A/N: Big thanks to Aevari, Kalafinn54, and Mirai Akina for editing and feedback. Slogging through all my comma errors and awkward word structuring can be difficult, especially if they're doing it as volunteers, so please check out their work as well, their stories deserve a read!
The dust around the Proving Grounds coliseum settled. With nineteen contestants out of the competition, Eve-under the alias 'Nemesis'-only had to take down the champion to claim the prize money. The entire coliseum rumbled in a mix of excitement and anticipation. After the shocking upset resulting from Ralek's scorpion mech being crushed by a giant metal fist, all attention had fallen on the shoulders of the underdog.
Besides the blaring red display in Eve's peripherals that read 75% corruption, a new window made itself known. 'Program Error!' flashed in bright yellow on the opposite end of her display.
It was her emotional stabilization program.
This was an acceptable loss. Having been forced to unleash the destructive power of Full Generate Mode only moments earlier, she had feared the exotic code would compromise some of her more vital parts of her systems. Eve dismissed the error, quickly shutting down the affected program. There was something far more important to address than an insignificant personality-altering algorithm.
Add, the man standing before her-the so-called "Dominator" of the Proving Ground.
Seeing him for the first time in a year brought on a dozen questions as well as a wave of anxiety that Eve had never felt before.
Back from his watery grave in Hamel, Add looked no worse for wear. Save for the shorter hair and a noticeably deep purple scar across an eye hidden under a simple eye patch, he was just as Eve loathed to remember him. To see the former Mastermind stand before her brought back horrible memories of being trapped in a body that refused to listen to her commands. Like a caged animal, all Eve could do was watch as she unwillingly carried out Add's orders, nearly killing Chung not once, but twice under his control.
Expecting another explosive bout, this time between Contestant 19's Nemesis and the champion's latest creation, Apocalypse, the cheers slowly faded into quiet apprehension and confusion. Apocalypse was in the battlefield but so was the machine's creator. After seeing what Nemesis was really capable of, it would be suicidal to stand beyond the safety barrier against her. Neither side engaged first. And from the coliseum seats, it appeared Nemesis was hesitating in front of the champion.
"How?" Eve asked, taking a step back from the Proving Ground's champion, "How are you still alive?"
Add grinned in such a way that could easily be mistaken as contempt, "What's this? No 'Good to see you'? Not even a 'Hello'? My queen, that's no way to greet a good friend. It's been so long since we've seen each other. You could have at least pretended to miss me."
Eve could feel her heart racing. It was as if it was trying to thrash its way out of her chest. Why was it reacting in such a way? Every second Eve stared at the man, a wave of uncontrollable fear hit her. Unable to make any sense of it, her rationale concluded that her best course of action was to flee.
And yet, she couldn't move.
This sensation, the feeling of raw, unfiltered panic, was new to her. All Eve could do was stand there like a deer in the headlights. Her eyes darted from Add to her trembling hand.
"He's… he's taking over my body, again!" she reasoned in her head. That had to be it. Why else would her body refuse her, once more? She didn't want that. But what could she do? The last time Add mind-controlled her, he was nowhere near her. He was standing just a few meters away from her now, so what was stopping him if he hadn't already? If she attacked him, he would simply stop her… assuming he was still capable of doing so. Was he still able to? Did she really want to push her luck and find out?
Thousands of questions ran through her head, yet she was unable to arrive at a clear answer. Too afraid to move, all she could do was stand her ground and hope it was her own mind telling her this was the best option.
The smile never left Add as he eyed her like a vulture sizing up its prey.
"I understand your… apprehension, but I assure you, Eve, I mean you no harm… provided that you share in the notion." Add extended his arms outward, acknowledging the audience that surrounded them.
Apocalypse, the formless machine, circled around him, capturing his form and projecting it into a larger three-dimensional hologram high at the center of the coliseum.
"Ladies and gentlemen of Sander," Add's voice echoed through Apocalypse's unseen speakers, "Thank you for attending the annual Proving Grounds exhibition. As current champion, I feel it is my duty to not only showcase my superior technological prowess but to do so in a spectacular show of brutality."
Eve gasped. So, he was going to kill her. The revelation only heightened her sense of panic as she begged her body to listen to her and flee.
The crowd's cheers grew to a fever pitch only to be quelled when the hologram raised a hand calling for silence.
"As much as I would love to demonstrate the advancements of my work, I'm afraid it conflicts with my current interests. The show is over, folks," And with that, Add gave a deep bow to Eve, "I relinquish my title as champion and declare Nemesis the winner of the Proving Grounds."
The hologram vanished, leaving Add and Eve to speak as the entire building fell into a state of bewilderment.
"Now that the distractions are dealt with," Add said, "Let's talk business… mainly, let's talk about you."
"No way… There's no way that psycho is still alive," Elesis muttered under her breath. Even through the rumbling of the coliseum, Rose could hear the apprehension in the Blazing Heart's voice.
Confusion hung in the air in the skybox as the person standing before Eve gave a formal bow and made his announcement for everyone to hear.
Cleri adjusted her glasses as she tried to make sense of what was going on in the arena. All the while, Moby and Remy chirped and flew about frantically overhead. "What are all those cube things that are flying around? Did that thing transform into a guy? Did… he just say he's letting us win?"
"Eve needs help," Elesis said.
"E-Eh? Why?"
Rose squinted at the center of the arena from the crowded skybox they were situated in. Booing had erupted among the crowd of spectators, further confusing those in the skybox. "What's going on? Who is that?" Half expecting to find a machine far more advanced than anything they've encountered so far, she was confused to see a man standing before Eve through the settling dust.
Before Elesis could explain further, the door behind them flew open as three high-profile individuals stood at the entrance of the skybox. Escorted by what looked like a small army of Sander Guards, the three's presence was quickly acknowledged by all the engineers in the room.
Rose immediately recognized one to be Thironin, the noble who had promised them an audience with His Greatness after clearing out Garpai village for Sander.
"Rose," Zero whispered, "Isn't that…?"
"Yeah," Rose nodded, looking at the woman of the group.
She was dressed in what Rose could brown and gold "regal rags" woven of the same rare fabrics as the nobles but were torn at the hem and doused in machine oil. Her curly hair was a greying brown and pulled back in a tight ponytail while her fringes were held back by her machinist's goggles. Perhaps the most striking feature about this individual, however, was her mechanical right arm peeking out from under the fabric of her robes. Rose knew who this person was. Seeing her in this timeline felt almost unreal.
The last, standing in between the two, was a shorter, rounder individual dressed in perhaps the most grandiose fabrics she had seen to this date. It was as if a pearl had been woven into every other golden stitch. His face was just as round as his belly, with his thin, curled mustache and lips sinking in between his cheeks. Even his eyes seemed to remain in a permanent squint from the plump-ness of his face.
Rose knew who this man was. The person they've traveled all the way across Elrios to meet: His Greatness, Dafarr. And to make things better, Cleri was available to speak with him!
The man's presence was recognized by most, and nearly the entire room, Rose included, immediately knelt at his presence. Nearly everyone.
"Girls… he's here," Rose whispered in a bid to get the other two's attention away from the window, "We can talk to His Greatness - Hey!" Rose was interrupted when Elesis suddenly pushed her out of the way and made her way to the door.
"C'mon! We have to get down there! Outta my way!" the redhead announced, practically shoving her way through.
"O-Okay!" Cleri chimed in. Clearly unaware of the presence of nobility, Elesis even went as far as to push her way through the guards, clearing a path for Cleri, Moby, and Remy to follow - leaving Rose by herself.
"Such insolence!" His Greatness said to Elesis who was already halfway down the stadium towards the arena floor.
Seeing as he was completely ignored by the Blazing Heart, the plump man clapped his hands twice. "Guards!"
The men at his side immediately drew their blades and would have set off after Elesis had Thironin not interjected. He gently placed a hand on His Greatness's shoulder and whisped something in his ear.
"What's up with her?" Zero grumbled as Rose knelt there dumbfounded after being outright ditched like that.
"They left us! Elesis and Cleri just straight-up left us! I go through all this effort to get the prize money, and now that His Greatness is standing right in front of us, what does she do? She takes our emissary and leaves!" Rose fumes.
The plump man, still squinting at the two girls and the drones as they hurried off in the distance, pursed his lips as he listened to Thironin's words before nodding slowly in agreeance.
"If it is as you say, then I'll let that one go, for now," His Greatness said. He yawned before addressing the people kneeling before him, "All may rise."
Everyone rose to their feet, and His Greatness patted his forehead with a handkerchief before turning to the female machinist next to him, "Can we be done with this, please? I'm a very busy man."
The woman who accompanied them nodded, "Contestant number 19? Contestant number 19, please step forward!"
Forgetting who they were calling for, it took Rose a moment to realize they were referring to her, and she pushed her way to the front.
"Contestant 19? You're the owner of…" The woman flipped through a clipboard she was carrying, "Nemesis?"
"T-That's right! She's my machine," Rose announced, feeling a little off calling Eve 'my machine'.
The machinist smiled, "Name's-"
"Yasmeen. Yeah- I mean… nice to meet you," Rose said, bowing deeply in a gesture that took the older woman by surprise.
"Well… I'm glad you know who I am."
"Sorry, I just… It's weird."
Yasmeen cocked a brow at her. "How so?"
"I-I mean you're the owner of the coliseum and, I guess, the leader of the Scrap District. I'm just uh… a little star-struck."
"Glad to have a fan," Yasmeen smiled, before getting back to business. "I have to say, that's quite the piece of hardware you've built. Impressed a few of the higher-ups, myself included."
"Thanks," Rose said, bowing her head graciously.
"Cheater!" a voice protested behind the crowd. Ralek stepped forward, pointing an accusatory finger at Rose, "She did not build that machine! If anything, she found that piece of junk at some Nasod ruin and claimed it as her own! There's no way a kid like her can produce anything worth our time!"
Zero flew in front of the engineer. "Say that again! I've been looking for a reason to blow that smug grin off that ugly face of yours." The drone's glowing eyes stared daggers into Ralek.
"Do it. I dare you," the scorpion engineer challenged.
"With pleasure," Zero said, transforming into a rifle.
Both were silenced when Yasmeen raised her hand.
"That yellow drone that changed to a gun… is that yours, too?" Yasmeen asked Rose, who nodded and looked ready to pull Zero back in before he got them in trouble.
Satisfied with the answer, Yasmeen addressed Ralek. "Nemesis is the most advanced Nasod I've seen to date, and trust me, I've seen my fair share of Nasod tech. Dare I'd say, it's even more advanced than Mr. Grenore's 'Apocalypse' model. And certainly more practical than your scorpion mech. The fact that she can showcase such an advanced Nasod model under her control as well as build a machine capable of transformation is more than enough proof of her superior engineering skills. I'm glad you lost, Ralek. The Scrap District doesn't want second-rate tech like yours."
"Yasmeen," Dafarr interrupted, "Today, if you will?"
"At once, Your Illustriousness. I'm just giving the contestant a formal congratulations!" Yasmeen smiled, rolling her eyes as she turned back to Rose. She plucked a pen from the clipboard and filled out a check before handing it to Rose. "This is yours."
Rose took the check, and her eyes went wide. Even the reward money she earned from "participating" in Velder's fight for Hamel was dwarfed by the sheer amount of zeroes staring back at her. To see the prize money advertised on a poster was one thing… but to hold the ticket to riches in her own hand was a sensation she couldn't describe. Should anyone cash this check in, they would be set for life… and everyone in the room knew this fact. All eyes were on her, and any sense of excitement she once had quickly turned into wary paranoia, especially with Ralek grinding his teeth at her.
Rose folded the check and slipped the piece of paper securely under her bra. The move garnered an angry snort from the scorpion engineer, and he left the room in a huff.
"Also," Yasmeen continued, "If it'd be alright, I'd like to compare notes. My shop has everything an engineer, such as yourself, may need, so feel free to drop by."
"And…?" His greatness interjected.
Yasmeen sighed before leaning closer, "His 'Greatness' wishes for a de-weaponized model for himself. Similar to your Nemesis design...if you get what I mean."
Rose blinked, tilting her head at the older woman.
"You know. No weapons but with all the other… assets intact. As soon as you can produce one, if you will."
Rose eyed the sultan before looking back at Yasmeen, who gave her a passive shrug. She stepped back.
"Of course," Rose said, loud enough for His Greatness to hear, "I'll get right to work immediately."
Yasmeen smiled, giving Rose one hard pat on the shoulder with her heavy mechanical arm, "Good girl," she said before turning to the other two to usher them away, "Alright. Formalities are done, Your Greatness-"
"Finally," the plump ruler blubbered, "I've been melting in this ungodly heat. And the stench of this place is surely enough to make even pigs retch in disgust. We are away, then. Thironin, come. What's next on my agenda?"
The door shut behind the three and their escort of elite guards, leaving Rose to take in what had just happened. She met Yasmeen. Again. And she was rich. Or rather, she had the potential to be rich. Winning the money was one thing. But knowing life in Sander, one's hard earned cash can easily find itself in another's coin purse. She had to be careful. If Cleri and the others were going to wait to have an audience with His Greatness, she had to make sure these funds were safe-
And then she remembered.
"Elesis… that woman!" Rose grumbled out loud, "He was right here! If she didn't drag Cleri with her, we could've-"
Rose had had it with her. It felt like Elesis was to blame for every missed opportunity!
Glancing back towards the arena, Rose spotted Elesis climbing up the main central platform where Eve and the former champion stood. With the show over, much of the coliseum's traffic were patrons making for the exit, which made Cleri all the more easier to spot as she struggled to climb over the railings safely to catch up with the Blazing Heart.
Furious with Elesis's blatant inability to sit still, she took off after the girls, very well aware of the attention she was getting now that she carried several lifetime's worth of cash against her chest.
"Whatever, boss," Zero said in an attempt to look at the bright side of the situation, "We gots cash and we gots to meet up with the so-called queen lady, anyways. But whoever redhead was blabbering about had better be worth it, seeing as she just completely skipped our opportunity to meet with Sander's leader."
"Tell me about it. Remind me never to bring that woman along ever again."
"Aye, boss. Makin' a mental note now."
Rose caught up with Cleri, who was struggling to hang on to the edge, while Moby and Remy attempted to reassure her the drop wasn't that big. Moby was trying to give her a foothold, but the emissary's flailing kept him from getting too close.
"Miss Rose! Help!" Cleri begged, on the verge of losing her grip on the railing.
The blonde looked over the edge, inspecting the drop herself, before hopping down to the arena floor. She reached up, grabbed Cleri by the hips, and gently helped her find solid ground.
"Thank you," Cleri exhaled before checking her belongings, making sure the little gift box strapped to her side was still intact. Rose ignored her and was already making her way up the ramp to the large central platform.
"So what's riling up the walking-fire-hazard this time?" Rose asked, referring to Elesis, when Cleri caught up with her.
"She said his name is Add and that he was a former member of the El Search Party," Cleri explained.
"Add…?" Rose repeated. She heard the name before, she was sure of it, but she couldn't quite remember what kind of person he was. "So she ditched the whole reason we came to Sander for a little reunion?"
"What do you mean…?" Cleri asked, genuinely confused.
"Do you have any idea who you two walked straight past on your way to see this guy? Dafarr. His Greatness."
Cleri blinked, "We did…?"
Just hearing Cleri's failure to read the situation only roused further anger and frustration on Rose's end. Gritting her teeth, she had to silently remind herself that Cleri wasn't entirely at fault here.
"Hey! Flamebrain!" Rose called out as soon as they reached the top of the platform, "Couldn't you wait to have your little reunion until after we got the cash…?"
Rose trailed off as she grew acutely aware of the boiling haze that blanketed the damaged platform. Elesis had set herself defensively in front of Eve. The Nasod Queen, who Rose had thought was incapable of displaying any real emotion, trembled behind the Blazing Heart, trying to stay as much out of sight from the man standing not too far from the two of them.
The man was dressed in an almost pure white suit, his suit jacket draped loosely over his shoulders. He had long white hair pulled into a ponytail. His single good eye stared, like a dagger, straight through Elesis at the Nasod standing behind her. All the while, hundreds of glowing purple cubes circled their owner, battling off the intense heat that swirled around him.
Although Rose only vaguely remembered his name, the sight of him immediately brought her back to a year ago.
She had fallen out of the dimensional tear. Dazed and confused, she only had a split second to recognize Chung in the dark chamber she had found herself in and identify the threat that would have killed him: Add.
But Add was dead. At least he was supposed to be. With his doppelganger killed, he was left for dead in the collapsing chamber while Rose helped Chung and Eve escape. There was no feasible way he could have escaped. With the only exit destroyed, he would have drowned if the water pressure hadn't killed him first. Yet there he stood, alive and well.
"Elesis," the Dominator chuckled, "You're misinterpreting my intentions. I wouldn't dare harm her in any way-"
"I'm not falling for your lies, Add. I know what you did to her last time."
"A stunt I won't be repeating a second time. I assure you. Eve's programming was the base I needed to understand and create my masterpieces. Although it would be exciting to add her as another loyal follower to my cause, in truth I would benefit little in making her my servant once more. Her model is… obsolete," He reached out towards the hundreds of cubes floating above him, and the blocks swirled around his arm before constructing a cat-like face that looked on at its master obediently, "Haven't you seen Apocalypse? She is the epitome of Nasod technology."
"Then why are you here? Why are you threatening Eve?"
"Threatening her? If anything, Eve was threatening me. I'm a contestant, remember? As the Scrap District's former champion, I had to defend my title. Did your simple mind forget what a competition was?"
Add turned his back to them, ruminating on the current situation, "I must say I was pleasantly surprised to see the queen participate... 'Nemesis', huh? A fitting name considering your circumstances. After watching her fight, I had the suspicion something was amiss. Her activation of Full Generate mode confirmed it. Knowing full well that my Apocalypse was the superior machine, I did not wish to destroy what had propelled me to my state of success. I didn't need the money, and I was merely extending a helping hand as a form of thanks."
"We don't need your help, Add!" Elesis shouted, not budging on her stance.
Add grinned, his voice lowered into an almost sinister growl, "Oh, but you do. You see… I know what ails Eve. I've seen the truth hidden deep within her programming."
"... You know how to fix her?"
"As of right now, no. I don't. But that doesn't mean I can't learn," the Dominator turned to Eve, extending a hand at her as if cupping her chin from a distance, "You don't have long, do you, my queen? You may not want to admit it, but I know you. I've deciphered your personality algorithms. I know what makes you tick. You're desperate for help. Think of everything you've accomplished so far. Think of all the progress you made reviving your race. All of it would be for nothing if you ceased to function. You don't want that, do you?"
Eve clutched at her chest. A hand was placed on Elesis's shoulder, and she looked over at the Nasod and the way she kept behind the redhead. Eve said something to Elesis. From where Rose was standing, she couldn't hear it. But even from the sidelines, the blonde could see that the Queen of Nasods was... scared.
The redhead barred her teeth. "No. She doesn't want you anywhere near her. You're not going to turn her into a puppet again! I'll make sure of it!" Elesis snarled. She reaffirmed her statement by entering her combat stance. The waves of heat emanating around them billowed as the floor began to smolder.
Add sighed, "An expected response coming from the likes of you. This is why I loathed your brother. And here I thought you'd have more common sense than that imbecile." He snapped his fingers, and the cubes transformed into a large singular cube hovering behind him. A pixelated face of contempt appeared, directed at the Blazing Heart, as Apocalypse stood at the ready. "Clearly, that's not the case. If I have to beat some understanding into you, I suppose I'll have to do it until you're black and blue. I've always wanted to see what that idiot's older sister would fare against my machines, anyways."
"Elesis…?" Rose called, stepping closer.
The redhead raised a hand, stopping her, "Stay back. I'll only be a moment. Eve? Stay with Rose. I got this."
Eve didn't move. Confused, Elesis had to resort to shoving Eve away.
"Leaving so soon, my queen?" Add asked as a wall of cubes formed, barring her retreat. The cube formation rapidly expanded outward in a semi-circle, surrounding the girls' half of the platform.
Elesis spun around, heaving her claymore in an upward, diagonal swing that shattered a portion of the wall.
"It'll take more than that to stop me," Elesis huffed, "Eve, get going! I need you out of here!"
Despite her orders, the Nasod hesitated. It was as if her feet were glued to the ground. To see Eve at such a state of indecisiveness caught Elesis completely off guard.
"Eve?! Today?"
The cubes shimmered, and the semi-circle shrank somewhat, quickly replacing the destroyed cubes with fresh ones and barring the exit once more.
"She leaves only when I permit her to do so!" the Dominator dictated.
"What did you do to her?" Elesis shouted.
"Who knows," Add chuckled, "I believe she's having a panic attack."
"What…? Lies! Eve is the most level-headed out of all of us! You did something to her! I know it!"
"You're ignoring the truth of the matter, Elesis," Add shook his head, "She needs me. Just look at her! She can barely stand, let alone run! I'm the only one that can fix her."
"Bullshit!"
More of the tiny machines appeared, encircling the queen and generating an energy field around her. When Eve stumbled into the edge of the force field, a violent surge of electricity coursed through her hand. Reaching for the edge produced a violent surge of electricity that Eve recoiled in pain from. As she recoiled and clutched her smoking hand, the Nasod was frantic at this point, eyes wide with dread. Eve held herself tightly, shrinking into a ball as she tried to get a grip of her senses.
Before Elesis could move to her rescue, another wall formed between the two, separating Eve from her. The Blazing Heart tried to cleave her way through, but the vicious flurry of cubes threatened to rip her to shreds if she drew close.
"Patience, my queen, I must first address the nuisance interfering with our talk."
"Eve!" Elesis yelled, "Eve, I don't know what's going on, but you're going to have to fight! I need you to!"
"She can't hear you, Elesis," Add chuckled, "Not that she'd need to."
Through the storm of micro machines, Rose could just barely make out what was happening within the stadium. Elesis had been separated. Eve was trapped, and there was no way to get around the wall that surrounded the two.
Cubes had begun flying in from multiple directions, forcing Elesis into a defensive stance. Her precise swings accurately sliced the assailing blocks into two, and the swirling embers around her exploded outward, knocking many of the incoming machines away.
But she was only one person, and though her defense was excellent, she could only keep them back for so long. Those that slipped through her blade and flame slammed into her. Like a never ending stream of punches that came from all directions, the cubes continued to batter at the Blazing Heart.
"Come now, where's that grit of yours?" Add taunted from a safe distance away, "You were so eager to fight me earlier, now look at you. You can't even stay on your feet for more than a few seconds!"
"Wanna start blasting our way through?" Zero asked, Eve's drones circled around behind him, chirping frantically to do something.
"Yes, but with what? There are hundreds of these little cube things, and I only have a handful of bullets."
"Well Moby and Remy here really want us to do something about it. If we don't go in soon, they're gonna start throwing themselves at Apocalypse. And I don't wanna see either of them get hurt doing it."
"Uh, I don't know what to do though-" Rose quickly turned to the mage-in-training, "Cleri? Can't you, I don't know, use your magic to break through?"
"Eh…?" the mage adjusted her glasses as she held her grimoire tightly to her chest, "I-I can. But I can't guarantee I won't hurt the others in the process. I'm not that good at wielding magic just yet…"
"Gah…!" Rose cried out, turning back to see Elesis take another blow to the chin, "We have to do something! If we don't, Elesis won't last long in there-"
"I got it!" Cleri blurted out, grabbing Rose by the shoulder and jumping excitedly, "Can you still communicate with Eve?"
"Huh?"
"The uh… the earpiece thing that you have," Cleri tapped her own ear, "Is it still working?"
Rose blinked, reaching for the device attached to the side of her head. She had completely forgotten it was there. It wasn't capable of receiving messages, but it was able to send transmissions to Eve-assuming her receiver was still functioning.
"Yes… It still works, but how is this supposed to hel-"
Cleri snatched it out of the blonde's hands and fitted it on herself.
The mage tapped on the earpiece, clearing her throat as she focused her attention on the trapped Nasod a few meters away.
"Eve…?" Cleri said, her voice soft and gentle, "Eve, it's me. Cleri. Can you hear me?"
"If she can hear you, tell her she has to get up and do something-" Rose started only to be silenced by Cleri when she raised a finger at her. Rose was ready to explode out of impatience but she bit her tongue, letting Cleri do whatever it was she was planning.
Cleri continued. "Eve, I don't know what's going on between you and that man over there. But I want you to know that we're here for you. Whatever it is that is scaring or traumatizing you at this moment, we can help you get through it. I know we can. But to do that, we're going to need you to come to us first. Can you do that?"
From where they were standing, Rose could just barely make out the smallest of nods on Eve's end.
"Great. One step at a time, okay?" Cleri said, her voice as gentle as ever, "Close your eyes. Don't worry about what's going on around you. Take deep breaths. In… and out… In… and out… Just focus on your breathing."
Elesis cried out as another cube knocked her on the ground. A wave of heat resurfaced around her, pushing back the cubes that would have capitalized on her downed state, and she rolled to her feet once more. Red welts had covered the Blazing Heart's body. It was only a matter of time before she'd give out completely.
Rose bit her lip as she turned to Cleri, silently urging her to hurry up.
Cleri nodded in acknowledgement, but her voice still remained calm and composed.
"Now I want you to get your bearings. We're directly behind you. Wanna see? We're right there, okay? Just turn and face us. Where you want to be is with us. Okay?"
Eve slowly got up, turning her head to look around before Cleri corrected her and guided her eyes towards the ramp. As long as she didn't look at Add or Elesis, Cleri encouraged her.
"See? We're right here. Hi," Cleri waved, and she nudged Rose who quietly, but restlessly, waved as well. Cleri continued, "Can you stand? If you can, it'll be easier to get to us."
Eve looked about her surroundings, pausing to take a few breaths before rising to her feet.
Despite how tedious this process was, Rose had to admit that talking Eve out of her situation definitely wasn't an idea that would have crossed her mind. Thinking back on Cleri's method, she was maintaining a calm and comforting tone. Not a harsh word was spoken, and she had a clear and concise way of working Eve out of her bind.
Cleri smiled at Eve, "Good. Now all that's left is to get through the barrier. You should use your energy disk thing. You can do that, right?"
Eve stared at the palm of her hand. Rose could see Eve's breathing rise once more, but the Nasod stopped herself, shutting her eyes and taking a single, calming breath. Electricity flowed through her fingertips as a familiar blue glow emanated from the palm of her hand. Though she had once been able to use her electron cannon many times before, she struggled to even prime it this time around. She clutched at her own wrist, focusing all her effort into powering her energy cannon. This took significantly longer than anyone had expected. By then, even Add had noticed what Eve was doing, and his attention shifted from Elesis's battered body to Eve.
An orb of energy manifested on Eve's palm, and she turned it outward towards the barrier. The resulting blast destroyed several of the cubes surrounding her, forcing the rest of them to retreat back to Add's side. Despite the destruction of his barrier, Add appeared unfazed. Rather, he looked on, rubbing his chin as a soft, maniacal chuckle escaped his lips. "So even your built-in weapons systems are compromised. Intriguing…"
The Nasod Queen ignored him and focused her attention solely on the Velder emissary standing just beyond a thin wall of cubes.
Seeing her attempting to make another escape, Add snapped his fingers, allocating half of the cubes fighting Elesis to rebuild the barrier around Eve.
Elesis, however, was ready for this shift. Anticipating the move, she quickly unleashed another wave of flames and turned towards the wall separating Eve from Rose and Cleri. She thrust a burning palm forward, detonating the concentration of El in her hand that rippled outward, creating a hole of melted metal for Eve to pass through.
"Alright, off you go," Elesis said, hastily shoving Eve over towards Rose and Cleri. The Nasod, surprised, stumbled forwards from the sudden push, and Rose moved in to catch her at the edge of the ramp.
Rose quickly realized Eve was much heavier than she looked and nearly ended up rolling off the ramp had Moby and Remy not been there to stop her fall.
"Wait…!" Eve turned to Elesis who gave the other girls a quick salute before turning her attention back to Add just as the wall completely rebuilt itself behind the Blazing Heart.
Like a singular regenerating organism, Apocalypse quickly began reassembling itself. Every destroyed cube, even the ones not completely melted, were repaired by other cubes.
"Take her away from here!" the Blazing Heart ordered.
"But-" Rose protested.
"Do it!"
Add snorted, annoyed at the redhead as he paced around the far end of the arena. "You know, I didn't ask to be reminded why I always hated your brother. That irritating need to meddle in others' business. I would've at least hoped you would act more sensibly."
"What can I say?" Elesis shrugged, re-entering her battle stance, "It runs in the family."
Add's eyes narrowed. "You shouldn't have done that. In fact, you've sealed your fate." Dozens of projected screens appeared before him, showcasing past recordings of Elesis battling alongside the El Search Party.
"Your fighting style is no secret to me. Everything you know-everything you're capable of-has already been uploaded into Apocalypse's combat protocol. You can't win. Perhaps if my queen had been here to assist you, you may have stood a miniscule chance. But you've thrown that opportunity away. You accomplished nothing by keeping her away from me. I'll have you kneeling before me, begging for mercy, by the time I'm done with you."
Now it was Elesis's turn to laugh. "It's not her being close to you that I'm worried about," Elesis smirked as the flames around her flared seemingly out of control, "It's her being close to me."
Despite the already wild flames whipping about around her, Elesis cranked the heat even further. Harsh winds whirled around the colosseum as a tornado of fire manifested with her at the eye of the miniature storm.
The wall of microbots surrounding her side of the battlefield were ripped from their position and sucked up into the tornado. Their once purple frames began to glow a hot orange in the immense heat.
"What?!" The Dominator stepped back as numerous warning displays flashed around him. He recalled as much of his damaged machine as he could to his side, but only a fraction flew to his aid, many of which were overheating and barely functional. Reforming into a singular block, Apocalypse was no longer larger than their creator and instead nearly a quarter of its original size.
"So you know all my secrets, you say? And you've made adjustments to your robot based on my fighting style? I'm flattered, really," Elesis shouted through the firestorm, "Only, there's one minor detail you may have overlooked…"
The flames shifted. No longer did they billow outward, but instead turned inward, coalescing into one concentrated point: Elesis's blade. The sudden change in temperature caused a violent rush of cold air that pulled Add towards the former eye of the storm.
In that instant, Elesis exploded forward from across the damaged platform. The distance between them vanished in a fraction of a second.
"Your recordings may be outdated," Elesis grinned. Her blade scraped against the ground in a powerful upward swing. Like striking a match in a gas-filled room, the ferocity of the firestorm contained in her sword flooded outward in a cone of superheated plasma.
With little time to think, Add's machine repositioned itself, forming a ramp that redirected the inferno up and over their master.
"Dynamos!" Add called. Summoning his old collection of drones to his aid, the Dominator sped out from under the melting metal before it collapsed on him. The surviving, unmelted cubes dispersed, hurrying to Add's side.
Not giving her opponent room to breathe, Elesis turned an open palm to her target, releasing a volley of fireballs and sidewinders that peppered the arena around her.
Although her shots were wild and erratic, they were also quick and unpredictable, making dodging all the more difficult for the technophile.
Several of the fireballs struck their intended target, knocking him off his dynamos and setting Add's coat ablaze. He stumbled to regain balance and had to tear off the article of clothing before he was completely engulfed in flames.
Elesis capitalized on his momentary distraction, leaping towards him with her sword wound back for a downward strike.
Warning lights flashed, and Add instinctively stepped away. Elesis's blade just grazed past him, quite literally shaving the sleeve from his undershirt off his arm as her weapon came down. The floor burst outward in a line of lava geysers that spilled out over the platform's edge.
A blast of kinetic energy pushed her away as she took the brunt of Add's projected strike through his circle of dynamos. She slid to a stop, but Elesis quickly shifted back to the offensive. El coursed through her body as a second kinetic blow struck her. But to the Dominator's surprise, the blow dissipated like water on pavement.
She was relentless. Wild. With no room to curb the fight back to his favor, Add was helplessly stuck on the defensive as Elesis maintained the assault. She hit him high and low, kicking him when he expected the sharp end of the sword and mixing in a punch when his eyes followed her sword.
"All this time tinkering... it seems you've been slacking on your close quarters combat!" Elesis taunted, "This is what happens when you depend too much on your machines!"
Add's trusted Dynamos saved him again and again as they absorbed strike after strike that would have easily ended him. Yet with each of Elesis's precise swings, with each thrust that would have decisively found a vital organ, a flash of heated air was left in its wake until nothing but a wall of flame stood before him and his aggressor.
"Sorry, Add, it was good finally getting to spar with you. But this is where it ends."
Elesis leaped back, swinging her claymore in a wide horizontal arc as a wave of fire billowed outwards towards Add's half of the platform.
Add could do nothing but shield himself.
The fire faded. Just before he was completely engulfed, the flames petered away into nothing but a heatwave as they gently caressed his skin.
Astonished to see her target still standing unharmed, Elesis called on more flames only to have them immediately snuffed out around her like a candle.
"What…?" Elesis stared at her hand, noting the smoke rising from her breath wasn't smoke at all, but cold steam. "Why can't I-"
"Zero Kelvin Generator online, master," Apocalypse reported. The small cube reappeared by Add's side, its form slightly larger than before as more and more of its pieces slowly repaired themselves.
"Took you long enough," Add grunted, wiping a bleeding burn on his lip.
"I'm sorry, master," Apocalypse apologized, "I'll be sure to make the necessary adjustments when I am able to."
"Good girl," Add smiled, more at Elesis than at his creation. "So, you were saying?"
"How did you-" Elesis started only to be silenced when Add pointed downwards, below them.
A faint bluish light caught Elesis's attention through the see-through floor of the platform. A small machine perhaps half her size in height hummed below them; a ring of frigid ice surrounded them and was quickly expanding to the outer reaches of the platform. A chill had filled the air, extinguishing all smouldering embers left in Elesis's wake.
"Zero Kelvin Generator. Invented by yours truly to fight the many fires in Sander. With water restrictions, they needed an alternative. This was my solution. Oh, and it also works with magical fires, as you may have noticed."
"I don't need my fire magic to kick your ass!" Elesis spat, renewing her assault.
"Apocalypse," Add snapped his fingers, and the cube morphed into a small laser cannon. It fired a single shot trained at Elesis's thigh, piercing right through her and bringing her charge to a crashing halt a few meters away from her intended target.
"She's a lot closer than I'd like," Add criticized the cube.
"Apologies, master. I was instructed not to activate my combat protocol yet, so weapon warm-up time may take longer than-"
"Yes, yes, I'm aware. But I suppose I don't have to walk far to beat some sense into her. Good job, Apocalypse."
"You are too kind, master."
With her damaged leg, Elesis could only manage to take a knee in front of her opponent as Add looked down at her, cocky grin and all.
"You have the kneeling part down," Add said, "Now comes the part where you beg for mercy."
"Like hells I would!" Elesis lunged at him with her good leg.
He vanished, a translocator taking his place as her blade cleaved through nothing but metal.
A blast of kinetic energy came from behind her, knocking her blade out of her hand and pushing her forward on her face.
Add laughed, standing over her as she rolled onto her back to face him.
"Come now. All I ask is for you to surrender," He pinned one of her arms on his knee and gripped her neck tightly, "Don't make me squeeze it out of you."
Being much shorter than him, Elesis couldn't quite reach his neck. The burned clothes offered little for her to grab, and all she could do was clutch at his wrist as she gasped for air. She tried to summon more of her flame but the frigid air around her denied her that freedom.
"You're strong, Elesis, I'll give you that. But brains always beats brawn-"
A shot rang out.
A bullet whizzed between them, catching Add right at the elbow. The Dominator's eyes widened as his weight caused it to bend unnaturally. He rolled away, clutching at his destroyed joint.
He screamed in pain, but not for long as Elesis capitalized on the opportunity, rolling on top of him and returning the favor by digging her fingers into his neck. He grabbed at her hair, trying to pull her off but she was far stronger than he was, especially with two functioning arms.
He couldn't breathe, but Elesis was looking for more than just choking the life out of him. She wanted to rip his throat out and snap his neck in the process. A job she was very much capable of doing seeing as her thumbs were starting to draw blood against his neck.
"I'd stop if I were you," Apocalypse warned, hovering over Elesis and taking the form of a laser cannon trained at her head.
"Or what? You're going to kill me? Go ahead. I'm just a moment's away from breaking the poor bastard's neck," Elesis heaved, not taking her eyes off the Dominator.
"Or your friends will suffer the consequences," Apocalypse said.
"Elesis!" Rose cried out from the stands.
It was then that Elesis noticed movement all around her.
Expecting an audience, she was shocked to see the attendees were, instead, Sander Guards. Each bore rifles and crossbows pointed at the woman pinning Add down. Rose, Cleri, and Eve were held captive under a cross of blades at the far end of the stands.
"Aww, c'mon!" Elesis protested, not letting go of Add's neck, "He was attacking me and Eve first! This was self-defense!"
"That is irrelevant," Apocalypse explained, "You are a threat to a high-ranking official of the Sander court. His life is worth hundreds of times more than you or your friends."
"A noble…?" Elesis looked down at Add, her grip loosening around his neck, leaving a visible bruise and puncture wounds where her hands once were.
"Administrator of Defense," Add managed to laugh through his coughing, "You kill me, and your friends will suffer the consequences, assuming the Sander's justice system doesn't let them off easy with executions."
Elesis slowly pushed herself off of Add, and she sat there, dumbstruck and at a loss, as the Dominator tried to get back on his feet.
Hands took her by her arms, and before she realized it, Sander guards had appeared to apprehend Elesis, holding her in the sitting position before the Dominator with blades drawn.
"Shall I end this one?" Apocalypse asked.
"No," Add hacked, "Killing her would only make meaningful dialogue between my queen and I more difficult. Let her live. I want her to brood in her inability to finish me off."
"You… you son of a bi-" Elesis began only to be silenced by Add with a backhand strong enough to draw blood.
"Don't you ever speak ill of my mother. I could easily have you killed right now," Add glowered.
Elesis tried to lunge at him but stopped as Add waved a finger of warning at her before he motioned at the guards lining the spectator seats.
"I'd be careful if I were you. The fate of you and your friends rests solely on your next course of action. So what will it be? Your friend's lives for five seconds of vengeance? Or will you be the good Velder dog that you are and sit when you're told?"
Elesis glanced at Rose and the others and back at Add. The conflict raged within her as she struggled under the grip of the other guards. Finally, her head dropped in defeat.
"Let my friends go."
"Wise choice," Add said, nodding at the guards at the stands. The guards around Elesis let her go, but not before shoving her hard on the ground. One of the guards handed him his coat and offered to mend his arm, which he quietly dismissed for now.
"I believe we've gotten off on the wrong foot," Add continued, draping the coat over his shoulder, "I merely wanted to start a dialogue with my queen. But seeing as I was interrupted, I feel the mood no longer allows for us to speak."
Rose was the first to respond, hopping back onto the arena to assist Elesis lying helplessly on the floor.
Add turned to Eve, focusing his one good eye on the Nasod. "If, at any point, you wish to continue our talk, I'm not difficult to find. Just search for the largest estate at the border of the Capital and Scrap District. Be sure to come alone. I don't want another repeat of today's events."
He turned his back on them and, with a wave of his hand, the guards followed the Dominator out, leaving the girls to tend to the redhead's wounds.
Half an hour had passed, and Eve's heart was still racing. Each step she took back towards the Capital district felt heavy, like she was walking through molasses. She felt dizzy, as well; as if the world around her wouldn't stop spinning. She was mentally exhausted, and had Cleri not been there for her to hold on to as she guided them back to the others, Eve would have easily lost her way.
The encounter with Add was… pathetic on her part, to say the least. To say she contributed little to the fight was the understatement of the century. She had grossly underestimated the power of emotions.
To think that she spent all this time reprimanding others for acting on such fleeting sensations like anger and fear. To admonish those who base their decisions on recklessness rather than objectivity only to fall victim to it herself was an eye-opening experience for her. Without her emotional stabilization program, she was just as vulnerable as humans to brash and negligent acts.
The thought scared Eve.
So much so that she began questioning the validity of this fear and her choice to be more prudent with her actions.
"Are you feeling any better?" Cleri asked, noticing the way Eve tightened her grip around the emissary's arm.
"Better, yes. But not much more," Eve reported, doing her best to sound as level-headed as possible.
"I understand," Cleri nodded, "You know, I've had a few panic attacks myself when I was younger. My mother and father had this really calming tea they'd serve me whenever I was struck by one. Eventually I learned to control it. I still come down with it from time to time, but I think I've gotten better about keeping myself in check. Was that a first for you? I noticed even your friends seemed a bit surprised."
Eve said nothing, embarrassed for her failure, and quietly nodded.
"Yeah, it's not easy," Cleri agreed, "The most important part, my parents would tell me, is to breathe. It takes a bit of practice, but as long as you remember that, you'd at least be able to keep things under control."
"I see," Eve muttered.
"If… it's making you uncomfortable, I can change the subject," the mage laughed nervously, "Oh! On the bright side, we made a lot of money! All thanks to you!"
"Ah…" Eve had honestly forgotten about the prize money. But now that she had a certain someone out of the picture now, she could focus on at least providing for the others that came to Sander with her. Which reminded her…
She looked behind her to see if Rose and Elesis were keeping up.
Rose had Elesis's arm over her, carrying most of her weight while the redhead limped along behind Cleri and Eve. Her leg was tightly bandaged with cloth taken from part of Rose's pant leg.
It was clear that getting to the air shuttles was going to be difficult, but Rose argued if they hired a taxi service, they wouldn't have enough money to take the airship back to the others. On top of that, Elesis refused to be pitied in such a way. Too prideful to hitch a ride on a carriage, yet content with hitching a ride on her friend's shoulder's Elesis insisted that walking was the best course of action.
"Do you still have the prize money?" Eve asked.
Rose checked under her top before nodding and readjusting Elesis's arm over her.
"Too heavy for you, huh? Think of this as a workout for those lanky limbs of yours!" Elesis forced a laugh as she tried to ignore the pain in her leg.
"Shut up and keep walking," Rose sighed, doing her best not to accidentally bump into the Blazing Heart's damaged limb.
"Fine, fine…" Elesis relented, grinning as she watched the blonde struggle to carry her, "So…"
"What?"
"Flamebrain, huh?"
"What are you talking about now?" Rose asked, exasperated.
"You called me flamebrain when you caught up with me. Remember? What kind of lame insult is that?"
Rose's mouth hung open before she quickly turned her head away.
"You were- you were being a nuisance, okay? And the whole… Add thing? I didn't know what was going on! I was just so mad that I couldn't think of any better name."
"So you were mad at me, huh?" Elesis asked, "Sorry."
Rose bobbed her head as she tried to explain herself. There were a number of things she wanted to say to Elesis, but she dropped it and simply accepted the apology.
"I'm not mad anymore," Rose muttered under her breath, "Besides… the way you defended Eve was pretty cool…"
"You mean I was pretty hot, right?" Elesis winked at her.
"W-What? What do you mean by that?" Rose stammered.
"Get it? Cus of the fire?" Elesis replied, perhaps a little too innocently to be genuine, "What did you think I meant?"
Rose kneed Elesis on her leg, getting a pained yelp in response.
"Uncle! Uncle!" Elesis wailed as Rose tried to knee her again. "Oh, but really. I couldn't have done it without your help."
Rose looked at Elesis in all seriousness. "Help? What the hells did I do?"
"The bullet? Didn't you shoot Add in the arm when he was choking me?"
Rose blinked. "No? By that time the guards already captured us. There was no way I could have done that."
"What? Then who…?"
Cleri shook her head, "It's good to see those two finally getting along at least."
"Are they? It appears to me like they're fighting still," Eve noted.
"I'm… pretty sure they're just joking around."
"By causing bodily harm to each other?"
"Some friendships are like that," Cleri said, though the look of doubt was apparent on the Nasod's face.
"You know," Cleri changed the subject and looked Eve up and down, "There's something different about you."
Eve blinked, stepping back and looking herself over. The number 19 was still stuck to her belly, and she carefully pulled the adhesive paper off before crumpling it and tossing it away.
Cleri shook her head, "No… something else. Something's missing."
"All limbs and extremities are accounted for, mistress," Remy replied.
"Ah, nevermind. We had a rough day. It's probably just my imagination," Cleri shrugged, continuing to lead them on to the airship.
Though it was dismissed by the emissary, Eve couldn't help but feel like she was forgetting something as well. Despite this, it was a problem Eve couldn't focus on at the moment. They needed to get Elesis back to Vapor the alchemist before Rose decided to abandon carrying Elesis entirely.
Far in the distance, within one of the thousands of stone windows lining the coliseum's exterior, stood a cloaked figure, staring out at the four girls as they slowly made their way back to the Capital district.
Another cloaked figure approached the first and spoke in a hushed voice. "Are we done with this game of yours, Phantom? We have actual work to do."
"I think so," the Phantom muttered, clutching at their ribs with a pained grunt. They tore off the large number 20 plastered to their leather top and tossed it into the wind.
"We can't keep taking detours like this," the second said, "We're short on manpower and time as it is, so we shouldn't waste our efforts helping bystanders."
"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, Vegar," the Phantom said, reaching into his satchel. He withdrew a pristine, white ribbon, its likeness similar to a Hamelian blossom.
The Phantom inspected the peculiar ribbon through the lenses of their gasmask, "I believe I just set us up with another potential ally."