Determination.
The first fool stirred, thinking really hard and really fast to keep up with the second fool's antics. If this was the grimdark setting of the 41st millenium, then there would certainly be a fragment of the Immaterium dedicated exclusively to the mental representations of her thought process: The polarized fragments that made one whole moron together.
"Where is Maria-chan?! She'll miss the flagged event!" Katarina Claes of Studious Glasses kicked the air in frustration.
"We don't even know if this is an event, though." Replied Katarina of the Fan, not bothering to get up or look at her fellow dissociation projections.
"What will we do?! The Nicole route has the best outcome for Katarina! We need Maria-chan to help us here!" Katarina of the Foreseen Demise crumbled to her knees on the verge of tears.
"What foolishness are you spouting? Maria-chan has the right to choose whichever route she wants." Katarina of the Wise Beard shook her head, disappointed at her fellow Katarina.
"But our doom flags!" Insisted Katarina of the Foreseen Demise.
"Well, we can wait for her and entertain Nicol-sama in the meantime!" Katarina of the Floatie pointed out, getting a nod from her fellow.
Not a surprise, given how Nicol-sama was Katarina of the Floatie's favorite. She was the one that looked forward the most to spending time with him, although the Council knew it was because he relented to any demands that were approved by the Council and always made her feel special.
Incidentally, Katarina of the Fan favored Gerald-sama. Who spoiled Katarina in such a way that Katarina of the Fan's slacker tendencies were fulfilled unlike everyone else who pushed Katarina to study and do her daily activities. Meanwhile Katarina of the Studious Glasses favored Sophia, Katarina of the Wise Beard favored Mary, and Katarina of the Foreseen Demise favored Alan. And it went without saying but all the Council loved Keith to death.
"But she might think we're stealing her flag…" Everyone ignored Katarina of the Foreseen Demise, given that her defeatist role didn't sit well with the Council at present.
After all, spending time with Nicol-sama alone was a rare enough occurrence outside of their secret sparring sessions: One could never be careful enough to fight both magic and blade, and much less with Katarina's final scene looming nearer and nearer.
"You lot are wasting time again?" A more childish voice startled the Council into their guards.
"Ah! It's her!" Katarina of the Studious Glasses pointed out at the smaller figure that walked to the center of the Council meeting room.
She had no place there, not being officially recognized as a member. Which in the real world meant that it was a polarizing opinion that Katarina Claes really did not want to entertain.
"Of course it's me, who else would it be?" Although the Council had grown alongside Katarina Claes, this one stubbornly remained a child-like version of Katarina. An eye-grabbing scar centered on her forehead was the most telling attribute at who this one was.
Katarina of the Villainous Aims, but the Council simply called her the dead-eyed Katarina.
"Get out! You weren't invited and your word has no weight here!" Katarina of the Wise Beard pointed at her much smaller counterpart, earning a nod from the Council except for Katarina of the Fan.
"My word? It seems you have forgotten you are the same as I, as much as I am the same as you." The child with the voice of the mature Katarina scoffed, fixing her hair in the way only villainesses could pull off "Quit babbling pointlessly so much and pay attention. If you mess this up it won't only be your life that will be at risk."
"Please leaveeeeee! I don't want to be evil!" Started crying Katarina of the Foreseen Demise.
"It doesn't matter what you want to be." The evil Katarina sighed "After all, if people don't see you that way then we'll meet our doom ending anyways… Wasn't that man the one that taught us to beware the poisonous world we live in?"
She stared at the projector. A very well-made dissociation image staring at the second fool just hanging out with their real self while she imagined really hard this mental conversation.
"But if this world is ugly then we just have to make it brighter!" Katarina of the Floatie argued "If we show our real, genuine self then we can make it! Even if Maria-chan followed Gerald-sama's route, in the end we are friends with both!"
"Genuine? Don't be fooled." The evil Katarina shrugged in a mocking way "Misunderstandings happen all the time. Even someone as dull as me understands this."
The memory of Keith secluding himself in his room so many years back became the focus of Katarina's attention. Then, the similarity made the link without fail and the conversation between the two fools died out. He immediately realized, and encouraged Katarina to tell him what had gone wrong.
Even the dark-hearted Katarina swooned at him.
"Enough." Katarina of the Wise Beard took the moment of respite to get between her fellow images "I won't have this moment ruined. Nicol-sama is going out of his way to be understanding. Let us not fight now."
Indeed. Katarina knew Nicol-sama well-enough. She knew that, like a cat, Nicol-sama was someone that kept quiet about the affairs around him yet forgot nothing and thought everything about them. Judging people the same way they would judge him without ever exchanging a word first.
He wasn't the Nicole Ascart from Fortune Lover. But then again, Katarina had never played the Nicole route to tell for certain. So the Council had no choice but to stamp a big fat red exclamation mark above his profile and explore his personality without backup.
Perhaps it was for the best. She would never be able to deal with the silent mysterious type of the original Nicole Ascart. And perhaps knowing him from childhood helped the first fool breach through the thick walls that the heroine broke through in the Nicole route.
Then again, she had to first have Katarina of the Villainous Aim be manifested from assimilating the sheer venom that Nicol-sama could utter as a kid. A grim reminder of what she would have become if her memories hadn't surfaced on that fateful day when she first met Gerald-sama.
The question mark remained since that day. The Council had no doubt there was no way they could question the veracity of A-chan's insight into the Nicole route, but the difference was too extreme. Maybe A-chan had been misguided after all.
She always liked certain things the monkey girl never could get into. She loved the anime of the unpopular girl trying to become popular, and content similar to that. The monkey girl had always tried being supportive, and that anime was fun enough. But there were things that were too depressing for her to watch along with A-chan, who fortunately understood and forgave her for it.
"Come to think of it." Katarina of the Fan mumbled from her spot. Earning even the dead-eyed Katarina's attention in the process "Wasn't there a talk about it in an anime? You know, the one A-chan had told us to try out?"
"Ah, there certainly was something like that. Wasn't it?" Katarina of the Studious Glasses caressed her chin "It was too depressing, though. And I don't remember what it was called."
"Me too." Katarina of the Wise Beard replied.
"Me neither." Katarina of the Foreseen Demise parroted.
"Could that anime be a world of its own?" Asked Katarina of the Floatie "After all, it turned out Fortune Lover is real. Maybe that one is too…"
"Who knows." Evil Katarina sighed, not being antagonistic for once "Whether it was real, or it was just ink telling the tale of a world someone else imagined… I hope that guy made it in the end."
It was a sentiment the Council understood full well. Perhaps because they were rooting for their own success in the end. Whether this world was real, or it was a piece of fictitious world someone else imagined. It was strange. To fill kinship for a character behind the TV being voiced by a real person. But A-chan had insisted on watching it, that he deserved a happy ending. And Katarina now understood the sentiment. Perhaps better than A-chan ever did.
"Why is he talking like that? Is he evil?" The monkey girl would ask while her friend stared unblinking at the show.
"No. He is just untrusting." A-chan would reply.
"Why?" The monkey girl would ask again, since she wasn't really paying attention at the beginning.
"Because he's been hurt by everyone he's met." Was all A-chan would reply.
The monkey girl sometimes didn't understand A-chan's hobbies. How was the story of someone like that so entertaining? She would watch along, but eventually could not do it anymore.
The guy was too pitiful. All he had was his sister, and the two girls he had bonded with. And yet people kept getting involved with him, and made a mess for him to clean for no reason. And these scenes repeated themselves. Over and over again. How was any of that a romantic comedy?
"Claes." Nicol-sama finally pulled her out of her thoughts. A half-baked glare adorning his beautiful features "Earth to Claes. We need you here."
"Eh? Ah!" Katarina looked around to find Maria-chan and Sophia already sitting and staring at her without moving. Like beautiful statues carved and painted by a master "Sorry! I wasn't paying attention."
"Yes, we have eyes." Nicol-sama retorted.
"Nii-sama, please." Sophia slapped him softly, as the only person who could reign him in "Good morning, Katarina-sama. Thank you for letting us borrow your room."
"No problem!"
"Good morning, Katarina-sama." Maria-chan greeted her a bit tiredly.
"Morning, Maria-chan!"
Greetings done, the girls proceeded to eat while the two fools waited for them. Sophia made a bit of conversation, but the introverted girl was more of a listener so shortly after everyone was minding their own business. It wasn't a bad kind of silence, so Katarina enjoyed herself by seeing Maria-chan eat with those impeccable table manners of hers.
"Ah, by the way." Nicol-sama coughed on his fist to get attention "I almost forgot to thank you, Campbell. For treating me while I was out cold."
Katarina saw when Sophia dropped her arm, probably after poking her brother to get him into action, and nodded satisfied with herself.
It was so cute, even Nicol-sama couldn't help steal glances at the albino while she discreetly celebrated. If only her own sibling relationship was like that…
"Katarina-sama?" Maria-chan placed a hand on hers, worry written all over her face "Is everything alright?"
"I-I'm fine!" Katarina swallowed the knot in her throat. Trying, and failing, to confer reassurance into words until Anne poured more tea for her to clear her gullet and mind "I'm just worried, that's all."
This wasn't in the game. This whole ordeal with Keith had come so out of the blue Katarina couldn't quite sleep until she changed rooms with Maria. it had kept her awake to the point she went all out on her sword training just to push herself to exhaustion and be capable of sleeping at all through the night. And even then she woke up early and already full of anxious energy.
She didn't know which one was worse. Things going out of the script and into the unknown, or things remaining like in the game and going straight to a predictable doom finale.
"Well." The fool that planted the seed of doubt in her mind so many years ago interjected "This will be behind us soon enough."
Katarina stared into those dark orbs of his, while a nod that cracked her worries a little was delivered. Reminding her that yes, things were not as in the game. She wasn't bullying Maria-chan for one, Nicol-sama was all weird and out of character, and she had never once been antagonized by her friends in or outside the academy. Things were different.
And even if they ended up in the same spot as in the game, Katarina was unable to envision Nicol Ascart bowing his head and behaving like A-chan told her Nicole did. It gave her strength, knowing that almost four years ago he had honestly promised his unconditional support to her cause. Even if everything went wrong… Maybe this force of change would stay by her side and help her.
And Nicol-sama was the most genuine person Katarina had known in this world…
Heh, genuine. Maybe A-chan was into something with that anime.
I hope he found his happy ever after in the end. The Council agreed in their corner of the realm of imagination.
The guy with the dead fish eyes had earned it, after all.