Episode 10: Kill the Isolation
"WHAT?!" Tatsumi wailed, falling to his knees as he was overwhelmed by the radically different environment before him and the new sensations that assaulted him. The sand beneath him was cold, the sun was somehow peering over the horizon, and a massive body of water waited at the edge of the beach. An early burst of sunlight when only it had been pitch black before, sand where there had been stone, heat where once there was the deathly chill of the night...they'd been thrown far away from their last location!
Behind him, Esdeath and Leone were already wrapped up in other matters; namely, grabbing each other's collars and glaring viciously as jealous women often did. Tilting his head back, Tatsumi stared in bewilderment as the two of them completely disregarded the change in scenery and focused on how intensely they wanted to murder each other.
"How do you know Tatsumi? What is your business with him?" Esdeath growled, tightening her grip on Leone. "You seem like an excellent candidate for the torture chamber! Perhaps I'll oversee your interrogation, myself!"
"Ha! As if Tatsumi would let that happen!" Leone laughed derisively, causing one of Esdeath's eyes to twitch in irritation. "I'm a proud member of Night Raid and his big sister! Well, almost. Kind of. We're good friends," Leone cleared her throat, desperately trying to get back on track and avoid speaking her mind in front of present company. "Anyway, I've got every right to defend him from the likes of you! So prepare yourself, Ms. Capital's Strongest!" Leone tightened her own grip, awakening Lionelle and wrapping her giant paws around Esdeath's neck. "Not even you can survive having your neck broken!"
"Leone, stop!" Tatsumi cried, rushing forward to pull the two of them apart. "Let her go, and take a good look around! Did you completely miss the fact that we're stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere? I think we have more important things to worry about!"
"Tatsumi," Leone growled, gritting her teeth as Esdeath relinquished her grip and placed her hands ominously on the other woman's chest. "This is our chance to kill her. If we kill her, the enemy's strength will be devastated! We can't waste this chance! You can come back to us!"
"I can't come back!"
Leone dropped her hands in shock, caught completely off-guard as Esdeath quickly froze the woman's body up to her neck. Tatsumi shook his head, disapproving of Esdeath's actions yet unable to find the right words for either of them. Effectively restrained and now completely harmless, Leone could only stare at him as he stared at the sand.
She didn't speak a word, so he continued. "Sorry, that was...well, it's not entirely true. It's not that I don't want to come back, but I can't. I'm where I need to be, for now. I'm in a position where I can change things from the inside."
Esdeath regarded the two of them with curious eyes, arms folded across her chest as she observed the assassins. Her gaze was much like the ice surrounding Leone's body, ice that was growing colder and more painful with every moment. Tatsumi took notice of Leone's pained expression and looked over to Esdeath, matching her frigid gaze with one of his own.
"Let her go, Esdeath," he spoke firmly, stepping forward and placing a hand over her arm. "She's the best friend I've got, so please, don't take her from me. I thought you were done trying to destroy Night Raid."
"Don't misunderstand, Tatsumi," Esdeath replied, still as emotionless as ever. "We have a job to do, you and I. As members of the Jaegers, we must eliminate these assassins whenever the opportunity presents itself."
"If I don't mean anything to you, anything at all, then be my guest." Tatsumi welcomed the rage of the 47th as it coursed through his mind, forcing him into that familiar mindset that drove him away from reason and into conflict. "But keep in mind that I won't just sit by and watch. If you try to hurt her, regardless of whether I'm a Jaeger or not, I will stop you."
Leone's heart pumped fire throughout her whole body, and it almost felt like it would be enough to free her from her icy prison. Sisterly mannerisms gave way to more primal feelings as she gazed at Tatsumi, remembering with fondness the night where she had marked him as her own. The ice continued to encroach upon her, tightening painfully around her as Esdeath's anger and jealousy spiked.
"If it weren't for her," Tatsumi insisted, tightening his grip on the general's arm, "you and I would never have met. I would have died shortly after arriving at the Capital, did you know that? The sick nobles who killed my friends," Tatsumi growled, "would have targeted me, next. I survived them because of Night Raid's interference, and I survived our other friend, Akame, because of Leone. Akame didn't know me, then, and saw me as a threat."
Tatsumi turned his head to look at Leone, his expression suddenly far more gentle. "If you think about it, I owe Leone my life at least two times over. Actually, it's probably more than that. I still haven't repaid her."
Esdeath blinked, hesitating as she absorbed the boy's words. Leone felt relief wash over her as the ice began to recede.
"Please," Tatsumi pleaded again, removing his hand. "We're stuck in the middle of nowhere, and I myself am stuck here with two people that I care about," Tatsumi sighed, looking from one woman to the other. "We won't get out of this situation if we're trying to kill each other every five seconds, so just put this aside for now. Actually, put this aside forever. No matter who kills who, I'd still be angry. And lately," he concluded with an ominous tone, "my anger has become dangerous."
Esdeath sighed as the ice around Leone shattered, and she felt her patience begin to wane as the blonde-haired woman immediately tackled Tatsumi to the ground and nuzzled his face with her own.
"Ora, ora, ora…" Leone purred teasingly, very much enjoying Tatsumi's expression as he stared helplessly at Esdeath. "You really do care about your onee-san, don't you~? There you go, again, trying to sound cool. I wonder if your fly is down?"
"Cut that out!" Tatsumi blushed, crawling out from under her and brushing the sand off of his trousers. "We need to think of this as if it were a mission," he insisted, once again looking from one companion to the other. "Esdeath is extremely smart; you, Leone, have crazy instincts. Let's use our specialties to get out of here."
"What is your specialty, then?" Esdeath inquired, bringing a finger to her chin and looking thoughtful. Leone snickered and immediately fouled the general's expression; she increased the tension between everyone with a casual shrug.
"You don't even know him well enough to tell what his specialty is?" Leone mocked, sneering and pointing a furry finger at the general. "I'm nice, so I'll let you in on a little secret: the answer is 'everything.' Tatsumi can do it all, even if he can't master it all. He's the best learner, so much that he's already closing in on Bulat!"
"The previous wielder of Incursio," Esdeath acknowledged, scowling at the haughty assassin. "Liver spoke of him often, and quite fondly if I recall. It was said that his strength was legendary among the Imperial Soldiers of his time."
"You got that right," Leone bit back, crossing her arms and looking away. "Not that it's any of your business. A shameless cougar like yourself wouldn't understand the youth of today, so maybe you should just crawl back to your palace and the Prime Minister's wrinkly, old-"
And just like that they were at it again, much to Tatsumi's dismay. With every second that went by, the sun rose ever higher and he grew increasingly convinced that it was his presence alone that prevented the two from outright killing each other. Thankfully, they didn't go any further than rolling around in the sand and harmlessly choking each other. As harmless as choking another person could be, anyway.
"I'll have you flogged," Esdeath cried. "Flogged and crucified for all to see!"
"Like any good cat, I prefer my meat warm," Leone yelled in response, "but this time, I think I'll make an exception!"
"I thought we were making progress," Tatsumi moaned, sitting comfortably on the sand as he watched the sun come up.
"You are strong," Esdeath conceded, panting heavily as she laid back on the sand. "You would be an entertaining opponent, had we met on the battlefield."
"Bite me," Leone responded, just as weary as the woman beside her. "I don't care what you think."
"Looks like you guys have finally calmed down," Tatsumi chirped, walking out of the forest and dumping an armful of various fruits at his feet. "It took me forever to get this stuff, so eat up! We're going to need our strength if we plan on getting back home."
Esdeath reached for one of the giant pieces of fruit, examining it for a moment. She scratched the surface with one nail, peeled back the skin, sniffed it, licked it, and finally threw it out into the writhing ocean beyond. "It's poisonous, Tatsumi."
The boy's jaw dropped, and Leone started examining his hard-earned offering, as well. "Yep," she added, tossing one behind her as she stared at the pile. "Another poison one."
"You're kidding," he groaned.
"Poison," Esdeath said, frowning as she tossed yet another into the water.
"Deadly," Leone snickered, throwing a handful back into the forest.
"Did I do something wrong?" Esdeath giggled, crushing one of the bigger fruits with her bare hands. "I can't believe you'd try to poison me, Tatsumi. I must have disappointed you."
"After all we've been through," Leone teased, juggling three different pieces of fruit at once. "I thought we were friends, Tatsumi."
"Tatsumi," both of them whined simultaneously. The boy in question groaned and gripped his head with both hands, crying out in a mixture of shame and embarrassment.
"Fine, fine, FINE!" He cried, shaking his head and plopping down on the sand in front of them. "I get it, I'm crap when it comes to foraging! Just...just please," he begged, bowing before them and placing his head on the heated sand, "please go get some food that won't kill us! I'm starving!"
As if on cue, all of their stomachs growled together. All three of them winced.
"Very well, then," Esdeath sighed, rising to her feet and watching carefully as Leone did the same. "We have resources to accrue and little time to do so before our strength wanes. Since Tatsumi lacks the knowledge or the instincts necessary to acquire the food we need, it is then left to us to fulfill this task." Esdeath scowled at Leone. "I suppose I can trust you not to kill yourself or Tatsumi with your negligence? If you don't want to die, then you could at least make yourself useful."
Leone scoffed, arms crossed again as she glared back at the general. "I was about to say the same thing. I'm not sure I like having something in common with you."
The friction was so intense that Tatsumi could almost see the lightning darting between their eyes. Without another word, the two women vanished into the trees and left Tatsumi alone to bake underneath the midmorning sun.
"Try not to fall behind," Leone sneered, running far ahead of the general with her inhuman strength and stamina. "It'd be a shame if you got eaten up by the local wildlife!"
"No need to worry about me," Esdeath bit back, scanning the area for fruit that wouldn't kill them. "If you intend to focus on our objective, then save the quips for later and search for food. In fact, why don't you go ahead and acquire some meat? I daresay the 'local wildlife' won't be too fearful, considering how much you all have in common."
Her satisfaction was apparent when Leone stopped sprinting to punch a tree, glaring back at the woman she wanted to kill. "After all," Esdeath smiled sweetly, "I'm sure you all smell alike."
"Bitch!" Leone cursed, chopping a tree in half and pressing onward. She sped off with everything she had, desperate to put that foul woman out of sight and earshot. Only Tatsumi could keep her focused on her task, only Tatsumi was preventing her from ripping the "Capital's Strongest" to shreds. Only Tatsumi…
Leone stopped running and stared up at the clear blue sky, lost in thought as the thriving life around her continued about its business. Wind kissed the leaves of trees, weaving around the trees themselves to stir the grass at her feet. A wild boar snorted and walked lazily on by, unperturbed by her presence there. The clouds inched ever forward, as did Leone's own train of thought.
"We're never going to be the same, are we?" She thought, perfectly calm as she merged with the island around and beneath her. "Not Night Raid, not Tatsumi, and not me...especially not me."
Again, her mind strayed back to that fateful night when he had charmed her with that stupid idealism of his, barking about resolve and saving the women in the slums, and so on. She'd put on a cheeky face, then, but she'd truly felt his words. She'd received his message and chose to respond with something so impulsive, something so instinctive, it ran the risk of completely ruining their friendship if he hadn't reacted with surprise. She had feared anger or disgust in response, but when he simply blushed and backed away like any innocent boy would, she just decided to run with it.
And it felt good.
"Geez," Leone chuckled, scratching her head and finally continuing onward. "This isn't a vacation, gotta focus! Okay, where'd that little pig go?"
The boar snorted somewhere up ahead, and Leone charged after it with a joyous grin. Somewhere far behind, Esdeath was knocking down healthy pieces of fruit with the aid of her ice powers. After a time, each of them journeyed back to the beach where Tatsumi waited, arms full of fruit and dead animals in kind. Finally bumping shoulders on the way back, the two young women glared daggers at each other, each of them secretly hoping that their offering would please Tatsumi more than the other's. Each knew that the other was a threat, and not simply as opposing forces on the battlefield. It ran much deeper than that, and their unspoken war raged on even as they burst through the forest and into the shining beach that waited beyond.
"Heeeeeeeey!" Tatsumi yelled, laughing and waving. To begin, both of them immediately dropped what was in their arms at the sight of him. Shirtless and sporting an impressive physique for someone his age, the two contenders were equally surprised. Esdeath for her part had never even seen him shirtless or pantless, so insistent was he upon remaining clothed when they laid together. Leone, on the other hand, had received her fair share of Tatsumi's appearance. It was very clear, however, that he had significantly built upon his old strength while in the company of the Jaegers.
His appearance had weakened the grip on their spoils, yet it was his astonishing feat accomplished in their absence that wrought true shock and awe upon their beautiful faces. A small pile of fish rested at his feet, but on either side of him, two massive fish put their slimy brethren to shame. With their unnatural eye color, jagged teeth and gleaming scales, it was apparent that Tatsumi's prize catches were Danger Beasts. Of what caliber, she did not know, but this did nothing to stifle the immense pride that welled up within Esdeath.
"Look what I caught!" Tatsumi laughed again, falling on his backside in exhaustion. Walking around to inspect one of the boy's conquests, Esdeath noticed an unusual metal shaft protruding from a wound in its side.
"Tatsumi," she inquired, cutely peering over the massive fish to stare down at him, "how did you catch these creatures? There's a weapon here…"
"Oh!" Tatsumi leapt to his feet, following Leone around to the other side. Without a moment's hesitation he gripped the weapon and ripped it free, shaking the blood and fish guts off of the spear before embedding it in the sand.
"This," he said with pride, puffing his chest out slightly, "is the Incursio's supplemental weapon, Neuntote! I learned how to summon it a few days ago, and I've been practicing with it whenever I found the time. It's hard to use in really close quarters, but I've gotten pretty good at throwing it! Makes for a great fishing tool, and the armor protected me from those nasty teeth!"
Leone sweatdropped, scratching the back of her head as Bulat's ghost stared ominously down at them all, hidden deep within her imagination. She couldn't hear the voices of the dead, but she certainly felt like the man's annoyance was reaching out to her from beyond the grave.
"Guess he never thought of using Neuntote that way," Leone thought as she giggled quietly, hands behind her head as Esdeath suddenly doted on Tatsumi and ruffled his hair approvingly. "You can see us, can't you? Take a look, Bulat - Tatsumi's happy again. It's like the days when you were around, back when he had someone to look up to. A guy, anyway."
She narrowed her eyes, looking quite troubled as she watched Esdeath pick the boy up and run around the giant fish in excitement. "Things are a little different, though. Now he's with the Jaegers, working for the same people that you used to. Do you approve, since he's following his heart?" Leone tightened her fists, mouth set in a hard frown. "He'd have to be, to make such a crazy decision like this. I hope it doesn't come back to bite us."
Growing tired, Esdeath wearily carried Tatsumi back over to where she'd originally picked him up and collapsed into the sand after letting him down. She was panting with a cheerful smile on her face, one that seemed very unbecoming of her. Tatsumi was looking down at her, smiling in kind.
Smiling at their worst enemy. Smiling at another woman, almost as if he...
"Well," Leone coughed, walking over to place a hand on Tatsumi's shoulder. "Looks like you beat us. I worked pretty hard trying to catch those animals, you know...so for your sake, I hope you're really, really hungry! I'm not letting all that work go to waste!"
"Eh...eh?!" Tatsumi took a nervous step backwards.
"There's so many of them," Leone whispered, staring up at the night sky along with Tatsumi and Esdeath. The three of them had quickly eaten their fill and still had plenty of food left over, yet they pushed their meals aside once the moon had risen. It acted as a herald of the stars, summoning countless white lights high up above once the sun had waned and the sky traded blue for black.
The meager fire between them crackled and spat flames into the air, light smoke rising as the heat warmed them. All three of them rested on their backs, lost in the cosmos that reigned above and around their world.
"What if they're all a bunch of worlds?" Tatsumi said quietly, reaching up for those very stars with one hand outstretched. "Imagine all the other stories out there, all the people and all the different experiences they're having."
"Their own battles," Esdeath replied. Leone shook her head, her irritation for the woman dulled after numerous hours of company.
"Not just that," Leone added, eyes flickering from one star to the next. "There's a lot more to life than just fighting. There's more you can do, more that anyone can see."
"Everything is a fight though, isn't it?" Tatsumi suddenly sat up, supported by the arms behind him as he looked at the blonde to his left. "There are fights on the battlefield, sure. Everyone fights in a war. But in any kind of struggle you have to fight, don't you? Fight against laziness, or fear, or pain." He fell back against the sand and smiled up at the sky. "Everyone's fighting, but some of them just don't realize it. But I think it's the ones who know they're fighting, the ones who can see their battle...those are the ones who win every time!"
Both women turned their heads to look at Tatsumi, each equally shocked by his statement for vastly different reasons.
"Tatsumi," Esdeath reached over to him.
This time, he rose completely and moved over to one of the trees nearby, climbing up the trunk. His companions watched in silence as he began tearing giant chunks of green away from the apex, watching as they sailed to the sand below.
"We're going to sleep on the beach, right?" He laughed. "We should at least try to make it comfortable. I've already got more sand in unfortunate places than I really need."
Wordlessly, the two women looked at each other for a brief moment before scowling and looking away, much to the boy's disappointment. Still, they moved over to the massive bundles of leaves and carried them over to the fire, layering them one on top of the other. And they managed to do it without fighting.
"There we go," Tatsumi smiled, ripping off a couple more for himself before sliding down the trunk. He retrieved his leafy prize and made up his own bed by the fire, lying down and immediately closing his eyes.
Shuffling noises. The sound of sand shifting and sliding against itself disturbing his attempt to sleep; he sighed, exasperated, and the narrow slits of his eyes returned his sight. The boy's mind was suddenly filled with images of hissing snakes. He had to shake his head a bit to ward off the egregious amounts of hissing in his imagination.
Of course, upon opening his eyes, he discovered the source of the invasive noises; both Leone and Esdeath had moved their makeshift beds over to his own, flanking him on either side. He groaned and grabbed his head with both hands, looking from one blank face to the next.
"Come on! Can't I at least sleep by myself?"
"If I sleep next to you, then I won't be tempted to choke that woman," Esdeath said plainly, not even looking at the individual in question.
"That goes double for you, Popsicle," Leone sneered, reaching over to grab one of Tatsumi's arms and hug it to her body. "Plus, I get nightmares from time to time. This'll help."
"You're such a bad liar," Tatsumi chuckled, yanking his arm free. "Fine, but only if it gets you two to stop fighting. For crying out loud, that's half the reason I stayed with the Jaegers! I stayed to keep you safe from each other."
"And the other half?" Leone whispered. Esdeath's ears pricked up at this, and any cold words she may have prepared in advance were halted in her throat.
"I, too," she thought, looking from Leone to Tatsumi, "wish to hear your answer."
Tatsumi closed his eyes and fell silent. As the silence persisted, his two companions figured the boy was asleep and sought to follow him. In truth he was still very much awake, dwelling on Leone's sudden question and still reeling from the impact. From the answer that escaped him.
"The other half…"
"Slap his face again," Esdeath growled, "and you sacrifice that very hand."
"Oh, shove an ice cube in it," Leone snickered, smacking Tatsumi's face again. This time he felt it, waking up with a loud cry that made her stumble backwards in shock. Nearly falling hundreds of feet to the ground below, she quickly lifted the boy by his collar.
"Don't do that! Sheesh, we spend all this time trying to wake you up, and then you go and scream in my face?"
Tatsumi blinked, finally feeling the cold beneath him. His fingertips slid against ice as he rose to his feet, marveling at the frozen spire upon which all three of them were now standing. He blinked a couple times, staring back up at Leone. Then he screamed again.
"Aaaaaah! What are we doing so high up?! Why are we on a giant tower of ice? Why did-"
Leone slapped him nonchalantly, and Tatsumi's eyes were now spitting comical fire as he pointed an accusing finger at her face.
"Why do you keep slapping me?!"
"You're getting noisy," Leone smirked, bending down to lick his cheek when she knew Esdeath wasn't looking. The fire in his eyes now radiated from his face as he placed a hand on that cheek, Leone's eyes sparkling with mischief as she watched.
"Hm, hm, hm!" She giggled quietly, still bent forward with her face close to his own. "Don't go losing your train of thought, now~! You've got bigger problems to worry about, literally."
With that, she casually pointed behind him. Tatsumi turned and followed where she was pointing, facing the same direction as his companions. Off in the distance, a massive humanoid creature was shambling around the island. It was almost as big as the island itself! An exaggeration, to be sure, but Tatsumi was far too busy being shocked by the monster to appropriately judge its size.
"That thing is really, really big," he thought dumbly, putting the issue to rest once and for all.
As if it was reading his mind, the giant creature turned on its heels and began walking in their direction! Tatsumi fell back on his buttocks in surprise, scrambling back towards Leone. "Ahh, AHH," he yelped, even as she pulled him up by the scruff of his neck, eyes narrowed as she calmly watched him freak out.
"Worry not," Esdeath sneered, clapping her hands together. "It's been so long since I've faced an adversary worthy of my powers. And something this gruesome," she cackled maniacally, "is worth skewering!"
Quickly pulling her arms back behind her, Esdeath summoned a legion of vicious, elongated icicles in the air behind her. Tatsumi and Leone watched, astonished, as the fearsome general cast her arms forward and delivered frigid death to the monster.
"Weiss Schnabel!"
The creature attempted to defend itself by raising its arms; however, countless wounds traveled up from its legs and scattered along its arms and chest, with one lucky strike even reaching its left eye. Still, their enemy shambled forward, now charging towards them with great speed.
Leone sweatdropped. "I think you just made it angry."
"Good," Esdeath hissed, still smiling as she placed the palm of her hand upon the spire's freezing apex. "GRAU HORN!"
By her command, an impossibly-huge spear of ice launched itself from the side of the spire and headed straight for their enemy with terrific speed and deadly precision. Her disappointment was thick in the air, though, as the giant Danger Beast casually dodged the attack and continued to run right for them.
"How tenacious," Esdeath said, smiling even as her frustration mounted. "It appears capable of reading single ranged attacks, though my Weiss Schnabel was effective to a certain degree."
"It's not something that can be stopped just by hurting the outside," Leone insisted, moving to stand by the general. "That much is pretty obvious by now. Everything has a weak point, though. Maybe you should aim for the heart this time."
"No good," Tatsumi said, pointing at the Beast's chest. "One of Esdeath's icicles already hit that spot!"
"Damn," Leone bit her lip, panic slowly setting in as the monster drew closer and closer to them. "It's gonna slam into this thing and knock us over any second now. Any more ideas?"
"Yeah," Tatsumi said with a cocky smile, stepping forward with his hand reaching behind him. "The spot on top of its head."
The eyes of his companions went wide as they turned their attention to that exact spot, finally noticing the strange man embedded on the creature's forehead. With it's metal arm and gruesome mouth, their enemy was certainly intimidating. But this one spot…
"That's definitely a vulnerability," Tatsumi said, drawing the Incursio from its scabbard. "Esdeath, can you use that last ability one more time? I have an idea."
"Of course!" the blue-haired woman said with enthusiasm. This earned her an irritated glare from Leone, who very nearly hurled at the woman's blushing face. "What are you planning, Tatsumi? Don't be too reckless."
"That's exactly what I'm going to be," he chuckled, still holding Incursio at the ready. With one hand gripping the blade and the other on the pommel, he looked well and ready to stab something. Leone remained worried, however, as he took no further action. He seemed content with waiting for the imminent attack.
"Why isn't he transforming?" Leone wondered, bringing a giant paw up to thoughtfully rub her chin. She gasped and leaned forward as she finally realized. "No, he's not really going to-?!"
"Aim for its chest," Tatsumi ordered, tensing his entire body as the Danger Beast came ever closer. "NOW!" He yelled.
Immediately, Esdeath narrowed her eyes and silently commanded the ice below them, launching another Grau Horn directly at the creature. In a flash its left arm rose up to catch the giant spear of ice, creating the perfect bridge for Tatsumi to start running over.
"Tatsumi!"
"Tatsumi, you idiot!"
Ignoring their cries, the young warrior dashed along the frozen path and leaped across to the enemy's head, driving Incursio through the body of the giant's pilot.
"Magnificent," Esdeath murmured, enraptured by his display of strength and ingenuity.
"That's the way!" Leone cheered, pumping one fist in the air. "Not bad, not bad at all!"
A torrent of blood spurted from the wound and coated the front of his own body, but this inconvenience did nothing to impact his mood as the behemoth fell still at last. Then it started to fall backwards, and well…
"HELP MEEEE," he wailed, ruining his one cool moment. Both women watched with sweatdrops and baffled expressions as Tatsumi clung to the dead pilot for dear life, helpless as his victim carried him back to the island below.
"Well," Esdeath coughed, looking to the sky and pulling the brim of her cover down, "at least he managed to defeat our enemy."
"This isn't new," Leone sighed, watching with amusement as Tatsumi continued to panic. She had to stifle a laugh as he was flung away from the gargantuan body upon impact, and she watched as the poor boy landed with the upper half of his body buried in the sand. The two women remained silent for a moment as the sun beat down on them both, their mutual disdain stifled by the silence rather than kindled further by the heat.
"That wasn't half bad," Leone admitted, shrugging a little and unable to even look at the general. "You have an impressive fighting style."
"...thank you."
Leone blinked, and it took her a few seconds to properly register what she had just heard. That woman, that evil witch had thanked her? The woman in question looked over to her, smiling kindly.
"I would show respect, in kind," Esdeath continued, "but I have not yet seen you in battle. Perhaps that opportunity will arise during our stay on this island?"
"Be careful what you wish for," Leone growled, finally managing to glare at the general again. It was harder to do, this time. In truth, it even felt forced. "Don't forget who we are and what we're both aiming for. Once we're out of this place, I'll be the one to break your neck and free the Capital."
"I accept your challenge," Esdeath smirked, looking over the edge of the spire and watching with amusement as Tatsumi shook an angry fist at them. "Tatsumi, however, may not."
Leone blinked, giving Esdeath the perfect opportunity to elaborate.
"I have accepted that his previous allegiance to your 'Night Raid' and his new allegiance to us will bring an unprecedented level of conflict between us all. In truth, it may have been easier for everyone if he had remained on your side. We could kill each other without hesitation, without regret or remorse. Now…"
Esdeath reached for her heart and grasped at her outfit, eyes closed as Leone looked on in silence. "Now," she repeated, "he makes me believe that we might all take a new road, one that is vastly different compared to what fate originally intended."
She looked over to the blonde assassin, and what the young woman saw in that general's eyes frightened her. It was the most uncharacteristic blend of kindness, resignation, and pity, something that did not belong in the eyes of a mass murderer; certainly not the eyes of a sadistic ice-flinging monster, and Esdeath was both!
"I will absorb your Night Raid," Esdeath declared, arms crossed as she stared straight through Leone. "You will join with Tatsumi and I as part of my Special Police Force, the Jaegers."
"Now that's a good one," Leone growled, clenching her fists and grinding her teeth as that vile woman mocked her with that tiny smile. "Probably the best joke I've heard all week, and Lubba has been telling us quite a few."
"It really is quite simple," Esdeath chuckled, unfolding her arms and shrugging a little. "Either you will swear fealty to me and work for the Empire, or you may hold on to your feeble dreams of rebellion and be crushed underfoot."
Leone couldn't even form the first words for her next retort, so great was the anger that weighed her down. All throughout, Esdeath continued to flash that mocking smile. "I understand perfectly if you require time to consider this decision," she continued, "but my patience will grow thin as the days pass you by. Should you fail to submit within an acceptable timeframe, I will have my Jaegers attack once more. This time," she growled, "we will attack in full force, and I will personally join the fray. I will leave you then to make a different choice: you will either die by Tatsumi's hand, or be spared by your other foes. Those very individuals will have specific orders to deliver all prisoners to me, and I will be the one to administer your torture."
Leone tasted blood as she bit down, she could feel it in her palms as the claws continued to dig deeper and deeper. The very notion of surrendering was absurd, but to bend the knee before this woman? To throw away everything Night Raid had worked for, just to save their own skins?
"Don't fuck with me," Leone hissed, her eyes obscured by golden locks as she stared furiously at the frozen spire beneath her feet. "There's no way...no way in hell...that anyone from Night Raid would take that offer." Leone raised her head in a flash and stared fearlessly into Esdeath's eyes, desperately trying to incinerate those ugly sapphires with her own hateful gold. "I'd rather-"
Both of them were suddenly thrown off their feet as the spire shook violently, a light cracking sound on the air as yet another giant Danger Beast appeared. With both arms it grasped the tower of ice, trying with all of its might to shatter their only vantage point and bring its prey crashing to the island below.
"How did we miss that?!" Leone yelled.
"Negligence," Esdeath replied shamefully, glaring down at their hideous enemy. "You and I were too preoccupied with our disagreement to pay proper attention to our surroundings."
"Stop lumping me in with you!" Leone roared, eyes blazing up at the general. "And do something about that thing, already! Throw some more icicles or something!"
"Incapable of handling this foe on your own?" Esdeath smirked, causing one of Leone's eyes to twitch. "You are a proud example of your adorable, furry brethren. All bark and no bite."
"I'll bite your fucking head off, how about that?!"
Their argument was cut short as the second Danger Beast finally shattered the frozen spire, sending both woman over the edge and straight to the unforgiving ground below.
"EEEYAAAAAAAH!" Leone wailed, flailing wildly through the air. Thinking quickly, Esdeath wrapped one arm around Leone's chest and bringing her closer. Unfortunately for Leone, this also meant pressing against the underside of her breasts, causing the blonde to blush profusely at the unwarranted contact.
"W-w-where the hell do you think you're grabbing?!"
"I'm going to use your body to soften the impact when we land."
"You evil bitch!" Leone roared, flailing again in an attempt to hit the woman behind her. Esdeath laughed cheerfully, holding Leone even tighter.
"That was a joke, I assumed you were familiar with them. Now, calm yourself."
The two of them landed safely on one of the Danger Beast's arms, watching helplessly as it moved to grab them with its other hand. Before it could reach them, however, Esdeath summoned a smaller spire at its feet, halting its ascension as it came within reach.
"Jump down!" Esdeath commanded, leading by example as Leone yelped. She followed shortly behind, right as a massive hand crashed mercilessly against the Beast's forearm. One by one, Esdeath summoned smaller and smaller pillars, leading the two of them safely to the sand below. As safe as they could be with a giant monster towering above them, anyway. It looked down at them with cold eyes, raising one foot to crush them.
"Now what?" Leone muttered, taking a step back as the Danger Beast prepared to end their lives.
"Kaltenwand may not withstand the impact, and I'm already growing tired from such frivolous use of my power," Esdeath hissed, staring up at the giant foot. "Perhaps we-"
The Danger Beast suddenly stopped moving, frozen completely in place. The two women blinked in confusion, until Leone caught sight of something gleaming high above.
"Look!" She cried out, laughing and reaching over to tug on Esdeath's arm. "Look, up there! At the weak spot!"
Esdeath's eyes quickly scanned over the Danger Beast's body, slowly rising up to focus on the area Leone was suddenly so interested in. Upon catching sight of what she was referring to, Esdeath matched the blonde's smile with one of her own.
"How could I have forgotten?" She chuckled, shaking her head. "What impressive aim."
"Not even Bulat could have done that," Leone laughed, shaking her own head in disbelief. "Summoning it is one thing, sure...but come on!"
The gargantuan body fell backwards and devastated the ground where it landed. Now fully in view, the creature's downfall gleamed beneath the blazing sun. There, embedded in the pilot's chest, was Neuntote. Much like a flag driven into an enemy fortress, it stood tall and proud, marking the site where its target had perished.
"Phew," Tatsumi's voice came from behind them, his armored form slipping into view as he finally walked around the remains of the first ice pillar. "I can't believe I hit it on the first try."
"You actually threw it," Leone cried, hands on her head as she shook it back and forth. Tatsumi took a step back, shocked at his friend's sudden excitement. "I can't believe it! You can use Neuntote, you can use Neuntote! And you threw it!" Leone was jumping up and down, now, and Tatsumi had to jump with her as she gripped both of his arms. She even went so far as to bounce around in a circle, rather than staying in one spot. "I can't believe you threw that thing!"
"Your timing was impeccable," Esdeath praised, brushing some sand off of her shoulder. "If another moment had passed, it is likely we would have been crushed underfoot. Such an outcome would have been my fault, regrettably," Esdeath confessed, bowing her head slightly.
"Big deal," Leone waved it off with one hand, much to Esdeath's surprise. "Nobody's perfect, so stop acting like you are. Besides, if you win every fight, where's the fun? It's better to lose every once in a while."
Tatsumi sweatdropped. "It's different if you're actually about to die."
"Of course not," Leone growled, smacking the boy upside the head. Incursio was not as forgiving as his real head, however, and soon she was sucking on one of her throbbing fingers. Comical tears streamed down her face and she spoke no more, much to the relief of her two companions.
Tatsumi dismissed the armor, and with it, Neuntote vanished as well. Turning his back on the other two, he began walking in the opposite direction. "Let's hurry back. When I fell before, I saw something interesting over by where we first arrived. It looked like a way out!"
The lighthearted atmosphere instantly vanished, and the two women nodded briefly to one another before running over to him. Together, the three survivors retraced their steps, eager to escape the prison disguised as paradise.
