled by our own family in some cases, in addition to her peers at the magic academy. When she disappeared without a trace, it hurt. I always did my best to help everyone even though I couldn't be helped, and I love my sisters dearly. So when our mother retuned from the capitol to our manor and began ranting about how the blonde girl admitted to being our sister, but had a story of being reborn in a different land, she was livid. She told us what all happened in that forest, and I believe you were mentioned as well. You were being controlled by the elves, yes?"
"I . . . was."
"That sounds horrible. It is good you were freed," Cattleya said softly just a tear sipped from her eye, down her ace, and off it onto her lap. "My sickness has gotten worse since Louise disappeared. Leaving the house, leaving my bed takes a lot out of me now. Just the carriage ride to this village was hard. From what our mother told us, and from what I could glean, Louise is very likely far happier where your land is, then she ever was here. A week ago a healer told me I had a few weeks to live in all likelihood. I was probably a terrible sister, but I just want to see Louise one last time to make sure she is happy, and make sure she knows that I always have loved her and will."
"That . . . is something you should tell her . . . not someone you just met," Rei said awkwardly, wondering why she of all people was being told something so personal."
"It's fine. I needed to get it out. My sister, my whole family does not like speaking of my sickness or of my imminent passing. I'm sorry for burdening you with this, but I just felt like you were someone I could speak with as an equal," Cattleya said with a slight smile. "You still hurt from things that have happened to you, right?"
"I-" Rei started to speak and stopped. This woman was in pain, but why did he suddenly have the desire to tell her everything that ever happened to her? What difference would it make? She couldn't change the past, she couldn't escape her failings. What was the point of telling someone and reliving all of her failures and pain? "You know what the others are right?"
"Some of them are supposed to be goddesses of lands, something like our queen or a king, correct?"
"That, is close enough I guess," Rei said with a sigh. Why was she preparing to tell her everything? There was no point to it, so why did she feel like she needed to tell her? "I was the goddess of a nation a long time ago."
"What? But, you do not look much older than I am, no?" Cattleya asked.
"No, goddesses do not age and only die if they are killed, or their nation is destroyed normally. I am, very old. The only thing remaining of my nation is its name. Not even ruins or dust remain," Rei admitted, causing Cattleya to look at her in shock.
"How, old are you then, if I may ask?"
Rei shrugged. "I've lost track. My nation was peaceable for a time but, I was never very good. I always made mistakes, and eventually I made a mistake so bad it caused my nation to start falling apart. I caused the end of my nation and caused its destruction, and ever since then nothing has gone right. I always fail at everything I try no matter how much effort I put into it. Everything I try falls apart. Everything I do is a failure. I can't even die properly."
"But, why would you want to die?" Cattleya asked. "If you pass on, you cannot enjoy life, or the company of friends."
"I have none," Rei said abruptly. "No friends, no memories of good thing or happy times. My nation was always struggling, I always had to find ways to keep things going, but I couldn't, I failed. I destroyed my nation."
Cattleya looked at Rei before gingerly leaning forward and placing a hand on Rei's knee. "I wouldn't think it was entirely your fault right? Everyone makes mistakes, and sometimes there is nothing to about them but move on, yes?"
Rei looked up at Cattleya, her eye red, but filled with so much anger that it caused Cattleya to flinch. "I literally destroyed my nation! I can't just, come back from that i-"
Rei was cut off by the sound of yelling, as well as the sound of clashing metal from inside the village. A sound that made Cattleya instantly limp up to her feet. "That sounded like a sword!"
"It wasn't pinkies," Rei said as she got up, seeing how Cattelya began to limp toward the village, sighing as she followed for reasons she yet did not understand.
In the village they found the noise and situation out front of the church. A line of villagers were to one side, out of the way and watching, while Jonasia was standing out the front of the church with Mathilda beside him, and Tiffania behind her. Across from them was a blonde young boy with hetochromatic eyes. He was holding a sword to the side in one hand, while holding some kind of shaped amulet on a chain in the other, holding it up as if to banish something before him, and in the middle of the clearing between them all stood Nepgear with her hands out to the side.
"Eleonore, what is going on?" Cattleya asked as she came upto her sister who was standing at the edge of the group of villagers with an awkward expression.
Rek came up just in time to hear Eleonore's response. "We came to an agreement that we would stay here to wait for Louise to return, but then this child came running in asking for help," Elernore said as she gestured to the small child of maybe seven who was gripping onto her dress with tears in her eyes. " Apparently these children are staying at the church and they noticed someone watching them. It sounds like the priest and the two women there staying with him are in an argument with that boy who is claims to be an agent of the church."
"But why? He isn't having an issue with orphans staying in a church is he?" Cattleya asked worryingly.
"He did, but what he seems angriest about is apparently that girl behind the other," Elenore began before talking a breath, her tone complicated as she continued. "Has pointed ears. The agent is claiming the village is holding elves, but they are claiming she is a half elf, and here at the behest of the queen herself."
"So mothers ranting about the queen having a relation who was a half elf was not wrong then," Cattleya said almost in a whisper.
"The agent there is demanding she be handed over to be dragged before the church, but the other woman and priest were having none of it. Then the pink haired girl came between them and has been trying to deescalate the situation."
"The boy doesn't care, does he?" Rei asked, causing both Eleonore and th girl holding her to look up at her.
"N-no, he doesn't," Eleonore admitted with a sigh. "his amulet is proof of his rank however, and if anyone picks a fight with him it could have drastic consequences to their family if the church chose to throw their weight around.
"What, you don't approve fo the church boy then?" a nearby villager asked her voice clearly filled with disdain as he scowled at Eleonore.
"I do not," Eleonore admitted. "Nobles must hold themselves to a certain degree, as must the church. However many of the more fanatical elements of the church are known to push others around, going so far as to leverage some countries into acting certain ways for only their benefit. Regardless of how I might feel of the girl herself, if she is here by the queens orders, then the church has no right to say otherwise."
"Then why does it look like he is in a standoff with Nepgear?" Rei asked as she looked at the scene and felt something inside of her twist. This felt, familiar, but why?
"He demanded she move aside out of the way and she wouldn't. He has also mentioned rather loudly that if she did not he would declare the whole village to be heathens and would call an inquisition on the village," Eleonore said with a shake of her head. "Goodness, this has gotten out of hand."
"Then we have to stop this!" Cattleya said as she moved to take a step forward and instead found herself on the ground coughing.
"Cattleya! Are you alright?" Eleonore asked as she knelt down by her sister after unlatching he little girl from her dress.
"I - I'm fine, we have to stop this!"
"We can't, it could hut our family, and the whole country I we do!" Eleonore said as she held her sister and tried to heal her with some magic.
Rei stared at them. The boy seemed to speaking to Nepgear, and judging from her expression she did not like the conversation, but seemed unwilling to move or strike. Suddenly, Rei felt a tug on her pants and looked down to see the little orphan gild holding them and looking up at her.
"Please, please stop the bad man miss demon!" The girl pleaded with tears in her eyes. "Miss Tiffa isn't bad, she is the only one who care for us, and he will hurt her . . . just because her ears are pointy!"
Rei looked at the girl before looking back at the scene before her and felt that twist inside her body again. The pain of loss, the memories of those she had failed both indirectly and directly. The screams of those lost in war, the pain of people torn away from those that they cared about.
The sadness she felt from her entire country when she finally ended it all, thinking it was for the best.
"Dammit," Rei muttered as she began walking forward right toward the young man who still looked to be vocally bullying Nepgear.
As she got closer the boy seemed to have paused for a moment and noticed her, swinging his sword to aim its tip at her. " Hold it there madam, no one is to approach while I, Julio Chesare, am dealing with such a situation of heresy here, you would do well to stand back and witness the churches proper actions and-"
"SHUT UP!"
Both Julio and Nepgear flinched at the way Rei had yelled, in fact everyone present had flinched, as if their bodies had reacted subconsciously to something they could not understand.
"R-Rei?" Nepgear asked in worry, though she did not dare push more than that as she noticed that Rei's eyes were glowing, but she wasn't transforming at all.
"Now see here, know your place woman I-"
"I do not care!" Rei yelled, cutting off Julio and causing him, and many of the regular villagers to suddenly find their legs had no strength, causing them to fall to the dirt. "I don't care, I shouldn't care, but I do and I hate it!" Rei declared as her memories acted up, reminding her of that girl, the one who even as she was about to destroy everything, apologized to her for believing enough with tears in her eyes. "I hate it. I am always failing, always losing, always giving up and making others hurt just as much for it. I tried to make other hurt and that doesn't work, I try to help people and it doesn't work, but even now after all this time,-" Rei suddenly shook her head and looked straight at Julio. "Leave."
"Excuse me?!" Julio said as he climbed to his feet and let go of his amulet, letting it hang from his neck, and pulled out a pistol and held it to the side in his one hand. "I am an Agent off The Brimiric Church, whose word is law in these lands of the founders. We of the church carry his will, and that church has fallen to heathen beliefs and is holding an elf within its walls, an elf that kept children under its care!" Julio said loudly so that everyone could hear.
"So?" Rei asked, her expression neutral.
"So, the elf must be brought before the church to make sure it is properly dealt with, and those it taught must be cleansed, made sure they have no taint from an elf!"
Everyone nearby gasped in shock and horror at the potential implications. Rei however simply just kept staring, though Nepgear could feel power wafting of her in quantities that were unheard of.
"You, will torture them then."
"extreme, but if it comes to it, yes. It is the churches right and duty to make sure none are corrupted by the heathens of the east!"
The stones around Rei's feet suddenly audibly cracked, fracturing instantly into little more than gravel. "I've ruined lives, failed people and myself again and again, tried to ruin other people's lives, destroyed my own country and people, tried to destroy other countries multiple times, and so much more," Rei admitted, just barely loud enough to be heard, though most people did not entirely understand what she was meaning. "I've done so much bad and so little good," she added before her power began radiating away from her as a visible aura, crackling the ground in spirals that slowly began crawling out from her position. "But even I would never target children specifically!"
The entire village, the buildings, the very air, and the entirety of the earth itself shook from Rei's declaration. Many people found themselves taking steps back or falling over, while others were frozen in place. Julio was in the latter, but quickly composed himself and swung his sword to the side. "It is the churches right to root out heresy woman, now stand aside and I will ignore your foolish and strange proclamations and merely demand you declare your belief in the founder, lest I proclaim you among those who are heretics and move you myself!"
Rei, in a moment that seemed utterly strange and out of her personality to Nepgear, Suddenly grinned as if she was in her HDD as her white gauntlets suddenly materialized over her forearms, the skull motifs upon them bright with shocking clarity and contrast as the eye sockets glowed as if filled with blue flames. "Try it."
In a quick and practiced motion Julio raised his pistol up at Rei and fired.
But instead of the bullet boring into Rei's body and maiming or killing her, she simply raised a hand and, to everyone but Nepgears surprise, Caught the spherical round in her hand rolled it to between her finger, then flicked it to the side and materialized her staff. "My turn?" Rei then asked as her eyes continued to glow, as did the head of her staff.
"Now hold on, if you attack and agent of the church you will be-" Julio tried to say as he finally recognized the danger he was in and took a step back in what was clearly uncertainty and fear.
"I don't care!" Rei shrieked as she swung her staff down and smashed its head into the ground, sending a cone of destruction right into Julio, sending him flying while devastating the ground where he had been. "I shouldn't care about others, I stopped caring . . . . yet I,-" Rei shook her head. "Get out of my sight before I kill you!"
Julio, who had been sent flying into the corner of a building wall, grunted and nodded as he limped around the building. "This . . . is not the end, heretic," Julio muttered as he went, his voice only audible to Rei before he was around and out of sight.
". . . um, Rei . . . Are you alright?" Nepgear asked nervously as he stepped up beside Rei and looked at her.
"No, I'm not alright, I haven't been alright in centuries," Rei said as her radiating power dwindled until it disappeared. Then, much to Nepgears surprise Rei wrapped her arms around herself and glanced at Nepgear with tears of fear forming in her eyes. "I'm always a failure, I never succeed, I know that. I thought I had pushed away a bunch of my other emotions but, why are they suddenly so strong? Why am I feeling like this? Why am I suddenly caring again?"
"Well, something similar happened to Louise and, we think it might be related to shares in this land."
"I haven't gotten shares since long before you existed."
"Well, it's just an idea. Histoire might know for sure," Nepgear said as she looked over her shoulder a bit and winced. "I think we'll need to see if she can speed things up too."
Rei simply nodded as she looked behind to see many of the villagers looking at her with awe and felt another wave of emotions she didn't understand.
What truly confused her however was that she was sure she also felt a stare of contempt. She just couldn't figure out from where.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
At the edge of the village a young woman, perhaps seventeen years of age, smirked to herself as she made her way away. Her clothing was that of a noble who was out hunting, yet she held nothing more than a wand with a metal edge on its underside.
"Father will love to hear about this, if this founder damned village has assaulted an agent of the church, we can finally do away with them for not listing to us, their lords!" the girl muttered as she went around the village and, after a few moments of looking, found the churches agent walking away from the village toward what looked like a riding dragon lying in the hills. She approached him as silently as she could, and arrived just as he was reaching the dragon. " Sir agent, I apologize for appearing now and not earlier. I am Lady Alethia Mariam, Daughter of the local Count Mariam. Would you like some help sir?"