Look at that, an entire volume in one go. I think that might be a new record for me.
Anyways, thanks for reading up until now! It's not the end yet, but we did just get to more than 150K words. It's more than I thought it would reach, considering this started out as just a fun experiment.
But writing this has been very fun and enjoyable for me, despite the numerous long breaks. So once again, thank you and I'll see you in the next volume!
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Little Wing It
Volume 4
The Disappearance Of Emilia Percival
Epilogue
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"Ooh, welcome back! And Emilia is safe and sound too. Magnifique!"
The moment our temporary ship arrived back in Little Wing, its comms system started beeping. I put through the caller, and it was none other than Chelsea.
To my knowledge, I've never seen her have any other expression besides general cheerfulness. But I could tell Emilia's disappearance affected her greatly as well. The two were quite close, though I suppose with all the stuff that was happening, they haven't really had the chance to chat all that much.
Still, with Emilia recovered successfully, Chelsea was looking happier than ever.
"We are all waiting in the office, so come say 'allo when you are all done, yes?"
"Sure thing. Thanks, Chels."
As the line went dead, I motioned to the other two occupants of the ship to get moving.
It's been a very rough day, but we ultimately managed to accomplish our mission, so I guess things weren't so bad.
Kraz took Emilia, who'd fallen asleep in his arms, back with him on the ship he used to get to Parum, which meant that our personal ship which Emilia used would have to be retrieved at a later date.
I could have asked Red or Yut to pilot it back, but I figured we all deserved to have a break from running around. Who knows where Emilia parked that thing. It could take a while to find it and all of us were dead tired.
I just hope that problematic girl remembered to lock the hatch. Wouldn't want a case of Grand Theft Spaceship on our hands, after all.
As for the others that went with me on the mission, well, they were alright but it seems like things stayed eventful even after we split up.
As it turned out, the Guardians Red and I encountered managed to make their way back to Rykros's central sector, which was near enough for Yut to pick up their presence with his senses.
That tipped him off that Red and I were able to enter the locked room. In a surprisingly well-thought out move, he then went to gather Maya and Lou. That might have closed the door again, but they'll never know if they just stayed there.
In the end, though, we never got know if releasing the switches when the door was already open re-locked it. By the time Yut, Maya, and Lou were on their way towards the north sector, I've already awakened Emilia, which meant that we were all brought back to the ruins, and thus, the locked door disappeared.
That didn't mean that the Seeds that were already manifested vanished alongside Rykros, though, as evidenced by the Delsabans that attacked Emilia.
Under the effects of her powerful Mirage Blast, Red managed to, on her own, defeat one of the Zoldillans that blocked us from getting to Emilia. Night Embrace ran out after that, though, leaving her in a precarious situation, but thankfully, Yut and the Guardians arrived in the nick of time. Together, they were able to take care of the last Seedform without any major trouble.
We all met up again after that, and with the mission finished, Maya and Lou rounded up the missing Guardians, who apparently passed out upon the Zoldillans' demise, and took them back to their headquarters, but not without a word of thanks from us.
They were a really big help on this mission, and I really hope this lightens Emilia's view on them somewhat. To this day, I still have no idea why that girl hates them as much as she does.
Speaking of Emilia, it looks like Kraz and her arrived just before us. As Chelsea said, they were already waiting at the office, so despite the extreme exhaustion, which was at least slightly mitigated by the rest during the return trip, we made our way over there.
The sliding doors opened, and the entire gang was there, with a smiling Ursula, a happy Chelsea, a grinning Kraz, and a sheepish Emilia.
One of these things is not like the others.
"Ah, you're back. Let's get down to business."
We were greeted by Kraz, who then pointed to the runaway idiot.
"But first, the brainless wonder's got something to say."
"Don't call me a brainless wonder!"
Emilia harshly revoked, but Kraz didn't seem all that affected. In fact, it only seemed to make him more entertained.
Despite that, Emilia caught herself and calmed down, before turning to address everyone that was in the room with an embarrassed face.
"Um... hi, uh... I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused. There, I said it!"
She crossed her arms as she looked away, her apology sounding genuine enough, but that didn't particularly reflect on her actions. That's not to say she isn't sorry. She is, but you gotta do better than that, Percival.
Surprisingly, Ursula was the one who spoke next, a teasing look plastered on her face.
"Hmm? Oh, don't worry about that, Wonder."
"What did you call-"
"Oui, oui! We are merely happy to have you returned, madamoiselle brainless!"
"H-hey!"
Chelsea then joined in, adding on to Ursula's jabbing and shattering the composure of the brainless wonder.
Getting no reprise from the adult trio of Little Wing, she turned to us, her party, for a little assistance on her little conundrum.
"Heh. You better watch it, Wonder."
"I should have expected that from you but-"
"Brainless! Brainless!"
"And you aren't even trying to be mean, which somehow makes it worse..."
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant, Yut, you tactless jungle boy, you.
With a miserable and teary look on her face, Emilia turned to me next, her partner, her last hope of escaping the assault of everyone she worried.
Unfortunately, I was one of the people she worried with her irresponsible and rash actions.
"You've got a lot to answer for, Wonder."
"Y-you too?! I give up..."
Emilia's shoulders completely slumped after that, thoroughly defeated and bringing a laugh to the entire office.
Of course, it's all in the manner of good fun, and I'm sure she knows that.
Probably.
"Alright, enough horsing around."
With our little revenge, petty though as it may be, accomplished successfully, Kraz switched to boss mode, gathering the attention of everyone around.
"With the missing Guardians found on Inhelt Corporation turf, things are coming to quite a head."
"We've joined the Guardians and the AMF in demanding an explanation from Inhelt. The subspace plans are indefinitely shelved. Depending on how Inhelt responds, we may launch a full investigation."
Ursula added on, bringing to light that our detour to Parum resulted in more than just recovering Emilia, after all.
So, the AMF's getting involved, huh? Looks like we might actually have a shot to save Gurhal at this rate, which was a comforting thought.
The AMF, which stands for Alliance Military Force, is an organization meant to keep the peace in the Gurhal system and defend it from threats. It was established after the Seed war.
A little tidbit about the AMF is that it was supposed to be composed of equal numbers of people from each race, but this didn't work out and it's composed mostly of CASTs. They were supposedly trying to balance the numbers, but I don't know how far they've gotten with that.
"So it looks like the brainless wonder might have helped us out, after all."
Emilia flinched as soon as the words left Kraz's mouth, but beamed when he implied that she accomplished something good with her escapade.
In the end, her face turned out to be a mix of pride and embarrassment. It was a confusing mess, which wasn't actually that far off from describing her, either.
The brainless wonder aside, Ursula had a thoughtful look on her face, finding something peculiar about this entire situation.
"I just don't like how quiet Inhelt's been about all this. That CEO would hold a press conference to explain a toilet malfunction. But so far, we've heard nothing but silence about this."
Now that Ursula mentioned him, I remembered that we actually have met the CEO of Inhelt before. Well, Yut hasn't, since he wasn't yet on our team at the time.
Still, the CEO, Natsume Shu, seemed like a kind and good man with integrity. I know it's possible he could be faking it, but he genuinely didn't feel like someone who'd agree to kidnap people. And in all the times I've seen him in the news, it looked like this situation has been weighing down heavily on him as well.
But if he really wasn't behind all this, then why the silence? It could be that he's just covering up for his son, Shizuru, but that still makes him an accomplice. Makes me wonder if that psycho Ancient is using Shizuru's guise to fool that seemingly benevolent man.
"I'm sure everything will clear up soon enough. I don't see why you shouldn't take a break while things are quiet."
With all the speculation that's going around, it seemed that we still didn't yet have a concrete plan of action. What's more, it's been a really long day and we're all exhausted. Kraz must have realized this, and adjourned the meeting.
As we prepared to leave the office, a sheepish Emilia approached Kraz with an uncertain look on her face.
"Err, boss, what should I do? I'm guessing I'm under house arrest?"
"Do what you want."
"Huh?"
Huh?
As Emilia sputtered in confusion due to Kraz's sudden change of mind, he started to elaborate.
"I've learned better than to keep you locked up. It's more trouble than it's worth. So just do what you want to do, and we'll all help you if we can."
"So it's okay if I hang out with all of you?! I mean, I can go out on missions with the team?"
Emilia's face lightened up as soon as she heard Kraz's answer, her eyes sparkling as she asked for confirmation, like a child that's been allowed to go out and play by their parents.
Gee, if all you wanted was to hang out then maybe we could have avoided this entire fiasco in the first place, you troublesome girl.
Kraz seemed amused by Emilia's excitement, before turning his expression into a stern look.
"On one condition. Stick with your team, or at least your partner. Don't, and I mean, don't go out alone."
"You got it! C'mon, you guys!"
"Pudding! Let's eat pudding!"
"Is that all you ever eat, jellyface?"
Emilia answered before turning around and happily skipping out of the office while dragging Yut and Red with her. Kraz watched them with the look of a happy parent, before turning to me with the look of a strict parent.
Playing favorites, are we, boss?
"You're the only one I dare leave Emilia with. Keep an eye on her, got it?"
"You're asking quite a lot, you know?"
Kraz asked me with a the seriousness he could muster.
It's true, though. Emilia's one of the hardest people I've ever had to deal with. She complains a lot, she's stubborn, annoying, rash, childish... the list could go on and on.
But despite Gurhal's safety hanging on a thread all the while, I've had the best days of my life here in Little Wing, and that wouldn't have happened if I never met that girl. And she's genuinely the best friend that I ever had.
"If anyone can do it, it's you."
"Yeah, I guess I've had the most up-close experience with the job, huh?"
"Heh. If that's how you wanna put it. But other than that, she listens to you. She trusts ya, kid, believe it."
I guess I do believe it. Everyone's always said that she confides with me more than anyone else, so I suppose it's time I own up to it.
But looking at Kraz's stern face, it's really amazing what a stark difference this is from him denying any connection to Emilia the first time we met.
The heart truly is a mysterious thing, but watching them like this, like an actual parent and child, kinda makes it less so.
"We clear, then?"
"Crystal, boss."
"That's what I wanted to hear. Aight, keep yer comms humming. I'll buzz you if anything comes up."
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II
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I took a shower the moment I was able to return to my room. I may have been exhausted to the nines, but I honestly wouldn't be able to sleep covered in blood, dust, and just general dirt.
After I felt the most refreshed I've ever been in quite some time, I forgoed reapplying the cast on my injured arm. I figured that since we're not gonna be going on missions for a while, I can just be careful with it. And that cast probably needs a replacement, it looked pretty nasty now.
My arm's not even broken anymore, just a little tender from the long period of un-use. I haven't required a sling for a few days now, so it shouldn't be a problem. Thankfully, falling down the stairs in the ruins didn't affect its recovery any.
I put on a fresh set of clothes, and exited the bathroom with a satisfied feeling.
And the moment I did, the first thing I noticed was a seemingly nervous Emilia sitting on my bed. The sight brought an amused smile to my face. It's like nothing's even changed after that entire runaway situation, and maybe that's for the best.
Emilia stood up from the bed upon noticing me, and a sheepish grin formed on her face.
"Um, hi! Got a moment?"
"Sure, what's up? You need something?"
"Sort of? There's something I need to talk to you about."
Something to talk about?
I was a bit confused as to what she was referring to. Hmm...
"Is it your headphones? Cuz it's right over there by the table."
"No, not that. What I, er, what I wanted to talk about... well, not so much talk, as, uh..."
Emilia tripped over her own words as she steadily reduced to unintelligible mumbling.
"'Lia?"
"I wanted to apologize! I'm really sorry! I know you must've been worried sick and... just, sorry."
Ah, so that's what she wanted to say.
Well, it's not that I don't appreciate it. It's good that she's learned to own up to her actions and take some accountability, but I can't say we weren't to blame as well.
Sure, most of it's her fault. If she just stopped to listen then we wouldn't need to have this discussion at all. But we also could have broken it to her earlier and better, compared to her finding out on her own.
It's not good and healthy putting all the blame on Emilia. She's already had a troubled past as is, and coupled with what she though was betrayal from our side, it must have seriously clouded up her judgement.
So, a little understanding goes a long way. Like Kraz said, we're family. And family watches out for each other.
But that doesn't mean I can't mess with her a little, though. Call me petty or whatever, but I can't say she doesn't deserve a little ribbing here and there.
"Sorry? That's all? You'll pay for what you put me through."
"Um, what...? I know saying 'sorry' doesn't make it all better, but I'm not sure what else I can do. So... Sorry, 'kay?"
"Relax, I'm just playing around. Don't worry about it."
"But I am worried! I mean, you're my partner and all... I really should have listened to you..."
Emilia started sniffling after that. Maybe I shouldn't have been kidding around.
Judging by her current emotional state, I guess this was really important for her. Not that it wasn't for me, I'm happy she's acknowledging her mistakes, but...
Emilia wiped the beginnings of her tears off before looking away with a far-off expression.
"It's strange... I don't remember much when you came to rescue me... or why I was even unconscious there. But... I do remember the sound of your voice. I remember that part clearly."
"My... voice?"
"Yeah. It was almost like I could feel it."
She turned back to face me with misty eyes, smiling despite the quivering of her lips.
I... had no idea what to say.
"Oh, why am I crying? I'm not sad, really! Boy, I've turned into a real crybaby lately! Gotta get a hold of myself."
She looked miserable as she wiped her tears, drenching the edges of her sleeves.
As she tried and failed to contain her rushing tears, I felt a vaguely sad feeling from the pits of my chest. As if telling me to do something.
But I found myself frozen. I didn't have any idea what to do in situations like this. It's stupid. I'm her partner and yet I'm just watching her cry.
"H-hey, stop that! I'm just gonna cry more, I'm warning you!"
Before I noticed what I was doing, I was patting her on the head, causing a surprised gasp from the sniveling Emilia. And honestly, it surprised me too.
Despite the complaint, though, she looked embarrassed but happy, so maybe I did something right?
"Heh. Your threats won't work on me, Percival."
"Is that so? Heehee. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore... but..."
My attempt to lighten the atmosphere seemed to have worked, but before I realized it, Emilia slipped under my patting hand and wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her face in my chest.
"H-hey..."
"Sorry. I guess I just relaxed, and I can't stop crying. You don't mind, do you?"
She asked with a muffled sound. I could feel her tears drenching my newly put-on shirt, but I couldn't find it in me to care about my clothing at the moment.
I think I understand Kraz's actions on Parum a little better now, thanks to the mess of emotions that is Emilia Percival.
Heh. No matter what happens, she just does what her feelings tell her, it would seem. Following her heart, wherever it may take her.
Maybe I should try it sometimes as well.
With my good arm, I gently hugged her back, causing her to tighten her embrace with a soft giggle.
"Hey, Kara?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm not sad, really. I'm happy. So happy, like I'm dreaming, almost."
"Then I'm glad."
"But if this isn't a dream, then keep holding me. Please. Hold me until I know what's real."
A tender silence befell us after those words.
I didn't have any recollection after that moment. I was too heavily fatigued physically, mentally, and emotionally to even remember how we separated from our embrace, that it makes me think that we just passed out on the spot.
It was a very long day, with a lot of twists, turns, and just general chaos. But I do remember one thing.
I decided that day that I would stay by Emilia's side, for as long as she needs.