Episode 13: The Heart Tells the Truth

Griselle hadn't been here long, but if one thing was becoming clear, the mornings were getting hungrier. A week into their honeymoon and she felt hungrier than yesterday, despite there being no shortage of meals. The hybrid stretched, yawned, and sat up before opening her eyes to groggily wander around.

"Eeyarp!" she squeaked as she fell face flat. Not even one step off the bed and she tripped over a paperweight on the floor, and fell into a pile of papers and straw. "What the?"

She looked around in angst. The bedroom floor was littered with notes, discarded books, and all sorts of odd materials. Clothes pegs, paperweights, and other books were used to keep them all flat. As she sat up, she could see this hazard extended to outside the room, and grimaced.

"Leos, what the actual heck?" she shouted, and marched out.

"Shh, Lollipop's still asleep," Leos replied. He was sat by the front door drawing something on more paper, and had a thick notebook beside him. The notebook was bursting with torn pages and different sheets of material, too.

Griselle hesitated, and then shook herself. "Don't you hush me, mister. Have you seen this mess?"

That made him glance up, but he quickly returned to his drawing. "Oh, right. I'll fix it up in a few minutes."

"Not a few minutes. You're gonna clean up, now," she demanded with paws on her hips.

"I'm almost done here, just let me—"

"Leos, this is like the fifth or something time in a row you've messed the house up. I dunno how you're doing it in record time!" she raised her voice. "How many times do I have to tell you? You're not the only one living here now. You have to keep things safe and tidy for me and Lollipop."

"You made it over here just fine, so what's the big problem?" he commented without looking at her. She growled and curled her paws into fists, and then shifted toward him.

"I tripped and fell on my face. That's three times thanks to you," she grunted stiffly. "Nobody wants to wake up first thing and trip on a paperweight into, into… what the heck even is all this?"

"A lot of this area's unmapped, so I thought I'd start drawing something up. I was going to wait to look around with you, so most of this stuff is just theorizing at the moment," he explained as he began to scoop up a few papers. "I need to measure things like the length and width of the river, and the height of the area. If I can, I can figure out how far the soil goes or what can grow where. Extend our fields, basically."

"What's wrong with the fields we have? I like our little garden," she asked expectantly.

"Nothing in particular. Wouldn't you like more room to grow more stuff, though? You have a lot of fun with it," he said happily.

"Well, more fields means more work, and I'm the only one here who does gardening. Well Gretel does too, but we're fine with our little gardens," Griselle replied. She reluctantly picked up one of his papers and was surprised at how detailed the drawn map was. It looked like a blueprint of Vanil Village.

"Expanding this place would only mean good for everyone in the long run. So how about it? Want to go exploring today and map this region out?" he proposed.

"Cleaning Leos. Now," she demanded. "And not everywhere needs to become a new Halcandra. I know you're proud of reviving that place, but not everywhere needs it."

"Wait, you don't want to? What's wrong with this place getting bigger?" Leos raised an eyebrow and stopped. "We could get a bigger house. More fields. Smooth out the ground and make the place easier to navigate. We could get useful facilities much closer by. What could possibly be wrong with that?"

"The fact that this place doesn't need it? It's kinda stupid to think that it does," she argued.

"How am I stupid for- Griselle, you're acting quite cranky this morning, you know," Leos shook his head.

"Well duh, I woke up and face-planted because you've got the cleanliness of teenage Trubbish!" she cried. He moved to reply, but hesitated when her stomach rumbled, making her groan. "Ugh, I'm so hungry I could eat lead. But rather than getting food, I have to spend the morning helping you sort all this out."

"Eheh, so that's all it is," he snickered. "Go on, it's alright. I'll tidy up, you can go grab breakfast."

"That's what you said yesterday, but then I came back and the place was even messier," she grumbled as she began to scoop up a few papers.

"Hey careful with those, they're sorted!" he gasped and snatched them from her. She watched him start shuffling through them with an open mouth, but he was completely oblivious to her.

"Are you taking me seriously?" she asked.

"I am, but I know what you're like when you're hungry. Seriously, it's okay, I'll clean up. You go grab breakfast. You know what I like, anything spicy," he said without looking at her.

"Excuse me?"

He finally slowed to look at her. "Griselle, I'm sorry. It's fine. Lollipop's not awake yet, but I'll be done by the time they do."

"I'm not your damn servant, don't talk to me that way!" she raised her voice.

"What's with you? I'm talking to you the same way I normally talk," he sighed and threw his arms down.

"And I have a problem with it," she edged closer.

"Seriously Griselle, just go and grab food. You'll feel better when you do," he tried to dismiss her. The comment made her growl, so she grabbed him by his bubble collar.

"Will you stop trying to pass me off like some stupid simpleton?" she snarled at him, but he slapped her away.

"Don't touch me like that!" he shouted. "What's with you? It's just paper."

"It's not 'just paper' you selfish fish," she ranted, with stiff movements. She snatched up some of it, but ripped them because she didn't remove the weights on top. "This is a bigger problem. You keep doing this, you keep acting like you're living alone and stuff—"

"My notes! I told you I had those sorted, be careful!"

"Leos, listen to me!" Griselle screamed this time.

"I stayed up all night doing that, thank you very much. The least you could do is have a little respect!" he cried and tried to snatch them from her.

"Leos- will you just- freaking listen to me!" she growled as she wound up fighting him. It wasn't anything more than a few shoves and stomps, but the duo soon started shouting at each other. A few moments later, Griselle had him pinned against the wall by his collar, and he resisted with a paw on her arm and one by his scalchop.

She was about to make her case, but the wails of a baby made them both freeze. They both slowly turned to the bedroom, and there was no doubt it was Lollipop. As if reality hit, Griselle only just realised where she was, with Leos held up like he was a feral bully. He was in the middle of his own rebuttal so he wasn't much better, but it still made her heart sink into her stomach.

"Great, you woke them up," Leos sighed. Just like that, her heart left her stomach and rage returned to her.

"I woke him up? Seriously, you're pinning this on me?" she let go of him.

"Argh… well yeah, you're the one still having a go at me. I said I was going to clean up," he growled and rubbed his neck.

"Leos, you can't keep doing this," she shuddered.

"But I was going to clear up, there no prob—"

"No Leos, listen to me. You keep treating this like you're the only one who matters. You don't live alone anymore," she raised her voice again. "This isn't your kingdom. This isn't just your room. Everything you do doesn't just affect you or the common Pokémon anymore. You have to start thinking about more than yourself."

"But it's just a bunch of paper. I already said I was going to clean up, it's really not that big of a deal," he replied, twisting around to throw his arms up. "Prem wouldn't have a problem with this."

Griselle went completely stiff and held her breath. He didn't look the slightest bit remorseful about what he just said until he turned back around and saw her face. She glared at him, and he went through the motions of realisation.

"You can get your own breakfast this morning," she said, and stormed out.

"G-Griselle, baby, wait!"

"Don't call me baby now!" she snapped, twisting to him again. She tripped on another book in the process. The best he could do was stick an arm out with an awkward look. Before she could snap at him properly, she sighed and shook her head. "I just- I need to get away from you."

"Baby- Griselle- ah, wait!" Leos cried.

"Don't follow me. Just leave me alone," she shivered with anger, and didn't stop once. She marched out, and could tell that he didn't follow.

She kept walking. She didn't know where exactly she wanted to go, but she kept walking. Well away from their small garden of half-grown berries and upwards through the village. She stormed right past the random artefacts the villagers had lying around, but after a while, began to notice new items.

She slowed to look at them. A parasol beside a couple of thick tires, soon followed by sandbags and then a worn parachute. Griselle was confused until she reached a ladder, and unlike the other ladders, this one actually led up somewhere With nowhere better to go, she climbed it and found herself at the top of the cliff.

"Ah, there's nothing here," she muttered to herself. She hugged herself to resist a chilly wind, and then stood right at the edge. She couldn't see the village at all from here. The opposite cliff was so close she could leap across to it if she wanted to, while staring down below gave only a view of the river. All of the habitats were built into and underneath the cliff that well.

"Hey, be careful!" a young voice cried out.

"Shh, don't make them jump!" an older male retorted. Griselle slowly turned around to find two Indeedee rushing towards her. The female looked about her age, though she was much smaller. The male on the other hand had greying fur and was much taller.

"You two… I saw you two at the Magikarp ritual thingy," Griselle greeted.

"Oh yeah, ah!" the little girl squealed. "You're the girl that stopped the big Gyarados guy. You're so cool! I didn't know you were living here. Oh, I mean hiya! I'm Melba! Nice to meet ya."

Griselle shuddered the moment the Indeedee came close. She uttered a response, and instinctively stepped back, only to have a heart attack as she felt no footing behind her. Gods right, the cliff! Please don't come any closer, please don't come closer!

"Melba, please. I warned you about overwhelming new Pokémon we meet," the older Indeedee pulled the smaller Indeedee back. "Please pay her little heed, Your Highness. We saw you near the cliff and were a little concerned, is all."

Griselle still couldn't reply beyond uttered noises, but she at least managed to stand still and normal. "U-um, hi. Sorry. I, er…"

"Is everything okay? Where is your husband?" the male asked.

Leos. Of course. Couldn't be after anyone but him, Griselle's face grew stern. "He's, um, back at the house. It's no big deal."

"Is everything okay?" he asked again.

Griselle hesitated. He does look concerned… but this isn't really his problem. I-I should try and be friendly, though, right? This isn't gonna be like Halcandra… Pokémon don't have it out for me…

"Ah, I see. Well, allow me to formally introduce myself. You may call me Alpha, and my wonderful and energetic daughter here is Melba," the male stood back and bowed. "Bow with me, Melba. Just as I taught you."

"Oh yeah, right! Sorry, I don't mean to be disrespectful or anything," Melba gasped as she obeyed.

"Now then, will you resume our morning rounds, Melba? I will catch up to you. We adults have something to discuss," Alpha proposed.

"Aww, but Dad, you promised!" Melba whined.

"It is still early, and the ice cream will not go anywhere. We will have plenty of time to travel to town today, I promise," Alpha replied.

"Fiiiine, I'll go play with Easel," Melba pouted and then skipped away. Griselle watched them blankly.

"Now then," Alpha tucked his arms behind his back. "I understand this is sudden since we have just met, but I'd like you to know that you can trust me. I was a medic in the Faernian army during the war, and in many conflicts prior."

"You're a veteran," Griselle mumbled.

"Yes I am, and I used my skills assisting those who fought. So while I am not tough myself, I have spent a lot of time listening to the woes of Pokémon from all over, and become a bit of a therapist in the process. Forgive me for prying, but my horns can sense emotions, and it's what drew me to you just now," Alpha explained.

"Oh, great. It's that obvious, huh?" Griselle sighed. She turned back to the cliff and stared out at the scenery. Nothing but green fields and grey clouds. It looked like a storm was on the way, but not for at least several hours. "It's okay, though. I shouldn't involve you in our stuff. Don't worry about it."

"I don't need payment, and I'm not just saying that because you're royalty. Why, helping others gives me energy, more like! But I can only listen and offer advice, if I can," he assured. He took a seat beside her, and she was a little surprised. His small tail wagged, and he looked happier than he sounded. "I was going to take my daughter to town for some treats. She's been well-behaved since you two arrived. Would you like to join us? She's been eager to meet you two."

He's just after Leos. They could only be, Griselle sighed.

"No pressure, by the way. I just assume that if you're out here, you've got something on your mind," he finished.

"You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?" Griselle grumbled, and then slapped her paws over her mouth.

"If it's alone time you need, then I can oblige there, too. I apologize for intruding," he replied, and stood back up. "It is a pleasure to meet you, regardless."

"Just stop. Stop- don't say stupid stuff like that. What do you want from Leos?" she snapped at him.

There was a long pause, but his expression didn't change. "We are not like the outside world, Your Highness."

"You want me to believe that, but then you're being nice to a weirdo like me and calling me 'Your Highness'," Griselle pointed out.

"Force of habit, a formality. Would you rather me call you by your real name?" he wondered.

Griselle grunted, and then turned back to the cliff. "It's Griselle."

Alpha bowed again, and then sat back down beside her. She was surprised when no words came. He just sat there watching the scenery with her. Nothing moved besides the clouds and the tall grass around them. No noise other than the quiet woosh of wind, either. Griselle eventually sighed and sat down. For a cliff edge, it still felt as soft as soil.

Minutes passed. She snuck glances at him in that time, but he didn't seem to notice. He really just sat there with a pleasant smile on his face. Is he serious? Does he really want to help me? It could just be a patient trap… I-I guess I can test the waters a bit?

"It's just… stupid stuff. Stupid stuff with Leos. Nothing to worry about," Griselle said.

He finally glanced at her. "Pardon the comment, but I don't believe it is stupid if it has you up here on your own. My horns tell me otherwise, too."

"You're not reading my mind, are you?" she asked in concern.

"No no, I can't do that, and if I could, I wouldn't to be honest!" he gasped. "I'm not accusing you, but I don't want to know what manner of ill thoughts swarms the minds of the young. You're all too adventurous for my liking."

"What do you mean by that?" she cocked her head. Alpha hesitated, and then scratched the back of his head.

"Shall we say the young have a lot of bedroom thoughts? It's best I don't elaborate," he answered.

That's almost what this is about, though, Griselle admitted to herself, thinking back to that night. That failed night that stuck with her ever since. Just that thought made her chest churn with the fear she felt when she was below Leos, and she shook herself to dismiss it.

"What kind of therapy work put you in those awkward scenes?" she jested.

"Soldiers who married young but left their wives to fight the battles, only to return crippled and unable to live as normally as they once did. Many came to me with mental trauma and other similar issues, thus the makeshift therapy," Alpha explained. "I did not give them lovemaking advice; I gave them advice on how to make the most of their crippled bodies and such. This world is cruel to Pokémon who don't fit the standard, but if I may go off on a tangent, that is what I have grown to love about Vanil Village. This place is truly living in blissful ignorance of the rest of Etheria's conflicts."

Griselle's mouth hung open. She started playing with her paws, and then hesitantly leaned back a little. "It's Leos. Well, Leos and me."

"Take your time. You can talk to me about whatever you wish," Alpha said calmly. Griselle gulped.

"It's lots of things. I dunno if I even know how to explain it. I just… I feel like a made a mistake marrying him. Somebody else warned us about it, I knew about it, and still I'm having trouble fighting it right now," she began. She shivered and blinked away a few tears. "I love Leos. I love Leos a lot, I know I do. I spent so long dreaming of this day, and these times. Where we could just be together and spend our lives together, and stuff. Yet now that I'm here, it's like I'm not good enough. I'm doing loads of things wrong, and I'm scared."

"Broad advice would be to have a proper talk with Leos. You trust you can be more honest with him than anyone else, right?" Alpha asked.

"I've tried! We just like, I don't get it. He's been really restless, or maybe I'm expecting too much from him. I'm trying my best to be a wife, but nothing makes any sense," she explained. She sighed and gripped the grass below her tightly. "Leos is really messy, and he spends almost all his free time scribbling notes and stuff. But then like, I eat a lot, and I spend a lot of my time fighting or training. I'm trying to do less of that by playing with Lollipop, or teaching him about gardening, but… we can't even make love. We tried and I just like, freaked out. Gods, I'm whining to you quite a lot."

"Okay, I think I get the picture," Alpha replied. He wasn't smiling anymore, and tucked his arms behind his back. "What do you mean by 'playing with Lollipop'?"

"Oh shoot, right. Lollipop is our child. It's complicated," Griselle informed. Alpha nodded.

"I won't claim to know much about you, but I do know the gist since I overheard a lot from the war," Alpha said. "It's what you said about trying to be a wife that gets me."

"… Yes?" Griselle slowly responded.

"You and Leos are far from ordinary Pokémon, and I do not mean that since you are hybrid Pokémon. I mean that in the sense that I assume neither of you have led ordinary lives at all," Alpha explained. "Why, hybrid Pokémon are still frowned upon in modern towns and cities, as far as I'm aware. Can I take a guess and say you've lived alone for a lot of your life?"

"The past two years, at least," Griselle answered and looked down. She finally let go of the grass. "Before that, I spent most of my time with Mama and Papa. I didn't get to go out until I was like, sixteen, which is when I met Leos. All I'd ever done was trained to become Leos' guardian. Well I didn't know it was Leos at the time, Mama and Papa just made sure I grew up strong and knew how to fight so I could protect Etheria's royalty."

"Meanwhile, Leos was raised in solitude by Queen Ariala, as has been told. I don't think either of you would be good at living with other Pokémon, and might even prefer your own company," Alpha stated. Griselle's eyes widened, and she stood up. "But your hearts brought you together, so you aren't wrong, either. The only right rules to follow in a relationship are individual to each couple. If I were in your situation… I think you need to be honest with yourself about what you actually want to be doing with your partner, rather than trying to live up to whatever standards others have."

"I… don't really get deep conversations," Griselle cocked her head.

"You said you couldn't even make love, right?" Alpha asked, and she nodded nervously. "Then perhaps you're not ready, or you simply don't want to. I'm sure you've heard the phrase 'your body is a temple', yes?"

"But that's what couples are meant to do on their honeymoon, right? Newlyweds are supposed to have children, especially for us as king and queen," Griselle pointed out.

"Says who? Who actually said you needed to do that? Did Leos say that?" Alpha challenged her. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. "That is what I am talking about. You cannot force yourself to do things you don't want to do, even if it's for the sake of a relationship. That just isn't who you are. Your heart always tells the truth."

Griselle uttered another response, and now she was fidgeting a lot.

"Try and have another talk with Leos, if you can. Rather than trying to fit in however, ask him and yourself what you would rather be doing with him, and go and do it. Do it with pride and proudly," Alpha gave a loud shout at the end. Griselle stared at him, making him sweat. "A-apologies. Also a force of habit of mine."

Come to think of it, that time when we were in bed… Leos said he didn't know what to do, too. He thought he was hurting me, but really, the two of us were just deadly nervous, right? I know I was. And now we've barely been in the same bed together, Griselle gave it another round of thought. I wonder if he's even ready to talk about it. He really tried to brush me off this morn—

A violent shiver took her attention, like a rush of chill crept through her form. She jumped to her feet as her energy spiked, almost uncomfortably, and she had to try not to spasm right there. She held her paws forward, and golden energy flickered down her arms until it dispersed at the tips. She shivered and stuttered in fear, while Alpha quietened to stare in concern. The energy and chills came twice, thrice, a fourth time, and then stopped. Just as suddenly as the chills came, they stopped.

"Are you alright, Griselle? May I ask what that was?" Alpha said. Griselle stared at her paws as she pondered it, and then looked up at him blankly.

"Aura. That was Z-move aura," she realised.

"Z-move?" Alpha's brow furrowed.

"Leos' thing. When we sync up and use a Z-move, I send aura into him with a pose and stuff. It's like he's trying to use it now, but it's failing because we're nowhere near each other," she said quietly. She glanced at him in slight panic. "Why would he try to use a Z-move with me now, when we're so far away?"

Alpha didn't reply, but he grew as concerned as her.

"I think I need to get back to the house," she said, and trotted off.

Meanwhile…

Cleaning up didn't take as long as Griselle probably thought it would. Well, it felt that way to Leos. Lollipop stopped crying not long after the couple's argument ended, letting Leos focus on gathering his notes and tools. He took a break halfway through when there was enough space on the floor to walk around freely, and came to check up on the Cosmog.

"Huh?" he muttered as he came in. Lollipop was snug in the middle of their cone-shaped blanket, wide awake and smiling away. "For someone who wanted to sing like a Wailmer, I expected you to at least be out the cot or something."

"Gu?" Lollipop responded and looked at him. Leos gave them a warm smile, and their face brightened. "Gu gu, pew pew pew!"

"It's just me this morning, I'm afraid. Hope that's not too disappointing," Leos said as he reached in to lift them out. Lollipop gave a peppy cry, blew raspberries, and then used Teleport. "Urk, not this again. Lollipop you little rascal, get back here!"

Babyish laughter answered him, and he slumped. "Alright fine, have it your way. I'm not chasing you, little troublemaker."

Leos made his way back to the main room and resumed clearing up, mostly focusing on putting books back on the shelf. He was thorough enough to order everything, but stopped when he heard a snap behind him. There you are.

He slowly twisted around as if to be sneaky, and then his heart jumped. Sat in the doorway were a couple of Primarina, each equipped with steel body armour, helmets, and long lances. A third Primarina in more colourful armour poked its head through, and then retreated behind the door to give a hand signal to someone else.

"This is private property. May I help you?" Leos said slowly.

"As a matter of fact, you can," a rich but deep voice replied. Leos backed off as a familiar Meowth showed up with paws tucked behind his back.

This Meowth had a very dark, blue-grey fur, and the tips of his curled tail and horn-like ears were black. His whiskers were thin and curled like knives, while his coin resembled a black onyx in the shape of a horn. He wore a thin but fancy robe with a cape behind it. The cape didn't conceal his sword or shield, which looked as big as he was. In the dark air of the outside, this refined feline appeared more devilish than he let on.

"Charle… what in the world are you doing here?" Leos asked. He dropped his books and reached for his scalchop the moment Charle took a step forward, even though the Meowth kept his paws tucked behind him. The Primarina shifted in threat, but Charle stopped them with the slightest head movement.

"You should know. I bode my time well for a chance to enact my revenge, and now I shall have it," Charle stated. He drew a paw forward, and let one nail point straight up. "It was foolish of you to think you and that wretched hybrid would be safe from me, but here you are, vulnerable and unprotected in the wilderness of Etheria. Where is she?"

Leos didn't answer. He tensed up and gripped his scalchop tighter, ready to use Razor Shell at the flick of a switch. How I didn't hear their armour coming, I don't know. But it's good that Griselle isn't here right now. I can go all out—

His thoughts stopped dead the moment he spotted Lollipop above the doorway behind them. For just a moment, his eyes widened and his heart began to race.

"No Leos, listen to me. You keep treating this like you're the only one who matters. You don't live alone anymore. This isn't your kingdom. This isn't just your room. Everything you do doesn't just affect you or the common Pokémon anymore. You have to start thinking about more than yourself."

"Lollipop," Leos whispered, having locked eyes with the Cosmog. Thankfully Lollipop seemed to have recognised the atmosphere and kept quiet too, letting him focus on Charle.

Unfortunately for Leos, Charle also seemed to pay as much attention as he did, and slowly turned to where he was looking. The moment he did, Leos sprung forward to try and use Razor Shell, but he crashed into the lances of the two Primarina. His Razor Shell ground against their blades for a second, and then Charle thrust a palm into his chest.

"What?" Leos choked as he couldn't move.

"You're delusional if you believe you stand a chance against me," Charle bragged. Dark aura gathered around his palm, which quickly burst and sent Leos right back into the bookshelf. With a violent crack, he smashed right through it and into the wall so hard it cracked. His breath was stolen as he fell into the pile of broken wood and torn books.

"Boku! Boku pew, pew pew pew!" Lollipop screeched, taking their attention. The Cosmog flew from above the doorway and into Charle's face, but the Meowth caught it with a single paw.

"Lollipop… no!" Leos growled and forced himself to his feet.

Just the one attack felt like his bones were broken, yet his body moved on its own. He stumbled on the way up, but his Razor Shell was still intact, so he knew he was in the game. Growling with rage, Leos leapt forward again and thrust his Razor Shell straight at Charle.

Charle snickered. He moved so casually it was offensive in the moment, and held Lollipop straight in Leos' face. Despite Leos' speed, he froze to the spot, with the tip of his blade inches from the wailing Cosmog. "Pitiful."

"You… you dirty coward. Put the child down!" Leos ordered.

"She's not here, is she? The hybrid. That or you're trying to protect her," Charle said angrily. He signalled to his entourage. "Search the premises. Now!"

The Primarina didn't say a word. They obeyed like robots and slithered to the other two rooms. Leos could only divert his gaze to try and threaten them, but they didn't budge from that. Of course, they both returned empty-handed, to which Charle lost his patience.

"Where is she?" Charle demanded. Leos growled again. "You are as pathetic to me as a Magikarp, but with this situation, it would do me better to lure her out with the one thing she cares about most. In doing so, the hybrid's family will appear, meaning the original hybrid."

"Tch, I won't let you!" Leos replied, and crossed his arms. His energy spiked and aura appeared, but it dispersed just as quickly. He repeated the motions to start a Z-move a few times, but each only gifted him with a spark and a tingle of golden light. The move wouldn't form.

As if he realised what Leos was trying to do, Charle's eyes widened and his pupils thinned. With a roar of effort, he drew his sword and struck Leos in the side hard. Leos braced at the last moment, but was thrown to the side of the room in a wake of blood. Leos choked on his breath as he hit the wall again, and was left shivering in agony. It was a miracle he wasn't sliced in two, by deep wound had been left. All he could was keep both paws on his wound.

"Retrieve him. We need him alive for now," Charle ordered. Lollipop began to thrash and wail louder than ever before, so he tightened his claws into the Cosmog, making it silence with just as much pain. "They will come for us. And then I will have my revenge. Lady Nier… this is all for you."