Chapter 18: Expedition (9)

"Well, to be totally honest...so do I. Do you, umm...want to go first?"

Feeling her courage swiftly desert her the pale-blonde settled for giving Abigail a suspicious glare...and quickly gave that up as a bad job as well, mumbling, "You may go first, Nanashi."

Also seeming to have lost a great deal of his forward momentum the homunculus shrunk into his seat slightly, grumbling, "Dammit, shouldn't have offered that...alright, whatever."

At Abigail's comforting holding of his hand - an action that caused Manaka to grit her teeth, only holding her instinctive desire to break the clasp apart back through great will - Nanashi unleashed a gigantic sigh, meeting his first friend's gaze head on.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you, Manaka. After everything you've done for me it was wrong to lash out at you like that, especially when it was just how you were trying to show how worried you were for me. I...I really should have known that. But hearing you so bluntly say how helpless I really am just drove home that point in a way I wasn't ready to accept."

The magus unblinkingly stared at the regretful homunculus...and swallowed, sounding uncharacteristically vulnerable as she quietly replied, "I...am sorry too. I know I am a...a difficult girl at the best of times but when I heard my first and only friend so openly give voice to the real consequence of him dying I simply said what was on my mind, regardless of whether it was the truth or not."

The pale-blonde scuffed her shoe against the ground, mumbling, "I want us to be friends, Nanashi. I'm sorry for not respecting what is a friend's dearest desire."

An awkward silence descended upon the duo-

-and Abigail snapped them out of it with a bright smile, dragging their hands together as she cheerfully stated, "There, now you can shake hands and make up, becoming friends again! After all…"

She glanced at both of them, neither able to meet her slightly admonishing gaze.

"Friends shouldn't fight. It's not healthy or nice."

There was a moment of tender silence...and Nanashi snorted in amusement, Manaka rolling her eyes at Abigail's overly optimistic and happy-go-lucky words before cooly stating, "You words are heard and might be heeded. Now would you care to explain just why you are with Nanashi, hmm~?"

Tone carrying a fair amount of childish indignation and less childish threat Abigail merely smiled at her opposite, plainly replying, "I wanted to spend time with Nanashi and you, since you're both my friends now...probably the only ones that can be in my presence and not become violent."

Manaka felt another one of those odd lurches in her church at the blonde's plain and honest tone, flicking her eyes towards some distant sight as she inwardly screamed, "Why can I not remain angry at this girl?! Is there some other manner of bounded field or mental contamination that I cannot detect that affects my emotions?!"

Deciding to cut her losses and retreat before she did something truly ridiculous Manaka brusquely announced, "Well now that that is settled...time is short, Nanashi. Are you willing to continue our travels in the Reverse?"

The homunculus nodded, wryly grinning as he replied, "Anytime. You have everything you need?"

The cerulean-eyed girl flipped her hair, dismissively stating, "You suggest I need anything other than my skills and intelligence?"

"Yeah, should have known better than to ask."

Shaking his head in amusement Nanashi turned to face Abigail-

-and both of them were left flabbergasted as Abigail eagerly asked, "May I come with the two of you? I promise not to be a burden!"

Neither knew what to say, Nanashi blinking dumbly while Manaka felt a surge of indignation, said indignation manifesting itself as a cold rebuttal.

"Absolutely not. How would you even hope to aid us, when your very presence draws such animosity and misfortune our way?"

Rather than be deterred by such a blunt denial the tiny lady decisively responded, "Because I know quite a bit about the Reverse Side of the World and can look after myself. And I wish to help Nanashi in collecting the pieces and materials his new body will require...after all, he is my friend!"

The final nail in the proverbial coffin - at least to Abigail's perception - was when she held up her arm, flexing the lithe and slender limb while confidently stating, "And I am capable of protecting both myself and others. Sut-Typhon is quiet and seems to be doing its best to pretend you don't exist, Nanashi. We shall be perfectly fine. And I have outside protection from the mana oversurge from the Reverse, you needn't worry about me immolating myself."

Nanashi blinked, dumbly replying, "Well, if you really want to come along...I mean, that's your decision. Manaka, are you alright with this?"

Eye twitching in what was clearly a gesture of disquiet and displeasure the pale-blonde ground out, "May I remind you that my mental bounded fields might not remain so stable when my concentration must be focused elsewhere? It would be a shame if I were to lose control and assault you while under the influence of your natural aura of madness."

Clearly hoping that would put an end to the conversation Manaka was left sorely disappointed as Abigail merely smiled, cheerily replying, "Oh, I have no fear of that whatsoever! I trust that my friends would have the good judgement and take precautions when the consequences of such an occurrence would be so dire."

The magus blankly stared at Abigail, seemingly at a loss of what to say...and Nanashi was treated to the truly rare sight of Manaka blushing, pouting furiously as she complained, "Very well, do what you wish! Hmph!"

Shaking his head at the very unconventional but nonetheless accepting reply Nanashi slowly rose to his feet, announcing, "Well if we're all on the same page then let's get to work, we can start with meeting up with Merlin and the Fae and see if they have any leads for us to follow."

He paused, turning to Abigail before asking, "Are the Fae going to, you know...flip out because you're with us? I'm not saying you can't go but if there's going to be some kind of sudden trouble I'd at least like to know about it beforehand."

To his relief Abigail merely smiled, responding, "Have no fear, Nanashi. While I cannot profess to being some close acquaintance of the Fae folk I am fairly known among their number as one who is not aggressive towards them. But Merlin is actually quite the close friend of mine~!"

The homunculus blinked, asking, "Wait, how are you...you know what, never mind. I keep forgetting that people have actually been alive for a lot longer than I can remember existing."

He missed both Manaka and Abigail's curious and slightly disturbed expressions at the reminder of his still unknown past, the blondes briefly wondering if it perhaps had something to do with his strange resistance to Abigail's naturally suffocating and oppressive aura courtesy of the Outer God she played host to.

"Whatever, we're wasting time. Whenever you're ready, Manaka."

Setting aside their musings for another time the girls stood by his side, Manaka flaring her power briefly as a hole in reality manifested before the trio, Abigail's form shimmering before her colonial attire was replaced with her more esoteric and sparse 'priestess' adornments...Nanashi making damn sure his eyes stayed forward, sensing that the oddly prudish Manaka was also trying not to stare at the perpetually odd getup.

"Well, here we go. Let's see what the Magus of Flowers has cooked up."

"Ooh, so this is his home. He always seemed so self-conscious about showing me it, for some reason…"

"Likely because he was worried the presence of an Outer God within a place such as Avalon would have dire consequences for all involved. Personally I am quite shocked nothing untowards has yet to happen."

Manaka's haughty and suggestive words went right over Abigail's head, the blonde tilting her head as all three eyes blinked in contemplation, eventually replying, "No, I don't think that was it...hmm…"

Heaving out a sigh of defeat as they approached the enormous stone tower Nanashi grumbled, "Okay, forget what I said a minute ago, how the Hell do you know Merlin, Abigail? Or any of these people?"

"Oh, it's actually quite a strange but interesting tale-"

"Fou, fou~!"

A ball of white fluff slammed into Abigail's chest and almost unbalanced the girl, none other than Cath Palug joyously barking as the blue-eyed girl's expression lit up, ecstatic happiness seeming quite at odds with her current appearance as an avatar of Sut-Typhon as she cuddled the Beast right back, cooing, "Oh how I have missed you, Fou! Have you been eating well, being groomed properly?"

Holding the madly wagging quadruped at an arms length all three of Abigail's eyes narrowed as she examined him from head to toe, humming, "Your nails are a little long but your hair is sufficiently trimmed. Teeth are still clean and you aren't matted anywhere. I suppose Merlin has done an acceptable job of looking after you."

A noise that sounded suspiciously like a dismissive snort escaped Palug, Nanashi trying not to laugh as Manaka watched the scene with intense jealousy, dangerously mumbling, "First Nanashi, now Palug? This is becoming dangerous…"

Leaving his first friend to stew in her growing agitation he instead asked, "Have you owned dogs before, Abigail? Or whatever weird comparison he resembles most?"

Happily nodding the blonde hugged the dog-thing to her chest, cheerily explaining, "Where I was born dogs were quite a common part of life, either in hunting or as companionship. I became quite good at caring for them over the years and it's been far too long since I was able to have one of my own~!"

Allowing himself a few seconds more to enjoy the scene of Abigail fussing over Fou as his tail wagged up a storm they quickly arrived at their destination, striding into the main hall with sure steps as the doors swung open without protest, the pale-haired magus already tinkering in his kitchen with some kind of steaming concoction at the ready.

"And a good day to you, children! I hear you rather suitably impressed lady Vivianne, my congratulations for performing such a feat. She does not easily consider others impressive, I shall tell you that much."

Fou began to aggressively bark, a titanic sigh leaving Merlin as he begrudgingly turned around, complaining, "Shrieking and yammering like a rabies-infected gopher does not make me any more inclined to be polite and...courteous…"

The man's words trailed off as Abigail gave him a hesitant smile and a brief wave, saying, "Hello, Merlin...it has been quite some time, hasn't it?"

For a moment the man looked dumbstruck, expression halfway between disbelief and smarminess-

-and it was promptly replaced by boyish joy, his tone full of happiness as he raised his arms wide for a hug.

"Abby, sweet child~! It has indeed been far too-"

He abruptly paused, expression wiping itself clean...and with swift motions the magus swept whatever he'd been working on into a few glass vials and punted the rest into some kind of waste bin that blazed with killing fire, a wave of his hand causing several bangs and crashes to emanate from the overhead rooms, only coming to a stop when the sounds of several shutting and then locking drawers could be heard.

Merlin approached, joy returning as if it had never been absent.

"Abby, sweet child~! For shame, you two! You did not mention you were friends with such a lovely young lady such as this one."

Still giving the commotion overhead a suspicious look the homunculus shrugged, replying, "Never came up in conversation. And to be honest I'm still wondering how you two know each other."

He didn't immediately get a response, Abigail instead giving Merlin an enthusiastic hug that he returned with an almost fatherly air...or at least Nanashi assumed it was fatherly, he wasn't exactly the expert on familial interplay, having only Manaka's to go off of thus far.

"You know you don't always have to go and hide your 'research' every time you see me, I'm not the innocent little girl I used to be."

Ruffling her hair with an affectionate gesture the Magus of Flowers replied, "Apologies, apologies...but I cannot help but recall the time you stumbled upon my store of 'female bedroom enhancements' and I was promptly threatened by all of Chaldea with horrific death if I further corrupted your innocence."

A blush adorned Abigail's pale skin, hiding her face in her hands as she embarrassedly mumbled, "I forgot about that…"

"Uh, question? You guys know each other how, precisely? Still waiting on that little tidbit there."

"Indeed, I find myself wondering that right alongside Nanashi, this is something still unknown to me."

Both Merlin and Abigail exchanged glances, some unspoken communication passing between them before the Magus of Flowers replied, "Are either of you familiar with the concept of nexus personas?"

"Pfft, no. Why would I be?"

Nanashi's blunt response was a contrast to Manaka, who's eyes widened in comprehension as the term no doubt unleashed a spiralling cascade of knowledge and meaning within her brain, courtesy of her connection to the Root being provided context for its search.

"Ah. That would indeed explain it."

Pinching the bridge of his nose Nanashi grumbled, "Someone explain to me like I'm an idiot?"

Abigail obliged with a happy smile that was thankfully free of condescension, stating, "Nexus personas are the baseline souls of all the variations of an individual across the varying timelines, ones that receive a great deal of memories and information from their alternate versions."

Nanashi blinked, neutrally turning to Merlin and Manaka as the Magus of Flowers affectionately rubbed Abigail's head, stating, "Why not leave the more scientific speak to us, hmm?"

"But that's how it was told to me…"

Doing his level best to ignore Abigail's despondent expression at her failed attempt with information relay the homunculus gave his full attention to the much taller male as he began with, "You are familiar with the Akashic Records, yes?"

"Origin of multiverse, everyone's birth certificate on file, yeah."

"Excellent! Now it stands to reason that souls also emanate from the Swirl of the Root, the blueprint of a person or individual residing there, yes?"

"With you so far."

Merlin smiled, gesturing with his finger to himself and Abigail.

"We are - for lack of a better term - the original soul of all the Merlins and Abigails that walk across all of the alternate timelines and realities. Thus, whenever an Abigail Williams or Merlin perishes or returns to the Root or Throne of Heroes, some remnants of their memory is imparted to us, as we were the first iteration that was spawned from the primordial soup. One of the more recent and sharp memories was when the two of us were summoned to an organization called Chaldea, where we fought to save human history from forces that sought to eliminate it."

Abigail smiled, replying, "The Abigail of that time made a great many friends and allies, something that I was more than happy to receive from her. That, Nanashi, is how we are familiar with each other."

The homunculus blinked, rubbing his eyes as he asked, "Okay, couple of questions here."

Merlin beamed, happily responding, "By all means, ask! I do so miss being a teacher~!"

"Okay, if you two are constantly being fed a stream of memories and experiences from your alternate versions from across the span of the infinite multiverse...shouldn't you just be receiving an unending and brain melting stream of thoughts that aren't yours?"

The magus raised an authoritative finger, boldly claiming, "Ah, but that would be the case only if the universe was infinite all at once, instead of infinite in small chunks at a time."

"...That makes no fucking sense."

"It doesn't if you think of time in a linear sense, rather than the convoluted spaghetti monster it actually is."

"Fucking spaghetti monster, really?"

Heaving out a defeated sigh the boy asked, "So if you're both the 'originals'...does that mean Manaka and I are as well? Since we're in the same universe and everything?"

He shook his head, softly patting Abigail on the head while explaining, "Unlikely, if you do not have memories or flashes of other timelines and lives you have lead. And Abigail is from far away indeed."

Giving his blonde companion a strange look the homunculus shrugged, replying, "Alright, fine, I'm out of questions. Back to the original purpose of this visit, you have any leads to where we might find willing traders of phantasmal materials? Or things that just plain need killing?"

Merlin cupped his chin, giving the trio before him a contemplative look...and nodded to himself, stating, "You explored the boundaries of the void the Fae pointed out to you, yes?"

"Yeah, why?"

The Magus of Flowers lightly pushed Abigail forward, stating, "Then I wish for you to return there once more with dear Abby accompanying you."

He gave the curious girl a significant look.

"An old acquaintance of ours resides within."

Abigail's eyes widened, head dipping in a gesture of understanding as the man more cheerily added, "Once that is accomplished I would advise you travel south-east from here, towards where the Youkai reside. The Fae can provide you with the means to interact with them and not be immediately turned aside or rejected."

Nodding in acceptance Nanashi turned to Abigail and Manaka, asking, "You mind if I chat with Merlin alone for a moment?"

The pale-blonde raised an eyebrow, suspiciously inquiring, "And just for what reason do you need to be so secretive, Nanashi? Is it-"

Abigail pushed Fou into Manaka's arms, proceeding to gently guide the other girl outside the tower while she blinked in shock at the brazen action, the longer-haired lady stating, "Now now, it's no doubt something to do with guy talk and we should let them have it~!"

"W-what?! What perverted conversation could possibly-"

The doors shut tight, leaving the pair of males in an awkward silence as Merlin waited for the homunculus to speak.

"...So I read up on your heritage and you supposedly descended from Incubus blood, right?"

"Yes."

"So that means you're mostly familiar with tantric rituals, energy and the such, right?"

"While it was never my main thrust I am indeed quite knowledgeable, yes."

Laughing at his own joke Nanashi felt his eyes roll and face heat, mortified by the topic he was about to broach.

"Well, you see...the other day Manaka and I, well...the thing is-"

"Yeeeeeessssss?"

Collapsing inwards on himself and feeling a deep, mortifying shame the homunculus muttered, "My dick doesn't work. Do you have any way to fix that?"

A long, resounding silence filled the interior of Merlin's home, the homunculus immediately regretting bringing up the subject-

-and yelped as he found himself picked up and engulfed in a heartfelt hug, Merlin wailing, "What tragedy! A young man such as yourself in the prime of his youth, confined to a body that lacks even such crucial functions?! Rest assured, you beautiful child, I hold a solution of one variety or another!"

Nanashi felt himself get helplessly swung about the room, nostrils suffused with the scent of flowers as his cheeks burned in mortified embarrassment.

"Shit...I think I may have just inadvertently given myself more than I bargained for."