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The following is a fan-based

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Chapter 26: Missions and Regrets

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

Kayin's cell was quiet… and clean.

Considering how things have been, he would have expected a quick execution rather than imprisonment as his punishment for what had occured. The human had many good reasons to slay him… or the 'vessel' he became to the Emperor. He could have been seen as an extent of the Captain's former leader and yet… he was spared. But those haunting eyes that stared right into his soul, shattering the control of the Emperor as his marks were repelled and destroyed by Light Magic?

Kayin would never forget those and he could now see why the Death Crest had been so wary to entrust anyone to fight the Grand Knight. While he might not seem naturally capable of fighting them, experience and magic made him a formidable opponent and much worse; a furious one-man army if provoked well enough. Someone that stood before the Emperor, a God-Slayer, and rejected the ever-present silent demand of respect. The human showed any, actually going the extra step of rejecting the authority of the galactic sovereign in quite the disrespectful manner.

Why didn't he kill me?

"Don't do it. He is already defeated."

One of the Grand Knight allies, the Water Crest, asked him to spare him. To not add to the bloodshed and… to uphold that very notion that made him 'different' than the Emperor. Within that role, the human was the Queen's First Representative and voice of her own emotions and orders within the order they intended to restore. Peace wasn't a viable option against the Empire, but Mercy was something that many Primes and Narakhans wouldn't have refused to be granted. Despite what the propaganda system would say, a good part of the Empire wasn't convinced by the Emperor and his 'good will' as many would be keen to describe it. Kayin found 'goodwill' in being spared just because he is useful to someone.

He found good will in the form of being spared because he could no longer fight. When the strong decides to make an example of inner strength rather than utter cruelty. He was about to spend more time thinking about his current predicament as he had yet to be visited by any interrogator in his cell. The room was actually better than any prisoners' cell he had seen. The bed was comfy, there was a 'hidden' bathroom within the cell and a reinforced mirror that couldn't be broken with his bare hands. He could see his reflection and he saw that he had been left with his armor on.

Truly unusual for a prison, but not the worst. Kayin actually felt lucky. First, he has been restrained in bed or by the wall due to his role in recent events. That bit of mobility would keep him somewhat sane if he was going to be forgotten by the rest until the war was over. Then, there was also the fact that he could hear from his cell a nearby radio broadcasting recent developments about his captors. The attack on the settlement owned by part the exiled Prism community on Earth had backfired horribly for the Empire. Not only this provided proof that they existed as a threat, but that they could also invade cities with minimal interception from the local radar systems.

That was bound to make waves with how vigilant many of the bigger nations within the planet had been and… a world-wide conference had been indicted. The Queen would speak on behalf of the Prism community as a whole and… that's where the better part of this war would start. Kayin had seen the 'decline' of the Royal cause, but now he was about to see a fight on equal footing. This was going to be greater than the battle of Prism, and more vicious than it considering how high the stakes are right now. Just as he thought about this very notion, his green-eyed gaze was stolen by his cell's door opening and-

"Good morning~."

The Love Crest's greeting came out of the blue, just like her sudden visit. The Gazelle Prime was beaming, holding a tray with what looked to be-

"Food."

His jaw dropped, almost baffled by two circumstances: 1) The Love Crest's visit had been unexpected and 2) she was holding the opposite of 'prison food'. Kayin just had experience seeing the kind of meals imperial prisoners would eat and he had expected that kind of treatment himself. So, he found it suspicious that this was actually happening and… he couldn't believe things were 'that' simple.

"W-What?"

His throat burned… did the possession actually leave him so depleted? He heard of Chaos Priests feeling no issue in becoming vessels of the Emperor's will, but, then again, he was no Priest and he had struggled against that possession. In fact, Kayin could imagine that kind of experience leaving him in a worse shape had the marks persisted to allow the aftereffects to linger for much longer.

"It's morning and… breakfast time. I've been told you just woke up, so I wanted to see if you wanted to eat something."

…

"Why?"

"Uh? 'Why' what?"

"Why are you… bringing me food? Why are you here?"

Grace sported a sheepish look, scratching her right cheek with her hand in a nervous display. "I guess I just wanted to… thank you. For not hurting me."

Kayin frowned, shocked by what he was just hearing. How was she aware of this?

"What? How did you-"

"I was a bit awake for a time," The girl interrupted, explaining the matter. "And I could see that you were struggling to stop him. That was… nice."

"Not for me," He argued with a dry joke, the Gazelle Prime's lips twitching at that comment. "Still, I'm… glad you're well."

"Likewise. I gave a look at your medical report and you're going to recover soon. Still, I would suggest not doing anything silly for a day or two," The girl pointed out with a fake-chiding tone.

The former captain slowly nodded. "I wasn't planning to."

"That's good to know. Now, I suppose you wouldn't mind if I helped you with the food, right? The doctors said that you weren't ready to properly hold things because of your… nerves-"

"Being too sore?"

The Narakhan could feel his whole body sore, hence why he barely moved as the woman calmly sat beside his lying form. Plus, he felt particularly hungry, so he really didn't mind getting spoon-feed for once.

"Yeah, something like that."

He cracked an amused smile, almost feeling his heart quivered at the idea of being nursed back to health by a gorgeous angel. "I wouldn't… say no to that."

The Love Crest giggled, and Kayin couldn't help but feel like this wasn't going to be an outright terrible imprisonment.

Far from it.

"You shouldn't be stressing yourself so much. You just got better."

Carmie huffed at my concerned tone, focusing primarily on cleaning the hair and fur on her head as she had just left the shower and put on some clothes. The Fire Crest had instantly blitzed to resume training the moment she woke up. A bit unusual despite how much of a fighter the young woman was, but I could also tell that something about that loss against the Emperor put a new fear in her mind. Losing and dying now that they were so close to end this story once and for all. Training was the solution to her current flaws, at least in her eyes and… I had to rush away from Adela's side as we were waiting for Ambar and the two Earth-born Crests that were going to visit for a first meeting with us.

"I'm not going to push myself too far. I know what I'm doing," The Fire Crest rebuked. "Plus, I'm not the one that went on a rampage for someone else's sake."

I flinched at that bit, surprised by the tone the Fox Prime used. "You sound angry."

"At myself. And at you," Carmesi admitted, sparing me a serious look. "Mostly at you for going out on that crazy mission without me. And… myself for being too cocky and not backing away from that confrontation as quickly as possible."

"...It wasn't your fault," I argued quietly. "It wasn't like you even had the means to break free from that, everyone would have had trouble had they been put in your situation."

"Yes but… It still feels like I could have done something about it. I had trained so much, and then I fought that bastard and got overwhelmed by him. It was so unfair."

"Well, you once told me that-"

"Don't," Carmie interrupted. "One thing is something unusual but fairly reasonable to appear out of nowhere, another is the final enemy suddenly appearing out of the blue and overwhelming me."

I chuckled at that irritated outburst. "I'm still relieved to see you didn't lose that strong edge of yours."

My comment was quick to get a wild blush out of her, with the Fox Prime shaking her head in annoyance at my half-flirt. Our conversation ended like that as we finally arrived at our destination. The door to the meeting room parted ways as we were given access inside so we could start this awaited event for good. As we moved towards the lone table. I took this chance to look at the two Crests from Earth, getting hold of their physiques.

The first one was a Cat Prime with pristine white fur, long blond hair combed short through a red ribbon and orange eyes. She was wearing a pink Kimono, a red ribbon around her midriff and baggy dark-green pants. From a quick glance I knew she lived most of her early life in Japan and… the next one was a bit more difficult to decipher. The guy was a Tiger Prime with the classic orange fur with black stripes, long silver hair left unbound and jovial green eyes. He was wearing green arm braces shaped to look like tigers' faces, and a pair of dark pants kept up by a red ribbon used as a belt. His chest was exposed, showing muscles and a few scars here and there.

"I believe an introduction is needed. These are Kate and Bengala, the Light and Courage Crests respectively," Ambar explained with a vibrant smile on her face. "While these are Carmesi and Theo, the Fire Crest and the Queen's Grand Knight."

I bowed my head, mimicking the Light Crest as she went through the standard polite procedure for people from Japan. Very humble and somber. Meanwhile both Bengala and Carmesi seemed busy staring, with the former aiming his eyes at me in a mirthful and yet annoyed way, while the Fire Crest looked ready to sucker punch the Tiger Prime on the spot. As we went to the remaining seats, I also spotted Sem and Feather by the table, with the former looking fairly giddy while the latter looking incredibly… uneasy. Considering she had been given freedom just a few hours ago as the Death Crest vouched for her 'good behavior'. For the time being, the Sky Crest was keeping up with that kind of attitude, and there were no signs that she was faking it for dangerous reasons.

"Also, I'm glad to see that you've recovered Carmesi," The Bear Prime added. "I hope you will have no issues in staying here for this meeting."

The Fire Crest snorted. "Wasn't planning to miss it. Also, glad to see you recovered from that fight too."

Ambar giggled at that last bit, amused by the hint of care put through in that unusually rough manner… further irking the Fox Prime in the process much to the amusement of the rest here.

"Good, good," The redhead beamed lightly as we were all sitting down. "Now, I believe this meeting can start. After all, there is much to discuss."

Most of the room occupants nodded at that affirmation, and what ensued were two long hours of briefing, discussion, and then the planning for the next steps before the next issues from the Empire arrived on Earth. The main element of conversation was one and the same: We had to find the two remaining Crest on Earth, those that hadn't been recruited yet for a few issues that were stupid but… legitimately tough to overcome. The first of these 'troublemakers' was actually the most reasonable of the two.

Ambar mentioned how she had entertained a cordial conversation with the Dark Crest as the Wolf Prime had found refuge in an isolated area between Sweden and Norway. A former Viking and being that had conditioned some of the pagan cults that even now existed about the norse mythology by merely being spotted by a few locals around. 'Fenrir', that's how the inhabitants of these lands depicted him, but Ambar learned that his real name was 'Howl' and that, differently from his legendary namesake, he was a simple animal farmer that had long retired from fighting.

"He was stubbornly entrenched in the notion that he had 'forgotten' how to fight, something he preferred to not elaborate about. Which is why I believe the group sent to convince him should be made by a specific team that I believe could work well on the terrain, his type of Crest but also his lack of combat spirit," Ambar concluded with a serious tone. "I would like for this team to be composed of Carmesi, Kate, Pulsar and Sem."

At this Kate raised her right hand.

"Yes?"

"Would we receive proper equipment for the situation? I know for a fact that with the exception of Pulsar, our fur will not be enough to keep up with the temperature."

Ambar smiled. "You will receive proper outfits and other items to aid your expedition. Likewise, this will be the case for the second team."

And that's where the Wisdom Crest jumped to depict the issues with the second missing Crest, Life. I was a bit baffled by the early narration as I was slowly realizing one thing. Not all Crests were going to be civilized in the way the rest of their culture was, with Life being the closest thing to a female Tarzan in Africa. She was spotted multiple times in the South-Eastern countries of the continent, kept by the large forests filling a good part of this section of the world. The Life Crest, Geecku, was difficult to 'approach' due to a lack of means to get to her. She was always moving, seemingly stopping in between trips for short times before getting to other places. Any attempts to get to her usually failed due to how elusive she proved to be and how 'antagonistic' she tended to get the moment anyone, Prime or not, tried to capture her. All in all, a very difficult Crest to locate.

But the real issue manifested as Ambar provided with her list of who was meant to go for this operation, providing an unexpected name since… I was brought up.

"I believe that the ones that should go are Bengala, Grace, Xeanica and… Theo," Ambar interrupted with an uneasy tone and look, as she was already aware of the reaction she was bound to get with that kind of comment.

"T-That's- why?" Adela inquired, surprised by that unexpected idea.

"One thing I noticed when we sent the envoys to convince the Life Crest was that she is reluctant to approach any Primes. Geecku considers us threats regardless of our reasons, possibly because in her opinion, we're possible 'predators' just like her," The Wisdom Crest elaborated. "While… I've reason to believe she will be more open to humans as she has been open to speak with local tribes and exchange fruits and meat when necessary. Also, she is regarded as a fertility goddess by many due to her unique gift."

"So you're asking me to be on the field and try to talk to her myself?"

"It would be the only diplomatic way as far as previous efforts have shown," The Bear Prime replied. "Bengala is experienced with forests, Xeanica can help finding water spots which could be used to track down any possible points she could end up approaching to satisfy her thirst, and Grace should be able to act as a helper in case dialogue is established."

The Gazelle Prime smiled. "I will do my best."

Most at the table smiled at that, yet there was some doubt raised by Adela.

"And I believe you wish to remain by my side as Theo's replacement for the time being, right?"

"That would be the most appropriate. I don't wish to replace anyone for too long, just to prevent any trouble from unfolding while the Grand Knight is on the field."

I could already tell this was going to be a tough operation. It was definitely going to be different from previous experience as now I was operating back 'home' and… I wasn't just going to deal with finding Life and getting her on our side, but also face the curiosity of a certain Crest which Courage was asking to test me for good.

Yep, this was going to be a long week...

"Are you happy?"

Sem blinked, his face sporting a blank expression as he digested the question aimed at him.

"In which regard?" He calmly replied, genuinely interested to know what he was meant to do of the one he had to 'interrogate'.

It had been a request he had asked from the Queen, a lenient hand on Minos as he personally took care of him and his silly loyalties to their former ruler. Minos was bound to the wall, a peculiar kind of imprisonment reserved specifically for him for all the good reasons. With his magic, it was best to not give him the chance of moving outright, with his legs and hands bound with special 'nullifiers' meant to prevent any break out from this place. The Earth Crest was dangerous even in this state of defeat, no matter how much he looked like a hurting puppy.

"You are now in charge of me."

His guess was good, but technically… wrong.

The Death Crest smiled. "I'm not. I'm just passing by… in a way."

"Are you telling me that you didn't try to get paid with a handsome rank with your 'loyalty'?"

"You know better than me that's not something that I would ever think about," Sem rejected the guess instantly. "Me? Ranks? I never cared for nothing more than being a free man just doing what his job is meant to be. As a Crest should."

"The Emperor will judge you for your treachery. Once the reinforcements arrive-"

"Reinforcements?" The Lion Prime interrupted, almost amused by that notion if it hadn't been a reason to be genuinely worried about. "Dear Chaos, Minos- surely you wouldn't expect them to come here and get you out of there alive, especially with who is in charge of the 'cavalry'."

The Earth Crest frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"We managed to intercept some communications a few hours ago and we learned that the one in charge of the 'relief force' is none other than someone you despise even more than anyone else in this place."

There was a moment of silence, numerous feelings rushing within and out of Minos' expressive red eyes as he grasped the new information and tried to argue a proper response to it. As expected by Sem, the taller Prime was struggling to grasp that possibility, especially since it was 'wrong' for the Emperor to assign a Chaos Priestess in charge of a fleet.

"Darcy… that can't be. She is unfit for that kind of role… unless-"

Minos knew, he had to. His face tightened, his anger bubbling again as he mutely realized what was going on and why no one was interrogating him. Why he was bound and not killed, why he wasn't tortured and just ignored.

"You expect me to… fight on your side?" He snarled fiercely. "I'm no slave to anyone, especially-"

"I believe you have no choice. No matter what you think of this whole affair, the Emperor has given you the ultimate proof of his disgusting nature," The Death Crest pressed on as calmly as he could. "Minos, we might have had our own issues in the past, you consider me the worst scum possible and many more things- but I know you're smart enough to understand that, if the Emperor dispatched the fleet just a day after we left, then there has to be something bigger than just 'failures' behind it."

"...A day after our departure?"

"He was already considering removing us. I saw the signs with some of the soldiers, we're being demonized as we speak- vilified as individuals that 'failed only to hurt the Empire as a whole'," Sem elaborated. "And it's not even something they showed me, it was something I learned before we left."

"Lies will hardly influence my decision. I refuse to submit to my enemy just because I made a mistake that I have to pay."

Sem scoffed before giving him a stern look.

"As I said, you will have no choice. They will bring the fight there and no matter how much you're hoping for a third chance, the Emperor is done giving us Prime a chance. This is where we either live or die," The Lion Prime argued angrily. "You think your 'honor' for a false God will reward you in any sort of way? Think Minos, what happens if the Emperor wins now? First it was just subjugation, now it's eternal destruction for all."

"..."

Sighing, Sem turned towards the exit and started to leave but stopped by the doorstep to spare one last glimpse of information to his former superior. Something he knew would make sense to him, to give him a reason to doubt once and for all the very system he tried to champion as a diligent mutt to the Emperor. Something that, deep down, would make Minos feel the sense of his own sins manifest in the worst self-reflection possible. As an embodiment of Death, Sem knew the truth of what Minos saw in Death. And why he hated it as the Bull Prime had been awake and aware of what he saw many centuries ago, right in his cradle as his parents were murdered in cold blood by the Emperor himself. It was fear that established discipline, and then discipline created his loyalty to the system.

But what happens when fear is replaced by anger?

"Back then we were but toddlers, young children… Today we're adults and we have a duty to protect those lives that will perish without our intervention. And I will be damned if I will ever allow more children, human children, Prime children- to die at the hands of a megalomaniac monster," He muttered ferociously. "So, you either live and stand by your ideals, those you have ignored for so long, Minos, or you allow your own pride and flaws to drag you into the pit of hell you have dug yourself in these years. Pick your poison."

The door closed shortly after, leaving just a man with many thoughts and regrets to ponder what he was meant to do before the upcoming onslaught. In his mind, this question had repeated for centuries, growing duller the more he refused it… but now there was no chance to delay it any further. He was there, stuck in the cage born by his own failures… or perhaps, his failure to be something he wasn't meant to. He was no dog, he was a Crest, he wasn't a loyal servant, but a leader… and he wasn't a cold-blooded murderer, but someone that was trying to do the right thing. For himself, his people, and those that looked at him with hope and pride.

But… did he have that kind of strength to break free from the shackles of his own crimes?

AN

Things are getting intense.

And spicy! Geecku is inbound~!

Prepare for a questionable amount of wholesomeness.