Author's Note: I had posted a somewhat meme-y answer earlier. Here's a somewhat more serious take on it, given how some of the quests Melia accompany you on speak of Colonies engaging with Origin directly.

xxxx

/Time: Chapter 7, after the final battle with Consul N/

With N vanquished — in more than one sense of the word — the task of freeing the Kevesi Queen returned to mind for Ouroboros.

Alas, it seemed as though she were ahead of the game in that regard; as though their presence were the key to a lock, the bindings containing her began to fade, burning away into shimmering crystals of ether. With equally pretty grace, the Black Queen of Keves floated down, softly settling onto her feet.

Calmly, serenely, Melia Antiqua opened her eyes for the first time in untold millennia. "I had...a long dream...a very, very long dream..."

xxxx

The Queen spoke to Ouroboros of many things: of Z, of Moebius, the nature of the world, of the choice awaiting them, and what they had to do next.

In another place, and another time, Melia might have utilized her ether with the ease of a veteran: a slumbering giant that had finally awoken to conquer what was rightfully hers.

However, given the extent of her imprisonment...it would have been all too reasonable, for the slumbering giant to still be groggy, and weary after centuries and centuries of inactivity.

xxxx

"I shall return to the Castle, and free the soldiers from the Flame Clock's bondage," stated Melia, looking at them with something that felt close to joy. (Finally, this whole wretched stasis would come to an end.) "Otherwise, their lives will only feed Z's power."

"Nice thinking, your Majesty!" exclaimed Lanz with pride. "Countin' on ya!"

Speaking as someone who had just had a thought, Sena stammered, "Oh, uh, will you need an escort...?"

With a wry little smile and a challenging tone, Melia replied, "I would think not. Might you have forgotten who I am?" With a thought, she summoned World Ender, her trusty ether staff; with motion born of long practice, she prepared to focus her ether such that it would teleport her to...someplace more bright and less dreary, and why was the floor getting closer-?

Steadfast hands caught her; familiar voices were suddenly muted to her ears.

"-your Majesty!"

"What's happening to her-?"

The blurry blob with an afro held up a small spherical terminal, scanning her form with a frown. "Ether depletion, it seem."

Ether...depletion...? How...bloody ironic...

(Even if it were coarse and somewhat crude, Nia's manner of speech seemed so very appropriate for expressing her inward frustration.)

xx

"Sparks' sake, she's sucking up all the ether I can throw at her!" exclaimed Eunie, her Gunrod spinning in place as green aura filtered into the comatose Queen's form.

"Incredible," murmured Taion, his Mondo arranged in stationary positions around Melia's body. "Her capacity for absorbing ether is beyond anything I've ever witnessed before...!"

"...what are we going to do?" asked Sena, looking plaintively at Noah and Mio. "I mean...we can't leave her like this..."

Lanz grimaced, gently cradling the unconscious woman — even supporting her head, because she was the snuffin' Queen of Keves! — in his arms. "I can carry her back to Samon's ship-"

"Absolutely not," interrupted Mio, pulling rank on her younger peers. "This is Origin; it was already difficult just making it this far, and there's no telling what still lies between us and Z. Besides..." Looking down at the ancient woman with a melancholy expression, she added, "She's been imprisoned here, for so long...she probably needs medical attention."

Noah inhaled. Exhaled. Inhaled, and spoke. "Then...as much as I don't want to...we need to leave Origin for now. The attack needs to be delayed, until we can see to her Majesty's welfare." (It was galling on a level he had difficulty fathoming. They were so close...!)

"But how we get her out of here?" asked Manana, flapping her wings with worry. "Mr. Samon's ship can't fly!"

Reaching for his Iris, Noah tapped at his temple. "I'll find someone who will."

xxxx

/Meanwhile, beneath the City, in the hidden war machine known only as Gilgamesh/

"The time has come for the City to mobilize! Keves, Agnus — support them all!" ordered Monica Vandham, standing at the bridge of the City's greatest military weapon: a unique Levnis with armaments and capabilities unlike any other. However, today was not its day to shine; the moment she was about to give the order, Noah's alert came out over an open channel. "Wait...what...?"

"To any forces that are allied with Ouroboros: this is Noah! We have freed the rightful Queen of Keves, Melia Antiqua, from her long imprisonment! But she's in need of immediate medical treatment. Please respond to my Iris as soon as you can!"

It was a recorded message, set to repeat at a regular interval; to no one's surprise the Kevesi forces were the first to stop firing at Origin, as fealty to their royal monarch overrode all other considerations. It didn't take long before the message went out to Agnus as well, since they also stopped firing.

Cursing under her breath, Monica opened a channel to her daughter's Levnis. "Ghondor! How close are you-?"

"Quit screeching like a Gulkin!" retorted Ghondor, her expression set into its usual cute yet angry scowl. "I'm already on my way to their coordinates. We'll be out faster than Travis tryin' ta hold his beer."

Monica huffed — seriously, that slight against her Lieutenant was uncalled for (even if the snickers of the nearby crew meant it hit quite close to home) — crossing her arms as their grand plans to attack Origin came to a screeching halt. "What a mess..." Yet, despite the sudden lull, her eyes narrowed on something else: something much more unusual that was now displaying on the numerous holographic screens. "Wait...what the...but why...?"

xxxx

It had been a mercifully short trek to the South Shell Passage; with Origin's segmented hull rotating slowly, their view of the sky and the ring of Aionios's great landmass could be seen. Everyone kept their eyes peeled for enemy forces, forming a protective ring around Lanz as he carried Melia.

Except...there was nothing coming after them.

"I don't like this," growled Eunie, aiming her rifle nervously. "We practically pulled our feathers out getting down here, and now the locals have snuffed off? Somethin' stinks."

"Lack of feathers notwithstanding, I have to agree," remarked Taion, purposely ignoring Eunie's eye-roll. "My Mondo aren't picking up any hostiles."

"Maybe they're waiting for us to let our guard down?" suggested Sena, ready to smack anything with her trusty hammer.

Mio's ears suddenly twitched. "Hey," she said, looking up. "A City Levnis, incoming!"

Though they waited for something horrible to happen...nothing did. The multi-legged machine set down, opening a side hatch to reveal the interior. "Hurry up, ya dags!" echoed Ghondor's voice from the vessel's exterior speakers. "Get her on board; you've got a job to finish!"

Lanz suddenly grimaced, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Hold on now, aren't they gonna be sitting ducks on there? What if this is what those Moebius mudders want us to do?"

"...shoot them down in the air, over the open sea? It would be an effective tactic," murmured Taion.

"Then we can't just send the Queen off by herself, can we?!" protested Eunie.

Noah, resigning himself to the fact that their long-awaited confrontation with Z would be delayed for the time being, nodded in agreement. "No. We can't."

That was all Sena needed. "No can do, Ghondor! We're coming along!"

"...'scuse me?!"

xx

There was really nothing to be said, in the face of their reasonable objections.

Hence, Ouroboros found themselves hanging onto the edge of the Levnis, merged into their Kevesi-dominant forms. Lanz was ready to shield the Levnis from any energy blasts; Noah was ready to cut down any enemy vessel that dared to get near; Eunie was ready and very willing to snipe.

However...nothing happened.

Shortly after Keves and Agnus had ceased their assault on Origin, the great machine's defenses had gone silent. (Truly, this was what had rendered Monica dumbfounded...and why not?)

"What the spark is goin' on?" growled Lanz, his titanic form slowly beginning to heat up. "Why ain't they shootin' at us?"

"Hey, don't complain!" retorted Sena's voice.

"...this is utterly baffling," said Taion's voice.

"I mean, we're still in range. Why did they stop shooting?" asked Eunie.

"I...I honestly wish I knew," wondered Mio's voice. "Noah?"

Noah grimaced, his Ouroboros Core slowly beginning to beep; it wouldn't be long before they would have to cancel the Interlink. "What are Moebius thinking...?"

xxxx

Indeed: what were they thinking?

A shot from Origin would have been enough to vaporize the Levnis, Ghondor, the comatose Queen Melia, and everyone on board.

Ouroboros might have survived, had such an attack occurred.

Yet Origin, almost with courtesy, refrained from retaliation so long as the rebellious forces of Keves, Agnus, and the City refused to fight.

So why?

xxxx

/The Amphitheater, Origin's Core/

"You seem curious, X," observed Z, sitting calmly within one of the many chairs.

"We're gonna regret letting those twerps go," X growled, her foot impatiently tapping against the floor.

(There was a not insignificant number of voices who agreed with her.) "Regret implies we would wish for a different choice than that which has already been set in stone." Glancing to his other side, he inquired, "And you, Y?"

The more innovative of his avatars seemed characteristically thoughtful. "It has been so very long since Melia Antiqua was free of Origin's tender embrace. It would be quite intriguing, to see her interact with what the world has become in her absence."

(There were also many voices who agreed with him.) "Aionios is as it has always been: an eternal cycle of decay and rejuvenation, empowered by the lives of its inhabitants, and the flow of their desires. All else is accidental."

X audibly scoffed. "Sure. Doesn't change the fact that she took her Key with her. N called her the 'fulcrum of Origin' for a reason."

"And yet if a key does not turn the lock it was made for, is it still fit for purpose?" countered Y. "She may have her Key, but Origin has been unlocked to Moebius for untold ages. The Queen would have to return to our humble abode to turn the lock shut...and therein lies the beauty of the trap."

"One way or another, the flow inevitably returns everything to Origin," said Z, gazing at the movie screen; old memories of a world long gone were playing, wherein Melia was front and center. "So it will be with her. But in the meantime...let us see how she reacts to this world. Will despair make her amenable to the Endless Now? Or will she resort to her usual defiance, and fail in the end?" (All of the other voices were in agreement: the Queen of Keves was too interesting to simply shoot down in such an ignominious way; wouldn't it be far better, to let her toil for a time, so that the futility of her actions would become seared into her mind and soul?) "We shall be witnesses, one way or another...and bask in the life she exudes."

If nothing else...it promised to be anything but boring.

xxxx

/Keves Castle/

In the dead of night, Melia Antiqua finally woke up.

As she quietly took stock of her location — ah, the old medical ward; has the decor really not changed after all these years; how long have I been out; how many cylinders worth of ether did they drain? — she resisted the urge to try and sneak out. What did I expect? That I would utilize an advanced Art after being out of practice for millennia? What arrogance. Rising up in the small medical bed, she realized that she had been left in her royal garb; a not unreasonable decision, given the ether IV drip connected to her left arm. (Or, perhaps, whoever had seen to her medical needs had been mortified at the thought of removing her garments? People's interactions with royalty could be odd, at times.) Even so...she felt filthy. "I've been wearing this dress for centuries and centuries," she whispered to herself with annoyance.

With little warning, a small tablet sitting on a nearby nightstand begin to blink with light. Melia absentmindedly picked it up — thankful that someone had had the foresight to leave a communications terminal with her — only to smile impulsively at the identity of the sender. As she activated it, she quietly said, "It seems to be rather early in the morning."

The image of Queen Nia smiled wryly, even as the old Flesh Eater yawned. "You picked a rather...tranquil time to finally awaken, your Majesty."

There was something different about hearing Nia's voice with her own ears, instead of through her simulacrum. It was nostalgic, heartening, and somewhat sad all at once. "I did not mean to be an inconvenience," she murmured. "What has transpired since I was rescued by Noah and the others?"

"Never one to rest, as ever." Nia shook her head, a stifled sigh of exasperation slipping by. "I know quite a few things about what ether depletion can do to those who are reliant on it. For one such as you? Ether cylinders are merely a stopgap measure; it would be best for you to regenerate your ether flow naturally. And that will take time, given how long you've been imprisoned."

"...an unfortunate reality, but one I must accept," she forced herself to admit. It looks like it'll take some time for me to regain enough of my strength to sunder the hold of the Flame Clock over my people. Alas, there was little point in pushing back on that point; as such, she decided to focus on something nicer. "...Nia, Queen of Agnus. I am in your debt, across the centuries." She meant this truly; Nia had kept up the fight for so very long after she had been captured by Moebius. (And she knew a thing or two of what it was like, to shoulder a burden by your lonesome.)

Shaking her head, Nia warmly replied, "Nonsense. Don't mention it. I simply did what needed doing, and entrusted the rest to the right people."

The tone of Melia's voice did not match the one she had long associated with in her mind. Is she...? "I see that you're still...affecting that elocution."

Rather than acting indignant (as Melia had halfway feared; after so long, she wouldn't blame Nia for feeling bitter), Nia simply smirked. "Oh my, it befits me not?" she said, increasing the 'poshness' by several dials.

(The fact that Nia was still able and willing to joke about such a thing was good enough, in Melia's opinion. Truly, the people of Agnus could not have asked for a better Queen.) "Do not hide your stripes."

"...all right then, Melia," relented Nia, "We'll have to make sure to thrash those Moebius goons once you're finally on your feet again."

As if a switch had been flipped, Nia's native accent came through; the intensity of it elicited a smile from Melia. "Gladly. Together...which is why I'm hoping you won't mind filling me in on what's happened whilst I was asleep."

"Oh dear. You talking about your really long sleep, or the recent one after you nearly fell on your face?"

"...I see Ouroboros have filled you in on recent events," dryly remarked Melia. "Let's focus on that one then. I'm sure my guards will eventually be checking in."

"Indeed. So, it's been five days since you were rescued from Origin..." In that time, as Nia explained, quite a bit had happened: the sudden silence of Origin's defenses; the retreat of various Colonies from the world's interior edge to lick their proverbial wounds; the unwillingness of Noah and his teammates to depart Keves Castle, until new affairs in the City had pulled them away; and so on and so forth. It engaged the administrative 'thinking muscles' that Melia had missed, so involved were they in the acts of royal jurisdiction. "...and I've been busy gathering ether in preparation for finally sundering the Flame Clock for all of Agnus."

"Oh? You haven't yet done so? I assumed you were of a similar mind as me."

"Yes, well..." Nia nervously scratched at the back of one of her furry ears. "...during my brief travels with Mio and her friends, we ran into a right nasty blighter called Kilocorn Grandeps. Came close to dying several times, so we did!"

"...I assume that is a monster of unusual strength and size?"

"Imagine an Ardun with more armor than a Ferronis. And it's as big as one of those Face Mechon you once told me about...maybe even bigger."

"Ah. I see..." Sighing, Melia leaned back, gazing at the ceiling with a melancholy expression. (For as much as things had changed, so many other things had stayed the same.) "...tomorrow will be a very busy day."

"You'll be fine. Once you're back up to speed, we'll be knocking on Origin's door like nobody's business...and we'll finally put an end to all of this."

"That is my wish, Nia," murmured Melia, ready to turn back in for at least a few more hours of uninterrupted sleep. I hope I still have the strength to grasp it...

(However, some things would have to take priority...like hygiene.)

(Tomorrow, you are going to take a very long bath. And you're finally going to change into something more suitable for the work you need to accomplish.)

A Queen's duty was never done.

xxxx

Author's Note: I'm sure the game's pacing would have been utterly wrecked even more if they had tried to stick both Nia and Melia's content in Chapter 7...plus, I'm well aware that the "hype moment" of Melia and Nia coming to help you out in the last phase of the final boss would have been spoiled as a result.

But narratively speaking? Nia and Melia's content should have been in the main game.

Of course, given it actually happened in-game, the rationale for Noah and the others showing up to see Melia would probably raise an eyebrow:

(Incoming crack.)

xxxx

/At Keves Castle, right before beginning Melia's Hero Quest/

Melia blinked dumbly. "Noah? How are you all here?"

"We took one of the City's Levnises."

"...why did you leave Origin?"

"For some reason, its defenses went quiet once we left. We're not sure why."

xxxx

/In the Moebius Theater Room/

"It's quite simple," said Z, speaking aloud to the voices. "It's all about the content."

"Bunch of Melia simps," grumbled X.

"Truly, the competition for 'Best Girl' always draws so much attention," pontificated Y.

xxxx

/ :V