A light fog accompanied by cool, crisp air hung over the city of Velder like a thick blanket. The sun was just beginning to rise, highlighting the earthly-colored leaves of an old oak tree that stood at the center of one of the residential district's squares. Still too early for most of its residents, all of the surrounding buildings stood silent, their tenants happy to enjoy their first week free from the demon siege.
The only businesses running at this hour were the early morning transports that moved farmers to the fields and the early-bird travelers wanting to get a headstart to the day.
This was perfect for a certain purple-haired mage. With only her most essential possessions neatly packed into an oversized backpack she had secretly purchased the night before, she quietly cut through the district square in hopes of catching the first transport wagon out of Velder.
"You're up awfully early, grape-head," a voice called. Aisha froze in her tracks, craning her head towards the large oak tree at the center of the square.
Elsword stepped into view and casually leaned against the aging tree.
"E-Elsword!" Aisha stammered in confusion, "Likewise… I thought… I thought you'd still be asleep."
"Couldn't sleep. So I decided to watch the sunrise," the redhead said with a shrug, slowly making his way over to the mage, who stood rigidly in a vain attempt to hide her hastily packed belongings.
"You know there are better places to watch the sunrise," Aisha said, trying to laugh off the awkwardness of the situation.
"Yeah?" The Lord Knight asked, arms behind his head as he stood directly in front of the mage, "Well, if you know a few places, we should go check them out before the sun fully rises."
Elsword dwarfed her in height-a fact that was abundantly clear as he was nearly a head taller than her. It felt like it was only yesterday when she towered over him, and she loved holding that feat, quite literally, over the redhead.
Well, towered may have been an exaggeration, but at some point between then and now, height stopped being an issue with the mage. She wasn't sure when, but Aisha started liking guys that were taller than her-ones just as tall as the young man standing in front of her.
Aisha shook her head. She had to stop herself before she started second-guessing her decision. "I… can't."
He frowned at her. Actually, it was more like a pout. A handsome pout that she used to relish as her own personal victory.
Used to.
Seeing the slight upturn of his soft, gentle lips now was enough to rip her heart out.
"Tomorrow, then?" he asked.
"Els…" Aisha stared at his boots. She could feel his eyes searching her. No. They weren't searching. They already found her and were simply waiting for her to come out and say it.
The mage drew in a long breath, putting her best Eve impression as her purple eyes finally met his fiery red ones. Yet as she looked into those sad orbs, she could already feel her mask beginning to crumble.
"I'm leaving the El Search Party," her voice cracked. She could feel her eyes beginning to well. She was almost happy to see Elsword break eye contact first as he dropped his gaze in a heavy sigh.
"I know," he muttered.
"Chung told you… didn't he?"
"He told me everything," Elsword nodded, avoiding her gaze as he looked around and past her, "The day you're leaving-why you're leaving…"
"Why am I not surprised?" Aisha said, trying a little too hard to laugh as she tried to subtly run a sleeve over her eyes.
"You should know by now that he tells me practically everything."
"Not everything," Aisha stated, adding a slight lilt in her tone to add to the air of mystery. She turned her head away when Elsword looked at her curiously.
"Well, still," Elsword pulled the conversation back to the issue at hand, "Why do you have to leave?"
"You already know why. It's better, not just for me, but for the ESP that I leave. I came to Lurensia for one reason and one reason onl-"
"Back in Ruben, we set out to help you find the Ring of Mimir," Elsword interjected, "That goal hasn't changed. We're still here for you. So why are you making this the only option?"
"It's not…"
"Then why are you leaving us?" Elsword asked again.
"Because it's the safest!" Aisha said, her voice rising in volume, "All those years ago when we were tracking down Banthus… it was supposed to be a one-off deal. He took something from me, and you and Rena offered to help me get it back… I thought I could handle it myself. I thought my magic was all I needed out in the wilderness. And then I saw what a real battle was, what it meant to fight for my own life.
"You said it time and again when we were chasing that thief that I'm not cut out for fighting, that I should go back to reading books in a library," Aisha grumbled, not at Elsword but at herself, "I was so petty… so stupid and so willing to prove you wrong that I stuck around. But deep in my heart, I knew you were right. And now look at us… look at me."
Aisha motioned at herself: a small, delicate young woman contrasted by her slightly burned and battle-torn robe. "I came here to search for a family relic that was stolen from Sander. I'm not built for dodging boulders in a canyon or... incinerating infected machines hundreds of meters in the air... or destroying evil ancient portals... or breaking an entire demon siege! It's nothing short of a miracle that I'm even standing here to talk about it!
Aisha shook her head slowly at the leader, "You were right all along. This kind of life isn't for me."
"You're wrong!" Elsword interjected, "Er… I mean-I was wrong! We'd never… I would never have come this far without you."
"Els…"
"I can't count the amount of times you've saved my life. You've taught me so much about the world and how to use the El around me. You've introduced me to so many new things that I would have never known about with your books and stories. You made me strive to be a better person overall. And everyone else in the El Search Party would say the same exact thing about you. You've helped all of us, and we owe you so much. The least we can do is help you-"
"The least you can do is let me follow my own path," Aisha reasoned. She stepped forward, reaching to touch his cheek, but the redhead pulled away, clearly hurt by what she was saying. Although her words held strong, she was visibly torn by her choice. This was why she wanted to avoid him. It would only make saying goodbye that much harder.
She was crying at this point. "Els… If I really am that important to you… then please let me go. Your place is here, surrounded by loved ones that will fight alongside you. As much as I enjoyed my time with all of our friends… I don't belong here. My place is in a library, nose buried in a book, helping the Seven Tower unlock the secrets of magic."
She stepped back, putting on her best farewell smile but receiving none in return from the young man in front of her. Her smile faded, and she dropped her gaze.
"Goodbye, Elsword," she whispered, walking past him, "Be safe out there for me, alright? Maybe when the world's settled down… you can visit Sander. I'll be sure to show you around, then."
"... until we find it," Elsword muttered, causing the mage to stop.
"Hm?"
The Lord Knight fully turned to her. "Just… stay with us until we find it!" he begged.
"Elsword… I can't ask you to go on some country-wide treasure hunt for my sake…"
"You can! I'll make it our priority!"
"But Elrios needs the El Search Party."
"And the El Search Party isn't complete without you," another voice chimed in. Both Elsword and Aisha turned to find Elesis standing at the end of the street. At her side was Chung, head lowered guiltily.
"You weren't thinking of leaving us without saying goodbye, were you?" Rena said, "Do you know how worried sick we'd be without you around?"
Raven appeared next to her. "We pose a better chance of survival together," the crow mercenary reasoned, "The same goes for you. I doubt any of us would rest easy knowing you were traveling alone out there. Let us help you. It's peace of mind for all of us."
"Many heads is better than one heads in completing tasks!" Ara said, stepping out from under an unused awning with Eve and Add. "Ask Eve! Right?"
The Nasod silently nodded in unison with Moby and Remy.
Add yawned sleepily, "Frankly, I don't care what you do. I'm just here because Eve was on the move."
"Of course you were," Elsword sighed.
"Everyone…" Aisha sputtered, looking at each member of her team before turning her tearful gaze back to Elsword.
"We'll find the ring. Together," Elsword stated, "Stay with us? Please?"
He extended a hand towards her.
"But… I'm not cut out for fighting…"
"We'll do the fighting for you," Elsword reassured her, "I swear, as a Lord Knight of the proud Velder Army: as long as I'm alive and breathing, I won't ever let anyone hurt you. Ever."
Aisha was touched. Really. To hear someone say those words to her-to hear Elsword vow his life for her sake-caused her heart to nearly skip its way out of her chest. She reached for his hand tentatively, pausing just before taking it.
The mage looked up at Elsword. He had grown so much since that day in Ruben. She didn't see him as a rival, but as someone she genuinely wanted to rely on. No competition; just two people looking out for each other's well-being.
"Promise…?" Aisha asked.
Elsword nodded. "I promise."
"This isn't what we signed up for!" Raven yelled. It took whatever self-control he had left to not break the large dining table in half as he slammed his Nasod fist against the wooden surface.
His anger was directed towards Elsword, who stood at the opposite end of the long, extravagant table with Vapor at his side. The alchemist jumped at the sudden outburst as the loud bang caused the windows to rattle. She feebly extended a hand at the visible crack that formed underneath Raven's fist before giving up with a defeated sigh.
"You didn't even ask us if we were okay with this decision!" Elesis added, the room growing noticeably warmer as the air around the Blazing Heart began to smoulder, "Do you even realize what you're getting us into? This isn't even our fight to begin with!"
Elsword, who remained completely unmoved by the two's objections, simply stared through them as he let them say their piece.
"I'm sorry," he began, his apology as hollow as his stare, "But as the leader of the El Search Party, I've decided-"
"You've decided?" Raven snorted, "Not on our behalf. Not at your mental state. Think about what you're doing. Really, sit down and think rationally about this."
"I have," Elsword replied solemnly, "I had all night to think it through, and this is the best course of action."
Elesis shook her head disapprovingly at her brother, "Best course of action for what? You're making us fight in a civil war that has nothing to do with our current job! We're here to protect Cleri and her offering to Sander's leader. That's it. We do our job, get paid, and go home. Everything else is beyond our pay, and let me tell you, we've been working well outside of our pay for some time!"
Cleri, who had been silently standing next to Eve and her drones by the dining room entrance, quietly shrunk behind the Nasod at the mention of the gift to His Greatness. Both Raven and Elesis continued to argue with Elsword, their words seemingly going in one ear and out the other as their leader stubbornly held on to his decision.
"Do you think we should tell them…?" Cleri whispered to Eve, "About the gift, I mean. Chung has it, after all. I feel pretty bad that no one knows it's gone…"
Not taking her eyes off the heated debate, Eve shook her head, "I'm certain that informing them now would only aggravate either side. Additionally, I still need to speak to him."
"You mean Chung?" Cleri whispered. She noted the way Eve held herself tightly at the mention of his name.
Eve nodded, "I wish to know his motives. I want answers first before demanding he return your gift."
"And if he doesn't?"
Eve didn't answer. She honestly didn't know what to think if it came to that. But if he did resist… then the obvious conclusion was to take it from him by force… right?
The door they stood by clicked open, and the two girls saw the familiar blonde locks of a woman who had been missing in action for the past two days.
"Sounds like I came in at a good time," Rose whispered, acknowledging Raven and Elesis arguing at Elsword. She quietly let Zero float in behind her before shutting the door.
"Rose!" Cleri whispered, "Where've you been? You've missed so much!"
"I got the gist of what's been happening," the blonde said, "But I've been taking up Yasmeen on her offer."
"Yasmeen?" Cleri asked.
"The leader of the scrap district? We met them at the Proving Grounds-oh, right, while they were busy making introductions, you and Elesis ran out to help Eve," Rose explained, an air of annoyance surfacing in her voice, "Yasmeen's the, uh, 'owner' of the scrap district. One of the only nobles in this city with a good head on her shoulders. She's given me full access to her workshop provided that I… ugh… fulfill His Greatness's request."
Rose glanced at Eve with an apologetic look, garnering a curious tilt of the Nasod's head in return.
"It's nothing," Rose sighed, "All I have to do is make it look like I'm making another Nemesis for Dafaar to play with. What's more important is I've managed to make a few adjustments to my gear and Zero's transmogrification suite."
"And don't forget Eve's blueprints you're finally using-" Zero added before being elbowed hard by the blonde.
"Shh!"
"Blueprints?" Eve asked, turning more towards her and eyeing her suspiciously, "What blueprints?"
"Er-well… I mean… Uh, what Zero meant to say was-"
"What blueprints?" Eve asked again, clearly not in the mood for beating around the bush. Normally she'd let a comment like this slide. What the human did was none of her concern. But the drone specifically said it belonged to Eve. Was this woman somehow stealing from her?
"I… I'm sorry, Eve. I can't tell you."
"Tell me," Eve demanded.
"Eve, in all honesty, I'd tell you in a heartbeat. But I can't."
"Why?"
"Because," Rose stammered, scratching her head as she tried to think of a reasonable explanation, "Because it's against the rules."
"What?"
Rose opened her mouth to explain but was interrupted when Elesis suddenly made for the door.
"I don't care anymore! He can do whatever he wants! If he's always trying so hard to get himself killed, then maybe it's about time we let him!"
"We can't just let him do this!" Raven argued.
"I'm done!" Elesis snarled, "I'm done with all of this! Talk to him all you want, Raven! My brother's clearly not going to listen." Elesis stopped at the three standing in her way, looking over Cleri, Eve, and finally Rose. "You came in at a wonderful time," Elesis remarked sarcastically.
"I can see that," Rose commented.
"Yeah, well, situation's gone to shit. I need to vent. You three, walk with me. I ain't stayin' in this palace any longer."
Before Rose could even think of a reply, the redhead grabbed her by her arm and dragged her out of the room with her. Rose looked at Eve, muttering a quick, "We'll talk about this later," before Elesis forcefully pulled her along.
Eve glanced at Cleri, who simply shrugged and followed the other two out. Eve paused at the doorway, looking over at Elsword, Raven, and Vapor all standing silently on opposite ends of the table, quietly waiting for the others to take their leave.
Eve shut the door, noting the still silence that remained in the hall, save for the hurried footsteps of the other three girls already halfway towards the other end.
No sooner had the four exited the palace walls, Elesis immediately turned to Rose for directions on the nearest place to drink. It was still morning, and the blonde commented on the fact that bars typically didn't open until late in the afternoon.
This didn't sit well with the Blazing Heart, and the three girls wandered the streets listening to the redhead grumble before the desert sun got the better of them.
Eventually, around noon, the four found themselves in the Cheese Wheel. An entire serving of different cuts of cheese-paid directly from Rose's wallet-was set out for them. To Eve, this was more like a snack than an actual serving of food. Eve was never the kind of person to enjoy snacks in between meals, but since she skipped breakfast, this would have to do. Oddly enough, the restaurant had a particular smell to it that Eve hadn't noticed before that, strangely, wetted her appetite.
She poked a cube of cheese with a toothpick and popped it in her mouth. Immediately, Eve was hit with a mix of strong biting flavor and melty softness that was strangely enjoyable to her tongue.
Eve blinked. Did food always taste this… powerful?
It was only then that she realized that this was due to her sensory inhibitors being shut off a few days prior. She set her toothpick aside, a bit shell shocked by her own sensory overload before quietly reaching for a cracker to nibble on.
Both Eve and Cleri quietly nibbled on the food at Rose's expense, who could do nothing but constantly hail the waitress for another glass of wine, which Elesis showed the express talent of downing in one gulp.
Eve watched the redhead then looked at her own cup of wine. She pulled it closer, looking at the deep red liquid before sniffing it curiously. It smelled… sweet. Surely it must taste-
The Nasod gagged and pushed the cup away, opting for a glass of water instead.
"You know, you're supposed to sip these drinks," Rose sighed, relieved that her recent victory in the proving ground could at least support the redhead's voracious drinking habit.
"Booze is booze," Elesis shrugged, already swaying in her seat after chugging the sixth full glass of wine, "And this booze sucks! It tastes sour!"
"You're supposed to let them sit in the glass for a bit before-"
"Gimme another!" Elesis demanded.
"Ugh…"
"Don't 'ugh' me, blonde-y!" Elesis hiccupped, "'Ugh' doesn't get me drinks. And I want drinks."
"How about Rose buying a whole bottle instead…" Cleri suggested, noting the growing bill size.
"Good idea!" Elesis grinned.
"Bad idea," Rose shook her head.
"Gimme a bottle!"
"No."
"Yes!"
"Elesis, no."
"Rose, yes," Elesis said with a slight lilt in her voice.
"You're going to get us kicked out if you keep making a scene," Rose scolded, "You're supposed to be the Blazing Heart; the poster child of Velder. Just eat your cheese and behave yourself."
The redhead pouted, turning to her little plate of sliced cubes of dairy. "Yes, ma'am," Elesis muttered and quietly began nibbling on one.
Finally having a break from the redhead's constant attention-seeking, Rose began digging in on her share of the food. She looked at the other two sitting on the opposite end of the table.
"I've also heard from talk around the scrap district that Ralek's in jail now."
"Is he?" Eve responded, complete lack of interest in the subject apparent in her voice.
Rose nodded, "Yeah. Reports say there was quite a big fight breaking out in the alleyways near his shop. Found him unconscious with bullet wounds and a broken arm."
"I see."
"They pegged him for destruction of private and public property. You wouldn't happen to be involved in that, would you?"
"If you already know the answer, then why are you asking?" Eve asked.
"Nothing. Just curious is all," Rose shrugged, "And according to witness statements, the Phantom was involved, too."
Cleri nearly spat out her water.
"Is this true?" Rose asked, knowing full well she hit the nail on the head with Cleri's reaction.
"Hey…" Elesis interjected. She lightly leaned on Rose, "The Phantom. We're after that asshole, too. Did you kick… his ass?"
"He wasn't involved," Eve stated flatly.
"So… you didn't-didn't capture him?" Elesis hiccupped.
"No. He wasn't involved. But I'm glad to hear Ralek's in custody." At this point, Rose and Eve were staring daggers at each other, one attempting to dig further into an obvious lie and the other daring her to try.
"Yeah. He was… a total dickhead at the skybox during the battle. Good on you for beating him up."
Rose let it slide. Instead, she changed the topic entirely.
"So the reason why I came to the palace was because I received a request," Rose began, "Yasmeen filled me in on the general details. From what I understand, a certain nation is ending a certain agreement with another nation and wants to resolve their issues swiftly before things get out of hand."
"That's right," Cleri nodded, "We don't know how they came up with such a sudden conclusion, but they've already set things in motion. And… Elesis's brother signed the El Search Party up to participate."
"So that's what you've been blubbering about the entire time," Rose said to Elesis, finally getting the last piece of the puzzle.
"Elsword is being an idiot, and I don't know what to do anymore," Elesis mumbled through a mouth practically stuffed with cheese, "He's not well. He hasn't been well since what happened to Aisha. But I'm at fault, too. I was the one who signed us up for this stupid trip. I thought 'Hey, maybe a simple, relaxing road trip to a distant country oughta help my kid brother find himself, again.' Now look at us: we're neck-deep in a conflict that has nothing to do with us when we should be back in Velder by now!"
"Sorry," Cleri muttered.
Elesis snorted, waving off the apology and resting her head on the table.
"As I was saying," Rose said, noting how still Elesis was now that she put her head down, "They want this issue to be resolved quickly, and to do that, the higher ups turned to Yasmeen with orders, who then turned to me with a request."
Rose turned her attention to Eve, "They want me to deploy Nemesis."
Eve blinked.
"What?!" Cleri exclaimed.
"I know. I get that you have your own things you have to do, but they still think I 'own' you, and have asked me to use you during their operation."
"What did you tell them?"
"I told them I'd think about it. I said that Nemesis was still in need of some adjustments before being field ready. I wanted to tell you about what was going on before I made my decision."
Eve grimaced at the blonde, "That's not your decision to make."
"I know! I get that. That's why I'm giving you the chance to say no," Rose responded, defensively.
The Nasod crossed her arms, "Then no."
Rose sighed, "I figured. I don't blame you, either. Okay. So no. Now I gotta think of some kind of excuse-"
"Tell them I don't want to," Eve stated.
"Eve, I can't tell them simply that you don't want to fight."
"Why not?"
"Well because I… ugh… you're technically my-"
"You're not fighting either, Eve?" Elesis asked, too drunk at this point to do anything but talk onto the table she laid face-down on, "Oh… oh no… what do I do…? I need to… I need to go, then."
"I thought you said you weren't participating," Eve pointed out.
"I know, but… but I was mad. And now I think-I think I should go. But I shouldn't. It's only encouraging him. But now he's going alone. That means I have to stop him…" Elesis's reasoning devolved into a senseless muttering that no one else at the table could make sense of. At least up until she suddenly threw herself on Rose.
"What do I do?!" the Blazing Heart wailed.
"Eh-? What? What's gotten into you?!"
"He's the only family I got! He's gonna go and die!"
"He's not going to die," Rose reassured the bawling redhead.
"He is! He's going to die, and I'm going to be all alone!"
"Elesis… you're going to get us kicked out of the restaurant at this rate," Rose said in a loud whisper. At this point, a few of the nearby patrons had already begun to complain.
"I don't know what to do!"
"I can't believe this," Rose groaned. She saw a waitress making her way to their table, and the blonde stood, "Sorry! We'll see ourselves out!"
With Elesis still clinging on to her, Rose dug through her bag and fished out enough money to cover the bill.
"I'm not going back to the palace," Elesis protested.
"You need to lie down," Rose recommended as she and Eve helped lug Elesis down the street.
"I don't want to go back to that stupid place."
"You're being difficult."
"I don't want to!"
"Don't you want to see your brother?" Cleri suggested.
"No! I hate him!" Elesis proclaimed.
"It's fine, Cleri… I'll just… I got the cash, so I'll probably stick her in some hotel room or something," Rose said, blowing her bangs out of the way as she scanned for nearby cheap vacancies. Naturally, the palace district was void of anything reasonably affordable, and the blonde simply gave up and brought her to the nearest hotel she could drag Elesis to.
She guided Elesis and Eve to a rather elaborate building with professionally carved limestone columns that gated out a grand reception hall large enough to house its own indoor fountain. Lavish fabrics hung from above, decorating the peach-tan hall with regal golds and greens. A nearby guest ledger at the entrance revealed the hotel was called: Lavoisier.
Rose and Eve carried Elesis over to the fountain and set her down by the waterside, a move that prompted the bellhop to rush to their side asking if they needed to call the hospital.
"No. Not necessary!" Rose laughed, "She's just piss drunk. I'm booking a room for her, so please just give me a second."
The blonde caught Elesis just as she was about to fall back into the pool and helped her back up into a sitting position. After she was relatively sure Elesis wouldn't lose her balance, this time, she turned to the others.
"I got it from here. Thanks, Eve. Thanks, Cleri."
"You still haven't told me about the blueprints," Eve said.
"Oh… right," Rose huffed, "And here I thought you were just following us around for the free food. Look. I can't tell you. I really, really can't."
"Why not?"
"It's against the rules."
Eve tilted her head curiously, "What rules?"
Rose dropped her gaze, bobbing her head from side to side as she tried to find the words, "Rules that specifically apply to someone who doesn't belong in this specific universe."
"I don't… understand."
"And it's supposed to stay that way. Just… know that I didn't steal the blueprints from you per say. I stole it from the other you."
Clearly hoping to leave it at that, Rose turned her attention back to Elesis. Eve was having none of it, however, and she pressed further.
"You mentioned this 'other me' once before. Back in Garpai, you said I was a lot different from how you remembered me. You said you'd tell me later. Now you're stealing something that belonged to this 'other me,' and you continue to dodge my questions. I need answers now. Otherwise-"
The lights flickered.
A strange, unnatural chill filled the otherwise warm grand reception hall as a dark, ominous presence seemed to cloud the entire room. Everyone, including the bellhop and receptionists working at their desks stopped what they were doing as even the hairs on the back of Eve's neck stood on end. Everything felt… off, unnatural. It was as if her surroundings weren't meant to be.
It was deathly still.
So still was everyone in the reception hall that Eve nearly jumped when Cleri suddenly clutched at the Nasod's arm.
And then, just as quickly as the strange phenomenon arrived, it vanished, and the earthly sounds of life filled the building once more.
"What… was that?" Eve said, scanning her surroundings.
The bellhop was the first to answer, "Must be a… a power shortage." An assumption that even the reception workers were satisfied with, Eve could clearly see he was visibly spooked.
"That didn't seem like a power shortage to me," Cleri whispered.
"I really… really can't tell you, Eve," Rose said finally, after everything seemingly returned to normal. "It's better this way. For all of us."
Eve turned her attention back to the blonde who was doing her best to hide the way her body trembled.
"Rose…?"
The blonde exhaled before putting on her best fake smile, "I'll take care of Elesis from here. You two are free to go."
To say Eve was nervous would have been an understatement. Cleri had offered to keep her company during the meeting with that certain individual, but at the time, Eve felt it was necessary that she go alone. Now, she was having second thoughts, fearing that her visitor wouldn't bring those other three with him.
"But we agreed he'd come alone," Eve reasoned to herself, "He wouldn't go against that, right?"
In all honesty, it wasn't him not coming alone that scared her. Rather, it was the reasons behind his actions that gave her the most anxiety.
He was never the kind of person to harm others without a justifiable reason. So why was he doing all of this? Why did he kill Aisha's father? Why is he trying to slow the El Search Party down? He was ripping apart an already-fractured group of friends.
And that was just what he had done recently.
She had wasted much of her time trying to communicate with him, hoping to hear from him when she felt most vulnerable. But he never replied. Eve was about to give up on what she had with him. She had more important matters to deal with, after all. And just as she was ready to tie up loose ends before her time came, there he was, trying to push himself back into her life.
She could feel the anxiety getting to her. She wanted to leave. Just forget about the meeting in general and live the rest of her short life wondering the possibilities. But she knew that would be wrong. To think this was what humans felt without an emotion stabilization program to help smooth them out.
Eve had to breathe. Standing from one of Thironin's lounge chairs, she made her way to the door. She needed air. Get her mind off things for the time being and tackle the problem when she gets to it.
"Reporting in, Mistress," Remy whistled. Having just finished scanning the surroundings of Thironin's tower, the white drone returned to her mistress standing at the balcony. "I've picked up the Hamelian's signal. He's alone. He should be here earlier than we agreed."
At least he was upholding his end of the agreement. Eve sighed.
"And the patrols?"
"Unchanged. The entire district still seems to be on high alert."
"I see." Eve nodded. She ran a hand through her hair and leaned on the railing. The same couple danced alone on their rooftop a few blocks away.
"Mistress, if I may: are you sure this is all worth our time? We have important matters to attend to back in Altera, after all."
"How would we return to Altera?"
"By airship, of course, mistress."
"With what money?" Eve asked. She propped her chin on her arm as she idly watched the couple. She wondered why they continued spinning in circles like that. Now that she thought about it, humans often did things that resulted in little to no benefit. Or perhaps there was something. She might have to investigate further.
"Ah… right," Remy finally said.
Eve could feel the white drone hovering over her shoulder. Remy wanted to speak. She could feel it.
"Rose has money," Remy suggested.
Eve shut her eyes and sighed. "But that money belongs to Rose."
"Couldn't we simply ask her to pay for our fare back? She seemed quite willing to throw her money around today buying us food and a room for Elesis."
"We can," Eve agreed, opening a hologram window that contained a list of things she needed to do once she arrived in Altera.
She deleted it.
And with the first bullet on her list, she wrote one entry: investigate the benefits of dancing.
"Then why don't we? Also-what are you doing?"
"You know I don't like being indebted to others. We won't be returning from Altera once we arrive. I won't be able to pay her back," Eve explained then turned to her window, "As for what I'm doing, I'm occupying myself."
"I can see that. But with what?" Remy inquired.
"I'm rewriting my bucket list."
Remy read the single bullet point and tilted slightly in confusion. "But that doesn't seem particularly important."
"Cleri said it had to be something I wanted to do. I want to know why humans dance. I predict the answer shouldn't be too difficult to find."
"If you say so, mistress…"
Another series of chirps could be heard from beyond the balcony. The two turned to Moby, flying in from above and whistling excitedly.
"He's here!" Moby reported, "He's here! He's here!"
And just like that, the anxiety that Eve had suppressed thus far came crashing back. She took a deep breath, extending her arms at the black drone as it flew towards her.
"You've escorted Cleri back to the palace safely, then?" Eve asked, catching the black drone in her arms.
"Yes! She's safe within the palace walls, and I saw Chung near the base of the tower as I flew over."
"Well done," Eve said, relieved to see that Moby, for once, had properly followed orders. The Nasod made for the door. "Let's meet him downstairs. The guard patrolling the tower's courtyard is sure to get suspic-"
"I'm here!" a labored voice called just beyond the balcony railing.
The three turned to the source. A moment of strained grunts later, a hand could be seen waving over the edge. "I'm here… No need to… leave-"
"Moby?" Eve called. Without another word, the black drone flew over the railing and gave their visitor a proper leg up.
"Thanks… Moby," their visitor gasped, pulling himself over the railing before rolling safely onto the balcony floor. He laid there for a minute, splayed out on the floor, catching his breath. He pulled away his hood, revealing familiar, if not a bit longer, blond locks.
Eve gave him a good look over. This was the first time in a year that she had seen him under a proper light source. Dressed in his ragged cloak and an even more ragged pants and shirt, one wouldn't think this was the king of Hamel. Her attention drifted to his bright puppy-paw eyes, and as their eyes met, a strange sense of calm seemed to wash over her.
They stared at each other for a long moment, both unsure of what to say before the Hamelian broke the silence.
"You could've chosen a shorter tower, you know?" Chung said, still catching his breath.
"I wasn't aware that you'd omit taking the stairs," Eve replied.
Chung laughed, rolling to a sitting position, "There was a guard there, and I couldn't ask you to let down your hair with him around."
"What…?" Eve subconsciously ran her fingers through her silver locks, reminding her of another issue she needed to address. She mentally added it to her list.
Chung waved it off. "Nevermind. The point is, I couldn't wait to see you."
"I… I see," Eve muttered, holding herself tightly at the response. Hearing him say that so casually felt… strange. It was nice knowing he wanted to see her, but knowing it took him so long to actually do it only made her upset.
Chung stood, brushing himself off. Eve looked up at him, noticing how different he looked from when she had last seen him in Hamel. He looked tired. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally drained.
"So… I know it's been a while since we talked. And it's been a crazy few days… Look, I just-I'm just going to come out and say it: it's good to see you, Eve."
Chung took a step towards the Nasod, reaching into a pouch to give her something. He had definitely grown into a fine young man, sure, but there was something about him that seemed decades older than the naive boy she had watched grow up many years ago. Was he a different person? She wasn't sure. Either way, Eve didn't feel completely comfortable being around this person. And it showed by the way she instinctively took a step back.
Chung saw this and stopped. He backed away, hands up where she could see before setting himself as far as he could from her without tumbling back over the railing. He clutched something with soft, white laces in his hand.
Eve eyed him warily. It was clear that he was completely unarmed. Still, as far as she knew, she was dealing with a wanted assassin.
He stood there for some time, head down, patiently letting her say something. Anything.
She didn't speak.
Frankly, Eve didn't know what to say. But now that she was given time to make up her mind on him, she could feel something starting to boil inside of her. She was relieved to see him still alive and well, but knowing he was still around when she needed him felt so... infuriating.
Chung could feel it, too. She could see it in his eyes as he "read" her thoughts. She expected him to explain himself but at the same time, she didn't want to listen. She was angry, confused, disappointed, and heart-broken. The swarm of emotions that welled inside her felt as if it were going to burst out of her chest. She was glad her emotions were there for him to read, because there would be no words to describe how she felt right now.
"I'm sorry," Chung finally stated, "I get why you're angry. I get why you'd think I'm some sort of low life for ignoring you and doing the things I've done-"
"How could you…?" Eve whispered, "Do you have any idea what all of us have been through? Do you have any idea what you've done?"
"I do," Chung answered, swallowing hard as he looked her straight in the eye.
"Do you know who you've killed?"
"I do."
There was no question about it. From the look in his eyes, Chung knew exactly what he was doing when it happened. He killed Aisha's father, and he did so willingly.
Eve clenched her fist, "Why? Aisha was our friend, wasn't she? She gave her life to save you. Why would you murder her only surviving family?"
Chung exhaled, "I was doing it to protect you. I did it to save the El Search Party."
"Protect all of us?" Eve repeated in disbelief, "What does that even mean? If anything, you've destroyed what little was keeping us together!"
"Thironin… wasn't who he said he was," Chung explained, "He was manipulating all of you."
"Manipulating us? How? If anything, he was helping us finish our job!"
"Eve… Thironin was a demon."
"What…?"
"I know it's a lot to take in, but you have to believe me. The people I'm working with: they can sense demons. All of them confirmed a powerful demonic presence surrounding Thironin-"
"Who?" Eve demanded, "Who are you working with?
"I can't tell you that," Chung shook his head apologetically, "But they're good people."
"It's the Caluso, isn't it?"
A look of bewilderment washed over the young man's face. "Huh? How did you-No. I mean, not directly-"
He was stuttering around the answer. From where Eve stood, she hit the nail on the head. "What you tell me now has little meaning. The Sander council has already pinned it on them and have already set things in motion."
"Set things in motion? What do you mean?"
Eve could see the confusion in Chung's face slowly transform to realization, then quickly turn to panic.
"You can't be serious…" Chung gawped but received nothing but an accusatory glare from Eve in return.
The young man appeared to be weighing his options. His eyes darted from Eve and back to the scrap district. He swallowed hard as he slowly lowered his hands, sighing and putting away the gift still clutched in his hands. "I was… really hoping we'd have a chance to talk."
"We are talking," Eve stated coldly.
"Yes, we are. But I meant something other than business," Chung motioned at her and himself, "About us."
"You ignored me for a year. There is no us." Although Eve was direct in her statement, the way her words rolled off her tongue caused a sinking feeling in her chest. The coldness in her tone was only highlighted by the slight crack in her voice. Eve could feel it now. After suppressing her feelings for a second time, she could feel it just about to boil over.
"I… couldn't communicate with you," Chung mumbled.
"I sent you letters!" Eve was shouting now. It came suddenly and before her rationale could keep her from calming down. "I wrote to you! I sent ravens, giving clear instructions on how to reply, but you never did! None of my messages came back! I was alone! I was scared! I wanted to hear from you; to know that I at least had you there to talk to. But you left me!"
Chung let her speak. Whether he had a reasonable explanation for his absence, she didn't care, or rather, her anger kept her from caring. She didn't know when it started, but the Nasod was crying now. She probably looked like a fool. She felt like one, breaking down in front of this person. What did she hope to gain from this sudden outburst? Why were her emotions making her act this way? And why wasn't Chung being driven away?
"And now you're here expecting to just talk about us? After what you did to our friends?"
"I did what was necessary to protect you," Chung said finally.
"You did not!"
"I did," Chung stated. His voice was firm but gentle. "It may not seem like it, but believe me, I've been doing everything I can to keep you and the others safe. My orders were to kill the Velder Emissary and their escorting party upon their arrival and secure whatever they were transporting. But seeing you and the others were involved, I appealed to have the mission changed.
"They listened, and my job changed to tailing you and taking the gift Cleri had when I found the opportunity. But it took longer than expected, and you all were running out of money. I lead you to the scrap district, knowing you'd do well in the Proving Grounds. Ralek was an unforeseen obstacle, but I was there to make sure he didn't hurt you. I even passed myself off as a Nasod in the Proving Grounds to make sure you won the prize money.
"Every obstacle you've run into in Sander, I was there to help. I may have been stupid and destroyed all your messenger ravens-"
"You destroyed my ravens?" Eve interjected, feeling absolutely hurt by the news of her letters quite literally being shot down.
"I didn't know, okay? That was an honest mistake on my part. But the point is, I may not have been there for you when you needed me, but I'm doing what I can now, and I have been since our paths crossed again."
"Ever since we've arrived… you've been helping us…?" Eve sniffled. She recalled her run-in with the thief at the Cheese Wheel. She remembered how the thief refused to directly engage with her. She remembered her first time being pursued by Ralek and being saved by a mysterious stranger. She remembered the same stranger appearing as number 20 in the Proving Grounds, who outright forfeited the match once all other opposition was eliminated, leaving Eve as the victor.
Even in her second run-in with Ralek, Chung and the others protected her and Cleri, even though the entire city was hunting them down.
"I don't expect you to believe me, after what you've been through," Chung muttered, "But if there's anything that you'd take away from this, it's that I still care about us, Eve. I'm doing everything in my power to make sure you're safe."
Silence fell between the two of them. Only Eve's soft sniffling could be heard as she gauged this new information. He said he still cared about what they have… or had, Eve wasn't sure. It still moved her hearing him say it. And knowing he was the one watching over her the entire time explained the strange series of events the past few days. But the wound from his absence still bled, and the murder of Thironin was still fresh in her mind. If it was forgiveness he was looking for, he was far from earning it. And with what little time left she had, she doubted he ever will in due time.
"Just… leave us be," Eve said after some time.
"Huh?"
"Although I appreciate the help, I cannot accept it after what you've done."
"But… Eve!" Chung protested.
"I said, leave us be!" Eve repeated, "If you truly still care about us… about me, then at least respect my wishes."
"Why…?"
"If what you say is true… that you're looking out for us, then I want you to stop. What Elsword did… or what he's about to do… I don't want you getting involved."
"What Elsword's going to do…?" Chung repeated, mulling over her words. His eyes widened. Eve had always thought Chung to be intuitive, but for him to piece things together so quickly surprised even her.
"Sorry to end it like this, but I have to go," Chung turned from Eve, throwing on his hood as he hopped on the railing, making to leave.
"Where are you going?" Eve said, moving to stop Chung.
"I'm sorry, Eve. But I can't grant that wish. I'll make it up to you somehow."
"Wait!" Eve called just as he leapt from the balcony, his silhouette disappearing into the night, "Moby! Remy! Follow him!"
"Yes, mistress!" they responded in unison before taking off after the fading shadow in the lower streets.
"How can you lose him?" Eve grumbled in frustration. She strode quickly back to the palace as her drones filled her in on the situation. "He had a signal, didn't he? Couldn't you simply follow that?"
"He turned it off!" Moby reported, "I had no idea he could do that! One moment he was within range of our sensors and the next, his signal went poof!"
"I'm sorry for our failure, mistress. But I can confirm this," Remy added, "We were hot in pursuit, winding through the side streets when his signal suddenly vanished without a trace."
Eve gritted her teeth as she pushed through the iron gates of the palace. How Chung was able to manipulate the nanomachines in his body was beyond inexplicable. To make things worse, he now knew Sander was up to something. How much he was able to glean from Eve's vague explanation was uncertain, but it was enough for the Nasod to worry. Knowing him, Chung was definitely going to go against her request. It was up to her to stop him. And there was only one way to do it.
The Nasod burst into the dining hall where Vapor was. Rose was there, too, as well as Elesis. The tense air between the three of them was interrupted upon Eve's sudden arrival.
"Eve? What are you doing here?" Rose asked, astonished.
"I was about to ask the same thing," Eve replied.
"I'm trying to convince Elesis that she shouldn't-"
"I'm going," Elesis said firmly, "I get that it's only encouraging my brother. But he's all the family I got. If I let him go alone, and he doesn't come back, then I'll be living the rest of my life regretting my decision."
"The more help we get, the better chances we have at success," Vapor agreed, finishing up the contract. She scratched her head in frustration, "Ugh… normally Thironin would be writing all this stuff out. Don't think I've ever contracted mercenaries before. Anyways, I think I got the details of this thing right. So by signing this, you'll officially be under our employment. Good thing, too. We only have a few hours before we set off."
Vapor slid the paper across the table. Elesis took it and began scribbling her name in.
"Guess there's no turning back now…" Rose muttered before turning to Eve, "So why are you here?"
Eve glanced at the contract then back at Rose. Chung's involvement was still uncertain. As Vapor said, the operation they were planning was to begin in a few hours. If Chung was working with others, it would be nearly impossible for him to mobilize a counter to whatever Sander was doing. But she knew Chung. She couldn't risk ignoring it. Swallowing hard, she finally made her decision.
"Sign me up."
A/N: Thank you Mirai Akina and Kalafinn54 for editing this chapter! Please check out their stories as well! They're worth the read!
I find it funny how I have this cute, romantic scene imagined in my head for Chung and Eve's reunion and i make the set up for it and i think its going well then suddenly all this drama comes up between them and you get what youve just read. Maybe its never meant to happen. Who knows.